Oh, vicious cycle

Stubborn. I’m stubborn, and it may be the death of me someday. I hold on too tightly to these feelings, knowing I shouldn’t, but not knowing how to let go.

Quote-o-the-day

"It is vital for us to remember we are on an unknown arc toward an unknown future. There is still a great deal to be discovered and perhaps a number of current understandings to be overturned."
-Beautiful Science exhibit at the Huntington Library

See Jane Camp

Last weekend's fun camping trip...

Drank some beer. Mmm Fat Tire.


Tried out my new tent. Love it, although I'm still trying to master the art of exiting it gracefully.


Went on an 8 mile hike. It was mostly uphill, ugh.


Took pictures of wildflowers.


Enjoyed a peaceful pond.


Hung out by the fire.


Went tidepooling--I heart octopuses!


Checked out the moon through a telescope.


Wore fun beanies.

Attack of the Evil Squirrels, Part Deux

Several years back this unfortunate incident occurred, during the 1st Annual Leo Carrillo Camping Trip. A great lesson was learned then: beware of the evil squirrels. Since then, we have always been diligent about throwing our trash away and not leaving food unattended. As long as we were cautious, we wouldn't have another run-in with those furry guys...Or so we thought...I think we've learned a couple of new lessons this year:

1. Never underestimate what hungry squirrels will do to get to food.
2. Never forget that the lid of your plastic-lined soft cover cooler is not plastic-lined.

They can't chew through the sides, but they can definitely chew through the lid. They ate all of Emily's fruit and veggies and a whole bag of chocolate covered pretzels. Those guys must be happy and fat right now.


Empty cooler, but the squirrel is still trying to go back for more--hadn't he had enough?!


I had a wonderful weekend camping! Hanging out with friends, hiking, and tidepooling. Ahh, wish I was still there. More on the trip later...

Time to Relax

Going on my 4th Annual Leo Carrillo camping trip with friends tomorrow. Ahh, time to relax and cleanse and let go of stress. I'm very much looking forward to the weekend away!

plucked eyebrows and bouffant hairdos

I love how movies come out on DVD so quickly after their theatrical release these days. Not long ago, I was anxiously looking forward to watching Twilight for the first time. And now, just a few months later, I can watch it anywhere and anytime I want to. Not only that, but the DVD has some great special features. And where else do you get to hear Rob Pattinson talk about plucked eyebrows and bouffant hairdos? Yeah, it's no surprise, I heart my Twilight DVD.

Star Porn

Sea star porn, that is. The stars in one of our touch pools spawned today, causing a cloudy and bubbly mess in the water. Being the bio geeks that we all are, we decided to mix the eggs and sperm together and watch the magic happen under a microscope. The above cells are in various stages of division--how cool is that?! I think watching these cells divide was the highlight of our day. We really are nerds, aren't we? Haha, well, although work has been busy and stressful lately, at least we still take time to have fun and be geeky together.

Leo Carrillo & Joshua Tree, here I come!

I'm so excited, I just got a brand new tent!! My first tent endured a squirrel attack (resulting in a patch and zipper replacement), a lost bag, two pole fixes, and leaky seams from a 4-inch rain storm. I recently decided that it's time for the Kelty tent to go into semi-retirement. Although it's still in working order, I wanted to invest in something new and different. The result? An REI Quarter Dome T3 tent. I can't wait to test it out, so it's a good thing I'm going on two camping trips next month!

The best thing about this new tent is how much I had to pay out of my own pocket for it.

Tent & footprint, full price cost= $330.00
I paid= $78.00

How did I get such a sweet deal, you ask? Well it was a combination of things--birthday gift card + birthday money + REI member discount + my 2008 dividend= a great deal.

i heart this tree

The flowers on my favorite tree are starting to bloom again. So beautiful...

Three Cups of Tea

At the beginning of last year, our book club read the wonderful novel, Three Cups of Tea. We drank tea and had a great discussion about the book. It is an inspiring story, taking you on one man's journey of passion and dedication to providing education for the children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last night, we were fortunate enough to attend a talk by that man, Greg Mortenson. It was neat to be able to enrich our reading experience this way--from reading the novel to talking about it with others, and then now, meeting and listening to stories from the person himself.

Pick up the book if you haven't read it yet!