What January Teaches Me

This blog is not yet a year old, and obviously many things have happened prior to the start of this blog which brought me to where I am today. I’ve mentioned before that the holidays are a big time of remembrance and reflection for me. I had many big things happen around that time last year. Same goes for the month of January. There’s one date in particular.

January 22nd.

Last year’s January 22nd was very significant. Maybe this time next year, I’ll have some deep reflections about it to share. However, today, let’s talk about 2010. On January 22, 2010 I got into my car, as packed up as it could possibly be and drove across the country to Utah. I had been there once before. I did not have a job set up or any furniture. Nothing. Just myself, a couple suitcases, a 6-month lease, an air mattress, a few acquaintances, and my GPS. Most people found it hard to believe or even understand. I’m definitely not known for being a risk-taker and that was probably one of the riskiest things I had ever done before.

I knew while I was still in college that I needed a big change and that the change would most likely happen with a big move. California was the ideal place. With money and economy the way it has been, California was looking a little too dangerous at the time. I knew I wanted to be out West. So, I considered Phoenix and Salt Lake City – each with decent costs of living. I ended up deciding on Salt Lake City after I made a 5-day visit out there in the Summer of 2009. I knew a few people there and the large church community out there would certainly be a huge help in making new friends. So, I did it. I moved.

The drive out there was amazing. I traveled through states I never thought I’d see {Wyoming} and felt so ridiculously excited for what was to come next in my life. It was the newest chapter I had ever started. After two days of driving, I had finally arrived in my new home. With the help of two guys {one of whom later became my husband} my car was unpacked, my air mattress was blown up, and I was ready to start life in Utah!

The next few months were some of the most unpredictable, live-in-the-moment months that I have ever experienced. I went totally out of my comfort zone and tried meeting as many people as possible through church and other activities. About two weeks after settling into my new home, there was a retreat up at a cabin in Idaho that I was invited to. Idaho? Never been! Clearly, I had to go. So, I did! It was a fun, snowy weekend full of playing games, watching movies, and adventuring out into the snow… in Montana.

Yes, Montana. One day, we ventured off to West Yellowstone for a day of walking around, shopping, and sightseeing. The roads were covered in ice/snow and most people got around by way of snowmobile. Pretty cool, huh? The town itself was very quaint and friendly; exactly what you’d expect of a little Western town :) Check out that snow drift in the last picture!

A couple of us left Idaho Sunday morning at 6am to make it back in time for a meeting before church. While at church, a friend of mine {from Orange County, CA} mentioned that he decided he’s going to go home for a few days and told me I should come hang out {he knew how much I LOVED California!} I knew I had to go. How often do you get an opportunity like that?
So, that night, I did my laundry and re-packed my suitcase before leaving for Orange County the next morning. It was exhilarating. I felt so alive! {Want to see pictures? Perhaps I should do a future post on that!}

I knew that there would only be certain times in my life where I could live that way – like a free bird :) It was crazy and amazing all at the same time. I had just moved all the way across the country and then I was driving and jetting off to surrounding states, seeing this beautiful country of ours and learning more about myself and what I want out of life.

That was two years ago. Thinking back to that time really helped put things into perspective for me. I think lately I had really taken the backseat approach to my own life. I was sitting, waiting, hoping for things to happen. I was unsure, undecided, and timid. That’s NOT who I was two years ago and that’s NOT who I want to go on being. I decided it’s time to take control of my own life and really go after the things I want and become the person I want to be.

With the new year and with my most recent birthday {all within the past three weeks} I’ve made some big steps and I’ve seen the changes in my life taking place.

Today is January 23rd, and marks another new start in my life. Maybe that’s how every January 23rd is. The day after. The fresh day full of the beauty of another new start.
Whether you have a significant date each year or not, remember that every day is a new start. It’s a chance to turn things around or start living the life you’ve always wanted. Chase after your dreams. Go on that trip, even if it’s last minute. See the world. Do a favor for someone just because. Smile. Live.

{Also, you can find me over here today talking all about one of my biggest guilty pleasures!}

Missing My Old Home

There are things I miss about my old home. Salt Lake City. The great Western state of Utah. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and next week you’ll find out why. I think once you’ve been somewhere for a while and when things get tough, you sometimes lose appreciation for the little things. Which is what happened to me the longer I lived there.

I left Utah on horrible terms. At that point, I was ready to leave and didn’t take much time {or any time} to say goodbye. While I can’t say that state was the greatest match for me, it became my home and I definitely miss it now, looking back.

Salt Lake City and the surrounding area {aka beautiful Park City} are known for their snow. I couldn’t get over how much it snowed last year. It started in October and lasted through April/May. I was told it was “dry” snow which, yes, does make it much more pleasant to deal with than the wet snow we get here on the East Coast. However, when it snows that much and you’re not used to it, it gets pretty overwhelming.

Example #1: Chances are, when I walked out to my car in the morning to go to work, this is what it would look like:

I quickly learned that snow is not as dreamy as it looks while falling and that literally digging your car out of the snow every morning gets old. But, I still miss how beautiful it was and how at almost any point of the year, you could always look up at those mountains and find snow.

Even in the middle of Spring while at a baseball game…

Regardless, I still miss it. Mainly because I miss putting on all my snowboarding gear to go make snow angels.

