I love my brother's Christmas List.

Getting my brother’s Christmas list is like a cultural experience. I have to Google most of the items and not as a way to find where to buy them, but just so I can understand exactly what I’m looking for.

Example: Rock-Ola M1 Carbine, Plunge Router

And then comes the fun ones :) 

Skid Steer, Ammo, Neat Old Military Stuff, a Ride on the Gettysburg battlefield. 

You can’t blame a guy for putting it out there and I absolutely love it. What were to happen if one of us did win the lottery and wanted to do something ridiculous for everyone in the family? At least we’d know what Danny wanted! :) And shoot, I may have asked for a round-trip ticket to Melbourne. Who’s judging? It only hurts to read these things because you can’t get them for him. I wish I could. I know how much he’d love it, but instead, I’m eyeing gloves so the next time he shovels snow in negative degree temps he isn’t doing it bare-handed. Thanks for the heads up, Sarah :) Problem is, if he REALLY wanted to gloves for that, he’d go get some. I’m the same damn way. We all are. Clergets. We go without because we know we can. It’s not that big of a deal. To the outside eye, it sort of us, but it only crosses our mind for two seconds and then we focus on working faster so we can get through and forget about the whole nonsense of spending $30 on a pair of gloves. SO, instead of the gloves, I’m buying that bugger something else that he isn’t going to expect from his little Berkeley living sister at all. For fear of the eyes that glance at this page, I won’t be mentioning it, but it means I get to go to a store that reminds me of growing up, of the good-old-days, so I guess I win just as much as he does in this situation. How in the hell do I always find a way to make it about me? 

Merry Christmas, Danno! Your little sis can’t wait for the gift that you don’t even know is coming! :) :) :) :) :) 

This just sounds like a really bad idea.

Try. Try not to cry.

I just can't stop staring at this photo. It inflicts so many emotions you don't what to feel except that you want to hug him, learn from him and then... have this for your own self and someone else. What a feeling. What a feat. What a joy.

I'm a Country Girl, through and through.

It occurred to me today that I miss the country more than I have ever realized. That I am a country girl no matter what, despite all odds and past experiences and future dreams. I belong in the open. With the animals. And the laughter. And the work. And the sun and the snow. Where you find beauty in the earth and all the things it can grow and feed. Where words aren't necessary to convey feelings and their is no meaningless chatter. You sit with a friend creek-side fishing for a whole afternoon without saying much at all, and you like that way. Because your dogs are napping next to you and the fish, well, they're hardly biting but who cares. Because the air is sweet, the sun is warm and LIFE. IS. GOOD. You wake up early because that's when the sun rises and man was intended to do the same. You spend Sunday's with loved ones whether you like it or not. You bake your neighbor pies. You KNOW your neighbor. You feed their dogs when they're out of town. Your kids stay at their house because they can eat anything they want there. You have a tree fort in your backyard. Or you don't, but it's on the list for the weekend. Because why would you go shopping? Shopping? I don't need anything from the store. Maybe some milk and bread? :) You have more than one cat because you can't stand to stop feeding them outside. And you'd rather spend that extra money on something, someone, else than yourself. You've got everything you need.

I miss the country. I miss the farm. I miss my baby Chip. Named after chocolate chip because she was dark brown. Danny's baby was Casey. And then came Milkshake. Who when I was home last I ran into our old neighbors and they said they still had her around because they didn't have the heart to sell her. I bawled immediately. With Joy. She was the sweetest thing! I miss her. I miss Lassie. And Rocky. The dog we found on the side of the road on the way home that became the 3rd child and when he got cancer we broke all rules and let him in the house. Because he was getting so thin and weak we couldn't stand it. And watching him lie there with that look on the face slowly melting is one of the hardest things I've ever seen. In my life. Easily. Next to seeing my Dad cry for the first time when our Great Grandpa died. That stuff shakes you deep, deep down. It can't not when you love something that hard. I don't think our family said much in the way of conversation when Rocky passed. I know my pops didn't. I love that about my Dad. The guy gets a bond with our dogs like you couldn't believe and when a man that hard opens himself up to something, it really gets ya. And you love him for it. Because he's got something to love, to confide in. A friend. I'm rambling. Welcome to my life.

