December 7

One Sentence Saturday:

Today I listened to Elvis Presley sing "Blue Christmas" and gave the bartenders elf names.

Join the fun!

All you Need is Lovie

I used to hate football.  I mean, seriously hate it.

When we moved to Boulder, every Sunday morning during football season Bobaloo would go to the local bar to watch the 11:00 Bears game.  I would usually go with and drink vodka-lemonades and do the crossword puzzle just to get out of the apartment.  I had no interest in the game whatsoever.

And then Lovie Smith happened.  I love Lovie.  All you need is Lovie.  And gradually I started paying attention to the game, and then cheering, and then becoming a full-blown fan.

Nobody in Colorado is from Colorado.  We met a lot of Illinoisans that season.  That season was also particularly exciting because they made it to the Superbowl.

One of the folks we met was Grant.  Grant could tell if his entire week was going to be good or bad based on whether or not the Bears won.  Pretty intense, huh?  I don't know where Grant is these days but I worry for his blood pressure every football season.

During one particularly close game there was a bad play or a bad call, some kind of play that didn't bode well for the Bears.  And I will never forget Grant jumping out of his chair and animatedly yelling, "Jesus Christ!"

And then he sat back down, shook his head and muttered, "Sorry Jesus. Wait, no I'm not.  We all know Jesus is a Bears fan."

America

A couple of years ago, Bobaloo and I went to a small blues jam in Greeley, Colorado that takes place every June.  On our way into town we stopped at a liquor store to stock up on some beer.  We were tailgating in the dusty dirt parking lot when we opened the case of Budweiser to find a new and awesome patriotic beer can design.  Maybe a little over the top design-wise?

I don't know why this can struck us so funny.  Maybe because we were going to a blues festival in a cow-town.  Maybe it was Bobaloo's patriotic farmer tan (red arms, white body, blue jeans).  Maybe a combination of all of this.  Whatever it was, we got the giggles and somewhere I have a picture of Bobaloo tailgating that day that he will be very happy I didn't put on the internet.  Here's a different picture of him:

Back to the beer can.  Ever since then, I have found myself starting quite a collection of very American can koozies.

"Land of the free, courtesy of the brave"

Who spends $36 at McDonald's?

It has been a busy couple of weeks, I tell ya.  Where do I even start?  Yikes.

Bobaloo and I went gold-panning at the end of July. 

After panning, while getting dried off and back into the car my purse must have been left behind in the parking lot.  A minute into the drive I noticed and Bobaloo turned around but it was too late, the purse was gone.  By the time we had made the 40-minute trek home someone had stopped at a gas station to fill up and bought $36 worth of McDonald’s on my debit card.  $36 at McDonald’s?

I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening kicking myself for being so careless, cancelling cards, looking for my birth certificate so I could get new IDs, and being generally pissed off while Bobaloo changed the locks on the doors.  A watch that my grandma gave me was also in the purse and although she probably bought it for $10 at Walgreens, I was still pretty bummed about it.

The next day I was having a beer on the patio after work and Bobaloo was over at a friend’s house.  He and I both started to get strange phone calls and messages from a couple of our bar buddies.  My purse had been found by a fly fisherman! The fisherman’s sister was drying my stuff out and she found the business card that my bar buddy Andy had given me a couple of years ago.  Andy was hanging out with another friend who had Bobaloo’s number and that’s how I was tracked down.  Hooray!

PSA: Get to know people at your local watering hole.

So, Bobaloo and I drove and picked up the purse.  At least the person who had dumped it into the creek was courteous enough to zip it up before throwing it in because while the cards and checkbook were gone, everything else was in there, including my grandma’s watch.

So there we have it.  An emotional rollercoaster was had.

 



Weekend

In the summer my work slows down and offers a different schedule which means 3-day weekends for me for the next couple of months.  Awesome!

 

Friday

The weekend kicked off with happy hour and boy, did I get happy.  We've met some awesome people at one of the local watering holes, one of whom reads this blog.

 

 

He is holding an RTD EcoPass for the bus.  The slogan on it is, "Get it.  Tap it.  Love it." because the marketing department is apparently run by a frat boy.  High five Eric and I am glad your Blackhawks won.

 

Saturday

Bobaloo and I kicked it at home on Saturday just hanging out in the yard and enjoying the beautiful weather.  Our neighbor invited me over to feed his chickens again which was awesome.  Bobaloo has been sprucing up the backyard so now we have a cool little hangout area back there.

 

 

Sunday

Sunday was another mellow day, we woke up and went out for breakfast.  We lucked out being heathens and all because there was no wait to be seated.

 

Later in the afternoon, we walked over to our buddy Aaron's house for a delightful Sunday barbecue that included corn on the cob and watermelon.

 

Monday

I didn't realize that my 3-day schedule started yesterday so I went to work for 45 minutes before heading home.  Bobaloo and I took the train into Denver and went out to lunch at the Tilted Kilt where I enjoyed watching a monster truck show on TV in air conditioning.  The evening was capped off with a few episodes of The League.

