a 4-legged furry children update

I know exactly what you've been thinking lately...I'm dying to hear an update on Kirsten's dogs...well...wait no longer!!
Ok, ok - I know that thought never crossed your mind but you're going to get an update anyway.  :)

Boulevard ~
I've mentioned this to a few people but the bottom line is this => Boulevard is becoming a crotchety old man.  It's so funny to see a dogs personality come through.  He just isn't havin' it lately and he's not afraid to "voice" his opinion.  My dogs get fed twice a day and meal time usually lasts an entire 30 seconds so I wait in the laundry room as they eat.  Stuart's food is in a trashcan with a lid that can be flipped open or pushed in.  Ranger and Boulevard's food is either in a big bag on the floor or in an enclosed dog container.  So...Boulevard finishes his dinner and, while I'm standing right there next to him, he'll walk right over to the bag or Stuart's dog food container and start chomping away.  Really Blvd??  Hello, I'm standing right next to you and I see what you're doing.  Then he doesn't even respond when I firmly but politely SCREAM, "No!"  I literally have to drag his head out of the bag.  Good grief!

Crotchety old man example #2:  I think you all know our dogs are most definitely indoor dogs.  Occasionally, I'll leave Boulevard outside in the backyard for a few hours.  My office is on the opposite side of the house but when Boulevard is sick of being outside, he'll start barking.  Ugh!  The reason this is so odd is because Boulevard is generally not a barker.  Other dogs can be barking like crazy at him but he doesn't bark back.

Crotchety old man example #3:  Mike and I have been going on bicycle rides more often after work and when we put our bike clothes, tennis shoes on, and fill our water bottles, Boulevard knows something is up.  Unfortunately, he thinks anytime tennis shoes are put on that it means he's going on a walk...that's not always the case.  If we haven't started our ride yet, we will occasionally hear him howling from inside the house.

Crotchety old man example #4: When we travel, we have a house/dog-sitter stay at our house and watch Boulevard and Stuart.(it's less expensive, better situation for the pups, and more convenient for us) The dog sitter reported that Boulevard peed on the floor almost every night and pooped on the floor once.  I mean??!!!  This is so out of the ordinary for Boulevard that I assumed he was sick or something.  Good grief Boulevard ~ what happened to our angel dog?  I'm happy to report Boulevard is just fine and has had no accidents since we've been home.

It seems, similar to humans, dogs may just get to a point in life where they think So what?  Who Cares!!  I'm just going to do what I want.  Don't get me wrong, Boulevard is definitely still the angel out of our three monsters but it's interesting to see how he changes as he gets older.  After all, he is 8 years old now and that is considered a senior dog.

Stuart ~
I have this posted on Facebook but I think it's so funny.  I came across these birthday hats when I was grocery shopping.  About every hour on the hour that day, I was putting a hat on Stuart.  I think Ranger was home with me that morning and I was putting the hat on Ranger as well.  Mike came home for lunch and I wanted a group picture of me and the dogs.  I put the hat laying on the floor next to me in the picture on Boulevard and he instantly ripped it off.  Stuart was on the run probably thinking This crazy lady and her hat...won't she just leave me alone?  But Stuart is easy to over power so I captured him before he got away.  I put the hat on Ranger and he tried the I'm going to lay down and try to paw this hat off.  Needless to say, it all amounted to a comical picture for Stuart's 6th birthday!

a special milestone

Well...I never intended to ignore this blog after I started my other blog but I've been spending quite a bit of time writing for that blog.  I actually have an "exciting thing" happening for that blog tomorrow...how's that for a teaser?...stay tuned!

Aside from a fitness focus in my life, I did cross a milestone.  I crossed my 10 year anniversary with my company in February.  Can you believe it?  10 years at one company and over 4 years working from home?  Honestly, my company has been so good to me...I've had many opportunities and have advanced within the company.  I'm really enjoying my current job and the exciting things on my development plan for 2013!  :)  It's weird to think that my initial job was supposed to be about 6 months and then I was going to go to law school...LOL...that obviously didn't happen.  God works in mysterious ways!(or not that mysterious)  Similar to some of your experiences probably, I've had real low times and I've had real high times at my company.  I'm in a super place right now!

With each milestone anniversary, my company lets you pick out a gift.  I debated between practical or sentimental and went with sentimental.  I went with my very first Tiffany necklace!  I was so excited when I received it.  Each time I look at it, it'll remind me of my 10 year milestone.  Since this was my first, and likely last, Tiffany necklace I'll ever receive I decided to document my reveal.  I'm loving it!

