Limping to Austin

I shall be ringing in the new year in Austin, with my future in-laws. Which, in my case, is a good thing. On my one day in Boulder between Crested Butte and TX, I tried to be a good girl, and I went to Jazzercise. That turned out to be a terrible pre-travel idea, as I twisted the hell out of my ankle halfway through class. Twisted it, as in it was 90 degrees in the wrong direction: the sole of my left foot was looking (rather shocked-like) at the ankle of my right. Luckily Jazzercise is full of moms, so I was taken care of in style. I managed to drive home, where I got to lay up whilst Rex ran all of my necessary pre-travel errands. And then, I got to travel with a cane. As it turns out, traveling with a cane is brilliant, because you get to go in the special no-line security line with the pilots and such, and you get to "courtesy pre-board." That means we were the first people on the plane! My little ankle was swollen to the size of a tennis ball yesterday (or perhaps it was a novel way of smuggling a small bomb? Kidding), but today she's looking much better. And I've dispensed with the cane, which truth be told made me feel a little conspicuous.

White Christmas

It is, decidedly, a very white Christmas this year. It has been snowing since yesterday evening, and shows no signs of stopping for at least another 36 hours. Merry Christmas, everyone! There's enough white here to go around for those of you with a more, er, green Christmas.

Retailing in a Winter Wonderland

I walked into my mom's shop in Crested Butte this evening, to find my mom and sister waiting on a young couple. The girls jubilantly told me that the couple are getting married tomorrow at the base area of Mt. CB, and they were just purchasing the bride's outfit. At my mom's little shop! The couple just up and decided to get married while they are in town, and she knew she wanted to take the plunge on Christmas day. So, they got a local wedding planner and hit up all the shops in town to find a ring (oh, what a ring) and wedding clothes. For the life of them, they couldn't find a suitable outfit (despite their extra casual approach), and were just about to give up, when at the last minute they stumbled on Four Eighteen. They found an outfit and jewelry, and we sent the very happy, adorable couple on their way. The couple, in turn, invited us to the wedding. It's such a great Christmas fairy tale, and on Christmas day we'll head up to the mountain to attend this couple's wedding, along with all the other locals they have met along the journey of throwing their nuptials together.

Merry Christmas!

So....close....

I rented my graduation regalia this morning. Doctoral graduates (that's me! Doesn't it sound fancy?) get to wear a tam, and the law color is purple. As for the color, at least it's not pink--music has to wear pink. But the tam? It's a square, floppy, velvet hat. Seriously? I think the goal of graduation is to utterly humiliate us in front of our families. Me? I'm going to look sexy in that floppy, shiny, square hat. Yes indeed.

Still counting down

I now have 24 hours and 15 minutes left until I am FINISHED with law school. That is, unless I can finish my exam sooner. Closed book, 3 hour water law exam...perhaps 2 hours (easy 2 hours), better at 1 1/2 or less. Then 'tis time for champagne and happiness.

Counting down

I have two days plus roughly two hours of law school left. The end won't come soon enough, but when it does, there will be celebrations and family time and NO MORE EXAMS! Until that unholy of unholy exams, the Bar Exam, but let's not worry about that now, okay?

Counting down to the end of school makes me think I should count down until the end of winter. Because yesterday? It was nineteen degrees below zero. And I don't even live in the mountains anymore, for chrissake. Five more days until the days start getting longer again (FINALLY), and 13 1/2 weeks until the official "first day of spring" (though we in cold climates all know that's a load of crap).

Thirty eight and a half weeks until I get married. And I still don't have a caterer. C'est la vie.

The Shoes

These just might be the magic shoes I will wear down the aisle. I love. Love them. 'Twas love at first sight.

Giveaway

Because I can't resist free stuff, and I'm sure you cannot either. There is a giveaway at http://www.kirtsy.com/story.php?title=Chicks_Who_Click_Excellent_Giveaway, and if I might add, it's a pretty good one.

Going, going,

GONE. I'm not sure if I'm one of those people that fears change, or if it's just some kinds of change that bother me. I've always been fine moving from place to place, but when my hometown changes dramatically, it makes me feel all funny.

Crested Butte is a fabulous, wonderful, even magical place. But it changes a lot. That's normal in the ski/tourist industry, especially when you're somewhat behind the whole fancy-all-looks-the-same ski resort trend, but most of us hope that CB will retain some of its charm. After all, it is known to locals and those abroad alike as "crusty butt." How much more charming can you get?

The sad/scary-change part is that the resort sold again. Last time it sold, it sold to a very small "corporation" (basically a couple and their adult son--the Muellers), so it was actually a good thing. They started pouring money in, and people were generally happy (just don't mention the word "Snodgrass," and you won't get hurt). This week, though my happy place was sold to a giant corporation, the mean ugly hateful kind. CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc. bought the place, and while they're going to lease it back to the Muellers to run it, it's the nasty corporation that owns the place and therefore calls the shots.

Perhaps it will be ok--maybe I've always wanted to live in a cookie-cutter corporate community and never knew it? And who doesn't love the idea of living in a place designed by the same people as the Dallas Market Center?

Looking...this time for a new place to live

After the job search that would never end (really it's just suspended, and I'll work for $10/hour part-time in the mean time), I'm now on to the next search--this time for a new place to call home. We had to terminate the contract on our condo for a whole host of reasons, but I CANNOT live in a crappy apartment with no dishwasher, a/c, washer/dryer, or closet space any longer. Our pantry and our linen closet and our storage closet are the same thing. One closet, about 18" wide and 24" deep, has to fit food, cleaning supplies, and miscellany. There is one drawer in the kitchen. It holds our silverware. Everything else goes on the countertop. The only counter space is occupied by the dish dry rack, so you have to move that to cook. The sink isn't divided, so you can't dry dishes on one side of the sink instead. It gets to be around 95 degrees in the summer months. The bathroom is through the kitchen, which means from the bedroom you cross past the front door, the living room, and through the kitchen to get there. Given that I'm about to have a JD, I think I'm ready for more commitment. Like with a dishwasher. I lust after dishwashers, to the point that people who have them think I'm going to sexually assault theirs. Wish me luck, and look out, dishwashers of Boulder.

Miss Grace: Remember Pardall? I think this is more poorly equipped. Even when you consider the neighbors and that eensy shower.