ikea love.

ikea i love you.

and hate you.

i love you for everything you have.

i hate you for not being close to me. not even a little bit.

so, i wanted to order this chair off of ikea. the chair was $240.

do you know how much they wanted to charge me for shipping!

$260 freaking dollars. $260!!!!! um, that's more than the stupid chair.

unfortunately, if i'm going to pay $500 for a chair than i want a $500 chair. and for $500 i shouldn't have to assemble anything myself.

speaking of assembly, how much do ikea's stupid assembly directions suck? ever heard of words!!! nooooo .... they're all, "who needs words? these are international directions, for children who haven't started reading yet". i have yet to put together something from ikea without going through several drinks at the same time.

when charlie and i first moved in together, we bought these end tables (which i painted blue a year later and no i wasn't drunk when i picked the color). well we decided to have a "race" to see who could put the end table together first. while we were drinking beer. and we both ended putting the little doors on the end table backwards. maybe it's a good think i painted them ... there were nail holes around the edges.

i want this bedroom.

it's the little things ...

finding this picture ... not a pro but definitely a fav.

... family.

... thinking about green grass and BBQs. if our tiny grill has survived the winter.

... a full tank of gas.

... finding old pictures.

... planning our weekend anniversary trip.

... FRIENDS.

... our new quilt.

... my sick kitty getting better.

... wearing sneakers to work.

... late-start wednesdays.

... finding colored paper in the copy room.

... free coffee at lunch time.

... amy's burritos.

... chicken noodle soup. my everyday weeknight dinner.

... and my dogs. as always.

so.over.winter.

seriously, i'm so done with winter.

normally i start feeling like this in march, but this year as soon as the holidays were over i was ready for some spring.

although, if colorado decides to provide me with a huge snowstorm. (one that actually closes schools) i might be able to change my mind for a bit. ;)

ever since winter started i've been trying to convince charlie that he needs to go snowshoeing with me. i've never been and always wanted to go. and since we're REI members we get pretty sweet rental rates.

when my parents were here over the holidays they went cross country skiing at Devils Thumb Ranch. they pretty much couldn't stop talking about it and the "ranch" has both skiing and snowshoeing trails. it's also a pretty easy day trip for us, although i was thinking it might be pretty nice to head there for the weekend.

they have the cutest dog-friendly cabins. that i've been thinking would be perfect to share with some friends for a weekend.

i also wanted to try skijoring with henry. i realize this might be a death sentance. henry LOVES to pull, which is pretty useful when we're backpacking, but i haven't been crosscountry skiing in 20 years. i'm betting my skills aren't that good. and if he happens to see a rabbit, or a bird, or a deer, or a coyote .... well, it could get ugly. but it could also be pretty fun.

i've got spring break coming up at the end of march ... hopefully i can convince charlie to give up a day of downhill skiing. if not, i might have to check this out on my own.

"and after a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul.

you learn that love doesn't mean leaning,

and company doesn't mean security.

and you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts

and presents aren't promises.

and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up

and your eyes open.

with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child.

and you learn to build all your roads on today

because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans.

after a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.

so plant your own garden, and decorate your own soul,

instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

and you learn that you really can endure... that you really are strong... and you really do have worth."

~veronica shoffstall

(photo)

i am not capable of more than copying and pasting quotes at the moment.

ps. did you hear what happened at deer creek middle school?! awful. what is with the schools out here?!

"we can't always be happy.

we can't all be rich.

we can't always be lucky.

and it would be so much less fun if we were.

there must be the dark background

to show up our bright colors"

happy friday!!

i'm celebrating the end of a trimester with charlie at a japanese steakhouse. yum!

it's the little things ...

... a good book + a cup of tea + henry.

... notes from strangers.

... the husband picking up the house before leaving on a work trip.

... pop tarts.

... leaders of the student variety.

... ending a day listening to a band play instead of teaching science.

... holiday weekends.

