top 10 things i learned while living in CO

1. Purple mountains majesty really does exist. God is huge. No one else could be responsible for such beauty.
2. Legalizing a dangerous substance does not prove to be a good thing. 'Safer than alcohol' my rear. Tell that to the guy on my husband's company softball team whose reflexes were so slowed that he almost got knocked out by hubby at homeplate. Maybe it's because I have never been around anything but drunks beginning in early childhood, but I can't get used to grown adults smoking something they had to sneak buy. Legal, yes, but only with a doctor's note and apparently those come cheap and easy. I've never smelled more of it in my life. Probably walk around in this altitude with a contact high most of the time. And believe it or not, in OK you would just be repulsed to see your child pick up a cigarette butt...try a used joint. (almost happened while waiting to be seated at a nice restaurant)
3. I love my children. They are hilarious, brilliant, strong, special, courageous...all the things their granny tells them. They are boys who are not afraid to tell their mommy and daddy how much they love us all the time. They are never happier than when we show them lots of attention together. If we have learned nothing, we have learned how to be a family again. It doesn't have to be about anyone else - just us 4.
4. My husband is wonderful. I love him for this move. He has not only proven to himself once and for all, but to me that he has our best interest at heart. He is the true spiritual leader of this household, and I can let go of ever feeling in charge. I needed that big time! My joy and goal is to just be fulfilled. We have been through so much and have grown every inch of the way.
5. The stay home mom gripe turned into an entire blog entry. It was a huge part of my stay here, but I fear there are miserable at home moms everywhere. I was not one of them. Yes, there are rough days when nothing goes your way...take a class, join a bible study, love your kids and your time to watch them grow, love your hubby for what he is giving you, and don't forget to release your frustration somehow. You don't have to have a fancy gym membership. Try a walk around the block. Don't be afraid to admit that you like working outside the home. Very wise women find this out all the time.
6. Virtually everyone is a transfer here. We have only met 2 natives. It is a serious melting pot of cultures. And apparently openly breastfeeding with no attempt to cover the breast is a beautiful, natural, earth mother kind of event. I'm all about nature, but hubby about passed out at the zoo.
7. Cost of living is about 20% higher...they say. Not seen or noticed except in housing. Our brand new custom home on 3.2 acres in Oologah, OK sold for 192,500. We rented a home here on a saltine sized lot with an 'enormous' backyard for way toooooo much a month. More than our mortgage in OK. Colorado definition of enormous - just a tad bigger than our dog run for our daschund in OK. The basement gig is awesome! I will miss that. A/C is not required due to the mild temps, but coming from OK I need to sniff some free-on occasionally while being a mile closer to the sun. Asking price for this beauty...close to 300,000. Transplant our OK home & property here...$750,000 is what the realtor told us. Land is not an option in most affordable places here. It is reserved for bears, mountain lions, big horn sheep, buffalo, prarie rattlers, and mule deer. Some of the most beautiful animals. The deer come straight off some Santa movie and make our little white tails look like woosies.
8. If you were stranded in CO what one thing would you need to survive? LOTION!Not just Jergen's cherry almond, but some sort of body butter. Thick and hearty. The fresh mtn. air is wonderful to breath, but rough on the skin.
9. There is nothing like waking up and looking out your upstairs window to see the neighbor dressing right in front of you. NO, joking...to see Pike's Peak. This really is a scenicly wonderful place to live. The foothills of the Rockies, if you're ever lost you have 3 helpful hints. When you see the front range you are headed West. When you see Pike's Peak you are headed South to Colorado Springs, and when you see traffic backed up you are headed straight North into downtown Denver.
10. FITNESS. The altitude about killed us when we first got here. Just climbing up 3 stairs it was like all of the sudden I needed to be inhaler dependant. It only took a few days to conquer the steps, but almost 6 mo. to really get into a habit of working out every day. We decided when we moved that we were going to change our fitness lifestyle. My husband is diabetic and takes a handful of pills daily. His biggest problem is his sugar going high. He has sort of a double whammy of family history bad cholesterol and family history diabetes. He has trimmed down from a 52 to 46 waist since December. We both enjoy the gym. It is almost a craving now. If we could just lose the sweet cravings we would be fine. Yes, just because someone tells you that you can't have sweets doesn't mean you all the sudden don't like them. Darn! We want our kids to know that we think our health is important. We want them to grow up active and making good choices. That came easy here. For one, we really knew nobody to keep us overly busy doing other things. So our goal is to keep moving when we get back HOME! I am going to sign up for a fitness program (free!) that sponsors you with one run/fun run or walk per month. Of course the free t-shirt is encouraging, but I have recently been improving my very slow time of running a mile. I am not a small person and would have never thought I could do this. I don't want to lose my enthusiasm, so I have been setting a few goals for myself along the way. My husband feels good, looks as handsome as ever, and can't wait to work in our new yard in OK.

