.:: Monday, September 25, 2006 ::.

woohoo! i got the job! i unofficially knew just after my interview (which was 15 minutes of mostly chitchat) but i got the offer today, so that makes it official!! i'll be the funder for our newest retail team, so i'm really looking forward to it! i get to keep my fantastic boss cuz she's moving to retail too! and my favorite underwriter is also moving to our team! yea! this is going to be so great!! i was really sad at the thought of leaving my wonderful team, but knowing that my boss will still be my boss, and half the team is coming along too...that just makes it even better. i hear retail is a lot less stressful than wholesale, which is another bonus. we won't have to deal with AE's who keep promising things we can't deliver! and no more idiot loan officers calling us every 10 minutes with the same question. i hear funding in retail is a lot easier too. i'm glad i decided to just stay and see how things panned out after we went paperless. cuz this really couldn't have turned out any better. :) *happy*

:: joyce 6:33 PM [+]::
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.:: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 ::.

things i love about FALL:

1. the crispness in the air
2. leaves turning, especially the gorgeous aspen trees here in colorado
3. wearing sweaters
4. pumpkin bread
5. pumpkin pie
5. pumpkin spice lattes and frappuccinos from starbucks
6. pumpkin anything!!

:: joyce 7:05 PM [+]::
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.:: Monday, September 18, 2006 ::.

yea, premier week!!!

:: joyce 8:07 PM [+]::
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.:: Sunday, September 17, 2006 ::.

it's currently 56 degrees outside today! brrr! it's been very cold this whole weekend. but it's supposed to warm up again later this week.

we spent saturday up in the mountains, just outside bailey, at W's friend's cabin. this place was way cooler than i expected. it's kinda like a co-op i guess, with about 200 acres of natural forest that's protected. i don't know how many ppl actually own parts of it, but D's family bought it back when he was only 5 years old. the cabin itself is pretty small, maybe 600 sq. ft. or so, but it sits on just under 3 acres. the backyard is forest, and the front yard is a little stream/river. it's private property, so only the ppl that live there are allowed in the gates. the river goes on and on for miles, and all of it is community property for everyone to enjoy. there are common areas where the owners get together to decide what to do with it or how to improve it. it's pretty neat. we just walked along the river, had lunch, climbed up to the old gold mine (there were a bunch along the trail), and just enjoyed the sights. there used to be railroad tracks that ran along the river, and you can still see parts of it, old wood boards and metal stakes that used to hold the rail down, and coal along the trail. D and his twin brother spent a lot of time there as kids and D told us a lot of the history and events that took place over the years. it was cool to see the trees turning too. being there really made me want my own mountain house next to a river! maybe someday.

:: joyce 3:52 PM [+]::
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.:: Thursday, September 14, 2006 ::.

okay, i seem to be having some technical issues with this new blog. i'm wondering if i should just go back to a "simpler" layout. i don't even know if anyone can even read this, cuz i can't even pull up my blog right now.

i just saw the new survivor. like the one girl said, maybe it will be an interesting social experiment. but there's no way that these groups are in any way, shape or form a good representative sample. that would be impossible. i did think it was weird that the caucasian and black groups had 2 men and 3 women, while the hispanic and aisan groups had 3 men and 2 women. i would like to think that the ppl could get over the fact that they are split up this way, and just play the game like they would had they all been mixed and mingled together. but i'm sure that's not what the producers were thinking, or hoping for. all these ppl protesting the show are over-reacting a bit. afterall, it's just a reality tv show, a form of "entertainment" as sad as that is. BUT, the weirdest part of all this was seeing yul on TV!!

:: joyce 9:33 PM [+]::
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.:: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 ::.

yippee, the new knitty is up, and it's actually got some good patterns this time.

it's definitely starting to feel more and more like fall, as the daytime temps are in the 80's, but the overnight temps really start to fall. i love it! i can't wait to see all the leaves changing...i love fall!

i also love fall cuz it's sweater season, and i'm getting a jump start on my sweater knitting this year. i waited a bit too long last year to actually be able to WEAR any of the sweaters i knit. now, i just hope they didn't mess up my knitpicks order. *sigh*

first on my list to knit is the hourglass sweater from last-minute knitted gifts. i have another cardigan i was gonna try, but i think the basketweave pattern may be a bit too bulky-looking. so instead, i want to knit this cardigan! i like these socks too, and i still have a TON of sock yarn leftover from last winter. woohoo!! okay, better get knitting...

