Usually I do not make New Year's resolutions simply because I never keep them. However this year I am determined to keep the one resolution I am making - to get healthy and in shape again. Jason and I have both put on more than a few extra pounds over the last couple of years and are both having some blood pressure issues and just feel plain miserable. So we have decided it's way past due to do something about it. We'll be buying a weight set and bench and will even get the dogs in on some cardio walking around the neighborhood. Lois Lane could certainly stand to trim down a bit herself. This will also hopefully help the knee issues I've been having and allow me to get back on the mountain bike and start riding some trails this summer.
The plan is to get up before work each morning to get the workout done first thing...I am not a morning person and don't know how that will work out. I already get up at 6:00 to be at work by 7:00. Getting up at 4:45 am really isn't my cup of tea, but I would prefer to get it done first thing in the morning....so we'll be giving that a shot. If cranky blogging begins next week, you have been warned.
Happy New Year! And much luck to anyone making resolutions this year!
A personal blog of DIY, crafts, dogs, recipes, camping, kayaking, and life...
Sunday, December 30, 2007
It's Resolution Time Again
Usually I do not make New Year's resolutions simply because I never keep them. However this year I am determined to keep the one resolution I am making - to get healthy and in shape again. Jason and I have both put on more than a few extra pounds over the last couple of years and are both having some blood pressure issues and just feel plain miserable. So we have decided it's way past due to do something about it. We'll be buying a weight set and bench and will even get the dogs in on some cardio walking around the neighborhood. Lois Lane could certainly stand to trim down a bit herself. This will also hopefully help the knee issues I've been having and allow me to get back on the mountain bike and start riding some trails this summer.
The plan is to get up before work each morning to get the workout done first thing...I am not a morning person and don't know how that will work out. I already get up at 6:00 to be at work by 7:00. Getting up at 4:45 am really isn't my cup of tea, but I would prefer to get it done first thing in the morning....so we'll be giving that a shot. If cranky blogging begins next week, you have been warned.
Happy New Year! And much luck to anyone making resolutions this year!
The plan is to get up before work each morning to get the workout done first thing...I am not a morning person and don't know how that will work out. I already get up at 6:00 to be at work by 7:00. Getting up at 4:45 am really isn't my cup of tea, but I would prefer to get it done first thing in the morning....so we'll be giving that a shot. If cranky blogging begins next week, you have been warned.
Happy New Year! And much luck to anyone making resolutions this year!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Happy Holidays!
So I haven't blogged in almost a month now...that's what holidays will do to you! Even as I sit here now there are a bazillion things I should be doing, but procrastination is my specialty. This week has been insane. I had training all week for work, Friday night was Jason's company party (where Jason won me a gorgeous new gold/diamond necklace - yay me!), yesterday was Christmas with Mama, today is Christmas with Mom, Dad and the entire Parson clan, and tomorrow is Christmas Eve service at church and then Christmas with Jason's family. By Monday night we'll be all pooped out. Then Friday it's Christmas with Celeste who will be visiting until New Year's Day. Luckily for us we're on vacation for the rest of the year.
Also during all of this we had all the carpet torn out upstairs and replaced with Pergo...and loving it! It was a pain to be shifting furniture and dealing with all that along with all of the above, but it's done and it looks fabulous! Bye-bye allergies!
And of course Christmas is always a good time for photos...all Christmas photos of the gang can be found here.
Merry Christmas!
Also during all of this we had all the carpet torn out upstairs and replaced with Pergo...and loving it! It was a pain to be shifting furniture and dealing with all that along with all of the above, but it's done and it looks fabulous! Bye-bye allergies!
And of course Christmas is always a good time for photos...all Christmas photos of the gang can be found here.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
So I haven't blogged in almost a month now...that's what holidays will do to you! Even as I sit here now there are a bazillion things I should be doing, but procrastination is my specialty. This week has been insane. I had training all week for work, Friday night was Jason's company party (where Jason won me a gorgeous new gold/diamond necklace - yay me!), yesterday was Christmas with Mama, today is Christmas with Mom, Dad and the entire Parson clan, and tomorrow is Christmas Eve service at church and then Christmas with Jason's family. By Monday night we'll be all pooped out. Then Friday it's Christmas with Celeste who will be visiting until New Year's Day. Luckily for us we're on vacation for the rest of the year.
Also during all of this we had all the carpet torn out upstairs and replaced with Pergo...and loving it! It was a pain to be shifting furniture and dealing with all that along with all of the above, but it's done and it looks fabulous! Bye-bye allergies!
And of course Christmas is always a good time for photos...all Christmas photos of the gang can be found here.
Merry Christmas!
Also during all of this we had all the carpet torn out upstairs and replaced with Pergo...and loving it! It was a pain to be shifting furniture and dealing with all that along with all of the above, but it's done and it looks fabulous! Bye-bye allergies!
And of course Christmas is always a good time for photos...all Christmas photos of the gang can be found here.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Non-Blogger
So I was wrong about blogging more while I was recovering from my surgery...percocet's and blogging don't go together. Percocet's and reading don't go together. Pretty much sleeping is all that goes good with percocets. But I'm happy to say that I'm almost feeling back to normal and the worst of it is over.
The week before I was off work for my recovery I had put in a bid on a Ford F-150 that was up for auction at work. I low-balled it thinking there was no way I'd get it for a decent price. Well lo and behold, I won the auction! It was very dirty, very stinky and needed every type of maintenance done to it that you can think of. It was a reclaimed theft salvage vehicle and the plates expired in 2005...that should give a good indication of the shape it was in!
Jason spent the week changing oil, flushing the radiator, changing the fuel pump, etc while I spent the week cleaning out the inside, pressure washing the bed and cleaning out the junk that was left in it. It still needs new tires and some running boards and a few miscellaneous small fixes, but it's about done. So I now have a pretty 2000 Ford F-150 Lariat! Well, I might. I'm going to drive it for a few weeks before I decide if I want to keep it or my Ford Escape. But just look at this baby! How do I turn this down!?
The week before I was off work for my recovery I had put in a bid on a Ford F-150 that was up for auction at work. I low-balled it thinking there was no way I'd get it for a decent price. Well lo and behold, I won the auction! It was very dirty, very stinky and needed every type of maintenance done to it that you can think of. It was a reclaimed theft salvage vehicle and the plates expired in 2005...that should give a good indication of the shape it was in!
