Thursday, November 12, 2009
Changes
The tornado of change has torn through the St. Clair house. Time for rebuilding, and making some new choices. More to follow.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Treat others how you want to be treated...even in cyberspace
The idea that disrespect is okay…needs to stop NOW. I’m absolutely appalled at the events of the past week. When a respected congressman, shouts at the President of the United States during his address, what does the world think? The man might as well have punched Obama in the face on national television. When children who see figures like Serena Williams and Kanye West as role models for how to make their lives better, and then see them behave in such a manner and think that it’s allowable, what are we losing from our future? I read an article that the events of this week are going to start some nasty undercurrents of racist talk, and I agree with that to a degree. Do I think that these people may be racist? Very possibly, and especially in Kanye’s case. He has a history of outbursts related to the man keeping him down, and black people not being able to get ahead. I think Serena’s outburst was probably frustration because she was losing, and it was just another bad thing happening to her and she lost her temper. Still inexcusable. There are other ways to vent your frustration that doesn’t involve being watched by millions of impressionable people around the world.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Oatmeal at 5am
I've finally been hired on full time, so I figure I should show up at a reasonable hour, rather than an hour and a half to my show in the mornings. Thus, I am eating my oatmeal at...5:17 am. Fully awake right now, but just give it till after the show, and I will definitely be in need of an IV of coffee or straight caffeine.
So the grass seed I planted is pushing its way up through the peat moss. I love how green new grass is, before it's full grown and damaged by the elements. Still a pain because I have to water it at least twice a day. I'm really not looking forward to seeing our water bill this month.
Charlotte and Ham are both staring at me with the "will you finish your GD breakfast already or else give us the rest" look, so I best be finishing it and get ready for work. My goal is to be there before 630 today!
So the grass seed I planted is pushing its way up through the peat moss. I love how green new grass is, before it's full grown and damaged by the elements. Still a pain because I have to water it at least twice a day. I'm really not looking forward to seeing our water bill this month.
Charlotte and Ham are both staring at me with the "will you finish your GD breakfast already or else give us the rest" look, so I best be finishing it and get ready for work. My goal is to be there before 630 today!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The end of the rainbow
Despite all the pains that come with being a homeowner, there are definitely rewards.
We’ve had a string of good news at the St. Clair house. Yesterday, Luke, DeeDee and I put in our yard. Our backyard is now green, and half of our front yard is also green. Turns out we over-measured our backyard, and had half a pallet of sod left, so we put down some in the front as well! Now, once the seed on the side of the yard grows, we’ll actually have an attractive home here on 5th East. It was tiresome work. Not really hard, it just took a lot of time and there was a lot of bending and lifting. It was so worth it. I’ve been saving for this moment, and the money is definitely well spent. Check out my facebook for photos of the backyard. The only thing that sucks is we’re keeping the pets off the grass for a while as the roots establish. So we’re walking them out front to go pee. The bad part: Charlotte will NOT go to the bathroom on a leash unless you take her for a walk. Not real convenient in the mornings. I have a feeling they’ll be peeing in the back, we’re just going to have to go out with them to spray down their spot and pick up after them. That, or else I’ll be getting up pretty early and getting a lot of walking in during the day!
Next, I’m finally getting some news with work. I was FINALLY made a full time real person, with a raise, on Monday. This helps us out immensely, especially since we haven’t yet heard if Luke will get his job back with Amex. I was so happy at work yesterday I wanted to throw a party. This has been such a long time coming. I think I started training to be a producer in October of last year, and I’ve had my own show since March. Now, I’m finally paid to be a producer.
With that upgrade, my schedule will be changing. With the departure of our 5pm producer, and another of our producers going to Sports, we’ve got some holes to fill. So, starting in mid-September, I’ll be continuing my KJZZ morning show three days a week, but also be doing the 5 and 10pm shows on KUTV on the weekends. Yes, it sucks to be going back to weekends, but I consider this a stepping stone to get where I want. I’ll be writing a lot more. Also, there are no managers here on the weekends, so I’m ultimately responsible for deciding which news gets aired. That’s going to help a lot in building my news judgment and allow me to take on the bigger shows one day. It’s a sacrifice, but I’m not going to be on weekends forever. I’m still interested to see who gets the 5pm. I really would have at least liked to be considered, but what’s done is done. I’ve got a new adventure to take on.
We’re still waiting to hear about Luke’s job, and it’s driving us a little nuts. But, they should be announcing second interviews in the next week or so. From what he hears, if you get a second interview, it’s extremely likely you’ll be hired back. We’re crossing our fingers that our run of luck will continue through September. So far it’s shaping up to be a pretty good month!
We’ve had a string of good news at the St. Clair house. Yesterday, Luke, DeeDee and I put in our yard. Our backyard is now green, and half of our front yard is also green. Turns out we over-measured our backyard, and had half a pallet of sod left, so we put down some in the front as well! Now, once the seed on the side of the yard grows, we’ll actually have an attractive home here on 5th East. It was tiresome work. Not really hard, it just took a lot of time and there was a lot of bending and lifting. It was so worth it. I’ve been saving for this moment, and the money is definitely well spent. Check out my facebook for photos of the backyard. The only thing that sucks is we’re keeping the pets off the grass for a while as the roots establish. So we’re walking them out front to go pee. The bad part: Charlotte will NOT go to the bathroom on a leash unless you take her for a walk. Not real convenient in the mornings. I have a feeling they’ll be peeing in the back, we’re just going to have to go out with them to spray down their spot and pick up after them. That, or else I’ll be getting up pretty early and getting a lot of walking in during the day!
Next, I’m finally getting some news with work. I was FINALLY made a full time real person, with a raise, on Monday. This helps us out immensely, especially since we haven’t yet heard if Luke will get his job back with Amex. I was so happy at work yesterday I wanted to throw a party. This has been such a long time coming. I think I started training to be a producer in October of last year, and I’ve had my own show since March. Now, I’m finally paid to be a producer.
With that upgrade, my schedule will be changing. With the departure of our 5pm producer, and another of our producers going to Sports, we’ve got some holes to fill. So, starting in mid-September, I’ll be continuing my KJZZ morning show three days a week, but also be doing the 5 and 10pm shows on KUTV on the weekends. Yes, it sucks to be going back to weekends, but I consider this a stepping stone to get where I want. I’ll be writing a lot more. Also, there are no managers here on the weekends, so I’m ultimately responsible for deciding which news gets aired. That’s going to help a lot in building my news judgment and allow me to take on the bigger shows one day. It’s a sacrifice, but I’m not going to be on weekends forever. I’m still interested to see who gets the 5pm. I really would have at least liked to be considered, but what’s done is done. I’ve got a new adventure to take on.
We’re still waiting to hear about Luke’s job, and it’s driving us a little nuts. But, they should be announcing second interviews in the next week or so. From what he hears, if you get a second interview, it’s extremely likely you’ll be hired back. We’re crossing our fingers that our run of luck will continue through September. So far it’s shaping up to be a pretty good month!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Blisters, Sod, and Random Acts of Kindness
When we bought our house, it had been sitting vacant for about a year. As a result, the yard was overgrown with goat head sticker weeds, and all grass had been erradicated. We've picked at it all summer, but I decided we've got to do something about the weeds and grow some grass in the front before the cold weather hits. This way, we'll have nice grass when spring comes again.
