The thing about Denver...

The thing about Denver is...it definitely has its own culture that isn't too hard to quickly pick up on. And being a natural overanalyzer and also having my degree in Sociocultural Studies...I think it's super interesting.

It's basically like freshman year of college all over again.  Except instead of 18 year olds fresh out of their hometowns....it's 20somethings that graduated college a few years ago and recently left their home states. Most of the people I've met either just got their first "real" job here which is why they moved....or they moved here just to try something new and had to just find any job right away to pay the rent.

And buy ski passes.

But really, it's such a young city...any restaurant/bar you go to is full of people under the age of 30.  And I've maybe seen one nursing home.  Maybe.  I'm not sure if it's a nursing home or an apartment with lots of wheelchair ramps and a sunshiny/dignity-giving sounding name.

Everyone is willing to befriend new people pretty quickly.  The first thing my friend Alex told me when I got here...is not to ever be hesitant about inviting myself to things.  People don't look at it the same way as in the midwest.  It's not annoying, it's welcomed because everyone is wanting to get to know more people and make new friends here.

No one is originally from here.  Well...at least it doesn't seem like it.  If you're a Colorado native....you're super rare.  Honestly, I've maybe only met 2 or 3 people so far that grew up here.  And they have bumper stickers that say so.

Freedom is highly valued.  Not the typical "I'm an American, hear me roar" kind of freedom...but the "I just moved away from everyone and everything I know, so don't hold me back, I'm going to climb every 14er, meet lots of people, and enjoy every second of this stage of life" type of freedom.  You don't find too many people in dating relationships.  And of course it goes without saying that everyone is super outdoorsy and adventurous.  And healthy.  And outdoorsy. And drives a Subaru or a Jeep.  Um...and outdoorsy.

Skiing/Snowboarding/Camping/MountainBiking/Hiking/Climbing/TrailRunning.  If you live in Colorado and don't do any of that...why are you even here?  Girls that wear plaid downtown get hit on more than girls who wear skirts.  Okay maybe that's not entirely true...well...yeah it kind of is.

Well, I'll stop there, because I've only lived here for 8 months and I don't want to get too stereotypical.  But I think most people that live here can agree with most of that.  If I'm wrong, well, I'll buy you a Clif bar.


Okay, unrelated to the main point of this post...but I went to Washington again this weekend.  Of course I had an amazing time and it gets harder and harder to come back to Colorado each time (which is saying something, because Colorado is awesome).   I got a motorcycle ride, got to watch boyfriend play in his softball tournament, hang out with a bunch of his friends, meet his three grandmas, learn how to wakeboard and go tubing while out on sunny Lake Washington for 6 hours!! So much fun.

I love Instagram...but really I'm not super into the faded and old fashioned picture look.  It's sort of pointless to me.  It's like moving backwards in photography.

So here's a few of my favorite (anti-Instagram) pictures from the day on the lake:

 

I have something to confess...

I'm curious what you expect to read with that kind of a title.  Sorry to disappoint, but it's not going to be anything gossip-worthy.  I mean...I know not many people read these posts, but there are crazies out there, come on now.

But I do have some things to confess.  Confession is good for the soul.  And these things have really been weighing on me today.  Especially the cookie one....

Confession #1: Pigeon Peril. 

I am an animal lover, really I am.  But....pigeons.
Really?!
They're harmless, yes.  But they have to be the most annoying creatures, ever.

They always say to get to know your neighbors...and I avoid all my male neighbors just...because. But there's a young mom that lives below and across from me and I've made small talk with her a little bit, BUT then one day she told me to be nice to the pigeons.

Be nice to the pigeons?!

All I was doing was shooing them off my bike that I store on my porch, because EVERY time I go for a ride I need to wipe off pigeon poop first.

And I just don't like pigeon poop.

So I stopped shooing them.  Because I was more afraid of her getting mad at me than I was of pigeon poop.  But now the pigeons have started hanging out on my skylight.  All. The. Time.  And they keep pecking at it.  And they won't stop.  Ever.  They went for probably 4 hours the other day.  And if they're not pecking it, they're walking across it anditsjustsoannoyingggg.

They just stand up there.  Pecking.  And taunting me.  I threw a quarter at the window this morning to try to scare them off...and it got stuck on the ledge.

So then I was even more mad.

Because quarters are precious commodities when you live in an apartment where you need quarters to do laundry.

Shoo, pigeons. Seriously.  And take your poop with you.

Confession #2: I've been Slacking.

Most people that know me, know that I love running.   I ran my second half marathon this last May, but since then have probably only ran like 3 or 4 times.  And never more than 3 miles at a time.  No excuses, but it was a combination of Denver's crazy hot weather...and my pure laziness.