I miss buying my boots at the start of every summer with the money I earned from last summer. 10 cents a pipe. I kept damn good track of all the irrigation we moved. I miss shopping out of the JC Penny catalog with my money and thinking how fresh I was. Dammit I was a sweet little naive being. Who thought my brother was THE. COOLEST, person on the planet. I wanted to be his friend so bad. I miss our garden. Our crappy little garden because you couldn't grow a damn thing outside of potatoes and rhubarb in Oregon.

Hot damn I can't wait to someday be back amongst the mountains, the people that wave as you pass by,  and the peace of mind reading a book or the paper on the porch where the dogs lie at your feet and when you hear a car you look to your mate and say "Must be Bradley". :) Thanks Mom and Dad for the greatest, hands down, way to grow up of all time. You taught us passion and love for a lot of things living the way we did and it was rough at the time, and in the same breath, it really wasn't at all :)

Handing our free laughs this YouTube video is.

Chair.

This corner patiently awaits a little chair. Not little in size, in innocence :) A comfy, cozy snuggle in me little chair where you can read and plan your next adventure. Where you write the letter to the friend you've been missing a lot lately. Or always. A chair with a blanket draped over the side to kick off that little bite of chill and ease you into a nap. 

Where are you little chair? 

Happy Hump Day :)

Moral of the story: Colleges are Awesome.

M&M and I walked around Berkeley last night for the heck of it and dang I can't wait to go back! Mostly for the library but the rest was pretty sweet. I mean college campuses in general are always pretty cool - old buildings, winding walks, big grassy patches that make you want to join the rest of the people lying out on them with a good book, but this place had one heck of a library that had you ACHING to sit down with a big book and get SMART. It was described to us as "Harry Potter" style by the girl at the front desk and no doubt it was. Also a little Dead Poets Society esque. 

Anyway, short photo tour... :) 

Oh yea, and there was a T-Rex. Come visit! :)

I can't get enough of Miss Billie Holiday.

It's just so darn GOOD. That voice. That tune. It carries you along. Waltz like. You listen in anticipation for each new word while holding on to the train of the ones replaced for fear of letting them go because they. make. you. feel. so good. It's like watching a movie. Close your eyes and see what happens. Do you go to the bar, the dirty smokey bar where she stands on the stage in front? Do you go to a modern day scene where you swing to and fro wrapped in someone's arms on a warm summer day? Are you cooking dinner tossing a splash of wine in the pan followed by a swish in your mouth, hips swinging, bare feet tapping?

Go there. The music is meant to make you feel. That means you're alive and its working. Let it happen :)

I promise its worth it. There's a Mini Cooper Involved.

Round One.

I'm the worst. I can easily poop away some serious hours looking at templates and contemplating how to present something. I love this blog. I do. It's like my own little baby but then comes a moment when I have 8k pictures I want to share with you for this one experience and well, its sort of hard to do on here! But I guess that makes me slim and trim it down? Eh.

I need to stop talking to people so much on the phone because then I feel like I've told the same stories over and over and in reality, no, I haven't. So well, here goes.

There's a place called Yosemite that I had heard a lot about, seen a lot of pictures, and listened to a lot of stories. Like most things I wanted to go see it for myself. See what all this TALK is about. To see if the reason these campgrounds are all so full is not because it's the nearest National Park but because it's that awesome. Folks, it is.

I know, I know, you've already seen this photo. But really, have you? Because it's rad. And I'm sort of obsessed! Hard not to be when you find yourself wide awake at 7 a.m. on a Saturday with no real plans for the day when, boom, you decided its time to head East. And you do. And you sing. The Whole. Freaking. Way. Because its sunny out and you're behind the wheel and you can go wheeerrrrreevvver you wanna go.

What's best is driving through pretty much nothing beautiful in particular, and then, you feel it. You can just tell you're getting close to something awesome. Something special. Whenever I get that feeling I always wonder if way back when, when the first guy who was making his way across the uncharted territory got the same feeling. Did he know? Did it pull him? Are the Berkeley hippy vibes rubbing off on me?! :)

Anyway, heading M&M's advice when I first entered the park I didn't head straight for the valley, I took the high road. Literally. One that's closed in the winter and puts you (now I know) on top of the valley rims. I had no idea what I was looking for or what I would find but holy heck, someone was looking out for me because while I was mowing down on bread and peanut butter, I somehow found a trail head that led me to where I could snap all these photos. Seriously dudes, this view is the best one on the park as far as I'm concerned. Not a soul out there (sans the one guy who snapped my picture). And you're bloody staring straight at this massive rock face! (Or my face.)

