...a pic of some of Christmas cookies. Not only did I think my photo came out nice, but I was very proud of my decorating. :)
Monday, January 16, 2006
A little late, but...
...a pic of some of Christmas cookies. Not only did I think my photo came out nice, but I was very proud of my decorating. :)
Pictures to share...
Here's a pic of the drawing I did for Rob's parents for Christmas. I am actually pretty pleased with this one. It's been a long time since I have doing a pencil/ink drawing and worked in this manner. Been painting mostly for the past couple years, but in Decemeber, I did a couple pieces using ink, pencil, charcoal, and even a traditional Japanese stamp. I really enjoyed working this way too for a change. Will upload some more pics of my work as I download/take them.
Happy Birthday, MLK...
Had quite a fun weekend. Watched some Cary Grant movies, ate some yummy Italian food at a restaurant in Boulder, did a little shopping (or more appropriately, window shopping since I didn't buy anything), and spent yesterday in my pj's relaxing and also doing some work. I went to this restaurant in Boulder with my neighbor on Saturday for lunch, Pasta Jay's. It's a pretty low-key restaurant, very casual, and very yummy. Had a house salad with gorgonzola cheese, their complimentary (and delicious) garlic bread, and we split their special, stuffed portabella mushroom. Envision this: a bed of spaghetti drenched with a creamy tomato sauce, topped with a huge portabella muschroom, which is stuffed with a mixture of spinach, chicken, and ricotta cheese. THEN, on top of all this, more of their yummy creamy tomato sauce. It was divine!
It's been so hectic with work lately, I feel like I have not gotten a chance to email or call anyone in days, so I apologize for that, if anyone feels like I've been MIA!
This week, I'm enjoying having the house and Mikey to myself while Rob is in Toronto. Although as much as I love having some alone time, I do find myself a little bored. But I chalk that up to having 1/2 the laundry to do and not cooking meals every day! Been enjoying some Kraft mac and cheese, frozen egg rolls, and cheerios. Lots of cheerios. I think if I had to eat the same thing everyday for 2 out of 3 meals, I would choose cheerios, or just cereal in general. You get your dairy, whole grains, vitamins, since isn't most cereal fortified?, and in my case, a tiny bit of sugar to make your day sweet.
This Thursday, I am heading back to Chicago to collect my car. Yippee-skippy. I am thrilled to be bringing my car out here to enjoy the sunny state of Colorado. Since Rob will be in Chicago already, we'll spend the weekend there and drive back to Colorado on Monday. During this cross country drive, I hope to actually see the sign that announce the time change. See, on our drive out here when we were moving, I was following Rob, who was driving a huge U-Haul truck, and couldn't see any street signs until I had nearly passed them, so I missed the sign on that trip. Then, in the summer, when we drove to St. Louis, I somehow missed the sign again. On the way back home from that trip, I missed it again. I seriously don't know if it exists. Perhaps Rob is just screwing with me! But this time, I'm going to have my eyes wide open.
Since I've talked so much about my love of the Italian bakery, D. Palmieri's, in Rhode Island, I will continue to harp on those treats my mom sent me. I'm still enjoying the wine biscuits and the frosted egg biscuits with my hot tea. And I'm determined to bake some myself. I found a recipe for both items and think that I may test out one of the recipes this week.
OH my.... Wife Swap. Has anyone seen this show? I thought Trading Spouses was bad. This is so much more horribly worse. (Is that possible?) Also speaking of bad TV, the new season of American Idol starts tomorrow. I'm pumped, the first few episodes of all the auditions are usually hilarious.
It's been so hectic with work lately, I feel like I have not gotten a chance to email or call anyone in days, so I apologize for that, if anyone feels like I've been MIA!
This week, I'm enjoying having the house and Mikey to myself while Rob is in Toronto. Although as much as I love having some alone time, I do find myself a little bored. But I chalk that up to having 1/2 the laundry to do and not cooking meals every day! Been enjoying some Kraft mac and cheese, frozen egg rolls, and cheerios. Lots of cheerios. I think if I had to eat the same thing everyday for 2 out of 3 meals, I would choose cheerios, or just cereal in general. You get your dairy, whole grains, vitamins, since isn't most cereal fortified?, and in my case, a tiny bit of sugar to make your day sweet.
This Thursday, I am heading back to Chicago to collect my car. Yippee-skippy. I am thrilled to be bringing my car out here to enjoy the sunny state of Colorado. Since Rob will be in Chicago already, we'll spend the weekend there and drive back to Colorado on Monday. During this cross country drive, I hope to actually see the sign that announce the time change. See, on our drive out here when we were moving, I was following Rob, who was driving a huge U-Haul truck, and couldn't see any street signs until I had nearly passed them, so I missed the sign on that trip. Then, in the summer, when we drove to St. Louis, I somehow missed the sign again. On the way back home from that trip, I missed it again. I seriously don't know if it exists. Perhaps Rob is just screwing with me! But this time, I'm going to have my eyes wide open.
Since I've talked so much about my love of the Italian bakery, D. Palmieri's, in Rhode Island, I will continue to harp on those treats my mom sent me. I'm still enjoying the wine biscuits and the frosted egg biscuits with my hot tea. And I'm determined to bake some myself. I found a recipe for both items and think that I may test out one of the recipes this week.
OH my.... Wife Swap. Has anyone seen this show? I thought Trading Spouses was bad. This is so much more horribly worse. (Is that possible?) Also speaking of bad TV, the new season of American Idol starts tomorrow. I'm pumped, the first few episodes of all the auditions are usually hilarious.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Addicted...
