Bopper's Birthday

 

A very happy 2nd birthday to Bear, and to his best friend Copper.  And after all the fun of Cinco de Bearo last year, we decided to expand the party for year 2 to celebrate the insanity that is Bopper (Bear + Copper).

I wonder sometimes about traditions.  

How are traditions made? 

 How many times do you have to do something before it becomes your tradition? 

 Do you intend to create traditions, or do traditions find you? 

If Bear's birthday brings together families, friends, and pinatas every year, then that sounds like a tradition worth keeping.

Gramma, Grappa, Goodbars, and A Chihuahua Dressed Like Michael Jackson

Happy Mother's Day and a big high five to all the women out there who put their heart and soul into their children.  (And a second high five to all the women out there without kids, but who still put their heart and soul into bettering the world in other awesome ways.)

Per our prerogative to make an event out of every possible holiday, the Kinghorn family united last Sunday to celebrate the mothers in our lives.  It was a gorgeous afternoon, full of dramatic sunlight, ice cream sundaes, and spontaneous laughter. 

Without my mother, grandmother, and aunt our family would not be the thriving, unpredictable, incredible animal that it is.  To show our respect and gratitude, the rest of us provided offerings of chihuahua-dressed-as-Michael-Jackson cards, king sized favorite candy bars, exhausted grand-dogs, and lots and lots of grappa.  

And you know when my dad brings out the straight-from-Italy grappa that it's a special event. 

I want to officially and publicly thank you Mom and Gramma.  You don't only bring out the best in our family, you bring out the best in me. 

Copiously

Well, no, I would not say that things have gotten much better with my favorite high school antagonist, Pedro, over the past two years.  You might remember said student from my very famous blog post "I Hate Pedro".  

When asked to write his own sentence using the vocabulary word "copious", he turned this in:

My first thought: he correctly formed an adverb by adding -ly all on his own!   I guess some of the things that I "yell" at him might actually be penetrating that defiant skull of his.  

This is one proud wicked witch.

Prom.

It's been 9 years, and I can still smell the fresh scent of my wrist corsage and feel the weight of my fantastically oversized pink earrings.  

Prom is on my mind. This Saturday is Aurora West's prom and I am the event coordinator.  I'm kind of a big deal. 

I got the following email yesterday, which really got me thinking about my own choice of prom attire back in 2004. 

  

 I never had to debate the merits of dressing ched (fancy Mexican style) or regular.  But I did get to debate my own fashion risks.  Should I go with the hot pink dress?  Do I want a dress with a shawl/wrap thing?  Is it important to have hearts on the straps of my dress?  Should my earrings touch my shoulders? Thank goodness the answer to all of the above was yes.  Thank goodness. 

Hey there Theo Mooney! Nice shades!

All I have to say is that I had a really great time at my prom, and in my head I was a sexy goddess.  
And maybe only in my head. 

And yes, I will be resurrecting this dress for Prom 2: Chaperone Edition.  

Take Me Out To The [Opening Weekend] Ballgame!

This weekend is the opening weekend for the Colorado Rockies, and last night was Denver Public Schools night.  As a dedicated lover of baseball and public education, I elected to go with my girl friends. 

I knew immediately that I had to make some big decisions.  It was Saturday night.  I wanted to enjoy an adult beverage during the game.  I did not want to purchase a $9 Coors Field margarita - which consists of 90% sugary mix and 10% alcohol. So I knew - I needed to BYOB. 

But how to sneak in my alcohol?  Coors Field takes these things very seriously.  So I asked myself the same thing anyone would in this situation: What would Susan Broyles do?  My mother taught me from a young age that it is possible to sneak your own wine into concerts if you pour it into Tupperware and pretend it's soup. That's when it hit me.  What do they never check when you enter Coors Field?  Your food.

So, I snuck in 5 shooters of Smirnoff vokda in the shape of a Chiptole burrito.  In a Chipotle bag.  Dressed in foil.  The ticket-taker even commented that it was such a smart idea to bring in my own food (which is allowed, BTW).

And yes, I did notice later on that my high school gym teacher was sitting directly behind us (it was DPS night after all) and had watched my whole scam. Part of me worried about getting detention again from him. In the end, I'm sure he just appreciated the amount of effort and skill I still put into my work. 

