Christmas Party

The bake-a-thon was a success.

I made peppermint bark:



Mama Peas Vegan Balls

These turned out very well. I need to take them out about a minute earlier. They taste like a molten Reese's in cookie form!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip with Coconut

Molasses-ginger cookies I'd made before.

I also made baba ghanoush and buffalo chicken dip. The chicken dip is super easy and everyone raved about it.
8oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
4 oz monterey jack cheese, shredded
4 T hot sauce
1 can diced chicken
Serve with tortilla chips, celery and carrot sticks.

Here's our little tree. I made gift bags for everyone to take home. Lots of cookies needed to be given away!




And the table.

Minus the dips.


Sweets all lined up


People came with homemade cookies and morning glory muffins. A good time was had by all.

Jake and I gave each other Rock Band 3 and upgrades for Christmas, so we spent the evening with friends trying out the new keyboard and characters.

We leave for Minnesota tomorrow. MSP is expecting a snow storm with 6-9 inches, so here's hoping we actually make it!

Overzealous with the cleaning

Our Christmas party is tonight! Yesterday was the big bake-a-thon. I made three types of cookies and baba ganoush. Pictures and recipes will be up tomorrow. Hopefully.

I just got an email from my boss telling me there's a meeting tomorrow morning - in Nederland. Nederland is about 80 minutes from my place. Ick. I can't complain too much, though. The boss postponed his flight by three days to have the meeting.

The place needed a big clean. I even washed the marble fireplace! I ran out of 409 a few weeks ago and just grabbed the Target equivalent. I noticed it "contains bleach" but did not think much of it. There has definitely been a slightly bleach-y smell on previous cleans, but nothing crazy. Today, however, I have already managed to bleach my pants and my face. Ow. Luckily, the pants are some old sweats and the face got washed immediately. Still, I did not spray the stuff directly onto me - it bounced off the sink and floor. That's a bit too much bleach for me. I might hold off on the kitchen for a bit - that's the place most in need of cleaning.

Cookie break!

Sushi Party

Last week, Jake and I headed over to C&P's for dinner. They planned a sushi making party for us! I'd never made sushi before and was surprised at how easy it was. C is an expert and explained the process.

We had some beautiful tuna, celery, jalapeno, green onion, cabbage, sugar snap peas, daikon radish, carrots, and various spices and sauces. We each made at least one roll. Mine was very tight for a first-timer. TWSS.

We ended up with enough sushi for an army.

So delicious!

I'm not sure why I look like I am trying to suck out P's soul with my eyes. I blame the eyeliner.

Plan for tomorrow: bake-a-thon!

Molasses Cookies

I made molasses cookies from the 12 Days of Cookies. I'd been eying several versions of molasses cookies and finally settled on these. The decision was mostly based on the fact that the butter is melted, not creamed. This helps those who are sans mixer.

I was a little worried at first.


But I kept on stirring.

And ended up with these.



Verdict: Delicious!
I may skip the rolling in sugar step next time - most of the sugar ended up on my floor and counter.

I now have to go clean, because the kitchen looks like this.



At least I'll have cookies and Christmas music to power me through!

The Dress!

Jake - avert your eyes and skip this post!

*****

Seriously! Go away.


***********


Is he gone yet?



****


Ok, on to business.

On Black Friday morning, Mom and I got up at 6 and braved the crowds. We scored some good deals. :) We shopped for a few hours, then went home for brunch. After brunch, we picked up Grandmere and headed to the bridal salon.


I tried the dress on again and still loved it.

It's light and airy without too much frou frou. Plus, it makes my waist look tiny!



Here's the back:



Can you see the slight lace detail on the bottom?

Because I am a shrimp, I had to get the gown with a custom length. I was also stubborn. My measurements are between two sizes. Despite suggestions I go with the higher size, I decided to go with the smaller. I need some incentive to stay on track with my workouts. Fear of not fitting into my dress should do the trick. ;)

Boarding Buds

Wow. Total fail on the last part of NaBloMo (or whatever the correct word is). Once I got home I lost a bit (all) motivation to blog. Oh well, moving on.

