The search for free Wi-Fi in Denver

So on Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to class in Denver. (I call these days my productive days.) I have two classes with about two hours in between each of them and for the past four weeks I've been searching for the perfect spot to sit, drink coffee, and put off reading during my break. I quickly ruled out Tivoli (the student union) because despite being in a cool building it was loud, crowded, and my only food options were McDonald's and Taco Bell. Uh ... I'm trying to fit into a wedding dress in three months and I don't think chicken nuggets, milkshakes, and sour cream filled tacos are going to help me. So campus was out .... I started to wander off. Starbucks was the first thing I found (don't act surprised ... they're only on every OTHER corner these days) and I stayed there for a while. BUT ... just last Tuesday I found out that Starbucks makes you pay for wi-fi. Don't they make enough money off of lattes and Ethos water? So Starbucks lost my business. I never really liked their coffee anyway, I just liked their view of the Rocky Mountains. So ... I found out that Caribou Coffee offers free wi-fi and also happens to be my favorite coffee chain and I decided to check them out today. But Caribou is a good 10 or so blocks from campus and on my way there I found the Corner Bakery, mmmm. Gotta love their paninis and I was excited to see that they offer free wi-fi. Which is where I am now, putting off creating a management plan for elephants in Africa. We'll see where I end up next week. I'd stay here but I can't connect to Gmail chat which is my favorite form of procrastination where I can send C messages every 10 seconds and pretend like I don't see him all the time. He loves this, don't let him fool you.

Life lessons I Learned from My Dog: Part 2

7. Bundle up when it's cold outside! You don't want to get sick.

8. Remember, you're never to old to play with toys.

9. Support the ones you love.

10. You can't always be the leader. Just make sure whoever you're following knows where he's going.

11. Don't be scared to look a little goofy every once in a while.

Ugh.

I don't know exactly what I expected grad school to be, but I definitely did not expect my HUGE tuition bill to go towards watching The Lorax in class. Thanks, but I read the book when I was 5. Grrrr ..... ok, I'm done complaining.

Meet my Attack Dog: King Henry

I'm hoping he'd be slightly more vicious if anyone ever did attack me. I think he's got some potential. :)

All things thankful for: January

1. The week of 60 degree temps we had when everyone else was freezing their tails off. I got outside every day, took the dogs for long walks and hikes, and burned off some of those calories I consumed over the holidays.

2. Starting school and actually getting into my classes. I was a little worried about that one but fortunately both of my professors admitted everyone on the wait list. (Thanks guys!)

3. My fake Uggs. They're the warmest pair of shoes that I have and I've used them a lot this year.

4. Starbucks. It's kept me warm and given me a place to study between classes. I'd also like to thank my students for giving me that large gift certificate at the end of last year. It's still going strong!

5. Books. I've read a lot this month which is surprising because after finishing Twilight I swore I'd never find anything I wanted to read again. Thankfully, I was wrong.

6. Netflix. We just signed up for it and I was definitely skeptical. (I still would rather spend the money on clothes or more Starbucks.) But it's been nice to see movies that I've wanted to see but was too cheap to rent.

Four Months Until Forever

I pretty much never write about our upcoming wedding for a couple reasons. First, I don't find wedding planning that exciting. And, second even if I did find it exciting, there's really not much to say about it. "We signed a catering contract" is just not worth an entire blog entry to me. Now don't get me wrong, I am totally excited to get married, to be married, and to spend the rest of my life with C. He's a great guy and I think we compliment each other well. And believe you me, when the wedding's all said and done there will be lots of pictures posted. I love me some pictures. :) But until then I find my life much more exciting than wedding planning.

However, I happened to notice that today is actually the 31st (which is a pretty large feat considering the fact that lately I can't even be depended upon to know which month it is). Anyway, since today's the 31st it means that we're getting married in exactly 4 months. Yay!

And since I started this blog long after we got engaged and did a lot of our planning. I thought I'd post a few of our engagement pictures which I have to give credit to Joseph Allen for.
I'll start with the normal ones:

Yep, we brought the dogs.

As my mother pointed out we seem to be kissing a lot...

awww ... isn't Henry the cutest? Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Now, I mentioned before that we jumped in the fountain for the last half of the pictures. When my mom saw them I think she was a little shocked. She described them as "racy". I'll spare you the "really racy" ones but I'll show you a few. And I must admit that it was not Charlie's idea to take his shirt off.

Another one of my favorites :)

haha ... just be glad I spared you the rest.

And I'll leave you with one that proves that Henry is the sweetest:

25 Random Things About Me

Yes, I just did this for Facebook but I thought it could double as a blog post:

1. I have to start my day off with coffee. 2 cups actually, and it has to have sugar and cream in it. Yes, i know this means carbs and fat grams. I'll survive.

2. I hate cities and I hate TV shows that romanticize the idea of living in them.

3. I love where we live.

4. I have an unnatural hate for prairie dogs. C thinks they're adorable but they annoy me, a lot, especially when they sit at the tops of their holes and taunt me.

5. Teaching taught me a lot more than I thought it could. It's my favorite job that I've had so far, and that's saying a lot.

6. I overanalyze my life.

7. I hate cooking. Hate it. Although I realize that it's necessary. Which is why when I look at a recipe I refuse to think about making it if it will take more than 30 minutes.

8. Since moving to Colorado I have not successfully baked anything. I'm blaming it on the altitude.

9. Hiking with my dogs is my favorite thing to do in the world.

10. I hate crowded hiking trails. I hike to get away from people!

11. I am an environmental science major. This does not mean that I want to join Greenpeace or move to Canada to save the caribou.

12. During our engagement pictures we got in the fountain at UMD and all I could think about was all the diseases that I was getting.

13. I think Henry is the goofiest dog in the world. He can always make me laugh.

14. I used to change the fat containers during liposuction at one of my jobs.

15. I re-read books multiple times. I'm not talking once or twice, I'm talking 10-20.

16. I really miss trees.

17. I listen to songs over and over and over. Right now it's Jack Johnson's "Better Together".

18. I hate when people have little dogs and refuse to train them because "they're little".

19. I have a slight obsession with the color red, pictures, and cleaning the kitchen.

20. I rode horses for 10 years and I still miss it every day.

21. I used to camp at the Outer Banks every year with my dad during the off season. It's still my favorite place in the world.

22. I hate driving in the snow.

23. I'm not changing my name when we get married and I don't think that makes me a bad person.

24. I clean our apartment all the time but my car is another story. I think there's even dog hair on the ceiling.

25. I drink beer in the summer and wine in the winter. Except when I miss beer too much and drink it anyway. I'd drink it year round but I get too cold in the winter. I'm a cheap date.