Mushy gushy

You gonna write about me?

I generally tend to shy away from public proclamations of mushy gushy love. There's nothing inherently wrong with them, though I grimace and roll my eyes more often than I would probably admit when I see it, hear it, or read it. I love that people are in love, and I even love knowing that they're in love. I should have no aversion to letting the world know that a significant other is freaking amazing.

So, without further ado,

My husband is freaking amazing.

He holds me together when I don't even know I'm falling apart. He makes me think and question and believe and care about things. And he's nice. And good. And a total badass.

Bad-ass, what?

I love him. So much. With one of those deep in your bones emotions I didn't, honestly, know that I even had.

I can't keep my hands off him.

I'll kiss him on the beach

On a bus

In the woods

In the mountains on the other side of the world

Everywhere I can. Every day.

Cuz he's the cutest.

Every day 'til forever

3 Things: I Love About Craigslist

I am a Craigslist junkie.

A fiend.

Obsessed.

Well, in a healthy way (I think). I'm on Craigslist way more often than Pinterest (or maybe even Facebook some days) and here's why:

1. Window-shopping isn't a new pastime. Problem is, unless you're in one of those mish-mash stores that sell a little of everything (you know, Goodwill, TJ Maxx, most dollar stores. [All three are also favorites of mine]) most stores have just too much of one thing. Too many good choices to choose between sometimes (I'm looking at you, J. Crew), others too much garbage that it's a waste of time. Craigslist has a little bit of everything. Literally. Sometimes I browse the talent ads where people offer services as tea party specialists, or are selling a one of a kind engine from some specific WW2 bomber plane. What kind of jobs, or houses, or amazing pieces of furniture are out there for someday. It's people watching 21st century style.

2. Fun, (often otherwise expensive) unique things. Relatively cheap. Furniture, I believe, has a worse resale value than vehicles. I have a tendency to pick an item I want to buy and search it compulsively until I find the perfect one I want. Like this bench I bought a couple weeks ago. I've got a thing for benches, comfort be damned, and NEVER would have searched physical or online store for an antique birthing bench. But how amazing is this? I can hook my knees on one end and sit for hours. Eat your heart out, Pier One, Ikea, and LaZBoy. If you're not in a hurry, Craigslist can blow your mind and your living room. Plus, I found my job on Craigslist (in a less passive search, admittedly), and I never would have thought to look for Food Resources Developer, so basically I should be thanking Craig for my rewarding job.

3. I can get rid of my shiz and make money. If that's not a double whammy of Craigslist goodness, I don't know what is. When I moved back home before I got a job I made like $500 selling things I found in my parents garage. I promise, I was doing them a favor. More space, less clutter, full pockets o' cash. It's a beauty!

Now, I know there's an ugly dark side of my beloved CL, but it's not in my face so I don't ever think about it. Craigslist is there just for what I need it to be: good fun and great deals.

Homecoming, Homegoing

We've been home nearly two weeks. I ought to make some joke about the lack of sunshine and summer, but honestly, Seattle hasn't been doing too bad. Besides a few days of torrential rain and overall gloominess (on my day at the Capitol, for instance, I looked like I just stepped out of the shower. Way to wow lawmakers.), Seattle has either been blue-skied, or my personal favorite: bright white. Cloudy, yes, but without rain and almost blinding in brightness. Don't get how beautiful that is? You must not be from Seattle.

The first week back we spent with Trish and Jeff, a week deserving of a post in and of itself. It's like a resort at their house, complete with heated mattress pad, hot-tub, and lake view. I may or may not have been completely useless to all the chores we had to do, but by Thursday our tenants were all moved out and we were cleared to move in.

Tenants? Say, what? Move in where? I keep asking myself this question- usually while talking with my real estate agent, because how did I get a real estate agent?

Some girls marry into debt and emotional baggage. I married into a house that has wildly appreciated since Porter bought it some 3 years ago. And a husband who knows what's up, generally, and specifically with all the preparations necessary for handling the listing of the house for sale.

Week two home was house prep time. Cleaning, landscaping, cleaning, and decorating. We moved just our bed and some accent pieces (easy chair, coffee table, area rugs), as well as an office desk for Porter because apparently space is good, not empty space, but not full space. Also, I've become a Maxxinista and klepto (stealing mostly from my mom. Only from my mom.) trying my best to play interior designer with artfully placed pillar candles that won't be lit; draped, layered towels of different sizes in the bathrooms (not for use either); and even a place setting at the kitchen nook that we don't use for meals. Form before function, I guess.

