some of my summer in photos

first day of graduate school














best camping spot i've experienced--- middle of nowhere northwest washington. crystal clear, placid waters. mountains. trees.














cool morning campfire














huckleberry picking ijn northern idaho. bear/cougar/wolf/moose country. delicious berries picked wild on the mountainside. no predator sitings.

break from blogging ...

Pain Is Gain

okay, so I didn't run Bloomsday as planned. Life happened. However, I'm not disappointed or regretful. After all, my purpose in registering at all was to have a goal to keep me committed to running. And I have been... well, that's relative to just me, not other runners. Anyway, I've grown to enjoy running over the past 5 months. It's good once you minimally condition your body physically. After that, it's about your mental stamina. I recently read this great book that I must recommend called Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-night Runner. Though I have little desire to achieve the things that he does, I still enjoy the book. I think it's full of great life lessons, not because he's some guru, but just because he is very articulate in his reflections.

sunny days are here!!!

Accepted

Wow, I feel distant from my realm of blogging. Word is I got accepted into WSU's graduate program for Speech & Hearing Sciences. Classes begin in August, exactly one year and one day after I moved to Spokane, giving me in-state tuition.... a difference of $6k per semester.
I've been having more fun lately. I'm not sure if it's the change in season or a change in attitude. I really would like to think it's the latter, but I'm sure the former helps out, too. I'm looking forward to awesome spring and summer days filled with sunshine and blue skies.

Bloomsday is about two weeks away. Yikes!! I've plateaued and thankfully my friend brought me to that realization after a pitiful jog one day. So now my motivation has returned to drive myself and push myself running.

Picatures

The following are photographs from my recent trip to Cincinnati for my cousin's wedding.



Me and my sister at the rehearsal dinner. As I recall, I shouted burst of light for the inspiration, yet she looks like a carnivorous dinosaur.







Family portrait at the country club reception.








My cousin, Monica and her husband, Pat. I chose this picture because to me it shows the fun of the celebration.

Kalaloch [a good place to land]

[Joke from five-and-a-half-year-old Carter]
What's the difference between roast beef and pea soup? Anyone can roast beef but no one can pea soup.

Me: Dinosaurs lived a long time ago.
Carter: Like in the 80s?

Spring is coming...possibly. We had mist instead of snow for a few weeks, but then the snow came back. Now it is still cool, in the 30s and 40s - I feel betrayed by nature. It seems when seasons are scheduled to change, I've already been lined up and waiting.
At the end of February, we had rain - real rain that can reach your skin. I would even give it the hype of being called a storm because of the thunder and lightening. I noted this occasion because my last six months here have yielded no rain, only mist without thunder or lightening. I miss Georgia storms. That night was special and comforting; I was content stalling my sleep for the sounds.

I went camping at the Washington coast in Olympic National Park!! The ocean there is cold year-round, and the air temperature was below freezing, too. It was in the 20s overnight and that was another new experience for my life's book. No complaints, just lessons learned like extra blankets would've been great. It was car camping after all and the SUV could have handled a little more fleece weight. And from all of this, I didn't learn anything new about building a campfire because I left that duty to my friend. Anyway, here are some photos of the campsite and beaches in the area.

we walked underneath this treecampsite view of sunset

sea stacks we made cairns

The beaches were edged in most places with cliffs and dimpled with rocks that looked like the buttons on decorative pillows. Waves crashed around sea stacks, but unfortunately we were only at that particular beach during high tide so neither could we climb on the rocks nor view any tide pools. At high tide some beaches were impassable due to the narrowed pass between ocean and driftwood, leaving a risky path if a large wave loosened the logs from the sand. But at low tide, the storm beaten driftwood, with sunny skies, emanated a warm, worn and welcoming energy. Beach access points from the cliffs and wood trails were made from the driftwood, nature's own recycling.. well, with some human labor.
Walking around and over the driftwood was fun for balance practice, except the morning that they were covered in frost. That particular morning was so cold and my hands very quickly ached in the cold air as I went exploring my first day at the ocean.
During the day we drove 20 miles inland to hike the temperate rain forests in the park. One of my favorite things was the varying hues of green that created shadows and depth in the forests and the complimentary red undertones of the wood, especially the red alder. The cedars and spruces were giants that really only demonstrated their size to ground dwellers when fallen. I hugged 400- and 500-year-old trees and climbed inside dead ones with toadstool-like fungus for storybook inhabitants to climb. Here are some photos of the forests.Our 10-hour drive back to Spokane took a different route through the Northern section of the Olympic Peninsula, as well as the Puget Sound. After the ferry across the sound and then the mountain pass, we were back in the land of wheat fields. With all of our exploring days before and little rest, it was exhausting.


