climbergirl blog

On Thursday, Dennis & I flew to Reno for the weekend. Dennis wanted to spend his 40th birthday with his family. We managed to surprise his Mom & Dad, by planning a party for Dennis in Reno. Joel & Sherry (Dennis’ brother & sister) were there, as well as Sherry’s kids Nick, Marc, Lucas, and Alexis and their Dad.

The birthday evening went well-we talked late into the night. We picked up KFC and had a cake (thanks to Sherry!). It was a nice birthday. Dennis was surprised happily that Joe came-we were not sure he would be able to come. (more…)

On March 28th, Dennis & I moved into our new(ish) home. After searching for 2 months, we were happy to have compromised on a style & type of home. We decided to buy in a planned community. And, as much as I dislike the idea, in the end I think it will work out just fine. We do not want to spend lots of time maintaining a yard, or the house, so this situation is ideal. (more…)

February was a very busy month. In looking back, all I have to show for the month are two pictures. One is a kickin salad I made for dinner, and the other is of me on the couch with the cats…Enjoy!

I did go climbing, but not outside. I went a few times in a gym Rock’n & JAM’n down in Centennial. It’s a nice gym, normal pricy fees, but a friendly scene and cheerful service. I like the auto belays, I can run laps and Dennis doesn’t have to belay me.

I spent most of the time looking for houses, and eventually found one we both were happy about. There really is so much on the market, that it’s mind blowing.

Our realtor, Sue Smith of Coldwell Bankers, sue.smith@coloradohomes.com, did a phenomenal job familiarizing us with Denver neighborhoods, providing flexible hours to accomodate our busy life, and really showing us the gamut of possibilities in our price range. She did *not* push us to spend as much as we could (which is something that I find particularly disrespectful). In general, if you want to find a place to live in Denver, and you are going to use a realtor, Sue’s great.

We moved to Denver in order to be able to do fun things. So for New Years, we went out for a night on the town. This involved a very scrumptious dinner at The Cork House followed by The Greyboy Allstars at the Ogden Theater.

Dinner was a special which started off with an appetizer (Dennis picked a cheese plate and I picked seared tuna). Next up was a freshly trimmed salad, a lovely way to clear the palate! Main course was poached salmon & spinach with garlic potato for me and Dennis got some kind of beef dish. Both were very filling. For dessert, I had creme brulee, and Dennis got a chocolate mousse. After dinner, which was lovely, we headed out for our show.

The Greyboy Allstars are a funk & groove band. Quite fun performers, and they really had a lot of energy on stage. The Ogden Theater was packed, and I’m happy we sat upstairs, close to the railing so the view was great. Dennis & I left about 12:30, but the band was still rockin the house. What a fabulous way to start the new year!

Being new to Colorado, we both were excited when we woke up to 6 inches of white stuff. No, not powdered sugar! It was snowing outside. What a huge contrast to Christmas in Ridgecrest (probably mid 50s with blue sky!).

We opened our presents and the cats enjoyed the wrapping paper. After calling all our family, we decided to go for a snowshoe hike around the block. I bought the snowshoes a year ago, but we had never used them. So, after sitting dormant for 365 days, we broke them out-took the tags off-and ventured outside.

It was gusty, and the snow was being blown around. The walk turned into a hike, as we wandered much deeper into suburbia than initially planned. Folks were mostly staying indoors, but there were a few brave souls driving around-probably on an errand for milk or something! In anycase, we waved hi to passing motorists and they just looked back as if we were crazy.

All in all, it was a happy Christmas-even though we missed being with our families.