David, Joelle and Johnnie Besnette

Once upon a time, there was a nonconforming sparrow who decided not to fly south for the winter.

However, soon the weather turned so cold that he reluctantly decided to fly south. In a short time ice began to form on his wings and he fell to earth in a barnyard, almost frozen. A cow passed by and crapped on the little sparrow. The sparrow thought it was the end. But, the manure warmed him and defrosted his wings. Warm and happy, able to breathe, he started to sing. Just then a large cat came by and hearing the chirping investigated the sounds.

The cat cleared away the manure, found the chirping bird and promptly ate him.

The moral of the story:

1) Everyone who shits on you is not necessarily your enemy

2) Everyone who gets you out of the shit is not necessarily your friend.

3) And, if you’re warm and happy in a pile of shit, keep your mouth shut.

Carrie has been selected as our local 9news leader of the year. Congratulations! The news release stated: “In her nomination of Besnette for the award, Caz Matthews, president of WellPoint Inc., said, “Carrie acts with a skilled balance of grace and force, never alienating, always respectful, and with a polite and convicted strength that just gets results.”

They should have also mentioned that she is the best auntie in the world to her nephew Johnnie

Anyways, we are all very proud of you Carrie!

Love,

Your Family

Valentine’s day sneaks up on you from out of nowhere. I still feel like I am cleaning up Holiday decorations and trying to clean up my diet from all of the “naughtys” that I ingested over the past few weeks - mostly good wine with my parents while they were here, and the occasional scoop of ice cream (did you know the average American gains 7-10 pounds in December?).

Anyways, many people can be caught off guard by Valentine’s day, and they scramble to get a gift for their sweetie at the last minute. Usually it is chocolate or roses - the standards.

I have a friend in Arizona that puts together some amazing gift baskets. She has a Valentine’s basket that is superb - It includes:

Ferrero Prestige fine assorted confections, White tea spa lotion, White tea body butter, bubble bath, bath shrunchy shimmering body refresher, candle, heart pillow, hot cocoa and cookie!

You can take a look at her creations here.

Judy takes a lot of pride in her baskets, and they do include some really cool stuff. She can ship anywhere in the US, so give her a call at 9280779-2060 to order a really great gift for your sweetheart this year!

“Demands on your time can make you weary now, for no matter how much you do, it may not feel like it’s enough to please others. This could leave you feeling empty and frustrated, unless you shift your focus. Instead of trying to please anyone else, set realistic goals and then just do the best you can.”

Definitely feeling like there are a lot of irons in the fire…but I guess that’s a good thing!

Ashrita Furman has a great story about how mind, spirit and body are connected. He has the “record for having the most world records” and his story is quite interesting. You can read about him here

My sister Carrie and our great friend Erin just got back from a trip to Nepal. They trekked all over the place and even went to Everest Base Camp. They are back and have some great photos. You can see more of them here

We have a beautiful open space area behind our house in Broomfield. There are great trails, and a lake with plenty of wildlife. This past weekend (Jan 08) I took a run back there and had my camera with me. There was a pair of nesting Bald Eagles in a tree looking proud. I took several photos, and it was quite exciting. I have posted one here, and you can see the rest on my Flickr! page

Google adsense is a great program - I try to keep it a secret, but I guess the secret is out after this article

See where you stand here