Salem and I woke up early go to to Indian Hills to hike. The road to the trailhead started out alright, but a few miles in there was too much snow to reach the trailhead. 

(It doesn’t look as much as it was, but up ahead the snow was nearly hood high and hadn’t been driven through.)

We drove back to Boulder and opted for a long walk rather than a hike. These are just pics we took along the way. 

I know you are probably getting tired of all the trail pics, they all look a little the same. But I never forget how lucky I am to live among all this beauty, and I need to share it with someone. My husband has been here so long, he takes it for granted.

I hope your day was as peaceful as mine. 

So we went shopping today. Let me introduce you to FortCollinsJodi, my little sister. 

She is 4 years younger than me. She is getting married next weekend in Vegas to this guy.

We went out and bought a party dress. (I hate shopping, so this was all for her.)

She then needed a new bathing suit. 

Doesn’t she have a cool tattoo?

I love downtown Fort Collins, but it’s so much prettier at Christmas time.

We looked at hats.

We found some matching jeans.

Then we stopped to see my daughter, Cassidy. She was working at a coffee shop.

I made it home unscathed. I get more excited for Vegas everyday. I usually hate Vegas, but since I get to look at the parks and watch her get hitched, I think it will be a great time.

We all lose people we love to death, theirs or our own. It is not only our grandparents and parents, but it can be our siblings, friends, children or spouses. We all look at the world a little differently after death. The death of our loved ones shapes who we become, whether we like it or not. 

When my daughter was in the hospital and going through treatments we received wonderful care and support not only from the hospital social workers, but from other organizations such as Children’s Miracle Network, The Ronald McDonald House, and Make-A-Wish. They all offered support to the family and the child, and many of their materials presented to us were centered around treatment, how to adjust to illnesses and how to care for sick children. They supported my healthy children with educational material about cancer, about their sister losing her hair and getting special attention. Of all the material presented, none of it helped to prepare any of us for death. 

I remember when we were going through her bone marrow transplant in Minneapolis. We came in with several other families. We became familiar pillars of support and relief for the other parents and families and felt a kinship with them that we didn’t have with anyone else in the world. Nobody else could understand, empathize or relate unless they were also going through it. As the treatments went on, we watched the children of our friends die. Same illness, same treatment, and they died in front of us. I was horrified and felt terror, sympathy and relief all at once. We all knew the odds beginning the treatment, but somehow never thought it would be anyone of us – anyone from our group that lost a child. After the children died, the parents disappeared.

It wasn’t until the inevitable day came when my own daughter lost her fight with cancer that I received any material or information about how to deal with the loss of a child. I went to the hospital that morning with a child in my arms and left with a backpack full of grief material that was never read. I understand why they didn’t want to talk about how to handle her death if it came. As long as I believed 100 percent that she could beat cancer, she believed it, too. The power of belief is a strong one, I agree. Sometimes it isn’t enough, though.

When she died I had information about burial services, grief counseling and suicide prevention. I had no problems selecting her burial plot, her funeral music and dress, the sandwiches and punch served later. But I didn’t know how to live. I didn’t even know I was supposed to. I believed that when she died, I did too. The remainder of my life would be spent waiting for my own death to relieve me of my pain. I felt horribly ashamed and guilty if I let my mind drift to the future without her, if I planned my life or what and who I wanted to be after her death. For this reason I just didn’t. I know my surviving daughters felt similar at first, too. They couldn’t even plan a sleep over with their friends or go to the roller rink without shame. They believed they should wait out their lives, too. It didn’t last as long for them because they were young, but I didn’t know how to support them or help them grow when I was caught up in so much grief myself.

So sorry about the quality of these photos, they are the only digital copies I have. 

I am going to write about her journey, my journey, her sisters’ journey. I am going to collect them into a single book and offer it to hospitals, oncology clinics, Children’s Miracle Network. I believe families need to know that there is indeed life after death, at least for the living. It’s been ten years now, and I feel I owe this to her. I just wonder how to present it. I wouldn’t have wanted to read about this while she was ill, I would have felt like preparing for her death was giving up on her. But by not preparing, I was neglecting myself and my other children. This is the question that is keeping me awake tonight, I can’t seem to move forward with this until I know.

