This post will serve as a catch-up on photos for the last month or two, oops! My computer is kind of slow, so it takes some time to get pictures on here.

This first picture is of my lab on Hunter Orange day. It was Jaime's birthday and the day after she successfully completed her comprehensive exam. It was also the first day of the rut for the deer season (10-11), and so to celebrate it all we wore orange. Most of the department was a bit confused when they saw us all . . .

The last few weeks have been full of self-assessment it seems.  A bit of growing up perhaps, or trying to figure some stuff out at least, make some decisions.

It started with Troy's career development training, through StrengthsQuest.  It's that idea of  "discovering and developing your strengths in academics, career and beyond."  Sort of like taking personality assessments, but a bit more useful in that the traits are more descriptive, I think.  And then there are chapters in the book that after you have defined your strengths, on how to best put these to use in your life.  I really like this assessment because it looks for our strengths, which are going to differ for everyone but we all have some, and the combination makes us who we are, and gives us something to work with.

Well, Troy has taken the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment before, so I got to use his new login code to take it for myself this time.  We had a bit of fun trying to guess what I would be beforehand, and were rather accurate with a surprise or two.  After answering a series of questions within a time limit, to try to make you go with your gut instinct, the assessment reveals your top 5 strengths, from strongest to weakest.  If you took this assessment multiple times, your top 2-3 strengths would probably always be there, but depending on the day and the mood, your 4th and 5th strengths may vary. 

So my top strength was Achiever.  This is pretty easy to guess if you know me.  I like to get things done, perhaps a bit driven.  "You are busy and productive, and you derive satisfaction from your accomplishments."  "You can draw on a deep reservoir of internal motivation, stamina and determination to achieve your goals."  Part of the verbatim description from the book stopped me in my tracks. "You feel as if every day starts at zero.  By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself.  And by "every day" you mean every single day - workdays, weekends, vacations.  No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied."  Yikes.  That is eerily accurate.  I think this strength is really what gets me through tasks I dislike.  I can do it, because in the end, when it is done, I feel that sense of accomplishment.  So I may not always like research, but I like where it is getting me in my life.  I like the knowledge and abilities that it ultimately teaches me, although the day to day tedium is not for me forever.  I think I need more daily reassurances/achievements/rewards in the long run.

My #2 was Strategic.  Basically I can pick out the important things in all the complexity.  "This theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route.  It is not a skill that can be taught.  It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large."  I think this is why I can do research and actually part of what I do enjoy about research.  I like to take all the details, all the complex items, and organize them to explain it all.  What is the big picture?  What does this contribute to the overall story?  How does this change it?  How can we adapt the story to fit this new detail?  But I think that I can use this strength in any type of "problem-solving setting," right?  Student B doesn't understand all these details, what can I do to make the big picture clearer to this student?  Student H doesn't get it, why not?  What can I do to help them?  (sounds like I miss working with people, instead of with data, right???)

My third strength was Learner.  Now this again makes sense.  How many times in the last year of undergrad, when trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do next, did I say "but I just want to know more, I like learning about biology and how it all fits together." As the book says, "the process, more than the content or the result, is especally exciting for you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence."  I think any career in higher education and/or research will supplement this continued theme.

My fourth strength was Focus.  Between Achiever, Strategic, and Focus I'm starting to sound like a real fun person to be around, right?  Add learner in there and you defnintely have got a nerd.  But that's what I have always been. " "Where am I headed?" you ask yourself.  You ask this question every day.  Guided by this theme of Focus, you need a clear destination.  Lacking one, your life and your work can quickly become frustrating."  See why I always need a plan?? (especially combined with Achiever, because I'm going to be dissatisfied if I get nothing done today, and worry myself to sleep about it??).  See why I am always so frustrated about not really knowing what I want to be when I grow up, or knowing how everything will turn out???  So hard to make a decision, when you can't predict every outcome.  But heck, when I've got a goal, I can sure get there. 

My fifth strength (and remember this probably is a bit of a reflection of the mood I was in during the assessment) is Positivity.  At first I laughed outloud at the description of this theme.  What?  Me????  But the more I think about, the more I can see it, with my own spin on it.  I'm not the happy-go-lucky optimist.  But I am pretty happy person, I like to smile and laugh.  I like to tell stories, share my life with others.  And as my boss said, when I am stressed out, it doesn't leak, people around me may notice, but I don't bring them all down with me.  Of course I said, when I feel stressed, it feels a lot better to laugh and loosen up, then to wallow in it with others (that's not quite productive, right, I'd rather just identify and deal with the problem, as fast as possible, IF possible.  The worst is when you can't do anything about what is stressing you out.  Arrrgh.)  So for what the book says about this strength: "You are quick to smile, some call you lighthearted. People want to be around you.  The world looks better around you because your enthusiasm is contagious.  You seem to find a way to lighten the spirit.  You celebrate every achievement."  So I can work with this one.

The one strength that I feel connected to, and as the book says if you feel this way you should "claim" it, and the one strength the Troy felt would for sure be in my top 5, that didn't show up, was Relator.  "Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships.  In simple terms, this theme pulls you toward people you already know.  You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people - in fact you may have other themes that cause you to enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends - but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends.  You are comfortable with intimacy.  Once the initial connection has been made, you deliberately encourage a deepening of the relationship.  You want to understand their feelings, their goals, their fears, and their dreams; and you want them to understand yours." (Amen to that last part!! Who doesn't want to be understood??!!) "For you a relationship has value only if it is genuine.  And the only way to know that is to entrust yourself to the other person.  The more you share with each other, the more you risk together.  The more you risk together, the more each of you proves your caring is genuine.  These are your steps toward real friendship, and you take them willingly."  And therefore have also been burned a few times, when it doesn't work out, eh?  But I just keep doing it, and am incredibly thankful for all the close friends, the genuine friends, that enrich my life. 

So like I said I have been trying to make some very hard decisions lately.  I don't feel like going into detail in such a public manner, but of course feel free to talk to me personally if you are curious.  These decision have been related to work and future career decisions and how these all intermingle.  And this book has actually helped me a bit.  (in combination with just having to bite the bullet, that trying to confirm that life isn't always fair, and that I just have to deal with it, and derive my happiness where I can).  The book has helpful comments on how to search out the right career for you, like for the process itself, and also insight into what things you may actually need in your career. 

Here's what has spoken to me: "Roles that challenge you and reward your hard work will allow your Achiever talents to flourish."  Remember what I said earlier about how I may need a career that reinforces achievements more often.  That I can work through things I don't like to do for the greater goal at the end (Focus, Strategic) but it really helps to feel like I've made progress or been 'rewarded' more often.

"Work environments that provide incentives for quality or productivity are likely to bring out your best efforts."  Now this one lately has hit below the belt.  Of course these incentives can exist in many careers.  But sometimes in a competitive environment, I feel like the short term benefits may be more apt to be rewarded, at a cost to the long term results.  I also feel like I need to align myself into an environment that sees the results that am interested in as worthy, for their own quality.  Not simply as worthy, but unrelated. (in other words, teaching is just as important as doing research, and that is not always supported in my current environment, and I can't frickin wait to be in an environment wholly supportive of my interests and talents used for those exact interests).

