Kari's Facebook Posts
2019

January has played me for a sucker before....so, I told Mike no matter how much I would love to leave all of the zoo up, I am here to start taking things down from trees. ;)

A quiet evening turned ferocious ;)

Cold but beautiful night for a walk. Most of my route is too dark for snapshots, so I did a zoo tour instead!

I recognize the irony of listening to Jimmy Buffet's "Holiday" while working on a Sunday, but inventory from RUAG is selling! Plus, it's a lovely day for Tiggy and I to be out. (Picture is the view from the Golden post office)

Cute cat stuff :) .... because the internet was invented for pictures of cats

Another one bites the dust. *Sigh* this is why I have so many mismatched wine glasses. I love blue glass. I had bought a set of blue wine glasses at Target, of which there is only one left. So, a few (?) years ago, my hubby bought me a new set for my birthday. Now there is only one of those left. Can I make the two single blue wine glasses last until May? ;)

My little poltergeist ;) She opens cabinets and drawers all over the house

My Lowe's rescue plant that I found tossed on a clearance pile seems to be struggling, but is that baby Groot? Interested to see what happens to the new shoots.

This little one does not like when I go out in the snow. Mike said she spent the whole time chirping and meowing by the door.

Snow! I wasn't expecting this - it's actually pretty warm outside!

My inner demon is showing this morning. ;) Just kidding. Had my eyes dilated for my annual eye doctor appointment. Still see 20/15 distance and everything looks good. He thinks my eye strain from my reading glasses is due to changes in my computer setup, so I have "homework" to take all new measurements. I think the last time I did that was when I worked on P992.

My goofy cat

Thanks to Rannae Sanders Lyon and Schlep Schlep for the gift certificate! We enjoyed Katsu Ramen with Daniel Ryan :)

During the Nuggets half time show, we felt old. Once upon a time, there was this little kid who announced the Nuggets' starting line up at the start of each game. What we didn't know was that the little kid and Paws the DJ are one in the same! Oof

After Christmas dinner, Mike and I were still busy! We stopped by our neighbor's party (yummy - gumbo!) and then headed downtown for the Nuggets game. Mike laughed that I always forget the ending to Super Mascot Rockie's annual "Nutcracker" show. And I liked the Christmas shoes one of the Nuggets had on. :) Always nice to spend time with my hubby.

Thanks go to Mark and Bella Sanders for a lovely Christmas dinner!

Guess who drove to work this morning? Famous last words - "I don't have to take that stuff home, it's not like it's going to sell on eBay over the holidays". ;) Glad to be sending off some of the inventory we don't need! Lots more to go!

Picture that includes me from Christmas Eve, thanks to my cousin, Jessica Moffett! (Being the shutterbug, I am rarely in the pictures.) And while it has been a topic of discussion today, no, nobody knows what my dad is doing in this picture. ;)

Many thanks to Schlep Schlep and Rannae Sanders Lyon for a great Christmas breakfast! :)

Christmas Eve, part 2

Merry Christmas Eve! Wonderful family gathering tonight - many thanks to all who came and also all who took leftovers home!

Merry Christmas Eve! After our big hosting event, things quieted down, and Ziggy found her spot under the tree.

Awww, not all the ornaments are up, but now the tree is complete. :)

Heavy metal hedgehogs from Hailey Sanders are on the tree!

Almost done with the tree! Mostly just our annual ornaments and the ones Grandma Buzzo made are left. This year's annual ornaments are some key chains I got in Japan, including Totoro from our Studio Gibli tour. Cirrus and Muggins make an appearance on the tree, as well as Chloe. :( *Sniff* And yes, Schlep Schlep, the fancy chicken is accounted for.

I have good news for the Ziggster! She can stop being all sad on my Arbonne bag.... Done working for 2019!

Mike came in the study and started to laugh. Sounded like the sugar coated version was that I look so much like a middle aged New Yorker. Just sitting here working on slides. I always feel a bit chilly after lunch. He refused to take a picture....but I did remind him that I am a middle-aged New Yorker! ;)

Sometimes, ya just got to get back to your roots. My company used to have an office in Santa Clara. Besides project management and business development, one of my side projects has been taking inventory for everything that was shipped to the Denver office from Santa Clara. Piles and piles of test equipment, electronics components, RF components, microwave stuff. I need to finish entering all my notes into the inventory spreadsheet and send it to accounting by COB today. As one might imagine, I have been....um, procrastinating. ;) So, I went with the tried and true "metal in the morning". Bad religion, Therapy, Soil Work, and now Slayer. 194 items entered and 75 to go. The full project has 436 line items. Almost there.... :)

Orchestra cat has been dutifully listening to George Frederik Handel. We have never seen her so entranced by music.

