Tagged By Liz

I've been shirking my blogging duty the last few weeks. Having been tapped by Liz to share 7 interesting/random facts about myself, I present the following:

1) My greatest current dream is to be able to walk into a salon, throw up my arms and say "make me look gorgeous!". They would then start clipping and coloring and I would walk out a model.

2) My greatest fear is that I would walk out of the salon crying like I did when I was 10 years old with newly acquired quarter inch length hair.

3) Everytime I drive over a bridge, I physically rehearse the unlock and roll down the windows sequence just in case I crash over the railing into the water below.

4) In the past 8 years, I've held 8 different jobs: Backcountry trip leader, Aquatics Coordinator, Concierge/Care Assistant, Fitness Center Manager, Exercise Physiologist, EMT, Phlebotomist, RN. I think I'm good now with the RN thing.

5) I love knitting. For 3 years, I've been knitting hats and scarves which require no real pattern or need to follow directions. This week, I attempted to follow a pattern. The aftermath is sitting in a labeled ziplock baggy awaiting my good friend Nell's analysis for potential recovery.

6)I love binge cleaning. Not the 'pick up around the house' type... but the full on 8 hour 'i forgot to eat or drink' crazed 'must detox the entire house' cleaning purge that leaves me feeling relieved and pure again.

7) When my joints allow me, I really like running with my ipod. Especially in the rain.

I now tag:
Nell
Chari

A Halloween Comeback Story

After years of working or renting movies on Halloween night, the dynamic duo of Foil Girl and Duct Tape Man came out of hiding and partied it up with Jenn and Steve in Fremont.

From sun to snow

After returning to Lover's Leap to hike up Pyramid Peak this weekend, we were surprised to see how much the weather had changed! Just two weeks ago we were in tank tops ( I was) and
shorts!



We also found out what happens when the cold forces you to go to bed at 8pm...with down coats, down sleeping bags, and a camera.

BWCA Day #5

Friday, August 29th

The morning was cool and sunny. We had a solid breakfast of pancakes and toasted English muffins. No matter was the situation or implements available, Dad will always be able to make a great pancake!

Kristen got a short lesson on knots: Square, bowline, half & full hitch, and trucker’s hitch. “The rabbit runs out of their hole, around the tree, and back down. – Bowline!”

A short paddle took us out to the end of Seagull and back to the truck.

After one of the best weeks in the BWCA, I reflected to myself in the back of the truck on the way out. This was a completely relaxing, and satisfying adventure with my Dad and sister. I hope that in the next few years we can share this trip with the other members of the family.

BWCA Day #4

Thursday, August 28th

The rain had stopped by the time we all woke up. The sun was trying to come out but the clouds seemed to keep circling around. We had a breakfast of oatmeal and hot coffee. The tents tried to dry but we ended up backing them a little wet so that we could get a start on the day.

Today’s paddle took us back through Alpine and into Seagull Lake. We had two portages, one of 48 rods and one of 102 rods. (1 Rod = 16 ½” for those of you keeping score at home!) We made it to an island in Seagull for lunch. By this time, I think that we all could sense the tiredness in the group. Kristen almost tripped over a toad while walking up to the campsite. The reward for the toad, besides being still a live, was a full model shoot worthy of National Geographic or perhaps Vogue.

The sun was shining and the wind was at our backs that afternoon so the rest of the paddle went quickly. We found one of the rare “sand” beach campsites. The site was set in a little cove with one of the best views from the latrine yet! Camp was setup and the tents began to dry out. The rest of the afternoon was very casual with a swim and coffee.

While getting dinner ready, Dad and Kristen hiked up to a high point near our campsite. This is where they found that dinner would come with a shower. We had about 45 mins. of T-storms while we had our dinner of scalped potatoes. All the rain gear we had been carrying paid off and everyone stayed dry under the tarp. Once the rain stopped we hike back to the high point to see a beautiful rainbow and sunset. This was truly one of the prettiest scenes of the trip. The sunset was also fully documented via digital photographs thus creating the title for Kristen’s picture portfolio, “Toads and Sunsets.”

BWCA Day #3

Wednesday, August 27th

We woke in the morning to the first day of clouds. We enjoyed a second round of Eggs McStone for breakfast along with the much desired coffee. Since we were not planning to move the camp today, we set off to see some of the area of the BWCA that had been burned during 2007 and a few years past. The day took us to the end of Red Rock Lake, through Alpine Lake, and a short distance into Jasper Lake. During our trips while I was in High School the typical camping spots were on Jasper and Alpine. These areas now are completely different from what I had known. Even through the burned areas, you could see the re-growth of wildflowers and small evergreen trees.

On our way back to camp, I gave Kristen a quick lesson on how to steer the canoe. She piloted us from the portage back to our campsite. That afternoon, Kristen and Dad saw a moose and an eagle in a little marsh while out for the daily water filtering trip. Of course, the one time Kristen does not have a camera!

