Father of Six

THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED FOR THE FINAL TIME ON 1/5/2011.

1. Go to a Colorado Rapids soccer game – Did it. With Eric in the playoffs of a MLS Cup winning season. Against Columbus.
2. Go Camping – Nope. Planning to take Boomer this summer.
3. Go see Oklahoma play football against Iowa St. Oct. 20, 2007 at Ames, Ia. with dad We did this. Oklahoma won a close one, 17-7. We also saw a good High School game the night before in Carlisle,Ia.
4. See Oklahoma play football against Colorado in Boulder, Co. Nope, but Brittany and Danielle did, so you could say I did it vicariously through them.
5. Find an Oklahoma game to see with dad in 2008 and 2009. Nope. We saw Pittsburg State instead.
6. Catalogue my books in LibraryThing. Nope. I did it in “xLibris” on my iPhone instead.
7. Go to the Denver Art Museum 3 times. Nope.
8. Go to the Denver Botanical Gardens 3 times. Nope.
9. Go to the Colorado History Museum 3 times/ Nope.
10. Keep membership in the Wine of the Month Club from the Wine Company. I decided to let it lapse because according to my notes, only 2 or 3 wines each year were truly enjoyable. Haven’t come up with an alternative.
11. Exercise 30 minutes times 6 days per week for each week. I think I’m pretty close to being on track with this.
12. Swim one mile without stopping once a month beginning June 2007. Kind of lapsed on this, but I’m closer to actually completing the goal than you might think. I think I’ve only missed a couple of months.
13. Run a 5k race under 30 minutes in 2007. Didn’t do it, and will not do it in subsequent years either.
14. Do a MS150 Bike Ride. Completed this June 28-29, 2008.
15. Do a triathlon I did a solo triathlon the weekend before my 49th birthday. 500 yd swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run.
16. Go to the movies with Tami once a month. This is a lot harder than it seems. A failure, still.
17. Go for a walk with Boomer once a week. Same goes for this. We play, we ride bikes, we go outside. The act of “walking” once a week doesn’t occur.
18. Do the 26 Things Photographic Scavenger Hunt each month. I only did this once – and then the site was taken down.
19. Write a 55 Fiction. (If I like the results, revise this entry and do more.) Nope.
20. See a Wagner opera. Done – The Flying Dutchman.
21. See a Verdi opera. Done – Rigoletto.
22. See a Mozart opera. Nope.
23. See three Shakespeare Plays. Nope. Only saw Macbeth.
24. Visit the WWI Museum in Kansas City. Done – During Thanksgiving, 2007.
25. Visit 3 National Parks. Done – Valley Forge, Gettysburg, and Independence Hall/Liberty Bell.
26. Climb one Colorado 14er. Nope.
27. Drink 1-2 glasses of wine each day for good health. Nope – it seems that taking vitamins is easier.
28. Take Tami on a “beach” vacation. Nope.
29. Take a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean. Nope.
30. See the Bayeux Tapestry in the museum in Bayeux, Normandy, France. Nope.
31. See the Bayeux Tapestry copy at the Museum of Reading. Nope.
32. Compare the two. Nope.
33. Watch Amanda graduate high school in May 2009. She made it.
34. Take Amanda to New Orleans after she graduates. Had a great time, even went fishing in Hopedale with Tommy Reb.
35. Get a Spa/Jacuzzi at the house. Nope.
36. See the Gipsy Kings in concert – preferably at a venue with assigned seating. Yes, this past summer at Red Rocks with Tami, Eric, and Danielle.
37. Smoke a real Cuban Cigar. Sadly, Nope.
38. Drink a glass of Absinthe. Yes, with Eric and his cousin Ty.
39. Increase the contribution percentage of my 401k. Done.
40. Learn and manage my 401k investments. Done.
41. Get a 529 College Invest plan opened for Boomer. In effect, yes.
42. Play my guitar once a week for 30 minutes. Nope – another noble thought down the drain.
43. Get my entire music library into iTunes and synced onto my iPod. Well, does my MacBook count?
44. Begin the “What Every ___ Grader Should Know” series with Boomer when the time is right. The time is right now.
45. Learn the vocabulary words from “The Superior Person’s Book of Words” and blog about them. Nope.
46. Compile a personal top 50 albums list and blog about it. Nope. I have a new idea for a blog series though, related to music.
