I love Christmas traditions and I love how every family has different ones. Growing up, there are a few key traditions I cherished the most: opening our very awesome Advent calendar everyday, sleeping by the lighted Christmas tree at least one night in December, occasionally going to see the tree in NYC (moreso when I…
As I type this, I’m eating Cheerios for breakfast, it is 4 degrees out, and oh, I sent off my book proposal for my Te Araroa travel memoir to the first publisher I am targeting. Book proposal. Oh boy. If I poured my heart and soul into my book, then I poured someone else’s heart…
It used to be, no matter where we lived, we would have a revolving door of visitors. Nowadays, we live even more in the boondocks than ever, and only a few brave souls follow us where we go. I’m happy to say, we hosted our first Fenton Ranch visitor: Justin’s mom! This visit was extra…
The last time I worked on my travel memoir was May 30, 2016 and when I left off, I had a grand total of 33,620 words. Drumroll please … I have finished!!!! But wait! Stop the cheering! While it is certainly a big deal that I finished writing the story of our thru hike on…
Thanksgiving is upon us and while the focus is rightfully on quality time with families and friends, you may have noticed another initiative during the past few years: Opt Outside. Green is the new black. The concept was launched by REI in 2015 when the major outdoor retailer announced they would close all 143 shop…
Currently living/working in: Property caretaking of Fenton Ranch in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico through the winter, although J is still tending to his health over the border in Colorado for at least a little while longer. Current mood: Still grateful for SO many things, but dang, my emotions have been playing a ping pong match…
I have officially fallen into a stereotype. I am the woman who lives in the woods by herself with three female cats and writes all day. To be honest, that might be a dream come true? Lemme back this bus up and say Justin is doing a-okay (and I still hope to someday tell his…
I’ve been reading a few blog posts about people reflecting about their former selves and how we change (or don’t change). While there is no monumental birthday to prompt this, I thought I would reflect on myself! Let’s go back to age 24 (I am now 38). I always say age 24 was pretty awesome.…
For someone who is a writer, I can’t seem to find the words to describe our love, a love that officially turns 10 years old today. To put it simply, this I can say. We are the definition of soulmates, and we bring out the best version of each other. Happy 10th wedding anniversary to…
Disclaimer: This post will be a little vague, but someday, I will fill in all the blanks. The ambiguous version is that these past few months, J has had a pretty serious medical issue related to his lifelong Crohn’s disease (yes, even when he was climbing mountains). Part of resolving the issue happened recently. Together…
Last Saturday was my 20th high school reunion. 20 years! I graduated high school 20 years ago. Inconceivable. But I digress. I didn’t love high school. Our nephew just started high school and I worry for him. If I had to repeat high school–especially in this day and age–I would have pigeon-sized butterflies swimming in…
Once upon a time, I told Justin that my 20-year high school reunion (more on that in another post) was taking place in New Jersey the week of his birthday and I really wanted to go. Not only did I want him to accompany me to the reunion, I didn’t want to leave him for…
Today, Justin turns 40. My first impression of J was that he was “so cool.” His smile won me over almost immediately … and it still does. Even though we are going on 10 years married (Oct. 28), I am not surprised I fall deeper and deeper in love with Justin as every year passes.…
If there is one thing we’ve learned about living in New Mexico, it is that there is no shortage of outdoor opportunities. However, our fall teaching schedule has been a little busier than our springtime teaching schedule was–especially with some weekend work–so escaping has been more difficult. The good news is, Santa Fe National Forest…
Currently living/working in: Teaching kids environmental education at Fenton Ranch in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. We’ve finished up the fifth and fourth graders and have moved onto our last unit with second graders! This season goes lightening-fast! I’ve taken the kids wading in our backyard creek about 15 times this season! This is a…
Sorry for the radio silence around here! Turns out this working thing is really, really time-consuming. I know you just cursed my name since we typically only work 6 months out of the year, but my defense is that our environmental educator role at Fenton Ranch has us going pretty much nonstop from Monday at…
We bagged our 40th state high point this past weekend: New Mexico’s Wheeler Peak at 13,161 feet. We had planned to do this one last spring when we were living and working here, but the trail was snow-covered through May. With that in mind, we didn’t want to wait too long this fall, as winter…
Currently living/working in: We roadtripped most of August, and are now settled back at Fenton Ranch in New Mexico, where we will again teach kids environmental education through October! Current mood: Content to be back to work at Fenton. We both really love our roles at Fenton, working with our boss, Jamie, and living in the Jemez…
This week on August 25, 2016, the National Parks Service turned 100!! Visiting National Parks is something J and I have done … a lot. We’ve been to 37 of the 59 parks (yes, we are keeping track) and dozens of the monuments. And as America celebrates this centennial anniversary of the day President Woodrow…
I celebrated my 38th birthday this weekend. Typically I am not a “birthday” celebration kind of gal. To me, it’s just another day. But J and his sisters love celebrating birthdays and making a big deal, so since we have so much family in Denver, it was par for the course. J asked me what…