Connection

Emptiness

Aside ~ ~ cotalklady ~ 1 Comment

Riley and Braska

Time to say goodbye

I remember the first time I saw you both, you were watching out the window at the top of the stairs, it was like you knew I was coming to your house for the very first time.

You both excitedly greeted me, I was curious about these two beautiful medium sized dogs. You looked like a small chocolate labs. I quickly found out you were ½ German Shorthair Pointer, and half Vizsla, a breed I had never heard of. I quickly researched more about both of these breeds, and fell in love with you both. You both were just over 2 years old, litter mates,  you looked so much alike it was hard to tell you apart. As I grew to know and love you more, I soon found the vast differences in your personalities. I soon could tell you apart, even without the magic colored collars you had. Blue for Braska, and Red for Riley. It was the easiest way to let anybody know who was who!

I often said that you two were like having identical twins, with opposite personalities!

I was happy when your daddy asked me to marry him, and I got to become your mom. You two have been a big part of our beginning and will always be part of our hearts.

It’s been a fun time, you both have brought joy and laughter to our home. Riley was always the playful bright-eyed girl, who loved to swim in grandpa’s pool. Braska wanted nothing to do with that!  Braska was smart and devious – she figured out how to open the doors, and even destroyed a door from working so hard at it.

You both always traveled well, and were inseparable until we lost Riley 2 1/2 years ago.  Riley had eye cancer, had to remove her eye at 9 years old, but it didn’t stop her. She still kept playing and occasionally ran into a wall she didn’t see!

Braska was lonely when we lost Riley, I wasn’t sure if she would make it a year.  After a few months I finally convinced dad to let me bring home a puppy. You wanted nothing to do with her at first, but you eventually accepted her, showed her the ropes, and even played with her once in awhile. You taught her a love for ice cubes and an intolerance for squirrels. I believe she kept you active longer than we should have expected.

Braska wasn’t able to defy her age… hearing mostly gone, eyesight no so great… afraid to be touched. One minute playing with the young mutt – next struggling to stand or walk. Seeing her in pain wasn’t easy – knowing that she has lost some of who she was was even harder.

It’s difficult to say farewell, but I know you are ready to be with your sister Riley once again.

Time to say goodbye my sweet girl. Thank you for sharing your life with us. Thank you for letting us share our lives with you.  We are glad the pain will end. We are sad that we’ve reached the end of the road.

When you cross the bridge, Riley will be waiting for you. Don’t steal her ball right away.

I love you. 

IMG_0349

Brave Blue we Thank You

~ cotalklady ~ Leave a comment

 

My heart hurts this morning, I’m sad, I’m angry, and I just don’t understand.

images

Our men and women of blue put on their uniforms everyday to serve and to protect. They risk their lives so that we have Freedom of Speech, and Freedoms to protest peacefully.

These police officers were helping while a PEACEFUL protest was going on, they were attacked, the protestors & everybody were in danger.  They ran towards the fire, sadly so many lost their lives.  When does this stop?

imgres

When will people realize that ALL LIVES MATTER, the fact that this tragedy happened just to kill police sickens me.  It upsets me about ANY police shootings, but people have to RESPECT the uniform, RESPECT these men and women who are doing their job.

I feel for all these families in Dallas today, I RESPECT and Honor each and every man and woman in Blue.

Please join me in praying for these families, pray for peace, and remember that ALL LIVES matter.

images-2

 

 

Synergy Team

~ cotalklady ~ Leave a comment

According to dictionary.com the meaning of Synergy is:

the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions, etc.


The Thunderbirds flying high above us yesterday after the AF Academy Graduation 

Like the Thunderbirds, it’s nice to say that for the first time in a very long time we have great synergy at work.  Being a small business owner has its ups and downs and as changes occur, we see people come and go.  We have always had a great team of people that work with us, but with recent changes we have had to say goodbye to some really awesome people. Some took the road on their own and a few we had to let go.

It’s always sad, especially when your company is small, but knowing the new path and direction we are headed, making sure that your team is aligned with you is very important.

We NOW have that team!

I feel really good about our direction and where we are headed. It’s exciting and scary all at the same time.  I see the light, I see where we need to be, and together we, our TEAM, is making this happen.  I am sure we will continue to have those bumps, but as long as we share the same vision, we can inspire each other to keep moving forward.

6dfee1e00d8f23a1d99f2b08ceef37fb

 

 

Change

~ cotalklady ~ Leave a comment

Changing is always a constant

In our lives and our businesses, changes are inevitable, changes in people, growth, technology, and processes.

It seems to me that changes are happening at a much faster pace than they did 10 years ago.  At times I feel the hamster wheel is spinner faster than the pace we want to go.  Is it because technologies are growing at an ever faster pace?

I sometimes reflect on the way things used to be, when they were just more simple.

In today’s world, especially in business if you aren’t keeping up with the new technologies, developing better processes, keeping employees engaged, then you are falling behind.

I believe in embracing the changes, but I find myself reminiscing about how simple life used to be. Some days I feel like life and work are just flying past us.

Don’t you wish that you can just push the pause button?  I do!


