I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW!

So here's to catching up!

MS Tour

The MS tour was fabulous! We had an absolute blast! B and I rode the whole ride together and just enjoyed each others company. He is so wonderful. I am amazed at how he is able to put up with me and all of my bull crap.

I really do love the MS tour, and it is a fantastic cause... but I HATE the inconsiderate riders, and believe me, when you ride with that many cyclists, people are very inconsiderate! Still a blast and it was still a fantastic day!

Sorry, no pics!

Vegas

So the weekend after the MS tour, B and I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas with our neighbors Brett and Stacey. They are some of the most wonderful people in the world! We love them so very much.

We left from Smithfield at like 6:00 PM on July 1st and got there at like 1:00 AM on July 2nd. We stayed with some of Stacey's relatives off of the strip in an absolutely AMAZING house. The estate was worth like 5 million $$$. It was amazing. And yes, I do need to be shot... we didn't take one picture. We should have.

Stacey's relatives are so very nice. We enjoyed their company entirely. We hit the strip pretty much every night we were there, except for the 4th, which was a shame because I bet there were some kick a$$ fireworks!

B and Brett played Craps. B and I lost money, but one of the nights we did start to make a come back, still came back to Utah with less money than when we started with. Didn't matter though, we went to play!

Post Vegas

We lit some illegal fireworks on the 24th for Pioneer day. That was fun, and they were amazing!

The latest highlight... B's sister Hillary (yogurt flavored) came up with her sweet husband Max. They stayed the first weekend of August with us. We don't have an extra bed, so poor lil' pregnant Hil' had to sleep on our couch, which was not super comfortable for a 6 month pregnant lady!

We absolutely loved having them here. I wish they lived closer to us. We had a great time.

We went out to eat, more than we should have. We played some Nazi Zombies, and we lit off more illegals. Though it needs to be noted that Hillary did not participate and ANY illegal activity.

We love you guys and hope you come again!

This last week, we have washed B's truck and worked. Oh I trimmed our bushes out front. They look super good!

This is a small update. I will blog again soon and I will start figuring out how to use my camera again!

Upcoming Events

I may go run a 7 mile stint with my sister on Sept. 18. I am gonna die. Must start training 2 weeks ago for that!

I also (haven't told B about this yet) have planned a potential trip to Boise (where photos will be taken) for later in October!

Vow

I WILL blog more!

I promise!

I now must get back to my entirely-too-scary-to-play-by-myself-game: BioShock... gulp... yikes!

Bow Fishin' and Other Stuff

We went bow fishing, which is self explanatory, and B caught this fish. We think he weighs 10 pounds. We were just about to call it good and go home, but then Brett and B saw the back of this fish rise and B to a 30 foot (approx) shot and got him! It is his first bow hunt kill!

I had to snatch another photo of the fish at home. Too bad Carp are crap! That fish went right into the dumpster. Apparently there are people who use them for fertilizer and stuff, but we don't know them, so we just threw him out.

Way to go B!

Below is a photo of the boys. They are mad because I just told them they are getting their hair cut today. Look at the disgust on their faces!

Below here is a behind photo of a dog that I made using a pattern you can find here:

Dog Pattern.

Here is his face! Isn't he just cute?

I sold him for $10.00 and got B that much closer to his MS donations!

If ANYONE is interested in having me make them something for more donations PLEASE comment and let me know what I can possibly do! We are getting down to the wire and really need more money for MS!

If you just want to donate PLEASE click below:

B's MS donations

We need your help!

Today I am going to place flyers all around our condos, we will see if that drums up any business!

Well, I have got to run these pups to their hair cut! Love you all and will post more fun stuff soon!

The Weekend of Little Red and my Super Sister!

FINALLY our ride has come... and sadly it has gone. Little Red was a complete success this year. My sister rocked it out big time! She and I had a fantastic time together. Unfortunately, she had to go home today. So sad, but now it is time to blog about our fantastic time together!

So I have decided to just use normal names for this blog. Nickie arrived to my house last Thursday (June 3rd) at about 4:00 or so. I was so happy to see her. That night we went to Zumba and had a blast and then came home and watched 'So you think you can dance'. That was just a wonderful evening.

The next day was Friday (the 4th). We went to a million places that day. We bought some fabric because we wanted to make costume skirts for the Wonder Woman themed bike ride, but that turned out to be really frustrating. We also bought some beading supplies and stuff to make a fantastic pasta dinner. Stacey even came over and the three of us beaded, cooked, tried to sew, and got our bikes ready for the ride. We had to pick up packets that night too and Nickie and I ended up buying some super cute athletic items from a booth called Born Fit. Nick got a very cute teal jacket that zips up the side and I got a super cute running skort that is brown and pink. I can't wait to wear it to Zumba!

