Weekend in Denver

Timeline:

7/17 - Felicia is looking for cheap tickets, anywhere. Since anywhere is a large pool of options I began helping her look for tickets. I found round trip tickets from Provo to Denver and back for a little over $100 each way. We table the idea.
7/18 - We look up tickets again. I check my budget. I decide I am bored, and hop on the idea for a weekend getaway. We check the tickets again and they are still the same price, and we get to upgrade to what Frontier calls "Classic Plus", or their version of 1st Class. We buy our tickets.
7/22 - We leave Provo
7/25 - We leave Denver

If that's not eventful enough our trip also included: having to carry a backpack full of my things through downtown Denver because the lockers at the hostel were smaller than my backpack, having a guard at the Denver Public Library not only tell us how to get to Cherry Creek but what part houses in Denver are haunted and where he lives (truth), spending our first day trying to figure out where we were going to sleep because our hostel was Creepy (yes, capital C, Creepy), getting lunch at Good Time Burger (which is not worth it) because we were so tired and hungry that we eventually just picked something, getting lost on our way back to the hostel in a part of Denver we probably did not want to be in, Felicia needing to go to the bathroom so badly we ran in to the Art Museum and asked (puppy dog eyes included) if we could please use their bathroom, returning to our hostel to criss cross apple sauce and decide where we were sleeping, texting Kenny "Dear Knight in Shining Armor, we have two Damsels in Distress here who are ready to be rescued", leaving the hostel to wait for Kenny at the Arby's across the street only to come across barely dressed prostitutes and their pimps, waiting in Arby's and being asked if we were homeless, leaving Arby's because we were afraid of the pimps/prostitutes/drug deals and walking to a more lit area, walking past girls that were also poorly dressed who looked at us thinking we were homeless, seeing an unmarked cop car lurking near us, Kenny coming to save the day, spending the night at Kenny's place, going to the Temple & Qdoba, taking Kenny's car to the outlet mall and Felicia's aunt and uncles place, deciding we would stay the night at their place, going to church twice - once to see Felicia's cousin Trenton sing in church and then to the singles ward with Kenny, spending Sunday afternoon at her family's place, Felicia overflowing the toilet and then breaking the sink all before she could shower, waking up early the next morning to pack, eating omeletes made with five eggs a piece, walking to the light rail and then luckily getting on the right bus in to Cherry Creek, buying 5 Godiva chocolates for the price of 3, shopping in a mall that is way out of our price range, meeting up with Kenny for lunch at Duffy's Cherry Cricket (SO GOOD) and then Kenny driving us out to the airport, and Spencer and Lindsey picking us up in Provo.


That, was our weekend in Denver.
But I know all you really want to see is photos so here you go :)

"Are we really doing this?!"

Boarding our Frontier Flight

Not a fan of takeoff...

Classic Plus! 5 extra inches of legroom, 2 free checked bags, An entire beverage and free snacks.

Outside the Denver Museum of Art

Rednek Wine Glass - Mason Jar with a stem

Keys to the City

Taking the Recess pledge for a free t-shirt

Gelato!

Our lockers in our hostel. We had one per person.... yeah...

Stanley and Felicia had a less than friendly relationship

Denver Temple!

Frozen Yogurt @ Swirls in Castle Rock, CO

Longest game of apples to apples, ever.

We left Provo to miss Pioneer Days and left church with Pioneer Day Cupcakes

Fixing the sink, post-toilet overflow-edge

After fixing the toilet, and the sink, and finally getting to shower

Breakfast @ The Original Pancake House

Where do we go now?

Man V. Food

Little Cricket w/ Cream Cheese, Grilled Onions, Bacon and Jalepenos

Kenny decided to slide down the railing with a gimp leg. This is after he swung backwards and hung upside down for a minute... we were pretty sure he was going to hit his head

...because we only have one photo together...

And that, my friends, was our weekend in Denver.

Update on Life - July Recap

July.

The month I moved to Utah.

And what conversation was I having with my Dad last night? Just explaining reasons why even though I do not have a job yet and it makes things difficult and boring, I can't leave. I am here, and there is no changing that.

Yup. I may or may not (or may) have fallen in love with Utah.

Zoinks.



Okay, so here is the haps:

Life: is good. I've gotten to go to a temple every week (3 times in Provo, 2 times in Timpanogos, and 1 time in Denver). Sam has been a little MIA with family in town so she spends most of her time up in Jordan/Draper area. Felicia and I miss her presence but have been getting along fine. We went to Denver last weekend to try and avoid Pioneer Day craziness and still managed to walk out of church on Sunday in Castle Rock, CO with a Pioneer Day cupcake. Serious. I've been filling my days with cleaning, organizing, trying new recipes, going on walks, and hanging out with some really great people that made the decision of whether or not to stay in this ward, pretty easy. Let's hope they decide to not move our boundaries, oh that would stink.

