Thanksgiving Service and the Woman’s Shelter Take-down

November 21, 2012 By

Happy Thanksgiving!

If there is one cause I feel passionate about, it is fighting child hunger. One out of every four children in Colorado goes hungry…a very daunting statistic and I commend those who are working so closely to fight this battle. A couple of weeks ago, I met with the Food Bank of the Rockies to brainstorm a new initiative they hope to launch for educating kids about it. I’m so excited to be a part of the new program!

A couple of weeks ago, I had a chance to join our Young Women at our local food bank to sort food for Thanksgiving.

Though she’s a few years too young for YW, Haddie begged me to come. No complaints here if she wants to help!

Then, last weekend our family signed up through Volunteers of America to serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local woman’s shelter. This is the second year we’ve done it and I’m grateful for the learning experience it is for my kids. I hope to make it an annual tradition.
All the volunteers sign up to bring various items of a Thanksgiving meal. We then dined with the residents, made cards for VOA’s annual Basket of Joy fundraiser where they deliver baskets to seniors and then the apex of the event: BINGO. We’re highly competitive but only Jamie got the win, which he will never let me forget.

For the kids, the highlight is being The Caller. They patiently waited and when it was their turn, I accompanied them. “Why do you always have to come with us?” Miss Independence whined.

The reason is evidenced in what unfolded next.

I told the kids they needed to take turns pulling the numbers from the BINGO cage, call out the number and place it on the tally board.

At least that’s how it would happen in a Perfect BINGO World.

But alas, both kids fought as they jockeyed for position and I seethed threats at both of them. As they furiously spun the cage, BINGO balls were flying everywhere off the table and I subtly tried to retrieve them as I smiled sweetly at the residents. “Look at us! Just one big, happy, BINGO-calling family!”

Lies. All lies. I breathed a sigh of relief when our turn was over, though I had serious doubts I had recovered all the wayward balls.

Next year’s gift for the shelter: a new BINGO set.

And a better BINGO-calling attitude. :-)

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays, Humor, LDS

It’s Christmastime (NOW) In This City–Confessions of a Rebel

November 20, 2012 By

I’m on the cusp of four really crazy weeks. My in-laws arrived yesterday and we’re going to spend a  few glorious days at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Next week, I’m off to Park City Mountain Resort and right after I return, I will be speaking at a single adult fireside and will also MC a “What Not to Wear” event for Young Women in Excellence (don’t ask me if I’ve ever watched the show). Oh, and then I’m appearing on 9News with all my holiday picks (and still need to wrap up the gift guide), and we’re then whisking the kiddos off for a surprise four-day trip, which will result in a lot of subsequent writing deadlines.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget all the holiday shopping that goes with it.

So, I’m kinda busy.

I am not a procrastinator and hate leaving things until the last minute. If I were to wait until the week before Christmas to shop or put up decorations, it wouldn’t happen. This year, I have taken a now-or-never approach and last week was dedicated to getting Christmas cards ready. Traditionally, we set-up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving but since we’ll be MIA, I announced we’d do it on Sunday. Yes, for you stalwart DO NOT DECORATE UNTIL AFTER THANKSGIVING-TYPES, this was four days before T-day. And with the amount of decorations we have, it takes hours.

This isn’t even including our outdoor decorations, which we’ll hold off on for another week.

Jamie is a  Grinch when it comes to decorating and limits his efforts to the outdoor lights. But this year when I hesitatingly asked if he and Bode could be in charge of putting up the tree, I was shocked when he agreed. I’ve been a longtime advocate of real trees but after several years of choosing ones that lose their needles mere days after purchase, we went artificial (it helped when my in-laws gifted us their old tree). There’s a definite system to putting on the branches and I usually organize them in piles and systematically start from the bottom (longest) and work my way up.

The boys had a different system, which is a nice way of saying they had no system at all.  A half-hour later, I walked into the room to find the mostly-completed tree with a large gaping hole in the middle and several small branches still on the ground. Problem was all the slots at the top were taken.

Wives everywhere know this is the ultimate dilemma. How do you handle it when you FINALLY get your husband to do something and it is not done correctly? The answer: you tread very lightly with your criticism otherwise they’ll never do it again. Ultimately they figured it out.

