Year in Review 2014

Sure I don't blog much any more but I do like to take a look back at what happened over the last year as it comes to a close. It reminds me of just how much things can change in a year and just how blessed I am to have great family, friends, work, and many opportunities. So here is my year in review:

PLACES I'VE VISISTED

New York City, New York (April)

Las Vegas, Nevada (May)

Zions National Park, Utah (June)

Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks, Wyoming (July)

Oahu, Hawaii & Las Vegas, Nevada (October)

Southern California (November)

SHOWS I'VE SEEN

The shows I saw this year:

• Matilda (NYC)
• Kinky Boots (NYC)
• Pippin (NYC)
• If/Then (NYC)
• Catch Me If You Can (SLC)
• Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical (San Diego)
• Divas (Las Vegas)

BOOKS I'VE READ

One of the few New Year's goals that I stuck with was to read more. 10 books this year. Hope to top that in 2015.

PORTRAITS I'VE TAKEN

CONCERTS I'VE ATTENDED

It was the year of divas in concert:

• Cher 
• Cyndi Lauper 
• Carrie Underwood 
• Katy Perry 
• Sara Bareilles 
• Lady Gaga 
• Tegan and Sara

Oh and a few non-divas too:

• Toad the Wet Sprocket
• American Authors
• The Script
• OneRepublic
• Erasure

HIKES I DID

It's not a hike unless I take a selfie. Here's a list of some of the hikes that I did this year:

• The Narrows in Zions
• Kanarraville Canyon
• Ferguson Canyon
• The Y (over and over)
• Y Mountain Overlook
• Stewart Falls (twice)
• Lake Blanche
• Squaw Peak (twice)
• Dry Creek Canyon (several times)
• Bridal Veil Falls
• Silver Lake Flat
• Hidden Falls - Tetons
• Makapuu Point Lighthouse - Oahu
• Glen Canyon to Dry Creek Canyon

NEW FAMILY MEMBERS

Me and Marv (Maverick)

FUN BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

THINGS I DID FOR THE FIRST TIME

Road in a stretch limo

Attended a kickboxing class

Wrote an iOS application

Watched a movie at a luxury cinema theater

Road city bikes in SLC

Went road biking with my brother

Attended the SLC Greek Festival

Rode an electric bike in Irvine

Swam with dolphins and sea turtles & went whale watching

Other firsts without photos:

• Hot yoga
• Padding boarding
• Lava Hot Springs

100 Days of Happy

So I kind of got distracted from my monthly goals. I got sick a few times, a nasty ear infection, and then my mom ended up in the hospital for a few weeks after falling and breaking 7 ribs. That all said, I have a new project to work on: 100 Happy Days.

Here's how this is going to work. Each day I take a photo of something that makes me happy. I then post that photo on Instagram (which also gets posted on my Facebook and my Twitter).

Although you will get to see the things that make me happy this is really for me. I believe this will help me focus on finding happiness each day in little things. If you feel like this is a good idea you can sign up for it here: http://100happydays.com/

And if you want to follow me you can here:
Instagram: btborup
Twitter: doggie_b

Reasons I Love Mom

Here is a little something I wrote about my mom the night after she stumbled and broke 7 ribs. It has been scary at times but I'm feeling positive about her progress currently. Anyway, I thought I would share this:

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This morning my mom called me after having taken a spill while trying to clean some windows. My mom is 80 years old. Falls and older people are not a great combo. She ended up breaking 7 ribs and getting admitted to the ICU. As I spent several hours with her in the hospital I couldn't help but think of some of the many reasons I love my mom.

She Loves to Laugh

She loves to tell stories and usually she gets to chuckling quite a bit. Sometimes its so much that she can't quite tell the story. Today in the hospital despite having quite a few broken ribs she would laugh and laugh a lot. So much so in fact that it would cause her more pain. She say "might as well laugh." It so reminds me of her mother. Who knew that they would end up being so similar.

She Loves People

Doesn't matter who you are. My mom is interested in you. Especially if you are a baby or a young child. She was flirting quite a bit with her male night nurse. It was cute. As he and the two other female nurses left the room I could tell by their comments that my mom was a refreshing patient and one that they would enjoy taking care of.

She's Sensitive

Sometimes this seems like it might not be a real positive thing. I mean she does like to cry often. But I can't imagine having a mom who was not sensitive and tender. I don't know if its genetic or not but I'm pretty sure we all us kids inherited a bit of the cry gene from her.

She Expresses Her Love

When I go see my mom there is a hug when I get there and at least one (but probably many more) when leaving. She likes to hang on to me. She will grab my arm or hold my hand. Recently she has taken up to saying to me, "Take care of my baby." I know she worries about me and is concerned for me. Honestly sometimes these things might be a little annoying but I can't imagine a mom who would treat me any other way.

