Final crunch

Oh la la...doesn't that look fun?! A little Internal Revenue Code memorization and some math problems applying those code sections. Sweet action here at the Petefish household. ;) I'm kidding. It is not that bad and that final is tomorrow so I'm close to being finished with partnership taxation! Hoot! Hoot! I apologized to Jackson today for having to study so much this weekend and not being much fun. He responded with, "you only study one time a quarter, I can handle that!" Oops! He's on to me! HA! :)

There has not been much going on around here this weekend. Jackson has played golf and gone to the driving range quite a bit. We got him a $100 range card that credited him for $175 (a special the driving range was having, not some wicked mistake that we did not report) so he is in business for the summer. We tried out a new church just down the road from us today and liked it! The songs were very similar to the ones at Grace and that is a good thing. The minister started out a little slow for Jackson's taste, but "made up for himself in the end." They also have a young married class on Sundays at 9:30 so we are going to go and hope to meet some new friends!

That's all I've got. Please keep my final in your prayers tomorrow it is at 6 Mountain time (7 Central time, 8 Eastern time and 5 Pacific time for those of you not up on your time translations!)

Misc. Photos

We took a quick walk to the Qdoba across the street from our apartment complex today. It was 85 degrees so we decided to take MacKenzie with us and sit outside. She did a great job! She did not bark at anyone- yay! She got rewarded with some chicken from my naked burrito. She LOVED it! Before you ask, the black thing she has on is her harness. It has made her a perfect dog- no pulling on walks!
Jackson golfed this morning and he looked up to see a coyote! We have no evidence that this was the one that attacked MacKenzie, but we hate it all the same. It gave Jackson a good once over and moved on with his bad self. 
I made Jackson breakfast the other day and he thought it was pretty. Random. 
MacKenzie taking a break on a walk at Cherry Creek Reservoir. We like to go there and watch the sailboats. :) 
We took this photo last week on our hike. We were on top of a mountain looking down onto Red Rocks Park. It was a gorgeous view.

Jackson hordes all of these photos on his phone and never sends them to me hence the random nature of this post!  

While Dad is away...

Mom has her say!
I have wanted to give MacKenzie a bath for days, but Jackson keeps saving her from the shower. Jackson is golfing this morning so I put that dirty little pup in the shower. She looks much better. People may even notice that she is white again instead of a weird dirt color. YAY! :)

In other news- I stumbled upon the blog of the people who bought my parent's house in Upland. We must have some friends in common from Taylor University. It was beyond weird to see photos of the house my family built with other people's furniture! I had some near tear moments, honestly. The good news is they talk nicely about my parents and they didn't know that we'd ever see the blog. :)

Another update: If you read the blog post on May 17th about the helicopter landing on the side of the mountain for the biker who broke his neck, there is good news: He is ok!!! While we were hiking we saw a guy that Jackson works with, but did not get a chance to talk to him. Jackson ran into him at the office yesterday and asked him what he thought of the rescue. As luck would have it, one of the riders with the injured guy (4 bikers had been riding together) is Jackson's co-worker's neighbor! He updated him to let him know that the guy did break his neck, but it was a "fixable" injury and he will walk again. Hooray! God is so good! Honestly! I had just wondered and wondered how that man was doing and there you have it: good news!

I think that is about it. I have a big day of studying ahead. I have no idea what the Mr. will do all day?!

Gramps...

You know that you're married to an old man when he tells you to use a PAY PHONE! I had to google pay phone to see what one even was! (Kidding- kind of.) But what a GEEZER!!! I did find out that phone companies had problems with people urinating on them when they were actually in operation. SICK! I am so glad I have my clean little iPhone. They also wanted to change the name to "coin phone" because "pay phone" insinuated that other phones were free- clearly not true. Look at that, you all learned something from the blog today. You're welcome. ;)

P.S. He wanted me to use such pay phone to phone in a threat so he could leave work early. I had protested doing it from my cell phone because of tracking devices. Silly. I did NOT call in a threat. I have too much studying to do to be bothered with finding a PAY PHONE! HAHA! :)

Speaking of phones...I have a phone interview on Thursday (June 4th) with Liberty Mutual to be in their underwriting department. YAY! Your prayers for this interview to be successful would be greatly appreciated!

