Merry Couple of Days

i've been so crazy the last few weeks that i've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. therefore, i haven't had anytime to write random blogs. so instead, i will post a holiday greeting from the lovable and yummyliscious Jason Mraz.

so...

today has been a long day. it started at 8:30am for an adventure of dreaded shopping. i survived a nearly 12 hour day at 2 malls, 1 outlet mall, a craft store and a plethora of many other retail stores that have gone crazy with Christmas shopping. this is an amazing feat for me as i seriously get high anxiety in the overcrowded malls during the Christmas shopping season. people are so pushy, mean and have no qualms about knocking you out of their way to get to the gift that they want to purchase. 

my secret: i just stayed focused and kept myself medicated with a margarita and coffee!! not at the same time of course. yum. 

mean muggin'

it's been tense here at work. we are in the middle of budgeting, cutbacks, possible job losses and lots of other craziness here at the Y. and let me say it has people on edge. i can't tell you how many mean muggin' faces have been going around the last few weeks. but today those mean mugs are at an all time high. i even tried to smile at my boss because normally when her chi is all out of whack she's still kind to me. not today, friends. today i got the dirtiest mean mug ever. i have a feeling the next 4 hours are going to be oh so pleasant. not.

we just need to find a way to turn these frowns, upside down!!

evening snow

I snapped this lil' photo when I left the Dushanbe Tea House tonight where we were celebrating Lauren. I believe it's supposed to snow all through the night. My drive in the morning will be a definite adventure!!

a few snow pics from today...

we have snow people, we have snow.

lots and lots of snow.

i want my vacation back!!

after a wonderful 6 day thanksgiving holiday, i have started out my first day of reality on a bad foot. let's see. i got home late monday night, tried to unpack a little and then get immediately to bed as i would need rest for "getting back to work" mode. 

so early tuesday morning it is...

 and as the alarm went off this morning i went to put it on snooze. i use my cellular as my alarm which was charging in the wall. in my half asleep state, i grabbed the cord...which somehow sent the phone flying in the air to land hard into my face. what a sure way to wake up. maybe not so pleasant, but a sure way indeed. now i have a knot over my right eyebrow.  when i get to work i was running around trying to catch up on monday paperwork--since i wasn't there on monday and was a bit behind--and as i was walking into another room to get some signatures i somehow ran my finger into the door which tore the half top of my fingernail off. Ouch. I might have shouted F really loud. and last, but certainly not least, i was chewing a piece of caramel which pulled out on old filling and half of my tooth.  so now i have an appointment at 730 in the AM tomorrow morning to start the process of getting a crown. which i'm sure will cost me a fortune. phooey. 

man, i really want my vacation back!!

thank goodness vacation #2 is only a mere 3 weeks away. Utah i am eagerly awaiting you. 

oh wait, on a brighter note...when i walked into work this morning i had a beautiful bouquet of flowers and candy--the alleged candy that attacked my tooth--from brianna and sarah as a welcome home surprise. 

so wonderful and unexpected. :)

California Dreamin' Pt. 2

I've finished my last few days in glorious California. I have been able to get my sightseeing in of the beautiful State of California (except Woodland of course, that place was terrible! just kidding); as well as, lots of good fun with Rebecca, Vivien, Mook and Spencer.

Here's another run down on my last few days in Cali:

Day 4

On Saturday, we spent time in "local" goodness. We started the day with the Farmer's Market in Davis. Followed by selecting and purchasing a 2nd Christmas tree. Mook thought the first tree wasn't quite large enough, plus she wanted to support the local Boy Scouts troop. So off to their tree farm we went.

Rebecca  & Spencer making sure the tree is being put on the car properly!

After that, most of the day was spent decorating or attempting to decorate both trees, while Vivien worked on the front yard.

Day 5
Napa Valley!! The best day of my life. Right ladies?!
So fun friends, so fun. We drove up to Napa so I could get a good look at the vineyards that I know and love. Even in the autumn, the vineyards were spectacular. The colors were so amazing. On our way up, we stopped at the Oakville Grocery for lunch. It was crazy cool. I loved that place.









After we had a bite to eat we continued onto Napa. As we passed all the vineyards it was a visual experience that i'll never forget. Each winery does it's best to outshine the other. So there was plenty for your eyes to feast upon.









