Monday, June 27, 2016

Being Healthy

It was a lot of little things.

How much I was huffing and puffing on my AZ/NV/UT trip...
My clothes feel tight and I feel like I look bumpy and lumpy when I look in the mirror...
I'm the heaviest I've ever been...
I hear myself saying, "ah, not a good picture..." more and more because I don't like what I look like in pictures...

14 days ago I decided to make a change. (I've waited this long to write a post about it because I wanted to see if I could keep going...) I'm consciously trying to drink 6-8 cups of water a day, take Ruger on a two mile walk/run every day, do Jillian Michaels every day, not binge eat on sweets, and eat healthy every meal. I'm trying to get a fruit, veggie, and some type of meat in every meal as well as not drink as much milk. I'm trying to limit myself to milk on my cereal and one cup at lunch time.

I admit, I feel like it's been easier to do all this now that school is out and I have all day to get those things done. I'm hoping it'll continue once school starts up again!!

*gulp* So, my starting weight was 189. And after 14 days, I am down to 178. Once I get to 160, I'm buying myself a new pair of cowboy boots! :)


Monday, June 13, 2016

day four and five of our south western road trip

Our fourth day was spent at Zion Nat'l Park. This was my favorite park that we went to. It had extremely wind-y/switchback roads down into it and on this switchback road we drove through a mile long tunnel built underneath a mountain. 

Cars are only allowed so far into the park, so we parked and then took the shuttle to the Angel's Landing trail head. Starting out the walk was pretty easy, since it's mainly flat, but then it starts angling up into the mountain. We passed an 80+ year old guy making his way up - I was amazed! I didn't really want to be walking behind him, though...!

We were almost to the top when I started to feel light headed with tingly fingers/toes and my limbs started feeling extremely heavy. I also felt like I was starting to hyperventilate, which was odd because I was consciously breathing slow and steady. I realized I wasn't drinking enough water (I just didn't feel thirsty so wasn't drinking!) and Elizabeth gave me some salty nuts that she had packed. They definitely helped.  I think I was dehydrated, so I had those side effects. And then I started feeling anxious about it... It was just not a good feeling at all. I was thankful that my sister was a nurse! 

We ended the day in Zion with hiking the Narrows. Really fun, and challenging at times! It's a hike that basically is the Virgin River. With it being so hot out, the river felt amazing.

Day five we spent in Vegas. Not my scene, but it was cool to experience. The Bellagio Fountains were really neat and I really enjoyed staying in "Paris". (Well, minus our party-ing room neighbors..!)
Zion National Park
Hiking
The Narrows in Zion
Las Vegas

day three of our south western road trip

Lower Antelope Canyon and Bryce Canyon National Park was what kept up busy on day three. Such very different places! While wondering where we should go in the morning - Lower Antelope Canyon or Upper Antelope Canyon, we again looked at trip adviser and saw that lower was ranked higher. So, we went there!

We took (very) steep steps/ladders down into the canyon and once down in, the formations and colors were so neat and unique. Our Navajo guide was exceptional with giving us bits of information about the fauna in the area, Navajo customs, the canyon itself and how it was made, along with picture taking tips and what setting your camera/phone should be on to get the best picture.

In the afternoon we drove to Kanab, UT, checked into our hotel, ate at The Three Bears (again, scrumptious food) and then headed out to Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park. This was such a unique park! The hoodoos, which are the formations sticking out of the ground, looked almost out of this world.

Waiting our turn to go down into the canyon.
Steps down. If you look to the left, you can see the old steps that were used. A rope was also used.
Such cool colors and formations
sister photo in the canyon!
Can you see it? It's supposed to be the outline of a woman's face and her hair.
This one is supposed to be an Indian with a head dress. (His eye ball is missing.)
Bryce Canyon
Another angle of Bryce Canyon
Hiking down into the canyon.
Down in Bryce Canyon
Hiking back up
On top of Inspiration Point.
Another shot, on top of Inspiration Point.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

day two of our south western road trip

Day two was spent at the Grand Canyon. To be honest, this was a place that I wanted to go but it wasn't very high on my list. People always would talk about it and I thought it was a bit over rated. Boy, was I wrong. The Grand Canyon is so breathtaking in person. Pictures do not do it justice. Not at all.

