Cool Cucumber

The Demise of Blogspot

2006-06-12T21:41:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true... change all your links to me, 'cause I'm moving! My new blog is... (drumroll please) ...

Come visit me on my new WordPress blog. I'm still learning, so not everything's just the way I want it yet.

Dixie Chicks and an ode to country music

2006-06-07T21:42:00.000-06:00

I just downloaded the new Dixie Chicks album. Instantly I feel myself transported back to the days of college in Springfield, Missouri... college. Let me preface this entry by saying that I have a fond spot in my heart for country music, particularly clever lyrics and vocals. Somehow through the friends I made in college, I grew a craving for unique country. Granted, Dixie Chicks is more of a rock-country, but I also love Diamond Rio. Patty Loveless. Now, THAT's country.

I'm writing this as I listen to "The Long Way Around" for the first time. I feel an indescribable joy in hearing it- there's such familiarity and newness at the same time. It's music like this that makes me feel as if we're driving around P'Ville with straw hats on, Hadler at the wheel (a maniac driving on all those turns) and the windows all the way down. Excellent lined up harmonies, soaring fiddle, brisk strum. Makes me remember Branson too, and the hills around it. Satisfaction. There was a sense of freedom as we piled into a car and just drove....

This is why I like country music.

Now my clothes will never be clean...

2006-06-05T21:55:00.000-06:00

Fresh from our Dallas trip and after a strenuous first day of Camp Invention, I settled in at home to complete some long-overdue laundry. But in my stupor, I seem to have put the wrong things in the wrong places, and I'm stumped for a solution. Here's photo evidence: I googled "put detergent in the fabric softener spot" and "how to get detergent out of fabric softener place", but I've not found anything useful. Do you think I'm the first one to do this?

I could use a turkey baster to get the detergent out, but the problem is that I don't HAVE a turkey baster. But I hate wasting good Tide Cold Water by simply letting the machine run its course without any clothing. If I put clothes in the washing machine now, it'll release the detergent during the rinse cycle and then the soap won't be washed out completely. Right...?

I can't figure out what to do. Help me, please!

The Relief of Running

2006-05-11T20:59:00.000-06:00

Today I worked myself into a bit of a wedding fever. I don't know what came over me, really, just that I felt very panicky all of the sudden about a budget and guest list and I could honestly feel the churning in my abdomen as a result of the worry. I had also neglected running this week as a result of all this engagement happiness. I mean, why run 7 miles at night when you could be sitting at the computer, reading about wedding etiquette on The Knot?

Anyway, I made myself go run at the Santa Fe Trail, which is a 10-minute drive from my house. (I didn't take this photo, and no, there wasn't any snow on the ground today.)The exciting thing is that I ran for 50 minutes and enjoyed it! I just amazed myself and really felt like a runner, instead of the imposter I usually feel like. I couldn't have run 1 mile in January, and now I'm running 4.5 and thinking I could keep going. I was very aware of the silence, the birds, my breathing (I'm trying 2 steps inhale, 3 steps exhale these days), and most of all, the beautiful stream. The only thing that would have made the run better would be to have Rob with me. When we run together, I feel like I can go twice as far.

My knee had been hurting this week and I had dragged my feet about running. Funny thing is, once I started running the pain went away. Maybe it was computer desk induced knee pain.

How We Met

2006-05-07T16:14:00.000-06:00

I've been mentally composing this e-mail since the first date I had with Rob.

No, listen- seriously- I have! I had a feeling about this one. On our first date, when two blog-geeks went out to eat at No-No's, he said, "You know we can't blog about this date, right?". I nodded, "Of course!". I was thinking that someday I just might get an occasion to blog extensively about us, just from how well the date was going. He tried to teach me chess that night, and we couldn't stop talking long enough to play an entire game. I knew that was a good sign.

