A little less female, please!

Sometimes I hate being female. Especially at particular times of the month when emotions run higher and tears seem to come easier. That's currently where I am at. And I get irritated. Especially with Ryan. I just don't understand why he always has so much energy to do things with the guys, but when it comes to hanging out with me, he is always tired and would prefer to nap instead of get outside and enjoy the day. Do I wear him out? Just by looking at me? I feel like all we ever do when we get together is sit on the couch and watch Seinfeld (which is a great show, but not how I would choose to be spending our time). So when I hear about all the fun things he is doing with the guys and how he "wishes I was there" I get jealous. And upset. And I think "yeah right, you wish I was there. You never want to do those things with me. If you did, we would be doing them!"

I like him a lot. And I'm really low maintenance. Most of the time. But once a month, I find myself acting more "girly" then I would like.

I know this is ranting a bit, but I felt the need to get it out and posting it on this blog seemed like the best and safest way to do so.

Backpacking Through Europe...

One of the best adventures of my life...so far!

I just got these photos from my cousin & simply wanted to share them. These are some amazing scenery shots from our trip to Europe last fall.

Amazing Sunset on our drive from La Spezia to Vernazza in Italy

The Forum in Roma

Vernazza - one of the towns in the Cinque Terre in Italy

Trafalgar Square in London

Crossing the Thames in London


Roma!
View to the Basilica

More 7 Summits - the Final Trek

Okay, so I realize I have yet to finish my story of the 7 Summits of Seattle. So here goes... :)
After reaching the third summit (First Hill) we stopped for a quick lunch at Swedish Hospital. It must have looked odd to passersby, seeing a bunch of weary walkers perched on the cement planters in front of the hospital munching on PB&J sandwiches and carrots. But that's where we ate. It was actually a good rest stop. I mean, if at this point anyone happened to be injured, they could just stop into the ER and be fixed right up. Also, the bathrooms were free...after traveling through Europe where public restrooms are extremely scarce, you have to appreciate that! So, after eating (and taking some pics) we were on our way to the 4th summit...the water tower at Volunteer Park in Capitol Hill.

I forgot to mention that our group split apart at this point also. Randy and Matt decided to head to Denny Hill first and then up to Capitol Hill (a more difficult trek, as you must go downhill and then climb back up), but the rest of us decided to go the easier route to Capitol Hill first. So...things started off okay, but then disaster struck! After walking just a few blocks, Max's ankle began causing him pain. Not just a little pain. A lot. He was limping pretty badly. Now Clarence is a doctor, so he wrapped the ankle as best as he could, but we all felt Max would be better off if he dropped out of the hike. However, he refused. He's hardcore! So, he struggled on and eventually made it to Volunteer Park with the rest of us. Upon reaching the park, Laura and I decided we needed to quickly climb up inside the water tower before continuing on. My dad climbed up with us.

Laura and I were pretty tired by this point (as can be seen in our pic above) but we weren't going to give out anytime soon. When we were finally done with our long photoshoot, we noticed that everyone in our group had already left the park to go to Denny Hill. Now, my dad has only done this walk once before and Laura & I were rookies, so we were a bit at a loss on where to go next. After wandering in what we hoped was a path that would lead to the rest of the clan, we finally gave in and called the others. They told us their cross street, but when we reached it, they weren't there. We would have thought they would have stopped so that we could catch them, but that was apparently not on their minds. So we had to call again. This time we specifically told them to wait for us. They did. Kinda. Anyway, point is we caught them. Max's ankle was only getting worse, but he bravely continued on to Denny (this hill no longer exists, but we stop for our hill photo in front of the Moore theater). On the way to the Moore, Mom, Ruth, and I made a detour into the Bon/Macy's women's lounge. I felt extremely weird walking through the department store in my Keen's with a backpack on my back. If I were in Europe it would have been fine, but it's just odd being viewed as a tourist in your own city. Anyway, we met up with the rest of our group at the Moore and then continued on to the Seattle Center for another snack break. From the center we began the long climb up Queen Anne. After going up about 7 flights of stairs, we made it to the top of Queen Anne. By this point, Max was beginning to break and finally decided to drop out of the race. He remained behind at the Starbucks on Queen Anne (Auntie B stayed with him). The rest of us continued from Queen Anne, down the Goat Trail (horrible trail!), and then across the bridge to Magnolia, where our final water tower was. After walking 24 miles in 9 hours we finally reached our destination!

Laura and I collapsed from exhaustion at this point. ;) So...you would think our walk was done. Not quite. We still had to walk from the Magnolia water tower, past Discovery Park, to the Locks where our cars were parked. Laura, Ruth, and I finished in the lead and when the cars came into view, we suddenly (and miraculously) found energy to run to the cars. What started out as a slow jog, soon turned into a quick stride, and then Laura & I, being the competitive beings that we are, began sprinting. I beat Laura, but she was close on my heels. Ruth decided it wasn't worth her energy to sprint after us (I have a feeling she would have beat us both and just wanted to keep our egos in-tact). Then came my dad, Clarence, Bob, Randy, and Matt. Finally my Mom & Matt's wife came limping in together. My mom's knee had started flaring up when descending the Goat Trail, so she hobbled the rest of the walk out. And Matt's wife was fighting similar injuries. But they made it. After making it into the cars, stripping our shoes & socks from our feet (Clarence said to put our shoes back on...I think they must have smelled bad), and comparing blisters, we made our way back to West Seattle where we enjoyed scrumptious burgers and beer at the Elliott Bay Brewery in the junction (oh, we also picked Max & Auntie B up from Starbucks).

What a day! Whew!

Counting my blessings

It's so easy to go through life and not really notice life. I know I'm guilty of it on many occasions. I get so wrapped up in all the trivial things going on around me that I don't take time to appreciate all the wonderful things and people in my life that God has blessed me with...Amazing family...great friends...wonderful boyfriend (he always brings a smile to my face)...beautiful surroundings. I mean, I live in a place that has abundant streams, rivers, lakes, and is close to the Sound...the mountains surrond me on all sides...it is GREEN....can it get any better?? Plus, I live in a country where I can openly worship Christ & sure, I may be judged by others or laughed at, but that's about the extent of it. How incredible is that?? So why do I so often ignore God's presence around me? Is it because so often it's gray and drizzly here?

I am finding that it's a lot easier to recognize my blessings and praise God when it's sunny outside. God's beauty just seems so much more magnified to me. For example, traffic just builds up on 520 on a gorgeous day because everyone (at least this is my theory) is pausing to stare transfixed at Lake Washington, sparkling in the sunlight, with Mount Rainier rising gloriously behind it. I know I would gaze at it all day if I could. It's just so incredible how God contrasts such power & might with amazingly delicate beauty. I love it! Basically I just love reveling in God's creation...which gets a little dangerous when I am driving because I get distracted from the road...but most of the time it is done safely! But on a cloudy or rainy day, I rarely have a problem moving quickly across 520 (eastbound...westbound is ALWAYS bad). I mean, do people really want to stop and watch the wind blow stormily across the lake, creating large waves that splash angrily over the side of the bridge? Okay, I do. I think that is incredible too...I mean, what strength & power God has! It just shows us another side of Him. I love how nature reveals so much about God to us!! But it's harder for me to just thank God after a week of rainy weather. I get gloomy and don't stop thanking Him, but definitely do it less frequently.

Anyway...point is, I am extremely blessed and I take that for granted WAY too much!