RodneyDennis

Update

2012-02-01T20:28:00.001-07:00

View from the RV at Lake Pleasant

My friends and family, I apologize that I've not been very good about using this blog to keep you updated on our lives. I promise to make the effort to do more updates.

January seems to have flown by. We spent New Year's weekend at McDowell Mountain Regional park with some friends. We had great weather - in the 70's all weekend - and had a very relaxing time. For those of you who don't know, McDowell Mountain is near Fountain Hills on the east edge of the valley. It's about an hour away from home - just far enough away, but close enough to civilization.

Our other trip in January was to Lake Pleasant Regional Park. It's even closer to home. We were both off Monday of MLK weekend, and we were going by ourselves. We waited until Saturday morning to head to the lake. Dennis was sick all weekend, but we had the most amazing site with a beautiful view of valley pointing towards the southeast. We had a chance to spend the afternoon and evening with our friends Ron & Marilyn who live in their RV on the other side of the lake. The weather was a little gloomy but we still had a nice time. Dinner was fantastic! Unfortunately, I caught Dennis' cold and the 2 weeks since then have been pure hell for me!

I truly hope no one catches the chest cold that we had. It was viral and BAD. We are both still recovering. Not only did I cough my head off for over a week, but I've been completely drained of energy. I didn't walk the dogs for 2 whole weeks and haven't worked out since before MLK weekend. I was able to walk the dogs a few mornings this week, but I'm still not 100%.

We have a trip planned mid-February and we are going to Page Springs near Sedona. We haven't been there in a LONG time - perhaps since we were there with Aunt Marie & Uncle Jim - I can't remember. We were supposed to go there for Thanksgiving, but RATS, we didn't make it!

Next week I'm traveling to Des Moines for business. Now that Home Equity is part of Consumer Lending (along with Home Mortgage) Des Moines is the place to be for business meetings. I'm not really looking forward to the weather, but it should be a great opportunity to network, meet lots of people from Home Mortgage, and listen to what our leaders say about our 2012 strategy.

I hope everyone has a great February, and most importantly want to wish my Mom a VERY Happy Birthday on February 5th and my brother a VERY Happy Birthday on February 21st. Also, Happy Birthday to Lisa Crane, George Taylor, Jose Romero, Diane Taylor, David Taylor, Uncle Larry and any of our great-nieces/nephews who are celebrating a birthday in February (sorry we have not been able to "memorize" their birth dates!).

Don’t ignore warning signs of rodents in and around your RV

2011-11-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

Check out my latest article on Examiner.

Don’t ignore warning signs of rodents in and around your RV

Last Weekend Up North

2011-10-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

Sadly, Summer is over and it's time to take the RV back to the valley. We were able to leave the RV on our site when we left 2 weekends ago so it was very easy to get settled in last night. And that's a good thing because it was only 39 degrees when we arrived! We woke up this morning and everything outside is frosted. Dennis took the boys out for a walk in the forest before I even got out of bed! I guess I was tired.

It's very cold in the RV. We have the heat pump going and a small space heater. Our propane tank shows 1/3 so we want to try to conserve so we make it through the night. Propane heat is so much better and works well in cold temperatures. The heat pump doesn't do so well in really cold temps. The boys are snuggled up one in their bed and one with Dennis. They are total desert dogs.

We are looking forward to winter camping and hitting the road in the RV.

The picture above was taken out the door of our RV at 7:30 this morning. Enjoy!

Independence Day Weekend

2011-07-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

View of forest from my recliner

The dogs woke me up about 6 (they tried at 5 and I said NO WAY) and so I took them out to do their business. It's a rather chilly morning in the forest although you get no complaints from me! It was nice to put on a sweatshirt to take them out. We arrived here about 5:15 yesterday after a fairly easy drive up. I-17 was VERY busy, which is typical for the Friday of a holiday weekend but once we got on 260 and 87, we had no problems. As we were turning onto Forest Highway 3 and arriving at our destination, a truck with flashing police lights sped up behind us and followed us into Clint's Well. It was meeting an already waiting ambulance. Soon after, a chopper arrived and someone (not from camp) was loaded into the helicopter and airlifted most likely to Phoenix. It was quite an experience. As we were setting up our site, a bunch of campers gathered near us and at first we thought we were the "entertainment" but then we realized they were watching the helicopter drama.

It took us some time to set up as we were trying to get satellite signal. We finally gave up and decided to get out the dish and tripod. Believe it or not, we spent less time setting that up than we did trying to get the automatic satellite to lock in on a signal! The best part is that, despite looking ghetto with cables going into the RV through our slide-out, we have 2 tuners and can watch one thing and record another. We don't get that feature with the automatic satellite as the 2nd tuner goes into the bedroom for a 2nd receiver.

I'm sitting here in the recliner, Dennis is still in bed. Both of the dogs are sleeping in their bed. I have the window open and am looking at the forest. I can hear the squeal of hummingbirds as they swirl around us. It's so peaceful and beautiful up here. There's a chance we may get thunderstorms today and tomorrow but we really don't care. There's nothing like a forest thunderstorm to cool things of even more, and add to the relaxation of the Glamping experience.

Please have a safe and festive Independence Day weekend. Remember the freedoms that we all have and the freedoms that some of us are still fighting to get. Enjoy the weekend!

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

We had the great pleasure of spending the extra long Memorial Day weekend at Mingus Mountain with a small group of close friends. We arrived Thursday after work and found our spot. It was fairly easy to level (for a change). We discovered, however, that a window on the driver's side of the RV was broken during our journey. Fortunately, we have dual pane windows and only the outer pane was broken. We called the insurance company Friday and got the claim started. The window is being measured and ordered tomorrow morning. The entire window, frame included, has to be replaced. We are hoping that it will get replaced prior to our Flagstaff trip in just over 2 weeks.

Friday was a relaxing day for us with 2 more RV's arriving after work. We had a nice dinner of pulled pork and baked beans followed by a campfire. Saturday, the rest of our group arrived and we helped them set up their tent. It was fun, and faster for them than doing it themselves! Dinner Saturday was Bring Your Own Meat with lots of great side dishes. Another great campfire ensued, but this one wasn't as fun due to the wind. Sunday took us to Jerome to do some shopping and sight seeing. It was very windy all weekend and Sunday, it was windy AND cold. We skipped the campfire and ate dinner inside. Tri-tip with great side dishes and birthday cake for me and one of our friends made for a great end of the day.

Monday was pack and go home day. After a very long and relaxing weekend, it was sad to have to go home. Surprisingly, traffic on the way home was very light. We stopped in Cordes Junction to dump our tanks and headed home. It was a beautiful day in Phoenix and we took the opportunity to power spray the dust off of the Jeep and the back 1/3 of the motor home. After taking the RV back to storage, we stopped at Panda Express to get some take-out and went home to eat and relax.

Today was a rough day after such a long weekend. The good news is that tomorrow in Wednesday already! I hope everyone has a great week, and enjoy the pictures of our group campsite at Mingus Mountain.

Relay for Life Williams County, Ohio

2011-04-11T19:46:00.001-07:00

I'm proud to be traveling to Northwest Ohio in June to participate in the Williams County Relay For Life on Friday June 24th. Our whole family is participating in honor of my mom and my partner who are cancer survivors. We have so many family members who have been affected by cancer. We are a family of survivors. Our team, Counting our Blessings, is growing and raising funds. I hope you'll join us or support us with a donation.

Donate to Relay for Life

I fly into Detroit on Friday June 24th at 1pm, and depart on Monday June 27th at 3:15 pm. I'd love to see friends and family who live near my folks during that weekend. I hope we can connect! Join us at the Williams County Fairground after 6pm Friday for the Relay.

In Memory of Frank Muehlfeld, 1917-1998

2011-04-07T06:34:00.001-07:00

Today marks 13 years since my Grandpa Muehlfeld left us unexpectedly. I'll never forget that day. I was at work at GE in Cincinnati when my mom called. I think I was in shock. It's always painful to lose someone you love. I think about my Grandpa often. He was always larger than life and he could fix or do anything. For a very short time, he got me hooked on Skoal Bandits. Fortunately, that didn't last long. As a young adult, some of my favorite times were sitting in Blakeslee with Grandma and Grandpa, doing nothing, just talking and watching TV. Those were precious times!

Remember to tell your family members that you love them. You never know how much time you have left with them or that they have left with you. Don't take any moment for granted. Live it like it's your last. I know Grandpa is smiling down on all of us now, proud of his legacy. And while we miss him, we know that he will be with us forever.

Lots of love, Grandpa.

In Toledo until Tuesday Change in funeral time

2011-03-18T11:50:00.002-07:00

Dennis and I made it to Toledo Tuesday around 4pm. We got to spend time with Georgia and the rest of the Taylor family at Hospice of NW Ohio. It was a bitter-sweet day and a half. Georgia passed away peacefully at 5:40pm on Wednesday. The people at Hospice of NW Ohio were absolutely amazing. The level of compassion, caring and understanding that they all exhibited was very comforting. If you are considering any contribution to a non-profit, I highly recommend Hospice of NW Ohio as a worthy recipient of your contribution.

Georgia's service will be held on Monday 3/21 at 3pm, preceded by a visitation of the family from 1pm-3pm, all of which is happening at Newcomber Funeral Home on Laskey just East of Talmadge. You can also visit www.NewcomerToledo.com to leave a message in the guestbook for the family. The obituary will be published in The Blade on Sunday.

I've created a Picasaweb album of pictures we've captured of Georgia over the years. I would invite you to enjoy them, and feel free to upload any others that you might have in order to share with others.

Thank you everyone for your kind expressions of support over the last few weeks. Dennis and I will be in Toledo until Tuesday when we fly back to Phoenix. We'll chat soon.

Canyon Lake

2011-02-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend at Canyon Lake this weekend. We went with a great group of friends. We had 6 Class A's, a Class C, a fifth wheel and an airstream as part of our party. All of our sites faced the lake with great views of the mountains and magnficant sunsets. About half of the group left on Sunday and those of us who remained got together to play Jeremy's new Wii game Just Dance 2. I want to share the video he took of me, Greg and Greg getting down to Iko Iko. What a fun game!

We dropped our RV off at La Mesa today to get some more warranty work done. We hope to get it back within the next 2 weeks. We have a trip planned for St. Patrick's Day weekend and might be able to squeeze one in between now and then.

I hope everyone has a great week. I'll blog more later. Meantime, enjoy the short video!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been almost 6 weeks since I last posted! My, how time flies! It was a typical December - very busy. We joined a group camp out at Pleasant Harbor RV in early December and had a great time. Our group raised money for Trevor Project and donated several stuffed stockings to the Children's Hospital.

We had a very nice Christmas Eve with the Cronin's and picked George up at the airport for a visit. Christmas Day was just the 3 of us for dinner but we had several friends over for dessert and karaoke Christmas night. It was a great time! George left the Wednesday after Christmas while we prepared for our trip to Bullhead City for New Year's weekend.

Despite winter weather in Northern Arizona, we set out for Bullhead City after work on Thursday the 30th. We made it in about 3 hours and 45 minutes while dealing with below freezing temperates in Kingman and Golden Valley. We visited the Golden Nugget in Laughlin on New Year's Eve and managed to walk away with more money than we had when we arrived. It was fun! New Year's Eve was spent with great friends as we marked the new year in Arizona in Mountain Standard Time and in Nevada in Pacific Standard Time. We did a lot of consuming while in Bullhead City and Laughlin, hitting the post-holiday sales at Home Depot, Lowe's and Sam's Club.

Half of our party departed on Sunday while the rest of us stayed until Monday. We drove through snow falling in Kingman after stopping in Golden Valley to get fuel. We made it home in 3 hours 45 minutes with not much traffic. Tuesday, it was back to work for a short week.

This weekend, we stayed home and spent the whole weekend taking down and putting away Christmas lights and decorations. The house is almost back to normal and the puppies are very happy that the boxes and bins are gone. They get really stressed out when we have the bins out - it must bring back some horrible memories from before they were ours. Tomorrow it's back to work for a full week - our last 5 day week this month. We have some fun travels planned for the next several weeks - both by RV and airplane! Happy New Year to everyone! We wish you peace, good health and prosperity in 2011!

Picture: Discovery and Jeep at the Maverik station in Golden Valley after the fill up.

Fresh blanket of...leaves?

2010-11-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

We've had a very enjoyable and relaxing week at Page Springs so far. When we arrived on Saturday, the tree next to our site was still pretty full of leaves and losing a few each day. Well, last night the temperature got down into the 20's and the wind kicked up. When we got up this morning, there were about 6-8 inches of leaves on the ground from our tree. There are virtually no leaves left on the tree. I took this picture after I brushed the leaves off of the Jeep.

Today, we went into Sedona and revisited a few trails that we did back in February with our old Jeep. Broken Arrow is the most challenging and was a lot of fun. There's a section of the trail called "The Steps" that is VERY treacherous. We scraped on the skid plates several times on the way down but made it safely to the bottom. We then did Soldier's Pass, which is a little more tame. Both trails were hopping with hikers, bikers and people paying WAY too much money for the Pink Jeep tours. We joked that we should have taken on a few tourists when we stopped at Barlow's to air down. We could have paid for our gas for the day!

Lisa and Patrick are coming down tomorrow from Munds Park to hang out and enjoy the beauty of Page Springs. We are looking forward to one final day of relaxation and fun. It's back to the Valley on Sunday. We are very glad that we chose this option for our week of vacation! It's been tons of fun and very relaxing.

The picture above is of our camp site after the leaves fell. Enjoy!

Page Springs

2010-11-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

We arrived safely to Page Springs this morning. We left home about 8:45 and arrived before 10:30. It was a beautiful drive, very "fall" like with little traffic. Once we got to the top of Verde Valley the wind picked up. It was a fun drop down the hill! It took us a while to get situated on the site so that we could level and try to get satellite with the self-tracking satellite on the roof. We failed at getting satellite. It's a good thing we brought our portable satellite dish with tripod! The park has cable, so we hooked that up for the TVs in the bedroom, front of the coach and outside and ran 2 cables from the portable dish, through the slide out by the TV and into the back of the DirecTV box. Now we can watch one thing and record another! Or record 2 things and watch something that's already recorded. We are living large!

We took our time getting set up. I did the outside stuff while Dennis mopped inside and got the inside put together. We didn't mop when we left Bisbee because it was going into service for 2 weeks. It got pretty dirty while there! We are ready for our guests tomorrow (Jimmy and the dogs) and have most of our holiday decorations on display. I coined the phrase Thanksmas. We have some Thanksgiving decorations and some Christmas decorations up. Thanksmas. :) It's very comforting in here! We got some LED rope light and put it behind the slide outs on the top. It puts off a very nice and inviting glow towards the ceiling.

It's been a relaxing day. We haven't done much. We had Tony Roma's ribs for dinner. I also fried some potatoes - haven't had those in a while! We are now sipping on some cocktails enjoying the warmth from the heater! It's supposed to get cold here tonight and possibly rain tomorrow. We do have Internet, but it's very slow so I don't stay on it too long as it's very frustrating! Feel free to call or e-mail.

I've uploaded a picture that I took of our camp site. It's beautiful here with the falling leaves, flowing creek and cool temperatures. Have a great Sunday everyone!

Vacation time!

2010-11-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

Dennis and I are officially in relaxation mode! Today was our last day of work for 10 whole days! We have the motor home all packed up to head north in the morning. We are going to Sunrise Resorts Page Springs which is between Sedona and Cottonwood. The RV Park is right on Oak Creek, so we'll get to listen to the creek flowing all week. This will be the first time we've had a week off in a couple years and our longest trip ever in the RV. We are both excited about leaving in the morning!

