Shoppin' treasures...

I went shopping last weekend.

NO - I didn't need any of it! But, man - I was itchin' for some new stuff. I tend to keep on the cheap side of things, so I don't really feel all that bad when I go on a "shopping spree" - especially since my "sprees" usually don't end up costing me more than $80-$100. Not too shabby!

I got these FABULOUS feather earrings from Forever 21 ($4), that I thought would look totally fun in contrast to my uber pink hair. Turns out, they do!

This photo (below) is a little bit overexposed, but I still think it's cute. :)

I got these rockin' pink kitten-heels at True Love - my favorite local non-corporate shoe store in Denver. Not only are the shoes adorable, but ridiculously affordable - they don't sell anything that will cost you more than $48 (even the boots)!! These pretty pink lovelies were about $30, and I can't stop wearing them. Dress shoes that don't hurt my feet? Yes, please!
I just love the way the light worked in this photo - totally rockin'!! :)


Hope you all have a fantastic weekend - I sure as heckfire know I'm looking forward to mine!

And just for fun (it IS Friday, mind you), here are some hilarious illustrations by the very talented Alex Noriega. You should definitely check out the rest of them on his blog, Stuff No One Told Me (but I learned anyway). Trust me, you'll love them.

All art property of Alex Noriega - stuffnoonetoldme.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing your art with the world, Alex!

Goonies in the Park

A couple of weeks ago my friends and I headed to Cheesman Park to watch "Goonies" for FREE! How can anything be free these days, you ask? I have no idea, but doggone it, I was thrilled. What made me even more thrilled was that they had FREE POPCORN! I thought I would explode from excitement!

I decided to bring some of my own grub though, and enjoy a delicious Superfood Salad from Whole Foods (it's awesome - Kale, sunflower seeds, acai dressing, edamame - best combo of healthy + yummy), and some smoked gouda cheese spread with gluten-free crackers. Who finished the WHOLE thing? I finished the whole thing!

I love this photo because although I didn't mean for the 2 photos to fit together so perfectly, they accidentally did. I love when stuff like that happens!


It turned out to be a really beautiful evening with a perfectly clear sky. Perfect for one of my favorite childhood movies ever: "The Goonies". Everyone applauded during the Truffle Shuffle, and recited lines along with it ("Goonies NEVER say die!" - "Heyyy youuuu guyyyys!"), and basked in the warm summer air.


A perfect summer evening, really!

Figured it out!

Man, the past couple of weeks I've been exhausted, moody, had trouble getting out of bed EVERY morning - no matter how much sleep I get. What the heck has been wrong with me?

I've been eating super healthfully - TONS of fruits & veggies, not much alcohol, barely any caffeine, drinking tons of water. I've been working out like crazy too (derby 3x a week will do that to you). So what could possibly be wrong?

DER - CARBS!!! For the past couple of weeks, the only carbohydrates I've been getting are from the natural sugars in fruit. Sure, that's all good & well, but I haven't been getting it anywhere else!! In an effort to drop a few pounds before vacation at the end of the summer, I cut them out completely. Um, and I'm surprised that I'm exhausted all the time? DUH!

After nearly nodding off at my desk this morning (which I usually don't do), I realized I had to remedy the problem and quickly. I hightailed it to a sandwich shop and grabbed a veggie sandwich on a whole wheat bun, which I am happily scarfing down now. I'm already feeling better!

So everyone - learn from my mistake! We NEED carbs for energy! Especially if we're working out a lot. It's important - I swear. Science stuff - look it up.

I was uber bummed today too because of the overwhelmed stuff I was talking about here, and on top of all of that I had to take my car into the shop AGAIN (the 2nd time in a month)! I was wishing I could be like Poppy in "Happy Go Lucky" (pictured below). If you haven't seen the movie I would definitely recommend it - it's really super cute! Anyway, she is just happy. In life - in everything. She deals with the hard knocks, then keeps moving right along being happy.

