Work in Progress Wednesday v.51

Hey, look at that.  I'm still here.  Gotta say, there were a few times in the last week when I felt pretty sure I was going to curl up into a little ball and die.  But it didn't happen.  Not yet, anyway.  By way of celebrating, I figured I'd give y'all a WIPW update.

The week of No Contact was super hard, but ended tonight.  The good news is, we had a super-encouraging session with our counselor -- the first one where I left feeling better than when I arrived.  At the moment, I feel more hope for us than I have for a while. 

The bad news is that the good result has netted us 2 more weeks of No Contact.  And that, my friends, is a reeeeeeeaaaaalllllly long to not talk (or email or text or...) to the one you love.  I have no idea how I'll get through it, but I guess we'll see.  And if 2 more weeks apart is what it takes, I suppose it's a lot shorter than a lifetime apart.  Perspective, right?

Anyway, I did some stuff this week:

I knitted.  Since it's dark, and late, and my camera doesn't work so well, you'll have to take my word for it.  But I picked up a project and did some stuff and knitted some rows.  More than once, even.

I went to a new knitting group that's kinda nearby.  This is a HUGE deal for me, because generally I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than walk into a group of people I don't know, but I did it.  And it was fun.  And I'm kind of proud of myself.  I'm even thinking I'll go back next week.

I also read 4 books (don't mock -- they're AWESOME), and watched a lot of Mad Men and Glee.  I'm less proud of that.

I got a sassy new haircut and highlight.  I love the girl who cuts my hair, and it cheered me up a bit. 

On Sunday, I hiked a 14er.  For those of you who don't live in Colorado, 14er is the nickname for one of the 54 peaks in the state that are 14,000 feet or taller.  This one was Gray's Peak.

It's not quite as impressive as it sounds, since the trailhead was at 11,280 feet, but I gotta say:  3,000 feet of elevation gain over 3 miles is a whole big lot, espeically since there's not really any air in the air up there.

At that elevation, the snow is still melting off...

The trail started out innocently enough...

But didn't really stay that way for long...

The wildflowers are just getting going up there now.  This little guy was way above the treeline, and so pretty...

And the view from the top was beyond spectacular...

I was feeling pretty good about my accomplishment too, until I started down from the summit and passed two guys who were *running* to the top of the mountain.  Seriously?  It's not enough to make it to the top?  I kind of hate them.

Hope y'all are doing well this week.  I just wanted to say "thanks" one more time for all the good wishes and kind words you've left for me the last several weeks.  They've made a world of difference, and I really appreciate them.  Now, who wants to babysit me?  I've got 13 days to kill here, people... 

Work In Progress Wednesday, v.50

Hey y'all,

Just me, checking in to let you know I'm still here.  Kind of.  Here's what's up around these parts:

GOOD:  I picked up knitting needles for the first time today, and actually knit a little bit.  It was nice.
BAD: I was knitting The Vest From Hell, which hasn't really redeemed itself during its long time out.
UGLY: I picked it up because the only other thing I have on needles at the moment is Mr. Right's wedding sock #2, and well...

GOOD:  I was actually able to concentrate long enough to read a whole book -- Gregor the Overlander.
BAD:  It's a kids book, but hey... Rome wasn't built in a day, right?
UGLY: I went out and bought the next two, just in case I have an attention span longer than 15 minutes again. Ever.

GOOD: Mr. Right and I are still working on stuff.
BAD: Tonight we agreed to a trial separation -- no contact for a week -- which might not sound like much, but the longest we've ever gone without being in touch is about 48 hours.  The idea is that it will bring some clarity.
UGLY: I know I'm supposed to want clarity, but what I want is to live Happily Ever After with this man I love more than anything.  And I can't for the life of me stop crying.

I'll bet I'm not the only one who's  hoping for cheerier posts soon.  All this is pretty depressing.  Apologies.


Here's a pretty picture.  I heart Colorado.  Even now.


This week's WIPW post is brought to you by our sponsors*:
My Seriously Broken Heart
Mr. Clint Eastwood
My Mother's Obsession with The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

okay, not really.

Work in Progress Wednesday v.48

Hi!  Remember me?  My apologies for being AWOL from WIPW last week.  It's the first one I've missed.  45 in a row!  And it took a seriously broken heart and a nasty computer virus (excellent timing!) to derail me.  Ah well, I guess it's not the end of the world, since my one and only WIP at the moment is my relationship.  No pictures of our progress, but we're still working through stuff, still in counseling, and still holding out hope.  Could be worse, right?

The eating has gotten a bit better, but still isn't back to normal.  Lucky for me, I have plenty of reserves to work with and a closet full of clothes that suddenly fit a whole lot better.  Silver linings and all that.  The knitting mojo still hasn't returned, but I'm holding out hope.  Maybe I'll be able to pick it up again this week.  Here's hoping.

I gotta say, I'm eternally grateful that you all are still stopping by and checking up on me and leaving me sweet comments and sending really thoughtful emails.  They've made a HUGE impact.  Y'all are seriously awesome. 

Anyway, since I don't have any knitting to show, I thought I'd share a funny little tidbit from Before.  I'd been saving it for a rainy day and just ran across the pictures.  So here you go...

I'm kind of a creature of habit.  Every mornng, one of the last things I do before I leave the house is feed the dog.  This is the dog:

She's cute, for sure.  But we think she bears a striking resemblance to another creature we came across recently:

Can't you see it?  Trust me.  They're cousins, for sure.

Where was I?  Oh right.  Feeding the dog.  So every morning when I dump the kibble in the dish, I kiss the dog on the snout (the top of her snout, not on her nose -- I have standards, you know), she scarfs down her breakfast and we both go on about our days.

Before we continue, you should know that this dog LOVES her food.  It doesn't matter what it is, if it lands in her dish (Mr. Right refers to this as the "kill zone"), she'll eat it immediately, if not sooner.

Anyway, one morning a few weeks ago, I was running late.  I dumped the kibble in the dish while the dog was in the backyard doing her morning walkabout, and ran out the door.

When Mr. Right got home about 10.5 hours later, he found this:

Right next to this:

The poor thing's eyes were bugged out of her head and she was whining like the world was about to end.  So he (because he is a smart guy), kissed her on her snout and then backed away.  Five seconds later, we had this:

And all was right with the world.  Apparently, I am not the only creature of habit around here.

Thanks again for being so great while I try and figure out which way is up around here.  I'll try to poke my head in more often, but be patient with me.  For some reason, laying on the couch watching episode after episode of Mad Men has become strangely compelling of late.  Go figure.