First week living in Colorado: Pigeons and Dairy and Gummi Bears, Oh My!

Random facts and observations in my first week as a Colorado resident:

I love my new job.  The first couple days were super exhausting both physically and mentally.  Remember, I had basically been unemployed for the past month and a half.  I was happy to actually be a contributing member of society again, but it took a few days to get back in the groove of the whole working thing.

 We have a stretch wrapping machine.  You probably don't appreciate that..but trust me.  It's awesome.

My new coworkers are great and super fun.  The actual work is VERY different from my World Vision job in Minneapolis.  Many similarities of course...but also super different.  Both good...just...different.  Did I mention it's different?

I don't mind living alone as much as I thought I would.  I FOR SURE miss my roomie (love you nicoley!!), but I'm making do.  I listen to a lot of Pandora. And for some reason I'm a lot cleaner.  I do all my dishes right away, and clean up everything.  I'm almost OCD about it which is very not me.  Maybe its partly boredom since I have no friends here yet...and no cable :)

I do have a pigeon porch-mate.  He lives...on my porch. He poops in the corner which is gross.  And I actually hate pigeons.  But I kinda like him.  I've named him Gus cuz he's kinda chubby as far as pigeons go. And somehow I associate the name Gus with being overweight? I'm not sure. Apologies to any skinny Gus's out there. 

 

Evidence of Gus

Colorado has bad dairy products.  Well, not bad...I guess its just different.  I'm kinda picky. Especially when it comes to my dairy.   The eggs are weird and the cottage cheese is almost inedible.  If you come visit from MN, bring me some cheese please.  

It's sooo dry here.  I get bloody noses that I never remember ever getting before and my skin is all cracked.  I can hardly put face makeup on in the mornings without putting on three gallons of lotion first. Everything is static-y.  I sit on my couch with my phone plugged in...and every move I make sends a shock to me through my phone.  Can't be good.

I love my new couch.  Except for when it shocks me.

I haven't gotten a gym membership...and I'm not sure I will get one.  My coworkers have a little gym set up in the basement of the warehouse and apparently do P90x during lunch breaks.  Score.  I'll need to figure out the running situation soon tho, especially since I just signed up for my first full marathon this fall...but wanna do another half this spring. But it's dark out before and after work still and I am (well, my mom is) paranoid about me getting abducted and no one knowing if I didn't come home after a run...I need a dog.  A big dog.

Speaking of dogs....or hedgehogs....I'm bringing Quincy to work tomorrow. I hope he behaves.

Tomorrow night my cousin from Arizona is driving up to Minnesota for a job interview and she is going to stay with me on her way! I'm SO excited to see her again :) :) And excited for what God is doing in her life and where He is leading her! Love you, D!

Well, now I'm about to go purchase some Gophers vs Pioneers hockey tickets for when Emily comes and visits me in February...SUPER excited about that too! My first MN visitor!!

Speaking of MN...it didn't take long for me to get made fun of for my Minnesota accent.  The first actual word was: Tag.  Yesterday I got made fun of for saying Uffda.  I hope I never stop saying Uffda.  It's on my top 10 list of words for sure.  Possibly even top 5. 

Anyway, that's all for now.  This weekend I'm going to check out a new church, as well as downtown Denver and work on getting my Colorado license, and new Colorado license plates, etc.  Fun stuff....

Oh. Here's a picture of my gummi bears I'm eating.  

Not that you care.  I just felt like blogging about gummi bears.

First Impressions

I haven't even lived in Denver for 24 hours yet, but I already love it! Yesterday was super busy.  My mom and I got to town after a 7 hour drive which in itself is oddly exhausting...even though you're just sitting there....

Right when we crossed the border from Wyoming into Colorado, we could see the Rocky Mountains.

 Helloooo Rockies! 

Once we got to Aurora we signed the lease, got my keys, then started unloading the truck.  My dad doesn't come until tomorrow, so it was up to my mom and I to bring my bed, bookcase, coffee table, and seemingly thousands (keyword: seemingly) of boxes up three flights of stairs.  Maybe not my best decision to live on the third floor...but the vaulted ceiling and skylight convinced me it was worth it.

Once it was all unloaded we had to find somewhere to get a money order for the first month's rent.  Found a Safeway up on a hill...with an awesome view.  Hello Rockies again! I hope I never take them for granted..

Then we got some cheap decorative stuff at Goodwill including a wood holder for my fireplace.

