First Ski!!!!!!

On Sunday Caley, Nick Frey of Boo Bicycles, and I went up to Happy Jack to do some cross country skiing! It was our first time out on snow this season, and first time ever for Nick! We had an absolute blast! It was warmish, and not too windy, the grooming was awesome, and Nick did great. Usually when we take someone out for their first time, we don't get much skiing in, but Nick was moving along quite well and we ended up getting in a good solid hour fifteen or so. Can't wait to go up again!

Some no poles work:

Epic Thanksgiving Adventure Trip!

Ok, I took pictures this time!! They are all from my crappy camera phone, but you'll get the idea.

Friday the 19th Caley picked me up from work, and we headed south to the airport! Best way to leave town, didn't even stop by the house for a last minute pick up or anything! The trip was very smooth, we both "won" at the security line (no pat downs) and the flight was uneventful. All we had to do was wait for dear Emily to pick us up!

Caley waiting...


That night, Kelly came over for dinner and it was a grand Fort Collins reunion! Next day we headed to the coast for a gorgeous hike through the muddy woods to an overlook of the ocean. Gorgeous day, it was even sunny part of the time!

Caley at the beach


The hike was followed by a delicous picnic in the car, care of the always prepared Emily! Oh man was I ever glad to eat some lunch :)



The rest of our time in Portland was spent hanging out, eating delicious food. Case in point:

The food carts


And the best pizza place I've ever been to!!! We saw it on Anthony Bourdain, and had to check it out. The more than an hour wait was totally worth it!


Soon our time in Portland came to an end, and we headed out on the bus to Salem and family!

Our first bus ride!

There was a crazy guy up front who kept yelling out innappropriate comments...very entertaining!

Aunt Erins new house in Portland is super nice! And it was wonderful to hang out with most of the cousins...only my dear sister was missing, and we missed her terribly :(
The day after Turkey day was a blast! Caley missed out because he caught a flight home to prevent premature death-by-stress with all of his homework and work work. This time of year is really busy at VeloNews. But anyway, the rest of us ventured off into the countryside to taste some wine and visit an olive orchard! We went the long way and took a ferry across the river! The water was really high and it made me a little nervous, but we all made it safely across, whew!

View from our car


And the view from the other side watching Uncle Kevin's car


Jesse at the Methven winery tasting room!



After Methven, we made our way through the twisty and winding hills of Oregon wine country to the most charming inn/herb shop/garden shop/olive orchard I've ever been to (and the only one...). It was incredible! The views were fantastic, and the olive oil was delicious. Aunt Erin and I agree, this would be the perfect place to get married. They have a huge trellis thing in their garden that is covered with flowers in the summer.

Views



The olive press


This beautiful day ended with some coffee and dessert in Portland with Kylie and her friend, and Martha and Lloyd, who just happened to be in town visiting Martha's family for turkey day. Small world.

Uncle Kevin, Meara, and I headed out the next day for the long haul home. Part way through the Columbia River Gorge (which thankfully wasn't as icy as everyone was saying...) was Multonomah Falls. It was breathtaking in the mist, and everything was covered in ice.




We dropped Meara off in Missoula after a tasty Thai dinner, and headed out for Fort Collins. Uncle Kevin was a champ and drove through some really bad snowy and limited visibility conditions late at night. I did quite a bit of the drive myself, but had dry roads, much less stressful. Also, I stopped taking pictures, it was dark, and I was driving or sleeping.

We made it home around 10:30am the next day. Brutal drive. I hope to never do it again.

So that was Thanksgiving break! I didn't post pics of the meal because Caley has a whole album on facebook. You might be able to see it if you paste in this link http://www.facebook.com/caley.fretz?ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=2442845&id=19226249 but I'm not sure what his security settings are.

It was an awesome trip, I'm so glad we went! I think it was really special for Aunt Erin to have us all out there this year.

-Megan

USGP Weekend Recap!

This past weekend, the USGP (U.S. Grand Prix) of cyclocross was held in Fort Collins!!! The weekend turned out to be sooo much fun.