We strolled, or rather drove, around for a few hours and I enjoyed every moment of it. On ur way back we stopped to get yummy chocolate at Woodhouse Chocolate--if you haven't been there, you must go. It's fabulous. And the inside of the store is a dazzling treat. Plus I absolutely adore their logo and color choice. It's all very divine. And then carried onto Taylor's Refresher. A "must go" if you ever get the chance.


I have a thousand more pictures and a thousand more things I could tell you. But...this blog would never end. And already it has more pictures than I originally planned. All this to say, I have had a fantastic time and have had an amazing trip. And will be sad to leave tomorrow. 

Oh and many hand claps for my hostesses as they have been absolutely brilliant. 

I'll be back again. I just know it. :)

California Dreamin'

I'm in Cali visiting Rebecca & Vivien. Yes, Rebecca, I really came to see you. It's been a great couple of days so far.

Here's a rundown of the trip thus far....

Day 1:
I arrived late, but was still able to enjoy experiencing "The Catherine Tate Show" with Rebecca. I love this show. It's that awkward funny that you can't help but love. Nice. My favorite clips were the ones of Lauren.



Day 2:
I woke up and had homemade pancake balls made by the lovely Vivien. And then we went to see the movie "Australia". We didn't realize how long (nearly 3 hours) it was going to be and had to leave during the last 15/20 minutes because we were going to be late to Thanksgiving dinner. Which brings me to....I had Thanksgiving dinner with Rebecca's family--which was lovely, but awkward at the same time. Even though I'm a people person, during holiday's with other families, i'm never quite sure how to "be"! Silly, I know. But true nonetheless, I'm just weird that way. It's all the internal anxiety, but whatever. After dinner, I managed to get Rebecca to watch "Hairspray" and "Talledega Nights". She was definitely a trooper, that's for sure. 

Day 3:
San Francisco!!! We headed to San Fran this morning and I was super excited, as i've never been there. We crossed the Golden Gate bridge, which was awesome, yet a bit tainted for me as I had just watched the documentary The Bridge a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, there were no jumpers. After crossing the Golden Gate, we headed down to Fisherman's Wharf where we enjoyed a good lunch and walked around for a bit to enjoy the sites and the city. (I may or may not have had a bit of an anxiety attack along the way due to hunger, no caffeine and the car ride; but, Whatever. Ha!!)

You could see Alcatraz from the pier, I tried to get a few good pictures, but my camera sucks. Next, I had my first carriage ride, ever, with Rebecca and Vivien. Rebecca and I sat in the back snuggled up as it was getting a bit chilly, all the while I was driving her crazy with trying to take about a million photos. She secretly loved it. And Vivien found a friend in the driver, Derek. He was a fellow Kiwi, so they were "catching up!"





After the carriage ride, we headed down to Pier 39 to look around at all the hubbub of shopping, tourists and Sea Lions!!



We topped the day off with coming upon the lighting of the Christmas tree downtown San Francisco, an In-n-Out burger and buying a Christmas tree to decorate tomorrow evening.

I must get some shut eye, because tomorrow is the "local" tour of Davis/Woodland which includes a Farmers Market and whatever else we find along the way.

Last Hit!!

if it's possible to overdose on hot water from a jacuzzi tub...well then, i have done it. 

though i feel a tad bit nauseous from the super hot water, it was still fabulous.  and now i am going to drift off to sleep for much needed rest and relaxation. 

loving time alone

i'm house, and baxter, sitting for the Riley's as they are in Oklahoma and SE Asia. they left me their home to relax and rest in, so that i may have some thoughts that belong solely to myself and not full of everyone else and what they need, or rather want, me to do. 

Thank You Riley's!! 

and let me just say, i love the quiet. i enjoy my time alone. its amazing what you hear when you allow yourself to sit in silence.

and the jacuzzi tub, steam shower, large flat screen tv and fireplace are pretty fantastic too!

pretty toes!

Very warm November days + a special treat for myself = pretty toes!!

it's going up: deal with it!

Yep, the Christmas tree is officially going up today.