A note Mom wrote while on a ventilator when she couldn't talk.
"I love you Brian and Keith"

She's a Doer

Today at the hospital I told her that I don't think I've washed the windows in my house more than once. (Don't judge me!)  But here she is 80 years old and she is concerned with getting her windows clean. Not only that but as they were taking her to her room in the ICU she was explaining how she had gardening that she needed to do.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

I've been wanting to try cooking more this year. I had considered making it one of my monthly goals but kind of forgot when it came time to writing them down. In any case I had seen this crock pot chicken taco chili recipe on Pinterest. It looked good. I might have been influenced by the photo. (I just barely looked at the original recipe posting on skinnytaste.com and I'm not sure I would have made it if I looked at that photo. lol) Last night I bought all the ingredients except for the chicken and spices which I already had. Everything else was around $7 total. I had kind of gotten excited about cooking until I got home and realized I was hungry then. This is my problem with cooking! So I might have had a peanut butter and jam sandwich. So grown up, I know! Later that evening I decided to prepare the chili so I could put it in the crock pot before I went to bed. Here's all the prep I had to do: cut an onion up and open several cans! :) I put everything in the crock pot on low and headed to bed. I was a little nervous given that I had never cooked in a crock pot and then that I was going to be in bed while it was cooking. I woke in the middle of night and could smell it cooking. I think I had a few dreams about it. Mostly of the dreams involved things going wrong. Needless to say my night wasn't that restful. But when I got up the next morning and went to check on it, I found that it was doing great! The chicken was so tender that it was just falling apart as I stirred the chili. I put in the fridge before heading to work and when I got home I didn't need to make  peanut butter and jam sandwich! It was so easy and quite tasty. I'm thinking that I will have to try another recipe soon.

Oh and I forgot to mention that this is a Weight Watcher's recipe. I don't really know what that means but I'm assuming that it must be healthy! Here's the recipe:

Ingredients: 1 onion, chopped 1 16-oz can black beans 1 16-oz can kidney beans 1 8-oz can tomato sauce 10 oz package frozen corn kernels 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies 1 packet taco seasoning 1 tbsp cumin 1 tbsp chili powder 24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts chili peppers, chopped (optional) 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro Directions: Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream (extra points). I didn't follow the recipe exactly. Instead of chili peppers I added a small can of chopped green chili peppers. (I wasn't sure what they meant.) I didn't add the cilantro either but just because I was at a grocery store where it was ridiculously expensive for what it is. Lastly, I cooked it on low for 10 hours which I think helped make the chicken so tender.

Brian Borup's pin on Pinterest.

Happy New Month! (Again)

So you were probably thinking that I set my monthly goals for January and that was going to be the last you would hear about goals from me until next January. If that was the case, you were wrong! ;)

First of all I want to report on my January goals. I chose 4 things not necessarily big items to tackle but things that I felt would improve my quality of life.

1. Go to sleep with the TV off - This seemed to be the one that was the hardest habit to break. Overall I think I would say I accomplished this. There were several days this month that I was sick and was in and out of sleep. I did allow myself to just leave the TV on even if I was getting sleepy.
2. No chocolate donuts - This one was the easiest. I won't say I didn't have cravings but it certainly was the one that took the least amount of effort to follow through. 
3. Push ups 5 times a week - This one took a little more work. Even being sick I managed to follow through on this one. If I was getting home late and just wanted to go to bed then I knew that I would have to do them in the morning.
4. Read more - I've accomplished this one too. It didn't take too much to do "more" when I had been doing "none." But I have actually finished off Mockingjay now. So I'm ready for the movie and a new book.

January is over but these are not things that I'm giving up on. They will continue and hopefully I have made some good habits with them so it will seem like less of an effort.

That brings up to February and what will be my new challenges...

1. No checking in on Facebook when I go to the gym. Nick is going to be excited about this one, right?! I initially started doing it to motivate myself to get to the gym. It was my accountability. Well let's be honest. At this point its not going to get me to the gym more or less. If you want to know my gym progress you'll just have to ask. You know I'll still be tracking it just not on Facebook. Believe it or not this will be an adjustment.
2. Reduce my soda intake. I've kind of already started this one but need to commit to it here. I won't be buying any containers of soda to put in my house. No 2 liter bottles, no 12 can packs, etc... And I will not be stopping at Holiday Oil for my morning 44oz Diet Dr Pepper to take to work. Does this mean I'm eliminating all soda? No. I'm just eliminating two sources for now. I'll still be free to get sodas with lunch and or dinner. Oh, and as of now, there is no soda in my house. And by doing this I will naturally increase my water intake.
3. Look for opportunities to give sincere complements. This can be a family member, friend, or even a random stranger. This one is going to be fun. I like giving genuine complements so it should be hard. But setting this goal will help me to have a more positive outlook in general. Look for the good!
4. Reach out to my friends more. I admit it, I've been complacent. I often wait for others to contact me and as a result have turned into a bit of a hermit again in some ways. I want to be more proactive in being/having friends. I'm not sure exactly how to measure this one but I'm sure I'll be able to tell if I've done this or not.

Happy February!

P!nk - The Truth About Love Tour SLC 2014

Last Monday (Martin Luther King Day), a few friends and I finally got to see Pink in concert. We had bought tickets almost a year ago. She was supposed to be in Salt Lake City last October but was on doctor's orders to rest her voice. Initially they rescheduled it for later that same month. But they cancelled that one too. So needless to say, we've been pretty anxious to finally see her. Let me just say it was worth the wait! I've been to a lot of concerts over the years and nothing compares to this. I expected that she'd do a few physical performances based on performances I had seen on TV. But I had no idea that the whole show would be packed with one physically demanding number after number. This was the kind of show I would expect to see only in Vegas. Not the kind that would be going on tour. We kind of had not the greatest seats and in retrospect I wish I would have paid some bigger money to get some great seats. Never the less it was my favorite concert performance I've ever been to. I'm going to include a few videos here so that you can see for yourself. The YouTube videos are not mine but better capture some of the awesomeness of your performances. The Facebook videos are from me and are not great but give you an idea.

Pink - Raise Your Glass

Pink - So What

Pink - Try

Pink - Just Give Me a Reason

Pink - Sober

Pink - Who Knew

Post by Brian Borup.

Pink - Try

Post by Brian Borup.

Pink - You and Your Hand

Post by Brian Borup.