Day 80 - 87 - Passports, Flex Friday, New Skates, Pumpkins, Climbing, Party, RV Skirt.

     A good amount has happened in the last week! We have been busy. Early in the week we went to (finally) apply for passports. We don't have any out of country trips planned, but we would like to start planning some! We went to the Post Office to have them file the paperwork and take our pictures. My first picture was terrible, God awful, and I almost didn't get it redone. The people pleaser that I am didn't want to inconvenience the person taking care of us, but this picture could NOT be what was on my passport for the next 10 years. The second picture was exceptionally better. I went from looking like a linebacker to myself. I will not share that embarrassing picture on here, but I'm sure if you ask my husband, he will 100% take the picture out of his wallet (that he promised he threw away) and show you.

    Alanna went to Youth Group again on Wednesday. While the kids were there, we met our friends for a celebratory drink to celebrate her new job offer. This is the year of manifesting what you want and going after it! Want a new job? Manifest! Want to travel more? Manifest! Want to make more money to fund your traveling more? Manifest! Obviously, hard work pays off, but I'm starting to believe that half the battle is the right mind set. Put positivity out there, and positivity will come back to you!

    Brandon met with another dog walking client for Thursday and Friday. He came home to let me know that the woman he met reminded him of Grandma. She had baked goods everywhere in preparation for her family to visit.

Brandon walked D.C (the wiener dog) Thursday, and there was a cinnamon roll left for him on the counter. Then Friday morning the woman cancelled because she was in the hospital and her family has the dog. Of course, I need Brandon to check in on her. I need to know that she is doing ok. He also owes her another walk because she paid him already. 

    Friday was my first flex Friday, and I was so excited that I had a million and one things lined up to do. Of course, I forgot to factor in that it is only one day, and I am not super woman, but I did get somethings accomplished. I started out my morning by NOT sleeping in because I struggle to wake up early for work, but on days off I pop out of bed super early! Then I went grocery shopping by myself. By. Myself. It was nice. I came home and prepped dinner for later (lazy pierogi) and then Alanna and I met our friends at the skate park to soak up some sun. Brandon took a nice long ride on the motorcycle to scout out some outdoor climbs in preparation for Saturday. 

    Dana came over Friday to take Alanna to get her own set of skates for derby, and then she stayed for dinner. I also wanted to try my hand at making cinnamon rolls, so that's what I did for dessert. For the most part, they came out great! Good flavor, nice texture, but the oven is different than regular ovens and the rack was too low causing the middle portion of them to burn on the bottom. I will pause for you to get your composure thinking about those glorious MIDDLE cinnamon rolls NOT being perfect. I even put these in a rectangular pan to make extra middles, because those are everyone's favorite, and it failed. I forget what we gave as a success rate for the cinnamon rolls, but it wasn't a super logical mathematical rating. While we were trying to figure out what went wrong, I said, "but I rotated them" and Alanna said, "but when you rotate the pan the middle is still the middle." She is smart, and that makes sense. The problem was actually that the rack was too low to the heating element, but her theory makes sense. Our smarty pants. Dana and Alanna left after dinner. Alanna slept over her Titi Dana's so Dana could take her to derby practice in the morning. After practice Alanna went back to Dana's, and while Dana was studying Alanna made her lunch. I wasn't there, but I'm sure it was precious!

    Saturday is one of our favorite days so far. Brandon and I finally rock climbed REAL rocks, outside, at Death Valley. Brandon connected with some local climbers via Facebook groups, and we met up with them. We were both nerves and excited all morning. We had our gear packed, we had some snacks, we were ready to go! The way you get to a climbing spot is called the approach, which is basically the hike you have to take to go climb. Climbing didn't scare me, but the approach did. I fell three times total on the approach. Once going up, once moving to a new climbing spot, then once when we were almost at the end of the path. I was three feet to the paved path and let my guard down. I fell right on my dupa in front of people walking by. Did I really care that I fell in front of people? No. I just got done climbing a 100ft rock.

