Fire & Ice

Good thing we fit fall into a one weekend trip to Aspen... because its already winter!  

80 degrees on Monday... 6 inches of snow & 30 degrees on Wednesday - no big deal around here I guess!  

I was a little worried about my first snow commute, but it wasn't bad at all (cross my fingers this trend continues) and the snow was so pretty falling all day.  The trees hate it though, they haven't lost their leaves so the snow is way too heavy for them! 

Here's some snapshots from our little sneak peak to winter.  It's supposed to be back up to 60's this weekend... LOVE CO! 

Transitioning into Coloradans

"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." ~ Alexander Graham Bell

Keeping this quote in mind tonight! Moving out here has given me the opportunity to take a step back and decide what I want to do next in my career life.  So what is it?  Do we ever really know what we want to be when we grow up?  I know something good is coming... I just need to be patient.
Which I'm not, so it means I need to be distracted.... which is pretty fun!

 My distractions lately include: The blog, Being tourists in CO, Trying to be more domestic, meeting new friends, and Thinking about being athletic... since moving to Colorado I've discovered that I do not fit in.  EVERYONE works out here.  Whether it is training for a trail run marathon up Pikes Peak or training for an Ironman in Mexico or Hawaii, or training for a bike ride across the entire WORLD...
EVERYONE is training for something.  

SO- now I am too! :) hahahahaha, get your laughs in now because I'm serious.  I am training (or will start training) for a Sprint Triathlon for next summer.  I'm thinking it will be the Iron Girl Boulder which just took place at the end of August 2011- so I have plenty of time to train up for my 1/4 mile swim, 17.2 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run... right?!  

www.irongirl.com

Here's what my training programs looks like so far:

Whoops!  We better get our brew tours out of the way this winter so my spring can be devoted to healthy living :)   We just discovered this little gem about a block or two from my office.

Denver Beer Co. has many different seasonal offerings- Jason's current fav is the Pumpkin Porter.  They just serve beer and pretzels.  So the fun thing is they have different food trucks pull up in the parking lot for more food options! We'll have to stop back to try their Graham Cracker Porter- Bronze Medal award winner at the Great American Beer Festival last month. 

We stopped for a beer on Friday afternoon before our trip to the Denver Aquarium.... Yes, the Aquarium. Jason's nice students gave him a coupon for free admission so we enjoyed a couple of hours gazing at the fish, sharks, and sea horses! (they were my fav).  Here's a snapshot of Jason's new BFF and me in the Shark cage.  

After our flashback to childhood we stopped at Forest Room 5 in the Highlands for a continuation of happy hour and a quick bite to eat.  Love this place!  It is just a little corner restaurant with everything outdoor themed... including the sink- check out my snapshot from the bathroom.

We found a nice spot outside next to one of many fire pits and surrounded by a little forest in the city.  I tried the Forest Cider and we split Chicken Tacos & Truffled French Fries.... yum!
Inside people were checking out the STAG event.  It's a singles social gathering.  Little did I know it was sponsored by the Denver Public Library- Clever right?!

www.denverlibrary.org

Jason has been treating me to dinners this week so I don't have any recipes to share- I'm sorry! (are any of you trying out the yummy recipes I've been sharing anyway??).  Jason's on a roll with this fab meal plan: Yesterday mozzarella chicken for lunch, clam chowder for dinner, and cheese ravioli with pesto marinara sauce for dinner tonight.  I tried to talk him into taking pictures and "guest blogging" but he wasn't into it.  Maybe next time!

Now- on to research triathlon training plans... or maybe I should start with a 5K training plan?  I'm back to my 1 mile run around the block... barely!  Here's to fitting into my new athletic life style!

We'll see how long it lasts since we're supposed to get EIGHT (8) YES 8! Inches of Snow on Wednesday!  It was 80 Degrees today and is supposed be 70's this weekend.
Weird.  But Love it. 

Golden Days

This weekend we took our first hike with fellow new Coloradans the future Mr. & Mrs. Scotty L. :) (We'll see if I get any comments from posting that!)

We met up in Golden, CO to make the drive to Golden Gate Canyon State Park for a Sunday afternoon hike.  There were only a few hiccups along the way- like... agreeing to meet at Starbucks but going to two different Starbucks locations on Washington Avenue.  Who knew that Golden, CO could have TWO Starbucks on the SAME street?!

Once we made it up to the park we immediately decided we should have brought camping equipment and made use of the camp sites!  But- it's getting cold at night (there was snow on the trail) so we'll add this to our "To Do" list for next summer.  Here's some highlights from the trail...

The second (almost) miss of the day would have been turning around before this beautiful Panoramic Point.  We really need to learn how to read trail maps.  I mean, really, we almost turned around probably 500 feet from the trail stop where we took these pics.  But, we made it...and we made it back to the car safe and sound before dusk.

After the hike we headed back into downtown Golden for a brew.  Scott & Ash recommended this place- Golden City Brewery.  Known as the 2nd largest brewery in Golden :) 

It's in a neighborhood and is required to close at 6:30pm for being in a residential zone!  So, we showed up at about 6:15 and had time to grab one brew and the end of this fabulous local band for some live music.

