the cleanse

I want to rid my body of the unnecessary waste in my life.

tomorrow I start day one of the cleanse. {the master cleanse aka the lemonade diet}

check here for more info; updated daily.

the pfeiferhorn: a siren's song

the pfeiferhorn is an elusive peak. tried many times by many people, she is still left to be conquered. {okay, so people have summitted the pfeiferhorn before. just not me and pete. or scotty.} but even in our defeat, we find ourselves coming back again and again.

poor planning foiled our first attempt together. fowl weather ruined our second before we even set foot on the mountain. this weekend's fate wasn't much better, it seems.

we set out late in the evening on friday. hiking in the cool mountain air and the slanted sunlight was pure delight compared to the heat of the summer sun of our last trip. we arrived at lower red pine lake at dusk, ready to set up camp and jet boil our dinner before going to bed.

we went to sleep as soon as it got dark, which meant it was around nine o'clock. which also meant we initially woke up pretty early. I won't complain, though, if I'm waking up to this scene outside my tent. it was a beautiful morning. and very leisure. {I loves me my jet boil oatmeal in the morning, eaten right out of the packet}

from our last experience, we thought we knew exactly what to do. hike to upper red pine lake and then scramble up the steep, rocky slope on the left to the ridge. follow the ridge, go across the saddle that connects you to the pfeiferhorn, summit the peak and call it a day. it turns out this route is not the best idea. we went the hard way. we went the long way. we went the more unsafe way. {we saw others out hiking it, going up another smaller ridge that bypasses the long ridge we had to traverse. it looked much quicker and easier.} you see, this ridge we were hiking scrambling across wasn't solid ground. it was a mountain of boulders. loose rock piled on top of eachother, some more stable than others. it wasn't until a large boulder slightly crushed my leg as it came loose and tumbled down the mountain that I really started to get sketched out. {I have some scrapes and light bruise to prove it} but we kept pushing forward. slowly but surely. we stopped about halfway through the ridge. what lay ahead didn't look too promising. a steeper slope of what looked like pretty loose rock. {that photo does not do it justice} we didn't want to tempt the fate this mountain had to offer. we accepted defeat. we sat ourselves down and ate lunch, taking full advantage of the view we had before us.

we had spent four hours hiking up there round trip. boulder field after boulder field. it was hard work, and very slow going. we didn't go back down the exact way we had gone up. after the requisite lunch-time stop, we did not want to hike back over the ridge we had climbed. {it looked scarier going back the other direction} so we traversed down the rocky slope face instead. once we weren't on the steep incline of boulders I felt safer, though this is when pete chimes in with, "be careful. people die in boulder fields like this all the time." yeah, very comforting. at least the boulder fields down below were more stable and secure. you still had to be leery of the wiggly ones, though. finally we got through the boulder fields and back to our camp for a very much needed nap.

after packing up camp, we headed down the trail. another pfeiferhorn trip come and gone. the peak still out of reach. but we walked away with all that the mountain had taught us and a plan for our next trip.

* * *

in mountain climbing even the most prepared suffer defeat. it is ultimately up to the mountain. she will let you know if she wants you there. she will allow you to pass through or remain with your dreams just out of reach. it is up to you to listen to her soft whisperings and learn the lessons she has to teach. the wise listen and will remain to try another day.

the pfeiferhorn: the tallest peak in the photo

what is defeat? nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better. --wendell phillips

portrait from inside a tent

the life of man is the true romance, which when it is valiantly conduced, will yield the imagination a higher joy than any fiction. --ralph waldo emerson

the state of the kitchen. . . and living room. . .

when my housewife world and my working woman world collide, the whole house suffers. I need a maid.

finding yourself

I used to be a journaler. writing about life. there were long stretches where I would write every day. and, as always, long stretches of absence. I am in a long stretch of absence right now. {though it has been said that my blog is like a journal. I still feel deep regret that my real journal doesn't even know I'm married!} it has been over a year. the last entry dates Sunday, July 9, 2006. {at least she knows about pete} this is saddening; I have not had the joy of putting pen to paper to record my thoughts for so long. I can't even begin to think about the small things of life that have been lost forever. memories cannot be trusted. it is the action of writing that preserves.

without my journal, posts such as this could not be what they are. how truly sad.

my original intent of this post was to highlight some fabulous quote from a favorite author (most likely terry tempest williams or edward abbey), but then I got thinking about the act of writing itself. writing as a preservation of who we are. so now I find myself just quoting myself; exposed and for all to see:

Sunday, November 7, 2004
courage. bravery in facing the world. facing the unknown with boldness and confidence. acknowledging fear and stepping beyond. changing darkness into light. strength.

I really want to live boldly. live deliberately. live within the rythms of the earth. am I able to do this now? am I making the most of every opportunity? do I let fear hold me back?

I do.