I miss the sights. One of the things I loved most about Utah was the scenery. I could never get over the mountains.
It’s funny… when I first moved out there and told people I was from the DC area, they’d say, “Oh, it’s so beautiful out there with all of the forests!” The forests? I just call them woods. I could have gone on to tell them how the “forests” are all being cut down due to over-population and the demand to build more homes and the government taking over the entire area and all the wildlife being forced out of their natural habitats but instead, I’d just say, “I think it’s prettier out here!” :)

Not having trees everywhere resulted in the most gorgeous sights of the lights in the valley every night.

And I can’t even tell you how many rainbow pictures I have. You’d think I lived in Hawaii!

And do I even need to say how much I love sunsets? :)

I miss the close-proximity of everything.
I could walk to my gym, grocery store, movie theatre, church, and Target, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, and everything else were within a two-minute drive.
Park City was twenty minutes from my house.
And, if I wanted to, I could drive 4-5 hours south to the beautiful red rock of Southern Utah or go a little bit further to Vegas.

Park City on a quiet weekend morning

Speaking of Park City, I miss Furburbia – the animal adoption center that we fostered animals for. It was one of THE most amazing experiences of my life to take Bronson, Kip, and Lani, Kiki, and Pearl into my heart and home until they eventually found their forever homes. They blessed my life :)

I miss the sushi.

The only sushi I had eaten prior to moving to Utah was the kind you buy at the grocery store. Then, I was introduced to real sushi. Along with coconut and pineapple, I could eat sushi 24/7. Sushi out West > Sushi back East. Proven.

I miss the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are my team. You see, in DC everyone claims to be a “Redskins” fan or a “Nationals” fan. While, yes, my family was born and bred to be Redskins fans, I’ve never been emotionally invested with them year-round like I was and still am with the Jazz. Going to games, going to the NBA Draft Party, meeting players, and running into them at the movies and restaurants – it was an amazing experience. Not to mention, our arena is known to be the loudest arena in the NBA. Bam! Just sayin’…

There are other things I miss as well and I’m sad I didn’t truly say goodbye to Utah. But, maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe that means I’ll go back someday, even if just for a short visit.

I think wherever we live, we leave a big part of our heart there and we become forever changed by that place. Utah changed me, and I’d like to think it was for the better :)

The Road Home: Part One

Prior to leaving Utah, much of my time was spent packing up my apartment. I went through all the odds and ends, decided what to keep, what to trash, and what to donate. In very little time, my apartment started to feel less like a home and more like an empty holding place. The nights were painfully silent. I sat there alone with my thoughts, wondering why something that's supposed to be beautiful had to break, and how someone who had promised to love and care for me could treat me the way I had been treated during those months. They are answers I'll never have.

I didn't have a close friend or family member around in Utah to turn to to take my mind off things. Even something as simple as a hug was so far away. It was great to talk on the phone to people back home, but I could only release so much emotion that way. So, all I could do was focus on what was ahead of me.

As the final days drew near, I found some joy in the little things. Like Stella being silly and loving the mess of packing and one of my favorite sushi rolls.

It was also refreshing to finally pick my dad up from the airport to help me in the moving process. It was his birthday and after hours of getting everything ready for the moving truck, we enjoyed dinner at one of my favorite Salt Lake restaurants for the last time.

The next day, just minutes before the movers showed up, I received a call from my mom. She was panicked and told me there had just been an earthquake. My poor mom. My dad is never out of town and the one time he leaves, there is an earthquake in Virginia. Luckily, there were only a few broken objects in her house. We carried on with the very last bit of packing and getting my car secured onto the trailer. I said goodbye to my apartment on the third floor and to the state I had lived in for the past year and a half where I had started what I thought would be my happily-ever-after.

Since we didn’t get on the road until dinner time and were completely exhausted, we stopped in Evanston, Wyoming for the night. We found a local restaurant that stayed open late and got a bite to eat. I had some delicious food there and found a cute little squirrel friend :)

The next morning, we got on the road early, ready for the first full day of driving. When I had driven through Wyoming in the Winter, I loved it! It was so “Wild West” and the surroundings were unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was cool to now see the state in the Summer. However, Wyoming was probably the worst state to drive through because of a few different things. There are hardly ANY places to stop along I-80, every town is small, many large trucks frequent this freeway, and the wind becomes insane while driving. So insane that they often have to close it down. Also added to the list this time was construction. They decided to close off 15-mile stretches of road and during these stretches, the opposing side of traffic would be driving next to you with nothing but cones in between. Talk about scary! Oh, and add wind turbines into the mix and it became a nightmare. Come on. You know they’re scary!

While I drove through Wyoming, there were two things on my mind:

“Home, home on the range. Where the deer and the antelope play…”

and

The Oregon Trail {preferably Oregon Trail II}

It got pretty serious where there was even talk of fording the river and bartering at the outposts because, yes, I researched where the old outposts used to be…

We found that pretty church while driving through Rawlins, Wyoming. Fun, little, old town.

After we FINALLY passed through Cheyenne, we were off to Colorado! Be on the lookout for those pictures, an interesting story, and the tale through Oz.

Have you been to Wyoming before? Has my enticing talk of the Oregon Trail interested you to go sometime?