Jane takes a hike

My "Discover Virginia" project got off to a bit of a rocky start.

Immediately after my last post I eagerly scoured the Outdoor School website for classes to help me check off my list. I signed up for an Outdoor Rock Climbing for Beginners course. Then fall happened and my class was cancelled due to rain.

I was sad for like a second. Then, someone said "Billy Goat Trail" and I was all "sign me up!" After all, if you can't rock climb you may as well scramble.

Turns out, I had exactly the right attitude. See, I assumed "rock scramble" translated to "move quickly so as to not fall down an incline covered in scree." I thought I would have to literally scramble up certain parts of the trail. Makes complete sense, right?

Yeah, well, I was wrong. A scramble is sort of like the bunny slope of rock climbing. You have to pick your way up, over, and around some pretty sizable rocks.

Following in the footsteps of Brandon and Zac.

My fellow hikers were super kind about helping me navigate the best path, and they were always quick to offer a steadying hand or a boost. However, like a petulant toddler I insisted I wanted "to do it myself." But, because I can find ways to fall down on perfectly flat ground there was always one experienced hiker in front of me and one behind. Just in case

How could you not trust those faces?

No special climbing shoes or ropes were required, but there was a bit of hand-over-hand hoisting.

See Zac climb

Okay, fine, Some members of our party climbed and hoisted and scrambled. I opted for something resembling more of a crawl.

See Jane crawl

Athena did a little bit of climbing and a little bit of crawling, but I think the crawling was just to keep me from feeling lame.

It's nice knowing your friends have your back

I was absolutely fascinated with what I have dubbed "the Venus rocks."

It looks like two different rocks got smushed together, but I have no idea if that's really what was going on here or if different parts of one rock reacted differently to elements of erosion. Surely somebody reading this can give me an explanation.

The Commodore - oh yes, The Commodore absolutely had to come along - was so over the stupid two-toned rocks. He preferred the scenery from the flat rocks closer to the water.

Actually, internet, there are no bad views at Great Falls*.

*Okay, Athena might have been stuck with a less than stellar view a few times throughout the day.

See Jane's butt

Putting aside Athena's possible trauma, it was an excellent hike with excellent people, and an excellent way to cross off number 2 on my Opt Out list.

Jane Opts Out

Remember when the fam and I relocated from Tampa, Florida to Springfield, Virginia on account of Ben's job and the general awesomeness of the greater DC area? That was almost two-and-a-half years ago! Two. And a half. Years.

And, recent events have led me to believe we have less than a year before we're marveling at the general awesomeness of a completely different region.

But, wait! I don't feel as though I've really done Virginia yet. Yeah, I've covered the museums. And I've graced The Kennedy Center with my presence for a few productions. Many clothing stores, several antique shoppes, and a good number of restaurants have endured my patronage. But the actual state of Virginia has all but escaped my attentions.

This is especially sad because I work for REI (yeah, who would've thunk it?).

REI Woodbridge, VA

Also, Virginia is gorgeous.

So it's about time I embrace the culture of REI Woodbridge (and everybody - EVERYBODY - I work with) and adopt the latest trend to Opt Out(side).

I'm making a list, which will probably be revised, of activities I just have to do before I vacate the state. So far, I have 10 activities penciled in:

1. Play disc golf
2. Go on a hike that includes a rock scramble
3. Go camping
4. Participate in a local stewardship project
5. Try Stand Up Paddle-boarding
6. Kayak
7. Rock climb
8. Learn to navigate with a map and compass
9. Repel
10. Plant an edible garden

Obviously, some of these will have to wait for spring. Luckily, our fall has been temperate thus far so I can jump right into the outdoors. I'm open to any suggestions and recommendations too.

I am also open to you wishing me luck. My biography contains quite the list of injuries I sustained when not being adventurous.

Baby, it is cold outside

Like really cold. I apparently should have been training for this sort of weather because my body is not conditioned for the cold. Nope.

We got our first snow in December; an early winter in DC terms.

Some of us were more excited about it than others.

