Friday, August 31, 2012

Bye Bye Summer

Labor Day means that summer is over, yah? Does that mean it's time to start enjoying a glass of red wine at the end of the day rather than this:




Not for at least a few days, I'd say, since it's still smokin' hot here in Boulder. WTF, fall?

I enjoyed this beer while sitting at the bar by myself and waiting for David's family to arrive for his niece's birthday party on Wednesday. How is it that I've never sat at a bar and had a beer by myself before??!! In case you haven't done this, go do it now--it's the apex in relaxation, especially when the US Open is on the bar TV.

Typical to form, I failed to take pictures of the dinner we had that night, though I did manage to get a single pic of the birthday cupcakes:




and the birthday girl:




Peyton just turned twelve. Does anyone else remember twelve as being, like, the most difficult age ever? I better give Peyton like fifty hugs every time I see her.

On a less hormonal note, last night we had my parents, brother, nieces, and SIL over for dinner. It was really nice to see them all, especially my SIL Sarah. She's pretty much fantastic.

For dinner, we had pizza and I made salads. Yes, salads: one for David and me, and another for my family. Apparently eating spinach is a learned taste, and my parents and brother have yet to attain it out.


Romaine and tomatoes for them, spinach, almonds, strawberries and Parmesan cheese for us. 

In addition to the pizza and salad, we also sampled the Dogfish Pumpkin Beer, which I found to be much better than most pumpkin beers. Not the best beer I've ever had, but definitely good and surprisingly tasty for a novelty beer.




In addition to these treats, we also had a visit from the gingerbread man, who came over to visit my nieces Morgan and Riley:




Any guesses as to who that might be? Uh huh...my husband. And, in case you're wondering, this is not the only novelty suit that he owns. Yah, that's not a rental, people.

*Do you ever dress up in costume? (Keep it "G," people!)

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Popsockets

Holy f-ing pot pie it is hot already! Umm, what happened to fall here in Boulder? There were a few cool days last week, but now it is back up to mid-nineties, and it suuuuucks. (Mostly because we don't have air-conditioning.)

Anyhow, I'm posting this morning because I have another marathon afternoon/evening planned out. As soon as I'm done here, I'm off to a Body Pump class, followed by errands to pick up things because we're having my parents, my brother, my SIL, and my nieces over for dinner tonight. Before that, however, Adam and his sister are coming by to say hi and to also drop off some things that we are storing for Adam while he is out of the country. (Really, the deal was contingent upon him "storing" his TV here. We don't have a TV and most of the time I'm glad but sometimes it's wretched.)

Today I thought I'd fill you in on an aspect of my life that I haven't discussed as of yet. That aspect is Popsockets. Whaaaaa???, you ask? Well, Popsockets.




Popsockets are David's brainchild, and something that he has invented in order to minimize the hassle of having your headset attached to your iPhone. (David says no to any potential brain cancers caused by cell phone radiation--he's just that kind of guy!)

The bottom piece is, of course, the iPhone, which is covered in a case that he developed in partnership with Speck Design. The top part is the Popsocket itself, which is designed to collapse flat with the case when your headset is wrapped around it, and also to serve as a prop or kickstand for when you want to watch porn on your flight to Las Vegas with ease. (Better view sharing with your neighbors too.)

David is very serious about this invention, and last year even attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He also put together a Kickstarter.com campaign, where he successfully raised some dollas to get these things manufactured.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1250439912/popsockets-iphone-case-it-pops-props-kicks-and-cli

I highly recommend that you watch this video. A lot of people loved it, while others literally emailed death wishes to David. (I guess some tech peeps don't like to see a doofus dancing his ass off.)

At any rate, while I suspect that many of you don't really care about David's invention, I thought I'd ask if you, or anyone that you're close to, have invented anything. I'm wondering because David seems to have a lot of friends who are always thinking of new inventions and considering which ones to really get behind and try to make.

This, to me, is pretty daunting, most because I don't sit around thinking about inventing new things, but also because it is a pretty big risk financially to create a new product.

