Mile Hi - New Things

After our softball game, our team went to  Park Burger  in the Platt Park neighborhood since we thought it was our last game (we actually have at least 2 more games in the playoffs). Park Burger is a quick-serve restaurant that makes premium burgers and drinks in 3 locations in Colorado. Jean-Philippe Failyau has over 10 years of experience in the food industry. He wanted to bring his experience and philosophy of better ingredients = better food to the burger industry. Jean-Philippe has work experience in some of the top fine dining restaurants in New York City, San Francisco and Denver. He is also part owner of Osteria Marco on Larimer Square.     Matt and I ordered and split a Royale ($8.00) with 1/3 lb beef patty, caramelized onions, bleu cheese, bacon, pickles, onions, lettuce, and tomato. We ordered french and sweet potato fries as well. I enjoyed the Park Burger and would go back there to get a New Yorker (not on our menu but online)! What did y...

My company offered a free trial membership for the month of July at Englewood Rec Center . The facility offers an indoor track, 25-meter 8-lane swimming pool, full size gymnasium, 2 weight training areas, 4 racquetball/walleyball courts, cardiovascular area, aerobic fitness training area, sauna, 2 lighted sand volleyball courts, and numerous other amenities. My company offers discounted rates of only $8/month. Since I'm training for the marathon, I needed a break from running. The Olympics swimming events have also been pretty exciting in London 2012 . Therefore, I swam for 45 minutes at the rec center. It was my 1st time swimming in about a year. It was very tiring. At this point in time, I'm running and biking so much that I do not need a gym membership. However, I would probably want to get one in the winter.   What did you do today?

I wanted to bake a cake so I bought some Pillsbury Most Supreme Golden Butter Recipe Cake Mix . I read the directions and it recommended adding 3 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of water to the recipe if you live at High Altitude (about 3,500 feet). I live at 5,280 feet but vouched out of the special directions. I think my cake came out just fine with the regular directions. If I lived above 8,000 feet maybe then I would have followed it. After my 13"x9" cake was baked about 35 minutes, I let it cool then poured Jell-O Sugar Free Strawberry Flavor Gelatin over the cake (mix hot water, cold water, packet, in liquid form). I topped the cake with Fat Free Cool Whip and a few cut up strawberries. The cake was delicious without cooking it the High Altitude way!   What did you do today?

Since I'm training for my 1st (and last) marathon, I'm getting up into higher mileage. I typically run 3 miles Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I rest Friday, run my long runs on Saturday morning, and rest Sunday. My Hal Higdon Marathon Training Program said to run 15 miles so I did. I did it is 2 hours and 30 minutes. I'm training for the Denver Rock 'n' Roll Marathon  Series on September 22, 2012. I began my run this morning at 7:30am in Glendale on the Cherry Creek Trail and went east for about 4 miles. Then I went west on the Highline Canal Trail for 3.5 miles until I got to James A Bible Park and turned around to run all the way back. It was a very difficult run with rolling hills. Running 15 miles in challenging. At least I had my iPod with music. My previous longest run was 13.1 miles when I ran my 2nd 1/2 marathon in October 2011.   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 yesterday (Fri 7/27/12). I work at a corporate headquarters in Colorado. There recently was a vacancy for a job that I wanted to pursue so I filled out the internal job application and sent an updated resume. Human Resources (HR) then set up a interview for the internal job opportunity for me with the hiring manager. It went well and they will decide in the next week or 2.  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 late as this occurred 2 days ago (Thurs 7/26/12).   My department at my company was supposed to have a big summer BBQ today at noon. They moved it to August the day before. I guess as a 'sorry for the late notice', they brought in a bunch of salty and sweet snacks, like trail mix, Cracker Jacks, jelly beans, Peanut M&Ms, Hersey's Chocolate, and Welch's Fruit Snacks . I've never had Welch's Fruit Snacks before. I tried the Mixed Fruit flavor with Strawberry, Raspberry, Orange, White Grape, Grape, and Peach in a 2.25 oz bags. They also come in Island Fruits, Berries n' Cherries, Concord Grape, White Grape Raspberry, Strawberry, Tangy Fruits, Fruit Punch, White Grape Peach, and even Reduced Sugar Mixed Fruit. They are made with real fruit and fruit juices and contain no preservatives. They are also fat free, gluten free, and contain 100% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C ...

