Birthday Weekend 2013

This year’s birthday weekend was a special one for me. A few years back, I was in a pretty bad relationship, and my birthdays during that time were just not special – I wasn’t happy. Last year, I had just started to date Zach, so things were pretty new, and we were still in that stage of “what should we do” in terms of birthdays. He did get me a movie and a card, and we did hang out that night, but he had been skiing all day and was pretty exhausted, so we didn’t go out. He did take me to the Summit at The Broadmoor the next night, and it was an amazing evening of great food and conversation, and it was very memorable!

I just started a new job almost 2 months ago, and my new schedule allows for me to leave at 3 pm every other Friday. I left work early and I was ready to just plop on the couch and catch up on my DVR. I got a call around 6:30 pm from Zach, who had just arrived back home from a day of skiing. I knew he would be gone all day, so I wasn’t counting on doing anything with him, so I was surprisingly (and happily) mistaken! He wasn’t feeling too well, so we ended up taking a trip to the grocery store for some food and medicine for him, and we picked up “The Watch” with Ben Stiller from Redbox. The movie was not as funny as I expected, and I definitely wasn’t ready for aliens, but it wasn’t bad.



Found a great picture of the dress
from JCPenny's website.

Saturday morning was the weekly 8 am breakfast with my parents and their friends at Panera! But this was my special birthday breakfast – and Zach came along!! Since it was my birthday, Zach was happy to oblige and joined us. Afterwards, Zach decided to go home and hopefully sleep off some of his chest congestion, and the rest of us decided to go bowling. Unfortunately, the bowling alley was closed until 3 pm for a private event. Since the alley was next to the mall, we decided to go shopping for a new outfit for me for dinner that night. Zach was taking me out and I wanted to wear something special to celebrate the occasion! Plus, in the year and a half we’ve been together, he’s only seen me in a dress/skirt ONCE, and I felt I owed the guy a little bit of “dress up”! After a few hours of shopping, I had a brand new black dress, shoes and accessories! Success!!



Garden Room in the Tavern (recently rennovated)



I was able to go home and take a nap before getting ready for dinner. Zach arrived around 7:15 pm, and had apparently *possibly* evaded getting a speeding ticket, (Oops!), so he had to apologize for being a little late! Nonetheless, we headed over to The Broadmoor to have dinner in the Tavern!! He remembered that I wanted to see the new renovations that had been completed since I left the hotel back in January, and made the reservations all by himself, without any input from me! 



Sorry for the terrible "cropping" but it was
the best shot I could get!



Dinner was GREAT. Zach extended his arm to me and he “escorted” me as we were walking in and out of the restaurant. The funniest thing was that he couldn’t remember where the restaurant was, so I had to show him! He ordered some oysters for an appetizer with a Stella Artois, and I had a Caesar salad and a Cosmo. For dinner, he ordered a filet minon and I had some amazing salmon. He knew that he really wanted dessert, so we didn’t overdo it on the first two courses. He had a huge piece of chocolate cake and I had espresso ice cream – when they brought the desserts out, they put a candle in my ice cream, and the plate had Happy Birthday written on it in chocolate. So cute!! He ended up trying my ice cream and liking it so much, that he “helped” me eat it! All in all, we were there for over 3 hours, but the entire experience just went too quickly.

The beautiful chandelier that I could NOT
stop looking at!!

During dinner, Zach handed me 2 birthday cards that he instructed me to open in a particular order. The first one was clearly a card for a little girl, but it did talk about having a “sparkling birthday”, and Zach knows how much I love sparkles! He even wrote inside the card that he knew it was for a little girl, but it just “screamed KAREN!!!”. The other card was also sparkly on the cover, but it said “A Day to Celebrate You? I’m in!!” He really thought about me when he picked them out, and he couldn’t decide between the two, so he got both! 


After dinner, we headed back to my apartment and watched a
movie to close out the night. I even pulled out the birthday card he had given me from last year and showed it to him. I think he was really surprised and even a little touched that I had held onto it. I’m a very sentimental person and I like to keep mementos from things I’ve done – especially something like a card that someone took the time to pick out and really think about what to write in it. I now have all my cards out on my kitchen table and it’s a great feeling to walk by and think about each of those people.



