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{a personal post : bye bye 2014, my last blog for a little while, happy new year, 2015 – 8, new beginnings, cycles, the universe, etc etc…}

31 Dec

wow.

so i’m sitting here… alone… with my baba black lager. it’s new year’s eve. the last day of 2014. the final day in this calendar  year… 2014 was a numerology #7. 2015 will be a numerology #8. i could write a whole blog about the significance of numbers, etc. i just think cycles are so interesting… cycles of all kinds… the seasons, numbers, etc.

does anyone else get all weird on this day? like, it’s just another day really… but somehow i find the energy to be soooooo … intense. in many ways.

like, i woke up restless – what’s that about? and i slept for like, 9 hours last night.

oh yeah, it’s not just because it’s new year’s eve… it’s because things are changing… again. at least for me, personally… in my life, everything is changing… including where i live… i’m saying good-bye to the tiny home… with a bittersweet feeling in my heart.

you know they say that the only constant in life is change. how funny is that!? like, well – you can guarantee this – stuff’s gonna be different tomorrow. not everything will be different, but a lot of it will… because that’s how life rolls… it doesn’t care if we are ready for the change or not… it just keeps on changing. people change, astrology changes, rules change, the weather changes, laws change, … most things around us do NOT stay the same… including the people in our lives, and those we love.

so what’s my point? 

i dunno, maybe i don’t have one. maybe i just wanted to sit down in front of my computer and keep it real with you readers… and myself.  maybe i’m tired of trying to “keep it together” all the time… as in, always having the perfect thing to say and taking so much time to think about how to express myself… because i’m so scared of being misunderstood. maybe i just wanted to be spontaneous and sit down and write while i felt the desire, the thoughts flowing, the keys being struck with force and purpose… maybe i want to just say whatever i feel and not be worried about how everyone else is gonna perceive it…

maybe i’m just feeling the baba… 😉

so how do you feel about the idea that the only thing we can be sure of is that things change… how does that make you feel? is it comforting to know that with each moonset and each sunrise, that life can end and begin all over again?!  does that give you peace to know that tomorrow… tomorrow… the sun will come out?! or does it make you kinda crazy to know that you can’t ever really count on anything?! does it give you total anxiety to feel like as soon as you get comfortable with something or someone, there is damn good potential for it to morph into something else entirely and seem completely illusive?!

i feel like there is a balance… as with most things in life.

most days i’m so thankful to begin anew… to wipe clean the “yesterday” that never really exists in the first place… to wake feeling renewed and purposeful again. i learned a lot about the beauty in each new day when i lived in new york… it’s amazing how that city just doesn’t stop for anything… it doesn’t care if you didn’t get the memo, it doesn’t care if you aren’t walking fast enough, if you missed your subway stop, or if you aren’t feeling its embrace. when living there, i had to learn how to be so completely present that nothing seemed to really effect me to the point of not being able to continue to be in the moment.

my challenge this year is to get back to that space…

i’ve been practically beating my head against the wall trying to figure out where i went… what happened to the person that seemed to be able to really stay in the moment… to embrace it even when it was chaotic, unpredictable, and sometimes down-right scary.  where did that audrey go that i spent 29 years trying to find when i met her in new york?!

she didn’t go anywhere… it took me all of 2014 to realize that.

i mean, seriously. just this past week i had the total epiphany that nothing is “wrong” with me… and if there is in fact anything that i feel uncomfortable with – that I, personally, have the power to change it. i can and always do create change in my life when i am feeling a need for it. sometimes it’s not always clear to me, but it’s almost like i do things without even thinking sometimes… and then when i’m on the other side of it, i go, “oh yeah… i see why we did this.”

i guess that’s true with everything in life… hindsight is 20/20, right?!

well, all i know is… i’m feeling more comfortable with change… dare i say, i’m embracing it. i’m not saying i love “change” during every moment while i’m in it… but i’m okay with the idea that everything seems “fleeting…” because really… if it’s true that the only constant in life is change… well, then i wanna make sure to be so immersed in each passing moment, that i love it for what it is… recognizing that it will never again be the same… that each moment really is a gift. maybe it’s not a gift wrapped in colourful paper and bows, maybe it’s not a gift we asked for… maybe it’s a gift we didn’t realize we needed.

