Life on the High Plains

Pikes Peak from my rear view window on the drive home from work last week before the snow hit.  Have I mentioned lately how much I love this mountain? Happy Birthday to my favorite grandson today (and also to my co-worker, Kim, and my other co-worker's daughter, Tressie , and tomorrow to my mother-in-law)!  It's a big day for birthdays! Have a great Skywatch Friday !

My husband is off on one of his top secret trips again. No cell phones, no credit cards, no Kindle, no GPS, no anything that might give his location away. What happens if the Sequestration starts tomorrow? Will the government be able to return him? Will tomorrow be his first furlough day? (I'm trying to keep a good attitude about a 20% pay cut.) Who knows? If you see my sweet hubbie roaming around the country somewhere, please let me know.

For the last three weeks I have been eating "clean".  I've done quite well--no cheating, no girl scout cookies, no chips and salsa, no beef.  My trainer has said it's okay to start adding "normal" food back into my diet (in moderation) so on Sunday I made some beef enchiladas. I LOVE Mexican food!  It has been the hardest thing to give up. We had leftovers after dinner on Sunday--Irv had his Tupperware of leftovers and I had mine. Since Irv is working nights, I ate half my leftovers last night and had planned to eat the other half tonight.  In fact, the thought of these enchiladas occupied my thoughts on the icy drive home from work. Then I get home and called Irv to let him know I got home okay.  In the midst of our conversation he casually mentioned that he had eaten my enchiladas. WHAT? Not only do I have to go out in the wind and snow, through drifts of snow several feet high, to feed my critters, now I have no enchiladas? I know, one shou...

There is one, and only one, good thing about Brian being gone...Jillian invites us to the CC hockey games to use Brian's season ticket. Last night we watched CC lose to St. Cloud. I know nothing about hockey, I've been to less than a handful of games my entire life.  Last night I did learn the difference between icing and offsides, but it's doubtful I'll remember the next time I go to a game. I have yet to see a fight, although it came close to one last night. At the end of the game they all shake hands just like the kids do after games, the only difference is that the parents don't get together and form a tunnel for them to run through. Then the team forms a circle in the middle of the ice and raise their sticks. (Are they called sticks?) Lastly, the team brought out their homemade fan appreciation signs.  Do you think they made these signs themselves, or did their girlfriends make them?  I bet the guys loved this activity. ...

My, what a difference a couple days can make.  Here's the view from our back deck a couple days ago. And here it is this morning.  We finally got a fairly big snow.  If we could only have one of these every few days, maybe the Eastern plains of Colorado could start recovering from this drought we've been in.  (Still not enough snow for a snow day though.) Happy Skywatch Friday !

My wonderful mother-in-law had my nephew's girlfriend make me the cuddly, fleece throw. She seems to think I need to take more naps. I couldn't agree more! I celebrated President's day with a morning nap, an afternoon nap, and I will soon be having an evening nap.  My naps were only interrupted when Irv and I did our taxes and I did a little homework.  We stayed home all day--quite unheard of. Thanks Mom!  I love it!

I finished my second week of boot camp! Whew!  I can't say the actual camp is fun while I'm there, but afterwards I feel so good (except for the tired, aching muscles.) I over did the abs on Thursday and yesterday my physical therapist asked for my trainer's phone number.  Apparently the two of them are going to talk. Last week my boot camp group and I started a 24-day "cleanse".  Now, this isn't the cleanse you may be used to hearing about.  It is not a cleanse that requires 24 days of starving yourself to death.  Quite the contrary, it is 24 days of "clean eating" which basically involves no red meat (and I love red meat), no white foods (potatoes, rice, flour, white bread, etc.), no sugars, no dairy, no oils, no caffeine, and no alcohol.  In other words...healthy eating.  There are some vitamins and supplements that go along with this cleanse, but nothing drastic. I haven't been hungry at all.  It's just hard to get out of b...

My brother invited me to participate in Skywatch Friday.  So here's my first try. A Valentine's Day view from my office window complete with hugs and kisses from my sweet hubbie.    Sunny  Sunny   Cloudy with flurries  Sunny again A typical winter day in Colorado.  Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  There are some great shots on the Skywatch Friday blog --go check it out.  