Around the house

This was Jackson and MacKenzie waving me off as I went to my LAST CLASS OF THIS QUARTER! YAY!! :) (I still have finals to take...BOO!) The two of them got to go to Washington Park for a walk. Then Jackson played tennis with a stranger and beat him. I sat in class. :/

I took a photo of my flowers today because they're making me so proud. Look at them blooming with all they've got! YAY! A tiny little garden in our big city apartment. Smile. :)

I also made blueberry bread for Jackson to take into work tomorrow. (I forgot to take a photo until after I started cutting it- oops!) It turned out pretty well. Our oven here is so darned hot that I have to pay REALLY close attention as to not burn things.

That, sadly, is about all that is going on here. We're getting presents ready for graduation open houses- you forget how out of touch you are with undergrads until you try to shop for them. Jackson is studying for his 65 license (financial stuff) and I'm studying for finals. Try to hold in your jealousy. ;) :)

Goods news/ Bad news

Jackson got a call back from Great West. He has a 3rd interview on June 5th. This will be an in-person interview. The HR person, Holly, told him that the two other people who interviewed him had glowing reviews. YAY! June 5th is a big day! I have my last final of this quarter that day, too!
(Just in case you cannot tell (i.e. your name is Jackson), this girl is sweating- not crying!)

Now, some not so good news: Jackson's external counterpart, David, was fired today. We do not know much, yet. We do not know if Jackson's current job is safe. We're really at a total loss. This was a pretty unexpected event. We'll keep you all posted as soon as we know something.

***UPDATE***
Jackson still has a job! YAY! God is good!! He has moved territories from Los Angeles (West Coast time with a 9 a.m. start time) to Massachusetts (East Coast time with a 6:30 a.m. start time-AHH!). Jackson is not the world's best morning person, but he is pleased with the time switch as it means a 3:00 departure time each afternoon (i.e. time to play golf on the evenings that I have class!). He is still hopeful to change companies and begin this new gig, but until then we still have an income source. Once again, God is good!

Sweet tea

I'm so angry. For months now you all have read about me missing sweetened tea. Jackson and I are cutting carbs starting tomorrow. So I cannot have sweet tea...and now McDonald's in Denver will be serving it.

NOT fair. 

Pottery Barn Kids

Today Jackson and I had to run out to Pottery Barn Kids to get a gift for a friend who is having a baby. It is always an adventure when Jackson and I chart new territory and go into a kid's store. We found what we needed and more! THEY HAVE A WHOLE FISH COLLECTION! For those of you who are unaware of my obsession with fish (I am a PeteFISH after all) it is semi-out of control. Our future child's room- boy or girl- is going to be done in a fish theme. We already have a few items such as the mobile in the photo above. We got it from IKEA in Portland. So cute!

They had quite a few things that I felt our future child "needed" but Jackson disagreed. Hmph!

I LOVE this shower curtain!

I did convince Jackson that we'd be the people that walk around kicking themselves if we did not get these towels. He let me get the washcloth and the hand towel. The large towel was a little pricey and he drew the line. Sigh.

I love the picture on the left of the fish!

They even had beach towels that we fish! AHH!

I love the idea of these hooks being in the child's bathroom someday. One can dream.

These baskets would be PERFECT for toys!!!

And I loved this map because every child deserves to be educated! :)

As you can see, Jackson reigns me in A LOT. He does not believe in "hope chests" at all. I just think if you see something that you LOVE you buy it. Sigh again. Oh well. We had fun anyway! :)

Indy 500!