I just want to take a minute to take note of all of the things we are thankful for. We are thankful that we both have loving, supportive, caring and sharing families. We think of you all more than you could possibly know. And we miss you when we aren't together. We are thankful that we both are gainfully employed and can enjoy the things we love to do such as go RV'ing, drink nice wine and spend time with friends. We are thankful that we've met a lot of new friends this year and grown closer to the friends we've known for a while. We're thankful for our two little white bundles of joy who keep us on our toes every day and bring so much love and happiness to our lives. We are thankful that we live in the Valley of the Sun and can enjoy 330 days of sunshine each year. And most of all, we are both very thankful for our good health. We continue to improve our health every day so that the other things that we are thankful for are still attainable.

We will no doubt have Internet service at Page Springs and will upload pictures as we have time between all of the relaxing, eating, drinking and relaxing. We hope that everyone has a happy, safe, and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. And remember, take time to stop and smell the roses while you can.

Much love to all! Rodney & Dennis

Jeep pictures and Video 10-9-10

2010-10-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Get your "Dune" on at Little Dealer Little Prices - Phoenix RV Lifestyle | Examiner.com

2010-09-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

Get your "Dune" on at Little Dealer Little Prices - Phoenix RV Lifestyle Examiner.com

Check out my latest article!

Brother Boy and Drama playing

2010-08-27T06:44:00.001-07:00

The boys were wound up this morning so I decided to take some video. This is "play" for them. It may sound mean but for those of you who haven't seen it in person, it's how they "wrestle" with each other. They do show teeth but they never bite. It's fun for them, and it's great exercise. It's fun to watch them play cat and mouse. Enjoy the video!!

Destination: West Clear Creek Wilderness - Phoenix RV Lifestyle

2010-08-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

Destination: West Clear Creek Wilderness - Phoenix RV Lifestyle

Girls weekend

2010-08-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

I was the honorary girl at Girls Weekend with Lisa, Judy and Ruthanne at Lisa's cabin in Munds Park. We had a fantastic weekend while our guys stayed at home taking care of our dogs. :) We had a lot of fun together, making some fantastic food, drinking some incredible wine and singing some BAD karaoke. We also experienced a fun Jeep ride on Saturday. We had perfect weather, although we had hoped for rain that never came.

We learned that there was a big storm in Phoenix Saturday that knocked out the power in our neighborhood and Lisa's neighborhood. It's too bad we didn't get any of the rain up in Munds Park! Take a look at our photo album to see some of the things that we did, cooked, ate, and drank. Have a great week!

Jeeping and Luau at Clint's Well

2010-08-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

Weekend at home

2010-07-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

Having the RV means we spend about as many weekends away as what we spend at home. So when we are home, we have to make the most of it. This weekend at home was no different. Friday after work, we went down to Tempe to do one final collection at the Laundromat before our friends returned home from their 3 week road trip in their RV. We took the boys with us and they really enjoyed exploring the Laundromat. They didn't pee on anything, I promise! On our way home, we stopped by Chino Bandito and picked up some dinner. When we got home, we had dinner, then each had a cocktail. We then proceeded to both fall asleep watching a movie on TV.

Saturday it was early rise thanks to the dogs. About 7, we decided to start working out back. It's been a while since we power-sprayed the pool deck and patio and the bird poop was getting gross. So Dennis worked on that and I picked up dog poop, pulled the pods off of the cat's claw vine on the wall (they turn into nasty pool-clogging things when they dry up and fall off), trimmed the tree and checked all of the irrigation heads on the plants. We then power-sprayed the mats from the RV in the driveway. They look brand new now!

After cooling down from the power sweat that we both worked up, we got showered and headed out to run errands. We went to Bell Honda to get the oil changed in my car and looked at the new Honda Insight hybrid in the show room. We then went to Discount Tire to price out tires for the Jeep. WOW! Expensive! Then we headed to Five Guys for a late lunch. On the way home, we took a detour to Home Depot at Carefree Highway to get some wire to support out tree and some other things. The last stop on the way home was at Circle K to get lottery tickets and rent a few movies from the Redbox.

Last evening, we shared a really great bottle of wine while watching The Crazies. It was an OK movie, but one that's been done so many times before. Then, it was The Fourth Kind. Train wreck! It was a dramatization of actual events, so they kept inserting actual documented footage which made it really confusing. About 10, the boys and I went to bed and Dennis followed about an hour later.

This morning, Dennis let the dogs out, then while out there, took a dip in the pool. He got them in with him, too. After he dried them off, he brushed them and I finally woke up. The rest of the day has been spent watching movies and TV. We watched From Paris With Love which was pretty good. It was very bizarre watching Jonathan Rhys-Meyers aka King Henry VIII from The Tudors put on an American accent. I liked the movie.

We're getting ready to head outside and finish up the projects from yesterday aka fold up the RV mats, put the patio back together and maybe go for a dip in the pool. The rest of the day will be relaxation, talking to my folks on the phone, and going to bed early. We may have to run out and get some groceries since there seems like there is NO food in the house.

We hope everyone has a great week. Next weekend, we're off to Clint's Well. Take care!

The boys

2010-07-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

The boys are being extra cute this morning. I was trying to take a picture with the computer webcam but ended up taking video instead, so I went with it. It's very short, but I love the Drama shake at the end!

If you are getting this via e-mail, you'll need to go to www.rodneydennis.com to view the video.

Have a great weekend!

Independence Day is upon us

2010-06-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Summer is flying by! It's nearly July and we haven't even been in the pool yet. Crazy, I know. We are looking forward to a 3-day weekend in the pines this weekend. We leave Friday after work in the Jeep to head up to Sunrise Resorts at Clint's Well for the long weekend. It'll just be us and the boys, so we are looking forward to some fresh mountain air, some rest and relaxation and perhaps a little Jeeping.

I'm happy to share that I had my first post-40 colonoscopy on Friday and my results were normal. No polyps. Everything looked great. I'm very happy about that! I'm waiting on my insurance company to agree to pay for the genetic testing that I'm having done to pre-screen for Lynch Syndrome. I'm hoping for favorable results from that testing as well! I'm very thankful for our friends Lisa and Marilyn who were my transportation to and from the colonoscopy which allowed Dennis to take the training class he signed up for weeks prior to me scheduling my colonoscopy.

We've been having some challenges with Drama scratching his neck open until it bleeds. We've had him to the vet twice for it in the last few weeks. He went back today for a follow up visit and our biggest challenge is to keep him from scratching his neck. We also have to keep his nails trimmed so that they don't do so much damage when he does scratch. He's such a drama queen when he's injured. I think he loves all of the attention he gets when he does it. Poor baby. We've had to keep them in the crate during the day because he wears the 'cone' and he can't get out the doggy door with the cone on. So, we just crate them. We don't like having to do that, but it's what is best for him. A picture of the boys - with Drama in his pretty blue cone - is attached.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Independence Day weekend. Enjoy!

CellPhoneShop deals

2010-05-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

Click on the CellPhoneShop link above for great prices on cell phone accessories, batteries, power cords, car chargers, etc. Here are some coupons you can use as well:

10% off $10 or more expires 8/15/10: Grad5
20% off $25 or more expires 8/15/10: Grad2
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This merchandise is quality and inexpensive. Thank you for your business!

We are at 7,500 feet in the pines at Mingus Mountain. It's gorgeous up here. We arrived around 6:20 last evening, 10 minutes later than we would have if it weren't for the motorcycle accident that was being cleaned up on one of the last 15mph curves before we turned off onto the dirt road. It wasn't a fatality but the guy was taken by ambulance to the hospital. The sad part is that it looked like a bunch of older men who had no business riding motorcycles at their age and condition - especially on the steep, mountain curves of Highway 89A. We are planning to stay until Tuesday morning. There are 5 rigs here right now, more are expected to arrive today. It's going to be fun!

Please say a prayer for the family of Officer Travis Murphy, Phoenix Police Officer, who was killed in the line of duty on Wednesday morning. He was 29 years old and leaves behind a wife, a 2 year old and a 2 week old child. Travis used to be one of my team members at Wells Fargo right after he was out of college and before he joined the police academy. He was shot and killed while investigating a report of shots fired. It's very tragic. He was a good kid and very brave for joining the police department.

Please have an enjoyable and safe Memorial Day weekend. Watch out for the crazies!!

Rodney & Dennis

Busy travel season

2010-05-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday night and I'm watching Lee and Crystal battle it out on American Idol. Very exciting! I think they will both be successful, but I believe Crystal will win the competition. She's having a much better night tonight.

It's been an amazing week. My birthday on Monday was awesome. My team surprised me with great decorations for my cube. Then, about 11:15, they all came together to sing Happy Birthday to me and gave me a Costco cake (my favorite!). My California partner in crime and a my leadership team took me out to lunch at Chili's. When I got home, Dennis and I went to dinner at Claim Jumper. It was a great day and a very memorable 40th. THANK you all for your part in the perfection!

Tonight, one of my vendors was in from Texas and we went out to dinner at Aunt Chilada's. It was so good. I haven't been there in probably a year. It rocked! Their Chambord margaritas are awesome!

Tomorrow we're picking up the motor home to bring it to the house to cool the fridge, then we're going to Happy Hour for my friend and former co-worker Ken who is moving back to Oregon from Phoenix. We'll pack some things into the motor home as well. Thursday is our last day this week and month. We'll finish the motor home pack up on Thursday and then Friday morning, we are heading up to Mingus Mountain. We plan to stay there until Tuesday morning. We are camping with 10 other RVs for a total of about 22 people. It should be fun and relaxing.

I hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. If you haven't already, check out the CellPhoneShop link above for cell phone accessories including wall chargers, car chargers, plastic covers, leather cases, bluetooth devices, etc. all at unbelievably low prices. Don't pay Sprint or Verizon prices - go to CellPhoneShop via our site.

Take care, and thanks for reading!

Update to format

2010-05-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

I updated the format of this page. Please let me know any feedback that you have.

I also want to draw attention to the CellPhoneShop banner/link above. Dennis and I have used this store numerous times to purchase cell phone accessories. Their prices are extremely low and the merchandise is of good quality. Wall/car chargers are about $3 each, snap-on plastic cases are about $9, batteries are <$10 and they also sell Bluetooth products. Shipping is about $5 so you want to make your order count! Merchandise arrives in about a week, directly from China. We joined their affiliate program, so we receive commission on purchases that we refer to the site. You can't have too many wall chargers. We each have one at home, one at work and one in the motor home. Stock up and never have a dead cell phone battery! They are literally 90% less expensive than the ones you buy from Sprint or Verizon and they work just as well. You can order based on phone model.

Have a great week.

Is it the middle of May already?

2010-05-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's hard to believe that today is May 16th. This year is going by so quickly. Before we know it, Christmas will be here.

George and Geraldo came from Ohio to visit this past week. We enjoyed their visit. They left yesterday morning to go home. We've spent the last day and a half recovering from all of the drinking we did Thursday and Friday evenings!

We have a busy summer ahead of us - at least for the next few weeks! I am travling to San Jose on business this week leaving Tuesday and coming home Thursday. Dennis is going to get the RV ready so that we can hit the road Friday after work. We are heading up to Sharp's Creek, which is on the Mogollon Rim between Payson and Show Low. We are camping with a bunch of friends. It'll be fun, as it's supposed to hit 100 this weekend in the valley!

For Memorial Day weekend, we're heading to Mingus Mountain. We are leaving Thursday after work and staying until Tuesday morning. It'll be a nice long weekend. It'll be dry camping, but it'll be fun. We should have great weather up there!

For the weekend after Memorial Day, we're taking the motor home down to Tempe to camp out in front of Jeremy & Brandon's house to do more training on the laundromat. Then, the 2nd weekend in June we are heading up to Flagstaff for a 3 day weekend staying at the KOA. On our way home from Flagstaff, we will likely take the motor home to Clint's Well and leave it for the rest of the summer.

We hope to escape the heat as many weekends as possible this summer. We hope everyone enjoys your summer, too! Take care!

Further down the Spillway at Blue Ridge Reservoir

2010-05-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

This video is further down the spillway as it falls into the river. It was a gorgeous day today, the temperature fluxated from 69 to 74 depending on the elevation. It was sunny and windy. It was nice to see the lake at capacity. Enjoy the video!

Jeep trip to Blue Ridge Reservoir

2010-05-08T16:22:00.002-07:00

We Jeeped to Blue Ridge Reservoir today with some friends. The lake is at capacity and slowly overflowing the spillway. It was very neat. I took a couple of videos today with my phone. Enjoy!!

Pre-paid Cellular

2010-04-11T20:46:00.001-07:00

This is shameless, but I want to plug our pre-paid cellular plans. I firmly believe this is the best deal on the market. Lightyear Wireless offers unlimited talk, text and web for $59.99 per month using the Sprint 3G soon to be 4G network. When you purchase one of our phones, the first month of unlimited service is included in the cost of the phone. At the end of the month, you have some options. You can renew for another month of unlimited service. Or you can renew for a month of a different plan (300 minutes for $30, 200 minutes for $20 or 1,000 minutes/1,000 text messages for $34.99). Or you can not renew since there is no contract.

You can set your account up for auto-renewal every month, you can visit the web to renew or you can call customer service to renew. Lightyear Wireless will send you a text message a few days before your current month of service to remind you to renew. It's very simple! And because there's no contract, you can choose to not renew at anytime, then reactivate later.

Another great product we have is pre-paid high-speed internet using a MiFi device, capable of providing WiFi service to up to 5 devices at the same time. Service is $69.99 per month and when you purchase in April, you get your 6th month of service free. That comes out to $58 per month plus the cost of the MiFi device, which is $255. Because it's prepaid and there is no contract, you can discontinue anytime by simply not extending your service for another month. $69.99 gets you 5GB of data for the month. You cannot exceed 5GB. If you reach 5GB before the end of the month, you can extend for another 5GB or month for $69.99. It's very simple. No Contact. No Deposit. No Credit Check. It's a beautiful thing!

Please visit http://www.cobaltbluewireless.com/ to check out our other Wireless Services, Dish Network, DirecTV, local and long distance service and even an International calling plan as part of Lightyear Wireless service. For $9.99, you get 1,000 minutes of international calling to 96 countries. You must have Lightyear Wireless service to take advantage of $.01 per minute talk to 96 countries.

Don't renew your cell phone contract without calling me first!

Interested in learning how you can earn income every month when you and your friends pay their wireless bill? You can also earn bonuses, incentives and wireless credits for signing up other Lightyear Wireless reps. Visit http://www.trylightyear.com/ and watch the 23 minute business presentation. Then call me and I can answer any questions you have and get you started as a direct sales agent running your own wireless business. This is a great opportunity, and we are delighted to share it with family and friends!

I hope everyone has a great week!

New Venture

2010-03-29T21:00:00.001-07:00

Dennis and I recently made the decision to join Lightyear Wireless as direct sales representatives. Lightyear has partnered with Sprint and Verizon to provide wireless services directly to customers at very competitive rates. The difference is Lightyear doesn’t pay for marketing – direct sales reps are engaged instead. We are very excited about the possibilities for this venture. We have taken our LLC and registered a DBA. Our company name is Cobalt Blue Wireless. Our formal name is VENDZILA LLC dba Cobalt Blue Wireless.

We’d love to share this opportunity with our family and friends. We are building a team of representatives to do the same thing we’re doing – recruit others to join the sales team and sell Lightyear products via an online, national web store. You can visit our web store at www.cobaltbluewireless.com. The best value in the market is the Lightyear pre-paid plan. For $59.99 per month, you get unlimited talk, text and web on Sprint’s 3G, soon to be 4G network. With no contracts, you are free to cancel at anytime. Phones are reasonably priced and include the first month of unlimited service. And if you join our team as a Lightyear Wireless rep, you can get paid for being a customer. You also have the ability to earn residual monthly income on the wireless bills of your customers and all customers of representatives that you recruit, down to 8 levels.

In addition to excellent wireless plans and phones, we also have the ability to offer DirecTV, Dish Network, local phone service, Voice over IP service, long distance phone service, cable TV service, mobile broadband service and an international calling plan through the wireless service.