but it’s still a gift… if we can be open to receiving it…

personally, i’m feeling happy to be letting go something while completely surrendering to something new and exciting. for me, my personal changes happen to coincide with the calendar change… but i’ve always been a firm believer that you can choose to make a change at any given moment in your life. you don’t have to have anyone validate your decision to change, you don’t have to have a party or mark it on your calendar… hell, you don’t even have to invite anyone. you can choose to make changes in your life while washing your dishes… you can choose to create a new life while driving to work… there are no rules for that. you can live life on your terms, but in order to do so, you must live life on your terms.

does THAT give you comfort?!  it sure does me… 🙂

so, as i ring in the new year and celebrate new beginnings, my heart is filled with gratitude for all the loving people, places, and things i’ve experienced. i just want to continue to hold a space of gratitude… and to be open to new things as i step boldly out of the familiar and into the unknown…

happy new year! – to each and every one of you. thank you for following my blog, for engaging and for taking time to read and give this blog purpose… i’m truly grateful to each one of you.

 p.s. – i’m not gone forever… just a temporary hiatus while i adjust to some new things… i’ll be back to blogging in no time… 

{a holiday haiku}

24 Dec

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sometimes the best gift

can’t be put into a box…

unwrap love all year.

{some virtual holiday haps}

16 Dec

hey gang – how’s winter treating you?

i really don’t wanna jinx it, but this time last year we had like double the amount of snow, if not triple, that we do now. we had a storm blow through this weekend, but nothing really accumulated or even fell from the clouds. i’ll probably get chastised for saying this, but i am perfectly fine without all that cold white stuff. {i do, however, like to see it flurrying down my screen from wordpress tech wonderland…}

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i’m still in the holiday spirit, though. my tiny tree has been up in the tiny home since thanksgiving weekend and i’ve been watching tons of christmas movies and listening to christmas albums. i save “home alone” for christmas day – i wouldn’t say it’s my favourite, but it’s just one of those classics i have to watch every year. my favourite christmas movie ever is probably “love actually” ❤

what’s your favourite christmas movie?!

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i also plan on pretty much not taking off this santa hat until december 26th. i have two cowlicks in my hair and when it’s short it’s fine, and when it’s long it’s fine… but i’m in the funky “growing out my hair” phase and sometimes throwing on a hat is the only way to get through my day and be happy about my hair. this time last year, it was about the same length, but i got impatient and cut it all off. this time, i will persevere! 😛

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occasionally we get some really cool clouds up here. have you been looking up in wonder at the sky lately? …you should, and often.

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LOVE : that wonderful feeling that can present itself in many forms. and sometimes the only place to find it is in a sticker plastered on a bench at a bus-stop… but it’s still there! ❤

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a random salad i whipped up : brussel sprouts, cabbage, bacon, tart cherries, flax seeds, and parmesan cheese in a french vinaigrette. i admit i do not eat nearly as many cold salads in the winter… i just can’t get down with cold food in the cold months. but i do try to squeeze in some raw greens when the mood strikes me.

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as a child of the 90’s, peace signs were kind of cool when i was growing up. we drew them on our notebooks, put pins on our backpacks, some of us even got tattoos of the peace sign!  but it’s kind of weird to me that you don’t often see it anymore – at least not like we did when i was a kid. seeing this peace sign drawn in permanent cement made me smile – it’s there forever, dammit! 😛

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something so simple as a wreath does so much for my holiday spirit.  perhaps they remind me of my mom, in a way… i am pretty sure she would make them and we always had them on our doors, growing up. my neighbour thoughtfully bought me this wreath for the tiny house door… Continue reading

{words to live by}

27 Nov

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——–

I’M SORRY

I LOVE YOU

PLEASE FORGIVE ME

THANK YOU

———

today, and every day…

{30-something}

21 Nov
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audrey’s perspective

it’s my birthday weekend!

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classic audge – circa 2006

and i’m trying really hard not to feel lonely, weird, and slightly freaked out.  i kinda wish i could watch that show that was big in the 90’s… it may offer some comfort. but i do know one person that always makes me smile and feel better about life and all its weirdness – the late, great, george carlin.

i thought i’d share this with you in celebration of my “getting older”… you may have already heard or seen this, but it’s worth a second round, for sure!

