Me not sending in Thunder Ridge, but having a damn good time

The Cleanest Line-Kelly's take on our Thunder Ridge trip

Hahaha! This funny The Cleanest Line blog post that Kelly wrote comes with a great video.

And, FYI, he didn't shave the "stach" and Katy still liked him! Match made in heaven.

No 12c send for me!

I didn't send my project today, but I had A LOT of fun trying harder than I've tried on a route, maybe ever. So much fun. I was so tired, not feeling 100%. I think I pushed it too hard last week climbing hard two days in a row. But still, so much dang fun. Climbing with Beth Bennett is always a blast. And I don't think I've ever had this much fun rock climbing. I hope to go back next week!

I did get mildly annoyed with a couple yahoos who came along and insisted with all seriousness that the 12 I was working on was in fact "just 5.11". I thought it was funny as the one who was so insistent actually fell or hung on every bolt.

Building a website

I just started an HTML class and am learning how to build a website. It will be: www.lizzyscully.com, and I will use it as a sort of resume... sort of. I'll post fun things I do at work and with climbing. I'll reserve this blog for the more personal entries to family and friends, since that is what it has turned out to be. My new website will take a few months to really get going.

Global Giving Open Challenge Results

I want to extend a very special thanks to all my family and friends who donated a significant amount to this challenge. I'm sorry I can't publicy thank you all again on Facebook. I have taken a break from the site for various reasons, the main one being I spend too much time on social media platforms for my job and am burned out. However, if you are reading this, you know I love you!
-Lizzy

We raised $7,095 from 99 unique donors!!!

Since we reached (and far exceeded) the minimum fundraising goal of $4000 from 50 unique donors, we have secured a permanent spot on the GlobalGiving website. This is great news for us as it allows us to connect with many new donors and corporate sponsors who may otherwise not have heard about us. If a donor knows he or she wishes to support girls education, a quick search will turn up many possible organizations, of which Girls Education International is one. If a donor specifically wants to support girls in Pakistan or Liberia, it won't be long before they are looking at our page and then browsing our website! This is wonderful news for us as we move forward with our girls education programming.

Huge THANKS to everyone who supported us in this challenge by spreading the word and/or donating to our cause.

As we gain recognition and support, we will also grow. Girls Education International is planning to discuss our strategic plan at our upcoming October board meeting. We are considering expanding our impact into additional developing countries where girls continue to represent a very small percentage of the student body. Stay tuned for updates!

TEILHARD DE CHARDIN

Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, . . . we shall harness . . . the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.
-TEILHARD DE CHARDIN

"It Gets Better" Rally to be held at Auraria Campus, Wed, Oct. 20 at the Tivoli Commons Area

In response to the recent incidents of youth taking their own lives because they were teased or bullied for being gay or perceived as such, we are organizing a campus-wide rally to express our outrage at how these youth were treated. Additionally, we are hosting a resource fair with information from both campus and community resources to show these teens that they are not alone, that there are people out there that do care, and that they have resources available to them to support them in their struggles.

We are combining the ideas of two national campaigns into one themed event: It Gets Better…Because I Give A Damn. The It Gets Better project was started by Dan Savage, and the I Give A Damn campaign is from Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Foundation.

The event will be held next Wednesday, October 20 from 11:00 – 12:30. The rally will be held in the Tivoli Commons area, and the resource fair will be held in the Tivoli Multicultural Lounge. Our event is being held in conjunction with a national movement on Facebook to Wear Purple To Help The Fight Against Homophobic Bullying.

The rally will feature speakers from the administration of all three schools, as well as community resources. As part of the resource fair, we will be showing videos from the “It Gets Better” campaign, as well as have stations where members of the Auraria campus can record their own “It Gets Better” messages.

Please wear purple next Wednesday, October 20, and join our efforts to battle bullying and youth suicide!

