rocky mountain fever.

This weekend, Doug and I ventured upstate to Rocky Mountain National Park for some sightseeing and hiking. The weather was not as kind as we would have liked, but we still had a great time exploring the area and spending time together. We took the drive northward Saturday morning and after several closed roads and detours, we finally made it to the trailhead. About halfway into our hike, the sky opened up in a thundering downpour, soaking my underprepared self to the bone... I have a much harder time spending money on outdoor gear than the well-dressed, waterproof Douglas. After an impromptu, middle-of-the-trail wardrobe change, however, I was able to escape hypothermia and we were back on our feet. We only covered about four miles of ground but, since I have yet to acclimate to the altitude, that was about all my lungs and legs could take.

The Colorado elevation has been doing a number on my fitness self-esteem. Normally, two weeks into a fitness routine and I would be kicking butt and taking names, but my body has not gotten used to the thin air, and even a short jog can leave my legs feeling rubbery and my lungs gasping for more oxygen. Next weekend, Doug plans to take on Pikes Peak, one of Colorado's famous "fourteeners" (14,000 feet). I want to join him on this adventure but I do not think my hiking track record has been strong this season. I feel like such a wimp! We will be doing a little bit of training this week, so I am going to decide whether or not I think I am aerobically up for the trek.

After our expedition near the continental divide, we hit the road for a scenic drive through the mountains and clouds, made even better by an awesome lightning storm that danced across the sky as we made our way back south. After a stop in Empire for a proper pancakes-and-eggs dinner at the "original" Hard Rock Café (named for the local mining community - nothing to do with the chain) we made it home to our warm and cozy apartment, a weekend well spent for sure.

twenty-eight.

Another year come and gone. This year, my birthday was a rather mellow one. Douglas and I woke up extra early to enjoy breakfast together at our favorite local eatery, Over Easy, before he had to go to work. Once he headed to the office, I began my quiet, contemplative day with a nap and my typical routine of intermittent tidying, random yoga poses, and perusing a few of my favorites in the blogosphere.

Today was a scorcher, about ninety degrees, but I hardly noticed the heat sitting under the awning of my newly-frequented coffee shop "office". The dry Colorado air does not hold heat the way it does in the Northeast and without the humidity, well, ninety degrees is almost downright pleasant. I was able to soak up some sun while reading Michael Pollan's slow but provocative Omnivore's Dilemma and took the season's first dip in our development's tiny swimming pool.

The evening began the real celebrations: Douglas brought me, bedecked in my new open-back dress, to the downtown gastropub, the Rabbit Hole, for dinner and drinks. Then, lucky girl that I am, I got to sit and look pretty while he baked me my requested strawberry cake (his very first authentic pastry pursuit), sang me "happy birthday", and presented me with a beautiful new ruby ring. What a lovely day.

I love a good birthday, but I cannot say I was thrilled about turning another year older this time. Shucks, I liked being twenty-seven. Yes, yes, I know: age is just a number and you are only as old as you feel, but sometimes, you just want to savor something a little bit longer. I do not always feel like I am where I am supposed to be, and that becomes all the more salient when commemorating another year spent on Earth. I know that I have accomplished quite a bit in the twenty-eight trips I have taken around the sun, perhaps more than many of my nearly-thirty peers, but there is always that longing for more. Good thing I have the whole wide-open summer ahead of me; lots of time to stockpile adventures before we head back to reality. Let's see what the next two months, and 365 days for that matter, have in store. 

glimpses.

Today marks the close of my first official week in Colorado and the first full week of summer vacation. Here are a few glimpses from the past seven days.

Strolling through the Garden of the Gods. Spending a rainy 4th of July waiting for the fireworks. Munching on an Alaskan reindeer sausage at Biker Jim's while Doug chowed down on a rattlesnake and pheasant hotdog. Watching Old Crow Medicine Show and the Avett Brothers jam at the famous Red Rocks amphitheater. Hiking in Palmer Park.

guten tag.

Well, hello there, finally. The past few weeks I have been outofmymind busy. I had the privilege of being sent on a two-week school field trip to Germany (yes, you heard right) but this meant that grades had to be done early, tutoring sessions and appointments had to be crammed in, and final projects had to be prepared and explained before my departure. So, phew. Despite the panic attack that ensued beforehand, and the constant stream of correspondence I had to keep during my time abroad, the trip was exciting and fulfilling, as every new adventure should be.

