Living in Munchkinland

This weekend was busy. We had dinner on Friday night with our neighbors Shelly and Nathan at a local dive bar called Varsity Inn. It was really fun as they have a bunch of retro video games for a quarter. Sam wasn't with us as he was at a sleepover. We ate good bar food and had fun until Sam texted us that he couldn't actually sleep over and we had to come get him. We picked him up, took him home and let him sleep in his own bed. (he is his mother's child.) Michael and I stayed up and watched Stranger Things, our new obsession. Saturday morning we returned Sam to the sleep over and I made six quarts of soup in preparation for my soup swap. I wanted to march in the Denver Women's March and had even bought my pink pussy hat (now missing!!!!) for it, but I couldn't make the timing work with the sleepover. So I cleaned the house and we worked on the garage and I cooked soup and that was okay too. That afternoon, Suzy and I took the light rail downtown and met up with ...

Today my Blog is ten years old. I started this thing in 2007. I never thought when I started typing, lonely and lost with two tiny babies, that I would continue for this long. Sometimes it has been a delight and sometimes it has been a chore. I've kept up with it, trying to post at least once a week, because this is the history of my family. Each year I turn it into a book and place it on the shelf. Often I reference the blog to look up a restaurant or hotel that we visited. Sometimes I look back to see certain events in the kid's lives. I haven't always put everything out here. It's not a real diary. Something are just too personal to put on a public forum. I write it like a letter to a friend. It used to have more recipes. I should add more recipes again. It used to have more about the kids, but since they are growing up now, I am far more respectful of their privacy and only post pictures and stories about them after I have asked permission. I've written 1090 p...

As Posted on Facebook Today: I am a citizen of this great country. I believe in Democracy and the peaceful transfer of power. I believe in the peaceful right to protest. I believe that it is my job to speak up for what I know is right. That is what makes the United States so special. Let the record show. With a link to this blogpost, written by JOHN PAVLOVITZ on his website johnpavlovitz.com: Let the record show that I did not consent to this. Let it show that I did not vote for this man, that he did not represent me, that I did not believe he was deserving of being here, that I grieved his ascension. Let History record my objection to him, to the ways he humiliated women and vilified Muslims and threatened protestors and disregarded people of color. Let it record my repulsion at his tremendous cruelty, his lack of compassion, his contempt for dissension, his absence of simple decency. Let witnesses mark down my disgust at the way he boasted of infidelity, at how he ridicu...

We spent the long MLK weekend in Taos. We picked the kids up a wee bit early on Thursday and headed off into the sunset. We were rushing to beat some weather and we succeeded. On Friday, our two neighbor families joined us for the weekend. Shelly and Nathan brought their two kiddos and Jason brought Garrett. Suzy and Leah couldn't come as Leah was competing in a gymnastics tournament. We all had a great time. We played lots of ping pong and board games. We went sledding and to Twirl. We ate at Taos Mesa Brewery and saw Tony and his whole family for happy hour at KTAOS. Michael, Jason, Davis and Garrett spent a day snowboarding and skiing. I had a lot of fun with the whole crew. It was a very relaxing, enjoyable weekend filled with lots of laughter. We drove back on Monday afternoon through slush and snow and came home to five fresh inches of snow. It was great to be gone and great to come home.

I'm having a sad day. I'm thinking of my dad and missing him. I'm missing San Marcos and my friends there. I dreamed about the days during the week we lost dad. I'm wanting to think of dad and remember him, but it hurts. I'm sure this is a natural part of the grief process. I'm just probably moving into another phase. But the lump in my throat hurts. And I'm missing home. The sunsets. My comfortable, deep ties with my friends. Even the stupid big HEB. I need to stay out the past and stay in the present. I am truly happy here. But sometimes I miss what I had. a lot.

Yesterday I sang at church. I have a cold and my infected thumb and it wasn't my best performance, but I was there and did my best. I love our church and the people. After church we drove downtown. Sam handed out homeless kits he made at church. We had lunch at Torchy's- a little bit of home. Then we went over to the Denver Art Museum. We are members thanks to my mama and so we thought we'd spend some time in the galleries. This was the last day of winter break and they had backpacks full of activities for the kids, plus lots of "creative corners" where the kids could create something based on the art in the gallery. They made postcards, built bridges and added layers of pictures to create landscapes. When we arrived we asked if there were any walk in tickets to see the Star Wars costumes exhibit which was sold out online. There were! We surprised the children and after an hour in the museum, our ticket time arrived and we were able to enter the exhibit. It ...

It's really infected. I don't know how it happened. I think maybe I pushed some dirt too far down while using my fingernails for something? Who knows. But it got infected under the fingernail. It is swollen, red, throbbing, painful. It's full of pus and I started running a fever. The swelling and pain moved down my thumb into my palm. I saw the dr on Saturday morning and she gave me a shot to numb the pain. She put me on ten days of antibiotics. It isn't better yet. I go back to the dr tomorrow. It's miserable and to put insult on top of injury (literally), it's my right hand! Ugh.

We've had some very cold weather here this week. Monday we worked on the house and the kids played with their friends. We enjoyed a day of nice weather. The window guys were here both Tuesday and Wednesday, putting finishing touches on our new windows and trying to find out why Davis's furnace vent in his room doesn't put out heat. Our windows look great, but the furnace vent remains a mystery. Kids went to school on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the cold front came in on Wednesday with a fierce bite. I drove through pouring snow to choir rehearsal drove home white knuckled. Thursday was a snow day with only six inches of snow, but bitterly cold temps exacerbated by wind chills making it feel like ten to fifteen below. The kids were thrilled not to go to school. Michael and I were thrilled too as we've been fighting a terrible cold and this gave us the opportunity to sleep a bit more. I did some baking-bread, peanut butter and jelly cupcakes and some reading-tore throug...

See Ya 2016! We saw 2016 out with Fireworks on Taos Mountain, an amazing dinner at Bella's, releasing balloons on the Taos Plaza and fireworks, champagne and pringles at the house. It was good. I was very happy to be with my family. I was very happy 2016 was over. I don't have high hopes for 2017, but I pray that it brings some good. We drove home yesterday and are missing family, but happy to be in our house with new, amazing windows! We are not freezing! It is already a better year.