After three weeks of the Jenny Challenge I have put in 66 miles.  Once again I only put in eighteen miles this week.  I was thinking that I would be behind the pace because of that, but I’m actually still ahead.  I have 10 days left to run 34 miles.  We have had something going on every night of this week, so lately all of my miles have been put in during lunch at work.  My dad only has ten miles left in the challenge after running the Rocket City Marathon this past weekend.  His time of 3:43:11 qualifies him for the Boston Marathon.  This has been a long time goal of his, so a big congrats is in order!

I ended up missing my hockey game on Monday of this week.  I was stuck at work until nearly 9pm.  And the bowling league is official over, though they haven’t sent out the final results yet.

I went 2-1 in fantasy football.  Last week I thought that the playoffs had started in all three leagues, but only two actually started.  In the other league, I still had a shot at the wildcard spot for the playoffs.  But even with a win last weekend I still finished in fifth place, so I will be hoping for a win in the consolation bracket.  The loss I suffered this week was in the playoffs of one of my leagues, so I am officially in the consolation bracket in that leagues as well.  In the final league I beat up on Kim’s dad to advance into the semifinals this week where I will be taking on the number one seed in the league.  The college football pick’em is over and I finished in sixth place.  As far as the NFL pick’em goes, I moved up one place into fifth.

Previously I had voiced my opinion on the HandleBar & Grill, which morphed into the Downing Street Bar and Grill earlier this year.  Well they finally completed the bar renovation recently and we went in to check it out.  I must say that it is much improved!  There is now a large U-shaped bar, surrounded by a few high top tables and plenty of booths along the walls.  Also they’ve really increased their TV quantity and quality.  As if it couldn’t get any better, I think the food has actually improved.  Not that it was bad before, I just feel that the quality may have gone up even more recently.  True they are still using the old menus (even with the bicycle theme printed on them) but I guess they are of the opinion of don’t fix it if it isn’t broken.

I had the chicken chimichanga smothered with green chile, which I was very happy about.  My wife had the turkey reuben, which was served on thicker marbled rye than I remembered, and stuffed high with turkey and sauerkraut.  She also had the mashed sweet potatoes, which were very tasty, with flavors familiar of this time of year.  Just as I was starting to grow tired of this restaurant it seems that they have done a lot to bring people back to it.  I’m sure we will be back again in the near future.

This past Saturday was a long day.  Not only did I head up to Vail for a day of snowboarding with the same guys as the past couple of times, we stuck around to see O.A.R. play as part of the Vail Snow Daze event.  Knowing that it was going to be a long day, I decided to drive up later in the morning than the usual 6:30 or 7 departure.  I was hoping to avoid traffic by leaving at 9:30, but that didn’t go as planned.  There was a little snow on the roads at higher elevations, but there were also a ton of cars on the road.  The drive would normally take an hour and a half in perfect conditions, but it took three hours on Saturday.

Since we didn’t arrive out on the slopes until after 1pm, I tried to speed through as many runs as I could.  I made it out to Blue Sky Basin just before closing time, but on my first good run out there a strap on one of my bindings broke.  Since I was as far away from the car as possible, I decided to just do as best I could for the rest of the day.  Despite my heel lifting up on my back foot during hard turns, I was able to enjoy some of the great snow that had fallen overnight.  Vail reported nine inches that morning, so there was definitely some powder to be found.  I just wish I could have found more of it.

As far as the concert goes, it was a rather cold event.  Normally I would have expected the show to start shortly after the lifts start running, say 5pm or so.  The Snow Daze event starts much later, and O.A.R. didn’t hit the stage until after 7:30.  The crowd was pretty large once they finally got started and I think that helped keep everyone fairly warm.  I decided to keep most of my snowboarding gear on, so I was plenty warm.  I actually watched the first half of the show from fairly deep inside the general admission standing crowd.  Definitely much further into the crowd that anytime recently.  For the first time in a long while I actually had to deal with crowd surfers.  I thought that was a thing of the past, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem so.

O.A.R. at Vail Snow Daze

The setlist was a mix of old and new popular songs for the most part, which easily appeased the vast crowd.  I was hoping to hear some of the new tracks that the band has been working on for their next album, but I should have guessed that this would not be the place for any debuts.  I was really happy to hear “Revisited” which I haven’t heard in a long time.  Also “Anyway” was another highlight of the show for me.  I taped the show but haven’t listed to it at all.  It should be a fairly good recording based on the sound mix I heard while at the show.  Once the show was over and it was nearing 10pm, we made the drive back to Denver.  Though it was late, I was happy to be driving on clear roads with no traffic at all.

Last night Kim and I went to the Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds concert up in Broomfield at the 1STBANK Center.  The show was the fortieth time that I’ve seen Dave Matthews perform, but this was only the second time seeing him perform with just Tim Reynolds, the first time being over seven years ago.  Knowing that the venue was relatively small, I decided to bring my taping gear along to the show.  Typically there are so many other people recording DMB shows that I rarely bother to bring along my own gear.  I’m really glad I did bring it as I’m pretty sure I was the only taper there.

