Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Not much to write since my last entry. School keeps me on my toes, work is still busy and I'm getting ready to go to Cincinnati to hang with the family for Thanksgiving. I always like seeing my family, just hate having to sit around my grandmothers house all day. My uncle has a spare van he let's me drive while I'm there; however, he might not be back in town in time, so don't know if I'll get to use it or not. It's nice to have some freedom while there. I'll probably rent a car if the van doesn't pan out. Going to my cousin Tammy's one night - I've missed seeing them the last couple of times I've been out, so we'll make a point of going to their house. Just found out they moved into a bigger house not too far from where they lived before. Looking forward to seeing that.

My cousin Bret and I are going to go to the museum that Wednesday night, see what's showing at the IMAX. I told him I wanted to do something, I rarely get to do much of anything besides shuttle from one house to another. The only other thing I've really done is go to a baseball game here or there. Jeff took me to a UC basketball game one time while I was there during Xmas a few years ago, that was a lot of fun! I'd love to head to Columbus and do a hockey game one time, preferably when the AVs are there - not sure if that will ever happen, though. We'll see.

I'm going to mess around with this blog somewhat. I've gone onto other blogs within this site, people do some pretty cool stuff. Need to change mine up a bit, do more pics and such. It'll be a learning experience - always good to know something different and new.

Catch y'all later when I have something more enlightening to say :)

Now it IS just another day

As this season ends, a new one will begin. So it is for baseball. Our Colorado Rockies were swept in the World Series. . . but I am not that sad (oh, OK - just a little, would have loved to be at a third game tonight). Happiness is more of a feeling, as we celebrate what the Rockies have had in great successes. Check these out:

1) Only the 2nd team in history to sweep all playoff games up to the World Series (up there next to the Big Red machine of 1976)
2) Played the longest nine inning game in World Series history (really, that was a yawner there for awhile - not sure if I should count that?)
3) Won 21 of 22 games through regular and post season, going into the World Series. Let's see - they are one of 5 teams to ever do this?
4) They were 4-1/2 games behind San Diego Sept 16. Whodathunk?

There are a multitude of statistics where the Rockies were in the top 5 of all time. They are a great team - too bad they didn't grab Joe Girardi (former Rockies pitcher, coach/manager in many different capacities over the last few years) to be manager for the Rockies before the Yankees did. He could have made them into a killer team! Now we'll never be able to afford him. Steinbrenner just set THAT bar too high.

To recap my experience of attending a World Series - AWESOME! The energy from the crowds was unbelievable, the electricity in the stadium undeniable. And man, was that American flag gianormous! I can't really describe in words how it felt to be at this historical event. When we walked through the turnstiles into the stadium, I looked at Lynn (Kirsten's mom) and jumped up and down, saying "we're at the World Series!" It didn't hit me until we walked into the place. I only wish that Kirsten could have joined us, we have been to so many games together the past couple of years - my baseball buddy. I'm glad I have a couple of really big sports fans like myself to hang with! Ask me sometime, I might be able to put into words what my experience left me with. However at this moment, my heart is again a-flutter as I re-live my experience through writing about it! Wow - I'm so lucky!!!

Until my next great adventure (don't think anything will top this one off for a couple of years, or at least until the NASCAR race in Las Vegas in March - nahh, that still won't come close) - Ciao for now!

Not just another day

The last couple of days were pretty busy ones with work. Garage Door has had problems and wouldn't open when I got home from work, and to top it off, I kept leaving my house keys in my vehicle (I'd been carpooling for 2 days). It think that Karin, the carpooler, will just drop me off at the nearest bar next time, and Karen the roommate (who has rescued me both times by coming home a little earlier than planned) will shoot me after 2 days in a row of this happening. No set of keys are leaving my purse ever again.

So today, I've been watching this show, "Scariest Places on Earth," about haunted hotels, prisons and castles. Woke up at 7am, didn't get out of bed until 10:30 - I NEVER do that. The leaves that have turned different colors are falling off of the trees and bushes - it'll be around 50 degrees today and around 39 degrees tonight around 9pm. Just kind of a ho-hum day.

In the midst of all of this, I am going to a baseball game. Right now, it feels like just a baseball game, with my favorite team, hanging with my friend Kirsten's mom, dad and brother, watching a past time I have grown to love since the pros came to Colorado in the early 90's. But this ISN'T just any game - its the World Series! It feels surreal - yet like just another day. Don't think it's really going to hit me what is going on until I get to the field tonight.

After I met Kirsten and her mom at the Breckenridge Brewery to pick up my ticket - I started to notice things happening around Coors Field. A huge tent was erected on the North side of the stadium, street level. When we drove around it to get to 20th to head for home, there were people in front of the stadium with Rockies gear on, and people with professionally made and home made signs saying they wanted World Series Tickets "will pay top dollar." I don't know who they are fooling, but anyone that has a ticket will be going, and if they didn't sell their tickets on stub hub or ebay, hopefully they will be selling them to friends so they can experience a piece of Colorado History.

Anyway, going through LoDo, you can just feel the energy rising. Tonight, it will be at an unbelievable level, more so than when I was at that last game of the season, the Wildcard tie-breaker, and game 3 of the Wildcard playoffs.

I'll write more tomorrow, pending I survive tonight. With that being said. . .

GO ROCKIES!!

I've survived the week, Almost

Got past last night, the big school night where I had to turn in 3 reports and give one speech. I was literally doing my homework up to the absolute last minute! Being sick the latter part of last week then over the weekend gave me no motivation to get much done, but still did a little. Just glad the big stuff is all over with. Although I have things due over the next few weeks, I don't have to go to class for almost a month and already have the big assignments done. I will miss going to class to hear my classmates do their speeches, though. They are such a great group of people, and my instructor is pretty awesome, too. I'm thinking that right now I am pretty fortunate!

Picked up my World Series ticket today - one for Saturday night. I think I got off pretty cheap, $109 each in section 202 (north side of stadium, second level). They will be good seats. I'm REALLY excited about going, but I don't think the true excitement will hit until I am there. We will be a part of Colorado history - attending the 1st ever World Series in our state! This will be a super exciting weekend! I better plan on going in late to work on Tuesday. . .

This past Tuesday, I went to the Pepsi Center to get the big work event plans ironed out. Since there was a basketball game that night, it gave me a chance to try out the food at the Lexus Club on the 2nd level. I've been by there before, but hadn't eaten there - I would highly recommend it if you get the chance. They have "food stations" and rotate the menus each event at the Pepsi Center. This time they had a little bit of seafood, a really good roast beef, and some middle eastern types of foods. I'm really happy with the way I think that things will go. There was a pre-season basketball game and they gave me tickets that were in the 5th row from the floor. Too bad I couldn't stay! I missed going to the Bronco Game on Sunday night with Boots due to feeling crappy, I can't stay for a basketball game with awesome seats. Good thing I have this weekend to look forward to!

I'll post more as we get through the weekend. As my friend Karen says, "Asta la taco!"

First Snow of the Season

8:20am and the first snow of fall starts coming down! The mountains have already been getting it since around the first weekend of October. Guaranteed, it will be gone by the end of the day tomorrow, though. Was going to run a couple of errands today, but instead, think I'll just stay home and do my homework. I have 2 papers and one speech to get done by Wednesday. I have to miss class due to a work event on Nov 14, so have to give my speech early. Been trying to stave off a cold the last few days as well, so this has all been a little overwhelming to get through.

Our Colorado Rockies are going to the World Series, and we are all excited! They say we didn't have this much excitement and buzz when the Broncos went to the Superbowl at ANY time. I'd say its even more than when our first year Colorado Avalanche went to the Stanley cup right out of the box. The Rockies decided to run all tickets through online purchasing, which sucks. Out of 51K+ seats, only 18,000 tickets will be available for each of the 3 games. This leaves everything open to scalpers from all over the world to purchase OUR tickets and try to sell them for ridiculous prices. And the people who purchase them are stupid, as they create the demand and the price increases. You can get 4 tickets for each game in one try. There are 10 of us who will try to get tickets tomorrow, so hopefully one of us will get lucky. GO ROCKIES!!

This past Sunday, I volunteered with the Denver Press Club to help with an event called "The Gridiron." Its a fundraiser for the press club that brings local journalism personalities together to do comedy skits on pop culture, politics, etc. Didn't know that Mike Landis (local news guy) was such an avid guitar player! It was pretty funny but a little long.

