Holiday Blizzard 2006

It's not every day that you get to experience an all out blizzard, but when they come, it is really an extreme experience. Thank goodness Janelle and I were both at home yesterday by the time the snow really started piling up, as we are now stuck at home. As you can see in these pictures, which we just took minutes ago (that's Ryan's car in our driveway), there is no way to get around. Colorado has been declared in a state of emergency and the Governor has told everyone to stay indoors unless there is an extreme reason to leave.

That's fine with us, but I can't imagine being one of the 4700 plus people being stuck at the Denver airport for the past 24 hours or more! And they still have to wait, as they say that the airport won't even open until tonight at 7pm at the soonest! But the worst news is, since it is Christmas season, most flights are already very full, so the people that had their's cancelled may not be able to make it out until Christmas Eve or even Christmas day!

We are starting to worry if we will even be able to make it back to Peoria on Saturday like we planned. As of right now, all interstate highways in Colorado have been completely closed down until further notice! And interstate 80 in Nebraska is closed as well, at least halfway through the state, so we are just waiting to see when they reopen. The worst thing, even though the snow has started to slow down, there is still high risk of blowing snow. We have heard that there are snow drifts of up to 10 feet in areas!

So, right now, we are enjoying a cozy, lazy day at home with nothing to do but eat, watch movies, blog, and occasionally venture out into the the "Winter Wonderland!"

-Chris

More Blizzard Pics

It looks like it'll be a white Christmas in Colorado!

Annual Christmas Picture

Merry Christmas From the Bierdeman's!

Don't we look snazzy?

This year, we went up to the Big Thompson Canyon to take our Christmas shots, as it was snowy there, not to mention gorgeous. There was no snow left in Greeley, and we didn't want to take the same old Christmas shot in front of or in back of our house!

It's one of the many benefits of living in Colorado. We just need to drive a few minutes up in to the mountains, and we can find completely different weather. In fact, we can find snow almost any time of the year in certain areas! Plus, it's just beautiful country...


Janelle wanted me to try out a cowboy hat.

Look who lost 40 lbs this year!












Aloha...

Life after more than 2 months straight of traveling for work

Ahhhh...

It's so good to be home again! For more than three nights in a row!

That's right, for more than 2 months straight, September 11-November 16, I was almost continuously traveling for work. Never once did I have the chance to stay at home for more than 3 nights in a row. It was fun, but it was work. And it was a lot of time away from my friends and family.

I traveled to South Dakota, New York City, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and all over western Colorado including Aspen, Telluride, Durango, Steamboat Springs, and Vail. I have enough hotel shampoos and lotions under my sink now to fill a bathtub. In fact, if you're a guest at our household, you get your pick of dozens of varieties of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, and mouthwash!

I am glad it's done for the time being. I couldn't possibly travel like that all year-round. Maybe if I was single and had no friends or family. But what kind of life would that be?

The best thing about all the travel is the fact that it helps me appreciate home.

-Chris

Long time, no see

Here it goes...

Another really long, long time without a post on blogger.

I don't wanna apologize, as I feel as though that would get me nowhere.

Plus, why should I apologize? I never promised to write every other day, over even every three weeks! You should be glad I ever post at all!

Merry Christmas.

"Would you like to dance?" Part 2

We were warmly welcomed at the family reunion we semi-crashed and enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches and burgers with the townspeople. When the sun had set the party had barely begun. Bands designated "local favorites" tuned up, the dance floor was covered in sand, and the crowd began to move. Although unfamiliar with the country tunes being performed we joined in the gaeity using our most impressive dance move, "the pretzel!" (Thank you Becca!)

However, we were quickly outdone by the many talented teens pretzeling country western style around us-- girls were fairly flinging about! Impressed by the absence of the more well-known trend- bumping and grinding- we were further floored when an unknown youth in flannel politely asked a member of our party for her hand on the dance floor. She accepted and left us all giggling and gaping in their wake. We finished up our time in Sudoku, I mean Kadoka, breakfasting with our friends at the local Best Western with promises to see one another again soon.

"Would you like to Dance?" Part 1

This summer, Chris and I had the priviledge of visiting South Dakota for the first time. We celebrated the bicentennial in Kadoka, population 630. It was a cultural experience to say the least.

We traversed across lots of cow country in Nebraska to reach our destination city and on the way home we saw the Badlands,Wall Drug, the Cosmos, and Mr. Washington.

