Rachel's Challenge

I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to listen to Darrell Scott speak at a recent conference I attended. Darrell is father to Rachel Scott, the first high schooler killed in the Columbine shooting.

I can't even begin to put into words the amazing impact that this young girl's life has made. Prior to her death, Rachel, inspired by Anne Frank, kept six diaries of her thoughts and feelings. After her death, her father found her diaries (one of the was in her backpack the day she was killed and had a bullet hole through it). Her diaries offered her family insight into Rachel's deepest thoughts and now serve as her legacy.

I know it is cliché to say it but it does really seem like God takes the good ones much too soon. Rachel is no exception. The amount of compassion and love in this one young girl's heart was beyond her years. Her father played video of the many friends she had--popular or not--who all expressed how in times of rejection, Rachel was right there to extend friendship and kindness to them. Her dad displayed a paper Rachel wrote shortly before her death where she wrote, "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go." These weren't just words to her. She lived out these words. She frequently expressed to others that she had a desire to make an impact in this world. Sadly, she wasn't alive to realize her impact as her words have outlived her but what an incredibly amazing difference her life made.

Her father started Rachel's Challenge, an organization based on the writings of Rachel, that promotes anti-bullying and visits schools around the world to create a culture of kindness. To date, more than 500 kids have contacted the organization to state that after hearing Rachel's story, they reached out for help as they were contemplating suicide.

Rachel was a regular teenager. She went to prom shortly before she was killed. She had big dreams. She wanted to change the world. She said as much to her teacher the very day she was killed. She had an uncanny knowledge that her short life would change lives. She drew a picture right before she was killed, and, I don't want to give it away because you should read her journals, but that image has amazing significance and insight into the events that took place that very day. She didn't know what was about to take place but on some spiritual level she was preparing. I can't explain it. It gives me chills.

God Bless this sweet family. The hurt that they've endured is immense but then they actively try to seek out good and live out creating a legacy that their precious daughter believed in so deeply. Please read about the life of this special girl. I feel so changed after hearing her dad speak about her.

Colorado Floods--Estes Park

I took some time off from by blog later in the summer to just enjoy the end of summer before my youngest went off to school full-time. Here they are on their first day of school--third grade and first grade.

Besides school starting, the most recent event in our life was the Colorado flooding. We have a cabin in Estes Park, which is a touristy town located next to the Big Thompson river. As we had days of pouring rain, it quickly became clear that we were going to experience flooding in that area. Our cabin rents out regularly from end of April until late November via VRBO.com (http://www.vrbo.com/160115). On the day the river crested, we had guests trapped in Estes Park. We couldn't get in touch with them but were praying for the best for them.

Flooding began on early Thursday at 1:30 am. We received confirmation via email from our guests on Friday evening that they and our cabin were safe. It was a horrifying experience for them but they were ok. There was no phone, no cell phone, no Internet, and all roads in and out were literally washed away. The one road open is called Trail Ridge road, which is the highest road elevation-wise (12,000 feet) in the U.S. The road scares me to death to drive on. I couldn't fathom that is the only road in or out. With winter coming, that road is known to close in October.

This image shows the road that our family takes to get to our cabin. It is completely destroyed. It winds through a canyon right next to the river. At of today there is no known date when this road will even open.

Once our guests got out and were able to safely establish an Internet connection in Denver, they sent us these pictures of the river as the flood was happening. This image is of our picnic area. Just a week prior, we were enjoying family time at the picnic area. My kids were gathering ladybugs there next to the peaceful river. What a difference a week makes!

The next image is the one that really breaks my heart. The water spared our property but it overtook our neighbors across the river. I pray all people and animals were ok.

Here is an image from our deck to give perspective of how lucky we are to be on such high ground.

Mother Nature is amazing. Our insurance adjustor who had come to our house for a hail storm we had in August (seriously!) had been to Joplin, Missouri after their tornado. He told me that Mother Nature is the worst serial killer. No doubt. Here is a picture of our favorite slide in happier times and the area now.

As this flooding was taking place, our own home became part of the drama when we woke up on Saturday to this scene. Brian literally fished from our backyard that day.

News continues to trickle in as the damage is being assessed. The federal government is quickly stepping in to grant $30 million to start repairing roads. To date, 8 lives have been lost with so many more still missing. We continue to pray for families who lost their homes and loved ones. Words can't express the devastation being felt all around Estes Park, Boulder, Evans, Lyons, Jamestown, Firestone, and Greeley. Please keep our state in your prayers.

Aspen Food and Wine Classic

If you watch Top Chef, Food Network, Bizzare Foods, Iron Chef, The Chew, or read Food and Wine magazine then you know that the Aspen Food and Wine Classic is the place to be!