Jason spent the week changing oil, flushing the radiator, changing the fuel pump, etc while I spent the week cleaning out the inside, pressure washing the bed and cleaning out the junk that was left in it. It still needs new tires and some running boards and a few miscellaneous small fixes, but it's about done. So I now have a pretty 2000 Ford F-150 Lariat! Well, I might. I'm going to drive it for a few weeks before I decide if I want to keep it or my Ford Escape. But just look at this baby! How do I turn this down!?
Non-Blogger
So I was wrong about blogging more while I was recovering from my surgery...percocet's and blogging don't go together. Percocet's and reading don't go together. Pretty much sleeping is all that goes good with percocets. But I'm happy to say that I'm almost feeling back to normal and the worst of it is over.
The week before I was off work for my recovery I had put in a bid on a Ford F-150 that was up for auction at work. I low-balled it thinking there was no way I'd get it for a decent price. Well lo and behold, I won the auction! It was very dirty, very stinky and needed every type of maintenance done to it that you can think of. It was a reclaimed theft salvage vehicle and the plates expired in 2005...that should give a good indication of the shape it was in!
Jason spent the week changing oil, flushing the radiator, changing the fuel pump, etc while I spent the week cleaning out the inside, pressure washing the bed and cleaning out the junk that was left in it. It still needs new tires and some running boards and a few miscellaneous small fixes, but it's about done. So I now have a pretty 2000 Ford F-150 Lariat! Well, I might. I'm going to drive it for a few weeks before I decide if I want to keep it or my Ford Escape. But just look at this baby! How do I turn this down!?
The week before I was off work for my recovery I had put in a bid on a Ford F-150 that was up for auction at work. I low-balled it thinking there was no way I'd get it for a decent price. Well lo and behold, I won the auction! It was very dirty, very stinky and needed every type of maintenance done to it that you can think of. It was a reclaimed theft salvage vehicle and the plates expired in 2005...that should give a good indication of the shape it was in!
Jason spent the week changing oil, flushing the radiator, changing the fuel pump, etc while I spent the week cleaning out the inside, pressure washing the bed and cleaning out the junk that was left in it. It still needs new tires and some running boards and a few miscellaneous small fixes, but it's about done. So I now have a pretty 2000 Ford F-150 Lariat! Well, I might. I'm going to drive it for a few weeks before I decide if I want to keep it or my Ford Escape. But just look at this baby! How do I turn this down!?
Friday, November 2, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Scooter, Camping & Land Hunts
We had no luck finding Scooter's "owners" so he is trying out his new adoptive family with our good friend Mykel. Raving feedback from Mykel after two days indicated that "he has successfully peed everywhere". Doh! We have since heard that Scooter is learning to control himself and is settling in well. Hopefully this will lead to a forever home for Scoot.
Before Scooter was re-homed we took another camping trip a couple of weeks ago to Park City, Kentucky to visit Diamond Caverns. Campers included me, Jason, Portia, the rabbit and the four dogs...what a feat that was! Though it was an awesome trip and a great way to wrap up camping season for the year. We were able to choose our own campsite and managed to pick one with no one else around and facing the woods, so lots of seclusion. So much, in fact, that we were awakened by the yips of coyotes on both nights! It really is an eerie sound to hear so close! While we were there we took the Diamond Caverns tour, which was very cool, literally and figuratively. It was a worthwhile tour, though a bit overpriced in my opinion for what it is. One of those things you'll do once and probably never again. Lots of photos from the campsite and the tour are here.
In other news, not much going on. Work has finally slowed down to a manageable speed and I'm trying to catch up on everything I can before next week when I'm out for four days due to an out-patient surgery. Nothing major...but hopefully something that will give me some of my freedom of life back. Jason, the awesome hubby he is, is taking off work all week to look after me during my recovery and keep me entertained. Luckily for him a few movies, a good book and my laptop with an internet connection will do just fine. I'm sure I'll be adding extra entries that week out of sheer boredom.
And on a final note, we're back on our property hunt. We were house hunting for a while, but after realizing we're not going to find the combination house and land we want in our price range we decided to swap back to the property search with a bit different criteria. So we're awaiting information on a 38 acre farm, a 15 acre mini-farm and a 17 acre wooded tract and hoping they will meet enough of our criteria to go out and look at in person. We're really hoping the 38 acre farm works out...how cool would that be! We would later build a house to our specifications on the property along with a barn and a pond. Sweet bliss!
Scooter, Camping & Land Hunts
We had no luck finding Scooter's "owners" so he is trying out his new adoptive family with our good friend Mykel. Raving feedback from Mykel after two days indicated that "he has successfully peed everywhere". Doh! We have since heard that Scooter is learning to control himself and is settling in well. Hopefully this will lead to a forever home for Scoot.
Before Scooter was re-homed we took another camping trip a couple of weeks ago to Park City, Kentucky to visit Diamond Caverns. Campers included me, Jason, Portia, the rabbit and the four dogs...what a feat that was! Though it was an awesome trip and a great way to wrap up camping season for the year. We were able to choose our own campsite and managed to pick one with no one else around and facing the woods, so lots of seclusion. So much, in fact, that we were awakened by the yips of coyotes on both nights! It really is an eerie sound to hear so close! While we were there we took the Diamond Caverns tour, which was very cool, literally and figuratively. It was a worthwhile tour, though a bit overpriced in my opinion for what it is. One of those things you'll do once and probably never again. Lots of photos from the campsite and the tour are here.
In other news, not much going on. Work has finally slowed down to a manageable speed and I'm trying to catch up on everything I can before next week when I'm out for four days due to an out-patient surgery. Nothing major...but hopefully something that will give me some of my freedom of life back. Jason, the awesome hubby he is, is taking off work all week to look after me during my recovery and keep me entertained. Luckily for him a few movies, a good book and my laptop with an internet connection will do just fine. I'm sure I'll be adding extra entries that week out of sheer boredom.
And on a final note, we're back on our property hunt. We were house hunting for a while, but after realizing we're not going to find the combination house and land we want in our price range we decided to swap back to the property search with a bit different criteria. So we're awaiting information on a 38 acre farm, a 15 acre mini-farm and a 17 acre wooded tract and hoping they will meet enough of our criteria to go out and look at in person. We're really hoping the 38 acre farm works out...how cool would that be! We would later build a house to our specifications on the property along with a barn and a pond. Sweet bliss!
