Spring Break

Cade and Jeff had Spring Break last week. Let's not focus on my jealousy. Instead let's talk about all the cool things they did!:

Built a bird house.
Made a flagstone path.
Played guitar.
Saw Monsters Vs. Aliens.
Watched about 5 James Bond movies.
Played Monopoly.
Played Dominoes.
Played a game Cade made up.
Took me out to lunch.
Visited with Grandma and Grandpa Schurz.
Read.
And so much more!

Here is the path. Cade dug it out and helped put in the rocks!


This was a typical evening. Jeff entertained us while we read. Cade was supposed to read about 300 pages. Well his book was much longer than that, but he had to finish it by Monday and write a report. Sadly he kept forgetting his book at his mom's house, so he had way too much to catch up on. He's a good little reader, though. We were proud of how much time he spent reading!


Here is the progression of the greatest bird house in the history of bird houses:

And a little Monopoly. I got creamed. These Schurz' are hard core Monopoly players!

It was a great week! And it went from about 70 the first weekend to a blizzard on Thursday. Crazy Colorado. More to come in June! (that's summer vacation, NOT the next time I'll post)

Or my bathroom. I hate cleaning the bathrooms.

ha!

Dancing with the Tears?

OK, we all know by now I’m an emotional person. The slightest sad, happy, touching, inspiring, scary moment can bring a tear to my eyes. Jeff calls me his little leaker. Nice, I know. One strange thing that ALWAYS gets me to cry is Dancing With the Stars. How does that even happen? Well, I’ll tell you how. Let’s take a look at some of the stars this season.

Ty Murray. A cowboy. Supposed to be all rugged and rough and tumble, right? I mean, he rides bulls for pete’s sake! Did you see him, though? He was NOT very good. More importantly, he was SO NERVOUS! He seemed like a timid little 8 year old. I loved every second of it. And after the judges criticized him, he said something to the effect of “no, they’re right, I messed up, I was nervous.” He seemed so sweet and lovable. And so I cried.

Steve-O. OK, this guy would not normally get my emotions going. He’s the star of Jackass. As stupid show about stupid boys pulling stupid stunts. So what’s the catch? He is in rehab. He’s cleaning up his life of drugs and alcohol. And Dancing with the Stars is a way to show that you can be clean and still have “mojo”. He didn’t have much rhythm, but he did a good job. He tried hard. He put himself on the line. And so I cried.

Denise Richards. Whoa. So not a fan. Don’t like her attitude (off of DWTS, that is), a little jealous of her, I’m sure. Why on earth would I shed tears for her? Because behind that gorgeous exterior and tough act, she is sensitive. Max made her cry. She said she felt stupid. Poor thing. No one wants to be made to feel stupid. She and Max figured out how to work together and she gave it her best shot. She seemed nervous in front of the judges. But with every criticism she just smiled and said “okay.” Like she was going to take what they said to heart and work on it for next time. And so I cried.

Steve Wozniak. Hello, the cutest man of all time. He is a genius. Literally. Co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs. He doesn’t stop smiling-ever. I love it! He is a bit uncoordinated. But look at how new this experience is for him! He’s really putting himself out on a limb! And he’s having a great time. After hearing what the judges had to say, which weren’t that positive, he just said “I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had in my life!” with a huge smile on his face. So SWEET! And so I cried.

I think what it is about this show that gets me is how vulnerable these people are making themselves. It seems different than American Idol, where the contestants already think or know they can sing well. Some of these folks KNOW they can’t dance well. And yet they want to give it a shot. Try something new. It’s clearly not for the money or fame. They are already rich and famous. So they do what they aren’t good at. They get judged and criticized, sometimes harshly, and you can see in their eyes, or tell by their defensive tones that they are hurt. They are trying hard out there! They are inspirational! If only we could all do something so out of the box. Learn something new. Meet new people. Get healthy. Have fun. Take risks! Be willing to mess up in order to take a chance at success. They are inspirational! And so I cry :)

Jimi Hendrix?

Yesterday Jeff had his guitar lesson. He has told me several times with a roll of his eyes that his teacher, Alex, thinks he is really talented. To confirm these statements that Jeff apparently can't bring himself to believe, several weeks ago when we were getting his guitar "set up" at a local guitar shop the owner said "oh, you're Jeff? Alex was really bragging on you when he was in here!" And we don't even know that guy! That is quite a compliment. Last night when he got home I asked him if Alex was impressed. He said "yeah, he said me and two other guys are the best he's seen. He said I could be really good in a couple of years and be in a band." Whoa! I'm so proud of him! Since I know he would NOT want to be in a band I said sarcastically, "so are you going to start a band?" To which he replied, "I AM the band." And I said "I could be in your band!" "I'm not going to do you any special favors, baby, but you can audition, I guess" he replied. Oh my husband.