Dinner was hamburger helper with dehydrated meat followed by hot chocolate next to the lake. Around 9:00pm, the rain started. It seemed to be steady all night long.

BWCA Day #2

Tuesday, August 26th

The next morning was another BWCA classic – fog over the lake, loons calling the distance, and a crisp, bright sunrise. The next traditional meal was prepared for breakfast: Eggs-McStone. These are simply toasted English muffins, eggs, and cheese’ but, in the wilderness everything has a better name and is much more tasty!

After a casual morning of coffee and campsite breakdown, we hit the water. We paddled for a short while and got to a “pull through portage”. The connection between the lakes was so short and filled with water that we could pull the canoe across.

Blueberries were hunted for but the better hunters, bears, must have beaten us to them all. We got to our next campsite around 2:30 pm and quickly got everything set up. As Hazels, we all have to keep working so you can imagine that everything got done fairly quickly. Next, it was water filtering and swimming time. The water was a great temperature that allowed me to swim comfortably but sufficiently cooled me down from the heat of the day. One of the most memorable moments of the trip came when Dad and Kristen came in from filtering water. With Dad still in the back of the canoe, Kristen started to pull the front of the canoe out of the water to “help” make it easier for Dad to get out. Well, the canoe came to an off balance rest on a rock as Dad, in a leaning, slow motion state, started to say, “I wouldn’t do that, I wouldn’t do that!” And then as I watched, SPLUSH! Dad tipped over the side of the canoe into the lake. Thankfully, only in to a couple feet of water but it certainly woke him up!

With the fun being taken care of, dinner was a second round of brats (No Kraut) and pasta salad. Dinner was followed by hot chocolate by the lake. You may ask, “What did you talk about?” Well, I don’t actually recall everything, it was just pleasant to sit with my dad and sister and talk about whatever came to mind. No worldly problems were solved; no great philosophical debates were had. We talked about stars, common sayings over heard in Minnesota like, “Yah”, “Oh sure”, etc. We also discussed how it would be great to have our spouses here to observe us all together. I am sure they would see the incredible resemblance we all have to each other in our mannerisms.

Boundary Water Canoe Area (BWCA)

Monday – Aug. 25th

We woke to freshly made steel-cut oats, which were heavily discussed the night before. Of course, the oats were mixed with blueberries from Bayfield, WI. We some goodbyes to Mary, we were off heading north on Hwy 61 to Grand Marais and the Gunflint trail. The BWCA permit was picked up at the gunflint Trail Rangers station. The news was that there were no fires allowed in the BWCA due to the dry conditions over the summer. This would turn out to be actually a good thing.

We got to The Way of the Wilderness Outfitters at the end of the Gunflint trail shortly before noon. Picked up our We-No-Nah Minnesota III canoe along with “Duluth” packs and headed to the waters edge. All the gear was loaded by around 12:30pm and Dad, Kristen, and I were off for +4 days of canoeing and camping.

The weather was great that day with clear sunny skies and little wind. Traditionally, wind in the Boundary Waters equates to white capped swells on the lake and more than likely it will be against you. Good if you are surfing – bad if you are in a loaded canoe.

We made it to our campsite by around 3:30 – 4:00 pm. With a quick tutorial on how to erect the Sierra Designs tent, we had made a nice home for the evening. Now it was time to filter water, swim, and relax. Dad and Kristen went out on the lake to filter enough water for the night while I donned by swim cap, goggles, and went for a great swim around a near by island. One important thing for me throughout the week was to get some good workouts in as I had a triathlon on Sept. 7th.

Dinner was the traditional bratwurst (No Kraut!) and a few handfuls of trail mix. We all enjoyed sitting together that night, drinking hot chocolate, and watching the sunset. This became the evening entertainment. We did not even miss having fire.

Little House Therapy

I realized I've been joyfully reading my friend's and family's blogs, but have been neglecting ours. The last two weeks have been a combination of work, ant assassinations, and throwback therapy. Though I've been told I shouldn't announce this, I've decided to turn off the news and turn on Little House on the Prairie. I LOVED this show and read the entire series when I was younger (as in...the appropriate age to be enthralled with Laura, Ma, and Pa) For our birthdays this year, mom themed us all with our favorite DVD series from the years past. Mike received Prairie Home Companion, Andy got Quantum Leap, and I-- Little House; the first two years. (there are 6 years in total). After the third time clicking on the TV to "the worst market in decades"..."oil prices at record highs"..."McCain/Palin have now taken the lead in the poles" I couldn't deal with it. I put disc one of Little House on the Prairie in and haven't turned the news on since. I was even inspired by one of the episodes to make a home cooked meal one night. Mike was impressed; I told I hadn't wanted him to know I could actually cook, but the cat's out of the bag now. He even watched an episode with me one night and then asked when we'd get to the one when Mary goes blind. I love him. Depending on how the election goes, I'll be looking forward to series 3-6.

