a life update

Well, hi! It’s been a while, no? Um, like, months. Which is kind of pathetic, but life is what it is, and I swear I haven’t forgotten – really, I haven’t forgotten to blog at all – I’ve just kept on waiting for the perfect moment to write something, which isn’t a very good recipe for “regular blogging.” The perfect moments haven’t quite shown their faces, and the almost-perfect-moments could have been perfect if they hadn’t occurred multiple times late at night where I ended up choosing sleep for once in my life (you’re welcome, Mom and Dad).

But I’m back! Or maybe I’m not? I don’t know! I’m not promising anything, but I really shouldn’t have any obligation to promise anything, right? It’s my blog, and my documentation of my life and thoughts and such, so I’m inclined to let it ebb and flow as it will.

So at the moment, I’m just chilling cross-legged on my bed, drinking lemonade, listening to my Carlos Bertonatti Pandora station, and eating some sort of a muffin-thing I found in the freezer and some chocolates from Sweden that I’m realizing are a lot more on the dark chocolate side of life than I was expecting. And hoping to be able to type something of substance up into a blog post. Because I’ve really missed blogging, actually. I’ve missed my little space to spill my thoughts, and I’ve missed the connections I’ve made with other bloggers, and I’ve missed the feedback on my posts that give me the confidence that I’m at least doing a somewhat-decent job of writing in here. So we’ll see what happens!

So what’ve I been up to? Kind of a lot, actually. But only because it’s been three months…when you divide it up, my monthly or weekly happenings aren’t all that grand. But anyway! Be prepared for somewhat of a photo dump. But maybe that’s okay, since I’m usually so bad about posting photos here. So yeah! In the period of time that has elapsed between now and my last post, I’ve been……..

^^^discovering magic on my runs. And thanks to the wonder of the iPhone 5s that is now in my life (whoooo!), I can actually get pictures of these little places. Isn’t this spot just gorgeous?

^^^And this sunrise at the beginning of a 10-miler a few weeks ago was stunning as well. I wonder if I stopped being so lazy and actually got up to see the sunrise every morning if it would ever stop being so alluring? Any thoughts, friends that are more motivated than I am in the mornings?

^^^drinking a plethora of icees. I’ve decided that I prefer these almost any day over a regular sno cone. Cherry mixed with pina colada…yum. That is all.

^^^enjoying car moments with the younger siblings. I’m gonna miss those kids when I run off to school in a month or so.

^^^driving at high speed across random deserts in the middle of eastern Oregon. Think dust-billowing-behind-you-like-a-car-commercial going on here.

^^^reveling in breathtaking views at the top of Steens Mountain in aforesaid eastern Oregon. The picture doesn’t do it anything relatively close to justice. I’m convinced that this is one of the most random mountains in this corner of the United States (which I could be very wrong, since my travels have been pretty limited, relatively speaking). It’s this random, long mountain that rises up out of nowhere in the middle of dry, brown, eastern Oregon, that has some absolutely beautiful gorges, with a bizarre and random mix of pine trees, sagebrush, aspens, and long grasses. Weird, but so beautiful.

^^^running a half marathon! This FINALLY happened a couple weeks ago! It was wonderful! I think I was either dehydrated or had heat exhaustion during half of the race because I got goosebumps and felt cold at about mile 6 (which is so not normal when you’ve been running for an hour already in 80-degree weather), but I’m stupid and kept running, and I didn’t die, so it’s all good. It feels amazing to have finally checked that goal off of the list! My stud little brother ran it too, along with my parents, so that was fun. Seth’s a beast though and beat me by a landslide, but I’m just glad I finished.

^^^recharging spiritually. It’s been much-needed. Enough said.

^^^planning the most epic gallery wall ever. I cannot tell you how excited I am to move into my apartment at the end of next month and decorate. If you check out my said Pinterest account, you’ll see countless photos of gallery wall inspiration. Maybe I’ll do a post sometime dedicated to the wonders of gallery walls.

Also…

…reading the optimistic, inspiring words of my friend Mallory. Her words are clear and inspiring, and the perfect thing to read when you need a lift.

…pinning everything. in. the. entire. world. Seriously. It’s miraculous. Go follow me, if you feel so inclined, and if you want some enjoyment in the areas of interior design, flawless outfits, poetic words, New York City, or romantic couples pictures. Or weddings, or flowy dresses, or little kids, or flowers, or really anything.

Altogether, though, the major theme of this summer has been transition. Or not quite transition yet. I feel like I’m in an awkward, in-between phase. I’m so unbelievably excited about the future, and life is nothing to complain about right now, but I just feel that I’m awkwardly sitting here waiting for school, and my apartment, and new people, and a fresh start to get here already. I really shouldn’t rush it though; as awkward as this life-phase is, it’s a phase nonetheless. There are lessons to learn and there is undoubtedly a purpose for a sitting phase – a purpose that I’m trying to explore as best I can instead of letting impatience take over. Maybe I’ll write something about all this eventually. Ha, we’ll see.

Well that’s about it for my little random photo dump. You can probably expect anywhere between 0 and 1 photos on whatever post I decide to do next, whenever that happens, per usual. I hope that everyone has a lovely day! To everyone reading this, thanks for humoring me in this life corner of the internet!

It’s a good life. Yep. It is a good, beautiful, magical life indeed.