Shampoo...really?

So, I have had many crazy, painful things happen in my life. I will name a few here:
- I smashed my chin on a metal trailer, resulting in stitches and a gnarly scar on my chin.
- I got kicked in the face by my horse, resulting in plastic surgery and a cracked bone above my eye.
- Breaking my wrist in 6 places and getting a concussion because a snowboarder took me out on a ski hill.
- Getting shampoo in my eye.

Yes, that is right people... shampoo! Last night, I was enjoying a lovely shower, and I was squeezing shampoo into my hand. Somehow, on the journey from bottle to hand, shampoo ended up in my eye.

Now, you're saying to yourself, "it's just shampoo." But, I promise you, it was dreadfully painful. This was truly one of the top 10 most painful experiences that I have ever experienced, I am not being dramatic here.

When the shampoo entered my eye, I immediately stuck my head under the shower head... to no avail. My eye would no open, even when I used my hands to try and pry it open. Then, I called Chris up to help me! I immediately started crying, because there was nothing we could do and the pain just wouldn't go away. And if you know me, you know that I am NOT a crier! Finally, I laid down and forced my eye open while Chris squeezed tons of eye drops in. Even after that, I was still in pain.

I find it unbelievable that a little shampoo could cause so much trouble and pain. I advise you, avoid shampoo in the eye at all costs!

Oh, and just in case you are wondering what kind of shampoo it was... Herbal Essences was the culprit!

Un déjeuner français

Sam and Josette's home in Provence. Meals were always delicious AND beautiful!

Well, here I sit on a Tuesday afternoon, FINALLY watching it snow! It won't amount to anything, but it's better than nothing I guess.

Since I only work part time, I have Tuesday and Thursday afternoons off. It is a bittersweet thing because on one hand, we don't get as much money, but on the other hand, I get some extra time to do things such as clean, cook, relax, plan and visit with friends!

Today, I got to visit with my friends from France: Sam and Josette. Sam is originally from Texas and Josette is from the south of France. They lived in the US, including Fort Collins, and they chose to retire in France and have been there for many years.

Sam and Josette

I never had the chance to study abroad, so when getting my second degree, I asked a French Professor what my options were for "studying," in France. After all, what kind of French teacher would I be with out spending significant time in France? I have traveled to France many times, but I have never "studied," there. So, my Professor introduced me to Josette. Two summers ago, I was lucky enough to travel to Provence and stay with Sam and Josette for two weeks. Josette gave me private French lessons, and I got to live the Provencial Life for a little while. It was a great experience.

Once a year, Sam and Josette come to Colorado for a month, because they have family from Fort Collins and Denver. When they come, they always invite Chris and I over for a visit. I have to say that it was really funny watching Chris get his first "bisous," from Josette when he met her.

Josette and I

Today, I went to visit on my own, because Chris was in school. I love getting to practice my French and get updated on European news. It was good to see my friends from France, and hopefully, Chris and I will go visit them in France sometime soon : )

Sam and Josette's home of Cabries, France

A Lazy Weekend... With No Guilt

Hello all! Happy Super Bowl Weekend.

For us, this has been a very lazy weekend. We went to dinner and a movie on Friday, lounged on Saturday, went to Church and lunch today and now... more lounging. I love the fact that the Super Bowl gives me a reason to be lazy! We really have not accomplished much! I (Angela) usually feel really guilty and lazy when I have weekends like this. Then, Chris reminds me of how much we do during the week, and I begin to understand why we have weekends... to recover.

Our weeks consist of: Teaching (which requires a great amount of energy to be effective for our kiddos), planning, grading, cooking dinner, making lunches, driving to Wellington (Ang), staff meetings, basketball practice and games (Chris), cleaning, taking care of our pets, keeping up with e-mail, staying in touch with family, shoveling the driveway, working out, laundry and thousands of other little things that keep us moving from day to day. And somehow, we still need to find time for ourselves and each other. It is no wonder that we are tired by the time Friday night rolls around!

