july takes the cake

okay, so far i’ve had a pretty exceptional 2012. besides a few minor snafoos (snafus? spell check isn’t getting that, but that can’t possibly be right…), i really can’t complain. it has been a remarkable and busy year.

but july definitely takes the cake. not only for how busy, but for how wonderful it was. so many high emotion things happened. so many things that make me thankful for being alive, for being well, for living in the moment. congratulations, july. august, you have a tough act to follow.

• 80/35. one of the best music festivals, right in downtown des moines. my favorite band, the avett brothers, were playing the main stage on friday. it was absolutely wonderful- seriously one of the best concerts i have attended.
  
  i had two day tickets, but gave away my second one because…
• i won a contest. that doesn’t sound like much in itself, but i wrote a short summary for a pennzoil contest about why i love my car. it had to be 250 characters or less, and the winning submission won 2 VIP tickets to a pre-show, acoustic set with country legend tim mcgraw. even though my submission didn’t have the most votes, the judges liked it the best and my best friend mallory and i got two free tickets to the kenny chesney/tim mcgraw ‘brothers of the sun’ concert in minneapolis. even better? two backstage tickets to see tim mcgraw, in which we scored front and center seating (standing).
  
  
• fourth of july. had a low key night, hung out with evan and the family. ate sweet corn. delicious, iowa sweet corn. you haven’t lived until you’ve had iowa sweet corn. and you won’t die happy until you do.
• i went to denver (with Ms. Jessica) to see a good friend of ours. we had all known each other from way back when we used to work together at a church camp. i will expand on my trip to colorado, but, heck, what an awesome and well needed vacation.
  
• evan and i had our first “real” fight- well, not really a fight, i guess, but a realization that we might not make it as a couple. through that time we addressed issues, concerns, joys, and i believe we will come out stronger because of it. and even if we don’t, i can’t say i would want to take it back even if i could. i know i gained invaluable life lessons from him and i’d like to say that our time together has made me a better person and helped shape who i am today.
• RAGBRAI – or “The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa,” went through my hometown. For those of you not from this fine state, RAGBRAI is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state. It’s mostly a big party on a bike, but it is the oldest, largest, and longest bicycle touring event in the world. Even American biking legend Lance Armstrong has ridden in RAGBRAI.
  
• friends moving galore. 😦 it seems like everyone is in a transitional phase right now. alex has moved to portland. meredith is moving out to colorado springs. marsha is on her way back to holland… everything is up in the air. i’m not complaining, it’s just an observation.
• ugh work. when is work NOT busy? so much has been accomplished so far this year. i’m looking forward to the rest of this year and seeing what the future with kemin holds.