If it were you, would you want to prepare for your loved one’s death before they died?

My family is all headed to Vegas at the end of this month and I am so excited! It will be my brother and sister and their so’s and my parents. They all enjoy the nightlife and I am sure they will find plenty of that, but I am excited about Red Rock Canyon!

I am renting a car so I can head out to the park before the sun comes up. I want to see the sunrise on desert trails. I have never been able to run on a desert trail before and I am giddy with excitement! They can have their fun, I will have mine. I am a little nervous about running a new trail alone, Salem does not get to go on this trip, but I know there aren’t any large animals that will try to eat me so I think I will be fine. 

The trail is less than 20 miles from the strip. It is less than a 12 mile loop but gains 2400 in elevation. More info can be found http://www.wildernessrunning.com/life/tag/redrock-canyon-trail-running.

I have always wanted to run the r2r2r at the Grand Canyon, so this will be my first taste at running in the desert. All terrains are different and it helps to know a little bit about what it will be like. 

I worry mostly about snakes and spiders, but I hope those are just silly fears that aren’t real. I am sure some people worry about bears and mountain lions when they trail run here, and their fears rarely get realized. 

This is another picture I found online:

The best part is that I will be back before most of my partying family even wakes up. My sister is getting married there, so there will be much celebration to entertain them while I go explore.

I will make sure I send lots of pics!

I have never done a vlog before, and I have never videoed myself either. It’s even harder than taking a self portrait. This is my first attempt at a v-log, so forgive the beginner quality. I quit messing with it less than halfway up the hike, irritated I didn’t know how to do it. I am going to post what I did, anyway, and then just post the pics from the rest of the way. 

I love hiking, and have started easing (gently now, gently) into trail running. I am starting with Mesa Trail, because most of the way it isn’t very technical. (Technical trails are single track, rocky, steep, and offer more challenges than trails with gravel and are smoother. I was on Runner’s World this morning in the trail running forums and found this:

Why does the popularity of trail running in the United States surge every time there’s a national crisis or period of epidemic uncertainty?

Simple answer: Running like a wild man or woman through the woods nurtures the soul.

I do look and feel like a wild man when I trail run, even when I hike. 

This is a technical trail: 

This is not:

I was out of breath and sweaty every time we stopped, I always huff and puff on these trails. Here is my video. Next time I will make one where I am not sweaty, squinting,  in sweats and a ponytail and out of breath. I mean come on, how am I going to flirt with people looking like this?

I think I quit using the video around mile four and just started taking pictures. Here is another flower for @vexations. No idea what any of them are, but they are pretty. 

This is another rock slide,  I see them all over. I am not sure why this happens, why the rocks look literally like a slide from the top, but likely my friend @Therewillbedragons will know. He knows Rocky Mountain National Park well, so I am sure he can offer insight. 

Caesar (Dog Whisperer) once did a show on a poorly behaved German Shepherd. His suggestion was to give him a job and have him wear the backpack when they were out walking so the dog felt like he had a job to do. It worked on TV, and by God it works for me. He is much less excitable when he wears his pack, and I don’t have to carry all the water!

Another proud mommy shot:

And another:

The above trail is still a technical trail because it’s steep on both sides and very narrow, but the boulder paths didn’t come until later in the hike. Believe it or not, this is a trail. I am slow and clumsy over the rocks, but it is Salem’s favorite part. We stopped just up ahead so he could climb and get some water, and I could drink water but I didn’t climb any rocks I didn’t have to.

Here he is on his rock, I take so many pictures of him he knows to stop and hold still when I tell him to. That, and he is a ham for the camera.

I usually say “stop” and then “sit”, sometimes when I say stop he just assumes he needs to sit.