Before Scooter was re-homed we took another camping trip a couple of weeks ago to Park City, Kentucky to visit Diamond Caverns. Campers included me, Jason, Portia, the rabbit and the four dogs...what a feat that was! Though it was an awesome trip and a great way to wrap up camping season for the year. We were able to choose our own campsite and managed to pick one with no one else around and facing the woods, so lots of seclusion. So much, in fact, that we were awakened by the yips of coyotes on both nights! It really is an eerie sound to hear so close! While we were there we took the Diamond Caverns tour, which was very cool, literally and figuratively. It was a worthwhile tour, though a bit overpriced in my opinion for what it is. One of those things you'll do once and probably never again. Lots of photos from the campsite and the tour are here.In other news, not much going on. Work has finally slowed down to a manageable speed and I'm trying to catch up on everything I can before next week when I'm out for four days due to an out-patient surgery. Nothing major...but hopefully something that will give me some of my freedom of life back. Jason, the awesome hubby he is, is taking off work all week to look after me during my recovery and keep me entertained. Luckily for him a few movies, a good book and my laptop with an internet connection will do just fine. I'm sure I'll be adding extra entries that week out of sheer boredom.
And on a final note, we're back on our property hunt. We were house hunting for a while, but after realizing we're not going to find the combination house and land we want in our price range we decided to swap back to the property search with a bit different criteria. So we're awaiting information on a 38 acre farm, a 15 acre mini-farm and a 17 acre wooded tract and hoping they will meet enough of our criteria to go out and look at in person. We're really hoping the 38 acre farm works out...how cool would that be! We would later build a house to our specifications on the property along with a barn and a pond. Sweet bliss!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Indy Visit + Suckers = Dog #4
What is wrong with this equation? Jason and I went to Indianapolis over the weekend to visit our friends, Jami (who I went to high school with) and Larry (her hubby). We had a great time - we went to the Indianapolis Zoo, had a great evening chatting around the bonfire with beer and s'mores and planned on finishing off the weekend with a trip to Jami's brother's store and lunch.
So we wake up Sunday morning, eat yummy donuts from Long's Bakery and head out to Country Harmony to check out Ryan's shop. We're not two steps out of the garage when the guy that lives across the street from Jami and Larry hollers out "Look what I found!". He gives a short whistle and out prances this dirty, curly haired, fro-headed little black and white dog. Cute little booger - but quite stinky and very thirsty. So we give him some food and water and put him in the back yard while we do our running around, hoping someone just lost him and was out looking for him.
But alas, we return back a few hours later to find little man lounging in the porch chair waiting for us to come home. Jami and Larry didn't want to keep him, the neighbors didn't want him, so the option was to let him roam around or take him to the shelter. Seeing as they live on a fairly busy street and a shelter is 100% out of the question he ended up traveling back to Louisville with us. He promptly got a bath and introduced to the gang. Hardy was pretty indifferent, Lois Lane now has someone to run with and Blue is put out and has been moping since we got home...but, no fights or major altercations.
In honor of Larry who calls everyone Scooter, this curly haired, afro-headed dog is now aptly named Scooter. So I guess the plan is to keep him for a few weeks to make sure no one in Jami & Larry's area is looking for him. Then, depending on how he's doing here, we will either foster him until we find him a home or end up keeping him ourselves.
Pass the sucker stamp please...
So we wake up Sunday morning, eat yummy donuts from Long's Bakery and head out to Country Harmony to check out Ryan's shop. We're not two steps out of the garage when the guy that lives across the street from Jami and Larry hollers out "Look what I found!". He gives a short whistle and out prances this dirty, curly haired, fro-headed little black and white dog. Cute little booger - but quite stinky and very thirsty. So we give him some food and water and put him in the back yard while we do our running around, hoping someone just lost him and was out looking for him.But alas, we return back a few hours later to find little man lounging in the porch chair waiting for us to come home. Jami and Larry didn't want to keep him, the neighbors didn't want him, so the option was to let him roam around or take him to the shelter. Seeing as they live on a fairly busy street and a shelter is 100% out of the question he ended up traveling back to Louisville with us. He promptly got a bath and introduced to the gang. Hardy was pretty indifferent, Lois Lane now has someone to run with and Blue is put out and has been moping since we got home...but, no fights or major altercations.
In honor of Larry who calls everyone Scooter, this curly haired, afro-headed dog is now aptly named Scooter. So I guess the plan is to keep him for a few weeks to make sure no one in Jami & Larry's area is looking for him. Then, depending on how he's doing here, we will either foster him until we find him a home or end up keeping him ourselves.Pass the sucker stamp please...
Indy Visit + Suckers = Dog #4
What is wrong with this equation? Jason and I went to Indianapolis over the weekend to visit our friends, Jami (who I went to high school with) and Larry (her hubby). We had a great time - we went to the Indianapolis Zoo, had a great evening chatting around the bonfire with beer and s'mores and planned on finishing off the weekend with a trip to Jami's brother's store and lunch.
So we wake up Sunday morning, eat yummy donuts from Long's Bakery and head out to Country Harmony to check out Ryan's shop. We're not two steps out of the garage when the guy that lives across the street from Jami and Larry hollers out "Look what I found!". He gives a short whistle and out prances this dirty, curly haired, fro-headed little black and white dog. Cute little booger - but quite stinky and very thirsty. So we give him some food and water and put him in the back yard while we do our running around, hoping someone just lost him and was out looking for him.
But alas, we return back a few hours later to find little man lounging in the porch chair waiting for us to come home. Jami and Larry didn't want to keep him, the neighbors didn't want him, so the option was to let him roam around or take him to the shelter. Seeing as they live on a fairly busy street and a shelter is 100% out of the question he ended up traveling back to Louisville with us. He promptly got a bath and introduced to the gang. Hardy was pretty indifferent, Lois Lane now has someone to run with and Blue is put out and has been moping since we got home...but, no fights or major altercations.
In honor of Larry who calls everyone Scooter, this curly haired, afro-headed dog is now aptly named Scooter. So I guess the plan is to keep him for a few weeks to make sure no one in Jami & Larry's area is looking for him. Then, depending on how he's doing here, we will either foster him until we find him a home or end up keeping him ourselves.
