Baby, it was cold outside

So I went skiing Saturday in Breckenridge, CO with my buds Kate and John. And to put it mildly, it was FREAKIN COLD. Here are a few pictures. I know we mostly just look like Martian Mountain Monsters because no skin is showing, but it was a good time, especially since we hit the slopes at like 8:45 a.m. You guessed it, there was nooooo going out the night before. Not when you are as hardcore as we all are. hahahahahah. Really though, it was fun, minus the bone-chilling, frost bit nose temps. RARRRRR Cold!!!

The Ground to the Hog Day

Happy Groundhog's Day!

I love groundhog's day. I love it so hard. One of my fave days of the year, hands down. I even bought flowers for myself in celebration.

Today Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, so it looks like 6 more weeks of winter. However, it's been so freaking nice out here in Denver, who cares? Plus the mountains are getting tons of snow so it's totally fine with me if the winter hangs out for a bit longer (man I never thought I'd say that...I am becoming soooo outdoorsy!)

To get news of Phils prediction, just click here. Also here is a fabulous quote from that article, "Phil is incapable of error. If he says six more weeks of winter, you can take it to the bank," said Mike Johnston, one of the 15 members of the Groundhog Club Inner Circle in Punxsutawney, site of the annual Groundhog Day ceremony.

Also check out groundhogs.com for some more fun groundhog facts!

Sleepy Pup

HAHAHAHAHA
You all have to go and see this poor sleepy pup. Thanks to Marissa and Naomi for bringing this to my attention! (You will need your sound on and QuickTime to watch it).

Hot Dogs are Awesome

Hot dogs are totally awesome, especially at 2 a.m. in the mountains. Also, there is a new hot dog stand opening two blocks from my house. I will document it as soon as I get down there to get one. Woo Hoo!

Trivia Winnings

On Wednesday night the wine night crew got together at the Atomic Cowboy (a local bar in my 'hood) and kicked some butt at bar trivia. I also learned what a "Wilhelm Scream" is (I thought it was just a punk band). We would have won round one except I gave these two old guys 2 answers about Law and Order, so we lost by 1 point. (I still feel bad about that). However, we totally steamrolled people in round 2. Among 8 of us we won a $15 gift certificate to the Cowboy; a Miller High Life hat; and a "I Am the High Life Man" t-shirt which I will wear with great pride and a swagger to match. hahahahaha Thanks to all the "phone-a-friends" who helped us with a few tough questions. Here are some pics of what we won:


Notice, the PBR with the High Life Gear ....


Kate, Annie and Maggie display the winnings


We were planning to play the Sex and the City trivia game, but got sidetracked by the real trivia.

The Library

I love going to the Denver Public Library . If you have have not gone you should find your local branch and get there! You can put everything you want on hold online, check your account, renew items online etc. They have a surprisingly great selection of CDs and DVDs, not to mention books (yeah, obvious I know). Anyway I totally love it and you should too!

Sometimes

Happy Tunes

Songs that make me happy:

"Being Around" by the Lemonheads

"Tables and Chairs" by Andrew Bird

"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" by Paul Simon

"Wish me well (you can go to hell)" by the Bouncing Souls

"Outdoor Type" by the Lemonheads

"All I want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey

"Forever in Blue Jeans" by Neil Diamond

"Rainbow Connection" covered by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

"A Shot in the Arm" by Wilco

"I'm My Own Grandpa" by Willie Nelson

"Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" by Bobby Dylan

"Whiskey River" by Willie Nelson

"Daddy Sang Bass" by Johnny Cash

and of course that old favorite, "Yard Hippo" by Leah and Kate and Stacy

Natty D

Today I want to share my favorite webiste: http://www.nataliedee.com/ Thank you, Kristin W., for bringing her drawings into my life.

She is brilliant. Also, she was just interviewed by some online UK webiste. Check it out if you are so inclined. It is funny:
http://www.mookychick.co.uk/interviews/nataliedee.php

I think my fave cartoon ever of hers is this though:


Check it here: http://www.nataliedee.com/123004/though-of-the-day.jpg

I always want my friends to pull me around town in a red Radio Flyer wagon. Then this one day in October I was at a farm outside of Denver and my friend Kate actually DID pull me around in a red Radio Flyer. It was awesome. I might even have a pic of that too.

B-n-G

Hmmmm...Wish I had myself some of THAT! Biscuits and Gravy. Totally Awesome. Except at the Double D--they are gross at Denver Diner. But such a nice photo! It would do Willie Nelson proud (I ate these after his show in September).

The Chronic WHA WHA

I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find an email from my friend Kristin that had a link to an SNL skit that is freaking hilarious. My friend Lloyd first told me about it last week--if ya'all haven't seen it, check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=IggTu7kV7No

(If you're at work, probably want to use headphones).

TOTALLY made me happy on my first day back to work after the 3-day weekend. BOOYEAH. BOOYEAH. BOOYEAH.

I'm trying to think of something funny happening to me lately. Oh yeah. Last night I was at yoga, and I was trying to do this Bowl Roll thingy where you lie on your stomach and you grab each ankle and pull up on your legs and then try to roll to each side. Yeah sounds complicated, right? Well I was trying to roll on my side right as the teacher walked by and I couldn't do it, I kind of just fell back--stomach to the floor, futilely--and then he laughed at me in his Scottish accent, and then I started laughing and had to lie face down on the floor cuz I was shaking so hard. And laughing during yoga is a big No-No. Needless to say, I had to take a few minutes to halt my laughter. Here is an illustration (that yellow thing on the side of his head is supposed to be his ponytail):

Excited!