Ornament time! Because I am an orchestra geek, our house gets to listen to all of Handel's Messiah each year - no cheating and skipping to the Hallelujah chorus. ;) Got my tea, and I am working on the inner ornaments. I like having them inside the tree to reflect the lights better.

Ziggy is feeling cautious about the tree. Which is better than climbing it. :)

*whew* I am running behind schedule, given we are hosting on Christmas Eve! But the tree is finally ready for ornaments. Tomorrow is my last day of work for 2019, and then it will be time to decorate! (It takes me about 3 -4 hours, because... I don't know how it came to this, but it did. ) ;)

Solstice Party pics from Jarl Anderson :)

Ziggy loves the table decorations Auntie Linda bought back in August. ;)

Happy Solstice! Had a wonderful party!

Santa Giraffe came to visit! ;)

Many thanks to R.a. Plummer for hosting tonight! Great to see everyone!

New employee

So happy to be able to work from home today, tomorrow, and Monday! Solstice Party prep has attracted a lot of attention - Ziggy has been monitoring me closely. Must smell good! The vegetarian sauce got its start around 6:30 am and the first batch of meat sauce is in progress now. :)

Good news for my solstice party peeps - not only am I making spaghetti, but there will be truffles! Our housekeeper gave them to us for Christmas. :) Except white chocolate. By the time Saturday comes, there will be no white chocolate truffles....sorry. ;)

Last board meeting for PMI. It's been fun! :)

What a pleasant surprise!!! I logged in to do some stuff for my last PMI board meeting tomorrow, and I found out today's interview for a paid speaking gig (my first one!!!) in February was successful! I am on the schedule! February will be a busy month with presentations in Fort Collins and at the PMI Mile Hi Symposium at the Colorado Convention Center. :)

The zoo's south annex is just missing an elephant. (Ran out of extension cords and tent stakes... Elephant coming soon :) )

Snow and sun! Better finish the zoo today! :)

Ziggy says she is totally just sniffing Charlie. I can stop watching now...... Charlie is getting some extra sunlight because he was struggling a little in his usual window.

Operation Christmas Card had stalled at 38% complete, but me and my supervisor are back on task. ;)

Happy birthday to Daniel! Great arcade party :) thanks go to Christy Tidd and Jarl Anderson for helping me get my Galaga fix.

.....that moment when you sense work-from-home is about to be interrupted ;)

In the spirit of project management, I am calling the zoo 80% complete. :) Just the side yard left.

Mike says the gift was too heavy for the dinosaur. ;) Seriously, some wind must have hit the zoo. Just finished doing maintenance and setting out this year's new additions - a projector to light up my spruce tree and ....of course, a gray cat. (Which I had actually bought before we found the Ziggster. )

I am in so much trouble with the Ziggster. Got back from Nebraska and had to leave the next morning for a quick business trip to D.C. Mike said she was busy pushing stuff off my desk this afternoon. Headed home, will beg forgiveness in a couple of hours. ;)

Happy birthday to both dads! Had a lovely dinner at Jose O'sheas tonight to celebrate my dad's birthday (today) and Mike's dad's birthday (Tuesday, they went to the Nuggets game)

Solid start on the zoo! The tropics, the Fancy Party, the Christmas Seal, and distinguished guests have arrived.

"Why is there a dinosaur in our house?"... But the Ziggster needn't worry. He's heading out to "the tropics" soon. ;)

We are home from Nebraska! Great weather and a lovely drive up to Scottsbluff yesterday and back today. Ziggy's first visits with her new catsitter went well! But she is very glad to have us back. She even let me scoop her up for hugs and kisses... But only a little bit before I got the glare of "hey - you weren't gone that long" :)

More from Leo's first birthday party yesterday. :)

Happy 1st birthday to Leo! Fun party! The picture of Mike staring at the wall is his disbelief that Chance is now taller than him. :)

Super fun to see everyone at Chance's game yesterday! Go Bearcats!

New wreath! Our neighbor's son was selling them for a school fundraiser.

