Music

Did you know that I love it?

Did you know that Chris loves it?

Did you know that it's something that brought us together in the beginning and, I know, will be a part of us in the end?

Music has stayed a constant comfort in our friendship, our relationship, our engagement and now our marriage.

"His" became mine, "mine" became his, and "ours" comes with every new day.

It has been the source of many romantic moments, has eased tension when we fight, has made us laugh and has made us cry and everything in between.

We have made new friends because of it, have traveled near and far to get it, and have looked at each other a time or two with an, "oops, what were we thinking?" due to it.


It's something that I will cherish for years to come when I think about "us".


I've traded (thank god) those few days of poppy-punk-wannabe threads during high school for my current outfit of trouser jeans, a pink ruffled t-shirt, and a pair of black heels with a flouncy flower adorning the corners (j-crew would be proud).


Chris, too, has shed his Chuck Taylors (scratch the previous All Star comment, oops), rolled up sleeves and slicked back hair for Seven Jeans, a Patagonia button up and flip flops.

Our musical taste has come a long way as well. We like just about everything (good that is) and depending on the day, you may find us melting away with Ray Lamontagne or running away with Mike Ness.


Last week we saw this guy belt it on stage:


Tonight, we are headed to this little festival for some Grateful Dead tributes:



And on Sunday, we will watch these guys take the stage:


Music...we love it and I know that we will always be listening.

Happy Friday!

this and that

Has it really been almost a week since I have gabbed at you all? Oh my!

Psst. I will let you in on a little secret. When I don't post, it's usually because one of two reasons:

a) I am busy at work. Yes, it's true, I do actually work. I know, it was wrong to fool you all into thinking that I blog/etsy browse/look up recipes/make charts/rant and rave/shop for a living -only leaving you to wonder how in the world I manage to receive a paycheck every two weeks, teehee. But, what goes around comes around and we are officially b-u-s-y.

or

b) I don't have any sort of picture to adorn my post. Why this bothers me? I have no clue.

And so, here I am, with plenty on my plate at work AND without any pictures, posting away regardless. Ahh, it feels good to break my own rules.

Nothing extremely noteworthy, just thought I would update you on a few highlights of the past 6 days.

- I babysat the. cutest. 6 month old last Saturday. His name is Fletcher, but is referred to as baby Fletch. Their dog, Dr. Noodles, was there too. Haha, I kind of got a kick out of that name! The parents, who are friends of friends, are pretty adorable, stylish to boot and have one kick-ass kid. Chris chose to skip out on the babysitters club adventures, but I made sure to let him know how much fun we were having without him by sending several "guess what baby Fletch is doing now?" text messages. Oh yea, I made some good money too, where I spent the next day at...

- TJ Maxx Home Goods. Hooray for Home Goods. Hooray for Mom for dragging me into Home Goods, before I was "savvy" enough to realize it's awesomeness in reasonably priced home decor. Hooray for my $5 basket. Hooray for my orange and white graphic print over sized pillow. Hooray for me for NOT buying a $100 purse.

- We spent last Sunday evening at our last Jazz in the Park for the summer. Brie, crackers, jam, dark chocolate, wine, beer, wine (no worries, we walk here), feet in the grass, blanket on the ground, the sunset over the skyline whilst being entertained by the finest people watching in all of Denver, a cool breeze, good company, lively music...it's always a great time. We will miss you Jazz in the Park - can't wait for next summer.

- We had our neighbors, Meghan and Mark over for dinner last night. We dined on Smoked Brie (we obviously love us some Brie), Crackers and Jam (ditto), wine and beer (ditto and ditto), Summer Pizza, a BBQ Chicken Pizza (ahem, pizzas are easy. Easy not to mess up that is.), ooh, and some of Leigh's (who's family could still use some thoughts and prayers) amazing chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I think I successfully made a decent cookie. If you know me, you know that this is by far my worst domestic skill. I was pretty pleased when they asked for another. Chris gave me a wink too, which confirmed the baking success.

And lastly, on the horizon for a good time: KiNGs of LeOn this Sunday at Red Rocks. We are stoked.

Gotta run. Getting an influx of 'e-mail dings' reminding me that, yes indeed, I am still at work.

