22hrs and counting.....

Tommorrow's the big day.....
My first time snowboarding .... ever.
I'm trying to come up with a good excuse not to go. Can't seem to come up with one.
I'm not sure I want to back out though, it would be very typical of me and I'm tired of being typical me. So as freaked out as I am, I won't back out. I probably won't sleep tonight either b/c I'm having just a bit of anxiety at the thought of strapping a board to my feet and being pushed off a mountain!
Perhaps I didn't think this one through?

have I gone mad?

So, now that life is moving forward I have decided I need to step out of my comfort zone a bit. Fear of ...everything... has held me back from really having fun. I have decided to try things once and, if I hate it I won't do it again. Take a risk, take a dive, take a plunge. (take a tylenol)

Side note here - I was saying to a coworker, how I need to take more risks. He told me that he would never walk the streets of Mission at night talking to drug addicts in back alleys, interesting that it doesn't scare me, maybe I have more guts than I thought

Anyway, back to the point...last summer I was dragged kicking and screaming (okay, more like whimpering and complaining) on a white water rafting trip. Huge step for me as I am terrified of water, I don't even let the water on my face when I shower. The guide thought it would be really funny to put me in the very front of the boat - talk about facing your fears head on!

Now I have been signed up against my will to go paintballing - no fear associated with that one, just something I would not normally do, which made me think, maybe that's why I should do it.

And finally a coworker is going to take me snowboarding. This is huge for me. I have been avoiding it for years for various reasons - I hate being cold, I hate falling, I hate feeling out of control, I'm convinced I won't actually be able to do it, I had a boyfriend ditch me on the mountain while trying to teach me to ski, there is too much pressure to actually be good and enjoy it. So I decided, forget all that, I'll give it a try and if I hate it, I'll spend the rest of the day in the Lodge drinking hot chocolate, nothing wrong with that. And no marriages will be destroyed b/c of one day on the mountain.

Next on the list...skydiving, a tatoo and Africa!
Stand back...here I come, there's no stopping me now!

6 degrees of separation

I discovered something weird this morning. While reading a friend's blog (a friend with no connection to new heights.... other than me of course :) I clicked on a link to one of her friend's blogs (a friend I don't know and have never met) On that blog there was a link called "Mandy". I thought "wouldn't that be weird if it was our Mandy?" But I figured the chances of that were slim, so I clicked. Turns out it is our Mandy. How weird. Small world.

The art of picking (err, smashing) a lock....

My talented brother-in-law just left after a lengthy battle with the storage room lock. It looked for a minute that the lock would win, but with perserverance Dennis claimed victory!
He started off with the traditional butterknife in the door, which quickly turned into a butter knife, steak knife and filet knife all in the door. But alas the door would not budge. His diligent assistant, 10yr old Matthew, was convinced that breaking the door down was the best option. I don't think 10yr olds grasp the concept that it costs money to replace a door. A door that won't even be mine in 2 months.

After the realization that the butterknife in the door was not going to work, my never-say-die brother popped the pins out of the hinges, but again...he was faced with an obstacle. The hinged were enginered so as to not come apart from that angle.

After replacing the pins, it was time to bring out the big guns. I think Matthew would have been thrilled to bring out the chainsaw and rip the door to pieces...but Dennis chose instead to pull out the hammer. Three whacks and the door knob broke off.....Success!!
And we didn't have to tear down any walls, which was next on the list.

Thank you Dennis for freeing the packing boxes!!!