Its a Fritter Frightmare

Kevin Olson (my CPA partner) and I go to the same trainer who is trying to return our bodies into the Charles Atlas like forms we had in college when we both swam for our respective universities. That requires a rigid and consistent daily calorie count. Well a while back some evil person brought into our office the most incredible apple fritters ever. These were plate sized mounds of luscious apple and cinnamon sweetness. Kevin and I colluded and decided to split one, locked the office door and began to feast on the incredible treat. Unfortunately his wife Becky opened the door and caught us before we were finished. Our sugar glazed smiles gave us away and she immediately reported our crime to Mary Ellen our trainer.

Last Friday morning Mary Ellen sought our repentance by driving us through one of the toughest “burpee” invested workouts ever invented. It was designed to be the Mother of All Fritter Hell Workouts. There were weights and cardio and ab work to burn off the guilty pleasure of that apple fritter that had now become part of my growing love handles. It was to teach us a mighty lesson. But throughout all the intensity of lifting and groaning and sweating I kept thinking of how delicious that apple fritter was. I concluded I would do it all over again, but this time I wouldn’t share with Kevin and I would lock my office door when I knew Tracy wouldn’t be coming by the office.

Last weekend Austin and Stacy came to visit and it was great to see Austin and meet Stacy. We got in a little racquetball, some Wally ball, lots of eating, some split 10 work and some well need visiting. Monday rolled around way too early and we had to say good bye. It was such fun to see Austin with a RLGF, real life girl friend and him free from the burdens of a World of Warcraft habit.

I was lucky enough to have a short business trip to Arizona and was able to visit with Don and Leslie. It was so delightful to stay with them in their new home. They take great pride in really decorating it so nicely. I doubt Don will ever miss any Marine barrack or foxhole because they have done such a great job on making a house a new home. We had a super visit and I got to hear some new Marine stories as we looked around for some houses to buy.

Part of that weekend was spent with the family at the aquarium and Danica took a few pictures and movies. It is so fun to share that experience. I got to pick the shark eggs off of the coral where they had laid them. I kept hoping that they wouldn’t see what I was doing and come attack me.

We are moving after 16 years in Highlands Ranch and mom wants to talk about it on her blog so all you get in this blog is this picture of Austin, Stacy, and mom in an empty lot and our new view of the mountains.

We head out to Belize this coming week to dive the Blue Hole and ride horses in the jungle. It will be a trip with something for both mom and I. It is a happy vacation.

The mission changed out the sisters and we had elders back so that means I get to play more racquetball. I wish with all that extra play time I would get better at kill shots in the corner. The elder from Canada knows his scriptures very well and the elder from California won’t be with us long. He has a serious ear infection that requires this intense surgery where they remove all of those tiny ear bones and replace them and he could lose his hearing. It’s been fun to have him here, even for this short time.

Winter Weekend

We were wondering when winter was going to show up. A week ago Friday the temperature was almost 70 degrees here. I was ready to break out the sunscreen. Then just 3 days later the thermometer dropped to -15 degrees. It missed breaking the coldest temperature ever recorded in Denver by just one degree. Wind chill was at -30 degrees.

I had a really sweet 59 year old lady client pass away this week and attended her funeral on Friday. It was a challenge realizing that she was only a year older than I. She had 7 kids. I realized sitting through the funeral that the things remember and cherished in one’s life are the shared memories and fun personalities. It isn’t the long hours we work, the great sale we close, or the taxes we pay. It happens to be the love we shared, the service we provided, the laughter we enjoyed, the tears we shed, the funny stories we tell, the time we spend together, the hard times and pain we endure and survive, the thoughtful gesture we so willingly gave, the kind remark we communicated, and the times we just spent being in a loved one presence. Too bad it takes a funeral to help realign my priorities.

We were headed to the mountains with Danica and family to see the snow sculptors in Breckenridge, but they came down with pneumonia and so it became on early Valentines weekend for Tracy and I. We saw the carving at night and they had them lighted with changing colors.
It was spectacular. I loved the scuba diver one and mom loved the snowy horse – surprise, surprise.