tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63677202009-12-19T07:16:54.866-08:00Just some random thoughts...marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.comBlogger334125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-79480122267121216772009-03-09T14:00:00.000-07:002009-03-09T14:17:59.530-07:00

Well, I haven't blogged in ages, and didn't train much either. I came down with the winter doldrums and evil Cedar Fever, which put me out for about 2.5 months. Luckily, spring is here, and the spring allergens are not so potent as cedar.Over winter, I confined myself indoors and did physical therapy (for a strained ACL injury) 2x a week, and did aerial dance 3x a week. But now, I've got less

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-55719818478003815242008-12-13T10:51:00.001-08:002008-12-13T10:51:38.002-08:00

2008This year has been like no other. A year of new experiences. A year of pushing my own boundaries. It has been an amazing year for that...I started out the year by quitting my metalsmithing/jewelry job. The pay was low, I commuted about 20 miles 1 way. I was losing my creativity. So I decided, after about 4 years, that I needed a change...that was by far the longest I've held a job for

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-2295390576329765542008-11-25T10:47:00.001-08:002008-11-25T10:49:03.153-08:00

On 1/1/06, Sean and I summited Mt Kilimanjaro at 19,340 ft in elevation. That day, I swore that I hated moutaineering and would never do it again. Now Kili was not technical at all, just a high altitude hike. Fast forward to now...and we have just booked a trip to climb Mt Rainier in Aug 2009. Wait a second..what was that? Climb another mountain? So call me crazy...My friend Daisy, who was

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-31086538266496576352008-11-25T09:10:00.000-08:002008-11-25T09:24:49.075-08:00

I haven't blogged in ages, so I thought I would catch up a bit...I took the Beginning Aerial Silks class at Blue Lapis Light for about 5 weeks (it was 6 weeks but I started 1 week in) and learned a lot, did things I never thought I would be able to do. Some of the highlights from the beginner class (anyone can learn!):StraddleBat hangDouble footlock split roll up (rolled up twice)Hip keySingle

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-34636698145955623492008-10-21T20:18:00.001-07:002008-10-21T20:23:56.645-07:00

Waketoberfest had it's 10th year celebration last weekend. We made it for Saturday's daytime festivities. I didn't camp out this year because I just had way too much going on. Last year, I camped out and had a blast...but...got 0 sleep because of some people clinking and clanging in the middle of the night, cooking up a meal. And I forgot the earplugs. Well, maybe next year.It was pretty

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-38179327213764643492008-10-18T19:46:00.000-07:002008-10-18T19:50:08.026-07:00

Last Monday, I was trolling around craigslist looking for random jobs. I saw an ad that Blue Lapis Light was looking for dancers. Not that I can dance...that's besides the point. I had heard of Blue Lapis Light in 2006 when they had posted an ad at the Austin Rock Gym looking for climbers to perform in Requiem, which would be a performance using the old Intel shell of a building before it was

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-60085680191209072712008-10-14T11:04:00.000-07:002008-10-16T12:58:11.789-07:00

The movie industry is really slow in Austin right now. The rumor was that there would be a film starting up at the end of September. I was trying to hold out for that opportunity, and enjoy my time off. However, the film as been pushed even further back to 2009. With that said, it has given me the opportunity to 'test the waters', so to speak, for selling my handmade goods. I have been really

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-51922931287883011472008-10-12T20:44:00.000-07:002008-10-12T20:49:36.750-07:00

I decided, sort of last minute-ish...well, a week before, to enter my first wakeboarding competition -- Fall Fest at Texas Ski Ranch. I love free riding, no pressure, and just having fun. The thought of competing had crossed my mind before, but I was just too chicken to do it. A bit of suggestive pressure from my fellow riding friends...and then I entered. My riding had improved significantly

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-57999454723744263852008-09-25T09:14:00.001-07:002008-09-25T09:19:29.716-07:00

Our friend Deb had a pirate themed birthday party at Chuck E Cheese last night...so naturally, I had to whip up a costume. It turned out awesome. I'll definitely reuse this one for Halloween, so that way I don't have to stress over making a Halloween costume. I went as a pirate's wench, but the costume can be reused into..hmmm...a vampire, a goth chick, and I'm sure I could think of other

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-21252966132537460432008-09-23T20:44:00.000-07:002008-09-23T20:45:50.280-07:00

Well, I must say that I had a first today, and not a good one at that! I've been working on some new tricks at TSR lately - switch krypt (raley with a 180) off of the wedge (a ramp), switch heelside frontside 360 off of the wedge, and fronthand grabs jumping over the iceberg...so far, I've landed 1 switch krypt, 0 360s, and 1 nose grab and 4 mellon grabs. I've really been working on the krypts,

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-69411391380913693562008-09-18T11:42:00.001-07:002008-09-18T11:42:40.977-07:00

Ike powered into the Texas coast as a cat 2 hurricane last Saturday early morning, hitting Galveston dead on. Houston took a good beating, as it did 25 years before with Alicia. It's been 5 days since landfall, and lots of Houston is still without power. My brother was extremely lucky and never lost power at all. They've got a commune at their place now. My mom has been without power. She's

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-34105464038648883342008-09-17T21:15:00.001-07:002008-09-17T21:17:20.979-07:00

In my boredom of unemployment, I was channel surfing and found the Real World/Road Rules challenge on MTV. I always get suckered into programming like that...anyways, I saw that they were in Panama. I was wondering where they went. My initial guess would be somewhere in Bocas del Toro, and I was right.But what I found out about their filming was more disturbing. They had cut down part of the

