Happy birthday America!

 The Fourth of July is one of my favorite times of year, it's a time to remember why we get to celebrate & be thankful that we are able. 

And let's not kid ourselves--- I LOVE LOVE LOVE fireworks!!! 

I'm just starting to really get into being able to use the DSLR camera that Mr. Wonderful gave me for Valentines Day a few years ago... and by use, I mean; not in Auto. I even have a professional photographer teaching me things. It's been amazing. I have already improved so much, and I'm excited to learn & explore with my camera.  I haven't been this excited about anything photography related since I used to go on adventures with my dad. So this brings a spark back to my heart that I didn't know I was missing.  

Back to the fireworks, and the 4th... 

This year, we ventured up to Avon; specifically Nottingham Lake (I hear Nottingham & think Robin Hood-not the Kevin Costner one but the Disney one where Maid Merriam was an actual fox-fox) but you should imagine Vail-ish.  Breathtaking views, friendly small town feel without being too rural.

We went to this show a few years ago, on our first Colorado 4th of July, it was amazing! 

And, It snowed. 

This year, we got to take John & Candice with us, and since we live considerably farther away than we used to, we stayed in Frisco, because well. Dillon Res, is STUNNING. And its not too far from Avon, but just far enough to be considerably less crowded and lets be serious, its cheaper. 

Here are a few shots from the 3rd at Avon....

And here are a few shots from the 4th.....

Extreme Firework close-up?

Did I mention that John FINALLY proposed to Candice?!?! Well, he did. It was beautiful, and sweet, and I'm so honored that one of my best friends asked me to be involved as his trusted paparazzi, and that Mr. Wonderful and I got to be a part of their amazing moment.  

Aren't they the cutest?!

Candice is seriously, 100% absolutely the best woman I could ever hope for, for John. She gets him in a way that no one before her has, I can honestly say; she completes him.  I knew she was the one, from the very first time I met her.  (Even though she was nervous to meet me.. I'm not that scary, I promise) We are so over the moon excited for them! & Cannot wait for them to begin this new chapter in their lives! <3

Okay, okay... I promise I will get better at this...

How is it possible that I haven't posted (yet again) for over 6 months!?!?! Did we talk about our car accident?? Oh, that's why I haven't posted..... Stupid stupid car accident.  It really is time consuming to have to go to the chiropractor & physical therapy, and acupuncture, and have massages.  Sounds like a life of leisure-- I can assure you, it's not.

Okay so the long of the short of it.. I started my new job in November, I'm working in a beautiful interior design boutique shop in Fort Collins, and I love it.  We hosted Christmas Family Shenanigans. It was epic, and so so fun. There was a photobooth (ala pinterest) there was soooo much cookie decorating, we found royal icing in the strangest places! (Thanks Zander-man)!  It was -21 that night, so we even got to show off our bubble freezing skills! The little kids were just shocked. But it is always fun when the temps drop.  It was so so so cold, but I love freezing bubbles. Too fun!

January was January. It is always beyond cold in Colorado during that month. The good part about it is, I get to take photos like this.... I mean really.. This is our backyard.

My wonderful friend Shanna finally got to come visit!!! We had a wonderful time with her. She even got to walk on a frozen lake.. How very "when in Colorado" of her.. Can't wait until her next trip out!!

     

In April, we took a much needed, wonderful, trip to Maui.  We went with some of our favorite people to travel with; my brother, sis-in law & the best nephews in the world.  We all had a blast & even got to see my first whale.  I know, I know.. a California girl who's never seen a whale up close..... bizarre right???

I got vertigo during the Maui vacation, and unfortunately it is still here.. I'm working with a vetibular therapist to try to get over it. Basically I've been "on the boat" since we got off the boat.. lol  I'll post more Maui photos later.. I promise!

I also got to spend like 28 whole hours with this wonderful lady! It has been WAY TOO MANY YEARS since we've been in the same state, let alone the same room.  Loved every second.

May was hectic to say the least! We had company for a week.. Stan & I have known each other for 20 years. WOW!! Who would have thought we would be turn out to be forever friends all those years ago?

& then  I got to go on my annual Mother Daughter weekend with these wonderful ladies!

In June, I turned 35.. how am I old enough to be 35?!  Seriously.. when did that happen??? And, why am I having such a hard time with it?!  Mr. Wonderful took me on a wonderful trip to South Dakota for my birthday.  We had a lovely time. We got to see Mount Rushmore! It was definitely a lot smaller than we thought it was going to be, but it was incredible.  Take me back!

Love love love this amazing husband of mine!!! <3

We even got to see the lake from National Treasure 2!  The real treasure is the view.. trust me.

It's almost July!!!! John & Candice will be here in 3 days. Cannot wait for adventures with them!! We are going to have sooooo much fun!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

There is just so much to be thankful for this year, we have finally found our home in Colorado, we survived our car accident ( a little banged up but we are vertical & breathing) the truck (hopefully) will get fixed.. And most importantly.. We have each other & we are surrounded by the most amazing tribe/village of friends and family. 

