25...here's to you

Last year I turned a quarter of a century old....I was NOT the least bit thrilled with this. I'm not even really sure why, maybe there has always been this stigma about 25. What you should be doing, where you should be in your career, what you should have done by now etc. I wasn't there at all...I had no job, no money, no home, lost out on a chance to go on my dream trip and most of all I had no plans. Luckily for me, life likes me. 25 was really a great year for me, even now as I write this there is some upbeat 90's song playing in my head as I think about the great year life provided me with. Actually to get the full effect I'm going to insist you play this video while reading....yah I mean it go ahead play it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEocg4EU_dc

Anyways so yah 25 was great so I've decided to be super cheesy and write 25 great things that I experienced, felt, or saw! Hope your year was as exciting as mine was, if not then this must be the year for you ;)


1. The gift of friendship. My birthday was less than exciting, my brothers wedding was the next day so we were all busy trying to plan for that. Not to mention my boyfriend was 5 hours away. With tons of brother-sister drama going on (I should never expect less) my dearest friend Kyle Hicks said screw it all Brie I'm taking you to sushi. It didn't make my family get along, or bring Shawn to Dallas but it did remind you can always find some sunlight in any situation.

This is my friend Kyle and well footed pajamas

2. My brother got married. My brother is my favorite person in the world. I mean it, just thinking about him makes me tear up. If anyone in the world gets me, it's him. Anything that makes him happy I approve of. On February 20th he married an amazing girl who loves him for exactly all that he is.  I could not of been happier. So my number 2? Gaining the best SIL a girl could ever ask for. 

3. Time. Over the past year or so Shawn and I had been long distance. That distance often ranged from 5 hours when I lived in Dallas to 9 hours when I lived in San Antonio. It was awful, there were times when I didn't see him for 5 weeks at a time. Obviously I realize time is relative so to my friends that are waiting on your husbands, I commend you. Waiting on your lover, well blows. Anyways so in February I got to move in with Shawn and his cousin. Finally Shawn and I could try and have a normal relationship. It's always a fear that if you start a relationship long distance you can never truly adjust to being together all the time. Well lucky for us, we loved it :)

4. Friends, Limey's, and stonewall. During my second small adventure in Stillwater I was oh so blessed to have my favorite friends well ever come to Stillwater where we got to relive some of the good ol days. I can't imagine a life where I didn't have them always in my back pocket. Although you can never fully relive your college days, I always get a small slice when I hang out with these two.

For number 5 you will need to listen to this song now....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03qO28h9N5s


5. The things you will do for love.  As you know at this point I was in Stillwater back to doing hair living with my boyfriend and his super sweet cousin. Although it worked it was not my dream. I am always a step ahead of where ever I am. It's a blessing and a curse. I can't help it, I love adventure and most of all change. I was dying to go to Seattle, so much I think I might burst if I didn't get out of the Midwest soon. As fate would have it Shawn decided to derail his plans and hop on board the "get the hell out of Oklahoma express." In March Shawn and decided we would move to Seattle May 10th. It was the most I have ever looked forward to any day in my life.

6. Road Trip! So May 10th (or some day I really can't keep it all straight) we had packed our favorite things and threw out the rest. We were ready to throw caution to the wind and hope that we loved the northwest. It was so thrilling to move somewhere we had never been, I'm not going to lie we felt pretty proud of ourselves. Parts of the trip were beautiful, with mountain scenery and sparkling lakes. Parts were extremely scary driving with a huge trailer behind us in the curvy mountain top roads. We made mistakes, slept in scary hotels, and thought we were going to die a few times but overall a top memory for sure.

"Champ" our new jeep and the trailer were ready to start our adventure to Seattle.

This beauty was captured from the passenger seat somewhere in Colorado. 

Jas was such a good sport, she slept most of the trip. This was the one opportunity we had to let her stretch her legs at a rest stop.

This was a beautiful spot taken in eastern Wa.

7. Good Friends in all the right places. Have you heard the story of how I met Kassandra, my Seattle friend? Life is funny in the way it gently pushes you towards where you want to go. I met Kassandra 3 years ago on an airplane. I was on a plane that has assigned seating and I walked up to see a beautiful hippie with long hair and a hippie dress to go with it. It worked out perfectly as I was wearing my long hippie dress too. We both recognized immediately that this would be a great plane ride. Since Kassie is deathly scared of planes she talked the whole plane ride. I learned about her whole life, mistakes she has made that led her to being the happiest she has ever been. It was a great experience and we kept in touch through Facebook ever since. Now this takes us to May leaving for Seattle. Her and her mate Jerome are two of the most open and giving people I think I have ever met. They without hesitation offered to let Shawn, Jas and I stay at their house until we found place of our own. This already is generous but on top of things Kassie has had a fear of boxers since she was a child. She still had faith that it would all work out and they welcomed us to their home in May 2012.