To all you scrooges who are worried that Thanksgiving is getting neglected, it's not.  Thanksgiving will not go unnoticed by me. In fact, I'm thankful for early twinkle lights. :)

So, here is the first glimmer of our tree. Tonight some friends and I will decorate the tree with christmas music, yummy food, delicious tea, merriment and loads of love!!

Go Pokes Go!!

Last night while walking down Pearl Street to meet up with some friends for drinks at the Rio, I came upon a large pep Rally for the CU game today. And I was overly happy that I was appropriately dressed for such an occasion, as I was wearing my Oklahoma State Cowboys shirt. The excitement was in the air and they were talking about all they were going to do to those Cowboys in all of their fight songs. And they sang with such belief and truth that you almost believed it--NOT. I enjoyed the pep rally. There's so much excitement that comes with the revelry of your beloved football team and school. It makes for quite an atmosphere. But when they were talking about the obliteration that was going to happen to my Pokes, I had to say, oh, Puh-lease, as if!!! Sorry Colorado friends. It's not going to happen. The Pokes will win today.

sometimes...

driving toward the mountains can be blinding....

but, I also find it to be quite beautiful in it's blinding state!!

nothing.

i was trying to update my page. i didn't mean to hit post, but i did. so now instead of deleting the post, i'm writing about nothing. nothing at all. just rambling along here in blogger world about nothing. i'm thinking this would be a good place to end this post of nothing. 

Go Pokes!!

Meet Haley

I have a new friend named "Haley, the inhaler". 

Who unfortunately has become more apart of my daily life than I would like. But, Haley, oh Haley, helps me breathe when I cannot on my own--which happens to be often as of late. And as i've been battling bronchitis, sinusits, and all other itis's that you could think of--heck maybe even walking pneumonia. i'll find that out tomorrow--Haley has been there. Keeping my lungs from wheezing through the day and night so i don't sound too much like chewbaca. 

So, world, meet Haley.

Haley, meet the world.

Brianna & the Purple Spandex

I have a friend. Brianna is her name--and being crazy funny is her game.  (yeah, i just did the crazy rhyming thing!) Anyway, Brianna came to our house the other night to check out Kate's rife machine, as it was the talk of our day. She burst in the door in her purple spandex. She loves these purple spandex. As she ran in our house she immediately began dancing and singing in one of her many accents. It's safe to say that we all burst out into hysterical laughter. We were not expecting the purple tights at all.

To add to our laughter, Brianna decided to try the Rife machine. All of sudden I hear loads of laughter and this is what I saw....

Yes, Brianna (and our friend Kate) is trying to inhale the frequencies of the Rife Machine.

We eventually quit playing with the Rife Machine and went into the living room where I had a "shoe show". Meaning I tried on every pair (14!) of my sexy heels for the girls. Yea, it was nice. Eventually, Brianna, started entertaining us again, but this time with a pair of my roommate Kate's socks. She looked a little something like this....





Let me just say, there's never a dull moment when Brianna is around!!

Nederland & the Frozen Dead Guy

Yesterday, after relaxing all morning and into early afternoon, Sarah & Brianna told me they were wanting to go explore Nederland and asked me to go. Of course, I jumped at the chance as I've only driven through once on a scenic drive to Estes Park. On our drive up, we stopped at Boulder Falls--a quick must see.

Normally it's more full of rushing water...but it is winter folks!!

Then we headed up to the wee mountain town of Nederland. I wanted my first stop to be at the trolley turned into coffee shop for a nice vanilla latte. so, Sarah and Brianna obliged and to the coffee shop we went.


I loved the trolley coffee shop. I loved that they played Patty Griffin's album. Something about her voice felt right in the trolley. I will definitely be visiting again.

Inside the trolley coffee shop!

We meandered along around town. We found a nativity scene and brianna felt it was important to stop and say a little prayer. Or rather have a photo op. Maybe she wants it for her personal christmas cards, who knows? After we left there, we went to the Alpaca Store. Were we were met with a, "well, I know you're not Ned heads, how can I help you?" Apparently I don't have a Ned head look about me. As we looked around Brianna spotted the clerks--i can't remember his name, i'll call him Ted--guitar and then off she was playing it. Ted told her too, of course. And many discussions were to be had. But the most important discussion came as we were walking out the door. As we were leaving, Ted was telling us all the places to check out. And Ted said, "don't forget to go check out the Frozen Dead Guy! Huh? What the F? So, I think I said, "Um , excuse me. Did you say the frozen dead guy?" To which he kindly replied with the story about Grandpa Bredo who after dying at the families mountain Norwegian retreat, was shipped from Norway to California on dry ice. Yep! I'm starting to think Norwegians are a bit kooky!! Just kidding Rebecca.

