"she was captain of her basketball team"

A few weeks ago, I went to the bars with some friends after work. I ran into one of my classmates. She had her ex-boyfriend there with her and told me, after introducing him to me, that back in middle school, Sarah Palin was his girlfriend.

Oh, can you imagine my delight at this opportunity? To probe him for questions and tease him relentlessly.

I wasn't too bad, actually.

But I did have a question for him. I asked him, party affiliates aside, do you honestly believe that if McCain and Palin were elected, and Palin should have to step up to be President, did he believe that Palin would honestly be a good president? (though, I may have not put it that way, but you get the jist)

His response, and I shit you not:

Yes, because she was captain of her basketball team.

So that makes her a good leader, I ask?

Yes.

Seriously. You can't make this stuff up, people!


My friend Jen and the infamous ex-boyfriend to Sarah Palin

10-19-2002

6 years ago, I married my guy.
He was 23, I was 22.
I still remember so much about that day.

Here is the invitation. Nice smudge marks.


Ladd and I at our Rehearsal dinner. After the dinner, my mom instructed my sister-in-law Rachel to take me straight home and make sure I go to bed! (she knows how grumpy I get when I don't get enough sleep) But alas, there was no way I was going to be able to fall asleep yet. Instead, Rachel and I stayed up and watched Moulin Rouge and I believe I painted my toe-nails. Good times. Thanks for being such a friend and support to me during that time. You are THE BEST sister (in-law)! Love you.


The Groom's cake. The phish logo. Its at their concert two years prior that we decided we were "officially" together.


And the honeymoon. What an awesome honeymoon! We went to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We dreamed of drinking Pina Coladas on the beach, and we had one of the cocktail waiters take our picture so we had proof of one of accomplishing one of our many goals. We plan to go back to Mexico soon. We had so much fun there.


Somedays, it feels so surreal to think of all we have been through and all we have accomplished in these past 6 years of marriage. I am so curious what the next 6 years will bring.

I'll keep you posted, as time unravels the truth. :O)

new posts below

I had some "drafts" that I finally posted and since they were dated a few days back, they are posted as such.

Scroll below and you will find them.

bionic man?

Well, its not really bionic, I guess. But... its pretty damn close, if you ask me.

Did any of you ever see that horror movie in the early 90's (I think)about a killer who was put to death and his various body parts were disbursed to people who could use them?

This story reminds me of that movie.

Hopefully his arms don't start making him do bad things like in that movie. ;)

What new scientific breakthrough is next, people!?!?!?

This stuff seriously creeps me out.

October

This is quite possibly my favorite month.

Its a good month.

Its the month Ladd and I got engaged.
Its also the month we got married.

I love the leaves changing color.

The temperature starts to cool down a bit... but not too much.

The smell of Fall is the best. The fresh air, cool breeze, pinion burning in firepits.

I like to be outside this month, probably more than any other month. Its just so beautiful outside.

I love the mums. The colors are so brilliant.





I love to watch Mt. Sopris and other mountain tops gather snow a little bit more each week.


I love pumpkins and squash and, apparently, so does my dog.



Hope you are enjoying October as much as I am!

my boyfriend

... of 8 years to be exact.

Yes, I have a boyfriend.

And yes, Ladd knows about him.

In fact, Ladd knows him more than anybody else.

Because, he is my boyfriend.

September 25, 2000.

The day we decided we were officially "together". We went to a Phish show that day, too.

Brilliant. So us.

I love this guy, and recently have probably not showed it enough.

But let it be known, that he is loved by me. He is my husband of nearly 6 years, but also, he is my boyfriend of 8 years.

He will always be my boyfriend.

(I wanted to post this on the 25th, but, alas, school and work called my name a bit louder. So, this post is a bit late, but still as sincere as I felt that very day.)


Here we are at the Phish show on Sept. 25, 2000. We were having a little "pre-party" before the concert!


And here is the lovely couple in more recent times. Fantastic. :)

86 cats

Last week, 86 cats and kittens were ceased from a 2 bedroom condo about 40 miles west of Glenwood Springs. All were being held by one lady who just wanted to "give stray cats a home". So, like many of these cases, her heart was in the right place but she couldn't properly care for them.

These cats were brought to C.A.R.E. The rescue center just yards from the vet tech farm. They are the only "shelter" in our county and thus, they receive all cases as such even though they are not technically a shelter, nor are they funded by the county as such.

Thankfully, the local paper posted a huge front page story about this last week. All sorts of good people have donated items or volunteered for helping to foster these cats. There is just not enough room there for all of them. C.A.R.E. has been able to move about 15-20 adult healthy cats to other shelters, in the meantime, to help clear some space.

A friend and I went up to see some of the tiny kittens in need of care. We helped "force feed" some kittens who needed help eating food.

Good times. ;) And yes, they are that tiny.

leafers

We were TOTAL leafers last sunday. To be fair, so were hundreds of other people that day.

We drove from Glenwood Springs all the way past Aspen up to Independence Pass. Approximately 6,000 miles in elevation within one hour. (Don't tell my mom. She officially forbid me from traveling this steep and winding road.

The colors were nonstop. It was amazing. And once again, I am painfully reminded that I need (okay, want) a different camera. These pictures don't do justice. Not that capturing this kind of beauty is easily obtained by most cameras. Mine was just exceptionally poor at doing so.

Enjoy, nonetheless!


ALMOST to Independence pass.


At the lookout area at the pass.


ladd and Bailey. One of which is regretting their clothing choice, at that moment.


The happy family.


Snow approaching!


