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| Snowshoeing in Thompson Pass | Elevation 2,805' Valdez, Alaska | January 2019 |
Hello friends,
I promise that one of these days when I dust off this old blog, I'll share all about our big move, my new job as a youth services librarian, and life in Alaska. Really.
On one hand, it's something I really want to share: 2018 was full of excitement, change, and a peace I'd forgotten was possible. I want to record and savor all of the beautiful and messy moments; I want a way to look back and remember. But on the other hand, the months leading up to our move to Alaska were some of the most difficult and vulnerable of my life. My path to the mountains was both figurative and literal, after years spent in the valleys silently shouldering burdens that had suddenly became too heavy.
But I digress. I'll get to all of that one day. Really.
The purpose of this post is just to share what I've been up to lately. Remember when blogging was a thing, you guys? I still read a handful of blogs weekly, most of them ones that I've been reading for the past 10 or so years. While blogging might be a dying medium these days, I still treasure the connections and friendships that it's allowed me to make over the years. I want to get back to that art of long-form writing, sharing, and connecting--even if that writing, sharing, and connecting is over something as simple as what music and TV shows I'm currently obsessing over and what I did last weekend. I miss that.
But again, I digress. I'm really getting off topic here.
I wanted to write a bit about what I was up to last month. Blogging is something I'd like to do with at least some semblance of regularity in 2019. Maybe having something like this to post monthly will help keep me on track? Or maybe I'll overthink everything, panic each month, and watch Mad About You on DVD instead? We'll see. (Spoiler: It's probably that last one, but let's be optimistic, shall we?)
So without further ado, here's what I was up to in January!
I practiced yoga every day!
My one goal for 2019 is to practice yoga every single day. It's a lofty goal, but I'm stubborn committed. A week into February and still going strong! Yoga with Adriene helps.
I snowshoed!
Kyle and I snowshoed in Thompson Pass, which was absolutely breathtaking. The first time we tried to showshoe up there at the beginning of the month, it was literally breathtaking because it was -20 degrees F with high winds. In the time it took us to put on our snowshoes we were already losing feeling in our extremities. So we drove back to Keystone Canyon and snowshoed up to the ice cave. This tunnel was blast into the mountain as one of the original routes into Valdez.
I'd really like to go back and explore more. Although Keystone Canyon was much warmer that day than up in the Pass, the temperature was still hovering near 0 degrees F and I really had to pee, so we didn't spend as much time there as I would have liked.
A couple of weeks later, we finally were able to snowshoe up in the Pass and it was perfect: bright blue skies, sunshine, in the twenties, and no wind!
I mean, seriously?! I can't believe I get to live here.
I learned how to play the ukulele!
Valdez maybe be small and remote, but it is anything but boring! I took a 4 week class through the Rec Center with the intent of learning a few notes so that I could play "Wheels on the Bus" and other such jams at Storytime. I wasn't expecting to absolutely love it. Thanks to decades of playing violin, I actually caught on fairly quickly. I've never been much of a singer (and have always felt really self-conscious about it), but playing the ukulele has helped me let loose a little bit and sing for myself just because I enjoy it. Not everything has to be perfect--sometimes the joy is enough.
Books, Movies, & TV I Loved
The Spy Who Dumped Me
Oceans 8...for the millionth time.
Moana...for the two millionth time.
Mad About You season one...again.
Picnic at Hanging Rock, by Joan Lindsay
Whew! What a month! There were some rough days, some exhausting days, but January really was beautiful start to 2019. Here's to February!
What have you been up to friends?! Tell me everything!
