Camping, hiking, adventuring

Wow... so I've been doing things!
Camping was all kinds of fantastic. I slept outside two nights (and the last was with Sarah in her tent...I must admit..it was nice to be warmer). We went out on the lake on a friends raft and paddled about... and hiked all the way around the next day. Enjoyed each others company. Nothing that really sticks out, but just a good time. MUCH better than last year, to be sure.

Then the next weekend was a visit to Sarah in the Bay (great time chatting in the jacuzzi). And then Sunday was backpacking in Tahoe. WOW! 1.3 mile hike ALL UP HILL. And we're not talking about some steady slight incline...I mean this sucker was steep! And halfway through, the trail was covered in snow in batches. :D We pitched our tents by a small lake, with the place to ourselves. No moon at night, so the dark sky was littered with stars.
Sleep was a little funky to say the least. It was 35 degrees out for starters, plus the tent I was in was on a slant.. so I kept sliding off my mat and bumping into my friend (who slept like a rock, apparently). But once it warmed up a bit in the early morning, I slept better, and had the most amazing dream I've had to date.
I can't remember any details, but I was falling in love with a man.. and he was going to be my husband. It was the first time ever that a dating/marriage type of dream wasn't just awkward and wrong feeling. (Normally, I ALWAYS feel uncomfortable, and thinking things like, "This isn't right..something is wrong." But not this time.) It was just wonderful and I was so in love with him. I don't remember his name, or what he looked like. I recall thinking that he reminded me a bit of my brother, and that's it. *sigh* I'm lonely and longing for a man...if you couldn't guess.
Moving on...
The next day we hiked up the face of a mountain. No joke. The trail was totally covered in snow so we couldn't really find it (there were patches of earth..but randomly...). We knew the general direction we want to go (up and over the summit), and we just blazed our own trail. Awesome is not an adequate word. There were bushes growing out everywhere where there wasn't snow, so we tried to hike through them as much as possible, hoisting ourselves upward by grabbing hold of them and pulling ourselves along.
The top was just a breath taking view... LOTS of snow, so we could keep hiking (which would have just killed us anyway..since we weren't use to hiking with packs). So we blazed our way back down the way we came... and with even more riotous laughter and fun. I basically skied down the snowy parts on my feet. We all fell at least twice. I only got one bruise! And that was from scrapping a twig nub from a tree I was skirting past.
Then we hiked to Eagle lake, had lunch, and went home. I think we did a total of 4 miles hiking... maybe 5 hours? (SO much uphill madness!)

I'm against funky sunscreen lotion, so I didn't have any protection and wound up with a bit too much sun (so much for no tan lines this summer!).

And today we went sailing! Averaged about 25 knots. GREAT day. And got even more sun on my face... oy! I am RED. I put some Arnica Cream on it..hopefully that helps.

The tension in my throat is still there.. and seemingly pops up at random times. Every time it does I try to figure out the 'why' but never can. I think I'm just so lonely. And I hate how desperate I am for a man... I feel like nothing good can come out of desperation. It seems like once I can let go and be at peace..THAT'S when I'll find him. Ugh catch 22.
PLUS I don't think I am in the shape that he would want me to be in... and I hate how over weight I am. It's not deathly obese, but it IS unhealthy.. and for some reason I'm having one hell of a time trying to get myself in order! Good grief what's wrong with me. *facepalm*

I've decided to take some piano lessons from Joe... good ol' fashion legit piano lessons. I'm excited about that, and hope to goodness it's not to late for me to learn proper technique. We'll see!

And I'm thinking about getting another kitty for Zoe. She seems to be taking to waking me up at unearthly hours of the morning to play. She needs a playmate. Seriously.

Okay.. I think that's an update. Sailing pics some other time... Bed calls.