Ice sculptures

We went out of town to see the annual ice sculpture festival in Cripple Creek, CO a few months ago (man, time flies by!!). It's always so neat to see what can be created out of blocks of ice and how intricate they make the designs. This years theme was 'A Military Salute Carved In Ice'. There were some amazing tributes to our service members. The Vietnam Wall was our favorite.








Can't wait to go back next year!!

Grandpa and Preston

When my dad was moved out of ICU, we were able to take Preston into the hospital so he could see his Grandpa. I dressed him in a Harley outfit which was a big hit. Preston was a little shy at first - I love the picture of them both screaming! But once he saw Grandpa's soda, they were friends.

Dad's classroom

While we were visiting my dad, we got a chance to go see his classroom at the college. He teaches Criminal Justice and just recently had a mural painted on his 30 foot wall. The artist even painted him in the picture (in the beret just to the right of the dress). I've seen pictures of it, but it was pretty cool to see in person - it's huge!

*The close-up includes my Uncle Scott.

Dad's home

My dad went home Monday night after we flew back home. Things are running smoothly and he's hoping to go back to work tomorrow.



We got a chance to meet the medics at the college who saved my dad's life. Neal (left) was first on scene and started CPR. Scott (right) used the AED. This was the first time either of them had used these procedures on a real person. They were quick and did everything right. I made them a cheesy card and taped 2 rolls of Lifesavers candy on the front - one for each of them. They loved it and said they were going to frame it - lol!! They were super nice guys and I'm so glad we got a chance to meet them and thank them in person.

Angiogram today

Dad is having an angiogram today to check his heart. Another Uncle flew in last night. Dad doesn't know he's here. We'll all go to the hospital together and surprise him.

Hoping to get some answers as to what caused his heart attack last week.

Superbowl party at the hospital!!

It's Superbowl Sunday!! I don't watch the game (or any football), but my Uncle is going to the hospital to watch the game with my dad - they are both excited.

My dad was moved out of ICU last night and into the cardiac unit. He's doing extremely well!! They're running a bunch of heart tests tomorrow to try to get some answers as to why this all happened and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. He's improving every day. The hospital won't let Preston upstairs so the nurse is going to bring my dad downstairs in a wheelchair so he can finally see his grandson. That's going to be wonderful! I brought a Harley outfit to put him in which I know will be a big hit :)

Teeth, Jello and a chair

Things with my dad are improving! All the tubes came out of his mouth so we can understand him a lot better when he talks. He wears full dentures and was able to put his teeth in last night. I fed him a gourmet dinner of Cherry Jello and Chocolate Pudding - he loved both. The nurses got him out of bed and he walked to a chair and sat upright for awhile. He still has no short term memory, but his long term memory is fine. He knows that he had a heart attack, but doesn't remember anything. I told him he was brought to the hospital on a Harley - that made him laugh :)

He may be moved out of ICU today which would be a huge step forward!

Dad update

We made it to Phoenix Tuesday night. Dad was still unresponsive and in an induced coma. We went to see him yesterday and he was conscious!! He opened his eyes and smiled at me. He was even able to squeeze my hand. It's confirmed that he had a heart attack, but thanks to the quick response of the people who were around him, things are looking pretty good! They're hoping to take out the breathing tube today and then he'll be able to talk. I'm sure we're in for an earful!

Support needed

My dad collapsed at work today and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. He's been unresponsive ever since. The dr. called tonight and said we should get there as soon as possible so we're planning on flying out in a few hours.

This was all very sudden and we are all shaken up.

Mini-vacation

(Double click on picture for a MUCH bigger view)

We recently had a weekend road trip for the beginning of Brandon's Fall school semester. My mama and I joined him and got to play while he was in class.

Here's a collage of our trip:

We went swimming, toured the Budweiser beer factory and ate at The Cheesecake Factory (which has now become a tradition).

