Denver, where the souveniers are germs and tamiflu

Seven years ago my BFF of all time and forever got married and moved to Denver. I wanted to visit her for years but it never worked out. She came out to visit me a few times and we visited in MA in the summer but I never made it out west to her. I assumed it would cost several hundred dollars but low and behold, I found tickets for $97 round trip and we whipped together a last-minute visit. I've booked plane tickets dozens of times but I very seldom cross to a different timezone. That's why I didn't realize that arriving at midnight was the price I paid for such cheap flights. The website said we'd arrive at 9:40 which I thought was very reasonable. We ended up landing at 11:40 our time which meant we were both tired and very hungry. 

We special ordered some snow from Amazon prime and they really pulled through. AB and I were THRILLED. I miss snow so much. I don't love the bitter cold of winter but I love watching the snow fall and taking walks in the quiet.

I'll be honest- the trip did NOT go as we planned. We had so many fun things planned but they were all derailed when sweet Kezia came down with the flu. Instead of hiking and ice skating, we were quarantined to the house for the first several days. With each day that passed, Kezi got sicker and Annabelle got more cabin fever. On Wednesday we really reached the peak of things going wrong. We ventured out to the library and coffee shop while Katie took Kezi to the doctor. While Katie was at the pharmacy, she got an SOS from a neighbor asking her to watch their son while they went to the er. I stayed back at her house with the girls. Kezi could barely reach her cup without help and kept crying for her mom. Annabelle had enough energy for seven children. She knocked over three drinks, did backflips, bounced on a ball, spilled beads, threw pipe cleaners around "like snow" and made a ruckus. We had a runaround with doctors offices trying to get Annabelle and I Tamiflu to take as a preventative. After speaking to multiple doctors and being told we could get a prescription, I went to the pharmacy to pick it up but it had not been called in. We ended up rationing Kezi's prescription between the three of us like we were living in a war-torn country with no medicine instead of a first world country with laws about transferring prescriptions across state lines. The day would not end. Katie and I kept saying if only we could make it to bedtime we could sit on the couch and watch a show. Kezi must have caught wind our of relaxation plans because a few minutes into Wonder Woman, she suddenly got worse and Katie was on the phone with the doctor at 10:30pm. We tried so hard to Wonder Woman our way through the day. We made it by the skin of our teeth, but our hair didn't look nearly as good as hers. 

All that being said, I am 1000% glad we went out to visit. Kezi started to feel a little better on our second to last day so we took a trip to Ikea for bedroom decor. We went to the children's museum and the girls had a blast. We were so happy they had some good play time before we left. Finn is a doll and he's the first baby Annabelle really paid attention to and wanted to hold. Last time we saw him he had several baby chins and now he's turning into a little boy.

There's no one I can laugh with like I can with Katie. Even though almost nothing went as we planned, we had some great talks and laughed until we cried and couldn't breathe which is my absolute favorite kind of laughing. This visit was the first time I had seen her husband since they got married and he had the great fortune of seeing us in rare form. He had a very similar look to Christopher's the first time he experienced us together. It's a cross between confusion and impressed that two grown women can laugh so loudly/long and communicate using so few words.

Katie is such a wonderful mother and I loved seeing her in her own home. We took a grand total of one picture of ourselves during the entire trip but it's not great. I look like a beached seal and Katie's hair looks like a founding father's wig. We've been friends for almost 30 years so I'm allowed to make comments like that. 

I hope it won't be another seven years before we make it to Denver again, but it for sure won't be during flu season. 

LIsten up, Squiddzen

Elizabeth (aka Bettina/Betty Boop/Boop/Tine/Tina/Squiddzen/Squiddz) is always complaining that she'll call and ask for life updates and I'll say I don't have any because not much worth reporting happens. She says that later on, she'll read a laundry list of updates on the blawg. This is for you, sister.