 

 

A good time was had.

 

 

Friday

Bobaloo and I both were able to leave work early on Friday so we headed to the tavern and met up with some friends to kick off the long weekend.  This evening also turned into a reminder of why I don't drink whiskey.

 

 

Saturday

I spent Saturday morning cleaning and finishing up the second bedroom project while Bobaloo volunteered at Red Rocks.  Later, we had some friends over in the afternoon for some beer, tunes, grilling, bubbles, and general tomfoolery.  Our neighbor got chickens last week and he invited me over to feed them. So cute!  It ended up being a pretty late night.

 

Bubbles, Nik the HomeDawg, and the rock band.

Sunday

See Saturday's description.  More of the same.  A lot of goofiness.  Plus I watched one of my fave flicks:

 

"I just like to smile, smilin's my favorite"
 

Monday

We checked out the annual duck races in Morrison.

 

 

 

All in all, a good weekend was had.  And I killed some brain cells.

 

 

 

Friday

I was so happy to meet up with my friend Rachael for some beers after work.  We always have a lot to talk about and we think we're hilarious.  I sure love this gal.

 

Saturday

I did nails for the ladies at the senior community which was fun and I think my nail-painting skills are improving.  After, I embarked on the dreaded second bedroom project while Bobaloo did some work in the yard.  We rewarded ourselves by having some beers and Bobaloo made goofy faces at me.

Nik taking a break from helping me clean.

Goofy face.

Sunday

Yesterday I continued my cleaning project and in the afternoon Bobaloo and I went to a bar to enjoy the weather and some tunes on the patio.  Basically, the entire weekend was cleaning and beer.  Hopefully with summer here, I will have more exciting things going on for these weekend recaps.

 

 

 

May 17

 

Thank goodness today's topic is easy because it's Friday and my brain hurts.  Today's topic is a favorite photo of yourself and why.  Let's do this.

 

 

 

Sometimes when first meeting people I come across a little quiet and reserved.  Little do they know this is the real me.  My buddy named this alter ego of mine Lightning Oops.  I like it.

 

Happy Friday to you all and a Happy Syttende Mai to all you crazy Norwegians...

 

 

May 6

 

It's day 6 of this here Blog Every Day in May challenge. Ambitious I know, but there are topics posted for every day. Go check it out. Today's topic is if you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the question "what do you do?" so here goes.

 

I would probably just reply with, "Oh you know, this and that."

 

Speaking of this and that, here's what I did over the weekend:

 

Friday

It was kind of a long week so Bobaloo and I kicked it mellow Friday night.  I did make a batch of my Panty-Dropper Drink and we walked over to our friend Aaron's house for a visit.  The weather was perfect for an evening stroll.

 

Saturday

I was so excited about the alpaca show I couldn't even handle it.  It was the largest show we have been to with alpacas as far as the eye could see!  We also watched an alpaca agility competition, which is basically the animal going through an obstacle course.  It was a pretty goofy sight.

 

Three Amigos

After the show we stopped into the Buffalo Rose for a couple of drinks and to check out the afternoon band.  We ended the night eating snacks and watching a flick.

Sunday
Yesterday we headed to Civic Center Park in Denver for Cinco de Mayo.  The lightrail near our house opened recently so I got to make my maiden voyage (compliments of some free tickets from RTD!). 

At the fiesta we checked out a taco-eating contest and watched a band.  We ran into my girlfriend and her husband and went to a couple of bars in the area for some good old-fashioned day drinking.  I was so happy to bump into Rachael because the two of us can laugh and laugh all day.  We took the train back to our side of town and enjoyed the gorgeous day on a patio.  Bobaloo made his famous white sauce pasta for supper and I called it a night.

A great weekend was had!

 

Thursday

The weekend started on Thursday because I took some time from work to take a staycation while my parents visited from Minnesota.  I cleaned the house and prepared for their visit.  They got into town late in the afternoon and we went out for Mexican food, visited the local watering hole, and chilled at the pad.  My grandma passed away about a year ago so my mom brought some more of her things out, it was fun to go through all of the knickknacks.

 

Friday

On Friday I took the 'rents to Golden for our annual brewery tour and stop at a saloon.  A lot of fun (and beer!) was had.  We met up with Bobaloo and our buddy Aa at home for dinner and drinks on the patio.  We had great tunes and grilling weather.

 

Saturday

We all woke up early Saturday morning and packed ourselves and the dog up and headed to Glenwood Springs.  Glenwood Springs is my happy place and I was overjoyed to have my parents visit there for the first time.  Once we made it there we ate awesome food, hung out at the hot springs, checked out the local saloons, and laughed our heads off.  It was a great (a little overwhelming) way to spend my birthday.

 

Sunday

We headed back to town on Sunday of course stopping into Black Hawk to do some gambling, my mom was the only one to win a little but we had fun.  When we made it back to the pad, we invited a couple of friends over and had food and drinks.