Feeling sentimental so it's story time. :) While in the physics department at Mines, I joined the Society of Physics students. We took a trip to New Mexico - Los Alamos National Labs, the Rio Grande, and just outside of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's (NRAO) Very Large Array (VLA) in Socorro....the antennas Jody Foster is sitting near in the movie "Contact". We didn't have time to see the VLA, so I decided to get back there someday. Twenty years later... literally, ouch...through LinkedIn, I got the opportunity to teach a class on Project Management at NRAO in Socorro. My fee? Hotel cost plus a private tour for me and my hubby at the VLA. (which was awesome!!! They even moved one of the antennas for us since they were done taking data). I got back to Ball and sone of my friends were like "what? How come I didn't get invited to your class?" .....and that turned into the book that I published. The PMI Mile Hi chapter gave me more opportunities to speak, and that turned into a goal to be selected as one of the Symposium Speakers. And tonight, I submitted the slides and handout materials for my workshop at the February 20, 2020 (02 20 2020... :) ) PMI Mile Hi Symposium. Quite the journey :) :) :)

A coworker sent me this link in honor of all my Ziggy stories :) https://youtu.be/7T_KKiQiolk

Updated Dec 05, 2019 9:24:27 pm

Totes magotes ;) haven't seen the goat on my evening walk for a while

After the Colorado Space Business Roundtable, I went to the Atomic Cowboy for Red Canyon's pizza party. I texted my hubby right away - it's the rocket chicks! He joked that it feels like copyright infringement. For those of you who don't have the album covers from Almond Kohler and Jarl Anderson memorized, I dug up the tape in the basement... Copyright 1994. :) It's always been one of my faves

While looking for the rocket chicks (all will be explained in my next post) I opened up my old black cassette case and laughed that it seemed to have only the essentials for a hard day. ;)

The afternoon for the Colorado Space Business Roundtable was just as interesting and fruitful as the morning! Tiring but very worthwhile day. The political junkie in me really enjoyed the panel discussion with staff from Colorado Senators and Representatives....and there were a few good takeaways.

I never know what I will see on my evening walk. The kids across the street have been busy!

Cool new exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science....from Colorado Springs, the creatures that survived the meteor that killed the dinosaurs.

Good morning from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science! I am looking forward to the Colorado Space Business Roundtable conference today! Am on a mission to find a specific kind of vendor for work. :)

Mike says "What's for lunch?"

Cyber Monday discounts on the Arbonne holiday line! If you have questions on how to order, let me know! :)

Ziggy, Queen of gift wrapping

Sometimes it pays to be adventurous....well, within reason. ;) Mike and I went to one of the local Mexican restaurants we like (El Tapatio by the Taj), and I actually ordered something different! It was very tasty and is now on the list for future visits! This is their Bistek Pollo

Had a wonderful time at our team's Arbonne holiday party last night! I couldn't ask for a better group to work with - been a wonderful experience thus far!

Ham bone soup time! It's late in the day for starting soup, but it took a while for my ankle to be operational this morning (leftover scar tissue from multiple injuries. Some mornings are just like that.....long story. but it works its way back to normal with time and use) I plan on finishing the soup in a crock pot tomorrow. This recipe always makes way more than the two of us can eat. If anyone local wants some, let me know!

This is the first time I am doing a litter replacement on Ziggy's boxes since she joined us on Nov 11. The first one was met with absolute panic. With her ears all askew, she looked at Mike like "Where is a cat supposed to do her business if Kari takes all the litter away and washes out the box?" The second is being met with quiet skepticism... I am currently well supervised. ;)

Thank you to Jojo for the great gifts! But more, thanks for all your support and mentoring with my Arbonne adventure! It has helped in many other parts of my life and career, too!
Pictures- Dishcloth commemorating my first international business experience with RUAG, and because I am allergic to essential oils, she burned some Arbonne candles and replaced the wicks with LEDs, so that I can enjoy some Arbonne candles, too! I out them above our fireplace. Very sweet - thank you!

Happy 95th birthday to my great aunt! Thanks go to my uncle for the pictures. :)

Icicles! Love the icicles along the back of the house. And Muggins' prayer flags (that Diana brought me from Nepal) blowing in the wind reminded me of Jarl's pictures and videos from the Mt. Everest base camp.

Whew... Been running around doing errands and shopping all day! (and spent some time visiting my parents) Now, we are sitting for a minute. Poor Ziggy has been very upset by the wind.

Cleanup from Thanksgiving is all done, which means Operation Christmas Card is in full swing. Can't believe it's only 3 weeks until the Solstice Party!

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a great time hosting this year's event. Wonderful to see everyone! Many thanks to Hannah and Danielle Korosec for the pretty wreath!

Thanks to Leah for the picture! Was great to see you guys!

