The Road Less Traveled.

In the poem “The Road Not Taken” Robert Frost penned the following, “two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth; then took the other, as just as fair, and having the better claim because it was grassy and wanted wear; though as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same.”

This poem has always spoke to me and this year I have felt some aftermath of taking the road that seemed fairer because the grass was greener and appeared to have less wear.  This year has been intense and emotional behind the scenes. Don’t get me wrong; I have been immensely blessed, but the challenges have kept their front row seats for a good chunk of this year.

Two months after my granddad passed away, I was thrown in to the darkness of unemployment and it was a really sad and challenging reality to face.  I loved my job and my boss was one of my best ever, but the timing was off for a number of reasons and it was decided that I needed to embark on a new adventure.  Sword to my heart, but what do you do?  When I took this particular job, I left an 11 year career in an industry that nearly sucked the life and love out of me.  I thrived in it, made great money, had awesome contacts and friends, but the stress was so astronomical that I made the choice for my family of one to join an industry that was much more my forte and made me happy.  What transpired in my next job was a true experience of growth, acceptance that it was for a short time in my life path, but it also had a list of blessings that were added to my life. I was given a task that was challenging and tedious, but equally rewarding.  I felt like I was doing the right thing by taking this road. I took a risk in my career and chose the road less traveled after having been on the grassy, fair path. It was hard, but it was happy and successful as well. 

In the midst of all my adventures, I decided that when I finally came out of the forest of unemployment sadness and stress, I would reward myself with a grand costume adventure this Halloween.  In my last post I talked about geekery and its beauty and this is where mine comes in to play.  I LOVE HALLOWEEN. When I was a kid, my siblings and I looked forward to Halloween and always had fabulous costumes.  This has carried over in to my adult life and Utah is the mecca of Halloween celebration so this feeds my love.  Last year I purchased a pattern with the hopes of being Red Riding Hood.  Life happened and I ended up putting it on the back burner for 2015.  Then I lost my job, was poor indefinitely and didn’t know if I was going to work for someone who even celebrated the holiday.  Fast forward to September when I was presented with an offer with a company that not only celebrates Halloween, but STOPS all business to party for an entire day. I am in heaven.

I was lucky enough to have an awesome artistic posse this year to create my dream costume also known as #RayRidingHood2015.  My costume was custom designed (a joint collaboration) by me and Crystal from Anubis Creations in Salt Lake.  I did NOT want a cape.  I wanted it as a lace-up bodice and all one piece and the “Lord of The Rings” massive hood in red velveteen.  That is exactly what I got.

I also wanted to have a petticoat and was lucky enough to find a black number that is made in the USA from Endless Indulgence on Historical 25th Street in Ogden.  In case it wasn’t cool enough already, I decided that I needed bad ass red shoes and I picked those up at Endless Indulgence as well.

Last, but certainly not least, was the mask.  I STRESS about never having a male counterpart for Halloween.  It’s so insanely dumb, but it’s a total girl moment that I have almost every single damn year.  I briefly voiced this concern to my friend Amanda from Artisan Maskers and she said, “um I will make you a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind wolf mask and you will be both.”  Sold. Feminist independence for the win!  She is so talented and I am honored to wear such a beautiful piece of artwork on my face.

As Kelsey and I were shooting the photos at Union Station in Ogden I got very introspective and borderline emotional when we looked in to the sunset and dual train tracks and the choice of paths before us.  This has been my life this year!  It has been a constant battle of choices, mistakes and heartache, but then getting back on track and finding happiness and my zen again.

The last paragraph of Robert Frost’s poem is powerful and inspires me.  It says, “I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence; two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.” 

It truly made all the difference in my life to take the road less traveled last July when I made the choice to leave a toxic situation and move towards my ultimate happiness in a new career.  Even though there was still sadness and struggle, the end result is the RIGHT result for me and that is the difference that matters.  We can do hard things, my lovelies.  We can achieve goals and trudge through trial even when we think it is UTTERLY IMPOSSIBLE.

The moral of the story:  Fear not to take the road less traveled.  It is the road that leads to personal growth and a whirlwind of adventure.

Until next time, my lovelies!

-R

The truth is ....

This weekend my lovely sister and best friend graduated from college with her Associate's degree. It doesn't seem possible that my L cakes is grown up into a truly lovely and delightfully quirky woman. I mean seriously, she is just gorgeous!  There is a 13 year age difference between us so she was itty bitty and toddling when I was in high school. She was also learning to talk. One of the FUNNIEST games she would play was the game of threes. We would drive home from church and she would say stuff like, "trees, trucks and bananas." Oh ok! When a two year old is saying it, it is super cute. We loved encouraging her as older sibs would and at times it would bug our mom. (Even better). So in honor of my newly educated random sis, I present mine. Tulips, trains and naked feet. 

TULIPS: I love tulips. Like a lot. They are a sign of winter being over and when they finally make their debut it means we are almost done with dreary lameass winter. They are an interesting creature too. They are a bulb flower and have to be planted by October. If they aren't in the ground before snow hits then it isn't going to work. They have to sit there and they can withstand it allllllllll winter long. The other funny thing is how finicky they are about weather. First sign of frost and good bye. But I guess they can be that way after being cooped up in the dirt all winter. And the last funny thing is they keep growing even after they are cut. And a LOT! I've bought tulips for myself over the years and they literally go completely crazy with growth within a few days. I guess you could say I relate to them. But then that makes me sound crazy because I relate to flowers and maybe talk to a wooden spoon in my spare time. Anyway.... 

TRAINS: No I am not the female version of Sheldon Cooper from the CBS hit series, "The Big Bang Theory." I grew up in a town that was along the Burlington Northern train route in Southeastern Montana. We heard the train going through town at ALL hours of the night and day. It is truly a sound of home. I will never forget the first night away at college in Virginia when my mom and I sat on the porch and heard the train. I looked at her and said, "now I will be ok." So it only makes sense that I've landed in the town of trains as my home sweet home. Ogden is a railroad town to the core and still has a very thriving and functioning rail system. And I LOVE it. And my favorite place to be in Ogden is the gorgeous Union Station building. It is JUST magical. I can stand in the main lobby and imagine the history that has taken place. In the early days of Ogden you couldn't get anywhere via rail without passing through Ogden. Last week I had lunch at the restaurant located in Union Station called Union Grill. Before I left I snapped some photos. And they were the kind that I basically was standing on my head to get a cool edgy angle and then it happened. Magic. Just plain magic. And tulips. Hot. Pink. Tulips. 

I am also pleased to report that I was featured by two different Instagram feeds for my photos of Union Station that day. So thank you very much @wowutah and @ogdenonly for in a roundabout way recognizing a girl's love for trains and this incredible community landmark.

NAKED FEET: I hate socks. And I love showing off my cute tootsies. And I hate laundry. That is all. The end. 

The moral of the story: we can relate to anything and be random and still find such sentimental value in things like trains to keep a piece of home alive in our heart. Annnnd life is always always always better in flip flops. Always.

Until next time my lovelies. 

-R