http://denver.yourhub.comThe latest story posts in The Denver Newspaper Agency YourHub.comen-usnews@yourhub.com(c) 2009, YourHub.com5By Ann Himel A calm demeanor exudes from this bright, engaging young woman from Littleton. At 18, Rachel Leiner is at a pivotal time in her life. Like many of her peers, she is a 2006 graduate of Columbine Senior High School who has an exciting future ahead at Colorado State University in ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/Stories/Story~108394.aspx7/30/2006 10:51:29 PMAnn Himel I find myself faced with another back-to-school season. As any Denverite knows, this coincides with Bronco season. My husband, with the advent of fantasy football, has begun to call this 'football season,' and I will gracefully allow him this faux pas. I should be quite good at this transitio...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/Stories/Story~112486.aspx8/10/2006 11:54:14 AMAnn Himel I remember watching The Price is Right after school at my friend, Jenny 's house. We were fans. We couldn't wait for Johnny to say, "Ervaline! Come on down! You're the next contestant on The Price is Right !" Anxiously, we watched sweet Ervaline from Oklahoma admire the lovely new d...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/Stories/Story~113257.aspx8/12/2006 6:20:45 PMAnn Himel Usually, when I reveal my ethnic heritage, I say I'm Italian. I feel Italian, I look Italian, I think Italian. I don't speak it, but I do eat it. I cook it, too. You should taste my baked rigatoni; it's to die for! There's something very cool about being Italian. I'm in good company. There's ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~114966.aspx8/17/2006 4:07:52 PMAnn Himel This photo was taken of me 10 years ago, as I finished a 50-mile bike ride in memory of my dad. The Heart Ride Roll-n-Stroll was a benefit event for the American Heart Association. Now 10 years older, I'd like to say I'm still pretty healthy. I'm battling the bulge, just like most of my peers, ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~117634.aspx8/24/2006 2:12:07 PMAnn Himel As most of you know, our home is in flux. Mike has begun his freshman year at Adams State College, Tyler has finished his first week of classes as a senior at Columbine High School, and Catherine will begin Kindergarten at Westridge Elementary on Monday. My husband, dog and I are all...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~118317.aspx8/25/2006 10:55:10 PMAnn Himel I went to the doctor for my annual physical this week. As I advance in years, I never know how the news from this visit will pan out. It's like a trip to Las Vegas without the airfare, really. I never know what the odds are that I'll emerge with a clean bill of health or one that needs a little ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~121030.aspx9/4/2006 9:22:43 AMAnn Himel Two weeks ago, I began a new career in the Office of Admissions at Metropolitan State College of Denver in which I evaluate transfer students' transcripts for qualifying credit. I feel like I've come home again after a long journey away. I didn't realize how much I missed being on campus. The co...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~123551.aspx9/10/2006 10:01:27 PMAnn Himel I'm starting a new support group. It's called ACDEC : A dult C hildren of D epression E ra C hildren. My mother, bless her heart, turned 82 this year. She comes from excellent stock. Born in 1924 in Kansas City, MO, and still feeling like she's 30 years old, Mom is great to tal...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~126057.aspx9/16/2006 3:48:45 PMAnn Himel Stories come to me unexpectedly. They are like newborn babes crying to me to be fed, held, played with, changed or otherwise pacified and coddled. Such was the case today. This story came to me as I was walking Rocky , our Lab, after I got home from work. Today was one of those perfect fall d...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~129103.aspx9/24/2006 7:43:48 PMAnn Himel Ah, fall, my favorite time of year. The colors are magnificent, the yard needs less maintenance, I get to convert my closet into providing the array of my favorite selections and there's that exciting chill in the air. These pleasures don't come close to my real passion: Halloween candy . ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~131907.aspx10/1/2006 11:52:58 AMAnn Himel I was surfing my MSN homepage today, and read Style Editor Shannon McCarthy's Fall Fashion Trends 2006. She covers five trends, all good looking and reasonable. They are: Deep Hues (Made in the Shade), Skinny Pants (Of Slender Means), Menswear-inspired Prints (Guy as You Might), Layers (...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~134780.aspx10/8/2006 11:05:51 AMAnn Himel This week's column departs from its usual humorous view of life to focus on an important issue surrounding us today, that of responsible journalism. What follows was written immediately following the tragedy at Platte Canyon High School. Its message reverberates far beyond the undeniable distres...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~137888.aspx10/15/2006 6:45:55 PMAnn Himel Here it is, election time again. We arrive home from work to voice mailboxes full of impassioned pleas to vote for or against a myriad of candidates, addendums, amendments, referendums, heretofores, and e pluribus unums. I've never hit the delete key so many times in my life! So we settle down i...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~144089.aspx10/30/2006 8:04:29 PMAnn Himel One of my favorite TV shows as a kid growing up in Denver was the Noel and Andy Show . Low-tech as they come, the studio must have been half the size of someone's single-car garage. The show was hardly filled with action, in fact far from it. It was just Noel and her puppet friend, Andy. Andy...