Backpacking Across Europe... or the Uintas

Last weekend Seth and I went on a three day backpacking trip with his sister, Collette and her husband Marty. It was Collette and Marty's first backpacking experience and the only one I'd been on for about 20 years. This naturally made Seth our guide. He'd been on several backpacking trips and is an avid map reader, so he picked out a good spot for us up in the Uintas.

So I made this fancy map of where we hiked, but apparently I drew it wrong. We actually started at Crystal Lake and went between Lily Lakes. I think I got the rest of it right though.

Marty and Collette

Anyway, the first day we ended up hiking about 3 miles to Twin Lakes where we set up camp. The trail still had patches of snow which made things a bit soggy, but we still able to hike pretty well. About a mile into the hike we came to Wall Lake. This is where most of the people we saw were staying. Since we weren't sure how far we'd be able to hike, this was the deciding point of whether we would camp or continue on to one of the upper lakes. We were all feeling good at this point so we kept going. The trail was a little steeper for the next two miles, but it was a nice challenge.

Wall Lake

About the time we got to Twin Lakes, the weather turned on us and we got a little rain and wind. We were all pretty tired so Seth went on ahead for a ways to see if he could find a good place to camp. He came back about a half hour later and said that the spot we were in was the best so we ended up just staying there! I put a little arrow on the map above of where we actually camped. It was really beautiful! We were camped right on the Twin Lakes and could see Wall Lake down below us. It was a wonderful spot.

Collette and Marty by our campsite at Twin Lakes

Luckily the weather calmed down that evening while we set up our tents and such. Seth and I even got in some fishing. I didn't catch anything, but Seth caught at least one Cutthroat.

Seth with his first catch of the trip... but definitely not the last!

That night the weather was kind of crazy so we went to bed early. Come to find out none of us slept a wink. The wind and rain beating against the tents combined with our thin foam pads and mummy bags made for a long terrible night.

When we got up in the morning I was informed by Seth that our tent was full of cold water. Apparently the rain had been running off the rain fly on the tent and falling onto the tarp beneath us. This probably wouldn't have been an issue normally, but there happened to be a small hole in the bottom of the tent floor. Plus water soaked through the walls of the tent too, so we were pretty much hosed. I hadn't noticed the water because I like to sleep by the tent door to protect Seth from bears, and ended up being on a slight incline to where he was. So all the water pooled onto Seth's side of the tent. I guess he found out about the water in the middle of the night when he got up to go "look for springs." As he climbed out of his sleeping bag, he put his hand down into a puddle of ice water. Sweet.

Lucky for us that was the last rain of the trip. It was all blue skies from there on out. We dried out all our stuff the next morning and relocated our tent to a more level, rain-resistant area.

Drying out the tent after a stormy night

On day two we left our camp and hiked a couple miles up past several lakes. First we came to Clyde Lake which was a huge lake teaming with fish. As we walked along the bank we could see tons of fish swimming around and we were really tempted to stop. But, at that point we had our hearts set on Hidden Lake. We'd heard it had a lot of bigger fish because it was further away and not many people went there. So we kept going... past Peter, James and John Lakes... past Three Divide Lakes. So many lakes... so many temptations. But we resisted them all and finally made it to Hidden Lake.

As I stood at the edge of the lake getting my fly rod all rigged up, I saw something swimming in the water. At first I thought it was a small fish, but something looked a little odd. I stared at it for a moment and realized this thing had legs... and a tail. It was a salamander!

After hiking all that way to Hidden Lake, all we saw were salamanders. Hoards of them. They sure were creepy little buggers. And some of them were huge! We never did see any fish. We stayed at Hidden Lake just long enough to have a snack and rename the place. We dubbed it Salamander Lake. Seth called it Mild Disappointment Lake. We cut our losses, slid down a snow bank and hiked about a mile or so back to Clyde Lake where we all managed to catch a few Brook trout. We took them back to camp, wrapped them in tin foil and cooked them on the coals. Delicious! (especially with freeze dried lasagna and chili mac).

Marty receiving messages (or just a nap) on what we dubbed as "Zen Point"

On the morning of day three we packed up our stuff, took some final pictures and headed back home. By the time we got back to the car we were all pretty tired and ready for a shower. Seth and I had a really great time and it was so fun to get to hang out with Collette and Marty. We hope we get to do it again soon!

