You Can't Take It with You

But you can come back to it. Being back in Garden City has been an adventure in so many ways. From living with my parents to buying our first home, from Joe's unemployment to his opportunity to teach, life in Garden has not been dull.

Things I Like About Living in GC:

1. Living just down the road from several members of my family and dear friends rocks!

2. I really like having my own home. No one cares if I put holes in the wall or that I have dogs.

3. My dogs. I never thought I would be this attached to dogs, and sometimes they drive me batty, but they are great to have around.

4. I like being back in a more rural setting. The attitude here is just totally different.

5. My job has been challenging, but has made me realize that I really BELIEVE in things like early intervention and that the brain development that takes place in the early years can make a difference for a lifetime and beyond.

6. I see city officials at the coffee shop.

7. The coffee shop. Patrick Dugan's is lovely.

8. Living here has made me appreciate my marriage (and Joe) more and take it (and him) for granted less.

9. The snow cone stand! I used to crave those snow cones in Denver. Once I almost made Joe come get me one. From Denver. They're that yummy.

10. Getting to be in the everyday lives of some very special kiddos and their parents. I'm so thankful for the kids in our lives and the parents that share them with us.

The Most Patient Animals In the World Must Live in Mongolia

If you haven't seen the documentary Babies, you should. It's whatever you want it to be: a happy little movie with cute babies, a look at child development, a commentary on societal norms, or a variety of other things. I have to admit that one thought that stuck with me is that Mongolia has some of the most patient animals in the world. That baby tugs them, pulls their hair, and they don't ever react. Also, the Japanese baby throws a grand fit that made me laugh a lot.

P.S. Thanks to Betsy for helping me figure out how to put the video in here!

A Month is Better than Seven

In the quest to keep up with things, I have done better at keeping the house chores done about every two weeks or so. Not perfect, but not awful.

I am still not good at doing the things I want to do. By the time I get home from work, make and eat some dinner, and do my chores, there's not a lot of time left. A perfect example of this happened last night: I got home, (on time!) we ate dinner, (Joe made it,) Joe went to work at the radio station, and I started my chores. I cleaned the bathroom and put all the laundry away, all the while thinking that I could do "my" stuff after one more thing. So I made our lunches, emptied the washing machine of water, (it broke last week,) put dishes away, made coffee for this morning, and took all the recycling out to the garage. And then I was ready to sit down and check my email. At 10:35 or so. To be fair, I did sit on my bed and watch a half hour of "Bones" after putting the laundry away, so I did get a little rest in there. So at 10:35 I made myself some herbal tea and checked my email, Facebook, etc. I went to bed at midnight. That's too late for a week night. Suffice to say I'm still working out the kinks of the system.

And I have not blogged twice a week, or even once a week. But this post will be just a little over a month since the last one, and it was seven months between the last one and the one before that, so I'm making progress. I find that I have trouble knowing what to write about. I could write about what I'm doing, thinking, etc., but won't people be bored reading about the mundane details of my life? Of course, I read lots of blogs and am very rarely bored, so that may be flawed logic. And then I start thinking that I only need to write about deep, sometimes emotional, sometimes not, thoughts, like Jack Handy only not funny. But that also seems likely to lose readers. As I've thought about it, I think the best blogs are the ones that are a combination of both, that are just an honest commentary on life. Life isn't always mundane, but it isn't always exciting or "deep," either. It's just life.

Taskety Task

My dear friend Betsy has inspired me to try a task schedule (sounds better than chore schedule, I think.) So, two days a week, I have put "blog" on my schedule and we'll see how it pans out. The thought of getting things done in a timely manner and not trying to cram it ALL (along with time for friends, fun, and family,) into the weekend is nice. I hope my perfectionist nature doesn't get in the way when things don't go according to plan or I don't get everything done the way I want to when I want to, because then I tend to just give up. If it's not perfect, or maybe if it's not my best would be a more accurate description, then I don't want it. Not always the best attitude to have, but it is how I operate.

I don't have a lot to say, so I think I'll just link to a favorite blog of mine, Cake Wrecks! I look forward to this one every day, especially on Sundays when they feature cakes done right. Enjoy!

There's No Place Like Home

I am BAD at this blogging thing. Bad.

But, it is a nice way to share information.

And we have news.

We are moving to Garden City.

I got a very good job working with a grant project in Finney County.

