I ski therefore I am!

I've been having such a great time here in Colorado lately I just must share. I finally feel at home on the slopes and it's a true escape for me to be out there. Just to get on the mountain, breathe the pure mountain air and point my skis downhill. I have been trying to ski at least two days a week. It's unreal to me that I'm able to go ski at least two days a week considering growing up it was only about 2 days per year if that. I'm so blessed to have the life I do. I'm grateful for parents who supported my decision to take a leap of faith and move away. My friends who encourage me everyday. My brother who, even though we don't get to talk much, makes me feel like the coolest person alive (I mean I kinda am right?) haha. I feel like for the first time in my life I'm living the life I think I was always meant to have. It's a carefree feeling. I'm never concerned about the stupid things I used to care about. I no longer worry that I'm wearing a grubby sweatshirt out to the bar (the man of my dreams surely finds my sloppy fashion sexy don't you think?) or that I don't have firm plans for the weekend. I'm taking comfort in the lazy days, the spontaneity of no plans. I love the times I get to sit at home and paint or just read for hours. It's as if my life became very simple and uncomplicated all at once and I can't say I'm upset about that. As far as the real world goes I still love my job. I'm starting to prepare myself to get back into study mode as I plan to start back to get my Masters in the very near future. Only question now is: Nurse Practitioner or Nurse Anesthetist? In the meantime I'll be working on becoming a Certified Orthopedic Nurse. Well anyway I've had lots of fun lately with friends visiting to ski, it's always fun to play in the snow with the ones that make you laugh (yes even you are funny Jack). Upcoming excitement: The Wessel family hits the slopes together on February 27th!

Back In The Saddle!

I can't believe that I haven't posted since before the holidays and it's now almost the end of January. I've been so tied up enjoying my time with family and friends and just taking it all in here in Colorado. I try to get up to ski every weekend and sometimes that is easier than others. It's much more fun now that friends are visiting to ski. We spent last weekend in Breckenridge with my nursing friends and some guys that came to visit from Olathe. We had the pleasure of staying in the Riley's condo just south of Breck. So cute and we had such a fun time. When I was home for the holiday I got to hold my brand new baby cousin Ava Grace who was born while I was there. She is the picture of perfection and her mom and dad are so happy to have her. It was great to see my whole family but times at home are just too short and I never get the chance to see everyone I plan to. Dorian and I had time to squeeze in a KU game at Allen Fieldhouse thanks to Amber who got us some great tickets!!! Thanks Amber! It was so strange I happened to hear from my college roommate and one of my dearest friends Lauren who also ended up attending the game and we had a nice dinner downtown in lawrence, and then at the game ran into Megan Lacroix whom I also lived with at KU. Spending Christmas day away from my family was rough but I worked and felt like my patients were truly grateful for me being there with them. I attended mass at the hospital which was small but nice that it was an option. Singing along to an ipod is a lot different than a whole choir with organ :( I also spend New Years eve with cousin Dean and his family. It was the first time I've been in the same place with all five darling little girls. My baby cousins Gracen, Peityn, Madilyn, Hailey, and Alyssa. The girls were so cute as they tore into all their gifts on Chrismas Eve. The high pitched squealing that was otherwise drive you completely nuts was such a fun experience. Reminded me of the days as a little girl when the most simple things would bring you so much joy. Gracen made me the most beautiful scarf and I received many thoughtful gifts from those little ladies but the most fun was cuddling on the couch with them all playing Mario Racing on wii and then fighting them off as they attached to my arms and legs as I tried to leave for the evening. I met up with my dear friends Angie, Luke, and Jim for cocktails at the Tavern and to watch some christmas story on the fireplace tv. It was such a different holiday but I was so grateful to have loved ones around me during that time. Now its back to the grind of work but luckily I have much to look forward to. Mom and Dad will be coming to visit and to ski, Dad will have a chance to try out his new skiing hip. There's been lots of fun and I can finally say that I have become good friends with quite a few gals here. They make my times here much more fun and I'm so so excited for all the good times to come. Hope all of you following are doing very well and if you're headed to the Rockies be sure to look me up!

Hang in there!!

My camera is on the fritz so I don't have pictures from all of the most recent amazing events in my life. Preview of blog to come: Christmas, KU Jayhawk Basketball, Birth of baby Ava, New Pup Buddy, and New Year of course!!! I hope the New Year brings each and everyone of you much happiness. I know it already has to me. I shall be blogging in the near future. Love love to all!

The Christmas Tree Hunt is On!!

I ventured out with my friend Colin tonight to find my perfect Christmas tree!! This is the first time I've went to get my own real Christmas tree, and since I was tardy getting a permit to cut one down myself we ventured to the Christmas tree stands. First stop Dollar General of course because you can't hunt Christmas trees without Reindeer Antlers. So with antlers on and hot cocoa in hand we set out. Who knew trees could be so expensive. I was hoping to score a huge one to put in our ginormous living room to fill it up a little more and make it feel a bit more warm but unless I was willing to spend over $200 dollars that just wasn't going to happen. I then came across a sweet little Charlie Brown tree which looked so very lonely and cold and I was almost sold on the little guy but decided to go a big bigger. We found a good sized Grand Fir and strapped it to the roof of my jeep (I felt so rugged outdoors woman at this point) and brought that baby home. Colin hauled her up the stairs. Set her up in the stand and she was just a beauty. Nice and green and has already smelled up the entire place with the smell of Christmas. I will let her relax tonight and get branches settled and then decorations, hot cocoa and perhaps baking (with egg nog of course) shall take place tomorrow evening. Hooray for Christmas time. I plan to leave it up well into January. Don't judge! :) Happy Holidas everyone! Also included are some pictures of just a few of the amazing light displays around these parts. Can't wait to get our place all decorated!

