Health is key

Hello All,
 
The week was nothing unusual. We embarked in our everyday tasks of work and school. I concentrated on selling on Ebay and making greeting cards with my drawer full of scraps. I tell you that I don't see my scrap supply diminishing as quickly as I was hoping for and yet I am up to over 200 in cards. I will continue at it until I have utilized every scrap of paper.
 
I listed my house for rent and the next day received a call from an interested party. I am supposed to hear from them this week and will keep you posted.
 
Jimi and I got up early Saturday morning for the 9 News Health Fair. We were given all kinds of tests and checked out head to toe including body mass index, lung test, eye test, dental, blood pressure, blood draw, balancing and posture test, nutrition consultation, and hearing tests. I did not have the blood work done, but Jimi did and will receive his results in about six weeks. Jimi's hearing test came back with flying colors proving that when he does have trouble hearing me, it is selective. Ha-ha just kidding. My right ear passed the hearing test with flying colors; however, my left ear missed a tone. I'm not really concerned about it though. Everything else came out good.
 
After the health fair, we took a pick up load of trash to the dump.
 
That evening we went to the Moose with my friends to listen to another friend, Jackie, sing. She contracts with the Moose lodges and sings there from time to time.
 
On Sunday, aside from running a few errands together, we stayed in rest of the day and did our own things.
 
Upon us today is the beginning of another week to be filled mostly with various forms of work and school.
 
Thinking of you with happy thoughts.
Love Lorie & Jimi

Good Week

Hello All,

 

I think we have both had a good week. The weather was rainy and yucky over part of the weekend, so we stayed in doors. Jimi concentrated on school, while I worked on crafts, reading my book, and cleaning house.  

 

I have been made great progress selling this week. Officially listing my house on the market brought two interested parties within two days of my listing. I even had a showing scheduled on Friday, but it fell through due to bad weather. This is encouraging news for me. Though, it's hard not to get my hopes up. The recent news of new mortgages and home sales on the rise is also encouraging. I've been active selling smaller things on line as well and will continue to do so until it all gone. :-) 

 

Jimi and I took Miller for evening walks a few times over the week when weather allowed. We talked about getting into a structural routine over the summer. We also went up Left Hand Canyon finding an unpopulated trail to hike. The area smelled of spring, with snow sometimes being ankle deep, melting into little streams on our walkway. The hike was really good for us to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather, prepare us for our hiking upcoming, and of course Miller LOVED it. Jimi thinks we went about three miles.

 

Jennifer's parent/teacher conferences went very well. We were actually suprised at how hard she has worked to bring her grades up. All her teachers gave outstanding reports of her effort and improvement over the past four weeks. She has not missed any classes and has brought her grades up significantly; two of them being A's. We have lifted some of her restrictions.

 

Jimi worked hard on his video class. Encountering some obsticles, but he finally came through with enough to turn in a progress assignment, thus giving himself more time for the completed version. Therefore, he is still working at it. By the end of the week, he said he is really doing well on two of his projects: video and website. He is very please at how they are coming along and turning out.

 

We have no pictures to share with you this week. All in all, we have no complaints and feel good about how we spent our week. We hope all is well with you. 

 

Love Everybody,

Lorie & Jimi 

Happy Easter

Hello All,

Jimi and I were busy this week with quite productive tasks possessing focus and organization.

Jimi overcame some hurdles with his homework in his video class and web design class. He can now focus on weekly assignments and final assignments with a little more ease. He began tearing down the fence around the back yard replacing some posts and then putting the sections back up. I helped him one day after work for a couple of hours. It's still a work in progress.

I concentrated my time on going through my scraps of craft paper and supplies. I decided I will try not to purchase anymore, but use up what I have in an effort to utilize my supplies over the next year. I would hate to throw everything away upon our move to the west coast.

Jimi purchased a real estate sign for my house in Mead. We will paint it and place the for sale sign in Mead as soon as time allows. We went out to Mead Saturday morning and took pictures of the house, so we can make flyers as well.

I had 29 auctions on ebay end over the weekend, so I had quite a few things to package and ship. I continue to type up descriptions for many more items. 



Thursday evening we went to the Avalanche Hockey game with my girl friend Vicki and her friend Dave. Although the Aves did not win (again), it was a really good game. They played hard, as the game was neck and neck the whole time. It went into overtime and finally ended when we lost on the shootout. It kept us on the edge of our seats.

Friday night we went to dinner and then spent some nice time alone without work, school, kids, animals, etc. etc. It may be just me, but it seems like we don't get much of that anymore. We get so caught up in all the things we need to get done that time gets away from us. Saturday we took Miller for a walk and otherwise worked on things I mentioned earlier.

Jennifer is doing better. She went to every class last week and is bringing all her grade back up rapidly. If she stays on track she will have no problem passing all her classes this semester. I took her to Loveland on Sunday to have Easter Dinner with her Grandparents. She enjoyed that.

I found out on Sunday that my dear Aunt Mildred (dad's sister) is in the hospital and has been there since last Tuesday. Please remember her in your prayers.

