My (friend's) fancy house in London Town

Wow, what a week!!  I was sad to see the week that I thought would never end come to a close.  I like to sum up my week in England for Betsy's wedding by saying it was crazy- the majority being amazing crazy, but a few moments of crazy crazy.  I'm beyond happy that I was fortunate enough to be a part of this experience and don't regret one penny spent.  You know, money comes and goes, but friendships are forever for me.
I got to Betsy's "flat" (apartment) on Saturday afternoon, just over 24 hours after leaving my house in Alamosa.  Luckily I was able to sleep a bit on the plane as we had our first night of fun right away!  Oh man, it was so good to be back with my go-to girls for having fun in the city!  We really know how to have a good time no matter where we are or what we're doing.
We spent a lot of time with Betsy and Patrick's parents, who are all amazing people and became our parents for the week.  As for friends, it was mainly me and Cora (the maid of honor) and Patrick's 2 best friends, Andrey and Jim, for the week.  In between tourist activities, there was eating, drinking, dancing, and general merriment for all!  Destination weddings can be a little intense and crazy, but it was so great to really get to know the important people in the lives of the bride and groom.  All the wedding guests (about 25 people) spent the weekend together in a house in the countryside (you can be jealous here), we were one big happy family!  When we all said our good-byes on Sunday night, people were tearing up.  It really was a special time with only people who are important to the bride and groom (no random coworker you feel obligated to invite!).

I'm grateful to Betsy and Patrick for allowing me to crash at their place all week.  I'm grateful for their families' generosity and hospitality.  I'm grateful to my parents for helping me out.  I'm grateful for time spent getting to know friends better.  I'm grateful to know people that truly love.

Now, I have about 1,200 photos from the weekend, so I've made a few collages of various things....

I'm a tourist again!

Nights out with the girls!!

Nights in with the family!

The grounds of one of the most beautiful houses

The inside of the house

Having fun with the old house

Rehearsal Dinner

Wedding Day!!

Here are 2 special photos I want to share:

We made up a game on the Billiard table called Skuddle... um, best. game. EVER!!

Patrick's dad, Tata... maybe the best dance of my life?  Sooo fun!!

Return of Saturn

I spent a few days in Chicago, my second home, this last weekend.  What a trip!  Seriously, it was pretty surreal.  It seems like a lifetime ago or a whole other life that was home.  It made me realize how much I've changed- although, I did get reminded that I haven't changed too much as I walked around Anthropologie, just didn't bring out my wallet.  It was confirmation that I'm not supposed to live there, but I'm thankful that I had the chance to live there.  Chicago is where I "grew up" and basically became an adult.  I'm glad I had my big city experience and know that I can do it!

Through some crazy times, I had some great chats with friends out there!  It was good to talk with people who have known me longer than a year and are at a similar stage in life (AKA didn't just graduate college or retire!).  

Of course, the real reason I went out there was to celebrate the wedding of probably 2 of the nicest people: Stephanie Thies and Brian Geier!  Oh, it was lovely.  I'm so glad I was able to join in the fun!  Here are some highlights...

Here are 2 pictures that sum up three of my favorite things in Chicago:  Friends, brunch, and crazy nights out!  Good times were most definitely had!

Please note: this is a joke, I found this bottle on the floor and
thought it would be funny to use in a picture... I was right!

I'm in the waiting room

Ah, a few (semi) sunny days in Seattle... it was lovely!

I miss Seattle.  I miss my friends and family out there.  I really do.  This trip made me excited about moving back to this city.

If you've been bored with desert scenes on this blog, you'll be happy to see some water and trees... but still enjoy the sun!

It's weird to have my parents living in a town that I don't really know or have connections to.  It is a nice place, but I wasn't there that much as we had been spending enough time together...

Rocking out to Led Zepplin!

Where all the parties happen!

Playing with my new camera

I enjoyed a lovely ferry ride to the ever changing Bainbridge Island

My cousin Audrey and I realized our thing is going kayaking in Eagle Harbor, it's so fun!

On top of that, I got to see a lot of family

Geochaching! Sooo cool!

2 generations of cousins!

Here's a good picture of my favorite things in Seattle: old friends and good coffee!  'The Stranger' is on that table as well, just FYI.

