If I could save time in a bottle….I’d save this year as one of so, so many adventures. Mostly good, some outrageously so, and others adventures in personal growth (which, let’s be honest, can be extremely uncomfortable and often painful).  I’ve loved this practice of reviewing and reflecting on the year that is about to come to a close, how I spent my time and energy over the last  365 days. What I accomplished, explored, chose. So, here goes….

January 

I spent the majority of the month skiing, which is not a bad way to ring in the New Year! I even went into RMNP to skin with a girlfriend who had purchased a cabin in Grand Lake. I helped a client secure a tenant in their townhouse, preparing the unit for move-in, so was excited for them to start making income! My mom had eye surgery and I was fortunate enough to be close by to help her out to and from and stay with her while she recovered over the first few days, plus she watched Winnie while our ski crew headed up to Steamboat for the first group ski trip. Our three bedroom condo was amazing & fit 12 of us snug as a bug. Being able to walk into the lift after a short walk was extremely convenient as well, and the hottub Apres & free shuttle into town sealed the deal. Anson and I had our first SUMMIT of 2023 & talked all about goals. Of which I had quite a few! Our rentals had all renewed and our STR-Midterm rental was doing well and I’d occasionally clean it if I was around. And late in the month we did put our first offer in on some land up in Fraser!!! Our Eagles placed in the NFC east championship where we had a huge crew over to cheer em’ on!

February 

Ski trips abound this month, with a double header right off the bat!  Breckenridge called and Mike and I, along with 4 of his friends from High School, piled into our truck & sped up to the mountains for a high altitude 5-day extravaganza of fun! Snow was great and the house had a hot tub! Immediately following those shenanigans, we took off for Aspen to meet our Denver ski crew for Highland Bowl hikes with champagne & Jing sushi shenanigans! Mike arm wrestled someone at dinner, McFadden had echo-cooler poured into his gullet and Jing himself called us Motha-Fucka’s. A wild Aspen weekend! 

Working on my marketing at Edgewater market with a friend became a thing, and I was able to get my real estate 101 email series and monthly newsletter out! We skied a ton in Winter Park and continued my Edgewater Market work meetings with friends. I was also asked to co-host the BadAss Women’s Meetup – which is such an honor! 

March 

March came in like a skiing lion and we headed to Crested Butte to storm ski and then headed to Wolf Creek to hit one of the last old school resorts in the west. It was absolutely epic! A small motel with a coffee pot and a hot tub was home for the two nights we were there and my Airbnb Superhost reward paid for most of it! Music carried us into the next weekend with The Weber Brother’s at New Image, while the second weekend in March swept us to our friends’ house in Frisco where we took to the backcountry in MayFlower Gulch, then jammed out with the jam flow man himself and saw Twiddle at the Ten Mile Station. I saw my cousin, attended a regional rally via my brokerage, started physical therapy for a hip issue I couldn’t seem to shake, attended a number of real estate meetups, and took a number of continuing education classes to keep current with my license. 

April 

Spring had sprung and a good friend from high school came out to Breckenridge with her family and we spent a fabulous long weekend hanging! Ritas for tacos, Broken Compass for beers, and sledding on Carter Hill. From the mountains to the dessert; we headed to Fruita to bike and bask in the sun! Scarlet Begonia (our truck camper) packed up after resting all winter and we took off for some riding (biked over 26 miles!). It was so fun to be camping again! On the way home we hiked Hanging Lake – a bucket list item I finally go to! Even though it was icy and snowy, we made it to the top and it was gorgeous! Our short-term rental was chugging along and I cleaned on days I didn’t have much else going on. Mike headed to Phish, while I welcomed two high school girlfriends for a fabulous girls weekend! Another milestone was signing up for an alone Yoga retreat in Guatemala and while the trip wasn’t until November, it was something I had been waiting my whole life to do! 

May

Renewal season for our rentals came and all three long-term renewed! Our short-term rental turned into a mid-term rental – due to us being gone all summer on our road trip extravaganza.  We picked up pickle ball – so fun – I spent time with my mom walking and going to the art museum, saw the Weber brothers play at a brewery, biked a big day at Buff Creek, worked out consistently, and attended more real estate meetups! I was featured on The Real FI Podcast which was so cool and I got to share my real estate journey. Mid-May brought us to the ballgame and our crew headed to the Phils & Rockies game – Go Phils!

Canon City called us at the end of the month and we packed Scarlet Begonia and headed south for bikes, friends and dessert magic. It was a kickoff to the summer with the best crew ever! I rode a total of 74.28 miles on my bike! In just a few weeks, we would take off for our Summer Road Trip Extravaganza, so we were packing up and seeing as many friends as possible! 

June & July  

Summer season was here and while we got ready for our big road trip, we got a mid-term renter, I got my newsletter out, appeared on the Property Squad Podcast, and coordinated my cleaner to come while we were away (we were going to rent the house out for several weeks while we were away). And on June 12, we headed out on our Summer Road Trip. I’ll not repeat what I wrote in that blog, so go check it out – we were gone through August 5th. 