But now I'm back in the game.  Well, as of yesterday.

I ran 5 miles last night and saw 7 deer.  I live in Aurora, a first ring suburb of Denver.  Why were there 7 deer hanging out so close to downtown? To tell me, "Good job!" and that it's about time I get my butt back in shape. Obviously.

First deer of the run.  She was nice. 

So today I was still inspired by my deer friends and ran 4 during my lunch break.  No deer this time, though.  But I did almost get run over by a guy on a bike who was fixated on his iphone.  So that was fun. 

Confession #3: Work Woes. 

Today we got in an awesome donation that was palletized not-so-awesomely.  So my job was to re-palletize the boxes.  The boxes were stacked like 8 feet high.  I'm only 5'10. And the boxes weighed between 45-95 lbs.  So needless to say I was struggling.  And complaining.  Mostly in my head...but also in a text to my boyfriend.  

Yes, I smiled for the picture. 

But, I have awesome coworkers who helped me and an amazing boyfriend who reminded me how important this job really is, because although this is hard work....it's part of the process for getting these brand new, donated clothing items to women around the world who really need them.  

Hard to complain when you work for a non-profit organization that is doing amazing things, right? 

Right.  

Confession #4: I'm a Selfish Cookie Eater. 

Last but not least, I must confess that I....in fact....took the last cookie in the breakroom at work today. 

And I'm sorry.  I just finished my run and I was sick of stacking boxes and it was just sitting there and...and....

Well....

I blame the pigeons.  

Cutting up Cantelope.

I usually write a post after something exciting happens.

Today, I'm not.

Today I came home from work and the highlight of the evening was cutting up a cantelope.

....Cutting up a cantelope....

Whoo. Hoo.

And I learned I'm horrible at it.  (But really, is there an actual technique to this? I almost Googled it.) But I will say I did get better, because the last few pieces I actually saved more than threw away.  So I could say I learned a new skill.

Puttin that one on the resume.

Usually I'd have small group Bible study tonight..but we're in between summer and fall sessions.

I wish I at least had a roommate.  Well, another one minus the spikes. (love you, Quincy)

But yanno what? I kind of like my nights with nothing planned.  I value occasionally being bored.  In moderation of course...but people run around too much.  They're committed to 50 different things a week and never have time to just sit and be bored.  I also think it's hard for God to speak to us when we're constantly running around being distracted.  Of course He is known for grabbing our attention no matter what is going on around us, but I often find myself asking Him where He's leading me in a certain part of life....then I rush off to my soccer game.  "g2g, God, ttyl!" Okay, now what field are we playing on? I hope I packed my shinguards...

Waaaayyy too distracted.

But tonight, my apartment is clean, my hedgie is sleeping, I don't have cable, so tonight--I'll just be bored.  And blog about it.  Because someday I'll probably have kids running around, dishes that need to be done, clothes that need to be washed, meetings I need to get to...and I'll wish I could just sit and do nothing and not feel guilty about it.

Don't get me wrong, you need to be involved in stuff and be social and all of that.  We're made to be relational.

And don't be lazy.  No one likes that.

But I think constantly being busy can be bad.

So just like mint Oreos, crazy family members, guacamole from Chipotle, and time spent with that-friend-that-you-love-but-can-only-take-so-much-of....everything is best and healthy (yes, Oreos can be healthy, because I say so)...in moderation.

Cliche #92: "Everything in moderation!" 

Because life isn't always about running to the next social event or about planning your next trip or even about climbing big mountains.

Sometimes, it's about cutting up cantelope.

Always cross the ocean.

Have you ever noticed that shopping malls have been McDonaldinized? I suppose they always have been.  But I had always just gone to the same few in MN so never really noticed it.
But really..

All malls are prettttty similar no matter what part of the country you're in.

You always have the Starbucks in the middle somewhere, a play area for kids, a Macy's on the corner, a food court, usually a movie theater attached, a bunch of escalators, a Claire's, and don't forget about that lovely bombardment of Abercrombie cologne that takes over the whole corridor near the store...and therefore always reminds you of that boy you dated in high school.

Well today I went shopping for a very specific item.  A dark purple dress that was nice enough to be a bridesmaid's dress.  Because that's what it will be.  I shopped for about 2 hours...and left empty-handed. I'm trying not to procrastinate on this one..but one sales associate told me, "Oh, but don't worry!!! Dark purple will be coming with the fall collection!!!" First of all, thank you for that heads up, sales lady! Second of all, you might want to chill on the caffeine, although I know that Starbucks is right outside your store. But okay. I guess I will wait for....the fall collection.

