Mile Hi - New Things

I bought a song today entitled "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones . It is the 1st Rolling Stones Song that I own. I downloaded it from iTunes for $1.29. The Rolling Stones are an English rock band that formed in London in April 1962. The band started with Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts. Other members include Mick Taylor, Ronnie Wood, Darryl Jones, and Chuck Leavell. Their song " You Can't Always Get What You Want " released on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. It was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone (magazine) in its 2004 list of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."   What did you do today?

We have some outside vendors come into our office to sell food and snacks or pick-up dry cleaning throughout the week. Every Thursday, the Mountain Man Nut & Fruit Co comes to sell fruits, snacks, and desserts. A co-worker had some leftover Bounty Hunter mix, so I tried it. Bounty Hunter is a snack mix consisting of cheese curls, pretzels, sesame sticks, and rye rounds. Here are some nutritional details:  Serve Size 28g, Fat 8g, Carb 17g, Fiber 1g, Sugar 1g, Sodium 290mg, Iron 4, Protein 2g. The 1.1 lb bag cost $5.50. It wasn't the healthiest snack but it was a good snack to hold me over until my next meal. 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 (Sun 1/29/12). I went to brunch at Vine Street Pub with some friends yesterday. I had a couple Apmosas (apple juice and champagne) and a coupole Mimosas (apple juice and champagne) along with my Wake Up sandwich (corned beef, hash, egg, arugala, on ciabatta) with hash browns and fruit (grapefruit, orange, strawberry). Great way to start my day! 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 1/28/12). We watched a animated movie entitled Up that came out in May 29, 2009. It is Pixar movie about elderly widower, Carl Fredricksen, and an earnest young Wilderness Explorer, Russell, who fly to South America by floating in a house with helium balloons. It was his late wife's dream to live by Paradise Falls, Venezuela, South America. It was Pixar's 10th feature film and the studio's 1st to be presented in Disney Digital 3-D. IMDB gave it a 8.3 out of 10 and I would probably give it a 7.5 rating. What did you do today?

We have a Wellness Program at work where they provide instructors to teach 1 hour classes at noon such as Pilates, Yoga, Zumba, Cycling, etc throughout the week. Today, was a special treat where they brought in a 2 instructors from Ballet Physique . This is a exercise program that combines strength training, stretching, Pilates, and classical ballet. The 60-minute class led us through a series of calorie-burning intervals designed to work specific muscle groups to the point of fatigue. Then, the muscles are guided through a round of relaxing stretches to create a body that is not only strong and toned, but flexible. Ballet Physique improves posture and core strength—key components in attaining the lean look of a ballerina. Afterwards, they also raffled free gift bags. Sometimes, work isn't so bad after all! What did you do today?

I came across 2 new Averies today. I went to the dentist today for a routine visit. I went to University Park Family Dental to see Avery Lopez . This dentist has a very new and modern practice with high-tech machines and tools. I had an initial oral examination which included a visual examination, charting, periodontal probing, diagnosis and treatment recommendations. I also had x-rays, which included the panoramic x-ray for proper diagnosis of the anterior (front) and posterior (back) teeth as well as the bite-wing x-ray series for proper diagnosis of proximal decay of posterior teeth. He recommended I refill my old silver/metal fillings with the new white fillings. Later on in the evening, I had Avery Brewing Co's India Pale Ale . Avery Brewing Co is based in Boulder CO since 1993. They brew more than 20 different beers. This IPA has a extra hops and increased alcohol content (6.5%). It has a citrusy, floral bouquet and the rich, malty finish. 2 new Averies ...

This past fall, our local grocery store, Albertsons , was running a promotion with Cuisinart . You shop at Albertsons and for each $10 you spend, you receive a sticker. Earn $60 stickers and you can redeem for a free Cuisinart product. The more you earn, the more valuable the free product (like coffee makers and food processors). We earned 69 stickers and earned the least valuable item, an electric can opener. I brought it home and tested today. This is the first time I owned or used an electric can opener. It worked pretty well. What did you do today?

