It's Denver Restaurant Week ®

It's Denver Restaurant Week ® and I'm very excited to participate this year.  If you don't have reservations by now - you've got zero chance sorry.  I made my reservations over two months ago and I still have to go at 5 o'clock because anytime after then was already booked.  Denver Restaurant Week ®, also known as "5280"  is actually two weeks long - FEB 25 - MARCH 9, 2012, and is meant to celebrate all of the great food in Denver.  For these two weeks you can go to any participating restaurant for the fixed price of $52.80 per couple, or $26.40 per person.  No matter how fancy the place you get a four course meal for that price, it's amazing!  It's such a fun opportunity to try places that you've heard about or always wanted to go, but just can't really afford a $200 dinner.  This year I'm trying the Vesta Dipping Grill and TAG.  Check out the Denver Restaurant Week site for a complete list of participating restaurants and $52.80 menus - http://www.denver.org/denverrestaurant/

Happy Eating!
Allison

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

This was about to be a rant about why Nascar would decide to run the Daytona 500 in the middle of the day when most of the Nation is at work. However, we have all been saved by Mother Nature. Due to the rain forecasted for most of the day, The Great American Race has been moved to 7pm Eastern Time. I would like to think that Nascar moved the race because they wanted everyone to be able to watch it, but no, it was just due to the weather.

Last week you read about the cool Google Glasses that are coming out. Well, this weekend I ran across another cool toy coming out this summer. The Nike+ Training shoe, seems like a very cool concept. Check the shoe out here. Hopefully they will not cost you an arm and a leg.

Today was a good day.

T

Google Glasses

If you've seen the technology news lately you may have heard rumors about Google developing some glasses that would turn searching into seeing.  Google has not commented on the rumors yet, however there is already a great deal of buzz floating around about what they will look like and whether or not they are even a good idea.  Here's a short list of some pros and cons already being discussed:

Pros
- Um, they're cool?
- Augmented reality advertising will come to life and revolutionize the advertising world.
- A direct link to your smart phone
- Increased productivity
- The birth of navigation via a tilt of your head

Cons
- $$$
- Not designed for everyday wear
- Google will know you better than you know yourself
- Increased theft
- Ads in your face all day
- Major distraction from let's see...Driving, Walking, etc.

Also, here are some links to some good articles detailing the rumors:

 - http://news.discovery.com/tech/google-glasses-122302.html
 - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/technology/google-glasses-will-be-powered-by-android.html
 - http://www.pcworld.com/article/250507/google_glasses_are_a_prescription_for_disaster.html
 - http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/02/google-glasses-coming-to-an-eyewear-stand-near-you/

SEE ya later (pun intended),
Allison

Sauce or No Sauce?

I was talking about steaks with some friends when one of them asked if I use sauce with my steak and I said yes I prefer some sort of sauce. He immediately thought I was crazy and said any good steak doesn't need sauce as you are covering up the steaks natural flavors. I mentioned I like TGIFs Jack Daniels sauce and think it tastes better than the steak itself but I am not going to drink the sauce so I have to add meat to the sauce. He then mentioned I should eat at all these fancy steak restaurants where a steak is $50 or more and I won't need sauce. I then stated I would rather have 4 separate steak dinners at TGIFs than one steak dinner where I don't need sauce. Again, he said I was crazy. So I am asking you. Do you use sauce with your steaks? Would you rather have 4 good steak dinners or 1 steak dinner so good you don't need sauce?

Just Curious
Dale

Boogity, boogity, boogity!

Finally, we can all watch a real sport starting this Sunday. Nascar is kicking off the 2012 season with the 54th Annual Daytona 500. This race is the most grueling, tiring, muscle-ripping, skill-requiring activity any athlete can go through. It's guaranteed to be real exciting this year since Nascar has changed the rules. Gone are the tandem races, now it's all pack racing. This past Saturday's Budweiser Shootout had 3 multi-car crashes in only 75 laps. And Kyle Busch's winning margin over Tony Stewart was only .013 seconds.
So I'm not sure about you, but this Sunday I'll be glued to my couch watching some racing. I'll be rooting for #13, Timmy Tebow is driving!

