I made it!!!

After 9 days, 2,160 miles, and 37 hours in the car, I made it up to Scobey, Montana. I had such a fun road trip and 34 hours of driving was by myself. I often found myself with a big grin on my face and actually laughed out loud a few times. As I jammed to old high school and college music, my mind scanned through hundreds of memories everywhere I went. Whether it be listening to Crystal Waters’ “100% Pure Love” and driving through Circle thinking of high school volleyball games or the Back Street Boys “I Want It That Way” remembering one summer’s road trips to Canada playing softball. I took time to look around and take a million pictures, visit old friends, spend time with family, have some phone conversations with new and old friends, and appreciate the beauty of the land. I think most people, including myself, too often get so caught up in the hussle and bussle of everyday life, that many of the things that are most important in life slip right on by. This trip as been a lesson in mindfulness for me and I’m sure it won’t be the last time I have to be taught and reminded about it. Tour de Montana is only a sliver of the trip that lies ahead. I will be up in Scobey for 4 days visiting family and friends and then I fly to New York to stay a couple days en route to Germany. There I get to meet up with my very missed friend, Carolin, to accompany her back into her home country and begin a trip to Europe that I know has many great things in store.

Billings to Scobey with a stop at Pompey's Pillar

Today I began the last stretch of my Tour de Montana. This morning I met up with my friend and first client, Carrie. I am sooo proud of her. She is doing great, about 18lbs down from our first meeting 5 months ago. We went to the gym together and then she gave me a quick haircut while we chatted about her lifestyle change and success. It’s fun to see change in action and very motivating for me in doing what I do.
At lunch I was able to catch up my cousin Heidi and then took off for Scobey. This trip was different. I decided to take the time to do some things, take some pictures, see some extra people, capture the moment a little and actually take the time to look around at my surroundings. I am usually on a such straight track to get to where I am going that I forget where I have been. So after leaving Billings I decided to stop at Pompey’s Pillar about 30 miles out. I have seen the signs every single time I drive that highway and never took the time to stop. It was pretty cool. There is a little interpretive center there with pictures and videos on the Lewis and Clark journey as well as the Indian history in the area. Then you can climb up the long staircase to the top of the pillar and see W. Clark’s signature carved into the rock about half way up. Was cool to take the time to see a little bit of history.

After leaving Pompey’s Pillar, I stopped in Mile City to see my Aunt Jane and Cousin Justin and Jackie and there kiddos. Was great to catch up with family I haven’t seen in a while. An hour later, I took off to complete the last leg of my trip up to good’ole Scobey.

Billings Girls

I love having such amazing life-long friends. Every time I see these girls it is like we were never apart. Last night, I was able to spend some time with a couple of my hometown BFFs, Marlo and Ashley. We had dinner and not surprisingly got a little bit buzzed by sharing ONE bottle of red wine. Guess we’re all growed up. But as we commented many times last night (in the midst of trying to stay up past 10), we aren’t old :) We closed the place down at about 10 on a Sunday night and walked outside only to be bombarded by an annoying group of guys wanting to take us to the next bar. We tried to scare them off by revealing Marlo’s minivan, with the car seat in the back, that we were about to hop into but that didn’t seem to phase them. After finally ditching them at the scene, we drove up to the rims to take a picture or two before heading home. We tried hard to think of something spontaneous to do but didn’t have much luck until Marlo accidentally drove a ¼ mile down a one way road in construction. As she had a little panic attack, Ash and I couldn’t stop laughing. We ended the night lying in Ashley’s front yard on the grass taking pictures to capture our one night of “catch-up” time. Thankful to have them in my life and know that we will have many more “one nights” of fun in the future. Luv ya girls!

Belgrade Visit

Friday I made it to my brother Zach’s house in Belgrade. I was cheerfully welcomed by my two nieces, Tycelee and Teagan, my nephew Tate, and my sis-in-law, Jennifer. Zach was away on a business trip. Saturday morn Tate accompanied me on his bike while I went for a run around the neighborhood. I told him he had to ride his bike cause I knew he would probably leave me in the dust if he ran along side of me :) Then we all headed into town to go swimming but the weather didn’t really cooperate so we went shopping instead. Most of you know how much I “love” shopping (unless it is grocery shopping) but Jen and I needed to get a couple things. I just may have been able to sneak a nap in afterward as well which is a bit strange since I always say they are a waste of time. Guess shopping wore me out a little or maybe it is because I have stayed in 5-6 different places in the last week. Speaking of….my credit card company called me to see if there was some fraudulent charges since it had been used in 4 different states within a couple of days. Funny…..guess you have to pay for gas and a good set of tires to get where you are going sometimes. Part of my wished I could have passed them as fraudulent :)
On Saturday at 4:30, Zach flew in on the company jet, so we went to the airport to welcome him home. The kiddos were pretty excited since he had been gone since Tuesday. I was thankful that I was able to see him before I left today. This morning Jen and I went to church and then came home to root the kids on in a baseball game with Daddy. It was a beautiful day outside so we played outside before I started packing up. I am about to get on the road to Billings. I am going to spend a night there visiting my oldest friends Marlo and Ashley. Feeling a bit wore out but still having a nice time seeing everyone. I’m definitely ready to stop living out of my car for a little bit. Should be in Scobey at my parents by Monday night.

