Birthday Fun/DNL

The month of September was a rough one for me so I won't spend much time discussing it.

My birthday was a ton of fun and I'm glad I threw a Bring Your Own Salsa party the following Saturday. My amazing friends showed up and my roommate was kind enough to light my candle for me on the cake. (My mom mailed me my cake again this year! So pumped!)

I had so much salsa leftover afterward though.....can't complain since it's a staple in my apartment for both Katie and me!

DNL stands for Denver Deaf Night Life. I've been going to their events once a month for the past three months and I have loved every single one. Each time, I meet new friends and have the chance to use my second language - the one I love best.

I think about these individuals and I smile. I never had this growing up. Having people understand me, truly understand. Growing up, I was surrounded by hearing people. Here, I'm surrounded by people like me. I love it! I look forward to each event and talking to my new friends. This is home.

While ASL is my second language, I'm excited to get better at it and eventually leave English behind. I'm so glad that I found this language and culture. It's been a blessing to me in so many ways. I never knew such happiness and acceptance existed.

Just walking into DNL this past weekend, many greeted me with hugs and were super excited to see me. There weren't many times I genuinely felt missed or appreciated in the hearing world. I do love the hearing friends that I have met over the years and I'm eternally grateful for the ones I met in elementary school. They carried me through some of the most difficult times.

I'm so glad DNL exists and I'm thrilled that Deaf Culture exists!

Side note: It snowed today. I'm not so thrilled about that....

Faith Day

There are so many events during the summer months in Denver that I absolutely love! It's like NYC, you can't just spend one year in Denver to experience it all. You have to stick around and explore! That is what I intend to do after my AmeriCorps service year is over. I still can't believe I have less than two weeks left. The time really did fly by.

Faith Day is such a day that I will look forward to every year. Who came up with it, I have no idea, but I was super pumped about going when I bought the tickets. Basically, the baseball team, the Rockies, had a game Sunday afternoon followed by a short worship set brought to us by the NEWSBOYS! I love this group and I hope they continue to make life changing and uplifting music.

I invited one of my best friends, Melody, and we had a blast. Though the sky decided to pour its contents onto us in the middle of the concert. BLAH! So we all had to dash for cover. The rain was so cold!! Melody had her daughter with her, Autumn, who had fallen asleep. I wish all kids could sleep through loud music. With everyone trying to seek shelter from the rain, Melody had a hard time getting the stroller up the stairs. Thank goodness they made it ok.

Between the game and listening to the Newsboys, it was a full day. Afterward, we went to Chipotle! Autumn decided it would be fun to run from us every five minutes. Kids. We both wound up chasing her. She's a funny kid. I've always enjoyed playing with her.

A great ending to a weekend. One of the things I love about Colorado rain is that it never lasts long. New England rain.....don't get me started.

Tacos? Did Somebody Say Tacos?!?!

So last weekend, on the 24th, I went to the TACO FESTIVAL! OMYGOODNESS! I WAS IN HEAVEN - SERIOUSLY!

When I walked in, I saw so many taco trucks (at least 30) all over. Every single type of taco imaginable. If you're a vegetarian, you can find something to eat for sure. If you are a meat lover, you fall in love all over again.

They also had a chihuahua races to raise money for a nonprofit that helps take care of them. I had no idea so many people didn't realize that these are animals and therefore need to be TAKEN CARE OF. That is the reason why there are charities and nonprofits specifically for Chihuahuas. SMH Apparently, when it became the "it" thing to own this type of dog, many people didn't take care of them but instead treated them as stuffed animals or accessories. So sad the world we live in.

On the bright side, the races were pretty cool, from what I could see anyway. The track was at hip level, so the only people who had a good view were those who got to the area half an hour before the races started. The crowd was huge!

At the festival, there was also music and a pool with these plastic balls you could roll around it (I have no idea what they are called). It looks like fun. 

In terms of food, I had four tacos, a Faco and a caramel churro. As you can imagine, I was FULL by the time I left. Good thing, they only accept cash and that I'm a poor AmeriCorps member cause I probably would have tried to eat more. Now, you're probably wondering what in the world is a Faco. 

Here it is, a Faco. Basically, a funnel cake taco! It's that the most awesome thing you've ever seen?? Say, Yes. It was so good. I'm so glad I waited in line for that. I spent hours walking around looking at menus trying to decide what I wanted and what was worth the wait. Next year, I will go to different take trucks and try theirs. There were just too many to try.

Overall, it was one of the best days of my life. Hands down. Anyone who knows me is probably cracking up right now. I can't wait till next year!!!

There was also a wrestling match.....Libre Wrestling....not my cup of tea.

Lake Pueblo State Park

Last weekend was a blast! The Wulfs invited me to go camping with them and we went to Lake Pueblo State Park. I have to say I enjoyed this camping trip more than the ones to Eleven Mile. According to Mr. Wulf, Eleven Mile is for fishermen and Lake Pueblo is for boaters. I will consider myself a boater. Will I ever be rich enough to own one? Who knows, but I loved watching the speedboats and jet skis go by on the lake.

