Day 257

Happy Mother's Day to my amazing Momma and to all the Mommas out there!

Today we went apartment hunting.  The apartment we're at now is great: great location, great amenities (even though we don't use any of them) and great price for what we get.  The place is really nice but they're increasing our rent if we renew the lease so we're looking to see what we can get for our money at other places.

We looked at one place that would be closer to work for me (Oh yea, I'm working with Nestle on contract!) but it's farther from John's work and from downtown.  Plus, there's tons of things right around the corner from where we are now while this place doesn't really have much.  It would be a great safe and quiet area, but we'll see.

So in between looking at this place down in the Denver Tech Center and going to the next place, John decided he wanted to go to Shepler's, a giant Western-wear store.  Why did he want to go?  I nearly fainted when I heard this..

He wanted to look at cowboy boots!!

I never thought I'd see the day that I got this New England boy to put on, much less buy, cowboy boots.

To make things even better, he was wearing a pair of Ralph Lauren plaid shorts.  Those and cowboy boots don't exactly make the best look.

He was pretty excited about them and I made sure he was going to get real boots.  None of that Ariat stuff.  Tony Lama is the only way to go.  Plus, I decided these would be the large chunk of his birthday present.  So here's what the final decision was:

Mmmmmmmm.

 A little info on Tony Lama and the boots J picked out: Tony Lama has been making boots for ranching, roping, and riding since 1911. Over the years, Tony Lama boots have evolved into technically advanced, fashionable footwear that sets the standard for the western lifestyle. They are proud to introduce the 3R buckaroo. It's handcrafted with a rojo bridle leather foot under a 16" ivory baron calf leather shaft. Shaft features fancy stitching, inlay detail, and easy-on pull holes. 3R embroidered logo detail. Square toe. Unit heel. 1/4" spur ridge. Single stitched welt construction.

But then this shopping trip got a little bigger.  John, while tall as is, doesn't have the proper jeans for cowboy boots.  Ya gotta have 'em super long and they've gotta be Wranglers.

Whew.  He looks like he could actually fit in at a barn.  I told him I'd make a country boy or cattle rancher outta him yet.

Mmmmmmm Wranglers and Tony Lamas.  I was beside myself.  Still am.

A pair of boots, the necessary tools to keep them well taken care of, two pairs of Wranglers, and a hysterical bought with the boot jack later, we made it out of there.  Starving and satisfied our day's work, we went to Jason's Deli for lunch and didn't go look at the other apartment.

Now he's just got to wait until June 4 to wear his boots and jeans.

Day 252

This morning I woke up pretty early and snuck out of bed, threw on some clothes, and made a surprise run to Santiagos.  It's a little Mexican place that's scattered around here and there and they have awesome breakfast burritos.  They've got your usual eggs, potatoes, cheese, and meat, but what sets these apart from anything you can get on the East Coast is that they have amazing green chili sauce on them.  And they are spuh-icy.

John gets the hot breakfast burritos, which after taking one bite of had me needing to spread a flat of butter across my tongue.  I get the medium and by the end of it I am breathing fire.

These are so awesome that I had to wait in line, outside, for about 20 minutes.  And if you get there too late, they'll probably be sold out because they only make them with one meat (bacon, chorizo, sausage) per day and they only make a certain amount.

But man it is so worth it.  And John was very happy for the surprise burritos.

Oh yes, happy May Day!

Day 248

Last Sunday, April 17th, my mom called me and said that she was putting my Easter stuff in a box and sending it out first thing Monday morning.  Then, Monday, she told me FedEx said it would get to me on Thursday.  I knew I wouldn't be there, but would instead be at home in NC, but she didn't know that and I couldn't tell her.

So today I opened my Easter box.

Of course there's some candy but my mom and dad also send some very pretty "eggs," a pen and notepad that's already living in my purse so I don't have to write on receipts, a bunny that poops candy, a smoothie recipe book (it also has punches, we'll be enjoying this a lot this summer), some sunscreen (which I was pleasantly surprised was 15 SPF, not 85 SPF which wouldn't have surprised me at all), and a $25 gift card to Home Depot!  Not to mention what all of this came in: a pottery pot  my mom found at Seagrove, NC!

I love my parents!

Day 247

I was supposed to be back in Colorado this morning.  But I'm not.  I'm still at home!

Mom and Dad took me to the airport last night around 6PM where we said our tearful goodbyes see-ya-laters.  I went through security and was sitting at my gate at Greensboro's PTI Airport when I heard the announcement that our crew for the plane was in the air and would be there in about 10 minutes, so boarding would be about half an hour delayed.  Alright, I thought, No big deal.  I don't have anywhere else to go.

So we started boarding, first class first, obviously.  Probably the 6th or 7th guy's ticket wasn't scanning correctly.  So they pulled him to the desk and started typing.  I could see it in the woman's face that something wasn't right.  Then, she picked up the phone to make an announcement for all of us standing in line to board.