So Wednesday afternoon, I came home from work and got out the shovel, and started hacking away at the strip of weeds between the sidewalk and the driveway. It was hot, and the work was hard. I don't know why, but I forgot to put on gloves. Soon, after clearing only a 2'x3' square, I got tired and got a monster blister. I threw down my shovel and went inside to rest a while. Eventually, I started reading a book and fell asleep on the couch.
Well, as I was working earlier, there was a guy with a backhoe across the street delivering some rock to the neighbor's house. We talked a little, he asked if I was putting in grass, and if he wanted me to have him scrape the yard for me. I told him no, but thanks. When I woke up from my nap, I looked out the window, and the entire side yard of my house was swept clean of weeds, with three piles of dirt and tortuous stickers. I couldn't believe it. Out of the kindness of his heart, he scraped my yard once he'd finished his rock delivery.
It was just such a wonderful thing. Luke and I have experienced a lot of roadblocks and hardships in the past few weeks with his layoff notice, and all the crap going on at my work, and barely scraping by to pay the bills. It was just so nice to look out and see I don't have to work my tail off for once. All I can say is God is good, and does help you out from time to time.
Luke and I spent the rest of the night moving the remaining dirt to under the pine tree out front, where it will progressively get dumped into the trash. But it's done! It would have taken me a lot of time and hard labor to get those weeds gone. So this weekend, Luke and I are finally going to put down grass seed in the front and our house won't look like the scum of the neighborhood. The dogs will now be OK with jumping out of the car on the driver's side, with no fear of landing on stickers!
Tonight, I'll finish prepping the back yard for sod. We decided that the dogs would tear up seed, so we're biting the bullet and putting in sod in the back. It'll be nice to actually have a nice yard where the dogs can lay down in cool grass, and I can sit on the deck and look out on a nice green turf, rather than a dirt pit dotted with dog poo. It's going to be a tough, laborious weekend, but it's going to be such a great workout, and the finished product will be so worth it!
So Wednesday afternoon, I came home from work and got out the shovel, and started hacking away at the strip of weeds between the sidewalk and the driveway. It was hot, and the work was hard. I don't know why, but I forgot to put on gloves. Soon, after clearing only a 2'x3' square, I got tired and got a monster blister. I threw down my shovel and went inside to rest a while. Eventually, I started reading a book and fell asleep on the couch.
Well, as I was working earlier, there was a guy with a backhoe across the street delivering some rock to the neighbor's house. We talked a little, he asked if I was putting in grass, and if he wanted me to have him scrape the yard for me. I told him no, but thanks. When I woke up from my nap, I looked out the window, and the entire side yard of my house was swept clean of weeds, with three piles of dirt and tortuous stickers. I couldn't believe it. Out of the kindness of his heart, he scraped my yard once he'd finished his rock delivery.
It was just such a wonderful thing. Luke and I have experienced a lot of roadblocks and hardships in the past few weeks with his layoff notice, and all the crap going on at my work, and barely scraping by to pay the bills. It was just so nice to look out and see I don't have to work my tail off for once. All I can say is God is good, and does help you out from time to time.
Luke and I spent the rest of the night moving the remaining dirt to under the pine tree out front, where it will progressively get dumped into the trash. But it's done! It would have taken me a lot of time and hard labor to get those weeds gone. So this weekend, Luke and I are finally going to put down grass seed in the front and our house won't look like the scum of the neighborhood. The dogs will now be OK with jumping out of the car on the driver's side, with no fear of landing on stickers!
Tonight, I'll finish prepping the back yard for sod. We decided that the dogs would tear up seed, so we're biting the bullet and putting in sod in the back. It'll be nice to actually have a nice yard where the dogs can lay down in cool grass, and I can sit on the deck and look out on a nice green turf, rather than a dirt pit dotted with dog poo. It's going to be a tough, laborious weekend, but it's going to be such a great workout, and the finished product will be so worth it!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Time for some steadiness
Yet another weekend interrupted. We went to Wendover for some fun time before Luke went back to school. It started great! We got a comped room at Montego (which has been nicely remodeled) and gambled till 3am. Then, about 9am, I get a call. It's work, and one of the producers has called in. *sigh* So we get all packed up and drive right back to Salt Lake, where I end up working one of the most action packed nights of my life thus far at KUTV. An officer-involved shooting, a police chase of 4 wanted escapees from Wyoming, and then, 30 minutes before the 10pm show, some guy knocks on the door of this house and blows away the father and wounds the mother in front of their kids.
I've just been super stressed out the last week or so, and it's showing in my attitude. I desperately need some steadiness, especially at work. I think everyone does. All the producers are up and down and here and there. Practically no one is working their own show while we wait for a decision on who the 5pm producer will be. Everyone is super stressed, and the newsroom doesn't feel like it used to. I think everyone's a little jaded at the changes that have happened over the last year, and it's showing. It's high time things got settled, and we could get back into the regular routine of work. I think it will make things a lot better.
In the meantime, some good news: John is coming to visit! He's flying out for a week in October, and we're taking him to Yellowstone. Luke and I had booked a room at the Old Faithful Inn, kind of as just a nice, cheap getaway for the two of us a couple months ago. Then Mom hinted to John that we were going, and he asked if he could come visit and go with us. Of course we said yes, and so now he's coming and we're going to have a great time. Lots of pressure with this visit, because he's also checking out SLC as a potential new home. He's kind of tired of TN, and has considered coming out here for a change, since Luke and I are here as a support system. Now I've got to find lots of things for him to do to show that he'd have a good time living here. Any ideas, let me know!
I guess with John's impending visit, and Luke at school a few nights a week, I have a lot of time to myself to get the house all fixed up. I had a dream last night that I was prepping the front yard for seed. I guess I should work on that tonight after work, so that I can start getting the seed in soon and it can grow before it gets too cold. I can't believe it's almost September! I may cheat and see if I have the money to go get sod. Perhaps I'll call for some quotes today. I'll still have to hack away at the weeds before I can lay sod, but then I won't have to wait for the stuff to grow. I suppose it's good exercise.
I've just been super stressed out the last week or so, and it's showing in my attitude. I desperately need some steadiness, especially at work. I think everyone does. All the producers are up and down and here and there. Practically no one is working their own show while we wait for a decision on who the 5pm producer will be. Everyone is super stressed, and the newsroom doesn't feel like it used to. I think everyone's a little jaded at the changes that have happened over the last year, and it's showing. It's high time things got settled, and we could get back into the regular routine of work. I think it will make things a lot better.
In the meantime, some good news: John is coming to visit! He's flying out for a week in October, and we're taking him to Yellowstone. Luke and I had booked a room at the Old Faithful Inn, kind of as just a nice, cheap getaway for the two of us a couple months ago. Then Mom hinted to John that we were going, and he asked if he could come visit and go with us. Of course we said yes, and so now he's coming and we're going to have a great time. Lots of pressure with this visit, because he's also checking out SLC as a potential new home. He's kind of tired of TN, and has considered coming out here for a change, since Luke and I are here as a support system. Now I've got to find lots of things for him to do to show that he'd have a good time living here. Any ideas, let me know!