    The climbing: We had five of us total, so we broke up into two groups for climbing. Brandon was initially with one person; I was with two. There are multiple ways to climb outdoors, we basically used two ways: sport climbing and top rope. In a nutshell, the first-person sport climbs up and then set up a top rope system. I climbed second with the top rope and cleaned the route (took the sport clips off). Then the third person sport climbed up after me and removed the top rope system at the top. We did this a couple of times on different climbs. I cannot explain how it felt to get on my first wall, a 5.8, and climb all the way to the top of the climb. It was a lot of mixed emotions and feelings: happy, excited, and accomplished to name a few. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be gearing up to climb these beautiful mountain sides. We are pushing ourselves to have the experiences, do the things we want to do, and be the best version of ourselves. 

    After a couple of climbs we moved to another area to climb. That walk over was a doozie. You are walking on the edge. One slip up and you are tumbling down pretty far. There were more climbers at the next climbing spot. Experienced climbers that were having the time of their life. They brought their dog, who was so well behaved, and they were just having fun. The one woman was loading up with the sun block - that sun was out, and it was fierce. Her friend asked if he could use it and being the super pale person she was she was hesitant. She said, "I go through a can a day, and this is the only one I have." So, me being me I offered my sunblock to this guy. Before I could warn him about Mineral sunblock, he had quite the amount on his face already. If you have ever used mineral sunblock, you know exactly where this is going. Although mineral sunblock (or at least this brand) is Hawaii approved, and better all-around to use, it is thick and does not blend in whatsoever. This person tried to blend, but it didn't work. All of his friends were laughing, we were laughing, and although I felt slightly bad, we couldn't help but keep laughing. His face was tinted a slight purple, he may have looked deceased. I didn't know whether to apologize or say you're welcome for the sunblock... he was protected from the sun, but not the laughs. I think he was a good sport about it, but he very well could have been cursing me after we left. Either way, it was good laughs.

    Friday night we went to a Halloween party at one of Dana's friends' house. There is not one picture of my costume from that night, but I dressed like Ace Ventura from the scene where he goes to the mental hospital in a tutu. I don't normally pat myself on the back, but it turned out pretty great. Brandon was a Cereal Killer; we took a Frosted Flakes box and put knives through it. Pretty great costumes for last minute. The party was quaint, but so fun. We played drinking games, but as adults do, we didn't comply with the actual drinking part. We played beer pong, but the cups had water and we kept forgetting to drink when we were supposed to. Dana and I were teammates a couple of times, and we would make great strides and comebacks, but could never win together. The music was on point as well, so there were many dance breaks. We all played a card game called Asshole, which is evidently a game played in Buffalo, but we didn't know it. We learned pretty quickly though! Don't ask how to play, we cannot explain it. It is a drinking card game, but once again we didn't really follow the drinking part. There is a President, a VP, some people between, then the VP asshole, and the asshole is the last person with cards in their hand. There were so many laughs that by Sunday we couldn't figure out if we were sore from climbing or laughing. Either way, it was a great day all around.

    Sunday Brandon and I had to GSD (get shit done) around the RV in preparation for winter. We ordered skirting that had to be installed. Brandon did most of the prep work during the week, and then the three of us put the vinyl tarping up. This will help to insulate the bottom of the RV and keep it warmer inside. It went smoothly, and Alanna was a great help. She was in charge of finishing the snaps. Once again, our smarty pants, figured out a way to secure the snaps without hurting her fingertips. If you try to just put it on with your fingers, your fingers will be sore before you are done. There are a lot of snaps on this RV. After the skirting was up, Alanna and I went to get pumpkins (finally). We picked out two amazing pumpkins, and now we just have to carve them!