... cupcakes baked by my students.

... rediscovering old mix cds.

... texty texts.

... flowers around the apartment.

... discovering diy "art".

... houseguests replenishing the beer in our fridge. thanks!

... dreaming of summertime.

... melting snow.

... planning a weekend hut trip {hopefully}.

... sweet dreams.

dear nice stranger,

thank you. times a million.

i feel like i've been bitching about life a lot lately.

i've kept most of it off this blog, but i feel bad for the people i come home to every day.

i came to work on tuesday and found the sweetest thing.

the substitute who had been there before me had bought me a book.

i've never met her. and am really sorry i missed her when she dropped by on friday.

she wrote me a note, thanking me for taking the job, and left her contact info in case i needed any help.

but seriously, she took the time to buy me (someone she's never met) something she thought would help me. she even left the receipt in it, in case it wasn't something i could use.

it was such a sweet gesture and a great reminder for me that people can be nice, they can think about people other than themselves, and take time from their own busy lives to help out others.

4 day weekend ...

so technically it was only supposed to be a 3 day weekend but i took friday off.

i was (am) sick & we had friends coming to stay the weekend with us. can you blame me?

the plan was to ski like crazy this weekend. although, i knew that i wouldn't be skiing nearly as much as my husband and his buddy.

on saturday we drove up to the mountain & had a pretty good day skiing. although, one of our friends had some problems with the altitude and had to hang out in the lodge for a bit.

when we went to leave (it had been snowing all day) we found out that the road was closed because of an accident. we were told that it wouldn't reopen for a few hours. so we called some friends and asked them to take care of the dogs and then spend the next few hours in a bar. on a couch. it wasn't too bad. :)

comfy couch.

the beads were because the mountain was celebrating mardi gras that night.

mmm ... beer.

after getting home at 10 on saturday there was no way that i was getting up at 5 to ski again. us girls spent the day hanging out and drinking coffee while the boys skied (again).

when they got back we went out to pasta jay's in boulder. and waited 2 hours for a table. but my buffalo ravioli was definitely worth it!

it snowed in denver, too!

these flowers weren't for me, but they were too pretty not to take a picture of.

charlie got me some lilies (my favorite).

i spent monday doing homework (or trying to) while everyone else skied (again). since i still don't feel that well i wasn't too sad that i missed out on skiing. i was much happier to sleep until 8.

last week...

sometimes i wonder if i look this mean when i'm at work ...

i definitely don't have the threatening ruler, that might be overkill

... i kicked 4 students out of class

... i was called a fucking asshole (for not thinking it was cool that a student wanted to spend class texting and not do any work)

... i had a paper airplane thrown at my head

... i was given a lovely drawing of a marijuana leaf and a joint (just in case i wasn't sure what he planned on doing with the leaf)

... i heard the word "fuck" an uncountable number of times

... i had a student throw chairs across the room and then break the legs off of a third chair. awesome.

seriously hoping this week is slightly better...

(photo credit)

it's the little things ...

mine usually don't have notes as sweet as this on them ...

... reading about hydrology. (ok, being done reading about hydrology)

... New Belgium's Sunshine Wheat

... quilts.

... a little bit of snow. makes winter a little bit less depressing.

... flowers.

... texts from charlie when i'm at work.

... my down jacket.

... a hot shower.

... my polka dot coffee mug.

... organization.

... calenders.

... talking friday off!

... how i met your mother reruns.

... our garage.

... pink post-its.

(photo credit)

all about me, honestly

1. i'm so not a morning person. in fact i'm ridiculously grumpy in the morning.

2. i do not understand the giant "savory savory mushrooms" can on federal. it's in the middle of a neighborhood. why?

3. i am 26 and cannot figure out what i want to "be". ugh. in all honesty, i just want to find something that i can stand doing.

4. i used to talk about how people shouldn't be defined by their careers. and then i gave mine up, and i sort of got why it's so important to have one.

