So I watched the "biggest loser" today, and while I love watching that show, I always feel like a lazy ass (0r maybe a lazy tyranical cat, like in the picture). I mean those people work their butts off, and are super disappointed if they only lose 5 pounds. Man, five pounds a week for me is like. . .fist pumping, super amazing make me feel like a bad ass weight loss. So motivated by the biggest loser I turned my t.v. to the exercise channel and got to work with Jillian Micheal's and cardiokye. By the end of it I felt pretty good and Jillian Micheal's workouts are tough!! I'd hate to be put through that five or six hours a day!! The cardioky was pretty cool and the kids got really into it. I guess in the end it's just another way to put off the inevitable. . .horrid, blinding amounts of school work. I wish there was a t.v. show that helped me out with that!!

Where in the world did Summer go?

Cow what? That's right, cowpots!

Things are coming down to he wire now, and instead of the frantic, desperate feelings I should be having, I'm simply in a state of denial. Or maybe it's Zen. But if it is Zen, it feels like I'm just feeling alright with my ability to put off doing some very important things. Or, maybe it's spring. I'm loving spring this year. My daughter really wants a garden, and since I'll buy into anything, especially if it has the word green, sustainable, or environmentally sound in it, we are planting one.

Now I have a serious black thumb. I can't even get the simplest of houseplants to grow! But, despite this deficiency I have decided to carry on with enthusiasm. We planted some heirloom tomatoes seeds in pots made out of cow poop this weekend, and I spend waaaay more time than I'd like to admit watching the soil for signs of seedlings. Here's hoping my black thumb doesn't ruin my daughters garden!!

It snowed in Santa Fe today, and the weather is miserable. I wore a skirt and flip flops this morning thinking, optimistically that it would clear up and be beautiful. THAT DID NOT HAPPEN!! In fact as I was futilely trying to insert a dollar outside the flying star, big chunks of ice from the roof were falling down all around me! My toes were numb and my leggings were soaked. The good news is, that despite my misery, the environment is soaking up all this moisture and we will hopefully have a respite from a dry, moisture

sucking summer!! So, while I may not like the temperature, the

freezing rain, or anything else about this cold, windy, terrible April,

The New Mexico environment loves it. Happy Earth week, we're

planting heirloom tomato seeds in earth friendly pots this weekend

to celebrate!!

Ahh. . .The horror of the end of the semester.

The end of the semester is upon me, and the accumulation of all the information that has been rammed into my head for the last few months is coming. For such a momentous occasion, each teacher has demanded a paper, and a test and a power point presentation. Now, I love school. Being able to leave a class and have a in intense knowledge of something that others don't have is very satisfying in a self absorbed, egocentric way. But I HATE that each teacher demands so much all at the same time. And I hate that my almost perfect GPA might be compromised because there is sooo much on my plate it's hard to make sure all of it is perfect. I feel like that little shrimp in the Little Mermaid that gets eaten by the sea witch Ursula. Ursula is school and kids and everything else, while I cower in the corner and try to survive without being devoured!!

The laziness is upon me!

So the end of the school year is near, and while I relish getting good grades, I often loose momentum around April. This has adverse effects on my school work, but this year it seems really exaggerated. I have huge projects for almost every single class and have yet to start one in earnest! I've made mild attempts at them, but it is time to buckle down and get them done!! I have two rough drafts due next week and a presentation that is due in a few weeks. I'll do them, because I want to graduate more than anything I've ever wanted in my life. It's just a ton of tedious hard work. I'm off to the grocery store. I feel like this guy today!!

Hiking again. .. and plastic surgery

I took the kids hiking to Atalaya, and I took the dog as well. We had an awesome trip, but I can never remember which way to go, or how to get to the top, so in the end we ended up hiking for a few miles and then deviating from the trail to do one of my favorite hikes near Santa Fe. This place I have originally named the rock, because. . .it's a really big rock that one must scramble up the side of the mountain to get to. By the end the dog was hot, Owen was panting and my poor legs, just recently recovered from the Grand Canyon were a little tired. But the view from the rock was absolutely spectacular. And after a sandwich and an apple Owen was ready to trek to the top of the hill. Binty as usual was a trooper and wasn't winded at all!

There are multiple points to this story, first my kids are super cool and I think it's awesome that they are so into the outdoors. Second, and maybe less obvious is that I'm pretty happy with my body, the fact that I can do these things, and that although not perfect, it's pretty nice. Now where does this come from you may ask? Well the truth is that there is a certain quasi celebrity that has had copious amounts of surgery recently, and while she looks just like my daughters barbie dolls, I have a feeling she won't ever be satisfied with who she is, and she has sacrificed her ability to hug and exercise!! Yuck, poor girl. And I kind of feel sorry for every other person out there who looks great, but feels the need and social pressure to change their appearance to fit what America feels is beautiful. So if you're reading this embrace who you are and enjoy the strength and vitality that nature allows you!

