Here we go again...

Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday... Can I make my way back???

21. Bona fide big kid hugs from Simon...
20. Watching nerdy TV with Si and Matt.
19. A week's worth of hugs and kisses from Jack, who's off to San Diego with his grandparents...
18. Swimming with Jack today. And really, swimming WITH him.
17. Spending the morning with the fam, lolling around in the hot springs... What a rough life...
16. Jack loved the slide at Mt. Princeton. Like, really loved it!
15. 10 times down the slide!
14. MOM went down the slide - her FIRST time down a water slide! And what did she have to say about it? "It was AWESOME!"
13. Cabin-ing with Bob and Pat.
12. Listening to John Denver with my elders...
11. Watching Jack and Dad play catch in the driveway.
10. Deer across the crick.
9. Bob, sharing on FB.
8. Duck tostadas at the Boathouse. Yum!
7. Riding to Mt. Princeton with Bob and Pat - they loved the view!
6. Hanging out at my parents' house... which used to be my house, but is so now their's!
5. The clouds.
4. The wind.
3. Jack.
2. Simon.
1. Matt.

Friday funtimes...

1. Watching Simon roll around for an hour before he really woke up.
2. Walking with Mom. Even though we got "lost."
3. Hiking with Caleb - always so much fun!
4. NED with Caleb - messy burgers.
5. Seeing Nance!
6. Hanging out on the patio, drinking a beer, reading a book...
7. Downtown gatherings, cars and all...
8. Baseball.
9. Settling in for the night...
10. Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivys...

Thursday, post-migraine

1. Hiking with Mom and Dad again at Palmer Park.
2. Writing.
3. Watching Jack interacting with his first crush.
4. Dinner and hot tubbing at Mom and Dad's.
5. Baseball!

Wednesday

1. Waking up with two cute kiddos.
2. Walking with Mom and Dad and Duke.
3. Hiking all over Palmer Park with Mom.
4. Listening to Jack play "songs" on our new beautiful piano.
5. Jack's new trick - crossing his eyes! :)

Tuesday

1. Good meeting, good discussions, good direction.
2. I made a card!
3. Reading on the patio.
4. Bath time with the boys.
5. Snuggling with Simon.

Sunday Monday...

Sunday
1. Waking up with two sleeping babies...
2. Matt's foot, and Simon's foot.
3. Shopping for Father's Day belt sander with Jackson. "Where should we go now? Target or Lowe's?" Jack says, "Target. Wait. What are we shopping for?" "A belt sander." "Then we better go to Lowe's," he says.
4. Gardening. Leveling. Releveling. Mortaring. And then digging and planting with Mom.
5. Polishing up the cedar chest. Oh. My. God.
6. Dinner with my parents. So glad they live here...

Monday
1. Thunder and rain in the middle of the night.
2. Working with thoughtful people.
3. New (to me) piano! Thanks, Samantha! (Now I need to learn how to play it!)
4. Sharing fruits and veggies with the 'rents.
5. Rainy weather.
6. Working with Lindsay again.
7. And again, the new house. I love it.

I forgot some Jack-isms:
"Daddy, why do people use words instead of not talking?"
and, as he was playing games on his iPod he said, "MOM! Did you know that there are millions of suns????" He was listening to an article in the Hubble App. Love it!

Sheesh. Ok.

Thursday...

1. The CWP - what an amazing experience!
2. "Poker Face"
3. Lunch at Garbanzo's with Nicole, Greg, Todd and Curtis.
4. Reflecting on the labyrinth.
5. Hold on for One More Day. Again!!!
6. Hanging out with Momma.

Friday...
1. Parking 8 miles away. I liked the walk.
2. Last day of CWP - so many amazing people and so many amazing stories. Wow.
3. Todd's commentary. Dead Magpie. So awesome.
4. Walking in the rain.
5. Talking with students randomly at Bird Dog. :)
6. Simon's birthday! Friends, pizza, beer and cake!
7. Si had to have a bath after his cake! :)

Saturday...
The day began with a funny all-the-way-one-year-old in my bed.

