Colorado

So remember that horse ranch I mentioned…

Published on by Casey

I got an email back from the volunteer coordinator on the 22nd who was “very impressed with [my] spirit of volunteerism and diverse background!”  Yay!  Here is the volunteer position:

Lesson volunteers help prepare horses for and act as horse leaders and/or side-walkers during therapeutic riding lessons and hippotherapy sessions.  Lesson volunteers commit to a minimum of two hours for the same class each with of the 10-week session with the same horse and rider.  It is possible to sign-up for multiple classes, as well.  Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age (with minimal horse experience) or 14 years of age (with significant horse handling experience) and generally come from a wide range of backgrounds, ages, and levels of horse experience!

I go to training on September 12th in preparation for the next session, which starts on September 14th!  I am very excited!!!

Kimmy comes to Colorado

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This past week my friend Kimmy (from Ventura by way of Houston) came to the Springs with her boyfriend as he had an annual work conference to attend.  They chose to (more like Kimmy forced her boyfriend) extend their stay so we could come down for a visit.  Yesterday morning we departed bright and early to meet them at their hotel.  From there we all conquered our first 14er (mountain over 14,000-feet in elevation) and had an incident with an Audi, then we strolled around Garden of the Gods where I nearly got in trouble for throwing a “rock” at Kimmy and she and Chad were subjected to park “ranger” paparazzi.  Then it was off to their new hotel, dinner and we returned home.

We had a blast and now it’s our turn to visit them down in Texas.

Pictures (more on Facebook until I get a chance to apply modifications).

Life at Laradon

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So far I have been at my job for a little over two months but it seems like I’ve always been there.  I love my job and the training that comes with it!

Other than going through orientation I have also completed the following training/certifications:

  • First Aid
  • CPR (with use of defibrillator)
  • MANE (Mistreatment, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation)
  • Incident reporting
  • Safety Care behavioral response (methods for pro-actively and re-actively dealing with behaviors)
  • QMAP (Qualified Medication Administration Personnel) – not everyone goes through this training 🙂

It took me 2 months to get the Safety Care training under my belt.  I couldn’t do it when I first started because I was on crutches and it’s physically demanding.  When it was offered in June I had jury duty so I was finally able to complete it this month.

I also have applied to a local horse ranch for volunteer work.  Keep your fingers crossed on that one!

What a week it has been!

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And it’s still not over!  This week there have been tornadoes “near” my house on two separate days, and so far I have only been to work only 2 1/2 days.  The reason why?  Jury duty.  Last week I attended my first jury summons for Colorado only to learn that I was in a pool for a very high profile case.  So I had JD on Thursday, Monday, yesterday and today.  Today the panel was finally selected, and although I was one of the 44 in the box since yesterday, I was not chosen to help determine the defendant’s fate.  Being on that particular jury would have definitely been one heck of an experience, but I know tomorrow morning my boss will be jumping up and down celebrating the fact I will not be away from my job for the next 5 weeks.  At least now I can go back to following the local papers on Twitter and watching the news on TV.

[Insert expletive of choice here]

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Leaving work today was like any other day…slowly merging onto I-25 because there is undoubtedly a massive truck in front of me on the on-ramp.  I’m also on the phone with my sister (hands-free of course), but I learned to drive in California so talking on the phone while driving is required to pass the license exam.  😉  I finally make it onto the interstate, look up and there is the sky is a figgin’ tornado!  Holy crap I have never seen a funnel cloud before in my life (other than on the tube)!  My sister sure did get an earful, but like the dutiful weather-obsessed sister she is, she quickly pulled-up the radar to tell me just where the storm was headed.

I got off the phone with Gretna after I exited the freeway as soon as I could in an attempt to snap a photo.  I called Noah who had not yet seen the twisty cloud and he pulled off to take a pic with his phone as well.  I phoned my sister again and continued to chase the storm…unfortunately or fortunately, depending how you look at it, the twister sucked itself back up into the clouds before I could take a photo.  However, I did find this video online so you can see exactly what I saw.

