Where's the party at?

There is a reason to celebrate if you are a Florida Gator. Werd sent me this excerpt from an article about the number 1 party school. Cheers Gators, lets have a toast...shots of sex with an alligator for all!

"University of Florida, study says Just call 'em the Guzzling Gators: The University of Florida is the nation's No. 1 party school. The school tops the annual list of party campuses compiled by the Princeton Review. The university has made the list before, but has never been first. It wrested the title away from West Virginia University. Coming in second was the University of Mississippi, followed by Penn State University, West Virginia and Ohio University-Athens. Florida also came in first this year in the categories of students who study the least and students who pack the stadiums. The annual rankings also list the nation's "Stone-Cold Sober Schools." Topping that list was Utah's Brigham Young University."

Parental Units

My apologizes for not writing more, my parental units are in town for 11 days. I honestly feel as though, I have been busier than a one arm paper hanger!

They flew in on Monday afternoon, Swallow flew in about an hour behind them and we have been busy ever since! Monday night we had a bbq (not to be confused with a beer b que!) There were probably about 50 people throughout the evening and it really was a great time. We had enough food to feed an army and it must have been good, because the only thing left at the end of the evening was a salad and about a 30 pack of PBR. Hell, when you can have sunshine wheat or PBR, I too would choose Sunshine Wheat. However, there were a few of my boys that drank PBR by choice. :) I knew they would, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten it. I am blonde and a little dumb, but I am really not stupid. The bbq went off with huge success. My parents were happy to meet all of my friends and finally be able to put a face with a name for all the stories they had heard. I was happy to look around and realize that the only person I truly missed was my sister. Of course, I missed a few other special ones (werd, dempsey and jiu) but in the big picture everyone that was important at the moment was at my house.

Tuesday we went to the Rockies v. Dodgers game. It was an evening game but you wouldn't have been able to tell since it was still like 88 degrees when the game started. As soon as the sun went down, it was a lot more enjoyable. The beers were flowing, the hot dogs were cheap and I had my parental units and Swallow, how could I not have a good time. The Rockies won, so that was a plus...but either way the game was actually very interesting. Everyone was pretty happy.

I am not exactly sure what we did on Wednesday, but we were busy all day. Pops and I worked out in the morning (its seems to be our new pattern). Oh right, we went to Golden to visit the Coors Brewery, however, they are now closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays. Good enough, everyone deserves a day off. We had some fantastic pizza at Woody's and then headed back downtown so my mother could enjoy the Tattered Cover. The tattered cover is by far my favorite bookstore of all times. There is one on Colfax that is also great, but the one right off the 16th street mall, is absolutely amazing. Shockingly enough, out of the three of us, I was the only one that bought a book. I bought Me to We (finding meaning in a material world) by Craig and Marc Kielburger. I'll keep you posted how I liked it after I finish it, but man with my parents in town, I literally haven't had time to read. Maybe its an excuse, but if it is at least its a good one!

I know I am only up to Wednesday but I am too tired to write about the rest of the excitement. Check back in and I'll fill you in on white water rafting, volleyball, and our adventures of keeping my mom occupied. Rather entertaining, but at least I had help from some of my friends. :)

The Sister Relationship.

I haven't quite mastered the sister relationship, (although, I haven't ever really mastered any relationship), back when I lived in Florida some would look at Tumbles and I's relationship as absolutely perfect. Of course, we had our challenges but they were simple and easily overcome. Yes, things have gotten more and more challenging with my move across the country and her traveling...but I know at the end of the day there is no one more important in my life than my sister (sorry mom and dad). I know I struggle to tell my sister how much I love her and how much she means to me, that really is something I should work on day in and day out. I know I push her buttons to get certain reactions or if I am really annoyed I just wont say anything and that drives her absolutely batty...Sorry Tumbles. Momma always said if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all...well I have seemed to manage to take that to an entirely new level, but I admit I am working on it!

