2012… so far!

Since I’m terrible at updating regularly I thought I’d post some pictures and a quick summary for those of you who are not on Facebook.

Over the weekend Andrew and I went horseback riding with his parents.  The weather was warm, the snow was melting and we had a great time!I love to ride and it had been years since I’d been able to. What a treat! We had so much fun.

As for the update… I have a bunch of news!

I’m finally applying to nursing schools.  I’m applying to 5 different schools.  Two in Colorado, one in Wyoming, one in California and one in Massachusetts.  I should have decisions from 4/5 of them by mid-March.

I am also a new employee of a hospital here in Denver! Well, south of Denver.  I will be working as a UC/CNA in the Intensive Care Unit.  I’ll be working nights so that will be interesting and quite a transition.  I will still work with the kids 4 days a week… or three… depending on how the transition goes.

I’m running again.  Or trying to! I’ve been sick for a couple of weeks but was finally able to get back to the gym yesterday and ran 2 miles.  Today, I ran again and then did the bike.  It felt great! I can’t wait to get back to running higher mileage

 Finally, the best & last bit of news… Andrew and I are back together   And I feel happier than I’ve been in a long, long time.  I’m constantly thanking God for helping to restore our relationship.  We’re now working towards a healthy, happy, loving 2012!

Looking back on 2011 and my 25th year

Last year on my birthday I came up with a list of 25 things I’d like to do while 25 years old.  Last week I turned 26 years old and realized that some of those things weren’t accomplished.  This year I have much bigger and more important things on my “To Do” list.  Before getting in to my new goals, let’s take a look at “The 25 To-Dos While I’m 25″

The 25 To-Dos While I’m 25

• Run a race! Last year Andrew and I signed up for a 10k but didn’t end up participating because of the sad news of my great aunt’s passing a couple hours before the start of the race. ***This year I ran three races!  The Estes Park Half Marathon, The San Francisco Half Marathon and the Warrior Dash in Copper Mountain, Co!

• Hike 5 14′ers — Definitely on the list: Gray’s, Torrey’s, Bierstadt, Evans ***I hiked one!  And it was difficult and amazing.

• Watch all of the Rocky movies

• Finish reading The New Testament ***While I read a lot of it, I definitely didn’t read it in it’s entirety.

• Read 12 books. 1 book a month shouldn’t be too difficult, I just need to make time for reading. *** I read so much this year!  Though I can’t list all of them (for lack of memory right now) I will list some of my favorites from the year!

1. Water For Elephants
2. Redeeming Love – Francine Rivers (EXCELLENT!)
3. Her Mother’s Hope -Francine Rivers
4. Her Daughter’s Dream (sequel to the book above) – Francine Rivers
5. The Atonement Child – Francine Rivers (EXCELLENT!)
6. Safe Haven – Nicholas Sparks (One of my favorite Nick Sparks books)
7. The Search – Nora Roberts (Great mystery!!)
8. Carnal Innocence – Nora Roberts
9. The Lucky One – Nicholas Sparks
10. A Promising Man – Elizabeth Young (Fun & Lighthearted!!)

• Travel somewhere out-of-state with Andrew. This shouldn’t be too difficult since our plane tickets to San Diego have already been purchased Southern California in February! *** Andrew and I spent 4 days in Southern California visiting the beaches of San Diego and Disneyland

• Attend the 100th Anniversary of Bay to Breakers in San Francisco ***(Fail! I skipped it and instead flew to California for Easter to visit my family)

• Try 12 new recipes and I will be sure to post them! ***Well I didn’t post them, but I’m pretty sure I tried 12 new recipes.

• Finish my Colorado scrapbook from years 1 & 2 of life in Colorado

• Go to a Chiefs game AT Arrowhead
• Attend a SAS reunion since I’ve missed the past few

• Complete a major stuff-cleanse. This means going through everything, and I mean everything, I own and throwing out or donating a majority of it since I probably don’t even need a majority of it. ***I think I did well during the cleanse!  Unfortunately I’ve accumulated again so another is in order

• Go horseback riding
• Go camping ***Dunzo! Annual bible study camping trip & an additional camping trip with the same awesome b-study friends!

