Christmas in Charleston

Hi everyone!! I made it to Charleston from Denver - with no planes flying off the DIA runways, thank god. Anyway, I'm actually excited to be back in the office atomsphere and seeing my friends and collegaues face-to-face. Everyone looks great of course. So, I'll be here until Sunday, 12/28, and back in Denver for the week of the 29th - where I'm hoping to get in a couple of ski days and back in Charleston Jaunary 4th for a week of training. So, if I miss you this week, plan on cocktails for the week of the 5th. Hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas and talk to/see you soon!

Thanksgiving, the zoo, and snowboarding

Hi everyone! So, I've been a little lax in updating this, I know, but things have been busy - in a good way with work and going out. It's cold as hell here (wait, that doesn't make sense but you know what I mean. It's snowing right now and with the wind chill it's 0 degrees - crazy).

Thanksgiving was spent in Denver. Went to Lindsay and Jeff's house and had a great time (not as good of a time if I had been home but still good times). Word to the wise - when you cook at higher altitudes, it takes much longer to cook a turkey and the sides! But it was still a great meal!

Then, Chris and I hit the zoo on Friday. It's an awesome zoo with lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my.

Tuesday Lindsay and I kicked it over to A-basin - a ski mountain here - and I had my first snowboarding lesson. It was awesome!! I loved it and can't wait until I can get down a run without falling on my ass! Not going to lie, still sore right now! Lindsay did a skiing lesson and rocked it out as well so I anticipate great times on the slopes this winter! This is one of the reasons I moved out here so I'm so glad that I'm looking forward to snowboarding.

For my Charleston people, I'll be in town on the 22nd, leaving the 28th but back again on January 5th for Blackbaud training so I'll make sure I'll see of y'all then that I'll miss during Christmas. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Love y'all!

(and oh, the highlight of last weekend of course was beating USC on Saturday! Go Tigers!!!)

Mid-November update

Hi everyone! I know all you BB peeps are busy with the conference right now but wanted to touch base. Finally got the cast off! I have to do some exercises to get it ready for all the falls I will be taking snowboarding this winter but that's okay. My first lesson is in a couple of weeks.

Just been super busy with work and trying to catch up on fun on the weekends. Had to fly off to Chicago Friday for an onsite. Then, Chris and I attempted to see Cowboy Mouth Saturday night but they didn't start until 11pm - and we all know I'm more of a happy hour girl than a late-night concert goer. Oh well.

This weekend, we are going to see Warren Miller's Children of Winter movie. No worries if you have no idea who Mr. Miller is - I didn't either until I got out here. He is a big-time ski movie producer guy. Should be good stuff and a good motivator for getting out on the slopes.

I'll touch base with y'all after Thanksgiving. I am spending it here with the Chastains (that's "my friend Lindsay" to some of y'all) and looking forward to it - but will miss Mom's turkey and mashed potatoes! Until then...

Warren Miller movie:

Halloween

Hey guys! This will be short as my eyes are about to bug out of my head because I've been staring at my laptop for the past 12 hours working. However, knew some people could be anxious about the Halloween pictures. So - the guy I was out with was Dog, the Bounty Hunter... what else could I possibly be then... the roll of paper towels he hunted, ie - Bounty. Dawn helped me put together and it was pretty awesome if I do say so myself...

The couple with us are from Charleston too! Rock on with the South representing in the Rockies. They went as Billy Idol and White Wedding - awesome.

And then, here are "my friends Jeff and Lindsay" as the peeps in Charleston know them. They are a stunning rendition of June and Johnny Cash, don't you think?

All in all, a great Halloween. An even better Saturday as we all got together again to watch Clemson, USC (Linds went there), and play CatchPhrase.

Sunday was a beautiful day and spent at Mile High watching the Broncos lose. It was fun and I think I actually got some Vitamin D back in my life.

It hasn't snowed yet - but I hear it's going to snow in the mountains tonight and the ski resorts will start opening up this weekend. I've got my Epic Pass ready and ready to roll.