Maybe part of me feels like it's been a little while since I've been truly blissfully happy, and really, I'm the only one who can change that. Moping around ain't gonna help (I'm not big on moping anyway), and whining to you guys ain't either (although encouraging words are always welcome)!

Part of me thought derby would change everything, but I guess there's more to it than that. I still have a lot to learn about myself, and a lot I want to work on. But I guess first thing's first.... eat carbs again! ;)

Avocado "Cream" Pasta with Egg

I don't think I ever ended up sharing this recipe, and I totally wanted to!

I was craving something really rich & creamy one night, but wanted to keep it dairy-free. How the heck do you do that? Why, with avocados of course!

First I cooked up some twirly rice pasta (yes, that's the technical term), to keep things gluten-free. I sauteed some minced onions & garlic in a pan, then tossed everything in with the pasta.

Next I scooped everything out of a ripe avocado & mixed & mashed it until it was creamy. I added some salt & pepper at this point too.

After that, I fried up an egg in spray-oil (over easy, my favorite way to have 'em). I also think this would be lovely with a poached egg, but for the sake of ease I went for the over easy version.
I mixed the avocado with the pasta, topped it with the egg, then sprinkled everything with fresh farmer's market diced tomatoes, and grated mozzarella rice cheese! YUM!

A refreshing glass of chardonnay balanced out the richness of this meal really well. And BOY is it rich! If your craving somethin' savory, this is a good way to do it slightly healthier than the heavy cream stuff. Avocados have good fats. Delicious, delicious good fats.

Overwhelmed....

Ugh, I feel like I have so much going on right now that I haven't had a minute to breathe!

Yesterday I finally had some time to myself, but I still feel overwhelmed. Here's what's going on with me:

- My derby practices got bumped to 3 days a week which is going to be awesome for me for training, but sucky for my social life. So Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays I will leave my apartment at 9am and not get back until after 8pm.... I love my derby, but that's a lot to shoulder!

- My job has been busy lately, and I'm realizing more & more that I need to figure out a new career path and try to understand what I really want to do. I want to be passionate about something!

- My apartment is a mess, and I desperately need to clean everything, scrub the floors, dust, and do laundry.

- The boy is being unresponsive, and it just ain't workin' for me. I deserve to be adored as much as I adore someone else, and I can't accept less than that. It's time to end it in a mature and adult manner... I hope...

- I am still trying to fit workouts between everything so that I can cross-train and build up muscle!

- It's still summer, and I feel like I've been missing out on a lot of time with friends because of my hectic schedule. I can't believe that it's August after this weekend!

- I desperately need a vacation away from all of this....

WHEW - glad I got that all out! Sorry if it seemed a bit whiney, but I really need to figure out how to organize my life, not feel stressed, and find some kind of balance. I had it sorta figured out before, but now I feel as though a wrench has been thrown in again.... I just need to get my head on straight!

Hope your life is a little less crazy than mine right now.... ;)

Getting rid of Gnats - the Environmentally Friendly way!

I hate gnats.

They fly around my face, get into everything, and drive me insane.

I wanted to find another solution other than dumping BLEACH or AMMONIA down the drain, as that seems to be the most common way to solve the problem. Really? Does that solve anything but continue to pollute our beautiful planet? GEEZ!

Well luckily I discovered an easier (and more planet-friendly) way to get rid of the pests after much internet searching. Here goes....

Fill a small cup or bowl with a little bit of vinegar (I only had Apple Cider vinegar, but that seemed to work fine!). Cover the bowl with cling wrap, and secure in place with a rubber band. Poke little holes near the center of the cling wrap with a toothpick or pen. Leave it beside whatever sink seems to be infested.

The amazing thing? It WORKS! I left one by my sink yesterday morning, and when I got home from work, there were DOZENS of gnats trapped in there! I couldn't believe it. It seems as though the buggers can get inside, but can't get out. Brilliant!