We will never feel more blessed. My husband and I had fought coming here for about a year and a half before deciding that if we didn't take this chance it may eat away at us the rest of our lives. We have learned so much, but mostly just how big God is. He has provided us basically a round trip ticket to a great job. My husband has always struggled with his career, and he came home one night here and just said that we needed to go back to OK. I about passed out. Our kids were definatly struggling, but I didn't realize how unhappy he was. When he told his boss that I was indeed taking my job back in OK, and that he would fulfill his obligation for his year here it was very hard. We were for some reason not at all concerned. We had feelers out already for jobs in OK, and he felt confident that he would find something by January. The worst part was that he would have to stay through December and we would already be in OK. God is so good! The boss told him that they would work something out because he could not be their competition. Yea hubby!! Finally feeling validated for his hard work and knowing that it is not going unnoticed. Finally believing and trusting in God enough to just be upfront and bold with others. They are transferring him back to OK with the same pay. Hello God! No other way that all could have happened. Also, they have knocked down a wall at their only facility there to make him an office, they have given him a whole week off to move, and he starts there June 5th!!!!!! Praise the Lord! Grace like rain!!!!!!!!!!! Colorado will always have a special place in my heart.

stay at home and love it, please!

I have been wanting to write about my Colorado experience, so that I would never forget everything that the Lord has taught me while I was here. I started out with this top 10 list and number one turned into a soap box, so I will just diverge on that as a whole topic.

I have been clearly disturbed by the actions of some individuals since being here. I was taking on a new career path, and they managed to suck the life right out of it. Yes, I am speaking of stay at home mothers. I must say to begin with that the only thing that kept my sanity was reading the mommy blogs of women who take pride in their job and their children. I am so glad that I started reading, God knew to have my sister keep begging me until I gave in and just joined the blog world. Also, my new good friend Jenny. We have sort of seen both sides of the coin. We both came from the same career path, and we have shared similar frustrations along the way. May God give her the strength to not get too 'crazed'.

These are the issues at hand. It is alright to have money and be a stay at home mom if...

* You don't use the leisure pool at the local rec. center to show off your tummy tuck scar while showing off your thong and chasing your 18 mo. old.

*Don't complain about spending time with your children! They are YOUR precious beings. If your trade off at home mommy can't complete the babysitting swap on your usual daily basis for you to go tan...you will likely survive and I am guessing no one will even notice.

*D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E-! Please don't depend on all the planets and stars being in alignment for your child to behave properly. Beat them into submission (joking, but all you who do discipline will back me on that one).

*If your nanny, or whomever generally combs your child's hair, is off that day...worry with someone else's looks other than your own. The kids deserve to match, have their shoes on the right feet all day. You know, not just sneak past you with them pointing outward, wrenching their little, big toe? I'm pretty sure if left in that position there would be long term damage.

