tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96306812009-11-16T13:52:27.292-07:00"Hope has a place in the lover's heart."Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-53153808707065865802009-11-16T13:35:00.003-07:002009-11-16T13:52:27.300-07:00

I thought it was weird when fast food restaurants started merging. When you could go to an A&W Rootbeer/Kentucky Fried Chicken. Or a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut. I mean, what does Pizza have in common with Taco's? It was just strange to me. I understood the business aspect of it. These combo's were owned by the same company and it just made business sense to mash them together. But, it just didn't sit

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-10375151888328943882009-11-13T12:20:00.000-07:002009-11-13T12:20:28.307-07:00

I have been using Pandora for the better part of a month now. I am still loving it. I have found many new artists that I had never heard of before. Also, I have found a new appreciation for some artists that I had heard of before but never really stopped to listen to their music. Here is a sampling of some artists that I have found that I am really enjoying and some of the songs that I really

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-76815018781593666082009-11-12T11:47:00.000-07:002009-11-12T11:47:01.385-07:00

I am a fan of Phantom of the Opera and vocal groups and the other day I came across this rendition of a couple songs from Phantom performed by the UnderAge Quartet. I was impressed. It was beautiful and an interesting arrangement. I have posted it here for your enjoyment.

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-58407186105934326482009-11-10T19:33:00.000-07:002009-11-10T19:33:53.395-07:00

Okay...so I know I've mentioned this before in a previous blog. But, this particular topic is worth two posts. I love my wife's biscuits. She recently started making them from scratch (flour, water, yeast, etc). They are so good. Previously, the best biscuits I ever had were from Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. They were so good. They melted in your

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-37451735711669336022009-11-06T09:58:00.002-07:002009-11-06T10:38:12.027-07:00

A couple weeks back, my friend, Jr, informed me that They Might Be Giants (TMBG) will be performing in Englewood, CO (about 15 minutes from my home). He wanted to go and wanted to know if I was interested. After carefully checking our budget, Joi and I agreed that I could go. I am so glad that I went. It was an amazing show. But, first, a little background. I've been a fan of TMBG since the

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-74666382155672308402009-11-05T09:05:00.002-07:002009-11-05T09:06:50.089-07:00

Lately, as I'm browsing the grocery store adverts, I've noticed lots of sales on pomegranates. This caused me to realize that I've never really eaten a pomegranate. So, the other day I was at Super-Walmart and I noticed that they had pomegranates for $1 each. So, I grabbed one and took it home to try. My anticipation was high. There is a lot of hype about pomegranates in the bible. Apparently, it

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-12805793349521813112009-11-02T12:56:00.003-07:002009-11-04T16:22:07.202-07:00

This year, we celebrated Halloween on Friday and Saturday night. On Friday, we went to a Trunk or Treat Event at a church in Arvada. Gavin was Venom from the Spiderman movies. Gage was a Ninja. Garrison wanted to be an army man, but we didn't have an army jacket for him (and couldn't find one)...so he decided to be a Laker. He dressed up in his Laker sweat pants, his Laker Jersey, and his Laker

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-9371448090954360682009-10-30T12:45:00.000-06:002009-10-30T12:45:49.885-06:00

I woke up this morning and checked the UC Denver Weather Alert Page, only to find out that they were indeed going to be open for business. I was surprised. The snow had stopped, but it was very icy and snow was everywhere. My alarm went off this morning to the local news channel talking about how dangerous the commute was today because of black ice and listing all of the accidents around town. I

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-18493168239171840532009-10-29T17:46:00.002-06:002009-10-30T12:30:39.808-06:00

I'm not sure if this is normal or not for October, but we were hit (and hit hard) with a huge snow storm. It started on Tuesday night at 8pm with a light snow. It caused my Dish Network signal to go weird by 8:30pm ruining our Lakers Season Opener. Then, it continued to snow. I went to work on Wednesday and struggled through traffic in several inches of snow, only to be told to go home early by

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-80405198095520375032009-10-28T09:14:00.001-06:002009-10-28T10:28:50.110-06:00

Every year when the basketball season starts and the Lakers have their season opener, the Copeland Clan has a ritual. When we were in California, we would pick up Vince's Spaghetti and watch the opener with a spaghetti dinner. We've been doing this for years. Well, Colorado has no Vince's Spaghetti (much to my utter and sincere disappointment). So, instead Joi makes spaghetti (and her spaghetti

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-49201966204586866432009-10-27T11:18:00.001-06:002009-10-27T11:20:40.154-06:00

I have been home sick from work the last couple of days. I finally succumbed to the bad and very contagious cold that has been going around. I plan to return to work tomorrow. While checking my work email from home, I noticed that there was an alert from the Auraria Campus (three colleges share a huge campus called Auraria where the University of Colorado Denver, the Community College of Denver,

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-51160997301932562442009-10-26T16:47:00.002-06:002009-10-26T16:51:36.001-06:00

My boys used to watch a show on the Disney Channel called "The Suite Life on Deck" and "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody". They loved this show. They watched it everyday and even named their pet corn snakes after characters on the show. Then one day, they decided not to watch it anymore. When we asked them why, they said because there were inappropriate things on the show. When we asked them to

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-81185909978495175802009-10-23T15:31:00.008-06:002009-10-23T15:41:59.121-06:00