Ziggy does this cute thing whenever she sees her reflection, whether in a door or a mirror

Getting all set up for Thanksgiving....China and flatware from our wedding, my Grandma Eleanor's silverware, plates my mom's dad bought in San Francisco when he first immigrated to the U.S....all sorts of stuff to give thanks for family past and present. :)

When did this get here? ;)

Hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Crunch crunch crunch crunch. Lovely night for a walk! The light pollution worked well with the clouds and it was so nice and quiet. Sometimes, all I want to hear are my footsteps.

So cute! Picked up our pies and turkey cookies from The Dessert Stand today. Love the turkeys! And, um, yes, the test cookie was fine. ;)

3 tablecloths ironed, 4 to go. My helper is keeping a safe distance after the tablecloths attacked her last night. I didn't see what happened, just came to find a cat sitting in the corner and a pile of tablecloths on the floor. The hedgehogs my brother gave me look cute on the big table.

Wintery night

Somebody cute is helping me set up for hosting Thanksgiving :) (she is a little puzzled by the awesome buffet table from Mike's parents.....seats 7!)

Love the look of twilight and snow

The tank is out! Glad to have it on days like today. I don't think we have used it in about 2 years. (We = Mike... It's a little big for me to control easily)

I am being guarded. :)

That was fun! Ziggy thinks I am nuts... She has been following me and chirping.

15 inches, as measured in 2 spots in the front yard. Back to work!

The snow is up to my knees (hey - no short jokes! ;) ) and it is still snowing. I am out clearing the front walk and I freed the tank. Mike will take it out once the snow slows down. We rarely need it, but when we do .... And yes, I freed it from the stuff

Woke up to lots of snow! Grateful for the option to work from home!

Snow!

More lounging space needed... ;) Ziggy is a big cat! But snuggly. She slept on my legs last night. UPDATE - she found my chair. :)

I have a new tablecloth ;)

Many thanks to Leah Klepetka Aschenberg and Steve Ciotti for a great party!

Showtime! My brother's band at the Buffalo Rose in Golden. ( Mike Rawluk on drums!)

My mom did not like my idea of a picture outside by the sign (she's the bundle to the far right in the first picture), so we explored the newly remodeled concert hall. My first question was "Where did the rest of it go?" Seems to be a quarter the size, but I like the upstairs bar. It reminded me of when my hubby and I went to a bar called "Angel's Share" in NYC. I could have spent a whole winter looking out that window. :)

Had dinner at the Buffalo Rose with my parents before my brother's show. I haven't been here since they remodeled it. Miss the old biker bar look.... it's totally "pinky up" now.

At the Buffalo Rose with my parents to see my brother's band play

Love how downtown Golden looks on nights like tonight

My coworker tucked herself into bed. She has adopted the guest room as her own - guests beware!

Snow! My Friday work from home day looks magical! My coworker looks less thrilled. She seems to be a warm weather cat. ;)

Thanks to Darcy Stricker for this picture of my great Aunt Mary with the flowers we sent for Thanksgiving! Since she turns 95 at the end if the month, I figured it needed to be a birthday month and not just a birthday-day. :)

Lovely to see Mike's parents this evening. Ziggy did great!

What a fantastic day! Our neighbor gave us a ton of bagels last night, so I went with Mike's recommendation to bring them into work. They were much appreciated. Everything was smooth sailing at work, and then I went to the PMI board meeting. The main topic was the review and approval of the 2020 budget. The picture is of me out in a light rain waiting to transfer the treasurer box of master records to the next VP. Don't tell James... He was joking that I wasn't allowed to be so happy to be on my second to last board meeting. ;) The budget was updated without issues or action items and it passed! Then we had amazing Indian food for dinner - Krishna, our chapter president, knows the restaurant owner. Looking forward to the leftovers! After that, I went to Balistreri Vineyard to pick up the wine we ordered at the spring barrel tasting. My bartender was the winemaker, John Balistreri. And there was more tasty food! And then I came home to a snuggly cat and my Arbonne box! Perfect timing - I ran out of RE9 night cream last night. :)

Plasma physics, quantum mechanics, pizza, milk chocolate truffles, and surprisingly expensive Italian wine. Yes, I was with my people. ;) After my poster session and a telecon for work , I went to the annual Mines "Physicsfest". I still remember the old Meyer hall fondly, but the new building that stands in its place is starting to feel more like "home". As a dubious honor, I was invited to sit at the "old table" with two of my former professors. I thought that merited one more glass of wine. :) The student posters were great, and I always enjoy giving them more to think about, like "are you familiar with Fourier optics for holograms? It's similar to what you're working on." And I was super happy when I asked one of them "Are you going to calculate MTF from this?" (Modulation transfer function) and he said yes! Right answer! :)

Almost poster time!

