Gasp

Dale and I are not giving out candy tonight (gasp). I know it sounds incredibly selfish (because it is) but we really need a quiet night, so we are turning out the light, eating take-out Chinese and vegging out on the couch watching the Walking Dead. Neither of us have the energy to answer the door 75 times, plus we have given out more than enough candy the past 9 years that nobody is going to miss one bite sized snickers this year from the Gl-ittaker house. Or least that is what I am telling myself. I am sorry...we just really need a quiet night. Sorry kids.

It is not easy

We are into the single digits now as the move date is only 9 (gulp!) days away and the stress is mounting.

The discussions of what needs to be packed for the cross country car trip versus by the van lines are constant. The "did you take care of this" and "oh yeah, don't forget that" are words commonly exchanged by Dale and I. The giving away of what we are not taking and the plans for what will go where once we arrive are taking place. There are final doctor and vet appointments. There is the final pick up at the dry cleaners. There is disconnecting of cable and internet, plus setting up new installs. Just name it and it is happening or in the planning stages. Our house is a mess.

It is not easy dismantling almost 10 years for a moving truck. There are wedding planners for weddings, why are there not moving planners. Or if there are, why don't we have one?

All I can say is thank goodness for Dale as he has been handling so much of this. Without him I would be a mess. This weekend will be a big weekend to get a ton of stuff done together as the packers come next Wednesday.

What scares you?

I am not easily scared, but like all people there are a few things that make the hairs on the back of my next stand up. To this day, Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King's IT freaks me out. I never look at a storm drain without him popping in my head. I think there was just something about taking the innocence and laughter of a clown and making it evil that really stuck with me.

"BEEP BEEP Richie! They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!" - Pennywise the Clown

So what scares you? What makes your heart stop for a split second when you see it? Share what makes your Halloween a little spookier!

The Halloween That Wasn't

This has not been one of my more festive Halloweens. With the move East next week, Dale and I have been focused on planning, packing and panicking more than Halloween.

It barely feels like Halloween at all quite honestly. There was no Halloween party. We did not go to the zombie crawl. We did not watch any scary movies. We only hit one haunted house. There are no decorations on the house. I am not dressing up at all this year. I do not even feel the Halloween spirit this year.

However, tonight Dale and I are planning to stay home, order Chinese food and catch up on the past three episodes of The Walking Dead, which will be a little Halloweenish. Most of all we need a relaxing evening.

Happy Halloween.

I love this kid

I overheard this exchange at the airport this morning between a father and his son, who was about 7 or 8 years old. It was very funny. The kid would just not drop the subject. It was very funny.

Son: "Dad...if you are the oldest brother, why are you the shortest?"

Father: "It just happens that way sometimes."

Son: "I would be mad, if I was you."

Father: "It doesn't really bother me."

Son: "Is it why we have never visited your brother before?"

Father: "No."

Son: "If Matty (his younger brother who appears to be about 3 and sitting on Mom's lap) ends up taller than me I will be mad....but I will still visit him."

Father: "Good."

Son: "Were you short as a kid too?"

Father: "I am not short."

Son: "But were you shorter than your brother at my age?"

Father: "No."

Son: "So when did you become short?"

Father: "I am not short."

Son: "When did you become shorter than your brother?"

Father: "High school."

Son: "Were you mad?"

Father: "No."

Son: "I would be."

I love this kid.

A night to remember

Last night our bestest friends hosted a "so long" party for Dale and I. A lot of people would call it a "goodbye" party but friends like these never say goodbye - it is just so long because we are friends forever.

The theme - pajama party. At first I thought really? But I have come to realize this is the best theme ever! We had breakfast food. We wore comfy pajamas. And we drank, lots! We laughed our asses off. It was one of the best nights of the year and a night to remember.

Some highlights:

Pajamas.
Judy.
Dale.
Steve.
Sandy.
Friends forever champagne flutes.
Love these!
Mimosas.
Pickle shots.
Yum!
And more mimosas.
Smash guest book.
Meats.
Cheeses.
Pistachios.
Chips and hummus.
Grapes.
Tammy.
More pickle shots.
Root beer floats with booze.
Heaven.
Tim.
Shannon.
Pickle shots.
More mimosas.
Best gift ever - handmade ice cream bowl.
I love our friends.
They amaze me.
Eggs florentine.
Cinnamon rolls.
Fruit.
Delicious.
Yes, more mimosas.
And more pickle shots.
Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Jump to the left.
Stove fire.
Yes, a stove fire.
Board game.
Lots of laughs.
Steve and Dale win.
Judy and Tom lose.
More mimosas.
More root beer floats.
Cinnamon stuffed French toast.
Water.
Lots of laughs.
Great times.
Goodnight!

