"He still had some doubts about the decision he had just made. But he was able to understand one thing: making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision." - The Alchemist
And so here we are. March. Who would have known the decision I made to move to Arizona last August would have led me here. I tend to get a bit nostalgic around my birthday. I like to think about what I have done, where I have been, and people in my life. I've made plenty of mistakes, but at the end of the day - everywhere I have been, every decision I've made, and every person in my life has led me to where I am today. I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything, they have shaped me into who I am today.
Today I moved out of my family's house and in with a friend. I get to sleep on a real bed tonight (not an air mattress) and I am pretty stoked about it. Tomorrow I'll spend time unpacking and organizing my things, and more importantly getting ready for my second job interview at a place in Phoenix on Thursday. It's my top pick of places I've applied down here. I really REALLY hope I get this job!
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Triumphs
Once again I need to take a minute to express how incredible this year has been.
Yes, my life is full of craziness, and I never in a million years would have guessed where I would be or what I would be doing right now. No, I'm not necessarily in a place where I would like to be (ie. full time job, or back in school etc..) however, I can't deny that the past few months have been an incredible journey of growth and I am excited to see what's coming next. I have met lots of fantastic new friends, reconnected with old friends, and have had many opportunities for experiences I never would have had if I had stayed in Utah. I love living in Arizona, I really do. I have a feeling that this journey has only begun, I have been struggling with it a bit lately but, I have some very thoughtful friends, a great HT, and a loving Heavenly Father who makes sure I have just enough time for everything.
It's funny how blog posting can come in waves. I won't post anything for a while then all of a sudden I MUST blog about EVERYTHING! - Apparently I'm not the only one, I have seen many blog posts pop up on my FB wall this week, so I guess it's a sign to carry on and post something.
The Triumph I was thinking of for this post happened a couple of weekends ago. So remember how this time last year I was in Utah, probably still scraping frost off of my car, dreading the snow warnings? Well I have to tell you that I love love LOVE Winter in Arizona. Yes, I know Snowbird at heart. Part of the reason I have loved the winter here so much is just being able to go outside and enjoy the sun. I have been taking my bike out for spins around the neighborhood weekly. It has been fantastic; but what I am particularly proud of is hiking. My friend E. has been so great about encouraging me to go hiking with her. Now, aside from when we were in England, and would tour castles or the Lake District on a regular basis, I have never been one to go hiking much. In hindsight, I wish that I would have hiked more when I was at USU. I only went on a couple hikes, and that is a shame. Logan is gorgeous, and there are tons of great hikes up Logan canyon.
When I moved to Salt Lake I went on a couple more hikes, Donut falls was super fun! But again, I didn't take advantage of the opportunities right in my back yard. So, now I am making up for lost time. This year I have been hiking at White Tanks, South Mountain and my new favorite: Camelback! I feel great. I love hiking. It's not easy, but I have never enjoyed hiking as much as I do now. Now, back to Camelback. The last hike that E. and I went on was South Mountain, it was a little tough, but what a view. We had talked about a couple of other, longer hikes around there and then would work up to Camelback, because we all had heard it was super hard. Well a couple of weeks later, E. calls me up and invited me to go hike Camelback. I was a little afraid, because I didn't know if I was ready, but I knew that if I passed up this opportunity, then maybe I wouldn't get another one before it got too hot.
So we went. The parking lot was closed so we had to find an alternative place to park, who knew all the neighborhoods around wouldn't want you to park there? Eventually we found a place and hiked to the train to begin. What a journey. It was incredible. Yes, it was hard, but it was amazing.
Here's what most of the way up looked like:
Yes, my life is full of craziness, and I never in a million years would have guessed where I would be or what I would be doing right now. No, I'm not necessarily in a place where I would like to be (ie. full time job, or back in school etc..) however, I can't deny that the past few months have been an incredible journey of growth and I am excited to see what's coming next. I have met lots of fantastic new friends, reconnected with old friends, and have had many opportunities for experiences I never would have had if I had stayed in Utah. I love living in Arizona, I really do. I have a feeling that this journey has only begun, I have been struggling with it a bit lately but, I have some very thoughtful friends, a great HT, and a loving Heavenly Father who makes sure I have just enough time for everything.
It's funny how blog posting can come in waves. I won't post anything for a while then all of a sudden I MUST blog about EVERYTHING! - Apparently I'm not the only one, I have seen many blog posts pop up on my FB wall this week, so I guess it's a sign to carry on and post something.
The Triumph I was thinking of for this post happened a couple of weekends ago. So remember how this time last year I was in Utah, probably still scraping frost off of my car, dreading the snow warnings? Well I have to tell you that I love love LOVE Winter in Arizona. Yes, I know Snowbird at heart. Part of the reason I have loved the winter here so much is just being able to go outside and enjoy the sun. I have been taking my bike out for spins around the neighborhood weekly. It has been fantastic; but what I am particularly proud of is hiking. My friend E. has been so great about encouraging me to go hiking with her. Now, aside from when we were in England, and would tour castles or the Lake District on a regular basis, I have never been one to go hiking much. In hindsight, I wish that I would have hiked more when I was at USU. I only went on a couple hikes, and that is a shame. Logan is gorgeous, and there are tons of great hikes up Logan canyon.
When I moved to Salt Lake I went on a couple more hikes, Donut falls was super fun! But again, I didn't take advantage of the opportunities right in my back yard. So, now I am making up for lost time. This year I have been hiking at White Tanks, South Mountain and my new favorite: Camelback! I feel great. I love hiking. It's not easy, but I have never enjoyed hiking as much as I do now. Now, back to Camelback. The last hike that E. and I went on was South Mountain, it was a little tough, but what a view. We had talked about a couple of other, longer hikes around there and then would work up to Camelback, because we all had heard it was super hard. Well a couple of weeks later, E. calls me up and invited me to go hike Camelback. I was a little afraid, because I didn't know if I was ready, but I knew that if I passed up this opportunity, then maybe I wouldn't get another one before it got too hot.
So we went. The parking lot was closed so we had to find an alternative place to park, who knew all the neighborhoods around wouldn't want you to park there? Eventually we found a place and hiked to the train to begin. What a journey. It was incredible. Yes, it was hard, but it was amazing.
Here's what most of the way up looked like:
It took us a little over an hour to make the climb. Parts were more like rock climbing than hiking, (so wonder everyone said it was so difficult) but that made it so much better! I really enjoyed it!
 |
| TRIUMPH! |
The view from the top was breathtaking. I had never seen the view of the other side of Camelback, so it was fantastic, and definitely worth the climb. The way down wasn't much faster than the way up... well I suppose it could have been faster, but I do value my knees. The way down was easier though. I celebrated by getting Thai Food then went to make cookies for our ward activity that night.
Later, I realized that I had sunburn, on my shoulder.. and oddly enough my lips. Apparently there is no sunscreen in my chaptstick... oops. I was a little sore all over the next day, but all of that is nothing. I am so glad we conquered Camelback. The other day I was on my home from Tempe, and I saw Camelback. No it's not the tallest mountain, but I am super proud of having climbed it.
There are more challenges in my life at the moment, and things will be changing pretty quickly, but I am grateful to be here and am excited for what the future holds.
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