Okay so enough about that random tangent. Last night, I got off work and had a drink with Ames's big sister (she doesn't have a nick name, yet so we will call her KK). I have hung out with both sister's individually and collectively, they remind me very much of my sister and I. The age difference is the same and they are both fun, easy going and intelligent women. So it always makes for a good time. Last night we hung out on a more serious level. There was sister drama and I happened to be the best candidate to listen to the sister drama. Here is the short version -KK had a boyfriend for like three years, they had a bad break up but now they are back together. KK wants Ames and the fam to be accepting and welcoming of the relationship, however, she struggles to see that they will ever be...fair enough. KK is feeling left out because Ames and her use to be the bestest of buds but now Ames has a boyfriend that lives 45 minutes away so she is never around anymore...fair enough.

As I was sitting there listening to KK's side of Ames's new distraction. I was quickly reminded that my sister and I went through the same thing when I started dating Buster. It was a challenge because my sister had always had my undivided attention, but now it was about sharing (well not really sharing because I was all wrapped up, but you get the message). I tried to remind KK how wonderful it feels to be in the honeymoon stage of a relationship, where you simply can't get enough of the person. She smiled all giddy and was pretty accepting, that the honeymoon stage doesn't last forever. I told her about how I dealt with my sister's boyfriends. I always tried to be accepting, but if I didn't like them I would put them in situations that I knew their true colors would come out and they would be gone within the week. Trust me it worked wonders, although my sister has never thanked me, I think she is pretty happy her little sister scared away the bums! Okay so one problem acknowledged and addressed, but by no means fixed...on to number 2. How do I get them to be more accepting of the boyfriend. Well, I got a kick out of this part, because again my sister and I went through the same thing.

Buster and I had a terrible break-up but there was a point at which we thought we might get back together. I tried to explain that to my friends and some of my family and they were all very very against it. It was for the simple reason that they had all only heard the negatives. The negatives were so fresh in their mind that they couldn't remember the positives. No one could see why on earth I would possibly want to go back to Buster. I tried to enlighten KK that they are only nervous because they don't want to see you hurt again. They don't want to see you go through what could have been the hardest thing in your life. My advice was to start mentioning the positives. Don't jam it down their throats with all positives, but a simple mention of how wonderful the boy is, or what he did to make you smile today...they will slowly begin to turn around. I told her at the end of the day the family really wants to see you happy. If boyfriend makes you happy, then you have to follow your heart but on the second time around you have to listen to your head. She looked at me with the straightest of straight faces and said "your sister is pretty lucky." I smiled and said, "no actually, I am the lucky one, I wouldn't be who I am today if I didn't have my sister paving the road for me."

It felt pretty good when I hugged KK goodnight and wished her good luck with both issues. What she didn't know was that I gave the same advice to Ames about two hours before. It is always fun playing devils advocate. :) Funny how sisters that are ridiculously close still can't manage to have these conversations. Tumbles and I are close, but when push comes to shove Werd still gets involved.

One for the WIN Column!

The Dirty Birds finally won a game, 15-10! I know what you are all thinking, was the other team handicapped or did they not have enough players? I'll put your mind to ease. They did have a full team 10 players and none of them seemed all that special (in the short bus kind of way).

In the first inning we were up 8-0. My pitching was on and the defense was doing pretty well. If we could get rid of that crappy third baseman we would be in the clear for good. Our 3rd baseman happens to be the guy that got in my face like he was going to hit me last week. He constantly makes errors and can't make the throw from third to first without it hitting the ground. I am really sorry, but if you are a guy and you can't make the throw from third to first then you need to be put in right field until you learn how to throw the ball!

I didn't have a fantastic performance by any means. I went 2-4 with 1 RBI and two strikeouts. One girl struck out looking and a guy went down swinging. Its a good thing he missed the last strike because he swung so hard that the ball might have been hit all the way to Texas. He was a pretty good sport about it. I am pretty happy that the Dirty Birds finally won a game!

Tennis

Never in my life have I been known as the tennis star! My sister use to beat the pants off of me, time after time on the court. However, I had the luxury of playing a couple of times this week and I must admit, I still suck! If I was playing against my sister, I am 100% positive that I would never even get a game off of her, however, I did get a few games off the delegate. :) I think the Delegate took it easy on me, however, he was a pretty decent loser. He didn't blame the fact that he had a knee brace on, or that he forgot his water, or that it was muggy. He did however, when asked how tennis went said, "oh, we just hit around, didn't really play a match." I was a gracious winner, I just smiled in his direction, because he and I both know that I won! WOOOOHOOOOO!

