The Bedlam of Beefy: August 2008

August 28, 2008

Green Acres

So here are some images from the fabtastilicious Barn House that I went to over the past weekend. I love country style...but not too country...know what I'm sayin'? I like a balanced mix...and eclectic mix, but a balanced one. Barn House was a perfect mix of country charm and urban chic so you know your Uncle will be going again and again. Like some kinda glam Green Acres! Enjoy!

The genius behind Barn House...Joe and Jermonne.

That's all she wrote! (Do you really need descriptive text with these photos? I didn't think so.) I'll see ya's tomorrow, Kids!

PS - So, all is well in Computerville now! It was some kind of booting glitch...??? Nothing lost thank goodness. Thanks for being patient, Kids!

August 25, 2008

Crash

Good morning, Kids. What a weekend. What a Monday. So, you know that I was down visiting the parents for my Mom's birthday. Mom and I went off to Barn House which was AMAZING! In my ever gracious manner of great first impressions I broke a lovely vase within minutes of my entrance, and cut my hands in five small places on my hand producing an unlikely amount of blood. Ah yes...glamorous! But they let me stay (thanks Joe and Jermonne!). And I got some great photos!

I finished my resume "package" and exercised every ounce of perfectionism in my being. I'm pretty darn happy about the overall results. Actually, quite ecstatic as it could even rival Martha's quality control. Yeah...I said it! I am sending it off to a potential employer today and am hoping it knocks their socks off...and maybe a pair of shoes or two? I got some photos of that too!

Then I got the call from Kendall. It would appear (though remember I am not at home right now) that my computer has crashed...? If so, this will be the second time in less than a year. Hooray for me! I had some choice expletives initially. I'm going to once again lose a lot of stuff. And I am not particularly happy with Apple at the moment. But all in all, in the moment, what are you gonna do? Last night was a spiritual exercise that I came out of on the other end in great shape. However, my psyche aside, it remains uncertain as to when I'll be back up blogging in my usual fashion...??? (Thus no fab photos.)

We'll see what I can make of things when I get home and I'll do my best to keep you updated. But your spiritual exercise this week may just have to be "patience". But I know you can do that...and very well.

Hope to see you relatively soon, Kids. :)

August 06, 2008

I see London, I see France!

Going through the memory sticks from my camera to get the pics of the recent Colorado 2008 trip and found some lost photos of our trip to Paris 2007. Sigh. Now there's a trip well worth repeating.

Back In The Saddle

Howdy, Kids! Yep...I'm back! And, I am beat. A bit "rode hard and put away wet"...if you will. In a matter of three days my sister and I went through 6 states; Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. This was all business and no vacation as my sister was movin' on down to "The Springs" (aka Colorado Springs) for work and had to be on the job first thing Tuesday morning (what the?!!). There are no exciting photos...I can assure you. 99.673% were taken from the car window. But some aspects of the trip included...