We have a new blogger in the family.  Check out Brian's blog at http://odmoose.blogspot.com .  Jillian updated her blog too-- http://meetthemooses.blogspot.com . We need to keep these two in our thoughts and prayers for the next several months. Now all we need is for Mary to start blogging, then the whole family will be involved. I just went over 14,000 hits on this blog.  Who the heck is out there reading my extremely boring blog?  Come on people, leave me a comment every now and then. Now some random extremely boring thoughts on my day. I spent the whole day at a State 4-H Horse Advisory Committee meeting in Golden.  We only meet three times per year so there's always a lot of stuff to go over.  Luckily, I have an employer who supports 4-H so they let me go to these middle of the week meetings without taking vacation time.  It's nice being a member of this group.  Every time I think about stepping down from this committee...

A few days ago Irv and I came home and the faucet in the backyard was running. Hmmm...how did that happen? The only critters in the backyard were the geese. Irv turned the faucet off and replaced the insulation over the faucet. The next day we come home to this. Those darn geese have learned how to turn the water on in the backyard. And all this time we have thought they were the world's dumbest creatures. Now the question is...how do we stop it?  You think they would enjoy getting out of their pen to run free in the backyard all day, but we can't have them turning the water on. Anybody want two geese?  One requirement...you have to make a solemn vow to never eat them. (Just an update--I have an appointment at the University hospital on March 12th.  Hurry up and wait.)

It used to be heartbreaking when I sent Irv off to a deployment. It's gut wrenching to watch your daughter send her husband off to war.  I know she's a strong army soldier's wife, but it will still be hard.  November is a long time away.    We got home at 4:11 a.m.  It was a long night, but I'm so glad we were there to support Jillian and Brian.    Hearing the sobs of a little girl saying goodbye to her dad is something I won't soon forget.  Watching a soldier say goodbye to his newborn son was almost more than I could bear.  The next time you see a soldier and his or her family, please tell them thanks.  They know their job and they willingly sacrifice a lot for this country.  The sad part is that the average American is not affected by the war at all, most don't even know a soldier.  If you have the opportunity, let them know they are not forgotten.

I finally got my referral to the University of Colorado Hospital.  Now I have to give them a week to contact me to make an appointment for a consultation.  Then we'll see about scheduling the ERCP with Manometry.  Hurry up and wait.  19 months and counting. In the meantime, I skipped my Thursday boot camp class.  The doctor says under no circumstances am I to do any ab work and since Thursday is "core" day, and because I was up all night in pain, I decided to not go.  Now I'm afraid of seeing my trainer tomorrow when he comes to tell us how we're supposed to eat for the next 24 days. After all, I am a grown woman and if I want to skip class that's okay.  Right? My fellow IT person at work has a kidney stone and her CT scan also revealed an inflamed appendix which she has to have removed as soon as she passes the kidney stone. We make a fine pair. Life is good.  Keep smiling.  Things that make me happy and grateful to God: A n...

33 years ago today a sweet baby girl was born at Madigan Army Hospital in Ft. Lewis Washington. Happy Birthday Mary! Wow!  Were we ever really that young? Love the Smurf necklace! Who makes their kid sleep with curlers in their hair in a box? Mary the Murderous Such class...check out the pearls at such a young age. Mary and Flag...Kansas state hunter/jumper champions What a beautiful woman my daughter has become and a great mother!  Thanks for all you do for your old mom. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Today was a really great day! I booked our 2013 Grandson Mystery Trip for spring break. Since it's a "mystery", all I can say is woohoo!  I can't wait!  Since Mr. Beans might decide to read this blog I can't reveal any hints other than this photo. After work I started a 3-month boot camp.  The new gym at work is open and ready for business with a personal trainer.  A group of us signed up for a 3 session per week boot camp.  Friday we all start a diet that's going to require the absence of red meat for 24 days.  That might be kind of hard since we just purchased our beef for the year. Tomorrow I may not be able to walk, but right now I'm feeling good about getting a great workout in for the first time in months.  The goal--all the way up the Manitou Springs Incline by the end of summer. Christmas in February!  I got home from work and had a package waiting for me.  I finally found a pair of boots. I am now the prou...

I tricked Irv into some early spring cleaning yesterday. We've been looking for a new TV for our bedroom for the last couple months.  We finally found a 32" at a really good price at Sam's. While Irv was installing the wall mount yesterday, I suggested that as long as his dresser was moved out, we may as well vacuum underneath it and clean the baseboards. That led to washing all the curtains, dusting the blinds, washing the windows, and shampooing the carpet. These two critters were a big help! Then on our way to see The Impossible at the movies yesterday, I convinced him to make a quick stop at Hobby Lobby so I could buy a red star for above the bed. I've been wanting one of these stars for the outside of my barn for a long time, but Irv refuses to put it up for me (something about wind gusts where we live).  So if I can't have one on the barn, we'll have it in the house. Now I notice how boring our room is with...