saying goodbye and hello.

It all seemed to end rather quickly. One minute I am a grad student living in Denver and the next I am an unemployed graduate living in San Francisco. What happened? Where did the last two years go? How did I finish school so quickly? Am I really prepared for life after graduate school?

It feels somewhat strange being back in SF with nothing to do, no schedule to follow, no greater purpose than editing my cover letter over and over again and organizing our apartment life into 850 square feet of space. When I left Denver, I didn't really say goodbye. I focused on the things that had made me slightly bitter about living there: the oblivious/reckless drivers, the lack of good (& cheap) food, and the overabundance of sports bars and the type of people that frequent them. But, Denver was more than that to me. It was the place of our first home. It was a place of re-discovering academia, of learning more about the world around me and how I fit into it. It was the place that we adopted our first pet. And it was the place that I reconnected with old friends and met new ones along the way. Denver may not be my ideal home, but I'm glad I lived there. I'm glad that in many ways it was the right fit for where I was in life (let's not forget cheap rent is a huge plus for poor students and newlyweds) and for that I am thankful. Saying goodbye is not easy, especially when there are so many mixed emotions that are attached to it. One of my professors said that saying goodbye is a mixture of grief and relief, and I like that definition. It fits.

And now I find myself back in San Francisco. I'll admit I was worried about whether it could live up to the expectations that had been building in my head over the last two years I was away. I was (and still very much am) worried about finding a job in a market that has a rather large supply of qualified non-profit professionals. But, I am really happy (minus the no job thing, because that's a whole other post in and of itself).

I'm home. So, hello, golden gate bridge that suspends so gracefully. Hello, eucalyptus trees in the park and cheap nail salons on every corner and food that is flavorful and spicy. Hello, muni with your plethora of interesting people. And, hello, friends and family that I've missed so much. Hello, city that I love. I'm excited to get reacquainted again.

Vail, CO.

For Spring Break 2011 (most likely my last spring break ever), my sister and brother-in-law stopped by in Colorado for a few days before flying to Vegas for their one year anniversary (remember when they got married last year?) It was great to have them here for a little bit, and we took advantage of the fact that they rented a car and drove up to Vail for a ski adventure. Or perhaps more accurately, a let's-fall-down-a-mountain-together adventure.

We drove up last Sunday morning. After semi-checking in at the hotel, changing clothes, renting ski gear, buying a lift ticket, and riding the gondola up to the kiddy area/bunny slope (which is actually quite near the top of the mountain), it was already mid-afternoon. We tested our mad skiing skills on the mini-slope, but soon enough we just knew we were ready for more adventure (as if falling down while wondering if you'll be able to stop wasn't adventure enough).

Here's a view of the mountain from the bottom where we first got on the gondola. It might not look that steep, but you can't even see the top from this view. And, keep in mind, this was practically my first time, because really sliding down a mountain of ice in North Carolina does not count, even if you are wearing ski gear.

I must say, skiing was fun though. I didn't expect to like it (and don't get me wrong, I'm not going out to buy my own gear and season pass for next year), but it was fun. I think my stomach muscles got the most work out, as I simply couldn't stop laughing at people (including myself) anytime they fell. This probably makes me a bad person, but face planting in the snow is just too hilarious not to laugh.

We made it down the mountain, albeit sightly bruised and exhausted. And when I took off my ski boots, I felt a deep sense of joy, which only increased when food and an adult coffee (read: coffee with baileys, frangelico, and kahlua) was placed in front of me.

After a late lunch, we headed back to the hotel. The view from our room was nice.

M & I spent the rest of the evening teaching the group how to play Settlers of Catan and sipping on some wine. We topped the night off with a late snack at the hotel bar (surprisingly they even had a couple vegan options for my sister).

The next morning we were all pretty sore, so attempting a different snow sport was axed from the list of things to do. I still, a week later, have the remnants of a bruise on the inside of my right knee. We decided to take it easy. We rode into town to visit the one and only brunch place in Vail (how is that even possible in a state that idolizes it's eggs, pancakes, and breakfast burritos?) It was a teeny tiny, little restaurant, but the food was good.

The little town of Lionshead is actually pretty cute.

After a few more pictures in front of the mountain, we headed back to the hotel, and were soon on our way to Denver.

It was a fun trip. I'm glad to have skiing checked off the Colorado to-do list, even better was enjoying the experience with family!

3 Christmases: Part 3, Denver.

The third and final Christmas was in Denver on Christmas day. It definitely wasn't what I wanted in that we weren't around my family. But, due to changing circumstances and ticket prices that were beyond what we could pay, it still turned out great. It was a low key holiday. Low key did not come without a lot of work...

We worked a lot in the kitchen. A Lot! We started Christmas eve eve with a brine and butter toffee.

I decided to try brining a turkey, pioneer woman style. I must admit that it did not turn out that great. It was dry. Probably had more to do with our lack of cooking skills and therefore over cooking it than the brine itself, but who knows. It was my first time cooking a turkey.

The little Christmas tree that could survive the wrath of our cat Nora.

After almost a full day of prepping, we started Christmas off the right way, with homemade sticky buns. I would eat these every morning if I could afford the time to make them and the time to work them off.

Nora was quite excited about presents. She got kittens of boxville postcards and cat treats!

I got an anthropologie sweater from my sister and brother-in-law.

Micah got a burr grinder from them.

I found this little gal stuffed in my stocking. She's this year's new ornament.

Since we weren't going to be around family, we invited some friends over for dinner. It was nice to have people to spend part of the day with.

I wanted to spruce the dinner up a bit, so we got some white spider mums and I printed out a menu of all the food we were having. Here's the table setting, complete with the Christmas menu,

and salt and pepper shakers (Christmas present from my parents).

I think the simplistic decor looked nice.

