Cooking is not one of them. I have the most highly sensitive smoke detector on this earth. Or…even the smoke detector does not like my cooking. And it’s not even really cooking for Pete’s sake. It is grilled “cheese” and fried “pet chicken” eggs. Gosh darn it, I was sage-ing my place tonight, you know to get rid it of bad energy and possibly not so nice spirits that may be lurking around a 100 year old building, and the darn smoke detector went off. I. Mean. Really?
So no, if it involves the stove or the freakin’ oven for that matter, I am not good at it.
So things I am good at.
Optimism 😀 Totally 9.9999999999 times out of 10 I will see the bright side of things. Dude, why get upset. What is done, is done. Learn, grow, move forward in a positive direction.
People. I LOVE people. I love hearing their stories, their awesome experiences and most of all, how a couple that has been married for a loooong time, has met.
Which leads me to this random tangent.
My folks, Donnie and Gina met one night while my dad was sitting on the stoop of a house with is good buddy Nick Perazola. Walking down the street towards them was my ma and her friend whose name escapes me. I am not sure who wore what color but as the story goes they had on matching Penn State sweatshirts. The only difference being one was white with blue lettering and the other was blue with white lettering. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! Talk about yin, yang. Married almost 50 years (this year on September 21) and together over 54 years, they are good at marriage. They love and fight like hell. But they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Okay back to the list of things I am good at….
I can love like no other. When I am with you, I am with you. But don’t be mistaken…..I am also totally great at being without you. Life is what it is. The ups and downs, the rivers and oceans, the canyons and ravines. I find my way around them because if you don’t, you’ll be just a mere shell of a being. But it is better to navigate with a partner 😀
My picture…somewhere over Utah. By train 2010.
I am not good at finishing an apartment. I have lived here for over 2 years and I have never painted nor have I bought more than one kitchen chair for my kitchen table. Maybe I will buy another chair when I settle down with my guy. (I haven’t met him yet…hehehehe!) Or maybe I have and it’s all on the universes timing. Who the hell knows.
I am good at getting myself mentally and physically lost in the woods. I know myself well enough that if I don’t get out of town and deep into the woods I start to be “not so nice.”
I am good at Halloween decorating..just ask my sister Lisa.
I am good at amazing stupid joke telling…just ask my sister Lana.
I am good at reminding my brother that his “big man status” at work is no match for him succumbing to his three little sisters who won’t let him forget he is still out numbered. ;D
I am not good at following through…on reupholstering this awesome vintage chair that I bought at an estate sale 4 years ago. Still the same hideous fabric since the day I bought it.
I am good at collecting driftwood. A piece has to have some artful effect on me. I have to look at it and imagine it’s journey and what it went through to get to that beach. The pieces I do have dance with one another. 🙂
Acceptance. I am good at that. Didn’t used to be but I am now. I accept the good, bad and the ugly.
I am verrrrrry good at road tripping! Probably my first love. It’d be pretty cool to have a dog and dude to road trip with. Any takers?!
Adventuring. I am goooood at that. Any takers?!
~Lori
“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.”
Truth is, I haven’t been inspired to write anything for a while now. Not sure if it was a lack of adventure in the winter time, endless days of no sun or a combination of both. Combination of both. I cannot say that I did a whole lot of adventuring lately. Anyways today is the first day in a long time that I have felt like writing anything.
I woke up Saturday morning and the sun was shining bright through my apartment warming the floors and my inner sense of peace. I did my usual routine of dusting the sleep out of my eyes, washing dishes and putting the kettle on to brew coffee in the french press. I did some yoga while waiting for the kettle to whistle (dudes I am stiff!) I also flipped through a couple of pages of the latest Patagonia catalog. Inspiration can always be found in there and this time it lit a little bit of a fire inside of me. Sometimes I rip out a few pages and put them on my fridge. When I lose inspiration I have a couple of reminders staring me in the face of what I love about my life and what I aspire to. 😀
I started back rock climbing a couple of months ago. Starting back out was humbling as all get out. My arms were like wet noodles and muscles that I had forgotten existed were screaming at me, but over time I have been getting a little stronger and stronger and that has been feeling real good. Friday my friend Jon and I climbed outside for the first time this year and it was awesome! The sun was warm, the rock was dry and it was quiet. I LOVE climbing outside as you get to pick your own route and you can climb the same area a million different ways. Just now as I type, I checked in with my buddy Dave and he sent me a photo of him and a few others gearing up to climb at the New River Gorge in West Virginia. I couldn’t make it this weekend due to prior obligations but I am sooooooo jealous right now! It is cool though because next weekend we are heading down to the Red River Gorge, KY!