"Find a place where your productivity, stamina, intensity, and drive for completion will make you a valued team member."  Yeah, where they are glad that my talent is used for their shared interest.  Not thinking that it will be wasted or perhaps not fully used for their interests.

"Environments that are flexible and encourage creative thought and strategy will bring out your best.  Opportunities to see the big picture and plan new approaches will energize you."  Sounds like research . . . but could definitely apply to education as well.

"Your ability to create new programs and generate multiple alternatives will be an asset to any organization you join."

"Structured environments that are predictable, detail-oriented and reward your dependability and follow-through are likely to bring out your best."  There are some of the descriptors that I don't always feel a right for me.  I think I actually can adapt to the unpredictable and have been told that I can multi-task pretty well.  But perhaps just because I can do it, may not mean I am happiest doing it.  But as an achiever, I must say I sure can get more done if I multi-task, so I don't think that will be leaving my life!!!

"Choose a work environment that encrouages constant learning or where study is a way of life."  Heck yeah!!

"Environments that value the learning process will bring out your best, particularly if you will have opportunities to develop strengths." 

Check this one out:  "Many college professors have exceptional Learner talents.  Interview your favorite professors about what they find rewarding to their work."  You can believe I am going to do this.  I also want to know that they find challenging about their careers.

"You will thrive in work environments that are fun, fast-paced, and people-oriented."

"Relaxed, social, pleasant environments where your optimism and sense of humor will be appreciated are likely to bring out your best.  Avoid environments where cyniscism and negativity are seen as "cool.""

"Choose work for which you have passion.  You will be energized when you are in environments that encourage your hopeful view of the future."

"Choose a career where you can help others be more effective."

"Careers in which in-depth, meaningful relationships are valued are likely to be most rewarding to you."

"Stable work environments where you can work with people you trust but also develop multiple levels of relationships probably will bring out your best."

So yeah, of course I know there are caveats.  There is never going to be a point where this is static, I will always be searching and assessing what I am and where I want to be.  And of course these descriptors are general and could apply to many.  But I can benefit from these insights, especially if they reinforce conclusions I have already come to as well as force me to consider new ideas and ways of thinking.

Sorry if this has been long and uninteresting.  Or rather self-centered/focused.  But I needed to put all these thoughts down in one spot.  A place where I can come back to and remind myself of these ideas.  And of course, I do like to share and learn from those I'm close to, so please feel free to comment in any way.
 

I was Super J-9 for Halloween.  As you know, I've been working on making my own costume for awhile.  So here it is, the pictures are from my photo shoot on snow day, and are a bit excessive, oh well.  I don't know if you can tell, but the inside of my cape is fleece, mmmmm.  Troy was a Nascar fan as I'm sure you will see.  Troy, Chad and I went to Scott and Rhonda's Halloween Party on Friday night, which rocked.  We danced, had cool punch with dry ice in it, and karaoked the night away.   Troy and Chad did some redneck sledding (Troy has rocked the mullet since Thursday night, but it will end tonight) while I worked yesterday.  But we went to Jen's party, a fellow softball team member, last night.  Troy's mullet was a hit at church this morning, while I wore my flapper costume to make sure everyone knew his mullet wasn't his new personal hairstyle but for a costume.  Then we headed to Matt and Jaime's for a day of football games and good food today (we both rocked the Vikings gear with a sweater for Troy and a visor for me).  It's been a busy weekend, but fun.  Some of my favorite costumes include the Swine Flu, Jon and Kate + 8, a plumber, and border patrol/illegal immigrant couple costume.  Happy Halloween!!!!

I've had a productive but fun-filled weekend.  This productivity really does a body good.

The weekend did start out on a low point.  On my way home from work Friday night I stopped for gas, and noticed a rather large bulge on the sidewall of my tire.  Stink.  So I drove home slowly and carefully, and of course called my dad because that's what I do when my car has a problem.  We decided since the tire place was close, I would just drive slowly there in the morning, avoiding bumps and potholes.  But of course I was pretty worked up at the time since I just bought 2 new tires like 6 months ago.

But after an hour of working on my cape for my Halloween costume while watching the Proposal (yes, I was watching it for a second time, a rare occurance, but I do like that movie), I decided to go join Tammy and friends at Table Steaks, a local billiards hall/bar/restaurant.  It was pretty fun hanging out with her and Scott and all their buddies, since they don't get many nights out without the kids.  And the place had a nice, laidback, low key feel.  No loud, sweaty, in your faceness.  Just good, cleanish, fun. 

Luckily for me the next morning, they had an opening for me at 8:30 at the tire place.  So Stella and I carefully made our way there, and she got three brand new tires for the price of two, since the one with the bulge was only 6 months old and still under warranty.  Plus they didn't have the brand I bought last spring in stock, so they gave me more expensive tires at the lower cost.  Sweet deal.  And I got a run around the neighborhood in while Stella got spruced up.  I haven't run over on that part of the Highline Canal trail, so that was a treat.

By the time I got back to the apartment, the front office was open, so I got my Halloween package from mom (plus the baby sweater she knit for Joanna, thanks mom!!!).   Then I made my way to work.  Stopping along the way at the bank, to return the movie to Redbox, and to switch sizes on the long underwear I bought the night before for my Halloween costume.  Productive, right?

Thanks to Jaime's help, the slides I strated baking the night before, were all through antigen retrieval by the time I got there (I was worried about that since I had to fix my car, but had already started the IHC protocol).  So I set up the autostainer, and two PCR reactions, and two PCR reactions (during which Jaime also coverslipped my slides for me, an appreciated gesture).  I was at work from like 11 am to 7:30 pm, but it felt good to get all that done.  Unfortunately there is only a trend in the data, no statistical significance.  We'll see what I can do with that.

After work I joined Jaime for some frozen pizza and a few episodes of Big Bang Theory.  I've been getting the discs for us through the Netflix package that Troy's parents got for me for Christams.  Score.  Then Holly joined us for "The Hangover" at the Cinema Grill, acccompanied by some ice cream sundaes/smoothies.  Yum.  Funny, yet utterly ridiculous movie.  But I did laugh out loud quite a bit.  Oh, and I was definitely questioned before the movie as to whether I was old enough for the R rating.  Yeah, mistaken for age 16 yet again.  Shocking, I know.

I crashed at Jaime's place, since both Matt and Troy were out of town.  She made me a filling breakfast and we finished the Big Bang Theory this morning, before catching some Pei Wei's for lunch (which is now my dinner too).  Then I went for a bike ride along the Highline Canal trail since it was like 80 degrees out.  I stopped by Joann Fabrics on my way back to get a few more items for my costume.  Joann's is right next to Michael's, I never thought of them as a 'couple' until today.  Joann and Michael.  Weird.