Yesterday several friends and I headed out to Keystone. Jake snowboards, as do the two other friends with whom we went. I ski. We did the lifts together, but then typically we went on separate trails. I am much more comfortable on blues than blacks. I did a black run yesterday without trouble, but they stress me out sometimes. Instead of the blacks with the boarders, I did moguls, lots of moguls, hours of moguls. By the end of the day, I definitely felt I had a rythm going. :)

Somehow, on one of the lift rides, my brake and R's binding got entangled. We realized this about five seconds before getting off. This made getting off the lift super-interesting. I still have no idea how we managed it without falling, but we did. Go team, go!

Upcoming posts: sushi making party and the DRESS!

Bessie's Back!

Whew. What a packed weekend!

Friday afternoon I picked up Bessie. After 4 weeks of repairs, my car is finally all fixed up! I'm thankful to have my AWD back in time for snow. I also baked some more oatmeal chocolate chip and coconut cookies to take over to a friend's housewarming party. Their new house is super cute. Jake and I chatted with new friends for a few hours, then headed home.

Saturday was an epic date! We caught the afternoon showing of Harry Potter. I decided to go all out and got us popcorn, candy and a soda to share from the concession stand. When did a medium soda go up to $5? Holy hellfires, that's expensive. Now I remember why I sneak drinks and snacks in usually. ;) The movie was spectacular! I just reread HP7 about a week ago, so the book was fresh in mind. The movie stayed pretty true to the book, even if they have to gloss over certain parts (Kreacher's redemption! I was sad we didn't get to see that evolution.)

After that amazingness, we headed to Pearl Street Pub for an appetizer and some drinks. Our reservations weren't until 8:30. We enjoyed an antipasto platter that was delicious while watching the Irish beat Army! We then moseyed over to the Black Pearl for dinner. Even with our reservation, we had to wait about 20 minutes. Totally worth it. The meal was very good. I had hangar steak while Jake enjoyed some lamb. We both really enjoyed eavesdropping on the couple eating next to us - middle age, first date, met online, she wouldn't stop talking about how music fills her soul in the church of nature. Oh right, the couple on our other side didn't use all of their giftcard, so they gave it to us. SCORE! $7.50 we didn't have to pay for.

Sunday dawned bright and early for a ski day! We drove up to Breck. Traffic was painless, but the lift lines were killer. Breck only had a few lifts open, so those were packed. We started off on a run that I thought was blue, but was actually black. I managed to wipe out twice (lost my ski once and bruised my knee on the second fall). Not feeling particularly graceful, I decided I needed a bit more of a warm up, so Jake headed off to some blacks while I cruised some easier blues. We met up for lunch and then got lost and headed down a black run full of moguls. I made it all the way down without falling!

Great weekend! I go home tomorrow to celebrate with the family. So excited!!

one week til turkey!

I'm so excited for Thanksgiving! I go home Tuesday night. I'm so thankful for my family. I can't wait to see them all.

We're going over to the cousins for actual Thanksgiving dinner, but then my immediate family will make our own on Friday. Thanksgiving is my dad's favorite and he loves leftover turkey. So, my brother is brining and roasting a turkey a la Alton Brown and we're whipping up a few sides for our own feast. :)

Of course, before feasting on Friday, there is Black Friday Shopping! Mom and I always get up early and go out. We never go to crazy places and wait in line, though. More like Kohls, Old Navy and Target. Mostly we outfit her Christmas kid. This Friday is going to be packed; I'm also buying my wedding dress (hopefully!).

Oh! News that makes me happy! I was going through my closet for items to donate and pulled several pairs of jeans, including one pair that has always been too tight. Like, I can wear them for an hour and then have to take them off. I thought to myself, might as well try them on and see if all the running has slimmed me down. YES! They fit! AND are comfortable. Hurray for running! We'll see if they still are comfortable after Thanksgiving. ;)

How excited are you for the Holidays?

in a fight

I am in a fight with weather.com.

Yesterday morning, they said 0% chance of precipitation. I decided to brave the cold and wear cute ballet flats instead of boots. As soon as I get in the car, it starts snowing. Boo.

Today, again very small chance of precipitation, 10%. I head out for my run and see VERY dark skies to the north. I decide to cut the run short and go home to do weights. 5 minutes into weights, the wind picks up and sleet starts. Boo.

Expect a letter if this happens again, weather.com. My wrath is great and terrible.

Sunday cookies

Yesterday, I got bored.

