08.30.10
Posted by Amari | 1 Comment »
I’m finally back from my weekend camping out in Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin! David, Will’s former college roommate, saw that climbing was on my Fitness Bucket List and was kind enough to invite us along on the trip and teach us everything there is to know about climbing. We drove up to Wisconsin late Friday night, camped out, and went for a climb early Saturday morning.
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We climbed to the top where the view of Devil’s Lake was amazing!
We trusted our lives to Dave to secure the ropes…
The first thing to learn about climbing was belaying – a climbing technique referring to your partner acting as an anchor for you so that if you (the climber) fall, you will be secure in your harness and not fall to the ground. The person belaying sits at the base of the rock wall while the other person climbs.
It’s harder then it looks…
In the photo on the right you can see me really small on the side of the wall near the top (although I never quite made it to the top because the climb got too challenging for my beginner skill level)!
Will also took a shot at climbing up!
Dave’s an awesome climber and makes it look far too easy!
He even made it to the top of one wall in an incredible 5 minutes!
After a full day of climbing we headed back to the camp site for some dinner and beers by the camp fire. The brownies were also a big hit!
The trip was a blast; I’m so glad I got a chance to learn how to climb! Thanks Dave! With my trip to Lake Tahoe and weekend camping I feel like I’ve had my fair share of outdoors activities for a while, back to the city please!
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08.20.10
Posted by Amari | No Comments »
Lake Tahoe, here I come!! I’m going to Lake Tahoe, CA on vacation! The perfect end to a perfect summer. We’re going to be hiking, bike riding, white water rafting, and jet skiing! Since the weather out there is warm during the day but cool at night, I packed all sorts of stuff, probably more then I need.
However there were a few essentials that needed to be included: sunscreen, bug repellant, water bottle, water-proof camera, and of course, miniature travel-sized everything!
I think I packed enough Trader Joe’s Trail Mix and Cliff Bars to feed an army!
Oh and I couldn’t pass up this adorable straw hat while shopping yesterday. 
What do you think? It totally says “a weekend at the beach” right?
Hahaha I love it. Next time you hear from me I’ll be in California! Which is a good thing because it looks like it’s going to rain in Chicago!
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07.23.10
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Read Chic is officially updated! I wanted to do a quick post about the last book I read, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.
The Last Lecture is the inspiring story of Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and his fight against pancreatic cancer. While he eventually lost his battle with cancer, Pausch lived a fulfilling life and shared his personal life lessons with his students during his last lecture. Pausch had an incredibly positive outlook on the world and taught others how to live in the moment and take nothing for granted. His book The Last Lecture is an extension of the actual last lecture given at Carnegie Mellon. Pausch’s last lecture, entitled “Really Achieving your Childhood Dreams”, captivated the world in 2007 and later became a book in 2008. Check out the lecture below.
Both Pausch’s lecture and book have a tremendous amount of valuable advice that audiences of any age can benefit from. After watching and enjoying the lecture I couldn’t wait to read the book. I absolutely loved it and would recommend the book, as well as checking out the last lecture video above, to anyone and everyone looking for an enlightening and truly inspiring story about embracing the important things in life!
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07.17.10
Posted by Amari | 1 Comment »
The day of the CHEW Chicago tour has finally arrived! I have been waiting for this day all week! CHEW Chicago (Complete Health Education and Wellness Inc.) offers Health and Wellness tours in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. The Health and Wellness tour is a walking tour to experience the best in Chicago fitness, natural health, beauty and wellness!
The tour consists of:
The whole tour takes about 3-4 hours as you walk from place to place (about a 3 mile walk!). I cannot think of a better way to cross train on a Saturday morning! I’ll be sure to bring my camera along for the ride!
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07.06.10
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Before I left Omaha yesterday afternoon I had to try out the newest cupcake bakery in town, Jones Bros Cupcakes!
I was drawn to the bakery by the sweet smell of freshly baked cupcakes and was greeted with a variety of samples when I walked through the door. I tried the Black and White cupcake (Valrhona chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream and Godiva white chocolate liqueur) and the Chocolate cupcake (French Valrhona chocolate cake with callebaut chocolate frosting).
When I finally got around to leaving the bakery, I walked away with a Chocolate Raspberry (Valrhona chocolate cake with raspberry topped with cream cheese frosting), a Chocolate cupcake (the sample had me sold), and a slice of Cinnamon Swirl cake (Bundt cake infused with orange and packed with streusel), all to take home and share with the family!
I paired the cupcakes with a delicious Raspberry Watermelon Champagne Spritzer! Simply blend watermelon and raspberries together, mix in champagne, and add sugar to taste. Enjoy in a tall champagne glass – love this summer cocktail!
If you haven’t checked out Jones Bros Cupcakes in Aksarben Village in Omaha you definitely should make a trip for a summer treat that won’t disappoint!
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