My Adventures and Travels

With the newest snowstorm moving in, Toni and I went off to poker at a bar/restaurant in Lafayette called Dillingers. For those of you who don't know, Toni's job is to run poker games; he owns a small company that does this. Because of the snow, it was a smaller-than-usual crowd. The adventures began when the power went out....and stayed out for over 2 hours! However, we are die-hard poker players because there wasn't even a question of ending the game-and we even played a second game afterwards! Many candles, flashlights, and even cell phone lights were used in order to see the cards. I tried to take pictures of this fun night, but either it was too dark, or the flash went off so it's hard to tell how dark it actually was. It was definitely a different kind of poker game! It snowed all evening and night, but the 18" predicted never materialized for Denver....it was maybe a foot of snow, but that's plenty when you get plowed in on all 3 sides! (Thanks, Toni, fo

We are getting yet another big winter storm....and I don't even get a snow day for this one! The good news is, I don't have to go anywhere. This one they are predicting 9-18 inches for the metro area and it is the WET stuff (read: heavy). I spent a couple hours on Tuesday chopping away at the ice coating my driveway, and shovelling off my porch, which conveniently drips water onto my driveway as the snow melts, making it very slick after it freezes! I guess, if it was possible to go anywhere in my Corolla (it isn't) it would be a great time to go skiing with the ticket I got from mom! Ah, well, I'm starting to wish I stayed in Costa Rica! Hope everyone is warm out there, and that there is actually food in the grocery stores where you live! Til next time...

Luckily, we had a small Christmas planned this year with no one coming or going through the airport! It was just Peter, Mom, Mark, and I up at Mom's house. We went up mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve, and Mom cooked up a storm! The feast included some polenta appetizers, homemade spinach pasta and 2 sauces, a giant salad, and some great bread. The pasta was delicious! We were all stuffed. Mom was scheduled to work on Christmas day, so we opened all of our presents last night, too-what fun! I think everyone got great presents. Some highlights of mine included a ski ticket, some good knives, and tons of books-many to prepare me for my travels! Luckily I was the one with the camera, so caught everyone else looking silly at some point-haha! It was almost 1:00 a.m. by the time we were finished unwrapping-with a break for some dessert. Mom got an extra Christmas present this morning and didn't have to go in to work! She has the most seniority at work now, so she didn't have to go i

Here are some pictures of the winter wonderland we've been experiencing...I went up to Toni's and we spent a good part of the day digging out. Above, you can see the actual level of the snow by the house--and then the mountain it became as we shoveled! At one point Toni went to stomp it down because we kept throwing snow up and it just fell back down where we shoveled. Today we both are pretty sore, but no longer snowed in.

About 14 hours after the flakes started falling, they are still coming with no sign of stopping any time soon! The city is pretty much shutting down....schools, major highways, malls (4 days before Christmas!) and the airport are all closed. So today was all about hot cider, white chili, and plenty of relaxation! I'll admit I'm getting a little stir crazy, though it is pretty to look at.

Well, since I have a snow day from school today, I've decided to start up with the blog thing again. Originally I started it to update people on my Costa Rica adventures....I don't really think my day-to-day life is that exciting! But lots of out-of-state family members have blogs, so I guess I'm feeling left out! So the big thrill is that it's a SNOW DAY today! There is almost no snow on the ground but the predictions kept going up....from 4-8 inches to 10-20, now they are saying 16-24 inches for the Denver area! Yahoo! Hopefully I can post some pics when the snow is impressive-looking enough!