1. Garage sale-ing with the whole family! And seeing so many great people in the Old North End!
2. Books! Lots of books!
3. New coffee table - yes! AND a cedar chest - score!!!!!!
4. Moving furniture around... settling in, again.
5. Playing at the park with Mom and Jack.
6. Joses with the fam.
7. Watching Jack walk the labyrinth.
8. Glass of wine to round out the night.

Hump Day Happies

1. The view out my window upon awakening...
2. Sleepy boys.
3. Reading outside. And then walking.
4. Lunch with Sara and Curtis. Super Mexicans.
5. Participles.
6. Vitamin D.
7. Planting.
8. Writing = walking.
9. Being outside. Lights. Birds. Breeze.

Pre-Hump Day. That's right.

1. Gluten free goodies from King Soopers.
2. Lunchtime shenanigans. Again.
3. Laughing about Weiner. And R-rated poems that don't yet exist.
4. Projects at the house.
5. The laughing. The incessant and unapologetic laughter from the boys taking a bath. And then Jack's laugh at seeing Simon's hair all sprinkled up. Too much fun.
6. Sitting under the lights with Matt.
7. The moon, slipping in and out of the lacy fingers of the clouds.
8. Fabulous glass of wine.

Monday Monday...

1. Back at the writing. Yes!
2. Lunchtime shenanigans. Mainly choosing where to have lunch.
3. My workshop group. The best.
4. Knowing what I'm going to write my Masters paper on. And having a plan. And feeling good about it.
5. Watching Dan read the kids a John Denver book before bed.
6. Being here. With people that I love.

The weekend.

I'm cheating. Ah well...

1. Hanging out with Dan and Erin at Amanda and Chris's. So much fun watching our kids run through the sprinkler with their underwear on. Every time we get together, it's like we saw each other yesterday. Good friends.
2. Sliding Simon on the floor.
3. Awesome clouds and sky and greenery.
4. Party at Carolyn's.
5. Tinkering around the house.
6. Hanging out with Lindsay.
7. Playing at the park with Noah, Linds and Jack.
8. Perfect weather.
9. Blueberries.
10. Just having the weekend to do weekend things.

Friday

1. Sleeping in.
2. Hiking with Mom at Palmer Park.
3. Imagining the possibilities.
4. Walking to my parents' house.
5. Family dinner, with Mom and Dad, Joe and Mel, and the kids. And hot tubbing after.

Day 4

1. "What if the whole world was made out of homeruns???"
2. Dinner with old friends.
3. Delaney playing with Simon. Jack playing with Casey.
4. Thinking about writing.
5. Tako sushi and company.
6. Awesome 50 minutes of workshopping. Thanks for the feedback, friends!
7. My table.
8. Lots of fruit.
9. "How do you spell January???"

"The Way It Is"

Can I throw a few randoms one in here???

Sometime last week, I woke in the early morning hours to the coyotes howling in Palmer Park. I really, really love that sound. I smiled to myself, and then fell back asleep for another hour.

Also, sometime last week, or early this week (I'm not sure), I was flipping through the stations thinking all the songs/talk really sucked, and came upon "Hold On For One More Day," by Wilson Phillips. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW this is a pretty corny song. But it's my college girlfriends' song. And I smiled and sang along without an ounce of shame.

On to today...

1. I planned ahead and finished the day 4 points under.
2. Baseball on, windows open, kids playing.
3. Yummy dinner.
4. 45 minutes on the treadmill.
5. Sitting on the deck, sipping on a beer, playing with Simon and listening to him laugh as I bounced him in my lap.
6. Simon cuddles.
7. Jack's getting so grown up. I love his facial expressions as he tells us about parts of his day, and how he punctuates important points of his stories by raising his eyebrows and one index finger in the air.
8. Talking with Todd. We arrived at the CWP at the same moment today - Todd on his bike and me in my car. Felt like serendipity. As we talked for a few minutes over lunch, I thought about how much I value his friendship and collegiality. I hope to grow our friendship and collegial relationship for many, many more years.
9. My lunchtime supply of vitamin D. Sitting outside in my tanktop. Solo. Oh, and Jimmy John's. Yum.
10. Working through a piece of writing and realizing that while it started as one thing, it's becoming something much bigger and more important.
11. My workshop partners. Thanks for the amazing compliments and suggestions for direction.
12. Goofing with Matt last night before bed.
13. Waking up to a beautiful Colorado day: blue skies, green trees, a promise of possibilities.