We started things off Friday night with the rider presentations a the Rio Grande restaurant downtown. This is where they introduce all the "famous" people. Teal was there, and she was one of the famous people being introduced! We talked about it later and how it's kind of funny how cyclists are only really famous among other cyclists. So they can be a rockstar at the race weekends, but then during the rest of the week, or on the off season, nobody knows who they are or what they do, it's not like the have to deal with paparazzi (unless you're Lance of course). We both found it amusing. I am super excited for all the success she has been having lately! It's highly amusing to think about how we have been rivals all along growing up in sports (although she was aways just out of my reach...) and now she's in the big leagues! So cool!
It snowed some on Friday, and Saturday was FREEZING!!!! I had a great time spectating and cheering. I have a "technology" assignment for a class due on Tuesday, so I was video taping some of the races to get some footage for my project. I think I'm going to do something about muscles...maybe zoom in on all the cyclists gluteus maximus' for effect or something :) Caley drew kind of a bad start, 56, and ended up finishing a few places ahead of that! Whoo hoo!
Sunday I was at the venue allll daaaaaay looooonnng. My volunteer shift was from 11:30-4:30, but I had to go in early with Caley because he was in the pit for Brian, and I wouldn't have had a ride over later. Anyway, it was another cold day, and suuuuper slippery in the morning, people were crashing all over the place :) My volunteer job was to fix the tape marking the course, it was pretty fun. I just had to walk around, cheer, and fix tape :) Caley drew a much better number, 36, and ended up in the 40's somewhere, but he didn't get pulled until two laps to go, vs three laps to go on Saturday!
All in all, a GREAT weekend!! What an amazing group of super nice people!!

Oh, I forgot, we also went out to dinner with some industry people on Saturday night. It was a blast! Of course there was lots of bike talk, but the conversation never really lulled (is that a word?) and we made some new friends/connections. I had a great time talking with the guy named Peyton who works in the entertainment industry in LA. He was really nice, and we had a great time. The next day we were chatting at the race course, and I come to find out his "entertainment job" is the lighting director for Greys Anatomy! Whoa! Go figure, a cyclocross superfan who works for Greys Anatomy! :) I love meeting random people like that :) I'm also really glad Caley includes me in his work life. I was definitely the hanger-on at the dinner of industry mucky-mucks, but nobody seemed to mind, and now I'll know who Caley is talking about when he mentions the "sales guy for SRAM, etc, etc.

Then I came home and did 4 geology lab and 1 geology exam. Go me!

For real, pics coming sometime...maybe not in the near future, but sometime :)

Goodbye Fall?

Snow in the forecast for tomorrow, although I'm pretty skeptical, we shall see. It was 85 on Saturday down in Boulder, I got quite the sunburn watching Caley race and working the pit for him. In cyclocross racing, you can have an extra bike in what is called the "pit" usually located at the middle point of the loop, and accessible from the outgoing side of the loop, and the incoming side of the loop (if that makes any sense at all). Racers can enter the pit from either direction, and swap out bikes. They may choose to do this for several reasons: too much mud and goo, flat tire, lost brakes, mental issues, etc. The pit crew can then change the flat, clean the goo, or pretend to do something to calm the racers mental issues. The racer can then come back to the pit on the next go around and get their original bike. They can do this as many times as they like. The pit is a crazy place, luckily Caley didn't need any flat tires changed, he would have been out of luck with my skills :) This past weekend, I also had the pleasure of working an 11 hr day in the lab. I got to switch labs a couple of times, but it was pretty horrendous, never again!

The next couple of weeks before Thanksgiving break are going to be pretty hectic. I am teaching another lesson on Thursday after completing a take home exam on Wednesday, then I'm giving a partner presentation on a "unit plan" the following Wednesday (the unit plan we still have to finish...) This coming weekend, I have 4 labs due in Geology, plus an exam and some discussion posting online. The USGP is here as well, and I'm volunteering on Sunday! Good grief... But! Then I get to hop on a jet plane taking me to the Pacific Northwest to see some excellent friends and family and eat some delicious food! Soooo excited!!

I do promise I'll put a montage of photos up here at some point soon, or maybe a link to a picasa album or something...I figured out how to do that the other day, neato :)

Fall Friday

It's raining. I wish it was snowing.


The past couple of weeks have been super busy! We drove 18hrs out to CA for mtn bike nationals, placed 6th as a team, had one nationals champion, fineagled our way into the banquet for the 6th year running (at least), imbibed a large amount of "juice" and then drove 16 hrs home to Fort Collins. I taught a lesson the next day, and we have yet to catch up on laundry :)

Mountain bike nats, as you might have guessed already, was an incredible time! We had such a great group of people and even the downhillers were respectful and responsible! My races were ok, not great and not terrible, so it was a bit of a let down, but I'll take it.

