Well kiddos, another year down in the history books. As I look back at my years post college, I've had some great years, and I've had some not-so-great years. But as for 2013, I can 100% say that so far this has been the best year of my life! And I hope that this trend continues! I don't know if it's just something that comes with age and feeling more confident, but there's just something about becoming more "you" and doing it better each year. I think I'm finally learning to get over a lot of fears and insecurities, and embracing all the good things that I am and that I have. It certainly makes the world a better place when you view it through optimistic eyes with a happy heart.
January
I started out the year 2013 already high on life after coming back from my big trip to Chile. Spending 2 weeks traveling a beautiful country with beautiful friends, sparked a major fire inside of me that just could not be contained this year. I've always been pretty into traveling and it does seem that I always have some destination that I'm off to, but I think I broke my record this year!
Also, it was New Year's Eve that my Sisterface got engaged to her longtime boyfriend.
What a way to start out a new year of life!
February
This short little month was packed full of lots of stuff. I was trying to get some longer runs in (which I'm not as motivated to do in the winter...) so I stayed warm with lots of hot yoga :)
We celebrated Owen's birthday in true form by getting kicked out of bars on our Light Rail Bar Crawl. (that's a whole story in itself.... :)
This was also the month we found Sister's gorgeous wedding gown! We had so much fun shopping around, only to buy the very first dress she tried on :) Thanks to the gals at Little White Dress for helping make my sister's day so special!
March
It was my first time to run the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab with Kali & Matt. This was my first half marathon in months since hurting my hip so I was a little scared to push myself, but it ended up being a great run with great friends, amongst the most beautiful background you can imagine!!!
The last day of the month was also Easter Sunday, and my sweet mother's birthday. I spent the day with such great friends feasting drinking, and thankful for so many blessings in my life.
April {{my favorite month of the year}}
For some strange reason, I was absolutely dreading turning 28. I don't know why. Maybe it's because my twenties were drastically coming to close? Who knows. But for months this dreaded birthday was looming over my head. And although I did have a rough start to April 3rd, (minor car accident... poor Subi), this has truly been my best year. So far 28 has been my prime, bitches! haha. I celebrated the day with a spa treatment, and later that night Owen took me out to drown my sorrows over my car accident with dessert and wine. I have the best friends! That weekend was Rockies Opening Weekend, so I watched the game with some friends, and had birthday sushi later that night with all my favorite people.
In the middle of April, I got to go visit Ashley & Steve in Scottsdale, and meet their new little daughter, Harper Rose! We had such a fun time catching up and being endlessly entertained by that sweet and funny little doll baby.
April 27th is my Sister's birthday. I spent the weekend in Fort Collins with her & Justin, and what else would we do besides brewery hop? Such a fun weekend with fun people.
May
Sister & I saw our favorite band, Paramore at the Fillmore. This was my 4th time to see them, and they just get better and better! We LOVE Paramore :D
On a sad note, our beloved old golden retriever, Lucky, died this year. He was such a sweet and faithful old man. We love and miss you, Lucky. Thanks for being such a good and loving family member.
May 17th Sister graduated from CSU. We had so much fun celebrating her big day and were so proud of her!
May 19th I ran the Colfax Half Marathon. This was my 8th official half, and my second Colfax Half. This was my personal best run with a time of 2:04:45. It was such a great day with my family there to cheer me on!
I can't forget a very important day in my history as a Colorado native. It only took 28 years, but I finally had my first Casa Bonita experience! We celebrated Megan & Kari's birthdays with terrible mexican food, mediocre cliff divers, and the most excellent sopapillas anyone can imagine!
Memorial Day was spent running my third annual Bolder Boulder with Wendy! Thanks to great friends that push me and bring out my competitive side, I've managed to run that darn 10K faster and faster each year! Maybe next year I'll run it in 55 minutes flat! Later that day I narrowly avoided hypothermia after rafting down Clear Creek with some friends. We overestimated the water temps, and underestimated the size of the rapids....some of us barely made it out alive! Thank G :)
A few days later, I got to see The Postal Service at Red Rocks! This was my second time to see my beloved Ben Gibbard perform on that amazing stage. AHHHH such a fun night!
June
This was probably my most fun month this year!
The beginning of June was when I officially hiked my first 14er! Mt. Bierstadt @ 14,060'. Such a fun and rewarding day spent with great company!
A few days later I took a week off of work to ride shotgun with my pal Kenny, on our ridiculously fun road trip from Denver to LA, via the long route. It was my first time to see Reno and Lake Tahoe! After all those hours in the car, we were delirious; but it was so fun to get to see so many parts of the country out of the window of a car, and in great company! Thanks, Kenny, for letting me tag along on that one!
I also got to see my old bud, Ashton Likes, and enjoyed catching up with beers in Hollywood.
Back in Colorado, a couple days after the summer solstice, some friend's and I did a mid-night hike led by the light of the Super Moon up Torrey's & Gray's peaks. We summited the second peak just moments before sunrise. Definitely one of the best days of my life. (three 14ers down!)
