Special Delivery

No I am not pregnant.

I got a surprise present int he mail this week.

But before I tell you what it is, let us go back to last Wednesday April 20, 2011.  I didn't have class anymore I am done forever, it was a long, not so awesome day at work, and I was having a freak out/emotional breakdown about my future.

I wasn't sure the first person I wanted to talk to would be responsive, so I texted that person and I called my friend Emily.  She and I have been friends since college (which by the way ended 4 years ago today) and she always can make me feel more normal and completely sane in my worries.  She knows how to talk me down and that she did.  I am someone who doesn't recognize how stressed she is until it starts to manifest in physical symptoms {cold sores or just plain sick} and guess what started to form on Wednesday {gross I know but it happened and is totally stress induced}.

Over the weekend, I was told by several people that I just needed to calm down, chill out and things would happen.  So I tried to do that as much as I could.  Had an awesome Easter dinner and after dinner checked my email to find---AN INTERVIEW OFFER!  I have an interview with USBSF on Friday and I have everything possible crossed that it goes well.

Then yesterday came around and I got a surprise in the mail that I had no idea was coming.

This was exactly what I needed this week...  And I highly recommend it to anyone who is finishing school...  I am now going to force Jenny to read it--aka I might have to read the whole thing aloud to her--yes I did finish the book in 24 hours...

Moab: Day 2

Day 2 of Moab featured my favorite hike in all of Arches.  Yes it was forever long (8+ miles) but it goes into areas of the park where not many people {families} go so it was quiet and really peaceful.  The hike starts out a mile or so in at Landscape Arch.

My one memory of this Arch from my first trip to Arches was that I wanted to see this one but for some reason the kids weren't allowed to go, just my dad went and took an awesome picture.  The arch doesn't even look the same though because there was a rock slide on the right side of this picture and the arch is now larger than it was before.

Me at Partition Arch

Navajo Arch--I love that there is a tree growing in the shade of this one! 

The awesome view from the hike to Double O Arch

I think this is Pine Tree Arch--before you get to Landscape Arch

Notice all the SAND--this is what made this hike super hard, the amount of sandy areas/hills!

My absolute favorite!  Private Arch--it was so quiet it was like no one was even around us, so peaceful

The last hike we ended up doing was to Tower Arch.  I had never been here before mostly because it was a gravel road 30 minutes from the other arches.  Totally worth the drive.  It was Jenny's favorite hike of the trip.  You literally climb to the top of one of the bluffs in Klondike Bluffs and hike around the entire plateau until you reach the opposite side and this cool arch with again a tree growing right in the middle.  This one was really hard too because of all the sand and literally sand dune hills that you had to climb near the end of the hike.  I am pretty sure that I still have sand in my shoes from this one.

Tower Arch

The Marching Men

My favorite trail marker...  They remind me of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic logo

We ended up coming home that night because 1-we couldn't hike any more (12 miles in 1 day is a lot), 2-we both really needed showers (again 12 miles) and 3-we couldn't sleep in the back of the car again (the mice had already made an appearance early in the day).  All in all it was a great trip down to Moab.  A great chance to get away from the job searching, outrageous drama, and hustle and bustle of life and school in the "city".

I wish we could go back--every weekend {especially since it snowed here today}

Moab: Day 1

This past weekend while all our US Speedskating family were in Milwaukee for the Board Meetings, Jenny and I decided head south to Moab for some time away from "the city" {as my Kansan roomie calls it}, some warmth, and some hiking.  We drove down Friday morning and set up camp...

After we got everything all set up at our awesome campsite, we headed into Arches for some hiking--we planned out all the hikes in the park so that we could hit all of them in 2.5 days.  We knew this was a bit ambitious but since we got down to Moab and had our tent set up much earlier than we anticipated, we were thinking that it was possible.  

Jenny and I after we KILLED the Delicate Arch hike.  The map said 2-3 hours--we were up and back in 1:45

Doesn't Stan {my car} look so rugged?

This fire was a stumbling block for us the first night, it took an HOUR to get started but we got it going. It was the smokiest fire EVER but it cooked our hot dogs and marshmallows :)

Once it started to get dark, we had some little visitors... MICE--tiny guys who were very interested in our warm fire and food.  The mice lead to us sleeping in the CAR, we put down the seats in the back of my Ford Escape and plopped the air mattress in there and snuggled in--it was quite possibly the worst night of sleep I have ever experienced.  Jenny and I both slept 4 hours MAX and it was freezing but better than outside with the mice.  We tried to be outdoorsy and we did a good job until the rodents came...

Day 2 coming soon...

Graduation!!