My Springtime Epiphany

I had an epiphany today. I went for a run and realized 2 things:

1. It is really nice to have warm weather and longer days. I got caught into a horrible routine where I would bike/run to the gym and workout there. I was reminded today how much I love to run outside. Not only does it physically make me feel good, it gives me a chance to observe, process, and think about things. Which brings me to my second realization...

2. I have not been motivated to blog these past 5 months because people have been hibernating. Just as I was hibernating in the gym, there have not been many people to watch and observe outside until these past few weeks when it has started being beautiful out.

That being said.... I have realized I need to spend a little time just for me each day. I have gotten into a horrible habit of not allowing anytime to myself and that is just not healthy. I'm hoping to get outside and have some 'me' time and in turn I will have more observations of the town and the people in it.

These past 2 weekends it has been beautiful out and I have gone hiking both weekends, which also made me realize I am a bit more out of shape than I thought. There are no excuses and it needs to stop here. I have high expectations for this summer. I have several 14ers I need to climb, camping trips to go on, not to mention one sister's graduation and another sister's wedding to attend. I need to stop using the excuse that I am too busy and find an hour a day to spend outside with myself (this does not include my bike ride to and from school and work).

So here it is, the return of my blog. I'm hoping it will keep me accountable in many ways. If you would like to help me in this process, my birthday is coming up and I really need some hiking shoes for all of my adventures. I'm accepting donations starting today.

I'm going to help myself in this process by buying more deodorant tonight since I ran out today.

To be honest, my winter months in Fort Collins were not really spent in Fort Collins. There were numerous trips back to Iowa, many ski trips to the mountains, a trip to Las Vegas, and not many observations in Fort Collins to write about.

But only in Fort Collins:

- Have I been to a winter drive-in movie thanks to my boyfriend and his creativeness.
- Do they hand out full size cinnamon rolls in the St. Patrick's Day parade
- Is there 85 degree weather in March
- Do I know it is Spring time because I am starting to see random pianos around town again
- Does every 5k or race that I run have free beer and breakfast burritos at the end.
- Will I be a bike freak and ride my bike as much as possible. Gas is too expensive right now. Think I could ride my bike back to Iowa this summer?
- Do the breweries put on caching. Not geocaching, just caching. Today while I was out running there were flocks of people caching. Literally tons of people on bikes and even more running aimlessly through town. Basically finding hidden marks that lead or point to their next spot that they have to go to. The prize at the end is free beer. Imagine that.
- Do I not dread going to work at JCPenney

Wait. I'm not sure about that last one, though it is a much nicer work environment than my previous experiences. I'm only scheduled for 4 or 5 hour shifts which makes life much more manageable and enjoyable. Exactly what a part-time job should be, a few hours for extra money. I already have a job and full time schedule at school. On that note, I'm headed there soon. Time to go shower. Happy Spring!