mirage...

Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas. Or perhaps, I'd moreso like to say welcome to shiny, tacky and cheap LV. As soon as I stepped off the plane, familiar thoughts were already ringing in my head (...or was that the constant chatter of slot machines?). What is this place? What am I doing here? What is anyone doing here?

My senses were overloaded instantly. The smell of stale cigarette smoke is overwhelming - drenched into the carpets, swirling around poker tables, weaving itself through every layer of clothing. For the remainder of the visit my lungs refused to take a deep breath - even walking outdoors didn't seem to remove the foggy gray haze. My eyeballs couldn't find enough places to hide. The flashing signs, flashes of skin, neon lights. Everywhere you look it's near impossible to focus. It was just as I'd remembered it from my brief visit last summer, when I'd vowed to never return.

Little did I know...

We were there for a work conference. I had been anticipating the event for a couple of months - it was the first time the company had hosted such a grand function. I walked through the hotel, past the slot machines loudly beckoning to snatch another dollar, finally realizing why I was incredibly irritated; why this city disturbed me so deeply. Its purpose - it's thriving reason for existence - is to combine all humanity's vices into one huge, exploding mess of temptation and greed.

I know, I know - this is nowhere near a new revelation, (it's not named Sin City for nothing) but the volume of madness you're immersed in while visiting completely astounds me. It's something I can't quite stomach. And hopefully I never will...

penny for your thoughts...

The Sooner State warmly greeted me this afternoon as I stepped off the plane and headed toward the rental car station. Oklahoma City to Tulsa was the goal, and with a speed limit of 75mph, the 1.5 hour drive was zipping right along. Well, sort of. Technically it was zipping along until I hit toll booth after toll both on the lonesome highway out of town. Problem. I don't carry cash. Another problem. OK Toll booths don't accept credit cards. Hello, it's 2008. So, the first check was written for $3.50. The second stop I scrounged up .$65 from my wallet. The next stop (en route to Stillwater this evening) had me writing another check for $.75. I didn't even know how to write a check that small - 'Zero Dollars and 75/100-------'. Well that's how I did it; hopefully it works.

The last toll needed a mere fifty cents. I had twenty-two cents to my name. There was no late-night toll worker manning a station. No one to take my DL# and send me a bill. I was perplexed. So in go my dimes and pennies down coin collector hatch and I drove right through the red light flashing STOP. The alarm sounded. I kept driving. Hope the police aren't waiting by my car in the morning, waiting to collect on their 28 cents.

Blasted.

night cap...

I'm confused.  And frustrated.  And not sleeping.  As if not sleeping is going to make anything better.  Mmm... probably not.

bed crumbs...

I'm in a hotel in Omaha. It's pouring down rain, and I'm leaned against the headboard snacking on crackers and cheese, watching reruns of The Office. Avoiding the lingering emails accumulated from the day. Idly perusing Facebook, almost without noticing, but it's a welcomed distraction nonetheless.

I'm tired today. Really tired. Two-trips-to-Starbucks-hold-your-eyelids-open-I'm-falling-asleep-as-I-write-this tired.

Which is probably a sign I should go to sleep now.

happy plate...

What a crazy-good weekend.

Sushi. Friends (the really awesome kind). Birthday cake. Live music. Down-pouring thunderstorm. Frisbee. BBQ. Lounge. Home-made dinner. Dancing (okay, more like drag-me-around-the-floor-and-hope-I-don't-step-on-your-toes style). Brunch. Banana-granola pancakes. Softball. Mass. Human Monopoly. Sleep. & Sleep. & Sleep.

& Sleep.

spf 45...

I can finally feel it.  The painful pink sunburn.  Flip-flop calluses.  Sticky, sweaty, glistening faces from humidity's constant presence.  Yep, it's definitely here.  And I'm not quite sure why summertime took so long to show its pretty little head. Whatever the case, I'm glad it's made an appearance.

A trip to the lake was a fine way to get things rolling.  Probably just what I needed.  Campfires.  S'mores.  Ghost-stories.  Bugs.  Boat and life-jackets.  Skis. Sunscreen. The first screaming jump into the chilly water below.

