la vie d'amour or something like it...

So this is the day I’ve spent the whole year waiting to go by…and it’s just like any other day ehhh? Well I miss ya tons old friend and I hope you’re doing well…

“The weak can never forgive.  Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” 

~Mahatma Gandhi

So…I’m starting

to think that life

is really just

a cycle of feeling fear

and learning to trust

and the only thing keeping

it together

is that hot mess we call love

oh my little heart can’t take it

id rather

hide in a hole

then begin to feel anything

remotely

similar to love again

that shit hurts just way too much

anyway

Recently I had a crash course in what it means to be a true Westerner…I learned about owning a ranch and taking care of animals…I also had a blast and was reminded that truly being happy means not taking life or each other too seriously!

I spent my weekend up at the Sipes Family Ranch. The Sipes are the awesome family I’ve gotten to know over the last year in Old Town. They own a 40 acre chunk of paradise nestled up in the hills of Northern Colorado. Ivy, who I bother excessively at least twice a week at her job at the family yarn store, prepared the presidential suite (also known as her room) for me.

They own a ton of llamas and a few yaks..as well as 4 very excitable dogs. Driving up I was blown away at the stark difference of the environment. I felt like I was in a different state altogether. I thought FOCO was rural living but I really got to see it at it’s best.

The hills (which look like mountains) are huge and beautiful. You could see land for miles and quaint farm houses and cows. It literally looks like something out of a Western movie.

Ivy asked her father to drive by a herd of horses which were grazing out in a field. I pondered what it’d be like to run out the car and try to get on one and ride him into the sunset. I then preceded to imagine what it’d be like when it tossed me to the ground and ate my face off…

So during the weekend I participated in several different Westerner activities:

- Shooting Practice

- Chasing after puppies in high altitude

-Tracking Down the family dog on a Bobcat who was leading the llamas

-Driving said Bobcat a mile and nearly crapping my pants the whole time (Yup people! I drove)

-Making awesome grill cheese sandwiches

-Watching trashy MTV shows like Teen Mom and True Life (which isn’t totally trashy)

Memorable moments included:

-When Ivy told me “Just put pressure on the wound and call my dad” when she had to run out and trap the yaks who have gigantic horns that might gore her guts out.

-The feeling of jealousy and embarresment when an 8 year old kicked my ass in shooting and it took me 80 tries to land 4 shots.

-The funny yet slightly scary moment I thought my lungs might explode when I chased down one of the puppies into the ditch on the side of the ranch. The air up here is wicked thin!

-When Mr. Sipes broke out into a morning rendition of “I’m So Pretty” and the slightly embarrassed look on Ivy’s face.

-When Ivy kept talking about gun safety and then proceeded to rest the gun on her toe while she drank her Diet Coke and talked to me about something random. I can’t recall what she was saying because I was concerned she’d shoot her toe off.

- The moment I realized I don’t think I am ready for a dog (even though every time I see one I whine how badly I’d like one)…and the way Walter would jump on me…the way Emma would drink out her bowl and slobber on me…and the way the puppies thought I was a chew toy

-Leading off the dogs: the moment that I was trying to hold the puppy and by accidentally dropped her (I felt horrible)…Ivy told me dogs don’t land on all fours like cats do…I was terribly mistaken! Sorry Lizzie or Maggie (can’t remember which one it was)

-The after dinner glass of wine time where Mrs. Sipes, Ivy, and I had awesome girl talk!

-Hanging out with the cutest set of twins!

So I must say that I was very happy to spend the weekend with an awesome family who really made me feel welcome the entire time I was out there…wicked grateful to have such amazing people around! You can’t take life too seriously or one another. It was particularly nice to just be outdoors. Back home we don’t have so much open land to admire and take advantage of. The rock formations were absolutelybreathtaking. I felt so comfortable being there and forgot about being a city-gal for a short time. I hope to go back sometime this summer for another visit…also to prove that I am not as horrible of a shot as I was…I kind of want to get a license to carry now! Wouldn’t that be some scary stuff…Nyndia with a fire arm!

**The only unsettling part about my entire trip and probably the moment I had the toughest time was when Ivy kept talking trash about the greatest baseball team alive known as the RED SOXS and she wouldn’t accept the fact that the Colorado Rockies stink. Even if the Red Soxs only won one game and lost to the Yankees they still are way better than her team! = )