The timing of my design blitz falls quite conveniently after my HGTV design show binge, the few days after our big W hike in Patagonia when we happened to be staying in the only hotel on our trip with a TV AND Satellite coverage, AND HBO, HGTV, Cinemax, AND 3 days to kill, tired and in the mood for sitting in our king-size bed ALL DAY.

I'm well-prepared.

Check it out.

Or buy it!

http://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/6335-121st-Pl-SE-98006/home/414727/nwmls-453061

Central Chile, aka the Pacific Northwest in disguise

Turns out Central Chile is my home's Southern Hemisphere version of itself. Puerto Montt was all about smoked salmon; Pucon nights feel like August at 9 pm - still light out and just crisp enough out that a long sleeved shirt feels perfect with shorts and flip flops; Villarica had blackberries growing like weeds. Blueberries (3 bucks for a monster box. I'm still high on my overdose yesterday), peaches and nectarines, it's a fresh fruit extravaganza and I can't get enough of it.

We've breezed through most of Chile, which I feel great about, even though it has been plenty pleasant. Beyond pleasant.

I originally had high and magical visions of a horseback ride through Patagonia (mostly planted by this girl I met at a work conference i happened to go to a month before we left who, in an odd turn of events, was taking a short sabbatical to travel South America. She was crossing the Andes for 10 days on horseback, which is too long for me, but I loved the idea of camping out under the stars with our faithful horses tethered nearby. Rustic and amazing, right?) and had communicated with the company most highly praised on TripAdvisor (mostly by one snob if a horse rider who was traveling with her non horseman boyfriend and went on and on and on about how great the company was and how healthy the horses. Sounds great, right??) Well, we didn't confirm it in time and lost our spot and then got stuck in the doldrums of not wanting to plan anything ever again (definitely hitting a wall in that department) so we bagged the overnight trip and opted for a quick jaunt in the countryside. Shorter, less romantic, but in all honesty, probably a better match for my behind.

I apparently got the naughty horse, and had to be led out for the first 10 minutes which wouldn't have been embarrassing probably if the leader of the group wasn't a 12 year old boy who kept mumbling directions like I spoke 12 year old mumbled Spanish and not polished, enunciated classroom Spanish. We were led to a very cool waterfall with a 'complicatado' trail, meaning straight up and down on tree roots. Porter took a quick dip (seriously, those shorts! Isn't he the cutest?)

High Velocity Wind Jog Commentary

You probably already know that Kami is not too keen on running. What you may or not know is that she is married to someone who LOVES to run. Me. I even love running enough to do it in 50 mph winds. That's what I did the other day, and here are a few of my recollections.

It was sunny, which was part of what tricked me into thinking that this would be a good day to do my long run, which was supposed to be an hour and 45 minutes long. So I set out.

Very quickly, my senses reported to me that this was going to be tough! The wind was super strong along the waterfront, strong enough to whip the water spray all the way to me.

Since Puerto Natales is a pretty small town, there was really only one option, which was to run along a highway filled with buses and big trucks. Oh boy.

At one point, I kid you not, two big chunks of somebody's galvanized roof came off and flew, bounding across the road and into the fields on the other side, about 100m in front of me! I could've been taken out by galvanized aluminum.

Three times, I had to just stop and stand my ground against the wind. Frequently, the wind would push my feet around while they were in the air, making me stumble and get off track. I was seriously concerned that the wind was going to shove me a few feet over into the road into the path of an oncoming vehicle!

With about 20 minutes left, I took a breather for about 30 seconds behind a construction sign jus to recollect myself mentally. The combination of wind and sun beating on my face was intense.

When I returned, it was definitely one of the toughest runs I've done!

Glacier Madness

I quite hate the word crampons, for obvious reasons, but I wore them the other day. I generally hate tours, mostly because I have my dad's pride that pretty much any place or experience is better without guides tiptoeing you through it, and because I have probably unnecessary anxiety about making sure it's worth the usually high cost. We opted out if a pricey tour in Brazil's Chapada Diamantina, opted in at Iguazu, and here in Patagonia sat somewhere on the 'do it' side of the fence on the Perito Moreno glacier's Big Ice tour.

Pay a couple hundred bucks for a tiptoe on a glacier, can I really be worth it?

Yes.

Even with crampons. I can't count how many times I noted the grandeur of the white and blue and crevasses and ICE LAGOONS with something elegant like Holy Crap.