P.S. Mike said he's going to steal the box if he ever buys any jewelry for me in the future...sorry buddy...I'm on to you now.  You can't fool me!

what's new with me right now

As you may know(or not), I went through some personal struggles near the end of last year.  Struggles meaning I was feeling sad a lot, not happy with anything I was doing, didn't feel important, felt a little lonely(Mike had been traveling quite a bit and I had been as well), wasn't working out consistently, didn't feel I had any hobbies, etc.(As you can tell, I was horrible really pleasant to be around...just ask Mike)

So, I headed to Nebraska for a couple weeks while Mike was away for work and that trip really kick started my "turn" out of my funk.  I was getting re-focused at work, getting quality family time, getting quality friend time, was shedding some tears with said family and friends, etc.  All this leads to what's new with me today and some changes/new endeavors I've made:

1) My Mom came to visit for Christmas week and it motivated me to re-teach myself how to crochet.  I'm happy to report I picked it back up and am currently working on a scarf.  I like it so much that I took my project to the car dealership while they were conducting my oil change and tire rotation.

2) I started another blog.  You can read about why I started it by going to the blog.  www.HealthfulPursuitofanLEOWife.com.  You can find Healthful Pursuit of an LEO Wife on facebook, twitter, & pinterest too.  Check it out!

3) I'm going to start volunteering for an after school reading program for the United Way of Santa Fe County.  I'm super pumped for that too - I start Monday.

There you have it ~ a few small changes and additions to my life.

a new favorite song

I was in Nebraska for a few weeks in November and my Mom, sister, & sister-in-law went shopping on  Thanksgiving night, aka Turquoise Thursday.(Lori says it's going to catch on so just go with it)  :)

I was not really in the market for anything specific but I did browse the $5 CD bin to see what they had.  One of the CD's I ended up purchasing was Carrie Underwood's Blown Away album.

Since I had a 13 hr drive home that Sunday, I popped in the CD and found a new favorite song.  It really touched me at that moment because I had just been home to Nebraska and needed that trip desparately because I was pretty homesick.  Although Lincoln wasn't my home growing up, the message holds true for me when I think about my amazing family and friends still in my life in Nebraska.  Even when I cross the NE/KS border into NE, my heart gets so excited even though I have a few hours left of my journey.

I hope it touches you like it did to me.  It's worth a listen.

"Thank God for Hometowns"

Cookie disaster to cookie victorious!!

I joined Pinterest a few weeks ago(follow me at kirstcarpenter) and am really enjoying it.  It seems like a "good" waste of my time, unlike facebook, and is starting to spark a sort-of-creative-kirsten.  :)

I've been baking since last weekend with recipes found on pinterest.  On Tuesday, I had book club and we were also doing a cookie exchange so I wanted to make these for book club(and I even doubled the recipe).  Unfortunately I had a cookie disaster.  I think it was due to my desire to use oat flour instead of worthless white all-purpose flour...can't blame me for trying to make it a little healthier.  But these were pretty yummy even though they look terrible.

I baked about 1/2 of the batter, shed some tears, then tried the next recipe(that didn't need flour), & had success.  I took the Andes Mint cookies to book club and then made the other two kinds this weekend after getting yucky white flour.  You can find all the recipes here.

Although devoid of anything remotely healthy, they all are quite tasty and I plan to freeze some so I do not continue to eat cookies for breakfast, lunch, & dinner.  Ooopsies!  Festive, right?

Mike and I attempted to go snow shoeing this week since Santa Fe got snow last weekend(Yes - for the billionth time, Santa Fe DOES get snow and has all four seasons - don't compare Santa Fe to Phoenix weather - not even close!) but the snow wasn't quite ready for snow shoes so we went on a nice calm & quiet hike.  The big pups were in heaven...Stuart stayed home for obvious reasons.

And for your entertainment, a short video of our happy(and apparently thirsty) pups! (FYI-video is not viewable on an iPad I don't think)

OK - technical difficulties w/ the video and don't have the patience to deal with it today.  Sorry!

Here's a few workouts for you

I know I probably have more important things to blog about right now but I have a shoulder, bi's/tri's, & leg/glute workout that I'm loving right now so wanted to share.  Maybe this weekend I'll get pictures of my trip to the Philippines & our Mediterranean cruise posted.

All these workouts leave me completely pooped by the end of the 45 minutes.  I've added the weights that I use...maybe in the future, I'll be able to look back to this post and see my progress.  All are 3 sets of 8-12 reps...my rule is if I can get to 10-12 reps easily, I need to increase the weight.

I pretty much created these workouts myself based on what I've learned over the last year or so...Jamie Eason's Livefit trainer(found on bodybuilding.com) & www.littlebshealthyhabits.com are two resources I use often to get ideas.

