Vail, part 2

Still obsessing over Vail, I picked up this vintage postcard up there and had to share it with you.


Does this not make you want to hit the slopes TODAY? and I don't even ski. but that's about to change.

Vail!

Spontaneous Dad popped a trip on us this weekend to celebrate Mom's birthday: Vail! It's hard to describe Vail. It's that good.

For example: Vail Village. European charm, surrounded by mountains, shops, art, restaurants, internationals!


We arrived at lunchtime and checked into our hotel. If I could, I'd drop a down payment on this place. It was a cozy, quirky townhouse with spectacular views.

we tried to figure out what the pose
over the fireplace was exactly.

I shared this one with emiline.

making sure we don't mess around

the reasons for our celebration!

Our amazing meals included a turkey/brie/cranberry sandwich, sauerbraten, stuffed french toast, alaskan halibut. My favorite restaurant was a little place called Up the Creek.

This chap was fly-fishing right next to the restaurant trying to
lure customers over to his guided fishing tours. Perhaps next time...

We rode the gondola to the top of the mountain and biked down...on the black diamond.

On second thought, maybe it was the bunny slope. Em and I wore jeans and sandals. Why didn't the bike shop guy take us seriously? He even made a snide remark about me losing a toe. Couldn't wait to show him all ten toes still intact after we finished.

the view from the top

short pit stop

Did I fail to mention that it rained most of the way down?
Here's what we looked like from behind
(jonny gave me permission to post):

it rained for the rest of the day, so after we were warm and dry, we had to get back on the bikes and ride them across town to return them. dad said something about building character...?

Sunday introduced the summer's first Farmers and Arts Market in Vail Village. We meandered for hours, sampling and admiring.

papi and me on father's day:

and i must include this last photo i took today.

Psalm 8 was our theme chapter for the weekend.

"When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which You have set in place,
what is man that You are mindful of him,
and the son of man that You care for him?
...O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is Your name in all the earth!"

I hope this gave you a mini vacation, and if you ever have the chance to go to Vail, you must!

Hot Tubs and Elevators

Can anyone tell me why hot tubs and elevators are so awkward? Why must we stare at each other in silence?

I'm in the tub tonight with four other people I don't know. Tried to start a conversation, to no avail. Do I look like I have leprosy? I'll give them a break. They were young.

Here are the rules of etiquette in these situations:

1. Avoid eye contact at all cost.
2. If you're talking and someone enters, stop and look down.
3. If a joke is made to lighten the mood, look confused, and then look away.
4. When someone enters, leave with your whole group.

So there I was, abandoned with the jets, laughing quietly to myself until Jonny came out to join me.

Can anyone else relate?

Entrepreneurs

“Entrepreneurs are not the ones with the best ideas, they’re just the ones willing to jump off a cliff without the answers.”

Thank you, Andrew Weinreich, for your genius.

Biz workshop: the pain, the agony, the glory

Last week. Oy.

An intense few days made my mind spin and my tongue twist. Lots of circles. An all-day business workshop I attended on Friday was the final kicker. The morning was all about inspirational, motivational, I-can-do-this talk. Then there was the afternoon, the part where you have to apply what you learned. It was broken down into 5-10 year goals, 3 year goals, 1 year goals, and 90-day goals. I quit.

JUST KIDDING! I plowed through. To get us started, there were lots of questions to which you could answer Yes or No.

"Do you have this in place?" No.
"Do you have that in place?" No.
"Have you thought of this?" No.
"Do you have an exit strategy?" WHAT?!? No.
"Are all your procedures documented?" No.
"Have you automated tasks?" No.
"Do you know your average margin percentage rate?" No.
"Do you hate this?" Yes.
"Do you love this?" Yes. In a twisted way.

I peeked over my neighbor's shoulder a few times and before I knew it, I had him by the shirt collar demanding he tell me how he could possibly answer "yes" to so many questions. Turns out he's been working with this business coach for months. Okay. I answered yes to a few questions. And threw a party. Confession time: I left the workshop on top of the world, feeling motivated and ready to go. As the weekend went on, my bubble popped and I was wondering whether I was the biggest loser (not the TV show) parading A Big Fat "L" right in the middle of my forehead. I was asking myself how I could possibly have answered "no" to so many questions. That was Saturday.

Today I'm hopeful. The truth is, at least now I know what I need to do, and I know how to do it. It is an uphill road, but anything worthwhile is, right?

Michael J. Fox said, "I'm careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can achieve; perfection is God's business."

C.S. Lewis said this: "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at its testing point." I LOVE THAT.

May we be courageous people, so that even in the face of discouragement, we see the hope and the promise and continue to press forward.


xo.

The Washington Lovebirds

A quick debrief on the trip: the other Forbes ladies and I arrived in Seattle, greeted by a thunderstorm party. Once we settled down at the apartment for some shuteye, it wasn't more than an hour into my dreams that a locomotive plowed through the bedroom...or was it 50 yards outside? I couldn't tell. Brother Matthew's apartment literally sits 50 yards from the train tracks, and yes, of course, three trains pass by every night. And I think they lose their jobs if they don't honk four times. I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME. But thanks. I'll let the neighbors know.

Compared to Colorado, Washington is a tropical rainforest. And seafood at every corner. Everyone had the audacity to deny me just one sushi meal. Just one. Is that asking much?

After meeting Stacey's family I think the wedding needs to happen tomorrow. They're awesome, and we need to make this official asap. They don't know this yet, but I'm adopting her brother and sister as my own kin.

All in all, I can't wait to see them again in two months. Lovely people up there!

Alicia Bock

Off to the Northwest for the weekend!

In the meantime, check out Alicia Bock's photography.

yes.
please.






Have a lovely weekend!

Old Photos

This entire evening has been dedicated to scanning old photos for brother's wedding in August. I may have gotten (gotten?) carried away a bit... below are some faves. Enjoy!