Hanes My Way

Hanes has to be the best brand of socks. Ever.

I've been buying them for years. Or, better said, my mom bought them for years, and then I took up the tradition when I had to start buying necessities for myself. (Darn adulthood) They've always been faithful. I trudge around the house, through the kitchen, and maybe even out on the sidewalk every once in a while. They fade from their bright white, but they sure are sturdy!!

Unfortunately, sooner or later the heel wears out. So I went to Walmart to get some more. Except this time it looked like the Danskins brand was a better value- more socks, lower price. And I bought them. Big mistake. After one wear it looked like the undersides of the sock was unraveling or something. Plus, they don't hold up in my tennis shoes sometimes since they are low cut. It's super annoying to feel like you need to keep adjusting your sock when you're on a run, I'll tell you that! I'm just not very pleased at all!

As a result, on my next trip to Wally World, I'm investing in another pack of my trusty Hanes.

Gaylor Lakes Hike, Yosemite

This past Saturday I went on another hike. I keep thinking that its my last hike, but then I go on another one. Maybe we will have one more this year....

We went to Gaylor Lakes, off Highway 120 and deep into northern Yosemite. It's actually right before the far gate that leads to Highway 395. It was about a three hour drive, but I think it was worth it.  The first mile or so is pretty steep uphill to get over the saddle of a mountain and then into the valley. As you go over the saddle, you descend to Gaylor Lakes. Check out these pictures below! WOWSERS! The clouds were perfect and it was early in the morning, so the wind hadn't picked up. It is a near perfect reflection in the water. God sure did make so amazing landscapes for us to enjoy!

After we passed the first lake, it's about a half mile to another lake, which you can see in the background of the picture with Justin and I. Then it's up a hill to some old mine ruins. Make sure you stay back, because a few of the pits go pretty deep. The old houses were made of thin rock. We were debating if it would be good insulation or if the wind would just go straight through.

We headed down again toward the first Gaylor Lake, but made our hike a little longer by going around the meadow to a basin that held Granite Lakes. Then we went south a bit more to lower Granite Lake. This one was nice, but at this point the sun was hidden behind the clouds and we were getting  really chilly. I had a long-sleeved shirt, but it was one of those thin polyester shirts that dries out really fast. Needless to say, it wasn't much good. I ended up wearing Kelly's poncho to keep warm, and it was a good thing too because it actually hailed on us for a short time! (I think my clothing issue was because I have been hiking in the Emigrant Wilderness, and it's been rather warm the days I hiked there.)

All in all, it was a great hike of about 6 miles. Kelly just had a knack for picking a good ones, I think! Here's our picture, with lower Gaylor Lake back behind us in the valley.

Adenosine Injection

Adenosine Injection. Yea, it sounds bad, doesn't it?

Today I was off work so that I could go with Justin to a doctor's appointment in Santa Clara, near San Jose. In the past, a doctor thought that he might have WPW syndrome, a heart disorder, but it was never officially diagnosed. This test today enabled the doctor here to determine if he really does have WPW, which is basically an accessory pathway into the heart. In other words, it is an extra pacemaker in the heart that can sometimes beat opposite of the main pacemaker and cause fainting. Originally, we though this might be causing his syncope (fainting) that he has had a few times since college.

The test basically injects a medicine that makes the heart stop for about 5 seconds. The half-life of the drug is short though, and the heart catches back up and functions normally right after. It was a bit scary to watch Justin go through it though, because I could see that it really wasn't comfortable. He said that he felt his chest tighten a bit, but that it wasn't too bad. He was expecting something worse since the nurses and doctor described it as "terrible." The only outward affects was that he flushed red and was hot, but the EKG didn't show any abnormalities in the beat or recovery of the heart. If he had the accessory pathway, he wouldn't have had any reaction to the drug.

We are definitely glad to know for sure that Justin doesn't have WPW, and now he feels like he is clear to fill out some more military scholarship applications. Hopefully that could help us move back to O-H-I-O soon!

Since he couldn't eat beforehand, we stopped at McDonald's on the way back. Their sausage egg biscuits are sure tasty. We both splurged and got two hashbrowns each and chocolate milk too... talk about extravagance! (Though that food might give us heart failure.)

