A little morning Star Wars gangsta rap for you?

Funny stuff!

Enjoy!

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Changeover complete!

Just put in the new template!

Looks much, much brighter in here. A lot more cheery as well, huh? :)

The other template was nice but it was bringing me down (and probably the rest of you all) with all its dark & broody color palette. Continue reading >>

Been MIA!

Sorry I've been away and not posting. I've just felt very uninspired and lazy these past days. The Etsy shop has been equally neglected as well. Haven't really made any new jewelery pieces for a couple weeks. I'm totally in a jewelery making rut...oy. How do you go about sparking the ol' creative juices again?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Although I've gotta confess...I've been feeding my inner computer nerd and have been working on a new blog design. I didn't want to use one of those free templates that one can find on the web. I wanted to stretch the old noodle and make one from scratch. :) Learning about CSS and XML...

Here's a little preview of my new design...


Whatcha think?

I've been developing over at my test blog and I'm still tweaking things here and there, but it's almost done!

If you wanna try your hand at creating your own Blogger template, check out BloggerBuster! Amanda, the head chica over there, has written some fabulous & easy to follow tutorials on creating your own Blogger template as well as other great tips and tricks for you to use for your Blogger blog!
Continue reading >>

Weekend in New Hampshire!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Mine was filled with lots of driving, snow, wind, sun, sweat, tears & a large rock pile by the name of Mount Washington.

So we planned this trip out to Mount Washington out in New Hampshire. We drove out there Friday right after work but first we had to drop off the little one at my parents house up in Columbus. By the time we really got started driving, it was already around 9:30 at night. Driving in shifts, we drove straight through and got to the Joe Dodge Lodge at Pinkham Notch at about noonish Eastern Standard Time as the Lionshead trailhead starts behind the lodge. We did get to see an awesome sunrise in New York though! The weather on the drive out there wasn't too bad at all.

I think Eric totally miscalculated the miles we drove because we definitely did not expect to get there that late at all. We were counting on getting there much earlier, say around 8am. Oh well, right? We quickly got geared up in the basement prep room at the lodge and signed in at the register.

As you can see from the trail/topo map on the right, the first half of the hike takes you uphill on the Tuckerman Ravine trail through the beautiful forest that surrounds the mountain. It was quite the slog, but the weather was fantastic! The sun was shining, but you could tell it was going to be windy up past the treeline because you could hear it blowing and gusting in the treetops. Then you come to a T-junction where the Tucks trail goes off to the left and the Lionshead trail starts on the right. That's where the fun steep bits begin. Pinkham is at about 2100 ft above sea level and the Lionshead is at 5083 ft above sea level.

Because I'm not a fast hiker to begin with, it took us about 2.5 hours to get to where the Lionshead trail splits off of the Tuckerman Ravine trail. Because of the late, late start (as Eric had said when we first pulled into the parking lot, 'The latest alpine start evar.') Eric said that our turn around time would be a 5pm.

I actually felt much better on this trip, as opposed to the last time I was there, on the first stretch of the hike since I had been running at home. Big thanks go to my hairy mountainman as he was the one who keep hounding me to go running. Thanks love!:)

I do have to say that when we got to the steep bits of the Lionshead trail, I was intimidated as all get out! You know, the 'Oh shit' factor ;) We got out our crampons and put them on, lashed my trekking poles to my pack and got out our mountaineering axes. And up we went!

There was alot of sidestepping using our axes as canes, hooking trees and roots, a little front pointing and some doing what it took to get ourselves up that steep section.

As we were getting higher and higher, the trees were getting shorter and shorter. The wind was definately picking up. Good thing we were layered up and warm & toasty with our hardshell coats on. We would occasionally stop and admire the views which were beautiful and breathtaking. You could see everything below. We definately lucked out a little on the weather out there. There was a storm a couple days before we got there and another was supposed to move in on Sunday when we would already be on the road back home. Towards the end of the treeline, we had stop and put on our windproof balaclavas as our skin would freeze in the cold wind.

By the time we got out of the treeline, it was close to 5pm and quite frankly I was more than a little scared. I think a lot of that had to do with the wind, being exposed, not wanting to descend in the dark, etc. You know all that mental stuff, but I was feeling good physically.

Looking back at it now, I should have just pushed through that fear and kept on going. Eric wanted to push on up and tag the rocks at Lionshead before turning around to descend, but he was not willing to leave me behind to do it. It was either we both do it or we both turn around right there.