We got in the Christmas spirit by baking this snickerdoodle bread with cinnamon chips and blasted Josh Groban’s CD “Noel.” I’m relieved the bulk of the work is done and to the naysayers like Jamie who say we’re not allowed to decorate until Thanksgiving, this Canuck says IT ALREADY HAPPENED IN OCT.

The end.

Filed Under: holidays, Humor, Jamie

Why you should totally feel sorry for Bode

November 19, 2012 By

Bode is pretty darn delightful these days–he is always humming or singing a song he’s learning in music class and is a happy kid. I’m convinced kindergarten/grade 1 are about the best years ever of a kid’s life. You’re old enough to really do things for yourself yet young enough to not shoulder the responsibility of any real demands or homework.

Unless you’re Bode who begs me to make up homework for him. (While I can’t force Haddie to do hers).

And of course, there is play. After a brief hiatus from sleepovers (likely recovering from the previous ones) Jamie’s sister Lisa generously offered to host each of the kids on their very own sleepover. Haddie’s was a few weeks ago and Bode has been chomping at the bit for his turn. The problem is, our travel schedule will be starting to heat up with some pretty epic trips.

Bode’s uphill climb

Last week, Lisa sent this email:

Would Bode like to come over for a sleepover on Friday?  Let me know.

Jamie’s response:

Bode I know would love to come over for a sleepover.  He has a B-day party on that Saturday at 11:30 a.m. that he needs to go to.  Will that be a problem?  Other than this Friday Bode is booked until mid-December.  It is hard to be the Bode.  So very hard.

 

 

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Humor, Jamie

The Pumpkin Murderer

November 14, 2012 By

The pumpkin season ain’t over until the Fat Lady sings. Or rather, The Pumpkin Man takes a shovel to dismantle The Great Pumpkin.

We usually destroy it shortly after Halloween but Jamie has had some health problems lately and hasn’t been up to the task. And really, there was no rush. Usually the pumpkin is oozing down the driveway rotting out because he cuts it off the vine late-September. But Christine the Pumpkin held together marvelously well and only started decomposing this week. It was time.

That’s a nice way of saying the wife was going to start nagging him very soon.We invited Jamie’s brother over and first fattened him up with Chicken Tikka Masala  (think cannibalistic witch strategy in Hansel and Gretel). He and Jamie then annihilated the pumpkin, loaded it in his truck and hauled it over to the pumpkin patch to compost. Allegedly. For all I know they could have made it into a delicious, rotting 837-pound pumpkin pie.

Just so long as there weren’t any children inside.

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, pumpkins

Berry Patch Farms: A Glimpse of the Simple Life

November 13, 2012 By

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to accompany Haddie’s class on yet another field trip…this time to the Berry Patch Farms in Brighton. I’m convinced I’m the only person in Colorado who had yet to visit this 40-acre working farm.

Popular in the summer months for its abundance of pick-it-yourself currants, raspberries and strawberries, their certified organic farm’s market is infamous for their abundance of just-picked produce. They also sell their own honey and eggs as well as grass-fed beef and naturally-raised chicken from the neighbors. Their fresh fruit pies are allegedly drool-worthy.

We were one of the final school groups to come through because they’ll only be open on Saturdays through the winter. Now that the growing season is over, I wondered what on earth we would do there.

Turns out, there was plenty. We learned about honey-making and toured the hives. We made gourd necklaces. We went on a hay ride and played in the hay maze.

I shared the story of my childhood when I was at my Grandpa Wilde’s farm playing on the two-story high stack of hay bales. As we raced around, I stepped on what appeared to be an overlay of hay between bales but it was only a false shelf. I shot straight down a chute, trapped between those claustrophobic bales of hay.

I remember my brothers screaming I had fallen and my mother running around like a lunatic trying to find me, only to discover I was deeply submerged IN the heart of them.
Hadley and her friends were properly horrified.

And just when I thought pumpkin season was over, we gathered in a barn and watched the 20-minute video, The Pumpkin Circle, that followed the lifespan of (you guessed it) a pumpkin. The kids were then allowed to pick out their very own pumpkin to take home!

Pumpkins. BECAUSE I NEED MORE OF THOSE.