Up for this weekend: Veloswap, homework, and work.

I Got a Raise

It's true, $0.25 raise effective for my next paycheck I think :) I don't believe I have ever gotten a raise...no wait, when I worked at the climbing wall I got a raise...but my first since high school! Apparently it's an unusual situation where they are trying to remain competitive with other computer labs on campus, and I've been doing a good job and will only be here through the spring, but in any case, I'll take it!
Me in the computer lab...

In other news, WE'RE GOING TO PORTLAND FOR THANKSGIVING!!!! I'm bummed that the East Coast trip didn't work out, but it was waaaaay too expensive for us to afford, and to ask Caley's parents to fly us both out there would have been asking quite a lot. So, hopefully we can both get back at some point soon, but if not, Caley will definitely be going back sometime over the winter. While in Portland, I expect Emily and Brendan and Kelly to show us an amazing time and take us to all their favorite places, and I expect to eat lots of amazing food and have some quality time with most of my Dad's side of the family! Sadly, the parents can't make it, but we'll see them over Christmas this year! Also sadly, the sister can't make it; I looked up tickets from her godforsaken icy wasteland of a town, and the cheapest is something like $830....whoa.

I hope to have news to share about Caley's position at VeloNews soon! The last time he talked with his boss, the plan was to negotiate a more permanent employment situation after they got back from Interbike....so they're back, and now they're going to talk! I'm excited and nervous for him! They say women are often paid less because they are less assertive in negotiations for salary, well, I believe it! I don't think I would have even the remotest idea of where to start. I guess you learn the more you're involved in the industry or whatever, but still...scary.

I'm excited for mtn bike Nationals!!!! We've had such a great group of people this season, I wish we could bring everyone that's been racing every weekend. I think we've convinced the other two girls to go though! Yay!!!!!! I won't be the only one among 12 stinky boys :) Plus, Jourdan is super fast, it's going to be my goal to stick with her on the xc race, good to have inter-team competition!! We went for a stellar team ride the other night after a delicious bbq at Roger's parent's house, a much more fitting end to the season than the Winter Park weekend was.



Ok, I should go do some homework...ciao!

Monthly Post

The rate of my posting seems directly correlated with the amount of busy-ness in my life; the busier things get, the less I blog, which makes sense, but means there is always so much to catch up on when I finally get around to it!

Let us see...after Caley and I got back from Ogunquit....we had about two more beautiful weeks of summer before jumping into school. Caley finished up his internship with VeloNews, and as I'm sure you all know by now, got hired part time for the Fall semester!! He recently went to Interbike in Las Vegas, the largest bike expo in North America (I think...) and had quite the experience. He was so busy I was lucky to get a 10 minute chat out of him each day, but on the night of CrossVegas, the cyclo-cross race hosted at Interbike, I got to see him on the live streaming video from cyclingdirt.com. It was soooo cool! I felt like we were hanging out :) At one point he was lying down on the side of the course shooting photos, and I yelled at him to get out of the way before his head got run over!

School has been going really well, I've done well on all my assignments, and I'm enjoying being in the classroom at TVHS. My match-up teacher is trying a more inquiry based apporach this year for the first time in 20+years of teaching, very cool! It's a learning experience for both of us, and I wish I was there more than just 2 days a week, I think this would be a very unique opportunity to really collaborate with him and share the techniques I've been learning in my Methods class. Unfortunately work prevents me from going down more on my own, but it makes me even more excited for next semester student teaching!

The mountain bike series is screaming to an end, and I'm sad! Racing and traveling with the team has been so much fun this season! I feel like we've barely started, adn with only 4 weekends of racing this year, it's kind of true :( We leave for Nationals on Oct. 13th, and race that Friday and Saturday. We have two other girls who could go this year, but both of them have really heavy school loads. The team is trying everything to get them to go, and I hope they do!!! It's so nice to be on good terms with the team, all the drama of last season seems like a long time ago (thankfully!).

Some recent photos are coming soon, I promise!!

Catch-up

Yet again, I haven't posted in forever and there is a ton to catch up on!