Oh wow, I am so excited to go to the rodeo tomorrow night I can hardly stand it! Here is an illustration of myself to match my mood (I'm not sure why my legs are so short, but you get the idea).
Woo Hoo Rodeo Dance!
I hope to find a cowboy to dance the rodeo dance with me.

Beyond the Bull

Last night my roommate and I discovered the show "Beyond the Bull" on TLC. Check it out here: http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/beyondthebull/beyondthebull.html

Freakin' Awesome. Totally preparing me for the rodeo I am going to on Friday! It might just be the Best Show Ever.

YEEEEE HAWWWWWW

New Year's Resolutions

So it seems to be the time of year people like to make New Year's Resolutions. I have resolved to be like one of the pack and set some of my own. They are, as follows:

1. To kiss people on the cheek in greeting and departure. It's so very European. I love it! However I haven't done it at all yet. I chicken out.

2. To work the song "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher more into my daily life and keep it on the top of the list of karaoke numbers, while helping others realize its greatness. Also, I love the song "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" by Paul Simon. I might even learn that on the guitar. You should love it, too.

3. To floss more (thanks to Stacy 3000 for the inspiration there)

4. To go to the Rodeo (well this isn't really a resolution but I made it one cuz I am going on Friday and then I will already have fulfilled one resolution in the first two weeks of the year and that should motivate me the rest of the year. AHHH yeah we call that STRATEGY!!!)

5. Be healthier (i.e. stop going through the Wendy's Drive-Thru at 11 at night yelling "I want a spicy chicken samwitch with NO MAYO!! I said NO MAYO!!!" and then eating it in 4 minutes flat).

6. Number 6 goes with Number 5: eat fewer chips. Most of you know I love chips, especially Doritos and Black Pepper and Salt Kettle Chips. I am resolving to eat them in moderation. Or just when I am by myself and no one else can see.

7. Research a new car and possibly even buy one!!! Though the Taurus is a rare and distinct example of an automotive gem.

8. Paint more. Any who have seen my work know that we need more arty goodness like it in this crazy world.

9. Eat More Bacon!!! (everything is better with bacon)

10. All the rest are too secret to share. SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I'm Baaaaack

Hi Friends,

It's been a busy few weeks but I am back in D-Town. While I was gone, I traveled a lot. These are the types of transportation I took:

Amtrak Train
Mom's Ford Taurus
Greyound Bus to Minneapolis
Kopischke's Taurus
SunCountry Plane
SuperShuttle Van
NYC Subways
NYC Buses
NYC Cabs
Ferry to Statue of Liberty
Train at the airport
Kate's Focus

I think that is everything. I am glad to be back. I had lots of funny adventures. More to come, for sure.

For now, check this out: http://www.nataliedee.com/010406/under-the-cap-sweepstakes-based-disease-transmission.jpg

Hip to the Hippo

My friend Jeffy Peeps made these. I thought you would all like them.

Tonight I am taking a late-night train to Omaha. Here are song names with "train" in them that my friend Kristin and I came up with:

Come on Ride the Train (Woot Woot)
Waiting for the Train
Midnight Train to Georgia
Down there by the Train
Last Train to Clarksville
Downtown Train (Rod Stewart, Ahhhh Yeahhhh)
Love Train, Love Train
Runaway Train
I've been Working on the Railroad

Here is a picture of Rod Stewart and I on the Luv Train, Luv Train

Please contribute any others you might have in mind!!!

Elephants are Big

I just felt like googling Elephant pictures. I am not sure why. Here are some.














Elephant Stomps

Elephant honks its bullhorn

Thank you to Kristin W. for finding elephant hugga hugga

Bye Bye, TiVo

Today was tough. After a 3 month relationship, starting off rocky but smoothing out considerably, I said goodbye to my TiVo. Well, the TiVo was never really mine in the first place, I had it because an old prof at Indiana University sent it to me after I agreed to record and burn to DVD a bunch of TV for a Public Service Announcement study he was working on.
The main glitch though--now that the recording is over, I had to ship it via FedEx back to Indiana. It was sad, truly, because the TiVo was very Colorado, it never recorded any Indiana NasCar but was all about Grey's Anatomy and it liked to play outdoorsy movies. I have made an illustration to show how bummed I am about no more TiVo, and also wrote a song.

The TiVo's Gone (sing this in a sad, country music sorta style)

It hasn't been long
since the TiVo's been gone
but I'm really really sad
So I wrote this song

We had a good run
it was real real fun
skipping commercials and pausing
It was really number one

But now the TiVo's gone
Now we don't even like to turn the TV on
well, we still do, but not as much.

The End

New Remote

This weekend something VERY exciting happened. I finally bought a new remote control for our TV, which is so freaking joyous it is hard to even really put into words, so I made a drawing to illustrate. The big magenta thingy is the new remote (it isn't REALLY magenta, but I wanted to add some emphasis.) Now we can turn down the volume again!


I spent I would say, 77% of my weekend on the couch. Yesterday I spent four hours watching this great PBS documentary on Bobby Dylan. Get more info here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/dylan/

New Hat!

Hi! For Christmas my friend Kate knitted me a new hat. Here I am on Wednesday with it on, with a glass of wine at her and her roommate's Christmas party. She polled several people and they all agreed I could handle a big ball on my hat.

Since Monday I have attended 6 holiday parties. One more tonight makes 7 in six days! Woo hoo happy celebrations.