I can't believe we will NOT be seeing these people every week. It is breaking my heart. They are the best friends of my life. I miss them already. Thanks to them all for a wonderful evening and the incredible gifts.

Haunted House

Friday night was a pure Halloween fun. We joined Sandy, Steve, Sam, Anjanette and Tim for my favorite haunted house - Field of Corpses. It was lots of screams (and laughs). I do love me a good haunted house. And when you add in great friends it is even better!

Afterwards we all met up with Judy, Shannon and Mallory for more fun and dinner at 3 Son's Italian Restaurant. We had a kick ass waitress, Tracey and I found a new favorite drink - alcoholic root beer floats. Yeah!

It was a great night and a fun Halloween tradition!

I will miss

There is one thing I will miss for sure - seeing these gorgeous mountains every day.

In this moment

5:55 AM
Lying in bed.
Listening to the hum of the heat.
Pushing through the vents.
Lucy snuggled by my chest.
Zoe at my feet.
Dale by my side.
All feels right.
In this moment.

Last Christmas

I never thought last Christmas would be mine and Dale's last Christmas in Colorado. Our house always felt so special at Christmas - so warm, so welcoming, so full of love. One of my favorite traditions was our annual Christmas Lunch and Ornament Exchange, which we held in mid-December. We would invite 15 to 20 of our closest friends to our home to thank them for the past year of friendship and love they provided.

But we will make new traditions. Our new home will still be special. It will still be full of love. And our friends both near and far will always be in our lives.

One of the things...

There are a lot of things I am looking forward to with the new house in Massachusetts, but one of the biggest is the fact that it has a wood burning fireplace. I love a fireplace with a hearth. I love the crackling of wood. I love the smell of a wood fire. Our current house has a gas fireplace, which is nice but just not the same. I see lots of evenings snuggled up on the couch with Dale and the pups sipping hot cocoa.

Winter Has Arrived

Woke up this morning to a few inches of snow. It was too warm to cover the roads, but the grass and trees sure look beautiful blanketed in the white stuff. It is barely light out but I snapped a photo anyhow waiting for my bus. It suddenly feels like winter, so much so I switched to the Christmas music station on Pandora. I may have a hot cocoa when I get to work.

Thought of the Day

I had an interesting thought today:

Background:

1. Moving is stressful.
2. Dale and I are on edge constantly right now.
3. My parents moved all the time when I was a kid.
4. I was an annoying pain in the ass, as a kid (and still am now too).

Thought of the Day:

1. How did my parents now get stressed and beat my ass all the time?

Conclusions:

1. They were absolute saints because looking back, even I would have beat my ass.

Look Who Turned Five

My blog turned 5 yesterday.

It is hard to believe it has been 5 years, but 4,797 posts later - it is true. It started as a place to share some photos from a Halloween he hosted at our house in 2007 and has become so much more to me.

It is my almost daily journal of the past 5 years. It is a collection of the random things that pop into my head. It is where I get out the stresses of life. It is in many ways my own public therapy session. It is where I celebrate the great parts of life.

Many times I debate calling it quits with blogging and maybe one day I will...but right now although I do not post as much as previous years - it still feels right.

Stress

I can tell the stress of moving is mounting on me. The last three nights I have woken up about an hour after I fell asleep from a deep sleep panicked. Each time I woke up anxious, disoriented and confused.

Last night I woke panicked wondering where I left my work bag. For some reason I woke up thinking I left it on the bus with my iPad inside. After a few seconds I was able to reason that it was likely in the kitchen as I was able to see the iPad was on my night stand.

I know my waking up has little to do with my work bag, but it is just my mind too taxed in thought. I know Dale is feeling it too. He has been dealing with car registration, insurance, movers and a slew of other things, so I know he is stressed out too. It is a lot of moving pieces and stress all at once. We just have to remember to be kind to each other and not let the stress get to us. Lots and lots of deep breathes, right?