After digging around in the garage a little more, I finally found MacKenzie's race day attire. She loves her checkered bandanna. She's got to be the cutest race fan in all of Denver! :)

Update!

Ok, a few things have caused some confusion or questions from my blog readers- allow me to explain

1. Jackson is applying to be an "Internal Wholesaler of Executive Benefit Plans" for Great West. He would be dealing with non-qualified defined contribution plans. In English- really wealthy employees sometimes max out their contributions to normal/ "qualified" plans (401K, 403b plans) and are seeking out another place to stash money. These people tend to be doctors, lawyers or corporate execs. (There is nothing wrong with Jackson's current job- he just wants a new challenge with a more prominent company.)

2. This position would be in DENVER, CO. (Boo. Hiss!) We have jointly made the decision to stay in Denver while I finish school. It seemed crazy to throw away the time that I have already spent in class.

3. Our noisy neighbor was not bothering just us! 5 people complained about her on the same night that we had to ask her 2 times to be quiet. The apartment complex let us know today that she has been asked to leave. YAY! And smokie the bear that lives below us is moving, too. Here is hoping for good neighbors the next time around!

4. MacKenzie's paws are healing nicely. She hiked between 5-7 miles with us today. Jackson had the day off for his interview. It was fun.

5. We will be home in Indiana from June 12-15. YAY!

I think that should get everyone up to speed. Excellent. :)

Hoping...

Jackson had his 2nd interview today. Things went really well. The next step would be an in-person interview. We're really hoping that it works out. Please keep your fingers crossed and your prayers strong. :)

Jon & Kate Plus 8

Many of you know how I feel about the TLC "reality" show called "Jon & Kate Plus 8." I HATE it. Kate is an unrelenting b*tch. Jon gets pushed around constantly. She comes off like she knows all about being a perfect mother, meanwhile all she wants is money. I have to admit that I watch occasionally just to get mad- kind of like The View. Anyway, I saw this photo today and almost died. Why?! JON IS WEARING AN IU T-SHIRT! Way to support the HOOSIERS my man! I was elated! :) Jon is OK by me. Don't get me started on Kate again...

STOP smoking

I cannot take it anymore. Smoking has just gotten on my last nerve. It is dirty. No one throws away theirs butts in trash receptacles. People stand near entrances to buildings and smoke. Thank you, I showered today just so I could STINK like your secondhand smoke. GRR! Our neighbors smoke and it makes our apartment stink. It makes my allergies go crazy. It makes people's teeth yellow. It makes their fingernails yellow. (I also cannot imagine that their fingernails taste very good and they probably cannot even bit their nails anymore- one of life's great pleasures if you ask me!) It is an expensive habit! The other day I saw a guy with a sign reading that he was homeless and he was smoking!!!!!! I am sorry, sir, but once you give up that $5 a pack habit I might throw you a bone. Come on! Come on! It is madness!

Thanks for listening. :)

Sunday hike

Jackson and I went for a hike near Red Rocks today. After a long hike in the beating sun we needed some cold refreshment. 

Welcome to Tipsy's Liquor World! Can you believe how big this liquor store is?! It is unbelievable. However, with all of their inventory they did not have the beer that Jackson was looking to buy. Bummer. (I hate beer. I didn't get anything at Tipsy's!) Jackson had to settle for Bud Light with Lime. Poor kid. ;) 

Before Tipsy's we went to hike. As we got to the parking lot at the trail head we saw emergency crews. I was worried about a bear attack. As it turns out, there had been a mountain biking accident and a man named Mark had broken his neck. A helicopter landed on the side of mountain and took Mark to the hospital. My heart absolutely went out to him and his family. 

You cannot tell from this photo, but the helicopter landing was a really cool thing. We were on the side of a mountain! 

This was a view from about half-way through the hike. Gorgeous! 

On the way home we stopped in at Columbine High School. It was so weird to be there. Surreal. 

