Top 10 of '10

I just looked back at my most recent post and saw that it was dated November of 2009. That means I have been very negligent to the year 2010 given that it is almost the end of July and the year is more than half over. As I've mulled over some of the things that have happened this year, I've realized that the year 2010 has done nothing to merit this abuse and deserves some recognition. In fact, 2010 may very well have been one of my best years ever. If I were going to give it a name I would call it...well, something good. If I weren't worried about offending the Chinese by stealing their idea, I might call it "The year of __________ (insert animal name here.)" And it would need to be a good animal. An animal that you might look at and say, "that's an animal I would put in my top 10 list of animals I would like to be." In light of the fact that 2010 has remained silent and refused to stoop to my level by backlashing at my offensive behavior, I wish to repent and pay tribute to it by recording a list of the top 10 events that have taken place in this the year of (insert animal of choice here). Please note that these events will be listed in order from least recent to most recent. A timeline of sorts. Also take note that they all fit into the category of "my first time ever" and so while they might not seem so special to some, they are all special to me because here I am almost 40 and still finding new stuff to do. I like that.

1. Snowmobiling. I know what you're thinking. "Big deal." But to me, it was the AWESOMEST! I loved being up in the mountains and taking in the beautiful scenery. I usually like to visit the mountains for the fresh air and peace and quiet but I found that filling them with smog and noise pollution is just as much fun! I also just liked the power of driving them around. I've always been a fan of bullet bikes but am afraid of them now that I'm a mom. Snowmobiles are fast and loud like bullet bikes but not nearly as dangerous. In fact, I didn't even mind taking my girls around on the back of mine. They minded at first. They all wanted to be on John's snowmobile. Why is it that they automatically think that John is a better snowmobiler than me?

2. Attended Sundance Film Festival. No, I didn't actually attend any of the films. But I did have tickets for one if that counts. Winter conditions prevented us from attending but that's okay because that's not why I went. I went for a weekend getaway with my two homegirls from Bako (we don't really refer to each other as "homegirls). It was so fun to hang out with them in the airport playing paparazzi. We were every bit annoying as real paparazzi at first because we thought that's what we were supposed to do. Then we realized that if you ask celebrities for pictures they are much nicer and the pictures turn out much better. (Stick it TMZ) Although we needed to work on our celebrity recall because the real paparazzi made fun of us after Kareem Abdul Jabar walked by and rather than snapping photos we made the mere comment, "That's a tall black man." Thank goodness for baggage claim, because we had time to chase him down. Next time we try to play paparazzi we'd better do some studying up. See if you can recognize any of these people. If not, don't worry, neither did we at first.





3. Became A Lifeguard. I'm not sure why I felt compelled to do this. A midlife crisis perhaps? A good boredom buster during the long winter we had? A change of scenery for a while? Or maybe just a love of water? Did I think that it would help me look more like Pamela Anderson?? Whatever the reason, I enjoyed getting certified despite the fact that all of my class mates were teenagers...including the instructors. (Okay, they were in their 20's but I'm old enough that I can count that as teenager) While I'm not sure why I volunteered to do this, the main thing that prompted me was the fact that they needed one for our church girl's camp. So I went and made up rules just so I would look like I knew what I was doing, put a whistle around my neck for extra authority and blew it a few times for good measure. It was a good experience and I had fun watching the girls play around in the water.

4. Ocean Rescue.
This may very well have been my favorite on the list. While vacationing in California we were in Montana de Oro walking along some tall cliffs overlooking the ocean. We saw myriad sea life on our expedition and were contentedly heading back to the car when John stopped and said he thought he'd heard someone yell for help. Much to my discredit I simply rolled my eyes thinking he was being overly dramatic. He walked past the barrier rope to the edge of the cliff and saw a little boat out at sea. It was so far away he couldn't see it very well but thankfully we had brought my parents' binoculars. Sure enough there was a man yelling for help very faintly and clinging to his little sea kayak. A wave had knocked him into the ocean and he wasn't able to get back into his boat. We were not getting cell service so John ran back toward the parking lot to get help. I stood on the edge of the cliff screaming words of encouragement to him (they teach you to do that in lifeguard school, you know :)). Bryton snapped about a billion photos of the event. We were amazed at how fast the harbor patrol showed up. They were very impressive. They pulled him and his kayak onto their bigger boat and brought him into Spooner's Bay where there were several emergency vehicles waiting for him. Later, while we were in Morro Bay, we stumbled across the Harbor Patrol office and asked how the man was doing. They said that he was a 67 year old man from New Mexico and that he was doing fine. They had already released him. They did say that it was good that they came when they did because it wouldn't have been too much longer before hypothermia kicked in. We loved the whole trip to California. A family BBQ, river rafting with the Maughans, Nilssons and Harts, another BBQ with the Nilssons, Harts, Maughans and Jetts, hanging out with my parents at Pismo Beach, spending a day with Tami and her kids at Avila, and renting a goofy bicycle built for eight. But this was by far the most memorable part for all of us.