With the new (and last) season of the Soprano's airing this coming March, HBO is offering all of the previous seasons on On Demand (through Comcast) prior to the new season airing. Rob and I have started watching from episode 1 and needless to say I'm addicted. Rob is out of town on a business trip and it's taking everything in me to not watch any more episodes before he gets back. In the meantime, I'm planning on eating some pasta, garlic-lemon dressing on salad, and the Italian bakery items my mom so graciously sent out to me after her visit to Rhode Island for the New Year. Wine biscuits and frosted egg biscuits should tide me over for a couple days... I think.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Happy New Year
Whew! It's been a busy and fun past couple of weeks... The night before we left for Chicago, Rob and I (and Mikey) opened presents here in Colorado. Rob made me a beautiful jewelery box and he also got me a new baseball glove since my old one I bought was used and smells like icky, sweaty man. Mikey got some sweet toys; they are little plastic jacks, which Rob proceeded to step on later that evening causing extreme pain and said we have to get rid of them now!
We left 60 degree, sunny Colorado for Chicago on the 20th via plane. After an hour delay, due to an 'overweight cargo container', we finally took off and had a relatively uneventful flight. I did find a Sodoku puzzle in United's Hemisphere's magazine, and now am completely addicted to those little number puzzles of glory.
Upon arriving to Chicago, we spent the following days doing some last minute Christmas shopping, eating some good ol' Portillo's, and attempting to spend as much time as we could with friends and family. I also had to do a bit of work, so that additionally kept me busy, but because of the holidays, it's been pretty slow.
We celebrated Christmas with my parents on the 23rd with a delicious meal of Prime Rib and my favorite au gratin potatoes and opened presents after dinner. Speaking of au gratin potatoes, one gift I received was a mandoline (a kitchen tool that slices stuff- all sorts of thicknesses and even does waffle cut, crinkle cut, and julienne). It's pimp. I'm very excited to have a 'nice' mandoline now. 'Nice' meaning something that cost more than $5 and has safety features. Not sure if I mentioned this before, but I had bought a cheapo $5 mandoline months ago to slice my potatoes for when I make au gratin potatoes. Let's just say the safety features on that one were nonexistant, and I proceeded to slice the potatoes and as a bonus, sliced my finger tip off. Yeah, that was fun. Now that cheap mandoline will be going in the garbage as I have the Cadillac of mandolines (which has many safety features- thank goodness). Rob got lots of cool Cubs gear and we got "The Price is Right" DVD edition boardgame. It looks amazing. Now Rob and I can "Come on down!" whenever we like.
Saturday (Chrismas Eve), we drove down to Gillespie for Rob's family's festivities. As tradition has it, we spent Christmas Eve at Mommo's house opening presents there and enjoying a wide variety of tasty treats. Also of note, which I was warned about, Mommo's house is tiny and with about 20 people inside, the temperature rises to levels unthinkable! Well, okay, it's not that bad, but I can tell you I will not be wearing a wool sweater next time I am there for Christmas Eve! It was really a fun night and so nice to see all of Rob's family there. After Mommo's, we went to Rob's parents house and opened up presents there, while watching "A Christmas Story" about 3 times in a row, thanks to TBS airing it nonstop for the whole day of Christmas Eve! We got so many nice things, best of all, our plane tickets to come out to Illinois for Christmas and Rob's dad transferred all the video's of Rob's basketball games from middle and high school to DVD. I can not wait to watch those!!
Christmas Day brought us back to Mommo's for a delicious Christmas dinner and following that we went to Marilyn's cousin's house later in the day where we opened even more presents. By Christmas night, I was really beginning to think we were Jewish because of the number of days in a row we had opened presents! The day after Christmas, Rob's aunt and uncle came over and we had a scrumptious breakfast and had a marathon present opening with them that lasted nearly 3 hours.
The rest of the time we spent down in Gillespie and Edwardsville, we took it easy, visiting Rob's cousin and doing a little shopping and watching some football.
On Wednesday afternoon, we headed back up to Chicago to see my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew before they were heading back home. We went to eat at Lou Malnati's that night- sooooo yummy. Thursday we ate at Portillos (again) and ran a couple errands around town. In the afternoon, I took my parents to the airport, as they were heading to RI/Boston for New Year's Eve/Day. That evening, we went to Payton's Roundhouse to meet up with a couple friends. Friday we came home. And boy I was ready to get home; I was missing Mikey and just wanted to sleep in my own bed! Colleen and Jason took us to the airport, and on the escalator down to the moving walkways in Terminal 1 that takes you over to Concourse C, I realized I left my cell phone at my mom's. UGH. Thankfully, Colleen was heading back to Bolingbrook, so she picked up the phone for me and shipped it to me. But because of the holiday and because I'm cheap, I won't be getting the phone til Wednesday!
It was so nice to get home and see Mikey. Poor kitty has some bald spot on his side though. He gets very stressed out when we're gone and pulls his hair out. I found piles of his hair all over the place. It was way more than he's pulled out in the past, so I felt really bad. I just don't know if I want to leave him again!
We left 60 degree, sunny Colorado for Chicago on the 20th via plane. After an hour delay, due to an 'overweight cargo container', we finally took off and had a relatively uneventful flight. I did find a Sodoku puzzle in United's Hemisphere's magazine, and now am completely addicted to those little number puzzles of glory.
Upon arriving to Chicago, we spent the following days doing some last minute Christmas shopping, eating some good ol' Portillo's, and attempting to spend as much time as we could with friends and family. I also had to do a bit of work, so that additionally kept me busy, but because of the holidays, it's been pretty slow.
We celebrated Christmas with my parents on the 23rd with a delicious meal of Prime Rib and my favorite au gratin potatoes and opened presents after dinner. Speaking of au gratin potatoes, one gift I received was a mandoline (a kitchen tool that slices stuff- all sorts of thicknesses and even does waffle cut, crinkle cut, and julienne). It's pimp. I'm very excited to have a 'nice' mandoline now. 'Nice' meaning something that cost more than $5 and has safety features. Not sure if I mentioned this before, but I had bought a cheapo $5 mandoline months ago to slice my potatoes for when I make au gratin potatoes. Let's just say the safety features on that one were nonexistant, and I proceeded to slice the potatoes and as a bonus, sliced my finger tip off. Yeah, that was fun. Now that cheap mandoline will be going in the garbage as I have the Cadillac of mandolines (which has many safety features- thank goodness). Rob got lots of cool Cubs gear and we got "The Price is Right" DVD edition boardgame. It looks amazing. Now Rob and I can "Come on down!" whenever we like.
