Just finished watching a documentary on Netflix called "Happy". Very interesting insight into how people achieve happiness. Wish everyone could see this...might make a lot of lives better!
Watched another good Netflix movie called "Craigslist Joe". It was about this guy who decided to leave home for 30 days and get by solely on Craigslist. It was quite interesting although not something I would attempt.
This past week, we enjoyed spending a few days with our long-time friends, Kevin and Heidi Conrad while they were visiting Estes Park, Colorado. We spent two days early in the week with them at Estes Park where I experienced my first time snowshoeing! (It was Mark and Heidi's first time, too!) We went to Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park and it was absolutely beautiful out!
We were quite surprised and lucky when we returned to the cabin one afternoon to find two bull elk munching on grass right outside our door! Got some amazingly close pictures, too! We were very cautious and didn't make any obtuse moves. Kevin got the door open to the cabin and we kept it open as we took pictures of the elk. One was quite curious and slowly moved towards us. He came within a few feet of us. I don't think I'll ever see that happen again in my lifetime!
Later in the week, Heidi and Kevin came to our band concert and spent two nights with us here at our house. We showed them around Fort Collins a bit, and, more luck...they were treated with a bit of snow during their visit which was quite pretty!
So, they are back in Atlanta, GA now readying their house to put on the market in the spring. They hope to sell and move out to Colorado within the next several months. (Hope the stars are all aligned just right so it will happen for them!)
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Happy New Year!
How many of us make New Year's resolutions? Chances are the majority of us do...either by stating our new found motivations to friends and family or we inwardly think about the things we want to change this year.
After years of vowing to lose weight and get healthier as part of a recurring resolution, I've managed to reach my goal and keep the weight off. So, it's time for me to challenge myself with even more meaningful things. To help me identify things that I want to improve on and lift my spirits, I downloaded an app on my IPhone that my daughter, Holly recently recommended. And it's appropriately called "Lift".
Lift is a task tracker that is set up with different categories such as: learn something new, read, spend time outdoors, write in a journal, stop and enjoy life, exercise, be grateful for something, practice musical instrument and many other things that a person can improve upon. There are many, many items and if something isn't there you can add new ones.
By tracking daily the things you've identified as meaningful to you, you'll become more aware of them and hopefully, this will lead to them becoming a habit. The outcome of creating good habits would be an improvement in your mood and bring a lift to your life!
I just started using this application today so I'll be able to report more on the effects of using this at a later date. But, I must admit, it sounds quite interesting and is worth trying. You can go to: www.lift.do to learn more about it.
After years of vowing to lose weight and get healthier as part of a recurring resolution, I've managed to reach my goal and keep the weight off. So, it's time for me to challenge myself with even more meaningful things. To help me identify things that I want to improve on and lift my spirits, I downloaded an app on my IPhone that my daughter, Holly recently recommended. And it's appropriately called "Lift".
Lift is a task tracker that is set up with different categories such as: learn something new, read, spend time outdoors, write in a journal, stop and enjoy life, exercise, be grateful for something, practice musical instrument and many other things that a person can improve upon. There are many, many items and if something isn't there you can add new ones.
By tracking daily the things you've identified as meaningful to you, you'll become more aware of them and hopefully, this will lead to them becoming a habit. The outcome of creating good habits would be an improvement in your mood and bring a lift to your life!
I just started using this application today so I'll be able to report more on the effects of using this at a later date. But, I must admit, it sounds quite interesting and is worth trying. You can go to: www.lift.do to learn more about it.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
SNOW for Christmas!!!
How exciting to wake up to a couple of inches of snow on Christmas morning! This is only the 14th time in the 112 years since they've been recording the weather here in the Denver area that it has snowed on Christmas Eve! Light and fluffy...so pretty!
Sara, Zach, and Sophia came up on Monday afternoon to spend two nights with us. We went to the early Christmas Eve service for the children at the United Methodist Church and that was definitely the right service for Sophia. She wasn't quite ready to sit down and enjoyed walking around just outside the sanctuary. She came back in and enjoyed the singing of "Silent Night" and the lighting of the candles.
Sophia enjoyed opening her presents on Christmas morning, but I think next year she'll be old enough to understand it more and it will be more exciting to her. We had a nice Christmas dinner with everyone including Zach's Mom, Ellen later that evening. (His Dad wasn't able to make it since had to work.)