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a day late as this occurred yesterday (Wed 7/25/12).   My friend had extra tickets to the Florence + the Machine concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre so I went and saw them last night. Florence + the Machine are an English indie rock band, consisting of lead singer Florence Welch, Isabella Summers, and a collaboration of other artists who provide backing music. The band's music received praise across the music media before they gained mainstream success. The band's debut album, Lungs , was released on July 6, 2009, and held the #2 position for its first 5weeks on the UK Albums Chart. On January 17, 2010, the album reached the top position, after being on the chart for 28 consecutive weeks. As of October 2010, the album had been in the top 40 in the United Kingdom for 65 consecutive weeks, making it one of the best-selling albums of 2009 and 2010. The group's second studio album, Ceremonials , releas...

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred a couple days ago (Tues 7/24/12). I cannot remember where I picked up this bar of chocolate (I know it was a free sample somewhere) but I tried Meiji Milk Chocolate a couple days ago. Meiji is a Japanese company, based on the main themes of food and pharmaceuticals, that provid products, services, and information in the related fields of confectionery, food products, medicine, health, agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines, and the environment. They make biscuits, candies, and chocolates. I had a chocolate bar. Under the embossed paper sleeve the bar is wrapped in a rather thin foil. There are 15 segments - 5 across and 3 down. The ingredients are sugar, cacao mass, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, and artificial flavor. The color was darker than ordinary milk chocolates and less milky. The melt was rough and flaky not smooth. The flavor was deep and smoky. I grew ...

I work at a corporate headquarters in Colorado. Our corporation has many stores. Today, I had to write a store communication to about 3/4 of our many stores in many states. The store communication was to inform these stores that boxes of free magazines were coming to the stores so they could display them and give to customers for free. I had to write the communication with all the information and attach store maps to direct the stores where to put the display rack and magazines.  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 received a $50 gift certificate to Lucile's  for my birthday back in April. So we went there for brunch this morning. Lucile's is a creole cafe with 4 locations in the Denver area with the original restaurant opened in Boulder 32 years ago. The menu is adorned with a photograph of the owner and his mother Lucile, the restaurants namesake. Zydeco music was constantly playing through the dining room. There are Mardi Gras beads, alligators, masks, and Creole posters that they use as decoration. It has won local awards like "Best Creole Restaurant" by Westword Magazine. Since the wait was about 45 minutes, we started with a drink called Cuban OJ with orange juice, banana liquor, and lime. For breakfast, I ordered Cajun Breakfast (red beans with meat, poached eggs, and hollandaise with potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit for $7.80). Matt ordered Eggs Sardou (creamed spinach, Gulf shrimp, poached eggs and hollandaise with grits and a buttermilk biscuit for $10.30). The...

I went to Downtown Aquarium today to check out the wedding ceremony and wedding reception facilities. I looked at their Outdoor Green Space for the wedding ceremony and their Nautilus Ballroom for the wedding reception. Both areas were nice and affordable. The ballroom seats 50 to 250 guests, has an award-winning culinary team, hand-painted ceilings, and comes with Dive Lounge for cocktail hour. The only issue I see is that the aquarium was very crowded today with visitors and the aquarium is open to the public until 9pm so I'm not sure how enjoyable our nice ceremony and reception will be with a bunch of kids and families running around. After I was done looking at the facility the coordinator gave me a wrist b and to look around and validated my parking. I saw Crappies, sting rays, jelly fish, frogs, turtles, sharks, Nemos, mermaids, and even some tigers!  I was in the aquarium for about 20 minutes and went to The Wharf, The Desert, The Rainforest, and The Beach, to name a ...

