The meaning of my being

As mentioned yesterday I set out on an adventure last week, an adventure to learn how to snowboard. I have been skiing for what seems like forever it is the meaning of my being, so snowboarding should not be that difficult for me to catch on to, right?
After getting fitted for snowboarding boats and making sure I knew how to buckle myself into Katie's board Maddy and I hopped onto the gondola.

Not only had the mountains been my home away from home for so many years and Maddy is a regular snowboard instructor at BC and I was using a board of a veteran snowboarder, I was confident this was going to be a snitch.
Once we exited the gondola and I met a super hot lifty, Maddy and I ventured over to the bunny hill. I should probably point out that the bunny hill at Beaver Creek is not like most, it is about 50 yards in length and the slope is about a 10% grade, no kidding!
As I road up the magic carpet to the top of the 'bunny hill' I figured a few times down this little hill and I will be ready for the chair lift.

After 3 hours on the bunny I may or may not have had a nervous breakdown, I may or may not have ever gotten the hang of riding heal side, I may or may not have flirted with the lifty named Darren who I am sure was beyond impressed with by my snowboarding skills, I may or may not have tossed in the towel and chosen to put my skies on and head to the top of the mountain. But I will admit I did get the hang of riding toe side, it just happens that when riding toe side I am heading down the hill backwards, I am not sure that is very safe for the rest of the individuals on the mountain. Darren told me it is just like drive, however as I mentioned to him I tend to not drive backwards a lot.

So, I will buckle back into a snowboard next season and try it again. I am determined to get this skill under my belt. Wish me luck!!

Fresh mountain air.

For all of those that may be thinking I fell off a mountain being it has been some time since I have written, rest assure I still have my feet firmly planted on the Colorado soil. Last week however, I nearly firmly planted my bottom in the mountain snow and taken what I would have considered the easier route down the hill at Beaver Creek. For you see I took my very first snowboarding lesson. After skiing for nearly 20 years I thought what better adventure than that of snowboarding for the first time at age 33. An adventure it was, but that story will have to wait.

I headed to Beaver Creek to spend a few days with my dear friend Maddy. She requested that my camera come to one of her soccer games in order to take pictures, and as fate might have it, I needed to accompany my camera.



After the melee of the bumblebees on the soccer field, Maddy and I made a beeline for the fire pit at Beaver Creek resort to make s'mores. I am a bit remiss for not taking a picture of the marshmallows we purchased for this s'mores outing. They were jumbo sized, in fact they were not the easiest things to roast we held them in the fire until we were nearly on fire and the oooy gooy marshmallows were not so oooy gooy. For what it is worth, if you should find yourself in the grocery store collecting s'mores making supplies, just stand in awe of how large the jumbo marshmallows are and settle for the regular s'mores marshmallows.



We had an extraordinary evening in the fresh mountain rain which may or may not have made us smell like a campfire.

Tip for the day....Monday style!

A few years ago I bought a mountain bike from an ex co-worker. It was more or less a steal and it has more or less been sitting in storage for the past 2 years. I am sure the news which I am going to share with you all is earth shattering so brace yourself……….if you let a bike sit for too long without using it, the tires go flat. Okay, so maybe not earth shattering, in fact knowledge held by nearly everyone I am sure. Nonetheless, after sitting in storage my mountain bike was beyond the point of being able to be ridden. So I called up my hunky handyman who came to my rescue with a tire pump. After engaging a set of pliers, a lot of muscle and some sweat my tires got some air in them.

Armed with aired up bike tires I set out yesterday morning for a much overdue 20 mile bike ride. It was an amazing Sunday morning…..the sun was shining down on Tulsa and the air was a comfortable 77 degrees and the wind was gusting to 25 mph. Oh how I try to embrace the Oklahoma wind, but it sure is hard especially on good hair days or when trying to take an overdue bike ride. Overdue being a key word here for two reasons:

1) My legs were not prepared to battle the gusty winds.
2) I didn’t think about the need for sunscreen.

My back is a very uncomfortable shade of red today and there is not enough aloe in the town of Tulsa to alleviate the pain. Not to mention I am going to be rockn’ an awesome farmers tan for the entire summer. So my tip for the day Monday style is to always wear sunscreen, for many reason, but one being you will not have to worry about the loss of sleep due to the pain of a burn.

Sleep tight!
JB

What a night.

Somewhere amidst the month that was February I turned a year older. I have come to embrace aging after all we all grow wiser and more beautiful with each passing year correct? That may be my own warped perception, but I am sticking to it.

This year during my birthday week I happened to be excessively busy and the last thing I wanted to do was work a concert for one of Komen’s celebrity ambassadors who was in town. I love Candy Coburn as a person, and she is a great musician I always enjoy listening to her, it would have been one thing if I was simply going to her concert, but I had to WORK an evening two days before my birthday. Why you asked did Lindsay and I have to do this and no one else from the office, I asked myself the same question. I have this really bad habit of never saying no, so I agreed to work. I had to cancel dinner plans with a friend and as my co-work and friend Lindsay picked me up from my apartment at 6pm to head down to Cains in order set up for the event I went kicking and screaming. As a side note, when Lindsay called to tell me she was outside my building to pick me up she said “bring you camera you never know if there will be a picture opportunity”. I thought that was silly for her to ask, she knows this sister does not go anywhere without her camera especially to work events. Anyway I grab my purse and my camera and huffed and puffed all the way down to her car.

