snowboarding

A friend of mine volunteers on the Ski train from Denver to Winter Park (it's a ski resort if you're not from CO), and offered to let me tag along on Saturday. On the days you volunteer, you can bring a friend at no cost. Sweet deal!

So Saturday morning I got to go snowboarding at Winter Park. This is only my 5th time snowboarding in the last year, well it's only my 5th time ever actually. I am not to the point where I can completely enjoy it, since I am still learning and tend to fall, and get bruises like you wouldn't believe.

Anyway, it was a blast, even though it was a frigid day! Check out the pics!

celebrating six months of blogging

Whoa! 6 months?!

So much has happened, much of which has NOT been documented in this blog. This year has been tumultuous, draining, trying, and yet incredible.

I am planning to post more in a couple of weeks (post-Christmas), a reflection of this year, I guess you could call it.

I know that I really have been down on the holiday season experience this year. But, I will say I am very excited that our family has decided to cut our spending for each other this Christmas and re-allocate our funds toward a needy family in our area. None of us really need anything this year, so we figured it's time for a change! Stay tuned for an update...

Merry Christmas!

Just breathe...

What a week it has been.

Monday is what started it all off. Tuesday followed suite, and Wednesday, and today just seem to want to extend the chaos and gloom.

Monday morning I had to deal with my first death claim at work. Not fun. Monday evening, I made a cash deposit in the ATM, and the machine malfunctioned and ate $160 of my hard earned, hard to come by cash! Don't worry, I filed a claim, they're working it out...

Tuesday morning, on my way to work, I sped up to get by an RTD bus not 5 minutes into my commute and got pulled over for speeding! This is on top of a ticket I received about 6 weeks ago. I have a total of 8 points pending on my license. In case you aren't aware, Colorado's point system kinda sucks.

Wednesday, the gloom held on for dear life. Thankfully, I had Jazz dance class last night, and the endorphins seemed to cheer me up a bit.

Thursday, (today), it is full on snowing. There's supposed to be 8 inches by the time it's all said and done. Oh what a lovely commute we'll have in Denver this afternoon.

If you've read my last few posts, you know I've caught a case of the "ba humbugs" this holiday season. Seems like I need to just take some time to breathe, and let life settle.

Thanksgiving needs new life

Ok, I am aware that this is going to sound horrible. Fully aware. So, instead of thinking I am an awful person for saying it, just try to understand.

Confession: I am sick of Thanksgiving and Christmas with the same old family! You would think with 4 children in a family, ages ranging from 20-28 someone new would have been thrown into the mix by now. We have now been having holiday gatherings with the same 6 people (sure other family members and sig others have attended sporadically), David, Dawn, Bethany, Brendan, Christopher, & Cameron Schultz, for 20 years! I promised the family last year that I would be spending my holidays on vacation if I weren't dating anyone seriously by the 2008 Holiday Season. I am definitely single, but the vacation plan went out the window with the horrible economy!

Disclaimer: I love my family, we have a good time. I will be attending Thanksgiving and Christmas this year despite the empty promises to go on vacation instead. If you know my parents, then you never read this post! ;)

Happy Thanksgiving anyway...

Change!

Such a crazy week... and an even crazier week to come!

Just a few hours ago, I left Transzap, and in just a few days, I will be back to work for Hal! In the last 10 months since I left NML and my position with Hal, I have come to appreciate working for someone who thinks you and your work are amazing. I tried something new when I went to work for Transzap as a software trainer... and now I know no matter the work I do, I LOVE working for Hal.

If you're reading this, you may not even know that I was changing jobs again. There was barely time to let people know. It was a quick and decisive move on my part. I knew it was the right decision.

So here's to realizations, revelations... and ultimately making changes!

Crazy. Loco. Pazzesco.

I love life right now!

It is insane, but fantastic. I don't even know where to start...

Learning to be thankful for my job, getting quite good at this actually. Trying to understand, but most definitely enjoying an interesting guy, who shall remain nameless. Figuring out what love and life mean to me. Ecstatic about my house and being able to host parties again! Ever thankful for the friendships I've had, kept, and still cherish!

More to come...

Monday came too fast!

It was so hard to get out of bed this morning!

Moving was a sucess this weekend. Praise God! I had the help of some great friends, Chris, Rachel, & Megan. No way I could have done it without them. My Mom and Dad were a huge help too!

While the weekend was crazy busy, I got to spend some incredible time with friends and family.