Our roadtrip was sparked by the presence of great friends and the promise of a fireman's ball. We were not dissapointed! (see Part 2)

Weekend-O-Love

If you know us well, you know we like to "O-rama" things. And, that's exactly how we decided to celebrate our 4th anniversary this year. Lately, Chris and I have been racing all over the country so we decided to stay home for a change and see what sorts of excitement we could drum up... hehe. We have come to fondly refer to this year's celebration as "The Weekend -O-Love."

We spent time floating around a wonderful water park (I even went on scary stuff!):

We spent time cooking a gourmet meal (check out the cake!):

We spent time improving our yard:

(Looks good doesn't it!?)

We spent time modeling:

HOTT!!!!

We just spent time together, being best friends and enjoying every minute of it. Thanks to all of you very special friends and family who shared not just our wedding day but our lives. We love you and each other more every day!

Oh, to graduate from high school

High school seems like so long ago. I mean, I graduated eight years ago, almost to the date! My life was so different then. I had no idea what I was going to do with myself, I was getting ready to go to college (and major in Computer Science nonetheless!), and I didn't have any really good friends to confide in.

This past weekend Janelle and I went back to Peoria, IL to celebrate my brother Cory's high school graduation from East Peoria Community High School (also my alma mater). We've been back to Peoria more times than I can count since I graduated, but it had been so long since I'd been back to the high school. It brought back so many memories-not just those of my own graduation 8 years ago, but of the 3 graduations held each year prior to my own. You see, as a high school band and choir geek, I had to attend graduation every year to play Pomp and Circumstance as well as play and sing selected pieces with the band and choir.

All of a sudden, while I sat on those ever-so-uncomfortable bleachers in the gym as the ceremony started, floods of memories poured into my head-of faces, laughs, music, teachers, and even homework-all of them, as if they had been hidden under a rock for all these years and just now uncovered. It was almost surreal.

Musings on Mini-Golf

Okay. So some of you have heard, others haven't, but I've been inspired recently to someday open and run my own mini-golf place. Not the traditional windmills and loop-de-loops of years past, but one of the more modern, "adventure" golf courses. One with the waterfalls, caves, landscaping, ponds, rivers, and challenging-but not too challenging-holes. My research says that I should stay away from "themes"; ie., pirates, jungles, mermaids, trolls, what have you; as they are more suitable for resort areas. If I stick to a more natural setting, have great visual appeal without going overboard or being cheesy, but still have a moderately challenging 18 holes, then people will keep coming back!

Also Greeley has no competition in this business! I would be a monopoly! Ha, ha, ha!

Seriously, though, after thoroughly researching this idea, it seems as though these quality mini-golf establishments do really well for themselves. They usually pay for themselves in the first year, even when their seasons are usually less than 6 months!

I have started a business plan and have even scouted some possible locations in the area. There are lots of options, but I don't know about prices yet. I know I could do all of this, except for the money part. That part being that I have none. And unfortunately it takes a lot to start up a new business. So now I'm stuck-how do I get started?

Sorry 'bout the wait, folks!

I want to honestly say "I'm sorry" to all of you who frequent our blog, that it has been so long since we have posted anything at all. You may have thought that we were just bored during April, and did nothing of substance to write about. However, if you did, you were most definately mistaken. It was quite the opposite in fact. There were two separate week-long trips to Chicagoland, 4 days in Albuquerque, NM, separate trips to Breckenridge and Vail, and multiple trips to Denver. I actually only worked in my office for 1 full day in April.

So, alas, I have much to write about, much to share. But unfortunately, I can't begin yet. I have over 30 voicemails to deal with, 10 emails to respond to, and 2 more travel reimbursements to finish today, and less than 3 hours left at work. AHHHHH!

Remember the Alamo?

On our way back through Texas, we had a chance to stop in San Antonio, to see the Alamo. Or so we thought. Not only did we get to "experience" the Alamo, we had an opportunity to see one of the coolest urban downtowns ever.

After we found a place to park, we walked down to the street from our parking garage to look at the map and directions on a street corner. But down from the street corner, we noticed waterfalls, tropical flora, and people bustling around below us. It was the riverwalk, the famous San Antonio Riverwalk, and we were amazed at how beautiful and fun it looked. We decided to find the Alamo later, and followed the sights and sounds of the water below us. It was perfect weather, sunny and warm, but not too hot. We treated ourselves to Haagen-Daaz, and just relaxed for a bit. Why couldn't we live close to something like this, we wondered?