The highlight for me was that my cousin, Wayne and his wife Joan were on the guest list! I was so happy to see them - got caught up on what my cousins Chris and Cheryl were up to. The oldest grandson is already 15 years old! Also, Cheryl finally had a little boy, Evan, who is 4. Chris got divorced from Stephen and is engaged to a really nice guy that Joan really likes. All that news just floored me - time is flying for all of us. But it was really good to see them, I hadn't run into any of that side of the family in about 5 years, I think since the last election where Wayne was elected again. There is every intention to get out to DC in April or May to see Wayne and Joan before he is out of office; as well as my cousin Kevin who is working at the Pentagon (as a rep of the Air Force). Geez - that reminds me, I really need to call him!

Time to finish cleaning - catch y'all on the flip side!

What an exciting night!

Our Rockies pulled it out in a close game and won the NL Wildcard for a chance to play for the NL Division Title! We have to play our arch rivals the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team that we beat on the last day of the season to get to this spot (the win put us into the tie-breaker with San Diego). We beat them 2 out of 3 last time -this will be a really tough series. I'm thinking we are going to end up going through all 7 games on this one. I know we all really hope that the Rocks can get it done, they could be the 4th pro team in Colorado to win a championship: Broncos did it 3 times, Avalanche twice and the Mammoth once. The Nuggets really have something to prove this season - they haven't gone to the NBA finals ever!


As I thought, the lightrail was really packed once again, this time 3-1/2 hours before gametime. It was pretty nice weather, in the lower 80's when I got down to the field. But let me tell you about our Colorado weather - it can change in a instant! Literally minutes before the game started, we went from a balmy 72 degrees to under 60 in literally seconds. We watched a bunch of dust blow across the field from the north - then it hit us with a wall of really cold air . . . brrrr!! By the time we left the game, it was 50 degrees. Although snow has already fallen in the mountains towards the end of last month, they are predicting a more tomorrow. We might see some down here, but I'm not going anywhere to find out! Downtown will be a zoo, with the Denver Race for the Cure going on (that's 50K+ people), a Broncos game (60K+ fans) and an Avalanche game (I think that's about 25K). Our lower downtown area is making BIG bucks this weekend! I'm staying home to study, not going anywhere near that mess!

Went to the hospital this morning to see Kyrie and little Landon. Not all babies are cute, but he is absolutely adorable - and a good baby to boot, so far. I held him for about 45 min while mom took her first shower since the baby was born. He fussed a little bit, but really was very good. I can't wait to watch him grow up - and see the many fishing outfits that Grandpa Bob gets him into!

Go Rocks!

What an exciting (and tiring) week it has been! Went to the baseball game on Sunday the 30th, only to win and then immediately purchase tickets to the tie-breaker game, in which we won! The 7th wildcard tie-breaker in history, 1st in this century :) It was very exciting, but 13 innings was just a killer! Very awesome to be part of some record-breaking history as well, but the game could have ended a lot earlier if the umpire hadn't made a super bad call and denied Atkins of a homerun. Oh well, they won in spite of it all!

That night of the 30th, I hurried home after the game, changed and met Boots and some other friends for some light appetizers before going to see Spamalot. The show was hilarious - and I was glad to take the next day off, as I needed the time to not just recoop, but to really recount all of the fun that I had, take a nap, then go to that tie-breaking game.

So, the rest of the week has been just as busy. In the midst of all this excitement, I had homework to get turned in, a YMCA commitee meeting, shopping for work, more homework. At least I'm getting a perfect score in class so far after turning in all of that stuff!

Then FINALLY - the word that baby decided it was time to come into the world came out. Got the 6:30am text message that Kyrie's water broke at 11:30pm on Wednesday evening, had been at the hospital walking the halls as she hadn't gone directly into labor yet. That started at 9am and would continue into the night. I went to the hospital after work (and a really busy day to boot), hung out with in-and-out sleeping mommy-to-be, grandma-to-be, and a couple of Kyrie's close friends. 9:30 rolled around and contractions were getting closer together and mom was coming out of the drug-induced, pain-stay-away, semi coma she was in. I finally had to call it a night, but was assured I would know something when it happened. Landon Robert couldn't get out, so with the slice of a knife, he came out at 1:50am at a whopping 8 lbs (no wonder the poor kid couldn't get any sleep!), 21-1/2" and healthy as a horse! I'm going in tomorrow morning to see everyone - I'm so excited to see the little bugger!

For now, its time to do yet some MORE homework reading, prepping myself for all of the stuff I need to do this weekend. I'll report on the game tomorrow night, I'm pretty sure the Rockies will win, allowing me to be part of the first playoff sweep for the Rockies in our club's short history!

Sorry, it's been awhile!

So. . . I've been well, busier than a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest. Felt like the person on the receiving end of that butt kicking as well. Labor Day hit and almost immediately, the nights have become much cooler (and comfortable). Sleeping more through the night than I have all summer. Going to work with the prettiest of the year's sunrises coming up showing colors of pink, orange, purple and blues. The leaves on the Aspen trees are really starting to turn their colors of gold, and the fire bush in front of the house is going red. Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year, but I think fall is the prettiest.

It's been a fairly eventful month. Gone to a few Rockies games, hoping that they can still pull out their trump card and make the last minute vie for a Wildcard playoff spot. They won their last 3 series, plus, had a 10 game winning streak going, then lost the first game of their last regular season series to Arizona. Although they have greatly slimmed their chances for that playoff berth, there is a VERY small chance that if the planets align, they beat Arizona 2 games and San Diego loses (along with a few other variables) they could still make it. Our team has come a long way this last part of the year, wish we would have had this exact combination of players in the beginning, we would have had a pretty good opportunity.

And there's the Broncos - they barely pulled off their 1st 2 wins (really, by shear luck) and then they lose to Jacksonville. Broncs play the Colts this weekend, I'm not too hopeful on that one. I'll be at a Rockies game anyway.

A few weeks ago (think its been 3 of them) Karen and I went to see the Def Leppard/Styx/Bad Company concert. Each group played about 45 min, with 15-20 intermissions to change out the equipment for the next group. Good music, but it was on a Sunday night, didn't get to sleep until after 11pm (and we left before the last couple of songs to beat the crowds) - that's really late for me, so my Monday was pretty rough.

I started college this past week, I'm only takinig one class - Leadership. Really think it will be a fun class, a lot to learn. Already have my list of all assignments due, so I can work on them as quickly or as slowly as I want, just can't turn them in until the dates allowed. I have so much in my work and volunteer life to pull from, that I should really be able to learn how to handle myself better at work. We are at the time of the year that is the toughest for us, and busiest for me. With 2008 Business Planning (a 1 month process in itself), 2008 budgeting, events, marketing sell-ins and preperation for next year, as well as the usual day-to-day stuff, it creates a somewhat stressful atmosphere at work. Tempers flare easily with the sales guys, as they read and take less and less direction, just wanting to "sell boxes" and make their quotas. I can understand where they are coming from, but don't think they understand to much of a degree what is on my plate, either. We give them a lot of information in which to help them stave off issues, yet they read none of it and double the work for myself and others in the office. It becomes a big circle of discontent and confusion, and it all lands on me in the long run. I'm really hoping that my class will help me learn how to handle these issues better and create a smoother running office for everyone.

Tomorrow night we are going to see "Spamalot," the broadway version of "Monty Python and The Holy Grail." I'm really looking forward to some big humor in my life right now. Took Monday off from work since it will be a somewhat late night on Sunday, plus I get some things done that are normally not as easy to do when I can't get away during my lunchtimes.

I'll report on the play - hopefully sooner rather than later!

Well, it finally happened. . .

I had a complete meltdown at work today. I've been working with our Salt Lake District to put together this Parts & Supplies postcard to send out to our customers, and we had a couple of glitches with it, along with my trying to accurately change the price via the inhouse system. We saved it from being mailed, but it will cost us a little something to reprint it with the correct message. My contact there told me not to feel too bad, one of the California Districts did one that got mailed out and had blatantly bad info on it (10K copies). For ours, we could have worked through the error with little difficulty, but there are those that know what the difference is, so we are changing it.

