Happy New Year From the W8s!

Surprise! Let’s call this a New Year’s letter and practice non-judgment, ok? Haha!  Looking at our 2010 in hindsight is comically full of upheaval but filled with good times and lots of memories.  Now that we’ve completely obliterated the “W” section of your address book, the biggest news of 2010 was of course our move. 

Although we both loved Madison, Wisconsin and our friends and family nearby, us gypsies felt a bit stale being there for 4 years, and so Sarah began looking for positions still with Northwestern Mutual anywhere in the country.  In March we were lucky enough to receive 3 job offers and we chose the one in Denver just for the adventure of it.  And off we went!  Sarah moved out April 13^th and stayed with some friends in the suburbs for a month.  Doug continued to work in Madison until something panned out here in CO for him.  Doug & his brother Matt drove the moving truck out May 15^th & moved us into our new downtown apartment, then Doug flew back to WI.  Sarah & Frank were watching a movie one Saturday night in late June, 3 days before Doug was supposed to arrive, when there was banging on the interior apartment door.  A barking pup & a scrambling-to-get-decent Sarah ran to the door, and it was Doug!  He had driven cross country secretly and in all our phone conversations that day hadn’t let on that he was on the road.  Our family was together again!

Sarah works as an Associate Financial Representative for a team of two financial representatives in downtown Denver, one being a Wealth Management Advisor & the other being a Business & Estate Planning Specialist.  She loves working with the two other associates on the team and is pushed to grow by the constant challenge to squeeze 15 hours of work a day into a 8-9 hour day.  Sarah specializes in the underwriting/case prep side of things, while one colleague handles the investment/advisory side of things, and another handles the marketing / planning side of things.  Doug works for the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank as an Ocular Tissue Recovery Technician and speaks with the next of kin, recovers corneas from recently deceased donors for use in cornea transplant surgeries, and recovers whole globes for use in ophthalmology research.  He enjoys the constant change of scenery in flirting with the nurses at all of Denver’s hospitals.   They do all his medical chart copying and most of his paper work for him in exchange for chocolate-covered pretzels and a handsome smile.  100% Dougyness.

Frank….well, Frank the dog doesn’t do much, who are we kidding.  But he does a fantastic job of loving us and filling our lives with laughter.

This year we’ve kept active and accomplished some more milestones.  Doug’s at his healthiest ever and is a beast of a cyclist in the summer.  Sarah began the year running a lot but mid-year replaced that for the most part with yoga.  We did a P90X fitness program January through March with a big group of friends & family members.  Sarah ran a 50k race in January at a state park in Wisconsin and a Sprint Triathlon in June at a reservoir in Boulder, Colorado.  Doug rode the Trek 100 Century bike ride again with his dad in Wisconsin in June.  Together we rode the Tour de St. George Century bike ride with friends & family in Utah in October- Sarah’s first Century ride- Doug was a patient and amazing coach the whole way.

Sarah did a 200-hour yoga teacher training program this summer and has had a busy autumn building up and teaching yoga around Denver on the weekends.  She is now up to teaching 5 regularly scheduled yoga classes a weekend and subbing as needed.  It has been such an amazing journey.  Every class leaves her happier than the last, more fulfilled and excited about life.  If you’re ever in Denver, you’ll have to come see the smiley, redheaded, hot yogini!   

