Aaaack.  It's been awhile again.  Definitely check out Troy's journal for a recap of when Luke was here in Denver, we totally had a blast.  Not only was it great to see Luke and his folks again, but I tried mountain biking for the first time too, out at Lair O' the Bear Open Space Park.

Let's see since we've done a lot too.  Troy went home one weekend, so I had a Girls' Night here at our place.  Tammy, Marianne and one of Tammy's coworkers Anna came over to enjoy some magaritas and chips and salsa, before the four of us headed on the lightrail downtown to Rise nightclub.  I love a full night of dancing with friends, it was fantastic.  There was a great mix of old and new music too that night, so it was entertaining. 

I went out for a long run on my own that weekend too, because I had a PT appointment on Tuesday that week, to figure out some strenghthening exercises for my ankle.  Turns out the PT told me, based on how my feet look from my super pronation, that I need to cut down on my running if I quote, "still want to be running in my thirties."  Yelp. Yikes.  What?!!!???  Yeah, it was a very insightful session with the PT, and I am going to get some orthotics, but I don't know what I think about that statement.  That's a big lifestyle change for me, to go from running 4 days a week to 2, as he suggested.  I plan on getting some other opinions, and yes, I know running in general is hard on the joints and such.  But I would have to stop eating how I eat, because I run so I can eat what I want, and this would REALLY change my life.  I am trying to transition to more cross training, but you just can't beat running for a cheap, fast workout.  Through the shoes on and your off.  No dragging the bike down the stairs, driving to the club, you know what I mean.  But I see triathlons in my future for sure, which I was planning on trying out next summer anyway, so here is just another reason to do so.

That weekend was fun too, I met Troy's old elementary school friend Adam and his girlfriend Katie when we all went hiking up in Rocky Mountain National Park.  They were a fun duo, who I sure we will end up seeing a lot more of as they live in Fort Collins and like to do outdoor stuff.  Plus that was the first time I'd played in a good amount of snow this fall.  Good stuff.

This week my parents came for Thanksgiving.  It's was great to have them around for a longer trip this time, then we could check most stuff out.  We saw Troy's office and campus on Monday night when they arrived, did a little REI flagship trip, and dined at the infamous Souper Salad.  Tuesday they rented bikes and checked out the Cherry Creek trail while Troy and I worked.  Mom had a delicious meatloaf, baked potato and butternut squash dinner waiting for us when we got back from work.  Yum yum.  Then I took Wednesday off to hang out with them.  We picked some new eyeglass frames out for momma, checked out Virgin Records and the Tattered Cover Bookstore out on 16th Street mall, and had a delicious lunch at the Market, a cool little deli/bakery I've recently been sampling.  The afternoon was spent exploring the Museum of Nature and Science, with highlights in the rock and mineral displays and the human health interactive displays.  We checked out a show at the planetarium there too, Cosmic Collisions, which could have been twice as long, it got over way too quick.  Troy made us some garlic and tomato pasta that night.  Then pops and I carried on the tradition, it was my 11th year doing an organized run on the Thanksgiving morning.  Just like last year, the two of us did the Mile High United Way Turkey Trot 4 miler, but unlike last year it was chilly, only in the low 20s!!  We hurried back to the aparment for another delicious turkey dinner prepared by Troy and momma, including homemade mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.  Mmmmmmmmmhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm.  Friday was packed full.  We headed up to Boulder to tour the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory, stopped by the Western Art museum, browsed in the High Crime Mystery Bookstore, lunched at Pasta Jay's, and hiked in Eldorado Canyon State Park.  It was the first time to that park for all of us, and it was beautiful with all of the fresh snow still caught on the evergreens.  We finished off the eve with a new tradition: watching Christmas Story after putting up the Christmas decorations and lights.  Then we hiked one last time in Cherry Creek State Park on Saturday morning, and Troy made Gallos Pintos for us all, and we said goodbye to my parents.  It's always so tough to do, it's so empty when we get back to our apartment.  So we tried to keep busy with a few projects: creating a 40 inch tall wooden star for our blue and white LEDs to shine from off the balcony, and shrink wrapping our drafty windows.

Today we brunched at the Cheeky Monk for Traci's birthday, and napped (my parents kept us busy!!!), and took in a long evening run at Green Mountain.  I've prepped for teaching this week, but still have some essays to score, and am going to have a very busy week.  I have something like every evening, and evening 2 mornings this week, in addition to work.  I'm excited though, I get to be in the Parade of Lights on Friday and Saturday, yippee!!  I'm going to be: an alarm clock.  It has potential.  We'll see how it turns out.

Oh, one story and one more comment.  Story: when we got to Washington Park for the run on Thanksgiving, I realized that I did not need my long underwear AND my lined windpants.  So I snuck under a few pine trees, in a grove really, and had pops guard one side and Troy guard another.  I was trying to maneuver the long undies off without taking my pants off, when a little boy pops out of nowhere under the tree with me.  I explained what I was doing to him, while he continued to stare at me, then he left and his little bro popped in a minute later.  No kids were traumatized in the whole experience, but I'll find better guards next time for sure!!  As for the comment, check out the pumpkin pie my momma made, it made it's very own nametag: pi, it said.

Ok, here are some pics to highlight the adventures of the last few weeks.  Man, in a month we'll be back in MN for Christmas.  But there's a lot left to do in that month too. . .
 
Pops, you should send the picks on your camera my way!!