This Week.

It's been a long week.


A very, very long week.

But I realized it was a week full of learning experiences. Here's what I learned:

I cannot run a mile as fast as I thought I could.
I have the ability to eat donuts 3 days in a row and not gain weight (this is a really great skill to have).
You can't always trust doctors or dentists, and sometimes you are way smarter than them even though they have an advanced degree that cost 94579871656 dollars.
I love hearing Conrad yell my name when I walk in the door: "Ant Isti! YAY!" Melts my heart.
U.S. Bank is annoying. So is Wells Fargo.
I can still cry to my mom when I have a bad day.
My husband rocks (but I guess I already knew that).
When the cat knocks water on to your computer, it doesn't actually break the computer -- it only causes it to make strange random beeping noises that are as loud as a smoke detector.
It's a great feeling when you can go to a restaurant with friends who you haven't seen in a year and begin dinner with a conversation about oral hygiene and how to keep your retainers from getting smelly. (True story, that conversation happened).



I'm glad it's Friday.

Something in the Water.

I swear, being on the bottom of the planet makes you weird.

Maybe it's the slower rotation around the earth's axis, or the high levels of UV radiation, or maybe there's something in penguin poop that gets into our drinking water, but I'm telling you: this place is doing things to me.

On Monday, my left eye twitched for the entire day. Like, 8 hours. Twitch. Twitch. Twitch. Over. And. Over.

On Tuesday, I wrote a short, one-sentence email about a personnel file. Somehow, in about 20 words, I managed to string together a completely non-coherent sentence with multiple verb tenses. I was actually kind of impressed with myself.

On Wednesday, I almost walked into the men's restroom. Literally. I had my hand on the doorknob.

And today, I went to wipe down my treadmill after I worked out. Only I never used the treadmill. I used the elliptical BEHIND the treadmill.

Other small things that point to my decline: I have to re-do about 50% of all words I type (I'm normally a decent typist). I wake up every morning with my comforter half off the bed (I normally sleep very peacefully and daintily). And at lunchtime, I can never remember to hang the sign on the door that says we're at lunch (and I eat lunch every single day).

Oy vey.

Peace, Love &...Why Am I Cleaning a Treadmill?

Dude, We're Here.

I've been sitting here staring at the screen for the past 10 minutes, not knowing where to start! The past 48 hours have been so new and so exciting -- I'm not sure how to verbalize everything that's happened because it's been such a whirlwind.

Our original C-17 flight from Christchurch to McMurdo was delayed 24 hours because of fog on the ice runway. The flight that had gone out the night before us ended up boomeranging -- aka, got all the way to the station, circled around, and then decided conditions weren't safe to land and flew all the way back to Christchurch. After our flight got delayed, I was really worried that the same thing would happen to us, since this whole fog issue seemed to be going on for days. I heard about a smaller C-130 that was flying out about 8 hours before the C-17 was, and decided I was going to try to weasel my way onto that flight so that I could get there sooner! (C-130's land in pretty much any condition). So Phillip the firefighter, my travel buddy, and I hauled all our stuff out to the Clothing Distribution Center (CDC) in the hopes of getting onto the flight. Even if we didn't make it on, we figured we'd just go ahead and get our gear issued so that we wouldn't have to do it later.

Once we got there, we were told that there was a slim chance we'd get on, simply because of weight. But about halfway through my gear issue, someone poked their head in and said, "Alright, you're leaving in 40 minutes!" So, we threw on our ECW (extreme cold weather) gear and boarded! It was really interesting flying in a military plane -- it's not quite as cushy as a commerical flight, what with the noise-reducing earplugs you have to wear and the cargo nets you have to sit on. But, I did get to go up into the cockpit which was pretty awesome.

Once we landed, a shuttle took us into town, which is about a 40-minute drive. About halfway there, we pulled over because there were 2 Adelie penguins right next to the road! They were SO CUTE. And absolutely hilarious. Emperor penguins are majestic, but they just kind of stand there. Adelies are wild and crazy and run around and have a ton of personality. They were awesome.

So now I'm settling into my surroundings, trying to get acquainted with the environment and the station! This post is getting long, so I'll be heading out, but check back for updates!

Peace, love & penguins!!

Losing It.

Pardon my lack of blog activity. I have been too busy losing my mind to write.

Here's what my past week has consisted of.

The first thing I did was lose my driver's license in St. Louis. Since we had to drive back to Denver, and I didn't want to subject Mike to going solo through the entire state of Kansas, I had to file a police report in the event that I got pulled over or in an accident. Did you know that police stations are not open the day after Thanksgiving? Yeah, we didn't either. But, we managed to track down a not-so-friendly Ballwin cop, who decided it would be hilarious to tell me there was a warrant out for my arrest. You sir, are not funny, and you need to stop shaving your arms because it makes you look like a girl.