We watched a movie entitled  50/50  with Joseph Gordon-Levitt  and  Seth Rogen, that came out on September 21, 2011. It is a comedy-drama film written by Will Reiser that is loosely inspired by Reiser's own experience with cancer. Adam Lerner has a pretty great life - a talented girlfriend and a cool job. But when Adam discovers he has a rare and possibly fatal form of cancer (schwannoma neurofibrosarcoma in his spine), his entire life turns to chaos. His best friend uses Adam's condition to get girls, his overbearing mother loses sight of him in her own fears, and his inexperienced therapist struggles to keep up with the needs of her 3rd client ever. The movie is about his subsequent struggle to beat the disease. The film was nominated for 2 awards at the 69th Golden Globe Awards. Levitt received a nomination for Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) and the film itself was nominated for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy). I thought it was a good movie with serious d...

I went to The Tavern in Wash Park with a couple classmates for happy hour tonight. It is a neighborhood bar with food and drink and in multiple locations in the Denver area. The company was the brainchild of Frank Schultz and his mother and step-father Terry and Al Papay. There are 7 Taverns in the area each with its own flavor and personality. They have happy hour Monday to Friday 2-7pm with 2-for-1 Well Drinks, House Wine, and Domestic Draft Beers. I enjoyed 2-for-1 Fox Brook White Zinfindels for $5.75. Fox Brook is made in California with aromas of strawberries, raspberries and fresh peach, and 11% alcohol. The wine was ok for a white zin. 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 yesterday (Wed 7/18/12). After our northwest vacation, we wanted to take 1 more vacation day before going back to work so instead of sitting around and relaxing we went to Water World in 1 of Denver's suburbs. Water World claims to be 1of America's largest family water parks as it sits on 64 acres. They opened in 1979 with the first 2 water slides in the state of Colorado and now boast over 46 water adventures. They have been rated as 1 of America's top 10 water parks by the Travel Channel. It was a good park and fun day but I beg to differ about the largest and top 10. I enjoyed Mountain Creek Waterpark in NJ and Blizzard Beach Water Park in FL much better. We did a Mid-Day at Water World from 1:45-6:00pm for $21.99 + tax. We rode Revolution, Skyline Speed Slides, Turbo Racer, Mile High Flyer, Prank Tank, Thunder River, Voyage to the Center of the Earth, and Storm. ...

I was on vacation so I didn't have time to post the last few nights, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 1 day ago   (Tues 7/17/12).   We were in the northwest in the Washington State area for a few days so Matt and my 2 Chicago friends were in Seattle and up the Space Needle yesterday. The Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington and is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over 2.3 million visitors in all for the World Fair. The Space Needle is 605 feet high at its highest point and 138 feet wide at its widest point and weighs 9,550 tons. It is built to withstand winds of up to 200 mph and earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitude. The tower also has 25 lightning rods on its roof to prevent lightning damage. The Space Needle features an observation deck at 520 feet, and a gift shop with the rotating SkyCity resta...

I was on vacation so I didn't have time to post the last few nights, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 2 days ago   (Mon 7/16/12).   We were in the northwest in the Washington State area for a few days so Matt and my 2 Chicago friends went from Seattle to Canada, then back to Seattle WA. First, we drove about 3 hour from Vancouver south to through border patrol and to Seattle . Then we checked in our hotel and w ent to Ivar's Original Acres of Clams for dinner. Ivar’s is Seattle’s most historic full service seafood restaurant is poised on Seattle’s colorful waterfront at Pier 54 that has been a tradition since 1938. This restaurant has a wharf-like feel which showcases stellar waterfront views of Washington State ferries, Fire Station #3’s waterside operations, and Puget Sound. We ordered 2 cups of Ivar’s Famous Clam Chowder $10 (Northwest style white clam chowder with a smoky hint of bacon and red clam chowder), 6 Fresh Oyster Shooters $8, and ...

