A Year of Change

Are you ready? We’re not even close which is ok as it makes it more fun. I remember when I was a kid some family’s didn’t shop until Christmas Eve. Now we’re not waiting that long but it’ll be close.

Jag’s arm is healing fine, they closed up his case by basically putting a cast over his cast. Now we’re all set until next Tuesday when we go back up for another x-ray.

Today I have a meeting at the distributor at 9am and another downtown at 3:30pm. In between will be a bunch of phone calls and hopefully at least $500,000 worth of purchase orders coming in. I’ll leave everyone alone today but tomorrow will start a full court press for any State that hasn’t turned in their order.

Lori’s had a headache for a couple days. We think it’s cyclical and hormonal as it seems to happen every month. She needs to take some time off to go see her doctor.

The house is really clean as we bucked up for Elvia (our house cleaner) who we haven’t had for about 3 months. It sure needed it (baseboards, bathrooms, floors, etc.) and now the challenge is to keep it clean for a few days.

I’m trying to abstain from politics for the whole month but it’s hard as Obummer and the Dems drive me nuts. The release of a $40 Million dollar report on our interrogation techniques yesterday is just ludicrous. This is just a parting shot by the Dem’s who are still trying to blame the Republicans for any and everything and deflect from the mess Obummer and themselves have put the Country in. I mean come on, grow up, every Country uses interrogation. Could you ever imagine Israel, Saudi Arabia, Russia or Germany or any Country publishing their security procedures? I don’t think so and trust me, there are a lot of countries that have much harsher ways of dealing with terrorists than we do! But so the Dems can feel better, they have now told our enemies what tactics we used and still use. And on top of it, $40 Million? They just spend money like it means nothing. $40 Million could feed a lot of people or fix a crumbling bridge or two or something more useful, unbelievable.

Now I’m not saying everything we did was right, in fact I’m sure some of it was wrong, but why tell the World? There is nothing to gain except the Dems making themselves feel better.

Ok, I’ll let it go. I did get through Round 1 of my Fantasy Football Playoffs, 2 games to go and we’ll be $1500 richer. I think if I win this week and even loose the Super Bowl I still get a few hundred but I want to win it all!

Take care and God Bless.

At 7am today Jag and I are headed up to Frisco for an x-ray. I hope to have him back in school by 9:30 or 10. Yesterday I tweaked my back a little at the gym but that’s ok, I’ll live with it. I had a 12 o’clock lunch and Lori made it home about 6:30. We’re both super busy as I said yesterday. With a little luck and a lot of hard work and perseverance I should get done what I need to get done. Basically our livelihood depend on it but no pressure, ha ha.

Not sure what I’ll do when I get back this morning, maybe take the misses some lunch. The house is still pretty clean but that’s because no one has really been here. Maybe that should be our new strategy, clean the house, then leave. Our house looks real Christmasy, inside and out. Too bad you can’t see it. Not sure what anyone is getting or wants, we haven’t really had time to think about it. Of course Tom and Ali are all done shopping (have been for awhile) and have everything wrapped under their tree. Ho ho ho.

Last, today’s my dad’s birthday, I think he would have been like 89 but I’m not sure. He’s probably sitting on a porch at a big ranch somewhere in the sky reading a book whistling away, Happy Birthday Dad!

Have to run, time to hit the road, hope everyone is well, take care and God Bless.

Yesterday was Mojo’s 7th birthday, whoo hoo! The Broncos won and I scored a season record 163.25 points in my fantasy football playoffs. The team I’m playing has Arron Rodgers and the Packer defense playing tonight but he shouldn’t be able to catch me, again, whoo hoo! (knock on wood!)

Today we start our two week sprint until the kids are out of school. I have a big week as I need to make sure a little over $1 Million dollars worth of purchase orders come in this week, no exceptions. Lori too has a big week at work, probably just as critical but I don’t know all the details.

Speaking of Lori, yesterday the misses purged the house pretty much from top to bottom cleaning and scrubbing until it was clean. I actually can’t believe how much she got done. Tomorrow I need to run Jag up to Frisco for an x-ray at 8:15ammeaning we’ll leave around 7:15. Ty has basketball practice tonight and some cleaning of his own to do, as does his brother. You don’t want to see their rooms!

Uncle Tommy made some delicious Christmas cookies so I’m told as I’m on a self imposed carb and alcohol restriction to get in shape. They sure look good though and I did sneak one Saturday night.

Speaking of getting in shape, think I’ll get to the gym again so time to run. Hope everyone is well, take care and God Bless.

