2017 Goals

For the last 30 days I've been trying to think about what to write in this post, and I haven't been able to come up with anything that seemed worth writing.

My goal for every year has been the same for the last four years in a row - make this year better than the last.  I've succeeded every year so far! While this is still my goal this year, I also have a few more specific goals I'd like to share.

Be more confident - One of the things I have marked off on my list is 1. Stop being shy.  Not being shy is not necessarily being confident however.  Being more confident is one goal that's incredibly important to me this year.  To me this goal involves being decisive, knowing what I want, being confident in myself, my strengths and abilities, and being confident in others around me.

Complete a thru-hike - In July I will hike Mount Katahdin, and that will be the beginning of my 2,200(ish) mile walk.  I'll be leaving a fantastic job, comfortable life, my super cool family, and my amazing boyfriend for a couple of months to go sleep in the woods and hike 10+ miles a day.

Do things that terrify me - "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone".  This is different from being more confident, I could be 100% confident and never leave my comfort zone.  I often try to push myself out of my comfort zone, however there are things that still terrify me, but shouldn't.  One of my goals this year is to not let things that are scary stop me from having new, amazing experiences.

These are my goals for the year, what about yours?

My tattoos and piercings, pain and experience.

In 2015 I marked two things off my list:

69. Get my bellybutton pierced
70. Get a tattoo

I completed those two things about two weeks apart from each other, which was pretty cool.  Now, over a year later I have three tattoos, two non-ear piercings, and I've stretched my ears to 4G.

My first and third tattoos were done at Fianna Studio fundraisers for the ARLGP.  I was incredibly nervous to get this done, because it was my first tattoo.  I had just gotten my belly button pierced about two weeks prior, and that hurt, so I was extra nervous for the tattoo.
As I found out, tattoos and piercings don't feel alike at all.  The most surprising thing when I got my belly button piercing was how much it hurt - everything I'd heard said I'd barely feel it.  The most surprising thing about the tattoo was how little it hurt.





My second tattoo is the only personalized piece of the three I currently have.  The artist designed it, picked the colors, and everything, all I said was I want a Betta fish.
Now, there is actually meaning behind this tattoo.  Other than my being a fish-enthusiast.
Something many people don't realize about Bettas is that even though they're small, delicate-looking, gorgeous fish they are extremely aggressive.  They can and will easily take down another fish, especially the males.
I always compare them to the black-tipped reef shark.  Which are small, but still maintain the "scary" shark look.  They are shy, have been known to live in social groups, and can actually be quite friendly towards divers; especially if the people have snacks for them.
I consider it a yin and yang kind of thing, one beautiful small freshwater fish that will kill another of it's species just for being in the same tank, and one large "scary" (personally, I find them rather adorable) shark that is gentle, shy, and will only bite humans under very rare circumstances.

I already mentioned my third tattoo being another animal shelter fundraiser tattoo.  This one is a little better hidden, it can only be seen while I'm wearing fairly short shorts.  I got it where I did thinking that it wouldn't be any more painful than my arm.  I was wrong.  It was quite a bit more painful, though still bearable.

My septum piercing is an interesting story.  I apparently don't have what is referred to as a "sweet spot".  Which basically means that if you pull the skin down on my septum there's no good place to pierce through the skin.  Generally, they want to pierce through that skin, and not through the cartilage.
My is through my cartilage.
The biggest issues with piercing through the cartilage are:

1) A longer healing time.
2) It's more painful to have done.

Current personal piercing/tattoo location pain ratings (least to most painful):

1. My first tattoo, the pawprint on my arm. Hurt less, and healed better than any piercing/tattoo I've ever had. Never had any problems except when I sunburned it (that was stupid and my fault, I know) and when the cat sunk her claws into it.
2. Septum. Didn't hurt at all, though since it went through cartilage it should have hurt more than normal. Healing time was ~2 months for me, but not too bad.
3. The betta fish tattoo. Hurt more than the first because it hits my shoulder, and pretty close to my armpit. Still not too bad.
4. Earlobe. I don't remember getting the piercing really, but I know it got infected every time I wore heavy earrings, which sucked!
5. Thigh tattoo. My most painful tattoo to date, but not bad. However, healing was weird because I got it a week before going on a backpacking trip, so it got pretty dried out and that wasn't great.
6. Stretching. I got impatient and ripped my ear once causing two days of intense pain and swelling before I took the jewelry out. Another time my ears randomly swelled and closed up a lot. And recently I stretched, and it worked fine. The next day they were sore, and a day or two later I took the jewelry out because it hurt and ended up bleeding and swollen. Otherwise stretching has been easy, and even less painful than anything else.
7. Belly button, because of how it was done. The clamps hurt, the needle going through hurt (they're not really supposed to wiggle the needle through the way he did), the jewelry going through hurt. And being the genius I am, I got it when I was wearing a harness everyday the entire time I was working. Healing took foreverrrr.

