Mile Hi - New Things

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 2 days ago (Fri 10/19/12). One year ago, on 10/21/11 I challenged myself with completing 1 new thing per day for 365 days. The new things were in regards to cooking, eating, drinking, reading, travelling, fitness, games, careers, good deeds, and more. I will admit it was difficult doing something new everything. Some days I had to be creative. I enjoyed trying new recipes, restaurants, books, movies, shows, and community service. I will continue to try new things every week. You may be hearing more from me soon (as soon as I figure out what I want to do next)! I hoped I inspired others to be experimental and exploratory to try new things in your lives as well. Just remember: • Trying something new often requires courage. • Trying something new opens up the possibility for you to enjoy something new. • Trying something new keeps you from becoming bored. • Trying something new forc...

My co-workers birthday was today so to celebrate they bought her a vanilla cake, a chocolate cake, and mini lemon bites from Costco . I had some chocolate cake and a mini lemon bite. These are made by Upper Crust Bakery . They supply Sam's Club, Starbucks, Costco, Kroger, Whole Foods, and BJ’s Wholesale Club. Both desserts that I ate tasted good. According to the Livestrong Calorie Tracker , 1 mini lemon bite is 130 calories, 19 g carbs, and 1 g protein. What did you do today?

We had an appointment for a catering tasting with  The Food G uy after work tonight. They are on Hudson Gardens approved vendors list. The Food Guy offers unique food, impeccable service, enchanting decorations, extraordinary attention to every detail, sources and coordination for any wedding need. The total for buffet dinner service for about 125 people is about $8,000, a little more than the price we thought we'd have to pay. The tasting took about an hour to try a salad with grapes and figs (I've never ate a fig before, except Fig Newtons), chicken with apple raisin chutney, mashed potatoes, and sauteed kale. They seem like a reputable The Food Guy before deciding on anything. More on figs: The common fig (Ficus carica) is a deciduous tree growing to heights of up to 6 meters (19 ft) in the genus Ficus, from the family Moraceae, known as common fig tree. It is a temperate species native to the Middle East. The edible fig is one of the 1st plants that was cu...

I bought a $ 6 Groupon to The Coffee Nook for $12 worth of coffee and food. So we went there for breakfast this morning. The Coffee Nook is a coffee and sandwich shop centrally located in Glendale across from Infinity Park. It was started in 2009 by a woman who wanted to develop a model for single moms in business. It is now on its 4th owner, Deanne, who had the dream of getting out of the corporate world and starting her own small business. They offer coffee, hot and cold beverages, pastries, breakfast burritos, snacks, quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, paninis, and more with indoor and outdoor seating. We ordered a 12 oz Caramel Macchiato $3.00, 12 oz Flavored Latte with Irish Cream $3.25, Croissant (sausage, egg, and cheese) $3.00, and a Breakfast Burrito (sausage, egg, cheese, potatoes, and green chilis) $3.00. Everything was very pretty good. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Mon 10/15/12). My friend and I went to David's Bridal last night to try on some wedding dresses. I looked on their website a few months ago to get a feel of the type of dresses I like. There are 6 styles: Classic & Traditional, Chic & Modern, Elegant & Luxurious, Glamorous & Dramatic, Destination, and Reception. I like Classic & Traditional the best. There are 5 silhouettes to choose from: A-Line, Ball Gown, Mermaid/Trumpet, Sheath, and Short. I like A-Line the best. I'm considering straps or strapless. It took about 1.5 hours to try on 5 dresses. I liked 2 of the dresses I tried on, both were under $350. My goal is to find one under $200. Here is one of the 'favorites' that I saw online. It is hard to tell if I would or wouldn't like it on myself. What did you do today?