Saturday (Chrismas Eve), we drove down to Gillespie for Rob's family's festivities. As tradition has it, we spent Christmas Eve at Mommo's house opening presents there and enjoying a wide variety of tasty treats. Also of note, which I was warned about, Mommo's house is tiny and with about 20 people inside, the temperature rises to levels unthinkable! Well, okay, it's not that bad, but I can tell you I will not be wearing a wool sweater next time I am there for Christmas Eve! It was really a fun night and so nice to see all of Rob's family there. After Mommo's, we went to Rob's parents house and opened up presents there, while watching "A Christmas Story" about 3 times in a row, thanks to TBS airing it nonstop for the whole day of Christmas Eve! We got so many nice things, best of all, our plane tickets to come out to Illinois for Christmas and Rob's dad transferred all the video's of Rob's basketball games from middle and high school to DVD. I can not wait to watch those!!
Christmas Day brought us back to Mommo's for a delicious Christmas dinner and following that we went to Marilyn's cousin's house later in the day where we opened even more presents. By Christmas night, I was really beginning to think we were Jewish because of the number of days in a row we had opened presents! The day after Christmas, Rob's aunt and uncle came over and we had a scrumptious breakfast and had a marathon present opening with them that lasted nearly 3 hours.
The rest of the time we spent down in Gillespie and Edwardsville, we took it easy, visiting Rob's cousin and doing a little shopping and watching some football.
On Wednesday afternoon, we headed back up to Chicago to see my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew before they were heading back home. We went to eat at Lou Malnati's that night- sooooo yummy. Thursday we ate at Portillos (again) and ran a couple errands around town. In the afternoon, I took my parents to the airport, as they were heading to RI/Boston for New Year's Eve/Day. That evening, we went to Payton's Roundhouse to meet up with a couple friends. Friday we came home. And boy I was ready to get home; I was missing Mikey and just wanted to sleep in my own bed! Colleen and Jason took us to the airport, and on the escalator down to the moving walkways in Terminal 1 that takes you over to Concourse C, I realized I left my cell phone at my mom's. UGH. Thankfully, Colleen was heading back to Bolingbrook, so she picked up the phone for me and shipped it to me. But because of the holiday and because I'm cheap, I won't be getting the phone til Wednesday!
It was so nice to get home and see Mikey. Poor kitty has some bald spot on his side though. He gets very stressed out when we're gone and pulls his hair out. I found piles of his hair all over the place. It was way more than he's pulled out in the past, so I felt really bad. I just don't know if I want to leave him again!
Sunday, December 18, 2005
I smell of turpentine and linseed oil.
I was inspired and decided to create about 5 new pieces of art this weekend. The last of which, were 3 paintings, in which I used my oils and now I think I am high from the fumes. The actual paint isn't what is really stinky, but it's the linseed oil that sort of smells and turpentine that absolutely reeks. Yes, I know they make the odorless turpenoid or whatever it's called, but have you seen how expensive that is?? Although, I admitted tonight I need to suck it up and purchase the odorless stuff, because the fumes were making my eyes water, my nose run, and giving me a headache! Rob warned me to not put the fireplace on, for fear that the house might blow up!
The last week has been really busy- mostly finishing up Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, sending presents (3 trips to the post office this week!), and starting to pack for our Illinois trip... On top of that, been working quite a bit, as I have had three new projects go to print this week, which is always a little more stressful.
Tuesday we leave for Illinois, and we'll be spending our 10 days in Illinois both in Chicago and St. Louis/Gillespie. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone, though I am sad to know that Mikey will be spending Christmas alone. :( He's been having lots of fun chewing the ribbons off of all of the Christmas presents under the tree!
I am doubtful I'll have time to write more in the next week and a half, so a very Merry Christmas to everyone!!!
The last week has been really busy- mostly finishing up Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, sending presents (3 trips to the post office this week!), and starting to pack for our Illinois trip... On top of that, been working quite a bit, as I have had three new projects go to print this week, which is always a little more stressful.
Tuesday we leave for Illinois, and we'll be spending our 10 days in Illinois both in Chicago and St. Louis/Gillespie. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone, though I am sad to know that Mikey will be spending Christmas alone. :( He's been having lots of fun chewing the ribbons off of all of the Christmas presents under the tree!
I am doubtful I'll have time to write more in the next week and a half, so a very Merry Christmas to everyone!!!
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Jumpin' Monkeys
This past week has seemed to fly by entirely too fast! I can't believe it's only 15 days away til Christmas, and just 10 days till we leave for Illinois. This past Wednesday I watched our little neighbor, Max, who's 6 years old and absolutely the best 6 year I've ever met. We had a fun day... Rob taught him some stuff in the garage, making a super-cool door stop with his name spelled out in nails, I colored with him, we corrupted him with a little Playstation, watched "The Grinch," and capped the day off with a fun game of "Jumpin' Monkeys". It was so much fun having a little kid around. Especially because he's so well-behaved and smart!
The rest of the week I tried to both start AND finish my Christmas shopping, and I did remarkably well. With only a couple trips to the mall and a few hours online, I have about 80% of my shopping done! Just a few odds and ends to pick up, ship out some packages, and I'm all set. I also finished my Christmas cards, which I just need some stamps to get those sent out.
I'm planning on getting up early tomorrow to take care of a few things, then, we're going to the Bronco's game. Rob and I were both invited by two different friends, so I'll be sitting in the first row on the field with my friend while Rob will be in either the 300 or 500 level section of the stadium. It's sure to be fun.
