Summer 2017 Recap! What's the Gringa been up to?

Hey my lovelies! I hope you're all getting ready for a wonderful weekend ahead.

As September is nearly halfway through and I've still been pretty absent here on the blog I thought it was time for a little catch-up. So many of you have asked me where I've been and what I've been up to over this summer and looking back I honestly wish I'd done a better job at sharing it with you because it's been quite a Summer.

So without too much further talk let's get to the recap..........

MAY

Yes, I realize that May is not technically a month of summer but as I haven't posted regularly since then I though I'd start there.

I had planned to get back to blogging after the "vacation" that my family was taking back to the States but to be quite honest my life felt pretty mixed up even just those few months ago. I was really struggling to decide on what direction I wanted to take Gringalicious next. Then came the decision to stay and having a food blog based on being an expat in a different culture didn't apply anymore. (I'm still working on what I want to do about that actually.)

So I spent a good majority of the month traveling. First I was in Florida for what turned out to be a very memorable trip with days spent at Disney World (as you may have seen in previous post), shopping, chilling by the pool, and really just trying to take it all in.

After Florida my two married sisters and their husbands went to visit their parents in TN and the rest of my family and I flew up to stay with my aunt and uncle in scenic Sandpoint, Idaho. Being back was so strange for me after living out of the country, but I loved every minute of it. I'll never forget the first time I came here to "the Panhandle" as they call this region of the state. I was this 15-year-old girl from the South who'd hardly ever seen a mountain. I even remember feeling like it was where I was meant to live. I think it's safe to say my heart has been here ever since.

When I was little I used to love watching reruns of Little House on the Prairie and I would imagine what it would be like to show Laura Ingalls our modern world today. I'd picture her face and try to think what she'd say when she saw an smart phone. Haha, clearly I had some childish daydreams going on and I knew they were far-fetched. Ironically enough though, that concept seems much less absurd after spending 4 years in Chile and moving back here. Yes, I'd like to write a future post about all of that, but for now I can just say I am still trying to get used to it.

Also during this month we went kayaking, 4-Wheeling, tried a trampoline park for the first time, I got my driver's license renewed as it had expired, attended some local events, and a good friend of my younger sister and I from Chile came for a visit.

I had such an amazing time at my Aunt and Uncle's place. I spent the mornings taking long and quiet hikes through the woods behind their house and just breathing in the pine trying to figure how things had changed so quickly.

JUNE + JULY

June is where my recap gets a bit rocky. So at the beginning of the month I had interviewed and gotten a great summer job up at Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort and I was so excited. You see, I love some free time but I was really looking for something to keep busy while also meeting some of the locals.

It was literally the day before I went in to start at Gourmandie Cafe that my summer plans got turned around. My dad, my little sister, a friend of ours, and I all went for a gorgeous ride up some mountain trails on 4-wheelers. Well, I could go into more detail but suffice it to say I flipped the 4-wheeler I was on and ended up with probably the worst injuries I've ever had. A broken wrist, heavily bruised ribs, to banged up knees, and hardly a body part that didn't scream at me with every move. I could play it down and say it didn't hurt much but the truth is those first few days after hurt like hell. I spent the next 2 months in recovery.

At first I was so focused on getting better that I wasn't very , but then the days got really hard and seemed to stretch on forever. Anyone who knows me well knows that I simply can't stand to sit still very long and I always like to be working on something. Well, with the injuries there was very little I could do. It's definitely an experience that has shaped my life. I had very little motivation to share any of it and just felt so stuck

By July my legs had started to heal enough that I could take (at first they were "limps") then they became walks and eventually by the end of the month I was even able to manage a run. Strangely my knees felt in much more pain while bent in a seated position than when I was on them walking or running.

AUGUST

Alright, so August is where the story gets much happier. We moved into a house in Coeur d'Alene (I've already talked about that in previous posts) I got a membership at the local gym and I've been loving getting to go there most days of the week. Fitness has been something I've been passionate about since I was in my earliest teens. At times I haven't had the healthiest relationship with it but it's always been a part of my life and I really don't know why I've never shared more of that with you guys. I'll share more about that in the future.

Also during this month my little sister and I went for the best biking adventure ever on The Hiawatha Trail in Montana with our Dad. The first part of the trail is this super long....and dark....and long...and dark....and did I mention it was long??? Haha, let me back up and tell you that we were supposed to have brought helmets and headlights to do the trail but, well, you know how they say "fail to plan -> plan to fail"? Well, we didn't realize the tunnels were going to be so hardcore pitch-black so in our true rebellious fashion we decided to go on without them. Okay, honestly it wasn't that dangerous or anything but, let me tell ya, that first tunnel being almost 2 miles long, well it was exhilarating to say the least. We came out the other end just laughing at the thrill and disorientation. Oh, and it's 45 degrees F in there so we were half frozen too. Haha, we're crazy. The rest of the ride was a blast and it's all downhill so it's basically like a cruise or a mild version of a WDW ride. We had such a great time and took tons of pictures.

We got to see Ironman in Coeur d'Alene too and I've been having a lot of fun helping my mom stock our new house and kitchen with all the things we need. I'm almost set up for sharing recipes on a regular basis again too.

SEPTEMBER

And now obviously we're into September. I'm so excited because yesterday was like the first day it's felt like Fall here and now I'm just dying to start making anything and everything pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon. There's just something about this month that feels like a fresh start to me. I guess it's the back-to-school stuff and the coming of a new season. I hope you all have a great weekend and if you made it this far in the post, well first wow, but thanks. I can't express enough how much you guys mean to me.

XOXO