Black Friday

It has been way to long since my last blog post.  Some of you who actually read my ramblings have said you missed my blog.  Tear.  Seriously, that really made me sit down and take note that maybe my ramblings are good for you, too.  Well, I've got a lot to ramble about. 
It's the day after Thanksgiving and I have no leftovers.  I didn't cook because I had to be at work at noon so the whole cooking thing was out for the day.  Jack and the girls were going over to one of my bff's for dinner w/ around 15 or so of our friends.  My friend  made the turkey and then everyone else was assigned a dish.  Jack's dish was a salad because my friends know what an excellent salad person I am.  I whipped up some pea salad I had never made before and of course I made some red jello and put little marshmallows on top because that is what we Minnesotans do.  After all, a Minnesota salad bar consists of iceberg lettuce and 5 different kinds of jello.  The jello was a hit but the pea salad, mmm, not so much.  I should have made my standard 7 layer pea salad but I went out on a limb and tried something new.  Change.  People do not like change. 

Work was great.  It was something like 20 below yesterday so I wore my bikini shirt to work for a laugh.  I walked into the kitchen, punched in and Chef and his staff of 7 were all working hard chopping, sauteing, grilling, whatever they do, and I walked through the kitchen frenzy and they all stopped and just stared.  Chef started laughing and rolled his eyes and since he calls me "hefnar" he said, "Hefnar, livin' the dream aren't you?"  I figured it was a good way to start our busy day and get everyone to smile.  I did just that. 
The kitchen staff whipped up a staff dinner for us and since this was the first Thanksgiving I have worked in almost 7 years I was so excited to sit down with everyone and eat my turkey dinner w/ mashed potatoes and stuffing.  Especially the stuffing.  Stuffing is my all time favorite.  I grabbed my plate and went to the chow line and looked at the plates of food in the window.  Brussel sprouts on the first plate, turkey sausage in gravy next, diced potatoes w/ onions, meatloaf and a spinach salad.  Now, that dinner was wonderful, don't get me wrong.  We get fed dinner every night and it's always good.  But, by God this was THANKSGIVING!!  I wanted some stuffing for crying out loud.  With gravy.  I didn't even need turkey.  Just stuffing.  I loaded my plate up and took a seat at the table with my co-workers and asked everyone else if they were bummed about the no stuffing thing.  Everyone was content and I said my peace.  My dinner was fabulous, as usual, and I had a huge serving of chocolate moose for dessert and I was stuffed.  It was time to get changed and start waiting on tables. 
We always sit down with our chef and go over the nights menu, since it changes pretty much every night.  Well, we were serving the normal 4 course dinner.  Choice of 2 soups, choice of salad or app, choice of 5 entrees, choice of dessert.  The entree selection was Veal, Lamb, Beef, Fish, Turkey w/ all the fixings.  Except there was no stuffing in all the fixings.  My jaw dropped and I let out a cry of "WHAT???"  I was literally in shock at this choice our chef had made and thought that every person who would be ordering the turkey plate would blame me when they were digging around their plate looking for their stuffing.  Since Dupster was the one to relay this message to us in the meeting I blamed him.  I said if anyone of my tables complains about having no stuffing on Thanksgiving I would be happy to send Dupster over and they could discuss it with him.  Dupster is a lowly waiter just like me so he has no control over that situation.  He was the messenger and I was about to kill him.  I did have a panic attack and was thinking maybe I should take a Valium but since I have never popped a Valium before, and I was at work, I decided against it.    I must have sold 10 plus turkey plates and not one person said a word.  Seemed no one cared two hoots about the no stuffing issue.  But man, did we ever have some good laughs over it.  That is how my job is.  Constant jokes, good laughs and great friends.  We have all worked together for years and years and we know each other so well.  It helps to be amongst good people if you have to work a holiday.  

