Startling accurateness via Keith Olbermann

.....So you will need to give yourself 12 minutes total for this one, but believe me, it is well worth it. Keith Olbermann has such a fantastic way with words and seems the only person who truly says what needs to be said at times in this country (especially nowadays) .....We do still have certain freedoms, right?? ...I'd love commentary on this one!! (except I need more friends and family to get there OWN blogs going, people .....c'mon now!!) .....I think I'll at least get Tanya and Myra to say something on this one ;)

Not enough heroes

I'm not the most religious person, but if there is such a thing as the face of an angel, this woman I'm certain wore it well. Her name is Irena Sendler and I knew nothing about her until reading about her death today at the age of 98. I can't even imagine the life she must have lead. She is not nearly as infamous as perhaps she should have been for rescuing around 2,500 children from the Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. She was not afraid to put her own life at risk time and time again to save others and rebel against the insanity of a Nazi controlled society surrounding her. This is a true hero ....and quite frankly, there aren't enough Irena Sendlers in the world. To learn more about this beautiful, selfless woman and her life of giving, you can read today's associated press articles (anywhere on the web) or go to this website devoted to her and her memory: http://www.irenasendler.org/

Roxanne & Bill: And the credit goes to......

So, Marsh and I FINALLY got together to have dinner with Roxanne and Bill in Denver last Thursday. Roxanne, you see, is the mother of our niece Caroline. Once upon a very, very long time ago, she was married to Marsh's brother, Lashar, and this is where Caroline came into the picture ......to make a long story short, Roxanne moved to Denver last year for a change and to be closer to Caroline (she goes to school in Denver now). As a single woman, she was looking to meet new people .....I knew this wouldn't be a problem for long (I mean, hello, she's gorgeous, intelligent, fun, and the list goes on and on!) ....BUT, just who should we introduce her to?? All I can say is that Marsh had someone in mind and I vetoed this as I just did not think it would be a good fit whatsoever. Immediately, our friend Bill came to MY mind as the PERFECT person to introduce Roxanne to ......I will say after the fact, Marsh did step in to help start the communication and exchange contact info., etc. .....HOWEVER, it was my idea in the first place to set these two amazing individuals up AND I'm happy to report they have made their union official ......and yes, I'm taking most of the credit, honey!! Anyway, we had a wonderful dinner together and we are very happy we were able to fit it in before our upcoming Austin move .....Bill and Roxanne took us to dinner (thanks again, you guys .....you weren't supposed to do that!) to a place called Chinook Tavern in Cherry Creek. It was fabulous!! They serve a European inspired menu with a contemporary American twist (at least that's how I would describe it) AND they have a fantastic wine list. Roxanne and I had the Wasabi-seared halibut ....unbelievable! You'll just have to experience it for yourselves by making reservations here: http://www.chinooktavern.com/ ....We took a few more pictures (one that is a little questionable) ....take a look:

Marsh, me, Roxanne & Bill

...there's just something not right about this....

We had a lot of fun and can't wait to have Roxanne and Bill come visit us in Austin!! Next one is on us, guys, and again, CONGRATULATIONS ....and you're welcome ;)

Trivia Night at Tusk

Tusk, our neighborhood watering hole and entertainment lounge, held its first trivia night last night. In order of appearance in photo above, Tracy, Kay, Nikki, Carol, Clark, Andria and Eric (along with myself) showed up for the fun!! Best of all, I was part of the winning team along with Tracy, Andria, and Eric .....we rocked!!! Sorry, guys, but we are going to be VERY tough to beat in the weeks ahead .....I have asked to be called the Trivia Queen upon entering the establishment from here on out, but I've been told this will not occur until our team has won multiple competitions in a row ......No problem, see all you geeks again next week and prepare to be crushed once again!!

You're too much, Bode!

This sweet cutie, Bode, is the perfect little personality, I swear! Andria occasionally nannies for him and we went for a beautiful walk together, just the three of us, in Lyons last week. He talks up a storm, makes you laugh (just look at picture above), AND it is hard to believe he isn't even 2 years old yet! ...What a little smarty pants!! I just had to share these photos from my phone ....they were way too cute not to!! I hope I get the chance to hang out with Bode again before our move to Austin ....he's so full of life and puts a great big smile on my face! Love this little guy :) Andria and Bode

Posing for the camera!

