Twisted Words

Yes, I have a closet of balls

2012-02-01T11:50:00.000-05:00

Sadly, I am not actually surprised that misogynists still exist. They're out there, and I sadly cannot get rid of them all on my own. It'd be nice if all men were great, but I know they're not so finding out about shit is not surprising. Sad, but not a shocker. What continues to surprise me is that these "men" actually exist in my life.

Luckily I'm in a relationship where I feel like an equal. When I have an opinion I let it be known. If John is acting stupid, I tell him. We both want me to have a successful career. Sure, I do cook and clean, sometimes I cook something just for him. Or I make his coffee in the morning. But guess what, he does those things too! And actually, most of the time we cook together. Also, John hates when I do his laundry. He is actually in capable of letting me fold laundry on my own. Even if he's doing dishes, he'll stop, come fold, then go back to the dishes.

These ideas on household chores are not the only way misogyny can exist, and I don't want to dismiss some more serious ways men ridicule women. They're just feeling like the most relevant right now. Why some people think women should be "barefoot and pregnant" is something I'll never understand.

But really, how'd this enter my life? I think I surround myself with people who (mostly) see the world the way I do...or at least we have some common ground. And yet there's a guy who I will never get along with because of the way he views women.

He calls women "chicks" ALL the time.

He asked me to make him a sandwich.

When I said something to John (I don't even remember what) that he saw as too powerful, he told John that he needed to get his balls back. I apparently have them tucked away in a closet.

When his daughter hit her head, he continued to sit there and went "Wife, Wife, Wife, Wife can you take care of this?" Instead of taking care of her himself.

What's baffling his that his wife doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd take any of his crap. And yet she answers to his every request and never says a word when he says sexist shit.

Again, there are far worse people out there who beat their wives if they make more money or (name horrible misogynist thing here). There are plenty of men I would want to slap for how they treat women. But this one's actually in my life and he's probably not going anywhere. So how to I keep myself from throwing hot coffee in his face when he asks me to make him some 5 seconds after I've sat down to enjoy and he's standing in the kitchen?

Wisp Skiing/Snowboarding

2012-01-26T20:59:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we drove out to Western Maryland for some snow time. John's friend Mike (and his wife and kids) met us there. I didn't actually get on the slopes. We're going to take lessons another weekend and I'll give it a whirl, but for the most part I avoid skiing b/c of my knee. Also there was an ice storm Friday night so the conditions on the mountain were not good. It would have been really hard to learn. John even had a rough time at first. I spent some time in the lodge reading and some time just watching John fall...I mean snowboard. I wanted to go snowshoeing, but there just wasn't enough snow and with ice on top it would have been silly. So John and I took a hike just in our boots. We didn't do anything hard or long, but it was still nice to be outside doing something. I'm sure if there ever is more snow I'll try snowshoeing and/or snowboarding. \

Wisp Resort...it was very overcast for 99% of the weekend.

Mike like's to make a grand entrance.

Skiing is hard.

Woo Anne!

Not falling actually. Getting ready to stand up and roll out.

Yep, snowboarding is kind of sexy.

Trying not to run into anyone.

Proof that I was outside in the snowy mountains...not usually a fan of winter.

North Face whores! Hey, it's good stuff.

Friends forever!

I have no idea. Am I falling? Is he falling? Did I stab him? It's hard to say.

Snowy hike!

Icy branches are beautiful.

This was empty. I don't know if that's good or bad. The bears were probably waiting for us to get trapped.

Deep Creek Lake

You buy books, I buy hiking/camping/climbing gear

2012-01-24T14:01:00.000-05:00

I finally got my act together and published my book for sale for the Kindle!! I started months and months ago but whatever Amazon's system does majorly messed up the formatting. And for poetry I was not about to just let it be ugly. I was so frustrated that I gave up. I was fairly certain I was going to have to do something drastic like code the entire book in HTML in order to make it look right. It ended up not being that complicated, but it still took some time to get it to translate. But it's finally ready.

If you don't already have a hard copy, go buy it here! Note: If you don't have a kindle you can download the free kindle app so you can read the book on your computer.

On Doctors...

2012-01-17T10:22:00.000-05:00

For someone who's active (well, in the spring/summer), eats well (mostly), ect., I dread going to the doctor. No matter how well I take care of myself a trip to the doctor always results in something being found, more tests being needed, something. I'm not kidding. Remember when my cyst wasn't draining and I had to go in for extra ultrasounds? Yeah. It is, luckily, almost always nothing serious, but it's a hassle to always need blood work or other tests. And really not good if you worry about the results.

So I was having some issues and just wanted to get blood work done. Voluntarily! I was fairly certain I was just anemic but before I took iron supplements I wanted to be sure. Well, instead of anemia, the doc found a lump in my throat. This resulted in more blood work and an ultrasound. Good news is it's probably not cancer. Yet all the appts I've had the last 2 weeks I still have to go back in a few months and make sure it's not growing. If it is, or if I get funky blood work back with messed up hormone levels, I may need my thyroid removed. How fun!

So, I've decided to just not go to the doctor anymore.

Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-05T14:13:00.000-05:00

I tend not to make resolutions. Seeing as I usually think life is pretty great, it seems silly to say "be kind" or "eat better". But there is something refreshing about looking back on the past year, celebrating what you accomplished, and thinking about what the next year will bring. So, here are some things I (or John and I) am hoping to accomplish in 2012 (yeah, some are kind of resolution-y, sue me).

1. Write more...I've not been inspired at all this last year and I'd like to finally get something accomplished. Even if that's just a simple article on a hike.

2. Be climbing 5.8s regularly. John thinks I should make my goal 5.9s since I already do 5.6s (mostly) clean and just did two 5.7s this week. But I'm being realistic. There's plenty of skills I need to develop in these higher climbs (hello crazy lunge I did Monday!) and I know 5.8 is more what I can accomplish.That's not to say i don't think I'll be doing some 5.9s by the end of the year, I just don't think I'll be doing them well.

3.Go on an overnight backpacking trip. We talked about this a lot last spring/summer and never actually did it. We stuck to day-hikes. So, it's time.

4. Stop buying bread, bagels, buns, ect. I don't know if I'll be able to make ALL my own bread products as sometimes I get lazy and just want to run to the store and buy hamburger buns. I do want to make a good effort though. I've already made 2 loaves! I love my bread machine :)

5. Try at least 3 new things (physical activity, food, hairstyle...whatever)...3 seems like a pretty low number for this, so hopefully I exceed the goal. But if I end up breaking my leg snowboarding (new thing #1!) and end up on crutches for months, I want to be able to still meet that goal. (go me and my optimism!) And I have recently done rock climbing and eaten Vegemite, so even though those happened at the end of 2011 I feel like it's part of the be adventurous goal, so I've gotten a head start.

6. Stop eating at chain restaurants. The only reason we do is that we're too lazy to cook or are on the road and not willing to drive a little longer to find something better. If we go out it should be to a good restaurant that's unique and appealing. there's no reason to eat at Applebees. It's really not good, wastes money, ect.

7. Summit a mountain. Maybe it's cheating since this is something I do just about every year, but here it is. It might be Old Rag again, which I know I can do. Or it'll be something wild like Mt. Rainer or Pike's Peak...depending on where we decide to go on vacation.

8. Activate Mission East Coast Exile. That means we'll either move to Colorado, at least actively make plans to make said move in the next few years, or decide to move elsewhere. As long as we get some better plans in place we don't actually have to leave yet, there's more to figure out still.

9. Raise a pig. And by this we're actually going to give John's uncle a pig to raise, but we're building the shelter, the pig, and all food.We'll take care of it when we visit, but Uncle Glen will do the daily grunt work. Or we may scrap the whole pig idea and just get chickens. But we want to do something farm-y.

10. Have a pig roast. This will likely be at John's sister's wedding. Which is pretty much the best idea for a wedding reception ever...other than my own ideas, anyway.

A Year in Pictures

2012-01-03T19:56:00.000-05:00

I'm still mulling over some 2012 resolutions/goals, so for now, here's 2011 summarized in pictures! It was a spectacular year, and looking back only makes me excited for the adventures 2012 is sure to bring.

St. Louis Part 4 - Nutcracker + Holiday

2012-01-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

After John left I had some quiet family time, amongst the actual holiday. I went rock climbing with Julie. I am pretty sure St. Louis 5.7s are waay easier that Maryland 5.7s. I will call them 5.5s. Mom and I went to see the Nutcracker. Harrison and I went fishing. He caught two carp....really ugly fish.

We celebrated Christmas on the 24th to avoid being rushed Christmas morning. The boys leave at noon for Chrismas with their dad, so it's hard to cram in gifts, mass, ect. So we did a Christmas feast following by presents. I got a kindle! Christmas morning we had breakfast and chilled and sent the boys off. Then mom, Matt, and I went to see Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. Not the best form for a holiday, but it was a good one.

I went to lunch with my aunt on Monday, then went to the casino with Matt and won $40. That brought my total to $125 for the week! But John ended up in the hole so I really just made up for his losses. That night the boys came home and we watched Harry Potter before hitting the sack early. When I woke at 4am for my flight it was snowing. I made it out only 10 minutes late, but the storm blew us home quickly so we still landed on time.

St. Louis Part 3 - City Museum

2011-12-30T18:35:00.000-05:00

To try to find an activity that is fun for 3 teenage boys and me a John is quite a task. We ended up going to the City Museum, a crazy playground/jungle gym/weird metal sculpture park. I'd never been but the boys love it, so we decided to give it a try. I can probably bet you've never been anywhere quite like it.

The City Museum include the Enchanted Caves, a giant ball pit, a Skateless Skate Park, an aquarium, and all kinds of tunnels and small places to crawl through. I am a small person but I wonder how anyone squeeze through some of those tiny places. But we all had a good time hiding in dark corners, climbing through trees, and avoiding climbing to the super high airplane. My knees were so bruised afterwards!

St. Louis Part 1: Ted Drewes and Presents

2011-12-28T19:22:00.000-05:00

Since John was leaving before Christmas we went for a family dinner while he was still around. We went to Dressels Public House, a family favorite. I have to say, the pork dish that John and Matt had was the best thing on the menu, though my lamb dish was also good. Since we were downtown we continued John's education of St. Louis landmarks. Even though it was cold, we stopped for ice cream at Ted Drewes. I always get the Cardinals Sin...so yummy! Then Matt took us on a detour around the city...we won't call it lost seeing as he knew where he was most of the time.

Back at Mom's we had a mini Christmas. Everyone got one gift from me and John, and John opened his from the family. Best gift was the joint one we got from Mom, a huge survival kit. There's boxed water, nutrient rich cookies, first aid supplies. You name it, it's probably in there. We are so ready for the zombie apocalypse. Or a scary hiking accident.

Yes, my "baby" brothers are all taller than me now. L-R: Harrison (13), Evan (17), me, Connor (15).

He's really full, but super excited about ice cream!

Look at all this survival stuff!

Seriously, it's nuts. The bag weighed 19 lbs (thanks airport scale!)

St. Louis Part 1: Dinner at 360

2011-12-28T12:31:00.001-05:00

Christmas in St. Louis was a week-long affair this year. John came home with me for the first part of the trip. We took Mom out to dinner downtown at 360. It's on the 26th floor and you can see out across the city. There's a nice outdoor patio bar that you can see into Busch Stadium from. Would be great during baseball season! The food (other than the pizza) was nothing spectacular, but I'd go back and treat it more like a bar than a restaurant.

Busch Stadium!

Busch from the roof top deck.

Old Courthouse, from high up.


Only negative, a competitor of my company blocking the Arch.

Me and Mom

Love!

Gingerbread Village!

2011-12-15T10:50:00.000-05:00

Because I'm totally in to any holiday themed event, I was pretty excited about the gingerbread house decorating. But I got lame and bought a kit, rather than make my own. Oh well, I'm a busy girl. John and I put together a seriously ridiculous work of art...Not entering and contests, that's for sure. But we laughed a lot, ate icing, and even named one of the houses (Bob) when I somehow made him a face out of the doors and windows. So yeah, it's not the most beautiful/professional village, but it's ours. Also, there's an evil snowman! Which, John insists isn't evil. "He's misunderstood." But check out those scary red eyes!

Quote of the event: "It snowed rainbows!" Which, wouldn't that be fun?

Company Holiday Party

2011-12-12T20:53:00.000-05:00

Our company Holiday Party was once again at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. I'm a little tired of planes (one year was enough) and was rooting for the National History Museum. Still, it was a good time. And this year I actually found my coworkers before the end of the night (it's hard with 1,000ish guests in a place that big) and so there were more people to talk to. Super sad that I was so busy chatting and drinking that I never ate dessert! What was I thinking?

Anyway, I think the highlight of the night was learning that 3 of my coworkers think John's foreign.

"He's hot and he's from England...or Australia?"

"Umm, no. He's from Southern Maryland."

"But what about the accent??!!" (best line of the night!)

Me and Meghan

Kyle photobombing....Erica and me

Kyle and Erica

Jason and Mary....I don't even know

Yeah, last year's pic was soo much better.