Climbing up down and sideways with metal picked shoes was harder than I thought, but I got the hang of it (not the sideways so much, actually, but up and down were ok). I can't believe how different the ice looked from different angles. I can't believe I got to tiptoe all over those angles.

Intense in tents

This is going to be one of those posts better suited to pictures than stories.

A few nuggets:

Route. 5 days, 4 nights hike in Chile's Torres del Paine park, hiking a very popular 'W Circuit' (a garbage name if you ask me- the route on a map looks like the W a three year old with no fine motor skills would draw)(also I kind of hate named routes anyway because they make amateurs like me sound like we're trying to be hard core posers. "Oh yeah, we're doin the W, thinkin about adding in the tail, on our own, huzzah")

Lodges. The route is unique because there are 5 built in lodges dotting the route offering hot showers, meals, and bunks, as well as camp sites. Essentially, you could do the W with a day pack, or just a water bottle and a couple layers if you hate backpacks. We brought our own tent and stove, rented sleeping bags, and paid for breakfast in hopes of a buffet (not a buffet but the food was decent enough and it's nice not having to cook in the morning).

Old friend. We had a friend shipped in from the US just for Patagonia. Jill, my old roommate and outdoor gear junkie (mostly coats) joined us for 10 days, this hike included. Jill is fun and easy and was a perfect hiking/travel companion.

New friend. We found a fourth en route. We ran into Nick, a clever Brit about four times in town before he joined us for our route. Here was lots of US-UK comparison and general banter about his family's castle (rented out for movies) and their place in the South of France (yes, please), and travel.

Wind. Holy swear words, the wind. One day it was blowing water from the lake into a mist 100 feet high, so we had to crouch for safety. That night I was suuuure the tent was going to blow into oblivion. You could hear a wind burst starting up the mountain, gathering steam, getting louder and screamier as it approached. Totally nuts.

My poor poor feet. And knees. And ankles. Up and down, step by step, by the time we finished my feet were on fire.

The views:

Blame it on the MIL

Fair friends

The original duo

Shenanigans

The cute couple

This can just be a teaser for a future post

What, are we even on this trip? Funny how my first 5 days I blogged 4 times. Now I'm all sorts of back-logged. Blame it on bad internet or faulty Apple-Google interaction. But really, I should probably blame it on my Mother-in-Law, Trish.

She's just too much fun. And because she flies free, we got to enjoy her company twice in Brazil, once in Salvador and again in the South. In both places, we drove (in a car!), we ate (street food for her first time!) we laughed (at Porter, quite a bit). I have the greatest mother-in-law there is. It makes it tough to have time to blog.

My favorite things about her?

*She's up for adventure. Two trips to South America in a month is nothing. She's been just near everywhere and isn't sick of going yet. Whether it's a cruise around a continent, moving to San Antonio on a (romantic) whim 35 years ago, or digging up dinosaur bones in Eastern WA (for she and Jeff's anniversary last year, how cute is that), she drums up fun adventure anywhere.

*She's a doer. Flight nurse in the Navy, MBA, owned a travel agency (back when people used them), neo-natal nurse. No need to review her full résumé but I'm constantly learning and impressed by her interest and ability to take on a challenge and get 'er done.

*She is secretly really crafty. She'd never brag about it but she's got a knack for scrap booking and baking and gardening (that's in the crafty category, right?)

*She's a hoot. Really funny, and silly (especially around her girlfriends. I'm secretly trying to get myself invited to one of their girls' weekends). I stayed with she and Jeff in Canada and they are a hoot together too. Jeff came down for the last few days for Iguazu. They're a fun couple to play with.

*She's a babe. Fitter than I am (I'm not even kidding) with a good sense for when to whip out the curling iron and lipstick and when is a hat day.

*She raised my Porter man, pretty much all alone (Porter's dad died when he was young) and she did a phenomenal job. So many wonderful things he is, he is because of her.

Like I said, best mother-in-law around.

The End of the World

Here we are in Ushuaia, the end of the world. They've really latched onto the catchphrase- the end of the world- with shirts, postcards, and ads for the likes of the Train at the End of the World and the Duty Free Shop at the End of the World. We're really only at 54 degrees south latitude (out of 90 possible). Seattle's at 47 degrees (or so), Juneau (which is really barely north enough in Alaska to count as impressive) is at 58. Anchorage is at 61. There are cities as north as 70+ degrees. Lonyearbyen, Norway takes the cake for really at the end of the world at 78 degrees north latitude http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longyearbyen http://www.johnnyjet.com/2012/04/12-facts-you-never-knew-about-longyearbyen-the-worlds-northernmost-city/ (there are at least 2000 people who think 3 months without daylight and an annual high of 43 degrees Fahrenheit as acceptable conditions and, at least by the last census, not killed themselves).

