1200 Miles West

No mom, I am not going to rehab.

I am talking about Erin’s new found addition to Mario Galaxy. We have had the Wii for about six months now but really hadn’t played it that it much. That all changed for two reasons. One is the kids visit, of course. The other is that we purchased Mario Galaxy. Erin has been playing almost every free moment since. It is quite a riot to watch as she yells things like “Come on Mario!” at the TV. I think the kids think she may have lost it.

In other Wii news, we purchased Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. Our friends Tom and Dale had given it good reviews and we were looking for something with four player at the same time functionality. Some of the events are pretty fun but much of it comes down to shaking wimote and nunchuk as fast as possible. It gets tiring at times but is a good addition to Wii sports. I am unsure anything will supplant bowling as the game of choice. Especially now that Erin has attained ‘Pro’ status.

When we considered moving to Denver, everyone made sure to tell us that last years snow storm was a fluke and that we should not expect more than a few inches at a time. They also claimed that when it snowed here, more often then not it melted within a few days and the sunshine returned. At this point I don’t think I’ve seen the sun in three days!

Now, living in Michigan for 30 years, I’m not bothered by 6 or 7 inches of snow. I actually like the look of it in our yard and around the city. What drives me crazy is that Colorado drivers do not know how to drive in the snow! My normal 35 to 40 minute commute was extended to over an hour (actually it was almost 70 minutes) yesterday due to the fact that 1-70 crawled along at 15 miles per hour. Based on the fact that we were hardly moving, I was able to take this picture while driving.

Once I arrived at work, I took a couple of additional snap shots. This one was taken from the 6th floor of the 410 parking structure. Note to anyone who visits Denver in the winter and it snows. Don’t walk too close to the buses on the 16th Street Mall, they are ruthless and they will splash you. Not that it’s happen to me…

I don’t believe that I’ve included many pictures of my new office on the blog, however here’s what I see when I’m sitting at my desk and I look out the window. To the left is the Brown Palace. This is where Mike and I stayed in May when we visited Indigio for the first time. To the right (I cropped it out of the picture) is the Republic building which as far as I can tell is the tallest building in Denver. It has to have at least 75 floors. Thankfully we’re only on the 6th, so we get a nice few and the elevator ride isn’t too long!

Mike and I didn’t make it back to Michigan for Christmas this year, however we were fortunate to spend the afternoon and enjoy a lovely dinner with the Poceta family in Broomfield, CO.

My parents met Bill and Peg before I was even born, so the Quinn’s and the Poceta’s have been long time friends. Mike and I knew moving out to Denver that Jessica (Bill and Peg’s oldest who just happens to be the same age as my brother Michael) and her husband Chris (they got married in Estes Park in May) had been living out here for some time as they had both attended grad school at CSU.

We left our house around 2:45pm this afternoon and headed to Broomfield. Typically it would take 35 minutes to get up there, but today with the snow it took a little longer. When we arrived, we were treated to hors d’oeuvres and wine. Mike actually had a mystery beer from the Beer Festival that took place at the convention center in October, but then opted to switch to the red wine after that.

For dinner we enjoyed prime rib that was medium rare just like I would have ordered it if I were in a restaurant. The corn casserole was delicious (not sure if the Poceta family shares this recipe, but I’d love to have a copy!) along with twice baked potatoes and broccoli salad which were also fantastic. To finish things off, we were treated to a slice of peppermint ice cream pie drizzled with Hershey’s chocolate sauce and an Oreo crust. Yummy!

During our dessert, we all opened a party favor that cracked when you pulled on it and inside there was a prize. I had four mini pencils in mine. Mike and Jessica both had hair ties (at least we think that’s what they were). Chris had a mini pad of paper, while Andrew had a puzzle of some sort. Bill was nice enough to give his bracelet to Peggy and Grammy had a key chain with a ball puzzle inside of it. To tell you the truth, I have no idea what was in Peggy’s popper. The bonus was that all of us got a joke and a paper crown along with our prize. Don’t we look royal?

After dinner the guys played a second round of euchre (if you’re not from the Midwest this is a card game) and Bill and Chris were triumphant for the second time.

The ladies choose to enjoy the rest of our wine and relaxed in the living room. It was great to catch up with everyone and we definitely look forward to seeing Bill and Peg down in the Keys in March when we visit my parents. We’re also hoping to catch up with Jessica and Chris after the New Year as they both work downtown. They are avid outdoors people, so I think there is a lot we can learn from them. Especially if we end up getting snow shoes one day!

I do have to say that the highlight of the day was Bill’s innovative Christmas present that he openly admits is from Big Lots. We noticed it when we pulled up to the house as it was visible from the front window, but didn’t want to immediately compare it to the infamous leg lamp from everyone’s favorite movie The Christmas Story. Also, I should tell you that the Santa climbs up and down the ladder accompanied by Christmas music. Judge for yourself…

Also, I should mention that Bill is an accomplished glass blower. I am fortunate to have a couple of his pieces displayed in my home here in CO. For those of you who have yet to see our new house and my pieces, you can always take a look at Bill’s site to see examples of his beautiful work.