Love and airplanes :)

The boys pretending to be pilots.

No drinking and flying! (Kyle and John)

Meghan, John, me, Mary, and Jason.

Ladies man

Cheers! (Kyle and Erica)

Something about this guy just made us want to say hi.

Elmer, the cool bartender, left his station after last call...bad idea. John asked Elmer to make his signature drink. "What's the Elmer?!" It's apparently a rum and coke with a bunch of extra limes. Thanks Elmer!

Quotes from John

2011-12-06T11:09:00.000-05:00

I think I need to start a weekly/monthly "Quotes from John" post here because the man is funny. But, maybe it's only funny to me?

"Do you think my beard will ever be white so I can be Santa?" Love!

"Francis Ford Cooksey! (that's a plan on play on Coppola in case you don't know directors)" Nope, I had no clue about directors...

And then this happened:
Coworker: Where are you from?
John: Southern Maryland.
Coworker: *weird look* Hmm. I though I heard a slight Australian accent.

He's now on top of the world.

Outdoor Climbing - Carderock

2011-11-28T20:19:00.000-05:00

So, the plan for climbing was to go to the gym all winter to build up strength and skill. That way, once Spring came I'd be more prepared for outdoor climbs. But it's been 65ish since Friday and we had to go outside and do something. We took advantage and went to Carderock to climb. Seeing as I'm not at all experienced at this point, I was pretty happy with the small amount of climbing I did.It's the general rule of the group of John and his friends that everything at Carderock should have two added to it to compare to the gym. So a 5.6 is more like a 5.8, approximately. Of course, there's very little outside that's really super easy. So it was an interesting day.I started with an easy climb but it was mostly mantling, which I'd never done (where were my footholds?!). But I made it. Then I did it again later and went a little to the right, which was more fun. But I did have to watch my head at one point so as not to bang it on an overhang.The other climb I did was more complicated. There were almost no handholds. But everyone else did it, so I was willing to try (even if they have 2+ more years of experience than me!) It was only a 5.6 so it was worth a shot. The beginning was great, the middle was horrible. So I only made it about 3/4 of the way up. I think I could have gone the rest of the way, but the one section was super hard and I was just too tired. The rest of what the group did was 5.8 and up so I didn't do anything else. We almost set up a new anchor to try an easy climb, but it was the end of the day and I was fine with not pushing myself on my first time out. So I just took pictures.

John's 31st Birthday

2011-11-22T21:37:00.000-05:00

For John's birthday we both took off on Friday and drove to Delaware to the Dogfish Head brewery. It's pretty much his favorite beer.

We went on the "Stashes and Lashes" brew tour which includes samples! First was Raison D'Etre, which is one of John's favorites, so we were happy about that. He used to drink that almost exclusively when we were first living together. Next, My Antonia, which was an ok beer, but nothing special. too hoppy for me. But John said if you're a hops person it was pretty darn great. I of course just love it for the literary reference (Hey Willa Cather!). Apparently the guy who started the brewery was an English major. John now has a new career goal in mind for me. Third was Immort Ale. Don't drink it. It tastes like band-aids. Eww. And I thought Dogfish head could do not wrong. I forget the last one, but it was alright. On the tour we were told about a bunch of beers I'd never heard of, including one with berries that I really want to try. Also, Pangea, which has a cool name.

Birthday dinner at a seafood place. Crabcakes and softshell crab.

Seeing as Dogfish Head is right by Rehoboth Beach that's where we stayed the night. So the next morning we went exploring. We found really big shells, which I made into seashell bras all along the beach. Because I'm a 10 year old boy. We also found a piece of a hourshoe crab shell and a bird leg/talons.

Then we were on our way to Atlantic City! We found the penguin game from Vancouver and did not do well. Penguins are better in Canada! But then we had a freakin awesome game of craps. It was a lot of fun. If only we'd put more money on that fucking 5!

Next we took a long stroll down the Boardwalk and listened to people and the ocean. We had some drinks at the House of Blues. My amaretto sour was way weak so I ended up confusing the waiter when I asked for a shot. But we had good talks. Like about how we're too old to make out in a bar. When did that happen?

More gambling. Half-naked girls dancing to a live cover band...We played roulette and won on 29 (our anniversary), 18 (John's birthday), and 4 (my birthday). Later in the night we would play more roulette. 18 hit like a total of 5 times that night. John was in heaven. Until a crazy dealer kept yelling at everyone and it wasn't fun anymore.

Between roulette games we had more drinks and listened to a different cover band. Who rocked. I don't think we've ever had that much fun in Atlantic City. Of course I say that and I remember 2 really fun times...but really, it was crazy. I think we got back to our hotel around 3am...but who really knows.

Hannibal Lecter vs Melissa

2011-11-21T16:38:00.000-05:00

On Friday night I had a serious nightmare. John and I were walking down the street minding our own business when some cops fucking kidnapped us. They handcuffed/tied us both to two bucket seats in a van. Between us was a box. They stuck my elbow into a tiny hole in the box. At which point Hannibal Lecter started gnawing on my fucking elbow! As he gnawed and my arms became just bone, it would slowly slide further into the hole so that he could eat more. The cops, apparently, were tired of dealing with their whiny prisoners, so they fed us to him. Thanks honorable policemen. I don't know what would happen when he finished the arm, as they way we were set up that's about all that he could eat through that hole...but that's not the point.

The point is I was whining and moaning in my sleep. And I half woke up and was super scared, so I cuddled up to John. I think I was like "Nightmare, eating..." so John just kissed my forehead and told me to go back to sleep. I could have asked for a bit more comfort, but I did fall back to sleep so it wasn't really necessary. So I will consider this sweet and soothing.

Except now he keeps making whining sounds and laughing. Apparently my torture filled nightmare produced sounds that crack the boy up.

I just keep telling him he was the next course...and he laughs some more.

Sometimes boys are sweet. And they share the cherry Starburst you gave them for their birthday, even though it's like his favorite thing in the world. They could just give you all the strawberry but you get a few cherry. That's love.

And sometimes they laugh at you getting eaten.

Good with the bad, right?

Blackwater Falls West Virginia

2011-11-16T22:32:00.000-05:00

Since we had a 3 day weekend due to Veterans Day, John and I headed to West Virginia for one last hiking trip before winter. Of course that doesn't mean we won't hike again, but just in case, this trip was made. We decided to stay in a hotel though. Even with nice sleeping bags, sometimes cold weather camping sucks.

We had a beautiful drive out west. A lot of the trees in Shenandoah were still colorful. But then the country music took over the radio, the trees lost their leaves, the temp dropped...and there was snow on the ground.

Our hotel was about 20 mins from the park, so after we checked in we went to do a quick look around before the sun set. The wind was pretty brutal seeing as we were still in fall mode, but I was pretty sure the weekend was supposed to be a bit warmer so I didn't cry.

That night we reverted to our college days and had PB&J, ramen, and various other random foods that were possible to cook in a hotel room. Actually oddly fun. We also watched way too many episodes of House-hunters International and pondered moving to Australia some more.

Our hike was not that long, maybe 6 miles. Hard to say since we did a combination of many trails. The park's longest trail was 1.5 mile so we just kept taking different pieces of them to make a loop. A lot of the time was spent in the woods. One trail seriously should have been about .2 miles, but was a full mile because it just zig-zagged around the trees.

Balanced Rock - milestone 1

We ran into these deer on the trail and they would not budge. No matter how much noise we made, they just looked at us with these "Dude, it's my grass, go away" looks. We would have just walked around them, but there was a baby so we didn't want the mom to flip out. So it took a few minutes, but eventually made it.

Lame stream crossing

Made it to the falls overlook! Realized there was another, better overlook on the otherside. So we hiked back to the car and drove there (No trail from where we were, across the river, to the other side)

On the way back to the car, we came across a rock in our way. So we had to do a little rock scramble.

View from the lodge, where we parked our car.

Good views of Blackwater Falls

Mt. Vernon - Washington Did It Right

2011-11-09T20:08:00.000-05:00

Rob, Jamie, and I went to Mt. Vernon over the weekend. Washington had a pretty nice place to hang out.

Notes on Rock Climbing

2011-11-08T14:53:00.000-05:00

John finally got me to the rock climbing gym, with equipment! And I'm in love. Notes:

~It's pretty awesome!
~John said if I did a 5.6 clean by the end of the night he'd be proud. I did.
~I also did not panic when rappelling, as he expected. Because it's actually quite fun.
~Seeing as I didn't fall once (hey, I was proud), he's going to make me to 7s and 8s next time so that I learn to fall. Oh joy!
~5.10: still a ways off, but I tried it, for a good laugh.
~I am not allowed to belay yet. I'm uncoordinated and cannot be trusted. I request a month alone with the rope to work on my skills.
~Nothing hurts, exactly, but everything I pick up seems very heavy. Cause my arms kind of turned to jelly.
~Climbing shoes make me feel like a ballerina. Until my toes start to hurt.

Miscellaneous Thursday

2011-11-03T16:13:00.000-04:00

I have been in a funky mood all week. It's like I woke up Monday morning and the world just sucked. Is this hormonal? I never blamed hormones for my emotions. Never had bad PMS or anything. Hate that excuse. But the new BC is messing with me. Though it cannot be all to blame.

John was in trouble the other night. Things are happy again, but man, I was really mad for 3 hours.

I had a dream on Halloween that John was attacked by 100 zombie ladies all trying to make out with him. He had a lot of fun killing them. Ladies need to stop wanting my man. Even zombie ladies who just want brains. I know they're nice brains, but back off!

And no, our fight had nothing to do with those ladies. He appropriately fends off their advances. But I think I am going to make that "Get too close and my girlfriend will kill you" t-shirt for those times when he's out with the guys (many of whom are single...why aren't the girls flirting with them?!). I just have to have a scary photo shoot to get the appropriate imagine.

Also, John's coming home with me in December!! Happy times! Well, he's coming with me, but leaving before me. I took a lot of time off and he just couldn't get away from the new job and family. I am trying to think of how best to spend our time there. He's been to the Arch, and Busch Stadium. What other STL things must one experience? Oh, and Monday's activities must involve teenage boys.

I flipped the fuck out last weekend when I realized Evan was turning 17. SEVENTEEN! When the hell did that happen? He's starting to think about COLLEGE. Since Sunday I pretended that I did not have this revelation. Until it was brought up when I was talking to Mom last night.

My step-father's dickhead nature is back in full force. Not that it went away... Anyway, he basically told his son he was too stupid to get into SLU. The kid who one day was telling me some crazy physics something that went way over my head. Which he just googled for fun. Sure, he slacked off last year and his grades slipped. But he stepped it up when he picked the school, and just got honor roll this quarter. And yet, he was called stupid. Still not in the running for father of the year.

John's going out of town this weekend. I may do nothing but bake. Oh, and plan. The following 2 weekends we'll be out of town and I need to figure a few things out. Plus the St. Louis trip. And I need to Christmas shop. With no ideas!

John's going to go to Africa and fight the diamond lords. "I can buy a diamond any time but it's just a rock like every other woman has. If I fight for a diamond it means something. Isn't it more a symbol of eternal love if I killed someone for it?" Dude, you don't have to make up elaborate excuses not to buy me a diamond. I told you I didn't need one.

We're going on a "Stashes and Lashes" brewery tour...so I'm off to get some fake lashes. What's the appropriate outfit for such an event?

My roommates need to clean he kitchen before I lose it. I did it last and I'm not giving in. Or maybe I will when I want to cook this weekend. Man.

Not only did John's family have a fire, but my coworker's family did too. It's made me a little paranoid. I didn't even light candles during my bubble bath!

Oh, you know what else happened? CARDINALS WON THE WORLD SERIES!!! Amazing happy times.

I got sappy and told John it was meant to be because we won 5 years ago when we had just started dating. And this year we're back on track. And 5 years is a big milestone. So, the Cards are going to win the WS every 5 years, just so we can prolong our anniversary happiness. It's been declared! (hoping for too much? Maybe)

This was me 5 years ago, the day after we won.

Autumn in Shenandoah

2011-10-31T20:01:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we went on a group trip to Shenandoah with Mike and Marissa (OBX people), Dale, Mike's sister Erin, and some other people somehow associated with M&M. It was a perfect fall weekend, which means a lot of time was spent around the campfire drinking, chatting, and trying to stay warm. But that's pretty awesome in itself.

We hiked the Rose River Falls trail on Saturday. John and I started at the campground, hiked about 1.5 miles on the Appalachian trail, and then picked up the trailhead where it met the AT on Skyline Drive. Then we did the loop and hiked back the same part of the AT. So we had a total of 7 miles. Everyone else drove to the trailhead and just did the 4 mile loop.

We had some great views of the fall colors along the AT and at the overhead (before the real trail began). Although we had a small spat before starting the hike, the tension quickly died. I love that about us - we disagree and get back to happiness. Who doesn't disagree? Anyway...stupid sidenote. So, we sat on a rock not far into the hike and just looked out over the mountains. It was incredibly peaceful and the fall air was cleansing.