Dear NWS and City of Lafayette

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First off let me say how exciting yesterday was…for storm chasers!  Seriously, 5 tornadoes in the Metro area?  Eek!

Thank you NWS for saying yesterday was going to be sunny and in the 80s so I wore capris and a lightweight shirt to church only to walk outside in Boulder and get pelted by rain and hail!

Thank you to my mad driving skills that allowed us to beat the storm home by approximately 1 minute.

Thank you NWS for conveniently forgetting to include Eastern BoCo in the tornado warning when one touched down 5-6 miles from my house!

Thank you City of Lafayette for placing your tornado warning sirens just far enough away from my house that they could not be heard.

Thank you God that the nearest tornado was 5-6 miles away!

Here’s a video I found on YouTube (embedding doesn’t want to cooperate so you’ll have to make do with clicking on a link).  This was shot from the south side of the tornado.  We are northwest of where it touched down.

The smell of rain

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Is always sweeter when accompanied by the tympani of thunder.  Lava and I were sitting outside for a bit this evening, probably tempting fate, watching the flashes of lightening and listening to the rolls of thunder…that was of course until it started to rain.  Thunder storms are so rare in Ventura that I almost cherish them when they happen here.  It’s one of the things I love about Colorado.  However, if my house is ever destroyed by a tornado caused by one of these storms, I will probably be singing a different tune.  Until then (which hopefully never happens) happy first thunderstorm of the season!

So much for that idea

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Remember me mentioning how since December I’ve been training for a 10k, the Boulder Boulder?  Well that event is almost here…Memorial Day!  Yesterday my friend Marie and I went on a 6-mile route, getting ready for the full distance.  I was on the 4th mile, probably when my foot died.  Now, I’m a pretty tough cookie so I ran through the pain until it was too unbearable, then walked, then would run again.  By the time I got home I could no longer bear weight on my foot.  I hobbled around my house last night wondering if my foot would be normal by morning.  It wasn’t.  This morning I still couldn’t walk without intense pain.  I managed to leave work early this afternoon to make it into the doctor.  Turns out my ligaments decided I’m not a runner (also known as a really really really bad sprain).  I now have an aircast I have to wear 24/7 and have to be on crutches for at least the next week.  I was also informed by the doctor that I cannot run in the Boulder Boulder despite my months of training.  I might be able to walk it…might.  Woohoo.

On another topic, I had my first day at Laradon today.  I sat in orientation all day today (except for when I left early to go to the doctor).  Part of our orientation involved a tour of the school.  Since I can’t walk, a wheelchair was acquired for me.  That was a humbling experience.  One of the other women in the orientation volunteered to push me.  That was very nice of her.  Tomorrow I have more orientation and drug testing.  I probably won’t make it to my office until Wednesday.  I’ll have more details then.  I do know my boss is very excited and can’t wait for me to start…so when I do, I plan on being inundated with tasks!

A fresh cut and a few sprints

Published on by Casey

Spring has arrived — officially.  And what determines spring in Colorado?  Having to bring the lawn mower out of hiatus.  Yes that’s right!  Due to all of our late season snow and lots of rain our lawns have turned a lovely shade of green and grew to heights taller than Lava’s armpits.  It was time for a good healthy trim.  Now…to break out the edger!

In other news.  Spring = baseball.  My lovely Dodgers have been doing exceptionally well so far this season and tonight our summer softball season started.  I’ve created a page to keep track of the scores.  Our team had a very good 1st game tonight, despite faltering in one inning that cost us a win.  Good game Boulder Path!  I’m excited for next week’s victory!

Did Colorado not get the memo?

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This is spring, right?  Wasn’t it 80* just 4 days ago?  I do recall laying around in my various yards soaking up sun and reading a book.  It was ideal, very spring…in fact, almost summer-like.  But yet, this morning I wake up to see 2-inches of snow covering the ground and falling out of my trees.  This is why I have not yet planted any vegetables in my garden.  After reading the forecast for snow last night I mentioned to Noah that I would not be surprised if it snowed in May.  And seeing as how May starts this weekend…I’m not counting the snow out just yet.