New Job

This post is a long time coming...like a month or so. But I wanted to wait and see how everything panned out.  And guess what...

ITS AWESOME!!!!

Seriously.  It is a complete 180 degrees from what I was doing at the law firm.  I am getting the chance to see the other side of law. The grittier, more basic, from the beginning of the legal process - side.

I am still in the training process... so I learn something new every single day. Every day. It is similar work, but everyday brings a new case, new file, new defendant, new situation. And I love every second.  Even the simple act of filing (which I am sure will become boring) allows me to learn something. I can review files and see at what point the person is in the process.

One day at a time... this is the 4th week on the job. And I can't wait to see how it all turns out!!  I will start accumulating lots of crazy stories. Dad tells me that I should keep them written down and write a book... maybe someday :D

When in Texas...

Drive, drive, drive! :) A few weeks ago, Jay and I took a roadtrip down to see his Aunt and Uncle and my baby brother. It was well timed, right before Andy's birthday, and right before I left for my new job (a separate post for that later).

Jay and I left super early in the morning...we were able to see the sun rise against Pikes Peak.

 We definitely knew we were in Texas....

We stopped for a night to stay with Jay's Aunt and Uncle. A nice meal and a great visit were in perfect order. Next time we'll have to stay for longer!!

We got to the town Andy's living in the next day. We managed to hit the Fort Worth Zoo and try out an awesome little beer emporium and spend a lot of time with my bro, Andy, before having to head back to Colorado.

the boys get a close up of the white tiger

hello big kitty! 

Andy and goof around a bit

wouldn't be a stop in Texas without some.... beef jerky?

a GREAT beer place!

Jay and I

baby bro and I

sunrise leaving Texas

It was a short trip, but a great one! Its always nice to know that Jay and I can spend nearly 5 whole days in the car with each other and still love each other :D Until next time!!!

My new dress in action!

This past weekend was Fall Feis up in Loveland, Colorado.  It was also my first feis debuting my new dress!! I was crazy excited to wear it and feel like it added a little boost to my confidence while on stage dancing.
First, let me start by saying the I spent Saturday trying to come up with something for my hair.  Yes, for my hair. You see, the dress came with one of those giant headbands that get put into a wig. But... I don't ever wear a full wig for competition, so I needed to figure something else out. Thank goodness for Hobby Lobby! I was able to put something together that was fun, me, and fit with my dress.

 My mom and Jay took the obligatory photos of me posing in my new finery.  See the front (above) and the back (below). In both pictures you can see the blue and black feathers in my hair. :) I was quite proud of my creation!

 Jay tried to get a few pictures of me actually dancing, but the distance and the lighting made it difficult with my point and shoot camera.  I liked this one though, because my legs were crossed and my feet were turned out! Looking good... at least I think so :)

 The only other picture from this weekend was taken of my fellow dancer/classmate and I. Since our dresses are very similar in coloring.... we made sure not to stand next to each other on stage.

It was a pretty good day! New dress, good placings, good fun.  And, my old dress found new life with one of the other adult dancers who made Fall Feis her first &over feis. Congrats Kathleen!! She'll be borrowing my dress until she gets a solo of her own, but it looks good for now and I hope it brings Kathleen as much luck as it did for me!

Blurry, but thats my dress dancing on the left!

While I love, love, love my old dress, I am excited for my new one and hopefully with the way I dance in it.  Thanks a million, mom. :) Until next feis ... in January. I have a lot of work to do and hope my placings will show it!

Halloween Part 2

So... I promised that there would be a part 2 to our Halloween adventures. And there was!! For the second time, Jay and I participated in Courtnay and Rob's annual Haunted House. Rob is the master planner and comes up with a pretty  fantastic haunted house, in their FRONT YARD! Sounds silly, I know. But, I promise, its not. :) Last year Jay and I were in the "O.R". Meaning...Jay was the crazy doctor operating on me... and I was the still awake and alive patient! It was a lot of fun, see?

This year, I have more pictures, thanks to Miss Stace, who came out to hang out out, but didn't really participate in the scare factor. It was so much fun having her there!!

Stace wrote all about our adventures in her blog, but I wanted to share a couple of pics here.

 Jay and I were asked to be gravediggers this year.... ooooh! Stace got this shot of us before all the shenanigans started.

 See that coffin on the ground? Before long, I ended up inside of it. As people walked by I would pound on the inside and scream to be let out.... creepy!

This was my view from inside the coffin! It wasn't really that bad, as I was lying on the grass and had plenty of air. :)

 Jay looked extra creepy in the lights as it got darker... excuse the pictures, I could only get my phone in my pocket...hard to take too much stuff with you to the coffin. ;)

Every once in a while, Jay would open up the top of the coffin and check on me :) This is one of the shots I took looking up at him.

