Happy Now

Ok, I realize it has been for-ev-er (said like the kid in the Sandlot).  Sorry for this!  Life has been good out here.  While last year was spent getting used to being a volunteer and figuring out what that means, the past few months have been just enjoying what I'm doing and loving where I am.  I'm now starting to feel a shift, transitioning to exit mode, figuring out what this experience will mean to me and the community and how to move forward from it.
This year has been completely different from the craziness that was last year.  The two girls I live with are great and we're actually friends, which is a nice change.  While there have been issues this year, it hasn't been one thing after another like last year- my heart doesn't start racing when we have a meeting anymore!  I'm grateful to have Sue and Gordon continuing with me,  I enjoy them.  In addition to enjoying my housemates more this year, I have become part of a "group" of girlfriends out here that are awesome (seriously, if I were a single guy, I would totally move out here... we live in a desert of many sorts, ha!).  Needless to say, my social life is a bit more active than it was and that has been fun.
Work has been up and down.  Right now I'm in the lull that comes with every job, so I won't go into too much as it really wouldn't be an accurate picture.  However, I'm still learning new things and trying to challenge myself to do more.  I've also started preparing for someone else to take over my office.  I hope I've set up enough to make the transition smooth and they can continue what I've started.  Oh, here's a fun story:  I worked on a case last year that was pretty rare, so the CDC and state health department were involved.  Well, they just wrote about it in the CDC's weekly report!  However, they couldn't give us credit without posting our affiliations and our county is small enough that it would be an identifier for the case.  How cool would that have been to get credit in a CDC publication?!?!  At least I know it was me.
This winter has been all about the crafts!  Or, as I like to joke, I watch a lot of TV, hehe.  I have finally brought out my sewing machine and have really gone to town!  I've made a skirt and I'm finishing up my first quilt.  I'm also helping my housemates and another friend make the same skirt.  The quilt has been really neat.  I machine pieced it together from scraps I got at a Mennonite Relief Sale and random other fabric, but I'm hand quilting it.  It's quite the process, but really fun to see it come together and not look too bad (Sue says I'm doing a really good job, which is definitely something you write in diary!).  I'm excited to see what else I can make!
The weather started out colder earlier than last year, but has since warmed up.  It's actually kind of sad how warm it has been.  This will probably be one of my last "real" winters as Seattle is so mild, ha!  Unfortunately, this warm weather also made for a pretty weak snowboarding season.  I have been able to go a few times, but it just isn't the same as last year.  I miss my ski team!  However, I do just love to board and it makes me so happy that this is a part of my life again!

I do want to start this blog back up and keep you updated on finishing my time out here and get excited about the next steps!

A few photos to keep you interested...

By the Way

Ahhh... it's been so long!  I'm sorry!

This week I'll be working on a few blogs, I promise!  There is a lot to share from the past month (especially the last week I spent in London) and you will be kept in the loop.

Thanks for checking in and please come back soon for some fun photos and deep thoughts!

A minute of your time

Ok, Ok, faithful readers, I'm sorry for my absence (and for being boring... see comment on last post), really, truly I am.  April was a funny month- lots of changes.  There were some good times and some harder times.  May has been a bit more fun.  There are many things I've been thinking about lately, some things I want to address here soonish.

I'm gonna be lame for a minute and give you some highs and lows:

- House changes:  Well, we started out with 6 people, then we were down to 5.  At the beginning of May, Chloe's older sister, Hope, came to live and work in our community to get a sense of what Chloe loved about this place, so we were back up to 6.  2 weeks later, Jared basically got fired from his volunteer position and had to go home, back down to 5.  2 weeks after that, Hope decided it was too difficult for her to be away from her family.  Now we are down to the "Core Four."  We are getting another volunteer in July who will (at this point) be here for 2 years.  Who knows what will happen next?!

- Trips to Denver: I went to a breastfeeding conference in Denver for a few days, it was great!  Made me think about being a postpartum nurse again because those first few days are so important for establishing breastfeeding.  And it gave me lots of resources for teaching clients before they deliver.  Another trip was meeting my parents in Denver last weekend for my State Nightingale Award dinner. It was fun and quite fancy.  I didn't trip and I didn't have to make a speech, so I was happy.  However, I didn't win, but I was the youngest person by about 20 years, so I've got that going me!  I was just so honored to be a part of it, maybe one day I'll make it to the top...