"Earth first.... we'll mine the other planets layer"....or such was the slogan at the Colorado School of Mines in the 90's. Well, later has come! Enjoyed hearing about the dawn of real 21st century stuff with plants grown in microgravity (yummy duckweed?, Work bring done at CU Boulder) and the CSM Space Mining program.

It was not purposeful, but it occurred to me, as I am sitting through a presentation of the CU Boulder aerospace program, that I am sporting my Mines pride - love my bracelet from the Colorado School of Mines alumni association. :)

Good morning from the AIAA conference in Boulder!

The best part about telecons from home is watching the sunset. . but I was missed in the main floor. :)

If I fits, I sits. :). This was the before picture before I heard a crash and a meow. Now Ziggs is recovering under the dining room table. She seems to be physically ok with just some wounded pride, but I will keep an eye on her.

I can haz poster! Looking forward to the AIAA conference tomorrow!

My parents met Ziggy tonight! Overall, it went quite well. She was too smart for my mom's treat trail to get her closer trick. We laughed when, after progressively moving closer to my mom while following that treat trail, Ziggy stretched her paw out to pull the treat closest to my mom away from her. And my dad didn't mind the swipe Ziggy took at him when she got tired of being snuggly. Her behavior had him reminiscing about my cat from high school, dear sweet temperamental Smoeky. :)

Thanks to Micki DeBacker Fish for an awesome party today! Had a great time and loved meeting everyone! (Wine tasting and cork crafts)

Trying out the cat condo

*whew* This morning, it was as if I had forgotten how to draw a fuzzy. Apologies to those receiving the first batch of Thanksgiving cards. ;) Looks like drawing fuzzies is a nighttime thing. :)

Morning sunshine after breakfast

Looks like I may need new mini pumpkins for Thanksgiving! The squirrels have been hungry ( which is good - I would rather that than putting them in the trash) saw this while on a PMI telecon ;)

My supervisor fell asleep in the sun

I am being supervised.

This morning, I discovered Ziggy had made a nest for herself in the guest bathroom. So cute!

Work from home Friday! Ziggy is confused why I didn't go to work.

Ziggy and Mike watched TV this afternoon. :)

I will have all the Arbonne holiday samples on loan from Jojo again starting Friday night. :) Let me know if you want to see them!

My new work from home co-worker (yes, am working tonight on some business case slides, but will make up for it Friday)

From our cousin, @[1315186343:2048:Matthew Joseph Ross] poor Cooper!

Updated Nov 12, 2019 8:19:55 pm

After dinner flop on the couch? Ziggy says, "Yes, I can do that"

My little kitchen helper :)

Ziggy is settling in

Ziggy says, "Kari can't leave without me"

Ziggy is ready to go. We have been hanging out in the gift shop where she has been living since April. She spends a lot of time glaring at the other cats but has settled into snuggling with my jacket... Reckon it is almost time to go home. :)

It started as a fundraiser trip for the shelter, but yes, I made my hubby go look at cats for adoption. ;) I am sure he was awaiting the phone call. We've narrowed it down to 3 cats, two younger ones ("Fluffy" pictured here and "Crash" who is still in medical receiving, no picture) and one 11 year old, Ziggy (forgot to get a picture). Lots of visiting :)

Ziggy's page: http://ws.petango.com/webservices/adoptablesearch/wsAdoptableAnimalDetails.aspx?id=41405086&css=http%3A%2F%2Fws.petango.com%2FWebServices%2Fadoptablesearch%2Fcss%2Fstyles.css

Lovely night for a fire!

Traffic jam - post card by Barbara Bliss :)

Full morning! After hanging out with my cousin and her adorable dog (seriously, I don't think I have met anyone else do ecstatic to be at my house!), I drove up to the Grange in Golden Gate Canyon. Had to laugh - Mary didn't recognize me because I "look like a little kid". Perspectives change with age... At 24, I would have been upset cause I totally don't and at 44, I'm like "Sweet!!" ;) I didn't know she had written a trilogy! Got some lovely cards to send out from Barb and a cool postcard of a "Golden Gate Canyon traffic jam" - old picture of covered wagons going up the canyon.

"We thought holiday trims were only for human hair".... there are juniper parts all over the front garden. They did not anticipate me getting off from work early on a warm beautiful afternoon!

Had a lovely brunch with my hubby at the Golden Diner, and then I had the bright idea to give Tiggy a bath. The people ahead of me were into some seriously detailed cleaning. Talking with one of the other people waiting I said, "Maybe they don't know it's going to snow again on Monday." She laughed. ;) Tiggy finally got his turn, and I even tried to clean whatever that was off the inside of the windshield.