If you ask Rob, he'll tell you I hunted him down- and he's right. We both had left comments on Sexless In the City, which we both discovered reading Rolling Stone magazine (coincidentally, both of our roommates subscribed). I clicked on his blog one night while aimlessly blog-surfing and left a comment immediately. I knew he was something special. In fact, I felt all tingley inside when I read some of his archives and learned more about his beliefs. This led to many long e-mails exchanged, much thinking about who this Internet Rob was, more e-mails, lots of blog comments from both sides, and finally, a face-to-face meeting. Rob's friends James and Jules, their 4 girls, and my brother Mark were there the first time we met. The five of us ordered Chinese food and laughed until all of our cheeks ached from too much grinning. Here's a photo from that night (I was so excited when Julie suggested we take a bloggers' photo!). We look pretty darned happy! We've been occupying each other's weekends ever since. We run, we hike, we walk the dog and see plays together. We eat and laugh and watch LOST together and always are left wanting more time together. So, to the blogging world that introduced us:

we're engaged!I LOVE the ring... I'm never taking it off. :-)

Rob proposed on Friday, taking me back to N0-No's for another lovely Cajun meal. He created a CD of special music for us (there's been a lot of music swapping with this boy!) and told me all about what it meant to have met me. When he pulled out the ring I was too nervous to even touch it, so he had to! He asked me if I would marry him, I accepted, and I even got a little teary. The ring is beautiful and unique; more lovely than I could have picked out myself.

I am so incredibly happy to be marrying this man. I keep smiling when I realize I will be Mrs. Lund in 96 days. The downside? It's going to go by too slowly!
--------------------------------
UPDATE (Day 3 of engagement)
Today I told the kids in my class that I'm getting married. They all clapped for me and asked, "Is it to the guy who came on our field trip?". "Yes," I assured them. I might have annoyed my kids and co-workers at school today when I kept gazing at my ring. Must remember to not be the obnoxious bride-to-be...

The Me Album

2006-05-04T20:14:00.000-06:00

It is my sincere personal belief that every person should have a photo album full of self portraits. A home for those photos of yourself that your mom sends you or the silly shot that proves to the world that you conquered the ropes course in 8th grade. I've got a Me Album- it's modest and only holds 3 1/2 x 5's, but it represents me in all of my glory and stupidity, even dating back to 4th grade. Here's a very typical nerdy photo of me at the 7th grade science fair.
I would like to point out that this was my first perm (ack- did I just admit to having more than one?), for which I saved both my allowance and babysitting money. I was so proud of my frizzy mop.

Flowering Trees

2006-05-04T07:07:00.000-06:00

Ah, this is my most favorite time of year to be outside. It's still not hot yet, and everywhere I look I see this:
On the other hand, they're calling for snow tomorrow. It's never truly summer here 'til JULY.

Some Late Poetry

2006-04-18T21:55:00.000-06:00

A Fibonacci poem, for your enjoyment:

There's
a
slight chance
I've been now wooed
by this strange new verse;
math and words beautifully collide.

Twitching

2006-04-18T20:10:00.000-06:00

My students looked at me quizzically as my left eye fluttered involuntarily almost all day... through reading, science, math, and writing. On the bright side, I've been wanting to try a Lost-esque photo of my eye for some time.

Cat Blog Friday

2006-04-14T07:41:00.000-06:00

Cleo the Wondercat naps on the disheveled heap that is my bed.

Rob Escapes Rabid Carnivorous Reptile

2006-04-09T22:53:00.000-06:00

Last week, Rob and I drove to Arizona for my former roommate's wedding. One result of the 12-hour drive, each way, was a sort of deliriously loopy mood that developed in both of us. Rob became very excited at the idea of taking a photo alongside these dinosaur statues near Holbrook, Arizona. (I will say here that he is a very nice traveling partner and excellent tourist.) Frugal that we are, we chose not to pay the stinking overpriced admission fee to enter the park and take photos legally. Instead, we pulled off the interstate and squeezed under the barbed wire barricade, braving the thorns and burrs that would later lodge into the soles of our feet, in order to capture this lovely photo.

I'm quite proud of it.

A Narrow Focus

2006-04-08T10:18:00.000-06:00

For the record, it is impolite to greet an acquaintance with,

"You lost weight! You look great."

I Will Make Up For Lost Time

2006-04-07T21:06:00.000-06:00

Here's a neato survey I found today on The Black Girl's Guide To... It's called...

Finish the Sentence

Maybe I should: clean the kitchen.

I love: Starbucks caramel macchiatos.

I don't understand: how to make gravy.

People say I'm: loyal.

Love is: surrender.

Somewhere, someone is: flossing right now, amazingly.

I will always: be a Get It Done person.

Forever seems: incomprehensible.

I never want to: wear gaucho pants.

I think our current President is: a good charmer.

When I wake up in the morning: I stumble downstairs and feed the cat and dog.

I get annoyed when: people dominate social situations.

Parties are: good opportunities to meet people.

My dog is: full of granola bars (an entire box) right now.