After reading a paper for Journal club tomorrow, and analyzing the data collected yesterday (boo), I decided to take advantage of the warm fall weather and the lighted tennis courts.  Jaime beat me, a lot.  Like12 games?  But still a good time.

Now I'm going to finish my cape before Troy gets home.  And maybe work on a few notes for the 5 minutes I get at Matt and Jaime's wedding . . .

So the weather changed rather abruptly last week.  We had the first night below freezing on the night of October 1st, but had to postpone the Winter Freeze Party until October 8th because I was in Vail for work and then Troy was in Spearfish, SD for work. 

It snowed on the official Winter Freeze party date.  Just flurries, but fitting weather.  Scott and Rhonda, Rick and Mariah, Arnaud and Fabienne and Chad (dressed as a candy cane) all attended.  After chatting around the fire in our fireplace (a first in like two years), we had delicious hot cocoa and hot tea while watching the Extreme Sledders Guild documentary Troy made a few years ago.  Then Troy (in his winter sweater) and Chad rocked out on the air guitars a while too.  A nice evening celebration for the changing of the seasons.  I took a few self-portraits of Troy and me, and like this one the best.

We had another wet camping trip last weekend.  I don't think there's been a dry camping trip in Colorado all summer.  So I don't know why I haven't tried my rainpants out yet?

After some awesome once-in-a-lifetime adventures with Tammy on Friday night (ask me for more details if interested), we headed out early Saturday morning for some backpacking in the Gore Range.  I definitely had the lightest pack, only the food and water, Troy had the bulk of our stuff, and Jaime joined us with her proudly packed gear.  We started on the Mesa Cortina trail just outside of Silverthorne, and veered onto the Gore Trail a few miles into the saddle between Buffalo Mountain and Red Peak.  It was nice autumn t-shirt weather, with golden Aspens peaking out all around us.  (I have to say I miss the red and orange colors from back home, I must always insert that comment.  But the yellow leaves petal the ground with golden coins, and it is a beautiful sight.)


We were about 3.5 or 4 miles in and starting to look for a campsite, when it decided to rain.  And not stop for about an hour.  That made me cold.  We eventually found a wet rock dome to set the tent up on, and Jaime and I crawled into our dry clothes and sleeping bags for an afternoon nap.  Troy explored the area, set up our whole basecamp, and showed us the cool series of waterfalls near our site after we woke up.

He also took some amazing pictures, and I don't want to steal his glory.  So hopefully he posts those soon.

Troy made some delicious parmesan chicken cous-cous (gourmet camp chef, my hubster) with a side of pita bread for dinner.  Then we have a campfire in our little fire ring to dry out our socks and warm up our feet.  It turned out to be a peaceful evening.


The next morning we hiked onward.  The Gore Trail took us across forested hillsides, across mini-creeks, and out into a huge open bowl with pocket-sized lakes and red-tinged mountainsides.  It was quite picturesque.  We made it to the top of the pass before the weather turned chilly.  And enjoyed the view.  Then started the 4 mile trek back to our cached gear, and the 4 mile trek back to our car, all in almost constant rain/sleet.  Believe me, it got cold.  But it was a well-spent weekend.

Now I know being cold can't give you a cold, but it sure can't help you out if you already have a bit of a bug.  And therefore my sorethroat germinated Sunday night, and I slept probably 17 of the last 24 hours trying to fight this nasty cold.  I made it to work for half the day today, as some experiments must go on (hehehe).  Now I'm going to eat more ice cream and watch a movie.  And probably take another nap!!!

But first, since it has been a rainier summer here in Denver, we have seen a lot more rainbows than usual.  I love rainbows, have ever since I was a little kid (hence the rainbow themed childhood bedroom!!!).  When we got back to Denver on Sunday night, the rain followed us home.  And while we were hanging up wet gear and doing the laundry, we got to see another grand rainbow from our balcony.

We've had quite a few visitors in the last month, which works out since I've stayed in Colorado for the last month!  Laine and Scott came through first, on their moving trip to Phoenix.  We had several adventures, including finding a parking space for their moving van and car trailer, letting their cat (Mud) explore our apartment (she found my mouse sculpture!!!), hiking in the Mount Evans wilderness area up to Upper Chicago Lake with Matt and Jaime, dinner at Beaujo's in Idaho Springs, and of course a ton of catching up!!!  I miss living near that chica . . .

The next weekend Troy's parents were in town.  We had dinner at Souper Salad of course, watched the movie "Sunshine Cleaning" (very, um, real), enjoyed the Community Day Camp at church including an awesome discussion of forgiveness - health tips - the movie "Milk" - homemade ice cream - and a crazy drummer kid during the talent show, then went hiking with Jaime up French pass in the South Park area, some boardgames with Chad and Emily, and then hit up Sam's No. 3 for the first purple Favre game.  We filled up the schedule of fun!!

Then I thought we'd have no plans for Labor day, but with Troy as a husband, I forgot that we are just moving into the next season of activity, there is no break!  So we went camping on Saturday in the Buffalo Creek wilderness with Rick and Mariah and their dog Koa of course.  I love s'mores.  But we definitely need a new rain-fly.

We hiked Sunday morning in the Mount Evans Wilderness again, but from the other direction, toward Abyss Lake.  Troy's training for his big 24 hour hike with Chad and Max, so I just hiked in an hour with him, then set up our hammock.  The aspen leaves were already changing, and I had a good nap in the forest.  Although the rain kept me from staying longer than a few hours.  I hiked back before Troy got back to me.  But I did get to fill in a few pages in my "Wreck this Journal" that Jaime gave me.  It's awesome, we burned one page at the campsite, I got the dog's muddy footprint on a different page, and then collected leaves for another page.  It's kind of an activity journal, but not like any you've seen before.  I recommend it, especially for perfectionists like me, it's good fun.


We were back in time Sunday night to meet up with my old high school friend (I don't really have too many of those anymore, huh?) Robyn and Sarah Kramer as they moved Robyn out to LA.  I haven't seen Loppy in probably 3 years we decided.  Oh my.  We ate at Beaujo's in Denver and camped out in our apartment to reminisce, before they were off to Zion in the morning.  We're going to try to decrease the amount of time before we see each other again.

At least we had Monday off last week.  I cleaned Stella inside and out, then caught the movie "the Proposal" which I thought was hilarious.  We had Souper Salad again with Emily, Chad and his mom Chris that night.

English Language Acquisition classes have started up again.  I'm teaching level 2 now with Nancy, since Laura is teaching elementary school in Honduras this year.  I miss her creativity, and energy.  I think we fed off of each other quite a bit.  But I'm excited to meet my new students and try out the new curriculum.

I got to hang out with the Trudeau-Morris family last week.  Davin and Demi just keep growing up, I don't understand how it happens so fast.  This time Davin met me at the door with a big exclamation - it's Ja-een!!  He kind of misses the first N in my name, which is super cute.  Tammy and I are meeting up for some adventures this Friday - it was going to be girls' night, but it's definitely evolving into a different game plan!!

