An Aladdin moment and an Irish weekend.

I've been having weird headaches lately.  Not for real headaches because I've never gotten one of those.  (Really, I haven't.) I've only gotten squinting headaches after I've been out in the sun for too long without sunglasses.  So that's what I've been having lately.  Squinting headaches.  But I don't remember any recent squinting.

I for sure thought I was dying.  Brain tumor, perhaps. 

Well, while laying in bed trying to fall asleep last night, I had a thought. 
"When was the last time I put new contacts in?"
I'm supposed to change them every 3 months.  Well...it usually becomes 5 or 6.  (Sorry, mom) So this morning I checked my little box and it said I was supposed to change them the beginning of February.  Figures. 

So I put new ones in this morning....and I may or may not have started singing Aladdin's "A Whole New WOOORRLDDD!!"

Life changing. 

So...no more squinting headaches.

So now that you all can rest assured I'm brain tumor free, let me tell you about my weekend. It was probably the best weekend in Colorado, yet. 

Right after work on Saturday I met up with Michele (who I met through Alex) for St. Patty's Day. 

At first I went to the wrong building.  That was embarrassing. 

Texting convo--
Me: "I'm here! Right by the stage!"
5 mins later...
Michele: "I looked everywhere for you, I can't find you!"
Me: "Well, where are YOU??"
Michele: "I'm on the right side when looking at the band"
Me: "I'M on the right side when looking at the band!"
Me again: "Wait...am I at the right place...?"

You win, Downtown Denver.

So eventually I did end up finding her.  And then we left and took this picture. 

This guy was super annoying.  He wouldn't look at the camera unless I kissed him on the cheek.  No way, creepy-man-in-a-lepruchan-wizard-outfit!  Nice try, though.  

So...instead, we got this awesome, really awkward picture!

Then on Sunday, I went with Alex over to Michele's for a Thanksgiving/Easter/St. Patty's Day meal.  It...was amazing.  Mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cupcakes, the whole nine yards.  Michele, you will be a fabulous grandma someday ;)

After that we went over to another one of Alex's friends' houses (She's literally been my social-lifesaver since my move.  I owe her big time). And played cards for a few hours.  Then the people we were with had to get ready to go play in a 10pm rec league soccer game.  So we decided to go watch. 

Well, we get in the car...and they say they could use another girl.  So somehow I am now PLAYING in this game.  I am suddenly a Goodwill store in human form.  I get shorts and tennis shoes from one guy, a sports bra from his girlfriend, and soccer socks and shin guards from another guy.  

Game on.

 Me.  Waiting patiently for my turn to sub in.  

I was a nervous wreck. 

The game was actually pretty intense.  The other girls on the team played soccer in college.  And the guys were really good. So much fun.  Even came out with a win!
Thanks for letting me play, guys!

The next day, Alex and I woke up early and went for an 8 mile run. 

We saw a house on fire.  It was probably 2+ miles away, and we got there the same time as the firetrucks did.  If my apt ever starts on fire in Denver....I'm calling Jimmy Johns. 

So, I ran 8 miles less than 12 hours after playing soccer for the first time in 5+ years.  Maybe coulda planned that one a little better. The next two days I was so unbelievably sore.  I even was neaseus. Felt very similar to how I was after my first half marathon.  Working was brutal.  Oh well, it was worth it. 

I took the next two days off from running.  Then today I decided to run 5 miles on my lunch break.  I found a new route by work..which I was pumped about because our warehouse is near a sorta sketchy area.  We're also jus right down the road from a nice lil marijuana dispensary. 

Dream job, eh?

New route.  Less sketch.

In other news, next week I get to go to Boston for work to help with a Caregiver Kit event. 
You can find out what that means here.  Super excited to help with and experience that!

Have I mentioned I love the organization I work for?

Then two days after we get back from that, I get to FLY TO MINNESOTA!!

I'm maybe a little bit excited about that, too.  