Lightyear Wireless is owned by parent Lightyear Network Solutions, a full-service communications company founded in 1993. Lightyear handles network traffic, data traffic and billing – all you do is sell the service. Each month when your customers pay their bill, you receive a commission based on a percentage of their bill. That’s residual income for as long as they are a Lightyear customer!

We would be your sponsor to answer all of your questions and get you started. We have support upstream to answer questions and help you be successful. If you’re not successful, we’re not successful. We want you to join our team!

Check out these links for more information:

http://www.trylightyear.com/ (20 minute video presentation)

http://www.cobaltbluewireless.com/ (or web store)

Call Dennis or me if you have questions and we can help you join. Visit our store if you’d like to purchase wireless products, including a pre-paid broadband internet device capable of providing wireless access to up to 5 devices at the same time. We are ready to be successful together!

Dennis 602-369-9058
dennis@cobaltbluewireless.com

Rodney 602-318-4853
rodney@cobaltbluewireless.com

We look forward to hearing from you!!

Jeeping in Sedona

2010-02-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful Sunday morning in Verde Valley. We've been here since Friday evening with Jeremy & Brandon next to us. The weather has been absolutely perfect! Yesterday, we headed to Sedona to find some Jeep trails. After stopping at Barlow Jeep Rentals for some advice, maps and to let air out of our tires, we headed to the first trail. Soldier Pass was a pretty easy trail, less than a mile long. But we still managed to find some mud. There's nothing more beautiful than red mud on the side of a green Jeep!

After enjoying the scenery, we headed across town to the Broken Arrow trail. This one is just over 4 miles and was a little more challenging - especially on the way out. This one is heavily used by the local Jeep tour companies and we saw no less than 5 Pink Jeeps while we were at the end of the trail, or Chicken Point as it's called. While there, we enjoyed the scrumptious lunch that Jeremy made for us. The ride back was the best part as there's a part of the trail called "The Steps" which were extremely challenging. We scraped bottom in a few places! On the way out of town, we stopped back at Barlow to air our tires back up. They were so friendly and helpful there. If you are ever in the mood to rent a Jeep in Sedona, I highly recommend using them.

Our Jeep performed very well and we had a great time. When we got back to camp, the puppies were SO excited to see us. We left them at home so that they could sleep and we could enjoy the Jeep ride! In the morning, I had put a pot roast with potatoes, carrots and onions in the crock pot, and it smelled delicious when we got back. We hung out outside until it got too chilly, then we moved inside and had dinner. It was a great end to a fantastic day! Today, Jeremy and Brandon are leaving us, but we are planning to stay until tomorrow.

I've posted some of our pictures from yesterday. There are a few more on my Facebook page. As soon as I figure out the most efficient way to get my pictures from my phone to the computer, I'll put them in a Picasa album. Have a great week!!

Healthy Dog Biscuits - Banfield

2010-02-11T11:14:00.001-07:00

Healthy Dog Biscuits - Banfield

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RV Lifestyle 101: How do I find and equip an RV tow vehicle?

2010-02-10T22:00:00.001-07:00

RV Lifestyle 101: How do I find and equip an RV tow vehicle?

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Quartzsite, Arizona – everything for your RV and more in one zip code

2010-01-20T05:57:00.001-07:00

Quartzsite, Arizona – everything for your RV and more in one zip code

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Quartzsite – Arizona’s largest winter attraction

2010-01-11T20:24:00.001-07:00

Quartzsite – Arizona’s largest winter attraction

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RV Lifestyle101: FCC rules on satellite TV local channel transmission

2010-01-06T20:08:00.001-07:00

RV Lifestyle101: FCC rules on satellite TV local channel transmission

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New Year’s RV Resolutions

2009-12-29T20:48:00.001-07:00

New Year’s RV Resolutions

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Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-24T22:48:00.001-07:00

It's Christmas Eve and we had a fantastic day. First, Dennis and I sold our Joyner this morning. A couple from Missouri who winter in Quartzsite came to look at it and bought it. After an hour at Bank of America (THE WORST BANK EVER!!) we finally got our money and they got their title. The poor saps had to open a checking account because apparently you can't get a BofA cashier's check with your BofA credit card unless you have a BofA checking account. Give me a break! What should have been a simple transaction and notarization became an hour-long chore. The good news is everything went through and we no longer own the Joyner.

I worked until 4 and Dennis picked George up at the airport at 2:30. We met up at home and got ready to go to Ray & Mary's for our 5th annual Christmas Eve dinner. Ray's mom, sister and nephew were in from New York. We took our dogs for a play date with DD and GG. A good time was had by all. We had some great wine, a FANTASTIC dinner and a nice dessert (Derby Pie). I love Christmas Even with them! We are now watching District 9. Not very Christmas-y but interesting nonetheless. Our dogs are SOOOO exhausted now!!

Tomorrow we are cooking a turkey. It's soaking in kosher salt right now in the kitchen sink in ice water. It's going in the oven at 9am for a 1pm dinner. We are also making mashed potatoes (real), candied yams, stuffing, broccoli/cauliflower casserole, Derby pie and Pumpkin pie. And don't forget the cranberry sauce and Grands biscuits. Yum. Lyn and Dan are coming over to have dinner with us. It will be fun!

Saturday morning it's off to Verde Valley in the motor home. We are spending Saturday and Sunday nights there, then driving the car home Monday. Dennis and I are heading back up Thursday after taking George to the airport and getting home from work. We'll be ringing in the new year with our friends Bill & Dave in Verde Valley.

We hope everyone has a great Christmas holiday and day off from work. Whatever it means to you, I hope that it's all that you hope it to be. Happy New Year, and raise a toast to 2010 being better than 2009! Take care everyone!!

December update

2009-12-13T20:52:00.002-07:00

It's Sunday following a fantastic weekend. We are in Toledo visiting and Friday, George had his annual holiday party. It was a great time, despite the bitter cold! Saturday morning, Dennis and I headed to Williams County to go to my parents' house. We had lunch, took pictures and then had our Christmas celebration. At 4, it was off to mass to celebrate mom and dad's 40th Wedding Anniversary. It was a nice mass. Afterwards, we went back to the house and a big spread was waiting for us. Aunt Shirley is the BEST! We had a terrific prime rib with baked potatoes, green bean casserole and biscuits. It was delicious! Aunt Shirley also made a very nice cake to celebrate the occasion. I've posted pictures in an album to the left.

Today we hung out with my family. Grandma and Pete came over and we got to visit with them. Uncle Bryce was there for a while. Aaron headed home and Aunt Marie and Uncle Jim stopped by. It was really great to see everyone. Dennis and I headed back to Toledo after dark. When we arrived, we went to dinner with George and Jerry, then came back and watched a movie. It's almost time to go to bed so we can spend the day with the Taylor girls tomorrow. We're here until Tuesday morning, then it's back to sunny Arizona. We miss our puppies most of all!

Pictures from the weekend are to the left. Enjoy!!

Picture above: Don & Judy Muehlfeld, 40 years strong!!

Christmas Decorations 2009

2009-12-06T20:13:00.001-07:00

Dennis and I finished putting up our exterior Christmas decorations today. They look really great. Dennis made a couple of videos of the lights just before dusk. The videos turned out pretty good. Check them out!

I also posted pictures from our trip to Roosevelt Lake in mid-November. The link is to the left. Enjoy!

Destination camping: McDowell Mountain Regional Park

2009-11-29T21:22:00.001-07:00

Destination camping: McDowell Mountain Regional Park

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Anniversary party

2009-11-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

Dennis and I had a small party last night to celebrate the anniversary of being together 20 years. I was 19 and in my second year of college when we met. He was 25. We met at a party in mid-November and had our first date 11/21/89. A lot has changed since that fateful day 20 years ago. But the one thing that hasn't changed, is that we're still crazy about each other. Thank you to those who were able to join us for the celebration last evening. We've graduated from a keg to a pitcher of Sangria and shots of Jack Daniels. We had a blast.

One more day of work and we are on vacation until Monday the 30th. Tuesday morning, we're throwing the dogs in the motor home and taking off for Temecula, CA. We're meeting some friends' there and staying at the home of one of them's mother. We are really looking forward to not only the journey but the destination. We love Temecula and are excited to go back after nearly 3 years. We are planning to come home on Saturday, in advance of the Thanksgiving traffic rush.

We'll be making a trip to Ohio in a couple of weeks as well. We're visiting to meet our new nephew Knox, and to celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. We're also planning to celebrate an early Christmas with both of our families. Please order some warm weather for us, family and friends in Ohio!!

Thanks for all of your support of my Examiner.com writing. I had a fantastic month in October with over 15,000 pages views. I've exceeded 8,000 so far this month. I've been slow to add new content this month with so much that's been going on. I'm hoping to post something on the way to California, or shortly after arriving. Please continue to visit my site often. The link is to the left.

We hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday. Let us not lose sight of all of the people and things for which we are thankful.

Almost the weekend

2009-11-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday and I want to make a quick post. We were out to Roosevelt Lake this past weekend with a bunch of Glampers. It was a great time. It was chilly and a little damp on Saturday, but we enjoyed the company, good food, and fabulous campfires!!

We had no electricity except when the generator was running, and we had no cell service. I was able to receive a text message Saturday morning letting me know that Knox had arrived. Congratulations Lyn, RJ and Lylah!!! We love you guys!!

The above picture was taken by our friend Jim as we were leaving Sunday morning. I thought it was a pretty cool picture. Enjoy!

Picture: Our motor home, dogs on dash, Dennis driving, me in passenger's seat, towing the Polaris on the trailer.

Hump Day

2009-11-04T21:28:00.002-07:00

It's Wednesday evening, and I just uploaded a bunch of pictures to Facebook. I also added a Picasa album to the left from our trip to McDowell Mountain Regional Park a couple of weeks ago. It was so amazing out there. I'm going to write an Examiner article about that place very soon.

I would encourage you to continue to visit my Examiner link to the left. If you subscribe to e-mail on the site, you'll get an e-mail whenever I publish a new article. For the 2nd month in a row, my link was included in Good Sam Club's CyberSam newsletter. Last month, I got over 15,000 page views. So far this month, I have over 6,000. While this isn't enough on which to quite my job and live, it is a great start!! And I appreciate your continued support!

Saturday was Halloween, and I took a couple of cute pictures of the boys in their Halloween costumes. They had them on just long enough for me to snap the picture. Clothing of any sort acts as a straight jacket to them, and they freeze up. Sure wish I could have taken them trick-or-treating in their little suits!!

We're heading North this weekend. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Picture: Drama and Brother Boy in their Halloween costumes.

RV Lifestyle 101: How do I choose a satellite TV company?

2009-11-03T21:01:00.001-07:00

RV Lifestyle 101: How do I choose a satellite TV company?

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Get local channels with satellite TV while traveling

2009-10-26T21:31:00.001-07:00

Get local channels with satellite TV while traveling

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Saturday Night

2009-10-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday night and we are home watching a movie. We had a busy day. We got up at 5:45 (thank you Drama and Brother Boy) and took the boys for a walk about 6:30. About 8, we left to go to Cigna for me to get a flu shot. After that, we stopped at a few garage sales. Very disapointing. Lots of nasty, gross stuff for sale! We then went to Ross to exchange a lighted dog leash that didn't work. Then we went to the Dollar Tree to get some LED flashlights. We tried to take the dogs in, but we got kicked out because they sell food there and said the health department doesn't allow them to have dogs in there. Next we got on the road to IKEA to return the Poang chairs. We discovered that they don't fit in the space in the motor home where we wanted to put them. Fortunately they were still boxed up and the covers in plastic.

After IKEA we came home and relaxed. I did some laundry and we took cat naps in our recliners. About 3:30 we decided to get cleaned up and head out for dinner. On the way, we stopped at CostCo and returned the medicine cabinets we bought since we are now not going to remodel the bathroom. After that, we headed downtown to FEZ. We had a fabulous dinner, then on the way home, stopped at Redbox to rent some movies. I asked Dennis when we got old. It's not even 8 and we're in for the night. We're now kicking back, having a beer and watching the movie Fast and Furious.

Tomorrow, Patrick's helping us return the vanity to CostCo with his truck, then Lisa and I are going back to IKEA to return the lights we got for the bathroom that don't fit/work and a sliding tray she bought. Then, we should be all done returning stuff.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Very hot here in Phoenix. We are hoping the cool weather comes back very soon! Take care!!

Weekend with the girls

2009-10-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I went up to the motor home with Lisa and Lyn. We hung out, relaxed, had some great food and beverage, and went on an amazing buggy ride. We went to Blue Ridge Reservoir and Blue Ridge Dam, just a little ways from Clint's Well. We had to travel about 4 miles on the highway, but there was absolutely no traffic on Saturday! The Reservoir is about 4.5 miles off of Hwy 87 on Forest Road 751, and the Dam is another 2 miles past the reservoir. The views were amazing. I was also awe struck at how close you can get to the actual dam and see on the other side of it. It's a great place to go for a day-trip from Phoenix, or for the weekend if you want to tent camp in the area. There's also a public RV park, Happy Jack Lodge, just 4 miles away from Clint's Well and it's open year-round.

It was a little chilly up there since it is October, but it was so nice and relaxing. Dennis and I are going up with a bunch of friends this weekend, and we're bringing our motor home back to Phoenix, since Clint's Well is closing next week for the season. It's been a great summer, and we are looking forward to winter camping!

Our big trips coming up include Roosevelt Lake in mid-November and Temecula, California for Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to hitting the road with the motor home!!

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week! Please visit my Examiner.com page (link to the left) for the full story on Blue Ridge Reservoir and Blue Ridge Dam. Thanks!

Picture: Blue Ridge Reservoir

Yard work is the pits!

2009-09-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend at home doing yard work. What a drag! Saturday, we ripped out the dead bushes out front, trimmed the Mexican Fan Palm, blew the leaves out of the courtyard and power sprayed the entry. The yard looks so much better now! I think cleaned the house and we had friends over for drinks and pizza last night. It was a late night but a lot of fun.

Today, our big project was ripping the stump out of the side yard. We lost 2 of our trees a year ago and we just covered up the one stump. In the spring, it started growing, so we dug out around it and spent today pulling it out of the ground. What a chore! We tried to hook a tow strap on to the Joyner and pull it out, but the tow strap broke. So we did some more digging and cutting and then got the bright idea to use the winch on the Joyner to power it out. Ultimately, this was successful! We were able to pull it out and drag it to the curb. I'm hoping to sneak it into someone's trash can on Friday since ours is full with yard debris from yesterdays project.

Once we conquered the stump, we got cleaned up and went to lunch and shopping. We went to Chino Bandido Takee Outee for lunch (YUMMY). We then went to Big 5 for shoes and to Sam's Club and CostCo to look at vanities for our bathroom. Nothing. Then it was home to watch movies and relax.

Have a great week!!

Picture: the stump from the side yard.

Saturday in the forest

2009-09-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday afternoon and we had a great ride in the forest. Dennis and I ventured out with the dogs about noon. We took a forest road that went all the way to an incredible canyon. As far as I can tell from the map, it's Jack's Canyon. It was incredible. I'm posting a Picasa album of some photos we took while up there. On the way back, we ran into a killer storm. We drove right into it. Heavy rain, hail, thunder, lightning. We stopped and got out the rain ponchos and covered the dogs with their towel. A couple of times, we stopped to take it all in. We tried to take pictures of the hail but they didn't turn out too well. It was pea sized, nothing major. Before we got on the highway for the short trip back to camp (<1 mile), we stopped to wait for the rain to let up. It didn't, so we just went for it. I have to admit the rain hurt a little!

We got back a little after 2, and I've been cooking and uploading photos ever since. I hope everyone has a great rest of your weekend!

Picture: Me with the dogs.