I can be more.

my life right now is in a good place. but I feel I should be doing more. I feel that with school there is no time for the things I really want to be doing. I want to give of myself. of my time. of my talents. I want to volunteer in the community gardens. feel the earth. learn to live more closely with her systems. I want to help others. humanitarian work. it's so easy to look beyond what is close to us and find the bigger troubles of the world. but perhaps what we must focus on is not so far away. there are needy people right here in salt lake city who need the charity of others.

but are my motivations pure? I want to be this better person. but is this desire for the right reasons? do I want to do good so I will look better in the eyes of another? I do want to learn to live sustainably for myself. for the earth. I want to be more conscious of the my effects on the landscape.

{I then go on to say, "I wish I could find someone with the same ideals. with a strong land ethic. someone I could learn from and gather strength." I'm so grateful I found peter. he is this person.}

this entry embodies the person I was, am, and am becoming. it is the courage in living that we must learn to embrace. these acts must not be forgotten.

so with that I urge you all to write. and I will finally let my journal know that yes, I did end up marrying pete. (I know she's been wondering.)

hip hip hooray!

you've come along way, baby.



















and there's a long way yet to go, together.















happy birthday.
I love you infinity times ten. (plus one)

NOTICE:

the birthday pfeiferhorn trip has been postponed due to severe weather conditions. it has been rescheduled for friday, september seventh.

pete was pretty excited about the prospect of being hit by lightning while standing on the peak on his birthday. that didn't sound too exciting to me.

birthday adventures

gone to hike the pfeiferhorn.
hope the weather holds for the summit bid.
will be back tomorrow with an older husband.

B2S swap!

oh my goodness,
this has been
my favorite swap
to date.

as always,
thank you marta
for hosting.

and thank you
holly for the perfect
back 2 school
(or crafting!)
goodies.

thank you!!

shake justification

pete and I walked ten thousand steps for our shakes tonight. literally. four miles. they were the best shakes we've ever had. all the fun without the guilt.

fun with duct tape!

I was at the DI today and found an old men's shirt that I want to recycle into a cute new woman's shirt. {along the lines of that cute "maternity"-looking style that is so en vogue these days--I love it because you don't have to worry about your tummy!} btw, I also found all these patterns--you know, from the seventies, eighties and nineties!--for fifty cents! who knows if all the pieces are there, but at least they will give me basic ideas on how-to's, elements and alterations. I am so ambitious! I recently bought a pretty cute shirt in this style that I am going to use as a guide (not necessarily a pattern because it's cute, and I like it, and I don't want to cut it up.) But since I don't have an actual pattern for what I want--I mean, I'm pretty much just making it all up--I want to make sure it will fit me. that's where the DIY dress form comes into play.

I found a step-by-step over at Etsy Labs that looks easy enough. Becca, I know you wanted to make one of these a while ago, still interested? if not, I just might have to wrangle Pete into helping me. and we all know how he will probably feel about that.

{duct tape dress form tutorial here.}

so, has anyone out there in blogland ever attempted one of these? or does her own pattern drafting to make her own clothing? I am slightly intrigued by it all.

Food Awareness

I was reading today's post --the evils of trans fat, hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated anything in foods -- on This Week for Dinner and was curious to see what sort of unhealthy food was lurking in my cupboard. I really hate how healthy-seeming food is more often than not just plain ol' bad for you. Those Fiber One Chewy Bars (shown in the photo below) claim 0g Trans Fat, but do in fact contain hydrogentated coconut oil, high maltose corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup! Yikes!
As you can see I was so concerned about my well-being that I frantically searched my cupboard for anything including the words hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, or high fructose corn syrup in the ingredients. Some foods were obviously going to be bad for me, but others I was slightly surprised. (those fiber one bars for example)

Why do we do this to ourselves? As a society we are so prone to things that are unhealthy for us because they are convenient, quick, and easy. This highly processed food that has streamlined our lives is slowly killing us. Will you stand for that?

Take a step back. Do you know where your food has come from? Do you know how many miles and how many hands it has passed through to get to your plate? This disconnect (and there is a disconnect from the environment in general in this modern society of ours) not only scares me, but saddens me as well.

I want to take steps forward. I want to reconnect with that which sustains me. I want to implement positive change in my life toward eating healthy, eating whole. This means I have to live a simpler life. {though some might say more complicated} I have to take the time to prepare my food using ingredients from whole, natural foods. I want to lessen any dependence on highly processed foods I might have.

I think without realizing it, though, I've already started taking steps. But I could do more.

Options are out there:

• Get dirty: Grow your own food.
• Support your local community: Buy fresh produce from your local Farmer's Market or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).
• Try the Eat Local Challenge for the month of September.
• Consider a more vegetarian diet. Flexetarianism is cool! Plus you can't go wrong with a diet based mostly on vegetables and other naturally grown things.
  