Unemployed Life: is boring. I'm a busy person by nature, I just like to keep busy so a job is one great way to do that and bring in some money. Problem? If I can't walk to the job and it doesn't pay enough to finance a car then... I can't take it. See the dilemma? I'm trying here.

Funny story about my hometeachers: I don't know if either of them will ever find this blog but if they do, I think they would find this funny anyway. J might just find it typical of something he would say. So, our hometeachers are J and S. Yes, that is all you get. They came over yesterday (last day of the month) with cookies as a peace treaty (good job) and we had a good visit. I don't know who enjoyed the recap of our Denver trip more - Felicia and I could not stop laughing and J and S probably thought we were the most ridiculous travelers ever. They would be right. Well, we were talking about this duck pond on BYU's campus. The thing stinks. J says it is because everyone uses it for a date and there are full loaves of bread just chillin in the pond stinking it up.

Without any segway J says "I don't want to come off presumptuous at all but..."

*Insert panic button here.... thought: presumptuous about what?*

J continues - "and I haven't talked to S about this yet...."

*Insert double panic button here.... Felicia and I are thinking, what are they conspiring about?!

and J for the finish "Gina, we could fast for you this next weekend that you'll be able to find a job."


Won't lie, but that is not where Felicia and I saw that going originally. It took me at least a minute to catch back up to him, say thank you and go on. Is that weird or did anyone else see that ending differently?




Other than that.... well, not much is going on. Life is good though. Oh, and eventually I'll post about Denver and pick Music Monday back up. Promise.

Goodbye Utah

I got your attention, didn't I?

Not to worry my dears, I am only leaving Utah for the weekend, and going here...

 

Know where this is? 

If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere

I'm in Provo.

Why?

Oh, well, I live here now. I'm in my room, and this morning I at my food, and the other night I walked my city of Provo with Sam so we could get my favorite - coconut and mango frozen yogurt with fruit and cheesecake bites (dude, so good).

I haven't fully unpacked or uploaded all of the photos I took on my cross country trip with the Dransfields but I'll get there. I did however discover the beauty of GAP sales and bought a pair of jeans for $30 that fit me well and I don't need a belt with them - so that's pretty cool

Being in Provo as a resident is weird. I think my mind expects me to be leaving in a week but I live here now. Crazy. It's also weird not having a car. I don't mind walking places but I will tell you my first order of business is getting a car.

Sam and I went to a free concert the other day. We ate free popsicles, did a lot of people watching and listened to Nik Day.


I think I'll update more on my fun... after I unpack and make some progress with other things.

Utah Fun

I have just begun my trip out to Utah and I already have fun summer plans out there.


"Well, what are your fun plans in Utah?" - you might ask.

We are going to Stadium of Fire, for one. Sam says I need to go to the Freedom Festival events too - so that's a weekend of events.

I am hoping to have a car by then and maybe I'll get to travel down to Vegas for the 4th of July.

Tickets were purchased this morning for the midnight showing of Harry Potter - Part 2 on July 14th, and plans are being made to buy our season passes for BYU Football and Basketball.

It sounds like I'll have quite the social life - lets cross our fingers for a job too!

Dear Blogger Friends, re: Giveaway

This post has gotten the most views of any post I have ever written.

Ever. In the history of this blog.

More than my On the Soap Box - Single LDS Women post, which had a lot, and has a lot of great comments.

What I am asking is pretty, pretty please will you leave a comment here with some random idea of what I could name my food blog and if I pick your idea I will give you ...something.

Maybe the word something is not enticing enough of a giveaway? Sorry. I'm working on packing and moving my life across country :( I love you all, really, and promise it will be something good. I make headbands and fabric flower hair clips so in all honesty, it will probably be one of those (or maybe two).

I am extending the giveaway until 12:00pm on June 29th, 2011 - So when I get in to good ol' Provo I will have something to do other than unpack. :)

And now for your entertainment, and because it is his birthday, and he doesn't read the blog... maybe... Happy Birthday Scott.

Giveaway & New Blog

Okay ladies & gents - After much thought I have decided to start a cooking blog.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a passion for cooking. It's something that started for me long ago - before I could really cook on my own. I knew when mom was using that mixer thing that we would get to lick the yummy stuff off of the metal things (catchin' my drift? I loved when mom made cakes!) and I loved to help my grandma open cans and watch her cook because I knew afterward I was going to get a de-lish dinner.