Pass the sucker stamp please...
So we wake up Sunday morning, eat yummy donuts from Long's Bakery and head out to Country Harmony to check out Ryan's shop. We're not two steps out of the garage when the guy that lives across the street from Jami and Larry hollers out "Look what I found!". He gives a short whistle and out prances this dirty, curly haired, fro-headed little black and white dog. Cute little booger - but quite stinky and very thirsty. So we give him some food and water and put him in the back yard while we do our running around, hoping someone just lost him and was out looking for him.But alas, we return back a few hours later to find little man lounging in the porch chair waiting for us to come home. Jami and Larry didn't want to keep him, the neighbors didn't want him, so the option was to let him roam around or take him to the shelter. Seeing as they live on a fairly busy street and a shelter is 100% out of the question he ended up traveling back to Louisville with us. He promptly got a bath and introduced to the gang. Hardy was pretty indifferent, Lois Lane now has someone to run with and Blue is put out and has been moping since we got home...but, no fights or major altercations.
In honor of Larry who calls everyone Scooter, this curly haired, afro-headed dog is now aptly named Scooter. So I guess the plan is to keep him for a few weeks to make sure no one in Jami & Larry's area is looking for him. Then, depending on how he's doing here, we will either foster him until we find him a home or end up keeping him ourselves.Pass the sucker stamp please...
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Chaotic Week Finally Ending
So things have been a little hectic lately and I haven't had much time (or desire) to update my blog. Work has been crazy with a million tasks due at once, a million problems without answers and a million meetings to keep me from resolving my million issues. It's a horrendous cycle that never ends. Today I finally feel like I'm pulling ahead, for the first time in a month, thus am in a pretty content mood. Plus Survivor comes on tonight...I'm a hopeless Survivor addict.
To add to the above chaos, I've been having issues with my knees. I've always had knee problems (popping, aching, pain after physical activity, etc), but after buying a mountain bike earlier this summer it has become 10 times worse. So after 3 months of doctors appointments, 2 months of physical therapy and many months of knee pain, we finally know what is wrong with my right knee. I've been officially diagnosed with chondromalacea and patellar tendinitis. In English, this means that my knee cap sits at an angle, causing it not to track straight and thus slowly rubbing away the cartilage in my knee. Luckily it does not require surgery (yet) and some home physical therapy and a lovely knee brace should do the trick. So I've been starting out with some walking around the neighborhood (which the dogs are loving) and trying to keep my activities to a minimum to let the knee heal and begin to track correctly...so probably no more biking until next spring. :( Luckily camping is easy on the knees and we're planning our next trip...one that will be a four day event in mid-October.
We don't have much planned for the weekend. The company I work for closes at noon each Friday, which makes for a nice extended weekend or a nice time to play catch-up from the week. This Friday afternoon is the company's first annual cornhole tournament with all proceeds benefiting Metro United Way. Being a fun event and a good cause I signed up to play in the double-elimination tourny and will also be taking photos of the festivities. The rest of the weekend at home so far entails sealing our back deck/porch and doing some more yard work and landscaping before winter sets in. Fridays and Saturdays this time of year are usually spent hanging out on the back porch and enjoying the nice weather. It's not unusual for a friend or two or more to stop by and hang out with us, and I don't expect this weekend to be any different. After all, it's the perfect time of year for porch sitting and having a good time...and we have a great porch for it! This weekend might even be a good one for a small bonfire in the back yard. :)
To add to the above chaos, I've been having issues with my knees. I've always had knee problems (popping, aching, pain after physical activity, etc), but after buying a mountain bike earlier this summer it has become 10 times worse. So after 3 months of doctors appointments, 2 months of physical therapy and many months of knee pain, we finally know what is wrong with my right knee. I've been officially diagnosed with chondromalacea and patellar tendinitis. In English, this means that my knee cap sits at an angle, causing it not to track straight and thus slowly rubbing away the cartilage in my knee. Luckily it does not require surgery (yet) and some home physical therapy and a lovely knee brace should do the trick. So I've been starting out with some walking around the neighborhood (which the dogs are loving) and trying to keep my activities to a minimum to let the knee heal and begin to track correctly...so probably no more biking until next spring. :( Luckily camping is easy on the knees and we're planning our next trip...one that will be a four day event in mid-October.
We don't have much planned for the weekend. The company I work for closes at noon each Friday, which makes for a nice extended weekend or a nice time to play catch-up from the week. This Friday afternoon is the company's first annual cornhole tournament with all proceeds benefiting Metro United Way. Being a fun event and a good cause I signed up to play in the double-elimination tourny and will also be taking photos of the festivities. The rest of the weekend at home so far entails sealing our back deck/porch and doing some more yard work and landscaping before winter sets in. Fridays and Saturdays this time of year are usually spent hanging out on the back porch and enjoying the nice weather. It's not unusual for a friend or two or more to stop by and hang out with us, and I don't expect this weekend to be any different. After all, it's the perfect time of year for porch sitting and having a good time...and we have a great porch for it! This weekend might even be a good one for a small bonfire in the back yard. :)
Chaotic Week Finally Ending
So things have been a little hectic lately and I haven't had much time (or desire) to update my blog. Work has been crazy with a million tasks due at once, a million problems without answers and a million meetings to keep me from resolving my million issues. It's a horrendous cycle that never ends. Today I finally feel like I'm pulling ahead, for the first time in a month, thus am in a pretty content mood. Plus Survivor comes on tonight...I'm a hopeless Survivor addict.
To add to the above chaos, I've been having issues with my knees. I've always had knee problems (popping, aching, pain after physical activity, etc), but after buying a mountain bike earlier this summer it has become 10 times worse. So after 3 months of doctors appointments, 2 months of physical therapy and many months of knee pain, we finally know what is wrong with my right knee. I've been officially diagnosed with chondromalacea and patellar tendinitis. In English, this means that my knee cap sits at an angle, causing it not to track straight and thus slowly rubbing away the cartilage in my knee. Luckily it does not require surgery (yet) and some home physical therapy and a lovely knee brace should do the trick. So I've been starting out with some walking around the neighborhood (which the dogs are loving) and trying to keep my activities to a minimum to let the knee heal and begin to track correctly...so probably no more biking until next spring. :( Luckily camping is easy on the knees and we're planning our next trip...one that will be a four day event in mid-October.
