a long obsession: story in pictures

Showing posts with label story in pictures. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

29 and counting.

...end of an era! or at least a decade

everyone seems to think that turning 30 is a big deal. i mean, i can't lie, it's not like you turn a multiple of ten every day. or year (really only every ten years, to be precise). so in that sense, in having a zero at the end of my age, i mean i suppose it really is a big deal.

or not.

here's how i look at it: i am where i am in life- i can't help that much. and guess what? i pretty much love my life!! and whatever i've been doing over the past thirty (whoa) years- mistakes, triumphs, falls and leaps- has somehow been working. so, i'm going to continue doing it just like i have been, and know He's not finished with me yet.

and in the meantime, if that didn't convince you that birthdays are awesome, even if you are turning the dreaded 3-0 (or any other number that means your a year older than you were last year), here are thirty reasons i am excited for the coming year!

30. birthdays mean cake. and i love me some cake.

29. birthdays also mean parties, and while i don't care about parties as much, i love having my friends in one place!

28. the mayan calendar ends this year. what's going to happen on 12.12.12 (my mom's birthday)?! i'm excited to be here to find out.

27. if you add up 6+9+12, you get 27, which is my wedding date. i'm getting MARRIED!

26. my bestie courtney is coming out to visit, her first time to colorado. i can't wait to play with her!

25. bachelorette parties galore! ash and michelle are going from single to married, and i get to celebrate with them both!

24. i have my first ever four pass for skiing

23. i also have my very own SKIS. i'm gonna tear.it.up! winter park, watch out...

22. my private practice will turn a year old in september. i have high hopes for business, and hope it'll be booming by the anniversary!

21. dear enchellada is getting married on 7.2.12, which is 21 if you add it up! hooray to the lackore day of matrimony!

20. i'm on pinterest. i'm sure this is something to be excited about...

19. my future sister in law is having baby girl #3 in april... i can't wait! so many others i know are planning on starting or expanding their families: new babies are SO fun! even my cousin is expecting!

18. i will

17. he and i have talked about visiting my dad in connecticut. i've never been there, so a visit sounds good

16. so many firsts as a mrs. and a guilford. 2012 will be my last six months as a jensen, and my first six months as a guilford.

15. no one will get to ask me how i feel about turning 30, ever again. and my age is divisible by 15, 10, and 5.

14. i'm going to be a grown up: moving out of my first purchased home and turning it into a rental property. woot woot. and then moving into a NEW house (nwe to me, at least!)

13. summer is an inevitable part of 2012, and summer means concerts. i'm gonna guess we'll go to 13 live shows in 2012.

12. the nuggets are back, and better than ever. i can't wait to support them this spring!

11. my dear sister is getting married on the 11th day of august of this year. i cannot wait to be her matron of honor and celebrate her first day of the rest of her life with bgrace! EEEE!!!

10. so many fun DIY projects for a wedding- an excuse to be crafty the whole first six months of the year!

9. if you add up our wedding date, 6+9+12, you get 27. and if you add 2+7, you get 9. and 9 is the day we're getting married. just further proof that this day will be awesome!

8. a wedding dress is a great reason to get in shape. i'd like to be in the best shape of my life at age 30.

7. i turn seven years sober in march. God willing!

6. i think i may get a new car! i'm going to push for seat heaters and a moon roof!

5. i'm hoping to get all my LPC hours in, and get the LPC after my name, so i be officially licensed. and apply as a therapist at kaiser!

4. maybe i'll run marathon #4

3. i have three pretty good resolutions i am excited to work towards

2. we're planning a fun, adventurous, beachy and LONG honeymoon- i love vacations!

and...

1. did i mention i get to marry the love of my life and my best friend the SAME year i turn 30? i have a feeling it's gonna be a great, great year!

then

now!

