Climbing... in the polls!

I checked espn.com probably 10 times this morning before the polls were actually posted, but they're in... and Boise State is at:

#5

Wahoo! This is the first time ever that Boise State has been in the top 5 in the regular season. I am sure they won't remain #5 for long, with other teams expected to jump us in the rankings even if we do continue to win, but I am definitely happy to see us there for now. Go Broncos!

Women's Fitness Celebration 2009

This morning was the annual Women's Fitness Celebration 5k event. I was counting, and think this is the 4th year in a row I have participated - each year with the Cutler Crew! I seriously love this race... You are literally surrounded by thousands of women, all walking or running the 3.1 miles to celebrate fitness, and to just celebrate being a woman. I was kind of nervous because I had signed up to be in the running wave, and I haven't worked out once in over a month (I know - I need to get my priorities straight!), let alone having gone running. In fact, the last time I ran three miles was in May for Race for the Cure! Anyway, I ran almost all the way, and finished in just over 32 minutes... not great (2 1/2 minutes slower than last year and 5 minutes slower than Race for the Cure), but not horrible considering the fact that I'm kind of out of shape right now. Anyway, I decided after the race today that I need to kick things back into gear, and start exercising again so I can feel "fit". Here's to hopefully a positive fall/winter in the health and fitness arena!

Blogging

I came across this poster and knew that I had to post it here! In case it's too small to read, it says "Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few." Yep, I'm one of those people! I have had several friends say, "My life is too boring to blog" or "I don't ever do anything worth blogging about". I am sure that some people might think that about me :-) I try to blog about the coolest things that happen to me to make my life sound exciting, but in reality, I blog because I have been a horrible journal writer my entire life. I honestly have only one journal that is completely full... and that's starting a new entry on each page! I figure that for some reason, it is easier for me to get on the computer and post for any and all to see - go figure! So anyway, I will continue to blog and print my blog books at the end of the year, regardless of if I really have anything to say or if anyone reads this... Happy blogging!

Loon Lake Backpacking Trip

I think the last backpacking trip I went on was to Mount Borah... maybe 10 years ago? It's been a while for sure. Well, this weekend I dusted off my backpack, packed it as light as I could, and headed just north of McCall, Idaho to Loon Lake. Reviews raved about Loon Lake's beauty and about how you could see wreckage from a WWII bomber in the forest. I was definitely excited for this adventure!

Jen & I researched Loon Lake in order to get a good idea of what was in store for us. We thought we were completely prepared, but we did end up with a few surprises along the way. I decided to make this post a little more detailed than I normally would just in case it might help someone else out one day :-)

The Loon Lake trailhead his 36 miles north of McCall on Warren Wagon Road. The last few miles are on a dirt washboard road - talk about bumpy! We noticed as we got closer to the trailhead that a fire had devastated much of the area, and we hoped that the trees around the lake hadn't been affected (no such luck!). There were a couple different trails that we could have taken up to the lake. We chose the slightly longer (but definitely prettier) route. Trail #80 led us along the Secesh River for about 3 1/2 - 4 miles, at which point we crossed over a bridge and hooked up to trail #84. We followed this trail for a couple more miles to the lake. There was a decent incline on trail #84 (rising 800 feet over 1.3 miles) - although we noticed on the way back out that we had done quite a bit of ups and downs all along the way.

The girls (me & Jen)... just getting started
The boys (Tim, David, & Chris)

Once we got to the lake, we took the trail around the right side of the lake hoping to find a place to camp. After about a mile of wondering if we had gone the right direction, we finally saw a trail that headed in closer toward the lake that we thought might lead to campsites. Unfortunately, all the camp sites there were full! We ended up making our own little campsite not far from there. After setting up camp, we had a delicious dinner (thanks to Jen & her mom) of shepherd's pie, garlic bread, and brownies.

Ever heard an elk bugle? We decided it must be elk mating season because they bugled (loudly!) all night long. This video will give you an idea of what we heard!

The people at the nearby campsite happened to be a group of aviation archaeologists there for the weekend to survey the old bomber at the crash site. We were glad they could give us directions to the site - which included either wading across a shallow "river" or trying to walk across a precarious looking log. I don't know that we would have found it otherwise! The crash site really was incredible, and it was neat to hear about the background from one of the archaeologists. In January of 1943, a group of 8 were on an army training mission. The weather was bad, so they ended up getting lost over the forests of Idaho. The crew knew they needed to land, so they decided to try landing on the frozen lake. Unfortunately, the flaps that are supposed to help slow down the bomber were iced over and wouldn't open, so the plane ended up crashing into the trees just off the shore of Loon Lake. The amazing part is that all 8 crew members survived the crash. The lead archaeologist explained to us that this WWII B-52 is one of the best preserved crash sites in the nation. Even the fires a couple of years ago didn't seem to affect the state of the wreckage much.

