circus circus

I normally have a love/hate relationship with Halloween. As in I don't so much love it... I usually hate it. My favorite part recently has been the after-Halloween candy sales in the stores (particularly the Reese's pumpkins - yum!). Yes, this does sound like the first step on the road to crazy cat lady-dom, and I'm suddenly seeing myself sitting inside my house on Halloween night surrounded by cats I have dressed up in costumes shaking  my fist at kids that ring my doorbell in spite of the absent porch light. Yowza.

Luckily, this year Ilana saved me with an invite to a circus-themed party a friend of hers was having in an art gallery. Sounds far to fancy for someone on the crazy cat lady track, but I gladly accepted, anyway. And what a FUN night!

Our crew getting ready to head out! We nearly had an entire circus ourselves - a mime, Cracker Jack peddler, Siamese twins, tight-rope walker, elephant, knife-thrower and knife-throwee, and... a chicken. (A funky chicken, of course.)

What is a circus without a ringmaster?

Unnatural amounts of spandex. Note also, the monkey in the monkey-grinder's box

The ring of fire!

Tight-rope walker and Cracker Jack peddler! The lighting does not do my parasol justice, as I spend well over an hour sewing two feather boas to the bottom. (Yes, made a total of three boas utilized in my costume. Leaving two extras in my collection. Must try to incorporate all of them next year.)

My favorite costume of the night, by far. 

Ilana, how did you get surrounded by such a dodgy-looking crew?

I believe that expression asks, "Woah, how'd you snatch that without me noticing?"

Until next year, circus!

Happy Halloween week to all, and much love from the Rockies!

snoooooow

The weatherman used the term "cornflake-sized snowflakes" last night on the news. Wow, first measurable snow of the season and they're getting creative! It should be interesting to see how they top that during the next, oh, 6 months!

And on an unrelated note, this is what happens when you write your work to-do list in erasable pen, and then apparently rest your arm on it.

I guess I'll be spending tomorrow morning trying to remember what I wrote down on my "do not forget" list!

Updates:

1) Tap class = AWESOME! Unfortunately I realized that my feet sound much better in my head. It looks like I have that 14-year hiatus to make up for. And is it weird that my first thought when I walked into the studio was, "Were the shoes always this loud??" Geeze.

2) When looking into the visa application process for India I realized that I need to get a new passport. Not because of the expiration date, but because I don't have two blank pages for the visa. AKA, full. Wow. Reality check. A visual reminder of just how blessed I've been with amazing adventures in the past 10 years.

3) Currently watching a documentary on the start & success of Pixar. Another reality check. Knocks me back to my place. I have not made $320 million with the release of my latest film. Where did I go wrong?!?

4) Calling for snow tonight, tomorrow, and Friday. Hibernation is on the horizon.

5) And finally, last but definitely not least, CONGRATS to my bestie Steph who just found out that she and her husband are expecting a boy!! Yay - I'm so excited for you!!

Much love from the Rockies!

Guess what??

I'm going to India.

For two weeks. In February.

To help build an elementary school.

I officially said yes, and now I just have to figure out all of the details. And my, there are a lot of details. For now I know I'm heading to Bihar, India (the red part) - can't wait to be a part of the project!!

Am I too picky? I tell myself that I'm pretty clear on what I like/don't like, can tolerate/can't tolerate, and I'm not selfish, I'm just independent! The more bad dates I go on, the more I'll appreciate the good ones, right? But here's the thing - I HAVEN'T FOUND ANY GOOD ONES! Is it too much to ask expect (hope?) that someone actually be interested enough to ask some questions, even if he doesn't really care that much about the answer? Or that he put in a little effort? 

No, I will not get in my car and drive across town to come see you after you arrive home tipsy from a party. A) It never crossed your mind to invite me to said event, and B) if you really want to see me, you can move your own butt and come my direction. And when you tell me that I should come over because "I'm the one most suited to drive", well sir, that type of flattery is why you're still single. 

But - so am I. Hence my initial question. The pickier I get and the more set it my ways I become, so does the other team. Both apparently digging in our heels. No wonder this goes nowhere. 

I did have a dinner date with a (different) fellow last night who took enough time to ask questions about me. But they were posed in that awkward way that only a socially inept computer programmer can pull off (not you at all like you, Phil. You are the normal programmer to which I set my high standards, apparently). And I'm pretty sure he had written down questions to ask me. There had to be a list that he was reading off of somewhere under the table, because there was no natural flow to that conversation at all. 

The good news? He knew of a Runza restaurant in CO, so we decided to meet there. The bad news? Said Runza is in Loveland, CO, which happens to be a 50 mile drive North of Denver. The runza was fabulous; the 100 mile round-trip drive for a painful dinner date was less than ideal. I had to stop and get gas on the way home. No joke. Must remind myself to complete a more thorough screening process before agreeing to such mileage. 

On a totally different note - check out my new purchase! I'd been toying with the idea of taking up some sort of dance classes again (I really miss it!), and when I found this studio on South Broadway I decided to take the plunge! http://www.tapsdancedenver.com/ Felt good/weird to put on tap shoes for the first time in 14 years... so here goes nothin'!

peepin'

Trying to make up for lost time (AKA travel) and wanting to enjoy the mountains before the snow REALLY starts to fly, Krista and I headed for a short hike at Kenosha Pass. With intentions of a little leaf peeping, of course.

This is what we found.

Meh, ah well. Be we also found this - SWEET!

And I finally tested the panoramic setting on my camera:

It was a gorgeous day!

On our drive back we stopped along the side of the road so we could claim we say some fall colors. The roadsides of Colorado are quite lovely :)

Much love from the Rockies!

Woo hoo DU!

I did feel a little bit of alma mater pride on Wednesday while watching the debate. After all, I had walked across a stage in that same arena a few (16) months ago! But honestly, I'm not sure which was more painful - sitting through graduation (my parents are rock stars!) or watching the debate. I feel like I didn't learn anything and they just kept giving the same answers, regardless of the question asked. But hey, maybe that's just politics. Or maybe I just wan't paying attention. Both entirely possible. 

In honor of the debate:

And this gem was on the Westword, the local city newspaper: 10 things you didn't know about the University of Denver - http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/10/debate_2012_university_of_denver_du_ten_things.php

Oh yes, and it snowed on Thursday night - had to scrape my car on Friday morning. NOT READY!! Neither is Raul, he looks chilly. 

Girls Weekend!

What a great weekend with mom and Lori! It was filled with a lot of laughing, endless bus rides in Rocky Mountain National Park, and lots and lots of food. (And somehow I ended up with six holes in my wall... hmmm) 

They came with gifts of Runza and Rick's Meats. YUM!

The next day we headed to Estes Park and Rocky Mountian National Park. It took several rides on the (confusing) free RMNP bus system, but we ended up here!

"Whatcha eatin' down there?"

Disappointed bird was hoping for more than granola, methinks.

Checking out the site of the presidential debate! (We brought along Dianna, too. Hopefully she can make it in person, next time!)

Because they cannot simply walk in open-air to the arena...

double barricades. Bam. 

Doing our park to help the economy = shopping day! No better place to begin than Ikea

Dianna enjoyed her Swedish juice boxes :)

A perfect weekend that went much too quickly. I've very blessed with the family I have (Dianna included!). We must not wait another 6 years for another girls weekend!