Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!

Joey and I had fun camping and hiking on the Deschutes river near Maupin. We met up with some friends Joey's counsin Andy, his wife Andrea, and Jake and Ashley. Saturday was fun, we left Corvallis Friday after work, and stayed the night with Andy and Andi, so we could get an early start Satruday morning. It was nice to get there early and have a good camp site selection, and lots of time to hike around the area.

Saturday afternoon the wind picked up and didn't quit. It was so windy, we slept with our tent collapsed so it wouldn't break (again... we just got it fixed from our windy trip to St. George) or blow away.

Sunday we kept expecting the wind to pick up, but it never got bad, and over all the day was very nice. We made a summit push to the top of the big hill we were camped at the bottom of. It was fun, the views were great, and there was even summitt beer!

We also played in the river with Joeys kayak a bit, and went for a hike along the old railroad.

Chilling at camp

Monday it sprinkled off and on most of the morning, not a lot but just making everything wet, and hard to pack up. On our way out we hiked a bit, and made a stop at a really pretty waterfall.

Despite the weather we had lots of fun enjoying the extra long weekend together.

Green Beauty

It all started with a DIY fragrance recipe in a magazine I picked up at the library. It led me to further research making other body products.


I came across a amazing book by Julie Gabriel: The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup and Fragrances.


It talks about the effects of certain chemicals ingredients in common beauty products. Not just limited to make up, but also shampoo/conditioner, body washes, deodorant/antiperspirant and even baby products. Even many "green washed" products (those claiming to be all natural, or a certain percentage organic) have harmful chemicals.


When I say harmful, I mean that there are studies done than link these chemicals which we lather on our oh so absorbent skin are linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and other negative health implications.


So I have started doing endless research to make my own. It has been a fun project experimenting with what works, what essential oils I like the most.

This morning I even scrubbed our tub with a homemade "soft scrub" made with baking soda and lavender scented castille soap. I felt very efficient. (The Urban Homesteaders Guide is a great resource for simple green cleaners made from non-harmful products.)

The blues

I got the blues. It happened after rock climbing, and I realized in writing this post after being contacted by a former boy friend.

I climbed well enough, but I was disappointed that I couldn't climb better. Also my last climb I didn't think was going to be my last, so I felt like I had one more chance to climb better. It didn't work out that way, and I was left feeling psychologically exhausted, spent, frustrated.

I know that rock climbing is something that is hard to train for other than doing it and it is something I haven't done it over a year. But it still discouraged me. I'm not sure why it hit so hard.

My former boyfriend is going to be in Portland for Memorial Day visiting friends and family and was checking to see if I wanted to meet up. I talked to my wonderful loving husband who has a good view of the male species and figures he needed and ego boost so contacted me because I am nice and accepting of people (Joey is also wonderful enough not to object meeting him if that I what I chose). In emailing back and forth, ultimately I realized that what was bothering me so much was ex boyfriend's acting like we are good friends, so automaticly I was too. But the reality is that I was very hurt when our relationship ended, and on some level still am. It ended fairly abruptly (I felt) especially because it came at a the lowest low of my life to date. I felt abandoned by everyone who meant anything to me. Trying to figure out who I wanted to be by experiencing who I didn't want to be, and deciding what I really wanted out of life. Ultimately the experience led me to strong self reliance, and self definition; Then meeting and dating my now-husband. But it was a very painful growth. To grow we must submit ourselves to change.

I'm glad it all worked out the way it did. But I still get emotional thinking about that time in my life. I decided to express my feelings to un named exboyfriend and tell him I didn't really want to see him, and have received some peace in the closure it has brought, even though I don't know if he understands. I have decided I don't have to be friends with him yet, or maybe ever. I will be affable, amiable, and pleasant. But I don't have to be anymore than that.

Overall I have overcome the deepest part of my funk, but I have yet to overcome my exercise blues. I had been exercising and hour a day, six days a week. Now I find it hard to muster the motivation to exercise even 30 min three times a week. It one of those ironies of life because exercise makes your feel better, and makes you more motivated. Its just the getting started that is difficult.

Through all of it I have realize just how much my husband means to me, and how wonderful he is. It is easy to take for granted those who we are always around. I don't know what I would do without him, (I know I would survive and work it out but I would prefer to have him in my life). His unconditional love and acceptance has helped me grow in ways I don't know if I could by myself. I, in turn, have helped him through a tough time in his life as well. I feel so blessed that a chance meeting at a lighthouse could have turned into something so wonderful. Marriage definitely isn't always easy, but it is more than worth it. This post wasn't at all what I had in mind to write. Hope you don't mind my onslaught of feelings. :)

Climbing at Smith Rock

After going rappelling several weekends back, and then belaying Joey as he climbed, (Followed by running out of rope so I wasn't able to climb) I have really want to go rock climbing again.