Things we learned:

• If you don't like your passport picture and have the opportunity to change it - DO IT
• You want it? Manifest
• Flex Fridays are GREAT!
• Rock climbing actual rocks is amazing - amazing doesn't even do it justice
• You can be the President and ten minutes later the asshole (I guess in the game and in life?)
• Hanging out with your sister is pretty great
• The oven rack cannot be on the lowest level, especially for baking

Much Love and Happy Times,

The Blackshire's

Day 73 - 79: Climbing, pie, pie, climbing.

 We have had a week. Tuesday Brandon and I took a lead rope climbing class. The class super informative and is setting us up for our next step in climbing - outdoor climbing. We still have to test with the gym to be certified to lead climb indoors. We are looking to certify this month. Brandon started dog walking this week. He is walking two silver labs twice a day, three days a week. He also has two more meetings with other potential pups to walk. 

   I made my first pie in the oven; blueberry pie. It was delicious! I channeled Alice and it worked. We had our first dinner guests on Wednesday, and it was great! The weather was still nice enough to sit outside. It was a great night of chicken pot pie and cards against humanity. I guess it was the week of pies.

    We finally sold our loveseat and have so much more room for activities in the living room. I rearranged my desk and my plants. We also purchased a humidifier this week, which is much needed in this high desert. We are still on the hunt for a sleeper sofa for the other side and trying to sell the sectional. We have some more decorative ideas to warm this place up and make it our own.

    Thursday, we closed up the party deck and moved back about six feet so our new hose would reach to get ready for winter. We had to switch out our regular water hose for a heated hose, so it doesn't freeze during the winter. Our RV skirting should be arriving this week, and Brandon will have to install it.

 Friday Brandon and Alanna went to look at a used snowboard for her. Alanna truly channeled her aunts with this one! It is a yellow Burton board. Snowboard for Titi Dana, yellow for Shushu. All Alanna needs now for this ski season is a new helmet and goggles. We got our Ikon passes in the mail this week. Super exciting! After work we went into downtown Loveland and went into some shops before going to dinner. 

    Saturday morning, we woke up and it was a bit chilly, so we did what we normally do and turn the electric fireplace on in the living room. I smelt something off, but then again, my sense of smell hasn't been accurate since last December, so I didn't think anything of it. The smell didn't go away and finally I said something to Brandon. Then the fireplace started smoking. So that was exciting! We removed the fireplace from the wall and unplugged it. We brought Alanna to roller derby practice. I don't think I've seen her this excited about something in a while. While she was at practice Brandon and I went to do laundry (super romantic, I know). What we didn't realize is the plaza the laundromat was in had a Neptune Mountaineering store with an abundance of climbing equipment. Brandon was originally going to be going outdoor climbing with a group of people for the first time, but those plans fell through. When we walked into this store and saw everything they had to offer, Brandon's face lit up. The staff was so helpful, knowledgeable, and patient with all of our questions. We ended up getting a great starter set for outdoor climbing, so we can go and not have to depend on anyone else. So that is our next adventure. There was a cafe in the store, so I got a decaf vanilla latte and for the first time ever, it was really pretty! It's the little things.

    We also went to the brewery in the plaza called Southern Sun Pub & Brewery for lunch. We didn't realize initially that we have been to this brewery, but at a different location, last year with Dad and Dana. The staff explained to us that they do not accept credit cards, it is cash and check only. They also work off the honor system so if you didn't have enough cash for your bill they will give you an addressed envelope to send a check for your bill. This completely blew our minds. The last time we were there they were accepting credit cards simply because of covid. I asked our server why they don't, and it was super interesting. The owner decided that they would rather pay for full benefits for their employees instead of paying credit card fees. 

Today we took it easy. Brandon met with a few more dog walking clients, I made some bread loafs and meal prepped, and we went to the grocery store. We are all reset and ready for the week!