We had great seats on the floor just a few rows in front of the soundboard.  Not only is this a great spot to tape from, but the view was pretty good as well.  The crowd on the floor stood the entire show, so it was a little more difficult for Kim to see.  Now that Tim Reynolds is playing with the band full time, most people are already aware of his guitar prowess.  However seeing just the two of them play allows for Tim to stand out much more.  Dave is no slouch on guitar either and it’s amazing how much sound the two of them can put out.

We were treated to a pretty sweet setlist that had songs from all spans of Dave’s career.  Highlights for the night included Grace is Gone, #41, Kundalini Bonfire (Tim Reynolds solo), and the set ending Spoon, Tripping Billies, Dancing Nancies combination.  The full setlist was:

1. Still Water
2. Don’t Drink The Water
3. Stay Or Leave
4. Squirm
5. Old Dirt Hill
6. Save Me
7. One Sweet World
   

   Blurry iPhone photo.

8. Grace Is Gone
9. Funny The Way It Is
10. Help Myself
11. Crush
12. Unknown *
13. Alligator Pie
14. Eh Hee
15. #41
16. Dive In
17. Lie In Our Graves
18. Oh
19. So Damn Lucky
20. Kundalini Bonfire *
21. Out Of My Hands ^
22. You and Me
23. Spoon
24. Tripping Billies
25. Dancing Nancies
    Encore:
26. Some Devil !
27. Baby Blue
28. All Along The Watchtower

^ Dave on piano.
! Dave solo.
* Tim solo.

My hockey team had an exciting win last night over the fourth place team in our league.  My team was in tenth (out of twelve) so it was obviously a big win for us.  We skated right with them the entire game and may have actually controlled the puck for more time than they did.  I was back on defense for this game but managed to get an assist when one my shots from the point was deflected into the net.  Regulation time ended in a six to six tie, so we moved on to a shootout.  The other team shot first, and our goalie made a great save.  Our first shooter found the back of the net rather easily.  Their second shooter also missed, as did our second.  Finally our goalie made another great save on their third shooter to end the game.

After another week of the Jenny Challenge I have fallen a little off the pace I was setting before.  I only put in 18.7 miles this past week, compared to over 28 last week.  I’ve been pretty busy lately, but I managed to put in another four miles over lunch today.  I’m still well on pace to complete the 100 miles by Christmas.

Finally, the regular season of fantasy football is now over.  I am moving on to the playoffs in two of my leagues, and barely missed out in the other league.  I finished the regular season in fourth place in one league, and fifth in the other two.  Fifth place isn’t good enough to make the playoffs in one of my leagues.  I also remain in sixth place in both the college and pro pick’em games.

Last night I had my first experience at a Brewery Bar restaurant.  Prior to our second childbirth class, my wife and I stopped in at Brewery Bar III for a quick meal.  I already knew that the restaurant wasn’t a brewery at all, but a local chain of Mexican restaurants.  Apparently the first in the chain of restaurants was inside the old Tivoli Brewery in downtown Denver.  With that bit of knowledge the name makes a little more sense.  

Margarita along with complimentary chips and salsa.

After reading that the margaritas were on special, I decided that I had to try one.  I wasn’t given an option to have salt on the rim, but happily mine came served that way anyway.  The drink was good.  I wish the same could be said for the chips and salsa.  The chips are obviously not fresh prepared, and I’m not sure if the salsa is either.  It could have easily come right out of a jar.  If it was in a jar, it would have been labeled spicy.  Perhaps the spiciness was the only redeeming character.  At this point I wasn’t expecting much from the meal.  

Three chicken soft tacos.

I decided to try the special of the day, which was three tacos and a margarita for only $8.95.  I had already ordered the margarita for the happy hour price of $4, so this was an easy choice.  I was given the option of having hard or soft tacos, as well as either beef or chicken.  I went with chicken soft tacos.  At this price I wasn’t expecting too much, especially after the chips and salsa tasting.  Unfortunately my expectations were met.  The tacos were very plain, though I added some taco sauce which did help some.  Still they were filling and very cheap.  

Combo 1: crisp chili relleno and a smothered burrito.

The redeeming dish of the night was what my wife ordered, the Combo 1 featuring a crisp chili relleno and a smothered chicken burrito.  She choose to have it all smothered in both hot and mild green chili.  The hot green chili was definitely hot, but was by far my highlight of the meal.  The chili relleno was also very delicious.  The smothered chicken burrito was as to be expected, but also hit the spot with the addition of green chili.  Green chili makes everything better.  If we decide to eat here again I will be sure to try dishes that are served with their selection of chilis.

This past Sunday I enjoyed my second day on the slopes this season with the same group that headed up two weekends ago.  This time we decided to check out Breckenridge.  The snow wasn’t as good as we had at Keystone on our first day, but it was still pretty good in spots.  Down low on the mountain there wasn’t much snow and even the groomers got pretty rough toward the end of our day.  However, Rob and I found some good snow up higher on peaks seven and eight.  In order to reach these slopes, I had to conquer the t-bar.

