CO So Far.
Oh, hey there! Remember us?
The Martins. Doug and Becci? The people who promised you an online, monthly life update as part of their shiny, new New Year’s resolution? Lol. Wow. Guys, WHAT a crazy few MONTHS it’s been! I remember promising more pictures and an update forever ago! Severely belated, it may be but nonetheless! Harnessing the mood of this cloudy, temperate day and embarking on my first Fort Collins coffee shop experience, I shall hole up for the morning and finally crank out your update.
Last time, I rambled on about the move and how we came to call Fort Collins our new home. This month, I figured I’d fill you in on what we’ve been up to. The best place to start for that, I think is with a list of things we’ve learned thus far:
Always pack layers. Everywhere. You never know if you’re going to be in the sun or the shade, if it’s going to spontaneously rain, if you’re going to ascend to an altitude where there’s still snow on the ground - CO weather is it’s own thing, and when it’s not sunny and 80*, who knows what the hell it’s going to do. Lol. Best to be prepared for anything. It’s always good to always have your hiking shoes in the car, too because you never know when you’ll happen to drive past a trailhead en route to or from your target destination that looks too good to pass up…
Keep your head on a swivel. Bikes and longboards and rollerbladers and scooters and those stupid balance boards with one wheel in the middle are EVERYWHERE. One must always be checking and double checking and triple checking each intersection so as not to swipe or cut off any alternate transportation.
The sun is hot. Which may seem glaringly obvious, but man. That extra mile closer to the sun is no joke. My lockdown-white legs learned the importance of applying sunscreen real quick. Lol. I find myself constantly referencing the UV number on my weather app before heading out the door, but on the plus side, having a tan is kind of fun. *wiggles eyebrows*
Winter actually isn’t that bad. The sun shines most days here, so even if you do happen to get snow it’s usually gone by the next day. Shoveling isn’t as arduous because the sun does half the work for you! We did get a significant dump of snow in March that had me thankful for Doug’s investment in a snowblower as the driveway drifts were well over waist height. After digging through the drift the snowplow left with a shovel on the gravel portion of the driveway, I understand why little, old ladies get young whippersnappers to scoop their walkways…
We were super excited to get vaccinated in April, so we’ve been getting to actually explore more of the city. It’s been fun to bike around town and actually get to stop at places and go inside. And! We’ve got to host visitors! My family made a trip out to Loveland for Mother’s Day weekend and it was the first time I’d seen my parents, aunt and grandma since Christmas 2019. We loved getting to show them around and give tours of the house and just spend time together. Doug’s parents visited in June and stayed with us for a week and one of my friends stopped to stay and hangout with us for a couple days on her way to Portland. Having house guests and visitors almost makes things feel normal! Lol.
We’re slowly chipping away at home projects. Our downstairs guest room is now fully functional, we had some old plumbing rerouted through brand new pvc pipes (maybe one of the most exciting things - ha!), we have plans drawn up for a patio install this summer, we planted a garden that is actually producing - That was maybe the second most exciting thing. After our failed attempt at a ditch garden last year we’re both pleasantly surprised and slightly overwhelmed with the results of this one. We’ve eaten zucchini in just about every way you can, harvested our first head of cabbage and recently made our ninth jar of pickles from our monster cucumber plant. I think we’ve eaten more green things in the past two months than we have in the past year. Ha! Oh, and - after learning that our whole house fan was actually comically undersized for the square footage of our house and after enduring two of the hottest weeks on record with just a bike fan, a ceiling fan and an intricate dance of opening windows at just the right hours for the right amount of time - we broke down and got an air conditioner installed. I really wanted us to be hardy, rugged Coloradins who don’t need frivolous trappings like central air, but we’re clearly not that hardcore. We also figured if we wanted anyone to continue to visit us outside of snowy months, eliminating the swass factor was of great import. LOL.
Other than that, it’s mostly been life as usual. We did get to hit up a few weddings - I got to be part of the bridal party line-up for my friend Jess’s wedding in KC at the end of May and Doug’s friend Andrew invited us out to his wedding in Hood River, OR a few weeks ago. We had never driven west to Oregon before, so we decided to make a road trip out of it. It was shorter of a trip than we originally planned for, but only because I had to be back in town for class because - plot twist - I decided to go back to school!
Yes. I am officially a college student after not having been a student for THIRTEEN YEARS. And, if you think that makes a person feel ancient and out of touch you would be one hundred percent correct. Lol. I remember rolling my eyes at the “non-trads” in my classes at UNK back in the day and being so annoyed when they would ask a bunch of questions and not understand common things like how to access their grades and how to use technology to upload projects and now? I get it. Lol. It may be my karmic payback for all my 20-something, fresh-out-of-high-school scoffing, but I understand now. The learning curve for getting back into school after having been out of it for so long is real, my friends. Currently I’m just taking prerequisite classes, but the plan is to apply to nursing school at UNC in Greeley, CO next year and get my BSN.
I’ve well versed in communication and have always had a heart for the service industry and people-oriented careers and got to wondering where else I could put those skills to work. I’d been wanting to be in a “helpful” role and really wanted to kind of integrate myself into the community here in a more big-picture way than entertaining people on the radio or making good cocktails. In the months before we moved, I had found a dog grooming place in KC that worked with homeless and people who had struggled with addiction or had prison records. They would basically enroll them in a program, give them financial assistance, help them with childcare and teach them how to groom dogs. They were taking these people who were unable to find or qualify for employment because of past mistakes and situations, rehabilitate them, teach them a marketable skill and assist them in job placement. I had never heard of a program like that before and just felt this pull to be a part of something like that. Well. We ended up moving, so I never reached out, but that feeling lingered as I was applying for different jobs here in town. A friend told me about public and community health nursing, I picked some brains, did some Googling, consulted Doug and decided to go for it. Coming out of such a tense and emotional year and just becoming more aware of different social and economical divides that exist out there tipped me toward a career change. So, we’ll see what happens. I’m still planning on doing voice over projects as they come along and may pick up an industry job or something part-time, but I’m looking forward to seeing where this nursing thing takes me. The looming deadline of applications to get into next summer’s cohort feels slightly daunting, so cross your fingers UNC’s program finds me a worthy candidate!
I think I promised you some pictures with this post, but I’ll have to get those up later. I need to raid Doug’s phone and have him teach me how to convert iPhone photos into smaller uploadable files again for the hundredth time... Lol. I’ll be sure to holler when the photo drop hits! Until then, hope you’re all enjoying your summers. ‘Til next time!
