a butt-broadening experience

I just got home from my lil brudder's graduation. Holy. Moly. It started at 7:30, and we just got home. It is past 10. TWO AND A HALF HOURS of listening to every little kid's accomplishments. Of course, I babysat or went to school with the siblings of half the kids, but sheesh. Thankfully, there was a breeze, so the football stadium wasn't too unbearable.

PS: My brudder's Marines scholarship was the highest single scholarship amount. So there.

The Loooong Way Home

We have now been on the road for approx. 8.5 hrs, and I think we have about another hour to go. Max has, again, slept the entire trip. I am afraid I may be getting sick- I've had a fever pretty much all day. Hopefully, I'm just allergic to long car trips, because I've got wayyy too much to do to be sick this week. Anyway, since I dont feel well, I'm allowing myself to do a "picture dump", a la Benson (iwastetoomuchtimeatwork blog).


THIS was AMAZING. This pic is not a closeup, and has not been modified. We were driving along and came across this. I stuck my arm out the window & snapped.











We just thought we were excited to see a few deer on the road... There were sixteen of them!!!
They seemed completely unafraid, just meandering down the road. I think they were just whitetails, mostly doe & yearlings.







This pic was taken on the lake right next to the Inn of the Mountain Gods resort & casino. From inside, there's an enormous window looking out onto this scene... minus the blonde dude & chubby girl...

and... my glasses are HUGE!








This is a view of the cabin. I was standing on a rock by the river when I took this. Beautiful, huh?











This is us on the other side of the cabin. We're wearing our Smittens!! Thanks, Auntie M & fam!!!













This was one of Max' many many adventures... He had a BALL!!!













"YIPES, dis water am ccccold!!!"














Max, all tired out, curled up about a foot from the fire.

more cheerful now

Sorry for that last post, guys... had to get it out of my system, so I relegated it to the one post. This one will be much more cheerful, I promise.

Last night, on our way home from the stupid casino, we saw two elk(s?) in two different places!!
They were massive. It was night, and they ran off pretty quickly, so we couldn't get pics, but they both looked like this:
Their bodies seemed like the same size as the car, plus their antlers. I think I counted 12 points on the smaller one, but I couldnt see the points of the bigger one. They were both in velvet like this one was, so they'll probably get even more huge later on. They were amazing. Both were probably about 10-15 feet from the car when we discovered them... the first one was just chillin, walking down the middle of the road, totally unconcerned, and the other ran right across in front of us. Where we saw the first one was just down the road from where we stopped to take these pics:















Also, it's been snowing!!! Just a few random snows here and there down in town where we are, but you can see up at the top of the mountain (Sierra Blanca) it's practically a blizzard.

Today, I had possibly the BEST White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookie I've ever had... Do I look happy, or what??

time to whine

Sorry guys... i hafta whine for a bit. If you're looking for something positive & uplifting, look elsewhere.

First of all, last night at the casino was disastrous. Since I know most of you aren't familiar with/ don't care about poker play-by-plays, I'll spare you all the disgusting details, but suffice it to say, I lost about $65 in one hand. Had I won, like I should have, I would have won over $150 in the one hand, which, in a $3-6 limit game like we were playing, is pretty rare. In fact, I was only 2 cards off from hitting the $38,000 "Bad Beat Jackpot". My pocket Queens hit a full house on the turn, and the idiot that beat me hit Quad 9s on the river, after calling 2 separate $24 bets with 9-6 offsuit. BLAAAAGH.

For those of you that have no clue what I'm talking about, the proper response is sympathy & indignation.

SECONDLY.

We just got back from Ruidoso Downs, the local racetrack. They have nowhere to sit inside. It is currently about 55 degrees, and super windy. I was FREEZING, and WINDBLOWN (so much for having rolled my hair this morning), and while we were watching the race, my horse kicked dirt all over me, and lost anyway. I stomped my foot, and we only stayed for 2 races.

Sorry guys, that is all.

further clarifications...

Some of you may be confused by a comment left on my last blog...

There is no need for "invitations" just yet. Don't worry, you haven't missed anything. Remember? I'll be gushing the news from every pore & you'll KNOW when anything happens. :)

Although... some of our friends do have money on an over/under date for us to get engaged...

:)

thank you, thank you, we'll be here all week...

It is so beautiful here. Aside from the yukky nature stuff.