I was on vacation so I didn't have time to post the last few nights, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 3 days ago  (Sun 7/15/12).   We were in the northwest in the Washington State area for a few days so Matt and my 2 Chicago friends drove up to Canada for the day. We went to Vancouver  British Columbia.  First, we drove about 1 hour from the Bellingham WA north to through border patrol and to Vancouver . Then we walked around our hotel area in the Yaletown area for a bit to have some lu nch on a patio with some live street music. Next we went to Stanley Park for some great views of the city and some cricket watching. Then we drove up to North Vancouver to Capilano Suspension Bridge . This is a suspension bridge built in 1889 crossing the Capilano River that is 446 feet long and 230 feet above the river. The original bridge was constructed of hemp rope and cedar planks, today's bridge is made of reinforced steel safely anchored in 118 tons of ...

I was on vacation so I didn't have time to post the last few nights, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 4 days ago (Sat 7/14/12).   We were in the northwest in the Washington State area for a few days so Matt and my 2 Chicago friends went to San Juan Islands all day on Saturday. First, we drove about 2 hours from the airport north to the Anacortes and took the Washington State Ferry ($12.45 RT/person) to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands . Then we walked around the town for a bit before our reserved tour with Western Prince Whale & Wildlife Tours ($79.00/person). We boarded the Western Prince II at 2:00pm. The tour says you will breathe the fresh island air, take in the scenery, and experience the seeing of Orca (Killer) Whales, Bald Eagles, Porpoises, Seals, Sea Birds, and Sea Lions in their natural environment. It was about a 1 hour boat ride out to where the whales swim, 1 hour to whale watch, and 1 hour boat ride back on the 46' Western Princ...

Since I'm training for my 1st (and last) marathon, I'm getting up into higher mileage and need to drink more water and take nutrition. Therefore, I bought a FuelBelt Sprint Palm Holder in dragonfruit (pink) this week at Runner's Roost for $12 + tax. It holds 10 oz of water with an adjustable hand strap and zip pocket (great for small items). It is available in a variety of colors such as dragonfruit, hawaiian punch, the brazilian, black, wild berry, arctic blue, hibiscus pink, kiwi green, surf blue, tangerine. It was a good item to buy for a long run. I recommend putting ice cubes in it because the water became very warm during my run. I used it today during my attempted 13 mile run. I say attempted because I left my apartment at 2:30pm when it was sunny and 92F. I made it to about 6 miles before stopping to walk. Then I ran about 1.5 miles, then walked 0.5 miles. Then ran about 1 mile, then walked 1 mile. I was so hot, tired, and dehydrated that I couldn't run ...

I wanted to see what Halfbrick Studios ' Fruit Ninja app was all about so I downloaded the game to my Razr to check it out. Halfbrick was founded in 2001 in the Australian game development industry. Fruit Ninja is a popular puzzle game where you swipe your finger across the screen to slash and splatter fruit like a true ninja warrior. There are different single and multiplayer modes. It hit a record-breaking 300 million iPhone downloads. It hopes that the game could yet become the most popular smartphone puzzle app in history. I played it a few times and it is moderately fun for me. Angry Birds is still more exciting to me!   What did you do today?

According to Deb Stanley from Debbie's Deal on ABC 7 News , today is 7-Eleven 's 85th Birthday. To celebrate, they were giving away free 7 oz Slurpees from 11am- 7pm. 7-Eleven's story can be traced back to 1927, when Southland Ice Company employee Joe C. Thompson started selling milk, eggs, and bread out of an ice house. Thompson became so successful that he bought the entire company, keeping his stores open from 7am to 11pm. By 1952, he'd opened 100 stores under the 7-Eleven brand. As of 1991, the company has been run by Japanese group Seven & I Holdings Co. with more than 46,000 stores in 16 countries. There was a big Slurpee machine on the left with about 8 flavors and a small SlurpeeLite machine on the right with 2 flavors. I tried a Fanta Sugar-Free Mango SlurpeeLite. It was ok (sorry I'm a water drinker).   What did you do today?

