Today I surprised myself and I lived to tell the story

I heard this guy on the light rail talking about how he was new to Denver from Grand Junction and was lost so I helped him out and started a conversation about how I used to live in Grand Junction. Anyway he was sorta cute and seemed like a good guy so as I was getting off the light rail I gave him my number and told him if he was ever bored to give me a call. I have never "given a guy my number" and I am sure you know what I mean when I say this. I mean plenty of guys have my number but its not the same. Well a few minutes later he texted me but he basically just said if I ever need help with Spanish to let him know (that was one of the things we discussed). Guessing nothing will happen but it was fun surprising even myself!

A mothers prayer for her child By: Tina Fey

This was a segment from Tina Fey's amazing book Bossypants. Y'all should read it. 

“First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,”she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.”

-Tina Fey

Some times I don't post things on here because I know that if I say the words if I memorialize them on here for the world to see it will make them real. That scares the shit out of me. 
but I guess the truth is your dead, someone else is getting engaged, I am a f** nobody and the world spins madly on.

Back side of the Christmas letter

January 1, 2011 - - - Starting the New Year out in Style - - - the Small’s take on Mexico!

As the airline stewardess announces on the intercom, “I apologize to Chad Murdock in Seat 18E for forgetting to give him his orange juice to go with his orange spray tan” - - - we knew that this would be a memorable trip.  A picture is worth one thousand words so enjoy the lazy river, belly flops, sail boating, water slides, beach walks and so much laughter to create an encyclopedia full of words. This abridged version includes:

Day 1:  Arrival with margarita drink greetings from the resort staff and happy hour for the Small group of 25 at the Grand Luxxe Mayan Palace in Nuevo Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Day 2: Hang time down near the ocean, fun in the sun while the Aunts and Uncles get waited on in the shade.  After a relaxing day, we hit the town and went to Adauto’s for a beautiful beach side dinner. Besides the family laughter, the most memorable part of the evening was watching the colorful Mexican sunset over the beach (almost as memorable as the great margaritas).

Day 3: Quality time was spent at the Mayan Palace lazy river (and we were lazy) and swim up pool bar. We got to the pool bar just in time for happy hour - - - Shawn, Phillip and Greg entertain in a water fight!  Water was splashed, drinks were drunk and fun was had by all!  The dinner Beach Party food was delicious but the massive dance party topped off the night. Jen and Al were showing off their moves together on the dance floor.  Hey like they say “When in Mexico!” or is it Rome?

Day 4:   More adult entertainment - - - of golfing while the kids once again fooled around in the pools and entertained themselves by taking photos as they went down the water slide. That night, Phil and Jen went out for seafood with their friends Manny and Theresa. The rest of the adults went for Italian food on the resort and the “kids” went downtown to Pi Pi’s for a night out.  The “kids” had fun (maybe a little too much fun if there is such a thing) sipping on Blue Pi Pi’s, pretending it was Shawn’s birthday and shopping.

Day 5:  Most everyone’s favorite day was renting a private sailboat to go whale (we are not talking of family members), dolphin and manta ray watching. Shawn lost his cap on the way to the sailboat and almost left the best part of him in Mexico.  The family enjoyed the open bar all you can drink along with good food.  We were thoroughly entertained that Phillip was sick because he had partied too hard at Pi Pi’s the night before. We stopped off near a small island to eat lunch and do some snorkeling. Shawn, Chad and Jeff had fun seeing who could do the best dives (belly flops) off the boats.  Everyone wanted to wear their life jackets going home as Jen was the captain of the sailboat and could not guide the boat straight or walk straight.  After a day out in the sun we walked from the resort out to dinner at Prime 75.

Day 6:  On our only day with some clouds, Kenny and Evelyn hosted game day (mostly poker) while most of the Murdock’s went Zip Lining. Let’s just say on this day the drinking started early with the theme “it’s 12 o’clock somewhere”. Some also went golfing, got massages and most attended the Mexican Fiesta that night. The personal shot glasses were a nice touch and the younger family members held their booze better (they probably have more practice) than some others who required a two day recovery period.

Day 7:  More golf and fun in the sun.  In fear of sober time soon to come, we headed to Pi Pi’s (the “kids” second time) for dinner. The Nieto kids were being eco friendly and sat in the trunk of the taxi cab (read between the lines – mom is too cheap to pay for another taxi into town).  Delicious Mexican food and singing Sweet Caroline with the Mariachi Band at the top of our lungs left a lasting impression and we enjoyed some last minute souvenir shopping.

Finally, it was time to leave behind our shot glasses, partying laughter, pool side lounge chairs and swim up bars and get serious with an hour long family photo session (yes we know this would take a normal family five minutes).  God Bless we have these memories to last a lifetime - - - fun was had by all!

My families 2011 Christmas letter (for those who didn't receive our mailed copy)

Dear Friends and Family,

My family in Mexico!