Brian and I have wanted to go for some time now. Since we didn't really get to go on our 10-year anniversary due to some unforseen circumstances, we decided we'd go for it in 2013, for our 11th anniversary. We only live a 4-hour drive from Aspen so our main expense is lodging and the actual conference fee. So many people have to pay to fly to go, that we knew we had to checkmark this one off our Bucket List since it's practically held in our backyard, right??

I had never been to Aspen before. We took the scenic byway to the top of the Continental Divide. There were a few moments I was grateful for the guard rail because it is WAY up there. It's a beautiful drive though. There is a definite reason that Aspen is called Aspen. I am certain it is probably the most beautiful place in Colorado come fall.

First stop was picking up our registration packets. Aspen Food and Wine Classic here we come!

The Classic didn't start until the next day so we made reservations for a nice dinner. Happy 11 years together honey!

Brian was very contemplative about the past 11 years, remembering the best dinner we ever had on our honeymoon in Kauai at the St. Regis in Princeville. Here it is--the most beautiful dinner spot we've ever been to. I'll never forget the sunsets of Kauai. We were such kids then. Aspen sure comes in close beautywise!

After eating dinner, we explored the downtown a bit. The downtown area reminds me a lot of Santa Fe. Though it is beautiful, nothing is affordable...or by our standards anyway. I dropped into a kid's clothing store and there were cute outfits for $200 (and that was 50% off!). It was fun to window shop though. These monkeys reminded me of MiniB. He loves monkeys.

The next day, our first session was Best Superstar Value Wines with Mark Oldman. This session was to try some different wines that were all under $20. Although low cost, these wines were selected because they don't taste like a low-cost wine and can compare with the expensive ones. Mark Oldman guided us through each wine and its region and what each wine could be paired with. This is me bright and ready to start drinking wine at 10am.

And Brian is also ready to go!

Mark Oldman was a hilarious speaker. He not only has a gift for wine but for speaking.

My favorite wine of this session: 2009 Bodegas Volver Tarima Hill Monastrell from Jumilla Spain--a super bargain at $16 a bottle!

After the first session, we headed over to the Grand Tasting, a huge tented pavillion where you can try a lot of different foods and drinks. We had alligator, caribou, lobster, multiple cheeses, chocolate, foie gras, gumbo, and so much more. Needless to say I was too busy eating than to take pictures. And trust me, you need both hands to hold everything you get. My mouth was loving all the flavor but my stomach was telling me to take it easy.

The Grand Tasting was a great place to people watch though. We saw Josh Altman and his girlfriend Heather from Million Dollar Listing LA. We are faithful MDL-LA (and NY) watchers so we spotted them right off. They were super nice and were happy to take a picture.

After the Grand Tasting, our next session was the Top Chef Leftover Challenge with Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio. Because of all the lighting on stage, my pictures didn't turn out that great but Tom made a quick meal while Gail made him a cocktail. Then she took the leftovers from that meal to make a great "hangover" breakfast. It was fun to watch them in person since we watch them judge real chefs all the time on Top Chef.

Our session after that one was a Sushi Rolling Party with Ming Tsai, chef of Blue Ginger and Blue Dragon in the Boston area. He showed us how to make easy rolls at home and provided tips on how to roll and pair different flavor combinations. He was not only funny but he took a lot of questions from the crowd.

After this session there was another Grand Tasting. The Grand Tasting is where you'd spot a lot of chefs. I bought a book by Laura Werlin callled Grilled Cheese Please. She also has a yummy book called Mac and Cheese Please but I need to eat less pasta, not more. My favorite grilled cheese sandwich ever is from San Francisco Bar and Grill in Santa Fe--pesto, sun dried tomatoes, and a mixture of yummy cheeses. I was excited to find a book with so many variations of my favorite sandwich. Here is Laura signing my book.

Brian spotted Chef Hugh Acheson and said hi. It's a funny thing to say hi to someone who is on tv. I feel dorky trying to figure something to say. Brian doesn't care, he's a natural.

We stopped by the Grand Tasting one more time and then headed back to our hotel for some rest because at 10pm that night we had another event, The Last Bite Dessert party hosted by Gail Simmons.

I wish I had pictures of my own from the party. I have a few. It was really dark so hard to get good photos as you'll see. Basically it was a party that once you step in you pass a "candy shop" with lots of old fashioned candy in large glass containers and bags for you to grab what you want. Then you head into the main room where there is you pick of desserts from lemon jello shots, everything chocolate, an old-fashioned soda bar where Johnny Iuzzini and Gail Simmons were stiring up concoctions.

They also had a cute photo booth where you could take pictures with props. Here's Bri and I.

Brian, being his natural outgoing self, got some pics with Andrew Zimmern and Top Chef winner Kristen Kish. That guy!

