Fall Break 2008

Last weekend was fall break. I had a freakin BLAST.

I spent my 4 days in a boulderfield/campground called HP40 (horse pens 40) located right outside of Steele Alabama.

Imagine a HUUUUUUGE open field on the top of a big mountain with boulders spread out everywhere with ravishing buldging features. There is no place like it!

I climbed a variety of things including:

-Hammerhead, v5
-Uniball, v3 (really hard for v3! one of the best)
-Redneck, v7 (PROUD send, I'm psyched!)
-Bumboy, v3 (I've wanted to do this climb for 4 years!)


I wish I could share all the fantastic photos that Dan Brayack (www.brayackmedia.com) took, but they are magazine potential so I can't ruin it for that...

but, i will share a few other photos:

rough day

Today was a rough day in the raw food world.

I woke up to a txt message from a friend telling me that he "has been talking to some people" and apparently "everyone Ive talked to including me wants you to rethink the whole raw food thing - we're worried about you"


I just woke up so my reply was pretty agressive. I said something like, "Fuck no. Do as much research as I have and you will change your opinion. We are designed to eat this way. I eat about 2400 calories a day. I'm THRIVING. Do you have any valid reasons why I should rethink it? I log my food into a program sometimes and I'm getting about 200 percent or more of most of the vitamins and minerals. Have an open mind dudes. SERIOUSLY."

He said he HAS researched it and claimed that I wasnt getting b12 and iron. Then he said I'm not eating the right types of protein. And that humans have been eating cooked food for too long for someone to safely switch back. Apparently "cooked food has helped reduce sexual dimorphism and kills bacteria and other organisms that are potentially deadly" ...... he also said that when humans ate raw food, they also only lived to about 20 or 30.


........any replies to that?

I told him what i thought. (I won't reply with my whole txt conversation, but you get the jist of it.

He said that I would be climbing stronger if I wasn't raw. BULLSHIT!!!

I am climbing harder than I ever have!

He thinks i'd be stronger.

I can't wait to prove everyone wrong. Or, nicer said, I can't wait to ENLIGHTEN everyone.

I was really upset all day. Like.. crying... I don't know why, but it just hurt me to think about how people HONESTLY don't think I'm healthy.

Nicole and Steve, my two raw mentors, helped me out.

I liked a quote Nicole told me from Dr. Doug Graham (my favorite Dr.) :

"I knew I was onto something when everyone said I was wrong."





anyways
on a better note, I ate my first papaya today! It was pretty good. Some parts were better than others. I think i could have let it ripen one more day, I just wasn't sure about the papaya facts.


and on an even BETTER note, I did yoga class today and the instructor told me that my practice today improved and enhanced like CRAZY. I felt great!



Tomorrow is a new day. I'm starting over. I'm letting go. Screw people who don't understand. Thanks for your concern, but I know what I am doing.

eating well!!!

I have eaten well all weekend! I've been WELLLLLLL past 80/10/10 ---

Today I was 94/4/2 !!!! I feel great!

If you don't know what 80/10/10 is, listen up: It's a type of raw food diet where you get 80% or MORE of your calories from carbs, 10% or LESS from protein and 10% or LESS from fat. It's the way humans were designed to eat.

I highly recommend the book. HIGHLY. www.foodnsport.com or check it out on amazon.com - it will change your life.



On another note, today I was checking out my groceries and the lady was like, "I'm guessing you like bananas?!"

lol... just had to share... ah, yes, life as a raw foodie. I had like 4 or 5 huge bunches of bananas among other fruit. YAY.

Triple Crown

Triple Crown was a blast. Triple crown is a series of outdoor climbing competitions. I see it as more of a huge gathering of awesome climbers rather than a competition.

This weekend it was in Boone, North Carolina. SO BEAUTIFUL! I will add pics when some people send them to me.

I had a great time! and I climbed pretty well too!

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...

NBPC - The Daydreamer

Nature, Background, Big Picture, and Color

You perceive the world with particular attention to nature. You focus on the hidden treasures of life (the background) and how that fits into the larger picture. You are also particularly drawn towards the colors around you. Because of the value you place on nature, you tend to find comfort in more subdued settings and find energy in solitude. You like to ponder ideas and imagine the many possibilities of your life without worrying about the details or specifics. You are in tune with all that is around you and understand your life as part of a larger whole. You are a down-to-earth person who enjoys going with the flow.

The Perception Personality Types:

Take The Perception Personality Image Test at HelloQuizzy

80/10/10 retake number... 5?

I AM NOT GIVING UP!

I am totally convinced that The 80/10/10 diet is the way humans are designed to eat by Nature. I have tried this way of eating NUMEROUS times and I always give into too many nuts and then that leads to other things like gourmet foods and juicing.


A few days ago I posted what a typical 811 day for me is on an 80/10/10 topic on a forum, and a guy named Adam sent me a comment explaining to me that I was FAR from eating enough calories and that I was deficient in many vitamins and minerals for the day.

Confused and interested, I started asking him questions and he helped me out A LOT.

The conversation motivated me to eat 80/10/10 again, adding enough calories.

GUESS WHAT!? ITS WORKING!


Yesterday i ate 2700 calories and the day before that 2300. Today I ate 2047.

i finally understand the 811 way! The reason why I was always failing was because i wasnt eating enough calories! I thought I was, but apparently not!

I would eat about 1500 calories and then at the end of the day i'd crave nuts because my body wanted more calories in a dense form. But this was only because i wasnt eating enough fruit!

I used www.nutritiondata.com to find my daily requirement needs and to log some food, and I like that site better than many others.

The best though, however, is downloading Cron-o-meter - it's ridiculously easy! Check it out if you are interested!

ON both of these sites you can see what vitamins and minerals you are getting for the day and all the percentages and stuff. ON Nutritiondata.com there are also graphs and charts which are very helpful. These are great tools for ANYONE on ANY DIET!!!


80/10/10 is a recommendation, but more fruit and less protein and fat is always better. Check otu my accomplishment without even trying:

My ratio for today is 93/4/3 and yesterday it was 95/3/2 --- crazy, huh!?

I am really excited that 80/10/10 is finally working for me!!! Whats working for YOU?!

first comp of the series

I competed in an ABS (American Bouldering Series) competition today in Atlanta.

It was a lot of fun.

I ate an orange and a grapefruit for breakfast... and I was completely fueled on bananas during the comp. After the comp, I drank the water from a young coconut and then ate the meat. =)

I was carrying the young coconut through the climbing gym with a straw in the top... everyone was looking at me weird... strangers and friends, and then i answered their unasked questions (I knew they were curious) and I told them they should have a sip. There were a TON of people who had a sip, I was SO happy to share it with everyone!!!