Last weekend we were going to mountain bike at Winter Park for Emily's last weekend in Denver.  But the weather was a bit wet and rainy.  So Troy, Chad, Max and I hit up "Tour de Fat" in City Park on Saturday morning (New Belgium Brewery sponsers it, get it - Fat Tire?!).  That was awesome (see Troy's recent post for more details).  I had no idea we should dress up, but we made do in the crazy bike parade.  You can see this guy was handing out Twinkies and I was ecstatic to get one.  Then the parade turned right and went uphill, and I lost my Twinkie.  Amid shouts of "Twinkie Down!!!" I slowly reversed to retrieve my Twinkie, which didn't even get run over once!  Those guys then tried out all these crazy bike-art-contraptions.  As you can see it was very entertaining.


We met up with Emily and Elizabeth, and had lunch at Pete's Kitchen on Colfax.  Then hung out at Chad's place playing some cards and watching movies.  A nice rainy afternoon.

Sunday we biked to church and the following picnic.  Then went climbing at Lookout Mountain with Chad and Emily.  It was the first time I used my new climbing shoes, the first time I have ever used climbing shoes, and they are amazing.  It's like I'm Spiderman, or at least it feels that way.  I'm definitely still a cautious, slow, non-advancing climber, but I love the new feel with my new shoes.

Things like journal club and seminars are gearing up at school.  I hoping this is the last 'new schoolyear' I start up as a grad student.  It's definitely different lately.  I mean, it's always been assumed and expected by my advisors out here for me to stay in research, but I'm hearing a lot more comments about how it is going to be devastating for them to hear that I am even considering leaving science.  Yeah, liking teaching science is leaving science.  But that is the perception around here, whether I like it or not.  And the message is at least being passively expressed lately, no directives, just comments here and there stuck in amidst some true compliments.  I don't really know how to address the topic, so I just sort of leave it be . . .

That's a lot of info, not just a record of what I've been up to lately, right?  I like to have this as a journal of our activities, otherwise I seem to forget them over time.  But it's nice to get a few thoughts in here and there too.

My oh my.  It has been a busy month.  So busy I haven't stopped to give each event is due time.  As usual, I think pictures will help to explain it all the best.  I'll add words here and there.

It started out with our Alaskan adventure.  Troy did an amazing summary on his livejournal, a few posts ago, so you should check that out at http://snow-king.livejournal.com/.  But I must say that we had a fantastic time, that Alaska is beautiful, and that hopefully we will go back one day.  Here's some pictures that Troy didn't post himself.  Portage glacier, the waterfall we hiked to during our kayaking stop, Troy on the boat, Troy's little mosquito buddy, a humpback whale tail, me with the binoculars, Harding Icefield, the sleddog and me, our campsite with Denali emerging from the clouds, and us on the boat.



We had ten fabulous days in Alaska.  We started in Anchorage, had a delicious breakfast with Reindeer Sausage and hiked Flattop Mountain.  We saw our first glacier just above our campground that night south of Anchorage.  And hiked to Portage Glacier for another view.  We stopped at a reflective lake on the way to Seward.  Found some cool gifts and crazy views from where the mountains meet the ocean.  Did a sunset tandem kayak (although the sun never set!!).  Took a day long boat ride to check out all the sealife.  HIked up Exit Glacier to see the icefield that feeds all the glaceirs.  Had crepes in a barn.  Stayed just north of Anchorage at a picturesque campground tucked between the rushing river, the prison, and the landfill.  Drove to Talkeetna and saw a moose alond the road.  Had delicious rolls at the bakery. Tried to spot Mt. McKinley.  Hiked in Denali National Park.  Saw a lynx in the first campground there.  Enjoyed the views on the bus ride to Wonder Lake.  Braved the mosquitoes out there.  Experienced the awe of Denali Mountain.  Saw mama bear with two cubs.  Filled up on pizza and hot buns.  And want to do it all again.

When we got back to Denver we learned that Chad and Emily and Max and Kari are all living out here now too.  While I checked out the dragonboat races with Tammy and family, Troy went hiking in RMNP with that crew.  Then we had a chicken BBQ at our pool on Sunday.  Jumped right back into the Denver area fun.

The next weekend however, I went back to Minnesota to attend my old friend Sonya's wedding to Karthik.  They started with a Hindu ceremony in the morning, followed by an Indian luncheon, then a ceremony at Peace Church where I grew up and knew Sonya from, and then dinner and dancing at the Radisson.  It was a day of tradition and celebration that I couldn't miss.  And am honored to have been able to attend.



Made the most of a quick weekend home and brought my grandparents up to Foley to hang out with my parents, Troy's parents and his 4 nieces. 



We got to go meet little Benjamin Matthew Fisher too, my old schoolfriend Kelly's new baby boy.

I got back into town on Monday just in time for a triple header to make up for all the softball games we've had rained out this summer season.  Kari and Emily helped sub too. 



The lab went out mini-golfing too.



And we had a So You Think You Can Dance Season Finale party too at Tammy and Scott's house, where Troy became Davin's new best friend.  (Troy almost sounds like Toy when Davin says it, sooo cute!!!).



Then I headed out of town again for Jaime's Girly Gathering in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan, in lieu of a bachelorette party/bridal shower for her.  It was pretty cool to get to meet her family and friends from the UP and check out where she grew up.  After flying into Milwaukee late Thursday night, her sister Laura picked us up and we drove the 4 hours to Iron Mountain.  Stopping for a frozen pizza just outside Green Bay at a gas station with a toaster oven - smart idea!I  Friday I got to try out shooting a gun for the first time ever, and I wasn't too bad!!  I got 3 bulleyes, and enjoyed it.  I won't ever shoot any living thing, but target shooting was actually pretty fun.  Mom - I have to post the pictures, but don't worry - I don't plan on making this my new hobby!!!  Jaime's dad Joe did all the instructing, very safe!  Then we went to the rifle range and shot from 100 yards away.



That afternoon we head out to the family hunting camp for the 'gathering.'  We all decided to wear camo for fun, including Jaime's sister, aunt, mom and 2 friends from high school.  And her sister's dog Wrigley of course!! 



Fate stepped in, and made sure that when I was in the UP, Sandy Safford was also passing through.  She was able to stop at camp for a few hours, to catch up and also check out my shooting pictures.  I'm pretty sure we haven't seen each other since the wedding, and man oh man if only we could see each other more often.



We rounded out the weekend in the UP with some swimming at Jaime's grandparents' cottage on the lake in Wisconsin, some ice cream at the place she used to work, a movie with her mom, and some lessons on shell reloading from her dad.  Then the long trek back to Milwaukee and Denver on Sunday evening.

