Like I Mean It...

Doing it Like I Mean It.....


I've used this expression before. Do it like you mean it.

Back in October of 2014 I wrote a post about really committing to something. Do it like you mean it.
As an expat friend once told me: "No matter how long you think you will be staying, you should approach ANY move as if it is for the rest of your life."

So this time I am doing just that. 

I have 100% completed No. 20: MOVE! Honestly, when I put that on the list I was thinking more along the lines of maybe a smaller house, different location in the same city, nothing major. 

Cue a divorce, the Texas house being sold, and hmmm....needing a place to live. 

I wanted the cabin and got it. There's something about the mountains out the front door that speak to me. I am drawn to them. Think Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Richard Dreyfuss's  obsession with that mound.   As a teenager going to San Miguel de Allende, I always felt like I was coming home when we got in view of Tres Cruces, the  "mountain" ( hill?) on the edge of town. 

Liddy, me, Liddy's cousin Nancy at the top of Tres Cruces

Elevation: 7043 feet. Year: 1972

I had that same feeling when I went on safari in Kenya in the 1980s. Mountains equal Home.  Ridiculous considering I was raised in flatter than flat Houston.  

Me with Mount Kenya in the background.

Elevation: 7000 feet   Year: 1988

Anyway, I have my mountain home. So now.... do it like I mean it. 

The view out the front window.

I am living at 7000+ feet, looking out to 13000 feet. 

7000 feet elevation seems to be my happy place.

The plan was to give myself a month or two and then look for a job. But I happened to see an opening at the local cardiologist's office for a registration position. Hey! I've done just that. Twice now. Once for the acupuncture office, once for the psychologist office. How hard can it be? (Spoiler alert: Lots harder than the first two!)

I applied and now I'm employed. Imagine that. 

 Between the interview and the actual first day of work I decided it was time to to really commit. 

I'm no longer a Texas resident. After 44 years of having a Texas drivers license, now Colorado is in my wallet. 

Texas has lost a voter...unfortunately. Pretty sure Texas could use a few more liberal voters. 

The State Car of Colorado now graces the driveway. I figured if I was going to have to drive to work in the snow, I better get a car that is up to the task. LOVE love love my  new Subaru Outback.

Yay! Its the "not-the-Mercedes". 

The Texas storage unit was emptied and the cabin is now overfull with furniture. Slowly the duplicates are being weeded out and the style is changing from weekend cabin to home. 

Work is fun and challenging and just busy enough to keep me interested without being overwhelming. OK, some days are overwhelming. But I feel like I will catch on. With cardiology I am learning more acronyms than I even knew existed. HTN, SOB (not what you think it means- try Shortness of Breath), AFib, HX, on and on and on. Seriously this job might qualify me for completing No. 59: Learn 300 words of a new language. Tachycardia, ablation, edema...

Will I be here the rest of my life? That remains to be seen. The next year or so? Absolutely. 

Doing it like I mean it. 

Two Months Later......

Two Months Later...


Two whole months have passed since I last wrote. I've had writer's block which is directly related to the craziness of my life.

A recap:
I moved, putting lots of stuff in storage and throwing whatever else that didn't get given away into the back of the car.
Once I have sorted everything I will definitely have completed No. 75: Downsize.


Carlos, Mina the kitty, and I are in Colorado.

These two don't like each other so they are pretending 

they aren't sharing the bed. 

The electric blanket was on, which apparently makes for 

strange bedfellows. 

Ten days after selling the house in Texas a big hurricane arrived. That same day friend Martha appeared on my door step in Colorado for a four day visit.

Hurricane Harvey did not mess with the old house but did prevent Martha from leaving for ten days.
While Martha was here she revised my resume,
visited Garden of the Gods,

Martha amongst the rocks.

Bishop's Castle,
(Click here to read more about the castle.)

The very tip top of Jim Bishop's folly. 

It gets a little shaky up there. 

Mount Princeton Hot Springs (So many questions. I finally told her to just wait and see, I couldn't explain it. Suffice to say, she was enchanted.),

Pretty sure this was Martha's first hot springs visit. 

