Weekend shanigins

Ah, the adventures of this weekend. The weekend was kicked off with Friday as usual, the only difference about this Friday was that Joey and I proclaimed it "date night". Apparently one of the symptoms of moving in together is a strange illness where two people who were once out going suddenly become plagued with a tendency to stay at home and forego public scenes in favor of curling up on the couch and watching movies. So to remedy this the aforementioned "date night" was agreed upon. We started out the evening by getting gussied up and heading out to a wonderful Sushi dinner. There was much Sake and rejoicing among the masses. After dinner we met up with Kendall and crew for a few rounds of pool. Out of four games Joey and I won three of them. (How I will never know because both of us are rather lacking in that skill.) During pool a game of chalking ensued. The rules to this game are simple. You take the chalk for the pool cue and you attack an unsuspecting victim leaving a circle or smudge of generally a bright blue or red chalk. If the person does not realize they have been chalked then you gain 10 points while they walk around looking less than intelligent. Exhibit A: Koach Kendall (Not my fault) . Exhibit B: JoePink (Okay, this one was pretty much all me) Exhibit B resulted from a promise made to Kendall that I would get Joey while he slept and then post the picture on this site. Lucky for me the boy sleeps like rock most of the time. He laughed while he washed it off and there were no hard feelings. I am still trying to train myself to sleep with one eye open at all times on the off chance that he feels a need to return the favor. One of the joys of our home is that we have maintained a playful atmosphere but if I can be ahead in this game I will. :) On Saturday "date night" evolved into "date weekend" with a trip to the Aquarium. I'm a big fan. It was a lot of fun and slightly ironic to go check out all of the pretty fish after having had Sushi the night before and then going out to lunch at Fish N Chips later that day. Joey wandering around wondering out loud how such and such a fish would taste. I have to acknowledge that he sparked my curiosity with that one. I have never before considered eating all of the little colorful sea decorations but now... you gotta admit, it could be tasty. Mmmmm... Dori from Finding Nemo with a pineapple sauce and a mango garnish. There is a whole untapped market there. Kids would love it. Maybe.... okay maybe not. Did they still like bacon after watching Babe? I really like this picture because it seems very dramatic. Maybe Joey was carefully considering the buffet for his next meal. We'll never know.

The weekend was concluded with the last race of the season. (Unless you count the RR the first weekend of September which I'm not because Joey isn't going.) In the morning we headed out to the blistering sun in order to watch Bob take 3rd in state for the 45+ league. Very proud moment with lots of clapping, yelling and Joey grinning. Aren't sunflowers a good look for Bob? I think he should carry some with him at all times. They just brighten his whole look up. :) Awwww.....




















And thus was the end of yet another wonderful weekend. Now it is on to the work week/job hunt/joey is out of town and I am going to be bored. Life is good. Blackman over and out.

A flower as big as my head?

Nothing overly exciting going on these days. Two girls have moved into the apartment above us. We joke about how even though their bodies are pretty average they must be made completely of lead. Thud thud thud, cackle cackle. Maybe they are lead chickens??? Lol. From this day forth I dub them Lead Chick (LC for short) 1 and 2. Other than that nothing much has changed. I now know the immediate area pretty well because I spend hours walking around every day and most of the time Joey and I go for walks in the evening too which I love immensely. Yesterday we went for a walk at Wash park. I am becoming really fond of that particular park. The flowers there are beautiful this time of year. I know that I have midget hands but that is still an impressive one. Mainly we just wander around the loop but last night we stopped several times to watch the bag pipers practicing or just to sit on a bench and look at the clouds reflecting on the water. It was the type of day that gives you a lazy smile when you file it way in your memory banks to draw out again on some cold winter day. Well I'm off to continue the job hunt. Even though we don't know where we'll end up in the next couple of months I was given some very good advice to just go ahead and apply for a job I like as if we were staying here. I will hate to leave it if I enjoy it but at least I will have a good time until then.

Facts about Joey since he never updates his blog.

Things I have learned about Joey in the last week include:

1.) While it is fun to hide and then jump out to scare him it is best not to do it when he has just poured a full glass of milk. My bad. He still laughed and I cleaned up the milk.

2.) I know when I am being a pain in the butt because he offers me food and takes me for a walk. I am much like a pet in this respect. Little does he know how entertained I would be if he would be willing to throw a ball around with me.

3.) Joey is more attractive than I am at all times.

4.) While he claims not to know how to cook he actually does. He now owes me dinner next week. No, it cannot be a bowl of cereal or a quesadilla.

5.) Watching the Olympics and doing PT for our necks is much more enjoyable when we are together. Even though we both look retarded with it strapped to our heads.

