autumn in wisconsin!

if autumn were in july, we wouldn't need fireworks :) it's october and the leaves are just starting to turn! my hikes up granite peak and views from the water are even more stunning now more than ever with mother nature's new wardrobe change... and before any of us knows it, we will be smothered with a blanket of white.

i'm excited, while enjoying each day's progression toward the next! in the meantime, do something your future self will love you for!

taking the edge off snow days..!

it's no secret i start get excited about the arrival of old man winter once thanksgiving begins to approach; to me, that means the season for snowboarding is right around the corner, and we're lucky to have granite peak, one of the best destinations in the midwest for snowboarding and skiing, so conveniently located to us.

as a girl from northcentral wisconsin with an affinity for everything the great outdoors, i've come to make my peace and you can only imagine how much better our relationship has gotten!

"...au milieu de l'hiver, j'ai découvert en moi un invincible été." - albert camus
 (translation: in the depths of winter, i discovered there was in me an invincible summer!)

 i'm a firm believer in that "there's no such thing as bad weather, just different kinds of good weather!" and taking advantage of what's readily available is exactly how i've survived winters in typical wisconsin style! in an area whose culture celebrates the great outdoors, there's really no excuse to suffer from any degree of the winter blues! after all, the snow and sub-zero temperatures take up a sizeable chunk of the year and what better cabin fever cure than to shift mindsets and instead learn to dress for the cold and just enjoy getting out and under the sun!

happy birthday, to me!

several years ago, i came to the realization that i would rather be my own best friend - than accept the obligatory cliche of my own worst enemy - and it was then that i made the personal commitment to consciously try and work on all my relationships with the same mindset. focusing on improving the quality of my friendships, i made a conscious effort to continue living by the basic concept of becoming the change i wish to see in the world!

and every year i grow older, i find that with time, the quality of these relationships we've forged would begin to surface as we are forced to go through certain life experiences - whether happy, sad, tragic or petty. it's the intangibles that reveal the true nature and character of each bond... and i'm, indeed, fortunate to have such great people around me.

this year, on my birthday, a few of my closest friends surprised me with a simple picnic against the city as our backdrop. absolutely quaint and perfect! yes, little things make me happy.

♪ ♩ ♫ sat here thinking about my heart. all of the places it fell apart. there's just one thing that i need to know... why am i always chasing the rainbow? ♩ ♫ ♪