Things are different now. More so than I could have ever envisioned for myself. In the span of just a few months, my life went from same old, same old (same shit, different day?) to an entirely different change of pace. A LOT has changed in this last year - things I should have written about whilst they were happening, but alas,  I was "too busy" to do so. I can't be bothered to take pictures of life, and apparently I cannot be bothered to even write? Why.

Everything that has changed for me in the last few months has ALL been positive, which is wonderful... I got married to the love of my life in June of last year, moved to an entirely new city (an entirely new state actually), started a new job... one that I really enjoy in a nearby city that I love more than the one I live in. The only exception to my positive changes is that I had to leave my precious puppy (Harley, I love and miss you!) at home with my parents (not my choice), but to continue in the positive vein, I gained a new puppy in my new husband's dog, Keeper. She is a precious yellow Labrador, massive in size, but massive in love as well (and if I'm truly being honest, massive in the amount of hair she sheds - I'm a walking furball no matter how much I "lint" brush!).  I'm loving married life, even if it's hard (HARD!) when he goes away to the work that he loves (NOT in a city that he loves. That place is cold, small, and well, COLD.)

I'm lucky in that my entire family has already been up to visit (individually!), and I've been home once - for Christmas. First, my mother came to visit, which was a wonderful stay - even if she did fall asleep at 6:30pm her first night here... I Netflixed! She helped me shop for a couch - true to form my mother was, even in another state and on vacation. We found a beautiful gray leather couch with a tufted back and wooden legs... even my husband loves it. Hard to accomplish in couch buying - when women love beauty and men love comfy... stereotypically, any way. We aren't above continuing to sit/lay on the ground during marathon Netflixing, however, no matter how comfy and beautiful our couch may be. My sister came almost immediately after... she dubbed my new puppy "Vagina Neck" because she has two skin folds that flap together - honestly they remind me of my poor baby cat, FiFi's underbelly when we shaved her that one summer, more so than it reminds me of a vagina. That nickname for my new dog-monster embarrasses me, honestly. We also went to the Coors Brewery - her favorite place for what I'm assuming is for obvious reasons. We made a game out of Kitchen Nightmares, and bonded over Storm Chasers. We are that cool. I love my sister and I cannot wait until she visits again in less than three weeks! My dad came to visit a few months later. Gosh, I missed my dad! He stayed in a hotel whilst Matt was here - ever the modest father - but stayed with me when Matt left for work. Don't tell my mother but we stayed up way too late watching countless episodes of "Stalked", "Unsolved Mysteries", and "Forensic Files". All shows I love but am too afraid to watch alone. We drank whiskey and coke, also went to the Coors Brewery (where he proceeded to become quite tipsy, and therefore, inappropriate, and therefore much more comical then usual). We went to Beau Jo's pizzeria where he knew me better than I know myself (my eyes are ALWAYS bigger than my stomach) and smelled all the delicious smells at The Soap Shop in Idaho Springs until we made ourselves sick. My favorite part, however, is when I took him to see Bierstadt Mountain (which was covered in snow) and bragged about our accomplishment of climbing it with Kara. We. Are. Awesome. A 14-er! OK, so we didn't finish the WHOLE thing, but we did our best, and I feel like we did pretty well. My dad was impressed.

Within the next two - three weeks, our groomsman Mike will visit, my sister will come for a SECOND visit, and all will be well. In the next few months, we will move closer to my job in Boulder, Kara will graduate (and I'll get to go home to see my family and my baby puppy Harley!), my cousin Lana will visit (I can't wait!), and hopefully we will get to go on our long-awaited honeymoon sometime in June (which will also mark our one-year wedding anniversary - April will be 9 years together - and also my 27th birthday). Where is the time going? I guess it's going toward times of happiness, love, friendship, and family, and I CAN'T WAIT!

Here's to looking at all of the many blessings I've been given throughout my life during the year of 2014... and beyond! (Love, Buzz Lightyear)