Kisses are the worst when: you have to wait 'til the weekend for them. :-)

Today I: was a cranky teacher who watched the clock obsessively.

Tommorow I'm going to: attend a girls only Pride and Prejudice movie and knitting party. I'm going to make a hat.

I really want: to clean up my cluttered house.

I have low tolerance for people who: chew food and talk at the same time.

If I had a million dollars: I'd like to support my Becky's fistula home in Ethiopia.

Re-post this on your blog if you feel up to it, then let me know in my comments .

Cat Blog Friday

2006-04-07T20:59:00.000-06:00

Yep, they share the window seat now.

A Fun Bloggy Thing

2006-03-16T20:53:00.000-07:00

...or, The Post in Which I Really Want to Blog, But Can't Think of What to Say.

Anyway, I was thinking about traveling. So I decided to create the my Visited States Map. I couldn't decide if I should count the states we drove through to get to Florida for spring break in college (Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee). Does singing Walking in Memphis at 2:00 AM at the top of your lungs, outside of Graceland, count? Hmm. I made the difficult rule that to count a state, I must have spent at least one night in that state.

create your own visited states map

I had a thought: why is it that so many people I know and love have grandparents in West Virginia?

And, did anyone else here ever learn the 50 States song as a child? In 5th grade we learned the song, and it still rings in my head when I think about states... "Fifty nifty United States, from 13 original colonies..."

Not much, just mouthwatering raw fish

2006-03-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

It seems that in Rob's Lenten blogging-leave-of-absence, I have not been posting much. Oops. I'll try to do better at updating.

My schedule is full and my mind racing these days, but I'm happy and determined to have fun and not feel overwhelmed. The CSAPs (Colorado big-ol' standardized tests) start tomorrow. It's a nerve-wracking experience every year because of its formality, and I will breath a sigh of relief after our 9 days of testing are over. I'm hosting my friend's bridal shower on Saturday, and after 3 years since buying my townhouse, I realized that this will be my first party. Oh, I want to do it right! The good news (for the bride) is that everyone I invited is attending. Therein is also the bad news. 23 women in my townhome... I hope they're ready to get close to each other.

For your viewing enjoyment, here are a few photos to illustrate the fun we had last weekend.

Bought new running shoes. After all, we're runners now.

Went to the mountains to run and take some photos with Lydia's Flat Stanley (don't show her yet!). It is me, or does Rob look like a native Coloradoan to you?

Made sushi later... yum. Of course, cukes were left out of my maki zushi.

Spoonful of Sugar?

2006-02-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

Have any of my readers ever heard of the old wives' tale about curing a burnt tongue? According to legend, if you immediately douse the burnt taste buds in sugar, they will heal quickly.

I never had sugar on hand to actually try this home remedy... but any time I burnt my tongue during the last 5 or so years, I thought, 'Now where can I find me some sugar?'.

Yesterday, I sipped my Moroccan Pomegranate Red tea too early and regretted it. Immediately my tongue was seared, and I grabbed for the icing from my leftover birthday cake. The sugary substance was soothing on my tongue immediately. Miraculously, 24 hours later, my tongue feels fine.

Try this one at home, folks, and let me know if you're successful.

Sweeter Than Cake

2006-02-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

I'm back from the parents' house, where we celebrated last week's birthday. Pictured is my FAVORITE cake in the universe, homemade by mom and complete with almond bakery frosting. She even sent me home with leftovers!

The big news is that I got a domain name for my birthday! Rob was thoughtful enough to purchase the one I'd been wanting, and now it's up to me to convert everything over from here to WordPress. I have already begun playing with the templates, and can't wait to explore all that is out there! I'll keep posting here until the final switch-over.

Kansas City debrief

2006-02-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

I've been anticipating this first visit to Rob's parents for some time now. Close friends know that I've been counting down ever since he bought our tickets. Now I'm back in Colorado Springs after our fabulous visit, and it's a bit sad to come down from so many good times and laughs. During our return trip yesterday, Rob and I reminisced about all of the great family I was able to meet; all people who are such important parts of his life. We also lamented that we didn't take many photos. We were just having such a great time, I didn't remember to get the camera out when it really would have mattered. Rob's parents are wonderful and sweet and funny. I wished we could have stayed longer (so I could try my hand at Carcassonne again!). Rob's sister Melissa and her husband Jim are lots of fun and were the source of much hilarious laughter. I can't wait to see them and mispronounce tons of words with them again.