INCEPTION is AMAZING!

Holy cow - how did I forget about this?? I saw "Inception" over the weekend, and it was AMAZING!! I get goosebumps just from the trailer alone, but the movie is off the charts. It was so refreshing to finally FINALLY see a new concept full of new ideas & imagery. It was SO nice to see a movie that wasn't the same regurgitated crap that we see so much these days (re-makes, sequels, books-made-movies).

It totally blew me away.

Oh, and I'm officially in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt now. You would be too. :)

Photos from Newbie Bout

Here are just a few of the amazing photos that our friend Dave Wood (and derby girl husband) took at the Newbie Bout on Sunday. He does a great job of catching the action! I'm the one in the legwarmers.... of course. ;)

Who has been slacking on posts?

Uhhhmmmm..... yeah, that'd be me!

Sorry for the lack of posts - I've been crazy busy lately!
In no particular order:

1.) My big sis and her boyfriend have been in town all weekend so I've been hangin' with them.
2.) I've been a bit boy-distracted lately... (yes, that means I've been dating somebody! Whoooot!)
3.) I had my first ROLLER DERBY bout on Sunday! It was amazing and SO much fun. I will have pics of me in action up very soon.
4.) I just found out I've been bumped up to Monday night practices with the big girls for derby! It's a big deal for me - it means I'm a step closer to being on an actual team within the RMRG league. I couldn't be more excited.

Since I took yesterday off work, I'm gonna be really busy for a little while, but please stay tuned!! I will have more fun stuff posted very soon! :)


UPDATE!
My dad made this awesome video that I just got up on YouTube - it's so silly, I love it! My sister does a little dance that's really funny, and you get to see me sittin' in the penalty box. ;) I'm the one in the neon yellow leg warmers.... enjoy!

Learn to Appreciate Technology

I know, right?? 2 video posts in 1 day? Am I CRAZY??
No, I just watched this video and it cracked me up. Louis CK is freakin' hilarious, and I wanted to share. OK back to work now!

Alanis Morissette - Underneath (video)

Just watched this video by Alanis Morissette - it's lovely!! I finally got her new album from the library (remember when I told ya I was on a new music kick? Um - yesterday?) Haha! Anyway it's a really sweet video, and Alanis is just beautiful in it. She's come such a long way musically and as an artist, and I think she'd be one of the coolest people ever to hang out with. So awesome!!

Music Music MUSIC

I used to be totally in on the music scene (I worked at Barnes & Noble in the music department for 2-years while in college... and pretty much spent all of my paychecks there), but have recently been rather out of the loop.

Luckily I have a small group of music-lovin' friends that keep me informed on all of the latest & greatest!! I crave new music like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups sometimes, and the past few weeks have been no exception. Luckily my new derby friend Megan has been dropping me some gems, so I'll share 'em with you!

Ida Maria - a Norwegian rock singer that has been rocking my socks right off for the past hour. I'm totally fallin' in love with her witty lyrics and raspy voice. LOVE HER!


Marina & the Diamonds - I have only had the chance to listen to one song so far (I Am Not a Robot), but I love it. The video is weird in a really good way, and I can't wait to get the full album!!


Video for "I am not a robot"


Florence and the Machine - OK this is a group I actually shared with Megan. I found out about them on my own, and I LOVE them. She's got a super amazing bluesey voice, and her lyrics are stunning and clever all at the same time. The song "Kiss with a Fist" has officially become my Roller Derby theme song.

Mates of State - one of my favorites bands of all time! My friend Grimes introduced me to them, they've actually been around for years. They're a husband/wife team (she plays keyboards, he plays drums, they both sing), and they come up with the strangest & happiest melodies that have ever reached my ears. I heart them so much!

The Bride's Farewell & The Terror - Reading is FUN!

This month for our book club we read "The Bride's Farewell" by Meg Rosoff.

