Skiing!

Saturday, December 4th, 2010 was bound to be an epic day. Matt's favorite hobby, after flying, of course, is skiing and he has been trying to get me up to the slopes for awhile. Since I had the weekend off because I couldn't travel to Moscow, this was the perfect opportunity. So after a quick trip to Next Adventure on Friday night to get me some used ski/snow pants and some goggles, we were on our way to the slopes for some night skiing on Saturday, along with our friend Kyle (whom he like to call Yak).

First off, I must add that if you have never had to walk around in ski boots, it is an interesting experience, since the way they are designed makes you bend your knees. This immediately made me nervous because I have a knee condition that can be aggravated by added stress. I hoped beyond hope that my knees wouldn't give out on me. Then I got my skis. I mentioned to the employee that it was my first time, so he gave short skis (135) and made the screws on bindings really really loose (so if I crashed, my boots would detach from my skis easily, how smart of him!). I would also like to mention that the ski brand was Atomic, so I just told myself that I had nuclear powered skis, thus making them powerful and nearly indestructible (however, if something goes wrong, it really, really goes wrong). I was finally all ready for the bunny slope!

This is were I almost had a crying breakdown. Pointing my skis downhill absolutely terrified me and it didn't help that 1. I was the only person older than 6 who was learning, and 2. There was a snowboarding instructor that kept whizzing in and out of people. Matt skied backwards as he verbally led me down the hill, and guess what! I didn't fall at all! Granted, I was pretty much going perpendicular down the hill and snow plowed the entire way, but hey! I made it! I again freaked out, but this time at the rope pull, I didn't want to fall off in front of everybody or get run over by other people coming up the pull. But I got the hang of it, and got all the way back to the top without incident.

I mastered the bunny slope after a few more rounds (without falling, ever!) and my only nervousness become running over children or getting run over by snowboards. I attribute my fast learning skills to my childhood unicycling. I know that sounds weird, but unicycling is all about balance and I think because I already knew how to lean correctly in turns (yes, you have to do that on the unicycle)and keep a center of balance really helped me. I didn't need to learn how to balance, I just needed to learn that going down the hill really isn't all that scary and which foot to put weight on when turning.

Matt then decided that I could graduate to the easiest green slope. I then had to get over one of my other fears- the chair lift. I am afraid of heights, especially when I am not secured in the seat, it's windy, and I'm thirty feet above my death. Anyways, with an arm around the center pole and a death grip on my arm rest, I mastered the chairlift and it got less scary as we went up. However, my non-falling streak would come to an end, as I didn't stand up soon enough as we unloaded and I fell coming off the chairlift. But according to Matt, everyone does that, and not bad for that being my first fall.

Ok, so the top of the green slope is a lot higher up than it looks. Really. And again, I'm afraid of heights, but I started down the hill, zigzagging perpendicular as to control my speed. My first actual fall skiing happened about 50 feet later, I think I got going to fast and didn't know how to respond, but fortunately, I knew it was coming, so I purposely fell so I would come to rest next to the tree instead of running straight into the tree. The term "tree hugger" has a whole new meaning to me now. I got back up and continued down and made it most of the way down again until I fell again, I think this time because it was way steeper than I wanted to deal with, and the wind was blowing furiously, thus exposing the ice underneath the nice powder that was present at the top. But I made to to the bottom! My two crashes weren't big enough that I was hurt or cause my skis to come off!

My second run was nearly perfect, I didn't fall at all, even off the chairlift, and went down most of the way without stopping. Granted, I was still snow plowing the entire way, but considering it was really icy and only my second time, I think that's good! I also got a little more adventuresome this round and pointed my skis more downhill than perpendicular.

My third run I got going even faster, still snowplowing, though. I nearly made it down the slope without crashing, I fell about three quarters of the way down because I got going too fast over an icy section that scared me. But I also fall before I actually fall (if that makes sense, that way I'm the one controlling the fall instead of the fall controlling me). I wasn't hurt at all, but it took me about 15 minutes to recover because the way and place I fell, I had to take my skis off, and I couldn't get my second ski back on! I had Yak and Matt nervous, waiting at the bottom of the hill for me, but I managed to get down. We then took a break, but then decided we should head out since we were hungry, I was getting pretty tired, and the slope was getting icier and icier as the wind kept blowing.

The only part I still don't like is when I'm on the chair lift, the extra weight of the skis hanging off my feet puts a lot of stress on my knees and my knees hurt the entire way up. My right knee seems to be strong enough to handle it, now I know I need to do some stretching and strength exercises on my left knee before I go up again! And I want to go up again! I had a lot of fun! I don't know if I'll ever be brave enough to try black diamond runs (man, they look steep!), but it's amazing how even the second time you run a slope, it doesn't look nearly as steep! I look forward to the rest of the skiing season and hopefully we can get my dad, and even my mom, to come down to ski with us! My dad LOVES skiing, and apparently, that gene was passed on to me! Now that I've gotten a taste for, realize I'm actually kind of a natural at it, and I didn't run over any small children, I am kind of addicted to it!