 I found another pretty tree for Vexations:

I love Xanga people. @vexations reminds me to stop and smell the flowers, @buddy71 reminds me to slow down and look close, @We_Deny_Everything reminds me to use my brain and do the work! (hehe) and @xplorrn reminds me to enjoy the music. Everybody here has been good for me. Anyway, we were climbing the canyon and I was huffing and puffing. It’s a steep climb in only 1.4 miles. We stopped for another water break when I saw this neat stump that appeared to have steps in it, just like the steps (rock steps) we had been climbing. I took a picture of it for Buddy71.

We made it to the top of the canyon, to the saddleback. We didn’t climb the peaks because his paw was bleeding, and I didn’t know if he was hurt or just scuffed it climbing up the canyon. We headed back to the car, here are some of the views:

The closer we got to the car, the faster Salem wanted to go. He was hungry and tired!

At the end of the day, we only hiked 10.8 miles, but it was still a good day. Thanks for reading my oh so exciting trail report!

I have been a runner for years, and I do enjoy a good, hard workout. I had a secret that I was sure made me different, but kept me working out. 

Recently I discovered I am not alone. Here is an article I found on CBS about a topic that has been all over the radio. Sorry I am not writing my own post. I don’t have time, I have to go run! 

Study confirms some women orgasm during exercise

By

Michelle Castillo

 

 

(Credit: iStockPhoto)

 

(CBS News) Not only can exercise improve your health, a new study suggests it can make some women a lot happier.

Researchers at Indiana University confirmed through a study that women can have orgasms while they exercise, sometimes called a “coregasm” because it often happens in conjunction with core abdominal muscle exercises. The study was published in a March 19 special issue of Sexual and Relationship Therapy.

  

“It may be that exercise — which is already known to have significant benefits to health and well-being — has the potential to enhance women’s sexual lives as well,” Debby Herbenick, co-director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at IU’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, said in a written statement.

 

While the study is new, reports of orgasms during exercise have circulated for years, Herbenick said.

For the study, surveys were administered online to 124 women between the ages of 18 to 63 who reported having exercise-induced orgasms (EIO) and 246 women who said they had exercise-induced sexual pleasure (EISP). Most were in a relationship or married, and about 69 percent were heterosexual.

 

“The most common exercises associated with exercise-induced orgasm were abdominal exercises, climbing poles or ropes, biking/spinning and weight lifting,” Herbenick said. “These data are interesting because they suggest that orgasm is not necessarily a sexual event, and they may also teach us more about the bodily processes underlying women’s experiences of orgasm.”

 

About 40 percent of the women who had EIO or EISP episodes had done so on more than 10 occasions. One-fifth of the women could not control their experiences, and most of the EIO subjects said they felt self-consciousness when exercising in public places. Most of them said they were not fantasizing sexually or thinking about anyone they were attracted to when the orgasms happened.

 

While abdominal exercises most frequently triggered EIO at the rate of 51.4 percent, others reported having an orgasm when weight lifting (26.5 percent), doing yoga (20 percent), bicycling (15.8 percent), running (13.2 percent) and walking/hiking (9.6 percent).

 

While the study did not explain why these “coregasms” occurred or how many people in the population experience them, the authors said it only took five weeks to recruit 370 women who said they experience the phenomenon. This suggests that orgasms while exercising may be more common than you think.

 

There are some theories that may provide an explanation. Dr. Victoria Zdrok, a sex therapist and author of “The Anatomy of Pleasure,” told Men’s Health in 2007 that a lot of women build tension in their legs before they orgasm. “So, when a woman exercises, the release of endorphins and dopamine, which are necessary for orgasm, combined with the tension in the lower extremities, can cause the” stimulation, she explained.

 

But another expert, author of “Fearless Sex” Dr. Joy Davidson, told the magazine it had to do with strong pelvic muscles. “When they’re doing certain exercises that are tapping into the deep core or into the quads and inner thighs, what they wind up doing is almost automatically squeezing pelvic muscles in addition,” she said.

My daughter, Tiffany, flew in from South Dakota last week. She flies home tomorrow. 

Her birthday is the day before mine. She always shares her birthday parties with me, though.

