Spring Break

I've been meaning to post the pictures from my spring break trip to Tucson, AZ, but all of my professors decided to have exams this week so I've been a little preoccupied.  Peter and I had a great time in Tucson visiting our friends, Jack and Jaime.  The weather was wonderful.  It was 85 degrees most of the days we were there, and I'm really missing it now since we've had one of our wonderful Utah spring snow storms and the temperature has plummeted to the 30s.  I know some people got to go to exotic locations like Hawaii or Cancun for spring break, but our trip to Tucson was still fun and relaxing.

Our first day in Tucson we had brunch at a little cafe in Tohono Chul Park.  Afterwards we walked around the garden which displayed pretty much every species of cactus in Arizona.

Jack and Jaime

This little guy decided to join us for brunch

This guy also came to visit, but I didn't get

a very good picture of him.  It's called a

Pyrrhuloxia which are a member of the

cardinal family.

The next day we decided to go for a hike on Mt. Lemon which is part of a mountain range just north of Tucson.  From there we got a great view of the city of Tucson and surrounding valley from Windy Point.  It was indeed windy.

Jack and Peter at Windy Point

We drove a little further up the mountain and actually found snow!  Jack and Jaime had a lot of fun playing in it, but Peter and I were less than impressed.  We came to Tucson to get away from the snow, so we drove back down a ways to go for a hike out of the snow.

Jack and Jaime enjoying the snow

My handsome hiker!

Our last day in Tucson we went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.  I thought that this was going to be some kind of stuffy indoor museum full of stuffed animals and artifacts, but to my surprise it was an outdoor museum full of live animals that are native to Arizona.  Jack, Jaime, and Peter had a good time making fun of me when I said, "You mean they're alive?!"  Apparently this museum is one of the biggest attractions in Arizona.  Second only to the Grand Canyon, of course.  One of the exhibits they had at the museum was a bird show where they had several native species of birds of prey fly around just over our heads.  It was pretty cool.

A Chihuahuan and Common Raven

Ferruginous Hawk

I had a hard time getting more pictures of the birds because they were too busy flying around.  After the show we toodled around the museum and looked at the rest of the animals.  Here are some of my favorites:

This is a Javelina which is a pig-like critter

Coyote

Gila Monster, which are venomous if you didn't know

Screech Owl

Squirrel!!!  He wasn't really part of the museum,

but he thought he should be

Sleeping grey fox

The southern end of a north bound Ocelot

One of my favorite animals in the world...otters!

Bighorn Sheep

Mexican Wolf

A cardinal

Prairie Dog...he's so fat he has a bum roll

I had been saying the entire time we were in Tucson

that I wanted to see a Roadrunner.  I finally saw one,

but it was running around so much I had a hard time

getting a picture of the silly thing!

My favorite exhibit at the museum was the humminbird enclosure.  They're such fascinating, and beautiful little things.  One of my favorite stories about hummingbirds is the one where Peter was out working in the woods one day, and a hummingbird mistook his bright orange hardhat for a flower.  It buzzed around his head and tapped his helmet with its beak making a loud, "TINK, TINK" noise.

This nest actually has a little baby in it if you can see it.

I had a really hard time getting my camera to focus on

this little guy, but you can still make out the beautiful

vibrant colors of its feathers.

That evening Jack and Jaime threw a barbeque for us with some of the other people we know in Tucson.  We had a great time, but the next day we had to pack up and head back to cold, snowy Utah.  It was kind of depressing to leave them and the warm weather, but it's always good to be home.

Pika! Pika!

I had to create a visual art project for a class I'm taking this semester, and it took me a while to come up with something. Finally, I sat down and said to myself, "Laura, what are your favorite things to draw?" Well, I came up with two subjects: people and wildlife. I haven't done any wildlife projects recently so I decided to go in that direction. After a few more minutes I settled on one of my favorite animals...the Pika (pronounced pee-kah). It's an adorable little animal that belongs to the same order as rabbits. They're about the size of a guinea pig and they live in rocky, mountainous terrain. During the summer months they gather plants and grasses and leave them in little "haystacks" near their rocky den to dry. They then live off of their food storage during the winter. They're rather rare to see, but I was fortunate enough to see one a few years ago when I was on a hike in the Uintas with Peter and my father-in-law. We were scrambling over some scree when Peter got too close to a Pika's den. The little critter came out and started chirping at him. It was really funny and amazing to see. They're eccentric little animals and I love them, but sadly they, like the polar bear, are threatened by climate change and the encroachment of humans, making them even more rare. Because of this, U.S. Fish and Wildlife is actually trying to get protected status for them under the Endangered Species Act.


