Living Denver

I'll be living in Denver for the next 39 days. And while I'm excited for the future, I love living here. I love knowing my way around, and biking everywhere, running in the parks, my yoga studio, hanging out with Liz Cheuk and and the general culture of fitness and outdoorsy-ness.

Last Sunday Liz and I did the dirty dash- a 3 mile mud run filled with mud pits, obstacles and muddy participants! Right past the starting line was the first mud pit (of about 4 or 5) so right away we were filthy! Then we had to jump over hay bales, climb over walls, under walls, across monkey bars and up ropes. At every mud pit Liz tried to ambush me and push/pull me deeper into the mud. She drove, so the joke's on her! She is lucky she brought garbage bags to cover her seats otherwise I would have rubbed my muddy body all over it!

Saturday I volunteered at the Denver Century ride, helping out at the packet pickup table and with the kid's parade ride. It was such a cool event to see! All the early morning bikers (for the longer distance rides- 100 miles, 75 miles etc.) wore spandex on their tiny butts and had beautiful bikes that filled me with bike envy! I like to think that if I had my good bike in Denver I would be a Century ride participant, but honestly I'm not sure I could ride a hundred miles anymore.

Thursday was the Solstice ride from City Park to Wash park. It was super cool to ride through the botanic gardens and Hi-Five all the Americorps NCCC kids working as course marshals. The ride ended at the VOC office in Wash Park for the burrito/beer picnic and I was able to return the tape measure I accidentally walked off with from the Red Rocks volunteer event. I met up with MG and Steve at the ride and had a chance to catch up. Hopefully I'll get to see them again before I leave.

Tomorrow Liz and I are going to the Renaissance Festival!

Krazy Tuna Salad

I made tuna salad this weekend. It was so delicious it was a struggle not to eat it all the first day. I’m not a big fan of mayonnaise, so this recipe is one of my new favorites!

Ingredients:

3 cans of tuna- drained

1/3 or more of a large cucumber- peeled and diced

½ an onion diced

2 ripe avocados

Mix & Enjoy!

This tuna salad makes a great sandwich, and it also delicious on a bed of spinach.

Chicago

This weekend I went to Chicago to visit Noel. I flew out there Friday and we spent the week biking around and seeing the city. Friday we visited with some of Noels friends and borrowed a bike from Dinah so I could bike around. Saturday we explored the city seeing the Bean, and going up in the John Hancock Tower, drinking Ghirardelli milkshakes and eating some deep dish pizza! We met up with a few of Noel’s friends and Mina. Sunday we did some more exploring, out in Devon (a little India area) and then some vintage shop hopping (I replaced my jean jacket that I was super sad about losing) and then met up with Melanie and Jenny from Americorps.

 

Monday we took a train to Indiana to go to a Hawaiian themed dinner party with Noel’s friends. Then Tuesday we took the train back to Chicago. Noel had to work so I went to the art Museum, then got dinner with Stephen (another Americorps buddy) and then found a Bikram yoga studio. I also was able to successfully navigate the city all by myself! Wednesday I flew back to Denver, with plenty of time to go to work L. Chicago was a pretty cool place, but it was super crowded with people, and all the drivers honk their horns super loud, all the time! I’m super glad I got to visit Noel and meet her friends and see where she lives and hang out in the city, but not enough to drop everything I’m doing and move there.

Volunteering Like a Pro!

The past two weeks I’ve been interviewing with several Habitat for Humanity affiliates for an Americorps State/National position in the fall. I think I talked to 6 affiliates, and I think the interviews went really well! Being able to talk about my experience and skills and passion for community service really made me feel more confident in myself. I’m so excited to be doing what I love, and traveling somewhere new and getting to meet new people, experience new communities and learn new things!

Yesterday I went to Red Rocks and volunteered with the Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado. We built a new trail. My crew got to install steps on one of the steeper inclines. It was really awesome to be out there meeting volunteers and chatting with other people who love volunteering. I managed to get a rode from a girl who lives pretty close. The VOC compiles lists of their volunteers who need rides and who can offer rides. It was excellent and I hope I can get out and volunteer with them again this summer! I also got to meet some other guys. Steve is running the Colfax Half Marathon, and I saw him again today while I was volunteering there!