They call this day Black Friday.  Black Friday is supposedly the hugest  shopping day in the country with the best sales EVER!   The commercials on TV are all about advertising Black Friday.   It's almost as bad as election time.  Keystone has black-out days meaning when it's a blackout day employees can't ski.  Jack tried to take Hannah out skiing a couple of weeks ago and it was a blackout day so they were denied.  Our plan was to go skiing today as a family.  Hannah has been so excited to ski.  She said to me, "Mom, to bad we can't ski on Friday because it's Black Friday."  I asked here how she already knew that they weren't letting employees on the mountain since this was back on Monday that she was saying this.  Her reply was, "because they are advertising it all over on TV."  A total Hannah ism.  It's not a blackout day at Keystone today and they are going skiing later.  She still wants to know what all they hype is about Black Friday so I am taking her shopping.  Happy Black Friday everyone.  I hope you all have some leftover stuffing. 

First Ski of the Season

We received around 7-10" of snow overnight and when I heard Jack grumbling about shoveling again I knew I needed to get out of bed and see for myself wether he was being a drama king or not.  He was being a drama king, because he always is, but he also was right to yell up to me and tell me to get out of bed because I needed to go skiing.  Someone should.  Might as well be me since I still have 10 days off before I go balls to the wall with work. 
I made the girls their lunches and said goodbuy to everyone and made a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch and covered up with a blanket.  As I watched it snow and snow outside I decided that Jack was right (I hate it when he's right).  I needed to go skiing.  It was a painless process, for some reason, gathering my gear.  Usually, I am walking to the shed, digging through bins and bins looking for my pants, jacket, neck gator, hat, etc.  Then I rummage around the garage for a good 45 minutes cussing because I can't find my goggles and boots.  Then I walk back up to the house looking for my ski pass which I usually don't have anyway and have to go stand in line to get.  Not this year.  For some reason, I was organized and all of my stuff was exactly where I remembered putting it.  And, we got our ski passes last week so we were set.    I was driving down the driveway, on my way to the mountain, at 9:30 am.  I got to the lift and they scanned my pass and there I was swinging my skis on the lift, bundled up, and enjoying the blowing snow on my face.  It always feels so good to be riding that first chair ride of the season.  Especially when you have the chair to yourself.  I am not into small chit chat and I really just wanted to enjoy the peace of the chair alone. 
It was a powder day and the snow was soft and fluffy and light.  The skiing was great.  I skied hard for the first few runs because I was all by myself and I was thoroughly enjoying it.  I ran into some friends just as I was thinking about leaving and I stayed and skied for another 5 runs.  My legs are going to be sore tomorrow.  I'm glad I have my yoga class. 
I left the mountain at around 12:30 pm and had some errands to run and picked up the kids at school.
It was a successful first day on the mountain.  I'm thinking about doing it all again tomorrow. 

Sunday Paper

Sunday, and I have no paper.  If I could get the paper delivered to my door I would be one happy camper.  But, that is why I love living where we live.  It's remote and if I did have things delivered to my doorstep, ie, the Sunday paper, take-out pizza, groceries,  I'd be a lot lazier than I already am.  I wouldn't say I'm lazy, lazy but I have pretty good lazy bones and I could take a nap everyday and I have no problem pouring another cup of coffee and watching the next morning show.  Some would say that's lazy.  I talk myself out of that term and say it's contentment.  I'm certainly content, that's forsure. 
I did get out today, because I forced myself, and made a fire in the pit in the backyard.  It was freezing all day and snowing so I bundled up and put on my snow pants, warm parka, hat, gloves and Sorels and tromped through the yard in the snow digging up wood to burn and un-buring the tables because I was thinking ahead and anticipating of one of our full moon parties where we need those tables.  I then decided that I would walk down the road a little ways.  The plow hadn't been up here so the road was completely snowy and I followed Jacks ski tracks to Rileyville where he took off up the mountain.  I was freezing because the wind was blowing very hard which brought the temp down quite a bit.  I turned around after a bit thinking I needed to start walking up and getting my blood flowing to get warm.  Glad I did.  I warmed up instantly walking home from Rileyville.  I then decided that my exercise level was sufficient for the day and when I got home I immediately got back into my comfy clothes and ate some left-over Tokyo Joe's.  After lunch it was definitely time for a nap.  I turned on the Vikings/Bears game and, bam!  Asleep.  It was a good 2 hour nap which I obviously needed after my vigorous day of freezing cold weather.  I am now enjoying the Bronco/Chiefs game with a glass of wine and the only thing that could make my day any better is if I had the paper and I could clip my coupons, read all about it and save the best for last, the travel section, so I could dream of all of the wonderful places I will see when I grow up. 
So, if you're on your way up here for some reason, bring me a paper, would you? (and pizza would be good)

