Happy? Veteran's Day!

As I sit here drinking coffee from this fabulous red cup and browse through old pictures, I'm remembering great times, sad times, scary times.  Veteran's day is a happy day... its a day to be thankful for what you have and reflect on why you have it.  Someone, maybe someone you loved, knew a little, never knew at all sacrificed so you could do what you do now.  Maybe you served yourself.

I served in the US Army.  I was only in for 4 years but I served for you all the same.  I suffered through basic training in the heat of Missouri (misery) and trained in beautiful Virginia.  Got stuck in Fort Drum NY for most of my time... but I had good friends there to help me through.  I pulled guard duty with loaded weapons on the fences of the Bosnia posts.  I've slept on the ground with just a sleeping bag and feet of snow around me.  I've been through things.  Many people have been through much more than me - war, enemy fire, snipers, all that stuff I was so scared to ever be in and am thankful I never was.  I have highest respects for those that were in these situations, still are in these situations.  I can only imagine.

As I look through my old pictures, I had a great time serving my country.  I met great people, lost great people, and wonder where some of these people are now because we never kept in touch.

Browsing through Facebook this morning, I saw lots of wonderful posts relating to today.  Some made me laugh, some made me cry.... but what I love the most is that people remember, if just for a moment, that soldiers are a huge part of what and why our country is what it is.  They forget to complain about a stupid red cup, forget about Glenn from walking dead, and instead remember why they can do all that in the first place.

So today, if not everyday, thank those that served, remember those that sacrificed, and pray for those currently serving.  Someone is always serving for you.

Motorcycle Class!?!

I want a Can-Am Spyder.  To get one, I have to have a motorcycle license.  Harley Davidson happened to run a special this summer for Active Military and Veterans offering a FREE 2-day class. So I signed up.  I've ridden as a passenger but never drove.  

I was nervous and scared and excited all at the same time.  I had so much emotion that after I dropped the bike the first time, along with the heat (90+degrees) and full gear, I basically had a meltdown.  I took a five minute break... Really wanted someone to yell at me - "Bikers don't cry" "What is wrong with you?"  Something like that... anyways, I made it through Day 1, dropping the bike a few more times. :-(  

Day 2 we started out by doing U-turns!  No warm up, just go right into tight u-turns... Of course, I drop the bike first thing.  No biggie.. with that out of the way, I did much better the rest of the day then I did the day before.  

I dropped the bike a total of 8 times throughout the weekend.... mostly because I'd be sitting in line and would accidentally turn the throttle and the bike would jump forward, which would startle me and cause me to lose my balance.  But I passed the test - both of them!  Just have to go to DMV now and get my license stamped :-)   

This class is definitely in my top 10 of hardest things I've done... speaking of, that will be a topic of an upcoming blog post soon.  :-)   

Wild Animal Sanctuary....

A few weeks ago... April 25th to be exact, I went to visit the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, CO with J.J. and her family. I never knew this place was here.  I grew up an hour away and never knew it was here!  Craziness.  Anyways, the Sanctuary started in 1980 by Pat Craig It is "the oldest and largest nonprofit Sanctuary in the US dedicated exclusively to rescuing captive exotic and endangered large carnivores, providing them with a wonderful life for as long as they live, and educating about the tragic plight faced by an estimated 30,000 such animals in America today" (quote taken from website www.wildanimalsanctuary.org )

It is a pretty cool place.  I've been to a few nonprofit sanctuaries in the past and this is definitely one of the best ones.  Check out their website for more info!  Here's some pictures from our visit:

Phase 3: Getting Moved into my New House!

Phase 3: Getting moved into my new house!  this is the last phase and I should be caught up on my blog... for the most part anyways.  :-)

I moved to Colorado, I found a job, and now I needed a place to live. I was going to live close to work so lessen my commute. I hate commuting! So I looked around in Boulder…. Wow, it is expensive! 500sqft for $1,000 month or get in a rent-a-room situation with roommates. Didn’t like those options, so starting looking around elsewhere. Turns out, it’s not much cheaper anywhere else. House prices are outrageous right now and selling for more than they are asking for in most cases. Which lead me to mobile homes/manufactured homes/trailers… whatever you want to call them.  For the same price or little cheaper, I get more space and no roommates. Sounded pretty good to me.

So I bought an over-priced mobile home…. in Firestone, CO. It’s mine and I don’t have a roommate. I could get one later if I wanted, but for right now, I’m good.  Below is my house:

Now I had house, time to move in:

Updated photos to follow later :-)

Update: Phase 2 (of 3): In Colorado, Looking for Work

I up and moved from North Carolina once I sold my house… without a potential job lined up in Colorado. I had a free place to stay in the mountains in the Poudre Canyon and enough money to last a few months so I wasn’t too worried.

The first week I was back in Colorado, I did absolutely nothing! My brother Brandon was getting married the weekend I got back so I was getting prepared for that. It was a fun small wedding in Blackhawk… a little gambling town in Colorado. They looked so beautiful together :-)

My brother Clayton works for Liberty Oil and scored great tickets to the Garth Brooks Concert! It was awesome! We had our own suite stocked with food and beer. Good times.

After the wedding weekend and Garth, I hit the ground running… went shopping for interview clothes, sent my resume everywhere I could, and talked to some staffing agencies. And the fun interviews begin....

While waiting in the mountains, my car was buried in snow! We watched a lot of movies, read, and ate… mostly popcorn. ☺

A month later I was not having much luck and was starting to worry. Then I got a call from Department of Commerce for an administrative position with NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). I interviewed with them and then waited… a few days, I received notice that I had an offer coming to me. After all the background checks and paperwork filled out, I started work on May 4th. ☺ It is a beautiful campus in foothills of Boulder.

Stay tuned for the last Update, Phase 3: Getting moved in my new house! 

Update: Phase 1.... Back to Colorado

So my blog needs some updating...  This is going to be done in phases.  First phase is the trip back to Colorado.

I sold my house in North Carolina on March 10th.  Left North Carolina on the same day.  My mom came down to help me pack this container and drive across country with me.

 

We went Southeast before heading West... went to visit my Uncle Chris and his family outside Savannah, GA.  It was a good visit and nice to see everyone.

Then we headed West.  Since we were so far south, we decided to detour in Columbus, GA and see my 2nd family - the Jacksons.  I had lunch with some of them and had a great quick visit with them.  Can't wait to see them all again.

I failed to take many pictures... but on our route we drove by this farm house with all these signs... looks like a place American Pickers would stop at.  :-)

We also happened to drive the road to Selma.  I thought that was pretty cool... and we got a picture of the bridge as we crossed it.

 Our last stop before our final destination was Suzanne's house in Texas.  I wanted to take a bunch of pictures but it rained the full 2 days we were there.  My mom did a wine and paint class with me though.  It was so fun.

And we finally made it to Colorado...

so begins he search for a job... Update: Phase 2 coming soon....