I used to go semi frequently with a couple of my good college friends. I has been more than a year since I have climbed (crazy how time flies) because the closest good climbing is 3 1/2 hours away. Gone are the days living in Utah when one nice afternoon after work you can impulsively decide to hurry up to the canyon for some quick climbing. I never knew how spoiled I was.

Smith Rock State Park plays a large role in rock climbing history. It is a mecca for climbing and is the birthplace of modern climbing, Allan Watts introduced sport climbing in the US in 1983 by creating and climbing the first 5.12b there. The first 5.14 was climbed in Smith rock in 1988 by J.B. Tribout. Smith Rock used to mainly have climbs that were rated 5.11-5.13. As the popularity of climbing has increased, the number of casual climbers has increased, and so has the number of routes that are rated between 5.8 - 5.10 difficulty, the easier rating.

The park has over 1800 routes. It has good options for both beginer, casual, and advanced climbers. We climbed a route on the cinnamon slab a 5.8, and one on the Left Dihedral a 5.7. Both were fairly challenging, but were still fun. I didn't feel I climbed enough when we left. But I was exhausted and sore. I look forward to our next climbing trip!

St. George Ironman

For the May 1st St. George Ironman triathlon Joey and I went to support my sister-in-law who was competing. The Ironman includes a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and running a marathon, 26.2 miles. It was very impressive to watch. It is amazing to see such a large group of people pushing the limits of the human body.

It was really fun to be a spectator. We were in downtown St. George near the finish line when the first woman completed the race. It was exciting. I was so happy for her!

I looked up the record completion time was set in 1996 by Luc Van Lierde, from Belgium, who completed in 8 hrs 4 mins 8 sec. Can you imagine???

I also found interesting information about the history of the race. It all started at the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay. A group of athletes were discussing who is the better athlete runners, swimmers, or bicyclists. Eventually they decided the best test would be for a person to complete the already existing competitions for all three sports. It was decided who ever finished first would be called the Ironman.

The first Ironman race was February 18, 1978. Fifteen men started the race early in the morning, only 12 finished. The first to complete the race was Tom Warren in 11 hours, 15 minutes, 56 seconds. Lyn Lemaire came in sixth overall and became the first "Ironwoman".

Publicity of the race came in 1982 when a woman pulled to the front of the race only to collapse yards away from the finish line. She was passed up by other racers, but crawled to completion. The event was televised and brough huge attention to the event.

The dark side to the race is the people who don't finish. The ones who end up with exhaustion, shock, hypothermia, dehydration and so forth. The race is designed to be intense. It is designed to really test people, and for some people to fail. The World Championship is in Hawaii, the location of its origins. The swim is in the off shore choppy waters and buoyant wet suits are not allowed. Bikers are faced with strong winds, and runners with extreme heat. Competing in these races is not casual, and not everyone who starts completes. I think that is the most inspiring thing. That these athletes are pushing their bodies to their utmost limits. They are not content with sitting idly. There is risk involved, it is something you can just decide to do. These athletes spend large amounts of their time training. True there is some prize money involved for the winner, but that cannot account for thousands of people competing. Basicly I am inspired by the athleticism required.

I have always enjoyed running, but I never have focused too much attention on it. I do a lot of other things like hiking, mountaineering, rock climbing, snowshoeing, etc. The problem is that I have never really focused on any one activity, so I don't feel like I am very good at any of them. (Although I am very proud of my mountaineering accomplishments, I have climbed Mt. St. Helens, although we got turned around by weather, but I have summited Middle and South Sister Mountains.) True it is good to be well rounded but I have decided to focus on running this season. My plan is to get in good running shape and run a June 5th 5k here in Corvallis, the July 10th 10k at Smith Rock, and a September 18th 12k here in Corvallis as well. I want to focus on my own limits and push them. I don't want to be too ambitious, because I want goals I can accomplish without injury, I could run a 5k/10k right now if I wanted. But the point that I'm focusing on is to be able to do it well, with focused training. Next year I plan on running at least a half marathon with my sisters. Anyone interested is welcome to join me for these events. The Smith Rock event also has a 5K and half marathon.

I look forward to this summer!