I enjoy a good bagel every so often from Einstein Bros Bagels , so I 'Joined the Club.' They emailed me a coupon for a free bagel and schmear with purchase of a drink. I went to Einsteins this morning and got an Asiago Cheese Bagel with Jalapeno Salsa Schmear. I couldn't really decided on a beverage because I like frozen/blended coffees but I wanted it light with skim milk and less sugars. They didn't have this option so I requested them to take their Skinny Vanilla Latte and blend it. They warned me it wouldn't come out that good and they were right. Oh well, at least I got my bagel and schmear!   What did you do today?

Matt bought a Philips Norelco G370 Grooming System at T arget yesterday. It is an all-in-one grooming kit for face and hair that includes a flexing guide comb, 9 locking length settings vary cutting length, full-size facial hair trimmer, mini shaver, hair clipper with 9 locking length settings, beard and moustache trimmer with 9 locking length settings, nose, ear and eyebrow trimmer, rechargeable cordless for trimming without a cord, cleaning brush, grooming comb, and pouch. I believe the kit was only $13.99. I was forced to try to cut Matt's hair. I attempted to cut hair today at the 4 setting and failed miserably. Actually, it wasn't that bad, just a couple shorter sports. Matt will be going to Great Clips tomorrow morning. I think I need to watch a YouTube how-to video 1st before attempting to cut hair again. What did you do today?

We received a $50 gift card to Bed Bath & Beyond at our engagement party at Wash Park a few weeks ago so we did some shopping today. We bought Cole & Mason 505 Clear Acrylic Salt & Pepper Mills for $9.99 a piece. These mills are inspired by round acrylic doorknobs at a dinner party, made using a high quality crystal clear acrylic. The precision mills came pre-filled (half-full really) that promotes precision grinding and ensures hard-wearing properties, maintaining the ultimate in performance. The spring loaded mechanism allows easy adjustment of grind settings from fine to coarse ensuring more grinds per turn, therefore consistently releasing optimum flavor. I've owned cheap McCormick salt & pepper shakers in the past but these are my 1st grinders and I'm sure they will taste wonderfully on all my home-cooked meals. 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 yesterday (Sat 7/7/12). Some friends of ours were going to Chatfield State Park on Saturday so we met them there as well. Chatfield State Park is a state park established in 1975, located in Douglas and Jefferson counties of Colorado. It offers boating in the lake, bicycling or hiking on a trail, scenic views of the neighboring foothills and Platte River valley, camping, horse riding, and model airplane flying. There is a fee of $8 per car for a Daily State Parks Pass required for all motor vehicles entering the park. We met our friends at 1:30pm on the northeast side in the dog training area where you can let your dog run off its leash and swim in the pond. Then we drove down to the west side to set up our site with chairs, games, drinks, and snacks. We set up for about 15 minutes when it began to downpour and we quickly ran to our cars. That was my 1st time to Chatfield State ...

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a day late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 7/6/12). We watched a movie entitled Moneyball with Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Robin Wright, that came out on September 23, 2011. It is a biographical sports drama film that is based on Michael Lewis 's 2003 book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game , an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane 's (would-be baseball superstar) attempts to assemble a competitive team. Heading into the 2002 season, Beane faces a situation where his small-market Oakland A's have lost their 3 star players to big market clubs (and their enormous salaries) and is left to rebuild his team and compete with a 3rd of their payroll. Beane takes on the system by challenging the fundamental tenants of the game. He looks outside of baseball, to the dismissed theories of Bill James, and hires P...

I wore a couple pair of Reebok shoes that I received today. I wore Women's Reebok CrossFit Nano 2.0 in Vitamin C color. These shoes were developed in partnership with CrossFit athletes. It is a performance shoe and training shoe for women. CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide. The shoe is fl exible (lattice frame upper reduces weight), breathable (mesh upper for ventilation), and durable (DuraGrip toe cap). The special inner lining is designed to minimize abrasion and keep your feet cool. The CrossFit Nano also has a lower to the ground feel, along with a wider toe box. Sells online at Reebok.com for $109.99. I also wore Women's Reebok ZigNano Fly II in White/Silver/Grey/Pink color. It is a running shoe with minimalist construction that features reduced layers to minimize weight...