The rest of these were taken along the drive. Most of which were on the 15 mile (approximately) stretch between Aspen and the top of Independence Pass.

doin' chores

Twice a semester, each vet tech student is assigned to a group with about 4 or 5 other students to do chores on the farm. Each group is on duty one week at a time.

A couple weeks ago it was my turn, along with 4 other girls. It requires being there at 7am and 5pm on the weekdays, and 9am on the weekends. This gave me a LOT of time in between classes and let me just say that I got quite a bit of school work done that week. :)

I enjoyed doing the chores. It brought me back to when I was younger and still lived on the farm. I was a 4-H kid and daughter of a cattle farmer (well, he also farmed crops) and so livestock is nothing new to me.

While growing up on the farm, I "owned" 2 horses, a couple calves, a steer, and several sheep. The horses weren't bought by me. Dad already had Billy when I was born (which was one of the reasons my birth mom chose my parents to be my new family). He was a spectacular horse. He lived a long and happy life at the farm. Soon after he died, I received a horse for my 13th birthday.

You see, in our family, turning 13 was a big deal. A new chapter in life. You were, afterall, officially a teenager!

The celebratory tradition included a big party thrown in your honor (the whole 8th grade class came out to the farm for horseback and hayback rides, lots of food, and fun) and a bigger than usual present. Brad got a go-cart on his 13th. I got Poco. Troubles Poco Dell, to be exact! He was BEAUTIFUL! It was such a nice surprise. I remember it like yesterday.

But I digress.....

Doing chores on the farm reminded me how much I miss these large animals. I occasionally dream of having a small ranch someday. Just a few goats, a couple horses, maybe some chickens for fresh eggs, etc.

This is why doing these chores is a good thing. It forces reality onto you like a big slap in the face! A farm means feeding and watering these animals twice a day. EVERYDAY! You have to buy hay, feed, equipment, etc. Its not all romantic, you know.

Nonetheless, its good, healthy work. Its a peaceful and gorgeous time of day, when you do chores in the morning. Its so quiet. No hustle and bustle. No sound of students or cars. Just the rooster, goats baaahing, and horses snorting, out of hunger. I watched the sun rise over the mountain each day.

Glorious.

Hopefully, I can snap some better shots for you next round when I'm not so preoccupied with creating my own routine.




The main vet tech building is to the left. It holds 2 classrooms and the teachers' offices. The middle building was brand new last year. Its our new science building. It holds 2 separate lab classrooms. We are so thankful for this new addition. The building on the right is the small hospital we use. The small cage in front of the hospital is one of the raptor cages. It houses a golden eagle and a bald eagle - one of the features at this school that made me feel this is where I need to be.



Llamas sort of freak me out when they stare at me. Their eyes and eyelashes are so HUGE. They always look like they are plotting something.


No, his head is not stuck. :)

week 6 down, 8 more to go

It is hard to believe, but we just finished week 6 of school. This semester is flying by.

I have had a handful of tests so far and I have done very well. It continues to amaze me what I am capable of. This isn't how it used to be for me. I always struggled in school. My attention span, difficulty reading, caring, etc. I still have to work very hard for my grades. I still take FOREVER to read a page. But I am absorbing information so much better now. Maybe its because I LOVE what I am studying. I know my goals. I see my future. I see a purpose in the time I am investing in all this school work.

I recently was on chore duty for a week. A friend of mine mentioned how another girl and I call it "chores" and not "animal care". I think its the farm-raised part of me. Feeding the cows. The horses and chickens. Those are chores, where I come from. ;) I have a few pictures, but not as many as I would have liked to take, to share with you. Not in this post - but I hope to get them up soon.

It was nice doing chores. Taking care of the goats, sheep, horses, llamas, ducks, chickens, ferret, mice, rats, etc. Its a long list! It is nice to have these animals around, because I know there is no way I can have all these pets right now. I can get my "fix" at school.

It is also reminding me how much work it is to run a farm. Some days, I toy around with the idea of having a small ranch in the future. A handful of horses and maybe some goats and chickens. Then reality sets in. Working on the farm here at school has brought my dreamy self back down to earth and woke me up to remember; FARM = VERY LITTLE FREEDOM. You have to be home to do your chores twice a day. If you want to go away for a vacation, you have to be able to find somebody you trust and who is available to take over for you while you are gone. It almost stresses me out just thinking about it.

But.... I know not to make predictions. Never say never.

We also went "leafing" last weekend. I took TONS of pictures. I can't wait to go through them and I will definitely share those with you as well. It was a MAGNIFICENT time. Unbelievable. Breathtaking. We drove all the way to the summit of Independence Pass, to see all the colors along the way. We started in Glenwood where the temp was about 75 or so. Within an hour south, we were at the summit and it was barely snowing! So awesome.

Stay tuned. Pictures and more posts and stories to come.... now that I FINALLY have a little free time! :)

don't vote

Okay. I'm not a big fan of celebrity endorsement/instruction/etc., but its not who is saying what here that matters as much as WHAT they are saying.



If you care about who is running your local or state school board - you know, the ones who decide what your kids will get to learn - you should vote.

If you care about your civil rights. Your children's civil rights. Strangers' rights in another country. you should vote.

You may feel your vote doesn't matter. You may think who you choose to vote for as the next President doesn't matter, in your state.

But there is more on your ballot than choosing the next leader of our country. There are almost always city, county, and state issues/positions up for vote on the very same ballot.

V.O.T.E.

This freedom you have. This safety and comfort you have. Your children have. Don't take it for granted.

Oh, hells yes!

Its true. Its actually true!

Someone above is smiling down on me today.


One of my all time favorite bands is reuniting - if not for a little while.

Oh how all my trials and tribulations of the past 3 weeks seem so small right now.

I am all smiles.

:)