My first 14er...

Hello Everybody,

 

Well, I had a pretty good week and another phenomenal weekend with Jimi.

 

I again worked 10 hour days Monday through Thursday to have Friday off. This was my last week of doing so for a while, since our trip to Hawaii is coming up.

 

Monday after work I had to clean Cencorp and when I got home, Tammy Reasoner came over for a couple of hours. We drank margaritas and had some in depth conversations about people and relationships. She is such a great lady. It was announced that Jim Sullivan is getting married on October 19th of this year. He is marrying a lady named Dawn and she has two or three children (not for sure). Sounds like they are really in love and things are going very well for him. And believe me when I say that I am very very happy for him. I feel like it is closure and I am finally free and can really get on with my life.

 

I got all my lab work back from the Doctor's office, and all came back with very good results. The one I was worried about was the blood sugar test, but I'm fine. No signs of diabetes.

 

Tuesday after work, I again climbed Mount Sanitas by myself. It is such an exhilarating feeling and accomplishment, even if it is the same mountain over and over.

I was very excited when Jimi's sister-in-law (his brother's wife, Karen) called me just to chat. We talked for a while. I really haven't had the opportunity to get to know her one on one, but I think the ice is broken now and we will be able to become close friends/family. I also broke down and bought Daniel a plane ticket home, since Jim S. had not done so. My sister called me to tell me that Tony asked her to marry him and she is accepted.  A date is not set, but they are thinking about a fall or winter wedding.

 

Wednesday evening Jennifer and I ate out, but we did not walk the dogs around the lake because the weather was bad. When I got home I spent the entire evening scrapbooking our South Dakota trip.

 

Thursday I was trying to get caught up on things around the house: yard work, cleaning, and listing ebay items to sell. I got a lot done, but as usual never as much as I want to.

 

Friday morning Jimi and I left at 5am for our biggest hike of the year. We climbed Mount Bierstadt, which is 14,060 feet. It was much different than I expected. I didn't find it hard at all. The hike was a gradual but steady climb and the altitude didn't bother me at all. We got some really great pictures. Jimi has ourt next mountain picked out all ready and I am antsy to do it.

 

Saturday morning Jennifer went to Water World with her friend (x-boyfriend), Ray and his family. Jimi and I went to breakfast and then each went home. I putzed around the house until 4pm, which is when Jimi picked me up. We went to Denver to visit old friends who were in town for the weekend. Some of you know them – it was Jussi and his wife Jenn. They are now living in Washington State. As you can probably guess we had a great time. Jimi drank enough to get a really good buzz and I was the designated driver. It was after 1am when we got home.

 

We did not wake up until 10am on Sunday morning, which is extremely unusual for both of us no matter how late we are up the night before. I kind of laid around the house, while Jimi put the light fixture in my bathroom and worked in the garage. Then we went to dairy queen and then Boyd Lake in Loveland. We had a great time there. We took the tubes out to the swimming barrier and goofed around for a while on the tubes, we laid on the beach soaking up the sun and drying off, and then went back in the water for a while. The sky looked like weather was coming in, so we left. We stopped for a bite to eat. Jimi went on home and I did yard work. Later that evening, we met up again and took the dogs for a walk along the St. Vrain trail in Longmont.

 

Jennifer went tubing with Ray and his family in Lyons, CO. She had a lot of fun, but was really tired.

 

Jimi is wrapping up his classes for the semester. He only has one week left. He is finished with one of his classes except for the final. The second class he has a couple of assignments to do yet and I'm not sure if he has a final in it or not.

 

Here are some pics. The specks on the top of two of the pictures are Jimi and I. You may have to zoom in to see us. The other pic is the one we climbed. We were on the peak on the right side above the snow spots.

 

Here we are getting ready to start another week. The never ending circle….lol

 

Love Everybody,

Lorie

On the Road Again....

Hello all,

 

I worked four 10 hour days last week, so I would have Friday off. It is a new program Crocs has offered their employees during the summer months. 10 hours days can be hard though.

