Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Where Did My Weekend Go?

That's what I'd like to know. Seriously I had a 3 day weekend and I'm pretty sure I didn't accomplish anything. Other than a long run on Saturday in which I wore pants and it was the worst idea ever as it was humid as heck out. Anyways more about my Colorado trip. So when I first got to Denver we ventured out into the mountains...by car though. It was absolutely crazy. It was sunny and warm in Broomfield, then we drove through rain, and then snow. Yeah thats right I said snow. Also I saw signs that said icy roads. And plenty of these.

Yeah apparently people lose their brakes all the time because the grades are so steep and the roads so curvy that they burn them up going downhill. 

So after the fun of envisioning every semi around us losing control and running us over, we stopped in Dillon where I got out of the car to a temperature of about 35 degrees. Was not prepared for it. Had amazing views though.





After that we drove and drove some more back through the stupid snow, runaway trucks and icy roads back to the land of warm and non snow and stopped outside of Boulder at Boulder Falls where I saw my first real life waterfall. Apparently I don't get out much. F you Zoli. 






I thoroughly enjoyed driving through the mountains everyday. The views never get old. Anyways we ate dinner in Boulder at  a microbrewery where I learned my fate for that night as the delish microbrews and their high alcohol content combined with the altitude would  kick my ass. And they did. However I loved having so many awesome brews on tap. I kinda miss that. Here are some pics for that night.


(My wonderful hosts for the weekend)

  (Yay mini high school reunion...too bad I barely remember asking someone to take this pic)

To go along with the theme of not remembering anything apparently when we got home I got into the biggest argument with Zoli about the move and book Into The Wild. Because I kept demanding to know why there was a grown man on the cover when it's about a little kid. Obviously he had no idea what I was talking about but I kept insisting Into The Wild is about a kid and the giant puppet friends that he has. Finally it clicked...except that I was talking about Where The Wild Things Are. Not Into The Wild. Then I guess I fell asleep/passed out. Still, I woke up like a champion and went hiking in the morning. 

Post hiking Sunday, we decided to stay in as we were both tired and I was being a whiny baby about my sore shoulders from my stupid back pack and watched Leprechaun 5: In The Hood. Don't act like you're not jealous. I discovered that night if you mix vodka with Gatorade you can't taste the vodka. Zoli discovered that while drinking a whole bottle of Jameson is an admiral ambition, it will destroy you in the end. 


This is a little of my amazing last dinner in Colorado. Fish and chips at this place called Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub in Idaho Springs. Oh it was the most glorious thing I've ever had the pleasure of eating. And yes I ate the whole thing...and paid for it. It was well worth it though :)

All in all Colorado rocks and I can't wait to go back. It has inspired to me to take up mountain biking....we'll see how that goes. I haven't ridden a bike in....well I'm pretty sure it's been over a decade. First investment should be a helmet. Haha.

Have a good week everyone! Dam to Dam is this Saturday!

Cheers!


Marisa

Friday, May 27, 2011

I'm Back From Colorado!

Hello everyone! Oh how I've missed you all and this blog! It's been a crazy week, and stressful getting back into the swing of things. (I think I need a vacation from my vacation!) But it's Friday, it's a 3 day weekend and I'm soooo looking forward to relaxing. :) I will write a proper post this weekend with details but for now I'm going to share with you my hike up Bear Peak.

Bear Peak is located near Boulder, CO by the Flatirons. It has an elevation of 8,461ft, the trail is 4 miles one way and the elevation gain is 2,829ft. That may not seem to crazy, but 2400ft of the elevation gain is in the last 1.8 miles. Thats right it basically starts going straight up. I was pretty proud of myself during the hike as we made pretty decent time and I wasn't dying. However once we reached that point it became climb 10ft, stop. Climb another 10ft, stop. And so on and so on. Luckily I wasn't alone as most hikers seemed to be following the same strategy. It was all worth it in the end when we reached the summit and I got to see for miles :)

 The beginning of the trail and the task that lies ahead....Please note that there is a trail to the trail head on which I almost died. I really was worried that I wouldn't make it after that.


 First elevation shot. See those ants..I mean people down there? That was us at one point!