*What do you guys think: crazy to invent something new, or are you all doing the same thing in your basements?

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Wednesday Weekend Update!

So this is going to be a boatload of a post, I promise. My bad for not posting yesterday, but circumstances most definitely did not permit, and I hope you understand.

Anyhow, I still haven't recapped my weekend!! I'll try to make this as painless as possible...

I started the weekend off by treating myself to pancakes. David was out of town so I figured a nice big breakfast would assuage my utter loneliness:-)



I figured I'd give the maple syrup another shot...but sadly, its was still a no-go. I would still just rather have a huge blob of nut butter. On that note, has anyone tried this Earth Balance coconut/peanut butter?  I thought I'd give it a try since coconut stuff is all the rage, but it was so-so. Plus, is it just me, or does 65% of your daily saturated fat allowance sound like a lot??!!!

After breakfast, I headed down to Boulder Canyon to watch the USA ProCycling Challenge come through Boulder. It.Was.So.Exciting. Below is a crap pic I took as they rode towards me:




As luck would have it, I also ran into my friends Hudson and Kim!!




After watching them ZOOM by, I headed to Thornton to see my brother Brian, his wife Jennifer, and their new baby Ella. Jennifer was actually hosting a Pampered Chef party, but really I went for this:



Ella's eyes are so incredibly blue in person, and lucky for her they are likely to stay that way since her mom is blue-eyed as well! Another Ella highlight: while holding her my thumb apparently got too close to her mouth, since she quickly grabbed it and stuffed it in her mouth! It was adorable (not adorbs, people), though it made me sympathize with her mother because that girl has some serious suction power!!

The rest of the weekend (and Monday) wasn't too eventful, but things picked up again yesterday! After working at home in the morning I hit up a Body Pump class at the gym, after which I rushed around running errands before meeting David to get ... our marriage license!




Yes, we have been very delinquent on this. But not because we don't like each other:-) This is the nice lady who legally granted our marriage:




She did not want to have her photo taken, but then I screamed, "It's my freaking day!" and she relented. Anyway, so now I guess the state says we're married too. Shrug. I'm so confused about which date should be our official wedding anniversary, though--the date of our wedding, or yesterday? Perhaps cake on both days?

Finally, the last update I have for this monster post is to fill you in on our activities after we got married yesterday afternoon. We were rushing around because we had to meet our friend Adam and his sister, who is visiting from London, at a trail head for a hike. We hiked up Green Mountain, and despite it being relatively hot, these two managed still to look pretty cool:




The view:




After hiking, we dashed over to Whole Foods to grab some dinner and eat outside. Unfortunately we didn't get home until almost ten, which is why I was unable (too tired) to blog last night.

And I'm off again, since tonight we're driving down to Denver to have dinner with David's family for his niece's birthday. We are going here: http://littleolliescherrycreek.com, and I will take pictures!!!

*If your wedding date and official marriage date are different, which do you celebrate? Are there any professional sports that literally make you pee yourself from excitement when watching in person? (Or, I guess, when watching on TV?) (We try to be inclusive here on NCK.)

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Scha-leepy

Full day today. . .double post coming tomorrow, I promise . .must sleep now. . .

Monday, August 27, 2012

When Life Gives You Zucchini...

In lieu of a weekend recap, I thought I'd give you a post on the highlight of my day, namely, finding two huge zucchini while riding my bike.

On second thought, maybe that seems to pathetic. Oh weeeeeeeell!

My gym is closed this week for annual maintenance, which was finally enough motivation to get me out on my road bike again. While I have been mountain biking several times, I've just been too hooked on these Boot Camp/Body Pump classes at my gym, and consequently my poor road bike, Flo, as I call her, has really suffered from neglect. This is too bad because Flo really is hot shit.

Anyhow, I headed out this morning for a ride that I used to do all the time. It's up Boulder Canyon to Four Mile Canyon, and you can either stop riding after about five miles when the pavement turns to dirt, or you can stop being a pussy and keep riding for about ten more miles before the road ends in Sunset, Colorado. I didn't go all the way to Sunset today, for reasons that I'll explain shortly, but I did go about seven miles up the canyon--all of them really relaxing, beautiful, and just generally happiness-inducing.