Anyways, the comp was a lot of fun. I did pretty well.............. I got first. =)

Next weekend I'm heading out to North Carolina for the Triple crown series.... much harder, much more competition - but i hardly see Triple crown as a competition, it just a fun weekend outside climbing. I will still turn in my scorecard but I am definitely not going to stress over placing well.

How was your Saturday?

I haven't eaten tomatoes in a while... like... over a week.





And I haven't really even had the urge.








BUT





Today I came home and there is an OVERLOAD of tomatoes growing in our garden... so I ate one. And then another. And then another... and... one more after that. It really hit the spot. I am pretty sure they were the best tomatoes I have ever had!!! I might go eat one more! The tomatoes were not even calling my name, but I dug in anyway and after the first one I couldn't stop. They were DELICIOUS!!!! and BEAUTIFUL!

BY THE WAY,

Today my mom told me that she thinks I am deficient in calcium. She said that the reason was because my teeth are now separating the white from the off/white in bloches. I have no idea if that is valid, but she has told me that since I was a little girl. Any thoughts? Either way, I have been feeling like SOMETHING is missing in my diet, and it very well might be calcium. I will increase my calcium foods and calcium absorption foods and see if I feel more alive. Do you know any foods that are rich in calcium???

RAW FOODISTS ARRESTED

For posessing RAW CHOCOLATE...

You guys HAVE to read this article and spread the word:

http://www.naturalnews.com/024304.html


THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!!!! .......seriously!!!!!!!!!!?

PURPOSE of my vertical life

I don't remember if I have ever posted this on here, so I will now.

I wrote this about the purpose of my vertical life, which obviously means CLIMBING:

PURPOSE OF MY VERTICAL LIFE

I love the exhilarating, zen-like effect that climbing has on me. When scaling up a wall, it is as if all of the conflicts in my life temporarily disappear and the only thing that matters is a single movement of my body to hold on to a piece of rock. I love the intense focus, the perpetuating concentration, the endless trance. Climbing is truly meditation through movement. Everytime I climb, I feel like I understand myself and my purpose with extreme clarity. Every movement is inevitably turned into a tunnel-vision goal, which is achieved immediately almost every time, over and over and over again. I don’t know who, what, or where I would be without climbing. It is what I live for and what I will be doing for the rest of my life.

Passions and Obstacles

Sometimes I want to go ahead and leave.

I want to leave Nashville.

I want do drop out of school.

I want to go ahead and live my passion.

_____________________________________

As most of you know, my passion is rock climbing.

I live it and breathe it. It doesn't leave my mind. Climbing is all I talk about... it's all I think about... it's all I DO! I mean, even RAW FOOD is revolved around climbing --- I wanted to get healthier to climb stronger (it's working!). In general, Climbing is my PASSION. If you haven't read my post a while back about finally getting serious about my passion, check it out: http://badashclimber.blogspot.com/2008/07/getting-serious.html


So here I am. Stuck.


I have to memorize poems like "The Seafarer" to recite to my teacher for a grade. You know, just in case someday I get a job interview where I am required to recite it!? Meanwhile I am working out complicated Algebra problems and learning about Scientific Notation. WHAT!!? Why do I need to know this?

I just want to LIVE and CLIMB. I want to CLIMB to LIVE.


I don't give a crap about who was the leader of some crazy cult back in 1865. I don't care about the government. I don't care about reading "Beowulf" and I definitely don't care about busywork.


I don't need a degree to climb. I don't need a degree to live.



I am here. I am me. I am a climber. I am a lover. I am a friend.





Sometimes I really believe that "We don't need no education; We don't need no thought control."


____________________________________

I have to write a "senior career" paper for school this month. I have to pick a career and list things like the education/degree required and what the career involves.

GUESS WHAT? I am picking Professional Climbing! (which is pretty much equal to a climbing DIRTBAG who just happens to get free clothes, shoes, and maybe a small amount of money) But I like it like that. I get excited at the thought of living light. I think I will feel more ALIVE that way.

I really don't think I will worry about having enough money. I think worrying is a waste of time. If I keep up my positive mindset, I can do anything and everything I want... And I will.


I can't wait to write that senior paper. I can't wait to graduate. I can't wait to live in Chattanooga. I can't wait to climb outside all the time.




But I can't forget to be happy in this moment.

I am living and loving. I love my life right now. But I am even more excited for the future.



Tell me your passions. Are you living your dream? What obstacles are in your way? How are you going to get around them!?

college visit

COLLEGE VISIT

Yesterday I skipped school and drove to Chattanooga with my family.

I did a college visit at UTC --- University of Tennessee in Chattanooga --- which is where I am going...

Chattanooga really IS a nice city. I go to Chatty almost every weekend to climb, but I think I take the city for granted. IT'S AWESOME. Check out this picture of it -- It's a city with the mountain only 10 minutes away. PERFECT! It's pretty "green" as well, and the community is great!

They got the person in charge of the health/dietic/food and nutrition department to meet up with me to talk to me! It was awesome! (this is the area I want to study)


Sometimes I wonder, though... there are some people out there who call themselves "health freaks" and they do not look very healthy. Like... one of my teachers claims she is a health nut, but she can clearly lose many pounds. My friend claims she saw the same teacher eating oreos last year. I DONT UNDERSTAND!!! But that teacher isn't the only one, I see people all the time say they are health nuts, but then they are drinking something processed out of a bottle.

hmmm?!?????




anyways, I am still in Chatty and I'm climbing/bouldering today. BUT GUESS WHAT? Being the forgetful person I am, I left my climbing shoes at home. SOOOO I guess I will be climbing barefoot today!!!

How are you guys doing?



NO POO
p.s. I feel like the raw food lifestyle has made me eager to make other areas of my life more natural. NEXT STEP: no poo. (no shampoo) --- I have tried quitting shampoo before, and the longest I got was around 2 weeks. I couldn't stand the grease. I know it goes away.... i just need to be committed! I already stopped using deoderant back in May, and I stopped using soap (for the most part) a really long time ago. For those of you who don't know, anything that goes on your skin gets straight into your blood stream. Those chemicals and toxins that are in that soap are getting right into our bodies and polluting my insides with toxins... no so good. As far as shampoo goes, we are the only species who uses shampoo --- it strips our hair of its natural oils! That CANT be good.

If you have any tips and/or tricks, please share!!!

Nuts in Nature

I have been thinking about nuts a lot lately. I have gone through addictions with them. This weekend something hit me though... and it changed the way I look at them:

The other day when I was in Chattanooga, I went to the natural foods store...(as always) and I was in the produce section... (nothing new, haha) and I noticed that they had a new food item set out: raw nuts. Except these were nuts still in their shells.... raw nuts straight from nature. There were only a couple kinds.