We also made our holiday travel plans final, with getting tickets flying into Chicago on the 20th. We'll be heading down to St. Louis right away to see Rob's parents and then we'll head back up to Chicago for a couple days before we return to Denver on the 30th. Should be a fun little trip and can't wait to see everyone!
The rest of the week I tried to both start AND finish my Christmas shopping, and I did remarkably well. With only a couple trips to the mall and a few hours online, I have about 80% of my shopping done! Just a few odds and ends to pick up, ship out some packages, and I'm all set. I also finished my Christmas cards, which I just need some stamps to get those sent out.
I'm planning on getting up early tomorrow to take care of a few things, then, we're going to the Bronco's game. Rob and I were both invited by two different friends, so I'll be sitting in the first row on the field with my friend while Rob will be in either the 300 or 500 level section of the stadium. It's sure to be fun.
We also made our holiday travel plans final, with getting tickets flying into Chicago on the 20th. We'll be heading down to St. Louis right away to see Rob's parents and then we'll head back up to Chicago for a couple days before we return to Denver on the 30th. Should be a fun little trip and can't wait to see everyone!
Thursday, December 01, 2005
The B-Movie Christmas List
Tonight, I've been clearing off our DVR watching all the 'second rate' Christmas Movies. Not that they're bad, they are definitely entertaining, but Frosty getting married??? Rudolph's Shiny New Year with Happy the New Year Baby??? I want the classics... The Year without a Santa Claus, being my favorite, and it IS waiting for me to watch on DVD courtesy of one of my friends, and it's also on the DVR as back up. I just figured December 1st was too soon to watch such a fine movie. Then it'll be the original, old-school Rudolph and Frosty, and as the grand finale, The Year without a Santa Claus! What a month. I Love Christmas-time!
On a totally random sidenote, for some reason, I began to think about wine biscuits and lemon knots and pepper biscuits and pizza strips with no cheese tonight. I'm craving it. If anyone in Rhode Island is reading this and has any mercy on me, please, oh pretty-please, overnight me some D. Palmieri's goodies. ;) Seriously, I already checked to see if they had a website. No luck. I may just call them tomorrow and ask them to send me some wine biscuits. My mouth is salivating.
And with that, I say good night.
On a totally random sidenote, for some reason, I began to think about wine biscuits and lemon knots and pepper biscuits and pizza strips with no cheese tonight. I'm craving it. If anyone in Rhode Island is reading this and has any mercy on me, please, oh pretty-please, overnight me some D. Palmieri's goodies. ;) Seriously, I already checked to see if they had a website. No luck. I may just call them tomorrow and ask them to send me some wine biscuits. My mouth is salivating.
And with that, I say good night.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Turkey and Yum-Yums...
As the Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close, I look back and reflect on what exactly I did... Ate, took a nap, ate some more, tried to go see The Polar Express 3D, ate more leftovers, napped some more. It appears I had a most productive weekend!
Nah, really, the weekend has been quite enjoyable. We had a great Thanksgiving hosting a few of our friends over for much football watching and eating and drinking and game playing. It was a really great day and more importantly, dinner was fantastic. Thankfully I had my mom's Thanksgiving hotline to call when I had random questions such as where the heck to take the turkey's temperature and what's the difference between a sweet potato and a yam. We had quite a feast: Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Apple and Potato au Gratin (courtesy of Brian), Turnips, Cauliflower & Cheese, Canned Cranberry Sauce, Homemade Cranberry Sauce, and I think that might be it. For dessert; Pumpkin Pie, Cranberry Duff, and Ricotta Pie.
I really was starting to think Friday was turning out to be simply a day of naps and eating some more, but after dinner, we got out the Christmas decorations and I put up the tree and Rob developed the plan for our outdoor/window lights. Then we went to Wal-Mart to get some more lights for the tree and the windows. They didn't have everything we needed, so tomorrow's plan is to find the lights we need.
So, today was sort of a big bummer. We had planned to go see The Polar Express in 3D at the IMAX. We actually went down to the theater (it's south of Denver, so sort of a drive), met up with some friends there, only to find out it was sold out. We were all terribly bummed, except for Rob, who I think was secretly happy that he didn't have to see it. We'll give him some props for even going in the first place though! Next to the IMAX theater is a Dave and Busters, so we went over there for some Skee Ball and my favorite, the 18-wheeler video game. I actually also surprised myself with some mad skills at the basketball game. I think you might call me a baller. After that, we went down to Wynkoop Brewery to play darts, where we proved that girls CAN compete against boys. Alas, the night came to a close with some more leftover eating and yep, you guessed it, a nap.
Nah, really, the weekend has been quite enjoyable. We had a great Thanksgiving hosting a few of our friends over for much football watching and eating and drinking and game playing. It was a really great day and more importantly, dinner was fantastic. Thankfully I had my mom's Thanksgiving hotline to call when I had random questions such as where the heck to take the turkey's temperature and what's the difference between a sweet potato and a yam. We had quite a feast: Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Apple and Potato au Gratin (courtesy of Brian), Turnips, Cauliflower & Cheese, Canned Cranberry Sauce, Homemade Cranberry Sauce, and I think that might be it. For dessert; Pumpkin Pie, Cranberry Duff, and Ricotta Pie.
I really was starting to think Friday was turning out to be simply a day of naps and eating some more, but after dinner, we got out the Christmas decorations and I put up the tree and Rob developed the plan for our outdoor/window lights. Then we went to Wal-Mart to get some more lights for the tree and the windows. They didn't have everything we needed, so tomorrow's plan is to find the lights we need.
So, today was sort of a big bummer. We had planned to go see The Polar Express in 3D at the IMAX. We actually went down to the theater (it's south of Denver, so sort of a drive), met up with some friends there, only to find out it was sold out. We were all terribly bummed, except for Rob, who I think was secretly happy that he didn't have to see it. We'll give him some props for even going in the first place though! Next to the IMAX theater is a Dave and Busters, so we went over there for some Skee Ball and my favorite, the 18-wheeler video game. I actually also surprised myself with some mad skills at the basketball game. I think you might call me a baller. After that, we went down to Wynkoop Brewery to play darts, where we proved that girls CAN compete against boys. Alas, the night came to a close with some more leftover eating and yep, you guessed it, a nap.
