Friday, April 30, 2010

it's the little things ...

how 'bout them crazy eyes?
... coffee in the mornings.
... country roads with no stoplights.
... honest people.
... my cat who snuggles with me at night.
... my bpa-free nalgene bottle.
... teaching genetics. so much better than mitosis.
... my dad coming to visit in 2 weeks.
... and charlie's mom coming the day he leaves.
... knowing that in 2 weeks i'll be done with weekends of term papers, take-home tests, and problems sets.
... planning 14er hikes.
... cupcakes for dessert.
... countdown to telluride: 1 month

Thursday, April 29, 2010



... i am a terrible, terrible grader.
ok, i'm not a mean grader. i just don't like doing it.
there is nothing i hate more than grading papers. specifically research papers. they put me to sleep. correcting grammar errors? boring.
the worst: correcting citation formating. ugh!

... i'm not so good at riding a bike.
i think i mentioned that charlie got a free bike. (that i promptly stole from him.)
my mission was to 1) make henry not scared of bikes and 2) use it for exercise for both me and the dogs.
the bike is a hybrid. i've only ever ridden mountain bikes. much heavier, much sturdier.
i fell off in about 30 seconds. right behind our garage.
must get a helmet.

... i love lofts.
the real ones. converted from old industrial buildings, with no rooms and exposed brick.

... we have wine glasses with starfish on them.
i suppose it's a little tacky, but i like them.
maybe i just like them because they were a wedding present.
guests look at them funny.

... i divide my life into semesters.
still.
it makes for a lot of beginnings and ends.
maybe one day this will end. maybe not.



photo source

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

favorites.

lately i've been loving ...

all this rain.
rain.
have you not noticed?

spring cupcakes.
spring cupcakes
baked by my husband with a little bit of resentment.
frosted by me with love.

salads.
best.salad.ever
this is the ultimate salad.
lettuce (duh) + an egg + cucumbers + carrots + black beans + feta cheese + apples + oil & vinegar.

weekends with charlie and the pups.
my boys
they've kept me sane throughout the week.
charlie and dunkin were tired after going for a run.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

i was bored on a saturday ...

and this is the result.

d&c

hobby lobby + cheap paint = i'm wishing i picked grey instead of green.
oh well, at a dollar a bottle it's a cheap fix.

who said that monogram letters are only for people with the same last name?
D + C = danielle + charlie AND D.C. = where we're from.
(sort of) charlie's technically from the eastern shore but i can pretend.

Friday, April 23, 2010

it's the little things ...

love.

... rain, rain, rain!
... finishing all my homework on a sunday night.
... a glass of wine + my dogs + a fire.
... pot pies.
... my dad [maybe] coming out to visit.
... april being almost over. i feel like i've been in a fog this whole month.
... my cup of coffee every morning.
... friday afternoons.
... friday night (afternoon) dinners of rotisserie chicken, cheese, and a french baguette. and a large glass of wine.
... walking home in the rain.
... anything in the rain.
... friday evening naps before some drinks.
... saturday bike rides with my dog.
... attempting to teach henry not to be scared of bikes.
... saturday morning coffee and bagels at Panera.
... sunday afternoon term papers. oh wait, i hate these.

and the usual ... tea ... rain ... friends ... my hubby & dogs ... and the cats.
we live in a zoo.

true story about the wine: thursday was a rough day for me. i came home and all i wanted was a glass of wine. that bottle is my favorite. santa julia's malbec. it's cheap, it's good, it's organic. so i go to open the bottle and complete destroy the cork. it basically crumbles inside the bottle. however, i want this so bad so i'm not about to give up. charlie comes upstairs to see me pouring wine, through a napkin (my filter) into my glass. worked like a charm.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

doctors

am i the only one who gets totally freaked out when i go to the doctor?

i can physically feel myself freaking out about an hour before i have to go.
yesterday, i had a dr's appointment and i was so nervous, that by the time i got there and they took my blood pressure it was 140/100!!
of course they all started to freak out that i was hypertensive, when i tried to explain that i wasn't hypertensive, but just really nervous. but they didn't believe me because i "didn't look nervous".

they took my pressure again midway through. of course it was still high.
right before i left i asked them to take it one more time, and thankfully it had dropped back to 120/80.

i have no idea why i get so freaked out. i guess i'm worried they're going to diagnose me with some rare ridiculous disease. ugh.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Rain.

we tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something that we don't have, but rather recognizing and appreciating what we do have.
~ frederick koenig.

today it is grey and cloudy and i love it.
i can't wait for some crazy spring thunderstorms this year.
spring in general, really.
our bedroom window's been open for weeks. i wake up freezing but it's totally worth it.
april has flown by ... i'm actually sad it's almost over.
may is bringing a lot of endings that i'm not sure i'm ready for.
i kind of like being in the middle of things ...