By no means am I good climber right now. I am weak, stiff and I get pumped (pumped is when your forearms burn out) so easy. Most of all my breathing is total crap as I climb. I get anxious and my breathing becomes erratic. Shane the manager at Cleveland Rock Gym was helping me with this one particular bouldering problem a few weeks back and as soon as I got off the wall his advice for me was not foot placement nor hand placement but he said, “You have to breathe Lori.” Since then I have been trying to do just that.
I miss climbing in California. The weather is almost always perfect and you can climb outside all year long. The climbing gyms open up at 6:30am so you can get your climb on before work which I totally love because I am waaaay better in the mornings than in the evenings. My energy is full throttle when I wake up most mornings and I usually pewter out about 5pm.
You don’t have to climb rocks or backpack through the woods. Just being out in nature will erase tension and worries.
This weekend in Cleveland was just awesome. Bright sun, warm temps and endless things to do outside. I was fortunate enough to hang out with new friend I met through my backpacking group. 🙂 Luda and her husband came to an event a couple of weeks ago and her and I were able to connect and get together for some girl talk and coffee on Sunday. She is a pretty cool person and I looking forward to hanging out and having new fun workout friend!
Friday my best friend Sara and I went to the listen to the Cleveland Orchestra and hung out again Sunday morning with her 2 girls at the beach and playground! Saturday my niece Kelly and I went for a bike ride/jog in the park. We hiked up to a spot where we could watch the planes fly over really low upon landing. Kelly thought is was super cool and I NEVER EVER get tired of it! I also hung out with my awesome folks too. All in all this weekend was pretty darn awesome!
Life seems fuller right now and it feels good. There are some things on the horizon that are going to be challenging but beneficial. It feels good to put words on the page again. Inspiration is blooming!
Life is not black and white. We have to constantly move forward and explore aspects of our lives that may seem scary. I believe that is how we set an example of love, adventure and continuous learning. Sometimes things ARE meant to come to an end. Not because you didn’t try hard enough, just simply because things have run their course. I don’t have a desire to be stagnant/complacent. Not at the expense of myself or the people I love, it wouldn’t do anyone any good in the long run. Love yourself first… get to know yourself.
~Lori
“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.”
Hello! I just had the most amazing weekend! I hope you all did as well 🙂 My weekend was full of dancing, the beach and working out times 2! I want to start a new segment on this blog titled The Everyday Outdoor Adventurer. I love meeting new and inspiring people in and around my area! But first let’s talk about Friday night!
Friday night…lol! Some girls from work and myself headed out Friday night to go see That 80’s Band at Vosh in Lakewood. This band tours locally around Ohio and will be back in the area soon so you can better believe we will be seeing them again! We walked into a semi-swanky night club to all of our favorite 80’s music blaring from the stage. This band is GREAT! They do the most amazing covers from Michael Jackson to The Bangles and they even did a great Journey cover (and that is hard to do!) It didn’t take us long to order our drinks and head out onto the dance floor! Now, I am NO great dancer but how did you really dance in the 80’s anyways?! We danced ALL NIGHT LONG! They even ended the night with one of my favorite songs, Cheap Trick’s I Want You To Want Me (which was actually released in the 70’s.). I love dancing around my place when that song comes on! It is so upbeat and catchy! I do not have pictures from that night (probably better that way..lol!) Sadly the last song of the night played and we had to head home. 😦 But I didhave a little keepsake from our all night dance session… I woke up Saturday morning and my neck was soooo stiff! I was dancing and whipping my head around way too much. Really glad there aren’t any pics or videos 😉
After I was positive that I didn’t throw out my neck, I ventured down to the shore with a hot delicious cup of coffee from Erie Island Coffee Company. I cannot express to you in words how blissfully happy I am to be living 1 minute from this amazing coffee joint!