Anyway, I had a bunch of things happening early this morning (as well as this week), and along with covering 3 jobs and the workload that doesn't seem to see the light of day, it was the final straw. Luckily no one was there when I lost it, it was pretty early this morning (around 7:30am). My counterpart Sue in the Salt Lake office just happened to call me as I was calming myself down from a river of tears. She verbally walked me out of the moment, and helped me start to ground myself again. My boss walked in after that, around 8:15am, but I didn't let him know what was going on until about 10:30. By then, he had a pretty good inkling that I was having a hard time, so we hashed it out and I get a temp!! But not just any temp, the girl we've wanted to hire for our SA position. Karin is going into this knowing that she can't hold any expectations, and there is no guarantee that the job is hers. Since Corp is still sitting on their butts about this and I'm just overly and publicly buried, Skip somehow got us the permission (not only is our company on a hiring freeze - in the field only, of course, but nearly every district had to let their temporary workers go). However, she can start learning the ropes, it'll give Skip a chance to see how well she fits in, too. I think it will work out really well - but I'm just happy that I have someone to help, now, and exactly the person I wanted there!! Yiippppeee!!!! Now I can start getting caught up on stuff.

When I left work, my boss told me not to be so hard on myself, we'll get this all worked out - we've survived huge challenges, this one will work itself out as well. I work really hard to do things right, but lately that has been really difficult to do. I'm just sorry it took a major meltdown to occur to make things happen. I should have done this much sooner!

I went to the college to get my one book and a testing page for my class that starts on Sept 26th. Both of those items together cost 2/3rd's as much as my class did - YIKES!!!! This school thing is MUCH more expensive than it used to be. College textbooks cost so much cuz "THEY CAN." That's crap, but guess that's the US for you. Yes, you can make money and over charge huge amounts and THEN live the American dream. Kiss my butt you greedy bastards :)

Labor Day Weekend

It's Sunday evening at 7pm, raining with a slight breeze, water drenching my oak bookcase. . . dammit! Ok, so I closed the window, wiped everything down that has gotten soaked, but can still hear the thunder - ahhhh, what a soothing evening it will be. And the best part - I don't have to go to work tomorrow, yippee!!

Friday afternoon late, I met Boots downtown where we walked to Civic Center Park for the first day of a Taste of Colorado. I am now convinced that Friday night is really the only night to go. Sure, there are no "big bands" like Night Ranger or Survivor playing that night (seen both, NR a few times back in the late 80's), but the show we did see was awesome and the performers have now become my new favorite band - Something Underground. They are young brothers (somewhere, I am guessing, between 25-30 years old), with a drummer and the ability to interchange instruments. Seth, the older one, can play all, and Josh, the younger one plays bass primarily. We did determine that the one playing lead guitar is the one that gets to sing. They take popular songs and change them into something completely different (kind of what Eric Clapton did to his song Layla). When they did "Free Falling" by Tom Petty as a reggae song, I wasn't sure at first, but they did it very smoothly - even interjecting the lyrics and chords of other popular songs. Not even ZZ Top can pull that off as well!

Along with the music, we had a thunderstorm move directly over us, spitting a little bit of rain here and there, but nothing we couldn't live with. What was really awe inspiring is the tall glass building at the corner of 13th and Broadway, just south of the Colorado Historical Museum (the one my cousin and I went to while he was here). With sky going into darkness, you could still see the outline of clouds against windows. The glass not only reflected the lightning, but along with the lighted rotundra of the capital building, it was quite a show! It added to the musical talent all that much more. Wow, I LOVE living here!

The "TASTE" is a yearly event, and really can be a lot of fun. There is a lot of different foods to try from a few restaurants (I personally don't think that enough participate), with cooking shows and the higher end restaurants showing off their wares in the center. There are 6 stages of different types of music, plus a karaoke stage. It's a great place to eat fruit kabobs (strawberries and bananas drizzled with dark then white chocolate) and just people watch.

My friend Jill's husband, Joe, passed away the weekend before, sadly, on his son's birthday. I don't remember how old he was, but I think he was around 45. Died from liver disease. He had been in and out of the hospital all summer long, apparently. I hadn't seen him in probably 3 years. Makes me even more determined to stay in touch with people that I don't see much, but making sure that they know I'm thinking about them and wish them well. There was a memorial service and BBQ at his parents house - they live just outside of Kiowa, about 15 miles southeast of Castlerock. A potted spruce was dedicated to Joe by his son Christopher, who turned 6 that fateful day. I am very sad for Jill and Chris - not matter how long they have known that Joe's passing was a strong possibility, it'll still be tough for awhile. I told her that I would be there to help when she decided to go through Joe's things. It's not good try and do that by yourself. My dad didn't deal with my brother Jason's things for nearly a year after he died. I would go into his room and just lay on his bed. Started taking posters down a couple months afterwards, my dad got really mad - he just wasn't ready to let go just yet. So, I left all as it was.

Jill and I received our Senatorships the same weekend. She was state President of our Jaycee organization, and I was ONTO Vienna chairperson. She is my junior with the Senatorship (my number is lower than hers :) We had a rocky time that year, with a few things happening that tested the friendship that we had - I got mad about something, I can't even remember what it was, now. We did get past it eventually. You have to let the little things that just don't matter go - you just never know when you might get to see that person again.

My friend Jerry rode with me to the BBQ. When we got there, only 2 others in our circle were there, Jim and Laurie. Along with Kerry (who showed up a couple hours later), we were the only Jaycee friends that showed up. That was a little disappointing to me, but at least we represented those that couldn't make it and Jill knows that we all are thinking of her.

Last weekend, Karen and I went to the Balloon Festival at Chatfield Resevoir, in the very southeast part of Denver (actually, Littleton - in the burb's). We went REALLY early, which is a feat for Karen, who doesn't generally get out of bed on the weekend until 9am. As I am a natural early bird, I woke myself up a little earlier, and drove us to the event. It was really a beautiful, crisp morning, with the sun just coming up. It was just really an awe-inspiring sight to see those balloons filling up with hot air and taking off. We saw Tony the Tiger, the Energizer bunny, a dragon wrapped around a balloon and proof that, in fact, pigs DO fly. The pictures will say it all :) There were 70 balloons that day, so in our small space, it was really cool. Just wondering what it's like to watch 800 balloons go up in a morning in Albuquerque during their festival!

At work, we are still waiting for Corporate to get their @#$es in gear so we can hire our SA. My workload is already straining at the seams, and I'm learning new things so I can help out a little more. It has been truly trying at times, and my boss is quick to let me know that he appreciates how I've stuck it out and put in the extra time to ensure that things are running as smoothly as we can make them. We'll just see how things go and what happens in the coming weeks.

That's all for now, catch y'all later - and thanks for reading!

Winding down the summer

Here it is, walking the downside of August and man, is it still hot! 96 degrees today. We'll get cooler by Thursday, with lows hitting the mid 50's - yeah! I'm ready to get cold when I sleep.

Pretty uneventful couple of weeks - last weekend, didn't really do a lot. Met up with some friends at Dewey's last Friday night, and ended up being DD for them. It was my friend Jayne's B-day, they wanted me to go with, so told them I'd drive them. Since there 7 of us, I took 3 and Karin's brother took the 3 of them into downtown Littleton (he went home so we could keep it a "girls night out"). I will tell you, however, they were already 3 sheets to the wind, some a little more. One left Old Town Tavern early, not sure how she got home. Angie was absolutely snockered, so I took her home, and Amy was still pretty sober, so dropped her off at Dewey's to get her vehicle to go home. This friend of Amy's that was visiting was just a cute little 25 year old, but had a laugh I'd never heard before - it was such a goofy laugh that it made us all crack up! My gut was hurting by the time I got home at 9pm. Whatever happened to those nights when I'd stay up until 3am?

Saturday was the 8th and final Caddy Hut Putt-putt golf tourney. The Denver Jaycees have been doing this fundraiser for years for the Scleroderma Foundation's Denver chapter. My friend Scott's mom died from the disease many years ago, so he became active with the foundation and started doing this fundraiser with Bric. They've raised probably close to $75K (I'm guessing hard on this) over those 8 years through silent and live auctions. I've been a large contributor to that cause. Heck, when I think about it, I've probably put in about $2K myself over 7 years of attendance. I've gotten a basketball signed by Dick Vitale (college basketball commentator extraordinaire); autographed pic of Patrick Roy (retired goalie for the Colorado Avalanche hockey club); an autographed Rob Blake sweater (same club); 3 facials; 2 sets of Rockies tickets; a Pinzgauer camping trip (bet on that with Chuck 2 years ago, we have yet to go on it); a condo in Puerto Vallarta that Boots and I never got to go on because of airfare and timing (I will NEVER purchase a timeshare); and various little things. I've gotten killer deals on stuff - I'd have to say unfortunately, but more than received my money's worth on all of this, and it all went to charity which I am hardly ever able to turn down.