Ah, summer.  It's here.

twist & shout...

A tornado touched down on Thursday a half mile from Grandpa & Grandma's farm - 10 minutes after finishing up a rainy, windy baseball game.

When the uncles spotted the twister approaching the yelled for everyone to take cover.  Soaking wet, sixteen grandchildren crowded into the small pantry in the basement (separated from the main part of the house).  We threw in couch cushions, blankets and towels, grabbed Tupperware and stock pots to use as helmets, and covered everyone's head with a large carpet.  We were saying our Hail Mary's and Our Father's, praying the farm and those in it could stay intact.

Prayers were answered, multiple times.  Justin and I stayed for the rest of the week, and endured multiple more tornado warnings - listening to the scratchy radio in the basement, using the Sprint aircard (a lifesaver) as a radar tracker.  There was another one on Thursday, and many more on Friday - some towns endured softball-sized hail (not kidding) that left divets all over lawns and fields.

Saturday we squeaked by storm free, but onto Sunday... Justin and I were at the other Grandma's.  After lunch Aunt Kathy told me about a deluxe slip 'n' slide set up on her farm - three tarps down a hill.  Of course I couldn't resist.  My cousins and I headed out there - with dark looming clouds in the distance.  We made about ten slides down before the lightning started.  We raced back to Grandma's and packed up our bags, hoping to beat the storm.

No luck.  Right before Hays the hail was crashing down.  Crap-o.  My Aunt called her sort of neighbor, who opened their garage for us.  For the next five hours we watched radars, listened to the radio, headed to the basement, twiddled our thumbs, told stories, and played Sorry.  As weather continued crashing down they ordered us pizza, helped us feel completely welcome, and invited us to spend the night if needed.  We'd considered it, but noticed the red blobs on the radar finally started heading south of I-70.  Let's give it a try.  Rain and gigantic lightning bolts followed us to Salina, but we made it safely.  And my new car only has seven dents on the hood, roof and trunk.  Darn it!

So, no more tornadoes please.  I think we've all had enough excitement to last quite awhile.

peace...

My Grandma Heier passed away today. This morning about 10am at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita. She was a wonderful blessing to everyone she met - always a kind word, always a smile; a fighting spirit regardless of what life brought her way. And it brought a lot. There are not words to describe what an incredible source of strength she was to her family. You will be so greatly missed Grandma.

I love you Grandma.

"I love you more" she would say.

zoom zoom...

I’ve been in Kansas City three point five weeks now. Time has flown! I received my first speeding ticket ever (probably needed humbled because I was really proud of that) cruising north on I-35 last week. 74 in a 60. Oops. I wasn’t even in a hurry; just had no clue what the speed limit was, and I’d been used to 70mph freeways. But I couldn’t use the “I’m new here” excuse because my DL hadn’t been updated the entire time I was in Denver – it was still a KS license with my hometown address, so that wouldn’t have gone over well either. To top it off I didn’t even have my DL with me. Because I’m that cool. So now I get to appear in court and the charge gets knocked off. Lesson definitely learned.

play time...

Laura's idea for a small dinner birthday party turned into invitations for 25. She made tons of delicious food, including my mom's homemade chicken noodle soup recipe! Yeah, she's pretty awesome.
Ice skating in Evergreen. The ice was pretty treacherous, making it difficult to look graceful. Afterwards we had Beau Jo's pizza... nothing warms you up like thick wheat crust dipped in honey. A-maz-ing.
Ski trip to Keystone with the guys from work. I had a blast. Brandon managed to break his board, but fortunately that's the worst that happened.
Our Marian group 2008 retreat at St. Malo - it is so beautiful there. We tennis shoe skated on the small pond, and Lisa and Petreuse (the dog) played tug-of-war with her scarf. Petreuse won.

fruits & veggies...

Hi. It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged and I miss it. I’ve been meaning to, and I kept waiting because I wanted to include pictures from recent activities. But that hasn’t happened yet. So why not blog anyway? The pictures can always come later.

