Retro-thug-life

As I was looking through old pics I stumbled upon this one...oh man the laughter shared between friends. One of these is not like the other ones....one of these is not as thug as the others...and she might not ever be and that is why we love her.

KINGDOM

In the circles that I tend to hover, there is much talk of the Kingdom of Heaven...when I was introduced to this group of kids I was struck with what I want Heaven to looks and sounds like. Please check them out and be amazed, so sweet is the sound of children singing, especially when they represent a wide variety of ethnicities and backgrounds....To me this is what I hope for when I think about Heaven.

Ahhhhhh,

APKilla

Justice has been Served!

Picture me rollin' on dubs, better yet picture your favorite food rollin' on dubs. We are in a food revolution, everyday there is a new recipe, a new diet, or some new theory of how we are supposed to eat. Last Thursday was no different, The Justice League of Food Trucks of Denver, CO has found a niche market of young Denverites who want to eat good food, enjoy good music and share in an experience with their fellow foodies. The Justice League has gathered twice to show that the food truck revolution may not be new but in Denver it is just as fun. I walked up to this dirt lot only to be bombarded with the beats of some local DJ, the smell of some delicious morsels and the hope that they accept Visa(thankfully there was a portable ATM machine). As we entered the possibilities were endless.... Biscuits, Tacos, and Gyros, OH my. Stuebens, Watercourse, Pinche Tacos, The Orange Machine, The Denver Biscuit Company, Great Divide Brewery and the Denver Cupcake truck came bringing the heat and the glory that is street food. With cheap options it was easy to spread my choices throughout the evening. I had a Pinche Shrimp Taco(pinche means the F-word in Spanish) followed by a gyro from the GastroPub Cart. The endless diet coke was supplied by Sully's Pizza, oh the sweetness that is a diet coke.

I am happy to say that I was satisfied and I would love to invite you to the next event. They announce them with short notice, but if I know, you will know. I hope to start a dance party next time but I need a posse... Hope to see you there.

The Justice League...what a concept...

APKilla

Groceries and more

Last night was the first time that I had actually stepped into a grocery store to actually buy things to put in my fridge since my roadtrip in July...out of control. I have no real good excuse for this, other than I was lazy. But listening to my body's need for real vegetables, fruits and cheeses I stole away to the nearest Whole Foods. To preface this misadventure, I pride myself in the ability to have self restraint at Whole Paycheck, but this time I went bonkers. Shopping for one person is proving to be a little difficult, only because I have no back up to help out with the entire watermelon that I just bought. Words of wisdom: Don't buy things you don't necessarily love just because it is real cheap($2.99), especially when that thing is a whole watermelon. So, on with the adventure, I stepped into the store with thoughts of getting a handful of items so that I am not just eating cereal for the rest of my life, but with all of the yummy goodness set out before me, one could hardly resist. Self-control is overrated anyway. As I beebop down aisle after aisle I am being conscience of what I need and don't need, and I calmly put back the non-necessities, like Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia. But as fate would have it, the cheese aisle slams me with the "under $3" basket, it calls out to me in that subtle whisper that says "you want me". So I answer the call...Hello cherry cheddar, where have you been all my life. I can't wait to have you with some crackers and wine...how 'bout a date, oh you want to bring your friends brie and havarti. Ok, but only if you include hatch chili pepper jack. Suffice it to say I cracked like an egg on Easter Sunday...but there was no way out. So my fridge is full of cheese saying...Wine and Cheese night, asap. Yes, please. After my overindulgence in the dangerous dairy, I quickly darted to the check out line...safe and sound. Here is another reason why I love Whole Foods...the check out boys are typically cute and down to flirt...it really is just the perfect way to end your shopping experience.

I get home, unload my treats and start to cut up my watermelon. I realize that watermelon, though very fun on hot summer picnics, is not something I really want to eat for every meal for the rest of the month...the only regret from my adventure at WF. C'est la Vie.