Group shot overlooking Wall Lake

Today's Special: June 21-25th

This is going to be a short week. You can still make what we'll be eating on Friday and Saturday, but I'm not sure that you'll want to eat dehydrated camping meals.

Sunday: Mom made dinner for Father's Day and Annie and I brought stuff. This is what we had:
BBQ Babyback Ribs with Baked Potatoes, Creamy Baked Corn, Relish Tray & Rolls and Banana Cream Pie for dessert.

Monday: Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Tuesday: Garlic Soup with Fresh Bread

Wednesday: Tuna Patties with Rice Pilaf and Peas

Thursday: Linguine with Pesto Sauce

Friday: Beef Stroganoff

Saturday: Lasagna with Meat Sauce and Chili Mac with Beef

I Can Vouch for That: Part 2

A few months ago I did a post about products and things I liked. Seems you people like that sort of thing so I'm gonna do it again! I don't think I got quite as crazy as I did last time, but this is all real good stuff. You need all of it. Here goes....

Selected Sonatinas Arranged By Keith Snell: I bought this book awhile back and hadn't played out of it much. I just barely rediscovered it and really like it. It's challenging but not too hard and the songs sound pretty good. It's also extremely fun to play. If you like Sonatinas.

Spitz Dill Pickle Sunflower Seeds: These have become a staple for me and Seth when we go out fishing. They are addictive.

Windex Multi-Surface Vinegar Cleaner: I like this because I can use it for just about everything. I COULD make my own cleaner using vinegar and such, but it stinks... so I buy this! It's reasonably priced.

Bottled minced/ground garlic and ginger: I love this stuff. Yes, I do have a garlic press but sometimes I'm just too lazy to peel ten million cloves of garlic. The ginger is a real time saver too. I've only bought fresh ginger once and it was the last time. I don't think the flavor is noticeably compromised, it's way better than dried stuff, and it's just as fast to use!

Dyson DC14 Vacuum: I've had this for several years and it is a great vacuum. I can't believe how much stuff it picks up in just one use (although... it probably wouldn't pick up as much if I vacuumed more than once a month...). The attachments are easy to use and if you've read all my earlier posts, it's also good at killing spiders. I really like that I can take off the canister and empty it in the trash. And the filter is washable so you don't have to buy anything! I've torn this vacuum apart several times for cleaning/maintenance and it was very user friendly.

Pampered Chef Bag Clips: My mom bought me a bag of clips from the Pampered Chef a few years ago and I love them. I always wished I had more, but for some reason never actually bought any. Recently my mom went to another Pampered Chef party and bought me some more! Yeah! I think they came in a bag of 10 or so in varying sizes. I thought I was set for life. But, I found that I kept grabbing them out of the drawer all the time to use on yet another open bag and what do you know? I ran out AGAIN! I could have 100 of these and use them all up! Anyway, they are very secure so I like them better than regular chip clips, and I haven't had any of them break on me.


Starkist Lunch-to-Go Tuna Salad Kits: I haven't ever brought these for lunch at work, but these things are AWESOME for hiking and camping. They come with a packet of tuna and mayo and relish packets, which you can dump out into the packaging and mix using the miniature spoon it comes with. It comes with 6 crackers too, but I've always just packed along a couple slices of bread so I could make a sandwich. It is a good amount of food and it tastes great. Plus, you don't have to worry about keeping it refrigerated!

Extreme Optiks Polarized Sunglasses: I have never been able to tolerate wearing sunglasses til I got these babies. I picked them up basically at random at Sportsman's Warehouse one day when we were going out fishing because I needed some polarized glasses. These were fairly cheap ($30-$40) and are really comfortable to wear. They stay on and don't constantly fall off my face like every other pair of sunglasses I've ever owned. I can even wear them running! I also like these because the tint is just right... not too dark, but dark enough to keep me from squinting and getting a headache. They may not be the sexiest or trendiest sunglasses in the world, but they're good enough for me!