Regardless, we had a lovely time. Both of my grandparents were farmers and I harbor the romantic notion of moving out to a mountain ranch in the middle of nowhere. Where the kids can roam free and our days would be spent caring for animals, harvesting our huge garden, learning mother nature’s never-ending lessons on the trails and teaching them in the ways they learn best (that don’t include an endless barrage of worksheets and drills). Though I’ve only ever lived in the city, suburbia sometimes suffocates me–hence my almost-daily escapes to the mountains.

Then I woke up and we went home.

“I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chords that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe?” -Kate Chopin

That day at Berry Patch Farms, we all did.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, Hadley, Humor, pumpkins

Mickey and Snowmamas Do Dallas in a Memorable Conference!

November 12, 2012 By

I’m back after a whirlwind four-day trip to Dallas and I’ll admit I haven’t been a big fan of Texas. I remember the first Texan I ever met: Amy Lemon. It was our freshman year of college and she was a loud-talking, big-haired, uproarious gal who boasted about Texas at every turn.

“What makes it so great?” I finally asked. “Do you have amazing beaches? The mountains? World-class destinations?” I then proceeded to expound upon the many virtues of the Motherland.

“Naw,” she said finally said. “It’s great because it is TEXAS!”

That was my first lesson that Texans are not lacking in confidence.

I’ve been to Texas a couple of previous times. We got stuck in Dallas en route home from our Costa Rican honeymoon because there was 0.00000003-inch of snow and the entire city shut down. Following a cruise, we over nighted in Houston and the humidity about killed me.

Suffice to to say, Texas has not been on my must-visit list.

My latest stay was by far my best and I caught a glimpse of why not to mess with Texas. I fell in love with our accommodations at the luxurious Omni Hotel. I was in a group fortunate enough to tour the Presidential Suite and most impressive to me was the bathroom. So, why this picture? Because the bathroom was completely ensconced with floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing a killer view.

Apparently presidential types like to let it all hang out.

I also learned a lot about producing videos at the Family Travel Conference. I met a lot of great bloggers and event sponsors that included Disney (I’m now obsessed with their Adventures by Disney Guided Vacations). These are my beloved Denver blogging friends connecting with Mickey in Dallas. It was all a bit confusing.

Park City Mountain Resort’s Snowmamas sponsored a breakfast and PR ace Krista asked each of us to take a few minutes to share a magical moment we’ve had at PCMR. I enthusiastically shared a condensed version of From Injury-faker to Superstar: How Bode Got His Groove Back, during which time one of the attendees tweeted:

For the Twitter-challenged, @TheMileHighMama is my Twitter ID. And yep, being known as The Mile High Mama has been really swell now that Colorado has legalized marijuana.

And what would a Snowmama event be like without snow?

It should be noted the snow totals in the Omni ballroom exceeded those of when my plane was grounded in Dallas.

As I was driving home from the airport later that day, I realized I was ravenous because I had skipped lunch. I have been craving Burger King’s gingerbread shake so I grabbed one. I was tempted to polish it off but opted to wait and share it with the kids.

Upon entering the door, I was greeted with my loving family who jumped out to surprise me, an immaculate home, beautiful flowers and delicious dinner. I handed over my shake and within moments, the kids were hogtying each other for it.

Nothin’ like bringing a bit of Texas home to Denver.

Filed Under: Disney, Humor, travel Tagged With:

The coolest bathroom ever and why I’m suing DIA for discrimation

November 9, 2012 By

Here’s a quick update. I’m currently in Dallas for the Family Travel Conference and I’m staying at the luxurious one-year-old Omni Hotel.  Just how opulent are the 1001 luxurious guest rooms and suites? In addition to floor-to-ceiling windows and sleek furniture, there is a TV screen hidden in the bathroom mirror.

I would never be able to drag Jamie out of there.

I’m having a great time hitting Dallas’ hot spots like Iron Cactus (OHMYGOSH–guacamole made table-side with a splash of orange?) and Chop House Burger  (don’t miss the Parmesan truffle fries). I arrived a day early for meetings and woke up my first morning at 5:30 a.m. “Don’t worry,” I groggily consoled myself. “It’s 6:30 a.m. Denver time so it’s OK to get up.”

And so I did. I worked out in their state-of-the-art fitness center, grabbed a quick breakfast and showered. It wasn’t until I turned on my computer that I realized the horrible truth: Dallas is on Central time not Pacific like I’d assumed in my sleepy stupor. I had, in actuality, woken up at 4:30 a.m.

