Straight Outta NoVa

Straight Outta Nova Vid

Didn't they teach you the Transitive Property in middle school?

Boys + hi-fives = mass chaos

Despite our differences

  "Despite Our Differences" is the name of the latest Indigo Girls album, and was the featured album at their concert the other night. As much as we had a blast (how can you NOT at a Girls' show?!), it also seemed like someone decided "Despite our differences" was going to be the overall theme of the entire show. As in, "Despite our differences, we are all at the same show." Ha.

It all started when we walked into Chautauqua Auditorium, albiet a bit late, and saw that everyone was seated accordingly, as if attending a school function. Um, ok. We were quickly ushered into a corner row by the staff who almost seemed like we were interrupting a play. It was still early, so we chatted amongst ourselves while the opening act hummed along in the background.

Suddenly, out of nowhere we were "shushed" by an older woman in the row next to us. "All right girls, it's time to stop talking and start clapping!" she said, a giant forced smile on her face, as she began to clap off-rhythm with the band. Is she insane, we thought? But then we looked around and noticed others doing the seated-clap dance as well. By the time intermission rolled around (meaning we were allowed to leave our seats), we quickly wandered off to get drinks.

Luckily we found a good (danceable! legal!) spot near the back of the auditorium later where we happily danced away the remainder of the evening. Despite having to hide the contraband drinks we brought in (hello, high school), and getting only one other dirty look by a seated non-dancing audience member, we managed to have a great time.

It's always so fun seeing the Girls and singing along to all their songs. They've only gotten better over the years! They played one of my faves, "Ghost," and then Emily even said afterwards it was her fave to perform! Yess! Another great song was a cover of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice" which I can even play on guitar. Rock!

So to you, the people of Chautauqua, I say *WTF*??? I think you need to listen to these lyrics:

"Don't drink the water! There seems to be something ailing everyone.
I'm gonna clear my head, I'm gonna drink that sun,
I'm gonna love you good and long while our love is good and young."

And here's a clip from that actual song! From moi! You just have to ignore the wavering clarity and (gasp!) singing in the background. :)
Get Out the Map clip
Plays with Quicktime.

The Power of Two

On the eve of the Girls' show tomorrow nite, I was reminiscing about our wedding and the moment of the SONG!


Brent & Tricia doin their thang

I remember thinking it was such a perfect wedding song, and then my mom heard it at the wedding and said something like, "I don't get it." But I just stumbled across the video on youtube and of course the whole thing is all about couples! All kinds! I love how near the end they show some scenes from a wedding and then it morphs into an old couple sitting on a bench.

The Kitty Clubhouse

Meet the newest member to join the Kitty Clubhouse clan:

Stats:
Name: Pepper
Age: 12 years old
Sex: Male
Owners: Anthony & Kristen
Favorite pastime: meowing when not hungry
2nd favorite pastime: pretending to be hungry

Pepper gets along with the rest of the KC members for the most part, especially when he chills out with the meowing. Grasshopper has been known to follow him around to the point of stalking, but so far everyone has managed to keep a good amount of kitty-stare distance between them all.

Below: Kitty Clubhouse mid-convention

Not pictured: Pepper

Closer I am to Fine

How rad was The Office last nite??? Always witty, I couldn't help but laugh at Andy & Jim's butchered version of the Indigo Girls' Closer To Fine, and eventually join in singing of course. Love it!!!



AND for those of you (like me!) getting pumped to see the Indigo Girls on tour (next week!) this was just a tiny teaser for the upcoming real thing!!!



It's gonna be onnnnnnnnn - going on!

So stoked!!!

The Indigo Girls are one of those bands that I probably listen to as much today as I did back in high school. They have gotten me thru good times and bad, brought me thru friendships and breakups, and their lyrics have inspired me to look for deeper meaning in life. Phew! Ok that was pretty heavy. Maybe I should just say:
I heart the IG!!!
:)

I also credit them with inspiring me to learn how to play the guitar. Along with the Grateful Dead, of course...

Here is a link to some of their latest stuff on youtube:
www.youtube.com/indigogirls

A day in the life

Many of you may have been wondering what the kitties have been up to these days... So I asked them to tell you about their latest adventures in Kittyville...

Lately it's been a kitty convention around here every night. We can't decide if we actually LIKE having other cats around or not. We mostly just sit and stare. We form a big kitty square around the back door. And sit. And stare. It's pretty great. We love it and hate it at the same time, but we can't stop.

Our nemesis, Grasshopper, is the most frequent loiterer on the back porch.

Bring it on, bitch!

He likes to show up just around dusk, so he can torment us in his unabashed freedom to be outside at all hours of the night. Actually, he pretty much hangs around all day, but likes to especially show up at night just for that reason. Our owners seem to like him for some reason, but we know he's just using them. He just knows how to work that kitty charm!

Our other latest interest is some type of giant, oddly-shaped kitty bed that recently appeared in the driveway. We have no idea where it came from or why, but so far we are diggin it. It's got soft fluffy padding on top and is *almost* as cool as the giant convertible kitty bed in the garage. Almost!

