First Hike of the Season

As part of our 2013 Challenge, we decided to drop Max off to play at Petsmart and head up to Rocky Mountain National Park (no dogs allowed). We decided to hike up Deer Mountain, which is three miles each way and around 1,000 foot elevation gain. We'd hiked it once before a few years ago and remembered enjoying the view from the top.

Once we drove into Estes Park, we realized there was more snow than we'd anticipated. But, we had just driven over two hours, so we decided to go ahead with our plans. We had snow shoes in the car, but decided not to mess with them. As we began hiking, the trail was snowy,  but it wasn't too bad. However, after a mile or so, the trail looked like this:

There was no dirt in sight, just endless snow. This made hiking increasingly difficult, and if we stepped off the trail just a little bit, our legs would sink up to mid-calf. However, we'd gone so far that we didn't want to turn back, so we kept going. Eventually, the trail took us in a different direction than we remembered to get to Deer Mountain. We didn't want to leave the trail, though, because we weren't sure where to go, and we didn't want to walk in deep snow to get there. Eventually the trail took us to the top of a mountain west of Deer Mountain. The hike ended up being a little over two miles instead of three, but the view was amazing:

We ate a delicious snack of bananas, apples, and peanut butter then headed down the mountain. Although going down was much faster than hiking up, it was also very slippery and precarious. We were sliding all over the place, trying to keep our balance. 

By the time we made it to the bottom, we were both tired from the unintentional agility training, but we were happy to have completed our first hike of the season. Since we've had blizzards every week in April, we'll probably wait a few weeks before heading that far into the mountains again and stick to trails closer to the city.

Here's hoping this is just the first of many great hikes this year!

Denver, Where’s the Love?

Colorado isn't all bad

It’s hard to believe that as of next month, I will have lived in Denver for three years. To be completely honest, I haven’t loved living here. This is mostly my fault because I didn’t really get involved in a lot of activities or see a lot of the state because I figured that once I finished graduate school, we’d move away.

It’s now been a year since I finished school, and it looks like we’ll be staying for the next few years, so this year, I decided to challenge myself to learn to love Denver and Colorado. Nic has decided to participate in this challenge even though he already has a lot more love for Colorado than I do. :)

As part of this challenge, we are going to try to explore more of Colorado. This will include weekend trips to different parts of the state as well as more hiking and camping. We even decided to replace our annual international trip with a trip to Mesa Verde. We are also going to try to get more involved through volunteer work and other activities and events.

I’m not convinced that this challenge will make me want to stay in Colorado forever, but I am hoping to discover all it has to offer and fully enjoy our time here. 

Apocalypse Wedding

When Nic and I first got engaged in Peru in the summer of 2011, our first thought was to get married in Mexico on 12/21/2012. Nic had read a book full of essays about the supposed “apocalypse” date and discovered that rather than an end of the world, it’s likely that the Mayans viewed this date as a beginning of a new phase of life. We really appreciated this view of a new beginning and thought it would be great to coincide with our new beginning as a married couple.

Engaged in Peru in 2011

At first, our wedding plans included flying people down to Mexico with us and having a small ceremony. We quickly realized that keeping it small would be next to impossible and discovered that it would be really expensive for not only us, but also our guests. As we spent countless hours trying to think of various ideas for a wedding that either of us didn’t hate, we realized that neither of us really wanted a wedding at all.

Our wedding rings

Then I discovered that Colorado offers self-solemnization. This means that a wedding officiate isn’t necessary; rather, the bride and groom can sign where a clergy or judicial officer would typically sign and marry themselves. We loved the idea of marrying ourselves and not needing a random stranger to make our marriage official. With that, we decided to sign the papers to self-solemnize our marriage in Denver and have our own “wedding” in Mexico. We decided to go to the Riviera Maya since that’s where we took our first international trip together in 2008.

Picking up our marriage license from the courthouse

On the morning of December 21, 2012, the winter solstice, the rising sun aligned with the black hole in the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This “galactic alignment” is something that only happens every 26,000 years (this astronomical event is part of why the Mayans thought so highly of this date). So, on the morning of the 21st, we woke up at 3:00 am and made our way onto the beach. It ended up being pretty cloudy, which meant we couldn’t see the Milky Way, but it also meant the sunrise was absolutely gorgeous. We spent hours on the beach talking about the good times we’ve already had in the seven years we’ve been together as well as our hopes and dreams for the future.