 I started feeling a little defeated after I was told that was where we were headed. It looked soooooooo far away.



Second elevation shot. This lifted my spirits a little as I could finally see all the progress we've made.

 Thennnnnn came the hard part. And by hard part I mean death part. AKA the climb to the top.


 Somehow I made it up this shit. I don't know how either. Obviously I didn't look down the entire time because if I had a lot of crying would have ensued.


 And success!!!!!!! A very tired, triumphant me sitting on a boulder at the summit.


 A view from the top.


I'm on a mountain bitches!!!!!

And there you have it. Obviously we came back down...which was even harder than going up. I took no pictures on the way down as it was super rocky, steap and my only focus was successfully steeping rock to rock without slipping and breaking my neck. We made it down okay save for a killer bee that was after me most of the way down. (Thats right Zoli I said KILLER BEE. And it really was after me.)

Can't wait to catch up with everyone! Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!!!!


Cheers,

Marisa

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Thankful Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone! Just as I suspected this week is going by slooooowwwww. Which is kinda good because I'm not prepared for Saturday but I still want it to get here ASAP. Anyways here is my list of what I'm thankful for this week:

1.) Vacation

2.) Vacation

3.) Vacation

4.) Vacation

5.) Vacation

 (Hello Boulder! via)

Yeah it's all I can think about. That and the algebra/GMAT hell I've been in the past couple of days. NOT thankful for that.

What are you thankful for this week?

Cheers!

Marisa

Monday, May 16, 2011

Flora & Fauna

So this Sunday I went on one last practice hike before Colorado. Also turns out my digital camera just had crappy batteries and it is indeed NOT broken. So I got to take lots of pictures at Ledges State Park. I spent 3 hours out there and was exhausted afterward but it was a really amazing day and it felt good to get back to nature.


(pretty flowers)

( a view from the sort of top)

(Tested the waterproofness of my hiking boots. They work well.)

(probably more what you think Iowa looks like)

I also saw a few herds of deer.




I was totally racking up the outdoors man points all day. Climbing through mud, traipsing through/across creeks (and apparently a field of poison oak...don't worry I'm magically totally fine) hiking in the rain. So just as I feel like I finally earned my outdoor cred and would arrive in Colorado a true outdoors man (woman?) thennnn......Well there was a HUGE bumble bee after me and I was not paying attention to the ground and then I looked and almost stepped on a snake, screamed and ran away. Adios outdoors man points. I suppose I'll always be a pink dress wearing, pageant loving, fashion obsessed, make up loving girl at heart. But hey I can brave it with the rest of them. So long as bugs spiders and snakes stay away. Like far far away. In case you were curious this is what the snake looked like.


(Yeah Black Mamba. I know I don't know how it got lost in Iowa either..)


Cheers!

Marisa



P.S. okay this reallllly what the snake looked like.



(Common Garter Snake....In my defense it was the biggest one I've ever seen)

Friday, May 13, 2011

WTF?!?!?!

So I'm sorry guys. I totally had a post for yesterday but due to bloggers ridiculous shenannigans, I couldn't post it. And now it's totally irrelevant, because it was about me going to play volleyball. Which I did and let's just say, I'm out of practice ;)



(Okay so it wasn't thaaattt bad)

In other news I leave for Colorado one week from tomorrow! I'm so excited...and not prepared. I've been working on a packing list but I got through my wardrobe and was overwhelemed because it didn't include the wardrobe I'd need for my hike. I'm doomed. Please bear with me as I will most likely be a complete basket case the next couple of weeks. Colorado, maybe a law school graduation back home, Dam to Dam June 4th.....Ughhhhhh I need a beer now after just typing it all. Hope everyone has a great weekend! I look forward to catching up with everyone. I tried yesterday but well....we all know how that went.


Cheers!

Marisa

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Thankful Tuesday/ I'm Back!