So after a full day of backbreaking work yesterday I woke up early to volunteer at the Colfax Marathon this morning. And by early I mean, I was out of bed by 4:30 am. I signed up to be a Zoo volunteer. (This year the Half Marathon course runs through the Denver Zoo!) I was stationed in between the bird house and the elephants. Even though I could hear the monkeys and smell the elephants, the only animals I saw were rabbits and geese. So I was positioned along the race course to cheer and direct runners in the right direction. The Half Marathon sold out this year with 6,000 runners! It was a really cool experience. The first few runners that came by were athletes with disabilities; runners pushing paralyzed and paraplegic friends/family members, and a few blind runners running with a partner/coach who helped them navigate turns. It was really awesome! Then came the three gazelle like men who were in it to win it! I was told afterwards that the Half Marathon and the Marathon race records were both broken today. And they were followed by a massive crowd of runners of all speeds. And so many people called out to say thank you for being here! It was such a great atmosphere, everyone had such a great attitude! My hands hurt from clapping so much!

Exciting Week!

April was a pretty low-key month. It snowed here in Denver at least once a week. I had a great month filled with hot yoga, new books, and volunteering. Now that its May I hope that the weather warms up and I can start running at Wash Park again! Yesterday I ran the Louisville Trail Half Marathon. It was a beautiful run with a great view of the mountains. It was a little chilly in the morning, which was a great change from the 100 degree weather at last years race!

The race was a great start to a fun-filled week! My parents are visiting this week and I've taken some time off of work to hang out with them and see the Rockies/Yankees game. It's bound to be a great week starting off a great month!

Starting April

This past weekend was beautiful! The weather was sunny and warm, reaching the 70s on Friday! It really made me happy that I had taken the day off the volunteer with Habitat for Humanity! It was a refreshing change of pace to be outside working and meeting new people. I got to spend the day installing insulation and chatting with some volunteers from a local parents association. Then I hit up a local happy hour and met up with Maria after she got out of work.

Saturday I did a lot of yoga and running before Adam got out of work. We spent the afternoon walking around Downtown and tried a different Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Sunday I forced Adam to go to the Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue with me and play with the cats for a  couple hours! It was kitty heaven!

Birthday Weekend!

This weekend I turned 26. Saturday Adam and I were supposed to take the Colorado Brewery Bus Tour to Fort Collins and see the different breweries and sample the different beers. But alas, a monster snow storm was predicted, and the bus tour was cancelled. We were able to reschedule for late May, but I was so bummed on Saturday. For once we had actual plans to go out and do something, and those plans were replaced by staying home and eating junk food. I don’t think I’ve ever been that bored or incapable of entertaining myself in my life! Eventually we went to Barnes and Noble and GameStop and picked up some video games to try and pass the time. I got Final Fantasy XIII (which I don’t care for) and Fable II (which I love). While it wasn’t the blizzard of the century, the snow was miserable enough that I only ventured out for yoga twice. Sunday I walked there so I wouldn’t kick up the slush on my bike and get a dirt-skunk line on the back of my coat. Sunday was better than Saturday. It was sunny, and slightly warmer and I spent the afternoon at the Gypsy Café getting wifi, watching Bones and Castle and looking up half-marathons I want to run.

Monday was fantastic! Adam and I took the day off for my birthday and after yoga we went to Wild Eggs for breakfast. I had a “Surfer Girl” omelet filled with vegetables, and covered in sprouts and avocados. It was delicious! Then we went to the aquarium. I did not think the fish were very interesting or impressive. Though the aquarium is able to boast that it is “home to the biggest shark in Colorado.” I did pet a sting ray, but in my opinion the facility was less impressive than Mystic Aquarium. After that we walked around the Colorado Mills Mall, drank a Blueberry beer at the Yardhouse, and then watched Oz the Great and Powerful in IMAX 3D. I enjoyed the movie, and thought it was a great story with great effects. James Franco wasn’t too terrible to look at either. During dinner at the Olive Garden it started snowing again.

It’s now Thursday and it has finally warmed up again. It’s finally feeling Spring-like, and I’ve even worn short sleeves to work!