 

 

Celebrating my dad’s 80th Birthday

~ cotalklady ~ Leave a comment

This past weekend we celebrated my dad’s 80th birthday in Las Vegas.

My dad is the baby of 9 kids, the baby is 80! We had an awesome weekend meeting in Las Vegas, to sprinkle in a few surprises for him, mission accomplished!

I have many 1st cousins on the Fenter side of the family.  We are spread out all over the country, and some of us are closer than others,  however, we are all family. We laughed, and had lots of great times catching up with each other.   We realize it’s getting harder and harder to find the time to get together.

After some great times and some good discussion we will make a better effort in the future to not wait so long for these type of reunions.  As our families are growing it would be nice to have more reunions of all sizes, for our children, and grand children giving them chance to know one another.  We promise not to wait another 25 plus years for the next get together.

I really appreciate all those that made it to the surprise birthday party, it was nice to see that my dad’s older brother could make it, and even a couple of my 2nd cousins came to celebrate with us. Like many large families we don’t get together very often, our busy lives get in the way. The last time that we all got together in a large way was back in 1990.

Ray's 80th- Family

I appreciate all of his friends that were able to make it, as well as some people he worked with in the past.  I really would like to thank everyone who came to help us celebrate for a wonderful weekend of fun in Las Vegas!

Ray's 80th- Group photo

Happy 80th Birthday, Dad! (That’s him in the red shirt in the front row, sitting next to his older brother)  He looks pretty good for someone who is 80!

 

My foot and puppy don’t mix

~ cotalklady ~ Leave a comment

When puppy forces collide with my foot!

I just have to say puppies are awesome, most of the time!  We have had our puppy since she was 8 weeks old, we rescued each other. She was cute, cuddly, and just adorable all 9 pounds of this Lab/Shepherd mix.

Fast forward, she is now 15 months old, she is full grown, still just as cute and adorable as always, only now she is about 55 pounds.  She still loves to cuddle, and give kisses.  She also loves to run and play even in the house, she doesn’t know how big she is.  Well needless to say, my foot and her rapid running had a collision.

Dog okay, foot not so much, good news it’s not broken even though it hurts a lot.  Now it’s time for some rest therapy, a boot (yuck) and hopefully it will heal soon.  Way too much to do, and besides that who is going to walk the dog?

She even has her own Facebook page now!  Check it out! Kota Bacon

When she was small
She’s bigger and silly!

 

 

 

 

New Beginnings

~ cotalklady ~ Leave a comment

1506739_10208413813928816_2385562994008718813_n-2Inspiration, Good Thoughts, Happiness, and Connection

It’s time I face my writing fears and break out of my comfort zone.  It’s a new beginning, as each year the calendar gives us a reset button. Well, I really wish it was as easy as that!  I want to write about the things that inspire me, the little things that we see or hear and we just let them go by us like they never happened.  I want to stop and smell the roses, pay attention to things that make me happy or others happy. The connections that people make and the good that happens.

So let’s start with this, the first few days of 2016

We started off the New Year with our Colorado Auctioneer Association annual conference. I like to say they are my auction family. It was a wonderful feeling watching Josh Larson compete this year and the look on his face when he heard his name as the 2016 Colorado Champion, he was the most relaxed, he was having fun. Great job Josh, you will make us all proud when you represent Colorado this year at the IAC at the National Auctioneers Conference and Show.

Another inspiring connection from the CAA convention was the fun I had watching and listening to Charles Nicholls working with the new and some of us older Auctioneers. I truly loved his passion for teaching in his “mad scientist” kind of way! He helped many of us calm our nerves, breathe, and relax more. I loved a great moment of connection we had in laughter, and his sweet whisper in my ear, when he said that he loved me and that for a moment, I had reminded him of his wife by what I had said, she is waiting in heaven for him. This touched my heart, made me smile and gave me a connection I will always remember. Many of us enjoyed his teachings and his wonderful smile, I would pay to have this man come coach in Colorado again.

I love seeing all our Colorado Auctioneers and their families, the networking and friendships that have grown from a lifetime of conventions. I look forward each year of catching up with them and their families. I am excited that my friend Doug Carpenter was elected into the Colorado Auctioneers Hall of Fame, something I too have had the privilege of being honored by my peers in 2012.  He joined the association a couple of years after I did.

Lastly, I am excited that a decision that we made last year in February has happened!  We sold off the Storage Auction Kings segment of our business, this was not an easy decision but something we felt was time for us to do.  This part of our business was our baby and we are proud of the business we had built, the relationships with our clients and our buyers have been special to us.  We are happy to say that it’s staying within the family of one of our Auctioneers Barrett and his wife Tessa, they have purchased the Storage Auction Kings and we couldn’t be happier because we truly feel that the right people are in place to continue with our baby and to take it to an even higher level.  I feel like a proud mamma!

2016 has started and it’s going to be a new adventure in so many ways!  I look forward to this year, I am trying new things, I’m scared and excited all at the same time!

I am blessed.

Shannon Schur

Auctioneer, Asset Appraiser, Broker-Real Estate, Fund-raising consultant

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