Hodgepodge...a day early for once!

Thanks to http://joyce-fromthissideofthepond.blogspot.com/ for this week's Hodgepodge questions.  This is always a fun way to keep the blog posts coming.  : )  (For those not in-the-know...Hodgepodge is supposed to be a Wednesday thing - I'm early!!!).

1.  In what ways do you indulge yourself?
It all depends...I love a good massage or pedicure, but since I have a difficult time splurging on myself, I'm more likely to indulge with a full afternoon of TV watching on the couch.  Slightly pathetic - yes, I know.

2. Have you ever taken a cooking class? Any interest? What type of class would you most like to try?No, but I do think it would be all kinds of fun.  Pretty much any kind of cooking class would be pretty cool, but I would love to try something like a sushi class.

3. What does it mean to be a good citizen?
Love this question...what is "good"?  I believe a good citizen should find a way to contribute to their community, state, and/or nation in some way.  I believe it is good to vote, but only if you are informed on the candidates and issues.  We should all find some way to give to our communities and to demonstrate good moral and ethical leadership to youth.

4. 'Tis the season of the political advert...do these ads influence your vote?
Sadly, political ads don't influence me in any way other than to make me feel a smaller desire to be involved politically.  I try not to let the ads diminish my desire to be a "good citizen" but I do find myself becoming highly irritated by the political games that take place and I'm fully feed up with the way we allow politicians to advertise themselves.

5. What's something you see today that makes you wish you were a kid again?
Now that I have a kid, there are things I see all the time that takes me back to my childhood.  I admit that is not the same as "wishing I were a kid a again" but that's as close as it gets.  I really don't have a desire to be a kid again, but I do love the nolstagic moments of things from my childhood...She-Ra is definitely one that we happened upon recently and it took me back. 

6. What's your least favorite cliche?
I really don't know that I have one.  Probably because I use them.  hahahaha

7. What percentage of your Christmas shopping has been completed? How does that make you feel?0%...yes, I said ZERO!  I always think it would be good to get it done throughout the year, but it never happens.  We are also not the family that goes super present crazy.  I love getting gifts for others but I don't enjoy shopping so I like to go when I have a specific purpose.  I have found myself occasionally finding something that I know someone would really love and debating if I should go ahead and get it at the moment, so maybe I'm changing.

8. Insert your own random thought here: 
I had an emotional reaction to something today.  Really, it's been building over time, but it kind of hit today.  My precious child (The Wee One) doesn't really look like me.  This is something that I've just learned to deal with since she was born.  However, it has become a major frustration (just getting my feelings hurt) that apparently the only things that others see in my child that could possibly be from me or my side of the family are the "negative" things in life.  Even my own side of the family makes comments about this.  It seems like any time she does something sweet, cute or talented, it magically comes from my husband or his side of the family line.  If she demonstrates frustration, anger, stubbornness, or anything of the like, then magically someone shows up to comment on how that must be something she gets from me.  I gotta say...over time those comments hurt.  Realistically, I know this is not true and I know that no one would say these things to purposely hurt my feelings, but sometimes they just get to me.  My suggestion...we should all think before we speak a little more often.

Who knew?

The Wee One turns four this coming week.  As every parent ever on the face of the planet has said - Time flies too quickly!  I was doing a little reminiscing and scrolling through some pictures I have posted over the past 4 years.  One in particular stood out because it is SOOOOO The Wee One.

Who knew that personalities developed so early?  I know, I know.  Many people say your personality doesn't really develop until you are older, but now, after having a kid, I think that's gotta be wrong.  The Wee One has had a very distinct personality since birth and the picture below reaffirms that for me. 

So the caption I had put under this photo back in 2009 when it was taken was "Well, you see, this is what happened..."  Okay, not only does she still do this expression and hand gesture, but she actually says, "Well, you see..." All the time. 

Who knew?  I guess she did.

This is the crazy Wee One now:

 

I think we'd better prepare ourselves for the future - watch out world!  hahaha

Audience participation time...

I am working on a new assignment for my class this semester and would like to elicit help from you all.  I have decided that it would be a good activity to review some blogs and analyze them for appropriate/inappropriate self-disclosure.  (I have to miss class one day and thought this might be a good out-of-class assignment). 

What I would love is to gather some suggestions of a variety of different blog styles from people who may know of some interesting blogs.  Many of the ones I follow on a regular basis have a Christian component and/or family based, and I don't want to only provide suggestions for blogs that talk about one particular faith or one issue.  I would ultimately like to provide a suggestion list of blogs that cover a multitude of topics yet that still include some aspect of self-disclosure.