That's about it for now. Getting the cast off Thursday! Whoo-hoo - will finally be able to open up screw top jars.

Hope that ladies out there have a good girl's night tomorrow and drink a cocktail for me.

Until later...

Denver Gorilla Run!

The moment I've been waiting for since I made the decision to move to Denver finally arrived - the Denver Gorilla Run! Dawn and I were "beauty pagent" gorillas complete with tiaras and sashes. The race was 3.5 miles and over 700 gorillas participated. Gorillas were dressed up as basketball players, Hawaiian girls, businessmen, etc... Good times all around! We fast jogged it for most of the way - I definitely slowed Dawn down but kudos to her, she stayed with me. Not to be a pansy but my wrist was aching near the end so that's what I'm going to blame for us not getting under 30 minutes. Which by the way, I get the cast off Nov. 6th. Can't wait! I've had to cover it with duct tape from all the crap I've spilled on it! I know - gross.

So, next up - Halloween! I'll probably go as my stand-by, the Magic 8-ball, but there's a possibility I'll go as a roll of paper towels - long story and will explain if it happens. Saturday will be spent trying to forget another Clemson loss I'm sure and Sunday I'm hitting the Broncos game.

Hope everyone has a great week and talk to you later!

Great American Beer Festival!

Hey peeps! Sorry it's been a while. It's just been work, work, work for me (someone forward this to C-Sak please...). However, I did manage to make it out to the Great American Beer Festival. And yes, it's listed in the book "1000 Things To Do Before You Die".
After waiting in a 30-minute line that wrapped around the convention center in the freezing cold, we entered beer paradise. The breakdown is below:

Beer Vendors: 1800
Beer that was sampled that literally tasted like urine: 3
Awesome stouts sampled: couldn't keep track
Guys dressed in literal kegs held up by suspenders: 3
Time of seeing first guy get carried out by the cops: 7:18pm (it started at 5:30)
Hilarious guys in pink leisure suits that I talked to while waiting for bathroom: 2
Times we heard "OH-H-H-H-H" whenever someone dropped their "sampling" glass: 276
Philly cheesesteaks that I demolished afterwards: 1

Good times fo' sure! It's happening all over again on September 24th, 2009 - go ahead and mark it on the calendar now.

On another note, one of the ski mountains is opening up tomorrow - they make their own snow although it almost snowed here Saturday night. Crazy! I have NO clothes. I need to go shopping asap. My flip-flops are not going to cut it anymore.

So, this week is Avs game Thursday night and an 80s ski party Friday night - check it out! http://www.80sskiparty.com/. I just need some leg warmers and an 80s headband to wear - any suggestions for me are welcome!

So, here is a picture of my cast at the beer festival. We all know I'm no Tyra Banks in the photography world and this picture was taken well into the night so I just cropped my head out :) but wanted to put up a pic of my awesome manilla vanilla cast. Take care everyone and have a great week.
C-Lo

2nd Boring Post...

Hi guys! Not much is going on but wanted to touch base. The wrist is still broken. I would like everyone to start appreciating all your appendages every day. I have to put bottles between my feet to twist off the cap and don't even get me started on trying to tie my shoes - at least it's still flip-flop weather - for today any way. The cast comes off in about 4 weeks or so, the same time it will start snowing here - crazy! I'll try to get some pictures uploaded soon.

Last weekend I ran down to a town about 2.5 hours southwest of here called Salieda. It's right on the Arkansas River and people chain up kayaks on the street just like they were mountain bikes. It's a cool, small river town.

Then had some friends come into town and had to show them the cool roof bars to watch college football. (All I 'm going to say is that I'm glad I was in a car when Clemson was playing...)

Not much going on this weekend except the Broncos game on Sunday. Definitely looking forward to the game - they play Tampa Bay.


Then NEXT weekend will be a good one - Jim Gaffigan is in town (Hot Pockets!!) and Saturday is the Great American Beer Festival.

Ok - will sign off but will upload pictures next week of the cast and GameDay pics from Invesco.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Broken wrist....