Jake was busy making things explode online.

I wanted cookies.

So I baked.


Without a mixer.

I own neither a Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer (my dream lover) nor a hand mixer. Both are on the registry!



Creaming butter and sugar was a bit rough, but I managed.

Visions of warm cookies kept me going.

Lots of stirring.


Oatmeal chocolate chip .


Not the prettiest cookies, but so tasty.



I won't tell you how many I've eaten, but the answer is more than a few.

Good run and great job Irish!

Saturday was lovely. I went for a long run in the morning and actually felt very confident throughout the whole thing. I discovered I need to bring more kleenex with me on cold runs; my noise got very runny!


After the run, I quickly showered and headed out to the ND game watch. Jake joined me after finishing up a few errands. Y'all, the Irish played better than they have in years. Special teams was on the ball and defense only allowed a field goal. ND had not won against a ranked team since 2006! Way to go, boys and keep it up!

Go, Fight, Win!

Let's Go Irish!

Hopefully, there will be cause for push ups! That's me, several years ago, after a touchdown. I think it was 35 push ups. One of the perks of being small, you get chosen to go up.

Even though our QB and main running back are injured, hopefully we'll play well.

not yet

Skiing yesterday was a blast. We only went for about 5 hours. You have to ease yourself back into the all-day sessions. I'm still a bit sore though. I did some yoga last night to loosen up and I think it helped.

The plan was to go for a run today, but it hasn't happened yet. Jake's furnace broke this morning (29* outside), so I've been waiting around all day for calls from the landlord and the repair man. Repair guy finally called around noon to tell me he'd be here at 1:30. At 3, he called to tell me he was running late (no duh) and that he'd be here by 4. Hopefully, he actually will be here at 4, and I can sneak in a run!

Anybody have anything fun planned for the weekend?

SKI DAY!

Hurray for Veterans Day! Not only do we celebrate those who've fought for our country, but its a federal holiday. Jake and our friend M have the day off, so the three of us are hitting the slopes. This is really cool, because M took us out for our first time ever in Colorado, exactly a year ago.





Here's hoping I don't bust my butt!

Sexuality and the Church

Hello my dears!

Emily has been posting a great series on female sexuality and the Church. As a female who was brought up in a church and attended youth groups, this has particular interest to me. My youth group focused on abstinence as the best way (but not the only possible way). Still, it makes me wonder if any of my hangups are due to these teachings? I'll admit, I was one of those 13 year olds yelling "Sex is great, in the bonds of holy matrimony!" while at youth conferences.

The whole concept of determining the 'correct' sexual attitudes based on the Bible is fascinating to me. Many of the dos and don'ts regarding sex are found in Leviticus (old Testament book full of rules, written after the exodus from Egypt). This time frame focused on growing God's people into a nation that outnumbered the stars. Many of the rules focus on the way to procreate and spread man's seed. Not fun reading.

Then there is Song of Songs. It's a love poem. More traditional scholars argue that it is a love poem between God (the man) and the Church (the lady). I believe it is simply a love poem about lovers. It's beautiful (and hot!). I do believe sex between two lovers can be holy.

I don't have time to get into a full treatise right now. If you're looking for detail, check out Emily's posts!

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

And here it is! Jenna's Vegan Chocolate Pudding

What you'll need:

I had to use a double boiler. It was my first time and though I was scared of it, I managed to use it fine. A bit scary still...

The end result - rave reviews from everyone who tried it. Again, no final picture, because that's how I roll. :)

Sunny November in the Park

Totally missed posting yesterday. Whoops. I have a good excuse though. We met some friends in the park around 11am. It was incredibly sunny and 78* - in November in Denver. Weird.

We all brought some snacks and games and spent the day hanging out. Around 5, everybody got hungry. We trekked over to Jake's place and ordered Kaos pizza. We then spent about 5 hours playing cards. My team did not play very well, but fun was still had by all. By the time everyone left, it was late and time for this girl to go to bed.

Engagement photos at 2 in the same park. I'm still deciding what to wear. When I scheduled the photo shoot, I assumed it would be cold. Now that it is going to be 70 +, I have to reevaluate my outfit.

I'll post the vegan chocolate pudding later!