I guess with John's impending visit, and Luke at school a few nights a week, I have a lot of time to myself to get the house all fixed up. I had a dream last night that I was prepping the front yard for seed. I guess I should work on that tonight after work, so that I can start getting the seed in soon and it can grow before it gets too cold. I can't believe it's almost September! I may cheat and see if I have the money to go get sod. Perhaps I'll call for some quotes today. I'll still have to hack away at the weeds before I can lay sod, but then I won't have to wait for the stuff to grow. I suppose it's good exercise.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Wanderer
Sometimes, life is blissfully dull. The routine of daily life becomes a welcome change from chaos and stress. I’m not one of those who usually welcome the boring, repetitive life (with the exception of my last year of college), but I find that sometimes I wish I could be content to live simply.
It’s really frustrating to want so much out of life, and to have to continually work hard to get what you want, and you don’t always succeed. Sometimes it takes a REALLY long time to get where you want to go. Sometimes, you give up for a while, because the wanting of the thing isn’t enough to override the stress and heartache of not having it. But you always pick it back up later, because it’s worth it. I have such wanderlust in me, that staying in one place seems impossible.
Restlessness of spirit seems to be one of my very core characteristics, that isn’t ever going to go away. And so, while I struggle to get where I want, get the job I need so I can afford to go the places I want, I settle. I find the joys in the routine, and try to relax.
It’s time for another trip already.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Race with your Dog!
I've found the perfect race for me to start out training for! A few times now I've told myself to start training for a marathon, because it'll help me lose weight and be a great accomplishment. I'm seeing now I need to start out with something a little easier, and build my way up. I'm in no way a great runner, nor have I ever been, but someday I'd like to be. So, I found a 5K race that happens the first Saturday in October (perfect weather!), AND...they let you run with your dog! How awesome is that!
Check it out and let's run this one together! http://www.dogrundog.com/race-locations/DogRunDogSaltLakeCity.htm
Check it out and let's run this one together! http://www.dogrundog.com/race-locations/DogRunDogSaltLakeCity.htm
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Not so in "Love"
There’s a new show on Fox I’m going to take issue with for a minute here. Now, being a loyal Bachelor/Bachelorette follower, I’m addicted to watching the process of one person pick from a plethora of people to try and find love. However, I have to say I will not be tuning in to More to Love this season. There’s a couple reasons. First, the guy they picked, from what I’ve seen, is a total schmuck. He’s already making out with girls, has these super cheesy lines, and overall leaves me feeling a bit slimy and wanting to run away from my TV.
Second, I really take issue with the “real women” they portray on this show. I understand the average size in women is 12 in this country. I’m all for showing people that are “average.” But I would not qualify these women as average. 230 pounds is not the average woman. Not only that, but they degrade these women and make it all about the weight issue by showing their eye-popping weight every time they flash their name. We get it, they’re fat. You don’t need to humiliate them more. Plus, they’re all really needy and desperate. So many of the women are crying in interviews because they can’t get dates, they just want to find love, etc. WAKE UP! This is not just because you’re fat! It’s because you have no self-esteem! Even the skinniest, hottest of women are going to have trouble finding or holding on to a man if they’re not confident in who they are. This show is not giving women good role models to look up to.
Thirdly, and I think most important, as a nation becoming shockingly more obese, I very much disagree with glorifying being overweight. It is NOT ok to be obese, not for the image issue, but in terms of health. I’m sure the doctors of these women have told them multiple times they need to lose weight, or they risk preventable illnesses like diabetes, shortened life span, and heart disease, which is the number one killer of women. We should NOT be saying it’s OK to be this heavy. We NEED to turn around America’s lazy habits and get back out and active again. If you’re going to do a show featuring obese people, the only ones I would watch are ones that inspire me to change my lifestyle, such as the Biggest Loser. I think that’s why I like the Bachelor/Bachelorette. Yes these women are really skinny, but they are also healthy and not sweating their makeup off at cocktail parties. They make me want to be like them. It inspires me to change my lifestyle and try to be healthier, go to the gym regularly, and make sure I put my best foot forward to the world. The laziness in America has got to stop. Shows like More to Love are not going to affect change. The only positive I could see coming from this is seeing that women can be heavy and date, thereby giving heavier women more confidence, or else they see these women, and can relate to their weight, and it inspires them to start being healthier, because they see the story of their lives on the screen.
I’ll be interested to see what ratings come in on this show.
Second, I really take issue with the “real women” they portray on this show. I understand the average size in women is 12 in this country. I’m all for showing people that are “average.” But I would not qualify these women as average. 230 pounds is not the average woman. Not only that, but they degrade these women and make it all about the weight issue by showing their eye-popping weight every time they flash their name. We get it, they’re fat. You don’t need to humiliate them more. Plus, they’re all really needy and desperate. So many of the women are crying in interviews because they can’t get dates, they just want to find love, etc. WAKE UP! This is not just because you’re fat! It’s because you have no self-esteem! Even the skinniest, hottest of women are going to have trouble finding or holding on to a man if they’re not confident in who they are. This show is not giving women good role models to look up to.
Thirdly, and I think most important, as a nation becoming shockingly more obese, I very much disagree with glorifying being overweight. It is NOT ok to be obese, not for the image issue, but in terms of health. I’m sure the doctors of these women have told them multiple times they need to lose weight, or they risk preventable illnesses like diabetes, shortened life span, and heart disease, which is the number one killer of women. We should NOT be saying it’s OK to be this heavy. We NEED to turn around America’s lazy habits and get back out and active again. If you’re going to do a show featuring obese people, the only ones I would watch are ones that inspire me to change my lifestyle, such as the Biggest Loser. I think that’s why I like the Bachelor/Bachelorette. Yes these women are really skinny, but they are also healthy and not sweating their makeup off at cocktail parties. They make me want to be like them. It inspires me to change my lifestyle and try to be healthier, go to the gym regularly, and make sure I put my best foot forward to the world. The laziness in America has got to stop. Shows like More to Love are not going to affect change. The only positive I could see coming from this is seeing that women can be heavy and date, thereby giving heavier women more confidence, or else they see these women, and can relate to their weight, and it inspires them to start being healthier, because they see the story of their lives on the screen.
I’ll be interested to see what ratings come in on this show.
Monday, July 27, 2009
And so it ends....
Well, we ran, we hid, we ignored. And it still caught up with us. The Economy.
Tomorrow, Luke has an "organizational update" meeting. Code for "we're doing layoffs." It doesn't look good right now. Word on the street is that the entire department is getting laid off, and then they will have to reapply for a certain amount of jobs that are left. I suppose this is better than cutting based on seniority, because it means he still has a fighting chance to continue working for his company. But still, we never thought we'd be on the verge of this predicament.
And yet, there's a bright spot. My boss just announced our 5pm producer is leaving to take a job in Sacramento. I couldn't reply that I was interested fast enough. Granted, I've got a lot of competition for this position. This is one of the only normal shifts you'll find in the newsroom. You're in at 8:30 and you leave right after the 5pm is done. I have a feeling most, if not all, the AM overnight producers are gunning for this one, as well as some of the late shift people. Frankly, I don't care what I get, I'll take a show vacated by another producer who's being moved to the 5pm. It would just be nice to get back into news!
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my show. I love that I get to be creative, rather than just reporting the news. I get to have more of an agenda than the other shows, and book talent that I think is important for our viewers. This also carries some headaches: guests cancelling at the last minute, constantly racking your brain for fresh material, and intricate, detailed, well organized planning to make sure people are here on the right days, at the right times, and that the crew has all the information they need to get set up for the show. It would be so nice to just put commands into a rundown and be done with it.
