Another year older

I turned another year older on the 20^th, and I have to say, I don’t feel any older. Maybe a tiny bit wiser—I for sure feel like I have grown up since last year—but not to the point where I can say I know EVERYTHING. Even though, I know I’ll never know everything, I try to get as informed as possible.

When I told my boss how old I was turning, he looked at me in surprise and said, “You’ve accomplished a lot for being your age. Be proud of yourself.”

It was a very nice moment, and something really nice to hear. And now that I have had time to think about it, I have accomplished a lot. I have a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree, I have a full-time job with benefits and a regular salary, I have a house (although, technically it isn’t “mine,” my partner owns it), I have finally found a love that is amazing (not only with my partner, but the love for myself), I have found true friends, forgiveness, and so much more. I have lived in England for 6 months and traveled to France, Italy, Ireland, and all over the UK. I am blessed with all the experiences I have had in my short life. I have seen a lot of the world, experienced a lot of emotions and situations that people don’t experience until maybe they are a little older… I have done quite a bit with this life of mine so far, and I am so very happy about it.

I still want to travel the world. I won’t be able to go to Denmark this year, just because life happens and all of a sudden you have medical bills coming out your ears, which is preventing you from traveling this year, but will help you not have any issues for hopefully the rest of your life. So since I can’t travel this year, I am working on paying off my credit card, while still placing $200 a month in a savings account for next year to travel. My partner and I decided to not exchange gifts this year for Christmas, but instead, save that money for a trip somewhere we want to go. For at least 3 weeks. I think that would be much more enjoyable anyway.

I had a photo-shoot with my friend Tara on Friday. She is just starting up her own photography business, and I haven’t had a professional photo-shoot done since I was a senior in high school to get a senior picture. So, I was thrilled when I heard she was coming to Flagstaff for a weekend and I immediately booked a session with her. Tara’s blog is here: http://tarabieleckiphotography.blogspot.com/. She has a couple shoots she’s done already up, and I think mine will be up on her blog in a couple weeks, so stay tuned.

The whole experience was lovely. I treated myself all day: manicure, hair and make-up done for me, dresses, coffee, buying a new lip gloss for the occasion. It was an “all about me” day, and I soaked it up. I probably need to do this more often because it was just so much fun. I met Tara and her husband Mike up at Lockett Meadow, where it was unbelievably green and still alive, considering the massive fire that was up there a few years back. It was the perfect day—there was no Flagstaff wind, the sun was shining, it was warm up there—I couldn’t have asked for a better day. We walked around the trail head and found some spots for photos, I changed outfits, I laughed, made silly faces, and caught up with Tara. It was so lovely and beautiful, which pretty much sums up Tara. I felt so pretty all day and so encouraged that I was being a good model! I also felt like a fairy, walking around barefoot, getting my feet dirty, and wearing feminine, flowey dresses, wearing head halos. I am so excited to see how the photos turned out. I know they are going to be beautiful, and I cannot wait to bask in them. I thought it was a perfect way to start my new year. We celebrated love, nature, growth, and pure beauty.  That’s what life is about, for me, and I am so glad I got to celebrate that and show during this photo-shoot.