2 7 t h i n g s b e f o r e 2 8

"so many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality. what we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect, so we never dare to ask the universe for it. i am saying… that you can ask the universe for it."
jim carrey

it finally set in last night that yes, i am now 27 and it is enough to send me into a full-blown panic attack. the lady at the rec-center counter offered me the youth rate membership price and i was all smiles until she glanced at the screen and was like... wait, you're 27?? my facebook feed screams late twenties as it's drowning in baby announcements and questions like, how do i get my baby to sleep through the night and i'm over here like ahhhhhh.

27 is going to be a wild year. i can feel it. a year of firsts, a year of travel, a year of climbing, and a year of change.

as always, my birthday comes with a list of to dos. so without further ado...

27 things before 28

1. legally change my last name to fromm

2. make 5 new lifelong friends

3. maintain an exercise regimen so i can run a 50k

4. love my body :: wear sunblock, floss daily, sleep more, exercise, eat brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and stop abusing my body with diet soda and too much sugar

5. begin learning a new language

6. get over my road rage problem... it's starting to affect my mental health

7. touch my feet to my head in a handstand

8. climb a v9 boulder

9. on-time birthday presents for every family member

10. bike around utah lake
11. go on a road tip to joshua tree in our bus sunshine

12. visit a new continent
13. lean a new trick on the wakeboard

14. kiss my husband on the top of ancient art tower

15. play a song on the violin for my mother

16. cut the umbilical chord of child and welcome him to life!
17. tattoo my wedding ring
18. visit the wave - coyote buttes with afton
19. go on at least 1 river trip
20. earn $10,000 to help save my friend josephine!

21. lead a trad climb

22. picnic and mountain bike ride around antelope island

23. restore my grandparents typewriter and write someone a letter

24. finish our back patio and have a big bbq with friends

25. train june to bring me her leash, to bow, and to put her toys away 
26. paraglide at the point of the mountain

27. and when/if we have/adopt a baby, prove the "i can't wait until you have children...." spiel wrong. i will still love my dog and i will still go climbing. :)

but most importantly, i am going to enjoy another 365 day journey around the sun.

much love,

kenny.

w h a t i f

"what if our religion was each other, if our practice was our life, if prayer, our words. what if the temple was the earth, if forests were our church, if holy water- our rivers, lakes, and ocean. what if mediation was our relationships, if the teacher was life, if wisdom was self-knowledge. if adventure was the center of our being."

-ganga white

w i l d t o t a m e

my relationship with casey started fast and wild. luckily, not only was it care-free and mildly insane, it was perfect. i saw this quote a day ago and was reminded me of how different we are and that’s why we work.

what we find in a soul mate is not something wild to tame, but something wild to run with. 

robert brault

i panic. i worry. and i am hells sure I ain’t as crazy as i once was

.... probably the reason we are still alive.

he, the exact opposite. he is dedicated, sweet, and totally worry free.

he is who keeps us balanced and feeds my wild bug.

unfortunately, this whole growing up and responsibility thing manipulates us to thinking that there is one right way. we start comparing ourselves to others who have conformed to society’s “right answer” for everything. individualism is lost.

not us folk.

we let each other be our own person.

we had to learn to let each other be our own person.

sometimes it’s difficult to let you spouse do their own thing. to be their unique, wild, wonderful self. the last few weeks i have focused on letting the husband be the husband, instead of trying to force him to be who i think the husband should be. i stopped trying to force my agenda on him. we are growing together and we seem happier when we simply encourage each other. it’s strange what you can learn from someone when you stop trying to run everything.

i have also focused a lot on who i want to be. how i want to define myself. i am a working woman. i am a wife. but who am i really? i set goals for the year to keep focused on what i want. i became lazy this summer. we got busy and even more so, i pretend to be busy. i have a lot of pretty hefty goals in this life. i want to push myself in extreme sports. control my fears on a cliff side. run longer than is right. test my body, even more so my mind, to see what it can do. to see what is past the point of reason. meet new people. grow from relationships and experiences. i have found that the best interactions with people come when limits are pushed and walls are down. i want it clear i choose experiences over things. limit the things i own, appreciate the now, and put more value into living.

the amazing climber, steph davis, posted this today from backcountry.
i would dare say it will inspire just about anyone.

here, blood meets rock, sweat meets trail, and the well-worn path to a routine existence reaches its terminus. this is an invitation to feed your wanderlust, to rediscover the spark inside you and feel the strain of your muscles against the forces of nature. every second is about action—it's gas and a match fed to grit and determination. 

 so when you are ready to suck the bloody marrow out of this bone called life… we’re ready for ya.

pictures from lunch in my mother's garden.

b u c k l e u p

valentines was amazing.

