Too Much Fun to Sleep

No stranger to road trips, I love being trapped in a car for hours on end with my Hunny Bear. They regularly consist of infamous amounts of singing and seat dancing, lots of hand cuddles, and discovering tiny town's quirks.

"Quirky" like this walk-in sonic that refused to use their window, and instead made us call them on a telephone attached to the middle of a table with insultingly specific instructions such as, "Read Menu First. Pick Up Receiver", next to a fake man that suspiciously looked like a very close cousin to Conan Obrien, sitting on a fake horse, standing on fake grass.........did I mention they refused to use the window? A girl actually walked away from the window we were waiting by, and came out into the diner to get our money and bring our food.

Texas is so proud of it's cattle, hoarding herds in every pasture within visible range isn't showcase enough. It's a rule that from small town to big city, fake cattle must be displayed for all to see, so everyone knows just how awesome our cows are.......

We reached our Denver destination in the wee hours of the Friday morning and little Teddy, my new sleeping partner for the next few days, proudly wasted no time taking his perch. He never once moved, not even when I rolled over on him, causing a squeaky noise to escape his tiny snout. 

After a short nap we decided, what better way to get acclimated than for a run in the mile high city???

Of course, we were quick to replenish our energy with a traditional pit stop at the Breckenridge Brewery, where we filled up on pulled pork, the most delicious wings you'll ever put in your mouth, and tasty beer. 

A Light-Rail later, and we were in downtown Denver to spice up the city and wait for Greg to get off work.

Sometimes I make funny faces when I get really exciting about things. This time it was a reaction to happy hour appetizers of Bacon Peanut Brittle and Fried Wisconsin Cheese Curds at Lucky Pie Lodo.

I hoarded the food while the boys got drunk off of water from these cool looking mason jars that I would have considered stealing had my purse been big enough. 

Before we knew it, we were at Blake Street Vault turning over our ID's for confiscation just to get our hands on a Moscow Mule in a real copper mug.

Greg gave us a tour of his fancy downtown office building and I think we handled ourselves in a very mature manner while there. After all, we were in a professional setting. It's completely normal to pose for silly pictures using the glass elevator doors while the security guard isn't looking, isn't it?......And Lindsey only got yelled at once for running around and around in the evolving front door.

I guess Denver is proud of buffalo like Texas is proud of cattle?

Probably one of the most entertaining parts of the night is when we asked this poor sap to carry all 4 of us to our destination. I'm pretty sure it started out as a joke, but I guess he needed the money pretty bad, becuase he actually said, "I'll try."

We took that has a "yes" and ran with it.........well, actually sat with it, and laughed our faces off in the wind while he worked his ass off.

I don't know how much his carriage contraption weighed, but just us 4 passengers combined was around an extra 630lbs of dead weight!!

The views were spectacular, but after a good chuckle and several blocks, we cut the ride short out of pure pity.

Once the man horse was properly tipped, it was off to Stu's house to pay a visit and celebrate his birthday.

We got all caught up on the the small things in life, met the neighbors, and had a blast with the little speed-racing-bumper-car-loving-blondie a the top of the Stu-pyramid, who's probably grown another inch just since I've taken this picture!! I'm not sure who was entertained more that night, him or us......  

One blink and the day was over, our bedtime lurking around the corner. We'd be waking up before sunrise and I was having dreams about being tired but having too much fun to sleep.

Do you sacrifice sleep on vacation or use vacation for resting?

See Ya on the Flip Side

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day. Whether you have someone in your life to "woo" or not, I thought this video might be useful........you know.......for your educational needs. 

Patrick and I will be spending our day driving to the Rockies, because..............

If you don't live freely when armored with the shield of youth and blinded by the cocky bliss of ignorance, I don't believe you ever will, especially once age starts yielding more caution onset by one's gradual yet inevitable increase in fragility, a vicious physical and mental consequence of this temporary existence we call life, proving time should not be taken for granted, forsaken for mundane priorities, or postponed for convenience. It must be wrestled with constantly, to make room for adventures and alluring excursions, challenging our spirits, in turn sustaining our strength to live long, if not in body at least in legacy. The mind may stay young for a century and cats may have 9 lives, but our bodies are damned to only a brief moment of youth. It must be embraced, embarked, explored, cherished as the fleeting moment it is, for there are no take-backs in time outside of fairy tales. 

(source)

We'll be MIA next week to do something we've never done before, with people we've mostly never met. Can't wait to meet this endeavor.

