Probably Not Calm at the Jefferson

The America's Great Outdoors Tumblr sent around this beautiful Jefferson Memorial photo today. A great site for amazing photos of our best public lands.

Pretty blue skies reflecting on the Tidal Pool - This is likely the exact opposite of what it looks like right now.  Hurricane Sandy is swirling by!

Idaho on Fire

Photo: Smokey the Bear Fire Danger sign in Sawtooth National Forest

Idaho was on fire for a good part of the summer and beyond. I visited in late August and wanted to post some photos.  Sad that I could not see the famous Sawtooth Mountains very well, but it was a memorable trip all the same.

Photo: Fire burning in mountains north of Boise

Photo: Smoke from large fires north of Stanley in central Idaho

 Photo: Sunset in Sawtooth National Forest during fire season near Sun Valley

Photo: pronghorn in smoke, drive from Sun Valley to Boise

Photo: Not everything was smoky! Idaho is beautiful - a few more images: a rancher wagon in Hailey, the falls of Idaho Falls, the Upper Snake South Fork, Redfish Lake Lodge, Redfish Lake and Old Boise

Photo:  Holding rocks at Craters of the Moon National Monument in central Idaho.  Apollo 14 astronauts trained here in 1969 before visiting the moon.

Phone Home Glove

I follow the Appalachian Mountain Club's blog, and they recently told me about new gear called the Hi-Call Phone Gloves, which "feature a speaker in the thumb and a microphone in the pinky, allowing you to talk directly into your hand and connect with any Bluetooth-enabled phone."

I find it a fascinating but silly idea.  And, the reviews say that you must talk into the left glove, even though most people probably use their right hand to hold phones.

If you need to ski and talk and don't want to lose your phone, then this is the device for you.  You can use it with the GPS-enabled ski goggles with heads-up displays!

Photo:  Appalachian Mountain Club

Yarn-Bombed Bike Rack, Boise

Photo: Spotted, yarn-bombed bike rack.  Boise, Idaho. 

I must say, a yarn-covered serpentine bike rack looks pretty cute & cozy.

Fish Boiling in Streams

I have heard of eggs frying on the sidewalk, but fish boiling in streams? 

The intense summer heat in the Midwest has killed tens of thousands of fish, from 100 degree river temperatures.  Some biologists have said they have never seen anything like this in their career.  More about the fish at this link.  Sorry fish!

Olympic Moon

Photo by REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

London, August 3, 2012

Yarn-bombing

Can you guess this statue?  More importantly, what is happening here?

It's yarn-bombing, an elaborate knitting trend that hit D.C. this week.  

Here's what the Einstein statue in front of the National Academy of Sciences normally looks like. 

For more about the event, see DCist.com 

I didn't do it....

Derecho Beer

Around two weeks ago it rained sideways in the D.C. area.  The rain was totally horizontal, due to 80 mile an hour winds.  The storm shook our window doors around two sides of our apartment so much that at one point I thought the building was shaking and wondered if we were having another earthquake. 

It was not an earthquake, it was a derecho (day-RAY-cho), a trendy new weather term for the area, just like "snowpacalpyse" two years ago.  A derecho is a warm weather straight-line squall that typically exceeds hurricane force.

Tom and I flew the next day to cool, clear Colorado (the not-on-fire part.  Sorry for your fires, Colorado!) escaping the massive loss of power over 1 million places in the area experienced for 2-7 days, including Port City Brewing Company in Alexandria.  Because of the power outage, the brewery feared it would lose 13,000 gallons of beer (104,000 pints).

Five of the six tanks ended up fine, but the sixth fermented at a higher temperature than intended.  Port City turned it into a "steam beer" and produced a limited edition "Derecho Common" beer. 

Beer from a storm, an innovative idea!

Favorite Sign of the Day

I stood outside the Supreme Court this morning as the health care decision was revealed.  

The photo above is my favorite sign of the day.

"High School Debaters for Reasoned Civic Discourse"

They were at debate camp in D.C. and part of the camp included standing outside the Court.

Boat Names

 One of the fun things about the marina is looking at all of the other boat names.  Tom's boat is the Argo, named after Jason and the Argonauts from Greek Mythology. 

When we pull in to the marina, we are usually greeted by the Washington D.C. Hooker

 And then there's our other friends along the pier: Livin' N' Lovin', Foxy Lady, Madd Hatter, Fletch, Dawn Treader and Shadow Dancer.  

What would you name your boat?

Fishing the Chesapeake

Perfect day for sailing the Chesapeake on Saturday.  

We caught a fish and grilled it up!

A headless bluefish (bluefish? Sounds very Dr. Seuss)

Photo: random Nordic boat in the marina

KFC Firehydrant

I think this is a real thing.  NYT is reporting some broke cities are generating revenue by selling ads on public property.  Above: KFC firehydrants in Brazil, Indiana. Photo by KFC.

Photo: Brian Bohannon/KFC Corporation

Some cities have started putting ads on school buses. Photo: Matthew Staver for The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/25/us/cities-consider-selling-ads-as-economic-lifelines.html?_r=1&hp

Women of Washington

This week I attended the Western Governors Association meeting, held in Washington state and hosted by Governor Christine Gregoire, above.  At the meeting, I reflected on the amazing female leaders in Washington, including Governor Gregoire.

 Another was Sally Jewell, President of REI, who took us on a tour of Alpine Lakes Wilderness and the conservation work along the I-90 corridor in Washington.

