Category — Places To Visit

Today started off nicely by the dogs allowing me to sleep in until 8am!!!  Oh my goodness, I have not slept past 6:30am in over 3 years now.  The dogs are on a schedule, I suppose.  Then we got ready and went to a local Farmer’s Market where they had some lovely Colorado products.  We first browsed around to scope out what we wanted to buy, then we went for it!  We ended up leaving with a bundle of fresh radishes (yummy), a pound of pickling cucumbers (to make my great grandpa proud), apricots, Jalapeno hot sauce, soy-based sauce, an avocado for our sammy’s, and some homemade and freshly-poured Root Beer!!!

I think the best part of it all for me, was when the guy poured the root beer from the barrel it was made in, into brown bottles and topped them off with a cork!  How lovely!

Now I’m spending the day updating the blog and shop.  I think I’ll take a stab at pickling tomorrow or Wednesday.  I’ll let you know how that goes   Happy Sunday!

RL

… 7 years ago today I found the love of my life.  I can’t believe how long we’ve been together, because it seems like just a few years have passed.  We’ve already done so much together, I can hardly believe it!  We met while attending The University of Denver (DU) and instantly became inseparable and it’s amazing what you can accomplish in 7 years with the support of someone else.  We lived together for 4 months in Florence, Italy while Studying Abroad and that gave us the opportunity to travel all over Europe!  We went all over Italy to places like, Perugia, Assisi, Rome, Venice, and The Vatican.  We also got to cliff jump, bungee jump and snowboard in the Swiss Alps!  Switzerland reminded us so much of home because of the snow capped mountains.  We felt right at home.  We also made it to Paris, France; London, England; and Shannon, Ireland!  We’ve also been to Mexico a few times together and spent our Honeymoon on the warm beaches of Jamaica.

In addition to all of our traveling, we both have found time to start our own businesses.  Ron started Feed The Bull a few years ago to share what’s hot in the Stock Market.  It’s a great community site where anyone can join in and read articles, post articles and vote on articles.  It really keeps you up-to-date on the Stock Market and other companies.  I’m so proud of him!  Then in 2007, as you already know, I started Chickiedee.  I love to sew, craft, draw, paint and just plain create, so this was a natural step for me.

Right now life is sweet.  We have our home, health, two dogs and our cat.  Soon we will expand our little family and eventually have children, but until then, I’m happy to have my hubby by my side.

{image via Flickr}

Yesterday was my brother, Aaron’s, 16th Birthday and we went to The Cave of the Winds in Manitou Springs, Colorado.  We had such a blast on the Lantern Tour, because we actually had flame-lit lanterns as we walked through the pitch black caves.  It was so dark in fact, that when we blow out all of our lanterns and put all electronic devices away, we couldn’t even see our own hands right in front of our faces!  We saw so many great things together, like the endangered cave spider known as the Lampshade Spider, because it builds its web in the shape of a 3-D lampshade!  We also saw some Stalagmites (from the ground up), Stalactites (from the ceiling down), and of course some Cave Bacon!  Caves aren’t just holes in the Earth, they are living Eco-Systems just like a pond or field.  They are very much alive with flowing water, bats, spiders, and other insects.animals depending on the cave.  When cave-visiting, it’s important to remember to never touch the cave walls with your palms.  The oil on your skin actually stops the cave from growing!  So, if you have to hold on or catch yourself from falling, use your fist or arms instead.  So, if you’re ever in the Manitou Springs area, stop by The Cave of the Winds and enjoy an experience of a lifetime!

1. Cave ceiling with Stalactites
2. My mom, brother, and I in the Cave
3. Lantern Tour Sign right before we entered the Main Cave
4. More Stalactites
   
5. Cave Bacon
6. My brother crouching down as we walked through some tight spaces