Cozy

We woke up to cold temps and snow.  It is beautiful and has been all day.  The snow has accumulated to a few inches and it's time to shovel.  We haven't plowed yet and the driveway is getting nice and packed down.  I'm thinking tonight we'll need to do one sweep with the plow. 
It feels like I should be putting my Christmas decorations up.  But, I'm not one of those.  I always wait until December. 
Both of our stoves are burning and it is super cozy in my house.  I love days like today.  My dog, my cat and my blanket. 

Semper Fi

Happy 235th Birthday to the founding of the U.S Marines! Semper Fi! "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli" Thank you to all of the men and women who are and have served our country in all of the branches of the armed services!

Autographs

They say more snow is coming our way tonight. I say, please, more snow. We got our ski passes yesterday and when that takes place it's always the hurry up and wait game. Hannah is really excited to ski. Jack took Jordan, Hannah and Hannah's best friend over to Vail on Saturday to see some members of the U.S. Ski Team. Not only did they get to see them but they got autographs. Hannah didn't have her helmet or anything for an autograph so she had Lindsey Vonn sign her brand new ski jacket that she hasn't even worn skiing yet. She also got 2 other autographs on the same sleeve, in permanent sharpie. I'm not upset about it though. I thought that was a pretty good idea actually. But, those coats get so dirty and I wash them frequently through the winter so I'm afraid the autographs will wash off. We'll see.

We went for a hike up Webster Pass today, Teller and I. Teller was as happy as could be. We got home and he ran up to his new stolen stuffed animal and picked it up and ran over to me to show me his loot. He is a thief. He goes to town and looks around for squeaky toys or something soft, grabs it and runs home the whole way with his new prize. I'd love to know where this one came from. He sure is proud of it. The pictures of Teller show him with his new stolen toy.

If you happen upon this blog and recognize this Christmas dog, by all means, come up and grab it. If he'll let you.

Mucking Barns

Every muscle in my body is hurting. I am on the couch and I'm not sure I can get up. I have a party to go to tonight and I need to move. I'll blog instead.

Hannah and I worked at the Swan Center today. We got out there at around 10am. The other volunteers were getting the feed together so I went out and dealt with the hay. That job is pretty fun because you get to get hay off the bail and walk around with the wheelbarrow and place piles for the horses. 35 piles to be exact. The horses get excited and start walking slowly into the area I'm putting the hay. Sometimes they'll try to eat it right out of the wheelbarrow as I'm pushing it around. I'm not suppose to let them do that so it's funny trying to stop them.

After the hay was placed it was time to get all the horses to their feeding spots. One by one we lead them to their feed bin on the fence. There were a few barns that needed to be mucked so I volunteered to do that since it's a huge workout and I felt like beating myself up a bit. The two barns that I needed to clean out hadn't been fully cleaned out in quite some time so there were a few layers of hard muck I had to dig up. It was hard work. I took a pick ax, shovel, rake and between the three tools I got through. I had to then haul multiple 40 lb bags of pellets to place in the stalls. 11 bags to be exact. All of the muck that I dug up needed to be wheeled over to be dumped. Through the mud, over mud, around mud. After a few hours of that I was extremely whooped.

Those horses are so awesome to be with. Magic likes to have her head over the door so she can see whats going on. She's so curious. Somethin' pees on her fresh bed of pellets. Jett likes to chew on the fence. Snicker, she's naughty. She keeps trying to escape. Amigo breaks my heart every time I look at him. He's sweet and was tied to a tree during hurricane Andrew and survived. His coat is all scruffy and thick. They all have some story and they all have a different personality. It's fun getting to know them. What a great place to volunteer.