I was able to spend a few days with my good friend Brenna and her little family!  OMG, her baby girl Flannery is so special.  She's super cute, smiley, and sweet!  We had a lovely time...

A walk around Greenlake on an overcast day... classic.

Uncle Jesse's band
(literally, Flannery's uncle is Jesse and he's in a band!)
Baby's first concert!

Oh, miss you already, little miss Flannery!

All in all, it was a good, busy but not crazy, trip to the hometown.  Can't wait to go back... wait, when's my next trip??

Big City Train

I was blessed to have my parents coming in and out of the valley for a few months.  Not only was it good to show them around this place I love, but it was great to have a few weekends here and there where I didn't have to spend much of my own money!  Hehe...

First, we met in Denver for the Nightingale Gala.  This was a wonderful night, at times a little times a little overwhelming.

Watch out for my medallions, my diamonds are reckless,
feels like a midget is hanging from my necklace
- Ludacris 'Stand Up' 

After this, they travelled around New Mexico for a bit.  For a few weekends, they came up to Alamosa to spend time here.  We did a few hikes, went some small town festivals, making family dinners, camping, and eating out!  I'm glad I enjoy my parents!

Being a volunteer makes it difficult to get home.  I don't know if you know, but I'm pretty good at working with what I've got.  Since my parents were coming down, I asked kindly if they could give me a ride home and they said yes!  While it sounded fine at the beginning, we were starting to get nervous about how much time we've been spending together.  Luckily, all went well and we actually had a nice time!

A fun part was that we were able to stop in Moab to visit my friends Sarah and Silas.  And, we stayed a night in the Willamette Valley with my friend Mari.  It was sooooo wonderful to see such special people in my life!  We also stayed a night in Durango and Boise.  These were two pretty cool places- I think Boise is going to be the next Portland!  

Not only am I thankful for the help in getting home, but thankful for the actual getting there along the way!

Casper... International Dog of Mystery!

I get one every year

It was my birthday on Sunday, I'm 26!  It's been a while since I've been so calm about turning another year older.  I think the last time was when I turned 21, it's been downhill ever since, hehe.
I had a good weekend away.  We took a retreat to Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp outside of Colorado Springs.  It was soooo beautiful there!  We stayed in a little cabin in the woods.  On Saturday we made waffles (our house thing) and went on a couple of pretty light, but nice, hikes around the camp.  The rest of the day was spent relaxing then making yummy food.  There were some games there and I picked up a box of Trivial Pursuit questions and just started asking, not playing the game or keeping score.  Man, that was fun!
It's funny to think about where you're "supposed" to be in life.  I remember telling Chloe "this is what I'm supposed to be doing" and she quickly turned into the carefree 20 year she was and said "you should be doing what you want, not necessarily what you're 'supposed' to be doing."  Well, I don't think I really think about it in the sense of "what does society tell me to be doing at this age?"  I think more about "what is really important to me and is that a focus in my life?" because that's what I should be doing- what's really important to me.  Well, I'd like to think I'm doing that.  I thank God for giving me this opportunity to have the freedom to focus on what really matters and what is important to me.
Am I where I thought I would be at 26?  Not necessarily.  Am I doing something I'm proud of?  I think so.  Have I taken advantage of life?  For the most part, yes.  I am where I'm supposed to be, even if it isn't always exactly where I am "supposed" to be.

We can live comfortably

Another wonderful weekend, this time it involved not doing much at all!

The whole house was able to go out to a cabin about an hour and a half away in the mountains. It was really nice to really not be doing anything, to not run from place to place, and just hang out with my housemates. We made waffles, played games, read a lot, walked across the frozen Rio Grande, and had some good fellowship. Alice, our house coordinator, also came for a sort of halfway point regrouping. This was a good time to reflect on our expectations of the program, our jobs, and each other. I am very thankful for this time away.

I sip on dreams

I think I am in love. With Public Health. Got your attention, didn't I?

Last week I was in Denver at the American Public Health Association annual conference. The theme was social justice- awesome! I just feel like this where I am supposed to be. I would be bored out of my mind at a med/surg conference, but I'm fueled by all these talk of public health. It's exciting to be on the other side of problems- trying to stop them before they happen or looking into the root cause of issues.

