Spring Fever

I am obsessed with yellow right now. Specifically yellow flowers. Etsy has become a very dangerous place...


from annyyca


from yarntwisted


from Flauxers


from 5andUnder


from ArtmadeByTammy


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The Horse Boy

Last night, Danny and I went to the Rocky Mountain PBS Community Cinema event at the Starz FilmCenter. Community Cinema is a free event, open to all that gives a sneak peak of an upcoming episode of PBS’s documentary series Independent Lens, followed by a panel discussion. Its goal is to start conversations, at the event and following it.

Last night, the screening was of The Horse Boy. The Horse Boy is about a family with an autistic son named Rowen. They discovered that the only time Rowen was calm was when he was on the back of a horse, so they decide to do something crazy...they go to Mongolia, the place where horses were first domesticated, in search of shaman healing. The movie follows their journey, both physical and emotional.



The story was incredibly moving, and the strength of the parents (and any parent of an autistic child) left me without words. As simply a woman who is planning to have children, I was on the verge of tears throughout the entire screening. I was imaging being in their place...the lengths you would go to as a parent to help your child...the emotional ups and downs...the desperation....the strength...the hope....I literally have no words. I can only hope that if something like that happened in my life that I would find the strength somewhere.

The panel discussion following the screening was equally as fascinating. It was made up of a shaman healer, a representative of the Autism Society of Colorado, and a DU professor who studies hipotherapy and other animal therapies. First of all, I found it so interesting that there is a practicing shaman in Denver. But, one of the most shocking facts revealed during the discussion is that Colorado ranks 51st in the US for funding for people with disabilities. The majority of Autism Society of Colorado's funding comes from private donations, and awareness is key. Did you know that autism is an epidemic? According to the CDC, 1 in every 169 eight year old children in Colorado have an autism spectrum disorder. Chances are that you know someone who has a child who falls within the spectrum.

The whole event left me wanting to do more and do something to raise awareness, even if it's a small thing (like talk about it here). PBS is going to broadcast The Horse Boy sometime in the month of May, so check your local PBS listings for the date and time. It's a wonderful film and such an inspiring and deeply moving story.

And, if you'd like to make a donation to the Autism Society, then do it! Donations are crucial in the Autism Society's ability to serve the autism community, and even a small donation could make a big difference in someone's life.

Circle of Life

For my 10th birthday, I invited boys to my party. We were going to go to the movies, and because boys were coming, I picked a movie I thought they would like (I can't remember which). Surprise, surprise, the boys didn't show which meant we could go see the movie I really wanted to see - The Lion King. I had already gotten the soundtrack and knew the words to all the songs before we even got in the theater.

Weekend Recap: Not too much

We had a relatively lazy weekend. We had a decent amount of stuff go on during the week and have company coming next, so we decided to take the opportunity to get plenty of couch time.

Friday night, we went to the Denver Theatre Company's production of Othello. It was performed in the Space Theatre of the Denver Performing Arts Center, and it was a perfect setting for this play. It's a small theater in the round with raised seating all the way around, so the stage itself is in the center. Instead of looking up at a stage from an auditorium, you are watching from above and get the feeling that you eavesdropping on the characters, not watching a play. The performance was excellent (much better than my last Shakespeare experience). John Hutton who played Iago was wonderful, as was everyone else down to the actor who only had a few lines. This is a long video, but here is a collection of clips from the play to give you a taste, and if you're in Denver and have a chance before it closes on Saturday, go see Friday night, we went to the Denver Theatre Company's production of . It was performed in the Space Theatre of the Denver Performing Arts Center, and it was a perfect setting for this play. It's a small theater in the round with raised seating all the way around, so the stage itself is in the center. Instead of looking up at a stage from an auditorium, you are watching from above and get the feeling that you're eavesdropping on the characters, not watching a play. The performance was excellent (much better than my last Shakespeare experience). John Hutton who played Iago was wonderful, as was everyone else down to the actor who only had a few lines. This is a long video, but here is a collection of clips from the play to give you a taste, and if you're in Denver and have a chance before it closes on Saturday, go see Othello.

Also well-worth mentioning is the costuming. This production was set at the turn of the century instead of the typical Shakespeare time period, and all the costumes are made specifically for the play. The costumes of the female characters were beautiful, and as a lover of clothing, I was always excited for a costume change so I could examine detailing of the new piece. I'd go see it for the clothing alone. It makes it that much more that the performance was so good.



And, a hilarious video of how the story would have been different if Desdemona had had a sassy, gay friend...

Saturday started with some coffee and cheesy potato goodness (mmm....) and was followed by some movie and tv watching which lasted for about 6 hours. Saturday night we headed to Sobo 151 to watch the Avs playoff game...and that's all we'll say about that except that Sobo 151 had great food and was a lot of fun.

Sunday, we made it out of the house by 2 to catch a showing of Waking Sleeping Beauty which was about how basically every one of my favorite childhood movies came into existence. I came home and told Danny that we would have to have a Disney movie marathon. He wasn't as excited about the idea as I was...

