My Garden

I worked all day today to finish digging up our back garden...it has been at least 80 hours of work to clean it up, since it was overgrown for numerous years before we even bought the place. For those of you who remember what this area looked like last year you can really appreciate it! The hedges were twice as high (we like our new neighbors so seeing their place is wonderful) and there were piles of excess weeds and clippings piled high. I did get the final hard digging done today (I filled up 4 garbage bags full of just roots) and even managed to plant a few perennials and find a bird bath after these pictures were taken. I plan to plant veggies in the brick lined beds, and the part in the front with the rock will be mulched with a wildflower garden and other nice flowers that Eric chooses. Here is a picture of my lettuce too!

Cute Baby Pics

It seems that I can't stop taking pictures of the cutest baby (since Sam) with my iPhone. I figured I should post them, since they really are that cute. Erin is a sweetheart and she calls me "Jee."
Yes, she had her first "sip" at the Rio, and says "pssss" (translated please) when she sees beer. We have been hiking and hanging out a lot lately and I hope that continues this summer.

The Green Dump!

A few years back I realized that I had a disorder. Most of you will agree that I'm moody, and at times, a bit difficult to be around. However, this "disorder" has been much less severe since getting married-just ask Deborah and Blayne! There are times when it creeps back in and I decided to give it a name, and call it MAD- Mountain Affective Disorder. Basically, if I don't get to the mountains at least once or twice a month I suffer the symptoms of MAD. Irritability, depression, sadness when in sight of Long's Peak and Meeker. It drives my friends mad so of course I should go to the mountains, right? Better yet, we should buy some property in the mountains right? That way I can go there and even spend the night to ensure my mental sanity and a cure from MAD.

On Sunday I finally made it up to my friend Mark's "shed" to hang out on his property. He purchased a few acres near Drake and just broke ground on his house. Last spring he built a "shed" on it so he would have shelter when working on the property. Now, this is no shed...it has a porch and a loft, and tools and equipment so the powers that zone would classify it as a shed. Unfortunately Larimer county determined it was a living space and gave it an address! There is a gas grill behind it...120 square feet of shed...and I spent all day Sunday there having the time of my life.


The land was secluded and I felt disconnected from the world. It felt good to let go of the heavy burden I now bear having an iPhone. We tromped through the woods, hiked to the lake (where the fly fishing is great) saw herds of elk and even more scat, and then enjoyed the yummy grilled meat Eric whipped up. After that I went in search of rocks for my garden and since Mark's foundation had just been dug, the choices were amazing. Audrey and Cache had a great time romping free. Well, Audrey was free since she is a good dog, but Cache enjoyed the mountains on leash.

Right next door to Mark's place is what we have deemed "The Green Dump." Apparently this land and structure was listed for a long time at $200,000 or so, but no one wanted it. It's gone way down in price and as I sat enjoying the free medicine to cure MAD I realized that this was a place I would like to spend my weekends and summers. I envisioned a new structure on the property, one with a wrap around porch and a mountain cabin feel. I could see myself biking to Estes Park each weekend and being close enough to Long's Peak to climb it whenever I wanted. I imagined hiking to the top of the nearby mountains, whose trail heads were within hiking distance from the front door. Rock climbing there is some of the best and I could see all our friends sharing this place and relaxing in the mountains together...I stopped my thoughts and looked at Eric. Once again he had the "no way in hell are we buying this" look on his face, the one I see a lot. I knew I would need help, so here is this blog asking all who are interested in sharing this place to consider it.

Here are some pictures of the area, along with the view from the front of the Green Dump.





Think about it!

Spring Break & I Heart iPhone

Ah, finally it is spring break. I have not had much time to blog, but now, as I sit at Salvador Deli drinking yummy espresso, it seems like the perfect time.

I don't have any new pictures because they are all on my new iPhone! Most of you know I have been coveting an iPhone for almost a year now. Eric is against spending a lot of money for technology, so I was persistent in my efforts to gain his approval for the purchase. I would set a picture of the iPhone as his desktop, only to get scowls. I would cut out pictures of iPhones and tape them around the house, but they would disappear. I even had outbursts of the word "iPhone" randomly throughout the week. Nothing seemed to work. Then we ended up deciding that I would get a free phone from AT&T and wait another two years for an iPhone. I was sad but figured a new phone might appease me. We never got around to ordering that phone (I couldn't bring myself to do it!) and on Saturday ended up at the Cherry Creek Mall in Denver because we were killing time before picking up the Chastains at the airport. We went to Cherry Creek because they have a cookie shop, but my motive was to make it into the Apple Store and work my magic on Eric. We went into the Apple Store together and Eric's face took on the "iPhone Scowl" as I picked one up and looked at the features. I picked out a case, and he wanted nothing to do with me. I kept on and finally got him to hand over his wallet. He didn't agree with my purchase, i knew, but at least he handed me his wallet, right? He went out of the store while I made the purchase. The Chastains flight was SUPER late so we sat on a couch in the mall and watched the final four-in silence. I really considered taking my purchase back, because what is more important-an iPhone or a marriage? Of course I didn't take it back...instead I opened it and stroked the smooth glass touch screen and read the owners manual, with a guilty conscience. I knew our marriage was strong enough to withstand this!
We picked up the Chastains and they said I was wrong and should take the phone back-especially Blayne. The thing is I paid for the phone with money from what I call "my second job" at Brentwood. So did it really matter? Nah.
The next few days tell everything. Eric began asking to "see" the phone and soon began looking at it with glee as I did. He could watch YouTube anytime, figure out where we were, get directions to any restaurant, and put movies on it to watch while we travel. Then I took the phone over to Blayne to get some help on how to route my Yahoo mail and he fell in love with it. I must say that I am not disappointed. I took it to the gym and the special headphones allow you to be listening to music and click the mouthpiece to answer a call or control the iPod features. The contacts list is limitless, and it beats any PDA I've ever owned. My only concern is the battery life, which I'm sure is fine. I heart iPhone...

Now it is time to get my article submitted for publication, research dragonflies for a possible research opportunity this summer, read a few good books, figure out what I want to do my dissertation on, study for the GRE, plant our garden, landscape our yard, redo our porch, and find time to ride my bike!