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~146383.aspx11/4/2006 3:26:53 PMAnn Himel The Talk . It's a phrase that can put a genuinely ice cold fear into the hearts of parents of young adolescents around the globe. From the youthful perspective, it equates to the ephemeral fountain of youth - that ultimate knowledge containing all the world's deepest, darkest secrets. The thoug...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~149128.aspx11/10/2006 10:37:27 PMAnn Himel I love weird food. Deeply ingrained in my childhood is an eternal adoration for Tang and Space Food Sticks. Tang came solely in orange flavor (in our home, anyway) - a simplicity of palatal perfection, and Space Food Sticks came in caramel, chocolate, chocolate malt, and peanut butter. My favori...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~152142.aspx11/17/2006 7:32:58 PMAnn Himel I think I have a disorder of some kind. My brain has down time far too often. Lately it seems to be facilitating its own recreational activity when it really should be focusing on the much more important matter at hand.My wanderlust mind creates enough scenarios of 'what ifs' and 'I wonder what ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~154174.aspx11/26/2006 2:48:04 PMAnn Himel You can do it, Rock! You just drank 5 raw eggs! Wearing his Chuck Taylor Converse hightops and greasy sweats, Rocky Balboa takes on Philly pre-dawn. Why? Because Appollo Creed awaits. Those were the days. When Rocky and Paulie could walk through a meat locker, touching and taking what they ple...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~156843.aspx12/3/2006 9:47:26 AMAnn Himel Story by Winthrop Dyer The Metro State Men's Swimming and Diving team scored two wins in tri-meet this weekend at Colorado College this Saturday, December 2, 2006. In addition to outscoring the host team 57-55, the Met Men also outswam visiting McMurry State, from Abilene, Texas. The women...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Sports/College/Story~158266.aspx12/6/2006 8:56:08 PMAnn Himel It was one of those days. The program we use at work encountered a major malfunction at 12:30. The IT group was Johnny-on-the-spot until 4:15, when they proclaimed the problem not likely to be fixed, so after nearly four hours of non-productivity, we went home. For me, that's the light rail. I ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~159184.aspx12/9/2006 10:10:47 AMAnn Himel Taken from Metro State College Swimming & Diving homepage Women go 0-2, fall to Nebraska-Kearney and Morningside Dec. 11, 2006 Complete Results KEARNEY, NEB. -- Kenny Rhoades set a new school record as he won the one-meter competition with 445.35 points and Metro St...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Sports/College/Story~160227.aspx12/12/2006 8:52:02 PMAnn Himel Taken from Metro State College Swimming & Diving homepage Women go 0-2, fall to Nebraska-Kearney and Morningside Dec. 11, 2006 Complete Results KEARNEY, NEB. -- Kenny Rhoades set a new school record as he won the one-meter competition with 445.35 points and Metro State ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Denver/Stories/Sports/College/Story~160239.aspx12/12/2006 9:43:20 PMAnn Himel Dear Santa: I've seen a lot of Christmas mornings, hung my stocking faithfully for you all my life, and you've never failed me. Thanks again for that walking Barbie, by the way. I loved the button in her back to make her legs move, and the standard French Poodle she came with was awesome! Sorry...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Holidays/Christmas/Story~161219.aspx12/14/2006 10:11:24 PMAnn Himel Editor's note: Click here to see many other users' photos. And click here to post photos of the snow in your neighborhood. Cabin fever hits in less than 12 hours for me, but I waited it out without maiming any of my family members in order to venture into the depths of snow today, ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Sports/Story~163363.aspx12/21/2006 9:08:49 AMAnn Himel Resolutions schmesolutions. I've got the same list as you do, year in, year out, and we either have our progress or we don't. Ideas for the New Year creep into our collective conscience and guilt us into action with their compelling promises of a better life: Get organized! Get fit! Get o...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Holidays/New-Years-Day/Story~165570.aspx12/31/2006 12:41:15 PMAnn Himel It's funny how things pan out. I often wonder if there's some cosmic force guiding the events of the day - forcing us to take a step aside from our daily routines, examine our lives and arrive at a conclusion that gives us great insight into our past, present and future? Certainly there is. No m...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~170277.aspx1/14/2007 12:04:08 PMAnn Himel It's not too often I remember my dreams. When I do, they are intense, emotion-filled psycho-babble that intrigues me enough to consult the one specialty book I own in their analysis. The secrets to deciphering my unconscious universe lie in Dream Dictionary: An A to Z Guide to Understanding Y...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~172989.aspx1/19/2007 10:07:37 PMAnn Himel In the beginning of a hopefully long history of collegiate swimming on the Western Slope, the Metro State Roadrunners women's swim team composed of Kathy Lind , Theresa Irwin , Elizabeth Michael-Trumbull , Laura Michael-Trumbull and Meredith Lanphier (the Fab Five) swam past...http://denver.yourhub.com/Denver/Stories/Sports/College/Story~174492.aspx1/24/2007 8:55:35 AMAnn Himel I'm way past being shocked that I'm 'becoming my mother.' I am my mother. I am also my dad, too, and that sort of balances out the unfair feelings I experienced when at first I realized I was on that tender precipice of bidding my youth goodbye. I remember one stellar moment when I was a know-it...http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/Archive/Family-Friends/General-Family-Friends/Story~175740.aspx1/26/2007 5:44:05 PMAnn Himel