I have to point out that we are not this lazy every weekend and I also have to point out that we love what we do and our busy lives! But, every once is a while, it is totally ok to put your feet up and just relax! So, I encourage everyone to take a lazy weekend without guilt! You will be better off for it in the long run... sometimes we just need to breath!

Happy Februrary and have a great week!

Lovely Weather We're Having

What a beautiful day to be in the mountains!

We were so lucky to have a three day weekend last week... why can't every weekend be a three day weekend??? And on top of a three day weekend, we have had beautiful weather here in Fort Collins. It has been in the high 60's and even into the 70's here for about a week. All of this relaxing and great weather has us wishing it was summer vacation!


Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Ang's dad came up and we had a lot of fun with him and her brother Jeremy. We went out to eat, played games, met up with family and enjoyed the beautiful Fort Collins weather!

This Dog is ridiculous.

Making a snow angel
Look at that blue sky!

Then on Monday, we drove up to Cameron Pass and had a great time snowshoeing. We were a little worried that we wouldn't find any snow, but we eventually found some snow, though we did have to drive for a while to find it.

Tucker and his boots. We are NOT the kind of dog owners that dress our dog, but in this case, he has to wear boots or his feet start to bleed.

If you watch this video long enough, you will see Tucker trip Chris by walking on his snowshoes.

All in all it has been a great week and enjoyed the weather. We are expecting snow tonight, but as they say, all good things must come to an end.

Gather the troops...

One of the reasons that we love Fort Collins is because of our friends! If we ever had to leave this town, we would be very sad to leave all of you! This weekend, the troops gathered at the Steak Out, where we enjoyed some company and some New Belgium.

The Boys
The Girls

Kevin, Merri, Sean
Kevin and Kal
Drez, Chris and Ang
Sean, Kal and Jared

Insomnia

Ever since I got my wisdom teeth out, I have not been able to sleep. It has been horrible, because I LOVE sleeping. In addition, I have not been able to eat. This has been quite depressing because much like sleep, I also love food. I am very tired of eating soup and smoothies. I tried to eat solid food today (noodles) and it was extremely painful. In fact, I was in the most pain I have been in since I got my teeth out.

Well, we went to bed early tonight, because we start work again tomorrow. While Chris was slumbering away, I was laying there, hungry with a wandering mind. What did this lead to? Me thinking about food and how I cannot WAIT until I am able to eat real food again. The last few days, Chris and I have been eating separate meals because we can't eat the same food.

This got me thinking about how I really enjoy cooking. I enjoy finding creative, easy, cheap meals to make. I enjoy the process of throwing it all together. I enjoy eating the meals I make. And I enjoy that when I cook, Chris and I get to sit down and eat together. We usually always eat at the table (not in front of the TV), and usually we play a game while we eat (backgammon). So cooking leads to quality Chris and Ang time. Therefore, I love everything about cooking!

So, I bet you are wondering why in the world I am writing this all down. Well, here it is:
-Getting my wisdom teeth removed leads to pain and hunger.
-Pain and hunger lead to not being able to sleep.
-Not being about to sleep leads to thinking about food as well as thinking what I could do with my time besides lay and bed and be frustrated that I can't sleep.
-Thinking about food and being frustrated leads me to creating a new blog about cooking!
- My blog about cooking leads to ideas and shared recipes for all.

So, if it interests you, feel free to check out the new blog: http://angkitchen.blogspot.com/

Goodnight (I hope)! Maybe my percocet will kick in soon and I will be able to sleep :)

Not so wise anymore...

Well folks,
It's official- I (Ang) got my wisdom teeth out yesterday. Way to ring in the New Year. I have been dreading this procedure my whole life, but it is finally done. Things went ok. Apparently I had the hiccups through the whole surgery. And last night I celebrated the New Year by having my head in a toilet throwing up all night. We think it was a reaction to the anesthesia. Whatever it was, it WAS NOT fun. But at about 9:00 (and after some very interesting medication), I finally stopped throwing up. Today, I feel pretty darn good, and haven't even had to take the heavy duty pain killers, just some advil. I predict a quick recovery.

Happy New Year to all!!!