Three weeks from today my Steamboat Chapter will come to a close. I've got an awful lot of playing to do in that time!

the year of being 26.

i began "the year of being 26" with a lovely friday morning yoga class.

today, i concluded "the year of being 26" with an even better, stronger, and more balanced friday morning yoga class. practice today was challenging with a lot of warrior 3 poses and headstand practice (i'm still in the prep stages!). it was difficult, made me smile, and made me stretch to new places. and that is true for my life, and for this past year. i believe i am leaving age 26 a better, stronger & more balanced person. i might even dare to say (this is taking a leap!) that #26 has been my favorite rotation around the sun so far in this life.

personally, i have become more certain of myself as a person. i've been intentional in appreciating the joys in my daily life, i've made a point of spending plenty of time alone & in reflection. i've recognized that yoga, hiking, live music & quality food fuel my passion for life.

professionally, i learned a lot in my job. i was young professional of the month for steamboat YPN in august & was nominated for young professional of the year. i spoke before large groups, i strengthened working relationships, and i truly enjoyed my profession.

socially, i both strengthened existing relationships & formed some new everlasting ones. i tried (and sometimes failed) to be better about keeping in touch with loved ones who are far away. people i have called friends here for years became really really good friends. a year ago on my birthday, torre was a brand new friend. today, he is one of my favorite people in my life. on my birthday last year, i met molly for the first time. she is a ray of sunshine in my days.  these people have played such a huge role in my life & adventures & happiness in the past year. my steamboat community has grown and embraced me.

physically, i have focused my energy on eating healthy, as local as possible, and experimenting with new foods and recipes. i made the choice to spend the extra couple dollars to buy organic milk & half and half & eggs. i've continued to make exercise a priority in my largely-sedentary-desk -days. i made yoga a focus & continued my kickboxing adventures.

it's been an amazing, intentional year. the year of being 27 is going to be a new beginning in many ways, so here's to embracing that, forging on, and bringing the best of 26 along with me.

noteworthy news.

friends,
as many of you know, i have a pretty serious change coming up next month. i'm moving back to the homeland... i've accepted a job in vermont!!! i'm thrilled about the new role i will have, i'm excited about being near family, i'm giddy about sharing daily life with my kindred sister, and i'm eager to enjoy all that vermont, and new england, has to offer. this is the opportunity i've spent two years hoping to encounter.

i'm also heartbroken over leaving my home in steamboat. my five years here have been full of great adventure, growth, beauty & friendship. my life over the past year has been nearly as perfect as i could possibly imagine, and it's fairly terrifying to recognize that i'm making a choice to abandon that for the relatively unknown (and yet oh so familiar!).

i have less than four weeks here in colorado. i've got every weekend booked from now until the end, i have a bucket list of things to do before i leave, and i have a lot of life to live here before i go. here's to those adventures as they come, and to embracing each emotion i experience.

remember, the purpose of life is to enjoy every moment.

here i am looking out at the future ahead, and simultaneously enjoying my world here:

cute cute cute.

so i have a small collection of blogs i read regularly. some of them are people i know, some are people i don't know but my friends do, and some are people i just don't know at all but they have interesting things to say. one of the blogs that falls into the first category is a friend from college. she & i rowed together for years, had a lovely time, and have fallen out of touch a bit over the years. but now! we read each other's blogs & it's kind of awesome. her posts are eloquent, funny & heartfelt. i particularly enjoyed her post today. so... go visit her!

yesterday: fresh powder. bluebird skies. good company. happy girl.

today: lack of sleep. great yoga practice. lunch with mol. weekend ahead.

changes are afoot all around, and i'm doing my best to live each moment.

day 1 of the long weekend...

skiing with two of my favorites, bloodies & a steak sandwich at hazie's, a lot of parental conversations, and now-- a tall chai & a scone & the best seat in the house at the coffee shop. next, dance rehearsal, dinner & then a bluegrass show downtown! sigh.

friday.

i made it to yoga this morning for a great practice. the opening quote was about practicing with your head versus practicing with your heart--  a practice from your head is heavy & difficult, a practice from your heart is full of lightness and grace...all very pertinent right now. i didn't get to fit a bagel into my morning, but i did have a lovely latte & a mediocre muffin. it's a quiet day in the office & i'm ready to star the weekend off with a whole lotta cozy, some fresh skiing, and probably some live music. love this life.

what's for dinner?

homemade sweet potato oven fries, organic bison burger with blue cheese, avocado, pear & onion. 

side salad of spinach, avocado, pear, date & walnut with homemade dressing. 

yum!

just another day on the slopes.

ringing in 2011.

belatedly, here's a little recap of new year's eve. we all gathered at teen's house for a night of appetizers (hello bacon-wrapped-cream-cheese-stuffed-jalepenos!), games & beverages. it was cozy, bubble-filled & made me tremendously happy. it was perfect to send out 2010 with so many of the people who made this year so wonderful.

the scene

love these two-- tj & torre

brett sandwich

schmeltz, jess & brandon

the infamous jenga tower

woohoo!

grinface.

this weekend was one for the record books all around. from happy hour with the crew on friday to requesting van morrison & wagon wheel from the band at boathouse and dancing up a storm... to taking a carload of boys to the "nugget store" to collect a disgusting quantity of cheap chicken on saturday afternoon... to skiing 17 inches of soft, fluffy, heavenly powder, hot tubbing, and sleeping in a very cozy bed... i did an awful lot of grinning this weekend!

now rounding out my monday with some afternoon tea.

