Alaska or Bust!

We leave first thing tomorrow morning for a week in Alaska. This trip will be our first true “vacation” since our honeymoon exactly one year ago. Neither one of us has been to the 49th state before and we really just came up with this idea a few weeks ago. Here’s our itinerary to give you a flavor: Monday – Fly to Anchorage & check out the sights there Tuesday – Drive to Denali National Park and spend the evening at a Salmon Bake Wednesday – Take the nine-hour shuttle bus into Denali and hopefully see all kinds of wildlife and maybe a glimpse of McKinley Thursday – Raft on the Nenana River in the morning and head back to Anchorage for the night Friday – Ride the early morning train to Seward (supposedly incredibly scenic) and upon arrival, take a helicopter ride to a glacier where we will drive (mush?) a team of sled dogs Saturday – Take a boat tour of the Kenai Fjords for animal and glacier viewing Sunday – Hike back to the Harding Ice Fields Monday – Head back to ABQ (and toast our anniversary with a glass of champagne) Have a great week, I know we will!

(P.S. We decided somewhere during the packing process that it would be really COOL if we were able to take eight days worth of Alaska stuff in carry-ons instead of checking any luggage. We managed the feat and will be heading to Alaska (land of the 50 degree highs) for eight days with two little rolling suitcases. This should be interesting...)

Baseball Games with the Elderly

This past week, D. and I went to the Albuquerque Isotopes game. Sitting directly behind us were a few folks from a local rest home and their “handlers” (for lack of a better term). This made the baseball game, which was really quite boring, a ton more interesting.

First, we watched a very old man shuffle at a molasses pace towards the restroom. Important thing to note is that he left in the first inning. He didn’t return…ever. This left me VERY concerned and I suggested several times that D. go check the bathroom since the rest home employees didn’t seem to notice.

Second, the gentleman that sat directly behind us sounded quite similar to Donald Duck when he talked. (I assume from MANY years of smoking.) What made that enjoyable was that he screamed at the team the whole game. My personal favorites were when he yelled that his mother could play baseball better than the Isotopes. Mind you, this man was probably 80+, so I don’t need to do that math on his mother’s age for you. Another favorite was, “I paid good money for this game and now I am getting agitated. You don’t want to see what I can do when I get agitated!” I assume that would probably involve beating someone down with his cane.

Third, the woman behind us was quite sweet and played with the small children in our row. That was until she convinced the rest home employees that beer wasn’t prohibited from her diet. She had four beers over the course of the last hour of the game. I am sure I don’t need to explain to you what happens when someone who doesn’t really drink has four beers in an hour. The walk to the rest home van was probably interesting.

All that said, I think everyone got what they wanted out of the game. As I watched “Donald Duck” leave, he twirled his cane and did a little dance step. The boozy lady giggled like a schoolgirl once beer three was done. D. got to do the chicken dance and I got to see the mascot Orbit. We all got to watch the Isotopes come back from a big deficit to win the game. The only one I am not sure about is the guy who never came back from the bathroom…

Thanks, Honey!

My sweet husband sent me flowers at work this week. On Tuesday, I got flowers for my birthday in a really beautiful monochromatic pink combination. On Wednesday, I got flowers for our impending first anniversary. This bunch was in a fun purple combination.

D. and I are really different people, but have enough common threads to make it work. We are a great balance to each other and I have no doubt that God placed D. in my life because he was my best shot for experiencing long-term, unconditional love. He has been fantastic to me over the last year and I know that despite only knowing him for three years total, my life would never be the same without his love, support and ability to make me laugh. D. thanks for helping me keep things in perspective and for your loyalty! I love you.

Birthday Recap

The start of my 29th year went really well this weekend. We headed up to Denver on Saturday with tons of rain and had a nice dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (we don't have that in ABQ). D. was a little distraught that the Broncos and Cowboys (his team) were playing an exhibition game in Denver that night. That would have been a pretty convenient way to see them, but we've been focused on other things and didn't think to check that. Sorry, honey!

On the birthday, I woke up and got to have breakfast in the room with Mimosas. I opened gifts from family/friends/D. and counted the change my dad gives me every year. I don't know how long he has been giving me the change that he collects each year, but it is something I look forward to all year just because of the tradition! D. got me some great rain/weather gear for our upcoming trip to Alaska. I also got to have Chipotle for lunch (another non-ABQ establishment), so that was fantastic.

The forecast called for rain on Sunday, but it turned out to be a nice day for the Jack Johnson concert and that's how we closed out the day. It was a very "community event." We talked to all sorts of people in the hours before the concert and it was a fun way to spend an afternoon. It was an AMAZING place to see a concert and Jack was really great. He did a pretty much acoustic encore that was just top notch, I am so glad we went. After the concert, since the lines to leave the park were insane, we played Uno for an hour with neighboring cars. They had beer, we had cards and snacks and everyone was happy!