On some happier news, the weekend was great! It was actually one of the most eventful weekends we've had in a long time. We spent the evening of Pioneer Day at Luke's cousin Dave's house, which is a block from Liberty Park. We ate yummy ribs, tried to stay cool, and watched the fireworks from his backyard. Saturday we took the dogs up Millcreek Canyon and had a picnic at Dog Lake. A few things: first, never put your sandwiches in the back pocket of the backpack...they will squish and get super soggy; next, Charlotte can swim! Though she prefers just to stand and lollop in the water; finally, just because the internet says there's only an altitude gain of 900 feet over 2 miles means nothing. Needless to say, my butt still hurts from the steep trek back down the mountain, while Luke's calves are killing him. No exercise for us until those heal a bit.
Saturday night Dave invited us to see one of my all-time favorite movies at the Tower Theater: The Godfather. I've seen this movie dozens of times, but never on the big screen. And never at midnight after a day of hiking. Even with a latte, it still took a lot to stay awake through 3 hours of family dynamics and the inner workings of the powerful Corleone crime family. It was so much fun though, there's a lot of things you miss in the movie when you watch it on the small screen. But I can't remember the last time I was up at 3am when I wasn't at work. I'm gradually accepting that I'm turning into an old fogey who can't handle late nights anymore.
Sunday was nice. Just trying to stay cool, reading, a little laundry, a lot of relaxing. I love Sundays, and I love them even more when the weather isn't 100 degrees so I can do some of the things I like without dying of heat stroke. I'm so ready for my favorite season: Fall! So long as Luke has a job, we're off to Yellowstone in October, right before they start closing roads. I'm so excited! It's my most favorite place on earth, I can't get enough. And this time....we're staying at the Old Faithful Inn, just him and me :) I can't wait! Let's just hope and pray everything career-wise will turn out OK for us.
Tomorrow, Luke has an "organizational update" meeting. Code for "we're doing layoffs." It doesn't look good right now. Word on the street is that the entire department is getting laid off, and then they will have to reapply for a certain amount of jobs that are left. I suppose this is better than cutting based on seniority, because it means he still has a fighting chance to continue working for his company. But still, we never thought we'd be on the verge of this predicament.
And yet, there's a bright spot. My boss just announced our 5pm producer is leaving to take a job in Sacramento. I couldn't reply that I was interested fast enough. Granted, I've got a lot of competition for this position. This is one of the only normal shifts you'll find in the newsroom. You're in at 8:30 and you leave right after the 5pm is done. I have a feeling most, if not all, the AM overnight producers are gunning for this one, as well as some of the late shift people. Frankly, I don't care what I get, I'll take a show vacated by another producer who's being moved to the 5pm. It would just be nice to get back into news!
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my show. I love that I get to be creative, rather than just reporting the news. I get to have more of an agenda than the other shows, and book talent that I think is important for our viewers. This also carries some headaches: guests cancelling at the last minute, constantly racking your brain for fresh material, and intricate, detailed, well organized planning to make sure people are here on the right days, at the right times, and that the crew has all the information they need to get set up for the show. It would be so nice to just put commands into a rundown and be done with it.
On some happier news, the weekend was great! It was actually one of the most eventful weekends we've had in a long time. We spent the evening of Pioneer Day at Luke's cousin Dave's house, which is a block from Liberty Park. We ate yummy ribs, tried to stay cool, and watched the fireworks from his backyard. Saturday we took the dogs up Millcreek Canyon and had a picnic at Dog Lake. A few things: first, never put your sandwiches in the back pocket of the backpack...they will squish and get super soggy; next, Charlotte can swim! Though she prefers just to stand and lollop in the water; finally, just because the internet says there's only an altitude gain of 900 feet over 2 miles means nothing. Needless to say, my butt still hurts from the steep trek back down the mountain, while Luke's calves are killing him. No exercise for us until those heal a bit.
Saturday night Dave invited us to see one of my all-time favorite movies at the Tower Theater: The Godfather. I've seen this movie dozens of times, but never on the big screen. And never at midnight after a day of hiking. Even with a latte, it still took a lot to stay awake through 3 hours of family dynamics and the inner workings of the powerful Corleone crime family. It was so much fun though, there's a lot of things you miss in the movie when you watch it on the small screen. But I can't remember the last time I was up at 3am when I wasn't at work. I'm gradually accepting that I'm turning into an old fogey who can't handle late nights anymore.
Sunday was nice. Just trying to stay cool, reading, a little laundry, a lot of relaxing. I love Sundays, and I love them even more when the weather isn't 100 degrees so I can do some of the things I like without dying of heat stroke. I'm so ready for my favorite season: Fall! So long as Luke has a job, we're off to Yellowstone in October, right before they start closing roads. I'm so excited! It's my most favorite place on earth, I can't get enough. And this time....we're staying at the Old Faithful Inn, just him and me :) I can't wait! Let's just hope and pray everything career-wise will turn out OK for us.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Hooray for Slurpees
Luke and I bought a house without air conditioning. It hasn't been a bad thing...until now. Most of the evening, I want to sit outside, because it's cooler on the deck than it is in the house, despite the fact we have fans going and every window is open.
Now, the house did come with a swamp cooler. Yesterday, Luke took the day off, and he said he would look into why it wasn't turning on. So when the house reached 90 yesterday afternoon, I asked, "did you look at the swamp cooler?" Of course, he hadn't. So I go over to the thing, and there's a switch on the wall as well as on the cooler. I switch both of them on, and cool relief wafts through the house. AHHHH! Apparently he didn't see the switch on the wall.
When it's this hot, the only thing that really satisfies (other than a dunk under the hose) is a Slurpee. Conveniently, there's one just down the street! That cool slurpee goodness is definitely getting us through these hot summer days. I miss the pool we had at the condo. I might have to get a kiddie pool out in the yard.
We went to Pueblo for the holiday weekend and had a great time. It was good to see some family, as I haven't seen any of my relations since December. I'm really hoping John decides to move out here, not only for his sake, but for mine. After a while, it really sucks to be so far away from the people you love. As I get older, the more important family becomes to me and the more I want us all to be in the same town again. It's a bit heartbreaking to see the Shirley compound, because even though we're family, you can't help but feel like an outsider. They've spent their whole lives together, and we've only been down during the summers and for some holidays. The atmosphere is also different than it used to be. Between losing Grandpa two years ago and Gramma's stroke, a lot of the laughter has dissipated. Perhaps one day it will be the same again. We do have reason to celebrate though, as my cousin is about to have her second child! It's those times I wish I was a lot closer. Luke and I have talked and moving to Denver may seriously be in the 5 year plan. We'll see what happens.
Sad to come back to work, but I do like my job. Just wish I had more time on vacation and less time driving to vacation!
Now, the house did come with a swamp cooler. Yesterday, Luke took the day off, and he said he would look into why it wasn't turning on. So when the house reached 90 yesterday afternoon, I asked, "did you look at the swamp cooler?" Of course, he hadn't. So I go over to the thing, and there's a switch on the wall as well as on the cooler. I switch both of them on, and cool relief wafts through the house. AHHHH! Apparently he didn't see the switch on the wall.