Nothing like a car accident to remind you of all you have to be thankful for this time of year. 

❤️❤️ 

Have I really not written anything since 2015?!? OMG.

Let's do the "Readers Digest" version shall we?

Mr. Wonderful is still loving his job.  I still love my job.  The highlights are: We sold our condo in Ventura in order to fully commit to our Colorado Adventure.  And we bought a house!! Yay!! We are officially as committed to our Colorado life as we can get!  We are on a quarter acre, and in a great neighborhood, the lake is pretty close which we can't wait to take walks around it with Augie- the -wonder-dog.   We are very excited, moving was hectic- like moving usually is, and we could not have done it without the village. Our tribe if you will. They really made that wacky weekend possible. We are pretty settled in.. and by that I mean that our stuff is here- we can't find half of it, and we are diligently working on getting unpacked so we can not touch moving boxes again for a VERY VERY VERY long time.

We've even managed to have 3 sets of visitors {4 if you count Jon when he helped us move (again) thanks Jon!}! My mom came out, aunt Mary & Uncle Doug did their annual pilgrimage to Colorado, and my Bro-in-Law Shayne and his friend Ryan even made a trip out to celebrate Mr. Wonderful turning 30!  BTW- its Mr. Wonderfuls birthday today.. Happy 30th to the most amazing man I know.  Lucky me, I got to marry him. <3

The move has been great for us, we didn't even have to switch grocery stores!  (and lets face it, no one is happy about having to re-learn where everything is all over again.)

I'll update more soon, but at least there's the most recent news.

love,
Megs

What's Your "Zombie Apocalypse?"

In the beginning of January 2014, I joined the Thrive Life team! I eventually want to work from home (to avoid driving in the snow whenever possible) and this is a step in the right direction.  Shelf reliance; being able to "shop" from my shelves whenever possible to keep good healthy food in our tummies without reaching for the frozen pizzas when we are short on time. 

(Look! I'm Official!)

My reasons for starting our family on the Thrive Path are simple. Fast, farm-fresh, ingredients that are affordable, healthy & not high in sodium like most quick foods.  Thrive enables me to set a budget, and pick my items which conveniently show up at my home safe & sound every month! (see, less trips to the store in the snow!)  Now that I'm back to working outside of our home, this is a lifesaver when I just want to go straight home after work & not have to "Stop at the store" real quick; which almost never is.  This enables us to get quick healthy meals on the table in the amount of time that it takes water to boil rather than getting home late, and still having to spend an hour cooking dinner.

I know what you're thinking...Cause I thought it too, at first.  The big ones I'm sure are:  "Why freeze dried?"  "Why THRIVE?"  or my most favorite:  "Space Food?!" 

It's not "space food!"  But I really think it is the food of the future. These foods are freeze dried within 3 days of being picked!  That is more fresh than you can find at most grocery stores!  

When I first started purchasing THRIVE for our home, I had it as a "just in case" stash of emergency preps.  Then I started experimenting here & there; throwing things into recipes, and now I use it on a weekly basis, right down to my baking!  Everything I have tried from THRIVE tastes just like fresh (except that I didn't have to "brave" the elements and make a long trip to the store to get the items I needed).

I joined THRIVE to share this amazing product with friends & family and complete strangers if they'll listen! This has really changed the way we eat, even Mr. wonderful will grab some freeze dried fruits & veggies instead of chips! That is serious progress!

Let's be serious, being from California; we weren't strangers to prepping.  With earthquakes, fires & mudslides happening constantly; we were used to storing water, food, generators/ candles & batteries for our version of the "zombie apocalypse." So when we arrived in Colorado a year ago, I began to "prep" for things we could encounter out here.. power outages, being trapped at home due to heavy snowfall or crazy weather etc. We weren't completely sure what we were going to encounter on our Great Colorado Adventure! But at least now, we are prepared for it all.  

So, What's your "Zombie Apocalypse?" Is it natural disasters, job-loss, change in income earnings, EMP, or actual zombies?  I choose to prepare, because I know life happens..

Words of wisdom from about a Decade ago….

It’s weird to meet yourself from 10 years ago. I think we would absolutely be friends. Lol But still strange to get a perfectly clear picture of who I used to be, and to know I am nowhere close to that person today.

Confession… I broke into my Myspace.. and found all my old blog posts.

Here are the highlights:

• ·        Life should be little nuts. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of... Thursdays, strung together.  * I think I told myself this to avoid going bonkers from the chaos.

It seemed like I was in a constant state of “OMG or WTF”  Like dodging tornados rather than avoiding them altogether. 

I was searching for contentment: hoping to be happy with ones mental state, physical being and all around stance in life at the current moment.

At the same time, things seem to be at a complete standstill. Like a creepy calm before the Hurricane..

...Ready for whatever's next.... (I hope...)