Sunday - Saturday

As mentioned in several previous posts, I am what you might call, a bit of planner. By trade, by nature, by desire. I plan my outfits, our weekends, his meals, my errands, our future and about everything in between. I feel relaxed when everything is in it's place, on schedule and organized. I tend to think I am pretty good at keeping things in order, however, lately, we have been so busy, that I feel like the little things are escaping me. And because I know better than to think things will ever slow down completely, I decided I needed a plan (a more detailed plan that is) to keep me on track.

For example, I feel like the laundry has been piling up until the basket is ready to topple over, the bathroom has been neglected for weeks, I have a check from June that I still need to cash, a stack of thank you cards to write, and more "return" piles in my car than I know what to do with. Accomplishing these little things with a husband, friends, family, an 8-5 job and a life for that matter, requires quite the balancing act. My hat is off to those of you who throw a kid or two into the mix!

And so, yesterday afternoon, I did the extreme. I put together a Sunday - Saturday routine to keep me from going nuts.

Some would find this crazy (and let's face it, slightly annoying), but I find it therapeutic. Just knowing that things will. get. done., and now on a designated day, makes me happy as a clam. Here's what my week looks like.

Sunday: AM - Bills and Letters, PM - Grocery List and Plan Menus for the Week
Monday: AM - Work Out, PM - Grocery Shop
Tuesday: AM - Laundry and Iron, PM - Trash, Recycling and Cat Stuff
Wednesday: AM - Work Out, PM - Run Errands, Do Returns
Thursday: AM - Light Chores and Cleaning, PM - Personal Appointments and Maintenance
Friday: AM & PM - Free Day
Saturday: AM - Work Out, PM - Deep clean the house 1x per month

Chris quickly saw that this did not include hanging out with him, making dinner, feeding the cat, meeting up with our friends, etc. I'm pretty sure he thought our lives were about to take a turn for the worst - heh heh. I had to ensure him that this is obviously ON TOP of the day-to-day things that get scheduled in.

Anyways, I made a simple excel doc., laminated it and posted it up in our kitchen. I am already loving it - Have gotten my run in and have my returns lined up for after work today!

What do you do to stay organized? I am ALWAYS up for the latest in organization techniques...

grr

Today, I am having a day.

Today my hair is greasy and my skin is shiny (not glowing, just shiny). I have an incredibly huge, ahem, inflamation right smack in the middle of my cheek that makes me look all of 14 years old.

I did not get enough sleep last night which meant my morning routine got screwed up, which meant that I was running very late for my 8:30 meeting , which meant that I ran out the door wearing....

a dress that is just a tad too low for work-appropriate. This means I have been constantly readjusting the thing every two seconds all day long. And to make matters worse, I am certain that our CEO caught me in the re-adjusting, looking down with the "can you see down my dress" ponder, twisty, turn-y act as he walked around the corner this morning.

I went to the Futon store during lunch to find a new futon cover as ours has been through the ringer only to find that it has closed/gone out of business/was seized. I never knew how tough it would be to find a cover for one of these things.

I am several pounds heavier than I was yesterday - and I feel it. So what if I maybe had a hotdog, 2 beers, ice cream, and possibly some candy at the Rockie's game last night? We rode our bikes to and from...doesn't that count for anything? grr.

I can not, for the life of me, find our original "before" pictures of our basement on our computer. The ones from when we first moved in. And because I am that stubborn, I don't want to post any afters. Our carpet was installed Monday and looks lovely, but I just have to show you befores...and, yes, that is a whine.

I am on our company picnic's planning committee - which happens to be this Sunday. There are several things that bother me about this.

#1) Somehow I feel like my job has been defined as such. Tiffany, the company picnic planner. Doesn't have anything else she could/should/wants to be doing. We will ask her all things picnic related including what side dishes are still needed, can we bring our dog, is alcohol allowed at the park, what the weather is going to be like, what will we do if there is rain, how does the game badminton work, etc. etc. We will drop all supplies including plates, napkins, red and white table cloths, paper plates and loads of Country Time Lemonade off at her desk as if it were the picnic headquarters. She will arrive early to the picnic to see that the 2x5 monster grill arrives safely and she will stay late to see that everyone has thrown away their paper cup.

#2) The thing is on a weekend - in the middle of the day - all day. And while I do love my company, nothing really makes me want to spend a whole day with the receptionist/accountant/IT guy on my day off. I mean really.

