The sweet spot of life

Soon March will be a memory, but for me, it's a month in a year that I'll forever hold dear. 

I celebrated my 30th birthday, which concluded my "Road to 30," a series of challenges, goals, and activities I planned and plotted, with the help of my friends at work. These two friends are just about to turn 30, too, so we motivated each other to create modified "30 Before 30" lists. I wrote mine out here a while back.

I'm proud of the progress I made on this list, but it's just a list. One of many. I've been an obsessive list-writer, goal-setter, and challenge-lover my entire life. I know in my heart of hearts that I can do anything I want to do with hard work, determination, and a cheering section. Oh, and time. 

It was easy to prioritize some of the things on this list because right now I have the time. I can be a bit selfish. I am not job-hunting. I am not house-hunting. I am not over-committed with freelance work. Taylor and I don't have kids. He is in the middle of tax season, and my biggest responsibility is our dog. And he is a big responsibility, don't get me wrong, but it's OK to leave him at home, and he doesn't need too much.

Soon, things will change. We will enter another season of our lives. I'm not sure what that will be or what God has in store for us, but I look forward with anticipation. We will be ready. Because we aren't taking for granted the time that we have right now. We're healthy. We have a roof over our heads. We bring joy to each other and hopefully to others. We have jobs that we love. For me, this is huge. A while back, I decided I wouldn't be happy unless I was working for myself. But that's a lie. In my current job, I love going to work, I love my coworkers, and I love what I do. That's a whole lot of love for something I spend the majority of my days doing right now. Eventually, of course, I would like to work for myself, but who's to say when that will be. I want to enjoy this. Right now.    

I am in the sweet spot of my life. I was so excited to turn 30 because to me 30 has always been a milestone signifying establishment. When I was 25, I wanted to be 30. I wanted to be taken seriously professionally, have experience personally, and have an understanding and appreciation for the events in my life. And I'm grateful because I feel like I have all of these things. 

I started writing this blog when I packed up my car and moved to Austin at age 22. Without a plan. I had the determination to figure things out, though, and I had my family and friends' encouragement. I made a life there. I lived it up. I continue to travel back with Taylor because Austin is my favorite city, and we continue to grow our friendships there, but I don't wish for that early 20s life. I know too much now. 

I chalked up more experiences through grad school, felt the pain of a broken heart, wondered when it would be my turn as I stood beside dear friends getting married, and eventually met the true love of my life. I felt the sting of a layoff, the humility of working a customer service job with a master's degree, and the uncertainty of leaping on faith when struggling between two new job opportunities. 

And then I got married. And we traveled. And we lived in an itty-bitty living space with more outdoor gear than two people should own. Then we bought a house and got a puppy. And now we're here. Settled into this sweet spot. 

I know why the events of my 30 years have shaped up the way they have. Why I didn't go to Stanford. Why I didn't marry young. Why I didn't move back to Austin. Because God always has a plan and things truly do happen for a reason, a cliche I didn't want to believe when I was 22, but I'm thankful I'm able to live out daily now at 30. 

We don't know what's next, but that's OK. If nothing ever changed, I think we'd still be happy. Because we've got a good thing. And we thank God every day for this time.

I'll continue to make lists and write out goals and to-dos, but some of these things will never get checked off, and others will get added without much consideration. I'm proud of my life at age 30, and I'm most thankful for the outstanding cheering section I've had the length of the road.   

  

Without further ado, a recap of this silly list: 

1) Finish our wedding album

CHECK! I made two--one with the professional photos and one with "outtakes," pics from pre-wedding celebrations, photos from friends, and pics from our honeymoon.

2) Paint and change out fixtures in guest bath
CHECK! Although we're saving a major update for when we're not spending money on travel, we did gussy up the bathroom with new paint and fixtures.

3) Complete a 30-day challenge

CHECK! Not only did work sponsor a Fit February challenge, but I did Barre3 every day for 30 days. Some days it was just 10 minutes, and some days I didn't squeeze it in till 11:50 p.m., but I did it! My co-worker once told me that she wanted to be in the best shape ever and to her that meant being able to transition activities, completing whatever challenge was in front of her, whether that meant running a half-marathon and then taking some kind of crazy workout class...and I feel like I can do that. I feel like I'm in MY "best shape ever," which is incomparable. 

4) Host a holiday dinner (plenty of options coming up with Christmas, New Years, Valentines)
CHECK! We didn't get to host Christmas this past holiday--hopefully next year!--but we did host a huge birthday dinner for Taylor (a make-up for his snowed out 30th from last year), and we hosted a Sweethearts' Dinner on Valentine's.

5) Make Julia Child's beef bourguignon
CHECK! It took all-day, people. I love Julia Child as if she were my grandmother, but there are some modern short-cuts that would accomplish this same level of deliciousness, I do believe. 

6) Organize my digital life, including my writing portfolio
DID NOT COMPLETE!!! Although progress has been made, my digital life continues to be a giant mess. This stays on the to-do list! 

7) Get some freelance work again 
CHECK! I wrote a post here: 

And I'm working with a couple of other folks to hopefully start up some new projects. Huzzah!

8) Organize my photos
DID NOT COMPLETE (see No. 6 above)! 

9) Host a multi-course dinner party
CHECK! We've had a couple of these now...

10) Make a schedule for finishing my cookbook ... the one I started almost 4 years ago in graduate school
DID NOT COMPLETE...BUT I AM WORKING ON IT! Thanks to an amazing author who spoke at work the other day, I've been re-energized to finish this project. I'll have my schedule done before March is complete. 

11) Write-up a plan for one of my business ideas

DID NOT COMPLETE! 

12) Minimize the amount of boxes in the garage
WORK IN PROGRESS! 

13) Plan our next road trip

CHECK! And it's going to be EPIC! Have dog. Will travel! 

As if the above wasn't enough, I decided to add a few things: 

14) Volunteer regularly 

CHECK! I volunteered as an assistant coach for the girls' basketball team at the high school where I went. I just went once weekly for practice and tried to make one game a week. It was tough carving out that time, and I'm thankful work is flexible, but I'm also glad the commitment is over. It was a lot of driving. Hopefully the girls got something out of it. I enjoyed the relationships I made with a couple of the ladies. 

15) Take a class 

I signed up for one at work, so does that count?

16) Host a soup party 

DID NOT COMPLETE...but maybe I can squeeze this in before spring swings into summer?

17) Pray the rosary for a week straight 

DID NOT COMPLETE...but am hoping to do this leading into Easter. 

18) Hand-make Valentine's 

CHECK! I would say this was more of a semi-homemade, as I had the idea and executed it, but I ended up buying the baked goods for assembly. 

Fun birthday deliveries...

Throwback photo love from sisters across the country!

This has nothing to do with anything, other than my love of Papa Murphy's heart-shaped pizza...this photo just uploaded, so here ya go!

Back on the wedding guest circuit...

New hair for the 30th...

Workout...I mean work...travel to L.A.

'Tis the season ... or 'twas the season, rather

A little sentimental holiday round-up post for those of you still checking in on this here blog. Nothing too exciting...

The holidays came and went just a handful of months ago, but with the springtime sun peeking its way out from behind the clouds, these photos feel like distant memories.

We kept up with our annual tradition of traveling to Albany for Thanksgiving. Such a treat to spend quality time with Taylor's entire family and his grandparents' lovely friends. As an old soul, I feel so fortunate to have a great group of "older than my parents" people in my life who care about Taylor and me. I hold the times we share together deep in my heart. The food and conversation was filling and fantastic.

Christmastime was restful, as Taylor and I took some time off together before the holiday. We escaped to Hood River for a killer day of mountain biking on the Washington side of the river. In Taylor's words, it was "unreal" being in short sleeves and sunshine in late December. Although I would have enjoyed snowshoeing during our December break, snow has been hard to come by in the area this winter. 

And what could be better than having the littles around at the holidays? Seeing the magic of Christmas through the eyes of a three-year-old was outstanding. 

My favorite part of the Christmas season is the tradition of going to church to celebrate the real reason of the season and the outrageous dinner my mom cooks following mass. My parents' house is always filled to the brim with the scents of rich, dreamy food, the sounds of several boisterous family members, and the cooing and giggles of the nieces and nephews. 

On Christmas Day, we felt like little kids, so excited to wake up for the first time on the holiday in our first house. We exchanged gifts, enjoyed breakfast, and headed down to Albany to share the day with Taylor's family. Again we feasted at Nanny and Bobby's house with Taylor's cousins. With too many gifts and overstuffed bellies, we headed back home to enjoy the final days of 2014 with our pup. 

The Doggie Dinner Date crew ... Bowen and his friends Stella and Otis at the Bolgens' house.

Jordan in his traditional Christmas morning attire...a WSU sweatsuit. 

Looking at old Bethell family Christmas photos. Priceless!

A few photos from Montana

Because I was phone-less on this trip (have I mentioned how much I recommend this?), I took all of our photos on my digital camera. Hopefully I can organize all of the pics and make a book or something, but for now...a few...in random order.

 Can you see the goats?!

Journal in lap. Husband in the water. Sunshine on our faces. Not a care in the world. No schedule. No plan. Pure bliss.

Take me back.

July 10, 2014 - The Great American Road Trip Parts VI & VII ... the final entry

I sit here on the bank of the Northfork of the Flathead River, on the NW side of Glacier, which is far less traveled by tourists. We had to take a long dirt road to get out here, and we noticed all of the campsites have vacancies. I'm a little nervous due to the bear prints we saw in the mud as Taylor led me from the car to a gravel bar off the bank of the river.

Since I'm not technically posted up on the side of the river--but rather IN the river--I somehow feel a bit safer. We weren't planning to come up to this river, but then again, we haven't really planned much of this trip, so why should I be surprised by my current position?

We actually set an alarm this morning so we could get out on the road ahead of tourists, hoping to see some much-anticipated wildlife. Taylor said last night was his worst night's sleep yet, and I hated to agree. The rustic accommodations allowed us to hear every flush of any toilet above, below, or beside us, and before 5 a.m., I thought a group of people must have been climbing down the escape ladders outside our room for a pre-dawn hike, when, in fact, it was just the water running through the exposed pipes in the room.

Regardless of the noise, we took two showers each in less than twelve hours simply because we could.

The Going to the Sun Road was much less populated, and seeing the spectacular sights in reverse order was equally as amazing as yesterday. When a group of cars pulled over and tourists stood staring up at a hill, I glanced up and saw the backside of a grizzly. But by the time Taylor could safely pull over, the bear had tucked away into some trees. Not even a few miles up the road, however, I spotted a longhorn sheep. Taylor saw three more.

After taking a few photos and continuing on our journey, we saw one more lone sheep, prancing up the highway and straight into the Logan Pass Visitor's Center without a care in the world. We continued looking for wildlife as we exited the park and made a mental list of things we want to do next time and locations we still want to see.

Taylor kept mentioning the town of Polebridge, but in all honesty, we thought it would have been too much of a haul to try and get up there, just less than 20 miles from the Canadian border. Then we saw a mileage sign, just as we were about to head for Whitefish. Polebridge: 25 miles.

With that sign, we headed north.

A Missoulian (?) bartender spoke fondly of Polebridge a few days ago, and once we arrived we knew we made the right directional decision. There's a mercantile and a cafe, and that's about it. Oh, and this river and the NW entrance to Glacier.

We were told the cookies were heavenly and the breakfast sandwiches were to die for, so we stocked up on both, which are now probably melting in the car as I write this.

The town is on the national list of historic places, and--like McDonald Lodge--is celebrating its 100th year this summer. I love a good centennial celebration, and I enjoyed serendipitously stumbling upon both of these. I'm not sure where we'll end up tonight, but the hot sun here, intermittently reprieved by a soft breeze, sure isn't something to hurry along.

A few random Montana observations: There are so many casinos here! They're small but frequent. The Rocky Mountains are spectacular, a gorgeous border along the highway up to Flathead Lake from Missoula. It seems no matter where we've been, the locals--or summer locals--are used to visitors and tourists, and everyone seems so genuinely friendly. Oh, and today (Thursday) was the first time I turned on my phone since Sunday, and I really only turned it on to see if my sister had gone into labor yet. For all we knew, we could have a new niece or nephew. We also just realized we have no clue what's going on in the news or back home. We called our moms to let them know we're safe, and we aren't ready to be back in the city yet.

I forgot to mention that there are quite a few historic Catholic missions sprinkled around the Indian reservations of Montana. Not only are these structures and surrounding towns beautiful, but they got me thinking about what the area must have looked like when these churches were painted.

...

Picking up again from home to recap the conclusion of our final night on the road.

After departing from Polebridge, we planned to stop in Flathead Lake by way of Whitefish. After a longer-than-intended lunch in this adorable--albeit tourist-heavy ski and summer lake town--we decided to keep driving through Flathead to reach Missoula and then continue to Idaho. We made a choice to hit home Friday, instead of Saturday, to give us a few moments to readjust to schedules and alarms...emails and phone calls...before Monday inevitably arrives. We made it to Missoula at 5:45, just fifteen minutes before the fly shop closed.

...

Well. It looks like that's where my journal entry ended. As I recall, we got a couple of souvenirs at the fly shop, hit the Big Dipper Ice Cream stand, and drove until dark. We ended up staying at an RV park on the side of a river in who-knows-where Idaho. It was a little sketchy, to say the least, but we ran out of daylight and had no choice. The bathrooms were amazing, though. And I caught my first glimpse into the life of RV'ers. Wow. Those people were serious with their patio sets, potted plants, full-size barbecues, and endless equipment to settle into their time away from home.

Even now, eight months removed from this trip, it sits at the top of my mind as one of the best weeks of our lives together. It was just Taylor, me, and the open road. Without a home. Without a cell phone. Without a plan. It was summer as it should be. Wild and free. And I'll never, ever forget it.

July 9, 2014 - The Great American Road Trip Part V

Good gravy. I need to carve out some time in my life to just sit and write. And I need to make a resolution to update my blog immediately after things happen. Or else this happens. Eight months later, and here I am finally transferring my journal entries to my blog. But what else is new?

...

I forgot to mention that while camping at Flathead Lake, our neighbors had WSU license plates. Although I didn't get the chance to chat with them, I knew this was a good sign.

We woke relatively early and had the car packed before 8. Now that we've camped several days in a row, we've got the set-up/tear-down process pretty dialed. We drove through absolutely gorgeous farm country to get to West Glacier, where we began our trip through Glacier National Park. I'll admit it. I did not do any research before this trip. I often would rather go into a vacation blind than to have preconceived ideas and to-dos. As we began our trip into the park, both Taylor and I agreed it looked a lot like Oregon. It was beautiful, naturally, but those first few miles didn't really inspire awe. We passed through the historic McDonald Hotel, stopped for a few photos, and then began our journey on the Going to the Sun Road.

And that's when we realized the multitude of reasons why this place is a national park, famed and loved by countless people from across the world. I've never driven through the Swiss Alps, but once we got through the park and to the Swiss-inspired Many Lakes Hotel, I realized my slight inclination--that these mountains were something remotely like the Alps--was in fact true. We'd been camping for days, and I wasn't ready to cave yet, but we took the fact that there were just three rooms left for the night as a sign that maybe we should stay.

At this point in the trip, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tired of boxed and canned campfire dinners and the work that goes into making those. My mouth had been watering for ice cream, and we both wanted to sink our teeth into elk or bison burgers. When in Glacier, right?

After settling into our pseudo-room--think: FULL bed (not queen), water closet, and sink in-room--we decided to check-in for the boat tour of lakes Josephine and Grinnell. I must rewind a moment to mention that we likely wouldn't have even driven over to the Many Glacier region of Glacier Park if it weren't for the suggestion of a stranger we encountered at one of the lookout points on our drive across the park. As soon as he said he was from Austin and Marfa, Texas, with a summer home up at Flathead, well, we knew we could trust his advice. After the boat tour and mini-hike, in which we encountered several couples who had literally just seen a grizzly bear (they proved it with their photos), we headed back to the hotel and Taylor tried his hand at fishing in Lake Grinnell. No such luck, so we settled for dinner in the Swiss Lounge. We split an elk sloppy Joe and a bison burger, along with a local IPA for each.

Some of my favorite moments on this trip have not been captured on camera, like the breath-taking lakeside sunset we witnessed tonight. We decided in that moment that the room rate was well worth it. Sitting in rickety Adirondack chairs, beers in hand, watching the clouds change colors from pink to gray over the enormous mountains in front of us. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but the sun does not go down until well past 10:30 in Montana. Perhaps it's God's gift to the people who brave such tough winters, only to make it to the seemingly everlasting summer, which might almost make them forget about the snow.

Almost.

July 8, 2014 - The Great American Road Trip Part IV

Just after dinner and moments before dark, Taylor cast into the Bitterroot right near our camp, and he quickly caught a rainbow trout. I netted it, photographed it, and he tossed it back. No time for s'mores last night--the pillows were calling our names.

We woke earlier than the day before, hustled to prepare coffee, breakfast, and then Taylor darted for the river. I cleaned up camp and have been obsessed with my book, so time alone is welcomed. Once Taylor returned, we put the pedal to the metal and jetted back to Missoula for a late-morning run.

We wanted to climb Mt. Sentinel to the giant "M" above the university. We started downtown, and by the time we'd (I'd) made it around several switchbacks, I was beat. We climbed much higher than the actual "M" and visions of our South Sister climb flashed back. Once we finished, we hit the Kettlehouse for a local beer and some insider info on Glacier, then we got back in the car and headed north.

The drive to Glacier is gorgeous, but so far in Montana, I haven't been disappointed with any of the views. Once we made it up to Bigfork, we decided to camp for the night, at a state park called Wayfarers. These state parks are swanky, I tell you. Bathrooms, showers, and great access points to Flathead Lake. What a sight! The largest natural freshwater lake in the west. I see what they mean when they say Montana is the last best place. It's breathtaking. Literally.

As soon as we set up camp--again we scored with a somewhat secluded spot--we jumped into the ice-cold lake. Following our dip, we drove through the historic downtown of Bigfork, which is drawn straight out of an old movie or novel. It couldn't have been more picturesque, with its patriotic bunting and banners hanging from the two-story mercantile and all the cafes.

Our evening consisted of another gourmet campfire dinner, wine, and watching the sun set over Flathead Lake. though it's getting chilly back at camp, the sun is still burning bright as it descends in the west. Both of us sit here wishing we had our swimsuits on like the many other folks who continue to jump from the boulder-lined beach well after 9 p.m. This is a summer night if I ever saw one.