Hellooo Denver

Well I'm a week into living here in Denver and it's been an interesting experience. The first week on the job was hard to adjust to. Having just left the BOEC where my job was to be silly and entertain kids all day moving into an office where I needed to dress up for work and sell trips has been quite a scenery change. Not to mention wearing heels and living in a city. It's a lot to adjust to. Alli and Kim have been my hostess' for the whole first week and they have been so good at entertaining. Monday they took me to book club with them and I met some of there friends which was great. Tuesday Allis friend Ashley came over with her husband and we had dinner. It was great getting to know them then the rest of the week we worked out and enjoyed the great weather. This weekend they headed out to Moab and I was lazy hanging around all weekend. I went on a bike ride to town and went to a Saint Louis vs. Rockies game with a co worker. All in all it was a great weekend and I got to know a little more of Denver. Monday I moved into my new place and I have been trying to get settled. I will let you know how things go as the weeks go on.

xoxo

-Leah

Back to Colorado??

Well shoot how did this happen? I am moving back to Colorado only a mere two weeks after I left? I was so ready to be back in California however now I have accepted a position working in sales for a company that I love. The job itself isn't ideal but is a great stepping stone to where I want to be. I will be calling 120 people a day trying to make contact with them and get them started on booking a tour with our company. To be completely honest I am totally terrified. The idea of moving to Denver where I know all of 1 person and at this moment no desire to be in that city I get a little bit nervous about the move. What I have come to realize though is that changes like these are the kinds that help you define your life. Yes it's happening WAY quicker than I had hoped for but for all of you who know me I'm kind of like a tornado when I come through. I fly in and out wreaking chaos everywhere. So maybe this is just true to form for me, I came home overwhelmed my mom and have now decided to up and move before my mom completes wants to strangle me for being such a mess. Kevin and I have been apart now for a few weeks and this 9 hour time difference is KILLING me! It is so hard to find time in our days that coincide with when we are both available and it usually turns into one of us waking up earlier than we want to or staying up later than we had planned. It's been great to talk to him and hear what he has to say. He has been incredible through this whole crazy transition of mine. We were both excited at the prospect of me being able to move to the UK for 3-6 months working for a family where I would be only a 1 hour flight away from him and he would be studying there the second half of my stay. It seemed perfect, maybe too perfect because shortly after we both got really excited about what seemed like a set deal it all fell through. The family was wonderful but her husband has a great job with British Airways and I would have to lie at immigration and it would have just been too much so we decided we needed to nix that plan. Understandable and probably safer so I'm not sitting in some jail being deported but TOTALLY sucked that Kevin and I don't know when we will get to see each other next. At this point we are just living our lives one day at a time and seeing how the next day happens. Lately the days haven't been happening to great for either of us. Kevin is having a hard time being back at school with life moving so much faster than life in Breck. I had a similar experience coming back and seeing old friends and having to jump into the job apps and real world stuff. Being a big kid isn't fun no matter what anyone tells you. This past weekend I went to Vegas with my good friend John since he needed a no stress date and I happened to be such. We had fun but I definitely felt out of place. I went to SLO early to see people an catch up which was great and I enjoyed it even though I felt a bit too old for it. I miss the AOII girls and my guy friends like Antonio, John and Bobby. They really made my senior year my best. Now we are all headed in different directions Bobby to San Jose, John to San Diego, Antonio to socal, Bee back at home, Kelly in SF, Annie to Sacramento and the younger girls graduating. I came to finally realize that there really is no place I can go where it will ever be the same as college. No place has such a high concentration of people my age and at nearly the same stage in life. From now on it's a mix of young and old, single and coupled, families and pets etc etc. They didn't teach me this in college...WHAT THE HECK??

Until next time,

-L

Spring in Breckenridge

Again it's been ages since I have last written but hopefully this will be a good one since I am sick in bed with nothing else to do but relax. Lets see...last time I wrote it was March...a lot has happened since March and I will do my best to update you but knowing me and my goldfish memory I will forget some notable things.

