Mile Hi - New Things

For Christmas, I received a Sun Dried Tomato Dip Mix so I decided to make it for a New Year's Eve snack for the party we are going to tonight. I took 8 oz of light cream cheese, 1/2 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes, and the dip mix and put it in my food processor for 30 seconds. That was it. I will be serving the dip with Wheat Thins Crackers. I haven't tried any of the dip yet but it should be pretty good. Happy New Year!

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a a day late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 12/30/11). We went to Zink Bar + Patio with our neighbors last night. Zink Bar is in the Hilton Garden Inn that is about 1 block away from our apartment. It is a little higher end then where we usually go. I had a glass of wine for $9.00. It was a Sebastiani Chardonnay. What did you do today?

Today, I was in a meeting and felt that what was being said wasn't the best way to go about the situation. So afterwards, I talked to the director-level and senior-level managers after the meeting to stand up for myself and how I felt about the situation.  It is a good thing... I think... I hope... That is all I'm going to say about that since I'd like to keep my professional and personal lives separate. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a a day late as this occurred yesterday (Wed 12/29/11). We watched a movie entitled The American last night with George Clooney that came out in September 2010. It is about an American assassin who is mostly alone. He goes to Italy for his next assignment to build a gun for another assassin. Little does he know the assassin's job is to kill him with that gun. He befriends a priest and falls in love with a prostitute in this small town in Italy. Some parts of the movie were exciting but the movie was pretty slow and quiet as times when he was alone. IMDB gave it a 6.5 out of 10 and I would probably give it a 7.0 rating. What did you do today?

About a month ago, I got my Klout Score (my 41st New Thing). To remind you, Klout is a San Francisco based company that provides social media analytics to measure a user's influence across their social network. My current Klout Score is down to 34 (from 37). Klout Perks are exclusive products or experiences that you earn based on your influence. My 1st Klout Perk was a instant $10 credit to LeftLane Sports . LeftLane Sports is an online retailer that sells apparel, equipment, and gear for Outdoor, Fitness, and Action Sports enthusiasts with daily sales from top brands at up to 70% off retail. For this Klout Perk, ssers have to have a Klout Score above 20 to qualify. I used my $10 credit to buy a beanie and socks. I had to pay a total of $7.85, mostly for shipping and handling. I haven't fully experienced the sales and service of this online store (since I haven't received my products yet), but I would suggest this website to Outdoor enthusiasts to take a look around, I di...

We watched a movie entitled  Just Go With It tonight with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler that came out in February 2011. It is about a plastic surgeon that pretends he is married to get women. He meets a young woman that he likes and makes up a lie that his assistant is his ex-wife. He then makes up more lies that his assistant's kids are his kids. He basically tells lie after lie to try to keep her. His assistant also makes up a lie to her friend. They whole group goes to Hawaii and the surgeon and assistant wind up falling for each other. Some parts of the movie were funny but the story line was pretty bad. IMDB gave it a 6.3 out of 10 and I agree with that rating. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a day late as this occurred on Christmas Day (Sun 12/25/11). I made a Holiday Ham with Ginger and Bourbon in my CrockPot yesterday for Christmas Dinner. The recipe call for ham, bourbon, brown sugar, and ginger. I also added some chopped carrots. I put the ingredients in my CrockPot and cooked on low for 7 hours. I also served the ham with homemade macaroni and cheese made with monterrey jack cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic, and cauliflower. It was a delicious holiday meal. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post the past couple days, therefore I'm posting this 2 days late as this occurred Christmas Eve (Sat 12/24/11). I've never personally made anything with veal, so I decided to make Veal Parmesan . The recipe called for putting salt, pepper, flour, egg, and bread crumbs on the veal and frying for 4 minutes on each side. Then you put it in a baking dish with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and bake at 350F for 15 minutes. I served with some spiral pasta and broccoli to make a well-balanced meal. It was really tasty. Bon Appétit! What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a a day late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 12/23/11). Since I got off work early yesterday, we went to Le Grand Bistro & Oyster Bar ’s Happy Hour. Their happy hour is Monday to Friday from 3:00-6:00pm. They have specials on food (oysters for $1.25 each) and drinks ($3 each). We got 6 oysters, 2 white wines, and 2 pilsner beers (and a free loaf of french bread with lemon butter) for about $20. Good food at a good price. What did you do today?

