Picture of the Day - The Winter Sprinter

 (DISCLAIMER - I normally make the picture of the day one I took with my own ultra high quality phone camera, but since I didn't get any good shots of the meet with it today, I'm borrowing one from a friend. :) ).

Today was the day I competed in Longmont's Winter Sprinter swim meet.  I missed it last year but swam the previous two years and had a lot of fun, so I wasn't going to miss out this year.  I swam the 50 free, fly, back and breast, and 100 IM.  Two 2nds, a 3rd, and two 4ths.  Not bad for 40 and probably two total miles in the pool in the last two years.  The 50s felt good, even though my times were a little off from two years ago, and the 100 IM completely destroyed me (or maybe it was the 100 IM followed by a 50 back 3 heats later).  Endurance has never been my strong suit, and continues to not be lol.

But still, I competed, and it felt good to be back in my element.  I swam competitively for about 11 years, through high school and college, and it opened a lot of doors for me.  I wish I had kept track of the number of laps I have swum since my first day on the team...it would easily be a quarter million I bet, and honestly I'm not even exaggerating.  I was lucky to have parents who endured frequent weekend trips to Atlanta, 2 1/2 hours away, so I (and my brother) could bounce back and forth between two walls 25 or 50 meters apart a few times.  But in the end, swimming helped me meet some lifelong friends, helped get me through college, and helped get me my first job.  I really don't miss the training (I'm far to social an exerciser to really be able to enjoy keeping my head and mouth underwater while I work out), but I'll still do the Winter Sprinter every year just to remind me of the good ol' days.

At the meet today I had an AWESOME cheering section that consisted of Kathy and the kids, plus a crew from my kickboxing class.  There are really some truly amazing people in my life, and it is so cliche, but I really am lucky to have crossed paths with so many great souls.  Thank you to all who came, and thank you to everyone else who wished me luck and was there in spirit.

Now, the speedo is going back into hibernation for probably about a year...or maybe until triathlon season. ;)

Picture of the Day - The Speedo

Knocked the cobwebs off this thing today, so I can race in it tomorrow.  Not quite the same as the roller derby skates, or running shoes, or bikes, or guns, or anything else some of my friends post pictures of.  It's a speedo.  I practically lived in one of these from the age of 9-21 (and I even swam competitively too), only it was MUCH smaller back then.  Nowadays they just look like biker shorts.  I can even fit in it without using a shoehorn for my love handles.  Just so happens I do have one of my old time racing suits as well...still fits, just don't ask me to breathe in it.  I will be wearing the larger one when I race, luckily for all of us.

Picture of the Day - The Dog Ate My....

....bed.

There used to be a big purple beanbag on this spot pictured above that Bella loved to lay down on and take a nap.  Today while I was folding clothes upstairs and suddenly realizing "hmmm Bella is being awfully quiet", I looked downstairs to realize Bella had eaten a hole in the beanbag, and the stuffing was all over her face and on the floor.  Needless to say, Bella no longer has a beanbag bed.

Picture of the Day - Scrabble

My mom visited us from Georgia a couple weekends ago, and while she was here she introduced me to Words With Friends on Facebook (which is essentially scrabble).  It has a lot of potential to be a major time suck, but so far I haven't given up the rest of my life completely so I can play it.

I really didn't have much else to say about this other than...this was my 110 point word I played in a game today (sorry mom).  Anyone else want to play???

Help with Homework

While Aaron was doing his homework this afternoon, he had a little feline help.  Of course, Ninja's answer to every math question was "meow", but at least he tried to be helpful.

Oh, and we just found out today that Aaron made the honor roll at his school.  Apparently he got some of his mamma's brain genes.  We're proud of you, Aaron!

Picture of the Day - Girl Scout Cookies

It is girl scout cookie season again.  I suppose as a fitness instructor, this is good news for me, because I'd imagine the calorie intake of the cookie eating public increases substantially during this time, which means many people will feel guilty about consuming these extra calories, which means some people will decide they need to start working out (maybe working out again), which means a couple people will actually go through the trouble of trying to find somewhere to workout, which means a new person may come walking into my class, throw her hands up in the air and say "I can't stop eating these cookies!!!  Please...PLEASE help me atone for my sweet toothed sins by making me sweat for an hour until I can't feel my arms anymore!!"