Married  :)

Our “wedding” may have been really unconventional and didn't have much in common with a traditional wedding, but for us it was perfect, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way.

(Find out more about self-solemnization in Colorado)

Wait, I Have a Blog?

Wow. I can't believe it's been four months since I last blogged. Those months were really busy and included multiple colds, an ear infection, a ruptured eardrum, a trip to St. George, a trip to Idaho for Thanksgiving, and a trip to Mexico for our wedding. Since we got back, I've been battling yet another cold, and Max had to have his dewclaw surgically removed, so 2013 has started with a lot of cold medicine and many trips to the veterinarian. Here's hoping the rest of 2013 will be much more healthful. :)

One of my goals for 2013 is to write more, including on the blog, so hopefully you'll hear more from me in the upcoming weeks. 

First Great Find in the New Neighborhood

(FYI Mexico City is called Mexico DF, which stands for Districto Federal, or Federal District. It's sort of like Washington DC.)

Tacos DF was a fantastic find just up the road from the new apartment. Delicious tacos that actually taste like they did in Mexico DF. Super fresh, and meat so flavorful, you don't even need to add anything other than a little lime. 

I can't wait to go back and try the taquitos. It's safe to say we will be visiting them often.

Most of You Already Know This...

...but I did it!

It was such a crazy experience, and I'm so glad I got a video because I honestly don't remember much about it. Sensory overload I suppose. I was surprisingly calm in the plane, and as we got to the door to jump, I just remember thinking how strange it was because I wasn't worried or scared at all. I just thought, "well, here we go" and rolled on out.

It didn't turn me into an adrenaline junkie, and I don't feel the need to go again, but if the opportunity presented itself, I would go again. For someone who used to be scared to death of skydiving, I think that's quite an accomplishment. :)

One Way Plane Ride

I'm a pretty reserved person. I used to joke with my roommates that I've been 30 since I was a teenager because I've always been so responsible. Lately I've been trying to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone a little bit (I've been inspired by this guy). Nothing too crazy...just a few things here and there that make me uncomfortable but also make me a more well rounded and confident person. 

When Danette declared that she was going to go skydiving to commemorate her graduation (with her Master's in Social Work, yay you!), I decided to commemorate my own graduation and join her. I've always been completely terrified of skydiving, and even now that I'm going, I'm not terribly excited. But, I feel like it's a good way for me to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself. 

One of the best parts is that Jason has decided to join us. I think it will be really cool for the three of us to do this together for the first time, especially since we don't get to spend a lot of time together. 

I'm still scared to death, but I am also excited for the challenge and the bonding experience with my siblings. Now if I can just figure out a way to ensure I don't puke on my tandem instructor...

Transitions

It feels like the past month or so has flown by. In the middle of April, I got offered a job as a Communications Manager for Maria Droste Counseling Center (non-profit). Since that means I will now have to live with two weeks of vacation a year (grad school spoiled me!!), I quickly took a trip to Utah to see my family and a trip to NYC to see Annalisa. In the two weeks before I started my job, I was home for only 2-3 days. In those few days I had to get my hair cut, go to the optometrist (traumatizing, as always), and buy work-appropriate attire. Needless to say, there was not a lot of time to relax before the transition from endless free time to working full time.

As of yesterday, I have been working here for two weeks. The first few days were a little overwhelming, but since then it’s been great. I’m constantly busy which I love, and I really enjoy the projects I’m working on. I feel like I am going to have the opportunity to build on my current skill set and be able to do a lot of new things which is exciting. Although it feels strange to be sitting at a desk all day instead of sitting in class and writing papers, I’m excited to be in this new phase of life and can’t wait to see what’s to come.

News

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written on here. Things have been a little hectic for the past few months, and it turns out that 2012 is going to be a year of big changes for me. 