Leatherman Juice Pocket Tool: This picture is actually of Seth's knife. His is the CS4 which has a couple more tools on it than mine. Seth carries his with him on a regular basis, and I use mine mainly for fishing. The straight edge blade is the best knife I have for gutting fish, and that includes all my fancy chef's knives. Both the knives fold out into a pair of pliers and have scissors, a straight edge knife, and flat head & Phillips screwdriver tools. Seth's has a couple extra things like a saw blade and a cork screw. What I like most about these knives are the colors. As you can see, Seth's is a beautiful royal blue and mine is a bright orange. Pretty cool.

Frozen Chopped Onions: Holy crap, these are my most favorite. Frozen chopped onions? Hello! Awesome. They taste as good as fresh and all the prep work is already done! It saves time and my eyes don't hurt for hours from chopping onions. I think they're around $2 a bag which to me is worth it.
Now, as an addition to the things I like, I'm going to add a few things that I tried and DIDN'T like. See? Aren't I so generous by saving you all from wasting money on crappy stuff?

The Big Red X List

X Silicone Bread Pan: I love silicone stuff. I have a silicone basting brush and spatulas. However, silicone bread pans really suck. I bought this bread pan a few years ago and it's the worst kitchen related item I think I've ever had. The silicone thing was what drew me in... who wouldn't want their bread to come out of the pan easier? While I'm sure other silicone pans work fine, the one for bread does not. The material isn't strong enough to hold its shape for bread. The sides bulge out and make the loaf look really dumb. Plus, I don't think the bread baked as well as is does in a regular bread pan.

X Blistex Lip Ointment: I'm not saying this stuff doesn't work on chapped lips. I just didn't like it because it doesn't seem to stay on my lips as long as other stuff. Plus it comes out white so if you put a lot on, you look ridiculous. Won't be buying this again.

X Organix Hydrating Tea Tree Mint Conditioner: Looks fancy doesn't it? That's what I thought. Plus I love the smell of Tea Tree. At $6.50 for 13 fl. oz., I expected this stuff to be amazing. It was the WORST conditioner I've bought for a long time. I have to use like 2 gallons of the stuff to fully condition my hair and even then it disappoints. My hair was constantly staticky when I used this. I was actually glad that the bottle was small so I could use it up faster. It reminded me of the really crappy super cheap $1 a bottle conditioner. There were 2 good things about this conditioner though. It did smell good... had a chocolate mint smell. Also, it came with a mail-in rebate that covered the full cost. I got my rebate. It's a good thing, otherwise, I'd be pissed.

X MAX Factor Lash Perfection Mascara: So, I usually get Loreal mascara. But, because I wasn't super impressed with my last Loreal purchase (see below) I branched out and got another brand. Now, this mascara wasn't all bad. I REALLY liked the brush actually. It was one of those fancy plasticy bristled brushes. The mascara doesn't clump and goes on really evenly. Probably one of the best brushes I've used. While it's not terrible, the mascara flakes off a lot more than the Loreal formulas I'm used to. Because of that, I won't be buying this again.

X Loreal Carbon Black Telescopic Mascara: This was the first mascara I ever bought that had the new style plasticy bristled brush. I was really hoping I'd like it. I LOVED the formula. Looked very dramatic and stayed on without flaking and didn't clump. The brush sucked. The bristles were very short, which I actually liked, but there were only 4 straight rows of bristles, so there were large gaps in between the rows. This made it so the mascara went on way too thick. Going over it again with the brush just made it worse. I wish I could use the brush from the MAX Factor mascara with this formula. I think I'll stick with Loreal from now on, I'll just be more careful to make sure the brush has lots of evenly spaced bristles.

Early Morning Ironing

This morning I realized the jeans I wanted to wear were still in the dryer from two days ago when I did laundry. I thought about just wearing them wrinkly, but changed my mind after thinking better of it. Wrinkly clothes aren't very professional, after all. So I turned the iron on and quickly ironed my pants. I was so proud of myself. I'm a grown-up!

After I got to work I went into the restroom. While I was in there, I looked down and noticed only my right leg had a nice crease down the front (they're "trouser" jeans, not regular jeans- so I'm not a weirdo for ironing them that way). As a totally random side note, I remember hearing a comedian doing a bit about men and women using the bathroom. He said women always look like they're sitting there waiting for a bus. I think of that all the time now and it always makes me laugh.

