Eating Squeaky Clean

For the past two months I have been plagued by morning finger joint stiffness and soreness. It appeared out of the blue but I attributed it to starting aerialist classes which requires immense upper body strength. I thought I could also be due to my Crossfit schedule and the barbell work and pullups required for that. I thought I had been eating well, would partake in some beer or a glass of wine on more nights that not. I knew I hadn't been drinking enough water so I started carrying around a bottle with me at work. Still, I would wake up each morning feeling like someone had twisted each one of my finger joints causing soreness and some mild swelling. It would resolve within 15-20 minutes but I would have residual soreness all day. It was never enough to get me to stop doing all my activities and I just brushed it off as possibly joint strain and I would have to get used to it. At worst I thought I might be developing arthritis and even worse rheumatoid arthritis. This is what happens when a medical practitioner has a malady- self diagnosis. No bueno, folks.

Well, for the past 5 days I have been eating and drinking clean, squeaky clean. NO processed foods, NO processed sugars or even agave syrup, NO beer/wine. This seems to have had some effect. For the past 3 mornings I have not had finger joint soreness when I wake up despite keeping up my previous physical activity routine. I am sad to say that I know my body was reacting to the slip ups I was making in my diet. For the next few weeks I'm going to keep up the squeaky clean eating and see what other maladies may resolve or added benefits I stumble across.

Big Things

Lots has been going on the last few months. In my own life, the most important thing has been meeting and falling in love with my Future Husband, Chris. We're in the midst of planning a Summer 2011 wedding in Portland, OR which, although I didn't think I'd get this way, has begun to dominate most of my thoughts. This is largely in part to the fact that we don't want to have a traditional wedding. We are not very traditional people and it would misrepresent our personalities to carry out a traditional wedding. This may frustrate some people but we truly want to have a celebration that shows our love and commitment to each other.

All that being said, we'll be starting a blog together. Much of our family lives either on the East Coast or the Chicagoland areas. I feel that this will be one of the best ways for our far-away kin to keep tabs on us, give us their feedback, get info, and hopefully gather a general understanding of the depth of our love for each other.

Keep your eyes peeled for the first installment of our writings!

Mt. Hood Summit attempt #1

Laura and I completed snow school on Saturday with newly-obtained skills in ice axe use, rope climbing, belaying, self-arresting, group-arresting, and how much snow could find it's way in between our layers before we get uncomfortable.

While Saturday was a success the first summitt attempt has been delayed. A large, unforgiving, and inconsiderate storm front moved in overnight.

Our head guide, Doug Ironside, had a pow wow with us Saturday evening before we went to bed. He assured us of the option to wait for a better day to attempt the summit again. The group that went up the previous day was unable to summit due to avalanche conditions even though the weather was gorgeous. He expressed ongoing concern about the avalache risks and also informed us that we had less than a 50% chance of summiting today.

So, alas, Laura and I will attempt to conquer the mountain once again. Since the first weekend in June was a washout we will shoot for the last weekend now.

Mt. Hood, you're gorgeous and intimidating but I long to climb you still.







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T-minus 37

37 days until the Mt. Hood climb. Time to reclaim my endurance!


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Following Footsteps

Tonight I went to an Intro to Mountaineering class with my friend Laura. A seed has been planted in my brain that we will be climbing Mt. Hood in June. Ever since moving to Portland I've wanted to partake in adventures of varying kinds. Making it to the summit of Mt. Hood wasn't the first on my list of adventures but now that I know it is possible I am able to actually picture myself doing it.

While I know we are certainly not the first people to want to do this climb, I still feel empowered and motivated. My Uncle Bill and his friend Paul climbed Hood many years ago. Sometimes I wonder how many of my Uncle's footsteps I have walked in.

Between now and June Laura and I will be hitting the CrossFit gym, rock gym, and challenging hikes as hard as possible. I feel the same about this as I did about the marathon. Once the idea of becoming a marathoner was in my head I did not let go and was not satisfied until I crossed that finish line. Soon I will be able to look at Mt. Hood from my front porch and think, "Yeah. I got your number."

Feist "I Feel It All"

I feel it all I feel it all
I feel it all I feel it all
The wings are wide the wings are wide
Wild card inside wild card inside

Oh I'll be the one who'll break my heart
I'll be the one to hold the gun

I know more than I knew before
I know more than I knew before
I didn't rest I didn't stop
Did we fight or did we talk

Ooo I'll be the one who'll break my heart
I'll be the one to hold the gun

I love you more
I love you more
I don't know what I knew before
But now I know I wanna win the war

No one likes to take a test
Sometimes you know more is less
Put your weight against the door
Kick drum on the basement floor
Stranded in a fog of words
Loved him like a winter bird
On my head the water pours
Gulf stream through the open door
Fly away
Fly away to what you want to make

I feel it all, I feel it all
I feel it all I feel it all
The wings are wide, the wings are wide
Wild card inside, wild card inside

Oh I'll be the one to break my heart
I'll be the one who'll break my heart
I'll be the one who'll break my heart
I'll end it though you started it

The truth lies
The truth lied
And lies divide
Lies divide

Floods of nostalgia

The Hudson River valley provides the backdrop for so many of my memories. Being back here over Thanksgiving has been lovely. Sometimes I wonder if I will end up returning to my New York roots one day. I loved New Paltz and Woodstock (go figure) but I love being able to live in a bigger city that has a small-town feel. New York, thank you for shaping me. I'll miss you in a couple days.


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