01.31.15

Moscow Mule
Had been missing this drink...hadn't had one for a while. Online today I came across the Stoli Ginger Beer and I managed to find it at the local liquor store. It was pretty good!

01.30.15

Friday Treats
The 1st grade team had Friday Treats this month. In addition to the Oreos, a "Deflate Gate" cake managed to make an appearance. Sunday's game will be that...just another game. :(

01.29.15

Friends
Had a great night with the gals from work at Sienna. Had a yummy martini!

01.28.15

The Mac
The Phillip S. Miller Center is the newest addition to Castle Rock. We've been enjoying the winter golf league there on Wednesday nights...in the simulator. With a little extra sunlight finally coming back, I got a good view of one of the zip line stands. The line is almost complete and it's supposed to be pretty cool!

01.27.15

Sun, Birthday & Broncos
We had another absolutely AMAZING day...great weather!

I had to take a pic for my dad's birthday!

Finally, the star was lit up in a variety of colors this evening...photographed the Bronco orange and blue.

01.26.15

Great Monday...Sort Of!
I received my "half-birthday" or "un-birthday" gift today...LOVED it!

Went on to PT...the dry needling wasn't so great.

Final stop was at Target. They didn't have any Red Velvet Oreos, but they had TimTams!!!

01.25.15

Family Dinner
We got what I think is our 8th year of Family Dinners underway tonight. We are going with the "Chef" theme again this year. Tonight's chef...Rocco Dispirito.

01.24.15

Bacon
Last slices of the thick-cut bacon...can only be candied bacon!

01.23.15

Bruising
My new Thursday mornings...up at 4:30 and to PT by 6:00. I didn't know that it was possible, but you can bruise a bruise. Just when it was healing, my PT decided to "re-massage" the area. As my friends said..."No pain, no gain." So yes, this is worth it considering the alternative.

01.22.15

More Snow
Had taken a pic of this same area yesterday, but figured three pics was enough for Instagram...didn't want to see to egocentric. ;)

I always love the way the snow collects around the flagstone. Caught some sun as well today. Wish we had gotten a little more for some fun this weekend. Love Colorado!

01.21.15

Snow
There was GREAT snow this morning. I wanted to just hang out in it...or take photos...but had to go to work. Lots of people loved today's snow!

Funny story from school today...a class of Kindergarten students came into the lab for their standardized testing. I was in there working at my desk and just a few minutes after they came in, I hear one little boy say, "These headphones are going to mess up my mohawk." Loved it!

01.19.15

Good News & Bad News
Starting with the good news...my PT says that I'm making progress..YEA! And my bruise is going away.

On to the bad news...I have a partial MCL tear, I'm near bone-on-bone on the right side of my right knee, and I have to give up running...not sure for how long. (Might be having more days like today...swimming at the rec center.)

Had another first at physical therapy...today it was a Cortisone patch. I guess anything can be fixed with a patch.

01.18.15

Diving

Planning has begun. Photo equipment assessment and "fixing". It wiill be a trip that pounds count!

01.17.15

Ice Spheres
Fridge is fixed...three day weekend...enough said!

01.16.15

Professional Development Day
Had a good day with colleagues at our CRT (Computer Resource Teacher) job-alike day. Worked on district initiatives and had the opportunity to play with a few tech "toys" like Sphero. Looks like I'll be working on a new PTO grant!

The fridge stopped working yesterday...my own (ice) spheres were a casualty. Had to resort to wine tonight.

01.15.16

PT
Today hurt like hell and the picture proves it! My knee issue has become secondary to a bigger issue. Today my physical therapist compared my leg to a corkscrew...not something you want to hear. All my muscles from the waist down are tighter then hell. For whatever reason, my right leg has taken on a mind of its own. My gluts, hip flexors, and quads are pulling everything in. My calves, tibia and ankles are pulling everything out...to almost a 15 degree difference...NOT good! 

So, I have been ordered to orthodics, going to PT twice a week and doing an hour of exercises/stretches each day. When I want to really complain or not do my exercises, I simply think of the possible alternative: a surgery where they would cut through my tibia, move it to the correct angle and then screw it back into my femur. Will hopefully find out more in February at the new doctor.

01.14.15

Love - Hate
Was on par for a "no sugar" day and then my fabulous Sneaky Bison left this on my desk...crap!!! You leave either of these two things anywhere for me and I'm hooked!

01.13.14

More Fog
Once again, we woke up to fog...seems like there is always more on the other side of the hill around school.

01.12.15

Frozen Playground
Today was a cold, foggy, icy day. While on playground duty before school you could feel the fog on your eyes. I also got a cool pic of the infinity circle.