But, now I am seizing up and I can't move. Tomorrow will not be pretty.

The Morning After-Halloween

Whew. Glad that's over. We left the house in such foul moods and bad attitudes I almost turned the car around and blew it all off. We dropped off one kid and drove to Breckenridge to drop off the other. Once we did that Jack and I were in the car by ourselves looking at the mountains wondering what to do. It was kind of weird. It was our first Halloween not having the kids within a few houses. We got the local paper and checked out the 2 for 1 specials, which are plenty this time of year. We ended up at Mi Casa and we were thinking when the last time were were there. It must have been over 10 years or more. The food was good and we had a great time. The restaurant was completely empty and Jack and I were so relaxed and we talked and talked about our kids and how to be better parents and we talked, of course, about Costa Rica. We decided that getting the container delivered to our house sooner than later would be best. We are filling a container up with our stuff, shipping it off to Costa Rica so we have a car, tools, and whatever else we think we'll need. The talk over dinner, with no kids, was much needed. We ended up at a friends house, which is where we have spent the majority of our Halloweens, and it was party time as usual. Halloween in that neighborhood is a hoot. We sit around the fire in the driveway, on the hill while the kids walk up and trick or treat. It's a small neighborhood where everyone knows everyone and the mood is festive. We were all laughing at the parents, including us, because everyone has a beverage in hand, bundled up, although last night was fairly mild. It truly is a good time and everyone is happy. I was designated driver so I was behaving. It was time to drive to our meeting places to pick up our kids from their parties. We all came together at the end of the night and drove up the hill to our quiet house in the middle of the woods. It was a nice night and unfortunately, I did not get one picture. That's the one bad thing about not being with our kids for Halloween. I missed out on their costumes.
It's 8:30 am and I have already had 2 Reese's peanut butter cups. It goes well with coffee.

Anxiety and Halloween.

How could I forget? Every Halloween is filled with anxiety in this household. And the older my teenager gets, the worse it gets. Halloween, for people who suffer from anxiety, is not the easiest holiday. The clothes "feel". The costume isn't "perfect". "The costume doesn't match." The changing of the costumes that has been happening here for the past 3 days has been incredible. The Halloween bin I have is filled with wigs, dresses, make-up, clothes, purses, you name it I may have it. I even went to the thrift store and bought a few more Halloween type pieces. "They don't fit." "I don't look like the queen of Mardi Gras." What does the queen of Mardi Gras look like anyway? "It's ugly." "I look silly." These quotes are only some of the many that came before the tears started. It's like that episode of "Parenthood" with the son who has Aspergers. It was a very profound episode and my heart was hurt. And, like our stuff, it all turns out well in the end.

Am I missing something here? Isn't Halloween about silliness, ugliness, goofiness, and just plain having a good time?

I will survive this Halloween as I always do. My heart goes out to those who suffer with anxiety. It's not an easy thing to watch. I'm staying out of the costume thing as much as possible. She'll have to figure this one out by herself. I will post pictures when it's all said and done. It'll be great as always when they are counting their candy. I won't even go into what effect the candy has on us.

Winter Wonderland in October

Two days after our huge snow storm I am now enjoying the winter wonderland outside. It dumped a total of about 2-3 feet up here. I was not motivated for much on Monday except laying under a blanket and watching it snow. I did have to go get the kids and the driving was scary. Tuesday I had yoga so I braved the elements again and drove the usually 25 min drive in 45 minutes, white knuckles all the way. I kept thinking "this better be worth it" and as usual I got my om on and it was. I did drive straight home after yoga and crawled under a blanket and took a huge nap. It's now Wednesday and we received another 6" overnight and I decided to hang out up here in the woods and enjoy the beauty. I took a walk.

I had to get my long underwear and some boots out of the shed which is not very close to the house. The snow was over my knees and my walk would give me a good workout. I got my stuff on and headed out the door. The plow was just making his way up and the grater was right behind him. A nice thing since the road was a mess. They both got out of their machines, as I was heading up Deer Creek, and I overheard them saying to each other how much snow we had received up here. They were surprised. Sometimes we get snow that the other towns won't get. Once I had to call the kids in for a snow day because we had gotten over 2 feet overnight and with the wind it literally trapped us up here for the day. Even the town of Montezuma didn't get that, which is 1 mile down the road. Those kids made it to school. The school didn't believe me when I called in to tell them we couldn't get out of our driveway.

