Charlotte Bobcats

During the Christmas holiday, Suzanne and I drove up to Charlotte to attend a Bobcats game with Shawn and Eileen. They have access to awesome seats right behind the Bobcats team. Here Suzanne and I got a picture with the mascot, Rufus.

Venice

A great way to pass the time when it's negative 10 outside - build a 1580 piece 3D puzzle! I had seen this on Amazon months ago and thought I might try it. Then when I tried to buy it, I saw that the company Wrebbit had been bought out by Hasbro 2 yrs ago, and they were discontinuing all of their 3D puzzles. You can't find them in stores anymore, so I got this one on eBay. You actually build it in two parts and then push the two together.

Cross-Country Skiing and Wii

Joan, Ellen, Eileen, Shawn and I went up to Frisco to cross-country ski. We had a guest join us near the beginning of the trip. It was a dog named Barley. He followed us the entire time and as we went along the trail from those we passed we heard his owner was looking for him. He was a very friendly dog that made our trip fun although perhaps could use a little training so he doesn't wander away from his owner.

Ellen was festive with her reindeer ears. After the skiing we went to the Frisco favorite, the Butterhorn Bakery. This time I had the grilled cheese and pasta salad which were excellent.

We spent the afternoon at Ellen's place trying out her Nintendo Wii. We tried guitar hero and then various sports. Here Eileen and Joan are playing tennis. It was entertaining and the boxing could be a good arm workout.

Eileen and Shawn Visit

Eileen and Shawn visited this weekend. We went to Red Rocks and then toured the Coors Brewery. The Coors tour is self-guided so we were able to go right in when we arrived. Eileen's making this face in the picture below because she didn't like the smell of the hops.

We planned to go to Eileen's favorite, Cru, for a pre-dinner drink but it was closed for a private party so we went across Larimer street to a champaign bar Corridor 44. The cheese plate was good and Ellen's champaign flight was good too. Megan, Stephen and Joan then joined us for dinner at Baur's Restaurant.

Thanksgiving

I spent Thanksgiving at my co-worker Tearah's place with her husband and two of her friends from grad school. I also put up my Christmas decorations - which means decorating the fireplace.

Lala's

Restaurants are always changing in Denver. In 2005, I went to a place called Sparrow for dinner. It was excellent, but I guess not good enough to last. A new restaurant called Lala's has taken its place. I tried it last night and wasn't impressed. The pizza is decently priced so who knows...it might do well as a local neighborhood restaurant.

Madame Butterfly

Megan and I attended the opera and saw Madame Butterfly. It is a tragic opera by Puccini. We had dinner prior to the opera at Osteria Marco in Larimer Square. I had eaten there before. We split a butterscotch bread pudding for dessert that was excellent.

Cooking Class

Mom will be happy that I finally made it to a cooking class. Mythili and I took the Thanksgiving Sides class at Kitchen Table. We made green bean casserole, maple sweet potatoes, wild rice dressing, potato-fennel gratin and orange cranberry sauce. It was evident from this class that my next one should definitely be a knife skills class.

Beatrice and Woodsley

I had drinks at a new restaurant in Denver, Beatrice and Woodsley. It has a very interesting decor. It has Aspen trees from floor to ceiling, lanterns, and chainsaws holding up the bar shelves. I only had the cheese plate, but I'd like to go back and try the other small plates. It is also interesting to go to a restaurant where figuring out where the bathroom door is and how to turn on the water is a challenge.

Brie and Bryan's Wedding

I attended Brie and Bryan's wedding this weekend at Something Special in Newnan, GA. The weather couldn't have been better for an outdoor wedding. Also, the most creative groom's cake I've seen.

Lots of Luncheons

I suppose one of the perks of being a fellow is when our CEO gets invited to events and execs are busy with Joint Commission accrediting the hospital - you get to fill the table. I attended 2 luncheons this week ironically held at the same location downtown and MCed by the same news anchor. The first was the ColoradoBiz Magazine top companies award luncheon. The hospital won the healthcare category.

The next luncheon was for the newly formed Colorado Legacy Foundation founded by the Colorado Department of Education. The event was the Commissioner's Cup luncheon to recognize success of 39 schools. A former Colorado governor who is extremely passionate about education and the current governor spoke at the event.

Breckenridge - Blue Lakes Hike

Aunt Ellen, Joan and I went for a short hike in Breckenridge. It was a bit rocky, then very steep, hence the "short" hike. Covering the rocks was somewhat like an obstacle course. Click on the picture of rocks...if you look closely you can see the trail.