Overall, we had good food,

and GREAT company.

And that concludes the 3 Christmases of 2010.

Broncos vs. Raiders.

For our 1-yr anniversary, I gave Micah tickets to the Broncos/Raiders NFL game. He's been a Broncos fan since he was little (odd, I know). And, the Raiders drafted a player from Alabama last year, so I thought it'd be fun to see him play.

Our seats were high up in the stadium though. I mean, really high up. There were two rows of seats behind us and that was it! Here we are all smiles, before the game began and before the fan drama went down. Oh, to be innocent again.

They had a number of different pre-game activities, one of which included 4 people parachuting

right onto the field!

They really pulled out all the stops for the Broncos grand entrance. Smoke. Fire. A huge blow-up bronco. Cheerleaders. And a cowgirl riding a horse in front of the players.

And that's pretty much where the fun stopped. I won't go into the whole story, but it included the 4 class-less people sitting behind us yelling expletives at the Raiders and then at us to the point that I did not feel safe. So, we got up and left. I was SO angry. I have lost count of the ridiculous amount of poor encounters with Coloradans, and this was just the icing on the cake. I was literally in tears, walking towards the exit, hoping that by a miracle we could, instead of going home, get to the airport and never turn back. I was THAT ticked off. I know it was a highly emotional response given that one can't expect much from people that are regular football game attendees, but come on!

Our first thought was to just leave the game, because it had been such a bad interaction. But, after being assured by security that they would take care of it, and after talking to guest services and being offered new seats, we decided to give it another try. And, I'm really glad we did. We got seated in the plush club level and this was our new view.

You can definitely tell that I had been crying before this photo was taken,

but there were still smiles to be had.

You could actually see the players quite well from our new seats. See #55 on the Raider's team? That's Rolando McClain, he played for Alabama! And, I was secretly rooting for him. He made some great plays.

And then came half time. It was probably the best part of the entire game. It was some little leaguers vs. a whole slew of mascot characters. I still can't understand why all these mascots were at the game, but it made for a good laugh, mainly because they would just chase after some little kid and plow them over.

The game didn't get any better in the second half (the Broncos loss 14-59), but let me remind you, we had some sweet seats!

The weather was amazing, and I took this picture as a few darker clouds rolled in. A little dramatic, but I like it!

Lastly, here's a shot from one of the bars inside the club level. It had a nice view of downtown in the background.

All in all, I won't be back for a Broncos game. I'll cheer them on from home or a bar, but I'll keep my sanity and lessen the potential for interactions with stupid people.

the stanley hotel.

After getting the chance to spend the day with Crystal when she was in Colorado, it was great to have Micah's parents out to visit us that next weekend.

We took them all around town (made much easier in that they rented a car that was able to get us places quickly). But, we also went up to the mountains, to Estes Park. It too is your typical mountain town with the tacky t-shirt and salt water taffy stores. The scenery though is quite beautiful.

Estes Park is probably most know for the Stanley Hotel.

It is the inspiration for Stephen King's book and the location of the movie The Shining. Which is a horror book/film, and therefore the reason for why I have never read/seen it. However, I could just imagine how scared I would be if I were to.

Just being in the lobby was creepy enough for me.

There's a long history of the hotel, too long to be summarized here. But, if you're interested, you could go here to read up on it.

I know one thing for sure, I would NEVER stay there overnight. There's no doubt in my mind that I would not sleep one bit. And, why on earth would I want to put myself through that torture!

Visit to Manitou Springs, CO.

A few weeks ago, Micah and I rented a car for the day and drove south to Manitou Springs, outside of Colorado Springs. Even being there just an afternoon, it was apparent to me that it is a different world down there. It might have made me appreciate the fact that I'm living in Denver a little more.

Micah's younger sister Crystal was in town for a conference (don't even get me started on that...suffice it to say, I would most definitely do bodily harm to myself or the speaker if I were forced to attend. That or, I would just walk out).

It was nice spending time with Crystal though. It's strange being thrown into a new family, you know. It most definitely helps that I've felt welcomed with open arms. But, it's still a whole new system that you have to figure out, that and you have to some how meld yourself into it as well. Therefore, it's good to have a little one-on-one time, or in this case one-on-two time, I function better in those situations.

The three of us went to the Garden of the Gods, which is basically a magnificent rock park. Gigantic slabs of rock towering over you and jetting up into the sky. It's a little Land Before Times-esque (the 1st or 2nd, not the 8th or 9th). How many of those did they make?

I saw the kissing camels. I'm pretty sure the excursion could have been counted as a fail, if I hadn't.

We also hung out in Manitou Springs' "downtown;" mountain towns are famous for their western main streets. If I'm not mistaken all of them consist of shops were you can buy bear statues, and salt water taffy (is this perplexing to anyone but me?), and t-shirts that say things like "Mountain Dude" with the logo of Mountain Dew. But, Manitou Springs had something even better to offer, and that was frozen custard. And, it was darn good.

Not quite sure why I'm squinting in this picture. It wasn't sunny out. It was cold though, which is why I'm glad Crystal and I are close enough that I could borrow her jacket!

the giants vs. the rockies...take 2.

Remember the rockies/giants game last year? Well, I hadn't been to another baseball game since. And given the opportunity to sit in some pretty good seats, I wasn't going to pass up on an evening full of eating junk and hanging out with Micah and his co-workers, and of course, watch the giants beat the rockies (which they did!).

In just the first inning, the giants were up 4-0.

To top off getting a free margarita, the weather deciding to cooperate & not rain, and the giants winning 10-0, I ate cotton candy for the first time in YEARS. And, well, it has not changed. It's as wonderful as I remembered it being (besides that time I ate too much of it on one of my birthdays and puked it all up). Mmm..heaven in blue fluffy form.