To all my girls

Sometimes it takes a while to get back into it.

But you can't walk five steps without hearing "social media". So here I am.

To all my girls.. it's been a while. Always will be. Because I am a motivated, driven, career-minded girl. And what I love about you all is -- that's ok. You are too. And if I call you out of the blue, it's cool. And if you email me on a random Tuesday, it's perfect! If you emailed me every Tuesday I wouldn't mind. But with us, it's more like once or twice a year.

Happy Birthday girl. You're lookin' good. What's new with you? Congratulations on being so fabulous!!

It's been quite a year, what a ride. Here's to many, many more.

The Death Meditation

I've been seeing my acupuncturist for a couple of months now. I originally went just for general wellness hoping she would guide me a little. As I hoped she was able to identify a few things we could address. Of all things, she's treating me for stress. Ha. If I am nothing else, I am one big stress ball. I run on high octane and generally don't sit down and relax during my day. One thing she told me to do is meditate more. Work on relaxing. Try to be less worked up.

This last week has been a rough one. But I'm still trying to listen to my acupuncturist and meditate more. I take yoga at my gym and my instructor started offering extended meditation after class. Just 15 minutes, so I figured it was perfect. Quick and easy.

Day 1, the extra meditation topic was death. Sweet. Rough week and all... not my favorite topic. There I am sitting on my mat in meditation as she is discussing death.

1. We are all going to die.
2. We don't know when we'll die.
3. Invest your efforts in things that are important.

I can understand her point, live life for today and spend your energy doing what matters. It was just poor timing for me. I tried to relax but of course, the tears flowed.

Perhaps it's what I needed, some form of release. But it was unexpected. And a little too public for tears if you ask me. But then again, perhaps the release I felt was a sign that the meditation I was supposed to be doing was so important. It just seemed ironic.

Freshies!!

I don't mean to brag, but the snow in the trees at Heavenly yesterday was to die for. I went up figuring I would take a couple of runs and then work for a few hours but I was quite happily mistaken.



It has been raining under 7000 feet for the last few days and 50 degrees for the last 3 weeks so everything in town has been pretty sucky. But I couldn't let myself sit on the couch all weekend. I finally got off my butt and rode up about halfway for some very unexpected turns in a foot of soft fluffy powder. Well if the mountain was that good half way up, I figured there was nothing but powder up above, so I headed up.



I was not disappointed. Although there was definitely some granite poking out it was virtually bottomless. I felt good enough to jib off some trees and skip over the visible rocks and found untracked heaven. I saw a few people but had so many beautiful turns I couldn't stop smiling.



I actually feel bad for the people who are just learning. I mean, good for me, but if they knew what they were missing...



I didn't want to jinx it until I was done but my iPod lasted the entire afternoon. I'm pretty stoked about my riding playlist this year. Here's to keeping the faith.

My Favorite Things

I would consider myself a somewhat serious outdoor enthusiast. (Half-hearted fanatic?) I also have a propensity to buy a lot of things I feel I cannot live without. Combine those tendancies and you have a sometimes hyper chick with many outdoor toys.

I used to read outdoor magazines and gear magazines and eat up the reviews about anything from skis and boards to mittens and hiking boots. But then I realized someone pays these guys to test out gear and it's probably in their best interest to find the stuff from Funding Company to be better than stuff from other companies. (The full color multi-page ads in the magazine supporting the gear that got top reviews was a big indicator.) I'm not suggesting everyone out there is reviewing unfairly, or perhaps they request ad money from top companies, but I still felt slighted when I discovered I couldn't really trust the magazines. At least not with the naivety that I once did.

Anyway, now I try to talk to people and shop around, and barring that just buy it and try it. Recently, my favorite pieces of gear are my gators and my YakTrax. I've had the gators for a year or so now, but the Yak Trax are new. I wear them both nearly every day on walks with the dog. Sadly the boots have seen better days. They're my absolute favorite and have been wonderful for many years but they could use a waterproofing treatment.

The gators are just gore-tex "sleeves" for my lower leg that cover most of my boot. They keep the top of the boot dry, keep snow from piling in, and keep my pant legs from wicking water up my leg. Very useful, especially today when I was post-holing the entire length of our hike. Really wish I had my snowshoes. But my pants were dry! Incidentally I got the gators at REI but I've never tried another brand. They tend to stay up very well and don't move around much.