Through all of that, the only time I would really see Bric and Scott is at this tourney, and if I were lucky, at the Denver Jaycees Christmas party. I see Bric's wife Linda here and there at things, and usually at least once a month on local TV or radio when she is doing promos for the Dumb Friends League. I got cell numbers again, so hope I don't lose touch with any of them.

So Saturday, besides going to work for 4 hours, scoping/purchasing Bronco hats for my best friend Tal's son Blake (they live in south Minneapolis - can't get Bronco gear there) and a fundraiser, I was pretty wiped. My knees were absolutely killing me the rest of the weekend.

This week at work is a killer already, and will be the rest of it as well. We are still waiting to hear from corporate about the approval of replacing our SA position - I hope it happens soon, not sure how much more I can take. Although I can't do that job, I still deal with the customers and a bunch of the little issues that position dealt with. Then, having to work on getting customers to other sources (our Salt Lake or Phoenix offices) to get pricing on product - all of those places are getting sick of doing our work, I'm sure - along with my regular work plus a variety of special projects, all of the work is getting to me. I've been in a bad mood since yesterday afternoon; hoping to get over that by tomorrow.

I'm hitting a couple of baseball games this week, as well as 3 or 4 next month; that should help me as well :)

Well, asta la taco to y'all fer now. . . try to catch you before Labor Day weekend ***shiver*** can't believe that's almost here already!

So, Shall we say. . .

It's HOT again? Dang, I know my industry "thrives on the misery of others" when it comes to weather, but this is ridiculous! Enough already. . . no more humidity (yes, to my family out east, it has been the icky, sticky sweaty humid here, too)!

I went to the 115th anniversary party of the Brown Palace Hotel w/Boots on Thursday. For those that haven't heard of the Brown Palace, it is a very nice hotel in downtown Denver that has been the stopping point for many a president and high ranking official. Dwight Eisenhower used on many occasions as his "home away from home," often spending his breaks at the hotel, including Christmas. The suite he stayed in is still there and used often. It has a small dining room, living room w/fireplace, water closet and master bedroom (w/full bathroom, of course). It has the ability for an adjoining room as well. Oh, and this hotel is notably HAUNTED. Gotta try that sometime. . .

Anywhooo, they had an in-house Iron Chef contest amongst their own staff, which was held on a stage in the middle of the lobby area. They had some great food (their prime rib is to DIE for) and a wine tasting. It was fun, and we got to take home a commemorative wine glass. How do I get to do such fun stuff?

Today, I went to the 1st of 2 baby showers this weekend. My best friend Karen's niece, Marissa, is having a baby girl, currently scheduled for Sept 20 arrival - we'll see how baby likes that day :) She is such a cute kid, and her husband, whom she married as a result of the pregnancy, seems to be very supportive and is really a nice guy. He has a little girl from his first marriage as well. She wasn't there, but I guess is looking forward to a baby sister. Marissa will be 21 soon, her husband I think is 22 or 23. I hope they do well and stay together. They seem happy after 5 months of marriage.

The 2nd baby shower is tomorrow for Kyrie, the daughter of good friends, whom I've grown very close to. She's had her ups and downs as a teenager, 2 bouts with cancer before the age of 18, and now a pregnancy close to her 21st birthday - but she is a good kid, despite all of her trials she's gone through. The father is too young and apparently somewhat spoiled, so still wants to play teenager before taking on responsibility. I'm going to guess that he probably didn't learn a great deal of that from his parents, who probably let him run a little rampant and didn't hold him accountable for his actions. That's OK - one day it'll kick in that he has someone that will rely on him to teach how to be a good person.

In the meantime, we'll all be there for Kyrie and the baby. I think she'll be a good mom, she already knows the things that she wants to do for her child. That's more than I have seen most young moms think about. Kyrie thinks more ahead than "day-to-day." This is my chance to play auntie, and hopefully I'll see them a lot more. Although I sometimes think that kids wouldn't have been a bad thing for me, in today's society, its definitely a difficult job. I admire anyone who does it, and does it well. It's a lot to balance physically, emotionally and financially. Especially those that have to do it by themselves. God Bless the moms!

There'll be more later. . . until then!

As my world turns. . . yet again!

What an eventful month July has been! I did a lot of stuff, had some huge challenges to overcome (well, got through one of them, anyway) and now looking forward to some better times. My issue at work, a girl that has been a thorn in not just my side, but to everyone at work, has finally left our office. . . yiippeeeeee!!! The day she walked out the door (July 25th) was the day my life became a lot more peaceful. She was what we called in the Jaycees a "cancer" to our office, with a bad attitude, rarely helpful and an overall downer. The atmosphere of our office has improved considerably, and now, pending our corporate's slow response to anything we need (red tape to hire a new person), we already have a replacement found. . . and they are the PERFECT compliment to my abilities. I can learn from them and hopefully I can teach something useful in return. I'm really excited for the possibilities there.

To those who have never really known what I do, I have always been a secretary, administrative assistant, small office manager, etc in some way, shape or form. My strengths have been my ability to be pretty highly organized, project oriented, multi-tasking, advanced Microsoft Office/WordPerfect able and just that "do what it takes to get it done" attitude. Each time my boss and I review my position at work (currently titled sales secretary), my list of things I do seems to grow exponentially. I will say that the abilities that are now possessed by me are in large part due to my experiences in the Jaycees (Junior Chamber). I learned a lot about running large projects - I chaired the largest young person's BB Gun tournament in the US - organizing, relating to people (although I find that is FOREVER a work in progress), event planning, etc. But to keep it "real" I've also slacked at times as well.

It is with all of this past and present experience that I have decided to finally get a degree. I'm going to work towards an Associate of Arts degree in Business Management at Arapahoe Community College to start with, then see what I need to do from there to possibly get a Bachelor's in something else. The possibilities are truly endless for me, just need to get into a job that really utilizes my skills where I can excel even more and make some decent money. I guess by all standards for what I do, I make more than the average for a person in my current position. My boss has been working to get me a promotion, but he's been in a waiting pattern for that as well (again, corporate red tape strikes again!). It would give me a good raise, however, when it does happen. We'll just wait and see.

So, with new people around me and continuing education, I feel that I am finally ready for some big changes. My next goal is my weight. It's always been a contention for me, but especially difficult after my thyroid surgery. The knee surgery this past winter didn't help either, but I've truly used that as a crutch for not doing what I need to do. Now that things are falling in place around me, the time has come for some drastic changes in that area. My friend Donna is talking about going back to school as well (we have pretty much the same goals), and wants to take some yoga classes, too. I've been doing them on and off myself, but it's time to really start working it. I have to build the quads in both of my knees - to continue with the healing in my post-surgery joint, as well as to get my other one ready for surgery next spring/summer. The better shape they are in, the better (and faster) my healing will be. My friend Boots got a membership to the YMCA in downtown Denver as well, so hopefully we'll be able to coordinate some workout time together. I'll be surrounding myself with people that really want to work with me in every aspect of my goals, as encouragement and group efforts are what helps you to succeed - and that's something I plan on doing now!

Speaking of the "Y," the one I carry my membership at, Southwest, has been trying to get there volunteer committees going again. We met last spring on a few occassions, but nothing really came out of them, except for ideas that went no where. Well, finally, we had another meeting. Only 2 out of 6 of us showed up, so I put my head on straight this time and put forth easy goals to start achieving. Well, they have been presented to the board president, and apparently they liked it enough to move on the first item. I have 2 more initiatives I'm going to work towards implenting by the end of the year; if they come to fruition, I truly believe in my heart of hearts that they will be the events that could really kick start our "Y" into a whole new realm of members and activities (and hopefully more spinning and fitness yoga classes).

Well, guess I'll sign off for now, gotten a lot off of my chest (so to speak). . . :)

Dang, it's HOT!