The Broncos are playing today at 2pm and I sure hope we win. I also need a strong showing in my fantasy team as it’s the playoffs. Yesterday we (mostly Lori) finished up our Christmas lights outside. We went out early around 8 and I made a fire in the fire pit in the front yard as it was still sort of cold. By the time she was finished she had lights everywhere. It was hard to tell how great it looked until it was dark but when the sun was gone, we had the best house on our block! If you know the misses though, you wouldn’t expect anything else!

Around dinner time we decided to go to the movies, We went to see the soon to be classic, The Penguins of Madagascar 3! It was Ty’s choice. Before that we went downtown to get the boys haircuts, stopped in to see Santa and Mrs. Claus at my favorite mens clothing store, sat in and took pictures of the boys in a Aston Martin Vanquish, a Lamborghini, a Maserati and a Jaguar, all $150,000 to $220,000 cars that were at the clothing store, and then had lunch at a nice Italian restaurant that’s also an account. On the way home from the movies we stopped by Tommy’s who made Christmas cookies, yum.

Today I’m headed to the gym and then the game. The boys might stay home so I’ll grab some guys and go. Can’t believe it’s already Sunday and tomorrow we’re back at work. Boy do the weekends go fast, too fast. Live life every day as it goes by fast. Take care, God Bless.

Not sure if you’ve been watching the protests around the country. In various major cities, people with an agenda are using social media to drum up protests and marches. Most of these people don’t even know the facts of whatever issue they’re protesting. Now I’m all for the right to protest but you might want to know what you’re marching for. In any case, the scariest thing is what to do if you’re caught in one of these demonstrations. Personally here in Denver, I check out what’s going on, especially if I’m headed downtown, before I go. I also avoid the main areas where I think protesters might be just in case somethings going on. I’ve been in large groups of people that can turn on a dime into a dangerous mob and it’s not a good feeling. So be careful out there if you’re Christmas shopping or wherever you might be. Just last night protesters in New York stormed Macy’s Department Store. The night before a car ran over four policeman here in Denver who were handling crowd control. One was hurt seriously and the student protesters chanted “hit him again”. This poor guy was just doing his job and now might not make it. That’s a prime example of mob mentality as most students wouldn’t really want anyone run over in the first place much less run over a second time. But when you get a mob moving, it’s hard for it to stop. Hopefully this will all end soon but the people pushing the buttons behind the scenes across the country will do everything to keep it going as long as possible, so be aware and be safe.

Yesterday was busy as usual with Ty’s basketball game capping the day off. This morning we’re going to get the rest of our Christmas lights up and then head to Cherry Creek to get Jag’s haircut. Ty’s happy going for a buzz cut at the local barber. Maybe we’ll go to lunch too as we have a gift certificate at a great place down there. Ty and I would love to be skiing but we decided to stay home since we have the Bronco game tomorrow. We’ll start Christmas shopping after the 20th when Lori gets paid. It’s going to be a lean year as we’re on a self imposed budget but then again Christmas isn’t about presents anyhow, but don’t worry, I’m sure the boys will be taken care of. Guess I’ll run so we can get started on the lights. Hope everyone is well, take care and God Bless.

Well we made it through another week. This was a tough one any way you look at it. Both our jobs have lots going on that basically leave it up to Lori and I to basically save our respective companies. In each case, it’s up to us to make sure things work out. No pressure at all, ha ha, if you all only knew.

We have the Bronco game Sunday which should be fun as the weather is supposed to be nice. Jag is back at school and has lots of homework to catch up on. Tonight Ty has a basketball game and tomorrow the boys have haircuts. On top of that we need to get the rest of our Christmas stuff up as it’s 20 days until the big day. Time sure flies.

Guess I’ll run, lots to do and we’re both running late already. We need a trip to the islands!

God Bless

Sorry but no time today, was on the phone all day yesterday and am starting again early today (6am) so need to run. Hope all’s well, I’m out,

God Bless

Here we go, my work, Lori’s work, and tons of other stuff that nobody wants or needs to hear about because there’s nothing you can do anyhow, but let’s just say, Game On!

Now when pressure builds, you can do one of two things, freak out and succumb to the pressure or you can Man Up, Cowboy Up or whatever you want to call it and tackle it head on. Personally I learned a long time ago that freaking out just wastes time as it doesn’t make the problem or pressure go away, it just prolongs it as when you’re done freaking out, the problem is still there. So here we go, bring it on, give us your best shot. (normally I throw in some profanity here)

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get onto the day. Yesterday Ty was home not feeling well. I had lots of work, Lori had some drama at work (what’s new) and finally walked in the front door at 8pm.

Today for some reason, both boys are out of school at noon. Man I never had so much time off from school when I was a kid. Oh well, today Jag is staying home as he did too much yesterday and needs some rest and with today being a half day, it’ll be easier for him to miss.