Mmmm….
So after picking up my favorite local brew Saturday morning I headed down to the beach. I don’t know of anything I love more than sitting on the warm sand, digging my toes in and gazing out at the water with a cup of coffee in hand. The beach I went to is also my favorite beach to scope out driftwood. I love the way the sun and water strip away layers and produces a soft weathered beautiful piece of wood. I always wonder about the journey of the pieces I bring home. Where did it come from, how long had it been in the water? Here is one that I would have loved to bring home but it was WAY heavy!
gnarly
So I am sitting there sipping my coffee with the warm sun shining down on me just loving life at that moment when this guy comes trotting down the sand with his kayak. Let me explain the water conditions that morning. It seemed almost as if the earth had stopped rotating. The water was as smooth as glass as far as my eyes could see. I didn’t really see any movement and would have been unaware of any if not for the ever so gentle lapping of the water coming to say hi to the shore. In other words it was perfect for kayaking.
The guy who was nice enough to chat with me and let me take his picture is Marty. We had a nice chat about kayaking and our love for being out on the water. Him and his wife just launch their boats and go. How fantastic?! He also invited me to a drum circle 🙂
Typically, people gather to drum in drum “circles” with others from the surrounding community. The drum circle offers equality because there is no head or tail. It includes people of all ages. The main objective is to share rhythm and get in tune with each other and themselves. To form a group consciousness. To entrain and resonate. By entrainment, I mean that a new voice, a collective voice, emerges from the group as they drum together.”
~courtesy of Wikipedia
I have not been to a drum circle since Venice Beach. I do enjoy them but I am not a devotee like most of the people who attend. But still I will definitely have to check it out and see how ones in Ohio compare to ones in Venice Beach…lol.
I also met Eric! I was gazing out at the water when this figure came slowly into focus. I knew right away that I had to talk to this person.
Eric is a stand up paddle boarder and a Lake Erie surfer. Two things that I definitely want to try! We talked for a little while about both sports and how he got involved in them. I don’t know how much backpacking I will be doing this summer with SO many other cool things to get into!!!!! Turns out Eric made his own board and paddle. He doesn’t sell them but did give me a number to a person who does and it turns out the place is right down the street from me!
I love meeting The Everyday Outdoor Adventurer when I am out and about. I love their stories of how they got involved with whatever it is they are doing at the moment. That is also how I find out about other cool and different things to do in the Cleveland area. I love people and find most to be very interesting when you get to chatting. 🙂 With that being said I could probably make friends and hold a conversation with an inanimate object too, that’s how much I love talking! I find that 10 times out of 10 when I approach someone, they are totally cool with me snapping their pick. It is all in how you ask 😉
After leaving that beach I went and picked up one nephew and two nieces and headed back down to the beach! Seriously though, it was the perfect day to be there!
We had such a good time! We packed a lunch and some sand toys and were on our way 🙂 It was such a perfect day to be out at the shore. Not too hot, not too cold. Juuuust perfect! I loved that they kept talking about how they love being out in nature and exploring. They had so much fun out on the rocks and climbing in and out of the ones with little tide pools. They buried each other. And they dug holes in the sand so deep that when they went in they were up to their knees! Of course we covered them in and packed them down so no one would be strolling along and fall into one. After we packed up the toys and lunch we headed out to a local ice cream shop and topped off our afternoon with dessert. Dairy Grove in North Ridgeville has some of the best custard I have ever had!
After two days of non stop fun it was time to get in a good sweaty workout on Sunday morning! I led a small group of people on a cardio session out in Rocky River Reservation. I have talked about this set of stairs before in a previous post. Although this time instead of going up and down with 3 different types of stepping, we also included a 1/3 of a mile loop run in between each set of stairs climbing. It was fun and hard and exhausting but it felt sooo good! What felt really good was the brief slightly chilly rain that surprised us during our workout! It was a nice happenstance 🙂
But the workout for me didn’t stop there! I am starting to run with my niece Molly. She is in track and asked me to run with her and I so totally gladly said I would! So after a mile run and 5 sets of 134 stairs I went to pick up my niece and go run another couple of miles! Hahaha..I am going to feel it over the next few days. We ran and then did a bunch of running exercises and then concluded our workout with a good 20 minutes of stretching. Ahhhhh…. Then we headed home to shower and go to my other niece and nephew’s track meet to watch them run and jump!
