Sunflowers and Good Advice from Sylvia Plath

"...once again love life day by day, color by color, touch by touch, because you've got a body and mind to exercise, and that is your lot, to exercise and use it as much as you can, never mind whose got a better or worse body and mind, but stretch yours as far as you can."

Just what I needed to hear.

Eating Animals

On Sunday we went to Vromans to hear Jonathan Safran Foer speak about his latest book, Eating Animals. Neither of us had read any of his work but we were curious about his position on this particular subject. I started and finished it in 4 days and now consider it as one of the most important books I have ever read. It’s heartbreaking to say the least, but it’s the kind of heart break that people need in order to grow as ethical human beings. Eating is an important part of everyone’s daily lives and the information he presents gives readers the power to make conscious, educated and most importantly ethical decisions about how we go about it.

Did you know...?

"Animal agriculture makes a 40% greater contribution to global warming than all transportation in the world combined; it is the number one cause of climate change."

Isn't that insane?

This book answers the what's, where's, when's, how's and why's..but most importantly, he gets you to think about something that many people just DO because it's imbedded in our cultures and is woven into our traditions and ways of life. The question, "Should we continue the way we are heading?" is rarely a bad one to ask.

Half Dome

That's me. I didn't realize how close to the edge I was until I saw the picture. Yikes!
So excited to have made it!
Erik is an enthusiastic kind of guy.
So am I.
On the trail.

After 5 hours of hiking we arrived at the base of that giant rock and said some very appropriate 'choice' words, along with "We're going to die!" I started to question whether it was the best idea for me to brave the cables or not. My body was feeling so tired already and now I could see how steep of a climb it actually was. It was straight up! The photos online did not do it justice. I thought about what it would feel like to lose my grip. To slide off. To fall thousands of feet to the valley below. And then I snapped out of it. Climb on.

After the first 30 seconds of climbing I felt the fear begin to take over. My breaths became shallow and I could feel the muscles in my hands and arms begin to shake. "Just keep going and DO NOT look back," I said aloud over and over again. I came to a woman on my left that we had seen on the trail a number of times. She was completely frozen with fear and crouched down with her arm looped around the metal cable. I tried to encourage her but she was too terrified to move so I had to reach around her and pass. About 15 minutes into our ascent my legs started cramping due to dehydration. That's when I started to freak out.

"It's ok babe. Focus. Right foot. Left. You're doing great." Erik's encouragement is what eventually got me to the top. We were on the ropes for about half and hour. Once we had reached the top we celebrated and then collapsed. We took some pictures and admired the wonderful view, making sure to soak it all up.

Aside from the rock itself, we were able to spend 10 or so hours surrounded by beauty that is unmatchable. It was a long and rewarding day.