Labor Day

2009-09-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

We got home today from a great weekend up north. We left about 3:30 Friday and arrived about 5:15. We stayed at Patrick & Lisa's cabin in Munds Park. We had a great time Friday. Saturday, we went garage saling in the morning. Saturday evening, we had our friends Jeremy, Brandon, Jim and Chuck over to the cabin for dinner and karaoke. They were dry camping in their motor homes very close to Munds Park.

Sunday, we hung out while Lisa and I farmed and Dennis and Patrick played XBox. About 4, we went over to the motor homes and had some cocktails and appetizers. It was fun. We got back to the cabin just after dark and put dinner in the oven. I think we finally ate about 11:30pm. It was hard to go to bed with a brick in my gut! :-)

Today, we got up and had breakfast, then got packed up. We learned there was a crash that closed I-17, so we delayed our departure. We left about 1:30, and got home about 3:15 or 3:30. It was a difficult drive home, and the freeway was busy. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper in several spots along the way. We finally got off the freeway at Carefree Highway and took 29th/Norterra home.

It was a great weekend. Check out the Picasa album to the left. Lots of pictures!! Enjoy!

Picture: Dennis, Brother Boy, Drama

Mid-week

2009-09-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

It's Hump Day! Only 2 more days until an extended weekend! I wanted to post a quick note about our fantastic weekend last weekend with Jim & Ray at the motor home. They brought the dogs up for the day and hung out with us. We had a great time. So did the dogs! I've posted a Picasa Album with the pictures. Enjoy!

One Year Anniversary

2009-08-24T18:49:00.004-07:00

It's hard to believe that a year has gone by already. It was 8/24/08 when, in the parking lot of JoAnne Fabrics, we became parents of Drama and Brother Boy. Sounds so seedy, I know. But that's how it went down. And our lives haven't been the same since.

They are the center of our lives. They have so much love to give, and expect so little in return. Whoever would have thought WE would have dogs! We hit the lottery with these two. We are so lucky to have them in our lives. Everyone should be so fortunate. Take care.

Sunday - what a weekend!

2009-08-23T14:43:00.004-07:00

Well, I had my knee surgery on Wednesday. I had torn meniscus that had to be removed and cleaned up. It went very well. I was home by noon. Thursday I just rested and iced my knee and took pain killers. We also went to the optometrist Thursday afternoon. I'm trying contacts again. Both Thursday and Friday, they gave me a horrible headache. Friday I worked from home. I felt good most of the day, but had to lay down for an hour or so due to the headache from the contacts. It was debilitating. Friday night, Dennis and I stayed at home and went to bed early.

Saturday, Dennis got busy cleaning the bedroom. The dust was starting to pile up, making it difficult for him to breathe. He washed the sheets, vacuumed and was just getting ready to mop. He went into the garage to get the mop bucket and stepped into a puddle of water. That's when he discovered that the hot water heater was leaking from the top, spilling onto the floor and seeping into the baseboards and walls. Ugh. We turned off the water main to stop the leak, and paused the washing machine. We called a plumber, but they couldn't be here until 4 (it was noon). So we called another plumber who could get here quicker. The guy arrived and within 5 minutes, determined that our water heater was shot and needed to be replaced. At the same time, we also called our home owner's insurance and ServPro.

It was a crazy day. ServPro got here and started ripping up the baseboards, taking pictures, testing for moisture. It was insane. I was trying to rest and ice my knee, but kept having to get up to look at this or that or answer this or that. After all of the commotion, we ended up with a new gas water heater, a new valve, a new hose bib, and 6 ServPro fans and 1 ServPro dehumidifier in our house. The fun is only beginning. We are considering taking the opportunity to remodel our bathroom. Ray's coming Monday to look it over. ServPro is coming Monday to see if every thing's dry and take their equipment back.

I added a photo album of the pictures Dennis took while all of this was going on. It's quite a mess.

Saturday after all of this was done, Lyn and Dan came down for cocktails. Lisa and Patrick came later. We had a great time drinking, hanging out, listening to music and goofing off. We did a little karaoke later in the evening, and Lisa and Patrick left about 2:30am. It was LONG day. The boys let us sleep until about 8 this morning (WOW). We haven't done much today - the boys have done a lot of sleeping.

Tomorrow it's back to the office. I'm ready for it. My knee feels pretty good. I'll just have to take it slow so it can continue to heal. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. I also posted a new link on Examiner.com if you would care to check it out. You can get there by clicking on the link to my page that is to the left under the Picasa album of water damage.

Have a great week!

Picture: water heater platform and water heater after damaged unit removed.

Post Op Update

2009-08-20T08:15:00.007-07:00

It's Thursday morning and I'm awake. Barely. Vicodin kicked my butt this morning when I took it at 5:30. It is helping with the pain, though.

My knee surgery went well yesterday. They took me back about 9 and I woke up at 10:55. They immediately got me up and kicked me out. Dennis pulled the car around and we went to Walgreen's to drop off my prescription. He then took me to Arby's for brunch. After picking up the medicine, we went home. It's the funniest thing, the boys HATE crutches! The instant I start using them, they both start barking like maniacs. I tried to use the cane instead, with similar results. It's curious what must have happened to them before we adopted them to make them bark insanely at crutches or a cane!

I slept in the bed last night, and the boys were pretty good. I was up a couple of times to go to the bathroom and refresh my medication. Both times, they protectively followed me to the bathroom to make sure I was alright. They were nice enough to wake me up at the usual 5:30. Dennis let them out and I immediately sat down and fell asleep after taking the Vicodin. That brings us to now. Thank you all for your well wishes, thoughts and prayers.

Dennis' birthday was last weekend on 8/14. We went camping at Clint's Well with 10 friends in their RVs. We arrived Thursday to enjoy a 3 day weekend. It was FANTASTIC! The weather was great, the company was awesome and the Karaoke.....well, it was fun, too! So much great food, good liquor and fun times. It was amazing!

This weekend is recovery time so that I can get back to the office on Monday. It's also the 1 year anniversary of us adopting Drama and Brother Boy, formerly known as Bubba. They are such loyal and loving companions!! Thanks again for the well wishes for recovery. Have a great week and weekend!!

Pictures: doggies on the back of the sofa; Forest Road 751 near Blue Ridge Reservoir.

Check out my updated Picasa Album from our buggy ride on 8/15/09!!

New Article on Examiner.com

2009-08-10T21:24:00.002-07:00

Hi everyone! I have a new article posted on Examiner.com. There's an RV Show in town this weekend inside the air conditioned University of Phoenix Stadium. Enjoy!

http://www.examiner.com/x-16754-Phoenix-RV-Lifestyle-Examiner~y2009m8d10-RV-Lifestyle-101--Whats-the-best-way-to-shop-for-an-RV

Thanks for reading! If you subscribe, you'll get an e-mail whenever I post an article. Thanks!

Rodney

Hump Day Update

2009-08-05T20:47:00.003-07:00

It's Wednesday already. Wow, this week is flying!

We had a fantastic weekend camping. We left home about 3 with Dennis driving the motor home (got it fixed Friday morning - YEAH!) and me and the boys in the car driving behind. We got to Clint's Well a little after 5, after stopping at Mustang to fill up with gas. The weather was glorious! It was 77 when we arrived. We grilled and watched some TV. It got a little chilly overnight, the boys were snuggled into the covers by morning! Saturday after getting up the 2nd time (first time at 5:00 at the request of the boys), I made us some eggs and Dennis made coffee. We went for a buggy ride. It was so calm and quiet in the forest. Dennis went hunting for geodes. He found a few cool ones. When we got back to camp, we gave the boys a rinse in the shower, and I took a shower.

Saturday afternoon, we spent a great deal of time outside on the "patio" enjoying the weather. It was so nice - about 83 degrees. We had perfect shade from the forest, then our awning until sunset. We grilled for dinner, then watched a movie. By the time the movie was over (Step Brothers), it was almost time to go to bed. It was a VERY relaxing day! Sunday, we got packed up and put the buggy and motor home in storage. We left camp a little after 11 and got home just before 1. What a great weekend!

Sunday after we got home from camping, I went bowling with a Wells Fargo group. Only one person showed up. Fortunately, he brought 2 friends so the 4 of us had a great time bowling. It was great to meet some new friends.

Monday was fairly uneventful, except that I got all the way to work and realized I had left my laptop at home. I stopped in my bosses office to let her know I had to go home to get it. We started talking about things going on, and an hour later, I finally went home to get my laptop!

Tuesday I got new tires put on my car. Now I need to go to Honda to get them to do an alignment on my car. It was their car's fault that the tires went bad so quickly (less than 20,000 miles). They fixed the problem that wrecked the tires but wouldn't replace the tires. Now they need to give me a free alignment so that the steering wheel isn't 5 degrees left of center. Drives me nuts!

Wednesday Dennis and I carpooled, so we got to the office at 6:40. I had computer problems, and didn't get logged in until 7:15. So much for getting in early! It was a productive day, and we left about 4. We had a scrumptious dinner, then watched some MMA on VS, I farmed on Farm Town, and we'll be heading to bed shortly. Tomorrow, we're carpooling again. Friday, we'll see!

Pictures of our camp site.

Back from Ohio

2009-07-28T17:48:00.012-07:00

Well, I made it. I'm back! It was a very fun trip and a long journey home, but I am back in Arizona. I really missed Dennis and the boys. It's good to be home.

I left Arizona at 11pm Thursday and flew to Atlanta, then Dayton. I got there about 45 minutes late. My sister, brother in law and brother picked me up for the airport and we headed north towards Toledo. We stopped in BG to get some Myles Pizza and had lunch at my other sister's house with my 3rd sister, nieces and nephew. Yummy! It was then time to get food ready for the gathering at George's house. We had a very nice cookout there with lots of food and wine. I was up until about 1am Ohio time (that's nearly 36 hours since I got up at 5am AZ time on Wednesday).

Friday it was lunch with some of Kate's former co-workers, then a road trip to Williams County to our parents' house. We had a nice dinner/party with my mom's family Friday night, complete with lots of good food and wine. Seeing a pattern here?

Saturday was wedding day. The ceremony was at 2 followed by the reception starting at 5. We had all made reservations at the hotel where the reception was held, so we went there (after a pit stop at Sonic) to get checked in. Even though we had 2 designated drivers, it was still easier to just stay there. It was a great time, and I now have a new favorite song (Crazy b*tch by Buck Cherry). It's not for the faint of heart!

Sunday morning, we all went for breakfast at the Four Seasons diner across from the hotel in Montpelier. It was yummy!! We all then went to mom's house to hang out for a few hours until it was time to head to our destinations. Kate, Brian, Aaron and I headed to Cincinnati about 4 after Lyn, RJ and Lylah headed to Toledo about 3:30. We stopped in Dayton to have dinner at Fricker's, then went to Graeters for ice cream. We got back to Kate & Brian's about 9:30. After getting settled in and ready for my 3am wake up call, I finally went to bed at 11pm.

At 12:55 am, my phone rang. It was AirTran calling to tell me my 5:50am flight from Dayton to Atlanta was cancelled and they had put me on a 2:38pm flight that got to Phoenix at 10:05 pm (12 hours late!!). After I regained my composer (at least I didn't get hung up on) I investigated my travel insurance that I had the foresight to purchase when I bought my ticket. Turns out I could get some reimbursed for at least part of the cost of another plane ticket on a different airline. After much research, I decided to fly on US Airways out of Columbus which got me to Phoenix at 9am (90 minutes earlier than AirTran would have got me there). Aaron picked me up at 4:30, and we headed to Columbus. It was a good flight and arrived early. I made it to work by about 9:30.

I went to my orthopedic surgeon for the follow up after getting my MRI films before leaving Wednesday. The diagnosis: torn meniscus (aka cartilage). I have arthroscopy scheduled for 8/19 to have it fixed. I had the same surgery on the other knee 4 1/2 years ago, so I know what to expect. It's not pleasant but it's also not the worst thing in the world. I just want to get rid of the pain.

I got a good 7 1/2 hours sleep yesterday and now I feel as good as new! I just got back from CostCo and dinner is in the microwave. I'll blog more later this week with an update on the motor home. I hope everyone has a great week!!

Picture: Uncle Bill, Aunt Marie, Aunt Pat, Grandma, Dad, Aunt Sue, Aunt Karen. This is my dad's siblings along with my Grandma. How fun!

New article posted

2009-07-20T21:22:00.003-07:00

I've posted my latest article on Examiner.com. It's about our friends Jon and Gladys (real people, fake names) and their journey from home to motor home. Check it out!

http://www.examiner.com/x-16754-Phoenix-RV-Lifestyle-Examiner

Please subscribe to e-mail to receive updates. Thanks for your support!!

Sunday - the end of the week or the beginning?

2009-07-19T20:29:00.007-07:00

I guess it depends on your point of view. For me, it's kind of both. I'm excited about this week because I get to go to Ohio to see friends and family. I haven't seen most of them since November. I'm really looking forward to it!

I've written a few articles this week. If you haven't already, please check out my Examiner web page. Please subscribe to e-mail and keep up to date on what I'm writing. I'm working on my next article now and hope to post it by Monday night. It's going to be a good one!! Here's the web site:

http://www.examiner.com/x-16754-Phoenix-RV-Lifestyle-Examiner

This was a nice weekend. Friday, we went down to Ron & Marilyn's for our final Friday night drinking at their kitchen table. I know this because they sold their table and chairs today. If only that table could talk!!! It was an enjoyable evening.

Saturday, we didn't have much to do around the house. We both did such a great job keeping the house picked up this week that we didn't have to spend all day cleaning! It was very nice! We contemplated going out to look for Jeeps (we want one to flat tow behind the motor home) but Jeremy and Brandon did all of the work for us! Well, Dennis did talk to our Salesperson at Power Dodge about a couple that she had, but we decided not to go look at them because they weren't what we are looking for. Saturday late afternoon, we headed out to Litchfield park to our friends Ron & Bob's house for a cookout. We had cocktails and appetizers with some pool time, then some fabulous burgers and brats. It was ice cream sundae bar for dessert. YUMMY! And the company and hospitality was even better than the very tasty food! We were home by 10, I was falling asleep on the way home. Fortunately I wasn't driving!

Today has been relaxing as well. We had coffee, then about 11:30, I decided to make pancakes after reading Facebook updates from a couple of friends who were making pancakes. I was inspired. They were very good! The rest of the day was spent feeding the laundry machine. I washed and dried and Dennis folded. I put everything away after the folding was done. We can start the week with clean clothes and towels. This afternoon, Marilyn called me to come get the knives from their motor home that she gave us. Taylor and her sweet adorable Chihuahua Terrier mix came while I was there. I think our boys would really like her!!

Tonight it was pizza and wings for dinner. I cleaned up the kitchen, got the coffee pot ready for morning, and watered the trees outside. I almost got in the pool but it got dark and it feels like a storm is rolling in. I'd hate to be zapped by lightning in the pool! We watched our 2 favorite shows this evening - True Blood and Hung. Both excellent shows on HBO. You can catch up on Hung as they are playing all 3 episodes this week. It's on at 10pm EDT on Sundays (7pm for those of us in AZ). This is Season 2 of True Blood, so you'd have to buy the first season on DVD to catch up!

I am going to the doctor tomorrow to have my knee checked out. It's the one I injured in 1987 while I was a Senior in High School. I've had a lot of pain recently and have put up with it long enough. My PCP referred me to the same ortho practice that did my surgery on my other knee in 2004. I hope it's easily fixable! Tuesday Bullseye comes back out to look at the motor home and do more troubleshooting on the jacks - and hopefully can order the part to fix it. We want to leave town 7/31 and leave the motor home up North for the rest of summer. Fingers crossed!

Wednesday I'm off to Ohio. Dennis gets to stay home and watch the doggies. And I might actually get some sleep! :-) I hope everyone has a great week and watch for my Examiner article Monday night or Tuesday. Take care!