The YakTrax are new to me. I got them about a month ago at the suggestion of a friend. YakTrax is a brand name for little coiled grips that stretch over the bottom of your shoe. Very useful on icy or heavily packed trails. They look somewhat silly but work really well in treacherous conditions. I already busted one, although it still works. I'm still not sure how durable they're supposed to be. I do quite a bit of hill climbing in them, I'm not sure that's really what they were intended for. Time will tell.

One thing I was not expecting is they have helped protect my knees. Rather than trying to step into existing footsteps, I can step wherever I want on more uneven surfaces. This transfers the work to my ankles and allows me to maintain better knee alignment.

I'm not sure what to get next. I have acquired a bunch of gear. Just about something for every weather condition. Maybe I'll just pray for snow.

Courduroy

Coming from the East Coast to a West Coast mountain town, there are so many new things. Fish tacos (sounds gross but they grow on you), mountains outside my backdoor, so many mountain biking trails and climbing routes I don't know where to start, and lots and lots of ski-bums. (Not that it's a bad things to be a ski-bum. I'm actually kind of jealous.)

Some things I have done here that I never did in the 3 1/2 years I lived in DC: Attended both a formal and a few semi-formal events. (I now have 5 dresses. This alone is amazing.) Not felt the desire to get out of town for some fun. Everything here is fun. Got the chance to break out things like cross-country skis and snowshoes and tromp around in the snow. And rode the mountain and sat at the beach (of the lake) in the same day. Truly unbeatable.

The one cool thing about being from the East is they very infrequently get reals snow. You tend to get very good at skiing and riding in icy, crappy, fake-snow conditions. So when you get to a real mountain, with real snow, and they have a not-so-good day, you're like SWEET!! Because a bad day in the mountains is better than the best day on the slopes back East. And you ride like a pro. Woohoo!


There's one thing about snow and ski resorts though that seems to be fairly universal. Courduroy. At night when everyone goes home, all the ski areas bring out the groomers to smooth out the bumps and moguls and make all of the trails even and consistent.


Some people would scoff at riding "groomers", the trails that the ski areas have made all smooth and nice. But your average skier pretty much sticks to the designated areas and doesn't ski in the trees or out of bounds.


I'm not saying it's the best, because powder is the best. But if you can't have powder, and you're at the mountain for first chair, one of the coolest things is riding untouched courduroy. You can pick up some speed knowing the snow is consistent and really lay out your turns. It's pretty awesome.

Jewels of Knowledge

If you're not fortunate enough to own a dog or spend much time with one, I would like to share with you something that should not go unnoticed. Dogs have some of the worst smelling gas of any animal on the planet. And when I say worst I mean room-clearing horrible.


I think everyone knows dogs pass gas. But the thing is it sneaks up on you. Not only that, but it usually comes in clusters. Just when you're all curled up on the couch watching tv, you get this cloud of odor that sort of hangs in the air. And let me tell you it is nasty. Somewhere between rotten eggs and baby diapers. Seriously foul. And then another. And another. And another. Any more? Are you sure that was it Echo?


It's the best when we have company. Dogs don't know passing gas is undesirable. It really grosses people out and they look at you like "what?" The other day we were playing Cranium with a bunch of friends and the dog insisted on standing in the middle of the circle. She just needed to be in the action. But then she decides to curl up on the couch behind a couple of people and when she relaxes, of course, she lets it all go. Fart after fart.

Someone suggested feeding her yogurt. So maybe I'll try that. Can't hurt right? As long as that doesn't give her diarrhea.

Happy New Year!

Re-defining Lucky

I posted the pup on Craig’s list and also on the classified board at work. I was hoping to find a good home for him with a family I already know. Not 12 hours later I get an email from a lady north of Reno who saw the ad on Craig's list. She said she lived on a farm but I don't think initially I quite understood. When I called her she had just finished milking the cows. Her "farm" has 350 acres with horses, cows, llamas, dogs, kids, you name it. She should have called it a ranch! The puppy was going to be her husband's Christmas present and she wanted to come get the him immediately. Hello perfect dog family!

Since Reno is about an hour and a half and she lives beyond that, I offer to meet her half way. But she said she had to deliver hay so maybe she’ll send her husband. It won't be a Christmas surprise but there's nothing like immediate gratification!

I go home and grab Brando after work on Tuesday and drive down the hill to meet this lady’s husband. He is there in a nice big SUV and Brando immediately hops in his vehicle. I talked to the guy for a moment and then they drive away. It was much harder than I thought it would be. I’ve only had Brando five or six days but he is Echo’s brother and I really care about what happens to him.