Monday, December 19, 2011

sepia day

...it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

last year the holiday spirit eluded me throughout the whole month of december. i remember coming home from my mom's house on christmas day and taking down all my decorations before the night was close to over; i wasn't bah-humbug as much as i was just indifferent, possibly even just 'over' the whole thing.

this year, though, is a different story. i've been listening to christmas music, the weather is cold and snowy, and my living room is just bursting at the seams with gifts and tags and half made crafts. i am LOVING it! today i got to deliver meals on wheels to my favorite old folks at windsor gardens, in the cold and snowy weather. it was fabulous, little phyllis invited me in to meet her grandkids, show me their christmas tree cookie project, and offer me gingerbread. how great is that?! and i spent sunday morning at christmas brunch with his family, and sat and sun doing shopping and wrapping galore. it was a very merry christmasy weekend, and i am so grateful for it- especially since this year is tough for everyone i know, and. i was expecting it to be a sort of grinchy christmas.

i am beyond excited that everyone is in the christmas mood, including me! i just love, love, love christmas time- the holiday parties, treats, shopping is all so great, and merry and festive and loving- (i really wonder why can't we be this nice and giving every month...) but i really love the true meaning of christmas: every year the advent season at church, and in my own heart, just leaves me breathless, thinking of all the amazing things my God has done for me and my loved ones, and everyone else. what a beautiful gift we have at our fingertips.

here are a few pics that capture the warm and fuzzy feelings i've been having as of late...

the 'reindeer training camp' outside a building at windsor gardens. so clever!

a tea light decoration at a dear friends house- how crafty!

a blur of lights. it's indistinguishable but lovely!

Friday, December 16, 2011

furry friends.

reason #8324 that i am meant to be with my favorite person, him.

once upon a time, i was a little, stubborn girl. i wanted to be pretty and have french braided hair, but my head was super tender and i had more hair than anyone knew what to do with, so i never brushed it. and i never let my mom brush it (cause i was stubborn). and it grew into a tangled, crazy mess. we tried to perm it for ease (you're never supposed to brush a perm. at least in the 80s). that didn't work, cause i got matted hair underneath that we had to cut out. we tried to grow it out. that didn't work- it continued to tangle up. we tried to cut it short, but that didn't work, cause it was so thick, it grew out like a triangle- straight out from the top of the crown of my head. eventually, i think my poor mom just gave up, and let me have my way. and the yeti (my untameable hair) was born.

about the same time, there was a boy growing up a few miles away from me. his friends called him gilly (a play on his last name), and as gilly grew up, he realized he has really hairy arms. and then one day, this boy realized that the military uses these camo suits made out of long ropes and cords that look like dreadlocked hair, and they are called (amazingly), ghillie suits. so gilly the ghillie was born.

fast forward about twenty years, and the real live ghillie meets the real live yeti. and they fall in love and decide to get married.

the end.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

the most magical place on earth

...hawaii

jeep view in hawaii

a few months ago, i was in hawaii with the love of my life. to put it bluntly, it was the best time i've ever had, ever. looking back on the time now, it almost feels like hawaii time was magical. i don't know if it was because we were so far away from the world; because i didn't bring my phone hardly anywhere; because it was warm and tropical; because we got to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted; or because that was where we get engaged. i don't think any of those encompass why my longing for hawaii is so strong, but have come to realize that there is a seriously magical feeling i have deep in the pit of my soul when i think of our time in hawaii.

and i sometimes... well, i want to go back.

like, today for example: this morning getting ready for the day in the cold, trying to balance my work day with my dog's needs with my gym time, i got overwhelmed. i want hawaii.

like, yesterday. when my friend shared some pretty serious, life-changing news, i wanted hawaii- not just for me, but for her.

like monday, when i felt sad, teary and a little depressed. i wanted hawaii.

the good news is two-fold: one (and the best part): i still have the best part of hawaii with me- him! even when it's been a long day and i can't retire to a canopy bed to listen to hawaiian frogs and watch the sunset, i can still cuddle up close with my best friend and talk to him about what's great, what's not great, and everything in between.

good news #2: i still have peelie. he sits in my car, right on the dashboard, and gives me some shaka love and hula hips every time i go over a bump or turn a corner. it seems silly, but every time i look at him, he helps remind that my longing for hawaii is legit, and that we actually did go there, and we actually did have as good of a time as i remember.

so thanks to him, and thanks to peelie, i can still remain calm throughout this crazy holiday season....

mele kalikimaka!!