Vegan Feast Recipes, Part 1

For the Vegan Feast Wednesday night, I made The Pioneer Woman's Baba Ghanoush, and Jenna's Channa Masala. I'll save the amazing dessert for another post!

I put my faith in the Pioneer Woman and broiled the eggplants until they were shriveled . This took about an hour in my oven. And constant checking to make sure the kitchen was not on fire.

I think the broiling made a HUGE difference. I could taste a hint of char in the Baba Ghanoush. Guests said it was the creamiest they'd ever tasted! Two thumbs up!

Mise en place for channa masala. It was easy to do. I followed Jenna's recipe, but substituted olive oil for the butter for the onions (which she explicitly said NOT to do) and left out a jalapeno. It was plenty hot. :)

I prepped as much as I could before company arrived. It really helped me be able to be part of the fun chatting before dinner, instead of stuck in the kitchen the entire time. I served it with brown rice and plenty of cilantro. I had to add a dollop of Greek yogurt to mine to cut the spiciness (I'm a wimp).

Um... apparently I need to work on my food blogging skills. I failed at getting any finished shots. Wah Wah. To make it up to you, here is some shoe porn.

I was on a mission for gray boots. I finally found this fun pair at DSW.

Sorry for the glare! I obviously need to work on my camera skills. The bow is my favorite part.

I went back today to try and find a pair of black boots to wear with my winter skirts, and some new winter boots. Fail. My old black boots literally fell apart on me last year. The search will continue!

Success!

Last night's dinner party was officially a success. I'll share recipes throughout the week.

Here are some pictures from our weekend in the mountains. We hiked around Lake Dillon. Great view was enhanced by the recent snowfall.

Cuteness. :)

I'm waiting for my boss to get back to me so I can get some paperwork filed tonight. I hate waiting! Gh.

Before and after

I decided my hair needed some shaping. I'm trying to grow it out a bit before the wedding, so I didn't want anything drastic.

Here's before: (just out of bed - no product)

Here's after with three different products in it: (what a difference natural lighting makes! I swear I didn't get my hair highlighted.)

Can you tell a difference? I wasn't crazy about how she styled it. I think she was a bit nonplussed when I told her I don't straighten my hair, nor do I use a diffuser on my blow dryer (I don't even use a blow dryer!). I think she realized I meant it when I said I'm lazy about my hair. I do like the cut. The bottom layer, which isn't very curly, was getting a bit shaggy. Best part - the cut was only $15! I go to the Aveda school and students get to practice on me. :)

After my haircut, I went to a bridal salon in Denver to check out their options. Unfortunately, they didn't have the dress I wanted to try on. In fact, they didn't have that many dresses, period. Oh well.

I moved on to preparing for tonight's dinner. We're having friends over and I'm making a Vegan Feast! Well, three courses. Here's a hint for the last course. Jenna's Vegan Chocolate Pudding

I currently have eggplants broiling in the oven. Stay tuned to see if I burned the place down!

True Story: I can always finish a burrito

Due to craziness at work and lack of groceries at home, I grabbed lunch out on Monday. I decided on a Chipotle burrito to keep me full in case I had to work late (spoiler: I did). This reminded me of a story. . .

Senior year of college, I went to dinner and a movie with a boy (I thought it was a date. I was wrong. Awkward.) He said "Let's go to Chipotle, I have a coupon!" Keep in mind, Chipotle was new at the time, and a fun place to go.

When we get in line, boy asks if I want to split a burrito. Um... sure? Remember, I was on "date behavior." Boy says he can never come close to finishing one of their huge burritos. cough*wuss*cough

I think I talked him into buying chips and salsa to go along with our one burrito. Pretty sure I did this by telling him I'd pay for it.

We then saw SAW (the original) and he walked me home, where he made it clear this was not a date by talking about the girl he did like. Lame.

Moral of the story: never trust a boy who can't finish a burrito.

National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo)

Goal for November: post something every day!

The weekend was lovely. The future-in-laws were in town, so we headed up to the mountains to have some fun. Full recap later - once I download pictures. :)

Halloween was very quiet compared to previous years. Jake's parents left Halloween afternoon, so we did not venture out to any outrageous Halloween parties on Saturday night. We did watch Paranormal Activity, which was ok. I thought it would be scarier. We did drag ourselves out of the house to go to a spooky dance show. The David Tyler Dance Theater did a collection of spooky dances (think nightmares, Dracula, ghosts, and Medusa). For ten bucks, it was a fun way to spend an evening. Before we left, I gave out candy to six trick-or-treaters. I then left the candy bowl on the stoop. Jake thought the bowl would still be fairly full when we got back. Wrong. Seven pieces of candy remained.

