Make the Jump

I am now blogging at Whine Less, Breathe More.  

I hope to see you there!

When 2 Minutes Feel Like 20

I am on day 6 of week 2 of an 8 week training program.  Did you get all that?  It is to work non-runners up to jogging 2 miles.  The program begins with running 5 minutes, jogging 30 seconds.  Me, with my lungs that can only be compared to a 90 year old, was sucking air hard those first few days.  Then the program took the jogging up to 1 minutes.  Okay, harder but not as bad as I thought it might be.  And then today happened.  Today the program kicked the jogging up to 2 minutes.  I was nervous heading out.  How would I ever be able to run 2 minutes?  Those 2 minutes were feeling like 20 to me.  But you know what?!  I did it!  I ran my 2 minute segments!!  Yes, I was beyond worn out by the end but I did it.  Yeah for me!


Part of the bike trail I walk/jog (= wog?...) on.



Passed the tennis courts...

Passed baseball practice...

And what appeared to be a football camp at SOU?...

More of the football camp.

Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow!

Missing the Sun

It's been pretty rainy here the last few weeks.  I'm ready for sunshine!  The yucky weather hasn't stopped me from getting my wogs (walk/job) in. 

This was a few days ago on the bike trail.  Those dots you see on the path are my girls, B & J, riding their bikes along with me.

 I must say, the spring rain is making for some very pretty, spring colors!



I Must Be Crazy

WORKOUT - Walked outside twice.  1.43 mi/00:28 & 1.68 mi/00:27.  Clean, beautiful day in the 60's.


I probably am.  I was going to share what it is that I decided yesterday, but then realized I must be nuts to do this thing.  So I will not share it just yet.  I'm going to wait a few more days, see how this decision settles.  More importantly, see if I don't change my mind!  Don't want to go back on my word to you, so I'll wait and see.


And now I realize nothing that I am saying here makes even the smallest amount of sense.  Sorry.  To make it up to you, I'll share a few photos from my morning walk.

Crossing over Ashland Creek. 

Only made it to the edge of Lithia Park.  Wish I had more time to hit the trails there.

Heading back through the Plaza.

One Year Ago...

I cannot believe it's already been a year since I moved from KC to Oregon.  Time has most certainly flown by!  I still absolutely love it here.  I am so very happy I made the life-changing decision to move here.  Life has been good, but not without its ups and downs.  More on that later!


I will tell you, I made another big decision tonight.  No, I am not moving back to KC!  But I think this decision will have as great of a positive influence on my life. 


Oh, and my brown hair is red now.  It makes my green eyes look blue.  Craziness, I tell you!

Field Trip! Seeds Unit.

First I have to apologize for the poor quality of these photos.  I forgot my camera and had to use my phone's camera.

Friday I joined J's class on their weekly, outdoor field trip.  This week, we met at the school and then walked to a nature park about a mile and a half away. 

Along the walk to the park, the class happened upon some blackberries ripe for the picking.  Kids started enjoying their snack and then J was attacked!  By the blackberry bush!  Resulting in the stratches below.  =(

Once we reached the park, the class gathered together to discuss the plan for the day.  The theme of study this month is seeds.  The kids are to gather seeds to journal and discuss. 

Here is J sitting on a footbridge.  She is journaling the seeds she found.

The kids really did a great job of collecting several seeds each.  Then we gathered back together to talk about the seeds we had found. 

Then it was lunchtime!  We decided lunch by the creek would be a perfect end to our morning.

First Day of School!

The girls started their new school yesterday.

J?  Loved hers!

B?  Not so much.  =(

Oak Knoll Fire

On Tuesday when I left work, I noticed a large black cloud.  I knew immediately there was a fire in Ashland.  I called Tony to take a look from our deck.  We are so high up on our hill, we can see the entire town.  Turns out the fire was on the south side of town.  About four miles from our house.

My usual route was blocked by traffic and emergency vehicles.  But the time I got home, we could see helicopters had joined in the fight.  This went on for hours.  =(

This is a view of the fire from our deck.

We later learned the fire had started on the east side of the highway and then the strong winds carried it across the road.  Four streets had to be evacuated.  In the end, 11 homes were destroyed.  The police have arrested a homeless man.  He had started a fire for himself that got out of control. 

Things I Miss About MO, Part 1: Thunderstorms

Oh how I miss thunderstorms!  I miss watching the storm rolling in from miles away.  I miss the sight of the lightening bolts crashing down.  I miss the big boom of the thunder..  Especially when the thunder is close enough to shake the house.  I miss the power.  The massive, raw power of the storm. 

And the smell.  I miss the smell of the rain.  It's the most wonderful smell.

We finally had a thunderstorm here this week.  It only lasted maybe an hour but it was wonderful!  We have a little lightening, a few thunderclaps.  It wasn't the powerful storms we are use to in the Midwest but it was refreshing and reminded me of home.

