Category Archives: Colorado

Catching up. #reverb10

Posted on by sarah

Ok, I’m more than a little behind on #reverb10. This is kind of a crazy time of year to sign up for something like this–especially this year. We’re moving (just 10 miles–but still!), I’ve taken on a new volunteer project, and it’s the holidays–parties, presents, obligations, travel, whew! This all just makes it more important to slow down and reflect, and #reverb10 is a perfect way to do this. So, I’m going to try to catch up!

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)

Not long after moving to Boulder (Louisville really–but we’re fixing that), my hubby and I took a day trip to Golden Gate State Park, near Golden, CO. We wanted to get into the mountains without a lot of crowds. We took snacks, drove up to the top, and had a lovely little picnic. It was gorgeous. We stayed for about an hour at the summit, and mostly had it to ourselves. We breathed in the crisp mountain air, scented with pine and earth. We soaked in the views of the distant, snow capped peaks. We listened to the silence between occasional breezes. We connected with each other.

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

By being purely, truly me.  My childlike wonder is something that I cherish.  I nourish it.  I listen when it is feeling crushed by adult pressures.  It’s in the small things.  I stop in my favorite store–a toy store called Into the Wind–on a regular basis and I play.  I keep toys in my office at work.  In fact, I have a pair of foam swords crossed on my office wall, just above the bookcase that my stuffed owl perches upon.  I take play doh to meetings.  (I run them–so it’s ok, right? ;) )  I smell all the lovely little soaps at Lush.  I wear fun jewelry and clothes.  Green sweater over an orange top?  Sounds great to me!

I rebel against adulthood in all ways that I can while still being a responsible adult.  I go to work.  I volunteer.  I pay my bills.  I vote.  I pay my taxes.  I even do jury duty with a smile on my face.  Why shouldn’t I wear a tiara while vacuuming? :)

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)

I let go of my comfortable-but-not-quite-doing-it-for-me life.  By most accounts, we were living a beautiful life.  We had a happy marriage, owned a large home that we’d been making our own for several years, had good jobs, two cars we loved, and were surrounded by friends and family.  BUT, and this is a big but, it just wasn’t working for me.  I needed more.  I wanted to be stretched intellectually, not just in work but also in my social life.  I wanted options and opportunity.  I wanted a community that got me.  So, we picked up and moved to Boulder.  We’re in a much smaller place, still paying the mortgage on that nice home in Missouri, and our families are about a thousand miles away.  BUT, and this is another big but, we’re so much happier.  We have experienced more in 7 months here than we have in the last decade in our small town in Missouri.

December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin)

The last thing that I made that was new for me was a pumpkin flan for Thanksgiving.  I cook all the time and love flan but had never made it myself.  The hostess at my bridal shower made pumpkin flan with pistachio brittle (I was an October bride).  It was incredible.  I’ve thought of that dessert off and on for six years.  My attempt was delicious but far from perfect.  Most of our belongings are still in boxes in the garage since we’re in temporary housing (will be fixed on Saturday!), so I couldn’t find the correct pan.  I found a spring form pan and figured the caramel would seal the flan so that it wouldn’t leak.  Uhmm, no.  After spilling raw custard all over the range and kitchen floor, I poured what was still in the pan into a plain ol’ cake pan and baked it.  While it was baking, I attempted the salted pistachio brittle–also a first and a fail for me.  Even after waiting overnight, my brittle didn’t set.  If I try candy making again, I’ll be procuring a candy thermometer :)  (The caramel for the flan and caramel I made for apple cider later in the week came out beautifully.)  However, all was not lost.  The custard which really couldn’t be called flan came out of the oven beautifully.  I chilled it overnight, dusted on some maple sugar, caramelized it with a torch, and called it creme brulee!

As for things that I want to make?  Plenty!  I’ve started this Pinterist board to track my would-be projects.

December 7 – Community Prompt: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)

We moved to Boulder for the tech jobs and natural beauty, but most of all, we moved here for the community.  Before we even moved here, we were a part of it through twitter, trips to visit, and events like Ignite Boulder (want to see my spark? :) ).  Since moving here, my social life has exploded.  Instead of having to be creative to come up with things to do, we are invited–and have to choose what we have time for.  It’s amazing.  I’ve found mini-communities for all of my interests, many of which overlap.