New adventure

2009-07-10T22:24:00.008-07:00

I'm excited to inform everyone that I've recently became a freelance writer for The Examiner as a Phoenix RV Lifestyle Examiner. I'll write 3-4 articles a week about my RV experiences, news, advice, etc. and post them to the web site. I'd be really grateful and honored if you would bookmark my site, visit often, and subscribe to my e-mail. This is a new opportunity for me to share my passion for RV'ing with others. Below is the URL. Thank you so much for your support!!!

http://www.examiner.com/x-16754-Phoenix-RV-Lifestyle-Examiner

It's been an interesting week already. Brother Boy spent Thursday at the vet. He woke up and started vomiting all over the place. Being the nervous mother that I am, I called the vet when I got to work and they were able to get him right in, so I went home to pick him up and take him in. Of course, Drama went along for the ride. They wanted to do some tests which would take a couple of hours, so I left him there and went home to work. About 12:30, they called to let me know he was ready to go home. I went to get him and after speaking to the doctor, the tests didn't turn up anything other than "he had a tummy ache". It was comforting to know there wasn't something serious wrong with him. Poor baby!

Thursday afternoon, I went to my doctor to get my left knee checked out. She referred me to an ortho and ordered x-rays. I immediately went to get the x-rays done, and on the way home, scheduled the ortho appointment for Thursday the 16th. More to come, I'm sure!

Today's Friday and it's hot as hell here - literally! We'll be spending the weekend inside and in the pool. I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend. I'll write more later!

Independence Day 2009

2009-07-05T13:56:00.006-07:00

What a great weekend! We left work around 3 on Thursday, grabbed the puppies and jumped in the motor home and car. Dennis drove the RV and the boys and I followed behind in the car. I was worried about towing the car on the sharp curves and mountain grades going up to Mingus Mountain. We encountered a few sprinkles on Fain Road, just outside of Prescott Valley. We got there around 5:45. There were a total of 6 RVs Thursday night. We stayed at the Playground area on Mingus Mountain, hosted by our friends Brandon & Jeremy. The weather was so gorgeous.

Friday we had a nice breakfast. Jeremy's mom Shane and her husband Steve came from Temecula to spend the weekend with us. Steve made bacon and pancakes, and hash browns and Ron & Bob made a nice egg casserole. It was an excellent breakfast! The rest of the day was spent hanging out, setting up the Easy Ups for our group dinners and preparing for our Friday night potluck. Barb & Karen arrived after taking the 'long' way to Mingus Mountain so there are 7 RVs there Friday night. After a nice wine and cheese happy hour hosted by Ron & Bob, we had a fantastic dinner - 2 kinds of pork, salad, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, veggies followed by apple crisp and ice cream. YUMMY!

Saturday we had a red white and blue breakfast, compliments of Jim & Greg. We had blueberry and strawberry pancakes with whipped cream and sausage. Yum! We then put together the smoker that we bought to smoke the meat that Brandon & Jeremy were making for dinner Saturday. Once that was done, Dennis and & went into Jerome with Melinda & Dorian. We wandered in and out of some of the shops there, then went to the Mile High Grill for lunch. It was fantastic! We got back to camp just in time for about 8 or 10 more sprinkles of rain. We played a little Wii bowling, then started happy hour about 4.

Saturday night's dinner was a fabulous smoked brisket, salad, corn on the cob, Parmesan bread followed by peach cobbler made on the dutch oven and homemade ice cream. NUMMY!! about 8:15, several of us headed to the campground down the road to get ready to watch the fireworks. We had 2 vehicles and 11 people going, so we had to make a couple of trips to get everyone there. We were able to see the Cottonwood fireworks from atop Mingus Mountain, which is about 7,700 feet (Cottonwood is about 3,200 feet). It was pretty cool! We also caught a glimpse of the fireworks from Flagstaff at the same time. We then shuttled everyone back to the Playground and enjoyed the fabulous fire that the 3 who stayed back had built and enjoyed.

This morning it was time to pack up to head home. We left the camp about 9. Dennis drive the motor home and was having trouble with large moths that had taken up residence in our motor home over the weekend. At one point going down the hill, he pulled over and started swatting them. In all, he encountered about 10-12 moths that somehow got into our motor home while up there. We stopped at Cordes Junction before getting on I-17 to use the dump station and put some gasoline in my car. I-17 was moving surprisingly well for Sunday of a summer holiday weekend. We got home about 11:30 and got everything unloaded. We then stopped at Safeway to fill up the motor home before taking it back to storage. After getting everything put away, we were back home by 1. We've been relaxing ever since.

The weekend was a dog weekend. We had 12 dogs at the camp. Everyone got along well. Our boys had a BLAST on Friday chasing a tennis ball with Haas and Diva. They got SOOOO dirty! We had to give them a bath Friday afternoon! They really enjoyed it! Jeremy and Brandon had their 3 dogs Daisy, Peggy and Joey. Jim & Greg had Haas and Diva. Shane & Steve brought Molly and Zeus. Melinda & Dorian brought Pat and Henry. And Ron & Bob brought Sedona. Karen and Barb left their dogs at home and enjoyed a weekend without them! But....our little lovers gave them some attention.

We hope everyone had a fantastic Independence Day weekend. We sure did. Happy Summer! I've attached a couple of pictures from the weekend. Have a great week!

Sunday update

2009-06-28T08:27:00.006-07:00

It's Sunday morning after another weekend at home. Sometimes its nice to not travel, but to just stay home and not have to do anything - unless we want to.

Dennis and I carpooled every day this week except for Wednesday morning. That made for long days since he is working overtime. We were there before 7 and stayed until 4:30 or 4:45. Friday we left at 3:30 which was very nice!

Wednesday I took the motor home to Payless to have the jacks fixed. They broke down after we got home from Flagstaff a few weeks ago. We are really hoping to get it back by Wednesday so that we can go out of town Thursday.

Friday we went to PF Chang's with Ron & Marilyn. We then stopped by Cold Stone for some ice cream to go, then came back to our house for some ice cream and wine. It was a fairly early night, we were in bed by 10:30. Saturday, the dogs woke us up at 5:30. We got dressed and went down to Ron & Marilyn's because they were having a garage sale. We bought some stuff and helped drive in some traffic for them by putting our neon green signs out at strategic places. We had a new alarm installed Saturday morning - ADT didn't want to make it worthwhile for us to become their customers again, so we signed up with American Alarm/Monitronics. We got a new keypad with cell phone communication to the monitoring station and got all new batteries in our sensors. The monitoring fee is about the same as with ADT. It's ADT's loss.

After a couple of naps and lots of relaxation, Lyn and Dan came down and we drank some wine, had some appetizers, and then had dinner. We watched The House Bunny - which was very funny - and then they left. It was a very nice evening.

Today the dogs let us sleep in until 5:45. They've both been very emotionally and affectionately needy this morning. I think it's because they are cold. They're 10 pounds, and with the a/c and ceiling fan going, it gets cold for them at 12" off the floor. We kicked them out of the bed this week - by setting up a bed for them on the recliner that we took to the bedroom from the family room. Drama does a great job staying in the chair but Brother Boy gets out of the chair several times a night and jumps on our bed. And several times a night, we get up and put him back in the chair. It is nice to sleep without worrying about rolling over onto one of them. But they don't like it very much!

We've also taken to giving them free reign of the bedroom and bathroom when we go to work. We did it 3 days this week and they did great. They are less energetic when we get home because they romped around all day, and they entertain each other. Thursday they got some bar soap out of the bathtub and chewed on it. Friday, they found a wooden ball that was somewhere in the bedroom and chewed it up. Now we know we need to leave some of their chew toys in the room with them to keep them occupied. They're such good boys!

This week is a short week. We are off Friday and - assuming we get the motor home back - leaving early Thursday to head to Mingus Mountain. We're really looking forward to taking the dogs camping in the forest with little/no electricity. It should be fun!

We hope everyone has a great week and an enjoyable and thankful Independence Day holiday. We should never forget the freedoms we have or what has been sacrificed in order to guarantee them for us! Also enjoy the picture of Drama sleeping on his back between the cushions on the couch.

June update

2009-06-20T06:55:00.007-07:00

It's Saturday morning, bright and early. June has been a busy month. The first weekend of June, we stayed home and worked around the house and yard. The week of the 8th, I traveled to Charlotte, NC on business. I'm part of the Coast-to-Coast integration team and our in-person meeting this time was in Charlotte. The weather was great - mid-80's but the worst part was the humidity. 75% humidity was horrible! It was a great meeting, and I managed to have a little fun while there.

Five minutes after getting home from the airport that Thursday, I jumped in the car that Dennis had loaded up and we headed to the mountains. Thursday night, we stayed at Clint's Well. It was beautiful there. The temperature was in the 30's Friday morning when we took the boys out. About 10, we pulled out, hitched up the car dolly and car and headed NW to Flagstaff. We camped at the KOA with Rainbow RV and had a great time. The weather was beautiful, it's a great park, and we had a very relaxing time. It was quite windy but we staked down the Easy-Up and sat outside most of Saturday, enjoying the weather. Our site became somewhat of a gathering place for the people we know best from RRV. It was great.

We didn't even make it to the Pride Festival. Saturday morning, we met our friends from Munds Park at CostPlus WorldMarket and did some wine shopping. After we dropped the juice off at the RV, we then took the boys and headed to Camping World to buy some new chairs. We got some very nice lounge chairs and also stumbled on some very comfortable and light-weight chairs for our guests to use. It was time to replace our old lounge chairs and the old-school "Coleman" camping chairs we've been toting around for years. It was a productive shopping trip!

Sunday we headed back to Phoenix because we wanted to get the car dolly back home. We're planning to go to Mingus Mountain on 4th of July weekend and we want to take the Polaris up there. Next weekend we're hoping to retrieve it from Clint's Well.

Monday morning, Brother Boy woke me up at 4:30, pacing on the bed. He then jumped off the bed, so I got up and let him outside. He promptly went out and threw up. Poor thing was obviously having stomach pains - probably over something he ate that he shouldn't have. He came back inside, then got up again and needed to go out. He threw up again. When we came in the 2nd time, he sat on my lap in the recliner for about 30 minutes, sleeping soundly. He seemed to be better after that. I got showered and dressed, but when we were getting ready to leave, Dennis suggested that I stay home with him - so I did. He was pretty lethargic all day but did have an emergency poo-poo around noon which he finished the worst of outside. After that, he slowly got back his happy personality.

Tuesday I worked at home because we had our new recliners and fridge and dishwasher delivered. We got stainless steel to replace our 10 year old fridge and our recalled dishwasher. They look great! We also rearranged the family room to fit the recliners and took out the old recliner. The new ones have massagers in the back and seat and also have a full-chaise which the doggies LOVE. It's nice that we can both sit in front of the TV instead of me having to sit to the side of it. Tuesday night, I put the old fridge (which still worked) on Craigslist. I got about 10 calls/e-mails about it - I think I priced it too low - and Wednesday we sold it for $150. That along with the $150 back from GE on the recalled dishwasher, and the dishwasher ended up being about $100. Not bad!

Friday, I participated in the Junior Achievement Hula Bowl for Wells Fargo. I raised $120, most of which I donated, and had a really great time. Dennis stayed home and hung out with the dogs.

Today, we are hoping to power-wash the back patio and pool, wash the cars and get the new bed frame put together. It's going to be hot today. June has been the coolest June on record since 1913. We haven't had many days over 100 degrees. It's been great! I'm sure it's coming, though! We had a dust storm last night while I was driving to the Hula Bowl. No rain to speak of hopefully that's coming too.

We hope everyone has a great weekend. We'll blog more when we have time. The picture above was taken in the motor home at the KOA in Flagstaff. Aren't they all cute??

Sunday again

2009-05-31T20:16:00.004-07:00

What a great weekend! We left Friday after work to head up to Clint's Well again. Our motor home has been parked in the same spot all month. It was still daylight when we arrived. We took leftover chicken from the night before, and dinner was easy! We relaxed, I fell asleep and woke up about 10:30, just in time to go to bed!!

Saturday was a sunny morning. It was gorgeous. We changed the tire on the buggy (took off the spare, put the tire we got from Ron on) and went for a buggy ride! We took the boys and went on both some old and new trails. We tooled around the forest, running into some ATV riders and other UTV riders. We stopped at one point and let the dogs walk around while Dennis scoped for rocks and treasure. It was very pleasant and awesome to be in the middle of the forest! We continued on and ran right smack into a nice storm. We got rained on and hailed on. It was some big hail - M&M Peanut sized. We stopped and put on our ponchos and covered the boys up with the towel they were sitting on and waited for the worst to pass. Once it did, we headed back to camp.

When we got back, Dan (the manager) reminded us that there was a lunch at 1 - burgers & brats, mac salad, beans, watermelon and cream puffs - all for $6 each. So we decided to head down and have a bite to eat. It was good! After lunch, we got back on the buggy and went out in search of some "geodes" that Dan said were in the area. After going down a very treacherous rocky hill, we came upon a clearing that had lots of gorgeous rocks. Dennis found several geodes - whole and partial. He was in heaven! The boys and I hung out by the Polaris, enjoying the outdoors. This is where I snapped the above picture. I could spend all day in the forest. It's so peaceful and serene. We eventually decided to head back and found our way back to the main road. As we approached camp, it began to rain (again). That was it. It was official. Saturday night was going to be a curl up on the couch watching movies night.

We watched Wall-E and baked some chicken. It was a relaxing night. Dennis made us a frozen strawberry margarita - the best he's ever made! It had fresh strawberries and fresh bananas in it. Delicious!

Today we had to pack the motor home up and move it off our site into storage. We got everything situated and headed for home about 10:45. We made it home about 12:30. The boys had a grooming appointment at 1:30 and while they were getting their hair done, we had some lunch at Dickie's BBQ pit. It was good! Then we went to Walmart and got some stuff that we needed. By the time we got back to the groomers, the boys were almost done, so we waited.

The rest of our day has been relaxation. I spent some time in the pool and scraped the calcium off the tile. It looks so much better! I've done some farming on Farm Town (Facebook) and now we're watching TV. We hope everyone has a great week.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T20:02:00.010-07:00

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. We left Friday after work. Our friends Jim and Greg went to Clint's Well as well as Brandon and Jeremy. Jim and Greg weren't towing a vehicle, so we asked them to tow our Polaris and trailer, which they graciously did. It was great to finally get it up there! It rained most of the way up there, and rained all night Friday. When we arrived at camp, we noticed that a truck and travel trailer were stuck in the mud in the meadow across from the camp sites. Genius!

Saturday we went for a Buggy ride and the other guys came in Brandon and Jeremy's Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. It's lifted and ready for off-road. They had fun in the mud just like us! We only had one spot that was scary and they were at risk of sliding off a hill into a watering hole. Fortunately, Brandon's expert driving got them through without drowning the Jeep!

It started raining again Saturday afternoon and rained all night. Sunday it was clear when we woke up, and was gorgeous all day. We took a buggy and Jeep ride and the trails were surprisingly dry - except for the occasional mud hole. I took the picture above of Dennis and the puppies overlooking a cliff into a canyon. It was so cool. The boys enjoyed the ride, since they didn't get to go Saturday.

Sunday night we had a nice dinner to celebrate my birthday. Greg and Jeremy had made cupcakes earlier in the day and lit candles and sang Happy Birthday to me. It was awesome. After dinner, Jim and Greg went home and Jeremy and Brandon came over and we played Sequence Dice. It was fun.

It was beautiful today when we got up. In the spirit of "planning your next meal while having the current one" we decided at dinner last night that we would have pancakes for breakfast this morning. Jim and Greg made pancakes and sausage/bacon. We also had some fruit. It was delightful to sit outside around the table having breakfast. It was great until the storm clouds opened up and dropped rain on us. We cleaned up quickly and went back to our own motor homes.

It was a nice drive home. We didn't encounter any traffic until Pioneer Rd, which is between Anthem and Carefree Highway. Traffic was stop and go all the way to Dixileta, where there was a 3 car pile up in the left lane. We had to pull over twice for emergency vehicles to get through. We saw one lady on the ground on a board and several other adults and children standing on near the cars. It was probably one stupid driver who messed up the last 10 miles of our trip home! The rest of our day was spent relaxing. The dogs were exhausted from the weekend. They slept solid for about 3 hours when we got home. Poor babies!

