My computer has died, so I'm currently on the market for a new one. We've had bad luck with laptops around here, so I'm going to get a desktop- preferably one that doesn't break the bank.

I'm currently taking an online class, so while I can borrow Brandon's computer, I don't want to monopolize his computer for 3 hours every night. As a result of my need to keep up as I hit mid-semester (yay), I think I'll be making a trip to the computer store after work tomorrow.

I used to be a loyal Gateway fan, then switched over to Dell. After a few bad experiences, now I'm just confused. Anyone out there loyal to a certain brand?

baby evil eye

The baby in this video made me laugh today. After a long and unusually busy day at work today, I needed a laugh.

Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Continue to learn.
Appreciate your friends.
Do what you love.
Love as if this is all there is.
– Mary Anne Radmacher

I love eBay. I've been buying and selling on eBay for almost a decade. As of today, I've accumulated 100% positive feedback throughout 271 total transactions. If you know eBay and the US Postal Service, this is no minor feat! People can be strange, and packages can get lost in the great abyss. Somehow, the eBay gods have smiled upon me, as I've had good luck throughout the past decade.

Back in college, I bought a vintage Nike warmup jacket for $2 at a tiny thrift store and ended up making almost $30 more than what I'd paid. So exciting! In college terms, $30 buys you a lot of Ramen noodles (or $1 tap beers at the Press Box). I've also found lots of neat old finds. I went through a vintage t-shirt phase, and these past few years have used eBay to buy old ledgers and French dictionaries and jewelry findings. Last year, I won a whole lot of heart-shaped metal dog license tags from Mobridge, South Dakota. There must have been around 50 of them, and they were in great shape since they'd never been issued. I melted solder on them and dipped them in patina, and they were a hit at a trunk show last year.

Over the past few years, I've been doing searches every few months for neat vintage finds from my home town, either looking for things from Wagner, SD (where I was born) or Sioux Falls, SD (where lived from age 3+).

I won this little gem this week- an old medicine bottle from Moe Hospital in Sioux Falls, So.Dak. Apparently the hospital was located at 14th and Main and existed prior to my dad's employer, Sioux Valley Hospital (now Sanford Hospital), sometime in the early 1900's.

koda: dreaming of the countryside

Over at Hundred Acre Hood , we were discussing the latest blog entry, which was a little bit country and a little bit city. This lead to a discussion of sorts about Green Acres and penthouse views.

I mentioned that our view from the bottom floor in our uptown Denver apartment is brick wall. I wasn't kidding! Here's a picture of Koda enjoying "the view."



P.S. I'm inspired by the daily posting over there. It's fun to have some hot-off-the-press creativity to look forward to every day.

Walking home from a movie tonight, we saw what appeared to be a black cat crossing the road on the block ahead. Concerned about this wandering cat, once we reached the place where we'd seen him cross, I looked over and saw it walking down the alley about a half a block away. Thinking maybe I could rescue him, I whistled. It was only when he turned sideways to walk behind a dumpster that Brandon said, "It's that fox I keep telling you about! You can tell by his big, fluffy tail."

I still think we should have rescued him.

To live with the conscious knowledge of the shadow of uncertainty, with the knowledge that disaster or tragedy could strike at any time; to be afraid and to know and acknowledge your fear, and still to live creatively and with unstinting love: that is to live with grace.
~ Peter Henry Abrahams, The View From Coyaba, 1985

It's great having a smart dog because he can learn novel tricks such as opening the refrigerator door or even closing the bedroom door upon request. He makes us laugh often. The flip side of this is that he is clever enough to know creative ways to capture our attention. For example, when we're both sitting on our computers being boring, Koda only needs to grab the dish towel hanging from the oven door and do a lap or two around the living room and I'm instantly paying attention to the wild ball of fur doing his crazy towel dance. He's also been known to slam our bathroom door shut not upon request. I think it's to make sure we see him, and perhaps it's his non-verbal way of requesting a treat.

He also does this thing when he gets a new toy, such as a plastic ball or stuffed animal toy. He briefly does the crazy stuffed animal dance with the toy in mouth as to say, "Thank you- I love it!", then just when we've grown weary, he quietly sneaks away behind the chair and within seconds, the toy has morphed into a pile of plastic. Tonight, he hid in the bedroom with his new generic toy football and kept peeking around the corner at me. I kept using my best serious voice to let him know that even though I couldn't see him, I knew what he was doing.

The little yellow football survived only around 30 minutes. Apparently I need to work on my serious voice.

