being a slum-lord, lohan, prayer, and lingerie

we are still cranking away over at
our sweet rental house,
“the villa on corona”.
today, i repainted the front bedroom
because, apparently dark colors
are not the only colors that require
two coats sometimes.

we still have A LOT of work to do
before they more in on the 15th of august.
i mean, A LOT A LOT!
can’t wait to learn how to install the flooring
in the bathrooms and laundry room!
stuff like that totally excites me!

i am SO proud of herb and myself!
the place looks like a completely different house!
we have both worked really hard;
pushed ourselves.
and tried to be kind and patient with each other
in the process.

when we bought it, it was dark and old and outdated.
and now it is bright and clean and beautiful.
it is a home.
and i am so happy to have
a home to offer our family of renters.

11 more days until they move in!
it is also really fun because i have been praying
for quite some time now about our need for a community
of folks to walk along side in life
and things like these friends and their children moving in
NEXT DOOR bring
sweet promise and hope of answered prayers.

other things have happened too –
like a supper club with three other couples
who all decided, “yeah, it WOULD be great to meet every other week
rather than just every 3 or 4 weeks.”

add to this the rekindling and healing of other relationships.
god continues to be good to us
even when we don’t see it.

today i stumbled across tristan prettyman's silly song about lindsay lohan while i was on this girl's fun blog.
“lindsey, you can drink the Coke
but don’t snort the coke.”
it cracks me up.
especially because we saw her in concert
about a year and a half ago,
and she really did
talk about lindsay lohan the whole time.
hilarious.

it was sort of hard to tell after listening to this song,
but she seemed to really have a bit of a celebrity crush on the lohan.
i mean, have YOU seen her in "the parent trap"?
can you blame tristan?
having seen the film myself, I submit the following:
“no, no ya can't!”

in other news,
i learned the hard way today
that unless you REALLY know the person well,
don't buy lingerie for another person.
ever.
never.

even if the invitation to her bridal shower
suggests that she wants lingerie.
if you don't know her, bring some lotion.
Bring a candle.
heck – order her a case of massage oil if you need to
feel like you are contributing to their marriage bed experience.
and I don’t
not any more than i support healthy sex in all marriages.
but i got a little excited.
and i bought some stuff.
it was sexy.
and i am afraid,
based on the look on her face,
and a little conversation i had with her,
it was a little TOO sexy.

hmmm.
i felt a little silly.
and maybe just a little slutty.
and not in a good way.
oh well.

scrappin' on a tuesday

these are some of the pictures that herb took of me in mexico this spring.
we were on a bike ride and saw an outcropping
so we ditched out bikes and peaked over the edge
to find this beautiful piece of beach below
covered in small conch shells
i mean COVERED!
i asked herb to take some pics of me
and let's keep it real . . .
because i don't want to fall into the blog & scrapbooking temptation
of just sharing the nice and pretty stuff . . .
the truth is that herb gets kind of embarassed when i asked him to take my pictures -
like a little photo shoot . . .
not his favorite thing.
and things can get kind of weird and tense
because i like having my picture taken
and he doesn't really get it.
but he is a good sport about it.

i laid down on the shells,
right where the tide was hitting when it came in
and herb took pics as the waves washed over me
they are such beautiful pictures
they just remind me to live from the essence of myself.
not to get caught up in what others want me to be
but to really know myself
who god made me to be
get to know THAT girl
really really well
take good care of her and let her soar!

these pics just remind me of freedom
simplicity
no complications
essence
peace

do you have a favorite picture of yourself?

some art and a funny husband

good morning!

here is a little saturday morning art lovin' for you!

tamara came over last week and we had so much fun playing!
she totally inspires me and really helped me loosen up and just have fun with paint.






the next morning, i did a little more playing on my own!
so much fun!
and i have more to share later!


well, i am doing something really really cool this morning
really really cool.
and i cannot wait to share it later this weekned!
it is going to be so much fun!

and here is just a funny little bonus for you:

continuing with the saga of owning a rental property . . .