I recently read an article in the Denver Post about a something-year-old new-CO-resident that challenged herself to workout everyday for one year and blog about it. I thought to myself, hey that sounds familiar, it sounds like my challenge to myself. I decide to write to this blogger to see how the Denver Post heard about her blog. She stated that she wrote them back in October or November. Apparently, it took them a few months to publish the article. Therefore, I decided to do the same. Why shouldn't I put myself out there to try to get published? I went to DenverPost.com to find some email addresses. Here's what I wrote: "I recently read Kristen Browning-Blas's article "365 Days of Sweat project helps keep her motivated" in the Fitness section, posted on January 9, 2012. The article was about Betsy Salzler's challenge to do 365 new workouts for a year. I have a similar story. In October 2010, I decided to challenge myself to 365 of new things. I...

I bought a box of Ancient Harvest Br and Quinoa at King Soopers (I think it was about $4.99 for a 12 oz box) and cooked it for dinner tonight. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) apparently is a species of goosefoot, is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds. It is not yet well known in North America. It has been cultivated in South American Andes since at least 3,000 B.C. and has been a staple food of millions of native inhabitants. The ancient Incas called quinoa the "mother grain" and revered it as sacred. Quinoa has a light, fluffy texture when cooked, and its mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it an alternative to white rice or couscous. When it was done cooking, I added olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, and pine nuts. We al...

Awhile back, I heard that you can borrow ebooks from your local library. A couple weeks ago, I was browsing  Denver Public Library's  website ecatalog and found The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It wouldn't allow me to borrow it right away as they have only 42 ecopies of it, so I was put on hold as the 45th person on the list. Once my hold period was over, it went to me eaccount and I clicked on the book and it brought me to Amazon to download onto my computer. I was then able to transfer the book to my Kindle. I am allowed to borrow it for 21 days. I'm not sure how it tracks the 21 days or how it can delete it off my Kindle. I don't have much time so I read 1 1/2 chapters today. Pretty good so far. 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 1/21/12). We went to  Swing Thai  last night for dinner. It is a Thai restaurant with 4 locations in the Denver area. We split Fried Vegetable Rolls as an appetizer (3 for $4.50) and Drunken Noodles (medium spicy) made with thick rice noodles, chicken, sugar peas, tomato, fresh basil, egg, and garlic sauce (for $9.50). It was a little spicy but very good. What did you do today?

We have a Wellness Program at work where they provide instructors to teach 1 hour classes at noon such as Pilates, Yoga, Zumba, Cycling, etc throughout the week. Today, was a special treat where they brought in a Gaiam celebrity yoga coach named Gwen Lawrence . Gwen teaches little leaguers, Olympic athletes, World Series, and Super Bowl champs. She came to us in CO from NY. Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goals of yoga are varied and range from improving health to achieving moksha . Gaiam is a lifestyle media company that focuses on conscious solutions for personal transformation. They make yoga mats, apparel, bed & bath products, health & beauty products, and other fitness items. Gaiam also gave us a free tree of life Gaiam yoga mat (suggested retail price of $21.98) to use for this class (and take home) and free Fit Body Yoga DVD (suggested retail price of $14.98) to take home. Sometimes, work isn't so bad aft...

I bought Pollock from King Soopers this week. I believe the package of 5 frozen fish was only $2.99. Pollock is a white fish that has a strong taste. It has a strongly-defined, silvery lateral line running down the sides. Above the lateral line, the color is a greenish black and the belly is white. I baked it in the oven with creole seasoning for 20 minutes at 400F and served it with pierogies and green beans. It was delicious! What did you do today?

I finally finished What Color is Your Parachute (the 2009: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers edition) by Richard Bolles after work tonight. The first version of this book came out in 1970 and has been revised every year since. The version I read, technically released the end of 2008 and is supposively #1 best-selling career book of all time. It is mostly for job seekers and career changers. There are many resources and web links in this book. It took me about 675 days to read it but I finished today and I gave it a 3 out of 5 on Goodreads . What did you do today?

My company offers various corporate training classes throughout the year. I took Access 2007 Beginners class today. It was a 6 hour class taught in a computer lab by an external educator. We learned about Tables, Queries, and Expression Builder . This class was probably a valuable class to most working professionals but especially benefitical for Analysts. What did you do today?