Crrrrkk. Passengers flying to Cincinnati, can I have you attention please.  This plane has been overbooked and we're looking for one volunteer with flexible flight plans to give up their seat.  We'll be giving you a $400 travel voucher and will try to get you to your destination tonight.  If we can't, then Delta will be paying for your hotel and meals and we'll get you out first thing tomorrow morning.

She probably said more, but I was walking to the desk before she was even done saying all of this.  I was supposed to be working on Tuesday at my job with Nestle but had received a call as I sat down at the gate that I wasn't needed Tuesday (today).  I was the only person volunteering to give up my seat and I was so excited.  It was Mom's birthday yesterday when all of this was happening so I called my parents and told them to turn around and come and get me.  We had another 18 hours together.

I don't believe in coincidences.  God always has a plan.

So today, before we went back to the airport, I had to get one more picture of our dogs.  Well, my dog Maddie and her/my dad's dog, Buddy.

My sweet girl.  She's perfect.  And a diva.

Buddy.  Oh Buddy.  He's a very sweet and loving dog, but he's just not all there.  He chases planes...

Day 242

Well today was a big and exciting day.

I've been scheming with Chelsea and Justin (her hubby), as well as a dear family friend, Donna, for a little over a month now.  What have we been scheming about?  Well let me tell you.

I've been living in CO since the end of December and haven't gone home since.  I don't love being so far away from family and friends and have been wanting to go home for quite some time now.  So that's what I did.  I went home.

This plan started when John looked at me one day after I had really been missing home and said, "You should go home for Easter.  And your mom's birthday is the next day.  Look up flights."  Oh I love him.

So I did and I booked a flight that night.

I flew into Greensboro and Donna picked me up around 2PM.  We ran around a few places and I even talked to my mom on the phone while at Coldwater Creek.  I even told her she should come by, knowing she would think I was talking about one in CO.  Little did she know I was about 20 minutes away from her.

Chelsea and Justin took off from work early and met up with Donna and I and took me home.  My dad was supposed to be home when we got there, but things had happened and he wasn't.  So we figured we'd just get 'em twice and get double the pleasure out of two surprises.  Chels and Justin brought their two dogs, Dallas and Sawyer, from Raleigh and, when we arrived home, let them out to play in the front yard with Maddie and Buddy, our family dogs.  Justin walked inside and asked my mom if she'd help him get something out of the car.  When she walked outside, I stood up from where I was hiding and said "Happy birthday!!"  Oh it was so wonderful.  She was so excited that she made me think of a cartoon character who's running so fast but there aren't moving.  We hugged and cried and then went inside and did what we always do: stand in the kitchen and talk.

We were so caught up that we forgot to close the garage doors.  Not a big deal except for the fact that this is how we were going to know when my dad got home.  Whoops.

Around 6PM Chelsea loudly inhaled all of the air in the room and said, "Huuuuh (inhale) DAD!!!"  I looked up and froze, like I had been caught red handed doing something I wasn't supposed to.  Dad and I locked eyes and he seemed like something just wasn't fitting together.  Later, he said that he looked at me and thought, "Well that's not Chelsea.  Who is tha.....Kimberly!"  He quickly put down his things and gave me one of those wonderful, can-only-get-'em-from-Dad hugs.  One of the best weekends of my life had begun.

We went to church, came home, and celebrated by opening some German champagne, or I guess it would be sparkling wine.

This is my Dad/Pops/Daddy/Poppaloo.  My mom was standing in the corner when he pointed the bottle at her.  He wasn't opening it but it was really funny.

"Bob!  Don't point that at me!"

We drank some of this and some of some other stuff Mom and Dad had in the fridge.  Chelsea and Justin didn't like either of them.  It was champagne afterall.  Hell, they don't like champagne so much that they toasted with Coors Light at their wedding....in Waterford Crystal flutes!!

In their defense, it was supposed to be sparkling cider but we left it at home.

Day 93

I had a great job throughout my sophomore and junior years of college.  I went and picked up two sweet little boys (they were in kindergarten and 2nd grade when I started) from school, let them play outside on the play-ground for half and hour, and I would drive them home and get them going on their homework.  CJ and Riley are some of the two best boys in the world.  So when I came up to Boston for my last semester of school, I knew that I was going to miss them a whole lot.  I decided to surprise them and pick them up from school today.  It was wonderful!  We went home and they have gotten a cute little dog!  Here's Riley (well, his back) and the little dog, Wilson.

This is exactly what these two guys need--a dog to grow up with.  They will learn so much from this little guy.

Day 69

This morning I received some beautiful flowers from John.  They are wonderful!!  Sunflowers are some of my favorites and this combination of carnations, sunflowers, roses, and other flowers smells amazing.  Thanks, J.  I love you!