Lake Jumping

One of my avid readers(does it count if it's my Dad?) mentioned my blog today.  As usual I have some catching up to do so we'll start with lake jumping.

Earlier this summer, Mike took Sunday off and we went with a group to Lake Abiquiu to do some lake jumping.  What is lake jumping, you ask?  Well, I honestly didn't know so I googled it after we were invited and most of the video's online showed biking off of ramps into a body of water...um, no thank you!  After texting my girlfriend, she basically described it as jumping off some cliffs.  I would call that cliff jumping but...she called it lake jumping so lake jumping it is.  Although I only actually jumped a few times(from the lowest "cliff" mind you), it was really fun and I wish we had gone a few more times before the season turned to Fall.

Here are some pics to re-cap the day:

Can you see the guy in mid-air back flipping off the cliff?  He did this all day long.  The was the "high" cliff.  The girl on the lower bottom of the picture is on the lower cliff.

Here goes Mike!...also off the lower cliff.  I'm actually surprised he jumped considering he used to have a friend put his Christmas lights on his house in Nebraska due to the height.  :)

 Here I go - also from the lower cliff! (look at that white bod...and you better believe I coated myself in sunscreen for this too!)

The group we went with, minus me because I was taking the pic. (Mike is on the right side.)

The girls getting ready to jump.  (I'm in the middle)

There we are in the water...guess the photographer wasn't fast enough to grab a mid-air shot.

The gals after the "girls" jump. (I'm in the middle again)  My Keens water shoes were awesome for this because I could jump with them and not kill my feet trying to climb back up the cliff.

Mike's last jump.

...after jumping and climbing back up.  You can see his new tattoo he got this summer too. 

And that was lake jumping.  It was a really fun day...I thought the best part was watching everyone else to be honest.  I wish we would have taken Boulevard because he would have had a blast.(there was an area of water that you could wade into so he would have loved it)

Next up...camping trip, Burning Man, and my trip to the Philippines...
But first, I'm off to pound some pavement...to avoid helping the hubs stain the remainder of the fence. heehee!  I love good timing!

first game of the season

There is no place like Nebraska

Good 'ole Nebraska U

Where the girls are the fairest

The boys are the squarest

Of any 'ole place that I know

There is no place like Nebraska

Where we're all true blue

We'll stick together 

Through all kinds of weather

It's good 'ole Nebraska U

Go Big Red!

If you think you're a Husker fan and don't know this song than I hate to tell you that you really aren't a Husker fan.  :)  I didn't even attend the University but I know it. 

Definitely wish I was in Nebraska today tailgating & watching the game with my family and friends for the season opener.  Instead, I'm throwing my own party (everyone I know in Santa Fe is out of town, including the hubs) right here at home.  I'll be cheering on the Cornhuskers from the comfort of my own couch!

maybe you can help me understand...

Here are the facts ~

Going to the gym in the PM:
-a lot of driving traffic - takes me about 5-7 minutes longer to get to the gym in the pm
-gym is super duper hot(not sure what the problem is with their air conditioner)
-gym traffic(lots more people in the gym in the pm)
-have to periodically wait for the machines, dumbbells, or bar bells that I need
-get to sleep in until 6:30am instead of getting up at 5:24am to be at the gym by 6am
-don't get to be at the gym with the hubs
-don't have much motivation to get to the gym after a long day at work

Going to the gym in the AM:
-no driving traffic
-the gym is practically empty
-no waiting for gym equipment which means I can get through my workout faster
-gym is nice a cool in the morning from our cool Santa Fe nights
-have to wake up at 5:24am to have breakfast and get to the gym by 6am
-get to be at the gym with the hubs

So...as you can see, almost all signs point to going to the gym in the morning.  If that is the case, please help me understand why I can't get myself out of bed at 5:24am!!!  Honestly - What does an extra 66 minutes of sleep provide for me?

Ugh!  Obviously - you can tell this is a battle I fight often.  Any suggestions?  What works for you?

home sweet home

I got home from the Philippines late Tuesday night. (more to come on that later).  Mike gets home from Georgia in T minus 2 hours or so!!   He's been at FLETC for defensive tactics instructor school.(hopefully I got that right).  He passed and graduated yesterday and is flying home today.

