Happy birthday to me! To celebrate, my friends came over and Mike cooked for us.

Appetizers: Serrano Pepper Hummus (see below for recipe) and Plain Hummus

Main Course: Greek Chicken on the Charcoal Grill

Sides: Orzo and Watermelon Salad, Tomato and Cucumber Salad, Greek Pasta Salad and Greek Isle Bread

Dessert: Rum Cake and Sugar Cookies

Several have asked for the Serrano Pepper Hummus recipe so here it is!

2 smoked serrano dried chiles with stems removed

2 large garlic cloves

1 1/4 cups of water

2 T white wine vinegar

pinch of salt, pinch of sugar (you can adjust these to your tastes) In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, dry toast the chiles and garlic, about 2-3 minutes then add the remainder of the ingredients and simmer for 12-15 minutes until the water is reduced by 1/2 stirring occasionally. Strain the chiles and garlic and set aside to cool; reserve 1/2 cup of liquid and cool to room temp.

In a food processer, place 1- 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained, 1.5 T tahini, 2 T olive oil, 1 T lemon juice, 1 T paprika, 1 t. ground cumin, cooled chiles, cooled liquid, and several mint leave. Blend until smooth.

To serve: place in shallow dish or plate leaving a well in the middle for some olive oil or grapeseed oil – this tones down the spice.

This weekend we took Sandy on her first backpacking journey. She usually hikes around 6-7 miles at a time through tough terrain but this terrain was very hilly! She hiked around 3 miles and just sat down panting. She decided not to continue and I had to carry her for another mile or so. All three of us had substantial packs on for our weight so Mike carried her bag and I carried her! Needless to say, we quit our hike when we made it to our camping spot for the night and then made our 2 night stay into a one night stay for Sandy’s sake. I guess she’s not just that into backpacking! Next time, she will stay at the vet’s and Mike and I will go together. On a positive note, we went to the Lost Creek Wilderness in Pike National Forest and it was so lovely! The pinkish Pike Peak’s granite highlighted the walls of the trail and the 150,000 acres of land provide solitude for our adventure. There was lots of water available and we even went for a dip in the icy snow melt.  Sandy seemed to enjoy sleeping in the tent and enjoyed sniffing the perimeters of the campsite.  The night was pitch black and QUITE! I didn’t hear anything which of course made me wonder about predators though we didn’t encounter any problems throughout the night.  It was a lovely place and a great time even if we didn’t stay 2 nights. Mike did however get the new front door up instead so a good trade off! See my pictures on FB.

7 years ago, Mike and I were married on this day. How time flies! Much has happened in 7 years of marriage and a total of 13 years together. Happy anniversary, sweetie!

Yesterday, I received a call from Aunt Cindy and an e-mail from Uncle Steve. He was passing through town and wanted to stop by on his way to the Dakota’s for another job. He was coming from lovely California and Denver was his stop in between. I was so excited to get his call though his visit is only a short one. We spent the evening with him and will be having breakfast with him this morning before saying “happy travels!” I am so glad he stopped by to see us even if it was only a short time.

We enjoyed a wonderful day in Breckenridge in March for the last ski day of the year!  The weather was amazing, sun the entire day and it was warm. The ski conditions were awesome – 7-10 inches during the week and one the night before.  We had amazing runs on Peaks 7 and 8 and the best part was that it wasn’t crowded! What a great end to ski season!

V and Eric returned to Colorado in March to make their yearly visit.  This year, we took a bike ride along the Platte River, went to Winter Park for Mike and Eric to ski and for V and I to snow tube, went to Dinosaur Ridge and Lookout Mountain.  We went to a Bon Jovi concert and enjoyed sushi, Cajun food and Vesta Dipping Grille. We had a wonderful couple of days and nice weather to go along with it.

My best friend since high school, Ann (also in my wedding), invited me to join her in Tahoe for 3 days of skiing! I will just start with Tahoe as being AMAZING and anyone who lives there is so lucky! Tahoe is nestled in the mountains, surrounded by snowy mountains with desert looming in the background, and of course, Lake Tahoe visible from the peaks. We went to Heavenly Ski Resort which is simply Heavenly! The first day was a bluebird day, the second day was cut short for a huge storm that brought in 15-18 inches of snow, and the third day was a powder day! It was perfect the entire time. Unfortunately, Mike was unable to join us because he had training however, I called him every day to let him know what he was missing.

Every year for the past 12 years, Mike has come up with extensive dinners to make me on Valentine’s day. This year was no exception. He began cooking around noon and the food was ready around 5. This year, the menu consisted of the following dishes.

Salad: Arugula, pear and roasted grape salad with homemade shallot dressing
Main dish: Bison steak with Ancho pepper sauce
Side: Rosemary roasted potatoes
Dessert: Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Berries

Pictures will follow. Everything was great!

We spent 2 weeks in the midwest and south over Christmas. First, we arrived in E’ville and spent time with both of our families. We went to our favorite restaurants, visited our family, and drove by our old home. We visited the Keys again but this time stayed in Tavernier which was lovely. We had 3 nice days and a major cold front moved in. It was the coldest it’s been since the 1930′s! The next 3 days, we had highs in the 50-60′s, one day of which was cloudy and COLD! It was literally warmer in Littleton than in the southernmost point of the US. Weird, huh?

It’s been so long since I blogged that I almost forgot my password! Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season to you and your family. I hope this year was filled with enjoyment, love and many blessings. Another year has gone by and Mike and I are doing well. We continue to enjoy living in Colorado and cannot believe we’ve been here for a year and a half! Mike is working for SBS as a software developer and manager. I am working for the University Hospital in the NICU and the Children’s Hospital as a pediatric physical therapist. We have taken several trips this year around the lovely state

mostly exploring the parks and mountains. This winter, we hope to take some skiing lessons, try cross-country skiing, and continue with snowshoeing. We’ve had several friends and family visitors and enjoyed the company! We witnessed our first (but not last) major snowfall in October where we “enjoyed” 24 inches of snow! I was only off for one day and went to work the next day. When I lived in Indiana, that much snow would have kept us home from work for a week! The weather is lovely but totally unpredictable. 60’s in January, snow in July then 90’s the next week, and blizzards in October, what more could you want? We are finding our niche in Colorado meeting new people (and reconnecting with old college and high school friends), enjoying new activities, and trying new things. Who knew I would ever enjoy horseback riding? We continue the slow process of fixing up the house. We finally got new carpet and got living room furniture! It’s been time consuming but coming together! We welcomed our first niece, Olivia, this past August and she is darling! We cannot wait to see her at Christmas. Hope you and your family are doing well. If you ever find yourself out my way, please look us up!

Love, Mike and Juliette