Things we learned:

• Don't ever leave an electric fireplace going when you are not home. Luckily, we were home
• There is a bit of faith in humanity thanks to Southern Sun Pub & Brewing (great fries also!)
• Neptune Mountaineering has excellent customer service
• Only use Grandma's bread loaf pans, the other one didn't turn out as nice

Much Love and Happy Times,

The Blackshire's

Day 67-72: Simple, yet awesome!

     We have had a rollercoaster of a week. Ups, downs, side to side. This week we had an issue with Shakira (truck) that was obviously not covered by the warranty, then a few days later we realized we were backed into and have a nice scrape on our bumper and our taillight is broken. So, that's all great! 

    We have been having to get ready for winter. Our first winter in the RV. We ordered skirting and it should be here in a couple of weeks. Skirting is vinyl and attaches to the bottom of the RV and goes to the ground. It insulates the bottom of the RV and helps to keep it warmer in the cold weather. We also had to get a heated water hose to make sure the hose doesn't freeze and cause pipes to burst. We purchased on, but it is about 6 feet too short. So, instead of taking it back and spending even more on a longer hose we are going to close up the party deck (which we were going to do for winter anyway to keep Alanna's room warmer) and back the RV up about 6 to 8 feet to make the hose fit. We also switched on our tank heaters. The grey, black, and freshwater tank all have their own heaters to make sure none of the liquid in them freezes and causes issues with drainage.

    Friday, we went to a ski swap to see if we could find Alanna boots and a snowboard. We were partially successful. We found awesome boots, but no board. We also found a hiking fanny pack, walking sticks, and an awesome one-piece ski outfit for Brandon. It was $20 and worth every penny! Alanna tried one on, but it was not her jam. 

    After the ski swap, we met Dana for Ethiopian food. It was our first time, but Dana is a pro. Dana had the honor of ordering for us because I had no idea what to get. We had the vegetarian and meat for two. This meal came out on a large round serving tray and was beautiful. There were lentils, collard greens, lamb, chicken, beef, salad, and carrots. If you have never had Ethiopian food, you need to know that you eat it with your hands using Injera as your vessel to grab the food. Injera are very much like a crepe that you rip apart to grab at the food. To paint you a picture of dinner: we all sat around the same large serving tray that has our chosen foods on it, ripped apart Injera, and ate dinner with our hands. It was an awesome experience! My napkin was a mess. After dinner we did the only thing that made sense... we went roller skating. I brought my trusty rollerblades, but Brandon, Alanna, and Dana skated. Dana showed off her sick moves, Alanna practiced what she learned at derby practice, Brando warmed up to his skates, and I cautiously went in circles. Brandon and I departed a little earlier than Dana and Alanna because of our drive home, and Dana and Alanna stayed and closed the place down (at 10pm).

    We all got our rest because Saturday we were meeting to go on a hike. The longest hike we have been on since we have been here; just over 5 miles. Bruce joined us, and so did Finn (Dana is dog sitting). Bruce was all excited because he got a new harness pack for hiking. This way he can carry his own treats, poop bags, poop, and anything else he requires. Here he is modeling his new harness.

    While on our hike we found awesome shapes that nature provided. We decided to try and replicate those shapes with ourselves. Dana and I attempted to replicate a rock that we saw. The rock looked like two people holding hands and looking at each other. I think we nailed it! Brandon loved this tree that looked very bonsai-like, or cactus like. I also think he nailed it, especially with his hair. Brandon took all the pictures this time, so enjoy! They are at the end of the blog.  

    After our hike we went to another consignment outdoor store. We didn't find anything there, so we went home. We were very hungry when we got back, and we haven't ordered pizza here yet, so we had pizza for dinner. We ordered two pies, one from one place, one from another. The pizza wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite - especially after seeing how much it was. The veggie pizza was my favorite, and it was $30 for a large! I know, I know, I sound super cheap and old, but come on! $30 for a large pizza, and not a Picasso's sheet pizza large, just a regular round pizza. We ate our early dinner and then had a super early bedtime. We were all nicely exhausted from our hike. I laid down around 5:30pm to just take a quick relaxation moment and woke up 13 hours later! Brandon took a nap, woke up for a couple hours, then slept for probably another eight hours for a total of 10 hours of sleep. Alanna also slept for about nine to ten hours. It was glorious!