I’ve been officially in Kansas City for two weeks. To sum it up quickly – great friends, great house, awesome roommates, and many, many u-turns (I get lost a lot). The job is stressful. The new responsibility is stressful. And feeling like I left more than a few brain cells in Denver has been frustrating. I suppose that’s how adjusting to something new tends to be. So I’m sitting tight, hoping it won’t be long before it all makes sense again.

My parents are visiting this weekend. I have some projects already planned (hope Mom and Dad are ready!). There are only a few more boxes to unpack, curtains to hang, chairs to paint, basement storage to organize… it seems like moving is a never ending process. But I do like it here so far. I know it will be even better once the dust settles and I can figure out which direction to head in to get to the closest grocery store!

march 30

I'm moving in exactly three weeks. Yes, three. Does that seem crazy to anyone else!? And I'm realizing I'm in a bit of denial about it. It isn't that I'm not looking forward to it. Hardly the case. Just that it's snuck up so quick I feel very inadequately prepared for the transition. The packing. The figuring out new highways and byways and hole-in-the-walls and cheap car washes. The fitting in. The job.

Of course if we're talking denial let's talk about the wonderful people remaining in the beautiful mountainous state of CO. Actually, wait. Let's not talk about that. Because I'm still not dealing with that so well. And by not dealing with it I mean not thinking about it, because if I spend time doing that a guaranteed emotional breakdown will follow. And I'm not ready for that right now either.

sunny delight...

Hi. Friday some friends and I headed to Summit County to crash for the evening and get a head start on the fresh snow that fell at Copper through the night. We skiied until our legs could take no more, then cut out at 2pm and enjoyed the (rarely) unclogged traffic on I-70. Later that night I went to see a movie with friends. It was a theatre I hadn't been to - small and eclectic; we had to wait in a long outside to get tickets. Upstairs they served mixed drinks and brews. If you haven't seen Juno yet, I recommend it. A lot.

Today I ran errands in shorts and flip-flops. For lunch I walked to my friendly neighborhood burrito joint. I washed and vacuumed my car. (A dorky reason that I love Colorado - everyone's vehicles are covered from head to toe with grayish-brown road sludge caused by all the junk they dump on the roads to melt snow; also a sign that people have been playing in the mountains - ahh). A friend made me chili for dinner. Complete with cornbread muffins.

Denver is a great city. Sometimes it's hard to take it all in. Breathe it, absorb it.

I'm going to miss it.

vroom boom...

Tuesday was one of those amazing days. It seemed as though everything that day kept getting better and better. We were working on a big investigation at work, which usually wouldn't be something to look forward to, but it's my first one - and I have a lot to learn before I'm on my own conducting them. So I had to work late, got home around 7:30, and headed for the computer. I'm on the hunt for a place to live and I'd gotten a great response from a potential roommate. I called Bridget R. to celebrate the almost perfect living situation - an extra living room, den/office, and only a few miles from work (and her house). Woo-hoo.

Next it was off to the rec for a quick workout, followed by a trip to the little grocery store/farmer-like market for some grub. This week was my turn to make house dinner and I needed soup ingredients. On the way home I was chatting on the phone with Laura, excitedly explaining the potential house setup. I paused for a moment, thinking I heard a strange noise coming from my car. After nothing happened, I assumed it must have been something on the radio.

Then I tried to make a right-hand turn. My power-steering, unfortunately, did not assist me in this maneuver. Oh crap. Car trouble here we come.

I pulled over (using all my strength) right away, as I'd always been instructed in situations such as these. My battery light was on, and I'm on the verge of tears. So I call dad - he fixes everything. He tells me to drive it home but watch the temp gauge in case the car decides to overheat. My roommate's boyfriend helped me push it into our half-driveway. He found a large belt lying loose in the nose of my car. Yep, that must be the problem. Where is there a mechanic available at 10pm?

Thankfully we live close to the lightrail, which I took to work the next morning. A sure perk of living in the city - public transportation can be fairly convenient. I wasn't sure how I was going to get home that evening though, because I forgot to bring my keys, and it was over a mile from the station to the lightrail (temperature highs in the 3 degree range). Well, simply put, God works in amazing ways. My other roommate called at the end of the day and had free Nuggets tickets. Perfecto. The stadium is only a few blocks from my building. I walked to the basketball game, and got a warm ride home.

