d bar Desserts...OH MY!

 I knew this place was destined to be delicious when I learned that Food Network's own Keegan Gerhard owned the joint, but my heavens was I pleasantly surprised! d bar Desserts is a tiny, wonderfully modern restaurant tucked in a more quiet part of Denver. You kind of have to be searching for it to know it's even there. I went with my friend Melanie who had been once before, and she was dying to sit at the bar...and for good reason! At the bar, you have a front row seat to chat with and observe (or in our case stare while drooling at) the dessert chef.

We started with dinner. YUM. Normally, I can be a pretty picky eater when it comes to eating out. I know what I like, and change kind of scares me sometimes...especially when it comes to those "fancy" menus - you know the kind (when you feel like an idiot because you don't know what half of the ingredients listed are and you're too afraid to speak up and show your ignorance!) But I was DROOLING over this menu! I couldn't decide...especially between their Soup and Sandwich (Tomato Basil Soup with a 3-Cheese Grilled Panini) or their Kobe Beef Sliders that came with a brioche bun, drunken onions, white cheddar cheese, garlic aioli spread and Parmesan fries. I usually have to request some kind of change when I order...think of that scene from 'When Harry Met Sally,' but everything sounded SO good I had to try it as the whole package. My only complaint about this meal? I wanted about 6 times the amount of food because it was SO DAMN YUMMY! Everything was sheer perfection.

 

How cute and modern are these dishes? I died when I saw the adorable little side of ketchup.

Even though I was wishing for more main course, I was thankful for the portion size because I had ZERO guilt in ordering a dessert all for myself! (Granted, Mel and I both sampled each other's choices, but we mainly indulged in our individual plates)

I had THE HARDEST time deciding because I kept seeing the 3-layer chocolate cake (which is served with a side of mini milkshake). It looked so completely sinful and decadent that my mouth was watering for it all night. But another dessert, by the name of d = mc2 caught my attention, so I had to ask about it.

The menu read: "milk chocolate ∙ peanuts & praline ∙ salted caramel ∙ rice krispies ∙ chocolate ice cream." I was intrigued by the crazy combo of ingredients, and when the waitress mentioned chocolate mousse, I was sold. We then got to watch the intricacies of our desserts being prepared before our very eyes. It was amazing to see all the various components going into the plate, designed beautifully by the Dessert Artist, Briana.

 

My dessert: d = mc2

 

The mousse with salted caramel. The bottom layer was a crust of praline, peanuts, and rice krispies...which afforded the PERFECT crunch (especially the rice krispies) for this texture eater! 

 

Mel's dessert: molten chocolate lava cake with fruit and vanilla ice cream

 

The artist at work

 

Many of the other delicious desserts being prepared. How can you NOT drool in this situation?

 

All in all...GO HERE! The place is amazing! Want a buddy? I'd be happy to go again! =)

It Finally Happened...I Cleaned My Room!

FINALLY! I did a pretty thorough job purging my room of unwanted items when I first moved home this summer, but then my life fell in to disarray with being so sick and then devoting all my time to garage sale preparations and teaching! My room was driving me CRAZY, but I just didn't have the time or energy to do anything about it. Today was the day, however! I knew once I got home from teaching that the rest of the day would be devoted to cleaning and organizing the living daylights out of this place! 

Granted, I'll be tearing the place up again soon to repaint and redecorate, but for the time being, I get to live in peace (and cleanliness!) I also just wanted "before & after" pictures for the makeover that's to come (probably in August)

I didn't have anything on these shelves, then I realized how dumb it was that I wasn't displaying the HUGE array of picture frames I have! Plus, I was able to hang up my awesome 'Amy' canvas by Lani! =)

As much as I love it, this wall will be no longer come the makeover. I'm just at an age where I want all my walls the SAME color! =)

I even deep cleaned my bathroom! It's clutter-free and sparkling! =)

Maui Medical Mystery...Mono?!?

Update Time!

So my doctor just called. We chatted, she told me my last blood draw showed improvements in my liver counts and other stuff. Good, good. Then she said, "Well, your Epstein-Barr came back positive...so...you have mono!" 

