Day #278 - Surprise Gifts

Several weeks ago I got a call from Mike Smith, Debi's husband. Apparently, he had stumbled upon a bike statue he felt Travis might like and had the idea to prepare a plaque to attach to it with Trav's Point 2 Point time on it and then give it to him for his Birthday since we would be out there at the right time. I about DIED with gratitude and excitement and promised to send the race results to him, which I did.

When I walked into their house on Sept. 21st I immediately spied the prize. They had set it on their shelf as a decoration to see if he would notice it and say something. I saw him look at it as he set down his bag, but he didn't say anything. Later that night, when Debi found out it was ACTUALLY his Birthday and not the day after (we arrived a day earlier then planned), she told Travis they had a present for him, but he had to guess what it was.

Travis grinned, stood up and walked into the house and straight to the statue. When he realized it was engraved he actually blushed with pleasure and then we all gushed for the next hour over the statue, over Trav's amazing accomplishment, over the fantastic friends we have that thought of such an amazing tribute.

I think Mike put it best when he said, "you have never received a birthday present from us before and you probably won't see one again, but this just seemed right for you...so we HAD to get it."

I don't know if they HAD to get it, but the point is they did...it was so fun to anticipate the gift they planned for him, have a TINY part in getting the info together for them and then to be there when he received it. It definitely went over better than the Road ID I got for him...total dud, but it makes me feel better that someone would know who to call if he ran into trouble while on a ride, so that is something.

The statue is even better then I imagined it would be - take a look:

Wish I would have thought of that!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Mike and Debi - YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses."  ~Chinese Proverb

Day #277 - I'm Baaaaack

I just got back from being in Denver for a week. We actually got back yesterday and I was so exhausted I went to bed at 8:30 and slept for 9.5 hours straight...it was lovely. We had a really good time visiting with Mike and Debi and I will be blogging about various things over the next week, but I have to say I am SOOOO grateful I have places to put my dog while we are away from home.

I normally have my brother and sister-in-law (Jas & Mel) watch him. I was trying to call Mel to see if we could drop him off to hang out with their dog for a week but couldn't get through. Then I called my sister Amy about something else and she said she would be happy to take Bart. I always worry about that because of her small kids and my dog's unpredictable nature, but we decided to leave him with Amy this past week.

There was a tiny incident between Bart (grumpy old man) and Elle (2 year old) - Lance saw the two were playing well together "Bart was wearing a necklace and Elle was petting and talking to him, but when Elle tried to pierce his ears, Bart nipped at her". Amy suggested he intervene at "necklace" the next time. Other than that, the kids took Bart on a small walk each day, Bart was enthralled with the rabbits and chickens, licked his paws incessantly (just as he would at home) and for the most part seemed to be happy when he came home.

Travis and I were talking this morning about how maybe Bart is less than excited to be home with us sad sacks when he could be hanging out with 3 energetic kids. I am just so grateful he had a safe, friendly place to be while we were away.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "The best way to get a puppy is to beg for a baby brother — and they'll settle for a puppy every time." Winston Pendleton

Day #276 - Pan

Tomorrow is Trav's Birthday (Pan - sounds like 'pawn' is his Chinese name). Since I have written 10 things I love about my siblings on their birthday's, I figure I can probably come up with a few things I love about my husband. We will be on the road tomorrow without access to computers for a few days, so I thought I would take tonight to make my list.

1 -  AMAZING SENSE OF HUMOR - This is one of the first things I found attractive about Travis - those laughing blue eyes and his gorgeous smile. Trav is an expert at ALL kinds of humor. Where my style is more sarcastic and often self depreciating, Travis can also be subtle, blunt, obvious, serious, boisterous, etc. He can find humor in most situations and I love that about him.

2 - DEEP CHARACTER - I can't think of another way to explain it. One example is how a friend of ours is having trouble with his relationship and instead of telling that friend, "that is normal, Heather drives me crazy all the time." He said, "That is normal, I drive Heather crazy all the time." I am sure the former is totally true, but I think I smiled all night after he told me that. I am not even sure if he realizes he does things like that, but he does it all the time; it is a subtle way that he honors me and I appreciate it more than he knows.