Sunday night we drove to White Sands to watch the sun set & almost full moon. Last night, they were holding some big Full Moon shindig, but last night was also the Spurs game, & we couldn't miss such a big game, so we decided to go the day before. Several pics are below (mostly of White Sands, but also some of town). The sunset was phenomenal.

We have decided to stay here for another week (probably gonna leave on Monday), so I am currently sitting on top of a washer at the local laundromat. Last night, after the spurs game (HOORAY!!), we decided to try our luck at the $1-2 No Limit poker game at the Inn of the Mountain Gods casino... dumb idea. James was out in one hand, and I was out in half an hour, due to this idiot donkey that would play and follow through with ANY hand with ANY club in it...

It has rained more today. The sounds of storms up at the cabin are fantastic. We ordered dial up service at the cabin, but it is so frustratingly slow, we decided to go ahead & do most of our work in town. We had a lunch of BLTs on a big rock by the river today. It was nice, and only had to fight off a couple of roly-polys for our seats. The flock of hummingbirds have finished 2 regular sized feeders and part of a ginormous one we have. Yesterday, I saw a bird I didnt know... anyone ever heard of a bird that is black & larger than a grackle, but with a peak on his head like a cardinal? Anyway... just catching up...

ps: I think I put a permanent dent in the top of this washer... :|

Buh-buh-buh-BRRRRRRR!

We finally arrived at the cabin last night around 8:15, after a retardedly expensive & long trip to the local Wally World. I must say, I was not in the best humor... I was tired from the trip, wearing a sleeveless dress in the 45 degree moisture, in need of a bath, and still had to set up the cabin. The cabin was built in 1902, and still has no heat, other than the giant pot-bellied stove in the center of the living room, and no insulation. Needless to say, it was FREEZING, and covered with a layer of dust, complete with leaves & bugs. I was, quite literally, not a happy camper. We finally got the cabin all set up, wiped down, beds made & fire lit.

If you've met me, I'm sure you can imagine the effect all the dust & cleaning supplies had on my allergies. I sounded like I had swallowed a squeak toy, and I was dreading the prospect of taking a shower. In my head, I kept remembering the pure misery of bath time at Blue Haven. If you are unfamiliar with that form of torture, imagine Hades freezing over. Then imagine having to take a shower there. That's right, BRRRRR. Since I was not quite looking forward to it, I decided to skip it & head straight to my bunk.

Did I say where the beds were? They are outside, on a screened in porch. Yes. I said Outside. It was 35 degrees, and the fire was in the next room. Fortunately, the cabin is stocked with Magic Blankets (i.e.: extraordinarily warm), and I think I was zzzzing almost instantly.

I awoke this morning to the sound of birds outside, the stream babbling just below the porch, and a light rain of the tin roof. And I had a Max on by belly. The view from my bunk is AMAZING. The cabin is surrounded by giant pine and birch trees, sits on the side of the mountain, about 20 feet from a creek, and is home to a whole little flock of very tame hummingbirds.

This morning, I felt much more optimistic about the shower situation (plus, I was getting to be a bit yukky, what with all the nature & no bath). The tub is an antique cast-iron claw foot tub, and luckily, I just happened to bring my bubble bath. I used up about half a bottle, and all the hot water, and had the bathroom steaming in no time. It was possibly the most positively delicious hour and a half I have ever spent in a tub!! And the shower head? Forget those new fangled “water saver” showerheads… HaH- this one was the old fashioned full blast kind that bullies you into being clean. PURE BLISS.

James and I spent today working in this cute little coffee shop, bumming off their free WiFi. We had a fantastic lunch of green chili burgers & Cuban sandwiches. We hooked up the caffeine IV when we arrived, and it flowed coffee all day. After work, we headed to the local sports bar to watch the Spurs tie up the series against the Hornets, then to the Inn of the Mountain Gods to blow a quick H at the blackjack tables.

Now, we’re headed back to the cabin to see how Max fared the day. After sleeping for practically 12 hours straight on the way here, Max was the posterkitteh for Ritalin last night. He RAN and JUMPED and EXPLORED and HID and FELL and SKIDDED and ATTACKED and STREAAAAACHED and got a little singed and got stuck and got in a fight with a rug and his shadow and a bug and a leaf and finally crashed, evidently on my tummy.

Ok, now that this blog has officially reached “epistle” length, I’ll go, and I promise I’ll try not to be so windy tomorrow. It is still raining, and is supposed to snow tonight & tomorrow. James is making a fire, and Max is still being Max, and I am still cold and not a fan of nature, but I am in a much better temper than I was last night.