but this list isn't about saying, "hey, look at me!" it's about reflecting on a full year and feeling deep gratitude. it's about remembering that although i had a lot of fun experiences, it was in the loneliness of living in rural montana that i began to truly treasure community. it's about looking back in order to shape how i move forward.
and wowwowwow, do i feel grateful!!
adventures
- biked from canada to mexico with samuel
- backpacking to cedar lake (montana)
- backpacked the teton crest trail with mary and samuel (wyoming)
- hiked all over the madison valley
- summited sphinx mountain (montana)
- road trip to banff & jasper national parks (canada)
- jumping into glacially cold leigh lake (only for a moment, but a lifetime of cold)
- horseback riding with mel (montana)
- this extrovert having to navigate isolation!
travels
- USA: el paso, texas
- USA: all over western montana
- N.AMERICA: canada to mexico (bike)
- USA: seattle > portland > bend > shasta > sf/bay (train)
- FRANCE: la havre > fougeres > ile-aux-moines > paris
- USA: jackson hole, wyoming
- USA: catalina
- USA: la > san diego
first time experiences
- our first real winter
- ice fishing
- dog sledding
- walked on a frozen lake
- got our car stuck in snow in the middle of nowhere (and had to get rescued)
- first snow-related car accident
- my coldest day ever at -29 degrees
- my first log sawing competition
- skiing at bridger bowl, whitefish resort, snowbowl, discovery ski
- snowcoaching in yellowstone national park
- shooting a handgun and a (serious looking) rifle
- "helped" ranchers with cattle sorting (translation: i just tried to stay on my horse and not cause trouble.)
- cattle branding
- lassoed my first calf!
- biking in yellowstone (twice)
- a rural duathlon (bike/run)
- hired a coach
- met william devane
- horse pack trip in the backcountry with people i had never met (except for one person)
- attended a french wedding
- an overwhelming allergy attack in the backcountry
- attacked by a grouse
- a chuck wagon dinner
- ate moose, elk, and deer
- designed a founder's retreat agenda for a bay area start-up
- joined a food co-op
new skills (also all first time experiences)
- skiing
- snowshoeing
- cross country skiing
- mountain biking
- baking bread and bagels from scratch
- making yogurt and granola
- making kimchi (and other korean dishes)
- brewing kick-you-awake pour over coffee
- water coloring
- resolving conflict with husband
animals i saw
- saw my first grizzly (in captivity)
- bison
- moose
- elk
- wolf
- deer
- white tailed deer
- pronghorn antelope
- bighorn sheep
- mountain goats
- bald eagles
- mountain blue birds
- magpies
- osprey
- golden eagles
- grouse
- rocky mountain sheep
- scottish highland cattle (my absolute favorite kinda cow!)
lifestyle experiments
- reduced our life down to one car load, then slowly acquire what we needed for our new place
- lived in my first rural town
- completed artist's way
- experiment: 30 days of drinking 3L of water/day
- zero waste living (still pursuing)
passion pursuits
- got certified in wilderness first aid and cpr
- started building a website to make wilderness backpacking simple for women
- conducted user research interviews for said website
- created a website for a bed & breakfast
choices made toward finding home
- moved to ennis, montana on jan 1, 2014
- moved to missoula, montana on oct 6, 2014
- got a new drivers license for the state of montana
- apartment hunting for three intensive days in missoula and found one
watched
- joy & billy get married
- zack & sarah get married
- jb & nino get married
- my husband officiate his first wedding
- all seasons of friday night lights and scandal in a relatively short period of time. (aka: binging!)
we hosted
- messengers x2
- mary chang
- the first (and only) instameet in ennis, mt
- sister alice
- candice & matt
- six bike tourists in a span of seven days
- my sister, lily, lydia, and mom
- a neighborly get together in our new town
- jenny morgan
we were hosted by
- the messengers (stevensville)
- the kims x2 (san diego)
- the chois (la)
- paula (france)
- torea & jeremy (sunnyvale)
- mary chang (menlo park)
- mary carrera (san jose)
- my momma (la)
- chris murchison (sf)
- all the amazing people during our pacific coast bike tour
new(ish) relationships formed
- judy
- the noacks
- mel
- the jarvis'
- the maccalls
- the lewtons
- m&m
- the messengers
- folks from our church
- vlad
- brian/ollie
- craig & melissa
and ordinary things
- got my annual dental check-up
- ate almost all my meals with my husband (that's about 1000 meals!)
- took dozens & dozens & dozens of naps
- spent countless days in my pajamas
you can see some pics from this year here.
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