I officially start April 19th, (also my Dad's birthday.)

I am overwhelmed, overjoyed, and sad, all at the same time and all mixed in with what feels like a gazillion different emotions.

Emotions about the move, leaving my job, leaving Denver, being closer to family and friends, living in a small town, the new job, how this will affect our lives . . . you get the idea.

So, that's our news. I'll try to keep you posted as things progress, but I make no promises, as we've already established I am a BAD blogger. :D

Days One and Two

Day one of our "staycation" was pajama and movie day. Of the six movies we rented for the day, we made it through four of them on day one. Without formally consulting Joe, I would say we rate the movies we watched as follows: Monsters vs. Aliens - 2 thumbs up; The Proposal - 2 "ehs" (my made up rating for a mediocre, "eh," kind of movie; Year One - 2 THUMBS DOWN; and Adventureland - 1 thumb up (Joe) and 1 thumb down (me.) To be fair, we watched Adventureland as we were going to sleep, and it just seemed to drag on and on to me.

Day two we did some shopping, ran some errands, visited Berry Patch Farms, and went out for a late lunch/early dinner, then met up with Joe's friend Tom at the Irish Snug. At Berry Patch Farms, we bought some apples, Pablano peppers, two small pumpkins, and two gourds. They offer a hayride/tour, which we chose not to do. We had fun taking in the mountains, the people, the chickens and roosters, and the produce. Tom owns a tour bus and travels all over the country taking bands to various destinations for gigs. Usually when he rolls through town we don't get to see him because he has to sleep, but he was here for several days in a row this time, so we were able to hang out a little bit. It was wonderful to see him!

Some pictures from Berry Patch Farms:

Joe in front of the scenic display set up for us city folk.
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A feathered friend. The chickens and roosters didn't even chase people!

There are beautiful mountains in the background, but we failed to catch them in our "do-it-yourself" photo. The barn is to our right behind us.

At my urging, Joe struck a "Vanna-esque" pose as he gestured to some of the many pumpkins and gourds for sale.

"Staycation" 2009

Wow, it has been a long time since my last blog. Sorry about that, but time flies when you're finishing a graduate degree and then spending time NOT working on a graduate degree. :)

Tonight is the beginning of Lowry "Staycation" 2009. We're very trendy! Actually, we wanted to get away, but it was more fiscally responsible to stay close to home, so here we are, ready for some down time.

Tomorrow is pajama day. We have 6 movies ready to watch in our PJs. I am excited to lounge a bit. The movies we have rented are Adventureland, New In Town, Shopgirl, Monsters vs Aliens, The Proposal, and Year One.

If you were having a movie/pajama day, what movies would you pick?

On a Happier Note

Following my "More to Love" rant, I offer some happier news: on August 14, 2009, I will walk in my graduation ceremony to receive my Master's Degree. Hooray! I will be DONE. I am very excited and completely exhausted from working on my Capstone this summer, but 3 MORE WEEKS! Woo-hoo!

"More to Love"

Tonight, Joe and I saw a preview for a show called "More to Love." You can see what it is about here: http://www.fox.com/moretolove/. I am appalled at the premise of the show, for a few reasons. They tout the concept that these women are "a group of real women" and that they want "to prove that love comes in all shapes and sizes." Fine. I believe that. Love shouldn't be based on outer beauty, but what is within. But the very title, "More to Love," is derogatory and indicates that at least one person, (whoever titled the show,) thinks there is a lot to these "real women." The bachelor on the show, (it's created by the same guy who created "The Bachelor,") is on the preview saying something about how he likes women of bigger sizes. That's not how he phrased is, but that's the point you get from the snippet. If this man and these women want to be on the show, great. I guess when it boils down to it, my entire issue is, why aren't these "More to Love," "real women" given a shot on "The Bachelor?" Would they not fit in? Would they feel self-conscious? Don't they deserve a shot? Isn't there a chance that a man who does not have a predilection for bigger women fall in love with one of them? And who should I be more frustrated with, the creators of this show or the women who agreed to do it - do they believe they aren't pretty enough or nice enough for "The Bachelor" to love them? (And it's not like all of those women are pretty or nice. But generally, they are very, very little.) Looking at the pictures on the website, some of the women are bigger, some are very average sized, and the guy himself is on the bigger side. I'm just disappointed in society. It is segregation, is it not? I hoped we were past that. Ugh.