·        January 2006

**A particularly difficult person is actually a spiritual lesson for you, but in a very annoying disguise. Try and see what life lesson or great truth this person is trying to communicate -- then send them on their way**

This is by far the best horoscope EVER!!  Although it almost seems to be a bit late, in the sense that the lesson in the annoying disguise is no more, however it’s still nice to have some reason to the CHAOTIC EMOTIONAL HURRICANE that I've called life for the last few months...

So to the person that is the "lesson in an annoying disguise" who will never understand or read this...Thanks for teaching me that even after years of friendship a person will still (if given the opportunity) stab you in the back.  This has definitely taught me to not be so trusting and no make sure that I know someone better before I give them the title of *friend*.

And to the rest of you... thank you for putting up with *Basket case Barbie* I'm back now, and ready for whatever's next.

So, CHEERS... to the next step. 

And cheers to growing up, Funny, almost 10 years later I cannot even imagine who the person is that I was writing about.  The funny thing about that horoscope is that it is just as true today as it was almost a decade ago.  And its still one of the best lessons I’ve learned in my adult life.

And just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water.... BAM!!  Shark

·        A little observation… and then I get distracted the end thought is.....No matter how much you push and shove….Things always go back to how they were unless you change something..

·        There are no regrets, only lessons learned. I’d like to pretend that this is true, but sometimes my biggest regret is not slapping someone when I should have. Haha

·        

Lemon perrier... is pledge water...  yep. Still true.

·        HOW TO TERMINATE A SLIM JIM CRAVING:

Step 1: Read clinical description of mechanically separated Chicken

Step 2: Repeat step 1

Yep... that did it... 10 years later, I still don’t eat slim Jims… Or McNuggets for that matter.

·     Fact:   In 2006, Brandon was my drinking buddy.  And if we didn’t live in 2 different states... he probably would be still. “wait, wait… I think he’s actually going to pull this off!”  I miss Brandon.

·        Fact: I made horrible choices in men before Mr. Wonderful.  If you are reading this and you were one of my horrible choices; I’m so happy we didn’t work out so I could find the one who has my heart.

• Sometimes you have to lose who you are to find out who you're supposed to be...  Truer words were never written. Being 23-26 was probably the hardest years of my life.. I learned some awful lessons, they made me stronger because of it, but they were hard lessons none the less. 26 was the most difficult to say the least … In 2008, I lost my dad and had a really rough year.. but then I found the love of my life.  And everything changed.

Fast forward to present time…  Life is Great!   Mr. Wonderful and I are about to celebrate 4 years of marriage, We have built a great life together.  I wish someone would have told me at 23 that it was all going to be okay 10 years later. 

It's the end of an era.... Goodbye Glitter & Couches!

Hello trousers & blouses!

 The time has finally come for me to move on from the land of pillows, candles, home decor & glitter.. On to a bright future with a new amazing team of ladies that I can't wait to be a part of! 

I will treasure the friendships that I have built over the past few years. And I look forward to actually getting to see everyone outside of work. 

The future is bright, I'm hopeful that I will fit into this new team like a missing puzzle piece. Everyone I have met so far has been wonderful!  

Looking forward to the next big adventure! 

A Little Reflection on this Past Week...

To say that this has been a "trying" week... Is a gross understatement.  I usually try to take things 1 day at a time, but sometimes... Several days attack me at once! 

Rude... Right?! 

I'm done dealing with & talking about this week, so I'll just leave these right here.. 

I'm ready today.. & Tomorrow begins a new week!  Let's do this! 

You're the Pea to my Pod. The Thelma to my Louise..

Thank you for knowing me the way that you do, for understanding how my brain is sometimes my worst enemy. Thank you for being the kind of person in my life that I'm not only lucky enough to call my friend, but also my mirror. You see my truth even when I can't face it.  Thank you for never making me feel like I'm walking the path alone- even if I'm pretty sure I'm on the wrong one. 

Through all of the years that we have been friends, I have always admired & respected you.  Watching you blossom into the incredible woman that you are today makes me so proud to call you my friend. 

Thank you for telling me to be the very best version of me. Everyday.  For encouraging me & reminding me to be mindful of where my energies are going.. For reminding me that sometimes it's okay to breakdown- but it's not okay to unpack & live there.  

... For being my occasional therapist.  Thank you for instilling the wisdom of Velma when I need it, and being the Thelma to my Louise when I don't. 

Thank you for encouraging me when I need it, and for telling me that I'm being absurd (sometimes I need that too) but most of all, thank you for coming back into my life & staying. You are a lifetime & I feel so blessed. 

Love love. 

The hardest thing in life is knowing which bridge to cross, and which to BURN.

There are four things that you cannot get back in life:

The stone ...after it's thrown,

The word ...after it's said,

The occasion ... after it's missed,

The time ... after it's gone.

So apologize when you should and tell those near & dear to you how much they mean to you. 

There is no do-over button, you don't always get a second chance to fix things. 

Dude, just be nice.