I hung out on North Dome for about 2 hours I guess just pretty much staring, soaking and taking it all in. I didn't realize it had been two hours until I got headed back to my car and was SUPER thankful I had already scored my camp spot for the night! Anywho, already long story short, thanks to my bro I had myself an MRE (I wasn't planning on staying up there but when do I ever really plan on anything) and tucked myself in in the back of my car for the night. Dudes. I haven't slept that good since. Woke up early the next a.m. and thought, what the hell, lets go check out the valley before the asian invasion, eh? 

It was a good decision. Look at her beautifully shinning in the morning light. People, it's enough to take your breath away. I highly recommend it. Complete human perspective in seconds. You just can't stop gawking at her. I believe this is El Capitan? Anyway, continuing further into the valley where all the "campgrounds" are, I was trying to find Half Dome and was getting slightly more than frustrated with myself! I drove around in circles for about 45 minutes looking for that beautiful rock I just showed above above. I ended up laughing out loud at myself so hard I was getting looks from passerby because darn it, Half Dome was in front of me the whole time it just looks nothing as cool as it does from North Dome! AT ALL! I don't think I even snapped a photo I was so saddened. I still had time for a hike but people were stirring from their slumbers so it was time to act fast. So, I picked one. Yosemite Falls. "David likes waterfalls," I thought, "I'll go there and take a picture for him." It said the hike was pretty strenuous but I don't really remember reading that. I guess by strenuous the book meant "See this face? This is where a waterfall usually is. You can barely see it there. Well, you are going to hike to the top of it."

Warning - objects may be
bigger than they appear.

 And Amy said, "Well, you can't really be serious so I'm going to  not hold back and I will walk my normal excited pace because I can't wait to see what's at the end of this road!" And she did. And it was good. 

And this is where it takes you... 

People!

YEEEE-IKES! Yes that's where the waterfall pours off to the floor below!

Anyway, I hiked that sucker in less than 4 hours. I can't remember the exactly mileage but it's like 2,600 feet in elevation gain. So I went up and down for a total of almost 6! By way of STAIRS. Just like Frodo. Right up the side of the flipping valley. Hot as heck and sweating like a dirty pig. IT WAS FREAKING RAD AND I WILL DO IT AGAIN ANY DAY - as long as there isn't snow. 

Oh hey there heat-reflecting granite! :)

Welp, that there is the end of it! Except for these random final photos that I couldn't help but include. I mean come on, look at that cute little puffy white cloud just hanging out enjoying the day!

(P.S. Thank you Lord for  putting that little trickle of fresh water on the path. I was in a bad way and you had my back. Thank you.)

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.  - Eric "The Hip-Hop Preacher"

Half Dome. The Lead Up.

This is supposed to be some beautiful post full of pictures and grandeur and it will be, but right now, holy crap it's a lot of work to go through all those pictures that are half scattered on your cell phone, DSLR, and GoPro. I'm not complaining. I'm just saying you tell yourself that "tonight I will edit my Half Dome pictures and post them along with the story." HA. Tell yourself again.

Crappy day at work yesterday. Crappy workout. Crappy sleep. Rode bike to work. Cheered up along the way care of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Broke down at desk looking at pictures of Morocco and missing David. Call David. Cry into phone in the booth. Laugh some. Email professors who I've ignored all summer. Feel horrible. Send it anyway. Whisk away to meeting. Come back. Email waiting from said professor and my heart leaps. They understand. They aren't mad. They have been busy too and haven't even touched the project. We need more data. Molly is going to get it from her students this term. Ken is acting Dean so obviously his plate is full. BUT they still want my help. They. Want. My. Help. They asked how my job is, same company? I'm not reading anymore. I'm too excited that yet again, Gonzaga has blown my mind. I can still work on a research project that I do truly care about! It's not all about busting my butt at my desk on the interwebs coordinating with SEO clients. Ew. Its still about people. About growth. About progress! There's more! It's critical thinking! It's setting the bar and building a case so when you set the bar people don't doubt! Aw, yay. 