I was waxing philosophical again recently. Riding public transportation allows me more time to do that. I began thinking about who I am and how I consider myself a well rounded person. Part of that is my desire to try new things and experience new things. The other part is just who I am. I have many diverse interests. I like many different things. Things that range the full spectrum of human

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-80127363671075603732009-10-23T09:05:00.000-06:002009-10-23T09:05:29.470-06:00

There are a couple interesting things about working near downtown Denver. One of them, I have never seen before. Diagonal crosswalks! At several intersections in Downtown Denver, there are crosswalks that go across the street in the normal way and then also have a diagonal path across the middle of the intersection. It's interesting. I have to admit that it freaked me out the first time my

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-80724278779555358332009-10-22T09:54:00.002-06:002009-10-22T09:58:48.349-06:00

Now that I have been a steady cell phone user for approximately ten years, I am noticing a disturbing physical trend. I usually keep my phone on vibrate due to being at work and not wanting to bother anyone with loud ring-tones. Or worse yet, have it go off during an important meeting. Besides, my ring-tones tend to be a bit bizarre. Anyway, a few years back when I wore my cell phone on my belt

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-88870851990620767692009-10-21T09:04:00.000-06:002009-10-21T09:04:38.865-06:00

Yesterday evening, the temperatures dropped. During the weekend, I wore shorts and enjoyed the sunny weather which hovered around the mid 70's. Yesterday, the temperatures dipped into the low 30's and snow was in the forecast. Joi decided that it would be a great evening to have a traditional English Tea for dinner. She put out individual tea cups and plates, filled three tea pots with Apple

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-67810354438300689362009-10-20T12:25:00.000-06:002009-10-20T12:25:23.041-06:00

I don't mean to generalize or stereotype. Please forgive me now if that occurs. Today when I was riding the Light-Rail to work, I started people watching, as I often do. I noticed a young man siting near me whose attire fit the stereotypical gang-member garb that is fairly common in California. Low riding jeans, bandana hung slightly above the eyes, hoodie, etc. What made me chuckle softly to

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-75166640834690404572009-10-19T13:02:00.002-06:002009-10-19T13:04:22.337-06:00

This morning as I left my home to take the bus to work I walked out to a spectacular sunrise that I thought would share with all of you. My cell phone camera just does not do it justice. It was a spectacular sight. I was definitely in awe, as I waited at the bus stop (which you can actually see across the street in the picture). Just one more advantage of getting up early and taking the bus to

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-57061651792837157902009-10-16T09:19:00.000-06:002009-10-16T09:19:15.363-06:00

Yesterday was Gavin's 5th birthday. I can't believe my youngest is already five. Time goes by so fast! To celebrate, as is our tradition, we let Gavin pick the meals and activities of the day. Here's what he wanted to do. The night before, Gaving wanted his cousins, Josiah and Dylan, to spend the night. We enjoyed some pizza for dinner. I had been reading them the Chronicles of Narnia books at

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-45815458556270955452009-10-14T10:08:00.004-06:002009-10-14T10:15:25.799-06:00

I have been a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" since my Mom first introduced it to me when I was a kid. When I was acting in community theater at The Gallery Theater in Ontario, the adult actors did this operetta and this was the first time I saw it. I was immediately enthralled with it's humor, musicality, and action.It's a giant comedy of errors set to music. It's like

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-13724635473960798202009-10-13T09:21:00.002-06:002009-10-13T10:40:06.947-06:00

In classical Greek mythology, Zeus gave Pandora a box with strict instructions not to open it. Pandora's curiosity soon got the better of her and she gave in...opening the box. Her act of opening the box unleashed all kinds of evils and miseries, which began to inflict mankind. Flash-forward a few thousand years. At the Hershey Conference, I met with some former colleagues of mine from Azusa

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-63036349221125757282009-10-12T16:40:00.000-06:002009-10-12T16:40:54.316-06:00

This entry will be called Potpourri Post because I have several things on my mind and there was no good title to fit them all. First off, I'm home from the San Diego Conference. It was quite a shock on the system to emerge from the airport into 29 degree temperatures. All the cars coming in to pick up arrivals had small amounts of snow and ice-cycles hanging from their vehicles. The next morning

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-66444662606692932252009-10-08T17:26:00.001-06:002009-10-08T17:27:09.030-06:00

I am currently in San Diego, CA for a Hershey Systems Conference at the Bahia Resort Hotel. I am really impressed with the hotel. It's gorgeous and the location is great. I expected that since this is a conference that I'd get the standard room with no particularly great view. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I have a deluxe room with a full kitchen, king size bed, and a ocean view.

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-49321875420186005782009-10-06T12:37:00.001-06:002009-10-14T13:25:03.884-06:00

My sister, Sarah, came into town to visit us this weekend. Joi and the kids picked her up from Denver International Airport on Friday. Then they picked me up and we grabbed some Papa Murphy's Pizza on the way home. On Saturday, we met Dye and Forest at the Great Pumpkin Harvest Festival at Historic Four Mile Park. We had some Kettle Corn and Fry Bread with honey. Went on a Hay Ride...and even

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9630681.post-91983211626505226792009-10-02T10:13:00.001-06:002009-10-02T10:14:30.442-06:00

I've talked previously about taking the Light Rail to work and how much I've enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately, taking the light rail requires that I either drive to the station (about 10 minutes away) and leave the car there all day or that I have my wife and kids take me to the station so that they can have the car. Now, another transportation option I have in an express bus that has a stop

Chris Copelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17508802929698437921noreply@blogger.com7