Sunday, June 27, 2010

How does our garden grow?

Our garden grow b/c Corey sprinkles Cayenne pepper around the perimeter of our yard... this tactic helps to keep those damn squirrels out of our yard. It keeps them from eating our veggies so they can grow...Here are some pix of how great our garden is growing :)

Potatoes | We're growing potatoes in a metal trashcan out back. You can't really tell from this pic but we probably have 5 potatoes in the works right now with more to come later!
Tomatoes | We have 4 tomato plants going, these are the plants that the squirrels really try to get to. They're growing pretty well, this is the veggie I look forward to the most!
Jalapenos | I also really look forward to Jalepenos. We use them in everything, jalepeno poppers, salsa, we stuff them in fish, steaks, sushi. I love me some jalapenos!
Basil + Cilantro | I love these too b/c I always use cilantro, but I almost always forget to buy it at the store. Now, I just pop outside and pick some cilantro and I'm good to go. We're also starting to use basil a lot...I mean it's right there.

Friday, June 25, 2010

91% Fun Factor...

My E3 is back...what is an E3 you ask, well it's the "test" I took at work today to determine my behavioral attributes, critical growth areas an motivators, it stands for the Essentials Employment Experience. If you want to read the entire report, just make a comment with your email and I'll send it to you.

I know the chart above is quite small but I'm going to explain what my test results determined about me. I felt the test was pretty accurate with some areas of discrepancies. For those of you know know me, some of these will come as no surprise...
My highest number was 92% and that was in the category of Dominance. Wowza, 92%. "high scorers in dominance are leaders who need to be in charge". Let's start there, I LIKE to be in charge, but do I NEED to be in charge? I guess so... "They are able to influence others", remember folks, I took this for my JOB, which is ah hem, to influence kiddos to choose the right school for them...The negatives for Dominance are "tend to be impatient and move very quickly", sounds about right to me...just ask Corey, I tend to struggle with need to wait for people, answers, etc. I am impatient.

I am tied at 87% with Exhibition and Aggression. When I first read the titles I was a little taken aback, but then I read what that actually means in the E3. Aggression are "competitors who love to win, they take stands for themselves, others, and what they believe to be right". I love to compete, I do. I also like to win. I guess this is why, in my personal life, I like to enter races.

(me being competative)
When I first read Exhibition I was totally shocked, what?! I was! It says they "thrive being in the limelight", but in reality I don't like when people are focused on me. Then I was talking to my boss and she made a great point, if I didn't actually like to be in the limelight then I wouldn't have a job where people stare at me for 9 months out of the year (I give presentations in high school classrooms.). Tru dat.

I am not going to go over every single point here, as it measures 21 different categories, I think I'll just stick to the ones in which I Had extreme percentages.

My second highest category was fun...no surprise here. We all know I like to have fun...

(me having fun with ashpants)
But even I thought 91% was high. Turns out people like being with me b/c I "know how to have fun". My behavior "can sometimes be over the top". I knew that was coming...I'm wearing a polar bear on my head for crying out loud (however, the polar bear head was totally acceptable in this situation and in no way "over the top").

I was a little worried when I saw 3 low points in a row on my chart...turns out it's not such a bad thing.

My self-control is low. I could have told you that. If I want a donut, I'm going to have a donut. But that's not the only thing this category is explaining. Here is the definition for a low score in Self-Control (i got 12%):

Low scorers in self-control prefer instant gratification. They enjoy fun, excitement, risk, adventure and quick rewards for their efforts. They are easily bored. Low scorers in Self-Control tend to bend the rules, stretch limits and thrive in Chaos. They are often charismatic and animated, but they are also impulsive and at times careless.

Well I guess there are pluses and minuses to everything, eh. I get bored easily and bend the rules, but i enjoy fun and excitement. I can't say I've never gotten in trouble b/c of these specific traits though ;) You have to break the rules sometimes right, didn't somebody say "rules were made to be broken"!! I saved the best for last b/c it's my WORST quality (or sometimes by best). I received a mere 8% in Submissiveness meaning I like a "good argument". I am sorry if I have argued with you over something stupid...if we have ever had a good convo then I am sure we have argued...it's so much fun :) Having such a low Submissiveness score means I am a risk taker, I make decisions quickly (sure, let's put a golf course in the front yard), the word QUIT occurs rarely, if ever in my vocabulary. Negatives: I can be stubborn. Duh. I'm not even going to go here. I am stubborn, I recognize this. I will work on
it.