The point is: it hit me. I have always known that nuts are incased in a shell, but I never really gave it much thought. I mean, I have eaten like... pistachios... but not really any other nut still encased in its hard outer shell. That means that if we lived in nature (which is the way of eating I am trying to resemble) it would be hard work to crack the shell of ONE SINGLE NUT!!!

SO... why the heck am I... (or... we!?...) taking HANDFULLS of nuts and throwing them down my throat.... well it's not really to that extreme but it's close!

Think about it --- we are living in nature. We have some nuts to eat. We have to use a hard rock and a hard surface or something to crack a nut. THATS ONE nut! I don't know about you, but after 6-7 times of doing that, especially with the harder shells, I'd get pretty sick of it!!!

So from this moment on, when I am eating nuts, I am going to remember how they originally came in nature. I am going to eat each nut slowly and respect it completely.

It has changed my mind about nuts --- I feel like I understand Dr. Doug Graham more now that I finally realize that humans probably ate VERY FEW NUTS!!!

This weekend I am going to Chattanooga again. I think I am going to buy some raw unshelled nuts... so I can experience it first hand... so I can finally grasp the principle of nuts in nature.

Check it out: shelled pecans!

Brazil nuts!!!

This raw food thing is a very slow process. Right when I feel like I am very knowledgable in the subject, something happens where I learn more.... and more... and MORE.

It's never ending!!!

p.s.
last week I found out that pickles are cucumbers. I just never really thought about it. Go ahead... laugh... it's kind of funny in a stupid way that I had no idea!!! I obviously don't eat pickles, but STILL, i never knew that. I never got the memo that apparently everyone else in the world got. HAHA.

raw food update

soooooo I feel the need to give a truly raw update.

...You know how I tried doing 80/10/10...... multiple times?! Everytime I do it, something goes wrong. I cheat and/or feel the need to eat fat. and then i OVEReat it - more than I would when I am not 80/10/10 --- it's totally mental, i've come to find out.

You see, when I don't put the 80/10/10 label on myself, and I just eat whatever naturally appeals to me, I truly AM 8/10/10 without realizing it!!!!!! Then when I "try" to eat that specific way and put the label on myself, I gorge on nuts because I am forever reminding myself that I can't eat many of them.

Now I don't have any labels on myself and I am doing much better. I guess the only label I can really take is "raw vegan" because that will never change.

I eat fruit for breakfast, fruit with romaine for lunch, and fruit or a salad for dinner....

I know that I still overeat. I can feel it. But I still am scared that i will be stuck somewhere with no food and I will be tempted to eat something raw. (which in reality i doubt that will ever happen!) but it's something I am working to get over ---- so in the meantime I eat too much so I don't get hungry.

and there you have it, my quick raw food update!

WELCOME TO MY KITCHEN!!! =)

BOULDERING
Bouldering is a type of climbing that I do the most. It is not about getting high, but rather about gymnastic moves on a piece of rock. It's where you find big boulders and find the hardest way to get up it. It's all about the movements... the power... the strength... and your connection with the rock. Here are a couple pics from the weekend:

busy week

I've had such a busy week with school and work... I hardly ever have the time to post.



Here are a couple pictures from 2 weekends ago that I meant to post.

Today I am headed to Chattanooga, TN for some outdoor climbing. I'm excited.


Tomorrow I am going apple picking! Then I'm going to my friends house and watching Raw for 30 days! THEN we are making delicious apple pies !!!! =)

amazing salad

I just ate an amazing salad and had to share it with you guys.... It does not happen often where I crave salad, but it happened today. I guess I havent been eating enough greens.

I am really busy right now and the rest of the week, but i will try to post Friday night or something to talk to you guys about how I am eating and stuff. For now, here is the salad I just ate, and it was probably the best EVER.

romaine
celery
cucumber
mango
avocado

lemon and lime juice to dress it

I was so excited to eat it that I totally forgot to add my homegrown (organic) tomatoes and red bell peppers, so I just ate those as a side near the end of my salad.

I AM STUFFED THOUGH. But it's a good feeling. I feel like I got many nutrients. You know that when you are full after a salad that it was a good one.

hot bouldering

This past weekend I went climbing outside in Chattanooga.

It was HOT!

But I still did a couple v7s, which is a hard grade for me. I had done both climbs before, but they felt really easy this time.... pretty cool!

My friend video taped me on both, so I will be posting those at a later time.

I was completely fueled on peaches. I had eaten a grapefruit and 2 oranges for breakfast, and then 2 peaches for the day. It was nice!

Thank you guys for all your comments on my not-so-daily-blogs... Sorry I hardly ever get back to you, but i PROMISE that I read them! My life has all of the sudden become extremely busy! I am doing schoolwork trying to keep really good grades to get exempt from my senior exams whillle I am also trying to train for the upcoming competition season and secretly wanting to become a professional athlete. AHHHHhhhhhhhh. I'll figure out this schedule..... someday....


Hope you are all doing well! I'm not doing so well on 80/10/10. Not right now. I'm going to figure out my busy schedule and then try to do it again. It's just so convenient to grab a handful of nuts to supress my hunger. But I still fully think that it's the way. I'll get there eventually.

spinach high

I feel like I never have time to post everything I want to say on here.

I always have so much to say and then when I sit down to type, I forget... everything...

SPINACH HIGH

The other day, my dad bought me a bunch of food. He must've been in a really good mood because he bought me EVERYTHING ORGANIC!!!!! I was totally psyched, considering I usually get by with convential produce.

Anyways, he bought me a HUUUUUGE box of spinach. Like... HUGE. The expiration date on it is TODAY... so for 3-4 days, I had to eat spinach with every meal. I ate ridiculous amounts of spinach. I made GINORMOUS green smoothies and ate big spinach salads.

...and you know what?! i still have most of it left. It was like whenever I picked up a couple handfulls from it, it looked like I didnt even touch it. It is never ending! ha ha!

A couple days ago I could swear I was high from spinach. I went to the climbing gym and I felt like I was floating. I was really light and it felt like all my senses were enhanced. Everything was bright, and everyone was like, "Man ash, you are HYPER! What did you eat!?" SPINACH! haha.

My friend told me I must've been on an iron high. ha ha!

POMEGRANATES AND STARFRUIT

POMEGRANATES ARE IN SEASON!

Well.... it's the VERRRRRRY beginning, anyway!

soo..... My friend bought me 3 pomegranates and a starfruit --- HOW NICE! He totally made my day.

like seriously, I WAS PSYCHED!


I always have so much to say when i sit down to type on blogger, but then i forget... everything...

oh well, I'm a little delirious - i have had a hard time getting to sleep at night.

LATER GATORS!

100 days!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST OFF,

sorry if I haven't replied to your comments in a while --- I was out of town this weekend having a BLAST and climbing outside, and didn't have access to the internet.