Most amazing to me, we had our first Thanksgiving away from family.  It was not the sad, lonely Thanksgiving one might expect.  It was a week full of laughter, love, and incredible food.  It had it’s own dose of holiday stress, but overall, it was just a joyous occasion surrounded by friends that we’d be happy to call family.

Colorado Must Do’s

Posted on by sarah

Back before we moved to Colorado, I started a list of Must Do’s.  It’s fairly short, but I want to check them off–and add to it.  Want to help?  Want to join us?  Make suggestions in the comments!

  • Longmont Cheese Importers
  • Mount Evans
  • See Cali Harris dance
  • Garden of the Gods – Colorado Springs
  • Film on the Rocks at Red Rocks
  • Denver Symphony at Red Rocks
  • Denver History Museum
  • Denver Museum of Science & Nature
  • Dushanbe Tea House

Also?  We’ve loving making the rounds of Boulder’s brunches.  We’re starting a brunch club–the #BrunchBunch.  We’re going to make the rounds the first Sunday of every month.  Want to join us/  Drop me a line :)

TedxBoulder

Posted on by sarah

I spent my afternoon and evening yesterday at the first TedxBoulder. It definitely lived up to my expectations, which were incredibly high knowing some of the organizers. I had originally planned to write this post last night after returning home, but it was too fresh and there was too much to process. There were 22 presenters last night speaking on topics as diverse as romance novels and donating your body to science, including video of a human dissection & display of a real human heart–those 4th row seats seemed less desirable during that particular talk. There were many talks that followed the theme of finding and loving your true self. There were talks out to save the planet and its people. There was a former professional triathelete, Buddhist monk, school board member, venture capitalist, improv theater owner, astrophysicist, graphics designer, and much more (all the speakers). This wasn’t the kind of night that you happen upon–unless you happen to live somewhere like Boulder.

Here are a few of my favorite talks from last night:

David Thomas, a video game journalist (jealous?), talked about what makes a place fun. His thesis? We think a place is fun if it is and isn’t at the same time. Huh? So, he thinks that we think buildings like Lucy there to the right are fun, because the building is an elephant but it’s not. It’s an interesting way to look at the world and how we can introduce more fun into it.

Peter McGraw, a marketing and psychology professor at CU Boulder, talked about what makes things funny–a similar topic to David Thomas. Does this say something about me? :) This is actually the second time I have heard Peter speak, the first being Ignite Boulder. He posits that things are funny if they are both benign and a violation, like someone falling down the stairs but not being injured. This might help me with my goal of one day doing stand up comedy–which was a fairly well guarded secret until now.

Grant Blakeman, a designer and developer, had a simple message, but his talk was beautifully crafted. Through a mile-a-minute walkthrough of his day (which could be anyone’s), he highlighted the lack of negative space aka free time in our lives. It was simple. It was beautiful.

Nathan Eagle, CEO of txteagle, spoke about the state of mobile devices in Africa and how in many ways, the western world is being leapfrogged by developing nations. I was somewhat aware of this, but one example in particular struck me: ditch diggers are organized by SMS. They look for texts to see where the job site is for the day. That is the very definition of ubiquitous to me.

Diane Israel, former professional triathelete, was simply heart-touching. I don’t mean to go all after school special on you, but of all the talks, she made me feel the most. Some of the other speakers had cheesy little ice-breakers that I did my best to ignore. Diane was genuine from the moment she stepped on the stage. Her message of being embodied and accepting and loving yourself is something we could all hear more often–especially in such an incredibly unvarnished way.

Brad Feld, early stage investor and entrepreneur (and guy with cool shirts), had an unexpected topic. When I’ve heard Brad speak before, it has exclusively been about startups and venture capital. Last night, he got personal. He spoke candidly about his marriage and all of the things that can get in the way. His solution, or perhaps more accurately, his wife’s solution? A quarterly week off the grid. No phones. No email. No contact with the outside world–just time, solitude, and each other. This is quite a lovely idea, and this idea may have been the most practical of the night. It’s also the one I heard most discussed afterwards. My husband and I (married 6 years, together 14) have played with the idea of weekends off the grid. When we even have a few hours of this, we love it. It sounds so hard, but the rewards on even such a small scale are great. It’s something we’d like to give a longer try.

My takeaway: The talks were fantastic, but my biggest takeaway of the night was that nights like this need to continue.  In order for them to continue (and to spread), people like you and me have to make them happen.  That’s my TedxBoulder pledge–to do my part in bringing events like this to the community that I love.