Washington has the trifecta of female leaders.  Along with a female Governor, the Senators are women, too.  Senator Maria Cantwell (left) and Senator Patty Murray.  Senator Cantwell went to Miami of Ohio.  Doesn't she look like she went to Miami of Ohio?!

In a blog post about Washington women, I cannot neglect to mention the amazing ladies Teresa and Jenny.  They are friends who have started an amazing blog, The Things We Would Blog, about style, photography, life, art and fun in Washington.  I read it all the time for refreshing enjoyment when I am sitting in the not-as-evergreen Washington D.C. Be sure to read their blog, too!

Snoqualmie Falls

 Words on stairs on way to Snoqualmie Falls, Washington

View of falls when I was there.

 

View of falls on a sunny day!  - Photo by Wendi Adams

Gender Cakes

Have you heard of gender cakes?  It is such a funny concept, I feel like people will remember where they were when they first heard about it.  For me, I was at a dinner table at a conference in Washington state when someone asked, "So, have you heard of gender cakes?" What?

Gender Cake Steps

1. Ask the doctor to write the gender on a piece of paper and put it in a sealed envelope. 
2. Take the envelope to a baker and they bake a cake with pink or blue inside
3. Throw a party with family and friends where you cut into the cake

4.  Look like this

For more information, see google image "gender cake" or this article.

New River, the Second Oldest River in the World

Memorial Day weekend, Tom and I headed to New River Gorge National River in West Virginia.  I kayaked the New once in college, but I had not been back since moving to D.C.  We finally made it, and had fun rafting, hiking along and exploring the New River, the second oldest river in the world. 

On our way, we camped along the Shenandoah River in Virginia, excited to a riverside campsite during a crowded weekend.  We were not as cool as our neighbors, twin four-year-olds that had a princess tent for the girl, connected via tunnel to her brother's tent.  Wow.

                                                                                               

 

On the way, Rainelle, WV, told us: "We are having a parade!  You can wait until it is over." Everyone in the parade threw candy into the street.

 We finally made it to the New River Gorge bridge, the third largest arch bridge in the world.  

Southern WV doesn't just have camping, they have Adventure Resorts.  We pulled up to our campsite to find it looked like Kanakuk Kamp, blob, zip-line and all. 

We headed out hiking the next day and white-water rafting on Monday. 

 

 We talked and swam with some National Park Service white-water-rangers for a while. This ranger was excited about his new liquidlogic boat. 

Rafting and swimming

We HEART New River Gorge!

Deskercise!

Is anyone else dealing with the fear-mongering about the dangers of sitting at your desk? I understand the principle that standing up is probably better than sitting all of the time.  However, I have been unprepared to handle the constant guilt I have felt the last year or so for sitting at my desk, an activity that seemed normal for most of my life.

An example: "If you're chairbound for more than 23 hours a week, you can be 64 percent more likely to develop heart disease. Sitting may raise blood pressure and blood sugar levels. And it places you at risk for various cancers." - A.J. Jacobs, Parade magazine

There is even a graphic called: "Sitting is Killing You"

Will I admit that I bought a contraption to raise my keyboard so I can stand and work?  OK, I did it.  It has now become an option. 

As a tribute to the growing trend of desk standing, I wanted to post some additional ways to stay healthy at your desk - the awesome title: "DESKERCISE!" 

Below are a few ideas, and more can be found at Greatist.  I like the Desk Chair Swivel.

Cardio 

The Twinkle Toe: Tap into your inner Fred Astaire by speedily tapping those toes on the floor under your desk. Or, graduate to a harder (and less conspicuous) move: Stand in front of a small trashcan and lift up those legs to tap the toes on its edge, alternating feet, in soccer-drill fashion. 

The Slog, Then Jog: Instead of slogging away for hours nonstop, take a mini break for a stationary jog. Pop up from your chair, (admire the butt imprint left behind!), and jog in place. Willing to huff and puff a little more? Pick up those knees! Continue for one minute, return to spreadsheets, and repeat.

Legs and Butt 

The Wall (Street) Sit: Wall sits are great for building strength and endurance. Standing with your back against the wall, bend the knees and slide your back down the wall until the thighs are parallel to the floor. Sit and hold for 30-60 seconds (or up to 12 hours, the world record!), while browsing the Wall Street Journal (or Buzzfeed). For some extra burn, try crossing the right ankle over the left knee, hold for 15 seconds, then switch! 

The Seated Leg Raiser: When pay raises are nowhere to be seen, consider the leg raise. (Bonus: they’re hardly noticeable underneath the desk!) While seated, straighten one or both legs and hold in place for five or more seconds. Then lower the leg(s) back to the ground without letting the feet touch the floor. Repeat (alternating legs if raising them separately) for 15 reps. Underwhelmed? Loop a purse or briefcase strap over the ankle for added weight. Or, for more of an ab workout, add a crunch. 

The Lunch Break Hammy: Strengthen the hamstrings with this standing leg curl. Stand behind your chair and hold onto it for support. Gently kick one foot back, aiming the heel for the top of your thigh. Lower the foot back down and repeat exercise with the other leg. Do 10 reps, take a bite of your lunchtime sandwich, and then do 10 more

Core  

The Desk Chair Swivel: Lucky enough to have a fun swivel chair? Use its twirl to your advantage with this oblique ab fix. Sitting upright and with the feet hovering over the floor, hold the edge of your desk with your fingers and thumb. Next, use the core to swivel the chair from side to side. Swish back and forth for 15 rounds. 

More ideas at: http://greatist.com/fitness/deskercise-exercise-work/#