A Likely Story!

Don't Take Anything For Granted

Nothing.

Don't take life, family, love, health, friends, proximity to friends, sunny days, chances to sleep in, the internet. Don't take anyone or anything for granted.

That is the lesson of the week, so learn it well, ok?

I am home safe, but exhausted, brokenhearted, missing my family (yet beyond thrilled to be back at J#2) and overall just crashing big time.

So nnsd from here!

(Hawr!)

Yes, I'm Bilingual

I speak Hawr!

Moving In Stereo

The quality of light has been fantastic since I've been back in California...almost surreally so.

Back in the day when I was in College, so many times California was a hazy, overcast, smoggy place to be. Yet every now and then, the skies would clear and the view was magnificent. Foothills so close you could reach out and touch them. Amazing SoCal sunsets. Perfect weather. And In-N-Outs close to any offramp of your choosing between my sibling's homes and my parent's house. In a word, heaven.

Today it was like college all over again. Except the nephews that were infants then are now full-grown. Same for my niece. Instead of driving to see them, they come to see me. And even let me drive their cars. (Thanks Casey!)

Cruising around with Casey today, reminiscing on life in Cali. The good. The bad. And as of this last week, the sad. Sometimes just being with family and talking about the minutiae of the history of our family can be exactly what's needed. Sharing meals, be they homecooked with love, offered by friends and acquaintances or even (ahem) a certain drive thru burger restaurant that we lavish massive love on...it's all a part of what makes you feel better and brings you together.

And sometimes, words aren't even necessary. Especially as you drive into the sunset of another exceedingly gorgeous California day, knowing that you are with family, you love them beyond what words can describe, and you are moving in stereo together.

Housekeeping Notes

Packing to fly to CA for my sister-in-law Michele's funeral. It was so weird to type that last sentence.

Thanks to all of you that emailed privately and responded publically. Your kindess and good thoughts have been so appreciated by myself and my family (my sisters Diane and Kelly read my blog, as does my Cousin Bill). My work buddies (from both J#1 and J#2) have been beyond remarkble as well and have helped to make a very difficult week bearable.

My 'Call Bullshit' challenge will be in effect tomorrow, Monday 2/25 but will not be ongoing while I am in CA...especially since I will be an hour behind you guys in CO and I will be staying at various places.

Finally, internet access will be sporadic over the next week but I'll check in when I can.

Thanks again for being such wonderful friends.

The Hardest Call I've Ever Had To Make

I just called my brother Brian to tell him how very sorry I am. His darling wife Michele passed away this afternoon.

We don't know why or how it happened. She had a procedure, it went smoothly, the Dr's were finishing up and her heart stopped. They worked on her for over an hour.

Michele was awesome, amazing and absolutely wonderful. My brother is heart broken as are their 3 boys. My whole family is crushed, me included.

I'll write more when I can write without crying.

For now? Please think good thoughts for my brother Brian and their sons Tommy, Matt and Jeff.

Thanks.

Change vs. Experience

Some out there say our next President has to bring 'experience' to the table. Others say change is what's needed most.

My 2 cents?

If this is the effect of experience, I'll take change ANY day.

Gobama!

Calling Bullshit

Another way of keepin' it real.

Here's the deal.

This past summer I had a weight loss challenge with a buddy, Not too many people knew about it. The reason for the challenge was two-fold... to lose weight in preparation for my surgery in July and to be healthier.

As challenges go, I did pretty good. Now? It's time to take it to the next step. And you get to be part of the challenge, if you so wish.

Starting this Monday 25 February I will be pushing myself to be up at 5:30 and at the gym by 6 am when it opens. I WILL DO THIS! Monday, Wednesday and Friday will be my morning gym days from 6-6:45 am MT.

If you want to play along and 'Call Bullshit' as it were, here's how you can participate.

Starting Monday, you can call my cell between 5:45-6 am MT time.

If I am awake and on my way to the gym when you call, you owe me a drink. If you call and I am snoozing, I owe you a drink and a dollar. How can you tell if I am snoozing or awake? When I answer the phone in snoozing mode, you will so know. I will be all slurry...and barely talking...and probably call you honey or sweetie or maybe even honeybunny. Then I will stop talking and fall back to sleep.

When (not if) I am awake, I will talk normally. And you will be able to tell if I am in my truck or at the gym.

So what say you? Up for a challenge to call me at my own game?

For the record, this challenge terrifies me. I LOVE to sleep late. I also like to stay up late! Really. But knowing that some of you may call my cell...and that I HATE to lose...I have decided to try this for a month.

PLEASE NOTE :

I will be on vacation from 4-8 March in sunny San Diego and the challenge does not apply to that time frame.

So where were we?? Oh yeah! Me. Exercising/losing weight/and hopefully not losing my shirt in the process.

You in??

Yet Another Quiz

Work email was down so I took this quiz!

You are a Creator
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Your imagination, confidence, willingness to explore, and appreciation of beauty make you a CREATOR.
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You are independent, and you enjoy your self-sufficiency.
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Defying convention, you are very innovative, and you have a vivid imagination.
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The look of things is important to you, and you have a keen eye for aesthetic beauty in multiple arenas.
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You have a strong interest in what is new and exciting—and that includes forging ahead with new ideas, not simply discovering what is already out there.
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Your eagerness to seek new and varied experiences leads you into many different situations.
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You're not set on one way of doing things, and you are creative when it comes to finding novel solutions to complex problems.
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You trust yourself to be innovative and resourceful.
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Your confidence allows you to take your general awareness and channel it into creativity.
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Your independent streak allows you to make decisions efficiently and to trust your instincts
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You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute.
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Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.

how you relate to others
You are Dynamic
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As someone who is DYNAMIC, you do not have a hard time meeting new people, and you have a bunch of close friends.
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You are not overly concerned with what others may think about you, which leaves you free to be thoroughly involved in the world around you.
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There are those who find being around people exhausting—but not you! Interacting with others, whether at a party or in conversation, gives you energy.
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You have a strong sense of what the world is like and how it should be.
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You have enormous respect for those who have earned their success, and have little patience for those who try to bend the rules or ride on the coattails of others' hard work.
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Believing in the importance of integrity and hard work doesn't stop you from believing that people will do the right thing—you know that people are good at heart.
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You sometimes have trouble understanding why others feel the way they do, but it doesn't stop you from having faith and trust in those around you.
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Part of what makes engaging with people so interesting for you is that you occasionally learn something new about yourself or about a problem you're having when discussing things with others.
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Your strong worldview leads you to believe that people shouldn't rely on their emotions so much when making decisions.

Is This Thing On?

You might be wondering.

Yep, still here. Just wicked busy. Worked 12 hrs today for J#1. And wicked tired. Beyond tired. But who isn't I guess?

Look for a challenge post Thursday night.

In the meantime, nnsd for now.

I Can Dream

My next house.