Tour de Montana continues

From Missoula to Kalispell through Helena and now in Belgrade, the Tour de Montana is currently in progress. As I drove past Swan Lake this morning, jamming to Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time", I had a huge grin on my face and had flashbacks of many fond college memories with my life long friends that I have been spending time with this week. Whether it be hitting the ski slopes, tail-gating at the Griz games, playing basketball at Bodega before the court turned into the evening dance floor or spending all day on Sundays watching Hallmark movies, those times are forever engraved in my brain. Today I was able to spend some time with my dear friend Kristi whom became an instant BFF when we first met my freshman year of college :) Little did she know at the time that a little 18 year old could be so cool ;)

We sat at The No Sweat Cafe in downtown Helena which by the way is the best little cafe there. The fresh ingredients and healthy food combos are always very tasty and the atmosphere is quant and cozy. Kinda made me feel like I was back in Santa Cruz. After lunch we were able to hit up the shores of Lakeside for a little tanning on the 8 foot sandy "beach". We found the most sufficient sun exposure and discussed some nutrition stuff, watch some kids perform a funeral for a huge dead fish, and reminicsed about our college days of shopping, skiing and hitting up the dirty Boardroom pretty much every weekend. Some how I'm not sure how I paid for all that. Oh, wait, I'm paying off those school loans now :) Not sure I understood that when financial aid gave me a refund that it should be used for school stuff. Oops! Anyway, we contimplated (for about 5 seconds) about going in the mossy water since it was so hot out. Didn't happen. Afterward, we met up with the rest of her family for dinner. Was a great time but always too short. This has been a great week of family and friends. Getting to catch up with all my family and I'm getting to see most all of my closest BFFs and am thankful for the friendships we share. Doesn't get any better than this. I must say that this is probably the best tour of Montana that I have had. I have done many but never have I been as present as I have been this last week. It's nice to be in the moment. Makes for a more memorable and meaningful experience.

My new travel partner

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Ha ha! NICE! Lovin my road trip!

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4 New Tires and on to Helena

Not a big fan of unexpected expenses but if 4 new tires keep me moving and safe I will deal with it :) Guess I might just be coming back in November instead of December. YEAH RIGHT! Well, I had a great time visiting Levi, Cami, Addy, and Jackson in Kalispell. Always fun to see the kids getting bigger but sad to leave them every time. Just glad I was able to spend some time before moving on. My car is reloaded and nice and clean, so I'm off to Helena this morning to see another best buddy, Kristi! Of course we will be hitting up the No Sweat Cafe and then just a little girl time this afternoon before I move on to Belgrade. Looking forward to it!

Meeting a close dear friend for the 2nd time

Last June, I met a dear friend running in the mountains at Lolo pass near the Montana/Idaho border. Today I had the pleasure of meeting up with her for the second time. It was so fun and I am in awe of how we have stayed in touch and feel an incredible close friendship eventhough we had only met that one day. Heidi and I were both participating in a half marathon last June and happened to “run” into each other on the trail about mid-way. We ran most of the remainder of the race together visiting until she left me in the dust at the very end :) Afterward we decided to stop at Lolo Hot Springs and spent some time visiting and spilling our life stories to each other while relaxing in the hot springs from the long run. It was a great time and we have kept in touch ever since. She lives in Polson (near Kalispell) so today we were able to meet for lunch. Seems so strange that it is only our second time meeting each other but we share some special connection. At lunch, she gave me the coolest most precious gift while visiting. It was a bracelet that says “not all who wander are lost.” She said she bought it on the day that we met. She had always wanted it and the store she went into that day just so happened to have it and had one left. She wanted to give it to me then but thought that might be a bit weird since we just met :) So she kept it and wore it but today she handed it to me and said “This is yours, by the way.” She had been wearing it with lotsa love and gave it to me telling me it wasn’t hers but mine. The message is so true and expresses feelings I have had for a while now. I think some people think I may be lost but I'm just truely blessed to be able to experience what I have and to do what I am doing and already have done. It's really ok to go with the flow and take what life puts in front of you. God keeps putting amazing people in my path and of that I am eternally grateful. Heidi – I think you are an incredible person and I’m so glad we met. Looking forward to our next “run-in”. Thank you soooo much for the special gift. It means more to me than you know. You will always remain very dear to my heart.

