happy hiking

Last weekend, Bobby and I were looking for an adventure so we teamed up with our friend Cortney and decided to go hiking. And this was no ordinary hike. We decided to spend the whole day out exploring, starting at 8 am and ending at 5 pm. We combined a couple of trails to make a loop of 16 miles!! I can't even tell you exactly where we went other than that it was about 30 minutes outside of SLO in the Santa Lucia Wilderness and we started out on the Rincondada Trail, but thanks to Bobby, the human compass, we made it back in one piece. There is nothing like spending an entire day out enjoying God's beautiful creation and getting a lot of exercise in the process :). It was such a peaceful day and a great way to spend a Sunday.

 this tree was one of the highlights of the hike. it stood atop a lookout of the whole valley.

 love the bright green moss.

 these succulent-looking things were growing wild right out of the side of the mountains. so beautiful. I was thinking how great they would look as a center piece.

 going for it.

 there were many streams that we  Bobby had to cross and when my husband offers to carry me across, how can I say no?

 hello mr. banana slug

 back at The Tree nearing the end of our journey after a 2.5 mile straight uphill climb. just about died. so happy to rest here at the top.

So now that I've walked a half-marathon, it's just a matter of running one. BIG difference.

Happy Hiking! :)

bring it on 2012

It's 2012! Crazy! Time flies when you are having fun and I sure had a lot of fun this past year. Looking back over the year, I can't complain about a thing. I live in SLO, have a wonderful husband, have a great job of serving people every day, and got to go on many adventures and fun trips. I have felt so overwhelmed with blessings and look forward to what's in store for Bobby and I this year. 

So last year, Bobby and I made some goals/resolutions and I'm happy to report we accomplished most of them. There are two that I'm really proud of: the first one is that we went on 3 backpacking trips (Big Sur, Santa Cruz Island, and Yosemite). The other one is that we both read 15 books! Now, that might not sound like a lot to some of you but before 2011, I averaged 1-3 books a year so I'm pretty darn proud! All but 3 of the books I read last year were true stories about people's lives. I like to read books about how people have overcome hardships, struggles, or experienced extraordinary things in their life. I am drawn to these books because the people I work with at my job have mental illness and have dealt with many, many setbacks and hardships so I like to learn as much as I can and learn from other people's stories so I can better understand where they are coming from which enables me to better serve them. Here are a few of my favorites:

1) "Same Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall & Denver Moore
2) "Unbearable Lightness" by Portia de Rossi
3) "The Girl's Guide to Homelessness" by Brianna Karp
4) "The Soloist" by Steve Lopez
5) "Heaven is For Real" by Todd Burpo


I'm going to try and read 15 more books this year so let me know if you know of any good ones!

Our big goal for 2012 is......to run a half-marathon! We're so excited because SLO is hosting their first ever marathon and half-marathon on Earth Day (April 22) this year! Bobby and I are already training for it and are very excited to run it. It's good motivation to start the year off in shape! You can find more information about the race here.

Another exciting thing we are looking forward to this year is moving into our new place in SLO next weekend! It's 2 blocks from downtown, walking distance to all the shops and restaurants, biking distance to work, and across the street from a park and community garden. I cannot wait to decorate and make it home for us. We have extra rooms so we welcome any and all visitors!

these are the gardens in the park by our new place.

Good luck on all your goals this year!