At the very tail end of July, and the beginning of Aug. Caley and I took our annual summer excursion. We started out at Winter Park for another mtn bike race. I didn't get last, barely, and Caley had fun riding around cheering on his teammates. Then, we packed up the bikes and headed down to Durango to visit my family and go to a Michael Franti concert!!! Here are some photos...at one point, he came out into the crowd and was so close I could have touched him! WOW!!!!





The next day we packed up and headed to DIA for a red eye flight to Maine. A week on the beach was just what the doctor ordered! Lobsters, sun, sand, waves, grilled cheese from the beach shack, tide pool exploring along the Marginal Way, wine on the dock, I could go on and on and on about the magic of Ogunquit. A few pics for your enjoyment!

(coming soon, just have to grab them from Caley)

Back home again, Caley and I celebrated our third anniversary, started school, I had my birthday yesterday, and Caley got officially hired with VeloNews! August has definitely been a go go go month for us.

We rode the tandem out for some delicious Asian food at Taipan


So far school has been good, I haven't had a whole lot to do which is kind of weird. I'm also taking an online geology course. I hope I can keep on top of it. In my new job as a computer lab attendent I'll be spending at least 14 hrs a week on the computer, so it should be too much of a problem...

Oh, and, today I got a haircut!! I like it, even with all the goo they put in there that I never will :)

Pictures!

Some pics from the last couple of months! Heavy on the biking...sorry:)

And in no particular order...


This is a snapshot of Caley's first hard copy magazine piece!!!!!!! I am sooo proud of him. Basically he's running VeloNews now :) But seriously folks, we are pretty sure he's going to get at least a part time job right after he graduates, and maybe even before that! Talk about a dream job. He is loving it, he comes home, and immediately hops back on the computer to check if he has anything else to do. It's feeding his internet addiction to be sure, but at least for now I'm not complaining :)




I don't remember when this was, but I love the picture, Sebby looks.....really happy for sure :)




My friend Anna and I right after they announced our mtn bike race was canceled due to snow at the top of the mtn. Of course as soon as we were leaving the sun came out and all the snow melted, but oh well, we got to eat at Beau Jos in Idaho Springs. I registered for the whole Winter Park series this summer and I've done almost all of them and I'm currently 5th overall in my category. I don't think there is any hope of getting on the podium though, 1st-3rd place are waaaaaay ahead in the points. The next race is this weekend, and I hope not to run into a tree this time :)




Me riding while on a bike ride with Caley at Blue Sky my favorite mtn bike trail around. I love his old Rio kit, I wish they had parted ways a little more amicably so I wouldn't feel weird wearing it...oh well, the skull is super cool!




Caley and I after a great ride out in Lory State Park. It was late evening, the temp had dropped a little, and the trails around the reservoir are super fun to just cruise on.


And this is me on that ride in Lory! Caley is sneaky with the camera, I didn't know he was video taping, I probably would have tried to do a jump or a wheelie or something....hahaha, not. :)




In other news, I applied for a job on campus in the CAHS computer labs today! I walked in to turn in my application and ended up doing the interview right then and there! I think it went well, and I really really hope I get the job. There are quite a few applications in front of me from people last spring, but hopefully I made an impression :) I'll keep you posted!

My website

For the STEPP program at CSU, we are required to create a portfolio, and the program has been making the transition to online portfolios. So, here is mine! It is a work in progress for sure. If you see any typos, or have any suggestions of things I should add or eliminate, I'd appreciate the feedback. Most of the classes I'm taking have a final portfolio aspect, and these are posted under individual class sections. Sometimes these include class assignments, experiences, etc...maybe not things I think are particularly relavent to showing a future employer....some of them are kind of fun though!

CLICK HERE to see! :)

Fear Not!

I have not abandoned this blog! :)

I just realized I didn't post for the whole month of June, and more than half of the month of July! Wow! I guess that's a good thing, too busy with life and adventures than to write in a blog. What does it mean that I am now back writing? A brief hiatus from adventures I suppose :)

Let us see...a brief recap of June and July?