Bon Ton Cafe: Great food & breakfast served all day!

Sunday was a great “lazy day”, to quote Zach. We went to breakfast in a cute little place in Old Colorado City, and sat by the window to watch the snow quietly falling down! Watching snow fall is one of my most favorite things in life. Afterwards, another nap (for over 2 hours!!) was definitely called for, and was certainly appreciated. Around 2 pm, Zach wanted to head to REI to look for some new ski pants, and I was happy to tag along. After the mini shopping trip, we headed to Colorado Mountain Brewery so I could appease my small appetite that had been growing since I slept through lunch! It’s one of our favorite places, and now the bartenders there are starting to recognize us as regulars!! We shared an appetizer and had a cup of soup and a beer each – what a great warm meal to enjoy on a cold, snowy day! I finally dropped Zach off at his house and headed home to take care of my dog, do the dishes and watch the Oscars.

All in all, a great, packed-full weekend of activities and food! I wouldn’t change any part of it!!

A Year to Remember

As I head into my last year of my twenties (yikes – where did the time go??), I decided it was time to go back to documenting my life. There things that I would like to remember and they may seem like small details now, but as I was looking back at a diary I kept for a few months last year, I realized that it was a lot of those little details that made me smile the most. Cute moments with friends and family, small, passing comments made by co-workers, and changes in my life kept popping up at me, and it was nice to reminisce of the good times (and the bad) and see what has happened since. Are those moments still significant? Were they as important or bad as I thought they were at the time? It’s interesting to see if and how I’ve changed, even in just one year.

So let’s get started on my “first” 29th birthday, and my 29th year of life!

What's a birthday like on Weight Watchers?

Birthday flowers from my co-workers!! Nice surprise...

I am proud to say that while today was my birthday, I had a very good food day!!

I had a Weight Watchers bar (2 pts) for breakfast. It wasn't a problem, because I wasn't really hungry. It's getting under control - woo hoooo!!!!!!!!

Then for lunch, I had to have a Smart Ones Weight Watchers meal because I had to take my car in for a new battery. (I know - great birthday). That was only 5 points, and actually filled me up more than I expected! I also had about a 20 oz bottle of water with a Crystal Light packet, and that probably could have helped control the hunger.

Every time someone has a birthday at work, we have a "birthday party" for them. I put that in quotes because it's more like a 30 minute "come-and-go" type event, where you sit around a table and awkwardly get asked about your birthday plans with people you barely talk to while they make small talk with each other. But...my boss made a homemade tirimisu from a recipe I found, and it was very yummy - and only 4 points per slice!

Finally, dinner was a BBQ Chicken Pizza (SUUUUUPER YUMMY!) which was 6 points a slice. I had 14 left for the day, so I helped myself to a Birthday 2-slices with 2 left over, and salad on the side with about 1 point for the dressing. I wasn't even planning on having dessert, just because that's my downfall, so I try to avoid it. But my mom surprised me - the BEST surprise of the day....

Weight Watchers 2 point ice cream!!! It was so perfect, because I haven't had ice cream in FOREVER (again, I would have just gone nuts and blown my progres), AND I only had 1 points left for the day!! (I would have used an extra point). It was an extremely thoughtful gesture from my mom, since I hadn't even requested a dessert. She just knew I would love it!

And...here's the kicker - - I only had HALF! Seriously, I took a few bites and then *boom* - that's enough. I wasn't really hungry, and I didn't want to finish it. So I stopped. I am so proud of myself! And what's even better is that I only ate about 1 points worth - so I didn't have to use an extra point.

So all in all - I can do this!! I'm very proud of myself for sticking with this progam for this long, and I am already seeing results. I haven't done anything for this long, so this says something to me. I will keep going and look forward to only seeing more good things happen!

Spotlight on…

My 25th Birthday - My birthday week has finally come to an “official” close. I received the last few cards and presents, and all in all – I’m excited to be 25!! It was a wonderful week, and I feel very loved! The hat and coffee mug my co-workers chipped in for arrived on Tuesday, and the HAT FITS! I was concerned since it was a “One Size Fits All” hat. I have an unusually small head (hey – I’m a girl! Most of us do!) and the one size usually starts around 1 or 2 sizes too big for my head. But I tried it on at work, and it fits like it was meant for me! The other problem with me and hats is that sometimes it comes with an extra tall forehead area, and it looks like a trucker hat on me. This one…well, see for yourself! No trucker head!