July
Welcome to my 10 year High School Reunion. This weekend I spent in Lamar with some old friends, and gave them the girl they were dying to see in high school. Maybe in another 10 years I'll embarrass myself again with that hometown crowd :)
Sister's Bachelorette weekend in full force. I learned 2 things:
1: my sister can drink way more than I ever imagined possible
2: the best part of the weekend was not spent in party dresses & heels in swanky venues downtown; it was spent in our sweat pants cuddled on my couch watching movies.
The end of the month was topped off with a visit from one of my best friends and her precious family. Ali & Curt came for a 2 week visit back to Colorado and I was so happy to get to spend some time with them! Love you!
August
This was the perfect month for being outside!
We spent time on the the boss' sailboat
And of course, it wouldn't be a summer without a trip to Crested Butte!
{{My heaven on earth}}
Mountains, rivers, lakes, flowers, friends, and food...what more could you ask for??
Katherine and I also hiked Mt. Shavano, making this my 4th 14er of the summer! I think I'm addicted....
September
This was wedding month! We started out the beginning of the month with our beautiful cousin, Tanna's wedding. She looked so beautiful walking down the aisle with the summer sun setting behind her.
We ended the month with Laurie & Justin's wedding. So much love and work went into this special day, and I could not be more pleased with how it all turned out :)
October
By this point, I needed a BREAK! But do you think I took one?? Heck no. This month was spent packingand moving (that's a whole other story), and not allowing the dust to settle before I was back in LA. I spent a weekend in California checking out an art school that I was 90% sure I was going to attend next spring. So glad I went to visit....Not so sure about that big move after all.. But I got a weekend of beach and a quick visit with Kenny out of the trip! So it wasn't all lost.
The next weekend I was back on another plane with my newest BFF Megan, on our way to The Big Easy for her Bachelorette Weekend! Oh boy. I think I'm still recovering from that trip! Four days in New Orleans with 9 crazy & wild women was truly the best bachelorette experience I think anyone could ever witness! Love you, Megan! Thanks for letting YOUR weekend be one of MY best-days-ever! (I think I say that a lot...) [I never blogged about this trip...hmmmm. too late??]
November
Okay...now can I slow down?? Please?? Nope.
Nov. 21st I was off to Tulsa for the weekend. This trip was very cathartic. It was the first time seeing my best friend, Brandi Joy, in over 2 years. We had been best friends since I was 11, and have been through everything together. We've definitely been through a lot, and this was the longest time we had ever gone without seeing each other. But we picked right back up where we left off, and made up for lost time in a matter of moments. We celebrated our reunion in the best possible way. We saw our favorite teen idol, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE!!! (Oh man, I'm gonna have to write an entry just for this....) Okay so I won't go on any more. But it was such a wonderful weekend, to say the least.
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| Yup: we are those girls that paid $45 for JT t-shirts.... |
Thanskgiving :)
Thanksgiving is my dad's very favorite day of the year. He goes all out, and loves every minute of it. I think it's rubbed off onto the rest of us! We had a feast fit for kings on Mom's fancy china. It was indeed a wonderful weekend surrounded by family and love. and more food than necessary!
December
Last month of the year. I think I finally slowed down....just a little bit :) In pursuit of my new minimalistic mindset I've adapted over this year, I didn't go crazy with gift giving this year, like I normally do. I have so many wonderful people in my life that I love, and that love me just the same, and I think that's a pretty great gift.
I got to spend a little afternoon with some of my oldest childhood friends as we reminisced a little about our youth, and got caught up on our adult problems that nobody warned us about :) Marianne & Monica are some of the best people I know, and I'm so happy that despite age, lifestyles, & geography, nothing has broken our friendship over the last 20-something years.
Christmast was a little bit different this year. Unfortunately with my work schedule, I didn't really have any time off. (I mean, can I really complain with all the time off I took over the last 12 months??) So it was a christmas eve spent with Leigha and her family, whom I've come to love as part of my own family! And Chritsmas day spent with my extended family in Littleton. Even though it wasn't Christmas at home with my sister and my Dad, it was all with family and my heart was very happy and full.
The last day of the year ended with such a wonderful night. I spent the evening with my friends Sarah & Garrett. We had a lovely spread of fondue & finger-foods, complete with champagne cocktails. We took the bus downtown to watch the fireworks, and said 'hello' to 2014. It was a very fun and perfect way to end such a wonderful year.
Looking back this really has been the best year of my life, and I honestly didn't realize just how much happened until tonight when I wrote it all out! {{No wonder I'm so tired!}} I am truly thankful for each experience and opportunity that comes my way, and I'm also very humbled by them. I want to be careful to express that when I write about my experiences, these are in no way boastful or bragging posts. In fact, I don't really care if anybody even reads about them! This is really my diary of documenting my life, to remind myself that each and every day is a good day. and that each year I grow older, that is a gift that is denied to many. I want to be able to look back at my life and know that I appreciated it and didn't squander it away. Life is hard. And although I don't really write about those days, there are definitely more than a fair share of shitty days thrown into the mix. But.....I can't dwell on those days. If I have the power in me, I will fight to make something good happen out of it. These are my days of life that I truly cherish and most of them wouldn't happen without the amazing people in my life. So, THANK YOU to all my friends and family who choose to keep me around. I am humbled and blessed by your love.
Happy New Year to all my loved ones. May YOU all have happy hearts, and wonderful days ahead.
Goodbye, 2013. Thanks for being so good to me. #youdabest