(And an odd coincidence about the springs here.)

two breweries (is that all?),

Soulcraft Brewing in Salida

Always good to try new places. 

Elevation Beer in Poncha Springs.

My favorite.

There was a wedding reception there while we were sampling. 

some restaurants,

The Biker and the Baker Wine and Dessert bar in Salida.

This is a new one and I've been wanting to try it.

Well worth the wait. 

 and I'm sure we did some other stuff.

We did. Bingo! Martha was a winner. 

Once Martha left I got a job offer, thanks to her excellent resume skills.

I start work this week at the local hospital in the cardiology clinic, registering patients and checking them in and out.

Somewhere in between I flew to Texas to visit the mama and see some friends
(i.e. eat and drink some more....)

Libby and I at Beck's Prime, an oldie but a goodie.

Nell treated me to a fabulous charcuterie platter at 

Bacon Bros, a new Sugar Land restaurant that I had been dying to go to.

and ended up driving a 16 foot truck back to Colorado with everything from the storage unit. Many gazillion thanks to Martha for encouraging me to do this and also for offering to drive with me.

Do we look like we know what we are doing? 

No? 

She is one crazy ass friend and I mean that in the best way.
Also thanks to her husband who assured us we could do the drive and it was NBD to drive a 16 foot truck and sure, he could spare his wife for a few days/week.

Our truck was missing a headlight. 

Matt the repair guy became our new best friend. 

He met us at the Love's Truck Stop in Wichita Falls at 10:30 at night.

Always an adventure. 

There's not much to see between Texas and Colorado but we did make a stop at the Cadillac Ranch.

There had been lots of rain so this was the only car we could get close to.

Sadly there was also a lot of trash with all of the mud. 

(And Martha was trying to pimp me out to the cute guy that she conned into taking our picture. )

We did manage to hit another brewery before I got Martha back to the airport. No. 98: Brewery Tours!

It looks like a prison but it's actually Coors Brewery in Golden, CO. 

I've  been unpacking.

 And unpacking. And unpacking.

So much furniture, so much artwork. 

I now have TWO dining room tables, two sets of dining room chairs and an extra recliner.  All of these things will go on the local FB swap page as soon as I can get pictures of them and get myself organized. Story of my life: more furniture to get rid  of.

Three days were spent in Colorado Springs doing computer training for the new job. I got to have dinner with Belle and her friend at a super yummy restaurant, The Rabbit Hole.  Belle is living in the Springs for now which makes my heart happy because she is somewhat close.

Cute kids...

...scrumptious dessert.

The Rabbit Hole in Colorado Springs. 

Highly recommended.

I've also managed to visit with friend Diana who now lives in Golden.  We dined in old downtown Golden one night and it was excellent.

Bridgewater Grill in the Golden Hotel

(picture stolen from their website)

Fabulous dessert from the Bridgewater. 

I never seem to get pictures when I'm with Diana but at least I got a shot of the sweets. 

And I met friend Monica and her husband in Colorado Springs for the best BLT sandwich I have ever had. I may meet the 2017 New Restaurant requirement after all!   No. 90  Twelve new restaurants for 2017

Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. with Monica and her sweet husband John 
who was playing photographer.

The absolute best BLT sandwich I have ever had. 

The beer wasn't too shabby either.

Snow! We got seven inches last week. All gone the next day.

I got a new car...the State Car of Colorado...a Subaru Outback. I LOVE it. I danced a jig as the stupid Mercedes was carted away. Never have I been so happy to get rid of a car.

Love love love this car and it is so smart!

Sooooo.....

Hopefully life will settle into something resembling boredom here soon. Or at least maybe a routine??

If not, that's ok. I'm happy and employed and housed and life is good.
And maybe my computer will call to me more.

(And yes. I did have to do a bit of a detox after Martha left. Milk thistle seed supplements were procured and consumed. In between all the drinking and visiting there were lots of dog walks and
box emptying and box flattening and dog playing and furniture moving and kitty fur brushing. Honest. It hasn't just been a two month drunk.  Just looks like it in the pictures.)