6.) He has holes in the toes of all of his socks.

7.) He shaves more often than I do and does a better job on his knees.

8.) Our biggest fights revolve around who loves who more which is disgustingly cutesy. If I were not in the relationship I would be the person on the side making gagging sounds. For the record, I win more often because I am better at coming up with ways to trick him. Like this for example. I now win because "I love you more Joey" is written on a public document.

9.) He is a slow learner. It took him three days of riding home on his scooter in the rain before he started to pack a rain coat. I also now know he looks good in a raincoat. Surprise surprise

10.) He could single handedly support all of the dairy farms in California. That boy goes through a gallon of milk in about 2 days. His blood milk level is probably around .55. If drinking dairy were illegal he would be doomed. DUI-OD? Driving Under the Influence of Dairy? Dairy until Inevitable Osteopenic Demise? Doesn't Understand Impairment - Obviously Dumb? ( just kidding!)

11.) He doesn't like it when I call him Joe. He prefers Joey because it is more personal. So I call him Goon because he is one.

12.) Last factoid of the day, Joey makes Sara very happy.

Lucy, I'm home.

Thus I have returned to Denver. There was much rejoicing between Joey and I. You'd think that I had left for months way we carried on. Just kidding, we said hi and gave each other a high five. Me: "Dude" Joey: "Duuuuude". We use few words and a very limited vocabulary but our eyes speak volumes. :)

So Nikki and I left for the homeland on Thursday afternoon. The whole way down we chatted about everything sisters normally chat about.I gave Joey a glowing review and she filled me in on her crazy neighbor. The first stop was Cora's house. She had those cute kids to play with and she promised to make us dinner. The offer of food is strong persuasion factor. I only saw my mother long enough to get a couple of hugs before she had to go back home and go to bed. She gets up at about 3 am to go to work so understandably her bed time is a wee bit earlier than mine. However we had a good time playing with the creepy crawlers. I had the joy of giving them a bath. It was a night that expressed a need for protective eye wear and drinking of bathwater tea. I think I performed rather well because I managed to come out only half soaked and I did not actually have to ingest any of the tea as long as I was willing to go along with the idea that Everest was a mad scientist.

The next day we drove to Durango to see Dad. We had a good time chatting and relaxing. Although we were very unproductive. ( Only the mandatory trip to Wally-world and Sonic since that is about as exciting as night life gets back home.) Saturday morning brought an early wake up call with no reason since our guests did not show up until much later. However when they did show up we had a great time and a full house. Cora brought the boys and my mom and then a good family friend showed up to hang out as well. We had a little celebration for both boys since their birthdays are only a couple months apart and we would not be able to all be together then. A word to the wise, Do not agree to hold a one year old when they are given cake. It does not end well however funny it may be. It was back to bath time shortly after that. Some how that kid managed to get cake in his diaper even though he was wearing over-alls. That takes skill. Some how my sister managed to talk me into doing bath time twice in three days which also take skill. I'm a gullible aunt but they such cute little monkies! After cake time my mom and I went to an AA meeting/ potluck thing and I had the chance to meet a lot of her friends which was fun. After that the rest of the weekend consisted mainly of hanging out with Cora et al and seeing a few old friends who were in town. Monday morning meant saying good-bye and wondering when the next time I'll see them all again will be. Sometimes it seems like I see my family a lot other times it feels like I hardly see them at all. Interesting phenomenon. Regardless it was a fun trip. I'll see you all again at some point soon I'm sure. Home sweet home

I went to the mall and I didn't die!!!!

I forgot to mention that earlier this week, or I guess last weekend, I did have time to hang out with a friend from my new local. Ann and I went shopping at the cherry creek mall. I am not much of a shopper, in fact most of the time I hate shopping. (All of you can wonder what Joey and I have in common now). However Ann managed to not only help me find some really cute clothes but I also had a blast and "gulp" found that I actually enjoyed the mall for more than it's air conditioning. We now have a pact that I will save a little money each month and then devote that to financing a wardrobe that is not 5 years out of date and does not consist of things that I have worn since I was about 15. I think it will be fun and then Ann and I will get to hang out more often besides when we are at races. :) I have to admit I originally agreed to do this whole shopping adventure for Joey's sake because he often has to shake his head when he sees what I am wearing. It's kind of an "oh, dear. Poor dumb kid" head shake. Saying both that he thinks I am completely backwards fashion-wise but that he still loves me regardless. Thanks to Ann however this will cease to be the case after awhile. :) We had an awesome time. I very proudly hung up my new clothes in the closet and have enjoyed wearing them around Joe. He likes the jeans that make my butt look good. ( Dad, please ignore that last comment) Give Ann a year to work with me and people won't recognize me on the street. It's about time I grew up a little clothes wise anyways. No more wearing flip flops in the middle of the winter, although I have refused to throw away my sweat pants despite Joey's reaction to them. I just agreed to not wear them out of the house anymore. :) And absolutely no one is going to come near my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle t-shirt. So next time you see Miss. Ann please give her a thank you and hug for helping this little Country girl make the transfer from college bum who gets dressed in the dark to someone who seems to have a grasp on what's up with looking good.