Last year we had a few consecutive days of 100 degree weather. We've only hit that one or 2 times this year so far, but over 90 has been hanging on for awhile (despite a mid to upper 80s break here a week or so ago). I don't know if its because I'm getting older or what, but I just am not able to hang out in the heat. I've been thinking that maybe the peri-menopause has been really kicking in, they say it can last 10 years before menopause actually hits. Ughh - not looking forward to that! Feel like I just can't cool down enough. Nightly cold showers are about to become a regular thing.

The last couple of nights (Thurs and Fri) I hung out with some old friends of mine out at the Chatfield campgrounds. I haven't been able to stay out there, but went out after work each night. It was my friend Donna's B-day on Thursday, so 2 of her sisters, her mom and mom's boyfriend were out there, as well as her son Joey (the kid to whom I credit my nickname) and his friend, Mark. Dena brought out steaks and they cooked up baked potatoes and had salad and a few hamburgers, too. A good meal! It was good to see Dena and Mary, I hadn't seen them in about a year and a half. Well, I'd seen Mary a couple of times, but wasn't at a point where I could catch up to her to say hi.

Last night, I was pretty wound up due to some events at work (more about that later) that had me pretty upset, so met my friend Karin at the Platte River Grill for a quick and dirty drink (tell you what, it sure calmed my ass down - if my blood pressure was high, this was my drug to regulate it!). Then I went out to the lake where we had pasta (sauce and meatballs made by Donna's brother George - the chef of the family) as well as a Cajun boil that George made up with crab, shrimp, corn on the cob, a huge artichoke, etc. Good food and great company. Then we made smores! All in all it was a fun night, with a little bit of family drama mixed in. I really needed to calm down and I accomplished the goal well! It was a beautiful night in the outdoors with a cool breeze blowing and to actually see the stars again. . . wow, reminds me I need to get out into the great outdoors a lot more often!

We went to Sam's Club today to pick up the new Harry Potter book. They were plentiful and cheaper than at the bookstores, a little over $19 after tax. I decided to re-read book 6 first, to reacquaint myself with the previous happenings, before reading this last book. They are such easy reads, but so much is happening that you really need to read them a couple of times to get everything to sink in. I really do enjoy the books. The outcast kid (yet, well known - even if he doesn't know all that know him) who really has to battle to know and understand his identity. Some people look at it as witch craft and therefor, refuse to read or let their kids read the series. People - its JUST A STORY!! If folks would just intrepret what it is really about - hardship and getting through it all because of good friends who stand by you at ALL costs, then they would really understand what the series is about. Heck, a mom who was struggling to raise her kids on welfare wrote this series, I'm sure as a way to really face her own inner struggles as well, and has made the best out of her fortune. Don't these people get it???

Back to reading, tonight is going to be the warmest evening yet. Hope I can sleep . . .

Been Awhile!

I've taken my time putting anything new on my blog. A lot has happened, so probably need to do this in a few entries.

My cousin Bret came out to Colorado with his friend Shawn. The hotel I got them ended up only having one double bed (it was the Inn Town Suites at Federal and Hampden). The type of hotel it is, they "kind of" take reservations and can't guarantee the type of room you will get - more of a first come, first served deal. It was inexpensive, however, which is all they wanted. Shawn was sick the entire time they were here, he made it out a couple of times. When they got home, he went straight to the hospital to find that he had pneumonia (Bret suspected). He was in for several days.

With that happening, I didn't get to take Bret many places to see many things. They went downtown once and to Gunther Toody's for breakfast (Shawn used to live here, so he still knew a lot of the folks that were working there). I got to take Bret to Loveland with me for a dentist appt, then drove around town a little so I could show him where our old farm used to be. He went to Benson Sculpture Park to see the beautiful statues while I was occupied. We went to the Blue Parrot on south Broadway with my roommate that night for dinner - good Mexican food! That Friday, we went downtown to the Colorado Historical Museum. Only spent an hour there. I'll have to go back, as it is about a 3-4 hour walk around to really see everything. They went back to Ohio that night.

Next time, Bret said he is bringing his best friend Randy out - he's a "cultural" kinda guy, so we'll do some really fun stuff. AND, we'll go into the mountains.

That's all I have to say about that - I'll write more later!

This is ubelievable!

This little girl from Great Britain, Connie Talbot, all of 6 years old, participated in their "Britain's got Talent" show. You have GOT to watch all 3 videos - she is spectacular! See You Tube Link on the side. . .

I'm smarter than I think I am!

Last night, Karen and I went to Dewey's to play Live Trivia, as well as NTN. It was a laid back night, no pressure, interesting "neighbors" and then we won the BIG $50 prize! We got help on one question, a riddle that I had heard before but it had been awhile. . . A bird that doesn't fly, can go into the water yet stay dry. Let me know if you can guess that one! My sleeper question I got was a sports question - which old-time baseball team called Ebbetts field home? Couldn't believe I remembered that one! It was a fun time!

Pearl is back!

Go to the "Funny or Die" link on the right - watch Good Cop, Baby Cop . . . another FINE performance (and a farewell one at that) from Pearl!

Vacation looms. . .

These last couple of weeks have been pretty uneventful at home, as well as work. Last Saturday was probably the most fun - although we started the day out working. A few of us from the Jaycees went to clean out our chapter storage unit that morning. I can't believe how much stuff we have hung onto for so many years! But there were tons of office supplies, so we donated them to Urban Peak (teen homeless shelter) as well as some picnic-type goods. You can read more about Urban Peak via the link on the right. AWESOME place and more awesome is the work they do!

Neil, Jim B and Jim F after storage clean up -

we found all sorts of goodies!

Saturday afternoon, Karen, Boots and I went to see Pirates of the Carribbean 3 (my second time). You really have to watch the movie a few times to catch all that is going on in it. Then Karen took a silly pic afterwards (see left w/Silver Surfer). :)

Afterwards, we went to the Sidewalk Art Show on Larimer Square, a very fun event every year. Just wish they'd get some of the artists who really know how to do the realistic-looking, 3-D art. However, there was still some cool art work.

The business I work in, heating and A/C warehouse distrubution (Lennox), suffers when the weather isn't really hot in the summer or very cold in the winter. The motto I came up with - "we thrive on other people's misery" when it comes to weather. Last year, we had an awesome sales year, our district was in the top 5 out of other 23 districts. This year, we are hitting the bottom of the heap - only Milwaukee is worse off. The weather hasn't been bad enough to really get people replacing their equipment, just bad enough to fix it until it goes out completely. So, with work being slow and playing catch up with a bunch of projects, I am ready to say 'ba-bye' for a week. Being the dedicated worker I am, however, I'll still go in on Sunday just to do month end reports for my boss, so he has them on his desk first thing Monday morning. Which brings me to the fun news. . .

My cousin Bret is coming out to visit - dragging his friend Shawn with him! Yeah!! Shawn used to live in Denver, so he is pretty anxious to come out and travel down his memory "lane." I can't tell you how excited I am, my family (on mom's side) RARELY comes out to visit me. Bret hasn't been west of the mighty Mississippi but a couple of times, let alone to Colorado, so it'll be fun! I have a couple of things planned, but for the most part, just going to play it by ear and see what they feel like doing. I'm taking the entire week off as well - yippee!! More about that when they are here. . .

My nephew, Kiel, called me last night to inform me that he is coming home about a month early from his mom's house in Phoenix. He's going to stay at his friend Troy's house until he starts school again. Troy is a pretty nice kid, growing up in a family of engineers - he's going to CU this fall to do the same thing, apparently. Although I'm quite sure they get into their own forms of mischief, I can only hope that Troy is a good influence on Kiel. I'm having a BBQ on Tuesday the 3rd, so invited them both to come by, as Kiel has met none of his dad's family (besides immediate). I want Kiel to meet and know all of his family.

Until next time - woohoo, it'll be fun!

Mid June

Another week with not much to tell. I didn't do much with the new diet system yet. I decided to ease myself into it, since I have to learn how to drink 100 oz of water a day (I can drink iced tea, as well, but should be mostly water). I did start out trying to eat different, leaving out all dairy. That's been pretty difficult, since I am a milk lover - gotta have at least one big glass a day. Another thing to ease into. Over the past year, I've weaned myself off of soda (I have one maybe once a week now), eased off of the cheese, and quit eating fried foods (although I indulge myself in the latter once in a great while, asking myself afterwards "why did I do that" cuz I start feeling yucky). Can't call what I do diets, now, as they are more of changing a way of life. Eating differently, exercising differently. It will all become habit as I keep going.

