Wedding Disaster Dreams

I had my first wedding disaster dream last night; it was about my actual wedding that is going to happen next September.

My fiance' had one a couple of weeks ago where he showed up late, unshaven, & wearing a Spanish bullfighter style outfit (cape & everything). As he was walking up the aisle to take his place by the alter he kept asking around if anyone had a razor. He was so worried that I was going to be pissed (....like his unkempt face was really the problem!) about his scruff that he actually took off to try to find a razor and a place to shave! He ended up missing the wedding completely. I am not sure exactly how that could happen because without the groom there really is no wedding, but he dreamt that the wedding still went on, he just missed it.

Anyway, I had a disastrous wedding dream last night. It was like everything that could go wrong in a wedding did. My maid of honor and other bridesmaids did not make it to the wedding. So I had to ask random girlfriends at the last minute and had them wear their senior prom dresses. I never got my wedding dress that I purchased from the boutique and had to improvise last minute with some hideous reversible tube dress. And I decided to match it with these really awful knee high hooker boots. I had also forgot to order bouquets, so on our way walking to where the wedding ceremony was to be held we were picking random flowers from people's yards! When we finally arrived at the ceremony location only about 25 people out of the 200+ guest we had invited in my dream were there. It was horrible! There were all these open seats & tables and the majority of my family & loved ones were MIA. All I kept thinking was, "What are we going to do with all this food?! I can't possibly eat this many left overs." Finally I woke up; completely tangled in my sheets and my jaw was sore from clenching my teeth. I am not sure if I would completely classify that as a nightmare, but it sure was stressful!!

I know minor things here and there will ultimately go wrong on my wedding day. I am not set on having a "perfect" day, hell, my engagement was far from flawless (that is another story for another time: a bleeding handful of prickers, tears, giant mosquitoes, Alaska, champagne) but I would not have wanted it any other way. Hopefully this dream isn't any indicator of what is to come!

HP6

Who has tickets to the midnight opening of Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince (or as I like to refer to it HP6)?


Oh heck yeah I do.


Who will be showing up to work late due to 2 hours & 45 minutes of wizarding gloriousness?


That would be me.


Who is not ashamed about any of this at all?


Me!! And not in the slightest.






Oh yeah, and I totally will be getting a set of these glasses.

JK Rowling, you are a genius. Also, congrats on HP6 being Pope approved.

Awesome.

What Happens When Your Partner in Crime Abondons You to Go to Paris & Your Fiance is On Assignment...

You accept to go on a camping trip with a bunch of married, pregnant, with kids couples. Talk about being the odd one out.

So E, hope you are enjoying this...


While I am "relaxing" in the wood to the sound of this....


[Disclaimer: Not that I don't love kids or the people I am going with aren't cool...it is just one of those different phase of life things. Plus seriously, Paris...jealous!]

Unintentionally Awesome

This was me tonight....


I completely missed a BBQ and Thursday night happy hour as I accidentally passed out in a position extremely similar to Brody in this picture...except more embarrassingly I was not watching TV but getting ready to do "The Shred" workout DVD and was in a sports bra and running shorts. Awesome.

Fav Photos - Summer Series p. 2

The summer celebration continues! Here are a few of my favorite shots from Summer 2008 - the Naturally Northwest Tour. I spent the summer on a series of adventures all over Washington from the Cascades, the San Juan Islands, Whidbey Island, to up at Mt. Rainier.

The Breakthrough

Over 4th of July weekend, I headed out of town to do a little bit of fear conquering with a few friends. As I have mentioned climbing is quite terrifying to me. I did not comprehend how people could actually enjoy this sport; until I built up the courage to try it again this weekend.
This is a picture of my first route of the trip. It was a challenging 5-8 to 5-9 rated route. When my turn to climb approached I began to tremble with fear; my whole body was shaking as I started to ascent. Gradually I became more confident as I was able to make good holds and moves upwards...that is until I got stuck. After failing at making the neccessary maneuver to get to the next point and falling a few times, I lost all my confidence and I was just spent. I bribed my belayer a beer to let me down (ha!). Although I did not make it to the top, I felt much better about this climb than my previous trip.