About a day goes by and the new owner starts sending me hilarious emails about what the dog’s doing. They’ve decided to rename the dog to Rosco. She wanted it to be Hank but I think she was outnumbered by her husband and their kids. She also wants pictures of my pup and the mom and dad of the litter. She seems super engaged. And the best part is they want puppies so there will be little Rosco’s running around sometime in the future. I just don’t think Brando/Rosco/Hank could have found a better home.

On Wednesday she wrote:

Thought you could use a laugh! We can't remember his name>Brandon>....well anyway it's Rosco! I would have picked Hank! Mind you our two are really well minded dogs, no couches, no noses on counter etc...so this morning Jerry's in the shower and Taz [girl heeler] follows daddy into the bathroom with a look on her face like "Guess what he's doing!" Jerry goes out and he's on the couch!! Not unless called!

So today he can't quite figure out the llammas! And I was out on the dam shucking drywall over the edge to melt in and plug up the leaks! And the dogs are with me! Only he is walking on the ice, maybe up to 10 feet from the side, now mind you the girls are barking and playing but not going on the ice! I was laughing my asss off thinking I'd have to go in and get Jerry's Christmas present if he fell in, ya know true love and stuff! Eventually he got to thin enough to fall in and managed to get out as by this time he is close enough to the shore to touch the side [I think] but instead of getting on dry land he goes back to running along the side still on the ice!!! Finally I get him to the dirt and he decides to bark, well then the hills echo....yep then I really couldn't get him to quit! So I walked back to the house to have a soda, write you and hope he forgets when we go back out!!!
Thanks again!!!
Your welcome to come visit!

Thursday this came:

So it was going good....then.....he went under the neighbors [he's a cardiologist and does endurance riding!] fence!!! It wasn't like he was really chasing their "prize" Arabians, more like following them which gave them a good chance to run [and visa versa]! But....! My "girls" just stayed with me and he didn't even care, it must have taken us an hour to catch him! The good news is they are on vacation in South America and their ranch hand [our friend] was up in the hills riding one of their horses! I have enough horses he could have chased/followed! So now he'll have to be leash bound till he gets over it!

We have a German Shorthair, awesome dog, now thinks she's a cow dog, barks [loud] when I tell the cows to move! Also wanting to go after the feet like Taz our female heeler. When she came she ran, and ran, and ran... till she realized she could run whenever she wants, so now she runs when she just hangs out with me, and Taz, and ....Rosco! I was vote'n for Hank! I guess there is Hank the cowdog books I could get for the Grandson's hopefully to learn more read'n! ... I don't think I'll when on this!

Well, "we're" headed to Battlemtn for a hay delivery, he rides good in the car! Oh also he puts his feet on kitchen counter! And thinks he can get on the coutches! But not for long!! He is really smart! We get to get baby llammas for the grandson's Christmas! Have a great day, and thanks again! It would be cool to get his sis's pictures too!

Grand-dog

At some point my mom switched from threatening that I not have children too young to hinting at how nice it would be to have grandchildren. "I guess I'll just have to spoil my grand-dog because I have no grandkids". I don't feel bad though. Look how cute she is! Anyone would love to be her Grandma!

Recently she sent me this great travel bed/blanket thing. She wrote "do not open until Christmas" on the box and then called me to tell me I had to open it when it came. She couldn't even stand it herself. I took it out of the box and Echo immediately plopped herself down on it claiming it as her own.

I like to think this picture shows her being grateful and all shy about someone buying her such a nice gift. Do you think that's possible?

Adopt me!

This is Brando, Echo's brother. My boss adopted him when I adopted Echo. He's at my house because my boss' new baby is severely allergic to him. I am trying to teach him some manners and find him a new home. I have him on Craig's List, the classifieds at work, and I'm going to make some fliers to put up at the dog park.

Echo loves Brando. When I used to work in the valley all day, I would take Echo to play with him. They said the dogs wrestled the whole day. I believe it because Echo and Brando do nothing but wrestle now that he's staying with us. And when she came home from a day with Brando she slept like the dead. It was sweet.