So I was still super stressed out today. It's miserable not having a car, and relying on others for rides, putting them out, not knowing how to even get your car fixed. I took the morning off and drove my power-steeringless vehicle to my cousin Kenny's shop. He instructed me not to use anything that would require battery juice. That meant no heat, no wipers... not even a blinker if I could help it. If anyone's ever up for a challenge, you should try driving without the steering boost, and a twice frosted windshield. Shwew.

He told me I was incredibly lucky this hadn't happened on the highway or freeway. I thought of all the trips I'd taken up to the mountains, to KS and back, and to work on the over-crowded roads every single day. For all places for my car to malfunction, 10pm on a weeknight side street sure seemed like a lucky spot. Two hours later he had me all fixed up and ready to go. My serpentine belt (or however you spell it) had fallen off because the ball bearings in a pulley thing had fallen out. I learned more about cars today than probably ever in my life - okay, which probably isn't saying much...

Anyway, the point of this long, over-elaborated story, is that even when things are uber-stressful and crazy and you feel you can't handle the things much longer, most likely things will work out; they will get better. The way things simply fell into place with my breakdown and while I was out of a ride was incredible. Things like that don't happen on accident. They just don't.

semi-sweet...

I don't have much to say. Just playing around on the computer and chowing down on a bag of Nestle chocolate chips, my new food addiction (unfortunately). When instead I should be cleaning my chaos-induced living space once known as a bedroom.

I guess I wanted to write because I'm excited. Excited for the weekend I had with an amazing group of girls; excited for the true friendships I've been blessed with in Denver, that came comletely unexpectedly. Excited for what is to come in the next few months. Hopeful. Scared. Anxious. The kind of holy-cow-I-have-no-idea-what's-ahead, hang-on-to-your-seats excited, because some changes are a'coming. I know not yet what they will bring.

family ties...

Family. What would you do without them? Probably get into less leg wrestling contests with brothers, have a freezer stuffed with absolutely zero homemade chicken noodle soup dishes from mom, and have a car that's broken down without dad's constant TLC. So, I'm definitely better-off with them, as most of us grow to realize more as the years fly by. And my family is awesome - incredibly supportive, easy to hang out with, and I actually look forward to spending time with them over the holidays. But probably one of the best parts...? We're all a little borderline crazy. See for yourself. Above: Our family Christmas photo...
Left: Christmas Eve's Eve. Jumping off a hay bailer thingy (I'll just call it a farm implement, because really I have no idea), onto a rope that has enough momentum to smack you into a tree trunk if you don't use super dodging-power skills (and a little brother for protection). I had to crawl my way up that thing four times before a successful landing. And for some reason it was seriously one of the scariest things I've done lately. Maybe it doesn't look very high-up from here, but trusting a small knot and fraying rope to protect you from a broken leg... believe me, it will give you a new perspective.
Other left: My Uncle Leon and second-cousin-in-law at our glamorous Breck condo. The owners skimped on nothing. Why is this crazy, you might ask? This photo was taken the day Dad and I almost lost our noses to frostbite just to get some runs in (okay, slight exaggeration, but pretty much almost true nonetheless) and this is all I have to show for it.

Aren't they the best?

tis the season...

Jeepers. It's been a long time. I've had lots of blog ideas before and during the Christmas season, but kept forgetting to post them. I had a great holiday. Went to SC for a week, visited lots of family and friends. Goofed off with my brother and enjoyed spending time with his gf, Amber, who made the trip down as well.

I recently also experienced two of the most coldest skiing days of my life. Ever. Ever-ever. My first time up this season was to Loveland with my cousins Adam and Brendan. We knew we were cold. We knew it was windy. Only later did we find out it was 0 degrees that day, with a -20 degree windchill. Yikes! I knew the wind had been whipping through my clothing and sneaking into any zipper I had sticking out, but we had no idea it was that cold.