:: joyce 7:45 PM [+]::
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.:: Thursday, September 07, 2006 ::.

i saw a guy wearing a moondoggies t-shirt at safeway today! (moondoggies is a surfshop in san luis obispo, where i went to college.) i miss SLO, more than i thought i would. when i was in school, i couldn't wait to get the heck outta there. but soon after i graduated, how i yearned to be back in that simple little beach community. *sigh*

:: joyce 7:43 PM [+]::
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.:: Monday, September 04, 2006 ::.

so how was your 3-day weekend? our's was filled with lots of shopping and lots of eating!

saturday morning we headed downtown to check out snigrab, which claims it's the worlds largest ski and snowboard sale. well, we didn't see any scorching deals. i guess if you're looking for new skies or boarding gear, you can find some good deals (up to 70%, so the signs kept telling us), but if you're like me and just looking for new goggles (only save $10!) or gloves (again, saving only $10), it didn't seem all that great. i think i'll wait for the REI member garage sale at the end of the month.

after buying our 4-packs (dude, copper mountain for $84?!?! that's just $21/lift ticket!), we walked a few blocks down to civic center plaza where they were having a taste of colorado. this was the coolest food festival EVER! there were lots and lots of restaurants representing, and they had "tastes" of their food so you didn't have to buy a whole entree. what a great idea! here's what we ate:
a very hot (heat hot) louisiana hot link from Alpine Sausage Co
mui delicioso tacos al pastor (that's bbq pork) from Armadillo Border Grill
yummy buffalo wings from An's Lemongrass Grille
tried fried alligator for the first time at Bayou Bob's (tasted like chicken)
had the tiniest taste ever of the buffalo beer brat from Colorado Buffalo Grill
really great crab cakes from Del Mar Crab House (with lots of real crab, no fillers!)
super spicy BBQ wings from D's Gourmet Wings (my mouth was on FIRE)
the best BBQ pork ribs i've had so far from Famous Dave's
tacos and nachos (with queso...yum!) from Tacqueria Jalisco
super creamy mushroom ravioli from Maggiano's
shrimp cocktail from The Broker Restaurant (their prime rib sandwich looked GOOD, but they didn't offer a taste)
refreshing mozzarella caprese and yummy penne w/sausage and mushroom from Venice Ristorante
and for dessert...
chocolate hazelnut gelato (soooo goooood) from Panzano
my favorite festival food, funnel cake! from Roro's Funnel Cakes
a chocolate chip cookie from The Cookie Jar

there were definitely places i want to go try for a real meal (like famous dave's! i'm telling you, those ribs...mmmm...). i think they should do more of those food festivals! we tried 3 new places this weekend too! we've been trying to eat at a new restaurant every weekend. we ate at illegal pete's, which to our surprise turned out to be mexican food! we had yummy sandwiches and soup from the spicy pickle (we have so many good sandwich chains by our house it's ridiculous). and finally tried bennett's bbq (the ribs weren't great, but the brisket was very good. so was their garlic bread!).

now for the shopping part of our weekend. we decided to buy some furniture for our formal living room and guest bedroom, and also buy some more decor for our house. we found some scorching deals on furniture and artwork and fake plants (sometimes you have to buy fake, trust me). but my favorite bargain find this weekend was my $20 north face track jacket (on clearance at REI). we did tons of driving back and forth, trying to find the best deals for the best frames, so hopefully we'll have all our new artwork up and ready. we budgeted some money for our little shopping spree, and i think we did pretty good. we'll have to see how much we have left to retile the kitchen counters and get a new sink and faucet. *sigh* it's never-ending. home-ownership is draining...mentally, physically and financially! just keep thinking resale value...

:: joyce 6:55 PM [+]::
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.:: Friday, September 01, 2006 ::.

as a "special treat" we got to wear jeans today at work. LOL...that's their way of saying "we're not gonna let you go home early, so here's how we're gonna make up for it." but we weren't allowed to wear sneakers. so it wasn't a "casual friday." it was just a "jeans friday." but still, it was kinda weird to see everyone wearing jeans.

:: joyce 7:24 PM [+]::
...

a friend and former coworker wore this t-shirt on one casual friday, i recall it was orange, and the back of the shirt had the phrase "y'om say'n?" on it. i asked him, "what's that?" his response: "y'om say'n?" and from that day on, everytime he wore that shirt, he'd see me and say "y'om say'n?" and i'd respond with "word."