I will, of course, be happy to help.  You see the picture above?  Both of those containers are empty.  I opened one of them about 10 minutes before I took this picture.  My blood alcohol level is 0.00.  To say I can sympathize with the person who wants to sweat away her tag-a-long flavored gluttony is like saying water is wet, as I myself cannot stop eating those things.  Combine that with my desire to support a good cause, and it means there is going to be a lot more working out in my immediate future.

By the way, did anyone notice that those heavy bags we use look just like sleeves of thin mints?  Ummm, me either..... 

Oh, Nicole.

This is Nicole.  By day, she owns and works at a local salon, but by night (and many mornings), she is in the studio making punching bags regret the day they were assembled.  Nicole has been kickboxing with me for a couple of years now, and today she passed her test for her high brown kickboxing belt (which is one step below the "black belt" for our program).  To see how far Nicole has come since she started is truly amazing.  She is doing things now that amaze everyone who knows her, including running races and climbing mountains.  And her dedication to kickboxing has been more than any of her instructors could ask for, and that dedication has been contagious.  Many students who don't usually come to evening class came tonight just because they knew Nicole was testing, and they wanted to see that and support her in that challenge.  Nicole didn't disappoint.

Congratulations to you, Nicole.  You are a big reason for the success this program has had, and we can't thank you enough for your help publicizing our business and getting the word out.  Proud isn't a strong enough word to describe how we feel about you.  Can't wait to see your black belt test. :)

Picture of the Day - Bloody Fast

Anyone who knows us knows that my wife is an avid runner.  She is training for her first marathon in May, and today she did a 12 mile run.  Apparently while running, the nail of the second toe on her right foot started rubbing against her middle toe and cut it open.  You can kind of see the blood on her right foot middle toe, and that one sock is going to need a good bleaching I'd imagine.  Still, she managed to run 12 miles in this condition.  Oh, and her average pace was 8:35.  Apparently a bloody toe was not enough of a handicap to keep her back at my pace.

I am in perpetual awe of her running ability.  Can't wait to see her marathon.

Picture of the Day - Lazy Cat

Sometimes in the afternoon, I feel like this too. 

Picture of the Day - The Greyhound

Today I took Bella to the dog park to play with a dog friend of hers.  While we were there, a couple brought their rescued greyhound "Bongo", who is pictured above.  Awesome colors.  Pretty shy dog at first, but got into it more with the other pups after a few minutes.  And when he ran...just, wow.

In college, I used to go to the dog track with some friends of mine every so often.  I can't remember the exact details, but once when we were there, one of the dogs that was racing was named "Clever Chole".  I initially misread the first name as "cleaver", and from that point on, I had earned (earned may be too strong of a word...perhaps stumbled into) the nickname "Cleaver Chole", or just "Cleaver" for short.  It's grown on me...I mean, how awesome is it to have your friends greet you by saying "Cleaver!", like they would say "Norm!" in Cheers, only much cooler?  We even got a door knocker that says "The Choles" from that same group of friends.  Our other favorite dog was simply named "Big Red Dog".  Another friend in that same group grabbed that nickname for some reason, but I can't remember why exactly.  That friend actually runs dogs in Alaska now, living his dream.  Good stuff.

The track we used to come to, Cloverleaf in Loveland, is long gone and looks completely dilapidated now, but back in the day, we had some good times and good memories there.  Might have to adopt a greyhound named "Cleaver" in the future to keep Bella company.  Hmmmmm......

Picture of the Day - The IT Guy

Kathy is working on a project for work that involves a putting together a slide show for an upcoming sales meeting.  My 11 year old son is probably the best qualified person in our house to help with that task, so he helped Kathy tonight.  It was awesome to see them working together on this project.  My son will probably take over the world with his computer some day, so make sure you're on his good side (or I can put in a good word for you).

