You Wouldn't Get This From Any Other Guy

It's been a while since I've been to a live concert.  But Ben Rector came to town again, and we were gifted a couple of primo tickets to the Magic tour! 

Once again we fell in love with the opening act, Josie Dunne - a funky pop artist with a variety of grooves.  A bright mix of Motown, a bit of hip hop, and an extra helping of sass.

Then we enjoyed some of our favorites from Ben's early albums, a nice mix of his latest album, and a few of BG's recent faves - classics Ben has been recreating.  He even mashed up with Rick Astley and legitimately Rick-rolled the entire audience at the Fillmore.  Do yourself a favor and check out Newy Lewis and the Hues.

It was a great evening - and we even parked next to an apropos neon sign in the window of a salon, ending the night on an extra magical note!

Please Don't Wake Me Now

My alarm went off five minutes earlier than my husband's this morning. Some days I hit snooze and doze until his alarm goes off, but not this morning.

I got up, started a pot of coffee, and did some morning affirmations before 30 minutes of yoga. While he was in the shower, I spent fifteen minutes triaging my email to check for any surprises, and then put myself together for the day. With him out the door, I got on a conference call, and then spent a half hour following up on client task work. I took a break early on to drive my mom to a medical appointment, swung by the post office to ship a gift to a friend, go to the bank, and stop at the grocery store. I returned home just in time for another work-related call, got the roast for dinner seared/seasoned/started in the crock pot, and then made myself lunch. My afternoon was full of client work, and I also did a consultation with a local non-profit coordinating an awareness walk in the spring. I signed off at 6pm and went to rehearsal, where I spent two and a half hours on stage, preparing for our upcoming concert and discussing our trepidation about the current state of the country. I returned home around 9:15 to find my husband on his computer, so I made a salad, steamed some fresh broccoli, and sat down to eat dinner around 9:45.

 "How was your day?" he asked, as he sat down next to me. It wasn't particularly a good day...there were a lot of miscellaneous things to do, and I didn't feel very focused. "It wasn't a bad day," I shrugged, contemplating all of the unfinished items on my to-do list and unsure how I really felt. "How was your day?" After a heavy sigh, he replied, "Today was a really long day."

He doesn't have a trivial job and I know he works hard. Lots of important people report to him, and he reports to other important people, and there is always tension between time spent in meetings and time actually doing the tasks assigned in meetings. But comparatively, he drove to work, went out to lunch, worked all afternoon and came home, where I assume he just worked some more. I got to exercise, eat healthy food I made myself, run personal errands, help out a family member, volunteer time to a local charity, and put in 6 hours of contracted work for clients I love. I also spent fulfilling time engaged with activist sisters making art to improve our community, and cooked a wholesome meal for my partner.

How was my day? I was a serious bad-ass today, and I am literally living the dream!

In the Colorado Snow

Walking home under the northern lights

You could see clear across the world to the other side

And the snow fell so still like music to the ground

And I'd take refuge in that holy sound.

(from Jennifer Berezan's "Refuge")

We got about ten inches of snow over the past 24-hours, so school was canceled for the day. That meant that my appointments were all rescheduled, and Brian stayed in to work from home. This also meant that Bosco got to spend some time watching us wrestle with the layer covering the driveway and sidewalk, which entertained him much more than us.

After a couple of weeks wishing we could move past the bitter cold and into spring, this shock of winter has reminded me of the joy that we find in snuggling in for a day to watch the peaceful world blanketed in white outside.

Life's a Ball If Only You Know It

I had a fantastic weekend! It included plenty of family, lots of being lazy, and some amazing food and beverages. We started off Friday with a family birthday celebration, Mom grilled salmon and asparagus just for me, and of course made another scrumptious carrot cake. All of the birthday greetings that trickled in throughout the week warmed my heart, and it was such a joy to hear from friends and family far away!

Saturday I got to spend the whole day with my Valentine. I woke him up with a customized breakfast of s'more-stuffed french toast grilled in a waffle iron, because that's how we roll. They actually turned out pretty well - if you're in the mood for a sugar rush and a carb-coma. We overcame, thanks be to some quality caffeinated lattes, and spent a couple of hours purging the file cabinet and sorting through a ton of paperwork that has been piling up.

After some productivity, we took a dip in the hot tub and got cleaned up for dinner. He took me to the pairing dinner at BRU, five courses paired with five different brews. We started with a smoked oyster and finished with a cream puff topped with cherry ice cream. The pairings were delightful, the food was delicious, and the company was both.

The night was still young when we finished at BRU, so we headed to the Lee Hill Upslope taproom. See, they canned their small batch of Wild Saison, and I had my heart set on getting a few of them. As a bonus, I got to try their special Valentine's Day cask that had hibiscus in it, and then got to lose at a tough game of darts. Overall, it was a great night.