Goodbye, OZ

Friday was my last day with OZ Architecture in Boulder. I had an amazing opportunity to work with the interiors group here and feel incredibly fortunate. Boy, am I going to miss this view:

....After we sold our house last summer and decided to stay in Boulder a bit longer than expected (Collin could probably explain this decision best ...right, Collin ;) before making our inevitable move to Austin, the realtor Marsh and I used, Krista Koth (http://www.kristakoth.com), was gracious enough to get my resume to one of the principals at OZ Architecture that happened to be living in our neighborhood .... just in time for their move here to the 29th Street Mall area.

Well, as things turned out, I already knew, through ASID, the talented woman who runs their interiors group, Susan Kohuth, and she was willing to hire me on to not only help with their transition, but also to get some experience as an interior designer with this reputable firm until we headed to Austin in June of this year. ....I met a ton of wonderful people and had the opportunity to work with many accomplished architects and designers .... I will never forget my experiences here ....The opportunity truly came at the perfect time and I will always be grateful for it. Goodbye, OZ ....and good luck!! ...(not that they'll need it) ..... If you ever decide to open an office in Austin, please look me up!! You can see some of this firm's inspiring work for yourselves here: http://www.ozarchitecture.com

Yee-ha, Tejas!

Okay! We've been away .....in Austin, Texas that is .....Last week we made a trip down for Marsh's college fraternity reunion at Texas A&M in College Station (great campus and fortunately not too freaky conservative ....believe me, I was worried :) ...We also had a goal to find a place to live in Austin as we've decided to wait to buy until next spring and hopefully have the opportunity to continue to watch prices fall (and then jump on our ideal place!) ....I am happy to say we had success finding a fabulous place to lease for a year!! (see happy picture I took myself of our sweaty faces below afterwards in the hotel room) .....

The community we've decided to lease in is centrally located, so we can have a nice sustainable existence without a horrible commute (yyaaaaayyyy!!!) ....It is a mixed-use development with great restaurant options and unique retail stores. But most importantly, there is a doggie park for Chance and I'm hoping he will make lots of new friends --he's just going to have to be a little more accepting and slightly less neurotic and mouthy ...I'm sure he'll adjust as we all will! Here's some photos of the new neighborhood:

Courtyards across from some of the retail space

one of the buildings with lofts in the development....love modern architecture

the doggie park.....I can hear Chance's piercing, wonderful bark already!

We had a great week and after the reunion at A&M (will be adding these photos in a slide show soon to be posted), we stayed with a colleague of Marsh's, Suresh, and his wife Brigitte. They were gracious enough to host us for a few nights and we had the chance to enjoy Brigitte's wonderful cooking. Also, we all were able to get together for dinner with another colleague of Marsh's and friends of ours, Van and Julie ....lots of laughs and excellent political topics of conversation .....there is never a lull in the conversation when Julie and I are both present :)

Me, Julie, Van, Brigitte, Suresh, and Marsh

Julie making us all laugh :)

......And I was so happy to see my old and true friend Kacia (we go waaaay back ....our fathers even went to high school together) and finally meet her little Lila (the sweetest, most easy going little gal I have ever met!) ....I am soooooooooooo happy she and her very talented musician husband Ed (part of the Heathens) are in Austin, I can't even tell you!!!

Kacia and sweet lil' Lila!
...I'll be adding a slide show of the whole trip, including pictures from the A&M reunion, soon........since this is my last week at work with OZ Architecture (I will be taking pictures for nostalgic purposes, of course) and it is a hectic one, I'll be updating sometime over the weekend when I can take a breath again ......We are, however, getting very excited and anxious about our upcoming Austin move!! It will be hot!! No, it really will .....really, really, really #$*$%* HOT!!!!
Nothing a cool body of water, real OR man-made, can't solve .....at least the summer season's temporary, right? :)