Denver Day #3

Matt woke up early Saturday morning to the sound of his phone ringing.  He'd forgotten to set his alarm so he could wake up in time to take Lynda to the airport.  She was calling because he hadn't answered the door when she'd knocked. He quietly got dressed and left our room, and although I'd heard the phone ring, I was too out of it to be fully conscious of what was going on, and when Matt walked back in when he'd returned to the airport, I'd forgotten that he'd left in the first place.  With him back, I woke up fully and decided to go biking downstairs while Matt got some more rest.

I biked for a half hour, again while watching Food Network.  Paula was on once more with her son Bobby, I don't remember what they were making, but it looked too good as usual.  I finished my ride, went back upstairs, showered and got ready for the day.  I'd been looking forward to Saturday the most, because that was my day to spend with Matt so we could get an idea of where we wanted to live when we move out there.  

We gathered all our belongings, checking and double checking to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything, and left the room that had been home for the last two nights.  We got into our rental car, (which I haven't mentioned before) far from being a car, we'd been upgraded to a fully-loaded Suburban when we went to pick up our car from Enterprise.  It had been quite nice to drive around in, but I would never chose to buy a Suburban, they're far too large and intimidating for me to even consider driving.   In any case, we got in the Suburban and headed south to Castle Rock. 

Castle Rock was a nice looking town, outlet shops and nice neighborhoods similar to where we're already living.  The issue with Castle Rock is that it's a bit far from downtown.  I liked it because it seemed much less intimidating than the Denver area.  I felt like I could probably get around there on my own. But with gas prices the way they are, it'd be a bit expensive to drive to and from there everyday for Matt. 

Next stop on our list was Parker, but we kind of forgot that we were heading there until we were past it.  We could have gone back, but the freeway to Parker was a toll-road and we didn't know the backroads well enough to make it worth the time we'd spend backtracking.  

Since it was after 11:00, and we hadn't had breakfast yet, we were quite hungry.  Matt pulled into a Chucky Cheese restaurant parking lot where we sat consulting the map on his iPhone looking for a nearby place to eat that would be friendly to my diet.  As Matt read off lists of restaurants, I was becoming more and more agitated.  Nothing sounded good because nothing sounded familiar. I felt so lost.  The streets were confusing, and I didn't know where we were or really how we'd gotten there.  I felt vulnerable and scared.   We finally decided on a place called Heidi's Deli. As we walked in toward the deli, tears rolled down my cheeks under my sunglasses.  I explained to Matt that I felt lost and I was scared.  He took my hand and told me we'd just find our way together. There it was. Peace.  I wasn't doing this alone.  My best friend would be by my side.

Heidi's was really fantastic.  As we walked in the comforting smell of homemade bread and good food put me at ease.  I ordered 1/2 of an Awesome Salad (it really was awesome) and Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Smoked Gouda. Yum.  Matt had a club sandwich on homemade ciabatta bread.  It looked fabulous.  

After lunch, we drove through Centennial for a bit, and found an open house for a home that was up for sale.  From the outside, the house looked just like a ranch house, and not a very big one at that. We decided to go in and take a look just to see what the price was like for a home like that.  When we got in there though, it was bigger than we expected with a price to match.  $450,000!  Woah.  It was a beautiful home though and fun to look.   

Then we drove through Ken Caryl.  We found another open house.  This time, the home was just smaller than the one we're in currently.  We thought the price would be a bit higher than ours (just cause things are that way in Colorado and especially in Ken Caryl) and again we were astonished when we saw they were asking $430,000.  Yikes.  

I finally decided to look online and see if we could find something that was actually for rent in our price range.  I found a place and we drove by.  It was a dump.  I was becoming increasingly discouraged.  We decided that we'd had enough looking.  We really like Highlands Ranch, Littleton and Centennial.  So hopefully when the time comes to actually choosing a house, we'll be able to find one in one of those areas, and at least we'll know what the area is like if we see something we like online. 

It was time to pick up Matt's mom, Becky, from Uncle Bob's house. She was going to be joining us on our flight home.  We visited for awhile with Aunt Reiko, Uncle Bob, Nana and Becky before heading to the airport. 

