dogs

Someday I will have my own dog. For now I'm just a dog sitter.  Currently I'm watching two dogs.  So far they have pissed on two of my rugs and kept me up most of last night barking and whining.  

We did go for a walk with Karen and  Cody today. That went really well.  We hiked on the ice age trail at holy hill. It was a beautiful day! That is the fun part of having a dog. We are going to try it tomorrow too.

b

Election

OK...I'm ready for this to be over.

I voted the other day. In Wisconsin you can vote early. It is a great way to avoid the lines. We are going to be out of town anyway.

b

election - standing on my all natural soapbox

The election is one month away. Wow...no matter what happens it will make history. For some reason I feel more drawn to this election  that any other in my limited voting history. Maybe I'm growing up, maybe it's the economy, or maybe I have more to loose.

This is a difficult choice.

1.  I don't like anyone telling me what I can do to my body. So that makes me pro choice.

2.  I have made good choices and lived with in my means.  I don't want to bail anyone out.

3.  I believe the government should help people that can't help themselves...Right now there are a lot of people that could be helping themselves out! There are people that could be working that choose to mooch off the system. Then there are people that have been hit by a hurricane or suffer from a disability that are struggling...these people really need the help but how do you police it???

Very interesting!

b

Happy Birthday

Thinking about Birthdays is fun. For me it serves as a check in with life. I really don’t feel my age. Maybe its because I don’t have kids. In some ways I still feel like a kid. Some of my favorite things to do are the very same things I loved as a kid. I consider myself very lucky to be able to enjoy life like a kid. 

I had an amazing birthday this year. John planned a weekend for us at he Osthoff resort in Elkhart Lake, Wi.  We really like the area. It is a very small town in the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest.  We  had pizza at our favorite place in Sheboygan....Il Ritrovo. We also had a couples massage and hiked the Iceage Trail. It was just the get away we needed.

Here is to another year! I’m very thankful for my health and that I’m loved. 

Other things this weekend...

Badger game Saturday night

Helping our friend Karen at the Lake Front Marathon (way to go Karen on your first!!!)

Brewer game Sunday...bummer but there is always next year and I can’t wait to go to a spring training game 

busy...busy..

A weekend at home

Well... almost.

Friday night we drove to Pleasant Prairie to visit the Pitts family. It was a great time. We had dinner, drank beer, and had a fire.  We need to hang out more!

Saturday we picked up our new pick up truck. We finally got a Nissan Frontier. After shopping at 3 different dealers we found a dealer that could produce a truck. I just don't get it... We had to be the easiest customers to work with. We knew exactly the truck we wanted to buy. We didn't have a trade and we didn't need to finance...Does it get any easier? I will post a picture in a few days.

After we picked up the pick up we went to John's parent's. John had to help his Dad with some stuff. Then we just sat around listening to the Brewer game. I NEVER want to attend a sporting event with his parents. It was terrible listening to them complain and make negative comments.  Why do people think a negative comment follow up by laughter is ok? Like the giggle changes what they have said? Like it takes away the negativity. It makes me uncomfortable. 

We went out for dinner early with the family. I think we got to the restaurant at 4:45pm. That is a little early for me but this time it worked out. John and I stayed at Wayne and Dawn's a little late the night before...We left their house at 2:15am :) So eating early was good so I could get to bed early.  Dinner was good until the Badgers lost and so did the Brewers.... love that positive energy!

Today we got to work in the yard. This is one of my favorite things to do with John. I planted bulbs (some of which we purchased right from the source in Amsterdam). John cut the grass and cleaned out Big Red. My Uncle John picked up Big Red this afternoon. Bye Bye Big Red!!! You were a great truck!

later,

b

The wounds are healing

I can walk around without a bandage on my elbow.

The Brewers just beat the Pirates!

We put money down on another pick up truck....This time I think we are going to get it.

Life is good!!!!

Chequamegon

What can I say....We finished. I was hoping for a better time than last year. That goal was met. However it wasn't good enough for me to feel satisfied. This year conditions where very tough. It was wet and muddy. Last year the course was dry and very fast.

This summer I have been on my bike a lot. I really wanted to feel good at the start of the race and I felt like shit. It was difficult to breathe and I was tired. For the first few miles I kept pedaling hoping that my engine would turn on. It didn't. Both John and I were climbing the hills well but it was very challenging to keep going. I did keep going because this day was about John. He really struggled to finish last year after his broken collar bone. I didn't want to complain and bring him down. He was doing great. I just wanted to be there for him and help him set a good pace. When we reached OO I had to pee. So I took a short break, I took another hit off of my inhaler, and we got some fuel. At this point I think we were in good shape to finish in under 4 hours. Considering the weather I would have been happy with that. 

Just a few miles after OO I crashed big time on a wet, rocky, downhill. I was really going fast...and then I wasn't. I hit the ground hard!!! My right calf muscle was screaming. Someone thought I broke my leg by the way it was positioned on the ground. Standing was not an option for a few minutes. People kept asking me if I needed medical. I just needed a few minutes to figure out if I could get up on my own. My right arm was hurting. John was a bit ahead of me but he heard me yelp when I went down. He was by my side in a second. I was able to get up after a few rounds of deep breathing. Thanks to the guy that directed traffic around me. I was really scared of being run over.

At this point I didn't know if I could pedal the 18 or so miles to the end of the race. I really wanted both of us to finish. I thought I would have to take the four wheeler back but I got back on the bike. I wanted to try. My front tire was not moving. The front brake was stuck because the cable had been stretched. It took a few minutes to get it adjusted and then I was worried it wouldn't hold for the duration. 

We started back out slowly. My calf muscle still screaming but I was afraid to stop. I thought it would cramp up and I would not be able to move. John was so nice to hang with me. We took the next few miles one hill at a time. My legs were cramping but I knew we could make it.

We did make it!!! Thanks John for helping me, staying with me, and helping me wash the dirt out of my arm. Thanks to Jay for driving us to the start and for being there when we finished.