Back to the task at hand. So I come out of the bathroom stall and look in the full length mirror. Sure enough, only one pant leg has a perfectly ironed crease down the front. The other side, although not terrible looking, is definitely not finely pressed. Somehow I managed to iron the same pant leg twice. Go me.

One Fry Short of a Happy Meal

So I was sitting here today trying to think of all my weird quirks and habits. I'm sure I've missed some, but these are the ones I came up with...

1. I bite my lips and the insides of my cheeks all the time. I'm sure I look like an idiot.

2. I sigh. It sounds like I'm upset. But I'm not. I don't even notice I'm doing it most of the time.

3. I don't drink any beverages with my meals. I usually have one, but I just don't drink it til I'm done with my food. Where this came from or why I do it is a mystery.

4. Whenever I'm listening to a radio station that gets dull (i.e. war talk on NPR) I loudly say "BOR-RING!" and change the channel. Even when I'm alone.

5. I have to have my hair cut by the same person every time. It's very stressful for me to switch hair stylists.

6. I don't like the "free samples" people in grocery stores. I don't think I've taken a free sample for a long time. It's really awkward. You stand there and eat whatever product they give you while they stare. Then you have to come up with something to say like, "huh, interesting" then find a way to leave without buying said product. It makes me feel piggish and guilty. So, whenever I walk by them, I look the other way like I'm staring down the isle looking for something and didn't see them there.

7. I NEVER answer my phone when I don't recognize the phone number. EVER.

8. I NEVER answer the door when I'm not aware of anyone coming over. Though, I'm usually curious enough to look through the peep hole. I don't care if they know I'm home or not. I continue to play the piano or watch TV at normal levels as if the person isn't there. So don't stop by without calling first!

9. I'm constantly checking to make sure the fly on my pants is closed. Even on pants that have no fly. Along those same lines, I'm also very paranoid about having stuff in my teeth, boogers flying out of my nose and bad breath. I constantly check the mirror in my purse (or the shiny part on my phone) to make sure I don't have any embarrassing wayward particles on my face and I always have gum with me.

10. Somehow, I am unable to finish the laundry. Whatever gets washed last does not get completely put away until the next time I do laundry.

So those are the things I can remember right now. Do you have any weird quirks or habits?

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

So after much deliberation, I've decided to nix my Hopper Dropper blog. Not that I don't like it, or that I didn't have any outdoorsy stories, it's just too much work to try and keep up 2 blogs. The Hopper Dropper has become more of a guilt producer because every time I see it I feel bad for not having posted on it for a while. So, for those of you who hate fishing stories, too bad. They're coming back. For those of you who actually read The Hopper Dropper blog, I hope you'll forgive me and keep reading my stories here. All of the old Hopper Dropper posts have been moved to this blog (because I know you go back and read them all the time).

This really is for you, my fans... I mean, now you only have to check one blog instead of 2! See? Win- win! I'm so thoughtful and unselfish huh!

Today's Special: June 14-20th

I guess I could do an update on my earlier post, but I don't know how often you people look at my old recipe stuff, so I'll do it here. Just so you know, the falafel actually turned out really well. The dough was a bit softer than I thought it'd be but I used a cookie scoop to form them and it worked great. For some reason my brain didn't click that falafel is a middle eastern food and tzatziki is Greek yogurt sauce, but you know, falafel in greek pitas covered in tzatziki was really good! So chalk one up for happy accidents. The mushroom & barley soup was also good, although I did sub a jar of mixed mushrooms for the dried ones because they didn't have them at Wally World and I was too lazy to go looking for them.

Sunday: Grilled Pork Loin with Cranberry-Apple Filling I was a little disappointed by this actually. It said to use mustard seeds, which I did, but it turned out kind of bland. Next time I think I'd use prepared whole grain Dijon mustard for more flavor.

Monday: Three Cheese Tortellini with Pesto Sauce This is actually my best lazy meal. Store-bought Buitoni pasta with Classico pesto sauce. The Classico pesto sauce is by the other pasta sauce. It's cheaper and tastes better than the Buitoni brand pesto.