So get ready, friends. 
Roomie....better be ready to get your Punch in Pjs on. 
Bestie....I'm starting that playlist as soon as I publish this post. 
All my other MN people....I better see you all.  Make it happen. 

Hiking day bust.

Today I went hiking.  Sort of.  Well, I did...but I realized I'm not a very smart experienced adventurer.
Hey, I just moved here from MN...flatland USA.  Cut me some slack.

I decided last night that I wanted to go hiking today.  This meant that I would need to get up at 7 AM because first I needed to stop at the DMV.  Last time I stood in their line for two hours to get my CO license, they made a mistake.  They had forgotten to add my motorcycle endorsement. No way am I letting that one slide. So I woke up at 7:30 (hey, I had to press snooze a couple times...its my day off!), made myself an omelet, and I got there just 15 minutes after it opened and I was already 22nd in line.
 
I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  The DMV has to be one of the best places to people watch.  I don't really understand it.  Why are there such strange and interesting people here all the time? I guess strange and interesting people are everywhere, but you just notice them more when they're right there next to you and you have nothing else to do but stare at them.

Yes, I have a people-watching hobby with an occasional staring problem.  

Oh, DMV.  I love to watch your people, but I hate waiting in your lines.

About an hour and a half later...I'm headed towards the mountains.  I really wanted someone to go hiking with me, but the small handful of new friends I've made were all busy or working.  Boo.  But, at least I asked.  And out of that I got one friend to give me some tips on a few good places to hike.  I loved that because usually I just wander until I find a trail head.  Good for my spontaneous side, but bad for the part of any normal person that wants their 45 minute drive to actually be worth it.

Once I got to the park, I realized I had made a critical mistake.  I dressed for Denver weather (68 degrees)...not mountain weather (45).  Shorts and a t-shirt probably weren't going to cut it. 

But, hey, I'm from Minnesota. I'll tough it out.

So I grabbed a trail map and picked out which trail I would start on. 

Ponderosa Trail: Pleasant, serves as a connector to many other trails.
Wild Iris Loop: Pleasant meadow trail.
Bluebeard Meadow: Meadow trail with wildflowers and wildlife.
Bearberry: A gentle and shady trail that passes a historic homestead.


Did I choose any of those? Nope. 

Sisters Trail: Strenuous; weaves through large boulders.

Sisters Trail it is!

But really, it wasn't strenuous at all.  I mean it wasn't super easy but it definitely wasn't hard.  The thing I liked about it was there were boulders to climb along the way...(like the ones in the back of this next picture), so that was fun.

Just when I was having weak moment in the form of a pity party, thinking about how it was not so much fun to hike by myself....I overheard these people right behind me :)

Two 20-something guys that started with the Lion King song
...and probably had no idea anyone could hear them.  Gotta love it.

Another rookie mistake I made was not realizing that although all the snow in Denver is gone...there probably is still some up in the mountains.  Yep.

Almost half the trail was covered in mud or snow/ice.

Last time I went hiking on my day off there wasn't any snow at all on the trail, AND I overdressed.  But that trail wasn't as high up in the mountains. 

Once I finished the Sisters Trail loop, I did a couple other shorter ones.  But I was freezing and by that time I was trekking around with an extra 10 pounds of mud on my shoes...so I decided to just head back to Denver.  I was only up there for barely two hours.  So much for my day of hiking. 

When I got back to Denver I decided I was not going to let my hiking day bust get the best of me. 

I almost went running again, because yesterday I found a fun new trail close to my apartment when I did my 6 mile run.  But today is a Cross-train day...so I decided to be good and not run. 

Rollerblading it is!

Yes, helmets are cool.  Didn't you know?

So I rollerbladed.  And rollerbladed.  And just kept on rollerblading.  Not realizing that eventually I was going to have to turn around and cover all that ground again.  But I have this thing where I can't just stop on a trail without finding out where it goes.  This is why loops are good for me. And endless connecting trails in a brand new big city are bad.  Bad only because I didn't have any water with me, and I haven't rollerbladed in at least two years so I am going to be very sore. 