Our church is in the middle of 21 days of prayer. Every morning they have a prayer service at 6:33 as well as additional prayer services on Thursday and Sunday nights. I’m all for worshipping the Lord but we haven’t gone to any of the morning services because again, 6:33 IN THE AM. I couldn’t figure out why it was at 6:33 and not 6:30. Being the mathematical genius that I am, I said, “Maybe it’s because 6x3+3= 21 and it's for 21 days.” Christopher replied, “Or it’s because the bracelets they handed out to remind us to pray have Matthew 6:33 on them and that’s the verse they’re focusing on.”

That could be it. It does make more sense than my mathematical jibberish. 

I keep a document on my phone with all my usernames and passwords. Everything is very abbreviated and written in a code only I can understand so I'm not too concerned about it being used for hacking purposes. The problem is I did so well with the abbreviations and codes that I don't remember what site/account It- *franks* is for. I'm too clever for myself to decode.

Last week I made an extra-healthy meal of baked tilapia and cooked carrots. I haven’t gotten used to cooking on an electric stove and every so often I’ll accidentally leave the burner on because there’s no obvious flame. AB and I were having a living room picnic while we watched an American Girl movie. Suddenly there was a loud pop and the sound of shattering glass. My first thought was what did the cats break now? as they have a history of knocking things off the counter. I went to investigate and the stove, floor, and counters were covered in thousands of pieces of broken glass. I put the 9x12 glass baking dish on a burner that hadn’t been turned off. It took almost an hour to clean up. If this is what’s going to happen when I make extra healthy meals it might not be worth it.

In other kitchen issues, every night the refrigerator has been making a horrible noise that sounds like a jackhammer. The only remedy we've found is to unplug it. We finally called Tim the refrigerator repairman and he came today to assess the situation. Naturally, it was quiet as a mouse for the first thirty minutes he was in the kitchen. It was like taking your sick child to the doctor but the second the doctor walks in the room the child goes berzerk and starts spinning around on the rolling stool, looking healthy as a horse. Tim asked if it happens when the refrigerator turns on and off. I was not aware that even happens so I for sure didn't know if that's what causes the noise. Tim said he couldn't do much without hearing the sound firsthand even though I did a great job of recreating it. I shared my diagnosis of it being an ice machine problem but Tim disagreed. I tried to find a recording of the noise I had sent a friend but it wasn't there. Tim kept staring at the refrigerator and I stared at the counter because I wasn't sure when this standoff with the appliance would end. I really thought Tim might hang around for an hour waiting for the noise and I'd have to offer him lunch. Suddenly the jackhammer sound started again and we both perked up with much more enthusiasm than is generally given to a refrigerator. It reminded me of the over the top enthusiasm when a child finally uses the potty. I ended up paying Tim $79 to tell me the noise was indeed from the ice maker after all. As you may recall, I told him that at the beginning of the visit. He should be paying ME $79 for doing his job. 


Speaking of American Girls, we’re knee-deep in the dolls and their stories. Annabelle has listened to all the Felicity, Kirsten, Kaya and Addy books. We’re learning history using the books and it’s been so fun. Annabelle is currently on a Kaya kick so every day we’re Indians who are moving camp and hunting for berries in the forest. Oma gave her a Maryellen AG doll for Christmas and we’ve read two of her books. The American Girls have some hard-hitting stories. Kirsten’s best friend dies. Kaya and her sister are kidnapped. Addy has to run for her life. Meanwhile, my little American girl is sighing and telling me, "Sometimes I wish people wouldn't compliment me so much." Their life adversities could not be more different. 

Scene: my kitchen
Time: every morning when Annabelle is getting cereal and milk

Cast of characters: me and Linus

Linus: Meow
Me: No, Linus. I'm not going to give you milk.

Linus: MEow.

Me: Linus. I have to stop giving you milk every morning. It's not a good habit.

Linus: MEOW

Me: Ok, fine. Move your face out of the way while I pour you some milk. 

And Christopher tells me I spoil the cats. How absurd!