This was a really random post and I apologize, but it was a random day! :)

Funny

I forgot to post these after our trip to Portland. We were in Astoria, OR when we saw this hotel...right under that huge bridge. 
This was their sign. Hilarious! :)
These 3 pups were our hosts at Jackson's cousin's house in Portland. Aren't they sweet?! :)

Golf

A fox!
Fox again!







Jackson and Susie played golf on his birthday at a very scenic course (as you can see). 

Tennis- NO MORE!

Jackson got a new tennis racquet for his birthday and loves it. He has been playing with a guy from work on Wednesday nights while I am at school. He wanted me to learn to play so he gave me is old racquet. Friday night we went to Washington Park to play because they have a tennis court with just a wall for practice. MacKenzie was with us and kept stealing our balls. Eventually her barking got to be too much and we put her in the car. We played for about an hour until I almost died. Tennis is no joke. Sheesh! We took MacKenzie for a long walk around the park and headed home. It was really fun. We decided that Saturday morning we would take her to a tennis court closer to our house that is normally empty. We let her run after the balls for about an hour. She was in heaven! Anyway, my serve and backhand are getting better, but I'm still not good. At all. Jackson is good, of course. I am semi-annoyed that he is always good at sports. 

MacKenzie was pooped after tennis. We went to go hike at Red Rocks and when we got out of the car we noticed blood on MacKenzie's legs. She had run so much that her paw pads were raw. Bummer. We called the vet and they told us to wash her paws and cover them in infant's socks. Too funny. We had to run out and buy infant socks. Do not get me started on going to Wal-Mart at 1:30 on a Saturday. UGH! MacKenzie is on the road to recovery now, thankfully. She will never get to play tennis again. Boo.

Other news updates:

-Things with my Grandpa are so-so. Sometimes the news is good. Other times the news is not so good. Please keep him and my Grandma in your prayers.

-Jackson's job interview on Friday went really well. He has another interview on Wednesday. Again, prayers would be great.

-We have a really loud neighbor who is being just awful. We have complained. I am now praying for patience so I don't just freak out on her.

-We got to plant some flowers today and it was really fun! :)  

We hope you're having a great weekend. 

Gramps

My grandpa is not looking too good. The medicine they have him on is making him delusional. If you could please keep him in your prayers- that'd be great.

Tough times

As most of you already know, Jackson and I have been going through a ridiculously hard time as of late. We ask that you'll keep us in your prayers as we seek guidance on what our next steps should be. We thank you all for all of your love and continued support.

I also ask for prayers from my Grandpa and Grandma. My Grandpa has been in the hospital for many days and that is never easy one anyone. My mom is down in Florida now lending a hand. I wanted to be there, too. Flights from Denver to Florida are not cheap or particularly easy to find.

No one told me that being a grown up would be NO fun.

Happy Birthday, Jackson

MacKenzie and I would like to wish Jackson a very happy 32nd birthday! :)

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! I hope that all of you moms out there had a splendid day. This was my little girl giving me a card and candy. How sweet. Literally. ;):)

Grammy!

MacKenzie has dealt with the vacuum cleaner for 2 days now (Jackson does the stairs since someone is clearly not so good with them and I do the house) all in the name of seeing her GRAMMY! I couldn't find a better photo of the two of them together, but this is a favorite anyway. We will be celebrating Mother's Day and Jackson's birthday during this visit. This will be the first time Susie gets to come for "fun" as the last 2 visits were for moving and my knee surgery. What a trooper!

We intend to do some hiking, MacKenzie walking and golfing. (I don't get to go golfing as it would be an embarrassment. Plus, that fall down the stairs really tore me up. I'm still incredibly sore and moving slower than I'd like. How rude!) It should be a good time! :)

Equality

There has been a lot of talk in the news lately about equality.

