Life on the Front Range...

Life on the Front Range, or "front slope" as Mr. wonderful calls it; is wonderful! We think have found our place in Colorado, we still miss mountain life and the friends we made over there... But it doesn't compare to being so close to family & having a happy husband who loves his job & is appreciated and celebrated for the contributions he makes. 

I'm not going to lie, having the grocery store (and Starbucks lol) just a few minutes away, versus having to drive 45 minutes round trip {sometimes each way, depending on the weather} is wonderful!

We had a lot of friends make the trip out to visit us since we have made the big move over the Rockies.. 

The first ones to make the journey were our friends Brandon & Courtney! They got married on their way out to see us & we were lucky enough to be a stop on their epic honeymoon road trip! We had many adventures & hope they will plan another trip out to visit us soon!

 Next up, Kacee & Kristi came to visit! This was The second Colorado trip for Kristi and Kacees first time here. We had a wonderful time with them & cannot wait for their next trip out!

Our next group of visitors was 3/4ths of the Amazing Bledsoes! Lyndsi & Joey made their second annual pilgrimage to Colorado & this time we got have Alex come too! We went on many fun adventures all over the place & I always look forward to their annual trip!

Our last group of visitors brought John & Candice our way! (Finally!) I'm so glad that we finally got to spend some much needed time together & you two better get your butts back out here ASAP! 💜 I won't put you on blast in my blog but hurry up, will ya!?

 I even got to introduce Candice to my crochet addiction! (Sorry John, the yarn pile might get scary) 

It seemed just as soon as all of our visitors had left,  I began my hectic season at work. that could be why I haven't posted in over a month. 😜

One Hundred and One!

When I started this blog over 2 years ago, I don't know that I ever thought I'd get to my 101st post.  I knew I wanted to share our new life in Colorado with all of our loved ones back home and everywhere else.  So here I sit, writing the One Hundred & First post, and I'm looking forward to a hundred more.

Thank you to all of you who are still reading, it's nice to be able to share our lives with you!

Happy 3 year anniversary to us!!

Three years ago, I said "yes! I do & I will" to this amazing man. Mr. wonderful. 

From that minute on, it has been a nonstop adventure. 

Right up and through our move to the great state of Colorado! 

On this wild & crazy adventure, there's no one else I would rather have right by my side. Happy third anniversary baby, I love you! 

Family, tribe, group, village- whatever you call them; it's where you belong.

This leg of our Colorado adventure brought us closer to my family. We went from being 3+ hours away to just about 15 minutes away from my cousin/aunt Marcia & more of the Colorado Clan.  Words cannot even begin to describe it, in fact, I didn't even know that part of me was missing.. We are so happy to be closer to our family...  our village on our Colorado Adventure! Having people you belong to is such a big part of life, and for us, living on the western slope- we knew who we belonged to, but it was a 3+, 7 or 13 hr drive to get to those people.  Having family time this summer has just meant the world to me.  

          

My heart is happy. I am a happy happy girl! ❤️

Helen & Charles aka Nanner & Granddaddy. The real live notebook.

Helen & Charles or Rachie's Nanner & Grandaddy as they were known to me growing up... 

They were her grandparents. I didn't see them very often but I loved them like they were my own grandparents.  These two have always had a special place in my heart. 

                                

They passed on recently, in fact; they died in the same week; after over 70 years of marriage. You just don't see that much anymore. I can't help but think that their love was like that of The Notebook, as they got older, you could just feel the fondness they had for one another.  It was in the way they looked at each other, the way they took care of each other; the way they were always in it together.  I'm getting choked up just writing about them. I guess you never know how much someone means to you until they're gone.

Rest in Peace Nanner & Grandaddy, you are missed. ❤️

I'm like a squirrel, with bobby- pins! Adventures in moving

        

The more times we move, the more I realize I need a better way to control my bobby pins. I know it seems silly, but in packing up the old place; I found them everywhere!  Obviously in the bathroom, but I found them under the bed & in the living room and in rooms I never took them off in.  Either they have legs or Augie has been wearing them too. 

So it begins, the next chapter in changes in elevation... Loveland, Colorado is our new home!

Mr. Wonderful got a new job! He loves the new company, and is very happy where he works (finally!) I know he misses some of his co-workers from the last job, and probably the job before that, but he seems to really enjoy his boss & co-workers which is all I could ask for. 

I transferred with Pier 1 to the Loveland location & while I do miss the girls from my old store, I love my new store!  These ladies are amazing!  We got a new manager at our store, it is one of my favorites from the western slope, she was an assistant manager at the Grand Junction store; so her and I already had a great relationships hen she got here. It's so nice to see a familiar face at work! 

I'm still doing the Origami Owl gig, which I hope will be more successful now that we are around a larger population- I'm hoping to really expand my customer base! 

We are also still doing the Thrive Life biz, freeze dried foods & water storage really hits home in the Loveland area ever since the floods last year. Mr. Wonderful seems to be interested in running point on that one which is great. 

More details on our adventure later...

Cheers! 

Missing In Action!

Hey everyone, sorry I've been missing in action, we have had the craziest summer! Mr. Wonderful changed jobs, and we had to find a new place to live over 4 hours away quick, fast & in a hurry!  On top of getting out of our old place & figuring out how to move our house full of stuff without a team of movers.

Needless to say it's been NUTS.