Friday, November 18, 2005
hello again...
Yes, I know it's been a long time since I last wrote, so now, after a few beers, I will ramble on, on my goings-on for the past 3 weeks.
Most importantly, the pub just opened. Yes, the pub that is 1 block from our place. Yes, one block. Walking distance. It's an Irish pub that has guinness on tap and harp and boddingtons... Did I mention it was walking distance from our place? Anyways, we went there tonight for a few pints and dinner and some mad discussions with Dolan. It was just lovely. And I was so excited to finally try out our local pub.
Let's see.... What else has happened... Okay, back to halloween, Rob and I got to don our awesome homemade costumes at a halloween party. We were one of the few dressed up, but I think we were the best looking. :)
Last week, Danielle took me to my very first Nugget's game at the Pepsi Center. It ruled. You can't beat free seats, going to a game where your team WINS, and watching my little man, Earl Boykins, for 3 hours straight. I even got to exit the stadium by way of the court, and not only saw, but touched, the ice underneath the floor.
Our Tuesday kickball nights have evolved into weekend game nights. Yes, I know it sounds lame, but it really is fun. You can drink excessively, play games like Operation or Boggle or Cranium, snack on delicious dips and chips, and enjoy the camaraderie of excessively competitive friends. And when I say competitive, I mean that certain games (Operation) have been outlawed at all future game nights due to people's inabilities of keeping their hands steady and not jumping 4 feet out of their seats when the buzzer goes off!
Also of note, I am an official Colorado resident. I have myself a snowboard, boots, bindings, and snowboarding pants now. I'm ready to go. I've been practicing my balance and moves on my new 'flowboard'. It's a skateboard like thing that you can practice on to get your snowboarding skills up to par. Surprisingly, I am doing much better on it than I expected. I've gotten the whole jumping on it and moving thing down, without holding onto anything or falling down. Sweet.
Well, I am gonna go get me some sleep now...
Most importantly, the pub just opened. Yes, the pub that is 1 block from our place. Yes, one block. Walking distance. It's an Irish pub that has guinness on tap and harp and boddingtons... Did I mention it was walking distance from our place? Anyways, we went there tonight for a few pints and dinner and some mad discussions with Dolan. It was just lovely. And I was so excited to finally try out our local pub.
Let's see.... What else has happened... Okay, back to halloween, Rob and I got to don our awesome homemade costumes at a halloween party. We were one of the few dressed up, but I think we were the best looking. :)
Last week, Danielle took me to my very first Nugget's game at the Pepsi Center. It ruled. You can't beat free seats, going to a game where your team WINS, and watching my little man, Earl Boykins, for 3 hours straight. I even got to exit the stadium by way of the court, and not only saw, but touched, the ice underneath the floor.
Our Tuesday kickball nights have evolved into weekend game nights. Yes, I know it sounds lame, but it really is fun. You can drink excessively, play games like Operation or Boggle or Cranium, snack on delicious dips and chips, and enjoy the camaraderie of excessively competitive friends. And when I say competitive, I mean that certain games (Operation) have been outlawed at all future game nights due to people's inabilities of keeping their hands steady and not jumping 4 feet out of their seats when the buzzer goes off!
Also of note, I am an official Colorado resident. I have myself a snowboard, boots, bindings, and snowboarding pants now. I'm ready to go. I've been practicing my balance and moves on my new 'flowboard'. It's a skateboard like thing that you can practice on to get your snowboarding skills up to par. Surprisingly, I am doing much better on it than I expected. I've gotten the whole jumping on it and moving thing down, without holding onto anything or falling down. Sweet.
Well, I am gonna go get me some sleep now...
Monday, October 24, 2005
Back home...
After a week and a half in Chicago, we are back home now... It was so nice to see everyone and be back in Chicago for a while, though it's nice to be home again and see my Mikey-Mike. He missed us terribly, and hasn't left our sides since we arrived home. Poor kitty!
Among the fun and exciting things we did back in Chicago, I think our Halloween Costume Party get-together at the 10th Hole Pub topped it off. I'll post some pictures soon... But for now, I must go, as I'm off to Dallas....
Among the fun and exciting things we did back in Chicago, I think our Halloween Costume Party get-together at the 10th Hole Pub topped it off. I'll post some pictures soon... But for now, I must go, as I'm off to Dallas....
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Let it snow???
Despite predictions of 6-12 inches of snow, we got nothing. Rain for 2 days straight, about 37 degrees outside, and no snow. I even went out the night before the storm and bought a shovel. We turn on the news, and the airport (which is way farther from the mountains than us) got 8 inches of snow. Then, yesterday we drive into Boulder, and the foothills are totally covered in snow (and of course the rest of the mountains). It looks like a winter wonderland every where except for where we are. :( I feel so left out. Though, as a bonus, today as I was running some errands and driving about, I was thinking, it really feels like I'm on vacation or out of town, because the mountains look so drastically different, it's like I'm somewhere else... Maybe I am.
Speaking of vacation and being out of town... Tomorrow we are heading to Chicago for a long visit. I have to finish up packing and picking up the house, all the while, watching the White Sox game. And yes, I am rooting for the White Sox now.
So, I'll keep this short and sweet. Although CNN is reporting a huge snowstorm in Denver, I'm shoveling rain.
Speaking of vacation and being out of town... Tomorrow we are heading to Chicago for a long visit. I have to finish up packing and picking up the house, all the while, watching the White Sox game. And yes, I am rooting for the White Sox now.