Today, I worked my way back. In more ways than one.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Sheesh.

Thirty? I'll give it a shot!

1. Cramming in the car to drive behind the Harley's to Bishop's Castle.
2. Exploring, feeling like a little kid in a monstrous (and kinda scary, but kinda cool) castle.
3. Taking risks. With my mom.
4. Stopping at the bar with the family.
5. Getting ready for new adventures.
6. Getting up that last hill at the CC Cabin.
7. Finally taking Dad to the CC Cabin.
8. Walking back to the highway with Mom, Matt and Jack to meet Lynne and Don.
9. Walking back with Lynne and Matt.
10. The sunset.
11. Waking up with my family, on air mattresses and sleeping bags.
12. Waiting for Simon to realize I was there.
13. The Boathouse in Salida. Man, I really like that place. Minus the mustard.
14. Checking in early.
15. Swimming with Si for the first time.
16. Enjoying the great view in the warm water with my cousins, sister, parents, husband and sons.
17. Watching Jack's newfound confidence in the water.
18. Being "watched" by Becky.
19. Laundry on the deck.
20. Evening jaunt to the Relaxation Pools.
21. The moon.
22. Hanging out on the deck, laughing and rocking.

And that's just Thursday, Friday and Saturday! :)

23. Musical beds.
24. Fiery sunrise.
25. Knowing that the week with family only went so fast because we did so much and had so much fun. All while enjoying each other's company.
26. Back to the Boathouse! Yum!
27. Mountain Spirits Gallery and Tasting Room.
28. Getting home and unpacking. Sleeping in my own bed.
29. The Cardinals won. Again. And so did the Twins!
30. Practicing better habits.
31. Waking up with a purpose.
32. Knowing so many of the folks at the Writer's Project. From so many different avenues in my life.
33. Thinking about writing. And then writing. And then thinking about everything.
34. Lunch at Garbanzo's with Todd and Curtis. Good company and good food.
35. Tokens of love on the underbelly of a bed.
36. Playing with Simon on the kitchen floor.
37. Being drunk post-carded by Beth and Juliann.
38. Keeping my promise to myself.
39. Going to bed early.

Well. I guess I kicked that list's ass.

And now for today...

1. I felt better as soon as I woke up.
2. A sense of routine.
3. Remembering.
4. Writing. And rewriting. And writing it over. Which is different that rewriting. And then reading. And writing more. And feeling really good, if not slightly frightened, by the sheer volume of the possibilities. But not at all paralyzed.
5. Another fantastic lunch with Curtis. And candid conversations about school, the smell of green, and dying.
6. Dinner with Becky and Mom. Just the three of us girls! (Well, and the two boys. But still. How much fun is that?!?!)
7. Playing catch with Jackson.
8. Watching Simon laugh at his big brother's antics.
9. Baseball and cool breezes.
10. Realizing that things like surgeries and miscarriages don't define my life nearly as much as crabapples and my father's freshly baked bread. Interesting...
11. Being able to put my finger on so many things in my life that make me truly happy. Thank you, Tonya, for helping me start this blog.

Dear Blog,

I promise that I will update you tomorrow, with all sorts of stuff that's made me happy over this last week. Right now I feel icky, and I'm going to bed.

Erica

Oy.

I
have
a
lot
of
updating
to
do...

How is it Wednesday already?

1. Having family for company! And not having to say goodnight...
2. Hot tub.
3. Way too much food!
4. Laughing.
5. The stars. And the wind.
6. Hiking.
7. On the road.
8. Stopping for beers.
9. "Mr. Man!"
10. Lynne and Don and David, to be specific.
11. Taking advantage of a week of vacation.
12. Snapping pictures.
13. The minutes of sleep in a row, when I get them.
14. Coming home.
15. Jack.