 But one thing I did realize today was that for me, going to a mall can either cure or cause a little homesickness.  Now, homesickness is not the right word...its more like, "I-miss-my-friends-and-the-familiar-things-I-was-used-to-and-all-the-memories-I-had-there."

That has gotten a TON better lately, but when I first moved here, going to a mall cured that a bit...because it felt like I WAS back at a familiar mall for a few hours.  But today I went to the mall being perfectly content...and left with a little longing for home again.

Sorry, that made me sound so depressed and dramatic.  I promise, I'm not.  It was just an interesting little observation, that of which has no significance to you whatsoever, I suppose.

Also, I DO get to go back to MN for ten days in September! To be in two weddings on back-to-back weekends (I love how that worked out).  And I'm crossing my fingers and praying REALLY hard that it works out for Josh to come with, too! (I wonder if God reads my blog? Just in case...please, please, please!!)

I figure if Josh can put up with me for a 15 hour car ride there, 10 days with me, my family and friends, including two weddings, and after all that....NOT buy a plane ticket outta there asap, and instead endure another 15 hours in the car with me back to CO......then he wins.  What does he win? I don't know.
Well, me, I guess.

Speaking of the boyfriend, he came here mid-July. We drove around the Rocky Mountain National park, played some mini-golf, went to church, watched a few movies, brought him to work with me, and ate way too many Sonic Slushies. It was perfect. *Sap, sap, sap*

The next weekend I climbed my first 14er (14,000 ft mtn).  It was pretty incredible. I met quite a few new people, as there were 23 of us that went.  I went through 3 bottles of water, 2 bandaids, 2 Cliff bars, and a peanut butter sandwich.  And I was sore for 3 full days.

  

THEN...a week later Josh had a great, last minute idea and that weekend I flew to to WA!

Spontaneity? Yes please.

His dad is the youth pastor at their church and the high schoolers had been camping at a lake all week, so I flew in and we joined them for the weekend! My parents were also driving from Spearfish, SD to my aunt's house in Oregon....so miracle of all miracles happened, and all 6 of us (Josh, his parents, me, my parents) were in the same state.  So...we of course had to meet for dinner (Red Robin! Yum!)--where Josh got to meet my parents for the first time, and our parents also got to meet! The dinner was full of lively conversations ...and my favorite sweet potato fries.

So now its Sunday night, and I'm sitting at home eating a bowl full of grapes.  Oh, exciting news..some of you know I don't have cable--not even the local fuzzy stations...well, I bought seasons of Modern Family and How I Met Your Mother on Amazon!  So now I can pretend I have tv! And actually sit on my couch! Because I never do! Because the WiFi I steal from my neighbor doesn't reach over there! So that's exciting.  Actually, its not really that exciting.  But when you put exclamation points at the end of your sentences, it seems more exciting.

Alright, I'm done now.

I'll leave you with my new favorite quote, that perfectly describes how I felt when I made the move to Colorado, and can be applied to almost any situation that causes you to go out of your comfort zone: "You can never cross the Ocean unless you have the Courage to lose sight of the Shore."

When you have the chance, always cross the ocean!!

It was just three miles down the road...

By now, everyone has heard about the Century 16 movie theater shooting here in Aurora.  Tragedies in this intense media/social networking age have a strange affect on people.

The shooting happened just 3 miles from my apartment, at the theater I always go to and brag about to people because even new release movies on a Friday or Saturday night are only $6.50.  I've seen probably 7 or 8 movies there already in the 7 months I've lived here.

And although it hit super close to home right away because of the physical proximity, my familiarity with the theater, and the multiple texts and Facebook posts I got on Friday making sure I was okay...

I still wasn't at all directly affected.

My heart and thoughts do go out to those who WERE directly affected.  I think of the 6 year old who was shot and died, and her mother who was shot and is still desperately clinging to life. The doctors have not yet told her that her daughter did not survive.  I think about the dad in that family who walked into the theater that Thursday night to have a fun family night....and walked out without a daughter and with a wife in critical condition.

Life is so short.

I understand all of that intellectually, and my heart goes out to those families.

But I still wasn't directly affected.

I'm not a very emotional person to begin with, therefore I have a hard time really feeling the pain and mourning with the victims and their families.  I don't know them.  I can't put faces to the names.  I guess this is probably a normal reaction for most of the world as we watch tragedies on the news that happen every day all around the world.

However, today that changed just a bit for me.  I still don't know any of the victims....but I went to a new church today that did.

I decided to try the church across the street from my apartment.  I've tried multiple different churches since I moved here, but have not once gone to the one across the street.