 

Monday after work I had to go home and work for Cencorp and then I went to bed at 9pm.

 

Tuesday after work I went to Boulder and climbed Mt Sanitas again, by myself this time. Afterwards I went home to clean house a little, wrap up some Cencorp work and pack a bag for Jimis. The dogs, Jenn, and I stayed at his house but didn't get there until bed time, so we didn't get to visit.

 

Wednesday after work Jimi, Jennifer, and I went to dinner and then walked the dogs around the 3 mile lake. After wards we went to Sonic for ice cream and then went home.

 

I had planned to climb Mt Sanitas again after work, but the weather called for a 50% chance of thunderstorms, so I decided against it; I don't think it even sprinkled - figures, huh?. I went home to pack for our weekend trip, took my bags to Jimis and picked up Miller, then went back home.

 

Jimi and I left around 8:30am Friday morning on the motorcycle for South Dakota. Jennifer stayed at the house with the dogs. She had some friends stay with her and Tammy Reasoner checked on her from time to time.

Our weekend trip was incredible. It took us about 6 hours to get to our camp spot. Our first stop was in Torrington, WY to get fuel and some lunch. We made two other stops before we arrived at Custer National Park. We saw one Buffalo, Antelope all along the road - they didn't seem to care that we were there, and a heard of Donkeys taking their time down the middle of the road. Our camp spot was really nice. Our first night, we set up the tent, built a nice fire, did a little hiking and exploring, and drank a few cocktails.

 

Saturday morning after cooking breakfast on the grill and taking showers, we headed for Mount Rushmore. It was much more than we both expected. We hung out there a while, took pictures, and soaked in the history. Rest of the after noon we just road the incredible curvy mountainous roads. They were perfect for the motorcycle. I think Jimi enjoyed it and I know I really did - like a free bird. Jimi stopped along the side of the road and we walked down into a valley of tall grasses by a stream. It was beautiful and romantic. We laid there for a while to relax. I've got probably the best picture taken of us together ever. That evening we collected more firewood, went to town for supper and beer. Then we sat around camp playing cards, drinking beer, and being silly (I have a really silly pic of Jimi).

 

Sunday morning was time to head home. We stopped at Crazy Horse on the way, but didn't pay to go inside. The trip home went much faster than I expected. Of course I cat napped part of the way, so maybe that's why it didn't seem as long. When we got back home, we both took nearly a 2 hour nap - I guess we were tired.

I have attached two pictures for you. One is Mt Rushmore and the other is our shadows going down the highway. We were doing about 70mph. I got a kick out of snapping pics along the way. I thought the silhouettes were kind of cool.

 

I suppose that's about it. The trip was fantastic and I look forward to more of them now that Jimi has the bike set up for me to be able to ride with him on long distance trips. The back rest he made for me is perfect.

 

Anyhow, back to work for me and school for Jimi.

 

Love Everybody,

Lorie & Jimi

Jimi's Great Adventure

Hello Everybody,

 

I have a lot to report this week, although you may find the details somewhat boring. I will try to keep it short.

 

It's been 10 days since I have had anything to eat. I have to say that I have gotten more done and feel better than ever. My energy level has been elevated and my motivation magnified. I have lost roughly 10+ lbs of mostly inside weight and some outside weight. Yesterday I started drinking orange juice, which will jump start my digestive system so I can eat solid food again. It will still be a day or two before I can eat solid foods, but I sure am looking forward to chewing something. LOL. I have stayed true to my light exercise program of walking a minimum of 30 minutes per day and doing 50 sit ups every morning.

 

As I mentioned last week Jimi was on his motorcycle trip all week. He kept me updated on his wareabouts, which I thought you might like to know where all he went.