The white car in the picture made the drive up here to go cross country skiing. He obviously didn't want to get stuck and left his car right smack in the middle of the road. The plow drivers could barely get around him. I'm surprised they didn't leave a big snowbank in the front of his car. Those guys are usually ruthless.

I headed up the trail and broke trail the entire way. It was wonderful. It's a good walk, even without the snow, and I was sweating like a pig, in a good way. I got to the top of the hill and fell in the snow and made a snow angel. Teller thought I was playing with him and jumped all over me. He was so happy. I came home and again, took a serious nap. I do love my naps. I'm motivated for another day of playing in the snow. I'm motivated to ski. I am happy, now, that winter is here. It's going to be a good one.

Blizzard

It has been snowing all day. It's a blizzard out there. The roads were atrocious. I almost crashed twice. I had to drive to get the kids and I figured I'd get some errands done first. I'm surprised I made it to City Market. I took my sweet time in there because I had over an hour before school was over. I finally got the kids and started the drive home. The roads were pure ice and rutted out. We got home and I sighed a huge sigh of relief. I've been in my sweats and comfy slippers and made an excellent dinner and now I'm listening to the wind blow, watching the snow blow sideways and I couldn't be more happy to be home. At least we have power and heat.

A Cooking Day

Mountain weather at my house all day has been snow. Light snow but snow, at least. It felt like winter too. Buster, my cat, only went out once. Teller has been laying on his bed all day. Usually he doesn't lay on his bed up in the living room until after he's eaten his dinner. He has himself on a very distinct schedule. He rarely changes it up. It's also a full moon so he could be a little out of sorts because of it.

I've had this day free of kids. Even though they had no school today they have been at the Swan Center, volunteering. I brought them to get their haircuts at 10 this morning. After Hannah was done, she walked out front and I looked at her. She has the most beautiful hair and her cut was absolutely gorgeous. Our stylist, or as my mom called it, our beautician at the beauty shop, did a fabulous job. She styled Hannah's hair which only gets done at the beauty shop. I'm not the fashion mom and am not capable of stuff like that. To bad for them. Anywho, Hannah's hair was to die for. As we were walking out of the place Hannah says to me, "I look like a grown woman now." The guy waiting to get his hair cut busts out laughing and said he needed to write that one down. That's Hannah. Jordan didn't get her hair styled so it was wet when we left. Her choice. She should have gotten it styled because it is a good feeling to look all "styled" once in a while.

After the beauty shop the girls rode out to do work at the Swan Center with some friends. I came home and cooked all day. I made homemade salsa, soup in the crock pot, marinade for pork chops. I am now enjoying a Costa Rica cocktail. Unfortunately, I don't have Imperial so I am drinking this with PBR. Salt the rim of your glass, squeeze a lime in the glass, add some ice, add beer. It was so delish in Costa Rica. The snow is making this excellent beach drink a total buzz kill. However, I will force myself to consume it.

Friends are coming up for the fruits of my labor this evening. OK. that's a bit overkill since I'm popping a pizza in the oven for the girls but us adults will be enjoying my soup.

Time for another beach cocktail. I will look at pictures of the beach while I am drinking the next one.

Since last Thursday I have put on a little less than 600 miles on my car. Less than I thought.

