25 things...

1. I used to think that I would never leave Stuart, IA and now I live in Denver and know that I will never live in Stuart or Iowa ever again. Though I miss the people so. I often wish they would all move closer. Why can't Denver be 4 hours from Stuart instead of 10hours.

2. I almost never remember my dreams and when I do I can only retell bits and pieces that make almost no sense to anyone, but me. Jesse has vivid dreams almost nightly and can retell them with such detail it amazes me. He's got an amazing memory or he's the best storyteller/liar I have ever met... Either way I am jealous.

3. I've made it my mission to help Jesse better connect with his family. I know he's jealous of me and how close I am to my family. I try to keep in contact with his mom through emails, his sister through her blog page, his grandma through letters, and his other sisters and sister-in-law through myspace. It's also a big part of the reason I started this blog page.

4. I love pictures. I love taking pictures, looking at pictures, and framing and hanging pictures on my wall. I have roughly 20 photos around my living room and would have more, but Jesse thinks were getting a big excessive.

5. I love antiques. I love historical artifacts you might say. I love to go to antique malls and look around at all the history and maybe even take some home with me. One of my prized possessions is a framed 1926 cover of Pictorial Review a womens' sewing magazine of the day. It's a beautiful piece of art.

6. I want to learn how to sew and even more I want to learn how to quilt. Someday when I have the time and the money I will do both. I got a used sewing machine as a present from my old landlords and for my birthday my friend, who works at a fabric shop, got me supplies to get started. Now I need to transform our spare room into a sewing room.

7. I want to go back to school and I don't all at the same time. I'm torn, because I know on one hand that it can only open more doors for me career wise, but on the other hand I dread sitting in a class room again and I don't know how I'm going to make it work financially. I got accepted and now I'm figuring out the rest. I'm very nervous.

8. My car is falling apart and I can not afford another especially right now. I'm doing my best to save up for a new one and hopefully before next winter I will have saved 2 to 3 thousand and my friend's dad who works at the auto auction will hook me up. I can not wait!

9. I come from a long line of artistic people and most people think I'm an artisit, but it's just not true. I can barely draw to save my life. Jesse is definitely the artist out of the 2 of us. I'm more of the creative type. I'm good at crafts and inspiring creative thoughts in others. I think of myself more as a muse.

10. I love kids, but at this point in my life am not ready for my own. I get enough kid time at the museum, the parenting classes, babysitting, my new volunteer job, and spending time with all of Jesse's neices and nephews (he's got 5 and 2 on the way). Someone else described it as the grandparent job. Play with them, teach them, have fun with them and then send them home with their folks. Give me 5 years and then we'll see where I am.

11. I have no problem cleaning up after others, but when it comes to cleaning up after me I often get lazy. Jesse is my motivator and if it weren't for him who knows how many dishes would be piled in the sink or how much laundry would be in the laundry basket before I got around to taking care of it.

12. I have a big problem saying No. When I was younger we went on a family vacation to Arnold's Park with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I have a very weak stomach and don't really enjoy myself at theme parks for those of you who don't know. Me being the oldest of the cousins was asked to ride with the younger ones. Ok and then again with the next one. Ok and so on until I started feeling queasy. I told my mom I thought I needed to set down for a bit. She didn't seem to concerned, because when I looked up she was walking away with the rest of the group leaving me all alone. I jumped up and ran to catch up with them only to be suckered into riding the spinning apples with a group of the little ones. Yeah needless to say a really bad idea. As soon as the ride was over I ran for the exit only to make it to the bushes where I proceeded to vomit. Should have said No, but I just couldn't. I've always got to be the nice guy. I'm working on this, but it still continues to be a problem for me.

13. I'm terrible with money. Seriously I give it away faster than I make it. I barely make any money, but I know people who make less than me and they make it work and it looks effortless. I should stop giving it all away, but I have a soft spot for others.

14. I work at a non-profit and until I got the job I had no idea what that term meant. Now I can't imagine myself working in the for profit world.

15. I love to volunteer. Helping others better their lives makes me feel good and no matter what I hope to always have a volunteer job until the day I die. It makes me happy.

16. I tend to be a gossip. I try to not be, because I hate drama and petty childish games... but sometimes the small town comes out in me and I gossip away. Maybe someday I'll be strong enough not to.

