Tales of the Ordinary Days

A new Durango Chamber Diplomat (Dip) and trusted with the giant scissors! I love to go new. There is something exhilarating about going for the freshly wrapped gift in a white elephant gift exchange. Not knowing what lies under the colorful wrapping has always caught my wonder and attention. I now find myself going new on most days. With a life with less restrictions (no boys' calendars to coordinate nor 8-to-5-type work days), I find myself in my new city of Durango, Colorado filled with people whom I have never met and in places I have never been. The days of raising three sons are in my past. But I still have three 'boys' in my life today. Garrett, Larry and Zeke (husband, father-in-law and dog) are my current partners-in-crime. Every day brings something new. Some things are mundane and necessary, like weaving our way through the healthcare system and the ever-important need for a new dog groomer. More times than most we find little treasures as we work through...

Boy-See! The Boise Adventure. We are days away from the 6 month mark into our stay in Boise. What a fun ride! I haven't been blogging much lately, and the reason isn't lack of material. It's lack of time. So much to do, so few hours in the day. This is a pattern that has been recurring in my life since childhood. Per my mom, my youngest son, Grant, has similar tendencies. He always had great intentions with high determination, but time has never been on his side. When he was young, he and his brother would fly as unattended minors to stay for weeks in the summer with my parents in Arizona. Grant loved all of the newness of his grandparent's desert home and the resulting choices in how to fill his day. My mom has always been keen on how to best handle both her overly optimistic daughter and grandson. She later shared with me a story on how little Grant had a long list of things he wanted to do at their home on a particular day. Mom wisely asked him to write the...

Zeke decides to steal the driver's seat after his dog park adventure With Boise's typical sunny skies and high desert warmth (that seems to avoid the midwestern cold), we humans + dog are acclimating well to our new surroundings. The only difference between the humans and the dog is that he misses his snowy back yard and furry playmates in Omaha.  I keep reminding myself that if my biggest worry over the move is the proper socialization of the pup, we are in good shape. But it doesn't stop me from feeling bad for Zekers. As his human brothers before him, Zeke really loved the open run of our Omaha yard. With the house situated on a busy path for neighborhood dog-walkers and neighboring dogs, Zeke had constant interaction with both dogs and people. Boise is a whole new environment for him. We are living in the foothills, overlooking the city, and although our cozy retreat is perfect for Garrett and me, Zeke gets bored quickly. The quiet of our little house offer...

Dinner in Boise after a movie at The Flicks My adventures in Boise are about to continue, albeit briefly, as I will be traveling again in a week. I am currently sitting on a plane that just departed Omaha, in route to Boise. It was a very cold, but a very productive (and extremely busy) week back for me in Omaha. It’s been almost a month since Garrett and I pulled out of our Omaha driveway for Boise with U-Haul in tow. Three weeks in Boise. One week in Omaha. My new normal. Well, at least for now. I am honestly unsure what my new normal will be for the long-term and I’m good with that. As my father-in-law explained to me the other day, “Sandy, you just get up in the morning and figure it out.” Yeah, that pretty much sums it up for me. Although the main reason for my week back in Omaha is for business purposes with several on-going projects and clients based there, it also makes my time away from cherished Omaha friends feel almost nonexistent. True to my nature, t...

Day 30 | 30 Days of Writing Gift from my friend, Patty, with my plan completed on road trip As our trip and my 30 days of writing have come to a close, all I can think about is my mom's famous closing line. She tells this to us when she is ready to finish a conversation. It typically happens when Facetiming and she is done, ready to hang up. "Well, that's about it then." We are now home and it's time for a wrap. With a safe and very fulfilling trip behind us, I have to admit I loved sleeping in my own bed again.  With my own pillows and the the downy smell of my comforter, bedtime last night was a welcome reprieve from our life on the road. Before pulling into our driveway, I calculated the key stats of our trip: 4,888 total miles driven (all by Garrett with lots of pointers from me and Larry) 23 stops at different McDonald's 10 states visited 16 travel days 9 different hotels 4 national parks (Zion, Bryce, Death Valley, Yosemite) 3 travel...

Day 29 | 30 Days of Writing Grant's Instagram...loved this post. We miss you, Ben Lane! I can't believe it has been 29 days of writing and 15 days on our road trip. Seriously? Today was a bit of a marathon, but with a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I will start at the end and work my way back. It is 9:51 pm and we are getting ready to go to bed. Down for the count at a Country Inn and Suites in Greeley, Colorado. This will be the 15th consecutive night at either a hotel or guest bed. And all with a seven month old pup at our side. Not an easy feat, but Zeke has been unbelievably well behaved, until I jinxed it by saying last night that he hadn't gotten up in the middle of the night for a while. Our sweet Zekerdoodle responded with a wake up call at 2 am (thank-you, Garrett, for taking care of him). He is now outside with Garrett again for the second time in a hour after whining by the hotel door (Garrett creds again). Time to go home. The hotel is...