When it's this hot, the only thing that really satisfies (other than a dunk under the hose) is a Slurpee. Conveniently, there's one just down the street! That cool slurpee goodness is definitely getting us through these hot summer days. I miss the pool we had at the condo. I might have to get a kiddie pool out in the yard.
We went to Pueblo for the holiday weekend and had a great time. It was good to see some family, as I haven't seen any of my relations since December. I'm really hoping John decides to move out here, not only for his sake, but for mine. After a while, it really sucks to be so far away from the people you love. As I get older, the more important family becomes to me and the more I want us all to be in the same town again. It's a bit heartbreaking to see the Shirley compound, because even though we're family, you can't help but feel like an outsider. They've spent their whole lives together, and we've only been down during the summers and for some holidays. The atmosphere is also different than it used to be. Between losing Grandpa two years ago and Gramma's stroke, a lot of the laughter has dissipated. Perhaps one day it will be the same again. We do have reason to celebrate though, as my cousin is about to have her second child! It's those times I wish I was a lot closer. Luke and I have talked and moving to Denver may seriously be in the 5 year plan. We'll see what happens.
Sad to come back to work, but I do like my job. Just wish I had more time on vacation and less time driving to vacation!
Friday, June 19, 2009
A break in the rain
It was a gorgeous day today, and not a drop of rain. SO nice, but I have enjoyed the rain these past few weeks. I don't have to water as much, but the yard does need some weeding and a good mow. Hopefully the rain holds off tomorrow morning so I can get some work done, and maybe put down some grass seed. I figure I should take advantage of the free water and regrow my backyard.
Not a whole lot has been going on in the St. Clair household. Luke and I are both headed back to school in the fall. Luke's headed for his masters in accounting, but has to do some undergrad catchup classes. I was going for respiratory therapy, but the only school that offers it is Weber. Don't think I'll be commuting, so I've decided on radiation technology. If working in news has taught me anything, it's that the health care industry will always need workers, and that people in TV get paid next to nothing. With this under my belt, we'll be a bit better off, so we can go travel as much as we want! That means New York!
Our next adventure is to Denver for 4th of July. We decided to go spend some time with my family in Pueblo, and we're stopping in Denver to look around, as Luke's never been. Should be fun! In the meantime, it's hiking when the sun is out, and doing little things around the house when it's raining. It's been so nice not to have 100 degree temps all month, I'm kind of sad it's about to get hot!
Not a whole lot has been going on in the St. Clair household. Luke and I are both headed back to school in the fall. Luke's headed for his masters in accounting, but has to do some undergrad catchup classes. I was going for respiratory therapy, but the only school that offers it is Weber. Don't think I'll be commuting, so I've decided on radiation technology. If working in news has taught me anything, it's that the health care industry will always need workers, and that people in TV get paid next to nothing. With this under my belt, we'll be a bit better off, so we can go travel as much as we want! That means New York!
Our next adventure is to Denver for 4th of July. We decided to go spend some time with my family in Pueblo, and we're stopping in Denver to look around, as Luke's never been. Should be fun! In the meantime, it's hiking when the sun is out, and doing little things around the house when it's raining. It's been so nice not to have 100 degree temps all month, I'm kind of sad it's about to get hot!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Here Comes the Sun
We’ve finally hit a point in the weather here in Salt Lake where the chill of winter is finally dying, killed by a jealous sun who wants to be celebrated by a city jaded by overcast skies plagued with inversion, combined with scraping, slipping, and supersized coats. This weekend, I don’t think I was inside for more than 2 hours, except to sleep, or shop at Home Depot, and even that was mostly outside in the garden department.
This is our first spring at our new home, and so we’re seeing what pops up in the yard as the ground thaws. The good things…tulips, grass in the front yard, some grass in the back yard. The bad things…goat-head thorns, dandelions galore, crab grass, spots of nothing in the back yard, and just weeds in general filling the side yard and flower bed. Luckily, I survived the weekend with only one blister, and the dry skin can easily be healed with some lotion. My body’s not too sore, just a little tight in the hamstrings. Surprisingly, my back doesn’t hurt at all, despite lifting brick after brick off the Home Depot shelf into the cart, and then into the car, and then onto my sidewalk, and into the dirt.
So here are the projects I did accomplish. I’ve never been a serious gardener, and in my life have tended to just give up and leave projects that require too much energy, especially physically. But the sun seemed to act as if I had Kryptonian blood in my veins, fueling me to continue my battle against the ever-encroaching weeds. I put in a rose garden next to the garage, complete with brick edging and black mulch. It’s lovely, but the not-so-lovely part included hours of shoveling and pulling the weeds up, making sure all roots were apprehended so as not to invade into my lovely garden. Also, there was the dispensing ant poison so they don’t eat my lovely roses once they bloom.
Once that project was finished, then began the weeding of the flower garden next to the porch. Oh my. This made the rose garden look easy, because at least then I could just shovel everything out. THIS was more of a challenge, as there are lovely things growing in with the weeds, things with very delicate root structures, so I had to use my hands and gingerly pull things that were choking out the flowers. This took a good 2 days, and I’m still not completely finished. I did manage to edge the garden with more brick, and plant my bleeding hearts. Today’s project entails more weeding, and then finally planting my strawberries, columbine (which I think today is a fitting day to do it, considering it’s the 10th anniversary of that tragedy. I have pictures of the aftermath since we used to live there, but they’re in Tennessee in a box somewhere, with a lot of other things I left when I moved back to Utah), buckets of gold, and snapdragons.
Sunday was perhaps the prettiest day of all. After doing some yard work, Luke and I took the dogs to Tanner Park, an off-leash dog park highly recommended by Luke’s cousin Dave. All I can say is that place has to be the doggie equivalent of the Elysian Fields. It’s this huge area in between these benches (if you’re not from Utah, the benches are geological parts of land elevation and valleys created by the faults here) that has a stream running down from Parley’s canyon and lots of forested area with trails for sniffing and chasing tails. It was vast, and even if your dog took off, you’d be chasing them a long time before they reached any sort of area of peril. We learned Charlotte is a cautious water dog, who accidentally fell in the river (which was running high and cold with spring run-off from the mountains) but enjoyed wading around. Ham, on the other hand, won’t even get his paws wet, but got close enough for a drink. We walked so far, the dogs slept the rest of the day when we got home. It was wonderful, and I hope to make that a weekly event. The only thing I didn’t like was all the people. I guess I have to think of this place as primarily for dogs to socialize and play, and not to escape the grind of the city. That’s what the mountain trails are for.
I’m looking forward to temps hitting the 80s this week, but I’d prefer if that’s where they stayed all summer. On another note, Luke and I are going to start training for the Vegas Half Marathon. After watching the marathoners run by the house Saturday morning, it was great motivation to see these people, who had run 20 miles by the time they got to us, pushing on. Plus, it’s a great way to lose weight, as I think we saw only 2 guys who were a little heavier. So, I’m starting 2 miles a day 5 days a week today, and we’ll see what happens. I’ve got like 7 months to train, so I don’t think it will be too bad.
What a wonderful weekend!