Sunday was another lazy day - we have a game of Lego Batman going (he's Batman, I'm Robin), and we made some headway against the Joker level. Dad came over and helped with some electrical connections and then we snuggled in for another delicious home-made meal and a wood fire.

It was one of those weekends that makes you grateful for everything life is dishing up. I am so lucky to be facing the challenges and enjoying the benefits with a partner who loves me, family who support me, and friends who make me smile. La vie est si belle.

I Wish I Were Brave

I just did something that truly terrifies me. I took a huge leap of faith and put myself on the line, and laid bare my personal and professional aspirations to friends and colleagues, asking for their support. In my head, I know that at the end of the day these are people who are in my life for a reason, and if they change their opinion of me based on this request, they simply are not the member of my support network I assumed they would be.

That's where the fear lies - no matter what the responses are to this request, it will be obvious who does not support me. Yes, I will continually need to remind the ESFJ sensor-feeler in me not to take it personally, like just about every other human interaction I have. However, this feels really big because it's honestly the first time I have had something concrete to ask for since I started my business. Assuming you have people on your team is different than knowing who's there for sure.

Last January, I started off 2014 knowing that life would look a lot different at the end of the year. And oh, did it ever! There were a lot of things I decided to do that I had to justify to myself and to naysayers - start a company, support a husband who's job took him across the country for months, arrange a song for performance, quit a job. Big, life-altering decision, but changes that I have hope will lead to the flexible, fulfilling, happy and healthy life I dream about.

Now that the year is over, I am trying to decide if pushing myself to face my fears and try to embrace my true self has made it any easier to "hit send," so to speak, and follow through with decisions I make. I don't think that it really has, but I do know for sure that in the past year I experienced more moments of joy in my life than I have in a while. Inspired to continue designing the life that I want to live and share with my family, I resolve to ask myself, "Will this add joy to my life?" when facing a dilemma, and if the answer is yes, I'm in.

So long to last year, it's all becoming so clear
There's no use living in regret
Let's fight a good fight, train our eyes to find the light
And make this year the best one yet
Starting right here
Happy New Year

~ JJ Heller, "This Year"

Reluctantly Crouched at the Starting Line

I have reluctantly been forced to acknowledge the waning of Summer. Dusk is settling earlier each day, and this morning when Bosco and I stepped out for our morning jog there was barely light in the sky and I wished I had long sleeves on. Of course, by the time we looped back around to the driveway the sun was up and the chill had vanished, but it's only a matter of weeks before I will need to find a way to motivate myself out of bed in total darkness.

Generally the first signs of fall thrill me, but this summer has been such an intense time of transition that I am not quite ready to let it go. It has been the beginning of a new stage in my life that I want to honor. I think I am also reticent because the end of my first quarter means that this business is going to start ramping-up for real, and the quiet-strategic-planning time I have thus far invested will need to morph into put-everything-on-the-line time networking and promoting my services.

Out of all of the exciting aspects of starting out on my own, I have been the most nervous at the prospect of accepting full responsibility for sales. I have never had a gift for talking people into things - I have always been more of a listener. The challenge from here on will be to leverage everything I gather listening to potential clients and build strong professional relationships. I need to remember that ultimately my goal is to provide services that support their goals, and I am not trying to "sell" them anything that does not add value to their organization.

Perhaps we will have an extended autumn season this year, and I can make myself take time to relish this beautiful place in which we live while I slowly ease into the pressure of business development.

Where the Bass and Back Beat Can Lock In

I haven't had a stellar year. I wouldn't even say that this past month has been very good. But this weekend was amazing!

First of all, it's the pivotal Autumn weekend when all of the leaves that turn bright amber and vivid ruby are in their full glory. To top that off we had a mini heat wave that left us three spectacular days in the 80's with perfect Colorado blue skies. Since it was my first time off and home in almost a month, there was much lounging around to appreciate!

There was no alarm set Saturday morning, and luckily Bosco decided he needed to sleep in too. We started off with pumpkin pancakes and then hit several restaurants in Cherry Creek for Brian's birthday culinary adventure, which was a lovely and relaxing indulgence. We finished the night off with games and pumpkin empanadas chez Gustin with some wonderful friends and a couple of bottles of wine. Sunday morning I accompanied the choir at church, and then got down to business on some of the household chores that haven't been done in three weeks. The terrifying tower of laundry was tackled, as well as the pile of donations that has been accumulating in the garage for a few months. Hopefully by the time snow comes we will be able to get both cars inside! I also made some progress learning music and movement for Sound Circle's Oct. 29th show, which has been heavy on my mind.

Aside from feeling relaxed and productive, I had several moments where I got to soak in everything happening around me and think, "Wow, I am so fortunate." In those moments, I find all of the things that stress me out to be trivial. I live in this breathtakingly beautiful place, with a handful of loving and loyal family and friends, in a very comfortable house that is always well-stocked. La vie est si belle!