I went to an event at the Pepsi Center this past Wednesday night, which, as I easily figured out, was a ploy to try and get me to buy season tickets or even a 14 game package for our hockey team, the Colorado Avalanche (since I'm a season ticket holder for a different sport within the Kroenke regime, guess they're trying to get me to go for more). I took my friend Karin, who is a pretty big fan of hockey - even though she likes the Redwings (boo-hiss). I get to do some really cool things every once in a while, so try to diversify who I take so my friends get a chance to do them with me :) We arrived early, the first few through the door.

There was a lot of REALLY good food there, but the best part was that Coach Quenville and Milan Hejduk were there. When we walked in, Coach actually stepped up to Karin and I and introduced himself. I thought that was very nice and personable. Alan Roach, the Avalanche announcer (who is our local sports radio guy, as well as a former announcer for the Rockies, having also done the english announcing for Olympic hockey this last go around, as well as the Superbowl) was the MC for this event. Before and afterwards, both coach and Hejduk signed autographs. So, since Karin and I weren't in a hurry, we waited to be the last. Gave us a few more seconds to BS with the guys once everyone was done, so we didn't feel like we had to hurry. Hejduk was a VERY nice guy - so me, being the person that believes no matter how famous you are, if you are nice (or part of a pro sports organization that is well liked by the public), you should know. Even the celebrities need to know what the publics perception of them is, particularly when there is something nice to say. So I did. Milan Hejduk is a very well liked person in our community, and apparently loves it here. Said he'd like to retire from hockey in Colorado. I hope he gets his wish. Then we sat with coach for a few minutes as well. We were out of there around 8pm, so wasn't too late a night. It was fun, and I was glad that Karin could go with me.

Friday night, went to see the Rockies vs Tampa Bay game with Kirsten, Andy and the boys and my roomie Karen. Kirsten and I are trying to go to as many of the free shirt nights as we can. They gave away a Brad Hawpe shirt, #11 (I did the first shirt night a few weeks ago, got Matt Holliday that time). The Rocks came out strong in the first inning, with back to back home runs from Atkins and Hawpe and 4 runs in. Then they didn't do anything again until the 6th inning, but kicked it in again and just wailed on on the Devil Rays through the 8th. Rocks won that night 12-2. It was a fun game and we had a good time! They did end up winning the series, tieing a club record for 5 series won in a row.

This weekend was pretty uneventful. Ran some errands and been cleaning house (means I'm not done yet, got a few more things to do). Fixing a Roast for dinner. I woke this morning to watch the last 15 minutes of Joel Osteen's sermon. For some strange reason, I like listening to him. His message today was about making every day a masterpiece. I got in on it right as he was talking about being the bigger person and talking to and forgiving those that you feel have done you wrong (that's something really hard for me to do). He ended with "make sure to tell everyone in your life that you love and care about them." I try to do the latter now. When my brother died, the last thing I said to him 3 hours before the visit from the coroner's office was that he was an idiot. He was doing drugs and drinking for a couple of years, and at that time had just turned 18 a few weeks before. Jason was mowing the lawn, something he really didn't like doing, but it was his chore at home. He was being a teenager and made me mad about something and "your an idiot" is the last thing I said. I'll regret that until the day I die. It took a couple of years after that, but started ending all conversations with my dad, mom and grandparents (and nearly all family members I talk to) with "I love you." My dad took a couple of years after that to say it back to me, just wasn't his style. But I broke him down. So, I have no regrets with my dad. Nor my grandmother or grandfather on my dad's side. I try to talk to my grandmother at least every 2 weeks, but lately it's been about once a month. I need to get much better about calling her once a week. I end all of our conversations the same way as well, so I know I'll have no regrets there, either.

Being Father's Day, it makes me miss my dad. Although we weren't the closest in the end, I still miss him calling me at 6am on my birthday to wish me Happy Birthday. Same with my grandparents. I was going to call my uncles on my mom's side and wish them Happy Father's Day today, but didn't get it done. I'll call them all here soon, though. It's important to keep your family in your thoughts and talk to them as much as you can. Since I don't talk to anyone on my Dad's side anymore due to family issues, I keep much closer contact with everyone on my mom's side. Since they all live in one place (except for mom who is in Dallas), I try to get out there to visit at least once a year. Important, now that we've started losing members of that immediately family (i.e. my aunt Margaret in 2005, aunt Estelle a scant few years before that). I'd visit twice a year, if I could afford to.

Enough ranting, I'll write more later!

Beautiful Day

The week has been pretty easy - and actually kind of cold. Had a Littleton Jaycees chapter meeting to continue with the "what do we do now?" portion of one last ditch effort to either get the chapter jump started one more time, or let it die with dignity. Since one of our newer members is so dedicated, we are going to try to continue on a little longer. She's a sweet kid, so can't help giving it one more shot. We'll do some socials (drive-in movie, FACs, etc) a couple of projects (glow necklace sales again at Western Welcome Week, project with Urban Peak) and who else knows.

Wednesday, went to see the Rockies play the Astros. There was this wicked wind that kicked up late in the afternoon, and then a cold front came in after it - man, it was freezing! I didn't make it past the 4th inning. The Rocks had a huge scoring drive in the 7th inning and did win the game and eventually the series - yeah! Apparently their record rivals the incoming Yankees. I hope they beat them in that series.

My friend (and fellow Jaycee) Neil Klocker turned the big 4-0 yesterday. He had a Bday party at Rome's last night, guess it was good. I didn't show up until close to 11:30, as I was at a small dinner party at my friend Connie's house with good friends Kim & Bob Untener. We had a GREAT time, just hanging out, chatting and reminiscing. Seems like it was Connie's kind of "coming out of the dark" party. She's had a rough year, so brought around who I guess she feels are her closest friends to start the summer off right! Over the next few months, we'll have dinner parties at different houses and include many people that we really want to hang out with. It'll be a select, but fun group.

So, today, I finally took my bike to the bike shop to get some new pedals put on, get it looked over and ready for riding. I think I feel comfortable enough with my knee's progress to start getting into it. So, this blog will now start to turn into a diary of my activities to hopefully keep me in line with strengthening my legs and trimming down. Gotta build up the muscles in my legs before I have surgery on my other knee so my recovery is quicker. Think that's what my problem has been after this first surgery. I still have a long road to recovery, so if anyone would like to join my journey, please let me know! It's so much easier to do with the support of friends. . . until later!

The week has flown by. . . yet again

Another busy week. Tuesday, went through another bout of physical therapy. We have moved away from working on my knee now, as anything else that can be done must on my own. I've been having my neck and shoulders worked on through ultrasound and massage. Found out that I have been moving the stress of my knee to my shoulders. I still favor my knee a little, and I compensate through the movement of my body. So, along with the stresses I've had at work for months, accompanied by this, I really messed things up.

For those that don't know, I had knee surgery in early February. Through xrays and a visit with an orthopedic surgeon, found out that I have osteo arthritis in both of my knees. In addition, my knee caps have literally moved to the sides of my knees. It was pretty bad on my left knee, so had it done first. They did the orthoscopic (cleaned up my knees from the bones rubbing together) and did a "lateral release," or the cutting of a tendon so my kneecap could be moved back into place and I'd quit walking with so much permiation in my stride. Although my knee will still hurt on occasion, is still feels better than it did before the surgery. My other knee pretty much has the same thing happening, but that surgery won't happen until next year. This one has pretty much used up all of my current and future flex benefits I have been putting money into, so I'll probably have the other knee done next winter. I know what it will cost now, so I can better plan for it. This will tide me over for about 10 years until I have to have them both replaced. Gee, can't wait for that to happen!

Wednesday I took Dana to the baseball game where we met up with Kirsten. I had been on a winning streak with the team (out of 6 games, they had only lost 1) and the Rockies were in the throws of a 7 game winning streak. Well, this time I was the jinx - they lost in a kinda-sorta ugly way. I hope they do better on June 6th against Houston. I have missed the Cincinnati game this year (happening this weekend) - I usually go, then call my cousin Tammy's husband Jeff. They live in Cincy, and he is a big Red's fan. About half the time I end up in his voicemail, but that's OK. If I call and the Rockies are kickin' butt I'll taunt him; the other times I'll just say "guess where I'm at" and hang up. I'm his favorite sports fan (guess besides a few friends, he has no one else to talk with about sports that actually knows who players are or what's going on). Glad I'm someone's favorite!