Next up: You know that Raytheon corporate credit card I've been waiting on for 2 weeks? The one I need so that I can get down to Antarctica? It finally came!!
.........And then I accidentally threw it away. *Cue panic and frantic conversation with Raytheon corporate employee to rush new card to apartment*

And last but not least: My friend Gretchen is generously letting me raid her personal library for some books to take on my trip. We scheduled a date and time for me to come check out her books. Want to know what I did instead? I went to a hair appointment and put up my Christmas tree. I didn't even realize that I had forgotten until today.

Guys, I AM NOT THIS PERSON. I am the person whose planner is filled in with every detail of my schedule. I am the person who arrives early to friend dates. I am the person WHO DOES NOT THROW AWAY CORPORATE CREDIT CARDS THAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING ON FOR WEEKS.

I need to slow down. Maybe then I'll find my sanity again.

In other news, here is a picture of Mike, Stacy and I in Breck on Saturday. I did invent this rad new style of snowboarding: it's called "The Paranoid" -- you ride really carefully and slowly so that you don't break a wrist or tear an ACL, which would cause you to lose all chances of deploying to Antarctica. Your friends have to wait for you at the bottom of the run, but the main point is to make it down the mountain without dismemberment, decapitation, or any other form of severe injury. I highly recommend it.

Peace, Love, and Insanity.

The Ice.

Well, I recently made it known via facebook that I am going to Antarctica.

It's true, folks. On January 6 (or thereabouts), I will be arriving on the Ice and will begin my 6-week deployment! I will be living at McMurdo Station, the U.S. Antarctic Program's largest station. The U.S. has 3 stations -- McMurdo, South Pole, and Palmer. McMurdo is located on the southern tip of Ross Island, and hosts approximately 1,200 people during the austral summer (a.k.a our winter).

McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica

For those of you not aware, I work in Human Resoures for Raytheon Polar Services, which is the primary government contractor for the NSF's U.S. Antarctic Program. Our main function is to provide support personnel to manage the stations and keep the program running while the scientists do their work. I'll be working in HR on the station as well -- taking care of paperwork on the Ice and helping transition into the new government contractor that will be taking over the USAP contract on April 1. 

It's going to be a crazy awesome experience, and I am SO excited to be able to go. I'm currently working on getting "PQ'd", meaning that I have to get stuck with a bunch of needles and have doctors look at me to make sure I am physically qualified to go. I don't foresee this to be a problem, but I won't be able to officially go until I've passed all the medical requirements. I'm not looking forward to the needles though. There's a reason I work in HR and not in a hospital, people.

I'll be coming off the Ice on February 20 (Pending good weather! Cross your fingers!) and will make my way to Auckland, New Zealand to hang out for a week and see some good friends who live there (that's you, Brooke Scott!). Mike will be flying out to meet me in Auckland a few days after I get done with Antarctica, too, and we will have the most awesome-est vacation EVER. That's the plan, anyway. Things can sometimes get a little hairy with catching flights off the Ice, and I'm praying that all of this works out, logistically-speaking. But there will never be another time where we have the opportunity to do this, so we have to at least try to make it work! :) 

If you're the praying type, Mike and I would both greatly appreciate some prayers surrounding all this. Right now, it's incredibly exciting, but there's a lot to plan and a lot to work out (and a lot to trust God with). There are a lot of firsts that we're dealing with (both exciting and scary): we've both never been off the continent, and I'm going to the furthest one away; we've been away from each other for 6 weeks before, but never THAT far away; we both have to navigate serious worldwide travel logistics; I'll have a lot on my plate once I get back to the States; Mike will have to learn to cook more than just macaroni.......etc. etc. 

I will be keeping you posted on updates, and I'd love to answer any questions anyone has about the USAP, Antarctica, traveling down there, etc! It's a fascinating operation that I had no idea even existed until I started working for Raytheon. I will also be posting photos once I'm down there, especially when (if) I get to see these guys: 

Peace, love, & Ice.

A Glimpse.

An average conversation that happened a few nights ago in our apartment:

(We had just turned out the lights and climbed into bed.)

Me: "It's too hot in here. Can you go turn down the AC?"
Mike: "Why can't you go do it?"
Me: "Because I got a shot today."
Mike: "What??"
Me: "I can't do it because I got a shot today and now my arm hurts."

....at least I thought it was a good excuse? He ended up turning the thermostat down, so I guess it worked :) Oh, the joys of being the female in this marriage...

Mr. Coffee

Mike and I finally bought a coffee maker.

I know, most people couldn't care less if we bought a coffee maker. But the reason I'm writing about this is mostly because I want the world (or the small circle of people that read my blog) to know that I have officially given up my beloved source of caffeine: Diet Dr. Pepper.

It's going to be difficult, and I'm not very happy about it. But I'm giving it up for the following reasons:

1. The carbonation is bad for my teeth. I already have spotty enamel and always seem to be getting cavities, despite using special toothpaste and fluoride rinse every day. I'd like to keep my teeth, so I'd rather just stain them with coffee than erode them :)

2. The carbonation in diet sodas can lead to osteoporosis. And obviously I don't want that. My mom taught me from a young age to always drink my milk, and I don't want to undo all that good bone building I did as a kid! (In other news, I got these really delicious calcium chews today at Target that taste like Starbursts. No joke, I wanted to eat like 20).

