You Are Not Everyone's Cup of Tea...

... and that is ok. 

To make a very long story short, this is a lesson I learned this week:

 

Also, PLEASE click this link and read this blog post which also summarizes this week's life lesson... it's a short read and it's sooo good: 

https://herviewfromhome.com/i-cant-be-everyones-chick-fil-a-sauce/

{Random fact you didn't ask for: I am faithful to Polynesian sauce and Mike is a 100% supporter of Chic-Fil-A sauce.}  

Ok, back to my life lesson... 

Not only did I realize this fact (that I'm not everyone's cup of tea), but more importantly: 

I MADE MY PEACE WITH THAT!    

I do not exist to make everyone like me. 

I absorbed some negative energy this week and usually I bottle that up inside and let it slowly eat away at me.  Sounds healthy, right? 

But this time was different!  

I took that negative energy... reflected on it for a bit... and decided to turn it into positive energy.

How, you ask? 

By donating to a charity that related to the (unnecessary) drama that unfolded this week.  

Afterwards, I literally felt like a vessel for change 

(sounds dumb, I know, but it's true and it's how I felt so deal with it). 

I realized that we can take negativity to heart or 

WE CAN LITERALLY CHANGE IT INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE!  

Ok, enough of the life lesson.  Please know (mom) that I am 110% FINE. 

Now, in an effort to spread positive vibes... shall we look at some adorable puppy pictures and videos????  I THINK SO! 

LOOK AT THIS GOOBER!!!

PLEASE NOTICE THE LINT ROLLER... I HAD TO
WORK HARD TO GET HIS FUR OFF ONE OF
MY SKI SHIRTS. 

NAPPING LIKE THAT???  REALLY? 

SWEET SNUGGLES WHILE WE WAIT FOR DAD
TO GET HOME FROM WORK. 

I LIKE TO STICK MY FACE IN THE SNOW...
A LOT! 

 I've had a cold all week but this morning I was feeling well enough to take a few laps at Heavenly. Then I took the puppy on a hike/snowshoe near the house. 

SLOPES OF HEAVENLY ON THE LEFT... LAKE TAHOE ON THE RIGHT.

I have absolutely NOTHING to complain about.  

Nothing at all.  

Life is beautiful.

Your life is literally what you make it. 

So, make it exciting!

Make it adventurous if you want. 

Recognize that you aren't everyone's cup of tea... 

and everyone won't be your Chic-Fil-A sauce... 

but you can still be kind to each other and move on!  

I. AM. BLESSED. 

Home

"Where we love is home; home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." 

- Oliver WENDELL Holmes

That beautiful quote is painted on the side of a building in my sweet little hometown and I absolutely love that fact.  Every single time I drive down Wendell Blvd and see those words, it reminds me that I CAN still call Wendell home, even though I also call Tahoe home now.  

Despite having not lived in Wendell for many years, that will always be the first place I think of when I think of "home."  

"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." 

- Maya Angelou

It's weird how we can return, years later, to places we once lived and somehow settle right back in pretty effortlessly.  I feel blessed to think of many different places as HOME. 

So a few days after Christmas, I headed to NC and (as is typical for any visit to NC these days) I hit the ground running.  I took a red-eye and landed at RDU at 5am!  My amazing parents picked me up at that crazy hour and graciously drove me home to sleep for a few hours.  

Once I was a bit more rested, I headed off to Greensboro/Burlington to check on our house and visit with some friends.  

First stop: Kendall's 21st Birthday Party!!! 

PURE JOY

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES.

WAITING ON THE BIRTHDAY SONG! 

Y'all I did SO much more while in Greensboro/Burlington but I didn't take a single picture!  Gah!

  

I had lunch with some of the sweetest friends I have ever known (thanks again Shea, Nathan, and Brady) and we played football/frisbee in the yard for HOURS.  I had so much fun.  I laughed so hard my abs hurt!  Simply a fantastic day!!! 

My sweet friend Grace, and her significant other (nice to meet you by the way Jeff and Sarah), drove all the way from Kernersville to meet me for dinner!  It was SOOO good to see you Gracie Lou and maybe it won't be a full year between our next visit.  

I drove back to Wendell Friday night and on Saturday my dad's side of the family came over.  Mom cooked and we stuffed our faces!  Then we ran around the yard with the kids to burn off those calories.  It was so much fun and it was so good to see everyone!  Again... it was so much fun that I didn't stop to take a single picture!  Geez. 

Sunday night was New Year's Eve!  Bye Bye 2017!  Hello 2018!!!  

We stayed home in our pj's and waited patiently for the ball to drop.  The kids did a GREAT job staying up but both fell asleep just before midnight.  

"The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave and it feels even better to come back." 

- Unknown 

I had a few days to hang with my parents before flying back out to Tahoe. It was good quality time that I'm incredibly grateful for. 

It always feels amazing to be home... but I always find myself missing this OTHER place I call home... Tahoe.  It's weird to love 2 places on opposite sides of the country, and to feel like half your heart is in each.  As much as I love being with my friends and family in NC, I was fiercely missing my husband and fur baby.  

"Home is wherever you leave everything you love and never question that it will be there when you return." 

- Leo Christopher

I returned to Tahoe to a freshly groomed puppy and a clean house (I hit the jackpot with my hubs y'all).  

FIRST TIME GETTING GROOMED AND THEY
GAVE ME THIS COOL BANDANA. 

I've settled back into "normal" routines of work and since we have LITERALLY NO SNOW, I can still get out and do some hiking with the pup: 

JUST UP THE TRAIL FROM OUR HOUSE...
A VERY DIFFERENT PICTURE THAN THIS TIME LAST YEAR. 

KING OF THE ROCK

SOMEONE LOVED RUNNING THROUGH
THE STREAM AND GOT FILTHY!!! 

BUT I CLEANED HIM UP SO HE COULD GET
UP ON THE COUCH... CAN'T DENY THAT FACE! 

Going home is like going back to your comfort zone.  It can be refreshing and comfortable and rejuvenating.  But going back to my home across the country reminds me of how fortunate I am to have had this opportunity.  Tahoe has been an opportunity to rely only on each other (which we could do because we know we have an unconditional support system in NC), and to grow together.  It has opened us up to amazing new experiences and I have zero regrets about that. 

"... You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you'll discover will be wonderful.  What you'll discover is yourself." 

- Alan Alda

 So, while I miss "home" sometimes, I know it's actually because I miss the people that make it feel like home... and I know those people love and support me no matter where I live. 

It's only because of my roots that I am able to spread my wings.  

"We carry our homes within us, which enables us to fly." 

- John Cage

2017: A Year In Review

I love this time of year.  Who doesn't love a fresh start?  A reset?  Renewed hope for things to come?!?!

2017 was a great year.  Every passing year seems to go a little more quickly.  Now, they just feel like they are flying by!  We did some amazing things in 2017 and my intention was to pick just 5 pictures from each month that represent what that month was like.  Honestly, when you have thousands of pictures, that is a monumental task.  And to be honest, there are a few months that I just couldn't get it down to 5 pictures no matter how hard I tried.

Without further ado... here's our 2017 recap in pictures:

JANUARY:

4 FOOT DUMP OF POWDER

STORM AFTER STORM AFTER STORM... 

SNOWBANKS AS TALL AS STREET SIGNS

WE PICKED OUT OUR PUPPY!!!

BURIED BUILDINGS AND TRAIL MAPS AT THE TOP OF HEAVENLY. 

FEBRUARY: 

RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME SKIING

ZEPHYR CAME HOME! 

ANOTHER DUMP OF POWDER

PUPPY PLAYDATES WITH ZEPHYR'S BROTHER! 

RIDICULOUS CUTENESS ON A DAILY BASIS

MARCH: 

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES EVER! 

BEAUTIFUL RAINBOWS!

AGAIN... DAILY CUTENESS

MY PHONE BECAME FULL OF PUPPY PICS

PUPPY PLAYDATES WITH THE NEIGHBOR PUP

APRIL: 

MY HUSBAND HANGING OFF A GONDOLA CABIN

THE VALLEY WAS SO LUSH AND BEAUTIFUL!
AND THE ABUNDANCE OF WATER ATTRACTED ALL KINDS OF
HERONS. 

ZEPHYR'S FIRST TIME TO EMERALD BAY

PAWING THE WATER... NOT SURE WHAT TO DO
HERE YET

FRESH PAINT AND A HANDMADE DESK!
PUTTING OUR TOUCHES ON OUR HOME! 

MAY: 

SNOW MELT CREATED RAGING RIVERS!

HOPE VALLEY WAS GREEN AND LUSH

FINALLY ABLE TO MOUNTAIN BIKE

FIRST CAMPING TRIP WITH ZEPHYR

SNOW BANKS AT THE TOP OF MONITOR PASS
WERE STILL TALLER THAN THE TRUCK... IN MAY! 

JUNE: 

FINALLY ABLE TO GO PADDLEBOARDING! 

AND THEN IT SNOWED.  IN JUNE. 

WE HAD SOME AMAZING SUNSETS! 

I RAN/WALKED THE ROCK TAHOE HALF MARATHON.

ZEPHYR LEARNED TO SWIM!!! 

JULY:

MORE AMAZING SUNSETS

WE HIKED AMONG WILDFLOWERS AND SNOW

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES EVER! 

THE BEACHES ALMOST DISAPPEARED!

WE DID A RECLAIMED ENTRY WALL

I WENT TO CELEBRITY GOLF! 

I DID SOME PADDLEBOARDING IN THE MARSH...
WHICH WAS FULL OF WATER!!! 

WE WENT TO NAGS HEAD, NC! 

AND SPENT TIME WITH LOVED ONES

AND I WAS ABLE TO SAY GOODBYE TO MY
SWEET ADOPTED GRANDMOTHER. 

AUGUST: 

WE TOOK SOME HIKES IN OUR BACKYARD
(AKA HEAVENLY SKI RESORT)

AND WE SPENT THE REST OF THE MONTH SANDING AND
RE-STAINING OUR DECKS...
WHICH IS WHY THERE ARE ONLY 2 PICTURES FOR THE
MONTH OF AUGUST! 

SEPTEMBER: 

ZEPHYR BECAME A SOLID SWIMMER

WE WITNESSED SOME AWESOME STORMS

WE TOOK SOME WALKS THROUGH THE WOODS
BY STREAMS OF ICY COLD WATER

JUST ANOTHER OF MY FAVORITE PICS

AND IT WOULDN'T BE THE FALL WITHOUT SEEING THE SALMON

OCTOBER: 

MOM VISITED!  AND WE WENT TO APPLE HILL!

AND WE WENT TO BODIE STATE PARK! 

MIKE AND I WENT TO ZION NATIONAL PARK

AND WE WENT TO ARCHES NATIONAL PARK. 

AND WE RODE THE WHOLE ENCHILADA! ALL 30 MILES! 

AND WE WENT TO DEATH VALLEY. 

NOVEMBER: 

WE RODE NEW BIKE TRAILS

ANGORA RIDGE TRAIL

WE MADE A TABLE 

WE DECKED THE HALLS

AND OF COURSE WE SPENT TIME AT THE BEACH

DECEMBER: 

MORE HIKES

STILL GETTING BEACH TIME

ALMOST DONE WITH INVISALIGN

SPENT TIME WITH FRIENDS

CELEBRATED ZEPHYR'S FIRST BIRTHDAY! 

2017 was an amazing year, full of adventures.  Some things previously outside our comfort zone are now nestled securely within our comfort zone (for me, examples include: mountain biking, skiing, training a puppy, etc).  And we continue to search for adventures that will continue expanding our comfort zones.  

Reflecting on a full year reminds me that time is FLYING by and renews my excitement to pack as much LIFE into every single day as possible! 

We wish everyone reading this, a healthy, happy, KIND, adventurous, and prosperous 2018!!!