Share some love! And do something fun while I'm gone!

Enjoying Nature in it's Baldness

Not only did my legs need a little breather, but Patrick and I needed to make sure our hiking shoes were nice and comfy, so we headed out to the Oak Point Nature Preserve to enjoy some dry land before the big thunderstorms rolled in. 

I've yet to see this place in it's prime, but still think it's totally beautiful with all the bare trees hugging the winding creek. 

I'm not sure what's up with this albino tree sprouting out of the ginormous log, but love it's uniqueness. 

Does anybody else spot something like a collapsed tree laying over the span of a water and immediately have to fight the urge to see if they can cross it? It was like a free mud run was made by nature, just for me, luring me to come play. 

I'm no geologist and I'm betting you aren't either, but isn't it fascinating to see the layers of the earth? I wonder if we can just bring a couple of floaties down there this summer and let the dog run around while we chill in the peacefulness and admire this view. 

The 2 miles we covered entailed so many diversities for such a retrospectively small place nestled in the city. 

The puppies, of course, loved every minute of their adventure. 

"What will I smell if I stick my nose over here?" "What will I hear around the next bend?" "I wonder if I start running and pull really hard on my leash if those pokey humans will put some pep in their step?"

We got home just in time to clean out/organize the garage and detail the inside of both our cars under the sprinkling clouds before dark. Then I made some homemade chili, in leiu of the mild cold front, to eat with some tamales and watch movies after a pleasantly productive day. 

What's your idea of a productive Saturday?

Must Be Doing Something Right (Project Pretty Week 6)

(Project pretty is a personal commitment to share my weekly journey of keeping my non-New-Year's-Resolution: staying fit to improve quality of life while inspiring others to do the same. Let's all jump on the endorphin wagon!)

I joined a gym!
Just go ahead and add me into that post holiday statistic, I guess.....

I tried not to, but being at the Yoga Studio really reminded me of how much I love group fitness (not that I ever forgot, I was just trying to save money), and I needed another method of getting some low-impact workouts in. The good news is it's a really cheap gym, but has a lot to offer with a super laid back and friendly atmosphere! When I joined they literally said, "Welcome to the family.".........How sweet is that?

Speaking of sweet, Patrick is a little concerned. I don't know if it's because I've been letting my hair grow, the relocation to the other side of town, or glowing Project Pretty results, but I've been getting quite a few compliments lately........in the raw. I'm talking no make up, always in workout clothes, and in one particular situation, completely drenched in sweat after a long, vigorous workout.
"I just wanted to tell you, you are very beautiful," the guy says as a steady stream of sweat is dripping from my pigtails. He even tried to give me his card......until he saw my diamond and gracefully bowed out.

Although I felt amazing, I wasn't looking so hot on mine and Cristina's 4 mile hill run after work. She is a gifted beast born to sprint up hill and left me trailing in the fog with every incline, which actually turned out to be a good thing since it pushed me to run an average of 10:49min-11:09min miles (about 30-40sec faster than what I was running on flat land a few weeks ago).

The cool air and heavy fog misting in my face was probably another contributing factor; I really do love those kind of conditions......and we both loved watching all the cardinals out and about.

The downfall was developing a serious knot in one of my calve muscles that took me about 3 days to untie with lingering soreness afterwards (I'm blaming it on Shawn T's Insanity). So I took it easy and went to the beginners class for yoga again. Although I don't get a "workout" at theses mostly instructional classes, I do enjoy learning about the theory behind why we do poses the way we do, and sometimes even learn I've been doing something incorrectly. I stayed after class and got some one-to-one instruction on how to properly vinyasa from Plank-Pushup-Up Dog-Downward Dog (I've been slightly lifting up my feet and moving them to how I want them to go instead of rolling my toes) and was finally successful! I seriously felt like a million bucks, especially when some of the other beginners who stayed to watch were "Ooooo-ing" and "Ahhhhh-ing" over my accomplishment!

Jess and I finished off the week strong with a 7 mile afternoon run with......
.......wait for it........
Absolutely no route planned out. We just hit the road and winged the entire thing!

How do you make sure you're getting enough variation in your weekly workouts? Do you have a schedule, or just wing-it?

Peace Love and Happiness

At the risk of sounding dramatic, I was devastated after discovering G Love and Special Sauce was coming to town and I was scheduled to work. But as luck or skill has it, I was able to pout my bottom lip out far enough for someone to feel bad enough to switch with me so I could surprise Patrick with tickets!

