Max loves snow!

After two 70 degree days, here we are 24 hours later in the middle of a blizzard and 26 degrees.  On the news yesterday they were interviewing people visiting Colorado who were in shorts and asking them if they believed the next day could bring a blizzard.  Of coarse they laughed.  And here we are!

Max absolutely LOVES the snow!  He gets so hyper, running and playing and even brings the playfulness out of Sparky and MIllie.  Can you tell why the pet store called him Scruffy?

Looking forward to a beautiful day!

Good Morning!!  We have had a colder than average winter where we have never been above 60 degrees.  The last two years we had many 60+ and even some 70 + degree days.  But today St. Patrick's day we will finally have a 72 degree day.  I'm so excited!

FYI....Max is a very happy and hyper puppy but he still will not allow human contact.  He runs and hides when you try to approach him.

I can't wait for IKEA!

Construction on the first Colorado IKEA will be beginning soon less than 10 miles from our house!  Anyone who knows me well in AZ knows how much I love and miss that store.  They said on the news tonight that when the store opens in 2011 they will have to hire 400 people.  Hmm, if I can't get a job teaching?  Now all I need is a Coffee Bean and I will be set!

So burnt out and ready for spring break!

I am so extremely exhausted!!!  Student teaching, applying for jobs, going to a job fair, new puppy, housework, bills and all of the March birthdays. I so need a break.  I want to get back out there and explore more of Colorado and post my explorations for anyone who may still be reading my blog and wondering what happened (The winter has been colder than usual and I have been too busy on nice days, sorry).  I hope I get a job that allows me weekends with Scott so we can hike together!  It has been so long since we went and I never go to the gym so my fear is, I will be so out of shape.  But the weather is getting nicer everyday and we will need to get out soon.  My cute sixth graders crack me up!  They wear shorts and no jackets on the 50 and 60 degree days and come in from recess complaining about how hot it is.  I always laugh and say you silly kids that is not hot (let me tell you about hot)!  These kids fill my days with so many complements and laughs.  They definitely help me with my empty nest syndrome I have been experiencing the past six months or so.

For our AZ family, I want to let you know we changed our AZ plans for May because we found out Vicki is graduating only 5 days after we were going to leave and she really wants us there.  So Vicki we are coming out one week later so we can come to your Party!!

Next week I begin 2 weeks of SPRING BREAK!  YES! YIPPEE!! And I get to see my daughter I haven't seen since last summer when I helped her pack the U-haul for Nashville.  Also we are going to finally finish putting up new trim after our laminate wood project, so I will post pictures of the finished look.

Have a great day everyone!

So glad it's Friday

This has been a long, stressful and unfortunate week.  I am so looking forward to the weekend and a fresh start to a new week.  I have an unpleasant sickness, I probably caught from one of my adorable sixth graders.  Hope I can shake it this weekend. Max is adapting and doing well.  Although he still fears humans, including us.  The vet said it would take a while since he lived the first five months of his life with little human contact.  We will just have to be patient.  Have a great weekend!

Clearance Puppy

As you all know, Scott and I have a weekend routine where we go to the mall, get a coffee at Seattle's Best and walk a couple times around for exercise.  (Yes we are that elderly couple walking laps around the mall early on Saturday mornings)

Well this weekend as we entered the pet shop as we usually do, we witnessed a sad, nervous dog who had been at the pet shop for over three months and discounted numerous times.  We went home and neither one of us could get the sad dog out of our minds.  So we went back to the pet shop and asked to take the clearance puppy home.

When we came home a different side of this discounted sad puppy came out as he ran, teased and played with Sparky and Millie.  He still runs to hide or walks backwards to avoid Scott, Sean and I as he fears human contact.  Scott has been giving him love all day but I'm sure it will take some time.

The pet store had called him scruffy and even though he is a bit scruffy we did not want to give him a complex with such a name so we struggled all day and came up with Max.  By the way Max is a Yorkshire Terrier mixed with a Bichon Frise.  I guess Max is the kind of dog that needs frequent walks, so he will fit right in with us!

Another reason to say goodbye to soda

I have been trying so hard to give up soda and I have reduced my intake to about one soda (made with real sugar) every other day.  Lately I have been drinking the Heritage Dr. Pepper, Yum!

Today I was watching the morning news and someone from the University of Colorado Hospital was on discussing how a study they conducted showed those who drank two or more sodas a week were more than two times more likely to get pancreatic cancer than those who did not drink soda.  The person emphasized that it did not matter what kind of sweetener was used artificial, high fructose corn syrup or real sugar.  Since pancreatic cancer sounds pretty painful (remember Patrick Swayze) and the proof has already been established on how soda (or anything sugary) contributes to Type 2 Diabetes, I know how important it is to eliminate soda from my family's diet.  Sorry Sean :(

Read the article

Happy Valentine's Day

 Just two hours earlier, there was a dark gray sky with snow falling and now it is so bright you really need your shades!

Woke up to a dark gloomy snowy Valentine's Day and thought, was this predicted?  The weather is so unpredictable, you never know if a February day will be sunny and 65 degrees, or an ice cold -5 degrees with two feet of snow?  As a mother my first thought as I saw the snow coming down was "I better wake up Sean so he can get to work on time".  I made Sean a french toast breakfast at 10 am while the snow fell and he got ready to be at work by noon.  Well by the time Sean left, there was not a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining and the snow melting away, rushing into the gutters and down the drains.  That is Colorado for you!  Love it!!  Hope everyone is enjoying their Valentine's day with their sweeties.  Hugs and kisses to all my family.

Snow day? Not a chance.....

Finally we are getting some snow.  Nothing spectacular, just enough to interrupt the day.  Funny thing is Whitney is living in Nashville where almost any snow on the ground results in a snow day.  I think she has had at least four snow days this school year.  As for us, I think we have had about five or six snow days in the three years we have lived in Colorado!  One thing I can say about living here, is the main roads and freeways are cleaned up almost as quickly as the snow falls.  Gotta get those skiers and snowboarders to the ski trails safely, I suppose.  As we near the end of our third winter, we have yet to drive into the mountains during the winter months.  And we even bought Sean a snowboard and all the gear back in 2007!  Someone needs to come out here and go snowboarding with Sean.  Warning....I hear it is pretty expensive (one reason we haven't gone yet).

Yesterday morning I woke up and found this squirrel on our deck looking into the back door (maybe he knew the snow was coming?).  By the time I grabbed my camera he changed his mind and hurried away.

April or May?

FYI.....Southwest has the best fare sale right now.  Most flight in April and May between Phoenix and Denver are only $30 each way!  And there is not a fee for bags.  Only catch is the sale ends this Thursday.