3 - SLEEVE FEELINGS - Travis wears his feelings on his sleeve; everything is just out there for anyone to see. Travis cares deeply for his friends and family and when he gets hurt you know it. If you know who Travis is, it is easy to respond to the glaring farmer tan because he is not shy about showing it off - stripped bare. I think one of the reasons we have been together for so many years is his ability to share what he is feeling. I hope he will always do this with me.

4 - MORNING/EVENING SIT DOWNS - Travis is an early to bed, early to rise kind of guy. He always gets up and gets the house moving before I do and has a built-in alarm system. The best part of my mornings is sitting with him outside when the weather permits it. Sometimes we have a lot to say and sometimes we really just sit there. I just love starting my morning with Travis and I will miss it when I start going to the gym in the mornings when I get back from Denver (yes, I am putting it out there). We will still have our evening sits, but I will really miss it.

5 - STRONGSTER - My Goodness, my man is motivated this year. I am so impressed with the goals he has set for himself and how hard he has worked to achieve them. I have written posts about several of them, but I hope he knows how inspiring he is to me. He is in the best shape of his life and is already thinking of what he wants to achieve next - SOOO proud of him...AND he has the strongest best looking legs around.

6 - SUPPORTSTER - I was doing the whiny wife impression the other night and brought up how he didn't go to my marathon in HI several years ago and he reminded me how he helped me raise all the money so I could go with 'Team in Training'...Oh yeah...Travis worked with me at every fund raiser I had so I could raise the $3,500 I pledged to raise for that run. A few years ago when I was doing 'Relay for Life' Travis helped with garage sales, set ups and take downs, hugs and pep-talks that kept me going. Travis is moral support for my bad days as well...there are days when all I can think about is getting home to Travis so I can feel better.

7 - PATIENCE - I am not sure I can say he is ALWAYS patient, but just the other day I backed my car into a poll (story at another time) and I didn't tell him about it right away. He saw it and came up to me asking if I had seen the car? 'What do you mean?' "someone crashed into the bumper" "WHAT? Really?"...pause in the conversation..."oh honey, did you back into something?" He immediately asked if I was ok and then gave me a hug saying "I'm sorry that happened to you". I think this was a very courteous and thoughtful response to my moronic driving.

8 - GETS IT DONE - I love and sometimes hate this about Travis. I mostly love it because once Travis gets going on something...watch out - he is a whirlwind and wants to get it out of the way of enjoying the rest of his day. The other day Travis called my sister to see when he could come help them move. This made me so happy because I couldn't be there due to work and my impending 5 day vacation (more at a later date). He doesn't like to sit around on the job either - if he is there to move you, get busy moving boxes.

9 - KIDS & ANIMALS - Travis LOVES babies and all my nieces and nephews. I so wish I could have given him one of his own, but am also gratified that he is so great with the children we do have in our lives. I include animals in the same section, because our dog Bart is now 14 years old and Travis still treats him like a puppy and is so sweet to him, well, except when he chews on his paws.

10 - I love that Travis picked ME - of all people, Travis decided I was the one. Just as my life turned out differently than I expected, so has his and he still chooses to be my husband after 17 years. How can I not love that about him.

Sometimes Trav actually reads my blog as well and I hope he reads it tomorrow so he can review just a few things I find amazing about him. I am so glad he was born!!

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Inside every older person is a younger person – wondering what the hell happened."

Day #275 - Silly Suds

On Saturday I got to go be the support to Travis, Matt Reed and Kim Brown at the bike race called "The Tour de Suds". This is the 31st year and lots of people dress up in costumes and ride the 6 miles up a trail called, you guessed it, "Tour de Suds".

I was happy Matt and Kim decided to race with Travis - I think they had a great time and I am pretty happy they did the whole ride. Kim hasn't been on a mountain bike for 6 years and she made it to the top...very nice. I took lots of photos to share.

Travis is wearing the old stand by "Deputy J. Dangle" costume. We had to cut up one of his pair of bike shorts so he could ride in those things. The best part is the farmer tan and the hair that starts just below the shorts...Amy didn't wax higher then necessary for the regular bike shorts.

