When I met my husband the last year of college, I pretty much just stopped working out. I had been a gym rat thorugh high school and college, but I guess I just got happy and didn't care anymore. Three years and a zillion pounds of happiness later, I went into pre-wedding panic mode and started going to a personal trainer. That was last July. And I've been pretty consistent - 3 or 4 days a week, some weeks more. So I guess that's something.
It's amazing how much better I feel, and yet, I didn't really lose any weight (which was kind of the point, despite trainer warnings to the contrary). But I do feel different. Jesse (trainer and freak of nature) says it takes years to build enough muscle to eat fat. Now that I'm at a year, I hope that starts soon. In the mean time, I've gotten incredibly strong and can kind of beat Mike at arm wrestling.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
Fireworks at Mount Rushmore
Last night we went to the Fireworks at Mt. Rushmore - I had never been, but Mike got us the VIP hook up through his job, so we took my parents as a payback for our New York City trip (ha, ha). We got reserved parking, reserved ampitheater seating, and they had a nice little BBQ reception thingy for dinner beforehand. VIP was definitely the best way to navigate around the crush of 20,000 people.We still got there pretty early, not really knowing how long it would take with all the traffic (people park along the highway all the way down to Keystone, 3 miles away). There are public lots at Rushmore, but they fill early in the day.
Once we found our seats and and checked out the reception; we saw the Lieutenant Governor there, Dennis Daugaard, and Rep. Stephanie Herseth had a reserved table, but she didn't show up at the reception (although she spoke later in the night during the program, so maybe we just missed her). After that, we sat through a couple hours of program (National Guard band, presentation of the flag to the last surviving World War I vet - 106 years old!, more speeches, lots of recognition of the military peeps in the audience).
Then at 9:10 they did a B1-Bomber fly over - it was so fast you barley had time to look up. While we were at the reception, a stealth bomber did a fly-over. If I saw that and didn't know what it was, I probably would have thought it was a spaceship - totally doesn't look like any plane I've ever seen. Anyway, both flyovers were very loud and very cool.
At 9:15 the fireworks started. It was fantastic. If you were going to have an epileptic seizure, that show definitely would have been the trigger. It was just an unreal amount of fireworks, and the finale was so dense with explosions it lit up the whole Black Hills.
Anyway, a great experience. At moments, I even got a patriotic feeling I used to get a lot ... but it's been a while. Many of the things that have gone down in the last 8 years have made me, well, sad and hopeless. But the fact that I can be a lone liberal in my entire family of GOPs and the worst it brings out is some healthy arguments at Christmas dinner - I suppose that's what being free is all about. The fact that there is a chance that after 8 years of an ideology I don't agree with, we are allowed the opportunity for change - that's freedom, too.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Lunch Hour Tourists
The office ladies and I went on a Deadwood trolley tour today. Since our Sioux Falls counterparts were have a picnic at the home office, we decided this was how we'd celebrate the fourth. It was pretty neat, actually, a little hokey but a good way to see the town. A couple fun facts I was surprised to learn (I use the work "fact" losely - I'm going from memory):
1. There is still 40-50 years worth of gold in Homestake Mine in Lead, but the cost of mining it was more per ounce than it was worth in the years prior to closure in 2002. Though the price of gold has risen again, the mine was required by the government to remove 150 years of massive equipment from the depths of the mine when it closed. The cost to replace it would far outweigh the benifits.
2. Since the mine was chosen as the finalist for a National Science Foundation deep underground lab, the miners who lost their jobs are being given first rights to the 800-1000 jobs the lab will bring in. I didn't notice it at the time (hey, I was in college - I had beer to drink!), but the loss of the mine was catastophic to the area and state - it had been the second largest industry in South Dakota.
3. The end of prostitution in Deadwood (in 1980) was devastating to a community which, at the time, had basically no other industry. The madames were actually a hugely supportive force in the community. They bought Deadwood's last two firetrucks actually. An old guy who stopped by our office one day told us a similar story - he said the madames sponsored softball teams. Wonder what the team name would be. Hehe.
There was more, I should have brought a notebook. Anyway, not a bad way to spend lunch hour. Tonight it's off to Mt. Rushmore for the fireworks. Mike got us VIP parking and ampitheater seats through work so we're lucky ducks. We're taking my parents - I would bet money Sandy will bawl like a baby.
I'll post some pics tomorrow. Peace out.
1. There is still 40-50 years worth of gold in Homestake Mine in Lead, but the cost of mining it was more per ounce than it was worth in the years prior to closure in 2002. Though the price of gold has risen again, the mine was required by the government to remove 150 years of massive equipment from the depths of the mine when it closed. The cost to replace it would far outweigh the benifits.