We each took time today to remember our men and women who have and continue to fight and die for the freedoms we enjoy. Their sacrifice shall not be forgotten. We hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Summer is here!!

Relaxing Sunday

2009-05-17T11:10:00.005-07:00

It's a beautiful Sunday morning. It's 97 degrees outside at 11:10 am. I slept in until about 9:30. It was awesome! I've had coffee, watched Graham Norton from last night and now we're watching The Spirit. It's a little comic-booky movie that I'm not really into, which is why I'm blogging! The dogs are sleeping and Dennis is watching the movie. On the to-do list today: laundry, laundry and hair cuts. And, lots of relaxation. We might even go in the pool later.

You might notice that I added a Picasa album to the left. I took some pictures at Sunrise Resorts Clints Well last weekend. This is a great little park at 7,000 feet that's North and East of Phoenix, South and East of Flagstaff and North and West of Payson. It's 2 hours from home by car and we love going there. We are heading up Friday after work for Memorial Day weekend with our friends Jeremy/Brandon and Jim/Greg. It should be a fun, relaxing time.

Yesterday we did our part to stimulate the economy. We bought a new area rug for the living room. It adds warmth and depth to the room - and the dogs love it! We looked at several rugs at Kohl's, World of Rugs and Big Lots and ended up buying one at Ross. It isn't perfect, but it was cheap and I won't feel bad if it gets dog vomit on it! I've attached a picture of it. We also bought a few other things at Ross and Big Lots and then got some gas and groceries at CostCo. We left the dogs at home so it was nice to get out, just the two if us. It was a beautiful day for shopping!

Tomorrow is the big day - Dennis starts his new job. He's going to do great. We hope everyone had a fantastic week and a happy, safe Memorial Day weekend. Don't forget to take time to remember all of those who have fought and died so that we can live free.

Dennis Job Update

2009-05-07T22:26:00.003-07:00

Happy end of week! I have an exciting update for you regarding Dennis. He accepted a job yesterday with Wells Fargo as a QA Analyst in Home Equity. He'll be monitoring recorded phone calls and providing feedback for coaching and improved quality. He starts on 5/18. Tomorrow is his last day at the temp job and he'll have a week off before starting the new job. He'll be working in my building, so we're planning to carpool. He's happy to finally have a permanent job lined up.

We are heading up to Clint's Well tomorrow after work. The weather is supposed to be glorious - 79 Friday, 43 low; 77 Saturday, 42 low; 77 Sunday. It doesn't get any better than that!

Have a great weekend. Thank you all for your love, support, and good wishes over the last 4 months since Dennis got laid off. It means a lot to both of us!!

Great weekend!

2009-05-03T15:20:00.007-07:00

It was our first weekend in the pines for the summer. It was a great, relaxing time. We were the only ones in the park except for the workers. It was fabulous! The Manager allowed us to leave our motor home on the spot for the month to make it easier for coming back next weekend, and for Memorial Day weekend.

We have no Internet service there (Verizon) but we did have cell service (Sprint). There's an Alltel tower up there and according to Verizon, they're going to be opening it up to Verizon customers but so far, nothing. The new manager is putting in high-speed wireless Internet along with an Internet room in the cabin, so we will have access to it if we want to take the laptop to the lodge. It'll do!

The dogs loved the park - especially the elk droppings out in the grass. Gross! We contemplated letting them off the leash to run around, but I'm quite sure they would have either 1) stopped at the first pile of elk poop and got distracted or 2) ran around in it and gotten it all over themselves. So we thought better of it. There were fresh droppings in the grass this morning and on the edge of the forest so we definitely had elk at camp last night. Too bad we couldn't see them!

We hope everyone has a great week. We're looking forward to heading back to Clint's Well this weekend. Take care!

Friday morning

2009-05-01T06:16:00.003-07:00

Good morning! Long time no post.

We've been very busy since we got back from our Easter camping weekend. We've done some work on our house and yard in preparation for summer. Dennis' sisters Joan and Sheryl were here for about 6 days. While they were here, I took them to Sedona for a day trip. They spent time in the pool and just enjoyed our weather. It was really great to spend time with them. We played lots of games, had some cocktails (imagine that) and sugared up. It was fun. They left Tuesday morning and the rest of the week has been spent getting ready to go camping.

Today after work, we're heading up to rim country to camp at Clint's Well. We're planning to leave the motor home there so that we can go back up for Memorial Day weekend. We're also planning a trip to Flagstaff in mid-June, then a dry camping weekend at Mingus Mountain for 4th of July weekend. Beyond that, not sure where we'll be but know that it will be somewhere in the cooler country!!

The dogs are doing great. They love being outside. We'll see if that continues when it gets hot. We've had an amazing Spring. It's been very pleasant while cool at night. It's awesome. We got the dogs in August so they didn't get a lot of experience with our 110+ temps. They are such cuddlers! When the ceiling fan is on, they cuddle up with one of us - or each other. It's so cute.

We hope everyone has a great Friday and an awesome weekend! My immediate family is heading to Louisville for Derby Weekend. They're going to have a great time. Blog more later!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T10:22:00.003-07:00

It's Sunday morning and we're slowly getting the motor home ready for travel. Checkout is noon, and we don't have a lot left to do. Should be simple. I took this adorable picture of the dogs this morning, up on the back of the sofa. It's been a great weekend out here, despite the rain yesterday. As you can see, it's nice and sunny this morning. It's going to be a beautiful day!

Have a great one!

Cloudy Saturday

2009-04-11T12:28:00.006-07:00

We're relaxing out at McDowell Mountain. It's cloudy today, rained over night and was raining this morning. We strolled into Fountain Hills with Brandon & Jeremy and Bob & Ron and had breakfast at Phil's Place. It's a nice little greasy spoon with a decent breakfast. The coffee sucked, but the food was good. Fortunately I had coffee at home before we left.

I took some pictures of the mountains and clouds around us. I posted them on Facebook if you are my friend. If not, send me a friend request and I'll accept you. I've posted one or two on here. It's a chilly day but we have the windows open for fresh air and the space heater turned on. The boys are loving it. They are such cuddlers.

Dennis is taking a nap and the boys and I are hanging out, blogging, listening to The Blend on XM/DirecTV. It's a nice day to do nothing. We're intending to play board games later with our friends. We may even teach them "Flip It" and take some of their money. We brought lots of quarters. While we were out today, we stopped at Safeway and bought lottery tickets, so hopefully we won't have to go home tomorrow. ;-)

Have a great weekend!

Windy Friday

2009-04-10T22:18:00.002-07:00

We made it out to McDowell Mountain Regional Park. The dogs and I arrived in the motor home about 3:30. Dennis drove the car out after work and arrived a little after 5. We hung out with Jeremy and Brandon until dinner. We had baked chicken with green beans. It was delicious! It was way too windy to grill tonight. The wind is almost as strong as it was 2 weeks ago when we were here with Jeannie. The only difference is that it isn't as constant. Ron and Bob are here as well as Bart and Jeff. Bart and Jeff are in the South Loop. The other three of us are lined up in a row in the North loop. I really love this park.

It's almost bedtime, I just thought I'd drop a quick line on the blog. Take care, everyone!

Wednesday Evening

2009-04-08T20:11:00.003-07:00

Time sure does fly! I wish I had the time to blog more regularly. Our company left on April 1st. It was such a joy having Dennis' sister Jeannie here. The boys REALLY loved her, too! The house is so empty since she left! Last weekend was garage sale weekend. We didn't have much left so we didn't do quite as well as we did last month. We did about $170 in 2 days. More importantly, we got rid of a bunch of STUFF. Saturday, after we closed, I boxed up everything that wasn't going back into the house and took it over to Goodwill. It was nice to get it all out of the house!

Sunday was outside project day. I spent the day cutting and fitting together PVC pipe to run a line from the pool pump to the sewer clean out in the front yard. This allows us to backwash the pool directly into the sewer without having to use a pesky rubber backwash hose. It's so easy to use! Dennis helped me glue everything together once I got it all cut and fitted.

Tuesday evening, I went to the pool store to get the replacement pop-up heads for the in-floor cleaning system. We had 3 of them break over the winter. I also picked up some debris bags for the skimmer basket. The pool ran all night with all of the in-floor cleaners running and it was crystal clear this morning. Now it just needs to warm up and we'll be ready to get in!

This coming weekend, we've decided to join some friends out at McDowell Mountain Regional Park. Brandon and Jeremy are already there. They're going to let us know how full the park is tomorrow. If it's filling up, we may take the motor home out and snag a spot, then come back home to go to work Friday. After work Friday, we'll head back out for the weekend. If the park is looking pretty empty, we'll just wait until Friday. It's such a nice park and there aren't many weekends left where the weather is fit go to out there.

Dennis' first week at his temp job is almost over. It's not very cranial work. He would definitely prefer something more thought provoking and challenging. But I guess it'll do for now while he waits for an answer on the other opportunities still in the works. Continue to cross your fingers for him!

Have a great week and weekend!

Saturday evening

2009-03-28T20:19:00.002-07:00

It's been a very relaxing weekend. Today, Ray and Mary, Gabrielle and Brooke and Dawson and Geter came over to visit us at McDowell Mountain. Dennis' sister Jeannie took this video of the 4 dogs playing in the living room of our motor home. They had a GREAT time! Our boys are exhausted, and have been sleeping ever since. Poor babies! We had a nice dinner - tri-tips and potato chips (glamorous, I know!) and are now watching TV.

I hope you enjoy the video. It's a lot of fun. Take care!!

Windy Thursday

2009-03-26T20:20:00.008-07:00

It's Thursday and VERY windy! Dennis, Jeannie and the dogs brought the motor home out to McDowell Mountain Park this morning to get a spot. This time of the year, they often fill the park and put people in "overflow". We didn't want to camp in a parking lot tonight, so they came early to snag a spot. I drove out after work, arriving about 4:30. I can't even begin to describe how strong the wind is out here. The entire motor home is shaking. The dogs don't quite know what to think of the motor home moving while no one is in the driver's seat! We closed the blinds just in case the windows blow in so that no one gets hurt! That would bite!

The sunset tonight was beautiful due to all of the dust and dirt in the air. The cell phone picture doesn't really do it justice. This picture is looking out the door of our motor home. It's supposed to calm down and be gorgeous for the rest of the weekend. The dogs were scared on our walk because the wind was actually blowing them along!

Tomorrow Dennis has to go into Phoenix for an interview at 2:15. Things are finally starting to happen for him. He interviewed last Friday for a job at Wells Fargo in Education Financial Services as a Loan Processor. Tomorrow he's interviewing for a Sales Specialist position also in EFS. Monday, he meets with Arizona State Retirement System. He'd really love to stay in health care, but will consider other options as well. He has a temp job lined up starting 4/6 with Wells Fargo in the Home Equity area, but a different group than what I am in. I'm confident something is going to happen for him soon!

Our visit with Jeannie is going great. It's great to get to spend time with her. I would say she's enjoying not having all of kids around her, but then again, they are on her phone all day. :-)

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

March Mayhem

2009-03-18T06:55:00.003-07:00

It's been a busy March! I didn't realize it's been so long since I last blogged. The first weekend in March, the Wells Fargo community service event we were going to do got cancelled last minute. So we decided to join some members of our Rainbow RV Group and boon docked out in the middle of the desert near Congress Arizona. It was a great time. Very dry, gorgeous, cold at night and no running water or sewer but lots of water in the tank and gasoline to make the generator go! It was a great time!

The second weekend of March, we had a garage sale on Friday and Saturday. It was a lot of work to get ready. We swept through the house pulling out things to sell. We were very successful on Friday - $260 dollars in profit! Friday night, we swept the house again and brought out even more stuff. Saturday was equally successful. We had a 2-day total of $565! And better yet, we got rid of a bunch of stuff that we either didn't use or no longer wanted. It was great! At the end, we boxed everything up and put it in the garage. We decided we're going to have another one April 3rd and 4th - and will sweep the house again to get rid of even more! It's so cleansing to get rid of stuff in the house!

This weekend was a little more relaxing. We had a nice Friday, having dinner down at Ron & Marilyn's. Our other neighbors Greg and Bryan also came over and the 6 of us (and our 2 dogs) had a great dinner. We then played "Flip it" for quarters. We came out about even for what we brought. Greg and Bryan were a lot in the hole and Ron and Marilyn were probably even but short given Greg and Bryan losing big. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday morning, we went to the RV Show out at University of Phoenix stadium. Ron and Marilyn found one they really liked right away. We went with them on the test drive, and then left them alone to do the negotiating. They ended up not buying, but it sure was fun to go for a ride in it! While they were negotiating, Dennis and I found a motor home we REALLY loved. It was way out of our price range, but it was nice to dream. That's the best part about RV Shows - you can dream what it would be like to own and live in one of the big, expensive motor homes. It was fun!

When we got home from that excursion, we continued cleaning our house in preparation for Jean's visit on Tuesday. In addition, Jeff from Vegas is coming and spending Monday night here as he has an appointment at Mayo on Monday. We're almost done. It's easier now that we have less stuff in the house! About 5, we headed to Elephant Bar with Ron and Marilyn to have dinner and help them use some more of their Elephant Bar gift card! It was a very nice dinner. When we got home, we took the dogs into the bedroom to watch TV (our living room TV has a burned out light bulb) and I went to sleep about 8. I slept until 7 this morning. I was tired!

It's now Sunday, and it's a beautiful morning. It's 69 degrees, sunny, and the dogs and I are hanging out. Dennis went back to bed because he got up at 5. Today, we're going to finish cleaning and get Jeannie and Jeff's rooms put together. I also have a project I want to attack, to run PVC pipe from the pool pump to the sewer to make it easier to back wash the pool. We'll see if that gets done!

I hope everyone has a great week! I'll blog more when I can! Take care!

Friday Eve

2009-03-05T22:26:00.004-07:00

I'm really into sunsets lately. Probably because we have the most beautiful ones on the planet. And who said pollution was all bad? Anyhow, this one was from this evening at the end of our street. I was filling the fresh water tank on the motor home with water at sunset and decided to snap the photo of it. Gorgeous!

Tomorrow, we're heading out to the middle of the desert to camp with some of our Rainbow RV friends. We're sort of "crashing" their party as our plans changed at the last minute. We were in need of a motor home weekend and decided to go with them rather than going somewhere by ourselves. It should be a fun time, provided I can get out of the office by 2:30 so we can hit the road by 3ish. We're not towing anything (after much back and forth discussion about taking a car, taking a buggy, etc.) so it should be an easy trip there.

We hope everyone has a GREAT Friday and a Wonderful weekend!

Hump Day Evening

2009-03-04T21:48:00.003-07:00

It was a very traumatic day today. I had the displeasure of dropping the dogs off at the Vet at 7:30 am this morning. It's not that I was worried about them being at the vet....we just don't like them being left with someone else. We are overprotective! The good news is that we got then all taken care of. Brother Boy has an ear infection so we got medicine for his ears. They both got micro chipped so if they ever get loose without their collars/tags, chances are better that we'll be able to get them back. We also got heart worm medication for both of them, got their nails trimmed, their anal glands expressed and their ears swabbed. They were both very lethargic tonight, and really just wanted to be loved all night. We were happy to oblige. Dennis got to pick them up and they still aren't convinced that I still love them since I dropped them off to the house of torture. Poor babies!

We also got our Motor Home back from the dealership today. We took it in to get the 'last minute' warranty items take care of before our 1 year anniversary on Sunday. It's hard to believe we've had it a year already! So....we decided to go camping this weekend. Originally, we were picking up trash on 7th Avenue with Wells Fargo PRIDE AZ. However, due to the Seventh Avenue Merchant's Association's Melrose on 7th Street Fair on Saturday, 7th Avenue will be closed down. SO....we decided to join Rainbow RV camping out in the middle of nowhere near Stanton, AZ. It's total boon docking, dry camping. No water, no electricity, no sewer hook up. The other people going are going to target shoot and get their CCW licenses but we're just along for the company and the peace and quiet (minus the gun shots). It'll be fun. We really need to get away!