We ended up turning around. If you're looking at the map, the red dot indicates where we turned around at, a little above the green shading where the trail kinks to the left. I do have to say that there was one point where I was totally and utterly scared out of my mind. But to get back to our car, I had to sack up and do it. I did it, but not without some tears. Gah. Glissading partway down the Lionshead trail shaved off some descent time. There was already a bobsled like channel down where others had slid down on their butts. We got back to the lodge at around 7pm.

All in all, it was an ok trip. Lots of mixed feelings and all. It was definately a soul searching trip. I honestly don't know if I'd do it again. I don't know if this mountaineering thing is for me. This whole suffering for pleasure thing is...well crazy. Although, when I was in the groove slogging away I was actually enjoying myself, the scenery, etc. It really was beautiful. You really do have to have the gumption, that desire, the willingness to dig deep. All the prep in the world isn't going to get you up a mountain if you can't handle it mentally or you flake out, like I did.

Eric says that he felt that I could have gone all the way up to the summit. Physically, yeah I could have done it as I was feeling really good. Mentally, the trip was done as the mountain had already effed with my mind and that was really bad, disappointing. Really, really disappointing actually. Maybe I just needed to kick my fear in the balls and push through it.

He says that we're not going back until I'm ready again and we will go back and summit.

She'll be there. Waiting...
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Nadya Suleman is looking to buy a multi-million dollar house...

Wait...wut?!

How effed up is this?

From TMZ, apparently Nadya Suleman has shown interest in purchasing a $1.24 million dollar home in Whittier, CA.

Eh, ok...and how is she going to pay for all this? The shit that comes out of her arse?!

No job. On food stamps & on welfare. Relies on grandparents' help to raise her 6 other kids.


Wow. Just wow.

And there are people out there who feel for her and are going, 'Oh honey, I'll help you...here, have some $$'.

Wow.
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Funny comic for today!

Totally made me LOL at work. :)

From my favorite web comic site...Explosm.net


Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

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Nervous & excited!

Sorry, I've been MIA the past few days...it's been a bit hectic around here with Mt. Washington prep/packing/bitching/etc going full steam ahead. Even my Etsy shop has been neglected!

I'm an equal opportunity neglector! :p

We leave for New Hampshire tonight after we get home from work. Gotta pack up Nick's stuff and drop him off at my mom's then we'll be on our way.

I'm slated to take the first driving shift as it's easier. Yay!

Totally a wee bit nervous but am excited too.

All this week, I've been keeping tabs on the weather out there by checking the Mt. Washington Observatory website and the Weather Channel website. They got hit with a storm last night & it'll continue today then taper off a bit tomorrow. Then supposedly, another round will hit them on Sunday.

Temps are slated to be around 5 degrees Fahrenheit on the summit Saturday with a 35 mph wind, so in reality, it'll be about 25-30 below zero up there! Woo! In North Conway, it'll be around 26 degrees.

I'll post a trip report with pics when I get back!
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Random funny for the day!

Just got this at work from a friend...enjoy!

Oh & don't try this at home! ;p

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Dreaming Necklace featured on Etsy's Front Page!

A lovely treasury that included my Dreaming necklace curated by pixiepaper that was chosen by Etsy admin for the front page at 6:34pm EST. Visit her shop for fabulous handmade cards, stamps & magnets!

I think I was busy making dinner for my boys! Ha! Continue reading >>

Nadya Suleman and her octuplets...

Yea, I'm pretty sure you heard, seen or discussed Nadya Suleman and her octuplets.

How can you not? News of their births have been in the news all over.

And you know what per an article on CNN.com, now she's had a website created so the general public can donate money to help her raise those kids...

When you are a single mom who's been let go from a job, buying food using food stamps and have 6 other children, what possesses you to go to a clinic to have more children?

Are you in it for the freebies and money? Because it sure looks that way. Is this your sick idea of getting your 'fifteen minutes of fame'? If so, you need more than a little help.

And what was the specialist who implanted those fertilized eggs thinking? I'm sure they knew she already had 6 other kids and that she was a single parent.

I heard somewhere that she says that she's gonna hold each child for 45 minutes each day.

What?! I can only shake my head...

What the hell is a matter with people these days?!

Meh. Continue reading >>

12 days and counting...

...until we leave for New Hampshire to slog up Mt. Washington. I hesitate to say climb any more with regards to this little mountain folks call The Rock. In reality it is more of a strenuous hike/slog, more so when done during the middle of winter. :)

I've been doing pretty good with the running and working out with free weights. I feel so much better since I've gotten back into doing something resembling exercise and physical exertion.