This is our first spring at our new home, and so we’re seeing what pops up in the yard as the ground thaws. The good things…tulips, grass in the front yard, some grass in the back yard. The bad things…goat-head thorns, dandelions galore, crab grass, spots of nothing in the back yard, and just weeds in general filling the side yard and flower bed. Luckily, I survived the weekend with only one blister, and the dry skin can easily be healed with some lotion. My body’s not too sore, just a little tight in the hamstrings. Surprisingly, my back doesn’t hurt at all, despite lifting brick after brick off the Home Depot shelf into the cart, and then into the car, and then onto my sidewalk, and into the dirt.
So here are the projects I did accomplish. I’ve never been a serious gardener, and in my life have tended to just give up and leave projects that require too much energy, especially physically. But the sun seemed to act as if I had Kryptonian blood in my veins, fueling me to continue my battle against the ever-encroaching weeds. I put in a rose garden next to the garage, complete with brick edging and black mulch. It’s lovely, but the not-so-lovely part included hours of shoveling and pulling the weeds up, making sure all roots were apprehended so as not to invade into my lovely garden. Also, there was the dispensing ant poison so they don’t eat my lovely roses once they bloom.
Once that project was finished, then began the weeding of the flower garden next to the porch. Oh my. This made the rose garden look easy, because at least then I could just shovel everything out. THIS was more of a challenge, as there are lovely things growing in with the weeds, things with very delicate root structures, so I had to use my hands and gingerly pull things that were choking out the flowers. This took a good 2 days, and I’m still not completely finished. I did manage to edge the garden with more brick, and plant my bleeding hearts. Today’s project entails more weeding, and then finally planting my strawberries, columbine (which I think today is a fitting day to do it, considering it’s the 10th anniversary of that tragedy. I have pictures of the aftermath since we used to live there, but they’re in Tennessee in a box somewhere, with a lot of other things I left when I moved back to Utah), buckets of gold, and snapdragons.
Sunday was perhaps the prettiest day of all. After doing some yard work, Luke and I took the dogs to Tanner Park, an off-leash dog park highly recommended by Luke’s cousin Dave. All I can say is that place has to be the doggie equivalent of the Elysian Fields. It’s this huge area in between these benches (if you’re not from Utah, the benches are geological parts of land elevation and valleys created by the faults here) that has a stream running down from Parley’s canyon and lots of forested area with trails for sniffing and chasing tails. It was vast, and even if your dog took off, you’d be chasing them a long time before they reached any sort of area of peril. We learned Charlotte is a cautious water dog, who accidentally fell in the river (which was running high and cold with spring run-off from the mountains) but enjoyed wading around. Ham, on the other hand, won’t even get his paws wet, but got close enough for a drink. We walked so far, the dogs slept the rest of the day when we got home. It was wonderful, and I hope to make that a weekly event. The only thing I didn’t like was all the people. I guess I have to think of this place as primarily for dogs to socialize and play, and not to escape the grind of the city. That’s what the mountain trails are for.
I’m looking forward to temps hitting the 80s this week, but I’d prefer if that’s where they stayed all summer. On another note, Luke and I are going to start training for the Vegas Half Marathon. After watching the marathoners run by the house Saturday morning, it was great motivation to see these people, who had run 20 miles by the time they got to us, pushing on. Plus, it’s a great way to lose weight, as I think we saw only 2 guys who were a little heavier. So, I’m starting 2 miles a day 5 days a week today, and we’ll see what happens. I’ve got like 7 months to train, so I don’t think it will be too bad.
What a wonderful weekend!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The Dog Park
After a busy Saturday, Luke and I decided today was Veg Day. I got bored and decided it was a good day to take Charlotte to the dog park. I thought she would be more well behaved, knowing how Ham likes to bark and gets so excited.
So Charlotte and I went, and she was so nervous, she was drooling the whole time, making it look like she was rabid. After about 45 minutes of walking around and sniffing other dogs, she finally would chase the tennis ball. All in all, I was very impressed with her, save the few minor incidents of jumping on people. Apparently she is more enamored with people than her own species.
We saw two puggles at the park, and after Char being so shy, I thought, maybe this is more Ham's speed. So I came home and hooked Ham up to go. He was doing his nervous barking when we pulled in, and was pulling on his leash to get into the park. But as soon as he was in and the leash came off, he got quiet, and didn't leave my side the entire time we were there. For those of you that know Ham, it was like he turned into his good twin. You'd have thought I had the poor dog on sedatives. He drooled the entire time out of nervousness, and every time a dog came near, he lowered his tail and tried to hide behind me.
I have NEVER seen my dogs so chicken around people or other animals! It was like they were overwhelmed by the euphoria of dog park, and didn't really know what to do. Hopefully next week they'll do better and actually play with the other dogs. I think I'm going to take them both at the same time, because if they're this chicken, I'll have no problem handling both of them.
There's definitely the variety of dogs at that park, and it amazes me that they all get along so well. When I took Ham, this guy brought these two giant Bull Mastiffs (they were sooo cute!) and this little dog came up to one of them and started barking, and this mastiff just cowered to the ground. It was so funny! But there wasn't a single fight, not much barking, and just a good time. We need more of these places around the valley. I'm thinking this is going to be a Sunday ritual for us, one I think the dogs will love us for.
So Charlotte and I went, and she was so nervous, she was drooling the whole time, making it look like she was rabid. After about 45 minutes of walking around and sniffing other dogs, she finally would chase the tennis ball. All in all, I was very impressed with her, save the few minor incidents of jumping on people. Apparently she is more enamored with people than her own species.
We saw two puggles at the park, and after Char being so shy, I thought, maybe this is more Ham's speed. So I came home and hooked Ham up to go. He was doing his nervous barking when we pulled in, and was pulling on his leash to get into the park. But as soon as he was in and the leash came off, he got quiet, and didn't leave my side the entire time we were there. For those of you that know Ham, it was like he turned into his good twin. You'd have thought I had the poor dog on sedatives. He drooled the entire time out of nervousness, and every time a dog came near, he lowered his tail and tried to hide behind me.
I have NEVER seen my dogs so chicken around people or other animals! It was like they were overwhelmed by the euphoria of dog park, and didn't really know what to do. Hopefully next week they'll do better and actually play with the other dogs. I think I'm going to take them both at the same time, because if they're this chicken, I'll have no problem handling both of them.
There's definitely the variety of dogs at that park, and it amazes me that they all get along so well. When I took Ham, this guy brought these two giant Bull Mastiffs (they were sooo cute!) and this little dog came up to one of them and started barking, and this mastiff just cowered to the ground. It was so funny! But there wasn't a single fight, not much barking, and just a good time. We need more of these places around the valley. I'm thinking this is going to be a Sunday ritual for us, one I think the dogs will love us for.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
He is now a She
I knew it. I have never had a cat until a couple of years ago when we fostered Sadie, because I’m allergic. After Sadie, we had Melly, who got lymphoma and died only 5 months after we had her at 2 years old. Now, we have Mr. Keaton, a black and white we got as a kitten. Luke’s mom has his sister, Annie.
Or should I say “her.” Because I’ve never had cats, I don’t know how you tell the girls from the guys. Since I’m more of a dog person, I wondered why our cat, whom we were told was a boy, had no “parts.” Luke would never explain it to me, so I Googled, and after looking under Mr. Keaton’s tail and comparing with diagrams, I thought he was in fact a she.