Here are three photos that we did manage to take:

Rob and the Magnificent Ceiling

Rob and I were at the KCI airport waiting for Jim and Melissa to pick us up when we started taking goofy photos. I like this one because I implies the fun we had while waiting. We sat back, propped our feet on our suitcases, and played sudoku in between giggling about THAT GUY who was cruising us and that couple where the man was grumpy.

Rob + Sarah!

This photo was taken during our visit with Julie and James and their 4 girls. Wow, I just love Jules and James! For those who don't know, James and Julie were present when I first met Rob in person. They certainly added to the great overall first impression of Rob. It was so neat to visit their home, laugh with them and their charming daughters, and eat with them. We LOVED the taco soup!

Santa Fe Egg Cups

On top of a wonderful visit and all the snack food I could ever imagine, Rob's family surprised me with birthday cake and some gifts yesterday. They gave me these beautiful egg cups, which I had been coveting on my Amazon wish list for some time now. I think my life is close to perfect now that I have egg cups (and you can see that they match my kitchen)!

It's always hard to get back to normal life after a wonderful trip such as this, but I'll try. Thank you to everyone who made this weekend outstanding.

I Love Roses

2006-02-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

For a long time, I thought it the gift of flowers was silly. Frivolous. I felt a little guilty for secretly wanting roses on Valentine's Day (or for no reason at all), as if they were an unjustified use of money.

Flowers, to me, are a gift of sweet thoughts; a delicate token of affection. A breath of garden-y freshness in the dead of Colorado winter. I love roses. (Thank you, dear!)

Some Artsy Fun

2006-02-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

I'm the maid of honor for a dear friend's upcoming wedding, so I'm hosting her bridal shower next month at my house. Never one to go out and buy something I could make myself, I created these invitations using cardstock and Publisher. I've never been a natural scrapbooker or stamper, but I had a lot of fun creating these! Tonight I finally finished gluing the invitations together and sent them all out in the mail. Here's a picture of one:Thanks to my newest download, Gimp, I was able to blur personal information for Internet viewing. Cool!

Dog Blog Monday

2006-02-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

I know it's Internet tradition to post photos of one's pets on a Friday; a light and fluffy post is typical weekend-fare. But today was a rough day back; the kids were braindead and I felt really yuck when I dragged myself home at last. On a happy and cheerful note, I give you...

Royal watching "Antarctica (IMAX)".

This was the part where there were seals videotaped underwater, barking and making general seal noises. My dog held this pose for the whole scene!

The Thrill of a Word Cloud

2006-01-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hey, cool! I had a word cloud made at Snapshirts. It analyzed all of the words I've used in my posts and gave emphasis to the ones I've used more often.

Now, what's up with "lexicographer"?

Numb is Good, You See

2006-01-31T18:10:00.000-07:00

I just completed another training run; 2 miles today. I feel especially proud because I didn't stop at all. As a gal who's always been a natural sprinter, I feel like it's a big achievement for me. I've been a sporadic runner since I was a kid; Mom or Dad would enter all three of us in a fun run or 5K and we'd practice running at the park a few times before the big event. Those were the days!

In the past few years, I would try to stick with running (because I wanted to run so badly) but always increased my mileage too quickly, resulting in a wacky knee pain. This time around, I'm taking it slow; increasing by .25 of a mile every week and not sweating the days when circumstances keep me from my planned jog.

Today's run felt amazing because A) my dog was happy- as evidenced by the tail that never stopped wagging- and B) my body didn't hurt at all. I used to feel pain in my legs and lungs all the time when I ran. Lately it feels neutral when I'm out there; I feel as if I could just keep going forever.

I feel as if I would be capable of anything if I could just conquer this half-marathon.

iPod go boom

2006-01-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

I have bad news about my cute pink iPod, which I've not even had for a whole year. I'm pretty sure it's dead, with no hope of recovery.

I dropped it on the pavement as I was walking out to my car Saturday... I slipped on a patch of ice and momentarily lost my grip.

I've tried resetting it and doing other variations of the remedies listed in the iPod user's manual. However, all my iPod wants to do is charge... nothing more. I can't connect it or look at music, and of course, listening to music is out of the question.

I'm so sad that it's gone... and yet, it feels incredibly silly to say it. It's just that... well, I listened to it all the time! In my car, while running, during my side job in my friend's home office.

The motto? Hold on to your mp3 players. They're obviously not made to last!