We don't have much planned for the weekend. The company I work for closes at noon each Friday, which makes for a nice extended weekend or a nice time to play catch-up from the week. This Friday afternoon is the company's first annual cornhole tournament with all proceeds benefiting Metro United Way. Being a fun event and a good cause I signed up to play in the double-elimination tourny and will also be taking photos of the festivities. The rest of the weekend at home so far entails sealing our back deck/porch and doing some more yard work and landscaping before winter sets in. Fridays and Saturdays this time of year are usually spent hanging out on the back porch and enjoying the nice weather. It's not unusual for a friend or two or more to stop by and hang out with us, and I don't expect this weekend to be any different. After all, it's the perfect time of year for porch sitting and having a good time...and we have a great porch for it! This weekend might even be a good one for a small bonfire in the back yard. :)
To add to the above chaos, I've been having issues with my knees. I've always had knee problems (popping, aching, pain after physical activity, etc), but after buying a mountain bike earlier this summer it has become 10 times worse. So after 3 months of doctors appointments, 2 months of physical therapy and many months of knee pain, we finally know what is wrong with my right knee. I've been officially diagnosed with chondromalacea and patellar tendinitis. In English, this means that my knee cap sits at an angle, causing it not to track straight and thus slowly rubbing away the cartilage in my knee. Luckily it does not require surgery (yet) and some home physical therapy and a lovely knee brace should do the trick. So I've been starting out with some walking around the neighborhood (which the dogs are loving) and trying to keep my activities to a minimum to let the knee heal and begin to track correctly...so probably no more biking until next spring. :( Luckily camping is easy on the knees and we're planning our next trip...one that will be a four day event in mid-October.
We don't have much planned for the weekend. The company I work for closes at noon each Friday, which makes for a nice extended weekend or a nice time to play catch-up from the week. This Friday afternoon is the company's first annual cornhole tournament with all proceeds benefiting Metro United Way. Being a fun event and a good cause I signed up to play in the double-elimination tourny and will also be taking photos of the festivities. The rest of the weekend at home so far entails sealing our back deck/porch and doing some more yard work and landscaping before winter sets in. Fridays and Saturdays this time of year are usually spent hanging out on the back porch and enjoying the nice weather. It's not unusual for a friend or two or more to stop by and hang out with us, and I don't expect this weekend to be any different. After all, it's the perfect time of year for porch sitting and having a good time...and we have a great porch for it! This weekend might even be a good one for a small bonfire in the back yard. :)
Saturday, September 22, 2007
A Weekend Alone
Portia is at her grandma's for a family wedding and Jason is out for the weekend mountain biking and camping with his buddies (a well deserved and long overdue guys weekend out). Meanwhile, for the last week I've planned on lots of things to do with my limited quiet time home. Friday night was spent with Mom and we had a yummy dinner at Olive Garden and an evening out at the gambling boat. Unfortunately the slots weren't playing in my favor, but it's always exciting anyway. One of these days I'll learn how to play roulette or craps and do some real gambling. I came home, watched some tv and when I started nodding off on the couch around 1:00 am I went to bed.
My plan was to be lazy and sleep in Saturday morning. That plan was foiled around 8:00 am when the dogs decided it was high time I get my butt out of bed. I was awakened by two dogs spelunking around the bed, a wet nose in my ear and someone nibbling on my toes. After yelling at them to lay down I roll over only to have the third dog staring at me and whining until I invite him onto the bed. This leads to more dog wrestling and so much chaos that at 8:30 I finally gave up and crawled out of bed to make some coffee.
I decided to be productive and paid my bills for the next 2 weeks, checked email, fed the dogs, fed the cat and showered. The next item on the list...medicate Portia's rabbit. Now I knew this part of my day would be a challenge...Bunn doesn't much care for me and he decided to show me just how much when he saw me coming after him with a syringe full of baytril. Tip #1 - when medicating a bunny, remove the bunny before letting him see a medicine syringe. After 10 minutes of bunny growling and lunging I gave up and decided to wait until Portia returned to medicate the Evil One. Tip #2 - make friends with the rabbit so he will allow you to medicate when necessary.
So after this saga I ran up to the bank to deposit a check for Jason. Our neighborhood was having it's bi-annual city wide yard sale so I drove around looking for some deals. I did manage to get a huge box of miscellaneous scrapbook items for $10 and a few glass pieces to etch/paint on. On the way home I was trying decide what craft I'd like to indulge in with all my free time. Once I got home I remembered some work I had to do and killed 2 hours messing with all of that. After that, my motivation was gone. I watched some tv, filled up the bird feeders (Jason would be proud!), reheated some pizza for lunch, called Mom and chatted for a bit and organized the scrapbook goodies I bought at the yard sale. I then watched some more tv, talked to Portia for about 45 minutes and once the sun started to go down I watered the plants (again, Jason would be proud).
So now here I sit at 8:00 pm bored out of my mind. I'm in one of those horrid moods where I really want to do something, but really don't know what to do. I could read, I could craft, I could surf the net, I could watch more tv, I could call a friend, but no...nothing sounds good. So here I am blogging away on a Saturday night. Normally this time on a Saturday night Jason and I would be sitting on the back porch chatting (probably with John) and just hanging out. I've been out on the back porch today and it's cool for about 30 minutes and then it gets really boring. Needless to say, I would make a really crappy "alone" person. I don't see how people live alone and stay sane.
I guess now that it's almost 8:30 pm I should be thinking about dinner. I don't cook, I hate cooking and when I feed myself it's always something nukable or delivery. Luckily Jason thought ahead and bought me some nukable food for his weekend away. So, I'm off to nuke something for dinner and find something to do...
My plan was to be lazy and sleep in Saturday morning. That plan was foiled around 8:00 am when the dogs decided it was high time I get my butt out of bed. I was awakened by two dogs spelunking around the bed, a wet nose in my ear and someone nibbling on my toes. After yelling at them to lay down I roll over only to have the third dog staring at me and whining until I invite him onto the bed. This leads to more dog wrestling and so much chaos that at 8:30 I finally gave up and crawled out of bed to make some coffee.