Hey guys! As most of you know (who have seen my facebook page) I broke my wrist ("fractured radius") this past Sunday. I had one or two cocktails watching the Broncos eek out another win and fell down the stairs. I'm not the most graceful gazelle anyway and slightly accident-prone so it's really no surprise. It's my left wrist so could be worst. Also, if I'm going to break something, just glad it's before ski season kicked in. However, it takes 10x longer to write out emails so this will be short. Not much has been going on any way. Have the Great American Beer Festival coming up and the Denver Gorilla Run (which yes! I'm still planning on running - well, at least walking) so those pictures will be great. Will update the blog though with the wrist pics as soon as I can. The guy I was hanging out with that night has a broken foot so it'll make for a good gimpy picture - if we get together again. Ha! Oh - and the orthopedist I went to today's dad went to Clemson - small world! - he wanted me to get an orange cast which I nixed after a couple of minute's thought. After all ladies - we all know orange is not the most flattering color on a girl - especially if this guy nevers call back... Hope everyone has a great one!

Back in Mile High...

from Charleston and the great city of Cleveland... ugh. No offense Ohioans but I'll be okay if I never have to go there again - although the Irish pub we landed at was pretty cool - Flanagan's? Finnegan's? something like that. You can't really go wrong with a Guinness and a grilled cheese though.

Anyway, just a quick blog to say Howdy. It's a crappy day here in Denver. It's SNOWING in Breckenridge right now - crazy. But! this is also the weekend when all the beer festivals/Oktoberfests start happening in Denver... If anyone is bored October 10-11, feel free to make the trip for the best beer festival in the US... There is a story about The Great American Beer Festival on msn.com today:
http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=616152&gt1=41000

So, tomorrow I'll be arising bright and early to watch ESPN GameDay at 8am and then heading to a bar around 10am for the Clemson game. Don't be surprised if some of y'all get some texts/phone calls from me tomorrow around halftime - depending on how we're doing. With that, I'll sign off and hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! Go Tigers!!! and I can't believe I'm saying this, but Go Dawgs too!

College Football and....more college football

What's up everyone? I'm in Charleston and still blogging away. I am here until Sunday so I hope to see a lot of y'all before I go back to Mile High. You'll know I'll be at KSG for most of Saturday so hopefully see y'all there. Gonna make this quick though because gotta go watch Wheel of Fortune with my Mom.

So, the Labor Day weekend started Saturday morning Dawn and I headed to Colorado Springs for the Air Force Academy game, where unfortunately, it would be the highlight of the weekend... (not because AF was bad, just because of the horrendous showing of the Tigers that night). But, had a great time at the game. Everyone was super-nice and they had a fly-by before the game that was unbelievable and at halftime, they gave a show with a live falcon. Cool stuff.

Then, headed back to Denver and to a bar where I tried to recruit the other barflys to be Clemson fans before the game started. I was embarrassed by this about 6.5 minutes into the game. And that's all I'll I'm going to say right now about the game.

Sunday consisted of getting the troops together to tailgate for the CU (Colorado Univ)/CSU (Colorado State University) game. Now THIS I could get into. It's the biggest rivalry for CSU and people had been drinking since the night before. The CSU crowd are a great bunch of boozers and I saw more T-shirt dresses than at a Mrytle Beach WAVES store. It was great. My favorite shirt I saw, which I know could be used for any school, was "I'd rather have my sister in a whorehouse, than a brother who goes to CU". Good times even though CSU lost (as usual against CU apparently). Pics to come...

Anyway, see a lot of y'all tomorrow!

Rock Climbing and the DNC

Hi guys! Are you anxiously awaiting my news from my rock climbing weekend?!? Ha! Well, anyway, the rock climbing was GREAT! I am officially hooked. We had a group of about 14 people and 3 guides (well, 2 guides on Sunday since one guide broke his foot while he was placing a rope at the top… I was able to escape with only minor injuries (picture of bloody knee below)) and everyone was super cool and nice. I joined a “MeetIn” Denver rock climbing group and hope to meet some people who actually live in Denver through that. The climbing trip had people from all over (St. Louis, WY, etc…) so no one was local. Here are some pics of where we climbed (Rocky Mountain National Park) and of me actually climbing!