Shoulders:
Seated Shoulder Press : 20 lb dumbbells
Arnold Press: 17.5 lbs dumbbells(so glad my gym has the "in between" db weights)
Super Set: alternate front raises to lat raises - 8-10 reps for each move with 8 lb dumbbells
Super Set:
- seated bent over lat raises(not sure if that's what it's called) w/ 8 lbs db's
- move directly into a set of plate pushes (hold a plate at your chest and push out while squeezing shoulders.)  I've been using a 10 lb plate but need to increase it.

I do abs on my shoulder day and usually incorporate abs in between my shoulder exercises.

Arms:
Preacher Curl: I use the bar which is 25 lbs but I may increase to 30 tomorrow!!
Triple Set: (this is killer which is why my weights look wimpy!)
-Alternating DB curls w/ 12 lb db's
-Barbell curls - I use the 20 lb barbell but need to work to increase it
-Hammer curls with rope - 20 lbs on machine
Overhead Cable Curl w/ 20 lbs on each arm(Mike spots me on this one to make sure I get all the reps)
Tricep Rope Extension pushdown - 40 lbs
Overhead triceps extension(I've been using a db but you could use the rope on a machine too) - 17.5 lbs
Bench tricep dips to failure(I've been reading some controversial info on doing dips but I like them)

Legs w/ glute focus:
Barbell Squat: I got to 90 lbs today!!  My goal is 100 by the end of the year. (Mike always spots on this if I go heavier)
Straight Leg Deadlift w/ barbell- 65 lbs (I need to increase this but need to use lifting straps)
Leg Press - I'm not sure what the machine weighs but I put 140 lbs in plates on the machine
Hack Squat - 70 lbs(I'm so pooped by this point but I know I need to increase)
Glute Machine(not the seated/lying leg curl or adductor/abductor machines but another machine that focuses on glutes)- 35 lbs(wimpy I know...need to increase this one as well)

Yes, I train my back & chest but am never happy about it.  I just do it because I know I have to.  I also do another leg day but with different exercises.

I'm going to stick with this through the end of the year and then I'll change it up.  Hope it's helpful to someone out there or gives you some ideas for your own workout.

the inevitable

We made it back from our Mediterranean cruise trip safe and sound!  But...the inevitable is that I ALWAYS get sick during or after I travel and this time is no different.  This cold is kicking my pa-tooty.  But enough complaining(see my previous post)...

It was a wonderful trip.  I feel like I'm still trying to digest everything we saw and did.  Mike's parents were on the trip too so it was great to see them and spend time with them.  To give you a taste:

-We started in Barcelona.  Arrived two days before our cruise departed so we were able to check out Barcelona.  From there, this is where we visited ~>
-Toulon, France: We took an excursion to Marseille & Aix En Provence.
-Florence, Italy:  We visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa and did a wine tour/tasting at a Tuscany winery.
-Rome, Italy:  We visited the Vatican & the Colliseum.
-Naples, Italy: We walked around Naples and ate some pizza...no special excursion this day.
-Mykonos, Greece:  This was a great place that we walked around and ate some delish greek food.  The pics will speak for themselves for this place.
-Istanbul, Turkey:  No special excursion but we did a city tour bus.  Saw some beautiful mosques and visited the Grand Bazaar and a Spice Bazaar.
-Izmir, Turkey: Took an excursion to the ancient city Ephesus...super interesting place.
-Athens, Greece:  We visited the Acropolis/Parthenon and had a bus tour of the city.
-Venice, Italy:  We took a walking tour through Venice, which included a visit to St. Mark's square & Doge's Palace.  We then had a nice gondola ride...how could we not?  It is a city built on water and all.
-We had an extra day after the cruise in Venice so we literally just walked around Venice and ventured through all the random alley's and streets, no matter how small or "scary" they may have looked.

I'll work on posting pics this weekend.  This being our first cruise, we really enjoyed it.  They had good entertainment on the cruise and a lot of activities.  I think a Carribbean cruise would have had a totally different feel.  It stayed around 70-75 degrees at almost every location and on sea days so it definitely wasn't a "lay in the sun or pool" type of vacation (which we fully understood).  I actually think hot weather would have caused this trip to be pretty miserable...we did lots of walking so I wouldn't have wanted to be hot & gross the entire trip.

Who knew that if you aren't on the ship at All Aboard time, you WILL GET LEFT BEHIND.  I mean it seems pretty obvious but we definitely left a few groups behind a couple times because they weren't back on ship.  They caught up with us at the next port but all at their own expense.  Yikes!

We got back last Friday and then left on Saturday for Gunnison, CO.  Mike was working up there for the week so I decided to bring my work and join him this time.  Long story short, his location/time there was adjusted so after some negotiation with the house sitter, I ended up coming back home Monday night after work.  And now the inevitable...fighting this cold...I think my body is detoxing from how I treated it on vacay.

Hope all is well with all of you!