• Catch some fish. A lot of fish. With Andrew. ***Caught a small mouth bass on the 4th of July weekend… and that was just the beginning

• Take a road-trip whether that means through Colorado or somewhere else ***In August I took a road trip through Colorado to visit my great grandpa who was visiting.  We had a great time together and I got to see more of this great state!

• Do something at Red Rocks. Whether it be a movie night, a workout, a picnic, a show, another church service, etc…
• Go to Snooze for breakfast ***My mom and I had breakfast at Snooze during her visit to Colorado.  It was delicious!

• Finally make time for some counted cross stitch…. more specifically, make time for the one I started in 2009 that has been neglected
• Go for a bike ride around Denver with Andrew
• Successfully watch the fireworks on the 4th of July, even if it’s raining ***We watched the fireworks this year from up near Horseshoe Reservoir in Fort Collins.  The road we were on overlooks most of Larimer county and we were able to watch 3-4 fireworks shows at once

• Visit the following while I’m visiting family in California: Yukimi’s (fave restaurant), Big Sur (fave scenery), Monterey (fave place)

• Introduce (the rest, since he’s already met some) of my family to Andrew
• Go on a long hike with Copper in which he survives & thrives. Last year, he made it 9 long miles on a beautiful hike. He wasn’t even sore the next day. *** One was at the end of summer, in September or October (can’t remember exactly) and he did great!

So unfortunately I don’t get to cross everything off of the list.  But oh well – 2012 is here and I’m very excited about it and what it holds! All in all 2011 was a good year full of many blessings.  I’m exciting for the new year and though it will be full of transitions, I’m confident that it will be a blessed year.

Postive, Encouraging

I remember I used to roll my eyes at my mom when she would make us listen to Christian music in the car.  It seriously got on my nerves!  I would much rather be listening to alternative, country or of course my favorite boy band (BSB represent!) But no, mom would put on one of the local Christian stations and I’d sulk on our drive to wherever it was we were going.

Am I becoming my mom?  Maybe.  But I suppose that wouldn’t be entirely bad

Shortly after I moved to Denver I found KLove – the Christian radio station.  Here in Denver it’s 91.1 and I think it might be 90.1 in my hometown but I’m not so sure.  Anyway- in November 2010 I started listening to the morning show with Lisa and Eric.  It would transform my mornings.  For once I didn’t have to listen to useless garbage and gossip that other radio stations are so good at dishing whenever their DJ’s are on the air.  KLove’s DJ’s actually told great stories, made me laugh out loud while driving and started my morning off with positive, encouraging thoughts.  Shortly after I started listening to KLove and realized how much it was transforming my life, I jumped onto their support team – both prayer and financial.   I listened to Lisa & Eric up until this September when they both said their final goodbye on their last day as DJ’s for KLove.  Now, I listen in the afternoons because I no longer commute to work in the mornings, but at 12pm!  I still listen daily and most days I find myself smiling to myself like a goon while driving

So today, KLove made my day. And I remembered just how great God is. Everyday KLove has a verse from the Bible as their Encouraging Word.  I usually hear it once or twice, reflect and then to be honest, I go on with my day and forget it.  But today, for some reason, I must have heard it repeated 5 times or more throughout the course of the day.  And I know it was for a reason…Today it was from Proverbs 4:23  “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

The breakup has been really tough lately.  Especially today.  You know that feeling when you’re on the never ending verge of tears?  Yeah, it’s terrible. But hearing the verse over and over again today really picked me up off the ground and reminded me of my decision, why I made it, and why I still think it’s best.  It also reminded me how great life is, how great my God is and how I do have so much to be thankful for, even when times are tough.  

Snow, Snow…. And More Snow

I wish I was kidding. November brought the end of our summer weather and the beginning of winter. We had our first snow storm in Denver with roughly 5 inches. A week later (this past Wednesday) we woke up to another 4 inches and it snowed a couple more before 9am. It snowed so much in Castle Rock, where I work, my boss took a “work at home” day because the kids’ school was cancelled. Thank God for that because I doubt my care would have made it up there. I love my job but working at 6,800 elevation is really not my thing. Usually it snows 2x the amount there than it does here. Not. Fun. I have snow tires (from last season) but with a Toyota Corolla S… they really don’t do much. I love my car but I think after I graduate from nursing school it will be time to retire my faithful Toyota.