Lenny

Well, looks like I have some updating to so with regards to the new addition to our family! In October, Matt and I obtained a terrarium and supplies from our good friends Danielle and Jerrik. Having been introduced to bearded dragons from some housemates at Idaho, I really really wanted one, since they are very personable reptiles and we can't have a kitten or a puppy. Cue Lenny's entrance!

He has adjusted well to his new home over a month later! He enjoys being held and watching us whenever we are in the room, although like any juvenile, has a short attention span and begins to run around the house after a few minutes and thus begins a wild dragon chase. It is hilarious to watch him try and run across the linoleum or the wood furniture, with claws he is unable to get much of a grip! As he gets bigger, hopefully he will calm down and stop trying to run away!

I have classically trained him a la Pavlov, unintentionally, however. He has learned that when the plastic baggie that I use to dust crickets comes out, he is about to get fed. Lenny gets very excited and starts running up and down the length of his terrarium and then the hunt is on! This goes to so you how intelligent these creatures can be! I am also trying to introduce him to veggies, so far he enjoys dandelion flowers and greens, peas, and the occasional treat of broccoli (you can't feed them too much broccoli or they get vitamin A toxicity). He doesn't seem to enjoy carrots all that much, though. Which is fine, actually, since the greens are healthier for him anyway.

We actually can't tell if Lenny is a male yet, since it's hard to sex them as juveniles, but fortunately we have picked a name that can morph into "Leni" if Lenny turns out to be a female.

We enjoy Lenny immensely and can't wait until a puppy and a kitten can join him in Mississippi!

Congratulations!

Well, I'm a thinkin' that congratulations are in order for my sister. It still hasn't really hit me yet, I think because I haven't seen her yet, but my lovely sister Rayla and her wonderful boyfriend Keith are engaged! Yay! Just when I thought I was done planning a wedding, looks like I'm going to have to put in my suggestions here and there for another one! You know you're getting old when your younger sister is getting married. So congratulations to Rayla and Keith! We can't wait for the big day!

October!

October has thus far been awesome. The weather is even cooler which makes Matt and I jump for joy enjoy our morning coffee just a little bit more ;)

October has brought awesome developments. Firstly, Matt successfully completed his first non-relay marathon. He ran in the Portland Marathon yesterday (10/10/10) and now can no longer walk. However, he still somehow enjoyed it, although I will never, ever understand that. Especially since he usually complains about running. Boys are so weird.

Our high school friends Jerrik and Danielle are visiting us for a few days and have brought two wonderful "presents." They brought their pug puppy Maverick with them, so Matt and I get to play with a puppy during the day! This dog is insane and loves running everywhere and all the time, which is great. Matt and I can't have a puppy in our apartment, so this has been an awesome time to experience. Danielle has given us her terrarium set up, so Matt and I are going to get a bearded dragon soon! I am so excited! It's the next best thing to having a puppy or a kitten, seriously. I absolutely love bearded dragons and have been wanting one for a dew years now. I am stoked. Matt has already named the dragon Charles, even though we don't have it yet. And that will be the name even if it is a girl. So my previous statement of "Boys are so weird" gets proved yet again. If it's a girl, though, we will call her Charlie for short.

If only the Seahawks were having as good an October as Matt and I. How could they possibly lose to the Rams? SERIOUSLY? I still can't believe that happened. I should probably stop talking about it now before it makes me even more angry. Hopefully the bye they had this weekend gives them some extra practice time that they desperately need. Hopefully we can win a game off our own talent soon instead of taking advantage of the other team's mistakes. That's all good and everything, but you can't rely on that. Oh, Seahawks.

September Updates

Well, it looks like it's about time to update this here blog. Somehow, in my opposite of busy days, I never find the time to write about my life. So now as I find myself alone, instead of watching the new episode of House (thanks ever so much , Kelly, for this new addiction of mine), I have decided to tell you about the month of September. Fasten your seatbelts and please keep your hands and all other appendages inside the vehicle at all times.

After the initial shock (not to mention my head throbbing migraine) of the move, Portland has finally raised itself from the "Suck Meter" to the "Not So Suck Meter." While I think that I will always like Seattle better (I mean, come on, the Columbia and Willamette Waterfronts are nothing to the Puget Sound), it has improved and I am finding myself not hating it quite as much as I did. I still think there is not nearly as much to do here as there was at home, but that's mostly because I'm not a hippie and I don't enjoy running marathons (a mile is good enough for me). However, Matt and I did make it to the Rose Garden overlooking downtown, my first time visiting where the roses were actually in bloom, and let me tell you, the perfume those roses were giving off was amazing. Just opening the car door brought in the heavy rose-scented air. It was worth it just for that.

