La Fiesta de Cumpleanos

Good morning!  It is such a lovely morning in Santa Fe.  If you aren't here, I wish you were.

To those of you who don't know, I just celebrated my 24th birthday on Sunday! I've been whining to my parents about how old I am compared to my peers, and that I'm not really sure what one is supposed to be doing when they're 24.  Some of my closest friends whom I grew up with are mothers by now, some are wives, some are graduate students, and some are undergraduate students.  Very few, in fact, I can't think of a single one, are searching for a career like I am, so I feel particularly directionless (my dad would probably concur- even though I try really hard to pretend like I'm not) in terms of what to do next with my life.

There's my "What am I doing with my life?" rant for this blog.  I'm sure I'll subject you to another one, or ten, down the road.  Bear with me.

Anyway, on Saturday I spent the day following a lobbyist around for lunch at the local lobbyist hangout.  He spent the day introducing me to other lobbyists and legislators, which I hope will be hugely beneficial during my job hunt.

Saturday evening, I threw a birthday party at my house in Santa Fe.  There were about 18 people who came and we spent the evening playing karaoke, Just Dance on the XBOX, and, of course, talking about politics because that's what we do best.

Sunday morning, a few of us went to the Santa Fe National Forest to the hot springs.  This was the highlight of my weekend by far.  The Santa Fe National Forest and the Jemez hot springs is located here, just southwest of Los Alamos and northwest of Albuquerque.  This State Highway 4 through the National Forest is a designated National Scenic Highway, and it surely didn't disappoint.  My friends and I kept saying, "Can you believe something so beautiful as this is in New Mexico?"  We were awestricken.  We went north from Santa Fe to Los Alamos, and got to drive through the Los Alamos National Labs security on the highway.  If you have no idea what the Los Alamos National Labs are, brush up on your history of the Manhattan Project here.  It's worth a look, plus, you all know how I feel about knowing important parts of history.

It took us a while to find the hot springs, but we finally figured out that the natural hot springs are not commercialized, nor are they marked by signs, and are known only to the locals/natives.  We finally stopped and asked someone and his directions were, "Yeah, hike up this mountain for about a mile.  You'll come upon some hot springs at some point."  I love New Mexicans.  Sure enough, we hiked straight up rocks and ice for a mile, almost died from an asthma attack, and finally came to some very peaceful, steamy hot springs sitting at the top of the mountain overlooking the most gorgeous views of the National Forest.  New Mexico is surely not short of any natural beauty.

 On the hike up to the hot springs.

 Soda Dam- This naturally created dam is where water from underground hot springs has flowed for centuries. The buildup of mineral deposits has formed a unique and spectacular natural dam that blocks the Jemez River.

 Braving the ice trail!

 The hot spring we soaked in.

 It was so beautiful, it was hard to not take pictures of everything.

 Soda Dam again.

The Valles Caldera Wildlife Preserve

Back Home

Friends,

Once again, I have failed the test of time with keeping up with my blog.  I could make a lot of excuses per usual, but quite honestly, I went through a period in my life where I just simply didn't have much to write about.

Since I last wrote to you, I have moved from Midland, TX to Santa Fe, NM.  Thanks to a family friend, and state representative from my hometown, Artesia--I got the opportunity to work the NM State Legislative Session here at the State Capitol, and took it with no hesitation.  I moved back to NM the first week of January, which means I've been here one month as of today.

The last time I lived in New Mexico before moving back one month ago was June 2011.  As I've mentioned before, my parents raised me in New Mexico and lived here, in Artesia, until moving to Texas in June 2011.  Shortly after that, I went to England for a few months, and spent last year in Dallas and Midland with them. 

New Mexico is commonly referred to, by the citizens of the state, as the Land of Entrapment (which is a play on the state's slogan, "Land of Enchantment").  So, I suppose that means that I am a victim of the common saying, and 18 months later, I am back in the state I call home, and I could not be more happy about it.

I live in a (super awesome) house in the Eldorado community about ten miles outside of Santa Fe with two other girls who are also working the Session as well.  Both girls are from southeastern NM like myself.  We're renting a house from a couple who works in the film industry.  In fact, the owner worked on the popular AMC TV show, Breaking Bad, which is filmed in Albuquerque.  The homeowners are now on a new filming adventure in Washington, DC, for the HBO series, Veep.  We're house/dog sitting while they're away.  The timing and set-up worked out perfectly, really.  Except for the fact that their dogs are monsters.  Which I'll get back to later.

My job at the State Capitol--commonly referred to as the Roundhouse (because it is a round, well, house)--is working for two representatives.  I do everything for them--you name it.  In government, all the real work gets done by bureaucratic staff. (#you're welcome.)  My representatives are wonderful and they keep me busy.  New Mexico's fiercely diverse population with vastly differing opinions comes to the surface each year during the Legislative Session, and this year is no different.  I, quite honestly, cannot get enough of it.  I am taking in every moment with the legislators, every vote, every piece of legislation, every lobbyist, and every Indian who comes to my office to sell me their handcrafted turquoise jewelry.  

It's a great place, really.  Come visit.  My roommates and I will cook you something fabulous with green chile, challenge you to a game of Just Dance on the XBOX, and take you on a hike with our monster dogs (and maybe send them home with you).  

The Roommates.

Our Casita 

The Monsters: Tess, Cody, Roxy

Neighborhood View

Sunset from our living room window

The House of Representatives Chamber

Legislative Session Opening Ceremony (Governor Martinez in red)