As the end of March rolled around I remembered that I have a HUGE test coming up that will certify me as a level 1 adaptive PSIA instructor. This is a huge part of the internship that our boss is paying for us to do so for us not to pass would be really rough. The snow kept dumping even though it is March...We would get the most crazy weather of a nice and warm 45 degrees one day and then the next its 18 degrees and I am freezing my butt off. This makes for some rough snow when it melts to slush and then gets frozen and your skiing on it. NO FUN.... Anyhoo I went out and kept trying to practice my functional skiing maneuvers for the PSIA exam at the beginning of April. To be honest I was pretty nervous about the whole testing thing. I don't test well and this was a test on the mountain where I can easily get distracted by just about EVERYTHING. Prepping for this test has made me realize that I should seriously consider getting tested for ADHD because I tend to talk a million miles an hour and cant focus for more than a minute leaving me with lots of confusion and never remembering the last thing I said. I got really really frustrated as I tried to prep for the test because I seriously could not focus. Kevin however is great at focusing and he could nail down the information much quicker than I could (there were a few moments of me being incredibly jealous and ranting at him to stop being to dang smart, poor guy...). While I was trying to study my brains out a group of 6 interns went to DAV in Snowmass, Colorado. This sounds like the ultimate of all fun trips to have gone on while working here. As a volunteer they put you up in a condo, you get free meals Ali day, free dancing and drinks at night and everyone is just happy go lucky lettin' the good times roll...needless to say my trip to guide blind students wasn't quite the same ritzy trip but valuable in it's own way. They all came back pumped on their experience and having not studied one bit. <-- that I can be thankful for, there is NO WAY I would have been able to study in that environment. They came back 2 days before the test and our house became a study hall. Everyone with noses in their books, murmuring the answers to their flash cards and panicking when we didn't have the same answers. Test day came around and I was with an examiner I was told to fear. She was incredibly picky about style and movement, she would doc points for even the smallest of things and she wasn't afraid to tell you what she thought about you or your skiing. I was sufficiently peeing my pants I was so nervous by the time this rolled around...

Oddly I found her to be great, I felt like I was getting feedback and opportunities to explain my skiing and reasoning. Although yes she was intimidating I decided I cant do much about it and I just needed to carry on skiing like I had been taught all season. WHEW! I managed to pass Day 1 of the test which was the day I was most nervous about. I figured I teach lessons everyday on for visually impaired and cognitive disabilities, I should be able to come up with some sort of answer in a pinch. Everyone at the house passed Day 1 which was a relief and we all continued studying. Day 2 rolled around where I had to spout of medications and side effects and explain disabilities and other forms of it. Luckily I had a different examiner for Day 2 and she was relaxed which made me much more comfortable. We got the meds and disabilities out of the way first thing THANK GOODNESS!. Next we went onto the hill and showed her our guiding skills and did scenarios with different tools and disabilities. Day 2 was done and I got my shiny new PSIA pin! YAHOOOOOOO I made it, after all this hard work I finally passed the big test for the season! One of our roommates wasn't lucky enough to pass which was a real bummer because he is an incredible teacher and I could learn a lot from him in being patient with a student and not rushing the learning process. I hope that he isn't discouraged and believes that he is a great teach and that no pin or piece of paper should tell him otherwise. The boys who were doing bi and mono ski exams were the next day and Kevin was sooo nervous but he passed with flying colors! Pretty impressive since it is in a different language and he has never done any of this before! Told you he was smart =). Unfortunately one of our good friends and roommates didn't pass the test and he was pretty bummed out. The problem I see with it is that he never got to even teach a bi/mono lesson so his on mountain skills were limited in that he didn't get the experience. There were 5 guys that took the test and only 2 passed it, I can imagine it was pretty dang difficult.

