New Harness! New Year!

My old climbing harness was getting too big for me.  It was uncomfortable when I would take falls or set new routes. The waist was tightened all the way but there was still extra room, which leads to hurting when I was hanging in it for a long time.  So the search for a new harness lead me to a Petzl harness.  I ended up getting the Selena.  It is very comfortable and also a pretty color. =] I can't wait to use it in Kentucky. The unadjustable leg loops make me feel much safer because my other harness would slowly loosen.  When I hang in the new harness now, it  does not dig into my kidneys like the old one did. It fits my hips and waist very well.  I tried it out at the Wayne State University climbing wall with much success.  I also think it is more comfortable when I am teaching classes.

Last night was also the night that my boyfriend and I celebrated our one year anniversary. We got all dressed up and he surprised me with a nice dinner at Brio and presents.  He got me some yoga pants and Puma socks which are very brightly colored exactly the way I like them.  The restaurant was very crowded.  We had reservations but still had to wait.  It was a great night and more to come.

Goodbye Yina

Yina and I in Frankenmuth =]

On Thursday we received an exchange student from China.  Her English was very good, and better than my Econ Professor's.  On Friday they went shopping all day from 9 AM to 5 PM and all the students bought lots of things because they are cheaper here than in China.  After that we had a huge Italian dinner. There were two types of sauces and three different types of pasta along with ficasa bread, vegetables and salad.  For dessert we had my favorite apple pie.   After dinner we went to the movies to go see Little Fockers.  The movie was as good as the others.  Then played a fun game of apples to apples.  On Saturday morning I went to Boot Camp and Alisha and Yina went to see Black Swan.  In Boot Camp we did strength circuits and ran on the treadmill; if you do not finish your run in the time they give you, there are consequences.  Then we all went to Frankenmuth to show Yina the little German town.  We went shopping and introduced Yina to the Pandora bracelets. Then we had the world famous chicken dinner until we could not eat anymore. The food was great just as usual.  On the way back we stopped at Great Lakes Crossing to do more shopping.  Yina needed another suitcase and loved the Forever 21.   We were all exhausted and slept in the car, but stayed up late talking because it was her last night here.  The morning came too quickly and I had to drag myself out of bed because I was exhausted from Boot Camp and lack of sleep.  We said our goodbyes and they were gone. 

Epic Wish Day =]

Today is the most epic wish day 1/11/11. It is also my mom's birthday.  We wishes together on 11:11.  Yesterday was the first day of school for the new semester.  The next day of school is Wednesday and then I have another week off because of the Martin Luther King holiday.  Tomorrow is the last day that I will be able to climb the wall at Wayne before they add on.  Today is catch up on homework day until I have to go to work.

Planet Rock

Last night we went to Planet Rock.  It was very crowed because of the discounted price.  We climbed until everyone was tired and couldn't climb anymore.  We got there around 7:30 and left around 10:30 when my hands and feet were raw and bleeding slightly.  Everyone had a good climbing day and followed it up with bouldering when they started to get tired.  After we went to Rams Horn and the service was terrible.  It took a long time to get our food and then the waitress kept dumbing our table on others who were rude.  I feel like I am getting sick which is not good because school starts on Monday.

Red River Gorge December Climbing

The trip to Kentucky was the last climb for 2010.  It brought much laughter and fun filled days with friends and interesting people we met along the way.  The weather was sunny, but cold.  The temperature never got above high 30's. Lesson learned: never go to PMRP in the winter.  It is one of the more popular climbing spots and we figured that would be the ideal time to climb there because the climbs wouldn't be crowded.  The guidebook tells us that most normal cars should be able to make it back up the hill, but small cars might have problems in wet or muddy conditions.  We decided that since we had a Jeep and it was not wet or muddy and just snowy we were going to try it anyway.  We decided that it was best to try and get back up before dark.  Jeep could not make it back up the hill.  We spent 4 hours clearing the road of snow and ice and pulling Jeep up the hill with a ratchet and slackline.  We finally got Jeep out when we discovered that the keys to the other car were locked in the trunk.  So, we broke into the Subaru and got the keys and finally went climbing.  The next day we went to Left Flank and didn't encounter any problems.  The weather was slightly warmer this day.  I learned how many different ways you can make ramen noodles and ate them twice a day everyday that we were there.