3. There is too much sodium in soda.

4. I think I'll just feel better not drinking it. I can't help but feel like I'm ingesting chemicals when I drink soda, and I'd just rather not feel that way!

So, there you have it. Goodbye Diet Dr. Pepper, hello Mr. Coffee maker. And now I have to stick to it since I've made it public knowledge. Please hold me accountable.

Peace, love, & Mr.Coffee.

Slacker.

I have officially completed one of the goals I established after moving to Denver: run a half marathon in the Mile High City. I guess my ambitions ran away from me (haha, pun kind of intended), and I ended up signing up for the Slacker Half Marathon -- the highest downhill race in the country. It starts at Loveland Ski Area, at a whopping 10,630 feet above sea level, and travels down 8,400 feet to Georgetown. I was super excited to run it, but also really nervous, because it's taken me about half a year to really feel comfortable running at 5,280 feet! But, I did it anyway, and the good news is: I SURVIVED.

Granted, I was hobbling over the finish line, but I did, in fact, survive. The first five miles of the run were breathtaking -- we ran through a forest of densely-packed evergreens, complete with about four or so waterfalls trickling so beautifully down the mountain. Ahh.

The next 8 miles? Not so much. Still beautiful terrain, of course (how could it not be gorgeous in the Rockies?), but that constant downhill really starts wearing on your knees...and your right leg's IT band. Oh, and it got even better when they threw a half mile climb in the middle of the course (read: half mile climb of death in full mountain sunshine). So by the time I made it down the mountain and back into Georgetown, I was pretty beat! I finished in 2:28, which certainly was not what I was aiming for, but I guess running 13 miles down a mountain with hardly any oxygen is something not many people can say they can do! So, I'm proud of myself. But mostly, I'm really glad it's over.

3 half marathons down....zero more to go. I think I'll stick with 5k's and 10k's from now on.

Also: A shout out to hubby Mike Wall, who took care of me as I, er...got sick, the entire car ride home. And who went to the grocery store to get me 2 Gatorades, 1 Vitamin Water (NOT VITAMIN WATER ZERO), and some redwhiteandblue popsicles. (Apparently, I was very specific in my post-run delirium). He has also declared that I am cut off from pursuing any more half marathon endeavors, and I honestly don't blame him.

The rest of our weekend was lazy: lounging at the pool with church friends, hanging out at City Park Jazz with more friends (and family!), and watching Arrested Development until we fell asleep.

Overall, a great weekend. I feel like I end most of my posts that way, which is a good thing I guess :)

Peace, love, & NoMoreHalfMarathons.

Sand, Sand, Everywhere. Literally.

One reason we love Colorado is that there are endless opportunities to explore. And we're the fun-loving, adventurous 23 year-olds who can't get enough of the mountains, so we're pretty much in heaven.

Anyway, this weekend we found ourselves down in the middle of Colorado at Great Sand Dunes National Park!  This unique/weird place has been calling my name since we first moved here last summer, and I am so glad we finally made it! I had no idea how this sand arrived in Colorado until we got there. Since I enjoy a little history/geology (nerd alert), I'll just tell you briefly. A massive pile of sand in the San Luis Valley, situated between the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Mountains, the Sand Dunes were formed when Lake Alamosa dried up and left a huge sand sheet behind. With the mountains on both sides of the valley, the winds are well, kind of insane and really intense, and blow down through mountain passes and then back up towards the mountains, creating this cycle that makes the dunes grow really tall.

So, we decided to hike High Dune, which isn't the highest dune, but it was still really hard! The climb was 1.2 miles up, with 650 feet elevation gain. I know that doesn't sound like much at all, but when you lose half a step for every step you take because you're sliding down the dune, you end up climbing a lot farther than 1.2 miles! Not to mention the fact that the wind is beating sand into your eyeballs, as well as your ears and your mouth, and the sun is beating down on you! Not easy at all! But still fun nonetheless. Our favorite moment was when we reached the peak of High Dune: a grandpa (props to him) and his grandson came up not long behind us, and the grandpa was carrying a sled for his grandson to ride down the dunes on (very common). The guy had the best quote ever: "Well, I schlepped it up here for ya, BY GOD YOU'RE GONNA RIDE IT!" We left the peak laughing pretty hard. :)

Other highlights of our little adventure:

Hiking to Zapata Falls, a little mountain waterfall tucked away behind a big wall of rock
Burning our breakfast burritos to a crisp because we are amateurs at campfire cooking
Camping in Lake Pueblo State Park (beautiful!)
Climbing down a big and extremely unstable ravine to go swimming in the lake
Not being able to sleep because the wind was blowing our tent flap around like crazy
Hiking at Garden of the Gods
Going to the Air Force Academy, but then deciding to leave shortly thereafter because we were too tired to care at the moment

Overall, a great trip and a wonderful time together! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves! 

Peace, love, & burnt burritos. And sand.