So, I'll keep this short and sweet. Although CNN is reporting a huge snowstorm in Denver, I'm shoveling rain.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Rained Out
Last night, our kickball game was rained out; however, because we are all diehard kickballers, we all showed up despite the gloomy weather (pouring down rain, lightning, the whole bit). We all went to our favorite post-kickball bar for dinner, and to our delight, our lovely waitress, Sarah, gave us two pitchers of beer on her because she felt bad that we got rained out! I must also mention, only one person from the other team showed up. He's officially the cool guy on the other team and I recruited him to play on our team in the spring.
We are getting ready to meet a friend, and fellow Red Sox fan, at Fox and Hound to watch tonight's game... I have my (actually it's Rob's, but it's too small for him) Red Sox shirt on, my Red Sox hat in hand and I'm ready to do some massive cheering for my BoSox. Rob already declared that this evening he won't be cheering for either team. I think he's just trying to stay on everyone's good side. :)
We are getting ready to meet a friend, and fellow Red Sox fan, at Fox and Hound to watch tonight's game... I have my (actually it's Rob's, but it's too small for him) Red Sox shirt on, my Red Sox hat in hand and I'm ready to do some massive cheering for my BoSox. Rob already declared that this evening he won't be cheering for either team. I think he's just trying to stay on everyone's good side. :)
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Before my White Sox fan friends have a field day...
Congrats to the White Sox for winning game 1. I can't say I'm happy, but I'll be a good sport... There's always tomorrow. Go BoSox!
Having a bad day??
If you're ever feeling down and out and are thinking that you're just no good...
Listen to this song:
http://www.kilbot.net/mp3/karatekid.php
Listen to this song:
http://www.kilbot.net/mp3/karatekid.php
A motorcycle demolition derby???
Ah, this weekend was fun-filled with Beer tastings, Red Sox victories and a fun evening at a dirt racetrack.
First of all, the Great American Beer Festival was a great time. With a gazillion beers on tap, I tasted everything from Shiner Bock to a Chili Beer to PBR. (with lots and lots of microbrews from across the US in between!) You get a tasting glass, and you get a 1 ounce tasting of whatever beer you'd like to taste. After the first 10 or so tastes, you lose count and you'll never remember what you had, but I do distinctly remember 2 beers that I hated. First was the Chili Beer. Little did I know it was going to be freaking hot, though the jalapeno chili in the beer bottle should have clued me in. Another was a sour beer that Brian had, which I tasted because he said it was really good. In my opinion, it tasted like the aftertaste you have in your mouth after you puke. To each their own, I suppose.
Saturday was spent recovering from the multitude of beer shots and then in the evening we attended 'crashfest' at a local dirt racetrack that was closing down forever. The night all started normal, or as normal as you can get being surrounded by super-mullets and nascar fan. They had regular races around the circle track, some figure 8 races with cars... Then a figure 8 race with... school buses. Yep, school buses. It was pretty bizarre, but awesomely hilarious. Then to top the evening off, about 6 guys on dirt bikes come out to the start/finish line. All of a sudden we see two guys on the ground in a fist fight. Then all hell breaks loose and all the other bikers are trying to ram each other and knock each other off their bikes. I wasn't quite sure what was happening, and didn't realize, until the checkered flag was waved, that this WAS the event! Not sure what to call it, possibly a motorcylce demolition derby, but it was damn hilarious!
I felt like total crap on Sunday- sore throat, congested, the whole bit, because I hadn't taken my allergy medicine in a couple days, so I spent most of the day in bed sleeping and watching football and baseball. Then Sunday night, we started watching 'Freaks and Geeks'- our friend lent us his DVD set of it. I immediately fell in love with the show. We watched some more last night, and I'm pretty sure we're going to be done with the 6 disc set by the end of the week!
First of all, the Great American Beer Festival was a great time. With a gazillion beers on tap, I tasted everything from Shiner Bock to a Chili Beer to PBR. (with lots and lots of microbrews from across the US in between!) You get a tasting glass, and you get a 1 ounce tasting of whatever beer you'd like to taste. After the first 10 or so tastes, you lose count and you'll never remember what you had, but I do distinctly remember 2 beers that I hated. First was the Chili Beer. Little did I know it was going to be freaking hot, though the jalapeno chili in the beer bottle should have clued me in. Another was a sour beer that Brian had, which I tasted because he said it was really good. In my opinion, it tasted like the aftertaste you have in your mouth after you puke. To each their own, I suppose.
Saturday was spent recovering from the multitude of beer shots and then in the evening we attended 'crashfest' at a local dirt racetrack that was closing down forever. The night all started normal, or as normal as you can get being surrounded by super-mullets and nascar fan. They had regular races around the circle track, some figure 8 races with cars... Then a figure 8 race with... school buses. Yep, school buses. It was pretty bizarre, but awesomely hilarious. Then to top the evening off, about 6 guys on dirt bikes come out to the start/finish line. All of a sudden we see two guys on the ground in a fist fight. Then all hell breaks loose and all the other bikers are trying to ram each other and knock each other off their bikes. I wasn't quite sure what was happening, and didn't realize, until the checkered flag was waved, that this WAS the event! Not sure what to call it, possibly a motorcylce demolition derby, but it was damn hilarious!
I felt like total crap on Sunday- sore throat, congested, the whole bit, because I hadn't taken my allergy medicine in a couple days, so I spent most of the day in bed sleeping and watching football and baseball. Then Sunday night, we started watching 'Freaks and Geeks'- our friend lent us his DVD set of it. I immediately fell in love with the show. We watched some more last night, and I'm pretty sure we're going to be done with the 6 disc set by the end of the week!
Monday, October 03, 2005
Hip-Hip-Hooray!
Red Sox are in the playoffs!! They're headed to Chicago to play the White Sox in the first round of playoffs... It sure will be a stressful week for me!
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Monday, September 26, 2005
Once again...
it's been way too long since my last update.