The DNC...
Well, it's obviously a zoo around here but in a good way. Just had lunch downtown and unfortunately, the only famous person I saw was the Governor of New Mexico and I'm not sure that even counts. Only saw one protest parade too and I'm not even sure what the hell they were protesting - none of the "protestors" are very organized or very many, despite what the news reports say. But, regardless, it's an exciting time for Democrats and it's cool to be in a place where history is going down.

This weekend is definitely a diehard college football weekend! Heading down to Colorado Springs Saturday morning for the Air Force Academy game, then hightailing back to Denver to go to a bar to watch Clemson/Ala - Go Tigers!!! and then Sunday, I'm off to Invesco for the Rocky Mountain Showdown! That's CU vs CSU (Colorado State University) for anyone not in the know. :) Go Rams!

And a final note... I will be in Charleston in one week! Coming into town for BB training and hope to see as many people as I can! Take care everyone!

SNOW...and canyoneering

Imagine Reese in Sweet Home Alabama... It's SNOW...in August. (It's a baby...in a bar). Anyway, yes - it snowed in the "high country" or is it upcountry? I haven't figured out the location lingo yet but regardless it was in Vail and I saw it when I drove up there (over there?) on Sunday. Ridiculous! And now it's 84 today.

So, went up to Vail Sunday night to stay with Clary and her husband Todd at their condo - which was SICK! Heated hardwood floors. I'd never heard of that before - well, I have, but it's called "socks". I'm definitely not complaining though. So, we hit the road Monday morning at 5:45am to make it to Grand Junction (30 min outside Utah) to partake in our morning of "canyoneering". Which basically means hiking, rock climbing, chimneying, slot rocking, scrambling and rappelling through the desert canyons out there.

The goal of all this to reach the top of the highest, middle rock in this picture and rappell/ hike back down... (keep in mind, I'm not even halfway down when I took this picture).

But, to get to the top, we had to hike up to this place where we had to slot rock (slot? slip? I'm not 100% sure what it is) but basically it's "hiking" up the middle of the canyon in the tiniest space possible - not for clausterphobics...or college football players as Todd found out. Clary has better pictures of it and I will upload those when she gets back home but for now... here is picture of Todd at the widest part of the "slot" rock (this is after we pushed (Clary pushing his ass) and pulled (me pulling as hard as I could on his arm) Todd through an especially narrow part.

More hiking and then rock climbing (Clary has those pictures) and then we had to go through the "lemon squeezer" - which I thought was one of the coolest parts. The Vance's made me go first on everything (the pansies :) so I don't have a picture of me squeezing through but here is Clare-dawg poking her head out. the white thing is her helmet and yes, we both got through that hole... No fat jokes please.

However, Todd was a different story. I'm laughing as I write this because although he gave the ole college try, it was hysterical to listen to him/watch. As Kris, our guide, suggested an alternative route, he saw the space he had to go through and said, "I've got 2 kids"... and that was it - he had to wait down a ways as Clary and I rappelled...

Then, we hiked back down, went through some cool ass canyons and made it back to the car alive with only minor casualities. Good times and I highly recommend to anyone who has the opportunity.

Alright peeps. I'm heading to Estes Park this weekend for a beginner's rockclimbing weekend. Especially after this weekend, I'm totally psyched for it.

As for the blog, Miss Burr requested that I update it even if I have nothing else than one of my random rants... so, point taken Leslie and I'll update it even if I didn't do anything more than work and run out to King Soopers (Kroger) that day... which reminds me... nevermind, I'll save that for later in the week :)

My first (somewhat) boring post

Hey guys. I really don't have much to say but I told y'all I would update this on a weekly basis so here goes... I totally got sucked into the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer (4 books that I read in a week) so didn't go out many nights. Yes - I will admit I stayed home on Friday to read - I couldn't help it, y'all know what a nerd I am. I highly recommend it and yes - it is a "young adult" series but I swear - it's REALLY good. It's about vampires and love and werewolves and I am close to reading the whole series again soon but realize I need to go out and do things.