WHA?!? I already had mono two summers ago, and I know you can get it again, but COME ON! I didn't have any traditional symptoms but swollen lymph nodes the first time around, and this time, I yet again did not display any traditional symptoms...aka extreme fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, swollen spleen, and sore throat. Yeah, this explains my loss of appetite, chills, headache, bloating (aka stomach pain and sense of fullness, in my case), sweats, and even my rash that broke out all over my body (yes, I was one of the lucky 5% of folks who break out in rash), but yet again, I've not had extreme fatigue or any other of the tell tale symptoms! This is just too weird! I guess I'm just allergic to Dustin and his kisses. =P Regardless of the mono, we're pretty sure there was something else fishy going on in Maui to make me THAT sick! Heaven's to Betsy was I sick!

Anyway, this means the multitude of antibiotics I was on really didn't have a point. Mono has no cure besides playing the waiting game. I have to continue to lay low as to not wear myself out and go get more blood drawn in 2 weeks to see that my numbers are continuing to make their way back to normal. 


I had to chuckle at this gem found on the internet (honestly...the things you can find!)
Viewer Question: If you had mono once, can you get it again or does your body build up an immunity to it like with chicken pox?

Doctor's Response: The chances of getting mono a second time are somewhere between next-to-nothing and nothing. Dr. Hal B. Jenson, an expert on mono and its cause, the Epstein- Barr virus (EBV), has stated that: "Second attacks of infectious mononucleosis caused by EBV have not been documented."

Look at me go! I'm a revolutionary medical case! Put me down in the record books! This is exciting! *Please note the sarcasm. Clearly that Dr. Hal B. Jenson is no expert of the Epstein-Barr virus. Even I knew you could get mono more than once. It's just unusual!*

I'm just happy I'm feeling fine, but gosh darn. I'm one of those rare cases who winds up getting mono more than once. Let's just add this to the list of other freak medical issues I've dealt with at the ripe old age of 22. Good grief! 


For your viewing pleasure, here's a recap of my third ER visit at Littleton Adventist Hospital back in CO. This trip was momentous. After arriving wrapped in our CO Rockies fleece blanket, shivering in the 104 degree heat, I got a morphine drip AND oxygen! Those were novel items on my list of hospital gizmos and gadgets I'd encountered in the last week!

Oh, and since I'm sure you're all wanting to see this, here's what my rash looked like on about Day...3?

I'm happy to report that now you can't even tell I had a rash. And my itching has subsided! YES! =)

Medical Mystery :: Maui Style

I've got good news and bad news. Given my nature, I've always thought it best to start with the bad and end with the good, then we don't end with a bitter taste in our mouth!

First impressions are everything, right? Well, sorry Hawaii...I know you meant well, but I wasn't left with a great first impression! Let me explain...

My parents surprised me with the idea of a family vacation to Maui for a graduation/Christmas/all-over celebratory trip last Christmas. After much research, a lot of planning, and 6 months of waiting, we finally headed off to Maui on June 12th. Everyone was happy and healthy and I was excited to visit Hawaii for the first time ever!!!

The flight was long, but things went over well. The resort was GORGEOUS! We stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea and holy cow was that place stunning. I only wish I could have actually utilized the resorts amazing amenities for the entirety of the trip!

Friday (full-day 2): I came in from the beach EXTREMELY exhausted. Everyone was sunburned a bit from the day before from using spray sunscreen, not the rub kind (DON'T USE SPRAY SUNSCREEN!), and I thought that was my reason for feeling pretty icky. After showering, I collapsed on my bed (hair still wrapped in my towel and all) and slept for I don't know how long. I had no appetite and was just blah all over, so my dinner that night consisted of bread.

At that point, my back started hurting, too. Earlier that day (while boogie boarding) a wave snatched me, tousled me about, and bounced me back up after smacking me into the sand. I thought for sure this was why my back was hurting. My neck was also really stiff. I also didn't want to drink anything - water just did not sound good. I laid on the couch and curled up in a blanket, shivering my butt off. I was shaking uncontrollably and had chills like I'd never experienced before. I got very little sleep that night and eventually moved downstairs to the family room to watch t.v. until I could get comfortable. That didn't happen. Instead, I got sick, and then moaned on the couch for all hours of the night in complete discomfort. 