Thank you again to the Poceta’s for letting us spend time with your family. We enjoyed our first Christmas in Colorado and look forward to celebrating many more here!

For those of you who know me, you know that I like to take pictures. What’s funny is that Mike is sometimes, more often then not, embarrassed by the fact that I like to take pictures at social gatherings. That’s why it was so surprising that he bought me a new camera for Christmas.

As you can see from the blog, we’ve had a digital camera for some time now, however the technology has gotten so good over the last few years, that the size of my new camera is almost 1/3 or our Cannon PowerShot A610 that I bought for Mike two years ago.

Here’s a visual demonstration to help you see the difference in the width of the cameras:

I can now look forward to sticking my new Cannon PowerShot SD1000 in my pocket or purse and Mike doesn’t have to hear me complain about lugging the big camera around all night. Or better yet, he doesn’t have to hold it for me!

Whatever the reason, I am thankful that I have a loving and thoughtful husband that knows me better than anyone else!

It sounds like a fun house, however Mattie’s House of Mirrors was a fantastic venue for the annual Indigo Holiday party. When we arrived shortly after 7pm, there were 20 or so people enjoying drinks and appetizers on the lower level. I immediately handed my coat to the door man and bellied up to the bar to get a drink.

During the first hour, we mingled with co-workers and met their spouses, significant others and/or dates. Here’s a few pictures that were taken during the mix and mingle hour:

Around 8pm we headed upstairs to find a seat for dinner and place our orders. I have to say that the staff at Mattie’s was excellent and I would recommend it for small to medium sized corporate parties or social engagements. The food was fabulous. I started with the spinach salad, followed by a filet mignon that was perfectly cooked medium rare along with veggies and potatoes. After the dinner I enjoyed my creme brulee and was happy that I could relax during the awards ceremony.

After the awards had been presented, they cleared away some tables and the dancing started. During the first few songs, only a few of us were out on the dance floor, but after Tim’s various rounds of tequila shots, the party really got started.

Here’s some additional snap shots from the late night festivities:

Thomas was fortunate enough to sit with the recipients of the “Weather Girls Award” Terri Hill and Heather Sharp. Ladies as you know, I wasn’t involved in the awards portion of the night, so you know who to blame for this!

There were a few “mock” awards presented during the evening, however due to the fact that our family reads this blog, I’m not going to include all the details. Also, if word gets out…just keep in mind that it’s not true as the award that Mike and I received could have also gone to Dale and Tom!

If you weren’t there to witness Lana’s mad dancing skills, you missed out! She busted a move like no other. I think we need to start calling her Dance Master Lana.

By the way, I took over 100 pictures, so not all of them will be displayed on the blog. Those of you who were nice enough to entertain me and let me take your picture, you’ll get your copies via email.

Even though Dale wasn’t feeling well (maybe that’s who gave me this awful cold that has been plaguing me for two days now!) he always has a smile to share. Thanks for all your hard work on the holiday party - it was a HUGE success!

If I would have planned it better the five of us that we call the Indigo Girls would have been in the picture, but this one is just as cute with only three of us. BTW…I know what your thinking, but for those of you who work at Indigio, how many times has someone asked you if you work for the Indigo Group? Well, we are now using it to our advantage!

Ready for dancing pictures? Here you go…

The above pictures were some of my favorites. Jim’s Saturday Night Fever moves were fantastic while Jessica tore up the dance floor with everyone…including me. Thank goodness I don’t suffer from motion sickness because that girl swung me around so many times, I was seeing stars. I thought the picture of Tim watching Tom cut the rug was great, but maybe that’s because I could see myself dancing in the mirror. And for those of you who think this blog entry is all about embarrassing dancing photos of everyone else…I even included one of me!

As the night progressed and more tequila shots were handed out the dance moves got crazier. Can anyone tell me what Mike Higgins is doing in this picture?

This may be the last picture of Mike with his glasses on. Take a good look because the following day we headed off to TLC 20/20 to get his eyes “fixed”. Read his blog post about his experience with Lasik if you haven’t already.

As the night wore on, things settled down a bit, but surprisingly a majority of the staff stayed until they kicked us out. I think it must have been almost 1am.

All in all, it was a holiday party that I will always remember. At this point, I’m already looking forward to next years festivities and honestly, I wouldn’t be disappointed if we had it at Mattie’s again. The food was great, the service was even better, plus it was the perfect size for our group! Just enough room for everyone to get their groove on!

If anyone has any pictures that they took that they’d like to share…by all means send them on over!

Last Thursday before Indigo’s holiday party, I convinced the “old” CareerSite crew to be in a picture with me. Surprisingly (or maybe not!) Mike was the only one who complained.

While the CareerSite days in Ann Arbor a just a memory now, Mike and I are both fortunate that we still get to work with Shannon, Ryan and Shaun on a daily basis. Thanks guys!

The kitties didn’t participate in the opening of the presents, however after the wrapping paper had been torn off and the boxes were sitting out on the floor, they had a field day. At one point both Kali and Karmel were inside of a box together. Who knew it was so easy to amuse a cat at Christmas?