I hung out with my friends Dan Brayack (www.brayackmedia.com) and Brooke. I also met up with my climbing coach, Steve. Sunday I ate breakfast at the health food store with my raw mentors, Steve and Nicole. It was awesome!!! It was a fantastic weekend -- I'm sore!!! (which is a good thing -- makes me feel like I actually tried my hardest!)


SECONDLY,

TODAY IS MY 100th DAY OF BEING 100% RAW!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!

another classroom discussion

SO

I went on another one of my rants today.

This is what happened:


My U.S. History teacher likes rambling. Today he was talking about Shoney's. He said he likes going there and getting a take-out all-you-can-eat-buffet. He mentioned that he fills his main dish with meat, his salad dish with meat, and any other dish with meat. He went on and on about meat meat meat and how much he eats. He also said he likes going to graduation because they have free chicken and he just brings his own ziplock and fills it up... so you get the point...

so

then someone started talking about "canned goods" and how you can buy stuff at dollar general

and my teacher says, "OH no no no, I don't eat stuff from a can! Cans equals Cancer. Cans Cancer. Cans CANCER. "


so of course,

I raised my hand.


"Wait, soooooo you won't eat out of a can because it causes cancer, YET you eat a TON of meat? Are you aware of the pesticides and chemicals in your meat!? Meat causes cancer just as much, if not more than canned goods!!!!"


BAM, the riot started. I went on a pretty good rant.

oh this is funny ---

After telling him a lot of facts about meat and conventional vs. organic and all of that, he says, "SOOOOO darling, are you a vegetarian!?"

and I reallllly didn't feel the need to say "no im raw vegan" so i just answered, "well yeah... kinda..."

and he asked me if i ate certain things like fish and chicken... you know how the questionare goes. =)



Then someone blurted out, "WAIT WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR PROTEIN!?"



*smack myself in the face*


I AM SO TIRED OF ANSWERING THIS QUESTION!? What about you guys!? LOL it is truly sad and humorous at the same time HOW MANY PEOPLE are completely dumb when it comes to nutrition and facts vs. myth about nutrition....


The whole class seriously broke out and finally a guy raised his hand and said, "Can we move on now?" to my teacher because my teacher kept going on and on and on about it, even after I was finished. =) good times.

I told the people next to me to make me shuttup if I start talking about nutrition again, and they were like, "OH NO we like it! we don't mind!"

ha ha

man... i love being a healthy rebel.

The other day in class my English teacher was giving candy to everyone and she didnt even ask me. She passed my desk and said, "well.... i don't even have to ASK you!!!!!" but she said it in a postive way, which was funny.

anyways, i'm done rambling. Just had to share.

I'm off to Chattanooga this weekend for a climbing trip. WOOHOO!!!

p.s. McCain picked a WOMAN for VICE PRESIDENT!? WHAT! WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO!? I'm not personally a McCain fan, but I am definitely a fan of the ladies.

This election is making SERRRRRRRIOUS history, no matter WHO becomes president! WOW! This is insane!

NOOOOOO NUTS

GAH

I don't know if I told you guys this, but I fell off the 80/10/10 thing.... again....

I'm so upset with myself!


But

my mom was being amazing this week and bought me a TON of raw stuff (like fruit) and then she bought me a HUGE bag of raw nuts...

well... as most of you know, nuts are A-D-D-I-C-T-I-N-G-! I ate way too many in the past week.

it sucks. I can tell my performance has decreased, but i am addicted to them.

I can't wait till they go away so i can stop snacking on them. A lot of times i eat when i'm not even hungry - but its usually just with nuts. GRRRRRRR. WAY TOO ADDICTING.

ANYWAYS, i'm going to do the 21 day 80/10/10 challenge with Bunny Berry and the crew from RAW FU.... after these nuts are gone! =)

ENCOURAGE ME! I felt so much better on 80/10/10!!!!!!!!!

climbing diet

I climb outside every weekend, and I am finally getting ahold of what foods and eatin schedule are optimal for performance on the rock.

I have found that keeping it simple is the best way to go.

On this most recent climbing daytrip, I ate 1 grapefruit and 2 oranges for breakfast. Then I brought 4 bananas for the day --- but ended up giving one away (non-raw fooders need more fruit that I do, you know? SHARE THE LOVE!)

ANYWAYS,

I have found that when I don't eat a lot when I climb, I feel the best. This may be because I am not weighed down by food and I am able to squeeze my abs more when I don't eat a lot.

HOWEVER

after I work and climb a hard problem, I will eat a banana while I'm resting and about to move to another area. Then I wait a little bit before I climb. I only really need to eat 2-3 bananas throughout the climbing part of the day. (then after climbing I can eat a huge dinner full of fruit and leafy greens)

CONCLUSION: keep it real on climbing trips when it comes to eating. Bananas provide the easiest and most delicious energy and calories. 2-3 will get me through the day.

rawwwwwww fooooooooooooooood duuuuuuuuuuude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




p.s. people keep telling me i'm too skinny. BUT IM NOT! Too skinny is where you see someone's bones. I'm just athletic and slightly thin. I bet i could even lose another pound or two (not gonna try, but you know what i mean!?) Oh and people keep saying my cheeks are gaunt. Is that a bad thing? At first I thought it was a compliment but then my parents told me that it is a bad thing to have gaunt cheeks. HMRPH.

bananas everywhere!

SO last week I was telling my mom that we should put bananas all over the house so that they ripen at different speeds so that i don't have like 20 bananas to eat before they go ripe all at once. She thought it was funny, and made fun of me for it.

ALSO, I told her about this dream I had where bananas were EVERYWHERE. Seriously, i would open up cabinets, drawers, and look on the counters, and there were bananas everywhere!

SO

I came home from Chattanooga last night, right?

i saw that there were bananas on my desk area. I was like "OH cool my mom bought be bananas!

Then I sat down on my bed and looked at my T.V. --- there was a bunch of bananas ON TOP OF THE T.V!!! this made me laugh out loud. THen i went to lay down, and there was a bunch bananas on a top shelf across the room -- this made me laugh even more.

My mom can be pretty funny. So now I have like over 30 bananas in my house - thats awesome, haha!

one of the best wekeends EVER

This weekend goes on my list for one of the best, EVER.

I went on a climbing trip to Chattanooga on Saturday. There were about 15 people from Nashville who ended up going. (THATS A HUGE CREW FOR A CLIMBING TRIP!)

It was FANTASTIC. Everyone in the group had some greaaaaaat vibes flowing. Everyone was having a blast, and you could almost FEEL IT.