Another interesting point of this trip was that we passed Solyndra, the company the Fed's loaned half billion dollars to and is now bankrupt. Talk about close to home. What is Obama doing these days anyways? I can stand a few more taxes perhaps, but these crazy loans? I just can't back that! I hope we have a quality nominee to go against him for president next year. Otherwise, I'm real worried.

9/11... ten years later

Boy without a father

Of all the stories I have read about 9/11 as the anniversary drew near last week, the link above to Peter Negron was one of the most touching. He lost his father when he was just 11, and ten years later he was back to remember his father on the anniversary. It's so heartbreaking.

I love America. I am so proud to be a part of this country. I am glad that we went after the bad guys, and hopefully brought some justice to the families who lost loved ones. Even my father-in-law was deployed for a time in support of the mission. I appreciate it immensely.

The memorial  at Ground Zero is just beautiful from the pictures, and I am hoping that I can return to New York on a visit sometime and see it. I am sure that I will be in tears. Two waterfalls with names of the victims written around them are in the footprint of the original towers.

Nothing else I can say would add to what has already been said. But for the victims' families in New York, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon, my prayers go out to you. I was in tenth grade on September 11, 2001, and I will always remember.

Kitty Shots

Shots... as in snapshots! Although I am a little bit disappointed because Spike doesn't seem to like the camera that much. He likes the string hanging from the camera, so I can never get him to be still for the picture! Sigh... well, here's what I got so far:

Ecclesiastes

Over the last month or so, I have been reading Ecclesiastes and the commentary from The Guide series. While I liked the Colossians & Philemon guide better, this one was good too. The author was definitely strong in giving lots of illustrations to relate the major points to modern life. However, it didn't make you "dig in" to the Bible as much for answers to questions like the Colossians and Philemon guide did. (By the way, I'm really excited to teach Colossians to the junior high group and church on Wednesdays this year!) To wrap up my study, I thought I would post some of the quotes I highlighted throughout the study that I found insightful. 

Ecc 1:3-11

"Jesus pointedly asks us, 'For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul?' (Mark 8:36) Modern secular man replies, 'What use is my soul, if I can't have a piece of this world?' " 

"Sin...is at first novelty, then drudgery, and finally slavery." 

Ecc. 1:12-18 "...the more we learn, the more we see how little we know." 

Ecc. 2:1-26 "But the meaning of life is not found in just being alive in this life itself (the gift), but is rather in God who gave it (the Giver)." 

Ecc. 3: 1-8 

"Merely to state that 'to everything there is a season' is to imply purpose and direction; to assert the controlling power of an intelligent providence; to declare that God is on the throne." 

"Our inability to comprehend the often apparently incomprehensible things happening in our world only proves we are not all-knowing- that is, we are not God!"

Ecc. 3:9-22  "Complaining that God's sovereign control over everything renders our efforts meaningless is actually a veiled rationalization of practical atheism."

That's all for tonight. More to come!

Waterhouse Lake Hike II

Justin and I headed back to the Emigrant Wilderness for what might be our last hike this year. (I hope not, but school is getting busy and the season will be over in another month!) I blogged about a month ago about a hike to Waterhouse Lake that didn't quite make it, so I was determined to find this remote lake and master the wilderness.

I think I did both, but not without some battle scars to prove it.

To start off, the first mile of the hike is even or downhill, and scattered with all kinds of lovely flowers. (I should note that the road was better graded and I was actually able to drive to the trail head in my Honda Fit without worrying it might bottom out from the low clearance). Truly, I loved this first mile as there are so many different flowers. Even though I had hiked here a few weeks before, the colors had developed more and the greenery is a great contrast to yellows, purples, and whites from the flowers. Gorgeous! Pictures are worth a thousand words, yet they still can't capture it all.

Then, you see the ominous Wilderness Boundary sign and here comes the granite valley and downhill climb to the lake. Last time, I veered to far to the right and didn't make it to the lake. So I was quite determined to make sure I kept to the left and found the lake. After all it was only .7 miles down....