Star light, star bright

I snapped this photo this morning walking to the bus. I loved that it captured not only the start of a beautiful sunrise, but also the remaining nighttime star above it.

The Until We Meet Agains

Yesterday started what seems to be the beginning of the "goodbyes". Actually it is the beginning of the "so longs" or the "until we meet agains" as I really do not believe in "goodbye". I am always optimistic paths will cross again, so I tend to stay away from "goodbye".

Anywho, yesterday we starting saying "so long" to some friends and possessions. We had breakfast with our friend Paige. She is a dear friend and always amazes me even in her seventies of her energy, spirit and zest for life. We will miss her dearly. But I know we will see her again.

We also said farewell to a few plants. That may not seem like a big deal but Dale has a tremendous green thumb so our plants are all 12 feet tall giants and oddly add a lot of personality to our home. Our friends Sandy and Steve took our large ficus and palm trees. Both were too big to transport cross country and would likely not survive the journey. It was tough to see the ficus go since Dale received it at his Mom's funeral 13+ years ago. It has sentimental attachment, but we are glad it went to Sandy and Steve. Still...the house seems empty without those plants. But we will see the plants when we visit Sandy and Steve.

Finally we had dinner with our friends Brenda and Jason. They used to be our neighbors and they are incredibly kind. They were wonderful when Dale was sick and always are there when we need anything. We will see them again as they are hosting a going away party for us (see told you they are great) but it is still sad that we will not see them as often. We will miss them. But it is not goodbye, only until next time.

I know these are not "goodbyes" but they are still difficult. I am great with sarcasm, but not so great with the emotional feelings. I want to say so much to these people like how much I have appreciated their friendship, but usually only "see you soon" comes out. I am a dork. That only makes it that worse. Ugh.

Autumn

It is simple sights like this that made me love autumn. I snapped this yesterday outside Flatirons Mall. It was so beautiful.

Moving Sale

We are having a moving sale. We have a few items that we do not have the right place for in our new home in Burlington, MA, so we want to sell them. If you are interested email me at twwhit72@gmail.com. I plan to sell them on Craigslist, if nobody we know is not interested first and you must pick them up yourself. No delivery, sorry.

32" color television (not a flat screen) - $50

Kitchen dinette set (table with glass top; 4 chairs) - $350

Living room couch and love seat (coffee table not included) - $500

Black desk (5 drawers, including file drawer) - $25

Two counter height bar stools - $75

Two bar height bar stools - $100

I won!

Last night was a lot of fun. Why? After a two year losing streak I finally beat Sandy Stubbendick at bowling! But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning...we ate dinner and then I beat Sandy Stubbendick at bowling! Oh...you want to hear more details of my evening and victory? Okay. Here goes:

Dale and I joined our friends - Sandy and Steve Stubbendick, Judy Wodell, Shannon Stubbendick and her roommate Sarah (or Sara) for dinner at Jewel of India. As always the food was delicious, although the service was uncharacteristically poor. The entrees are arriving a different times, with a full 10 minutes between the first and last. Anyhow I have been jonesing for Indian food and thankfully everyone agreed that would be perfect for dinner. Yeah. It was a yummy dinner. And my first victory of the night as Dale wanted Thai food.

After dinner we headed to a very crowded Fat Cats for some bowling. As always, Sandy and I had a "friendly" side wager on the game. In the past she has won a fish and chips dinner, ice cream at Little Man, a 7-up cake (which I still owe her) and a bunch of other things. I have claimed Sandy has cheated over the years and suspected performance drugs but in reality she is just a good bowler.

This time I upped the stakes and bet her a round trip ticket to Boston for her to visit us if she won against a Philly cheesesteak from this place in downtown Denver I wanted to try if I won.

And I won.

Yes, I won. By 34 pins!

Yes, you read that right. I won. This guy right here.

I actually bowled pretty damn well last night and won.

Why now you ask? I think it helped that Sandy was not drinking. I think her bowling magic lies in being a bit more relaxed. Also, the five Jell-O shots I had did not hurt. Plus I think I needed higher stakes to motivate me.

But none of that matters - why?