There were strolling mariachis, riverside cafes galore, shops, boutiques, and even little boat rides the went up and down the river. We didn't want to leave! But we knew that the Alamo wouldn't be open all day, and it was almost 5pm, so we decided to find our way there.

Luckily, it wasn't very far away at all. It stood majestic in the middle of a downtown urban jungle, not quite what we were expecting! It almost reminded me of Europe, seeing all of their old buildings in between the modern and new ones. It seemed to be holding up well.

We had less than half an hour before it closed, but as the experience was free, we went ahead and saw everything we could in that little window of time. But it must have been spring break in Texas, because it was very busy with families and children on a Monday afternoon.

Although the Republic of Texas only lasted a short time, people there seem to be very proud of their state. It was interesting to read about the history of the place, the famous battle, and how early last century, the Alamo was actually used as materials warehouse before it was declared a museum and heritage site.

Overall, Janelle and I were very impressed with San Antonio. Not only do they have a great downtown area, warm weather, and close proximity to the beach, but housing costs are very low!!! We even stopped by a new housing developement in the area and found a very cute house in a great new neighborhood for an amazing price. Now if only we had friends or family down there!

The Lone Star State

Janelle and I took our first trip to Texas ever last week, and man, it is a big state! We drove all the way to Corpus Christi (on the Gulf Shore) from western Colorado. It took about 22 hours to get there, via Durango, CO, Albuquerque, NM, El Paso and San Antonio, TX. It was an interesting drive, full of beautiful scenery, new cityscapes, mountains, plateaus, and glimpses of Mexico across the Rio Grande in El Paso! We even had to drive through a border patrol hanger (even though we never crossed any international borders) and had a Border Patrol officer look into our car and ask if we were US Citizens!

We had a great time. We spent the greater part of 3 days on right on the beach on Mustang Island, with our tent literally mere yards from the water and waves. Although it wasn't quite as sunny as weather.com had promised, it was still sunny enough to get us kind-of tan and even burned in areas. It was also really windy, and we found out later that Corpus Christi is world reknown for wind surfing!

We ate at Whataburger--the local burger joint, played some mini-golf, walked up to a real-life aircraft carrier, managed to pretty-much avoid the obnoxious college spring break crowd, and even had the chance to gawk at the prices some people pay for stupid plastic beach-related paraphernalia at the tourist shops that entice you in with their gigantic fake sharks, mermaids, fountains, etc. connected to their cheap-o establishments.

But, alas, vacations can't last forever, and in fact this one didn't even last a full week! We made our way back through San Antonio and Fort Worth, TX, Oklahoma City, OK, Amarillo, TX, and Pueblo, CO. And in case you're wondering why I didn't bunch Amarillo in with San Antonio and Fort Worth, it's because Texas is friggin' huge and we had to cut back through it from Oklahoma City!

Desperate for sun and sea!

Well, when temperatures dropped below freezing and the sky in Greeley turned to slush, we just couldn't take it anymore! So, we searched weather.com until we found the warmest place on a beach within a 20 hour drive-- Lovely Corpus Christi, Texas! And, ladies and gentlemen, that is where we are headed. Although known for our last minute spontaneity, we believe that this could quite possibly be the craziest roadtrip we have heretofore proposed. We began our circuitous route just 12 hours after discovering the famed balmy waters and 82 degree temperatures of our destination. We hope to arrive by Saturday noonish to bask in the glory of it for two days before heading back home by way of Oklahoma City. We are sure to encounter an adventure or two along the way. We'll keep you posted!

Pictured: Us on the beach with our strong steeds, as you can see, Pilates sure works miracles! (ha!)

Not so loyal anymore!

You know those so-called "loyalty cards" that your local chain sandwich shop, coffee house, ice cream joint, etc. have planted by the cash register? I'd venture a guess, from a business standpoint that is, that their existence is assumably to entice you to keep coming back and become a regular customer at their store in exchange for some free sandwich, ice cream, or coffee.

Well it's really easy for the businesses to hand out the cards, and even for them to punch or stamp away at the cards...but they sometimes seem to have difficulty actually holding up their end of the bargain.

I recently have had-- on two separate occasions, I might add, and at two different businesses--problems with my so-called completed "loyalty cards". As a frequent business traveler, I can rack up stamps fairly quickly at certain establishments, and hence, become a fast regular. And of course, I save my cards for when I would have to pay the bill instead of my company! I think of it as a travel perk.