Okay, Half Dome. Lets start with the first weekend. That provided me with this view and still leaves me laughing to think that I climbed that big ass rock only 6 days after snapping this photo. And I had no intention and yet, I knew deep down, without a doubt that I would be doing it. :) 

Hello beautiful sky :)

El Cielo de Canarias 2012 / The Light of Stars from Daniel López on Vimeo.

"Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose." 

- Helen Keller

"All Sport Girl"

I work in Marketing. Behind a screen. Sending out any vibes I can through the tips of my fingers rapidly pushing on the keys in front of me. Conveying to those I connect with how happy I am at their excitement and pleasure in our product and our company can be a challenge for a girl with a limited vocabulary. I often find myself at a loss of words and half ashamed to continually say "awesome, amazing, wonderful, and beautiful", but in reality, that's what it is. These women I've found myself connecting with are INCREDIBLE women. Incredible. They are normal. They are simple. They are doing their part to make the day okay. In any small way they can. Today I received a picture from a gal who won our last giveaway and the sight of it brought me to tears. Her smile was and is, one of the most genuine, gleeful, proud and honestly thrilled in the moment photos I've seen in a long time. The look on her face wearing her new Title 9 t-shirt with a tennis racket, golf club and soccer ball in one hand, is a look I'm certain parents have the privilege of enjoying on their kids on a summer day. She's beautiful. She's happy. And to top it off, she had just finished her fastest mile as part of her T9K training program :) She's a teacher. She has daughters. And she's enjoying every last moment of her summer that she can. And taking the time that I know she doesn't have to put on her new shirt, find some props, and talk someone into taking her picture to send to the pesky marketing gal at the home office. Jamie my dear, you are a doll. You put in more than one exclamation point despite it being a grammatical error because dammit, you're excited. We sign our emails "love". We call each other by our initials. You're my long lost Midwestern pen pal. Thank you for reminding me what life is all about and how wonderful it will continue to be... if you let it. If you're open to it. You are a beautiful gal - there are far too few like you. Rock on JMG - you're going to be great come that October race day.

Hello, Olympic Fever!!!

My new favorite Friday Night

Man, it took two hours of solitude and biting nails, sitting in my car, laying in park wondering what I should, what to do, where to go, to get here. It's been a while since I've had peeps to hang out with but hey, this is new and all new things take time to adjust and cut the crap, I haven't SMILED THIS BIG IN A VERY LONG TIME. :)

I just made a dinner of which had 4 ingredients I had to look up on my phone in the store to figure out what they looked like. And then STILL ask a clerk :)

It has a cinnamon stick in it. It's been boiling for 26 minutes and my kitchen smell unbelievably delicious! I did this?! What!?

Also, I just two stepped myself around the house to Jason Aldeen's Big Green Tractor grinning ridiculously the whole time. Obviously having a man to whisk me around would be ideal, but you know what? I'm totally okay with just me :) I'm a good dancer! KIDDING :) I'm just thankful for the practice for a someday important dance with a special someone.

My feet are swollen it's so hot but for some reason, it took me until 9:30 at night to notice or to care. I stared at a palm tree and watched the sun set behind it tonight. I chopped vegetables I bought with my own money with my own knives on my own cutting board in my own kitchen that I pay for. HOLY SHIT. If this is what the rest of you have been experiencing I know understand why your smiles are so much bigger than mine. What a wonderful feeling. Golly I'm blessed.

Off to stir :) I'm so excited to cook for each and every one of you someday. I will fill your glass with wine and make sure you have lots of cheese and fruit and obviously ask you to taste, taste, taste, with each step. Its for us :) We'll cook together but you won't need to do a thing.

I love ya.
-ames

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. 

(Anonymous)

It feels really good to abandon a book you've been reading but haven't enjoyed much at all. It's like donating old clothes. Or cleaning out gutters. Doing a fridge purge. Scrubbing the shower. Plucking your eyebrows.

Wow, I'm getting tired. No, I already am tired. So I am going to stop.

And leave you with pretty explosions! :)

Curious.