Next we're going to figure out how to take it for a spin. Kitty convention hittin the streets!

I came, I saw, I almost puked

I decided it's about time I post a follow-up to my Bolder Boulder post on here. I went running today for the first time since the race (which was on Monday) and all the sweaty, thigh-burning memories came flooding back!

The starting line:


Looking around my starting wave, I saw people of all ages, young and old, which was reassuring. There was even a "Bolder Boldist" in my wave, which I have since learned is someone who has run every single race since it started (all 29 of them so far) and - gets to do it for free! (???)

The starting gun... and we were off! I was pumped!

Ahh, gettin my groove on... And already-- the 1 km sign looming in the distance. (1K! That's it? I rock!) And again the 2K sign looming up ahead. (2K. Wait, what? I've barely left the starting line!) And then 3K. (Um, what was I thinking? Seriously, what was I thinking?! Can I really do this??) As I felt myself slowing to a moderate jog, I really wondered if I could finish it.

In the past I've run several 5K's somewhat successfully, but it had been quite a while since I'd doubled that distance. Actually, according to the 'results' history we looked up in the previous blog, it was back in 2001! Did I really have other plans every single Memorial Day for the past 6 years??

True, last year I was goin back to Cali about this time, but I can't really remember anything before that. Memories. All.. Hazy....

Anyway, back to the race. I have to admit, I was able to keep my mind off the monotonous pounding of my feet on the asphalt for most of it, thanks to all the sideline attractions along the way. There were bands playing every few hundred feet or so, people dressed in costume (some running, some not), the infamous belly dancers, and people handing out beers and bacon!

29th Bolder Boulder Race Tops 50,000/

Oh yeah, did I mention there were 50 thousand people??

Excerpt:
Along the way, there were the requisite bands,
bellydancers and bacon.A group of about 15 gave the bacon away on Walnut Street
and about 21st Street, just before the last of four official Gatorade-and-water
aid stations. There were choruses of "If your legs are achin', eat some bacon!"
"Last nitrites!" and "Pork: the other PowerBar!"Runners had eaten 24 pounds last
year, said Sarah Chesnutt, who came up with the idea of giving away bacon on a
lark a few years ago. This year, Chesnutt introduced vegan bacon, which had
found a dozen or so takers by about 8 a.m. They were on pound nine of real
bacon, with heavier consumption expected from later waves and, particularly,
walkers.

I seriously considered grabbing a slice off the tong as I passed, but thought my tummy might rebel....

So, back to the looming km signs, ever taunting me of how far I still had to go, I was reminded of a funny story my mom likes to tell... When she was in Paris a million years ago when she was in college, she wanted to see the Eiffel Tower. And since she could see it from her hotel window, she decided, how hard could it be? And began walking. Towards the Eiffel Tower. The teeny-tiny Eiffel Tower. At some point it became the medium-sized Eiffel Tower. And eventually, the larger-than-life Eiffel Tower! Only then did she realize she didn't know how to get back to her hotel.... Classic!

That story helped sustain me a bit as I laughed, somewhere on the inside, about the tiny increments of kilometers slowing ticking away. I wondered if perhaps I was actually running in place?! That would explain a lot.

Yet I trudged on, trying to my best to plant a "slow jog" song in my head (the Lemonheads "Drug Buddy" is my current fave), convinced I could do this without stopping.

She's comin over
We'll go out walking
Make a call on the way.......

This seemed to work for a while, although somewhere around mile 4 or 5, things got reallllly hot.

And then, in the midst of my Drug-Buddy-running haze, suddenly, like an oasis, there it was: the 8.5km sign. 8.5! A wave of warm fuzzies washed over me: 8.5! That's almost 10! Now I knew I could really do it. I pictured myself running, slow-motion like, across the finish line. With confidence in my step and a smile on my face. I did it!

Oh wait, except I was still only at 8.5..............

And by the time I crossed the finish line, well, let's just say it wasn't exactly how I envisioned it would be. It was more like an overwhelming nausea and need to puke!!

But, finish I did. My final time was around 68 minutes -- check it out -- slow jog in effect!

But, I completed my goal and ran without stopping - WooHooooooo!

Here is my Why the Hell Am I Doing This Again? face:

I am SO kicking that old man's butt!

On the other end of the spectrum, my rockstar teammates weren't quite in the slow-jog realm. Their times were all under an hour!

Simon, looking way too refreshed to be running a 10k at 7am on his day off!

Matt, checking his time as he passed the taunting Goofy hat (see behind him)

Regina, the Bolder Boulder posted child

Mike, practicing his La-Mas breathing technique

Randy, beating his time from 10 yrs ago

Oh and we can't forget my supportive husband, always giving it his all!!!

(Luckily he wasn't on our team!)

More about the race:
http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2007/05/28/news/c_u_and_boulder/news1.txt

http://www.bolderboulder.com/