And, that was our weekend. Not too much although we did actually leave the indoors at least once a day which is pretty good for a lazy weekend.

A thought

(Via Marvelous Kiddo)

Another reason I'm glad we moved - our health

Jeri sent me an article yesterday that explains that there has been a significant rise in the obesity rate in the US over the last 20 years.

Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated from a person's weight and height and provides a reasonable indicator of body fatness and weight categories that may lead to health problems. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Alabama has the second highest rate at 31.4% (eeek!). The only state that has a rate lower than 20% - Colorado.



Way to go, new home!

Free School

I just signed up for a free (yes, free) cooking class called Vegan! Vegan! Vegan! (Baking, Meal Planning, and More). Since my flirtation started, I'm always on the lookout for recipes and ways to learn more about vegan cooking, and free makes it even better.

The reason the class is free is because it's being offered by the Free School Denver.

Free School Denver is a grassroots education network free of monetary obligations, censorship, and hierarchy. We strive to educate and enrich our community through the accessible exchange of skills, knowledge, and expertise. We invite you to join us, and take part in our shared quest for freedom in education!

Pretty great idea, huh? I'm signed up for the cooking class next Monday, so I'll let you know how it goes!

Easter Weekend: Art & Theatrics

What a wonderfully wonderful Easter weekend we had! We actually did nothing Easter related except for having Good Friday off and wearing springy clothes, but anyway...

Friday started with dropping the kid - I mean, pup - off at daycare. Then the husband and I walked over to Tattered Cover for breakfast & coffee and a few hours of peaceful reading in big wingback chairs surrounded by thousands of books. After we got our morning fill of reading, we grabbed our bikes, and rode over to the Denver Museum of Art. We randomly stopped for lunch along the way at Pints Pub which we learned has the largest selection of Scotch outside of Britain; they, also, brew their own beer and have good food - all in all, a great find!

I had never been to the DAM, so I was really surprised to see the entire Civic Center Cultural Complex. There's crazy architecture, old architecture, and large art installations. Loved it!


(photo via Tufts)

Although we didn't get to see everything, what we did see at the DAM was wonderful. It was the final weekend of a an exhibit called Embrace! which involved different artists transforming the unique spaces of the building into works of art, so I was really glad we made it in time to see it.

After the museum, we rode home to pick up the pup. I have to share the adorable report card that she got from daycare. Too much cuteness!



We dropped her off at home where she immediately passed out on the floor (didn't even make it to somewhere soft), and then head to a dinner party which involved wine, red snapper, homemade mac and cheese, carrots, and banana pudding. Mmmm....

Saturday was pretty lazy, so we'll skip to Sunday. Accompanied by Knox and Rachel, we went to see the Easter matinee of Cirque Dreams: Illumination which was craaaazzzyyy!



After the show, we went to Sushi Sasa for an early dinner. If you don't know this yet, I LOVE sushi! It was the perfect end to a seriously fabulous weekend.

We're Famous!

Our lovely wedding photog, Allison, just launched a blog and a brand-new website. I love photography blogs! So many beautiful pictures of happy people. She did a post about wedding cakes, and our cake was featured!



I've, personally, always thought our wedding was feature-worthy, and I'm glad Allison agrees. We're famous!

Flirt

I am a flirt. Hold your comments, please, because I mean a vegan flirt. My name is Nicole, and I have been flirting with veganism.

For the past year or so, I have cut down on the amount of meat I eat. In fact, most of the time, I go for the vegetarian choice on the menu instead of the burger or chicken breast. After watching some coverage of Food, Inc. and the like, I decided to do some research into vegetarianism and veganism.

I picked up The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone's vegan cookbook. The first part of the book is a discussion of veganism: how she arrived at being vegan, the cruelty of the meat and dairy industry, the health benefits, etc. I've always heard rumors of the benefits - clearer skin being one. But I hadn't really thought about how kind of strange it is that we drink the milk of other animals. In the animal kingdom, that's not normal. I also didn't know about the research being done into the relationship between dairy and cancer rates. We are told that you have to drink milk to get calcium, but according to The Kind Diet, the calcium in milk actually makes your body use more calcium than you're ingesting. It's actually been a huge marketing campaign by the milk industry (similar to the "A Diamond is Forever" campaign started by De Beers). You can get great levels of calcium from so many other things - greens, almonds, sesame seeds, soybeans - and their calcium is actually more readily absorbed by the body.

While veganism really intrigues me, two major things will prevent me from becoming truly vegan.

1. Sushi
2. Cheese

I cannot happily live without these two things. But that I have made some changes. At home, I've cut out out all animal products (except for cheese and seafood). No eggs. No milk. No butter. If I'm out, then I look for the vegan option. I believe that every little bit helps - me and our planet's animals. Although I don't label myself as anything, I guess at this point I am closest to a pescatarian (occasional vegan), but I make no promises; we'll just have to see how this goes. For now, you can just call me a flirt.