All I want for Christmas is Sunshine

When I decided to make the move to the Pacific Northwest (PNW), people kept warning me about how cold and rainy and dreary and sad it was there. I brushed it off, because it was April and in my mind that was practically summer. (Read: I only knew Texas "seasons".) So, off I went to Seattle, where I proved everyone wrong with the PNW's driest spring/summer they've had in years. It was beautiful and sunny and hot at times, unlike most years apparently, and I loved it!

Fast forward to September when I continued this stent in the PNW and moved to Portland. Cue more comments about the weather. All the while, I continued to be as naive as ever, thinking it will be just as lovely as the summer was. And at first it was great! The crisp, cool air was a nice change and I was excited to have another real fall! Then the rain started...

And it hasn't stopped.

Just kidding, that's not entirely true; there were four nice days a month ago. Kidding again, kind of.

Anyway, this is not a post about the weather. I haven't become that desperate for blog posts (yet)! But it is about how I'M GOING CRAZY FROM ALL THE RAIN! The lack of vitamin D is killing me. Thank goodness I'm headed back to the amazing south this weekend! By way of California and Arizona I might add- BRING ON THE SUNSHINE! Bonus: maybe I can score a tiny tan while in California? We shall see. No, I won't be getting a white Christmas this year, but let's face it, that's not really what I'm used to in the first place. 

I've been trying to beat the rainy day week month blues the best I can. There is only so much indoor activity a girl can take, but at the same time who wants to play in the rain all day, every day? It's quite the situation I have going on!

As you can see, I have basically been eating a lot lately. Luckily I was able to pawn off most of those Christmas cookies to some friends so I didn't feel obligated to eat them all myself! Then I bought a tent (for $50!) and proceeded to put it up inside to try it out. It's just lovely, but would be much better in it's natural habitat. And don't forget about the Christmas lights- which I've decided should be year round, thankyouverymuch. Surely someone out there is living a more exciting (sunshine filled?) life? Let me live vicariously through you! :)

Solitude

Sometimes I don't know why I hike with my roommates. They seem to run up the mountain, regardless of how strenuous it seems to be. At first, I get annoyed by it. We came to do this hike together, as a group. Then I get annoyed when they stop to wait on me or check on me. It makes me feel inferior, or as if I'm not good enough to handle the hike. Then sometimes, they get so far ahead of me that I can't see them, and there is no one around me, and I'm left to hike on my own.

I've realized I enjoy these particular moments, and even crave them. When I'm alone on the trail with no distractions around, I freely let my mind wander, think, create. Or not think at all, and simply enjoy the beauty around me. No talk of work, or plans, or problems; just me and the trail and the trees and the mountain. The still of the trail is peaceful and healing to my stressed out mind lately.

More and more lately, I feel myself needing these times of solitude. I feel as if I'm coming to a crossroads in my life. I am often more restless, unsettled around the time I have to decide on my next move. Only, this time it feels different. More permanent, in a way. The only difference that I believe is making it seem that way is the potential to move closer to family, and the expectation to do so. I've been craving familiarity and stability as of late. But choosing a place to settle is, well, unsettling to me.

Making decisions has never been my strongest attribute, not big decisions at least. I always worry that it will be the wrong one, that I'll be unhappy. The moments leading up to such things leave me full of restlessness and unease. This time is no different. It only makes matters worse when I've constantly got the buzz of the outside world in my ear. My times alone help me focus on the decision at hand, without the distractions and influence of the others. I know that when it comes down to it, I'll make the best choice for me, and if it turns out to be less than great, then it's not the end of the road and God has other plans for me.

Pacific Coast Roadtrip

I mentioned some time ago that my roommates and I took a week long camping/hiking trip along the Pacific Coast. Well, now I'm here to recap that! (One day I'll learn to blog in real time!) Once our assignments ended in Seattle, we all took some time to go home to see family. We met back up a week in advance to start our new assignment in Portland. Since the two cities are only about three hours apart, we decided to make a big loop and check out the coast instead of just driving straight down.

We started in Seattle and headed west to the Olympic National Park, on to the Washington coast, down the Oregon coast, across to Central Oregon, then back north to Portland. In typical Pacific Northwest fashion, we encountered mostly grey, foggy, and rainy days but we didn't let that interrupt out plans. We camped and hiked and explored to our hearts' content. Disclaimer: we did cheat one night and stay in a hotel. We were desperate for a bed, shower, and real food (hellooo, pizza!). Plus, it was the first night of TGIT so it was a win/win!

Dungeness Spit// Olympic National Park

Mt. Olympus// Olympic National Park

Sol Duc Falls// Olympic National Park

Second Beach// La Push, WA

Aren't my roommates adorable?

Giant Cedar Trees// Olympic National Park

Salmon Cascades// Olympic National Park

Columbia River// Astoria, OR

Ecola State Park// Cannon Beach, OR

Haystack Rock// Cannon Beach, OR

Devil's Punchbowl// Otter Rock, OR

Seal Rock, OR

Cape Perpetua// Florence, OR

Thor's Well// Florence, OR

Crater Lake National Park

Lots of fires while camping to keep up from freezing at night!

After being in the Pacific Northwest for the last five months, I knew it was a gorgeous place. This trip definitely lived up to the expectations, rain and all. There is so much more in Oregon I was to see and do, but I'm not a big snow person and so many of those places are already snowy! I'll just have to come back next year.

