Visit to AZ, warmer weather and more

Hello everyone!

It finally feels like summer in Colorado! Took us long enough. Our first above 80 day was yesterday and we should have a beautiful weekend.

Last weekend for Memorial Day, we took a quick trip to Arizona to visit my parents. It was a fun but short trip of drinking prickly pear margaritas, hiking and star gazing in my dad's telescope. The week back was a blur and flew by. This weekend is going to be our first weekend in a month to just chill. No working on Bryce's house, no major house hunting, no events or dinners, no Rockies baseball game. It's going to be great!!

Bryce's house went on the market almost two weeks ago in tip-top shape. Took a look of Clorox to scrub that place to perfection (not to metion 15+ loads of Goodwill and trash trips) but it looks great. Anyone looking for a charming house on a nice street in Denver? :-)

Henry is getting his summer hair cut tomorrow so definitely keep an eye out for pictures. Poor guy, he always looks so skinny and pathetic when he gets his buzz cut. Oh well, it always grows back and he sure loves it for swimming!

Have a great weekend and I hope nice weather and at least one day to relax is in your very near future.

Which one tastes better?

That was the theme of our past weekend in Santa Rosa, California on a wonderful wine tasting trip. Between the amazing wine, the delicious food and the lush, green countryside, it was the epitome of relaxation and indulgence. Wow did we eat some good food and drink some good wine. It seemed that it all just kept getting better and that's what prompted the name of this post.

We flew out last Thursday morning and Bryce finally got his birthday present from me, which was a car ride and champagne from the Sacramento airport to our hotel. We relaxed and drank champagne and Tom drove and showed us the sights. We didn't waste any time wine tasting and went to the DeLoache vineyard after getting checked in and drinking yet another bottle of champagne. Gotta love drinking at sea level! It doesn't catch up to you like drinking champagne in the mountains.

That night we had appetizers at Willie's Wine Bar and then went to Stark's steakhouse for dinner. Friday morning was a trip to Ferrari Carrano vineyard with some of the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen. Stay tuned this week for pictures! We did both the Classic and Private Reserve tours (we missed the group tour, thank goodness, so they let us do the Reserve tasting for free). After Ferrari Carrano we went for lunch and a bottle of wine from Papapietro, a boutique vineyard that specializes in Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs.

After our morning and afternoon out, we went by a cigar shop for Bryce then headed back for massages. Yep, it was a pretty over-the-top indulgent trip. VERY much needed. Friday night was our dinner at the Vintner's Inn and their restaurant. We had a glass of white (Bryce got the Fume Blanc from Ferrari Carrano that we had tasted earlier) and then split a bottle of Sangiovese.

Saturday was a totally different pace and we took a three hour drive south to Monterray California to watch Graham in a mountain bike race. He had no idea we were coming so it was a really fun surprise. He had a good race, we got very sunburnt and then we all went out to dinner near the dock on Canery road where John Steinbeck lived and wrote.

On our drive back, we got a call from the hot air balloon pilot who we were supposed to meet up with in the morning for a 6:30 hot air balloon ride. Unfortunately, he said the fog forecast wasn't looking good. Oh well, next trip! Instead, Sunday morning we went to the Korbel champagne vineyards, tasted all the varieties of Korbel we didn't know existed and then went back to check out of our hotel.

After a beautiful ride back to the airport with an incredibly fun driver, Rick, we hopped on a plane an reluctently flew back...but the story isn't over.

Our plane landed just after 6 and we were ready to head to the apartment for an early night in. Well, after pulling up to the building and seeing no less than 5 firetrucks, we knew that wasn't likely. To make a long story short, someone on the 12th floor had decided to commit suicide using hydrogen sulfide, an extremely deadly gas. In addition to killing himself, he sent two people to the hospital, including the conciege who had tried to find out what the smell was. We would have left immediately to go back to Bryce's house and sleep, but Henry was still on the 26th floor. We waited until 11 PM but the firefighters still were estimating another few hours and said anything above the 20th floor was safe, including Henry.

We went back for a pretty awful night of sleep then I came back early to find Henry lounging around feeling like he was king of the castle for getting to spend the night by himself. All's well but it was a wild end to the trip.

I'll post pictures later this week! Love you all.

Happy April!

It's been awhile! Sorry for the long absence, the longer I work at my computer during the day, the less I'm inclined to blog. But here's a "catch up" post for the last 6 weeks!

Henry celebrated his second birthday last weekend with a swimming trip to the lake. He had way too much fun and could barely move that night he was so tired. Bryce will be celebrating his 29th birthday this Friday and we're going to dinner with his family at an Italian restaurant then out with his friends on Saturday night.

Moving back to March, Rach and I had a WONDERFUL weekend! We went shopping, to the spa, out with Savannah to a great wine restaurant and watched the entire third season of True Blood nearly start to finish. I'm about due for another pedicure (both of us agreed the Woodhouse gives the best pedicures we'd ever had) so Rach, if you could just fly back so we can go back to the spa, that would be great. :-)

I've read a few great books lately and tried a few great bottles of wine. If you haven't checked out Elizabeth Gilbert's sequel to Eat Pray Love, it's a must read. Called Committed, it is her search across many countries and many traditions for what marriage will be for her. Romantic it is not, but thought provoking it is.