We hope everyone has a fine Thursday. Dennis is still job searching. His background is in health care benefits and pharmacy benefits along with 13 years of customer service/call center experience. He also has experience as a QA analyst, listening to recorded calls, providing feedback for coaching, and doing case audits. He has a very strong work ethic and is a team player. Let him know if you have opportunities for him to pursue! 602-369-9058.

Thanks for your support and assistance!

Sunday evening recap

2009-03-01T20:58:00.008-07:00

It's been over a week since I last posted. Sorry to all of my disappointed fans. It was a busy week! Sunday I flew to Dallas to work for my favorite small business, ANTHiLL Events. Our company, VENDZILA LLC, supported ANTHiLL for a client meeting that lasted until Tuesday. I flew home on the 6am flight out of DFW and upon arrival in Phoenix, went right to work at Wells Fargo. It was a VERY long day.

When the weekend arrived, we had a quiet shut-in evening on Friday. I slept in the recliner most of the evening. Saturday, we were on a mission to find the part we need to put the light bar back on the Joyner. We went to Ace, Autozone, RideNow, Home Depot and Harbor Freight and no one had the part. No one even had anything close that we could make work. We'll keep looking. On our way home, we stopped at Safeway to get the groceries we needed to make the Apple Brown Betty aka Apple Crisp that we were taking to dinner at Terry & Cindy's.

Saturday night, we left the boys at home and went downtown to Terry & Cindy's. We had a delightful dinner. Once the sun went down (It was a beautiful sunset - pictures above) it was cool enough to eat on the balcony. When the sun was up, it was a little toasty. The boys were so excited to see us just after 10 when we got home. I love the welcome we get from them!

Sunday we spent the morning enjoying the leftovers Cindy sent home with us. Just after 11, I took the Polaris to Circle K to fill it with gas. We were heading out on a ride at noon with the Johnson's and Randy and Cari. Bondy was supposed to come, but he had car troubles so we left without him. Chris from down the street and his kids followed too, but just to see where we cut through the fence to get to the trails. It was a GREAT ride. It was a little warm, though. It got over 90 today, and I neglected to put on any sunscreen. After two plus hours, I was feeling crispy so we headed home.

The rest of today has been spent relaxing, napping, talking to my parents for an hour and a half and watching some movies. The boys have been delightful today, too. Tomorrow begins another week. We are going to win the lottery on Wednesday.

Saturday afternoon

2009-02-21T16:16:00.004-07:00

It was a quiet week once the Willingers left. The dogs mostly just paced the house looking for Lylah. They were extra happy to see me every evening. Thursday they were crated from 4:30 pm to 10pm and when we got home to let them out, they were so rambunctious! Then we went to bed! Poor boys didn't know what to do.

Friday, they got to go play in Ron & Marilyn's back yard. They love their yard. So much grass and unobstructed open space! Makes me wish we didn't have the pool so they could do the same in our back yard. We met Marilyn's cousin Kathi and her husband Dale. They're from upper Michigan (bottom of the middle finger nail for those of you inclined to hold up your left hand to point to a location in Michigan). They were a hoot. By the time I got there at 5:30, they'd already been drinking for several hours.

We played Flipover Cards, which was a fun game played with some cards, some quarters and some dice. Dennis won some cash at the end when we switched to L-C-R for quarters. There were 7 of us playing, putting in 3 quarters each, and he won 3 pots. He made back what we had "invested" plus a little. For dinner, Marilyn and Ron made a fabulous Prime Rib. It was stuffed with garlic cloves and marinated in Olive Oil. It was fabulous. We also had baked potatoes. Dennis and I were "full" and tired about 10 so we took the dogs and went home.

Today, we watched a movie, then he went outside to wash the buggies, the camping rugs from when we went to Pio Pico, and the front driveway - all with the power sprayer. The dogs were out with him for a while, then I brought them in for some water. I was busy working on tax stuff so that I can drop off the Vendzila LLC stuff to the accountant. I still have to work on the expenses for the Toledo house and once I get the Vendzila stuff back, put that into both of our returns. Then we're ready to file!

I'm leaving for Dallas tomorrow morning to do some more work for ANTHiLL Events. It's one of my favorite things to do. I sure wish it was lucrative enough to quit my day job! I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend and a great week. I'll blog when I get a chance!

Relaxing Sunday

2009-02-15T16:12:00.006-07:00

Yesterday, Lyn & RJ, Dennis and I took our two buggies for a stroll. Ron & Marilyn came as well. We had to find a way to get through the fence, as the way we've been going was sealed up with a fence repair. We met another couple who had a Polaris Ranger 6 seater. Turns out they won it from the radio. They joined us as we finally found a gate that wasn't posted with "No Trespassing" signs, and went through.

We found some fantastic hills - old and new. This was the first time taking our Joyner out as we've mostly taken the Polaris since we got it. Unfortunately, the Joyner doesn't do hills very well - probably because it's a stick shift and is very heavy. Dennis and RJ got into some trouble trying to climb one hill. When they tried to back down, they got into a worse situation. Me and Randy, the guy we met, had to help RJ hold down the right side of the Joyner so that Dennis could put it in neutral and back it down the hill, out of the ravine that it was tilting into. It was a little scary! RJ wanted out of the buggy, but I yelled "don't get out" several times. If he would have, it could have rolled over on top of Dennis! Not good! We had a LOT of fun and relaxed a little in between climbs.

It's been a great Sunday. I slept in for a change. Lyn, RJ, Lylah and I went to Paradise Bakery for lunch a little afternoon. We then went to BevMo to buy some grape juice. Then a quest to find a mailbox for them to mail invitations for Lylah's 1st birthday party. Since we were in the neighborhood, we went to Thunderbird Park and took a walk. It was a nice, overcast day.

We got home and they left to go visit a friend in Avondale, so it's just us and the boys at home now. Dennis' fixing some turkey leftovers and I'm trying to get over my stomach ache. I'm not sure if it's something I ate for lunch or what. I'm starting to feel a little better but can't fathom consuming food right now!

I'm tinkering on the computer, uploading pictures from our trip to San Diego last weekend. I'm going to try to figure out how to link to a Picasa Album when I'm done blogging. Look for it if you are visiting. I am putting a picture of Lylah sitting on the patio at Paradise Bakery. It was truly paradise out there today! Happy Sunday!

Friday Zoo

2009-02-13T20:43:00.004-07:00

Today, Lyn, RJ, Lylah and I went to the Phoenix Zoo. It was a very pleasant, relaxing experience. All of the animals were out and there weren't too many people there. Lylah loved the zoo. She spent part of the time in her stroller and part of the time with one of us holding her. The main attractions were the Orangutans, the Squirrel Monkeys (Monkey Village), the Giraffe's and the Lions. Very cool. The highlight of my day at the zoo was that among the people with whom we were 'tracking' at the zoo was 12 News Meteorologist Jerrid Sebesta. http://www.azcentral.com/12news/bios/articles/bios_Jerrid_Sebesta-CR-CP.html

It's been a great visit with the Willingers. I worked at home Wednesday and worked on performance appraisals for my leaders. Friday I took vacation. We've had some great meals, some great sangria (last night) and of course, great company. Tonight, we had broiled marinated tri tips with mashed potatoes with garlic butter, asparagus with garlic and chocolate brownie with ice cream for dessert. Yum! Oh, and don't forget the wine. We're about to go to bottle #2.

Saturday is supposed to be 62 and Sunday 70. What a glorious weekend! Take care!

Visitors

2009-02-10T07:00:00.004-07:00

Our visitors from Ohio arrived last evening. Lylah, my 11 month old niece, greeted me at the airport and showed me her certificate from the SWA Flight Crew for her first flight. My sister Lyn and Brother-In -Law RJ said the flight wasn't full, so Lylah got her own seat, slept part of the way, and had another child nearby to keep her entertained. What a great first flight!

When we got back to the house, we had some cocktails and caught up. It was a fun and late evening - I was up until about 12:30, which is why this post is going to be short. I have to wake up and get to work!

Relaxing weekend

2009-02-08T21:13:00.005-07:00

Thursday at 5am, we left Bajada Drive for a 7 hour journey via motor home to Jamul, CA to stay at Thousand Trails Pio Pico. We made 2 stops along the way, one at a Rest Area on I-8 and one in Yuma to fill our tanks with gas. It was a great day for travel. The dogs did really well. We got set up and decided we all wanted pizza so we went into town to Filippis pizza. It was delicious! The beer was good, too. Thursday evening, we sat under the Easy-Up around the fireplace to stay warm and dry. That's when the rain started.....

Friday it rained on and off all day. Any dry opportunity we had to take the dogs out, we took advantage of. Each time we brought them in, we'd give them a little rinse on their undercarriage. They tended to pick up a lot of road dirt! Lori, Marilyn, Dennis and I went into Chula Vista on Friday to get some necessities at Walmart and then even more necessities (wine) at Trader Joe's. The rest of the day was spent inside, eating and drinking and eating. Oh, and drinking. We tore up the wine on Friday!

Saturday our friends Dave and Bill stopped by - they lease a spot at Pio Pico and came over for the weekend since we were there. We met them over Christmas up at Verde Valley. We had a margarita brunch, talked, and played Sequence. It was a lot of fun! After they left, we had a sandwich and then watched a couple of movies - Defiance and Alien v Predator - Requiem. I snuck in a few naps, too. As evening approached, Dennis was feeling cold and run down, so he stayed in with the dogs and I went over to Dave and Bill's coach and had a glass of wine with them. It was very nice to spend more time talking and getting to know them. Such fun guys!

Today it was another early rise - 5:15am PST. We were packed up, loaded, and hitched and pulled out of the park at 7am. It was a nice trip home. We drove in snow, rain, fog, sunshine, clear, cloudy/overcast....we saw it all on our 7 hour drip home. We stopped at a Rest Area at the top of the mountain and then in Yuma to fill up with Gasoline. We arrived home around 3pm. It was a very relaxing, enjoyable weekend. It was great to connect with Lori and Dave again as well as Dave and Bill. The only thing that could have made it better would have been dryer weather and about 5 more days!

Lyn & RJ and Lylah arrive from Ohio tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to their visit. Dennis got to see them a few weeks ago, but I haven't seen them since Kate's wedding in November. We're going to have a great time! Enjoy the week! I would love to hear your comments and reactions to my blog. Feedback is always welcome!

Beginning of the week

2009-02-02T22:26:00.004-07:00

It's Monday night. Dennis arrived home safely Sunday from Ohio. His flight arrived 35 minutes early, fortunately I knew that from checking online. I left the hood about 7:15 (flight arrived 7:25) and by the time he got his bag from baggage claim and went to the curb, I was there ready to pick him up. It couldn't have been more perfect if I would have tried!

I worked at home today - seems to be a pattern for me on Mondays. I went to take Dennis' car to the airport to pick him up yesterday, and the battery was dead! I knew we'd need to do something about that, so I worked at home so we could get it taken care of. He went to the motor home to get our jumper cables, only to find they were in our side-turn garage. At least he found out that the coach batteries on the motor home were dead, too! So later in evening, we went to the storage lot and brought it home too. The next two nights will be spent getting the motor home ready for our journey to San Diego Thursday morning.

The dogs are SO thrilled that Dennis is home. Drama didn't stop licking him all the way home. They've followed him all over the house today, worried that he might leave again. When he did leave - stepped outside - they were both at the front door, crying as soon as the door closed. They sure do love their papa!! We're all glad he's home!

Have a great week. I'll blog when I can!

Sunday morning bath

2009-02-01T10:04:00.003-07:00

I just finished giving the boys a bath. I blow dried them this time and they look cuter than when we let them air dry. Of course, neither one of them likes the blow dryer very much (fortunately I still have one leftover from the 80's) but I managed to get the job done. Just thought I'd share with you how cute they are!

Remember to feel free to leave comments or reactions! Thanks!

Saturday afternoon

2009-01-31T16:21:00.005-07:00

I just got back from an awesome ride on the Polaris. Ron & Marilyn took their Polaris, Chris down the street and his daughter Mia took their Polaris and Lyn and Dan came along with me. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we had a great time. It was slightly breezy and a little dusty, but we got by. After a couple of climbs uphill and subsequent decents downhill, we decided that Lyn needed to ride with Chris to balance out his weight a little. It gave Dan a little more elbow room. I think Chris and Mia had a great time, although we helped him get is pimped out Polaris all dirty and probably gave it a few scratches.

I made a great video of Lyn, Chris and Mia coming down a hill, but something happened and only the audio came through. It's not the same! So I won't post it.

I'm watching Uncle Buck right now, unwinding from the ride. Not sure what I'm doing tonight, but have some work to do in order to get ready for Dennis' return tomorrow. The boys and I are all looking forward to him coming home from Toledo!!

I hope everyone has a great Saturday night! Feel free to leave comments on my posts or react to the posts. It lets me know people read them! Thank you!!

Friday.....night

2009-01-30T23:10:00.003-07:00

Well it's Friday night and much has happened since Wednesday morning. Wednesday evening I can't remember what happened. Thursday night, the boys and I went for a ride to Walmart to get some eggs and a Cardinals t-shirt. They love going for a ride in the car, even if they don't get to go inside once we get there!! I got some eggs, a Cardinals t-shirt for $14.82 and a "crock" for the boys' cage that fastens onto the wire sides so they can't tip it over.

The trip to Walmart was followed by me frying up some tofu, throwing in some spaghetti sauce, and cooking some pasta. Dinner was fabulous! I've officially decided to give up on the vegetarian eating style because of the effect it has on me. I tried for 2 weeks, and it really didn't work for me. So I'll eat meat but try to eat less of it. I threw in some falafel "meat" balls and my dinner was fabulous. After dinner, I made a pan of 2 boxes of brownies and another pan of 1 box of brownies for our "Cardinals day" tailgate on Friday. I sat down to Facebook with a glass of Glenlivet to watch American Idol and HDNet Fights. It was a fabulous evening!

Today, I bought pizzas for my whole team for lunch. I love CostCo pizza! The team loved it too. Who'd a thought that $97 could buy so much employee satisfaction! After work, I straightened up a bit and then Marilyn invited me and the boys down for wine. She made some (get this) pizza for dinner which was fabulous. We had about 4 bottles of wine (that was after the 1 they had before I got there). Ron's friend Scott, who's in town for business, stopped by to have some wine and pizza with us. The boys love Ron & Marilyn's back yard and their house. They definitely got their exercise! Now they are both sleeping like babies.

ADT's coming tomorrow, then we are going for a Polaris ride. I think Chris at the end of the street and Bondy on the next street over might be going with us. It'll be fun! I'm calling Lyn & Dan in the morning ot see if they want to venture out again. Last weekend was a TON of fun!

I hope everyone has a fine Saturday. Take care, and I'll blog more later!

Wednesday morning

2009-01-28T06:35:00.004-07:00

It's morning 5 without Dennis here. The dogs have been very needy because they miss him and require all of their affection from me. Every little noise, they jump up and run to the front door to see if it's him. Poor babies! Brother Boy was just at the front door whining. They sure do miss him!

I'm battling a cold this week. It started Sunday after coming home from Ray & Mary's. Not sure if it was from the airplane ride on Wednesday or if it was the girls/germ factories at their house on Saturday. Either way, it stinks. I hate having a cold! I do feel a little better today, although now the hacking cough is starting. I sure hope I get over it before Dennis comes home Sunday and that he doesn't bring some bug home from Ohio!