Hello! Long time no blog. Sads I know, but I have been sooo busy/....well just not around. But! I have every intention of staying in Des Moines this week and weekend so we are back to our regularly scheduled program...for now. I know I know I still haven't done Part 3. I was with Will this weekend and I looked through the pics and well, I can honestly say I don't remember any of them. Don't worry I will post them eventually (once WILL posts them eventually) because they are funny. I just don't have any stories to go along with them because I don't remember where/when/why we took them. I told Will he's ruining my internet fame and I'll have no blog friends if he doesn't do it quick (thats what she said) but, this week is his finals for law school (he graduates May 28th!) so I'm not going to bug him to much about it. Alright on to things I'm thankful for this week:


1.) Caffeine. I have drank more redbulls in the last two weeks than I probably have in the last 2 years. This traveling business is wearing me out!

2.) Fans. It is crazy hot here in Iowa (90 degrees!) and I couldn't be happier for a ceiling fan in every room and my awesome window fan. My cats love it too.

3.) My mom. Without her I wouldn't be here writing this blog. (Happy late Mother's Day!)

4.) Free laundry in my apartment. I think I take this for granted but it's something a lot of other apartment renters don't have. It's amazing. I can't imagine ever going back to the old college days of homework and snacks at midnight in the laundromat.

5.) Blue Moon. I'm so excited that it's patio weather and nothing is more refreshing than a blue moon on a patio. Ahhhhh..........

I'm so glad to be back. I've missed all of you. I hope everyone had a great weekend and Mother's Day!


Cheers!

Marisa

Friday, May 6, 2011

BRB

Hello lovlies! Sorry I've been a bad blogger/blog friend. I have been crazy busy this week and am heading out of town tomorrow, so my apologies!  I'm meeting up with Will in his old college town this weekend and he will either give me the pics from the wedding weekend or I will beat them out of him. Either way I will get them and finish up this nonesense. Have a great weekend everyone, enjoy the nice weather my fellow Iowans!

Cheers,

Marisa

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

The Hangover- Part 2

Okay on to Part 2. Wedding Day! So basically I woke up and was like oh my god what happened last night? My head seriously felt like it would explode at any second. Like any sudden movement and BOOM no more head. Will felt the same. So at least I was in good company. We did absolutely nothing exciting the whole day and couldn't even be bothered to head down to breakfast so we had it brought to us. 

(hooray for being a lazy hungover bum)


However due to the inability to get out of bed, Will and I rediscovered an old love of a television show.

(We seriously watched this for hours. Don't act like you're not jealous.)
(via google)

Okay obviously the rest of our morning was lame and I won't bore you. Finally almost feeling better, we get ready and head for the wedding. It was at Wartburg College in Waverly Iowa, which is a nice little town and the campus was cute. The wedding was nice, her dress was gorgeous and I love when people look so happy :)

So because we are drunks were thirsty and hungry and had time to kill before the reception we stopped at the Applebee's in town and got some appetizers....and maybe a drink. Don't judge me. Because now it's on to the reception where a very good time was had that I shall just display in pictures. ( Don't worry I have a great story at the end.)

(And the evening started off so lovely...)

(The lovely couple we got to spend the weekend with)

(Then maybe some drinks were had)

(Okay as you can see a lot of drinks were had)

(Then the boys had a dance off)
(And then there was a photo shoot with "Uncle Denny")

So here's the story. We were about to leave and head out to the bars because as I said we are drunks were thirsty. But before we left Will wanted to take a picture with "Uncle Denny", because who wouldn't want a picture with a huge mobster looking guy with no shirt on under his sports coat? So he gives me his camera and I proceed to snap a few pics. As I'm doing this Uncle Denny's "woman" comes up to me :

"And whyyyy are we taking pictures?"

Me: Oh we're about to leave and the guys wanted to take a pic before we go.

"No, I know what my man is doing. What is yours doing?"

Me: Excuse me??????

"Do they even know him?"

Me: Um, that's Matt's (the groom) Uncle they're really good friends of his?

Apparently that satisfied her because she walked away. Still Heather and I looked at each other like, did that really just happen? Were we almost in a fight?

This was honestly one of the funnest weddings I've ever attended. I think maybe it was just my company :) Congrats to Matt and Jamie and thanks for the great times!

Stay tuned for Part 3-Post Wedding Party!

Cheers!

Marisa

p.s all pictures are from Heather unless specified, because Will is a lazy bum and STILL HASN'T UPLOADED HIS!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, May 2, 2011

The Hangover-Part 1

Okay so here it is. Part 1 of The Hangover Weekend. Where to even begin? 