Yay for fireplaces! Notice my sweet new wood holder! With firewood in it! Now someone come visit and help me so I don't burn my apartment down...

Then we ate at Old Chicago which is only a couple blocks away. Their Italian Nachos might someday be the death of me.

Then time for shopping.  Went to Target & King Soopers (Colorado grocery store chain) and spent too much money on decorations that I don't really need...but also on some food and things that I suppose I do need.

Came back to the apartment and unpacked a bit. Put up my new shower curtain and rugs in the bathroom...

Notice the little kid shampoo on the shelf.  It leaked allll over my stuff during the trip.  Why do I have little kid's shampoo? Because it's the kind that takes chlorine out of your hair after swimming. Don't judge me.

Then we went to bed.  Well we tried.  Kinda creepy sleeping in an apartment full of boxes for the first time.  But we gave it our best effort...and the 6:30 alarm came fast.  We got up early this morning to test out my morning commute to work.  Not bad at all! Traffic was surprisingly light but it still took me 20 minutes to get to work.  Oh well.  I'll deal.  Now it's time to go couch shopping then to Ikea.  See ya savings account!!

Rocky Mountain pic from karenoia.com

Anna & Maria

Just like last year, my family went to our hometown for Christmas and stayed with our close family friends for 10 days. They got me addicted to the show 24, and we watched a whole season and a half on Netflix at night after going to hockey games and visiting with family and friends!  I have babysat these girls since I was 12...and yesterday was Anna's 12th birthday! They are so much fun :)

 

And World Vision It Is!

God is so faithful! He has just blown me away this past month. 

As many of you know, I got laid off the beginning of December, (you can read more about that here). My plan was to move to Colorado. I have always wanted to live there, I was not stuck in a lease in Minneapolis, and I was just ready for something new! It was definitely a leap of faith, moving to a whole new state and city with no job, and no real connections.  But I jumped.  And God caught me!

So I'll back up a bit...my mom and I drove from Spearfish, SD (where my parents live now) to Colorado to look at apartments the second week of December.   We looked in 4 different cities.  I had applied for a job in Colorado Springs for Compassion International, but when we went there to get a tour I found out the position had just been filled. Although disappointed, this was actually a blessing to find out so that I didn't feel obligated to live in Colorado Springs.  I found an apartment I really liked in Aurora which is a suburb of Denver, and I also found one I really liked in Fort Collins.  I was moving ahead with the process of getting approved for the one in Fort Collins.  I loved the city--smaller but still plenty to offer--and closer to the mountains.  I then applied for a handful of jobs in FC, but not a single one that I was excited about. 

After getting back from Colorado, I prayed a lot about moving. I began to have a few reservations about living in Fort Collins specifically. Mainly because I knew the job situation would be more limited than in Denver, but also because it is a very white, middle-class city. Many people look for that, but I like being exposed to different types of people who aren't "like me".  I prayed about whether or not Fort Collins was where I should be.  I was stressed about signing a lease on an apartment with no job. I prayed for a job. Let's just say, I was praying a lot.

Then, in the middle of a run....God began to answer those prayers.  I had gotten a call from Max who is the Warehouse Manager for the World Vision GIK Global Distribution Center in Denver.  To preface why he had called me, I should explain that before leaving Minneapolis, I had contacted the Site Manager there in Denver who had visited our warehouse in the Twin Cities.  During that visit, we figured out we were both from the same small town in northern Minnesota.  He had even played golf with my dad! I had emailed him right when we found out about the layoffs and asked him to let me know if any positions opened up in Denver.  I knew nothing about the Denver site and for some reason I figured they had a very large staff.  They don't.  They only have 4 staff (and about 10,000 volunteers/yr). And it just so happened that 1 of those 4 staff was leaving and they needed someone to start January 9th.  I knew NOTHING about this when I decided to make my move to Colorado.  To be honest, before getting the call from Max, I had kind of forgotten I had even emailed the site manager about open positions.

I talked with Max about the position which was essentially the same position I had been doing in Minneapolis and told him that I was for sure interested.  After the phone call, I knew this was exactly what God has been preparing me for.  Keep in mind I hadn't been offered the position yet, but I immediately started making phone calls.  I canceled the application process for the apartment in Fort Collins, then I called the leasing office at the apartment I liked in Aurora (... I later found out that the WV Storehouse is IN AURORA!! Well, technically Denver but its right on the border) and started filling out all the paperwork for that apartment instead.

