Monday, December 28, 2009

slip and slide...

Yesterday's run up by Gold Camp road and High Drive was absolutely gorgeous but boy was it slippery and snowy! We enjoyed wonderful views and the warmth of the sun in various spots.





Thanks to Heather and her love for Koboucha Squash...I have been enjoying it in various ways. One of which is in smoothie form...maybe my favorite way.

The recipe:
1 c vanilla light soy milk
1/4 tsp gnar gum
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 TB almond butter
3 slices of Koboucha squash
sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon
1 TB vanilla rice protein
Ice

The heavenly result...

Goodmorning...

What a wonderful weekend. After the emotional and physical build up that Christmas time brings, it was so nice to have some down time and not having anything scheduled. Maddy and I are cookin' up an idea for a new years resolution...we're pretty stoked about it. More to come on this later. Off to early am yogatanza...then back to work today.

Friday, December 25, 2009

A White Christmas...finally.

Goodmorning and Merry Christmas everyone:). I'm up early today, sitting in my mother's kitchen, sipping on some coffee, and enjoying the stillness as everyone else is sleeping. There is white stuff on the ground this morning, and I can't remember the last time Christmas morning wasn't dry and brown...yay, I am so happy! Last night, we had our traditional family Christmas Eve celebration at my Grandparent's house. We had such a great time last night...We honored my Grandparent's tradition (pre-grandchildren) of homemade soup and salad for dinner, followed by a large consumption of Holiday baked treats- holy yum! We all decided that having a lighter soup and salad option for dinner, allowed more room for the tasty desserts- perfect! A few notables from the evening...

- Grandma put a laundry basket on her head.

- Erinn received a humungo/adult-sized lamie... when she was a baby, she had a little lamb skin that she absolutely loved.

- Mom referred to Maddy a homeless person, thanks to the quite stylish (unbeknown to her) cut-off gloves I gave her. We warned my mother that we were going to start referring to her comments as "Julie-isms" if she wasn't careful.

- Adam's presents were all house-hold items: glasses, silverware, bowls, plates, pans... for a 22 year old guy...his excitement over the gifts was cracking us all up. Guess you have to have nothing in the house, while living on your own, to truly appreciate those items.





What a fabulous Christmas with the family...love them ever so much.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Holiday baking extravaganza

Gingerbread houses, sugar cookies, divinity, harvest loaf, no-bake cookies...it all unfolded this eve. Pics for proof. I am toasted, in a mini sugar coma and ready for bedzo. Thank god none of these followed me home and will remain at the Madster's house until Christmas eve dinner at Gma and Gpa's:).







Sunday, December 20, 2009

Off to the creperie...again.

Ok, I (we) are officially in love with this place. Again, coffee in pint glasses, gluten free crepes, great ambiance, heavenly flavors...oh yeah, and a full bar, just in case in the future we're feelin' a high ball at 10am. After a beautiful run in the Garden of the Gods, this was a great way to start a wonderful Sunday.

PS- I just got my new Canon 50mm lens and I am in love. Can't wait to test it out more! One of Santa's helpers also gave me two filters for the lens...thank you thank you:). Examples to come.

This one is my fav! Nice posing Danster.



Saturday, December 19, 2009

Christmas light run...






After a few discussions about it, we decided it would be so fun to do a late night Christmas light run this week. We met at the store and headed down Wood Ave, on some back streets, on Carmillo (where the lights stream over the street), and all the way back downtown Tejon. We had such a great time...everything was so lit up, and the temperature was in the high 30's! A few pics from the eve...the light was really bad, and I was just carrying my point and shoot...but you'll get the jist.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

blessings...


What a busy, yet joyful last few days! I've basically been going non-stop since Weds eve. It started with the CRC holiday party on Thursday night, which was such a great time. So awesome seeing all of our customers/friends in one place! However, like everyone knows, when you are hosting a party, you often leave feeling like you had about a hundred two second conversations.

For those of you reading this who are not from Colorado, last week we were hit with a major snow storm, followed by a long-time (few days at least) freeze. Typical here is a huge dump followed by a quick melt within hours. So, three+ days in the negatives, 0 degree range was definitely foreign to everyone. Made for some chilling runs..but beautiful photo ops.



Today was our Sunday run/brunch/gift exchange! We started with a run from Jill's house and enjoyed the heat wave weather-wise...and ended the run singing jingle bells (with the help of Jane's real bells) trotting down the street. Everyone drew a name (thanks to an awesome site called Elfster.com) and brought something different to eat. So much good food- nice work everyone! See the tasty mimosas pictured above:).

My lovely photography poster child...Dani looks good in all my photos:).

Madster loves her apron...so perfect!

J for our dear friend Jessica...beautiful.

Kol Kol getting lost in her neck/face warmer!

Jane and Maddy practicing their curtsies!

Syd all bundled up for the run...so cute.

Preparation for the group shot...


A random man walking down the street made this group shot possible!

My first Christmas presents under the tree! Thanks so much Staci...I love them all! I got an oven mitt, frame, wooden stir spoon, two kitchen flippers (I know that's not the correct name, but I think it's cute), and finally two baking dishes!

I am so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends in my life...to love me, laugh with me, accept me for who I am. Love you all more than you could ever know. Thanks for sharing this special day with me.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

buuurrr...

Maybe I should find a treadmill for next time?? Little slippery. Oh well...it was beautiful!