It was a jam packed friend and family filled weekend and I could not have asked for a better one!
I hope you all had a great weekend too! Let me know what fun things you did this weekend in the comments section below!
Peace, love and lots of warm sunshine,
~Lori
“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.”
I just finished a good solid 15 minutes of stretching and meditation. I was driving home from my niece’s track meet this evening and was feeling incredibly tense from another heavy work week. Once I arrived home I immediately changed out of my day clothes and into my comfy men’s button down shirt and pink and yellow pajama bottoms…aaaahhhh. I love sleeping in men’s dress shirts! Quirky??? They are just incredibly comfortable! Next, I put the kettle on and cut myself a thick slice of juicy lemon to put in my hot mug of water. So simple and pure and so good for an after yoga/meditation session.
Refreshing hot lemon water 🙂
It never ceases to amaze me how only 15 minutes of stretching and meditating can rejuvenate your mind and body and erase all the tension.
Night one left me so inspired to do even more than I already do and have done over the last several years. The above video is definitely worth watching so…CHECK. IT. OUT! But yesterday I left work with a second wind and called my mom to see if she wanted to go mosey around Marshall’s for a bit. I needed a few things for the apartment and I still have gift cards to use. So I picked her up and we went for a bit and she kept saying to me (because I couldn’t stop yawning and closing my eyes intermittently), “Why don’t you just skip the film festival tonight and get a good nights rest?” I said no, and that I really wanted to go. So we left the store and she suggested we grab a bite to eat. We grabbed a small pizza from Zeppe’s in Avon along with two Diet Cokes and headed down to the lake.
Lake with my momma 🙂
As my mom and I were sitting there listening to the waves wash up on shore and watching them splash upon the rocks, I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures because I get so inspired by Lake Erie and really just water in general. On the last backpacking trip that I went on and the one before that actually, I sat on a dry rock in the middle of the creek and silently meditated. I am a water gal and I am soooo happy to be living within walking distance to the lake. It was such a beautiful evening… the sun was bright as it was setting in the far distance and it cast a glow on the lake that my iPhone couldn’t quite capture. I kept looking at the boats still docked on land and kept thinking about the stillness of winter. I can’t wait to see the Lake Erie alive with boats of all shapes and sizes! And I really can’t wait to get out on the lake and kayak again this summer! The grass was so vibrant and green and it provided a beautiful contrast to the rest of the landscape. I was so thankful to spend a very peaceful, soothing and beautiful evening with my mom. And I would have rather been right there soaking her and the lake in than be at the festival. So my quest for awe and inspiration came not from night two of the festival but rather from my mother and our sweet, delicious and beautiful nature filled evening watching the sunset over Lake Erie. Thanks Momma 😉
A zany zesty friend of mine who is always in a fine frenzy sent me a link the other day to a website that has just completely resonated with me. So much so that I feel that I want to be a part of it. If I have ever felt “connected” (hahaha…get it? connected!?) to this crazy world wide web it is definitely to the the site She Explores . I feel connected to the people who have written and shared these stories and I don’t even know them. They just speak my language! The site is about traveling, artistry, and exploring. What I loved most about this website are the stories of women, some single and some traveling with the husbands, boyfriends or partners, in vans of sorts across the country and world and making it a lifestyle. I have road tripped several times across this vast nation but I have always come home. But what if the road were my home? The vehicle that I was traveling converted to a portable home?! Can you say DREAM?! I was lucky enough in this life to fulfill one of my dreams. Now it is on to new ones. Of course living a traveling life on the road would take monetary planning but it is not impossible to do. People do great things everyday. I set off to California with $500 and a yearning for the outdoor life. Mission accomplished. How, you ask? Because I wanted it THAT bad! You HAVE to make life happen for you. You can’t force things but you can put hard work and dedication towards your dreams and accomplish them if you want it bad enough. The Zac Brown Band has a song titled Free. It’s about living in an old van and traveling all cross the land. Just being together traveling through life.