Home Sweet Texas

My trip to Texas last week went exceptionally well! It was packed full and busy, but I managed to get some great quality time with many loved ones, right in time for the start of the holidays. Unfortunately I had to come back to Portland to work on Thanksgiving so I didn't get to celebrate with my family, but seeing them was great!

Even the wedding I attended was wonderful! All the anxiety I had was for nothing (as part of me knew it would be) and I got to catch up with some friends I haven't seen in a long time. 

I also got to go bridesmaid dress shopping for my friend's wedding in April. 

Most importantly while I was home, was the amount of time I got to spend of my mom, sister, and baby nephew! It's amazing how much Hunter has grown in the two months I've been gone. He has such a little personality and is usually smiling and laughing! Almost every morning, my sister would wake me up by putting Hunter in the bed with me and we would snuggle basically all day. He probably got pretty spoiled in the five days I was there, but that's what aunts are for, right??

He loves his Aunt Sister! 

(PS- that's what Abby has named me, since she just calls me sister)

I can't forget about my other love bug at home, Oliver! He was happy to see me this time; I'm guessing he hadn't forgotten me yet!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday!

Small Town, USA

I'm taking a mini vacation home to Texas tomorrow. You would think I would be thrilled by this, but that's not exactly true this time. Part of me is thrilled, because this means I get some much needed family time. I've had a really hard time being away from them these last couple months, so I'm thankful I planned ahead and took a week off to go home.

The other part to this trip is going to a friend's wedding, which means I'll be going to back to my hometown of Carthage. As I'm writing this, I can't even remember the last time I was there since neither of my parents live there now. (I guess my dad kind of does, but we never go "into town" while I'm at his house.) It has to have been at least three years, if not longer. Anyway, Carthage is your typical small town in Texas: very conservative, everyone knows things about you before you do, and most people put on a show to make it seem like they're living a great life. Sounds exciting, right?

Another typical small town theme is the idea of success, if you will. You go to college, get a job, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after. Sure, that's what most people do regardless of where they are from, but that timeline seems to be magnified when you're from a small town (and frequently skips directly to the marriage and babies part). So many of the people I'll see this weekend will think no differently than this. You're expected to be living this way. (Have I mentioned how small-minded this town is?) I used to think this way too, and then I got out of that small town and realized there is more to life!

I obviously have not followed this pattern, thankfully, but I'm dreading the thousands of questions I'll get that will be solely based on who I'm dating (or not) and when I'll be getting married. "You're mom will want grandbabies," they'll say. I'm basically the only one of my hometown friends that isn't settled down yet. They certainly won't approve of me being 26 and so very single, off galavanting around different cities for a few months at time.

But I chose this life, and I love this life! 

I don't why I'm so anxious about this coming weekend. They're opinions of how I live my life don't matter in the grand scheme of things. I know I'm the only one putting pressure on myself, but something about being there drives me crazy! So I've got a great dress, I'll put a smile on my face, and I'll enjoy an evening of seeing my old friend get wifed up!

Life Lately

How is it already October?? I know I've said so many times, but this year is just flying by! And it only seems to go faster the later it gets, if that's even possible. The last couple of months for me were busy, full of traveling, followed by some downtime in Texas, then more traveling. During that time I've tried multiple times to write something here, but nothing happens. The blinking curser on the blank page ends up taunting me and I call it quits. I can't even seem to get the last few recaps from my traveling on here, much less anything that requires more thought. Maybe it's lack of inspiration or whatever, but it's real and interfering with this space!

Here's what you've missed out on lately:

I ended up spending almost two months in East Texas, aka at my moms, with no job, and no car. The plan was about a month home, then back to the west coast for my next job, but when do things ever go as we planned? I went pretty stir crazy, but it wasn't all bad. I did get to make it to DFW a few times to see friends from there. I also got to see most of my family that lives in various parts of Texas as well.

My sister had her baby boy in August. Hunter Ford Holly is now my favorite little man on this earth! I got to spend lots of time with him after he was born. I cried like a little baby when I kissed him goodbye to leave. People kept asking me if I would stay in Texas once he was born, and I insisted that no, I'll keep traveling for at least another year or two. I thought I could resist that sweet boy, but now I'm considering moving back sooner rather than later. (Shh, it's not for sure yet!) Funny how a little 10 lb boy can change things!

My travel roommates and I took a week long camping trip in Washington and Oregon. It was an interesting trip, considering none of us had camped that many consecutive nights in years (or ever). We saw some amazing sights during the trip, and did some good hiking. We learned how to make campfires and managed not to kill each other after being together 24/7. Overall it was a success in my book! More to come on this later.

I'm now living in Portland, Oregon until late-December. It wasn't my first choice of assignments, but it was getting to the point where I had to make a decision because no job couldn't last much longer. Ive been here about 2 weeks, and it's less than wonderful so far. I hate to sound like a brat since I know I am very lucky to be able to move and live where I want so frequently. It's not Portland's fault, because it is great city! I like that it has more of a small town feel then a big city (except for the traffic). Parts of Portland are quite different, to put it nicely, so I do need to find an area I don't stick out like a sore thumb! Anyway, the reason I don't love things here is the job. Yes, the first couple weeks at new assignments are usually tough being in a new environment and all, but this is ten times worse. I won't get into details, but basically the staff here is abusing having travel nurses. I'm trying to stay optimistic about it all!

So that's me in a nutshell right now. I'm hoping the inspiration and writing will come back to me soon so I get more on here besides updates and pictures! Any tips on what keeps you inspired?