Scenes from this Weekend

This weekend was busy but also relaxing. I finally saw Julie & Julia Friday night with Bec and loved it. Then it was up at 5:30 AM on Saturday for our tee-times. I had one last tourney with my league and Jeremy had the 2nd Round in the Club Championship for the Men's League. Neither of us played great, I actually had 5 3-putts in a row. It was a round that was very forgettable but I still managed to eek out a bogey round. Saturday night we were treated to an excellent dinner at Kristin & Paul's house down south. It was a great spread, Paul made fresh sangria and paella, we indulged for a few hours and we now owe them an equally fabulous dinner here. Kristin is my kind of girl and I consider her far more Friend than Client. Thanks Bonaventuras!

The big new from this weekend is that Jeremy now has the big grill at his disposal. We've been without a grill since that nasty hail storm so cooking dinners this summer haven't been that elaborate since we didn't want to use the oven. The new grill is impressive and packs some serious heat. My eyes were far bigger than our stomachs but now we have ample leftovers for the week.

The big change I noticed this weekend is the flowers, the poor plants were left bare after the hail storm. Imagine my surprise when I found fresh blooms on my lilacs and clematis. Shocking! The other flowers have recovered fairly well and I am so happy to report that I actually found honey bees in the flowers, never before have we had that in our yard. I've never grown a hollyhock either but the one we planted this year is growing like crazy. I don't know how big this thing is going to get but right now it is huge. I think we'll enjoy a few more weekends on the patio now that both golf leagues are done and hope that winter holds out until late October.

Its almost Nolan's birthday!

Hello 31!

Goodbye 30!

Thanks for all of the well-wishes! I had a wonderful birthday, starting with dinner last night at the Chart House and finishing just now with a cupcake made by Mom. Nolan only has one birthday until his, he can't wait for Aunt Becca's birthday because then its his birthday! Time flies so it will be here soon!

Back to School

Yes back to school time always involved new school supplies and new clothes but in most cases it also involved making new friends. For instance...

I first met Jessica at Peck Elementary, its been so long now I can't remember exactly where or when. Its been over 25 years that I've known her and my favorite memory of Jess is from my 7th birthday. That's the birthday party where my Aunt Kay and Uncle Richard surprised all of us little girls with my Uncle dressed up as a clown in the 90+ heat and came stumbling down the hill next to the house. We were all so excited to see the clown, although I new it was him by his Birkenstocks. Once things died down and I opened my gifts, there Jessica was in the background of the home video dancing with the streamers as if she was doing rhythmic gymnastics in the Olympics. Hysterical! Fittingly when Jess moved to San Fran, I gave her a brand new streamer to take with her.

-Jeremy, Jess and I at her 30th-

My first day at Arvada High School was as a sophomore and I was wearing my brand new pom uniform. I had heard a lot about this Julia Miller girl from my brother who was friend's with Julia's brother Jeremy. I finally met her in 4th period in Mr. Graham's English class on the 3rd floor. From then on we were fast friends, she even sat in the back seat of my prelude with Becca while I was learning how to drive a stick shift with Mom. The trip was supposed to be a quick one just a few blocks away from the house. I refused to stall the car so instead I left rubber at every intersection. Mom, Julia and Bec laughed so hard I had to pull over and I was so ticked that they would laugh. Looking back now the store is funny I laugh so hard.

-Julia & I in St. Louis-

At CSU I was a freshman in the civil engineering program, not a lot of ladies in that program. Luckily I met Jenny P who didn't fit the typical female engineer role. She was gregarious, outgoing and loved to have fun. We may have been kicked out of a hydrology class with Dr. Salas one evening when we laughed a little too hard. We also may have had some great parties at her house on N. Whitcomb that involved some kegstands.

-Jenny's wedding-

I no longer get to make new friends at my first day of school but I'm so grateful I made these friends and many others along the way.

Defend the Fort

Has anyone seen the new billboards and ads on TV with Coach Fairchild? I love this ad campaign!

