01.31.14

Nacho Cupcakes
Today our Specials Team hosted the monthly "Friday Treats" at school today. Back in August, when we chose this date and decided on our Tailgating - Super Bowl theme, we were all very hopeful that our home team would be in the big game!! Being able to have a Bronco-themed day was AWESOME!!

The team put together a great spread of food...chips & dips, Lil' Smokies, meatballs, pulled pork, chili, Bronco cookies, and the nacho cupcakes! The cupcakes were a big hit and they were so fun to make! (They were Pinterest inspired of course!) Here were the ingredients:

• chocolate fudge cupcake
• yellow frosting (cheese)
• strawberry preserves (salsa)
• Sour Punch Bites (jalapenos)
• sugar-cinnamon tortillas (chips)

01.30.14

Is it Friday Yet!?!?!
I have no idea why, but this has been one of the longest weeks EVER!! We were sitting at lunch yesterday commenting how it felt like a Saturday and we were at work! So to this I say...how can you really have a Moscow Mule without a copper cup!?!

01.29.14

Friday Treats
Our specials team is in charge of "Friday Treats" this week. Started working on my cupcake creations tonight. This is one of the toppings...anxious to see how they turn out!

01.28.14

Homemade Smashburgers...Again
I would say that this smashburger photo is much more appetizing than the one I posted a few days ago. We have learned that the meat with a higher fat-content makes a better burger. The one bummer tonight...no bacon. :(

01.27.14

Double Post
First, I have to say, "Happy Birthday!" to my favorite father in the world...okay, he's my only father. ;) I had to get that in since I know he will probably be reading this!

Second, for today's pic I want to say: "SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!" I know that there is NO chance of even a delay for tomorrow, but a girl can dream!! I am just so ready for some REAL SNOW!!!

01.26.14

Family Dinner
Tonight was the first family dinner of 2014 and we were the hosts. This year's theme is "Countries Around the World" with the host choosing the country/region. To kick things off, we went with Mexico.

On the menu:
Ham & Goat Cheese Empanadillas (pictured)
Fish & Red Sauce Chicken Tacos
Homemade Corn Tortillas
Homemade Sweet Corn Tamales
Three different homemade salsas: mango, avocado/cucumber & avocado green chili
Mexican Chocolate Cheesecake
And of course lime-tequilla shooters (pictured), Cerveza and Fresh Lime Margaritas!

01.25.14

Homemade Smashburger
With the new cast iron, Chad ventured into smashburgers. The first attempt made some yummy burgers!!

01.24.13

Friday Night Drinks

Well, I was going to go with "Down and slightly-dirty" ;) tonight, but decided to make my first Friday night drink another new one...Lemon Cream Pie.

For my "office peep" Kanoi, here's the recipe:

1oz cake vodka

1/2oz whipped vodka

3/4oz Amaretto

1 1/2oz lemon juice

3/4oz simple syrup

Crushed graham crackers for the rim.

ENJOY!!

01.23.14

To Do...
Well, it was on my list a couple of weeks ago and I FINALLY began today...updating the 180 student iPads at school. At this point I can't commit to Apple Configurator, so the new iOS and app updates are being done by hand. Probably not my wisest choice...oh well!! One thing I've learned is to never get too attached to anything because it is always changing!!

01.22.14

No Wireless
Well, it makes my job very tough when we don't have wireless...I take 30 laptops that I take into the classrooms to work with students. I guess there's always tomorrow!

01.21.14

Laundry...Again

What a difference a day makes!

01.20.14

Laundry

Well, this is just a fraction of what I need to fold. I wish that 68% "green" would make an appearance and take care of it for me!!

01.19.14

Quad Box
Well, there was NO way I could stick with one photo, let alone two photos today!!! In honor of our Denver Broncos winning the AFC Championship game and in remembrance of the NFL RedZone (Yes, they will be back next year, I just miss watching all the games.) I decided to make today a Quad Box!!


We've got:

• Orange & Blue Cupcakes
• Pig Shots - that's right, Pig Shots!! (kielbasa, jalapeno, cream cheese, chilies, and bacon!) Thanks to my sister & brother-in-law! #davesbiggreenegg
• Peyton holding the AFC Championship trophy. AND....
• The few clouds that showed up in the north for an ORANGE & BLUE SUNSET!! As some of you know, I was missing them last night. :)

01.18.14

Truffles??

Well, I made some yummy Oreo Truffles last month. Got a new package tonight...truffles or glass of milk??

01.17.14

Date Night

We enjoyed dinner at Zink Kitchen + Bar in DTC tonight. This was a restaurant we discovered during Restaurant Week a few years ago. This was always a place we wanted to visit on a "regular" night, and after purchasing an Amazon Local deal we did just that. I was able to enjoy my first kale chip tonight! Not too bad...but you ABSOLUTELY need someone to check your teeth after eating them! ;) Today I also had a wonderful surprise in my car...loved the rose!

United in Orange
Today was another two pic day! The restaurant we went to tonight is located on Orchard. There are three office building located right at Orchard and I-25. The buildings are usually lit up pink in October for breast cancer awareness. The are currently decked out in orange and blue for the Bronco's AFC Championship game on Sunday...pretty cool!

01.16.14

Rubber Duckies
The 5th grade fundraiser was a huge hit with students! Only one more round of sales. Just for fun...leave a comment as to which duck in the pic you think I purchased. Sorry...no prize! ;)

01.15.14

Yummy Little Cookie
I was at the grocery store tonight and passed the Biscoff cookies. I realized that I've only bought them a few times and usually select a different type of cookie. But, I get so excited when they are served on an airplane. Weird.