August

Boy did we have an amazing time on the road – but we were ready to come home! We made over $8k while we were away – which covered most of the trip and the mortgage on the house! Our time share rented out while we were gone too – Breckenridge is amazing in the Summer – so while we didn’t do much work (although we did coordinate a broken appliance at a rental) we still produced some income. Later in the month, we hosted my mom for a few nights while she had her kitchen re-done, I went to a ton of real estate coffee meetups, recorded a SUMMIT master mind and my band the Chuggers practiced for our upcoming show – Mike’s Birthday extravaganza! I finally went to an Orthopedic Surgeon to see what was going on with my hip and found out I had advanced osteoarthritis, with cysts on my bone from the pressure….and would need a hip replacement. Yikes! The end of the month took our crew to the Phils-Rockies Game and we had a blast – I even saw the Philly Phanatic! 

September 

Our investment property went live – and I hired someone in my brokerage to hold two open houses. Unfortunately, we didn’t see much action, so ended up renting it while on the market.

Chuggers ragged for Mike’s 45th birthday – and I wrote Mike a song:  

Halfway to Ninety 

D.                                                 A
Has he told you, I said have you heard

G.                         D
A job, yeah, it ain’t nothing but work

He built his life around his own way
Having’ more fun takin’ that road less paved 

G.                                                        A7

If you asked him he would tell you the truth
G.                                                         A
Try hard, smoke weed, and if you need more proof…

G A
Bike down, hike up & fly on skis

D
And he’s halfway to ninety 

They say that legends….they die young
But he says the jokes on them

Gotta live this life with fun in mind
Don’t worry bout’ green unless it’s kind

If you asked him he would tell you the truth
Try hard, smoke weed, and if you need more proof…

Bike down, hike up & fly on skis
And he’s halfway to ninety 

Don’t try to tell him, we’ll don’t tell him nothin’
His minds made up and so it begins 

You can do anything, but what’s your price
Untethered and free, that suits him right

If you asked him he would tell you the truth
Try hard, smoke weed, and if you need more proof…
Bike down, hike up & fly on skis

And he’s halfway to ninety 

The following weekend took us to the enchanted and exotic land of Wisconsin and the Wysocki club! We ate at the mess hall, went to cocktail parties in the clubhouse, played golf and pickleball tournaments, paddled in canoes around the lake, and rode the golf cart around the property. Sunday came and we headed to Lambo field for a Green Bay Packers game – an amazing weekend! I headed to my cousin’s baby shower, picked up a dog-walking gig for some extra cash, and headed into Denver for a fun day at the Art Museum with my mom followed by an afternoon lunch-theater musical performance of Jerry Lee Louis, Johnny Cash & Roy Orbison songs. 

October

Fall rolled in and we headed to Nederland for a leaf peepin’ bike ride, followed by a camping extravaganza in Canon City, where I rode my mountain bike, we hiked over the Royal Gorge Bridge, and we camped and hung out with my favorite people. I rode my bike quite a bit to and from my puppy sitting gig, played frisbee golf. Our buddy Dusty had a birthday party, we had to fix a mailbox and dishwasher in one of our rentals, and I got to see my Aunt & Uncle and meet my cousin’s new baby! I got a rental assistance client, so marketed the home and started to vet applicants.

Our friends tied the knot down at The Oxford Hotel so we celebrated all weekend, taking the train into the city, drinks in union station, then got loose on the dancefloor!  Christmas magnets of our trips were ordered, wine drinking at wine club and I met with a new buyer client! 

November

Happy birthday to me and bon voyage! I headed to Guatemala for my solo Yoga retreat – which was absolutely amazing! New tenants moved into our mid-term rental – which we pulled off the market due to low interest. Mike and I hosted our first friendsgiving, where we fried a turkey, hosted 13 people and had a wonderful feast!  The rest of the month included lots of medical things – Winnie had an episode with her back, Mike had a colonoscopy and I preped for my Hip Surgery – which was on November 30!

December 

Let the healing season begin! My surgery went well – Mike was amazing and stayed with me the entire time, except for when he went home to put the Christmas tree up! My friends signed up for a meal train while I was laid up – even had a walker – and the support I felt truly left me swelling with gratitude! Mike could not have been more supportive, bringing aspirin, ice packs, ice water, even sleeping with me downstairs so he could help me get to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Having this surgery was such a reminder about how important my health is, how important it is to surround yourself with good people who would be there for you when you need them, how much my crew and family has my back, and how important it is to take care of yourself because there are so many things I still want to do!

A low key Christmas at home with my mom and Mike followed by a visit with my dad right after Christmas, spending time with my family, including celebrating my niece’s 17th birthday party! New Years Eve was spent with our crew in Olde Town Arvada, I closed out the year with a new client, a new hip and a new vigor for life and my health! Cheers to all of the adventures to come!