Our Newest Addition

She’s a beaut, huh? This is her good (aka less rusted) side. 

A few months ago we purchased this beauty, a 1982 VW Vanagon Westfalia. I knew it was meant to be when I discovered that the van and I share a birth year, although this means we've had to make a few upgrades (31-year-old crusty curtains can be pretty gross). She’s fully equipped with two beds, a sink, a two-burner stove, a fridge, and limitless possibilities. Although she smokes like a beast in the cold weather, she's basically invisible to speed traps. 

Max approves, as long as the beast is not turned on. 

We're currently working on fixing her up and getting her ready for her maiden voyage; we will be traveling along the Oregon coast for four weeks in March and April. We're excited to camp out in the van, view the beautiful scenery, and hopefully keep our roadside assistance calls to a minimum. 

Who knows. Maybe we'll love it so much that we'll end up living in a van, down by the river of course.

Thirty-One

When I turned 30, I sort of had a hard time with it. I’ve never struggled with age before, but for some reason, climbing into a new decade just felt so strange. Maybe it’s because my 20s were so jam packed with life events: college, first jobs, moving to Denver, travel, and graduate school. The 20s are full of exciting milestones in life. Typically, the 30s are filled with other types of milestones such as buying a house and having kids. Nic and I aren’t really on the track for either of those, so the 30s just seemed so directionless. 

To be honest, year 30 lived up to my expectations, and it wasn't all that great (other than getting married, of course :)). Luckily, nothing catastrophic happened, but it was a really difficult year. There were a lot of little things that just weren’t in my favor, and it’s been tough.

A few weeks ago I turned the big 3-1, and I have to admit that I felt a lot of relief that day. 30 may have been a challenging year, but that doesn’t mean 31 has to be the same. 

This new year is going to bring a lot of changes and unpredictability, which can be scary, but instead of feeling frightened, I find myself extremely excited. I don’t know exactly where 31 or 2014 will take me, but I’m ready for the challenge and hopeful about what may come.

I have a feeling it’s going to be a good one.