And with the trip coming up fast, I've begun running a mental tally of things that need to be packed and what technical clothing that need to be worn.

It's such a long drawn out process, I think about all of this during work as well as on my commute to and from. Eric will want all of it packed and ready to go by this weekend. That way if we need anything, we still have time to get it. We will go over all of it again next week to make sure we have absolutely everything we need for the slog.

A little sampling from this morning.

Things to pack in my pack
compass
Leatherman
emergency space blanket
hardshell pants
down jacket
crampons
trekking poles
extra socks
extra glove liners
extra wool hat
ski goggles
balaclava
water
snacks/food Continue reading >>

Bus rides & shirtless doods

What you say? No, there weren't any shirtless doods on the bus this morning...

Actually I was sitting next to a fella who was watching the recent re-make of Death Race 2000, Death Race with the lovely Jason Statham as Jensen Ames. Have you seen it?
I've seen this film and loved the action, explosions, crazy death scenes. It's a fun, don't-have-to-think movie. And I love the gratuitous shots of a shirtless Mr. Statham...hehe. :p There's a sequence where his character is in his prison cell doing pull-ups shirtless. Sure he could be doing those with his shirt on...

When I saw that, sitting on the couch next to my honey, my eyes bugged out a little, my jaw dropped and I was like "Whoa...(fans self) did it just get warm in here?..." Eric just looks over and rolls his eyes. Typical male response...

We've seen a lot of Mr. Statham's movies. Since Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels actually and he always ends up shirtless at some point. Not that that's a bad thing...

You know, there are films out there where there's lots of gratuitous shots of boobs, sex and the like for all the males in the world.

How about some love for the ladies, huh?

Yea, about time.

Thank you Jason Statham for going sans shirt in so many of your movies!

:) Continue reading >>

Snowpocalypse Part II

Ugh...I just spent 2 1/2 hours on the bus ride home.

It had started to spit snow around lunch and by the time I got off of work, it was coming down at a pretty good clip. Needless to say, the bus got to the bus stop about an hour late. Traffic had slowed down to a crawl and by the time we were close, everyone was tired of being on the bus.

Oy. And I think we're supposed to get another couple of inches tonight.

I wonder if Nick's daycare will be open tomorrow. Wonder if work will be closed.

And they say that we're gonna hit 50 this weekend?



By the way, here are the pics I had promised yesterday from our little Hocking Hills excursion.

The drive out to Hocking Hills. It was gonna be a beautiful day!

The ice cone at Ash Cave. Notice the people in the pic...

Eric & Nick at Ash Cave

Frozen waterfall at the climbing area by Conkles Hollow.

Nick & I trekking back to our car...

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Crazy weekend - Hocking Hills, Jackets hockey and parenting woes...

Hope everyone's weekend was delightful!

Ours started out great! Saturday morning, we went a little northeast to do a little winter hiking in the Hocking Hills region. We checked out Ash Cave and the climbing area up by Conkles Hollow. If it's been cold enough during the winter, a huge cone of ice forms at the bottom of the water fall at Ash Cave. It spits down from the top of the cave and ends in a small pool below. It'll freeze up like a faucet at top with the water dripping out over the ice cone below. It's pretty cool looking and very tempting to climb.

We haven't grabbed the pics off of our digital camera yet, so the pictures will be forthcoming this evening. ;)

There's a designated rock climbing/rappelling area in the park and we checked that out too. It's over by Conkles Hollow. There's a few waterfalls in that area too and they were nicely frozen. Although the big one was not quite ready...the top portion wasn't connected to the bottom part. It'll be another few weeks before it's climbable. With the unpredictable winters in Ohio, I wouldn't count on it coming in...

Later that night, I took Nick with me to the Blue Jackets game. The boys played hard but looked really discombobulated out there on the ice. Our goalie, Mase was pulled halfway through the first period. We ended up getting embarrassed, 7-3 by the Dallas Stars. Ugh.

It didn't help that Nick was not listening to me at all that night. He minds when Eric is around but when he's just with me...man, it's so frustrating. Needless to say we left early as Nick was getting cranky and mommy was getting super cranky. I don't know what it is but I've got to figure out my own way making him mind. Erg.

Like I said picture from our Hocking Hills excursion will be forthcoming so check back in later tonight! Continue reading >>