2 Good Books: Handler & Godin

This month I read two very different, but equally interesting books: 

My Horizontal Life - By Chelsea Handler and  The Big Moo - By The Group of 33, edited by Seth Godin.

My Horizontal Life - Everyone loves to hear about the alcohol-infused mishaps and sexual adventures of others (makes us feel better about our own indiscretions) and this book is both! This HILARIOUS collection of Chelsea Handler's one-night stands and vodka-tales kept me laughing from beginning to end! I recommend this book to anyone who has listened to a girlfriend's walk-of-shame story, understands the occasional need for a stiff drink or just enjoys a good laugh.

The Big Moo - I've read a lot of self-help books and got bored with all the "secrets", inspirational affirmations and personal soul searching...so I switched to Business motivational books for a new source of uplifting material. The Big Moo is just that, a Chicken Soup for the Soul of sorts, for companies....to tell them to stop trying to be Perfect and start being Remarkable! Of course, the stories can be applied to any personal situation as well, so even if you don't run your own company or plan to start a business, you can be Remarkable every day in anything you'd like. 

I Can't Cook But Even I Can Make: Crab Quesadillas

A fabulous, quick dinner that even I can make (and to be honest.....I can barely make toast) is Crab Quesadillas!

This easy meal is a tasty treat that spices up the week-night dinners:

You Need:

• Cheddar Cheese
  
• Peppers - Red, Green & Jalapeno
  
• Red Onion
  
• Tomato
  
• Fake Crab
  
• Cream Cheese
  
• Tortillas
  
• And any or all of the following: Salsa, Sour Cream, Guacamole

And Action:

Dice up the peppers and onions, sauté them in a frying pan with a bit olive oil. Break up the crab into the pan and continue to sear for few minutes. Season to taste with chili powder, pepper, salt and a bit of cayenne. Grab a couple teaspoons of the cream cheese and gently fold it into the veggies and crab until coated. Place in a bowl.

In the same pan, place your tortilla down and grate cheddar cheese on one half. Scoop the veggie, cheese and crab and spread if over the top of the cheese. Let cook for a minute, then fold the tortilla and flip. Continue to cook and flip until lightly browned.

Cut into three triangles, garnish with chopped tomatoes and your choice of salsa, sour cream or guacamole! Its truly scrumptious! 

A Great Night Out: The Reverend Horton Heat

The Reverend Horton Heat was at the Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins this past weekend. The three-man, rock-a-billy band rocked the greaser-packed theatre once again with their energetic beat and twangy sound. Classic songs like J-I-M-B-O were combined with new tunes from the latest album, Laughin & Cryin, resulting in a great show and a lot dancing, cheering and well...spelling J-I-M-B-O! 

They changed things up when they busted out some post-Christmas holiday tunes including Run, Run Rudolph and then let us see a classic move when the Rev. jumped on Jimbo's stand -up bass and surfed it. Bass-surfing is always the highlight of the show.....the crowd goes wild! 

The Reverend Horton Heat will continue touring the U.S. for the next couple of months, then head over to Europe for awhile. They'll be back in the U.S. by May....and hopefully at the Aggie again very soon.

Fitness: Running Program

Well, the New Year is here! Happy 2010! 

One of my major goals for this year (and before I turn 30) is to run a marathon. I know, I know...most people have cars so they don't have to run 26.2 miles. But for years its a been an elusive item on my list of crazy things to accomplish and I've determined that this is the year to do it.

The selected race is the Colfax Marathon on May 16th.......but its now time to start training. Without a trainer or professional coach to guide me from my typical 3 mile runs to 20+, I'm turning to my favorite running magazine, Runner's World, and thier race training guide, SmartCoach.

This training program is free to all, just sign up for a RW account and you can access this and tons of other great training resources. You can use the SmartCoach to train for any race from a 5k to Marathon, set time goals, choose your workout days and determine the level of difficulty you wish to take on.

So if you've ever hoped to complete foot race of any length, then get online, find a local race and download your SmartCoach!! You can do it! 

Holiday Brewery Tour: Yuengling

Going to see family is the best way to spend the holidays....especially when a 150 year-old brewery is a short drive away.