Because I won.

Yes, I beat Sandy.

Did I mention I won?

Anyhow, there was no way I could lose. It was a win-win bet. If I won, I got a Philly cheesesteak. If I lost, I got to see Sandy in Boston. Either way, I got a treat.

But I did win.

Yes and by 34 pins.

Victory feels good. And what is best of all this is the fact that I am a gracious winner. Yes..yes I am. I am a winner. Oh wait, I mean a gracious winner. I am not rubbing the fact that I destroyed Sandy in bowling in her face. Nope, not this winner of a guy. I am being humble about my victory over Sandy.

One final question...does anyone know who much those huge congratulations banners would cost to be make at Kinkos?

Oh...and last night I wore of hat when I bowled. It is now my lucky bowling hat. Go Tom!

It feels so right

Exactly one year ago today I was in Boston, MA at a work meeting and posted this on Facebook while in a car heading to the airport:

"I love New England homes. So charming. So real. Leaves in the yard. Pumpkins on the porch. It feels so right."

And look, one year later that is where we are moving. I guess it really did feel right.

A jump to the left

Last night we joined friends Mike and Patty Trisler and Steve and Sandy Stubbendick, plus 12 other party goers in a limo to go see The Rocky Horror Show at Crossroads Theater in Denver. Mike and Patty's daughter Ericka was the lead, Dr. Frank-N-Furter. It was a great night!

First let me say the show was incredible. You would never believe it was community theater. Ericka was a brilliant mix of sex and sin as Frank. She killed it. Her voice brought down the house. I was so impressed.

Also a huge kudos to the guys who played Riff Raff and the Criminologist. Riff Raff was a wicked mix of creepy and comedy, while the Criminologist was a hysterical as part narrator and part drunk party guest. I love, love, loved it all.

After the show we piled back in the limo and headed to the retro room for some pickle shots. After a shot everyone piled back in the limo...well except Sandy and I, who snuck back in for a second pickle shot and then a third pickle shot. What can I say...we love those things!!!

Next was the cast party at the Blake Street Tavern, where Dale wished for nachos and they magically appeared and I made a new fun friend with Kathy, who had fuck me hair. It was a lot of fun with new and old friends and several vodka cranberries.

We all piled back into the limo one last team, sang along to some 70's classic rock and headed back to Westminster.

It was a fun, fun night. And it was a much needed end to a long week because if Rocky Horror and a jump to the left does not cure your stress...nothing will.

Don't dream it, be it!

Reality

I think the reality of knowing we are moving across the country in just three weeks is setting in.

How do you pack 10 years of a life into a moving truck and drive away from what you know and love?

I know we are moving toward something great, but it is still difficult to know you are also leaving something great behind.

I predict a lot of sleepless nights over the next few weeks. But in the end I feel confident all of this will be worth it.

Hoosick Street

I've had a few weird dreams over the past few weeks where I am in a car sitting on the bottom of Hoosick Street in my hometown of Troy, NY. In each dream I am just sitting in what feels to be my car waiting for the light to change. But the light never seems to change. I had this dream again last night. Maybe it is related to moving back East. I am not sure what it means, but it feels weird. I do know though that if I make it back to Troy anytime soon, I plan to avoid Hoosick Street just to be safe. And avoiding Hoosick Street is probably just good advice to myself in general.

Memory or Dream?

When I was a kid and my family lived in Connecticut, poet Shel Silverstein came to my school. He read from one of his poetry books. At least I think he did. I have a memory of it, but for all I know it is a memory of a dream. But I think it really happened as I remember the school making a big deal out of it and we read a lot of his books in advance, which I loved. Anyhow, that is not the point of this post...well not entirely.

Last night I had a dream about Shel Silverstein reading to my childhood class but Shel Silverstein was not Shel Silverstein. He was that painter Bob Ross. In my dream everyone was listening to Bob Ross and did not seem to realize he was not Shel Silverstein. I did but felt scared to say anything. It was all very confusing.

I had the dream right before the dogs woke me up this morning so it was very vivid. However, it made me wonder if my memory of Shel Silverstein as a kid is a memory or a memory of a dream. And why am I dreaming about Shel Silverstein or Bob Ross for that matter. What pulled those two into my dreams and why last night? Sometimes I wake up and I lie there very confused wondering how the hell does my subconscious work?