Work today is go-go-go. We have several motions and responses due today, so drafts are being fired back and forth. Fingers crossed it all gets done!

A fitful Friday

Friday started off well. I got my oil changed and ran some errands. I went over to Jake's home to make Jessica's Better than Crack Brownies. You'll need:

Phase one: brownies

Phase two: cover with chopped peanuts and Reese's

Phase three: chocolate-peanut butter with rice krispies

Two minutes after I finished the brownies, I heard a horrendous noise. I scrambled to the window - my car was in the same spot and I saw no other cars around. Phew. A few minutes later, I heard a knock on the door. A woman stood outside with her crying teenage daughter. "Is that your white car? My daughter just hit it."

Wah wah. I rushed outside to see this:


At first glance, it doesn't look that bad. Until I realized my left rear tire was completely out of whack. Information was exchanged and insurance companies called. I tried to comfort the girl, who felt awful. The body shop was already closed, so my car has to wait until Monday to get towed. Luckily, their insurance got me a rental. I have my long work commute on Monday, then have to pick up Jake's parents at the airport on Wednesday. I need a car this week!

Some of you may remember, I was in an accident in March and my car ended up totaled. I dreaded dealing with insurance again. The body shop where this car is going is the same one that dealt with my car after the March accident. If this car ends up totaled (which I doubt), I will pitch a fit. Promise.

After all the excitement, I needed some stress relief. As I had just baked, I decided on exercise. I tried Gina's Bridal Bootcamp. It did a great job taking my mind off of everything and giving me some much needed endorphins!

Saturday morning Jake and I headed off to the Tavern for brunch and to watch the Notre Dame v. Navy game. Oh man. Notre Dame got stomped. Not good. Not good at all. To soothe my soul, I made these freestyle treats!



Don't worry, we're heading out to a friend's Oktoberfest party and all the goodies will be coming.

A candyless day

I've been in a bit of a funk this week. I felt really ill Tuesday night and very blah Wednesday. Then I realized, I've eaten a ton of candy this week. No, seriously, a lot of candy. I declared Thursday to be a candy-free day. I got my butt off the couch and went for a run.

I managed to not eat any candy, but I did eat 1/2 a piece of cheesecake at an event I went to last night. :) Today won't be candyless, but it will be a more moderate intake of candy.

Have an amazing weekend my dears!

Oh right.

Did I mention I ran my first 5K on Sunday? I participated in the Susan G. Komen 5K in Denver with 55,000 of my closest friends. I felt very claustrophobic at first with so many people around me. However, I just maintained my pace and kept going. It was tempting to try and "race" other people around me, but I knew if I started that, I'd be walking before mile two came. There were five or six live bands performing throughout the route, and a few groups of local cheerleaders. Seeing other runners' pink signs (who they were running in memory or celebration of) inspired me. One guy was running in celebration of "The Ta-tas." I finished under my goal time too! My goal was 40 minutes and I came in around 36-38. :-D There was no official time, so I went by my phone. And yes, I really am that slow after five months of running.

workplace bonding

I won't lie. I was not pleased to be going into work this morning. I normally go in one day a week and telecommute the rest (it requires hour + drive each way). However, some workplace bonding cheered me right up. My other coworkers were saying how much they wanted coffee and I was complaining how hungry I was. True story, by 9:45 am, I'd already eaten a bowl of cereal for breakfast and my snack of a granola bar.
An hour later, I headed out to the local Starbucks to get drinks for the troops. While I was out, one coworker snuck out and got a breakfast burrito to split with me. Please note, this was not a McD's breakfast burrito, but an authentic Southwest style one. It was delicious and killed the gnawing hunger demons inside me. That made my day way brighter! :)
It also was in the theme for the day. Last night I made several trays of enchiladas to have for dinner tonight when guests come over. I used Janetha's recipe. I tweaked it a bit - added a zuccini (half needed to be vegetarian for a guest) and forgot the tomatoes (oops!). Due to work and commute, I won't be home until 7:30, so I wanted something that could mostly be done beforehand. I'll let you know how it turns out!