Friday, April 16, 2010

wear sunscreen

it's getting to be that time ... graduation.
this speech definitely tops my list as a favorite. after all, isn't everyone sick of the generic "you can be whatever you want to be" speeches?

DSC_0391

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blind side you at 4 PM on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

~ mary schmich.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

it's the little things ...

lazy saturday
lazy saturdays
... seeing my husband after 4 days of missing him.
... watching my dog play tag with the neighborhood kids.
... hearing one of the kids tell me that she wants to marry him.
... playing catch, just like i did when i was 10.
... being outside all night = no time for tv.
... phone calls home where i get to talk to every member of my family all at once.
... advice from my dad. never gets old.
... falling asleep holding hands, with henry's head on my stomach.
... teeny, tiny puppies that crawl all over my 85 lb. dog's head.
... re-watching a movie, just for the apartments in it.
... 17 year old's saying 'thank you'.
... planning road-trip cd's in my head.
... charlie getting a free bike. it's purple. i might steal it.
... putting away winter clothes for the season.
... planning the mountains we're going to hike in telluride.
... finding mix cd's from years ago. and remembering exactly what my life was like during that time.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

life is ... short

sometimes things happen that make you think twice, sit back, reevaluate your life, take a day off, appreciate the small things, worry less about the money in your bank account and more about how and who you spend your life with.
without going into too much detail, i've been in a long-term sub position since january.
i work in a high risk school with kids who are tough, because they have to be.
the teacher who i came in to sub for has been out due to medical problems.
he, unexpectedly, passed away yesterday.
today at work a lot of time was spent, as a staff and then with the students, reflecting.
a lot of people have started to make changes already.
one teacher i talked to said after hearing the news he decided to retire. that life was too short to spend so much time doing something he didn't love.
my students, who can make my day either awesome or awful depending on if they're lovers or fighters that day, were suprisingly extremely introspective.
it's kinda crazy hear stories about someone who's touched so many lives.
today, not everything will get checked off my to-do list.
but i will meet some friends after work to hang out, play with the dogs, and i cannot wait to see my husband when he gets home.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010


hello, telluride.
that's right ... after lots of debating steamboat vs. telluride, 3 hr. drive vs 8 hr. drive, we finally picked and booked our anniversary trip to telluride.

so. freaking. excited.
it's going to be a lot of driving for a three day weekend, but charlie's always wanted to take rt. 50 across colorado. he's excited about the drive. i sort of am, too. we haven't been on a road trip together in forever.

the timing is pretty awesome, too.
we leave the day after my last day teaching where i am.
things are not looking like i'll be back there next year, unless it's to randomly sub for a bit.

we're staying here, the pups are coming with us, and we're trying to sneak in the first fourteener of the season (depending on the weather).
seriously, cannot wait.

on a side note, i blame tim mcgraw for my obsession with the rockies ever since i heard his song telluride.

(photo credit)

Sunday, April 11, 2010

100 points if you can guess what we did today ...

sunday

Friday, April 9, 2010

weekend & the future

i cannot wait for this weekend.
between sleeping in, drinking multiple cups of coffee, 70 degree weather, i'm excited.
of course i'm not excited for the mountains of school work i have to do on saturday.
but at least i get to spend sunday drinking beer in the sun and watching the rockies play.
lately, i've been pretty overwhelmed with everything.
not so much what's going on right now ... but what my life's going to look like in 2 months.
i'm trying to knock some credits out of the way this summer (or switch programs), but it's hard when you go to a school that offers about 4 classes in the summer.
i've decided to do an independent study this summer, but that involves finding an advisor that's willing to take on my project. this is also hard when you work 8-4 and by the time i could get down to denver everyone's left for the day.
i also have no idea what "work" is going to look like next year ... or in june for that matter.
i've been trying to make a lot of contacts & am practically paying people to look at my resume, but i just don't know.
i like where i am now, but if i stay for next year (which i don't even know if it's an option at this point) i'll have to go back to school for my teaching degree. i don't really know what working full time, getting my masters, and teaching certification would look like.
i'd probably turn into a totally crazy person.
sometimes i wish charlie was in school with me ...
he looks at the weekends for playing and i look at them for getting school work done and cleaning the house for the week.
it's getting hard to find time to spend together ... by the end of the day or week i'm happy just to collapse on the couch with a movie or have some friends over and he wants to go skiing all day or go out in denver.
have i mentioned that i really, really hate going out?
i'd rather hang out at our place or the bar on our block. the idea of getting dressed up, paying money for parking, and a stupid amount of money for a beer that i have at home, and then having to stay up past midnight is just so not my thing ...
hopefully, i can use this weekend to catch up on school work, write some of my term paper, clean the apartment, play with the dogs, and hang out at the rockies game. oh, and maybe figure out what the hell i'm going to do in 6 weeks. *sigh* is it wrong to wish that this was a time where something could just fall into my lap? like a permanent job (that i want)? or free money for school?
Irresistible.
ok, i know i've posted this before.
but really, he's adorable. and makes my day so much better.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Best buds.
"i may not have gone where i intended to go,
but i'm pretty sure i ended up where i needed to be."
~douglas adams