A few pictures from around my complex. The middle is (part of) the view I have of the city… It’s much prettier without the snow, right?  Luckily we still have our gorgeous fall colors and the heavy snow hasn’t knocked down all of the leaves.  Our next snow is forecast for tomorrow night through Tuesday morning. Unfortunately we are looking at anywhere from 2-6 inches. Yuck.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my second favorite holiday so I had been looking forward to celebrating with some of my favorites!  And I did just that   On Saturday night my bible study group (the coolest bible study group you can imagine) had a Halloween party.  We celebrated with fun food, creative costumes & delicious drinks!

Some of our girls

Andrew & Rob

Me as a monarch butterfly & my little Shiba as a shark

The Halloween party was a lot of fun   My friends are pretty awesome and no matter what we do together, we usually have a really great time!  On the actual Halloween day I was hoping to make it up to Fort Collins but ended up staying home, watching the Chiefs dominate the Chargers in one of the best football games I’ve ever seen & carved a pumpkin!  Carving a pumpkin has been a Halloween tradition of mine since 2007 when Steve and I were still dating and he shared his love of pumpkin carving with me.  I think it was the first time I actually spent time & effort on a pumpkin.  Now I genuinely enjoy dedicating an October evening to carving These past two years Andrew and I have carved pumpkins together (and had much more fun than Steve and I ever did!) but this year I was flying solo.  So, I turned to Copper… literally…

This year I went basic…. which was actually nice considering the past two years my pumpkins were a bit detailed.

My Pumpkin!  Shiba Style <3

And finally… some pictures of the dogs!  Because of course I couldn’t celebrate Halloween without including them

Me and Chief (who wore Copper’s submarine costume!)… I miss him but still see him semi-regularly!  Isn’t he getting so big???

Side view so you can see how big he is getting!

And finally…. Copper the shark (sorry for the crappy side view – he wouldn’t cooperate)

I hope your Halloween was spoooooooktacular

The Puppy Update!

Since I last updated, Chief and I have had a lot of fun!  He’s such a smart, playful little thing. He has learned sit and down and we are working on shake. He can play fetch although he sometimes like to run off with whatever I throw… other times he’s a great little fetch-er! He’s been a lot of hard work and given me a lot of frustration but over all, he’s a great little puppy. We have attended 3 total puppy socialization classes and he’s doing well… he has an amazing sense of which dogs want to play, which don’t, which dogs he needs to be “more gentle” with and which dogs are afraid. On Thursday night he was really good with a 4 month old fearful german shepherd. I couldn’t believe he could go from crazy, hyper, monster dog with the other puppies (a lab and springer spaniel) and in seconds switch to a calm, gentle dog with a scared puppy. It was really neat and the trainers were pleased.

Chief at 10 Weeks Old

This week I transitioned from crate-training him to bathroom-training him. While I am at work or asleep or at random times during the day he stays in my bathroom with two baby gates enclosing him. He has access to all of his toys, a spot to sleep and plenty of room to wander around. He also has puppy pads and I line them in the bottom of his crate. He can go potty when he needs to. That being said- he’s nearly completely trained with the potty pads. He has an occasional accident in which he will get so excited he will start to pee on the floor (very rare, however) and I just clap my hands and he takes off and usually runs away because he knows he goes potty on the pads. I still take him outside throughout the day but it’s nice that he is nearly potty trained completely with the potty pads since after all, I do live on the 10th floor and it’s difficult to get down to the bottom floor & outside right when he needs to go.

This is what I came home to on Friday after work.  Apparently mister Chief jumped up and pulled the paper towels off the counter and proceeded to shred them!  My fault, since I shouldn’t have left them so close to the edge…. (but doesn’t he look so guilty?)

He’s been a real joy to have around…. and Copper is warming up. Slowly. I actually have a dog trainer coming in on Tuesday to work with the dogs. He was referred to me by a friend and I’m looking forward to having him come into my apartment and work with Copper in his own environment. Also, it will be nice to have guidance in raising Chief.

