These are for you, Grandpa!

Last summer my grandpa gifted us his canoe.  And we thought we'd try it out.  What, you thought I had some funny story - are we that predictably uncoordinated?  :)  Let's just say we had our moments, but everyone stayed dry. 

Didn't really touch up the photos at all, but they're still not bad!

2012 Goals

Drew and I started a tradition a few years back on a return trip after Christmas.  Driving nearly 12 hours home to Atlanta was taking it's toll, and I was cranky.  Drew could tell, and yet I wouldn't tell him what was up.  And to be honest, I don't even know that there was anything "up".  I just felt off, or maybe stuck, or something.  Life felt sort of stale.  Long story short, Drew got me talking, and 6 hours later we'd decided to give ourselves a little direction each year and take advantage of long drives home after the holidays.  The new year's list was developed.  And no, it's not a set of resolutions - those are too easy to get rid of the first time you mess up.  These are more like things to work on over the year, and remind ourselves of when we get that "stuck" feeling.  Dorky as we are, it works for us.

So, enter the 2012 goals.  These came on the drive home from Iowa to Colorado - a relatively new trip for us.  From what we wrote down, it seems to be the year of "Colorado strong", expanding our artistic talents, and finding our "home" amongst the mountain-goers out here.  I won't list them all, but never fear - if you ever venture to our house they're proudly displayed in a frame each year (and yeah, I keep the old ones to see where we were and how far we've come).  :)

• Colorado Strong - Living in the mountains means feeling like you could tackle a 14er, or a week long camping trip, a 5K, or a river run, etc.  You just never know what might pop up!  And so, it's not about looking good as much as it is feeling strong.  And we all know one follows the other, right?  Loui, the spoiled retriever, requires an exhausting outing a day - we've settled on giving him 6 runs a week.  He's staring at me right now and I can see it in his eyes...he's waiting not so patiently for today's adventure.

• Friends - Yeah, I said it.  We're homebodies, but this is the year of expanding our network and finding some locals to hang with.  We've got coworkers, former Hawkeyes, even family nearby.  For goodness sake, we're gonna get this one done.  :)  And keep up those old relationships too, since a phone call shouldn't be hard.  Miss you, peeps!

• Artistic Outlets - We each have our things.  For me it's gardening, cooking, painting, photography, and not singing.  You heard me.  For Drew, it's music, recording, and his business ventures.  Breaking out of our own heads is hard to do, so I've committed myself to finding an art show or two locally to show in - and Drew even has aspirations of recording another CD!  I'm even back to implementing the photo-a-day project to see how far I get....(so far we're still on!)

• Community - Aside from making new friends, we want to explore the area around us, maybe venture back in to home-ownership, and in general connect to a community.  From finding a doctor (Mary Janet - we're on it!) to finding a farmer's market to finding ways to give back, we want to make it home out here.  :)

 What is everyone else out there working on this year?  Let us know!

Introducing Goose!

:)  In lieu of a long-winded post, I'll revert to showing you pure cuteness, and mischief, in pictures.  His name is Gus, or Goose...or if you want to get formal (or make him think he's in trouble) it's really Blackwaters Blu-Chip Goosedown.  Awwww.......  Mom and Dad got a new puppy in October and are loving him up - and I think sometimes they're wondering exactly what they got themselves in to.  He's all puppy - a hurricane of feet and teeth, shall we say.

When we went home for Christmas Loui bounded into Mom and Dad's house all gangbusters expecting to find a whole gang of people ready to pet him and give him cookies, and chewies - and all that jazz.  Instead, he skidded right into Gus, who'd apparently not been told that a bigger version of himself in the chocolate variety would be visiting.  After a quick mop of the floor (oops!) and a recovery of their wits the two were fast friends (like siblings, squabbles and all).  And in no time at all Gus was already stealing Loui's things...