I was pretty scared beforehand that despite all my classes at the YMCA I'd be sucking a shit-ton of air as soon as I started riding. As any of you fellow cyclists out there know, cycling is a type of fitness all its own: even when I could run fifteen miles at a good clip I couldn't ride uphill for crap if I hadn't been training regularly. Miraculously, however, I sucked minimal air today, and generally felt just as fit as I had the last time I rode my road bike--go figure!

This alone was reason enough to enjoy the bike ride, but on top of this, I came across a sign on the side of the road that totally made my day:



Two really professional-looking cyclists came upon me here and gave me the strangest look when I yelled--very excitedly--"FREE SQUASH!!!" Apparently they hadn't ridden up the canyon with the intention of picking up fresh produce. (Losers)

While there wasn't any squash, there were two HUGE zucchineez!!! (It appears that both me and my zucc benefactor can't spell zucchini correctly.) I couldn't think of continuing to ride without taking my zucchini bounty, but I also wasn't enthused about carrying to enormous zucchini farther uphill with me. So, I did what any hoarder would do: I squeezed the zucchini in the back pockets of my jersey and decided to call it a day. After all, thinking about what to make with my zucchini burned prolly even more calories than continuing to ride, right?

Me trying to photograph said zuccs in my back pockets:


First attempt: not even close.








From this angle you can see the lovely garden that produced this zucchini.

I'll let you know what was cooked with these zucchini tomorrow, in addition to a proper weekend recap. (Hint: I actually did something, again!!!, this weekend!)

*Have you ever tried to fit two huge gourds in your back pockets? What did you do this weekend?

Friday, August 24, 2012

Nnnnnnnnooch Attack!

Yay! It's Friday! Given that my job gives me a lot of flexibility as to when I work this doesn't mean much, but boy does Friday feel good! It feels especially good because I have two weekend activities to which I can look forward to.

But first, a recap of last night, since ... I actually cooked kale! Don't get too excited, it was my usual noochy kale:




But I did realize that I've learned one good tip when it comes to cooking kale, and that is




Misto!!! I'm sure you have a misto, or at the very least you've heard of it. It's like Pam, only without the jet fuel additives. (Well, unless you add your own jet fuel to your olive oil misto.)

Our misto is filled with olive oil, and it's great for lightly spritzing the kale leaves (after they've already been coated in a bit of olive oil by hand) so that the edges get nice and crispy. This is important, else you can end up with a big pile of soft noochy kale (which is, in my opinion, still delicious, but David doesn't like it so much).

Another tip I've learned recently: dogs don't understand salad spinners.






So, about that weekend. I'm mostly pumped because the USA ProCycling Challenge is coming right through Boulder!!! (http://usaprocyclingchallenge.com) I'm a geek, I know, but it is so.freaking.exciting to see these guys race by at the speeds that they do. Last year my voice was hoarse because I literally started screeching and jumping up and down when the peleton rode by me.

Also, I'm going to a Pampered Chef party. Woot. Not. But I will get to see my nieces, brothers, SILs, and parents there, so that makes it worth it. Kill me if I write in on Monday and seem excited about a new spoonula.

*What sporting event makes you feel like an excited lunatic?

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Random Schtuff Thursday

Random point #1:

Things around here have been pretty boring lately. Good, but boring. For example, while I thought most of the wedding work would end with the wedding, it turns out that you have to send thank you cards to the peeps who came to the wedding. Luckily we only invited our sisters, brothers, parents, and nieces and nephews, but geez--add this to my list of reasons I don't want to have a big wedding for my second marriage.


I wonder if my advisor will accept this photo as an explanation for my dissertation introduction,
which is not writing itself.

Random Point #2:

I've also been spending time running errands and taking care of business for my "journal job," that is, my job as an editor of an academic journal. This is my last month working for the journal, which means that there are a few things that need to get straightened out and finished before I'm done. Of course, this means that come September 1 my only job will be finishing my dissertation. I'm on fellowship this year, which means that I don't even have to teach--woohoo!

