I am having an absolutely amazing week. Tuesday I found my first piece of gold jewelry while treasure hunting. We went to one of the local high schools and detected under the bleachers. It is a pretty little peridot ring with a tiny diamond accent. The peridot is heart shaped and a perfect fit for my right hand ring finger. Although gold isn't usually my style, I have been wearing it because it reminds me of how lucky I am.



I started my jewelry and metalworking class on Thursday and absolutely loved it. I rode my motorcycle there which is quite an accomplishment for me. The class is downtown and I was in traffic, by myself, for the first time. I did well and didn't have any problems with my bike (Hildegard is her name, just in case you were wondering). I was very nervous at first but started to relax as I made my way downtown. After my class, which I loved (did I mention that yet?) Eddie met me at the school and we went to lunch, both on our motorcycles. We ate at my absolutely favorite place to eat and I was happy.

Friday afternoon Eddie got a long lunch and when I woke up at 10:30 he was already home. I had some errands I wanted to run so we took Hildegard and Bruno (his motorcycle) out again. I got new sunglasses at Target because the ones I grabbed at the dollar store weren't doing the job. After that we went to the motorcycle place and I finally got a proper motorcycle jacket. Because I live on base, I always have to wear a helmet, boots, gloves and a bright long sleeved shirt. I would do all of these things anyway and felt very uncomfortable just wearing my hoodie. If I were to take a spill it would certainly not protect my arms or chest.

Generally I am not a bright color kind of person but I feel different when it comes to motorcycle gear.

This is my helmet.


This is my new Jacket

The white designs on the sides have a silver glitter running through them.

As far as the boots, I wear a pair of my old Doc's. They are the only pair of boots that I have right now that don't go past my calves.


So I zoom, or should I say putter, down the street a bright, glittery, tacky mess and I love it. My next acquisition is better boots. These are already starting to wear out.

After Eddie was done work we went back out. In total, we did more than 60 miles yesterday and I finally got on the highway. My motorcycle is only a 450, two cylinder so it doesn't really have a lot of power or speed (which is fine with me!) It was up around 5000 rpms in 6th gear at 55 mph. I also had my first bug/helmet collisions-gross and apparently took a rock to the head because it chipped the paint on top of my helmet. It was so beautiful out yesterday and I was so relaxed and comfortable riding around.

Today we are heading over to our friend's house on our bikes with metal detecting gear in hand. It should shape up to be a fine day.

While riding yesterday, I looked at the mountains, belly full of Pei-Wei and thought to myself, I am really, really happy.

My brain has been a torrent of activity. Ideas and thoughts buzz around my head like bees on crack. It is so hard for me to sit down and make any of them coherent enough to make sense to anyone but me. I will start talking to Eddie in the middle of a thought which leaves him wondering what the hell I am talking about. I also will start a thought and not finish it because my mind has already hopped through 6 different thoughts before I realize that I didn't finish the original one. He likes to hear the trail the thought took before it came out of my mouth because sometimes the things I say seem so random to him.



I love to see the marks people leave behind. I love to think of Dave, in 1956 carving his mark in this tree. The tree, unknowing and uncaring grew and left Dave's mark where he put it. Dave in his chino shorts and button down shirt. I wonder if he thought about people passing his signature 50 years later and thinking of him.

What marks will I leave behind? I think this is part of my obsession with the metal detecting I've been doing lately. The only thing of value that I found this weekend was a silver band. At the picnic spot, I found a spot someone had buried their garbage. That was more interesting than the ring. A sizzelean package. Coke cans with a date of 1988. Melted beer bottles. Unwittingly, someone left their mark behind because I dug it up. Evidence of the people that went before.

History in Colorado, for American's is only around 200 years old. Having grown up on the East Coast, that history feels sparse. I know the Spanish, Native Americans and Mexican history is much older and richer than I'm giving it credit for, but the buildings aren't really here. Especially where we live. We're the East side of Colorado Springs. Everything out here is pretty new. Germany was a special treat. Wurzburg was celebrating its 1300th anniversary when we arrived. They had buildings, that in spite of wars, still stood after 1100 years. In our disposable culture, most knock down the buildings rather than restoring them. The history is gone as soon as the wrecking ball swings in order to make way for cheaper and larger structures. Something has to accommodate the exploding population of this country.