Thursday, I was actually home. On Friday, I went in late (cuz I can). I am usually at work between 6:45am-7am. I put in around 2-1/2 hours of unpaid overtime a week, just because I get so much done in that time before 7:30am, when everyone else gets into the office and the phones ring. So when I need (or want) to take off early for any reason, my boss is usually happy to oblige. I rarely do it, so he's pretty accommodating. We've had some challenges going on for a couple of years with one of my co-workers, but it's been really bad these first 5 months. Between all of her sick days, Dr/Dentist appts and just plain being late, plus a few days of vacation, she has been gone 25.5 days this year thus far. This has gone on since she has been with the company, but just recently pretty bad. Skip (my boss) and I talked about it, and he finally brought down the gauntlet with her in the last 2 weeks. The last time they spoke, he said she will now either take vacation time or non-paid time off if she misses any more time. So, I get to keep on tracking her comings and goings. It's a pain, but if it helps keep her in line, so be it. She's not a hard worker, nor a team player; doesn't offer to help anyone, and if she gets bored, she's either on the phone w/personal calls or on the internet. I work very hard at my job, and it really irks me that she doesn't do more to help out. I hate to say this, but if it ends up that she is gone by year end, then we can really get someone in that is willing to help everyone out - I'm looking forward to that day.

So the big item of the week - my nephew, Kiel (pronounced Kyle) went through graduation ceremonies today. He has to do one more class to get his diploma (he flunked history), but still got to go through everything. I'm proud of him and what he has accomplished thus far. His story is long and tedious, so I'm not going to get into it. He is my brother's son. I finally met Kiel's mom, Evelyn, and half-sister, Veronica, today. Veronica is close to my age, and has a daughter that is just a year older (yes, that's right) than Kiel. He also has a couple of brothers and another sister, I believe. He didn't tell anyone abou this graduation until pretty much a week before, so the rest of his family couldn't get it together quick enough to come out. As Kiel is in a Tech School program through the high school as well, when he graduates from that, they will all come out for it. I look forward to meeting the rest of them. Although not the best things have happened to Kiel's advantage for most of his life, his family seems pretty cool so far. My brother, on the other hand, is a putz and didn't even show up to the graduation ceremony. Not going to go into all of that either, but its not a nice or pretty thing that has happened. Kiel has been in good hands with the family that took him in and has taken care of him for the past nearly 2 years. I am very grateful that they are there for him. Just wish I would've taken more initiative to help out. Honestly, I don't know that I would have been a very good "mom" type for him, but with Kim having 4 of her own kids, she's pretty good at figuring out what's going on, helps him understand and deal with the issues he goes through and doesn't abuse him in any way, shape or form. He had enough of that before moving in w/Kim. For a kid who first came here very shy and not knowing what to expect, he's come a long way, despite all of the crap he's had to go through with my brother and his wife. I applaud Kiel for sticking it out.

I took Evelyn and Veronica into downtown Denver for the People's Fair after all was said and done (Kiel went into Boulder with a friend to get his last paycheck from his job). They really enjoyed going downtown. I was pretty beat by the time we got done, so home has been a good place to be tonight. I woke up around 6am this morning (internal clock did that, damn it) and was at Broomfield High School by 9am, so I've had a long, busy day.

Tomorrow should be a "work at home" day, I really have some organizing to get done. I'll probably go to the "Y" and work out as well, gotta keep up with my physical therapy as well as my general well-being. I'll probably write more tomorrow, so hasta mañana!

It's almost summertime!

What a great few days. Nice weather, lots going on, can't ask for much better (unless I was near the ocean). No, really - it's a good day when its sunny and warm. Friday night we didn't take much advantage of that, but went to Dewey's to play trivia and eat stuff that isn't good for us. And had a few drinks. Those that know me know that I am not much of a drinker anymore, if at all on most occassions. I was going to "tie one on" Friday, but just couldn't get enough of anything in me to accomplish that goal. Just not into alcohol anymore, but more so, not into the "feeling" after the fact. Hangovers suck!

Friday was a little late, but not too bad. Saturday, I met Boots downtown for our monthly Mani-pedicure and lunch. This has become a fun, relaxing and adventurous routine. Last time, we ate at Roijas on Larimer. It was really good food, a little pricey, but something different. They used fresh baked mediterranean style breads (the olive loaf was great) and fresh everything. We had to eat inside since their patio is so small. This time around, we ate at Del Mar's Crab House where we had salads with fish/seafood. I had the Mediterranean Salad w/Salmon which was AWESOME and Boots had an Asparagus salad w/Scallops. Her's wasn't made with any leafy greens, just asparagus, tomato and scallops. That was a little bit of a let down, but it was still all good - perfect portions so you don't overeat. Their sourdough bread that they served w/the meal was really good as well. Then we went to the Pavillions where they have the annual art show. They always have interesting pieces, but for the most part you need to be very wealthy to afford anything. By then, I was tired and needed to get a quick nap in.

Tish Marti (Martin) and I went to the Cinderella City Drive-in to see "Pirates 3." We went early to ensure a good spot (which we did well) and then I borrowed Karen's portable DVD player to watch the last 1/2 of "Pirates 2," so it was like going from one movie to the other. We brought cheese, crackers, fruit, and chocolate to eat - just because we could! I found this Horseradish/white cheddar cheese at this little small gourmet grocer in Writer's Square that was just to die for. Bought some herbed Brie later as well. I'm so into the more gourmet cheeses anymore.

Anyway, the movie will have to be seen a couple more times to catch everything again. There is so much going on in it, and it has a wicked, kind of sad, twist at the end that definitely keeps it open for another installment. It's not as good as the 1st movie (nothing ever is), but still a good story for the franchise.

Sunday I went to a BBQ at Susan and Don Shield's house in Ft Collins. However, before that I went to Loveland to stop by the cemetary to plant some flowers on my brother Jason and Dad's graves. There was a very large, unruly rosebush next to Jason's grave for the longest time, but someone (probably the cemetary) got so tired of having to trim it down every year that it was removed - can't tell it was ever there. I don't know who did it, but thanks! Now there is a small, perennial flower bush of some sort and I planted some petunias and geraniums, dad's favorite flowers that he would plant every year. They are easy to take care of and bloom very nicely. I said a prayer and was on my way. I was strangely emotional just driving into and through Loveland. I really miss it there, as well as my friends that live there. I don't see them nearly enough - with gas so expensive nowadays, I just don't get up that way as often as I should.

At the Shield's house, I ended up being one of the first ones there (thought I'd be much later, but since I didn't have to deal with the rose bush down south, I got there a lot earlier). I was later joined by Kirsten, Andy and the kids Rathmann; Tish Marti; Steph and Gary Riedel and Shannon Brynner. It was so good to see Steph and Shannon, a couple others that I miss seeing. Their upbeat personalities and laughing is so infectious - I just love being around them! I'll take whatever dose of them that I can. Anyway, it was a fun time and I ended up not leaving until 7:30pm that night. We were just B'S-ing. It's always a good time to spend yard time w/the Shield's, they are such good people.

So, today has been pretty much a "do nothing" day. Went to the grocery store early this morning, then came home, watered the flowers, swept out the garage and cleaned out my Exploder (term of endearment, really) and have been watching a "CSI" marathon. I never watch the show while it's on Primtime (until just recently), but always watch the reruns. What a facinating show. Now my day ends easily and relaxed before the rigors of going back to work tomorrow. It was an interesting day this past Friday, so more on that later.

Rain, Rain, Go Away. . . .

Well, the last 2 afternoons/ have been pretty wet. The Platte River near my house is fuller than I think I have ever seen it. I feel sorry for anyone that thought they could ride their bike along the bike path on the river this morning and still make it home this afternoon without falling in. But the flowers love it as well as the little girl I passed on the way home. Looked like her mom took her outside to feel the rain on her face - it was cute! She couldn't have been more than 3 years old.

I went to my friend Kenny MacKay's funeral yesterday. It makes me really sad that he felt he had to take his life in order to take away his problems and pain - it's completely and totally selfish. I was told if I ever did that, a certain Polish friend of mine would "piss on my grave." I'm not kidding, he said that (with a slight drunken slur at the Platte River Grill last night).