Random Point #3:

Tofu...please tell me you love it too! (Also, please tell me how you prepare it!) I go through phases where I want it everyday, which explains why this was my afternoon snack:




Random Point #4:

I've been taking Haruki out for her evening pee break this week. This is scary because I often come across bear scat while walking around our house, and David has seen mountain lions before too. To frighten away said wildlife, I decided to walk Haruki with:

1) a can of bear spray in my back pocket
2) a high-powered head lamp so I can see if something is stalking us
3) a pink baseball bat
and 4) a popped umbrella that I hold very high over my head so the mountain lions think I'm really big. (Or really stupid, you be the judge).

*Seriously, tell me how to make tofu taste good at home??!!

P.S. Here are some pics of animal tracks that David and I came across while hiking in Crested Butte over our wedding weekend...scary bizness!!






I have a feeling that an umbrella isn't going to scare these creatures away. Luckily, a mountain lion will prolly attack Haruki first. We're currently thinking about getting a really small dog so that in case of an encounter David, Haruki, and I will all be safe. (Sorry to all the small dog lovers).*


*This is a joke. Please have a beer if this upset you.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

I've Got That Food Stuck In My Head

So obviously we've all heard the phrase "song stuck in my head," yah?

But let's talk about having food stuck in your head, and I don't mean literally. (Given my experience with bird shit earlier this week you might've been uncertain).

I mean what happens when you've fixated so much on a certain food that you are damn near useless until you get it. Also, you're willing to do a lot to get it and nothing will serve as a substitute. This happens to you too, right? You get hooked on the fall pumpkin latte at Starbucks and have it every freaking day, only to be literally crushed when fall ends and you're stuck with some Peppermint bullshit come Christmas-time?

I'm thinking about this today because I am currently eating some Sesame Kale from Whole Foods. You may remember Sesame Kale from such films as

http://nikkicookskale.blogspot.com/2012/06/pink-marrow.html

http://nikkicookskale.blogspot.com/2012/05/une-petite-erreur.html

http://nikkicookskale.blogspot.com/2012/06/thursday-schmurzday.html

Ahem. "Whole Paycheck" is right.

At any rate, lately my Whole Foods has decided to not make Sesame Kale. Talk about a tale spin! Wahhhh? I've been forced to try other kinds of prepared kale salads, and at this point I'm thinking I might actually have to cook some freakin' kale of my own. (I really should've called my blog "Nikki Buys Kale From Whole Foods," but that wasn't as catchy.

But it also reminded me that I have a bad habit of getting into food habits and then obsessively trying to stick with them.

Exhibit A: When I first moved to Boulder and began spending my entire earnings at Whole Foods, I became addicted to the roasted brussel sprouts. As in, I ate them nearly every single day. I also drove around town to three different Whole Foods if I couldn't find said sprouts at my store of choice. Surely that is a sign of sickness.

Exhibit B: Before I became the health-conscious sugar-shunner that I am today, I looooooooved having a few small cookies every night. I'm not talking about serious sized cookies, but more like a handful of animal crackers, or in this particular case, gingerbread Christmas cookies. As with the brussel sprouts, I would literally drive twenty miles total to check and see if any the King Soopers in my area had these cookies when I couldn't find them in my usual store. I would also obsessively eat a few of these cookies every.single.night, whether I was hungry or not.

So, how abnormal is this? Am I the only one who is willing to drive a decent distance to get exactly the food that is "stuck in my head," or are there others of you out there who also get fixated on something yummy from time to time?

P.S. No photos today. Will be a better person tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Sprouts n' Oats

So, in keeping with my theme to get my sh*& together, last night I actually made dinner--woohoo! It wasn't much of a dinner, but it beats cereal, toast, or peanut butter and apples.

First I roasted up a boatload of brussel sprouts and sliced up carrots. Then I gave Caitlin's Cast Iron Tofu recipe a try (http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2012/02/cast-iron-tofu.html). I really like tofu, but it has to be cooked well and thus I haven't had it at home in quite some time.



