(I just love this video, her first time kicking her legs)
Just Swinging (again)
Smoke This
It was Larimar Square on Thursday night. D pointed out the Ferrari parked in front of Rioja and a long-legged woman in a pair of 5-inch heals and a tight blue dress; I really couldn't fault him for either sighting since both were impressive. I felt frumpy and old; mostly because it took me a minute to realize it was Thursday night downtown and then to be thankful I took a shower and threw on a dress yesterday. The concept seemed so foreign to me, like I was being introduced to a night out in Denver...again.
We had a pretty amazing dinner at Russell's Smokehouse. I stared at the word "smoke" backwards through the opened door as we sat at our table. I thought it was somewhat suiting given the situation in Colorado right now (smoke and fire being everywhere around us). We went a little overboard ordering our food: the calamari special, loaded house chips, brisket sliders, which were my absolute favorite until the combo plate of ribs came, which were then my absolute favorite, until we had a slice of Wednesday's Pie - a cherry and orange mix with whip cream on top, which was really U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E! Add to that a complimentary homemade kielbasa sausage and mac & cheese for Miss M. It was one of those meals where you just don't ever want to stop eating; everything was brilliant - even the music was awesome, with or without the shoulder twisting and cheers from Miss M.
A guy working at the restaurant caught me jumping on the hopscotch rug on the way back from the bathrooms. I wanted to show Miss M how it worked and clarified my performance was really for her eyes only. He feigned curiousity in the game saying he was trying to figure out how it was played. I explained you consecutively throw a rock in each numbered box and jump through the series skipping the box with the rock in it till you get through all the numbers. Then realizing how archaic that sounded by today's standards, I said, "It's for old people." And then I realized that meant me and I think I caught a understanding head nod from him (yuck!).
After our meal, we decided to let Miss M walk off some of the sugar high from the pie. We took her over to see the DCPA and to look at the "Dancers". She was dazzled by the lights of the theater, the sculptures of art, the steps - so many steps - to master. I was dazzled by the ominous colored clouds creating a beautiful sunset around 9 pm; the way a building can frame a view of the city; the sheer magic of "downtown" as a concept still exciting at my age and truly delightful through the eyes of a 20-month old.
We finally got to the sculptures and Miss M was confused for a bit about what to look at until we ran down and got up close to them. Music was piped through outdoor speakers and I layed down on the "dance floor" to see what it felt like to be an ant in their world. She layed down next to me to see what I was looking at. She has been so affectionate lately, asking for hugs/kisses or throwing her arm around me and patting my back, it melts my heart. I say this knowing full well part of it is sheer love, part of it is sheer intelligent coercion practice, and part of it is butterscotch ripple.
D caught up to us and layed down too; we ran off from him earlier as he was texting a client. I suddenly felt the urge to snap a photo with my hot date. We got caught up in the moment and then realized there was a toddler on the loose. She's fast these days and was half way up the grass by the time we sat up to resume parental composure.
Could it be: a hot date downtown on a Thursday night with my husband and our daughter? Yeah... it was smokin' hot.
Snack Time with Friends
4D
I started cooking up a plan back in January to celebrate D's 40th birthday. I enlisted the help of Tricia, who figured out a nice trade to swap miles for labor. In a few short months, we were headed to Mexico.
My goal was to get him away from it all and to the beach, where I was sure he would find fish and I would find a more relaxed D.
It was all a relative surprise until the weekend before we left. What else could I do to mark the probable mid-point of his life? Yeah, maybe a watch would have been nice but I knew there would be a moment when I looked over at him and I could see he was really enjoying himself.
And though there were a few, one stands out above all the rest: when he returned from his Dorado fishing spree and we were looking over the fish, snapping photos, and watching them fillet everything, I caught a glimpse of utter satisfaction - a "life is good" moment, which was really the look I was hoping to achieve.
Turning 40 is no small feat and I'm glad to share this time with such a great guy.
Cheers to what lies ahead!