If you have favorite blogs that you think would have interesting topics, please leave me a note letting me know the address.  I'm curious to see what my students feel is appropriate or inappropriate for online sharing.  : )

Thank you in advance for your participation.  (Does that inspire you to help me?  I hope so.)

Memorable moments

Have you ever noticed how the most embarrassing moments often end up being your most memorable?  The other night I was visiting with a friend and found myself recounting one of my most embarrassing moments and I had to chuckle.  Partially because the situation was so bizarre for me, and partially because it has stayed with me so vividly through the years.  So enjoy a quick laugh and I hope it's not too disturbing to anyone reading.  hahaha

This little tale involves my grandparents who are now in their late 80's.  This was about 7 or 8 years ago so they were in their early 80's at the time.  Let me give you a little background on my grandparents...

My grandfather was a military career man - 30 years in the Army...a retired colonel, a West Point graduate...and is a rough-around-the-edges know-it-all.  My grandmother is a slightly head-in-the-clouds, stereo-typical 50's mom.  So hopefully you've got an image in your mind of these two.  Also, let's keep in mind that they are MY GRANDPARENTS!

So - 7 or 8 years back, The Husband and I came to Austin for Christmas.  We were spending Christmas Eve with my family at my grandparent's house and then heading to his family's for Christmas Day.  December 23rd, my grandfather comes to me and asks me to drive him to the mall so he can get a present for my grandmother.  I think, "How sweet that he wants to get her something special, even if he did wait till the last minute."  Oh my...

We go to Beall's (the department store of choice for those over 65) and he tells me, "I want to get your grandmother and nice nightgown."  Cool - no problem.  I walk him to the ladies section and start showing him a few items.  Here's what I'm thinking...

"Nope, not what I'm looking for - I want something sexy for her."  This is when I start to get a little freaked...seriously.

At this point, the sales associate has noticed us and comes to offer her assistance.  "May I help you find something?" she asks, ever so innocently.  My grandfather says, "I sure hope so.  I want to find something sexy for my wife." 

She looks at him quizzically, kind of giggles and leads him to the same types of items I had shown him.  "What do you think of this?"  

"Not what I'm looking for.  I want to find something super sexy for my wife."

The associate and I both have expressions of total freaked-out humor if you can have such a thing.  Let me say, it's cool if they still have a sex life - go grandparents - but I DO NOT WANT or NEED to know about it.  So...we show him some "sexier" items...

"Still not what I'm wanting.  I want SEXY!"

Finally, I get what he's really wanting and it is not something that I would have EVER thought I would purchase with my grandfather...for my 80 year old grandmother.  We eventually left the store with a garment that was something like this...

Trust me my friends...these are memories that last forever.



Anniversary - Burgess Style

This past month was our 9 year anniversary.  It is hard to believe we've been together for 12 years (3 before we got married).  In some ways it feels like there is no way it could possibly be that long and in others it seems like we've just always been together.  Kind of cool.  So to celebrate, we decided we would escape the heat and head to Colorado.  We left The Wee One to the trusted care of Darma and Cozmos' and headed to cooler weather.
Day 1:  Drove to Buena Vista, CO to stay at the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort.  Talk about relaxing.  Nothing will soothe your body like a dip in a hot spring.  Warning...when there are 3 springs in descending order, go ahead and avoid the first unless you feel the need for an instant skin peel.  Spa #3 seemed to be plenty hot for me. 

We did a nice dinner at the lodge, which we split partially because it was pricey and partially because neither of us were that hungry.  Let me just say DELICIOUS!  Brochette topped with shrimp.  Thick steak - topped with jumbo shrimp.  Baby veggies.  Garlic mashed potatoes.  YUM!

The plan had been to go whitewater rafting the next day, but The Husband wasn't feeling well and was coughing a ton so we decided to put it off a couple of days to see if he rebounded.
Day 2:  Drove to Aspen, CO.  Absolutely beautiful drive up Independence Pass, but I feel I somehow cheated death.  What the heck is with the state not putting guard rails up on high mountain passes?  And really...dropping to a single lane?  Those things wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the crazy-ass cyclists who seemed to think that hairpin turns every 20 feet on a descending, in-some-parts-one-lane road was a good choice for a bike ride.  Gheesh!  I should also state that The Husband has had a previous history of playing with gadgets like a GPS while driving on mountain roads.  The soothing aspect of the hot springs were gone mid-way up the pass.  Really what was freaking me out was the thought of coming back down at the crack of dawn in 2 days to go rafting.  Regardless, it was beautiful and the top was magnificent.  Worth the terrifying moments for sure.
We'd never been to Aspen and after finding a good hotel deal online (the Molly Gibson was great although there is no relation to Debbie Gibson as far as we could tell), we though it might be a nice visit.  We were impressed.  It really wasn't what we expected.  There is without question serious money up there, but most of the locals we experienced were super sweet and down-to-earth.  The town is very pedestrian and old.  I had no idea it had such an old history.  There are so many buildings from the late 1800's/early 1900's still around.  Very cool.  We spent the afternoon just walking around and enjoying some really yummy food.  Annette's Mountain Bake Shop is awesome!  The turkey sandwich was so good we went back the next day for another.

