by Sarah | Jul 20, 2012 | 45 before 45, All About Erik, All About Indiana, All About Me, Blogging Life, Bucket List, Indy Geek Girls, The Reluctant Hoosier
[flickr id=”7604254726″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Ever since the Super Bowl back in January all anyone in Indiana can talk about is the zip line. I never stepped one foot in Super Bowl Village – but I wished I had just for the zip line.
About two months ago I found out about Go Ape! Right in my own backyard here on the West Side, inside Eagle Creek Park, is a place where you can zip line, do Tarzan Swings, and just climb through the trees like a monkey. You can really Go Ape!
So I rounded up some friends, my husband, a few of their husbands, and we swallowed our fears, strapped on a harness, and climbed.
Did I say fear? Yeah, fear.
After the “bunny hill” courses that are only a few feet off the ground – you climb and climb. High up off the ground you make your way through 5 courses of increasing difficulty – and as a bonus every course ends with the zip line.
I admittedly screamed at every one.
Out of pure joy.
[flickr id=”7604174320″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”right”] The last three courses have options for your routes. You can do “moderate” or “difficult” on course 3 – and on courses 4 & 5 you have your option of “Difficult” or “Extreme”.
I chose the difficult routes because I wanted to challenge myself. After all, I am wiping this sucker off my 45X45 list (“Do something daring”) – because it scared me. Holy cow am I glad I did. Knowing that I challenged myself, conquered my fear, and took the leap (literally on the Tarzan Swing) makes me feel strong and empowered.
[flickr id=”7604240872″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”] The whole course left us feeling strong and empowered. Even my husband – who is terrified of heights, bridges, and couldn’t do the last Tarzan Swing (seriously, frightening stuff there) made his way through the course and felt so proud of himself for it – not that he’d do it again. ;).
It was a great ‘day date’ activity for us. It is an amazing team building activity too. Spending our time encouraging each other and cheering each other on (or is that daring each other?) to get through these courses cementing our bond of friendship.
[flickrset id=”72157630653559754″ thumbnail=”square” photos=”” overlay=”false” size=”small”]
We all left swearing to do it again.
After all, it’s in our own backyard and a combination of fun, adrenaline pumping, and an intense workout. Best of all? It’s $55 a person – and it takes you at least three hours to get through the full course. For teens it’s only $35, but you are responsible for them and limited to how many you can chaperone (Age limit of 10, height limit of 55″).
*~*
*Disclaimer: Me & 10 of my friends were given free tickets for the day by Go Ape. All the fun I had and my opinions are all my own.
by Sarah | Jul 19, 2012 | 45 before 45, All About Me, Blogging Life, Get Fit - Or Kill Myself - Whatever Comes First, Indy Geek Girls, Story of Me
[flickr id=”7598819772″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]*Showing off my new haircut. HUGE change here – took off 8-10 inches, people. Loving it!
Yesterday I turned 36. I’ve realized in recent months that I always demure “30-something” when referring to my age; and maybe it’s my new haircut, maybe it’s the events of the past year, or maybe I’m just growing up – but I realized I don’t like that I do that.
I need to own my age.
After all, my teenage years sucked. My 20’s were short-lived as I got pregnant right before my 21st birthday and had to become responsible for a young life that wasn’t my own. I became a mother three times in my twenties, a wife once. I bought a house, went into debt and started the isolation of a mom of very young special needs children.
Now I’m 36.
While we’ve had our struggles in our marriage (2 brief separations), Erik and I are finally reaching a new level of communication and cooperation. After 10 years my marriage is growing into a much stronger and powerful force.
My children’s needs and demands on my time have eased into a comfortable realm. While I still struggle with the demands on my time, and probably always will, there is now a level of relaxation in there. We’re “used to” the struggle and know how to power through it.
My 30’s have seen my return to my love of writing, I’ve found myself published, and I’ve written several novels that are either ready or almost ready to put out into the world to find a home.