Computers are from the devil!!

I really love my computer, it allows me to waste copious amounts of time on the Internet instead of doing homework. I can catch up on awesome shows that I missed because I'm to busy to actually watch them when they come out. It allows me to write papers and reports and, in general, rocks. But then a day like today comes when the computer is having a bad day. Like it's bloated or has hay fever. . . or something that makes it grouchy and unwilling to do simple tasks, like connect to a wireless network that it always connects to!! And because of my menstrual computer I have to drive all around town to find a network it will connect to, because, I may be smart, but I have no idea how to fix my computer. Maybe some chocolate and salty chips? That's what I like when I'm feeling not so hot.

It's a new day and I feel. . .

Ten times better today than yesterday. I was so tired I had a hard time working up the energy to put on foot in front of the other. I felt like this guy

Today I feel great, in fact I'm researching prices on backpacks for the kiddos to take them backpacking! I can't wait to get out there and explore. The pain that I felt yesterday and the day before are distant memories, making me realize that the human body is amazing. The ability to repair itself when faced with much worse than I have ever faced is spectacular. So here is to a new day, a healthy body and continued growth in well being!!

Ugg. . .even my face is swollen

I like to pretend that I'm a bad ass, even though I'm not. So to fulfill this I tend to do things that hurt. This past weekend was one of them. I hiked almost 26 miles in three days and the worst of the hiking was on the last day. After playing and hiking hard for two days, I trekked out of from the Havasu Falls area, ten miles uphill, steep uphill in hot dry weather. I worried that I would run out of water so I drank sparingly, and because of that I feel thick and swollen.
The most amazing thing about this weekend was hiking through hot dry desert and coming up to an oasis that looks like Hawaii. Literally. What doesn't look like a tropical getaway is the village of Supai. Bedraggled horses and dogs lined the way to the tourist office. Trash littered the yards and roads and a feeling of neglect lay over the whole canyon.
One of the most beautiful places that I've ever seen. . .and viewing it comes at a price. That price is the reality that these people were forced into this valley and have few advantages that most Americans have. I feel somehow responsible, and sad, yet elated at being able to see such an amazing place. And, although I feel like crap today I take pride in the fact that I carried forty pounds down and up that valley and I didn't let a burro or a helicopter do my dirty work for me. Survival of the fittest? Not really, but I did it with the help of Advil, Epsom salts and a day of rest. Enjoy the pictures of the most beautiful place in America!

Ahhh, Flagstaff.

How lovely you are, like Santa Fe only with younger, prettier people.

I'm listening to White Fang, and have been all day long. It has made my trip fly by. In fact I made it here in record time, at times clutching at my breast and willing the goodness of men and cursing the cruelty of men. I know the book is fiction but the truth is that there are many things that humankind does that is sickening, yet others that are beautiful. This book brings out the both the best and worst of us and a stern lesson that our actions have severe lasting effects.

On a lighter note, the sun is warm, the trees tall and healthy and I am content, pleased and excited. Tomorrow i start down the trail to the falls.

Havasupai, or Havasu falls here I come!

It's time for the first backpacking trip of the year. Backpacking is an amazing outdoor activity. There is immense freedom in being able to pack up and carry all you need while seeing things that hardly any other people see. The solitude and beauty of the wilderness call to many outdoor enthusiast, and unfortunately Havasu falls is just such a place.

Don't get me wrong I'm super excited to see some of the most spectacular falls in America, but I hear it's a zoo down there. I also hear that because of all the people there is plenty of trash to go around!

Here's hoping to a quiet and spectacular trip free of hoards of people defacing nature!

So I ate a Jimmy dean breakfast sandwich called a D light and a cup of coffee with almond milk for breakfast today. Then obsessed about the caloric count of my breakfast and researched alternative nutrition values on the Internet for the sandwich and the almond milk!! The worst part is that I'm not anything near thin, but I obsess about this sort of stuff like it's going out of style!! Sometimes I dream about the days when I'm rich enough to have some sort of crazy trainer who kicks my ass every day to help me shed unwanted pounds!

The truth is that I am who I am. I'm not crazy fat and I'm not crazy skinny so why in the world am I acting crazy about this? Any way I'm off to be a crazy biochemist for a few hours.