employed

Well, I started my new job this week. I am the "Training Specialist" at Marathon. Yep, Caleb and I work at the same company now. :) It is a HUGE blessing to have this job, and so far it has been great! I am actually heading to Houston this weekend and will spend a week learning more about my roles and responsibilities. (I'm sooooo excited to see my friends and family!!)

So....I apologize for the delay in posting. Hopefully, I can get used to this working thing again. I've had the past five months off! I'm two-for-two on getting coffee ready and laying out my outfit the night before work. Let's see if I can keep this going. :)

Love y'all.

new love

Meet The Duo...the best-ever-grinder and it's sidekick, the best-ever coffee brewer. Note: This machine doesn't "make" coffee; it "brews" coffee. :)

Our GJ neighbors had this lovely setup, which impressed the heck out of me. I didn't enjoy the coffee from the coffee maker we owned and neither did my mom. Caleb thought our coffee maker (yep, the old one was just a "maker") was fine. Fine? I don't drink fine coffee. Does he even know me? just kidding :) This grinder is a Burr Mill Grinder. Apparently, the correct way to extract the intense flavors from the bean is using a Burr Mill Grinder. So all you who have a grinder....you might want to check on this! Chances are you have a "blade" grinder. The fancy "brewer" doesn't have a carafe, but instead a tank with a push lever to dispense directly into your cup. :) It even has a gauge to tell you how much coffee is left in the tank. :)

Life has been much sweeter since The Duo arrived in Dickinson. (Well, actually since this morning....turns out I was double filtering my grounds using both the paper and the metal filters...novice.) Thanks mom and dad for the birthday/house-warming gifts.

Second new love: Bluegrass

I've heard some bluegrass music and enjoyed it, but I didn't appreciate this music until last night. Wow. I am still shocked that such fine talent stopped through the "Western Edge of North Dakota." No offense, Dickinson. We spent two hours last night in a tiny room with 75 other people listening to The Blackberry Bushes. They won 2nd place at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 2009. I still can't believe Telluride was only 90 miles from GJ and we never made it down there. Grr. This band could play their instruments like nothing else and their voices harmonized so beautifully.

We bought 2 of their CDs and this morning I'm listening to the Bluegrass station on Sirius. I feel like buying an old, used pair of boots and a cute old-fashioned polkadot dress. :)

ramblings

Caleb left this morning for Denver, so it's just Bella and me until Thursday afternoon.

I have three pieces of furniture to refinish, but I'm not sure how or where to start.

I finished one pillow for my "new" couch and two more to go. The 20 yards of white denim arrived, so my goal is to finish the slipcover before Caleb returns.

I cannot wait to organize my fabrics in my display case. I might do that within the next few days.

I have a floor lamp to spray paint, but I'm not sure on the color yet.

Bella is sleeping by my feet in the small patch of sun peaking through the window. She is exhausted after having her friend Rufus over last night.

It is perfectly beautiful today. Blue clear skies, temps in the high 60s, light breeze.

We haven't used the A/C for two weeks.

My friend Ruth came with me to church today. Afterwards we came back to my house and grilled chicken and made a yummy salad. We also had a warm lemon and honey drink.

We worked on the fence yesterday and actually got a lot finished. Sprinkler system and patio should be installed this week, so sod next weekend. :)

We got our new mattresses Friday and have had the best two nights of sleep since then.

There are bees everywhere. No nests. Just bees...and wasps. I was told by a local that they come out at this time of year. Interesting.

I got a job. The drug test required taking 120 strands of hair from my head. I'm a little upset about that. I can't disclose the company yet but I will as soon as I can. I have a tentative start date for Sept. 27. I'm really excited to get back to work.

My mom comes in 1.5 weeks. I am really excited about that, too.

That's all for now. Guess I'll finish up the dishes and get my craft on.

Hope you're Sunday is as beautiful and refreshing as mine. Love y'all. :)

alaska slideshow!!!!!!

We visited Alaska in July with our great friends, Michael and Angela, and it was perfect. Even though we lived in Colorado for almost two years, I have never seen anything like Alaska. It's Colorado on steroids. Perfect. We rented a 32 ft RV and cruised over 1200s miles of the great state. I wish we could have spent a couple of months there, but we still managed to get a lot in for 8 days. Hopefully this slideshow captures the incredible week to its fullest:

Alaska 2010 from Lindsey McElroy on Vimeo.