Here are some of the other costumes people wore:

I was also impressed by a guy who rode the whole race on a unicycle - can you imagine? And there was also a tandem bike - who ever heard of a tandem mountain bike? How do you do switchbacks?

Here is Travis at the finish...NICE...:0

After the race we went to get their free lunch at the Silly Market. The Silly Market runs every Sunday in Park City at the bottom of Main Street. I went one time last year and I think it has grown since. There are TONS of booths, food and music. We were all tired from the race (Ok they were tired) so we didn't really look much, but it made me want to go back. It is very festive:

I am happy to report, Travis took 2nd place in the costume contest...the Chicken won the overall contest. I have to say I admire the bird...MAN that would be unbearably HOT!!

It was a good day and fun to get out, enjoy the sunshine and do something different.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: “The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'.”

Day #274 - Cramps

I know...why would I be happy to have cramps? Because I very rarely have them and it is good to be normal for once. I was super irritated at first, but then I talked myself thru it. There are many reasons to be grateful for monthly cramps:

a) Better chance to have kids if you are regular
b) Hormones are more regular and there is less chance for disease in your girl parts
c) Excuse to call in sick...does that even fly?
d) Excuse to be mean (unfortunately I feel like I should use this as an excuse for the last few days...will THAT fly?)

Anyway, here is one more example of how adversity creates opportunity to recognize the blessing.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Personally I think birthdays and anniversaries are like menstrual cramps, a regular pain in the a** that's somehow connected to birth." Hugh Elliott 

Day #273 - Left Overs

I have had writer's block for the last two days until I was in bed last night and I remembered how happy I was that Trav and I managed to eat a whole Turkey Breast by ourselves. Not in one sitting, of course, but in various ways over about 7 days.

I love left overs - Travis doesn't really love them, but he does love Turkey in all forms. We had a typical turkey dinner the first night, then turkey sandwiches, turkey w/rice and vegetables and most recently turkey over baked potato w/left over gravy and peas - quite delicious.

There is just something nice about using something up completely - no waste; putting Tupperware in the dishwasher after using its contents, not throwing them out. I thought maybe I had a picture of the turkey breast we cooked, Trav likes to document the big 'uns - turkey, pork shoulder, etc. but I could not locate it tonight. Regardless, it was a success and now I know we can use a whole turkey breast all by ourselves.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "We recommend that no one eat more than two tons of turkey - that's what it would take to poison someone" Elizabeth Whelan

Day #272 - Support

Oh...you thought I was done blogging...no way.

I can honestly say there is a tree in my yard that owes its more upright life to my blog. I was thinking about what I might blog about earlier today and suddenly got inspired to knock one more thing off my Summer to do list and Trav was there to help, so we lent some support to one of our most crooked trees.

I bought some mettle spikes at Home Depot not long ago and keep putting off digging the 1 foot holes that are necessary to get them in the ground. Two of the three I started on my own, but didn't get far - they are still sticking sideways out of the ground by the unfortunate trees, but today I had big strong Travis to dig through the clay and rocks enough to create the necessary support.

Sad Crooked Tree before - from the entry way this tree looks like a healthy pine bush, but as you walk up the hill you can see how crooked it is and how it is growing down hill, but the newer branches are pointing up to the sky and I couldn't help thinking it wanted to grow straight and tall like its giant sisters spread throughout our yard.

Here is Travis being Brawny:

It took digging, pick-axing, digging some more, hammering and burying to get the spike in the ground far enough to make a difference; then we got some strong wire, cut up a hose and pushed and pulled the tree as far as we felt it could take it (I didn't want to break it in half after all that) and secured it to the spike.

Don't you think the tree looks happier in a more upright position? In a week or so we will go back out and tighten the wire to see if we can get it totally straight before winter. That snow is so heavy and it is hard for the little trees to stand tall under that weight all on their own.

I can wax on about how we all need a little support now and then, how the spike can represent any number of things in our lives, but you can draw your own metaphor...

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain." Anonymous