My coach Steve and team member Sean were there and I climbed with them for most of the day. I ended up working and SENDING this amazing bouldering problem called Diesel Power. I have never been able to do it, even in the prime season. (Prime bouldering season is winter because the friction is so good on the rock. Worst time is July and August - go figure - because of the humidity)

Then I worked and sent this other really cool climb called Dumb Luck. My fingers bled all over it... my fingertips are TOTALLY raw! literally!

I will post a few pics later.


Anyways, keep reading, it only gets better.

After we left the boulderfield, we decided as a crew to go get pizza. WELL, there was 2 vegans in the crew (me and someone else) so we asked to go to greenlife, the local health food store, and pick up something - so we did. Then we went to the pizza place to meet up with everyone else.

After pizza, we were getting ready to leave and we were all standing in a HUGE circle in the parking lot. We decided to do a group hug -- we all put our arms around eachother in this huge circle, and then we all ran into the center trying to hug everyone at the same time. It was hilarious. Next we started playing little games like slap jack, the slapping game, finger fighting games, and others. Then we put all of our hands in the center, like a team at a baseball game, and lifted them up at the same time (like when teams go 1-2-3- GO TIGERS!) or whatever.

ANYWAYS, we found ourselves having more energy so we went to a parking lot next to the pizza place. We started playing tag, freeze tag, whip tag, and all sorts of things. Might I add that 11 of the 15 people are ADULTS. Also, the people who were eating outside at the pizza place got some great enertainment including awesome falls on concrete!

Next we decided to walk to a park. Then we found ourselves playing freakin LEAP FROG all across the field. IT WAS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER. People were looking at us like we were a crazy church group or something.... but nah, we were just climbers having a blast.

Then we played red rover, and a stranger saw how much fun we were having so HE JOINED US! it was great!

FINALLY we walked back to our cars, said our goodbyes, took group pics in the middle of the street, and went back home. I didn't get home until a little past midnight. Usually I get home from climbing trips at 7pm. We were having too much fun!!!

WHAT A BLAST!

MYSTERY MEAT

I just had to share...


CHECK THIS OUT --- and keep lookin, readin, and clickin' the NEXT button... it will turn any lunch-meat-eater into a vegetarian QUICK - and if not, there is something terribly wrong with their self-control!

http://www.naturalnews.com/phototour_mystery_meat_1.html

ROCKIN' WEEKEND

....or should i say RAWKIN!? lol

anyways, this weekend was incredible!

On Saturday, I drove to Chattanooga to drop my brother off at his high school. My parents were staying in a hotel, but my climbing coach kidnapped me and brought me climbing.

SATURDAY:

After arriving in Chattanooga, my coach picked me up and we hit the climbing gym. I was pretty much just messing around, i wasn't feeling my best because I was verrrry dehydrated, but it was still really fun and I LOVE that little gym!

I stayed at Nicole and Steve's house and Nicole made THE BEST RAW VEGAN SUSHI EVER! like.. seriously, it was amazing. it had some sort of patte in it and some sprouts and other stuff. It was the best raw food I've ever had!

(and yeahhhh i know, I know, it totally wasn't 80/10/10 but I make excuses for when my raw food buddies - the ones who got me into it - make a delicious raw food dinner that they invite me to! YA FEEL ME!?)

SUNDAY:

This day was amazing! We went climbing (bouldering) outside at a boulderfield near Little Rock City. Once I was warmed up, I felt reallllly strong.

Usually at this time of the year, bouldering outside pretty much sucks due to the heat and humidty.... and it usually causes me to have lots of high gravity days. But this season has so far proved me wrong. My first two trips of "bouldering" season have been amazing, and I feel like this climbing season will be the best yet.

(for those of you who don't climb, bouldering season is in fall/winter/spring -- and bouldering is basically a type of climbing where you don't climb with a rope -- free flowing movements on a short boulder. Bouldering can be much harder than climbing with a rope, because the movements are usually EXTREMELY powerful and committing.)

Anyways, I did 2 climbs that I feel especially proud of. Here are a couple pictures (they do not do the climbs justice, as you could imagine, but they are still pretty good shots!)

This problem was especially hard.... a really proud send, to say the least! The moves were amazing!

This one was especially CLASSIC. This shot shows me reaching out the small roof to the first hard move of the problem. (actually the hard part is matching your hands without swinging out and falling!)

and not to mention, I was fueled by bananas and dates during the day, with a mango for breakfast. RAW FOOD ENERGY!!!!!

going bananas

I ate 15 bananas today! WOOHOO! haha.

class confession

OKAY, so it was yet another day of raw vegan talk amongst the students...


My school hasn't issued us lockers yet, so we are carrying everything around. For me, that means I am carrying around my lunch.

Today I wanted something simple and easy, so I brought 6 large ripe bananas.

I carried them in a plastic produce bag - so it was see-through.

Many people were giving me weird looks throughout the day for carrying around a bunch of bananas, and a few people asked for one, but i had to tell them it was my lunch and they all walked away confused.

But this brings me to English class...

My bananas were placed gently next to my bag. This [loud] girl sat next to me and looks at the bananas. Then she looks at me. Then she looks at the bananas.

"ARE THOSE YOUR BANANAS?!?!?!?!"

"yepp"

"ALL OF THOSE BANANAS ARE FOR YOUUUUUUU!!!?!?!?!"

"yepp"

"YOU CAN EAT ALL OF THOSE BY YOURSELF????!!!!?!?!?!"

"yepp"

"HOW CAN YOU EAT ALL OF THOSE!??????!!?!?!?"

---------here it goes again-------------

"I'm a raw vegan."

again, the whole class stops and turns towards me.

and of course, I had some 'splainin to do.

Basically, you know how it goes, I told them and they asked questions, and OMG i totally OWNED them... Seriously, they would try to say something about "BUt where do you get your protein?" or "where do you get calcium" and dudes, i NAILED IT. I explained everything so well. They all realized I was pretty DAMN educated and i felt like they really respected me.

just had to share... ha ha.

my voice in class

so I will share with you a couple statements that has happened in school so far:

SCIENCE CLASS

In science we were talking about homogenized mixtures. The example on the paper was homogenized milk. My teacher was explaining how when you leave milk out, the butterfat rises to the top, thus making it separated from the rest.

Somone said something about the fat, and then my teacher said, "yeah thats why I drink skim milk"

and then she was talking about the ingredients in skim milk and why it's different than other milk,

and I thought to myself, "YES this is the perfect chance to make my voice heard"

so I blurted out, "Yeah AAAAND it has cow's pus and blood in it!"

and everyone turned and looked at me

so i continued talking, "Did you know milk is colored? Chocolate milk is actually pink-tinted... that's why they have to make it chocolate and color it.... milk is not for humans to drink - it's to fatten baby cows!... we are the only species to drink other species milk, and thats DISGUSTING..."

oh, how i love getting off topic.