I decided to be productive and paid my bills for the next 2 weeks, checked email, fed the dogs, fed the cat and showered. The next item on the list...medicate Portia's rabbit. Now I knew this part of my day would be a challenge...Bunn doesn't much care for me and he decided to show me just how much when he saw me coming after him with a syringe full of baytril. Tip #1 - when medicating a bunny, remove the bunny before letting him see a medicine syringe. After 10 minutes of bunny growling and lunging I gave up and decided to wait until Portia returned to medicate the Evil One. Tip #2 - make friends with the rabbit so he will allow you to medicate when necessary.
So after this saga I ran up to the bank to deposit a check for Jason. Our neighborhood was having it's bi-annual city wide yard sale so I drove around looking for some deals. I did manage to get a huge box of miscellaneous scrapbook items for $10 and a few glass pieces to etch/paint on. On the way home I was trying decide what craft I'd like to indulge in with all my free time. Once I got home I remembered some work I had to do and killed 2 hours messing with all of that. After that, my motivation was gone. I watched some tv, filled up the bird feeders (Jason would be proud!), reheated some pizza for lunch, called Mom and chatted for a bit and organized the scrapbook goodies I bought at the yard sale. I then watched some more tv, talked to Portia for about 45 minutes and once the sun started to go down I watered the plants (again, Jason would be proud).
So now here I sit at 8:00 pm bored out of my mind. I'm in one of those horrid moods where I really want to do something, but really don't know what to do. I could read, I could craft, I could surf the net, I could watch more tv, I could call a friend, but no...nothing sounds good. So here I am blogging away on a Saturday night. Normally this time on a Saturday night Jason and I would be sitting on the back porch chatting (probably with John) and just hanging out. I've been out on the back porch today and it's cool for about 30 minutes and then it gets really boring. Needless to say, I would make a really crappy "alone" person. I don't see how people live alone and stay sane.
I guess now that it's almost 8:30 pm I should be thinking about dinner. I don't cook, I hate cooking and when I feed myself it's always something nukable or delivery. Luckily Jason thought ahead and bought me some nukable food for his weekend away. So, I'm off to nuke something for dinner and find something to do...
A Weekend Alone
Portia is at her grandma's for a family wedding and Jason is out for the weekend mountain biking and camping with his buddies (a well deserved and long overdue guys weekend out). Meanwhile, for the last week I've planned on lots of things to do with my limited quiet time home. Friday night was spent with Mom and we had a yummy dinner at Olive Garden and an evening out at the gambling boat. Unfortunately the slots weren't playing in my favor, but it's always exciting anyway. One of these days I'll learn how to play roulette or craps and do some real gambling. I came home, watched some tv and when I started nodding off on the couch around 1:00 am I went to bed.
My plan was to be lazy and sleep in Saturday morning. That plan was foiled around 8:00 am when the dogs decided it was high time I get my butt out of bed. I was awakened by two dogs spelunking around the bed, a wet nose in my ear and someone nibbling on my toes. After yelling at them to lay down I roll over only to have the third dog staring at me and whining until I invite him onto the bed. This leads to more dog wrestling and so much chaos that at 8:30 I finally gave up and crawled out of bed to make some coffee.
I decided to be productive and paid my bills for the next 2 weeks, checked email, fed the dogs, fed the cat and showered. The next item on the list...medicate Portia's rabbit. Now I knew this part of my day would be a challenge...Bunn doesn't much care for me and he decided to show me just how much when he saw me coming after him with a syringe full of baytril. Tip #1 - when medicating a bunny, remove the bunny before letting him see a medicine syringe. After 10 minutes of bunny growling and lunging I gave up and decided to wait until Portia returned to medicate the Evil One. Tip #2 - make friends with the rabbit so he will allow you to medicate when necessary.
So after this saga I ran up to the bank to deposit a check for Jason. Our neighborhood was having it's bi-annual city wide yard sale so I drove around looking for some deals. I did manage to get a huge box of miscellaneous scrapbook items for $10 and a few glass pieces to etch/paint on. On the way home I was trying decide what craft I'd like to indulge in with all my free time. Once I got home I remembered some work I had to do and killed 2 hours messing with all of that. After that, my motivation was gone. I watched some tv, filled up the bird feeders (Jason would be proud!), reheated some pizza for lunch, called Mom and chatted for a bit and organized the scrapbook goodies I bought at the yard sale. I then watched some more tv, talked to Portia for about 45 minutes and once the sun started to go down I watered the plants (again, Jason would be proud).
So now here I sit at 8:00 pm bored out of my mind. I'm in one of those horrid moods where I really want to do something, but really don't know what to do. I could read, I could craft, I could surf the net, I could watch more tv, I could call a friend, but no...nothing sounds good. So here I am blogging away on a Saturday night. Normally this time on a Saturday night Jason and I would be sitting on the back porch chatting (probably with John) and just hanging out. I've been out on the back porch today and it's cool for about 30 minutes and then it gets really boring. Needless to say, I would make a really crappy "alone" person. I don't see how people live alone and stay sane.
I guess now that it's almost 8:30 pm I should be thinking about dinner. I don't cook, I hate cooking and when I feed myself it's always something nukable or delivery. Luckily Jason thought ahead and bought me some nukable food for his weekend away. So, I'm off to nuke something for dinner and find something to do...
My plan was to be lazy and sleep in Saturday morning. That plan was foiled around 8:00 am when the dogs decided it was high time I get my butt out of bed. I was awakened by two dogs spelunking around the bed, a wet nose in my ear and someone nibbling on my toes. After yelling at them to lay down I roll over only to have the third dog staring at me and whining until I invite him onto the bed. This leads to more dog wrestling and so much chaos that at 8:30 I finally gave up and crawled out of bed to make some coffee.
I decided to be productive and paid my bills for the next 2 weeks, checked email, fed the dogs, fed the cat and showered. The next item on the list...medicate Portia's rabbit. Now I knew this part of my day would be a challenge...Bunn doesn't much care for me and he decided to show me just how much when he saw me coming after him with a syringe full of baytril. Tip #1 - when medicating a bunny, remove the bunny before letting him see a medicine syringe. After 10 minutes of bunny growling and lunging I gave up and decided to wait until Portia returned to medicate the Evil One. Tip #2 - make friends with the rabbit so he will allow you to medicate when necessary.
