fat tire brewery tour

Know what's fun about living in Fort Collins? Having lots of breweries in town! Most notably, we have the New Belgium Brewery where Fat Tire, Sunshine Wheat, and many other awesome beers are made. The best part of the company is their efforts to be extremely green, so much of that is reflected in the design of the building and their environmental efforts. Oh...and on any given day you can go and get free samples of beer in their tap room.  

 Brewing Vat

 Sponge Bob, anyone? 

 Now that my brother is finally 21, we got to do some family beer-drinking! 

 Sunshine Wheat

 Seriously...how beautiful is this room?

So...if anyone wants to visit the brewery (and me) just let me know!

reeeeally long road trip...

this past weekend, my mom, dad, and i went on a veeeeery long road trip. it wasn't a huge deal or anything, but i FINALLY moved to colorado. and by "FINALLY" i really mean that i've wanted to move to colorado since my dad had a job change when i was in fourth grade. that desire was reignited after 3 summers' visits to stay with cousins in colorado...and it's finally been realized.

in order to get here, many, many hours of driving were necessary. on saturday we drove from nc to virginia (where, at one point, we went ~7 miles in about an hour and a half, thanks to all the buckeyes from ohio), to west virginia, to kentucky, to indiana, then finally to illinois. we really hadn't intended to conquer 6 states in one day, but thanks to some major hotel trouble, we eventually found solace in mount vernon, illinois at a very nice hotel. sunday we hit the road and spent some quality time with missouri and kansas. it was really fun to see the arch in saint louis and we had lunch in old town columbia home to mizzou. then, after kansas city, it was basically a bust. kansas was nice for about the first 17 miles, but then 400 miles later, it got a little old. oh but we did see a wind farm--that was exciting for about 3 minutes. and, legitimately, it was very cool to be chasing the sun on the border of mountain time at sunset, so daylight seemed to last forever. we did, however, have the pleasure to have some awesome mexican food in russell, kansas (hometown to bob dole...exciting, huh?) and a lovely night's stay in colby kansas, about 50 miles from the colorado border. before lunch on sunday we had finally reached colorado, and it was such a surreal feeling. it didn't feel like i had really even gone anywhere at that point, especially because i'd never had my own car in colorado.

charleston, wv is a beautiful city! 

super old fashioned mcdonalds

meet me in saint louis!

kansas.......

more kansas...including a wind farm! though the windmills do look somewhat like crucifixion crosses to me....

chasing sunset

FINALLY!

so now, i'm here...getting settled in to my apartment in fort collins. putting together ikea furniture, finding other pieces of furniture on craigslist, and redoing many of the things i brought from home. thank goodness my parents are staying until sunday, because i've needed them for every bit of time they've been here to help with getting my life here together from scratch. next on the list is redoing much more furniture, some sewing, lots of paperwork, and making friends. preferably not in that order! stay tuned...

but i'll leave you with the view from my apartment patio :)

it's here, it's here!

today's the day, i'm off to great places...

mom, dad, and i are leaving this morning for fort collins--we have an estimated 26 hour, 1,719 mile drive ahead of us. we're planning on getting into town on monday around lunchtime. it'll be a loooong few days in the car, but the destination should be great!

we (mostly my dad) packed up most of my things on monday night and shipped them off in a "relocube", so we're just taking the rest of my clothes and a few random things in my car today!

expect great pictures (unlike this horrendous bb camera one) and details ahead, but for now i need to get the vacuum out for space bags!

nc--i'll see you on the flip side, aka at cornhuskin'!

dc!

lindsay and jamie are some of my oldest friends. we all met through ACS, which was basically a week of church camp for nc methodists. jamie (the brunette) and i met the summer after sophomore year  of high school and we became immediate friends. although lindsay (the blonde) doesn't remember, we met the summer after freshman year of high school. we didn't hit it off then (lindsay was all cute & mature looking, and i still had braces--we weren't ready to be friends); however, the summer after senior year the three of us were totally on the same page and were fast friends.

fast forward 4 years, and the three of us have stayed amazingly tight. lindsay went to carolina, jamie went to nc state, and i was a meredith girl, but we have made a great effort to keep in touch as much as possible despite our very busy and different schedules. jamie graduated a semester early and has really grown up as she is a homeowner and a real teacher at a school in johnston county. at the end of may, lindsay moved up to DC to start a full time job at a law firm there. so, since i'm moving in a few short weeks, we all thought that spending little bit more time together before we're all separated would be a great idea--and a great idea it was.

i was also excited to catch up with my newly-married friends carol & wilson and my friend adam--but i was a lame photographer all weekend, mostly because of the heat, so my people-pics are minimal.

