crack the shutters

Crack the shutters open wide, I wanna bathe you in the light of day
And just watch you as the rays tangle up around your face and body
I could sit for hours finding new ways to be awed each minute
Cuz' the daylight seems to want you just as much as I want you

sooooo happy the weekend is here. i definitely am ready to have some down time. although i am headed to estes park tomorrow with some guys from sin for the last sale of the season before the shops close down for winter then i have a family dinner in the late afternoon in aurora with all my aunts and uncles(6) from all over the country. no doubt the nobel prize will be a big topic.

it has been a week. my offices had a meeting with sbirt and a representative from the national drug policy office. they are very interested in our collaboration between ryan white and sbirt. colorado is the only country doing this right now. it was a good report card on our end as well. at my workplace, i believe the implementation of sbirt has breathed new life into a very embedded issue and offered an opportunity to have thoughtful dialogue where burnout was residing. but more will be revealed no doubt.

the newsletter layout has been passed into different hands. my friend who has done all the issues thus far was unable to finish so it was necessary to outsource. i am anxious to see how the process is and the final product. but i will be very very happy to put this puppy to bed. the reason, of course, is i have to start on the next one.

sunday brings winterizing the townhouse. shutting down and blowing out the sprinklers, turning off the swamp coolers, and tearing out a dying evergreen from the front yard. i still have to assemble some shelving and take away an old dresser set.

my weekend is full, but it also brings some joy. i am so ready to wear jeans, throw a steak on the grill, and kick back to watch a movie. hope you have some fun.

today's sound choice is "crack the shutters" by my dreamboats du jour snow patrol.

love the one you're with

If you’re down and confused, and you don’t remember who you’re talkin’ to. Concentration slip away, ‘cause your baby is so far away.

Well there’s a rose in the fisted glove and the eagle flies with the dove, and if you can’t be with the one you love, honey, love the one you’re with, love the one you’re with, love the one you’re with, love the one you’re with.

it's been an eventful weekend. i have been more social than usual and attended more dinners and functions in 2 1/2 day than i have the previous month or so. on friday after work, i went to my neighbors for dinner. they are a family and are so very very different from me in many ways. however, we have some commonalities-unusual for sure-that somehow keep us connected. i actually had a blast with them, before they drove of to lake michigan for 10 days of vacation. they gave me some veggies for their garden.

saturday luncheon brought a baby shower for one of the doctors that work on our team. she is to have twin boys sometime within the next month. we dined at a small french bistro and had a smashing strawberry shortcake complete with fresh whipped cream. i met her husband and spent a little more time with many of my teammates. it's almost overwhelming to think about how much her life will change with the onset of two infants. doubt i could deal.

then saturday night, another friend had invited me over for dinner as his mother is visiting from connecticut. dinner was for 7. i got a call about 6 o'clock from him saying that their stove had gone on the fritz and asking if they come over and cook in my kitchen and then have dinner back at their place. of course, i said yes. he, his partner, and his mother were at my house within the hour making sumptuous paella and spanish tortas -one potato and one sweet potato. it was surreal and it was lovely. and dinner at their home was even more luscious. another guest had made strawberries in balsamic reduction with ginger vanilla ice cream.

in reflection, i realize how different each of these gatherings were. yet each of them fit into my psyche and my heart quite snugly. i love each of them, but with a different part of my soul.

i made an appetizer for the two dinners( i stole this recipe from a chef i work with)

fresh figs (cut in half)
goat cheese crumbled on top
drizzle with fresh honey
cracked pepper on top.

this honestly works like a charm...

today's sound choice is the late and undisputeably great luther vandross with his version of "love the one you're with"

just another manic monday

shifting gears from weekend to weekday is much easier since i have slowed way down on the catering gigs. i had the shopping day on saturday and went to see the new travolta/washington film, and then sunday i was fortunate enough to see a friend for tea and got a mess (literally) of yard work done that has been causing me grief.

i purchased new curtains for the bohemian love pad, new dishes, and some new shirts which i sorely need. i even bought a lavendar polo, although i cannot even begin to figure where i might wear it. no doubt more will be revealed.

amazingly, i did not get everything done i hoped for. but i did accomplish personal care items and am thrilled with that. so when i slip into sunday afternoon, i feel a little remorse, but even more satisfaction that i was blessed with down time.

monday morning brings a 6am workout, followed by a huddle at the office at 8am. working straight through till 5p with an hour lunch and a change of locations in the afternoon, followed by a drive to the burbs for 4 hours of dui classes. this seems the longest day as it is in such opposition to the weekend.

the blessed part of this crazy schedule is the very little amount of time i have to be in my own head. i am required to be present for others for the totality of work time. i am allowed to be of service and find ways to give to others.

today's sound choice is an acoustic version of manic monday by the bangles.