We came up with new sleeping arrangements for Sophia since she had outgrown the travel crib; we set up a futon for her to sleep on. She did really well the first night despite waking up at about 5:30 a.m. Christmas night was another story! Since she'd gotten up earlier than normal that morning, she really should have had her nap during the day. But, with all the excitement and everyone around, she was having no part of a nap that day! She went to bed about 7 p.m. and we all thought she'd be sleeping in until at least 7 a.m. Wrong, try 1 a.m.! Poor Sara walked her around for two hours and she wouldn't go back to sleep! Both she and Zach had enough, so Zach drove her home at about 3:30 a.m.! (I know for sure that when we babysit her in February for a few days, we'll be doing so at her house so she's used to her bed! ) :)
It was a very nice Christmas...but what would have made it even better is to have had Holly, Erich, Zoe and Ezra out here, too! We really do miss them!!! We are certainly looking forward to our visit with them in a couple of months!
Sara, Zach, and Sophia came up on Monday afternoon to spend two nights with us. We went to the early Christmas Eve service for the children at the United Methodist Church and that was definitely the right service for Sophia. She wasn't quite ready to sit down and enjoyed walking around just outside the sanctuary. She came back in and enjoyed the singing of "Silent Night" and the lighting of the candles.
Sophia enjoyed opening her presents on Christmas morning, but I think next year she'll be old enough to understand it more and it will be more exciting to her. We had a nice Christmas dinner with everyone including Zach's Mom, Ellen later that evening. (His Dad wasn't able to make it since had to work.)
We came up with new sleeping arrangements for Sophia since she had outgrown the travel crib; we set up a futon for her to sleep on. She did really well the first night despite waking up at about 5:30 a.m. Christmas night was another story! Since she'd gotten up earlier than normal that morning, she really should have had her nap during the day. But, with all the excitement and everyone around, she was having no part of a nap that day! She went to bed about 7 p.m. and we all thought she'd be sleeping in until at least 7 a.m. Wrong, try 1 a.m.! Poor Sara walked her around for two hours and she wouldn't go back to sleep! Both she and Zach had enough, so Zach drove her home at about 3:30 a.m.! (I know for sure that when we babysit her in February for a few days, we'll be doing so at her house so she's used to her bed! ) :)
It was a very nice Christmas...but what would have made it even better is to have had Holly, Erich, Zoe and Ezra out here, too! We really do miss them!!! We are certainly looking forward to our visit with them in a couple of months!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Where Have I Been?
Time has definitely gotten away from me these past few months! Ever since Mark and I finished up our hikes for the year, band rehearsals have started up again, along with our music lessons, almost daily trumpet (Mark) and drum (me) practices, band camp planning, daily exercise workouts, and lots of social activities with our friends. This has left us with little "free" time, but I'm not complaining! I love everything I'm doing! One thing is for sure...I'm never bored...life stays quite interesting!
We managed to fit in a trip to the East Coast to visit with Mom and Gene (PA), Julie, Alex, and Zachary (NJ), and Larry, Stephanie, Lucas, and Samantha (DE) during Thanksgiving. We just missed seeing Ray as the only place he could find "union" work was in Florida! After 7 1/2 weeks working down there, the "travellers" were laid off...again!
We are so glad we took the trip back East because it was so good seeing everyone again! Gene celebrated his 87th birthday while we were there. He's had a lot of health issues over the past year, so this was pretty special that we got to be there for his birthday get-together!
I'm also happy that we were able to fix (renovate) Mom and Gene's bathroom while we were out there. It was a disaster for over a year, but not anymore. Mark did a fantastic job and worked quite hard! It really looks nice now! It took a little pushing to get Mom moving on it, but we managed to get it done in a week.
Christmas is just 5 days away and we are really looking forward to having Sara, Zach, and Sophia stay with us a couple of nights. We are bummed, though, that Holly, Erich, Zoe and Ezra aren't able to join us, too for the holiday this year. :(
Mark and I are having West Coast grandchildren withdrawals so we've planned a trip to visit them in California the latter part of February. We'll be there to celebrate Ezra's 5th birthday with him!!! We plan to see Tommy and Mona in Merced for a couple of days, too. And, we also hope to take in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on our way back to Colorado.
Despite all the things planned on the horizon, I will try to be more timely with my blog entries...promise! ;)
We managed to fit in a trip to the East Coast to visit with Mom and Gene (PA), Julie, Alex, and Zachary (NJ), and Larry, Stephanie, Lucas, and Samantha (DE) during Thanksgiving. We just missed seeing Ray as the only place he could find "union" work was in Florida! After 7 1/2 weeks working down there, the "travellers" were laid off...again!
We are so glad we took the trip back East because it was so good seeing everyone again! Gene celebrated his 87th birthday while we were there. He's had a lot of health issues over the past year, so this was pretty special that we got to be there for his birthday get-together!
I'm also happy that we were able to fix (renovate) Mom and Gene's bathroom while we were out there. It was a disaster for over a year, but not anymore. Mark did a fantastic job and worked quite hard! It really looks nice now! It took a little pushing to get Mom moving on it, but we managed to get it done in a week.