jamie and i got a bit adventurous and decided to take the train up to DC, and it was so much fun and relatively relaxing, aside from some irritating fellow travelers. it definitely beat the heck out of driving up to the city!

the weekend was so hot that we really didn't do much besides sweat while walking to our destinations and eat at awesome restaurants (which were typically the destination). I'd totally recommend founding farmers (especially for brunch - with reservations!), pizza paradiso, and kramerbooks & afterwords to anyone visiting dc sometime soon! delicious!

on sunday we did make it wearily to one destination--eastern market. were it not for extreme exhaustion from lots of walking in the heat, we probably could've spent hours looking at the jewelry, photography, and other food/craft vendors at the market. i managed to find an awesome bike rack image to add to my collection--these may have to become something! 

 

the fruit was all so delicious! i love markets, especially for the samples.

lindsay and jamie, i love you both! i'm so glad that we were able to spend some great quality time together before i head out west.

spring has sprung

happy spring! since mikey didn't any time off from school this weekend, we decided that my mom, dad, and i would drive up to blacksburg to spend the weekend with him at VT. we got to be outside most of today with a big walk around campus and a little bit of hiking. i didn't take my camera on the hike because i just didn't want to carry it--i was legit into the hike for the exercise part. however, i did get a few fun shots on campus. this one was my favorite. the flowers were in bloom all over campus, and it was one of those days where the sky just seemed extraordinarily blue and the grass ever-so green. it was perfect. 

10 for '10

one thing i've always struggled with is making short-term realistic goals. i've decided that it would be to my advantage to determine 10 things i'd legitimately like to accomplish in 2010 and to really work on accomplishing them (really in no particular order). so, as the door opens to 2010, here are some things i'd like to do in order to help myself be the best possible marie--not just at the start of this year, but at the start of this decade..

1. to spend as much time as possible with my family and friends who mean the most to me.

2. to apply to graduate school. at least at colorado state. and hopefully get in.

3. to decide whether or not to be a vegetarian again...and stick with it.

4. to continue creating new, delicious dishes. and eating delicious things.

5. to participate in some sort of physical activity at least twice a week, preferably more.

6. to laugh as much as possible.

7. to move to colorado (or definitely out of raleigh...but preferably to somewhere in colorado).

8. to take as many pictures of everything as much as possible.

9. to continue working on finding a balance between my type A and type B personalities.

10. to be as positive and happy as i wish others would be. and to surround myself with the things and people who will help me to be positive and happy.

happy 2010!

beautiful life

So...I'm beyond overdue on posting. it's nearly been two months since I returned from DC, and it's about time for me to update my life here.

In the past two months, I have moved into my brand spanking new apartment with Jesse (which is absolutely wonderful, by the way...and my favorite part is the kitchen), begun my senior year (also pretty wonderful...especially the part where I get to graduate in May [yes, I am excited...]), and had a couple big changes (a very smashed [and unfortunately totaled] car and some change in direction for grad school [non psychology master's program--gasp?]. I can't really complain a bit about a single one of these changes, though, because they are definitely all for the best. I'm buying a new car...on my own (kind of) and really thinking that a master's program is the right place for me.

But, in all that, my family also was able to take a much needed vacation to Maine for some nuptuals. They were nuptuals in that my cousin Keith (aka Bump) and his fiancee Jillian (who I've considered a cousin for about 3 years now, because they're among the famous Colorado cousins) eloped to Mexico this past December, and then had their reception/party in Brunswick, Maine where my uncle grew up. The reception was perfect--no ceremony, no fuss, just food, dancing, and fun! It was absolutely gorgeous, we had perfect weather, and the only two bad things about the trip were that I had to return to the real world and do so with about 16 bugbites on my feet--there's a joke in Maine that their state bird is a Mosquito!

So...family trip means I have access to my dad's camera. Here are a few shots from the beautiful weekend--some by me and some by my dad.

The freeport town wharf

Maine style Lobster Roll...aka deliciousness in a bun

Gorgeous Eilee Marguerite--Bryan's daughter

Frindle--aka baby oragel

Me with baby Addie--my Cousin Kevin's daughter

Mikey & me with the newlyweds, Bump & Jillian!

This so reminds me of Sweden...the light, the colors, it was just so beautiful!

Land's End - Bailey Island Maine

Next stop: This weekend in Charlottesville, VA with the Meredith Honors Program and then Fall break in Colorado! Hooray! Camera included...

back to the real world

I haven't blogged in nearly three weeks and i feel like a part of my life has been missing. I returned to the good ol' US of A on July 3, and on that day, not only did i surrender my ability to pretend I was a cool little danish girl, but I surrendered what had been my camera for 6 weeks back to my father. Is it weird that I feel like I can't blog without beautiful pictures--and I cannot properly post pictures without the proper camera? Well...that's where I am.