Thursday 6/26- Left Mead around 10am: rode 535 miles and spent the night in Memphis, TX

Friday 6/27- Rode 340 miles and arrived at the Mayo's house in Waco, TX around 2:30pm

Saturday 6/28- Jimi and the Mayo's left about 6:30am: rode 423 miles and camped in Baton Rouge, LA

Sunday 6/29- Rode 385 miles from Baton Rouge, LA to Panama City, FL. and camped for the night

Monday 6/30- Rode 415 miles and camped in Savannah, GA.

Tuesday 7/1- Rode 226 miles from Savannah, GA to Myrtle Beach, SC, where they camped for the night.

Wednesday 7/2- The guys sat on the beach and drank beer all day and camped another night at Myrtle Beach, SC

Thursday 7/3- Rode roughly 500 miles to the tennessee border and camped in the Great Smokey Mountains. Jimi said this was probably the best out of the whole trip.

Friday 7/4- Jimi broke away from the guys about 5:30pm in Corinth, MS to head home. He drove until 2:30 am and slept for two hours in Columbia, MO.

Saturday 7/5- Stopped at 2:45pm in Hays, KS to rest and let his bike tire cool. Began riding again after a few hours and stopped for the night somewhere in CO at 11:30pm

Sunday 7/6 - Arrived home at 8:00 am!!!

As you can imagine he has lots of stories to talk about. He mentioned all the bugs - I remember all the bugs in the south - YUCK! He also talked about the cops swarming in on them - but no trouble though, thank goodness.And a racoon who ate their food. He said he slept really good every night, so good that the bugs were eating him alive. He is covered in bug bites. Anyhow, the trip was a success and he had a great time.

Most of my week was the usual: I worked at Crocs Monday through Thursday. I worked for Cencorp Monday and Wednesday nights. I nearly finished my bathroom - finally. I have some cocking to do, Jimi will mount the sink and cock it for me and install the ceiling light fixture. Once that is finished I can be done until I decide to finish the washer/dryer area of the bathroom. I also almost finished putting wood flooring on the stairs. About all I have left is the stair nosing and trim, which will be time consuming.

 

Friday, Jennifer and I went to Water World. We had a bunch of fun just for the two of us. We had lots of guys checking us out, which was fun. Although we both mentioned that we wished Daniel and Jimi were with us, we still had a good time. Friday night, I cleaned Jimi's house, did laundry, and washed the curtains and linens for him. Once dark, Jennifer and I went down to the golf course and watched the fire works. Afterwards, Jennifer went with her friends and I went back to Jimi's. I made a fleece blanket for Jennifer and then went to bed.

 

Saturday morning, I got up early and cleaned the inside of Jimi's truck for him. Then Jennifer and I went home. I mowed the front and back yard, pulled weeds, and cleaned the garage. I then rearranged and organized all the cupboards and pantry of my kitchen and cleaned house - which it really wasn't dirty. It's been clean ever since Daniel went to Arizona, but I still find things to clean. Saturday afternoon, Jennifer and I took Miller and went to the mountains for a short hike. It was a gorgeous day. We sat on the rocks to relax and just enjoyed nature. That night I bumbed around the house: always busy! and Jennifer's girlfriend, Nicki, came over for the night.

 

Sunday morning, I bumbed around the house. I was very emotional and depressed all day. I hate it when I get like that and I don't know why. The past few weeks have been so good that this one kind of hit me hard. I'm still feeling low even today, but I know it will pass.

 

Hope everone is doing well! Talk to you soon.

Love Everybody,

Lorie

Great Weekend

Hello Everybody,

 

All is well here in Colorado.

 

When Jimi came home from his trip he had a lot of homework to do, so he was busy with that all day Monday and most of Tuesday. I worked on finishing the wood floors on my stairs Monday evening.

Tammy Reasoner called me Monday night to let me know that her divorce was final that morning. It was not scheduled that way, but when they saw the judge he said it had been long enough and should be done. The judge sided with Tammy on the division of debt, house, etc. I don't think Mike it too happy.