5. Attended Grand Gala. Usually, around the time prom rolls around I start complaining about how we never get to wear formal attire. I guess it's just a girl thing but I've been waiting for a chance to slip into a Cinderella style dress and drive off in a "stagecoach". This year, Pat Striker, Fort Collins' wealthiest citizen decided to throw a ball in her private airplane hangar in Loveland. Everyone in the "kingdom" was invited as long as they had donated a specified amount to United Way the year before. I got to go out and buy a formal dress and John got to wear a tux. And thanks to some very generous friends, poof, our 1998 minivan was turned into a shiny black BMW. Bibbity, bobbity, boo.


Notice the fancy invitation we received in the mail. It actually came in a little silver box. I'm holding the lid.

6. Road Electric Bull. Is there a person out there who hasn't always wanted to ride an electric bull? If so, they've never seen the movie Urban Cowboy. Check.

7. Painted, And Painted, And Painted. No, not fun. But remember, this is a list of firsts. Not a list of funnests. I've painted before but never in such large quantity. This is mainly how I contributed to the finishing of our basement. I've never calculated the square footage but I'm going to guess that we finished about 1200 sf. That would have been okay if painting the walls was all I needed to do. But, no, I had to first prime all the walls and ceilings. Then I had to paint the ceilings and then I put the first coat on the walls. Can you say, "Bloody fingers!" How about, "Stiff neck!" Sadly, I'm still not done but am putting off that second coat for as long as possible. I don't want to go back to the dungeon! I feel I've paid my debt to society! Thankfully, I wasn't completely in solitary confinement. I did have some helpers along the way.



8. Took My Girls Tent Camping Sans Machismo. A friend of mine asked if we wanted to go camping with her and her daughter. John and Bryton had decided to go on a backpacking trip and I decided they shouldn't be having all the fun. We had a great time camping and playing in the river up Poudre Canyon. We may not have been stalked by a hungry bear like John and Bryton were, but we felt pretty adventurous none the less. I decided the only comical part of our trip was the fire. That night, my friend went to start the camp fire by holding a lighter up to a log. Don't laugh. It worked! We roasted hot dogs over it and had s'mores for dessert. I wondered why Boy Scouts had been building meticulous teepee fires all these years like suckers. The next morning I decided I was going to build the fire. I must not have had the magic touch like my friend. Every time I got it going, it would go out. I ended up having to chop a log into little bits with a hatchet in order to keep it fed and burning long enough to heat our water. By the time I was done building my fire, I was sweaty, shaky and exhausted. I hope my kids appreciated that hot chocolate.

9. Participated In Pie Eating Contest. Again, who's never wanted to be in a pie eating contest? I'll admit that when the guy on the microphone said they needed female volunteers and I went running over there, I thought it was going to be an all female event. I didn't realize that it was going to be me and a bunch of brutish, pie hungry men. But I think I handled my own out there. I walked away fat, happy and with another check on my list.

10. Sang A Duet. In a microphone. With a guy. Accompanied by a guitar. In front of lots of people. Are you done laughing yet? Again, not a big deal to some of my rockstar singer friends. But for me, it was a first and a last. Unless, of course, I've been discovered. In which case you might see me on the road in a town near you. Keep your eyes peeled.

There you have it. The year of the...gazelle??? Has been good to me. And it's only a little more than half over. The "Top 10 of '10 list might just turn into a top 15. But I sort of hope not because that doesn't sound as good. 2010, you're off the hook.