The falls were not the most impressive we've seen, but still a nice change of scenery from city life. I will always be happy with a waterfall, even small ones.

We met up with the crew about halfway through the real trail. Some were fighting injuries, so they were slower. John, as always, was happy to be around dogs. Dudley would later eat horse poop and rocks and end up at the emergency vet. Poor pup.

Back to the trail. We hiked with the group for awhile, but eventually got back to our real pace and passed them. Unfortunately, by the time we finished the loop, my back was sore. So the last 1.5 miles back to the campsite were not as enjoyable as the rest of the day. 7 miles shouldn't be too much for me, but I was tired. But I made it! And despite the rough end, was really glad we added the extra bit.

On our way back to the campsite, John stopped to use the facilities. I saw a chipmunk run into a kid's shoe and go flying. And I shouldn't have laughed, but I did. Especially when the kid ran to his dad, worried that he'd killed a mouse.

Back at camp, I ate way too much hummus and tostitoes (hint of lime!), and we all then proceeded to cook burgers and all kinds of other food, and ultimately smores. Dale and Erin got drunk and made out in front of everyone, even though they continue to maintain nothing is going on. Something about wanting different things. Really, as adults can't you just say "Hey, we're hanging out and making out, but it won't ever be serious because we want different things." Nothing wrong with that. Anyway, it was funny.

Also, Erin asked John and I to go hike Kilimanjaro next year. A trip she should be taking in a few months, but with her injured ankle she's thinking of postponing. Now if only I had 2 more weeks of vacation time...

John and I switched sleeping bags that night. Mine's a 20, his -20. I was cold Friday night because there's something wrong with me. He said he was chilly with my bag, but it was fine. He likes cold. In his bag I was all snug and warm and couldn't have been happier. So we'll probably switch for good. Until we go real backpacking, in which case I need something lighter.

Anyway...it was a pretty great trip. That's about all I can say. I hope we get in one more camp trip before winter, but it may be a cabin trip in November, if anything. Our weekends are filling up.

Some Zombie Like You?

2011-10-26T20:36:00.001-04:00

This is why I love this boy.

John: Oh it's your girl! *turns up radio*
*listens*
What's this about?
Me: Her guy is all married to someone else now. It's sad.
*listens*
John: In my zombie movie, this is going to play during the scene where I have to smash my wife's head in.
Me: Please don't smash my head in.
John: No, this is movie wife. If you become a zombie I'll keep you in a cage and feed you the brains of our enemies while we wait for a cure.
Me: Aww
John: So, it's a good song for that scene, right?
Me: Well, hopefully it's a sad scene, yes, but it may be sending the wrong message with the whole other woman thing.
John: Just the music then.
Me: Perfect

PS: I'm totally calling my zombie novel "Some Zombie Like You" hahaha

Great Falls Climbing

2011-10-26T14:44:00.000-04:00

These are old, and some people may be tired of climbing pics. But next time I will probably be up on the wall! I have to take it slow and see how it affects my back. But ultimately, it should help strengthen the muscles and make life better. I'll just have to suffer some first. But, I have a harness and shoes now, so as soon as John gets me comfortable, I'll be on my way.

Anyway, we went climbing at Great Falls on Columbus Day. It was awesome outside. I sat on a tree and just watched leaves floating down the river. There was a snake in a crack in the rock. And wasps. John got poison ivy. There was 1 impossible climb. I ate a lot of hummus.

Dear Santa,

2011-10-19T16:30:00.000-04:00

I would like a puppy for Christmas. But I really can't have one until I have a bigger yard. So, can you give me a house too? I don't mean to be greedy, but I've been very good this year. Also, I think it's about time I get that puppy. Wasn't the plan always to get a puppy, make sure I don't kill it, and then have babies? Yeah, so if I'm going to have babies someday, I need to start with the puppy thing. Sooner rather than later. You know how it is, right? I'm sure you and the wife got the reindeer (instead of puppies) to address the whole "how do we know we won't kill a baby" question. And the reindeer all seem to be very happy and well cared for. I need that chance with a puppy. So, I'm giving you some advanced notice on this Christmas wish so you have time to figure it all out.

Love,
Melissa

PS: If the brothers have sent you a list, please forward on the items you will be unable to obtain. I will take care of them as I have no clue what they want.

***

Dear Readers,

This is what happens when Melissa is bored at work. I almost just typed this and deleted it, but I figured I should share my insanity with someone. I am thinking about going home for the holidays and seeing the family's puppy (sure, the family too) and it's kind of making me crazy. It should be a pretty fantastic Christmas this year and I'm pretty excited. But then I get sad because as great as life is, there's no puppy. It will probably be next year or the year after before I actually get a puppy, but I really have puppy fever. It's probably because there are babies on FB. And puppy fever is like baby fever. But I know I don't have that baby fever thing. Yet. So it's all puppies. If you know of puppies that I can play with to get rid of the puppy fever, please send them my way.

Miscellaneous Thursday

2011-10-13T15:58:00.000-04:00

I feel like there are many things I should be writing about today but I don't actually feel like anything is worth an entire blog post. Even though it is. Maybe I'm just not in the mood to share.

Like, I could write about all my kitchen adventures. Apple butter, apple jam, apple bread, pumpkin bread, pumpkin ravioli, jambalaya. I kicked John's butt in the jambalaya cook-off. No, actually, his was tasty. Mine was just tastier. And spicier. I also want to make a lot more jam now! And pumpkin everything.

Or I could write about how much I love my brother Matt. And how because of him I will probably need 1 suitcase just for beer when I go home at Christmas.

Or I could write about how annoying it is to have to plan my Christmas in St. Louis around the kids' visitation schedule.

Or I could write about my general excitement over the holiday. And how much I want to do Christmas shopping but don't know what to get most people. (Boys are tough) And how I want to be crafty and make ornaments and tie bows and the like. Oh, and the gumdrop cookies!

Or I could write about this: "When you get knocked up, I'm going to need you to have a cute little baby bump that I can rub for good luck."

Or I could write something like this: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-open-letter-to-pumpkin-flavored-seasonal-treats

Or I could write about the fire and how it made me realize every family has problems.

Or I could write about how I should be working on an article about Yosemite so I can actually attempt publication again. (It's ok to yell "slacker!" here).

Or I could write about the Cardinals status in the playoffs. And how I think my roommate is really sick of my monopolizing the T.V. And how if we do make it to the World Series I'll be out of town for games 3 and 4 (possible the winning game!) and I kind of want to not go camping because of that. But I will.

Or I could write about how the leaves are beginning to change, and the world wants me to all into fall, but it's like 80 degrees in my bedroom with the windows open and a fan on.

But those tidbits are all you get! Cause I just don't feel like writing any more.

Fact

2011-10-06T08:38:00.002-04:00

Birdsboro, PA Round 2

2011-10-04T13:49:00.000-04:00

Since we got rained out the first time went went climbing in Birdsboro, we decided to try again. Guess what. It rained! We all arrived on Friday, built a nice fire, at some food. Got up Sat morning and had to rally everyone to hit the grocery store and then the rocks. Of course John was sick - what started out as a tickle in the throat got worse all day, and I was starting to feel sick myself by the afternoon. So after he took a small fall and twisted his ankle (all better now), John didn't really climb. And I could tell he wasn't feeling well. But I could not convince him to go back to the campground and let the others climb on until dark. So I gave him hugs and let him be all sick. The next morning I was sick and he was doing better. For some reason everyone wanted to just stand around a crappy campfire and do nothing. So I went back into my sleeping bag where it was warm. At noon I finally just started packing up to go home. And yes, they were still around the campfire. I love my some fire time when camping, but when I'm sick, cold, and wet, not so much. Since it was too wet to climb I didn't know what we were waiting around for.

So, we did get a few hours of disease-free, dry climbing in, but we're pretty much never going back to Pennsylvania.

Yes, 5 Years!

2011-09-29T20:00:00.000-04:00

5 years ago John and I had our first date. And look at us now! Sure, there were "the Dark Ages" but I am sure our 2006 selves would be pretty impressed. And the way we've been talking, the next 5 years should be just as entertaining/interesting.

Now you get to sit through the cute, the sappy, and the funny.

Ohiopyle, PA

2011-09-26T19:56:00.000-04:00

Labor Day weekend seemed to sneak up on me this year and I was suddenly faced with a long weekend and no plans. So I quickly pulled something together and the boy just went along with it.

Then, while at work on Friday I pulled something in my neck and couldn't move my head without pain. I went to the doctor and got some muscle relaxants and rested until Saturday morning when we were set to leave. So, the trip was a little more subdued, but I was well enough to hike at least.

We drove out to Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, a big spot for white water rafting. I thought we would probably get out on the water, but with a sore neck it just didn't sound like a good idea.

When we arrived set set up camp, and made friends with a hillbilly that we named Zeek.

There was a festival going on, so John and I did some wandering and looked at pretty scares, scary confederate flag dream catchers, and ate a lot of food. We dipped our feet in the water and just hung out by the falls.

We saw a guy cooking a whole pig!!

On Sunday we did a simple hike, but it was incredibly humid and we felt like just being lazy by the water. We saw the Cascades and a lot of different colored mushrooms.

On the hike we were able to do some recon work and discovered some good climbing routes for a future trip.

After a short break we found a pretty lame waterfall, which was overrun with children. But climbing down into the little cavern and scrambling over the rocks was really fun.

Then we went back to the main falls where we watched some people white water kayaking. Only one person managed to go over the falls without flipping upside down. Luckily they all flipped themselves upright quite quickly. Having just done the white water kayak class, I know how hard it is to flip yourself back up. I can't really do it fully, so this was impressive. I will stick to flat water.

Of course around 4 it started raining so we spent a lot of time in the tent. It was still raining Monday morning so we just packed up and headed home.

Hurrican Irene

2011-09-21T20:16:00.000-04:00

At the end of August the East Coast was hit by Hurricane Irene. For many this sucked. John and his friends had to be evacuated from the Outer Banks for the 2nd year in a row. (I luckily had my long weekend there before the bad weather). Others got flooded, damaged, ect. And while I'm sad for them, my weekend was awesome!

A very sad John came home Thursday night and I tried to be sad for him, but I was mostly just glad he was safe from harm. We did a lot of nothing after work Friday, but Saturday morning we headed to his parents' house before the weather got bad.

The whole family came together and we ate a boatload of crabs. Love crabs! The power did go off for a bit while we were eating, but it came back within an hour. Then, as it continued to pour down rain and blow tree branches all over the yard, we just had good family time. Caroline proved herself adorable. John and I stayed up late with his sister and her boyfriend playing Cranium and cards, part of the time by flashlight. The weather was crazy, but really nothing more than a 14 hour thunderstorm. Sure we lost power on and off, but we had an amazing time being trapped indoors.

The next day was beautiful. I started the day with a 2 year old yelling "Lissa! Apple Jack!" (her favorite My Little Pony) which was followed promptly by coffee. Then we wandered around to see what kind of damage there was. There were leaves/branches everywhere...a very green yard. A few bigger trees feel behind Uncle Glen's house, and some minor trees were across the road. Luckily everyone has tractors so the road was quickly cleared. Some leaf raking happened later in the day.

John and I decided to go fishing at the pond behind his grandparents' house. Caroline ended up there with us. She was pretty excited. Until the first fish John caught flapped around wildly when she tried to pet it. Scared the life out of her! She ran away screaming. I'm yelling at John (who had wandered to get more worms) because I think the fish actually jumped out of the bucket and was flapping on the ground (it was safe in the bucket). It was a mess. Caroline was terrified of fish from then on and hide behind me every time we caught one. Of course, she was thrilled when Mom came home with a kiddie fishing pool...which she then pretend fished with in her kiddie pool all night long.

And somewhere in there Caroline bashed her face in by jumping off a pile of couch cushions. I'm pretty sure John and I will be allowed to babysit again, but seriously, I would be worried if I came home and my kid was afraid of fish and had a gash on her forehead. I think Shannan forgave us.

So, I'm pretty sure I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. I love John's family, they're happy I'm back in the picture, and there's nothing more amazing watching John with Caroline. Well, except maybe for crabs. They're really good. There was an insane amount of love in that house that weekend and I felt amazing for days afterwards. Who knew a hurricane could be some calming and feel so great.

Apple picking - Hartland Orchard

2011-09-18T21:18:00.000-04:00

Today John and I went apple picking on a complete whim. It was a beautiful day to be outside and it was something different. We found 2 places near one another, and thank goodness we did because the first place was closed when we got there. So we drove 10 minutes down the road to orchard #2. So glad it worked out this way!

This orchard had every kind of apple you could possibly want. And the price was excellent. Free admission and I paid $10 for a TON of apples. We just wandered around, filling our bag with all different kinds of apples, taste-tested a few, and genuinely enjoyed just being outside together. It was kind of ridiculously cheesy. Especially talking about bringing our kids there someday...if we're living in Virginia still.

Also, these same people have pumpkins in October, Christmas trees in December, and peaches/cherries/and more throughout the year. So I'm sure we'll be back.