Day 3:  A nice leisurely morning.  Honestly, the best part of the trip was the lack of a certain person.  Although I love that little darling more than just about anything, getting away from the constant interruptions and typical almost-4-yr-old behavior gives me a chance to miss her and love her that much more.  We decided to go to Maroon Bells to hike the area and take pictures.  WOW!  Breath-taking views and crisp mountain air.  Even with the ridiculous wind that was blowing that day it was wonderful.  I might have looked a little odd to some as I hiked with my foam ear plugs, but I wasn't about to let the cold wind prevent me from that hike.

We took the Crater Lake hike which we found out later is about 3.9 miles round trip.  For some of you that might be a breeze, but I live at a significantly lower altitude and I'm not in top shape.  However, I am a firm believer in the "slow and stead" style of hiking and though it may take me longer than others, I still get to get see the same views once I reach the top.  I actually feel like I get to see more of them because instead of pushing myself relentlessly to reach the top, I stop occasionally to appreciate what I'm seeing around me as I go.  (It's a great excuse to catch your breath as well).  So, after about a 45 min -1 hr hike up, we reached the lake.  It was in a sweet little meadow and it was a great place to just chill for a bit.  If we had planned better it would have been perfect to lunch up there. 

Day 4:  Drove back through the pass...not as bad as I had imagined...and get ready for our rafting trip.  Since we changed days, we had shortened it to a 1/2 day down The Numbers.  When the water is up, this is a pretty exhilarating ride.  We did it about 7 years ago and loved it.  This year however, the water is down.  It was still fun, but much, much more technical.  The guide had warned us that we would have to "work" a little more to avoid rocks and hit the spots right.  I will say without shame that I was SORE the next day - actually that evening. 
Let me tell you about this little adventure.  This was my 7th time rafting and I figure that if you go enough, something is bound to happen, right?  So, coming out of Number 5, we had been doing great.  Then somehow, within a matter of seconds, that changed.  Our raft came up to a large boulder in the wrong position. We hit it directly in the middle of the raft and heard the guide yell "HIGHSIDE".  We all moved quickly, but it was too late.  The raft was taking on water and it filled completely in a matter of literally seconds.  There were 5 in our raft, including the guide, and soon we were all balancing awkwardly on the boulder while the water rushed around us and the now completely filled raft. 

There was supposed to be another couple but they had gone to the wrong location so we had been joined by 2 trainees.  Thank goodness.  After several minutes of trying to dislodge the raft and assessing the situation, a man who had been fishing near by came along side the shore.  Our guide decided to send us customers to shore so he threw a rope to the fisherman, hooked a caribeaner to it and told me to "zipline" through the rushing water downstream to shore.  I gotta admit, my first reaction (internally) was "WHAT?  You seriously want me to hold that tiny little piece of metal and glide through this pounding water?"  My external reaction was, "Okay".  Once I sat down on the rock and dropped into the water it was kind of fun and over in a few seconds.  The Husband came next and the trainees stayed on the rock to do what they could while the guide came ashore to maneuver the rope in an attempt to get leverage. 
This took somewhere between 30-45 minutes.  Lots of different attempts and eventually lots of different advice coming form other guides who started showing up with their crews waiting to get past us.  I felt so bad for the trainees (did I mention they were both girls and totally rocked girl power that day).  The water was COLD and they were stuck in it for half an hour.  One girl's hands were bright red from having to reach into the water so much to attach the rope in different places. 

At last they attempted a technique of paritally deflating a side of the raft.  This action and the trainees were able to "bounce" it up enough for the rope-pulley set-up to work.  Once free we all got back in the raft and continued on our trip.  Pretty uneventful after that.  The Husband was stoked about it..."This is so cool."  It really was - especially after I determined that we were all gonna make it without injury or death (picture post rafting - all safe and sound).  We drove to Amarillo to relieve my parents and slept so soundly it was unreal.


All-in-all, it was a WONDERFUL anniversary and a much needed trip.  After the current (and hopefully last-for-at-least-5-years) move, we need another big trip but maybe we can skip the near-death experiences.