Today is November 1, 2004. The funny thing is that i cannot tell you what happened to October 1, 2004 or even September 1, 2004. I guess that is a good sign that life in Colorado is treating me well... i do miss home though. not midland or holland or hope... but the people that make those places home. You are loved friends... even from far far away.

The low tonight is 9 degrees and there is an inch of snow on the ground. Almost every ski resort is said to be open by thanksgiving and many already are.  The leaves are all off the trees and the little grass we have is no longer in sight. The green that covered the mountains i so love to look at every morning has slowly faded to a brilliant white. The seasons are no longer changing... they are changed. And that is okay with me. I like change.

I went to rocky mountain national park with josh and spent 5 hours looking at the beautiful rolling hills and forestry. We saw a few birds and a couple deer herds, but other than that, i got nothin'. The sole purpose of the day was to see some of the majestic four-legged creatures that inhabit that beauitful stretch of the rocky mountians. and nothing. and just when i though all was lost we spotted some... 30 elk sitting on the fairway of a local golf course in town. We were stopped at a read light and one crossed right in front of the car! He didnt even look both ways before crossing! "stop look and listen before you cross the street. First you use your eyes and ears and then you use your feet..." Oh, you know you love that song! But honestly, when does that happen? Better yet... where does that happen? Colorado... thats where. I love it.

It is hard to believe how much life has changed for me since graduation. One of my bestest friends in the whole world is not only in love but also engagged! I cannot be happier for her and the puker! (thats his nickname and it is a long yet funny story that i will hopefully write into a book soon.) No one picked little Sandra Bongiorno to be the first to bite the dust! But she is and i cannot wait to see it happen.  And in terms of my life... i do believe i have found a boy that i plan to hang onto for a while. He's a dork. Which is good considering so am i. But he's an unbelievably amazing and wonderful dork. He's cute too... why else would i hang on to him! lets just see if he hangs onto me after he experiances the nashville thanksgiving...uh... festivities... :)

and in case you were wondering... there are still mice everywhere out here. its cool... not really.

LAZY WEEKEND

welp, my vols won this weekend! Woo hoo! nothin' like beating those Gators to make a girl smile! But after serveing and cleaning all week, it was really nice to chill and watch football with Josh, Wilson and Nicole. The leaves changing along the chalk cliffs made a great backdrop to the TV. :)

in 4 days my mother is coming to visit. It will be so wonderful to see a face that i love and be around a heart that loves me very much. Not to mention a wallet that loves to share its contents and a mouth that appreciates fine dining! I plan on hitting up the cheesecake factory on thursday in the Springs. yum.

yum.

And maybe Chipolte for lunch... a burrito the size of my head may just be something to make my tummy leap for joy!

i think i might be a young life leader full time. hmm... i think i could love loving on kids all the time. but we'll see what God says...

Ahh... a day off.

Its about time!

After church Josh, Matt, Nicole and I went for a ride up to the Brown's Creek waterfalls. It was gorgeous! The trees are changing and the water is rushing faster than it has all summer. Now, i'm not now, nor will i ever be a "cowgirl"...but i do enjoy a little bit of horseback riding every now and then. I must admit... i am walking a bit funny right now.

the BVHS football game was fun on Friday night. We only made it for the second half because we had to serve dinner to a group of ladies on a church retreat. i think they had an age requirement for this thing... over 60! I am not even kidding! But anyway, we got to the game long enough for jonny to see us with the poster we made ("Just throw it to #4... he's really good") and the pictures of his head that we put on popsicle sticks and waved in the stands. Plus, i made Bob a "Coach Marken is my hero" sign that he loved... in a i am so embarrassed/no one makes signs for the head coach sort of way!

ANd then on saturday night we went to a barn dance... yeah... it was straight out of a movie. We're talking old folks ( the age requirement must have also been 60 and over here too but we obviously didnt get the memo!) in funny outfits square dancing to a LIVE fiddle band. THe guy on the banjo could rock out! but it was fun to ham it up with the townies and pretend to be a small town gal for awhile. I mean, Midland MI is a budding metropolis...

 Okay friends, this girl needs to find some advil quick... peace out!

Another day another dollar…

 Or so it seems. But the money is not why I am out in Colorado. Mainly because there isn’t a whole lot of it to rake in right now… but pretty much I am only here to see the colors on the mountains change and the leaves on the trees fall. Let me tell you, there are few things cooler to watch than the seasons changing.

 Change is good. Hard sometimes. But good.

 God is good. I will always remember that.

I cant believe how early I go to bed these days! I guess getting up at 7:30 and putting in 8 hours will make anyone tired enough to crash at 10:00pm… but honestly! I didn’t think old age would come so soon! J I really wanted to go watch TV tonight after I got back from Church, but the guy we affectionately call “Big Dave” beat me to the remote. For those of you who don’t know Big Dave, he is 56… has been working at DVR for 20 years… is a former ski bum… his favorite hobby is working with his team of mules pulling logs around the ranch… He has a total of 6 teeth… he lives in a tent without electricity all year ‘round and he consistently talks to himself with a horrible stutter. But he is pretty cool, I am just not in a hurry to spend any more one on one time with him if I dont have to.

So yeah, 7:30 comes way to soon…

 Goodnight moon.

THE MOUSE

i like mickey...and i dont mind minnie...but i HATE mice.

the horrible thing is that they are EVERYWHERE! i had to take 3 out of traps today and dispose of them myself. Dont get me wrong, i am all about the independance of women and all that jazz, but honestly, the men should have to take care of the mice! They enjoy watching the little, ugly rodents sqirm in the trap. They think it is fun to see their brains smushed all over the cheese the mouse was so valiently trying to steal. Girls, well... dont. I am sorry. They are not cute. And they sure aren't fun to watch squirm in your underwear drawer! ah well... guess its just another just another day on the ranch!

It is so weird how certain i was that God wanted me out here and now i am not certain i was even listening to Him in the first place. but i am listening now. it is so peaceful and quiet here that i can't not listen. So here's hopin' i catch wind of something He has to say...

like what i am supposed to do with my life...

where i am supposed to go...

who am i suppose to reach out to...

and why it is that i have showered in three days and couldnt care less!