Now that this test has made me realize my positive AND negative traits I will need to focus on and work on my negative traits. Don't fret, my test came back with a "how to" guide for "how to work on my negative traits". Most of the suggestions are right on, I am going to take them to heart. I learned that Healthy relationships involve moving between being in charge and allowing others to be in charge as well. I need to work on my "soft skills", leadership is most effective when one demonstrates caring to others. Care is demonstrated by taking the time to listen and solicit the opinions of othe ors, the best leaders combine dominance and high pro activity with NURTURING and "SOFT SKILLS".

What's really exciting about this test is that it fits in so well in both my personal and professional lives. I'm excited to keep having fun, but also excited to work on not blaming others, examining my role in conflict (it can't always be someone elses fault!) and listening to others' positions before forming and voicing my opinion so early.

So, what do you think, was the test accurate?

Monday, June 21, 2010

Telluride Bluegrass Festival

It's that special time of year again, the time when the Hayes Family gathers in TELLURIDE, COLORADO for 4 days of that fabulous music known as bluegrass! It truly was a knee-slapping good time, here's a little sample of one of the groups, Leftover Salmon. This is probably what Mark and Peggy were dancing to (below).
This years trip was a little different because we had TWO BABIE WITH US!!! These babies are getting exposed to Bluegrass earlier than most, but I think they LOVED it!
Here's a pic of the whole gang, 9 of us this year, woo hoo.
The lineup for T-ride was awesome, here's who we listened to for 4 days straight,



One One reason I always love festivals like this is because I get exposed to new music. This year some new groups I ended up liking were Cadillac Sky, The Hillbenders and Lyle Lovett. I of course still love the regulars like Yonder, Bela Fleck, Sam Fleming, etc.

NYC foodie

Oyster eating!
I kept my eyes peeled for Liz Lemon...but never caught a glimpse of her...even though I was staying mere feet from 30 Rockefeller Center. I am still in Awe of NYC. One thing I know for sure, she would have been down for my foodie tour around NYC...
NYC really turned me into a foodie for a week, above is a pic of a FANTASTIC Lobster Roll that I ate at Ed's Lobster Bar (222 Lafayette Street,NYC,(212) 343-3236), where I also tried the Lobster Ale. The restaurant was super fabulous, I also tried oysters for the first time...not bad. Pam's family and I sat at the bar which I think really added a whole different element to eating in NYC. We chatted it up with the oyster shucker and got to watch all the seafood preparation. Below is the Tuna Tartar from Ed's with fried pickles which are, apparently, a classic at this restaurant.



We ate at Mario Batali's restaurant called Babbo Ristorante, it. was. fantastic. Pam's daughter, Britt, made reservations months in advance, for my main course I had rabbit (below). we opened with Grilled Octopus, which I expected to be just like all the other octopus I have ever had...chewy, but it wasn't. The grilled factor gave it a whole new taste. Our Primi dish was a Goat Cheese Ravioli...it literally melted in my mouth, This Mario Batali really knows what he's doing! When we were leaving Britt tried to make reservations for she and her boyfriend but failed because Babbo was booked up for months....hint:make reservations early...like 3 months early. THANKS BRITT!!

The best thing about thinking of all this delicious food in NYC was the fact that I ate almost all of it with Pam, my co-workers family. Pam's daughter lives downtown with her boyfriend and the 5 of us (Pam, Tim-husband, Britt, Tim-Britt's boyfriend and I) were all foodies in NYC together.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

New York, New York


Brooklyn Bridge (above). View from Britt's roof (below).

1. I got ripped of by a cab
2. I got splashed by a cab
3. I almost was hit by a cab

And yet, after all this I think I may have inadvertently started an affair...a love affair with NYC.

As most of you know, I love walking, I love neat neighborhoods that have their own vibe and people and I love trying new things. NYC encompasses all of these things, it's AWESOME!! I walked to all of my appointments today even though it was raining cats and dogs (fyi, umbrellas are cool here NOT raincoats).

I feel like I am in a foreign land. There are so many different types of people here speaking so many different languages, cars honking, markets right there on the main streets. The main thing that makes me feel like I'm in a foreign city is the Metro. There are metro stops everywhere and it's about 1/10 the price of a cab. I seriously wish D-town had a better public transport system, it's just soooo convenient, I went all over town for $2.25, north, south, east, west, uptown, downtown and midtown.

It's kind of disappointing because I just sort of figured out how to use the metro and a basic understanding of NYC, and now I'm off to all day meetings for the next 3 days. But, now that I know what's up I'm just going to do what I can in the evening and RUN around NYC on Sunday, my totally free, no-work-allowed day!!

On my to do list ( i guess we'll see if this happens) is:

a. MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)
b. Brooklyn Bridge
c. Central Park
d. Empire State Building

anything else you think I should hit on my first trip to New York, New York??