While all this test prep and all that was going on my amazing friend Alexa and her new hubby came to visit me on their way to Virginia. This was totally our of their way but she made the 5 hour detour to see me since it had been 2 years since we last saw each other. Is she awesome or what?! Anyhoo it was so great to finally meet her hubby and hang out and go on a double date. They stayed 2 nights which wasn't nearly enough time for Lex and I to catch up but hey I will take what I can get! Having her here made me realize how much I miss all of my friends. As great as Colorado has been I cannot wait to be reunited with everyone back home and have the freedom to visit people. Living here has been kind of like living in a bubble, I have only seen Denver and that was to pick up participants.

We are in the last few weeks here and I am excited to see what the next chapter in my life brings. I have NO IDEA at all what is going to happen but hopefully it is full of fun and adventures. Kevin and I keep talking about the future and really have no idea where either one of us will be after this is done. He is looking to find a new school to study abroad at so he isn't in Holland. He may end up in England, Africa or Turkey...crazy boy! I love how much he enjoys travel and how much he values his education and developing himself. He isn't afraid to try something new. I'm crossing my fingers for England so I can visit since Turkey and Africa aren't my first choices. If it comes down to it though and he is there I will make the trip to visit and see what he is into. For those of you who have been wondering if we are going to try and make it work long distance the answer is most definitely YES.

This boy has stolen my heart and made me so incredibly happy that I would be stupid not to. I know it won't be easy and sometimes maybe not even fun but in the end this person cares more for me than I think I care for myself and he puts me before everything else. He makes me laugh and smile when I can't seem to muster it up for myself and he truly has the most honest heart I have ever experienced. Since deciding this I have been looking around for jobs overseas. There are quite a few families who need au pairs in Europe and I am hoping that I am their girl! I have two families in Italy who are interested, one in Spain, another in Holland, and another in England. We will see how it turns out. As of now this would only be for the summer until I figure out what happens in September. I am considering living in San Francisco come fall and exploring the city. My only problem is that I seem to be pulled away from the city and back to the beaches of the California coast. No decision has been made either way but its all floating around in my head trying to make sense.

Although the Spring here has been beautiful it is rather interesting. Our weather is still going back and forth between snow and incredible sunshine. On the sunshiny days I love it because the birds are chirping and the sun is out with bright blue skies overhead. The snowy days however mean more shoveling for me and cold days of teaching. I am so looking forward to the days of shorts and t-shirts, swim suits and dresses and the sweet sweet smell of sunscreen.

I cant wait to be home with momma where we can catch up on EVERYTHING we have missed. I'm not sure how I will do it being far away form her because we are so incredibly close and both crave the time spent together do nothing. I have so many plans for when I get home that I find it hard not to check out here. The first weekend is mother's day and my roommate from Breck is visiting with her mom and we are doing a double date with our moms. The next weekend I get to go to Las Vegas with my friend John for THE BEST WEEKEND EVER seeing all of my old friends and getting to go out like old times.

The following weekend is time at home to catch up with friends and then the next weekend I go to SLO for the Avila Festival of Beers with my amazing bestie Antonio. I know so many friends from school will be there as well and I am looking forward to seeing all of them in the sunshine of Avila Beach. So many great things to look forward to!