Germany Bound

So I have had many questions as to how this traveling idea has come about so I thought I better explain. Lets go back a couple of months. In May, I quit my job working from home so that I could fully immerse myself in my nutrition program at school and start working in the field. I decided to finish school and then see how things went and either travel first, since I have been saving up a little money but didn't know when to go and where to start, or start working on building up clients for my nutrition education and consulting business. One week before finishing school, I got a call from a weightloss camp near Fresno, CA because I had applied a couple weeks prior. They had a recent drop out for a Camp Counselor and asked if I was still interested. The kicker was that it started that weekend. So I was able to switch up my final to completing it that week only to find out the camp was going to hire someone else because I would miss part of the training due to my family vacation. I decided to still do my final presentation early and right after presenting it I got a voicemail saying another counselor dropped out and I had the job. I had two days to pack up some stuff and head to Reedley, CA for ten weeks. The day I got there, the nutrition and culinary instructor that was hired dropped out and I was offered the job. Amazing blessings! I'm so glad that it worked out that way cause I wouldn't have asked for a better position for myself. I was able to teach and work with all the kids and cooked up lotsa fun stuff. It was interesting, challenging, fun, tirering, and amazing all in one :) I had a great time and met some new amazing friends. So......getting to the travel part. A few weeks before camp ended I was getting a little nervous about what I was going to do next. It was either travel or start getting some clients back in Santa Cruz. On one of a few quick trips to Santa Cruz on our days off, my dear friend, Carolin, and I were chatting about it and joked around a bit about me going to Germany with her since she is moving back in September. (She was born and raised there but lived in the states for the last few years). It turned out to not be such a random idea and a week later I decided to buy a ticket to Germany and hop around Europe from there. I haven't regreted the idea since. I got back from camp on the 17th of August and packed up my apartment in Santa Cruz. Was sad to leave but excited for my next adventure at the same time. I love Santa Cruz and can definitely see myself back there again. Sold most of my stuff, gave some away, and shoved the rest in my car and here I am.....Germany Bound :) Not sure what is in store but that is part of what makes it so fun!

Campus Visit

Lotsa love to the old Business building. Spent many of hours in there, right girls! Then of course the Oval and the "M" in the background. Probably should have spent a little more time hiking that thing my freshmen year. A little exercise may have helped prevent the freshmen 15!

Missoula Friends :) xoxo

My Missoula Friends!!!!! Top - Wendy and I; Middle - Libbs and I; Bottom - Lec and I

Was great to see them all. Love you girls!!!

My Griswold-mobile

Here it is! My home until next weekend. That is if it makes it up to Scobey :(

I love Montana

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Missoula Visit

Well, I just made it to Kalispell after a whirlwind tour of my old college stomping grounds, Missoula. After a 8 hour drive from Boise, I was able to catch up with one of my wonderful college roomies, Lexi, and another one of my best buddies, Libby. Had some good visits and got to see how big their kids have gotten. This morning I was able to then catch up with another good Missoula friend, Wendy, and join here for a quick personal training session that I am definitely feeling in my dead arms :) Of course I visited my favorite store in Missoula, "The Good Food Store" and had to refrain from buying a ton of groceries. Mostly because they wouldn't fit into my loaded car which by the way is now my new home for the next couple weeks. Before leaving town I took a little stroll down memory lane since I was driving by campus. I got out and took a short walk by the big Grizzly as well as a quick walk through the ole college dorm. Awww...Craig Hall :) I actually looked pretty normal pulling into the parking lot in my Griswold-mobile loaded to the brim with two big-ole suitcases on top, since there were lots of new college freshmen moving in today preparing for school to start next week. Awww....the joy of the first year of college. Can't believe it was 11 years ago when I did the same thing. I remember my Mommy and Daddy dropping me off and beginning a neverending close friendship with my new friend Lexi Cabot :) Was great to be there again. Anyway, enough of that.....I made it here to Kalispell after driving by the beautiful Flathead Lake. On the way, I made my first steps, in a few years, into a McDonalds. NOOOO I didn't eat there, just used the restroom :) After getting here, I noticed my tires were a bit slanted in the back which I had noticed a couple months ago but now because of all the weight in the back it is a bit accentuated. UH-OH! So I stopped at Toyota and they said I pretty much shouldn't be driving it! Nice! I might just be in Kalispell a bit longer than expected. I have to unload everything tonight and take it in tomorrow. Wish me luck please!!! Kalispell presents me with my big bro Levi and his wife Cami and of course my fun little niece and nephew, Addy and Jackson. Very excited to spend some time together.

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Testing

Just testing out my new blog so it is ready for all my travels :) I'm in Boise hanging out with my beautiful little sis. Having a great time and will be sad to leave. Next on the travel agenda.....Missoula, MT! Awwww....good ole "zoo-town". Memories of the Iron Horse, Depot Deck, The Boardroom, and of course the beautiful college campus. Very excited to see my old amazing friends!