We then stopped by an Art Festival in Breck. This artist caught my eye.

Eileen and Shawn's Wedding

Eileen and Shawn are in their own private room at the reception location, the Carlyle House, celebrating the successful completion of the ceremony.

The proud parents with the bride.

Shawn removing the garter - he did look like he was enjoying this.

Cousin Jenny, Suzanne, Aunt Karen and me and the reception.

Posing with Eileen's bouquet.

Suzanne and I both said something for the toast. Mine was meant to be quick and light and Suzanne's brought everyone to tears. Since we were both a bit emotional - here's what we meant to say whether or not we got all the words out...

I'm Michelle, although if you have hung around Eileen you may know me as Shelley. When I was little one of my favorite things to play with were Legos. I had lego city complete with bicycle shop, houses, coast guard, hospital and cars and even roads connecting it all. Whenever Eileen joined me - it was always the same story. She would create some sort of accident and then use the ambulance and rescue helicopter (complete with stretchers) to gather all the lego people and bring them to the hospital. It got to the point where I tore down something else in order to invest the Lego pieces in building an extra wing on the hospital for all of Eileen's 'patients'. From an early age, it seems Eileen's career was meant to be. In May I visited Eileen and Shawn in Charlotte. It was only for a weekend, but no matter where we went...they had a story for nearly every place...even Blockbuster. I thought that it was amazing how they created so many memories in such a short time and valued all the time they spent together - even if it was just picking out a movie. Eileen had once again found something in her life that was meant to be - Shawn. I am excited to finally have a brother. Eileen I love you and I am so happy for you. Congratulations.

Suzanne's turn:

As Eileen's older sister, I have seen a lot through the years...as the baby in the family, Eileen was often the center of attention growing up. In home videos of our family, Eileen would frequently ask the question to whomever had the video camera, "Are you getting me? Am I on? Am I on?". She was always on. And she always had a way of keeping our attention. Eileen excels naturally at almost everything she does and if something doesn't come quickly, she is hardworking and determined. She lives her life by the phrase, "To whom much is given, much is required.". Throughout medical school Eileen volunteered at a local Children's shelter giving kids time, attention and love that they otherwise would never get. Now as an emergency room doctor, she is in a position to save lives and care for people every day. She is always working to make a difference. With such a busy schedule, it is no surprise that Eileen did not have much time to date in medical school. So I remember when Eileen first started talking about Shawn. It was on a family vacation out in California right after her graduation. She had only been on match.com for a month or two and pulled up Shawn's picture online there in front of me and said, "I'm going to meet this guy when I move to Charlotte." A few weeks later, I met Shawn. I remember Eileen talking about her first date with Shawn. They talked for 6 hours at Dean & Deluca until a police officer came by to tell them the shopping center had closed and it was time to go home. In writing this speech, I could not think of a better way to sum up Eileen and Shawn than by sharing something Eileen had written herself. Last summer, shortly after Eileen and Shawn started dating, Eileen wrote the following in an email to me... "Shawn and I had a cute conversation last night. We were trying to decide why we like each other so much. We discussed the obvious things like smile, voice, personality, goals, chemistry, etc. But then we thought, but that's not everything...so we were kind of staring at the wall in deep thought -- and then we just laughed and decided there wasn't a word for it...that it's just a feeling. And Shawn said, 'I just know." There are some things in life you just know. I know that I am lucky to have you as my sister. And now there is someone else who is as lucky as we are to love you. Shawn, welcome to our family. And now if you will all raise your glasses...to Eileen and Shawn. Congratulations!

Day Before the Wedding

The guests arrived to the hotel and took advantage of the well-stocked hospitality sweet.

The rehearsal dinner took place at Ippolito's. The food was excellent and very filling.

Eileen's Bachelorette Party

Suzanne and I threw Eileen a bachelorette party at One Midtown Kitchen. In attendance: Aunt Ellen, cousin Erica, friend Brooke and groom's sisters Kristen and Tracy. Suzanne had already purchased a very classy and tasteful "Bachelorette" sash for Eileen to wear as well as a special martini glass, but I decided we needed something else to liven it up. Check out Eileen's face opening this gift...

I guess you could call it a sexy costume. Eileen eventually warmed up to the idea and before long we had her wearing the bunny ears that came with it.

At the restaurant, there was a happy hour going on for some organization. Ellen got Suzanne to go to talk to the group - it was the Junior Chamber International. Several of the members came over to congratulate Eileen. But after the bunny gift was opened - that peaked their interest and we got some funny pics.