So the update on graduate school is that I've been wait-listed at both of my prospects. This really means nothing more than a big series of I don't know, We'll see, or Let's see if all these other people are going to go or not, first. So, I don't know what's next yet. Yikes! but okay I can deal with that. ...considering massage therapy...

comic en{Courage}ment

photologue And Then Some

This is one of my good friends out here, Tsacha.

One of my friends from Georgia came to visit so >>> lots of really fun outside exploring!! This is me and Young in Hood River, OR.

Hiking at Riverside Park in Spokane.

Young and I took a scenic exploration drive through the Columbia River Gorge after wine tasting in Walla Walla, WA. These next few pictures are from that trip between Washington and Oregon.

Twin Sisters

See if you can find me... we climbed up to the Twin Sisters on the backside.

Columbia River Gorge before sunset.

Columbia River

Liquid gold sunset!!

In the midst of my explorations of land and people, I'm finding tat I still have things that need to be dug up inside of myself. Those same skeletons of years past stayed hidden last time I checked inside, escaping the rounds of self-examination and growth, but my God is more than strong enough, wise enough, and most importantly patient enough to help me with this. Apparently I'm not only changing physically and mentally with my athletic ambitions, but spiritually and emotionally, too. :)

Triathlon Sampler

Again I've switched gears: cycling to swimming to running. Maybe I should try a triathlon? That was my sister's input and I am liking that notion. I'm in an awesome phase of wanting to do things I previously hated, feared, or could care less about. For starters, I've committed myself to run in Bloomsday on May 3rd.

I haven't lost all interest in swimming, but the Christmas season turned the pools to ice (just kidding, I am not swimming outdoors). I have every intention of going hardcore back to swimming as my other cardio training because it feeds my motivation to run. My body and mind are still in the adaptation stages with my new goal. Running has always been a mental challenge I needed to overcome. I needed to learn to ignore the physical discomfort and struggles, and finally I am only beginning. That is why I'm running a 12k road race.
For all things active and outdoors I am in the land of opportunity. Moving here has inspired me to be active - especially outdoors. It's the norm to have sidewalks for running, see people bike to work or cross-country ski when conditions allow.
In such an unexpected way, I'm really loving life out here. Even without roots here, I missed being in Spokane during my Christmas vacation. It shocked me because I'd never felt that way towards any place (save my hometown of 20 years), and I've barely been here 5 months! But it's a blessing and treasure, and no matter where I'm at after June, I'll have loved this experience.



Recently I ate Romanian food at a potluck style cooking group. It was really delicious and I met someone from Florida there. It was nice to share a connection to Southern culture for a moment. We managed to agree on the definition of the word beach as well as celebrate the absence of large bugs, alligators, and venomous snakes (except rattlesnakes) in the area. Natives to this area refer to the beach as the sandy section at Lake Coeur D'Alene - that is to say that a body of water nestled by mountains with no salt, no waves, no undertow, no seaweed, no jellyfish is a beach. No kidding.
I've been meeting new people lately now that I'm finished applying to graduate school and mostly staying in town on the weekends. My off-days consist of errands, running, library outings, and knitting in coffee shops or bookstores. Somehow, in my jogging clothes, I manage to attract strangers to come over and start conversation. So even if it sounds creepy, it's not so much in a public place. Also, it brightens my day to meet new people quite frequently.
Big Al's
What images flicker when you hear that name in conjunction with a club? You should be thinking of Hope Floats. At least I did. My only reference to a country western club was watching Sandra Bullock dance with cowboys. Big Al's is much more colorful. I wanted to ride the mechanical bull, but didn't after noticing flashing cameras in the hands of many a random guy lining the pen. Most everyone had on tight jeans, not to be en vogue with skinny jeans of course. I had walked into another culture and was very entertained.