As we drove over to the venue Lindsay was on the phone with Candy’s manager spelling the names of Aaron (Lindsay’s husband), Matt (we all know who he is) and myself; which didn’t seem odd to me, because anytime we work an event we always get extra tickets for Matt and Aaron in case they want to swing by. However, on that same note, I knew there was no way Matt was going to come down he is not the biggest country music fan around. But at least it was a nice gesture by Lindsay to think about them. When she got off the phone she said “well since you know what is going on now I guess I will fill you in”, little did she know I had no idea what was going on. She said Matt and Aaron were meeting us for the concert.

Long story short, I didn’t have to work the concert it was all a set up. Matt and Aaron met us for dinner then we all headed to Cains where we got our VIP tickets and hung out with Candy on her tour bus

before watching a great concert.


Half way through the concert Candy pulled me on stage and we had a happy birthday sing-a-long.


It was a birthday celebration I will remember forever!!!

What a wonderful evening, shows one never knows what is around each turn in life. I have the world’s best friends that beats all.

Missed a month

So I sit here today the first day of March, realizing I missed almost an entire month of blogging yet again. The past two weeks have been a bit of a blur between two surprise birthday parties, three days spent at the hospital with a grandfather in ICU, a huge report due at the office, two parties I made cupcakes for, and a grandfather that passed away. I feel as though I have just run a marathon without a metal to prove it.

The month of February started with a snow storm to beat the record books and ended with a sad good-bye to a loved one. What a month, a month I am sure I will remember forever. But I here to tell you I am getting back in the saddle and am hopeful the month of march will be a bit more calm. Here is a short list of items I hope to accomplish this month............

1) Relax
2) Plant an herb garden at Matt's (he does not know his backyard will soon smell of basil and cilantro)
3) Take more pictures
4) Blog more often
5) Pick up training for a half
7) Relax (oh did I mention that already)

Happy 1st day of March Ya'all!

Running

What better way to spend an hour after a long day at the office then to go on a run? What you don’t agree? Well I promise you if you try it out you will be hooked. I love to run outside on sunny days along the river trails, I love to run on cool crisp fall mornings, I love to run on treadmill when it is negative 7 degrees outside and look at the beautiful snow through the gym windows. I love to run and my body loves it as well.

The hours I have been required to dedicate to work the past month has brought my evening running to a screeching halt and I am here to tell you I can’t be happier that my schedule is calming down and allowing me to hop onto the treadmill. My muffin tops that have somehow appeared over the past month may not be as excited as I am but life is simply not fair is it? The treadmill and I have become pretty close friends this past week, because Lord knows I am not about to go running in 4 foot snow drifts with negative wind chills, I am not that diehard.

I say I not about to go running in 4 foot snow drifts, but I did go walking last week. You see I think I may have a touch of A.D.D, some like to refer to it as Cabin Fever. My case of this ‘Cabin Fever’ about put me in straight jacket so I think I either had a really bad case or I was suffering from something else. That said I took a journey, my destination was anywhere but my apartment. As I walked to this undisclosed location I helped to push three cars out of being stuck, I contemplated lending my super hero hands to a stuck semi-truck but thought again and kept walking and I got a lot of stunning snow cover Tulsa pictures. Once I reached my destination I checked to see how many miles I clocked and it was 2.85 and because of my luck I got to walk those 2.85 miles back to my place. What is that you say….that is not luck that is common sense….well common sense is not something I claim to have a lot of. However, that walk back was after a sleepover at this undisclosed location and a trip to the grocery store. Yes, my walk over simply seemed too easy so I figured what better way to make it more challenging than to fill a backpack full of 22 lbs of groceries and walk back home in pour down snow. Not one of the smartest moves I have ever made. When I got home I did not go visit my best friend the treadmill instead I curled up in bed and went to sleep.

So I digress…..what was I telling you about? Oh yeah, I love to run!!

Friends

I once saw a quote that went something along these lines………..truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget. My life has been packed full of some extraordinary friends….
Friends that have traveled the globe with me

Friends that encourage me to be the best I can be




Friends that challenge my mind



Friends that always make me laugh


Friends that have made periods in my life better by just being part of it




“I'd like to be the sort of friend that you have been to me, I'd like to be the help that you've been always glad to be; I'd like to mean as much to you each minute of the day, as you have meant old friend of mine, to me along the way.”

Love you all!!

Heaven help me!

