We live about 5 minutes away from a shopping area which has Target, Starbucks, Albertson's, Best Buy, TJ Max, Petsmart, etc. About a month ago, we noticed that the sushi restaurant located in that area closed but they were doing construction on the building. At the same time, we noticed they were building a brand new building right next to the former sushi place.
A month or so after that, Mike and I both saw the Buffalo Wild Wings signage on the old sushi restaurant. Our first reaction was, "that's sort of cool." Although neither of us really love Buffalo Wild Wings, it will hopefully be a new/fun place close by to have drinks w/ friends or watch sporting events. Seeing the sign also reminded us of an experience we had at the BWW in Lincoln. I can't recall who was with us but we sat down to order some wings and they were out of wings...huh?! You are Buffalo Wild Wings and you're out of wings? I'm not really sure how that happens...wouldn't you race to a grocery store and just buy some??
I recently drove past this area again and the sign on the new building next to BWW said Panera! Suhhweet! This really excites me because I really enjoy going to coffee shops and spending a few hours reading, blogging, drinking coffee, etc. I've also hoped for a restaurant that carried yummy bagels so now I get to read and eat my delicious bagel from Panera.
Santa Fe has some of the best food I've ever consumed. The restaurants are amazing, unique, and have great ambience but sometimes a gal just craves a chain restaurant. Life would really be complete if Santa Fe got Mr. Goodcents, Bison Witches, Taco John's, & Runza!!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
90 mile bike trip on the White Rim Trail in Moab, UT
Back in March, in last-minute-sort-of fashion, we decided to join about 10 others(and a 6 month old baby<~yes, you read that right! Baby & parents did amazing on this trip!) on a 90 mile bicycle trip in Moab, UT. By last minute, I mean we literally did one "training" ride of 5 miles to prepare ourselves for 90 miles. Real smart, don't you think?
We drove to Moab on Tuesday evening, I rented my bike on Wednesday morning,(Mike already had a bike and my bike was a Target special and would have lasted 2 seconds on this trip) and we descended into the canyon on the White Rim trail on Wednesday mid-morning. The mileage was broken up as follows: (approximately)
Day 1 = 30 miles
Day 2 = 15 miles
Day 3 = 30 miles
Day 4 = 15 miles
We had three support vehicles that carried all of our gear(camping, clothes, food, water, etc). We rode all the miles for the first day and we actually felt pretty good. The 2nd day was crazy windy(like sand blast your face windy)and pretty chilly so we loaded our bikes and rode in the truck for the last 4 miles or so. We rode the entire way on Day 3 but that evening was also crazy windy and chilly so we did not have good sleep. Mike and I opted to ride in the support vehicle the entire last day and I was more than ok with this decision. If I recall, there were four major climbs and I managed to skip all of them except one...you'll see me walking my bike up in the slideshow.
For not training at all, I felt we did pretty good. This trip put the bicycle-bug in me and a few weeks after this trip, I upgraded my Target special to a "real" mountain bike, which I've been loving and riding often!
Here are some pictures of our trip - the scenery was more than incredible and the people we were with were superb, fun, & very encouraging to an amateur like myself! I hope we get the opportunity to do this again in the future.
**I'm sort of obsessed right now with the song playing in the slideshow and I kind of think it fits the I'm a bad a$$ feeling I felt during this trip.** :)
We drove to Moab on Tuesday evening, I rented my bike on Wednesday morning,(Mike already had a bike and my bike was a Target special and would have lasted 2 seconds on this trip) and we descended into the canyon on the White Rim trail on Wednesday mid-morning. The mileage was broken up as follows: (approximately)
Day 1 = 30 miles
Day 2 = 15 miles
Day 3 = 30 miles
Day 4 = 15 miles
We had three support vehicles that carried all of our gear(camping, clothes, food, water, etc). We rode all the miles for the first day and we actually felt pretty good. The 2nd day was crazy windy(like sand blast your face windy)and pretty chilly so we loaded our bikes and rode in the truck for the last 4 miles or so. We rode the entire way on Day 3 but that evening was also crazy windy and chilly so we did not have good sleep. Mike and I opted to ride in the support vehicle the entire last day and I was more than ok with this decision. If I recall, there were four major climbs and I managed to skip all of them except one...you'll see me walking my bike up in the slideshow.
For not training at all, I felt we did pretty good. This trip put the bicycle-bug in me and a few weeks after this trip, I upgraded my Target special to a "real" mountain bike, which I've been loving and riding often!
Here are some pictures of our trip - the scenery was more than incredible and the people we were with were superb, fun, & very encouraging to an amateur like myself! I hope we get the opportunity to do this again in the future.
**I'm sort of obsessed right now with the song playing in the slideshow and I kind of think it fits the I'm a bad a$$ feeling I felt during this trip.** :)
Friday, May 24, 2013
Cinco de Mayo in Puerto Vallarta
Ever since I turned 30(remember when Mike surprised me w/ a trip to Europe?! I'm still baffled by how he pulled that off), we've made it a tradition of traveling for our birthdays. Mike's birthday is in February and mine is in May so the timing works out well when we are determining our travel plans each year.
This year for my birthday we went to Puerto Vallarta. We had a super time...it was a perfect mix of activity and relaxation. Why wouldn't I want to spend my birthday, Cinco de Mayo, in Mexico?!! :) A couple of our friends from NE joined us from Saturday-Wednesday and it was so great to see them and spend time with them! Since they were leaving Wednesday,(we stayed until the following Saturday) we wanted to pack in as much stuff as we could so they wouldn't miss it. It was such a great trip and a fun new place to experience.
I'll spare you the details of how we spent every single hour of every day but I will share some of the pictures. I've been playing with the slideshow feature on our computer and it turns out that creating a slideshow is super simple...who knew?!! They really make technology easy these days. I even put a fun and boppy song to it so make sure your sound is on! :)
Enjoy!
This year for my birthday we went to Puerto Vallarta. We had a super time...it was a perfect mix of activity and relaxation. Why wouldn't I want to spend my birthday, Cinco de Mayo, in Mexico?!! :) A couple of our friends from NE joined us from Saturday-Wednesday and it was so great to see them and spend time with them! Since they were leaving Wednesday,(we stayed until the following Saturday) we wanted to pack in as much stuff as we could so they wouldn't miss it. It was such a great trip and a fun new place to experience.
I'll spare you the details of how we spent every single hour of every day but I will share some of the pictures. I've been playing with the slideshow feature on our computer and it turns out that creating a slideshow is super simple...who knew?!! They really make technology easy these days. I even put a fun and boppy song to it so make sure your sound is on! :)
Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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!
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!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
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!
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!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
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"
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