BAM, hit them hard. They will probably think of this later when they are drinking milk.

SOmething I find funny is how much I have told my friends about their food (ususally only when they ask) but they always tell me that I ruin it for them. But in a good way - like i ruin the unhealthy things - they are happy about it usually. But a lot of them say, "MAN ash, you totally ruined milk for me. Now I can't stop thinking about pus and blood when i drink milk so i'm starting to decrease my intake" or something... it's great, actually. haha, oh the influence I have. =)

U.S. HISTORY CLASS

As most of you know, I'm a rock climber. My passion is to be outside, in nature, dancing on the face of a rock. With this passion comes CAMPING, something that is practically required on trips. I love the camping lifestyle, and I have always planned on camping for LONG periods of time when I get older.

SOOO this is my story: My teacher was trying to prove that everyone cares about money. He asked how many people want to be rich... everyone raised their hands except a few (of course i kept my hand down!) He also asked who would want a new car (I could care less, I already have a car, i don't really care to get the best out there!)

So this is the main one: He asked "Who would want to graduate college and live in a tent?!"

and of COURSE I raised my hand, because that is SERIOUSLY what i want to do! lol i think everyone in the class thinks i was joking... they don't know me, do they!?

YAY for making my voice heard. I can't wait for any possible time to make people think, HARD. I thought the milk story was a classic... because you KNOW they will all be thinking about what i went ranting on later one sometime when they are drinking milk.

SCHOOL RAMBLINGS

Two days of school have gone by.... they are pretty long and boring...

nobody really talks to me... I feel like a complete outcast.

I'm not sad about it or anything... it's just not very fun.

All my friends are in their late 20s, 30s, 40s... except for a select FEW.

I know that a lot of people will tell you this, but i REALLY don't connect with people my age... I just feel like we are on two different levels, especially mentally. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of really cool kids out there that are my age... I DO talk to a few people my age, but when i talk to them, I feel like I am talking to a wall. They don't understand me. They act like they do, but they DONT. I can feel it in their words and actions. They think they know what they want. They think they know who they are. But they don't. They don't even know what is in the food they eat. (had to throw it in there!)

I mean, I'm not trying to say I'm better than them by any means, I'm simply saying that I feel like I am on a different mental level than them, whether it be better or worse. I feel like I have a better grip on my life. I am not saying that I know who I am or what exactly the meaning of my life is, but i DO feel like my connection with myself, my life, and the environment is probably better than a handful of others my age.

You feel me?

I got to school early today and came into my first period early --- I was talking to my teacher and I mentioned how not many people talk to me at this school, and she was like "YEAH I've noticed that!" and I was like "eh, i guess I simply don't connect with people my age" and she said, "But i mean, i feel like I PERSONALLY can connect with you!" Then we got to talking about how much the school and the people have changed. SHe said it used to be full of people like me --- completely determined and focused on their ART and totally passionate. Now it's full of fake people who ACT like they care, but give very little effort.

THE GREEN FAD
You all know about it. Theres a huge cause going around about being green. People are finally opening their eyes once again to the ENVIRONMENT. People are becoming aware. People are taking baby steps and making changes. It's great, except for this:

ITS TURNING INTO A "COOL FAD" AMONG STUDENTS... but wait thats not the bad part:

I see these kids, everday, carrying around one of those "GO GREEN" or "RECYCLE" or "SAVE THE PLANET" tote bags that they now sell EVERYWHERE (even as purses at Target and Walmart) -- everyday I see those kids drinking out of bottles and then THROWING THE BOTTLES AWAY IN THE TRASH.. UH, WHAT!? SERIOUSLY? you are wearing a freakin "GO GREEN" tote and then you don't even recycle your plastic?

...talk about FAKE PEOPLE!


And you know what pisses me off even more?! How people (mainly teens) are going out and buying these "go green" or whatever T-SHIRTS at like freakin Victoria Secret (yes they have some i think) and expensive stores, but they are doing it for the FAD, not for the CAUSE!!!!!!

why not skip on the super expensive go green shirt !? donate it to somewhere that COUNTS! (a cheap one is okay if you ACTUALLY care about the cause, ya know? But vicky secret... are you kidding!? or if the money is donated somewhere important)



Yesterday I was in Target and they have all these folders for school with recycling designs.... I mean, this is great, considering people are finally being aware, but AHHHHHH I HATE FADS SO MUCH! the thing is, MANY OF THESE TEENAGERS DON"T ACTUALLY CARE!


they just act like they do.


Next time I see someone throw away a plastic bottle I am going to throw a freakin RIOT.


For the record, last year (before the big fad among teens) I would stand by the trash can sometimes and when people would throw away bottles i'd snatch them and recycle them.

ARRRRRGHHHHHHHH okay enough rambling, i just had to get that out. Hope it makes sense!

RUMORS

Today I was talking to someone at lunch and apparently there is a rumor spreading around that I have an eating disorder.

I've heard it a few times, but this time I feel like posting because of how RIDICULOUS it is.

I have heard from people in my local climbing community that I am going anorexic. LOL.

I have to laugh, because of how OBSESSED I am with food.

Seriously... i mean... c'mon! Food is my other passion besides climbing!

I am always thinking about food. Maybe I have an eating disorder in that I CANT GET FOOD OUT OF MY HEAD! lol!

But seriously... I just HAVE to laugh when I hear this.

They must not know me very well if they think I have an eating disorder -- thats like absolutely ridiculous!




Okay, so I got thin. WOW. I'm not TOO skinny or anything!!! People are so used to seeing fat people and SLIGHTLY overweight people, so when they see me I guess I look skinny to them and since they know I'm on a "weird diet" they automatically assume it's an eating disorder.

HAH.
oh well.

I don't care what people think.

I'll do another post later, I just wanted to share this... funny, huh!?

Lily Boulders

This weekend I went climbing outside at Lily Boulders in Crossville, TN.

I left on Saturday morning at around 6am or so, and hit the road.

I had a really fun climbing day! I worked and sent a v5 and a v6. I also worked on another v5 that I finally sent the next day when I was fresh. Also, I worked on a v8 among other things.

That night was really fun - I love chillin by the campfire at the Obed... campfires are magical, they really are!!! Everyone was talking (this includes people I don't know who were staying at the campsite) and i was like, "GUYS guys guys GUYS GUYS.... everyone be quiet... shhh" and so everyone shut up and I was like, "I just wanted everyone to be aware of this fire right here. It is magical. It brings people together! I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware!!!!!"

ha ha i'm weird.

The next day I felt fantastic. I sent that v5 that was pushing me off -- I decided to dance with the rock instead of fight with it. Then I worked on a bunch of other climbs and later on I send this unnamed problem in the roof --- it was an amazing climb. It felt harder to me than the 2 problems next to it, which are v7 and v8 BUT those are overrated. I'd probably give the problem I did v6 or v7 at the most. But still.. it was amazing!