Now that I've rid these unnatural foods from my cupboard, how do I rid them from body?! A cleanse is called for!

revelation

this housewife thing must be getting to me. today I found myself ironing my apron. {and I had this intense urge to iron my pillowcases too! don't worry, I resisted that one} ironing my apron?!

but a girl's got to look good whilst in her palace! (because, you know, the kitchen is my palace...)

fun crafts with wax!

do old crayon bits got you down? you need something to do with them because you'd rather not throw them away? but come on, nobody likes drawing with the unwanted stubs! well, then here's your chance to give them new life. recycle them into fun, multi-colored crayons the kids (and let's be honest, you!) will love to draw with!
(since I don't have children I don't have old crayon bits. good thing there was a sale on all things school supply)

arrange the broken bits into a fun shaped tin for baking. or, if you don't have anything fun shaped that's suitable for baking, you can melt the crayons in something else and then pour them into molds or even heavy-weight cookie cutters (on a cookie sheet, of course!) work too.

bake at three-hundred degrees for about ten minutes or so. it is fun to watch the crayons melt into ooey-gooey swirls of color. once the wax has melted, remove from the oven and let cool. I used non-stick tins, and as the wax cooled the edges came away from the sides of the tin making it oh so easy to take out! hurrah!

get creative with the color combos. this could be hours of endless fun. seriously. and look how cute they came out!

tune in for my next installment of fun crafts with wax! where we will be learning how to make pictograph/petroglyph style art using sandpaper, crayons, wax paper and your iron! fun for the whole family!

reduce, reuse, recycle

anna: I really like making leftovers into something new. it's more exciting.

[the previous night's ratatouille is now tonight's delicious lasagna!]

peter: yeah, what are you going to make these leftovers into?

anna: I don't know. . .

peter: maybe cake?

the utah transit authority

Salt Lake Bus Route Redesign:
Sunday, August 26, 2007

sticker found on a light on the uofu campus. [image via my cellular telephone]

I can't decide if I should be excited or scared. will this redesign revive public transportation use in this community? or kill it off completely? uta is claiming the route changes will make transit in the city faster, easier, and the like. basically their plan consists of channelling routes to make getting into downtown faster and transfers to trax easier.

I am an avid public transportation rider. I ride the bus and/or train whenever I can, even if it's not the most convenient option. I believe in it. but when I see these signs on major routes all over the city, I get a little worried. uta, are you sure you know what you're doing?

the decisions the uta board has made over the past few months regarding the big change has baffled me as well as many others all over the city. For one (and this affects me greatly) they have taken all five bus routes off of 700 East, a major thoroughfare. They have moved service onto 500 East and 900 East, which are slower, narrower streets.

They're changing demographic, they say. I think the utah transit authority is focusing on those in the outlying suburban areas, hoping to get new ridership at the expense of the "local" riders already using the system, depending on the system. My neighbor included. She is devastated.

The redesign actually might really be beneficial for me. There is a new bus route that runs right up my street and goes directly to the university of utah. no more trax transfers. and there are plenty of routes (9th east and 5th east included, I think) that are running every fifteen minutes during peak hours.

so we'll see how this plan affects public trans in the city. I'm sorry to all you out there who's bus route is being cut indefinitely. (and I think that might be quite a few of you) hopefully you can find alternate routes. and hey, there's always your bike!

my lunch

simple + delicious:
avocado/cheese tortilla wraps

housewife: day one

last friday I ended this summer's stint with club u. as always, we went out with a bang. or should I say splash, with raging waters--utah's beach. though technically, in my heart, utah's beach is the shoreline of the great salt lake. it is the capstone event of a summer filled with fun.

I will miss you, club u.

now I'm on to my next adventure. unlike two summers ago when I ended club u with a sabbatical, or last summer when I ended club u with a wedding, I am ending this go-around with a domestic hiatus. I am now a housewife.

okay, okay... so really I'm just on vacation for the next two weeks. then I'll resume my duties in the youth ed office--ten hours a week. ten hours a week isn't much, you say? okay, you caught me again. I need to find another job as well. but until then I am going to make the most of this time I have purely for myself. it has been absolute heaven thus far.

today I had time for:
running
reading
writing
cleaning
laundering
erranding
shopping
buying
eating
everything!

arby's strawberry banana swirl shake

don't try it, it totally sucks. it's somewhere along the lines of "treat milk" (aka "pink milk" aka nestle's strawberry milk) mixed into crappy soft served ice cream. and the banana swirl? yikes! it tastes like the yucky fake banana flavoring! not a very fun combo, to say the least!

do you have the hankerin' for a cold, tasty treat of the strawberry-banana variety? try a shake from hires big h, or iceberg, or even the AC for that matter! they all know how to do the strawberry banana shake a whole heckuvalot better! I should know, I'm a SBS connaisseur--it's the only shake flavor I ever really order...

strict fire regulations

impromptu campfires via the zippo,

s'mores never were so good.



a little fun in the wilds: car camping in the wasatch.