Chris and I were able to move every last thing on Thursday night from my storage unit.

Rachel and my Mom helped ALL day on Friday, unpacking, cleaning...anything and everything!

Megan and my Dad were there all day Saturday. Megan cleaned, and unpacked/organized my kitchen. Lots of hard work, but we had a blast!

Sophie (my dog) is finally getting used to the new place. I think she actually likes it! She's found her permanent spot on the sofa in the living room. It's really odd getting used to the sound of her paws on the hardwood floors.

And my commute to work this morning was amazingly short! Woo hoo!

Moving Day!

Today is the official move in day for me. I can't believe it is finally here! One roommate decided not to move in, however the remaining 2 will move in next Wednesday.

I am thankful to have the day off tomorrow, and then the weekend to prepare! Although a little nervous to be in that big house by myself!

The house is amazing, compared to what we started with in July. A lot of work has happened in the last few months, and it was definitely worth pushing the move in date back 4 weeks.

I can't wait to get moved in and post some updated pictures!

I have learned so much through this process. We started looking for a house in March, and here we are in October! Roommate situations have come and gone, changed a billion times it seems. There were times I was sure a house we saw was "it"! But, the truth is, this was the one for us all along. Patience, understanding, a working relationship with my Dad (who was awesome during the process, and worked so hard to get it all done!). Whew! So much!

My bedroom is the most amazing gray-brown color... at least I think it is amazing. That's all that matters right? :)

The rest of the paint colors are fairly tame in comparison (browns, neutrals). I am excited for the roomies to see the finished product. I am sure it was hard to imagine what it would look like.

I posted a few of the "before" pics in a previous post. Check them out!

New pics coming soon!

Fall

Today is the first day of Fall. It is a gorgeous day in Denver, and I am so thankful!

Fall is so short in Colorado, that you really have to take the time to enjoy the season. By mid October the snow is here (hate that part!), and you're counting down the days until May, when Spring finally arrives!

Last year I attempted to learn snowboarding, thanks to my friend, Chris. Now atleast I can enjoy some aspect of snowfall.

This year I have also added an SUV to my arsenal... no more Ford Focus slipping and sliding all over the road!

But, back to Fall! I am really looking forward to heading to Maryland on Friday, and enjoying some incredible East coast Fall weather! Not to mention seeing Amy, Kate, Courtney, & Jill!

Roommates

So last night we had a 5603 S Huron roomie dinner. I of course had met each one during the process of finding roommates, but they had never met eachother.

We all met at the house so they could see the progress, and the reason why their move-in date got pushed back from Sept 15 to Oct 15. Then we headed to dinner.

It was an eye opening, and really fun time of getting to know one another.

We are all extremely different people. But, I think what we all realized last night is, this community will be helpful to all of us in some way. One of us may be getting married soon, the other leaving a relationship, two of us are living with family currently and ready for the transition to having our own space again.

The honesty & vulnerability were intense, especially in our first meeting.

I am really excited to live with these women. My life will be changed because of it, I know. Looking forward to seeing that unfold.

Thanks for being my roomies, Leah, Cheri, & Kristi!

Ten Years

I was all set to go to my ten year high school reunion in MD at the end of the month (plane ticket booked and everything). This morning when I logged into myspace, there was a bulletin saying that our reunion had been cancelled due to lack of interest.

Well if it doesn't happen on our ten year anniversary, I doubt it will ever happen.

Wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that we now have myspace and facebook to keep us connected. Makes it less important to see people every ten years.

Here's to the ones I'll still see that weekend even if it's cancelled! See you soon... Amy, Kate, Courtney, Jill, Maureen, Cristi, & Christy!

Birthday Eve

28 arrives tomorrow. Boo!

Anyway, wanted to give an update on several items from my last post.

Here it goes...

-All three original roomies are still moving in on October 15th! God is GOOD!

-Realized I was a week ahead of myself on the 1/2 Marathon training schedule, so the 8 miles will be run tomorrow (only had to run 6 on my long run last weekend)!

-All the DNCers are gone! Woo hoo! Denver is back to normal. And I will definitely be switching my party affiliation after this election.

-Top secret website is still under construction. Stay tuned...

-21 days until I see Amy, Kate, Courtney, & Jill! Happy ten year reunion NCHS!

-Still learning to trust God. Still handing over my struggles daily, sometimes every minute of the day!

-Looking forward to an awesome weekend, beginning this evening. Lots of fun and friends! Look for pictures next week!

