Some Sunday Randomness

Y'all know that these randomness posts are a snapshot into my head, right? Imagine a hundred people shouting various things your direction - I feel like that's where I'm at right now. Perhaps I should look into meditating and quieting my busy self down, huh? Here's what is happening in the very average life of Kris.

Thursday was one year since my divorce finalized. How is that even possible? A full year. It's been a year and a half since we separated. In some ways, it feels like forever ago. In others, it feels like yesterday. Between that date, the pending sale of my home in Tennessee, and PMSing like a mofo, I was an emotional wreck last week. All the feels. All of them. I'm good, he's good, but it's still a divorce, and that is a sad thing no matter what the circumstances were. Two weeks ago someone at work gave me some great advice. He told me that failing was inevitable, but there are two rules to remember when it happens: fail quickly, and learn from it. That's certainly advice that can be applied to life in general. Though I can't change the past, I can make sure that I take all of the lessons I've learned (so, so SO many) and apply them going forward.

I kindof want to write something worthwhile. Something bigger.

Speaking of things I adore - this guy, y'all. He's the sweetest. That is all.

Oh wait, that is NOT all. Can we talk about the term "boyfriend" real quick? So we've been dating for almost 7 months now. I'm pretty sure that term is appropriate at this point, but it makes me feel like a 15-year old high-schooler with braces and pigtails. I get it. That's the acceptable term, and adults everywhere are using it. Can we universally come up with a grown-up term for "boyfriend"? When we do, let's PSA the heck out of it. In the meantime, I will continue to blush any time that I need to use that phrase.

I've been thinking quite a bit about my career lately. Am I doing it because I'm comfortable there? Because I'm scared to go somewhere else or try something new? Because I'm passionate about it? I'm not sure what the answers to those questions are, but I think they are good questions to ask myself and think about. Lots of thinking about my future. Not in an overwhelming OMG I HAVE TO PLAN kindof way; just...thinking.

I have the travel bug. I want to go everywhere and see absolutely everything. There is such a great big world, and I *need* to explore it. I'm trying to travel somewhere overseas for my birthday in October. I'm not sure where yet, though Germany has been tossed around recently. I'd also love to go on a mission trip at some point. I'd love to be involved in building orphanages, or teaching children, or something to that effect. I'm not ready to adopt quite yet, so in the meantime, I need to find some other ways to be involved. I'd like to sponsor a child, too. I did some research a couple of years ago, and definitely have some organizations in mind, but haven't actually pushed the button. If I can't help all of the children, maybe helping one would make a difference for now. Once my house sells, that will be my first order of business.

I have so many more things going on in my head, but I've gotta make lunch for tomorrow, so I'm out for tonight. Let's all brace ourselves for Monday, shall we?

Going With the Flow...

As a "professional" planner, it's sometimes difficult for me to enjoy the ride of spontaneity. I've written numerous times about how that's been one of my greatest challenges the last year and a half - throwing away all of my plans and just leaping into the unknown, and hoping things fall into place. I still have a tendency to try and plan my next five, ten years out, but every time my mind starts to wander I remind myself to stop, and just sit still for awhile. 

This weekend, a new realization hit. I am ridiculously, stupid happy. Like, really, really happy. I have no idea what the next month looks like. No idea what the next year looks like. And for the first time, in a very long time, it's okay to not know what will happen. Sure, there are some things I would change, but isn't that just life? There are always things to change. But this place of simply enjoying where I'm at? It's my new favorite. 

I'm just going to bask in the blissful glow of my life right now, exactly as it is, and be...happy.

Hiking in Minnesota

Prior to moving to Minneapolis, I was convinced that living in a city would be amazing, and that the constant stream of things to do would satisfy my need to do something different than I did in Smalltown, USA for the first thirty years of my life. And that's true. Being in the city is amazing, and I absolutely love it here so very much. But (and I never thought I'd say this) there are definitely things that I miss about living in the country. I miss the quiet the most. Here, there is a constant hum of noise no matter where I am. I'm sitting in my apartment right now with the windows open, and I can hear traffic, and construction, and airplanes. I miss sitting on my porch and not hearing a single thing. I also miss the stars. Every night that I'm out past dark I find myself straining to find the Big and Little Dippers, and most nights it's just too bright.

There are some places to "hike" in the city - really expansive parks, trails through heavily wooded areas, and even some trails along the river (though, it's a bit of a stretch to call that hiking) - but they pale in comparison to my latest trip up North. A couple months back a friend, who happens to be of the male variety, (do with that what you will) and I decided to spend a few days hiking, and began planning out our trip away. Since I've needed some wide-open green space, I was looking forward to this trip more than I can even begin to tell you. We decided to hike along the North Shore near Lake Superior. I've never been that far north, but since I've moved here numerous people have mentioned how beautiful of an area it is to explore. Lake Superior looks more like an ocean than a lake. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I was so surprised at how expansive it was. No matter where we seemed to go, it managed to sneak into the background.

We ended up covering about 27 miles over the course of 3 days, and saw some of the most spectacular views. Spectacular doesn't seem to do it justice; at times I wanted to gasp when we hit the peaks. Of course pictures don't adequately capture the scenery, but I took plenty.

Though choosing a favorite spot is impossible, one of my favorites was definitely a secluded little beach near the place that we stayed. We had a steep hike down an unmarked hill, and then it opened up to a perfect, completely untouched private beach secluded by giant rock cliffs. It was a stone beach, so I practiced skipping rocks on the water, and then took one to keep. When I got it home, I realized it has a natural design in it that resembles a heart. Appropriate.

Other than some knee issues, I wasn't as sore as I'd anticipated. By the third day, my knee was aching really, really badly and it was a legit struggle not to focus on it. I usually don't ever have any issues with it since the surgeries, but the uneven terrain and all the uphill hiking we had done the previous couple of days were rough on it, and despite icing, it was still a little swollen. We only did 7 miles on the last day, so I toughed it out to see Eagle Mountain, which is the highest point in Minnesota. Totally worth it. One of the best views of the trip.

There were also s'mores with peanut butter (because y'all already know) and a stop at a little town called Grand Marais. It was absolutely charming. There were sailboats, and I grabbed a coffee with local maple syrup and homemade whipped cream at a little coffee house outside next to the water. We also stopped at a famous pie place, Betty's Pies, and grabbed a couple slices to go. Totes worth the hype - they were exceptional - and the perfect way to end our little trip.