(the teabag says: may you have faith in your worth and act with wisdom.)

this is adorable.

friday.

i firmly believe that every friday should begin with a strong yoga practice, a tall coffee & a bagel.

fortunately, it is within my power to ensure that it happens. i attended a lovely class this morning focused on lightness. we practiced a series of upright balancing poses, which are always challenging for me given my weak ankles and flat feet. i channeled my positive energy and tried not to judge myself when i toppled over, and i thoroughly enjoyed myself. in the locker room after class, the teacher told me i had a "beautiful practice." woohoo!

she also asked us to think of someone whom we love very much, and to practice for them today. i thought of my kindred sister, jenna, and sent gratitude out for her constant encouragement, humor, coziness, and long-distance love.

round that out with a little sauna time, a quick shower, a sweater dress & boots, a perfect coffee and a cranberry granola bagel. you've got a happy girl.

cheers for friday, my loves. xo

january.

january believes in miracles.

she loves new beginnings.

january is history's mirror.

she is happiest looking at the stars.

january's house has many windows and doors.

she looks forward more than back.

january is the beginning of things.

she keeps resolutions in her pocket.

january is known for making fresh tracks.

she loves a new book.

january is a great project manager.

she feels alive when she's dancing.

january is a state of mind.

she is known for her initiative.

january loves a good sale.

she's not afraid of the unknown.

january holds the database of dreams and resolutions.

(i didn't write this. i don't know who did.)

enjoy.

2010 in photos.

birthday dinner with cubs, january.

skiing steamboat.

hiking north routt county, october.

steamboat home, september.

family, september.

gran on the beach, september.

vermont barn, september.

culinary explorations, summer. 

hiking mt werner, august.

five, may.

v & mort, may.

gran giggles, april.

remember grandmommy, march. 

cute toes with jen, march.

snowy walk, january.

fun on the slopes, march.

apres-ski at tBar, winter. 

ladies at tBar, november.

yurt community, may.

solstice sunset, june.

camping in the zirkels, june-august.

fabulous fun at free concerts, june-august.

love in indiana, august.

mol & mambo, august.

lawn games at 466 cherry, all summer.

Best of 2010- Year in Review

2010 will be remembered for:

• an early january powder day in holy bowl.
• homemade funfetti frosting for my 26th birthday.
• the excitement of the olympics! particularly celebrating steamboat olympians.
• the passing of grandmommy in march. a sad thing in itself, but early 2010 was filled with wonderful conversations, cards, netflix & notes between us.
• blustery beach walks with gran in april & september.
• my first viewing of the boston marathon! and my dearest college friend.
• a new found love for brussel sprouts and kale.
• nights on bicycles. days on bicycles.
• a rainy trip to nyc full of pedis, cheesy movies, amazing food, and my very best friend.
• reconnecting with my yoga practice, and loving it.
• celebrating the union of v & mort in vermont in may. being reunited with my loves.
• camping & hiking to gilpin lake with kate waite.
• ongoing explorations in the culinary world.
• the end of the alpaca era.
• boys. after years of my closest friends primarily being girls, my steamboat world is full of boys. really wonderful. appreciate boys.
• surprising my mother at the doorstep for her 60th birthday.
• mambo's happy hours.
• five round-trip flights, comprising of sixteen separate airplanes.
• a smattering of delightful concerts: five free concerts at howelsen, bearfoot bluegrass, yonder mtn string band, michael franti & spearhead, patty larkin & lucy kaplansky, many a missed the boat show.
• 2010 has been the year of the local. i finally feel known in this community, and it feels like i have friends everywhere i go!

Best Books I read in 2010:

• Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Best Movies I saw in 2010:

• 500 Days of Summer
• Whip It
• Crazy Heart
• Precious

Best Music I was introduced to in 2010:

• Bearfoot Bluegrass
• Mumford & Sons
• Zac Brown Band

And looking ahead to 2011:

• Continued exploration with cooking & yoga.
• A long weekend with my five in Boulder.
• A whole week with  my parents in Steamboat.
• Martin Sexton concert in Steamboat.
• My Steamboat Dance Theatre Debut!
• Many a powder day, and perhaps new skis?
• The opportunity for tremendous change.

she was my biggest fan. and i miss her every day.

today i made a small donation to vassar college in her memory.

here we are in our vassar hats circa 2004.

i like this.