The conversion

Okay, I had my whiny moment earlier this week and now I am back to my typical optimistic self. In case you missed out on my whimpering here's the short version: "Boo hoo I live in the big bad city. I'm a scared", yadda yadda complain complain... Right now I am in a better mind frame. I know I'll be okay. I just have to give it some time and realize that regardless of who you are it takes a while to adjust to a new place. I went exploring for a couple of hours on Sunday and found that I live near a lake, a couple of parks and a creek. I feel better about the whole thing now that I have mapped out a running territory. Groovy.

The apartment looks like an apartment now. We have a floor. Well, half a floor but there is hope for a whole floor later tonight after the remained of our stuff is cleared away and properly stowed. Right now I am doing load after load of laundry and then hanging it all. (Those who know me well understand just what type of torture that is. Laundry is my nemesis. I don't mind the washing part, it's the putting away part that isn't much fun. Plus Joe's pants are about as long as I am tall.. ha ha) Other than that I have found a Duvet cover I like so I am off to give away money in order to take it home with me. I feel very domestic these days... interesting. Not completely bothersome but a change from normal. Oh my bachelorhood, it seems to be ending. I don't think I am allowed to call it my bachelorhood, but I'm not sure what the female version is. Bacheloretthood? I feel like Hugh Hefner converting into Martha Stewart. Well a very busty, and younger version of Hugh. Okay, Hugh is not a good example because I was never that exciting. Martha isn't ideal either because I am not that crafty. So scratch all of that nonsense. I feel like...... some one madly in love who has made the very strange self discovery that even though they hate laundry with a passion they some how enjoy folding their significant other's t-shirts. Maybe I should just stop trying to explain this sensation because it is making me come off as creepy and transgendered. Not really the vibe I am going for.

In other news that is much easier to explain, Nikki arrives tomorrow night! I am very excited to have her here. Her flight arrives rather late so we will probably just head to bed when we get home but the rest of the weekend will be spent hanging out and talking for hours on end about random things in our lives. It's an enjoyable way to spend a couple of days. If you met my sister you would understand just how cool she is. How she is related to a creature like me I do not know. Out of the three sisters Nikki got the looks and the brains. Cora got the maternal nature and the home maker. I took the remainder which seems to be the sarcasm and the goofy charm. I'm not sure those are good things but as long as I keep Joey away from my sister's he won't realize what he is missing out on. :) Shhh.....

Alright off to the cleaning/putting stuff away/trying not to curl up in bed with a book. .. mmmm bed... mmmm... reading.... mmmmm..napping the day away.....

No. I am not engaged. My puzzle ring has switched hands and everyone can go on with their lives. Although the sheer amount of friends, exs and other people who saw the picture and freaked out was pretty funny. I didn't even think about it until I got a call from joey a week later saying that everyone was asking him about it. Then we finally got the internet hooked up again today and wow... my inbox had at least 7 messages from people wondering what was going on. Trust me, if I ever get engaged people will not find out via my blog. (at least I hope most of you will find out in person or at least through a phone call, if you do find out first from my blog you have my permission to call me and tell me I'm lame.) The picture was really just to show you the size of the massive bug. Isn't it huge? Yeah.. I'm taking the picture down, but it was a big bug. I thought it was cool. Lesson learned. I'll start being more careful about what I post.

Right now I am sitting in the new apartment. In truth I am ridiculously lonely. It has been a good five years since I have moved to a town where I hardly know a soul. Not a fun feeling. It's kind of one of those moments where you say in your head, "Hey today's a nice day I should call someone and go do something." and then you realize that you have no one to go do anything with. Nor do you know where to go to do things. Or how to find basic things like grocery stores, libraries or places to meet people. It's hard. For once I wish I had school to go to because then I would at least know where to go to find people my age. Blah. Okay, maybe I am not in the best of moods today. Tomorrow will be better. I'll feel a little less lost. Maybe I'll get up the nerve to leave the apartment and see just how turned around I can get in Denver. If you see me driving around in circles please be kind enough to yell out directions. If you know anyone who wants to be my friend and lives in the same zip code, please give them my number.