He even managed to get his picture in People Magazine here. I was on the site reading about the Classic and then I see my husband's little face in the corner of a pic. If you scroll down to the Marcus Samuelsson picture and click on it, you can see us dancing in the quick 10 second Vine Video. They really did have an awesome DJ.... and free wine. It was a late night.

The next day, our first session was a Dim Sum showing by Andrew Zimmern. I have to say that my favorite chef spotting was Andrew Zimmern. I just love that guy. We watch Bizarre Foods as a family all the time. It wasn't surprising that this was also my favorite food session. He showed us how to make a yummy Hand Pulled Noodle recipe. I'm so glad the recipe is in our session book. He also shared his Sweet Aromatic Soy Sauce recipe given to him by one of the best Asian food chefs.

Because our kids love Andrew Zimmern so much, we bought his Andrew Zimmern's Field Guide to Exceptionally Weird, Wild and Wonderful Foods for him to sign for our kids. He remembered us from the dessert party. He made the book out to our kids and found a section on "farts" that he told us our kids would love. Of course they did. I talked with him about the episode where he went to Santa Fe and ate at Bobcat Bite. I shared how I grew up in Santa Fe and my dad loves The Bobcat Bite and took me there often. He went on to tell me that is the best burger he's had and Marcus Samuelsson was sitting next to him and took down the name of the restaurant to try for the next time he's in Santa Fe. He talked to us about the Rocky Mountain Oysters he had in Severance, just down the road from us. I remember that episode. I have no desire to try bull testies. He was my favorite chef spotting.

I am reading Gail Simmons book right now for my blog book club. I'm halfway through. I love books that tell you how a person came to the point they are at and doing what they love. It inspires me that you can do what you love and make money. One can hope anyway. And had to buy Tom's Craft book since my girlfriends and I had just been to Craft in NY for our Turning 40 girls' trip.

Brian's favorite chef is Richard Blaise. Who doesn't love this guy?

Our last two sessions were awesome: America's Best Wine & Cheese Pairings and Wines from Rioja (Spain). They served us two glasses of $150/bottle wines in the Rioja session. The host was Leslie Sbrocco who has a PBS Wine show called Check Please. We made sure to drink both of those glasses since we probably won't be purchasing $150/bottle wines too often. We were dumbfounded at how many people didn't drink those glasses! Seriously!? Do they get that kind of wine often?

We went to one final Grand Tasting where Chef Michael Voltaggio was cooking something up. Brian loved it. I seriously couldn't eat another bite.

Goodbye Aspen! We had a blast!

InstaFriday

It's been quite a week here in snowy Colorado! Time to link up with Jeannett for InstaFriday! Started the week off with some serious snow although no school delays. I'm not sure what it takes around here to get a simple two-hour delay!

All this snow makes me long for warmer weather and spring. I've been making more Rosie Rosys. I think everyone else is longing for spring too!

MiniB has been rocking kindergarten. It really amazes me that he's already learning subtraction in kindergarten! When I was his age, I was just learning my colors and shapes. They get started so much earlier now.

I made a trip to HomeGoods to find a console table for my plants. I think it turned out cute. Over the weekend I repotted quite a few of them.

Have you heard of Tangled FX app? It's pretty fun and I'm kind of addicted to turning everything into either swirls or cartoon. Here is our lab, Aspen, before pic.

And here he is as a cartoon using the app. Pretty cool, right?

Happy Friday!

Hello Monday

Hello Monday. Here is to hoping this week is better than last. It has been a hard week here in Colorado. This is the view of the High Park Fire from my front door. The fire has been burning for 3 weeks now. MiniB has had some major asthmatic symptoms. This smoke plume actually looks pretty not so bad in this picture.

Hello ugly sky. Rain, please come and help us in Colorado. On Saturday a major fire broke out in Estes Park, just 1.5 miles from our cabin. They gave an evacuation order to guests staying in our cabin so they decided to forgo their vacation at our cabin. The Estes Park fire consumed 21 homes. We spent much of Saturday on pins and needles just waiting on word about what direction the fire was headed. Our cabin is safe. Thankfully though many lost their homes, no lives were lost.

Hello power wash! I love power washing our house. Or should I say I love when Brian power washes our house.

Hello power washed garage! Over the winter our cars drag in a lot of junk that they put on the roads for the snow. I'm always so glad when we can wash it out and stare at it for a minute because it won't last very long.

The temperature outside on Saturday was 102. After the stress of waiting to see whether our cabin was in the line of the fire, we decided to go out for some ice cream. Brian loves himself a banana split!

Linking up with Lisa for Hello Monday.

Photo Challenge: Sunset

Today's challenge is a sunset. It has been so overcast here, I thought for sure that I wouldn't be able to get this one accomplished. But the sky cleared! It is a beautiful evening.