01.11.15

Football is Done
Unfortunately, the Broncos' season has come to an end. Very hopeful that this is NOT the last time we see Peyton Manning walk off the field as a Denver Bronco.

01.10.14

Hair
Nothing exciting...just a haircut today. I had half of my peeps who called for bangs, the other half who said no bangs. My hair gal went for the middle and did shorter layers in the front.

01.09.15

Fog & Fun
Was up bright and early for PT this morning. It started out sunny and then some fog rolled in. 

I had stopped by Einstein's on my way home from PT from some bagels and coffee. The cup had a fun #mugmustache for selfies. We had Broncos Spirit Day, so I had to do the selfie!! :)

01.08.15

Fun With Lost & Found
Made my way up to the office this afternoon and the fun began! As I searched through the lost & found tub, I came across these two little gems. 

01.07.15

It's Wednesday & That Means Golf!
Another surprise...found this little treasure on my desk this morning. One of my favorites - thanks Wendy!!

First night of golf league tonight! We couldn't go that long without playing on Wednesday nights! Ally convinced me to join the Winter League at Castle Rock's new rec center, The MAC. We are playing on a simulator. I started out well, but then fell apart at the end. I did hit from one bunker to another and then chipped it in from the second bunker for par...wish I could do that on the real course!

01.06.15

Breakfast
Tomorrow morning's smoothie: spinach, blueberries, yogurt, and almond milk. Not pictured...my Emergen-C.

01.05.15

Sunset
Great sighting & nice surprise tonight. It was too short though!

01.04.15

No Football
How do you fill a Sunday with no football? (At least football that really doesn't matter?) Cleaning and sledding of course! Did some closet purging and organizing and then headed to the sledding hill again...this time with the Kenyon family.

01.03.15

Refill
Finally decided to make my way ALL the way to the back fence and refill the bird feeder...after which I had every finch in Castle Rock in the backyard. Just liked the character of the empty feeder covered with snow.

A few days ago when I made my first post of the new year, I forgot to do a little reflecting. Looking back on my 2014 stats, I beat my personal record for posts to this blog. I ended up with 339 posts in 2014...damn there are a lot of days in one year! ;) The thing I love the most is just going back and looking at photos from previous years. There are some pics that I don't even remember taking, but I am so glad that I did because they captured a specific moment and/or special memory. I have to say the craziest story from my blog is related to the photo I took of a construction helicopter at IKEA. The pilot of that helicopter ended up finding the photo and contacted me. I sent him a few of the other photos I had taken...it was crazy!

I look forward to keeping it going in 2015...knowing that I'm usually just writing for myself. Lurkers out there...I dare you to leave an occasional comment! You can stay anonymous, just remember to be nice! :)

01.02.15

Day of Fun
These days don't come as often anymore...a day to watch the nephews. Back when they were "little", just an FYI they are three and six, I could always count on some downtime when they took a nap...not anymore! I was the one who needed the nap.

While waiting for the pool to open, we had to get in some video games...LittleBigPlanet was the game of choice.

We then made our way to the Castle Rock Rec Center for some fun. The last time I took Matty there he had just turned two. Back then he wouldn't go down the kid's slide on his own. (Aunt Jen had to take him and then got in trouble because she was too "big".) This time he spotted the big slides and was hooked. He spent all his time there while Ryan and I hung out in the shallows playing shark. (He also had no interest in the smaller slide...guessing that will change just like his brother.) 

After a lunch of Old McDonald, we headed to the sledding hill, AKA - Red Hawk Ridge's driving range. It's the perfect spot...no rocks or crap under the snow and it's a nice long slope. We had picked up two tubes the day before, but Matty insisted on the sled from the garage. He made one run down the "regular" section of the hill and then spent the rest of the afternoon going down the section with the jump at the end. (Even impressed some of the older boys there.) As for Ryan, he got a few less runs in due to the fact that either Uncle Chad or I had to tow both our tube and him, in his tube, back up the hill. It was a great workout! 


With a couple of unhappy, very tired boys, we made our way home for some hot chocolate and popcorn.

Later in the evening, after all children were safely home with their mom and day, Aunt Jen had a little refreshment of her own! Santa knew she would get good use out of the ice spheres!

01.01.15

New Year - New Fun!
I have to start by wishing everyone a "Happy New Year!!" May 2015 be filled with love, joy and happiness!

Well, started off the New Year with a GREAT day...chocolate chip cookie for breakfast, coffee on the way to Arvada for snow tubes, SmashBurger for lunch on the way home, and then several hours of tubing on the Red Hawk Ridge Golf Course. With the snow coming down it was awesome! Looking forward to spending the day with two of my favorite little men tomorrow!

I did manage to get a photo in the AM before the afternoon storm rolled in.