For the month of June and some of July I was taking classes at CSU!! I took 4 classes total, split up between two sessions. I LOVE EDUCATION CLASSES!! It has been such a relief and so refreshing to be in classes that are discussion based, and super interesting. 5.5 years of almost total science left me craving a class where the students argue and debate and get all philosophical :) I got to spend some time in classrooms in the summer school at Rocky Mountain High, and definitely learned a lot! I can't wait for more in class time next semester and I hope I can nail down a really great student teacher position for the spring. I'm still waiting on grades for one class, but so far I have one A+ and 2 A's :)

Since the end of classes, I have been babysitting for some good friends of ours. Their six month old is the cutest, chubbiest, little baby. I am becoming the nap master!! He was down for 2 hrs and 4 minutes earlier today, and I just got him down for another good one I hope :) Hopefully the thunderstorm won't wake him up!

This weekend I am signed up to take my General Science Content Knowledge exam, which is a licensing exam. I've been studying for the past couple of days, hopefully I'll be brushed up enough to pass...the test was something like $120 so I definitely don't want to have to retake it.

The rest of my time has been spent trying to get out on the bike! I've been racing at Winter Park on my mtn bike and have successfully completed two so far. I think there are two or three left in the series, one of which I will be doing the morning before driving down to visit the family in Durango!!! Caitlin enticed us there with a Michael Franti and Brett Denin concert...how nice of her! :)

Also, I QUIT SUNFLOWER!!! Yay!! I'm so glad I don't work there anymore, although we do miss the food discount :)

Anyway, pictures soon!

It's Humid Here Today

Case in point :)

You would think it's Windsday!

Whenever it gets this windy, I always think about that Whinnie the Pooh movie we used to watch about Windsday :) Good times.

Yesterday was kind of momentous...I met up with Brenna (formerly known as T.W.), and we made peace. Whoa. Relief and more relaxed than I've been in months are my main feelings at this point. To be honest, I was exhausted by all the anger and hate I was holding inside. I think the team weekend in Durango kind of got to me...why would I spend so much energy caring if she even walked into my kitchen?! It's been like 7 months or something since all the $#%! hit the fan, so to speak, and it's time I let go. So yeah, we had coffee, and talked, and I got teary eyed, and then we talked some more, and ended up just visiting and catching up on what we've been doing for the past semester. I immediately, instantly, right then and there, felt like I was back on the team. I've been excluding myself, I know it's been only me that's been doing it. The team would never have had to "choose sides" except that I made them, and of course they "chose" the girl that was actually racing this season...but now it won't be an issue! I can't even begin to describe how much better I feel about life! This coming week at Nationals, this summer, next Fall and Spring can now be spent having fun racing bikes instead of being worried about where she is and who she's talking to, and we can be teammates and cheer each other on. I really feel like this is a brand new start to whatever friendship we may have had before anything happened, and I'm going to do my absolute best to hold tight to all the goodwill and happy thoughts I'm having right now, so that I won't slide back in to the detrimental habits I've had for the past year. Anyway, thought I'd share, I feel really good about it, and I hope the rest of the team can forgive me for all the bad behavior I've displayed, I miss them, they are my family.

Also, Caley and I went on a date last night, it was wonderful! I love getting away from the computers (Caley just got a new one...it's soooooo sweet) and spending a whole evening just talking and enjoying some good Thai food!

Census Picture!

Did everyone fill out there census form? Caley and I took a couple of weeks to answer, then like a month to actually mail it back...but we did it! We count! :) And now some weirdo census worker won't come to our house!

Today is rainy and cold, and I'm thinking about going running, we'll see though, it's so nice and cuddly in this blanket:) Also, I love Shelby Lynne, her voice is hauntingly beautiful! I first started listening to her right around the time I broke my ankle, so the music has some melancholy connotations for me, but sometimes rainy days just call for that kind of music :) If anyone knows how to embed a music file, let me know and I'll put up one of her songs!

I get to go home to Durango this weekend!!! I'm so excited!! I'll be sure to take pics so you all can experience the amazingness that is my home town!

Have a wonderful day!

-Megan

Alley Cat

Oh Alley Cat, how full of angsty teenagers you are. I spent long hours here my first few years of undergrad, and I come back when I feel the need to remind myself of how far I've come :)

Big News!! Caley got an internship with VeloNews!!!!! I'm so excited for him! He will start this summer and probably be down in Boulder 3 days a week or so. He's going to be the best intern they've ever had :)

Cheese Day!

I love cheese day! I get to go to work for only 4 hrs! To clarify, for all of you who don't know what cheese day is....I get to work in the cheese department at Sunflower one day a week! And it's awesome! I love working in the cheese department! All I do is cut the cheese.

