in remembrance of 2014.

last fall, i remember thinking..."oh my gosh, what did i do with this past year!?" it wasn't a a question of curiosity, it was a question stained with judgement about how i spent my time. so i responded by making a list of everything i experienced in 2014 and categorized them. (ahh, i love organization!)

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.

high sierra trail | day 6 | crabtree meadow to guitar lake

today's mileage: 2.7 miles


we woke up when we woke up, ate a slow breakfast, lounged around, and then finally made our way to guitar lake. it was our recovery day before mount whitney, but i didn't feel recovered. the tiredness just sank in, and i realized today that the final day would be really really hard. 


this pic was inside my tent when i went back in for a mid-morning lounge around. (someone eerily watched from outside.)  o_O

about a mile in, i met scott & alisa (dad/daughter hikers) and we chatted for a lengthy period of time. it was lovely to meet new folks and to have an extended conversation. plus, when i offered alisa my what-i-now-considered-repulsive trail mix, she practically inhaled them. lol. it's amazing how other people's food looked SO much yummier then my own. she clearly concurred. ;-)

 

a few memorable moments from the lake:

• getting to know scott & alisa over dinner. (they decided to camp with us that night and hike with us the next morning.)
• sun setting into the mountain range.
• dropping my camera on a rock --> cute boy from d.c. helped me get the jammed filter off the lens. hehe ;-)
• looking at disbelief at the mountain we were going to climb at 4am in just a few short hours.

love takes many forms

"Hospitality is the overflowing of a heart that has to share what it has received. It takes a whole person to open up, it takes a secure person to be available, it takes a strong person to give yourself away....Only in opening yourself wide to another are you transformed by the power of love....We must let the person stir us; we must connect." -- ch.1 in the book Radical Hospitality

i've been struck by this idea that letting people into our lives is saying "yes" to letting ourselves be transformed -- and that saying yes means that we may never be the same again.

i say yes.

i have a new

BIKE.
it's red.
it's beautiful.
it was born in the same decade that i was.
it's just as spunky as it's new owner.

it's name and picture will be revealed this weekend.
(as soon as i choose a name and take a picture).

elated...is how i feel.
b/c this bike, my friends, is my first bike purchase ever &it's going to become my main source of transportation. it's part of this new thing i'm starting this year. .. . . . (so much to tell!)

&to those that know me....
i decided to start wearing a helmet. *gasp...yes, really*

honestly, i hate wearing them because i feel like a BIG DORK & b/c it makes me feel SO UNCOOL! *yeeaarrrh, seriously...* (feeling embarrassed that i just revealed that, but it's true).

but but but

even if it means dents in my hair and marks on my forehead, i guess i prefer to preserve this noggin'. i'm sure my co-workers will understand if i go to work looking a lil funny. (we're collectively pursuing health and well-being together! yeah, seriously! ....this is another story to tell!)

so there you have it. a little insecurity revealed and a new adventure to come!
to good health &new-old things.

a gentle revolution

is on its way.