47. Compile a personal top 50 books list and blog about it. Nope.
48. Plant a deciduous tree in my yard. Yes, a Red Maple.
49. Take a fencing class. Done – Danielle and I did this together.
50. Go bowling with the entire family – Brad through Boomer. Nope.
51. Play miniature golf with the entire family – Brad through Boomer. Nope.
52. Read a biography of Napoleon. Nope.
53. Ease into a routine Family day/night – activity, dinner, something. Nope.
54. See a 6-man football game in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Nope.
55. See a Seiling, Ok. High School football game. Nope.
56. Subscribe to The Week magazine. Nope.
57. Make Credit Union balance $5000. Nope.
58. Purchase home audio system for front room. Yep.
59. Purchase new televisions for bedroom and TV room. Yes.
60. Rig my iPod to my car. Yes.
61. Rig my iPod to my Outdoor System. Yes.
62. Post the answers to these questions for 4 consecutive weeks. Nope.
What will I try to improve on next week?
What was I most proud of this week?
What was my biggest accomplishment this week?
What have I done to get closer to my life goals this week?
What was hard for me this week, and why?
What was my biggest waste of time this week?
What did I do this week that made me ashamed?
63. Try #62 a second time. Nope.
64. Play chess at least once a week for 3 months. Nope.
65. See the Liberty Bell. Done.
66. Read “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco. Yes.
67. Have flowers delivered to ______ for no reason (10). Nope.
68. Hike a 3-day portion of the Colorado Trail. Nope
69. Ride my bike 100 miles in one day. Yes. The weekend before my 48th birthday.
70. Research Degree Programs. Nope.
71. Enroll in Degree Program. Nope.
72. Take one class each term of this challenge. Nope.
73. Participate in Book Crossings. Yes, but the book I set free was never picked up and registered.
74. Locate and view celestial things in my telescope 6/21 through 9/23. Nope.
75. Watch Doctor Zhivago every Thanksgiving after football. Yep.
76. Participate in Post Crossings. Yes, and still active.
77. Build a book about something on Tami’s software. Nope.
78. Host a wine tasting. Nope.
79. Go to a wine tasting at an Art Gallery. Nope.
80. Go see the Roundhouse in Hugo, Colorado. Nope.
81. Go to the observatory at the University of Denver. Nope.
82. Host a Dinner and a Murder party. Nope.
83. See Dr. Bell three more times – 2007, 2008, 2009. Yes.
84. Call Dr. Leonard and ask him if he is interested in seeing me. Yes.
85. Visit the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. Nope.
86. Attend the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo. Nope.
87. Ride the Georgetown Loop Railroad. Nope.
88. Go to the Denver March Powwow in each calendar year. Nope, but took Boomer to it last year, 2010.
89. Spend the night at Indian Springs in Idaho Springs with Tami. Nope.
90. Buy a $100 bottle of wine and don’t drink it. Nope.
91. Make my house look like the “Griswold’s” for Christmas. Nope.
92. Re-Read Beowulf accompanied by “Beowulf Aloud”. Nope.
93. Learn how to rip DVDs and load them onto my iPod. Nope.
94. Go to a DU hockey game against CC. Yes, this past fall.
95. Write a letter to my Grandma. Yep.
96. Yoga once a week. Nope.
97. Retire one debt. Yep.
98. Take the train from Denver to Glenwood and Back. Nope.
99. Visit the Sand Dunes. Nope.
100. Read “The Tropic of Cancer” by Henry Miller. Nope.
101. See Mary Flower perform at the Littleton Town Hall Arts Center (10/25-26). Nope.