Road Tripping: CO 2014

This weekend, Sam and I took advantage of the extra day off and spent some time driving to Colorado to visit family. They are expecting a kiddo in a couple months, so I whipped up this pillow (using this tutorial) as a thank you gift for letting us stay. Turned out quite cute, might have to make another one for me!

The road trip took us through some pretty monumental places, such as Monument Valley....haha, get it? Monumental places!?

And Moab, Utah, where we rested for lunch, grabbed a plate of nachos, and some gelato for the road. 

Just around the corner from Moab is one of America's Scenic Byways - a must if you're ever driving from Utah to Colorado. The road twists and turns, following the Colorado River, which was mostly frozen from a storm earlier in the week. 

The first day in CO, brought us shwoop shwooping down Arapahoe Basin, and catching up with some friends from Denver for dinner. It was a bluebird day on the slopes followed by a great evening in Idaho Springs.

The next day was spent on the slopes of Loveland Valley - overlooking I-70 and skiing directly on top of the longest tunnel in America - the Eisenhower Tunnel. 

Which was followed by an afternoon hike, a little football -Go Broncos!, and snowplay. And 1,000,000 pictures of the dog. 

All of that was capped off with a LONG drive home, with lunch along the same Scenic Byway as previously shown above. 

Did you rock your MLK weekend? 

2013 Q&A

Berthoud Pass, CO

1.     What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before? 

Went on a Caribbean cruise, road tripped through CO, visited Portland, OR, experienced Mardi-Gra in Louisiana, paid off two cars.

Courtney, Steffi, Diane, and myself on the fist day of celebration of Mardi gra

2.     Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? 

I always have good intentions of making resolutions, but I hardly ever do. But this year, I’ve chosen a phrase to join in with the “word of the year” club and it is “It is well with my soul.” A reminder to not fret about things that cannot be changed and be more flexible with what life throws at me.

3.       Did anyone close to you give birth? 

Yes! My best friend from high school had a beautiful baby girl in October and I cannot wait to meet her in person!

4.       Did anyone close to you die? 

We celebrated the passing of Sam’s grandparents even though they passed a few years ago, but it took until this year to gather the whole family to be able to have an intimate gathering.

5.       What countries did you visit? 

Mexico, Jamaica, and the Grand Cayman Islands

Me, Sam, Steffi, and Dave in Jamaica, January 2013

6.       What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013? 

I’d like to read more books for the soul, attend church more often, and take more time to appreciate my marriage before it grows into a family (Don’t worry – no announcements yet!)

7.       What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 

July 27, our best friend’s wedding, which was beautiful! June 15, another set of friends tied the knot, March 9, I ran my longest race – an 8K! Jan 1, our 1^st annual Lucky Dinner, November 29, Weston’s elk hunt, October, the whole month I participated in the October blogging challenge.

8.       What was your biggest achievement of the year? 

Taking a leap of faith and leaving a decent job that I didn’t love for a career path that hopefully leads to bigger and better things. That jump involved a pretty big pay decrease, but with the help of Dave Ramsey, we’re making it work, and it’s working better than we could have imagined. Paying off 2 cars in 27 months, learning to meal plan, and consciously place our money where we want it – no more wondering where our money went!

9.       What was your biggest failure? 

Focusing too much on the future and not enough on the NOW.

10.   Did you suffer illness or injury? 

I did not. Nor did anyone near me, thank goodness, at least not in a memorable way.

11.   What was the best thing you bought? 

A haircut, haha. I really don’t want to admit how long it took me to go get one.

12.   Whose behavior merited celebration? 

My parents, who are have been hit pretty hard by the state of the economy, who continue to be wonderful role models for Sam and I in our marriage, and continue to keep a positive attitude and show their love to one another.

Selfies with the family over Christmas, not sure where Sam was ;)

13.   Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? 

Meh, I’ll keep this one to myself.

14.   Where did most of your money go? 

Towards paying of our car loans and student loans. Thank you to our good friends Clay and Shawnacy for motivating us to take the Financial Peace University class by Dave Ramsey, and helping us to get our butts in gear on our debts and get a strong grasp on our budget as a couple.

15.   What did you get really, really, really excited about? 

Our cruise last January was a biggie. Warm beaches in the dead of winter, can’t beat that! And watching our house become a home!

From this----

To this!

Working on the back yard - no more two-toned fence!

From this ---- 

To this!

More work on the backyard

16.   What songs will always remind you of 2013? 

Running out of moonlight, Randy Houser, well, Randy Houser’s newest album in general was very popular at our house this year.

