An Ideal Girlfriend

It seems, that one of the top things on a single man’s wish list is a woman who enjoys the same activities as he.

Here in Denver, that puts mountain biking and skiing at the top of the list. They want a woman who can at least keep up with them – and in this very active, outdoor oriented state (Colorado, I mean – not a mental state) there are many women who fit the requirement. Lucky guys.

In my relationship, Mr. Burns is thankful that I enjoy hiking and rollerblading and biking, even if I can’t exactly keep up. Mr. Burns is good at almost every sport. Last summer he spent a lot of time trying to teach me tennis. This was both fun and frustrating.

Each time I let a ball go by just because I didn’t want to run to meet it, added to his frustration. But in my defense, I was suffering from hip pain which was more debilitating than I realized. The pain made it very hard to run, and took twice as much energy as it should just to trot after the stray balls.

So when I told Mr. Burns that I was a decent skier, it is fair that he had some doubts. I haven’t even been skiing in three years. Two years ago I went up to Breckenridge with an out-of-town friend and we took snow board lessons together. That was my last time on the mountain.

Now, Mr. Burns has been skiing quite a bit this winter while I was working weekends. This past weekend was our only chance to go up together. My brother and his family were out to visit and take their kids skiing for the first time. The fam stayed at my cousin’s condo, and Mr. Burns and I joined them on Friday night.

I had to go rent skis and equipment and Mr. Burns overheard the conversation as the sales guy was trying to determine my skill level. I told him that I was pretty good on blues and trying to conquer blue/blacks. I’m sure Mr. Burns had his doubts.

On Saturday, the two of us took my oldest niece down some runs and taught her how to advance beyond the ‘snow plow’ philosophy that the instructors drilled into her the day before. It was an opportunity for me to warm up a bit, since it had been so long since I strapped boards to my feet. Thankfully it all came back to me.

After two runs with the kiddo, Mr. Burns asked if I was up for a blue/black and off we went. The steepest section was a little tricky but I gave it my all – at one point about 20 yards from catching up to Mr. Burns I was chanting, “Kinda scary, kinda scary, kinda scary.” He heard me and had a good chuckle over it.

Once past that challenge I felt pretty exhilarated for the rest of the black run. Mr. Burns was beaming as he announced that I was pretty fast. He was impressed! How thrilled he was that I was a better skier than most of his friends’ wives. Whoo hoo!

Later, I told him that I’ve only been skiing 10-12 days out of my entire life. Well, now he was more than excited. If I could actually get on a mountain I’d be a great skier! The only thing holding me back is cash flow!

Yeah… you definitely have a future together when you talk about getting buddy passes next year.

I gave it up for Lent

But I have to keep working on it.

My Lenten Resolution was to manage my time on the internet in an effort to not waste so much of it. Time that is.

I even bought a kitchen timer and for the first two or three weeks, I'd give myself 20 or 30 minutes a day and I stuck to it.

Mr. Burns tries to help. When I sit down to check my email or pay bills online he reminds me, "Don't stay on too long baby." He knows better than to try to figure out what I'm doing on here. The answer would probably bore him to tears!

Now, the week before Easter, I'm no better off than when I started. Except now my eyeballs aren't tired all the time!

Tonight, on my trolling adventures I found this:

Too perfect!

Though I'm not going around correcting people... but I do enjoy sharing my opinion.

Okay... gotta go to bed now.

It's The Little Things

I feel like I have neglected my brain for the past few years.

Honestly... after writing on daily deadlines for 10 years straight since finishing college... I changed careers and started writing only emails. Then I started this blog just to force myself to practice my writing (and to have some sort of audience - even if it's mostly imagined).

I swear, I find myself mispelling words that I never even doubted myself about before. It's as if my fingers don't even remember the words - regardless of what my brain claims to know!!

Some people turn to puzzles and crosswords to keep their brain sharp. I know people who have enjoyed those sort of games their entire lives. They never really appealed to me.

Then Sudoku came about. Please. I would never choose to spend extra time with numbers no matter how friendly they pretend to be!

But Mr. Burns, being the Head-Of-His-Class, Engineer, brainy type - obviously keeps his mind sharp with Sudoku, Crossword puzzles and other mind teasers. One Sunday he sat toiling over and enjoying the Post's crossword puzzle and as I made attempts to assist - I realized that Crossword clues are a venacular all their own. If I wanted to take up Crossword Puzzles, I would have to start with the Idiot's Guide just to warm up!!

The next time we found ourselves at the store, Mr. Burns picked up a couple of puzzle/mind teaser workbooks. Hmmm. They got an idiot version in there for me to work on?

The books have 8-12 different kinds of puzzles... and before long, the two of us found one type of puzzle to work on together. It's called Anagram Magic Square. Mr. Burns handles the math portion and we each contribute our specialized knowledge to solve the literary clues. Not bad. It's certainly a fun way to uncover the many interesting ways your mates' mind works. (I worry that he's just figured out that I'm not-so-bright!)

I also found another sort of puzzle that is particularly appealing to me - Laddergrams. Ooh fun!

So I found it particularly charming the other day when I got to Mr. Burns' house and he held up the puzzle book saying, "There is only one of these puzzles left in this book. (magic square) I'm saving it for us to do together. Don't do it without me."

Awwww!