$400 and a DS Lite, a good day

Saturday turned out to be a great day.

But perhaps a bit of back story, first.

On Thursday, as I drove home from the gym I called my friend Todd and found out his team needed extra players for volleyball right then. So instead of driving home, I drove to Wash Park across town and played a delightful few hours of volleyball, which I hadn't done since last June.

After the game, I was asked to play in a volleyball tournament that Saturday. It turned into an all-day volleyball extravaganza, with our team snagging the championship, and a $400 gift card to some local establishments.

On top of that, an hour and a half later I went to a Nintendo Party for only women , from which I left with a brand new Nintendo DS lite, in exchange for me playing four different games for 2 hours, including Mario Kart and Guitar Hero. Not-to-mention, they had free food, wine and lollipops.

To top if off, yesterday, I watched the rest of Season 3 of Weeds, a fabulously clever show on Showtime, went to brunch at Annie's Cafe since it just moved a block from my house, and rounded out the day listening to jazz in the park.

It's been a great past few days, to say the least. And I love summer!

Willie's B-Day!

I freaking love Willie Nelson so hard FO-EVA and it is 75th Birthday today!!!

Holla holla holla!!!

That warrants exclamation points all around.

I think I have seen Willie in concert 5 times; It was never a disappointment.

I am having friends over for Wine Night tonight and the play list will be only and all Willie Nelson, with the exception of possibly one Snoop Dogg song. Fo shizzle.

I put Bacon on my Bacon

Last night, I headed to a lecture and dinner at The Lab in Belmar. I have been there a few times before, but was especially excited last night as the subject of the lecture was on one of my Top 5 Favorite Foods, BACON.

That's right, bacon.

I went solo, and ended up seated to a very interesting 60-something year old woman named Lynn, who is originally from Northwest Iowa, so we had lots to talk about pre-bacon time.

The lecture consisted of two speakers; Chef Jorge de la Torre, who is the Dean of Culinary Education at Johnson & Wales University in Denver, and Pete Marczyk, who is owner of Marczyk Fine Foods in Denver. The night included a sampling of bacon infused vodka and bloody mary mix (delicious and I HATE bloody mary's!), a You Tube clip of Chicken Fried Bacon (well worth the time to watch it! Scary and reminiscent of not only Texas, but for all you midwesterners, you will love it), a discussion of the parts of the pig and where bacon comes from (the belly)!, as well as a delicious dinner that included bacon candy and a peanut butter bacon truffle from a new restaurant in the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver that I am blanking on the name of right now, but that I am TOTALLY going to again. There were also a few other fabulous pieces parts of the meal, all with bacon in them, including a jalapeño bacon cornbread.

It was fabulous to be in a room of over 100 people who all LOVED bacon. I mean, it truly is fabulous. I also learned that while Riesling is a great wine with bacon, you just can't beat bacon with PBR. Turns out there already is a Bacon Ice Cream, which I invented back in 2006 and am convinced someone stole the idea from my blog. hahaha. At any rate, both lecturers were entertaining and engaging, the food was fabulous, and The Lab again had mini Miller High Lifes, what more could I want on a Thursday?

I want this t-shirt.

CC Sami

Just so you know what a cotton candy sandwich looks like:

Irish Breakfast

Since it's St. Patrick's Day, my friend Jim had the idea of going to the British Bulldog pub for an Irish breakfast. It was quite tasty, as you can tell from the photos below. And yes, I am wearing green in honor of this fantastic day o' the Irish.

Beard Season

I love beards.

Laura (my roommate) pointed out to me on Monday that the Denver Post ran an article regarding beards on Monday. I found that quite fantastic.

And, as Beard Season is pretty much from November through March (maybe through April in the CO) it is now nearing its end. Maybe I can convince some beards to stick around into the summer, though.

Pink Tights Day

Yesterday was Pink Tights Day, so basically the day that I wear my Pink Tights from Target to work. See below:
Scary picture, yes, but a reason for a great day!
Today is not pink tights day. So it is more sad. Pthhh. hahaha. Oh well.