herb has been putting all of the lawn waste and large trash
(ie: the evil kitchen carpet)
into a large dumpster that has been sitting on the
lawn of the villa on corona.

yesterday, the dumpster guys came to pick it up
there was a crane involved
so you can rest assured that herbie scurried out there
to catch all the action!

so cute and funny!

the randoms

june and july
were sort of insane

truly
insane

which means that there was a lot to share
but not very much time in which to share it.

so, here are a few pics from the crazy 60 days
that are (finally) behind us!

over memorial day weekend
we took a little trip to milwaukee, wi
for a the wedding of herb's cousin anne

we went to the modern art museum
amazing building
decent collection

spent a little time at the
people's market - pretty cool

herb looked hot
so we did a little photo shoot





in june
my cute grandma came to town
we found out that her sister-in-law
(the only other person still alive from her husband's side of the family)
is living in colorado springs
so we took a little trip down there
it was so sweet to watch them reconnect




i rallied my office mates
and we painted our counseling room
because i wanted to vomit
instead of work
everytime i looked at the
perviously pale yellow walls

the main walls are a green-ish tan
and the accent wall is this fantastic teal
nobody went for the dark celery.
oh well, maybe at home.



at the end of june
we went to winter park to celebrate
herb's birthday
i love watching herb with these boys
they all love and "get" each other so much!!!
they have been buddies for many years now
i love that!



my sweet friend kelly
from granby, co
came through town a few times
and we got to hang



mom went to crested butte, co
for a vaca
we joined her for a few days
she saw some "july snow"
and i saw some cows




on my actual b-day
herbie put together a little happy hour
with some local friends

i am not so sure about this second picture
sort of a "my-two-dads" meets moulin rouge




a random self-photo-shoot moment



herb and i managed to still like each other
(most days)


we had some ugly kitchen carpet
at "the villa on corona"
(our lovely rental property)


but herb ripped it up
and now we don't

he is so strong and buff and manly
and unfortunately,
now he is probably
infested with aesbestos


sorry, all of you 50's kitsch lovers . . .
the stove has to go
being that it is a gas stove from the 50's
it is just too much of a liability at this point
any takers?
we're selling.



last week we had some friends come play with us
while we painted the entire upstairs of the villa on corona!



our lovely "mamma renter"


and one of her darling cuties
we are really cracking up that
our neighbor status is about to go from
having an 89 year old man
who never turned the lights on
to having three little munchkins
and their two musician, gypsy-like parents
living next door
so stinkin' fun!
we are blessed people!


and this is why we need community around us
there is no way we could have done this alone
without many tears
and our moto is
"choose beers, not tears."

about a birthday . . .

my sweet little vintage overnight bag. i can't believe herb and i both packed overnight bags, only to go to the water park and then come home! he is a clever little sneak!


latonya, me, sarah, and mikki
these are my "forever friends" . . . my "3am friends" . . . the ones i can always call. they were my college roommates. i love them so so so very much! we are all in the middle of change - latonya is moving to TEXAS!?!??!, sarah is getting married, and at the ripe old age of 29, mikki is prego with bebe number three! wowza! i might be the most stable right now!








i had "THE birthday" a few weeks ago.
the first "THE birthday" since the last
"THE birthday"
you know, first comes the one where you can buy beer?

yeah.

that one happened a while ago.

i had the next one.

the one where people tend to either look at their life
and say, "dang. this is not what i hoped for."
and they get sad and do something drastic
like marry the guy that they shared their first
schlitz with on that OTHER birthday
and in a drunken stupor declared to each other
that if, heaven forbid, they are not married by the time
they turn 30, that they will tie the knot

or people say, "wow! this is going to be the best year of my life!"
and they do everything they can to make it the best!
gym memberships
new cars
new jobs
new attitudes

you know?