You are cordially invited to a Watermelon Party, come help a sister out,

APKilla

Mission Accomplished

I am finally settling into the nooks and crannies of my new neighborhood and apartment, so much so that I spent Sunday watching movies...I am not even going to tell you how many movies I watched for fear of judgement. But I did, however, watch them in rapid succession. The gem that I re-watched was Steel Magnolias...such a quality flick, when I get old I hope that I have the sass that the character Weezer beholds...can't wait to be a grade A, grouchy bitch. Part of my mission this past weekend was to purchase some sexy dancing shoes, go dancing in them and possibly get kissed!!!

I can easily say that mission accomplished. Friday, prior to the actual going out, I went to Ross, DSW, and Nordstrom Rack(btw, whomever decided it was good idea to put them in such close proximity had no clue that I have such low self-restraint) to buy the necessary items to get said missions accomplished. First...I found the most sexy black wedges, so appropriate for shaking my bon bon and allowing me to feel like I own the town, then I found three very adorable/sassy dresses to wear out on my night of shenanigans. So I confidently rolled home with a few less dollars I began getting ready....I felt like a million bucks. Then we were off to The Living Room....yes it is an actual place on Broadway. It was awesome and here is why...This place has a very unique wine dispensing machine. Basically, you put a certain amount of money on a credit type card, then you put the card into the machine and choose your wine, it will then dispense an ounce of that wine into your glass. The wines are priced based upon how much they are a bottle, obviously I went for the ones that I could get more for my money. When my card had emptied of the cash I put on it I took it over to my cocktail waitress(who was the absolute best) and told that it was at zero....at this news she got real excited and said "I get to buy you a glass of wine". YAHOO! So I picked out a Malbec, turns out this particular wine is $200, oh so yummy. OMG, I got so lucky. Now that the party is feeling a little frisky it is time to get our dance on, thankfully we were across the street from VINYL(5 stories of half dressed, shaking bodies...yes please). Shake it like a salt shaker I did and thank you VINYL for the beautiful rooftop patio that was so perfect to end the evening. So, like I said mission accomplished. I had a blast and can't wait to wear the shoes again. In the words of Forrest Gump..."Mama said they were my magic shoes"...please come out for the next magical evening.

Wish you were there,

APKilla

Home, Sweet, Fort Collins

Ahhhhhhh, is the sound I made as I nestled on a rock in the middle of the Poudre River just North of Fort Collins. I was able to get the next two nights off, so I made the decision to drive up to FOCO to catch up with some people. When I say people, I mean the best people on the face of the planet...they know exactly what to say to me when I need a good word or two. But since everyone in my life has a regular 9 to 5 I had some time to myself, so I drove up the Canyon, rocking out to my favorite songs and ready to recharge the batteries. I stumbled upon this great spot with a dam(made by actual beavers) and tons of rocks waiting for me to take advantage of. So I pulled out my journal, Bible and book and started to enjoy the afternoon. Sometimes there is nothing more enjoyable than knowing you have nothing waiting for you so that you can get into whatever needs getting into. I caught some rays, listened to the water swirl around my tootsies and let the world wash over me. It was excellent, I really need to make these moments happen more often. And as I sit in one of the coffee shops that I frequented in college I let the familiarity fill in the gaps of uncertainty in my life, and then I sigh, because I am blessed beyond belief. I made a list of things that I consider a blessing some of them were silly like...good hair and then others were so significant, like freedom to live my life as I choose. If I ever complain about how bad I have just tell me to brush my straight, never cavitied teeth and get over it.

Off to spend time with the best of the best,

APKilla

Love...you figure it out

Today has been a day filled with sleep, movie watching and tears. This morning(it was actually noon) I popped in my netflix movie "Paper Heart", the thought was to take it easy and be entertained. Two minutes into the movie I start crying....WTF. For those of you who know me, crying is an event that occurs rarely, so the tears that came a flowing kind of surprised me.