This conference was a little overwhelming- attendance was the amount of people who live in Alamosa. I basically went to presentations of research projects, sometimes really boring and obvious (yes, people are going to make trade offs when they have high medical bills) and sometimes pretty interesting (the calories on menus really are affecting eating habits). I've already been able to apply some of the things I've learned to everyday and my practice. Now, I love public health nursing, but I only went to one session by that group. And, I was a little disappointed- “Innovations in Environmental Nursing” was explaining a new sort of social network for information on our effect on the environment, starting with “Now you enter http://...” Come on, nurses.

It definitely made me think about wanting to go back to school for more training in this field. Hmmmm....

But in the back of my mind...

Of course this is an intense time here at the house and really all of Alamosa will feel this as well. However, I had just finished this post when I got the news and as this is a blog to keep up with me, I want you to know what I was thinking before our little world was turned upside down. This was finished around 2:30 pm yesterday.

Ok, I'll be honest here (oh, have I not been?), sometimes I get nervous about 2 years here. So far, things have been fine and mostly I'm excited about what is going on here, but 2 years?? A lot happens in that amount time, but then again what's 2 years?

One of the biggest (and superficial) things I think is "Am I really going to go to bed before midnight every night for 2 years??". Oh gosh. It may not seem like a big deal, but I like to stay out late, I like to go out on the town, I looooove to dance for hours. Granted, this wasn't every weekend in Chicago, but it was enough to where it makes me sad to think it's not going to happen much during this time.

Then, of course, there are the finances of this endeaver. As I have mentioned, I'm pretty much not making any money. For those who know this part of me, I love to save, it's so fun! I've already decided to start saving $10 a month out of my $50, wow. I also know it can be an issue for me and I need to let go of that and not worry. Whatev, right? I want to be responsible and a good steward of what God has given me. Also, I want to change my attitudes and thoughts about money. I want to share gifts from God, I don't want to be a burden to others.

I think about friends around the country and world and miss them. I probably won't see you too much in these next few years, please don't forget about me! Travel is another thing I am going to miss, but it is also refreshing to be planting a life here to grow (awww....). It's interesting to be focusing and committing to a community, this comes with it's pleasures and challenges.

My music life will suffer through these years, I can feel it already. For the past few years, I have enjoyed buying tons of CDs (yes, actual CDs, as I am a big supporter of the creative process for the album as a whole). This was wonderful to fall back in love with music and learn more about it. I don't really have access to different music out here (although I'm loving Pandora lately), so I'm going to start soliciting people for mix CDs- if you want to help out this cause, let me know!

All that to say, my life is freeing here and simple. I have more time and interest in things that really matter. I'm seeing more problems in the world, but also trying to work on solutions (well, right now, I'm focusing on just the valley... but watch out, world!). With all this time, I give myself time not think about things and have fun! On that note, here are some photos from the past few weeks:

A lovely fall evening on my street

We travelled to Rocky Ford, CO, for a Mennonite Relief sale. This was a nice glimpse into the Mennonite world. There was food and crafts on sale and a live auction (one for random stuff and one for just quilts). The first item sold every year is a loaf of bread made by someone in the community (it's nothing special). This year, it sold for $1700 and then sliced up and sold for $400-500 a slice! The quilts sell in the thousands and are often redonated to be sold again. This where Mennonites shine- they are known to be thrifty (or stingy), but will give freely to those who really need it. All the proceeds from this sale went to Mennonite Central Committee- the other Mennonite mission group, hehe. [Updated: We stayed here on Friday night before the sale and Chloe's whole family (mom, dad, brother and sister) stayed in a hotel together, what a seemingly small blessing turned into a great gift from God]

I had my first visitor this weekend! My dear friend Betsy came into town for a few days of fun and laughter. We watched our favorite movie "Singles", went to the Dunes (these were so impressive to me), bought her halloween costume for $0.95, saw my new house (eek!), enjoyed the local brewery, went to a little get together with some friends here, and enjoy a morning at my coffee shop. All in all, a great weekend and I was so happy to share this valley that I'm falling in love with!