Halloween

I love Halloween. I always have. I love getting dressed up. I love going to Halloween parties. It's just a good time had by all. Well, not all. Last year I had to work and we had a murder mystery. I walked in and my manager was excited about the evening. She brought a costume and in walks JBP and he was already dressed up as a tennis pro. I got on the phone and had Jack bring down the Halloween costume box. He did as he was going trick or treating with the kids. One of my co-workers did NOT want to dress up. He wanted nothing to do with it and was getting more and more angry and cranky as we were all getting more and more excited. I met him in the wait room and sat down and had a heart to heart with him. I told him how happy and proud he would make me if he agreed to let ME decide on a costume for him. After all, he'll be the only one not dressed for Halloween. He really didn't have a choice. He was so mad. I had found my old maternity dress (two or three of us wore that thing as we were pregnant), it was still hanging up. He put it on. I had an old lady wig that he put on. I had my old school Keystone name tag from the 80's that said Inga. He pinned it to his dress. He had on black crew socks and black shoes and the dress came to just below his knees. He looked hysterical but he was not amused. He was a trooper and we all had so many laughs at his expense.
I've always dressed up in a goofy costume. My costumes are always pretty good. The past few years I've dressed up as the lunch lady and I help out in the lunchroom at school for the school party. Usually you can't tell who I am if I am going all out. Which I usually do. Since we have all graduated from elementary school we are free from that. It was fun but I won't miss it.

I moved to San Diego in 1987 for almost a year. It happened to be over Halloween. Naturally, we celebrated. We were invited to a party at some swanky house on the beach. Big bucks. I dressed up as a bag lady. I looked great as a bag lady. It was a good costume. Until we got to the party. There must have been 100 plus people there. There was not one bag lady costume, besides me, in the whole place. All of the girls were dressed up as sexy cats, playboy bunnies, sexy brides, there probably was even a sexy bag lady but I didn't know it was a bag lady. My self esteem was going downhill pretty fast. Jack was rubber necking all night and was thoroughly enjoying himself. I have to admit, I won't make that mistake again. Meaning, I won't move to San Diego again.
As Halloween is approaching, my girls are trying to decide what to be. Luckily, they haven't had the desire to dress up in anything sexy. They have inherited my costume thoughts. Hannah is thinking of being a box. Jordan wants to be something gross and scary. Jack, he wants nothing to do with it this year. Fine by me. It is usually cold and snowy anyway.
I'm sure I'll put on something ridiculous and get some good laughs. That's what it's all about to me. Laughing.

The pictures are from Halloween last year.

Gifted and Talented

If I hear one more parent tell me their child is gifted and talented, has been tested gifted and talented, is in a gifted and talented program, is in a gifted and talented class, thinks their child is actually gifted and talented, etc....

Congratulations on your gifted and talented children.

This is why I don't get along. I just can't jump on that band wagon. My kids are wonderful. I just gushed over them on my last blog. But, they are great at some things and not so much at others. I seem to get sucked into the parents that want to tell me about their gifted and talented kids. I didn't home school Jordan because she excelled beyond belief. We don't do theatre because she is gifted and talented. She just loves being on stage. Period. We don't want Hannah to join ski team because she is gifted and talented at skiing. She is an average skier who happens to love the sport. We are an average family who is trying our best to be a happy family and enjoy life.
Summit County seems to have many, many, many gifted and talented children and parents who love to tell us that.
Again, congrats to you. But hearing it is getting old.

However, have I told you about my gifted and talented dog, Teller? He truly is gifted and talented. In puppy preschool.............

Proud and Rolling in it.

Jack and I are proud parents tonight. It was parent teacher conferences and our girls ROCK!! Good grades, good attitudes, and good kids. Plus, I ran into a parent who gave me an incredible compliment about Jordan and how she behaved on the mission trip she attended a few weeks ago. According to the parent, Jordan was awesome on that trip. Of course, I don't give J the benefit of the doubt and when I hear there was some drama that she may have been involved in I just automatically lecture her on how she could have done better. This time, I was wrong. That is all I have to say. That parent quickly corrected me when I told her I had heard Jordan was up to shenanigans. I do believe my 14 year old is maturing and making some better choices every day. Don't get me wrong. I'm not letting my guard down on her but when I receive the compliments like we did tonight, I am thinking we are doing something right. And so much of this is because Jordan is doing many things right.
Sorry, enough gushing.
I love my daughters and I am so proud of them.

