2015

2015

As much as I love to travel, and I LOVE to travel, getting back from Asia felt good after almost three weeks on the road.  I missed my bed, I missed my dogs...but most of all I couldn't wait to have fun with all the bizarre things I brought back from overseas. Living at Creekside and having the neighbors around, I knew we would put them to good use. The rice hats that were such a pain to pack were probably the biggest hit.

I never would have guessed when I jumped on the first cheap and decent apartment in Cherry Creek that I would end up with some of the best neighbors and friends I have ever had. When Kyle and Justin moved in around the corner we made fast friends and neighbor nights reached a whole new level of fun. We celebrated Oregon's birthday with a Despicable Me theme in January.

And Kyle's with a Hulk theme...

And when we did our 2015 kick off at work, I got awarded Rookie of the Year from the year before.  Good to know all the hard work did pay off.

After not living in Denver  for so long, I was excited when the Stock Show came to town at the end of January.  Not knowing what to expect, I wrangled the neighbors together and a couple old friends and we all had a blast.

 Among the many things I love about being back in Denver, one of my most favorite has got to be getting to know my Grandma so much better.  The older I get, the more thankful I am for the relationships I have with my family.  Until recently, I did not realize how much more I am like my grandma than I ever knew.  Last fall, I spent a whole day in her garden where I used to spend so many summers of my childhood.  We laughed and we talked and she bitched about the way I was doing things.  In fact, she made me replant several of her Iris because the fashion in which I planted them was not up to her standards.  I obliged, because let's face it, no one lives forever.  After our long day of getting our hands dirty, we sat out in her lawn chairs, gazed at our work and listened to the creek.  I realized I don't actually mind gardening (minus the bugs) and I think I actually understood why she wanted things done the way she does.  We sat out there for what seemed like hours until the sun went down and the sky was dark.  Every time I get together with my Grandma I learn something I did not know before.  I learn about her youth, her relationships, her hard times and her devastation. 

My personality, short attention span and snappiness are just some of the traits I have that make me realize how similar we are.  But, I didn't mention our love for food.  Unfortunately (or fortunately minus the calories) my grandmother and I share the same love for bbq ribs, hamburgers and brunch.  Since I moved home, we have made it a point to try all the best brunch places in town.  I think our mutual favorite thus far has been the Inverness in DTC followed by YaYa's Euro Bistro in the Tech Center.

                

 

In addition to spending as much time as I could with family, 2015 would prove to actually be a year of love.  Everyone always says people come into your life when you least expect it but I was starting to think when it came to dating, I was doomed.  That is until I met Doug. Doug, a wild at heart Texas boy who had moved to Colorado to live the ski lifestyle and finish college.  Lucky for me, he had chosen to stick around.

 

Doug and I share many interests and hobbies-dogs, cooking, laughing and most importantly, traveling.  So that's just what we decided to do.  After just a few short weeks of getting to know each other we jetted off to San Diego and Doug fell as instantly in love with it as I am. Three days of beach bumming and site seeing just wasn't enough.

 

Amen! If only I didn't have so many bills to pay...