17.   Did you make any new friendships? 

Changing jobs last March posed the opportunity to meet new faces and helped to make the job transition much more enjoyable. Growing our friendships with other couples has been awesome too. The one that sticks out the most though is Shawnacy J.

18.   Did you go on vacation? 

Yes! We had a late honeymoon on a Caribbean cruise in January, drove up through Utah and Colorado over the summer, a 3^rd annual girls trip to Scottsdale, a long weekend in CA to visit my folks and celebrate our 1 year anniversary, a family elk hunt, and lots of other little weekend getaways around the state.

My first overnight backpack trip outside of Sedona, AZ

Colorado

Cozumel, Mexico

19.   What do you wish you had done (more and less) of? 

I wish I had spent more time with my girlfriends, more time reading books, put a little more effort into making the Etsy shop super successful (though it was much more successful than I ever thought possible), I wish I had done less worrying about life, more praying, less whining to Sam, and more enjoying the moment – hints the new year’s phrase – It is well with my soul.

20.   How did you spend the holidays? 

Thanksgiving, camping with the family, Christmas with both sets of parents! What a great time that was! New Years with our good friends smooching under the Pine Cone Drop.

21.   What new food did you discover? 

Pomegranates, homemade pizza, homemade raspberry vanilla ice cream, crock pot chicken breasts, the use of a pressure cooker! (don’t roll your eyes if you knew about all those things, I’m inexperienced in the kitchen, but getting there!) I did a 3 part series on Pinterest recipes - find it HERE!

LINK

LINK

LINK

22.   What was your favorite TV program? 

Downton Abbey, very high on the list. New Girl, aka Jess. The Good Wife, Parenthood, Modern Family. Finally finished all of The Office. And Nashville, which is a close tie for 1^st place with Downton Abbey.

23.   What was one of your favorite experiences of the year? 

Surviving our first year of marriage, and not just enjoying our time together, but thoroughly enjoying it, becoming closer every day. It was more perfect than I could have even imagined. 

1 Year anniversary photos with Cindy Franklin at Yellow House Studios

24.   What was the best book you read? 

The Fault in our Stars

25.   What was your greatest musical discovery? 

Most anything on Sam’s “country” Spotify playlist. Some old, some new, but a great collection. LINK

26.   What did you want and get? 

A new job. And I got a new job.

27.   What did you want and not get? 

A wonderfully, fantastic new job. And I got a job that pays the bills. But I’m definitely thankful for that.

28.   What was your favorite film of this year? 

We don’t watch a whole lot of movies, but I did enjoy We’re the Millers, and Catching Fire.

29.   What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 

I turned 25, and I ate birthday cake pancakes made by Shawnacy.

30.   What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? 

Gosh, that’s a toughy. I don’t think I would change anything…. It was well with my soul J as it should be.

31.   How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013? 

Transitioning from jeans every day to being business savvy…. Rough. But we’re getting there. Small investments of new stuff mixed with old. But overall, somewhere between casual, nerdy, and trendy.

Work

Weekend

32.   What kept you sane? 

Sam and Kona. 100%.

Morro Bay, August 2013

Backpacking, Summer 2013

33.   Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? 

Really digging Jennifer Lawrence. I think she’s exactly what Hollywood needs.

34.   What political issue stirred you the most? 

I don’t really follow those types of things.

35.   Who did you miss? 

My parents, and their dog, Rusty. Grandma and Grandpa. BFF  Ashley and Emily.

Grandma and Grandpa at the Grand Canyon, November 2013

Rusty and I, Paso Robles, August 2013

36.   Who was the best new person you met? 

Some of the gals at work who keep me sane. And Matt and Aimee(soon-to-be) Smith – you guys rock, and we might have met in 2012, but I can’t remember, so we’ll call it 2013.

Shawnacy, Aimee, and I at an Arizona Diamondback's game, Summer 2013

37.   Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013. 

I think one of the most valuable lessons that I learned this year, is something that I learned from my Dad a long time ago, but was reinforced by Sam during out first year of marriage and that would be to “never let anyone know how much you know” or to be a better listener than talker. I’ve had a bad habit of talking too much about myself and gossiping about things that were none of my business and I think this year, I finally realized the reason why it’s better to be quiet than to fill the silence with my own noise.

38.   Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. 

"Don't be afraid of the things you cannot change. As the sun surely follows the rain. I believe that you can't try to lead or control it, cause that's just life as we know it." - Lady Antebellum, Life As We Know It.