And Then a (Writing) Hero Comes Along

I like to say that when I read, I devour books, I go through them so fast. Every time I pick up a book only to put it down a few days later, completed, Eric is stunned to silence (if you know him, you understand the power of this).

Back in June, I came across "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater (pronounced steve-otter). I stumbled across a listing on Amazon as I was searching for something else to read. I think I killed the book in two days. As I reached the end and closed the book, I was reminded of the power of words and the magic that seeps out of a well crafted story. It reminded me of why I started writing.

So I wanted to give a shout out to Maggie for helping me to reconnect with the young girl inside me. To read a book through her eyes was an unexpected treat. Those dreams and expectations of my youth came back in such a rush, it was hard not to want to reach out and embrace her. I hope she is proud of what the stories I'm telling because her hand has always been on my writing. A long time ago, I promised her a story. And when it's published, I want to to devour the words and be consumed with the magic she helped create.

Please visit Maggie's website and check out the music she writes for her books. I'm particularly fond of the music and trailer for her latest novel "Linger." Enjoy! This woman is so talented, it's blows my mind. If I could achieve just a quarter of her success, I'd be one happy writer. She has inspired me to conjure the magic within myself and put on a show for the world.

The Wolves of Mercy Falls: A Stop Motion Trailer for Linger

The Retograde Series: Episode 3 - Boston Update

Despite near stress fractures in both legs, Eric had a good Boston Marathon experience. He finished in a time 3:10:56. Awesome! Ariel and I are so proud of him. We signed up to receive updates on my cell phone, but something happened to Boston's system and no one was notified. I'm sure there were some pretty upset spectators out there. I was a little ticked, but technology is only good when it works, right?
Eric was a bit disappointed with his finish, but even with the slower-than-expected time, he re-qualified to run Boston next year. He is seriously considering it, as an act of redemption. We'll see how that goes. We have some time before we really have to make a firm decision. Right now, Eric is training for the Denver Rock-n-Roll Marathon in October. Sounds like a good time to me.
Check out the full Boston race report at http://www.ironeric.blogspot.com/

Below is part of the telecast of the race. I woke up late and totally missed the TV coverage. Dang sleep. Around 1:05, look for a guy dressed as Minnie Mouse. Eric is off to right. He's wearing a neon lime-green shirt and a white hat. When the word "Thunder" comes on screen, Eric is behind the letter "d". I guess he did get on TV after all.

The Retrograde Series: Episode 2 - Celebrating Life in the Parenthood

Technically last year was our first Mother's and Father's days, but with Ariel being so small, we didn't do much. So we made up for it this year.

Mother's Day


I woke up to one of my greatest joys. Breakfast. Vicki made Monkey Bread, which if you have never tasted it, are certainly missing out. This is one of the breads we used to devour as kids. It was great to celebrate the past and the present in one delicious dish. Along side were fruit salad, juice and a fragrant bouquet of flowers.

Eric and Ariel took me to finally redeem my birthday present: a massage. And well overdue. I don't understand why I don't get massages more often. They are so wonderful! We finished off our afternoon with lunch at Garbonzo's. Eric and I loved it. Ariel preferred her puffs to falafel.

Father's Day

I surprised Eric with a trip to the Colorado Renaissance Festival. Back when we were dating, Eric took me here on one of our dates. It's a shame it took us this long to get back. It was a great weekend to be outside - not too hot and mercifully cloudy. Ariel enjoyed looking at all the costumes and animals and music. I was afraid she'd start crying from overstimulation, but apparently, she's not that kind of kid. We watched a play or two, went to the archery booth, and listened to the masterful playing of the carillon musician. The Carillon is a rare Medieval Instrument, made entirely of 4 Tons of Bells and was impressive to see. It was Phantom of the Opera meets the music of the middle ages. Visit this webiste to hear sample of the music. http://www.castinbronze.com/

But the highlight of our day was the jousting tournament. We sat on the villian's side and everytime we were prompted to boo, Ariel jumped right in, growling and screaming with the rest of us. She actually watched the action in the arena. She really is a great kid to take on outings. We slept so good that night. It was a perfet day to celebrate Daddy Eric.

The Retrograde Series: Episode 1 - The Little One Stopped to Celebrate Twelve!

365 days, 52 weeks, 12 months, no matter how you count it, everything adds up to one year of life for our little angel. And with such a momentous occasion, a party is a must do. We held Ariel's first birthday party at the Aurora History Museum. We rented the space for a great price and I didn't have to clean my house. Hooray! The theme of the party was ladybugs with red, black, and white as the major color players.

I love hosting parties. Blame on the DNA. Seriously. But in my old age, I'm realizing that I don't have to be super-crazy-person and do everything myself. Well old habits die hard. I spent over three hours on cupcakes alone. Ouch. The menu consisted of sparkling punch, fruit salad, garlic bread, garden salad, and three kinds of freshly made pasta (classic mac-n-cheese, traditional spaghetti with meat sauce, and chicken... I enlisted kitchen slaves, I mean elves, but it was the kind of help that wasn't so helpful. Next time I throw a party, we are having it catered.

Because of time mismanagement in the kitchen, we (me and the food) arrived a good 45 minutes late. A party foul for sure. But everything went well and I thank all of our guests for being so incredibly patient with my madness.

