Dec 22, 2013
Birthday Fun
So, yesterday was my 25th birthday... Quarter of a century! I've been working a lot lately, and my birthday was no exception. I got a whopping 5.5 hours of sleep the night before, got up at 6:30 to get ready for work.... worked at the Alpine Club from 8-5, and then rushed over to Splendido (restaurant) to work the evening. What a day! I am thankful, however, for how special a few of my co-workers made me feel. I got a huge cupcake birthday balloon at the club, some homemade Italian cookies and gifts from Liisa, a Starbucks giftcard from Stephanie, and lots of birthday wishes from the club members.
Although I hardly had time to eat lunch or dinner, let alone get a 5-minute phone conversation in with my mum and dad, it was a pretty good day. After getting off work last night my roommates took me out for some birthday shots, which caught up with me by the end of the night, lol.... But from what I can remember it was a blast! :)
One quarter-of-a-century down, three more to go! Here's to a great upcoming year! I'm excited for what life has in store, even if there are a lot of "unknowns" in my life. I trust in God to provide, I trust in my inner strength, and I believe that great things are to come.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Although I hardly had time to eat lunch or dinner, let alone get a 5-minute phone conversation in with my mum and dad, it was a pretty good day. After getting off work last night my roommates took me out for some birthday shots, which caught up with me by the end of the night, lol.... But from what I can remember it was a blast! :)
One quarter-of-a-century down, three more to go! Here's to a great upcoming year! I'm excited for what life has in store, even if there are a lot of "unknowns" in my life. I trust in God to provide, I trust in my inner strength, and I believe that great things are to come.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Dec 17, 2013
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Dec 6, 2013
Staying True
Boy, it's cold out here! Yesterday the high was -16 degrees Celsius. The high.
Yeah.
I guess it feels a lot colder because I'm under the weather with the sniffles, a sore throat, and a really sore neck. :( But I'm still working, trying to power through it.
I got to Skype with Josh yesterday, which was so nice to catch up again. He's over in Australia living the dream- where it's sunny and warm. :)
In other news, I'm starting to get back into yoga and meditation. It took a while to get back to this place of feeling ready again, but I think I'm there. The funny thing (maybe not funny per se) is that I think I couldn't get my mind right for yoga and meditation because I wasn't being true to myself during the past few months. Avoidance is the worst thing, too, because once you start ignoring something it gets harder to walk away from or FIX.
Since I'm feeling nostalgic and missing some people from the east coast, here are some pictures from GAF at the Nantahala... when Kristin and I went down in a 2-person raft. lol!
Yeah.
I guess it feels a lot colder because I'm under the weather with the sniffles, a sore throat, and a really sore neck. :( But I'm still working, trying to power through it.
I got to Skype with Josh yesterday, which was so nice to catch up again. He's over in Australia living the dream- where it's sunny and warm. :)
In other news, I'm starting to get back into yoga and meditation. It took a while to get back to this place of feeling ready again, but I think I'm there. The funny thing (maybe not funny per se) is that I think I couldn't get my mind right for yoga and meditation because I wasn't being true to myself during the past few months. Avoidance is the worst thing, too, because once you start ignoring something it gets harder to walk away from or FIX.
Since I'm feeling nostalgic and missing some people from the east coast, here are some pictures from GAF at the Nantahala... when Kristin and I went down in a 2-person raft. lol!
Nov 25, 2013
November in Colorado :)
Wow, I can't believe another month has gone by~ it's almost the end of November! I am happy to say that after a few weeks of frustration, I am settled in to an apartment (ensuite, hooray!) with three jobs lined up. When we arrived in Colorado it was very exhausting moving from guesthouse to guesthouse, trying to keep it under $50 per night... all while trying to apply and interview for job (and get to know the area!). It was crazy stressful for me, which was NOT good since I was able to really relax and enjoy life this past summer. However, the long looooong hours spent sitting in Starbucks perusing Craigslist and job websites finally paid off. I am a proud employee of the following places: Beaver Creek Landing (private residences) filling in for the front desk manager while she takes her weekend break; The Alpine Club at Arrowhead being a member services agent (code for doing all sorts of stuff at the clubhouse, kind of like a hostess), and Splendido at the Chateau, an extremely high end restaurant for the ritzy people who can afford to own at these condos. It's expensive to live around here, but the payoff will be amazing I'm sure. Vail Mountain has already opened (it's about 15 mins down the road, and my Vail Resorts free ski pass works at tons of different mountains around here) and Beaver Creek Mountain opens this Wednesday! So I'd better get some ski boots to go with my amazing new skis! :)
The place I'm living is called Avon, Colorado. It's the small town at the base of Beaver Creek Mountain. (It's waaay too expensive to live on the mountain). I'm renting a room in a 3-bedroom apartment and I have two cool roomies, Karen and Matt. I've also enjoyed meeting my new coworkers at Splendido- it's gonna be such a fun place to work with great perks.
