Albuquerque Weather

We have snow! And roses!

English Epiphany

I realized the other day, there are rules of English that are stupid, and I'm not going to follow them.  In particular, the rules of quotes just don't work.  I could write that Krystle called me a "jerk!"  You have no idea if Krystle was mad and called me a "jerk!" or if I was mad that she called me a "jerk".  From now on, whatever I put in quotes is exactly what is being quoted.  It'll end up in some strange punctuation, such as in the previous example where I would write: Krystle called me a "jerk!"!  But now you know we're both mad.  As Tom Wolfe has shown, creative punctuation makes writing better.

Toenail Update!

Here it is:

It's getting better.  Really.

Before and After -- the Kitchen

We didn't to a ton to the kitchen (yet), but I thought it would be fun to show some before and after shots. Basically, we painted, bought a new fridge, and organized the kitchen the way we like it.

Still a Mess (Updated Box Count)

We have been making (a little) progress on unpacking. We have unpacked 68 boxes, but there are still 31 to go. And 31 boxes still make quite a mess!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas . . . ish

On the first weekend of December, we put up our Christmas tree and walked around the light display at the Albuquerque biopark.

Looking at our beautiful tree (featuring our new star and ornaments) and the light display, you could conclude that it looked like Christmas in Albuquerque this past weekend . . . but you would be wrong.  It was so warm this weekend that Jesse wore short sleeves while working out in the yard, and he was still sweating!  Don't be too jealous though.  Just two days later we got our first snow -- just a light dusting that didn't stick, but snow nonetheless.  I guess we didn't escape erratic weather after all!

Scrapbooking Retraction

In my last scrapbooking post, I mentioned that I finished scrapbooking all of the pictures taken with my film camera. Well, that was a little bit of an exaggeration. I haven't done my wedding pictures yet because I simply don't know how I want to do it. But I realized that I could do some of my pre- and post-wedding pictures, so here are my recently-completed bridal shower and honeymoon pages. Enjoy!

Window Dessings -- Before & After

The previous homeowners had some nice brown curtains, but they took them with them. So we had the fun task of picking out and putting up new drapes and hardware. Here are some before and after shots. Cute, huh?

Room With A View

A view of the (inactive) volcanoes and the Rio Grande from my office window.

Blue Skies

We're sitting in fifty degrees, clear blue skies, and bright sunshine.  Then we turn on the TV, to the Michigan-Northwestern game (which Michigan lost to make their first eight loss season ever; we've never been happier to not be football fans), and see the cold rain/sleet/snow at the game.  As everyone predicted, we do like the weather here.

Toenail Update

For anyone interested, my toenail is still attached:

Looks like you won the contest mom!

Gasoline!

If you had asked me when I decided to move to Albuquerque, would I be more likely to see gas under two dollars per gallon or a UFO with little green men hanging out the windows, I would have gone with the little green men.

Civil Discourse

Dave Barry has uncovered the key to civil discourse:

I miss 1960. Not the part about my face turning overnight into the world's most productive zit farm. What I miss is the way the grown-ups acted about the Kennedy-Nixon race. Like the McCain-Obama race, that was a big historic deal that aroused strong feelings in the voters. This included my parents and their friends, who were fairly evenly divided, and very passionate. They'd have these major honking arguments at their cocktail parties. But unlike today, when people wear out their upper lips sneering at those who disagree with them, the 1960s grown-ups of my memory, whoever they voted for, continued to respect each other and remain good friends.

What was their secret? Gin. On any given Saturday night they consumed enough martinis to fuel an assault helicopter.

But of course, this is well known in our family. It's why we're all so well-adjusted!

Ceiling Fan for Sale

I successfully replaced one of our ceiling fans without any wounds (ignoring scraped knuckles and a lightly bruised ego), and we will gladly part with the (fully functional) original.  I think it was an improvement.  What do you think?

Before:

After:

Zen Master Jesse...

...in his "yard."

Scrapbooking the Old-Fashioned Way

I have been doing a little scrapbooking lately, and wanted to share my most recent pages with you. As you can tell, the actual pictures aren't all that recent. I have been very strict about scrapbooking chronologically, and I took a long break from scrapbooking during law school, so that means that I am over five years behind! That's okay though, because it is fun taking a trip down memory lane, and I am catching up . . . slowly.

Because these pictures are so old, they were all taken with a film camera. I have now exhausted all of my printed pictures, and I just ordered over four hundred prints (yes, I have not printed ANY of the pictures I took with my digital camera).

So depending on how long you have known me, these pages may be nostalgic or a new glimpse into my past. Enjoy!

A European Retrospective

I know that this blog is supposed to be about our life here in NM, but I also realize that we have never shown anyone our pictures from our trip to Europe that we took SIX MONTHS AGO! So, here are a few select, and very belated, snapshots to highlight our Venetian and Parisian travels.

Balloon Fiesta!

It's time for Albuquerque's most famous event, the Balloon Fiesta! Hundreds of hot air balloons, from all over the world, converge on Albuquerque to make a mess of traffic on the ground and in the air. Floating aimlessly is never a good recipe for orderliness, but it does make for spectacular views against the backdrop of the endless desert. The fiesta lasts about one week. Some days, depending on the wind, the balloons float off towards Colorado. Other days they muck up business in downtown Albuquerque. Krystle and I went the opening weekend, enjoyed ourselves immensely, and snapped way too many pictures. An edited set is below, enjoy!

Does anyone else think it would be awesome to see ASIMO fight the blue dragon Godzilla style?