We both realized we spent money that we shouldn't have. I kind of upset B by purchasing the skort. Sorry B.

When we got back we ended up staying up till about 1:00 AM just getting all of our crap ready. Nick and I still managed to leave our water bottles on the kitchen table when we left for our ride. Fortunately we had put a protein shake in the water bottles that we did remember, so we just didn't have water for the first 12 miles of the ride.

At the second stop we met up with Stacey and her Mom. Below is a photo of me and Stacey together. She can pull of ANY color of hair. Look at how cute that purple hair is on her!!!

Below here is the 3 of us. We are just such beautiful babes! I really would love to travel back in time and do it all over again!

And here is just me and my sister. I love that girl. I look like a complete fat face in this photo, but I am a fat face with my cute sister! I need to mention again just how awesome she did on this ride! She did have me worried, and I will tell you why later!

Below here is Stacey with her mom. Aren't they gorgeous? They have the same eyes. How fun that they can do this together.

The action photo below is Nickie coming up a hill. This year she never stopped and said 'It just keeps going and going'. She had a better bike and better skills for this ride. I am so proud of this woman!

Awe, isn't she cute?

We stopped for lunch at like mile 36. Before we ate I saw this cute English Bulldog. Her name is Sophie and she is 9 years old. She is so cute! Her dad was a proud dog owner and was very nice to let me take this photo and love up on her a bit.

Look at that face!

During lunch Nick took a moment to ponder life's larger mysteries.

Deep in thought...

And that is the last photo I took on the ride. Nickie and I thought that we ate a good lunch. Turns out we were wrong. This is where she started to worry me. After lunch there was a 4 mile climb. It wasn't steep, but we were riding into the wind and our speed was just atrocious. In the first mile, I lost her. I thought she was riding closely behind me, but as I got off of my bike to wait for her, it was a long wait. Okay maybe only like 4 minutes, but as it turns out, there was a bunch of cotton in the air and Nickie thought it would be awesome to inhale one of the pieces. As it turns out, that is just not a good idea. She had to stop and cough. Anyway, we pushed on. At about mile 45 Nickie got very nauseated. We sat on the side of the road and I called B. I wanted her to take a SAG wagon or allow B to come and get her but she insisted on going on. There was one more stop at about mile 48, so we got her there and stayed for about 25 minutes.

I again called B and he and Brett met up with us at that stop. I tried to convince Nickie to go with them because I didn't want to kill her. But She wanted to ride the rest of the ride. So away we went! I am so glad that she finished it off. As it turns out, she probably just needed to eat more at the lunch stop. She truly worried me though. I want us to do this bike ride for many years to come and I can't go killing her off on one of them! I also fear that she may start to hate the sport of cycling if I push her too hard, but she was determined to finish, and finish we did!

We crossed the finish line at the same time this year. It was so much fun.

And then we crashed.

It felt so nice to just lay there as we waited for B to come and get us. I had such a good time on this ride. Thank you Nickie for doing this with me! You are the best sister a gal could ever ask for! Next year we will have to try for 80 (we signed for 80 miles this year, but decided on 60 instead).

Besides riding a lot of miles on our bikes, we also beaded. My sister is just amazing at so many things, especially crafty things. She has gotten me hooked on beading.

Below here are the two watch bands and the watch face she gave me for my birthday. When I went to Idaho in April, we beaded and beaded and beaded.

Now look at all the stuff I have made!

Below is a necklace that Nickie made and I made the matching watchband. I just wanted to feature it here so Nick can see that I kept the band up to her super skills!

What a cute set!

Yesterday was Nickies birthday. Below is a photo of the cake that she baked. I bought the supplies, but Nick did the rest. She made the frosting and look at that cute icing job!

What a regular Betty Crocker!

Seriously, she has some mad skills in the kitchen. We were all just sittin' around the other night and she whipped up scones for us, from scratch, with stuff that I didn't even realize that I had in my kitchen. B wants me to do more stuff in the kitchen like her.

My sister is seriously amazing.

Below is a photo we tried to take of us. I didn't realize that my zoom was maxxed out.

So we took it again. But I hat my fat double chin to the left in this photo.

3rd time is a charm. Now we both look super cute!

So we took Nickie out to to dinner for her birthday to Cafe Sabor. Last year Nick and I went there and she got a Pink Zebra (drink). So now it is tradition. Here is B and I with our Pink Zebra. It was yummy.

Here is Nickie thoroughly enjoying her Pink Zebra.

What a dufus!