With that said, my 2.5 weeks in the US feel like eternity. I can't believe that my days in Denmark & Croatia seem so distant, but they really are. That was such an amazing experience, and I'm ready to get back to fun days of living elsewhere again soon. Since I returned home, I've spent nearly every weekday nannying for some sweet kids and every evening visiting with friends and catching up on lost time. It's been good...but the routine only distances me from my European days. I've also begun studying for the GRE which provides a bit of a lackluster experience for the summer...but it's also giving me a kick in the butt, for sure.

This weekend I retrieved dad's camera when I went to visit some friends in DC. My world is ridiculously small...Not only are two of my closest friends strangely intertwined, but I met a couple guys from the University of Minnesota who know my cousin and sat next to a fellow Enloe '06 alum on my flight home. Weird.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the wonderful DC weekend! It was fun exploring DC as a photographer...not just as a tourist!

More to come when I negotiate my camera situation......

every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end...

...and so is true for this semester. it's coming to a close and a spectacular new beginning is about to take place with this summer! 

the semester is closing down--as of now, i have 3 exams, 1 take-home exam, 1 practical exam, 1 paper, 1 photo project, and 30 sketchbook entries to complete before i finish this semester. That's really a piece of cake compared to the load i've endured this semester. 

I've loved most of my classes this semester, but that excitement has been hindered by the fact that i'm SO ready to get to denmark. i keep getting more and more information about my 6 weeks there. 

last week i received an email-survey about my practicum for the child development course i'm taking. I got to choose which age group i'd prefer to work with and share about my experiences with children thus far! today i got another email about the survey, and reminding me that i needed to get a criminal background check before i could work with children. ohhhh what world we live in...

i received another email today with 3 summer adventure opportunities. one is to go rock climbing in sweden. at the top of the mountain is a view of denmark and kronborg, hamlet's castle. i'm not sure the exact location of the climb, but i'm so up for it. the second adventure trip is to LEGOLAND in Billund, Denmark. that one is a definite...and don't worry, there will be MANY pictures. the final adventure trip is to Bornholm, Denmark, which is located on an island in the Baltic, for a biking/hiking trip. It's overnight, which is super exciting! i'm pretty positive i'm not going to be able to pass up any of these opportunities....especially not for $335. 

anyway, take home message is i'm pumped and ready. get me there asap for mucho adventure, please! 

i'm danish?

yes...i'm danish (fun fact, my relatives founded denmark, wisconsin! wooohoo). 

but anyway...in case you haven't heard, i'm going to denmark this summer. well, being as i am danish, of course there is family still in denmark that is just waiting to meet me (ha!). so, thanks to my grandmother i've officially initiated contact with family in the maidenland. i emailed her cousin leah (who i've never met, by the way), and she gave me the contact information for my 1839538925th cousins john & jenny (pronounced yenny, of course) hansen in denmark. 

the world just seems to get smaller and smaller. really. 

also, it may be extremely strange, but i feel like zenon in "zenon: the zequel" when she makes contact with the aliens who have been transmitting "zoom, zoom, zoom" messages to her. although i'm leaving for denmark in just over 5 weeks, it still seems so distant. there's something infathomable about the size of the earth when you've only been within 4 time-zones of it. so yes, i am comparing my contact with those in another country to zenon's contact with aliens. yeah, the mind does work in strange ways...but that's okay!

it's a small world, after all. 

it's coming, it's coming!

the preparations for denmark are slowly coming underway. i'm becoming more and more thrilled as the days pass and i can hardly stand the thought that i am still stuck in NC for another 8 weeks to date. however, i will make do---i have to finish the semester anyway. 

so as i said...the plans are coming. 

first of all, i got a scholarship--two actually--thanks to the graciousness of the international programs office and their scholarship committee. life got a lot better with that influx of money, and made me feel a lot less guilty about going on this trip in our current economic state. 

second, i finally booked my flights! i leave 8 weeks from today on May 23rd at 3:41 pm. it'll be my first flight overseas--i mean, i flew over water once when i flew to florida in 8th grade, but i'm pretty sure that doesn't count. therefore, this is a big deal!

thirdly, i bought chacos today. YES, this is a big deal. these will be on my feet the majority of my time in denmark, i'm presuming, because they're comfy and light--very versatile. packing light is kind of an issue for me, but i'm really not into paying $40 extra just so i can have two bags there, so this is my first step in thinking in the realms of packing light. must pack light! plus, look how pretty they are!

