I have just an half hour to work on this post.

I am getting ready to leave for the Young Living 20th Annual Convention in Salt Lake City with a friend and two people I have never met.

We will be driving there starting early in the morning tomorrow.

We were suppose to leave today, but then the driver decided there was little point to being there all day on Monday as it was geared to members that had higher ratings than we do. So we want to arrive in time for the welcome dinner, but not much earlier.

The driver will pick up on person on his way here, then my Sharing Inner Health friend and I will be waiting at my house for him to pull into the driveway and pick us up. We will head out on Highway 24 and go up to I-70 as I did with my hiking friend last year when I met my brother in Twin Falls, Idaho to exchange items from my parents home that was up for sale. Should be an interesting adventure.

Last Sunday, I decided to take a short hike on Intermann Trail off Bevers Lane in Crystal Hills Park by myself. I had a lovely time to be alone and reflect on all that has been filling my life. And some wonderful orange and black butterflies posed for me in a few different places.

And it was the day for yellow flowers everywhere I looked. There were other wildflowers, in fact some I had no memory of seeing in the past. I really had a hard time turning around and heading back, it was a perfect weather day and I really needed this time alone. I questioned if I would have gotten as many pictures of butterflies if I had been hiking with anyone else and I just wandered about on a few different trails, never gone down very far, as I didn’t want to have to hike back up some steep hill alone.

Michael Baum was having a Home Studio Sale, so I stopped by there and had a lovely chat with his wife and saw the many improvements she was working on to give their back yard and deck a clearer view of the Red Rocks Canyon. And I was hungry and thirsty so indulged in food which she encouraged as it was nearing the end of the Open Studio time and there was lots left.

All week long I kept working on my “How To Plan A Sustainable Event” book and actually did get it published on Kindle on Friday late that night. Hurray!

I wanted to go through the process before helping a friend get his book published. I needed to remind myself how to do some of the steps and had to look up a training or two in order to get it all done properly. Though when he showed up and we began the process, realized he didn’t have a Kindle Account and has some password challenges. Then he wanted to use a business name and didn’t have that tax number with him, so it didn’t get published that day.

I had to work at the Commonwheel Gallery two afternoons. One shift for myself and one for another member for pay and that helped pay for part of my upcoming trip. And one last entry into the Commonwheel Art Festival brought his application as I was closing on Monday night. Two past friends showed up and we all had a few minutes to catch up with our lives.

Working on a Tuesday meant I missed the Tony Laidig training that I so enjoy, and I will be missing the one next Tuesday when I am in Salt Lake City at the Young Living Convention. Better catch up with those quickly when I return or I will get way behind. As I am with the Kindle training and getting the sale page up for the Laidig PhotoShop training that I can sell myself.

Worked on getting all of the images from the Festival participants into various sizes to be used on the Web Site, FaceBook posts, Press Releases, the KRDO Sponsor TV ad and a video I will need to create quickly upon my return. I had decided doing them all at once made more sense than sizing them just for the web now, besides I needed them for the TV ad right now also. So just going through the process of sizing ones for each purpose actually was quicker because I could decide which ones to use for what purpose and not have to remember what ones I had used later.

I had a Manitou Springs Art Council meeting on Wednesday night. That meant I missed “So You Think You Can Dance, and will miss that next week also. Dang! I really love that show. Such amazing talent exhibited by these young dancers always inspires me to reach greater heights myself.

My Sharing Inner Health friend needed some items printed for her new business name. I was having printer “Hell” and it took a lot, but got them printed for her with the corrections she needed done. Then later in the week when I tried to print some business cards all my printers decided not to cooperate. I have some of the funkiest cards printed for an Event ever. I really wanted to have the “How To Plan A Sustainable Event” information to hand out. Just not very professional looking, but they have the information on them if people want to learn more about Sustainability relating to Event planning.

I did get the web page up for the book, but it is incomplete, as is the book, which needs some different photos and a really good bit of editing. But it has all the information and I feel good about having these things both done before leaving tomorrow.

A friend brought me a Chocolate Mint plant I had wanted to plant here, but just too much going on this week to get it planted. Especially with my roommate leaving also who is the real gardener in this household. It is really healthy and I am sure it can wait until I return to get in the ground.

 I did get all the images sized and a CD for KRDO that I have asked another Festival committee member to deliver. And I got all of the logos for all of the sponsors so I decided to ask the Poster Art Creator to do the final work on getting the poster done and sent off to KRDO this week.

I took photos of the new show “Alchemy” at the Commonwheel Gallery and had written the posts and Tweets last week, so was able to add the photos and put up the posts after the opening. Glad I had written the posts! And billed for it so will have a check upon my return.

Got the Smoothie Vendor to agree to use Paper Compostable Cups to resolve the Cold Drink Plastic or Compostable Cup challenge. Yeah! I’ll get him a T-shirt for helping us that way with just a minimum of grumbling. He had just bought a case of plastic compostible cups and these will cost a bit more, but it would have added confusion for the sorters and the public if all other clear plastic cups were recyclable and these couldn’t be because of the food waste that would be attached to them.

In exchange for getting my Sharing Inner Health’s friends flyers and letterhead updated and printed with all the proper information and a bit of work on her web site, I got a massage on Thursday from her. That felt great. Except the horrific pain I sometimes feel in my back happened while she was working on me. I breathed into it and with some more work it resided. Still, not a fun moment.

OK, my half hour is up. Just a few more sentences and I need to get to bed. I am mostly packed, just will need to add some oils and food finishing touches to be totally done. But those will come in the morning.

I called to see if I could get a hair cut and my hairdresser had a Friday opening. I went to remeasure some areas of the park, then to that appointment which was across the street from The Fields Park. Then to a meeting at the Chamber for the Web Site. Have gotten many compliments on my much shorter hair cut. Changes are hard for me, giving up my long hair, but the perm she gave me months ago revitalized and the curls are very cute, or so everyone tells me.

Walked on the ArtWalk. The Alchemy show was really well attended. Had fun seeing Lane Jewelry’s new space and the really amazing transformation they had done on their new location.

Learned of my friend Patty deBendett’s sad health state. And that her kids are not being very kind, which seems very surprising having known them all their lives and didn’t suspect this wicked side they are showing.

Yesterday worked with my friend on his book and finished up some Festival pieces.Connected with both tenants about garden watering and mail and newspapers being taken care of for me. And then there is the poor little half blind squirrel who needs a bit of food each day, not sure if that will work, as the cottage tenant leaves early, but she will put some out in hopes he finds it.

Just really glad I had today to pack and get more things finished up for the Festival relating to Sustainability and Advertising.

Off to bed now!

Oh yeah, need to pack the computer also . . . can’t imagine not checking emails for a week and what that would entail to play catch up on my return!