With that I say goodnight friends and may you have blissful vibrant dreams,
~Lori
“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.”
Holy crazy night of dreaming! I really hope that your dreams were more pleasant than mine last night…lol! You know those dreams that when you’re in the thick of it you are hoping and praying that it is a dream? I was sooooo happy to wake up ;D
What I wish I was dreaming about! From my AT trip in July!
Anyways, today’s post is going to very hodge podgey. I am in a somewhat delirious happy mood this morning. Maybe it is because of my crazy night of dreams or maybe because today belongs to me! I don’t have to be anywhere except a hair appointment. My day is going to be great!!!! So I awoke this morning and put on clothes to go to the gym. I got into my car and drove there then all of a sudden I was like, “I am having a fantastic ponytail hair day!” So I called my little sister for some motivation to get my arse out of the parking lot and into the gym. She told me that if she could be at the gym right now she would, in other words get my butt in there! (Keep in mind she just had twins 2.5 months ago!) Then I asked if I can show up at the salon with sweaty hair? I am getting my hair colored for only the second time in my life so I don’t know the protocol. Sooooo to err on the side of caution, I opted for the coffee shop and an hour or so to write! Hahahaha! Lol…. All in the name of showing up at the salon with a great looking ponytail. Sometimes what makes a happier human are the little quirky things that happen throughout the day. As trivial as my morning may seem, it is bringing a calming slap happy smile to my face. I’ll take it!
My hair is brown but this the same kind of pony I’m rocking today!
Another great thing that came out of a sleepless night was joining the meetup group called Cleveland Vegans Meetup Group. Oh to be on the iPhone at 2:45am….oy! There is an event going on today that I really want to check out but I don’t know how long my appointment is going to go. Some friends and family have been asking my about my transition to going vegan. I am going to write a whole post on that subject here in the near future. But I will say one thing, going vegan is a process and it really helps to have people in your life who support you. They don’t have to “agree” with it but it is nice having their support. I was in a relationship once where my boyfriend was actually really upset with me, he did most of the cooking and he was angry that he would have to change up the dinner menu a little. So with that being said, going vegan is a personal choice for whatever reason. It will slightly affect your friends and family when eating in or eating out but the solutions are so simple. Like I said I will write about that here in the very near future!
I am sitting in the cafe right now with the sun beaming down on my face and it feels so AMAZING! Cleveland is supposed to have a high temperature of 55 today! Really?! That makes me even a more happier human!!! It is definitely a metroparks kind of day! And since my awesome ponytail kept me from the gym this morning that means I’m already dressed for a walk/hike! Lol..LIFE IS GOOD TODAY 🙂
Be kind today. Take extra time with the people or animals in your life. Smile at a stranger. Buy yourself some flowers or for guys buy whatever small thing that makes you happy! Do good. Be good. Love exceptionally well!
Peace, love and exploration,
~Lori
“Give what you have, to someone it may be better than you dare to think.”
I am SOOOOO excited for this ENTIRE week and weekend full of F.U.N.!!!!
Lets head back to Sunday morning… I awoke at my brother and sister-in-law’s house, after a night of playing darts and Five Crowns, to my crazy nieces and nephew and some serious little kid morning breath as they gave me hugs and kisses in the morning. Hahaha…I still love the little dudes. I was scheduled to lead a cardio session on Sunday morning with another group of backpackers! I LOVE The Hopeless Wanderers! Rant: Being around like minded people that totally get why you’d want to winter camp in freezing temperatures is quite awesome. 😀
I was getting ready to head out the door when my big brother Donnie said he was joining me on my Walla Walla Wing Ding Workout (yes, that is the silly fun name for it.) So with no coffee to be made we piled in my car…first stop: COFFEE…Mmmmm. Next we headed to the park so I could map out exactly what I wanted to do and where I wanted to do it. I know this park like the back of my hand but always like to be extra prepared when I am actually in charge of something. Lol.. I was trying to convince him to drink some water and do a little stretching before hand but he was all, “No no no… I don’t drink water when I work out.” He has so much to learn from his little sister!