Thunder Ridge, South Platt

Here are some photos from the South Platt. I recently climbed with one of my favorite friends, the ridiculously silly Kelly Cordes down at Thunder Ridge. (I've been trying to set him up with one of my many, beautiful and bright single girlfriends, but he insists on having a "stach" and is growing mullet sprouts for his upcoming trip to Argentina... ewwww... I'm hoping he shaves the ugly ass thing off before he meets Katie!)

Anyway, Kelly and I lucked out and found this awesome cave with a stack of beautiful, steep 5.12s. I onsighted my first 5.12a in like a decade... I've only actually onsighted two prior to this and those were years ago. It was exciting. I also got on this 12, which was one of the most stellar and most difficult routes I've ever tried. I am pretty sure I'll get it next Sunday when i go climbing with my friend Beth Bennett (check the Alpinist sometime in the next few months as I"m writing a "local hero" article on her).

Life is good. Love to all my friends and family.
-Lizzy
This is me procrastinating my third attempt on the 5.12...

Lovely autumn leaves...

Life, health, climbing

My health continues to improve, more rapidly now that I'm not working quite as hard. Luckily I have sufficient sick days so that I have been able to take a day off each week for the past 3 weeks. Plus, the directors at Marpa House are working with me such that I don't have to do dinner cleanup until I'm healed. It's pretty extraordinary that with just an extra day each week and my evenings to myself (to meditate and get to bed early) that I am healing faster. I am able to get more exercise and take care of the things I need to take care of so that I can get to bed at a reasonable hour the rest of the week.

Another sign of progress is that I'm able to walk more without ankle pain. I began to understand a few weeks ago that my arthritis is probably pretty much controlled because of the care I take with my diet, but that my ankles suffered so much trauma that they still hurt all the time, especially after I walk a lot. However, I had a massage last week that focused on my ankles, and that seems to have made a pretty big difference. This past few weeks I have basically felt better than I have felt in 7 months, and I can't tell you how exciting it is!

As well, I'm getting stronger climbing, and am now doing easy 5.12s on my 2nd or 3rd try, which is pretty dang cool. I've never climbed this hard. But I know I can climb much harder. I haven't really tried that hard yet. Once I figure out the moves, I can often do the climbs with ease. I'm almost ready to really start trying hard. I think I need to do a bit more healing first, however. Today I realized that I have perhaps been pushing it a bit too hard. My body hurt when I woke up, but I still went climbing. Now my body hurts more. I'm taking 3 days off.

My heart still hurts, but I continue to let go of the fixation day by day. I'm not letting go of the love I feel, but rather the grasping at the projections of what I thought relationship was supposed to be. I realize new things every day, such as I have been judgmental in my relationship of my ex. She is where she is, and I am where I am, and I need to respect that. We think differently about relationship... or rather we just have different experiences with relationship because we are in different places in life. Rather than judge, criticize or be angry with her for not being like me, I just needed to let go long ago or figure out how to be at ease with the fact that we are on different paths. But it was so hard to do because I was in love! Such is life. Confusing. Perhaps some day I will be able to totally accept every person... I think that is true compassion--accepting people for exactly where they are... But then there is also accepting me exactly where I am. Those things are hard to do.

My new van rocks. I put a foam "bed" in it today. I'm pretty stoked that came into my life. If fact, I'm really excited about all my awesome climbing partners, the new girlfriends I have been hanging out with, the new climbing partner I found today who has some of the same goals I have (Moonlight Buttress!!!), and on the fact that things have settled down at work and now I can HOPEFULLY get back to developing my project. Oh yeah, and teaching, i'll start next spring. Woohoo.

Sweet dreams to all the friends and family in my life and especially to my ex. I feel so incredibly lucky to be alive. Love, hugs, kisses... Lizzy

Pain

I think perhaps the thing that is most painful for me in this world is being shut out of someone's life who I love deeply. I suppose that is a pretty universal feeling. I'm sending out hugs and love to all the people who feel very sad because they have been shut out of someone's life. Hugs, Love. :)