My fiancé and I wanted to take pictures in City Park for Save-the-Date Cards that we will be mailing out this fall. City Park is an urban park and neighborhood in Denver, Colorado. The park is 330 acres and is located in east-central Denver. The park contains the Denver Zoo, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Ferril and Duck Lakes, and a boathouse. It also offers Benches, Drinking Fountains, Picnic Tables, Playground, Flower Beds, Walking/Jogging Path, Interactive Fountain, Lake, Baseball/Softball Field, Handball Court, Soccer Field, Football Field, Tennis Court, Horseshoe Pits, and a Pavilion. The weather was gorgeous today, sunny and 65F. We met a friend at 10am to take the pictures. My friend took a dozen or so photos in different spots of the park with different poses. It was a beautiful fall day in Colorado! What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 10/13/12). My fiancé and I met with a Realtor on Saturday to show us some houses in Arvada. It was my 1st time house hunting. Arvada is a Home Rule Municipality, settled in 1859, located in Jefferson and Adams counties about 7 miles northwest of Denver. The 2010 United States Census recorded 106,433 residents, making Arvada the 9th most populous city in Colorado. Arvada retains a small-town feel with its historic downtown, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the future will include 1 of 3 area transit stops as part of the metropolitan FasTracks light rail system currently under development. Arvada's land encompasses nearly 23,000 acres (32.8 square miles). A trail system links with Denver trails on the east and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the west, and thousands of acres of parks and open spaces. Arvada also takes great pride in the...

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 10/12/12). My fiancé bought a Chase My Offers for $35 worth of food at Fleur Bistro for $17. So Matt and I went there for dinner last night. Fleur Bistro is located in the Cap Hill neighborhood and uses sustainable, local, ingredients, to create healthy and delicious fare. The restaurant is in a Victorian house, built in 1872 and still has all of the original charm of its period, like original detail including an intricate inlaid ceiling and historic tile. It was built by Albert E. Mauff. It was the oldest flower shop in Denver before becoming a restaurant. They won 2 OpenTable.com Diners' Choice Awards recently. We ordered and shared 2 meals: Beef Wellington (Black angus beef, garlic roasted potatoes, and veg du jour) for $20 and Lemon Salmon (Atlantic salmon, veg du jour, wild rice) for $15. Everything was really good, as I've never had a Beef Wellington. ...

After I ran my marathon a couple weeks ago, I grab a Vuka Intelligent Energy drink in the VIP tent but didn't drink it that day. I grabbed the Vuka Workout Berry Lemonade flavor (the red bottle on the right). Vuka Workout is a lightly carbonated berry lemonade flavor made with Rooibos (African Redbush) tea for performing at peak levels. It helps to prepare for what's ahead in my workout and restore what's been lost with L-carnitine, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Other vitamins and natural energizers include vitamins  B3, B5, B6, B12,  and grape seed extract. Vuka uses pure cane sugar for sweetening, no high fructose corn syrup, and no preservatives, just natural ingredients. I brought my Vuka drink to work today and drank half of it before boot camp and the rest after my workout. The drink was ok; I think I got a little buzz from the caffeine. It didn't taste like sugar in the drink, it tasted like bad sweetener. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Wed 10/10/12). I signed up for Denver Freecycle emails about 3 years ago when I moved here. Yesterday was the 1st time I took an offer from a member. The Freecycle Network is made up of 5,072 groups with 9,154,477 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns and thus keeping good stuff out of landfills. A woman posted that she was offering free Decorative Pine Cones, a bout a dozen pine cones used for decoration, and a p orch pick-up. I sent her an email saying I was interest in them (as a centerpiece decorative for our wedding). She told me her address and said they would be in a white garbage bag on her porch. And they were. The pine cones are nice and I think I will use them. Then I may freecycle them back to the community!  What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 2 days ago (Tues 10/9/12). We had an appointment for a catering tasting with Rocky Mountain Catering  after work Tuesday night. They are on  Hudson Gardens  approved vendors list. Rocky Mountain Catering offer exquisite, delicious menus, experienced, detailed event planners, professional servers and bar tenders, that are customized to any taste and any budget, for holiday parties, wedding, and corporate events. The total for buffet dinner service for about 125 people is about $5,000, about the price we thought we'd have to pay. The tasting took about an hour to try 2 chickens (Chicken Saltimbocca and Grilled Chicken Oscar), 2 beefs (Braciole and Cognac Sirloin Steak), and 3 sides (Garlic and Herb Roasted Red Potatoes, Mushroom Tarragon Wild Rice Pilaf, and Tuscan Grilled Vegetables). They seem like a reputable company. We need to check out other services of...