01.14.14

Reef Cam & Dinner
(Sorry, I had to post two topics today...I liked my burger photo.)

Over the weekend I discovered the "reef cam" at my favorite Grand Cayman resort, Ocean Frontiers. They've always had their office cam that looks over the boat docs, but the reef cam is very cool!! Every now and then they will rotate the camera for a different view. Today I finally remembered to look at it during the day!! It's a great little time-out or way to get an "ocean fix." This is just a screenshot I took today. Here's a link to the cams.


Dinner

Tonight's dinner was a yummy turkey burger. Toppings included: ketchup, mustard, onion, pickles, lettuce, jalapeno, avocado, and BACON!

01.13.13

To Do!

Well, I was VERY efficient on Friday and made my "To Do" list for this week. One day in, I'm already half way done with it...yea!! I even managed to get several other things done today that weren't on the list. The items left are some "big ticket" items, so I'm hopeful to get them done by Friday...we'll see!

01.12.14

All Tucked InSo this is something I can't figure out...I don't set my alarm on the weekends, but I just naturally wake up around 6:00 or 6:30. On the weekday, with my alarm set I can't get up!?! Anyway, today I was up early with no alarm, but I just couldn't crawl out from under my cozy, warm sheets. Plans for today: put away all of the Christmas decor before watching the San Diego Chargers get a good beating!! GO BRONCOS!

01.11.14

RV Show
Took a field trip on the train (AKA light rail) to the Colorado RV Adventure Travel Show. Originally it was going to be my dad, nephew and I, but my brother-in-law and other nephew decided to join us. We found all sorts of fun RVs!! I'm always joking that I need an "auntie" camper...here are pics of my two favorites. :)

01.10.14

Cinna-Sugar Twist

After some conversation with my favorite office ladies, decided to give this flavor a try. Made the Cinnamon Snap: 1.5oz Cinna-Sugar Twist Vodka, 3oz Limeade, 2oz. ginger beer. Only put the vodka and limeade in your shaker.

I also made my own limeade (juice of 1 lime, 2TBSP + 2TSP sugar, & 2 C water.)

Turned out pretty good. I almost think it would make a better summer drink.

Also, for my Castle Rock peeps...you can find the ginger beer at Bubbles - far northeast corner near the other non-alcoholic beverages.

01.09.14

Aurora Borealis

They are predicting that we will be able to see the Aurora Borealis tonight. Trying to decide if I want to make the late night/early morning field trip east and/or north to get away from the city lights.

01.08.14

Music
Walked through the front office this morning and just thought this was funny. Not sure what the official name is for a "herd" of instruments. I think some of the cases are large enough to house a kindergarten student.

01.07.14

Spreading Kind Words

Today "The Friends for Change" (a group of 3-5 graders at my school) created sticky notes to hang all around the school. Each of the notes contained short, positive messages to spread kind words.

01.06.14

An Old "Friend"

After traveling for Christmas, being sick for nearly a week, and just feeling like not working out...I decided today was the day to get reacquainted with an old "friend".

01.05.14

Untouched
Loved the perfect snow covering the green. (2nd hole at Red Ridge Golf Course.)

01.04.14

Snow!!

A few nights ago on Flipboard, I came across some AMAZING snowflake photographs. (Scroll down past the camera pics to see the snowflakes.) I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use my new camera. I used my Canon Powershot and followed Alexey's technique. After all the prep and excitement, you can see the results. When starting out today, I knew there was ABSOLUTELY NO chance of getting any photos like the ones I found. I quickly learned that my equipment was no where close to what I need for a decent snowflake shot. Oh well...still had fun and loved seeing the different shapes. Now I know what lens I need next! (Might have to get a second job to afford it though.)

01.03.14

Photo Walk & "Beauty" Before the Storm

For Christmas Chad gave me a WONDERFUL gift...a Canon EOS 70D. Alex, my brother-in-law, got me a training DVD & book. After watching some of the video I was inspired to take a walk around downtown Castle Rock. (I've lived here for nearly 10 years...have never thought about doing this.) One thing I was reminded of real quickly is that the winter atmosphere SUCKS!! I didn't get any award winning photos, but a couple that I like. Here's one of The Rock and the Castle Cafe sign. (This used to be the gathering place for quarry workers, ranchers and travelers during the 1890's.) I plan on doing a little experimenting with the color to enhance the sign...will post what I do on a later date.







Later in the evening there was a great "glow" outside. I managed to get these cloud photos. The first one is facing north and the second was looking south, just about 15 minutes later. My only regret was that I didn't have a better foreground for the second one. ;)

01.02.14

Electronic Cleaning

I managed to get my email cleaned out today. I came across some fun photos and recipes (saved pre-Pinterest).

01.01.14

New Beginnings

Well, here we are again...New Year's Day. A day we all eat healthy, workout, clean the house, make some resolutions, get a couple new subscriptions, etc. Reflecting, I managed to get a whole SIX posts here last year! The sad thing is there have been a number of times that I search through the blog looking for certain events/photos. I've come to realize that I really enjoy looking back at previous posts. So...I resolve to more than 6 posts in 2014!

I couldn't decide between two photos, so I decided to post them both. This was the sunrise at my parent's farm in Burlington, Colorado the morning of Christmas Eve 2013.



The second photo was taken at least 2-3 years ago...signs of new life in the spring after a cold winter.

Something that will hopefully inspire you. Happy New Year and may 2014 bring you peace, love, joy, and happiness!!