She loves to mess with her hair. I haven’t seen her natural color since middle school. 

(pink)

(blue)

She is younger than her sister. Sometimes they get along marvelously, sometime they hate each other.

She is more impatient than me, she is easily irritated and generally moody. 

She can be surly and pouty and drives me up the wall.

But she is loving

And sweet

And funny

I  am going to miss her like crazy when she goes home. 

So, even though it’s Easter Sunday and the family was around, I couldn’t help but think of sex today. Hot, wild, exotic sex. I had to share it with you tonight. 

Obvious Choice – Praying Mantis

Everyone knows the praying mantis loses his head once he mounts the female, but did you know  that without his head, the male doubles his duration and speed in delivering sperm to the female? Now, you know you are a lame lover when you are better dead than alive. 

Honey Bees

The the sex life of a drone honey bee is anything but sweet. After a drone honey bee gets busy with his queen, his penis falls off. And then he dies. I wonder, was the sex worth it?

Flatworms

Sword fighting to see who the girl is? Yes, flatworms do this.  ”Like all sea slugs, flatworms are hermaphrodites. In this case, the male organ turns out to be two dagger-like penises that they use to hunt as well as mate. During mating, two flatworms fight (i.e. “penis fence”) to stab each other, while avoiding getting stabbed. The “loser” who gets stabbed will absorb the sperm through its skin and then scoots off to bear the burden of motherhood!”

Snails

Snails are the keeper of Cupid’s arrows. They are also hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female sexual organs, but they do not self-fertilize. Before two snails mate, they shoot “love darts” made of calcium at each other. People used to think that these arrows are nutritional gifts, like you give someone you love a box of chocolate, but they much more sinister than that. The mucus on the darts allow more sperms to be stored in the snail’s uterus (and thus helped it gain an edge in reproduction).

(image from Good Magazine)

When I lived in South Dakota, recycling wasn’t prevalent. There were extra charges for a recycling bin for your home with your garbage service and they only picked up recycling once a month. There wasn’t very much public awareness of what was and wasn’t recyclable and you just didn’t find encouragement to do so. There weren’t separate recycle bins in resturaunts, gas stations, or other public places. In a way, it was out of sight and out of mind. It wasn’t trendy to recycle and there was no peer pressure. In fact, being concerned about recycling was something you could be snickered at for. Damn tree hugging hippies, anyway. 

Another list of reasons I found that people don’t recycle are:

1. “Recycling is inconvenient.” - It isn’t once it becomes habit, no more inconvenient than throwing garbage away or washing dishes. 

2. “I do not have enough space in my home to recycle.” –

3. “If they paid me, I’d recycle.” – This is a big reason for people who have always sold and collected scrap metal, cans and glass bottles.

( http://www.care2.com/greenliving)

Moving to Boulder was like moving to a different planet. There is mandatory recycling, and recycling bins on every corner, in every store and restaurant. I began recycling out of peer pressure before I even understood all the benefits. 

Why should we recycle?

It saves energy  -Recycling 30 percent of our waste in America, we save the same amount of energy of 11.9 billion gallons of gas and reduces the greenhouse effect of 25 million cars taken off the road.

• Cans: empty and rinse aluminum, cat food, steel and tin cans,  
• Cartons: empty, rinse and flatten cartons (no frozen foods packaging). 
• Glass: empty and rinse bottles and jars. Lead wrapping and corks from wine bottles are garbage. 
• Plastic Bags: bundle plastic bags inside a plastic bag and knot the top. 
• Plastics: empty and rinse plastic containers and items numbered 1-7. 
• Paper: flatten all boxes and cartons. Tie shredded paper in a plastic bag. Staples, tape and plastic windows in 
envelopes can be recycled. Staples and small paper clips may be recycled. 
• Scrap Metals: clean and dry small household appliances or pans. 
• Textiles: If possible, donate textiles to charity. To recycle, tie fabrics in a clear plastic bag. Buttons and zippers 
can stay on clothing. No rags or textiles soiled with chemicals, oil, or paint. 
• Cardboard:  Please breakdown and flatten all boxes and place them in one of the two recycling bins on the 
property.  One is near the carwash area on Central Ave. and the other is near Cypress Point Drive near units 45-
48. 
• Paper Products:  catalogs, magazines, telephone books (no plastic wrappers), cereal and cake mix boxes 
(remove all liners), computer and plain fax paper, construction or art paper (less than 50% painted), egg cartons, 
junk mail and envelopes, paperwork books, post-it notes, shredded paper (no plastic bag) 
• Plastic Bottles and Tubs #1 through 7 (all should be rinsed thoroughly): baby wipe tubs, bakery deli and 
salad tubs (no clamshells), cottage cheese tubs, detergent bottles, milk jugs (no lids or caps) peanut butter jars, 
prescription bottles, shampoo bottles, syrup bottles, water, soda and juice bottles, yogurt tubs.

And what isn't recyclable is just as important:

• Used motor oil. You can drop off your used motor oil at a certified collection center. Please call the Recycling 
Hotline at 1-800-533-8414 for a collection center near you. 
• Hazardous waste. Anything that is labeled toxic, poisonous, corrosive or flammable is considered hazardous 
waste and must be properly disposed. Used auto parts are often covered in hazardous materials and these 
should be disposed of carefully. 
• Plastic toys. Most toys are made of different types of plastic mixed together. Plastics cannot be mixed together 
during the recycling process. 
• Paper cups and plates (even clean ones). The recyclers must always assume that food residues exist, even if 
they don’t, because food waste is a contaminant for recycled paper. 
• Any paper that has touched food:  Frozen food boxes. These have a wax coating which cannot be removed 
during recycling. Beverage cups, coffee cups, bags, donut boxes, burger wrappers, ice cream cartons, pizza 
boxes, paper plates, anything that has ever touched food directly. 
• Binder Clips may not be recycled:  Staples and small paper clips may be recycled. 
• Polystyrene (StyrofoamTM): Styrofoam containers and foam packaging blocks and peanuts are not recyclable 
• Small Appliances. Unless they are at least 80% metal, they are not recyclable. 
• Metal:  aerosol can (empty or full), construction debris, nails, metal pipes or car parts, pots and pans
• Computers, printers, fax machines, etc. 

 For a comprehensive list of what IS recyclable, see http://www.recycleplus.org/.

I would like to go on and on, and talk about compost posts, re-using, creative ways governments are reducing landfill waste, and even litter, but I don't want to write a book. I am already over the length most people will read.   As you enjoy your family and holiday this weekend, keep in mind the responsible way to dispose of those plastic eggs. http://www.ehow.com/how_6922829_recycle-plastic-easter-eggs.html

Happy Easter from Boulder!

My husband is looking at returning to school and I am looking at obtaining my Master’s degree. Neither of us are crazy about the thought of more student loans, so we are planning to self pay through it. Looking at expenses, time and effort, we have both agreed it makes more sense to focus on classes and reduce our workload. We have a mortgage, two cars, insurance, and two grown daughters that need as much financial support as they did in their teens. 

Trying to wrap our heads around how to accomplish all of this, he asked me if I was willing to go back to living like a 20 year old. Sacrificing our privacy by getting a roomate, sacrificing our freedom by sharing a car. I not only said no, I said hell no. I would rather work all day and night to complete school without giving up my lifestyle. But then I started looking at articles about poverty and hope, and a shareable economy, and felt a little ashamed of my selfishness and pride.

We already share our resources and talents. I have a lady that does my hair for free and I watch her kids for her from time to time. My daughter had her car repaired for free because she babysits for a man who knows a mechanic. He pays the mechanic in his trade, she pays him with babysitting. I support a friend’s computer and remove all the viruses and garbage he downloads and he brings me vegetables from their garden. These “sharing” activities avoid everyone cost and nobody is taxed for them. 

Now city governments are getting involved. Many cities are adopting shareable economy policies to encourage sustainable economic growth and job creation. Here are the 20 policies that municipalities are encouraged to adopt and promote:

1. Car sharing and parking sharing – This includes making off street parking only accessible to car sharers, increasing the cost to park on the street, and allowing people to lease their residential parking places.