Is it over yet?

Okay, here are my two cents on the Presidential election:

1. Obama stopped talking from the heart. He has fallen into rhetoric like every other politician. If he wants to win this thing, he needs to get back to who he was in 2008 - a real person, who wants a better America. He needs to stop saying what he thinks everyone wants to hear and start saying what he really feels.

2. Mitt continues to flip-flop. I hate that. He lacks consistency, which means he is not speaking from his beliefs but those of his speech writers. This scares me. A lot.

3. If we had a party that was socially liberal and financially conservative, it would be unstoppable. We need everyone to stop hiding behind the Democrat and Republican curtains and just be people, who believe in America.

4. When to Joe Biden become so smug and aggressive? Stop the smirks buddy!

5. Paul Ryan looks like a the guy from Glee if they made him a Muppet for the day. Or he may be one of the Darren's from Bewitched. Either way, he sort of freaks me out.

6. I am over all political commercials and it makes me not want to vote for anyone. In fact, it makes me miss real commercials who just wanted my money. I never thought I would say that.

7. Being in a swing state sucks.

8. Being an independent in a swing state sucks even more.

9. We need less politics and more focus on America. We are broken and need to fix our country. In my opinion politics are only making it worse.

10. I joke, but no matter your views - vote. People kill in other countries to have the right to choose their representation. Do not take it for granted.

Okay, maybe it was more than two cents but it is what is swirling in my head at the moment. What are your thoughts in this election? Well, besides is it over yet?

New Chapter

They say "change is good". I am not 100% sure on that yet, but I am very optimistic and about to find out as there are a lot of changes happening for Dale and I in the days, weeks, months and years to come. Dale and I are moving to Boston, MA, specifically Burlington, MA about 15 miles northwest of Boston in November 2012.

I accepted a new position with my company, Bridgeline Digital effective October 1, 2012. I decided it made the most sense to relocate to my corporate office with this new position since I would now be working with all 9 of our offices and not just Denver. It made the most sense from a job success and career path perspective.

However, it was a very difficult decision. How do you leave a house, friends and co-workers you love and adore? It is not easy. I can tell you that...it is not easy at all.

We love our house. We spent 10 years making our house, our perfect home. We live in an incredible neighborhood and have wonderful neighbors. We see the mountains each and every day. We are very happy here.

We have the most amazing friends on Earth, which most people who follow me on Facebook, Twitter or my blog will probably confirm. There are few people as great as our friends. How do you leave Sandy, Steve, Judy, Tim and Shannon (just to name a few)? You don't! You know amazing friends like them are friends for life and know you will still see each other on vacations and visits. They are our family and you never leave family!

I also have an amazing team in my Denver office, who I adore. They are a team that I brought together, who work and play hard. They are dedicated, caring and the best team a guy could ask for. It is very difficult to know I will not seem them 5 days a week anymore.

So how do you leave all that? Well...it starts with a lot of sleepless nights. Most of all, it comes from having faith that I work for an incredible company and the career path I am driving toward will bring lots of great things my way. It is also the fact that I have Dale on my side and know that no matter what, as long as we are together - that is what matters most. I know based on this I sort of make this decision sound easy. It was far from it. It tools moths of back and forth for Dale and I as it is hard to give up our great lives here in Colorado.

Dale has been amazing on this journey. He is a Colorado native and more specifically an Arvada, Colorado native. He is leaving everything he knows and loves to start this new chapter with me. I could not love him more for his willingness to do this. One of the biggest factors in this for me was knowing that Massachusetts recognizes and supports gay marriage, which means one day I will be able to proudly call Dale my husband. This was a huge selling feature on moving.

So we have sold our house in Colorado and even purchased a new house in Massachusetts. We are now onto the stresses of lining up movers, packing and getting us and our dogs 2,000 miles across this country. It is all happening so quick.

I know there will be many teary days for us in the days and weeks to come but I know enough to never say goodbye as it is never goodbye...it is just until we see each other again.

And I know...with Dale by my side any journey and any new chapter will be amazing because he is amazing. Plus I am really excited about the new house we purchased. It is beautiful and I think Dale and I will be very happy there. I included some photos on my blog.

Wish us luck!