Here are a few pictures... I'll upload more when I have time.
The place I'm living is called Avon, Colorado. It's the small town at the base of Beaver Creek Mountain. (It's waaay too expensive to live on the mountain). I'm renting a room in a 3-bedroom apartment and I have two cool roomies, Karen and Matt. I've also enjoyed meeting my new coworkers at Splendido- it's gonna be such a fun place to work with great perks.
Here are a few pictures... I'll upload more when I have time.
Oct 31, 2013
October 2013
What a month of traveling! I'm exhausted but ready for the adventures that await! October has been busy, as I drove up to Ontario for Thanksgiving and spent 2 weeks visiting family and friends in the GTA (greater Toronto area). It ended with the wedding of Jennifer James and Adesina Johnson, friends of mine from school in Tennessee who got married in the Toronto area. What a beautiful event that was! Overall, I'm a bit tired from all the driving... but I love getting to see new sights, and being in the car is a great way to cover lots of distance while doing so!
Some of my favourite moments from driving during the past 2 weeks have been: seeing a sunset in the mountains/hills of Pennsylvania, seeing some weird/interesting stuff in the countryside towns of upstate New York (thanks Siri for taking me an indirect way to the next major highway!), seeing families pick apples in the orchards near Stouffville, making friends with a sheriff in a podunk Kentucky town (thanks for letting me know where the nearest liquor store was!), and the godsend man who helped me find a gas station in a time of need!
The greatest "take-away" part of the past 2 weeks has been the heartfelt conversations I've had with people who have genuinely cared about what's been going on in my life/heart. My Aunt Rachel has been such an encouragement to me, and I really enjoyed spending a day with her hiking the Bruce Trail and talking for hours over coffee. Also, several people at Jennifer's wedding (people I had just met!) were extremely genuine and friendly and open to talking about spirituality in a very non-judgmental way- sharing their own experiences and hearing about mine. I am refreshed and at a place where I want to stop avoiding community with people and God because of insecurities in myself... and I want to move forward in confidence and joy.
I am CONTENT right now- maybe not exactly at the point I want to be in life, but I am content. Open for new things, for new experiences, for facing the hard questions.
Here are a few pictures from my latest adventures:
Some of my favourite moments from driving during the past 2 weeks have been: seeing a sunset in the mountains/hills of Pennsylvania, seeing some weird/interesting stuff in the countryside towns of upstate New York (thanks Siri for taking me an indirect way to the next major highway!), seeing families pick apples in the orchards near Stouffville, making friends with a sheriff in a podunk Kentucky town (thanks for letting me know where the nearest liquor store was!), and the godsend man who helped me find a gas station in a time of need!
The greatest "take-away" part of the past 2 weeks has been the heartfelt conversations I've had with people who have genuinely cared about what's been going on in my life/heart. My Aunt Rachel has been such an encouragement to me, and I really enjoyed spending a day with her hiking the Bruce Trail and talking for hours over coffee. Also, several people at Jennifer's wedding (people I had just met!) were extremely genuine and friendly and open to talking about spirituality in a very non-judgmental way- sharing their own experiences and hearing about mine. I am refreshed and at a place where I want to stop avoiding community with people and God because of insecurities in myself... and I want to move forward in confidence and joy.
I am CONTENT right now- maybe not exactly at the point I want to be in life, but I am content. Open for new things, for new experiences, for facing the hard questions.
Here are a few pictures from my latest adventures:
^ Tom and Emily helping with the bike rack! ^ Kristin and Em (our last goodbye)
^ at Michael and Jess's house with Kristin... we just couldn't say goodbye!
^ stopped in Kentucky on the drive up to Ontario
^ my cousin's adorable baby!
(a) at Uncle Ed's for Thanksgiving
(b) at Gramma and Grampa's in Barrie for Thanksgiving Monday
^ finally, some pizza pizza! ^ a Poutineria, how Canadian!
^ my beautiful grandmothers. ^ a family collage
^ lots of love from Kristin ♥
^ Addison, my cousin's adorable girl!
^ breakfast at Cora's after a swim ^ found a strong hockey man
^ driving the back roads in Ontario ^ Al & Rachel's cute pup!
^ hiking the Bruce Trail with Auntie Rachel... so beautiful!
^ pizza dinner to see Trista at work ^ Falls in Dundas
^ exploring Hamilton's waterfalls
^ and some of us cross rivers the dangerous way! LOL katie!!
^ Katie and Kaitlynn ♥
Jul 31, 2013
Jul 29, 2013
Asheville, Bryson City, & the Blue Ridge Parkway
Josh and I took a 3-day roadtrip through the mountains of TN and NC... Here are a few pictures, and I'll post the rest tomorrow!! :)
^ Going swimming at Skinny Dip Falls
Pisgah National Forest, NC
^ Wesser Bald hike ~ Fire Tower
We hiked on the Old AT!!
^ Blue Ridge Parkway ~ North Carolina
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