We've spent the past week and half keeping busy, as usual. 2 weekends ago, we had a fun-and-beer-filled evening at Denver's Oktoberfest in Larimer Square downtown with a few of our friends. I had never been to an Oktoberfest celebration prior to this, but found it to be very entertaining. The downers of the night included the beer being so-so, they ran out of the huge steins that I was so wanting to purchase, and the multiple times the chicken song dance was played/danced. However, we rectified those downers by getting fresh pretzels, drinking enough of the so-so beer that we danced the chicken song a few times, and finally (and most importantly) me winning a chicken hat to don the entire evening. I'll upload a picture of it, yes there it is... As I'm sure you can see, that was after a few beers. When I first saw them, I was thinking, wow, those are so dumb. Then I had only a few tickets left, not enough to purchase food or drink, so I decided to play this game, in which the chicken hat was the prize. It was purely chance... A wheel with all NFL football teams on it, like a roulette wheel. Then you place your bets on whatever football team you wish. I had 4 tickets, so I went with the Patriots, Bears, Broncos, and a last minute pic was the New York Giants. A spin of the wheel, and 30 seconds later, it lands on the Giants and I, all of a sudden, am the very excited and happy owner of a chicken hat. I gleefully put it on and wear it the rest of the night, answering numerous questions about it and replying to some people's off-color comments... We topped the night off at a 80's club where we danced the night away to Devo and Michael Jackson, amongst others.
The 2 nights of kickball over the past couple weeks gave us one win and one loss. Last week we had a keg at the game, which was a blast (despite it being Bud Light). Supposedly, we're getting a keg from Breckenridge Brewery sometime soon, so we'll get to enjoy some nice micro-brewed beer.
Well, the past week and upcoming week and weekend are going to be football and baseball filled. We're watching the Broncos game right now (ooh, and I just realized I missed Laguna), and will be on the edge of our seats watching the Red Sox finish out the regular season. Yes, now that the Cubbies are totally out of the wild card/playoff race (ok, I'll admit, they were totally out of it in July...), my focuses are entirely dedicated to the Red Sox.
This coming weekend we also have another festival to attend: the great american beer festival. This is at the convention center in Denver, and there are 1669 beers on tap... Your ticket includes a tasting cup, which you can fill up at any number of beer vendors there. Thankfully, we have a place to stay in Denver that night, so no worries of us driving after that!
I think that's about it... Will update as fun and exciting things happen. Go BoSox!
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Hello, stranger.
Yes, I know it's been a while since my last post, but I will have lots to share now, as we've had many activities and guests in town over the past two weeks!
First off, Bob and Marilyn, Rob's parents, arrived the beginning of September for a wonderful visit, then for part of their visit, Rob's brother Ryan was able to come in town as well, so that was fantastic! In addition to Bob, Marilyn, and Ryan 's visits, we were also graced by the presence of Dolan's parents (who came in town to bring him his stuff) and Dolan's friend Levi (who was on his way driving to Irvine, CA to continue his education in... um... physics... I know it's something in particular; however, it was something I have never heard of and knew that I would never remember, so I didn't even attempt to memorize. Let's just say Levi is a smartypants.
So, of the numerous activities, eats, drinks, and sightseeing that took place over the course of the past week with our guests, I shall highlight a few.
•Mt. Evans Scenic Byway: This essentially is a road that goes almost all the way up to the top of Mt. Evans (you gotta do a little hike- maybe 1/4 of a mile to get to the actual summit). Mt. Evans is 14,264 feet above sea level. Let's put this into perspective... Chicago is about 600 feet above sea level, where we live in Colorado, it's about 5,400 feet above sea level... SO... Mt. Evans is freaking tall. The drive up to the top, despite being a heavily used road full of tourists from all over the country, is this narrow, winding road on the side of a mountain with absolutely no guardrails. And when I say winding, I mean switchback upon switchback. It's scary. It'd be scary enough if you were the only one on the road, but when you're relying on other drivers who have never driven in the mountains before to stay on their side of the road and not get distracted by a mountain goat... you get the picture. Anyways, the summit was awesome. Rob and I did the hike to the top and you could see EVERYTHING- the plains, Longs Peak, Denver, etc. It was absolutely gorgeous.
•Fado: We (me, Rob, Marilyn, Bob, Ryan, Dolan, Levi, Danielle, and Brian) all went to Fado's last Wednesday for some Irish food and fun. It was a blast. I wish Ryan would move out here just so I'd have someone to go to Fado with that screams as loud as me. Though I may have busted the eardrums of everyone at our table, I was awarded for my exhuberant singing and got to play the drum on stage with the Clancy's. Not only did I do that, but I also got a super cool Black and Tan Guinness hat. It rules.
•Scotfest in Estes Park: On Saturday we all went up to the Longs Peak Scottish/Irish Highlands Festival in Estes Park. We started the morning off with the parade that goes through downtown Estes Park. It was amazing. Before we got down there, Rob shared with us that his mom always cries when she hears bagpipes... Sure enough, before the parade even passed us, I caught a teary eyed Marilyn (sorry Marilyn!!). However, I have got to say when you hear all those bagpipe bands, it is very moving... After the parade, we headed over to the festival. We attended the opening ceremonies which included a performance by ALL of the bagpipe bands and the Marine Corp Twentynine Palms band (At least 100-150 performers) playing Amazing Grace. It was awesome. I had goosebumps all over. After the opening ceremonies, we drank beer, dined on Shepherds Pies and Meat Pies and watched Irish dancing, Bag Pipe Band competitions, oh yeah, and shopped in the two huge tents where they had numerous vendors selling everything you can imagine.
•Hacienda Colorado: Okay, I know this was simply just a meal, but I must share. Despite waiting for over an hour for a table (we had 7 people on a Friday night at 7pm- Go figure), I was absolutely blown away by the service we received, the prices, and the margaritas. I think most of the entrees were under 10 bucks, and we all received a ton of food. Like 3 plates of food per person! It was nuts. Then, there was a delay in a few people getting served their meals (like only 2 minutes), and the manager came over to apologize for that and offered everyone free dessert! I'm totally going back there. The food ruled, and the margs were exceptional!