I had never tried the t-bar prior to Sunday, but have had my share of falls on rope tows and a platter lift at Vail.  Before hopping on the t-bar I sat just above it and watched other snowboarders use it so I got an idea of what to do.  Though the t-bar can accommodate two people at once, the first time up I decided to do it on my own.  Just before grabbing the pole, I asked the lift attendant for any advice and he told me to stand up.  I chuckled quickly before it was time to grab on and go.  I surprised myself by not falling down right away.  After a quarter of the way up my arms began to ache and I struggled to keep the t-bar parallel to the ground.  It was at that point I realized that I had the bar too high and I moved it down lower under my butt.  The remainder of the ride went smoothly.

At the top we enjoyed some of the best snow we had seen all day.  Once back at the bottom I knew it was time to ride the t-bar again.  This time I decided that Rob and I should easily be able to catch a lift together.  While waiting our turn Rob let me know that he had never ridden the t-bar with a snowboarder before.  I think he was a little nervous too.  Again I had no problems catching the bar and starting up the hill.  In fact, this ride was even easier than the first time.  Not only was the bar in the correct position the whole time, I didn’t have to use my right arm to try to keep the bar parallel to the ground.  It was a great success!  I look forward to many more rides up the t-bar in the future.

Recently we have done a lot to prepare for our little bundle of joy’s arrival.  Our childbirth classes started last Tuesday and will continue for three more weeks.  We are also doing lots of painting around the house, while we still have time to do so.  This weekend we actually sat down for about eighty minutes to prepare in another way, by watching the recently released movie titled Babies.  The subject of this movie has been a hot topic among friends, and this movie came as a fun recommendation.

Babies follows four different children from their birth through about one year of age.  The four come from very different parts of the globe: Ponijao from Opuwo, Namibia; Bayarjargal from Mongolia; Mari from Toyko, Japan; and Hattie from San Fransisco.  Though the environments that these babies are brought up in are very different, they all seem to develop at very similar rates and do pretty much the exact same things.  Though Ponijao spends most of her time in the dirt, she actually appears to be the first of the children who learns to walk.  Perhaps since she is left on her own to get around, she develops the skill more quickly out of necessity.

The movie itself has no narration, no clearly discernible language, just wonderful imagery of the children spliced together.  The intent must be to let the actions of the babies tell the story, which I think the movie does pretty well.  I would have been curious to see if some dialog would have made it even more powerful.  As it is hard for me to relate to the children growing up in underdeveloped nations, I think more information on the daily lives of these people could have created even more of a storyline.  Regardless, the movie was entertaining enough and easily conveys a message that despite differences, children from different cultures are very similar.

With one week down in the Jenny Challenge, I have completed 28 miles. I am well on my way to finishing the full 100 by Christmas. My dad is nearly leading the way for all participants with 41.2 miles in the first week. He is winding down his training for the Rocket City Marathon in my birth town of Huntsville, Alabama. I’m thinking that he should shoot for 200 miles by Christmas.

I had bowling and a hockey game last night. Bowling was first and I had an alright night. My scores were 106, 103, and 114. I doubt my average of 113 moves down very much. My team has climbed into first place and should remain there after winning all three games last night. Next week is the last week, but I will have to miss it unfortunately. There is talk of another league starting up in February.

My hockey game didn’t go any better. I didn’t play particularly well after the Chipotle dinner and a couple of beers at the bowling alley. We actually played pretty well as a team and only lost by two goals, 5-3.

Finally, I had a couple of wins and a loss in last weekends fantasy football. In the winning leagues, I sit comfortably in third and fourth place and should make the playoffs in both. Unfortunately in the other league, the loss could cause me to miss the playoffs. I need the guy who took my spot to lose, and I need a win, for there to be any chance of making it. I am in sixth place in both pick’em games, so those aren’t looking too promising either.

This past Sunday my wife and I ventured out of the house for breakfast.  We still had a Groupon to use at Breakfast on Broadway so we drove that way again.  We arrived to find a line out the door and decided to walk over to Bites, a newer cafe that we had noticed a few times before.  It’s only a block or so north on Broadway, so the walk was simple.  We arrived at Bites to find it halfway full.  After quickly glancing at a menu we decided to grab a table for the two of us. 

Biscuit And Gravy

 

We both started with a chai latte, which came served in a pint glass.  I enjoyed the drink very much, but my wife thought it could have been hotter.  When her chai gets too cool, she doesn’t enjoy it anymore, and she wasn’t able to finish the entire thing.  We both decided to order items from the specials, not from the menu.  I ordered the biscuits and gravy while she ordered the pumpkin and walnut pancakes.  She also added a couple of eggs while I also chose an order of the rosemary potatoes. 

Rosemary Potatoes

 

Overall, the food was very good.  I could immediately tell that the biscuit was baked from scratch, and it tasted wonderful.  The accompanying sausage gravy was also very good with nearly enough spice for me.  I added a little Cholula (as seen in the first photo) to spice it up even more.  The rosemary potatoes were also quite delicious, but weren’t served as hot as I would have liked.  My wife’s pancakes were also very good and didn’t even need to have any maple syrup added to them.  We will definitely be back to try more of their delicious food. 

Pumpkin And Walnut Pancakes