I met up with my good friend Erin, whom I've known since middle school and I haven't seen in about 5 years. I was stoked that I would have a friend in the Portland area, but she moved about a week and a half after I moved down here. I miss her already, but I was so blessed to have spent even just one day with her here!

A few weeks ago we headed off to the Oregon Zoo, where I might be willing to admit is actually better than the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. I mean, this zoo is build around the forest, instead of in the middle of a neighborhood and then designed to look like you're in the forest. It's pretty awesome. Matt was of course highly entertained by the monkeys and ducks and greatly enjoyed the Bald Eagle exhibit (America!). I, on the other hand, flipped over the baby elephant (AWWWWWWWWW!), the really active polar bear, the sea otters (of course), and the tigers, although they were tiger napping and not all that visible, nor as entertaining as Mike Tyson's tiger in "The Hangover". Definitely the highlight of my weeks here, even though it was absolutely pouring (who would have thought?).

It has finally (FINALLY) cooled down so our apartment is no longer around 90 degrees. I take it as a great sign that my feet are freezing in the morning when I saunter to the kitchen to make the coffee and that I need to unfold the Seahawks blanket while I watch the morning news (on Fox, of course).

I have also begun knitting again and have many projects (aka scarves, that's all I make) for numerous people that I'm working on. Someone needs to have a baby so I can try my hand at making baby blankets, I think that would be fun.

It should probably also be mentioned that I did have a successful interview and my transfer was approved, so I do work from time to time ;) I was transferred departments, however, so now I get to take care of all the animals in the store and work on the fish wall. OH BOY! Although it gets rather boring when the store is slow, I love my job. Not glamorous, but the next best thing to working in a zoo. Hey, I should look into their volunteer program...

Matt hasn't been up to much. Other than running marathons, he did travel down to Texas for 5 days for his flight physical. These doctors run them through every kind of test imaginable, including a psychological one, and basically decide whether you can be a pilot or not. Word to any pilot-seeking cadet out there: DO NOT eat really greasy food the day before your blood test. It will cause an unusually high spike (or not so unusual, considering the fat content of greasy food) in your triglycerides and cause the doctors to freak out and have to redo the test, which means you have to be starved of food again the following day. They don't really tell you what happened to your test, either, so you lie awake all night freaking out about what you might have failed. All's well, however, and at the end his flight doc told him there isn't anything weird in his file that should prevent the pilot slot. GOOD NEWS! Of course, the day after he left, I was puking my guts out with no possible way to go to work or go to the grocery store, but thank goodness it was only a 24-hour thing. And thank you to all the ROTC 800s who offered assistance, it made me feel so much better that I had some friends "worried" about me. Man, I love the military, they all take care of each other.

And life moves on, into September. Goodness, I love Autumn.

Portland

All of you know our first few days in Portland haven't been the greatest. Here's the entire scoop on that.

-Moved down on Wednesday. Got infected with a cold and also got a migraine as we rolled into town.

-It was an uncomfortable 95 degrees. Which normally wouldn't bother me, but I had a migraine, and only one of our windows opens. I felt really bad, not being able to do too much unloading, but I was also nauseous. Once the bed was set up, I threw myself onto the bed and took a nap. Woke up to take my dad to the train station, then continued with my nap once we got back home.

-The electrical system is from, oh, the 1500s, and none of the outlets have 3 prongs. Thank goodness Fred Meyer sells adapters for only 99 cents.

-Our shower is underneath the stairs. There's only so much room to stand in until you hit your head on the ceiling. The bath ledge also comes up to about my knees, so it's like jumping hurdles to get into. POSITIVE NOTE: This lends to an awesome, deep bath.

-Our couch, our beautiful, comfy, awesome couch, doesn't fit through either door to our apartment. Thankfully, the other Air Force 800 cadets are babysitting it for us, while we received their couch. They got the better end of the deal, however.

-Setting up our internet and cable has been a complete NIGHTMARE. And after 5 days from the first call, it's still not set up. And won't be for another day. Which is why I'm sitting in the Pilot House on U of Portland's campus, stealing their wireless.

It can only get better from here, right? Here are some positives that have happened to us:

-Matt and a few other Air Force friends ran the Hood to Coast relay marathon. Meaning they took turns running from Mt. Hood to the Oregon Coast in Seaside. Matt's first leg was six miles of downhill from Mt. Hood.

Summer Updates

Alright, it's been awhile, so here's an update on the Darnell's first summer together!

- First off, we need to congratulate Emily and Kevin, Brandy and Trent, Megan and Pat, Jill and Chris, Celia and Jake, Kat and Trey, and Heather and Joe, all of whom also got married this summer. Best of wishes, everybody!

-Our first apartment was awesome. Unfortunately, no pictures. And we never made it into the pool. Lame.

-Matt got his pilot's license! I've been up two times and he has also taken up Trent, Jerrik, Zack, my parents, and even my WWII vet grandfather, whom thoroughly enjoyed his ride!

-Other than that, we didn't do anything very entertaining.

And now we're in Portland.