Celebration Champagne about ten minutes after we arrived to the Emerald City

8. Discovery Park. I think the name says it all. Discovery Park is actually in the city of Seattle but its a huge park with a huge mountain and a beautiful beach off the Puget sound that will take your breath away. It was the first place we went once we got to Seattle and we were sold the moment we began our 2.8 mile hike to the beach. It was chilly but sunny at times which made it romantic. Jasmyne had been cooped up for days during the road trip, so seeing her run was such a beautiful moment. She had never looked so free running up and down that shoreline.

9. Downtown. One of our next ventures was going to the heart of Seattle and explore. The city was like nothing I had ever seen. A beautiful pier with a ferris wheel and space needle to compliment the scenery. We had so much fun at the market where you can buy things from a huge bouquet of flowers for $5 to raw fish to homemade purses. The market explains exactly how Seattle supports each other, we are definitely a place for home grown businesses.

10. One of the many reasons Shawn and I desired to move to Washington so bad was the scenery. I constantly craved the beautiful mountains that take away your breath and restore your spirit. Once we had a chance we were exploring the many mountains that Seattle offers only 30 minutes to an hour away. The first our Seattle friend took us was Middlefork at NorthBend. Seriously amazing, the views were everything I could hope for and more. It was well a perfect day.

11. A place to call our own.  As long as we had been together we had been a long distance couple, living in someone else's home, or sharing a house with someone. We had never been able to have a stable place for just Shawn and I. Although it was near to impossible to find that perfect place we finally did. We found a one bedroom in a neighborhood called Fremont with tasty Caribbean sandwiches and a bar that allows you to bring your pups along. I think it has been the perfect first place, although it has its flaws it welcomed us to Seattle and gave us a place to be happy. 

Shawn soaking up the summer by grilling his famous corn on the cob. Yum!

Jas loves to sun bathe

This is the Fremont Troll he is apart of our neighborhood watch program.

 12. Rattlesnake Ledge... Another amazing hike that we took was to rattle snake ledge. Probably the highest cliff I have ever been and definitely the most beautiful. The hike is quite intense, for a weakling like me that is but oh how it is worth it. I think the views speak for themselves.

It may not seem scary, but man was this an adrenaline rush!

Jas enjoyed the beautiful view as well.

This little guy tormented Jas the entire time. I was convinced she was going to jump off the cliff to get him.

13. You don't always get what you want, but you always get what you need.  Well this become very true in August of last year. I had been frantically searching for the perfect job for 3 months and well nothing had showed up. I kept saying I did not have any interest in the job I had in Dallas. I did not think I would be happy and therefore would not be a good worker. Well you can push life away all you want but it usually knows what you need and it will catch up eventually. It is really quite extraordinary that my old company not only had one position but they had two positions open in Seattle.  I had two teams that were more than happy to take me on as their new marketing manager. It may not have been my plan but I am so lucky to have that life throws me some pretty awesome bones sometimes. Turned out I loved my new team and am still a happy little worker.


14. New friends in old places. By the luck of it we were able to make a great friend here in this huge city. She had just moved here from Oklahoma herself and came for the beautiful views with the same reason we did of "why not?".  We were introduced through a friend of a friend and it worked out marvelously. She was just like us and wanted to explore this great state. We have seen so many things that we might not have if it wasn't for her. We are always grateful that we met her!

Amanda and I drunk...I mean out on the town

All three of us at the Harry Potter Movie on the lawn of the space needle.

15. Our first real ventures as friends with Amanda was to Mount Rainier.  Mount Rainier is about an hour south east of Seattle. It is the beautiful mountaintop you see often in my Seattle pictures. There are several ways to see Mount Rainier including driving in your car several different routes or countless beautiful trails you can take. This day we drove as well as took our own trails instead of the conventional ones. I cannot wait until this summer to see my favorite mountain again.

Our first hike on Mt. Rainier

Reflections Lake

How I miss our Jeep- Champ

16. Milo Man.  Ever since I had to give Achilles up I have wanted another dachshund. I love wiener dogs, I simply think they are the cutest dogs ever to exist. The problem was I didn't want to buy from a breeder. After I got Achilles I grew such a love for animals I couldn't ever even think of buying a dog when there are so many out there that need love and out of death row. Problem was I didn't have a backyard which most adoption places require. Luckily one day I found a couple who simply did not have the time for the 3 month wiener. We quickly drove an hour and a half away and fell in love with our little man. Although he is a complete turd I love him so much and am so glad we found him.