17. I am more sensitive than most people think. I put off a hard exterior and always as my dad says play tougher than the nails, but I do have a sensative side. I love helping others especially my friends, family, and co-workers, but the only thing I ask in return is a thank you or some sort of acknowledgement. The one thing that hurts my feelings the most is having my act of kindness ignored. Repay me with polite manners, just like we tell the kids at the museum.

18. I hate rude people. I have the hardest time putting myself first and people who are rude and selfish drive me nuts. I would do anything for anyone especially those I care most about before I would do for myself and it blows my mind that people out there think they are more important than all other people. Get off your high horse and help a brother out.

19. I don't believe that you have to go to church to be a good person. I believe in right and wrong and the golden rule. If you follow those three things you will go far.

20. Jesse and I are addicted to Netflix. We get really obessed and since joinging a few months ago have uped the number of dvd's we get. We also do live streaming on his x-box.

21. I have what some might call an odd obsession with learning about pregnancy and child birth. I watch lots of shows and documentaries and read lots of books. I've even thought about trying to become a labor and delivery nurse, a doula, or a midwife. I would love to experience the miracle of birth on a daily basis and to help couples ease through the transistion.

22. I love cooking especially baking. I got 2 cook books for Christmas and 2 cooking aprons for my birthday. I like to try out new recipes, but more than that I like to make up my own recipes. To me recipes are more of a guidline. I like to get creative, but nothing to weird. I follow the cooking school of grandma... it's all in my head, I make it from memory and I pinch the salt instead of use proper measurements. It seems to be doing well for me thus far.

23. I truly enjoy doing laundry on my day off, but only when I have nothing else to do and the washer and dryer are in my apartment and free.

24. I have an obsession with the tv show Jon & Kate plus 8. I watch it all the time and I force Jesse to watch it too. Its a cute show that's often funny and watching the chaos of their life makes me feel better about the chaos of mine. Hey at least I don't have 8 kids under 8.

25. My favorite genre of movies is Documentary. I've been dowloading tons all day from netflix, so we can stream them on his x-box.

And another year goes by...

My personal cake and birthday card with surprise decorations.

Door decorations!

Yummy Cupcakes! A frosting and sprinkle overload.

As most of you know already yesterday was my birthday. The big 2-6! Jesse seemed to have a mid- 20's crisis on his 26th, but I felt nothing. I guess I was expecting a ticking time bomb to go off. Jesse said when he turned 26 he started feeling old. I said I started feeling old when my little brother got into Highschool, then graduated Highschool and my friends all started getting married and having babies. That makes me feel old not some silly day on a calendar. All in all it was a pretty good birthday. I had more birthday wishes than I've had in years. I'm all about the recognition more than anything. My mom called and sang me Happy Birthday as she has every year since I moved out here. It's a nice tradition and I hope she continues it. I worked a few hours that morning and my co-workers suprised me with cinnamon rolls, chocolate milk, a card, and some money (I'm normally the one collecting money and planning gifts/parties for all of them). It was nice to be on the recieving end for once. We went... suprise suprise bowling with friends to celebrate. It a cheap form of entertainment especially on Tues/Thurs for quarter mania. I think the guys enjoy the bar and the girls enjoy the socializing. My friend Tenille brought me cupcakes and everyone embarassed me by singing Happy Birthday. I bowled one of the worst games I've bowled in a while. I broke 100, but almost everyone else kicked my butt. I guess they don't believe in letting a person win on their birthday. The best part of my day was coming home. We got home from bowling late and when we walked in our building we saw streamers in a waterfall down the stairs. Weird! that wasn't there when we left. As we walked up the stairs we noticed balloons and confetti. Then we noticed our door. It was plastered with Happy Birthday banners and their sitting next to it was a card and a mini-birthday cake waiting for me. I knew right away who it was from... our lovely neighbor Mary. She's an all out decorator for every holiday (their door is already decked out for Valentine's Day). My suspicions were correct. I have such nice thoughtful neighbors. Big Thanks to all of you who, called, emailed, texted, sent cards, decorated, planned events, collected money, or myspaced me. It all made for a wonderful day.

In case you are wondering.... Jesse gave me my birthday gift early, but I can't have it until February 8th. He got really good tickets to see CHICAGO at the Buell Theater downtown and he got a 1 night stay in a fancy hotel with valet parking and a 3 course meal for 2 at really nice restaurant. We're going shopping this weekend and he's going to buy me a new dress. We're going to pretend like we have money for once. I'm so excited! It's going to be a great night.

January Updates....

The Snow of today... just in time for my birthday. Yippee...

