Jill vs. Ikea Entertainment Center

Goodbye Sheridan, helloooo LoHi! This past weekend was officially moving weekend and I am so lucky to have such awesome parents - they drove to CO in 40 mph wind pulling a trailer, helped me move apartments, spoiled me rotten, and then drove home with all of the stuff that didn't fit in my new place. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! It was great to see them, and me driving the huge diesel pickup around Denver all weekend was pretty entertaining, also.

We even fit in a trip to Ikea (as the title suggests) and I was a bit worried to bring Dad there. (read: crowds + shopping = not Dad's cup of tea) However, dare I say he enjoyed it? Well, he enjoyed it enough to take some chairs back for the office and to take notes for their future kitchen remodel. Success!

Now, photo-blog time: (consider these photos 88 - 92, and then some...)

Rainy day in the city... luckily this was the day before I moved

My happy helpers! (And the things that were too big to fit in my new place)

Jill vs. Ikea.

A couple of hours later... success! (I did have to take things apart and start over a couple of times. All the pieces look just similar enough to mess you up)

Yes, my couch still has a tag on it. It is the very first piece of new furniture I've had, so I might just keep it on for a while. Although, having new things is causing me a bit of anxiety. What if I get it dirty?!? Gah! So stressful to have nice things! I'm not used to this!

Why yes, that is a kitchen rug that looks like my very first chicken, Henrietta. Therefore, the rug shall be named Henrietta. Thanks, Mom and Di!

Slowly settling in... Much love from the Rockies!

Well hello, promotion!

Well hello, promotion! With all of the restructuring in our organization it looks like I will officially become a program manager - WOO! (Becoming effective in August, so hopefully they don't change their minds before then.) More details to come, but this is definitely good news. Good things :)

84 - I love it when friends come visit!

85 - One of our discoveries on what is becoming a weekly Krista and Jill Sunday Hike. Some people have a work wife/husband... I have a Krista :) 

86 - Look - now I have two rooms!

87 - While in the process of moving for the past few days I've been surviving on a diet of Healthy Choice meals and pre-made sushi. I'm actually excited to settle and start cooking real food again!

And, as usual, a few more photos of the hike. Love me some nature!

Bluuuue skies!

(and snow)

(and flowers)

Much love from the Rockies!

Bullet. Dodged.

So what is match.com if not fantastic blog material? Case in point below, but first let me set the scene. A week or so ago I went out on a first date with a guy from Match.com, we'll call him "M". He seemed a bit shy, but friendly (and yes, I know I can come on a bit strong), but we had an enjoyable evening nonetheless. Last weekend he sends me a text asking if I want to accompany him to a comedy show this weekend. I say yes, and he then confirms plans via text on Thursday night. He then sends me a text asking if I know any good bars in the area to meet up beforehand. This was Thursday evening, and I respond this afternoon... Commence awkward conversation below (all over text unless otherwise noted): 

Jill (J) - Ideas for tonight: BarX or BarY - both close to the comedy club

M - What's the story with all the slow responses?

J - Hey now, what's the story with the third degree?

M - Just asking... it has been like a minimum of 2 hours on all texts... not something I'm accustomed to

J - Your stopwatch must be getting quite a work out! I'm not tethered to my phone, add it to my list of flaws (this one did not take 2 hours, for the record)

M - As mentioned, I do not have cable or internet so I understand the whole not being connected thing... but 1.5 days to respond to a simple question seems excessive, yes?

J - I don't know you well enough to know if you are joking or scolding me...

M - Neither really, just seeing if that is the level of responsiveness that I would be signing on for if this thing goes past a couple of dates...

J - Wow. Well, it is something I know I should work on. But a phone call can usually remedy that, too. I'm not a child of the texting generation!

**He calls - asks if we should continue this conversation over a beer at one of the above mentioned bars. I say sure, we agree to meet at 7. Meanwhile I immediately regret my decision, and frantically call assorted girlfriends asking them if I would be a terrible person for cancelling so last minute. I don't really think that I need to defend my actions after only one date, and really, there's nothing here to salvage - so what exactly are we going to talk about?

As I am on the phone I get a text:

M - This place isn't too dressy is it?

(24 minutes pass)

M - Well either way, I'm rocking a t-shirt and tennies, so heads up.

Needless to say, I cancelled the date - you guessed it, via text. (It is his preferred method of communication, after all.) His response?   Good Luck. 

Ohhhhh my. Katie said it best - "Bullet. Dodged."

Why not end with a few photos? Trying to get back into my project 365...

79 - I officially have a place in LoHi now! 

80 - Moving things in slowly. Apparently my vases were in the first box

81 - Sarah discovered the secret to the Skittle machine. Why pay a quarter? 

82 - Driving home with flowers in my cup holder from my awesome teammate at work. Love her! 

83 - Look who is in town - Yay! Now move here!!

Easter, a Cowboy Wedding, and Life-Threatening Storms

Time to play catch-up... consider these photos number 65 - 78. I'll be better from now on!

We'll start with Easter back at home...

Love these kiddos! Eli wasn't thrilled, but just look at the face on big bro. So adorable

One guess who did the sidewalk art...

aaaand I'm ready for the drive home! 