Monday, June 7, 2010

Red Rocks | John Butler Trio

EVERYONE, yes everyone needs to see a show at Red Rocks Amphitheater just outside of Denver. The shows there are a-mazing.

I went to see John Butler Trio on Friday night at Red Rocks. I honestly had heard only 4 songs of theirs before the show (thanks for the CD, Ash) but I still had a GREAT time. The acoustics, the view the people are all outstanding out at RR!

I ended up really liking good 'ol JBT, here's a sampling of their music stylings, enjoy!

hothouse, mama-tied, danger-hallucinating joy extinguishers.


I came across this article today on time.com, it's titled The Backlash of Overprotective Parents.

**I have no kids...only a dog.

The article really hit home for me because growing up I played outside, rode my bike (with a helmet, of course) to friends' houses a couple of blocks away and was generally adventurous... all with encouragement from my parents; I was NOT a hothouse, mama-tied, danger-hallucinating joy extinguisher. This article (click on link to go read it!!) talks about the poor kiddos who are constantly overprotected to the point where they are afraid of everything and have only a minimal (if any) sense of adventure and independence.

Some of the parents in the article think they are protecting their children by being overly cautious with them, but in my mind, and the article points this out as well, you might be protecting them in the short term, but in the long term are you really just damaging them further?

I know parents who let their kiddos roam, try new things, eat worms, etc. AND I know parents who don't let their kids play on playgrounds or drink from the drinking fountain at the public library...to each their own. Some methods that would work well for one set of parents might not work well for other parents. Live and let live I guess, you really can't control how people raise their little ones. For now, I will just focus on raising Britta and keep getting excited for my little niece who I'm due to meet in about a month, exactly!!

Who's to say what kind of parent I'll be, I'm a pretty protective doggy mama! Perhaps I will attempt to follow the advice of D.H. Lawrence

"How to begin to educate a child. First rule: leave him alone. Second rule: leave him alone. Third rule: leave him alone. That is the whole beginning."



Thursday, June 3, 2010

DIA chalk art time lapse

This is how I spent my Wednesday...I'm the one with the blue fedora ;)



Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Chalk Art









Today I experienced a new kind of art, Chalk Art!!



In order to prepare for the upcoming Chalk Art Festival in Larimer Square (this upcoming weekend, >200 artists) in Downtown Denver we did a promotional piece out at Denver International Airport. We had 10 rmcad peeps and 10 professional artists all "chalking" a 12x40 piece of pavement on the runway at Southwest Airlines. Our piece went between C41 and C42, so if you're at DIA in the next couple of days, go check it out!

















I love the idea of chalk art,it takes 15 of us collaborating for 5ish hours on one giant piece, all while knowing that what we are working so hard on is temporary. Today, with clouds looming not too far from us, our art could have been as temporary as 2 hours. But we were all ok with that, that is the beauty of chalk art. Those who are around, helping, watching, get to experience the works. You have to pay attention in the moment because if you go back the next day or possibly even the next hour, there is the chance that the art will be gone; washed away by sleet, rain or hail...

It was pretty awesome being on the tarmac at DIA. except that now I know how animals feel at the zoo. We were just out doing our thing all day long and people would come to the windows up above and tap on them and wave and take pictures, try to make us do tricks, bribe us with food, etc. It was a loud, hot day of being on display, but our awesome finished product rocked!















There were a few madonnari with us today. Madonnari are professional chalk artists. Most of the work I have seen from madonnari have been crazy awesome. Even today, our local madonnari were masters of color, shading, blending. One madonnari, Julian Beever, makes $20,000 per day doing huge chalk art pieces for grand openings (i.e. apple), private parties, huge events, international chalk art festivals. Check out his work (link below). One of my favorites is a piece called waterfall (1st link). Julian is known for doing 3d pieces, amazing works that really take you to a different place. You have to stand in a specific point to fully feel like the work is 3d.


http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever/waterfall.html


I fly out of DIA in one week, I fully intend on going to check out our tribute to Denver. If there haven't been any major storms, I bet it will still be there. But who knows....

**update** our videographer just put up a time lapse of our work yesterday on youtube, check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYFq1fAjd6s

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Colfax Art + Music Festival




This upcoming weekend we (Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design) are hosting the Colfax Art + Music Festival on our campus, woo hoo!


I am particularly excited because 3 of my girlfriends and I are having our own booth where we will be selling our goods. We've been jewelry making fools lately, cutting, gluing, baking, drilling, fools I tell you.





We're going to have a little bit of everything from necklaces to bracelets, earrings, headbands, pins, hairpins.


I'm a little nervous because it's the Peoples Fair downtown the same day....I just hope people find their way over to the RMCAD campus to check out our awesome booth.

Hope to see you there.

p.s. I of course take custom orders ;)