2. Since the mine was chosen as the finalist for a National Science Foundation deep underground lab, the miners who lost their jobs are being given first rights to the 800-1000 jobs the lab will bring in. I didn't notice it at the time (hey, I was in college - I had beer to drink!), but the loss of the mine was catastophic to the area and state - it had been the second largest industry in South Dakota.
3. The end of prostitution in Deadwood (in 1980) was devastating to a community which, at the time, had basically no other industry. The madames were actually a hugely supportive force in the community. They bought Deadwood's last two firetrucks actually. An old guy who stopped by our office one day told us a similar story - he said the madames sponsored softball teams. Wonder what the team name would be. Hehe.
There was more, I should have brought a notebook. Anyway, not a bad way to spend lunch hour. Tonight it's off to Mt. Rushmore for the fireworks. Mike got us VIP parking and ampitheater seats through work so we're lucky ducks. We're taking my parents - I would bet money Sandy will bawl like a baby.
I'll post some pics tomorrow. Peace out.
Regularity
As a person who works in the internets ever day, I REALLY need to practice what I preach and get to posting on this blog regularly. I find nothing more irritating than having my interest piqued by a blog, and then returning time and time again and finding nothing new. Not that my tens of readers (that's a generous estimate) really give a rip, it's just the principal of the thing. And it's fun, anyway. At least it will be in a couple of years, to go back and read a chronicle of the ins-and-outs of my daily life, even if it doesn't matter to anyone but me. I kept diaries from middle school through college and they are horribly embarrassing, yet hilarious and sacred. I chronicled my first crushes, the first time I drank a beer, leaving home, my study abroad trip to England, the first time I met my husband. Special stuff. I would like to do that again, and a blog seems an appropriate medium.
So I am resolute. I'm turning over a new leaf - prepare to be blogged.
So I am resolute. I'm turning over a new leaf - prepare to be blogged.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
The harder they fall
We hiked up to Devil's Bathtub in Spearfish Canyon today. It's a trail I've gone up many times, a little sketchy in spots but nothing too treacherous. Usually. We've had one of the wettest springs on record and the path crosses the creek several times. It usually isn't a big deal because it's not much more than a trickle. But because of the moisture, today it was rushing.
The end destination of the trail is a series of rock "slides" (not the kind you would want to slide down) draining into and out of a large rock pool. My aunt Barbie, cousin Lisa and I made it to the basin, and were crossing one last time to grab a spot to sit and enjoy the views. Barbie and I made it across just fine, but Lisa was stuck on the other side with Cooper, our dog. He's not the best swimmer and was kind of fussing around, not wanting to try and swim where there was current and he couldn't touch the bottom. Lisa put his leash on so at least I would be able to sort of tow him across and keep him from sliding down the 20 feet of rock slides out of the basin. But the dog was spazzing out, and I totally thought Lisa was going to get knocked off the narrow ledge and go sliding down herself. So I kind of lost my cool (and my footing) and faceplanted right in the rocks and current. Barbie, luckily, grabbed my shirt and kept ME from heading down the rock slide headfirst (not kidding, that would have been a concussion scenario AT BEST). When I scrambled out of the water at first I just felt frozen, but as I thawed out I noticed my forearm, wrist and elbow were pretty sore. It became more evident trying to navigate back down the steep path to the trailhead. I've never had a broken bone, but I though for sure that's what I was dealing with today; it was just so sore and couldn't support any weight. But, alas, a trip to the emergency room later and I'm lucky (?) to just have a sprain and some bruises. I should really invest in a helmet - like, to wear around every day. I'm such a klutz. But I must say, it was a nice hike -- and the arm isn't anything some ice and Advil won't cure.
Some pics my husband was taking downstream while I was flailing around up top ...
This is what I would have fallen down. The pool is above these rapids, at the top left of the photo.
The end destination of the trail is a series of rock "slides" (not the kind you would want to slide down) draining into and out of a large rock pool. My aunt Barbie, cousin Lisa and I made it to the basin, and were crossing one last time to grab a spot to sit and enjoy the views. Barbie and I made it across just fine, but Lisa was stuck on the other side with Cooper, our dog. He's not the best swimmer and was kind of fussing around, not wanting to try and swim where there was current and he couldn't touch the bottom. Lisa put his leash on so at least I would be able to sort of tow him across and keep him from sliding down the 20 feet of rock slides out of the basin. But the dog was spazzing out, and I totally thought Lisa was going to get knocked off the narrow ledge and go sliding down herself. So I kind of lost my cool (and my footing) and faceplanted right in the rocks and current. Barbie, luckily, grabbed my shirt and kept ME from heading down the rock slide headfirst (not kidding, that would have been a concussion scenario AT BEST). When I scrambled out of the water at first I just felt frozen, but as I thawed out I noticed my forearm, wrist and elbow were pretty sore. It became more evident trying to navigate back down the steep path to the trailhead. I've never had a broken bone, but I though for sure that's what I was dealing with today; it was just so sore and couldn't support any weight. But, alas, a trip to the emergency room later and I'm lucky (?) to just have a sprain and some bruises. I should really invest in a helmet - like, to wear around every day. I'm such a klutz. But I must say, it was a nice hike -- and the arm isn't anything some ice and Advil won't cure.