Firstly, Nic and I are engaged! We actually decided to get married while we were in Peru last summer, but it took us until the holidays to tell everyone in person that we wanted to back in Utah, and then it took us a few more months to get it posted online. We are slackers. :)

Secondly, I am completely finished with graduate school. I just completed my exit counseling for my loans which means I am officially done. I've actually been done with classes and my internship for a couple of months, but now I'm done with all of the administrative stuff as well. It's strange to think that I won't ever need to go back to campus again (unless I walk at graduation in June). I'm going to miss school as it's something I've always enjoyed, and I really feel like my graduate program taught me a lot about not only what I was studying, but also myself. It's also strange to realize that this phase of my life is over, and a new phase is going to begin.

Which brings me to my third point.....getting a job. As of yet I have not had luck in this department, but I'm hoping I will be able to find something good in the next few weeks. It's somewhat overwhelming to decide what the next phase of my life is going to be, but I'm also excited at the possibilities. 

Here's to change in 2012!!

After the Dust Settled...

Well, the quarter ended, and contrary to what I believed at times, I got everything done on time. The morning after I finished my Stats final, we drove to Utah for Thanksgiving and just got back a week ago. I feel like it's taken until now to decompress, get caught up on everything, and feel normal again. It also helped that I found out I passed the language proficiency exam (21/30 which is exactly what I needed to pass...phew!), and I aced my classes (A in Stats? Yes, please).

It's crazy to think that other than interning part time for a few more weeks, I am completely done with my masters degree. It's been such a great experience, and I feel that I have grown so much while here. Moving on to a new chapter in life is always a little scary, but I'm also really excited for what's to come. I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be a great year.

The End Is In Sight...

On Tuesday I attended my last class at DU. Today I finished and printed off my last term paper for grad school. Tomorrow I will turn it in and study for my Statistics final on Saturday. After that, I will be completely done with classes at DU. I will just have to finish up my internship in January and possibly take an online Spanish class if it turns out I failed the language proficiency exam, and then I will be officially finished. It seems so crazy that it's already time to start seriously job hunting. What happened to the last two years? 

Midterm Time

Bright and early Saturday morning, I took my Statistics midterm. I was pretty nervous about it since it was worth 50% of our grade and only 30 questions long. It was, however, nice to walk into a class, sit down, fill out some bubbles on a scantron sheet, and be finished. No justifying, defending, or explaining. Just filling out bubbles and knowing there is a right and a wrong answer for each. It's been a long time since I've had a test like that. Almost every class I've had in both the undergraduate and graduate level have required papers instead of tests, and although I love writing and am fairly good at it, it was nice to actually take a test.

Taking my Stats test marked the halfway point in this quarter. That leaves one 3 page paper, one 10 page paper, one 25 page paper, one 3 hour group presentation, one language proficiency exam, and one final test left this quarter. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to fit all of that as well as my internship into the next five weeks and still do well on all of it, but somehow, it always seems to work out.

It's crazy to think that after this quarter, I'm done. No more tests, papers, or classes. Just the job hunt that follows. Ugh, that sounds even worse. :)

2 Down, 28 to Go...

(Source)

Not my real paper chain

A few weeks ago, I registered for an extra class. This means that not only will I be really busy with three classes, Spanish lessons, an internship, and taking the language proficiency exam, but also that this is my last real quarter with classes. In the winter I will be getting internship credits, but my internship will already be completed.

Today after class, I realized that I will only be sitting in a classroom 28 more times before I graduate. In order to commemorate this, I made a paper chain with 28 links. Every time I get home from a class, I will remove a link. I'm having a hard time believing that I am this close to finishing, and even though I am nervous about trying to find a job once I'm done, I have a feeling that I am going to love my classes and that this will be one of the best quarters yet.

Peruvian Promise

Hey everybody!

There's only a week left in the Global Giving Campaign, and we are in 5th place for having the most donors! The top three spots get an extra scholarship, so we'd love to get a few more donors to help us move up a little bit.

Thanks to all of you that have already donated, and for those of you who haven't, if you could click on the link below and donate, even $1, I would highly appreciate it!