I bought a Stouffer's Sautés for Two Steak Gorgonzola meal at King Soopers  the other day since I had a coupon. The package description is: prime rib steak and penne pasta with roasted red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes tossed in an Alfredo gorgonzola sauce. All you have to do is sauté it for about 13 minutes. It was a very rich and creamy meal (with a ton of fat I'm sure). It was pretty good, but I don't think I would buy it again. What did you do today?

Everyone brings in snacks, cookies, breads, chocolates, and other sweets into work during the holidays. Today I tried a homemade Traditional German Springerle Cookie (pronounced SPRING-uhr-lee) that my co-worker made. These festive biscuits called Springerle have been a Christmas tradition in Austria and Bavaria as far back as the 14th century. The ingredients include anise seeds, flour, baking powder, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and confectioners' sugar. It was only ok, as I prefer cookies with chocolate! What did you do today?

I bought a Mission Sante Fe Wrap Kit at Target the other day since I had a coupon for $1.00 off. The package included 12 flour tortillas, Sante Fe Seasoning, and Sante Fe Sauce all for about $2.69 ($1.69 after my discount). The kit requires you to cook 1.5 lbs of chicken with the seasoning. I also added onions, green peppers, jalapenos, corn, and black beans to the cooked chicken. I also served it with lettuce and chips and salsa. It was a delicioso Taco Tuesday for us! What did you do today?

Google+ is a social networking website like Facebook . You can share your thoughts, links, photos, and videos with your networks. Google+ main differentiator from Facebook is its Circles, small groups of people that you can share to. Another feature is Hangouts, a group chat feature. Instead of directly asking a friend to join a group chat, users instead click “start a hangout” and they’re instantly in a video chatroom alone. I previously had a Google+ account but never used it. Today I added to it (added a picture and profile). You can also play games. I played Zynga's popular CityVille for about 3 minutes. CityVille is a social networking game where you are the mayor of a virtual city and to oversee its development into a large metropolis. This is comparable to the old SimCity computer games of the 1990s. What did you do today?

A friend recommended Sailor Jerry Spiced  Rum to us last week saying it was as good as, if not better, than Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, so we decided to try it. Sailor Jerry's is crafted from the spirit of a selection of rums distilled in the Caribbean. The named was derived to keep alive the legacy of the man, Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins. The name/brand started as a small mom and pop clothing brand in Philadelphia, selling leather goods, sneakers, t-shirts, and other products featuring Sailor Jerry's marks. I made a rum and Diet Coke while watching the Denver Broncos vs New England Patriots football game. Unfortunately, the Broncos lost but the drink was ok. I would say Sailor Jerry is as good as Captain but not better. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a a day late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 12/17/11). The Dew Tour was in Breckenridge this week and this weekend, so we skied a few runs during the day and watched the Dew Tour for about an hour. The Dew Tour hosts the best male and female snowboarders and freeskiers in the world, in superpipe and slopestyle. We watched the Men's Snowboard SuperPipe Finals at 2:30pm. I got to see Shaun White ride the half-pipe. Shaun White is a 25 year old professional snowboarder, skateboarder, and Olympic gold medalist. I believe they stated that Breck's Freeway is the largest pipe in the world. It is 602 ft long and 22 ft tall. The finalists and results are as follows: Shaun White 95.00 Louie Vito 92.75 Iouri Podlachikov 90.00 Christian Haller 88.00 Kohei Kudo 86.00 Matt Ladley 84.00 Steve Fisher 79.75 Keito Kumazaki 55.75 Kazuhiro Kokubo 47.75 Scott Lago 40.00 Luke Mitrani 24.25 Danny Davis Wh...

I went to happy hour with some friends today since a friend is leaving for 2 weeks for the holidays. We went to Ale House at Amato’s in LoHi (Lower Highlands). It is an ale house with “Good Food, Good Drink and Good Cheer”. I had a Breckenridge Peachfork Wheat and a Wynkoop Patty's Chile Beer. Both were good beers! What did you do today?