It didn't take me long to complete my project, just a couple of hours, and it was done using oil pastels which is a medium I have never used before. It didn't allow me to get a lot of detail, but I loved the creamy texture. It's certainly a medium I will play around with more in the future.

Beep, Beep!

Earlier this week Peter and I received our federal tax return, so we decided to use part of it to pay off what we owed on our Jeep.  We really only had a couple of payments left, but it's nice to have it completely paid off. Now we are a couple of hundred dollars richer every month, which is money that we can use to spend on wholesome, nutritious food which eats up a big chunk of our budget every month.  Before we could get by on $50 a week, but now we spend $100 or more.  It sucks, but that's the price of real food and not chemicals and processed garbage...any ways, I digress.

My Jeep may not be fancy or new, but she's a tough ol' gal whose gotten us around over the years.  She's required some special love and attention at times (we've probably replaced every single component of the cooling system over the last few years), but she's been pretty reliable.  What boggles my mind the most is that Peter and I have been together long enough to buy and pay off two cars already.  The poor Camaro threw a rod in the engine after we'd only had it for three years, and it sat in my very patient in-laws driveway for years while we still made payments on it.  We paid that one off about two years ago, and we just had the Jeep left, but now that one's paid for, too!  It's crazy how time flies!

The day we bought our Jeep, April 2005

5k and Physical Therapy

Last Saturday I ran the Sweethearts 5k in my hometown, Bountiful UT, with Peter, and two of our friends. I was really worried about the race because I had recently developed pain in my knees and ankles that prevented me from running. I took a week off from running to hopefully let my body recover, and it seemed to have helped because I was able to run a mile and a half without stopping. I still had pain but it wasn't severe enough to keep me from running half of the 5k. I did have to walk the last half but I was proud of myself for doing as much as I did. Peter was very sweet and stuck by me the entire time. I know he can run faster than me, and he could have run the whole thing, but he knew I was having a tough time with my legs so he stuck by my side and cheered me on. His love and support was the best Valentine's present I could have asked for.

The Tuesday after the 5k, I finally saw a doctor about the pain I've been having whenever I run. After the doctor examined me, he told me I had luxating patellas or floating kneecaps. I wasn't surprised at all considering my younger sister and brother have had this same problem, only more severe. They've actually had their kneecaps dislocate. It's extremely painful and they've both had knee surgery because of it. My mother has also had knee problems her entire life and finally had one of them replaced last year. I was a little discouraged by the news because I had hoped that I had managed to skip this particular genetic trait in my family. I guess I've just been lucky that I haven't had any problems until now. In addition to my knees, the doctor also examined my feet. He told me I had really long narrow feet and moderate pronation which could explain the pain in my ankles if I'm not getting the right foot support. Not a huge shocker there, either. I'm just glad that my problems seem to be relatively minor and treatable. I was thinking it could be anything from stress fractures to collapsing arches, or even cancer, which is unfortunately the first thing that crosses my mind whenever I have something weird going on. Paranoid? Yeah, just a little.

So, today I started physical therapy to help correct my knees. The therapist watched how I stood and walked and put me through a few exercises like squats to see what my knees did. Then he brought out a model knee and explained what was going on. My kneecaps want to slide around and the muscles surrounding them aren't strong enough to keep them in place. I'm also not very flexible, and because of that my ligaments and tendons are pulling my kneecaps in different directions. So he gave me a list of exercises and stretches to do every day. He also recommended that I put arch-support inserts into my shoes, and the next time I buy running shoes I should get an expert opinion. He warned me that this was not going to be a quick fix and I will not be instantly better. I will have to work at it every day, and overtime I should improve. I am not daunted by this because I believe anything worth having takes work, and I want to be physically active my entire life. So I will do what he recommends and hopefully in a month I should see signs of improvement. I am somewhat concerned about the long-term effects of my condition, though. I want to run a marathon before I'm 30, but now I'm concerned about high-impact workouts and the effect they could be having on my joints. I don't want to have surgery down the road. I will continue talking with physicians and make sure I'm not overdoing anything. If it turns out all I can do is spin on a bike, then that's what I'll do. I'm determined to be healthy and active. There's too much I want to do and accomplish in my life, and I won't let my knees hold me back.

Is It Spring Yet?

