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In celebration of so many things (like a new job and turning 30 and ridiculously good looking mountains ), I'm taking off tomorrow to the southern hemisphere (surprisingly, my first time there) for 1-1/2 weeks. My plan is to enjoy the W trek in Torres del Paine National Park and snag 1-1/2 days in Buenos Aires on my way out. I'm charging my camera in preparation for some amazing photo ops. I'm psyched and maybe a little scared but this is gonna be good!

In fact, all those who know me, or think they know me from my words and silences, wonder about the same thing: about solitude erected as a screen, a wall, and also as a mirror...Is madness contagious?...If they're free to choose reason and happiness, I'm free to want neither one. My obsession: one minute before sinking into madness entirely, to shout the truth to men's faces, even if it makes them go mad. (Wiesel, A Mad Desire to Dance , 18) As [God] more fully equips your ship to sail in storms, He will send you on longer voyages to more boisterous seas...You cannot sit down and put the victory wreath on your head. You do not have a crown. (Spurgeon, Beside Still Waters, 2)

Don't worry, I'm not beginning another blog marathon but you might not hear much from me for the next 21 days because I'll be enjoying a final few weeks of play before work world at Love146 .

Check this out. You can let someone know you love them AND help to end child sex slavery and exploitation, all at the same time! Once you fill out the fields, there's an option to donate as much or as little as you'd like to Love146 , an awesome organization of people dedicated to abolishing child sex slavery, nothing less.

What a great last day! Tim and I had another blue bird day at A Basin. I took a yard sale style fall and saw stars; then I realized my "stars" were snowflakes catching the sunlight. As I stood and continued skiing, I forced myself to face the fear of falling again, enjoying a couple more great runs. Tim and I pondered why some people have this drive or need to face down their fears. This reminded me of an incident when I was younger. The family was in Cape Cod and Dad and I were body boarding. A huge wave lifted me up and slammed me into the sand. Visibly shaken, I started walking out to the beach. Dad told me we were going back into the water. What?! He said that if I didn't go back in, I'd always be afraid of the waves. Perhaps these kinds of influences shape the way we think and face life. Tim, Jess, and I spent the evening reminiscing about their past year of marriage (Feb 13 is their anniversary), enjoying a lovely final dinner at Rio Grande . They ...

tim and i decided to forgo an overnight winter experience and opted for a winter summit instead. since i fly out friday , this week was our target week. nevermind the minor detail that temps are hovering below zero degrees fahrenheit this week. we decided upon mt. audubon in indian peaks wilderness. sure, it was -15 when we set out and probably never reached above zero BUT sunrise was brilliant, "Oh, How He Loves Us" was playing on the radio as we bundled up which reminded me of another excellent snow adventure , and it was a blue bird day so we were pumped. in short, we experienced "The Ridge: Attempt 2"-like conditions (sunny skies, LOW temps, and deep snow). we broke trail on x-country skis, traversing our way across snow fields with spectacular views. a couple hours into our expedition, tim asked if i was also thinking the summit might be doubtful. yeah, doubtful. we re-set our sights on a ridge that led to the summit, deciding that would be ...

Peace in enjoying an indoor snow day. Prep for tomorrow's outdoor snow day.

I first titled this "More Powder" but then I recalled the SNL skit and just had to throw it in here: "I've got a fever and the only prescription is more cow bell." Some lines are timeless. Yes, there was more powder than we've seen in a long time and it continued falling all day. We braved "The Ridge: Attempt 1"-like conditions (high winds, white-out visibility) to ski/ride some of the best terrain out here. Being unable to see our next turn and freezing our fingers proved good indicators that our day of awesome powder was done. We finished the day with Happy Hour at The Kitchen . It lived up to all Jess and Tim had promised with Happy Hour all night and delicious food like roasted beets with goat cheese and mussels in wine sauce. What a blessing to be with Tim and Jess for a month. After I depart on Friday, I'll miss them (even more than I'll miss the powder).

"Who we truly are and were meant to be is evidenced more by our yearnings than by our history ... God honors the earnest intent of our heart and dignifies our existence with real choices." (Gary Haugen, Just Courage , 104, 109) "If we had foolish hopes about human culture, they are now shattered. If we thought we were building up a heaven on earth, if we looked for something that would turn the present world from a place of pilgrimage into a permanent city satisfying the soul of man, we are disillusioned, and not a moment too soon. In ordinary times only the wise realize it. Now the stupidest of us knows it." (C.S. Lewis, Learning in War-Time ) "Thy mercy seat is open still, Here let my soul retreat With humble hope attend Thy will, And wait beneath Thy feet." (Anne Steele, Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul ) And amidst all the seriousness of those passages, came an evening of "Supper Bowl" and "missing Lawrence" (darn that Smartphone aut...

On the way to the mountains, we were listening to a song named "Beautiful." One line of lyrics reads, "you were made for so much more than all of this." As I stared at the stunning scenery of majestic, snow-capped peaks plunging to a stream covered with ice of varying shades of blue, I found it hard to fathom that anyone could be made for more than such beauty. But that's the promise we have of an eternity to come! Tim, Jess, and I got off the bus at Breck and an iced-bearded man told us to get back on the bus and go home. "There's too much snow," he declared. Sweet! After a week of not skiing plus eight(?) inches of fresh powder, our quads were burning after one easy run. So what did we decide to do? Hit up our fav powder stash off Peak 10, of course. We had just a couple hours and figured we could burn ourselves out in the back country. True to form, the snow was amazing, lines were short, and first track opportunities were everywher...

I was short on paper so here were some ideas I sketched out in The Economist on my flight back to CO: Reading about India in a travel mag, so many memories flooded my mind -- that familiar indignant feeling that "this isn't my India. Really? Recommend shopping at overpriced Anokhi and Good Earth? Stay at the Taj Hotel Chain?" But still, there's that desire to walk those familiar streets. It's been only four months but it seems too long. I run late to a connecting flight and am told to wait in line for my boarding pass. I'm tempted to jump to the front of the line in the Priority lane but figure that would be a rude thing to do plus waiting would do me good. Then I wait to get on the plane, then there's not enough overhead space. How easily the inner entitled princess emerges to "claim her rights." Sometimes I'm a pathetic human! Thank God that He sees us as He created us to be and not as the groveling, pitiful beings we sometimes act...

Yesterday and today were consumed by a really cool organization, Love146 , with which I am interviewing. Yesterday, I dove into their communication materials and pulled together a presentation on their brand's core strengths and my vision for the brand's future. The team's utter dedication to abolishing child sex slavery and exploitation inspired me. Switching gears a bit, this evening, I set out on a fresh air crusade after my interview. Ice currently blankets the Northeast which means all our luscious snow lies under a thick, slick layer of ice that allows me to slide across the surface. This is more problematic than it sounds and probably more dangerous than conditions in Crash 1 . When I wanted to break through the surface, I slid across as though it were glass. When I didn't want to break through, I sank more than knee deep into snow. I tried to perfect the butt ski method of descending hills (embarrassing to admit) and ended up running over the dog, Rocky. ...

I'm pretty thankful to have some amazing men in my life. First up is my brother, Tim, who braved -10 degree temps at 3:45AM to scrape 1/4" of ice off the windshield before we drove to the airport. On the drive, the radio station couldn't resist reporting on the North America-wide storm and we agreed that they should just stop talking. Thankfully, I made it all the way back to CT uneventfully. Next up is John, the current guardian of Monk-do. While we agreed that caring for Monk-do is a weighty responsibility, I'm sure they'll both be just fine. As you can see, Monk-do is thoroughly enjoying his new Iraqi home.