Trekking down the granite, I started off without following the rock cairns closely. After a few hundred feet, it was a little steep but we kept going. We saw a cairn a bit below us, and carefully started descending to it. As I was easing my way down, with one hand on each side of me against the rocks, I suddenly lost my footing. The rock that I had put weight on slid out from below me and before I knew it, I was on my back with my head first, grabbing on to a branch of manzanita to stop my fall. While the manzanita bushes softened my fall, they also left me with several bloody gashes on my lower left leg, back of my left thigh, calf of my right leg, and scrapes on my elbow. All in all, I only slid about 10 feet or so, but it was enough to leave me breathless and a bit light-headed. Justin came down to me and we paused for a second before getting to the path we saw below. But as I was walking, I realized my shoelace had snapped somehow. Luckily they were pretty long so I was still able to tie it and keep going. After some water and cleaning off the cut, we kept heading down. (We might have went back up, but couldn't!) At this point, we caught sight of more cairns and were able to follow them safely down. Justin helped me so much during all this!

Waterhouse Lake sneaks up on you... once the granite starts leveling out, the stream leads you to it, but you don't see it until you are right up on it. It had several granite slabs that were smooth enough for resting on after out short but strenuous hike. There was a lone duck splashing around in the water that kept us entertained while we rested and ate lunch. We hung out for an hour and a half, but left around 1:30 pm because I might have been a little worried about getting my leg cleaned, and the family who was trying to fish had a few boys with them and we could hear them across the lake. It was a Saturday, so I shouldn't complain of course, but I still like my peace and quiet.

We trekked back to the top in about 45 minutes, and it was much easier than going down because of our rough start. Then back to the trail head through alpine terrain and summer meadows again! It was a good day though- love being out in God's creation with my husband.

Busy, Busy... Sorta

Things are getting busier, but nothing like last year with classes!

This weekend my church had its 10th anniversary. To celebrate, we had a community breakfast on Saturday morning- pancakes, sausage, and eggs, juice or coffee, and live music to boot! There was also horse rides outside for the kids. Then on Sunday, we had a special service that was really encouraging. It was great to reflect on all God has done for the church, and how He has used the church in the lives of Christians.

I had a little time with the kitten, who we have decided to call Spike. (It's a boy) It's quite playful. We're not letting it in the house too much, but it seems pretty content to stay on the porch. I'm starting to leave the screen door open a bit so it can wander in the yard. It doesn't seem to go far even when we are working outside, so it should be pretty safe. I do worry a little about it wandering, but for now it knows where the food is so I think that it is going to stay close.

What is wrong with me?

Good gracious, I have a kitten!

It all started Tuesday night, Justin and I went running, and this little orange kitty from the neighbor's yard kept following us. We tried to take it back and then sprint off, but it kept coming after us down the road. It was just so I-wanna-hug-it-right-now adorable I kept thinking about it. And not just thinking about it, thinking about keeping it. Apparently it had wandered into their yard randomly. They already have six or more cats running around.

So, we finally got home, yet I still through about this precious kitten. It's true that part of my motivation for running tonight was in hopes of seeing it again. Sure enough, it was there and the neighbors came out and affirmed it still needed a home. Home I took it, and put some scraps of fabric in a basket and set out a dish of milk. It seems pretty happy about it. The poor thing hurt its leg a little bit and is limping some, but it doesn't seem to serious. If the wound doesn't heal up soon I might have to see what can be done. I think it will though.

So here it is... its eye needs cleaned a bit, but it's still really cute.

I really must have a deluge of time without having to go to master's classes each night!!

Strawberry Muffins

Tonight is breakfast-themed for our Wednesday night summer carry-in. I was looking through the fridge to see what I could make... I didn't want to use up all my eggs to make a big casserole, plus I didn't have bread. I supposed I could have done a ham-and-potato dish, but I just thought of that now as I am typing. What I did have that I needed to use was strawberries.

As always, I went to my trusty allrecipes.com and did an advanced search using "breakfast" and strawberries. After browsing a bit, I stumbled upon this recipe for Strawberry Muffins. It was perfect since I just wanted something quick. Though they did come out a little dry, I think it's just because I left them in a bit too long. (I kept sticking them with a toothpick and they didn't come out clean!) Either way, I tested one and it is just fine. I sprinkled sugar on top for a little added touch. MMMM!

(PS. Thanks Crystal for telling me how to use the macro function on the camera)