Oh, but I did get out Saturday and meet the ACC/SEC group downtown for happy hour before the Rockies game. Met about 6 Clemson folk who were very nice and I'm sure I'll watch the games with them on Saturdays. I saw a lot of Va Tech peeps, as well as Tennessee people. I avoicded the UT guys but hopefully will run into the Va Tech crowd again as they had all their teeth at least (sorry Clary! had to be said).

Went to the Rockies game (and FYI - we ain't doing so hot right now) and met some guys who knew a friend of mine in Charleston (not naming names on the blog but you know who you are) but it was RANDOM!

Sunday Dawn and I painted the office, I finished the end of the series and that was that.

Nothing has really been going on this week except work, work, and work. However, Sunday, I'm headed up to Arrowhead to meet up with Clary and her husband (if she still lets me) and we're going canyoneering in Grand Junction all day Monday. What's canyoneering you ask? Yeah, beats the hell out of me too but I'll find out Monday and let you know.

It's time to make like a hockey player and get the puck outta here. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Comedians and Sushi and the Denver Police - oh my!

Hi peeps! Figured I needed to go ahead and update the blog in case you saw my latest Facebook status. But first! my weekend!

Friday night, I went to a comedy show downtown to see Bill Burr.


I didn't know who he was but apparently he is like the only white guy on the Chapelle show and after I saw him, I did recognize him as one of the guys who makes comments on VH1's I Love the 80s. I thought the MC and the local comedians were funnier than Bill but they were all excellent. Although I didn't get some of the "local" jokes. Apparently, Aurora, CO is our North Charleston and I should just stay away from there all together. All in all, a great Friday night.

Saturday was spent recovering from Friday night and watching Sixteen Candles for the 1586th time. Who can get tired fo Long Duck Dong? Oh - on a sidenote - PLEASE Tivo/watch Psych and look for the episode called, "Murder, Murder, Anyone, Bueller?" or watch it on the internet. It's HILARIOUS if you're an 80s freak like me.

Saturday night we went to Sushi Den. It's the best sushi in Denver - no doubt about it. I will be taking you there when you come to visit!

And last but not least, today - Sunday! First, I went out to Castle Rock, which is about 20 minutes (well, would have been if I hadn't gone the wrong way on the interstate - I absolutely cannot figure out the interstate system here!!) and it has a brewery and outlets and it's just a nice little town. And THEN, when I arrived home and was preparing to eat the new delicious BLT chicken salad from Wendy's, I see our neighbors in their driveway staring at a guy on HIS driveway - 2 houses down on the same side of the street as me. Dawn comes in and asks what's going on and I'm like oh, I think Ray and Deb are just watching the neighbor pet their dog, because I saw something moving behind the guy on his driveway. Well, the sirens start coming, the whole street is filled with police cars, fire trucks, etc... I then realize I don't have to see if there is a good show on TV at that moment as I can just stand in the kitchen and watch a show of Cops right there as I eat my salad - and it was live!

So, apparently what happened is that this guy and his wife had been drinking all day, she decides to off herself by slitting her wrists and runs out the house. The guy gets pissed, follows her out and then I guess grabs her and tried to cover her wrists with the pavement on the driveway or something - I don't know, that part is weird. The neighbors across the street call the police. They come. He gets pretty beligerent, he shoves a policeman. They pull a gun on him, force him on his knees, handcuff him and they put him in the police car. All the while he's cussing and carrying on. And if you were in this situation, which none of us would be of course, but wouldn't you shut the hell up once you're in the police car? Oh no, he rams his head into the side window of the police car breaking the glass!! Not shitting you. So, they pull him out, he's got blood all over his face, he gets thrown to the ground. And he's STILL yelling at the police. They had some kind-of stun gun thing trained on him at that point. Parademics get called in, take him away and that was the neighborhood drama for the day. I mostly just watched from the kitchen until the hot EMTs came around, and then I went out front to be a nosy nieghbor with everyone else but all in all, an interesting Sunday.