So I just kept on going until finally I got to a park with a water fountain. I didn't even realize I was thirsty until I saw it.  And I didn't even realize I was starting to get tired until I stopped.   Good one, Kirsten.

Good news is...I found a LAKE!

So, I turned around.  14.60 miles of rollerblading!  I was only planning on doing like...5. 

Oh well.  Good workout.  Maybe tomorrow will be a rest day :)

I'm glad I can go out and do stuff by myself...but being a loner is definitely getting old.
Maybe I need to get a dog. 

Speaking of pets.  Next weekend is Quincy's 1st birthday!!

He doesn't like birthday hats so much. 

Well, that's all for today.  I'm going to get me some Chipotle. 

Lemme see if I can Run it, Run it...

First full week of half marathon training: Complete.

I had kind of forgotten how much I love running. 
Like, really.  I love it.  I ran track and cross-country in high school, and since then have always kept running.

It's my thing. 

I get addicted to it.  I love the challenge of fighting through the longer runs.  I love the feeling of accomplishment when I finish them. As cheesy at it sounds, running really makes me feel alive.  It helps me feel like I am not just coasting through life.  It just gives me more energy and life during the day when I am consistently running.

This has been my computer background for awhile now...

I'm such a running nerd.

So I'm now training for my second half-marathon.  My goal for my first one was to do anything under 10 min miles, closer to 9 the better.  I wasn't pacing myself when I ran, so when I crossed the finish line and found out I had done 8:33 minute miles...I was pumped.  And then I ate a piece of free pizza someone handed me and I almost threw up. Why would they be giving out pizza after this? I guess they had fruit too.  Maybe I ate a banana first.  I don't remember.

So now I'm kind of mad at myself, because I can't run again and do worse than the first time.  However, even if I do, I guess I can blame the altitude.

Guess I better take this training seriously.
Both yesterday and today I ran 5 miles.  I wasn't planning on doing that.  It just sort of happened. Not that 5 miles two days in a row is alot when training...but I haven't been running much at all since I moved.

Backstory: So yesterday I looked up a new church to try.  That's probably one of the worst parts of moving...finding a good new church.  There are some C-r-a-z-y churches out there.  Well, I've loved the two Acts29 network churches (church plant network) that I've visited back in MN, so I decided to look some up in Denver.  I had tried the first two on the list, so this time I went with the third one.

I pull into the parking lot...and parked right next to me, is my friend Alex who I went to college with back in MN. I knew she went to a church downtown, but I didn't remember the name of it.  Also, I thought she was still up in the mountains where she had been snowboarding all weekend.  Well, turns out she had left early and made it in time for church!

Small world.

So after the service, we decided to go running together.   5 miles.  Check.  And it was a beautiful day out--mid 60s.  I'll take it.  As Alex said when we were done..."I love the feeling after a run, and its a beautiful day, and Taylor Swift is on the radio...."  Well said.

Then today I had the day off and it hit 70 degrees.  I obviously had to run again.  There's a trail close by called "Powerline Trail". It follows....a powerline.

Definitely not Lake Calhoun...but, look! Mountains! 
Very far away...but still.  Take what I can get.  

I didn't have a certain milage to hit, as today was supposed to be a rest day.  So I just started running.  Well, my lil gps running tracker thingy didn't work because of the powerline. First thought? I'm for sure gunna get cancer running under these things. 

So I downloaded MapMyRun, which is a better app anyway.  Then...I started running.

Well, I kept running til I hit the edge of the city.  I was greeted by hundreds of prairie dogs popping up and down.  Hi! Bye! Hi! Bye! Hi! Bye! I love those lil guys.  Maybe Quincy could use a friend...

 Most Boring Picture of the Year Award.

