Soaring in Durango, Colorado

I so want to do this next year. I happened by it accidentally on TripAdvisor. Soaring Tree Top Adventures is the one of the top-rated attractions in Colorado and the number one rated attraction in Durango. You actually kill two birds with one stone because you ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in order to get there (can’t get there any other way).

What do you guys think? Who’s with me?

Tita Sol and Molly

We went to visit Tita Sol and Molly this afternoon. Tita Sol said that she wanted a bed for Molly, so we figured we would bring one. We found a reversible one at Wal-Mart that works great for both cold and warm weather. It is machine-washable to boot. Molly seemed to really like it.

With the exception of her recent shedding of late, Molly seems to be doing well. The shedding is extremely baffling, though, because Molly doesn’t really shed. We can’t figure out what might be causing it. Molly seems to be doing okay, though, and the vet said there’s nothing wrong with her. We’ll probably need to keep a close eye on her to make sure the shedding doesn’t get any worse.

Becca’s 37th Birthday

Becca’s 37th birthday party was such a blast. It was a little confusing at first, but everything worked out and we got to bowl and ride go carts and celebrate Becca’s big day in a really big way. Jay deserves kudos for getting everyone together. He really did an amazing job.

I think my favorite part was riding the go karts. I was a little disappointed that our entire group couldn’t go all at once. It would have been fun having everyone in the track, but I’m sure it would have been complete and utter mayhem. The track probably would have been too crowded and it just wouldn’t have been a good idea, not just for safety reasons, but all around. It would have been demolition go karts for sure.

Speaking of, I really miss bumper cars. I wonder where we can do that in Wichita. That would be so much fun. Of course, there wasn’t a lack of bumping the other night. I had my share of hits (no thanks to Mike).

So whose birthday is next? When can we ride go karts again?

P.S. Brian will tell you that he beat me at bowling that night. I will tell you that it doesn’t count. [1] I had been up since 5 AM and, unlike Brian, didn’t bother taking a power nap before going to the party. [2] There were a ton of people bowling with us. [3] We only bowled one game.

I can assure you that if the conditions were different, Brian would not beat me at bowling. Sorry, babe! Just telling it like it is.

So I challenged Brian to a three game bowling match. Best 2 out of 3 will be declared victor. He just needs to name the place and time. Stay tuned for the bowl-off.

Black Friday 2009

Black Friday was a ton of fun. We had to wake up at 5 AM to pick up Brian’s parents by 6 AM and make it to Legends by 9 AM, but it was all worth it. I think we wore David and Donna out. LOL.

Brian and I got a $250 gift card from our credit card rewards points a few weeks ago so that is what we used. We figured that it would go a longer ways with the Black Friday discounts. We had a couple of things going for us: outlet store prices and huge Black Friday discounts.

As soon as we got there, I was in serious shopping mode. I had to slow down for the old folks. LOL. We didn’t get to hit all the stores I wanted to hit, but we got to shop at all the important ones.

I only have 2 pairs of jeans left that fit me so I was determined to get some jeans out of the trip. I got 2 pairs of jeans at the Levi’s Outlet for $40. Not bad. I also got some work clothes from the Ann Taylor Outlet, my favorite store at Legends. They were doing 50% off everything in the store, including clearance items.

Brian and I are proudest of our Nike Outlet loot: a pair of running shoes for him (he wanted some new ones because his Shox are worn out and don’t provide good support any more), two pairs of workout pants for him, a pair of workout pants for me and a workout top for me. We got all of that for about $100. Can you believe it? Usually $100 only gets you a pair of shoes.

There was a bag at the Wilsons Leather Outlet that I wanted, but Brian talked me out of it. I also wanted to get some sweaters from the GAP Outlet, but we skipped that store altogether. I could have kept going, but my companions were getting tired and Brian was starving.

Lunch was at Dave & Buster’s. That place is so much fun. Donna had never been to one and it had been several years for Brian’s dad. The food there is so-so, but you don’t really go for the food. You go for the arcade games.