Birdsboro, PA Rock Climbing

2011-09-18T21:11:00.000-04:00

Back in August we drove up to Pennsylvania to meet 2 of John's friends for some rock climbing. I was designated trip planner, chef, and photographer.

John and I made drove up to the campsite at French Creek State Park and set up our tent. Kevin and Lorna for a bit behind us so we decided to meet at the rocks, at an old quarry about 10-15 minutes away. We had a bit of trouble finding the path because we were going off weird directions, but we made it! We wandered down the road a ways and found a real quarry - probably not the place you should rock climb.

It started to drizzle while we were waiting on Kevin and Lorna, but it stopped after a few minutes. Kevin, Lorna, and John climbed 2 really easy climbs so that Lorna could have some good practice at lead climbing. Then we hiked to a different area to try some harder stuff.

And then there was thunder. And the sky started to darken. And it was clear it was going to start pouring. But someone had to finish a climb.

And really, it was a good hike back to the car so at some point we realized we were going to get wet no matter what. So John climbed until the rain started. And when it did, we were instantly wet. We hiked back up some rock stairs to the main path, and took the long wet trudge to the cars. Everyone was soaked to the bone. So much rain!

When we got back to the campsite we somehow managed to get a fire going. We burned one of John's old computer science books, 10 years outdated, with little twigs. That burned enough to dry out some bigger logs. I was quite proud of that fire.

Also, John did an anti-rain dance while wearing the world's cheapest poncho. This is why I love him.

We manged to have enough of a break in the rain to eat, but soon we all ended up in the tents. It kept raining so there was no climbing, hiking, or canoeing (the park had nice lakes) the next day, as we had wanted.

But we're going back next weekend to try again!

Friends Come and Go

2011-09-15T16:12:00.000-04:00

So, awhile ago I realized I had lost a friend. I think I know why, but I'm not 100%. There wasn't a fight or even a small falling out. One day we were talking about getting together. The next day, we weren't. Maybe something else happened on her end that I don't know about. But I think I know. And then there was the moment when her actions let me know she'd let my friendship go. And at first I was mad. Offended. Betrayed. All that good stuff.

But now, I've moved on. I don't need that kind of friend.

So why can't I remove that "friend" from Facebook?

Vancouver, BC - Part 3 - 27th Birthday!

2011-09-13T21:58:00.000-04:00

I don't know how I could have asked for a better birthday. John and I checked in to our Bed & Breakfast early and basically just dropped our stuff off. We decided not to spend money staying at a nice place the entire time, but for my birthday night, we splurged. We had the Shangri-La Suite - the entire top floor of the B&B.

From there, we went down to English Bay for kayaking! There was only one other couple on the trip, so it was nice and intimate. We had a double kayak which meant John and I actually had to work together to get where we were going. Our foot peddles kept sticking so John had to steer since I couldn't get the right peddle to move. That meant I should have been in the "powerhouse" position, but, well, I am not that strong. So it was interesting. I'd much rather be in just a regular kayak with no foot peddles.

Anyway, the trip was still great. We paddled along the seawall to Siwash Rock and then back. We saw a seal swimming next to us! There were some waves and rocks that we had to avoid, so it was a little more interesting than our usual flat water paddling. Loved being on the water.

The other couple on the trip were from Vancouver so we got a lot of inside scoop on places to go. Of course, we didn't have much time left in our trip, so it all got filed away for next time. But! They did take us to a great fish and chips place after the kayak trip. So John and I got fish and chips for lunch and sat out on a grassy area overlooking the water.

The rest of the day was filled with a nap and and John's attempt at romance. Ok, "attempt" makes it sound bad. It wasn't. But I don't want to get too sappy on the blog! Anyway, we then had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant, followed up by Birthday Gelato. I had Baileys Irish Cream, John had Green Tea. So good! Then we strolled around the city, to another patch of coastline we hadn't been to yet, and watched the sun set over the water. Awww.

Again, awesome birthday. Did not want it to end.

Vancouver, you make me consider being Canadian.

Vancouver, BC - Part 2

2011-09-12T20:59:00.000-04:00

Not much to say about Day 2. We went back to Stanley Park for more frolicking. There ended up being so much of the city we did not see (excuse to go back!) because we kept within walking distance of where we were staying. There was plenty to see and we enjoyed just wandering around in the beautiful weather. We'll go back some day to explore the area near the university and up into the mountains.

So, back to Stanley Park. Only we went the other direction so we could see the totem poles. Of course, these are fake totems, just recreations. Still, pretty neat.

Walking to the totem poles...

One day we'll be back to hike in these mountains.

That evening we decided to check out what a Canadian casino was like. The craps table failed us, but we ended up winning about $100 at the slot machines - which never happens. We planed one game that had alien cows, which was pretty great. But the best was this insane penguin game. It was like a slot machine on crack. You wouldn't win on the spin but then some penguins would dance out and switch the reels and suddenly you won sometime! I can't describe how crazy it was. But it played "ice, ice baby" at one point. Everyone should experience this game. Except maybe old people who may have a stroke because of it. Or those prone to seizures. So. Much. Fun.

Vancouver, BC - Part 1

2011-09-12T20:48:00.000-04:00

Obviously I am behind on my blogging! It's September and I'm just writing about July. Ugg. Let's see if I can catch up.

After a bit of time where I was home working hard and John was frolicking in the wilderness, it was time to rendezvous! John arrived in Vancouver on Thursday and quickly got the lay of the land. I left work early and flew out from Baltimore. First flight was on a tiny plane and I felt every little bump. Not fun. Switched planes in Toronto and settled in for the long haul across Canada. They had a fun plane animation that tracked your progress all the way. I was not happy when I was only halfway, but every happy to tick down that last hour.

When I landed the sun was setting behind the mountains, John was on the other side of customs, and I couldn't have been happier. It was Canada Day, so after dropping my stuff off in the room, we wandered over to a bridge to watch the fireworks. The sun sets super late in Vancouver! So while I thought they'd be going off when I was landing it was actually much later than that. Canada Day fireworks were lame. But they were at least birthday weekend fireworks.

The next day we got up and went to Stanley Park via the Seawall. The Seawall is a path for bikers, roller bladers, walkers that goes all the way along the waterfront, around the big tip of Vancouver. I loved that there were separate lanes for bikers and walkers. So smart, those Canadians.

English Bay Inukshuk

English Bay Beach

We eventually left the seawall to hike through the Stanley Park rainforest. It was the most confusing system of trails ever! I'm glad we have good brains or we may have wandered around in circles for quite some time. One trail, I swear was a circle with 3 branches all named the same thing. Times that by 4 trails...constantly coming across a sign for a trail that should not have gone that way. But we made it out just fine!

Found a giant slug.

We were on the lovers trail! How cute!

The plants all had this stuff on them that looked like spit.

On the other side of the crazy forest trails was the Lost Lagoon!

The rest of the day was filled with a nap, yummy food, and more general explorations. Seriously, we just wandered around the city A LOT, taking it all in. Who knew I could like city life? If there's water, hiking, and mountains all so close to skyscrapers, how can I be unhappy?

That night we tried to get scalped tickets to a show John wanted to see but it didn't work out. Had a brief stint of rain but overall the weather was beautiful. More to come!

John's Yosemite Pictures

2011-09-07T19:10:00.000-04:00

John got to stay in Yosemite for another 2 weeks. He rock climbed, went to the top of Half Dome (terrifying, he admits), and did a 4 (5?) day backcountry hike. Not as crazy about photos as I, but he had some good ones.

San Fransisco

2011-09-07T19:03:00.000-04:00

Sadly, the Yosemite trip had to end. After getting up before the sun to secure John and Kevin camping spots at the first-come first-served Yosemite campground, we were off to San Fransisco. I had to have the whirlwind tour.

1) We ate at a sketchy place in Chinatown for $4 and were too scared to ask for more so we found another place which was supposedly Chinese but had Japanese game shows on the TV. I swear a guy won by eating some kind of sketchy sushi.

2) Went to Coit Tower and had a nice foggy view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. Really, if John hadn't known the layout of the city I wouldn't have been able to tell what anything was. It was soo foggy. And windy. Crazy hill walking is made even crazier when the wind is pushing you back down!

3)Saw the famous sea lions at Pier 39, as the sun was setting. I think I could have stayed and watch them for a lot longer if it hadn't gotten dark so quickly.

4) Ate a chocolate pecan concoction from a ghirardelli shop.

5) Smelled awesome sourdough bread at some famous bakery but did not get any because it was crazy crowded. (I bought some at the airport though!)

6) Rode the street car back to our hostel.

7) Ended up in the ghetto the next day while trying to find REI. One would think it would be in the shopping district where the North Face is, but no. It's in the ghetto. We turned around before finding it, but it's there somewhere. Every homeless person in San Fransisco is mentally unstable. In Baltimore thugs will shoot you for crack, but in SF they'll stab you because they think you're Elvis.

So, I covered the basic SF stuff. I wish I had more time, but it was cool. Except the ghetto part.

Leaving John at the airport was crazy sad. I think he even teared up for a split second. My flight home sucked as I got stuck in Denver due to a thunderstorm and didn't get home until like 4am.

Yosemite Part 10 - Glacier Point and Sentinel Dome

2011-08-07T19:55:00.000-04:00

Friday was my last official day in Yosemite. Though we would spend some time there Saturday there wasn't much time for fun before John and I were going to head down to San Fransisco. So, Friday I was ready for a ton of fun. But we could only cram in so much.

We drove up to Glacier Point because it's known for it's amazing views. And there were a few short trails that we could take from there. Of course my leg was bothering me so we only hiked to Sentinel Dome. Then the boys took another short hike while I waited in the car. Stabbing pain in your thigh is bad. I was really angry at my leg for whimping out on my last day to hike. But the views we had on what little trail I could manage was really nothing to complain about.

Glacier Point:

Nevada Falls from Glacier Point. We were at the top of the falls the day before. Seems so far away.

The snowy mountains that made it impossible to get to the hot springs I so wanted to visit.

Half Dome from the base of Sentinel Dome.

Yosemite Falls from the base of Sentinel Dome

And finally, El Capitan from the base of Sentinel Dome

The boys climbed up to the top of the dome...my stupid leg was wobbly so I didn't trust myself on the snow.

It was really windy at the top of Sentinel Dome. We're seriously about to be blown away.

Going with the flow

2011-08-03T10:59:00.000-04:00

Some recent events made John and I realize that we needed to sit and really talk about some things. I needed some reassurance that we were on the same page, or at least could compromise about certain things. The resulting conversation was amazing. It wasn't hard or awkward like it might have been a year ago. No you don't get details. There's still a lot to figure out but this was a good first step. Yay!

Of course, since Sunday I've been completely overwhelmed. The conversation made me think way too much about life. I've been trying not to over-think things so much. I need to let go and just let life happen. I need to trust that things will fall into place. After all, it's worked out pretty well so far.

I feel like I'm trying too hard to plan my life and I don't know why. What happened to the freedom of just going with the flow and letting life happen? When did I change? There has to be a balance between planning and letting fate take control. It's great to have goals for your life, but you can't schedule them in. ("in 5 years we'll a kid and another 3 years later"...doesn't always work that way!) Of course you have to plan sometimes. You need to save money for a long vacation and reserve a place to stay. But other things need to just fall into place. I'm doing better with this today but for some reason it's been a struggle lately.

Still Not Engaged, Right?

2011-07-29T20:38:00.000-04:00

Grandma: This is your grandma being very very nosy in asking if there are any plans (wedding) in the future.

2 hours later...

J: So...I'm your spouse, right?

M: Uhh...sure? I mean...what?

J: I need your USAA mortgage rates. So I'm going to need to be your spouse.

M: Worst! Proposal! Ever!

Coworker: Proposal?!

To clarify, no, I'm not engaged.

Yosemite Part 9 - The Mist Trail (Nevada Falls)

2011-07-27T20:20:00.003-04:00

This continues our journey on the mist trail. When I last left you, I was on top of Vernal Falls. It had been a cold, wet journey but I was now warm and had a full belly. Hike on soldier!

The trail from Vernal Falls to Nevada Falls is hard. There were many spots where you have to hike rock stairs and the constant stair stepping is rough on my legs. You would think that after hiking a lot my muscles would get more used to stairs, but they never do. I need stair training! And on this trail there's so much that's out in the hot sun. The heat just pounds down on the open rock surface. It's only 1.3 miles (or somewhere around there) but it felt longer. Of course I do love pushing myself like this.

Only this time I had to try not to feel weak. John never makes me feel bad for not being as strong or fast as him. I hike at my own pace because, while I enjoy the workout, I do want to enjoy my hiking. John tends to appreciate going at my pace so he can actually enjoy it too. He's said he may rush through certain parts if it weren't for me, and miss out. Well John's friend Kevin was with us and this guy has his own agenda. He was far ahead of us many times. And I felt like crap for not being able to keep up. Which is completely stupid. I'm not in terrible shape. I'm just not him. Not everyone has the same pace. But it's just one of those things. Hiking with someone who doesn't know you or doesn't really care is so much different.

