Away We Go

It has officially begun. Today I bought my first puppy items. I think I'm on a slippery slope. But these little teething Nylabones and miniature tennis balls were way too cute to resist.

I received word last night that puppy may be here soon. Mommy dog is getting fat. I can't wait for him to arrive. I fear his first 8 weeks of life may be the longest of mine as I wait to meet him and bring him home with me. Anticipation is half the fun of it, I suppose.

Oh, there's one more thing. I might as well tell you now so you don't have to wait three more months to start making fun of me for it. I'm probably going to brush my dogs teeth. The books say you should and I've read plenty of them. So I'm going to do it. Go ahead, laugh. I still refuse to buy him clothes...never say never.

sometimes in life work will teach you a thing or two about life...

a year ago i was sitting at my desk. answering the phone on a wintry day. i got a call from a salomon consumer. her son's skis were having trouble. i advised her to begin with the salomon retailer where the ski was purchased but somehow we began to talk. i knew right away she was cool. you can tell. we talked about cycling. turns out we both love bikes. we both ride for a local charity every year. i had just ridden my bike across the state of utah. she thinks utah is beautiful. there wasn't any reason that we shouldn't be friends!

with a little curiousity i found her local charity ride on facebook. oh, and there she was too. so i boldly requested her friendship on the social network. all the while hoping the move wasn't too bold. after all, as cool as i knew she was...we didn't know each other. well, there we were...facebook friends. my boss was impressed. and it wasn't long before i realized that teresa really is great. her comments make me laugh and she appreciates my sense of humor.

last week, after a year of facebook friendship, teresa sent me an s.o.s. message on facebook. she had a ski emergency. i was just the girl for the job. i had her call me at the office the next morning and i saved the day. it feels good to be able to say that. :-) i felt like i'd gotten a new pair of skis that day. i got to talk to my friend teresa. we enjoyed the opportunity to chat in real life. she's a dog person and i shared with her my plans to add a puppy to my life. she offered great advice.

the next day she emailed me to confirm they had in fact received the replacement ski and how thankful she was that i could help them. also, she included a tracking number for a package she had sent me. A PACKAGE!!! i love surprises. i couldn't even have prepared myself for how much i would love this one.

a few days later there it was. in the mail room. a little brown envelope addressed to me. i looked at the return address to be sure it was the package i was expecting from teresa...THE WEEPIES! i didn't order anything from the weepies, i shopped last week but i did NOT buy. so i took the envelope to my desk and matched the tracking number on the package with the one in teresa's email. yes. she sent me a weepies t-shirt and a sticker. most certainly ranking in the top 3 most thoughtful gifts i've ever received.

all i can say now is that someday teresa and i have to meet in person. have a glass of wine (or a cold beer). go for a bike ride. do all the stuff cool people would do when they hang out.

this whole experience taught (or reminded) me a couple of things about life:

1. i am really good at my job and sometimes i'm a little too hard on myself about that one.

2. there are some really rad people in the world and i am lucky enough to somehow be connected with the greatest ones.

thanks teresa. for the shirt and sticker. for the friendship. and for the reminder.

Thanks G-ma Dawn!

Puppy got his first present today...nevermind that he's not even born yet, the world loves him already. Why wouldn't they? G-ma Dawn won this perfect little pooch gift last night for her new grand-dog. I was giddy when we met for lunch today and she gave it to me. It's perfect. Oh and the bonus...the coupon attached to the bow is good for three free days or nights at Abby's Dog House puppy daycare. It's just a few blocks from my office. Meant to be if you ask me. Dawn, thanks for always knowing the perfect thing to brighten a day. Puppy will love you before he ever even meets you.

Don't laugh...

but I'm getting one of these for my new puppy to ride in:

But why wouldn't I? Look how happy that guy pedaling is. I want to be that happy adventuring with my new pooch. I'll probably get a cooler flag though. Safety first.

Puppy and I will do some light bicycle touring this summer. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted on our adventures. His first trip will of course be to Moab. I'm thinking a week or two after I bring him home. A trip to Moab will ensure that he knows I'm the coolest mommy ever.

Stay tuned...

i'm broke like a bad joke

ha. not really. those are words to a song. but i put them there to mess with people. you know which ones.

but really. the days i've been waiting for may have arrived. it's still a little too soon to be certain but a girl can hope, right? i feel good again. life feels good again. there's some joy and excitement in the everyday. i like it. i hope it stays.

what a morning...

it started out like this:
gracie called me at 6:25 am. "yeah, i'd love to pick you up at the train station this morning." a few moments later it occured to me that i should warm up the car while i was getting ready so it would be warm when i picked her up. i took my jeep key off of the carabiner that holds my collection of keys, walked out of my apartment, shut the door behind me...yeah, that was the part that was a mistake. the door handle was locked. my keys (except for my jeep key) were inside on my kitchen counter, right next to my cell phone. oh boy. well, at least i have the key to my jeep. and gracie's train will be here in 20 minutes. i guess it makes sense to drive down to the station and sit in my warm car to wait for her.

as i sat there and listened to the weepies i giggled. i was in sweatpants, my puffy down jacket and shoes. no socks no shirt no bra...you get the picture. i got gracie and we both laughed together at my lack of clothing and the situation at hand. at the office i went in to use the phone. i called my landlord. he met me at his office. i got a spare key. i went home. i showered. i took the extra key back. and now. i'm at work...but not without a few real good laughs!

happy friday.

