wholeheartedly

things that I have done today that I feel are worth mentioning:

I woke up in a beautiful house alone and made a huge breakfast for myself while listening to great music.

I finally got two of the teachers from the class I belay for to climb the entire wall which I can imagine, if you don't climb, is very scary.

I layed on warm pavement after it rained and got to see the cold rain mist off the road.

I jumped in puddles and got mud between my toes.

I played guitar for hours and was taught a couple more chords.

I had a wonderful and eye opening conversation about life, religion, the war, and its after effects with a new friend.

I feel like that conversation taught me a lot about life and the way I live.

I haven't been sleeping lately, a lot has been on my mind. I feel like lately people don't believe in me which makes me doubt myself and what I can do. Just keep remembering that only you know yourself best. Who can judge you if they haven't experienced the same thing at the exact same time? no one.

with chaco feet

Recently I have been thrown curve balls of changes. Changes in plans; immediate and future, changes in weather; it has been so incredibly hot here and little, simple ideas that change the way I've been thinking.

And today, when I found out plans were changed, I tried not to be dissapointed, in fact, I tried to be excited about the good things that were going to be happening later on in the evening.

Sometimes it seems difficult to accept that things are moving so constantly and nothing is permanent, but I feel like if we aren't positive and trying to see the best in things, every situation is going to seem more desperate and difficult.

So today I focused on the concert that was going on at the museum tonight, Jalan Crossland. He is a bluegrass singer/songwriter from Tensleep, Wyoming and is known for his great preformances and funny songs. I had never seen him play before but have heard raves of excitement from multiple people about his arrival.

While at the concert, I found my friend Annalisa and we danced the entire night. My feet hurt and I heard incredible music. The concert was different in the fact that it was played in a barn, so you could either be inside or out. It was a comforting feeling among the change, being in the middle of a barn, dancing and laughing with 90 other strangers. I guess that proves that music can bring people together. I am overwhelmed with the feeling of exhaustion mixed with happiness. It's nice.

The Concert Hall Annalisa and I

Soul

Soul: (noun) the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body, and commonly held to be separable in existence from the body.

I have always loved this word. There are some things in life that make me completely content and full of soul. It's incredible, even when its something sad, how filling it is. Things like watching my cousins laugh, running through the sprinklers, sitting on the porch at night, cooking for myself, all of these things make me incredibly happy.

Isn't that amazing? Something so simple, can make you feel something so huge and part of something.

While I have been in Lander, I have not only experienced things that are full of soul, I have met people who embody that word. I am so grateful to be around such people, and it makes me feel incredibly important. I have come across so many people like this in my life, in places I would have never expected as well.

On a seperate note: I think God really enjoys watching me open packages. I get so excited and they are so hard to open, if I was watching someone else franticly try to open something they were excited about I would probably laugh as well.

Photos that were not taken by me but were taken by people who understand soul:

International Climbers Festival

Well this was the 16th annual International Climbers Festival in Lander! I'm glad to say that I think this was the busiest year! For myself, it was definitely the most fun. I knew most of the people who attended this year, so it made it fun to see old friends, make new ones and have a great time.

I promised myself last year that this year I would do the pull-up contest, because the prizes are SICK! So I got up the nerve to enter this time around. Surprisingly, I placed 2nd with a total of 14 pull ups. Emily Tilden won with 15 and Lisa Horst took third after tying me twice for second! I ended up winning a nice pair of Smith sunglasses, which is rad because my quality pair from the gas station just broke :)

After staying up late and having way too much fun, it all caught up with me and I now have a cold. Two out of my three cousins also have pnuemonia and so I am trying hard to keep up on sleep and medicine. Due to being sick, I haven't had a lot of energy to go climb. Yesterday was the first time I have been out for a week but I got some good bouldering in at the Cabin Boulders in Sinks Canyon. So I have been trying to find some low key things to do to keep myself occupied and healthy. I have always wanted to learn guitar so I am teaching myself how to play. I am developing some nice calluses on my finger tips from playing and it is quite fun! I am really enjoying being in Lander and adventures have become a regular part of life here. It keeps me on my toes.

Lander, endurance and the locals

Lander has been great so far! I have had plenty of people to climb with in the past couple days which is incredible. Among these people have been friends, Kris Hampton and his friend Yasmeen from Cincinatti, OH. I have been climbing with them two great days of stellar Wild Iris and Sinks Canyon climbing on pockets and sharp limestone.

The worst part however, is that my skin is not keeping up with my motivation. By day 2, my fingertips were bloody and bruised. So today was an active rest day. I have been trying to lead more to get stronger mentally. Granted everything I'm leading is below a 5.10, but we all have to start somewhere. So today I went out and led a couple easy 7's and 8's to keep my muscles moving but my fingertips undamaged.

As far as work, everyone here has been awesome. I am a routesetter at the gym here with another girl! I am new to the world of routesetting and so as you can imagine, it takes hours to only set a couple problems up in the gym. Tomorrow is my first day at the climbing shop working so we will see how it goes- I know most of the people who work there and they are all wonderful people! I am looking forward to spending time with them- even if it is work.

Above are some pictures of Yasmeen and Kris on some routes in Wild Iris: Kris is on Cow Reggae (13d, Wild Iris), and Yasmeen is on Babalouie (12c, Wild Iris)