It's a pretty emotional experience to have a new dog around. It sounds silly to say that but I really like him. But at the same time I don't really know him yet. And I get really mad at him when he's bad. The other night he and Echo were wrestling and I heard Echo yelp which means something hurt. I yelled really loud and chased after Brando who was so scared he peed on the chair. It just wanted him to know it wasn't okay to play too rough. Not like she doesn't give him a pretty rough time of it.

It's hard for me to think of all of the animals out there that need homes and don't have anyone to care for them. Hopefully we'll find a good home for him soon. He's a really sweet dog.

If I had an image of the day section

I would choose this one for today. It's actually from May sometime. She looks a lot older to me but I might be the only one who can tell.

Nothin' but class

I wasn't going to cook this year because almost everyone I know is out of town visiting their family. I thought about going out for Thanksgiving dinner. Aside from it being somewhat depressing, I decided I couldn't live without the leftovers. The whole experience was much less emotionally fulfilling than I had hoped. It turns out without family and friends around to experience the holiday with it's just another Thursday. Except you don't have to go to work.

I'm glad I have the leftovers. But next year I think I'll make the effort to be with my family. Not that I didn't want to this year. It just didn't work out like I had hoped. It looked pretty though.

And of course the obligatory turkey coma.

Moments

I love going on vacation because everything seems so unfamiliar. When you are discovering and learning and feeling new things, it's nearly impossible not to have that fuzzy tingling sensation all over. It's like falling in love. You know the feelings of newness won't last but it feels so good while it does. Unfortunately we can't be on vacation all the time. And if we were, would that not become normal, everyday, and familiar? We would be right back where we started.

But sometimes in everyday life there are moments of realization or recognition of something we never quite saw before. Or at least something we see in a new way. We discover something new in the familiarity of our lives and feel alive, refreshed, and awake.

Last night, a Thursday of all days, I was sitting in a cafe sipping soup and listening to some older Jack Johnson they had playing when I realized I was feeling that warm, fuzzy, tingly sensation all over. The cafe was all rustic wood and I was watching people come in and out ordering smoothies and sandwiches and it felt like I was somewhere else, on vacation. I can't really pinpoint what it was, but I felt happy and relaxed. And I started to think about that feeling and how much I love it. There is nothing like it. It's a high of sorts. Like detaching your body from your worries and cares and just being in the moment.

What a wonderful trick it would be to learn to embrace that feeling and carry it with you in your life. To look at your everyday life with affection and contentment. To drive the same way to work everyday but love it more each time. To hold your love in your arms but feel the beating of your heart and longing for having been away from each other. To enjoy your morning walk like you're doing it for the first time.

I think this is possible and an entirely admirable ambition. There must be people who achieve this every day. But even to experience such detachment and calm once a week would be therapeutic at its worst.

Uh oh.. what happened?

I don't know if it's the tone of my voice, but whenever I see that my little angel dog has chewed something up or mistaken the carpet for a toilet I ask her what happened. And I always get this same reaction. In this instance she decided to try out my chapstick while I was in the shower.




I think she's trying to say "I'm sorry.. don't kill me!"


In my new house there's a tile floor in one room where she stays during the day. And for some reason she refuses to believe me when I tell her it's not okay to pee on the floor. I'm fairly trustworthy I'm not entirely sure what the issue is. But she insists. So I have this bitter cherry spray that I spray on her tongue right after I literally wipe her nose in her urine. Just the sight of me when she's peed on the floor provokes more pee presumably a direct result of her fear of the cherry spray my harsh words. Poor baby. I know she doesn't mean it, but it still doesn't make it okay.


Apparently dogs know they're not supposed to pee on the floor. But they don't have the mental capacity to choose not to do it when they have to go. They only remember when you walk in the door and they suddenly have an "Oh shit" moment. I still think the "I'm sorry" face is very cute.

I would describe myself as Type A

When I do things, I don't just kinda-sorta do them. I create spreadsheets and check the facts, I call and confirm, and I ask lots of questions. I have plans A, B, C and a backup plan D just in case. I can be seriously anal. So when I tell you my experience was horrible, it's usually not for lack of planning or thought. But in this case, I would say I am ignorant and it has not been blissful.

Sigh...

I've been talking about trading in the Civic for something a little more Tahoe-worthy for probably a year now. Last month I finally pulled the trigger. I applied for a loan, got pre-approved for twice what I really needed, and went to work on finding a car I liked.

I finally settled on a '99 Subaru Forester from a mom and pop place called Shillers. It's a great car with all of the important stuff: tires, an engine, headlights, and all-wheel drive. (oooh..) The dealer seems like a really nice guy, he has a really good reputation, and he's been doing it for years.