When everyone arrived we headed to the infamous set of stairs behind the nature center to do 5 climbs (134 stairs up, 134 stairs down) as a warm up. We then headed over to the outdoor amphitheater. Here the park as several backless benches that were perfect to do planks, push ups and tri dips. Performing planks on a partially ice covered bench was a bit tricky but also took it up a notch for the ol’ core!
The guys doing lunges and Shelly being camera shy!
Next up were lunges…oh how I love lunges. LOL! But I really do love lunges! We did 4 sets of 12 walking lunges and 4 sets of squat kicks. Let’s just say that that was on Sunday, today is Tuesday, and I am still having trouble sitting down unassisted! BUT in my defense I did just of come off of the injured list after being on it for two weeks! A couple of people messaged me on Monday saying that they couldn’t walk. I said, “That’s the point!” There was a reason it was called Walla Walla Wing Ding Workout Part 2: Feel the Burn! Next those of us who could, jogged to the trail head of super short but steep hill. I waited for those who didn’t jog and we all hiked up the hill and went for a short hike on the rim of the cliff overlooking the valley. It was a beautiful day and my phone camera didn’t do the view justice! 😦
View of ice covered Rocky River 🙂 Kind of…haha
After the mini hike we all headed over to one of my favorite cafes.
Post hike fire-side coffee chat 😀
I love coming here post hike because 1. it’s local and 2. a fireplace!
I almost refuse to go to a cafe that doesn’t have a fireplace. Being that close to Lake Erie and getting smacked in the face with the wind that whips off the lake?! Ya need a cafe with a FIREPLACE!!!
Speaking of being all warm and cozy! I am heading to my folks house the morning of Thanksgiving.
That would be me! hahaha!
I have to work at 3pm that day so I am going to get my vegetarian Thanksgiving coma on early! After that, black Friday (which I do not participate in because I have a will to live!) and then comes Saturday!!!! Me and five friends are heading to Buffalo, NY, yes the same Buffalo, NY that was buried under 7 feet of snow, to go to the Browns vs. Bills game! I figured we could either sled to the stadium or kayak if the all the melting snow caused flooding. Either way I’m cool! I am so totally excited as I have not been to a NFL game since the 1980’s when the Cleveland Browns were on strike. But I never will forget the wonderful time I had with my dad watching the replacement players in the old Municipal Stadium. That was back in the day when the football and baseball games were held in the same stadium. I can still remember seeing the outlines of the baseball diamond on the football field. I love you Dad!!!!
I am excited for this little mini get away with friends. Hopefully the game will still be on. They had to reschedule last weeks game and it ended up being held in Detroit. Any way it plays out, it will be an ADVENTURE and adventure is my middle name!
Photo from: ttareq10.typepad.com
So in conclusion…oh wait! My brother DONNIE kept saying how he hasn’t been mentioned in my blog yet. So I thought I would take this time to mention my brother DONNIE. DONNIE is a great big brother to me and my two sisters! He is also an amazing son, husband and father (and a bit of a dork sometimes 😉 So without further adieu… Heeeeerrrrrre’sssss Donnie!
My big brother Donnie…lol.
Ta Daaaaa!
~Lori
“Give what you have, to someone it may be better than you dare to think.”
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Questions: What are your run plans for this Thanksgiving? and How do you combat the holiday 5-10lbs?
I am loving life right now! I am all warm and cozy at my sister Lisa’s house! There is Christmas music on, I baked apple struesel muffins, and I am chillin’ with my niece Kelly. There is snow on the ground and family love in the air!The holiday season is in full effect! Next, I am on my way to my sister Lana’s house to chill with her babies! YUM!
