Just an inch!

Let's rewind back to last weekend, shall we? I got sidetracked by the horrible date on Sunday, but there was a lot that happened before then. For starters, who knew I had family in Colorado? I certainly didn't until last weekend. (Well, extended family, but family nonetheless! Think the cowboy cousins only on my Dad's side.) Anyway, my Grandpa Muegge had a sister with a CO contingent of relatives, and the sister recently passed away. So Dad, Aunt Evelyn, and Aunt Janet came to Denver for the funeral and I had the chance to meet all sorts of relatives. It turns out there are Alaska Muegges, California Muegges, and Colorado Muegges - pretty cool. And despite the sad undertone it really was great to meet them all and to hear stories from Dad's side of the family.

There were a lot of photos, too! One of my favorites in particular was a photo of Dad and Aunt Janet about 5 and 4 years old, respectively, with Dad in his skivvies. I won't post that one, Dad! (Not right now, anyway...) Who knew they were such cute kiddos? I do love that the one thing most people remembered about the Nebraska Muegges was that a certain someone hooked an engine to his Radio Flyer wagon and made a homemade go-kart at the age of 7. Yup, that's my Dad :)

On to photos!

#111 Muegge family circa 1929. My grandpa is the oldest boy!

In true grad student form, we hunted out free bowling and food on Monday night. Thank you, DU alumni! (We missed you Sarah!)

#112 - Ilana has great form!

#113 - My form resembles "New Jersey fist-pump". I'll have to work on that

#114 - Krista wins the contest! She wasn't even posing - honestly!

#115 - Krista may win the bowling form contest, but who was it that won the game? Oh yes, that's me :)  Ilana was shy of 100 by "just an inch"!

#116 - Chip? Is that you?!?

#117 - Potato masher = oreo masher. That's right, we had dirt cake for snack at work this week. Worms and all!

Bring on the 3-day weekend!!

Would you change?

I went on a hike this weekend. Well, I attempted to go on a hike this weekend. With a gentleman we'll also refer to as M, just for consistency's sake. (No no, not texting M, this is a different one.) Now from the first moment of this hike everything was going wrong. It was chillier than we thought, and as we drove into the mountains it got colder and colder. And we were in his jeep, sans top. And the directions to the trail head I got off of the internet seemed to leave out vital information. (As in, drive 3.5 miles, then turn left, then right. then right again. But no distances or road names, hmmm.) We finally found the campground which the internet led me to believe was the trail head, but there was no trail in sight. There were, however, two deer carcasses and the constant sound of distant gunfire. And biting winds. We decided to turn around and just go get lunch instead. But we couldn't stop for lunch because we had his dog. (Who, by the way, must have been freezing, too.) So we drove back to Denver and it started to rain. In the jeep, of course. And to top it all off, I still got sunburned! Because the sun is still strong at 10,000 feet, even under the clouds.

So as you can see, things didn't go exactly as planned. And that is when people's true colors start to show! I am the first to admit that I am a planner, and I tend to get stressed when things don't necessarily go according to plan. (read: getting Mom, Lori, Dianna, and myself all kicked off of a train in England. Or causing Edum and I to miss our train back to Barcelona by a record-setting 24 hours.) I don't always handle it the best, but the adventures always turn in to a good story that we can laugh about years in to the future. So this hike, nothing was going according to plan. And come on, even I can appreciate the humor in everything going wrong. But apparently not everyone can... and as I apologized for planning what turned in to a disaster of a trip I was told, "Well, I can't blame the weather on you." Buuuut you are blaming me for everything else? Noted.

Later that same day I was asked a question by M. Something along the lines of, "It seems like you base a lot of your decisions on your current financial situation (um, yes), but if money was no object would your lifestyle change at all? Would you get a new phone? New car? Bigger apartment?"

My answer? Nope, probably not. I'm not a person that craves new things. (I'm still stressing about getting my new couch dirty!) Sure I joke about my sardine-can apartment in an "up-and-coming" neighborhood, my roller-skate Rav4 that just hit 170,000 miles, my phone that is by no means smart. But really? I like all of these things. They serve their purposes, and they serve them well. Will I upgrade? Eventually. But am I in line for the new iToy? No. I'd rather spend my money on experiences. Trips with friends, shows, things I've always wanted to do. Because great memories don't need an upgrade. (Yes, you can cross-stitch that on a pillow, as long as you give me the credit.)

I fear that was the wrong answer. But at least I was honest!

Photos to come... much love from the Rockies!

A tub fit for a...

... well, not for a tall person, that's for sure !