These next few photos were all taken today, and were done just to keep her here longer. I hated to see her go, but I know her family missed her like crazy.

Nick didn't like her in the first photo, so we did an upgrade!

Then we went out to walk her to her car. We photo'd bird poop on her door... and then decided that our reflections were pretty funny...

...so we took more photos...

...and more.

Alas, she finally evaded my stall tactics and got her van door open.

But I could see in her face she didn't want to leave.

Still, I am not convinced she really wanted to leave.

And just like that, she was gone.

Oh sister, I miss you already and you haven't even been gone a day!

Thanks for the super fun time and the great memories. I love you and sorry if this seems like an ode!

What a fantastic weekend!

Lately...

Things lately have been good, and a bit surprising. About a week ago I received a text from B's Momma. She woke up with zero site in her left eye. She has gone to the doctor and there is no reversing her loss of vision. She will remain blind in her left eye. I have no idea what this would be like. We have gone down and visited her twice and we wish we could do more. B loves his mom very much. He cried when he learned about what had happened to his sweet mom.

Lynne, I know this is hard, but you must know you are loved and are always in our hearts.

I have been sticking with Zumba and loving it. I have heard of other teachers in the valley that teach these classes and I wish I was made of money so that I could try them all out. Rumor has it that the teachers available at Golds Gym (in Cache Valley) are incredible. I am waiting to see if my job will comp part of a membership, if so I just might join... but who knows.

The Belly Fat Cure is good, but I am getting bored with it. I am not sure why I am getting this way, it may be partly due to the fact that I seem to have to replace everything that I already have in my pantry and fridge. Also it is entirely too frustrating to realize the amount of sugar in vegetables and fruits. That part actually pisses me off a bit. I should be able to eat an amount of vegetables that I want without it affecting my sugar gram intake... but nonetheless... it affects it. Fruit I understand, but vegetables? Come on!

This last weekend our neighbors and us went hiking up Smithfield Canyon. It was cloudy and almost 9:00 PM on our first venture, and then it rained on us the next day that we went. I was just proud of us for going, and not letting the rain get in the way. We were going to bring the camera both times, but didn't. We did bring Arnold and Gordon and they loved it. Gordon is quite the little hiker.

Last night B and our neighbors made a ridiculous dish called 'Bacon Explosion'. I don't recommend it, and neither will your cardiologist. It is not the best thing for you. If you don't believe me, just google it. It is awful!

I am still trying to raise B's money for MS tour. There is an active link at the top of my blog on the right-hand side. So if you are feeling like giving, please do so!

Coming up... not this weekend, but next is Little Red Riding Hood. I am so excited for this! My sister will be here and things will be fantastic!

Well this is life in a nutshell. Hope all is well.

A New Diet

So as many of you may know, P90X is a fantastic diet. However, B and I lost our steam with this diet and are now trying something new. B's momma has been doing this diet since January or February and she looks fantastic. I think that they said she has lost 40 pounds. She looks simply amazing. So here is her secret:

After seeing B's momma on mothers day, I was a believer in the diet. I went and found a Borders coupon and then went to Borders and bought the book. I have read quite a bit of the book and am just astounded at how much sugar people eat on a daily basis. B has yet to read the details.

Today is the official start day! I have had my first Belly Fat Cure recipe. It is called Perky Blended Coffee Shake. It is quite good, and quite sweet!

I will most likely be posting recipes from this book on my sidebar. This one is quite fabulous. I already love this diet as it allows for you to have coffee, P90X does not allow for coffee. Jerks.

Below is an aerial photo of my perky shake, and yes that is cocoa powder on top of whipped cream! Can you believe it?

Here is a side view.

I did end up using a protein powder that this book does not recommend due to it containing the wrong kind of sugar. We are poor though and cannot afford to just throw it out. We will use up our EAS whey protein and then buy Jay Robb protein powder that the book highly promotes. The shake was still fabulous though!

When B comes home for lunch break we are going to make another yummy recipe from the book. I am really excited. I need to drop some weight fast so that I am not carrying all of these pounds on my bike rides. They are coming up fast!

Little Red Riding Hood is the first weekend in June. I can hardly wait. Not only am I happy to be riding, but I am super excited to have my sister come down. She is going to stay with us for almost a week! I just can't wait! She is the best!

The last weekend in June is the MS tour! I have successfully collected all of my donations, but now I am trying to get B's donations. He is still at zero $$$. I have updated my link on the top right of the my blog to have donations for B.

PLEASE donate if you can! I understand if you can't (believe me... we po'), but if you are able we would be grateful!

In other things, I am now showing you my beads.