We are settled in our new place, and the "guess what, we've moved again" cards have gone out.  The walls are painted, the boxes are recycled & the plants survived the move (I even have 7 cucumbers and a few strawberries to show for it!) Sorry for the lack of garden posts this summer, my garden is in pots. With the move it just wasn't possible. Maybe next year.

Did you know winter is coming??? I realized it the other day. I was driving home & it was darker than normal, the winter-dread has set in... its coming.

I'll post more soon, I promise! I even have them written, I just haven't had the 5 minutes to get on here and upload them.

Love to all!

Violated...

Violated. Violated isn't even an accurate description of the range of emotions that I am feeling, but this isn't about me. 

My moms home- the house that built me was burglarized Tuesday afternoon. Thank God she wasn't home. But for her to come home & have her entire home ransacked & irreplaceable belongings just gone.... My heart is broken. 

I have the greatest friends in the world, one phone call- and they dropped what they were doing & rushed over to help, even if there wasn't much they could do but be there.  Being this far away & having something this awful happen left me feeling powerless, and so hopeless. I hate this feeling, but our amazing friends helped me to help her; even if it was from 865 miles away. From offering to help put everything back together or change the locks, or even just drop off flowers from me with a reassuring hug (thanks j & z, LB & K) or even driving by to make sure things look like they should (thanks John).  

She is amazingly strong, and she will get through this! We love you Mom! ❤️

Mr. Wonderful always has such a different reaction to things. I burst into tears and am rendered speechless, his thoughts turn to- "so when can we move her to Colorado?" Geez I love that man. ❤️

 

Free Muppet! (With purchase of a vehicle)

We got a new vehicle! It's AWD & safe and I'm in LOVE. We traded in both of our 2 wheel drive vehicles for this one since Mr. Wonderful has a work truck & a Zombie-Apocalypse-Mobile.  I finally will be able to maneuver down the road when Mother Nature throws her worst at our side of Colorado. 

It's a Toyota Venza! I can just hear most of you saying " its a whaa???" It's about the same size as a Ford Edge. Still nothing? 

How about this? Does this help?

Love love LOVE this car!!

If its pink or sparkly. Yes, I want it!

This month has been crazy busy! 

I started another at home business! I had been thinking about it for a while and one day, we just decided it was time for me to JUMP!  So jump I did!

So here I am, a new independent designer for Origami Owl!  (<-- That's the link to my website! Check it out!)  It's honestly an awesome company to be a part of! 

I mean really.. how can I not want to be a part of this?!  It was started by a 14 year old girl with a dream of buying a car on her 16th birthday, and it has blossomed into a successful organization & its still pretty new!  I've already had a pretty positive response from people when I talk about it.  I hope it will be successful, giving me a sense of belonging no matter where we end up (at least it will force me to meet new people).

Staying positive & motivated is hard for anyone when faced with new obstacles, but I'm looking forward to the new challenges!

I've decided to make this my mantra.

Fingers crossed! Here goes nothing!

Christmas Time!!

Alright, So I'm a bit late in catching you all up on the holidays & whatnot.  Here goes: Christmas time out here is a magical time of year! We get snow, there are small town tree lighting ceremonies- the works!

This year we attended the lighting of the Hotel Colorado! It was magical... And FREEZING!! 

I will say, that this really put me in the holiday spirit!  

Our first 2014 Guests! oh.. and Flu Season.

January brought Aunt Mary & Uncle Doug to our house! It was wonderful to get to spend some extra time with them!  They both arrived feeling extra marginal.. and continued to get more sick so we made them stay until they were healthier before we sent them over to the front range to see the family. 

Thankfully, I was smart & got the flu shot.  (Say what you will.. I didn't get sick!)  Mr. Wonderful refuses to get them and is pretty sure that the Flu just doesn't like him.  He hardly gets sick, but when he does... look out world!

I figured since I'm in retail now (and around germy random strangers all day) that I should do everything I can to not get/ bring cooties home with me. 

Good news! I learned how to make Cream Puffs! They were delicious! See how yummy they look??

Movin on up!

I got a promotion! I'm now a Sales Team Leader! Basically I'm mini- manager, under the Assistant Manager and the Store manager, but it's still a move up! The shifts are better since they're a little longer- I don't have to work as many days a week (which in the winter means less driving in the snow since my commute looks like this quite a few days a month).

And this on other days! 

And some days it's like this! Yes, that's a herd of elk. 

I'm working on liking it. In all truth & honestly... I don't love it- in fact, I think I hate it.  But maybe, once I find my "groove" it will be okay.

Currently I'm plagued with catty-bitches (yea, I said bitches... twice in fact!) One in particular is saying not so friendly things behind my back and smiling to my face. Thankfully, I believe in karma, so I've put it behind me. I'll stick with it just to piss her off even more. Its the stubborn streak from my Swedish/ Norwegian/ Irish/ Scottish side.

Don't worry, I'll keep you posted with my progress. 

:)

Hibernation.. It's what happens in the winter.

I must apologize for my temporary hibernation. I just realized I haven't written since the end of November! The holiday season in retail-land kept me very busy working 6 days a week (I think they must like me or something.)

This place has been covered in snow for what feels like forever!

In December, we got to spend some time in Vegas with my brother & his family.  We had a wonderful time!  It was so nice to be able to be with them for so many days in a row!   We even got to go see a Cirque show! (Thanks again Scott & Michelle! It was incredible!) 

Getting to be nearer to family (even for a short time) has just reinforced for me the feeling that The Western Slope is not our forever place. I want to be near family. It's so important. I miss them terribly when we don't get to see them often enough. ❤️