I wish I had pics, but i left my camera in my car when I left by COMPLETE accident.


OH p.s. I survived on mono-meals of bananas, dates, and figs this weekend and my energy never stopped! Oh and romaine lettuce. Can't forget the greenery!!

Summer Camp

So I haven't posted about summer camp yet, and I only have a couple things to say...


I worked summer camp this week at my local climbing gym.

It has been really fun but a little annoying at the same time. More fun than annoying i think...

The group of kids we have this week exceeds the limit, and the hyperactive energy never stops... they are mostly all really really greedy kids (even the camp supervisor was talking about how this is the hardest group he has ever worked with in this case) and they are THE WORST at team building games. It's almost SAD how they don't agree or plan or work as a team.

Oh well.

Anyways what I was getting to was this:

Everyday, during snacktime, we hand out a choice of chex mix, cheez-its, animal crackers, or ritz bitz. To drink they have a choice of a few kinds of sugary juice. ....awesome.

I always bring my plain and simple energy: a few bananas and romaine leaves. I wrap the bananas in the romaine leaf and eat it.


This one girl says this every single day -- "You like bananas too much. You like bananas too much. You like bananas too much"

and I'm like "ARE YOU CRAZY! You can never like fruit too much!"

"yeah you can!!!! you like bananas too much!"



hmmmmmm kids these days. Need I say she was a little overweight? (sorry thats mean! but you know what i'm saying? kids think its weird when you eat bananas everday for lunch, even though they are eating the same processed food everyday!!!)

MONKEY FOODS

Okay okay, so you know how a few posts ago I said my new favorite food is medjool dates?








well... can I add another item to my TOP FAV FOODS? because i think I have a tie...








FIGS!






seriously, oh... my... gosh...



fresh organic figs... I have only had one kind - Jumbo Calmyrna figs... and they are freakin amazing!





I had them the same day I first tried medjool dates, and I liked them, but I didn't think much about them.



Then I was watching Planet Earth (OH MY GOSH, it deserves a whole new post, OMG!) but anyways I was watching the jungle episode and it showed the monkeys (my idols, as a climber) and they were PIGGING out on figs. And then all of the sudden I got an intense urge to eat figs and so I got some and wowwwwwww they are AMAZING!

gah why do my favorite foods have to be expensive?

Like, seriously, for Christmas, I'm just going to ask for a bunch of medjool dates and some FIGS. (I mean, with the money they used to spend on buying me chocolates and candy for my stocking, they (as in my parents AND Santa) can stuff it with FIGS.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

And when I go trick-or-treating, i can just knock on my own door and ask for figs instead of candy

and when easter comes i can ask the easter bunny to give me figs and dates instead of chocolate bunnies and eggs.

and... and... and...

you get the point.

I LOVE FIGS!

SUPER SALADS

GREENERY


I just realized something yesterday about my diet... I have overcome my fear of greens.






When I first went raw, I absolutely hated greens.



Which means I hated salads - I found them extremely plain and bitter.


Then when I went raw, I immediately went 80/10/10 but this is what I was doing when it came to greens: I would BUY the green leafy veggies, and then let them waste away in the fridge. All the while I was thinking I was eating them. I'd have a LITTLE now and then but FAR from enough... not even close!



Then I learned about green smoothies and my first few were gross... not enough ripe fruit.



So then I got a juicer and it was the perfect way to get me into greens -- I juiced ALL my greens (and made ridiculous amounts of juice) and I would drink a TON of it... at first I would either chug it or just sweeten it with apples, but then i started to actually enjoy them for what they were and i LOVED the energy I got from them.



But I needed more.



So eventually I made an amazing green SMOOTHIE and now I am OBSESSED with them!



I stopped juicing (temporarily, as I'm 80/10/10 again) but I haven't stopped eating greens...




THis post is mainly about this though:



I started LOVING salads.



It's seriously a miracle if you knew how I used to eat.







I learned how to make salad dressings by blending fruits, and MAN it makes it SO GOOD.





The factors that really made me start liking salads are these:



-chopping up the lettuce in REALLLLLY SMALL PIECES -- i feel like I can eat it better this way. I don't know why, but I can't stand HUGE leafy veggies - I don't eat as much of it.



-adding fruit --- I love my salads with fruit. It tastes sweet and delicious





but what first got me into salads was adding chopped raw nuts. Now i've learned to omit them (as I am doing low-fat) and im still loving my salad more than ever!







SO guess what - yesterday I ate a HUGE salad and it had ZERO fruit in it. All it was, was diced up lettuce with a BUNCH of chopped tomatoes from our garden. I never knew how delicious tomatoes were!!!!!! SInce I don't eat salt, the tomatoes were SO NATURALLY SALTY and delicious! I was amazed at myself for eating SO MUCH of it.





Another funny thing is how my portion size of salads has grown ENORMOUSLY. I can eat a whole head of lettuce in one sitting.... it takes me a LONG time to eat salads, but I always finish because i love the feeling they give me.



Like --- you know how at parties and family dinners how you have a HUUUUGE salad bowl to serve EVERYONE? well my PERSONAL salad is almost that big now... As long as the pieces are chopped up small, I can eat SO MUCH SALAD. They make me feel amazing.





Even when I am writing this, I still can't believe how much I like salad. I wish all of you knew me before raw foods... you'd be amazed at me. =)



I'm truly taking steps in my raw food lifestyle. SUPER SALADS! =)

HARD TIMES

Today I went through a hard time...



I don't have very much food at home FOR THE WEEK (a few non-ripe bananas, couple apples, a pineapple, an orange) and I used up all my greens, so I wanted to make a trip to the store to buy a few more items.... because I am working summer camp at the climbing gym so i have to be there early everyday, which means i have to have things to bring for lunch AND i have to make a quick breakfast. So far I usually just make a green smoothie, but I'm out of spinach and my bananas aren't ripe.


My grocery list included romaine, spinach, mangos, more bananas, celery, strawberries


I was really psyched on making another green smoothie and making a huge salad and making lunches for the week and all that stuff.


But I was missing one thing: MONEY.



but heres the catch -- my mom lost her job last week. My dad works at GOODWILL. I was really really scared to ask my mom for money.

so I called my dad and he told me not to be afraid.


But as soon as I did it was a bad idea. She started yelling at me at how expensive my raw food diet was and how I need to get off of it because we can't afford it and stuff.

I was in tears.



Then she THREW a 20 dollar bill at me...

and i didnt go to the store.

I felt too bad.

Maybe I will go tomorrow.



hard times, my friends. hard times.




why does food from NATURE have to be so EXPENSIVE!!!!?