My review: good. Not as good as tofu that I've been served at restaurants or at Whole Foods, but I think that is because I was afraid to sear the tofu on a super high temp. This results in a slightly less crispy exterior, but on the other hand it also reduces the risk of fire in my home. At any rate, I felt good about cooking a solid meal (which I supplemented with some brown rice chips and cherries!) for myself, and my day got even better when Haruki decided to strike some interesting poses for me while we were getting ready for bed:





She layed herself out like this for ten minutes last night, with her left leg and paw just shooting straight up. Kooky dog:-)

This morning I went back for more (can you believe it?!!) oatmeal.




Today I spruced it up with an apple and some Nuttzo Butter. It was good, but I'm having a realization about oatmeal, specifically the fact that my oatmeal is never creamy and gooey, but more like soft, wet oat flakes. Not bad, but not exactly the bowl of oats featured in this video: (http://www.katheats.com/?p=2173). According to David, that's because the oats we buy are still "whole," while most oats are actually cut. WTF? I better google this once I'm done here. For being a self-proclaimed "foodie," I'm kinda dumb:0(

*Do you eat oatmeal? If yes, do you think about eating Captain Crunch Peanut Butter Puffs while doing so?

Monday, August 20, 2012

The Case of the Flying Blueberry

Another Monday, another thrilling weekend recap, right?

Well, kablam! Something exciting actually happened to me this weekend:

I got shit on by a bird! Hooray!

Just kidding about the hooray part, not kidding about the bird shit. FML--that's what "the kids" say, right?

The bird attacked me with its feces on Pearl Street here in Boulder, which, in case you don't know, is a pretty popular walking mall in the heart of Boulder, i.e. lots of people saw me get shit on. David and I had just finished having dinner with our friends at The Kitchen Next Door (http://thekitchencommunity.com/nextdoor-boulder/) and were standing outside the restaurant chit chatting it up. When out of nowhere,


http://www.myteeprinting.com/shop.php?p=search_results&search_terms=guns+blam+bus+wankers

I felt something hit the top of my head. I've never been shit on before, so instead of deducing that it was prolly bird shit, I actually thought that someone eating al fresco had thrown a blueberry at me. So, of course, I turned around and yelled "Hey! Not cool!" at all those peeps. Yah. Lucky for them I stuck my hand in my hair to pull out the blueberry and found a lump of shit--else those al fresco diners would've had some 'splainin to do. F-ers.

I'm not sure which is more embarrassing: that a bird crapped on me, or that I'm so daft that I actually thought it was more plausible that a random diner at a nice restaurant threw a blueberry at me. (Because a side of blueberries is totally on the menu, right?)

Ugh. At least I had a good excuse to treat myself to frozen yogurt afterward, I guess. And my hair got extra clean with two showers that day too--score! Ugh.

Other than getting crapped on, the weekend was fairly uneventful. I did have a bit of a realization about my recent dietary habits, which has motivated me to clean things up a bit eating wise. This doesn't mean a diet, but I should prolly stop eating when I'm full instead of continuing to eat from boredom, because it's a special occasion (the wedding), or because an entire wedding cake is staring me down. My bad. At any rate, my day started with something that I haven't had in awhile, that is, a big bowl of oatmeal, made with cinnamon, vanilla extract, a whipped up banana, and some peanut butter...yum. (The idea for this was courtesy, of course, of Kath at KERF, http://www.katheats.com/kaths-tribute-to-oatmeal).




At any rate, eating oatmeal and deciding to clean up my eats a bit this morning made me think about how often I read this same story on blogs all the time--i.e. "I've been eating like crap and today I'm going to start getting on track, starting with this oatmeal which has, like, no calories, and will hopefully help me with milk supply if I ever gain enough weight to become pregnant and nurse a child." Okay, I embellished, but I'm sure you've seen this kind of post, right? Despite my snarkiness, I don't think there's anything wrong with this kind of post; let's not forget that I'm posting very nearly the same thing. However, I started wondering how often bloggers post this while still thinking to themselves, "Or, instead of getting 'on track,' it's totally possible that I'm like one bitchy hormonal surge away from a cupcake and another cupcake and another cupcake and an endless slide into obesity." Anyone?