We had a work holiday happy hour today at Stoney's Bar & Grill . It was my 1st time there. They have a decent happy hour with 2-for-1 drinks from 4:00-7:00pm and deals on appetizers. I got 2-for-1 margaritas and socialized with my co-workers for a couple hours, then headed home. What did you do today?

I went to see a dermatologist today for the 1st time in my life. Dermatologists take care of diseases and problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails. I wanted to get a skin screening to make sure my moles are normal and nothing to worry about. My doctor did a visual skin screening and then did a biopsy of 1 mole on my back to get it tested. The biopsy involved a shot of anesthesia to numb the area and then scraping the top layer of the mole off. They needed this sampling of cells to examine under a microscope to determine the presence of a disease. It was not painful and I should get the results back in a week. What did you do today? 

I went to Panera Bread to meet a friend that is in town for work this week. I tried a bowl of the All-Natural Sonoma Chicken Stew . Ingredients include carrots, peas, leeks, diced red potatoes, sweet cream, and thyme. It is served with a Dry Jack Cheese Biscuit and a choice of potato chips, baguette, or apple. The stew was thick and creamy and hit the spot. What did you do today?

Tea is a beverage made by soaking cured leaves of the of the Camellia Sinensis Plant in water. Tea is the 2nd most consumed beverage in the world (water is the 1st). The largest producers of tea are China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. Tea is said to provide antioxidant properties and therapeutic applications. I’m feeling a little under the weather today so I wanted to drink some good herbal tea to help my immune system and prevent further getting any sickness. My co-worker is an avid tea drinker and has a variety of tea flavors. She had a Celestial Seasonings box of Fruit Tea Sampler caffeine free herbal teas. Within this box was 4 bags of True Blueberry Tea . This tea consists of hibiscus, rosehips, orange peel, natural blueberry flavor with other natural flavors, blackberry leaves, wild blueberries, and blueberry leaves. This is my 1st time drinking blueberry tea. I added a little sweetener. It was good. What did you do today?

Homemade soup sounded perfect after a weekend of being cold in the Colorado Rockies and at the Denver Broncos game. I decided to make Tortellini Soup tonight. I followed this basic recipe for Spinach Tortellini Soup from Allrecipes.com but then added to it. The ingredients that I used include: chicken, tortellini, chicken broth, spinach, onions, carrots, celery, peppers, mushrooms, cannelloni beans, garlic, salt, and pepper. The soup was excellent to warm up after a cold weekend! What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post last night since I wasn't home, therefore I'm posting this a a day late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 12/10/11). There was a music fest in Vail this weekend, so we skied during the day and went to Vail Snow Daze in the evening. The main band for the evening was Yukon Kornelius .  They are a rock super group consisting of Dave Matthew’s Band bassist Stefan Lessard, Barenaked Ladies guitarist/vocalist Ed Robertson, Guster guitarist/vocalist Adam Gardner, Spymob drummer Eric Fawcett, Twisted Sister vocalist Dee Snyder, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, O.A.R. members Marc Roberge and Jerry Depizzo, and actor/professional cow bell player Jason Biggs. Yukon Kornelius’ shows are known for being extremely rare, enormously energetic and JAM PACKED with special guest appearances. The band, who have has released five studio albums throughout their career, recently finished recording new material for their sixth album.  The played a lot of great songs...

I was at a friend's apartment after work today. She is from Michigan so she had a variety of Michigan beers. I tried a  Pandemonium Pale Ale made by Shorts Brewing Company in Bellaire MI. It's a pretty good beer. What did you do today?

My company offers various corporate training classes throughout the year. I took the popular Excel 2007 Advanced Formulas class today. It was a 4 hour class taught in a computer lab by an external educator. We learned about IFS, IF ANDs, IF ORs, COUNTs, COUNTIFs, SUMs, SUMIFs, VLOOKUPs, and HLOOKUPs. This class was probably a valuable class to most working professionals but especially benefitical for Analysts. What did you do today?