I might not be an artist or a professional writer, but you can't say that creativity isn't alive and well in my veins.

Springtime in DC

This year I elected to make my annual trip to Washington, DC in the springtime, instead of over Fall Break.  I just really wanted the chance to wear cute spring clothes and heels...which didn't entire work out for me (damn you, rain!)  It was the first of many wonderful decisions I made - or that were made on my behalf - throughout the trip.  Some of these included:

*Buying Marek this awesome Nuggets hat for his birthday...and realizing that it goes perfectly with his 12-year-old semi-gross vans. 

*Exploring Eastern Market during Emily & Ian's 2nd Annual Day of Best Friendship.  We wore matching friendship bracelets and stuff.  

 *Sight-seeing at sunset. 

We waved at all the people who lined up on Friday to get into the oral arguments for the gay marriage case - which didn't happen until the following Tuesday.  These people slept outside the Supreme Court for 4 days in the rain!

 *Inviting some college friends to watch Marek bartend. Oh hey, Jessica Nagro!

 *Enjoying some amazing hollandaise sauce at the Chesapeake Room. Even Justin came down from NYC!

*Exploring campus...during a rain storm. 

 *Jeff and I finding our bricks in the GWU quad.  I guess this makes it official!

  

*Visiting Marek and Ian's farm...in the middle of southeast DC.  I learned exactly what 1/1000th of an acre looks like.  It might not look like much now, guys, but just you wait until summer.  Parsnips for everyone!

*Skyping with Lil Marc in Taiwan.  I miss that adorable face!

*Seeing Alyssa again.  My life in Denver has been considerably less awesome since she left, and it was incredible to see her.  I introduced her to my grandparents, uncle, and some highlights of their current neighborhood. 

The peace and beauty of Arlington Cemetery overwhelm me each time I visit.  What an honor to have my family laid to rest there. 

DC is always a challenging trip for me, emotionally.  I get caught up in the former college version of myself, and sometimes I even cry unnecessarily over random things (am I right, Jeff?).  I miss the city, the culture, and the friends there that still hold my heart.  Leaving DC sucks, to be blunt.  But at least I know that there is always so much waiting for me to enjoy next time. 

Here's to the best DC trip that I probably have ever had!

And It Was Good

Every year, I pull out all the stops and observe Lent with a fierceness that shocks those around me.  I do this partially for the religious education, but primarily as an exercise in self control and temptation. 

And let me tell you, this year has been one of temptation.  This year I decided to give up all sweets.  Yes, I have not tasted anything sweet since February 13th (39 days ago, but who's counting?). And it may sound like a trivial thing, but when you already exist on a gluten and dairy free diet, dessert is pretty much the only joy left in the world. And as much as I love meat and vegetables, I am about ready to stab my eyes out. 

I've had some mixed experiences with my Lenten sacrifices.  There was the year that I gave up desserts, but convinced myself that Fig Newtons were a fruit-based health food, so I ate half a box of Fig Newtons a day.  Or last year, when I only gave up chocolate and became dependent on Swedish Fish (am I right, Lindsey?). Or my senior year of college when I gave up alcohol, and well...I cried myself to sleep.  I am proud to say that I've done a pretty good job this year!

It's been a struggle. I'm pretty sure God has been testing me.  Like when he put the school group of 80 middle schoolers on both of my flights to DC (with departure gates next to a Ben and Jerry's).  Or when he sent me to three consecutive birthday parties with dark chocolate birthday cakes. Thanks, God!

As I was listening to the cathedral choir chant the passion of Christ exquisitely today, I was reminded why I do this to myself every year.  There is no deeper joy than receiving once again that which you have sorely missed.  To see again a person/lost dog/childhood toy/favorite sweater/car key/cell phone/$20 bill that you thought you would never lay eyes on again.  To find hope when you had no hope.  

At 12:01am on Sunday I will take a bite of Cold Stone cake batter ice cream with sprinkles and hot fudge.  If you aren't doing anything at the time, you should come join me.  

If you've never seen a full grown woman cry over ice cream, it's really something. 

May Easter Day bring you deep and delirious happiness as well.