Where in the world is Annie Sandiego?

I woke up at 6:30am today to birds chirping rather loudly. It is a sunny morning. 2 hours later, I am still in my PJs on my comfy chair. It's a good day. My eyes are tired and my lips are chapped but I am still happy to be awake.

Here's an update on my life: 

I've super busy studying -

Schoolwork always seems to be taking over my life. This semester I'm taking 4 math courses (I'm a math major). It is a lot of thinking and memorizing. One class is all abstract math - as in no numbers - as in (I think) completely pointless except to ruin my life and friendships. 

I still eat burritos - 

Ate some last night and they were delicious! There is nothing better in the world than eating a bean burrito. It is quick, cheap, yummy and not super unhealthy. Perfection.

I am still running - 

I don't know why I look so mean in that photo. Yes, I am still running. I have my first 5k this Saturday. I am nervous. I went from not being able to run for 3 minutes to being able to run 25 minutes straight. I am proud of myself. Although, I don't think I like running. It's exhausting and it hurts. I don't know why so many love it. But I am still training. Maybe it'll be better once I do it for "fun". I'm hopeful. 

I'm babysitting - 

It's hard to believe that my job includes such a cute little nugget. I love babysitting. It's really interesting for me to watch kids grow and develop and learn. That have the best personalities. Sure, there are bad days but there are really good days too. 

Currently, I'm looking forward to: 

Baking - 

Ha. That was my first batch of cupcakes I made with my new mixer. O yeah, my parents got me an electronic hand mixer and frosting tips for my birthday. I have a new dream of being a baker. I know those cupcakes aren't the prettiest things but they were tasty! They were chocolate cupcakes with salted carmel frosting. I mostly wanted to play around my new frosting tips. If you want to see a better example of my decorating, look above at the birthday cake. I'm really excited to have time to bake again. So friends, if you live near me and need some baked goods - let me know. I would be happy to help. I need the practice.

Camping - 

I love to camp. Since, I was in Yellowstone last summer, I didn't get the opportunity to camp much (weird, I know). I'm hoping this summer will entail lots of camping trips. I'm just going to force all my friends that I've been neglecting to come and camp with me - we will bond and hopefully rekindle our friendship through late night talks around a bonfire and bathing in Lake Michigan. 

Yosemite National Park-

Ta Da! My boyfriend and I are going to Yosemite National Park in June. I am super pumped! I've wanted to go to Yosemite ever since I worked in Yellowstone in 2008. We'll be spending a week there - camping, sight-seeing, and hiking. Most importantly, we are hiking the half- dome. I am beyond thrilled/excited/scared for this hike.

Let me tell you a little bit about Yosemite's "half-dome." But first, a picture - 

Yes, that dome thing is what we'll be climbing. It's a geologically phenomena. It's a granite crest that rises more than 4,737 feet above the valley floor... And I'm hiking it. EEK! It's day hike* that is 14.2 miles roundtrip and an elevation gain of 4,800 feet. 4,800 feet! That's almost a mile! People die yearly on this hike. Only 400 people a day are aloud to go to the top. Luckily, my boyfriend and I are two of the 400 who will ascend on Thursday, June 21 2012. Here's a picture of the last part of the hike: 

It's a 400 foot climb at a 45 degree angle with two waist-high cables. I'm tired just looking at it. 

Anyways, that's my little (quite large actually) update on my life. 

*the boyfriend and I are going to try to get a camping permit so we don't have to hike it in one day - but it is highly unlikely we'll be able to get one for the half-dome hike because they are so highly sought after.