#3) I will most likely be assigned all other random tasks from here on out. Think holiday parties, company get togethers, charity functions, etc. And not because I think I am doing a fabulous job or am tooting my own horn here. Rather because we lost most of these "catch all" people during layoffs and I can sense that they have been hunting for suitable replacement. Mind you, suitable just means not running the other way when asked to help.

With that, I'll continue with my real job equipped with my greasy hair, shiny skin, large zit, futon cover-less, picnic e-mail overload, heavy-feeling self for just a few more hours and wait for this day to pass. geesh.

PS - perhaps it is a problem that most of my posts have been catergorized rants and raves?! ;)

Photo Friday

First - A very big thank you for those who commented below. I truly enjoyed, appreciated (and needed) the words/encouragement/thoughts and am feeling much more content. It's exciting to see what our future holds.

Second - Iowa pictures. You probably forgot that I even went to Iowa, but for me, it's something that's been lingering on my internal 'to-do list' for too long now ;) I will finally be able to move on with my life, hehe.

Have a great weekend. For us, it will include getting our basement prepped for carpet installation on MONDAY!!, a friends going away party, a concert in Fort Collins and Jazz in the Park on Sunday.

On our way...

Chris's littlest (or not so little) brother and oldest sister.

Country Roads

At his mom's old farm plot - where they grew up.

My brother in law and newphew


my niece


Chris and his grandmaAnother family farm

2 seconds before the f-bomb...see previous posts for more details ;) Afterall it was a 12-gauge shotgun people.

Thoughts

While I do love me some postings about shoes and the like, the reality is that my thoughts have been annoyingly preoccupied with the not so small, but rather very consuming, topic of...

Kids. Gah - even typing the word makes me a little nervous.

I have always wanted kids. Have desired to be a mom since I was old enough to a hold a doll (I even spent my 7-year-old allowance on real baby dipers for them). I have honestly admitted, "I want to be a mom", to the question of: "What do you want to do (fill in the blank) ...when you get older? ....with your degree? ...with your life?" I watch a baby story daily, light up when I spend time with kids and know what a 'Bumbo' is without having a clue about pregnancy.

I am now madly in love with and happily married to a man who also wants kids. We have one little house, two little incomes, and countless reasons why a baby would fit happily into our lives.

Can someone please tell me why then, I am all of a sudden scared to death of the aforementioned subject? Why it has consumed me and every other conversation I have with my poor husband?

Although we have never wanted a "plan" per say, there still has to be some sort of "no plan" that we commit to in order to ...let's just see what happens. In our minds, the "no plan" is planned to happen in the next year or so. Hmm, follow me?

There are several things that excite me to no end and also some that seem to scare me right out of the "no plan" timeline.

Some of these things include: Will we make "friends with kids" friends?, can we ever go out again?, will our "friends with no kids" friends still like us?, will I hate having to share the time I get with my husband? will this really be fun - forever? Can I still have wine every night? Oh, and can someone please answer Chris's burning question: WILL HE BE ABLE TO RIDE HIS MOUNTAIN BIKE AFTER WORK?

I guess what I am having trouble recognizing the most is if these feelings are telling me that we. are. not. ready. or rather that we'll never be "ready" and to embrace this new (potential) chapter in our lives.


We hear that we should wait. We hear that we shouldn't. We hear we should have more money - kids are expensive. We hear things work themselves out. We hear that we need to take time for ourselves, for our marriage. We hear that too much growth and you become fiercely independent. We hear that kids change things. For the best and for the not-so-much-the-best. We hear that we are so young. We hear that we would make great parents. We scare some, excite others.

We have heard and truly listen to all ends of the spectrum and ultimately we know that no one can make the decision except for ourselves. This is proving to be the hard part. Daily, we change our minds about where we should go from here. We are also fully aware that when we do decide, we may not be blessed to have it all work out as we had hoped - which is so scary in itself.


I would really love and appreciate your thoughts on the subject, as I am driving myself nuts with my own. I wish I could just appreciate the moment we are at without looking towards the future. Then again, the future is just too exciting and scary not to peek...

If the Shoe Fits...

(which mine does - quite well thank you) Wear It!

My feet will be fancy free in these pretties from W.H.B.M. at Meghan's wedding next weekend:

Aren't they cute?