I love Quizno's toasty subs. Er, at least I did, until they treated Janelle and I like thieves a about a month ago. So, I had completed two whole cards at Quizno's, which meant Janelle and I could each get a free sub for lunch one Saturday. We strolled down to our local Greeley Quizno's, ordered our favorite subs, and when the lady at the cash register rung us up and read us our total, I grinned and gave her our 2 cards. She frowned, staring at the cards like they were counterfeit, flipping them over and squinting her eyes to read the fine print, and finally told us that there was no way she could possibly accept them. When we asked why, she stated that they couldn't be valid, because there was no restaurant stamp on them. Supposedly the issuing restaurant has a stamp with their location information on them to "validate" the coupon. She promptly showed us her stamp. When I told her that I had procured both cards at different Quizno's restaurants in two different states, and had never seen one with a validation stamp, she simply stated that she was "the manager, and it's not our policy to take unvalidated loyalty cards, so [we] would just have to pay for our subs." I couldn't stand it. After telling her that we were not paying for our subs, nor that we would ever eat there again--we left, upset and hungry.

I guess lightning does strike twice. Last night, after a long, hard day of spring cleaning, I told Janelle I'd take her out to Coldstone for ice cream. I knew that I had a free one coming to me, and it seemed like a great time to use it. I mean, you have to buy nine ice cream dishes there before you get the free one, which at Coldstone takes at least $50! So anyway, after we finally figured out which concoction to have made before our eyes, we were handed our Strawberry Cheesecake delicacy in a waffle bowl just before making it down to the cash register. As Janelle went to find us a table, again I smiled as I pulled out my special card. It took so long to fill up, but now I can prove I'm loyal enough for my free $5.47 frozen delight, I thought to myself. So I handed my card to the cashier guy, and waited for my "thanks for comin' in!" But that's not quite what I got. He said, "Yeah, man, we don't take these anymore...yeah, in fact, we just had a meeting today and we were told that we couldn't redeem anymore of these loyalty cards...so sorry...I don't know why." I attempted to control my rage. I knew that it wasn't this guy's fault, and that it was very possible that there were hundreds of other people out there that had faked these little things, so as to change the manager's mind about them. I don't know. But I paid my $5.47 for the ice cream that Janelle was already enjoying, and I cringed at the fact that I was paying into the lie. What kind of loyalty is that? How can they expect their clientele to be loyal to them, without them being loyal back?? What is this world coming to?

Winsor Pilates 101

After watching the Winsor Pilates info-mercial almost a year ago, I gave in and purchased their workout DVD for the low, low price of $9.99 with our selection of two free gifts since I had called within the next 20 minutes! It looked so easy! All we had to do was this 45 minute fat-burning workout every day for 10 days, and we would lose 10 pounds or a dress size! After that, we could work out only 5 days a week, alternating programs, and sculpt our bodies in mere months!

Well, after simply putting off starting the intense workout program for the last 11 months, we finally decided to give it a try a couple of days ago. What were we thinking? Well, Janelle and I have been trying to figure out a way to get back into shape in time for summer, and this seemed like an easy way to do it. We figured we should at least give it a try! Who knows?

So after 2 days, we are feelin' it! It's a lot harder than it looks, and wow, it works those abs! We better start shedding the pounds after this!

Yearning for Yellowstone

I know that this picture is actually of Grand Teton National Park, not Yellowstone, but it's a great picture, and only a few miles south of Yellowstone, so it works! Anyway, Janelle and I are planning a trip there this coming July, and we are so excited to experience the great outdoors in the untamed West!! And with all this cold weather we've had recently, I've also been yearning for a warmer climate--one in which I can go camping, swimming, and all things summer! But alas, it is still months before that time comes. But I can dream, can't I?

Eight Valentine's, but what did we do last year?

On this, our 8th annual Valentine's celebration, we decided to explore the downtown night life of Denver. The trip, which began with us both ordering extra hearty portions of pasta at The Olde Spaghetti Factory, was a wonderful success. We explored the adventures of the 16th Street Mall, where Chris tried desperately to get me to try on a full-fledged wig at none other than "The Wig Store," ( I refused!) and where we later ran into a friendly gentlemen who willingly recommended restraunts to us, as well as congratulated us on our engagement and ordered a horse-drawn carriage for us which we politely declined.