Anyway...there's not much else to say about the hike to Nevada Falls. There's a spot on the way where you can see the falls and we got a little misted. But nothing near the power of Vernal Falls. From there, hot rock steps. And then...awesomeness!

Look at me...climbing on rocks...

And then...more hot rock steps to the top of the falls. Seriously my ass thanks you Mist Trail. And the view from the top of the trail was one of my favorites of the trip. I've probably said that a lot. But it's breathtaking. Kevin was far ahead of us but we met him at the top of the falls. took some pics, and a little break.

Rock for John to climb:

Mountains!

All that hard work and I'm still adorable. Yeah, I know it makes me sound stuck up, but I love this picture of me!

Falls going down.

This is what happened in my head:
"Dude, your girl is slow. I've been waiting here for 30 minutes." (or like 10, max)
"But she's great in bed. You loose! My girl rocks!"

Love. Love. Love!
Shot of the falls while laying on my belly on the bridge over the water.

Boobs!
Or, the back of Half dome + another rock.

So after you reach the top of Nevada Falls the trail divides into a few things. I think you can take one route up to the top of Half Dome. John and Kevin did that after I left. From the tales, I'm pretty glad we didn't attempt this. The top of Half Dome sounds scary! So many visitors that the rock is really smooth, which makes it slippery. And you have to take hold of a harrowing chain to climb up. John was even a bit freaked about falling to his death. Great views. Better seen with a rope attached to you!

So, we took the John Muir trail back down the mountain. This trail was covered in horse/donkey crap. And I really mean covered. It's one of the few trails for livestock but I would gladly put a few tax dollars towards a poop clearing man. Otherwise, the trail is a lot of downhill. Which the guys hated, but I loved. Which is apparently weird. Downhill is hard on your knees. And given my knee issues, you would think I would hate the downhill. It is a workout to go down steep grades like that without tumbling, but it's so much better than going up steep inclines! Guys (mainly Kevin) disagree. Are guys built that different or is it just me?!

The trail down did have some pretty great views itself.

Nevada Falls (we were just over there! at the top!)

Yosemite Falls (way across the Valley) from the John Muir Trail

Hiking the AT

2011-07-24T22:58:00.000-04:00

John decided that he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail from the starting point in Georgia all the way through GA, NC, and VA. In two weeks.

Then I gave him numbers and we realized that his plan involved more than 600 miles.

He's not going to manage 40+ miles a day...

Now I'm trying to help him plan a reasonable trip whilst not deflating his man-ego by sayings things like "no way can you make it to XX in XX days".

It's hard.

And I don't get to go so it's kind of depressing.

And we both should really be spending more time thinking out our future as we have some decisions to make.

But this is more fun.

Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks

2011-07-21T20:09:00.000-04:00

Enjoy.

Yosemite Part 8 - The Mist Trail (Vernal Falls)

2011-07-19T21:32:00.001-04:00

The Mist Trail was the most difficult/longest trail I did out in Yosemite. It's 7 miles round trip, but we added 2 miles because of the walk to/from the car. 9 miles is not outside of my range and certainly not the crazy 16+ miles the boys did once I left. Still, it had its challenges. All worth it of course!

The trail starts at Happy Isles and at the beginning is paved. This means there are a ton of people. That's one thing about Yosemite. You can't NOT check out certain things because they are that amazing. But everyone else in the world has the same idea. The positive thing about this is that I've now seen the Valley and done some of the popular trails so next time I go out there I can stick to some of the more remote areas - which still have great sites, but less people.

Anyway, going up the paved trail is a good way to start and really weeds out people. It's steep but people still push through with strollers and canes and whatever else you can think of. But by the time they get to the first overlook (At the bottom of Vernal Falls. Where there are toilets!) many turn around and head back. Although I was not a huge fan of the steep inclines at first they're totally worth it to see the ridiculous amount of water that we did. Also, I would soon learn that steep inclines are easier than stairs (and by learn I mean remember because I have this thought on every hike that involves stairs).

And then comes the climb to Vernal Falls. They don't call this the Mist Trail for nothing. I imagine at normal times you might only get misted. And it's cool and pleasant on a nice summer's day. Normal times were not had. Again, I mention the insane amount of snow Yosemite had this year. 10 times the normal amount? Something like that. So the falls? All amazing beyond words. Before I say what I have to say about this so-called "mist" I want to be clear that I am so, so glad I experienced the Yosemite that I did. The falls this year have been called "once in a lifetime" and other such cliche phrases. And seeing pictures of the area from years past, I know it's true. There was a never ending supply of water and thus beautiful sites. My camera is happy. But...

Vernal Falls is evil!

Beautiful. But evil. (And yes, worth every minute of pain.)

The trail runs right along the flow of the falls and, once you get to the top, right next to the falls. This allows fantastic views. Though due to the "mist" you don't always want to break out the camera for fear of ruining it. It also means a lot of semi-frightening moments hugging rocks so that no one falls off the trail and to their death.

Seriously, I consider myself fairly well-educated and safe. I cannot say the same for some of the people hiking at the same time I was. Sorry to say, if you hug the rocks on the way up, you have to take the outside on the way down. No matter how scared you are of falling. If you're that scared don't hike this trail! Also, you can only hold on to one kid at a time so if you have 5, you better just pray that they don't fall in.

Anyway...

You basically have to climb op stairs that are carved into the mountain's natural rocks (mostly) all the way up to the top of Vernal Falls. And did I mention the "mist" aka torrential downpour of waterfall? Yes. So the rocks are wet. And in some places there are puddles. The water is ICE cold. I swear, at one point I was actually being pelted with icicles. Real, frozen, icicles. Water cannot be that cold or hard without it being frozen.

And yet, it was just the waterfall, pouring down off the side of the mountain like waterfalls tend to do, drenching (and POUNDING) me with it's icyness.

Lesson learned: waterfalls HURT.

I stopped in a little cave (a moment's reprieve from the icicle arrows the enemy had rained down on me) to put on my rain jacket. By the time I reached the top I was shivering and not a thing on my was dry.

And as soon as I took a minute to breath in sunshine I realized the view and the adrenaline rush made it all worthwhile.

We stopped for a picnic then. And laid out our clothes (and ourselves) to dry/warm up in the sun. Ya can't beat a picnic with these views. Or a picnic where you get to watch little lizards humping rocks.

Yosemite Part 7 - More Climbing

2011-07-19T20:59:00.001-04:00

Day Whatever. Wednesday? I wanted to let the boys climb for 2 hours, hike, and grill some awesome steaks. Things did not work out as planned. But I now have an amazing ass shot under my pillow.

Ok, keeping it under my pillow is creepy. I don't actually do that. But that's what the fingers typed. And sometimes they win.

Yosemite Part 6 - El Capitan

2011-07-13T20:00:00.002-04:00

After our hike at Hetch Hetchy (though easy) we were not ready to head home but didn't want to do anything strenuous. It was a really hot day after all. So we decided to drive into the park and just hang out at El Cap Meadow and see if we could spot any climbers on El Capitan. I could see us lounging in the soft grass, speculating on whether we were looking at climbers, abandoned gear left hanging off a rock, or just a spot that was a different color than the rest. We'd munch on dried fruit and hope a bear didn't happen past. They do like to hang out in the meadows too.

But instead we spent most of the night walking. On a road.

We parked at Bridalveil Falls knowing that El Cap was right across the river. Of course we had to hike a bit because we had to find a bridge to cross the river. John and I were in flip flops because we are idiots. Always be prepared. Even if you put on your flip flops for a short stroll across the river, bring the glorious feet-keepers that are hiking boots. You will need them when 1 mile turns into 5.

Turns out the trail was much longer that we thought. We had to go past El Cap, all the way around the backside. And then once we crossed the river we should have followed the road to the meadow. But we went into the woods some. Still, we had some great views of El Cap (including the heart on the surface and a waterfall right next to the rock) and DID make it to the meadow eventually.

Once at the meadow we were simply amazed at how tall El Cap really is. And how small the climbers look from the bottom. Seriously...ANTS! The boys were good at spotting people on the rock and we used our cameras to zoom in and confirm. Mostly the looked like ants, or just black spots on the rock. Binoculars would have been nice.

We also watched this little guy push pile after pile of dirt out of his hole.

Then we had to find the car again. We decided the way we took was too long so we'd go down the road to the other bridge. Big mistake. Took forever. But I managed to get some nice shots of Bridalveil Falls from the long road trip. Then once we crossed the bridge we weren't too far from the car. But John and I were tired of walking on the road so we took a little trail than ran alongside the road. Full. Of. Mud. And we had to take a short meadow stroll back to the road to get to the car. Swamp! My legs were a little dirty. So while we ended up with waaay more miles than we wanted it was a grand adventure. And I'm glad it happened.

Oh, we also passed this cool spot:

Sweet Caroline

2011-07-11T22:51:00.000-04:00

I love how something as simple as a few hours with a baby can make life good again. I've been wanting to post about a few things that have been bugging me but have not been able to find the right words. And really, life is great right now, so I don't want to complain. I'd rather fill the blog with my happiness and not focus on the negative. So even though those things are still on my mind, yesterday I didn't think of any of it.

John came down Sat night after I'd been home in bed all Friday night and Saturday morning fighting a cold (seriously...airplanes are evil germ chambers). As long as I took massive amounts of day-quil you could barely tell I was sick so we stuck with the plan of going to his parents' for the day.

Of course John's parents were happy to see me again. His mom was very grateful that I brought vacation pictures. But as much as I love them all, seeing Caroline made the day that much more amazing.

When we arrived she went straight to John and begged to be thrown in the air.

When she decided I was safe she pointed out all the "pink and yellow" jewels on my shirt (which were pink and gold but those are also just really the main colors she calls everything) and then shouted "cute!" The 2 year old thinks I have good style.

I thought she was really smart when she gave me a play-doh stamp of the number 8 and said "Eight!" But apparently she thinks all numbers are "eight" right now.

We made play-doh snakes that she insisted have eyes (which kept falling off) and would then attack each other with them.

John kept pretending to eat the play-doh pancakes so every time he picked up a piece she would say "eww, yuck" and give him a "you crazy fool" look.

Her favorite TV show is Scooby Doo and she says all the characters' names in one long breath "ScoobyShaggyThemaFredDaphneScooby...."

When I handed her back to "Nana" when John and I were trying to leave she started crying and reached back for me and then for John, then back to me, and finally back to Nana. Poor girl did not want to say goodbye.

Yosemite Part 5 - Hetch Hetchy

2011-07-09T14:01:00.001-04:00

The Hetch Hetchy Valley was described by John Muir as "one of nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples." We had an amazing day hiking the trail at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Although the trail is a total of 13 miles out and back we stopped at the 2nd waterfall and went back for a total of about 5 miles. The rest of the trail is popular with backpackers and is full of bears. I would have liked to do a bit more but 13 was too much. And we made up for the lack of miles later in the day (see next post).

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir used to be a beautiful valley, which many compared to Yosemite Valley. I'm sure it was beautiful but I just don't see how it can compare to Yosemite Valley. It's just not the same. But that is beside the point. I almost didn't visit the area because I was kind of upset that they ruined such a beautiful place by putting in a dam. Yes, the construction of the dam created a water source for places such as San Fransisco, but it seems to me there are plenty of other options. Yosemite is such a spectacular place and having a big slab of concrete in the middle of it takes away from the appeal of the wilderness. Some people are trying to get the area restored back to a valley. See Restore Hetch Hetchy. Of course many of the great things about this hike was because of the beautiful water in the reservoir and the pretty great rainbows from the water rushing out of the dam. I don't know what the answer is in this controversial reservoir but I tend to go for the more natural.

Anyway, our hike started at O'Shaughnessy Dam where we got to see rainbows as water rushed out of the dam into the Tuolumne River.

Right after crossing the dam you have to go through a dark tunnel. After being in intense sunshine it's really hard to get your eyes to adjust. It's not a super long tunnel so you do get some help from the sun at each end, but in the middle I couldn't see a thing. And with all the snow melting there were puddles everywhere. I had a split second where I thought of the crazy water monster that pops up in Lord of the Rings. But everyone made it out safe and dry. Really, it wasn't that long, I'm just paranoid.

The day was absolutely beautiful, as was the entire trip. But it was also very hot! If you weren't in front of a waterfall the sun was scorching. Of course there was no humidity so we loved it. I hiked in my bikini top a lot of the way and getting wet was fun instead of horrible.

We stopped for a picnic and cool down time by a little pool. Kevin took advantage of the natural water slide. The water was freezing so I only stayed in long enough to cool off. I thought my peanut butter and banana sandwich was the most delicious thing I'd ever eaten.

The trail is very rocky and with all the sun I was certain there'd be a rattle snake sunny itself somewhere along the way. But we only saw one little lizard.

The first waterfall was Tueeulala Fall.

The trail right after Tueeulala to Wapama Falls was very wet. With all the snowmelt there were many places where little waterfalls had formed and washed out the trail. So we hiked through the pools. Don't worry, the water was not rushing enough for it to be dangerous.

