How Many Times Can I Say Refrigerator?

I finally have a new refrigerator! Ever since I moved into my current apartment I've been a little upset about the refrigerator. It's old school, which in and of itself I don't mind, but it does not have a frost free freezer. That I did mind. What always bothered me about it was that I moved into a different unit than the one I looked at when considering the apartment, and the first apartment had a nicer refrigerator. The first apartment was nicer altogether, but that's another story.

In any case the last time I defrosted the freezer I knocked it's door off. This door had been breaking since before I moved in, and long story short, my landlord got me a new refrigerator instead of having it fixed. (yay!) The new refrigerator was delivered on Sunday and the door was facing the opposite of what makes sense for my kitchen so I thought I'd undertake the task of switching the door. Ha! Turns out this is probably a two person job, but being the stubborn person that I am, I was determined to do it myself.

I succeeded! Not, however, without giving myself a black eye and a nasty cut. Using tools is hard! I'm told that the black eye isn't that noticable, but man, I feel like my eye is shouting "Look at me! Look at me!"

Perfect Getaway

This past weekend Sheralee and I escaped to Glen-Isle Resort in Bailey, CO. I can not tell you how wonderful this weekend was. We were in the mountains, so it really felt like we were getting away. Plus, something about drinking coffee and wine all day long, eating smores for breakfast and having absolutely no agenda was refreshing and relaxing. Here's a picture of the living room of the cabin we stayed in:

This place was so perfect. We learned all about it from a woman who works there. Apparently it was built in 1900 as a venture by rich Denver businessmen who wanted a place to come and hunt. It ran that way for 20-some years until the Tripp family bought it in the 20s and the daughter of those owners still runs it today. She and her husband ran it beginning in the 50s and together they built 19 additional cabins, one of which we stayed in. The grounds were full of old cars and all sorts of fun stuff, I can't wait to go back!

Sheralee took all three of these pictures. If you want to see more pictures, email me and I'll send you the link.

Who's a Cute Little Jealous?

OMG - I realized in a big way this week that I am jealous. I'm not sure exactly what to do with this realization, or how to change. I just know that I am acutely aware of this state of being this week.

There are so many kinds and levels of jealousy. This week I specifically realized I am jealous that people I know are expanding their social networks and I am still, 3 years after moving to Denver, stuck stuck stuck. This little jealousy of mine puts me into a funk anytime someone is busy when I want to go out, or anytime I'm out in a group of people trying to forge some sort of bond and nothing grows, or anytime I put myself out there and seem to get stomped on.

There, I said it. It's been my experience that saying something in a sense brings it fully into being instead of hiding in the shadows. Once it fully exists it's so much easier to do something about it, even if that something is just learning how to live with it.

Short Rant

You know what I don't like? I don't like it when people disagree just for the sake of disagreeing or just to see if they can get a reaction out of me. I don't like it because I usually fall for it. I don't like it because I'm generally a harmonious person who prefers to discuss and not argue. I don't like it because it seems like a waste of energy to me. There are plenty of things to legitimately disagree about why waste time and energy arguing when it doesn't matter.

I was out with someone this weekend who insisted on pushing and arguing about nothing. This person even bragged about how he really enjoyed doing this. Three days later it's still bothering me! I think it's time to let it go and move on.

Anniversary

A personally important anniversary went by yesterday, and I nearly forgot about it. Yesterday marked my unofficial one-year anniversary at my current job. I say unofficial because I was placed in this job with a placement agency so yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the first day I sat at this desk, but the company won't acknowledge one year for me until January when I became a direct employee of the company. That day holds so much less significance for me.

I find this anniversary to be significant because it marks the longest that I've held a job in Denver. A year is twice as long as the shortest job I've had here. Even more significantly, I still like this job. I think the longest I liked one of the three (or technically four) other jobs I've had in this city was 2 months. That could be a generous estimate.

In this month of Thanksgiving I'm so thankful to have a job that I like, that pays my bills, and that is as solid as is possible in these economic times.

Quest

Now that Halloween has come and gone in all it's glory I'm beginning my quest for the perfect holiday party top. I had one last year that I loved. L. O. V. E. D. Loved. Then I ruined it when I thought my iron was on low, when in fact it was on high. So I'm back on a quest.

I've just returned from Forever 21 (or Forever a Ho - Thanks Kathy) and while that's usually a sure bet for party tops they didn't wow me this time around. I'm hoping they get some more party tops in during the next couple of weeks so I can go back and find something amazing.

Is this the most important thing going on today? Absolutely not! I'm just so excited about the holiday season that I can not stop myself from focusing on this quest. Happy fall and happy historic week to all of you.

I voted

I have the sticker to prove it. This is my second time voting since moving to Denver and it was a whole lot easier this time around. The last time I voted I went after work, and even though I had the opportunity to leave the office at 4:30 that year, I was still caught in the after work rush and stood in line for 2 hours. Denver was having voting issues that year. This year they canned the computer system that caused all the problems last time around, reinstated regular precincts instead of letting you vote at the location most convenient to you, and let anyone who wanted to vote early. This meant that when I went to my polling place there was no line and I was there for maybe 15 minutes. I also like that for voting you can bring a cheat sheet - no memorizing like it's a test or something.

I'm more interesting in watching the outcome of this election than I think I've ever been. I'm just hoping that votes will be counted on time and we don't have to watch long into the night.

Ahh, The Weekend!

I had a great Halloween weekend! Sarah Palin was a hit almost everywhere I went, and surprisingly I only saw one other Sarah while we were out. I had a great time talking like her, and I was really thankful that no one got nasty, and that no one started swooning over how much they loved her. (Except for the cabbie, and it was a short cab ride.) I could have done without the ghost tour. You live and learn right?

Yesterday I was running errands and I saw this car parked one block from my house! I've seen a couple Mars Hill/Rob Bell Love Wins stickers in Denver, and I think this is the first time I've seen a car that obviously came from West Michigan. I didn't have any paper and pen with me, so I went to the store thinking I'd leave a note when I got home. Sadly, the car was gone when I returned about an hour later. So - if you read this and you have a beige sedan with Love Wins sticker that you drove from Michigan to Denver please zip me a note. It was nice to see a touch of something familiar that was out of place yesterday.