Bungee!

The adventure continues. I've been doing some pretty bold, daring, and exciting things lately so why not jump off a perfectly good bridge and plunge 160 feet towards the white water rapids belolw only to be snatched back up just before hitting the water by a gigantic bungee cord? Well, for me, it was a true test of will power. Let me tell you - I freaked out. I have no irrational fear of heights, or anything else for that matter, and I was really looking forward to doing this. I was pumped, I was hyped, I was excited, but they got me to the ledge and I was panic-stricken! I took one look down and freaked out! They counted me down from 5 and there was nothing I could do - there was no way I could will my legs to jump. I honestly thought that I wouldn't be able to do it - ever! And the ten drunk guys behind me, along with Justin, Julia, Jennie, and the two or three instructors counting me down didn't seem to matter. (I have very little recollection of everyone yelling my 5 different countdowns. I only remember Paul - the guy who strapped me into my harness - counting me down and Justin telling me he loved me just before I finally jumped. Everything else and everyone else is a bit of a blur.) I had to disregard the wonderful advice Paul gave me to swan dive forward with my arms outstretched and my eyes open. After my fourth failed attempt I decided that the only way it would happen was for me to close my eyes and just fall. (Holding onto my harness was Paul's idea - gave me a better sense of control.) Interesting to note that I found it impossible to scream on the descent as I wasn't even breathing. But I could scream and yell as I bounced up only to lose my breath again as I was falling. And the cycle continued. Next time I jump (yes, there WILL be a next time) I'll go backwards - maybe that will be a bit easier. I am now an official Whistler Bungee member and all my future jumps are 50% off. Can't wait to go back and do it again! What an amazing experience!

Hydro Bronc

On Wednesday, August 20, 2008 we decided to venture out into the cold and Hydro Bronc. If you ever get the opportunity to do this - it's awesome! Unfortunately, we had some technical difficulties with our videographer and I can't show you footage of our experience. But don't we all look sexy in our stinky wetsuits and even stinkier helmets?


(Our much needed wetsuits since it was like 50 degrees outside and the water was frigid!)

Whistler, BC

Well, the weather did not cooperate with our vacation plans. It was cold and rainy almost the entire week. (Rainy? in the Northwest? Go figure!) To fight off the impending boredom we had to be ingenius and find other ways to entertain ourselves. There's nothing more entertaining than leg wresting and French braiding each others hair.



---- Even if it IS Dane's hair we're french braiding!

Brandi Carlile

I am in love with Brandi Carlile!!!!!!!! I thought I was in love with her before, but since going to her concert I am even more enamored with her. She is amazing! This is one of her many amazing songs playing on my blog right now.
Justin, Julia, and I stayed in Seattle (Bellevue, actually) Saturday night so that we could go to her concert. Jackie Greene and Pat Monahan also performed and they were fabulous as well. The concert was spectacular. And never in my life have I felt more straight than I did that night.


BTW - I got in trouble for taking this photo of Julia, Justin, and I (apparently cameras weren't allowed at the concert) and I didn't want to risk getting kicked out by taking a photo of Brandi :(

Seattle

Saturday, August 16, 2008
This is the start of our Canadian vacation. We flew into Seattle where we picked up rental cars to take the beautiful drive to Whistler, BC. While in Seattle we just had to stop at Pike's Place Market. As you can see from Nixon's reaction - it was an incredibly exciting place to be!

New Hair Cut

Friday, August 15, 2008
I have been contemplating a new hair cut since I got my last one, but thought it might be just a little bit TOO drastic. Dara Torres inspired me to go for it - she looks amazing and maybe I can too with the same haircut.


Ok, so my abs and arms and legs look nothing like hers - even with the same haircut! ARGH! Oh, well - give me time, maybe I'll get there.

Here's what mine looks like. Sort of hard to get the full effect with just the one angle, but you get the jist of it.

Abridged Version

Quick little note here on abridged versions, particularly Les Miserables. It's been about 11 years since I first read Les Miserables (the unabridged edition). This book had such a huge impact in my life and is one of my favorite books ever written. I have wanted to reread it for quite some time, but have been a bit put off by it's size. With tickets to see the play in September, I decided that I had better refresh my memory of the beautiful storyline and amazing characters. And to save myself a bit of time I was going to do it with the abridged edition. By page 100 I was so incredibly frustrated! There was so much that was left out. And if there was THAT much left out that I could remember, then what else was left out that I hadn't remembered? Don't let someone else decide for you what is central to the plot and development of characters. Always take matters into your own hands and read the UNabridged version!
Ok,. maybe not such a quick little note. Just needed to get that off my chest.
Thanks for listening (or reading).

Garrett

08 06 08
I miss him so much. I think about him practically everyday. Some days I miss him more than others and today is one of those days. He would have just celebrated his 29th birthday a few weeks ago. I stayed at Jody's house when I went home for Pioneer Day. I stood in her family room on the morning of the 24th in front of the photo collages of Garrett and cried. He was so beautiful. I missed him a lot that day as well. Today, as I often do, I wondered what sort of relationship we'd have today if he was still alive. We didn't go through those years of growing apart as priorities changed and we got more involved in activities away from the fmaily. We didn't have to see our relationship change - or didn't get to. Who knows? We may have grown even closer as we got older instead of growing apart. Who would he have married? Would I have approved of her? (Probably not. I probably wouldn't think anyone was good enough for him.) What would he look like now? What would he do for a living? What would be his hobbies and interests? Would he have kids? How many? What would they look like? What would they be like? How would our entire family dynamic be different because he was still with us? How would each of us individually be different because he was still with us? And how would each of us be different because we never felt the pain and the loss of his death? Or because we don't have that constant desire and need to live better lives and ensure we are an eternal family and can be with him again someday? There can be no doubt that he has had a huge impact on my life in many ways. And continues to impact me everyday.

COWGIRL UP!

I have a great job with a great company and great co-workers. On July 16 we had a company "team building" experience. Basically we all went to Snowbird with all event passes and were able to ride the tram, the zipline, the alpine slide, the mechanical bull, or climb a rock wall as much as we wanted. My favorite - the mechanical bull! I rode it five times and had the awful bruises on the insides of my knees to prove it. (Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of the bruises.)

I thought it was funny that we were all taking photos of the beautiful view with our camera phones. He he.