If You Know Anything At All...

...you know I'm a terribly inconsistent blogger. Add to that feeling like I need to do some amazing, massive entry because a.) the holidays were here, and then weren't just as quickly, b.) we MOVED and c.) there's this unspoken rule about blogs that length of entry should be in proportion to length of silence immediately preceding said entry.

I have a dear friend who allows me to be my crazy out-of-touch-and-focus self, while keeping up with what's going on in my life. She asks for bullet lists. Lots of info in a relatively short space. Here we go:

- I love Denver. More than I thought I would. Charming old houses, parts of town that remind me of the East Village, a great downtown with tall buildings, and many, many ma-and-pop non-chain restaurants. Vibrant jazz scene, hoppin' art scene, and weather that makes me actually want to do yard work. I. Love. It. Here.

- I like our house. I didn't say love, but I think that's on the way. The lack of love is coming from the mounds of goo and gunk I've spent the last month trying to bleach and scrub away. The house was built in 1890, but the previous tenants seem to have left the cat in charge of decorating and cleaning. Holes in walls, hair between each and every slat of window shades, and a nice healthy load of cat vomit (yes, you read that correctly) in the windowsill. The lovely parts include exposed brick, an old wooden doorway, an excellent oven, a backyard for Molly, and wood floors throughout most of the place. It really is pretty cool, and is smelling better all the time.

- I like our neighborhood. It's a bunch of old homes, some refurbished, some in desperate need of refurbishment. Some are painted so lavishly, you'd think a family of dolls lived inside. It's called the "Baker Neighborhood," a registered historical district just south of downtown. We have easy access to downtown for fun events, and are three walking blocks from the Santa Fe Arts District. We're also close to Cherry Creek, where there is great shopping, restaurants, Super Target, and crazy-rich people with nice cars. Hey, if you can't join 'em, move in next door. :D

- I've renewed my love for running. There are trails/paths everywhere around here and I'm loving every sweaty bit of it. I'm actually sore most of the time because some days I can't help but run - even though it hurts! My lungs will adjust, they tell me, but they're really all that's holding me back from running all the time. I hope to do a 5k in April in Cherry Creek, and a 10k in June in Steamboat Springs. Next year I'd like to go for a 1/2 marathon. I thought I could do it sooner, but the altitude is really taking a toll on my breathing (something I wasn't at all prepared for).

- I've met some fantastic artists in the area. I'm excited to meet more, and spend time with the ones I've connected with. I'm getting the feeling that Denver is moving forward in the art world and just about everyone I've met is on board. There seems to be a genuine desire here to support art, and you can see the artists basking in the support of the community. There's a sense of anticipation in the art world here. Wow, that's refreshing.

- Matt seems to like his job. He's doing some actual coding, which he enjoys. He seems to like the people he works with, too. It's nice that after all his interviewing and our thinking and wondering and hoping to have landed in a place that seems pretty darn ok.

- I've joined several groups on meetup.com (try it if you are lonely, new in town, interested in something, or all of the above) and have met some very interesting people. I'm part of a runner's club, a cocktail club (which, it turns out, is somewhat of a singles meet up, but they go to some killer places, so we go anyway - the organizer calls us her "token married couple" - we like her), an improv comedy club, a jazz club, and an art club. Yep. Busy. Love it!

- It's nice to have Molly again. Especially because I am home most of the time. It's nice, also, that she and Matt seem to get along so very well. She LOVES him, sometimes to the point of embarrassing herself. He patiently pets her about 90% of the time she asks. If he did it 100% of the time, he'd never do anything else (and I'm sure that would suit her just fine). That's sure nice to see.

- Speaking of Molly, I have a small story to tell: The other day Molly was chewing on a rib. It was the kind of rib you're served at Tony Roma's, with a good chunk of meat/fat left on it. I knew someone had thrown it over the fence to her, because there's no other way for her to acquire such a rare treat. What do I do? I don't want to be paranoid, but you've heard the stories of people killing each other's dogs. I don't know these neighbors at all, but from what I can see, they don't really take care of their dog. I can see into their backyard and there is no grass at all, but there is a lot of mud, a truck with no windshield, and mounds and mounds of dog poop that that poor dog lays in all day. Lipnickis? Herdmans? Anyway, it's not the sort of yard that belongs to someone I want putting something in my dog's mouth. So I took it away. Oh I felt like a big fat jerk, but you never know. I went to brunch with a girl, Michelle, who is from Denver and owns two large dogs and asked her if I was being paranoid. She said, no, actually people here have killed dogs for no reason. So Molly can't be outside by herself for very long anymore. Not until I know the neighbors better. Great.

- Speaking of neighbors, there's a single girl who lives above us. We haven't really talked to her much, but I have plans for a patio party! I make a mean bean dip...

- I'm trying to figure out Twitter. I think I've figured out the point...maybe.

- I put an ad on craigslist for work and wouldn't you know? Three hits in one day. I'm excited! I hope to build a good, sturdy client base here in town. I'm not going to pretend to be a wiz at self-promotion, but I figure if I'm nice enough and hand out enough business cards, something will happen. Right?

- Speaking of business cards, I met the coolest couple at an event last weekend. They're cool for several reasons: a.) SHE went to OU. We're now BFFs. b.) Her husband owns a letterpress and they let me come see it! I have not-so-secret plans to work there for one day sometime. It was so so so cool. and c.) They want to hang out with us! I love it when people want to hang out with us!

That's the nutshell version. I'm sure I've left some super important details out...but they're escaping me now. I will try to post more regularly. I will. No, seriously. Stop laughing.