- Tests: Just FYI, I don't have HIV, Hep B or Hep C.  I was giving Tuberculosis test shots at the fire department and I was wearing slick gloves.  Well, as I was putting the safety cap on after giving a shot, I dropped the needle.  It was so small, I thought the other side hit, but later I saw a stream of blood.  I went to the ER to get tests done and the girl came back negative too, so I'm ok!  I just felt kind of silly about the whole thing and hope that I never have that happen to me again, really I am quite careful.

- Easter: I just loved Holy Week and Easter in April.  We had a nice Maundy Thursday dinner and Communion service with our little house church.  The oldest town in Colorado is about an hour away, San Luis, and they have a great "Stations of the Cross" walk.  Some of us went down and walked it, appropriately, in the rain and cold.  On Easter, we attended a sunrise service and later had our church and friends over for lunch (or, if you're from the farm, dinner because it's nice).  This was so lovely!  It was a potluck, we had an egg hunt (with confetti!), and sat around singing hymns (Mennonite style- four part harmonies).

- Fun Happenings: A few benefits around town- Rennaissance time with Romeo and Juliet and starting the dance party at Generosity on Tap.  A few walks- Coming Alive (a wellness program I coordinated at work) and Crop Walk (in the snow on May 1).  A few birthday and going away parties.  We are starting a garden at the house- I'm nervous and excited!

I will do my best to start this up again.  My camera broke, so unless I get another one, I'll be more wordy than normal (and viewership will decline, I'm aware...).  Thanks for checking in!

Catch up and win the race!

It's been a while since I've posted much, so I thought I'd give you a quick update on random things going on.

I'm still loving snowboarding. I've learned to love 3 things I never thought I would like: moguls, trails through trees, and powder. I've improved more in the 4 times I've gone out here than in the last 10 years. Two of my friends, Melissa and Biz, and I are a good team, we're all trying to improve and challenge ourselves. It's really neat to see such a change. I've been working out more and feel like all my squats, lounges, and running really helped my performance today- I've never had a better workout during a day of snowboarding!

A few weeks ago, I entered a fun race. This is something that I've always wanted to do. It didn't go super great, but it was ok. However, I was still the fastest of my age group! I won this little pin... because I'm that awesome! It was fun, but might be something that I've checked off my list. Well, I would like to get better at control as I felt that was my problem.















Another fun event in the past few weeks was a housewarming open house we had to invite the community into our home. It was nice to be able to show and share our house with friends, neighbors, coworkers, and supporters. Sue and I made little sugar cookies in the shape of houses (not arrows!).








When we first arrived here in the valley, we were set up with "host families" through our relationship with the Methodist church.  Well, my host family is awesome!  They are a retired couple, Teresa and Jack Rudder.  Teresa is super energetic and used to work in public health, Jack is a little more stoic and super into the civil war (yes, I know how to bite my tongue).  They have me over for dinner, take me places, etc.  They are great.  Well, a couple of weeks Teresa took me to a high tea lunch at a fort here in the valley.  It was lovely. (And, fyi, that is not Teresa in the photo)

Funny how I find myself....

So, this is an after new years post (I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything). Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I think of 2010. It was a crazy ride. It began with my parents pushing me into the security line at the LaGuardia airport to board a plane to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 3 month trip through South America was a bumpy one at times, but filled with learning a new language, amazing scenery, crazy people and some fun nights! This is where I started making revelations about my life- what was important, what I thought I would be doing at this point, and how I wanted to look back on my life. I felt a pull to do "more" with my time and resources.

Upon arrival back in the states, I spent a few good months on the Oregon Coast. I seriously loved it there. The people, the small town, the ocean, the farms.... just wonderful! Man, it was great to back in the Pacific Northwest. I started my journey through trying to discern God's plan for my life. This was one of the weirdest times of my life- unemployed and homeless at 25! I saw His faithfulness through my friends and family during this time. It was a period of waiting, doubting, listening, freaking out, being excited about possibilities... it was a long few months! As the period of waiting felt like an eternity, I left Seattle in a whirlwind.

My involvement with the Mennonite Voluntary Service began in August and I'm thankful for this opportunity. There have been good times and trying times. My job is challenging and exciting. I've been learning new things in life and nursing. Living in community is not my thing, but I'm trying to think more about the purpose of it. Starting a home church has made me think more about what church means. Through death, I learn to celebrate life- my own and those around me and those who have passed by. I'm learning to share my life, it's not my own.

It's just funny to think about the girl who got on that plane a year ago to travel for fun would be living in the middle of nowhere and volunteering!

Highlights from South America (Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru) Jan-Mar:

Highlights from my time back in the PNW Apr-Jul:

Highlights from my time in the valley so far Aug-Dec:

Here's hoping that 2011 is just as exciting, but not so crazy!