Stopping to get some gas confirmed that we would never be buying a Suburban.  For three quarters of a tank it cost $87. Gulp.  Fun to drive, not so fun to fill up. The Suburban was returned to Enterprise painlessly  and we got on a shuttle that took us to the airport.  

Becky checked her bag onto the flight and we headed toward security.  I removed my jacket and shoes put everything else into my bag then onto the conveyor belt.  Going through security always makes me nervous, but I wasn't too worried because I wasn't bringing back anything that I hadn't taken with me in the first place.  But as my bag and my carry-on came off the belt, a large TSA guard grabbed my bag, told me to collect my other things and meet him over at a table.  My hands began to shake and my heart began to pound.  He pulled a small water bottle out of my bag.  How could I have forgotten?  He asked if I wanted to step outside of the security area to drink it.  I declined.  Then he pulled my 3.75 oz. bottle of Mary Kay oil-free make-up remover from my bag and told me that all liquids had to be under 3.2 oz, and this bottle was too large.  He was also going to have to take that.  I waved him off and nodded as I continued to shake, feeling criminal for my indiscretions.  Then the hot tears began to flow down my face.    I was crying. . . again!  I was embarrassed and just wanted to shrink and hide from everyone around me. Stupid make-up remover. Stupid TSA. Stupid Denver! I just wanted to go home. 

We boarded our plane about an hour and a half later and found that our flight had to have one of the most entertaining flight attendants ever! His name was Jason and looked a bit like a large John Travolta- like the brother of Edna Turnblad on Hairspray! He gave the initial flight instructions so quickly, he must have spent some time as an auctioneer or a car commercial spokesperson.  We all cheered for him when he finished.  Then, he lip-synced the emergency instructions and seat-belt instructions as they were pre-recorded in a female voice.  Funny stuff.  After the pre-flight entertainment, I settled into my seat and felt the thrill of being lifted 35,000 feet into the air. 

The best part of flying from Denver to Provo is that the flight is so short.  It seems just as you get to altitude and cruising speed, you begin to descend.  It wasn't long before I saw my mountain valley home from overhead.   I breathed a sigh of relief, I was home.  I know that I'll be going back to Denver and even living there, but for now, I'll enjoy where I'm living.  I love my neighborhood and living close to both my family and Matt's.  Sometimes I just cry when I think about having to leave.  If you haven't guessed yet, I cry, A LOT.  It's just part of who I am.  It doesn't really matter if I'm happy or sad.  If an emotion can present itself in tears, it will. 

I loved seeing my children after three days and hearing them excitingly call "Mommy, mommy!" and want me to hold them.  Which I did.  And I thought, moving may be scary and the change difficult.  But I get to do it with the people that I treasure most in this world.  

Denver Day #2

Friday morning, despite telling myself I was going to sleep in (past 8:00) and enjoy it,  I was up at 7:00 so I could go down and have breakfast with my husband and Lynda.  The two of them were dressed in their business casual, ready to meet with the Kroenke's (who essentially own the sports world in Denver from what I understand) and to see what kinds of events they would be able to use as a draw to entice their potential clients with, it's all very interesting, I know.

Anyway, my point is they were dressed very nicely and I was in my scrub pants and a t-shrit, my hair pulled up in a very untidy, not-cute, messy bun and not a touch of makeup on my face.  I didn't really care though, even after we got down there and I was THE only one in my pajamas.  Oh well.

After breakfast, Matt and Lynda left, and I, determined not to waste my time (although going back to bed did sound quite lovely), I headed to the workout room and logged 7.5 miles on a stationary bike while watching Paula Deen put too much butter (yet again) into something that looked decadent enough for me to gain weight while watching her eat it!  I really love Paula, and I love cooking with butter, but not as much as Paula does.

I returned to my room to begin getting ready for the day.  It was so nice to be able to take a shower without little hands knocking on my door.  I flat-ironed my hair without once have to shout "That's hot, don't touch that!"  I put on my make-up without having my daughters ask for lip gloss or eyeshadow. I was dressed and ready for the day without being overly frazzled.  What a nice feeling, yet it seemed quite lonely.  I really missed my beautiful children.