Ken's daughter, Brittany (26 yrs old), wrote a couple of nice poems for her dad - it was pretty hard on her, as well as her younger brothers, who are 16 and 18. It's too bad it took this event for many of us to meet his family. Even his first ex-wife is just a gem (can't remember her name to save my life)! I wonder why they weren't able to stay married. The ex-wife's second ex-husband looks like John Denver, I swear (they got along really good as well, wonder why that one didn't work either)! He was really very nice as well; good thing Brittany has him close by to help her. She's got to move all of Ken's stuff out of his house next week, as the bank is foreclosing on it. I'll probably see if I can help in some way.

My boss is doing better, he called me several times today, being his old self (asking lots of questions, in which I gave him answers to weeks ago, but he forgot again). Says he's going to really try to make it into the office tomorrow. I keep telling him not to worry about it, but we'll see what happens. I'll probably not get to take my day off on Friday as planned, since a girl in our office, who seems to always be sick or at a Dr. Appt or need to have the day off for one reason or another, will likely not be in. I have had to adjust my time in the past (Dr. Appt, days off) because she decided to be sick or something. Since it's the end of the month, the office phones cannot be unmanned. It's been a really slow year business wise, so we need to move all of the product we can over the next 2 days. Therefor, I will probably be working, dammit.

I've suddenly had lots of invites of things to do this weekend, and one of them enables me to kill 2 birds w/one stone, so need to make my plans around it. Friday night I'll probably hang out at home; Sat night, going to the drive-in w/my friend Tish, some Brie, Fruit, other gourmet food and Captain Jack Sparrow (arrrrgh). Can't wait for that one! Sunday, I've been invited to do a couple of things, might be able to do them both, but I'll be pushing it. I need to kill a rose bush at my brother's grave in Loveland (if you know a good way to do that PLEASE let me know!!) , so I'll probably do that late Sunday morning/early afternoon, go to a BBQ at the Shield's house Sunday afternoon and try to make Sushi w/Amanda on Sunday night. Monday is a BBQ in Mead, but not sure I'll make that one.

So, that's the next chapter in my not-so-exciting life. I'm going to go turn on my electric blanket now and crawl into bed - its mighty chilly tonight, so I'll get a great nights sleep!

A Great Link!

Check out the "Funny or Die" link. . . Click on Will Ferrell Meets Landlord video. It's Hilarious! Oh, and then watch the "Pearl out takes." What that guy won't do for a few laughs. . .

What a Weekend!

Just when I thought things just couldn't get anymore exciting. . . Saturday - boring, yet relaxing.

On Sunday, went for a short 2 mile hike with Boots to "Lair of the Bear" on Morrison Road (I'm sure it is some state road in there as well) just west of Idledale, about 15 miles from my house in the mountains. It's a kind of "picnic/hiking" area where apparently MANY people like to go. Since Boots is a late riser, we get there around noon, which ended up being a very pleasant temp to hike. It was a pretty area right on the creek which was still running pretty high. Looks like it might have moved a few beaver dams around as well. Since my knee surgery, this is the most extensive walk (let alone on slightly rougher terrain) I have taken and I survived it very well. . . after the ice pack, of course. Still, I consider that I did pretty good! Story on the knee surgery another time :)

On my drive back, got a call from my boss (Skip) who never calls me on Weekends. First words I hear - "Let me tell you about my exciting Birthday!" He was calling me from Swedish Hospital, which happens to just be up the street from me. Apparently, he had to have his gall bladder removed quickly, as it had enlarged and was causing what he thought would be a permanent stomach ache. I went to the hospital to visit with him a little bit, he was pretty chipper and doing well. I learned today that "drugs do wonders" as he was in pretty rough shape and slept most of today. He got out of the hospital last night, but couldn't find a pharmacy to fill the pain killer prescription, so sleep became optional at some point. The one time I can say "aren't drugs wonderful?"

Week of May 13th

I have to tell you, what I did this past week is the way my life used to run. Now I really relish all chances I get to stay home and relax, but I did have some major fun! So let's start like this:

Monday - easy day. Nothing spectacular happened.

Tuesday - went to see the Broadway show "Wicked" with my friends Boots, Dana and Karen. We went to this restaurant called Lime in Larimer Square. They serve mexican dishes with a "flare" and a complimentary juiced up lime half filled w/tequila. Now, those of you that have known me a LONG time know that I used to love tequila. This story will be left for another post - it's long and it's funny.

Dana, Boots and Sue

Anywhoo, we ate a really great meal, had a VERY cute and awesome waiter named John who was training a younger waiter (but we drooled over the main one - well, I did anyway) and then left for the Buell Theatre. Wicked was an awesome play! It is a story about how the witches of the Wizard of Oz came about and how they went through life and became who they were. It really played out some interesting scenarios and provided great humor (see link). The cast was excellent and the company, of course was the best. Thanks to Dana for getting us great seats to the theatre when she gets the opportunity.

Wednesday - during work, found out that a friend commited suicide on Monday. He worked for one of our dealers, but by mutual agreement, left that company in the fall. In addition, his mom, who he was really close to, passed away last spring. Ken didn't have a job, was losing his house, was an alcoholic and apparently very depressed. None of us could get him to change his ways, so all you could do was be a friend and hope that he would be OK. It was a sad afternoon for many of us.

That evening, I took a guy that I work with to the baseball game. Tim is a trainer for Lennox and flys up about once a month for classes that I have scheduled. He's married and lives in Phoenix, nice guy w/a heart of gold. Can't wait to meet his wife and 2 year old one day (she'll probably be 3 or 4 by then!). I try to take him to different places so he doesn't have to stay cooped up in the hotel the entire time.

These 2 girls from Austin flew in to do training at our facility. They were really fun, so took them to the baseball game with us. Natalie and Jennifer had a good time, as did Tim. And the Rockies won 5-3. It's the 5th game I've gone to, they've only lost 1 time since I've gone to those games (it was against Atlanta, an ugly game).

Thursday - I was going to go home after work, but Natalie and Jennifer wanted to see what I liked about downtown Denver so I took them after work. There is so much to do downtown, that I took them to do some of my "best of" things. So we went to Bayou Bob's for appetizers and drinks (they have the best hurricanes, and they are only $2.50 during happy hour), to Rock Bottom Brewery for another round, then I took them to Noodles and CO for the best bowl of Mac 'n Cheese you can get. Then we went to Double Daughters bar, next to Mario's Two-Fisted Pizza. It's a really cool place and they have interesting drinks. They don't serve the Augusta Gloop anymore, but one that is similar and apparently better. Don't remember the name of it.

Friday - Took the lightrail and bus to work. Some people think that the bus is just full of transients and such, but that really isn't just the case. A lot of people like me that get tired of paying this high price for gas take the train and bus. I only have one transfer and I get some exercise. Costs $2.70 vs. $6.50 per day, so saving a lot there!

I met Boots downtown after work (she works at the Denver Business Journal) and we walked to the Pepsi Center for a Crush game with the Singles Marketplace. We had passes to go to the "Crush Dome." We both had high expectations of this thing - that this would be the cool place to be and we'd meet some fun people. Didn't happen. It was running wild w/males (young and old) eating pizza, drinking beer or pop and chasing the cheerleaders for autographs. So we went into the Pepsi Center and settled in for the game. It's the first one I have been to since the re-introduction of Arena Football to Denver. I have to say it was fun. But I have to mention that after a week of getting home at no time before 9:30pm on any given night (being right around my bedtime), I was pretty tired and ready to get home and just crash.

This is by FAR the most extensive week I've had in awhile. So much that it took until Monday night to publish it!

So, its happened!

I suggested to my friend Dani that her family have a blog so that they and everyone else could keep in touch w/each other, especially while her husband Chris is gone for 6 weeks training with Kmart/Sears Holdings, Inc. I said "what's there to talk about? I have no husband, no kids, not even a pet." Dani said (to make it short), "Get real - - you'd have an audience!" This meaning that yes, I do lots of stuff, have interesting experiences and could stay in touch with my family and friends better through this opportunity.

Ok, you win Dani! You have one, Leslie has one, even Karen has one (she puts all of her cool pictures on it) so guess I'll do it, too. Heck, it might even make me have more of a life!

So here it goes. . . stay tuned for stories of lore, truth as well as the most unbelievable things you won't believe that I have done (but I'm telling you, I did!).