Life on the Runn...

The past few years, I've been asking for any one of the three following pets:  a puppy, a goat, or a donkey. I have reasons for liking each, and Brian has his reasons for denying me the privilege of owning any one of my desired pets.   He finally caved, sort of.  He got me a donkey.... My donkey -- notice Brian's Star Wars calendar in the background ...and though it is not real, it is a donkey, and it does hold messages.  I'm a bit note person.  I write notes to myself religiously.  It helps me remember the million things I have to or want to do.   So, thanks Bri! 

As many of you know, I am the wife of a computer guy, who also happens to be somewhat of a climbing fiend. A few years ago, he combined his two interests and created his own blog,climbingnarc.com While I often hassle him about the time he spends researching and posting, I am impressed with his dedication. Brian has received quite a bit of recognition for his efforts, and he's very good at what he does. I'm very proud of him and his hard work! Happy anniversary, ClimbingNarc!

As I mentioned in my previous post,  I am trying to better understand Brian's Star Wars.  In the spirit of support, I purchased a Star Wars related present for him this past Christmas.  It wasn't anything too obtrusive...I have a reputation to protect and all....I got him a Star Wars desk calendar, which features a new character per day. I was especially curious to see just how the calendar depicted the very sentimental Valentine's Day holiday.  I wondered if it might be a Luke and L double-feature (I love teasing Brian about Luke kissing his sister, though he says it isn't as bad as I make it out to be).  No such luck.  Instead, this is how love in represented in Star Wars land. a droid?! I really don't get the draw of this movie....

This past weekend Brian and I took our climbing show on the road and spent Saturday afternoon at Boulders climbing gym in Madison.  As much as we wanted to do some climbing, our trip was really motivated by our desire to spend time with our friends, Matt and Meg. It's no secret that I am not a huge Star Wars fan.  I have so many questions about the whole darn thing, and Brian, who is a big fan, can only take so much of my Star Wars mocking before he entirely ignores me.  Recently, I've tried to improve my attitude about the epic and suggested that we watch the movies.  Poor Brian really needed reinforcements for this task, and that's where Matt and Meg (especially Meg) come in. The four of us spent our Saturday evening eating pizza, catching up, and watching Star Wars Episode 4.  It was a far cry from how we spent our typical Saturday nights in college, but we certainly had a good time. While I tried to suppress my desire to refer to R2-D2 as a vacuum and C-3PO as a gia

We're now into double-digit days without cable.  So far, we're surviving.  We've now delved into another TV series, "Modern Family".  I think it, much like "How I Met Your Mother", is absolutely hilarious.  It has to be one of the funniest shows on television. I do have a few concerns though.  First, there is only one season of "Modern Family" on Netflix right now, so we are going to have to find yet another equally funny show in the very near future, and I am not sure one exists.  Secondly, it seems to be affecting Brian's brain.  Much like Cameron introduces baby Lily by recreating the "Lion King" scene where Simba is lifted into the air,  Brian did the same with our cat Rumney.  Both the cat and I are traumatized..... Rumney -- before Brian mistook her from Simba 

About this time of year, the typical teacher is ready for a break.  Winter Recess is now little more than a fleeting memory and Spring Recess isn't quite on the horizon.  There is no such thing as a vacation day...but there is the glory of the snow day.  And this week, we've had TWO! Because I still have a bit of a drive to work, on the typical snow day, I'm already up, showered and dressed before school is cancelled.  You can imagine my excitement, then, when school was cancelled for Wednesday before I left the building Tuesday.  I was equally excited to find out that Brian's wouldn't have to go to work on Wednesday. Before we could fully enjoy our day off, we had some shoveling to do.  We bundled up, and headed outside, fully expecting a brief shoveling excursion.  It seemed that the snow wasn't so deep, but when we got outside and saw the giant drifts and the wall of snow at the end of our driveway (the downside of living on a cul de sac), we realized mos