We stayed at the Comfort Inn within walking distance of the Colorado Performing Arts Center, and it was for once, quite comfortable. We had tickets for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra Pops performance of the Most Romantic Classics, Part Deux. Despite the location of our nosebleed seats we enjoyed the symphony immensely and are still humming our favorites from Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. It was also a chance for Chris to give me my annual "What's that instrument?" lesson seeing as none of the symphonic band members were playing the ukulele. (How odd!) We rounded out the evening with late night cheeseburgers and hot wings and by watching the women's moguls in Torino. We really had a wonderful time, and were reminded once again about what a wonderful time we always have together. I love how we never get bored of one another!

At any rate, the events of this Valentine's did spark a spirited conversation about all our previous celeberations. After much wracking of our ancient brains we have been able to recall everything we have done each Valentine's, except for last year! There was the 1st Valentine's, spent squished in the back of Drew's white chariot with Mike and Becca on the way to Broomball, such fun! The second Valentine's, performing with the hula halau at the Sounds banquet, and a late night dinner in Indy at the Loon Lake Lodge-- yummy. The third Valentine's, when Chris sent a dozen roses to me in Ireland, Justin sent a dozen to Lori, and lo and behold Barrett sent a dozen to Suzanne (meaning?!). The fourth Valentine's, going to the Sounds banquet with my beautiful date Becca and eating hardened steaks at Texas Roadhouse with Chris. The fifth Valentine's, eating surrounded by children at the Rainforest Cafe in Woodfield Mall and a lovely visit from Nate and his then current babe, Ann. The sixth Valentine's, Awesome Italian in downtown Chicago, ushering Blueman Group at the Briarstreet Theater and drinks in the Signature Room with Kris and Bridgit. But last year, well that remains a mystery!

It is clear however, that many of our favorite occassions were spent with dear friends. So, even though Valentine's is a contrived holiday created for florist's and candy-maker's, I think this year, with cards from friends and from family, Chris and I realized that Valentine's is just a really great excuse to say again, "Hey, I love you, and I really mean it!"

Computer Woes

A computer crash. It's never going to happen to you. I mean, you have a fairly new computer, you have a virus checker, and you don't download weird files from the internet. It's all safe, you think, right?

Not quite. Janelle and I experienced a complete hard drive failure last week, and literally lost everything. We thought that we were doing things right, and nothing like it had happened to us before, so we thought we were safe. We knew that we wanted to save some important things on CD for safe-keeping, but it wasn't important enough for us ever to get around to it. That was a mistake!

We lost everything--all of our digital pictures from the past year and a half; all of Janelle's graduate work (literally hundreds of hours of papers, powerpoints, and spreadsheets); and just everthing else we had saved on our computer--music, programs, resumes, and more.

For a few days following the traumatic experience, we were simply in a state of shock and disbelief--how could this have happened to us! Luckily, we have hard copies of most of Janelle's graduate work(which we will have to scan back into the computer or retype--but at least we have it), but it's all the pictures that we lost that caught us most off-guard. We'd had our digital camera for just over a year, and every picture was saved on that hard drive. We had printed off a few-maybe 2% of them-and had a few that we could get back from sending them to friends-maybe another 8% of them-but the other 90% are gone for good. They have simply ceased to exist.

These were our pictures of holidays, birthdays, special events; our trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon (so many good pictures-that are now only a memory); or our pictures from the 5 weddings we went to this summer (Drew&Lisa's, Nate&Jessica's, Jeff&Justine's, Tiffany&Gary's, and Barrett&Suzanne's); and my trips to Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, 4 Corners, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Chicago. I still can't believe that they are gone.

After purchasing the new hard drive, we have been able to fix our computer, thanks to our friend Mait, who is a computer whiz, but it seems to be only a shell of what it was. We had to start from scratch again. Oddly enough the only good thing to happen with all this is that our computer runs much faster again! And we now have a 60gig hard drive, versus a 40gig that we had before. Granted much of that space was never used to begin with!

So the moral of the story is: Save early and often, and you will not be sad when the piece of junk crashes.

Here we are - 1st time bloggers!

I can't believe that we're even doing this! At first I thought that blogging was kind of dumb, but the more and more that I got used to the idea, the more I realized that we should join this figurative bandwagon!

The whole idea of putting your life out for all to see is kind of intriguing--but also kind of scary! But as long as we keep our personal information out of this (ie., last names, birthdates, social security #'s, etc.), we should be fine. I'm not really worried. So here goes...welcome to our lives.

More to come soon!