I should start a fund to feed myself, lol.

GREEN MUSTACHE

GREEN MUSTACHE CONTEST:

This is the photo I entered into the Green Mustache Contest on www.RawFu.com -- WISH ME LUCK!





I took like 20 pics of me with a green mustache. Then i knocked it down to 5 and it was a hard choice. Here is one other random one that I feel like sharing... i'm a little weird, and i know for SURE you havent seen this side of me yet through my writings:

and finally, back to normal:

I LOVE GREEN SMOOTHIES!

100 DAY RAW FU CHALLENGE

RAW FU CHALLENGE

I saw and heard A LOT about the raw fu challenge, but for some strange reason I thought it was just for people TRYING to BECOME raw. I thought it was just for people to go 100% or something.


I don't know where my thoughts come from sometimes. haha.

Anyways, I found out it wasn't just for people to try raw, and it was open to any experience level. (I'm only over 2 months, but i'm 100% and i already feel very knowledgible in the subject)


Sooooo the registration closed, but sarah and rosie both offered (and sent) me an invite!

SO I'M ON BOARD!

raw fu challenge, here I come!



Here are my goals for this month:

-80/10/10 or as close as I can -- (I tried this once. And.... let's just say that it didn't work out. I felt like blacking out a lot. And i did... a few times. I felt weak and I lacked energy. SO i gave up. Even though it made SO much sense to me, i gave up. Now I researched it and realized what i was doing wrong: I TOTALLY DIDNT EAT ENOUGH GREENS! I was actually more of a fruitarian than anything. I would BUY lettuce or something and like never use it!!! it was terrible. So I want to try this again, because my body looked much better when I was doing things the low fat way. And for the record, for the 1-2 times i DID eat the greens, I felt like I was BUZZING (in a good way!). I wonder why it didnt click until now!? ANYWAYS i'm going back to the low fat thing. WIsh me luck!

-INCREASE WATER INTAKE - i totally dont drink enough water and I KNOW IT. I will take this time to focus on an increase..... i'm shooting for a gallon a day by the end of the challenge, but i will start with 2-3 liters a day.



and even though I am active and training, here are some things I really need to work on:

-push-ups (I end up being really lazy on my cross training days and I don't start doing pushups until late afternoon, and then somehow it's 9 freaking o'clock and i have like 150 more to go or something, and it SUCKS because i'm always tired... i need to work on doing them in the morning!!!)

-more yoga (this is one of the most important parts of my training plan, but as much as i love doing it, i COMPLETELY suck at it. Don't let my posts fool you... i'm a beginner! And a lazy one... If you notice, I don't always do my yoga. I forget. I need to work on this MAJORLY.)

and in general:

-WAKE UP EARLIER (i feel like i can get a really good start if i wake up early. I can do my yoga, 50 pushups or so, and make a good breakfast. PLUS school starts NEXT WEEK and i need to get in the habit of having enough time to do all of this AND pack a lunch and stuff.)

Weekend

Friday

I dont know if I posted, but I was absolutely exhausted on Friday and Saturday. I am hardly ever that sore from a comp... WEIRD.

My good friend Dan Brayack (http://www.brayackmedia.com/) came into town and stayed for the weekend. He just quit his job to become a full time climber and photographer! Awesome, huh!?


Saturday

I went to Whole Foods to meet up with some other Nashville raw foodists. It was a lot of fun. Dan and I together ate a carton of strawberries, organic medjool dates, and figs. It was delicious.

The people were really nice. 4 hours went by and we didn't realize it!!!

Then we came home and Dan took a bunch of photos of me in my yard for possible senior pics and lifestyle photos for one of my sponsors, Friksn (http://www.friksn.com/).

Later on we did some nighttime photos while playing around with incense. They were pretty cool.

Here are a few photos from earlier in the day:

Sunday

We spent most of the morning working on my website. I haven't bought the domain name yet, and I'm not going to say what it is in fear of someone buying it, ha ha. I'll let you guys know.

It's pretty cool so far, I'm actually pretty psyched on it!!!

I kind of forget what we did all day... probably just hang out and take pictures. =)


Today

I have to work summer camp at the local climbing gym. Then I have to train a little... I'll post later!

OFFICIAL NEW FAVORITE FOOD

my new favorite food is....


....drumroll please....


ORGANIC MEDJOOL DATES




if you ever want to buy them for me, go ahead! I'll give you my address! lol, because I can't afford them all the time. BUT whatever, they are like the new freakin CANDY.

exhausted

Today I am physically EXHAUSTED.

I'm so ridiculously sore!

It hurts to move. I am also sleepy because I went to bed LAAAAATE and woke up way too early to do yardwork with my dad for the owner of the climbing gym.


I've done random stuff today. not really important.

all i know is that i'm tired.




OH AND HIHOROSIE - guess what, the whole foods CLOSEST TO ME sells YOUNG COCONUTS! It took me so long to find them... they are hidden, seriously, They are buried in the ice near where you would sell ready-to-eat fruit cups --- and they blend in with the ice, its so weird!

so i definitely got a few. =)






anyways, i did my biking and my yoga but i havent finished the pushups and crunches... i dont know if i physically can... seriosuly... this is going to be hard!

Local comp

CLIMBING COMP

Last night I competed in a local climbing competition.



There was one word to sum it up: HARD.


It was the hardest comp my gym has ever had. The climbs were absolutely ridiculous.


Usually at local comps, they combine girls and guys. So I'm usually stuck with all the advanced men. It usually sucks, because I WANT to be motivated but you should see these guys!

I entered the comp with a positive mindset --- I was going to try and be one of the guys. I know I'm strong (for a girl) and I wanted to try my personal best (which I did.)

Even though it was hard, I tried my ABSOLUTE best and still fell WAY short of all the guys who were CRUSHING.

I crumbled up my scorecard and the routesetter stopped me. He told me to turn it in.


So I did.


Apparently they split guys and girls up this time! That means I'm the only person in women's advanced!

sooooooo long story short, I won! Well, I got some money! I didn't really win except with my OWN self. In a way I did win - I overcame my I'm-never-gonna-win attitude that I get when I compete with all the advanced men. Even though I was the only advanced woman, it was still a blast and I am pretty happy with how I did, PERSONALLY. I hardly did any of the climbs, because of how hard they were, but i was constantly giving my best effort.


When they gave me the money, Kyle, the person giving out the awards, talked about how I always show up even though I have to compete against the guys and I still always give my best effort and I really deserve getting first, even though I'm the only advanced girl in Nashville.

It made my night.

IM SO PSYCHED FOR USA CLIMBING COMPS TO START! this is only the beginning of the hype!

HERE ARE SOME PICS FROM THE COMP:

These are of me working on some of the advanced problems: