2008 was an incredible year! Yes, it has definitely had its ups and downs, but those ups and downs are what has made it so great! I started off in quite the downward spiral and had more than a few people worried about me, but as time has passed I've become more happy than I ever thought possible!
Working at Sugarbush last season was really great! I got to ski more in a season than I probably had my entire life, and improved so much! I made some friends there, and got to spend a lot of time taking care of myself. I really spent that time trying to figure out what it was that I needed from life and the people who were in mine. Sadly that gig ended and I had to move on to find something new.
Along came the Howard Center where I've been biding my time ever since! Living in Burlington has been really great. I love the city and the people. Summer time here is really incredible! This past summer was made even better with the people I met at a potluck in May. There I met some of the people I am still hanging out with, and of course, Matt! I honestly think it was fate that brought us together, and love that will keep us together for a long time to come. I was so excited about meeting him, and then a month later even more excited when he called me. Ever since June I've been floating on cloud nine with him and it doesn't seem like I'll be coming down any time soon.
We've had so many fun adventures together already in the 7 months we been dating, and the fun just keeps coming! I've climbed in so many new places and pushed myself so much harder than I ever though possible. I love the experiences I have with him! We have so much fun together and enjoy each other so much! Life really is incredible!
Autumn here was absolutely beautiful. The trips we took to the Adirondack mountains and all over New England were so incredible with the colors and the perfect temperatures! Our Thanksgiving trip got changed around a bit because of snow down in West Virginia, so we went down to Slade, KY instead to the Red River Gorge! This place was absolutely incredible! The climbing there was world class and the people so welcoming. We had a blast! Thanksgiving meal was served at this place called Miguel's where they cooked a bunch of turkeys and other goodies and served until they ran out! What an awesome time!
Since being back from the Red we've kind of been laying a bit low as far as trips are concerned. But we are still getting out on a regular basis. Ice season has started (along with ski season) and I have started climbing a different medium for the first time in my life. I enjoy it! It is still scary for me, and I am definitely not great at it yet, but with time I think I will gain a lot of really good skill (I have a great teacher) and be able to go fairly far with it if I try hard enough. We'll see what happens, but I am looking forward to a lot more of it in the coming winter.
On the home front, Matt is almost here full time! In a little more than two weeks we will be officially living in sin together! I absolutely cannon wait for this to happen. We've been waiting for that day to get here for 5 months now, and it has almost arrived! I think we're both more impatient about it now than we have been the entire time It is going to be so good to have him here every day and to not be relegated to the telephone day in and day out. He's the best thing to ever happen to me, and I am so happy we are able to share our lives together! yeah!
Coming up we have a couple of pretty awesome trips planned. In February Matt is heading over to Spain for 3 weeks at which point I will join him for another 2 weeks. We'll be down in an area called El Chorro together. It is in the South of Spain near Malaga. The weather is going to be nice and warm, and hopefully dry (it tends to be the rainy season in March there... but we will see) and we'll get to do a whole bunch of climbing!
Once we get back from Spain we'll have a couple of weeks before Matt leaves again on another trip, this time out to Yosemite for a while. I am hoping to join him for 5 or 6 days around my birthday so we can do some big wall climbing together! We'll see if I can get the time off of work, but I am keeping my fingers crossed!
So life is good, busy as heck, but definitely the best it has ever been! I'm so happy, and have so many things to look forward to and to be grateful for. It is almost overwhelming. But I am taking it all as it comes, and soaking it up because I know I deserve this, and happiness is what we're all looking for in the end, so why not enjoy it!?