Shawn held Milo for 3 hours because he was in so much pain from his shots earlier that day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtOvBOTyX00

17. A Thanksgiving to remember.  The holidays were dawning on us and between the three of us we didn't have any family in Seattle or the money to go back and visit. So we all decided to do something nontraditional and go see somewhere exciting instead. We decided on the Olympic Peninsula where Forks (aka Twilight), rocky beaches, and the rain forest reside. It was quite an experience. We took the ferry the night before and stayed in a hotel so we would have the entire day to enjoy ourselves. The Olympic Peninsula is something all of its own, if you decide to visit it is definitely a must see.

Our Thanksgiving Dinner. Since it was thanksgiving everything was closed except one little gas station in Forks.

Shawn had to find the perfect spot.

 Seeing a surfer may not surprise you but in these waters.....

Shawn was doing his happy dance.

We had to stop for scenery

18. SHY.... Sweat. Hot. Yoga. I have always done yoga off and on but this time it was our friend Amanda who initiated the idea to begin yoga. We found a perfect little studio in Fremont and took a leap. This studio is more than you could ever ask out of yoga. The owner and teachers are the most welcoming warm people I have ever met in my life. The classes are calming, yet the best workout of your life. If you have not tried yoga and better yet hot yoga you my friend are missing out. Your body, soul, and mind will thank you for participating in yoga even just once a week.

19.  It's a Zombie Apocalypse!! Party that is. In the slow rainy month of December our friend Kassie and Jerome convinced us to attend a house party themed with Zombies. Surprisingly? An absolute blast! This place looks like an actual concert bar with amazing bands to back it up. It was a nice reminder that even in the winter months you can still get out and enjoy yourself.

Shawn...and the zombie cake

 
20. Christmas fun.  To begin our Christmas fun we were invited by our amazing yoga teacher to her Christmas Eve Butter Rum party (If you have never tried butter rum, it is interesting to say the least). We were able to meet new friends and enjoy other singles who may not have family in Seattle but are able to enjoy friends instead. After the party we had to see downtown Seattle and the beautiful lights. I imagine it is nothing like NYC but to me it was spectacular. Having friends during the holidays in a new city with no family is something you can only understand if you have had to do it alone. I am lucky that this year my friends were by my side.

Amanda outside the only bar open on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Free pizza on Christmas Day!

The Seattle Christmas tree in downtown.

21.  To break tradition again we decided to start our New Year a little differently than most. On average my New Year has been spent at a bar or club somewhere drinking the night away. Amanda, Shawn, and I decided that being drunk and hungover was not the way we want to start our 2013. So instead we went on a beautiful hike to Wallace Falls. It was another amazing trip I still cannot believe I was lucky enough to witness.

Can you believe I live right next to this?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ASJBXu8tNo
22. So when Shawn and I began our relationships one of the first concerts we went to was Augustana. Music was something we bonded over and it has been a lasting glue with our relationship. So to surprise me Shawn bought tickets to a all acoustic tour of Augustana in a neighborhood close to ours. It was one of our favorite bars which made the concert that much more special.

23.   Family is an amazing thing, they may drive you crazy but if you are lucky enough they are also the people that will always be there for you. As far as my brother goes, he has never missed one important date in my life no matter where he lived or where I was.  He made sure I always had family there to support me and I am constantly attempting to return that favor of love. This applies to all of my family, I am yet to miss the first few days of any of my nieces and nephews lives. On Thursday January 10th, 2013 at 10:13pm one of the most beautiful babies was born into this world. My niece Aleithyia Adelaide decided to grace us with her presence and I was so incredibly blessed to be able to fly out to Boston that day so that I could see her soon after her birth. I cannot wait until she grows and I am able to show her all the beautiful places I have seen.

 24. Valentine's Day we were able to go to a perfect Italian restaurant down the street. I had been dying to go there since we moved in and so Shawn the perfect boyfriend that he is got us reservations. It is a tiny little restaurant that has been in this neighborhood for years and makes a killer chicken pesto. That is one great thing about Seattle, there are so many small restaurants and business that give you a sense of community.

25. First time for everything.  For my birthday Shawn and I decided we would do something we had never done....Ski. The ski trip was more than amazing, it was the best birthday I have EVER had. More later on that in future blogs :)

There is my year in short. It had it's ups and downs but over all I can without a doubt say that my 25th year was the best year of my life. I am so incredibly blessed to have such great friend, family, and memories.