no vacancy

i had a visitor last weekend. my cousin kari. it was great to have her here, and spend quality time together. kari has seen me struggle with my weight all of my life, and more recently over the past 3 years. she has seen me at my heaviest and at my worst. being depressed, and not having much of a life. while she was here she got to see first hand how much my life has changed since she was last here 11 months ago. it was great to have her experience a little bit of my new life.

saturday night we went out to celebrate jerry's birthday! jerry is a guy from the gym, and such a good guy. a big group of us met at bd's mongonlian BBQ for dinner.

kari and i at jerry's bday dinner

denise (jerry's wife) and april

jerry and i

birthday shot ~ cheers!

april, kari, jerry, and i

after dinner we went to a haunted house. it was a lot of fun! i was super scared and anxious, but it was both super fun and haunted. kari and i held onto each other for dear life!

while waiting in line i got to chat with jerry. i could seriously talk with this guy forever. he has lost a total of 80 pounds, so we have lots in common in regards to actually losing weight. i admire him because i know the hard work it takes to lose a number like that. so you can't help but have major respect for him.

after the haunted house we headed to a bar to extend the birthday festivities!

jerry, me, and kari
(according to sarah this is my "i'm gonna get you" look)

kari, me, april, and denise

sunday night we went out to a fancy dinner at colt and gray. this was a very nice dinner. great food! i love a nice long leisurely dinner with good conversation and company, and this dinner was exactly that. we had lots of cheese, and shared some trout and something else that i can't remember.

enjoying a martini

dessert was an apple crumble with cream cheese ice cream ~ it was amazing!

kari and i @ colt and gray

on monday we had a leisurely day that started off at the gym. we went and got pedicures, did some shopping, followed by another great dinner with great drinks and the village tavern!

a hope-martini and a pumpkin martini - yummy!

kari and i at dinner

last but not least snooze. you can't come to denver without coming to snooze. and i love breakfast. so before we said our goodbye's and kari hit the road to head back to NM tuesday morning, we enjoyed a snooze breakfast!

kari and i

my life has been so busy as of late. and i'm working on going back to "normal", although i'm thinking that being busy could very easily be my new normal. how weird is that?! ...again with that word, weird. it was great to spend sometime reflecting with kari and the past year that i have had. she knows me so well and my whole dynamic, plus she's my cousin. so she knows my upbringing and our family surroundings growing up. she's been such a cheerleader and supporter, and i thank her for always being there for me, and for being one of my bestest and closest friends!

strike! 60min
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