I donated blood today with Bonfils Blood Center . The organization had a blood drive at my work today. I've donated blood about 4 times before but usually in a large multi-purpose room. There wasn't space for Bonfils to set up in a room today, so the employees donated in the Blood Bus. The Blood Bus was a large RV type of bus with 2 private rooms to answer health-related questions before donation and about 6 lounging chairs to donate at a time. I believe I donated 1 pint of blood in approximately 10 minutes. My blood type is O+ (37.4% of the population). Recipient blood type of O+ are O+, A+, B+, and AB+. 85% of the population can receive my blood. O- blood type is the universal donor since O- blood can be transfused to any patient regardless of their blood type. Bonfils provides 80% of Colorado's blood supply and distributes blood to nearly 200 hospitals and healthcare facilities where it is used in a variety of medical treatments. My blood donation has a chance to save a...

I've bought and baked plenty of frozen appetizers in my past. However, I've never bought or baked Spanakopita before. This type of appetizer a Greek pastry made with spinach, feta, onion, and dill in a flaky crust. We bought the King Soopers (Kroger) brand called Private Selection. I think 12 pastries cost $3.69 and we had a $1.00 off coupon so the package was $2.69. It took about 20 minutes to bake and was a good snack to eat while watching the Giants beat the Packers! What did you do today?

I've bought and baked plenty of frozen pizzas in my past. However, my co-worker recommended that I try Safeway Select's frozen 5 Cheese Pepperoni Pizza since he said it was the best frozen pizza. We bought it and bake it and ate it. It was a good frozen pizza but I don't think it was the best frozen pizza I've ever had. I recommend you try it if you like frozen pepperoni pizza. 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 1/13/12). I went to happy hour with my co-workers last night after work since it was the Creative Director's last day. We went to Bannock St Garage  in the Golden Triangle. He has been at my company for about 6 years and just burnt out and would like to start his own gig. It is respectable to quit to get 1 step closer to your dreams. Bannock St Garage is a bar that appears to be an old auto-body shop. Their happy hour is Monday to Friday from 3:00-6:00pm with $2.00 Bud and Bud Lite drafts, $3.00 wells, and $1.50 cans so I had 1 Bud Light draft. What did you do today?

I've made plenty of chicken tacos, burritos, and quesadillas in my past but I typically take a pound of boneless skinless chicken and cut it in 1" cubes when it is raw and then fry it for 10 minutes. However, this time I took a pound of boneless skinless chicken and boiled it for about 10 minutes. Then I poured out the boiling water and let the chicken cool for a bit. Then I ripped the chicken apart into tiny pieces and put in a fry pan with green pepper, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and fajita seasoning. I put this mixture on a flour tortilla and served with shredded colby jack, brown rice, black beans, salsa, and avocado. I like the chicken this way since it was smaller and juicier. What did you do today?

My company offers various corporate training classes throughout the year. I took the popular Excel 2007 Pivot Tables class today. It was a 3 hour class taught in a computer lab by an external educator. We learned about Pivot Tables and Pivot Charts and how to manipulate the report filter, rows, columns, and values. This class was probably a valuable class to most working professionals but especially benefitical for Analysts. What did you do today?

I was unsure of my current typing speed these days so I went Yahoo.com and did a search for "Typing Race". The search engine brought up a few options and I choose this website for typrX . On this website, you type in a quote or paragraph as quickly and accurately as you can. In the meantime, you are racing another random opponents. I played once against 2 others and received a score of 57 wpm (words per minute), not bad for my 1st time in a long time. I came in 3rd place. 2nd place had 63 wpm and 1st place had 65 wpm. The quote that I typed was: "I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you." - Oprah Winfrey What did you do today?

This winter, I decided to play ESPN's College Bowl Mania with some friends. You sign up for an account and and group, then pick the winner of each of the 35 college bowl games. Then you rank the games in the order of your confidence in those picks from 35 points all the way down to 1 point. My strategy was to pick the teams that I liked, Big East teams, or the team with the better record. The 1st game was on December 17. Highlights of my picks include WVU beat Clemson 70-33 where I received 27 points, Baylor beat Washington 67-56 for 34 points, and Cincinnati beat Vanderbilt 31-24 for 33 points. My win percentage was only 44.7% whereas a majority of others in the group had 90%. Today was the last bowl game, Allstate BCS Championship Game, Alabama vs LSU, where Alabama won 21-0. Therefore, the College Bowl Mania game is now over. My group had 9 players and I came in 8th place. Matt came in 1st place. Our group all threw in $10 each, winner takes all ($90), sounds lik...

