I say, “Yaay! Look at the wintery wonderland! I loooooove snow!”

He says, “Grumble grumble. I’m moving somewhere warm.”

I was pretty intent on getting Elise out to enjoy her first snowfall, so I called up Ryan & Aubrey—who are always up for snow fun—and they walked up to our neighborhood for some sledding.

We went  to the same hill/street we conquered last year, only this time we had real sleds! Gone are the days of riding on cookie sheets and in Rubbermaid tote boxes. Sadly, other kids were onto our secret and the two neighborhood hills were busy. Anybody else absolutely hate waiting their turn on the sledding hill? “C’mon kids, move it along! Need a push?” No? Just me?

Naturally, I had to take Elise on her first sled ride. Safety first, I wrapped my arms tightly around her and we did a shortened version of the hill (like maybe 15 feet worth). Wheeee!

I remember my sled rides as a youngster…..sitting on a rusty old car hood with my brother and cousin Ryan, being pulled behind our dads’ motorcycles over the snow covered soybean field.

It really amazes me sometimes how we survived childhood.

I think she liked loved it. Next year we’ll go further up the hill!

We’re supposed to get even more snow the next couple of days, which is great except that it melts during the day and freezes at night, making the hilly roads better for ice skating than driving.

Oh well.

Thankfully, my boss lets me work from home.

{Seriously monster cheeks. What’s she storing in there?}

Do you know how difficult it is to get Elise and my parents to both look & smile at the camera?!

Very.

And usually Elise is the one who is better at it.

{she’s thinking: who’s that crazy lady?}

.    .    .    .    .

Ah, and remember when I challenged myself to take a picture of just Todd & I when we were out with friends?

{success.}

That was like an entire month ago! We got a babysitter and enjoyed an evening out at Black Raven, our local microbrewery. Todd and the guys go there frequently (or they used to before Elise was born), but this was my first time there. Naturally, they suggested I order a sampler.

{this momma needs to get out more.}

Despite the fact that Elise has taken over the blog postings for the past 4 months—err, longer actually, even while I was pregnant she was the star of this show—it’s not like our social life has totally gone by the wayside. We still get to enjoy non-baby time, it just doesn’t get documented as well.

Recently though, we got to help Ryan celebrate his 30th birthday with a surprise shindig that Aubrey organized. Lots of cheese & wine, and cake! (okay, technically Elise was there, but she was asleep upstairs the entire time)

I just realized that there are no pictures of just Todd & I together. So…..maybe we actually don’t have that much non-baby time out and about amongst society. Elise still seems to be hovering around wherever we go, but that’s perfectly fine with me. She’s the best accessory I’ve ever had. Plus, it’s a proven fact (done by my own scientific research) that you become 100 times more popular in public when you’re with a baby.

Recently though, ‘Auntie’ Catherine came to spend a weekend with us. And while we didn’t do any real exciting touristy things, we got to spend some quality time together and relax. Plus, next to the grandparents’, she’s our most frequent visitor so we’ve done all the fun stuff before baby arrived.  I’ll admit, it’s hard doing activities outside of the house when you have a baby. I try to keep Elise on a daily routine so it takes some pre-planning to figure out when we can venture out and about.

We went on a nice long walk by the lake, did a little shopping, visited Gasworks Park & IKEA, drank plenty of wine, and even had our first non-grandparent babysitter so us three adults could enjoy a nice dinner out. Best of all, having Cat as my running buddy helped me get in my longest post-pregnancy run so far (almost 3.5 miles….yaaay!), while Todd took Elise for their weekly daddy/daughter date.

Can’t wait for your next visit, Auntie Cat!

Elise LOVES you. You have a special gift in being able to make her so calm, happy & smiley. If she could talk, I’m pretty sure she’d say she misses you lots.

In other exciting news, my phone now has video capabilities so I’ve been taking videos of Elise like it’s going out of style. We recently watched a video that Todd’s parents had made from when he was born until age 2, and it motivated me to start capturing more memories so someday we can look back and say “I can’t believe you were ever that small”.

Oh wait. I already do that.

If I can figure out how to upload them onto here without having to consult my computer genius husband, I’ll share some giggles with you.

“Oh, totally a boy, you’re straight out like a bullet, like I was with my 3 boys”. “Definitely a girl, you’re all belly, not big all over like I was with my boy”.  Basically, I’ve decided that you can’t determine a baby’s gender by how mom’s belly looks, every women is different.

If the heart rate’s below 139, must be a boy. Above 140? Girl.  To be honest, this baby’s heartbeat has been both. A good variation means the baby is healthy.

“Do you have cravings for sour or salty foods? Boy.” “Are you craving sweets? Girl.” Ok, fine. But what if I don’t have any cravings?? I just like all flavors equally.

We asked our parents and brother & sis-in-law for their predictions and the results came back an even split: 3 voted girl, 3 voted boy. Now’s your chance to voice your opinion before the little one arrives.

And just because I like guessing games, here’s one more for you:

If you’re feeling really confident, leave us a comment with how you voted (the exact date of birth gets you bonus points!).

The winner gets……[drumroll please]………bragging rights!

Yaaay!

