Death of a Pet

It's never easy when pets die. Our poor little rat (okay, she wasn't little--she was quite fat) Raisin died yesterday in Marc's arms. She had a very large tumor between her front legs for several months, so we knew that she would eventually suffer the same fate as our first two rats. She'd been quite lethargic and had stopped eating for a few days, so we knew it was coming soon. As you probably know, I developed an allergy to rats after we had the first two for a few months, so I didn't spend much time with Raisin. Marc spent time with her every day though, and she was his favorite rat. She was a very sweet girl. Goodbye, Raisin. :(

A new blog

Since I suck at updating this blog, I've decided to "help" write another totally different one.

Our cat Max now has a blog.

Check it out at http://thecatwhoeatseverything.blogspot.com. You can also e-mail Max at thecatwhoeatseverything@gmail.com--but remember that he might be too busy eating or sleeping to check e-mail very often, so don't feel bad if he doesn't respond right away.

Contacts stuck in my eye

Man, I'm lazy. I blame it on summer. I don't have any specific reason for that blame, but anyway... here's a pointless story to share just because I haven't written anything lately.

I've worn contacts for about 20 years now. Never in my life have I encountered issues like I have in the past few months. Awhile back, I rubbed my eye at work and managed to get my contact stuck somewhere in the depths of my eyeball. It took about 10 minutes before I finally got the sucker out. It was crafty--felt like it was up high, but it was actually stuck down low.

Then, last night, I was taking my contacts out. They were pretty dry (probably from the nap I took in the sun after work), and as I was pulling the left one out, the top of it stuck to my eyeball and it ripped in half. I came downstairs, Marc blinded me with his flashlight looking for it, and I eventually pushed my lids together to make it bunch out to the point where I could get it out.

That sucked.

Better late than never

That's the motto for the day. I bought a couple of birthday cards today for our sisters-in-law, and they're both going to be late by the time they get to their recipients. I'm also late in giving my Denver recap. Let's see how much I can remember.

**We got in on a Tuesday and hung out with Laura and Ron (our ever so gracious hostess and host) and enjoyed yummy Mexican food for dinner.
**On Wednesday we met up with Jason and Jodie at the aquarium--an aquarium unlike any aquarium I've ever seen before because it had TIGERS! Four of them! That was cool. We ate lunch downtown and then headed up to Red Rocks Amphitheater. We were hoping to go see some dinosaur footprints while we were out there, but there was some messed up situation where the road to the footprints was closed and we would have had to pay to ride a bus out there. So we bailed. That night the four of us met up with Ian and Leslie for dinner at Jim and Nick's. OH MY GOSH. The Pig in the Potato Patch and the cheesy dinner biscuits are to DIE for.
**On Thursday, Marc and I ventured out in the morning for a run. It's quite different running in the heat with 0% humidity. Yuck! We only made it about 2 miles before I requested that we stop and head back. That afternoon we headed up to Breckenridge with Laura, Ron, and Bailey (their whippet). It was busier than I thought it would be! We wandered around and checked out the cool shops in town, then headed back to Denver for dinner at The Berkshire--great food!
**On Friday, Jason dropped by before heading off to the airport for his flight back to NY, and he went with us and Ron to breakfast at the Delectable Egg. That evening we went to Joe and Carrie Ann's house for a BBQ. More great food--and great company! We even talked Joe and Carrie Ann into going to Manitou Springs with us the next day.
**On Saturday, we got up early and swung by Joe and Carrie Ann's, then headed off to Manitou Springs. Neat little touristy town! It really reminded me of Gatlinburg, TN. We started at the Cliff Dwelling museum and then headed into town. We played some Skee Ball and old arcade games, wandered around town, and ate ice cream. We also visited the Miramont Castle. The woman working at the entrance that day had two memorable qualities: she absolutely cannot multi-task, and she's a nut for orbs in photographs. Crazy lady. The historic house was cool except for the creepy dolls on the top floor. We had dinner at the Cliff House, where everything was exceptional besides the last bite of Joe's dinner.
**Sunday morning, we had an awesome breakfast at Adam's Mountain Cafe, then we headed to Garden of the Gods. Talk about beautiful--and very similar to parts of Moab. We headed back to Denver after that, and Laura's massage therapist came over to give me, Laura, and Marc massages--so relaxing! That night, Ron made homemade pizza, which was incredibly yummy.
**On Monday, we came home. It was an awesome week!

Oh, I almost forgot the most amazing thing that happened! A few years ago when my parents were visiting in Portland, my dad bought a bear puzzle and left it with us. I brought it out at Laura and Ron's and we all tried solving it to no avail. Then one morning, I just stumbled upon the solution! I was dumbfounded. When we were wandering around the cliff dwelling gift shop, I spotted other varieties of the puzzle, and Laura got the bird one--and she put it together, too! Woo hoo!

A tribute to Marilyn

Marilyn taught me a lot about our software when I first started at work. She was a spicy lady--always speaking her mind, entertaining with her unique brand of humor, and passing along her nearly infinite wisdom. She beat cancer several years ago, but shortly after her retirement last year, she was diagnosed again. This time she didn't make it.

Marc and I (along with tons of current and former coworkers) attended a gathering in her honor this afternoon. It was good to see so many familiar faces, and I know Marilyn would be happy to see us all together.

Cheers, Marilyn. We'll miss you.