The tail of the bomber

Overall, I loved this weekend. We were all pretty tired and sore once we made it back to the car, but a it was a good kind of tired :-) We're already talking about our next outdoor adventure... although I'm pretty sure it will end up being a day hike instead of an overnight backpacking trip!

Chuck Update

I just read that the new season of Chuck begins March 2010. Why is it starting so late? I was looking forward to the season starting back up this fall. Bummer...

Rediscovery

I remember in college when I chose to major in business that I decided I needed to learn how to golf. Golfing was a requirement on business trips or on outings with colleagues, right? I was lucky enough to have a roommate on the swim team (who got priority registration) who registered for a beginning golf class for me (and an intermediate class the next semester). You see, golf (and any other cool class) always filled up before I even had the chance to register. So Amy would register for the class, then one random day late in the summer we would call each other up and I would add the class just seconds after she dropped it. Worked like a charm.

So anyway, I took a couple golf classes and fell in love with the sport. I was never really that great, but I learned how to hold and swing the club, as well as some tips and tricks that helped with technique. The problem was that I was a poor college student, and I didn't really have any friends who golfed, so I didn't make it to the golf course that often. After I graduated, I golfed on par 3 courses a handful of times with some friends in Boise, but that was it. I probably haven't been golfing in close to 7 years, and I think the last time I even hit a bucket of balls was 6 years ago!

My friends have spent the entire summer playing tennis. I have tried playing with them a couple times, but I really suck, so it's not much fun for anyone. I even took a few tennis classes in hopes that I might get good enough to hold my own in a game, but no such luck. I am a little better, but I still have a long ways to go. I decided maybe tennis isn't my sport. This weekend when everyone was out playing tennis, I brushed all the cobwebs off my golf bag (literally!) and headed to the driving range. While there, I fell in love with golf all over again. A golf swing feels so much more natural to me than a tennis swing, and I actually had some pretty decent hits! I was a little frustrated (I always said golf has to be one of the most frustrating sports!) because I had a pretty bad slice on many of my hits (hitting several over the fence just to my right!), but the rest soared straight where I was aiming :-) I even hit quite a few right around the 150 yard marker, so I was happy with that.

I definitely rediscovered my love for golf, and think I'll have to head out to the range a lot more often... Maybe in the spring I'll take some lessons and hopefully get to the point where I'm comfortable out on the course again!

The Myth Is True...

... Ducks Do Crash on the Blue! Tonight's 19-8 victory over the Oregon Ducks was oh so sweet. When we beat them last year on their home field, many thought it was a fluke. This win tonight proved that it wasn't, and that we do have a good, solid football team capable of playing with some of the best teams in the nation. I was happy to bring my dad to this season opener to share in the excitement with me (and over 34,000 other fans)!
You've gotta love watching the players run out onto the field through the giant helmet! Notice the stadium color scheme in the background... different sections were assigned orange, blue, or white. We were in the white section.
And of course I had to get some game day food... I went with Kettle Korn because not only is it delish, but I could smell it cooking all the way across the stadium and it made me hungry!

Well, I'm off to bed, and I'll be dreaming sweet dreams... probably about blue and orange and an undefeated football season in 2009 :-)

More Game Day Excitement

Turns out my entire office was excited for the game today... everyone dressed up (and no this wasn't planned)! The Registrar's Office definitely has Bronco Spirit! I'll tell ya', it's been hard to concentrate at work today.
And this is my favorite... there were some local restaurants that got into the spirit of game day by offering some food specials. Mandy, Kris, and I decided to try out the black & blue Oregon Duck - a deliciously seasoned duck in an orange sauce topped with blue cheese. The plate came complete with a little BSU flag. It was kind of funny that there happened to be a Duck fan sitting at the table next to us :-)

Well, that's it for now... in an hour or so I'm off to tailgate and then join thousands of fans in Bronco Stadium. I'm hoping for a fun night!

Check

Car flags... check.


Tickets... check.
Game day shirt... check.I'm ready to go!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Hope you had a great day :-)

Too Excited?

So last night as I was laying in bed trying to go to sleep, I was brainstorming the title of my blog post for when we (hopefully) beat Oregon tomorrow. Maybe I'm a little too excited for the game...

Shooting

Last night we went out for a little target practice... we shot .22 rifles and I even had the chance to try out an AR-15. I didn't do that well on my first round with the .22, but the second round I used my dad's gun and it had a really nice site, making it much easier to hit my targets! I was disappointed that it got dark so early (I love that it stays light until 10:00 in the middle of the summer!), because it made it difficult to see the targets, and I would have loved to stay out longer. I guess I'll just have to go out again!