"the only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. you either have to laugh or cry. i prefer to laugh. crying gives me a headache." — marjorie pay hinckley
This last weekend we ran down to Tucson to see Kurt's dad for a bit. We drove down on Friday night and came back on Monday (yay for MLK day!). We saw Avatar, ate at El Charro and Nico's (Kurt's fave from high school), went to the Sonoran Desert Museum, and I ruled on the DJ Hero at Best Buy. All in all, a great trip.
The batteries in the camera were dead for most of the trip, so here are some real jewels.
Kurt. Dur.
Kurt's dad. Dur again.
We found a great little burger joint in Hatch, NM, that has killer green chile cheeseburgers. Mmm.
Christmas post... finally! We had a great time at my parents' house. We slept little, ate a lot, played lots of games, and ate a lot. And I played the piano a lot. It was so nice being with the whole fam. I love my family!!!
Prepping the punch for Christmas Day dinner with Mandi. We ate at my grandma's house because there's too many of us for my parents' house anymore!
We took the boys (Chris and Max) to the Holiday Festival of Lights. Here we are roasting marshmallows. Or rather, here are Ryan and Mandi and the boys.
Our happy family. I still miss him to pieces.
Caroline looks lovely, but Collin looks like a fox! (Can boys be foxes?)
All siblings and siblings-in-law, grandsons, and dogs. That makes 11 of us.
Chou!
Zumi and Max!
Sisters!
Brother!
Taking Chris and Max on the carousel and getting some freaky pics.
Naturally, your friendly festive Christmas light bulb.
For New Year's, we went to the Limas' New Year Eve bash. Here is Kurt, looking stoned. He's not... I promise...
Chris getting his dance on!
Max thought about getting his dance on.
We look stoned. But we're not... I promise...!
We took the boys to the playground at JICP and snapped a few pics. Actually, Steph and Mandi did while Caroline and I took the dogs to the dog park.
Do you like how I finally changed my Christmas layout and playlist? (Note to Alisse T and Mo: if you have any other songs that remind you of freshman year, please lemme know!) Yeah, I'm slowly getting back to my normal life. And I was planning on doing some major cleaning on Saturday, but we've decided to drive down to Tucson. So it will have to wait. Anyhow! Here are my goals for 2010: -Lose 20 pounds by June. I know--I have 20 pounds to lose. It sounds like a lot. But I can definitely do it in 6 months. -Stay on top of my homework. For this semester, that means reading 2-3 books every three weeks, writing 2-3 pages on each book, and writing a short story every three weeks. Oi. -Keep my house clean! Big goal for me here. My therapist helped me break down my chores into things that need to be done weekly, things that need to be done semi-weekly, and things that need to be done monthly. I gave it a trial run in December and it was awesome! Before I was trying to get everything done every week. Well, I am OCD. -Wake up every morning at 6:30. I need to actually do my hair in the morning, wear mascara, and get to work on time. -Work out 4 to 6 days a week. I feel so much better when I'm working out regularly. It really helps regulate my moods and stave off depression. -Finish my book by the end of the year. Really, I'd like to have it finished and thoroughly edited by then, but with school I'm not sure how much time I'll have to work on it. -TAKE MORE PICTURES.
My January goals: -I've already read one book, so now I'm reading another and since it's longer I'll only read 2 books by the beginning of February. Write my 2-3 page response to each. Finish the short story I've already started. -Only eat sweets on the weekend. This is gonna be hard! -Finish Kurt's scarf. I still haven't! I'm such an awful wife!! >_<
Tonight, my phone died while I was at a reading tonight. When I got back from to my dorm, I plugged in my phone and started getting ready for bed. Then I turned my phone on to see that I had 5 missed calls from a number in Denver that I didn't recognize. I also had a text from that same person. "Call me as soon as possible, I have your dog by the side of the road," it said. My breath caught in my throat and called the number. A man picked up and said, "I don't know how to tell you this," and I knew. The world seemed to rush in on me and the tears started falling before he said that Zumi had been hit by a car, and had died. It's been a rough night, to say the least. I started crying and told the guy I was going to call my husband and give his number to Kurt so Kurt could get the body. Then I called Kurt on his cell and work line without answers. So, hysterical, I called my family. When I finally got to Kurt, he was already on his way home from work and was able to call the guy and find out where Zumi was. Next time Kurt called, he had Zumi in his arms and was walking home. He was sobbing. This is the first time, in the 3 and a half years that I've known Kurt, that he has cried. Kurt and I cried together on the phone as he found a box for Zumi's "casket," laid him in it, and tucked his blanket in around him. We decided to bury him in his favorite spot in the yard, right by the wooden fence, where he'd like to lay when it was sunny. To those of you who think I'm being dramatic, let me tell you that you have no idea how much you can love a pet until they die. And remember, Zumi was our child, for all intensive purposes. We don't have kids yet and so he was who we gave our parental love to. (I told Kurt that I hope we never lose a child, if it's this painful to just lose a pet.) He was a sweet puppy, the best natured dog I've ever known. When I got home from work, he'd always be in the back yard, hopping around, ready to play with me. When I mentioned the word "walk," he'd run to the front door, too excited to go out to sit still long enough to get his harness on. He could sit, lay down, army crawl, shake, and jump/twirl for tricks. He always had some sort of smile on his face. When he was in a really playful mood, it was a happy grin. When he was more calm, it was a mischievous smirk. He rarely barked. He followed you around and sat at your feet, happy to be near you. He had a spot in the kitchen where he laid while I cooked dinner or cleaned the dishes. I was so looking forward to him keeping me company during the long, lonely, busy tax season. When I took him to the vet, and he got scared, he'd lean up against me for comfort. He was my little buddy, my happy boy, my puppys, my Zoomers, Zoom buggy, Zumy do, Zumba, Zoom, my Zumi. It's amazing how much a small dog can touch your life in 8 shorts months.
Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted and that's because I've been loving life in Charleston with my family for the last two weeks. And guess what... I actually took pictures! But Kurt took the camera home with him because the battery was dead so you'll have to wait for those. Neener neener. And why, do you ask, is Kurt home and not me? Because I'm at my grad school residency here at Converse College! It's been amazing so far. I'm learning lots and loving being surrounded by writers. I miss Kurt and Zumi, but it's not too hard during the day with lectures, workshops, and readings. Unfortunately, since Kurt took the camera, I won't have any pics, but I will for the June residency, I promise. Also, here is (extremely belatedly) our Christmas card. I meant to post it just before Christmas but spaced it. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year! Hooray for 2010!