Is there a pill for this?

Seriously. I think I have a little problem. Not like I’m a drug addict or I get so angry I throw sharp objects at strangers. But a cleaning problem. And really, how can cleaning be a problem? See, I clean on Monday nights. I love a tidy and clean house. It literally soothes and calms me to get the place clean and then be able to sit and soak it all in. I decided on Mondays after one too many weekends where I’d clean like crazy only to have Jeff work on a project and the place got all dirty again. See this happy balance we have now. Except all I’m doing all day at work today is THINKING ABOUT CLEANING! “remember to vacuum that spot where the plant tipped over.” “remember to wipe down the surfaces in Cade’s room this week.” “don’t forget to clean up the laundry room.” “should I mop even though I don’t want to because even the tiniest smudge on the floor is enough to occupy my thoughts for hours.” And on and on and on. I literally wish I lived close enough to work that I could go home and get started during lunch. Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t ;) There has to be a pill for this.

“a clean house is a sign of a wasted life.” Yeah. Right.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Last weekend Jeff and I went up to my parents house to celebrate my Dad's birthday. Scott showed up, too, as a surprise! It was a really fun day. We at burgers, went for a hike, had cake and presents and finished up by going to Cripple Creek for a little while to see if we could win the big bucks. We didn't. But it was still a great day!



Dad clambering around the rocks.


Jeff hoping he can find a way to climb out.


They ended up in the same place, but didn't get out the same way.

See, he's not old!

Oh Bummer!

I rolled over early this morning and in my drunken state of sleep I thought to myself "I am so glad it's Saturday! I hope Jeff remembered to turn off his alarm." A few hours later his alarm went off. And it's not Saturday.

Hypocrite

That should be my middle name. I mean, I want to be this socially aware, socially conscious and even socially active person. For example, when I found out Coke is one of the leading Human Rights Violaters, I stopped drinking it. And I LOVED a nice cold diet coke in the afternoons. Listen, I know one person not drinking Coke isn’t going to stop the abuse, but hey, it makes me feel better. (although I can’t lie here [well, I could, but what would be the point?] I really fell in love with that Christmas commercial about Coke and Wal-Mart.) Don’t even get me started about Wal-Mart. Needless to say, I don’t really shop there. Where does the hypocrite come in? Starbucks. Man alive. I tried so hard to give it up. It lasted a little while. But lets face it, when I want to be all “no way! I’ll never support the MAN! DOWN WITH THE MAN!” instead I’m all “oh my word an iced vanilla latte is almost equal to chocolate covered heaven and I want to make out with it.” I mean Starbucks is Fair Trade** certified, but as far as I know they only carry one fair trade blend. The company’s website says they will give any customer a cup of fair trade coffee if asked, but rumor has it they only brew it once a month as a regular option.

Wait a sec...

...~gasp!~

I’ve been Googling this stuff as I type and look what I just found:

I see that in October 2008 Starbucks made the commitment to double their Fair Trade Certified™ Coffee Purchases in 2009, becoming the world’s largest buyer of Fair Trade Certified coffee as part of Starbucks™ Shared Planet™

http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=929
http://www.organicconsumers.org/starbucks/index.cfm

Hmmmm. Maybe I don’t have to be a hypocrite after all! I can’t wait to see how this plays out this year at my local bux. As I make out with my vanilla latte ;)

**Fair Trade means an equitable and fair partnership between consumers in North America and producers in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The chief concern of the Fair Trade movement has been to ensure that the vast majority of the world's coffee farmers (who are small holders) get a fair price for their harvests in order to achieve a decent living wage. Fair Trade guarantees to poor farmers organized in cooperatives around the world: a living wage (minimum price of $1.26/pound regardless of the volatile market); much needed credit at fair prices; and long term relationships. These fair payments are invested in health care, education, environmental stewardship, and economic independence.
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/background.html

off she goes

Lindsey left last weekend. It was sad. But at least we had fun before she left!


Me, Stace, Linds, Liz, Grace

Me and Linds

Stace, Grace and Linds

Also, she is the sweetest girl ever and got us these awesome personlized tumblers as going away gifts (even though SHE was the one going away!) Isn't mine perfect for me? Man, I'm going to miss this girl!

cute

today i have on plaid pants and flowery socks.

also, here is my new purse.