We'll go to at least a few games this year, including our favorite game, Ag Day. This weekend Jeremy and I have talked a lot to Jericka about college. I think we're far more excited for her than she is as she starts her junior year on Tuesday. We talked about how much you learn about life in college and that with a college education you really do have a world of opportunity. Again, not to preach too much but we'd love for her to go to CSU so she can:

Take a break in the oval between classes,

Study in the library,

Go to the football games & tailgate properly.

I wouldn't change anything about my college experience, including living in the crappy house on S. Whitcomb or going through 4-years of engineering courses with very few females or living with three other girls the last two years. Thank you Mom and Dad for sending me to CSU, it was the best gift ever.

I

TGIF

Well after a busy week at work and the most random Thursday night, I loved having today off to spend with Jericka. (Excuse me for taking her to the office with me at 7 this morning for my staff meeting then it really was a vacation day.) We had pedicures at The Spa at Coldwater Creek, she and I feel fast asleep, it was pure heaven. Then it was off to Vinnolas to meet Jeremy for lunch. We couldn't leave without picking up a few treats (biscotti, gelato, a cupcake & cookies) for the house. Jer and I ran a few errands before heading home so she can do some homework.

-A little note from Uncle Jeremy and I-

-Jer hard at work on her summer homework-

We're heading to Wasabi for some sushi then to the movies for some slapstick comedy. Tomorrow's plans include going to Golden's Farmer's Market then to Grappa for a delish brunch. Tomorrow night my dear husband is taking me to the Chart House for my birthday dinner. A full day, I'd better be ready for good food all day long!

Have a good weekend!

P.S. Thursday night started with an innocent phone call from my parents to tell Jeremy that the grills at Target were marked 50% off. Since the hail storm tore our grill apart, Jeremy's been dying to make that purchase. Poor Jer had to witness Jeremy's attempt to put the very large grill in the trunk of the Honda. Thank goodness Mom came with the Mercury to bail us out. Watch out neighbors, Jeremy has 70,000 Btu of flame!

Housewarming Gift

A few weeks ago I went to the Paris Street Market and found this great Coca-Cola crate that had Denver written on the ends. I picked it up figuring that I'd use it somewhere around the house. Well, I figured that it would be best for Bec and John's housewarming gift. Just a little something for the new house while they figure out what they really need and what is on their future wish list. It came together pretty cute and I threw in the latest basket I picked up for the guest bedroom. They'll use it far more than our very infrequent guests. I think it turned out pretty cute. What do you think?

Weekend Recap

Last week and weekend was a blur. Jeremy and I had dinner with the Chelins at Sushi Den last Thursday and had an EXCELLENT time. The food was dang tasty and the drinks kept flowing, it made for a rough Friday morning at the office. I had the second round of my league championships on Saturday morning and shot 38, not as good as I wanted but much better than the first round. Did I mention that I had Jeremy caddy for me the first round? I didn't know where to go when I was on the green and was worse with his help. (I probably should have listened to my caddy's advice more than I did.) While I was playing, the rest of the family was hard at work moving Bec and John from Bec's apartment to their new house off of Tennyson Street.

I love the new place, it fits them well and is a great rental. I'm going to snap a few photos once the boxes are gone and they are really moved in. The kitchen is a great size and I spent Saturday helping Mom and Bec clean the dishes and get the kitchen in order. Now Bec and I can get started on her projects!

We had a mini Smith family reunion Saturday evening at Vine Street Pub in honor of Aunt Kathy's visit with Q. It was a quick gathering but fun to see all of the kids. Jeremy and I had our dinner at St. Rocco's Feast at the Potenza Lodge where we ran into Chris and Robin. We didn't win any meat but did have excellent sausage and pepper sandwiches.

We golfed Sunday with friends Jen and Robert for FREE at Legacy Ridge. I've never played there but shot pretty well with a 93. Jeremy led the way with a 79. Perfect weather, not too hot or windy! By the time we made it home Sunday night I was exhausted!

Lists

I have lists everywhere right now. Birthday lists, to-do lists for work, to-do lists for the house, errand lists, etc. It seems the very boring, but entirely necessary lists are outweighing the fun lists. My to-do list at work this week gets longer with each day, I hope I can get everything knocked out before Thursday afternoon.