 As this holiday season comes upon us, we are thankful for the memories this last year provided.  We wish your family a happy holiday season and hope to hear from you!  We started the year in style by invading Puerto Vallarta on January 1st with a small army (25) of Jen’s family.  This was the trip of a lifetime and we are especially fortunate to have shared these moments with mom, uncles, and aunts.  The hotel staff affectionately referred to mom as “gramma” – I think it may have something to do her gracious nature/tips.   Due to some foggy recollections, we wrote a timeline of the trip to go along with the family scrapbooking pictures, so you have a couple of extra minutes read the back page.

 In March the kids hosted a “non-surprise party” to our 25^th wedding anniversary – the highlight being the chance to visit with many old and new friends and seeing our young adult children plan the party.  In April, we spontaneously decided to accompany Ron (Phil’s brother), Amy and Chip (Amy’s brother) to celebrate our niece’s, Rebecca, 21^st birthday.  She gave us a personalized tour of many attractions in Edinburgh including castles, the school she attended, and pubs and pubs.  A special highlight for Phil and Ron was golfing at St. Andrews Jubilee course and finishing off the golf day with some 30-year old scotch.   Both justified the necessity to blunt their senses for the 2 ½ hour return trip to Edinburgh with Jennifer behind the wheel through winding roads and roundabouts (sometimes in the inappropriate lane).  We also visited London and toured more castles and more pubs.  Of course we only visited the pubs while waiting to tour St. Paul’s Cathedral only a few days before the wedding of Prince William.  Upon returning to Denver, Jeff (Jennifer’s twin) and Jen celebrated their 50^th birthdays!  They celebrated in style with golf followed by dinner and dancing at Jeff’s country club.  What a blast seeing all 100 or so friends and family dance like it was 1985 (or the age they were then)!   I am sure there were many of us hurting the next day - in more ways than one.

Being a year of special #’s – in July we were off to Washington D.C. where Phil received an award for 35 years of service to the government.  We enjoyed our time with Lisa and Phillip, a night of fun at the baseball game with the youthful Phil’s friends and Mike (Phil’s boss), Jamie and Mark Archuleta (sorry again about that whole being late thing and rain and getting a bit drenched).  Having done the tourist things in D.C., we were impulsive for a 2^nd time this year and decided to test our luck and see if we could get into the US Open.  Jen loves to tell of how Phil almost got thrown in jail for attempting to “scalp tickets”  (good thing it was father’s day and they had mercy) but how Jen managed to get $300+ worth of tickets/bus passes for $30.  Other fun moments included playing in a tournament that Lico (Phil’s brother) organized.   We still find ourselveles traveling to Nebraska and New Mexico to visit relatives and parents.

The younger Phil is in year 2 of law school at Georgetown.  He turned 25 in September and we are proud of his efforts.   Greg is still working part-time at BC and attending the University of Colorado at Denver and hopes to finish up in the spring with a degree in applied mathematics (we are very good at nodding while he explains his projects which most certainly are awesome).  Andrea transferred to Metro State College in Denver.  She is enjoying her classes in Secondary Education and English. Phil and Jen LOVE-LOVE-LOVE having both kids at home – they are NEVER grumpy and ALWAYS help out around the house. (Note: May be biased as it was written by Andrea).  As we send you holiday blessings our family is hosting Heri, a 26 year old teacher from Tanzania who is participating in a leadership program.  Heri says that the American’s are very generous and so very kind.  His gracious manner and infectious laugh have been delightful.  Wishing you the best in 2012!                                                                Phil, Jen and kids 

From my writing class:The old man and the tree

             Branches

                                                                            All tangled in different

                                                                Directions; like morning bed head after

                                                     The Bright lights, radiation the men in wearing white

            Your eyes sparkle and begin reflecting images of hope from a once young

               Man- the wrinkles indicating the years like rings on a red wood tree one marking each

                                                                   Year of its life

                                                              Its fall now and the leaves-

                                               Have begun to dissipate from the once

                           Sturdy branches that held everything together- for a moment

                    The chemo destroys the gray hairs that once defined you as wise, mature

        Skin has begun to  feel  rustic like the bark covered in sap surrounding and defending

                                                                   Chains  around

                   The  tree  base

                   And around you

                   Needles poked

                   And prodded in 

‎"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

In twenty-eleven...
I transferred schools.
I ended one job and started new one.
I traded friendships for miles.
I went to Mexico with 40 family members.
I lost sight of God & then I found him again.
I became close friends with several homeless people.
I cried a lot but I also smiled.
I got very confused.
I protested.
I wrote a lot of papers.
I interviewed people & met strangers.
I received the best grades of my college career.
I performed my first slam poem and later on performed one on camera.
I Tebowed in the street with 1,000 other college students.
I "adopted" a brother who lives in Tanzania.
I got diagnosed with an illness.
I saw my Father cry.
I watched lots of Psych & Community.
I laughed.
I read lots of books and short stories.
I spent about 90 minutes every weekday on the train into school.
I injured my knee.
I watched friends get married or engaged.
I changed my major.
I lost Noel.-- Dearest Noel.- ‎"Some people pass through our lives for a season to teach us a lesson that could never be learned if they stayed."
I prayed & prayed a lot.