so anyway, the excitement carries on. 8 weeks and i'm there! fear not, there will be more news to follow....... :)

colorado on my mind

so it's about 2-something in the morning, and because of the 3 hour time change i'm currently readapting to i'm not even tired. what better thing to do than blog about my adventures in colorado?

okay, so really it probably was not an overly exciting week for

 anyone but me, but as most people who know me well are aware i adore my cousins and i adore colorado. truly. 

so, the majority of the week was spent just spending quality time with the family. my cousin bryan, his wife joanne, and their 6 month old daughter eilee live in lafayette, which is a suburb of boulder. every time i've gone to visit the family in co i've stayed with them--except for this trip. jo's best friend came into town from charlotte this past weekend, so i started

 out staying with kevin & beth (bryan's brother and his wife) who live about 400 yards away, and i just ended up staying with them for the majority of the week. SO the week consisted of lots of family meal sharing, some drinking, and lots of talking & catching up on life. like i said, eilee is 6 months so she was the object of much of my attention this past week. beth is pregnant now, too, and she is due in about 3 weeks!

So...basic run-down on the week

Saturday-Monday: hung out in lafayette, went to 

pearl street in boulder, spent some time outside (it was like 70 degrees there...)

, and had lots of fun family time + jo's friend sarah who i love!

Tuesday: went to visit CSU with my friend Oshi (i've worked with her the past two summers at bryan's deli in Edwards, CO) and i visited the counseling psych ph.d. program and ended up speaking with a student in the program! i really, really liked the whole program a lot. we also went to the fat tire brewery for free beer!

 i sure as heck won't complain 

about that. later that 

night we went out for drinks in fort collins with a few of oshi's friends--i really like the town and could definitely see myself living there in a year and a half.

Wednesday: i wore shorts. seriously. also, oshi brought me back and i hung out with jo & eilee

 for the afternoon before we went to denver for dinner with Sarah before she headed back to charlotte. 

i need to mention that we went to this restaurant commonly called "the rio" 

for drinks &

 dinner. they have killer margaritas---and i was able to have my 5th rio margarita that night. we'd also gone to the rio in boulder on saturday (for #1 & 2) and oshi and i went in fort collins (for #3 & 4). 

and uh...those are some strong drinks. but way yummy. i have the secret recipe now, too!

Thursday: i did a photoshoot of eilee for my "echo" 

project in photography. it was super fun, and i'm anxious to process my film tomorrow afternoon. 

how freaking cute is this child???

that day, i also left boulder to head up to the mountains to visit the other two brothers--kraig & keith, who is more commonly known as bump, and his wife(!) jillian. we did lots of hanging out, too, and we went out to a bar where a local band was playing that night. it was fun to catch up with those guys, but it definitely wasn't enough time. 

Friday: i skiied! unfortunately there hadn't been much fresh snow in vail for the past month or so, so conditions weren't too much better than they would've been in nc, but the fact that it was vail made up for the crunchy, icy snow. bump & kraig both had the day off so the three of us got to ski together. i've pretty much come to terms with the fact that i am a high maintenance skier (i wear lots of layers and have a ton of trouble carrying all my crap), but i'm going to need to get my act together before i move out to ski country. nonetheless, i did well for not having skiied in a year and successfully conquered several slopes (including some black diamonds).  after skiing, i headed back to the front range to spend my last evening with the fam. last time i left CO i cried 12 times, but this time bryan only made me cry twice. and it was on friday, not saturday. 

Saturday: i was kicked out of colorado. okay, not really, but leaving gives me the worst feeling. especially when i'm sitting in the airport terminal knowing that in a matter of minutes i have to leave the place i love most. fortunately, the flight wasn't bad and jesse & ashley picked me up from the airport, which made the return a little sweeter. 

so now i'm back to the real world. the worst part about returning this time is that i don't have a definite trip back yet. hopefully (with every single body part that's crossable crossed) i'll have a grad interview sometime in the spring, and i'll make it back for those. but if not for those interviews, my best guess is that i'll head back sometime next summer after graduation. nonetheless, it was a great trip. i had a wonderful time, and more than anything it was great to spend time with my wonderful family! 

colorado, i think i'm coming home

less than 2 weeks til i'm in colorado. 

there are already plans to visit Colorado State with Oshi.

skiing in Vail.

photoshoot of baby Eilee.

and some quality cousin time.

i'm beyond excited for this:

"Hey Colorado is it too late to change my mind
I've done some thinking and I'm trying hard to find
The way to come back home
Oh I've been so very long alone
Won't you take care of your own Colorado I think I'm coming home"

-- The Flying Burrito Brothers