One of the great things about living Denver is the entire city is surrounded by outside activities. The Delegate and I went to park last night around 8:30 to play some tennis, and wouldn't ya know that there were four lighted courts that anyone is welcome to play on. CRAZY! I am sure that part of my tax paying dollars go to light those courts, which I will now begin to appreciate. Who knew that just any random joe could come and use the courts for free. Hopefully, I get a chance to play more, because my game surely does stink. I'll be practicing so that I can beat the pants off of Tumbles!

Film on the Rocks

Yep, another thing checked off of my tourist to-do list! When I moved here, I started asking people what are things to do when you have friends and family in town. Almost every person I know said that Film on the Rocks during the summer is a must! Last night I had an opportunity to take advantage and it was an experience to remember! Although, they do have a few bands that play before the movie as the sun is setting, we didn't get to take that part of the experience in. He had a meeting and I was at the gym for a quick run, bike, and swim. Although, as I began on my journey up to Red Rocks, I quickly realized why it wasn't a good idea to workout so hard.

Delegate and I decided we'd go to see 40-Year Old Virgin last night. Neither of us had ever been to film on the rocks, so we didn't know what to do or what to expect. When you don't know what to do, the best thing is follow the crowd of people. That was the wrong idea! We parked in the lot and started up the hill. Get half way up (trust me it was quite a hike) and we ask a parking attendant where the ticket office is, and he responds with "you are really going to hate me, its a ten minute walk down the hill to the left." Alrighty, so we turn around and walk our 10 minutes down the hill to the left to the ticket office. We even tried to take a short cut on this little nature path, but I don't think it really saved us all that much time. However, it was fun to hear how much Delegate doesn't like the whole outdoor experience. The ticket office is a free standing building not anywhere near the entrance, not even remotely close. From the ticket office, you cannot even see the stage or the seating thats how far it is! Oh well, it gave the delegate and I chance to catch up on the last two weeks, and laugh about how stupid we were for not buying tickets ahead of time.

We show up right when the movie starts, but we have to stop for a beer. The walk (hike) was exhausting and I even broke a sweat. Delegate compared it to climbing everest, which I thought was hysterical, since he was in shorts and I was in flip flops. I of course commented on the fact that are clothing choices weren't really everest like, but hey we could probably still do it! We finally get into the movie, pay for two rounds of beers at $7.00 a pop (that was the best tasting Coors Light I have ever had), and try and find a place to sit. We end being about half way up on the right side. I spread my Gator blanket (that delegate swore was a Broncos Blanket) and we watched the movie. We probably only missed the first 10 minutes of the movie, but since we had both seen the movie before, it was all good.

Since we had both seen the movie before it gave us a chance to chat a little, look for the big dipper, and be entertained by the flock of kids smoking pot around us. There was so much marijuana around us that if you gave either of us a drug test today, we would probably fail. As the movie ended the place began to empty out instantly. I guess there really was no reason to stay, but we did. We sat back and watched the people rush out only to sit in traffic in the parking lot. We looked up at the stars, tried to find the little dipper (never found it) and talked. It was about 20 minutes after the movie ended and a cleaning crew guy came over and asked us to leave. When we looked around there were about 10 other people still in the place and 8 of them were cleaning crew. We both laughed and got our stuff together to start our hike back to the car. By the time we got the car, there was no traffic. Score for us! :)

I definitely want to take in another film on the rocks before the summer is over. This time I will get there a little earlier to enjoy the bands and maybe sit closer to the middle so I don't have be surrounded by the sent of mary-jane all night. However, if thats the worse thing that happens during my next film on the rocks, I wont complain.

Dirty Birds Are Terrible!