In other news - I have t-minus 2 hours until my 4th of July weekend extravaganza begins...what are we doing that is so extravagant, you may ask?

Well, for starters, we, er, I, will be belting lots of "You're a Grand Ol' Flag", "Yankee Doodle" and "God Bless America" in the car on our way to our country's heartland tomorrow morning. We figured we couldn't get more '4th of July-ish' then driving out along the open road to a family reunion in Nebraska. Next stop, farm country. We will visit Chris's 97-year-old Grandma, Murle in Corning, Iowa. . It's probably going to be the craziest 4th weekend yet - hehe.

Seriously though, we are looking forward to the weekend - hope you all have a good one too!

PS: My two favorite "fireworks" will also be in tow - Chris may or may not have to keep me from hanging out the car window throwing Poppers on the ground and waving my Sparklers ;)

Going Green

Well, kind of. While we do recycle (although sometimes I get lazy and a jar or two...or three ends up in the trash rather than walking them 10 feet to the basement stairs), open windows instead of turning on air conditioning (oh wait, no choice there. grr.), eat organic as much as possible (and spend way too much on groceries at 'Whole Paycheck' in which Chris has informed me, "We do not shop at Whole Foods"), and ride our bikes instead of drive (this is Chris's preference - he's lucky I love him...and want a work out), the title of the post is really referring to the fact that the color is one of my favorites! And if it pertained to home decor, I would be set! Take a look at how it appears in our house:






Happy Friday! We are headed camping this weekend if the weather holds out - first trip of the season, so our fingers are crossed that the never ending rain takes a break.

chris + tiff = love... (usually)

tiff: "what's wrong, do you not like dinner?"
chris: "I do, I just wonder why when I talk about work you're not interested and when you talk about work, you expect me to get excited"
tiff: silence.
chris: "What? Are you mad?"
tiff: silence.
chris: "Are you going to say something? I mean I feel like if people asked what I do you wouldn't know all that i do."
tiff: "What?! I listen to you ALL the time. That is so unfair. And so NOT true. You are a Mechanical Engineer for a construction company and you put together RFP's."
chris: "No. I am a Project Engineer for a mechanical company and I put together RFI's. See?"
tiff: "Well exuse me. ugh. I mean it's a lot of words to keep track of. What do I do then, huh? What's my title?"
chris: silence.
tiff: "huh?"
chris: silence.
tiff: pick up dishes and LOUDLY clean up dinner and load the dishwasher. Chip a plate.
chris: smirks at me for chipping the plate.
tiff: "You are not perfect!!!!!" and storm out of the room. For some reason I feel the need to pull out this line every time we fight - totally random!
chris: An hour later, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad"

Now, this is where it gets worse - I can not move on. Read:

tiff: "well, you really hurt my feelings. Why do you have to say things like that?"
chris: "I know, that's why I'm sorry."
tiff: "well, I'm still sad. You hurt my feelings. Are you really sorry?"
chris: "YES. I am sorry.
tiff: "I mean, Chris, I do listen to you. And you really did hurt my feelings. Why do you have to say that to me?"
chris: walks out of the room.
tiff: "Well, okay. Fine. It's fine. I mean, I just wish you didn't say that."
chris: silence.
tiff: "Ahhh. whatever. it's fine. But, I mean....
chris: "OKAY! Enough."
tiff: "Well, it's just. Chris. you hurt my feelings. Why did you say that?"
tiff: Reading the VERY unpleasant look on his face: "Okay, okay, I know. Fine. I'm over it. I'm sorry."
tiff: "want to come on a walk with me?"
chris: "No thank you."
tiff: "Are you kidding me? No thank you?! See, you aren't sorry. You're still mad. Ugh. This is not MY fault! Fine, I'm going by myself. Hmph."
chris: "okay, please leave."
tiff: slams door. Comes back in. "Really you are not coming? Why?"

...Oh yes folks, this nothing-ness fight continues until morning - I think we were still fighting during our sleep. We were still cranky when we grudgingly gave each other a hug this morning.

Pretty sure he thinks I am a pain in the you know what....

BUT - I love him. I love Chris and can't think of anyone I would rather be fighting with (if that makes sense). After all, I AM a pain. We'll get over it - until next time.