Both Kali and Karmel did receive presents from Mom and Dad in Michigan. While they are still a little unsure of the self-warming cat cushion, Karmel took advantage of his new gift and immediately took a nap.

Overall it was a good Christmas for the kitties. They can’t wait until next year! Oh…in case you are wondering, Karmel is in more pictures then Kali because she’s a diva and doesn’t like to have her picture taken.

“Snow. Areas of blowing snow. Much colder. Snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches. Highs in the upper 20s. North winds 15 to 25 mph.”

I could be wrong but it seems as though they don’t really have a good sense of what the weather is going to do here. Pretty much all the way up through yesterday they have been calling for an inch or less of snow for today. I wake up this morning and it looks like the North Pole here in Denver.

I do love snow and snowstorms even if it is a surprise, especially on Christmas. Hopefully though it does not disrupt the kids travel plans from Sacramento this evening. According to the forecast it will taper off this afternoon. We are also traveling about 30 miles north of here for Christmas dinner with some other Michigan ex-pats but this little bit of snow won’t affect that.

Update (9:21 PM MST): By my measurement we ended up with 8 inches of snow. I snow blowed the driveway twice today. And yes, the kids plane is now scheduled to be two hours late for a nice 0130 arrival.

A question often asked by men everywhere. My father-in-law, Jim, has attempted to answer the question once and for all with his witty gift this Christmas. Absolutely hilarious and it is huge. The normally large Comcast remote is in the picture for comparison. I have managed to program it to control the TV but the Motorola cable box has not cooperated yet. It was accompanied by a note that read “big TV’s need big remotes”.

There is actually two, one for each large screen TV. It was a fun surprise and yet another great gift this holiday season.

As most of you know, I am essentially blind without my contacts or glasses and have been since I was a kid. Even seeing the alarm clock in the middle night can be extreme difficult and frustrating. I have wore contacts for many years but they are a pain and can be uncomfortable, especially at high altitude. All of that changed yesterday.

Yesterday morning, after a great breakfast with some fellow Indigians at the hotel we stayed at after the company Christmas party (I am sure Erin will have a substantial post forthcoming on the party), we went down to TLC 2020 for my LASIK appointment. I was a little nervous about the procedure but I trusted the technology and the success statistics for the type of procedure I was undergoing, Custom Lasik and Intralase, were extremely high with 20/25 considered a failure. My ophthalmologist and surgeon both did a great job explaining the risks and the procedure I would be undergoing.

After a final round of paperwork signing I was taken to the back and sat down in a nice recliner for pre-surgery preparation which included cleaning the outer part of my eyes, 5mg of Valium, and antibiotic drops. The numbing drops would be applied while I was actually under the laser. The first step was to get the flap cut with the Intralase laser. This was slightly uncomfortable as it involves a suction device being attached to the eyeball to steady it for the laser. “Slight” pressure my ass, I kept waiting to see the optical nerve hanging out of my eye socket with the free eye. Okay, maybe I exaggerated that part a little bit. Once each eye is positioned, it takes 17 seconds to cut the flap. I didn’t feel a thing, just lots of blinking light.

At this point my vision is very poor and dark. The docter takes a quick look at the flaps then I was moved into the room where they actually re-shape the cornea. Erin was able to watch this part. It is hard to describe the process but it was very disorienting. They kept reminding me to focus on the blinking light but it was a real challenge because it was so hard to see. My eye was held open with a speculum during the procedure. The other thing I remember quite well was the smell of the laser. It was similar to the smell of the laser tattoo removal process I had undergone quite some time ago. Each eye was under the laser for 45 seconds and the staff did a good job of saying the count every 5 seconds or so. After the laser finished the doctor reseated the flap.

That was it. Probably 20 minutes had elapsed from when I was escorted from my recliner.

They sat me back down in the recliner for about 15 minutes with my eyes shut and discussed my post-operative care which includes antibiotic drops, steroid drops, sun glasses, and frequent artificial tears. After a second quick check of my eyeball the ophthalmologist taped clear shields over my eyes, put sunglasses on me, and told me to drive home and get some rest. Just kidding, Erin drove me home. Since I kept my eyes closed it was pretty terrifying.

It was very difficult to rest but I tried my best. It felt like my eyes were sunburned. I also had to lay on my back which is my least likely sleeping position. Erin kept feeding in the various eyedrops frequently throughout the day and once I took some Tylenol, I was able to get some rest. I did sneak some peeks at the TV at various times and I was absolutely amazed at good my vision was.

I woke up this morning, took of my shields and looked at the world in unaided visual clarity for the first time ever. Wow. I think for people like me that previously had fairly strong eyeglass prescriptions, we can appreciate the difference so much more because it is such a huge change. We went to my follow up at 0730 this morning and everything was fabulous, even without full healing I am already 20/25 and almost 20/20. My eyes are still feeling a little abused but for the most part I can do anything. I just need to wear sunglasses when outside and keep applying artificial tears, antibiotic drops, and steroids.

I highly recommend TLC, they did a great job. Everyone from the doctors to the office staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. I also highly recommend the procedure, it will change your outlook on life.