My Word for 2019 ***CONNECT***

Happy 2019 Friends! A personal goal this year is to share insights and thoughts through my blog more consistently. My amazing brokerage (Live Urban Real Estate) provides us classes all about blogging! So guess what....I'm honing my style and will be creating a content calendar to keep me accountable and consistent. :)

On January 2nd I shared on my facebook page all my New Years pictures along with my word for 2019 ~ CONNECT. Since that was just over a month ago I thought it was about time I follow up that Facebook post with my promised blog. So here it goes. :)






CONNECT. What a powerful word. Think about it. Think about all the *things* you can connect with or feel connected with. Here are my examples:

• Friends
• Family 
• Pets
• TV Shows
• Music
• Community
• My Work
• Nature
• My Body

When I think of (connect)ion I really think of feeling the moment.
Embracing the moment.
And, remembering the moment for what it is.

When I truly connect with someone or with a moment it moves me to my core. It makes an impact on me. Whether it be happy, sad, disappointment, anger, and/or confusion to name a few. Emotions are meant to be honored. Even if only for a brief moment. That is one thing I've learned. Especially in Real Estate where emotions are always present. You have to honor (connect with) your feelings, so you can continue to move forward honoring your true self. Even for the emotions considered "negative." Every emotion we have comes to us for a reason. Honor that emotion and then move forward. 

Tangent done. :)

Back to CONNECT...

PEOPLE

My goal this year is to connect with the people in my world that help me become an ever-improving person and contribute to joy in life. I'm blessed with the most amazing friends and family. I'm a LUCKY girl. I absolutely want to connect with my friends and family. Even when it’s brief or infrequent...I'm going to honor the times we can connect. That is a gift!

BODY

I want to connect with my body. After losing 40 pounds in 2018 I've learned how important nutrition and having a balanced diet is. My body thanks me daily for this gift. Too stay connected with my body I will feed it healthy and well-balanced meals the majority of the time. I will workout regularly. I will give it the sleep it requires to function fully. My body (health) is important for my overall being.

COMMUNITY

I want to connect with my community. Giving back is good for my soul. I want to be the positive difference in my community. What this looks like for me is fostering dogs, raising money for organizations that help homeless dogs, raising awareness of sex trafficking, and raising awareness & money for MS.

NATURE

I want to connect with nature. I want to travel to places that allow me to be outside. I want to hike. I want to kayak. I want to paddleboard. I want to snowshoe. I want to cross country ski. I want to downhill ski. I want to be outside as much as possible. I want to learn how to surf!

CAREER

I want to connect with my career. This one is important to me. I LOVE what I do. Helping individuals and families not just find a house but their home is what I get to do for work! How cool is that!? I cherish becoming friends with most all of my clients. I love that friends become clients. I want to connect with each of these people. They give me the best gift of all...allowing me to do what I love and make a living doing it!

ENTERTAINMENT

Lastly, I LOVE a good binge watch. Yes, I said it. Who doesn't these days? I love connecting with characters on each of the series I watch. I love when I can relate to a character on a series. I love those "Me too" moments. (Not the #MeToo negative moments, but the positive *ME TOO*! moments. You know what I'm talking about!) I love feeling connected to people even if it's characters on a show. 

If you are still with me after this long blog post, I appreciate you! I hope we can connect this year. Reach out to me. Let's plan a breakfast, coffee, lunch, dinner or walking date! Or a doggy play date if you have furry kiddos! Let's go volunteer together. Let's just connect! I'm grateful for my life. I'm grateful for you.

Lastly...if you are still with me there is news I want to share. I met the guy. He's is everything I've dreamt of plus SO much more. Wow. He was definitely worth the wait. Let's connect and I would love to share how I met this incredible man and for you to meet him!

I hope you get your CONNECT on this year!

Alli

Grand Lake SOLO Summer Vacation 2018 - Devil's Thumb Pass Trail

This Blog Entry has been written since Friday, July 13th...I had issues with uploading my pictures! I finally got some help from my amazingly smart cousin who is a computer genius! Ha! So here is this LOOOONNNGGG overdue blog post! 


On Friday, July 13th I did the Devil's Thumb Pass Trail. It was amazing! Nothing new when hiking in Colorado! It was in the Arapahoe National Forest, so Zoey & Mo could join me. We had a great time! Here are some of my highlights from the this beautiful hike...


1) The brisk morning breeze was perfect as we started this 8 mile out and back hike! We started at 8:30am.

2) I love that my furry kiddos love hiking as much as I do! Look how happy they are! And this picture of Mr. Mo. Could you die? I melt when I see this picture of my sweet boy. He has my heart.

3) The wildflowers! Oh my! The pictures do not do it justice. After about 3-3.5 miles you make it above tree line and they are EVERYWHERE. My breath was literally taken away. I couldn't help, but smile and thank the universe for this amazing gift after about 2 miles of straight climbing! I got to see one Columbine Flower. 💙

4) I saw two beautiful rocks that reminded me of my friend Molly H! She loves unique stones, so whenever I see beautiful stones/rocks I think of her! Molly you would have LOVED these stones. Per usual, the pictures doesn't do it justice.

5) I love that I got to meet a hiker that had hiked from Northern New Mexico! He had started in late May and had already done 400 miles. He was ending in Grand Lake, so he was on the final leg of his journey. I'm in "AWW" of people that do this. Maybe one day I'll have the desire to hike for a month or so? Right now, it doesn't sound appealing, but that could change!

6) I met 3 women who were probably all in their sixty's! Karen, Sharon & Hanna. Two of them lived in Grand County and one came up from Denver (Centennial). I saw them twice on the trail. Actually Karen took this picture of me, Zoey & Mo. I hope I still LOVE hiking when I'm in my sixty's!

7) I saw two male juvenile moose about a mile into the hike! They watched us like a hawk and I respected their space. I did snap this photo before continuing on the trail!

8) The false summit! You gotta love them and you know when hiking a pass you are most likely going to have at least one! I thought of an analogy as I came upon this false summit. False summits are like dating...you gotta get past the false summits (guys!) to make it to the REAL summit (where the real beauty is) ! I'm patiently waiting for that REAL summit and until I get to that summit I'll enjoy the journey and challenge of the climb. :) How's that for an analogy? Seriously though dating in your mid-thirties is a chore. I would much rather be at home with my pups binge watching a series on Netflix or ID Discovery. Ha!

9) The summit! Worth the 2,200 elevation gain. Worth the heavy breathing. Worth the effort. All the best "things" in life never come easy. That's why I LOVE hiking big mountains! The challenge to get somewhere beautiful for the view. The thrill of being on the edge of a mountain is unbeatable. When you feel like your in the clouds...that's where I feel the most alive!

I hope you enjoyed this blog entry! If you are ever in Grand County and want a challenging but doable hike...do this one! It's worth it.

Cheers,
Alli