All in all it was another GREAT year of scares and fun.  Thanks to Court and Rob for putting it all together again... we can't wait until next year!

Exciting News!

Extra, Extra, read all about it. Exciting dance news!  

Now that I have you at the edge of your seat, let me show you a few pictures throughout the last 5 years of dance, and evolution of sorts....

 

 I started in our school costume. Simple skirt and vest and long sleeve shirt.

 We've danced in jeans and matching tshirts for some occasions.

 Our summer dresses provide cool relief for those incredibly hot shows. Normally I don't wear tights with it... but just ignore those for now ;)

I've gotten to join the Denver and District Pipe Band, and with it comes a new outfit!

 St. Patrick's Day shows come with a variety of dance outfits, some more traditional than others... while some are all about comfort.

 We even introduced a new show outfit, simple with some flash!

 I even got my first solo dress!! First with no bling, then added some sparkles and even tried it out with poodle socks (that look didn't last long).

But.... finally, after much looking, fretting, measuring, etc. I have a new look to add to my dance evolution.

 MY NEW SOLO DRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Ignore the poor quality cellphone picture. Or the fact that I am not wearing tights, or hair, or make-up. I am just sooooo excited!!!! I will be wearing tights with this fab new dress. In one week, at Fall Feis, I will get to debut it. As an &over prizewinner, my mom and I felt that it was time to leave the older, traditional dress behind. I will still wear it for shows and such since I truly love the dress. But... new, updated dress? I think so!

Halloween... part 1?

I am calling this entry Halloween part 1 in hopes that I will have more to share after the actual holiday on Wednesday! But... we'll see.....

In the meantime... this year's Halloween involved a group costume. One that had been brainstormed last year and didn't work out... but was implemented this year at the insistence of all.  The girls and I decided to hit Halloween this year as ROLLER DERBY girls!!!! Heather, Anne, Brandy and I all got together one Sunday afternoon to pick out and put together our matching (mostly) team costumes. We came up with names, numbers, etc. We got our crafty on... and it turned out amazingly!

 

Anne aka Fast Lane!

Brandy aka Killer Bee

Me aka Em-inent Threat

 We were missing Miss Heather as she is celebrating Halloween Swedish style this year. But she is supposed to wear her costume there... so hopefully pictures will be forthcoming.

Jay, of course, had to be included in this group costume, but since he can't really be a Roller Derby girl... he stepped in as our always handsome, ever present Referee!

He looked hilariously amazing as always.  Our little team made sure to pose for pictures... and thanks to Sam, we even "won" the bout. ;)

 The party was awesome as usual. We got to celebrate MM's birthday and she and Same rocked it in style. The ominous Umbrella Corporation men were wandering around as well. And Jess and Ed captured everything... instagram style.

Until next year.... and believe me. Jay and I already have our costumes planned.

GABF - beer beer beer

This past weekend was the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. Held in our very own Denver, Colorado. And every year... this being our fourth time doing it, we have gone to pour and taste beer!
One of the best things about volunteering for GABF is getting to try new beers from around the country, but especially around Colorado. This year we poured for Copper Kettle Brewing Co. They are pretty new to the scene, but host some awesomely tasty beers and really great people!  I see Jay and I spending a lot of time in their taproom in the future.
Three years ago, Heather and I volunteered for the first time ever... and I had the luck to meet and get to know my love, Jay!  So, now we celebrate our anniversary in the same place every year, at GABF!  No better place to celebrate than with all that beer and with so many awesome people!

Sidney Oktoberfest

The first weekend of October always marks the weekend that the Denver and District Pipe Band heads to Sidney, Nebraska for their annual Oktoberfest. Strange, I know, heading to Nebraska for something like that? But, every year it turns out to be a ton of fun!!

This year... the weather had some tricks up its sleeve for us. Our first show, Friday night was pretty chilly, but we layered up, tossed back some beer and danced a lot. The beer tent was packed with people and that made everything warmer.

Saturday morning is usually our morning for a parade, a short break, practice, a dancers show, a break and then the night show. However, we woke up Saturday morning to this:


Not exactly weather conducive to having or marching or dancing in a parade!  Needless to say, the parade was cancelled. We were drafted into doing two different shows... one at a nearby Retirement home and one at the close Cabela's.

Doing the show at Cabela's was a riot! There were a ton of people there to watch us (plus the normal shoppers) and who doesn't want a backdrop of stuffed animals to dance to?
Our afternoon dancer's show was a little warmer, which was good since we couldn't fit nearly as many layers under those costumes as our normal pipe band outfits.

Saturday night's show was COLD. So COLD, that I didn't really take any pictures. The few I did take came out pretty blurry since I was shivering my socks off. All in all, it was a great weekend... looking forward to next year!