Thursday is when I start to check things off the FUN lists. This cute thing:

will be staying with us for a few days. Jeremy and I are really looking forward to having some one-on-one time with Jer. We're getting some pedicures at Coldwater Creek, eating sushi at Wasabi and hopefully watching some movies and doing a little shopping. Jeremy and I would love for her to go to CSU so maybe we'll make a trip north to visit campus and shop around Old Town too.

P.S. I did make a birthday list but only because I have so many things I like right now that I don't want to buy. Its really like window shopping. Do I expect a scooter? No, it would just be icing on the cake. (Or the meringue on a lemon meringue pie.) Mom-how's the pie coming?

Dear Linda,

Thank you for kicking my A$$ tonight at Pilates. It wasn't enough that you were subbing for dear, sweet Lorraine, but then you had to increase my springs all night long. The only saving grace was doing long spine instead of genghis khan. If I make it up the stairs tonight, I'll consider that a success. (I may have to roll down them in the morning.) Again, thank you Linda, my abs are hating you right now.

Magazine Addiction

I have a serious magazine addiction - an honest to goodness addiction. I love when they come in the mail and Jeremy goes through and diligently takes out all the crap that's added. After a long day at the office there is nothing better than coming home to a stack of fresh magazines ready to crack open.

House Beautiful

Better Homes and Gardens

Southern Living (I've subscribed for years and have only been to the south a handful of times.)

Midwest Living

Glamour (I tried to ditch this one but after Domino bit the dust I was back on their list.)

Real Simple

Marie Claire

Its an impressive collection here at the house but I was seriously stumped last week when a new issue of Lucky showed up at the house showing that I have a subsrciption through July 2010. How in the world did I receive another new magazine?? Well the fine folks at Lucky informed me that I received it free with my latest make-up purchase from ELF - how great is that?

If you haven't been to elf I recommend paying it a visit. They have great recession-friendly prices, wonderful customer service and a good selection. I spent a fraction of what I usually do and am stocked for a good while.

Tables are Turned

I had the first day of my league championship yesterday and I was lucky to have Jeremy caddy for me. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to adjust my game to play with a caddy. I have another chance to improve my score next week, hopefully I can piece together an acceptable round. It was so nice to have Jeremy's company and it was such a treat to have my clubs cleaned throughout the round.

I Love Bacon

I love pork, all forms of pork (bacon, ham, chops, loin, etc.). Lucky for me Jeremy enjoys pork just as much so I never go without for too long. My morning drive to the office was unlike any other I've ever had. I followed a construction site catering truck down Blake and it smelled like the most delicious bacon. The truck was headed to the 18th and Larimer construction site and I was half tempted to follow it myself. I think this sealed the deal - BLT sandwiches are on the menu tonight!

Posi+ivi+y

A few months ago I shared the bracelets my cousin designed to spread some positive messages. Well, her movement has continued to GROW - it is such a small message that gets lost in the day-to-day activities. The bracelet is a good reminder.

We all need to keep a positive outlook on life but it sure seems like I need that message now more than ever at work. There is nothing worse than going into a meeting and being bombarded with bad news after bad news. I know it doesn't help to keep your head in the sand when tough decisions are being made but its hard to swallow the bad, sad news day after day. Beth is sending a great message so I'm going to keep thinking about it myself.

Remember National Share your Positivity Week is October 11-17, 2009, more information is available HERE.

Posi+ivi+y Food Drive in Windsor

Long Saturday

During Jeremy's trip to Scottsbluff for the Oregon Trail Tournament at the Scottsbluff Country Club I did a lot of little projects around the house. Nothing exciting but all necessary. I took Saturday to hit the Paris Street Market where I found a few treats for the house, myself and family. I had a long lunch with Aimee & Robin (also golf widows this weekend) that was so enjoyable.

Saturday night was spent with Jess, Kelli, Jen, Julie & Chris and Chris' brother and his girlfriend. It was a fun dinner, all in celebration of Jessica's visit back to Denver from SF.