Tuesday: CPK's Dakota Smashed Pea & Barley Soup This is a new recipe.

Wednesday: Tuna Casserole Yes I'm making this AGAIN.

Thursday: Leftovers

Weekend: Minestrone Soup I don't feel like going to the store this week ok?

Today's Special: June 7-13th

Sunday: Fresh Baked Trout with rice pilaf and mixed green salad Appetizer: goat cheese on baguette slices. Hanson family trout cooking method: throw trout into a baking dish whole and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes per inch of trout (thickness, not lengthwise :D)


Monday: Skillet Turkey, Broccoli, and Bulgur Couldn't find bulgur last week so I made it this week. I used chicken because turkey was twice the cost! This turned out pretty well... didn't knock my socks off, but it was good. I'm not sure if I'm gonna post it on Zaar or not.


Tuesday: Wild Mushroom and Barley Soup This is a new recipe.

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Falafel in pitas with Tzatziki (Cucumber Sauce) The falafel recipe is new... I don't think I've ever even had falafel. I have made the tzatziki before though and it was really good!

Weekend: Mustard Lemon Chicken with Chicken Flavor Rice-a-roni and grilled veggies

Punishment or Test... You Decide

Today when I got home from work I briefly thought about not going running. It'd been raining on and off all day and I'd just gotten my new yoga DVDs in the mail. "Stop making excuses," I told myself, "just go out and run before it really does rain. If you get in the habit of putting it off, you'll never do it." So I put on my running gear, put my freshly made house key into the secret Velcro pouch in my skirt and went out.

Today seemed like an easy running day. It was one of those days where for some reason my legs felt lighter and running was a little more enjoyable. I admired the dark clouds and the soaring jets from the air force base. It was really nice out.

But it seems I spoke too soon. Exactly half way through my run, it started to sprinkle. Then it began to rain. Then it rained harder. Then it poured. Then it hailed. I was at least a mile away from home out in a torrential downpour. I set my routine aside and tried to run as fast as I could to get home. But, alas, my weak legs and unconditioned lungs were no match for the rain. Despite the desires of my heart to quickly get out of the sheets of cold rain and hail, my body told me 'no.'

I was soaked to the bone running through rivers of water. I stopped trying to jump over the muddy puddles and streams because at least an inch or more of water covered everything. As I made it back to my apartment complex, I was at first relieved to find shelter under the carports, but again dismayed as the rivers that flowed beneath them were even larger.

Finally I made it back to the apartment door. As I reached for the house key in the Velcro pocket I thought, "that key better still be there or ELSE." It was.

Throughout this whole ordeal I thought to myself, is God punishing me? Is this a sign I'm not supposed to run? Or is this one of those trials that's supposed to make me stronger? All I can say is, it better be the latter. And if it happens again, I quit.

No, my shirt is not supposed to be see-through. Yes, there is a reason I'm folding my arms.

It's All So Clear to Me Now

One of me and Seth's frequent conversations is what we're gonna be when we grow up. Seth's problem is he wants to be too many different things and has a hard time choosing which one he wants. My problem is I can't think of anything even remotely realistic (i.e. best selling author, world traveler, a chef that only cooks what and when she feels like it). Seth's tactic is to constantly worry about what to do. My tactic is to shrug and say, "Eh, it'll all work out."

But the underlying fear for both of us is that we'll never do anything meaningful with our lives. I mean, a career is a huge part of your life. So it would only make sense that we want to do really amazing things.

So, last weekend Seth and I were having a picnic in the park and began our typical career chat. Seth has been a bit more stressed out about choosing a career lately, which is to be expected seeing as how he graduates in just a couple months. This time though, he didn't want my usual 'it'll all work out' answer ... he wanted a real solution.

This is where my memory blurs a bit. I can't tell you exactly how it all happened, but somehow goats came into the conversation. Then goat cheese. Then the most perfect plan I've ever had for a lifelong career... GOAT FARMER.

I know. It sounds crazy doesn't it? Maybe it was the Capri Sun talking or the radiant sunshine, but even today being a goat farmer sounds pretty great. I'll break down the whole plan.