I texted my mother-in-law Becky, who had asked the night before if I'd like to go to lunch with her and Nana.  Yes, please.  As they were on their way to pick me up, I watched Food Network some more ( I love that channel) and finished a drawing of my daughter that I'd been working on.

My Baby

Becky texted me and let me know that they were at the hotel, and I went down to meet them. We'd decided to go to Schlotzky's for lunch.  I hadn't been there since I was in high school, and it sounded good.  I worried needlessly that they wouldn't have salads, but they did.  Hooray for my side.  I got a turkey avocado cobb salad.  It didn't have bleu cheese on it, but some kind of a white crumbly mexican kind- smooth and creamy with not much tang.  It was really good.

We talked for quite a bit at our table after we finished our meal before deciding to drive around Highlands Ranch for a bit to see what it was like.  It was a really nice area that I wouldn't mind in the least living in.  Matt and Lynda got finished with their meetings and met us at the temple.

Denver Colorado Temple

The temple was smaller than I had imagined, but it was peaceful there and I loved it.  We walked around, took some pictures and I imagined what it must be like to shoot a wedding at that location.  Saying goodbye to Nana and Becky, we left to get ready for the lacrosse games that we'd be attuning that night at the Sport Authority Field where the Denver Broncos play football.

That arena is HUGE! I'd never seen lacrosse, so it was strange at first but easy to understand as they're aren't many rules. There were two games that night, and the first was at 5:30 against Penn State and Virginia Tech (I think). 

Lynda, who is in charge of marketing for VLCM, had arranged a catered dinner for this event.  They had salad, baked beans, BBQ chicken, beef brisket, peach and blueberry cobblers.  I enjoyed some chicken, brisket and salad while I watched the game.  By the time the second game began at 8:00, I was freezing.  I was thankful that I was wearing socks and canvas shoes instead of my flip flops, and glad that I'd at least thought to bring a jacket, but I was cold.  Half way through the game, I checked my phone for the temperature.  It was a balmy 32 degrees.  Good grief. 

Duke running on to the field

Getting Physical

The second game was more entertaining than the first because the teams were more physical and a local team- Denver University was playing, and the crowd loved them.  There were an estimated 11,000 people there, but they didn't seem to fill much of the stadium.  But when they made noise, they made some serious noise.  I could only imagine the energy in the stadium when the Broncos were playing a sold-out football game.  That would be fun to see.

Matt took this picture of me trying to stay warm. What a sweetheart.

Once we got to half time in the 2nd game, I started counting down the minutes, and jumping up and down  in an attempt to stay warm.  My entire body was cold, and I felt really bad for Matt who was wearing a short sleeve shirt.  Lynda had gone to a booth to try to find a hoodie but they were $80!  She settled for a long-sleeved Dukes shirt instead. 

Towards the end of the games, we still had a lot of food at our banquet table.  Some passing men walked past and commented on how good the cobbler looked and smelled.  Matt offered them some quite persistently saying we had plenty. But the men respectfully declined.

Denver won the 2nd game 15 to 9.  It had gotten really close a few times, and Denver would come back with a lead of a few points, then Duke would come back.  There was a lot of back and forth before Denver backed a punch and kicked butt. 

A shot of the field as we were leaving the game.  Our seats were on the field in the very last section.

Run Matt!

 I was so glad when the game was over and we could go get in the car and turn the heat on full blast.   The game was fun, but I really don't tolerate cold very well.  In the elevator heading up to our room there were some high school coaches who'd been at the game giving Lynda a hard time for her Dukes shirt.  One man recognized Matt and said "Hey, you offered me some cobbler!  Do you know who else you offered cobbler to?  The CEO of Russell Stover." We had a good laugh over that one. Too bad Matt hadn't given him a business card.  How cool would it be that he sold computers to one of the largest chocolate manufactures in the world?  After we'd returned to the hotel and gotten our pajamas on and gotten into bed, I was still cold, but incredibly tired.  It wasn't long before I was once again out like a light.  

Denver- Day #1

Ever since Matt and I decided that he'd apply for a position within the company he works for that would result in us moving to the Denver area, I've been looking forward to our 3 day trip there.  It's been so long since I'd been there that I didn't have a good idea what the area was like.

We left from the Provo Airport early Thursday morning. This airport is tiny and the security is very non-threatening.  With terrible stories in the news about TSA, it always scary to me to have to got through security.  In Provo though, it's not a big deal.

