Monday, September 29

Let's Go Steelers!

Let's Go Steelers!  (Game Day)


[Game Day outtake. I wasn't crazy about it so we took another.]

Looking for a win tonight Steelers. Bring it.

Full moon rising


at the beach. I did not sleep well at all last night and I am in a pretty lousy mood today, but I just posted this photo over at Flickr and it made me feel better. I remember how happy I was to be walking on the beach, listening to the waves and watching the moon rise over the ocean.

Another good thing, we *finally* had someone from Qwest come to the house and our DSL problem seems to be fixed. Yes! It only took months and months of Will calling customer service and being hung up on to get it done. Qwest has the worst customer service I have ever encounter. They are awful. Anyway, it was a simple fix and maybe I'll have some extra time on my hands now that I don't have to spend half an hour on the internet doing something that should only take five minutes.

Sunday, September 28

We actually sacrificed watching football this morning

so that we could go on a hike. Sort of a make-up birthday hike. (Granted the Steelers do not play until tomorrow night so it wasn't *too* hard to give up Sunday morning football.) We hiked to my favorite place. I have no pictures to share yet because I used only film cameras and have not had a chance to scan anything. But it was a lovely day and quite nice to get some fresh air. The aspen have not all turned to yellow yet, but boy, it's looking pretty golden up there. My cow friends were gone for the most part, we did run into one lone cow that didn't look completely healthy. And we had lunch with a chipmunk. A chipmunk that I believe to be this same chipmunk because it was perched in the same spot.

We explored the meadow quite a bit. Will was searching for good camping spots and I was taking photos with one of my peel-apart film cameras. Always a bit of a pain while hiking due to the waste it produces, but it was well worth the extra time. I got some nice shots. We ate lunch and headed back in. The Windsor Trail was PACKED on our way out. It was crazy. And then driving down the ski basin road, every trail head and parking area was totally packed. I don't think I have ever seen so many people up there. It's the draw of the golden aspen trees.

Now we are home, watching the afternoon games. I have a head cold or allergies or something and it is not making me happy. It started last weekend then seemed to go away over the week, but now whatever it is has returned. No fun. I am hoping it goes away soon as next Saturday is the Big Tesuque Run and if I can't breathe, well, it might be a bit of a problem.

Speaking of the Big Race, this past Thursday, I went up there with my dad to do a trial run and I was quite pleased with how I felt. Last year when I did the race I felt like I was going to die. Seriously. But on Thursday, I felt good and was able to keep a pretty even pace, albeit a slow one. I think if this congestion goes away, I'll be able to run all the way up this year. It's a twelve mile race, six miles up and six miles down. I imagine my dad will end up kicking my ass yet again.

A happy Sunday to you all. I have to go blow my nose again.

Thursday, September 25

Wednesday, September 24

--

It's cool in the mornings

and at night, but summer is still in the air. It doesn't quite feel like autumn to me just yet. And I don't mind. I used to love the changing of the seasons, but I have to admit, that I just don't like cold weather anymore. Fall brings the changing of the leaves and beautiful colors all around, but it also brings us closer to winter. So the weather right now is perfect for me. Mid-40's at night and in the mornings, mid-70's during the day.

That said, a happy autumn to you all! (A little late, I know.)

Monday, September 22

There were butterflies everywhere.



One afternoon while we were eating lunch, I noticed all these orange spots down in the grass. Finally I realized that they were Monarch butterflies fluttering around! So of course I had to run down with my camera.

They flew around the beach and ocean a lot too. So orange and beautiful. They made me happy.

It was an ugly game.

Ben Roethlisberger got sacked eight times. He definitely had a rough day and as result, he couldn't get much done. I think he is a stellar quarterback, but when his offensive line doesn't give him any time to get shit done, well, shit doesn't get done. It was totally depressing to watch. Our defense was on, they saved us from getting crushed by the Eagles because they kept the Eagles from scoring, but with our offense unable to score, hell, to even make a first down, it was all for naught.