So, yes, now we know of Grandpa Bredo Morstoel. Apparently, then the grandson--who from what the Ned Heads say, wasn't working with a full deck--pulled him out of the cryogenics institute and was shipped to Nederland and put in a shed in the back yard on dry ice--until he built his own cryogenics institute. The grandson, Trygve Bauge, who had some crazy ways and apparently was known for them, eventually got deported back to Norway because his visa ran up. So, the mother, Aud, kept grandpa on ice. Then because she was living without plumbing or electricity was evicted from her home as that is against city ordinances. Well, worried that grandpa was going to thaw, she talked to the paper to plead her case. Well, when they found out there was a frozen dead guy, I think people got in an uproar. Eventually, Aud, was deported as well, but grandpa is still frozen in the tuff shed. And now, Nederland, apparently has Frozen Dead Guy Days in March each year to celebrate grandpa and his immortality or something like that.

Here's the poster from this past years festival.

At Frozen Dead Guy days they have coffin races, a look alike contest--like Grandpa Bredo, the polar plunge and a tour of grandpa's shed. I do believe that I just might have to make it to the festivities next March.

You should definitely check out the links above to read the whole story. I even found a ledger for the man who makes sure Grandpa stays frozen. You can read that here. 

So, it goes without saying, that my Nederland adventure was memorable. 

Kate & the Rife Machine

So yesterday, late morning/early afternoon--does it really matter, I was lying in bed perusing the Internet when I heard the doorbell ring. **ding dong** I stopped what I was doing, went to the door and there was the mail lady with a very large package that had to be signed for. Of course, it was for Kate. She gets packages all the time. Honestly,  I never check anymore to see if it's for me, because, DENIED, it's never for me. Oh, how I long for the days of fun mail and not just bills. But, I digress. So, there I am looking at this big box and Kate says, "I bet it's my Rife Machine." Huh??

For those of you, who like me, had no clue what a Rife Machine is....apparently it has something to do with oscillatory rates, frequencies and destroying bacteria in your body.  You can learn more about it here.  I still don't really understand it, but its supposed to help Kate with her lyme's disease, hopefully. Okay, I'm down with anything to help Kate with that, for reals. 

So, she opens up the package and pulls out the Rife machine.  

Rife Machine

and, again, i was like, "huh??!!" 

Kate reading about all the different ailment frequencies.

So, I don't really get this machine, but if it helps the lyme's disease then I'm 100% behind it. I must say it brought a lot of laughter to our household last night. I couldn't help but laugh because i kept saying, "oh kate, i'm going to have to blog about this" and she kept saying, "people are going to think i'm a weirdo or crazy and into freaky healing stuff!" I assured her that no one would think that and that we all want a quick healing and if the Rife Machine helps--then it helps.  But i also told her that I must introduce the Rife Machine into the world. The evening became even more funny when Brianna and her purple spandex showed up. More on that later!

The Rife Machine with the lights off--i wanted to see it all lit up. it's kinda freaky!!

I can confidently say I'm not sure how this breaks bacteria by sitting in front of it? but when Kate was showing us how it worked, we did a frequency for sinuses since I've been struggling for a month with allergies, sinus trouble and bronchitis, my nose started to get this weird sensation and started to run. FREAKY!! Maybe I made it up or it was a coincidence, I don't know? But all this to say, this little contraption is a part of my household happenings for a season. There's always something crazy fun going on over here. What must the neighbors think?

blog "to do" list

today has been a good day. in fact, all day i've thought of many things i wanted to blog about. but, unfortunately, it's 11:40pm here and i'm tired from my fun filled day of nothingness turned into somethingness. 

but...just to keep you coming back for more, here's my "to do" blog list from today:

• Kate & the Rife machine
• Exploring Nederland--which will include "the frozen dead guy"
  
• Brianna and her purple tights

i'll work on these manana and i'll even have pictures! 

