So, I've been super lazy and not updating, but also because not much has happened in Dirty Dodge, so I had to wait until enough exciting things piled up to warrant a post. Probably the most exciting thing was Tyler finally got a new car. His old car (a '96 Taurus he has had since his sophomore year of high school), was on it's last legs.  The air-conditioning had gone out three years back and some brake issues were the straw that broke the camel's back. He fell in love with (another) '08 Taurus in Dodge and brought it home a few weeks ago! Now I no longer have to listen to him whine about the heat and ask me to drive constantly because my a/c works. Huzzah!

I also started work! The people all seem very nice, and I'm also getting to work reference, which is a nice change from circulation. Also, I'm not a regularly scheduled shelver, which after 3.5 years of doing it for 3 hours a week, is HEAVEN. Don't get me wrong, its not that bad of a job..I'm just ready for something different. :)

And grad school has also began! I'm just starting week two, and a program completely online is interesting. I had only previously taken one or two completely online classes before, and they were for gen. ed. requirements, so they weren't that challenging.  However, since there is a little more riding on these classes, I'm extra-anxious to make sure I'm doing okay. Mostly, I'm hoping to avoid any dumb mistakes when posting comments so that no one hates me.

-B

Oh LC....

So, I have a confession.



I've been spending most of my free time re-watching The Hills.  It all started because Laguna Beach came up on Netflix. I didn't have cable when Laguna Beach was on and had no friends to invite me over to watch it.  Also, my parents would have decreed it the devil's show. Anyhoo. After finishing those 11 episodes up...I had no choice but to start the first season of The Hills. And now I'm 40 episodes in after two days. It's like being transported into a magical land of my freshman year of college.  It's wonderful.

-B

Hoo-ray!

So, for today I was going to post something about being sad and mopey about not going back to school, BUT

I got a job!

Okay, so it's not quite a big girl job.  It's a part-time job at the Kendall-Young Library in Webster City, but I'm super excited to work in a library, and I think that the director will be a great to work with as I got through graduate school. I start on Monday!

-B

Moon Manicure

So, I had been wanting to try doing a moon manicure ever since I had seen it over on Jezebel.  It seemed the perfect antidote to the French Manicure (which I love, btw--I just can't do it myself and since I usually chip my nails within 24 hours of getting one, it's rather depressing to get them done at a salon. And acryilc nails, while gorgeous...drive me bonkers. And taking them off sucks. I digress).

After a botched attempt to use masking tape to make the supplies something most people just have laying around, I broke down and got the page reinforcements.

Supplies...

I was lazy and didn't prep my nails any and went straight to the base coat (which was OPI Coney Island Cotton Candy). It is super light though, so next time I'll probably use something darker.  I also used nail freeze spray to help the polish dry faster, because I'm super impatient when it comes to nails drying.  The article I went off of suggested trimming the page reinforcements down to fit your nails.  I didn't do this, because it seemed like just cutting them in half was good enough, but some of my ovals ended up off-center and wonky, so it is probably a good idea.

For the top I used Nicole by OPI It Gets Dark Early. Its a little dark for summer, but I thought it would go well with the base coat (T asked me if I was gothic after I was all done. Oy). I had some leakage problems from the reinforcements and I would also probably make the moons slightly smaller for some of them, but overall (especially considering my nail painting abilities) I think they turned out fairly decent!

Finished Product

-B

Getting the Heck out of (Fort) Dodge

Well, temporarily at least. For now. Being the Summer of Becca and all (and being married to a teacher) I had made the executive decision to go to Colorado at some point.  I had hoped for weeks full of frolicking in the mountain air, but since T (I'll refrain from using his full name since he has no control over the content) is a worrier about the amount of work he should be doing...on his vacation, we were there five days. Anyway.  (Oh, and I didn't take very many pictures...so I'll fill in with pictures of similar activities from earlier trips. It's like two for the price of one!)

The drive was uneventful, except for the little hut in the middle of Eastern Colorado I manage to catch every time. Seriously, I took this picture when we moved Justin and Cassy out there three years ago, and every trip since I spot it. We were meant to be.

Also, it involved me driving through Denver (T's car has no air, and mine is a stick, which he had just learned how to drive). This was a feat, considering I had a) grown up in a town with no stoplights b) hadn't driven on anything more than two-lane highway until I went to college, and c) until last summer, I had never driven in a city the size of Des Moines. I'm sheltered, whatever. Luckily, we arrived unscathed.

Our first day we saw Dinosaurs!

 Or their remains

And visited Red Rocks!

 

T joined all the other exercisers...

The next day we bummed around near T's aunt and uncle's house, then took off for Boulder. The drive was...hillier than I expected and my poor motorcycled-engine of a car struggled...but we made it! To pool swimming, delicious self-serve frozen yogurt with a million toppings and of course, my adorable dog-phew, Titus.

Seriously adorable. I cannot resist this animal.

The next day we went for a hike. In DEATH CANYON. Okay, not really. But it was a canyon. But not at all Death-y. And then took a dip in Boulder Creek. The water was running higher than normal since the snowpack is still melting (seriously, there were ski lifts open on the Fourth of July), so poor Titus had to swim against the current the whole time since he was too short to touch the ground. Also, some drunk ragamuffins asked us if we were Jewish. Because apparently we all looked the same. Huh. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, eating, and of course...more ice cream. Then the next morning, an early wake up call, and it was back to Fort Dodge and real life.

-B

A Little Gem in Dirty Dodge

So, we basically live in downtown FD (not as glamorous as it sounds--it's not exactly a bustling urban area).  A few blocks from our house is this curious little Ferris wheel, stuck between two buildings, old and rusty. It caught my eye the first time I drove by it, and the other night I finally mustered the ambition to walk over with my camera and take some pictures. My camera battery died before I was able to get as many as I liked and I waited too long so the light was going, but I liked how some turned out. Hopefully next time I take pictures of it I"ll remember to charge my battery....

 

-B

Things That Annoy Me, Vol. 1

In a post that is sure to become a series, I'd like to share something that has been bothering me for a while.  There is a blogger, who shall remain nameless, that ALWAYS posts pictures of herself in cute clothes, with hair all done and the perfect outfit.  What the hell. I struggle with dressing myself on special occasions.  Looking that good on a regular basis? I'd probably be dead by now just trying.

My Daily Wardrobe-STAT t-shirt, Soffee shorts-Jcpenney

Apparently I belong to the Red Hat Society as well. So, to all those people who are awesome at life. Please stop. You're making me feel horrible about my slothfulness and inability to coordinate colors.

-B