The flight from Provo to Denver is about an hour long, and for some reason, on this flight I had problems with my ears equalizing. I was so dizzy. Just as I was beginning to adjust to the altitude, we started our descent into the Denver area.  It was strange to be on such a short flight, as the shortest flight I'd been on up to this point was from Salt Lake to Atlanta, Georgia. We experienced a little turbulence before landing, but nothing too threatening.

Lynda, a friend of ours and a co-worker of Matt's was already at the airport waiting for us as she'd taken an earlier flight from Salt Lake and the three of us got on a shuttle to take us to where we'd check out our rental vehicle.  As I stepped from the airport to the curb, the smell of traveling assaulted my nose; cigarette smoke, car exhaust and burning rubber laced the air .

Our first destination was Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House.  Representatives from HP and LANDesk were making presentations there for some potential clients of Matt's at a conference room there, and because there wasn't time to take me to the hotel, I was privileged enough to be able to join in their little lunch meeting. My meal began with their house salad topped with bacon and a creamy avocado dressing.   I ordered sesame seared tuna, and oh my goodness was it ever delicious! It was served with sliced ginger, teriyaki sauce and a sauce on the plate that tasted and looked like horseradish. . . but I could be entirely wrong.  It hardly matters though, because it was fantastic.   They also had cheesecake and a chocolate mousse that looked divine, but I had to decline dessert, or I'd have been in trouble. 

After their meeting was over, we checked into our hotel which was the Denver Tech Center Hyatt. Matt and Lynda had to take off to check out different venues where they could hold future events.  I laid down, watched some Food Network and it wasn't long before I was out like a light. 

When Matt and Lynda came back, I grabbed a list of nearby restaurants and we headed out for dinner.  We decided on a Thai place  named Tuk Tuk or something else like that.  I had a green chicken curry with brown rice. The brown rice was good, but I'd never had curry before and while it wasn't bad, it was a little strange.  

After dinner, we decided to go see Matt's grandma, Nana Jo (who'd just had surgery a couple weeks ago) and his mom who was visiting her, as well as Uncle Bob and Aunt Reiko who Nana lives with.  They took us to see a community called Ken Caryl.  It was almost like being back home.  The mountains weren't nearly as big, but they completely surrounded the valley.  I. loved. it.  Unfortunately, the place is a little exclusive, so if we ever move there it'll only be because business is going extremely well.   We went back to Uncle Bob's house and visited for a bit, and Aunt Reiko gave me a vase of lilacs from her backyard to take back to the hotel with me.  They smelled like heaven. 

On the way home, we stopped at Target.  Matt gets really bad headaches when he's out driving all day when it's sunny, and he'd left his pair at home.  I had only brought some dress shoes and flip flops and it had begun to rain.  I was afraid that I was going to get wet feet at the Lacrosse game the next evening so I bought some socks and red canvas shoes along with Matt's sunglasses.  

As we drove back to the hotel, we saw the Denver Colorado LDS Temple.  It felt so good to see something to familiar and comforting as the Angel Moroni peeking up over the tops of the various buildings the dot the Denver skyline.  

We Get to go on VACATION!

Big news for us.  On Wednesday, Matt received an email from HP saying that he'd won a $5000 trip voucher to use anywhere he wanted to go.  The funny thing is, it sounded so fishy to him that he just about deleted it.  Then he started putting some things together.
In January, he did an HP training where this voucher was one of two that they'd be giving away to anyone who completed the training.  This email had the HP logo on it.  Hmmm.  Maybe it is real.  So he called his HP rep, and sure enough, he WON!
 He's gone to so many conventions and meetings and really hates when they give away big prizes because he never wins.  Well, I'd take him not winning anything all those times to win something as awesome as this trip is going to be.
We've got it all booked and scheduled.  Not only to my kids and Matt get to go to DisneyLand for the first time ever, the kids also get to fly and we are going to LegoLand as well.
We never thought that we'd EVER be able to take this kind of vacation.  It's going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us all.

