HIKE READ CHANGE

I apologize for not reporting on my trip to Alaska yet. It is taking me a bit longer to get myself together (i.e. adjusting to EST so that I can function like a decent human and not an insomniac). This factor alone has prevented me from doing anything productive (i.e. cleaning, developing film to share with you, looking for work, etc. ). Let's ignore the fact that despite my rigorous activities today and a relaxing shower I find myself wide awake at 1:50 am EST blogging. Present moment: my brain is fully functioning yet at the same time sending signals to my body that it should be asleep. Some place between logic and just plain 'ole common sense my signals get mixed up and instead of me lying still helping them to sort themselves out I keep busy. Shuffling about making lists to complete, blah blah blah lending myself no physical or psychological relief. I may be in this place forever. Help. It has to stop.

How was your Labor Day!? I had a fun-filled, eventful Labor Day weekend with family and friends. Friday the Senator and I went bowling with friends from college, new and old. We indulged in everything that comes along with bowling. To name a couple; Uber excitement when obtaining a strike and the alcoholic version of i-D-clare-war.

Saturday the Senator and I traveled to Great Falls National Park to hike. This was my first bout (sp?) with hiking and I LOVED it. I'm planning a trip with my girls before it gets too cold

A new sense of self-discovery has found me. I embrace my newly "1/4 lifer-ness" and recognize that it's true when people say only some things can be appreciated at certain ages (someone some place said it. just go with the flow). For me, it's been the appreciation of nature, art, culture, family, friends, and, well, me. I have gotten to know me in a way I never thought I would. I thought when I locked my hair I had found me, but turning 25 has brought an entirely new sense of the woman that is... ME. Time has formed her (ME) and made me into something beautiful. My days are filled with curiosity, anxiety, lust, love, and adventure. I love the woman i have become (which is a BIG-ass deal). She is unique and as time continues to pass, I love her more and more. I appreciate her past more, I understand why she is the way she is. I understand her likes and dislikes. I accept her for who she is and she and I together tell others to "kick rocks" if they don't like her. She loves to get lost in books, learn about cultures other than her own, she is suddenly interested in making new friends and wants to learn to shoot a gun. She engages in activities that take her out of her comfort zone and what's best of all is that she hasn't suffered from sudden depression and feelings of failure since her return from Alaska (which is another BIG-ass deal, considering she still needs a job and her appt. to begin the home buying process is on Oct. 8th).

Enough about this new woman, let's talk about the new book I'm reading.

When the movie came out I rendered myself too impressionable to see it. Straight away I felt it would make me question my own status in life, my marriage, blah blah blah and then I would have to deal with wanting to pick up for a year and run off because I had seen a movie and was sure I was going through the same thing. I don't know what made me think that reading the book would not offer the same result, especially since books tend to have more details than motion pictures. BUT, I'm reading the book nonetheless, and so far, the only effect it's had on me is to begin journaling again. I'm in chapter 19 of book 1 (Italy). I won't even brush the surface and risk spoiling it for you. Get it. Read it. Experience it for yourself.

I'm thinking of cutting my hair like this

My friend A showed me the haircut courtesy of her friend S. Since I've embraced the fact that I am chicken. I will not do this at least until next spring or summer. It's about to get cold now and I love wrapping my scarf around my neck with my hair down acting as another barrier against the elements. I can't believe I'm even considering this. I mean, I vowed not to even go near a pair of scissors until I birthed my first child, but things change, people change, ideas change, and this, the desire to cut my hair, just happens to be one of those things that fall into that sweet little category of life we like to call, C-H-A-N-G-E.