That’s it, hope you’re all well, take care and God Bless

Yesterday Jag and I arrived in Vail at 7:20 for his doctor appointment. When we met with Dr.Viola we were surprised to find out that he needed surgery as we thought we were just getting him a cast. He then asked when we wanted to do it and suggested we move quickly as the sooner after the break the better as then the arm or bones are still pliable and hasn’t had time to start healing or fusing incorrectly. So they called up to the surgery center and said the earliest was 1pm. It was now about 8am so we had a few hours to kill until our 11:15 check in. Luckily the doctor is a friend as well so he squeezed us in with no notice.

Around 11:30 (I was running late from a conference call) we arrived and checked in. Jag said he wasn’t nervous but I could tell he was a bit. The only thing that really bothered him was the thought of getting the IV stuck in his hand. Turns out he didn’t even feel it and all was fine. The doctor was running late so they didn’t take him back until about 2pm which is when I walked down the street to get his a 21″ Philly Cheesesteak sandwich which he wanted. He was out of surgery about 3pm and all was good. No incisions were required as they somehow manipulate his bones while watching his arm on some x-ray machine and then cast it up. He had 3 breaks with two being minor and one that needed to be put back in place which is why he needed surgery.

I went back into recovery about 3:30 and it took him until 4pm to wake up. I videotaped him all groggy on my phone and it’s priceless. I’ll try to figure out how to post it as it’ll go viral it’s so funny, he was so polite! Our friend Heidi who was my anesthesiologist a couple years ago and now a friend, was off as she’d been on call for 8 days but called up and had a colleague put himself on the schedule to take care of Jagger. He was a really nice Harvard man who was probably my age or a bit older. To me, the riskiest part of surgery is when they put you under so I was glad he was able to re-arrange his schedule to be with Jag. Our friend Rick who is the head of HR (Human Resources) for the hospital also came up to make sure everything was well and hung out with us until he went in so we were well taken care of. Funny but now Lori, Jag and I have all had surgery at the Vail Medical Center.

When I spoke with the doctor after surgery he showed me pictures of the bones in his arm post surgery and we for sure made the right decision to have it done. At Jag’s age and as fast as he is growing, you don’t want any bones growing incorrectly or the wrong way. Finally at 4:45 we were in the car and home a bit after 6pm. Lori didn’t make it home until a bit before 7pm as she was swamped at work. Jagger has been a perfect patient and made it through the night fine and seems to have no pain but he can’t hold a pencil which isn’t going to make school easy. We’re going to call and see of he can take a tablet.

So that’s it, lots to do today as I missed a full day of work which I need to make up. If I had known I was going to be there all day I would have brought my computer, oh well, like I said, it was a surprise!

God Bless.

Hard to believe isn’t it, December 1st, wow. We started the day with Lori and I waking at a little after 6 to get ready to go cut our Christmas tree. We managed to get the boys up and ready and in the truck by 7:20. About an hour and 10 minutes later (after stopping for donuts and coffee) we were past Copper Mountain on the road up to Leadville. We found a spot where a snow plow had cleared a side road a bit up into the forest, put the truck into 4 wheel drive and pulled off. We jumped out and proceeded to hike up the road covered in deep snow trying not to sink in too deep. After a ways up the road we found a good tree about 10 feet or so off into the forest. I took a step off the road towards the tree and sunk in above my knee. The next step was a bit deeper but finally I made my way to our chosen tree. It only took me a minute or so to saw it at the base and haul it out to the family. Lori and I then carried it down the snowy road and threw it in the back of the truck. Ty meanwhile found himself his own Charlie Brown tree which is about 18″ tall.

Next up was a stop in Frisco for a snack before heading home to Denver. About 10:20 or so we pulled up to the house. It was actually 10 degrees cooler in Denver than in the mountains. Lori then began to work her magic. Meanwhile Jag and I went to the store and when we returned Lori had the tree up and inside with the lights about to go on. She’s a master at decorating, especially if it revolves around some sort of holiday, and Christmas is King!

It’s now 5:45am and Jagger and I are headed up to Vail to see Dr. Viola at 7:30. Hopefully we’ll be back by 10am. We’ll know after his appointment how long he’s off his snowboard for. Lori and Jag will go snowshoeing next weekend while Ty and I hit the slopes as I’m sure Jag will be off at least for a few weeks, if not longer.

Lori has a big week at work and Ty is at Ameritown today. Lots of Christmas shows start this week, many of them classics. Hope everyone is well, have to get moving so have a great day and God Bless.

p.s. Great day for the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos! Go Broncos!