Miss you all

xoxo

-L

long time no talk

So it's been ages since I have written...oops! Literally almost a month since my last post, that's how incredibly busy I have been this past month. Just after I wrote last Kevin's parents showed up in Breck to visit and it was AWESOME. They are some of the coolest most genuine and giving people I know. I spent every night hanging out with them and just having great conversation. They gave me an awesome birthday celebration showering me with gifts. I felt like a pampered princess. The whole time thinking you just met me what if you got here and realized you didn't like me? Luckily they are amazing and so much fun. We went to dinner, played Yatzee, walked all over town and just had a great time. After they left Kev was pretty bummed but we managed to bounce back. Since then I have had some hard lessons and some easy ones which combined has made me exhausted. It's weird because I feel like I am in the movie ground hogs day where everyday is the same. I wake up eat breakfast go to work come home and sit on the computer then head to bed. I have been struggling to find a way to spice up my days with different activities. Most of the fun things to do around here either cost money or you need a car to get there. Luckily I was able to meet up with Ali Russsel a friend from school and her friend Hilary who also happens to be from Cali. We went all over Breck snowboarding for the day. They are both so much fun and easy to hang out with. They managed to get me going down blacks on my board which was pretty exciting for me considering I just started boarding this year. Hilary and I hung out this week and snowboarded with my roomie Adam. We didn't last long because our craving for pizza took over completely. We ducked out for a half day and chowed on some delish pizza from Fatty's in town.

On another note I have officially booked my flight home to Cali for May 1 and I could not be more excited about it...seriously cannot wait for Cali sunshine and friends! I cant decide what I am going to do once I get back but I don't mind. I have applied for 3 positions with the US Olympic Committee that I am incredibly excited for. After reading their description I was grinning knowing that this was what I wanted to do next! I'm sure it's a very competitive position to get so I'm not sure how I will fair but for now I will dream about all the awesome things I could get to do working with them. Tonight we have the adopt the interns dinner where a family from the BOEC takes all 12 of us hooligans in and feeds us. I am really looking forward to this, a nice evening away from the house and full of great conversation.

If anyone out there is reading this which I'm not sure anyone besides my mom is please take a look at our website and see what great things the BOEC is doing. Go to www.BOEC.org to check us out and if you feel gifty I am currently fundraising for the 2011 Breckebeiner. This is a 60K nordic skiing event that raises money for student scholarships. Scholarships are awarded to some great people so that they can come ski with us.

Hopefully I will be better at updating this =)

Ciao for now!

-L

Almost there...

Hey guys,

Well I am coming to the middle of February which means only 2 and a half months til I'm back in Cali and soaking up the sunshine! Don't get me wrong, being here has been a great experience which I have recently been reflecting on. Today was the second part of my mid-season evaluation and over all it went really great. Erin, my boss put together both her comments and the ski office staff comments to give me an idea of the total picture on how I am doing here at the BOEC. I have realized that the meeting I wasn't totally looking forward to actually made things a lot better. The ski office is where I spend every day from 8:25 am-4 pm each day, that's a ton of time...The thing is that we get to busy in there with our students and staff that there isn't much time for chit chat about how things are going. Although I had spoken with my boss previously about how it was all going and got positive feedback the weeks following felt like some of the hardest I had done. My energy was down, my lessons felt more difficult, the weather was FRIGID cold and I just felt off. I felt like I was missing something which caused me to over think situations and not see them for what they were. My meeting with Erin helped me process some things out loud and talk about what's up with me at work and home. I realized that being here I have grown immensely. I have realized that I can do more than I allow myself, I tend to psyche myself out when it comes to a new or difficult task. I hope that in the next few months I will continue to push myself to get better at going for it and trying my best. I had a lesson the other day which totally freaked me out because I hadn't practiced the technique in roughly 2+ months and didn't remember my training. The technique isn't rocket science but the idea of messing up and compromising the safety of my participant totally freaked me out. I managed just fine once I got over the mental game. I also found out in my 1 on 1 that although my leadership skills are great I need to be able to make room for others to step up and take things on or create an environment that will allow and encourage someone else to take control and give me the back seat. I have heard this before so it didn't surprise me at all. The good news was that Erin said she can see that I have come a long way from the beginning when I wanted total control of every situation...oops ;). This past week Kevin was in Sunrise, Arizona teaching ski lessons and he really enjoyed it. I am glad he was able to see some other places even if it was a 16 hour car ride...YIKES! The better part is that he is home and we get to catch up on the last week. Five days away with no communication was rough but come April who knows how long it will be, I suppose it's good practice for summer. Anyways, we are both excited for tomorrow because his family will FINALLY be here all the way from Holland. They get in late tomorrow evening and will be staying for a week. I have enjoyed getting to know them via Skype over the last few months and look forward to meeting them face to face. They are such incredible people and his parents are so supportive of everything Kevin does. I love that they encourage travel, exploration and adventure. I think this gives him the freedom to enjoy so much more about the world and has also given him the opportunity to become fluent in 5 languages, pretty impressive stuff!