Here are a couple photos of the concert and Red Rocks:

Here we are before the concert began.

A view of the stage and all the people before the show.

This is honestly what the red rocks that surround the park (and make for great acoustics) look like at night. It was beautiful.

Wii are injured, but happy!

Our Wii arrived in the mail on Wednesday. I started with the boxing before D. got home from work and could only hack it about five minutes. It’s really quite exhausting. When D. got home, we played all the sports games: tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and of course, boxing. I did really well at bowling and boxing, although D. is starting to catch up to my skill-level. On tennis, baseball and golf, it’s really no contest – he kills me to a level that makes is sort of pointless to even try. Since I don’t give up that easily, I plan to start practicing when he works late. Our first night, while trying to compete at one of my “less-skilled” games, I hit Daniel with the remote. It was quite a hard hit and came from my belief that if you just move the remote really fast, in erratic movements, you will score well. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I woke up this morning with a sore right bicep (my dominant hand for the Wii). That must mean it’s akin to exercising, so I have given myself permission to “play on.” Happy gaming!

Christmas in August

My husband has been quite a good gift giver through the years. This past Christmas, he gave me a “Stress Management” Spa Day at a local ABQ spa. In the grand irony of life, I have had way too much going on during 2008 to take advantage of any “Stress Management.”

Since I am currently a lady of leisure (break from school and a few days off work), I went to the spa today to have my stress managed. I was there from nine this morning until four this afternoon. That’s seven full hours of stress reduction. I do feel quite relaxed now and slathered in more creams than I knew existed.

First, I started with a poppy seed scrub, followed by a shower that had spouts from every imaginable angle – like a warm rain shower. That led to a soak in the world’s coolest bathtub filled with essential minerals and trace elements (or something like that). This was followed by a ninety-minute stone massage, a yummy lunch, a “Fountain of Youth” facial and a lavender aromatherapy pedicure.

My Personal Highlights: *The tub was amazing with high jets, low jets, a waterfall and enough room for about six of me. If I had a tub like that in my house, I would NEVER leave it, I honestly thought about whether I could work from that tub on a laptop. *I am pretty sure I received five foot massages today. *The stone massage was completely different from any massage I’ve received and I don’t really know how to feel now that my “chakras are balanced,” but it was amazing and I was SO relaxed at the end of that ninety minutes. I can honestly say nothing entered my mind during the massage and I haven’t experienced “stillness” like that in years. *I was treated like a pseudo-celebrity as I was escorted from place to place, brought ice water on a regular schedule and had my delivered lunch set up and ready for me when I finished my massage.

Since I really like to stretch my birthday out as much as possible, I am considering today the official kick-off of the festivities. We head to Denver on Saturday for Jack Johnson at Red Rocks and I know that this will be a wonderful start the final year of my twenties. (Gulp, “Fountain of Youth” treatments may become the norm.)

Adios Calculus 1, Hello Work!

My calculus final was Wednesday and I found out my grade today, so I am officially done with probably the most difficult class I have taken to date. There were at least three times when I seriously considered dropping the class. In the end, I am glad I didn’t. That said, it just means I “get” to start Calculus 2 on September 2.

I will miss my Calc 1 class for a few reasons: a) There was a guy in the class with some severe vision problems, he was a real trooper since he had to sit in the front row with his very thick glasses and still had to use binoculars to see that board. I really admire his desire to learn since that’s above and beyond what most lazy students would do. One thing to realize is that he also had a sleep disorder and so once or twice per class, he would fall asleep and snore and/or drop his binoculars. It kept the rest of us awake. b) There was a girl I sat by in class who had hair that was longer than the super short-shorts she wore. She liked to rock an antique Star Trek shirt and I sometimes wondered what her life must be like outside of class. c) My teacher, although not 100% on the English language, was “the nicest, most passionate about the subject, most concerned about the students” professor I’ve had. I know I wouldn’t have passed with out his help!

With the grand success of finishing class yesterday, I celebrated by working 13 hours today. My part-time, 20 hours a week schedule, has been about 40 hours a week since the start of July. I think things will let up sometime next week. At least I will have a couple weeks to truly relax before it all begins again.

I did have a nice celebration with D. and my mom last night post-final. We had beers and appetizers and then saw movies. D. saw Dark Night since he wouldn’t subject himself to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with the girls. There was one gentleman in the movie and his eyes seemed to roll back in his head sometime around the previews. Anyways, I loved it!