———

GEORGE CARLIN’S VIEW ON AGING

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions. 

‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m four and a half!’ You’re never thirty-six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five! That’s the key. 

You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. 

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weee!

‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m gonna be 16!’ You could be 13, but hey, you’re gonna be 16!

And then the greatest day of your life…You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony… YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! 

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! She TURNED; we had to throw her out. There’s no fun now, you’re just a sour-dumpling. What’s wrong? What’s changed? 

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happy me, on my 30th

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away.

Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone. 

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would! 

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. 

You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!  You get into your 80’s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.

And it doesn’t end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; ‘I Was JUST 92.’ 

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. ‘I’m 100 and a half!’ 

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!! 

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never grow up

HOW TO STAY YOUNG 

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay ‘them.’ 

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. 

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s. 

4. Enjoy the simple things. 

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. 

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive. 

7. Surround yourself with what you love – whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge. 

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 

9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is. 

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. 

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER : Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. 

—— 

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{a great reminder from the great ee cummings}

9 Nov

{my favourite poet!}

“to be nobody-but-yourself in a world that is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – is to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight… and never stop fighting!”

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{petroglyphs – “rock art” in moab}

4 Nov

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i don’t know if i can find words to express what i felt when i saw these petroglyphs on this huge rock in moab last month… it is beyond fascinating to me.

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notice the 6 toes on the right??!!

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i’m sure i learned about this stuff in science class, but i was just blown away to see it in person!

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so fascinating……….

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what were they trying to say?!?!………….

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what do you all think about this kind of thing?!  does it blow your mind like it does for me?!

😀

{october round-up}

1 Nov

hello, november!

this is definitely my favourite time of year… even though it always shocks my system a little to do this whole daylight-savings-time thing… seriously, my sleep is jacked up for like 2 weeks after that happens.

c’est le vie, eh?! 

at least it won’t be pitch black at 7 a.m. anymore…

anyway, here are a few of my favourite shake-it snaps from recent days. i hope you all had a fun, safe, and happy halloween!

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sopris never gets old…

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this is the time of year when they move the cattle down to graze in different pastures…

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this kind of colour is pretty much totally gone, now…

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but i made sure to soak it all in…

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i just love it…

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mmm, apple pie………….. soooo good!

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i did a little dog-sitting last month… and our shadows were GIANTS! teeeheheeee….

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i also did a little chicken-sitting… and had the freshest eggs i’ve ever eaten!  like, 40 minutes old – fresh!

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frost!

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sopris… again.

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i’ve been making and eating a ton of sauerkraut

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and making and taking a bunch of pointless selfies…

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i dunno, this just looked cool…

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so did this…

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fall!

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this time you couldn’t even see sopris…

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fiery sunsets!

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a rainbow over my tiny house!

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i’m so in love with lense-flare.

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oh yeah, one day i found these guys in a head of broccoli… they both took a poo on my hand – hysterical!

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mmmmmmm, nothing like cozying up by a wood-fire!

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an archery target!  which i SOOOO want to use some day soon!

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weird stuff you find on hikes…

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… like the pumpkin graveyard… 😉

have a great weekend! 

 

{pickled gherkins}

30 Oct

when i say, “gherkins” – what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

for me, it’s the movie dirty dancing.  weird, right?!  there’s the scene where neil is asking baby if she is hungry, and he’s looking in the fridge… “leftover cabbage roll, fruit salad…?  sweet gherkins?!”  😛

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anyway… i don’t really like sweet pickles. but i do love dill pickles. and when i found these *adorable* baby gherkins, i literally squealed in excitement! apparently, they are also known as “cucamelons.” {teehehee}

they are slightly sour, and very juicy!  which, i admit, was a little surprising.  i also read that they are very easy to grow… which makes me totally want to try to include some in the garden next year!

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they look like little watermelons!!  eep!  so cute. Continue reading

{refusing to let go of autumn…}

29 Oct

i went for a hike a couple weeks ago in snowmass, where i used to work last winter.. and i was shocked at how much colour was left on the trees all around!  the aspens were still an amazing mix of colour and no colour… i just love them so much! the peaks were dusted with snow, and it was a sight to behold!