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

updates

... i *gulp* think i like my job. i know, i know. when i started i couldn't stand it. it was hard, no one was nice, every day was a battle. everything was broken ... and on and on. but, you know what? that's life. things don't always work. not everyone is born into a family that has money and can provide for them. people lose their jobs, their houses, their family ... it sucks, but it's real. the kids i teach, have no dilusions of what reality is, and they may not always "put school first", but they can't. i like working with kids everyday who have "real" issues and problems. who need and deserve scholarship money. of all the places i've worked at, this is a place where it really matters that i show up every day. i'm going to be sad to say goodbye in may.
... it was thundersnowing this morning. really, april? what happened to the sun?
... i was so upset that duke won last night. aside from the fact that i always root for the underdog, i hate duke.
... i really should start cooking more. i don't know how much longer we can survive off of chicken noodle soup and peanut butter sandwiches.
... if i don't hurry up and book a hotel for our anniversary weekend, we're going to end up going to boulder for the day and calling it a trip.
... i'm pretty excited for the weather this weekend. high 60s and we're going to the rockies game on sunday. last year we went to a game opening weekend and it was snowing.
... i've got to go hiking this weekend. although, i don't know how to break it to charlie that i don't want to ski on the last weekend of the year.
... i've been dreaming about a beach trip this summer. my only hope is if my parents decide to rent a place & invite us, dogs and all ...

Go Rox.

getting ready for some more of this ...

Monday, April 5, 2010

it's the little things ...

Tulips B
... fresh flowers.
... board games + friends + a friday night.
... free plants.
... bringing the dogs skiing.
... a clean comforter.
... a clean garage.
... a clean house on sunday night.
... waking up to a made lunch and coffee ready to brew. (why don't i do this every day?)
... how sleepy my dogs is in the morning.
... a cup of tea + a book + a dog + clean sheets.
... sunday brunch with my man.
... afternoon playdates with the dogs.
... a getting easter cards in the mail.
... a clean car.
... a full tank of gas.
... rei dividends.
... vanilla shakes.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

last week...

... i got a haircut.
... and an oil change.
... bought boots.
... celebrated a friend's birthday.
... skied.
... spent the night in winter park.
... cleaned out the garage.
... deep cleaned the house.
... watched a lot of parenthood.
... read the other end of the leash.
... stained furniture.
... bought my sister & my mom birthday presents.
... did countless amounts of laundry.
... did homework.
... walked the dogs.
... got our anniversary presents. (2 months early)
... watched couples retreat, again.
... made grilled cheese.
... bought tulips.
... cleaned my car.
... grilled out for the first time this year!
... relaxed. a lot.

AnniversaryPresent!
my anniversary present. patio furniture!!

Happy Birthday Mom!
mom's b-day present.

Friday, April 2, 2010

"i accept him, i love him, just as he is.
he accepts me, loves me, just as i am.
we choose each other. everyday.
it isn’t puppies and rainbows and cotton candy under a starry sky.
but it’s the biggest love that i’ve ever known."

love

polystain

this week i stained a piece of furniture.
i used polystain for the first time. and let me tell you, it was awesome.
well, as awesome as any stain can be.


before polystain
this is the best before picture i could find.
please ignore the supremely lazy cat.

after 6 coats of polystain
and after.

my husband loves it so much he can't take his eyes off of it.
it's started ...

Thursday, April 1, 2010

pse actions

i've had pse 8 since christmas. it was a present from my awesome mother in law.
i have yet to do much with it, mostly because every time i try to mess around with it i end up totally overwhelmed. but, pioneer woman (and some helpers) recently posted some actions for pse. so i downloaded them and wasted a bunch of time messing around ...

seventies
seventies

sunshine
Sunshine

cooler
Cooler

heartland
heartland

PW black & white
pwbw

colorized
Colorized

soft & faded
softfaded