I'm curious when my desire to travel and explore all the ends of the earth will come back. My guess is when I get my student loans under control. Then it's going to come at me like wildfire. And my camera will be glad I've been giving it a rest and I'll have to pick up another battery pac to my GoPro. I think. I feel like that's how its going to go, but for right now, I'm super happy to be here :)

Along with that, or hopefully before, I want that inner creative eye back. The one that saw beauty in all things and people. And had creative ideas pouring out of her, so many she didn't know what to do with them all. I remember when I first moved to Portland, before I let it get to me, at night lying in bed I would tell David all my ideas for products, companies, things I had that day. Some were far fetched, some actually had a little potential to them, but I remember most of all saying "Babe, one of these days, these ideas, a good one is going to hit and we won't have to sit at a desk for 8 hours another day of our lives." I wonder where that confident "I'm going to do it myself." mentality went? It's okay. Let it happen :)

This list...

Started as a list of things I love about Portland.

"I LOVE the sound of diesel engines in the city! I love the merging system in the Ross Island..."

and will now be completed as the things I miss about Portland! :) Sorry Dave! Not a moment too soon :)

1. The smell of cooking hops in more than one neighborhood.
2. BIKES. People literally rode them everywhere.
3. Safeness. You never felt threatened or on edge. Always at ease as if it were a small home town.
4. Food. Carts. My goodness. Food in general. And the price tags on the amazing food. You really can't complain about not having enough cash to try new things because it's all so ridiculously cheap.
5. The man jamming on his sax at the intersection every sunny day.
6. Here to there in 10-15 minutes tops. Anywhere in the city.
7. Weird things like a Beer Mile. What?!
8. The neighborhoods. All so different. All so fun. Depending on your mood and company you could  find the most suitable one and it worked. every. time.
9. BEEEEEEEEEEEER. Everywhere. Tons of it. And it was all tasty licious. I can't remember the last time I had a domestic and well, I don't know the next time I will.
10. The ability to go anywhere and do anything and to always have someone to do it with. I miss you Dave.

This draft had one more line written in it from when I was still in Portland... "My life is FILLED with so much AMAZINGNESS!!!!" and it is :) Thanks, Ptown and David and everyone who made it a good memory in the end. xo

JULY!

July is around the corner and because I can already feel my photography skills slipping with having less free time on my hands, I thought why not kick off the month and rock the Photo A Day Challenge :) Friends, you in? I think I'm going to like this having time to myself more than I realize. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd take the alternative, but this will be a fun way to pass the time and make my day more productive :)

Call Me Maybe?

What would we do without facetime?! It's so fun to be able to hang out instead of sitting around holding a phone and trying to find something else to mention about your day :) Instead its carrying each other around while you make dinner and show whats on your tv or more often than not, making ridiculous faces at each other and giggling the time away. Come on, don't knock it till you try it!

I was thinking today, if we could trade the "hands free" law in for a "NO TEXTING" law, would you do it? Seriously. Driving while holding a phone to your ear is so much more incredibly safe than not really driving because you are looking down at the screen in front of you erasing what you wrote because you meant "you're" instead of "your". I know, I don't approve of talking on the phone either (guilty) but the whole texting thing freaks me out. I've been here a week and have seen multiple instances where cars were darting off into unintended lanes, or slamming on brakes a moment too late. It FREAKS ME OUT. And saddens me. Self centered and totally not okay :( Please friends, don't text while you drive. It. Can. Wait.

Man, I must be getting old. :)

G'night

Two things, really quick. 


Electric knife sharpeners are freakin' rad. 
and I can't seem to remember the second. So, just the one thing. Electric knife sharpeners are rad.

YOU'RE INVITED!

Hello ladies! :) I'm making peace with all of my teasing and scoffing, and I'm going to host Monday night parties for this years Bachelorette Season (bring on the two buck chuck and sliders)! And only because this years is going to be a good one. Why? This guy. Eat your heart out Devin Barr.

Meet my cousin, Doug Clerget. :) Would you believe we're related? Or that he's like a brother to me? That his son Austin is tearing up lap swimming right now? 

Now, meet Emily. Second time vet for ABC, she was dumped after winning a previous Bachelor season but this time she wants "to meet her husband so bad!". The season is wrappin' up and Doug is sadly already home, but no doubt this is going to be good. I'll explain why later :) 

The Deets:

MONDAY, MAY 14

7:00 PST

OUR CASA 
I'll be making tacos! :) Bring a bottle of TJ's finest or Pacificos! Snacks are welcome too ;)

Let's do this! See ya in a couple weeks!

And just to make it juicy..."Doug Clerget, a 33-year-old realtor from Seattle, recently stormed off during a romantic date in Prague -- and then started talking crap to the camera crew..."