Now here is a brief lesson in local history: the white supremacy organization Aryan Nations was formed and headquartered in Hayden Lake, ID (45 minutes drive from my house) for nearly three decades until 2001. I always say everyone has their secret lives (credit to the fantastic Water Deep), but going to a place like Big Al's provoked questions of how many in the crowd upheld the same pro-segregation ideals. It hasn't even been a decade since this group held rallies and marches in downtown Coeur D'Alene and that blows my mind. I am ignorant of the happenings in different regions of the country - what morals, philosophies, beliefs, priorities, etc. dominate the different subcultures. I guess that's what makes traveling appealing to me - you never know who you could possibly meet or what you could learn.
I compare America's own running history of violent "terrorist" groups to extremist Islam terror groups. Both grow from the same seeds of hatred. Instead of focusing on fighting a group of a completely different culture, why not get to know the people around you. I believe the biggest way any person can affect change is through relationships.

To: Family & Friends

I love all of my relationships with everyone that is a part of my life! And if you're hundreds or thousands of miles away, I definitely miss you a lot right now, but I'm happy that distance only impacts the social aspect of our relationship. Geez, I think that I am so sappy from those Georgia pines. <<< please watch this video.. i love this song!!!

I cannot express how wonderful it is to have friends over the years... I don't care if I see you over holidays or breaks or even if you make an effort to visit - I understand that life happens. And I don't care if you ignore my "desperate I need you at 2:00am phone calls" - at age 25, my body has turned against my night owl habits. I don't care if we haven't talked in six months or if the last time we did it was like we were strangers - we all need personal moments.

And that's all I wanted to say for now - just wanted to express the sentiment inside.

Visual Aides

Apparently my camera tells the story that all I do is play in the snow with the boys...I'm working on my defense case.

{not yet} Six Feet Under

In three weeks, Spokane received a record five feet of snow for the month of December, and now I've seen enough distressed plowing trucks on the side of the road to turn my heart to the prowling, I mean plowing, yellow CATs. Prior to Christmas month I was ignorant, having only a mere appreciation for snow plows, but my feelings quickly matured and blossomed into love, yes, even before Spring - the season that brings about twitterpation. Just before snowfall reached two feet, I was leaving the house in the studded snow tire outfitted, four-wheel drive suburban when a knight in yellow armor came to clear the berm at end of the driveway. Oh, the savior of my hips, as I haven't yet managed to safely navigate the driveway on foot, and doing so while shoveling is even more a feat. My tribute to the city workers and volunteers that make my driving possible.

A funny thing has happened to me - acclimation. When I moved here I was sad that temperatures dipped into the 50s at night because that meant I couldn't convince too many people to go camping. However, now 50 degrees is quite a warm, unheard of, and uncomfortable winter day, not to mention the slush that would pour into the roads and sidewalks (though I am getting to experience the slushiness this week with temperatures in the 30s). Anyway, so going to D.C. for a week was like changing seasons with temperatures hardly going below freezing. So, I've come to like the cold weather which is good since this winter is filled with storms of late. Living in an area with a change of seasons is new to me and I quite like it. In fact, I think to have anything less breaks off a piece of my smile.
I like to count my life in terms of experiences and a new one for me today was snowshoeing. With snow shoes on in this type of snow [that I cannot describe or name because I have yet to be introduced to snow vocabulary other than the word berm], you do not stay completely atop. However, one benefit is that you do not sink all the way down and have to push your mid and/or upper body through the snow. Is this making any sense? Someone said it's like walking in the ocean, but somehow that was a lot easier for me... oh well, sandcastles - igloos. I enjoyed it though we hardly went any distance. It was more of "let's just try this because neither of us have gone" than to get a good workout or to go exploring.

In line with the weather yet again is my return to knitting. While visiting my parents, I retrieved my small stash of knitting materials and have since made a beanie that merits a generous B- and a coaster that gets an A. I feel ashamedly accomplished. My latest knitting adventures include wool socks!! Wool socks from a store are quite expensive, so knitting them is permitted within my budget. It falls under the areas of entertainment and necessities as my toes get quite cold tromping about. On a side note, the eldest of the boys I nanny has requested that I teach him to knit. As I am only an amateur this will be difficult for us both.




Some video from Christmas Holiday in Washington, D.C. with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law.

Brad and Julie thought they were taking a photograph.

More adventures at the bowling alley.