 But, look! Prairie dogs! (They're there...I promise..)

Well, I ended up running about 5 miles again.

Now my hip hurts.

Good one.

That's why there's a training plan.  To keep you from training too little....or too much. 

Oh well.  I'll learn that lesson eventually, hopefully before I start training for my first Full marathon I'm already signed up for this fall....gulp.

Anyway.  I'm happy that I'm back in training mode.  I like running.  Really, I do.  And if you read my last post you'll know I also like cookies.  Another thing I like about being in training mode is I don't have to worry about my weight much.  I know I've been super blessed in that area anyway...my 5'10-ness helps a lot with that.  But I can definitely feel the difference when I'm in shape vs. not. 

My mom sent me new workout clothes right before the Half last year.

I was pumped. 

And I ate all the cookies I wanted. 

So running and cookies go together really well actually.  And it's not just Girl Scout Cookies.  I feel like everyone has to talk about how much they like them.  It's like a rule.  You buy the Girl Scout Cookies--you eat them--and you tell everyone how awesome they are.  As if the rest of the world didn't already know.  But really, I like every kind of cookie.  Except store-bought M&Ms cookies.  To me they're like the red-headed stepchild of cookies. (No offense to red-heads or stepchildren.  Jesus loves you both.  It's just an analogy.  Don't hate me.) I also like chips and cream cheese on my carb-filled bagels.... and chocolate.

Which is why I choose to run.  Of course moderation is key.  Otherwise you don't have good fuel for your runs.....or you run too much, too soon, and you hurt your hip.  Stupid hip. 

Bottom line: If you come running with me.....or bring me cookies....or you are prairie dog, you will be my friend forever.  I'm easy to please.

Go eat a cookie.

Welp, I bought a new car.

Oh, hi! 2012 Subaru Outback! Welcome to my life. 

Obviously I didn't take this picture, but my car looks exactly like this..I promise. 
All of my pictures are either grainy nighttime pictures from the night I first bought it, or from a day since the snowstorm we got.  Snowstorm=Denver panics and puts down 72 inches of salt and gravel over every inch of every road which makes my white Subaru look...well...horrible.

Anyway...all that to say I'm too cheap to get another car wash cuz hey, I just bought a brand new car! Maybe tomorrow.

So that's my new baby.  I love it.  Gets good gas milage, they're built well, and it looks outdoorsy so I can pretend like I'm a true Coloradian now.  Coloradoian? Coloradoan....?

In other news, I bought Girl Scout Cookies today.  I was going to wait, but they caught me at a weak moment outside the grocery store.  I had just worked out, I hadn't eaten dinner yet, and I was about to buy groceries so food was on my mind.  I'm not even kidding, I had two rows of Samoas eaten before I even got to my shopping cart.  The funny thing was, I was being intentional this time about getting healthy food.  Apples, grapes, grapefruit, brussel sprouts (seriously, kirsten? yes.).  The more healthy food I was putting in my cart...the more Cookies I would eat.  It was like my sick and twisted way of rewarding myself.  Peanut butter (the natural kind, although I'm sure the trade off for less fat is that you get more bug legs in your jar), whole wheat bagels and tortillas.  Cookie.  Ground turkey instead of ground beef, egg whites, for sure a Cookie.  Yogurt, milk....three more Cookies.

And thats Cookies, with a capital C.

On my way out of the grocery store, I was on a bit of a sugar high and basically wanted to save the world.  Hey, it's for a good cause, right?  Two more boxes, please!

Every picture of inanimate objects is better with a Quincy in it. 

So, speaking of cookies.  I'm training for my second Half Marathon! Wheeee!
Here's my training schedule.  I kinda mixed two plans (beginner and intermediate) and tweaked it to my schedule...and this is what I came up with. Oh, also...I made it colorful.  Because that just makes it better. 

Well, I guess that's all for now.
Until next time, support your local Girl Scout troops! Eat cookies! Then eat healthy food! Buy a hedgehog! Get to the gym! Tell me you like my new car (just kidding...but seriously)!

