At the end of each year or beginning of the New Year I write
a blog. My blog is a reflection of all that I accomplished the past year and
all I look forward to in the year to come. In January of last year I closed out
my blog with this:
“For the upcoming year I’ve decided to seek out and be open
to more adventures. I want to travel, to continue to build Yogi Magee
Expeditions, to inspire others through healthy living and to change lives
through fitness. I want to expose my daughter to as much of the world as
possible and hopefully teach her as much about it as I can along the way. I may
be continually tired, over-worked and over-committed but as long as there is
life in my veins I won’t stop moving and putting myself out there. I’m ready to
learn, I’m ready to dive in, I’m ready to work and I’m ready to sacrifice now
so I can live the life I want later.”
Looking back on 2015 it would seem that I accomplished this
and more. Nearly every month had a highlight which sometimes involved my
business Yogi Magee Expeditions and other times my family…sometimes both. So
here are my favorite moments of this past year:
January: Visiting Telluride with my husband and Charlotte
and hiking the Jud Weib trail that I’d previously done on my Telluride Yoga +
Hiking Retreat.
February: Spending a weekend at Snow Mountain Ranch and
cross-country skiing with Charlotte for the first time.
March: Celebrating Charlotte’s second birthday and welcoming
the terrible two’s (which I didn’t really think were that bad).
April: Co-leading my first yoga retreat in Belize. From
staying on a private island to wind sailing, swimming with sharks and sea
turtles and hiking through the jungle there were a lot of firsts on this
retreat for me. I’ll never forget being drowned out by the sound of ocean and
wind while I was teaching or using rocks to anchor our yoga mats and late night
hermit crab racing.
May: Hiking the Tetons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and staying
in a gorgeous mansion courtesy of my friend Leanne’s job at Inspirato. We drove
to Idaho and had huckleberry milkshakes and had dance parties and late night
hot tub sessions every night. My favorite adventure was making it to inspiration
falls which we’d previously been turned back from the first year I went due to
snow.
June: First camping trip of the season plus a Michigan
vacation and finishing the Collegiate Peak 14er’s on Columbia Peak.
July: Checking San Luis Peak off my list, celebrating Chad’s
birthday with sloshball and our Anniversary Trip to Telluride where we summited
Sneffles. The end of the month was spent hard at work on my first Glamping
Retreat in Walden where I had the pleasure of teaching yoga, hiking and getting
to know 18 adventurous women all while sleeping in tents and yurts.
August: Climbing Castle and Conundrum Peak then leading my
Telluride Yoga + Hiking Retreat which had amazing weather and awesome
attendees.
September: Managed a weekend getaway in Crested Butte with
my friend Michelle where I climbed Mt. Crested Butte from base to summit then
experienced my first Chili and Beer Festival. My husband and I also managed a
weekend getaway to hike South Maroon Peak and checked out the Iron Mountain Hot
Springs in Glenwood. Also took Charlotte up her first 14er Mount Evans.
October: Took Charlotte to Steamboat for the second time in
her life where we stayed in Oak Creek and climbed Fish Creek Falls. My in-laws
came to visit and we hit up the Mountain Goat Lodge B&B in Salida which has
been on my “to-visit” list a long time.
November: Paid my sister and friend Lisa a visit in DC on a
mother-daughter trip with Charlotte and found out I was going to be an aunt!
Spent our Thanksgiving in Michigan and enjoyed a weekend of snow and sun.
December: Took Charlotte on her first snow shoe trip up in
Nederland and became hooked on the activity ever since. In-between having
family visit I’ve been taking Sunday’s to get outdoors and snow shoe when I can
since it’s a cheaper alternative to skiing. Being from the South I’ve usually shied
away from outdoor winter activities and now I can’t get enough of them. While my husband worries about Charlotte in
the cold, I feel it’s important to expose her to life outside the house where
she can appreciate nature and all Colorado has to offer.
So there you have it, my year in review. I typically don’t
make resolutions but rather I try to evolve each year. I’m constantly thinking
of new ways to expand my retreat business and build my classes at the studios I
teach. I’ve met so many new women from these experiences that it only fuels my
fire to do and teach more. Becoming a prAna ambassador has allowed me to teach
to a different audience and reach new people who I previously wouldn’t have had
the chance to meet. Next year I’m leading some retreats in places like
Nicaragua and Tulum where I’ve never been and I’m excited to get out of my
comfort zone. I’m going to try surfing and more stand up paddle boarding and
hoping to add more 14er hikes to my list. Adventure, to me, is how one comes to
appreciate life. I’ve had a lot of scary moments this year - hikes where I’ve
felt I’ve gotten lost or stuck. What those feelings taught me on the mountain
is that I’m even more brave and capable than I give myself credit. No matter
what has happened to me I’ve always found a safe way out and have become
stronger through each experience.
So for 2016 my goals are to pursue more of what makes me
scared….more of what makes me fearful. Fear, on the mountain is what keeps you
alive….so I have no doubt that will serve me well off the hills as well.
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