RE to the LAX!!

i have officially succeeded in accomplishing a "raelynn approved" relaxing evening. i like it. i love it. i want some more of it. i never thought it was possible but i managed it. i could get used to this relaxing business. i was a bit worried at first because my evening started off with dinner with friends at Cantina Laredo-- the Rio will always be my true love and this so-so experience just proves it. man i love that Rio. and focus: back to the point...since i decided to have dinner with friends instead of going straight home, i resigned myself to the fact that i might get pulled into many exciting adventures. but, thankfully, directly after dinner i went home, jumped in the shower to wind down, put on my pj's and hopped in bed with my ever faithful macbook (aka Macbeth) and watched last night's episodes of the Office and Grey's Anatomy. realizing it was still early and i wasn't ready for bed yet, i then decided to knit a bit. so i proceeded to NOT start the basket weave stitch, but rather attempt to knit a scarf for one of the wee ones i adore so much. 

i have to be honest and say knitting with thin yarn and knitting needles is hard for me. i normally work with thicker yarn & needles. but hey, this is how we learn!!  i'm going to stick with it--even though i feel like since everything is much smaller than i normally work with i'll never get done. but, i'll ignore that lie and knit away merrily. 

after knitting, i decided to catch up on my favorite blogs. check out some of my friends who are faithful bloggers, not to mention super fantastic people, on the right of this page. after reading everyone's thoughts, i thought, "hey, i'll blog about, hmmm...oh "nothing" really". but i just learned that:  nothing is just a state of mind. thank you rebecca for your wise words. so though i say it's nothing, it's only a state of mind. but who's mind? mine? or yours? and if nothing is a state of my mind only, then is my nothing, something to you? so maybe it's actually something, disguised as nothing. it's funny how that nothing can actually be something. don't you agree? hmmmm???

well, i guess i'll never know, nor do i really care. if i actually tried to ponder that it would make my eye twitch and stress me out. and as we know, i am RE to the LAXING. 

that's all. 

this and that

WOW. the wind is silly crazy here in the lovely Boulder, CO today. while trying to walk down pearl street i have been pelted with leaves, twigs, runaway scarf's, etc. trying to reach my destination. the funniest part is watching people try to keep upright. you'll see someone walking, stumble, brace their self, and begin again. of course, if they fell, i wouldn't actually laugh at them.  gotta love that wind.

i'm hoping to have a lazy weekend. i've tried the last few months to have a lazy weekend, but the social butterfly in me gets pulled into many new adventures. my plan is to stay at home and try out a new stitch for a scarf. after watching a plethora of videos--because, woe is me, i have to teach myself because i have no becca in my midst--i'm thinking i'll try the basket weave stich. (see photo below)

so, Lord willing i won't have too many tantrums or become too discouraged. if anything, i can go back to my old faithful rib stitch. knit & purl. and actually, that stitch shown on "how to" videos is completely different than how i do it. i think i found the shortcut. yay me. wait, is that allowed? oh crap, what if it makes me less of a knitter. sheesh.

 

and i saw it with my own eyes.

watching history be made last night was pretty stinkin' awesome. i didn't expect to be, but yes, i was overwhelmed. regardless of who you are and who you wanted to win...you must know that what happened last night was historical.

now if we could only get that "love one another" business down.
it would be awesome!

Mr. Tang

this clip is from one of my all time favorite movies, Uncorked. I watched it last night again and this particular scene always makes me laugh. So, I thought I would share the love with y'all.

Enjoy!

for the love of Jason

 Jenn and I went to the sold out Jason Mraz concert. It was FANTASTIC!! Actually, it was more than fantastic. We were super close and even though we had to stand for 5+ hours, we had a wonderful time. 

I planned on writing a fabulous story about mine and Jenn's adventures at the concert, but alas, haven't really felt like blogging as of late. But let me tell you...Jenn was so funny and a true fan that night. If she could have gotten away with sneaking in his tour bus, I'm sure she would have tried. 

Here's the overview though:

• Leaving the car at a sketchy parking spot where the people taking the money told us we caught them trying to watch a porno. Yep. 
  
