Thursday, August 20, 2009

...Leaving on a jet plane...

Sean is currently winging his way to Maine.

Today we left the house at about seven in the morning and after picking up a sandwich at Einsteins and navigating the amazing amount of traffic on 270 to I-70, we made it to DIA.

All this week, in fact, all this month, I've been brave-stoic-confident and even optimistic about the fun he'll have in Maine and the fun I'll have with the house all to myself. The truth is that after I lost sight of him going through security and set foot on the moving walkway, I was crying. I missed him already.

Actually, the feeling was so strong that I cried my way past where I'd parked my car and watched planes for about forty-five minutes, determined as I was to see him go.

I must have watched about thirty planes landing and taking off... when it hit me.

Not only did I not know what Continental's planes looked like, but I was slightly jealous. All of these people coming and going, taking trips and seeing the sights... and I didn't know if I would have enough cash to get out of the parking lot.

So now I'm back home, even though without Sean here, its not very 'homey'. First things first, I suppose. Time to clean, then I'll see what I can do around the house.

Maybe I'll even do some sculpting...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Small Business Plans...

Okay...

Ever since I was about 12, I've wanted to open a bed and breakfast. It started when my brother and his significant other were living with her children in Salida in a house that her mother owned.

It was beautiful. Salida is at one end of what's commonly called the "banana belt of the rockies". Its a lovely little town with a large concentration of cops, cows and white-water enthusiasts and sometime ski instructors. My favorite stories that I've written are based there, and I've always had a sort of nostalgic reverence for the idea that one day I'd have a bed and breakfast out there or somewhere like it.

Lately I've been thinking about what I'd like to eventually do with my skills in the Salon and Spa trade. So, I've decided to marry the two and start researching opening a Bed and Breakfast with a sort of everyman/woman day spa and salon. It would be akin to a destination spa, but with a more earthy and reasonable price range.

The next question is where?

Boulder is pretty well saturated, and Salida is really farther than I'd like to go. I'd like to put it somewhere near the mountains, perhaps Golden or something... I'll keep you posted on what I figure out.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Of Evil Rice and Off-Street Signs...

The amazing thing about changing your lifestyle and re-educating your body to eat in a more healthy way is that your body will come to expect it.

For instance, I've been eating really healthy lately. You know, lean meats and salads, vegetables, and the like... its been a month, and though I haven't really seen the results on the scale, my body has apparently adjusted to the new habits.

Case in point:

On Friday we went to a friends' house(her house is beautiful, btw, and is my new motivation for being successful at my new salon endeavors), had dinner and watched the directors cut of "Caprica" (the made for TV movie from Syfy, which was excellent).

The dinner was lovely. She grilled chicken kabobs and served salad with light dressing for the main meal. The appetizer was a sort of ground turkey-spicy cheese dip. The dip was INCREDIBLE! Apparently it was made with lean ground turkey, queso cheese, spicy salsa and sour cream. Wow... I could not stop eating it. Even the chips tasted great.

...Thats what happens when you don't eat cheese for a month. Its sort of like if an alcoholic gets handed a handle of Jack Daniels. Less dramatic and messy, but its the same idea. I didn't eat as much dip as I wanted, but I still ate too much of it.

Day two:

Saturday is Sean and my "date night" of sorts. So we went out. For the last several weeks we've been going to Baker's Street Pub and we were both a little Baker's st-ed out. So instead of going there, we went to Tsing Tao, a Chinese restaurant across town that I had found online.

It was lovely. We were the only ones there, except of course, the staff. We ate well, Sean with sweet and sour chicken and I had sesame chicken with brown rice. Later, we went to ice cream as usual, and went home.

Sunday:

I woke up, spent some time with Sean, went to the restroom, started walking back, and suddenly I was on the floor in a cold sweat. My stomach was killing me (I was pretty willing to bet it was literally). I kept thinking that I would have to call 911 or something. Sean was good as gold and got me several rounds of water and a cool towel for my face.

After about mid-way through the second water I started feeling better. I've been drinking water ever since and I feel much better. Today I'll drink water until I go to bed and hope for the best tomorrow.

Street signs...

Today we went for a lovely drive in the mountains. Its an incredible thing to be so close to the mountains and to be able to drive through them any time. It does my soul good. Sean and I had a great time and returned home rejuvenated and invigorated.

Whenever I go places, if I find something that sparks my imagination, I either take a picture or write a note to myself. This is the sign that I found today:

No Parking (crossed out P)
Dusk til Dawn

How fun is that? Why no camping or no stopping? What happens at dusk? I love those signs... very cool. Its the closest thing I've ever seen to a vampire warning sign or a werewolf warning sign or something... :D