Have a Happy Tuesday!

Bucket List Parallels

In the past 5 months I've accomplished two of my major bucket list items. 

-Move to a new state...preferably one with mountains.
-Jump out of a perfectly good airplane...preferably with a parachute and professional attached to me.

Check and check.

Although they are super different life experiences, some of the fundamentals of finding enjoyment out of the two are very similar.

If someone pushed me out of the airplane against my will, or even forced me to go skydiving to begin with....I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it.

Same thing goes for cliff jumping.   At my best friend's cabin last summer, we went cliff jumping into the lake.  We all jumped or dove, from varying heights according to our comfort level...but if someone didn't want to, we didn't make them.  Of course everyone at times needs a little encouragement.  And a little peer pressure is good when you know deep down the person wants to.  But we never forced anyone.

If you're forced to jump, the whole fall you are in panic mode.  You don't enjoy the experience. You are angry and freaked out.  If anything goes wrong, you blame the people who pushed you against your will.  Sometimes you even try to grab onto something to stop the fall. Anything to get back to that comfort zone.

I've found this same concept to be true for moving...or any new life change for that matter.

If I had been forced to move to Colorado, at the first sign of loneliness or fear I would have panicked.   I would have blamed the situation or person for forcing me to move.  I probably would have become bitter.  I maybe would have wanted to get back to that comfort zone so badly that I would have moved back.  I probably wouldn't be seeking out new adventures.  Trying new churches all by myself.  Putting myself out there by hanging out with new people. 

But thank God, it WAS my choice. I wasn't forced or pushed.  I was led here by God through a lot of prayer, internal interests, and crazy "God-things".  I chose to jump.  I'd like to think that even if life's circumstances had forced me to move, I would still do everything the same as I am now and have the same positive attitude about things...but I'm not really sure.

When I get lonely or bored it's my responsibility to either fix that by prayer and/or action... or just dwell in it for awhile and then move on.  I don't have anyone or anything to blame.  

And I love that. 

So choose your own adventures.  Follow where God is leading you.  Don't be scared of the leap.  You can have all the support and encouragement in the world (which you should!!), but YOU have to take the leap of faith into your own new adventure.  We all are pushed and forced into life's twists and turns enough the way it is. 

My new adventure was born out of getting laid off.  Not exactly something I wanna celebrate.  But God had a plan through all of that and He chose to share it with me.

Now, I live in Colorado.  And am loving it.    :)

And the adventure has just begun.....

Yes, I live here.

Today was the day.

Today I woke up and fully realized that...I live in Colorado.  For the first time.  My new adventure is now my new reality.  I love it.  I love making new friends and exploring new places. People are really great about inviting you to do stuff here. I saw the movie The Vow with some new friends this weekend...so good.  Made me in a super lovey-dovey-sappy-girly mood after though.  Weird how movies do that.  And on Monday I hung out with my friend from college who lives here and had fun watching The Bachelor and Gossip Girl (don't judge me) with her. I am blessed to have her here and be able to catch up again! And yesterday for Valentines Day I went with another new girl friend to watch one of my high school classmates play ECHL hockey! It ended up being a really fun game to watch and it was fun to get to know her a little more.   We laughed a lot.  And I needed that :)

I stood in the wrong line at the DMV the other day (getting my CO license!) for 20 minutes.  Whoops.  Guess I should have paid less attention to the world's strangest couple (seriously) and more attention to the sign that specified which line was for what. Also, I had an identity crisis.  When filling out the info for the license, the lady looks at me and goes, "Blonde hair, green eyes?" Um....no, brown hair, brown eyes.  We compromised on hazel eyes.  But really, I think the water here is making my hair lighter.  Or maybe it was because 90% of the people in the DMV that day were Hispanic or African American. Or maybe she saw me wait in the wrong line and just assumed.....
Either way, don't worry, I'm legally still a brunette.  