While my 30’s have also seen me enter menopause (thanks to my emergency hysterectomy), and the failure of my body to maintain shape as I gave into the comfort of SAHM-hood…My later 30’s are seeing me return to exercise. My progress is slow and I fail, but I am working toward being strong & healthy again. Getting in shape is more important than the number on the scale, and I’m feeling the changes as they happen.
The best part of my 30’s has been the reintroduction of friendships – of a LIFE – into my life. My “fake” online friends have become real. I finally got to meet my BFF Jess in person a couple of years ago, and she’s returned the favor by coming here. Thanks to this blog (also started at the cusp of my 30’s) I’ve found a community of bloggers here in Indiana that are beyond comprehension in their awesomeness. We support each other, we help each other – and most importantly, we find ways to get together and develop that community in person. Girls nights, major events, smaller day trips. They are a real and present force in my life now.
I am 36.
I am in the prime of my life and proud of it.
by Sarah | Jul 12, 2012 | 45 before 45, All About Me, Blogging Life, Bucket List
2012 is proving to be a year for me to Kick the Bucket…List.
So far, just this year, I have crossed off 6 items & I’m poised to cross off one more this week, and at least two more by September. Granted this is technically my 45X45 list – but I’m thrilled with my progress this year.
My favorite item that I crossed off is the all important #3. Seeing my name in print. And look at that…in print!
Without even realizing it, I’m putting myself out there and doing more things – and I’m crossing things off the bucket list without even realizing that they’re there! Of course, some of those achievements are thanks to my peeps…the local blogging community is great for putting things out there for me to hop on board with!
So 2 years after creating my 45X45 list and with 9 years left I’m 20% through it. Now I just have to figure out what I want to cross of next year! For that matter, I’d love to repeat a couple of them (like the blog conference – loved that…want to do it again!).
So what should I do next – that I haven’t already planned to do?
For that matter…what isn’t on my list that you think should be? Should I move my “done” stuff to the side and add in new challenges?
by Sarah | Jun 18, 2012 | 45 before 45, All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Marriage, All About Me, All of Us, Bucket List, Random
*Please excuse the crappy quality of this picture. I assure you the original is AWESOME…my phone just took a really crappy photo of the photo…
Two months ago Erik & I went to St. Louis. It was a “knock some sh*t off Sarah’s bucket list while getting the heck out of dodge & being child-free” weekend. We had a great time. The highlight of the trip (especially for Erik) was the Anheuser Busch Beermaster Tour.
Running in a close second was the Star Trek Exhibit at the science center. Depressingly, pictures were not allowed in any capacity – except for those that they themselves took & you had to pay for (mind you, it was an expense I didn’t hesitate to pay…but I digress).
Erik & I spent over an hour looking at everything on display. Pointing out errors in the placards (seriously? You’re going to allow blatant errors in a ST exhibit? Shame…). Soaking in the dozens of costumes on display. Erik took this killer picture in the original series captain’s chair (depressingly not set in an actual set – but against a green screen). Toward the end I about passed out as I beheld the TNG bridge set. In geek heaven I wandered around, had my picture taken in the captain’s chair, kept wandering. I sat in Data’s chair, people…DATA’s CHAIR.
Geek heaven.
In the past few weeks there’s been an emergence of an up and coming geek.
The teen has been watching anything & everything Trek (or Trek-approximate) in our house. Considering Erik has ALL the movies (some in double w/ Blu-Ray and Standard) – and Netflix carries all the series – this is a lot of Trek. He also has a Play Station Star Trek game that I don’t remember us having…but he’s been playing pretty non-stop
First it was the movies. All of them. From The Motion Picture to the new Star Trek.
Then he tried the series. Much like me, the Original Series didn’t float his boat much – and he stopped watching it within about 3 or 4 episodes. In the past two days he has watched the entire first season of The Next Generation. I know he’s chomping at the bit to get to Deep Space Nine, but seems dedicated to watching them in order. The proper order.