And then we were rewarded with the sun coming back out right before sunset.  The colors were gorgeous bouncing off the mountains.  And then!...  A rainbow appeared!

Things I Love About OR, Part 1: The Commute

This is how my daily, rush hour commute looks.  Need I say more?

Pilot Rock

Last weekend, Barbarian/Hubby and I climbed Pilot Rock with our friend, Camper. The summit of Pilot Rock is over 5900 feet. The climb covers an elevation change of 2000+ feet. Pilot Rock is actually the cooled magma of an ancient volcano's central vent. Over time the exterior of the volcano has eroded away. I was pretty excited to climb until I found out about the extreme free solo rock climb required at the end of the trail to summit the rock.

Upon further research (I googled), I discovered that people have died trying to make the final climb. OMG! Are you kidding me? I am a pretty careless gal that usually has a few unexplained bruises at any given time. But I couldn't back out. The boys would never let me live it down!

We set out at 7:00 AM.  We wanted to beat the heat and other hikers.  We could see Pilot Rock from several miles out.  And as we got closer, it got bigger.  Oh my.  It was going to be a long morning.

The first part of the trail was a pretty easy, dirt trail.  Then it started going uphill fast at a steep angle.  The boys were leaving me behind but I was okay with that.  They like to race to the top.  I prefer to take my time, enjoying the trail and my surroundings.  And then was my least favorite part.  Steep, dirt and large loose gravel.  It sucked!  Most of this part required a lot of using your hands to climb.  Lots of bear walking.  Not so fun.

So I made it to the top of that section to see this...

The last section of the trail.  The rock.  Camper was already half way up.  Can you see him in the white t-shirt in the middle of this pic? 

And then there was this part.  This is where the free solo rock climbing started.  Camper got up and then it was Barbarian's turn...

It was at this point that he was beginning to think he might not make it up.

But he did!  And then it was my turn.  Please, please, please let me make it up there! 

Not only did I make it up there, I fly up the side of that rock!  Who knew my long legs and arms combined with my flexibility would make climbing so easy.  I showed those boys a thing or two! 

I found this cool marker on top of the rock.  I wonder when it was put there?

Did I mention it was our six month anniversary?  And that is how we spent it.  On top of a rock, looking out to see California on one side and Oregon on the other.  Perfect!

Up, Up & Away!

Sorry for the lack of posts!  Our internet has been down for over a week now.  Finally had a tech out today.  All better now!

A couple weeks ago, the girls and I went to the Rogue Valley Balloon Rally.  It was the first time the girls had been that close to hot balloons.  They were so excited!

This is what we saw as we drove at 6:30 AM.  Drive faster!

Did I mention that we had to get up at 5:30 AM?!  Five!  Thirty!!  AM!!!  AM = in the morning!!!!

This balloon was J's favorite.

They offered a ride in a tether balloon for a charitable donation.  So we had to do it!  It was for a good cause!

Getting higher!

It was amazing!  It was a very gentle, quiet ride. 

So fun!  Only problem is, now we all want to go on a real, longer ride!

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is a pretty big deal here in Ashland.  The downtown celebration is over 100 years old!  It starts the day before the holiday with people marking their viewing spots along the parade route.  They put out their chairs and blankets.  Some even go as far as marking with duct tape.  It's crazy!

The celebration starts early on the Fourth with a run, followed by the parade and then activities, food  and entertainment in the park downtown.  Later that night is more entertainment and a spectacular fireworks display.

J & B were in the Ashland parade.  They were very excited to do this since it was their first holiday here.  Barbarian's sister was dancing in the parade with her belly dancing troupe.  They invited their children to pass out candy and flyers along the route as they danced. 

This photo is right before the parade started. Look at that crowd!

Barbarian and I lucked out and found a nice shady spot to watch from.

 

Here comes J! See the little tutu she's wearing? We made it. So cute! Okay, so she looks a little more like a Material Girl than a Belly Dancer. But she's still adorable!

 

And that hand in the middle of the photo? That would be Barbarian waving to her.

And there are the belly dancers!  Their parade entry received first place in their division!

After the parade we found some entertainment and lunch.

This band from TX was great!  I can't remember their name...

Anyone that knows me, knows I am a self-proclaimed, people watcher.  One of my favorite things about Ashland is the awesome variety of people.  If you didn't know better, you might think you were watching a music video being filmed!

These gals were one of our favorite sites that day.  These living statues would hold their position until someone tipped them.  Then they would reposition themselves.  This went on for hours!  Do you think that metallic paint on their skins is healthy or, at the very least, extremely hard to remove?!

Barbarian and I watched the fireworks from our deck.  They were beautiful! 

Can't wait for the next holiday here!