And the week blurred by

Mike made it through his race...he assured me he'd add to the blog to tell about it. The day was beautiful with temps in the mid 70's on the coast. As he raced for five and a half hours I wandered around Santa Cruz. Honestly, if you have the decision to go to Santa Cruz or Monterey...go to Monterey. The sand on the beach was lovely, but the $7 corndog/soda combo on the boardwalk was the best I could do for food that day.






My past week of the four day work/sleep cycle summed itself up with a dream this afternoon. In it, I was at the end of my 12 hr shift on the PCU when I was told to go over to ICU. Apparently they needed an extra nurse. In sort of a 'MASH' atmosphere with nurses in jeans and t-shirts, people were giving reports to the next crew. After telling them I had only been a nurse for five days, they told me I'd be caring for a post surgical hip and knee....and that I would need to work an additional 12 hours. I took a deep breathe and said 'ok'.

A reminder of the important things

Just a quick entry to share what happened at work last night. I was working with an 85 year old woman just out of a hip replacement surgery. If you can imagine everything going on for a patient after this including pain, confusion, disorientation, etc, you have an image of the scenario at 3am. We turn patients from side to side every two hours to avoid skin breakdown. This isn't fun for a post surgical patient, but it absolutely has to happen. After asking me if the dog food was in the dish beside the bed (I assured her it was), she prepared to turn. As we were turning, she was yelling saying "noooo! Please don't!" In the midst of her crying out and us saying "almost done, hang in there"...she suddenly stopped, looked at us with a serious face and asked, "Do you do the jitterbug?". "Sometimes we do", we told her.

The Grotto

I had an excellent day climbing at the grotto (semi local climbing crag) and hanging with a friend from BAMRU and his wife. After weeks at the hospital feeling like a brand new 21 year old employee scared to ask to use the restroom, it felt GREAT to be in my element again...outside, on rock, with good friends. It's hard to explain how 'centering' climbing feels. You step onto the first part of the route and it's just you, your climbing shoes, and a rope. There's nowhere for your mind to go, but right there at that moment. There's a goal at the top and you must get there from the ground using every creative twist, turn, and hand wrench possible. That's it. Then you get down, untie from the rope, take a drink of water, and get ready to belay your friends. So simple. At the end of the day, there's the wonderfully exhausted feeling that coincides with pizza, beer, and ice cream.

The really cool part in all this is we discovered, after talking about the fact that Lucas, a former gym manager, got his EMT, is going back to school for nursing pre requisites, has a twin sister, has an older sister that is a music teacher (sounding bizzarly familiar!?)...and has been married to Hannah for six years this October, that we as couples are amazingly alike and would make a great climbing/adventuring team of four.

Life is evolving

Inspired by Liz's family blog site, I've decided to set one up for Mike and myself. Growing up I used to journal....in my own handwriting...cursive. I have about 4-5 books filled about 60%... they're great reading breaks during cleaning binges. My writing was the core of my internal growth growing up and I have small regrets that it stopped so suddenly and for so long. Every once in a awhile, I think " I really should"...and then I see the People Magazine on my bedside table and it wins out. With the amount of time I spend on 'facebook', it's only natural to add this type of journaling to my regiman...and probably healthier in a sense.

So much has happened in the last few years and surely the next few won't be boring. Mike is well underway with his Rudolph and Sletten job and has signed up for an Ironman due in August 09. This race has been a lifelong inevitability. There's no doubt he'll not only be successful, but he'll probably do something like win his age group or something. He has a knack. I've just graduated from nursing school and am one month into my gig with John Muir in the PCU. To say we're probably at a turning point in our lives is an understatement.

Oddly, I think we can say we're settling a bit. The bulk of my schooling is done, though I'm sure I'll wander back at some point. After yearly evolutions, we both seem to finally be comfortable with our plights in life. We live in a place that is limitless in adventuring possibilities. I remember my eyes watering when "Wide Open Spaces" first came out. I was in Kansas City and always had this huge need to go....somewhere. There was a heaviness in my chest that couldn't be relieved. We moved to Pleasanton and it all lifted. Almost six years later, I still feel like I can breathe a bit easier and the restlessness is gone. Our relationship is solid as ever and we have both found our niches in our work. We are a lucky family of two.

Mike is getting home tonight from a week long paddling trip in Minnesota with his sister and dad. They mentioned there was a bit of rain and cool nights...sounds like a haven compared to our week back here of highs of 108 deg. He'll be gearing up for a half ironman in Santa Cruz on Saturday. I'm sticking to my desk chair after biking, cleaning my bike, and washing the car. I had trouble seeing out the window at sunset yesterday (seriously, I had to bend sideways to see past the glare on the front) ...this was my signal to pull out the hose, car sponge, and Windex. I always resist the Windex because once you spray the inside of your car windows, you then have to hold your breathe and scrub fast before inhaling the fumes hovering over the dashboard.