Granted it is early in the season and a record of 2-1 is not a terrible thing. But with teams like the Cowboys, Packers, Redskins, and Giants on our schedule, we can't be playing like we did yesterday. Next up, the Ravens, a game that we need to win now that they are 1st in our division. I'm sure they got a few ideas from the Eagles.

On the bright side, the Patriots lost yesterday. To the Dolphins! Awesome. (And thanks Joey Porter.) The Colts also lost and are not looking up to speed this season. So it seems that after years of the AFC being the stronger conference, this season it's the NFC with the Cowboys on top. It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Sunday, September 21

Here we go...

Here we go (Game Day)

Steelers!!

You know what's really funny, the Miami Dolphins are beating the New England Patriots 21-6 at halftime. Here's hoping they keep it up.

Friday, September 19

flickr faves

9/19/2008

1. Untitled, 2. pony ride, 3. cliff flowers, 4. Untitled, 5. chiaroscuro, 6. Holga Highway, 7. 219 (swing), 8. shore, 9. lone tree, 10. my favourite …, 11. going in for a landing, 12. Bricks and Plant (August 6)

Created with fds flickr toys.

Inside the NFL

HBO's Inside the NFL was my favorite football show. Cris Collinsworth, Bob Costas, Chris Carter and Dan Marino were a good group. (Dan Marino!) Good sports commentary/analysis, good banter among the hosts and well, some rather silly stuff too, but nonetheless, it was something I looked forward to watching every week.

So when they announced that last season was the final season, I was bummed. What could possibly replace Inside the NFL? And then Dana informed me that Showtime had picked up the show, albeit with a new cast of hosts. I was excited.

But man, Inside the NFL on Showtime sucks. Big time. Cris Collinsworth is still a host which is good. We like Cris even though he used to play for the Bengals. Warren Sapp is smart, funny and has good charisma. James Brown is fine. Phil Simms has got to go though. Seriously. He's awful. I've never been crazy about him on the other shows that he does, but now I just plain don't like him. He has no charisma whatsoever. He talks too much, interrupts people and adds nothing to the show. We watched the second episode last night and I could hardly sit through it thanks to Phil. Bring back Dan Marino!

Not to mention that the set of the show looks like crap. They must have been given a tiny budget or something. And what's up with the new female addition, Jenn Brown? The NFL Network has a female host now as well, and don't get me wrong, I'm all for women in football, but do they all have to have that blonde model look? The piece that Jenn Brown did last night was on Fantasy Football which included a segment on women who play Fantasy Football. All bimbos. WTF? Yes, women watch football. No, we don't all wear high heels, half jerseys or cut off t-shirts with plunging neck lines. Gimme a break.

Showtime has a bunch of great shows, but they are not delivering with Inside the NFL. I'll give it a few more tries, but if the quality doesn't improve, I'm done with it.

As for the coming weekend of football, let's hope the Steelers are looking better than they did against the Browns because the Eagles looked pretty damn good against the Cowboys. Granted we won our game, but it was not good football. Let's go Steelers!

Thursday, September 18

Encantado

Last night we went to the ribbon cutting ceremony for Encantado, an Auberge Resort, with my parents. It is actually a pretty stunning resort. I was sold on it, ready to drop $425 a night for a room with a view. (The rooms range from $425 to $1075 for the suites.) The place really is incredible, nicely designed and beautiful views from just about every spot in the place. We took a little tour of the place, had some good snacks and free beer and got to see Governor Richardson. He made a little speech and had the honor of cutting the ribbon. I was fascinated by the crowd, totally unable to distinguish what the people were all about. Locals? Rich folks? Loyal patrons of the old Rancho Encantado? My parents had no idea how they ended up on the guest list. So funny.

It was a nice little view into a part of Santa Fe living that we rarely see. (I guess.)

And I've already told Will that's where we are spending our next anniversary. Heh! Well, maybe we'll at least have dinner at the restaurant. It's gotten rave reviews so far.

Wednesday, September 17

A few things.

Hello. We are back from our beach vacation. It was awesome. Totally. And I am so not looking forward to returning to work tomorrow. *Sigh*

A few things about our trip...