 

Monday

My folks left yesterday and I was glad to have taken the day off because I was wiped out and in much need for some peace and quiet.  I finished watching season one of Call the Midwife (Love!) and almost finished the entire first season of The Riches while it snowed and snowed and snowed.

 

 

**Also thank you very much Coffee Lady at My Morning Cup of Coffee for the Liebster Award.

 

The purpose of the Liebster Blog Award is to recognize blogs with fewer than 200 followers that deserve a look.

 



Friday

Friday was a mellow evening at home. I attempted to cook dinner (eggplant ziti) and the house is still in one piece. I am trying to save moolah for some future fun so Bobaloo and I just stayed in.

 

Saturday

The last Saturday of every month Bobaloo volunteers at Red Rocks. While he was busy with that, I cleaned and did a little bit of yard work. Hopefully, we can get some plants started in the yard soon. It was a beautiful day so we had a couple of friends over, drank beer, and listened to tunes. There were also some buzzed up craft projects taking place but that's a post for another time. All in all, a great day.

 

Sunday

We shook off the cobwebs Sunday and headed to the Holiday Bar for the annual deviled egg competition. Bobaloo made his eggs Greek-style for this event. The day was gorgeous so we chilled out on the patio and had a few beers. Bobaloo's friend Billy came with and we were Bobaloo's egg groupies, called The Eggheads.

 

A great weekend was had and I was sad to see it come to an end but am looking forward to some fun plans ahead.

 

 

This and That

I recently learned how chickens lay eggs without needing a rooster.  This was the most confusing, yet informative tidbit of widely known knowledge I have received in a while.

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I found my iPhone intact in the yard right after I hit up AT&T for a cheapie replacement.  I dropped the phone when I was chasing after the dog.  This is my favorite picture on the camera roll:

That’s my bro, his gal, and I rocking out in my parent's living room.  Bro is consistently awesome when choosing tunes, whether it be at home or on a jukebox.  It’s a great quality to have and I love him for it.  When he was born I wanted to name him Elvis, I wonder if his life trajectory would have been different had my parents agreed.

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Speaking of the trip back to the frozen North, I was nicely surprised when I ordered a bloody mary and it came with a snit.  Remember that whole deal?

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I enjoy a good tourist trap. And gift shop.  Ooh, I am a sucker for a good gift shop.  I am trying to think of some new ones to visit over the summer.  I desperately want to make it to Dollywood one of these days.

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I recently read an article on tinybuddha.com (which I can’t find now) about simply adding the word meditation to the end of your frustration.  Frustrated in line at the grocery store?  Take a deep breath and practice your grocery line meditation.  Frustrated and stuck in traffic?  Take a deep breath and practice your traffic meditation.  Weirdly, it works.  Bobaloo and I have been having fun with it.  At this very moment I am practicing my I-forgot-my-breakfast-and-could-eat-the-north-side-of-a-horse-going-south meditation.

Om.

 

Friday

 

Friday was the day that would not end at work.  I was very happy when 4:30 rolled around and I was able to happy hour with Bobaloo and my friend Sam.  Later, we all went back to our place to do some grilling, beer drinking, and music listening.  We moved into a house recently, it's great to have more space to have folks over.  I also started reading Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter, so far so good.

 

 

Saturday

   

Nik & Bobaloo at the new pad

Oy vey.  This is where the weekend got a little out of hand!  We got our tickets for Widespread Panic at Red Rocks and decided to celebrate with bloody marys (which were delicious, by the way).  The snow blew in and we made a decision to just hang at home.  It turns out some of our friends were bored too so they came over for some good old fashioned day drinking.  Snowladies were made, hotdish was eaten, laughs were had, and goofy songs were written.  I capped the night off by losing my iPhone during a liquor store trip which is why there aren't a whole lot of pics in this post.  Genius.  By the way, if you haven't had tatertot hotdish yet this winter I highly recommend this stick-to-the ribs goodness. Here's one recipe, though you can pretty much use up whatever is in your cupboard.

 

Sunday

 

I woke up, had some coffee, and shook the cobwebs so we could head up to Nederland for Frozen Dead Guy Days.  FDGD is an awesome festival that celebrates Grandpa who is frozen in a Tuff Shed.  Bobaloo, a friend, and I made the trek and enjoyed some good music, had some beers, and witnessed the goofiness.  By the time we got home, I was pretty well beat so I capped the weekend off with some frozen pizza and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

 

 

You're still here? It's over. Go home. Go.

 

 

 

Friday

 

 

I tried my hand at cooking (with close supervision) fondue.  It turned out great and I have fulfilled my cheese-eating quota for about six months.  Bobaloo put on some John Denver and we kicked 70s at the pad.

 

Saturday

 

 

Bobaloo and I headed up to Boulder to check out the National Center for Atmospheric Research which is a really fancy way to say we played with clouds.  Later we hit up a couple of bars and hung out with friends.

 

Sunday

 

 

We enjoyed the gorgeous day and hiked up North Table Mountain.  Afterwards, we enjoyed beverages on a patio.