-Reading The Shack. I'll let you know.

Happy Friday!

~B

All in...

Life has been quite busy since I last posted. Never a dull moment.

Here's what I am working on these days...

Understanding and believing God is in control.

Patience as the work on the house continues (thanks Dad!), which by the way has caused the move-in date to be pushed back 4 weeks! Thankfully, 2 roommates are still committed. Still waiting to hear from one.

Went on an amazing backpacking trip to the Weminuche Wilderness with friends, Chris, Amy & Craig. WOW. I'll post a few pictures. Seriously, some of the most beautiful scenery on earth. Pretty much the hardest thing I've ever done in my life (athletically).

Training for the Denver 1/2 Marathon on October 19th. Running 8 miles for the first time in my life on Saturday... hmmmm.

Finally wrapped up the paperwork process for the car I bought on June 20th! Still waiting on the $500 down payment that the auto broker decided he would pocket (he is in BIG trouble)....

Loving people inspite and because of their flaws, cause my flaws are loved by others (proven by the fact that I still have friends).

Allowing my career to guide itself for the time being. We'll see how that looks on January 1. But, considering taking on a second job. Yes, I am insane.

Trusting that God is going to bring the right person to fill our elevation worship pastor spot. My favorite worship leader is leaving to pursue his music career (we're super excited for him, but sad to see him go!!).

Finished reading both Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns in the last several weeks (Khaled Hosseini). Just started The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd) this morning. I have a 45 minute train ride into the city designated for reading.

Gearing up to start mentoring and discipling one of our high school youth girls. Never would have thought I'd be qualified for something like this.

Pondering what it means to be "All in", like God is with me. What it means to love the church as God loves the church.

Dealing with all the extra people in my city cause of the DNC and wondering what it would take to create a new political party. Cause, you can be darn sure I am not a republican or democrat.

A top secret website. You'll just have to wait and see.

Looking forward to my ten year high school reunion at the end of September. Most importantly seeing Amy, Kate, Courtney & Jill!

Trying to be ok with turning 28 in less than 2 weeks. I'm not changing my blog name.

Having a home

My parents bought a house as an investment property. I settled on the house in their absence yesterday.

The best part is... I get to live in the house and make it my own. There's something very exciting about having a home of your own. Even though I don't own it (yet), it still feels more permanent than anything I've done or had before.

The house needs a lot of work, and I am so blessed to be able to take part in the renovation process. Next week we'll start cleaning up and hauling out trash, and then the contractors come!

Here's a few pics to wet your appetite. Be ready for an awesome finished product!

Clarity

I just can't seem to find clarity right now.

It's not that I haven't prayed for it, because I have. I seek counsel in friends and professionals. And yet, I still don't have a clear understanding of my life at this juncture.

My last post described the transformation I've had in the last year. But, I guess what I am starting to learn is that no matter how much transformation we experience here on earth, we're never done growing, learning, evolving, and transforming into who we are to be.

Transformation doesn't come easily for me. I'm a stubborn person. So while, the last year has been amazing, I was resistant to many changes that have occurred. And on the other hand, I feel like I had to learn to be so flexible in certain situations, I lost sight of my part, and who I was.

For right now, I think I have to be content to know that stability is not an option. At least not in the sense of everything remaining the same. I can be stable and hang onto my friends, family and morals, while the world changes all around me. The funny thing is, as messy as it gets, I still want to be a part of it all. I don't want to miss this time. I cannot shut my eyes and wish it to be over.

Growth & Hope

Before you read this... check out the before and after in these pics. The pic on top was late 2006 at a friend's cabin with some girls from my bible study ( I'm the one sticking out my tongue). The pic on the bottom was several weeks ago, when I was in a friend's wedding (I'm in the middle).

In the last 18 months or so, life has taken some major turns. I mean major. Conviction in all areas of my life started to set in, and I had no choice but to start making decisions. Some decisions were without a doubt right, but others were just the best solution at that moment.

The relationship and lifestyle changes that have occured because of the decisions I started making were difficult to say the least.

I had to make myself a priority last year, which was very strange, and a foreign concept for women in the Christian faith. It really wasn't selfish, it was self care. I hadn't been paying attention to my spiritual, physical or emotional health. When God gave me life he entrusted me with this body, mind and soul to use for His good purpose. But I wasn't healthy, and therefore couldn't be used to my full potential.