My New Books - My brother Brian sent me a very thoughtful gift. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a certain fondness (ok, obsession) for all things Ancient Rome. Brian and I share a mutual love for reading, so over Christmas, I was telling him about the books I had just bought. He must have remembered that, because he sent me an biography on Augustus Caesar for my birthday by an author who had written another book I already had. But…I already had it – bummer! (Told you I was obsessed!) He also apparently figured that I would, because he mentioned that he would include the gift receipt so I could exchange it. I went to Borders last night and exchanged it for:

And here is my official Spring/Summer reading list (aka: books I’ve purchased and haven’t gotten around to reading/finishing):
Clockwise from far left:
1. "Caesar’s Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Leigon and the Armies of Rome" by Stephen Dando-Collins
2. "Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic" by Tom Holland
3. "Augustus" by Anthony Everitt
4. "Roman Warfare" by Adrian Goldsworthy
5. "The Private Lives of the Roman Emperors" by Anthony Blond



I'm looking forward to the next few months!! WOO HOO!

My birthday isn’t over yet!

Apparently, it’s going to become a 25th Birthday week! Justin had a few plans for Monday as a surprise that he didn’t get the chance to “execute”, and he’s really disappointed he didn’t get to fully surprise me! So he decided to make it my birthday week!

I do know that he is going to take me to Ruby Tuesday for dinner Thursday night. Since I ate with my parents on Monday, he didn’t get to take me out on my actual birthday. He was dog-sitting Bailey while I was at dinner (and doing the birthday “surprises”) and didn’t realize he left some chocolate out on the counter, a little too close to the edge. When he came around the corner, he saw Bailey standing over the little box, licking his chops. He had eaten all 3 pieces. Justin was horrified that Bailey would be keeling over in pain, or going bezerk at any minute, so when I got home, he told me he wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving Bailey alone until he knew he was ok (bless his heart)!

Also, my wonderful team at work got me a really nice Dallas Stars hat and a travel Dallas Stars coffee mug! According to one of my co-workers, it’s virtually impossible to find any Dallas Stars memorabilia in the Colorado Springs area. (I could have told them that!) But, they haven’t gotten them in the mail yet, and it’s expected to arrive next Monday. So whoever’s house they mailed it to will bring it in on Tuesday! I’m pretty pumped…they look really cool! Matt, one of the Training Managers, printed out pictures of my gift, and presented it to me in a card:

On a non-birthday related note, I kind of started a blog for Bailey! It would be just a little bit here and there about fun things he does. I follow a few blogs like that, and it’s just so cute! They’re free to open, so there’s no harm done. Unless, of course, you don’t want to have to read a completely separate blog! Then this blog can be about “me” (since most of the blogs are anyway) and that one can have pictures of him! But it’s just a thought…I’m not sure if ultimately I’d want to have that extra “work”. It gave me a chance to create a new header and find a new site design for this blog, and that is exciting for me to think about!!

You can find it if you View My Profile, and there’s a section for blogs I “manage” – this one and Bailey’s! Or copy and paste this address: http://baileysmisconceptions.blogspot.com/. I chose that for a few reasons – 1. Bailey Monster was taken (hehe) and he does tend to have many misconceptions about the “people world” all the time (for example, when I put my coat on and am getting ready to go shopping or something, he thinks that he’s going to the park, and runs around the apartment like a banshee).

Blogger's Delight

It's a Tuesday night, and I'm sitting in bed blogging. Oh sure, there's other things happening, and I have other things I want to do, or will do. But I'm looking forward to all of it.





First of all, I'm enjoying a wonderful strawberry Margarita (started with dinner). I'm obviously blogging, and I am watching Mamma Mia!

And I'm also "eye-balling" my book that hasn't been read in such a long time...but everytime I walk past it, it whimpers and says "Read me! Read me!"