Weekend #2 in Nebraska - headed to Burwell for Sara and Trevor's wedding! We were a bit worried when the National Weather Service classified the storms in the area as "life-threatening storms", but we decided to make a run for it anyway. We saw drifts of hailstones from the storms that passed through earlier that day, but luckily we didn't run in to anything too bad in the drive out there. (And once the wedding festivities started, no one was really paying attention, anyway! Does anyone know if the Legion club even has a basement?)

Small-town church, choir loft and all...

On to the Legion club for the dance!

Making good use of the peacock centerpieces

Wow - can you tell they're related?

Great weekends spent back home! Now I really need to start that 1/2 marathon training to burn off the 10 lbs of good Nebraska beef I ate last weekend...

Much love from the Rockies!

test?

Yes! Success! I did not get the "You have reached 100% of your storage limit" message this time, but it comes at a price. I did some blog shopping (emphaiss on some) and I came to the conclusion that I don't want to put in the effort to switch my blog over to a different domain. Nor do I want to pay for extra storage. (I mean really, Google, who are you to say that 2500 photos is excessive?)

My solution? Delete some old photos from my blog album to fee up some space. After all, it did take me nearly three years of uploading large quantaties of photos to hit my limit (side note.... can you believe I've been in Denver ALMOST THREE YEARS?!?!), so I figure I can delete the photos from 2009, and deal with the problem again in a year. After all, who looks at my posts from 2009? (This is where you all chorus "we all do, of course!") I'm guilty of reading my own past blog posts - it is basically like reading your own diary. Your own public diary that will bite you in the a$$ if you ever decide to run for congress, I mean. But alas, the blog must go on, so some photos must be sacrificed. *sigh*

I know I owe you about 2 weeks worth of photos, and you'll have to wait until next week when I get back from the Burwell wedding extravganza! New dress? Check? Boots? Check. As the saying goes on the t-shirt my parents (yes, my parents!) bought for me... So many boys, so few cowboys. 

the good life.

Nebraska + springtime + far too many jelly beans + family and friends = one great Easter weekend. Highlights of the trip included Dad fighting with the OnStar in his truck ("hang up" pardon? "disconnect!" pardon? "goodbye!" pardon? "stop calling!" pardon?), a 4-hour Dance Revolution marathon with my girls (where we discovered that we are definitely all white, in case there was any doubt), actually getting time to chat with my parents (long overdue!), and of course, time with the kiddos. And true to form, they dominate all my photos. Just consider this photos 65 - 70 (and then some...)

** Update** I have hit my Google free storage limit! (OMG!) Until I figure out what to do, no pictures :(   Any recommendations? Just purchase more storage? 

Capiche?

62 - I officially have a new place to live! LoHi here I come! And by "place" I mean closet, and by "LoHi", I mean mixed area on its way to gentrification. Bring it on :)

63 - So true. Livin' the dream :)

64 - Potatoes for dinner. And only potatoes. Doesn't everyone appreciate the excitement of living borderline poverty level? (Not really, Mom and Dad! Just finishing up what I have in my house before I head home!)

And in case there was any doubt that I am my father's child...  Upon registering for my next 1/2 marathon (in the mountains- all downhill!) I realized my debit card had expired. Hmm, interesting. Don't they usually automatically send you a new one? Must have been an oversight.

Call US Bank the next day. "Hello, I realize that my debit card has expired. Can you tell me if a new one was mailed to my updated address?"

"Our system shows that it was mailed out on February 6, ma'am. (Oh.) And, the separate envelope containing the PIN and activation instructions was mailed on February 9, ma'am." (Oh.)

"Sooo, what would one do if one happened to misplace both of those envelopes in the trash?"

Let this be a lesson to you, US Bank. Don't send me so much stinkin' junk mail and I won't throw away the important stuff! Capiche?

Quick! Hug a tree!

Photo 57 - Ohhh, student. When I asked you to send me a copy of your passport this isn't exactly what I meant. 

Photo 58 - Yet another reason I love being an Aunt. Getting to buy things like this!

Photo 59 - Hike #2 of the season with Krista! 

A few more details about this hike, AKA near-death experience. The abundance of cars at the trail head with bike racks on them should have been our first clue. But we were oblivious to the fact that the trail we chose to hike is also a favorite among mountain bikers... that is until the first group of them came careening down the mountain and Krista and I were forced to dodge out of the way lest we become speed bumps in Nike running shorts. Our leisurely hike soon turned in to a battle for our lives with every pack of bikers that we encountered. One must strike a delicate balance between getting off the trail in a timely fashion and not tumbling down the side of the mountain. The best way to do this. HUG A TREE!!

Photo 60 - Hug a tree!

Photo 61 - Gaaaah! 

Now on to the really good stuff... Date #1 update. I did not get abducted. I did stay in a public place. I did not eat garlic. I did have a fun, interesting night out with possibly the tallest man I've ever met. (Yes, even taller than Nick Z.!) Drinks with an ironman finisher who owns his own business and has hiked to Mt. Everest base camp for charity? Not a bad evening. Faith in humanity (and online dating) still in tact.

Much love from the Rockies!