Thanksgiving 2014

Lots to be grateful for in the year 2014, but what with finances being the way they are, I decided not to travel anywhere for Thanksgiving. I stayed home and kept to my usual traditions - I watched the Macy's parade, made a bad-for-me breakfast, and visited on the phone with my family. But instead of a homemade meal, I got together with my girls Inge and Julie, and Julie's Mom, and went out to dinner. We had a lovely meal at a restaurant called Buca di Beppo. Although it's an Italian chain, they served a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner, with all the trimmings. This is the second year in a row I've Thanksgivinged at Buca. I guess it's the beginning of a tradition.

After dinner, Inge and I drove over to The Gateway, which isn't near as busy as it used to be since City Creek Mall opened a few blocks further into downtown. We enjoyed a lovely stroll to work off our delightful meal, and then saw the movie "Interstellar", which I highly recommend.

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Goals

One of my goals this year is to go on a backpacking trip. It's something I've always wanted to do, but been too intimidated to try. Well, a few weeks ago, one of the girls in the Ward invited me on a backpacking trip to the Uinta's this summer. This time I immediately said yes. All was well until a few days later when reality set in and the thought of carrying 30-35 pounds of pack on my back while hiking in rough terrain just about made me cave. I did not have all the gear I would need, nor was I in good enough shape. The gear is something easily worked out. Most of it I can either purchase myself, or borrow from highly motivated friends. The physical conditioning was another matter altogether, so I decided it was time to get in better shape. I've been pretty good at exercising regularly, and I'm in ok shape for someone approaching a milestone birthday (if I say so myself). But I knew I needed to put in some extra miles, as well as add strength to my legs ...

Weird Al and Iowa

So a couple of weeks ago while watching TV, I happened to click on an A&E Biography of "Weird Al" Yankovic. Boy - did that bring back some fun High School memories. There were interviews with Dr. Demento (Weird Al started out on his radio show"), and snippets from some true comedy classics - for instance "Eat It", "Like a Surgeon", and others. I remember my best friend Jill really being into his "Polkas on '45" album. I went to High School in Iowa (Go Hawks!), and one thing about the midwest is that someone like "Weird Al" really fits in there. It's the land of brats and beer, and polka (I mean, the Iowa marching band's favorite song is the polka classic "In Heaven There Ain't No Beer"), and people there have a sense of humor - they don't take themselves too seriously. They work hard, have a good time, and are all about community. They take care of each other. When I get to heaven, there...

Company 5K

Friday evening was the company 5K, and most of my team and their families made the effort to participate. The weather was perfect, and the route took us through the neighborhoods around the main building. We ended up finishing in about 45 minutes. Here we all are at the Finish line (l to r: Dave, his daughter and son, Robin, me, Tiffany, her boyfriend Scott, Sudhir, Bindu, and their daughter Naomi) After the 5K, I decided I needed a post-race recovery meal, and got myself down to the local DQ for a pumpkin pie blizzard.

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