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?