I don't have big plans yet for the week so might not post until next Sunday. They have a group of ACC/SEC/Big 12 alumni that get together every once in a while so I am meeting up with all those people on Saturday for happy hour and the Rockies game so definitely looking forward to that!

I hope everyone has a fabulous week and talk to y'all soon!

Coors Brewery / Birthday

Hi peeps! First and foremost, thank you everyone for the birthday cards, shout-outs on Facebook and emails. I really appreciate it!!!

So, just a quick update as I promised all of y'all I would update this weekly... Headed out to Golden, CO last Saturday to take a tour of Coors Brewery. Where, it was also "Buffalo Bill Days" and I got to see some sort-of polka band. And just who is Buffalo Bill you ask? To be honest, I'm not sure but he has something to do with the 'wild, wild, west' and he's buried in Golden. Ate lunch and then it was off to the tour. I didn't know this but they also brew Killian's and Zima (so for any 17-yr-old high school girls that come across this page: FYI - they now have pineapple-citrus Zima... gross!) They actually used to have a product called CoorsEdge - to compete with Michelob Ultra - and not that I want to think about BB on a Saturday but that's what immediately came to mind... Oh - and I saw 3 people there with Clemson stuff on!! Not to mention a Denver DEA agent that we met in line for our free beer that was wearing assless chaps...


And then yesterday was the big b-day. Dawn and I actually worked in the morning and then headed to Elitch - the Six Flags downtown. Had a GREAT time and walked away with only minor headaches and a few bruises. There is this sick ride called The Halfpipe (pic below with Invesco Field in the background) where you spin around on this huge "snowboard".

And then we went downtown to eat and play trivia. 3rd place! (and no, I won't tell you how many teams were actually playing...) So, all in all, while I missed going to the beach on my birthday, I had a great time so thanks again for all the messages!

Not sure what this weekend will bring but I will be sure to update the blog with whatever it is! Hope everyone has a great ending to the week/weekend and talk to you soon!

Officially in love with Jason Mraz

Hi guys! It's nearing the end of the week and I know everyone is super excited about that.

Just wanted to give y'all a shout out about the 1st Annual Mile High Music Festival. It was a BLAST - as I'm sure y'all could have guessed. However, after about 18 hours of live music, endless cups of hot beer, 50,000 of my closest friends sweating all over me, and 2 days later, I am live musiced out for now.

But here is a quick rundown of who we saw in the order we saw them:

Saturday:

Gavin DeGraw - was playing when we first walked in and sounded pretty decent

State Radio - good stuff - recommend you check them out on Pandora.com

JASON MRAZ - the best out of all of them of course!

For those of you completely out of the loop, he sings "Remedy" and "Plane" and "Geek in the Pink", etc... This was the one and only show where we pushed our way up front to get up and close and personal with J. By the end, I could have probably filled a whole cup with the amount of beer that was spilled on my legs and the guy next to us blacked out and needed to be taken away by festival people but all in all - totally worth it!

Steve Winwood - good lord he's old

O.A.R. - these guys are F-O-X-es. Too bad they were all wearing wedding rings... They were really good but just released a new album last week so we didn't know a lot of their songs - but thank god they closed with Poker.

Lupe Fiasco - I had never heard of these guys but they played some song that's apparently on the radio. Will be downloading them to the Zune this weekend.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - talk about old but damn, he's a classic and you forget how many great songs they have put out over the years.

Sunday:
Walked in to One Republic. Didn't get to see them all that much but a friend said they kind-of blew. It's so disappointing when a band doesn't perform well live, you know?

Colbie Caillat - if I had recognized the name and realized that she sings one of the most annoying songs on the radio these days - Bubbly Toes - I wouldn't have walked over there.

