2013 in Review: Part 3

Missed the other posts? Check out Part One and Part Two.

July

I had my first visitor to Park City! Katrina came out to visit and we had a great time wandering around everything Park City has to offer.

 I spent many a Sunday at the Park Silly Sunday Market enjoying Five Wives vodka lemonades.

I went home to Indianapolis for Aly's wedding shower and enjoyed sister time with these two lovely ladies.

Some family friends threw their annual summer bash while I was home, so I got to enjoy good company, lobsters and martinis.

Aly got some fun pre-wedding gifts.

Before heading back to Utah, I went to an Indianapolis Indians baseball game with the family! 

Family at the Indians game! 

August

Since half marathon month had arrived, I continued with the last bits of my training plan and saw some lovely sights on the trails in Park City.

I went to the Kimball Arts Festival.

Josh (aka my twin) drove through Salt Lake City on his way back to school in Arizona, so we got to get together and have a drink at Bar X before he had to leave.

A wildfire broke out near Park City. 

While the wildfire was scary, it did make for some very gorgeous sunsets.

 

Katie moved to town and we became fast friends!

 Half marathon #2 completed! Dad came out to Utah to run the race with me.

The next day, we went for a hot air balloon ride over Park City and it was gorgeous! 

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott came to work and did an athlete social with our staff. He's a wonderful guy!

And, finally, I volunteered with Hurricane for Hope, an event benefitting The Speedy Foundation.

September

I went shopping with Katie and got this awesome shirt.

I went to a sheepdog festival, which I never knew was a thing until...well, I went to one.

 I had a really good hair day.

I returned to Colorado Springs for the first time since moving away for the USOC Communications Workshop...even stayed at the Olympic Training Center!

Brandon, Jenny and I had a little intern reunion at The Finish Line, the dive bar across the street from the Olympic Training Center.

Afterwards, I headed up to Denver and visited with my friend and former roommate, Karen. Unfortunately, we didn't take any photos together, so here is a photo of her cat, Lucky.

I took a full week off from work to head back to Indiana for my brother's wedding! I started the week off with a 5k run, which I ran with my cousin Sarah.

For Aly's bachelorette party, we started the day with a wine and painting party.

And finally the big day rolled around! We got Starbucks for Aly that morning, but they butchered her name.

Wedding time!

And I officially have two sisters now!

30 Questions: The Greatest

What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

MUSIC!! I've always loved music! If you've ever been in a car with me, you've heard me singing (although I cannot guarantee the quality of that singing). I've never stuck with any instruments, though, and I wish I had the ability to play them. I can knock out a few chords on the guitar or play a rudimentary piece on the piano, but I've never been able to do either well. I can read music and have even taken the time to sound out tunes on the piano so that I can write them down...but a quick little melody line doesn't sound all that exciting without harmonies to go with it!

Some of you have also read the song lyrics I have written. I wish I had the talent to put them to music. I always have a tune in my head when I write the words (hence why I call them songs and not poems), but I lack much in terms of ability to write the actual music down.

So, there you have it. I'd love to be a musician!

Bonus picture of me being Lady Gaga back in grad school

30 Questions: 10(ish) Influential People

List 10 people who have influenced you

My parents

My siblings

Karen

Margaux

Josh and Derek

K-Jens

My family!

Lately

Life is good.

It's been awhile, but I can say that right now, I am very, very happy with my life.  I love my job and my coworkers have become great friends who I spend my weekends with, too.  I love where I live...San Diego is a fantastic, laid-back city with everything I could ever need only a twenty-minute car ride away. Hillcrest has virtually everything I need within a few blocks!

Last night, for example...I rode my bike home through Balboa Park with Josh and Karen, two coworkers. Then, I stopped by my house to drop off my bike, then walked to Trader Joe's. On the way back, I got frozen yogurt. When I got home, I talked for a long time with my roommate, Anne, swapping crazy family holiday stories.

Today at lunch, I was talking to my friend Ashley while we walked to Mona Lisa (an amazing Italian deli in Little Italy). We both echoed the same sentiments about being mid-twenties, single and in the more urban areas of San Diego. Basically, we both love being free. I know that is vague and sounds strange, but think about it. Most of my friends are at work, so if I want to make plans, I just ask around at the office and there's generally someone who's up for a drink or a night out. If I want to be lazy and just have a TV night in, I do that. But there's always company when it's wanted or needed, and we've got each others' backs. One of our company core values is, "Treat each other like family." The Ludus team does that every single day without trying.

Now I sound like I'm writing one of my work blogs. But, that's just another thing to illustrate how happy I am with where I am right now. I mean those things I write in the Ludus blog about it being awesome.

Like I said...life is good :)

Weekend Update

Okay, I'm terrible at updating this thing.

I blame the fact that I'm blogging for TeamUSA.org, keeping a daily journal for internship credit, and keeping my usual personal journal on top of all that.  Good thing I like to write, eh?

This weekend, I headed up to Denver for the second time since I came to Colorado.  I went to a Rockies game with some of the other interns and my friends from Ball State, Steven and Josh.  Coors Field was amazing!  The view was incredible...you can see the mountains from just about everywhere!  It was a good game, too.  The Rockies ended up beating the Brewers 8-7, but it really came down to the last inning.  Everyone was on their feet at the end...the last at-bat took FOREVER because of four foul balls.  After the game, I walked around downtown Denver with Steven, Josh, and Jon (an intern), then Jon and I came back to Colorado Springs late.

Last week was a busy one at work.  Our cable wasn't working in the office, so I found feeds online for everyone to watch the USA vs. Slovenia World Cup game on Friday.  I updated the website all during the game so that people could get live updates, so it was a fun morning at work.  I'm still slightly bitter about the goal that the USA scored but the ref didn't count...

Last Thursday, a bunch of the interns had a random toga party.  It's a fun bunch of people, so we tend to do random things like that!  I've also made friends with a couple of athletes and they've been hanging out with us, too!  So, here are some pictures for you all...

Me (in a toga) and Alexy, one of the gymnasts

5th trip to the Incline...down to 52 minutes!

Interns at the Finish Line, a bar across the street from the OTC