Today I did.  First impressions: It was a large church, but not a mega church.  It was very multicultural. There was a very somber feeling when you walked in.  Three miles away from the shooting.

Of the 12 victims that were shot and killed, one of them attended this church.  They showed his picture up on the screen.  A middle aged white man that could look just like any one of my uncles or dad's friends.  The pastor shares he attended this church regularly with his teenage daughters.  You can hear people all around gasping and some begin to outwardly weep.

A face and a name.

The extended family of the 6 year old and her mother who were shot met with the pastor last night at the church after the Saturday evening service.

It's hitting a little closer to home.

The pastor then asks for a show of hands who was in that theater that night, or directly knows someone who was shot.  Four hands around me go up.  Hands are laid on them as the congregation prays over them.

This is not "my" church.  This is not "my" community.  But it is to everyone sitting around me.  Everyone I just shook hands with.

But I do live here now.  I have only lived here for 7 months.  But what if I had grown up here? What if this had happened in my home town?

It is a normal human reaction to not feel as affected when tragedies strike people you don't know.  Because tragedies happen all the time.

But today I was challenged to not just feel emotions or pray for victims only when the media is telling me to.

Because they are people just like you and me.  And they will be hurting long after the media has forgotten them.

We also have to remember just how short life is.  Live it to the fullest.  People always say that and a lot of times people take that as an excuse to be irresponsible, selfish and just go party like crazy.

No.  Live it to the fullest.

This also means to Love people to the fullest.
Random acts of kindness go a long way.  Who knows what kind of personal tragedy that person may be recovering from.  Everyone needs a little more encouragement and kindness in their life.

Spend time with and enjoy the people you love.  This is one thing you will never regret doing when it's your time to leave this earth.  We are created to be in relationship with others.

Your time on earth is not just to make 'you' happy.  This often goes against everything we hear in American culture today.  It's about serving and encouraging others even when we might not get any reward or recognition for doing so.

I know these are all cliches we hear all the time.  They're on every bumper sticker, every Facebook photo that 10,000 people 'like' and flood our news feeds.

But challenge yourself to take one cliche...and live it out.  They're repeated for a reason.  People want them to be true.  They want these things to be a real thing in their life.  So make it true.  It usually takes effort and intentionality...it's not always a natural thing for us to do.

Also, don't be scared of going to movies or going on new adventures.  Don't let tragedies take away the joy you might find in new experiences that are only found outside of your comfort zone.

Most of all: Don't live in fear. Then those who cause the tragedies win.  But love on people.  Because you never know, you might be loving on just the right person and preventing another senseless tragedy from happening.

My life in numbers.

26.  The number of minutes it took me to finally load this page.  What is the appropriate time to wait before throwing a fit that the internet you're stealing from your neighbor isn't working?   Because I probably threw one long before that.

I was always good at math, but I never liked it.  Numbers bore me.  I just don't pay attention to them.  I'm horrible at birthdays, I wouldn't even remember my own if Facebook didn't tell me, and I'm horrible at memorizing phone numbers.  I have nightmares about locking my phone in the car and not being able to get a hold of anyone. Okay thats a lie, I have nightmares about much weirder things.  But really, I have two numbers that I intentionally memorized, and that is my mom's and my boyfriend's.  Neither of which live in Colorado, so I'm still screwed if I lose my phone.

But I've decided to woman up and embrace numbers...but just for tonight..  And blog about my life lately with them.  Hey numbers, I'm sorry, I'll give you this one chance.  But I make the rules here, and I'm not putting them in any order...and I might repeat some.  I'm not apologizing.

3.  The number of times I've repeated a certain Carly Rae Jepsen song tonight.  Don't judge me.  Three isn't even that many. You know that when it comes on the radio in your car and you're alone you turn it up a few notches.  You don't? Well then you don't have a soul.  Or you just have good taste in music....unlike me. My music taste is very unsophisticated.  Call Me Maybe?

5.  The number of Mint Oreos I've eaten in the last 10 minutes.  I'LL RUN TOMORROW, I PROMISE.


2. The number of firework shows I've gone to this week...neither of which was actually on the 4th of July.  I feel like that's what a hipster would do.  I swear I'm not a hipster.  Uh oh.  That's what a hipster would say.  I'M NOT, I PROMISE!! I ATE A CHEESEBURGER YESTERDAY!!!

Yes, I realize I'm doing lots of promising in capital letters tonight.  Remember what I said about judging me? 

6. The number of months I've lived in Colorado, by myself, without cable.  I hate living alone--I miss my roomie.  I actually love not having cable--except I miss the Kardashians. 