Picture of the Day - C is for Cookie

Pictured above is quite possibly the best cookie ever made.  Anytime I'm in Estes Park, we HAVE to stop into Grandma's Mountain Cookies and get a dozen of various kinds...chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter, mixtures of everything.  They are huge.  And they are amazingly good and addicting.  As soon as I finish doing my daily burpee requirement, this bad boy will be gone.  (Yeah, right...like I can really wait that long)

Picture of the Day - Oh Christmas Tree

Today I had to run by Centennial Pool to sign up for a swim meet, and when I left, I saw this sad little ornament up in a barren tree.  First thing that crossed my mind...this looks like one of the trees in Whoville after the grinch stripped it of its ornaments.  Maybe this was just the tree that couldn't let go.  It's still kinda cool, though.

Picture of the Day - Golden

We spent the afternoon out and about today, and on the way home we drove through Golden.  Golden is where Kathy and I went to school, and it is always fun to come back through it and see all the changes since the early 90s (though it seems we only ever make it back maybe once a year, if that).  We saw our old apartments, old hangouts, old places to eat (anyone remember Moose Hill??)  They've done some amazing things on campus, and I really wish they would have done them 20 years ago so I could enjoy them.  But it is a nice town, and there is always some familiarity amongst all the newness that feels good to be around. 

Picture of the Day - Ice Castles

Today, we went to the ice festival in Estes Park.  This is a shot of the ice castle that was in one of the covered areas of the festival, complete with ice slides.  I have no idea who this girl is in the foreground, or who the kid is in the doorway, but that's ok, the castle still looked pretty cool.

This festival had a chili contest (free samples), and wine and beer tasting if you chose to shell out some bucks for it (we didn't).  Typical small town fair type of atmosphere.  Great day to hang out there with friends and family.  And the kicker was visiting the cookie store in downtown Estes and loading up on all sorts of the best cookies I've ever tasted (short of my wife's of course).

Picture of the Day - Fight Night

The martial arts studio I belong to hosts a fight night once a month with another school in the area.  Generally we all just get together and spar in continuous rounds for as long as we want to (or are able to) do it.  I haven't been in awhile, but a lot of people planned to be there tonight, so I participated as well.  The picture above is about half of the people out on the floor.  No one died.  It was a good night.

Picture of the Day - Heart Attack Burger

We eat at a local sports bar called Red Zone several times a month, and tonight we took my mom (who is in town for a long weekend) there for dinner.  For quite awhile, a menu item known as the "heart attack burger" has taunted me.  Two 1/2 lb patties.  4 slices of bacon.  6 slices of cheese.  I've never ordered it...until tonight.  This is a picture that still doesn't really do it justice, but you CAN see clearly that it is easily the size of my 8 year old daughter's head.  The server told me that a 13 year old girl finished one the other day, so from that point, it was on.  And yes, I ate the whole thing.  No 13 year old girl is going to upstage me in a heart attack burger eating contest. <burp>

Picture of the Day - Doggy Daycare

Once a week, we take Bella to a local kennel to spend the day playing with a bunch of other pups.  She really seems to enjoy going, and it always wipes her out the rest of the evening, which is nice.  I snapped this picture about 5 seconds too late, after a mad rush of dogs came streaming into the play room from the outside.  Still, the black dog on the right either looks really happy or like he is going to eat the other dogs.  And look at all of those waggy tails.  Good times.

Picture of the Day - Soup for Me!!!!

I have awesome friends.

Sometimes they bring turkey soup.

This will be gone soon.

Picture of the Day - The Moon

One of my friends announced on Facebook this evening "Stop what you're doing.  Go out and look at the moon.  Now".  Since I was between martial arts classes, I did stop what I was doing and went out to look.  It was at least very close to full, if not full, and looked really cool.  My phone camera apparently sucks at taking pictures of the moon, so what you see above is what the moon would probably look like if you were staring at it from beneath a pool covered with plastic wrap.  So take my word for it...it looked cool tonight.  When you bump up the quantity of pictures posted to "one a day", the quality will sometimes be very lacking.  Like today. :)

Picture of the Day - The Scenery

I was out and about this morning and happened to catch the new snow on the taller mountain peaks to the west.  This shot is only a couple of miles from my house and is Longs Peak over a large sheet of ice known as Union Resevoir.  Lots of birds in this area, and very often one can see a bald eagle or two flying around.  This is one of the many things I love about living in Colorado...the scenery never gets old.  My phone camera doesn't do it any justice, but it really is amazing.