We took pictures up on the rim walk and then decided to hike the Bright Angel Trail down into the canyon. Before heading down, we read the signs about not overestimating your ability and that on average, they need to helicopter 300 people out of the canyon per year. We chuckled a bit at that, filled up our CamelBaks, and took off.

We were busy taking selfies and laughing and chatting as we made our way down; but then, we saw the first person come staggering up the trail. The man had taken his shirt off and was gleaming in sweat and dirt, not to mention heaving as he walked past us. Elizabeth and I looked at each other and Elizabeth whispered, "he must have went all the way down to the bottom". I nodded in agreement and we continued on, at a pretty good pace. This wasn't so bad!

And then a lady staggered by us. She would have fit the definition of 'exhausted' to a tee. She, too, was dusty and sweaty and if we hadn't moved out of her way, I think she would have stumbled right into us.

After seeing a few more people, looking very haggard, pass us on their way back up the trail, we decided it was probably a good idea to stop our descent and head back up. It was an excellent idea because going up was much, much harder than going down. I don't think we took one picture on the way back up as we slowly made our way up in the 100+ degree weather. Did I mention there was a severe heat warning issued?

After the Grand Canyon, we drove to Page, AZ and hiked (if you could call it a hike) to Horseshoe Bend.
The view from the rim of the Grand Canyon.
On the rim
On the Bright Angel Trail going down into the canyon.
Bright Angel Trail
Another shot, on the Bright Angel Trail.
Horseshoe Bend
Horseshoe Bend - "I feel like someone is going to push us", Elizabeth said while I took this shot. It was a long way down!
Horseshoe Bend

day one of our south western road trip

Where to start! Our first day involved getting up at 4:30am to catch the shuttle at 5:15am to the airport. We went to bed early the night before, but, I was so excited I maybe got a half hour of sleep. It really caught up to me later on in the day, in Williams, AZ! 

We hit up the Hoover Dam on our drive to Williams, and laughed about our rental car - A Hyundai Veloster. From the outside it looked really speedy and sporty, but it was so. slow. and the acceleration was absolutely terrible. Not to mention the driver's side seat belt attachment broke when Elizabeth went to buckle in. 

We found our hotel and then walked around Williams, AZ. Historic Route 66 runs right through it so it was quite touristy. We ate at the Red Raven on main street since we saw it was rated #1 on trip adviser. We agree with all the raving reviews - the food was superb

Now, I had heard of Route 66 before but really had no idea of its significance. It's considered the main street of America and during the dust bowl of the 30's, many migrated west. It supported the economies of the communities that it passed through. The interstate system eventually replaced it and it was removed from the hwy system in '85. Just a little history lesson. :)

Here's a few photos of day one!
A cooling station at the Hoover Dam.
Looking down the Hoover Dam.
A selfie in front of the Memorial/Bypass Bridge. It is the second highest bridge in the US, following the Royal Gorge Bridge. 
Elizabeth, in Williams AZ.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Happy Anniversary, Aaron

Three years already since we said our vows.
Our wedding felt like it took a second, and with a snap of a finger, three years are past.

I don't think I would change a thing about our love life. We started dating our freshman years of college and knew within three months that we would get married. But, with advice from our parents, we waited four years to get married until we were both through with college.


We had lots of time to plan our big day, and there isn't much about our wedding that I would change. I would pick Medora again as the location, and I would pick the same dress, the same cake, the same venue, the same officiant...


...and definitely the same groom. :)


Of course there were behind the scenes things that happened...
...it rained almost all day before our wedding and we had all gotten tickets for the Medora Musical. 
We got rained out.


... Aaron's ring was too tight and his finger started turning blue. The ring came off soon after the ceremony!


...the stomach flu raged through my family members the week after our wedding and the day after our reception (we had a large reception a week after our wedding, in Fargo) I got the stomach flu, bad, at my in-laws. It also was the day we were planning on moving to Beulah since Aaron started his job on Monday. So, without AC in Aaron's little pickup, me with the stomach flu, and a 90+ degree day, we set off on our life together.


Aaron, if you're reading this, Happy Anniversary. I love you.
Can't wait to see what the next few years have in store!
(and with that, I think I'm going to go listen to "If I Could Make a Living Out of Loving You" by Clay Walker...just to reminisce walking back down the aisle for the first time as husband and wife!)