Christmas is just 5 days away and we are really looking forward to having Sara, Zach, and Sophia stay with us a couple of nights. We are bummed, though, that Holly, Erich, Zoe and Ezra aren't able to join us, too for the holiday this year. :(
Mark and I are having West Coast grandchildren withdrawals so we've planned a trip to visit them in California the latter part of February. We'll be there to celebrate Ezra's 5th birthday with him!!! We plan to see Tommy and Mona in Merced for a couple of days, too. And, we also hope to take in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on our way back to Colorado.
Despite all the things planned on the horizon, I will try to be more timely with my blog entries...promise! ;)
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Another Great Hike
This past Monday, Mark and I hiked a 13'er, specifically Mount Chiquita (13,069') in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was about a 5 mile round trip with an elevation gain of about 2,400 feet in just 2.4 miles! Pretty tough, although the guidebooks don't rate it as difficult. (They need to have hiking ratings based on age--for these 59 year old legs and lungs, it was tough!)
Once again, it was a beautiful view at the summit! We did see some dark clouds forming in the distance so we ate our lunch and only spent 20 minutes on the mountain top. There were only a handful of people on this trail (which was kind of nice); we didn't have to keep moving over to let someone pass by us.
So, click on our self-portrait on the right to see a lot more pictures of the hike.
Once again, it was a beautiful view at the summit! We did see some dark clouds forming in the distance so we ate our lunch and only spent 20 minutes on the mountain top. There were only a handful of people on this trail (which was kind of nice); we didn't have to keep moving over to let someone pass by us.
So, click on our self-portrait on the right to see a lot more pictures of the hike.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Hiked Our First 14'er (A 14,270' Mountain)
Tuesday, August 21st was the culmination of all our training hikes this year (15 in total) as we successfully hiked to the summit of our first 14'er, Grays Peak making this our 16th hike of the year! (Check one off the bucket list!) The hike was a total of 8.5 miles round trip and had an elevation gain of 3,000'. This was by far, the most difficult hike yet but was the most rewarding when it comes to scenic beauty! It was probably the second most difficult thing I've ever done, second only to childbirth!
We were supposed to do the hike on Monday with our usual hiking group but the weather wasn't good, so it was postponed until late in the week (Friday). We checked the weather late in the afternoon on Monday for the upcoming week and saw that Tuesday was the best day for the rest of the week. So, in a spur of the moment decision, Mark and I decided that we needed to try to do the hike on Tuesday in the event next week's weather didn't cooperate either. Besides, our schedule changed for next week and it didn't look like we'd even have an opportunity to do it! And, after training all spring and summer for this hike, we didn't want to lose the chance to hike it before the snow starts falling!
We should have sent an email as a courtesy to tell our hiking group, but it just didn't cross my mind. I thought they would be happy if we accomplished it. Instead, there were hurt feelings that they weren't there, too. I'm sorry for that; it certainly wasn't our intention to slight them. Looking back on it, I think it was nice to have that special moment--that special accomplishment with just the two of us...makes it even more meaningful!
It took us 4.5 hours to get to the summit and 3.5 hours to descend and get back to the trailhead. I had no problem with my legs or anything going up, but, by the time we hit (I'm guessing) 13,500', I had difficulty getting big breaths of air into my lungs. So, I started taking smaller steps and stopped after about 100 feet to rest briefly and to breathe deeply. I did this the rest of the way to the summit. (I noticed almost all of the other hikers were doing the same!)
It was funny, when I walked onto the summit, I was so surprised we were there! It just came upon us suddenly! Boy, it was such a relief to make it and I found I had no problems breathing just standing on the summit! And, what amazing views!!! I wish everyone had the opportunity and ability to see what we've seen! What a special sight! I can see why John Denver wrote "Rocky Mountain High"...all the summits are so awesome! Looking out as far as you can see, mountain top after mountain top, mountain lakes and meadows...simply amazing!!! The beauty, the peacefulness...truly a gift from God!
Going down the mountain was very difficult, much harder than the ascent! It was so steep and rocky that by the time we had about a mile left to go, I couldn't stop walking because if I did, my quads shook uncontrollably!
Check out the link to the pictures on the right. It was such a rocky, steep trail that at times I could imagine that I was walking on the moon or Mars!
Immediately after completing the hike, I had thought that would be my first and last 14'er. But, I don't think so now. There is too much beauty out there to not do it again! We are planning on doing a 13'er (13,000+ feet) on Monday (and may do two in a row if we have the energy and weather continues to look good). Chiquita Mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park is 13,069' and from there is a saddle to Ypsilon Mountain (13,514'). We'll see how it goes!