Picture of the Day - Me Time

Aaron is spending the night at a friend's house.  Kathy and Becca are at another friend's house watching a movie.  I just finished with a massage, grabbed some sushi takeout, and came back to an empty house where I could watch the Avs on one TV and the Saints/Lions game on the other.  The Avs are getting their butts whooped, but can you hear that??  Me either, there isn't anyone else here.  Great day.

Picture of the Day - Puppy Love

I was up doing laundry today, and when I opened my bedroom door to come back downstairs, these two hit me with a total "busted" pose.  Guess I'm glad they get along so well.  What could possibly go wrong?

Picture of the Day - Aaron's Green Belt

My son just earned his Tae Kwon Do green belt this week, and today was his first intermediate level class.  We did some form work and a little sparring, and he got hit in the face.  Said "ouch", winced his eye a little, then kept going.  It was good to be in class with him again...he's definitely improving.

P.O.D. Jan 4 - Kickboxing

Today's picture of the day comes from my morning kickboxing class.  I teach 6 classes a week at Alpha Martial Arts studio, and I'm very lucky to be able to say truthfully that I love my job.  In the few years I've been teaching, I've seen many people achieve goals they never thought they could achieve, and those people's reactions to those achievements is what makes it all worthwhile for me.  The support that these students show for each other, both in class and especially outside of class, is truly an amazing thing.  Some of the most amazing people I've ever met are (or have been) students in my classes, and it both humbles me and energizes me to get to work with them.

Did I mention how much I love my job? 

P.O.D. Jan 3 - Kathy on Facebook?

Yes, this is Kathy.  Yes, that is Facebook.  Yes, that is HER Facebook account.  We had an issue awhile back when I told her I really wished she was on Facebook so I could publicly declare my undying affection for her like all the other spouses do, hopefully making everyone jealous.  She resisted for a very very long time, but finally decided I was being too much of a pain in the butt to make holding out worthwhile.  So she created an account.  In the year plus that followed, I think she might have checked it exactly...twice.  But hey, at least she had an account, right?  I've tried to convince her that if she kept up with her account, she wouldn't have to wade through the 90% of people in mine she didn't know, so checking facebook (which she still does all the time, just...not hers) would be so much quicker.

Anyway, I still don't think she is going to ever regularly use her own account, but I had to get a shot of her actually using it, since this picture opportunity may quite possibly never present itself again.

Hi dear!!! :)

Picture of the Day - Jan 2nd, 2012

Today is Kathy's last day home of about a two week vacation.  She is a master cook, and can take the most random ingredients and make some truly amazing dishes.  My experiments, while sometimes pretty decent, usually consist of throwing everything in a pot or baking dish and calling it _____ casserole.  Hardly creative at all, but usually edible.

Anyway, here are today's mystery ingredients:  Dijon mustard, a can of cranberry sauce, a tube of crescent rolls, and a pack of Little Smokies.  I can't wait to see how this turns out.....

Picture a Day - Jan 1, 2011, The Dog Park

I'm going to see if I can't post a picture a day every day this year, just for fun.  Yes, I hear you laughing..."no way will he post to his blog every single day for the entire year!  BWWAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!"  But yes, i am going to at least give it a shot.  I may have to double up on some missed days sometimes, but I'm still going to try.  So prepare to see SOMETHING in my life, every day, that I thought made a pretty cool picture and hopefully story behind it.  Here goes day 1....

This is Becca running with our dog Bella to her right, and chasing Burke, who belongs to my friend Erika.  Burke and Bella have been playing at dog parks pretty much ever since we've each had them, about a year now.  We try to get them to run off some energy when either dog is driving its respective owner crazy, and today was one of those days.  Sunny day, but a little breezy and chilly.  Always a good time, though.