Then we got to Wapama Falls. This was one crazy waterfall. There's a bridge that crosses the falls, well actually it's more like 3 bridges. We weren't going to continue on the trail after this point but we did want to get sprayed by the falls so we walked across the bridge and then turned around and walked back. Right before the bridge you can feel the mist and it's so fucking cold I unknowingly held by breath so a second. John and I decided to strip...back to the bikini top/base chest and shorts and took off our hiking boots to keep as much stuff dry as possible. I imagine if there was a hurricane of ice cold water it would be like crossing that bridge. The falls were insanely powerful and you were hit from the top like a ridiculous pressurized shower and some water crashed against the bridge and rushed over your feet. John held my hand the entire way so it was pretty sweet. Though maybe he was just trying to keep me from blowing away. Overall a pretty thrilling experience - one of my favorite moments from the trip.

Sadly 2 hikers got swept off this bridge and died just 2 weeks after we were here. It rained and was so hot starting the week we were there that there was more melting snow. And the rapids were flooding the bridge. We would not have crossed if it were worse than it was. We weren't continuing on the hike so we actually had the option of deciding if it was safe. These hikers were returning from a backcountry trip and had to take the bridge to get home. And one of the guys had proposed to his wife at the bridge years before. It really hurt me to read about this because it was such an awesome hike. I'm glad it wasn't too dangerous when I was there but have a big "too close for comfort" feeling about the whole thing.

We stopped at the waterslide/pool on the way back to cool off again. It took us a long time to do 5 easy miles but sometimes it's not about covering a lot of miles but what you see along the way. And lounging my a natural mountain pool is a pretty great way to pass the time.

On the way back we were told there was a mama bear and cubs down the trail. So Kevin starting singing Day-O "Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana...." and John grabbed a stick...but we never saw any bear.

Also, it was on this hike that John and I drank from a small waterfall and did not get sick! You really should purify any water and we didn't. I was certain that with my luck I would spend the rest of the night puking. But all bowels stayed healthy. Take that Giardia!

Tomatoes Coming Soon

2011-07-06T22:29:00.000-04:00

I promise more Yosemite posts and then a Vancouver post (yay birthday trips!) when I'm not so tired. But for now, more garden pics. I have about 15 little tomatoes and I can't wait for them to get big and red. I have to share with John though. He's a big tomato fan. But I will certainly be adding them to my salads soon.

Yosemite Part 4 - Rock Climbing and Yosemite Falls

2011-06-29T19:58:00.001-04:00

The boys were itching to climb and I only wanted to do a small 3-4 mile hike so we decided to climb then hike. Well it took so long to find something to climb I didn't really get to hike but we'll get to that.

It took a long time to get into the park due to construction. I was really hoping it wasn't that bad ever day (it wasn't). We parked at Curry Village and took the shuttle to Camp 4. Kevin led but that was just a silly idea. We ended up in some crazy woods and got completely eaten alive by mosquitoes. No words for how many there were in this one fallen tree. John saw a snake but I did not get the pleasure. Woo! We finally back tracked to a path and followed that and what do you know, we found rocks! Kevin chatted with a woman who was teaching this kid to climb to try and find good spots. Of course this rock face was very popular so it was full. But the boys wanted to start easy so we found a crack and went to set up anchor. I enjoyed a book, food stuffs, and became their photographer.

After awhile it became clear that I was not going to get to hike because it took too much time to find the climb and get set up. So I decided to wander around the Valley by myself while they kept climbing. I did the lower Yosemite Falls trail (2 miles, paved and flat) which was just down the road from where we had set up "base camp" for climbing.

The trail is short, easy, and crowded since all the tourists want to see these famous falls. But I enjoyed the quiet stroll through the woods. The temp keeps dropping as you get closer to the falls. And then you cross a bridge and get soaked by the mist. It was a great day for this as it warmed up quite a bit in the Valley. All of the falls in the park were insane this year because of the record snowfall Yosemite had this winter. And Yosemite Falls were spectacular. I also managed to wander down the road a little more and get some great shots of Half Dome.

I wandered back to the boys, watched them climb more, and then we all wandered over to the Falls again, to catch the shuttle, not to do the entire trail. I drove home that night and as I'm going past the spot where the guys had been climbing John yells "Bear!" Of course I was not at a place where I could stop so I had to keep going. But there was totally a bear on the trail right in front of the rocks. A trail I took by myself! Just about 30 mins after we left. Of course I was really disappointed that I was driving and didn't get to see it :( In the car is the perfect time to see a bear. Glad I didn't run into it on the trail but very sad. John's report is that it looked like a giant sloth.

Also, on the way home we stopped to see the sunset.

Yosemite Part 3 - Giant Sequoias

2011-06-26T14:22:00.000-04:00

I ran into a serious dilemma when we tried to go see the Giant Sequoias at Mariposa Grove. After our waterfall hike I wasn't exhausted (it was pretty short) but I also wasn't ready for a 6 mile hike. And due to the time of day, we wouldn't have finished that much even if I had been all fired up to do it. Physically I could have done 6 miles but I didn't want to push myself on day 1 and be tired the next day. So we had planned to take the tram through the famous trees and then hike at the top of the grove. But when we got there and found out it would be over $30 to take the tram/tour? No way in hell.

And hence my dilemma.

See, I'm all for large costs for such things in that 1) A high price may keep some people away, thus lessening crowds and making nature experiences much better and 2) The money goes to the park's preservation. How can I be unhappy about paying for keeping the park maintained when I want to enjoy it and have others in the future enjoy it? While the money would have been well used I could not make myself pay even more money for something that was merely a convenience. I had 2 working legs and could see the Sequoias without paying for the tram.

So then I was all fired up and suggesting that the tram not exist at all. Truly if it had never existed I would have simply done as much of the grove hike as I could before sunset and been quite happy with whatever I saw. Instead I was a little upset that I couldn't just drive up to my desired trailhead. There are no roads to the upper groves and thus you can either hike or take the tram. I got angry with myself over wanting a free gold cart ride to the upper groves. Again, I had 2 legs and would use them as far as they would take me. So why was I being such an annoying lazy bum? Hated myself!

Of course what ended up happening was that we hiked as much as we physically could before sunset and saw an amazing amount of trees. Tram free! And I'm so happy about that. And therefore I can say I really do wish there was no tram at all through the groves.

Yosemite is overcrowded. If you take away conveniences such as this tram you will have less people in the park. Then those of us who want to enjoy the natural world can do it peacefully. This trail is easy for the first mile or 2 so it will be crowded but at least you won't have the added convenience of riding through the grove which adds a lot of people!

But yes, a small part of me still wanted a convenient way to get to the upper groves. Even if I had to drive myself. Which is really annoying as I love when there aren't a ton of roads through parks. Makes them more natural. Obviously I am very conflicted on this.

*You will here much more ranting about how convenient and thus overcrowded Yosemite is in future posts.

Anyway, we did hike about 4 miles (I think) and saw quite a few of the famous tress and some others that are probably jealous of all the attention the others get. We found giant pinecones and a deer who was in an abusive domestic situation (but was not a bear). We climbed on a fallen tree and on some rocks. We got back to our car and the sun was setting. Thus began a long dark drive back to our campsite where we ate clif bars and passed out.

Yosemite Part 2 - Red Rocks and Corlieu Falls

2011-06-24T21:58:00.000-04:00

This post will be mostly pictures as I'm tired and I don't have a ton to say about this hike. But I'll post more over the weekend.

We initially decided on a fairly short hike for the day so we could do any other random explorations afterwards. Then we realized the Giant Sequoias were very close to that hike so we decided to do both. But those trees deserve a post all their own.

To avoid traffic in the Valley we went a bit south and took a longer route to the hike. Except it probably took us less time than the Valley. Traffic in a National Park is kind of annoying! Anyway, we were in lower mountains for awhile and John had to stop to take in the view. Sometimes being the driver sucks.

When we got to the trailhead we got all prepared to fight mountain lions and possibly bears. I ran off into the woods to pee and John had to distract and old couple who couldn't find where the trail started and were headed my way. Thanks dear!

Anyway, the trail was woodsy and along the water. We were on our way first to Red Rock Falls. Then we would backtrack slightly and head down another trail to Corlieu Falls. The Red Rocks trail was very easy but had some good sites. We saw some backcountry campsites that would have been pretty nice. At the top of the falls we found a nice roofless rock cave and jokes were made about fooling around there. We ate cherries and learned I do not spit like a man.

On the way from Red Rocks Falls to Corlieu Falls we had a display on manliness that involved breaking large pieces of wood into smaller pieces. Jumping on the wood was one tactic. You really had to be there.

The Corlieu Falls were much more impressive. And required a steep downhill, which meant a fun climb back to the top! Once at the bottom we found a cool tree, ate peaches and clif bars, and sat under the cool breeze.

Yosemite Part 1

2011-06-22T21:15:00.000-04:00

Ok I still haven't gotten a good night's sleep. I think it's a combination of being on West Coast time, wanting to hear from the mountain man, and general antsy feelings - wanting to be back hiking not stuck at a desk. But I figured I should at least start a little vacation talk, since it will take awhile!

Day 1 meant waking up at 3:30 am to get to the airport for our flight. When we tried to check in I didn't show up on the reservation. We could not get anyone's attention to fix the problem and both John and I got grumpy. Mostly due to lack of sleep I'm sure. Once it was resolved the whole trip to California was uneventful. But once there we had to wait in line forever to get our rental car. Then we got on the road.

It's about a 4 hour drive from San Fransisco to Yosemite, but we stopped for food, fire starting materials first. And we went to our campsite (25 miles from the park entrance) to set of camp before heading into the park.

Windmills not far outside San Fransisco.

Driving through the low mountains.

Man-made lake in the foothills.

Driving higher.

Meadow drive-by shot, actually inside the park.

When you first go through the entrance to Yosemite there's just a lot of wilderness. Then you go through a tunnel and suddenly you're hit with amazingness. I was awe-struck. I teared up a bit because of how beautiful it was and how happy I was being there experiencing it with John. Seeing the high cliffs and waterfalls with him for those first few moments was simply perfect. And we hadn't actually gotten to the famous Yosemite Valley yet.

*The pictures just don't do it justice but they'll do.

Once I had taken it all in we continued our drive to the Valley. I continued to be amazed by the abundance of waterfalls and the height of the rocks. Of course we weren't just sightseeing. We had to find John's rock climbing partner, Kevin. The problem with boys making arrangements is the plan was "meet at the pizza place sometime after 5." Well it was way after 5 because of all the delays in rental car pickup, stops on the drive, and us setting up camp - all things I would have anticipated when estimating a timeline. And no one had cell service. Well first we had to find this pizza place - and I must say I'm not to thrilled about all the stores that exist in the park. Anyway, Kevin wasn't there but we did miraculously find him close by. He'd actually just been on the patio as planned but ran inside for a coffee. So we picked up the guy and headed back to camp. Stopped at a different pizza place for dinner and went to bed. A day full of amazing sites but I'd been up since 3:30am EST and it was about 10/11 in CA. And there was much more to come!

Patience Please

2011-06-21T23:34:00.000-04:00

I promise I will blog in detail about my trip to Yosemite. But first I need a good night's sleep, no family drama, and a chance to regroup. My flight was delayed and I didn't get home until 4:30 Monday morning. Life hasn't been the same since. And I'm seriously missing John because I am apparently emotional.

I managed to upload 100 out of 300 pics to Facebook but that's mostly because work was slow. So for now I will just say the trip was fabulous. And I will leave you with cuteness:

Vacation is...so...close...

2011-06-08T21:10:00.000-04:00

2 more work days and I will be in Yosemite!!!

Stole this pic from a friend of a friend. It made me giddy.

I can't wait

2011-06-01T21:44:00.001-04:00

to not have roommates.

Living with John had it's annoying days (he had this thing with banana peels) but for the most part we shared household chores and life was good. The roommates, not so much. I feel like I do everything around here.

I've taken the garbage out the last 3 weeks. Well no, I didn't do it this week because I was sick. So it didn't go out at all.
I've mowed the grass the last 2 times. It's now crazy long but I refuse to do it.
I tend to be the only one who realizes the floors need to be mopped.

I am seriously about to start a chore chart like you do with children.

But really, what's driving me crazy right now is the one guy's girlfriend. I tried to be understanding for awhile because John does stay here at least one night most weekends. We were rotating VA/MD weekends but now kind of go with where activities are so he's been here more often. So it seems hypocritical to complain about his girlfriend staying over. But seriously, I signed up for 1 new roommate, not 2. There has not been one day that Andy's been here that the girlfriend has not been. They try to make this ok by him going to stay at her place a few nights a week. So I either have 3 roommates (3 real, 1 girlfriend) or just one (Gabe). I really just think that if they spend literally every night together, why'd the guy move in here? They should have gotten their own place. I want to not be so aggravated, as they are both nice people, but the house is just feeling very crowded.