So after this saga I ran up to the bank to deposit a check for Jason. Our neighborhood was having it's bi-annual city wide yard sale so I drove around looking for some deals. I did manage to get a huge box of miscellaneous scrapbook items for $10 and a few glass pieces to etch/paint on. On the way home I was trying decide what craft I'd like to indulge in with all my free time. Once I got home I remembered some work I had to do and killed 2 hours messing with all of that. After that, my motivation was gone. I watched some tv, filled up the bird feeders (Jason would be proud!), reheated some pizza for lunch, called Mom and chatted for a bit and organized the scrapbook goodies I bought at the yard sale. I then watched some more tv, talked to Portia for about 45 minutes and once the sun started to go down I watered the plants (again, Jason would be proud).
So now here I sit at 8:00 pm bored out of my mind. I'm in one of those horrid moods where I really want to do something, but really don't know what to do. I could read, I could craft, I could surf the net, I could watch more tv, I could call a friend, but no...nothing sounds good. So here I am blogging away on a Saturday night. Normally this time on a Saturday night Jason and I would be sitting on the back porch chatting (probably with John) and just hanging out. I've been out on the back porch today and it's cool for about 30 minutes and then it gets really boring. Needless to say, I would make a really crappy "alone" person. I don't see how people live alone and stay sane.
I guess now that it's almost 8:30 pm I should be thinking about dinner. I don't cook, I hate cooking and when I feed myself it's always something nukable or delivery. Luckily Jason thought ahead and bought me some nukable food for his weekend away. So, I'm off to nuke something for dinner and find something to do...
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Jellystone Park Camping Trip
We returned home today from our first camping expedition with the travel trailer. We went to Jellystone Park - Mammoth Cave in Cave City, Ky from Friday through Sunday. We had a wonderful time! The weather was perfect - mid 70's during the day and high 50's at night.
We had a full crew to test out the camper - me, Jason, Portia, Rebecca (Portia's friend), all three dogs and the rabbit. All of the animals traveled well and did great at the camp site. Bunn had his great wall to play in outside where he could get some fresh air. The dogs had the screened in 12 x 12 tent to wander around in when they weren't in the camper. There was a nice dog play area where we could take them off leash and let them get some run time.
Since it was our first trip we figured we'd end up with a list of things that we forgot, but we actually did very well and had everything we needed. We did find that our sewage hookups aren't the same as most "normal" travel trailers, so that will have to be fixed before Jason goes on his guys only mountain biking/camping trip next weekend.
We had a yummy steak dinner Saturday night and made smore's over the campfire. The park is very family oriented and there was lots of things for the girls to do. They played basketball, watched the ducks in the pond, hung out at the arcade and even did some homework - imagine that!
The only complaint we had throughout the entire weekend was when Saturday afternoon the park employees spent three hours cutting up a fallen tree two camp sites down from us. Three hours of listening to chainsaws is not my idea of relaxing with nature. Luckily once they finished they left the other two trees for later.
We're already planning our next trip, though, and we may even head back to the same camp ground. We're trying to get in as much camping as we can before winter gets here, forcing us to wait until next spring.
Photos from the trip can be seen here.
Jellystone Park Camping Trip
We returned home today from our first camping expedition with the travel trailer. We went to Jellystone Park - Mammoth Cave in Cave City, Ky from Friday through Sunday. We had a wonderful time! The weather was perfect - mid 70's during the day and high 50's at night.
We had a full crew to test out the camper - me, Jason, Portia, Rebecca (Portia's friend), all three dogs and the rabbit. All of the animals traveled well and did great at the camp site. Bunn had his great wall to play in outside where he could get some fresh air. The dogs had the screened in 12 x 12 tent to wander around in when they weren't in the camper. There was a nice dog play area where we could take them off leash and let them get some run time.
Since it was our first trip we figured we'd end up with a list of things that we forgot, but we actually did very well and had everything we needed. We did find that our sewage hookups aren't the same as most "normal" travel trailers, so that will have to be fixed before Jason goes on his guys only mountain biking/camping trip next weekend.
We had a yummy steak dinner Saturday night and made smore's over the campfire. The park is very family oriented and there was lots of things for the girls to do. They played basketball, watched the ducks in the pond, hung out at the arcade and even did some homework - imagine that!
The only complaint we had throughout the entire weekend was when Saturday afternoon the park employees spent three hours cutting up a fallen tree two camp sites down from us. Three hours of listening to chainsaws is not my idea of relaxing with nature. Luckily once they finished they left the other two trees for later.
We're already planning our next trip, though, and we may even head back to the same camp ground. We're trying to get in as much camping as we can before winter gets here, forcing us to wait until next spring.
Photos from the trip can be seen here.
We had a full crew to test out the camper - me, Jason, Portia, Rebecca (Portia's friend), all three dogs and the rabbit. All of the animals traveled well and did great at the camp site. Bunn had his great wall to play in outside where he could get some fresh air. The dogs had the screened in 12 x 12 tent to wander around in when they weren't in the camper. There was a nice dog play area where we could take them off leash and let them get some run time.Since it was our first trip we figured we'd end up with a list of things that we forgot, but we actually did very well and had everything we needed. We did find that our sewage hookups aren't the same as most "normal" travel trailers, so that will have to be fixed before Jason goes on his guys only mountain biking/camping trip next weekend.
We had a yummy steak dinner Saturday night and made smore's over the campfire. The park is very family oriented and there was lots of things for the girls to do. They played basketball, watched the ducks in the pond, hung out at the arcade and even did some homework - imagine that!The only complaint we had throughout the entire weekend was when Saturday afternoon the park employees spent three hours cutting up a fallen tree two camp sites down from us. Three hours of listening to chainsaws is not my idea of relaxing with nature. Luckily once they finished they left the other two trees for later.
We're already planning our next trip, though, and we may even head back to the same camp ground. We're trying to get in as much camping as we can before winter gets here, forcing us to wait until next spring.
Photos from the trip can be seen here.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Camping Trip #1
Our first camping trip is scheduled for this weekend and boy what a great weekend for it! Highs in the mid-70's and low's in the 50's - woooo! We are headed for Jellystone Park - Mammoth Cave in Cave City, Kentucky. Since this will be our first trip with the camper we figure a lot of the first night will be spent figuring out how to get everything hooked up and organized inside the trailer. Since this is also the first trip for our three dogs we will likely be spending a lot of time getting them used to being in a new place and around strange people, sights and smells. Portia is bringing her best friend, Becca, so they should have a great time.