*Ever been shit on before? By a bird or human?



Friday, August 17, 2012

Day Date

How sad. I've only been married six days and I'm already going on dates alone.

I should add that the reason I'm dating myself is that my "date" was at two-thirty in the afternoon. Yah. After my kickboxing class and a shower at the gym, I headed straight to Native Foods (http://nativefoods.com) for piiiiiizza (pizza).




This is their "Very Voluptuous Veggie Pizza," and as you can see, it really does have mounds of kale. It's like a salad, only with whole wheat pesto-coated crust underneath--yum! (A former anorexic's dream, if you ask me!)

After my lunch date (i.e. after I scarfed 3/4 of this pizza very quickly while reading blogs) I headed to the multiplex for a little Friday afternoon movie. Does anyone else want to weigh in on going to the movies alone? I have never eaten at a sit-down restaurant--one with a waiter--before, but I absolutely love going to the movies by myself. This is especially true if it's a weekday and it's in the middle of said weekday. Yah, you get a lot of blue hairs who like to chat, but it's just so über relaxing to escape on a weekday.

Today I saw the new Bourne movie. It was good. Not a stellar or high-quality movie, but a movie with a good cast, a decent and diverting story, and exotic locations like Thailand, the Phillipines, Pakistan, etc. I'm really showing my geek streak here, but going to movies like this one is enjoyable for the same reason that reading is, namely, because it's almost as good as actually going to a new place or meeting new people.

After the movies, I grabbed a few things from the grocery store before heading home to a dinner of leftover tofu cubes, toast with Nuttzo butter, and an apple with Nuttzo butter (https://gonuttzo.com). I swear that Nuttzo butter is going to be the death of me...I truly cannot afford it, but I am also unable to stop eating it--gah!

This weekend is looking pretty low-key--just cleaning up the house, putting away some things I still haven't unpacked since we moved in, going out with friends tomorrow night, and maybe even giving Haruki a bath. (Shhh--don't tell her).

*What are you up to this weekend?

P.S. Until I start taking more photos of my day-to-day activities (like a good food blogger), I'm going to post a few wedding pictures...hehe. Enjoy. Hehe.





This is my scary "Popping Neck Vein" pose, aka, the throwing of the bouquet:-)




Thursday, August 16, 2012

Today Was a Good Day (Didn't Have to Use My AK)

Today has been a good day. I have a feeling that it was a good day in part because it also happens to be Thursday. Like I've said before, not having a typical 9-5, M-F job doesn't stop me from dreading Monday and looking forward to the weekend. Go figure.

Today was also good because I got a few things crossed off my crap to-do list. For instance, I returned the cake stands that we rented for our wedding cake, I set up my locker rental at the gym:


Now I have an official place to store my schiz-nit while I'm at the gym.
and I also took care of some errands for the journal that I edit.

Some of these errands took me to campus, where I was treated with the sight of lots of nervous parents getting ready to leave their freshman children for their first semesters at college. It didn't make me think this at the time, but writing about it now makes me think back to when my parents "left" me all alone at college. To this day I'm still shocked that I couldn't care less when my parents drove off to return to Colorado. I was an extremely homesick kid and adolescent, so I was expecting a total disaster scene when they left me in a new state where I had no friends and no family. (Full disclaimer: the disaster scene did come, but not until November, when the winter set in and I realized how much I missed the Colorado sunshine).

At any rate, I always think it's kind of adorable to see the freshman students and their parents, though I also cringe because I know that while they might be embarking on some of the "best years of their lives," they are also embarking on some of the most challenging. Anyone with me here, or was it all roses for you in your early 20's?

Finally, today was also good because I got lots of quality time with Haruki. We've had a number of workers over at our house recently, trying to finish the f-ing thing, and their penchant for using loud machines really freaks Ruki out. Hence the intense clingy-ness:


When I'm scared David just explains to me that my fears are irrational. Sigh. I think Haruki's got it better.