When I had gone to Idaho in April to see my sister, she got me addicted to beading. Here are two of the watchbands I made for myself while there. I also made 2 for B's mom and my sister made one for Yogurt Flavored for me to give her for her birthday. They all turned out so cute!

My sis also made a beautiful band for B's momma. Yeah, we kind of like those two.

Below here are 2 watches my sister made for me for my birthday back in March. She is very good at making these suckers.

Well, this is my life as of now. B is great and wonderful. He puts up with me and my crabby moods, and let me tell you, I sure tried his patience last night! I love that boy though. He is great.

I hope one and all are wonderful! Much love.

Here Came the Sun!

Finally, a day with sunshine AND some heat! I was excited!

I took the dogs with me to my home health visit (they stayed in the car for the 20 minutes).

After the visit... up the canyon we went. We walked the river trail and had a blast. The poor dogs got absolutely covered in cockle-burrs, but they loved every second of the walk. The river trail up Logan canyon is quite beautiful. We had a great time.

When we got back to the car, I de-burred the dogs and then we headed home. Once home those poor pups needed a bath and more de-burring. So we had quite the morning. Afterward I cleaned my car seats. I know that my life is so damn exciting you can hardly stand it.

Things have been just normal as all get out lately. A couple of nights ago I found myself awake at 3:30 AM. I tried and tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't. I was so annoyed. ANY noise that B or the dogs made just made me stay awake longer. So my patience is very short lived. At 3:45 AM, I stopped trying to sleep. I just got up, threw on my workout clothes and hopped on the treadmill until 4:30. That was the best decision ever.

I had a fantastic day at work. I was full of energy. I imagine that I would have been just an absolute jerk had I laid in bed and tried to sleep. When I went to bed last night, I crashed out hard.

In other things... B and I are preparing ourselves for a trip to Vegas with our neighbors. We are going in early July and we can hardly wait! How exciting!

Well this is my life for now! Hope you all are wonderful!

The Blog Break Ends... for now....

I am not quite sure what came over me, but the thought of blogging was just absolutely awful. What have I been doing? Well...

Some bike rides, collecting MS donations, making stuff to sell for MS donations, turned 30, worked, went to Idaho to see my sister (best trip)... split open my right great toe while in Idaho... didn't take ANY photos... made watch bands, worked, adopted a dog from the Human Society... had to take said dog back to Human Society so my dogs wouldn't kill him, started Zumbah, dyed my hair, worked, washed my car, off and on dieted, cleaned, worked, cleaned, worked... really my life has been super boring... perhaps not worth blogging.

I think I have just been in a funk. In the beginning of April was the 2 year mark of my dads death. I have missed him immensely. I have just kind of been 'in and out' if that makes any sense to anyone. Plus, now I am 30. I feel old. I feel like I look old. I don't want to get any older, but I know I will.

In other things, I mentioned that I started Zumbah, and I am not sure if I am spelling it right. In starting this class at the Rec Center, I have found that I have absolutely no rhythm but an absolute passion for shaking my ass and hips. I am sure that I put on a good show. It is a lot of fun. I have finally found a place that offers good aerobics classes that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I am absolutely thrilled. Mainly because my treadmill has been getting oh so boring.

My friend Stacey went to the first class with me on Tuesday night. We laughed and laughed but got a really good work out. I went last night and there was not as many women there, and we did the same routine as the night previous... despite having known some of the moves, I still bit it big time... but still had a blast. Tonight we Zumbah again. It really is a blast and I encourage one and all to look into their local Rec Centers for these classes. Yeah, you can buy the dvd's and do them at home, but it is so much more fun to be in a group.

Work has been really nice lately. I really dig my patients. My favorite story of the week:

I was at work on Monday and one of my residents came up to me and it was clear that she had been bitten by one of our pet therapy dogs (define irony right?). She was so sweet, she said to me "I was sitting on the couch and this is what the couch did to me." She had two perfect puncture wounds to her forearm. So I responded "Are you sure that the dog didn't get you?" And she then says "Well, I was sitting on the couch and my arm was hanging low and the dog was there and so was his mouth, but, this happened from the couch." I just started to giggle. I cleaned her arm and dressed the bites and reassured her that every thing would be fine. That the dog, who is really just a teething puppy, will be able to come back after he has had more training. She was so worried that the dog was going to get punished and never come back. I love that she tried to blame her wounds on the couch. She really is a sweetheart. I have some of the best patients in the world.

I have probably lost a lot of followers, but, as I said, I don't know what came over me, I just couldn't bring myself to blog. But here we are, we are back. I will do better at blogging. I hope to promise that to you all.

Much love.