The next week I had an hour-long phone interview with the staff which went well.  Then I waited. The position had to be posted online for a few days to be fair to any other potentially interested internal applicants. I waited some more through the Christmas holiday.  Then on December 27, I got the call from the recruiter formally offering me the position! I don't think I've ever gotten such a big hug from my dad after I hung up the phone :)

So, this Thursday I will be officially moving to the Denver area and will start my new job on Monday, January 9th.  God is SO good. 

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Here are the biggest things that make me just stand back and go "WOW". 

1.  I would have never gotten this job if I hadn't worked for WV in Minneapolis, and I would have never gotten that job if I hadn't worked for a garbage and recycling plant in high school where I learned how to drive a fork-lift. 

2. I loved working for the U.S. Programs (domestic) side of World Vision, but I had always wanted to work for the International side of it since I love learning about other cultures and my degree is in Sociocultural Studies. ...which I will be doing in Denver.

3. I wouldn't have known about any of this if someone hadn't suggested that I reach out to the Site Manager in Denver...who happened to be from my hometown in MN that most people have never even heard of.

4. The Storehouse just happens to be in Aurora...which is the only suburb of Denver in which I had looked at apartments.

5. Out of a staff of only 4, what are the chances that the one position that I actually qualify for would be available the beginning of January....

The list truly goes on...and I'm sure I am barely seeing a glimpse of what God has in store for me on this new adventure. 

Wow.  To God be the Glory!

Spearfish in December

South Dakota gets such a bad reputation...but out here on the western side of the state it's beautiful!!  My parents live right on the northeastern edge of the Black Hills.  When hunting for our Christmas tree, we took a few stops through Spearfish Canyon and took some pictures.  In the Canyon there isn't much wind, so when it snows it stays in big clumps on the pine trees--love it.

Finding adventure...

Life is an adventure.  

If it's not...you're clearly not growing enough. 

In the past 14 months: 

my parents sold the house I've lived in since I was 7 & moved 600 miles to the Black Hills. 

I spent a week in Florida with my roommate, explored downtown Seattle on my own, drove up to Canada to my friend's cabin in the middle of the night, 

gone through 2 break-ups, gone on a handful of "awkward first dates", 

started the process of looking for my birth mother (and still haven't sent in the papers), 

got an entry level job at my dream organization to work for...and a year later got laid off, 

I went Skydiving,

my grandma who I am very close to had a serious stroke, 

I went on a cousins trip to Arizona,

and now I'm halfway moved out of MN and will live with my parents in Spearfish, SD for December then start a lease in Denver, CO starting in January with no job lined up yet... 

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My life is an adventure lately...and boy, am I growing.

Five important things I've learned this past year or so about Faith, Love, and Happiness:

5. Don't get too attached to home as a physical "place". Sure it's sad and you've made a lot of memories there, but its just a building. It's just a town. You can't move away from memories, they come with you.

4. Get rid of that shirt "that might be good for layering" but you haven't worn in 2 years. Get rid of those textbooks and notebooks from college you know you're never going to look at again. The less "stuff" you have = the easier it is to move on short notice = more adventures.

3. Don't look for a relationship just to "make you happy", that is way too much responsibility and pressure to put on someone else. This should be obvious, but I know I've fallen into it way too often.

2. Don't let fear hold you back. God doesn't use fear as a way of closing doors.  If you're comfortable, you're not growing.

Most importantly...
1. Follow your gut.   I've learned the Holy Spirit often works through my gut...(give that man your $10 gift card, start a conversation with that elderly lady in the airport, don't go to that party). You know when something doesn't feel right.  Once you start following it on the little things...you'll learn how to listen to it on the bigger, tougher things.

So even if it's not your "thing", I dare you to look for more adventures and opportunities to grow.  Whether its jumping in that puddle or out of that plane. Don't pass up an opportunity you know you should take just because it's not what you're used to.  I've done that way too often and it's just a waste of time to stay comfortable because you're scared of the alternative.  Because as Helen Keller said...

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."

Fun out West!

My parents moved out to Spearfish, SD in September of last year after retiring. Danielle and I set out this summer on the 9 hour drive to go visit them and have a few lil adventures!

Mules in Custer State Park

Needles!

Reptile Gardens

Badlands

Double rainbows! View from my parents' house.

President's Heads :)

Climbin boulders at the base of Devils Tower

Mom and Dad :)

Costumes in 1880 Town..so fun!