Still, it's 10:20 pm and not entirely dark yet, and the only thing south of us is ocean (and Port Williams, slight south and across the bay in Chile, not that anyone goes there, or cares, since they don't have a Duty Free shop) so I don't balk at the claim. It's beautiful and bustling, and just cold enough that everyone is all bundled up like it's the middle of winter. Most people come here to trek, or to catch a cruise to Antarctica (3 days and 4 grand away from here) so the only coats, beanies, and durable shoes packed are worn even thought it's probably 60 degrees and long sleeves would do just fine. You can tell from the number of high end boutiques and 15 chocolaterias in as many blocks the people with money come here. And backpackers like us who have time to spare.

We're only here for a day, actually. We chose to spend our hiking time in the other touristy mountain town in Argentina, but there was a flight with a 24 hour layover here, and I'm a sucker for an extended layover for a sneak peek of a town or bragging rights like 'the End of the World'.

Our flight down was actually quite exciting. In short, when we got to the airport, they had no record of our reservation, nor of the flight even existing (surprise!). When we furnished our booking confirmation, they scratched their heads, apologized (sort of) and booked us on their competitors' flight, leaving roughly around the same time as our originally booked, nonexistent flight. First class. I've never lucked out from a mistake like this before. Cha-Ching! We didn't know it til we boarded (surprise!). The transformer bed came in handy recovering from the last few nights of late nights and early mornings. And apparently ham and Brie cheese sandwiches are the upgrade meal for the regular ham and cheese offered on most flights (and most mornings. [if I never eat ham again it will be too soon!]). I'll take it.

The Diamond Highlands - by Porter

Back in 2009, I did Ironman Brazil down in Florianopolis and I wanted to make a vacation of it, so I took a whole 3 weeks off from work (funny how that seemed like a lot back then, haha) and researched where I wanted to go.  One of the places that greatly attracted me, but in the end was unable to visit, is Chapada Diamantina, or the Diamond Highlands.

Imagine the Grand Canyon, shrink it a little bit, and make it green and lush, and that's what it looks like.  The area is about the size of Holland, and Brazil has gone so far as to make a national park out of a good chunk of it.  As there were already several towns established before the park existed, the park borders are a bit torturous in areas to keep the towns outside the park.

We had GRAND plans to go on a multiple day hike inside the park, especially the much-vaunted Valley of Paty.  Prior to arriving, I tried to do as much research as possible on routes, even going so far as to download GPS tracks and the like.  I found the lack of information frustrating, and I kept coming across the advice that you "can't/shouldn't/would be stupid to hike without a guide" inside the park.  This I most certainly wanted to avoid--how could I be a self-respecting lover of the outdoors and require a guide for some non-technical hiking on established trails??

When we got there, it quickly became apparent that:

--there is no place to rent gear, like sleeping bags, tents etc, unless yougo with a guide service, which for 2 people, was generally about $100-$150 per day

--The allocation of man power is very lop sided--not very many park rangers and wayyy too many guides.  

-- The whole guide service is mis-matched.  We heard stories of guides mis-marking trails and in general, making things difficult for folks who don't know the way, while at the same time, we heard that they don't actually receive all that much of the money charged for tours.

--Funds!  There is no park entrance fee, yet you need to pay tons f

In short, we decided that it was not worth the $550 it would've been for a 3 day hiking trip.  Instead, we did a one-day guided trip to see a few caves and crazy pools of water, with our soon to be Brazilian buddies, Pedro e Fernando, both of whom happened to speak pretty great English.  Some memorable exchanges were:

-Fernando LOVES the germans and meditation.  He finds them very strong.  He invited us and Pedro to meditate with him.  

-Pedro believes that cities are noisy, the smaller the better.  This is Pedro below.

We also did two short day trips to some easier to find places--including a way cool natural rock slide.  Even though these places were barely even an hour's walk, there were no signs at all, which made for a lot of direction-asking.

All in all, I would not call it a bust, per se, but it definitely was disappointing, and reminded me of how enormously grateful we should be for our fantastic national park system.