Can’t wait!

Meet Chief the Rescue Puppy

Last Saturday morning I woke up, took Copper out and then decided to look around on Google for any shelter adoption groups in Colorado.  A few weekends prior I discovered a puppy rescue in Fort Collins.  I had never even heard of an all puppy rescue so it was neat to visit Petsmart in Fort Collins and see a bunch of young puppies outside waiting to be adopted.

The morning of Chief’s arrival was like any other day that I decided to research dogs/shelters except for the discovery I made that led me to Petco here in Denver.  That very morning, Colorado Puppy Rescue was going to hold a puppy adoption drive at the local Petco.  Their website had pictures of all of their puppies online and I saw a few German Shepherd mixes that I was interested in.  I wanted to arrive right when it started, at 11am, to make sure I could see all of the puppies.

When I got there at 11:00 it was a complete mad house.  There were already at least 25 people/families who had signed in.  In the middle of the store there was a roped off area with individual play pens for the dogs  and a bunch of puppies in kennels.  Apparently you have to get on the waiting list and then when your name is called, on a first-come, first-serve basis, you get to go and pick which puppy you want to see.  You get 15 minutes with puppies and then you have the option of agreeing to adopt or not.  Once you choose to keep your puppy, your puppy leaves the area immediately and you start the puppy adoption process.

I noticed Chief early on.  He was in a kennel with some other shepherd mixes and he was adorable!  Unfortunately there were so many people ahead of me in line… I was sure he would be gone!  The whole time I was waiting for my name to be called I ran scenarios over and over in my mind.  Could I really get another dog? Could I afford it? Could I handle a puppy? Could I handle a puppy that would soon grow into a BIG dog? Was I prepared to take on the task of training a German Shepherd? German Shepherds are known to be the best dogs… IF they are trained and socialized properly.  These were all questions I had been going over for weeks… and as I waited for my turn & despite being nervous, I knew I was ready to take on puppy hood.

After an hour it was finally my turn. SO many puppies had already been adopted – at least 20 – including some of the shepherd mixes. I walked into the roped off area and asked for the Shepherd Mix… the one I spotted when I arrived. The woman working told me they only had one left and she walked over to a kennel full of puppies that didn’t look anything like the puppy I had my eye on when I arrived. I can’t even remember which one she wanted to give to me but I knew I didn’t want him. I walked over to Chief’s kennel and there was one other dog with him…. a lab/dachshund mix of some sort. I said to the woman as I pointed to the dog next to the dachshund mix, “Is that not a Shepherd mix???” Clearly he was. She had just overlooked him. She apologized and got him out of the kennel. She led me over to a play area and I spent about 10 minutes with him.

It was love & I knew I had to have him. I went to the puppy orientation, filled out the paperwork and an hour later we were HOME.

Introducing Copper to his new little brother on Day 1

Chief at 8 weeks – His first vet check was a success – he’s healthy!  Also, the vet says he only sees German Shepherd in him but I guess we will see!  He has a curly tail so he very well could be German Shepherd/Husky.

My boys sleeping

His first bath!

Post bath

Chief’s nickname namesake, Chomper from The Land Before Time II because he looks exactly like this little dinosaur when he bites.  Chief doesn’t nip, he chomps with his entire jaw — it’s the funniest/cutest thing! Sometimes when I tell him no from across the room he will chomp a bunch of times as if to protest and then he will just plop down out of frustration.

He turned 9 weeks old on Friday (estimated dob was July 22nd but they really don’t know his exact date of birth) and today marks 1 week of owning him. He weighed all of 8 lbs on his first vet visit.  I love him already.  Today we spent an hour at his first puppy socialization class.  Petco is amazing and holds FREE puppy socialization classes!  There were at least 10 puppies, all different breeds, running around and playing for an hour.  When we first got there Chief was excited but scared- he kept hiding underneath the owners’ chairs.  After about 5 minutes he was running around and was easily one of the most sociable dogs there.  I was a proud dog mom   He ended up getting a few time outs for attempting to drag one of the tiny yorki-poos that I think looked like a plush stuffed animal to him.  He also got a time out for barking at some of the other dogs for trying to drink water while he was trying to drink it.  Chief LOVES water- when he gets excited and runs around my apartment he will take a break and run as fast as he can to his water bowl. He’s a crazy little thing…

