Snow, Travel, Christmas and Stuff

Well, it has certainly been an eventful week. Last Tuesday Britni landed here in Denver. Wednesday I woke up an the snow was coming down so hard I couldn't see the building on the other side of the road. I went and picked Britni up for breakfast and while we were on our way back to my apartment Harold called to tell me to close the office for the day. It was snowing so hard that we actually closed!!! Britni and I decided to go to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast and then run some errands. We got to our second to last stop, Home Depot, and when we went to leave the car wouldn't start. It was snowing like mad and it was butt cold. I narrowed it down to the starter itself and decided to have the car towed to the mechanics. I then called a bunch of car rental places and finally found what was probably one of the last SUV's in the state. By this time Denver International Airport (DIA) was closed for the first time in history. The only road going to it was so dangerous to drive on they closed it. That's awesome.

Our company Christmas party was scheduled for Wednesday night as well. The food was already cooked and ready to go so we couldn't reschedule it. We usually have a bus come around and pick everybody up at their homes but they couldn't even get out of their garage with the bus. We decided to get as many people out there as we could so we who had four wheel drive picked up as many of those who didn't as we could and headed out to Harold and Judy's. It was a great drive. It was snowing so hard sometimes we couldn't see the car fifty feet in front of us. I love it!

It was a great party. There was a ton of good food. The snow was falling all night long. We talked a laughed a lot. Harold and Judy gave us our "company presents" for lack of a better term. I got a great Spyder ski parka with the company logo on it, a big bonus, and a huge, completely unexpected raise!!! Oh, and I got the employee of the year award.

After the party the snow was so deep that every vehicle that we brought out to Harold and Judy's got stuck on the road in front of their house. We dug each one out and were on our merry way by 2:15am.

On Thursday we woke up to more snow falling. DIA was announcing that it would be closed until noon on Friday. Britni called and got a refund on her flight and we made plans to drive back to Des Moines on Friday. The highway that we needed to take was opened back up on Thursday around 10:00pm.

We left at 10:00am on Friday and made it back to Des Moines at 10:15pm. It was a great drive. We took the 4Runner that we had rented because my car hadn't even been looked at due to the storm. They had to dig it out before they could even roll it in to the shop.

On Saturday I took Britni to work and ran errands all day. Sunday was Christmas Eve and I decided to fix her mom's downstairs toilet. We went to Home Depot and got the parts I needed and I rebuilt the insides of the tank. When I was done I went upstairs to wash my hands in the kitchen and when I went to turn on the water, the faucet felt like it was going to fall off in my hand. I decided to fix it. I started to take it apart and it began to fall to pieces in my hands. At that point I figured out what I was going to get her mom for Christmas. I got her a new faucet. I got a Pegasus all brass faucet with ceramic bushings and washers. This thing is great. I think we can safely say that the house will fall down before this thing dies. She loved it.

On Sunday night we went to Christmas Eve service and then over to Dan and Ashley's (Britni's sister and brother in law). We had desert and then headed home. When we got home Britni and I made the dough for the cinnamon rolls and then went to bed. Monday morning we opened gifts and ate all of the food that was family tradition. I left to come back to Denver around 3:45 and arrived at my apartment around 12:15. I went straight to bed and fell asleep.

I woke up on Tuesday morning and wasn't feeling so well but I went to work anyway being the die hard that I am. We moved the office furniture around all day so that it was done before the office staff came back to work today. My car was completed by the time I left work so Jesse was my ride after I dropped off the 4Runner at Enterprise.

Car repairs are expensive dang it. The starter cost $400.00 and the CV axles cost $500.00. Ouch!! The car is doing much better now though.

I got home around 7:00 and took a hot bath and went to bed. I haven't slept that hard in a really long time. I woke up this morning feeling great and I went to work to get a lot of stuff done. I did get a lot of stuff done actually but the list is growing faster than I can check things off.

All that said, it is supposed to snow a bunch more tomorrow and Friday. Britni is supposed to land here in Denver at 10:30 on Saturday morning. I hope they don't close the airport again.

I think that's all for now. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you are planning a great New Year.

_E_