Bloody Crafty

I'm Legal!

It's official - my car (and I) live in Colorado!

After months of consideration, I finally got Colorado license plates for the Corolla a few weeks ago - actually a few months ago. But it took me a while to actually get them "installed".  A few interesting things about Colorado license plates:
1. You have to pass an emissions test.  I'm not sure what happens in this test but it requires waiting in a box while a computer is hooked up to your tailpipe.  I took that test in September when my Indiana plates expired (for those of you who don't know - I'm an expert at driving with expired plates - all it takes is complete ignorance) and we PASSED!
2. DMVs are scary everywhere.  I've now tried St. Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis and Denver.  All suck equally and do NOT take credit cards.  Hello state governments???  Invest.
3. In Colorado, you only have to pay for the actual license plate!  My whole deal - new resident and all - cost $32.  Now my car is kind of old but still.  Last time I paid in Indiana, it was like $110 or something.  I wondered if it would be more if I failed the emissions test.
4. The reason there was such a delay in the actual installation of my plates is that in Colorado you have to have front and back plates.  In Indiana, we only had one in the back.  I wonder if that's just an Indiana thing?  Does every other state have two?  If so, then manufacturers ought to get that clue and put a holder on the front of the car.  My dad and Eric had to use a drill and we had to go to an auto parts store (where everyone looks at me funny) to get a "case" for the plate.  I considered one covered in bling - but went with plain black instead. It was very complicated - but now I'm all good.  With the exception of desperately needing a new car. And, arguably, a car wash.

The Closet: A Love Story

Craftiness totally runs in the family as Eric's great back-breaking (literally) project of 2008 is complete!  A bit of background...

When we moved to Denver we bought this cute little house that has no room for us or our stuff.  But it came with a pretty big new garage that showed potential.  When we got here I realized that there was not room in our bedroom closet or any other space inside the house for both my spring and winter wardrobes (mainly because all the boys apparently have clothing too).  So the off-season was forced to live in cardboard boxes in the garage.  I once half jokingly suggested that those unsightly boxes could theoretically be replaced with a cedar closet to protect my wares.  And many months later, when his disk was much more herniated, Eric bought some wood and went to work.  Nothing stopped him - not my cautious whining nor his surgeon's warnings nor eventual surgery - and this past weekend the offseason got a new home!

And it's total lux - cedar lined on all four walls and the ceiling!  Plus it has electricity. We were able to empty seven moving boxes (not all my clothes) and clean up the rest of the garage.  The closet also houses board games, wedding presents, extra martini glasses, and fly rods.  And now instead of loads of moving boxes - the garage houses our cars, bikes and a few plastic bins.  I love it!  Thank you Eric!

Election Elation

So it appears that I'm still caught up in my election elation after Obama's win, because I haven't found anything profound to say in like a month. Very sorry for that loyal followers.  Maybe I can catch up today.

I still feel the way I did on November 5 - full of inspiration.  I won't soon forget the moment I tripped back into the living room to see Tom Brokaw announce Obama won at 9:00pm MST.  Eric and Melissa and I were mystified.  What?  How did that happen?  Did I hit the remote?  Seriously - ten minutes passed before we were hugging and high-fiving and cracking open the champagne.  The speech was humble and appropriate and amazing - just like the crowd in Grant Park that somehow we all felt a part of.  The next morning as I was painfully reminded that celebration has a price in the form of a headache beyond measure, I drove from store to store looking for newspapers.  They were all gone.  Every USA Today, NY Times (checked 3 Starbucks), and Denver Posts - at 8:00am.  I finally found a Post and stole a USA Today from someone's mail at work (she wasn't there).  For some reason, I wasn't alone and wanting this captured in more than a digital form (though this digital form is pretty fantastic).

Here are few thoughts from friends that day - an endless conversation of happiness:
From Kim: "One of my favorite things I saw was a sign at a NY rally that said "Rosa sat, so that Martin could stand, so that Barack could run, so that our children could fly."
From me: "But still my biggest thrill is how this election, this man, could easily really change the way we live.  It's not just another morning.  People want to help, want to be involved, are ready to give their time and energy to help move this country forward.  Maybe it's just me - but i've never felt that way.  I felt like an observer not a participant - outside of just voting and bitching.  Today i feel different and i am quite hopeful for my children to grow up this way.  Four weeks ago I was afraid for them - not because of this election but the economy, the world, the darkness.  Today, I can only see light."
From Fan's boss in Instanbul that day: "Today walking through the streets of Istanbul I had the same thing happen twice -- someone asks where I'm from and I say "United States/Chicago." The guy each time responded with "Congratulations to you and congratulations to the world!" And then, coming from another restaurant across the street right after one of the interactions several people raised their glasses and yelled "Peace!" to me as I walked by."

Just 61 days to go!