By the end of January we'd had more than 7 seven inches of snow and maxed out the allotted number of snow days for our school district. Internet,snow days are only fun one day at a time. Four consecutive days of school closures equals too many hours of a stir crazy child. I hit my limit about three days before she did.

Sure, it looks all beautiful and romantic, but really it is cold and wet. And more cold. With a side of ice. It looks like Narnia up in here!

And now The Washington Post is projecting another 5 to 14 (14!!!!!) inches before the end of this week. Good thing Emily thinks shoveling snow is a type of fun.

Also, she acquired this really awesome hat.

Smiles make everything awesome. Even snow days.

Grace

Well, here I am again. They - you know, the blogging professionals - say you shouldn't apologize for blogging absences, but I just cannot help it. It feels as though I've cut my friends out of my life for a few months, and that I've let my future self down by leaving bits of my history unrecorded. Although, let's face it, I'm not exactly making biography-worthy history over here.

That said, let me present my excuse. No wait, let me preface my excuse.

Remember me doing Tough Mudder last December and getting these souvenirs?

Then I started 2013 by losing some weight. The doctors managed to put it all back on me that same day.

A few months later I left Florida. You might think I moved for health reasons considering the above. But no. We moved for Ben's job and to prove it I went and did this in October.

That, my friends, is the third knee brace I was prescribed after I fell while running and broke my patella.

The doctors tells me a horizontal break in one's knee cap is rare. It apparently happens so infrequently the ER doctor confidently told me I hadn't broke it; there was no way I could break it; not by just falling. Then he looked at my x-ray and declared I had fallen really hard. How did he know this? He felt the clear fracture shown on my x-ray offered excellent proof.

It has been several weeks and I'm doing very well so don't worry. Earlier, Ben bought me a nifty antique cane which was pretty boss. I'm now walking on my own and can can bend my knee 90 degrees.

There you have it. Do you think this knee deal is related to me breaking that mirror in January? I'm not sure I can survive six more years of this particular brand of bad luck.

Welcome to Virginia

Dear Internet,
I guess I took an unexpected blog hiatus. I had given myself permission to slack off on blogging on account of the move. Then, I got behind - so behind I didn't even know where to start. So, I just never started. Whoops. It has been implied, however, that curious minds want to know.

I'll try to catch you up.

It was a week before we actually closed and moved into our house so we chilled at a pretty nice Residence Inn for a week. Admittedly, the cats were able to settle in more quickly than Ben and me.

When I say we moved into the house what I really mean is "camped out." It was another three weeks before our stuff was delivered. Hence the photo here of our classy evenings together. Ben took his frustration out on our kitchen wall.

Does this remind you of anything?

I continue to struggle with the idea of doing one thing at a time so...

I had to do it, Internet. I mean, the master bathroom was brown. I'm actually quite fond of brown, but this particular shade in this particular room was a bit...off-putting. Perhaps a different angle will help you to better understand.

Sadly, neither the bathroom nor the kitchen has been finished.

After all, why spend time in a bathroom or kitchen when every inch of your neighborhood is begging me to come outdoors?

That's right, I took those photos in my neighborhood. Where I live. Don't be jeal.
Yeah right; you should totally be jeal. It is gorgeous here.

That's a snippet of my life the last few months. If you are very good I'll give you more snippets again soon!

Love,
J-

My life in photos

The past month and a half have been nuts for the husband and me! Nuts, I tell you! The written history would be rather boring, so you get a photo essay instead.

The awesome-sauce pineapple knocker on our new front door. Which we OWN!

A gas range at last! The Commodore demands to know what the hell took so long.

Livin' it up. 'Cause lawn chairs in the living room and a TV atop a box are part of living the high life.

Colors for the master bath.

These two hate each other. So obviously they must both be in this one of the five sunlit patches available.

Sittin' pretty on our sexy new sofa.

The actual sofa.

Hypnotized by drying laundry.

Eat at Mike's. Their food is even better than their restrooms.

Feel up to speed? Good.