Monday after work, the dogs and I went to run some errands. We had to ship something to my parents from the UPS store, then I ran into Fry's to get some groceries. After that it was off to CostCo so I could order a birthday cake from one of my leaders. I picked up a couple of things while I was there. Tuesday I had training downtown in the afternoon and it was nearly 6pm by the time I got home. The dogs had to spend 10 hours in their crate that day, but they did just fine. Last night was American Idol night - it was a little lame. I hope its better tonight.

More to come later. I would encourage you to sign up for Facebook and send me a friend request. Have a great Wednesday!!

Busy Fun Weekend

2009-01-25T14:30:00.007-07:00

Dennis arrived safely in Ohio where it's very cold. He is enjoying spending time with him mom and both his and my family.

Saturday, after I got home from work, I went for a Buggy ride with Ron & Marilyn. Lyn and Dan came along with me. They had a great time, and so did I. Here's a picture of our buggy on top of the mountain that we climbed. It was a beautiful day for a ride!

After I got home from that, I took a shower and sat down to relax. I called Ray & Mary to see what they were up to and they invited me and the boys over. I decided to take an overnight bag and some wine. I had some pizza with them and we had a few bottles of wine. We were all tired and called it a night about 10:30 or 11:00. The boys didn't sleep so well in Ray & Mary's suite. They kept getting up, getting off the bed, and waking me up. About 5am during one of these incidents, Brother Boy caught a glimpse of his own reflection in the arcadia door and let out a few loud barks. I quickly quieted him and we went back to bed.

I took the boys to Wag N' Wash this morning to get groomed. While they were there, I went to FEZ on Central to meet Terry and Cindy for bruch. It was delicious! I then went to Target, Ana's Linens, Walmart and PetSmart to get rugs and dog food. I'm now home, blogging, and the dogs are sound asleep. Below is a picture of them post-grooming. They look a little foofy right now, but it'll grow out and they'll look masculine again. They smell so good!

Drama's on the left if you were wondering. He's the one with that 'woe is me' look on his face. They are such great dogs! We love them so!

I hope everyone has a great week. I'll blog when I can. Dennis comes home Sunday. I hope he enjoys his week there. We are anxious for his return to Phoenix!

In Memory of Matthew Renn

2009-01-23T07:21:00.005-07:00

This page is dedicated to the memory of Matthew Renn, who left us on May 22, 2008 after a brief but courageous battle with cancer. Matt was born January 20, 1965. Tuesday would have been his 44th birthday. Anyone who knew him, remembers his strong personality, his sense of self-determination and his sense of humor. In a complex world, Matthew broke everything down in the most simplest terms. "Why can't they just take it out?" he once said to me, right after entering the hospital in February.

I want to share a dream that I had about Matthew about 6 days before his birthday. I was at Matt's house - although it wasn't really his house - and he was there. He didn't have his hearing aid, he was normal weight and he was wearing a white gown. To me, it was a miracle that he was alive. We talked, and I told him that he needed to call his mom right now to let her know he's ok. Matt said that he couldn't do that, and wanted me to tell her. After a brief back-and-forth about the situation, in the way that Matthew always did, Matt insisted that I call his mom to tell her he's OK. Soon after this, I woke up and realized it was all a dream. Matt wasn't alive.

But I knew that this wasn't just any ordinary dream. I knew that there was a message there for me to deliver. I pondered the dream all morning as I was exercising, having breakfast, and getting ready for work. Finally, in a moment of clarity, it all came together. Matthew wanted me to tell his mom that he was OK on the other side. That's the message I was to deliver. So I began to compose an e-mail to Aunt Rachel as well as Matt's sisters Veronica and Cecelia. I told them about my dream and that I felt very strongly that this was a message from Matt that I needed to deliver.

Veronica e-mailed me to let me know that she had read my e-mail to Aunt Rachel and that it made her feel much better even though she was crying. What an amazing sense of relief I felt. I felt like I had finally said goodbye to Matt and honored his memory. Matthew fought his whole life to overcome challenges. He never gave up. Even though cancer ultimately took him from us, his memory will live on, and we can all learn from his courage and determination. On this, the week of your birthday, I just want to say..........we love you Matthew, and we miss you.

End of the weekend

2009-01-18T21:39:00.002-07:00

Well, it's late Sunday and another weekend is past. Friday we had a nice evening. After a vegetarian dinner, Ron and Marilyn came over and we drank a few bottles of wine and quizzed Steve on his experiences at Thousand Trails in Leavenworth and learned the details of why he left. Saturday, Steve and Dennis helped Ron and Marilyn move their broken down TV from the 2nd story to the 1st story of their house. Then, Dennis went to the Motor Home to get out the roof and windshield for the buggy. When he got home, he and Steve went for a buggy ride with Ron and Marilyn while I stayed home to watch the dogs and start packing for my trip to Dallas Sunday.

After the ride, we talked to Ron and Marilyn and decided we would have a potluck style vegetarian dinner Saturday night. I made tofu chili which was fantastic. Marilyn made some wonderful vegetarian meatballs that we had with pasta and red sauce. Marilyn also brought some garlic bread and Texas toast. It was a delicious, very filling meal! We had a bottle of wine with dinner, and watched the Barrett Jackson auction afterwards.

Ron and Marilyn left and we decided to watch the movie Juno as it was coming on one of the premium channels. Dennis surfed for a job while Steve and I watched the movie. I managed to finish packing before that so that I could go to bed stress free. I was up until about midnight and had to get up at 5am to be ready to be picked up by 6am. We had a nice journey to Dallas, and did some running around when we got here. We were away from the hotel during most of the Cardinals game so - thank goodness for Facebook - I received updates from Dave in San Diego and Ruthanne in Gilbert. I was very relieved to hear the Cardinals won the game! Woohoo!

Back to the hotel and it was time to open some wine. Did you know that you cannot bring your own wine into a hotel in Irving? We had to take it back out to the car and sneak it into the hotel in our bags. It felt like we were in high school trying to get away with something. I don't quite understand the law but I guess I don't have to. We had a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant and then came back to Lisa's room to inspect 200 binders to make sure the debossing was done right and the solar calculator inside worked. When we were done with that, we all came to our own rooms, and here I am. The next 3 days are going to be filled with a lot of hard work and long hours. I'm going to bed soon so that I'll be ready.

Take care, and have a great week! I most likely won't be able to blog much until the end of the week.

Thursday evening

2009-01-15T20:08:00.004-07:00

We had a schedule change this morning. I slept in because Dennis didn't have to get up. Unfortunately, it's because he got laid off yesterday. His job was eliminated because the drug he was preparing to support was not approved by the FDA and was put on hold for 18 more months of human trials. Fortunately he got 8 weeks of severance and is hitting the job search trail. Keep your fingers crossed and say some prayers for him.

Steve Fischer is here for a few days with his cute dog Sadie. Steve left Washington state last month and made his way down the coast to San Diego. He spent a few days there with his brother, then headed to Tucson. He spent some time there with his mom and sister and is now here in Phoenix with us. It's great to see him. It's been 4 1/2 years since I last saw him and almost 3 years for Dennis. His dog is very well behaved and a real sweetheart. She seems to be getting along pretty well with the boys.

If you know of any job leads for Dennis, please let us know! He has 10 years experience in health care and pharmacy benefits and 15 years customer service experience. He spent the last 6 months in a QA role, monitoring calls and auditing cases. He's very familiar with the Witness program by Verint and has become very proficient with several Microsoft applications. He's eager to get back to work, even after just 1 day!

I'll keep everyone posted on his progress with finding work. Take care, and Happy Friday (by the time you read this)!

It's Hump Day again!

2009-01-14T06:59:00.005-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it's Wednesday already! Working at home on Monday really makes the rest of the week go by quickly!

On my way home from work last night, I stopped at CostCo. While I was there I picked up a rotisserie chicken and took it home for dinner. It's a quick and easy meal with a side dish! I had big ambitions for the evening, but once I sat down to eat dinner, it was all over. I didn't move from the chair.

The American Idol Season Premier was last night. What a hoot! The auditions were from Phoenix and WOW, do we have some talentless people here! Some of it was very difficult to watch (listen to). Looking forward to watching again tonight!

Please remember to click on the "ads by Google" when you leave. I get "paid" to have them on my page but only if they get clicks. If you click on the way out, you won't even notice. Thank you!!

Have a great Wednesday!

Tuesday morning

2009-01-13T07:02:00.004-07:00

Good morning! Just a quick note to start the day. I'm still keeping up with my workout routine. Hit the Ellipse both yesterday and today. Now I need to master healthy eating.

I got my WD Passport Elite (hard drive) set up and all my files copied to it yesterday. It was pretty easy, although I did have to make a call to my brother for some advice on how to do it. I finally got it to work. Yeah!

I had 3 eggs left this morning, so I made one for the boys. After I ate my breakfast and the egg I made for them was cooled, I put it on my paper plate and gave it to them. I forgot about them for a while and then I noticed Brother Boy pushing the plate into the family room. When I picked it up, he had literally licked through the plate! There was a hole in it and he was getting extra fiber from the paper! Silly doggy! He's been very needy and affectionate lately. And I'm happy to ablige him. How can I resist those eyes?

I worked at home yesterday and got my self-assessment completed and submitted to my manager. Now I have the fun task of writing the evaluations of the 5 people who report directly to me, and review/give feedback/approve the evaluations of the 43 people who report to them! Let the games begin!

Have a great Tuesday! Here's a picture of the dogs sleeping yesterday while I worked.

Funday!

2009-01-11T21:36:00.005-07:00

Sunday was fun! We watched "Journey to the Center of the Earth" with Brendan Frazier and then went on a buggy ride with Ron & Marilyn. We first went West behind the mountain to Stetson II community. Then we found a way to get to the open desert North of there on the other side of the canal. We found a killer hill to go up. It was quite a rush! Going down was fun too. It was a really fun ride. I took some video and hope to post on here soon.

When we got home, I let the dogs out and as forgiveness for putting them in the crate instead of taking them on the ride, I took them for a walk. They loved it! They were tired when we got back and they took a nap. So did I!

I talked to both of my parents in the evening, then talked to my sister Lyn. It was great to catch up with everyone! We watched a pretty good movie on Showtime called "Love and Other Disasters" with Britney Murphy and some adorable British guys. It was a great story and had some funny moments.

I'm working at home Monday to finish my 2008 performance appraisal so I might not have time to blog in the morning, but I'll catch you up Tuesday morning. Have a great week!

It's the weekend!

2009-01-10T18:24:00.003-07:00

Well, Christmas is 95% put away (inside). We still have a few things to do like wash the rugs, fluff the tree skirt, etc. before Christmas 2008 is officially in the past. We also have a few lights to take down out front, but that won't take long. We worked hard today. It was exhausting, but it's nice to get it all down.

I took the dogs for a ride to pick up some movies. Dennis is home with the boys watching TV and movies and I'm at Ron & Marilyn's watching the Cardinals game. It's not much of a game so far unless you are rooting for Carolina, but it's early. We rented "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "Babylon A. D.". The dogs enjoyed the ride.

Tomorrow we have some more work to do in the house, and then I need to focus on my 2008 performance evaluation for myself. Then I get to work on writing the ones for my direct reports. I have 5 of those to do. What a thrill!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Saturday. Go Cardinals!

It's finally Friday!

2009-01-09T06:36:00.002-07:00

I thought this week would never end! It sucked working 5 straight days after having 12 days off! But I made it through. I was back on the ellipse today for my 20 minutes of heavy breathing. It's a great way to start the day!

Last night, Christmas started to make its way back into the boxes and bins. We got quite a lot done (Dennis did most of it). We got the tree down (100 ornaments later) and put in its box. The village is put away and everything is off the top of the entertainment center. My goal is to get it finished this weekend to get our house back!

We put the boys outside last night as Brother Boy was acting like he needed to go out. After a while, I tried to get them to come in. They were chasing each other around the pool. Let me rephrase that. Brother Boy was chasing Drama around the pool. He's fast for a little dude! Brother Boy never did catch him. Drama's SMART, too. I must have watched them go around 8 or 9 times. It was amusing, despite the fact that they were ignoring my calls to come inside. Then all of the sudden, the expected happened - Drama fell or was pushed (not sure which) into the pool. Fortunately it was on the side closest to the patio door. I ran out to him and he was struggling. The water is very cold and it was dark. He freaked out. I'm SO glad I was watching all of this and was able to run to his rescue. There's no telling what would have happened. I then had to give him a bath because our pool water is a little stinky. Poor thing! Both him and his brother were upset for the rest of the night.

We are spending the weekend at home. We may go down to IKEA to their winter sale. We don't need much but definitely need some new slippers! Other than that, it'll be Christmas removal and stowage and maybe some wine. I hope everyone has a fabulous Friday and an awesome weekend!

Sure Happy Its Thursday

2009-01-08T07:07:00.002-07:00

I skipped the workout today, I got wrapped up in playing with the Verizon card and my work computer. I was delighted to learn that I can use the Verizon card on my work computer and access all of the same things I can access with my wired or wireless connection.

The dogs are fighting like, well, dogs. They sound so vicious when they do that but I know it's all in brotherly love. Plus it burns some of their energy so they can calmly go into the crate when it's time for me to leave. They're currently fighting over the rope/rubber chew toy that we bought them at CVS Pharmacy in Cottonwood last weekend. I knew we should have bought 2 of them!!

I'm hoping that the bundle of motivation that I asked for from Santa shows up at work today. What I'd really like is a job opportunity that lets me work from home so that I can take off in the motor home. I sure hope this phase passes soon! I know it will, it always does.

In case you were wondering, Drama prevailed in the fight for the rope/rubber chew toy. I think Brother Boy gave up and is looking for one of the other chew toys that they have around the house. They are so neglected and spoiled. :-)

RodneyDennis

Update

Don’t ignore warning signs of rodents in and around your RV

Last Weekend Up North

Independence Day Weekend

Memorial Day 2011

Relay for Life Williams County, Ohio

In Memory of Frank Muehlfeld, 1917-1998

In Toledo until Tuesday **Change in funeral time**

Canyon Lake

Happy New Year!

Fresh blanket of...leaves?

Page Springs

Vacation time!

Jeep pictures and Video 10-9-10

Get your "Dune" on at Little Dealer Little Prices - Phoenix RV Lifestyle | Examiner.com

Brother Boy and Drama playing

Destination: West Clear Creek Wilderness - Phoenix RV Lifestyle

Girls weekend

Jeeping and Luau at Clint's Well

Weekend at home

The boys

Independence Day is upon us

CellPhoneShop deals

Busy travel season

Update to format

Is it the middle of May already?

Further down the Spillway at Blue Ridge Reservoir

Jeep trip to Blue Ridge Reservoir

Pre-paid Cellular

New Venture

Jeeping in Sedona

Healthy Dog Biscuits - Banfield

RV Lifestyle 101: How do I find and equip an RV tow vehicle?

Quartzsite, Arizona – everything for your RV and more in one zip code

Quartzsite – Arizona’s largest winter attraction

RV Lifestyle101: FCC rules on satellite TV local channel transmission

New Year’s RV Resolutions

Christmas Eve 2009

December update

Christmas Decorations 2009

Destination camping: McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Anniversary party

Almost the weekend

Hump Day

RV Lifestyle 101: How do I choose a satellite TV company?

Get local channels with satellite TV while traveling

Saturday Night

Weekend with the girls

Yard work is the pits!

Saturday in the forest

Labor Day

Mid-week

One Year Anniversary

Sunday - what a weekend!

Post Op Update

New Article on Examiner.com

Hump Day Update

Back from Ohio

New article posted

Sunday - the end of the week or the beginning?

New adventure

Independence Day 2009

Sunday update

June update

Sunday again

Memorial Day

Relaxing Sunday

Dennis Job Update

Great weekend!

Friday morning

Happy Easter!

Cloudy Saturday

Windy Friday

Wednesday Evening

Saturday evening

Windy Thursday

March Mayhem

Friday Eve

Hump Day Evening

In Toledo until Tuesday Change in funeral time