I meant to post some of these earlier this week but was rushing to get things done. We get out of work early today, so I figured the last 15 minutes would be a good time to get this up. I went to one day of a photoshoot for work, and we were shooting in a greenhouse. I got some great pictures and it was nice to be outside while the sun was still up (this doesn't happen on weekdays around here).

( photos! )

I'll be online intermittently over the weekend, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I'm grateful that I have a job that I don't hate, I've had the opportunity to really get out on my own and explore a new state (even though there's lots left to explore), that I have fabulous friends and family, and that in one month from today, I'll be another year older -- it means I'm not dead. Unless I die between now in then. Which will make this paragraph very awkward.

I'm also thankful that I a) got my expenses check from the above photoshoot today and b) my parents are letting me keep the small overage check that we got from the insurance company (apparently insurance in CO is cheaper than in FL) because this means I will not have to stress out about the $30 ticket to see The Swell Season and Rachel Yamagata on Sunday night. Still looks like I'll be driving myself, but that's okay.

I have been trying and trying to catch up with you all, and being busy at work and having my parents in town is just making this impossible, so I give up. If, in the last few days, you've said anything mind-blowing, earth-shattering, or just really really funny that you think I'd get a kick out of, please let me know. Otherwise, I'm just going to hope that all of you are having fabulous lives, and start over at some point.

Anyway, what's new. My parents are still in town. On Saturday, we drove up to Poudre Canyon and the Great Stupa at Shambhala Mountain. I'm not sure I was liberated upon seeing but maybe I was and just didn't realize. We also went to dinner with myras_girls and her hubby, during which the aforementioned hilarity ensued. On Sunday, we drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park, and there was SNOW. It doesn't count as part of SnowWatch 2009 because it a) wasn't falling and b) was at 12,000 feet instead of right outside my door. We walked around Old Town Fort Collins on Monday and ate at the Silver Grill Cafe. Quite yummy. I took lots of pictures and am in the process of uploading them. I'll be sure to post some here when they're all up.

Yesterday, I went to work, but not before my mother did some slight rearranging in the kitchen EARLY in the morning, meaning I had two minutes of trying to figure out where my electric kettle had gone. They played golf and then she also rearranged my living room. She likes to do these things, what can I say? Oh, and last night, I also showed my dad the episode of Castle from Monday night (because they were watching football on Monday night), and he seemed to greatly enjoy it. Today, the plan was for them to hang around the house while I'm at work, and then we'll probably go to dinner, and then they're leaving tomorrow at the same time I leave for work. This will make them happy, as it's supposed to be rather chilly here tomorrow and they've been giving me grief for sleeping with the windows open. :D

Who wants to fly out here around the end of November to attend the Swell Season at the Ogden in Denver with me? You know you want to... I'm planning to see Vienna Teng on the 21st with Chrysta and Corey, and The Sounds with Sharon (co-worker) and her hubby on Halloween. I will go to the Sounds show by myself if I must, but I'm hoping I can find someone around here who would be willing to go with me (mostly so I wouldn't have to drive back and forth from Denver by myself).

Following up on my last "real" post, I have made a budget for the month of October and if I am able to stick to it, I will come out an eensy-weensy bit ahead. But not much, which is sad, because I would like to be able to put money back into savings. At least I have a plan. Plans are good, yes.

HELLO WORLD. Man, it feels weird to not post as frequently as I'm used to. I got a bit out of the habit when I was packing/moving/internet-less, but now it's just kind of weird. The job is going extremely well, keeping me super busy and occupied and I LOVE IT. My brain has been hurting every evening, because I'm literally not used to using it as much (I mean, it was definitely not taxed for a year and a half).

I've been keeping pretty busy still. ( My adventures in Colorado, so far. )

Today was my last day of work at the old job. HOORAY. We all went to Meg O'Malley's, the Irish pub downtown, for lunch, so I got me some macaroni and cheese (it's made with DUBLINER) and even more importantly, I managed to not eat all of it in one sitting (which I can totally do, it's so freaking good) so now I can have more of it tomorrow! Wooo.

Speaking of tomorrow, it's going to be a doozy. I'm going to a WW meeting in the morning (my last one for at least a little while) and then take Vera to the vet. Hopefully the vet will give me a prescription for some sort of kitty Xanax so she will not be so upset while stuck in a car for a while. Then I have to get my tires rotated, and hopefully drive down to Palm Bay to drop off some stuff that a friend lent me, and pack pack pack. Thursday morning, I'm turning in all of my cable and internet stuff, so I will have no more cable or internet at home, but I'm also driving to my parents' house on Thursday (with brief detours for lunching and Ikea shopping in Orlando), so I'll still have access to the interwebs for a few days. Saturday I drive back to Melbourne and have a visit with theemdash planned, and then Sunday is the packing/cleaning party (which I hope will be more cleaning than packing, but we'll have to see) which will be followed by pizza nommage hopefully. Monday my pod arrives, Tuesday morning the movers come to load the the pod, and that evening I drive back to my parents' house so my mom and I can leave bright and early Wednesday morning.

To say that I won't be around much for the next week and a half is an understatement.

I just want to curl up in bed and read more Harry Potter, but I need to get cracking and get some stuff done this evening. It strangely feels like I have so much to do and yet am so close to being done. I can't quite get a handle on the state of things. Oh well.

Jenny Lewis was amazing last night. The whole night was a bit ..., but the actual performance was great, especially when everyone, en masse, decided to eschew the whole seating arrangement (who schedules a rock show in a playhouse?) and bumrushed the stage. Hopefully some of the pictures I took will come out well once I zoom in and crop a bit. My, but that girl can sing.

So I knew that The Sounds were touring with No Doubt, and I chose to not go to their Tampa show because I didn't really want to pay $80 for tickets to see three bands that I've already seen at least once (Paramore was the other opener, and I've already seen the Sounds twice).

BUT WHAT I APPARENTLY DIDN'T KNOW IS THAT THEY ARE TOURING IN SUPPORT OF THEIR NEW ALBUM. *headdesk*

Hopefully they'll do another tour over here, where they're headlining instead of supporting. I'm listening to the album on MySpace, and it's really good. A little more "mature" than Dying to Say This To You was and with maybe some more staying power? It's out on vinyl, too, but I have no idea if there's any store over here that gets new vinyl (how sad). I may have to call Park Ave to see if they have it on vinyl and then drive over to Orlando to buy it. But I think I'll be stopping at Best Buy this evening to pick up the CD so that I can put it on my iPod (unless anyone feels like *cough* being generous?)

OH, I foresee this becoming the soundtrack to many a Living Room Dance Party.

ETA: Oh, Maja of the Endless Legs.