And just for good measure, a random wedding picture that my sister-in-law passed along. (Please let me know if you really don't want to see anymore wedding pics. They are starting to trickle in from my family but I won't post them if you all feel gaggy when you see them).




*Did you cry when your parents/guardian peeps dropped you off at college?

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Uszch

As in, "it's back to the usual today."

Meh. Now I know why people go straight on their honeymoons after getting married.

On that note, I don't think I've mentioned where David and I will be "honeymooning." I put honeymooning in scare quotes because we won't be going until Thanksgiving, as that's when the university gives us a week off.

For our honeymoon we decided to go to ... France and Switzerland! (Gasp!)

http://wikitravel.org/en/File:ParisView.jpg

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/switzerland
This is kind of a big deal for me, since it's only my second trip overseas and I've wanted to go to France and Switzerland for a long long time. It's also kind of fitting, since it was on my first trip overseas--to England--last year at Thanksgiving that David proposed to me. (I also put "honeymoon" in quotes because we had to call it a honeymoon or my mother would get pissed that we were gone for two Thanksgivings in a row. Honeymoon=best excuse to avoid a fried turkey ever!) (Also, I'm hoping that calling it a honeymoon will prompt hotel managers to send champagne to our room. Does that make me white trash?)

Some things I'm looking forward to on the trip:

1) Eating a croissant and looking around furtively, only to discover that croissants aren't "bad" in France the way they are "bad" in the US. As far as guilt and food go, France > United States. Croissants for everybody!

2) Visiting the Père Lachaise Cemetery:

http://www.gothic-culture.com/europe/104-pere-lachaise-cemetery.html
3) Watching David try to speak rudimentary French. I suspect those French peeps are going to hate how effusive and goofy he is...

And, just so you guys have something to look forward to, maybe I'll even get a decent camera by then so you can see some pretty pics of our travels rather than iPhone pictures of half-eaten croissants left on dirty plates in dark cafes. (Everybody wins!)

*Did you go on a honeymoon? Where?

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Sweet(s)ass

Oh my I'm tired. I'm also going to stop complaining about being tired asap. You're welcome. Today was a bit of a transition day as I am trying to wean myself off my recent sugar diet and start eating the way that makes me feel best. Does anyone suspect a correlation between my lethargy and my sugar coma? Despite a lot of therapy designed to get me "in tune" with my body and its cues, I'm still just barely able to notice that eating wedding cake for three days straight (and I don't just mean one bite) makes me feel sluggish. Oh well, progress is progress, right?

So, as for that wedding...it was great! Seriously, it was just as we planned it, from the very casual pizza/beer dinner we had the night before, to the wedding itself, to the next-day brunch. I love Crested Butte, Colorado, I felt so grateful to be surrounded by my family members, and most of all I'm glad that David and I had a lovely weekend to celebrate our marriage.

I'll give you all a bit more detail later when I've compiled a few more photos, but for now here is a brief photographic summary of the wedding day and ceremony.

First things first: a great mountain bike ride on the 401 trail just outside of Gothic, Colorado:

From left: My pops (Dad), my SIL Sarah, my brother Chris, and my (twin) brother Brian. Unpictured: the groom.
This was way better than getting my nails done before the ceremony ... nothing makes me happier than being on vacation and riding bikes with David, my Dad, my brothers, and Sarah.

After our bike ride, David and I finished writing our vows (a smidge late, huh?) and I hustled to the hair salon, where I had a nice though rather bumbling older lady give me a fancy hairdo. By fancy I mean that she braided a bit of my hair and pulled it back so my hair was half up and half down. Apparently it was puh-retty! 

Then I headed to my parents' hotel room, put my dress on, put some makeup on, and started getting nervous...





I don't at all remember this picture or pose--still shaking my head on what prompted me to look this sassy.


That random guy oogling us is actually the person who married us. 
And just for good measure, this is the picture that Sarah posted on Facebook with the caption, "What a sweet ass--with Nikki at Lil's Sushi Bar and Grill":



*How sweet is your ass?