Flogging Molly - Awesome, awesome, awesome! Y'all know how I love my celtic rock bands (a la Seven Nations) and this is another one to add to the list. No bagpipes but had a fiddle and some kickass songs. check them out if they come to a city near you.

Flobots - a local Denver band that was definitely a crowd fav. They sing that song, "I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars, etc... " They are like alternative rock/rap and kick ass.

John Mayer - when we weren't scouring the crowd looking for Jennifer (not to mention Jessie and Deanna) we were slightly disappointed with ole John. He was just "there". I definitely wouldn't spend $$ to just see him. And he closed with "Panama". Yes, it's a great song - by VAN HALEN. Close with your own stuff Johnnie Boy.

The Black Crowes - there was really no one else playing at this time so we checked them out. I really think they played the same song for all of the 25 minutes we were at their stage. Weird.

And finally, we come to DAVE! And since most of y'all just saw

him in Charleston, you know what a great show he puts on.

To be honest, we didn't see him close out the show. It was a LONG day (especially since we caught on on how to sneak liquor in on Sunday) and there was a shitload of people and a car in a parking lot that was far, far, away so we called it quits early but he was awesome for the songs we did hear.

All in all - good times!!! Another "check" for Denver.

I don't have anything really happening this weekend - heading to the Coors Brewery on Saturday and that's about it. However, taking off a bit early on Tuesday for my birthday and going to Elitch Gardens - it's the "Six Flags" here that is right next to Invesco Field downtown. Super excited about that and will have pics for you after that.

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!! Get some beach time in for me.

Pics of Downtown / Red Rocks!

Happy Friday everyone!! I saw on the news this morning that there was a "tropical depression" about to hit y'all this afternoon. Which I will take to mean you're going to get just enough rain to make it miserable to go downtown where the streets flood after a drizzle. Regardless, stay safe tonight.

So, just wanted to update you on the week's happenings. There are downloaded pics from last weekend too that I can share.

Here's from Friday night after the Colorado Irish Festival.

Here's from Saturday night - they have rickshaws here too!! Who knew??

So, we landed at Red Rocks Wednesday night for "Film at the Rocks" where they were showing "Labyrinth". Rock on David Bowie! Red Rocks is literally a 15 minute drive from front door to rock so it's really convenient. So many people but good times. Note to anyone who goes - you can't bring alcohol in... Dawn got her bottle of wine taken but I managed to sneak mine in so we were okay but lesson learned on that one. Also, you have to climb, oh about 639 steps to get to the amphitheater but it's well worth it... check it out...

Next up is a birthday party tonight for a friend of Dawn's and then Mile High Music Festival all weekend! Tomorrow is Jason Mraz, O.A.R, Tom Petty, etc... Sunday is One Republic, John Mayer, and Dave... Wish y'all were here! I'll keep posting...

First "real" weekend in Mile High...

Hi guys! I don't have any really crazy stories for you on this Monday... I hope that will change next Monday but I just went downtown Friday and Saturday nights. Hit Wash Park yesterday for a walk around the park and then saw Hancock. Decent flick actually.

Wash Park is just a neat area in general - cool bars, million dollar homes, guys playing volleyball shirtless, etc... Here is a pic off the internet. It's only a few miles away so I have a feeling I'll be spending some time there this July/August.

I'm going to try and hit Film at the Rocks (Red Rocks, that is) on Wednesday. They are playing Labyrinth! I mean, really, does that take you back to the 80s or what?

Then this weekend is the Mile High Music Festival where I'll jam with Jason Mraz, O.A.R. (and yes, Morgan, I've finally gotten into the habit of calling them by their proper name), Black Crowes, John Mayer, Dave Matthews, etc... www.milehighmusicfestival.com I should have some good pics of that for y'all.

Okay - I'm out but hope everyone has a great week and talk to y'all soon.

My office...

