Capitol, Gardens, Blue Bears, and Reunions

We (and Kelvin, independently, while we were at the conference) have had some time to do a bit of Denver sightseeing. Today's sessions were really interesting but, unless you are a maternity care provider, not interesting enough to discuss on the blog (for now :)).

The Capitol

The Thirteenth Step of the Capitol Steps is exactly one mile above sea level, as you can see from this marker.

The Denver Botanical Gardens featured an exhibition (glass sculptures throughout the gardens) by Dale Chihuly, a Washington native who learned glass-blowing in Italy.

On Tuesday, K and I enjoyed a delicious dinner of ramen at "Uncle," a restaurant that was featured on The 21 best Ramen Shops in the Country .

 

Kelvin checked out the Big (40-ft) Blue Bear by the Convention Center

... and the Molly Brown House, the house (and now a museum) of a Titanic survivor (Kathy Bates' character).

  We spent an hour in the Tattered Cover, a great independent bookstore.

This evening, us FPOBs reunited for a seafood dinner @ Jax... Kyla had some troubles with getting her fish dish cooked right, but it was a fun time to catch up!  Prior to this conference, I hadn't seen Jessica and Aline in almost 3 years!

Good times so far in Denver!

Miles High: Mt Evans Scenic Byway

  
We are in Colorado so I can attend the AAFP Family Centered Maternity Conference. Kelvin (and Pepper) came along for some R & R and we spent today outside of Denver exploring North America's highest paved road leading up to the summit of Mt. Evans at 14,260 ft, one of Colorado's many "Fourteeners." I have to say again that I adore Colorado. I nearly moved here for residency and have frequently thought about what it would be like to live in this great state, but will have to be content to visit... for now.

    On the way in Idaho Springs, we saw some Colorado rafters!

 

Near the summit of Mt. Evans, we saw some mountain goats!  

Either tired from our very early AM start, or feeling the effects from driving up to such a height after flight from sea level, we both felt a bit less that stellar at the top (Kilimanjaro flashbacks...), but stuck it out.

This was Pep's first time in Colorado and at altitude, too!

Summit Lake

testing the waters...

Ah, Colorado, with your fresh air and mountains... I have missed you!!!

Anniversary dinner and deformed dessert

Kelvin and I took advantage of a gift certificate from my sister to go out to Folie Douce for dinner to celebrate our third anniversary.

His wasabi steak and my salami/brie/apricot glaze pizza were delicious!

We had the fourth off from work (although we're on call) and I attempted another shot at cookie-baking.  I found a delicious-looking recipe from the bitesizedbaker for Nutella-stuffed Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt. Don't these sound amazing?

My last cookie-baking effort was chronicled in this NYE Cookie Fail post.

Obviously, I should not try to bake on holidays. Or at all.

What they are supposed to look like:

While deformed, at least these taste good!!

Asian Love Languages

If you haven't read the "Five Love Languages"  by Gary Chapman, please do. I think I read it back in medical school on Wendi's recommendation, and it really helps you understand what others may need in relationships and different ways of showing and receiving love. I tried to get Kelvin to read this book early in our relationship. I'm not sure he did, but he remember enough about its points to send me a satirical commentary from the "Asian" perspective which you can read below and which is actually pretty darn funny.

Directly from Sam Louie, on the Minority Report Blog (with the disclaimer that This is not meant to be taken literally.  It's a satirical, tongue-in-cheek commentary."):

" There's the popular book "The 5 Love Languages" for the general population but for Asians these "Love Languages" have a cultural twist.

1) Words of Affirmation = Lecturing.
Kids need to be praised for who they are. They need to be empowered to trust their instincts. Instead many Asian parents simply lecture their kids and treat them as non-entities.

2) Quality Time = No time to play. You play piano
In the more traditional Asian family, play is usually non-existent. Parents are too busy working and trying to make more money.  There was no such thing as leisure time to "play" like a white family going skiing, hiking, or camping
  

3) Physical Touch = You get B+? You get spanking.
Hugs, kisses, and physical signs of affection are scarce. I can only remember vague memories of my dad holding my mom's hand. I've never seen them kiss each other. Consequently, it's almost taboo for Asian parents to display physical affection to their kids.

4) Acts of Service = You have enough to eat? Here, you eat more.
This is the one love language that most Asian parents think overrides the need for everything else. If they feed you, clothe you, and put a roof over your head, they believe they've done their job. Rarely, will they recognize the need for emotional nurturing and oftentimes are dismissive and critical of Americans' desires to give attention and time to their kids. 

5) Gifts = I pay for your tuition. I make you food. What more do you want?
Gift-giving is also big in the Asian culture. If they give you money, buy you things, then they believe that should suffice for caring for you. Why should they need to empathize or try and understand your point of view when they can just buy their way out of emotional entanglements?"

What's your Love Language?