Mega blister

I went for a walk with a friend a little over a week ago for the first time. I was excited about getting out in the beautiful weather, chatting with another adult and spending time with our 2 babies that are about the same age. I decided to wear a new pair of socks because they looked extra cushy and I thought that might be beneficial on a long walk. I won them several years ago at a healthclub and have never worn them. They were low-cut but were higher in the back which is supposed to prevent the sock from sliding down into the shoe. We started our walk and all was good. Then a few minutes later, it felt like I got a small rock in the back of my sock. I causually tried to shake my foot as we were walking but it wasn't going away. A little fact you may not know about me: I don't like to show that anything's wrong. I will hide pain. And this time was no different. I never said anything to my friend, but when we stopped to cross a street, I reached down and tried to brush away whatever was in my sock. For the next hour, I was in pain, a lot of pain. We talked and walked and she never knew anything was wrong (I'm good like that!). We went back to her place and I drove home. I took off my shoe and sock and found the mega blister. I've never had a blister this bad and have never seen one this big. It HURT!! I threw the cushy, new socks in the trash and got bandaged up my my army medic husband.



This was the blister a few days later. The fluid inside turned blackish/purple. I taped a quarter above it just as a size reference. I put a special blister band-aid on it and when I took it off, it broke the blister open. It's much better now and I can wear tennis shoes again as long as I keep a band-aid covering the raw, open hole.

I'm going for a walk today with a different friend and different socks :)

Strange storm clouds

I live in Colorado. It rarely rains here. Sometimes it gets cloudy and looks like it will rain, but then the sun comes out and the clouds blow away. It's all a big tease. Yesterday was no different. I was outside and it started sprinkling and then POURING rain. We got a good soaking for more than an hour. It was very exciting. Watching the news last night they said this was a storm of 'great proportions' - which I guess meant because we got more than a few drops. There were flash flood warnings all over and a tornado warning to the East. There was even reports of a car floating down a main street. We got some more light rain off and on throughout the night. Wonderful sleeping weather with the windows open :)

This morning I woke up to strange storm clouds over the mountains. There was a big white cloud bank at the foothills and a big dark cloud hanging above. Between the 2 was beautiful blue sky and the tops of the mountain peaks were barely visible. Hope everyone has a great day whether it's cloudy or sunny, rainy or dry.

♥ 12th Wedding Anniversary ♥

This past Sunday was our 12th wedding anniversary. I love being married to my best friend. I wish we could spend every second of every day with each other. He promised me this would be possible if we win the lottery :) Darn money always gets in the way.

We went out of town for a few days to celebrate. We stayed in Idaho Springs, CO which is about a 2 hour drive into the mountains. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. We stayed at the Indian Springs Resort which has a big indoor hot springs pool that feels fabulous to soak in. It isn't too hot so me and the lil' pumpkin were able to enjoy it. We spent A LOT of time in the pool! We've been there before and we plan to go back next year for our anniversary with our little guy. We highly recommend this place: http://indianhotsprings.com// We ate lots of good food, relaxed, enjoyed our time together and took some scenic drives. One was to the top of Mt. Evans which has the highest paved road in North America. It's paved, but drops off on the sides with no guardrails. Luckily Brandon is a good driver :) The summit is 14,130 feet and it was only 33* at the top. It was a clear day and the drive was beautiful. We saw a herd of billy goats with 4 teeny-tiny babies. Soooo cute!!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband and thanks for such a fun weekend ♥


Road up to Mt. Evans

Mama and baby billy goat - the park ranger said the baby was only a few weeks old.
Me and Brandon at the summit - it was windy, can you tell?!

Echo Lake

Waterfall and Waterwheel in Idaho Springs

Ped Egg

I admit it. I am an infomercial junkie. I want everything I see - even if it looks too good to be true or sounds ridiculous. I'm usually pretty good about not buying everything I see...usually. I saw the commercial for the Ped Egg awhile ago and was intrigued by the "cheese grater for feet". I take care of my feet and get regular pedicures, but I wanted something I could use at home that would really work. I bought my Ped Egg at Bed Bath and Beyond and used a 20% off coupon - my total cost was $7 and some change. I came home and immediately tried it out. I WAS IN LOVE ♥ This product really works and it was easy and painless. My heels do not look dry or cracked and I was amazed at the amount of dead skin it removed. The design of the Egg is supposed to catch all of the shavings in the lid - I found this to be a bit faulty because you have to keep it upside down while using and that's not always easy. It does catch most of it though. I just use it over the bathtub and problem solved. I give this product 5 stars.