Next Saturday I have my next tattoo appointment, and hopefully within the next month or so I'll be getting my industrial piercing, which will knock another thing off the list!

Laser Tag, Trips, and Electronics

Finally I post about my trip to play laser tag, one of the things on my list that I finally got to cross off!

On Valentine's day this year my boyfriend decided to take me to play laser tag.  He read my list and saw it, so that's what we did! We visited Hilltop Arcade in Somersworth, played some arcade games, and then played laser tag.  I had a lot of fun, and I will definitely play laser tag again.  It was the perfect Valentine's date.  

As the title says I have a couple of trips planned that are coming up pretty fast.  First, my friend Amy, and I are going to be taking a train down to Boston for a weekend in April.  I won't post too much about it not, but some of the trip highlights will be visiting the aquarium, getting piercings, my first visit to the cheesecake factory, and much more! It's going to be a let's do as much as we can in Boston in a weekend as possible type trip.  I'll post a detail plan soon.

And the last subject of this post, electronics.  My boyfriend bought a new laptop and gave me his old Macbook, and today I ordered a Canon Rebel T5 off Amazon.  The camera should be here before our Boston trip, and hopefully I'll have a couple days to play around with it and figure it out beforehand.  Definitely look forward to those pictures, and keep an eye on my Instagram, and Flickr to see them all.  I've got three lenses, and a couple filter sets coming with it, so I'll be able to do some cool stuff.

Thru-Hike Update December 2015

About a year and a half left until my AT departure date, only 6 months away from my original date.  I got a bit of gear for Christmas, but there's still quite a bit to go.

Leaving either May 31st, or sometime in June of 2016 I plan to hike the 100 mile wilderness, which of course I planned to do this past summer.  This time I'm making sure I plan a date so I can get off work ahead of time.

As for the gear list.  Not only have I been checking things off, I've also weighed all the gear I have so far that I will be carrying.

Gear I Have:
Enlightened Equipment Revelation  - 1.25lbs.
Tarptent Rainbow - 2.5lbs.
NobleCamper 2-in-1 Dog Bed and Sleeping Bag - 2lbs.
BioLite Campstove - 2.5lbs. (Christmas gift from my super cool, super supportive parents!)
Deuter ACT Lite 70+10 - 4.5lbs.
LifeStraw - <.25lbs (Another great gift from my parents!)
Basic First Aid Kit - .25lbs (Another gift, I'm going to alter it from just bandaids and alcohol wipes)
Bugspray, Sunscreen, Hand Sanitizer - <.5lbs
TOTAL - ~13.5 lbs.

• Because I'm a n00b when it comes to backpacking gear (I really just started researching gear, I haven't even done a real backpack trip, yet, be nice!) I bought a camping quilt instead of a sleeping bag, not realizing they aren't the same thing.  I have been sleeping in it as a normal sleeping bag though, and I think it'll work just fine.
• I still need to seal the seems on the tent, but I'm still really excited about it.  Everything about it, it's weight, how easy it is to pitch, even how much space inside (more than enough for me and Cheyenne), it's amazing!
• The NobleCamper is another thing I'm stilled psyched about, and it's not even for me! Cheyenne sleeps in hers pretty much every night, she does get nervous if I unzip it though, so that's something we're working on.
• The BioLite Campstove is actually way cooler than just any camp stove.  First of all, it's only 2.5lbs.  Second, it uses twigs, leaves, cardboard, and stuff like that as fuel so I don't have to carry around a heavy stove PLUS heavy fuel.  Third, it has a USB port on it so I can charge things like my phone, and when I order them, my camera, headlamp, and GPS.
• Dexter ACT Lite is pretty neat, I've been packing all my gear as I get it, for practice.  I'm still learning all the compartments and such.  It's a super comfortable backpack, and I'd highly recommend it.
• Ahh LifeStraw, it's a really cool thing for sure.  The only downside I've found to this filter (in weight, and convenience it wins against most other filters) is that I won't be able to save filtered water, and I won't be able to filter water for Cheyenne.  Unless I use my Dad's suggestion of spitting the filtered water into a container to carry with me, or give to the dog.  Sorry Dad, I'm not sure about that...
• The first aid kit I carry around on a day-to-day basis is more full than the one I have for the trail so far.  My eventually kit will include: My Emergency Inhaler, Bandaids, Ace Bandages, My Knee Brace, Tweezers, Alcohol Wipes, Gauze, Medical Tape, Q-Tips, Arnica/Icy Hot or similar Pain Relieving Gel, Athletic Tape (possible overkill, but better safe than sorry), Tick Key, and probably more once I think of it.  
• Bugspray is definitely a must, however I'm considering getting permethrin also.  I don't use sunscreen often, only to cover tattoos really, but I figure I should bring some along just in case. Besides, Cheyenne might need it, too.  Hand Sanitizer I use a lot of.  I've used like 1oz in under a month before, I don't get sick as often since I started this habit though!