Hahaha, ok, that was funny in my head. Anyway, it's great, I don't have to deal with customers, I get to cut and wrap and label and organize, and we cut fruit too! And, of course, I get to sample little bits of very expensive cheeses :)

This morning I'm at my favorite coffee shop, The Red Table Cafe, and I'm all motivated to work on my substitute class (6hrs online) so I can get some subbing in before school gets out. Unfortunately, I have discovered that all the classes are videos! And I forgot my headphones :( So I have to wait for Dear Caley to get out of class and come meet me with some headphones.

In other news, I got my class schedule all figured out for the summer, no thanks to the evil front desk lady! There seems to be a lot of evil front desk ladies. This particular one was determined to not let me take the classes I needed until the Fall. Apparently, she just didn't like me! :( I had the great fortune of going in one day when she wasn't there, a different totally awesome front desk lady was there, and she signed me up right away, no hassle, no fuss, it was the perfect front desk lady interaction. Of course the next time I went in to turn in the last little piece of paper, the evil lady was there :( She didn't make me cry that time, but she sure did make me mad!!!!!! Why must the least powerful people in the very powerful bureaucracy be the ones who have very inflated sense's of self?? Annnnyway....I got all signed up, and then I took the next step to figure out my financial aid situation!


I went down to the office yesterday and got all the computer system glitches taken care of. Isn't it nice that one of the most important parts of college (the financing..) has a ton of computer system glitches! Since I'm not in a degree program, all CSU can offer me is loans, which I'm probably going to take, and then have to work on top of that to make it through, but I think it will be doable! Kind of a bummer that I made it through 5.5 years of college without any debt, but I actually own't come out with much since I'm only going for summer and two semesters. Plus, I'll be a substitute when I get out just in case I don't want to start working for Poudre school district (or am unable to find an actual teaching job...) and I'm going to look more into the debt forgiveness programs the federal government has for new teachers. Although, Caley refuses to live in rural New Mexico for 5 years....:) I don't blame him, we'll have to look for an area that has some of the things we like; awesome roads to ride, awesome trails to ride, a little green, or a little ocean, or a little mountain. Rural New Mexico doesn't have any of those things....maybe trails, but that's about it :)

Since yesterday was my day off, and Caley ended up not going to Boulder, we went for a wonderful 2 hr mtn bike ride! I was rockin' it, I cleared a ton of stuff that I had no idea I could clear. It's kind of funny how mental mtn bike riding is for me. When I start off the ride in a good mood, and maybe make it through a section I haven't before, the rest of the ride is just magical. I feel superhuman and have a lot more confidence.

I can't wait for mtn bike season when I will crush souls! I mostly just want to crush T.W's soul, but that won't be too hard...:) She's an amazing source of motivation.

BREAK FOR WORK

Now at home, just had amazing dinner! Sauteed onion and garlic, added some shrimp and butter, placed on top of small corn tortilla baked in the oven with feta cheese on top! Oh Man, so delish! I would have a picture, but we ate it too fast.

Well, I'm going to wrap it up, this has been a long post. Thanks for reading, I aim to keep you updated on our lives, not a whole lot has been going on lately, just lots of work and lots of Caley biking:)

Love,
Megan

I am super unmotivated today! Bleah! It's kind of gray outside, Caley is gone in Colorado Springs for a bike race, and I have work later...etc etc. All great excuses for not doing anything but drink my coffee while sitting in the armchair, covered with a blanket, listening to NPR. I guess that's not so bad in itself :)

The past couple of weeks have been really nice! Spring is starting to sproing, although, it has been an unusually cold spring I think, we haven't had a whole lot of really really nice days yet. Caley and I went for a glorious mtn bike ride (I love when he has a "day off" and can go ride with me) and we've been making lots of tasty dishes :)

Pics for you!




Sauteed beets and onions on tiny tortillas with lots of parmesan and feta cheese!


Gorgonzola turkey burgers with a nice fresh salad! Soooo tasty!!!!!

We're like a Cooking Show

Today was my day off!!! Last night, in typical CO spring fashion, it snowed about 12inches of slush; so today, Caley and I had a fire, walked to get coffee, went shopping at Sunflower, and made a ton of food!!!