Jesse and his friend Paul (who celebrated a birthday this month too) at the Karaoke bar for another January birthday.
Rachel and I celebrating her birthday. January Birthday's are taking over!

Jesse bowling at a party we had for 2 of his friends celebrating January Birthdays!

Jesse and I at one of the January Birthday parties for our friends.

My Parenting classes started last week, but no kids came to the 1st session. Next week there should be 5 or 6 kids one of whom has autism. I don't have much experience with that sort of thing, but I'm really excited to be able to learn. My community outreach responsibilities will be starting up soon along with the first aid teacher certification. I also started taking Yoga classes on Thursdays after work @ the museum. Boy am I ever out of shape. I'm in the process of filling out a packet for volunteering @ Bridgeway a home for pregnant teens. They help the girls with, child care, parenting classes, support, housing, schooling, and the adoption process if they so choose. I'm also in the process of widening my horizons. I decided that I didn't want to sit on my butt and wait to find out if I get the Event Planning job @ the Museum in June/July. I want to make more options for myself, so I decided to take classes to get Certified as a Group Leader and a Director. Which will mean that I can teach or be the director of a Preschool and/or Day Care Center. I found out a week ago that I had to have everything filled out and turned in before Feb 1st to be eligible to take classes in the summer. YIKES! I managed to get it all in and found out I was excepted (it's so hard to get into community college, I know) for the SPRING semester which I thought already started. Tomorrow I am planning to stop by the school to speak with the Admisssion and Finacial Aid offices to see what's up. I may be starting classes sooner than I thought. New responsibilities @ the museum, a 2nd job, volunteering, Yoga classes, and school... it's about to get real interesting around here. I'm very excited and very nervous. Wish me luck!

Our beautiful weather last week (temps in the 70's seriously) has been blurred out as a faint dream with the mini-blizzard of today. Temps are in the 30's and 40's and we have several inches. What a bummer! Just in time for my birthday. Yippe...

This weekend was a busy one, because I went on a road trip to Wyoming with my friend Amanda. We went to he old hometown just outside of Cheyenne for a Passion Party that her grandma was throwing. For those of you who know what that is... YES it was her grandma throwing it. Strange I know, but that made it all the more interesting. We ended up getting snowed in there and having to get a hotel room for the night. That wasn't fun, but it was an interesting trip and we had a nice time. I told Amanda not to worry about us getting snowed in, but that I might start pitching a fit if I was stuck in the middle of nowhere Wyoming for my birthday. Thank goodness the weather let up, so we made it home yesterday afternoon.

A quick Ideal Father's update... It seems the guys have found a new drummer. His name is Mike which is surely going to get confusing since their bass player is also named Mike. The new Mike is a big burly looking guy with lots of facial hair, but he seems to be really quiet and sweet. He reminds me of a big teddy bear. More to come on the guys progress in a new post I'm working on with Jesse's help. Keep an eye out for that, but don't hold your breath.

The little Drummer Boy...

Ideal Fathers are still avidly seaking a drummer to take over Paddy's place. Their recent practices testing out new drummers have been less than satisfactory leaving the guys feeling down on their luck. They've posted adds on craigslist and in the want adds in some local publications. While on the phone with one of the new drummer hopefuls Jesse learned that there was an article about the Fathers on Westword.com again. We did a google search and sure enough one of their local music critic friends wrote a little blurb about how great the guys are and how they really need a new drummer. This pretty much made Jesse day. He immediately called the guys none of them knew about the article, but of course they were all thrilled. It pays to have friends in high places or at least we hope so. I'm posting the link for the webpage below. Keep checking back for more Ideal Father's updates. I'm sure we haven't heard the last from them.

http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2009/01/ideal_fathers_seek_ideal_drumm.php

Dinner Dates....

Christopher making the right choice to have milk with his lunch instead of soda.

Mary and Christopher ordering from their lovely waitress, me. : )

Mary & Christopher sharing a sandwich and healthy salad for lunch.

Christopher taking his leftovers home.