This place totally reminded me of Chris P.  There was a lot of grandma/cowboy dancin'!

We missed the chili cookoff and the rest of the mini-festival... so we're going to have to plug into the local event calendar before our next visit.

I did get to enjoy their Pumpkin Ale- ummm yum!  It came with cinnamon/nutmeg sprinkled on top.  Definitely the best beer choice of the night if I do say so myself.

Such a good way to wrap up the weekend! 

Here's a little sneek peak to a dinner party at Kar & Abe's....

Yep - McD's hot fudge sundaes, compliments of none other than the future Mr. and Ms. Scott L. They really do know how to contribute to a classy dinner party!

Visit to the Windy City

So our trip to the windy city - wasn't windy... it was BEAUTIFUL!  We were able to escape the snow in the forecast for Highlands Ranch (they got an inch or two while we were gone, and thank goodness it had melted by our return, I'm NOT ready for snow.... even though it is gorgeous on the mountains)

Thank you Chicago for a weekend filled with sunshine and 70 degrees! 

 

The real reason we were there was for Jason to run a marathon... that's right... 26.2 miles- at one time!  I mean, I can't even make it 2 miles around the block... and YES I am still blaming it on the elevation. 

Jason's family was able to make it to Chi to cheer him on as well.  Elise and I chased him around the route and were able to cheer him on at FOUR locations.  Mile 13, Mile 17, Mile 20 and Mile 25--- I was worn out at the end :)

Here's a couple of highlights from the weekend... starting with this AWESOME sign I made for him to wake up to.  Followed by a LOT of running.  And finally some CELEBRATING!

 Still going.....

 

and DONE!  Woot!

After the marathon, Jason and I headed back to lounge with Katie and dig into some Chicago Deep Dish pizza and Keeping Up with the Kardashians (what was up this that wedding special anyway?! the actual wedding wasn't even in part 1! ugh.)

 Monday was filled with everything Chicago.  I don't know how Jason made it around town all day- I mean I can barely walk or sit down as a result of ONE Body Pump class last night. 

The day started with uhh- yum! breakfast at the West Egg Cafe.  On the menu- Bacado Omelette and Avocado Eggs Benedict.

Followed by tour la city... Hello Bean!

 
and to the Signature Room.  95th Floor of the John Hancock Building

 
and then off to this little patio bistro along the river on the way back to pick up our luggage from the FABULOUS Katie I who hosted us for the weekend.  (Thanks for taking such great care of us!)
This place was a little hidden gem with 1/2 price bottles of wine on Mondays.

 
And so concludes our whirlwind weekend to Chicago.  We're still not used to returning to Denver as home.  DIA is just not the same as walking into MLI or CID and walking straight to your car and the 10 min drive home.  Now it includes a shuttle ride to the car, pay for parking, pick up Hubble, and then still 30-45 minutes til we get home.    The prices on our airline tickets totally make up for everything else though... sooo much cheaper!  :) aww, city livin'.

Catch Up

So I've been slacking on the blog the past couple of weeks so I owe you a couple of posts over the next few days.  Since my last post we have visited chicago, been on a couple of hiking trips, cooked lots of yummy recipes and... Jason has run a marathon!  Woohoo! 

Here's a sneak peak of our latest life adventures... stay tuned!

Done! Congrats J!  

Celebrating in Chicago

Hike in Golden, CO

I'll leave you with my latest recipe.  I added a few adjustments to the version I made the other day, so I'm anxious to re-try it in a couple of weeks (I just needed to cook the veggies a little longer, and you might want to add some salt and pepper).  If you get a chance to try it- let me know whatcha think.

Welcome fall comfort food!

Super Easy Chicken Pot Pie
2 cans condensed reduced-fat reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup fat-free (skim) milk
1 bag Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen mixed vegetables
2  cut-up cooked chicken breast
1 cup Bisquick Heart Smart® mix
1/2 cup fat-free (skim) milk
1 egg

On the morning of, cook chicken breasts in slow cooker with italian dressing and water (enough to cover chicken) on low for 7-8 hours. 

When you get home, drain the chicken - it will be cooked through and should just fall apart into pieces for your pot pie mixture.

Heat oven to 400°F. In ungreased casserole, stir together soup and 1/2 cup milk; stir in steamed vegetables and then chicken. Microwave uncovered on High 3 minutes; stir.                                

In a separate small bowl, stir remaining ingredients (1 cup Bisquick, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1 egg) until blended. Pour over chicken mixture.

Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Gold Rush!

Living in Colorado definitely has its perks.... like beautiful mountain weekend destinations! Jason and I drove up to Aspen for a weekend vaca.  It was a last minute decision, but totally worth the drive. 

The fall colors were so So SO pretty! 

On the drive up....

 Super cute Aspen Farmer's Market...

Shopping and Strolling around town...

Lunch on the patio at JUNK... mmm....Tacos

Hubble LOVED that he got to stay at the hotel with us.  So Spoiled...  

Hike to the Maroon Bells on Sunday... GORGEOUS! 

I think I could make a trip here every fall.