Colorado's Schizophrenic Weather

This morning, I woke up to snow. Yep, snow. There was no snow in the forecast when I went to sleep the night before; but lo and behold, it was there when I woke up. Everyone has been working so hard at planting their gardens and making their lawns pretty and aromatic. But, mother nature and her adamant love of snow is making it difficult to keep the gardens with any type of consistency they need to survive.



But, then by 1:30pm-ish...the sun was out and the snow was gone. WTF?!! Yet, when I came home from work it was looking dreary and overcast again. Who knows what tomorrow holds? Hopefully it will be decent as I am heading to the zoo with all of the Y kids. Yippy!!

I guess we won't really know until tomorrow. And truthfully it, more than likely, will be a winter/spring/summer mix since Colorado weather is just not sure of which season it wants to be right now.

Blog Catch Up: My Birthday

I was fortunate enough to spend my 34th birthday in California with Rebecca & Vivien--where I was spoiled beyond measure. I was able to have a day of relaxation where I stayed in comfy clothes all day, took a nap outside on the patio where I felt the warmth of the sun on my skin. A sheer delight since Colorado had been quite snowy and cloudy. I also had a couple of days of exploring the Redwoods, the coast and the quaint town of Mendocino--which by the way, I want to move there and garden and play on the coast everyday.

On our way to see the Redwoods, we stopped about a million times for Rebecca to pull out her prized pony, aka a Nikon D90 she got for Christmas, and take pictures along the way.  So, needless to say, if she was posting this...the pics would be better. But alas, I don't have a pony, so don't judge my photos!!

One stop of the drive, I absolutely loved. It was the Tulip Hill Winery.


The tulips and florals were absolutely gorgeous. We were on a schedule, so sadly, no wine. Plus, I was the only wine drinker of the group anyway...so whatever....on with the trip. We made it to where we were staying near Redwoods National Park. A lovely place called the Benbow Inn. It was spectacular. When we arrived they had a bottle of champagne waiting for me as a birthday treat!! Fantastic!!



We arrived at the Benbow Inn just in time for afternoon tea and yummy heart shaped scones. After that we headed for the Redwoods. I don't really have words that can adequately explain how much I enjoyed the Redwoods. I was overwhelmed and in awe of this massive giants. Most have been there for about 1800 years. Can you believe that? Long before I was ever a thought in this world, these trees were standing, and when I'm no longer here, they more than likely will still be standing. Amazing.




My Redwood tree pics aren't that fabulous. Remember, I don't have a pony. Rebecca, send me some photos for my memories. Grrr!! While there, Vivien pulled out the Native American flute--which they didn't teach me how to play again!!--and this amazing thing happened. You see, there was a hawk flying over head and he kept circling around to the music. Eventually he brought some friends, and then more friends. These hawks circled above us while she played her music. It was fantastic.



After loads of fun exploring the Redwoods we took a wee scenic route in order for me to see the coast on our way back to Woodland.



We stopped in the quaint city of Mendocino. I love, love this town. I think all the gardeners of the world live and/or retire here. Every house and garden was a treat for they eyes.




Basically, I had an absolute blast on my birthday. A big thank you to Rebecca, Vivien and Mook for all the love and fun. It will be a birthday I remember always!!

it's been one hellacious work week.

batter bowl

On Saturday morning I woke up with an urgent desire, want, no...need, to have a batter bowl. Not sure why I did? But I wanted one, badly. Maybe it's because lately I've had the desire to be more domestic. As of late, I stay so busy that I am never home, nor do I ever get to do the "domestic" things girls like to do. I'm not sure I even know how? Okay, so maybe I'm not a domestic diva like the lovely Halen, or the oh so talented Becca; but, I think it's in there somewhere. And I have been making a plan to find that happy domesticity. Maybe that's where the desire for the batter bowl came from. All I know is that when I walked into Crate & Barrel this weekend and found my beautiful gem of a batter bowl, which was on sale, I did a happy dance. Right there in the store. Not kidding.  I'm super excited about my batter bowl. That may sound lame; but so what, I am. 

Greek Irish Dancing

I love Britain's Got Talent. Love it!! I would rather watch it than Idol or other talent competitions from the States. Sorry Idol fans, it's a bore to me anymore.

