when life gives you lemons...climb a rock.

Hello all. It's been far too long. March was lovely (I turned 24--my goodness), April was sweet (I visited my nephew in Phoenix after all), and May has been a test. First, the fun stuff.

I've taken up climbing again, the activity I put aside once I moved to Bellingham. Spencer and I climb in the climbing gym a couple times a week and I went with he and some friends on my first outdoor trip on Memorial Day weekend to Vantage, WA. That was the most fun I've had in a very long time (and probably ever on a camping trip). We climbed for 3 days straight. It was a great way to test the limits of my body--I found that I've got much more stamina than I thought!

The not-so-fun stuff has been pretty terrible. I'm glad I've got climbing to keep me distracted. Many months ago we found out that my mom had a brain aneurysm. She had a procedure to help prevent the aneurysm from causing a stroke (it's called embolization of a cerebral aneurysm--hers is on her ophthalmic carotid artery). The procedure went well and she has recovered. Although, when the did the procedure, they found that she has two additional aneurysms. She will be going in for the same procedure in 6 months to fix another (the third is too small to fix). The frosting on the cake, though, is that my grandfather (yes, my mother's father) isn't doing very well right now--failing more like. He must go into a nursing home, which is heartbreaking because this is the antithesis of the essence of him. He's the lone horseman with an art gallery in his barn.

I know that these things happen and life cannot be fantastic all the time. Everyone has to traipse through the mud at some point. Gratitude and a positive attitude are where it's at though. Keep going forward!!