Monday, January 31, 2011

Sometimes I forget

...that Colorado could be a whole separate planet. Why do I say this? Let me explain....

Last week was nice. Like mid 30s to 40s. Tuesday night I met up with Stacey and her hubby to check out the "Denver Big Air" event. This was took place downtown... in the middle of Civic Center Park (situated right in front of the capital building). It was a giant ski ramp (with snow) that was built for ski and snowboard jumping contests as an advertisement and in preparation for the Winter X Games that were up in Aspen this past weekend. Despite being the end of January, it was cool and nice out!



 This weekend was even NICER out!! It was a gorgeous 65 degrees if not warmer. Strange but very nice for the end of January. Jay and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a hike out near Red Rocks.


Sadly... the beautiful weather was not sticking around forever.

This morning it was 13 degrees and spitting ice from the sky. A 50 degree difference in a 24 hour period? We certainly do live on a different planet sometimes. Tomorrow's high is supposed to be in the negative temperatures. Time to start thinking about warm, warm toasty food!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

A milestone (of sorts) aka Cali Trip

This past weekend was a milestone (of sorts) for Jay and I. It was our first trip out of Colorado together! And I would certainly call it a successful trip. Jay was in San Diego for work, so instead of missing yet another weekend together, he flew me out for a long weekend. Can I tell you how wonderful it was to break out my flip flops and jean skirt? Or how wonderful it was to be wandering around San Diego in 70 degree weather while Denver was hovering in the 30 to 40 degree mark?  Or how fabulous it was to spend a weekend away with my amazing boyfriend?

Words cannot describe. But pictures can!
Beautiful old wooden ship in the harbour and below a tour of an aircraft carrier
 

FA-18

flying?
Some of the sights around the harbour... that made me want to stay forever....



And last, but not least... a few of my man... and myself!
Jay and I on the aircraft carrier


some Cali kisses

Jay drew this in the sand :)

Jay and I
It was a great weekend and incredibly tough to come back to Colorado. It was fantastic and so much fun... more travel adventures to come. I am sure of it!

Hair

Hair. Women spend lots and lots of money on hair every year. Coloring, cutting, highlighting, styling, products, etc.

I am usually a low-maintenance, no fuss kind of girl when it comes to my hair.  My "hair" maintenance usually includes a trip to Great Clips every once in a while to get a trim. However, I decided that I need a "style". Something that I didn't always feel like I had to pull back. So, I made an appointment, and the afternoon before I left for San Diego (weekend trip with my man) I went to get my hair cut.
This is me before:
Long hair, nothing crazy, but nothing special.
This is what I wanted:
Midlength haircut idea: the easy-to-blow-out crop
Not much different, but clean, blunt, long with a style to it.
This is what I got:
Neither long, nor simple. Not blunt or clean. Don't let the giant smile fool you. I am not happy. Luckily hair grows... but considering how much money goes into the hair industry every year, wouldn't stylists learn to listen?

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Girl's Night Agenda

Tuesday. Girl's Night. Every week, rain or shine. Well... actually its completely dependent on schedules, work, dance, etc. But, like I said, rain or shine. Last night, Stace and I came up with an agenda. Yes... a schedule of things to do for our girl's nights. On the list... girly movies! Like in the movie theater, don't drag the boys to see them girly movies. Like this one:
Also on the agenda... a make-up tutorial night. Think back to junior high, when you would experiment with make-up on your friends... Stace and I are totally going to play this game. Except grown-up style. Should be interesting and fun! We can decide if the newest runway makeup looks will work for us.

Sweet treats!! We are going to work on making some yummy sweet treats. Trying new things, experimenting... who knows what we'll come up with.
Maybe something simple, like this:
Or maybe something a bit more difficult... like this:
Who knows? I just know its a good thing there are lots of girl's nights... because we will be busy!!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A long break from writing and a long weekend to fill it with

Lets just say its been an interesting middle of January. Last week was both crazy, busy, and a little sad.  Crazy because, well it is the middle of January and we've been having weather like its April! Windy but warm. So very strange. Busy, because between work and taking care of the kitties while Jay was out of town, it left little time to do much else. And sad... because despite the turn around for the economic times in our firm, we still lost some people to layoffs... and we will miss them dearly!!!

Jay got back into town late last week. We got to spend just a few days together before he left again for work. While it sucks to see him go (again) this time I will be joining him in Sunny San Diego at the end of the week!!!!
Tomorrow it is supposed to snow:
Beautiful... but cold
Friday, I will be here:
Beautiful... and warm!
So... I find myself really, really looking forward to warm weather and palm trees and sandy beaches and the ocean. Can you blame me?

Ahh the rest of the long weekend was spent running errands, seeing friends... and somehow getting dragged along to a COUNTRY music bar (oh help me now) to learn to line dance with my Irish dance friends. Sounds like quite the culture clash, doesn't it?



Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of line dancing, but be assured, it did indeed happen. And... anyone who knows me, knows that I detest country music. But I was a good sport and learned a few toe-tapping steps. However, it will be quite a while before I surround myself with that many cowboy boots and cowboy hats again. Yeehaw!!!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Winter has arrived

It only took all of November and December, but its finally here in Colorado. And boy, is it here! It started snowing on Sunday morning and stopped sometime Sunday night. Monday, Tuesday and today have been frigid cold in the mornings. Cold enough that I feel like I am back in Chicago. And.... I am pretty sure I moved away for a reason. Anyway... when the weather outside looks like this in the mornings....
I make warm in your belly food. Comfort food. Food that makes the whole house feel warm and toasty. Last night was no exception. Last night I tried my hand at Shepard's Pie. It turned into a bastardized version, but it turned out and was TASTY! And warm.

MMMmmmm.... looking forward to trying even more warm and tasty recipes since the cold will be sticking around for a bit longer.

Monday, January 10, 2011

A celebratory weekend

First off, a BIG giant Thank You to the people who made my birthday super special and so much fun. You know who you are. :) I had a great weekend, dinner out with my mom and brother on Friday night... a wonderful (yet butt kicking) day at dance... and a fantastic night out at the Mammoth game and Wynkoop with my girls and friends. Pictures of course...

Mammoth Game!!

a little fightin' action

Shannon and I

my dance girlies

my super amazing friend





Claire, Stacey and Julie... you guys made my birthday amazing. Thank you so much for being such awesome friends. I had an amazing night and have you guys to thank for it.