The machine gun thing was my favorite; this time around anyway. Time flies when you’re at D&B. Two and a half hours later it was time to go. Brian wanted to make it home in time for a short nap before we went to The Alley for Becca’s birthday party.

So that’s our Black Friday adventure for 2009. How about you? How did you spend Black Friday this year?

Thanksgiving 2009

Mom decided that she was going to host Thanksgiving this year so Brian and I ended up with two Thanksgiving dinners the other day. Our first one was at 2 PM at Brian’s parent’s house. It’s our traditional Brubaker Thanksgiving, complete with Phase 10 post-grubbing.

I have no idea why my father-in-law is making that face. Don’t ask. LOL.

Thanksgiving at the Brubakers’ consisted of grandma and grandpa Brubaker, Brian’s parents, Chad, Brian and me. We held Chad hostage that day (sorry Cory and April — that is why he didn’t make it to you guys’ place) and took him to my mom’s turkey-less Thanksgiving so he could try some Filipino food, which he said he never had before.

Jenni, Jen and Armando were there. A couple of mom’s friends joined us also. Sadly, the Cannadys couldn’t make it because they were already stuffed from multiple Thanksgiving feasts themselves. Apple and Andrew were in Louisiana, and David and Donna opted not to come because Donna had a headache.

Oh, and we didn’t end up being turkey-less at mom and dad’s after all because Armando brought Cajun turkey from Louisiana. That’s how it looked above after it was carved and ravaged. LOL.

This is supposed to be humba, but the picture is too dark.

Chad didn’t mind the pancit. He actually likes vermicelli noodles.

Dinuguan is pictured above. Yum! Made Chad eat it without telling him what it’s made of; I’m mean, I know. He didn’t like it too much, I think.

Lumpia is a popular favorite. No Filipino feast is complete without it. I had a picture of the sisig too, but I guess it didn’t make it to Flickr. Bummer. I personally don’t like sisig. I managed to talk chad into trying it. He didn’t mind the flavor as much as the texture. It is a bit weird.

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving last year. We played Phase 10 then too, as we do every year.

How about you? How did you spend Thanksgiving Day?

Things I Didn’t Know I Wanted Until This Week [Greed]

Brian mentioned to me the other day that one of his coworkers (Alicia) has replaced her cubicle chair with a balance ball. She sits on it all day while she works. It’s supposed to be really good for you. Not only does it help you maintain the proper posture while you work, but it also helps you work your core muscles without even thinking about it.

So I decided I wanted a BalanceBall Chair. Incidentally, Gaiam is currently offering $20 off its best-selling BalanceBall Chair. Now would be the time to get one.

Also, have you seen the Reebok EasyTone commercial lately? I didn’t really pay much attention to it until I read Gina’s review on Facebook. It sure made me want to buy one. Just goes to show the power of word of mouth.

Brian was like, “Haven’t you seen that commercial?” I had seen it, but I wasn’t really interested. I guess I don’t really believe commercials, but if a real life person told me to check something out then I would be more inclined to do so.

Oh, and we were at the gym last night and I was watching this turbokick class. Yeah, I was only watching. I’m not crazy enough to do that class. At least, I’m not ready for it yet. I noticed that some of the people in the class had on wrist weights. That’s a really good idea. I think I can get a pair from Wal-Mart for like $10 or so. I want one of those now too.

Pre-Black Friday Round Up

Viega Holiday Party

We had a blast at the Viega holiday party last night. It was held at the Wichita Marriott Hotel, where the annual Filipino galas are held. Reminds me of the days when Brian and I regularly attended. We haven’t been in years, though.

This is Brian’s good friend Chris with his wife Cheryl.

A group photo of the four of us.

JP and his wife.

Ilya and Amber.

I had no idea how much they love to dance.

They were on the dance floor all night.

Melissa.

Val, Eddie, and Brian couldn’t remember the third person’s name. He thinks she might be a friend of Val’s.

Another photo of Chris and Cheryl.

Brian and Melissa.

Roberta gettin’ her groove on.

The Viego folks sure love to dance.

Alicia.

Eric and Brian.

Me with Amber and Alicia.

Click here for more photos.