I guess this is the natural way of things. If not by human hand, nature will renew.

We drove through the beautiful, scenic countryside of Colorado. The weather was amazing and everything seemed a little bit more beautiful because of it. I think the one thing I have come to love about Colorado is the scenery. It can be overwhelming sometimes and I find myself paying extra close attention to the things we see as we drive along the dusty, dirt roads that wind through the various state parks. As enchanting as some places can be, others can be equally disturbing.



Thousands upon thousands of acres of burned trees. Standing up tall, they are a sad reminder of how beautiful they once were. One fire and millions of trees burned. The countryside bare and exposed. More than likely, this was a fire caused by a human, but these things can happen from nature too. One strike of lightening in the right conditions can set the trees ablaze. Without human intervention, even more of the trees will burn and nature will renew itself again.



If you keep going east from Colorado Springs, you drive into, what I refer to as prairie. That picture was caught during a grass fire that spread over some of the land here a few weeks ago. Eddie and I drove out toward the smoke until we found the fire. It is easy enough to find it because in that direction, the land is so flat. It is in stark contrast to the mountains toward the west. When we leave here, other than a few of the close friendships that we've maintained, I will miss the land most.

I am finally out of the woods with Mono. I haven't had a nap in over a week although Eddie has been kind to me and letting me sleep in. He's been coming home to get the kids ready for school in the morning. I've even been waking up on my own in the morning and feeling refreshed.

My latest obsession is Metal Detecting. I have been wanting a metal detector for some time now and I finally got one for my birthday. So far we haven't gone very far and most of the time have stayed on base. Today I found my first piece of real jewelry. I get so excited and it doesn't matter to me that I haven't yet found anything of real value. The piece I found today is a silver marcasite pendant of a heart. We also found a little non-precious metal charm thing that said love. All told, we've found around 10 dollars in change and a few assorted weird items including a tab bottle cap, a skeleton key, an AA 30 day sober coin, half a golf club, buttons, lots of pull tabs (those of you around my age will remember them) and lots of rusty nails. Eddie told me that he thinks it is so cute when I get excited when we dig something up. I like to think of it as modern day archeology. We've only detected three places off base and we plan to venture further down to Old Colorado City soon.

I know this makes me a geek but I own it. As my dear husband put it, I say "Yeah, I metal detect. So the fuck what!" :)

I have also signed up for College. I am registered for three classes; Spanish 1, Metalworking and Jewelry, and Psychology 101. I actually took Psych 101 and got a B before (nearly an A but I took my final late) and I've had a zillion years of Spanish starting in 2nd grade. Both of those classes are online. I am SO excited to take the metalworking class. I also have a man who is going to apprentice me in jewelry repair so it should be the perfect compliment to my class. Almost like having a private tutor. I am planning on a CLEP test or two because I tested very high on my placement test. I am an excellent test taker. Its been YEARS since I've had any formal education in English or Math but I still did well. The woman who gave me my test scores suggested the CLEP tests because it will save me time and money. A short test is so much better than taking a class.

The boys are done school next week. I am going to continue their education throughout the summer. They are both very far ahead of their classes in reading and math. Ryan needs a lot of work with his writing. I am trying to encourage Avery to start reading novels. I started very young. I think I was 8 or so when I read my first Stephen King novel. After that everything my parents had in the house was up for grabs. It is so hard to steer them toward a book when the internet calls their attention. I guess a bribe system is in order.

Eddie has less than 9 months left in the Army. LESS THAN 9!! He found a job posting for his exact job description at Ft. Monmouth. Oh, if he could get that job, I think I'd just about up and die. The chances are slim because he is still 9 months out but if we could live by the shore, I just don't know what I'd do! I might even be able to convince my sister to move there as well which would make my life perfect! A house by the shore, Eddie with a job he loves, my family around an hour away and my sister living close is my vision of the perfect life.

I'm off for now. Eddie and I are getting our drink/rockband on :D