FAILURE

As most of us know, yesterday was Valentine's Day. My roommate Laura had heard about an art opening called, most appropriately for the occasion "FAILURE" that was occuring at The Lab in Bel Mar (which is in Lakewood, a western-bordering suburb of Denver). So of course, we went. With promises of love songs played on the oboe, cheese fondue, readings of bad poetry, and Ms. Pac-Man to be played, who could resist?

To be sure, it did not disappoint. An added plus was Laura running into an acquaintance with an adorable three-year-old who I had the pleasure to converse with regarding her amazing ability to slide in and out from under a picnic table carefully placed on Astroturf. The art was interesting, featuring work from I believe 34 different artists and their interpretations of failure. They also had two old-school typewriters set-up so patrons could type their own messages of failure--or whatever else their heart's desired on this loved-filled day--and place the cards they typed on in a box for others to peruse.

In addition, mini 7-ounce bottles of Miller High Life, yes, that great Champagne of Beers, were available FOR FREE. I also was able to snag the Ms. Pac-Man joystick for seven straight games, where I was unable to get past 8,610 points, but which my friend Jason (a pleasant surprise he ended up attending the same event) promptly beat into the ground with a score of around 15,220, to claim the High Scorer prize. It was really great to have that love for Ms. Pac-Man revitalized, let me tell ya. Oh! There was also life-size shuffleboard a la retirement homes in Florida. We played with a lovely older gentleman with a kind of white mullet who was afraid he might spill his pinot.

Overall, a quite enjoyable Valentine's Day evening, with several things I love: good friends, mini-Miller High Life, and Ms. Pac-Man.

(On a side note, Laura and I did go to another bar after the art opening, on Colfax, where we nearly got puked on by a stranger. But perhaps that is a story for another day).

Yes, We Can!

If you haven't seen this yet, I think it is pretty cool. Caucus is tonight in the CO! Last night I was at a caucus training and saw Forest Whitaker for a minute before I had to go, he was speaking for Obama. Cool things happenin', people. Get involved, it's exciting!

Yes, We Can!

Obama!

I saw Barack Obama speak today in D-Town, and it was very inspirational.

This pic is from my cell phone--obviously I was pretty far from the podium--but I have a few more I will try and post later on.


Obama was motivating, engaging, and funny, referring to the fact that in November, George W. Bush will not be on the ballot, nor Obama's "cousin," Dick Cheney.

Some info from an MSNBC article. I should have took a picture of the long lines outside!

"Eighteen thousand people showed up to see Obama in Denver, the site of the 2004 Democratic national convention and what Democrats see as a state that could go the Democrats' way in 2008. Obama spoke to an overflow crowd of 4,500 at an adjacent gym, and also addressed a second overflow crowd of several thousand at the university's lacrosse stadium. The Denver Broncos' Rod Smith and Federico Pena, the former mayor of Denver, were also on hand and spoke to Obama's ability to bring change."

LMH, POD, January 27, 2008

On Sunday I traveled to the Center of All Consumption in the universe, THE MALL (Cherry Creek Mall to be exacted, even more overwhelming then the norm), with my roommate because we were meeting two friends to see the fabulously sappy new movie, "27 Dresses." Well, since we were going to the mall, I had to go to the Verizon store because my phone has taken to the habit of breaking every two weeks. So after I got another new phone, we are walking to take the escalator up to the movie theatre level, when I see this, and of course, snap a pic with my new telefone:


I kid you not, dear friends. I think these sell these at the pretzel store. Now, I love hot dogs, and jalepenos, and of course, cheesy bread, but this might even be too scary for me. How did I not know this existed? Next time I might just try it, if I am feeling brave.

Undercover Hippo

There is a documentary on the National Geographic channel Saturday night (which I don't have, so sad!) but you must go here and watch this video and see what it is about

Undercover Hippo

Pretty much they made a 200 pound hippo suit so they can go scrape the sweat off hippos cuz hippo sweat may have high SPF and help with antibiotics. I want to wear the hippo suit!!!