Gear I've Ordered:
Banzai Dog Pack
LupinePet ECO Collar and Matching Leash

• I've heard great things about "wolf packs" so I'm pretty excited to try it out.  Cheyenne is just about old enough to start training her with weight in the pack (She's about 9mos right now).  I'm definitely going to make her wear an empty pack for a couple of short hikes, and then she can start carrying things like her favorite snacks, and a light toy.
• I'd never heard of LupinePet before I order the leash and collar.  The main reason I chose to go with their company is because of their lifetime "even if chewed" guarantee.  I also really love that they have a recycled option for collars and leashes! Maybe all of my family's dogs will get things here :) Plus, they're a New England company.  Personally, I can't see a reason not to purchase their gear.

Gear I Totally Want But Will Definitely Be Made Fun of For:
Pocket Shower, come on, it's so cool.  Plus, one of the biggest problems for some people on the AT is going without showering for a while!
Scrubba Portable Washing Machine, it's only 6oz, I could totally do that.  I mean, clean clothes is another tough thing on the AT.  I won't have to pay for laundromats, I won't have to be scared about polluting water sources by dipping dirty clothes in, and it's just as good as a washing machine apparently.  Win, win, win!

Other than all that I'm pricing out the rest of my gear before I purchase it.  That way I'll be able to see exactly how much more I'm going to spend on prep (not including food!).

Thru-hike Update, October 2015

I have ordered my sleeping bag, and received my sleeping pad, and Cheyenne's dog bed!

Also, I am considering waiting a year.  I didn't get to do any camping, or difficult hikes over the summer.  My puppy is still young, I can't start backpack training her until she's a year old, and I don't know how big she is going to be, so I can't purchase the correct size backpack.

I'm going to set dates for camping, hiking, and backpacking trips to do next year.  Instead of starting the whole trail maybe I'll do the 100 Mile Wilderness on my departure date.

My biggest fear with putting it off a year is if I put it off one year what is stopping me from putting it off another year?  Then another?  This is my biggest concern with waiting.  My biggest concern with not waiting is that I won't finish it.

This decision is not 100% final, but it is most likely.  I will, of course, continue blogging and preparing for other adventures!

Thru-hike update, September 2015

I have been getting my gear ready for my AT thru-hike!

Yesterday I received my backpack in the mail.  A Deuter act lite 70 + 10 pack.  I may have gotten a slightly larger pack than necessary, but I'd rather it be too big than too small.  I jokingly said I'll just put Cheyenne in it, then she won't need her own pack! I'll be getting hers when she gets a little bigger so I'll be able to size it properly.


The other piece of gear I just got is my tent! I purchased the tarptent rainbow instead of the double rainbow, because I was afraid the double rainbow would be too big.  I set up my tent as soon as it came this morning, and I'm really glad I went with the smaller of the two.  There will be plenty of room for me, and Cheyenne, and all of our gear.


Now I have my dog, my backpack, and my tent.  Just a couple more big items to go and I'm all set with that part of getting ready!

Cheyenne, Not the Mountain!

Today I crossed off another thing on my list, and added to my family!
80. Adopt a dog from the animal shelter.

I officially adopted my 5 month old, Golden Retriever/Australian Shepherd(?) foster puppy.  Her name is Cheyenne.


Honestly, out of all the foster dogs I've tried to convince my parents to let me adopt (there have been probably five or six by now), she is the most perfect.  She has medium-length fur, but it doesn't seem to mat or get dirty too fast, and while she is probably going to be a little smaller than I wanted for my thru-hiking partner her intelligence and agility makes up for her lack of size.  I've been taking her hiking pretty much everyday, and she's a wonderful hiking partner.  She walks well on leash (for a 5 month old puppy it's better than "well"!), she enjoys walking through the woods, likes jumping over things, or crawling under them, and it's pretty easy to regain her attention after she sees a squirrel or chipmunk!

I have a long plan for her training.  It starts now, with daily hikes, very basic obedience (sit, stay, down, her name, etc), socializing her with other dogs and people, and - as soon as I get my tent - sleeping outdoors.  That's all we'll be working on for the next month at least.  She isn't going to need a ton of training.  My beagle required a lot of training sessions just to be able to "sit" on command, and he still rarely does without getting a treat for it! Cheyenne already will sit for no treat, and I don't need to work with her on "heel" because she already does, without being told.

This is a picture of my puppy on her first hike!

Adding More to the List

Recently I heard about something that I have to add to my list. 

There is now a zipline that goes from Spain to Portugal, and then a ferry takes you back to Spain.  As someone who adores ziplining this is very exciting.  

The best part is, it only costs €15, according to Google that's about $16.80.  Well worth it, in my opinion.  

Just a general update on things, this Thursday something is going to be crossed off my list.  It's a surprise, but it does have to do with my AT Thru-hike.  I've also started ordering things for my hike.  My backpack, and tent should be on their way!