Plastic smoothie.

Today I ate the better half of a stirring spoon. I stuck it too far in the blender where it was torn to itty bitty pieces becoming white plastic potpourri in my smoothie. I started to pick it out but the smoothie was melting in impatience! Oh well, I've ate worse.

GET OUT! :)

Be.

"Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive them...."

ONE WEEK UNTIL IM MONTANA BOUND. I can make it. Oh baby, I'll be counting down the hours!

Forest Service Cabins

David's birthday is coming up, only a couple weeks away and FRICK if I can't find us a place to stay. Timberline secluded cabin? Have to have 12 people to book. If only I had a million dollars, I could pay for everyone, all of our friends. I guess something to put on the list for "dreams". Forest Service cabins are booked YEARS out in advance. WHO KNEW?! WHO KNEW!? I knew the line at REI always seems a little long each time I've gone in but I didn't realize that those people are actually out doing things in the woods! They're all so urbanator that it didn't seem possible! I miss Montana. Everyone has their own cabin to hang out in so the Forest Service ones are always up for grabs. It's looking like my romantic birthday getaway weekend idea is SHOT. Time for a backup plan.. but how could anything beat hiking in to a look out tower with a view of Hood, Jefferson, Adams and St. Helens?!

I did find a Treehouse Hotel - but damn if it's not five hours away...

My next option is a neat cabin but the going rate is $175 a night! In the off-season!

To be continued...

a glimpse of light.

I am so annoyed with myself and I knew it all along, how come it took this long to wake up one morning and say "AMY!? WTF?!" I got in my own head and thought about stuff too much. I told myself I was silly for loving to take photographs when they weren't amazing shots, or didn't make sense to anyone else. I got insecure about my inner voice and personal enjoyment and convinced myself to stop. That it didn't make sense. That I was being silly. That there was no value in what I found interesting and fun. That it wasn't the fact I am alone without people like me, but more that people thought I was weird/odd/immature/CRAZY and way too lighthearted. Why is the world full of evil people that you let make you feel bad about yourself? That you want so much to impress you become insecure when they don't approve? And tell yourself it's your fault? People you don't idolize but are you employers and you want so painfully much to do a great job that you try your hardest to impress but it changes you into something you never knew before and you hate all that you represent?


Same goes with writing. And journaling. And a million other silly things I somehow told myself too many times that I was acting a fool and I should stop. Should stop being so excited and giddy and passionate. About cookies, painting a wall, animals, gardens, tea cups, smelly soap, quotes, taking pictures, hot cocoa, calling good friends just for the sake and living silly voicemails in my wake. Writing silly poetry. Scribbling in journals. Dreaming up someday businesses or products. Reading cartoons. Seeing the world through creative, thoughtful eyes full of hope, passion, compassion, inspiration, invigoration... I let go of "TEAM", of being on Life's Team and cheering all your mates on, accepting the bumps, but keeping your eyes on the bigger picture, pushing and pushing to be your greatest. Going on walks, exploring nook and crannies for the sake of curiosity not the self awarded badge that said "I DID IT". Go buy yourself a freaking t-shirt - I don't want to scream to the world that I live it fully and dissect all opportunities. That makes me feel thin, the way I feel now. If you're making a large journey, do it for the journey. Not to tell everyone about it when it's over. That comes as an effect because you are damn proud and excited and we couldn't be more stoked to hear your story! But to do it for the sake of the story? Either you're a travel writer or an ass.


Many thanks to Molly Fry and my iPhone - she's tackling a HUGE goal right now to complete her first half and I am so tickled pink for her. I'm always stoked to hear her progress and cheer her on and that enjoyment has reminded me how much enjoyment it brings, how much fun it is, to root for someone. I miss sending words of encouragement that address the rough times and push you to push through them. To tear through them. That in the end your body, your team, will thank you for it - that it only makes you stronger. This is one epic journey for her and doing it as an adult, as an individual puts me in awe because you are your only support. Truly. She's with herself those hours of the day that she's training and while we can cheer her on from the sidelines when we see her, it's her own head that keeps her going. KEEP IT UP, MOLLY! and as for the iPhone, this morning re: a camera app I read "Everybody has a creative side..." I know, it's simple, but all of the sudden I said "Holy smokes, I've forgotten all about it" and what followed, is this post :) 

Valley of Suns, and Mountains Galore