Hi guys! Nothing has been going on this week except for working and unpacking (and chilling out on the porch at night with a bacardi and diet) so no new news. However, I did take some pics of "my office" and the house for you to check out.

here you go... (and ps - can you believe Deanna picked Coloroado boy Jesse Monday night?!?!)

So, here is my crappy Wal-mart desk and laptop looking into our driveway. With Lady Chloe napping at the window...

Here is Walter Peyton on the porch (usually he's on one of the ledges but I think I scared him coming outside - does that sound familiar for anyone who has met Mr. M??)


Here is the backyward...



Here is the front of the house...


And we'll come full circle with a picture from the driveway looking "into" my office... and annoying Chloe once more...


Alright party peeps - it's almost happy hour for y'all in Charleston so hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll update this on Sunday or Monday with whatever trouble I can get myself into over the weekend.

My first Rockies game!

Yesterday was Rockies day! Went to LoDo (Lower Downtown) where all the cool bars and Coors Field are. Drank some pre-game cocktails at the Tavern and watched Wimbedon (yah Nadal!) and walked across the street to the game. I realize it’s hard to see us but that’s the bar we were at with Coors Field in the background.

Brad Hawpe hit a homerun that literally bounced about 3 feet in front of us. I think I was too busy protecting my beer that I didn’t even begin to try and catch it.

Also, if you can see the 2 rows of purple seats near the top of the stadium, that signifies that you are exactly one mile high. The actual Rockies are in the background but it’s hard to see.

So, this week will be spent just making sure my BB stuff is working and awaiting the arrival of the pod, aka Bruno. This weekend is the Colorado Irish Festival and we’ll probably do the “weekend downtown” thing.

The good news is that so far, everyone I’ve met is super nice and very cool and laidback. I’ve met a lot of people who went to CSU and just stayed here. I just have to wrap my brain around the fact that these people out here did NOT go to Charleston Southern, nor if they refer to USC, it's probably not South Carolina.

So, that's what I got for you now. I'll be back in touch later this week. Hope all of y'all have a great week and talk to you soon!

More CHS pics / Vail

Hi party peeps! So, I made it through my first weekend in Denver and it was a good one! Thursday we spent the day running errands (I think collectively we spent over $600 at Wal-mart, Target, and Home Depot). But get this y’all – they sell liquor at Target here! I can get my Bacardi, a new outfit, and birthday cards all at the same place!

Here are a couple of more pics of the last weekend in Charleston though.

Also, here is a picture of one of our stops cross-country. This is in the grand city of Topeka,

KS. There are seriously only 2 exits into Topeka, even though it's the capital of KS... Keep in mind we had just put in over 800 miles on the road when this picture was taken...

So, I’m going to split this into 2 posts – one of Vail and one for the Rockies game.

Friday we headed up to Vail to meet up with some of Dawn’s friends for the 4th and the Vail Shoot-out (a lacrosse tournament). We happily spent America’s birthday bar hopping in Vail Village surrounded by hot lacrosse guys. Good times!

Here is a picture of a “ski trooper”. At first I thought it was the invisible man with some skis but no, they have a monument dedicated to just ski troopers.

Also, I was SO excited to see they had a sports store named after me in Vail. However, I come to find out it’s a chain everywhere out here and it’s really not that special. I still wanted a picture with it any way…

We resumed drinking after the tour of Vail Village and had a blast.

One of the many funny stories is that one of the girls we were hanging out with (Katie – very cool girl that I’m sure you’ll hear more about later as we hang out) had on the same exact outfit as Pete Coors’ daughter (Coors Field, Coors Light, etc…) who was at the same bars we were.

Fast forward a couple of hours and more drinks, Dawn gets a little slap happy and gives Katie a big, fat slap across the ass. Although, yes, as you guessed, it was Pete Coors’ daughter instead. Again, good times, good times.

Headed back to Denver Saturday afternoon after watching a lacrosse game and went to a birthday dinner for another one of Dawn’s friends. Here is a pic of my new friends (Katie AND the dog) at the lacrosse game. Stay tuned for the Rockies game posting…