It rained while we were traveling through Washington....duh.
Breakfast in Yakima, WA was both tasty and cheap (a great combo in my book).
Oregon was just a blip on the map for us but was good to us while we were there. Nice trees, by the way.
Idaho. Hmm. Well...let's see. In Glenns Ferry we had the delightful opportunity to have our olfactory senses upended when considering a room at a local lodging establishment. The place should be subsidized by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. And the decor? Well, I think that 25¢ peep booths at an adult bookstore hold greater appeal. Eew.
Twin Falls just opened a new Mormon Temple so we almost didn't find a room. We went from place to place searching...but turned away over and over. We laughed that it was like we were Mary and Joseph. But honestly...the irony was a bit creepy.
They have terrible hostesses but lovely servers at the local large-chain "Italian" restaurants.
Breakfast was included at the new Wingate where we stayed that night (a joyous discovery at the end of a long day!), so we partook of the carb-fest. I overheard a woman looking for the napkins. I handed her a couple. Shortly after that she approached me. She told me, holding back the tears, that she had lost her husband just three days earlier and that my simple act of kindness meant the absolute world to her. It showed me that we never really know how we can have an impact on others. That lesson meant the world to me. It was the highlight of the trip.
Southern Idaho has an enormously depressing summertime landscape.
Idaho won for the best Rest Areas...EVER! Congrats!
My sister didn't think me saying "Poke-my-tello, Im-a-ho!" was funny.
Utah. The area around Ogden looked nice.
Wyoming. (My Dad's home state.) Evanston seemed cute. The "quickie" lunch at Sonic was anything but. The kids at Starbucks recommended we stay in Rock Springs. We're not sure why? Apparently, we have a distant cousin that lives there. I'm glad we didn't look them up...and I bet they'd feel the same way.
Wyoming had a haunting forlorn beauty to it. Sad, but not depressing like Idaho. More like heartache turned into landscape.
The adult bookstore at the side of the highway, in the middle of absolutely nowhere didn't become any more charming with the attached 5-room motel. My eyes needed a shower after that sight.
Laramie...couldn't not think of Matthew Shepard when driving through. R.I.P.
Colorado. Well, Kids...we all know that, based on my past personal experiences, I had some trepidation here. Damn if it wasn't pretty (I figured that much) but the people were so darn nice...from the get-go! Fort Collins...nice. Denver...three high-fives in less than an hour? This place was gooooood for my ego. Colorado Springs...delightful! My sister's new roommate couldn't have been more hospitable and gracious. The sweeping view of Pike's Peak from the back deck didn't hurt. A wonderful dinner at The Blue Star with said roommate and two of her friends. The five of us...good meal, good times.
I'd really like to come back. Yes...to Colorado. As requested, it was good to me.
Nicest security at Colorado Springs Airport. (Even though you could tell they still meant business.)
The plane was so small that I thought "it feels like you're walking into a coffin". Thanks, Internal Dialogue! Like I needed THAT at 28,000 feet?!! Thank god I'm reading the "India" section of Eat, Pray, Love. The writings on meditation came in very handy.
Salt Lake City International Airport...where the hell are all these people coming from?!! Did they shut down O'Hare? I wasn't sure Starbucks would get in here...? Who knew?
Seattle...welcome home.

So that's really about it, Kids. Down and back again. And, yes, I did like Colorado...a lot. But I do have one more thing. Road-tripping requires one to partake in lots of public restrooms. Rest areas, restaurants, airports, etc. 1) What is the point of having automatic, hands-free faucets, soap machines, and towel dispensers when, in order to leave the restroom, I have to grab the same handle that Chirpy just used after leaving the stall without washing his hands?!!!!!! And...2) For any of you who either don't think you need to wash your hands after having them around your junk, or that passing the whites of your nails under cold water sans soap after doin' yer business is clean enough...I have a proposition for you. There are a few key places on my body that I'd like to rub a sandwich and then watch you take a bite of it! Appetizing? No...didn't think so. Wash your flippin' hands!!! Okay...I'm done now. Time to get back in the saddle. ps - I'm guessing that since I have now referred to "adult bookstore" twice in this post you're probably going to see some rather interesting ads pop up through Google adsense. I'm just sayin'.

August 01, 2008

Rocky Mountain...Heeeeeeeeyyyyyyyy!

So, Kids...your Uncle is off on an adventure! My sis is moving off to Colorado tomorrow and I'm gonna be making the road trip down with her. I've never been to Colorado. It would appear by all accounts that it is truly a lovely state...but my peripheral experiences aren't filling me with overriding confidence. I've met a number of, how can I put this delicately, "whackos" over the years who shared not only altered mental faculties in common but also coming from Colorado...??? Is it the altitude maybe? Okay, and let's face it...with all due respect...John Denver isn't helping the cause with me.

Now, it seems as if tides have turned somewhat at points as I have, in point of fact, met some rather delightful people from Colorado (though y'all are in the vast minority). And, the photos I've seen are hard to beat. So I wish you well, Colorado. And I hope you'll do the same with me...??? Oh, and my sister too.

ps ~ I'll be posting again in a bit...but I'll be out o' touch on Monday and Tuesday!