Mom kindly reminded me that amidst all of the new apartment news, I forgot to share the best part of it with with my blog friends. There are a lot of things I like about my apartment - the location, the quiet building, the location, the coziness, the location.... However there is one thing that leaves a bit to be desired:

# 107

Yup, that is possibly the smallest tub still in existence in the developed world. And just for effect, to show proportion:

#108

Looking on the bright side of things, it IS bigger than my free-standing shower cube from my first place in Denver. (for a reminder, check out blog circa 2009 http://jillmuegge.blogspot.com/2009/09/youll-have-new-shower-in-week.html). And I suppose there are quite a few uses for it if I think creatively. Foot bath...sink for washing my baking pans... pool for ducklings (should I ever get one)... bobbing for apples. Once winter comes and I need me some bath time (okay, okay, read-a-book-in-the-tub-and-fall-asleep time), I shall be calling all of you with nice, garden sized tubs. Don't worry, I'll supply my own bath salts :)

#109 - Three years in Denver and I can finally bake cookies without them falling flat! 

#110 - Celebrating the grand opening of a new Tiki bar - umbrella and all. 

 Much love from the Rockies!

A moth in my mailbox

... No, not a name of a children's book. (Though it does sound like it could be in the "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" series)  It is what I came home to today- junk mail for the previous tenant and a moth that few directly into my face. I mean come on, my mailbox is a tiny apartment one inside of the building. Won't these things GO AWAY ALREADY!?! If they get worse I may have to adopt Mom and Dad's technique of swinging the flyswatter furiously in hopes of knocking down the weak ones of the pack :)

Anyhoo - on to the really fun stuff! I spent last weekend in O-town as a surprise for Mom for Mother's Day! Kudos to Dad and Nathan for spearheading the idea - I think Mom was surprised. (She didn't call me a lair this time, though.) It was nice to have a weekend at home without a million plans to keep, so we spent some time shopping, playing with kiddos (of course), and testing out Mom and Dad's new bonfire pit (of course!). I owe you 3 photos, but instead you will get about 15. Because that's what happens when I am around cute kiddos. Can't help it!

E is on the move!

Bro & Sis bonding over Angry Birds

Success!

The fun of a multi-story house!

E wants to join in, apparently. 

The swing on the front porch is definitely a hit!

The two-year-old's outfit of choice - PJs and fuzzy boots, of course!

You can't help but have fun in a sundress. I agree!

Of course the 7-year-old uses power tools. There is always a project to be done, after all

Getting good use out of the built-in bonfire pit!

And in Abigail's honor - a baby "hop". I think I need more than one weekend to learn to speak  Abby-ese. All I can usually catch is "adebaebdbedebadebba aMEEEE!" Which could mean a lot of things....

Much love from the Rockies!

99 - At one point we were in third place in trivia... but it went downhill quickly! And yes, our team name was Legislative Crush. You can thank Joslyn for that!

100 - Only one yellow flower on this whole bush! But the photo doesn't do it justice. That's why I don't get paid to do this, folks. 

101 - LOVE Aunt Martha for providing farm-fresh eggs. I don't care what you think, they are better :)

102 - Intense afternoon of Putt-Putt with the GlobaLinks crew! Here Alissa perfects her Happy Gilmore swing

103 - CO Bearcats unite again! Well, only a few of us... But we had a great time touring Denver's newest brewery! And sampling too, of course. All My Life :)

Much love from the Rockies!

"With the thanks of the court"

My last week started off with my first jury duty summons. And let me tell you, a cross-section of Denver county all in the same room makes for good people-watching! After a welcome video (our country's legal system couldn't function without YOU!), some horrible free coffee (is this instant coffee that will dissolve? Oh,  nope, this is just a cup full of coffee grounds), and three hours of listening to juror numbers being read (please don't call mine please don't call mine please don't call mine)... I was assigned to a trial. A criminal trial involving a hit and run bike vs. car. All those John Grisham novels and episodes of Law and Order prepared me well, I think, except no where did any of those things mention how STINKIN' COLD IT WOULD BE IN COURTROOM 3F! I was shivering the whole time, and I contemplated exaggerating it a bit so I looked like I had some sort of physical problem that would prevent me from serving on the jury, but luckily it didn't have to come to that. I wasn't actually assigned to the jury which is lucky for all parties involved because, if I learned one thing that day (other than how the county of Denver could be cutting down on costs by not blasting the AC at -10 degrees) it is that I would make a TERRIBLE juror. Why? Because I believe everyone. (Not kidding.) So trust me, you don't want me on your jury. Or your poker team. Anyhoo - I was "dismissed with the thanks of the court", and sent on my merry way free for another 12 months. No, no, court, it is I who thank you for the dismissal.

On to photos!

93 - It is a lovely day for jury duty! Here I was trying to soak up as much sun as I could lest I freeze to the bench in the courtroom. 

94 - These blackberries were HUGE! But they don't look quite as impressive in the photos. 

95 - SO HAPPY when I remembered I had frozen Runzas from Mom and Dad's visit last weekend. Yum. 

96 - Friday is Flight o' Wine night, apparently 

97 - Christine and I went to an "interesting" bar in Golden on Saturday where we were planning to meet some friends for a birthday party. The party did not end up coming to the bar. We left. (Yes, that is a rhino)

98 - Antique shopping on South Broadway sounds like a great way to spend a Sunday! If only all of the shops weren't closed on Sunday. Oops. 

Much love from the Rockies!

Happy Birthday, Nathan!!

You should probably have one of these to celebrate :)