ate yummy food, watched a movie, and

started on a painting with the man.

i haven’t made my mind up about valentines.

i use to hate it until all of the sudden 

there was someone i wanted to completely spoil.

valentines also marked 16 years since my

cousin died from an automobile accident.

i often think about him on valentines, 

even though i hardly knew him as
he was just 16 years old.

i do remember on valentine's day

receiving gifts from my aunt that said

buckle up.

i wanted to share a picture of him and 

something he wrote days before he died.
it's pretty profound. 

so simple. buckle up.

s a i n t v a l e n t i n e

eating the entire bag of candy your work gave you before 11 am is probably a sign that it is going to be a good day.

happy valentine’s day lovers… and haters.

to be honest i still have no idea what i am going to do for casey tonight. i am thinking station 22 vegan dinner (which i am going to pretend i made), the record player, old albums, candles, and some painting.

original I know.

you have to understand every day with this human is amazing.

i have never been more in love with that husband of mine than i am today.

i am sure i will say the same thing tomorrow.

there is nothing like lying in bed together in the late mornings,

howling and howling to get miss june to speak

and she just looks at us like we are idiots.
(probably what are neighbors think as well.)

or trying to sleep in the back of a van in the philippines

on a 3 hour car ride listening to rave music

with some germans, to jump in the ocean with 12 whale sharks.

we have just barely put an indent into the list of places we want to travel to.

we haven’t climbed the cliffs that we feel we need to.

we don’t have children.

and we sometimes spend money on climb gear rather than grown up things.

but i wouldn't change it for the world.

those moments of playing hangman in a park downtown korea,

where no one knows your language and no one from home knows where you are

makes you realize it’s you. and it’s him.

and that’s really all that matters.

“he’s more myself then i am. 
whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

emily bronte

“so love, you should know what to look for
and exactly where to go…

take your time and don’t worry about getting lost.
you’ll find me.
up there, a finger and two dots away.

if you’re wondering if i’ll still be able to hold you
…i honestly don’t know

but i do know that i could still fall for
a swish of light that comes barreling
and cascading towards me.

it will resemble your sweet definite hands.
the universe will bend.
the planets will bow.
and i will say “oh, there you are. i been waitin’ for ya. now we can go.”

a finder, two dots, then me.

derrick brown

"w e c a n c r y a b o u t i t

or we can dance about it."

sometimes you just need a pick me up..

s a p p y

i am not one of those weak-spirited, sappy americans who want to be liked by all the people around them. i don’t care if people hate my guts; i assume most of them do. the important question is whether they are in a position to do anything about it. my affections, being concentrated over a few people, are not spread all over hell in a vile attempt to placate sulky, worthless shits.

William S. Burroughs

s u m m e r

An Ode to Summer from Kinfolk on Vimeo.

summer is slowly ending.

i can feel fall coming.

summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people.

for those few months, you’re not required to be who everyone thinks you are, and that cut-grass smell in the air and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool give you a courage you don’t have the rest of the year.

you can be grateful and easy, with no eyes on you, and no past.
summer just opens the door and lets you out.

t h e n i g h t

chai tea + good music + a new book

wild 

from lost to found on the pacific crest trail

“The universe, I'd learned, was never, ever kidding. 

It would take whatever it wanted and it would never give it back.”
cheryl strayed

s p i r i t

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.” 

- Christopher McCandless

a m e n

w a n d e r

 

r o a d s

m o r e

t h e n i g h t

“tall ships sail o’er the deep green ocean,
white sails set on the billowy wave.
my little boat sails there with the tall ships,
sails has she none, just her two good oars.
storm winds will blow and the old tall ships
will lift their wings and fly over the sea.
then I’ll curtsy and beg so humbly:
‘have pity on my boat, oh wicked sea.
precious are the goods that my boat carries,
bold is the heart that steers her through the night.’”

“A Hero of Our Time”

Mikhail Lermontov 

f e e l

some days it's easy to see the beauty 

and other days i feel blind.

t w o f r e e b i r d s

i'll keep you wild.

t r e a s u r e s

happiness is always a by-product.
it is probably a matter of temperament,
and for anything i know, it may be glandular.
but it is not something that can be demanded
from life, and if you are not happy you had
better stop worrying about it
and see what treasures you can pluck
from your own brand of unhappiness.

robertson davies

e r r a n d

you are not here merely to make a living. 

you are here in order to enable 

the world to live more amply,
with greater vision, with a 

finer sprit of hope and achievement.

you are here to enrich the world, 

and you impoverish yourself 

if you forget that errand.

Woodrow Wilson

d r a w n

let yourself be silently drawn 

by the stronger pull of 

that which you really love

-rumi