Missing Summer in Heaven....

I'll admit it, I'm tired of the snow. I enjoy the cooler temperatures, but am tired of the slick roads and the shoveling of the driveway. I yearn for the days when once again fields of green and rainbows will fill Star Valley.

Winter Commute...

Garage Graffiti....

When I moved into my home, just over two years ago, I knew that I wanted "some" graffiti on my garage walls. Thanks to a very talented family friend, this is the result.

Some of my Favorites...

Pastrana is possibly the greatest extreme motocross athlete ever. Always the innovator.







Micheal Jordan....nuff said!!



Primetime + America's Team = Excitement

Lazy Post....

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Was it worth it?

That's a question you hear a lot. "Was it worth it?"

Not certain what either "it" refers to, but generally we're saying, "was the destination worth the journey? Was the effort worth the reward?"

The thing about effort is that effort is its own reward if you allow it to be.

So the answer can always be "yes" if you let it.

What It Takes To Be #1 - - - Vince Lombardi

"Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

"There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

"Every time a football player goes to play his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.

"Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.

"It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.

"And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

"I don't say these things because I believe in the 'brute' nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

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The Destructive Beetles of Life...

“On the slope of Long’s Peak in Colorado lies the ruin of a gigantic tree. Naturalists tell us that it stood for some four hundred years. It was a seedling when Columbus landed at San Salvador and half grown when the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth. During the course of its long life it was struck by lightning fourteen times, and the innumerable avalanches and storms of four centuries thundered past it. It survived them all. In the end, however, an army of beetles attacked the tree and leveled it to the ground. The insects ate their way through the bark and gradually destroyed the inner strength of the tree by their tiny but incessant attacks. A forest giant which age had not withered, nor lightning blasted, nor storms subdued, fell at last before beetles so small that a man could crush them between his forefinger and his thumb.”

Aren’t we all like that battling giant of the forest? Don’t we manage somehow to survive the storms, avalanches, and lightning strikes of life, only to let our hearts be eaten by the “beetles” of worry, fear, stress or jealousy?

Stress & worry can consume us and take over, making the body physically sick. Insomnia, severe stomach aches, migraines, high blood pressure, and panic attacks are only a few of the resulting conditions. For me, the little “beetle” breeds the phrase “What if…..” from the start of this, my over active imagination begins to build a scenario of doom.

What “insecticide” can we use to destroy the “beetles” of life? For each of us the formula will be different. Each of us have a different attacker waging war against us from the inside trying to destroy us. The single common denominators that we all have are the relationships of friends and family. The key is to never be too proud to ask for help. Nobody enjoys asking for help, because it is perceived as a sign of weakness and weakness has been looked down upon since the dawn of time. Phrases have been born…. “Survival of the fittest” - “Only the Strong Survive” - "The weak die out and the strong will survive, and will live on forever".

It takes strength to ask for help! In asking for help, we aren’t showing our weakness or inability; I would argue that we are trying to become stronger.

When sharing struggles, the load is divided and when sharing triumphs, the celebrations are amplified.

Don’t ever let the small things, of life, invade and destroy. Life is too precious and time flies by. Embrace every challenge as an opportunity to get stronger. Enjoy each experience and treasure every relationship.

SNOW....

Snow is the worst "four letter word" ever! I can understand the excitement and even the beauty that snow brings for so many people. Those who like to ski, snowboard, and snowmobile wait anxiously for this time of year. The big white flakes are a blessing and are heaven sent.

For me, all I see when it snows is slower commute times, slicker commute, heaps of snow to push, shovel, and plow.

I wish I could conjure up that little boy inside me that loved to play in it!

Date Night....

For the past several years, I have taken my Mom on a date to see a play presented by the Off Square Theater Company, in Jackson. Tonight we went and saw Annie. The production was filled with purely local talent - - - - 95% of the cast were under 18. They did a marvelous job. I will have to admit, I do like Jay Z's version of "Hard Knock Life" better though.

I loved spending some time with my Mom. Miraculously, she didn't even seem concerned with my driving on the snowy and icy roads to and from Jackson. Not once did I see her grab for the "Oh Hell" handle or stomp on the floorboard looking for the brake pedal.

Thanks for a wonderful evening Mom...I LOVE YOU!!