Al-brrrr-querque

OK, so it's really not that cold but compared to the weather we've had, it's right nippy outside. It was an absolutely beautiful early spring day on Monday--mid-70's, sunny, no wind. Just a perfect day. Today--not so much. Earlier today, there was a strong wind kicking up all the dirt and crude (it seems to have died down now); the temperature is in the mid-40's and it was overcast most of the day. I skipped the gym because all I wanted to do was head home and curl up on the couch with a blanket and something warm to eat (which I did and it was good).

When I looked outside about 5:00, this is what I saw:

Yes--that's snow. Snow. It didn't stick around long and it wasn't much but it was snow. The first picture is the bench by our front door. The second is our itty-bitty back yard, lovely and green. It isn't courtesy of Mother Nature, by the way. It's Real Turf--basically our backyard is fancy Astroturf. I love it though--no watering, no mowing, minimal maintenance. Paul wanted to make the entire thing a putting green but I vetoed that. Instead, it's the longer "lawn" length. It doesn't feel quite like real grass but it's soft enough. And hey, I don't have to worry about the weird rash I normally get after sitting in real grass.

It is supposed to be cooler through the weekend, with a chance of rain/snow on Saturday. We definitely need the moisture and it would be nice to see some more snow this year. Maybe it will tame the pollen as well. I'm not normally affected by allergies too much but this year, the juniper is really bothering me. Claritin is my friend this year.


Jubjub checking out the weather. Yep, snow.

Friday Jub

We're still taking way too many pictures of the cat. This one is courtesy of Paul, taken on a recent sunny afternoon.

(Pardon all the mess on the bar. And in the kitchen. Oh, and that dining rooom chair over there. I just liked the way Jub looked here.)

Up, up and away

Paul and I visited the new Balloon Museum with his parents on a recent Sunday afternoon. The Balloon Museum opened in October, coinciding with the annual ABQ Balloon Fiesta, but this was the first time we'd been to the museum. The outside of the museum was designed to look like a museum inflating, lying on its side (OK, you might have to squint to fully appreciate that). Inside, it's beautiful museum covering not only the history of ballooning but the role ABQ has played in that history and information about the ABQ Balloon Fiesta. It isn't as large as I'd thought but it is interesting to see how much the sport of ballooning has changed over history, starting with the rooster, sheep, and duck in a basket to the high-tech technology incorporated into today's gas balloon races.

From our visit to the museum. We weren't floating high among the clouds but were in a prop gondola in one of the museum areas. It would take lots of convincing to get me to actually go up in a balloon--I think it would be exciting but there's not seatbelts way up there and the landings aren't exactly gentle.

The Balloon Fiesta is one of my favorite things about ABQ. My father-in-law went to the first balloon rally--a mere 13 balloons lifted off from near one of the malls in town in Feb. 1972. Paul's first balloon fiesta was the 2nd one ever held, in February 1973. His mother says that she sat in the car with a baby Paul (he was about 6 months old), her mother and grandmother and watched the balloons going up at the State Fairgrounds.

Paul and I have been to see the balloons almost every year since 1997, missing only twice--1999 because of a little thing called a honeymoon and 2002 because, well, no one came to visit us that year and we preferred to watch from the comfort of our pajamas and balcony. But it is such a wonderful time of the year--the weather is near perfect most years--and the balloons never cease to amaze. We usually have a variety of visitors in town to see us and the balloons, and I always enjoy having company. Paul laughs that not only is the fiesta the most-photographed event, it's also the earliest. I love to get to the field for Dawn Patrol--those first balloons going up to check the weather conditions--which usually puts us on the road at about 4:45 a.m. But we're rewarded with breakfast burritos, hot chocolate, mini cinnamon rolls and the beautiful balloons (the little guy in my profile pic. is from this year's fiesta). And despite the huge crowds, the spectators at the fiesta are always so cheery and it's such a friendly atmosphere. It's just a wonderful event, definitely worth going to every year. At the 2005 Balloon Fiesta--it was a beautiful morning for the balloons and a wonderful way to celebrate our 6th anniversary

For my sisters

Rent the movie "In Her Shoes."

Fast forward to the scene with Rose (Toni Collette) telling her fiance Simon about her relationship with her sister Maggie.

"She's my sister and without her, I don't make sense."

Look at your husband and say, "Exactly." (And in the case of the non-married one, keep this for future reference for your future spouse.)

Love you both! Thank you for making me who I am, for better or for worse.

Personally, I like Millard Fillmore

Today is one of those lovely lazy Mondays. It's Presidents Day which means no school and nothing that HAS to be done. We met with our trainer early this morning, freeing the rest of the day for unemcumbered sitting. I really wanted to ask our trainer if we are the weakest people he works with. It's easy to sum up our physical fitness state in three words--no upper-body strength. None. Nada. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. For either of us. I was straining to bench-press 20 lbs. I am so weak.

Our trainer is an Army man. He "warms up" on curls with 60 lb. weights and works up to 90 lbs. I can't even pick up 90 lbs. of anything (and to be quite honest, 60 lbs. would probably cause me to get a hernia). But we're there and we're doing it and that's got to be worth something. I'm even getting less whiny about going. :::patting self on the back:::

P.S. Fillmore's wife Abigail was a teacher and started the White House library. So Fillmore might not have been much as a president but his wife was a good egg in my book.