I woke up this morning feeling well rested 🙂 I started out doing some yoga moves to combat all the overtime I have been picking up at work lately. It can really take a toll on my body and I need to pay extra attention to my stiff bones and muscles in a kind way through yoga. My ankle is not anywhere near ready to do high impact cardio so I had to modify my workout again this morning. I am going to drive to the gym on Thursday and get in the pool and do some laps freestyle with a pull buoy. This way I am getting my cardio in but not putting any pressure on my ankle. Plus it is a GREAT WAY to get your upper body workout in!
image from: tri-coaching.co.uk
I have always admired swimmers. (This paragraph is in blue for swimming! LOL) Unfortunately I cannot seem to get my breathing down! It is completely and totally opposite from how I breathe when I run. When I run, I usually breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Swimming ALWAYS screws me up because now I have to breathe in through my mouth in a split second and blow bubbles out through my nose. It generally takes me a 1/2 hour to get some sort of sub-par rhythm…lol! I took an advance swim class in San Francisco and I loved it! It pushed my so hard and by the end of the class I was doing the butterfly and breast stroke decently! I’d love to take another class here but that will have to wait a bit. Plus my climbing improved dramatically as well!
This Sunday I am leading another training session with The Hopeless Wanderers and I am really excited to show and explain some great exercises that will really help with enhancing the muscles one uses while backpacking! It is suppose to be 54 degrees and a little rainy on Sunday. 54 degrees! Right now it is 18 degrees and feels like -2! Ya gotta love Cleveland! The first training session was a total success and people requested another one so I am excited to have motivated some people! Yay!!!
First training session! They loved it!
Well I am signing off for now! I hope you all have an amazing day!
~Lori
“Give what you have, to someone it may be better than you dare to think.”
Great morning to all you out there! I am excited to share my Sunday with you so let’s go! 🙂
Yesterday morning I made the decision to start this blog. I was inspired by an awesome blogger Julie from Peanut Butter Fingers at www.pbfingers.com. Her blog always puts me in a better mood with her tales from everyday life. Plus her and her husband have a crazy cute dog named Sadie that she frequents in her blog. So thanks Julie for being awesome at what you do!
Secondly, nothing in the world makes me happier than to be outside. But first I went inside…to the hot tub and sauna. Hmmmm….relaxation. The place that I work at has an amazing gym that offers everything you’d ever want to do. I kept telling myself that I should soothe my sore muscles with a soak in the hot tub and a session in the sauna. My little piece of advice….maaaybe just do one or the other. 😉 I am not capable of being in a hot tub too long for two reasons… 1. boredom and 2. They can be too hot! And going from the hot tub to the sauna was tooo much even with the 24 ounces of water I had on hand to stay hydrated. 😦 Normally I can stay in the sauna for a good 30 minutes but today I lasted 3 minutes and got the heck out of there.
Now for the great outdoors! I went on a hike/jog today with my friend Chris. The weather was sunny and crisp and the leaves are changing rapidly here in Northern Ohio. There are these huge set of stairs by the nature center at one of the many local Cleveland Metroparks. I usually do 10-15 climbs 2-3 times a week. It hurts but it’s a good hurt I promise!
Around 134 stairs. Kind of looks like a giant bug coming your way!Golden leaves 🙂
I basically grew up in these parks and could hike them everyday and never tire of them because there seems to be new trails that I rediscover every so often. In fact my friend Chris goes here a lot too and I showed him a trail that he’s never been on. I lived in Southern and Northern California for about 6 years and I really missed the Cleveland Metroparks even though I had access to all the GREAT parks in California. I missed the big shades trees, watching the sun filter through the canopy, getting rained on by the morning dew that falls from the leaves while I am out running. I heart Cleveland!!! So after an amazing hike/jog in the park with a good friend I headed back indoors to….
My niece and nephew…TWINS…so much love!
The TWO newest additions to my plethora of nieces and nephews. I now have nine of them! No shortage of kids in this family which means no shortage of love! My amazing sister and her sweet husband welcomed these two little beautiful humans into the world on 10/3/14. They are the cutest little buggers and I could not resist holding them for hours on end today 😀 My mom and I were there Sunday while my sister rested and took a nap and her husband spent some quality one on one time with their other adorable child, a 22 month old daughter. I am a newborn natural. I nannied in California for a while and newborns were my specialty. When I have a newborn in my arms it seems as if bombs could drop all around me and I would still be in a complete state of bliss.
What a fun, amazing, beautiful and happy Sunday! I hope you are all having a great start to your week!
Feel free to comment below and share your happy weekend stories with me! I’d love to hear them 😀
Live well,
Lori
“Give what you have. To someone it may be better than you dare to think.”
Wildflowers Lori 