I forgot to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a a day late as this occurred yesterday (Wed 12/7/11). I've been doing Yoga about once a week for the past 4 years. Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, that people practice for their health and well-being. It originated in ancient India dating to the mid 3rd millennium BC. New schools of Yoga were introduced towards the end of the 19th century. Crow Pose or Crane Pose (or Bakasana) is a mid-level arm balance pose. About 2 months ago, I could  only hold a Crow Pose for about 3 seconds. Today I held it for 37 seconds. My goal is to hold this pose for 60 seconds. Instructions for Crow Pose: Bending the knees slightly, bring your palms flat on the floor about shoulder distance apart. Place the knees on the back of the upper arms. Start to come forward, lifting the head as you go. Take feet off the floor, one at a time, so you come to balance with both feet up. What did you do today?

I watched a classic sitcom today from the 70s, Laverne & Shirley . The show aired on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983 and starred Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney. They were roommates who worked in a fictitious Milwaukee brewery called "Shotz Brewery". The show was a spin-off from Happy Days, as the two lead characters were originally introduced on that series as acquaintances of Fonzie. I watched Season 7, Episode 22, "Perfidy in Blue" originally aired on May 11, 1982. This episode started out with Shirley looking for Laverne's favorite blue purse that she borrowed and lost. Laverne asks where it is because she would like to use it on her date. Shirley lies and says she hasn't seen it. Shirley then watches TV and daydreams that she is in the TV show and married. Laverne is having an affair with Shirley's husband and Laverne tries to poison Shirley. Shirley pretends she is dead. Shirley wakes up and ...

Last week I bought a couple sweet potatoes to make as a side dish. I looked up a few recipes online at Allrecipes.com and settled on Honey and Rosemary Sweet Potatoes . The ingredients are sweet potatoes, honey, rosemary, olive oil, salt, and pepper. The only difference is I fried them instead of baked them. We also made salmon and broccoli. What a well-balanced, delicious meal! What did you do today?

Today is National Cookie Day so I decided to make cookies. National Cookie Day occurs on December 4th every year. The English word "cookie" is derived from the Dutch word "koekje," which means little cake. Bakers used to place a small amount of cake batter in the oven to test the temperature. They soon discovered that these little bits of cooked batter were quite tasty on their own, and the cookie was born. I made 2 dozen Chocolate Chip Cookies. They came out warm and gooey and delicious! What did you do today?

Survivor is a reality TV game show broadcast on CBS since 2000. It is the American version of the Swedish TV series, Expedition Robinson . The show hosts a group of people in a desolate location. They are formed into tribes. The people must provide food, water, fire, and shelter for themselves, while competing in challenges to earn either a reward, or an immunity from expulsion from the game by votes for elimination. The winner of the game wins a million dollar prize. The show has been very successful as it is rated amongst the top ten most watched shows. The series has been nominated for several Emmy Awards, including winning for Outstanding Sound Mixing in 2001, Outstanding Special Class Program in 2002, and subsequently 4 times for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program when the category was introduced in 2003. Jeff Probst has won the award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program 4 consecutive times since the award was introduced in 2008. I wat...

I was tired last night, therefore I'm posting this a a day late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 12/2/11). We were downtown Denver last night to watch the Parade of Lights . It was the 37th annual Parade of Lights that marches a 2 mile route with sparkling lights, marching bands, giant balloons, majestic floats, and delightful characters. The Denver Christkindl Market was also along the route of the parade so we listened to German holiday music, looked at the ornaments, wood carvings, and gifts, and drank some Glühwein (spiced mulled wine).   What did you do today?

Matt is having his work holiday party at Marco's Coal-Fired Pizza in downtown Denver. Therefore, one of the managers invited him to try out some food before the party in 2 weeks. She gave us a complimentary Meatball Sliders appetizer and beers. We also ordered Coal-Fired Lemoncello Chicken Wings and a Queens NY Pie. Marco's uses authentic ingredients, including Antimo Caputo 00 flour from a 3rd generation family mill, artisanal cheeses imported from the Italian countryside and locally grown produce from Colorado. Their pizza makers are trained by the renowned Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napolitana. In fact, Marco’s Pizza is certified as an authentic Neapolitan restaurant by the Verace Pizza Napoletana – the only certified restaurant in Colorado, and one of only 40 in the USA. They have delicious Italian appetizers and pizza! We also watched the 1st half of the WVU vs USF game where WVU won 23-20! What did you do today?