This week has been full too.  We won our first post-season game with the help of Emily, Kari, Chad AND Troy on Monday night.  Although I think we'll be done for the season after tomorrow's game.  Tuesday we had dinner with our church friend Laura to wish her safe travels over the two semesters while she teached 3rd grade in Honduras.  I'll have to find another teacher to help me out this fall with the English Language Acquisition classes, but hope that she has a fantastic time!!  Wednesday night was a Christian Education Ministry meeting at church.  Then Thursday night started the festivities of Scott and Rhonda's wedding.  We had a picnic in the park on Thursday night, followed by mask-making and karaoke for Rhonda's bachelorette party. 



Friday night Troy took the bus over to my campus from work.  And we managed to convince Matt to let us take the top and doors of Jaime's jeep and go for a quick ride.  Followed by hanging out under the jeep-top in an instant fort.



Then Troy and I went to the rehearsal dinner BBQ at Scott and Rhonda's place to meet all the friends and family involved with the wedding.  After berry picking Saturday morning with Brenda, Matt and Jaime while Troy worked, we got ready for the wedding in Castle Rock.  Troy and I got to be greeters/ushers at the scenic historic Episcopalian chapel, and listen to the bagpipers as the guests arrived.  After a very moving ceremony (lots of tears for all involved!!), we moved to the reception for some tabouli, hummus, pita bread, baba ganoush, and kabob meat.  Delicous!!!  We got down dancing after dinner, had three kinds of cake if you were me!! (citron lemon, carrot, and funfetti!), and even did a little karaoke with their new wedding gift.  What was really cool is that they played our first dance from our wedding and we got to dance to it, which I don't think we have done in 2 and a 1/2 years. Troy and I had a ton of fun, we love weddings and had a fantabulous time!!  (Note the skunk cake topper, aawwwhhhh!!).  Scott was quite dapper in his kilt, and Rhonda was gorgeous in her dress and veil, as you can see!!!



Now it's off to bookclub.  I haven't been in a few months, ok maybe like 6, but I read the book while we were in Alaska, and enjoyed it.  I plan to stay in Colorado now for awhile.  Although with Laine and Scott comng through next weekend, and then Troy's parents after that, it looks like things may not slow down until September!!  But I do enjoy it.  Just need to remember to work as hard as I play!!

So I thought I'd start with some pics from that Rockies game the lab went too.  The people in my lab have way cute kids (we've got Nicole with her daughter Adela, Tanya with her boys Xavier and Sebastian, and Traci and John with their daughter Margot), but I also had to include the pic with me, Jaime and Brenda, since we never want to grow up either.  Ori and Yakub and Karla and Pat are all in the group pic too.


Let's see - we had an adventurous weekend around town before heading to MN.  Troy swam in an intense spot on Clear Creek and we chased his boat down river like 2 miles, and looked for his paddle forever to no avail.  But we did get to do some urban camping in Matt and Jaime's backyard to break in their new fire thing.  Sunday was church, Del Taco, and a losing softball game, followed by the first dip in the pool of the year for me.



Here are some pics from that church softball game.  We have green shirts that say FPCC on the front (for First Plymouth Congregational Chruch) and then I've got "Wint O'Green" and 9 on the back while I made Jaime's say "Green Monster."  Trying to stick with the green theme you know.  (I'll try to get some pics from our other team to, so you can see those unifroms too).  Here you can see that both Matt and Jaime have a powerful swing, mine 0 not so much.  But I am determined - I'm pretty sure my tongue is sticking out!!

So then after my plane was delayed 6 hours, I finally made it back to Minnesota at 2 am early on a Friday morning.  I was disappointed that I missed out on an evening with my parents and their dog Machias.  But they were nice enough to still come and get me from the airport at that time of night. 

After a little sleep, I picked Troy up from the airport after his non-delayed flight and we headed to central Minnesota.  We got to play in the Wahlin backyard pool that afternoon with Troy's neices, which was quite refreshing and fun.  Then we headed to the Sauk Rapids Parade that evening for a pizza picnic.  Paul and Lindsey Menard stopped by for awhile to catch up, which was an added bonus.  It's always fun to catch up with peeps we haven't seen in awhile, and I guess it has been 2 years already since we saw them at their wedding.  Time really flies, you know?  The parade was a bit long, but the marching bands and candy throwing were a hit with us all.



Saturday morning I lounged with Troy's mom watching Dirty Dancing, while the boys went and golfed.  Then we all played a little driveway kickball to get ready for the Riverbats ballgame that evening.  It was our Christmas present to Troy's family, and it ended up being a good time.  It poured rain within the first 15 minutes, and then cleared up but it took almost and hour and a half for them to get the field ready for play.  Then the game was scoreless until the 6th inning, when the Riverbats scored 6 runs (long inning), then 4 runs in the 7th, and 2 runs in the 8th.  The Duluth Huskies couldn't recover, so the game finally ended, in time for Granite City Days fireworks at midnight.  The girls were all good sports though, and we even won a free pizza for being the loudest fans in our section of the bleachers.  (I think we had the cuteness factor going too with all those redheads and curls!!).  And there was plenty of entertainment between innings and music to dance to.



Sunday we headed back down to the Cities.  My parents hung out with Troy and brought him to check out David and Erin's new house in St. Bonnie, while Katie picked me up for her baby shower at Lindsay Nicol's house in Rosemount.  It was cool to see all the girls (Katie, Lindsay, Beth, Gina, Erin, and Laine) and meet all the daughters that I hadn't met yet (Ella, Ayla, and Cadence), in addition to seeing big boy Coen again, and meeting Laine's Scott.  Plus the eggbake that my momma made was delicious!!  I can't wait to meet Katie's little guy Gabriel!!

That evening I went to pick Troy up and got to check out David and Erin's new house.  Love the huge deck and backyard and view, and it looks like they'll get most of the renovations done this summer, way cool. 

Monday morning Dad and Troy took me to the U of M campus where I got to meet with a potential PI to post-doc with.  It went really well, I like her and her lab, and their choice for lunch (Chinese - yum, yum).  She said there is a place for me, even if I 'take a year off' after defending my thesis, so that is nice to hear.  All these decisions, and everyone has their own suggestion, we'll see how it all works out.

Dad, Troy and I went to visit grandma and granddad that afternoon, and had some delicous homemade rhubarb bread, before taking Troy back to the airport.  Then mom and dad and I did the 'triangle' bike ride around town, ending at Wendy's for dinner. 

Tuesday morning mom and I headed to Duluth.  We took a detour at the outlet mall in North Branch for some irresistable deals, and then had a quick snack at Hell's Kitchen in Canal Park.  We had to check out the stores there too, and I got a sweet "I heart Duluth" sweatshirt for my June birthday.  My golden year of birthdays is fantastic.

Katie and Adam cooked, grilled, and baked us a delicous meal of Sesame BBQ chicken, green beans with bacon, onions and sugar, rolls, corn on the cob, watermelon, and apple pie with Bayfield apples at their new place.  They also have a great deck and backyard, along with the mancave - nice touch!!  Can you tell I wouldn't mind a yard, or more storage space, in our future?  But yeah, it was cool to see where two will soon be three!