Matt went grocery shopping for us and brought home some Cheetos Crunchy Cheddar Jalapeno . This cheese-flavored cornmeal snack is made by Frito Lay . Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin invented Cheetos in 1948. In 2010, Cheetos was ranked as the top selling brand of cheese puffs in its primary market of the United States. The Cheetos brand is commonly recognized by association with its mascot, an anthropomorphic cartoon cheetah named Chester Cheetah . Chester 1st appeared in television commercials in 1983 as an animated cartoon character, adopting a sly, smooth-voiced personality. Nutrition isn't the greatest as 1 oz has 160 calories, 10 g total fat, 260 mg sodium, 13 g total carbohydrates, and 2 g protein. On the plus side, there are 0 g trans fat and gluten free. But I wasn't eating them to be healthy, I was eating them as a snack. What did you do today?

I won a free large cheese pizza from Anth ony's Pizza and Pasta a couple months ago for a Facebook contest by describing Anthony's in 2 words (question: 'Describe Anthony's in 2 words', my winning answer was 'foldable yummyness', choosen out of 108 other responses!). Anthony's Pizza serves NY style pizza (the kind that you fold in half to eat). It began in a small storefront location in downtown Denver, just off the 16th Street Mall, in 1984 when Henry Mann started serving the lunchtime crowd New York style pizza by the slice. Anthony’s has grown to serve fresh-cooked pastas and salads, but still retains a casual and family atmosphere. Their pizza is made with premium mozzarella cheese, hand tossed, and served at over 20 locations. They've won awards like 5280 Magazine 2009 Best Pizza, AOL Cityguide 2006 Best Thin Crust, and Westword 2007 Best Pizza. We ordered a large (18") Neapolitan pizza with sausage, peppers, onions, and mushrooms. I...

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 10/5/12). We went to Ameristar Casino Resort Spa in Black Hawk CO to celebrate our friend's 30th birthday. The facility opened in December 2001. Ameristar purchased the property in December 2004.  The hotel tower opened in October 2009.  It features a 56,000 square-foot casino, full service hotel with 536 rooms (including 64 suites), roof-top pool; 5 dining and entertainment venues, full-service luxury day spa, 15,000 square-feet of meeting and event space, and the largest parking garage in the market, about 1 hour drive west of Denver. Casino offerings include: more than 1,400 slot machines (reels, video reels, and video poker); 27 table games (blackjack, craps, and roulette); and 17 poker tables. We mostly played video poker at the bar where we could watch college football. We watched WVU (48) vs Tex (45), UGA (7)...

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 10/5/12). My fiancé bought a Chase My Offers for $50 worth of food at 1515 Restaurant for $25. So Matt and I went there for dinner last night. 1515 Restaurant is located in the LoDo neighborhood and serves seasonal modern American Cuisine; approachable, fresh flavors with a twist. It is owned by Gene Tang with Executive Chef Christopher Laramie in the kitchen. There is exposed brick, steep staircases, and high ceilings. The upstairs dining room is romantic yet hip. They offer a multi-course tasting menu for 6 ($65) or 8 ($85) courses which looked delicious but we choose regular dinner entrees. We ordered and shared 2 meals: Bouillabaisse (Lobster, Mussels, Shrimp, Scallop, Dover Sole, Clams, Calamari, Saffron Tomato Broth, Lemon Aioli Crouton, for $32) and Sous Vide Colorado Mountain Meadow Lamb (Potato Rosti, New Season Brussels Sprouts, Hazelnut Puree, Shiraz Po...

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 2 days ago (Thurs 10/4/12). Since my company sponsors the Denver Broncos , we received a few complimentary tickets to Crush Night Out . Crush is a free fan club for women ( 21 and over)  that offers year-round benefits including annual events, special offers, exclusive premiums, and more! Crush Night Out is an annual event held at Sports Authority Field at Mile High . Tickets were $30 for wine, food, football, raffles, autographs, and photos. More than 800 women showed up for vendors and fine restaurants as well as nail services, fashionista advice, and a chance to stock up on feminine Bronco gear. Soon after, ladies got autographs from current and former players as well as try out their throwing and catching skills on the field. There was even an opportunity to visit the locker room and find favorite players' lockers. Demaryius Thomas showed off the "equipment demo." b...