So, we'd start out with a couple goats. And we'd both keep our day jobs. We'd have a little house on a decent piece of land where we could have a big garden and have a nice pasture for our goats. I think they'd have to be milk goats though... you know why? Because the other part of the plan is that I would develop the most delicious goat cheese in all the land. I'd get a small booth at the farmer's market and sell my savory cheeses to the tree-huggers and foodies that love that kind of crap. Tree-huggers and foodies pay good money for local fancy 'artisan' stuff. I would know, I'm one of them.

As the years go by we get more and more goats and sell more and more cheese and I develop my talents as a cheese chef and branch out into other things like yogurt and soap. Seth helps with the goats too, because he thinks goats are cool like I do, but he specializes in growing organic produce in his giant vegetable garden. He also grows fresh herbs which I use as ingredients in my cheese.

Neither of us have ever milked a goat, or made cheese or had a huge garden. But, it sounded really fun. I don't think we'd ever want it to turn into a huge goat farm corporation, just a mom and pop sort of thing that we do because we like it. I know something like that would take a lot of work and time and planning, but somehow I know, it'll all work out.

This Counts, Right?

I decided that I needed a confidence booster to keep me on track with my War and Peace. It's hard reading forever and still feeling like you have so much left. I was beginning to feel like I wasn't accomplishing anything.

I needed to finish a book. Any book. I needed a short break from War and Peace that would refresh my initiative and drive to finish about 1000 more pages. Sigh. So, I went to the book shelf and scanned the available selection.

When I was about 8 years old, I got a box set of classic children's books for Christmas. I actually remember opening the set of books because I'd purposely saved it as the last gift I would open. It was a really heavy present so I was excited to open it. To be honest I was a bit disappointed when I tore off the wrapping paper and stared down at a set of about 12 classic novels. Books. I set them aside with all my other gifts and feigned excitement anyway.

I don't know if I read any of those books as a kid. To me the writing looked really small, like it would take me forever to finish just one. I was a bit overwhelmed, so I just didn't read any of them. I kept them on my bookshelf to look at and feel guilty about for years and years. I still have all those books today. I hate to admit that I still haven't read all of them. In fact, I think I've only read one. White Fang. But I have a goal to read every single one of those books. There really are some good classics in there.... Call of the Wild, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Black Beauty, Treasure Island, Swiss Family Robinson, etc.

So as I was standing there looking at my bookshelf for an easy read, I saw the book "The Little Lame Prince" by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik. It was one of the books that came from the box set. I picked up the book and scanned the pages. It was short... 100 pages. The words looked big (well, compared to War and Peace). Bingo. We have a winner.

I read The Little Lame Prince in about 2 reading sessions. I was actually quite entertained by it! I really liked it! It had a good moral and was easy and enjoyable to read. And best of all, I finished it! It's easy to accomplish your goals when the bar is set really low. That's my secret.

I guess in conclusion I will just say two things: The Little Lame Prince was a good book. I recommend it. And... if you're getting discouraged accomplishing a big goal, accomplish a really easy little one for a quick boost.

So I'm Obsessed

So I'm obsessed with running stuff now. I debated whether or not to post this based on the fact that most of you probably don't give a crap about running, but I REALLY wanted to tell everyone about something really awesome! Note: If you are a man, this probably will be of no interest to you... then again, you never know...

So the other day when I was researching all the different 5k races, I came upon one called the "Skirt Chasers 5k." I thought it sounded kind of funny so I clicked on the link. Apparently there's this company called Skirt Sports that makes skirt-type running shorts. For their race they have the girls start a couple minutes before the guys so it looks like the guys are chasing after them. Don't worry, it was a family friendly race that was supposed to be funny... not a perverted mobile meat market. Unfortunately the race was in Colorado, so we didn't sign up for that one. BUT, I did think the skirt idea was extremely cute, so I started checking into them on the Internets. Plus, the shorts I'd been wearing kept bunching up in between my thighs as I'd run and it was really annoying and uncomfortable. I thought the skirt would be a great solution.

Apparently those skirts usually run between $30-$55 each. Yikes. Way too pricey for me. Not that I wouldn't fork out the dough if I had it, but I don't, so I had to find another way to get my mitts on some.