    Today, Sunday, Brandon and I went grocery shopping nice and early. Then I went and received the most amazing massage ever from Dana. Was it relaxing? No. Was it great? Yes! Since I messed up my back almost three years ago, I haven't had a normal walk, or feeling down my right leg. I can't tell if it bothered me or bothered Dana more watching me walk all weird, but she insisted I come in today. This was not a normal relaxation fluffy massage. Dana put in work on me. It was great for so many reasons, but mostly because I am obviously comfortable with Dana and can tell her how it is actually feeling. I think Dana may have enjoyed inflicting a bit of pain on me as well. There is more work to be done for sure, but for today my walk is a little less wonky. It was also nice seeing my sister three days in a row.

Things we learned:

• Pizza is expensive
• Ethiopian food is delicious
• Eating with your hands is fun
• Hiking will knock you out cold
• Dana has a true gift (I knew it, but it is officially confirmed)
• Roller Skating/Blading is fun at any age

Much Love and Happy Times,

The Blackshire's

   

Day 63-66 - Two months!

 So, it's been a wild two months. We are loving exploring where we currently are, and having flexibility to make plans, and change plans. We booked Utah for January 13! We were originally thinking about going to Alaska this summer, but I think we are pushing it back to next summer at some time. We will explore Southern California, and a few other states, then maybe find our way back to Colorado but in a different area.

Let's see... what has happened since the last time? Alanna slept over Dana's house. They went to dinner, roller skating, and then on Saturday Alanna went to a Junior Derby practice. They are dorks, and I love them!

She loved it! Brandon and I had a free night Friday, so we went rock climbing, to dinner, and then over to a friend's house to play darts. We went to downtown Loveland for dinner at Henry's. While we waited for our table, we walked down the street to The Pour House and had drinks and appetizers. The appetizers were phenomenal! Chicken Cordon bleu poppers and really good ragoons of some sort (I can't remember, two martinis were involved). It was nice being the two of us! We got home way too late and paid the price Saturday. I'm too old for some things like not being in bed by 11pm the latest.

Saturday afternoon we went to pick up Alanna from Dana. We went to get tacos with Dana, then headed home. We saw dark clouds in the distance and thought we should go before the storm hits. Well, Colorado storms are evidently different. While driving the storm caught up to us. This was the first time I have ever been in a hailstorm where the hail was the size of golf balls. We tried to outrun the storm, but it was moving too fast and would catch up to us. What we should have done was let the storm pass. Lesson learned. There are some small dents in the hood of the truck, but no serious damage. It really sounded a lot worse than it was. 

Sunday Brandon and I went climbing again, but it was terrible. We both climbed really hard on Friday, and on Sunday we were so sore we couldn't climb things we did two days ago. But we got a workout in, so still winning. Alanna didn't want to go with us, which was fine. When we came back, she surprised us by cleaning up the RV. This is the second or third time she has done that. It is really nice that she is taking the initiative and being responsible.

Monday was a case of the Monday's. Brandon got in the truck to go to the gym and the check engine light was on, along with the DEF light. He turned around, came back, and called around to GMC dealerships. Luckily, he found one that had their diesel mechanic in today. All of the other shops were about two weeks out to getting us in. The diagnosis was the diesel exhaust fluid valve. Great, sounds good, here is our warranty information. Just kidding! That isn't covered under our warranty. So, almost $700 later Shakira is all fixed. Almost never a dull moment! 

Things we learned:

• Storms are crazy, and fast here. At least the few we have been in
• DEF valves are not covered under warranty
• Recovery takes just about two days for me
• Alanna loves roller skating

Much Love and Happy Times,

The Blackshire's