Start Date of Body For Life Challenge: January 7
Days Left: 12

Today I will play in my second Queen of the Beach Volleyball Tournament this year. I am excited. There is nothing like being able to play at an indoor beach in your shorts and a tank top when it is 32 degrees outside. Plus, I am in so much better shape than I was last time. I am moving faster, jumping higher, and hitting harder than I have in a long time. The tricky part is that what people are capable of and how they actually perform can be two very different things. We will have to see how it goes today. I will have an update this afternoon.

UPDATE: 24 girls played this morning. We are put in groups of 4 and play one game with each person in that group. If you win you go up. If you lose you go down. In my first round I played horrid and barely broke out of the bottom. I went into my second round ranked 4th of the 4. I turned it around though and ended up 1st in that group and then again took 1st in my final group with a fairly high points total. So I should end up somewhere around 9th of 24. Not too bad!

Last week in the garden:

This week in the garden:

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring? Ugh! I have had flowers blooming in the garden for weeks now. Today they are frozen solid. If I flicked the petals on these flowers they would probably crack. Not exactly the weather I was hoping for. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE when it snows. It is just that time of year when I am ready for Spring.

Days Left: 13

Yesterday we had to put Todd’s cat Evie to sleep. It was a very sad day. So today I just want to say goodbye to Evie and post some pics. Click here.

http://blog.changemyselfchangetheworld.com/?page_id=1928

During Week 6, I featured Louie Psihoyos, the director of a documentary called The Cove. Psihoyos, who is based in Boulder, gave a talk at a local scuba shop shortly after Todd and I had seen his movie on the plane ride home from Bonaire. See feature here. 

The Cove just won an Academy Award for Best Documentary! If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. I never used to be crazy about documentaries in general but either they are growing on me or they are just getting better.

It is funny to imagine how other people see someone close to you in your life. But I wish everyone had the privilege of seeing all the things I get to see about Todd Ramirez every day.

http://blog.changemyselfchangetheworld.com/?page_id=1600

The Olympic Games throughout history is a wealth of amazing stories of people who dedicate their lives to a single goal and overcome the odds to realize their dreams. This week I will feature athletes from different sports in different generations. If you think of someone who should be mentioned in such a tribute please feel free to let me know. I wish I could include them all.

Today’s feature is speed skater Apolo Ohno.

http://blog.changemyselfchangetheworld.com/?page_id=1446

Of all the things I have written about, the page I wrote about my Mom has received the most hits on this site by almost double. She would be happy to know how many people were interested to know more about her and that she will never be forgotten. Today would be her 60th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! That makes it the perfect day to go to Grandma’s for dinner after work. Grandma always thinks it must be a hassle for me to come over to her house and that I do it just to be nice and keep her company. But in reality she is very entertaining and a delicious cook. I always look forward going over there. Many happy memories at Grandma’s house. I just need to be careful not to get into her candy cabinet. She’s got M&Ms in there, I just know it.

Today is the service for Dave Inskeep.

Rest in peace, Dave.

Nancy Stutesman never climbed the Seven Summits or cured the blind. What she did do was work full time and attend school full time while raising two tiny girls…

 http://blog.changemyselfchangetheworld.com/?page_id=1288

Yesterday I found out someone I knew died suddenly this week. He was not a close friend, a mere acquaintance and colleague. I had friendly conversations with him from time to time but never knew him much outside work. Why then do I feel so devastated? I had friends lose a parent long before I did and I remember feeling sorry for them. But it was at a distance. I didn’t understand the impact the death of someone can have. When I suddenly lost my mother my eyes were opened. The loss of a life that is close to you burns your insides. And they say the pain of losing a child is exponentially worse. I cannot even imagine that level of suffering. The thought of people having to go through it is almost unbearable. It doesn’t seem fair that the world won’t slow down for a little while after losing something so valuable. It just keeps going like nothing happened. I will still go to the gym today. I will still work on my basement. I will still get together with my family. But I will be thinking of Dave and of those he left behind for a long long time. I am so deeply sorry for their loss. He seemed like a great and talented guy.