The next morning I stopped by our favorite donut place, tucked the concert receipt into the donut bag, and left it in the car for him to find on the way to work. 

Granada Theater is a such a cool, grungy place, packed with art and music history. But even if you don't care about any of those things, a really great feature is the details of the floor.....especially if you weren't blessed with being the tallest tool in the box. 

From the base of the stage, continuing all the way up the balcony, the entire floor is separated into sections that are higher than each preceding section, marked by shelved partitions to lean on and rest your drinks, which also helps keep the crowd from pushing forward. The best part is no matter where you stand, it's with an unblocked view!

We arrived just in time to pick out our ideal location and listen to the opener band, Swear and Shake. Although good, I think a lot of their music was a little slow to be performing in front of a new audience, but we did love the ONE song featuring the banjo, Marbles.

Patrick stopped by their booth on the way out of the bathroom to tell them they did a good job, and the female lead held her hand out to shake his {soaking wet hands, according to him}. "Sorry," he said, "I just washed my hands." Oh. Em. Gee. How I wish I was there to see the embarrassment on his face and the shocked horror on hers!!

When G Love came out singing Peace Love and Happiness, the energy of the entire audience changed. We couldn't stop dancing and G Love's legs couldn't stop moving. He played all our favorite songs with a few new ones, and while singing "Who's Got the Weed" actually took a hit off a joint someone in the front row passed him. Please keep in mind this is TEXAS; that's what I call ballsy. 

One of my favorite parts of the night was when he killed a guitar solo by playing the tabs with the microphone during Baby's Got Sauce. 

And again when he took a beat break at the end of song to do a free-style flow with subjects from the audience......but I think the people in the front row had a little too much of.....something......because they weren't exactly full of useful phonics. 

Another one of my favorite parts was when he sent the Special Sauce off stage for an impressive acoustic session. I'll never understand, though, how so many people were talking through Gimme Some Lovin'........but then again, they probably don't have spouses that sing them that song, so they might not be so personally captivated by it. 

Okay, okay, so all of it was my favorite part, actually. His music is just such a perfect combination of blues, funk, rock, hip-hop, and generalized genius-ness that I can't help but think everyone who hasn't experienced one of his concerts is missing out, and this one was the best one yet.

I was having some major video posting issues that I'm not clever enough to solve, so you'll have to click on the links I provided to hear what I'm talking about (with the exclusion of Marbles, that's a borrowed video from another time).......and one more, because I can't help myself!

Have you heeded my suggesting yet??? If not, you should check this band out! They've been around for 20 years, so get to it already!!!

A Strange Month

I'm so glad my husband doesn't behave like the typical "man cold" victim; otherwise who would take care of me when I'm not feeling up to par?

Lets be old and talk about the crazy weather, shall we?

It's literally been warm and sunny......

Frigid and snowy.......

Medium cold and weepy......

And back to warm and sunny again..............all in a matter of days........for weeks now. 

To top it all off, the beautiful sun showed it's face every day of my working stretch while I bid it adieu at sunrise and slept until dusk, only to completely disappear behind a mask of dingy dullness for my stretch off. 

All this titter-tottering has everyone I know in a constant state of sickness, and although I haven't been stricken with anything diagnose-able, have battled a strange lethargy lasting the entire month of January. 

.......which is why I can't seem to muster the energy to put away a single pair of my shoes after removing them directing in front of the couch (the socks are on the coffee table because the dogs carry them off when I leave them on the floor, which is probably why I have so many singleton socks.....and I promise I clean the coffee table before visitors come over....if I have the energy.) 

 Oh look! Winter boots and flip flops in the same week!

It could also be contributing to my mild psychosis, which didn't seem to amuse the old veteran in front of me at Tom Thumb when I thought the two North Texas Food Bank bags sitting at the end of the conveyor belt were his and that maybe he just forgot to scoot them forward with his case of beer, so I put it all together for him, and after the cashier rang it all up, he wondered why he was purchasing food for donation. I quickly admitted to my doings and apologized, laughing about the silliness with the cashier and the person behind me......but the old veteran's face remained sternly serious and annoyed and he refused to look my direction.........ummm.....can we say, "Awkward?!?!?"......

But at least the puppies got a make-over! 

And after months of complaining about having to wear glasses all the time, Patrick FINALLY went to the eye doctor to get new contacts!!

January was a really strange month, so here's to expecting better things from February!!!

What's your most awkward grocery store story? Do you get sick when the weather is so fickle?