Saturday: The family took off to go visit the Lavender farm on Maui while I stayed inside my room with shades drawn, sleeping until 2pm. I still couldn't eat, didn't want to drink, and had more back pain than I knew how to handle! I was miserable. 

I went to bed at 8:30pm that night, and woke up thinking I'd gotten a good night's sleep. When I looked at the clock, I realized it was only 10:30pm. Crap. I flopped around my bed trying to get comfortable for the next 2 hours until giving up again and heading downstairs to watch even more late night HGTV. 

Sunday (AKA Father's Day): Per my request, we packed up and drove north to Maui's only hospital, Maui Memorial, the next morning. I was in SO much pain I couldn't even really talk to the people trying to check me in to the hospital. I finally got a room and they hooked me up to an IV for a fluid drip. They also took blood to run tests. Our mystery came when the doctor came in asking if I'd been hiking in CO lately. Um...nope? Not even close.

He suspected I had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Have you ever heard of this? Yeah, we hadn't either! My sunburns started looking more rash-like and all my symptoms matched up, including having unusual results in my blood tests concerning my liver counts. Not good. He put me on antibiotics, pain killers, anti-nausea medicine, etc., and sent me out the door. The miraculous thing was that the fluid fixed my back pain - I couldn't believe it!

Needle count: 1, Blood viles drawn: 2? (I keep my eyes closed for this part), Sickness count: 1, Prescriptions in my purse (some prior, most new): 7, Diagnosis: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (??)

We got home from the hospital, I took my concoction of drugs, and slept. I woke up, got sick, but then felt better. We went out for dinner that night, but I couldn't manage to eat ANY of my food. I took a couple of bites and decided any more would result in disaster. 

{goofing around on the beach, but this is to mainly show the rash breaking out on my leg}

Monday: I slept through the night that night (YES!) but still didn't feel great the next day. The antibiotic was making me super nauseous all the time and my rash was getting itchier and itchier. I had to cancel our ziplining trip (the ONE thing I really really wanted to do), but we still headed to Lahiana to watch Michael's surf lesson and explore the town.

I had to stay out of the sun, so I was in a long dress, a long sleeved cover up, and a hat, and I was SO hot and uncomfortable. I was sick and tired of ruining everyone's fun, so I tried to put on a game face to make the day a happy day without draining the life source from everyone, but I just couldn't keep up. I walked slowly, I was hurting all over, I was still nauseous, and I couldn't stand for more than 2 minutes without needing to sit down. Clearly, fun was not being had. We finished up and headed back to the hotel so I could rest more.

I eventually got REALLY sick that night. That prompted us to go BACK to the hospital on the eve of our departure from Maui. Yikes. The ER was not very helpful, but they pumped me with more fluids and drew more blood. The doctor offered no solution other than admitting me to the hospital and having an Infectious Disease Specialist look at me the next day. Not an option! We went against doctor's orders and left the hospital so I could sleep in my bed, but not before they stuck me two more times to draw blood for blood cultures. About 5 hours later, we finally left and got home just before 4am. What a happy start to my mama's birthday!

Needle count: 4 (1 previous), Blood viles drawn: 6?, Sickness count: 3, Prescriptions in my purse: 8, Diagnosis: Still RMSF...dumb.

Tuesday (AKA Mom's Birthday): We packed up and moved out after getting a few measly hours of sleep. I was sad I never got to really explore the resort or enjoy the yummy food. We got to the airport, boarded the plane, and I *thankfully* slept for the majority of the 5 hour plane ride. No illness there. But then we had to spend the night in the Seattle airport and sleeping on the floor of baggage claim is not my idea of fun. I was uncomfortable and cold and could not get good food in me before needing to take off on our Denver leg of the trip. It was early, I didn't have more than a few saltines in me, and I had to take my antibiotic. Needless to say, that led to a whole new plane experience for me. Hooray for those little white "sickness" baggies they put in every seat. *smacks head*. That was uncomfortable. I slept the rest of the trip, and then had to say goodbye to Karrah in the airport (poor thing was brought along on this trip and then didn't get to have any fun because of my dumb body). Then my family headed back home.

