blue screen of death

I had a major "Sex in the City" moment last week. No, I did not meet Berger and take him shopping at Prada. My hard drive crashed and died on me, and I did not back up any of my files. So, now I'm resorting to using a PC instead of Mac, which is tolerable. The saddest news is I lost a lot of my pictures, many of which were my backpacking and hiking trips.

With that said, this bliggity blog will be put on hold for an indefinite amount of time. Who knows, perhaps it'll snap out of its identity crisis when I get a new MacBook...

buttons and knits

Hooray for productivity and fun, simultaneously!
Tuesdays are my favorite. I cleaned, I crafted, I conquered!
*never too much pink* scarflette*cute as a button* hairpins

lovely package exchange

Oh, I am so thrilled to have come upon this lovely package exchange, created by my favorite etsy shop oh, hello friend. It's about all things packaging and of course the wonderful surprise(s) inside. I cannot wait to start getting crafty!

more, more, more

I hiked around Mount Tamalpais today. I still have so many more hikes, and camping trips from before to log in. So little time. More to come, I promise.

It is also way past my bedtime...

the first backpacking trip

Date:  09.22.2008

Location:  Angeles National Forest

Trails:  Bear Creek Valley

Miles:  (unknown)

Elevation Gains/Losses:  (unknown)

Companions:  Brandon, Ryan, Jeff, & Amanda

Conditions:  Sunny, clear skies, highs were in the upper 80's, lows in the lower 60's

Difficulty:  ** (out of 5)

Good company.

Mr. Froggy

There was a lot of this...

& that.

We camped right by the creek.  We were a little overcrowded, with three tents.  Some of us had to sleep on some steep slopes.  Steep for sleeping, anyway.  Ryan's tent wasn't staked down, so by the time he woke up, half his tent was laying on Jeff and Amanda's tent.  Staying by a freshwater creek was great.  We were able to filter water within a few feet of our campground.    

Little feet.  These were my favorite sandals.  

my first hike

Date:  07.07.2008

Location:  Angeles National Forest

Trail(s):  Bear Creek Valley

Miles:  about 5 miles

Elevation Gain/Loss:  (unknown)

Companions:  Brandon

Conditions:  Sunny, clear skies, about 90 degrees

Difficulty:  at the time, pretty tough; in retrospect, I give it ** (out of 5)

A small portion of Bear Creek.  There were multiple stream crossings.  I slipped a couple of times.  Granted, I was wearing street sneakers.  I definitely invested in some sweet Asolo hiking boots (with Gortex) soon after.

Little person, big rock.  I didn't have much gear then.  Just a backpack, some snacks, a walking stick, and my trusty Nalgene bottle.  I did pickup some nice convertible pants, that still serve me well, to this day.

Indie was not there.  

An abandoned and dilapidated cabin.  There are tons of cabins all along the trail, a few, like this, were obviously not livable.

Right by the dilapidated cabin was a sweet lean-to shelter someone left here.

in loving memory

I came back from a 3 day backpacking trip, only to see that I had an abnormal amount of missed phone calls.  My sweet friend, Jessica Skeber, passed away Monday, April 19th, 2009.  She had just turned 29.  The last time we spoke, we talked about her coming to visit me in San Francisco.  It was a solid reminder to not take our good health for granted, and to always tell your loved ones "I love you."

"Let no one come to you without leaving better and happier."  -Mother Teresa