Apparently Haddley isn’t the only one who struggles in math.

And here’s another blonde moment. I signed up for Instagram app several months ago without fully investigating its photo-sharing program. I have been primarily using it as a digital filter to make me look like an ace photographer on my iPhone without realizing its social networking capabilities. And that people have actually been following my pictures. I posted the following revelation on Twitter:

Thanks to Kim-Marie’s Instagram tutorial at #FTCDallas, I realized I actually have followers & am supposed to follow back. And I also learned I’m being followed by “ThirdBoob” on my account. #KindaUnsettling

Consider yourself warned.

Then, there is the Granddaddy of them all: My HAIR got searched at at Denver International Airport’s security. Big enough to hide an entire drug cartel?

Filed Under: Humor, travel

Steamboat Springs: Adventures at the Upper Fish Creek Falls

November 6, 2012 By

Every Colorado resort has one: a popular hike that is bombarded with tourists in the summertime. In Steamboat Springs, that hike is 283-foot Fish Creek Falls in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. And for good reason. It is:

1) Lovely. The falls spill over a hanging valley, formed at the junction where a small glacier joined a larger one.

2) Accessible (only four miles from downtown Steamboat Springs).

3) Easy. From the upper lot (which has a $5 fee to park), it is only a 1/4-mile trek to the falls with some scenic picnic areas.

During my October visit to Steamboat Springs to speak at the Governor’s Tourism Conference, I resolved to hike the still-popular yet not as frequented Upper Fish Creek Falls, a 4-mile round-trip hike. But here’s the catch: a storm was blowing in and I needed to drive back to Denver. And the trail was pretty unrelenting and steep.

But I was a woman on a mission. I hoofed it through the conifer forest with its Englemann spruce and Douglas firs for what seemed like an eternity (really, it was only 50 minutes) until I was finally rewarded above treeline with this stunning view of Steamboat Springs and the Yampa Valley.

I chugged along another 10 minutes before I finally reached the falls. For anyone keeping track, it took me one hour to hike 2 miles, attesting to 1) The trail’s steep pitch or 2) That I’m more out of shape than I thought.

The Upper Falls. This picture taken as a testimony I actually made it.

For those ambitious sorts, Fish Creek Falls is the jumping-off point for miles of hikes and the 6-mile hike to Long Lake leads to the Continental Divide trail where the real backcountry explorations can begin.

But that time around, I was perfectly happy with my four-miler.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, hiking, Humor, travel Tagged With:

My Denver Post column: Budget room makeovers and being consumed by the jaws of Hades

November 6, 2012 By

The two most dreaded words in my vocabulary are “assembly required.”

So the whole DIY (do-it-yourself) trend gives me hives. I am the very antithesis of handy, and eagerly defer to The Husband for home projects.

That is what makes the following story that much more shocking: I attempted to restore a set of cabinets. By myself.

While my house generally gets a passing grade for cleanliness, I fail when it comes to organization. I recently decided to do something about it and ascertained that a storage cabinet for my daughter’s art supplies would be a good start.
Read more: Johnson: One mom’s lessons from a budget child’s room project – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/smart/ci_21922553/johnson-one-moms-lessons-from-budget-childs-room#ixzz2BM6vV0ib

Hadley with Grandma after making over her room

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie Tagged With:

Political Ads: Are Your Kids Noticing Them? (My 9News Interview)

November 5, 2012 By

The end is near.

No, this isn’t some doomsday announcement but rather I’m voicing my relief we will finally be witnessing a ceasefire for all the political ads, tweets and Facebook postings. I almost resolved to go on a media fast but then remembered, “Oh. That’s what I do for my job” so I’ve muddled through it, trying to remind myself this is a privilege! We live in a free, democratic society where people can openly voice their opinions!

Now, after tomorrow’s election, will everyone please shut-up? :-)

Last week, TaRhonda Thomas from 9News came to my house to interview me about what to tell kids about the scathing political ads on television. Click here for the video.

If you haven’t already voted, remember to do so tomorrow. I’m Canadian so will be doing it in spirit. Last weekend, I scored this great “voted” badge from Colorado Ski Country USA at the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Expo.

I’m what I like to call “politically neutral.”

Filed Under: 9News, Humor
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