It's "Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic" by Tom Holland. The Rubicon was the river that Julius Ceasar crossed to enter Rome, causing the start of their Civil War. It's extremely interesting, and when I'm reading it, I can't put it down!!! But, there are so many other things to be done, that it's hard to pick it up. I'm also one of those readers where I either need it quiet, or to have a constant quiet noise in the background (for example, Starbucks is ok). I can't read with the tv on, or someone talking close by, so even at Starbucks, I need an isolated area, or I find myself listening in on their conversations. But after talking about it this much, or thinking about reading, I think I'm going to pick it up!

Also, it turns out that my birthday is going to span across the upcoming week, and I may even be creating a new blog, but more to come on that tomorrow! I'm going to go and read a book!!

Birthday Sparkles!

I had a GREAT birthday!! I really happen to be surrounded by people that want to make me happy and enjoy seeing me happy. It all started off at work...

This is how my office looked when I came in...sparkles everywhere!

I had a banner taped to the front of my desk!

These little shiny stars were EVERYWHERE!! People were tracking these all through the hallway...even into the bathroom!

All of the handles on all my cabinets had curly ribbons.

The other angle of my office, with stars and balloons!

My boss brought me my favorite Starbucks - Raspberry Mocha!!

The stars even made it on my keyboard!

Messing around with my shiny stars!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

Dinner at the Sunbird Restaurant, overlooking the Springs!

Another view of the city!

I got my favorite flowers from my mom, and Justin! I love tulips!!!

And Justin knew I liked flowers, so he got me a kit where I could grow my own!

And apparently it's not even done yet! My parents took me to dinner tonight, and Justin is taking me to dinner tomorrow!!! I LOVE my 25th birthday, and it was just amazing.

And to top it all off, Justin is willing to watch MAMA MIA with me tonight!!! :-) Gotta run!

Just a Little Self-Promotion

My birthday is tomorrow... :-)

I don't really have anything huge planned - in fact, I don't even know where I'll be going to dinner! But I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, and I'll finally be able to say I'm 25!

I went to 2 hockey games this weekend for Colorado College, and they won both! They were pretty exciting games, and were very close! A great way to start off my "25th year".

Then I took Bailey to the dog park today for an hour, and not only did he love it, but when we got home, he crashed on the couch for at least 2 hours! To any dog owners out there, you know that's a dead give away that the dog had a GREAT time!

I was also finally able to watch the Amazing Race!! I missed the first episode last week, but it wasn't hard at all to get into it tonight! It's always really intense, and you find yourself really "relating" to the people on the show. You start to pick out your top 3 teams you want to see make it all the way to the end, but even more than that, you pick out (usually right away) the teams you want to see elimated as soon as possible. It's pretty awesome. Thanks go to my brother for getting me into that, and we'll sign up for it one of these days!!

So, tonight is being spent watching the Oscars instead of doing the inCREDibly large pile of dishes in the sink. Don't worry, I'll do those eventually. Then to top it all off, I have an almost equally large pile of laundry, and it's 8:45 pm and I haven't started it yet. But I'm too excited to go to sleep early!! And then I'll probably curl up and read my book on Ancient Rome. Yes, you read that correctly. I'm a nerd.

Anyway, tomorrow's a Monday and I'll be at work all day, but I'll take pictures tomorrow and be sure to come back and document this historic birthday!!

Happy Birthday!

I know, I know…another Bailey post. But I have a good reason! Happy Birthday to Bailey! He turns 1 year old today! I got him back on March 24, 2008, and I have enjoyed him ever since!

(<-- This is NOT him, by the way! I couldn’t get him to sit still long enough with a hat on his head if I wanted to!)

I wanted to take him to the dog park this afternoon so he could run endlessly and just have a blast. He loves for me to throw his toy, he gets all excited (or at least pretends to), and then after I’ve thrown it, he will run halfway in that direction and stop and sniff the grass he’s standing on. Then I have to walk all the way to the toy to pick it up, so it’s not forgotten. I don’t even know why I bring toys…he ends up eating rocks and rolling around in the dirt anyway.

However, it’s kind of hard to drive to the dog park when it looks like this when you get home from work:

So we stayed home and he enjoyed his new toy...

which he destroyed LITERALLY 5 minutes later. (The duck, not the brush)

It’s fun to look back and see where he was and how huge he is now! So for a moment of “recollection”, here’s a fun comparison:

Bailey Then (@ 2 months):
Bailey Now (@ 1 year):

So Happy Birthday, my little man!