I take my bank draft from Navy Federal and drive the four hours to Santa Rosa. I test drive the car and love it, and then I discover they can't accept bank drafts. I'm sorry, what?? I'm such a retard. This whole problem could easily have been solved if I had just called and confirmed, "you accept bank drafts right?" I am obviously not a banker.

I proceed to spend an hour or so on the phone with the Credit Union and finally come to the conclusion I will not be driving this car home. Damnit. But in another few days the check should be mailed and everything will be peachy. The dealer graciously agrees to hold the car for me and I'll be back in two weeks to pick it up.

I sulk my way home and I wait. No check. And wait some more. No check. I call. We need more info. I give them the info and I wait. I call back. Still waiting. I call back again. Still waiting. I call back again. Denied due to insufficient collateral. Seriously? It's not my credit or my income, all that is great. The car is not worth what the dealer is asking. But I have the blue book printout in my hand. I did it myself. Sorry, no can do. (WTF?!) But if you can re-negotiate for a lower rate, perhaps they would approve the loan. Sigh....

So I wait five minutes and call back. Hey! I was able to negotiate a lower price!!! (Amazing isn't it?) I'm sorry you'll have to fill out another application. Can't you take the information from the old application? I'm sorry ma'am we can't. Okay, let's fill it out. We'll need the VIN. (Silent cursing). I don't have the VIN (it's on the application), I'll have to call you back.

At this point I give up and go to Bank of America. I'm sorry, we only do auto loans on line. Thanks. I go back home and I apply for a loan online. Accepted! Call this number to speak with an associate. Hi, Thank you for calling Bank of America. You have reached us outside of our normal business hours. Please call back between 8 and 5 Monday through Friday. It is now 8pm on Friday.

Back to Navy Federal. They're open pretty much 24/7. I finally get in touch with someone who understands my issue, modifies the old application (I didn't have to fill out a new one) and sends it in. Please call us back in 24 hours and we should have an answer for you.

So now if I don't get the loan from Navy Federal, I should probably hear back from Bank of America and then finally get my car. But this has honestly been one of the worst experiences I've had in a really long time. I'm not sure I've really learned anything except that I wasn't anal enough. This has taken absolutely all of the fun out of car buying.

With as much fun as I've had so far, I am not looking forward to selling the Civic.

Update: 11/18/08

I can't get a loan from Navy Federal or Bank of America. But I bet they'd jump on the chance to loan me $30,000 for a brand new car that is only worth $20,000 the second I drive it off the lot. So I'm borrowing the money from my parents. I feel like an enormous loser.

Halloween

It was supposed to be the guy from the pringles can with a monacle but it ended up looking like a crazy walrus.

Phobias

I usually clip Echo's nails with my fingernail clipper. I've probably done it two or three times since I've had her because she really doesn't care to have it done. She squirms and bites me and really just would prefer I didn't do it.

The other day I got out my clippers to trim my own nails and she immediately put her ears back and proceeded to hide in my bed. I was like.. "aww, it's ok, I'm not trimming your nails today." She doesn't believe a word of it until I actually put the clippers away.

But then I realized she's way smarter than I thought. She recognized the pattern. I get my clippers out, trim my nails, then realize she probably needs it too. Good doggy.. too smart for her own good!

I love it here

I always go for walks with Echo through these meadows along the Truckee River with the Sierra mountains all around. Sometimes I stop to look around and breathe in the mountain air and I remember how hard I worked to get here.

When I first moved to D.C. from New York I used to spend 4 hours commuting every day. Now Echo and I usually walk 2 or 3 hours every day. I think it's a much better use of my time. I think she agrees.

Sailing in Tahoe

A couple of boats in the fleet. Notice we're taking this picture from behind, not so much in first place.

An Olsen 30.

Our fearless leader.

We still haven't made it to the mark. But spinnakers are beautiful.

Expressway. They kick our butts every time.

Turuff

Six and a half months

I got a new zoom lens for my camera. I took it out of the box and started using it immediately. It's sweet. And also, Echo is beautiful and definitely not camera shy.

She loves our walks in the woods. She bounds around chasing squirrels and birds. And every minute or so she looks to make sure I'm still there. Sometimes I hide behind a tree to see what she'll do. She usually books for home thinking that's where I've gone. But I don't let her get far.

It's a little shocking how much I love her.