Good morning! Happy Friday! I am happy to be working from home today and then amazed this is actually the start of a 3-day weekend. Throughout my career, it has been very rare to get Veteran's Day as a paid holiday. :)

Videos of the 3D printer making a circuit board.

Fun lunchtime event! One of the people I volunteer with on OEDIT invited me to see a demo for 3D printing of circuit boards - very cool! They are far more advanced than I was expecting and they are approved for 1 year of radiation testing on ISS to prove space worthiness. :) I was able to bring a coworker with me who does PCB layouts for RUAG.

A rainy night is a perfect night for leftover pot roast! :)

Congratulations to my parents! Big day today.....the Florida chapter has come to a close. All their stuff was picked up by the moving company, the closing paperwork is signed, and they are making their way across the country to be full-time Colorado residents!

Traffic was rough today - both ways! But if you're gonna be stuck in traffic, be stuck with this view. :) Beautiful sunset tonight

Chuckles is here to help with tonight's Arbonne meeting. Grateful for the zoom link so I don't have to worry about my rose allergy. (They give roses as part of awards for people on our team who are doing awesome....and there are a lot of roses!)

I could see the sunset from the study while working on PMI transition stuff....and that prompted a sunset walk instead of an evening walk. :)

Super fluffy! Inspired by upcoming meetings and conferences, I finally decided it was time to get my bangs trimmed. And I was happy that Tiggy (Tiggy the Tiguan, my car) has my back when it comes to daylight savings time.. ..just a single button. ;) 10 clocks changed - all done!

That's a twisty little carrot!

First pot roast of the season :)

Pausing for a melancholy moment. :) I just sent out the final transition list for my board of directors position with the PMI Mile Hi chapter. We have a lot of ground to cover still between now and the end of the year (and some taxes support in January), but the final list actually **exists**. It's surreal. I have big exciting things planned for 2020 and I am super grateful my backfill, Joe, is helping me get the time in my schedule that I need to execute those things. But still, the end of a chapter always gives rise to a moment of quiet reflection....the board has been a very worthwhile experience.

So wonderful to see Will, Hannah, Maddie, and Val! You guys are never too old to trick or treat at my house! :) Thanks to Danielle Korosec and Rannae Sanders Lyon for bringing them by!

"FULL SIZE CANDY BARS" I think I lost a few decibels of hearing with our first 7 trick or treaters. Mike laughed that the call rang out throughout the land. ;) And one of them gave me instructions - "save a hershey for my brother" and off he went calling to him. Don't worry, his brother got a Hershey bar. :)

Love the colors tonight!

Happy Halloween! Skull fogger is out, candy is ready, pizza is ordered, and the sun came out so we should have plenty of trick or treaters! :)

Pumpkins in the snow

Each jack-o-lantern has its own personality and my philosophy for pumpkin carving is that I just have to find it. Thus far, it seems I found some angry pumpkins! Or maybe they were happy pumpkins until they had to sit out in the snow. ;)

Amazing day! I had a wonderful time at the grant review meeting for OEDIT (Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade). Such a wonderful group of people to work with, and we really had a great group of applicants this round. I also learned that I have been selected as a speaker for the PMI symposium! And I have lost 6 pounds since starting Arbonne's healthy living line. To top it all off, my hubby is on his way home from his business trip to Arizona. :) Pictures below are OEDIT and Mike's Arizona experience.

Snowy nights, PMI budget planning, and the Moody Blues. It all fits together, even though it's no longer Tuesday afternoon ;)

Crunchy snow, crisp bright stars. Great evening for my walk!

Oh my gosh, that's an old picture! Oops... I mean, that totally looks like last year! ;>) Hope you are having an awesome birthday!

Peaceful evening :)

Was it good news? We should know this week. I applied to speak at the PMI Symposium in February (1 hour workshop, usually 200-300 people per workshop, 1700 in attendance overall). I have made the final round for selections and had a 6 minute interview today. 6 minutes? Was that it? I had actually blocked out an hour in my schedule today just in case... Did I make it? She said the selection committee will announce the speaker list later this week. *fingers crossed*

Decorations are up! Loving being outside with the change in weather. I have always found this pumpkin head statue hella creepy, but it has a warm spot in my heart because it was a last minute purchase to spread some Halloween cheer for one of my all-time favorite project teams. :)

Arbonne party went great! Many thanks to all who came! Afterwards, we had a lovely time at 3 Sons for dinner. Always good to see Rob's dad....a trip to Alaska to go back to the lake is definitely in order!

