camping.

nature really does heal all wounds. i was feeling down and out and lonely and sad at the end of last week as evidenced by my blog post....

then i went camping in some of my favorite mountains in colorado with two of my friends and my lizzie dog. we camped and ate good food and hiked and bonded. it was great. i came out a happier and healthier person. i need to remember the outdoors as my fix and my savior in situations where i can't get out of my own head.

words can't do it justice, so here are some photos instead (all taken with my new iphone!):

my partners in crime:

lily having way too much fun pumping water.

dave looking like a rock star.

lizzles looking skittish and nervous (as always). she managed to butt-down run back and forth on the snow and had the time of her life the whole hike. she's definitely a snow dog.

pumping water. i remember being so happy at this moment. a nice rushing creek, sun on my back, long hike done, two good friends, fresh cold water, a warm hearty meal we would soon cook, and cold beers we would soon drink. a moment to end all moments. i remember thinking to myself, you need to store this moment in your brain and remember it whenever you're not happy. this will make you happy. it's worked so far.

nice sunset on a random mountain on the drive in.

mt. princeton

the creek where we filtered, surrounded by a green meadow.

lizzie and i on the ride back. we were both tuckered.

sunset over a lake on the drive down friday night.

crutches

as i've gone out into the world on my own, i've left the comforts of my childhood home behind. of course i'm mainly talking about cable television. the last time i had cable was in the dorms in college when it came with the place. i never really watched it then; my roommate had a tiny tv that was pretty far away from my lofted bed, and i'm pretty sure she usually had the remote. that meant if she fell asleep, i would have to get out of my cozy bed and turn it off. not happening. (speaking of the lofted beds reminds me of a cute little story that involves my drinking too much and jewel being incredibly not happy with me for a few days, but that's best left for another time—or never.)

anyway, i haven't had tv for a few years, and it has made my life better and more involved and honestly richer. but then there's the time suck of the internet, especially now that hulu and netflix are in existence. it makes tv so accessible, that it's hard to turn it off. especially when you can watch exactly what you want, when you want it. i'm not saying that i overdo it at all—i probably have a pretty respectable track record relative to most other people—buuuut there are times when i come home tired from working long hours and just wanna plop down and turn my brain off by turning hulu on. a few days ago, i made the conscientious decision to cut down on my hulu/netflix/overall internet time. i made the same decision with facebook about a month ago, and i can already tell a difference in my brain function. spring and summer are here, and i want to do more. i want to sew, paint, draw, read, take pictures, write, sculpt (yay summer pottery class!), create, hike, run, play with lizzles, and have more adventures.

also, i want to be a more fun person.

it might seem like hypocrisy as you read this on a blog... that's on the internet. but i see this as a form of creative expression, and i'm actually doing something instead of just absorbing or viewing. i'm the creator and the protagonist.

i'll leave you with a picture of mine and a picture of a drawing of mine (nothing special, there was just nice light so i took a picture) as a reward for reading through this whole post.

big changes

i remember having specific thoughts this winter about what made me happy. usually i would be having a good day at work, and i would step away from my desk and think to myself, "i have a great life. i have a great boyfriend, a great dog, a great house, and a great job." and i was genuinely happy. of course those peak times were riddled with low points and so-so times, but for the most part, i identified those 4 elements as being a great source of joy for me.

as winter has given way to a wet spring, i only have one of those things left (luckily it's the great dog! and i still have my job—it's just been not so great lately), and the rest have gone by the way side. it's funny, though, because when i realized the other day that 3 of those exact elements that comprised my happiness were actually gone (or dramatically changed), my happiness didn't just evaporate. my thought process went something like this, "your boyfriend is gone, you have to leave your house, and your job isn't what you want it to be any more. oh... ok." and then it was immediately on to other things. i didn't dwell or even feel any bit of sadness. it just was. that for me is a really empowering realization because i've had the tendency to brood about and obsess over unhappy events/times in my life. like if i think about it enough and make myself hurt enough, it will be over sooner. (not usually the case)

either way, this is promising to be an amazing spring and summer, and i'm glad to be able to share it with y'all.

before hiking longs peak, rmnp, colorado, summer 2009.

hiking mt. clements, glacier np, summer 2008.

lizzles testing a product called "doggles" in the office, fall 2010.

my bags are packed; i'm ready to go...

this is the final scene of packing chaos before i leave for my trip to iceland tomorrow. it includes but isn't limited to: one packed-to-the-gills 155L duffel, one 35L day pack, ski boots, poles, skis, one box with 4 shovels, 4 beacons, 4 probes, and one box with helmet cam and all its accessories. it's been crazy the last few weeks organizing all this gear, which is all completely new. it's all new because the point of the trip is gear testing for backpacker's fall gear guide. just another day's work as the gear person for an outdoor adventure magazine! :)

lily came over and helped me pack (thanks again lily bee! and mark too!) because i tend to be ocd about making sure i'm not forgetting anything. and on a trip like this when every single piece counts, i'm super nervous about forgetting something. it could be the difference between happy and warm julie or cold and miserable julie. and there's a big difference. she and lizzie fell asleep while i was rechecking the list for the umpteenth time.

i'm incredibly excited about this trip. ski touring in the wilds of iceland and hanging in reykjavik will be amazing. i think it's going to just fuel my fire to travel even more. which is a good thing because i've needed to start adventuring, but with a full-time job it's nearly impossible. either way, i'm ready to go and shred those hills.

this is what i live for.

an ode to my bed

she likes to peek outside and stare intently at birds and squirrels and people.

probably not the best post to put up after two days without posts, but i felt like it was necessary to illustrate my life lately. i've spent a good chunk of non-work time in my bed, and if it hasn't been actual sleep, it's been netflix or hulu or magazines or my newest book. i'm not actually sick, but spring fever for me has struck in the form of being sleepy.

my glorious bedclothes: a quilt and a fleece blanket, no actual sheets required.

the best bed buddy you could ask for. she likes to sleep as much as i do, so it works.

introduction

since i will probably be talking about my dog lizzie on here more often than is wanted or necessary, i figured i better introduce her to the blogosphere in style. she's a pit/lab mix, and i love telling people that because of the reactions i get to her being a pit. she's one of those pits that proves those misplaced stereotypes completely and utterly wrong. she thinks she's a lap dog, is perfectly trained (i wish i could claim credit for this, but she really just does what she's told. i leave her off leash most of the time.), and is an absolute sweetheart. and i obviously love her more than words. so without further ado, i present to you lizzie! (aka lizzles, lizard, libly, mish mish, mizzles, blondie, lizzie face, punkin)

i would say that face gets her out of everything, but she barely does anything wrong.

this is when i first got her from the shelter, and she was barely two months old.

this was in her leggy blonde phase.

she's adorably pigeon-toed.

is it weird to say my female dog is handsome? because she is.