•Lake Dillon: One afternoon, we headed up to the mountains to Lake Dillon. It was really a beautiful day and we rented a pontoon boat to cruise the lake. Being on a big lake, surrounded by huge mountains is really amazing. After our boat ride, we wanted to go to the Tiki Bar at the marina, but were running late on getting back home for Fado, so we ended up just leaving. The Tiki Bar, at the marina in Dillon, has fantastic food and really good Rum Runners. During the summer while we were up there camping and kayaking, we hit up the Tiki Bar for lunch and drinks. So anyways, we just wanted Rob's family to enjoy at least one rum runner, but time did not allow...
•Dirty Bananas: This is a drink I made a few nights when we had our guests... It's originally an Ozark drink, courtesy of Val and Jeff (which I think they got the recipe while in Jamaica on their honeymoon). I have now made it a Colorado drink. It's the perfect dessert drink because it's frozen, has bananas, chocolate syrup, and ice cream in it. YUM.
So, I know I'm forgetting a ton of things, but I'm all out of time to write and when I remember other noteworthy occasions, I will definitely share. I must get myself psyched up for kickball now. :)
First off, Bob and Marilyn, Rob's parents, arrived the beginning of September for a wonderful visit, then for part of their visit, Rob's brother Ryan was able to come in town as well, so that was fantastic! In addition to Bob, Marilyn, and Ryan 's visits, we were also graced by the presence of Dolan's parents (who came in town to bring him his stuff) and Dolan's friend Levi (who was on his way driving to Irvine, CA to continue his education in... um... physics... I know it's something in particular; however, it was something I have never heard of and knew that I would never remember, so I didn't even attempt to memorize. Let's just say Levi is a smartypants.
So, of the numerous activities, eats, drinks, and sightseeing that took place over the course of the past week with our guests, I shall highlight a few.
•Mt. Evans Scenic Byway: This essentially is a road that goes almost all the way up to the top of Mt. Evans (you gotta do a little hike- maybe 1/4 of a mile to get to the actual summit). Mt. Evans is 14,264 feet above sea level. Let's put this into perspective... Chicago is about 600 feet above sea level, where we live in Colorado, it's about 5,400 feet above sea level... SO... Mt. Evans is freaking tall. The drive up to the top, despite being a heavily used road full of tourists from all over the country, is this narrow, winding road on the side of a mountain with absolutely no guardrails. And when I say winding, I mean switchback upon switchback. It's scary. It'd be scary enough if you were the only one on the road, but when you're relying on other drivers who have never driven in the mountains before to stay on their side of the road and not get distracted by a mountain goat... you get the picture. Anyways, the summit was awesome. Rob and I did the hike to the top and you could see EVERYTHING- the plains, Longs Peak, Denver, etc. It was absolutely gorgeous.
•Fado: We (me, Rob, Marilyn, Bob, Ryan, Dolan, Levi, Danielle, and Brian) all went to Fado's last Wednesday for some Irish food and fun. It was a blast. I wish Ryan would move out here just so I'd have someone to go to Fado with that screams as loud as me. Though I may have busted the eardrums of everyone at our table, I was awarded for my exhuberant singing and got to play the drum on stage with the Clancy's. Not only did I do that, but I also got a super cool Black and Tan Guinness hat. It rules.
•Scotfest in Estes Park: On Saturday we all went up to the Longs Peak Scottish/Irish Highlands Festival in Estes Park. We started the morning off with the parade that goes through downtown Estes Park. It was amazing. Before we got down there, Rob shared with us that his mom always cries when she hears bagpipes... Sure enough, before the parade even passed us, I caught a teary eyed Marilyn (sorry Marilyn!!). However, I have got to say when you hear all those bagpipe bands, it is very moving... After the parade, we headed over to the festival. We attended the opening ceremonies which included a performance by ALL of the bagpipe bands and the Marine Corp Twentynine Palms band (At least 100-150 performers) playing Amazing Grace. It was awesome. I had goosebumps all over. After the opening ceremonies, we drank beer, dined on Shepherds Pies and Meat Pies and watched Irish dancing, Bag Pipe Band competitions, oh yeah, and shopped in the two huge tents where they had numerous vendors selling everything you can imagine.
•Hacienda Colorado: Okay, I know this was simply just a meal, but I must share. Despite waiting for over an hour for a table (we had 7 people on a Friday night at 7pm- Go figure), I was absolutely blown away by the service we received, the prices, and the margaritas. I think most of the entrees were under 10 bucks, and we all received a ton of food. Like 3 plates of food per person! It was nuts. Then, there was a delay in a few people getting served their meals (like only 2 minutes), and the manager came over to apologize for that and offered everyone free dessert! I'm totally going back there. The food ruled, and the margs were exceptional!
•Lake Dillon: One afternoon, we headed up to the mountains to Lake Dillon. It was really a beautiful day and we rented a pontoon boat to cruise the lake. Being on a big lake, surrounded by huge mountains is really amazing. After our boat ride, we wanted to go to the Tiki Bar at the marina, but were running late on getting back home for Fado, so we ended up just leaving. The Tiki Bar, at the marina in Dillon, has fantastic food and really good Rum Runners. During the summer while we were up there camping and kayaking, we hit up the Tiki Bar for lunch and drinks. So anyways, we just wanted Rob's family to enjoy at least one rum runner, but time did not allow...
•Dirty Bananas: This is a drink I made a few nights when we had our guests... It's originally an Ozark drink, courtesy of Val and Jeff (which I think they got the recipe while in Jamaica on their honeymoon). I have now made it a Colorado drink. It's the perfect dessert drink because it's frozen, has bananas, chocolate syrup, and ice cream in it. YUM.
So, I know I'm forgetting a ton of things, but I'm all out of time to write and when I remember other noteworthy occasions, I will definitely share. I must get myself psyched up for kickball now. :)
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