Who Needs Melo Anyways??

My sister's in-laws invited Ben and I to head out to the Nuggets game with the rest of my family. The night before the game the Nuggets traded Melo, Billups and a few other players to the Knicks. Our roster was small and we were a little worried it would be a bust of a game. It turned out to be an exciting game and the Nuggs pulled out the win! Thanks Wiederspans for a fun night!

Ben and I enjoying the action

My sister and Casey

We had awesome seats!

Rocky getting the crowd into it

We're Famous

Our wedding is featured on a wedding blog!!!! So exciting! Our photographer submitted our pictures to The Budget Savy Bride blog. This week we were chosen as the featured wedding of the week!! YAY! You can check out the full post here.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."
~Mother Teresa

Things I Love Lately

~Snowshoeing

~Wii family game night at my parent’s

~The tv show Parenthood

~A garage so I don’t have to scrape my windows in the morning

~The book The Noticer

~The Parma Sandwich from Pickles Deli. Ben and I randomly found this place last year. I’ve only had the sandwich twice, but it is seriously the BEST sandwich I’ve ever had.

~The Food Network. I love their reality shows

~Laughing Cow cheese wedges. Especially the garlic & herb flavor

~The bands Phoenix and Mumford and Sons

~Finding great sales

~Getting a workout in, even when I don’t want to

~$.69 songs on itunes

~Hearing trains go by at night. It reminds me of my grandma’s house and is brings a certain comfort with it

~Getting to spend time with my sister

~Nanaimo Bars. If you’ve never had a Nanaimo bar, you are missing out! The base layer is cocoa powder, chopped nuts, coconut and graham cracker crumbs held together with melted butter. Top that with a layer of buttercream. A coat of semisweet chocolate is the finishing touch. Not good on the diet, but definitely worth an indulgence!

Peace

I've been feeling a bit stressed lately. There's a lot going on and a lot up in the air. Sometimes we get so busy planning out the future and worrying about what will happen. I read something recently that gave me a sense of peace about the uncertainty of the future.

Who knows how life goes?

There's One who does...

"Do not worry about tomorrow."

He knows every drop that will fall from the sky, every wind that will blow through our lives, every bit of sunshine and joy that will come our way.

He may not tell us what will happen next. But He always reminds us of what we can count on no matter what happens...

We'll be loved.

We'll be secure in His care.

We'll be part of a plan working it all out for our good and His glory.

Happy Valentine's Day

Ben and I had some really great plans for Valentine's Day this year. We planned a fun little date and then we were going to get dressed up and do dinner. It's a tradition for Ben to make dinner and me to make dessert.

Our date idea didn't exactly work out...the place closed at 5! Who the heck closes at 5 on a Monday?? Especially Valentine's Monday? I won't tell you what it was because we're still going to do it soon and it's going to be fabulous.

And, the dessert didn't really work out either. I was going to make a cheesecake, but I haven't made one in years and forgot how long it has to rest after baking it! So I ended up buying one from the Cheesecake Factory, which was heavenly!

But, Ben's dinner did turn out GREAT! We pulled out the V-day placemats, lit some candles, and enjoyed some wine.

Appetizer was goat cheese baked in marinara served with crackers

Main course- NY Strip, lobster tail, and a potato cake

The lovely cheesecake

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day and got to spend it with the ones you love!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

I have a couple of words of wisdom this week. I just finished the book The Noticer by Andy Andrews and it was awesome! Here are a few of the gems I found.

"Everybody wants to be on the mountaintop, but if you'll remember, mountaintops are roky and cold. There is no growth on the top of a mountain. Sure, the view is great, but what's a view for? A view just gives us a glimpse of our next destination- our next target. But to hit that target, we must come off the mountain, go through the valley, and begin to climb the next slope. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life's next peak." Pg. 8

"If you are breathing, you are still alive. If you are alive, then you are still here, physically, on this planet. If you are still here, then you have not completed what you were put on earth to do. If you have not completed what you were put on earth to do...that means your very purpose has not yet been fulfilled. If your purpose has not yet been fulfilled, then the most important part of your life has not yet been lived. And if the most important part of your life has not yet been lived that is your proof of hope." Pg. 84

"Life is like a game of Monopoly. You may own hotels on Boardwalk or you may be renting on Baltic Avenue. But in the end, it all goes back in the box. The next generation will be getting out all your stuff and playing with it or fighting over it." Pg. 102

"You possess the power of perspective. You can choose to see your life becoming whatever you wish. If you so choose, you can move the mountains in your life's path with the eventual help of those who will come to love you and learn to respect you for what you are becoming." Pg. 121

"Your time on this earth is a gift to be used wisely. Don't squander your words or you thoughts. Consider that even the simplest actions you take for your lives matter beyond measure...and they matter forever.

It is an answer that most people seek in times of turmoil. Sometimes that answer is immediate, but it is not seen due to a lack of perspective. The reason an answer is not often found in the midst of crisis is that many times, at that very moment, a specific answer does not exist!

In desperate times, much more than anything else, folks need perspective. For perspective brings calm. Calm leads to clear thinking. Clear thinking yields new ideas. And ideas produce the bloom of an answer. Keep your head and heart clear." Pg. 154

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend Ben and I were busy, busy. Friday night, my company finally had their Christmas party. We went bowling over at Lucky Strike downtown. Ben and my boss totally hit it off which was great! We had a good time and I'm glad Ben got to meet everyone I work with. Later that night we headed over to the Hi-Dive. And, it's pretty much a dive! Our friend's band was playing and we went to go support him.

Saturday morning was spent baking! I made cake balls for my parents and my sister and bro-in-law for Valentine's Day. I think they turned out really cute!

Choc-full-of-love

Saturday night we met up with my family to go to the CU basketball game.

My husband grew up in small town Nebraska and has always been a die-hard Nebraska fan. CU and Nebraska are big football rivals, so Ben has always hated CU. I think he's starting to come around and support the better team...he actually sported a CU hat for the night!! My little heart was so happy.

I think he looks good in black and gold!

It was a great game! CU won 58-56 after a game winning shot was waved off.

My parents have always given us Valentine's Day gifts, and this year was no exception. I was completely spoiled!

Happy Valentine's Day!! Ben and I have a fun plans for tomorrow, but that'll be for another post. :)

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Hard things take time to do. Impossible things take a little longer.
~Percy Cerutty

Snowshoeing in the Snow

Saturday Ben and I headed up to Chief Mountain, just outside of Evergreen. It was definitely a lot colder than last weekend and it snowed the entire time. Supposedly when you get to the top you can see Mount Evans and Pikes Peak, but it was so snowy, we didn't see much of anything. We still had a great time together!

At the bottom of the trail head

It was so snowy!

Chief Mountain!

On the way down we found this sign...kinda fun to have a street with your last name!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.

~Henry Ford

Jenga!

Last night Ben and I snuggled up inside and enjoyed games of Jenga and hot chocolate. What better way to spend the evening when it's bitterly cold outside?

Our tower looking pretty good

Such concentration