This camping trip was the first time I had ever been in a camper. My family used to camp all the time growing up in CT and NJ where we used tents. Sleeping on the ground is never ideal which was one of the things I didn't like but if I put a blanket underneath me, I was ok. Now that I've experienced sleeping in a camper, I can see why so many people have them. Mind you, a SIMPLE camper. Not one of those luxury campers with big screen TVs and a full kitchen. To me, if you're going to go camping, GO CAMPING not bring your house to the lake. That's totally different.

Saturday, Uncle Dan took us out on his boat to go swimming in the cove. It took me awhile before I go used to the temperature, but we had a great time! Some went kayaking. The last time I went with Aunt Pat a few years ago, I wasn't sure of myself. Maybe someday I will try again when I gain some confidence. My biggest fear is capsizing. I know for sure I will panic.

On the way out there, it was awesome to see the coast as it flew by. One of the things that make me shake my head when I think of Uncle Dan is the fact that he reminds me of Uncle Bill. When we reached the mouth of the cove, Uncle Dan put on the breaks without informing me. He told everyone else on the boat, except me. Granted, I was busy taking pictures so I wasn't paying that much attention. Regardless, when he put on the breaks, I went into a backward tumble. I wasn't hurt, but I did give Uncle Dan the stink eye!

Denver Welcomes Summer!

Happy Memorial Day and a happy unofficial beginning of summer!! Though today it poured rain for a good 15 minutes and there were some small balls of hail as well. Typical Colorado. I am seeing similarities between Colorado weather and the East Coast. The big difference in terms of rain is that it never lasts all day (usually doesn't). Typically on the East Coast, when the forecast calls for rain, you immediately know that for a fact when you wake up. Here, it can be 70 degrees and within four hours the skies darken and lo and behold, the rain comes. What I love about rain storms here though, it rarely lasts more than, I'd say, an hour. Granted, I've only been in Denver nine months and in Colorado, two years.

Anywho, back to the topic of this post, today was the Old South Gaylord Memorial Day Festival where they had vendors selling food, clothing, jewelry, soap as well as rides for the kids like a bouncy house and a miniature Ferris Wheel. What was really neat to watch was the trampoline jump. Before you freak out, the kids were all wearing harnesses. Not sure if I'd ever want to try that....

Despite the sudden downpour, it was a nice day to spend biking around my neighborhood and enjoying oldies rock music.

Chocolate Festival!

Yesterday, I went to Denver's Chocolate Festival. I had been waiting for this day for months!!! When it comes to food, I'm all over it especially chocolate. I can't say no.

There were vendors from all over Colorado who sold chocolate candies, fudge, chocolate soda as well as many nonchocolate items such as kettle corn and clothing. Many of you who know me are probably cracking up right now. Kettle corn is another food item I go gaga over. It's one of my favorite snacks.

A few vendors were also selling salsa! OMYWORD! There was one who had a salsa based marinade that she put with meatballs in crockpot. Delicious! Another had medium relish which I found out later had jalapenos in it. Usually, I'm not a huge jalapeno fan since they are so hot, but if sprinkled in something I don't usually mind. In this jar, it must not have been sprinkled.

The cool thing about this event was that you could buy taste tickets for which I am so glad I did! Coming in, I wasn't going to since I wanted to save my money in order to BUY thing. However, the girl at the counter convinced me that I do INDEED want taste tickets. So I bought some. Usually, I regret being pulled into buying something, but this time I was more than satisfied with my purchase at the end of the day. Plus, she gave me bags so I could take some chocolate that I wanted to taste home with me. BOOYAH!

Overall, it was a great day. My friend Devyn came and we had a blast. I still find myself making my own fun and wind out going to events by myself, which can be depressing. However, I enjoy being able to have a friend from time to time. Makes me realize how much I miss college -- always having a friend nearby. Hopefully, as the years go by as I continue to explore Denver, that I will make more friends and lessen the number of times I have to spend most of the weekend by myself.

Dogs and More Dogs

Friday night, I decided to volunteer at Rescue Denver for their Rescue Runway event. It was one of the coolest fundraisers I've ever been to. It wasn't ritzy, which I'm not a fan of nor was it lame. Being a dog lover helps at these events (obviously) since the whole point of organizations such as this one is to help pets get adopted in this case dogs.

They were all adorable. I wanted to take every single one of them home. Meet and Greets started out the night where everyone could see the dogs and the VIP could pet and get to know them. Volunteers also got this privilege. There was a kissing booth, which I personally thought was genius! A french bulldog with the cutest ears was in there when I walked up.

To end the night, they had a fashion show. Students from the Art Institute of Denver designed the clothes on the models and dogs. It was a unique idea and the whole night went splendidly. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I'm glad I let my selfishness/generosity win out over whether or not I should volunteer for this organization's event. Meaning, I was homesick for my dog Buddy which is the top reason why I decided to volunteer. The other reason was to help out a worthy organization.

As far as I know, there were two dogs that got adopted that night. One of the people in charge said that many sign the adoption papers later when they are prepared to take the dog home. Such a fun way to spend a Friday night!