Another defeat for the record books 14-10! WOOOOHOOOO! I don't have time to write, however, this is the second time on this team that a male has gotten in my face because I disagreed with him. He was already upset with me because I moved him from 3RD base to 2nd base because he couldn't make the throw. However, his getting in my face as if he was going to hit me, happened to be about the umpires calling of strikes and balls. He struck out and was complaining about the umpires calls. I said it might not have looked like a strike but it hit the mat behind the plate and anything that hits the mat is a strike. Being a pitcher I have to appreciate the mat and the umpire. He wasn't a fan of me, or my opinion and he made it well known. Good thing the rest of the team happened to witness his temper. I probably could have gotten myself knocked out, but then again what kind of guy hits a girl?

Only a few more games with this team and then I think I will be retiring to find a new team. One that hopefully wins games and doesn't have male ego's that need to be stroked. I did go 3-3 with a double and two RBI's, however my pitching was atrocious!

23 days- 10 CARBS.

I had a challenge of eating like no carbs for 7 days. Okay fine! I passed that challenge with flying colors. On the 8th day, I talked to Sam about continuing it and thought sure why not. Once I got thru day 4 the cravings stopped...and I was home free! However, at about day 20 I started wanting things again. Things I didn't normally crave like the rice part sushi or pancakes. Everyone that knows me, knows I do not like pancakes, but I guess knowing that I couldn't have them made me want them badly!

Now keep in mind, that I never actually did no carbs! For the first 14 days I did 10 carbs or less, after that I did under 20. The book tells you to do 20 carbs for the first 2 weeks and 30 carbs for the next two weeks and then 40 carbs from then on. I survived for 23 days before I gave in and had pancakes. They never tasted so good! I woke up this morning feeling fine and thought to myself, I only live once, I am in pretty good shape, I am at a healthy weight, and I should be able to eat whatever it is whenever I want to eat it. After all I am exercising and training for the Denver Marathon so eating carbs and a few sweets here and there aren't going to kill me. At least my diet has improved dramatically since I was kid when I would eat tubs of vanilla icing, cookie dough by the tube and sprinkles on everything.

So, I am back to eating carbs, keep in mind I wont be eating only carbs, but I am going to add them back into my diet. A plate of pasta sounds might appetizing if you ask me, but I have a game tonight, so I wont be eating anything that heavy. All in all I think that my 23 days of no-carbing-low carbing it was pretty successful. I can see why that diet works, and why people do it. However, I think that a balanced diet and good workout will allow one to lose the same amount of weight...YES, I do understand that it might take a little longer than the immediate weight loss that Atkins provides, but you will still be successful!

If anyone else has a challenge for me, I say bring it on. I am down and ready.

k-9 UNIT!

Sweet little baby Camden got a new shirt today. Swallow is always making comments about how we should dress up little Camden. Well, I finally found something that was appropriate for her. She is now part of the K-9 Unit. She looks adorable! I am not sure she is thrilled with having a shirt on, but at least she isn't complaining. :)

Cheers.

Colorado made history on July 6, 2008! Mark it down on the calendars! Until today, Colorado has never sold liquor on Sundays, yes yes I know, you could buy 3.2 beer before today. But that has all changed. The liquor stores are now open for full service.

Of course, Swallow and I had to partake in the festivities. Swallow stopped at the store to get a bottle of Champagne to celebrate the joyous occasion. She also picked up a bottle of barefoot pinot grigio. When asked why she went to the liqour store today, she responded with "because I could!" We both laughed. I wonder how many people went to the liquor store today for the simple reason that it was actually opened.

I didn't want to drink today, because I have to work at 4, but hey I can't turn down a bottle of champagne with Swallow...It is always a celebration.

Absolutely Dedicated.

Being a Florida graduate, I literally believe that I bleed orange and blue. Matter of fact, majority of my Gainesville friends bleed orange and blue. Of course there are the few odd balls that are or have been Gators yet there hearts are else where. I have to give them credit, they are at least loyal to their team. Whether I pass someone on the street, serve them at the bar, high five them in the gator club, or ski down the mountain and pass a person in a Gator jacket...I can always say Go Gators! We speak the same language. We don't actually have to converse any more then Go Gators to give me that little smirk I get thinking about all the good times I had being a Gator.