Being an independent sort of girl, Ariel decided to boycott her nap for the sake of curiosity. So by the time we got to the birthday cupcakes, she was a crying mess. After getting her in the high chair, we all started to sing "Happy Birthday" which immediately got her attention. She went from crying to awe in 3 seconds. It was pretty funny to see. She enjoyed her frosted cupcake and all of the attention that came with being the guest of honor.

Ariel was really into the baby babble. She was constantly making so much noise, I thought that at any second she would burst out into a full monologue. Alas, this was not the case, but she made us smile. Four days before her actual birthday, she started walking. She tottered to her feet and just went for it. Ariel is so driven it makes me wonder who she gets that from. She also learned to navigate the stairs, but only in the upward direction.

The past 12 months has been a time of frustration, anxiety, and constant worry; the joys, surprises and the endless love that can only come from God. Eric and I wear our battle scars proudly knowing that we truly have been blessed.

Traveling the Smoky Hill Trail

I promise that my next post will address Ariel's first birthday that was 3 months ago (yikes, how did I get this far behind?). Speaking of our precious little one, she received a wagon for her birthday from Gma Pat & Gpa Leon. It started out as an ugly, green, utility wagon, but through the magic that only grandmas posses, has made a remarkable transformation.
Stage 1: ugly duckling

Stage 2: pretty panda cover and dissected swim noodles (for protection against bumps)

Stage 3: the panda express is ready to roll, complete with skin cancer fighting parasol

Stage 4: tripping back in time to the days of the covered wagon, all we need is a horse

Stage 5: 4th of july parade where the wagon was temporarily renamed "the sparkler express"

Ariel loves to ride in this thing! Seriously. I think it make her feels like a princess (which she is, just in case you were wondering). She is able to ride in style and wave to her subjects while maintaining complete protection from the sun. Some days I feel a little ridiculous hauling the wagon around, but then we get so many compliments, how can I not crack a smile? Maybe I should make her a pioneer dress so we can re-create the the game, "The Oregon Trail *." Wait . . . maybe not. I'm pretty sure all my peeps contracted the measles or malaria or the flu and died. So, the Smoky Hill Trail it is (it runs right behind our house). Yee haw!

* I know you remember this awful computer game we played back in middle school. I know I'm not the only one who lost everything. All but that one horse . . .

You Put Your Left Toe In . . .

Ariel's friend, Oliver, gave her an inflatable pool and a really cute swimsuit for her birthday. What a great gift! While my mom was up visiting (end of May), we decided to blow it up and test things out.

Eric did a great job getting everything set up, but he decided that using the hose was the faster way to fill up the pool. I don't think he thought about how cold the water was. Granted, it was a hot day, but obviously not hot enough.

We gathered a handful of Ariel's bath toys and threw them in the water. Then we put our little princess in. Let the hissy fit begin.

Ariel loves taking baths, so this should have been a no-brainer, but the cold water brought out her crabby side. She did everything she could to climb out of the pool and crawl into Mommy's lap, getting me all wet. There was no amount of convincing that would change her mind to get back in. So Eric and I put our feet in and enjoyed the water, while Ariel supervised (had to make sure we didn't drown).

I Heart Link!

Disclaimer: If you are disturbed by a non-existent love affair with an animated character, then this post is not for you.

For anyone who has had the unfortunate opportunity to experience my quirkiness, knows that I am irrevocably, obsessively, and otherwise fantastically in love with Link. Don’t ask me why, maybe it’s the ears. I know most people will think I’m a total nut job, but if guys can fantasize about Lara Croft, then Link can save my life any day.

The latest installment of the Legend of Zelda series was just announced the other day. “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” is due to be released sometime in 2011. All I can say is, “I have to have it.” Ever since the debut of “Ocarina of Time,” I’ve had all the LOZ games in my possession during debut week. Crazy, right?

Link has come a long way since the first LOZ on Nintendo in 1986. I don’t count the games for the Gameboy platform, as it could never do Link any justice as far as his good looks are concerned. Link was cute then, in a flat, two dimensional kind of way. But his hotness factor was elevated with the time warping, flash forward of “Ocarina of Time.” Then the engineers slapped us all in the face with that insipid, ridiculous, cartoon version of our Hyrulian hero in “Wind Waker.” If you ever have the displeasure to see a pic, vomit on it. He looks horrible! I swear there must be more complaints written about his looks, than there were actual game walkthroughs.

Obviously, someone was listening because in “Twilight Princess” Link became a hunkalicious taste of animated eye-candy! Don’t call the psch ward, I swear I’m ok. It was all I could do to keep the drool off my chin while I played. Great game, BTW.

While “Skyward Sword” looks great, the engineers must have stopped listening to the fans. While Link has retained most of his “Twilight Princess” looks, there is that slight “Wind Waker” cartoon sheen about him. Not happy. But they have plenty of time to fix the problem before the game is released. *hint, hint*

Anyway, it looks like an amazing game. Happy hero video awaits.

p.s. And how can you beat the music! I think that the score/soundtrack of most of the Zelda games are are definitely worthy of an Oscar (in my non-professional, yet musically trained opinion). beautifully composed. Beautifully played. Beautiful.