Thankful And A Year Older

I had such a great time at home with my family over the Thanksgiving holiday. I think I squeezed just about everyone into my visit. We had a wonderful family dinner with my grandparents and some other relatives. It was a classic Wessel holiday which started with great food and family and ended with good drinks and stories in the 'Lodge' which we lovingly call our shed now. I was able to visit Baldwin and hang out with my boys who I do miss very much, you just don't find a group of guys like them. Hanging out with them is like living in a sit com and if you know them then you know exactly what I'm talking about...see pictures that follow :) On Friday my mom and I went to see the Broadway musical WICKED at Music Hall in KC. It was absolutely amazing. Theatre that even a straight man could enjoy. The lead women had the most amazing voices and it made me miss singing very much. Maybe i'll pick up that guitar of mine that has recently been collecting dust in the corner and get back into it. We shall see. Saturday I spent the afternoon with Dorian and we watched the KU/MU game. Sadness....such a close game and I was really hoping especially for my dear love Mr. Meier that they could have won this last one, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I still hate Mizzou with a deep passion, no changing that :) Saturday we spent the evening in Olathe with some old college friends I haven't seen in years. It's so nice to reunite after so long. It's just funny how nothing really changes. Everyone plays their role and it just never seems to change which is weird but all too comforting at the same time. On Sunday I got a chance to relax and hang out with my good friend Amy from nursing school, we did a bit of silly shopping and entertained ourselves quite well. Monday it was time to head back home, well my new home. It was hard to leave but I was glad to be back in the sunny state of Colorado.

So I turned 27 on Friday. With my friends help I managed to have a fantastic night that would leave me wounded for the entire day to follow. We had a lovely dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery. There was a Christmas or "Christen" Parade in my honor downtown and then I went on to dominate beer pong at my place. We then hit the town for some drinks and dancing. I think the more I drink the better I dance. Ended the evening in the wee hours of the morning and woke up feeling like a million bucks and like I was a million years old. Takes you longer to metabolize that alcohol when you get older. Sadness. Needless to say my plans to ski saturday morning did not work out. No worries though. It has snowed all day today and I plan on enjoying some fresh pow pow in the am. I am so thankful for my friends and family today. You keep me smiling on a daily basis and thankful that you are all a part of my life.

PS) Now that it's snowing on a regular basis, I expect you all to start visiting!! Lets hit the slopes together. Miss you all!!

She lifts her skirt up to her knees, walks through the garden rows with her bare feet, laughing.

I've been meaning to blog for a few days now. Last Wednesday Luke, Angie and I attended the Ray Lamontagne concert at the Denver Performing Arts Center, Opera House. It was beautiful. Ray played by himself and he sounded so amazing. Seeing an artist like him live really makes you truly appreciate the raw foundation of music. Just a voice and a guitar. It ended all too quickly but it was such a wonderful show. Makes me want to pick up my guitar and actually learn to play it well. I'm heading back to Kansas for the Thanksgiving Holiday tomorrow morning. My flight is at 6am!! I'm excited to see my family and friends and perhaps a certain guy too :) I'm sure you're reading so I can write that to boost your ego a bit Deech. The snow continues to fall on the mountain peaks and I'm so excited to start to have visitors to come ski with. I haven't been out again since last week but I plan to be back out there soon. For now I'm enjoying the sunny days which are many and getting back to painting a little more. Something about Colorado makes me feel very creative and artistic and in touch with the world around me. Happiness is infectious here and I like it very very much. Happy Holidays to all!!

Livin' Large at 12,000 feet.

Today marks my official start to the ski season. Being a Tuesday it was a bit difficult to find company to hit the slopes but I couldn't wait any longer I had to get out and try out the skis. Headed to A-Basin this morning. Amazing drive, you know besides the nauseating winding of mountain driving in general. Loveland pass is absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining warm today and made everything even brigher. So I get to the mountain, gear up and start to head up to the first lift. As if walking in ski boots isn't difficult enough on level ground the only route to the first lift and lodge is a steep packed snow hill of which I chose to charge. As I was walking carefully and trying to dig the toe of my boot in with each step I 'mis-stepped' fell face first into the hill, gashing my hand with my ski bindings. I laid there for a minute laughing at myself before a couple snowboarders walking behind me helped me back to my feet and we all shared a laugh. So now I'm REALLY ready, dealing with a little bloody glove but no big deal. As soon as I got on the first lift all my troubles were gone. There weren't a lot of runs open but what was open was nice and packed powder just added to my happiness!! I wasn't sure how the day would start off. It had been a few years since I last visited the slopes, but like they say its like riding a bike and I fell back into it in no time, plus the Volkl skis rode amazingly well. It's kinda nice riding as a single on the lifts, you end up meeting some interesting people, including the snowboard dead heads who offer to share their pot with you haha. I only put in a short day, about 3 1/2 hours, but really that seemed enough when there aren't that many runs open. I did love A-Basin though, gorgeous area. I'm excited to go back when the Montezuma bowl is open and all the cliffs are snow covered. I got a kick out of all the ski and boarders in the backcountry hitch-hiking rides back up the mountain. Was tempted to pick a few up but was too excited to get up the mountain myself so I let the pickup following me take care of them. I'm so excited to be so close to the mountains!!! Here's hoping for more fresh powder in the days to come and many more ski adventures to write about!