~TeeRev

Hot Lava

I came across an article about Lava at Yosemite Park. Evidently soon you will be able to see lavafalls at Yosemite Park. Well it is not actually lava but is actually the waterfalls catching some light that brings the illusion that there is hot lava falling. For more on this natural occurrence I have posted and article from Rob Lovitt,

http://todaytravel.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/16/10428048-catch-a-firefall-in-yosemite-national-park

Happy Friday
Dale

EDC

EDC stands for every day carry. We all have those things that we just can't leave home without. For most of us it's something like a wallet, cell phone, keys, etc. I like to keep a small pocket knife on me at all times. It comes in very handy at work for opening boxes and letters, at the restaurant when they give my 2 year old a child cup with an adult sized straw that looms high over her head, and you never know when you may need to fight off a pack of wolves.

My current EDC lineup consists of my phone, keys, wallet, ChapStick, a Mag Solitaire (barely visible flashlight), and my 2 1/2" folder. I'm thinking about adding a few things to my EDC lineup, such as a better flashlight, maybe trade my folder for a good quality Swiss Army knife, among a few other things.

But for the Ultimate EDC in one package, you need to look no further than the Wenger Giant Knife. Just try and find something you CAN'T do with this thing!

Don't Slouch

I've recently noticed that I have horrible posture at work. I'm either curled over my keyboard or propped up on the arm of my chair. Most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it until I start to hurt. This whole week I've tried to make myself sit up straight as much as I can. It's uncomfortable, but I have noticed improvements. When I sit up, I type more efficiently, I'm able to focus more easily on my task and I haven't been as sleepy as usual. Of course it could all be a coincidence, but I think I'll keep at it.

I know that the right posture, (and position!) is very important for people that do most of their work at a desk, so I looked up some tips and I found this really cool series on super quick yoga moves you can do in your office. These are supposed to help you improve your posture, open your mind and reduce stress. Who doesn't want to reduce stress at work?

http://www.yogajournal.com/officeyoga/

The website claims that the moves can be done in under two minutes and will undo tension in the most common problem areas for desk workers. I didn't have a chance to look through the videos, but I did watch the intro video and it seems like something everyone could put into practice to reduce stress on their bodies and minds. I'd like to give it a try.


Namaste :)
Shala

The Camino

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  I've got some exciting news this week.  First, I'm a week away from finishing yet another grad school class, yay!  Second, I just recently joined a Denver group sponsored by the American Pilgrims on the Camino (APCO).  You're probably thinking what the heck is that, right?  Well, I spent a year studying abroad in Santigao de Compostela, Spain and fell completely in love with the place.  I've been dying to go back, but I'd really like to see some more areas of Spain that I was not able to visit.  When I was there I took a class on the history of the Camino and have since been very intrigued about it.  On the APCO Facebook page the other day I actually came across a woman's post that said there is a speaker who will be giving a presentation at the Denver REI on the topic of the Camino, so I registered!  It was free and is just some general information, but it will also give me a chance to meet some people in the area that have also been to Santiago.  The Camino is a pilgrimage whereby for thousands of years people have been walking the 450 mile path across Northern Spain.  Some people do it for religious regions, others for fitness, others for the experience, and the list goes on.  I'm very excited to hear stories from actual people that have completed the Camino, and who knows...maybe I'll do it one day.  Here's some links about the APCO and the history of the Camino -

http://www.americanpilgrims.com/camino/camino.html
http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/
http://caminodesantiagoguide.org/

Buen camino,
Allison

Happy Ferris Wheel Day!