2. Carpooling and ride sharing - One partial remedy has been offered by the rise of online rideshare matchmaking sites like Craigslist, 511.org, Zimride, and GoLoco. Cities can offer other incentives by creating free carpool lanes, designated taxi stands, and encouraging public transportation.

3. Bike sharing – Bicycling is the fastest growing transportation trend in urban America. Bicycling can be encouraged by cities by increasing biking infrastructure, offering free or reduced helmets, and  commuter choice programs. “Bike-sharing is transit. Workers who use bike-sharing services around the U.S. should benefit from the Commuter Choice Program which allows employers to give their employees tax-free money towards commuting”

4.Share-able commercial spaces – Especially now, there is a surplus of vacant commercial spaces. Cities can meet needs of both the empty space and people who need a space by incentivising the facilitation of community owned commercial spaces, allowing temporary use permits, and creating disincentives for wasting commercial space and holding it  vacant. 

5. Shareable Housing – Zoning to condense housing units, shared parking, and encourage collaboratively developed communities can offer affordable housing and communities while also preserving green space and our carbon footprint. 

6. Home sharing – This includes removing restrictions to activities such as using your home as a community meeting place, selling your garden vegetables, and offering child care without a permit. 

7. Neighborhood sharing – Shared pods and sheds for storage, neighborhood emergency preparedness, and community gardens are all part of sharing neighborhoods.

8. Recreational and green spaces – Allowing basketball hoops in driveways, creating more pocket parks, depaving excess parking lots and creating community walls that encourage murals are all ways cities can encourage public (free) recreational spaces. 

9. Shareable work spaces - Shared workspaces and workshops like The Hub, pariSOMA, TechShop, and3rd Ward enrich a city by giving workers, entrepreneurs, and creative people access to space and equipment for their special projects or day-to-day work. These spaces are ultimate breeding grounds for sharing and collaboration.

10. Shareable rooftops – We should harness rooftop spaces to collect solar energy, grow plants, or create sunny social spaces. Rooftops also make first contact with a large amount of rainwater, which makes them prime candidates for the collection and management of water.

11. Urban agriculture - Sharing is a critical component of urban food growing. First, food growing is labor intensive and requires that community members collaborate and share skills and knowledge. Sharing is also critical to land access; the people who will suffer the most from a food crisis are the urban poor who have less access to resources and tillable land. Much of the land that could be cultivated is owned by middle- or upper-class urban residents, private vacant lot owners, and government entities.

12. Food sharing – Removing restrictions on places and venues that food can be shared and offered charitably is one step in sharing food. Removing laws that require commercial kitchens for anyone who is creating food to share or sell would reduce costs and barriers so people could (legally) cook and serve food for large groups and distribution in parks and other public venues would be possible. More than 15 percent of households in America are “food insecure”, and restrictions on sharing and distribution hinder our ways of closing the food gap.

13 -Public Libraries – Libraries have always been the epitome of sharing, and the budgets for libraries get cut every year. Libraries offer shared learning, workspaces, even economic development. (http://www.ipsr.ku.edu/resrep/pdf/m260.pdf) 

14. Worry-Free Sharing – This includes ways the laws and policies can change to encourage sharing, such as removing insurance restrictions for sharing cars and federal regulations regarding food sharing. 

15. Cooperative Enterprise

16. Shareable Exchange and Financial Platforms

17. Democracy and Decision-Making

18. The Shareable City Employee

19.  Making Sharing Part of the Culture of the City

20. Energy

The last five listed are complicated and have less specific ideas, each city government is integrating them in their own ways. The fact is, our economic recovery has been weak and our poverty and unemployment rate has caused us to become more creative with our lifestyles. Necessity is the mother of invention, and these ideals go against the grain of the individualistic American culture. I think they are long overdue, and I am thrilled to see so many cities being progressive and adopting these principles. 

I am a poor hippie at heart.