Mary and Christopher getting their bill once again from their lovely waitress, me. : )

Not our's... it's the name of a program here @ the museum. We have a program called PlayWorks that's all about making everyday activities fun and educational. We've done it on everything from laundry time, cooking dinner, going to the doctor, going to the library, and so on. This month it's all about going out to eat and helping your kids make healthy dinner choices, hence the name Dinner Dates. Along with the program we make small books that tell a story about a child or several children acting out what the program is about. Our neighbor Mary happens to work @ a fancy restaurant in Cherry Creek (the one I took Jesse to for his birthday)and she happens to have an adorable son, Christopher, who adores me. Perfect for us! Mary agreed and got her restaurant to agree to be the back drop for our book. I got to play the waitress in the story (a stretch for me since I've never worked in food service). All day everyone kept asking me why I was so dressed up and if I had a job interview or something? Ha! I didn't know what to wear as a waitress. I think the pictures turned out good, so I'm including some from the book. Christopher is a real cutie. He loves to come over to our apartment and slide down our chair, jump on our couch, and cuddle with his blankie while watching football with Jesse. It's really adorable. Enjoy!

Happy New Year! 2009

Me & Jesse outside on a beautiful New Year's Eve Night 2008.

Jesse showing off his champagne. Tenille doing her typical picture face.


Me all fancied up for work. I had lots of beaded necklaces on, a feather clip, a headband that said Happy New Year, and lots and lots of glittery spray in my curly hair. You've got to be festive when you work with the kiddos. You better believe that they loved it too. So many kids were drawn to me and my sparkly colorful exterior.


A close up of the museum's ball. I'm not sure when they made this ball, but it's been a Noon Year's staple for years. The kids love to get to see a ball drop since most of them can't stay up late enough to watch the big one in New York.


After a long day at the museum. For your information we did break the record of visitors, this year we had 3,092 visitors. It was quite a clean up as I predicted, but thankfully we had lots of volunteers. I'm still not feeling up to par, so after work I hitched a ride home to take another relaxing bath and rest until Jesse came home. I was so glad that we closed 2 hours early. Jesse worked a long day and went straight to his Ideal Father's practice after. This gave me lots of time to relax and I enjoyed every minute of it. Around 10:30 we headed over to a friends house for a small gathering of people from our neck of the woods. 7minutes until mid-night (it was a beautiful night) we were standing in the backyard with our friend Tenille and some other people who I just met.

Jesse: What time is it?
Me: 7 till
Jesse: I have to pee. I probably won't be able to make it in through the crowd, to the bathroom and back in time. Huh?
Me: I don't know probably not.
Jesse: Ah there's probably a line. I'll wait. I will pop this champagne for you guys and then I'm going in.
Me: Ok

a few minutes later...

Jesse: What time is it now?
Me: 2 till
Jesse: Oh that's plenty of time. (he proceeds to hand me the bottle and run off)
The Crowd: 10, 9, 8
Me: Jesse's going to spend New Years in the bathroom
Tenille: Pretty Much
The Crowd: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Happy New Year!
Me: I knew it. ( I take a sip of the champagne someone poured me as I see the gate to the back fence come flying open and Jesse is sprinting towards me for a kiss)
Jesse: I'm here
Me: It's too late now it's 12:02. You spent New Years alone in a bathroom while I was in a backyard with Tenille and some strangers.
Jesse: I'm here now.
Me: I guess that's better than you disappearing.

All is not lost we kiss and say Happy New Year!


HAPPY NEW YEARS! Everyone we hope you had a great beginning to your 2009 and that you got to spend it with someone you love.

What a crowd... Happy Noon Year's everyone!

The 1st ball drop of the day complete with confetti canon and giant rolls of bubble wrap to stomp on (it's a little safer than fireworks).

Post bubble wrap stomp... the aftermath. Clean up is going to be fun today!

A little girl dancing all over the bubble wrap making sure she we didn't miss one.

Vern's mini-train. Mr. Vern comes and gives rides to the kids at all our special events.

Me with the white feathers in my hair and Miss Stephanie dancing with the kiddos @ one of the Little League performances. Yeah Little League! It was a packed house in the theater. Rocky Mountian News and I believe Channel 4 News were here taking some shots of the dancers.

Today is New Year's Eve or as we call it around here Noon Year's Eve. Noon Years is one of our biggest Events. The museum is open from 9-2 with ball drops every hour on the hour. We also have special storytimes with Lars the Polar Bear, theater performances by our good friends Little League and Dr. Noise, cookie decorating, noise maker making, 2009 party glasses, party hat making, and much more. It's been a fun filled day to say the least. We're still going strong and we've had 2,000+ visitors thus far. We're still waiting for the final counts and we're hoping cross your fingers for a record breaker over last years 2,500 guests. Here are a few shots of the action through out the day. Enjoy!