I really enjoyed this read, and it was much lighter than the last book we read (only 214 pages). It was a lovely story of struggle, loss, devotion, family, and finding your own kind of freedom.

I found this book on the BUST.com book review section (I really love some of the titles that they recommend). Click here to check them out!

Anyhew, back to the book! I'm sure we'll have a lot to discuss at our next meeting, which I'm really looking forward to. I loved the main character (Pell) - who rides off on her own to gain freedom from a marriage she did not want to be tied down to.

Her adventures and numerous problems along the way caused me to find both admiration and sympathy for Pell and her little brother Bean. Although she deserted the rest of her family to pursue her own selfish hope, she still is devoted to those she loves. Even when she finds a romantic love she's never experienced before, she does not let it distract her from righting her wrongs with her family.

I cried at the end when all of the lessons were learned (although this may have been partly invoked by the 2 glasses of wine I downed while reading the last 50 pages), and celebrated Pell and her strength throughout.

Who knows what book will be next??

I actually did start another book (before Bride's Farewell came in from the library) called "The Terror" by Dan Simmons. It's significantly longer than our book club book (I believe just over 900 pages), but it has sucked me in! I'm a sucker for historical fiction novels, and this book really throws you right into the story. It's based on Franklin's Lost Expedition for the Northwest passage, and all of the catastrophes that befall the crew: ships frozen on the ice, rotting food from not being canned properly, food running out quickly, coal & heat running out quickly, and a strange monster out on the ice terrorizing them..... Ugh - I'm LOVING it!

Kind of ironic that I'm reading a book about characters stuck in below-freezing temperatures while I'm melting from 80+ degrees weather in my apartment, but I love to contradict myself.

What are your summer reading books?

Motivated Maniac

Although I should probably be motivated to workout more regularly, do my laundry & all that - I've actually been more motivated to COOK and be a bit creative! Well, I guess those are all good things too, right? :)

Last night I made me a thrown-together pasta dish since I was STARVING after derby practice. It was super easy, and really yummy!

I just threw together some chopped zucchini, mushrooms, onion & minced garlic in a pan with olive oil & cooked 'em 'till they were tender. Meanwhile I boiled just under a cup of spiral pasta. Once the veggies were just about done cooking I tossed in a diced tomato and about 1/4 cup of pasta sauce.

Serve the veggies over the pasta (I topped mine with some grated mozzarella rice cheese). Super yummy, and exactly what my tummy was looking for after a challenging workout!

I just picked up the 6th season of Reno 911 from the library so I've been watching that pretty regularly. It's SO hilarious, and Trudy Weigl is pretty much my favorite character ever - she's so friggin' funny!!

I got a bit distracted with that, but then thought "I really wanna make those vegan muffins from my favorite cookbook" - so turned off my TV to make me some muffins.

I know I've mentioned it before, but I will say so again - go out and buy How it All Vegan! I kid you not, it's the best cookbook I've ever owned. Not only are the recipes simple, but they are REALLY delicious! Every one I have made has turned out really good, and easy to adjust to my liking. I'm totally in LOVE with this cookbook!

But I digress. I decided to make their Lovely Carrot Soup (which I don't have pics of), which I turned into my own Pink Soup, as I didn't have quite enough carrots and decided to throw in some leftover beets instead. It turned out really yummy, and I brought it to work for lunch today!

These muffins are the Maple Nut Soup Muffins - so named, as they accompany a hearty bowl of soup quite well I've discovered. They were really easy to make (and I am no baker that's for sure). Just basic ingredients (flour, baking soda & powder, salt, cinnamon), a mashed banana to substitute for 2 eggs, maple syrup, oil, and nuts. YUM.

One last weekend tidbit - I decided to do a big ol' magazine cut-out collage on the back of my bedroom door on Monday when I had the day off. I used to do this stuff all of the time in high school, but my mom hated that I was putting tape all over the walls.

Then I realized - hey, I don't live with my parents anymore... I can do whatever the heck I want! WOOHOO!