12.  The number of months I haven't straightened my hair with a straightener. 

Fact: I have natural wavy hair...but its only the bottom layer.  So that's awkward.  

2. The number of months I've been officially dating my boyfriend as of yesterday.  How did we celebrate? We Skyped.  For almost 3 hours.  And perfected the Skype-high-five.  Be jealous.



Story time: So, the day he officially asked me to be his girlfriend, he brought home these beautiful hanging flowers that I LOVED.



Then I killed them.



I wouldn't have blamed him for breaking up with me.  But he didn't. What a guy, right??

7.  The number of days until above-mentioned boyfriend comes back to Denver to visit me.

2349862394809798697584913.  The number of days it FEELS like until above-mentioned boyfriend comes back to Denver to visit me.

10.  The number of miles I rode my bike on Wednesday.

52.  The number of times I was reminded yesterday and today that I should maybe buy a new bike seat.

15.  The number of glow in the dark bracelets that come in a pack from the dollar section at Target.  Why did I buy these? Because HELLO!!! You get 15 glow in the dark bracelets for only a dollar!!!!

Alright.  I'm sick of numbers.  Happy Friday :)

Oh, Hey Washington!

I realized last night that in the past 3 months I've been in 9 different states. (MA,NH,MN,ND,SD,WY,OR,WA,CO)

So, I mean, that's sweet. 

My life feels a bit A.D.D lately.  Runnin this way and that way, visiting these people, those people coming to visit me....

I only wish my life could always be like this!

I guess it would get exhausting after awhile, but I'm enjoying the ride while I can :) 

Last weekend I got to go to Washington to visit my boyfriend, Josh.  Best. Weekend. Ever.  I'm warning you now, I'll try to keep it to a minimum, but there might be a bit of eye-roll-inducing sappiness ahead.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  

I'm a lucky girl :) 

But really, I couldn't have imagined the weekend going any better! So fun to hang out with him in his hometown and meet a bunch of his 'people'.  Met his parents, grandma, a bunch of friends, his Godkids (that made me super cute crafts...) people from his church, etc. etc. etc.  Got to see where he plays softball, where he works, where he plays pool, where he rides his motorcycle, where he....well, where he lives.  You get it. 

P.s. I got a ride on his motorcycle! Never been on a sport bike before.  Not a Harley, but...it was still fun :)

Crafts from his Godkids :) 

On Saturday we drove to Oregon to visit my grandma, (who had a stroke last year and isn't doing very well) my aunt, and 3 cousins.  SOOO good and fun to see them!! We watched my 16 yr old cousin play some basketball, then we went to their house for awhile where my grandma was.  I got to talk to her a little, definitely hard to see her like that--not the same grandma at all.  But she recognized me by name and I got an "I love you, Kirsten" when I left.  Tears? Yep.  

And when we were giving them goodbye hugs my aunt told me she approved of Josh :) She got to meet him before my parents even have!! So far, so good ;)

After he picked me up from the airport we ate at a Mexican restaurant and had fried ice cream!

Don't worry, he shared :P

The night we got back from Oregon we met up with my best friend from MN, Danielle! She's been in Seattle for training before she moves to Alaska for 6 months and then HAWAII!!! Fun to see her, even if just for a couple hours!!!

Was super weird for me to be with the two of them at the same time though...my worlds were colliding.  Life is weird.  But great.  In a weirdly great way.  

But it really was an awesome weekend.  And it was brutally, depressingly hard to come back to Colorado again. (Who thought I'd ever say that??)  But they have GREEN TREES, and LAKES and MOUNTAINS in Washington! Colorado has 100+ degrees days for weeks on end, and lots of brown scenery and hardly any lakes.....but I guess we have mountains and lots of sunshine.  And I do love mountains.  And sunshine. It's okay, Colorado, I still love you, but I'm sorry if you and I end up being more of just a fling. 

Snoqualmie falls.  We got soaked.

I feel like we spent half the weekend driving around in his car.  Good thing he has a nice car ;)

Long distance relationships...wouldn't recommend them.  But he makes it worth it. [Aaaand, there's the sap :)]

Anyway, there are some interesting potential career happenings for both of us on the horizon...so we will see where the Lord leads!

This season of life is interesting.  I feel like I'm running at 100mph, but like I'm also having to be super patient.  I honestly don't know how people who aren't Christians get through life.  I'd be a wreck if I didn't have faith that God's got it all planned out.  I'm not good at not knowing what's coming next, but I do know that He is always faithful and has perfect timing!  

Life is truly an adventure and I'm loving every minute of it :)