It's like summer today! All set up for my Arbonne party and am outside in shorts finishing Halloween decorations. Mike found a way to still have Super Toad still observe the goings on while safely stowed in his winter residence. :)

Here's to Arbonne fizz sticks - they keep me awake better than my favorite teas. Long LONG week - so much new business activity at work! But I wouldn't have it any other way. We are looking forward to ramping up and doing more hiring between now and January. Now, to ramp back up for a couple of hours of PMI telecons. Grateful my team and my replacement are coming up to speed. Keeping up the training regimen plus my regular PMI CFO duties has been exhausting.

I love how early morning light looks with snow.

Good morning - it's like real winter! :) Our power has been out for half an hour. All the beeping stuff woke me up. The good news is all my electronics are charged so I can do some work. WiFi is out, but I will figure that out when I get to that point.

After dinner, I went for a short walk.... :) :) :)

It's snowing in Golden! (Yes, I stepped outside while making dinner....I missed the first snow since I was in Sweden - seems ironic?)

Had a wonderful time yesterday evening back in our old stomping grounds for a whiskey tasting event. Mike and I went to Pints Pub (near the art museum downtown), for dinner and whiskey. Pints has a wonderful collection, so you can see Mike also got a glass of his all-time favorite that we can't buy anymore - Littlemill. :)

44 degrees and windy - don't hide inside! What a lovely night for a walk. Refreshing air and so Haloweeny

It's here! Had a long crazy day that has now wrapping up perfectly! Love my new mug - handmade by my cousin Kamalyn Stricker. :). Thank you!!!!

The pumpkins are arriving! And one is apparently leaving. Looks like it was claimed by one of my critters. ;)

Cold and windy morning inspired me to make some sauce. Getting rolling a little later than planned, but the band feel in me is busy singing "Scarborough Fair".... parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme :)

awww.. was looking through pictures from 2017 for something for PMI and found this one of my little cirrus. miss my special little guy

This morning, I conducted a 3 1/2 hour workshop on risk management for the PMI Mile Hi chapter. Great group! Lots of good questions and interactions. :)

When I started doing Arbonne, I didn't realize one of the side benefits would be meeting people! Lovely time talking with neighbors this evening! I also met a gray cat who was about ready to come home with me... I think he realized I am very sentimental about gray cats right now.... I can't believe it took it me a year to go visit the street to the east of us. Looking forward to seeing some of them at the Arbonne open house tomorrow and the 26th! :) :) :)

Holy last minute prep, Batman! 2019 has slipped through my fingers, and my Oct 19 Workshop presentation for the Project Management Institute is almost here. Thankfully, I was able to take today off and my old materials are in pretty decent shape. Working this morning to complete updates to slides and handouts so they can be emailed out to the virtual participants. 7:30 tomorrow morning!! {Mike and I did discuss that I am not the only one, since the workshop volunteer team has not been bugging me for the materials.... ;) }

From my favorite Simpsons episode ever... much love to all the Broncos fans who are suffering tonight :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpOY4u8hL_E

Updated Oct 17, 2019 10:13:05 pm

Long but productive day at work - our office completed our first Sprint planning! (Agile development) Went to the Nuggets game with my hubby. Always love spending an evening with him, but oy vey... definitely pre-season. And we left early since he wasn't feeling well. As we walked out of the Pepsi Center, the parking lot was eerily quiet. I told Mike, "wow, you can hardly tell there is a football game happening over there" and he said "By some definitions, there isn't"

zzzzz. Done working for the day. I think the jet lag is definitely catching up with me.

As my hubby always says, "operators are standing by" :) (my headset looks pretty buried in my hair) .... but not for long. On the PMI board meeting telecon, and it's pretty surreal that I only have 2 more board meetings after tonight.

One of these is not like the others!!

Might have been a little jet lagged this morning. Got to do my morning commute twice because I forgot my laptop and finally made it to work only to realize my shoes didn't match. Lovely evening for a walk, though. Better luck tomorrow!

Part 6: End of my business trip bro Sweden: Friday was my last day in the office. A little rainy but the weather was still nice. We had an outbrief of the week's activities and a little party with cinnamon rolls and danishes. Saturday, our flight left at 6:20 am, which meant leaving the hotel at 4:40 am. Smooth flight back to Frankfurt, and it was sunny there this time! Loved having my upgrade to business class. Got some much needed sleep on the flight. Woke up part way to see a plane very close outside my window....but it wasn't there long.