How my random act became a devious plan

As many of you know, I got engaged several months ago. To my surprise, both of my parents immediately became obsessed. My dad had dreams about who should be invited. My mom had lists of lists. I became more laid back about the whole deal. :)

One night while I was home, Say Yes to the Dress came on. Mom came in and watched it with me. She was astonished at how much people were paying for dresses. (I think one girl had a budget of $5,000.) Apparently, Mom was also hooked on the show. A month ago, I found out she'd even gotten Dad to watch an episode or two with her. This is a major deal; my father only watches sports, stocks and the Weather Channel. Dad told me he couldn't believe how snooty all the sales girls were on the show. Both of them watched the premiere of Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta (the shop is about ten minutes from our house).

Yesterday, I went dress shopping. I'd gone once in Atlanta with Mom, but hadn't decided on anything yet. I had time and the urge to try on dresses, so I went by myself. I found a dress I liked, snapped some photos and emailed them home. Here's a sneak peek.

AVERT YOUR EYES, JAKE!!!!

The dress is a bit more than I wanted to spend. Here comes the devious plan. By watching Say Yes to the Dress, Dad has become hardened to the costs of wedding dresses. Anything under $5,000 seems like a good deal to him! (This dress is WAY under that.)

Stay tuned to see if I buy this dress!

A bad run and some knowledge

My run today was no bueno. I had a big salad for lunch, with romaine, steamed broccoli, tomato, and some chickpeas. 2 hours later, my stomach felt a bit wonky, so I had a glass of water. 30 minutes after that, I headed out on my run.

Oh dear. I seriously thought I was going to throw up at some points. I ended up walking about 1/3 of the time. My salad was sitting in my stomach like I'd had a double serving of beef bourginon. The last five minutes I realized that if I can run with this, then my 5K in less than two weeks shouldn't be a problem. That's right, I'm running the Komen 5K on Oct. 3. I'm very excited to buy some pink running wear!

Side question: what do you wear to run outside when it gets cold? I started running in late April and was just wearing old yoga pants and long-sleeved shirts. I'm hoping I can keep running outside for most, if not all of winter in Denver. I'm worried about the dry, cold air aggravating my asthma. Any suggestions?

Low Key Saturday

Yesterday was lovely. Very low key and relaxing. I woke up and made Jake's favorite breakfast - Polish breakfast. This involves potatoes, onions, sausage, eggs and cheese. It ended up being tasty, much better than last weekends attempt at pancakes. After letting the heavy breakfast digest for a bit, I went for a run. I didn't run as far as I'd like, but am still proud I dragged myself out.

The afternoon was spent hanging out on the porch, being jealous of the kid's birthday party next door (complete with bouncy-castle!), baking brownies, brewing beer and playing video games with Jake. Not exactly the most exciting Saturday night, but delightful all the same.

On the schedule for today, a trip to the farmers' market.

Have a great day!

Abandonment Issues

Yesterday a dear friend moved away. True, she moved to a fun city, near her family, and with a great job. However, she is no longer available to be my Indian buffet date and this saddens me.

Her leaving wouldn't be so bad, if three other girlfriends hadn't also moved away since June. That's right, 4 out of my 6 female friends have abandoned me. Bagel moved West. Ches moved back East. Lizzie moved North and Kim moved South. I pout.

Really what this means is that I need to work on making friends. I've been in Denver for over a year now and am really loving the city. I am looking into joining some groups. This will be my first experience trying to make friends outside of a school setting. We'll see how it goes.

Nobody else is allowed to move away for at least a year!

What do old people like more than free food?

Trick question - nothing!

While all the cool kids are in Chicago at the Healthy Living Summit, I hung out with my people. That's right, I attended Senior Law Day! 1700 elders and myself had a blast scoring free swag and bags of potato chips. I almost lost an arm when I was too slow picking a bagel in the breakfast line. Luckily, I was trained by the best (my dad) and got into my old-person mindset. This included grabbing and stowing 3 granola bars, one bag of chips, homemade peanut brittle and some candy. I restrained myself and did not steal any tea bags. I did grab a muffin to wrap up in a napkin and take home, but I got hungry/bored waiting for the first speaker, so I ate it. :)

Other swag included information on reverse mortgages, living wills and whether I was ready for retirement. There were over 23 separate sessions, but you could only attend 4. Once again, I was reminded why I want to practice Elder Law - the people who do are amazing and you are providing a real service.

