pow-pow.

The past week has been a whirlwind. Lots of travel, but a lot of fun. Last weekend I met the family in Denver for a quick ski trip (part II - yay!). It. Was. Awesome. We visited Copper Mountain, and Mom found a wonderful spot very close to the slopes. Laura and Jon met us for dinner Friday evening, and Sara joined soon after. Skiing three days was a dream, and thankfully we woke up to four to six inches of snow each morning - our skis were aching to float through the fluffy stuff.

Our legs, however, almost weren't up to the task. The altitude in addition to not being in shape quite as much as we'd planned had our muscles and lungs begging for oxygen. The first two days we hit the blues and blacks on the east side and headed there the third day as well. But the first run down, instead of feeling rejuvenated, we were pooped. So we changed gears and pointed our skis down the greens. That's when life became oh so sweet. We found a huge terrain park with beautiful rolling hills - you could go as big or small as you wanted. I get thrills from feeling my skis leave the ground, even if only for moments, so each go 'round I'd push off a little stronger and get a little braver. Ahh, exhilarating. I'm a sucker for an adrenaline rush. Although we had a wonderful time, I definitely missed having my brother along to challenge me to races and throw snowballs while I wasn't looking. He was taking care of Amber, who was recently diagnosed with Crohn's disease (thank you for all your prayers!) and unable to make it. We're grateful Amber is on the road to recovery - she's had a great caretaker during her time in the hospital.

The mini-vacation was great though - we skiied our hearts out during the day, Mom had warm soup waiting for us at lunch, and we'd make it out for a few more runs until the lifts closed. The evenings were relaxing - cards and united cheering around the television during Olympic competitions. Life is good.

In other exciting news, the Red Team was declared CCS Champs in the Dodgeball Tournament that wrapped up yesterday. Unfortunately the win was surrounded with controversy as one of the final play's calls (or lack thereof) was not supported by the sideline onlookers. And, without going on a crazy rant, the calls the entire game were less than stellar, and the first few were definitely in favor of the Teal Team. Regardless, dodgeball is a difficult sport to call, and the game ended as it did (I was still on the court so I have no idea what happened). We went undefeated the entire season, and I loved playing on the team. Go Red!

I'll fill you in on the other recent happenings soon - quick run down:

- home from Denver Monday evening
- back to Denver Wednesday for work appointment
- on to Phoenix for HR meeting Thursday and home again late Friday night
- tomorrow off to StL for a market visit
- and then... I shall sleep, and give my suitcase a break

Nighty-night.

poker face...

Happy Belated Valentine's Day. Hope you were able to celebrate. The neighbor boys invited us (after we asked) over for wine and cheese, and ended up surprising us with a meal. Many others joined later in the evening, and it turned into an unexpectedly wonderful gathering of people. Upon my return home, and after checking voicemail, it was hinted to check the mailbox before the mailman arrived. And, hands down, best surprise Valentine Card ever. Below are photos of it, and a reenactment of the pink shoe/gold sock combination I busted out last night. I couldn't bear actually putting on the ensemble again, so it's a still-life shot instead.

Also, just a friendly reminder Ash Wednesday is tomorrow. What are you sacrificing - what are your worldly attachments? Mine - The Office, The Bachelor (lame sauce, I know), lots of coffee, and occasional Facebook time-wasting nonsense. How are you growing in relationship with Jesus? Me - I need steady prayer time and Adoration time, and I need it badly. What are you doing to reach out to others in need? Maybe writing letters to those in prison, in the military, or to someone you've lost touch with; perhaps preparing meals for the hungry or loving the lonely. Maybe it's finding the courage to swallow a pride pill and offer an apology to someone you've hurt, to an old wound that won't heal. What is on your heart? When we take time to listen, God is usually very clear in what he is asking of us. Let us not be afraid to hurt a little this Lent - to offer up ourselves in the hope of uniting ourselves to the Cross.

st. anthony...

Winter is hard on me. Short days. Cold, bitter air. Just... brrr. So to pass the time and keep me busy I participate in a few indoor activities - dodgeball, spin class, and... volleyball. In fact, a few of us have been playing volleyball since June. It started with the game in the sand, and after three rounds of that it switched to court. Our 6pm games can be really difficult to make on time, so I typically pack my gear in order to not miss the game entirely.

Well, the last two games this has caused some problems. My packing (or my brain)hasn't been as stellar as usual. Forgot the sports bra last game. NOT a good idea. Totally awkward. Definitely not my top performance. And tonight, I forgot my socks. So I got to wear my lovely gold boot socks instead.

With my new hot pink Nikes. Wowzers. That, was hard on the eyes.

That's as exciting as my life gets. Check out rachellekuntzphotography.blogspot.com if you have some time to kill. Just uploaded engagement photos from a shoot in Denver. Enjoy!

screen lift...

Hi! My friends, I think the days of dark blue dots are over. After almost five (!) years of blogging bliss, it's time for a change, a breath of fresh air. So I've been hunting blog templates for a couple of days (unfortunately I'm not savvy enough to design my own) and finally landed on one that suits my taste and style. Simple, clean, great fonts, etc. Now I just need to figure out how to move that flower thing (which I'm not exactly a huge fan of... something similar maybe, but not that) behind my blog title, or remove it altogether, or replace it with another grayish thing I like better.

Let me know what you think - is this change good or bad? And if you're indifferent, well... carry on.

Have a happy, snowy and warm Sunday. Oh - and Happy Valentine's Day! (I almost forgot until editing the blog's post options.)