So it’s official:  I am keeping him!  I wasn’t sure at first because Copper was being a pain (Copper is extremely jealous and has NOT been nice to Chief at all if Chief gets in his way- he’s attempted to attack him 3 times) but it’s become manageable and Copper will come around with some patience, extra training and effort on my part, I’m sure. Plus, I’ve fallen in love!  He’s the sweetest little puppy, extremely smart and I can already tell he’s going to be a wonderful companion.

Exit Boyfriend, Enter Puppy

In one of the saddest developments in my life in a while, Andrew and I broke up.  Last week we decided to take a break for a while.  The distance has become overwhelming and things between us just aren’t very good.  It’s a sad situation and I am hoping for the best. We’ve spent nearly two years together and anytime you spend that much time with someone, you hope it wasn’t for nothing. That might be blunt, but it’s true. Like any 25 year old girl I, some day (and I really do mean *some day* because I am completely content with my life just the way it is and have NO desire to marry any time soon), want my happily ever after. And when you think you might almost have it in-the-making and then it falls apart, it’s upsetting.

In my new found single hood I’ve been doing a lot of self reflection, Bible reading and I’ve been spending a lot of time with ME. It’s nice. A “break” isn’t quite like a “break-up” because with a “break” there is always a hope that the problems can be fixed and you’ll eventually get back together.  I’m staying optimistic but at the same time, trying not to focus on what may or may not happen and instead – focus on the now and focus on myself.  I know that in order to get back together there must be many changes and maybe that is in the cards for us, maybe it isn’t.

I heard this on KLove yesterday and it calmed my worries of being single and on my own again: We may not know what tomorrow holds but we know who holds tomorrow <3

And that sums up the beauty of having a relationship with Jesus Christ – no matter what happens in life, what gets you down, what makes you question, what makes you fear….you know you’re not alone, ever.  And God has a plan. If he gave you something, it was for a reason.  If he takes something away, it was for a reason.  We may not know the reason the moment it is given or taken away, but I’m sure we will figure it out in time.

Comforting

Besides reading & reflecting I have been up to some other things…

- My Tuesday night bible study group is growing and growing! We are studying the book of Mark and are enjoying friends, fellowship and Jesus together. It’s great getting others’ perspectives on the Bible verses & being held accountable to dedicating an hour and a half to the Word once a week is great.  It’s also nice to get together for a drink or just to hang out afterwards with FRIENDS.  Friends who share the same values & believe the way you do. Such a blessing!

- I’m currently taking the steps necessary to transfer my CNA certification from California over to Colorado. If all goes well I’ll be certified by November and will start my new job search here in Colorado.

-Speaking of jobs, I’m still with my current contract and am still working with the family in Castle Rock. I have gone down to roughly 28-30 hours a week but am blessed enough to still get paid for full-time since I’m also on stand by for when the kids do not go to school. I am not sure what the future holds but as of now, I’ll probably be leaving that job at the end of December (especially if all goes well with getting my CNA license!)

- I went hiking a couple more times! Last weekend Copper and I hiked Chief Mountain in between Evergreen and Idaho Springs.  It was a great hike! Pics to come.

- After months without my own television and without access to cable TV (when I lived in the house with the girls there was only one Tv and I didn’t often bother with watching anything on it) I finally got Tv back. I feel like I’m back in the loop again. The best part? With my new DirectTv contract I got the NFL Sunday Ticket package for FREE. What does that mean? Every Sunday football game, Every Week, All season. YAY!  Unfortunately, the Chiefs are absolutely TERRIBLE so far this season.  I’m disgusted with them.

- BUT, I’ll always love them. And that is why I named my new puppy CHIEF! Yes, I said new puppy

Here is a little sneak peak of Chief….. stay tuned for my next update with his story

Warrior Dash: The muddier the better!