Nerd alert and something sappy

True story: I just found Inuyasha is on Hulu - all 170+ episodes. I may never work again.

Also, in exactly 365 days, I'll be marrying my best friend!

Did I mention that for my 24th birthday, he threw me a surprise party where he cooked like 8 courses for everyone? And this was before we were dating! Can you see why I'm marrying him?

manual emergency

Today I had the mission of moving Jake's car from its spot on the street to a spot around the block. Why? To avoid street sweeping day. As y'all know, Jake has abandoned me for the week to gallivant around Alaska and kayak. When I asked him what to do about moving the car, he said "You can do it!" I told him of course I could move his car. Only problem, his car is manual. Now, I've had a lesson on manual, but it was two years ago. As I got into his car this afternoon to move it, the problem became abundantly clear.

First I could not get his car to start. "Great," I thought to myself. "I've broken his car." After a little internet research, (Thank you, Wikipedia!) I learned I needed to push the clutch all the way in, AND have the car in neutral.

Second attempt, I got the car started. "Yes! Victory is mine!" Wah wah. No. I couldn't get the car to shift from neutral to first without it making horrible noises and dying on me. Of course, it didn't help that I had an audience for this. Two guys working on the house next door must think I'm crazy or completely incompetent. I'm not sure which I'd prefer...

This is how I felt.

I knew I needed to do something to turn my luck around. Time to bake! Luckily, Tina posted this recipe earlier. I didn't have any sweet potatoes, so I used 1/3 cup peanut butter and 2/3 cup plain yogurt instead. Delicious!

I decided to try my luck one more time. I read the wiki article again and headed out. I got the car started! I got it into first gear! I stalled at the first stop sign.

As I waved the lady behind me around, she asked if everything was alright. I nodded, smiled, and took a deep breath. This time I got the car started! I got it into first gear! I didn't really stop at either of the other two stop signs (no other cars were around and I was turning right). I didn't take the car out of first. Yes, I went awkwardly slow. I kept sweet talking the car around the block. Finally, I pulled the car into a spot twenty yards away from her original resting place! VICTORY! I just have to do this all over again on Thursday. The perils of living in the city.

Did I mention I was shaking by the time I got out of the car? I was. I went inside and administered one oatmeal/raisin/coconut/peanut butter cookie and felt like this.

Please excuse the shininess. Sometimes, I have an eerily alien glow about me. :)

Gripes and joy in the little things

First off - gripes

• I left home at 7:45am and returned at 8:15pm.
• I stayed late because I was waiting on my coworker to finish up a project before I could finish my part of the project. She chatted to the plant guy for 45 minutes, then orchestrated phone calls for 30 minutes for personal business.
• The boy is off kayaking in Alaska for the week and will not have cell service for a week. I already miss him terribly. :(
  

And now: joys!

• Because I ended up staying late at work, I ran across the street to grab dinner. I went to Mad Greens - a first for me. I had a delicious salad!
• This is our first Valentine's day-over three years ago! It always makes me smile. :)
• I hope y'all are finding joy in little things today!
  

Play ball!

We went out with some friends to see the Rockies play Tuesday night. Unfortunately we lost, but the game was fun!

Friends!

I was surprised to find a hot potato bar at the game. I got a giant potato with all kinds of goodies on it. So good.


In other news, I've spent an embarrassing amount of time today watching Bones and be completely unproductive. I decided I'm okay with that. :)

Wedding pics, finally

Mom finally sent me her pictures from the wedding we attended over the 4th. So much fun was had by everyone.

Bridesmaid luncheon! Weather was supposed to be crummy all weekend, but it held out until it was time for fireworks. Bride is in the middle in the poppy-colored dress.

Mom and me enjoying mimosas!

Transportation from the wedding to the reception! Colorado is so much fun. :)

Our wedding is about a year away!

The family. Yes, we are all in blue; no, we didn't plan it. It could be we are all vain about our blue eyes... And yes, that giant next to me is my brother. :)