So There’s That Vol. 33

{Sort of like a “Friday Five” or a “Life Lately” except it’s probably not Friday, and I gave up on the idea of a catchy alliteration. These are some bits and pieces of my not-so-glam 20-something life. See past posts HERE}

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Friends, I usually do these So There’s That posts every 4 to 6 weeks (ideally once a month), but I haven’t done one since mid-May! So buckle up, this is going to be a long one and somewhat of a psuedo summer recap.

Home to Oregon

At the end of June I traveled to Seattle for a work meeting and then caught the short flight home for my annual summer trip to Oregon. As always, I packed quite a bit in, including a few days up in the mountains with my parents who were catering for the Pendleton Round Up Wagon Train. I wrote all about that here and shared tons of fun pictures I took with my DSLR. I also spent some time with my best friend and her kids, my baby cousin Sawyer and up to the mountains again to my family’s cabin to catch the first couple of days at our annual campout week.

Sawyer June

Sawyer has grown quite a bit since some of these photos and just recently started to walk! She turned 1 on July 13 (which I wrote about here) and is definitely the star of the show.

Goodbye to all that: the last letter of year 29.

I am quickly approaching year 28, but this blog post by one of my favorite writers/motivators, Hannah Brencher – an ode to her 20s really connected with me in so many ways.

A few of my favorite pieces…

People will come and go in and out of your life. And that’s okay. Things end. Friendships don’t always go on forever. You’ll hopefully have your people though. And you’ll learn, as you grow up, that you don’t need the whole world sitting at your table. It really only takes one, maybe two, people who get you and want to be with you in the mess. You don’t need everyone’s approval.

Your words are pretty powerful. They can either build a person up or tear them down. Choose to build people up. You’ll learn in year 29 that words that don’t bring life are words better left unsaid.

Read the whole letter here.

Tex and Cash

Not one but TWO puppies joined my family this summer and I was really bummed that this happened AFTER my visit home. Tex, on the left, is my sister’s new pup, and Cash, on the right, is my parents’. They are mini heeler X border collie, and already causing all sorts of trouble on the farm.

Happy Mail

Motivation

Enjoyed this wise words (and funny ones), and celebrities using their spotlight for something good.

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Grand Canyon

At the beginning of August I traveled to Arizona for a conference in Scottsdale. When my friend Nicole and I discovered that we both had really early arrival times because we were traveling from the East Coast, we decided to make the most of it. We hopped in a rental car along with one of Nicole’s co-workers and drove up to see the Grand Canyon. It was a quick but fun adventure. I think it goes without saying but the Grand Canyon is just beautiful. I also discovered that it terrified me! I’ve always loved hiking and the mountains are my favorite place to be but when we climbed down a tiny bit and walked out to one of the cliffs the didn’t have safety barriers I basically froze. Guys, I was so scared that I started to tear up a bit (thank goodness for those sunglasses!) Anyway, I did find it a bit comical once my friends were done taking their pictures and we were back up on normal ground. I had no idea something like that was going to freak me out! But between the sites and a good dose of girl talk, I am so glad that we made this side trip.

So, any photos you see of me now or hereafter that look like there is nothing behind me, trust me there is or I’m comfortable distance away from the edge. Its all about the angles.