*Your husband...Yes, when I first started this quest of not 'working' (hee, hee) I began to realize something. Not all hubbies are cut out to be hubbies with a wife that doesn't 'work'. It can be a thankless, red-eyed, no-money-making task. I was so blessed to have had this opportunity. Although, the women I have had the pleasure of meeting at various places along the way are miserable. Granted, some of this is due to the relationship with their hubbies, but I have never heard so much complaining in my life. Your husband should not have to watch the kids/KID (sad but true, several do not have multiple children) the second he walks in the door because you have been MADE to HANDLE them all day. What do these people thing Laura's mom on Little House thought when Pa came home from the fields? Excuse me while I go pamper myself Pa...I don't think so sister! Do they not realize that there are women who would pay good money to go through the agony of childbirth just to hold that baby until it was in college? I was around happier women and their much happier children when I 'worked' all day, every day!

You make life what you want it to be. You learn from mistakes, you love whole-heartedly or you won't ever know what it feels like coming back to you. You really do have to put yourself aside, but don't be afraid to remember that you are still there. I can't help but want to scream because there are deserving women all over the world who need the chance to have a child of their own, and other women waste away every day with their little blessings. To all you at home mom's out there (I'm not sure why I just said that, there are like two people who read this :) sounded good) you really do have the most blessed opportunity, the best 'job' (next to teaching that is) ever!! Don't take it for granted. There are women everywhere who will never have that joy. As I go back to teaching next year, I will be helping my oldest across the way to start his Kindy journey and will be praying daily for my little 2 year old. May he have all the fun in the world and take a big, long afternoon nap so that I don't miss too much.

balletone

yes, that was the name of the class that almost killed me. In the class description at the rec. center it clearly stated that you didn't have the have any prior dance experience. Well, this I do have...not ballet, but I was actually in a recital at age 27. If you know me you may be thinking that had to have been a dare, but it was merely a wonderful way to make new friends and spend time with my sister and sister-in-law. We still can't believe we did it, but it rocked!!

Needless to say, I thought I could handle this ballet/toning class. I handled it alright...I just barely lived to tell about it. For one, I am built a bit more like an ultimate fighter/kickboxer than a ballerina. I walked in head held high, looked around to see what the norm was and proceeded to take off my shoes and socks. I found an inconspicuous place to stand, not too close, but not back row either like the baptist I was raised to be. I begin to stretch out a little. I am starting to see a pattern with the women who are walking in. They all appear to be at least 6 feet tall. My husband laughs at me when I say I am 5'4". He swears I can't be more than 5'2".

As we begin, the teacher immediately spots a new victim. She looks my way and makes sure I have a visual on myself in the mirror, for it is especially important to be able to see yourself. I want to shout out that I don't particularly enjoy having a 'visual' of my total body in these distorted mirrors or any mirror for that matter, but I refrain for fear of drawing even more attention to my short self.

She goes through a few basics for my benefit, and just standing in first position I am feeling good. I am at least flexible enough to do this part. Sure, I can make it. She proceeds through a routine of poses and moves, then reminds me to keep myself in clear sight at all times (obviously my technique was catching her eye and needed to be catching mine). She says we will go through the routine 4 or 5 times up to tempo (fast) before going to the floor to tone. I am still thinking I can handle it. I quit thinking that the third time through the 'routine' at the same time I look up at the clock and realize only about 15 minutes had passed. I was ready to leave. The arches of my feet were on fire, as were my inner thighs. Apparently kickboxers use their quads to do most of the work, and my inner thighs were not conditioned to stay in this 'first position' for very long.

After another reminder to get a visual on myself, I almost told Six Foot Six Suzie to get a visual on my rear as it was leaving the room. I managed to send her a smile in the mirror and keep on truckin'. We made it to floor exercises and I thought I was home free. I was experiencing paralysis in certain parts of my legs and neck, but figured I had made it this far so I would continue.