Ah, such is life.

I'm sorry husband. I think you are the best project engineer for your mechanical company ever. Please forgive me.

I really am short

At 5'2, it's no secret that I am petite. I know that I will always have to get my jeans hemmed and that I will NEVER be able to wear the maxi dresses that I want to so badly. And although I hear the "you're so little" comments all the time, I usually take them with a laugh and an "...oh, come on. I am not that little." And, honestly, I really have believed that. I wear flats on a daily basis, don't think twice that I have to look up at everyone I talk to and have gotten used to never actually seeing the band when we go to a concert.

But, wow - this picture really hit me. I really am short. People are not exaggerating and I should probably stop rolling my eyes at them when they tell me that I am. Huh. Who knew?

Anyways, here is our Bolder Boulder "after" picture. Clearly I was excited.

Cinco De Mayo

I'm craving it.

but, am still here at work so can't partake. Enjoy some fiesta action for me! Chips, Guac and Margs - yum!

Last Year

...at this time, we were enjoying surf, sand (and Byron) in Maui. I can't believe how fast a year really goes...sigh.

"The One with the Videotape"...

Do you remember this Friend's episode?

No, I am not talking about the main part of the episode in which Ross and Rachel argue about who came on to who first and find a "videotape" to prove that Rachel came on to Ross - (although this may be more exciting)...

I am talking about the portion in which Monica and Chandler hit it off with another couple on their honeymoon who live in same area back home, only to find out upon their return that the couple gave them a 'fake' number. This sends them into a tailspin about why on earth they would have been given a fake number and each of them blames the other person for what they could have done to cause for such extreme measures...pretty funny.

Anyways, recently Chris and I have had our own little version of the blame game...

About a month ago, we were invited to our first real 'neighborly' dinner next door. M&M, as we'll call them for short (and for a small bit of privacy), had us over after M. and Chris went for a bike ride. I was pretty darn excited about our new neighbors and having some "couple friends" - (i know, gag), right next door! M. and Chris have a lot in common from mountain biking to working construction, and as for the other M. and myself?! Well, let's be real, I get along with just about anyone who is willing to listen me gab about nothing for a few solid hours and will laugh at my attempts to make jokes...

We left dinner that night feeling satisfied with the yummy meal and more importantly, our conversation skills. Like a great interview, we debriefed. "Wow honey - You were great," I said. "You really had M. excited about that trail ride in Fort Collins. And - man, that story about hiking Conundrum - perfect!"

"Thanks," Chris replied. "You were pretty awesome yourself. I think they loved the tales about your catering woes, your shopping addiction and the hilarious re-caps of our Hawaii trip last year. And, mmmm, that dessert you brought over - delish. Nice going!"

"Yea, pretty sure they loved us." High. Five.

Errr....maybe not.

Eager to see and talk to our new friends the next day, I practically tripped over myself as I ran out of the house when I saw M. watering his lawn. Like a total nerd, I waived and said, "Hi there! Thanks again for last night. We loved it!"

And then out of M's mouth....the impossible. A simple head nod and nonchalant, "Sure."

"Sure?" What? Did I hear him right...I must not have. I waited for something more. Nope - Nothing. "Sure?" Aghhh!!

I called Chris immediately.

"....and then he said, sure! Sure, Chris! What happened? Was something said when I was lingering in the restroom admiring their vacation pictures? Did you eat one too many burgers? AND - by the way, I'm pretty positive that look you gave their dog was less than nice after she licked your feet. Chris!! What did you do?"

"Me?" Chris started, "...me? I think your third glass of Pinot probably made you look a little desperate. I mean, it was Sunday night! And poor Meghan couldn't get a word in edge wise because you were blabbering on per usual. And didn't you ask for your burger medium rare? That's hard to do, you know. No way, this is not my fault."

"Humph" x 2.

Since that day, we have seen them several more times - obviously. They live next door. No mention has been made of 'that night'. I try not to sound overly eager when all I really want to do is hang out and compliment M. on her new scarf and Chris settles for a head nod and friendly , "what's up man?" In reality, all the poor guy wants to do is share his tale of an epic bike ride that morning and how he wished M. could have joined. Yes, we have toned it down and have become complacent in our roles of "...just the neighbors". Sigh.

Until.....