5. kids scare me. in the sense that they're expensive and permanent, and at some point they are going to grow up and make bad decisions.

6. i hate the harry potter movies.

7. when i have a bad day, sometimes i come home and yell at charlie for something so stupid, like not filling the dog's water. that usually makes my day even worse.

8. i'm a huge introvert and could go for days without talking to another person.

9. i like henry just a little bit better than dunkin. i tell myself it's because even though both of the dogs are ours. dunkin was charlie's before we were dating and i bought henry when we moved in together. i'd feel guilty about this but i know that charlie loves dunkin just a little but more than henry. it all evens out.

10. i hate big houses. i never want to live in one. i'm also not a fan of houses with formal dining rooms and living rooms. this goes along with never wanting to host a huge thanksgiving dinner.

11. i'm not a good driver. i don't pay attention to stop signs or what color the light is.

12. my car is really, really dirty. i hate cleaning it.

13. i don't have a lot of patience.

14. sometimes i'll eat a bag of chips for dinner. like i'm in college. even though i know it's bad for me.

15. i hate that charlie doesn't want me to do his laundry. so i do it anyway.

16. i love bubble baths. charlie says i'm wasting water. i don't care.

17. i bought a ski pass this season and i sort of wish i didn't. waking up at 5 am on a saturday to drive to the mountains is so not what i want to do on my weekends.

18. i drink a lot of tea.

also ... i still want to read wedding magazines. but don't worry, i haven't bought any. :)

it's the little things ...

... drawing hearts in the sand.

... clean dogs.

... chicken noodle soup for dinner.

... drinking tea in bed while reading a book.

... a cheeseburger on a friday night.

... waking up to a dusting of snow.

... old books.

... candles.

... valentine's day. so soon!

... wearing uggs to work. (don't judge me. my classroom is actually 55 degrees)

... clean laundry.

... super bowl parties.

... president's day weekend. 3 days off, baby!

... reading books over charlie's shoulder. (he hates it).

... daydreaming about an unbroken table.

... pottery barn catalogs.

... buying cakemix in hopes of making cupcakes.

this weekend i will be:

... reading, studying, & doing lots of homework

... making a jeopardy game.

... watching a movie.

... drinking two cups of coffee in the morning.

... not waking up at 6 am.

... cleaning our house.

... thinking about Valentine's Day.

... grocery shopping.

... getting ready for some visitors this week.

... "watching" the superbowl with some friends.

... praying for snow (lots of snow) monday.

... walking the dogs.

... not grading a single paper.

(photo credit)

this was exactly what i needed

i have a confession to make, i've been an emotional mess lately.

on sunday night i had a total meltdown about everything. my job, school, our dirty house, everything.

luckily, i married someone who has the ability to calm me down when i'm completely freaking out.

hawaii was wonderful. seriously. but i also had a lot of free, alone time, and used that to freak out about everything that i needed to get done but couldn't because i was in the middle of the pacific ocean. i couldn't get my book for school before leaving (even though i went to the bookstore twice and charlie went once) and so i couldn't do any of the work for my class. totally frustrating. i also was thinking about work. i did get some papers graded on the beach, which helped a lot, but still ...

monday was rough. i haven't been sleeping and after traveling all night and then trying to get ready for the week ahead i was so, so tired. the thing is, i'm usually not this much of a head case. i've never had problems sleeping, ever. i've slept through a thunderstorm, in a tent, with my sleeping bag in 3 inches of water.

last night charlie and i climbed into bed early, with tea, and books, and henry snuggled between us. it was perfect. must do that more often. have i mentioned i love our quilt?

tuesday was better than monday and wednesday's looking even better. i've calmed down a bit, gotten a ton of work done and charlie's picking my book up for my at the bookstore today. (5th trip. a little ridiculous, no?) he's awesome. really, really awesome. i should bake him a cake or something. or cook him a steak. dudes, like meat.

oh, i miss this!