Let's back up a minute, the basis for the documentary is that this young 20-something girl doesn't believe love is real so she travels the country to see if she can find love. Through various interviews she paints a picture of what love looks like for these various people. My favorite scene is when they were in Atlanta at playground interviewing kids... this one kid was asked what should a person do when they think they might love someone. This kid said that they should just look at the person they think they love and figure it out. I loved that line, plus the rest of the kids were so precious about they thought love was...one girl actually smacked her "boyfriend" in the head, if that isn't a making of a love story I don't know what is.

Ok, back to me(because I generally need to be the center of attention, hence this blog), I was flooded with all these emotions and thoughts of "will I ever be loved, will I ever love, what does love mean...blah, blah, blah." So as I sit here and contemplate my ability or inability to love I have come to some conclusions that I will share with you in my state of great vulnerability, and will probably regret sharing with the big wide world...but here is goes.

I believe in love...in theory. To qualify that statement I mean, I believe that romantic love happens for others, not to me. I have family and friends whom I love and whom love me dearly, but I am talking about that kind of love that occurs between two people that leads to dates, awkward kisses that become comfortable kisses, laughter that makes you cry, fights that end in great make up sex, and lifelong companionship. I think that kind of love occurs for others, but I am beginning to think that it might not happen for me. I know this sounds hugely pessimistic but based upon what I have experienced in my 27 years of life, romantic love has yet to make an appearance in my life. So what do I do with these thoughts...I dunno. I am not writing this to get a bunch of comments from my friends saying how great and beautiful they know to me to be, because I know those things, but I don't think I am the type of girl that causes a guy to take a second glance or make a move. And those things are definitely ok, I just need to maybe adjust my expectations of what that looks like. So if you are reading this, thank you for reading, but please don't tell me to be patient, or that it will happen to me someday, because it might not.

The only thing I can say today is WE'LL SEE!

Sidenote: My friend told me that the movie was "pretentious hipster drivel, Love is real!"

So, with that said, we'll see.

Figuring it out,

APK

p.s. I promise to be honest if this line of thinking changes, because it probably will, but for me romantic love is elusive as...I can't think of anything...put in your own thing that you find elusive.

I'm a big kid now...

Hey team....

I have finally moved into my first place as a grown adult or at least a semi-responsible kid. Since I began college in 2001, I have had 21 separate roommates, all of whom I have loved, but it is time to live alone...yikes. Being the social butterfly that I am, living alone goes against my desire to be with people constantly. In thinking about those implications I shudder at the thought that I am about two shakes away from eating a box of Ho-Hos and getting thirteen cats. Living alone speaks to one of my biggest fears in life...that I will end up alone, and that I will be the crazy lady on the block that you warn your kids about. SO, I am either on my way to becoming the crazy cat lady or on my way to becoming more cool...it really is a toss up.

My adventures in new apartmenthood are:

I bought bread with the intentions of making toast in the morning...I don't own a toaster. With this I have needed to make a list of things that I never had because one of my 21 other roommates provided. (sidenote: I need a microwave, called mom, she has three...who in there right mind has three microwaves....foreshadowing of my future...maybe I won't have cats, I'll be the crazy lady with a millions microwaves. BTW- I love my Mom...love you ma!!!).

I live 3 blocks from a cute coffeeshop( I say cute because the Baristos are cute, one of them made a heart in my latte, I said "ah, how special." To which he replied "For a special girl." Damn I am such a sucker...)

I live five blocks from one of my favorite marrieds(Megan and Santiago), I envision wine and tapas a lot.

Other signs of impending adulthood...

I went bank shopping(not happy with the current one)

Started listening to NPR

I have started to referring to myself as "having my shit together"- that might be a false sense of self.

I currently participate in a Book Club(we read mostly young adult fiction though)

Welp, I think the jury is out on whether or not I am actually a full grown adult, but I can safely say that adult or not I love my life and can't wait for the next adventure.

Rollin' Solo

APKilla