We were supposed to do the hike on Monday with our usual hiking group but the weather wasn't good, so it was postponed until late in the week (Friday). We checked the weather late in the afternoon on Monday for the upcoming week and saw that Tuesday was the best day for the rest of the week. So, in a spur of the moment decision, Mark and I decided that we needed to try to do the hike on Tuesday in the event next week's weather didn't cooperate either. Besides, our schedule changed for next week and it didn't look like we'd even have an opportunity to do it! And, after training all spring and summer for this hike, we didn't want to lose the chance to hike it before the snow starts falling!
We should have sent an email as a courtesy to tell our hiking group, but it just didn't cross my mind. I thought they would be happy if we accomplished it. Instead, there were hurt feelings that they weren't there, too. I'm sorry for that; it certainly wasn't our intention to slight them. Looking back on it, I think it was nice to have that special moment--that special accomplishment with just the two of us...makes it even more meaningful!
It took us 4.5 hours to get to the summit and 3.5 hours to descend and get back to the trailhead. I had no problem with my legs or anything going up, but, by the time we hit (I'm guessing) 13,500', I had difficulty getting big breaths of air into my lungs. So, I started taking smaller steps and stopped after about 100 feet to rest briefly and to breathe deeply. I did this the rest of the way to the summit. (I noticed almost all of the other hikers were doing the same!)
It was funny, when I walked onto the summit, I was so surprised we were there! It just came upon us suddenly! Boy, it was such a relief to make it and I found I had no problems breathing just standing on the summit! And, what amazing views!!! I wish everyone had the opportunity and ability to see what we've seen! What a special sight! I can see why John Denver wrote "Rocky Mountain High"...all the summits are so awesome! Looking out as far as you can see, mountain top after mountain top, mountain lakes and meadows...simply amazing!!! The beauty, the peacefulness...truly a gift from God!
Going down the mountain was very difficult, much harder than the ascent! It was so steep and rocky that by the time we had about a mile left to go, I couldn't stop walking because if I did, my quads shook uncontrollably!
Check out the link to the pictures on the right. It was such a rocky, steep trail that at times I could imagine that I was walking on the moon or Mars!
Immediately after completing the hike, I had thought that would be my first and last 14'er. But, I don't think so now. There is too much beauty out there to not do it again! We are planning on doing a 13'er (13,000+ feet) on Monday (and may do two in a row if we have the energy and weather continues to look good). Chiquita Mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park is 13,069' and from there is a saddle to Ypsilon Mountain (13,514'). We'll see how it goes!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Where Did Summer Go?
It's been a very busy summer since my last post...two camping trips (Dowdy Lake up by Red Feather Lakes & Moraine Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park), two more big hikes (Lily Mountain and Finch Lake) and went to Red Rocks to see Chicago and the Doobie Brothers.
Holly, Zoe and Ezra visited with us for three weeks and during that time we went to the Denver Aquarium, played mini golf, went hiking at Lily Lake and Moraine in Rocky Mountain National Park, camped with them, went to Martinez Farm, went swimming at the clubhouse pool and really enjoyed having them here! We also babysat Sophia at our house for 5 days so she would have an opportunity to be with her cousins! I'm so glad we did that, too!
The day after Holly and the kids returned to California, we made a quick trip to Minnesota for our niece, Carrie's bridal shower. Came home and had to do some more planning for next year's New Horizons Band band camp that our group is hosting.
In addition to leading the band camp planning effort, I'm starting to get articles together for the New Horizons International Music Association's fall newsletter. All of this in between working out 6 days a week and practicing drums most days...whew!
I sure don't see things slowing down anytime soon either! Band rehearsals start back up in a little over two weeks and Carrie and Dann's wedding is in a month. And, before I know it, it'll be Thanksgiving! We'll be traveling back East to visit with my family for that holiday and we are really looking forward to it!
So, my life is full and busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way right now! Keeps me challenged which is great for my brain!
Holly, Zoe and Ezra visited with us for three weeks and during that time we went to the Denver Aquarium, played mini golf, went hiking at Lily Lake and Moraine in Rocky Mountain National Park, camped with them, went to Martinez Farm, went swimming at the clubhouse pool and really enjoyed having them here! We also babysat Sophia at our house for 5 days so she would have an opportunity to be with her cousins! I'm so glad we did that, too!
The day after Holly and the kids returned to California, we made a quick trip to Minnesota for our niece, Carrie's bridal shower. Came home and had to do some more planning for next year's New Horizons Band band camp that our group is hosting.
In addition to leading the band camp planning effort, I'm starting to get articles together for the New Horizons International Music Association's fall newsletter. All of this in between working out 6 days a week and practicing drums most days...whew!
I sure don't see things slowing down anytime soon either! Band rehearsals start back up in a little over two weeks and Carrie and Dann's wedding is in a month. And, before I know it, it'll be Thanksgiving! We'll be traveling back East to visit with my family for that holiday and we are really looking forward to it!
So, my life is full and busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way right now! Keeps me challenged which is great for my brain!
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