winter has settled in : january moves into february

winter has settled in as we've experienced storm after storm after storm--we even had a rare ice storm.

i've been a bit saddened that i haven't been able to enjoy the snow as much as usual.
life is busy: a new job, starting a business, planning for another voyage magazine adventure, finding time to practice the violin, and keep my backcountry skiing lungs strong, and house hunting. there isn't enough time for everything, and so i am hoping to find a way to simplify, to sacrifice, to free up my life for the real priorities.

i had hoped to write more today as i am home from work with the flu--but unfortunately my heart isn't entirely cooperating. i just want to stay under my covers and fall in and out of sleep.

isn't january beautiful?


{p.s. lowell c. bennion was my grandmother's cousin}

at the cabin : the snow came and so we went out

we were so confident that this snow storm would be pure bliss...and that our little car
would make it up the mountain. we were so close! but some teenagers decided the middle
of the road was the perfect place for a jump...and it was. however, it slowed our momentum
as we tried to go around, and we ended up in the little ditch on the side of the road. see proof here.
thanks to some neighbors passing by we were able to get the car unstuck and we slowly
backed down the mountain, and skied back up to the cabin.

once we were settled inside after that car vs. snow extravaganza we were happy with
a cozy fire inside knowing that friends were on their way up. their car made it. i guess clearance matters.

we ate butternut squash-mushroom pasta and a delicious salad. my new fave meal this fall.

then the four of us were off for a late-night ski/snowshoe through the snowy woods.
the snow is beautiful at night. loved every minute of it.

hot chocolate and doughnuts ensued. bellies were happy. and so were we as we all cuddled up
and watched a class, "waking ned devine." this film will never get old. makes my heart happy.

the next day we had breakfast with our friends, and sent them on their way home.
ceej and i lingered for one more ski tour around the mountain during daylight.
such bliss. always worth lingering.

the cabin : before the storm

we've been spending many weekends up at the cabin...thus, the cabin-photo-overload.
don't worry. there's more to come.

anyway, these photos are from a couple of weeks ago before the big snowstorm hit us.
we did lots of walking around the mountain, and we made sure to visit the small
little spot in an aspen forest where ceej proposed to me nine years ago...here's the story:

halloween night i dressed up as an elf (lord of the rings style) and ceej was a hobbit (samwise).
i think we made the best couple for the entire night...
after going to a party down in the city we made the slow drive through a snowstorm up to
the next party that was going on in the woods up at the cabin. i can't really remember who was
there as many of the surrounding details are quite foggy in my head. i had no idea ceej would
be proposing that weekend.

everyone fell asleep and we all awoke the next morning to more snowfall.
ceej suggested we go for a walk so we could talk...which i, for some reason, interpreted as an excuse to break up withme away from the crowd, you know, giving me some space to cry with no one else watching.

we walked for some time, and finally ceej stopped me, grabbed my shoulders and looked straight into my eyes. i knew it. this was what he was trying to get the courage up to do...to gently break my heart...

but then he got down on his knees in the snow, surrounded by aspens, and boy was i confused...
what was he doing down there?!
i started crying and got down on my knees too....

so there we were, in the forest on our knees, snow falling gently.
and lucky for me he didn't break up with me, but asked me to marry him!
he pulled out two conk shell rings from his pocket that he had bought years ago in the carribean
for the woman he would someday marry. holy smokes. was this guy for real?

i cried. i said yes. he kissed me. and i kept crying. for joy. in the snow.
the engagement was short, and less than two months later we were married...on a cold snowy day.


and today is cj's birthday...so we are celebrating with little things all day:
a little gift here and there, meals together, notes, and phone calls.

lucky, lucky me.