Growing up I had the privilege of knowing my Uncle Mike. Mike had a very tough life. I won't get into all of the details, but just know it was a rough life. A life that most people would complain about. Most people would go into a depression and use these awful events as a crutch: not Mike. I never remember hearing Mike complain. If we went to eat somewhere, we always got to pick. I'm certain he had preferences, we all do, but he let us choose. We normally picked Pizza King so he was probably cool with that! :) Mike had Schizophrenia and lived in a group home for the time that I can remember of his life. (He didn't always live in a home, but he often did.) He seemed to like his group homes because there was always something going on. He liked playing cards and watching t.v. with everyone. I'll never forget him telling my mom and I once that he felt bad for us because we had to deal with everyday stress and he didn't! Can you imagine? He felt bad for us! Isn't it interesting to see another person's point of view? Now, equality. People were not nice to Mike. He was "different" so he didn't deserve their respect. Where are the groups fighting for handicapped people's rights to respect and equality? I know they've made leaps and bounds, but there is still work to be done.

Monday I had the chance to speak with Jason, an employee at my local King Soopers (Kroger with a weird name). Jason was a little slow, but he was a super nice guy. He was wearing a Nuggets jersey and I was wearing an IU shirt (what's new?!) so we talked sports. The Nuggets are doing well in the playoffs and he was excited. We talked the Colts, etc. It was a nice conversation. I love to talk sports. As I exited the store a manager approached me and told me that he watched my interaction with Jason and wanted to thank me for being nice. I told him I wouldn't know why anyone wouldn't love to talk with Jason. He said that I'd be shocked at how many people complain that they allow handicapped people to be baggers. I wanted to throw-up. How dare people complain about that?! How dare they? I quickly told the manager that I applauded them employing Jason and that he was top-notch. Where is our equality there, folks? Jason is handicapped it is ok to treat him as less than human?! That's not ok. 

I do not tell you any of this to pat myself on the back for having a soft-spot for those with mental or physical handicaps. I do not need any pats on the back. What I do need is for people to see equality for all people really does mean all people.

End of rant. Thank you.

Birds

We ate at a famous fish stand in Seattle called "Ivar's" where they have the best clam chowder ever. You order at a little shack and then eat outside by the water. The birds all congregate near where they people eat to beg. As many of you may know, birds really freak me out. They're dirty. They're creepy. They're scary. I just do not love birds. That being said these birds were basically tame and knew what to do to get food. It was really fun feeding them. You can see in the video that the 3-year-old girl was way more into the birds than I was. I kept my distance. Who knew birds loved french fries?! I'm going to count feeding the birds as another fear that I have overcome.

SEATTLE!

It wouldn't be a trip to Seattle without seeing the first Starbucks!

I didn't get a drink because it was FAR too crowded! I hope they pay those baristas well.

This is a photo that Jackson took from the top of the Space Needle's exterior observation deck. The wind was whipping at 50 mph. I stayed inside.

This was the view of the city from the ferry that we took to Bainbridge Island. What a quaint little place Bainbridge is!

I never knew just how big of a city Seattle is: HUGE!

I tried to make Jackson appear to hold up the Space Needle. He wouldn't do it. He is always so happy when he's on the water!

The market! What a fun place. It was SUPER crowded, but totally fun and worth seeing.

We LOVED Seattle. It was rainy some and wonderfully sunny some so I feel like I got a good taste of the weather. The town is very clean and people are somewhat friendly i.e. not NYC-type but it still is clearly not the Midwest!

We met up with my cousins Cortny and Mike who live in Seattle (it pays to have relatives in cool places) and they took us to the Space Needle. My fear of heights was somewhat tamed by this adventure and I was proud of myself. We met them for breakfast on Sunday and explored their part of the city called Ballard. It is a lovely little place and we totally see why they love it there. The farmers market was so neat!

Jackson and I did a little more sight-seeing on Sunday and then it was time to head to Portland to catch our flight. We lingered in Seattle a little too long and nearly missed the cutoff time for checking in for our flight. We like a good challenge. We made it, though and slept like babies last night! What a fun trip we had to the Pacific Northwest!