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 3 days ago (Wed 10/3/12). The  2012 Preside ntial Debate  series began on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 7pm at Magness Arena on the  University of Denver's  campus. The topic was Domestic Policy and was the 1st of 4 debates scheduled, moderated by Jim Lehrer host of "NewsHour" on PBS, and lasted 90 minutes. Since I am alumni, I had the chance to watch the debate on the campus green on a big screen TV, but decided to watch from the luxury of my apartment since it was cold and windy outside. The segments focused on the economy health care, the role of government, and governing. According to  CNN , here are the 5 things we learned from the Presidential Debate: Romney wins by setting the tone Romney holds his own Missed opportunities - Obama didn't challenge Romney on the infamous 47% remark in an attempt to paint the former Massachusetts governor as a cold-hearted ...

One of Matt's employees had a Runza party this past weekend. We were unable to attend but he was nice enough to save us 2 Runzas and freeze them for us. We reheated them tonight for dinner. A runza (also called a bierock, fleischkuche or Kraut Pirok) is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of beef, pork, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and seasonings. They are baked in various shapes such as a half-moon, rectangle, round, square, or triangle. The runza was very tasty. I feel like I've had something similar but could've quite figure it out. The runza sandwich originated in Russia during the 1800s and spread to Germany before appearing in the United States. The termbierock comes from the Russian word pirogi or pirozhki and is the term for any food consisting of a savory filling stuffed dough. The recipe was passed down from generation to generation and is available throughout the Americas, particularly Argentina and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saska...

We had an appointment for an Entertainment Consultation with ABC Music Video Photography after work today. They are on  Hudson Gardens  suggested vendors list. ABC MVP is a Denver Entertainment Company providing DJs, Photographers, and Videographers for weddings and other events in the area for over 20 years. They offer premium services and professionalism. We are considering a DJ and Photographer Package, not Videographer. The total for those 2 services came to about $3,200, a little more than we'd like to pay. The consultation took about an hour and a half to go over DJ and Photographer services offered. They seem like a very reputable company and are recommended. They received the Wedding Wire Bride’s Choice Awards in 2011. We need to check out other services offered in the area to compare with ABC MVP before deciding on anything. What did you do today?

I watched a movie entitled Taken with Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace, that came out on January 30, 2009. This is a French thriller film where Neeson plays a former CIA operative who sets about tracking down his daughter after she is kidnapped by human traffickers while traveling in France. Moments before she is dragged away by the as yet unseen and unknown assailants, she manages to phone him, who begins to expertly piece together clues that will take him to the darkness of Paris's underworld. He will let nothing and no one stop him from saving his daughter. A sequel, Taken 2, is set for release on October 5, 2012. The movie was ok, it had a lot of fighting, car chases, and action. I'm not sure what Taken 2 will be about, as it was a 'happy' ending. IMDB gave it a 7.9 out of 10 and I would give it a 6.9 rating. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 9/29/12). I seen some unique vodka flavors lately. UV Vodka makes a bunch of them. I decided to try UV's White Cake Flavored Vodka . UV Vodka is made by Phillips Distilling Co in Minneapolis. Some of their other unique flavors include Chocolate Cake, Whipped Cream, Espresso, and Sweet Green Tea. I bought a bottle of Cake and mixed it with Diet Dr Pepper and a cherry. It was a pretty good drink, tasted like Diet Dr Pepper Cherry Vanilla. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 9/28/12). As I stated earlier this week, I signed up for a Sustainability Class called Sustainability Leadership and Implementation Certificate C ourse offered by University of Denver and Natural Capitalism Solutions . It is the leading sustainability certificate program that will help students gain the knowledge and skills needed to implement an effective and profit-enhancing sustainability program in their organization. Class started on Friday morning. We were served coffee, tea, yogurt, fruit, and pastries to start our day. We met our organizers, Toby Russell, and teachers, Hunter Lovins and Scott McLagan. Hunter spoke 1st to intro the course and discuss advocates and leaders in sustainability such as Gandhi, Rachel Carson, E F Schumacher, David Brower, Karl-Henric Robert, Ray Anderson, Paul Hawken, Dana Meadows, etc, and books to read on the subject (there are man...

