Whole

I was last in Boulder over six years ago, broken and seeking some sort of refuge from my sadness. I've been lucky to have been coming here for almost 20 years. Emotionally, spiritually and physically this place feeds my soul. I have a dear friend here, he was my roommate briefly at HPU and we go years without seeing each other, but when we do I am reminded the bond of true friends, they are always there, even when you don't see them often.

When I was here last I wouldn't say I received what I was seeking, but rather clarity. I couldn't run away to escape sadness. I needed to suck it up and rely on myself to find that happiness within again, and I did.

I am so happy to return here whole again. It feels good. My son and I are having a blast, hiking, running, shopping, eating and drinking. Boulder is my ideal vacation (much like Bend, Oregon, just bigger), a balance of culture, outdoor beauty and recreation.

 

 

 

Tonight we mark one off the bucket list and will see a concert at Red Rocks, then back home to my daughter and husband (man, that feels so good to say)! It's been great, but can't wait to get home to the rest of my family!

 

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E L O P E D

We did it! After much deliberating, thinking, trying to plan and stressing, 10 days before our vacation to Kauai we decided to get married there!

Neither one of us are "showy" people. Attention on us makes us cringe. Yet we love our friends and family immensely and wanted to put on the wedding for them. Ultimately we decided to do it for us.

We did it in a place that holds so much meaning for Rick and his family. For years I've watched them spread his dad's ashes in loving memory here. It felt like the perfect place to commit our lives
together. He is my husband, the man I will spend the rest of my life loving unconditionally. I'm a very lucky girl.

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Summer

It feels VERY good to be settled in our new home, because of that we've been able to fully enjoy our summer. There's been little time for blogging because I continue to work through the summer, with a week off each month to travel. Workouts happen before work, and play happens when I'm off. Our rest days we've been able to devote almost 40 hours to the animal shelter this summer, and that feels so good. Needless to I sleep well too!

Earlier this year, I moved up to "blue" dogs at the shelter. They are the bigger dogs, and need a little more working with. As a "green" dog (little dogs) volunteer we didn't have much of a chance to get too attached to any particular dog (that's a good thing at the shelter), because they get homes rather fast. Blue dogs on the other hand, we sometimes have that one special one we bond with (many we love), that we just know will make the perfect pet for someone with a little time devoted to them.

Our shelter is an amazing place. It's roomy, clean and the staff and volunteers care. However some dogs simply get stuck, for a while. They become our project dogs, dogs we work with regularly, take out to get exposed, and generally just love.

This experience for both my daughter and I has been amazing. We look forward to many more years with the shelter.

Here's a few of our favorites.

 

 

This is Babylon, she and I put a lot of miles running and hiking together. I adored her, she was recently adopted and I hope she has finally landed in her forever home!

 

This guys outcome wasn't so good. He's the ones you remember and become more determined to work and train the dogs and give them as much love as you can in that short time...

 

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