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-51043756589189437802008-08-27T14:14:00.000-07:002008-08-27T14:46:07.490-07:00

I've been debating for a while...chop off all my locks...keep them...chop them off...keep them...I think I look better with long hair. Plus, as I've gotten older, it has gotten nicer -- a nice wave to it and some ringlets sometimes. But the problem was that my hair, which was almost to my elbows, would become so tangled from boating and wakeboarding. So it was time...Today, I went over and

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-21129868623103018152008-08-21T15:35:00.000-07:002008-08-21T16:11:19.062-07:00

So the deck got done in 9 days. Pretty quick job. But since then, it has rained quite a bit. Black spots developed on the deck, randomly spotted, but kind of all over. And then the inspector came by and wanted a few things done. So it is not *completely* done yet. We had the deck guys come out and look at the black spots. He said that he'd have his deck stainer come by at some point and

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-75577228351692316952008-08-15T11:47:00.000-07:002008-08-15T11:52:03.354-07:00

I didn't update my blog because I took a 4 day weekend road trip up to Kansas City.So here was the progress as of work day 7 (Aug 12th).Ends of boards nailed in, posts inFinally some stairs! Now we can let the dogs out the back door instead of walking them around the house.Still a lot of work to do...Eye of the tiger (wood)View from down the hillThe big picture from above

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-73122182486159616372008-08-07T08:25:00.001-07:002008-08-07T08:28:16.547-07:00

Just a briefer...after day 3 of construction, they finished framing the 3rd and lowest tier of the deck. They also poured some of the concrete for the structural posts. It looks HUGE! Our slope is pretty steep, so there is a lot of space under the deck. We'll have to figure out something creative to do with it.Here's the progress:On a side note, rather than kenneling the dogs and spending

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-81347838411473367362008-08-06T11:43:00.000-07:002008-08-06T11:45:22.946-07:00

We were awaiting the arrival of Eduard, the tropical storm that hit near Galveston. Austin has had 42 days of 100+ weather and we are in a drought! The lakes, the plants, animals, and people need the rain!With that said, deck construction began around 8am. The guys got quite a bit done. It started to rain at about 3pm, so the crew left after that. But alas, the rain was just a teeny bit...

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-18063702727841441052008-08-05T07:57:00.000-07:002008-08-05T08:07:50.656-07:00

Alas, the wait is over. We have had plans for getting a new deck. The original deck was 10'x10'. It was small given the slope of our yard. We are contracting with Archadeck and having a 592sq ft, three tiered deck built out of tigerwood. And undertaking, yeah. Expensive, yeah. But it'll be well worth it. We'll have usuable outdoor space as well as a nice outdoor living/entertaining area.

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-4817979584656814212008-07-29T14:55:00.000-07:002008-07-29T15:06:00.486-07:00

Yes, it has been forever since I last blogged....so what's been going on...I was released from the film job in late June, and have been happily unemployed since. I have been able to finally do some things that I haven't been able to do, clean the house, shave the dogs, bathe them..stuff like that. And of course, wakeboard and relax.I've only been wakeboarding behind the boat 4 times this year.

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-30539946222201284282008-05-09T19:27:00.001-07:002008-05-09T19:27:27.632-07:00

My allergic skin reaction got worse today at work. We were cleaning up our area, with dust flying everywhere, and it flared up. I've got bumps all up my arms, and now a bit around my eyes, nose, and upper lip, and ear lobes. Now we've kind of come to the conclusion that it wasn't the liquid chemical spilled on me, but rather the fine powder from sanding the materials post-casting. Lucky me,

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-28438940278437889712008-05-08T20:11:00.000-07:002008-05-08T20:12:14.368-07:00

So I've been working at the movie studio as a prop maker for 2.5 weeks now. I've been making all sorts of stuff, working with hazardous materials every day. We're talking carcinogenic chemicals. It's just a matter of making things. I use a respirator, face shield, eye protection, and go through what seems 20 pairs of gloves a day. But my arms are exposed. I've been mixing a lot of chemicals

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-12950085456995001772008-04-17T09:40:00.000-07:002008-04-17T09:41:22.536-07:00

Hey guys, just wanted to say that I'm back home from my trip. I have been lazy with blogging. Not lazy in general. I have filled my days with things to do - house stuff, gardening, and whatnot. How on earth did I fit in all these things before when I worked?As for now, I'm enjoying my current unemployed life. It gives me time to get things organized and do what I need to get done. The trip.

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-29525695620087989842008-01-27T21:20:00.000-08:002008-01-27T21:28:38.752-08:00

Ah..a nice warm, sunny winter day. Time to water the plants! I look over across the street and see a cloud erupting from a cedar tree. Holy shit. I was so happy to have a few days where I could semi-breathe and semi-taste food. That was not today...I went back inside, went upstairs to my office to work on some things at my drafting table, which sits by three windows. I look out from the

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-50506280405924964172008-01-21T20:49:00.001-08:002008-01-21T20:51:49.509-08:00

This is just a post to let you all know about my Panama/Costa Rica blog. You can follow me on my trip at:Pura VidaEight more days till I leave. I have tons to do before then...

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367720.post-53382050570973262102008-01-20T16:23:00.001-08:002008-01-20T16:24:06.845-08:00

So the one ad I replied to that I found on Craigslist Costa Rica has come through. I'll be renting a room out in a 2 bedroom apt from a Canadian massage therapist/hair stylist. It sounds like a nice place and sounds like it will work out well. He's looking for renters that are non-smoker, non-partier, gay friendly, nature loving, adventure seeking, peaceful and relaxed. Yes, that sounds like

marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08384103866075787803noreply@blogger.com1