Preparing For Motherhood...

Nevermind that just 4 posts ago I declared that I wasn't ready for a dog. I'm going to be a mommy. That's my favorite thing to say to people. It has summoned repsonses such as, "Oh my god, I almost threw up!"

The pup in this picture is my dad's from an earlier litter. My little guy will be born in about 4 weeks and I'll pick him up in April. 98 days...but who's counting. Nevermind that I've already read two books about training and raising puppies, spent hours in pet stores, will be attending my first puppy orientation class on Saturday, and have constructed an extensive spreadsheet mapping my costs and "must-do's" before my little guy comes home to live with me. I'll be ready.
Oh, and one more thing. If you think I shouldn't get a dog you should probably keep that to yourself. Just the idea of the little guy and preparation has boosted my world in unimaginable ways and that alone makes this whole adventure worth it.

Stay cool.

how do you even get mad at this?

sunday morning this happened. ha! when i saw it i laughed and played in it with him for a few minutes before cleaning it up...probably another reason i shouldn't be a parent: i encourage behavior like this!

i'm glad i was a part of this...

talk about some of the cutest kids and the funniest family. last night gavin and i hung out with the thompsons. so. much. fun. gavin had his first kiss. i'm glad i was around for that. i miss so many things but the first kiss was one i am so honored to have been here for. ha. really though. it was the cutest thing i've ever seen. we all laughed really hard. till our bellys hurt. typical. just another evening with one of my favorite iowa families.

It's your birthday and we're gonna party...

This was the very first time we met.

Then six months later we partied again.

After that, I had to wait an entire year to see him again. But when I did we got down in the beer aisle at Hy Vee. Good times.

I was lucky enough to see him again three weeks later. We partied then too.

And, here I am again. Another three weeks later. Last-minute, unexpected. I flew from Utah to Iowa for the weekend to come to his second birthday party. It was worth every penny spent. You see, I love this little dude.

And yes, I am afraid he'll forget who I am. That is why I spent this morning downloading Skype on my mom's computer. So he can see me when I'm talking to him. So he knows it's me. He won't forget me. I'm the coolest auntie in all the world!

this time you've gotta make up your mind that this life's worth living

well, we're seven days into 2011. that's about as exciting as it gets right now...

i guess that's not entirely true. i've already seen yogi bear in 3d for a second time.

i bought joshua radin's new album, "The Rock and The Tide". it was worth every penny. there's a chance he's the next best thing to the weepies. so far, my favorite song on the album is "We Are Only Getting Better". i love the lyrics. fitting for my life right now.

"we are only getting better. where we were that doesn't matter. lately, everything is hazy but i know what's true. lately everyone seems crazy but i believe in you. sun shines in the eyes of those who know how to leave the past behind. this time you've got to make up your mind this life you're living. this time you've got to make up your mind this life's worth living."

i'll say. we're going to his concert on march 2nd at club sound. you'll go too if you know what's good for you...unless you're busy in Chile, then you're excused.

2011 has given me cause for reflection. i say that as if i need a reason. ha. anyway. i've been doing a lot of thinking. there are a few things i really want in life. some of them i'm not quite ready for. like a dog. i REALLY want a dog. alas, i also want an adventurous job and the two don't really compliment each other. so i'll keep waiting on my four legged friend and hope for a job fighting fires this summer for the forest service. or maybe i'll get a random job offer in boulder, colorado. who knows.

i went to kranky franks with my two best buds last night. yeah, you heard me. i drove 86.72 miles (one-way) for a frank. not just any frank, these are the best weiners in the west...without question.

yeah, that's me kissing a weiner. sue me. and mr. dangerfield...well, let me tell ya...he and mrs. dangerfield are some of the world's greatest, truly. i hope they know that we think the world of them. oh, and name me a restaurant that will stay open waiting for you to arrive...that's vip. for reals.

oh. then there's today. that day when i went into work and it was like any other normal day. until 8am when i curiously looked at the prices of flights to cedar rapids, iowa. um, they haven't raised a cent since last week. still affordable for a kid like me. and my little dude is turning two tomorrow.

this little dude (in case you were confused). so i left the office at noon. fed the furry rat. packed some stuff. rented a movie. and caught a 4pm flight outta slc. now i'm sitting in the chicago o'hare airport writing a blog that i don't dare post until tomorrow. you see, casey has no idea i'm coming for gavin's birthday. this is gonna be so good.

when life gets shitty just do something crazy. like buy a plane ticket and fly somewhere for the weekend. i did. and it's getting better already.

stay cool.

can't steal happiness

i don't know where to begin here. it probably doesn't matter what i say anyway. i could never convey what happened in those concert halls and how incredible it was. really. but i'll go ahead and write about it, it's my civil duty to society.