There's something about February that gets me itching for spring.  Although technically we still have about two months of winter left (ugh!), I keep hoping to see the snow melting and leaves budding on trees.  I'm just so sick of monochromatic tones, grey skies, and cold temperatures.  I want to be able to shed all the bulky winter wear and run around outside in the sunshine in a t-shirt.  It's also about this time of year that I start to get really antsy.  This year, it's worse than ever.  For the past three years, Peter has spent every spring applying for summer jobs with the forest service.  We've always ended up back in Evanston, Wyoming, but we love that district and the Uinta mountains, and we've had some wonderful experiences working there.  However, this time around is different.  Peter graduates from Utah State this May and he's been applying for permanent positions with the Forest Service across the U.S.  This means in just a few short months I could be packing up everything I own and moving to another part of the country.  It's scary and exciting all at the same time.  It also leaves my future at Utah State somewhat dubious.  I knew I most likely would not graduate from USU when I re-enrolled, but I wanted to get as much schooling done with the time that I had.  Despite the fact that I knew I would probably have to leave beforehand, it doesn't make it any easier.  I've really enjoyed being back at school and I've made some good friends that will be hard to leave.  However, I am confident that all will work out well no matter where we end up, and even if I have to take some more time off from school it may give me a chance to work on some other things such as my art, and finally getting the puppy I have been waiting to get for nearly seven years.  Whatever happens, it will certainly be interesting to see where we end up, and it's a good thing I have school to focus on right now, otherwise the anticipation may drive me crazy.

Other than that, things have been pretty normal.  School and work are keeping us both pretty busy, and we've both been working on our fitness goals.  I've really been impressed with Peter's progress.  He keeps whining to me that he hasn't been losing any weight recently, however, he doesn't notice the changes that I see.  He's starting to get a more triangular shaped upper body and he is slimming down.  He's just focusing too much on the numbers the scale gives him.  He needs to remember that muscle is denser than fat and that scales don't reflect fitness.  So I took some current photos of him and compared them to the pictures we took before we started eating better and working out, and he finally believed that I was telling him the truth and not just being a "nice wife."  Unfortunately, I have suffered some setbacks.  Two weeks ago I caught a cold or flu...not quite sure what it was exactly, but it kept me from working out regularly that week.  About the same time, I started having pain in my ankles that shot up to my knees whenever I ran.  The pain has not subsided over the last two weeks and I have had to stop running and do spinning on a stationary bike instead.  I still get a good workout, but I am perplexed by this sudden pain.  It's not like I received an injury while I was running one day.  I was perfectly fine and feeling great, and then one morning I woke up and I suddenly had leg pain.  It doesn't bother me too much whenever I walk, but running is impossible.  It makes my fitness class difficult because we do a lot of jogging or other high impact workouts.  I feel isolated because of this pain.  I can't workout with my classmates, and I'm self conscious and worry that they're judging me and think I'm just being a wimp.  I know I shouldn't care what other people think of me, but...it's human nature.  We all want acceptance.  Unfortunately, I am supposed to run a 5k with Peter on Saturday, and now I can't.  Instead of running my first 5k, I am going to have to walk it if I can even do that.  I have scheduled an appointment with a doctor on Tuesday, and my hope is that they can tell me what is causing my pain, but it comes too late for one of my goals.  I'm very annoyed right now, to say the least, but I'm not giving up.  Even if all I can do is spin, then that's what I'll do.

Aside from all that, Peter and I also finished our kayaking class this week.  I didn't take to it as quickly as Peter did, and I never managed to do a roll on my own.  I suck at 3-D spatial thinking and I get disoriented when I'm upside down.  I managed to do a roll with some assistance from the instructor, but Peter was already working on doing a roll without a paddle!  That boy is going to be hucking waterfalls before I know it!

By the way, happy Valentine's Day everyone!  Although it's important to tell your loved ones how much you care about them on Sunday, it's even MORE important to tell them how much you love them the other 364 days of the year.

Life Resolutions

Peter and I have been determined to get in shape, but last semester was so intense that it was difficult to stick to any kind of plan...then the holidays were upon us, etc., etc. Long story short, Peter and I are more resolved than ever to be more healthy. We decided to totally overhaul our eating habits. We bought a food scale, and have been carefully watching our portion intake. We have also been making sure that we are eating the right amount of proteins and carbs (carbs including simple and complex), and ruling out as much salt and sugar as possible. It's been rough, to say the least. I have had so many cravings it's insane. I'm not necessarily hungry because I eat about five times a day...it's just that my meals are rather bland. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate more flavor into my meals without sabotaging my nutrition plan. Some of my favorite things are big no-nos. Like cheese. I love cheese, but it has a lot of sodium and saturated fat in it, so it's out. Chocolate, too. I can't tell you how much I have wanted chocolate recently...and a big greasy hamburger. I don't even like hamburgers that much, but for some reason I have really wanted one. Going to the store on an empty stomach is torturous...watching television is worse though. Peter and I have had to stop watching the Food Network because it makes us salivate like Pavlov's dogs. I am proud about how well we have been sticking to our plan, though, despite how hard it's bee, and our food isn't all boring wholesomeness. Peter has become very good at adding spices to meat and veggies that help kick up their flavor without adding any salt, and we do get to have one "cheat meal" per week where we can eat whatever we want.