Sickness count: 4 ... oops!

Wednesday: We immediately went to see my doctor at home and they were stumped! Meggan said it is NOT RMSF, so hooray for that. They drew more blood, did a strep test, and we'll hopefully get the results back soon.

Needle count: 5 (4 previous), Blood viles drawn: 12?, Sickness count: 4, Strep Test: 1, Prescriptions in my purse: 9 (only using Benadryl now, though!) Diagnosis: MYSTERY!

Until then, I still have these rashes, they still itch, and I'm still not 100%. I'm eating more, but it has to be minimal to balance my nausea. I'm just glad I'm not in the state I was in a few days ago, but I certainly wish I could have been healthy to enjoy Maui. C'est la vie, I suppose! More happiness to come in future posts, but until then, there's my Maui saga of medical hell!

Holy Hail! What a Storm!

Never in my life have I experienced a storm like last night! Even when we lived in tornado-ridden Illinois, I don't think we had a storm this severe! Highlands Ranch and the surrounding towns were smack in the thick of it all, and we had overwhelming hail, lightening, and thunder that scared the bajeezus out of me all night long! I couldn't fall asleep until like 3am! Yikes! The hail was so powerful I thought for sure the skylights in our family room were going to break, and our patio, yard, and street all filled with hail and flooded with the drastic amount of rain that fell in a short amount of time. The street out front looked like a blizzard hit with a raging river running down the side! The state was hit with 6 different tornados over the course of the night, and it seems as though we could be in for Round 2 of another terrible storm tonight!

I couldn't capture any good images myself since the weather was so severe and it was so dark, but I stalked 9News and snagged some submitted photos from viewers in areas around my house. Here is the outcome!

 

Lightening across the Littleton sky

I'm not sure where this was taken, but some places even had golfball sized hail!

 

Highlands Ranch area

 

Coin comparissons

 

This wasn't from our area, but it's awesome to see the stark contrast in sky - you can tell exactly where the storm wall is!

 

There's Highlands Ranch...smack in the thick of it all! Doppler showing how bad we were hit!

Update Part 4 - Packing Up & Heading Home

So, Graduation Weekend excitement came to a close and then reality hit. I had a whole house to clean up, sell, and pack up before hitting the road. Not to mention, I had a lot of tearful, difficult goodbyes headed my way. UGH! Here's a recap of my last few days in Tacoma. I miss it already.

The day after graduation, we enjoyed the sunshine down at Point Defiance. Then Dad, Michael, and Mindy headed to the airport to fly back home to Denver...

...that left Mom and me with this...

A house full of things to sell! (Don't worry... it's not all mine! A lot of my friends donated items they didn't want/need anymore!)

We organized it all into a 3-day Garage Sale!

Dustin had fun trying on some different costumes from the sale

Then the day came that we had to pack up and say goodbye

We packed every square inch of that car!

Saying goodbye to this boy was the hardest

We copied our "goodbye" photo from 2 years ago. Same spot in the same house with the same sweet boy.

Same impossibly difficult and tear-jerking goodbye!

On the way out of Washington state, Mom and I stopped at Leavenworth, WA ... a touristy German town

The next night we stayed in Twin Falls, ID at an amazing B&B whose backyard opened up to the Snake River Canyon 

Amazing sunset after we pulled in to town!

After a LONG third day on the road and 1,455.1 miles driven, we pulled into the driveway at home in Colorado!

This crazy lil' devil cuddled up with me my first night home

My room kind of exploded with stuff and unpacking (this was one of the cleaner moments)

But I also got rid of the bunk bed I've had since 4th grade and got a new "big girl bed!" Now to paint the walls and redecorate!

Life back home has been great, but BOY have I been busy!

Training for and starting a new teaching job, cleaning, unpacking, and reorganizing, preparing for a vocal recital and fundraiser, and getting ready to leave for Hawaii. Man oh man!