colorado

Our trip to Colorado was too short but most definitely sweet. It's the first time Aziz and I flew together. Despite the fact that we're both a bit fearful of flying, Aziz really kept his cool and kept me calm after three landing attempts that did not go so well on the way into Denver. It was also an opportunity to visit one of his childhood best friends, Lauren, who joined us for part of the adventure.

Our first full day was spent between various cities and doing plenty of different fun activities. We spent the morning visiting the Air and Space museum in Denver. We then decided to drive out to Boulder to explore UCB as well as the lovely downtown area. We ended the day by visiting the Red Rocks Amphitheater - a must on my to do list. We happened to visit the theater while a high school graduation was taking place. Fortunately we were still allowed in and got to see this iconic venue. Although we were both quite tired because our plane had landed near midnight the night before, it was that hike that really did us in. We spent that evening cooking in our little Airbnb and we decided the watch The Shining. We chose this film specifically as our itinerary for the next day was to drive up into the mountains and stay at the Stanley Hotel which famously was Stephen King's source of inspiration.

On our way to Rocky Mountain National Park, we picked up Lauren who guided us up the winding roads which led to the hotel. Since we got there too early to check in, we decided to explore the national park a bit. It was truly crazy because when we started our hike at the foothills of the mountains, the sky was blue and the sun was shining brightly. However, as we drove further up into the mountains, the climate changed drastically and by the time we reached the top, it was actually snowing profusely.

After checking in to the hotel, we took a walk in the little town nearby and found a charming restaurant where we got some dinner. The rest of that evening was a complete blur. As a group, we decided to stay up as late as possible and do a little ghost hunting. The place is famous for paranormal activity and we were convinced we would find something. And oh boy, didn't we.. I won't go into every detail of that evening as this post would be way too long. Maybe someday I will do a little video recap.

Anyway, after finally turning in past 4:00am, we had to be up before 11:00am to check out of our room. Fortunately there was a little cafe in the hotel lobby where we were able to load up on caffeine before making the drive back to Fort Collins to drop Lauren off, then back to Denver where we would spend the night before boarding our flight back home the next morning.

It was a wonderful trip to remember and has only made me that much more excited to take on new trips and adventures in the future.

- D

rosie's farewell

So as always, it's been way too long since I last posted. That doesn't mean that I haven't had great adventures over the last 8 months, I just don't take the time I should to post and write. More posts from 2019 to come soon.

These photos are from yesterday (Friday, August 23rd) where we celebrated our beloved choir director and vocal coach, Rosie. After decades of service, she is finally retiring and moving to California to live with her daughter. While this farewell is very bittersweet, the timing is right.

Rosie is the one person who was able to get me over my stage fright and take on lyrical soprano solos I only would have dreamed about doing otherwise. She has believed in me to the point of actually gifting me her repertoire of music from her soloist days. She is constantly encouraging me and preparing me for auditions and maybe, just because of her, I will actually pursue that goal. I have no words that will ever really be able to thank her for everything she has done for me (and my family).

Hopefully this fun little get together with the whole congregation is a start. Tomorrow will be another.

- D

our first noel

It's the most wonderful time of the year! There's something lovely and magical about seeing twinkling lights everywhere your head turns in the middle of cold, dark wintery evenings, and it just so happens that decorating is what really gets me in the spirit of the season. For the last decade or so I have been the go-to person to decorate my parents' house and it was no different this year. I put the trees up, decorated the family room and kitchen, and the outside of the house to the best of my abilities and it was lovely as always. But this year has been particularly special as I got to put up my first Christmas tree in my own house with Aziz. 

We made a whole day of it. We spent the morning drinking mochas and shopping around Walmart and Target, beginning our collection of Christmas ornaments and decorations (a few favorites include the fat little birdies sitting on the star, the cup of cocoa and tea, and the little camper van and truck which from now on will always sit under or next to the tree). Once we were satisfied with the quantity of decorations, we stopped for some lunch and had the real vs fake tree debate. We decided that since a very close family friend owns and runs a Christmas tree farm which is located no more than 10 minutes away from our house, that we would go there and pick out a tree. The farm is massive (about 140 acres), and had a little farm house sitting next to an ancient barn that's falling apart (the stone walls on the barn must be over 200 years old). Very picturesque. We walked around in the drizzly, misty cold until we found our perfect little tree. We loaded it on top of the E28 (apparently backwards but thankfully it was a short drive), went home and got to decorating.

It was so much fun sharing in the excitement of this process together and I am so excited at the prospect of growing our collection every year from now on.

Happy Holidays!

D