Daydreams of Sunshine and Margaritas..

My first Winter in Colorado for the most part has been wonderful! I was heavily warned that the Winter here is longgggg...as in 8 months or so long. I was slightly nervous, but all the warm sunny days (still covered in snow) have gotten me through so far! Not to mention the snowboarding and the cozy cabin.
That being said, I'm always ready for Summer come January or so. I need it to be warm enough to comfortably spend the entire day outside. Is that so much to ask?

My body is craving Summer as much as my brain and my soul are. The doctor did a blood test and said I have a Vitamin D deficiency. My levels are extremely low and she put me on a HIGH HIGH dosage for 8 weeks, followed by 1,000 IU's daily after those two months. Did you know that sunscreen blocks Vitamin D from the sun? I have gotten addicted to sunscreen since moving here. The sun is SO intense and my Irish skin can only take so much. It seems like the safe thing to do.

Anyway, since taking this high dose of D for two weeks now, I feel leaps and bounds better and have so much more energy! AND I don't go to bed at 7:30pm anymore! Turns out, 24yr olds don't actually need 12 hours of sleep a night. Who knew!

I think it may have been some form of seasonal depression..but I'm fighting it with everything I have. The mentally healthy thing to do now seems to be...taking a shower and using my new coconut soap to pretend I'm on some tropical vacation instead of doing my taxes tonight.

My college gals and I are also planning a cheap trip to somewhere, ANYWHERE warm with margaritas for next year. Makes for great daydreams :)

A Friend Further West

I lived for some time just outside of Seattle in the biggest and most beautiful home I will probably ever live in. It was all hand built by it's owners, who rented it out to 6 random people who turned into a great little community. I loved living there and I loved my housemates. I wish I had a picture of the house for you, but all I can seem to find is the beginning of this mural we painted on our wall one rainy day..

One thing I miss most about Seattle is live music. 

My roommate and friend, Jake Hemming, is an incredible musician. Not only that...he is an incredible person who taught me things like how to love life, how to appreciate what you're given, and most of all how to give your heart to everyone around you. He turned our dysfunctional household into a family. He is one of the most genuine people I have ever met. If you get a chance to meet him one day, I highly suggest doing so.

Anyway, he sings sad songs but they are beautiful and he is so talented!

Watch this video: Big Sur-Their Honeymoon

Craigslist Schmaigslist

So I just went on Craigslist, a normal brain occupying activity for my alone time. I happily realized that my Craigslist scouring is dramatically different from a few months ago. In the fall of this year, I searched for anything and everything. Apartments, furniture for my non-existent apartment, jobs, hobbies, pets, life answers, etc. It was always so intriguing. Today, not having spent much time alone lately, I clicked onto C-list High Rockies...like normal, expecting to get at minimum an hour or so of good scouring/life pondering.

Turns out, I must be a little more satisfied with life nowadays because I was done in 3 minutes, realizing that I don't need anything at the moment. I now have a great job and a strange little cabin, but a cabin at that...and I'm very content. I even have plans. Woah.. In about six months or so, I will be moving into a far superior cabin with plumbing(!) and my boyfriend(!!!) and his dog(!)

We don't normally look this nice and/or clean, just FYI.

 Now, about the only thing I can think to search for is a babysitting job to hopefully cure this sudden baby fever. This is the first job I've had not working with kids, so that may be part of it. Anyway, it's completely hormonal and very annoying. I have some idea of how I want my life to play out and it does not involve kids for quite some time. So please, hormones, be quiet so I can concentrate. Thanks.

For now, I'll just continue on with the simple life, spending my days in a snow globe.

Change of Pace

I had close to the entire day to myself today. That equates to a laaa-hot of time realizing what a strange  creature I have become in my twenties.

My general routine to get back to myself, feel balanced involves the following:
laundry and cleaning (normal, right?) then followed by nail painting, candle lighting...
attempts at self-structured yoga which for some reason turn into very interesting interpretive dances. eating significant amounts of vegetables and hummus, hours on Pinterest.
And writing in my journal-which has brought me to the idea of blogging. (Although sometimes nothing feels better than pen on paper, this is much faster and is less tiring for my right hand.) 

 

One of my favorite people in this world and longtime roommate, Liz Fraley, left this weekend for a ten month commitment to Americorps. I am extremely happy for her and admire her ever-adventurous spirit, I can't help but feel melancholy.

She left me this as the background on my computer. What a nice present!

Today is Sunday, which is my normal "date day"with my boyfriend. We wake up decently early, make breakfast, go snowboarding, and spend the day (if possible) with no contact to the real world or other people. Our friends are ridiculously social beings, however, and sometimes squeeze their way into our dates. Anyway, I am normally SO excited for Sundays. I wait all week to spend the day with the man I love.

Today, we woke up a little later than normal and I got dressed for snowboarding as slow as humanly possible. Jon, always fully aware of everything (usually more aware of how I'm feeling than I am), asked if I was okay and if I still wanted to go to A-Basin this morning. I broke down, unable to respond but finally got out a few words, "I want Liz back." Liz is the reason I came out to Colorado and most of the reason I am somewhat sane today. I will miss her dearly but have no doubt that we will have adventures again in the future...because our adventures so far have been epic!

Follow her at http://littleladybird88.blogspot.com/ for what I'm sure will be an unforgettable chapter in her life.  I can also guarantee you a few laughs. She's a funny girl.

On the highest point at Sand Dune Nat'l Park on our post-summer 2011 road trip.

 

At the top of Sugar Loaf in the Fall of our freshman year in college in 

Winona, MN, where we did the majority of our growing into actual people.