So first of all you must know that I was going to Waterloo. Lets just say....well Raygun made a shirt for Waterloo that went a little something like this:

Waterloo: You may recognize us from COPS

It got pulled though. Apparently the mayor of Waterloo thought it gave an inaccurate depiction of Waterloo. I disagree.

So, I get to Waterloo way ahead of Will and was like thats cool I'll venture out and find some dinner I'm starving. So I drop my stuff off in our room and head down and about a block away from our hotel I find this

(please note this is not the strip club we went to. We were told it was...ummm...well a little too rough)

So I immediately text the bestie and am like "I.....am in Waterloo....." Haha. Anyway I decided to hightail it out of there and head across the river. It looked nice, and I found a nice little Irish pub called Jamesons Public House and had some amazzzing mac and cheese with a refreshing Blue Moon. Drink number 1. The night goes downhill from here. 


(Soooooo good)

After my dinner I decided I should stop and get some booze for the hotel, however there is not a gas station, Walgreens to be found. The only place I could find was a seedy little "convenience" store, but after my beer I was feeling a little braver so I went for it and then hurried back to the safety of my hotel. By that time Will had shown up and we got the party started with a few drinks in the hotel, then went down to the hotel bar where we had some more drinks and played pool. Will's friend Joe and his girlfriend Heather showed up while we were playing pool so we went back up and got ready to head to the casino. Then we almost got murdered by our shuttle driver. This is how it all went down.

So as I mentioned Waterloo is....well it's Waterloo. We get in the shuttle and the conversation between Will and Joe goes something like this:

Will: Wow so Waterloo huh?

Joe: I know I'm just waiting for someone to call so I can be like....I'm in Waterloo....yeah. I know.

Will: I know this place could be nice but I mean...it's Waterloo

At this point, the boys realize that just mayyyybe this driver is from Waterloo. The conversation continued as such:

Will: So...have you lived in Waterloo long?

Driver: *Crickets*

We all look at eachother and the driver turns on the radio and turns it up. LOUD. The boys can't stop laughing and I'm beyond embarrassed that I can't even look at anyone. The casino was supposed to be only 10 minutes away but before we know it we're in the middle of nowhere cornfields, with the highway in sight right next to us. I look up at Heather and I can tell she's thinking the same thing: We are being taken out to be killed. Joe tries unsuccessfully to talk to the driver by asking if the song on the radio is Bowie. Nothing. We're all beginning to feel a little edgy as we are literally IN A CORN FIELD late at night....in Waterloo. Luckily we see the casino, scramble out of that shuttle and thank our lucky stars we're alive. 

 (Why didn't anyone tell me this shirt makes me look like I weigh 200lbs? Ugh old reliable no more)
The rest of the night is spent drinking, reliving our near death experience, oh yeah and then taking a cab to the grooms house for post party drinks and guess what? It's the cab drivers FIRST NIGHT and she has no idea where we want to go. We all busted out our phones and used our GPS to guide her there.

It was an adventurous night and I'm pretty sure I was the winner of most drunk as illustrated below:

(Joe and Heather still keeping it together looking cute)


(Aaaannnnnndddd myself looking a total hot mess.)

In conclusion, I'm awesome and this night doesn't even compare to the next night. Please stay tuned for Part 2-The Wedding and Part 3-The Post Wedding Party.


Cheers!


Marisa

Sunday, May 1, 2011

The Hangover-The Preview

Well lovelies, I'm back in Des Moines in one piece still although maybe minus half my liver. I'm exhausted and don't have any pics yet but will be harassing Will until he uploads them so I can show you just how awesome we are together. Here is a little preview of the things that happened this weekend:

1.) Almost got murdered by our shuttle driver because Will and Joe were insulting Waterloo

2.) Blew a .23 
(no we didn't get pulled over or arrested or anything. Will just has a breathalizer. Don't ask questions.)

3.) Went to a strip club

4.) Passed out at the bar.

5.) Passed out on the floor in front of my hotel room.

Bet you can't wait to hear the whole story ;)

Hangover Cheers!

Marisa

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