In addition to trying to eat well, we've been going to the gym about 6 days a week. Three days are spent doing cardio and three are spent doing weight training. It's somewhat easy for me to make the time for exercise because I'm taking a course this semester called Dynamic Fitness. My class meets once a week where we discuss the various applications of fitness, and then I have a lab three times a week at 7:30 in the morning where I go work out with a group of 15 others and a trainer. The trainer is just a senior in the exercise science program, but still a trainer. It's pretty awesome, but I get the feeling that it's going to kick my butt. The very first day our warmup consisted of four laps around the track, after which we stretched and then ran 12 laps around the track. I'm not much of a runner so I had to walk periodically, but I still did it. We then had our flexibility tested and body fat measured followed by how many pushups and sit ups we could do in 60 seconds. It was a rough start but I'm excited to actually have semi-professional instruction on exercise and nutrition. The only annoying thing is that I'm sweaty and gross after my class and I don't have time to go home and shower, so I actually rented a locker at the fieldhouse, and I just shower and get ready there. I get to have the joy of showering in front of other people since there aren't any private shower stalls in the locker room. I kind of feel like a self conscious 13-year-old in junior high all over again, but I can deal with it.



The desire to be healthy is something Peter and I have had for sometime, but we have a few motivations right now that will help us in our efforts. For Peter, he wants to be in great shape for when he graduates this spring, and I want to be in shape to hike this summer. I want to finally hike the narrows and I don't want to be totally beaten up from it. I just want to be active and not feel tired and energyless anymore. So far, our efforts have reaped some benefits. This week Peter lost two pounds and I lost three. Measuring pounds lost isn't the best way to measure fitness, though, considering we both want to build up muscle and bone mass. It's mostly a matter of body fat percentage. I'd eventually like to get down to 15%, but I know that's going to take time and a lot of effort, and it's going to have to be a life-long commitment.



...and I'm going to have to lay off the cheese and chocolate. Boo.

The Holidays

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year! Ours was wonderful and crazy like it is every year. It's always great to spend the holidays with family and friends. We got some awesome presents like a new camera from my in-laws, and a collection of yummy recipes that my sister Sarah gave me (thanks so much! I already tried out the chicken alfredo soup, and Peter and I both thought it was delicious)! I also got a new pair of snow boots. Now my feet won't freeze in the snow when I trudge to school. Boots have kind of been the theme for us in 2009. For Peter's birthday in April he finally got his Whites fire boots, and for my birthday, I got a nice pair of Vasque hiking boots. Now my feet can stay warm and comfortable in the snow or when climbing a mountain!

Peter took this picture of me trying on my new boots.

I think it effectively captures my true essence.

During the Christmas break I decided to become a true Howard and learn how to ski. So along with Peter, my brother-in-law Adam, our friend Kelly, and her brother John, we headed up to Alta Ski Resort bright and early on the 28th. It was an absolutely beautiful day up in the mountains. The sun was out and shining and the air was crisp and clean. I was excited to master the slopes...but it didn't really go very well. I'm kind of gangly and uncoordinated. Adam and Peter both tried their hardest to teach me, but I have to admit that skiing is not something that comes naturally to me. I fell. A lot. And each time I fell I couldn't get back up without assistance or taking my skis off. It was very frustrating and bruising to my ego, but it's good to find humbling things. They keep our pride in check. I spent half of the day trying to master the bunny hill, but after lunch I was pretty pooped. I also felt bad about holding Peter back. He rarely gets the opportunity to ski and I knew he was itching to get some runs in, so I dismissed him from being my teacher and told him to have fun. I didn't dare try skiing on my own so I hung around the lodge for the second half of the day.

Beautiful sunny day at Alta

Kelly and me learning to ski

Peter showing off his skiing skills for me

John was a lot of fun, and I was impressed with Adam's skills

The whole gang ready to pack it in after a fun but long day

After everyone was exhausted from skiing, we refueled ourselves with some tasty Mexican food at the Red Iguana. It's a fabulous restaurant in Salt Lake City that's won numerous awards and has even been featured on the Food Network show, "Diners Drive-ins, and Dives." It's kind of in a rough spot of town (our car was once vandalized while we were there) and the wait is pretty long, but it's worth it. If you've never been, you should go.

I may not have done well at skiing, but it was great to spend time with my family and friends. Although Kelly lives in Wyoming, I have been able to see her several times since we left the U-W-C National Forest after the summer. She's a great friend and I'm glad Peter and I had the opportunity to meet her this year. I hope we can have many more epic hiking adventures with her in the future.

As for skiing...I'm definitely going to have to keep working at that.

(Thanks again Mom and Dad for the camera. We'll try and post many pictures for you.)