Pacquiao Squashes Cotto

Jen and Armando invited Brian and I to watch the Pacquaio vs. Cotto boxing match at their place, a huge HBO pay-per-view event that I’m sure all Filipinos watched all over the world. I’d never been a huge boxing fan until now. Actually, I don’t consider myself a boxing fan. I’d never watched boxing before. This was the first boxing match that I’d watched from start to finish. And I wouldn’t have watched it if not for Manny Pacquiao. I guess I am a Pacman fan, not so much a boxing fan. LOL.

Mom and Dad were already there when we arrived. Brian and I felt bad because we had dinner at Red Lobster before hand. I guess I misunderstood. When Jen said she had food, I thought she meant snacks. I didn’t realize that she actually cooked!

Of course, the first thing that Brian does when we get there is check his farm. I can’t pick on him, though, because I had to check my farm too. LOL.

Mom and dad left early, even before the match began. I think this might have been so that Jenni and her boyfriend could come and not feel the pressure of meeting the parents. LOL. Jenni never showed, though.

Apple and Andrew came. They arrived just in time for the Pacquiao-Cotto boxing match. None of us were really interested in the pre-fights.

We were all there to cheer for the Pacman.

I have to post Armando’s “Team Pacquiao” shirt because it is awesome.

I was worried about Pacquiao at first because he is much smaller than Cotto. Pacquiao actually had to gain weight in order to fight in this weight class. After the fourth round, though, I knew I had nothing to worry about. Pacquiao is amazing!

I’d never been excited about boxing before. He had all of us screaming and cheering. It was super exciting. We were so loud (specially Jen, Apple and I) that Brian was worried Jen’s neighbors would call the cops on us. “I should have brought ear plugs,” Brian exclaimed at one point during the evening. LOL.

Thank you to Jen and Armando for inviting us over. It was the first boxing watch party I’d ever attended. Thank you for making this first a truly memorable one.

Thank you to Manny Pacquiao for another amazing victory. He did not disappoint at all. He delivered an exciting match and another boxing title that all Filipinos can be proud of… He is a true national hero!

If you missed it, here is a round by round recap on the LA Times. I’m sure there are video clips on YouTube also. I will try to find those for you guys. Enjoy!

Cada Wins the WSOP Main Event

We watched the WSOP final table with Jay and Becca on Tuesday night. Of course, all of us — with the exception of Jay — already knew who won because of all the news and blog coverage. Jay didn’t want to know, though, because he wanted to enjoy the show.

He purposely avoided Yahoo! and the internet blogs and even our Facebook because he knew that we’d be talking about it and spoil the fun. Jay was really disappointed when Phil Ivey got knocked out. I was disappointed too, but not as disappointed as when I read about it on Pauly’s blog. I knew what was coming so I was prepared for it, at least.

To ESPN’s credit, they made Phil Ivey last an hour and half into the show. I’m sure they knew that everyone was rooting for Phil to take it down this year. The enthusiasm and energy level just wasn’t the same after he was out.

It was so funny watching him writhe and grown and flop all over the floor. When it was down to the final two, he was totally rooting for Moon. Jay continued to wince and whine and say comments like “I hate Cada. I hope he doesn’t win.” I didn’t say anything. LOL.

Despite Jay’s protestations, he couldn’t change what had already taken place. Cada won. I’d actually read quite a bit about Cada in the poker blogs. I’m glad he won. I was rooting for him because I wanted to see a new record set.

We had a blast at Jay and Becca’s on Tuesday night. I even had fun creating a Mii, even though it told me I was overweight. Of course, I already knew this. Brian is overweight, too, so at least I’m not alone. LOL. He carries the weight so much better than I do, though. He doesn’t even look fat to me. Men have it so much easier.

Anyway, Brian and I restarted our gym membership yesterday (thus, the Twitter posts you saw if you follow us; you might have seen the updates on Facebook also because Twitter updates my Facebook status automatically). I think we are going to get really serious about losing weight this time.

P.S. Besides being overweight, apparently my physical age is 57. LOL. I have my work cut out for me.

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