It was a fact that was verified this morning by my husband. Apparently, “Mr.” Keaton, had his tush in the air and was bouncing around like crazy. Much like his sister went through before she got fixed. Apparently, “Mr. Keaton” is in heat. So now we have to find a new name for the cat. And get her fixed. It’s going to be hard to think of him as a girl now, after about 9 months of owning the thing. Well, at least for me. Luke’s been calling him “she” since we got her. I guess the up side of this is I’m no longer outnumbered in the house…there is now more estrogen than testosterone. If you have suggestions for a name, I’d love to hear them!
Or should I say “her.” Because I’ve never had cats, I don’t know how you tell the girls from the guys. Since I’m more of a dog person, I wondered why our cat, whom we were told was a boy, had no “parts.” Luke would never explain it to me, so I Googled, and after looking under Mr. Keaton’s tail and comparing with diagrams, I thought he was in fact a she.
It was a fact that was verified this morning by my husband. Apparently, “Mr.” Keaton, had his tush in the air and was bouncing around like crazy. Much like his sister went through before she got fixed. Apparently, “Mr. Keaton” is in heat. So now we have to find a new name for the cat. And get her fixed. It’s going to be hard to think of him as a girl now, after about 9 months of owning the thing. Well, at least for me. Luke’s been calling him “she” since we got her. I guess the up side of this is I’m no longer outnumbered in the house…there is now more estrogen than testosterone. If you have suggestions for a name, I’d love to hear them!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Huffing and Puffing and Crying
So after a couple years of not seeing each other much between school and my crazy work schedule…Luke and I have started date nights twice a week. Last night was Luke’s night to decide what activity we’d be doing, so we went to see Marley & Me at the dollar theater. I’ve been excited to see this movie because, as you know, I love dogs! Probably more than children and most people. And it was a great movie! …Until the last half hour. Now, I figured, it’s the life story of a family dog, of course the dog is going to die in the end.
Oh. My. God. I have never cried so much at a movie in my whole life. Typically with animal deaths, i.e. Old Yeller, they pan off when the animal dies or make it very euphemistic. Not this one. They showed the dog’s health starting to deteriorate. They showed the owner taking him for his last walk, asking the dog to tell him when he’s ready to go. They show the kids and the wife saying goodbye as the guy drives him to the vet. They show him saying goodbye. They show the ENTIRE euthanasia, including the syringe draining into his IV and his eyes slowly closing. (I’m tearing up just thinking about this!) I was trying SO hard not to just go all out sobbing in the movie theater, and eventually did start sobbing AFTER the movie on the way home. As Luke said, “I don’t remember anything about that movie except that last scene.”
Now, the movie was really good, probably the most true-to-life movie I’ve seen, because they didn’t sugar-coat or exaggerate the complexities of life, love and family. They showed just how couples fight, just how they talk about what they’re going to do next in life. And it was really funny! I totally related to a lot of Marley’s antics with Charlotte and especially Hamlet. (I have one pair of nice heels left thanks to Char’s shoe fetish, one pair I didn’t even get to wear once!) It was a good show, and I highly suggest it, even though it will make you cry buckets. Needless to say, our next date night, which I get to plan, will include much happier activities. I think we’re going to do the night cache in Memory Grove park.
Now, I’ve got three days left before I’ve got to climb to the top of the Wells Fargo Building. I have not been to the gym in 3 weeks. I am going to completely fall over if and when I reach the top. If you’d like to come see said event, you can donate $5 to go to the top and enjoy a little buffet and raffle. Our team climbs at 9:05 in the morning on Saturday. Today, I’m headed to the gym and putting in some major time on that stair machine. I think Friday I’m going to climb the building next door, since you can’t practice climb in our building.
I think I’ll also put my new bike together and get outside, as it’s been unseasonably warm here. I don’t think I’ve ever had a birthday that was above 40 degrees in my 24 years of life. It’s funny…as a kid, getting a bike for your birthday is like the biggest thing in your juvenile life. I don’t think I’ve been on a bike since we lived in Englewood, which was about 12 years ago. Denver was one of the best places to ride, because we lived right next to the Platte river trail, and could ride clear out to Chatfield Dam…a 22 mile round trip. This year, I got a new bike from my parents, and plan to start riding it to work soon. It’d be nice to get back to the point where I could ride 22 miles and feel just a bit gelatinous afterwards in the legs, instead of falling off the bike at mile 10. There’s just so much freedom about a bike that’s not the same with a car. I’ve just realized that I’m probably not going to be able to go back to Tennessee for John’s graduation, as he unfortunately graduates in the middle of May sweeps. So, I’m thinking maybe I could round up the fam for a vacation to Yellowstone at the end of May, or just go with Luke for a weekend and ride our bikes around Yellowstone and finally break in that tent Mom and Dad got for us for our wedding two years ago (still never been out of the box…thank you KUTV for working me on weekends all last summer.)
Exciting exciting times…watch my show (which is officially mine next week) at 9am on KJZZ!!
Oh. My. God. I have never cried so much at a movie in my whole life. Typically with animal deaths, i.e. Old Yeller, they pan off when the animal dies or make it very euphemistic. Not this one. They showed the dog’s health starting to deteriorate. They showed the owner taking him for his last walk, asking the dog to tell him when he’s ready to go. They show the kids and the wife saying goodbye as the guy drives him to the vet. They show him saying goodbye. They show the ENTIRE euthanasia, including the syringe draining into his IV and his eyes slowly closing. (I’m tearing up just thinking about this!) I was trying SO hard not to just go all out sobbing in the movie theater, and eventually did start sobbing AFTER the movie on the way home. As Luke said, “I don’t remember anything about that movie except that last scene.”
Now, the movie was really good, probably the most true-to-life movie I’ve seen, because they didn’t sugar-coat or exaggerate the complexities of life, love and family. They showed just how couples fight, just how they talk about what they’re going to do next in life. And it was really funny! I totally related to a lot of Marley’s antics with Charlotte and especially Hamlet. (I have one pair of nice heels left thanks to Char’s shoe fetish, one pair I didn’t even get to wear once!) It was a good show, and I highly suggest it, even though it will make you cry buckets. Needless to say, our next date night, which I get to plan, will include much happier activities. I think we’re going to do the night cache in Memory Grove park.
Now, I’ve got three days left before I’ve got to climb to the top of the Wells Fargo Building. I have not been to the gym in 3 weeks. I am going to completely fall over if and when I reach the top. If you’d like to come see said event, you can donate $5 to go to the top and enjoy a little buffet and raffle. Our team climbs at 9:05 in the morning on Saturday. Today, I’m headed to the gym and putting in some major time on that stair machine. I think Friday I’m going to climb the building next door, since you can’t practice climb in our building.
I think I’ll also put my new bike together and get outside, as it’s been unseasonably warm here. I don’t think I’ve ever had a birthday that was above 40 degrees in my 24 years of life. It’s funny…as a kid, getting a bike for your birthday is like the biggest thing in your juvenile life. I don’t think I’ve been on a bike since we lived in Englewood, which was about 12 years ago. Denver was one of the best places to ride, because we lived right next to the Platte river trail, and could ride clear out to Chatfield Dam…a 22 mile round trip. This year, I got a new bike from my parents, and plan to start riding it to work soon. It’d be nice to get back to the point where I could ride 22 miles and feel just a bit gelatinous afterwards in the legs, instead of falling off the bike at mile 10. There’s just so much freedom about a bike that’s not the same with a car. I’ve just realized that I’m probably not going to be able to go back to Tennessee for John’s graduation, as he unfortunately graduates in the middle of May sweeps. So, I’m thinking maybe I could round up the fam for a vacation to Yellowstone at the end of May, or just go with Luke for a weekend and ride our bikes around Yellowstone and finally break in that tent Mom and Dad got for us for our wedding two years ago (still never been out of the box…thank you KUTV for working me on weekends all last summer.)
