The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

All anyone wants to talk about is how much 2016 sucked, and I'm just over here like, "This has been the best year ever." It's been a rough year for our country, but in my personal life, I feel like "everything's coming up Erin." I left a comfortable life for the unknown, and it has paid off. I didn't think I was unhappy in Phoenix, but I didn't realize I could be *this* happy. Everything fell into place so easily with this move. I can't believe I signed a two year lease just a few weeks before moving without even seeing the apartment, and I love my place. I love going to work every day. I have one class with some jerks in it, but my other classes more than make up for it. My kids make me laugh, and they are growing as readers, and I am surrounded by professionals who go above and beyond for their students. I'm never asked to sub during my prep, class sizes are reasonable, and I am given money to spend on my classroom. I never want

Thursday was fun times with Kris! He took me out to dinner, and then we went to Temple Lights. The lights weren't that great, but it was still just fun to listen to Christmas music and hang out. I kinda like spending time with him. 😊 I did like the Nativity scene: We tried to get a cute picture with the lights... I wanted the whole world to see my "high status man candy." The craziest conversation happened at dinner. He asked me if I'd heard of Science Mike. Yes... what a coincidence! Science Mike and The Liturgists came to my church last year. I wasn't too surprised that Kris had heard of him, though, because he listens to tons of podcasts and likes science. But then he asked me if I know who Rob Bell is. There was a moment of silence because I was like, he did NOT just ask me that. I used to be REALLY into Rob Bell. Like, I've read all his books, listened to his sermons, read everything he put on the internet, blogged about him many times (

This is not a destination canyon, but it was a perfectly pleasant hike; a lovely place to explore! Brian set a 200 foot rope for our exit at the end of the canyon. This was the only challenging part of the whole hike. (And I would like to add that it was only challenging for me, because I'm a big baby about exposed climbs. Everyone else in my group was fine.) Those pants! We kept laughing at the crease in Brian's pants. He buys pants at the Goodwill for like $3 since he knows they'll just get torn up anyway. But it was just funny to see him hiking in formal slacks! There were two rappels at the beginning of the canyon, and that was it. The rest of the hike was just an easy stroll through a canyon with towering walls. It was peaceful and quiet and we thought we had the whole place to ourselves... Until we got to the exit and saw two guys rappelling in right next to our rope! So funny. They were headed in the opposite direction as us, to

Last week I went on a lovely hike to Dog Lake with a new friend. I love how there are so many beautiful hikes right by the city! The hikes in Phoenix aren't particularly pretty; they're more like a good workout to train for better hikes outside of the city. Last night, we went on a scenic drive called the Alpine Loop. It was my first view of Mount Timpanogos! Absolutely gorgeous. Today, my friend Lisa and I did a quick 5 mile hike through City Creek Canyon. It's a nice, wide, paved trail that starts right behind the capital building in downtown SLC. Seriously, the hikes are SO CLOSE to the city! We saw a tarantula crossing the trail and we were very concerned about his well-being, so we guarded him as he ambled to the other side. I think tarantulas are adorable, and I was amazed at how well this guy blended in with the leaves!

Today was pretty much the perfect Sunday. Well, it would have been better if the Bears didn't suck so much. But at least the Cubs won. Anyway... First, I went to church. Then, I watched the Cardinals game. Then, I decided I wanted to go for a drive, so I headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon since I'd never seen it before. It was so beautiful with the leaves changing and some snow on the ground! I had planned on doing a little .75 mile loop around Silver Lake. It was very nice (although a little crowded... this was a popular family hike). But when I saw a sign for Twin Lakes (1 mile, 710 feet), I took off up that trail. My friend Lisa brought me this box of chocolates last week: And I actually thought to myself, "The more elevation I do, the more chocolate I can eat." I'm so glad I did this hike! And not just because of the chocolate. The trail looked like this: And led to this view: And then I got a manicure. And then

A few weeks ago, I set out on my first exploration outside of SLC. I wanted to take a scenic drive to a short, easy hike. So, I took the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway through the Uintas and hiked to Ruth Lake. Ruth Lake was a really easy hike. Like, I was almost embarrassed to be doing it because it was only about 2 miles and mostly flat. But it was definitely scenic! This is a hike I would take my non-hiking friends on. Meadow on the way to Ruth Lake: Ruth Lake: Luckily, I remembered seeing nearby Naomi Lake on a map, just over a nearby ridge. This was exactly what I wanted! It was off-trail, so I had the place to myself. And the area around it was gorgeous, so I just wandered around and explored for a while. Then I sat and read the new Susan Elizabeth Phillips book, and messed around with Snapchat selfies, and even went for a quick dip.  On the way back from Ruth Lake, I stopped by Provo River Falls. I was surprised to see that there were three separate fal

I had a vision for the 4th of July here. I always have a vision for social events. My poor parents do not understand this, but they are good sports. I decorated, made a playlist, and helped plan the menu. The strawberry pretzel pecan "salad" was a hit! I love the Midwest in the summer. It's so pretty and green. Andy HATES it when I take candid pictures. Can you tell? I love Kasia (my brother's girlfriend) so much. She is just so pleasant and agreeable and sweet! It was so nice to spend more time with her and get to know her better this summer. She and Andy are obsessed with New Buffalo Beach in Michigan, so I tagged along on several of their trips.  I brought back some goodies from Kentucky... Quite a bit was consumed on the 4th. When it got dark, we made different kind of s'mores in the fire pit. (Reese's and York Peppermint Patties... So good!!!) I really wanted an artsy picture of my brother and I with sparklers, but it was not

Mom and I headed south on a stamp collecting trip to Kentucky. Our first stop was George Rogers Park National Historic Park in Vincennes, IN, which commemorates a Revolutionary War battle. Not much to see here, just a monument.  We thought Abraham Lincoln's childhood home would be a little more interesting, but it was seriously boring! There was nothing there except a small museum! The Lincoln Museum in Springfield at least had a life-size model of his cabin... This place had nothing!  We stayed in Paducah that night and went to the National Quilt Museum the next morning. Mom was a little disappointed. The quilts were impressive, but I think we just weren't too excited about the exhibits. For example, one of them was about the future of quilting and featured a quilt made of Bud Light cans. But the exhibits are constantly rotating, so maybe it just wasn't the best time to visit. The highlight of Mom's day was a visit to Hancock Fabrics, an enormous fabric sto

It felt so good to be back in the mountains! I didn't realize how much I missed them until I caught my first glimpse of them; then it felt like my heart would burst from happiness. I visited two national parks in Colorado that weren't really that great for hiking, but were absolutely gorgeous. Great Sand Dune National Park has 750 foot sand dunes. They just appear out of nowhere and you're like, "Wait, what?" I enjoyed the scenery but did not feel the need to climb up all that sand. That is the opposite of fun.  (The mountains in the background are responsible for the creation of these dunes.) The other national park I saw was Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Oh my holy! My jaw dropped when I got my first glimpse of it. The pictures just don't do it justice. There wasn't really a good angle to get a picture from; part of it was always in shadows. But this canyon is immense; it took my breath away. I wasn't too far from