A week from today Bryce and I are headed to Sonoma for a weekend of wine tasting! It's something we've always wanted to do so we'll be spending three days at the Vintner's Inn relaxing, eating and drinking. Can't wait!

Work at GolfTEC is also going really well. It's an extremely busy time of year pre-golf season so we've been working overtime making sure every aspect of our marketing efforts is a success. I can't believe in July I will have worked there a year. Time sure flies.

My lease downtown expires in August, so we've been evaluating some different housing options. This alone is worth a full blog post so more to come in the future!

Finally, a big congratulations to two friends who are now engaged. Claire Markey and Paige Andrews are both marrying their wonderful boyfriends and I'll be in St Louis to be a bridesmaid in Paige's wedding next March.

Hope you're having a wonderful week and enjoying every single day.

Tickets, boots and towing...oh my!

Well the overzealous group of Meter Maids in Denver (you think Manhattan's Parking Nazis were bad? Think again) had just met their match with Channel 4 News Investigators. Turns out, the people of Denver have been paying tickets for the last two years written by "Special Police Officers" who weren't that special. Two Denver parking ticket writers were just discovered to not be authorized at all to write tickets...and they'd written over $1 million in tickets.

The city might be paying back all that money to the citizens, many of whom might have contested the tickets and only received a form letter in response. Great work Channel 4 news!

Other notes from my world include a fun weekend with Bryce and Graham. Bryce and I drove to Mountain Sun to have dinner with Graham last Friday night. Long wait, but always a good place! Then Bryce and I went to an amazing quasi-Valentine's day Brunch at the Brown Palace on Sunday. It was wonderful.

Can you believe next week is March? I'm very happy to report that so far, I've kept my New Year's resolution of writing down something every day. Three months down...a lot more to go!

Happy Hump Day!

Brrrr are you staying warm?

I hope all my Kansas friends are staying warm during these chilly weeks and massive snow storms! We've definitely had our share of snow this month but every time I look at the radar I think Kansas is getting more!

Not a lot of updates but here are a few fun notes...

1. In two weeks I get a visitor! Rach is coming!

2. I've enjoyed connecting with two Pi Phis who live in Denver after we touched base via the Pi Phi Christmas card this year. We've had fun watching the Bachelor!

3. Bryce and I are going to Napa and Sonoma for a few days this April! It's something we've wanted to do for a year and finally booked our flight.

4. Henry is loving the snow and has goofy (but kinda cool) booties to wear outside so the ice melt doesn't hurt his feet.

5. Work is going really well and is incredibly busy. I sure haven't been golfing much lately and I'm looking forward to things slowing down for our creative and graphic design team so everyone is under less stress.

6. Valentine's day is right around the corner! I think Bryce is cooking...and I also know he's reading this so I'll just say I'm really really excited for him to cook dinner.

Stay warm, drink some hot chocolate and be safe!

Politics

This post is about a week late but is on a topic that has been in the news and on all of our minds for long time. The shooting in Arizona is an atrocious example of the worst of politics in America and the sway that power-hungry politicians have over the mindless masses.

Friends of the Arizona shooter say he was incited by a brief conversation he had with the congresswoman and felt she did not adequately address his concerns. So he shot her? Granted, he was already a volatile personality but we watch politicians throw daggers and shoot bullets (figuratively) every day on television. We hear Sarah Palin say things like "it's time to reload!" To someone like this guy, did he take it all a little too literally? Did the words, the jabs, the unbelievable negativity that has become American politics justify, in his mind, taking action?

The attitude of "We care more about beating the other party on this bill than actually passing it" has become so prevalent that it's no wonder someone took negative political rhetoric to the next level and caused injury.

In the heartbreaking ceremony after the shootings, Obama called on everyone to inspire love with their words and to stop the negativity. In my opinion, his words cannot be put into action fast enough. Politicians: concentrate on the things you were elected to do, get off Fox news, stop making reality shows, quit campaigning for re-election two years in advance and make your actions and speech a positive example for the American people.

Our thoughts go out to the families of the victims, to the congresswoman making a miraculous recovery and to the 9 year old girl he shot, who will never have the chance to be the public servant she wished to be someday.

As Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

5 down, 360 to go

On the early morning of Day 6, 2011, do you have any resolutions? 2010 was a great year for many of us, despite the normal ups and downs that come with life changes. What do you hope for 2011? I already think it's going to be a great year.

Bryce and I are headed to Breckinridge to enjoy the snow this weekend! Then the next weekend, we're going to the Denver Rodeo. :-) Can't wait!

A few days ago, I found a big packet of Pi Phi letters in the mail! Our pledge class sent Christmas letters to everyone with photos and updates. It was so fun to see what everyone is up to these days.

And finally, a special note to my good friend who is having a very bad day. I'm thinking of you.

May 2011 bring much fun and much success in your life!