Since I am taking a Sustainability Leadership and Implementation Certificate Course starting this Friday and Saturday, they requested I take read Leading Change Why Transformation Efforts Fail by John P Kotter. The article is about how many major change initiatives (ex boost quality or improve culture) that organizations attempt, fail miserably. One reason may be that many managers don’t realize transformation is a process, not an event. It advances through stages that build on each other. And it takes years. Managers must understand the stages of change to boost chances of a successful transformation. EIGHT STEPS TO TRANSFORMING YOUR ORGANIZATION 1. Establishing a Sense of Urgency - Examining market and competitive realities - Identifying and discussing crises, potential crises, or major opportunities 2. Forming a Powerful Guiding Coalition - Assembling a group with enough power to lead the change effort - Encouraging the group to work together as a team 3. Creating a Vision - Cre...

Since I am taking a Sustainability Leadership and Implementation Certificate Course starting this Friday and Saturday, they requested I take Insights Discovery Online Evaluator that is a 25 questionnaire with questions asking what is most and least like me, like Empathetic and Patient, Contained and Controlled, Task-focused and Competitive, Discussing and Spontaneous. The questionnaire helps determine where I stand on the Insight s Discovery Model (Cool Blue, Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green).     The Insights Discovery model is based on the extensive research of Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, and the subsequent work of Jolande Jacobi, one of his leading students. The model uses 4 colors to represent observable behavioural patterns which are measured by the Discovery evaluator; a 25-frame questionnaire of statements from 100 word pairs, which when completed, produces the Insights Discovery Profile. The evaluator has been tested and updated to measure the...

As an alumni of DU , I receive email communications about events, activities, and education opportunities. I received an email a while back about a sustainability class being offered in the fall. The email was from Natural Capitalism Solutions  about a Sustainability Leadership and Implementation Certificate C ourse  offered for 6 total days between 9/28/12-12/15/12 for $3,500. It is the leading sustainability certificate program that will help students gain the knowledge and skills needed to implement an effective and profit-enhancing sustainability program in their organization. Through this course, participants will gain a deep understanding of sustainability frameworks, while also learning the practical leadership and implementation skills needed to put an effective sustainability program in place. As a final deliverable, participants will develop and present a set of strategic sustainability initiatives for their organization, in addition to initial goa...

As an alumni of  DU , I'm invited to attend events on campus. Tonight, was Daniels College of Business Voices of Experience speaker series event with Michael Long, CEO of Arrow Electronics . The Daniels speaker series brings in CEOs and significant leaders to share the lessons learned from their triumphs, mistakes, and decisions as they navigated through their leadership careers. Arrow Electronics is a global provider of products, services and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. Arrow serves as a supply channel partner for more than 120,000 original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers, and commercial customers through a global network of more than 390 locations in 52 countries. Prior to being named CEO in May 2009, Long served as president and chief operating officer (COO) of Arrow, with responsibility for all of the company’s operations and business units. Before that, Long served as senior vice p...

I bought a $5 Groupon to Gunther Toody's Diner   for $10 wor th of food. So we went there for brunch this morning. Gunther Toody's is a blast from the past retro fifties-themed eatery operating in 8 Colorado locations for over 20 years. There were bowling-shirted waiters and poodle-skirted waitresses with Elvis and Jerry Lee on the jukebox. It’s not the finest food in town, but it’s cheap. For breakfast, we ordered and split Huevos Rancheros ($7.69) with 2 eggs hashbrowns, green chili, melted cheddar, refried beans, jalapeños, flour tortillas, and a side of bacon. Everything was very pretty good, a little spicy. What did you do today?  

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 9/22/12). The day finally came. After about 18 weeks of training, I ran the full marathon in the Sports Authority Denver Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series yesterday morning starting and ending in Civic Center Park downtown Denver. The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series is a collection of road running events owned and operated by Competitor Group Inc . The series is known for lining race routes with live bands, cheerleaders and themed water stations. There are 29 events in the Rock 'n' Roll Series. I woke up at 5:45am and ate a blueberry pancake, some almonds, some raisins, and a Clif Crunch Granola Bar  (white chocolate macadamia flavor). The marathon began at 7:15am in corrals. I started in corral 5 at about 7:25am. I also took 2 Jelly Belly Sport Beans (berry flavor) to give my body a boost of energy. It was chilly in the morning, about 55F but...