I also bought the Heel Tastic Foot Therapy to go with my Egg. It works pretty well even though I can't stand the smell. I do love the deodorant-style applicator though.

Other infomercial products I've bought:

Sobakowa Pillow (love)
Sham-Wow (pretty good)
Nads Hair Remover (no likey!)
Tap Light (too dim)
Tan Perfect (worked ok)
Dual-Action Cleanse (eh)
Dryer Balls (love)
Debbie Meyers Green Bags (love)
Topsy Tail (loved this when I had long hair)
Oxiclean (not impressed)
Furminator (didn't work on my kitties)

(all these products can be found here: http://www.asseenontv.com/)

May Day!!

Happy May Day! I have sweet memories of making May Day baskets as a child and leaving them on neighbors porches. We always had a Maypole celebration at our elementary school too.

History of May Day: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day

Enjoy this first day of May and do something nice for someone who is special to you ♥

Happy Earth Day 2010

Love your Mother....Earth ♥

My tennis shoe obsession

I have a small obsession with tennis shoes - I can pass up regular shoes, but I have a shoe fetish with the comfortable, stylish, new-on-the-market tennis shoe.

I discovered the Reebok EasyTone through a friend at Curves. They were so cute and claim to "firm you up so you never have to workout ever again". OK, maybe that's not exactly their motto, but I liked the idea of a shoe that had a dual purpose. They have 2 stability balls on the bottom and make you balance while you walk so that you're working more muscles than a flat shoe. Sounded cool. I needed new shoes anyway, well, WANTED new shoes, so I set out to find these. Every store in the mall carried a different color - some stores were even sold out because they were such a good seller. I found a silver/pink pair that begged to come home with me. They are really cute, they are comfy and I was happy with my purchase. However....if I wear them on a walk, or for too long at a time, it feels like I have a clump of mud stuck to the bottom of my shoe. But they are cute.

The Sketcher Shape-ups have intrigued me for awhile and it seems like everyone around here has a pair, so they must be good, right? I always thought they looked like orthopedic old-people shoes, but I had a coupon (sort-of, I'll get to that in a minute) and decided to go to the store and try them on. They were comfy and worked in a different way than my Reebok shoes. These shoes rock back and forth, front to back, like you're standing on a rocking chair. They had a cute silver/white pair so I decided to adopt them. I figured between these 2 pairs of shoes, I may never have to workout ever again!! I don't really believe that, but it's a nice thought. They do claim to "burn more calories, tone muscles and improve posture". Turns out, my 'coupon' didn't apply to these shoes (grrr!), but I already had my mind set on getting these shoes so I did what any logical person would do. I looked around and found another pair of tennis shoes that I could use my coupon on - couldn't let it go to waste!! I bought a regular pair of cute Asics. I got a $75 pair of shoes for $32 - I love good coupons :) I've only worn my Shape-ups around the house, but they are very comfy.

Maybe wearing these shoes will help me burn off the 8,000 calories I've been eating from my Easter Candy shopping spree (see previous post)

What's wrong with this picture?!?

We went out of town for the weekend and these table and chairs were outside of our hotel room. I thought it would make for a funny picture. It was only about 30* (if that!) and it was very windy. After the picture was taken, I went back inside and changed into warmer clothes so we could go shopping. Dorky stuff like this makes me happy :)

Stay warm!!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family! It's officially over here in Colorado, but this is the first chance I've had to get online. My dad flew in from Phoenix and we've been busy, busy.

Hope everyone had a very wonderful holiday with loved ones. I'll be back soon to post new cards :)

Happy Tofurkey Day!!

May your stuffing be tasty

May your tofurkey be plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!!!

*Happy Thanksgiving Everyone*