After a pretty long (and pretty awesome for that matter) conversation at a mutual neighbor's party on Saturday, M&M knocked on our door yesterday and invited us back for dinner last night! Woo hoo! Chris came in and said, "Hey! Guess what? M&M just asked if we wanted to come over! Do we?!" Me...,"Um....do we?! Heck yes! I've really missed them. I knew it wasn't us! I mean, clearly..."

And so we went, we dined, we laughed, we conversed - for 4 hours. We conquered.

Dinner was amazing. I brought over cheesy beer bread which smelled heavenly. I didn't ask for my burger any particular way. I stopped at 1.5 Rum & Pineapples. Chris stuck to Coors Light, and made everyone laugh multiple times with stories about the job site and we all shared common "summer goals" which included camping, beer fest, hiking and jazz in the park. Yep....pretty sure they love us again. And, we love them!

On a serious side note...M. just recently finished chemo rounds and a serious battle with cancer. She kicked some a** and we think that she is simply incredible. Truly. And honestly, they could not be better neighbors. We feel thankful to have them in our lives. And even I can live with a simple, "...sure" now and again :)

kind of excited

Let me tell you why...

A) It's Friday! For me, this means flavored creamer in my morning coffee, wearing my favorite jeans/flats/gray cardigan at work, a day off from running, happy hour sushi with a handsome man, a second glass of wine and a bedtime that is later than 9:30. I know, pretty crazy...

B) It's May. I finally get to flip my month by month desk calender from 'April' to 'May'. I have 5 valid excuses to eat Birthday cake this month and plan to use them all. I will run 6.2 miles in the Boulder Boulder. And, I get my dose of Lisa Rupp's monthly calendar download below. You can download for free by visiting her site. Stummped on how to use them? Click here for ideas.

C) It's Derby time! And while I'm not exactly sure what this even means, I have gathered from our 'Kentucky Derby Party!' invitation that the day will include:

Mint Juleps - I have researched and have come up with the conclusion that a Mint Julep = a Southern and more reee-fhhiined version of my go-to summer cocktail, the Mojito. Perfection.

"...The two most exciting minutes in sports" - 2 minutes, that's all?! What a concept. No belabored quarters, B-lister half-time acts or wasting away on the couch, drinking beer and morphing into "one of the guys" for an afternoon.

Hats! - Any excuse to go thrifting and find an obnoxious, fancy and feathery piece of fashion sounds like fun to me. On Saturday, you may find me in a version of the following:

On second thought, you may not.

Have a great weekend~

Coffee

...sometimes, it just tastes better when you drink it from a big-gold-handled, slightly ornate and ridiculous, yellow and gold-ish, ceramic coffee mug. Fun.

Our weekend was nice and mellow and I don't think I spent more than 5 minutes in the basement - which I have to say I enjoyed thoroughly! It is so close to being finished, yet so far and most days, I feel like it will never get done! Although there are only a few little things left like trim, one last wall of paint, caulk, organizing, etc. , there is also one large thing - Carpet. This pricey detail may cause our basement to feel unfinished longer than we'd like, especially as the nice weather sneaks up on us and sitting on a patio with an actual yard, enjoying summer evenings seems quite nice. Decisions, decisions...carpet or grass?! I always vote both, of course. Then again, I also tend to think money grows on trees...hmm.

On another note, we watched our niece and nephews on Saturday and for the most part had a great time with them. I say "most part" because about an hour of it was filled with an "almost had to go to the Emergency Room" scare. Jack, our favorite 6 year old, fell off of his bike over the handlebars going down the neighbors driveway. When he stood up, all I could see was a bloody mess in his mouth and I was sure he had knocked out his teeth.

It scared everyone - Chris and I the most for sure and we were soon dealing with 3 screaming little ones! Once I, er, I mean Jack, stopped shaking uncontrollably and I could clean him up enough to see his mouth, we realized that his teeth were still in tact and it was just a busted lip. A few ice packs, Star Wars movies and orange Popsicles later, Jack was doing much better. He has a lovely and extremely fat lip to show for it. He kept looking in the mirror and saying, "Ahhhh!" We're just happy that this was the extent of it! Aunt Tiff and Uncle Chris may have quickly moved to the bottom of the family babysitter list if Jack was without teeth...

Hope you all had a nice weekend!