Healthy Recipes that I've Tried Today

I tried more healthy recipes today than I have ever attempted in a day, and they were all pretty good.
The first was a recipe for Chicken Salad made with avocado and cilantro that I got here:


1 1/2-2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (I use my kitchen aid to shred chicken, it works like a dream!)
Mashed avocado (my chicken was dry, so I used two.  I thought it was a great idea until I calculated the calorie count)
Mayo to taste (I used about 2 tablespoons of Kraft Olive Oil Mayo)
Green Onion
Cilantro
Lime Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste


I just ate it on top of some Romaine lettuce and I loved it. 
The second was a recipe for Ranch dressing that I got here:


1 cup Dannon Oikos plain nonfat greek yogurt
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (not dip)
1/2 cup 1% milk (I used a cup of milk, it was a bit thick.)

Whisk together in a bow and chill for an hour before serving.  


From what I figured, this dressing has only 19 calories per 2 tablespoons of dressing.  Compare that to your regular ranch.  


The third thing that I did healthy today was make spaghetti for dinner.  Now that may not sound too great, but, my kids ate the pasta, and I had ribbons of zucchini with a yummy meat sauce that I made from Hunt's sugar free pasta sauce.  I thought it was pretty dang good.  I'm not sure if any of this stuff would qualify as "clean eating", but I felt better eating more fruits and vegetables. 

Oh the Insanity of it All!

I am a curvy girl.  Not the attractive curvy, but the big, stay-puft-marshmallow kind of curvy.  Not good.  Before I got pregnant with my last child, I did three rounds of the hCg diet and in 6 months had lost 80 pounds.  It was an incredible accomplishment for me.  I swore I'd never regain those ugly pounds.  Then I got pregnant.
 By the time I had a beautiful new daughter in my arms, I was carrying around an extra 20 lbs.  Then, in the months following her birth, I put on an additional 30.  There is one word to describe how I felt... DEVASTATED. I began to hide from social situations for fear that people would judge me for how awful I looked.
Now, nearly two years after my daughter's birthday I am just barely starting to lose weight.  I am just finishing a round of hCg where since March 19 I've lost about 29 pounds.  I am stopping this round over a week early because I am worn out.  I started the round by getting strep throat for the first time in over 15 years. Since then, something has come up about every other week- sore throat, sinus infection, cold, persistent cough; it's been rough. On top of only having about 400 calories a day, I'm worn out.
Since I've haven't had any refined or processed foods for the last month, I thought that it would be a great time to eat "clean".
I'm learning that that can be more complicated then it sounds with a range of diets and methods from paleo and vegan to just replacing something that isn't great in your diet with something better.
It's really a lot to take in, but I have found some great web sites to help me out including http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/,  http://www.perrysplate.com/, and http://www.thegraciouspantry.com

As a starting off point, the company my husband works for is beginning an 8 week health competition on Monday, April 23.  Lucky for me, it's not a weight-loss competition, but just one to create healthy habits, and Matt and I get to do it together!
Although I feel like I am on the verge of an emotional breakdown over trying to lose weight, I am determined to be happy and healthy, whether or not I actually lose anything more.

"Mom's" Oatmeal Toll House Cookies

I don't know who "Mom" is, but I love her recipe for these oatmeal cookies.  This is a recipe that I got from my Grandma Greenhalgh.  When she was going to make cookies, these are the ones that I wanted.  I still remember the smell her hand mixer made right after we turned it on to cream the shortening and sugar together.  It wasn't a bad smell, just the motor running I guess. It's kind of like turning the furnace on for the first time for the season.  Just homey and comforting.  Anyway, She'd make large batches of these and freeze them after they were baked and always seemed to have them on hand.  After my Grandma died, I would make these for my Grandpa, and he would buy mini m&ms, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, raisins, and chocolate chips and we'd just put them all in there.  They were GOOD.  So be creative and add whatever sounds good to you in place of the chocolate chips.

Preheat the oven to 375.


Cream together until smooth and fluffy:
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar

Add and mix thoroughly:
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Mix in and stir just until mixed:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp hot water
1 cup nuts (optional- my grandma always used walnuts and I loved them)

Then add:
1 pkg chocolate chips (or you can use 2 cups of raisins OR my favorite it to use 1 cup of raisins and 1 cup of chocolate chips)
2 cups oatmeal

Scoop onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.