Headed to Alice 105.9’s 16th birthday party for a concert featuring Train! It is going to be GREAT!

Liz is visiting from Illinois and we went straight to the dojo in Arvada so she could train with Sensei Tarrant.  The workout was comprised of basics, which evolved into combinations (both punching and kicking) and then moved to partner drills.  The class was wrapped up with kata (Gankaku, Sochin, and a few random Heians).  The combinations were grueling, mostly due to sheer number… we started with a lunge punch, then two punches (jab followed by lunge punch), and finally three punches (jab, reverse punch as you moved, and finished with a reverse punch).  Then the same with front kicks, and we did each combination about 20 times on each side.  Ouch.

Tomorrow night we’re heading to Denver to train with Sensei Yaguchi, providing we don’t get snowed in.  More soon!

My cousin Matthew and I went to the Buckhorn Exchange on Saturday night, and while waiting for our table were browsing the memorabilia and waiting around in the lounge.  While we were meandering, I made note of several interesting characters, a few of which were dressed in full-on Westernwear including hats, leather vests, and boots.  Matthew and I got separated for awhile, and when we met back up he was laughing.  I asked him why, and he told me that he had a conversation during which he was dispensed some cowboy wisdom.

He told me it went something like this.  He was looking at the taxidermy and spied what he thought was an axis deer.  He mused to himself “Wow, it really is an axis deer.  I’ll be damned.”  After which he heard a gravelly voice reply “Naw you won’t.”  It was the cowboy, dressed in his hat and leather vest… complete with big Western mustache.  My cousin replied back “well, we’ll see” and the cowboy replied “only time will tell” in his deep baritone, then walked off toward the bar.

Imagine our surprise, when shortly thereafter the very same cowboy took the stage at the end of the lounge area and began to serenade the crowd with authentic Western songs and Cowboy Sing-A-Longs.  That man is Bill Barwick and he was 2005’s Western Music Male Vocalist of the Year, and after hearing him perform I understand why.  His sound was very authentic, his demeanor is approachable and fun, and his voice is just cool.  You can hear some samples of his music here, and he does voiceover work as well.

Getting to listen to him and another entertainer Roz Brown was a real treat, and it really made the night feel more like an authentic Wild West excursion for my cousin.

Today was a pretty lazy Sunday.  We went to church, had lunch out, then came home and made a oreo cream pie.  We had Paul and Kara over so we could give them their Christmas presents, and we had a nice relaxing conversation, enjoyed the dessert, then exchanged gifts.  It was fun to get into the giving mood this season and start out the holidays with some of our closest friends.

I have whiled away the rest of the evening helping my cousin by working on his website.  I’m not looking forward to this week at work, so I’m making up for it by doing a project with John that I actually don’t despise. :)  More soon!

Tasha, Matthew and I ventured out to Morrison, CO today so he could experience Red Rocks firsthand.  He and I made our way down the steps to the stage, and we finally got to stand on the stage together.  It was really cool to think of all the bands and performers that have stood where I did, made even better by getting to experience this with my cousin.

Now we’re back at the house, taking a quick break before heading over to Louisville so I can take him to the Waterloo and then to Wildwood Guitars.  We have reservations for the Buckhorn Exchange tonight at 8:45 pm, which will round out a truly great day of Colorado sightseeing.  So fun!

Today was a long day at the office, punctuated by some pretty interesting priority shifts.  This led to a slightly less productive day, but we still succeeded in getting some work done.  I’m glad about that, because it lets me relax a little more readily this evening.  I am having some friends come over for Deadlands tonight, and my cousin is in town from Illinois to attend a concert and stay with us for the weekend.  Aside from my parents, he is the first of my actual family to make it out here to visit and I’m excited to have him.

I have planned to take him to some of my favorite haunts tomorrow night, and then Saturday will be filled with good food and guitar browsing at Wildwood Guitars in Louisville.  It’s going to be a great weekend, and a nice segue way to enjoying relaxing time with my family next weekend!  More soon!

Tonight was the Christmas party for our realtor, Dene.  She invited us to a local Christmas tree farm where we enjoyed good company, hot chocolate, and got to take home a wreath.  It just so happened that Paul and Kara were at the same event, so we topped off the night with a trip to Oskar Blues Brewery.

I am happy to report that my cousin Matthew is going to visit over the next few days, both Tasha and I are happy to have him!  More soon!

Tonight Tasha and I are going to see the King Tut exhibit with Paul and Kara.  It’s going to be really interesting to see things that I’ve only read about in history books… I went through a King Tut phase when I was younger thanks to Time-Life books and I’m pretty excited about seeing it.  We’re also going to get dinner downtown, and immediately after that Paul and I are going to a going-away party for our friend Jason.

It’s been an action-packed day so far, sounds like it’s going to be an action packed night as well!

Tonight was another night of working hard at combinations.

The combinations were:

1. Jab
2. Reverse Punch
3. Step forward and punch with the same hand
4. Reverse Punch

Most of the night was taken up with replacing technique #3 with different things: a backfist strike, a ridgehand strike, and a spinning backfist strike.  We did each of these at 20 times apiece and then moved on to the same combination, but with front and rear leg front kicks instead of the punching techniques.  We replaced the same-leg kick with roundhouse kick, side thrust kick, and finally spinning back kick.

We tried these combinations with partners next, followed by one time through our individual kata.  By the time we got to this my legs were shot, and Sensei Tarrant wanted to throw a Jion at the end for good measure.  My legs were actually having trouble keeping stance during this last kata, so that means it was a good class!

More soon!

It was a pretty normal Sunday today… church, then lunch at Denny’s, and then we came back home and I cleaned up the yard a bit.  We were supposed to get some snow tonight, but it never materialized due to unpredictable mountain conditions.  We had originally planned to go to the new Harry Potter movie but I decided during lunch that I would rather have a quiet day around the house instead.

Tasha and I spent the afternoon decking the halls instead!  Now our temporary Christmas tree is up as is all of our standard holiday fare.  After dinner, we finally got around to watching the Serenity movie.  It’s the motion picture conclusion to the Firefly television series which was over far too soon.  It was really good, but there were certain developments that I wish hadn’t taken place.  I am probably the last nerd on Earth that hadn’t seen these movies, but I don’t want to get all spoilery here just in case I’m not alone.

The rest of the evening has been spent trying to shake off that dreaded “work tomorrow” feeling.  Hopefully it’s not going to be too bad!