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when i very first came to snowmass last year, it was october 22nd.  it was the day of my interview and i remember seeing very little colour left on the aspens in the area. i though to myself, ‘what a sight this must be in autumn!’ and i was soooo hopeful i would get out to see it this year!  i’m way grateful there was still some amazing colour on the trees and hills in this beautiful mountain town!

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we went on a nice little hike…

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some incredible views!! check out that rainbow of colour! Continue reading

{sometimes you have to first take a leap of faith, then watch as the net appears…}

25 Oct

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{favourite snaps from the week}

24 Oct

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beautifully peculiar sunrise!!!

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on my bike ride to work one morning, i spotted these people riding a 7-seat “conference bike” … they asked if i could take a picture for them, to which i replied, “i would be honoured!  that is the coolest thing i’ve ever seen!” and apparently, former president jimmy carter said the same thing

{that was the best article i could find about this cool device}

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basalt, colorado… which i discovered this week, was apparently volcanic at one time…?!  did you know this?!  i was fascinated to find this out… so crazy!

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yellow!

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i ❤ autumn! Continue reading

{the smallest veggies ever}

20 Oct

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super cute and tiny veggies to enjoy!   Continue reading

{silent sunday : the eyes of the aspens}

19 Oct

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{foto friday : “snake melon”}

17 Oct

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have you ever seen such a thing?  i sure hadn’t… but thanks to my awesome new job, i have been exploring all kinds of new produce.  this is called a “snake melon” but also formally known as an “armenian cucumber.”  the one i bought looks kind of like a question mark… yeah?

these interesting melons can grow up to 3-feet long!  and did you know that all cucumbers are melons?!  i sure didn’t.  something else new i learned, recently.  makes sense, though – right?!

😉

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this cucumber was more like a melon, for sure.  had a similar texture to an english cucumber, but with a little less “crispness” and a much sweeter flavour.  not too sweet, but noticeably different than a regular cucumber.  i totally chowed down on some!  i hope you all get the chance to, as well!  😉

{base jumping – living vicariously through strangers}

15 Oct

during my trip through moab last month, i met some really cool strangers. well now, that’s a funny thing to say – i guess if i “met” them, then they technically weren’t “strangers” …

anyway, it’s kind of a funny story but basically we woke up one morning and these 5 dudes were sleeping in the camp we set up.  it was a little bizarre at first, until we got to talking to them… turns out, they were acrobats. traveling acrobats… from france.  i’m not even kidding.  they are certainly an adventurous crew!

to sum it up – they were creating a documentary style film about their {incredible} travels throughout the US.  they started in NYC {awesome!} and had planned to go to colorado after their stop in moab… and on this particular morning, they were going base jumping just a short walk from where we had camped.  my camera and i were all over that.  unfortunately, i only brought one lense and it doesn’t really capture the whole thing in the way i would’ve preferred, but i think you’ll get the idea…

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huge cliffs… i would say it is 400 feet?  maybe a little less…

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can you spot the tiny little people up there?!  it probably took them an hour and a half to reach the top…

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crazy clouds, little peeps…

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one of them yells…

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and fearlessly runs and plunges full spread-eagle right off the cliff… do you see him?  he is not airborne long before needing to pull the chute-cord….

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and it safely opens, and he lands to the ground…. {*whew*} Continue reading

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{good morning, pink bubble gum clouds}

12 Oct

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{just some pics from my week}

11 Oct

happy october!

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happy non-gmo month!!!  yay!

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lovin’ these gloves i scored at a thrift shop…

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they are perfect for halloween! 😉

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stewin’ maters…

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and makin’ ’em into a meaty sauce… nom nom.

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pretty radishes!

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scary spider… but not really that scary.

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frost in the mornings… it’s a regular thing, now.

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feathers on eggs… not a regular thing, but i think it’s SO COOL!

{moab day two : arches and balanced rock}

8 Oct

this place is just so cool… there is so much ENERGY in moab!  i can’t think of what else to say…

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the famous balanced rock…

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and arches everywhere…

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also lots of phallic shapes everywhere… i know you were thinking it – everyone does. Continue reading

{fossil fun in fruita}

5 Oct

a little alliteration to start your morning 😉

aaaaaand, some pics from way way west-western colorado…

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to say this state is dry is… well, a gross understatement.

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dramatic sky.

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beauty.

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…fossils – whoa. Continue reading