Beautiful flowers...

Last Thursday was a free day at the Denver Botanical garden so armed with my trusty camera my lovely hubby and I went to check it out.  Looking at all the flowers and the different types of gardens was so much fun and really amazing.  I managed to get a few good shots as well.  I think I will blow some of these up into large fridge magnets.

Say yes to carrots!

Ahhh Sunday.. I was in a wedding this weekend so things have been a little crazy. It was nice to just relax today and do a little cooking. I made Mahi Mahi fish tacos and I decided to make a new type of salsa fresh topping. Diced onions, tomatoes, chopped cilantro, shredded carrots, and black beans, mixed with lime juice, sea salt, and pepper. It was a great topping and it really "made" the dish see below..

Roll with it baby...

So I tried my new sweat wicking underwear out on a short... run 1 mile to be exact. Then I walked a mile back to my house my new undies and sports bra did an excellent job. However now I have a stiff shoulder and the back of my left knee hurts. Can you say out of shape!!

In other less whiny news today I was reading about a food movement known as locavore. The upshot being you try to source your meals with products grown or produced within a specified radius from your home. Sounds challenging but of course there's an application for it aptly named Locavore.

This is the scoop from time Magazine.

Buying and eating organic food isn't always as green as you might hope. If your organic potatoes are coming from the Peruvian Andes, for instance, those delicious causas are probably leaving a hefty carbon footprint. For truly local eating, the Locavore app detects where you are in the U.S., tells you what foods you can find locally grown and in season and plots local farmers' markets and other pertinent info in Google Maps. The app also connects you to extra info on Wikipedia and recipes using your green food product of choice.



Still sounds a little daunting to me but I am thinking of giving it a whirl not the whole enchilada but I thought it might be a fun experiment for produce in the summer.

The Journey to Happiness

Well spring is springing or sprunging something like that.. and with spring comes weeds in the yard and spring cleaning. I spent my first hour of the morning pulling weeds. Thanks to several overcast and rainy days the weeds didn't put up too much of a fight.







I'm not done though I'm planning on going at it again tomorrow. The shots above are from the tree in my backyard it is some sort of apple type tree.

After a brisk round of weed pulling I made a lovely harvest bowl breakfast; vanilla yogurt, honey, apples, and kiwi, topped with granola. One breakfast settled and my coffee kicked in the hub and I took or doggies on a five mile walk. We have a trail that goes right by our neighborhood its so nice! Anywho the cutest thing I wore today was my exercise gear.




I do like to look put together even if I'm just out walking the dogs. The top is Nike dry fit and the pants are Adidas scored both at Ross for less. Seriously they have some of the best prices on workout clothes! Lately I have been a fiend for good sweat wicking athletic clothes. The weather in Colorado can change so quickly it is much better to have quick drying moisture management clothes for any serious outdoor activites. Cotton lounge wear is strictly for lounging. my goal this summer is to hike Grey's and Torres. I am aiming for August. we usually hike one fourteener a summer this one is different because you summit both the peak of Grey's and Torres. I can hardly wait!

This last shot is the remnants of my post work out "healthy" Bloody Mary. I call it healthy because its made with hot and spicy V8 juice instead of Bloody Mary Mix.


Its pretty simple in a tall glass mix ice, two shots vodka (mine is 3 olives), fill half way with spicy hot V8, add worcestershire, hot sauce, pepper and pepperoncinis to taste, mix and top off glass with more spicy hot V8.

ta ta for now...

le ouch

So I went on a 22 mile round trip overnight hike this weekend and I am currently nursing my body back into a recognizeable state... so today's post may be a little low on the wow meter... however in the name of fun things to entertain on Monday here is a little dance video for ya...





OMG so funny...

for any o my peeps with upcoming weddings .... a must do for the reception!!!

A new goal emerges....

Ok so I attened this really neat clinic at REI about hiking with your dog in Colorado and I learned quite a bit! The speaker was discussing what it takes to hike a fourteener (a mountain 14,000 feet in elevation) and apparently I really need to stick to my excercise plan cause it sounds tough!!!

I got this info from this FAQ website... http://www.alanarnette.com/alan/fourteenersfaq.htm




So REI is having another clinic the 1st of August on safety precautions to take when you hike a fourteener so I'm going!!! We've got some friends visiting in Aug and they plan on hiking one of these suckers so I need to be ready for real tho!!

Since we just moved and I don't really know anyone here I've been trying to find ways to meet people and make some new friends and so the other night I googled how to meet people in Denver and google popped up this really neat site.

http://www.meetup.com/cities/




It lets you find groups of people with a similar intrest. I found a group of rock climbers that meet at a gym, just minutes from my house, about three Wednesdays a month. I met up with them yesterday and it was really fun. I'm excited about some of the other meetups I've signed up for!!

Okay I'll leave you with this really cool music video the singer is Feist she is english I belive and this video is so neat. I really like it hope you do. It reminds me of something you might see at the theater.

Tuesday bring it on

In The Mix!!!!

Les Casion III is an artist out of Asheville NC pretty intresting stuff.... http://url/

This is copy from his website...

In all of his works Les Caison III adds a little something something. Yeah, that word is repeated twice. That's my point; Les puts just a touch more in his art than you'd expect. Whether you choose to see it or not, it's there. Maybe you will see it with time. Perhaps your friend will point it out to you at the next exhibition.

Les has always drawn from experiences of the world about him. He's always drawn. If you ask him he'll be happy - well, not so happy, to dig through photos and unearth a picture of himself, less than two years of age with pencil in hand, drawing on the bathroom floor.

And now he's got a few years on him. And he's got a few more life experiences to draw from. He paints oil layered with pencil. And he is still sketching.

In 2005 Les had a debut of 278 illustrations: a project two years in the making and supported in part by a grant from the Asheville Arts Council. The show was called "First Steps." An array of loose sketches, "the beginnings of a work of art" as he puts it, were fashioned on the gallery walls of the Hickory Museum of Art with thumbtacks and duct tape. A successful first installation project - for folks were asking to purchase these rough sketches on found paper - from New York to Florida.


Shake It Up!!! Here is a fun idea/contest National Geographic has this new concept for all you photographer types out there...


Be a National Geographic Photographer


www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/yourshot

Take your best shot—and send it to us. Your Shot features editors' selections from the first 5,000 photographs submitted online each month. This month's theme, for photos to be published both online and in the November 2006 print issue, is "Around the Table."

Another tasty treat from National Geographic they have such neat wallpaper to download and they have it for PC and Mac!!



Here's Looking At You!
Photograph by Carlo Delli
From "Visions of Earth," National Geographic, August 2006

A speckled emperor moth in South Africa’s Mkuze Game Reserve diverts predators with an illusion. Patterns on its hind wings resemble a mammal’s face, complete with glinting "pupils."

Top Shelf!!! Here is your beautiful item of the day this piece is marbled acrylic paint very cool very messy ENJOY!!!

Welcome

Ingredients:

One part personal insight

One part cultural phenomenon

3 cherries

A stiff shot of reality

Shake vigorously and serve chilled!!!!



Top Shelf!! Beautiful moment of the day



There is always beauty in the everyday... I plan on putting a new inspiring image up here on a weekly basis. Feel free to contact me if you have an image that illustrates why the everyday can be extraordinary!






Make Mine a Double!!! Exciting link/challenge of the day... Visit http://url/ Entertainment Magazine just did a story on this fella Bob Kosberg. The idea is to send in your ideas for a movie and see if he can sell the rights for you! Perfect if you are one of those people who is always thinking now this... this... would make a great movie. If you get intimidated think of all the stinky movies that are getting made all the time !!