We then found Luke, his sister Rochelle and her husband John at the Chester Bowl free Tuesday night concert.  We stayed at the Belmont that evening.  Mom was impressed with the house and all of its potential!!  Just teasing Luke, she did love the house, I'm the one who keeps saying it has potential under all that pink paint.  I enjoyed checking out Rochelle and John's outside February wedding pics and catching up with the Moravecs.

Wednesday morning Luke and Mom and I played a round of Snaggletooth Frisbee Golf.  I lost the frisbee too many times, but mom and Luke found it for me every time!  Mom and I headed down to Superior Street for lunch with Katie Cheesebro, while Luke hit up his hockey game.  Katiebean is going to remember to call me next time she's in Colorado, I hope!

We ended the Duluth visit with a swim at Razor Rainbow.  Luke agreed it was rather chilly, but Superior always draws me in.  I love that lake.  See the ship coming in behind me and Luke, and the liftbridge behind me and mom??



Had to head home, to SLP and then to Denver after that.  Thursday was a busy day heading from the airport to work, and having a big experiment almost work.  Almost.  I vegged out on So You Think You Can Dance that night to try to get over it.  Then after working on our manuscript Friday morning, Troy and I left for Steamboat Springs around noon on Friday.  It was a longer drive than I though, but through beautiful terrain.  We met up with Dan and Rick an Mariah just in time for the boys to get a kayak trip down the Elk River by our campground.  Mariah and I went on an uneventful bug filled hike.  That's right, the mosquitoes were in full force.  Troy said it is good practice for Alaska, but I don't need practice.  It was tasty having s'mores with the crew that evening around the campfire, including Dan's wife Kris and their kids Owen and Ella.  Ella and I are kindred spirits in our love for sugar.

There were some pretty flowers on the hike with Mariah though:


And here's Troy helping Owen chop wood, or the other way around :)




The next day Troy and I went for a run and then a hike.  Oh yeah, the fourth of July. The hike was pretty epic: uphill, muddy, buggy, saw a snake, forded the stream twice, crossed the stream on a huge log a few times, muggy, and then pouring rain.  But the Gold Creek Lake was beautiful and it was a good adventure.



I love this picture of Troy, can you see the waterfall reflected in his sunglasses?  The creeks along the hike were all gushing, all class V at least.

We joined back up with the kayaking crew on Sunday for some playboating (again, the boys only).  Then came back to Denver where I finally unpacked from MN and we started packing for Alaska.  It's a busy week.  Although our softball game was rained out last night.  We had a big cultural potluck at English Language Acquisition classes tonight for an Independence Day celebration.  Had food from all over including Mexico, Ethiopia and Korea.  Yum.  And here is a pic of me and Laura with some of our students (Samuel, his son Sammy Jr. and his dad Hector plus Sammy's mom Victoria (she's a few levels higher than the guys, so we never had her in our class this year).



I have my first Christain Education committee meeting tomorrow night.  And I still need to get to Batteries Plus, the library, and REI before we head out on Friday.  I definitely need a bug net for my head, a camping pillow, and some rainpants.  But I think our adventure in Alaska should be just that.

Yikes, it has been awhile again.  My cilantro and chives are growing quite well, but not my oregano or mint.  Although a friend at work is rooting a chocolate mint plant for me, that sounds pretty cool!!

We've been camping a lot lately.  You know, Troy goes kayaking most weekends, so I come along when I can.  We went to Buena Vista for his birthday weekend, which happened to be Memorial weekend and Paddlefest weekend.  Camping at Turtle Rock included Rick and Mariah (and their golden retriever Koa), Dan, and one other kayaking family the second night.  Mariah and I met for the first time, bonded by buying some sweet gear at Colorado Kayak Supply (ok I bought a reversible hat and she bought a bag, but that is techniquely gear).  Then we went for a run around the area while the boys kayaked.  That night we all bundled up in all of our layers, including the raingear, and watched the playboating competition.  The guys kayaked again the next day, and then Troy and I hiked up near Cottonwood Pass and found some beaver busy areas.  Then Monday Troy and biked along the Arkansas River and tried our first outdoor climb of the season.  It didn't go so well, in that it was a chimney (a tight squeeze, a technique I haven't tried before), that was full of guano and brittle rock.  But it was good to have an adventure filled weekend.



The next weekend I decided to stay around town.  We started out by winning our Friday night playoff softball game.  Only our second win all season.  A bunch of us headed out for a night of dancing at a new club that lets ladies in for free and has great drink specials.  I love dancing the night away!!  On Saturday, Jaime and Matt and Tanya and her boys Sebastian and Xavier decided to hit up the water park early in the season and on a day with showers forecasted, to try to avoid the crowds.  And it was fantastic.  Waterworld was so much fun, there were absolutely no lines (a rarity for sure), and the weather was great.  My favorite is the toilet bowl slide, but the sleds that skim over the top of the water were fun too, and of course the big 4 person tube rides are stellar.

Sunday started with church followed by a mimosa brunch with Maureen.  We decided to go hiking in the supergreen foothills that afternoon.  This spring has been exceptionally rainy for Denver, and therfore we have had like 5 weeks of green instead of the usual 2-3.  Jaime and I are also playing on the church softball league when we are in town, and had our first game and first win that evening.  So another action packed weekend, just in the city not the mountains!

Let's see.  We went camping in the Poudre Valley one weekend as well.  Troy and Rick went ahead of us, and Jaime, Mariah and Koa and I came up separately and did a very strenuous hike.  Well, it was advertised that way, but wasn't at all.  It had some nice views of the Mummmy Range in Rocky Mountain National Park though, and of the Poudre RIver or course.  Troy's frind Adam joined us at camp that night, haven't seen him in a while, so that was cool.  Then we headed out through a hailstorm, to get back for our Sunday softball game, which turned out to be a double header.  We won the first, but not the second.  Oh, and we lost our last game for the Friday softball season.  But started the Monday season the next day.  Troy and I also hosted to high school boys from Omaha that are touring with their church choir that night.  That was fun to meet some young people.  Oh, and Jaime and I got our camo-tank tops for the Guppy weekend in August.  More on that in a different post I believe.




So this last week my parents were in town.  They got to adventure on bikes around town for 3 days (thanks for fixing all the flat tires!!), before the four of us headed to Winfield (near Leadville) to do some trail building for the Continental Divide Trail.  That was hard work for two days, with big tools like pick-maddocks, polaskis, mcclouds, this winch thing, and shovels.  I know I probably only spelled that last tool right.  But we built a whole quarter mile of trail with about 20 people in two days.  Pretty cool, considering all the rocks and roots in our way.  I think we all enjoyed it, even though it rained a bit in the tent.  We got to hang out on Monday with them too, recover a bit, and hiked down in Roxborough state park which is also still green, set against the red rocks.  I love having my parents visit, and this time we did some pretty unique stuff.





