School's finished. What's next?

I've always had a plan for what's next. Graduate high school, go to college. Work for the college paper, internships at newspapers in the summers. Graduate college, join the Peace Corps. After three years in Armenia, I moved home and then to New Orleans, where I learned about having fun and eating good food. I lived there just 10 months until Hurricane Katrina forced me out and lost me a job (the magazine where I worked closed).

Moved to Colorado where my sister and her husband live, and found myself a new job in the most unlikely of places: a wholesale distribution newsletter. Yep, I had no idea what "wholesale distribution" entailed either. But I became editor, and much to my surprise, enjoyed covering the industry as a journalist and helping the owner grow the business. A few years in, inspired by the businesses I wrote about on a daily basis, I decided to start my master's degree - an MBA.

And now I'm finished with that degree. The evening program with two classes a semester for 2.5 years, plus a full-time job, consumed my life.

Needless to say, I now have a lot of time on my hands (sometimes it feels like too much), and instead of diving into another big project, I've decided to take the time to get to know myself and take up a few hobbies. With my stress levels greatly reduced and my free time greatly increased, I plan to finally learn how to cook, and to get good at the hobbies I've taken up since moving to Colorado: mountain biking and golf. I love trying new recipes, new trails and my husband and I love to golf wherever we vacation or travel to. Here's a shot of me golfing in Crested Butte, CO, a treat for our first anniversary last year:

Because I am also a writer, I have decided to chronicle all of this for anyone who is interested.

Today's adventure: cleaning out our storage unit. Jason (my husband) and I are planning to finally buy a house this summer - which is an adventure in and of itself. I figure it's time to get a move on and prepare the house for selling. (Anyone want to buy a condo?) Our chihuahua, Reese, helped out, at least until he started barking at all the neighbors:

No surprising finds in the amazing amount of stuff we had in there, except for a few expired freeze-dried food items courtesy my mountain-climbing husband. I got a kick out of the top line: Hearty Freeze Dried Meal in a Compact Zipper Pouch:

Yum. But I'm guessing when you're climbing a mountain, this may actually taste OK. This and a few other packages were a few years past their expiration dates. Yes, apparently freeze-dried foods have expiration dates.

I also cleaned my mountain bike - a Trek Fuel EX8 - my first "real" mountain bike by Colorado standards, and I love it. It was purchased last summer (2010). This picture was taken immediately after purchase, so a few items (the pedals, for one) had not yet been updated. I ride with Shimano clipless pedals:

I can't believe I even cleaned out the storage unit today on a whim, but these are the sorts of crazy things that happen when you don't have homework to worry about on the weekends.