What if God had wanted me to pick up and go climb some mountain? I wouldn't have been able to do so for several reasons. First, I was extremely overweight. Second, I was in debt. Third, emotionally I just wasn't prepared for that sort of challenge. Fourth, I didn't know how to let go and trust God (still learning this!!).

So what changes have I made? I started seeing a counselor... wow, what a difference that made in my life! After I dealt with several issues in my life, I was really able to concentrate on my weight issue, and how my current lifestyle was contributing to that. Running was my new best friend, I literally ran my butt off. Relationships have simply changed. Accountability has been such a blessing. Whether through my accountability partner or through the bible study I'm involved in, other women speaking into my life has been incredibly important.

In the last several weeks I've seen some hope in even the worst of situations. It seems healing has come to certain relationships. I am so thankful for the growth in my life, and the lessons I keep learning. It's not that I don't mess up constantly, it's just that I seem to recognize the pitfalls much sooner, and deal with them accordingly.

I hope this trend continues, I pray it does.

Lyrics

So I love Alanis Morissette. My friend Kate and I would sit in her room listening and singing to "Jagged Little Pill" for hours and hours when we were in high school (before we could drive of course). We liked other music too, but that seemed to be a favorite for a long time.

While everyone else is freaking out about the new Cold Play CD (which is awesome), I am enjoying the fantastic new Alanis CD.

The lyrics of one song in particular resonate with me, especially at this time in my life. It's called Incomplete. The melody is so amazing.

Check it out...

"Incomplete"

One day I'll find relief
I'll be arrived
And I'll be friend to my friends who know how to be friends

One day I'll be at peace
I'll be enlightened and I'll be married with children and maybe adopt

One day I will be healed
I will gather my wounds forge the end of tragic comedy

I have been running so sweaty my whole life
Urgent for a finish line
And I have been missing the rapture this whole time of being forever incomplete

One day my mind will retreat
And I'll know God
And I'll be constantly one with her night dusk and day
One day I'll be secureLike the women I see on their thirtieth anniversaries

I have been running so sweaty my whole life
Urgent for a finish line
And I have been missing the rapture this whole time of being forever incomplete

Ever unfolding
Ever expanding
Ever adventurous
And torturous
And never done

One day I will speak freely
I'll be less afraid
And measured outside of my poems and lyrics and art
One day I will be faith-filledI'll be trusting and spacious authentic and grounded and home

I have been running so sweaty my whole life
Urgent for a finish line
And I have been missing the rapture this whole time of being forever incomplete

Friends...

How cool is it to watch two friends get to know one another, fall in love and get married. Even better when you get to be in the wedding!

Two of my friends got married this weekend.

I knew him first, and got to know her as time went on. It was really cool to develop and grow a relationship with each of them.

I am so thankful to have been a part of their lives over the last several years, and now to have been able to share in their wedding day.

The above picture is our bible study, only missing one who was out of town.

To choose what is difficult all one's days, as if it were easy, that is faith.

This is a quote by W.H. Auden. I don't know very much about him, except that he was a poet. Seems to me he was rather brilliant to have articulated such a common human struggle so well.

Everytime I read this, I think about the situations in my life that I haven't dealt with properly. Or, the situations that I am currently dealing with improperly.

It's sort of my new standard.

By asking myself if I am doing the right thing or the easy thing, I can identify where I've gone astray. Sometimes the damage is done, but other times, I realize just in time.

What I want to be when I grow up...

There are several avenues I'd like to explore. I'd like to be an Event Planner. I'd also like to own a restaurant. Sometimes I want to go to grad school to become a counselor. About a year ago I considered going to nursing school. If I didn't have debt, I might go teach in another country. Other times I want to go work for some cool non-profit.

Do I even want to live in Denver? I miss the ocean.

Am I in the right occupation now...kind of doubt it actually. How do you know what job fits you best or do just know that something isn't right?

I know a couple things about myself and the type of career I'd like to have without knowing the specific field.

1. I hate to be micro-managed. I feel controlled and childish when this happens. The motivation for a job diminishes greatly if I feel like someone is watching my every move.

2. I like to be busy all the time. Fast paced is good. It keeps me focused, on task... and the time flies. My favorite days are when I have trainings and meetings scheduled back to back to back.

3. I like to be customer facing. I'm good with building relationships and articulating.

4. I like to be an expert at whatever I am doing. If I feel ill-equipped, I feel inadequate, which then leads to a feeling of failure.

I need answers. Those are my must haves. Help.