This year, John and I traveled home to NJ to visit our east coast kin between Christmas Eve & NYE. Our trip has been fabulous - we've taken a drive up the shoreline to Asbury Park, had a fun night at an Irish Pub in Red Bank with my cousin, took a chilly stroll on the boardwalk and took an unbelievable trip to Pottsville, PA for a tour of America's oldest brewery: Yuengling

Built in 1829, Yuengling was in business long before prohibition....and refrigeration. Under the main building are creepy caves that were hollowed out by hand to lager the beer and assist in the fermentation process by keeping it cool. The tour includes a walk through the caves and a peak at what life was like many years ago.

Throughout the brewery are hand painted murals, gorgeous stained glass windows and a history of Yuengling signage and lables. The huge copper brew kettles, turn of the century kegs and fast-paced bottling room were an exciting sight for beer nerds and beer novices alike. 

At the end of the tour, we stepped into their tasting room to sample a few of our favorite Yuengling brews and took in their history in photographs, beer cans and bottle styles.

This tour is the best I've been on yet a must-see for all who love beer!

Favorite Christmas Movies

Christmas is my favorite time of year for several reasons; the touch of magic in the air, the smell of holiday baked treats, classic Christmas music and carols, and of course....Christmas Movies! 

My favorite list includes:

Christmas Vacation - "Clark, is your house on fire?"

Elf - "the best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear"

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - "and the grinch with his grinch feet down deep in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? it came without boxes, it came without bags. it came without packages, ribbons or tags. he puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. then the grinch thought of something he hadn't before. maybe Christmas he though, doesn't come from a store. maybe Christmas....perhaps, means a little bit more"

White Christmas - "let's just say we'll do it for an old pal in the army."

Holiday Inn - "come out and relax on a farm, music, dancing, home cookng. open holidays only."

Take in each of these holiday classics over the next couple of weeks and you'll be all geared up for Christmas and full of holiday spirit!

Birthday Goals

Well, the 29th birthday is here. Four months have flown by and I haven't written many posts, but this year will bring more words and posts from me.....lucky blog readers. 

Also, in addition to blogging more often and along with my anxiety of wrapping up my 20's, I have long, long list of goals to accomplish before I turn 30! I'm reminded to use the SMART goals strategy to ensure I accomplish everything I want to do:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

Well, happy birthday to me! Hope my last year in my 20's will be fun and productive! 

Rock Concert Fall

RCPM - 11.7.09

My favorite band on earth is Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers. In November of this year, I saw them in concert for probably the 15th time. They have a 90's southwest rock and roll sound that literally shakes me to my core. I had invited some good friends along to experience their unique style, rowdy crowds and beautiful lyrics and had a very fun, very memorable evening!

The concert took place at the Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins, CO. They belted out their fan's favorites including Mekong (which is my favorite), Tow Chain, and Leaky Little Boat. I closed my eyes and swayed slowly with my spouse during Green & Dumb with disco ball lights twinkling around the room. I rushed the stage during the encore and sang along with every word!

Post-concert, in my usual groupie-fashion, I immediately ran out to the alley behind the Aggie where the band parks the bus. I smiled for photos and collected autographs from Roger Clyne himself as well as lead guitarist Jim Dalton. Always an incredible show, I can't wait until they come back in February at the Road 34 Bike Shop in Fort Collins. Tix are always cheap and everyone can dance and shoot tequila to an RCPM song, regardless of the type of music you like.

Social Distortion - 9.249.09

One of the best bands I have ever seen live is Social D. Mike Ness is truly one of the most talented singers/guitarists/song writers in the music industry today and since 1983 when the band was founded.

A southern California punk band, Social D. rocked the Aggie at Fort Collins, selling out the show in under 2 hours. Packed into the small theatre, surrounded by punk lovers new and old, Social D. played hours of favorite hits including Prison Bound, Mommy's Little Monster, Highway 101 and my favorite, the Story of my Life.

The only other time I've seen Social D. they were incredible, but the energy and excitement they created in the cramped little Aggie theatre took my concert experience far beyond most any I've ever attended. I hit up their website every few weeks to find out when they might be coming back our way!

Cracker - 9.1.09

A great band to see live is Cracker. Everyone knows Cracker from their top-hit, Low..."I'll be with you girl, like bein' low, Hey hey hey like bein stoned" but this band offers 17 years of alternative rock songs and just released their eighth album, Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey, in early 2009.

A Cracker concert is a special event in Fort Collins, CO due to Loveland-native, Johnny Hickman. As lead guitarist, Johnny puts on a incredible show in his home-area. Cracker fans are relaxed, they dance casually and sing-along to every word of the group's collection of great songs. Cracker usually stops by Fort Collins once a year or so, I'm looking forward to their next trip!