• Dinner at Tom's Diner. it was a lovely greasy spoon. (oh how i miss Shortcakes in Stilly)
  
• Waiting in line to get inside for over an hour with a variety of individuals. I.e. scalpers, smokers, giddy teenage girls with their parents, those girls,  a man trying to give away his half eaten pizza, girls trying to pass out Red Bulls, homeless men asking for money, etc. 
•  Catching a glimpse of Jason in the tour bus. (while Jenn continuously tried to get a photo of him in the bus)
• Funny quotes that I'll remember forever. ("Bastards, they closed the blinds")
• Finally getting inside and being in the very front.
• Lisa Hannigan--the opener from Dublin, Ireland. Fabulous.
• Jason!!! Oh, so yummy.
• Standing next to those girls. (who threw their bra on stage and danced drunkenly throughout the entire night)
• Toca
• tired and achy feet...but who cares? It's Jason
• A girl playing her ukulele when Jason sang "I'm Yours"
• Jenn almost beating up those girls, because they knocked her camera out of her hand on purpose when she was in the middle of recording a video
• Jason!!
• Getting great photos!
• an overall fantastic show

So, yeah. It was great. I'm so glad I was able to go!!

once upon a time...

there was a little Native girl named Raelynn. 

(little raelynn in blue)

and she used to dance in pow wows. not only that, she slept in teepee's--and sometimes in the open air under the big oklahoma sky. she would fall asleep to songs of old in the caddo, kiowa, and delaware languages with the drum circle pounding away through the summer nights.  

good times my friends, good times.

sick of being sick

so let's see....
about 2 1/2 weeks ago i got the sniffles--not a big deal. but the sniffles turned into a small cold, which turned into an upper respirtory infection, which turned into a knock me out case of bronchitis--that kept me up all night because i couldn't breathe and i sounded like chewbaca at times, which induced bronchial asthma. yes, i have a handy dandy inhaler now. boo! i have never had bronchitis or asthma before. i can, confidentely, say that i don't want either of them ever again.

the prednisone--strong steroids--and the albuterol make me feel all tweaked out. i can't sleep at night because they are like uppers and then the albuterol makes me all jittery and shaky. i only have 2 more days on the steroids, so hopefully i won't want to pull my hair out after that. this is why i never did drugs, i can't handle everything feeling all anxiety driven and out of my mind. but my kind doctor said that it will take about a month to get my lungs healthy so i have to keep the inhaler until they are better. but then he kindly added, "this could be a one time case of asthma because of the bronchitis; or you could have just developed it from here on...we'll just have to wait and see; so just in case i'm going to give you a prescription for the albuterol to help with "your" asthma for a year!"

well, thank you very much dr.corkern, but i will not have asthma for a year. i'm not claiming it. asthma sucks--actually it wheezes. and i'm trusting in Jesus to take it away. yeah i am!! i said it and i'm glad.

madea

this made me laugh today....




and it made me excited for this....




this was so my native grandma back in the day!

Young@Heart

this past weekend, Kate and I watched the Young@Heart documentary. i absolutely loved it. i think we cried at least 5x during the show. i think you should watch it. it really reminds you to not be afraid, to live life to the fullest and to always be young at heart.

Here they are singing James Brown's "I feel good" and "Hey Ya" by Outkast on the Ellen show.

so i want to learn to knit those funky fun fingerless gloves. 

 i've always wanted to know how. but as of now, my knitting is limited to scarfs. wait...i take that back...i did knit a hat once. but i was with sharon and had her walking me through it the entire way. i'm not sure how to do it now. i never asked her how you figure out the pattern. silly me. 

i even watched this video on how to make "easy" fingerless gloves.



but i was like, "huh?".
and she even made it look fun and super easy, but i was still like, "huh?"

i think i need to spend more time learning how to do other types of knitting other than scarfs.

however, i need a knitting pro by my side like Sharon or Becca or Aimee.

help!!!
i need you friends. 

i'm stuck in the land of scarfs.

Farmer's Market

After work this evening, instead of rushing home, I decided to stroll around the Farmer's Market in downtown Boulder as it was a beautiful evening. As I was there, I was mesmerized by the combination of smells that ranged from spices, florals, fresh greens of all sorts and every vegetable you could think of. As I walked along the market I was also struck by the array of colors that were being displayed by the fruits, vegetables and flowers. So I decided to take photos to remember all the vivid colors.

Here are some of my favorite pics...