I think Jimi and I plan on again focusing our concentration on our various projects. Summer is approaching quickly and we want to get as much as possible accomplished and out of the way, so we have more time to play in the nice weather. Basically everything we do in our lives right now is in preparation that we will be able to move next year. There is so much to be done. Looking at the big picture is very overwhelming - so it's one project and one day at a time.

Love Everybody,
Lorie & Jimi

Weeks gone by

Friends and Family,

This week must have passed quickly, as it's just a blur. It's not often that when I write I have to figure out what happened throughout the week, but as I write now I can not recall what we did.
I already told you it was Jennifer's spring break. And wouldn't you know it, most of her friends were out of  town and she stayed at home all week when she had complete freedom. She got her first tattoo on Friday; it is a heart outlined in purple and a yellow middle with the peace symbol inside located on her left foot. It was a good choice and was well done.

 

 Jimi felt overwhelmed the beginning of the week with school, but he buckled down to get things under control and feels much more at ease now. He also spent a great deal of time reworking his website. Check it out, as he removed some pictures and added some others. www.dogbonegraphics.com  We have also redisigned our weblog, so check out the new look there.

I spent a great deal of time working my second job for Cencorp and reading my latest book: "Survive the Savage Sea", which I find hard to put down.

Wednesday night I cooked a recipe Jimi's dad gave me (he fixed it when Jimi was a boy) and then we watched the movie "Gandhi". I had not seen the movie since high school - WOW - that was a long time ago.

I am thinking about going back to school. I plan to at least take one or two classes this summer, but am also thinking that since I enjoy it so much, I may continue on. If I remember correctly, I only need six classes to receive my business degree. I will keep you posted.

When we got groceries on Sunday Jimi bought a new hat. I tried to get a picture of him to send you, but he wasn't having any part of it. When I finally talked him in to letting me take his picture this is what I got. You can see from the look on his face that he was not happy about it. I find it comical.

Saturday we went to the aviation museum in Denver. Of course Jimi enjoyed it more than I did, but we both took lots of pictures spending several hours there. The CNN hummer overhauled by Chip Foose is there and that was pretty awesome. Jimi attached a picture for you of an early stealth bomber: the B-1A Lancer. Originally 4 were made and now 2 survive.

Sunday was Tracy's birthday, Jimi's niece.....Happy Birthday Tracy!!!

That's about it, rest of the time we pretty much each did our own thing. All is well and as usual more to come.
Love Everybody,
Lorie & Jimi

Spring Breaks

Hello all,

This week with my son was really great. We did a lot of thing just like old times. We went snowboarding again on Wednesday and Saturday: It was super cold on Wednesday- about 20 degrees and blizzarding, but we still made it a fun day and boarded for about four hours. Saturday was a beautiful day and we had a blast. Daniel helped me finish many projects I had either started or needed to start: he fixed my dresser, a mirror frame, the arm to one of my dining room chairs, he helped me clean the cushions on all eight of my dining room chairs, and  we completely finished all the trim projects at Mead. We also played pool at the Moose Lodge two nights and we had a nice family dinner at Chili's.

A spring blizzard hit us on Thursday. Crocs closed it's doors and sent us home. I also stayed home on Friday. It was nice having a couple of extra days off.

Jimi arrived home on Friday. We went to Mike Oshays shared a plate of nachos and then played pool the entire evening. Saturday night I fixed a nice supper and we played monopoly. The game lasted a while and I am happy to report that I did not go bankrupt nor did Jimi end up owning the entire world, but I can admit that if we had not ended the game, more than likely I would have ended up bankrupt and Jimi would have owned the entire world (again).

Sunday morning I took Daniel to the airport. His flight was delayed by over an hour, so I waited with him. I'm not sure what happened to rest of the day, but it passed quickly.

Jennifer did pretty well going to ALL of her classes this week. There is one class she is refusing to go to: Dance Fitness. We are working with her and the school officials to work out her issues with the class. This week is her school's spring break and I'm glad because trying to get her to school is extremely exhausting.

Jimi's trip was awesome. He ended up calling me everyday and said every other day he lucked out with really good shots. His photos are amazing. It is hard for me to decide which to send you. I may post more on our blog, so you can see them there if you want to. Some of the places in Utah he visited were the Flaming House, Peek A Boo Canyon, Zebra Canyon, Dead Horse Canyon, Rifle Falls, Citadel Ruins, Moon House Ruins, and Paria Wave.

Jimi and I are planning a trip to Vietnam and possibly some neighboring countries in November. He purchased our flights on Sunday. We leave November 7th and will return on November 21st. We will finalize more details of our trip in the coming months.

This week we will both have to get back in the groove. We trust all is well with you.

Love Everybody,
Lorie & Jimi

All kinds of emotions;

Hello Friends and Family,

 

I am excited that my son Daniel arrived Saturday for a week, sad that Jimi left for a week, and disappointed that my daughter has decided school is not important.