And what really got me was yesterday. I stayed home from work to recuperate. I woke up at some point and heard noises from the other room. Both roommates should have been at work. I checked, both cars were gone. I later realize the girlfriend has slept over Monday night and just stayed here all freakin day long. (and then slept over Tues night as well and is here now after a brief exist for work)

Is it wrong to be upset when they do spent 3/4 nights a week at her place? Will I ever see Andy alone? Is Gabe as annoyed about this as me? Does he also hate that John visits so often? Will either of them learn to do a chore other than dishes? (they seem ok with that, mainly so they can cook the next day I think)

End Rant.

Coming back to life

2011-06-01T16:56:00.000-04:00

So Saturday started out pretty great. After some errands John and I went to Old Town for lunch then just sat outside in the grass by the water. We did some talking and some reading and had to hide under a tree from the rain for a few minutes. It was all so peaceful and beautiful. We cooked a wonderful dinner together that night.

Then I was all sick. And not from too much Indian food as I first thought. At 3:30 am we went to the ER. Ruptured ovarian cyst (again!) and kidney infection (yes, again) at the same time! No wonder there were multiple areas of stabby feelings. Been 3 years since the other cyst so my doc figured it was a fluke. We'll see what they say at my follow-up.

So I've been in bed on Vicodin pretty much since then. Oh John did help me hobble to a watering hole and found a pretty rock. Not the smartest thing I have ever done but I really needed to get out of the house. I went into work today (after skipping yesterday) because I was feeling better (still in some pain but it was tolerable) and I had a proposal to do. I felt bad that I had to pawn of yesterdays, didn't want them to cover 2 if it wasn't necessary. Well the proposal wasn't ready for edit so I left early. Probably a good thing b/c I was achy and it was good to just rest this afternoon. Even if I never did fall asleep like I wanted.

Vacation is coming up so I'm glad this happened now and not while I am in the woods. Still, I would like to be back to my regular energy level and be totally pain free.

Scott's Run

2011-05-22T16:42:00.000-04:00

Yesterday John and I wanted to go out to Great Falls, have a nice hike, and then just chill outside and do some vacation planning. Of course everyone else had the same idea and the road to the park was at a standstill. So we turned around and luckily found a short trail nearby.

Scott's Run was not a great trail but we went off the path and wandered closer along the stream. We crossed the water over rocks and eventually did some fun rock scrambling. Then we were at the river! I nearly stepped on a copperhead, which was super scary. Wasn't sure what it was at first, just that it was a snake very close to my foot and it looked like something I did not want to be around. I screamed and jumped away to where John was standing. The snake flew across the water and under a rock. It was more scared than me, thank goodness! John got a better look at the thing as I was trying to get the fuck away. But after some googling we are both pretty certain it was a copperhead. First snake on the trail in a long time! Obviously everyone just wanted to sun themselves on some rocks yesterday. Perfect day for it. Later we saw a frog, which was much more welcome. Once we got to the river itself we sat on a high rock for awhile before heading back to the car. Not the day we expected, but it was a pretty nice hike, minus the snakes.

Garden

2011-05-15T16:05:00.000-04:00

I love having a garden. I wish this was my own house so I could dig up the entire yard and just have plants. I miss the beautiful garden John and I built. But alas, this is what I have right now in my life. Potted plants. Yet they are still wonderful and I will have food and herbs...just not as much as I would like.

I have 2 herbs that I don't know what they are. Lost the tags...I am so bad about labeling my seeds. But most thing I remember what I planted and once they're big enough you can identify it. I have lavender which has been slow but is started to get to a size I consider "alive". Other herbs include cilantro, basil, and oregano. Then there's the craziest plant...catnip. It's seriously going to take over the world. I only planted it because it came in a seed kit and I wanted the other 2 herbs. Now I don't have any clue what to do with it. I'm kind of worried we're going to end up with a population of stray cats in the backyard and they're going to be all crazy and we won't be able to get rid of them.

I also have strawberries, salad greens, spinach, and tomatoes. The strawberries are still green but I should have some edibles soon. I made a smoothie with my spinach (plus kiwi, pineapple, mango, and banana)and will probably be having an awesome salad tonight. It's still early to actually have tomatoes but the plants are doing well so produce is not far away.

I love it!

Whiteoak Canyon/Cedar Run hike

2011-05-13T21:14:00.000-04:00

The Whiteoak Canyon/Cedar Run hike is an 8.2 mile loop. Whiteoak Canyon is a steep climb but it's all waterfalls. I think officially it's 3 falls but there's little cascades all the way up. Then there's a horrible fireroad which is boring and somewhat uphill and you just want to be finished going up. Cedar Run is a steep climb down but again it's all falls. Of course at the 6.5 mile point your muscles are burning and having to watch rocks to keep from twisting your ankle kind of sucks. And by mile 7.5 you forget there's beautiful scenery everywhere and just want to rest. Add a few stream crossings and you've got one hell of a hike. Can't wait to do it in reverse so I can enjoy the Cedar Run falls more. Also, will do at least part of the hike in summer because there are so many great little swimming holes.

Easter Weekend

2011-04-24T18:23:00.003-04:00

Although today is Easter and I am sitting at home by myself I'm happy with the way the last few days have turned out. John and I went out to dinner on Friday and the whole evening was rather uneventful. But as is the case lately, some good conversations occurred. But FYI if you 1) Do not want me to be with John or 2) Think John is terrified of children and should therefore be congratulated every time he is in their presence, you should probably not talk to us. Really, it's quite annoying that people are constantly shocked when John even looks at a baby. John is great with kids. He simply was not sure he wanted one of his own. So him holding a baby is not some miracle that needs to be praised. Getting on both of our nerves. As is the general commentary on our relationship. Good times!

Anyway, Sat we took Joey for a walk (dog sitting while Gabe was away for the holiday) then went to have pizza...and mimosas/bloody marys. Mainly to kill time before the Capitals game! I haven't been to a pro-hockey game before, unless I went to a Blues game when I was a baby. Doesn't count if I did since I can't remember. Well I won tickets from work and got to spend the afternoon in the KCO box. The game was pretty awesome. We missed the first few minutes (and the first goal) due to a delayed metro, but still got to see 2 awesome goals and a long list of really great saves by our goalie. In the end the Rangers scored 1 goal that made it 3-1 but it was kind of a throw-away from our goalie. I was ready to become a hockey fan after that.

Today John had to leave to see his family, which sucked. But I ended up repotting some plants so they have more room now that they're getting bigger. Then I made granola and cinnamon raisin bread. So it was not a wasted day.

In other news: we're in the middle of planning a trip to Yosemite. June cannot come soon enough. But I feel like I need to work out a bit more to get in shape for some of these climbs.

Also, I'm trying to figure out if my boss will flip out if I ask for another day or 2 off for my birthday as John has asked me to go somewhere with him. I am thinking she will, but I will ask the super boss her feelings (she's more laid back) first. July is our busiest month so I feel a little guilty even asking, but ya know, it's my freakin birthday. I could still go on the trip for just the 3 day weekend, but that means flying home on my birthday which does not sound fun. Stuff to ponder.

In even more random news: John's grandfather is in the hospital. He's likely not going to live much longer. This has made me kind of depressed. Mainly because I know that John is being a tough guy "We all die sometime" but he's always been close to his grandfather and will be quite upset when he dies.

Yesterday was my grandparent's 51st wedding anniversary. I'll leave you to ponder what that meant for dinner conversations.

And that's enough random topics.

Oh, one more. ST. Louis, specially the area right by my mom's house, got hit by a tornado. All my fam is fine but the place does not look good based on pics. It makes me sad. And glad tornadoes are rare here. But I would like a good thunderstorm.

So many babies!

2011-04-18T12:31:00.002-04:00

So today is Cameron's first birthday, which means the weekend was his party. A party with a lot of babies. I love babies but even I was overwhelmed. There were like 6 kids under the age of 2 plus another kid or two, or three. Luckily the ratio of kids to adults was good. Still, whoa. Never. Opening. A daycare.

These events as well as the general status of our relationship led to many discussions with John about babies. All good, though we sometimes end up talking about the weirdest things. Key takaways:

Seeing babies makes me happy but does not yet make me want to go out and have them any time soon. Seeing John with a 1 yr old holding onto his fingers walking around the house? That's just trouble. I love babies learning to walk!

I am not capable of birthing a buffalo. (you had to be there, we're kind of nutty!)

If we have a daughter John will be that Dad with a shotgun and she will not be allowed to date until she's 30. Unless the guy is rich, then he's ok with an early marriage.

George Washington National Forest

2011-04-12T19:00:00.002-04:00

Highlights:
~Spent 45 minutes driving up and down one road, fairly certain I was around where I needed to be but not quite sure I wasn't lost. Almost went home when I couldn't find my friend in the middle of the forest.
~Ran over an opossum. I can still hear the squish.
~Drove to the West Virginia state line...we hope
~Got yelled at for throwing plastic in the campfire cause it's bad for the environment, from a woman who drives an SUV
~John stayed home so my tent was lonely but I survived
~Went mudding
~Had an epic bonfire.

More pics to come when Winny sends them. She has a very nice camera!

Westmoreland State Park

2011-04-04T21:22:00.002-04:00

Sorry for neglecting to put this on the blog sooner...

John and I decided to do a last minute camping trip (meaning on Sun we decided to go the next weekend) to kick off the season. At that time the forecast called for sun and highs around 55. Still would be chilly at night but tolerable. And although it's early and many parks around here are not yet open for camping, those that were seemed available. Well by Weds Shenandoah was full and the forecast was calling for rain. So we picked a small park with less trails and still decided to go. By Friday they were predicting snow but no way were we canceling.

Friday night we headed out, and weirdness, the random park I choose means we have to drive right by his parent's house. We stopped and wandered around the cemetery looking for Big Gran's gravestone-since I hadn't been. We never did find it. Dear John, it's cool to remember more than "it's by a bench, I swear". Anyway, got to the campsite and started to set up while there was still a little light. Then we went and broke on of the polls on my tent. Some duct tape and a splinter later we were setting up in the dark, but that's why we have headlamps! Then it was time for a nice fire to keep us warm.

Saturday was actually beautiful. Cold in the morning but it warmed up. We hiked almost every trail in the park. This isn't that impressive, as I said Shenandoah, land of many mountainous hikes, was full so we just went to a tiny place off the Potomac. 6 miles of trails total. So many of them had freakin stairs so it was a workout at times. Not what we had hoped for a week before, but it was still fun.

We got back to the campsite and started a huge fire that we burned for hours and hours. And we just ate, and talked, and burnt stuff, and ate some more, until it was bed time. Sat evening was much colder than Friday and yes, we did wake up to snow. Poor John was pretty chilly in his crappy sleeping bag, but luckily mine is pretty good. I was still chilly at times but much better than my old bag would have been. We packed quickly and left.

On the way home we stopped by his to see the parents. Caroline dropped snow in "Pop-pop's SHOE!" and ran away screaming when she saw me in the kitchen, standing between her and mommy.

Then we were home and had the best, warmest shower ever.

Ugg roommate search...

2011-03-28T20:23:00.002-04:00

Kelli is moving out at the end of our lease because she's ready to be a big girl and live on her own. If I could afford to do so in this area I would too, so I can't blame her. But that means Gabe and I have to find someone else to live here. Otherwise the house is too expensive. And it's not fun.

We've had people who ask to have cats even though the ad clearly says NO cats since we have allergies. One person had a kid. One person wanted to move in with her boyfriend. We had people cancel the "interview" at the last minute. One who claims she had an experience over the weekend that made her realize she couldn't live with dogs. A very sweet girl came by who may have worked. Except she doesn't have a job.

Then today! I scheduled someone to come last minute, she just emailed last night. We're waiting on her when Gabe's outside smoking and I'm taking out the recycling. A car pulls up-I assume it's her. I think how nice it is that her friend came with her to make sure we weren't murderers. Then after sitting here a minute or two the car pulls away. Assume it's not the girl. 10 minutes later, she's 5 minutes late so I check my phone and email so see if she's lost. Email saying she's not coming. Apparently the place is too far from her office. Which is in Old Town. Which is where I work. My commute is 15-20 mins, in traffic. I think it was her who came to the place and she decided Gabe and I were way too awesome for her.

I have been getting desperate. Hopefully the two people who are supposed to come see the place on Weds actually show up. And are normal. With jobs. And no spouses.

Kearney Casino Night

2011-03-20T14:34:00.004-04:00

Every year, my company has a big "All Hands" meeting where we talk about boring things like how much money we made in the previous year and stuff like that. It's really boring if you have to edit the powerpoint so you know a lot of stuff already. But they try to make it fun. And there are awards. Apparently I'm cool because I won the Presidential Award! Anyways, afterwards there is Casino Night, were we loose fake money at the craps table. Still, an awesome time.

We're too adorable sometimes.

Erica may be more excited about the award than I am...at least at this moment, I was pretty overwhelmed.

Josh also won an award!

Group fun!

It says I have ethics...and some other things. Haha

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T20:06:00.001-04:00

Big Devils Stairs

2011-03-14T19:36:00.002-04:00

I wanted to write something a little more "formal" about this hike, to practice for possible travel writing submissions. But I am just not feeling it at the moment. So maybe I will update this later. For now:

I joined a bunch of hiking groups when I first moved to Virginia but have either been too busy or too scared to actually go on any events. Well I finally made myself go since John was busy and I needed a hike so very much. Even though most of the people were older than me and will likely not become friends I see outside of this group, I am glad I went and stepped out of my comfort zone.