The next climb that we did was on an outcropping called "XY Rock". As you can see from the picture below, the name is quite fitting. This is a very different kind of climb than others I have done. It is a crack climb, that utilizes a fist anchor technique. This is when you place your hand in the crack and make a fist and use it as an anchor as you pull yourself upwards. It is definitely a heavy strength move, but it is very stable, which makes climbing a bit less terrifying. On this route, I was able to successfully make it to the top without falling. A sense of relief flooded my body as my feet hit the ground after completing the climb. My whole body had been trembling the entire time as I was ascending. I still was not sold on the sport at this point.

After we had all tried the X route, the more experienced climbers decided to tackle the much more difficult Y route. They had a blast working this crack as they enjoyed the challenge it posed. I still thought they were crazy and was working up the courage to try a different approach on the X crack. When it was my turn to go, I felt a bit less nervous than usual. I got up on the rock and all of a sudden it clicked; I no longer felt scared. I felt sure-footed and confident. Each move I made was swift and calculated; I could not believe how quickly I had reached the top. It was absolutely exhilarating. Finally, I understood why my friends enjoyed climbing so much. For the first time I felt the thrill of victory as I conquered my fear and made the rock my bitch. That is right, my bitch!

On a side note, I came back from climbing completely sore, covered in scratches and bruises...oh yeah and I was absolutely coated with dirt and grime from head to toe...it was just like I was a kid again! Awesome.

Here I am making a sweet move on the X crack.

Fav Photos - Summer Series

In celebration of summer I have decided to post a series of photos from past summer adventures. These are a few of my favorite shots from Summer 2007, also known as IPG (International Party Girl's) European Escape. Enjoy.

So Much For Being Fearless

Rock climbing is truly awesome. However, it scares the living crap out of me...and I only found this out after I was already up & climbing. I honestly don't think I have ever physically felt "fear" before in my whole life until this experience. I've jumped off of cliffs, bungee jumped, skied some ridiculous cliffs & terrain, done a whole bunch of other crazy stuff and nothing has ever compared to my experience with rock climbing.

I am not afraid of heights or falling for that matter. But rock climbing is both a physical & mental challenge. You have to be strong enough to hold yourself to the rockface and pull yourself up higher. Mentally you need to be calculating your next move and willing your body to trust your fingers and toes that are clinging to the holds.

I started my first climb ever (pictured here) with excitement and enthusiasm; it was only when I got about halfway up that I realized how difficult this sport really is. Seriously, the people I was climbing with made it look so easy...I thought "hey, I am in good shape, I will be able to just fly right on up to the top!" I was dead wrong.

My hands and legs were fatigued within a few minutes; muscles I didn't even know I had ached in misery. As my body seemed to begin to fail, so did my demeanor. I suddenly began to lose faith in my capability to make it to the top. Moreover, I began struggling to find the right holds to progress upwards. Fortunately, I was able to make it to the top of this climb, but once my feet hit the ground my gut was telling me not to go back up.

We moved from this route (a respectible 5-8 on the climbing scale) to a more difficult route (5-9) that required more arm strength than the previous. When it was my turn to make the climb, my arms & legs began to tremble. A little less than halfway up the face I hit a spot where I had difficulty making the reach. As I was trying to secure my hold and move upward, I lost my grip and fell. I did not find the falling to be scary or unsettling, but slowly as I kept trying to stick the hold (it was my only reachable option to move onwards) my stomach began tying into tight nots. Sharp quivers ran down my spine as I continued unsuccesfully to secure my position on the rockface; my body began a cold sweat. After falling about 5 more times, (each time I became more reluctant to restart) I suddenly burst inexplicably into tears. I had to get down, ASAP.





Once lowered to the ground, I had no words to explain the anxiety I felt to my worried friends. I had no rational explanation for how my body physically turned against me. All I could think was, "wow, that is what fear feels like," and that I did not want to go back up climbing, EVER. Although I had an uncomfortable experience, I enjoyed being out there and watching my friends tackle the wall with skill and expertise. I longed to be able to climb with such confidence and calmness as they seemed to exude. Only a few days later a few of my friends came and told me that what I felt physically is what they experience mentally in their heads as they climb.

Since that first trip, my friends have persisted on trying to get me back out there. I have continually declined the offer because I am too scared that I will breakdown again. However, this weekend, I finally agreed to take another stab at it...

I think I am going to be sick. Haha.