31 Down

 And 334 days to go. Wrapping up the first month of 2021 and thought I would post my stats on the bike this month. Not too bad! Even though next month is shorter, can I do 310 miles??? Or 17 hours in the saddle? 

Truck

 A persons first car is always a big deal and a purchase they will remember and tell stories about for the rest of their life. Today, Nathanael made the big purchase he has been waiting on for several years. A 2001 Chevy Silverado. Only 110000 miles! And we know both the original owner and the man he purchased it from. Nice work, son! 

Airplanes!!

 Here’s a Throw Back Thursday from early in the pandemic back on May 6. The government at the time was trying to keep morale up of our front line responders like nurses and doctors. So there were several flyovers at the Greeley Hospital at the end of the block. The Blue Angles made an appearance, as did these two bombers as well as a squadron of F16s. We walked down the street with mom, who was living with us at the time, and watched these two fly over. 

Ouch

 I was looking for something a little more challenging on the bike yesterday and stumbled across this: The Tour of Utah. So I said, why not? Well, its been quite some time since I’ve been on the bike for over an hour. But I finished. Not quite 18 miles in an hour and eight minutes. Supposedly there are a total of 12 rides that cover the race. Something to look forward to! This morning I joined a live class with Ashley again and finished...first. 

Baking

 Little D continues to expand his menu, as he is experimenting with baking! Between being one of the head cooks at the Tavern, he continues to learn and hone his craft at the retirement home he has started cooking at. Both jobs will begin to taper off as he starts his student teaching later this semester. Who knows, with how poorly the school year is going for his mom maybe he will enroll in culinary school. 

#8090

 When mom relocated to Colorado last year, there were many tough decisions that had to be made. One of the last ones was what she wanted to do with her nursing license from Wyoming, which was set to expire in December. She could have transferred it to Colorado, taken more classes and trainings, and kept it active. Or she could have chosen to finally and completely retire from the field she started in 1973. She choose to retire Wyoming nursing license #8090. So tonight we had a little celebration for her. Congrats mom on a job and career well done. 

Winning!

 Jumped on the bike yesterday and selected this quick little ride with a new trainer. Sadly I finished the George Hincapie series earlier in the week. With about a third of the ride left to go, I realized I had a chance to be K O M (king of mountain). So I put the hammer down and sprinted until the end. Winning. 

Helper

 Still in the work from home environment here at Merrill. We are building out a new office in Ft. Collins that will open around mid-April. There is still no discussion when we will be offered the opportunity to return to that office. So I am staying busy in my library/office. I also have an assistant that usually rolls in around 10am to check in on me. This is their new favorite spot. 

Axe

 Throw, Jen, throw! We were invited to attend a friends birthday celebration last night at the new Greeley Hatchet House. It was pretty fun once you got ahold of it. We will be back. Thanks Matt and happy birthday Captain!

Blood

 It’s been pretty quiet around here this week. It seems like the movie “Groundhog Day” again, kinda like back in April. School, work, ride the bike, eat a little (or too much, thanks Crumbl Cookie), and go to bed. I did get this text message update yesterday. I don’t know if they send it to everyone just to make them feel better, or if my blood was really being used last night to save someone’s life. Either way, it made me feel good. Another donation scheduled Feb. 11.

Climb!

 I’m continuing my iFit series with George in the mountains of North Carolina. Look at those resistance numbers! I cranked it up to a 22 for a few of the intervals. I also earned a surprise Apple Watch medal for closing my rings. 

40!

 Happy 40th birthday to my favorite little brother! Hard to believe we haven’t see you in over a year. It seems like just a little bit ago you were down here every few months going to concerts, celebrating holidays and going to conferences. I hope your day today was special. 

Go!

 Busy start to a Thursday! Another live class on the bike at 6. One of these mornings I’m going to beat Robert. I was ahead for about the first 11 minutes of the ride. Jumped right over to Financial Advisor role as I joined our Greeley Chamber Leads group for our weekly meeting. It’s a little easier when I’m doing all this from home instead of driving all over town. I do miss meeting with people in person though.

Let’s Go!

 Decided to try a live class on the bike this morning. Boy was it fun! Turned on the leader board about 10 minutes in and look who was representing! Finished the ride in 2nd place (I think Robert W. was cheating). If I can complete 8 Live rides this month I earn the coveted iFit magnet. Knocked off 21 push-ups as well. Thanks for the ride Ashley and the encouragement Apple Watch. 

Exercise

 Remember, it’s not what you eat between Thanksgiving and New Years, it’s what you eat between New Years and Thanksgiving! 

After taking some time away from the gym due to COVID-19 and the obscene number of people that would be exercising there at 6AM, I’m back to an exercise routine. It’s not as intense or as early has I had been doing, but it’s something. We were fortunate enough to add this baby to the family over the holidays. I’m really enjoying just walking downstairs and pounding out 45 minutes or so. I’m currently on day 4 of 12 with Tour de France rider George Hincapie. I’m also back in the habit of closing my move, exercise and stand rings on my Apple watch. One of my goals for the year is to not only earn the monthly badge from Apple, but exercise for 30 minutes everyday for 365 days. I’m 5/5 currently. 

 

Masks

 If this picture doesn’t capture 2020, then it’s pretty close. None of the items being washed even existed 9 months ago, and now here I am doing a load of them. Are you wearing your mask? Why? If you aren’t, why? We are mask wearers in our household whenever we are in public spaces. Does it matter? Well, we haven’t gotten sick, so? 

14

 This year begins my 14th year of blogging here at Campingdad. I think. Well, 2008-2021 is only 13 years but 14 total years with at least an entry here on the blog. I don’t know what I expected when I started. Mostly it was a place I could post more pictures and longer entries then Facebook. I also started it so mom and dad and Wes could keep up with the goings on in our busy family. As my Facebook friend list grew over the years, I decided to end the cross-posting at both places. I have given serious thought to letting a wider audience know about the blog this year. 

As you can see from the list on the right, I was fairly consistent in posting for many years. I had several technology related hiccups in 2016/17, but have since fixed those and figured out a way to keep the blog running. When dad died in 2017, the blog just didn’t seem as important, since one of the big reasons I blogged was for him and mom to read everyday. Looking back, I wish I would have continued during our loss of dad and the grieving process that followed. I also regret not blogging more thoroughly during the pandemic in March through August. Both of those times would have been interesting to look back on in a year or two or five. 

Regardless, here we are in January of 2021. The blogging will continue this year as I try and capture the life of our family. 

My very good friend, business coach, and amazing human Chalice sent me the link to the blog post below. I am so grateful for her, her encouragement and support over 2020, and her friendship that has developed over the past 4 years. 

“The most important post? The one you’ll write tomorrow.” 

Thank you faithful readers, friends and family. Check back tomorrow for another post. 

2021

 Well, we made it. A new year. A fresh start. Goals set back to 0, discarded, renewed or refreshed. I am still hammering out the specifics of several of mine (need to be SMART!). I already know the overarching goal for this year will be my continued success in the FADP program here at Merrill. When I achieve that, everything else will be gravy. Exercise, faith, and family will also play a key role in my goals this year. I am also still contemplating my “Word of the Year.” Last year I claimed “Success.” The success I achieved was quite different then what I expected. 

For today, I finished my first book (#1 of a goal of 22!), exercised for 45 minutes on my new spin bike (a live ride from South America!), saw mom for a few minutes and enjoyed time with Jen. 364 more to go! Thanks for the help writing this tonight Twix!