I love seeing my mom & dad without months in between.  It’s nice.  Like living close to home.

They brought along their close friends Linda & Norm, a couple of Seattle newbies (not counting that Norm was stationed nearby here in the Navy many years ago), so we did the introductory sightseeing stops.  And it seemed like I made them walk a lot, not realizing that I’m used to walking everywhere downtown and they—well— they were on a leisurely vacation, not a sprint race.  Oops.

Our time was short and sweet, but I’m thankful for what time we could spend together.  Maybe next time you’ll take us along with you on the cruise??

And even better, Todd’s parents are here this weekend, so its like 3 weeks in a row of seeing parents.  Sometimes you just need a good heavy dose of family.

I like stuff that has a story behind it….even if I don’t know what that story is.  When I lived closer to my parents, my favorite place to find good, cheap free stuff was in my dad’s shed.  I still have a few pieces that I cleaned up, repainted and cherish deeply.  And I like stuff that I can build on the foundation of and make it my own.

My most recent furnishing creation was a quick & easy pillow. Anthropologie was having a sale last week so I bought a couple fabric items (okay, contrary to my earlier statement, I’d love to buy everything from their store. But I can’t afford it anyways, so what’s the point in trying?).

I found this pretty painted and embellished placemat for $6 (originally $14).  Would I pay $6 to actually use it as a placemat?  No.  But I knew it would make a lovely & cheap accent pillow for the living room.  Bonus about this one is that it has two different sides.  That’s like getting two pillows for the price of one!

(By no means am I a skilled seamstress, so I’m convinced that anyone can handle this project)

Step 1. Have the item inspected by your minions.

Step 2.  Iron it smooth if you feel like it.  I did not feel like it.

Here you see our model, Stig, displaying the two different fabrics. Purple on back!

Step 3.  Use a seam ripper thingy (see, I don’t even know the technical term, that’s how amateur I am) to create a hole big enough to fit your hand through.

Step 4.  Stuff the thing with polyester filling until it’s nice and full.

Step 5.  Now sew the opening shut.  Do not expect perfection. That’s my crafting motto.

(notice the minions in the background fighting over who gets to help me)

Step 6.  Once you are all sewn up, tie a knot of some sort with the thread and throw on the couch. Simple as that.

Look at that expensive beading on my $6 pillow (well, $10 when you add in the price of polyester filling, but I also have enough of that leftover for another placemat-to-pillow conversion).

Step 7.   Brag to your husband about how you gave a placemat an exciting new life as a pillow and become frustrated when he doesn’t get as enthusiastic about it as you do.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

I actually did this next project awhile back after I found this sad looking side table for $10.  The minute I saw it, I knew I could give it a breath of fresh air with a new darker stain.  Speaking of fresh air, it’s very important in any project like this when you’re working with stain.  Otherwise you might pass out.  Or grow a third hand or something.

I don’t have a step-by-step lesson, but it was pretty easy, just a little time consuming.  Sand, clean, apply wood stain (I used Minwax Red Mahogany) and let dry, about 4-6 hours. Or, if you’re impatient like me, about 1 hour.  Apply another coat to get an even darker finish.  Let that coat dry for 24 hours (I suggest moving the item into a garage so you don’t get pine needles sticking to the table).

Finally, apply a good coat of Polyurethane to give it a protective finish. Let it dry for at least another 24 hours or until it isn’t sticky.

Ta da!  All done.  A unique side table for about $20 once you add in the cost of stain, brush & polyurethane.

It has a cozy new home in the living room. Right next to the Anthropillow.

Are they perfect?  No way.  But I (kinda) made them myself and that’s what counts most.

I was not about to miss my favorite Seattle festival a couple of weekends ago, so we dropped everything on Sunday afternoon to face the slightly smaller 2nd day crowd.

The tourist mobs aren’t fun and the lines don’t move very fast—or at all—but I will fight tooth and nail to get me some of that dairy goodness.

Ok, not really ‘fight’ per say, but we’ve come to learn that the proper Seattle way to get your cheese is to forego the lines and cut right in and grab your sample(s). If everyone did this, things would move so much faster.  Trust me.

Hey, we never claimed to be very polite when free cheese is involved.  You live, you learn. And this is what we’ve learned from the past several years:

There’s not enough time to try every cheese, so don’t even attempt this feat.  Don’t go on a full stomach—or an empty stomach, for that matter. You’ll make yourself sick either way.

Toothpick in hand, slip in line (but say ‘excuse me’), grab your cheeses, step back to savor the goodness and move on to the next vendor that sounds appealing.

If there’s more than one of you, split up.  Use both ends of the toothpick and quickly stab multiple pieces to take back to your comrades waiting in the less crowded area.  Sometimes you can only get one sample of each cheese, so that’s when you divide them up and describe the tastes to each other.  Sharing is caring.

Skip the stuff you can find at the grocery store and go for the local farmers and interesting sounding varieties that you can’t find at Safeway.  Mozzarella? No thanks. I already know what you taste like*.

*disclaimer: I will eat as many goat cheeses as I possibly can get my hands on because goat cheese is the best cheese in the whole wide world. There, I said it.