I just cut 5 inches off my hair on a whim. I know I wanted something a little different, but had no plans of going this short until 3 minutes before walking out the door. The final push is when Brandon told me to go for it right before I was leaving.

I cut my hair myself up until a few years ago because I didn't have the budget to pay someone else. Now that I can afford real haircuts, I've learned that bringing in a picture is key! I always had a clear idea of what I wanted in a haircut, but was really horrible at putting that into words. I actually bought a hairstyle magazine, so there was no question what I meant when I said I wanted "short, flippy layers." The magazine helped, but some of those haircut examples in those magazines are a little wild- unless you're lucky enough to work in an industry where asymmetrical hair is embraced.

my 2007 in review

I've never really done a year in review, but thanks to my various journals and blogs, I'm able to easily reference this year's major happenings. What a great thing, looking back like this. I can't explain how good it feels highlighting all the significant and even more minor things I learned or experienced this year.

Being the year of the half-marathon, I knew I'd experienced some major positive growth. Through the training and the race itself, I was reminded that the most challenging things we go through are also some of the most life-changing and fulfilling.

After putting together this list then reflecting on my year in review, I'm surprised at the fact that it's actually a bunch of smaller happenings that stand out to me just as much as the big stuff, like staging my own bra intervention and baking cinnamon rolls from scratch.

In 2008, I will try to remember how a bunch of tiny steps forward can feel just as meaningful as the obviously-significant.

January

Got properly fitted, and learned that I was part of the 85% of women wearing the wrong size bra. Changed my life.

Gave Moonwater Designs website a new look.

Signed up to run a half-marathon.

February

Bought first pieces of official grownup furniture, a red couch and green chair.

March

Learned how to climb from my sister Becki.

June

Had a jewelry trunk show at a shop in Fort Collins.

Went on first 5-mile training run. This was the first time I'd run that far since a brief stint on the high school track team, circa 1993.

July

Had a jewelry trunk show at the shop in downtown Sioux Falls.

August

Had a jewelry trunk show at a friend's home in Loveland.

September

Learned how to make homemade raspberry crepes.

Ran 9 miles in training run. Even though we'd hit many milestone runs throughout the summer, this distance was really challenging.

October

Celebrated Brandon’s birthday by having a weekend cabin getaway in Estes Park. The charming old cabin, unfortunately, had 6-foot tall ceilings throughout 80% of the place.

Went to Broncos vs. Packers game. Brandon wore his green hat from Halloween Lucky Charms Elf costume.

Ran the Denver half-marathon in 32-degree weather. I was slow, but I accomplished my goal of running throughout the whole thing. In the middle of the race, I remember being overcome with this feeling of being alive, kind of like runner's high x100. I don't remember the last time I'd felt that intensity, other than perhaps when I was first falling in love.

Got first massage ever, a hot stone massage.

November

Celebrated 7 year anniversary at Vista Dipping Grill. Enjoyed wine with my sweet love.

December

Got a promotion at work.

Accepted into grad school at DU for Computer Information Systems - Web Design and Development.

Bought my dream camera, a digital SLR Canon Digital Rebel.

Held a first-annual chili cookoff with my family the Sunday before Christmas.

It's fun to take hip shots, where you literally hold a camera down at your waist and loosely aim at a subject before snapping a photo. You often get unexpected results from taking a photo casually. Sometimes you end up with a picture of the sidewalk, but other times, you capture things in a way you wouldn't if you were carefully aiming through a camera viewfinder. Today, on our way back from the park, I rolled down my window and snapped a few random shots out the car window.

Here's a photo of a street corner just a few blocks from our apartment. Somehow, before today, I'd never noticed the name of the store directly across from this amazing church: Denver Drug and Liquor. So flashy with the red all-caps "subtitle" somehow above the actual store signage, even, seeing as you can get your cold beer and wine while picking up your prescription.

Even though it's not a creative stretch to take photos of a cute dog, he's a great subject as I try to learn more about the various settings on my new camera. As you can see by the blurred paw, Koda appears to be shooing me away in the last picture, as if to say, "Enough, woman!" I snapped a few more quick shots, then let him bask on the couch in peace.

This is a wonderful brief tutorial on how to take better pictures.

Some of the easiest things you can do that result in better pictures include:

1) Moving in closer to the subject. You see a lot of family photos where the background takes up as much space as the people, when the real subject of the photo is the smiling faces of your friends or family members.

2) Moving the subject from the middle. We have this natural tendency to center whatever we're photographing, and moving the subject off to the side of the picture (but not too close to the edge) in certain situations can result in a much more visually interesting photograph.