The lab went to the Rockies game today, that was hot but quite fun.  We won our second Monday softball game this week, so we are still officially undeafeted.  Jaime and I subbed for another team last night, and I got beaned in the forearm on my way to second base.  It was basically an instictual reflex to protect my face from the ball screaming toward it.  I have a cool bruise that the blood donation people oohed and ahhed over for me today.  

Other than that, just looking forward to the trip back to Minnesota next week.  Hope you enjoy all the pictures!!  (Isn't that a sweet location for a tent, surrounded by 14ers just feet away from the Clear Creek of the Arkansas??!!!)

I came back from my run on Saturday morning (with Maureen Lyons!!), and decided it was time to gather supplies to start growing some herbs.  I told Troy I was planting my pot garden, and then realized how that sounded, and have just gone with that title since then.  I actually have 3 pot gardens.  I have two long, brown square pots that color complement my swirly light blue pot. 


I was just going to get the two long planters for for edible plants, but then got distracted by these yellow daisies with the purple centers. 


So I'm growing cilantro and oregano in one pot, and garlic chives and peppermint in my other brown pot.  Then I've got some basil, clover and snowflower started in smaller pots inside.  Hopefully I get something out of it.  But it is already more convenient to water every evening, since they are on our balcony and not 5 miles away at church.  And I shouldn't have to weed my pot gardens.  Plus the contemporary look is completed by the picket fence-like balcony, I think. 

I like my flowers.

Rocked is my word of choice to describe several of the events of last week.  It started with the big AACR conference that was in town last Saturday to Wednesday (so no weekend break from work).  I got to give a short 10 minute talk during one of the minisymposia on Tuesday, and I rocked it.  That sounds really full of myself, but I tend to be a nervous public speaker, and am very proud that I didn't speed up, stumble or shake at all.  And I was able to give coherent answers to all the questions at the end.  

Wednesday night we headed to the Ogden for the Franz Ferdinand concert (Troy got us the tickets for my birthday).  The show was sweet; they rocked literally and completely.  One band member had a messed up foot, and even came on with crutches and hopped around.  Their music is fantastic, and awesome to move to live.

Then we had our second softball game on Friday night - and we rocked as a team compared to our first game.  We still lost 9-7 in the last inning, but we played TOGETHER and had a good time.

Saturday was one of those super productive days that I love.  A few highlights include the following.  I actually successfully went clothes shopping, in that I needed a pair of dark jeans and the first brand/style actually fit me right and then I needed navy blue leggings (which I have been looking for off and on since October) and I found them and then some.  Yeah, I rocked the 45% off deal at Kohl's and got capri length navy leggings, capri length purple leggings, and I couldn't resist the full length metallic silver leggings.  Yeah - they make me have robot legs -which is really quite awesome.


After a 40 degree afternoon BBQ, I headed downtown on the lightrail for my friend/co-worker Tanya's birthday bash.  She rocked it at this swanky martini bar, my fav was the Dirty Shirley (tastes just like a Shirley Temple!!!).  We ended up moving on to a karaoke place for the rest of the night.  Haven't had a night on the town in awhile, so that was key.

Unfortunately, Demi was feeling well today, so I didn't get to hang out with her and the fam.  So at the last minute I decided to join Troy and his kayaking buddy Rick for their first run of the season.  I played 'shuttle bunny' driving the car back for them, and then kayak photographer as they rocked the rapids.  It started to rain, and then snow up there, but is still raining here.  Which of course, rocks.  This is like the only 'season' of wet and green out here.  It'll last like 2-3 weeks and is really beautiful with all of the flowering trees.  Can't wait!

Hopefully the two big experiments I have planned for the next month rock as well . . . and my committee meeting on the 7th.  I'll keep ya posted.

Let's see here.  Troy has covered a lot of what we have been up to, but i always like to add my two cents, and pictures.  Back to my birthday, it was golden, hehehe!  Here's the 31 people that made my big day: Jenean, Mom, Troy, Fabienne, Jenn, Ray, Scott, Tammy, Davin, Jaime, Matt, Holly, Erica, Brittany, Anna, Brian, Tany, Sebastian, Xavier, Cristan, Jeff, Davalyn, Arnaud, Scott, Sabrina, Ori, Laura, Brian, Alec, Tatiana and Summer.  We ate at Sam's No. 3, which was a good choice because there were lots of options.  I loved my chocolate mint shake!!  See, it took two pictures to get everyone on record!


So Momma flew in for the weekend, and we got to play in the snow a bit.  I love when my mom comes to visit.  She even made me some key lime cupcakes with meringue frosting for my birthday treat!!


During the week, Troy bought a sweet new ride, I think he is naming him Zebulon.  (I hope I am not stealing his thunder here, posting a picture and the new name!)


The next weekend David and Erin were visiting.  We took Erin on her first downhill skiing adventure, and checked out a dance club near our place, where most people happen to be above 40!  But they were good sports.

Then as Troy mentioned we had a lot of visitors that week Chad and Emily, Burgess and Katie, and Joe and company.  But then I got to fly out to Vancouver and hang out with Chrissy for 24 hours before my conference.  We packed in a girls' night right away for a belated birthday celebration for Chrissy, complete with chocolate fondue, facials, Aloetinis (Cranberry Aloe juice, Guava juice and soda water), coconut lime birthday cupcakes, makeup makeovers, and then dancing at Lucy Mae Brown's with Ruth and Chrissy. 


We slept in the next mornin for sure, then went for a run around the outside of Stanley Park, kind of like the central park of Vancouver, complete with rainforest and seawall.

The conference was good too.  It was really relevant to what we do, so the talks were pretty engaging.  My PI gave one of the talks, and then there were a lot of people I know there too.  Including the woman I am considering doing a post-doc with, and I'm going to meet up with her and check out the lab and stuff next time I'm home.  That's pretty exciting.  

I did get to explore the rainy city a bit during the week.  We went for Thai food one day for lunch, and out for green beer (or a green Emerald City Martini for me) on St. Patrick's Day.  One afternoon I walked to Granville Island, this tourist shop/village area.  The Pulbic Market there had delicious fresh food: fruit, meat, cheese, bread, and caramel!  Plus I bought myself a new hat.  You can see the market behind and below me, and my new hat, along with the city, the ocean, and a hint of mountains hiding in the clouds.


Troy joined us for the last evening of food and dancing.  I think his air guitar with Chrissy's red umbrella left quite an impression. 

Friday morning I got to try out Chrissy's pilates class - on the ball.  I really enjoyed that, and wish they offered a pilates ball class at my gym.  Then the 3 of us hiked down in Lynn Canyon, a crazy rainforest with raging waterfalls.  Troy said he felt like we were his bodyguards in our long rainjackets - what do you think of the pink?  I liked it, thankfully Chrissy let me borrow it for the day!! 


She also let us borrow the car and check out Lighthouse Park in West Van too.  A wet, but fun day. 