  • the first night there, I got no less than 18 mosquito bites.

  • there were Monarch butterflies everywhere.

  • it was a great beach trip and not such a great taking pictures at the beach trip.

  • of course I took a lot of pictures, just not great ones.

  • you're going to be seeing a lot of seagulls.

  • I ate snow crab legs, lobster tail, sea scallops, shrimp and flounder, all of which blew my mind.

  • there were also a lot of blue tailed skinks around the beach house.

  • we saw dolphins!

  • Will actually has a tan now, seriously.

  • every single day was beautiful while we were there.


There's more, but that's what comes to mind at the moment. I've been trying to catch up over at Flickr all day and it is so hard to do when our DSL goes out every five minutes.

More soon.

Tuesday, September 9

Flying stresses me out.

I'm feeling okay but for the obsession with packing. I don't know how many times I've taken things out of the suitcase, put them back in, changed my mind and taken things out again. Ruminating about the baggage is how my stress is coming out this time which actually is better than freaking out in other ways. All in all, we are packed and ready to go. And yes, I am editing/removing the post that I wrote early this morning. So there.

Isle of Palms appears to be hurricane warning free now so that's a relief. The forecast for our week there has a lot of rain in it, but who knows what the weather will actually bring. I am armed with two books and a knitting project so if it does rain a lot, I'll just spend my time on the porch. We really don't have any plans for the week other than Relaxation. I imagine we'll check out Charleston since I've never been there before. In fact, I've never been to South Carolina. Never been further south than North Carolina. Looking forward to being near the ocean, eating some good seafood and spending time with Will's family. (Oh those southerners and their tall tales!)

I've been wanting to use my Pentax K1000 again, but geez, there are only so many cameras a gal can use at a time! I finally did put some film in it though and shot a roll, mostly around the house.


[In the bathroom at Shoko Cafe for my birthday dinner.]

The subject matter isn't anything new, but wow, I still love this camera. And you know, I don't think I've ever shot color film with it before. I think I'll be using the K1000 a lot more in the near future. (Not on this trip though. I am already taking too much crap as it is.)


[Flowers in bathroom at Shoko Cafe.]


[My handsome husband.]

Well my dears, by this time tomorrow, hopefully I will be lounging around the beach house in South Carolina.

Might post something in the morning, if not, I'll catch you on the flip side. Have an excellent week! Enjoy the last days of summer!!

Monday, September 8

On Running

From What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami:

"The desire in me to be alone hasn't changed. Which is why the hour or so I spend running, maintaining my own silent, private time, is important to help keep my mental well-being. When I'm running I don't have to talk to anybody and don't have to listen to anybody. All I need to do is gaze at the scenery passing by. This is a part of my day I can't do without."

And also:

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."

It was a good day.



It's always a good day when the Steelers win.

We kicked off the morning with breakfast burritos and Bloody Marys, no complaints there. Later, there was quite the medley of beer consumed. The Troutslayer is quite tasty, brewed in Montana.

And don't tell Will, but I am totally going to marry Willie Parker!

Sunday, September 7

Friday, September 5

TGIF



It's been a long and not so wonderful week.

Rocky's got the right idea!

flickr faves

9/5/2008

1. lake michigan meets chicago, 2. moraine lake, 3. 42 Seconds, 4. swans, 5. august sky, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. Harmony Motel, 9. by wire, 10. .930., 11. rio grande gorge, 12. SUSAN

Created with fds flickr toys.

Wednesday, September 3

I'm not ready for autumn.



And it's definitely right around the corner. It's positively freezing today. This does not make me happy. As I get older, I dislike cold weather more and more. I keep telling Will that we are going to have to move somewhere that stays warm most of the time. Like San Diego. It doesn't help that I work somewhere with doors that stay open well into the winter. Not looking forward to freezing all day, every day at work either.