it finally happened. october 23rd in the year two thousand ten FINALLY arrived. i really thought it never would. seeing the weepies in real life seemed way too good to be true. it was real and it happened. it happened just like this:

we rolled into the dark alley behind the state room in salt lake city less than an hour before the doors opened. after natalie finally got her clothes changed in the back of the car and jaymee and i finished our mt dew we walked down the dark alley to the concert venue. when we rounded the corner to see the tour bus of the weepies we were so overcome with excitement that all three of us peed our pants...okay, we didn't really but we could have. we spent the next 45 minutes waiting quietly and patiently for the doors to open...okay, that didn't happen either. we were loud and giddy and shared our excitement with everyone around us. most likely, that last shot of tequila i had did not help the silliness either. it was fun and we made friends. that's really all that matters.

then the doors opened. giddy doesn't even describe it anymore. we were out of control. we were about to see the weepies. real, live, and in-person! we bought t-shirts and bags and stickers. i really wanted that scarf. it was so cute. but i'm not a scarf girl. then we had more time to wait. but this time we waited by the stage. front and center. we would be close enough to touch the weepies (not that we would because that would be creepy). close enough that they could accidentally spit on us while singing. the excitment mounted to uncontainable levels.

then it happened. the opening act, joe pug, finished. the stage hands got everything ready. it was time. the weepies took the stage. i screamed louder than i ever have before. and i meant it. i was that excited. then mr. weepie bent down to put his drink on the floor...i toasted him with my beer. he had whiskey. yum. then they played their music. the first song melted my heart. by the second song i was so happy, so peacful, so content that i never wanted it to end. every song seemed like it was only 20 seconds long. i was completely in love with everything. i had never been happier at any other moment in my life. really.

i think this was approximately when it happened. when braymee allen collectively decided that a sunday road trip to denver was in order to see the weepies the following night. it only made sense. we were in love. nothing could stop us. when the salt lake city concert ended we left giddy. i almost forgot to pay my bar tab and get my debit card back. planning the denver trip was almost more important...but then i needed it for denver. as we excitedly planned our denver trip on the walk to the car through the same dark alley who did we run into except the WEEPIES! steve and deb were standing outside their tour bus. and they talked to us! to braymee allen. we got a picture with them. it was great. an epic moment. we told them we'd see them in denver. i think they just thought i was drunk. no. we were really going to denver.

we bought our tickets online immediately. got a couple hours of shut eye. and departed ogden at precisely 8am sunday morning. we drove for a short six hours to denver. it was really cold in wyoming. but that didn't matter to us. we were going to see the weepies. we showed up in denver around 3:30pm. denver was stoked to see us. but not as stoked as we were to see the weepies...again. we changed our clothes in a scary 7-eleven. then it was downtown for dinner. time could not pass fast enough. there was only the most minor of mishaps on the trip. there was that time when we finished dinner and when we went back to the parking garage to get the car...the parking garage was locked. yikes. don't worry, we worked it out...but not before we found this little gem. god love denver.

and then there we were. waiting outside the gothic theater on broadway. i may or may not have had some cocktails...again. this time no tequila. we all were just as excited as the night before. maybe more. this time we knew just how good it was going to be. but nothing could have prepared even us to have our world rocked by the weepies again. i must give a shout out to matt the electrician who opened up for the weepies. a-mazing! thank you matt.

then it happened. perhaps even better the second time. the weepies took the stage. they played "please speak well of me". there's something about that song being played live that completely melts my heart. heavenly. then they played the next song. after song number two i yelled with all the excitement in the world, "i love you weepies!" that was when things got REAL exciting. they knew it was us. they had just realized that braymee allen did, in fact, come to denver and the look on steve's face was worth every second of the long drive. when he saw us he mouthed, "NO WAY!" jaymee replied, "yes way." then he told the audience that they had met us in SLC and to offer us an applause for making it all the way to denver. i love you steve tannen!

after the show we figured we'd meet them out back to gift steve the whiskey we had promised him in salt lake. they knew the drill. steve came out the back door of that theater with open arms and nearly ran to us. it was great. he hugged all three of us. we talked about the crazy drive, the awesome concert, the goodness of life. meanwhile, the 15 fans behind us got a little itchy cause we were getting all of the attention...sometimes in life the weepies want to be friends with braymee allen. the rest of the world will just have to deal with that. after steve very sincerely inquired as to where we were sleeping we bid each other farewell with one last hug...deb had to go feed that darned baby.

then there we were, driving back to utah in the middle of the night. i had to work monday morning. lame, i know. i woke up about 2:30 am to the worst blizzard ever...and i've driven through a shit ton of wyoming blizzards. seriously. i was so nervous for nat, the driver. i couldn't yet offer help, i was still sobering up. and our dear jaymee was asleep in the back seat. nat rallied through it like a champ. i'm proud of you nat. at our next gas stop, just before we ran out, i took over the wheel. it sucked. when we began to see cars off of the road and semi's with chains on their tires i realized that it wasn't worth the risk of the hurry to get back to work in time. even though if i'd have died after seeing the weepies two nights in a row i really wouldn't have been lacking anything. in fact, i feel like the rest of my life is going to be really disappointing now. nothing will live up to the weepies, nothing.