When I was 12 my Mom went to Nursing School and got her RN. It was something that required long hours outside of the home keeping her in class, and at work. It was then that I, being the only daughter and the only one who picked up on cooking of any kind, began to make dinners. I only knew how to make a few meals and understood that most things I could just use a box to make. Velveeta Mac N Cheese and Shake N Bake saved my bum a few times when I just didn't know what to do.

I learned quickly how to use Bisquick to make pancakes, and make spaghetti. Next was making hamburgers, learning how to properly cook chicken (which took a really long time), making moms special pork tenderloin and roasted veggies.

Then I got into it. These last four years I have been cooking up a storm. I don't really like following recipes exactly, but more as a reference and then tailor them to how I or whoever is eating it will like it. I now make pancakes from scratch, homemade salsa, cacciatore from my own recipe, lemon curd and scones, and more.

I love to cook. I think of it as I think of life, It's an adventure.

So here is where you come in. You know me (at least some of you), you know my history with cooking, and you know of my intent to start a cooking blog sharing recipes I've come up with or recipes I have tried and loved so this is your part - I am looking for ideas for a blog name. Check out the previous post for photos of things I have made - I kind of love food photos, if you can't tell.


I have one that I kind of love but I don't want to limit myself. So I am asking for your help - What could I name my blog?

Enter: Giveaway

To the person whose cooking blog name I choose I will give you a handmade ...something. I do promise it will be a sweet gift, and very worth the time you spend thinking up blog names.

Rules

You may enter up to 3 different blog name ideas but please check them on blogger first to make sure they are not already taken (it'd be crazy lame if I found a really good one and it was taken already, aka no I will not name my blog Pioneer Woman haha)
 
**If I get to 40 comments on this blog then I will use a random number generator and do a 2nd giveaway 

Contest will close Wednesday June 29th, 2011

In the wise words of my advisor, and professor, Todd Brotherson -

"Good Luck, Good Skill"

((Hey you, feel like you don't know me well enough? Check out the About Me section and if you have questions, ask them!))

Food Photos

This is to give you an idea of things I have cooked and would share recipes for over on my food blog. 

All photos are my own.

Curry Chicken & Broccoli

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

Easy Empanadas

Love Pie

White Chicken Chili

Pulled Pork

Creme Brulee

Bruschetta

Monkey Bread

Turkey & Spinach Manicotti

Italian Chicken & Veggies - Quick Fix Meal!

My favorite whipped cream

Would turn it if I knew how! But these are the only two chefs I let cook with me :)

Grandma's Meatball Recipe, Spaghetti & Garlic Rolls

Chicken Cacciatore

How to make 68cent blueberry muffin mix taste... way better

Easy Stir Fry

Pizza!

Flautas

A Lesson in Patience...

Either I am not ready to leave yet, or my friends aren't ready but I am here for another day. We packed my car early this morning, to the brim, cleaned the apartment and then... there were things that still wouldn't fit in my car.

At this point I have had a yard sale, I have filled three very large garbage containers with papers and junk, I have donated a large box of items to Goodwill, I have shipped 7 boxes to UT (and when I said $100 I was close, $93! Is it just us business majors that like to play that game? Guess the final amount? :) ) and now I am down to things that I need to take home to leave there and clothing and shoes I need to go through and ship out.

Oi.

I am really excited for one final night with my friends here though. I have grown closer a few people just in the last year and I am grateful to have one more night with them. I just wish it didn't look like I was flaky, I promise I've been trying to leave.

Memorial Day Weekend - Part 4

Okay, dear followers, we've reached the end of the journey. My intuition tells me the only person who will actually read these posts (besides myself) is Sara. I base this on the fact that she is the only one in the group besides me who blogs and who knows I've been updating the blog with Memorial Day Weekend posts, and maybe she will need them to help jog her memory as she writes in her journal about the weekend that was.

Our final day of this trip was Monday, Memorial Day. We had established an OTD (Out the door) time of 8:30am, which didn't happen. We woke up, took our time, got ready, ate breakfast and some of us packed to leave straight from the district. We split up and drove down in to the city. A few ideas were thrown out re: parking. We could have parked at the Barlow again and walked in from Georgetown, or behind the museums (if the darn Thunder Rollers weren't still around and/or parking wasn't limited to 2hrs that day and/or the parade didn't have a need to close down major roads - you know those kinds of things), or where Jesse had found parking the day before. Eventually we wound up in the parking lot along the Potomac (real specific, eh?)