Exciting exciting times…watch my show (which is officially mine next week) at 9am on KJZZ!!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Tackling the Tower
So one of my goals this year, like most people, is to get healthier. Specifically, I want to greatly reduce my reliance on my inhaler. I’ve had asthma since middle school, and it seems to have gotten worse after I left high school, probably because I don’t play an instrument anymore (lung capacity) and I haven’t been great about regular exercise. So I’ve been busting my butt at the gym all January and now into February to help reach this goal.
I’d been toying of the idea of Tackle the Tower since the beginning of January. I work in the Wells Fargo building, and every year the American Lung Association hosts the Tackle the Tower challenge. You race to the top of the 23 story building…on the stairs. It’s a short race, but anyone that’s climbed a couple flights of stairs and huffs and puffs after reaching the top can imagine it’s not an easy race. I got an email from our chief editor here at the station saying they’ve got a team together that’s going to do it, and I thought, perfect! I can contribute to a condition I know intimately, and get fit from training and the race!
If you’ve never had asthma, let me explain it for you. Think of the red air quality days here in the valley. You feel like you’re constantly congested, right? Can’t quite hack up that crap out of the lungs? Well, imagine that, and then imagine your lungs shrink, and you can’t get the air out, because when you try, your cells in your lungs enlarge. The best way you can try to feel what it’s like is to run around the room, and then try breathing through a straw. And don’t cheat and breathe through your nose! It is the worst feeling not being able to breathe, and anything I can do to help find advancements in treatment for asthma is all the better.
So, I’ve signed up to Tackle the Tower. It happens Saturday, February 28th at the Wells Fargo Building. I do have to raise at least $100 bucks to participate, so if you’d like to contribute, I have a page on the ALA’s website where you can do that…
https://www.mrsnv.com/evt/e01/part.jsp?id=2282&acct=0753069392&rid=0
I’m off to the gym tonight to start training! I’m excited to participate, as I haven’t done something athletically competitive since I played soccer in middle school. Here’s to trying new things and breathing easier!
I’d been toying of the idea of Tackle the Tower since the beginning of January. I work in the Wells Fargo building, and every year the American Lung Association hosts the Tackle the Tower challenge. You race to the top of the 23 story building…on the stairs. It’s a short race, but anyone that’s climbed a couple flights of stairs and huffs and puffs after reaching the top can imagine it’s not an easy race. I got an email from our chief editor here at the station saying they’ve got a team together that’s going to do it, and I thought, perfect! I can contribute to a condition I know intimately, and get fit from training and the race!
If you’ve never had asthma, let me explain it for you. Think of the red air quality days here in the valley. You feel like you’re constantly congested, right? Can’t quite hack up that crap out of the lungs? Well, imagine that, and then imagine your lungs shrink, and you can’t get the air out, because when you try, your cells in your lungs enlarge. The best way you can try to feel what it’s like is to run around the room, and then try breathing through a straw. And don’t cheat and breathe through your nose! It is the worst feeling not being able to breathe, and anything I can do to help find advancements in treatment for asthma is all the better.
So, I’ve signed up to Tackle the Tower. It happens Saturday, February 28th at the Wells Fargo Building. I do have to raise at least $100 bucks to participate, so if you’d like to contribute, I have a page on the ALA’s website where you can do that…
https://www.mrsnv.com/evt/e01/part.jsp?id=2282&acct=0753069392&rid=0
I’m off to the gym tonight to start training! I’m excited to participate, as I haven’t done something athletically competitive since I played soccer in middle school. Here’s to trying new things and breathing easier!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A little update
Well, my attempts to create a joint blog failed, but probably for the best :) Now you get to hear my side of life and all the excitement entailed!
I'm finally getting my own show to produce that will be exclusively mine! Starting in March, I will be solely responsible for the KJZZ News at 9am show on KJZZ 14. It's a bit of a fluffy show, lots of guests and about 4 minutes of news, but it's really exciting. Like today, we talked about what investments you need to claim on your taxes, funny Valentine's Cards for Singles Awareness Day, and learned how to organize jewelry using ice cube trays! Handy, right? And those Valentine's cards...nothing says "I Love You" like a card decorated with dead flowers that reads..."Don't you go dying on me!" Very clever, you can out these cards at www.crowellgreetings.com.
So I'm staring down the barrel of another Valentine's Day, the 5th of my coupled life. I'm also staring at a very empty purse (bastard thieves!) and wondering, "what do I get the love of my life on this special day to tell him how I feel, without dropping several hundred on a Wii system that will no doubt frustrate me later?" I was awesome and did Christmas on an extreme budget this year, so I feel I can pull off one little gift on this slightly-less major holiday as well. Thriftiness seems to be the theme of 2009, right? It's really too bad guys generally do not like flowers. And mine doesn't like cake, and we are on a diet. Hmmm...I'm going to have to take the week to think on it.
In the mean time, we work on finishing the wedding scrapbook this weekend, unpacking the rest of the house, and catching up on laundry. Sounds fun, right? Well, maybe I'll throw some geocaching in there. I do have some geocoins I need to drop. We'll see what the weather is like. If you want to come, let me know! If you don't know what geocaching is, go to www.geocaching.com to check it out! I don't know a single person who wouldn't enjoy this sport.
I'm finally getting my own show to produce that will be exclusively mine! Starting in March, I will be solely responsible for the KJZZ News at 9am show on KJZZ 14. It's a bit of a fluffy show, lots of guests and about 4 minutes of news, but it's really exciting. Like today, we talked about what investments you need to claim on your taxes, funny Valentine's Cards for Singles Awareness Day, and learned how to organize jewelry using ice cube trays! Handy, right? And those Valentine's cards...nothing says "I Love You" like a card decorated with dead flowers that reads..."Don't you go dying on me!" Very clever, you can out these cards at www.crowellgreetings.com.
So I'm staring down the barrel of another Valentine's Day, the 5th of my coupled life. I'm also staring at a very empty purse (bastard thieves!) and wondering, "what do I get the love of my life on this special day to tell him how I feel, without dropping several hundred on a Wii system that will no doubt frustrate me later?" I was awesome and did Christmas on an extreme budget this year, so I feel I can pull off one little gift on this slightly-less major holiday as well. Thriftiness seems to be the theme of 2009, right? It's really too bad guys generally do not like flowers. And mine doesn't like cake, and we are on a diet. Hmmm...I'm going to have to take the week to think on it.
In the mean time, we work on finishing the wedding scrapbook this weekend, unpacking the rest of the house, and catching up on laundry. Sounds fun, right? Well, maybe I'll throw some geocaching in there. I do have some geocoins I need to drop. We'll see what the weather is like. If you want to come, let me know! If you don't know what geocaching is, go to www.geocaching.com to check it out! I don't know a single person who wouldn't enjoy this sport.
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