Celebrating as Koda turns 3 today. This crazy dog is seriously one of the greatest loves I've ever known. Having him in our lives showed me a part of my heart I didn't really know existed.

He tries my patience, makes me laugh, and gives me extra love when he can sense when I've had a bad day. When I study, he sits at my feet and keeps me company. He's mischievious and gentle. He loves nearly every dog and every person he's ever met.

Somehow he can close doors, open the refrigerator, twirl, bow, and do this cute trick where he hides his face and pretends he's shy when laying down, but can't seem to understand how to walk toward us when we say come, or that he should drop the tennis ball after fetching it.

Love this guy.


1. Koda turns 3 today! 2. Koda as an 8-week old 3. Koda kisses
4. Koda sitting on the patio at pet-friendly Wahoo's Fish Tacos 5. Snowstorm, Christmas 2007 . 6. Koda's first walk in Old Town Fort Collins
7. Koda and Nicki 8. Koda running free at Chatfield State Park 9. Koda smiling on a walk in Uptown

I've been mesmerized by a lovely children's book. I finally got around to buying myself a copy- the message of the book is good for not only children, but adults, too. Oh, and the illustrations inside the book are lovely!

If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow
by Cooper Edens

If tomorrow morning the sky falls... have clouds for breakfast.
If night falls... use stars for streetlights.
If the moon gets stuck in a tree... cover the hole in the sky with a strawberry.
If you have butterflies in your stomach... ask them into your heart.
If your heart catches in your throat... ask a bird how she sings.
If the birds forget their songs... listen to a pebble instead.
If you lose a memory... embroider a new one to take its place.
If you lose the key... throw away the house.
If the clock stops... use your own hands to tell time.
If the light goes out... wear it around your neck and go dancing.
If the bus doesn't come... catch a fast cloud.
If it's the last dance... dance backwards.
If you find your socks don't match.... stand in a flowerbed.
If your shoes don't fit... give them to the fish in the pond.
If your horse needs shoes... let him use his wings.
If the sun never shines again... hold fireflies in your hands to keep warm.
If you're afraid of the dark... remember the night rainbow.
If there is no happy ending... make one out of cookie dough.

While I like my share of acoustic guitar, folk music, I gravitate toward dance music. I listen to the rap station in town frequently, for example. I like Kanye West and the Beastie Boys. However, I also like Ray Charles, Elvis and Bob Marley. And please don't get me started on show tunes. I've caught my fiance singing along to the RENT song Seasons of Love because I've listened to that song incessantly. When I listen to songs from RENT or Avenue Q or Wicked, some part of my imagination thinks up these elaborate dance routines.

Sometimes I wish I had the lack of inhibition I'd need to dance like I imagine myself dancing. I would like to come back as a Broadway star in my next life, please.

a geek like me

I confess that I kind of like the groom in a Superman outfit and the Mario Brothers Cake. The Star Trek Klingon-infused wedding? Not so much.

Brandon and I were talking this weekend about looking at wedding venues in June. This sounded quite unassuming on May 31. Now that's it's officially June 1, I'm furiously making a list of places we've narrowed it down to and planning on making a few calls this week. I've been frequenting some local wedding message boards, and it's really a fabulous tool getting a chance to hear opinions and insight from locals who are planning a wedding. Some are hardcore, having visited 15(!) potential reception spaces. I wouldn't have it in me. I don't know anyone in town my age who has recently been married, so the internet has been invaluable in this whole pre-planning phase!

Love

I love you
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.
I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.
I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can't help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find
I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple.
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.
I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good.
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.
You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
Being a friend means,
After all.

by Roy Croft