Akumal Mexico
It's clear to me now that by the time we got to Akumal, I was in full vacation mode. I love traveling for the inspiration it provides at every corner, and man did I need to get away. As we made it an hour south of Puerto Morelos, D and M took naps int he cab and we had officially sunk in to ourselves. I made time for some runs in the morning to acquaint myself with the town. There were so many great things going on but a massage for both of us was the highest priority. D took care of his fishing trip. Other than that we delighted in the food, including one awesome moonlight and flashlight-lite dinner that was probably the best meal (and I have no pictures of it). We were the only people in the sand-floored restaurant and when we returned to our condo, we found a large sea turtle just below our patio on the beach looking for a place to lay her eggs. There was a certain element of magic to the whole thing.
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| I think this was the library; I LOVED the mural |
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| La Buena Vida |
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| mini nap on the beach |
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| after our massages |
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| of course, D had to go fishing |
Hermes the hermit crab
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| official birthday dinner with D's Dorado prepared as many different ways as possible |
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| jungle flora always rocks |
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| one last play on the beach |
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| buh-by to our view and the nesting sea turtles |
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| on our way home |
Playing Dress Up
This is one of my favorite photos from our trip.
Puerto Morelos Mexico
For the sheer enjoyment of posting vacation photos, I am putting together these shots from the first town we visited on our maiden voyage to the Yucatan Peninsula. I would happily go back to Puerto Morelos; if not for the food and the aqua ocean waves crashing on the beach, then for the change of pace a little fishing village provides, the slow sway of a comfy hammock during nap time, and my girl and my husby hanging together in the pool. The sweet, juicy heat of humidity by the ocean is a curse and a welcome reprieve for my nose and my skin. The cerveza and tequila, along with an occasional Pina Colada, didn't hurt either.
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| Breakfast our first morning (costume change required as cotton tee + humidity = HOT) |
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| Oh the ocean, the ships, the straw fedora... |
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| on our walk back through town to Palma Real |
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| Of course D had to buy his own hammock... but his needed a little lift |
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It's Horchata.  |
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| Our best meal in Puerto Morelos... |
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| and, as always, having a mariachi band serenade you makes things that much better. |
Going to the Park is Still Friggin' Cool
Nancy had a great idea to meet at Centennial Park to let the kids play last Saturday. It's a new park that just opened to the public and it is about the coolest place on the planet. Not only can you play on regular old (new) playground equipment, which pretty much rocks...
Little M2 kept her cool too.
...if you get hot, you can also cool off in the water playground.
Park design these days truly rocks. I reminded Nancy of the metal slide at Clarkson Park that used to burn our skin on a regular basis; the slide with no edges so you could fall or get pushed right off the side.
Kids these days don't know how easy they have it. I think I squealed when I came over the crest of the entrance to see the view of this place. It was all I could do not to bust out my bikini and get in on the action (and yes, I am that mom that makes her kid wear the UBER-coverage sun hat ala 80s Duran Duran videos).
Miss M and H swallowed their weight in water via all the "hose-like" options aching for a tongue.
Little M2 kept her cool too.
Memories like these warm my heart and make me realize how fun it is to have kids as an excuse to do stuff like this.
Wedding Gift
As a wedding gift, Julie said she would paint us a piece from some of her stellar photography she took in Sayulita. That was three years ago but who is counting. In fact, I kind of forgot about the project until a few weeks ago when she told me it was done. I have no idea how she managed to fit it in with her regular work, her designs for Lassen Ale Works, and her uber-cool social life. She did though, which is one of those things I love about Julie. And I knew it would be an awesome piece of art for us to enjoy.
She "unveiled" it at her house last week at an art night. I love every bit of it. It is a combo of these two photos:
She also incorporated the photo transfer technique of the banana leaf using a gel medium (as exampled in this video, which I did NOT watch in preparation for art night). I am kicking myself that I didn't take her scratch pieces and look at her photos of the process. Perhaps she will do an entry on the D'Podge blog - ahem, hint, hint). In any case, I managed to snap horribly lit and badly angled photos of the piece, which we still haven't hung since we can't find the right place. But I was dying to get a post up on the blog to celebrate the art...and friendship...in my life.