I woke up yesterday morning and someone asked me what my New Year’s Resolutions were. Not to be rude, I mentioned that I am not one to set resolutions, I tend to not follow through on them, all the while thinking………I am sorry but resolutions tend be set at the start of a new year and unless I happen to sleep through the entire 2010 year it is not time to be talking about resolutions. As fate may have it I was incorrect it is in fact 2011 and I somehow missed an entire year, heaven help me I cannot begin to believe it is a new year.

As I look back on the lighting speed year that was 2010 I find myself smiling, it was certainly a great year, one I will cherish always. I was hired to be part of, in my opinion, one of the best non-profits out there……..Susan G. Komen for the Cure which allowed me to go to D.C. and participate in the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure and spend time with Chad and Ashley. I found a new enjoyment in the sport of kickball and as a result rediscovered a man who makes me so incredibly happy and has brought me back to life. I moved back to the pulse of Tulsa into a loft in the heart of downtown and began training a good friend for a couch to 5k race. The holidays were spent with my entire family and the year was closed out in the arms of the man of my dreams. To say 2010 was a great year may just be an understatement it may have been one of the best years yet. I am so blessed to be surrounded by amazing family, the world’s best friends, a strong and extraordinary man, a job that can only be described in one word……….exceptional, my passion of photography and more love than I possibly deserve.

Here is to a remarkable 2011 filled with love, laughter, vivid memories and wonderful health for you all.

Love ya,
JB

Another Season Down.

Another season of kickball has come to an end. I do realize my documentation of fall kickball here on my blog was……….what should I say……..nonexistent. There are many variables as to why I didn’t find time to share with you the great details about the Budweiser Brawl, but none of them had to do with the fact that we only won 2-3 games the entire season, I promise.

At the end of each season we have a kickball party, this season was no different. As with any evening in which we venture out on the town it typically starts out calm, and somewhere turns in the opposite direction of calm, what is that called…………….mayhem! I am positive the fact that beer was free from 8-10p and from 10-12p shots were only $3 had everything to do with the quick decline of judgment. However, when you are the only sober turkey in a bar you are bound to get some priceless pictures and that I did. Here are a few……………

When the night starts like this..........



and this.



You end up with results similar to this......



and this.




Yet somewhere in the mix we got pictures like this.....



and this.....



and this!!



It was an incredibly fun night!!!

Love ya!
JB

McNellie's Pub Run

I run in the McNellie’s Pub Run this past weekend. Now I have run a race or two or twenty in my life, but I had yet to run in anything with the words ‘pub’ in the title. I didn’t just fall of the turnip truck that actually happened two weeks ago, so I was aware that in a ‘pub run’ there would be beer. I however did not have prior knowledge of the men sporting (fashionably I might add) kilts,


the cast of Reno 911,

or men confused as to whether they were at a triathlon or a run,

being present at this ‘pub run’ but yes all of the above plus much more were present and ready to run.
For participants interested in registering for this race there were three choices……..1 mile fun run, 4 mile run, or the 4 mile Guinness Challenge. As a side note I was the only one out of our group of friends that registered for the 4 mile run, I was not interested in incorporating Guinness in my 4 mile jaunt.

We don’t need to cover the harassment I endured due to that decision, I will say though I was quite happy with my choice. This run was a learning experience for me………….
1) Someone who does not register for the Guinness Challenge should be prepared to not have the opportunity to hydrate during the run.

2) I don’t like to run without adequate water!
3) One should not expect the workers at the water stops, or beer stops as most like to refer to them as, to have the slightest idea of what water is.

4) I see mirage of lakes when I don’t get enough water!
5) Anyone who wants to make it through the race without feeling as though they are going to pass out, well they need to plan on drinking beer.
6) I loved running at a slower pace than normal.
7) The Culligan Man should not be at the finish line for I drank him out of water.
8) I wanted to eat a hamburger when I was done.
9) I completely enjoyed having a fun new running buddy for the race.

10) I have a lot of work to do to catch up to Matt and the speed demon he is.

It seems to me the one lesson I learned loud and clear is that I need to hydrate extensively before the pub run or I may end up dead on the side of the road due to dehydration.

My time was not the best in this race, but I will say it was one of the more fun races I have run in. I finished with a smile on my face!

I plan to do this race again next year.

Covert Mission

For the past month I have been working on a covert mission. Seeking advisory only from those I trust the most. Maybe trust is not the right word, a more accurate description would be seeking advisory from people I knew would provide me with correct information and tossing up prayers they could be trusted with top secret information. Once it was all said and done my advisors were more than trust worthy, they were highly instrumental in throwing Matt a surprise birthday party he will not soon forget.

The pictures will do a much better job at expressing how much fun was had than I could every dream of doing myself……enjoy!!




Surprise!!!








Friends....




The Ghostbusters were not on the invite list but we let them join in on the fun nonetheless!!



Slimmer had to stay in the car but we all went to visit him.



Food (can't beat cupcakes from my kitchen)......




and way tooooo much fun!!!!

It was a wonderful evening, filled with friends, fun and a happy birthday boy....mission accomplished!



Love ya,
JB