The Simple Life

“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
– Roald Dahl

I want to live a simple life.  A simple life, a full life.  Full of hiking and summiting and yoga and open spaces and lakes and mountains and breath taking views and bonfires and s’mores and pups and friends and family and camping and good beer and good wine and mason jars and baking and bacon and pizza and guitars and tea and kayaks and surfing and climbing and traveling and volunteering and gardening and crafting.  Maybe it’s not really that simple when you think about it, hell it’s a lot of work.  But damn, it’s beautiful.

Just some thoughts and pictures from life recently.  I’ve been keeping busy and am excited to share what I’ve been up to. And on top of that I’ve been planning road trips, apartment searching, and generally getting pumped about the move to Portland (it’s finally sinking in! and it feels good and exciting!).  Everything is feeling balanced and right, everything is working out 🙂

Reflection & 30 More Days

“I want to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. I want to get more confident being uncertain. I don’t want to shrink back just because something isn’t easy. I want to push back, and make more room in the area between I can’t and I can.” – Kristin Armstrong

I wish I had more to say, but I think I’ll let the results do most of the speaking for themselves.

Over the 30 days, I found myself taking more pictures each day, creating more designs and doodles than just the ones I documented, and taking the steps towards improving in all of these aspects — from researching how to use my camera to discovering SkillShare design classes.  Instead of being creatively drained, I’ve found myself even more inspired.  I feel like my starting creativity limits have been expanded, what I used to find challenging is now comfortable, and that I’m ready to take on bigger, more extensive projects.  And I’m back on a healthy sleeping schedule!  It seems like such a small thing, but it’s been the foundation for making the most of my days.

I won’t be stopping even now the project is over.  I will still be designing (really focusing on detailed maps this time, and websites, too).  I will still be taking pictures (and learning more about the settings on my DSLR everyday).  I will still be doodling (and hopefully making more lists! I love lists!).  I will still be waking up early, to practice yoga (starting with 30 minutes and moving on to an hour, maybe even more).  Heck, I’m even making a point of doing push-ups (starting at 30 and increasing by 5 each day), so that my arms and back will be strong to pursue another challenge this summer: rock climbing.

I haven’t decided quite how I want to document this next 30 Days Project.  For yoga and the push-ups, I’m considering doing before (Day 1) and after (Day 30) to show how my poses and flexibility and strength have improved…or maybe I’ll even document the progress weekly if I think I notice changes that quickly.  I don’t think I’ll be posting the maps every day either.  For better results I’m going to focus on one national park for five days at a time, adding more layers and details and research each day.  At the end of 5 days, I’ll post the results (with a snapshot of how it morphed over the 5 days).  I’ll have 6 parks documented at the end of the challenge, and it’ll be exciting to see where that takes me.

I am thankful for the lessons of the past 30 days, and excited for the challenges of the next 30!

New Mexico (Part 4 of 4)

On our last day, after a morning of shopping in town (where I scored a gorgeous rug and some fun dreamcatchers for my friends), I decided to explore the valley.  I found a trail about a mile from our pueblo, and followed it down, down, down to some hot springs along the Rio Grande.  I got my boots nice and dusty, dipped my hand in the Manby Springs, and even made a friend at the bottom of the gorge.  After leaving him with his people and hiking back up, I took the jeep round some rough, winding, dirt roads over to the Jon Dunn Bridge.  The weather was great, and the locals were taking advantage of the river for some fishing.  It was a great sight to end the trip on.  I’ve fallen in love with New Mexico, and now am even more looking forward to moving west.

I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to join my dad and brothers for this trip.  I was initially sad about missing iSXSW and the crazy, drunken Panama City Beach vacation my friends took, but I know now that I made the right choice for me.  It was so fulfilling to be in the mountains, and my adventures even sparked some big ideas for me to pursue.  I did hours of research to find the two trails I ended up exploring, and I don’t think that should be the case.  I either want to take advantage of Google Map Maker (and potentially pursue a job with them), better documenting local and national trails, or create my own online resource that eases the experience of finding trails and all the information you need for a successful hike.  It’s just a thought for now, but I hope to turn it in to something more over the coming months as I research for my road trip.  I’m excited to find a potential project that brings out my passions, and I’m incredibly motivated to pursue it.

New Mexico (Part 3 of 4)

We hiked to Williams Lake, and boy was it an adventure.  We hiked 2.5 miles up from Taos Ski Valley (which we could have just driven up…whoops) and searched for the trailhead.  After a few wrong turns, we found it and were on our way on one of the most challenging but beautiful trails of my life.  We risked going sans snowshoes, trusting our luck with our hiking boots.  Luckily, even after the record snowfall, the trail had been packed down enough by past hikers to make our hike possible (I only ended up knee to waist deep in snow a couple of times!).  A nearly 2000-feet rise in elevation later, and we found ourselves treated to the most amazing views.  The lake was frozen over and submerged beneath feet of snow, but it was breathtaking nonetheless.  As you can tell, I went a little picture crazy.  I just couldn’t help myself!  On the way back down to the Ski Valley, we stopped for some German pretzels, burgers and beer at an Inn near the trail.  We followed the road as it wound lower and lower, meeting with the rest of the crew at the bottom.  Worn out, but completely content.

New Mexico (Part 2 of 4)

     

I hadn’t been snowboarding in years.  Years!  It was very questionable to me if I still even knew what to do once I was strapped into a board.  I’m happy to say that it all came back to me as soon as we got up the slope (right after I wiped out trying to get of the lift…which will forever be my weakness).  It was fun flying down the hills, and by flying I mean slowly, carefully making my way down as I practiced my turns.  And enjoying the view on the way.  At the end our runs we enjoyed a couple of beers at a German bar at the foot of the slopes, capping of a great day the right way if you ask me.

New Mexico (Part 1 of 4)

                   

Some shots of my future home.

Seriously though, this is the place we rented for our Spring Break in New Mexico, and it was a dream.  Every time we pulled up the drive, every time I walked through the front door, I just had to say “wow.”  I instantly gravitated to a book from its library by the founder of Patagonia (Let My People Go Surfing), and I spent most of my free time devouring it in that little green chair looking out on the mountains and valley.   It snowed throughout our first evening there, which was almost as beautiful as when the clouds finally cleared, giving way to even more spectacular views.  At night, after we had worn ourselves out snowboarding and hiking and shopping, we’d settle down with a glass of wine, or a beer in the jacuzzi, and toasts s’mores in one of the many fire places.  We’d turn out the porch lights and find our favorite constellations in the stars.  And then we’d sleep, soundly, until the sun rose and filled the house with light.  And so would begin another perfect day.

Fredericksburg (Part 2)

                                               

And then there was Sunday.  I don’t know if it gets much better than hiking and Texas BBQ. Oh Lordy.  I learned my lesson about always having an extra memory card today, ended up taking half my photos with my iPhone due to running out of space on my camera.  I may just have to go back again once everything is in bloom.  3rd times the charm, right?

Fredericksburg (Part 1)

What a weekend!  I don’t think I could have asks for a better couple of days.  On Saturday, I went to Fredericksburg  with my cousin Mandy and Aunt Pam, and we picnicked, did wine tastings, and explored the little German town.  It was good to be with family, and to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful scenery of Hill Country.  I could happily live on a little ranch out there, it’s so peaceful and wonderful.  Texas may not quite have the trees and mountain ranges of the Pacific Northwest, but it makes up for it with the people.

I still need to go through the excessive amount of pictures I have from Sunday at Enchanted Rock, so I’ll post those soon!  I’ll also try to post Days 10-12 of the 30 Day Challenge later today 🙂