Big Devils Stairs is only a 5 mile moderate hike. It was a good way to get back into the swing of things. I could have done more and pushed myself but this was a good workout. And the view at the half-way point was awesome.

I almost kidnapped Cheyenne the Sheltie who was far too adorable. We had to cross a lot of water since it was early in the Spring and there was so much snow melt. Little Cheyenne was ok with most of the water but one part looked a little too deep and she would not cross. I wanted to give her a big hug.

Best part of the day that was not on the actual hike: We're about 10 miles from the park entrance and we see a guy jogging alongside the highway, towards us. As we get closer we see he is wearing a neon orange ski mask. And carrying a stick/spear pointed out as if he were jousting. Hilarious!

Outside!

2011-03-06T18:31:00.002-05:00

It was nice outside yesterday so I actually had the chance to go out and enjoy the woods. John and I went to a park we've been to before but started on a new trail. It wasn't anything special but being out was refreshing. I am glad the weather is warming so I can get back to doing things I love. I am so not a winter person.

I also became disgruntled because I would like to join John on a trip to Yosemite in June but my job will probably not grant me vacation, since it's summer. I was told when I took the job that I could not vacation in summer because it was our busiest season. But after reviewing some numbers, it turns out that's not entirely true. July was our busiest month by far in 2010. Feb and Nov the least. But all other months were just about equal. So it's ok to vacation in January but not June, even though we had the same number of proposals in those months. In reality any week I choose throughout the year has the potential to be busy or slow. There's no way of really knowing until the week prior. So I think I should be able to take vacation any time I want.

I guess it will be good to save my vacation days until October and do something great, but I need someone to go with and somewhere to go. Alaska will be too cold by then!

My little seedlings are doing well so I will soon have a lot of herbs and salad greens. I wish I had my garden still so I could plant more.

I made pretty awesome ribs last night. Used a recipe from Top Chef. I also made honey rolls, which are delicious with strawberry rhubarb jam. I'm going to make cinnamon raisin bread next weekend. My new found bread making desire probably means I should get a bread machine. John may still one from his mom.

MIA or just lazy?

2011-02-28T08:53:00.002-05:00

I have not written in awhile, mainly because I have not been wanting to write an emo post. I'm tired of emo posts. Seriously, I need to be more positive. But it's been hard. So since last writing, here's some stuff that has happened:

~Mom had a very serious heart attack, the day after her birthday. I went home to take care of her and the brothers. It was exhausting-physically and mentally. I don't think I have recovered from the experience.

~I have started the search for a new roommate. Kelly is moving out when our lease is up. I hope we find someone cool who wants to go hiking.

~I bought cute new hiking shoes. I have not had a chance to try them out and it's making me antsy.

~I planted some seeds so that I can have lots of herbs and salad fixings. Of course I can't plant nearly as much as I want since I don't have a real garden anymore but at least it's something.

~I decided the answer to all of my problems is to be a travel writer or an editor at Backpacker Magazine. For now I will probably settle for subscribing to said magazine and making lame attempts at writing about my hiking excursions. But I'm working on it.

~I stayed home alone while John babysat-so he could try to prove to himself that he would not be making a mistake by having kids with me. I do not know if the mission was successful but it was not a failure either.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-02-13T23:37:00.002-05:00

Today's my mom's 50th Birthday! I'm sad that I am not in St. Louis with her, but hopefully we'll get together in the spring and celebrate appropriately.

Working on the weekend

2011-02-12T21:21:00.002-05:00

I have been meaning to write a post about some difficulties I've been having but just can't seem to say what I want so it's still brewing. So you get this rant instead.

I've been really frustrated with my job recently. I've never really felt like I fit in there since I work with a lot of republicans who just golf and work. But I felt my team was ok. Except for the fact that some people think I'm halfway to the looney bin since I love the outdoors. Or they feel the need to talk about how important a large diamond engagement ring is. But this is not really the problem.

Two weeks ago I worked 45 hours in 4 days. I then took off Friday, which was nice. I drove up to John's on Thursday night and had a little extra time with him. Still, worked my ass off. And really, it was for a huge project. An extra 5 years of work for our current St. Louis contract, which is ending. Quite a big deal. Everyone else worked for months on this with tons of long hours. If we win it will be so worth it. And things, though they were time consuming, went smoothly. And at the end the partner-in-charge said he wanted to steal me away and make me a tech writer on the project, since he knows I'm from STL and liked my work. My partner said "you can't just hijack my employees, I found her first." Long story short, it was hard but I felt very appreciated.

This week was slow until all hell broke loose Thursday around 3:30. I was supposed to go to a happy hour but ended up skipping because I was so stressed out and upset. It was a HH for this young ladies club I joined, so I was meeting strangers. If it had been regular happy hour I could have used the drink, but I was not in the mood to meet strangers and be very social. Which sucks because I need to make friends.

Anyway, a lot of stuff happened which basically means I will be working Sunday and probably long hours Monday and Tuesday. I know one thing is really important-actually a revision for the St. Louis proposal that basically means once we submit the requested changes we win it. So very worth it. Everything else, not so worth it. And my problem is none of the overtime is really necessary. But that's a whole other rant. What became the last straw was that I said I would make myself available to work on Sunday. There's enough stuff due in the beginning of the week that I do need to get work done Sun or we'd miss a deadline. We made a plan that seemed pretty reasonable to get all 3 of my proposals out the door by the end of Wednesday. Then as John and I are walking to dinner on Friday night I'm getting these emails basically saying I needed to have everything edited by Sunday morning. NO reason at all that this needed to be the case. So I basically said I was busy until Sunday morning and would get started then as planned. This didn't initially go over well but now I don't even have the file to edit yet so I couldn't have done it today even if I had agreed.

Anyway, long story short, I am willing to work overtime when it needs to happen. I knew that was the nature of the job. But if I make a plan for getting my work done that involves me still getting to enjoy part of my weekend, don't make me feel guilty about saying no to some ridiculous new plan. And don't make stupid new plans for no reason other than certain people are freaking paranoid and suck.

I sooo deserve a raise. And more vacation days.

Also, let me take off a week in June so I can go to Yosemite. And then again in October so I can go...somewhere that is not the United States.

When I went to John's work happy hour this woman gave me her card and said to contact her if I wanted a job. I am thinking about seeing what she has to offer.

Ghost hunting in PA

2011-01-24T21:37:00.002-05:00

My brother, sister-in-law, and I went exploring this weekend. We went to the Twin Tunnels, which are supposedly haunted by a guy who hung himself from a wire between the two tunnels. My camera screen got a weird purple streak across it at one point but nothing actually showed up in the picture.

We also tried to find a portal to hell not too far from the tunnels. The gates that used to be there are gone, so this was kind of difficult. I did feel weird as we got close to where it should be though. Perhaps it was just eager anticipation.

With your pain, there is hope.

2011-01-20T20:38:00.002-05:00

This is a quote from the show Brothers and Sisters. Not relevant to me today, but it fits well with the roller coaster of the last year. And it's just nice.

There are no shortcuts Sarah, in life or in love. This pain must be felt. The alternative is much worse. It's what makes us special, what makes us beautiful, what, what makes us worthy; the pain of how we love. But that pain is accompanied by something else, isn't it? Hope. With your pain, there is hope. And that is where you are. Somewhere between agony and optimism and prayer. So you're human. You're alive. And that is what we have.

A date?!

2011-01-18T20:44:00.003-05:00

"I would like to take you out on a date. You should dress up."

I feel overwhelmed today. Work is busy; I have freelance work to do. And really the only coherent thing I can give you is that the above quote is the best way I can explain my current relationship with John. I have no idea what else is going on in my life at the moment so this blog is lame.

Disappointments

2011-01-09T16:22:00.002-05:00

I feel like I could come up with quite a long list of disappointments if I tried. There have been some tough times in my life. But ultimately, I think up until recently I've been able to feel like the people who disappointed me I was actually better off without. I mean really, my stepdad was a huge disappointment but I know that my life is a thousand times better without him in it. So while suffering for years and getting to this realization was not fun, in the end, I'm a better person for it.

Then there are other disappointments that have left people still in my life but in a different capacity. Events have made me realize they aren't best friend of closet family member material. Yet they still have their place. I just know I can only let myself care so much because that person only cares for me in certain ways.

But certain things have made me wonder if I set myself up for disappointment. Or if I am always going to be the one who cares more. My heart is so open and for those that I care about, I really care. There are people that I would drop everything for. And it seems some that feel the same about me. But I keep getting in these situations where I feel like I'm the only one in the relationship who wants to put forth the effort. And I get disappointed when I don't get what I need from the relationship. So am I doomed to always care so much that I will be disappointed when other people aren't putting the same amount of energy into the relationship? Or am I just hanging out with all the wrong people?

*sigh* This post is way too depressing.

‎"If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Hampton Mansion/Cemetery

2011-01-03T21:33:00.003-05:00

Friends and I went to visit Hampton, a historic mansion in Maryland. We got to see the mansion, the cemetery, and the ice house. The angel is my favorite.

Winter Wonderland

2010-12-29T20:02:00.002-05:00

Snow and ice around St. Louis.

Heading Home

2010-12-20T23:21:00.002-05:00

Despite not seeing John this weekend (stupid guys only weekend!) these last few days have been lovely. Or I'm in a fantastic mood right now because I will soon be back in St. Louis. Whatever. So, a few things:

I love buying gifts. I only buy for my immediate family and Julie and John because that's 9 people including my sister-in-law. And well, I have limited funds. I always have to force myself to stop buying stuff because I have to stick to my budget. But I have like 10 things I want to give And somehow every year when I start shopping I can't think of what to get people. Weird, right? Anyway, I have to buy some jelly beans for the boys (it was on the list) but otherwise everything's finished. This completion required a trip to Bath and Body Works, Kohls, and Target. And let me tell you, it was a mad house everywhere. There's a reason I do most of my shopping online.

I wanted to buy John a zombie teddy bear but couldn't find one. Someone should really make this an easier purchase b/c it's a great idea.

I watched Love Actually over the weekend. Never gets old. I was a crazy crying mess, but in all the good ways. Not my favorite "couple" but this is a nice video and good song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYw8cy7Kz4U

I've been watching Rescue Me lately. It's a pretty good show despite being full of some racist, sexist guys. And there are no good women on the show. I kind of want to strangle them all. But I still like it. Just um, ladies, don't sleep with your ex husband's brother. It makes you look really bitchy.

I was going to write some stuff about family woes and the holidays but I don't even want to get into it. It's all the same stuff and I want my holiday to be peaceful so it's not worth getting into.

Same thing with today's big news, which I'll just write about later.

So yes. Tomorrow is going to be a very slow day at work. It's my last day for the week and I'm giddy with excitement so it's going to be hard to get through. But at 5:00 I will be headed to Baltimore for an evening with John and then getting up at 4am to fly home!! I can't wait to see the fam and my puppy!

This post is not that exciting so here's a great song.

Why cars are bad

2010-12-17T19:57:00.003-05:00

Yesterday it snowed all of 2 inches. They don't know what snow plows or salt are in the Maryland-D.C-Virgina area. Recall last years multiple blizzards. Totally unprepared. 2 inches should be easy to clean. And really, this morning the roads were ok so I should not complain too much. Yesterday though, they were a mess. And people completely freaked out. Luckily my car and I made it home without incident. Other cars, not so lucky.

Then this morning my car wouldn't start. Not what I needed. But I got my brain on straight and realized I probably just needed a new battery. So my roommate's man friend gave me a jump and I went to the auto parts store. My battery was indeed dead. So the guy puts in the new battery. Nothing. Not even a hint of power. At this point I start to panic a little and want to cry. Oddly I just want to go to work! But silly auto man tries again and the car then works. Apparently he just hooked something up wrong. So far the car is still running. Thank goodness that was easy.

In other news, my roommate is having the week from hell. He got bit by a dog, scratched his friend's car, Joey got kennel cough, and today he wound up in the ER with atrial fibrillation and had to get his hear shocked back into a proper rhythm. And I thought I was having a bad day!

In happy news, my boss and immediate manager took me out to lunch today as a thank you for the two weeks were I worked crazy overtime (while sick with pneumonia/bronchitis/whatever the antibiotics cured). It was a nice 2 hours of yummy food and actually sitting and chatting with them. I was told (short versions) 1) Don't ever leave me, I need you! 2)I hope you and John work out but either way you're crazy strong for fighting through all this and 3) John = so hot!

Holiday Party

2010-12-12T17:33:00.003-05:00

Friday night was our company holiday party at the Air and Space Museum. One of the perks of working in the DC area. But I request next year we go somewhere like the Native American History museum which is more up my alley. I can only handle so much aircraft.

John and I all fancied up.

Coworker's boyfriend and John with their wine glasses full of scotch. Kyle really wanted to drink scotch in Apollo but they kind of frown on people climbing into the exhibits.