We made fast friends with some other new couples in our very “eclectic” J Capitol Hill ward in church here, as well as just people we’ve met along the way in our daily endeavors.  Together we love checking out new restaurants and new fun Denver-must-do’s.  On Memorial Day, Sarah swam and had a cookout with friends in Castle Rock.  We had a cookout with friends at our place for the 4^th of July, and celebrated our 7^th wedding anniversary in August.  Living 30 minutes away from the mountains has been so wonderful; we’ve stolen away on quite a few day hikes and attempted our first 14-er.  Labor Day weekend we spent camping at the Flat Tops with a friend’s family, hiking & mountain biking.  We enjoyed a weekend in Breckenridge in October.  This summer we sold the Porsche & this fall we traded in the Land Rover for a new 2011 Subaru; officially Coloradans now.  Being a one-car family for the first time in our marriage hasn’t been too bad as Sarah enjoys the 1 mile bike ride to work (and fingers-crossed, the city winter’s been really mild so far).  Sarah’s grandfather passed away and despite the sadness, we enjoyed gathering with almost all of Sarah’s immediate & extended family in Kansas the first weekend in November- the silver lining of life’s hard moments.  For Doug’s birthday in November we did away with the white gold and got wedding ring tattoos, black Hebrew lettering of our wedding date.   With how active we both are (and considering Doug was on his 5^th wedding ring), Doug had wanted this for a long time and we absolutely love them.  Although we’ve had 2 full years now of infertility frustrations, we have been very healthy and extremely blessed, not waiting passively by for life to just happen to us, but instead creating our own adventures and happiness.   We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas this year just lying low and maximizing time together.   We are very excited for a January 2^nd-7^th cruise with Doug’s family.  We’re overdue for some sandy beaches & time with the W8s!

All in all, 2010 found us pretty blessed and happy, uncovering life’s adventures in a new place and growing together!  We would love for any of you to come visit us!  Please make Denver a stop on your 2011 Summer Tour. 

With Lots of Love & Continued Desecration of your “W” Section,

Doug & Sarah Weight

P.S. Keep an eye out in early 2011 for the launch of Prana Fitness (Sarah’s new non-profit) and the location of the new fitness blog (formerly the Ten in Six Challenge): www.pranafitness.org.   Jump on the 2^nd annual W8 Family & Friends P90X journey January 10^th-March 13^th 2011 at the support blog: www.w8p90x.blogspot.com (it’s private, so email us & we’ll grant you access). 

Meet Goldie

Also last Saturday, we picked up my new car! 2005 Land Rover LR3. We had actually gone through all the looking, wheelin' & dealin' a week before, but we picked it up Saturday and dropped of my silver Audi as a trade in. Love it, Love it, LOVE IT!!!! I am giddy when I ride in it, and so are Doug & Frank. Today Doug said "I'm thinking about selling my car and getting one of these." He took me to work this morning so that he could have the LR3 all day. So funny! It seats 7, has suspension that raises and lowers, all these really cool Land Rover off-roading features, navigation, a talking british man we call Alfred lives in the dashboard, all leather, all the seats fold flat for camping & hauling our bikes around, and it's really plush! (And free carwashes for life from the dealership- will be taking advantage of that EVERY saturday- as you can tell she already needs a bath). I thought this would be a really great post to follow our Institute lesson last Tuesday about living frugally and always buying old junker cars just one per family and run them into the ground- WhAtEv! :) jk....kind of.... Welcome to the family, Goldie!

And as a completely unrelated side note, Doug recently got a job promotion and is now the team lead at MTF! Go Dougy! I'm so proud of you!

Also unrelated, on Monday I passed my 4th CLU exam! So I'm halfway done to my CLU designation. Trying to decide which course to take next: Income Taxation or Estate Planning???

Yay for Cars

Doug's car needed an alternator replaced about a month ago, no problem, bought a new one, it was in the middle of finals week so we had Meineke install it. A block away from the shop, the alternator failed. Meineke tested it, yup, bad alternator. The auto parts store said refunds & exchanges are handled w/ the manufacturer's home office. We filed the claim, should get the refund in 4-6 weeks. Meanwhile, we paid out of pocket for a 2nd alternator, paid out of pocket for another installation/labor. 3 weeks later the 2nd new alternator fails. Meineke tested it, yup, bad alternator, nothing w/ Doug's car at all. Another claim in the works, but still haven't seen the $ from the first claim. We're buying a different brand alternator from a different company that's double the price of the other alternator, but can't until the claim $ comes in for the first two bad alternators and refunded $ for the first two Meineke installs. That's a LOT of money. So Doug's car is sitting. Doug's been driving my car and I've been driving our extra car- the VW Beetle (which has been for sale since December unsuccessfully).



Last night Doug was at work and closed the trunk of my car parked outside and the rear window shattered randomly. B/c it's heated, it's over a grand to replace- so here we come insurance claim. So my car is sitting in our parking garage at home.



