So, you may or may not know that I work at the YMCA in Boulder, and I'm second in command at the front desk... it would seem like I'm kind of a big deal. anyway... it's the kind of job where what you're required to know by your boss and what all the members assume that you know are two VERY different things. For example, I am required to know how to sell memberships and look into member accounts, but members assume that I know EVERYTHING, including how to open the vents to the outside for the basketball gym to adjust the gym temp, and how to put up the heavy punching bag. Fortunately for all parties involved, I thrive on a challenge and am now an expert on all of the above.

The next challenge is now upon me... for my birthday, I received the gift of discovering (because some of my favorite dresses are not fitting) that I really need to fit more exercise into my life in a big way.... my 2 mile run once a week is just not cutting it. So I've been utilizing my staff Y membership (like I should have been all along, geez!) a lot more lately but still having trouble getting motivated and feeling like I'm not really in the groove of it yet.

It's as if the universe knew I needed a little push and encouragement... one of my favorite regular members whom I see at the Y all the time, when I'm working and when I'm working out, came up to me at the desk last night. He said "Hey you... I've found that you never know when you're going to inspire someone." I was only a little confused, and he went on to explain to me that he had seen me running on the Y's indoor track last week, and he said that I just looked so at ease and so relaxed and I looked like I was truly enjoying my run; he said that he had been struggling with running because he just was not into it, but then he saw me and realized he just needed to relax and enjoy the experience. He then said "thank you for inspiring me."

I would consider that a life goal accomplished.

Libby + Mark

Almost a month after our first visit to the Colorado Railroad Museum to check it out (it was killing me to wait on going back to this place!), me and carrie FINALLY got to hit it with Libby and Mark for their engagement photos. Mark's grandfather used to work for Rio Grande, so they were totally loving the museum. I just love meeting people and finding out their stories, it's the highlight of everything for me! These two are super great, and I can't wait for their wedding in May!! Enjoy these two from my point of view:

Just a little post to say how excited I am... Tom, Kerry, and Lyle all decided on photos to blow up for the wall at the Bake House and there's a nice big spread of my photos there now, so honored to be on the wall at one of my favorite places!!! (thank you Tom for this photo!!)



Also, Summit City redid their bathrooms with some of my photos, yay.... and they chose one to blow up friggin huge for their new Trek Project One room, check it out! (thanks to James Holm for getting this photo for me, so good!)



On a little side note, I discovered Tapas hour at the Med yesterday here in Boulder, and I am now obsessed.

Kelli + David

seriously, what better way to ring in my 26th year of being alive than photographing some serious love on my birthday with carrie?? welcome to the best year of my life ever, and here to usher it in.... meet kelli and david, and boy are they ridiculously good-looking! i just love when people are so at ease with each other like these two are... and i just can't wait for their wedding this summer! here's a little goodness of mine...

first present to arrive....

got a FABULOUS birthday present in the mail today, such a great surprise from my mom! behold.... a print on canvas from annechovie i could have only found with the help of caitlin numba two!!!

roommate field trip to celestial seasonings to take the factory tour (hairnets required, obviously)!

what a great way to spend a snow day. it snowed 20 inches and we took the factory tour instead of lounging at home.
looking at the photos, it seems i was more enthralled with all the people i was with than with the tour, whoopsy. sorry i'm not sorry! emerson was the big winner of the day; he was well-versed in celestial seasonings trivia and was given a calendar for it!

emerson's 22nd. a good night all around.



since moving, i've discovered how important holidays are. we aren't around our families (both our first families and adopted cutters family!) since we live so far from them, and it's really easy to forget about making special days special or to gloss over them and think that it can't be a special day without our whole family around. i've realized it's so important to celebrate birthdays and national holidays (even today, valentine's day) to help those days stand out and create memories.... maybe it'll spur me to make every day a holiday.

here's to today being special.

all of this is totally normal....

yep. looks like a typical day. boys on bikes in the living room, watching the tour of flanders and trying to outsprint the racers... while emerson cuts the sleeves off of a Jelly Belly "Proud to Bean American" shirt.






how could i not love my life?

better late than never... here's a few of mine from the boudoir marathon at the end of january (the ones that are blog-appropriate, of course) with carrie. such a great day spent with beautiful fun gals!









we'll have to do it again sometime...

a few years ago, i was working full-time overnights for the department of natural resources in indiana at a campground. i was also working for IU's school of fine arts in the photo lab and working as the tour guide program student director in the office of admissions. i was also smack in the middle of the best few months of college spent living with my two best friends, rachel and erin. i also had this long-term guy in my life and we were pretty happy also. needless to say, i wasn't sleeping much in general, but things were busy and life was pretty full.

one morning, after getting off work at the lake, i plopped myself on the back porch of our house, watched the sun rise, and had this fantastic feeling. i was suddenly overcome with this feeling of intense fullness, and contemplated my life and decided that i had achieved what all people aimed for: i had it all. i did. i had EVERYTHING. great friends, great jobs, great boyfriend, a great college experience, great bike, my dream car, really everything. i spent 15 minutes or so basking in this feeling and feeling so happy and grateful that i had it all, and then I went in the house and continued on with my day, feeling fabulous.

right now, i remember that feeling. i remember how it washed over me, and it really affected my whole outlook on things.
more importantly, however, i remember what happened afterward almost as intensely.
it seemed like once i recognized that i had squeezed the juice out of life and made the best lemonade ever, the world stopped.
everything i had felt so grateful for was almost immediately and abruptly ripped away from me. within a week, my fabulous expensive bike was stolen from my house, my best friend officially moved away, my boyfriend had unceremoniously dumped me, and my car was broken due to an unfortunate run-in with a deer on my way home from work.
my happy world literally fell into a thousand pieces.

it took quite a while to rebuild my life after that, and, i'd say in the years since, i have never really had that feeling again.

well, boys and girls, i had it again.
i was driving to colorado springs this weekend for a photo shoot with carrie, and follow that up with a great visit to caroline and clayton afterward, and i was smacked immediately again with that uncanny feeling of sappy pure contentedness with my life, and that the sky really was the limit and that the world was just full of possibility just for me, and that i have it ALL.
only this time, i was afraid of that feeling, dreading the impending doom of when that feeling goes away, and being afraid of when the sky falls in on me again.
i realized that i have become wary of that feeling and didn't want to let myself feel it. and then... all of a sudden... baz luhrmann's song called "everyone's free (to wear sunscreen)" came on my ipod. and i chose to let myself feel that feeling, grateful for all that i have, even if it is only for 15 minutes.

here's to making that 15 minutes of having it all last a lifetime.

i've got it all.