Yes, I love all the new little adventures.  But at the same time, of course I miss the familiar.  I miss being able to call up my best friend that knows everything about me and ask last minute if she wants to go shopping or just hang out and talk about everything and nothing at the same time.  I miss coming home to my roomie where anything we do, whether its sitting on the couch watching t.v., or trying out experiments for her youth group and laughing so hard we can't breathe....we always have fun and just enjoy each other's company. I miss all my other friends that all have other unique things that I love and miss about them. I miss the lakes of Minnesota.  I miss my church.  I miss the familiar.

All of these emotions were hitting me on the drive to work this morning.

But then...when I thought today was going to be a struggle to get through....I honestly had one of the best days yet at my new job.  Nothing super significant happened, it was actually pretty uneventful. But through various small things I was completely affirmed that this is exactly where I am supposed to be right now. I love that.  I honestly don't know how people who don't have faith can get through big life changes.

Although she probably didn't realize it, last week my friend Emily came to visit at such a perfect time.  I've been here long enough to be able to know some cool places to show her, but all of this realization of being so far from home was starting to really hit me.  It was nice to have some familiarity come to my new reality and showing her how beautiful this state is made me proud to call this my new home.

We actually did a lot in the few days she was here.  From checking out some of the touristy mountain towns to going to a Gopher/Pioneer hockey game and temporarily kidnapping someone (True story...).

   Emily in Loveland. Look a lake!

 

On the road to Estes Park.

We're not in Minnesota anymore!! Garden of the gods in Colorado Springs.

Hey Emily, thanks for coming and letting me have an excuse to pretend like I was on vacation, too!

In other news...this weekend my parents are coming to....*drumroll please...* HELP ME BUY A NEW CAR!!! Well, a new SUV to be exact.  I'm pumped.  However I'm freaked out about having a car payment...and actually sad to part with my little silver Grand Am.  I will never forget the past 9 years we spent together.  It's not you...well, actually yes it is you.

 I bought a vacuum last week.  That was big news in the...Kirsten & Quincy household.  He still loves Colorado too, by the way.  He runs on his little wheel like there is no tomorrow.  He's training with me for the half marathon this spring too.  Ok, not really but at this point I bet he could beat me.  I gotta get back in the training mode here pretty soon.  Official training starts the end of this month, bah! That's a good thing, though.  My snack stash at work is getting the best of me lately. It really is an impressive array of snacks though, I must admit. 

Anyway, that's all for now.  But I'll leave you with this.  There is a little card sitting on our break room table at work with a picture of a little girl from a Latin American country with a huge smile on her face, with this verse written below it: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer".  That verse has really reminded me these past few weeks on the simple yet profound way to get through both the ups and downs of life.

Joyful in hope.  Patient in affliction.  Faithful in prayer.

Amen.

What I moved here for...

Today I had the option to have the day off.  I seriously considered going in to work anyway, because I could use the extra money.  But...then I remembered that I didn't move to Colorado to work overtime :) So, I decided to do one of the things that I DID move here for.  Hiking in the Mountains.

I had some errands to do first, however.  I paid some bills. I stood in line at the Post Office for 40 minutes.  But I didn't mind the wait too much because I got to practice striking up conversations with strangers.  Yes, I intentionally practice that.  And...I bought pepper spray.  I feel weird saying that, but I guess its not a bad thing to have when living in a city. I already tested it out just to make sure I knew how to use it.  The spray is actually red.  Who knew?

Then, the moment I had been waiting for, I put "Boulder, CO" into my GPS.  Roooaaadtrip! Not really, because its only about 50 mins from my apartment, but I was still excited.  When I got there, I was just giddy.  Mountains were beautiful and the town just seemed...fun.  I had an emotional moment over wanting sooo badly to live in one of the smaller towns closer to the mountains like Fort Collins or Boulder, instead of the big, bustling, not-so-scenic, smog-filled city of Denver (Love ya, Denver...but I'll always be more of a small-town girl, don't take it personally).  But I took a deep breath and got over it.  Then I ate Bacon-Mac-and Cheese from Noodles & CO. 

