All play and no work makes for a very boring blog post. This past weekend and the past two days have been a lot of fun, but I'm too tired to post anything of significance. Plus - the Wings/Avs game is on and I must focus my attention elsewhere.

However, I had a kick ass Saturday, going to Henry's party (our nephew's first bday) and then hosting a bridal shower for an amazing friend, Shira. I have many stories about the shower and the fabulous karaoke songs we did later on in the evening, but I'll save that for another time. Let's just say it involved me strolling onto the dance floor trying to woo the crowd and Natalie rockin the blow up guitar. Oh - and Shira begging the KJ and bartender to let us sing another song - in which they [happily] agreed and allowed an entourage of people on stage as an encore.

Last night, we all (meaning Room 214 - except JU b/c you're stuck in SB) went to see The Raconteurs at The Fillmore. Great time - great show, although I'm soon realizing that I'm a critic and self-proclaimed Phish snob. I'm working on it, though - I'm happy to be expanding my musical experiences and love our company outings.

Okay - it's now 2-1 (Wohoo Go Wings), must watch hockey. Here's a pic of the guys from work: James, Ben, Jason and Stepan (blog coming soon).

Tags: karaoke, room 214, company outings, family

Who didn't love making mix tapes for that 'special' someone? You know the routine, taking hours to organize your mix perfectly - carefully choosing the correct songs for the lucky recipient, blending slow and fast songs until you found the perfect marriage. It's art. I know some people who were amazing at making the ultimate mix tape, their timing and song selection was impeccable.

I wasn't that good at it. I composed only a few that I can really be proud of. I distinctly remember making one of just Milli Vanili songs rearranged from the album order (that wasn't one of my proudest). I listened to it on my walkman during take off on a flight to Texas when I was 12. I know, I'm still that much of a rebel. Getting back to the main point, I just wasn't good at it and really envied those who were. I hope the saying that 'we are our own worst critics' rings true, because I'm about to take another stab at mixing. Maybe I can redeem myself and gain some new skills.

If you have yet to get over to Mixwit and make your friends a mix, I would suggest making that your good deed for the day. They'll be thrilled to receive a link containing your faves - hint, hint.

Now on to my first revisit of the mix tape, for your listening pleasure while you're exploring the site. This one is a short '80s mix, but I plan on doing a nice old school rap one in the near future. I'll make sure to post it as I know you're all eagerly awaiting.

Billie Jean sounds bad-ass with headphones on, just to let you know.

My thoughts on Mixwit: I think they need to expand their library that is powered by Seeqpod or Skreemr, but as far as making an '80s mix, the selection seemed to be pretty good. I did have a few annoying points where I would add a song to my tape only to notice that it wasn't really available. They need to implement/enable a social media interface when they are out of beta, so you can see what your friends are cooking up, instead of just viewing/listening to rando's mixes. Also, you don't have your own page, so each mix you make has a distinct url.

I didn't spent too much time on the site, maybe as I get into more mixes, I'll have some other points for review. As of now, it seems pretty fun and their player is sweet. Their cassette skins are great, too - who knew I was still partial to clear tapes? Oh - and it's Easy (like Sunday morning).

Tags: mixwit, mix tape, seeqpod, skreemr, social media

The first couple of chapters in Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential made me feel like I had just tied my apron on and was back in the restaurant industry. Thankfully, the book has progressed to some pretty interesting and amusing stories. I just finished the chapter where Bordain talks about things he stays away from when dining - and realized that I have a short list of my own.

For those of you who don't know me, I managed a brewpub in Portland, OR for 5 years. I actually really enjoyed the restaurant industry, there are a lot of positive aspects about it. First off, the money is great, it's a very social atmosphere, and you have your days off. I spent a good amount of time hiking in the gorge, going to the coast and snowboarding on Mt. Hood. However, you have to endure really long hours, physically demanding work and you constantly smell like onions. I did take away some lifelong lessons, and in the spirit of Bordain, I thought I'd share a few 'restaurant don'ts.'
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Tags: anthony bourdain, kitchen confidential, restaurant tips, book reviews

What is everyone doing to reduce their footprint? I'd like to think I'm relatively eco-conscious, but I know there is a lot more I can be doing. I live in a built green, energy-efficient town home, use all compact fluorescent bulbs, have energy efficient appliances and try to use recycled paper products as well as chemical-free cleaning products.

However, I could; buy all of my groceries locally (when I can), ride my bike more often, use reusable cloth bags when grocery shopping, could have used green paint when painting my house, and the list goes on. It's difficult financially to be 'green'- ah, different post for a different day.

Here are a few tips floating around online today that I don't normally see in the popular posts about how you can lead a more eco-friendly lifestyle:

• A reusable mug: Maybe I haven't noticed this because I don't drink coffee, but for those of you that stop at Starbucks every morning - this is a great tip, much less discussed than the reusable tote bag.
• Get your ice cream in a cone instead of a cup: I very rarely get ice cream without the cone, but will make the environment over calories argument a permanent change.
• De-lint the dryer to improve the efficiency: I think most of us probably do this, but did you know we're saving the environment, too?
• Use safe paints: I mentioned this earlier, however, I learned a cool tidbit from a Home Depot employee a couple of weeks ago. Boulder has the highest amount of 'Green' paint sales than any other Home Depot in the country. I also recently learned that the busiest Whole Foods (according to annual revenue) is the Boulder location. I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise.
• Shut down your computer: We all know this - but how many of us just hit stand by because we don't want to boot it up again when we log on next?

That's all for now. If I run into any other 'less familiar' green tips, I'll post them. Hope everyone is having a good Earth Day and is doing at least one good deed for the environment today! I'm gong to try to clean up trash in my neighborhood (I live in a construction zone) during the second intermission of the Flyers game. I know, not much, but at least it's something.

Tags: earth day, eco-friendly lifestyle, green tips, go green

At least on 4/20 I was. I was busy planting some flowers in our new flower boxes that I put out on the porch and even thought about making a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond. "I don't know - I don't know if we'll have enough time."

While I was being domestic, just 2 miles from our house on the CU Campus, the largest 4/20 celebration in the US was in progress with more than 10,000 people in attendance and no arrests. That's pretty impressive.

The Daily Camera, Boulder's local paper has a fun article and had a reporter on site: 

Tags: boulder, cu 4/20 celebration, cu