Here is the suit, and check out the hippo dude:

Happy New Year!

Hi friends!
I hope everyone had a very happy new year. I welcomed it in with five good friends up in the mountains at Stacy and John's house. Stacy reminded me that this was her and my fifth New Year's celebration in a row! So fantastic.
The night was filled with pop culture trivia pursuit, New Year's party favors, shots of whiskey, rum and tequila, tea (for Laura) and lots and lots of dance party!
Here's one pic--more to come since I got a new camera!
Best wishes for everyone as we kick off the '08.

Stach

I love natalie dee.

Just sayin'

New 'Do

Yesterday, I got new hair. See the before and after shots; feel free to rate what you like better.

Old Hair, approximately 3:30 p.m. Nov. 8

New hair, approximately 7 a.m. Nov. 9th

Oh, Senor

So the World Series did not end up as I had hoped, but I did get to go to a game, I did dress up as Senor Misterioso last Saturday for Halloween, and Libby and Kristin came to visit last weekend!

Me, Kristin, and Lib reunite!

Senor y Senor

Annie and I at World Series Game 4!

Unfortunately, my wig did not bring good luck to my Rox, but that's ok! Great season overall.

All in all, things are good.

Here we come, WS Game One!

The time has come. At 6 pm Mountain Time tonight my beloved Rockies will battle the Boston Red Sox.

I am so excited I can hardly stand it! I am wearing my Rox jersey in eager anticipation, and scored tickets (thanks to Annie I. and her parents) to game 4 on Sunday and game 5 (if necessary) on Monday.

GO ROCKIES!! I AM SO PUMPED!

Enjoy a few pix from the NLCS game 4 clincher I was at last Monday. It was a SWEEP BABY!

Sweet, sweet, sweet

And he does it again.

I love Yorvit Torrealba (as every one of my friends who knows my love for the Rockies is aware of). He's the manager of the Rockies on the field as their catcher, and has come up big at key times in the playoffs. Last night, he was the star as the Rockies came up with a 4-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks to take a 3-0 lead in the National League Championship Series, thanks to his 3-run homer in the 6th inning. And he dedicated the shot to his grandma.

How sweet it is.


As a kid growing up watching the Minnesota Twins, I learned to love baseball. I still have the Homer Hanky from the '87 series, and some Wheaties boxes featuring the team back home at my parent's house.

But to enjoy this as an adult, to have a team you love doing so well, is pure joy. The Rockies became my National League team when I moved here a little over four years ago, and I still say, every time I go into Coors Field, with a big, goofy grin on my face: "I love this place. It's the best place in Denver. Maybe the best place in the world. Smell those hot dogs. Look at that grass. I love it here."

And sitting there last night, in section 203, row 11, seat 19, wearing long underwear and my pink stocking cap and my Choo Freeman jersey, I did not want to be anywhere else in the world.

Tonight I'll go to the ballpark again, waving my foam finger with one hand and the rally-rag in the other, fingers crossed, hoping the boys can stretch it to 21-1 and earn the Rockies first every World Series berth.

I have chills just thinking about it.

It's not even noon and I wish I was down at the field right now. That's right people, I Believe.

For a great story in the Post about Yorvit, go here.

The lil Kaz that could

Final, NLDS Game 2: Rockies 10, Phillies 5

That's right baby, 2-0 in the best of 5 series.

Think people are paying more attention to the Rockies now?

And who we have to thank primarily is little Kaz Matsui, the Rockies speedy second baseman who hit his 5th homer of the season which was also his first ever grand salami in the majors.

It was smiles and hi-fives all around at homeplate! And of course Yorvit was key in the victory again (great double, dude). Sadly I won't be attending Game 3 Saturday night at Coors Field as I am flying to Boise Saturday afternoon to run my first marathon on Sunday. But I have faith in my Rox and that their success will help propel me over the finish line.


And yes, I plan to bring the Foam Finger to Idaho.

Check out the Denver Post's photo essay of today's game

Includes a pic of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in the stands!