After finding the trailhead parking lot....I deeply regretted not using the bathroom at Noodles.  Now, I've used many port-a-potties in my day, but this one.....takes the cake for being the absolute worst.  My eyes literally were watering.  It didn't kill me, but instead of getting stronger, I felt like I was gunna faint.  It was a growing up moment.  

View from parking lot.  Right away the trail heads right up to the top of that peak.

Time to hike! 

The trail was called Mt Sanitas.  It was a pretty easy hike, and although it was one big loop, the terrain was super different as you went.  The first part was my favorite...it looked like this:

This is at the top of the peak in the previous picture.

There was a narrow visible trail to follow, but....I was standing on it.  This is what was alongside of me. (Kind of dull pics, just had my camera phone this time.)  I tried doing some climbing off the trail...but I quickly realized how badly I need to invest in some hiking shoes/boots.  My Asics are great for running...not so much for climbing.

The second part of the trail was the most boring.  It looked like this: 

Still pretty? Yes.  But I saw many-a grandma on this part of the trail.

 Then here was the third part of the trail...still very easy, but a little more interesting. You at least had a rock or two to jump over. 

 Hi, mom!

 

 While hiking, I had alot of time to think.  I brought my ipod, but decided not to use it.  None of my thoughts were earth shattering, mostly just reflecting on my journey to live in Colorado in the first place.  Now that I'm here, what am I going to make of it?  Alongside thinking, I did a lot of praying/praising as well.  It's hard not to when you're surrounded by this kind of scenery!! 

I usually have a pretty good picture of what lies ahead of me in my immediate future.  But after my big move, I kinda feel like now I'm just coasting through the day-to-day life.  I like my job and feel so blessed to still be working for World Vision (if you missed it, you can read that story here). But I still sort of feel like I'm on auto-pilot.  Hard to explain I guess.  Once I start getting more involved in church and making more friends, I think I'll be in a better place.  I just have the deep down feeling that this season of life is more of just a stepping stone.  But I guess that's kinda how every season is...I just am more conscious of it this time.  

 

Anyway, back to the hike...one of my biggest realizations was how much more energized I felt after being up there.  When it comes to how I feel most connected to God, it is definitely by being in nature.  Even in Minneapolis, when I needed to recharge I would either go running on a trail through the woods, or sit by a lake.  It just centers me somehow.  So in regards to all that, I guess Colorado is a great place for me to live :)

Downtown Denver on a Sunday Afternoon

I still haven't fully realized that my move to Colorado is for real.  I'm still in that stage where I think of it as an extended vacation. Which I guess I don't have a problem with yet :) I had an awesome week of meeting new people.  On Tuesday I went to a Wild/Avalanche hockey game with some coworkers which was a blast.  I also was invited to one of my new coworkers' house on Wednesday for an American Idol-watching party with some of her friends!  So, after that I was content to be a bit of a loner this weekend.  I really thank God for that characteristic of being okay doing things by myself when needed. It makes moving to a new city much more bearable! That, as well as the "good sense of directions" I am lucky to have. Especially when my GPS decides not to be helpful. So, on Saturday I went to the Mammoth Lacrosse game at the Pepsi center.  Of course I would have MUCH rather gone with other people, but I was content.  Also, it meant that no one would judge me when I finished my whole bag of mini donuts before I even got back to my seat (true story).

Then on Sunday after church I headed downtown, camera in hand, and played tourist in my new city :)
It was eerily empty, but there was also something intriguing to me about walking around an empty downtown. Anyway, welcome to downtown Denver!

.

Robo Mike. He saw me taking pictures, so he posed for me :P

Some new friends

Downtown Denver has some amazing church buildings!!