Fire in my beautiful state

Hi, I'm still here. I haven't disappeared or anything. It's just that there are several fires burning in my beautiful mountain state of Colorado.

One is in Colorado Springs, and started a mile from my in-laws home - they were evacuated last night. I normally hate to watch the news, but since yesterday afternoon I've been glued to the TV, or constantly refreshing the live feed on my computer, calling & texting friends who live in the area, or have family in the area. Thousands of people have been evacuated, 8,000 acres burned, with zero percent containment so far.

A wildfire broke out by the Royal Gorge (south of Colorado Springs), which is heartwrenching. It's a beautiful park area, and I have rafted through the Gorge several times.

Another fire broke out in Rocky Mountain National Park Monday evening. Yesterday afternoon was a haze of smoke, and the smell of fire.

that's the sun as I was leaving work yesterday afternoon - from the smoke from the fire in Rocky Mountain National Park

this is the smoke & haze from our apartment, looking west

We still went to play our weekly softball game, even though our hearts weren't in it. We were missing quite a few people, and played short-handed. We lost. Big time. D & I were OK with that though - we went straight home to watch more news.

Last summer there was the High Park Fire northwest of Fort Collins - the smoke made the air quality terrible. The fire crews had a staging area right next to my work, so I drove through a check point every day. There were a few days where we could see homes going up in smoke, just across the reservoir. 

And then, just a few weeks later, the Waldo Canyon Fire broke out on the west side of Colorado Springs. My parents were on pre-evacuation notice with the cars loaded. We were ready for them to come stay with us. Fortunately, they were not evacuated, as the fire stayed on the other side of the interstate from them. However, tons of families lost their homes & livelihoods in the fire.

After last summer's fires, and now this summer's, I feel like I'm learning so much about fire: what makes for "perfect" fire conditions (heat, wind, low humidity, and fuel), evacuating (I have only ever evacuated before for hurricanes in FL), air quality, the hard work of firefighters, and waiting. Waiting for news, waiting for no news, waiting for updates, waiting to help evacuees.

That being said, it feels frivolous to talk about my clothes, and what I wore, and why I wore them. Knowing my in-laws & several friends had only a few hours to evacuate their home has made me ask myself:

"What would I take? Could I leave it all? I should leave it all. Why am I so attached to THINGS, when PEOPLE are what matter?"

So, that's what's on my mind today...

30 for 30: Day 7

I told one of my friends who reads my blog that my 30 for 30 is going fine. So far. I told her I'm putting together the "gimme outfits," to which she replied "I'm excited - can't wait to see them!" This isn't the end of my "gimme outfits," but pretty close! We'll see what I can come up with for the rest of the month! I'm excited as well, and a bit nervous. It has made getting dressed pretty easy everyday, since there's a lot less items to choose from. Something for me to keep in mind for the future.

Any fun plans for the weekend? My Mr. is going golfing, and I'm doing bridesmaid stuff with a friend, as well as sleeping in and lots of reading. And laying out at the pool. While reading. And napping. And the usual weekend chores: groceries, laundry, bulldog baths, you know.

Aaaand, 1 year ago Sunday, the 9th, we adopted our Cali girl! We're thinking an extra special treat and lots of loving are in store.

30 for 30: Day 6

Here's day 6 of my 30 for 30. I wore this to work, and then to TCBY with my handsome feller. Earlier in the day, he proposed an idea: TCBY and a budget meeting. So, off to fro-yo we went. Then we sat down with a spreadsheet, Quicken, and hammered out some guidelines and savings goals. We've tried to adhere to a budget before, but me being me, I created 8000 categories - EVERYTHING was broken down, and categorized, and really complicated, actually. He's more of a big picture guy and a fan of keeping it simple. So, we compromised and simplified, and have a lot less categories to keep track of. And of course, fro-yo has a place in our budget ;)

30 for 30: Days 4 & 5

You must think I'm such a slacker, being so far behind on my posting. I am and I'm not. Part of it was the internet and the lack of working internet - promise! 