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/peruvian-promise-girls-leadership-peru/

Peruvian Hearts

Visiting The Hogar, the orphanage Peruvian Hearts funds, in June

As most of you already know, I am interning with Peruvian Hearts, a great organization that funds an orphanage in Peru and is starting Peruvian Promise, an empowerment program for girls. We were selected by Global Giving to have the chance at earning a permanent spot on their web site, but first we have to raise $4,000 by 50 individual donors this month! I was hoping all of you may be able to go to the link below and donate, even if it's just $5 (you can pick the amount at the bottom).

Peruvian Hearts is such a great organization that does such great work, and I would be forever grateful if you could help us out!

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/peruvian-promise-girls-leadership-peru/

Summer Time

After returning from South America, I was worried the rest of summer would be anticlimactic. However, it's only been two weeks and I've already found plenty of things to be excited about.

Aerial Dance Classes

Source

I'm starting aerial dance classes this week at Miraas Aerial. My Human Rights and the Role of Women professor from last quarter also teaches here, and I'm excited to try something new and different.

New Running Shoes

Source

I wore my old running shoes every single day for 5 weeks in Peru. It was time to replace them. I got to test these out running around Estes Park Lake the other day, and they are fantastic.

Interning for Peruvian Hearts

I've started my internship for Peruvian Hearts and absolutely love it. I was able to visit the orphanage they fund while in Peru, and it ended up being one of my very favorite parts of the trip. I was extra excited to learn that they are starting an empowerment program for girls, and I can't wait to see how it goes!

Babysitting my Nephews and Niece

Who wouldn't want to babysit these kids while their parents get some time away?

Hiking and Camping

I am so excited to go camping and hiking a whole bunch before I have a Saturday morning Stats class in the Fall.

Farewell to Spring Quarter

I have been so uninspired lately as far as blogging goes. Maybe now that the quarter has finished, I will be able to relax a little bit and get some inspiration back.

I turned in my last final paper and attended my last class of the quarter today. In all honestly, I felt a little sad. My two classes (Human Rights and the Role of Women & Theories of Non-Violence 2) were some of the best classes I've taken. That leaves me with only three more classes and an internship until I graduate (hopefully in March!). Luckily, I'm pretty excited about the classes I have lined up and the possible internships I've been interviewing for.

I leave next week for five weeks in South America and am looking forward to the change in scenery and culture. I think it will be a much needed break and an incredible experience.

Well, trip planning and internship interview preparing await, so I'm off.

Three Weeks

3 weeks

2 presentations

2 final papers

2 house guests

1 final exam

1 doctor appointment

1 internship interview (hopefully!)

And then?

5 weeks in Peru.

Now if only I can make it until then.

Week Seven

It is week seven which means a few things:

1) The dreaded registration for Winter Quarter. Registration always seems stressful, especially since I mostly need International classes and they are really difficult to get into. As always, things will most likely change up until the first week of classes, but as of now I am planning on taking Theories of Non-Violence II and Human Rights and the Role of Women. I'm really excited for both classes. Before I started this program, I never thought I would be taking so many gender classes, but I think after my first class here (Culture, Gender, and Global Communications) I was hooked (thanks Margie!). I'm still interested in taking human rights courses and working with refugees when I graduate, but I'm definitely interested in gender issues as well.

2) Three and a half weeks left until the end of the quarter. Both of my classes have had weekly papers, and I am happy that this is my last week of those. That leaves me a few weeks to finish up my final papers. For Gender and Health, I am writing a paper about HIV/AIDS in Kenya and how exposure and treatment are different for men and women. For International and Intercultural Comm, I am writing about how cultural differences led to the the post-election violence in Kenya in 2007/2008. I'm pretty excited about both...now I just need to start researching and writing!

3) Six weeks of Spanish lessons. They are getting increasingly more difficult, but my tutor, Mariela, makes it enjoyable and easy to understand. Learning Spanish seems like such a daunting task, but she makes me feel like it's not impossible.

It's hard to believe that in May I will be registering for my last quarter of classes at DU, and in a year, I will be finishing up my internship and getting ready to graduate! I'm excited to get to that point, but I'm also really excited for what is to come before then.

Snow Shoeing...

...a winter escape that keeps me sane.