 

Monday evening I went to the Longmont Moose lodge to play pool again. Tuesday I purchased a refrigerator for my rental house, and then headed directly for the bar to celebrate St Patrick's Day. Jimi had class, but drank of beers with us before class and then returned after class for more. We stayed at the Red Zone until 9pm and then walked down the street to Mike O'Shays. After a couple more Guinness’s, we went home at 11pm. It was so much fun. We enjoyed the company of several friends from work and their friends.

 

Many of you might be interested to hear that Jim Sullivan got married on St. Patty's Day to a gal named Brandy, a real estate agent. He met her in Kingman, AZ and she moved to Boise, ID with him. They have been together for approximately 5 months.

 

Jimi spent the day on Thursday getting ready for his 10 day trip to Utah over his spring break and then we went to dinner Thursday evening. He left at 5am on Friday morning, focusing his trip on photography. He will have to do some 4-wheeling and a lot of hiking to get to the areas he wants to shoot. We will hear more of the details upon his return.

 

I spent Friday evening and Saturday working around the house: I lit all the candles, turned on a couple of movies and enjoyed my Lorie time. I picked my son up from the airport Saturday at 6:15pm. I was so excited to see him. We went to the Crocs Warehouse sale in Longmont, than picked up pizza and a movie. 

 

I do not like reporting bad news or sounding negative, but I will tell you that we are having problems with Jennifer. She's not going to school as she should. I realize it could be worse, so I will try to remain positive. We have put some conditions into place and have taken away some privileges, but what can we do with a child who is a few weeks away from turning eighteen?. With Jimi’s help and support (and against Jennifer’s willpower) I am working to get her back on track. I will keep you posted on how things are going.

 

Sunday morning Daniel and I went snowboarding. We had so much fun: going up and down the mountain, some serious and some goofing around. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the snow was a nice soft slush. Rest of the day, Daniel helped me cut a bunch of trim for the stairs of my rental house, remove the seats of my dining room chairs, so I could wash them, he played Grand Theft Auto on Xbox, we took Miller for a walk and then vegged in front of the boob toob. We also build me a balancing board, moved some things to the basement, and made Daniel a crawler track for his RC car (that he is buying this week). Daniel and I have a lot of plans in the week ahead.

 

Update on Jimi’s whereabouts:

He called Friday morning at noon just arriving in Moab. He was heading to Cigarette Springs and then to Snowy Flat on Saturday night. He didn't think he would get any signal and said I should hear from him Sunday night or Monday morning at the latest. It was a treat when I got a phone call from him on Saturday night. He said things were going very well and he was getting some good pictures. I heard from him again on Sunday night, but Sunday had not been so successful. He sounded disappointed and tired. He was heading to Hole in the Rock Road: Zebra Canyon, Neon Canyon, and then Peek-a-Boo Canyon. He said he would call me Wednesday.

 

I am expecting this coming week to be good. I am real excited to spend time with Daniel, and Jimi should come home with some really good pictures to share. We hope you enjoy your week as well!

 

Love Everybody,

Lorie & Jimi

Hundreds of Butterflys

Hello Friends and Family,

Last week was a good one, but the weekend was great. I’m not sure that anything was really different from any other weekend, but for some reason, I actually feel like I had a weekend and it was really good. I did not hesitate coming back to work on Monday.

I worked for Cencorp, played around with my new Photoshop program, scrap booked and the usual household things. Jimi went to school, did a little side work, worked on the LTD, as well as his usual routines.

I ordered a loan assumption package from my mortgage company. I should have it with in 45 days. As soon I get it, I will actively begin advertising and searching for a buyer. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes smoothly.

I also began searching for a new used refrigerator for the Mead house. My tenant reported that it is working too good and freezing the food.
 
Jimi and I took the LTD to visit our friends, Tom & Linda in Boulder. We had a nice visit and being older they really enjoyed seeing the car. When we got home, we built a fire in the back yard, curled up in a blanket, cooked burgers, and drank a couple of beers. It was sweet!
 
Saturday Jimi and I went to the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver. I had never been there before. It was really neat; an awesome place to shoot photography. Jimi spent time teaching me about shooting photography. I purchased a digital photography book a few months ago and have been reading up on the subject, but this was the first time I tried taking serious photos. I was surprised that I got some pretty good shots; Not as good as Jimi’s; however, good for me and my camera though. I couldn’t be happier. As always, Jimi got some really good shots.

Later that afternoon we took Miller for a long walk. We sat by the river for a while to let Miller romp and play. It took Miller back to his younger days; chasing sticks and swimming in the river. We stayed for quite a while. Miller had a blast, while Jimi and I liked watching Miller act young again, as well as the quiet time.

Sunday I went snowboarding with my girlfriend, Jana. We stayed for about three hours and had a super time. Jimi stayed home to rebuild the carburetor in the LTD. I think I wasted the rest of Sunday afternoon away. Sunday night we watched a movie together.

All is well.

Love Everybody,
Lorie & Jimi