The camping park has lots of nice amenities such as basketball/volleyball courts, an arcade, outdoor family movie night and even kid karaoke. There used to be a petting zoo, which has now been turned into a fenced in dog run so campers can let their dogs off leash to run and play. Lois Lane will definitely need some running time to keep us all from going nuts. Oreo, the rabbit, is also coming with us this trip. He's on medication for an infected tooth and I wouldn't give my worst enemy the task of shoving banana flavored antibiotics down his throat twice a day. Evil little so-and-so...
Camping updates and photos to come!
The camping park has lots of nice amenities such as basketball/volleyball courts, an arcade, outdoor family movie night and even kid karaoke. There used to be a petting zoo, which has now been turned into a fenced in dog run so campers can let their dogs off leash to run and play. Lois Lane will definitely need some running time to keep us all from going nuts. Oreo, the rabbit, is also coming with us this trip. He's on medication for an infected tooth and I wouldn't give my worst enemy the task of shoving banana flavored antibiotics down his throat twice a day. Evil little so-and-so...
Camping updates and photos to come!
Camping Trip #1
Our first camping trip is scheduled for this weekend and boy what a great weekend for it! Highs in the mid-70's and low's in the 50's - woooo! We are headed for Jellystone Park - Mammoth Cave in Cave City, Kentucky. Since this will be our first trip with the camper we figure a lot of the first night will be spent figuring out how to get everything hooked up and organized inside the trailer. Since this is also the first trip for our three dogs we will likely be spending a lot of time getting them used to being in a new place and around strange people, sights and smells. Portia is bringing her best friend, Becca, so they should have a great time.
The camping park has lots of nice amenities such as basketball/volleyball courts, an arcade, outdoor family movie night and even kid karaoke. There used to be a petting zoo, which has now been turned into a fenced in dog run so campers can let their dogs off leash to run and play. Lois Lane will definitely need some running time to keep us all from going nuts. Oreo, the rabbit, is also coming with us this trip. He's on medication for an infected tooth and I wouldn't give my worst enemy the task of shoving banana flavored antibiotics down his throat twice a day. Evil little so-and-so...
Camping updates and photos to come!
The camping park has lots of nice amenities such as basketball/volleyball courts, an arcade, outdoor family movie night and even kid karaoke. There used to be a petting zoo, which has now been turned into a fenced in dog run so campers can let their dogs off leash to run and play. Lois Lane will definitely need some running time to keep us all from going nuts. Oreo, the rabbit, is also coming with us this trip. He's on medication for an infected tooth and I wouldn't give my worst enemy the task of shoving banana flavored antibiotics down his throat twice a day. Evil little so-and-so...
Camping updates and photos to come!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
This Blogging Thing...
So I finally decided it was time to enter the lovely world of blogging. I love reading friends blogs, and even some techy blogs, so why not?
A little about me to start things off. I'm currently 31 years old and live in Kentucky with my husband, Jason, and my daughter, Portia. We have 3 dogs (Hardy, Blue & Lois Lane), one cat (Big Worm) and one rabbit (Oreo, aka: Bunn). I used to have pet rats up until a couple of months ago. Great little pets, but it was time for a rat break after 12 years and too much heartache.
I work for a local insurance company as a web developer/web focus admin/programmer. I also have my own business in web development. I named my company after my dog, Blue. :) [ B.Dog Development merged with Go Boy I.T. to create Webfoo, Inc. ] In my spare time I love to try out new crafts and hobbies and improve on others, namely scrapbooking, glass etching, rubber stamping and photography.
One of the big reasons I wanted to start blogging is to capture our soon to come camping expeditions. We recently purchased a travel trailer so we can go camping with our family, friends and furry critters.
Much more blogging and photography to come!
A little about me to start things off. I'm currently 31 years old and live in Kentucky with my husband, Jason, and my daughter, Portia. We have 3 dogs (Hardy, Blue & Lois Lane), one cat (Big Worm) and one rabbit (Oreo, aka: Bunn). I used to have pet rats up until a couple of months ago. Great little pets, but it was time for a rat break after 12 years and too much heartache.
I work for a local insurance company as a web developer/web focus admin/programmer. I also have my own business in web development. I named my company after my dog, Blue. :) [ B.Dog Development merged with Go Boy I.T. to create Webfoo, Inc. ] In my spare time I love to try out new crafts and hobbies and improve on others, namely scrapbooking, glass etching, rubber stamping and photography.
One of the big reasons I wanted to start blogging is to capture our soon to come camping expeditions. We recently purchased a travel trailer so we can go camping with our family, friends and furry critters.
Much more blogging and photography to come!
This Blogging Thing...
So I finally decided it was time to enter the lovely world of blogging. I love reading friends blogs, and even some techy blogs, so why not?
A little about me to start things off. I'm currently 31 years old and live in Kentucky with my husband, Jason, and my daughter, Portia. We have 3 dogs (Hardy, Blue & Lois Lane), one cat (Big Worm) and one rabbit (Oreo, aka: Bunn). I used to have pet rats up until a couple of months ago. Great little pets, but it was time for a rat break after 12 years and too much heartache.
I work for a local insurance company as a web developer/web focus admin/programmer. I also have my own business in web development. I named my company after my dog, Blue. :) In my spare time I love to try out new crafts and hobbies and improve on others, namely scrapbooking, glass etching, rubber stamping and photography.
One of the big reasons I wanted to start blogging is to capture our soon to come camping expeditions. We recently purchased a travel trailer so we can go camping with our family, friends and furry critters.
Much more blogging and photography to come!
A little about me to start things off. I'm currently 31 years old and live in Kentucky with my husband, Jason, and my daughter, Portia. We have 3 dogs (Hardy, Blue & Lois Lane), one cat (Big Worm) and one rabbit (Oreo, aka: Bunn). I used to have pet rats up until a couple of months ago. Great little pets, but it was time for a rat break after 12 years and too much heartache.
I work for a local insurance company as a web developer/web focus admin/programmer. I also have my own business in web development. I named my company after my dog, Blue. :) In my spare time I love to try out new crafts and hobbies and improve on others, namely scrapbooking, glass etching, rubber stamping and photography.
One of the big reasons I wanted to start blogging is to capture our soon to come camping expeditions. We recently purchased a travel trailer so we can go camping with our family, friends and furry critters.
Much more blogging and photography to come!