A couple weeks ago my friends and I participated in the Warrior Dash – a 5k obstacle course in the mountains It was a BLAST! The beginning was difficult for me… running at 10,000 elevation is apparently not my thing. And I way over hydrated the morning of the race. Note to anyone running a race: DON’T DRINK TOO MUCH BEFORE THE RACE! You will feel disgusting. Anyway- the obstacles were super fun and a bit challenging! The craziest parts were running through mud, swimming through mud and jumping over fire. Not to mention climbing up and over big walls, walking a plank, crawling through a dark tunnel in mud…. and the list goes on.  Post-race we were able to shower off in outdoor showers but next year I will definitely wear less clothing.  I wore shorts and a baggie t shirt and that was a big mistake…. next year it’s shorts and a sports bra!  That baggie shirt really weighed me down once it was coated in mud that was drying faster than I was running!

What: Warrior Dash
Where: Copper Mountain, Colorado
When: August 21st 2011

Pre-Race!

Crossing the finish line!

Yep, my Bible Study is cooler than yours

Post-Race after we had showered, gotten our medals & put on our shirts and viking helmets

San Francisco Half Marathon Review :)

I did it!  I ran my second half marathon.

Sadly, I didn’t really train for it.  I know, I’m terrible.  Why sign up for a run if I’m not going to train?  Because I like to torture myself, apparently!

The furthest I ran prior to the half was 4 miles. I was running 3-4 miles 3x week but that doesn’t really matter come race day. You need the stamina to continue running for two and a half hours (in my case, 2:37 and that is SLOW for me – 12:04/mile pace!) and you get it by training.  Running.  Cycling.  Weights.  Cross training.  Building up your strength and training your body to have the ability to run long distance.  So, I learned my lesson.  No more races unless I plan on devoting the time and energy to actually train the right way. My knee had been giving me problems leading up to the race and after mile 3, it was in a lot of pain. With 10 miles to go! I had to walk a few times and slow WAY down. The last 3 miles were terrible and I lost A LOT of time by slow walking, slow jogging, slow walking, slow jogging because of the pain I was in. When I passed the finish line my knee was completely swollen and I was limping. Not. Fun. I limped the rest of the day. And the next two days.

The race itself was decent….! Not as fun as running in gorgeous Estes Park but it was fun & SF is a great place to visit. The race was well coordinated & HUGE — thousands of runners!! Would I run the San Francisco Half Again? No. The first few miles were spent inside Golden Gate Park doing LOOPS! I am not a fan of short loops. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. But once we managed to make it out of the park… There were several downhills including STEEP downhills that were extremely hard on my knees. A few small uphills but not many at all. It was the steep downhills that were killers. I will take 2 miles of uphills for two miles of gradual downhills any day. Unfortunately, SF has steep hills so that’s what we got. Finally- I wasn’t a fan of running past all of the funky smells. I much prefer the beauty of nature and running with gorgeous mountains as my back drop than stinky (although cultural, historic, funky & fun) streets of San Francisco.

In any case – I’m glad I ran it, finished my second half and did it all in San Francisco.  Great trip.  I flew in Friday night with a handful of friends from my Bible Study. Our hotel was a couple of blocks from the Wharf. On Saturday we spent the day at the race expo, shopping for any necessities for the race (I got a new running skort – it’s fab!) And yes I said skort After, we ate lunch on the wharf and explored a bit (I bought a Yankees hat to wear during the run! Had to show my Yankee pride amidst all those SF Giants fans!) and then spent a lot of time relaxing. Those of us who were running were all pretty tired/nervous for the big day. That night we went to a super cute little Italian place in North Beach for dinner followed by a relaxing Starbucks before heading back to the hotel to watch You Tube videos, laugh our butts off and attempt to sleep.

Our Small Group on the Wharf (minus Emily)

Adorable & Delicious little Italian Restaurant

It had the neatest decorations!

At the finish line on race day I was greeted by my mom, dad and little brother. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the Wharf & found a Mexican restaurant for lunch. Later, we took Bart back towards the valley. I spent the remaining 2 days with my family in my hometown – eating, relaxing, visiting and sleeping.

Crossing the finish line! My time: 2:37:14

With my mom post-race!

With my dad post-race!

Overall: Trip was a success! I am looking forward to my next race (whenever that might be).  And training this time, of course