I flip on the television tonight and see that the Olympic swimming trials are on. I watch the first race with Michael Phelps blows away the competition (well not really but pretty close) and then the ladies 800m come on. I look up at Sam and say, "oh, I wonder if their are any gators in this race." She looks at me straight face and said, "is there ever a day that you don't look for a fellow gator?" I thought about it, and then responded I am sure there has been at least one day, that I haven't vocalized my search for the Gators. She just laughed, but she is right. I live and die the Florida Gators. I never thought, I'd be one of those type of fans. Although, now I am pretty happy that I have that reputation. I know that the Gators wont always be on top of all the sports categories, and thats okay...everybody has their rebuilding years. Of course, we would like to win every game, year in and year out. The thing about the Gators is I think that if you asked any Gator if they would rather win a blow away or lose a close game...they would all say I will take a good close game anytime. Of course, all sports teams have those idiots that would rather see the their team win 70-3 just to say they did it, but those fans are few and far between in the Gator Nation. The thing about the Gators are that they are die-hards...loyal to the day that we die. I am proud to be part of the Gator Nation.

Oh by the way, their were two gators in the ladies 800m free style, unfortunately they did not finish in the top 2 spots to move on to the Olympics. Win or lose, I am happy to see there were two Gators in the last 8 standing for a chance to compete in the Olympics. That is quite an accomplishment. Go Gators!

4th of July.

Hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July! Enjoy the fireworks. :)

LUCKY!

All my life, my sister has always said something to the effect of "don't worry about Aspen, everything always works out for her." I just kind of chuckle, everytime I hear it. If you think about it, its a compliment. My sister has always believed that I get everything, the bottom line is she is correct. One year, I wanted to go to Florida Miami game in Miami, day before the game, I stumbled across FACE VALUE tickets that were literally in the 3rd row 40 yard line. There aren't many times in my life that things like that don't happen to me.

About 6 months ago, I started toying with the idea that I wanted to get nice sunglasses. I really believe that because I am closer to the sun here compared to Florida that I squint alot more. I am not so sure I want those crazy crows feet lines around my eyes, so I thought sunglasses would be a great way to at least prolong them. So, I am off for my search of a good pair of glasses. I don't really find exactly what I am looking for the first few times I am out or I just don't want to spend 80-150 dollars on sunglasses that I think I will lose. Instead I decide to wait until the perfect sunglass falls in my lap. My sister would say, you better believe that she thinks this way because it will probably happen.

A month goes by and I happen to get a pair of Oakley sunglasses. A friend of mine said that they look better on me then her, so she gave them to me. I offered to pay her, but she said no. Hmmmmm, who would have thunk it! I am wearing the oakley's all the time, (they really did look good on me) and then while at a softball game, I find a pair of Nike sunglasses. It just so happens that nike sunglasses look good on me as well! Crazy! Two months go by and I didn't have any sunglasses at another softball game (I left them all at home), and someone gives me another pair of oakley sunglasses. I'll agree that the second pair of oakley's aren't my favorite by any means, but of course I don't turn down another pair of free sunglasses. Well last was icing on the cake, I was out with the girls (Drea, Sam I am, Swallow, Cake, and Shannnnnnnnnnoooooon) and what did I stumble upon another pair of sunglasses.

This morning when I stumbled down the stairs wondering why I was up so early, I saw the sunglasses I found last night. Looking at them, I thought I should google them to see how much they cost...hahaha. While doing, I then got the brilliant idea to get pictures and values of all the sunglasses I just acquired and then write a blog about how once again everything always works out for me.

I used the sunglass hut website as my price check. The first pair of oakley's go for $105 dollars. The Nike pair I found were valued at $79 dollars. The second pair of oakley's were valued at $160, and the Arnette's I found last night (which could be my favorite pair yet) were valued at $80 dollars. So all in all, I have spendt ZERO dollars on sunglasses yet I have a collection of about $425 dollars. Sorry, Tumbles it looks like it worked out again. Don't worry though, there is hope that I will lose all of them, just as easily as I found them.