 

Tuesday evening Jenn and I went to Hooters with my girlfriend, Brenda. Jennifer got picked up on by a 17 year old Loveland High School Senior. It was flattering and lots of fun. She kind of shrugged it off, in fact, I was more flattered than she was. Brenda and I were jealous. We were wondering why we haven't been picked up on - after all we aren't that old. Just kidding - I don't want to get picked up unless by Jimi. Anyhow, we had fun. After Hooters, Jenn and I packed our bags, loaded the dogs, and went to Jimi's for the night. We watched the new movie "What Happens in Vegas". It was funny. Jimi liked it too, but commented on the typical chic flick scenario of something bad happening and then living happily ever after. He suggested that we skip the bad stuff and just live happily ever after.

 

Since Jenn and the dogs were already at Jimi's on Wednesday, we went to dinner when I got off work and then met the girls to walk to dogs around the lake. We walked 3 miles that evening. Jimi, Jenn, and I went to Dairy Queen except I didn't have anything. We went home to Mead afterwards.

 

I had the day off from work on Thursday. Jennifer had a doctor appointment and a dentist appointment. I had a doctor appointment, an eye appointment, a dentist appointment and an appointment with my mortgage broker. Nothing like knocking everything out in one day. It was very busy. I received a clean bill of health from my medical Doctor. She heard some unusual weezing in my lungs and ordered a chest x-ray, but then cancelled it saying she thinks it is coming from my head area rather than my chest area. The lab took four tubes of blood for various tests and it will take a couple of weeks for the results. My eye Doctor reported that my eyes have not changed in the past year. He dialated them, so I couldn't see anything rest of the day. The dentist was not such great news. I have three surface cavities. Good news was that I had no plaque build up, which is somewhat unusual. Jennifer was given a clean bill of health from both the dentist and medical Doctor. Oh ya, Jennifer and I each had to have a shot. And I signed all the paperwork with my mortgage broker - so keep your prayers coming and finger crossed.That evening I was supposed to workon Cencorp stuff for the auditors, but I was lazy. Actually I'm not sure what I did. I was up late too.

 

Friday was a long boring day at work. I was really depressed. My co-worker, Vicki, took half a day off and other co-worker, Qiana was busy and had no time to goof off. So, I sat at my desk all day (10 hrs) listening to my music and trying to look busy. I actually do not have work to do on Friday's. it is a day reserved for problem reports or special projects and I didn't have any that day. Friday evening, Jennifer went out with her friends. The dogs and I stayed at Jim's house. We watched a movie called "Reservoir Dogs". He referred to it as a man flick. It was good.

 

Saturday morning we took the dogs for a walk and then went to breakfast at a small family owned restruarnt on main street. It reminded us of the diners in eastern Colorado and Nebraska. We took the dogs for a walk and then I went home for a while. We went to Greeley at 5pm for Brenda's suprise 50th birthday party. We didn't stay very long: had a few beers and a plate of food, then left. We went back to Jimi's house for the night. Jimi and I played battleship and then had a pillow fight.

 

Sunday morning Jimi and I climed Mt Sinedas in Boulder. It was a small climb/hike of only 1200 feet, 3 miles and only took 2 hours, but I really enjoyed it. That afternoon Jenn, Jimi and I took the tubes a little ways down the Boulder Creek. The water was low and rough. It was fun at first, but then Jennifer and I each got caught in an under current and couldn't get our head above water for (what seemed like minutes) but I know it was only about 15 - 20 seconds. We both panicked a bit. Needless to say - we left after that. We went to the Sunset pool in Longmont and actually had a great time. Jennifer laid out while Jimi and I went down this awesome slide over and over and over. We were flying and would hit the water so hard that I had to hold my top on each time, and Jimi lost the stuff from his swim suit pockets. It was great! Jimi bought us pizza and then Jenn and I went home. I thought I would have slept good last night, but I didn't sleep much at all.

 

Anyhow, that's the jist of it. Hope all is well with you.

Love Everybody,

Lorie