Surprise

I love surprises. I always have. The day started our pretty typical. Kids off to school and I had the house to myself to enjoy my coffee. I tackled some paperwork and cleaned the house up a little. I decided to run a few errands before I went to pick the girls up from the bus stop. Target got $100 of my money today. Darnit. Off to the bus stop. The girls got in the car and we were off for home. I decided to drive them up the hill since it was only 3 and I didn't work until 4. As I was driving them home my cell phone rang and it was my manager from work. I was about to lose cell phone service and she told me the restaurant was closed tonight so I didn't have to work. It was a nice surprise. The weather today cold, cloudy, snowy and it is the perfect night to go watch the girls at swim team and sit in the pool area where it is nice and warm. A bonus for me.

I Knew It

I knew it!!
Hannah finally admitted it. She misses Costa Rica. She is our kid that was giving us the what for every time we talked about moving there, while we were there. I remember one day in particular.
We had a typical day. We were staying in the nice house. We woke up, had coffee out front feeling the air getting hot. Took a swim. Went to beach and swam. Came back for lunch and ate and chilled out for awhile. Back to beach for whatever. Home for a cold beer and a swim. This is when Hannah let us have it. Jack and I were making plans all day. We were talking about getting back to Colorado and setting goals for us to get back to Costa Rica to live. How can we pull it off? What will we do about school? Work? Where do we live while we are building our place? All that stuff. Well, Hannah was listening to every word and did not like it one bit. Jack and I were sitting out by the pool and Hannah comes out and said she needed to talk to us. OK. Talk. She was mad. Really mad. She started off by staying we, as parents, could not move the family to Costa Rica. It just isn't fair that we would do that without everyone on board. She continued... Don't you realize what you are doing to us? We have no house here, no friends (not true), no school and I am not a beach girl. I am a mountain girl. I want to ski not surf. I'm over this heat and I'm over these bugs. I am bored here and we don't have a car. We can't live here because we just can't. I want to go home and stay home. My best friend is there and my school is there and everything is there. She went on and on while Jack and I listened and appreciated her anger and frustration with us. It was actually very impressive. By the end of her ranting and raving she was crying now, which was breaking my heart, and went inside to watch tv. Jack and I just looked at each other and we were both speechless. She had great points. Which makes this even more difficult. Do we actually gamble with our family this way??
Well, obviously nothing has happened and we are in Colorado. Still talking, still planning, still dreaming, still wanting to go back. Last night Hannah and I were making popcorn on the stove. We made a lot of popcorn while we were in the casita. It brought back great memories. Hannah and I were both in our own thoughts. I was thinking of the casita. Obviously she was too because she said, "Mom, I miss the casita. I miss Costa Rica" I looked at her and said, "did you just say you miss Costa Rica?" She said, "Yes, I do. I really do." I gave her a big hug and we both just laughed.
I can't wait to tell Jack. He left early this morning to buy chains for the plow truck. He's still not back yet.

My Walk

My walk tonight. Gorgeous!

Miles

I'm going to track my miles for this week.  A day in the life of Mountain Life in Colorado.  Having the girls take the bus to and from middle school has helped but not as much as I thought.  I still rack up those miles.  I'm guessing I put on about 400-500 miles/week running around.  For instance, yesterday I picked up the girls at their bus stop and drove home, which is about 8 to 10 miles from my house.  But first, I ran down to City Market for some food.  We got home, had some food and left again at 5:30.  I drove to the High School, aprox 15 miles one way, dropped Jordan off at swim team, drove Hannah over to confirmation, maybe 10 miles from high school to church, drove back to Frisco to have a glass of wine with a friend (priorities), drove back to pick Hannah up.  Meanwhile, Jordan got a ride to the front of Summit Cove and I met her there.  All in all I drove aprox 70 miles.  Guessing.
This will be good for me to see.  I'll set my odometer in the morning and start tracking. 
That said, I need new tires, a new windshield and I'll be set.  I'm looking at $550 for the windshield and $200/tire.  OUCH! 
We did see a moose on the way home the other night.  I didn't have my camera with me but I did take pictures from the phone.  I'll post them when I figure out how to get them off of my phone.  He/she was fairly large and not afraid of us.  We were pretty close to it and it just stood there chomping on grass staring back.  I'm still humming the theme song from "Northern Exposure".