Have plenty of cash on you. When you find a cheese you love at first bite, buy it immediately.

We obviously didn’t take enough cash with us because we only came home with two cheeses.  A raw milk artisan cheese and a goat cheese, duh.  But we also bought some Confectional cheesecakes, muscat grapes and rhubarb, all off which were devoured shortly thereafter.

The cheeses? They’re still in the fridge, waiting for a sunny day picnic and a flaky baguette.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Other activities have included the culmination of Girls on the Run spring season and the 5K run.  I had a different girl and different base location this time, and I enjoyed them both even more than last fall.  I love this program.

We also found ourselves being offered free Mariners tickets a couple days apart, and who can pass up a free baseball game, let alone two? Not us, even if we’re not the most winningest team this season.

This was my first time being there with the dome closed.  The second game they ended up closing it halfway through the game. That felt very much like the movie Independence Day.

The Saturday night game we got free t-shirts but lost the game.  The Tuesday night game we had even better seats, were there with a couple friends, and I savored my once a year hotdog. And we won!

I think we might be getting spoiled, it’ll be hard for me to go back to the cheap seats.

Last week, we went to Denver to see our friends from college, Meridith & Dallas—who was the best man at our wedding. Talk about a small world….I knew both of them before I even knew Todd, as I had them in some of my advertising classes at K-State.  At the time, I never would’ve thought 7 years later that we’d  still be hanging out, but I’m so glad life has worked out the way it has.  Wow, 7 years, I feel really old right now.

For our Thursday recreational activity, we headed out to Roxborough State Park for a mild hike.  In rattlesnake country.

If you know me, you know I have a huge fear of snakes.  HUGE. Thanks to the promise that the weather was too cool for snakes to be slithering around (I shudder at the thought), I pressed on through the threat of snake and/or mountain lion attack.

I’m glad we went hiking, it was gorgeous there, with the red rocks reaching out towards the sky.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

On Friday, I split off to hang out with two of my college roommates, Shannah & Angela, who also live in the Denver/Colorado Springs area.  Man, I really miss these girls.  The years living with them were some of the best (albeit craziest) years of my life but now we’re all grown up and responsible adults.  I was super excited for this reunion also because I finally got to meet Angela’s little girl, Brightyn.  It’s so awesome seeing girls I’ve known for most of my life turn into moms.

After a full day of shopping and catching up on several years of life apart, we said our goodbyes and then Shannah dropped me off to meet the rest of the gang at a lively dueling piano bar.  Quite the entertaining night.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .

Saturday we made a pit stop for doughnuts & coffee and drove an hour north to Ft. Collins.  Why Ft. Collins, you ask?

Well last fall, Mer somehow convinced me to sign up for the Colorado Marathon (I chose to do the 1/2 marathon instead and she signed up for the full but ended up changing to the 1/2 now that she’s 3 months pregnant).

Somehow when I registered back in December I made the good judgment not to attempt the full. Thank goodness.  Let’s just say that my training (if I can even call it that) for this race was very lackluster.  We also got to see Dallas’ dad & stepmom who brought out over 40 runners from their training program in the Kansas City area.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Sunday morning was race morning and we were all up and out of the hotel by 5 a.m.  Us runners had to take shuttle buses up in the mountains and then run down the canyon to the finish in downtown Ft. Collins.

I wish I would’ve had my camera—but it’s a pain to run with—since the start at sunrise, winding down through La Poudre Canyon, next to the river was just amazing.  It looked something like this:

Once we got out of the mountains, the race was basically flat (thankfully, since I was not prepared for much of a hill challenge).

(photo courtesy of runningmemories)

Surprisingly, I felt great.  My main goal was to have fun and not injure myself, both of which I achieved.  It’s nice not being out to set a personal best or feel pressure to run harder.  I was having a blast, and finally around mile 8, I saw my handsome cheer squad.

Finished in 1:54:54.  Not my fastest time, but for only getting a couple good training runs in, I was very happy.  This was my 9th half marathon and Mer’s 2nd half marathon.  Did I mention she’s 3 months pregnant?!!!

Every postrace calls for a dynamite breakfast, of course, so we checked out of our hotel and went to Mer’s favorite breakfast cafe, Snooze.

I should also mention that the wait for this place was longer than it took me to run 13.1 miles.  Yeah, we waited outside for over 2 hours, not knowing it would be that long when we first arrived.  But it was good.

We headed back to Denver, took a much needed nap, watched Ironman 2, and flew back home the next day. Colorado was good to us.  We had a blast. We’ll for sure be back for more.  I’m hoping next time I can go snowskiing.

]]> http://toddandkatie.com/2010/05/16/running-around-the-rockies/feed/ 1 http://toddandkatie.com/2010/05/12/rocky-mountain-fun/ http://toddandkatie.com/2010/05/12/rocky-mountain-fun/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 22:31:45 +0000 Katie http://toddandkatie.com/?p=2486 Here’s a quick sneak peek of our long weekend visiting some of our college friends in the Denver area.

It was a relaxing trip of hiking, shopping, watching movies, lots of laughing and catching up on lost time.

And my philosophy: what good is a vacation without a ‘little’ run scheduled in?