While we were in Germany, the students and I stayed with host families and I lucked out by having the most wonderful host family one could hope for. Christina and Holger, and their two blond babies, were the most generous, entertaining, gracious hosts you can imagine. I feel truly blessed to have met them and to have been the lucky recipient of their hospitality. Most evenings, despite having spent longs days sitting in conferences or exploring local cities, I stayed up till unholy hours simply because I could not get enough of the conversation.

The field trip was scheduled as part of a global conference that one of our student organizations takes part in every year and, as of this year, I am the lucky supervisor who gets to escort the diligent students overseas. All year we have been working on research tasks to present at this year's conference, and it was such a thrill to watch the students finally show off all their hard work. While we were there on "business," rather than pleasure, and the conferences took up large portions of our trip, we were given day tours of the nearby cities of Hamburg and Münster and also got time to spend with our host families. Though the responsibility of chaperoning eight teenagers across the Atlantic is a serious one, and though I will admit my patience wore thin on more than one occasion, everyone had a great time and all that prep work beforehand was worth it. Summer adventure #1 - accomplished! Now on to #2, finding my baby in the midwest.

the weekend.

phew! I feel as though I blinked and the weekend whirled past... I think as a general rule, whenever I set out to be productive the hours just seem to pick up the pace and pass by before I even have time to think about the things on my to-do list. Another weekend come and gone; I cannot believe that mid-April has already found us. Douglas is busy with his last month of classes: databases, operating systems, and lots of other things I cannot begin to comprehend. I have begun my own programming adventures, however, as I start my web design self-education adventures: a combination of books, online tutorials, and "guess and check" fiddling. I am happy to say that I have actually made quite a bit of progress in the last 48 hours. Aside from our usual work-and-errands weekend routine, Doug and I managed to squeeze in a few beverages, some Ben and Jerry's, and, of course, lots and lots of dreaming.

Now, it is 10:30 and I am in the middle of my regular Sunday night panic attack - when the anxiety begins to set in that tomorrow will come and I, underprepared and without enough sleep as per usual, will have to kiss my sweetheart goodbye until next week. On the plus side, the warmer, sunnier weather seems to be settling in and the school year will slowly start winding down. More time with family and friends, more time out of doors, and more time to put slumbering dreams into action. I can't wait!

easter, birthdays, and dusting off the cobwebs.

Why, hello there... it has been quite a long time now, hasn't it? I am happy to be with you again today. Today is a special day. Along with being a day of celebration, a day of forgiveness and thankfulness and joy for many people around the world, it is also my mother's birthday and the fourth anniversary of my having started this blog. Douglas and I spent this beautiful day doing wonderful things with wonderful people... we started the morning off with a little bit of scrambling (I am a perfectionist, after all) and a few tears (I have to constantly remind myself that perfection is not attainable) but everything worked out, as it always does. Doug and I caught a nice sermon at church and followed it up with a family brunch at the apartment. With my pretty new pink glasses filled with bright, bubbly prosecco, some lovely spring flowers, and my "famous" potato salad, I was in hostess heaven. We followed up the nice visit from my family with an early Easter dinner with our dear friends Danielle and Jason. After a long nap we are still filled to the brim with food and slowly transitioning back into school mode. 

If you have not noticed by the long bouts of silence, this year is crrrrrazzzzyyyy! It is flying by and Douglas and I have so many exciting, overwhelming things in the mix. Weekends filled with classes, school field trips, interviews, frisbee matches, weddings. Oh, hello, life - did you have plans for me?! My tenure year is every bit the overachieving, long-houred, beautiful mess that I expected it to be, and Douglas is busy with internship applications and senior projects. I am happy to have a small break next week and the opportunity to visit two of my favorite girls, Carolina and Kim, in my beloved Boston. I have been filling most of my free time with reading, something that I cannot get enough of right now, so I apologize for the silence. April is expected to be even more swamped, as I start preparing for an upcoming festival that we are planning for one of the clubs I run at school with after-school rehearsals every day of the week. I promise I will try to fill you in during my free moments. So many wonderful things are going on it is hard to breathe!