Part 6: Business trip to Sweden. Getting used to my office - you can see the rocket from the window (the one by the highway) Thursday night, we went to "Olivia's" for dinner. As we were walking there, one of my coworkers asked if it was "the Olive Garden of Sweden"....turns out that Mike and I went to an Olivia's when we were in Bergen last year! Our waitress brought over a waitress who had come from the Bergen location - I think she was disappointed that I didn't speak Norwegian followed by being confused as to why Mike and I were in Bergen in February. ;) I finally got a picture of the creepy kids with their dead backpacks on the way back to the hotel.

Part 5: Business trip to Sweden. Wednesday evening was "after work" day - we all went out to play Boule (like bocce ball) and had a group dinner. A great time was had by all!

After the Broncos' only win came while I was in Sweden, I was a little worried I might have to spend the season abroad. I took a break from catching up on PMI to see the score and Mike said I get to stay regardless. *Whew* :)

Part 4: Business trip to Sweden....On Monday, it was time to work! They have a cool rocket along the highway, so you can't miss the turn to the office! The team in Goteborg reserved an office for each of us to use, which was super nice. They have a lovely view of the city and cool sample products in the coffee area - one of which is the on board computer from a rocket that exploded.... and the power board even still worked after it was retrieved from the swamp. I believe that proves our products meet durability requirements. ;)

Sweden business trip, Part 3: My boss wanted to make sure we all stayed awake to give us the best chance at adjusting to the time zone change before going to work on Monday. I have a ton of photos of our walk around town and dinner along the harbor... Here are the ones from my cell phone. I joked with my hubby that the Swedish roses were dead inside- for reasons unknown, I did not have any allergy issues around the ones in the restaurant. Oh, and I am selfishly fascinated by having my initials on the flag.

Hotel in Goteborg - view from the balcony, my room for 6 nights, and the cool paintings in the hallway. This was Sunday afternoon - due to the 8-hour time change, we left Saturday evening from Denver, connected in Frankfurt Sunday morning, and arrived in Sweden Sunday afternoon. My boss was already in Sweden, so he picked me and 2 co-workers (Bob and Dean) up from the airport so we didn't have to try to figure out where we were going.

Home from my first international business trip! The sun is so bright here... ;) We actually had wonderful weather and Goteborg reminded me a lot of Long Island, so I was immediately comfortable. Mike said he is definitely coming on the next trip. Here are pictures from the trip out last Saturday. The rain was in Frankfurt, at our connecting flight. I say "our" because I went with 2 other people from my office.

Happy 26 years of together-ness to my hubby! It all started with dinner at the T-Wa Inn on October 11, 1993, after we met on March 11, 1993 ....and we like to say we do things in 11's, since we got married on July 11, 1998. :) Our closing for our new house was on Sept 11 last year and October 11 was moving day, so the 11's continue! Looking forward to celebrating after I get home from business travel.

Sometimes, ya just overheat and need to flop. (Mike said he would be worried if he hadn't seen our rabbit do that a hundred times) ...aww , he fell asleep and was chewing in his dreams! But then he woke up, probably could sense I was watching

The torch lilly flower is getting so fluffy!

Many thanks to Chris Chamberlin for financial planning session #2 today! I have been resistant (ok, very very resistant) to the idea of any outside help with my retirement planning. Why? Apparently no good reason. Today's session was very useful and we are on a good track for addressing some of my concerns about both longevity planning and "what if I had to retire early due to unforeseen circumstances" planning. :) Looking forward to the next meeting!

OEDIT reviews are done! I am honored to volunteer for the Colorado State Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). Twice a year, I review grant applications for small businesses seeking state funding. Lots of fun! There were a couple of good ones in this batch - hoping to see them in the final review at the full committee meeting! (I will miss the subcommittee meeting due to business travel to Sweden... I know, choices... life is hard ;) )

Great night for a walk!

Awwww.. back when no one thought Muggins was real unless they checked his spot behind the couch

What a special treat! Dave and Nancy in from Florida, Frankie driving in from Jefferson, Leah & Travis taking a break from being uber busy, Bridget & Paxton doing the same, my brother having the night off and it all coming together in a lovely dinner at Terry and Gwenn Sanders house!

Quite the view driving home tonight!

I think we are going to have to call round 1 a tie. I am exhausted. More shaping needed on the juniper under the bathroom window. But not today...

My hedge trimming skills are improving! One set of junipers done. Moving on to the little monster under the bathroom window. :)

Glad that, if I have to catch up on some proposals over the weekend, that I can do it from home! But it's not all work! Tiggy got a bath this morning on the way to check on my parents' house. :)

Late Bloomer! And some holiday pumpkins have arrived!