Round 2 was at Breckenridge last Sunday. My dad and his brother and wife had come out to stay with friends who have a condo up there. It was a beautiful place, and I enjoyed reading by the fireplace on the bear rug. Not kidding there was a bear rug, and it was amazing. Anyway, we went up despite warnings that it would be a cold day. This day beat the run at Loveland hands down. It was so cold and windy that multiple times we experienced complete white-outs, either on the chair-lift or on the slope. At one point I freaked out because we were supposed to unload and I couldn't see a thing. Nadda. Just whiteness all around. Luckily the wind died down long enough for me to hop off. But wow, that was intense skiing.

Dad and I agreed that if we wouldn't have paid so much for our passes, we would have quit, but by golly we were going to get our moneys worth. Due to the high winds (35mph with 65mph gusts), only three lifts stayed open. About 2pm that day one of the guys we were with noticed something white on my nose. I used my glove to brush it off, assuming it was snow. He said nope, it's still there (and told me later he was embarrassed because he thought it must have been snot). I wiped it again, and then his face looked panicky. Just then my dad skied up and I noticed the same thing on his nose. Both of us had frostbite! Our poor noses had been the only things sticking out that day, and apparently they had become so numb with cold that we didn't even notice how brutal it really was. We tucked our honkers in and kept on going. I had a date the next night and was not looking forward to black flaky skin chunks falling off my nose into my dinner plate. Luckily we caught it soon enough and no permanent damage was caused. Phew!

More plans to hit the slopes this Saturday with Brendan and Adam. The fam and I were at Copper last weekend and we had great weather - sunshine and six inches of powder, which I'm finally learning to maneuver in. Man were we absolutely worn out by the end of the day. Our legs were a jelloed mess. It's hard work cutting back and forth in that deep snow!

Just an additional random note - we played two full games of Monopoly in less than three hours, which has to be some sort of family record. And my brother won both of them - how crazy is that?!

That's all the news for now. Thanks to you all for your Christmas wishes, phone calls, and visits. It's been great to hear from everyone!

I'm hoping the next entry is a Year in Review - 2007. At least that's my plan. Time will tell.

remember...

It snowed most of the weekend and most of today. The kind of dark cloudy snowfall that makes you want to hunker down in piles of blankets and snuggle the day away. I guess having a job sort of prevents the ever-so-coveted snow days. I miss snow days.

happy holliday!...

I saw Matt Holliday at Chipotle today. I actually didn't believe it at first and did a double when I saw him in line. He's the 27 year old Rockies left fielder who has the leading League batting average, was the NL MVP, and, well, he's gorgeous. Of all Rockies players, Holliday is the one who has all the ladies drooling. Uh... except he's already married. With two kids.

So, I didn't know what to do in this situations. I don't run into people I see on TV very often, and I didn't want to bombard and bugger him, but I wanted to do something. I was nervous. My heart was pounding and my right leg started quivering - seriously. I felt like a twelve year-old with a school crush.

I congratulated him on his season and stuck out my hand so he had to shake it. He said thanks with a huge smile. He has great teeth.

Then I called all my friends, and we screamed like hormone-laden teenagers.

rocktober...

Sorry Rockies - what an awesome run while it lasted. And we loved watching amazing game followed by amazing game, leading to the World Series. The loss tonight was a bummer. We were crossing our fingers that it wouldn't be a sweep. For many reasons. One of them being the many many hours consumed trying to score WS tickets. Which was basically two straight days of complete unproductivity as employees around the state hit refresh for hours (literally) in hopes of ticket success. Out of everyone I knew (which was basically everyone I know) trying, the only person to succeed was my mom. My mom! She took time during work to order tickets for baseball history. Trust me, this was no easy feat, and now my friends here think she's even more awesome than before. The sad part of the story? We had tickets to Monday's game. But Monday's game is no more. The Sox walloped us 4-0 in the series, so it's bye-bye Monday baseball game, bye-bye Rockies World Series.

That's okay. There's always next year. And by then I think we'll have all the kinks worked out.

Pictured above are ten girls (well nine, the tenth is taking the picture and, for obvious reasons, not technically pictured) smashed on our couches, cheering the Rocks on for a victory tonight. Perhaps we didn't cheer loud enough...