Scuba Certification: Part 2 - "And Then There Were Three"

I was determined to power through the second day of SCUBA training.  Today was "worst-case scenario day".  Today is the day where you get to practice for all of the bad things that could happen to you while diving.  I survived having my regulator knocked out of mouth and having to have to fish around to retrieve it.  I survived having my regulator go into free flow and having to "sip" the air bubbles.  I survived having my air shut off and having to use my buddy's regulator.

I (barely) survived snorting water up my nose from my mask.  I actually got into some trouble here as I freaked out and shot up to the surface.  Which, in 10 feet of water is OK, but is extremely not OK on an actually dive (coming to the surface too fast is how you get "the bends").  I wasn't doing very well with the water in the mask thing.  This actually isn't completely uncommon for new divers.  It is one of the many things that you need to get over in order to SCUBA.

I made it through day 2, but barely.  One of the last things that you need to do is to perform a short no-mask swim.  I know some of you are freaking out just picturing this.  How are you supposed to dive without a mask!!!  You actually only need to mask to see better underwater.  Your nose will automatically seal itself while underwater - babies do it instinctually - adults must somehow forget this basic skill.

Since I was still freaked out about the water in my mask thing I was of course freaked out about swimming with no mask on.  I ended up having a crying anxiety fit and wanted to give up.  Thankfully Mark and the instructor were very patient.  Talked me into not quitting, and I did my no-mask swim without any issues.

Scuba Certification: Part 1

I feel like this is a good representation of how I felt on our first day of SCUBA training - flipped over, out of sorts, out of my element.

Mark and his best friend Andy had a great idea for our upcoming Maui trip - we should all get SCUBA certified!  I have to admit that I had never thought about it before.  MN isn't exactly a divers paradise - unless you like the idea of ice diving or diving into lakes with pretty much zero visibility.  To date I haven't really had any beachy vacations, so I hadn't really even snorkled before...but I do like the water and am a decent swimmer so it sounds interesting.

The bad thing about SCUBA certification is that you have to do a lot of prework before you even get into a pool.  And, that this prework is basically the worst-case scenario guide.  By the time I get to the pool I know about 75 ways that I could be seriously harmed or even killed by SCUBA diving.  This is not a good confidence builder for me.

It probably wasn't good that Andy's wife Andrea wasn't entirely on board either.  I think that our anxiety kept being fueled by the others anxiety.  Both of us were really having a hard time getting used to this whole breathing under water thing.  You have to admit it is a little unnatural and freaky. While we were still having problems in the 3 foot section, our husbands were already at the bottom of the 10 foot section playing around and karate chopping at each other.  There was definitely some disparity in our reactions.  I made it through the end of day 1 (barely).....Andrea did not.

Renaissance 2010

This year our friend April joined us for the Renaissance Festival.....we had a blast

 

 

Andy & Cassandra's Wedding

2010 was the year for weddings.  The third of the year (our second as an engaged couple) was Andy & Cassandra.  The whole crew made it up to Brainerd, MN to celebrate with them.  It was a good time.

The Dress!

The Dress!

After what felt like a never-ending search (I know I looked at no less than 5 bridal shops and hundreds of dresses online) I found "the one" at The Wedding Shoppe in St. Paul, MN - Pronovias "Ideal" from their 2006 collection.

It was everything that I was looking for and more - Cathedral train, Spanish lace, beautiful beading, a pretty and flattering fit-and-flare shape, and yet very light.  It seemed to float around me as a walked.  So what that we were planning a destination wedding in Maui - I still wanted a beautiful dress that I felt beautiful in.

Mark's Surprise 30th Birthday Party

Mark's Surprise 30th Birthday Party

To this day I cannot believe that I was able to pull this off.  I wanted to do something very special for Mark's 30th Birthday.   I thought a surprise party would be very fun.  So for weeks while I was secretly contacting Mark's friends and family and arranging his party details I kept maintaining that the two of us were going our for dinner and then hitting the town.

Despite Mark seeing one of his friends in the restuarant lobby, he STILL had no idea about the party until we happened on the table with all of our guests.  Thank you Hell's Kitchen and everyone who was able to attend (and keep quiet about the whole thing ;)

Father's Day 2010

We celebrated Father's Day with Mark's family.  It has been really wonderful for me that Mark's family is so warm and loving as well as here in the Twin Cities.  It can be very difficult being a transplant with no family in the area.  They have made me feel like a member of the family.