After dinner we grabbed a few drinks. We also ran into a Bachelor party group and had Eileen take a picture with them.




Here we are at the outdoor bar, Shout. It had awesome views of the city as well as very comfortable seating. Suzanne and Tracy.










Eileen and Kristen - Eileen found it humorous that she was apparently having such a serious conversation with her ridiculous bunny ears on.

Tea at the Brown Palace Hotel

I met up with Megan and her sister Katie for Tea at the Brown Palace Hotel. The hotel opened in 1892 and has a 8 story atrium. The tea takes place in the atrium accompanied by a harpist.

CSO Concert in Cheesman Park

It has become a tradition to attend the free Colorado Symphony Orchestra concert in the park and again Megan made one of her fantastic picnics. This year her sister, Katie, was visiting and joined us (see pic). Last year's concert rained out near the end and this year looked like it might also, but it held out and the symphony was able to play three selections:
Puts - Two Mountain Scenes
Copland - Suite from The Tender Land
Beethoven - Symphony No. 7
This year there was a man with an easel set up. He painted throughout the concert then held up the final product after the last piece. We walked up to take a closer look - not bad for less than 2 hrs of painting. It sort of had a Van Gogh feel to it.

Lyle Lovett @ Red Rocks

I went to see Lyle Lovett at Red Rocks with Ellen, Joan and Dave. This was a song that isn't on any of his albums with very creative lyrics (poor video quality, but decent audio). For the song, he used a smaller group of performers and the mandolin player was from Duncanville, Texas.

Highlands Garden Cafe

Megan and I tried a restaurant in the Highlands area of Denver. It's similar to the Highlands area of Atlanta. The Highlands Garden Cafe is a home turned into a restaurant. In my Gabby Gourmet book it is ranked as "to die for" which is one below the top ranking of "flawless". We had the goat cheese quesadilla with lobster/mango topping as an appetizer. It was a fun, interesting combo. My entree was tuna. Compared to other 'to die for' rankings Megan and I have tried, I'm not sure I would rank this one in the same category. I think it may be up there due to the ambiance since most of the seating is outside in pretty gardens.

Cherry Creek Arts Festival

Every July 4th weekend Denver hosts an arts festival. I last made a blog entry regarding it in July 2005. I picked 2 new favorite artists this time:

1. This Into That - Jim Rosenau uses old hardback books to make bookshelves and bookcases. A very creative idea.

2. Click on picture below to go to artist's website.

Blocking the sunlight

I planted flowers again this year. Although the 4 floor monstrosity across the street is up now, and I believe it's blocking a lot of my sunlight. We'll see how the plants fair this year.

Seinfeld

I went and saw Jerry Seinfeld at the Buell Theatre. He performed for a little over an hour. It was entertaining. It's hard to believe he's 54. He was asked by the audience if he was going to do any more shows, etc. He said something to the effect of being old, tired and rich, so no.

Nixon in China

Megan and I met up at Alto for another opera short event. This opera was "Nixon in China". The assistant director explained a little about the opera after the mini-performance. It is in a minimalist style, definitely different then anything I've heard before.

Post-Graduation Trip

After graduation, I flew back to Atlanta and then drove with Eileen to Charlotte.

I had an interesting flight to Atlanta. The flight attendents were serving the drinks when several passengers noticed a burning smell. They put the cart away then started asking if the floor felt hot under anyones' feet. They also opened all the overhead bins and starting feeling the bags. They wanted to know if anyone had brought a curling iron or butane on board... Yeah, so we diverted to Kansas City. I spent the next 4 hrs there until they discovered the short circuit in the coffee hot plate.

In Charlotte, I met Shawn's parents. We went out on the lake in Shawn's parent's boat. I had not been wakeboarding since 2000. It took me 4 times to be able to get up on it. Apparently it's not like riding a bike and it does not come right back to you. See Eileen's blog - she captured a video on her new camera. I also tried kneeboarding which was a little easier.

It's Official - Graduation

Today I graduated from the MBA in Health Administration program at CU Denver. I attended a dinner and awards banquet for the program. I was surprised to receive the Director's Award. Our program director said something to the effect that it goes to a student with a high GPA. I had no idea how my grades compared to my peers - thus the surprise. I was even more surprised when I got home and realized there was an envelope taped to the back of the plague, and the award included a monetary gift.


My aunts Ellen and Joan attended the event with me. We celebrated by opening some champagne at Joan's house. They also gave me some gorgeous earrings by the jewelry designer John Atencio.