So I noticed that the Skirt Sports website had a link to their outlet store so I clicked my way over to it and browsed around. They didn't have much available, but somehow, I ended up finding some I liked and they were MY SIZE! Only one size left and it was mine! That NEVER happens! And here's the best part.... they were only $10! Wahoo! So I got 4. 3 of These in black, pink and blue, and 1 of These in Flirtini... or pink.

I was a little worried about 2 things: #1 That they wouldn't fit- I haven't had very good luck ordering clothes online and their sizing charts were crazy. #2 Three of the skirts I ordered had "pantie" type shorts sewn in instead of regular shorts. I wasn't sure I'd feel comfortable wearing them. Click here to see descriptions of the different "inserts" available under the skirts. (I got 3 pairs with "Spankies"... not to be confused with Skankies and 1 pair with "Shorties")

But, flash to today. I picked up my UPS package from the apartment office and went right home to try on my new running skirts. SURPRISE! They all fit me perfectly and were so comfortable! But, how are they for running you ask? Even awesomer than I thought they'd be! I was daring and wore the pantie-type skirt and went outside for my jog. It was a very windy, gusty day. Not the best day to go out wearing a short skirt with panties underneath. But they were very light and not as hot as my spandex shorts/running shorts combo I had been wearing. Much more breathable. And I didn't have a single "Marilyn Monroe" incident. I didn't feel self-conscious or uncomfortable at all. They passed the test with flying colors!

Oh and another great thing about the skirts is they all have built in hidden pockets. Three of the skirts have a Velcro pocket on the backside and the other skirt has a pocket for an ipod built into the shorts (and there's even a hole in the skirt for the cord to come out!). So now I won't have to carry my house key in my hand when I run. Yea!

So I know you're all dying to see how hot I look in my skirts, so I'll give you a sneak peak at one of the pink ones.

Not bad eh?

p.s. In case you can't tell, Blogger didn't feel like paying attention to my spacing, so this post looks kind of dumb. Sorry. I tried.

Race Details

So Seth and I finally chose the 5k race we want to do. It's the Ogden Family Fitness Day 5k on Saturday, August 29th at 9:00am. This race is along the Ogden River Parkway where Seth and I have been fishing many times. It's a beautiful spot!

We've already got my sister, Annie on board to run with us and I thought it would be fun to invite all my devoted blog readers to join us too! So if you want to try it, go ahead and go to the Ogden Family Fitness Day website and sign up (they'll send you an email with the address of where to send your $15 registration fee... and you'll be guaranteed a t-shirt!)

I posted this as a comment on one of my other posts, but I liked the training schedule I used so much, I'm gonna put it here too. I swear it works really good. And it's not complicated. For me, running for one minute when I'm just starting out is really hard. But the cool thing is that you can see results and improvement really fast so it motivates you to keep doing it! I'm already running for two whole minutes! WOW! Plus this 5k schedule says it will train you in 8 weeks and if you start training today, you'll have 13 whole weeks! Also, I learned the hard way last time I tried this that having good running shoes makes a huge difference. Having crappy shoes is a good way to hurt yourself. If you live in the general Ogden area, go to Striders. They will do a foot analysis and tell you what shoes work the best for your arches and "stride." Made a huge difference for me. Ok, here's the training schedule:

How to Get Started With Running

By: Christine Luff at About.com

Week one: Walk for 6 minutes, then jog at an easy pace for 1 minute. Repeat 3 times. Aim for three sessions with that same sequence for week one.

Week two: Walk for 5 minutes, then jog for 2 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Aim to do three sessions in week two.

Week three: Walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 4 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Aim for four sessions in week three.

Week four: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 5 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Shoot for four of those sessions in week four.

Week five: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 8 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Do four of those sessions in week five.

Week six: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 9 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Try to do four sessions for week six.

Week seven: Walk for 1 minute, then jog for 11 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Do four sessions this week.

Week eight: Congratulations on making it to week eight! For your first run this week, try walking for 5 minutes to begin and end the workout, and run for 20 minutes in between. By the end of the week, try to run for 30 minutes without stopping.

Aim to run for 30 minutes four times a week, and you'll notice that your stamina and fitness will continue to improve. Soon you'll be ready to run your first 5k!