30

for me, it has been fairly inconsequential so far.
but do feel like it is going to be a great year.
i am happy with where i am
and what i have accomplished
somedays, i am happy with who i have become

there is plenty to be grateful
and plenty of room to grow and bloom.
so, i sure won't be bored!

now, let's talk about my husband for a minute.
he does not really care so much about his birthday.
but he is beginning to understand how much it means to me
i love birthdays!
his and mine.

so i was told to save the weekend of the 21st.
of course, i assumed we are going on a trip
so he uses this to his advantage and has me
convinced we are traveling.
so i pack my little overnight bag.
and a fleece!
because "you never know what the weather is going to be like there".
a fleece i tell you!
it was around 100 degrees in denver on saturday!

then he took me to nirvana (see post from August 16th, 2006)
and all of my best friends where there
you know, the ones who have known me
for 10 years or more

they ALL traveled from out of town to be here
and he planned the whole thing
beginning 2 months ago

after floating on the lazy river for three hours
the girls and i went to the oxford hotel
for a little pampering.
then home for a bbq
and some of our local friends joined up with us at this point

the next day, my pals and i just lounged about
and went to one of those malls down south
to check out sarah jessica parker's new clothing line - BITTEN
at first, i was not finding anything
and i just felt stung
but then i looked closer and i was in love - totally BITTEN!

you must check this out!
there is not a single piece of clothing in this line that costs more
than $20
honestly, it makes Old Navy and Forever 21 look
like Sax 5th Avenue!
i will never buy $27 jeans again
nope, not when i can get 'em for $15!!!!

so, three cheers to my babe
who made me feel so very very loved
on my 30th birthday!

smoooches, my baby!
big time smoooooooooches to ya!

he liks to "go fast"!

herb's birthday suprise on saturday.
it was so fun to make him so happy.
we took the "ski train" up to winter park with some friends
and played outside and had a little lunch.
good to see herb with his buddies having so much fun!

in other news . . .
well, not too much time for all of that.
just know that there are big time pictures of
big time projects coming soon.

so, back to alternating between "big time projects"
and big time toilet cleaing, laundry folding, and bill paying.

and of course intermitent trips
to the front porch for some fresh air
and a little reminder that life is bigger than me.

WINNER!

there were 9 people who left a comment
so herb counted the number of steps
between the couch
and the newspaper

15 steps

and took the last number

5

to determine the winner

the 5th commentor was aly!

hey aly, why don't you let us know if you find any fun new tunes, okay???


have a happy happy friday!

cara

his words . . .

back in february,
i was sitting in the play therapy room
at work with my colleagues and our spouses.

it was our christmas party

because we are therapists,
we don't care about things like
having christmas parties in the correct month.

and because we are therapists,
we do things at christmas parties
that most people wouldn't.

like take an hour and a half,
cocktails in hand,
to encourage one another.
as a staff, we shared all of the things
that we admire and respect about
our colleagues & team mates.

then our spouses got to speak.
and they were asked to share a trait
that we have that is a contribution to our team . . .
and THEN . . .
an area THEY would like to see us grow or push ourselves . . .
PROFESSIONALLY!

it was a gusty move on the part of
the conductor of ceremonies!
but it was cool.

i remember everything herb said.

"cara loves helping people learn about therapy - she is always so excited and pumped up after a team meeting. i would like to see her push herself a little and share her gifts more."

it is amazing what the words of a spouse can do to a person.

it can break a person down.

or it can build a person up.
it can give a person the courage they need to take a risky step.
because they know they are supported and loved
by someone who believes in them

because somebody thinks they have something worth sharing

so i did it
i created an internship program
for Foundations Family Counseling
a Master's level, year long internship program
for counseling students

i wrote curriculum
i marketed to schools
i interviewed candidates
i made binders with lots of information
and i bought snacks

because snacks are important

and yesterday,
for 6 hours,
i led the first day of orientation
for my first class of interns!

and it went fabulously!

the things that amuse my husband never cease to amaze me!

looking back

a fun little question posed on this blog today
led me to dig into my pictures to see what i was doing a year ago today
i didn't take anything on june 7th last year
but these were taken saturday june 10, 2006
at the estes park beer festival

man, our life sure is fun!