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hello

Welcome to my blog! Joe and I currently live in Colorado with our dog, Lily. We love to document all of our adventures. Thanks for stopping by!
xo

On The Go in 2018

On The Go in 2018

Life has felt so busy already this new year! When one aspect of life feels "together," another starts running crazy. Here's a quick life update of all that's been going on:

// Skiing
I haven't got as many skiing days in this season as I've wanted to so far, and I mostly blame the lack of snow the mountains have been getting. The first 2 ski days were very early in the season. Days 3 & 4 were over MLK weekend at Copper, which was pretty good skiing. Day 5 at Winter Park had fresh powder! But our favorite part of that resort, The Parsenn Bowl Territory, was closed due to strong winds. Day 6 was at Copper and it was just okay. I had a major wipe-out right after lunch, and a gnarly knee injury meant our day was cut short. Praying that the mountains get dumped on soon for more pow-pow skiing!

// Iceland planning
This Spring Break, I'm heading to Iceland!!! Planning it took way more time and energy than I anticipated, but I know it will all be worth it when I'm sitting under those northern lights. I am so freaking excited! 23 days until the gorgeous land of fire and ice!

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// Reading Challenge
One of my goals for 2018 was to read more books. So far, I've read 5 books in 6 weeks! Pretty proud of that number seeing as that's how many I read total last year alone. Lol. I've read On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder, We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Love Her Wild poetry by Atticus, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and my all-time favorite this year so far, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Some books on my Want-To-Read List that I'm looking forward to are Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs, Room by Emma Donoghue, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, the Cormoran Strike Series by J.K. Rowling (or at least by her pseudonym, Robert Galbraith), and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle, which I've actually never read before and the movie looks so good! Love me some Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling! 

// Wish Week
Oh. My. Gosh. This is my 4th year at Vista, and I cried just as many happy tears as I did my 1st year. The fact that Vista gives up a winter formal dance for a week of giving - it's just beyond words. Last year we set a national record for any organization/school fundraising the most amount of money in one week with $127,000! This year, we raised ... drumroll ... $158,000!!! We are granting twenty-one wishes. I am filled with pride and love for this community and my students.

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// My love
Two and a half years ago, I dated Joe. It only lasted a few months, and it was clear in that short time that, while we got along great, we simply were not in the same place in terms of dating. We broke up and had a few bumps in the road after doing so, but then quickly became the best of friends. We kind of friend-zoned each other, but deep down I knew there was more there. We would have these moments where I would look over at him while we were driving up in the mountains, laughing and enjoying each other, and I'd think "I could do this forever." But I'd quickly push that thought deep down in my heart, because I didn't want to ruin this incredible friendship we had built or push him into something I thought he didn't want. I tried dating other guys, but nothing lasted past a first date. They all completely bored me to death compared to my best friend.

Time went on, and this past fall I started having real feelings for him. But I still pushed it down. I was convinced that he didn't feel the same way and never would.

Early in January, to my complete surprise, but fulfilling a huge hope and desire in my heart, Joe asked me if we could start dating. I cried the biggest happy tears I've ever cried in my life, because months and months of these pent-up feelings were now completely bursting.

It has been heaven every day since then. I get to {finally} date my best friend. I know who we are today, compared to who we were two and a half years ago. I know the foundation we have built. I know his heart, his goals and dreams, and I hold this confidence and trust in an "us" that I've never known with anyone else.

Nothing has changed - I still have my best friend - and yet everything has changed at the same time - I can tell him I love him, and I get to hear how he loves me too.

But my absolute favorite thing about our relationship is that we pray together. The first time we held hands and openly prayed together - for our relationship and future - my heart felt at peace with God's plan for my life, and felt so much love for the man that sat beside me.

This might not seem like a big deal to many people, but to me, this is e v e r y t h i n g. The prayer I have had in my heart for so many years, the rejection of so many guys, the lonely nights wondering if God really had a plan for my love life, the hope for a while now that it would be Joe without ruining our friendship...

Sorry not sorry for the selfies. We cute! ;)

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// Lily
So...Joe and I got a dog. My dear friend Lauren, answered my question if it was too soon with this text:

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Hahaha

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Lily Jane is amazing and I had ZERO intention of really adopting her until we met her. I knew in my gut that she was our dog. Joe is such a great puppy-dad, and I'm doing my best to be a good puppy-mom, even though I refused to pick up her runny poop this evening on our walk. It was just too gross, and I'm pretty sure it's supposed to rain tomorrow. I'll just let nature take care of that...

Also, I rarely get sick, and I've had the flu and/or a cold ON TOP OF ALLERGIES on and off for about 2 months now. So...that's life lately! The good, the wonderful, and the stuffy nose.

xo,
Jaclyn

Crested Butte 3.9.18 - 3.11.18

Crested Butte 3.9.18 - 3.11.18

2017 // Reflections

2017 // Reflections