It was 3hr parking but we hoped that due to crowds, parades and speeches going on all over the district that we would be okay for however long our adventure took us. We split up early on because Katrina and Jesse were leaving earlier than the rest of us - they went off to look at some museums and we started towards the Lincoln Memorial. On our way we stopped at WWII to watch a ceremony honoring the veterans of that war. We then went to the Lincoln Memorial. I've been there many times but it never gets old to me. I also always think of this clip whenever I am there.

On our journey back towards the National Mall we saw the Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and a few others I don't know the names of. We took a break at the Washington Monument (probably one of my top 3 favorites) and tried to plan the rest of the day. Tyler went to this place last time he was in DC in Chinatown that he said had really good Chinese food. We began walking and realizing it was going to be a bit farther of a walk we voted: walk the rest of the way or metro one way. I think everyone gave in because I kept whining about how we weren't using the metro, sorry, I've kind of got a love/hate thing going with it. Mostly I love it on days it got me to work on time and when the escalators worked (and when the Dr. Pepper truck was outside Foggy Bottom tossing out cold cans of that sweet stuff), and the hate came in when I had to walk up the escalator at Dupont or FB or L'Enfant (oh, long, horrid things) or when it made me late, or when tourists would link arms and run on to the train and therefore I couldn't make it on - enough about the metro.

We went from Fed Triangle to Gallery Place/Chinatown with a transfer at L'Enfant. We couldn't locate the same place Tyler had been to so after a few minutes he said this one place looked good and we could go there. Sara ordered fried rice thinking her celiac self would be safe - but it was loaded with soy sauce, no bueno. I can't remember what everyone else had but I know Mari had some tofu dish and I had some of the best beef and broccoli ever (though, Bro Webster's is a very close competitor). I was pretty pleased that I was able to use the chopsticks for my whole meal, it only became tricky when trying to eat rice. Food was good though. We grabbed some Rita's (yum!) and began our walk to the National Archives, which would put us along the parade route. We found a nice shaded spot and then realized we were only 6 blocks from Sara's parents so we went and joined them and Sara's sister.


The parade itself was a cool experience. The only other Memorial Day parades I've seen are the ones I marched in for band in  6th, 7th, and 8th grade. There were a lot of people honoring the victims and families of the 9/11 victims. That hit home for me. As a quick background story my mom, at that time, worked for IBM in Manhattan. I don't remember how close her office building was to the towers but it was too close for comfort. They were on lock down that day after the 1st tower was hit and it took her a very long time to get home. I heard about it at first from my 7th grade Spanish teacher who got a call from her son while she was in class with us. She was talking about moving money into an account for him so he could get out, from where we didn't know at the time, and she hung up and told us all that something went very wrong. I don't remember anything from the rest of the day from after the time I got home but I do remember not knowing when Mom was coming home. That is a scary feeling for a 7th grader. Especially for one who is the oldest, with two younger brothers that I knew I had to keep a strong cover for. The memorials for 9/11 were beautiful, and reminded me how lucky I am that my mom was safe on that day.

The rest of the parade was full of marching bands from all over, re-enactors, and military groups. Oh, and Pat Sajak. After the parade we headed back to Sara's sisters' place and re-fueled on some great food, we packed and then we began our drive home. The drive wasn't bad and only in the last ten minutes did I start to get tired. We arrived home and I crashed in bed, thinking maybe this great weekend was a dream. Then I woke up to all the photos and realized nope, it was just one of the best trips I've taken with some of my favorite people.

Somewhere in this story we went to the National History Museum and the National Museum of Art... photos are included but I don't remember when we went to them in the timeline of the post... oh well.

Presenting of the colors at the WWII Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Tori, myself and Abe :)

The reflecting pool was drained, and ugly.

I don't remember which monument this is

Tori looking at the Vietnam Memorial Wall

Korean War Memorial

From the Washington Monument looking towards the White House

A sleepy Sara and my shirt stained by her bag. I'd complain but that bag was so good that day, and if anyone knows where I can find myself a cloth, open top, cross-body bag - I'll love you.

It's not that I have a thing for the Muppets, its just Kermie :) I like frogs.

In the Lincoln exhibit

Abe vs. Tyler - Abe Wins

Tyler: "Gosh I wish I could find that Chinese restaurant" , Sara: "I don't know it but I'm about to eat a plate full of GLUTEN!", Tori: "Storm coming?? BRING IT!!"

 

 

 

This was about the time some guy on the other side of the street screamed "Where's Vanna?!"

These chicks were stomping - It was probably the most involved "marching" of the whole parade and I am semi-interested to know how they did it for the entire stretch of the parade.

Snow in New York - Robert Henri

Final photo in DC - Mari and The Capitol Building