The kid is my kind of geek.
Wish I could take full credit – but I’m pretty sure most of it goes to my movie-obsessed husband whose fail-safe “I don’t know what to watch” movies are the Star Trek movies.
Either way – the new generation has started it’s Trekkie-love. And I couldn’t be more proud. After all, this is something we can share as a family. Most of the time, we don’t agree on much (that is difficult to do with a teen).
by Sarah | Apr 23, 2012 | 45 before 45, All About Erik, All About Marriage, All About Me, Random
[flickr id=”6960802096″ thumbnail=”small_320″ overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Erik and I have returned from our mini-vacation in St. Louis.
As you can see one of our favorite stops was the Anheuser-Busch Tour. Erik enjoyed it immensely – and even I did (and I don’t like beer as a general rule).
So much happened on our trip and I learned so much at Bloggy Boot Camp – and we met so many wonderful people…
My head is still spinning. My 45X45 list is calling out to be updated. My photo editor is overflowing with pictures to be edited (85% of which were on the BeerMaster Tour).
We have declared today our vacation from our vacation day.
Tomorrow I’ll be responding to a ‘tag-you’re-it’ post from a friend to give me an extra day for thought-processing and photo-editing, and then I hope to be back to posting as usual.
So I’ll keep it short and say – awesome weekend. Awesome people. Awesome learning. Awesome town (we really did thoroughly enjoy STL and its people).
Now we go back to bed.
~zzz
by Sarah | Jan 12, 2012 | 45 before 45, All About Me
[flickr id=”5944091199″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Two years ago I made a 45X45 list. 45 things I wanted to do before I turned 45.
Considering this year I turned 35 (yikes) and now have about 9.5 years left at this point I thought I would revisit it. Change up a few things and see what I can do.
Items in Red are DONE. Complete. Finito. (You know, those two little lonely items on this list).
Items in Purple are new…a change from my original goals/dreams
***********
45 X 45
- Take a real vacation. (Not to Buffalo, not w/ the kids)
- Take my kids to Disney World.
- See my name in print.
- Have a novel published.
- Get a degree (this is following up on a long ago promise made – I must keep it)
- Get back to my target weight.
- Take a photography class (or 2 or 3)
- Perform on stage again
- See Colorado
- Camp – really camp in the Rockies
- See Yellowstone
- Grow my own garden.
- Go to a blogger’s conference.
- Go to a writer’s conference
- Get on a regular exercise regime & stay on it for more than 3 months (Working on it. 2 months down!)
- Hand craft (knit, sew) 1 item for ME for a change. (working on it)
- Make a complete Victorian era dress from skin out. (underthings complete, corset 50% complete)
- Get some crazy color in my hair (purple, blue, pink highlites/streaks)
- Read the Little House series aloud to my girls.
- Learn how to draw
- Remodel/redesign living room & bedrooms.
- Pay my house off (long shot – but I can dream)
- Get a car that is less than 2 years old
- Have my feet fixed. It’s a lifelong pain/issue. It is now starting to really hurt.
- Do something daring (paragliding, etc.)
- See the butterflies at the Indy Zoo (I always seem to miss them)
- Be a reenactor at Conner Prairie
- Organize my recipes into one place
- Go on a hot air balloon ride
- Play the piano again (translation – GET one)
- Ride a horse – not a trail horse. A real ride on a horse.
- Volunteer at Angel’s CF clinic
- Stop drinking pop
- Make my house beautiful (landscaping, decorating inside, everything)
Get a tattoo (Done 7/16/11)- Go on an Alaskan Cruise
Go on a wine tasting (Done 10/16/10)- Go white water rafting
- Take my husband to swim with whale sharks
- Fly first class
- Read at least 50 of the 100 Greatest Novels (I am saying the book can be from either of the 2 lists there. In total I have read 8/50 at this point)
- Have a real spa day
- Visit a real haunted location
- Sell a photo
- Visit Salem, MA