First on the list was homemade pesto! We had some leftover pesto from my trip to Steamboat (Mom loaded me up with all sorts of goodies and household items...THANKS MOM!) and got inspired to make our own. It turned out sooooooooo amazing! We used about 4oz of fresh basil, 2 cloves of garlic, a 1/4 cup of cashews (since we're too poor for pine nuts...), 1/3 cup of parmigianno reggiano(sp?), and a cup or so of olive oil. Literally, you just throw it in the food processor and it comes out absolutely DIVINE!! We smothered a couple of little corn tortillas with it, covered it in parmigian and mozzarella and had two incredible mini pesto pizzas :)

Next up was homemade almond butter! Again the trusty rusty food processor is all it takes. Throw the almonds in, and let it go to work. It took a loooonng time for the almonds to be broken down enough to release all their good fats and oils, but now it's perfect to go on apples, or on tortillas or just about anything :)

After that, Caley had a craving for chocolate chip cookies. He used the recipe from America's Test Kitchen website, and I'm telling you, they are the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES I'VE EVER HAD. And folks, I've had a lot of chocolate chip cookies in my time...Seriously. The trick I think is the way they have you combine the butter and sugar. You have to brown the butter, then stir in the sugar for 30sec every 3 minutes for 12 minutes or something like that. In any case, request that he make them for you the next time you're over at our house, cause they are over-the-top amazing!

Still to come this evening is some tilapia curry. Not sure what all is going to go in there, but I'm sure it will be delicious!

Also, I realized it's been awhile since I've updated this blog! Let's see....last week I worked 47 hrs in the deli. That was brutal, but only because the weekend before, I was gone to Steamboat to visit my dear sister and mother and grandmother. It was a wonderful little vacation. We stayed in a condo about two blocks from the race venue, and about a block from all the restaurants, coffee shops, stores, etc. Perfection! Caitlin and I spent a good deal of time shopping for a "cowboy shirt" for her boyfriend, Tim. Let me tell you, I've never shopped so long for a shirt in my whole life. I guess it doesn't make it easy that Tim is 6'5 and about 145 lbs. Can someone say string bean? :)
The races were exciting to watch as well! Caitlin, Tim and her friend Anna Karin (who stayed with us at the condo) didn't actually race, but it wasn't hard to get into the team spirit and cheer for all the kids from NMU as well as some kids I grew up with who now race for other colleges around the country. Collegiate racing for Nordic is structured very differenetly from cycling. For example, they limit the field size for each race at NCAA's to 39 skiers. Basically this makes it an extremely elite competition. Just being able to qualify and race there means you are super duper fast. I got all inspired and a little sad wondering what it would have been like if I'd tried to go to college just to race skis. I guess it was never really an option I thought I had. Leave that to the younger sibling :)

Here are some pics for your enjoyment! I wish I'd gotten more, but I kept forgetting my camera :)






Oh, AND we had another alphabet party! A super fun night filled with super awesome friends. Caley made an eclair from scratch! It was soooooo gooooood! Other food included egg rolls, espresso (Matt brought an espresso machine!) eggnog cake, espresso marinated beef, edamame, and enchiladas! I can't wait for "F"!







And! I almost forgot, I went salsa dancing two Tuesdays ago. It was so great to see old friends and I ended up staying until the last song! That hasn't happened for awhile :) I arrived home happy and tired.

My Sister in Pictures

Looking back through old pictures, I realized that I mostly have old pictures of Caitlin! Mostly because we haven't lived in the same town for...six years now? That's crazy! I miss living in the same town as my sister. Hopefully someday in the future we can agree on a town and move there.

I wish there was an easier way to upload photos to blogger...they need to work on that!

Anyway....

Our Engineer hike this past summer!




Picnic in the backyard!


Christmas at Mom and Dad's house!


A series of several years of Telluride Bluegrass Festival Pics








Somewhere on the East coast during a trip she and my mom made


Pics of Caitlin's senior prom, she is gorgeous! It's my goal to fit into this dress someday soon and steal it from M and D's house:)



Caitlin at Soldier Hollow after she podiumed in a relay, and then with both Grandmas, one of my favorite pics!



Skiing at Grand Mesa many years ago...


Can you tell I miss the sister?? I am going to have my camera on hand 24/7 on my trip to Steamboat! I can't wait to see her!