We used a house sitter for this trip for Boulevard and Stuart and it seemed to go really well.  Stuart didn't seem as traumatized and no kennel cough risks by boarding them.  By the way, Boulevard is completely healed from his kennel cough.  YAY!  I think the sitter left our house in better order than how we left it for her.  ;)

Ranger couldn't go with Mike so we boarded him...he's a little much to handle so we didn't want to put the sitter through that.  I picked him up from the kennel on Thursday.  Imagine if you will ~ 100 lbs of German Shepard being leashed and led by me to the car from the kennel.  Ok...let me rephrase...100 lbs of Ranger literally dragging me across the parking lot to the car, my feet flying behind me, trying to resist the pull, and yelling NEIN NEIN(Ranger's "no" command) at the top of my lungs.  I'm surprised I didn't face plant into the pavement.  Come to think of it I don't think I've ever handled Ranger with a leash and now I know why.

When Mike gets home with the computer, I'll blog and post some pics about my Philippines trip.  It was incredible trip and a great reminder of how blessed we are to live in the U.S.A. and  have the things we have.  I'm so amazingly thankful for the life I live and the great country we live in!

stressed

I've been feeling a little stressed this week.  So much to do in, what seems like, so little time.

The epitome of stressed for me is apparently brewing a cup of coffee with our keurig coffee maker but...forgetting to place a coffee cup under the brewer.  Whoops!  Luckily I noticed before the drip pan, which sits under the brewer drip, was full of coffee.  It did crack me up after I confirmed that coffee was not all over counter.  Phew!

Luckily today was a productive day at work so I'm feeling pretty good now!
Have you ever done something silly when you're stressed?  It was almost a nice comic relief moment this morning with my coffee cup mis-hap.  :)

rattle snake

I just said out loud to whoever may have been listening(Mike, pups, no one??...who knows!), "I wonder if I have any pictures to blog about."  So I grabbed the computer and started reviewing recent pictures and came across these.  Mike actually took these while he was working in a nearby area called Camel Tracks.  Mike said the rattle snake was about 3 1/2 feet long and was "sunning" to stay warm(in the first picture) but then coiled up...he/she never started rattling.  Whew!  I thought it was a very New Mexico'ish post for the blog.

Update on Boulevard - I took him to the vet on Monday and he was diagnosed with kennel cough and the flu.  He's on an antibiotic & a cough suppressant...hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.  So far it doesn't appear Ranger or Stuart are getting sick ~ thank goodness!

oh...the dogs!

I feel like it's always something with the dogs.  Let me recap the major events and then I'll explain what's happening today.

2010 ~ Boulevard has infected ears and we have to spend a chunk of change on medication.  Boulevard's ears = healed!

Spring 2011 ~ Boulevard eats some sort of rubber object and he has to have surgery.(surgery after he's already had 3 x-rays, numerous vet visits, numerous prescription, & an ultrasound)  I'm not even going to talk about the chunk of change it took for this event.
Boulevard's intestine = healed!

Summer 2011 ~ We get Ranger.  I feel that getting a third dog is quite an event and was an adjustment for all of us.

Fall 2011 ~ Ranger is diagnosed with Lupus.  He gets a cream put on his nose everyday and has to see the vet every 6 months or so.
Ranger's nose = as healed as it can be!

2011 ~ I identify a lump on Boulevard's chest.  It ends up being tested and isn't an issue.
Boulevard's lump = just a fatty mass!

June 2012 ~ Stuart has an infected eye.  Spent a reasonable amount of change to get his eye fixed.  But am told that he has a slow & irregular heart beat.
Stuart's eye = healed!
Stuart's heart = probably the same because I haven't done anything for it.

Now for the July 2012 event:  We are 99.9% certain that Boulevard as kennel cough, likely from the most recent boarding visit.  Ugh!  We are very regular and consistent about getting our dogs vaccinated, including the kennel cough vaccine.  But I have read that the vaccine doesn't necessarily keep the dog from getting kennel cough.  It's interesting timing since I'm interviewing another dog/house sitter today for some traveling we're doing throughout the rest of the year...guess it's even more of a reason to have a dog sitter instead of boarding the dogs at a kennel.

I'm waiting for the vet to call me to see if they can prescribe something without seeing Boulevard.  They should create a frequent vet visitor card or something for as often as we're there.

Guess I'll go work off some steam by running my 6 mile run today.  :)