We had a softball game the day I wore this. My Mr. was running late so this is what I've got for ya. And, WE WON OUR GAME! 22-8. This is our first victory of the season, so it was very sweet. It's not that we're not a good team, but other teams are better...actually, we'll be down a few runs and then rally in the last inning or so, always losing by 1 run, which is frustrating. The old fastpitch player in me wants to have a pre-game pep talk: "You know how we play in the last inning when we're down? Yeah? Everybody? Play like that the WHOLE game!" But then I remember, it's just a game. And a summer rec league. And I'm not perfect - I have just as many errors as I did when I played in high school. Oy.

And this one. I realize it's not ON me, but trust me - I did wear it! I got a haircut after work, then had a long overdue phone date with one of my best friends, while my Mr. was out for the evening. And before I realized it, I was in my pajamas and ready for bed. So, I grabbed the things I'd worn earlier to at least give you an idea: black blazer, gray tee, jeans, sneaks & a scarf.

Linking up HERE with Coffee Beans and Bobby Pins and FACE IT Catalog.

I can't figure out how to paste their linkup button - or any button, for that matter! Aaaaargh!

30 for 30: Day 3

 

 

I found this dress at ARC 2 winters ago. It was inside out, stuck in between 2 other dresses, and kinda tucked back in the rack. It fit, and it was a basic navy blue dress that would go well with a lot , so it came home with me. Only after I got home and took it out of the washing machine did I discover the ties on the shoulders, the drapey neckline and the pockets! I love it , but sometimes the way the pockets hit make my hips look rather large. Solution: my optical illusion trick

movemybodyreallyfastsoyoucantseeifihavelargehipsornot

And also, I wore my denim jacket over my dress for work. I try to never wear anything sleeveless to work, even if the straps are pretty wide. We have a pretty casual dress code, but I don't ever want to be reprimanded for inappropriate clothing choices. I'm the youngest person in my office, but I try to NOT dress like a student or a recent graduate who has no idea how things work in the real world/has no idea how to dress like an adult.

I'll be catching up on my 30 for 30 posts this evening & tomorrow - stay tuned!

30 for 30: Day 2

 

 

 

Here I am, playing catch-up with my 30 for 30. Which stinks, because I was SO ahead of the game this weekend. *sigh* However, it's not completely my fault. We've had some trouble with the internets and the-connecting-to-the-internets at our place. Which really, is ok, because it's made me dive back into the 2 books I'm in the middle of - those library books will be due sometime this week...

Here's what I wore for the end of our anniversary weekend - much warmer than the day before! We've got an old friend who lives in Breckenridge that we met up with for breakfast, then we lounged around and took our time packing up our things and loading up the car. We hit the road to meet my folks in Denver for a celebratory anniversary dinner, and then made our way home to snuggle the pups, and you know, unpack our bags and do laundry and make lunches for work the next day - back to reality...!

May Outfit Recap

This was May for me and my little blog. We started with snow and ended with green green grass. And now we're into summer. But are we though? Really? The weather seems to be all over the place. I sound like a broken record, dontcha know? 

Maybe this is just me, but I have a hard time transitioning from winter/spring to spring/summer. Not in the way you'd think. Just hear me out. I LOVE summer - love love LOVE it! But, every year, without fail, I forget how hot it can get. I try to wear layers like I did all winter, and then I'm roasting. It takes me a few weeks to remember that I don't need to wear 800 layers - really, more than 2 is too many. Same issue as we head into colder weather. I wear a light jacket and forget how cold it can get. It's not that I have a short memory, or am unfamiliar with changing weather. I think I just get so used to layering and trying to dress warmly that I forget how to dress for hot weather. Anyways, don't worry - I will figure it out. Eventually. I don't need counseling or meds, but maybe some flashcards? I kid. 

Anyhoo, I repeated some items and wore some for the first time this season, and some for the first time ever. Any critiques/ideas/challenges for me? Remember, I am doing 30 for 30, but that will (eventually) end and when it does, I'll have access to my whole closet. I'm not sure yet how to feel about that - it's so full that sometimes it's pretty overwhelming...

UPDATE
Sorry friends, but there will be no Mr. Picks Mondays during my 30 for 30. He told me it's not that he doesn't like the 30 items I've picked out, but they don't provide him with a lot of "inspiration." So we'll pick back up with our regularly scheduled programming in July. Hope you'll still stick around!