I was going to hijack the Valentine's Day blog, however I'm figuring that someone else will cover that wonderful holiday. So I'll take Ferris Wheel Day. On February 14, 1859 one George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. was born. He lived a rather ordinary life until 1891. That's when the directors of the World's Columbian Exposition issued a challenge to American engineers to create monument to compete with the Eiffel Tower. It was for this challenge that George Ferris created the Ferris Wheel. The World's Columbian Exposition was held in 1893 in Chicago, Illinois. And the main feature was of course, the Ferris Wheel. The great wheel had a height of 264 feet, and fit 36 cars with 40 chairs holding 60 people per car. The capacity was a whopping 2,160 people.

I don't ever remember seeing a Ferris Wheel that large in my life, the biggest being the wheel at Elitch Gardens at just over a hundred feet high. Even the great wheel of 1893 was small when compared to today's giant wheels. The tallest Ferris Wheel in the world is in Singapore. The Singapore Flyer is 541 feet tall. No worries if you can't make it to Singapore anytime soon, the largest Ferris Wheel in the world will soon call Las Vegas home. Scheduled for completion in the spring of 2013, the wheel will be a nose-bleeding 550 feet tall. Time to plan that Vegas trip.

Roll on,
T

3D Tvs

I was at Walmart the other day and overheard a couple discussing if they should buy a 3D Tv or just a regular TV. Seems like they wanted the 3D tv but thought that it may be a fad and they could be wasting their money on a product that will be obsolete in a few years. I have never really thought about buying a 3D TV because watching 3D movies hurt my eyes but I did wonder if 3d would be around for a long time or gone shortly. So are 3D TV's a fad or are they here to stay?

Dale

A Productive Way to Waste Time

Not much exciting has been going on in my life recently.  Everyday is the same - Work, Gym, School.  But, with the encouragement of a friend I recently joined Pinterest.  Pinterest is an online pinboard that allows you to organize and share all of the things you love, from your favorite products, to recipes, to things you would like to see in your dream home.  I know it sounds like just another social media site, but it's way better.  For one, you don't have to see things you don't care about - like Facebook news feed posts about how your friend's kid missed the toilet during potty training..Gross.  You can create your own boards, and filter other people's pins via the categories you really care about.  I personally love the recipes, home ideas, and crafts.  I would compare Pinterest to an online version of a dream board.  It's everything you know and love, and everything you would love to have.  Check it out - I guarantee you will spend hours finding cool stuff.

Tata for now,
Allison

Football Time

Clear some room in the fridge and stock up on cold beverages, jalapenos, and anything with cheese, nacho cheese, cheese wiz, and BBQ sauce because it looks like the NFL decided to have another one of those Super Bowl things again this year. This time it is the New York Giants against the New England Patriots (for the 3rd time this season).

The Giants beat the Patriots week 4 of the preseason 18-17, then again beat them in week 9 of the regular season 24-20. I can't say for sure who is going to take it this time, but my money is going to be riding on the Giants to win. I've heard stories of key players being out of commission early in the season who are now playing again, which most likely explains their recent string of wins in the late part of the regular season and all through post season.

Speaking of NFL, has anybody heard from the Broncos lately?

Have a great weekend,

Ruben

Crazy Weather

The past few weeks we've had crazy warm weather for this time of year. I've only lived in Colorado two years, but I'm pretty sure 60 degrees in January isn't the norm. My family lives in Arkansas and they haven't even started Winter yet. Christmas, they had 60 degree weather and right now it's almost 70! Now, I'm not going to blame Global Warming or the Mayans, but you have to admit the weather is getting a little weird.

When I was a kid growing up in Oklahoma, we had several tornadoes a week (it wasn't unusual to see a few a day) during "Tornado Season". Now, Spring rolls around and there are hardly any severe storms. Where's Tornado Alley now? If you look at weather maps from 2011 and 2010 it's moved to the East. This year, "The Alley" is predicted to move more toward the North East. Crazy, right?

Have you experienced unusual weather this year or last?


Whatever the weather, stay safe!
Shala


PS. I wrote this blog on Tuesday. I may have jinxed us because tomorrow we're supposed to have a blizzard. Oops.