And I just watched the best dance audition I have seen in some time. It brought me so much joy & laughter that I am still smiling as I type this. You must go to the link below because it won't allow embedding. Put it this way, even Simon LOVED it!!!

Stavros Flatley--Greek Irish Dancers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tu0PAbW75A

Another Day-o-Snow

I'm so tired of the snow. Don't get me wrong, I love old man winter. But in the WINTER. We're in Spring, and yet again, I was sent home early because of winter conditions. I guess I should enjoy it though. It's not like I get sent home for Spring or Summer conditions. Only winter. Though I enjoy being home, really...I'm tired of the snow.

I have one concern though that I did not have last time. My lights keep flickering on and off--also my heat, not a good thing!--and when I looked out in my backyard I noticed that there was so much snow and slush on the cable, phone and electric wires. They are hanging down so low that I would literally be about a foot taller to the lowest wire hanging. I think the difference is this winter storm started out a slushie mess and now all that slush is turning to ice as it gets colder this evening.

Jesus, please keep my electric working or I might freeze tonight.

Do Re Mi

My friend Jenn posted this video on her blog earlier today. I loved it so much, I felt the need to post it too. This is absolutely fantastic. Apparently, in Belgium, over 200 dancers put this little dance together in only 2 rehearsals. It's a promotion stunt for a Belgian television program, where they are looking for someone to play the leading role, in the musical of "The Sound of Music".



Man, I totally love musicals and everything they do for them!!
Yes, Rebecca, that's what I said. I LOVE THEM!!

Easter Brunch: Brianna & Sarah Style

This Easter, Brianna & Sarah had a wee lil' shindig for those of us who would not be with our families for the holiday. We had a yummy brunch and decorated easter eggs afterward. And for Tasia, we watched Milo & Otis. It was her first holiday away from her family so this made her feel closer to home. Other than being with great friends, who are like family to me, was that we decided what would make our Easter fun, even more spectacular, was wearing our pajamas!!

The menu included:

• Sausage/Egg/Hashbrown Casserole
  
• Waffles
  
• Cinnamon Rolls
  
• Fresh Strawberries
  
• and of course, Mimosas!!
  

Way to go Ladies. Way to go!!


They decorated the table for us. If you look closely, you'll see that Brianna added a Jesus candle. I don't know what to do with that girl, sometimes. Ha!



Tasia and her mad decorating skills.



A few of the eggs!



And for those of you who need a good laugh. Here's Brianna explaining the how's and why's of Easter Egg Decorating!!

april 7th

happy birthday to me!!

early morning travel

• 345am Wake up
  
• 406am Matteo calls and says he's at my house--he's early--wait! I still had 9 minutes. I need those 9 minutes. He must be anxious to go see his girl. 
• 443am Catch Bus, with Matteo, to DIA
  
• 537am Arrive at DIA--check in, security, thinking I really need coffee.
  
• 615am Finally make it through security after I got a "woah, woah, woah" because the TSA agent told me to come through, but the supervisor wanted me to wait so they could read the machine. Have to walk back out and wait. Argh. 
• 620am MUST GET COFFEE!!
  
• 625am Make it to Matteo's gate. Wait with him until his flight leaves.
• 645am Matteo leaves to board his flight. Bye BFF!
• 650am Make it to my gate. Still have about 1 1/2 hours until I board. Sheesh. 
• 700am Watch the people. A woman in hair rollers walks by. Seriously, hair rollers. Who does that? Well, apparently she does.  
• 710am Decide to get online to keep myself awake. 
• 717am See Matteo's Alaskan Airline flight pass outside my gate.
• 724am Decide to blog my travel plans to entertain myself. 
• 730am Very, very TIRED!! 
• 735am Thinking I may need to walk around for a bit before I fall asleep and miss my flight. 
• 736am  This is pretty princess signing out. 

chocolate concoctions

i went to the fridge to get some ice for my water and this is what i found instead....

obviously, not ice!! and if it is, well then houston we have a problem. 

i then asked my roommate what was in the ice trays?! 

her response was:

"oops, sorry, (insert sheepish face here), i didn't realize you use ice since i don't use ice, so i dumped it out to make a chocolate recipe. it's not very good though!"

hmmm, well, i bet my ice would have been just fine.