Yeah, I think it turned out pretty stinkin' rad. It makes my apartment all the more colorful, which is something I greatly enjoy. You couldn't tell, right?

Oh say can you seeeee.... My 4th of July Weekend!

Hey all! Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July / Independence Day weekend. I only found out the week before that I was getting Monday off work, so I didn't plan too much crazy stuff out - I kinda just ran around like a crazy girlie.

First thing's first - I had to figure out what to wear that incorporated Red White & Blue!!

I think my outfit ended up pretty dern cute - I figured my Rocky Mountain Rollergirl shirt even has a star on it! Woot! Although being miss matchey Mc-matcherson I was annoyed that my pink hair was a terrible contrast to the red in my outfits... but oh, well!

The weekend started off with the Punk Rock Fest with the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls.... if you can call it an actual Festival. It turned out to be a pretty terribly organized event, with the first band not starting 'till 11:30am - even though we had our merchandise booth set up at 9!! Ugh...
Oh, well - we still found plenty of ways to entertain ourselves...

Like changing out our wheels so that we could rollerskate around the parking lot...

Takin' photos of each other (and ourselves)...


Watching the very interesting "crowd" begin to form...

and playing with the microphones for the bands that did not show up! Ha!

After getting cleaned up a bit I headed to my friend Heather's to enjoy some laid-back patio hangout time... it was so great to get to know her better, and to enjoy the AWESOME view of the city!

Afterwards I joyfully rode my bike all the way to Benders (it really was a great ride - even though it started sprinkling a bit, it was really fun - although maybe the 3 glasses of wine helped with that! HA!). We went to see Julie's friend's band play some funk music (IFF - can't remember what that stands for), and to imbibe some more adult beverages.... some might say I had a bit too much...

....annnnnd there's some good proof right there!

Julie & Jen - they're so cute!! I love my new derby girlfriends!!



Although it would've been nice to see more people at the show, it was kind of fun having the entire bar to ourselves. We danced and played around the whole time - it was hilarious!


Julie even tried out her pole dancing / swinging skills. ;)

The next day I met up with my old childhood pal - Amy Bugg!! We haven't seen each other in about 11 years, and the magic of Facebook brought us back together again. Friggin' awesome.
We started out the day at Wash Park...

...where Geneva took my rollerskates for a spin on the grass...
A lot of places were closed for the holiday, so Amy & I ended up at Sputnik. I hadn't been there in ages, but I LOVE their food, and that they have so many vegetarian options. AND they had deep-fried Oreo Cookies which I FREAKED OUT over!! They were crazy good - kinda mushy, but they went great with my coffee. Amy got some of their famous sweet potato fries & their delicious mac & cheese, and I got a vegan breakfast burrito. Yum YUM!

Eventually we met back up with the crew at City Park to enjoy their free live Jazz music.

Amy & I enjoying some jazz - although we're a little bit blurry!

We got caught in a torrential downpour, and ended up huddling under a tree to try & stay dry! It was actually pretty darn beautiful though - as although the rain was coming down the sun was still shining. Yep, there was even a big huge rainbow!

After that, I came home, dried off, and enjoyed a glass of wine while watching Reno 911 - I was in bed by 11pm which was friggin' fantastic!!

I don't have any pics of my Monday, but it was bliss as well. My little sister Taryn and I did some light shopping at the stores on 13th Street, then headed to City O' City for some deeeeelicious vegetarian lunch. We split the seitan buffalo wings, Taryn got a breakfast burrito, and I got the tortilla espaniol (which was awesome). Taryn got a pink-lemonade cupcake to go, and we enjoyed a lazy cup o' joe at my apartment.

After Taryn left I hung out at home for a few hours just laaaazin' around (which I kinda wished would never end)! I eventually took a LONG bike ride (all uphill by the way) to Elitch Lanes to meet up with some work friends for a bowling/going-away party.

All-in-all: AWESOME weekend!! How was yours?