Have you ever sat in a mitzi (you know the old cheerleading jump?) and did leg lifts with your back leg? Try it and see how it works out for you. Ever done a ballet sit-up? Well, let's just say I know why ballerina's stomachs look like they do, and that leftover baby weight from two kids sort of gets in the way of this exercise.

I am not bitter. I am not mad at my genetic make-up. I am just simply warning anyone out there who thinks they may be up for balletone. I will stick to my old ways. I will realize I am 31, not 21. I will set limits on my workouts and know when to quit...and maybe someday I will be able to climb stairs again and have a full range of motion in my neck.

taterisms

My son, oldest of two sons, is a 4 year old comedian. His granny calls him 'brilliant and special' and I just love that because he already believes it. In this world, self-esteem can be everything. I am so greatful that as an adult I realize this and want a healthy dose of encouragement given to my kids (not to mention the obvious healthy dose of discipline!). Here are a few things he has recently said that I have been making note of that I don't ever want to forget...

Hey mom, I know all about that sin bear. If you feed him too often you may not go to Heaven.

Hey brother, I only know two people in heaven...God and C.C's mom (would have been his Great Great Grandmother).

Yes, we did talk about Easter in my class at church...The stone is rolled away, HE IS RISEN! HAL-E-LU-A! HAL-E-LU-A!

Mom, can you do the robot? It goes something like this...he then demos the robot with 80's perfection. Not sure where that came from!

I can now spin spaghetti on my fork...I'm really getting used to being a man!

Mom, if there is an emergency or fire or something I know what a one looks like, but maybe you could push the 9.

I love Mr. Incredible, but how come Jesus is the greatest super?

I can move this chair to the table because I am using my inner strength.

Ok, I could go on all day and marvel at his cuteness! Yes, some of these took some explaining on our parts after they were said, but great conversation starters none the less. I am so grateful for a place to manage my thoughts other than post-it noting all of them to his scrapbook that still has nothing in it!!!!! Oh well, maybe by graduation...from med. school...:)

i am from...

I am from red 90 three wheeler (now illegal) carefully purchased by my father from his favorite periodical...the Bargain Post. I am from Chinese roach detouring chalk after all else failed, because I am from rental properties, cozy, loving, yet not all the rage.

I am from the golf course weeping willow's protection, the jonquil so refreshing, and the earthworm. I am from the pine needles, cone bird feeders, and most of all I am from pumpkins perfectly picked and placed. I am from the lake with the Yancy's to give mom a break. I am from soccer fields and cheerleading practice. I am from rides home with Aunt SuAnny.

I am from from Eddie...from Coetta. From high school romance and promises of everlasting love.

I am from the not minding my own business kind of closeness and not knowing when to stop drinking, from proud hard work and disfunction.
From "i am only spanking you because i love you" and "how's your car runnin'?"
I am from the Bible belt, no women shall take the offering, no shorts in the gym. Heaven/Hell revival, "Just as I am". I am from you might go to hell for clapping in the church building and you'd have never heard "Grace Like Rain" that now makes my son's tummy tickle with raised hands.

I'm from Oklahoma, chicken and dumplings and popcorn (with m&m's if it was payday).

From the gar shooting, beer drinking uncles. From the country club other side. From the 'don't talk about religion, politics, or other family members' voice of non-reason PaPa. From Grandma Great who once ate 13 desserts resulting in 'must be blastin' somewhere'. From trips to Uncle J's, dreaming that every day would be that fun. From my dad walking me down the aisle to meet my true love.

I am from retro photo albums yellowed and worn, shoeboxes, rusty lock boxes, cedar chests and the barn. I am from film on reels of mom's childhood vacations, quilt filled trailers with smoky framed photos given each Christmas, and refrigerators exploding with friend's kids. From embarrassing stockings with 4th grade pictures attached and ornaments wrapped gently and placed in the attic by CC and only CC. From proud phone calls and news clippings about us kids sent across state lines to dad from ma. I am from lots of tears and lots of love.