One week from today...

One week from today, I will be able to cross another thing off my list:  Get my AA.  I will be graduating from American River College with 2 AAs, and rightfully so.  I have been there far too long!

Commercial Music Business and Liberal Arts.  Music Business was what I was going for, but I ended up picking up Liberal Arts on accident.

On May 22nd, at 7:00pm, I will be walking across that stage, at American River College, to receive my degrees.  You are all invited.  I would like to hear my fan club cheer for me as I walk.  :]

I will be starting at Sac State in the fall, and am definitely nervous, but can't wait to begin this new and exciting chapter of my life.

Another goal I have been working on is with my guitar!  I am still working on that thing!  I recently purchased  Left-handed chord book from Lefty's in San Francisco, and that thing is amazing!  It is so much easier to read the chord charts.  Also, with classes wrapping up, I have found some time to spend with my mommy, who is teaching me Mirrors, by Justin Timberlake.

It amazes me how much talent my mom has.  She is brilliant!  I have really enjoyed spending the time with her.

Also, with the tough time I mentioned a few blogs back, playing the guitar has been one of the things that has helped me clam down and clear my head.  I feel so awesome.

I hope to be a better guitar player by the end of summer.

Speaking of summer, I have a trip coming up!  I am taking the week after graduation off of work and hope to knock a few things off of my list.  I am so excited to explore around Washington and possibly visit Canada!  By June, I should have 4 or 5 things to cross off of my Day Zero Project!

Finally, of course I have to talk about the Dungeon!  Alicia is my other half in the Dungeon!  I workout with so many amazing people in there, but she and I tend to workout together the best.  We both challenge each other, which is pretty neat.  We decided to take photos of our "guns" with our trainer, Jamie.  I am really proud of us and our progress!

I also have to mention Vanessa - she is so full of life and energy.  Her smile could light up a room.  She is always full of encouraging words and is another girl I truly enjoy working out with.

I also wanted to discuss my experience with the rope!  I added a goal to my list to be able to climb the rope, and I am getting closer each and every week!  This time I felt much stronger and was able to pull myself even higher than normal.  I actually attempted to climb the rope without any assistance, and failed, but hey, I am still working on it!  What really impressed me was the fact that I was able to hold my whole body up, even though I cannot quite climb it yet.  The photo on the bottom right in the collage is me working on the rope.  I cannot wait to get to goal on this one!

Through all of the tough things, life is turning out to be pretty awesome right now.

-jennilea

We made it to the top!

May 4th was the hike to Horsetail Falls.  We headed out on that early Saturday morning with a goal to make it to the top of the falls.  Right now is a gorgeous time to go because there are so many waterfalls, but we were not sure if we would be able to make it to the top due to the water and how slippery the rocks can be.

There were several points within the hike where our entire group was nearly certain we couldn't make it up.  First, the point we were supposed to cross at had water running over it, so we were going to have to find a new way to make it up.  Then, we encountered a section of rock that was completely slippery.  It would have been just about impossible to make it all the way if the rocks were going to be that slipper.  We sat and watched how other people were able to get around the slippery rocks, and decided to follow the same path.  

Our next challenges would be found in how steep the climb was.  Our simple hike definitely turned into rock climbing.  I was really appreciative of all of my Dungeon training that day, because there is no way I could have pulled myself up without these new muscles!

Finally...we made it...  This is what the very top the of the falls looks like.  

It took us about 2.5 hours to get to the top.  Through all of it, I am so happy that we did not give up!  

After climbing here, we noticed that there are more falls further up!  We are planning another hike sometime soon, and maybe we will find ourselves up higher.

I am happy to be able to cross this off of my Day Zero Project list!  My next hiking goal is to hike Half Dome in Yosemite.  I know nothing about it, but my old supervisor told me to add it to my list, and add it I did!

Other exciting things happened this week as well!  This photo is me, wearing size 7 jeans!  It has been quite a while since I have been able to make size 7 jeans happen.  I am one size away from my goal!  I am pretty sure I will be in these for a while though, because they are still a little tight, but not too tight for me to wear in public.  HA!  Definitely feeling more confident these days, and it is no wonder! 

The Dungeon always keeps me hard at work!  

Speaking of hard work, this is the latest challenge:  The Ultimate Plank!  I feel awkward being on top, but being on the bottom was pretty awesome!  I felt a lot stronger than I thought I was.  Also, I ended up coming home and doing more of these with friend.  You know you enjoy fitness when...

Jamie at The Dungeon has really inspired me to be a better version of me.  I feel healthy, fit, and so much more energy!  Not to mention, I am really loving feeling my new muscles pretty much every chance I get!  HA!  

I am learning so much, and my life is seriously changing every single week!

Not only is she there for fitness, but she is there as a friend.  Jamie literally cares and wants what is best for each and every one of us at the Dungeon.  

We have become family.  We are all in this struggle together and are coming out of it even more hardcore than we were before.

In other news:  There is a zoo in Washington where you can dive with sharks.  I am pretty sure I will be doing that in the near future. 

Stay tuned for more blogging later this week. 

-jennilea