So now the birthday has come and gone. Yesterday was uneventful at work. In the evening, Will took me out for sushi at Shoko Cafe. It's a place that my family used to frequent when I was a kid (although I didn't eat sushi back then), and I've been wanting to return since we moved back, out of nostalgia, I guess. Well, that and the fact that I actually do like sushi now. I've heard and read mixed views about the place, but our meal was fantastic and we had a lovely time. We had Shrimp Spring Rolls and Vegetable Tempura to start. Then it was sushi time. We had Scallop (which turned out to be my favorite) and Unagi (Eel). The Unagi was way too fishy and almost made me gag. We used to love eel everything in NYC, but both here and in Pittsburgh, the eel is quite different and we should probably give up on ordering it. We also had a bunch of Maki Rolls. California Roll (w/ Real Crabmeat), Spider Roll, Spicy Tuna and more Eel. The Spider roll was the best of the bunch. The Spicy Tuna was good but about took my head off it was so hot. California Roll was good and the Eel was our least favorite. We had ginger ice cream for dessert. Yum.

In addition to the stove, I received a few other things. My parents also bought me new running shoes and shorts, per my request. Our friend Ben gave me What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: Stories by Raymond Carver. Will gave me some cozy slippers for the coming cold weather. (Hell, I should have them on right now.) And the cats gave me Polaroid film. Simon gave me a two-pack of 664 and Rocky gave me a two-pack of 690. Such thoughtful gifts.

And what did I buy for myself you might ask? Three more four-packs of Polaroid 600 film. I did it in a moment of panic. I have moments when the realization that eventually there is not going to be anymore 600 film really hits home. And I panic. Especially since the price just keeps going up and up and up. Office Depot is about the only place left I can find reasonably priced four-packs. But they won't deliver to our zip code. I get that they must have warehouses located around the country that serve certain regions, but come on, one of the other warehouses can't slap a shipping label on a box and send it to New Mexico?! Fortunately they will deliver to my in-laws zip code. Relief. So I'll get it from them next week when we all meet at the beach.

Oh yes, I can't wait for the beach vacation! Two and an half days of work left this week, a three day weekend, one day of work next week and then off we go to South Carolina.

The heartthrob of the junior class.

My youngest niece, Cassidy, started high school this school year. Her older sister (my middle niece), Caroline, is a senior at the same school. Shortly after classes started, Caroline received a text message from one of her junior class friends.

"Your little sister is the heartthrob of the junior class."

AND, apparently she kissed a boy. A junior class boy! At the mall!

My goodness.

Tuesday, September 2

The sun is out and I'm feeling better.

38 today

And I am 38 today. How did that happen?! In my head, 38 equals "almost 40". It's hard to believe I've been around that long. When I spoke to my dad on the phone this morning, he asked me how old I am. I said, "38." (Which I am sure he knew.) And he said, "that's *old*." Thanks Dad! I know he was joking, but still. 38 really isn't that old.

I slept much better last night. I got off to a rough start though. I fell asleep at 10:00 only to be awakened at 10:30 by the sound of a cat puking near the bed. Sweet! Rocky threw up all his dinner. He's fine, he just eats too fast sometimes. I got up and cleaned up the pile of puke. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, but it was no problem. I didn't wake up again until 4:06 AM which was a nice treat.

I went on a nice five mile run this morning, ate fresh raspberries with my breakfast and now I am at work for the day. We might go out for sushi this evening.

I have no complaints.

Monday, September 1

I got a stove for my birthday.

Seriously, I did. I am pretty hard to surprise, but my parents surprised me with the stove.

Our stove was about as old as I am - well, not quite - and while it worked fine, it was annoying. It wasn't level, for one. And the pilots were always blowing out which is just a pain in the ass and vaguely nerve racking. The new one is all level and while it's still a gas stove (my preference), it's the new kind that doesn't have pilots that blow out. It makes our kitchen look snazzier.

Now I just have to keep the thing spotless so my mom doesn't yell at me when she comes over. (How old am I?!)

Today wasn't rainy and gray like yesterday, but I have to admit that my mood was still rather dreary. I had another bad night of rest and just felt blah most of the day. Perhaps my actual birthday will be better.