Some pics my husband was taking downstream while I was flailing around up top ...
This is what I would have fallen down. The pool is above these rapids, at the top left of the photo.
Babies Schmabies
I know the rules. Taking a month and a half between blog posts isn't ideal, but it happens. Oops. Life is busy. So, let's try this again ...
Last weekend we went to Colorado to see our new (first) baby niece. She is Ava and she is tiny and expressive and beautiful. And that led to the inevitable - the baby fevah. We've sort of been thinking about it for a while now - this summer was always when we planned to start trying. After all, we have a house, have been together for six years, have good family support, have stable jobs, etc.
But I'm SUCH a neurotic planner, and it's getting me into trouble. I spent all week working and reworking the finances, trying to fit what I think a baby will cost into the spreadsheet. We have a unique problem in that we have a basement apartment in our house, the rent from which covers about half the mortgage payment. But with a baby, we just can't fit on one level of the house like we do now (barely). So we'd lose a big chunk of income and gain a wrinkly little expenditure. We could do it, but barely. And that's scares the shit out of me. Because in my head and on my spreadsheets, I have the best-case scenario as us barely scraping by. So what if something isn't best-case? What if the baby has special needs? What if the water heater explodes? What if we have triplets? There are a thousand things I can't control, and I want to be able to provide for the thousand things I can, relatively comfortably.
But maybe that's part of it. Maybe kids can be so rewarding because it's SO scary. I always thought it was the loss of youth that gave first-time parents cold feet - no more partying, no more indulging, no more bad decisions. But I'm beginning to think it's bigger than that. It's truly the first time, at least for me, that I will be an adult. Really, truly. There's no bail-out for this. Because you become someone else's bailiff, for better or worse.
I guess all that's left is to take the leap, and hope for the best.
Last weekend we went to Colorado to see our new (first) baby niece. She is Ava and she is tiny and expressive and beautiful. And that led to the inevitable - the baby fevah. We've sort of been thinking about it for a while now - this summer was always when we planned to start trying. After all, we have a house, have been together for six years, have good family support, have stable jobs, etc.
But I'm SUCH a neurotic planner, and it's getting me into trouble. I spent all week working and reworking the finances, trying to fit what I think a baby will cost into the spreadsheet. We have a unique problem in that we have a basement apartment in our house, the rent from which covers about half the mortgage payment. But with a baby, we just can't fit on one level of the house like we do now (barely). So we'd lose a big chunk of income and gain a wrinkly little expenditure. We could do it, but barely. And that's scares the shit out of me. Because in my head and on my spreadsheets, I have the best-case scenario as us barely scraping by. So what if something isn't best-case? What if the baby has special needs? What if the water heater explodes? What if we have triplets? There are a thousand things I can't control, and I want to be able to provide for the thousand things I can, relatively comfortably.
But maybe that's part of it. Maybe kids can be so rewarding because it's SO scary. I always thought it was the loss of youth that gave first-time parents cold feet - no more partying, no more indulging, no more bad decisions. But I'm beginning to think it's bigger than that. It's truly the first time, at least for me, that I will be an adult. Really, truly. There's no bail-out for this. Because you become someone else's bailiff, for better or worse.
I guess all that's left is to take the leap, and hope for the best.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The things I love most about the internet
1. It never stops to breathe, and cannot be controlled.
2. The consumer rules – the most creative, most useful and most interesting things are always the most popular.
3. Music. How I can spend $40 creating the Dolly Parton Mega Mix for my ipod after she mentored on American Idol. How the Toad the Wet Sprocket channel I created on Pandora plays exactly like my CD collection circa 1999. How the music industry will figure out how to stop ripping off and persecuting their customers for sharing the music they love, or they will be finished.
Prequel
I read a blog post by Penelope Trunk the other day about how you can't learn about social media by asking questions and doing research. You must immerse yourself. Coincidentally, I joined Twitter last week, which I still don't quite get, but give me time. Plus, I miss writing. Thus, this blog.
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