Halloween Party Plan

My husband and I always love to throw parties....he does the cooking (cause I can't) and I do the planning! For Halloween, we decided to have a Cocktails & Costumes themed party! We decked out the house in fall leaves, spider webs, jack-o-lanterns and creepy candles. Stocked up the candy dish and stocked up the bar!

For our menu, we kept the main hors d'oeuvres simple and non-themed, however, the cocktails and desserts were definitely monster-bash approved! We offered guests an assortment of goodies including fondue with veggies, home-made tortilla rolls, a spicy cheese dip and crackers, chips & dip and lil' smokies.

For our fist drink, we concocted a bloody witches brew! In a cast-iron pot, we combine classic bloody mary ingredients with bright-green banana pepper slices and dry ice. The bubbly, red brew with green floating circles looked scary, but tasted great!

We also made a classic champagne fruit punch but placed ice frozen into the shape of hands inside the punch. The result looked as though a person was trapped in the punch and trying to push themselves out! Garnished with eyeball-stirrers and toe-tag glass identifiers, the drinks were about as creepy as they come!

The highlight of the evening were desserts that several of my girlfriends brought over. We had Appendage Cupcakes which were home-made brownies with tiny arms and legs sticking out, M&M cookies and incredible carrot cake shaped from candy corns and fondant to look like an actual Ear of Corn! It not only looked incredible, but tasted unbelievable!

With scary movies playing in the background, rock music filling up the speakers and beer pong in the garage, we had a great time with our guests including most of the cast of the Wizard of OZ, Greenskeeper Carl Spackler, a few SNL characters and classic costumes including a gunslinger and showgirl. Costumes & Cocktails was a super success!

East Meets West

An important fact about me is, I was born in New Jersey. At a very young age, my parents transplanted me to the mid-west and moved me around from Arizona to Wyoming and I eventually found my own way in Colorado. My family members have since dispersed, some staying in Wyoming and some moving back to where the majority of our clan is in New Jersey.

Recently, a group of fast-talking Jersey fam decided to take a trip out to visit CO and WY. For four days, the Front Range was taken over by the fabulous fashionista's of my east-coast kin. We kicked off the long weekend with lunch on Thursday at the Rio in downtown Fort Collins. Never a fan of the food, I guided my visitors their for one purpose: Margaritas. We imbibed mid-day on the tangy, sweet famous margs and snacked on their traditional mexican fare.

Post margaritas, we stopped at the excellent Starry Night cafe for a cup of joe and made our way to the shops of downtown FC. We spent most of the afternoon trying on sweaters, gushing over leather boots and chatting, chatting, chatting. We visited one of my favorite shops, Kansas City Kitty, where I purchased one of their amazing self-labeled sweaters. The store is a unique collection of fantastic brands, fun accessories and their own clothing label.

We then headed over to the famous New Belgium Brewery and took a tour of the facility while sampling the best of their microbrews. As always, their seasonal brew was delicious and unique offering the sharp tastes of extra hops! We stopped for another quick micro at Odell's Brewing Company and made our way up the scenic Highway 287 to Laramie, WY.

Once in Laramie, we made the rounds to all my favorite watering holes and eateries including 3rd Street - famous for great bartenders and very strong pours, Altitude's, Jeffrey's, Sweet Melissa's and the Buck. Friday morning came and went and before we knew it we were in Cheyenne, WY at Sanford's Grub & Pub with a group of about 40 people enjoying their hamburgers, ribs and for the non-meat-eaters, salads.

Saturday morning brought us up to Estes Park, CO where we drove to the top of the Continental Divide via Trail Ridge Road. Up there in the very thin, very cold air we took pictures of the glaciers and rocky landscape, looked for elk and took in the breath taking views only the Rocky Mountains can offer. We made our way back downtown to the village of Estes Park and enjoyed an incredible assortment of cheese, meats and wines at my favorite local restaurant, Cheese. Their eclectic assortment of cheeses and inexpensive yet delicious wine list make Cheese one of the must-visit places in Estes Park.

Saturday evening we all made our way back to Fort Collins and had a wonderful family dinner at Choice City Deli downtown. The menu, as always, was interesting and full of unique meats from Buffalo to Beef to Ostrich. My favorite item: Turkey Rueben!

The family headed out of town the next morning and caught flights back to the East Coast. It was a whirlwind couple of days with lots of yummy restaurants, gorgeous site seeing and great company!