Then we met up with Mitch and Chrissy's dog Rascal to watch the sunset over the ocean. 


The next morning we headed inland to Whistler/Blackcomb for a day of skiing and boarding in the 147 cm of new snow in the last week.  I was brave enough to try one black run (Dave Murray) that will be the GIant Slalom course at the Olympics next winter.  And I tried skiing in the thigh deep powder on a black bowl.  Otherwise I had fun doing the blue routes and riding the lifts with Chrissy and Troy.  The Peak 2 Peak Gondola that connectws the two mountains was pretty sweet, actually, so was the whole day, including the amazing sunset over the ocean and mountains (check out Troy's post, he ends with it).  We rounded out the evening Canadian-style, with dinner at the bar while watching a Canucks game (hockey  that is !!).


It was hard to leave the next day, but reality always creeps back in to life.  We did get 8 inches of snow in a spring storm onThursday, and we got to go play in that for a few hours.  Plus I bought a softball glove, for our team "Save Second Base."  Yeah, we stole the name from a breast cancer fundraising campaign title but it is still the perfect name for a softball team.  Now I just have to practice, I think I may get to play first base.  (As Troy says, that tells you how deep the talent is on our team, but I am currently still beating him again this year in the March Madness bracket.  Although I had Duke winning it all, those losers.)

Oh yeah, here are some pics from playing hockey with Mitch and Chrissy back in White Bear Lake on Christmas Eve.

I am so excited, Troy is making my favorite cookies - Oatmeal Chocolate Chip from Great Harvest, yum yum!!!  And after a very productive Saturday (updated this, organized my scrapbooking supplies in my new cool tote bag from Tammy, untangled and hung up my necklaces on my stand from Mom, wished Mom a Happy Birthday, prepped a lesson while riding the stationary bike, donated blood, caught up on Gray's Anatomy online, and got papers ready for taxes, did the laundry), we will turn the lights off for Earth hour while we wait for Jaime to come stay the night.  Her and I are volunteering at the snowshoe/cross country ski races for the Colorado Special Olympics State High School competition tomorrow at Copper Mountain.  Whew!!

Looks like I'm posting a lot more lately!!  (that would be because we have internet now, of course)

I have to post some pics of the favors I came up with for the Baby Girl Brunch that I hosted for my friend Tammy yesterday.  We decided it would be fun to have a low maintenance, intimate gathering to celebrate her baby girl.  So we went to Table 6, rented the back room, and nine of us had delicious breakfast, opened the bevy of pink gifts, and chatted.  I had basically a gourmet hot pocket, with bacon, cheese, eggs, and steak inside of the pastry shell, and roasted potatoes on the side, with a mimosa.  Mmmmmm hhmmmm. And I made the little favors for it, which I was way excited about.  The candy hearts had baby themed messages like 'peek a boo' and 'baby talk' on them.   The little duck and teddy bear ornaments were made by wrapping ribbon around cookie cutters.  My creative burst for the year.

Tammy decided it would be fun to get pedicures too, since she can't see her feet anymore!  So five of us went along and experienced the massage chairs, that got a bit too friendly, if you know what I mean, hehehe!  This was only my 3rd actual pedicure, and the first one where I could really choose any color I wanted (needed something to match the color of my bridesmaid dress for Katie's wedding, and wanted to stay regal for my wedding), so this time I went with minty green, in case it lasts until St. Patrick's Day (which I doubt it will), but it's fun, and so was the experience!

The last few weeks we have been able to get out in the wintry snow a bit.  Well, after my "Chilly Cheeks Duathlon" in Denver on a brisk 50 degree day at Cherry Creek State Park.  This one was fun though, we did a 1.5 mile run first, which is the shortest distance that I have "raced" in a while.  And considering that I did not train AT ALL, my 8.5 minute pace was great.  Then we transferred to the bike for 3.5 miles.  Then back to a 2.5 mile run, which I slowed down to a 9.5 mile pace.  Kind of embarrassing to run that slow in a "race."  Oh well.  Then back to the a final 7 mile bike.  I did both bike rides at a 15 mph pace, which is pretty good for Roxie - my hybrid bike.  Then we finished with like a 50 meter sprint, which I rocked in my running shoes while everyone else still had their fancy, special bike shoes on - HA HA HA on them!!!!  And I got some sweet maroon sweatpants, which I especially like wearing with the following color combo.  In fact, I wore this same outfit again last night for game night (Time's Up and an advanced homemade version of Scattergories.  We even had the cutest little guy Eli finding all our dangerous-for-kid treasures that we keep around - like a mini-Buddha, huge rocks from Lake Superior, and glass stuff like paperweights, candle holders and pictures frames.  I really should try to put those at a taller-than-toddler level, huh??  But he did like Frisco, Everest and Chester, some stuffed animals that he likes to body-slam hug. It was fun having him show us all the stuff that we can forget can be so entertaining, if you just take the time to check it all out!!)


Anyway, back to the winter stuff.  Troy and I went up to Frisco one Sunday.  I got to try out my new fish-scale cheater skis (but oh, so much less hassle) for a few hours.  Then we went snowshoeing too.  Here's my Troy with his sled on his back, right.



Last weekend we headed out on Friday night with Matt and Jaime, en route to the Winter X Games 13.  We stayed in Eagle that night with one of Troy's kayaking buddies Brian and his wife Audrey.  They were great, they made us breakfast and had an awesome yellow lab.  We headed up to Aspen for a day full of extreme winter sports, of course.  There was snowmobile racing, snowboarder X (where they race down the mountain), and the big air jumps, slopestyle course and the superpipe.  I really enjoyed the last two.  We watched the snowboarding finals for the women's and men's slopestyle, where they have different ramps, jumps, rails and stuff to do tricks off of, as they cruise down the mountain.  (I still don't understand why the girls don't do as hard of tricks as the boys, what is stopping them???)  Anyway, he gets enough hype and attention without me mentioning him, but Shaun White's gold medal run was too sweet not to point out.  You should You Tube it, way cool to watch.  We made it up on the superpipe to watch the men's semi-finals that night too.  Those guys are crazy, their tricks are well, tricky, and they get air, like 20 feet of air!!  And they were doing it right above our heads!!  I went to high school with one of the guys, Steve Fisher.  Probably the most famous grad from our class.  Not like I know him really, but it still was fun to cheer for him, and not join the White-adoring masses.  I can't believe that Matt had no idea who Shaun White was, out of touch fo' sure.

Ok, so here are some pics.  We tried to pose for our own closeups.  Then got a shot while waiting to climb up the pipe.  Then you can seee one of the boarders behind me.



We headed to Glenwood Springs to spend the night, then stopped outside of Frisco for some snowshowing and sledding on the way home Sunday.  I love snow!!!


So yeah.  We are now finally paying for internet, so access and updating should be more consistant.  In fact, I know I'm a little late and copying Troy, but I picked my Top Ten Pics from 2008 too.  Maybe I"ll post those today too.