Tomorrow I turn 23 and I'm not too sure how I feel about it...Im kind of not looking forward to it. I take birthdays very seriously and I have a feeling tomorrow isn't going to be much fun. I'm working all day which isn't too cool but hopefully my student is a fun one. I don't think we will be doing much of anything for it so I'm thinking maybe I will just cancel it for this year at least then I can put off being 23 for another year right? For some reason 23 feels like the beginning of big kid life. This means getting a "real" job, paying for cell phones, rent, car insurance, groceries, health insurance, cable, utilities...ugh I've got to stop talking about this, it will be to overwhelming. In order to prepare for all this nonsense I have been looking for jobs lately and honestly everything looks so boring and not very fun. None of them interest me enough to really want to be there. What I really want to do is take seasonal jobs so that in off seasons I can travel and really enjoy life. I feel like then working hard for the season will have an end I can look forward to. I'm not too sure my mom will be too happy when she hears this idea but what I am realizing is that travel and adventure is was keeps me happy and trust me an unhappy Leah is an unpleasant thing. For now I will just dream of my next travel destinations and that perfect job!

I miss you all at home so very much and can't wait to be reunited in only 2 MONTHS!!

lots of love,

Leah

Mono Camp

Hey guys,

Mono camp just finished up and it was a blast! I am so exhausted from it but really enjoyed seeing some of the guys from ski spectacular and meeting new ones. Some of the skiers were incredible skiers doing just about anything on the mountain. They haul down the mountain which makes it hard to keep up with them. I spent most of my days skating after them trying to keep up. There was no chance that I would catch them though. One of the guys who is a great skier leaves a trench behind him after his turns because he lays it down so low. Over all I really enjoyed the camp but I am so exhausted from it. I realized that I am incredibly stubborn and wouldn't let anyone help me which bit me in the butt. Lifting these guys in and out of the vans to their wheelchairs was difficult and I shouldn't be so stubborn next time but oh well...Unfortunately I'm sick now from running myself ragged working round the clock for camp and Kevin is sick so I may have gotten it from him. This morning I felt awful and haven't felt that bad in a long long time but this evening I am feeling a little better so hopefully I will keep feeling better. Back to my post on the couch...

-L

back to bed...

SO dang cold!!

Oh my gosh its cold here! This is not helping the fact that I SERIOUSLY want to be back in Cali right about...NOW. The weather today and yesterday was a high of -5 and low of -25...shoot me that is freeeezing! Yesterday my hair froze, my nostrils froze shut and my eyelids started to when I was walking up to my house. That's just not OK weather gods please make it stop. Yesterday I had a day off and ended up going to work anyway and doing a snowboarding clinic. I have learned how to board this season and I am loving it but the clinic helped me realize I have a lot to learn before I can teach a great lesson. At this point I can teach a basic lesson but the more advanced snowboarders wouldn't get much help from me. Today I also had off work and so Kevin and I decided to spend out afternoon in Silverthorne at the outlets. This place is wonderful and a fun little escape from the house. We spent all afternoon wandering through shops and looking at things. I don't know how he puts up with me dragging him all around the outdoor mall but he is a trooper and kept with me. It was nice to be able to spend some time together just having fun instead of at the house doing the same old thing like we always do. The only part that wasn't so fun was the freezing cold weather otherwise an A+ day!

xoxo

-L

(My nose froze and this is likely what I looked like...obviously we're identical looking)