After the 2 NFL playoff games today, we watched a movie entitled West Side Story with Natalie Wood that came out in December 1961. It is about a boy and girl from rival gangs (Jets vs Sharks) that fall in love. It is inspired by Romeo & Juliette. West Side Story is set in the 1950s in NYC. The Jets are American and the Sharks are Puerto Rican. A Jet, Tony, falls in love with a Shark, Maria. The musical has sophisticated music and extended dance scenes, which marked a turning point in American musical theatre. The movie is based off of the book. IMDB gave it a 7.7 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 a day late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 1/7/12). We went to Coohills last night for my co-worker's 30th birthday party. It is a French restaurant but has a bar area where the party was. Coohills menu is French-influenced, but Colorado grown. They partner with local and regional farmers for produce, fish, poultry, and meats. I had 2 glasses of Pinot Grigio wine some appetizers and chocolate cake. It was a nice place and fun night. 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 1/6/12). I tried a T'ai Chi exercise class at Englewood Rec Center yesterday. T'ai Chi, originally developed in ancient China, is a form of exercise that uses gentle flow movements for stress reduction and to help with a variety of other health conditions. It is sometimes described as "meditation in motion" because it promotes serenity through gentle movements — connecting the mind and body. T'ai Chi is mainly practiced for self-defense and benefits to physical and mental health. It was a beginner class and went a little slow for me, but I'm willing to try it again next Friday. What did you do today?

My company is beginning to use a new project management software called Aprimo . Aprimo should streamline our workflows, improve efficiency, and campaign effectiveness. Today's training went through how to create project request forms and how to build calendars. What did you do today?

I bought a song today entitled "All You Need is Love" by The Beatles. It is the 1st Beatles Song that I own. I downloaded it from iTunes for $1.29. The Beatles did not start selling songs on iTunes for some time. I believe they held out until November of 2010. I searched for "Across the Universe" or "All the Lonely People" on iTunes, as these would be my 1st and 2nd choices, but I settled for "All You Need is Love". What did you do today?

Today, I received an email from Goodreads that mentioned World Book Night . World Book Night started in the UK in 2011 where passionate readers across the country gave 1 million books to light- or non-readers to spread the joy and love of reading. Reading changes lives and at the heart of World Book Night lies the simplest of ideas and acts - that of putting a book into another person’s hand and saying ‘this one’s amazing, you have to read it.’ World Book Night 2012 will be held on April 23, in the US and the UK. They are looking for 50,000 volunteer book givers to hand out 20 copies each, for a total of 1 million free special World Book Night paperbacks! I applied to volunteer to be a giver. I would need to pick up 20 copies of (one of 30 books) from my local bookshop or library and commit to giving the books away on World Book Night to light- or non-readers. Givers are chosen based on where, to whom, and why you want to give books away. I chose The Stand as my #1 boo...

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a a day late as this occurred yesterday (Mon 1/2/12). We watched the Showtime Original TV Series called Homeland last night with Claire Danes. The show is about Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody, who returns home 8 years after going missing in Iraq. Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) is a driven (and psychotic) CIA officer that suspects he might be planning an attack on America. Homeland is based on the Israeli series Hatufim . Season 1 of the series came out on October 2, 2011 and all episodes are currently available on Comcast’s OnDemand service. Season 2 is scheduled to come out in 2012. IMDB gave it a 8.7 out of 10 and I probably give it an 8.1 rating so far after seeing 1 episode. 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 (Sun 1/1/12). We watched a movie entitled  Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time  last night with Jake Gyllenhaal that came out in May 2010. It is about an adopted Persian Prince who joins with the Alamut Princess to protect an ancient dagger with powers of time. The dagger is a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world. The movie is based off of the video game. IMDB gave it a 6.6 out of 10 and I agree with that rating. What did you do today?