2nd Half of July (and start of August) Updates

Like a lot of bloggers, I’d like to regularly do “updates” posts talking about what’s going on, keeping me active on the blog and doing general updates related to my blog. Ideally, weekly updates posts would be relatable for people, but that might be too ambitious for me. I have tried this in the past without much success. So, twice a month to start, I’m going to try to keep some updates including current likes, obsessions, books I’m reading, tv shows I’m getting into, updates with each job have, etc.

If you caught up with me from the first half of July, you’ll see we left off in week 3, the week of July 16th, with me racing directing the Prairie Dog Half.

July, Week 4:
-We were going to go to Outdoor Retailer for Golden Mountain Guides (the Summer Market Show) but with August approaching, we really wanted to get some more work done on the house, so we opted out of OR.
-Then, I was off to Winter Park for Cross Country camp! Camp marks the start of the season for me. There’s one week in between camp and when practices officially starts, so it’s my reminder to get my mind and body ready for the season.

-I always have a blast at camp with the kids. It’s so cool to see them push themselves for those four, full days.
-I hadn’t been running too much in the last month or two because of the move and was very worried about being able to run all of our runs, but I made it through just fine! It’s amazing what the body can do when you kind of “have to” step up.
-During those four days, we went on five separate runs, played an intense game of ultimate frisbee and capture the flag, talked about what it means to be a part of Green Mountain Cross Country, had a pizza eating contest, and the team hung out and bonded throughout the week playing games, watching movies and eating together.
-When I got back from camp, you guessed it, I was right back at work on the house!

Last week of July (two days) and the start of August:
-With only two days left in July, we really wanted to get out of our old place so that we didn’t have to pay rent for two different places again.
-Hopeful, we started parking and moving on Monday. Spoiler alert: we didn’t make it by the end of July.
-Maybe we should have been packing right away when we signed the new lease, but I think we thought we would have had more of the house done in less time; making it easier to move.
-It took us pretty much the whole week, into the start of August, to get everything moved over and to clean our old place.
-So, now we are OFFICIALLY living in the new place! And I think the animals are adjusting well.

The cat has already claimed her spot

-It’s not pretty and to most, it probably looks terrible, but let me tell you it’s 100X better than our last place, even in it’s half finished, no shower, crowded from boxes state.
-Because we have unfinished hardwood floors in three rooms, we can’t use those rooms yet. The bedroom and living are sanded and waiting to be stained (we are working on some previous owner’s animal smells left behind). The third room, what will be our business’s office, is stained and the polyurethane has been applied, but needs three more days before we can put furniture on it!

I’m learning how to use a ton of power tools, much to my dismay

-We are currently living as if the kitchen is a studio where we have half our clothes, couch and tv (in addition to normal kitchen stuff).
-We are sleeping in what will be the retail space for our business, surrounded by boxes and the other half of our clothes! It’s actually kind of comical, but again, it is 100X better than our last place and feels so much more like “home” and is 1,000X more clean and less smelly.
-We did get to indulge a little on Saturday and went to a concert. We saw Peter Frampton and the Steve Miller Band for Ben’s Dad’s birthday!

New/current happenings in the world of Golden Mountain Guides:
Our phones are still ringing off the hook and our weekends are being booked out. I can tell vacation season is slowing, but we are still seeing way more clients than last year.

New/current happenings in the world of 3W:
We have been gearing up for the Denver 5k, a second-year event for us that I am the race director for. I am also getting ready to time a race this weekend.

New/current happenings in the world of coaching:
As I mentioned earlier, we just finished camp a week ago and practice officially starts this week! AHHH!!!! This means I TRY to get into the 3W office/work earlier so I can leave for cross coutnry practice.

What I’m reading:
I just finished reading “Feather Theif” by Kirk Johnson. Another pick from the Outside Book Club. Not something I would normally read, but I’ve been trying to read every book in this book club (even if I’m not active in the conversation) because it’s getting me out of my normal reading comfort zone (cough…young adult.. cough…dystopian story line…cough cough). Ironically, now I’m working on a young adult novel from a series I started as an actual young adult, “Silver Shadows” by Richelle Mead. It’s a spin-off series from the Vampire Acadamy series. Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want. I actually go through books pretty quickly and have a few going at the same time. You can follow me on Goodreads!

What I’m watching:
I have really been digging the show on Netflix, Amazing Interiors. It hits pretty close to home.

What I’m listening to:
I finished my Game of Thrones audiobook, and until I can get the next one from the library, I have been catching up on the BibRave Podcast. Recently, I’ve really liked the Nutrition and Supplement episode.

What I’m loving at the moment:
Cat Litter! HA! No, seriously, Dr. Elsey’s Cat litter is by far the best cat litter on the market (and I know; I grew up with cats and was a vet tech for years. It ACTUALLY clumps like it says!!!), but more importantly is their indoor cat campaign. In my last back of cat litter, there was a postcard and an orange collar. This is all for their “Orange is IN for Indoor cats” campaign to increase the odds that indoors cats get back home if they get lost. You’re supposed to write your phone number on the collar and if someone notices a cat is outside with an orange collar, they actually belong inside.

Noteworthy:
I was selected to be a Fortitude 10k blogger! WOOT! Part of the Bolder Boulder 10k, they created a 10k on Labor Day in Fort Collins and like the Bolder Boulder finishes in the CU Buffalos stadium, the Fortitude 10k finishes in a better stadium, the CSU Rams stadium. Since I’m a CSU Alum, I’m excited for the opportunity to run this second-year event! Stay tuned for more about the race and a discount code!