One door closes, another opens

I apologize for not posting in a while.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be in Wisconsin from May1-10. The main reason for my trip is to participate in the Malk MS in Madison on May 3rd.

If I have reached out to you or you haven't gotten around to donating, here is the pledge to my personal page. (Copy and paste it into your browser.)

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/WIGWalkEvents?px=2074302&pg=personal&fr_id=10696


If you'll be in the Madison area in early May, let me know!!

I have been "blog-tagged" to share six fun and random facts. Here goes:

1. I love scrap booking. I started when I lived in Madison with Laura and my passion has faded in and out over the years. Currently, I am working on an ongoing scrapbook about Geoff and my adventures.

2. I am obsessed with HGTV. I could watch home remodeling and real estate shows all day. I have so many great ideas and can't wait to have a space to call my own.

3. I like baking. Today I am making pizza crust and earlier I made Buckeyes. I think I may be turning into Betty Crocker.... that or I really, really enjoy my Kitchen Aid mixer.

4. I have a hard time getting rid of clothes. My closet is over flowing with articles of clothing that I don't wear, yet I have a really hard time parting with any of it. In the past I have donated clothes and weeks later searched my room for that "one shirt" you know, the one that hung in my closet for the last two years only being worn once or twice. It sucks when I get rid of something and then want it later.

5. I'm constantly looking for great travel deals. Not that I ever really need to go anywhere. But it is nice to know when there is a super sale. I like to think I could pack up and go.

6. I'm going to apply to be a caretaker of an island. Yeah this is pretty far fetched but I think working as a caretaker of an island for 6 months would be a blast. Anything is worth trying so my application is due Feb. 22nd... wish me luck.

Friday, November 21, 2008 was a day I never dreamed would happen. Yep, I finally met Will Smith. Some people already know this but others may not... I am a huge Will Smith fan. My freshman year of college I wrote a speech for a class that outlined his entire life. So when Lynn called me and told me he was coming to Denver, I knew I had to go.

Will came to town promoting his upcoming movie, Seven Pounds, which opens December 19. He also donated 300 turkeys to our local homeless shelter on behalf of Sony pictures. The event happened at a local movie theater, where Will and other local celebrities walked the red carpet.

I was at one of the rails so I was able to actually reach out and shake his hand. It was awesome. He is a good looking man, a bit thinner than I thought, but still attractive. Alexis was with me and we also got t-shirts and tickets to see the movie when it comes out.

Here is a professional picture of Will and two football players from the Denver Broncos, Brandon Marshall and Champ Bailey. The second picture is Will a few feet from me (you can see my head in the corner).

My weekends always seem to be over flowing with entertaining things.

Saturday morning Geoff and I went to garage sales. I haven't done that in a very long time and it was a lot of fun. Geoff bought a bunch of old baseball cards and a really cool wine bottle opener. Saturday night we went downtown for a haunted bus tour and dinner at a little Italian restaurant. The tour wasn't very scary, but we did see a lot of historical sites and the bus was renovated into a shack on wheels, where you could sit on a couch or a saddle. Banjo Billy's is well worth the money, they run tours in Denver and in Boulder.

Today the girls and I went to a pumpkin patch in Broomfield. Along the way we we stopped at several thrift stores in search of pieces for our Halloween costumes. The pumpkin patch was pretty neat. We were able to drive out the a field and use pruning sheers to cut the pumpkins from the vines. I think I may have picked a pumpkin that is a bit too large for me. Let me know what you think....

Geoff and I made a trip to Wisconsin so that he could meet the fam. Mom and Bob picked us up in Milwaukee Thursday night for the beginning of a great weekend. We were able to do a lot of fun things and still relax. Highlights of the weekend included...

Wisconsin Dells
Wollershiem Winery
The Farmer's Market
Lunch with Dad & Kristal
The Packers v. the Falcons football game
Dinner with Granny & George, Dan & Peggy, and Laura & Ryan

Mom and I were able to fit in some quality shopping time as Bob and Geoff got supplies for tailgating and hauled wood. There were also a few good races on the the workhorses especially once Geoff gave the gas one a tune up.

The only downside was the last minute emergency trip to the vet for Freida. She was running through the woods and must have got caught on something cutting her leg open. The trip to the vet had us reaching the airport an hour before our flight was scheduled. Luckily we flew in and out of Milwaukee.

Who doesn't love Elvis?

Well, Elvis was a the center of my weekend trip to Las Vegas with Geoff. His sister Claire got married by Elvis at the original Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel on Saturday with immediate family and close friends as witnesses. It was one of the most entertaining weddings I've been to. Elvis drove Claire and Dennis into the chapel in a pick Cadillac and sang three songs including one that every danced to.

Prior to the wedding we spent our first two nights on Fremont Street. Then we stayed our last two nights in Pharump, where Claire and Dennis live. Sunday we took a trip out to Dennis' shop (he is the head mechanic/crew chief for a race team) and out to a brothel museum.

During the weekend, I met all of Geoff's immediate family including his son Brecken and it wasn't nearly as frightening as I thought it might be...

Laura and Ryan came to visit me this past weekend. We tried to cram in a lot of tourist things while they were here, as it was Laura's first trip to CO. Having company always exposes me to new things and some of my old favorites. It was a busy, fast, fun weekend.

Things we did...

Red Rocks
Coors Brewery
Dave & Buster's
Celestial Seasonings Tea Plant
Boulder Creek Winery
Boulder Falls
Rockies vs. Dodgers baseball game
Broncos vs. Chargers football game