And we're sharing the Beetle now. Ugh. Have I mentioned I don't like cars right now? When it rains, it pours! But I do kinda like it in a giddy-school-girl-and-her-boyfriend kind of way when Doug drops me off at work with a kiss...

Positive Thinking

Never underestimate the power of positive thinking, right? Today's weather forecast is a high of negative 7 degrees, windchills ranging from negative 30 to negative 40 degrees. That pic is my car thermometer this morning. Here are the 10 reasons I love this beautiful weather:

1. The sky is so clear outside that the sunshine seems brighter than usual and the air is crisper and cleaner
2. Frozen snot and boogers are kind of a cool sensation :)
3. Frank is really quick with doing "the do" outside and I don't have to stand around waiting very long
4. Comfort foods taste better during cold weather than during warm weather, like hot cocoa, warm bread from the oven, chili, mac & cheese, pasta, ok- anything with melted cheese, etc.
5. I get great parking spots at stores- right up front- and no crowds inside
6. I don't have that guilty feeling for skipping my morning jog outside
7. Frank snuggles underneath the down comforter at our feet during the night instead of right between our faces at the head of the bed
8. I can blame my being late- and I'm ALWAYS late to everything- on the slippery roads b/c it's too cold for the salt to work
9. It's invigorating- keeps me alert and wide-eyed when I'm walking into the office in the morning
10. Seeing Doug in that hat with the ear flaps always makes me chuckle

Sarah's New Bug

So about a month ago we sold Doug's VW GTI and have been looking for a good VW Beetle for Sarah to drive in its stead (Doug's going to drive the A6 now). Last night we picked up my new BEAUT from the Dells! Lo
ve it! It's so cute! Yay! Doug just registered it this morning and put the old VW GTI plates on it. :) We got a good deal on the car and celebrated afterwards at Del Bar for dinner. Mmm...

Frank's Firsts

Frank is rapidly approaching his first birthday June 27th, and I just thought I'd include some firsts for him:

His first time being able to jump up on our lawn chair on our patio- granted Doug had to coax him to do it by leaving a toy stranded up there to rescue. (6/4/2008)

His first time riding in the passenger seat of my car, the entire almost 2 hours!- and again, Doug had to coax him to do it when I was slowly pulling out the parking lot, "Stay, stay, stay..." (5/24/2008)

And oh yeah, as a random side note, my calling a week and a half ago was to be the new Young Women's president for our ward! Gulp!

Enemies!

Oh my gosh, so this old guy in our neighborhood has it out for me!!!! He is in his 50's or 60's, this crotchety guy who rides this huge old bike (not a cool bike, but like this burgundy highway-ride bike that's so big it has its own zip code) with NO helmet, mind you, and he's yelled at me twice now! The first time was a few months ago because he felt I was too close behind him when he slammed on his brakes to make a left hand turn, and then just last Friday when I was speeding in the lane next to him SUPPOSEDLY but I wasn't speeding much, maybe like 5 over! Whenever he sees me on High Point Rd he just yells! At the top of his lungs, he screams at me. And I'm not even going fast! Doug has a vendetta out for him....

More to continue...

Dum, dum, DUUUUUMMMM!

New Plates

The new license plates for Sarah's car came!

Blizzard

Last week Wednesday 2/6 we got blasted with 14" of snow in a 12 hour period. Here are some pictures of our buried cars and itsy bitsy frozen Frankers. It took us about an hour or two to dig out the cars....and Frank was very worn out from watching all the hard work from the window! (Oh yeah, in December, we sold Doug's Audi S4 and then over the next month got 2 different cars in its place- Sarah got an Audi A6 and Doug got a Volkswagon GTIvr6. Then there's always been Mater- our Ford Ranger truck that currently doesn't run----hey hey, it's Wisconsin at its finest! If only we had a front yard to put it in and let the weeds grow to hide it....It's Doug's GTI that's buried! Darn snow! And it's snowing again today! :) )



Volkswagon on right, Mater on left

Hard workin' Doug! We waited until later that night when it was done snowing to dig out for the next morning. Doug's classes and work were cancelled the day of the storm.

All Dug Out! We threw a bunch of snow in the back of Mater so we didn't have to walk far with our heavy laden shovel...

All tuckered out!