A Walk in the Past......

Yesterday we had the Maricopa Stake Relief Society and Fashion Show and Luncheon. It was fun to participate. Here Sandi and I model clothes from the 1930's. Wearing hats, gloves, and pearls was a real treat. Mainly because they were out of style by the time I was a teenager so I never got a chance to wear them.

It was fun to be part of the "behind-the-scenes" group! Before each model walked to the stage there were narratives read about the era and special musical numbers were inserted periodically. The clothes we modeled were from the 1830's to the present. After the fashion show we sat down to a wonderful lunch of chili, Boston Market's recipe for cornbread (I know this because I made one - the recipe included two boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix, one box of yellow butter recipe cake mix, five eggs, milk and butter. Try adding up all those calories!!!), dessert of apple, cherry, or strawberry/peach cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream. Ummmmmmmmm.

Team Unity

Today was our team-building activity. Alison is our employee event planner and she did a wonderful job coming up with this activity. Twelve of us participated and were divided into two teams. The first thing we did was eat all the Mexican food we wanted!!! What a sport!

Next we bowled. I was pretty confident in my bowling skills - I polished my game with the Wii. Well, turns out it was crazy bowling.....bowling granny style, bowling as if you are hiking a football, bowling with the opposite hand, bowling with your arms intertwined with someone else's, bowling through someone's legs...you get the idea. It was fun and I even got one of the only two strikes!!!! And that was because I was lucky enough to get the "regular bowl" assignment!

After bowling we played the arcade games to earn points and see which team won. Then a quick game of pool - with no rules, just fun - to see who could get the most points based on the total number of balls in the pockets and their value. It took us 45 minutes to play the game but it was fun.

Our team won the bowling and pool games so we were declared the champions. WoooooHoooooooooooo!!!!!!

Back in the saddle again.....

After 11 months of "vacation" I am once again gainfully employed! I truly have been blessed to find a job in times like these. And to find a job with full benefits and good people to work for and with is a huge bonus. Of course I have to make it through the first 90 days of probation before benefits begin but the biggest benefit now is that I am learning the routine fairly quickly. I'd like to know and remember everything instantly but that's just not the case! Maybe next week! This picture was taken last year (I'm assuming) because some of the faces have changed and mine isn't in it! We now have four dentists until July when one leaves to open his own office.

You may be wondering how poor Duchess, Lady, Snickers, and Larry are faring while I am gone all day. They seem to be doing just fine. Larry has had dinner ready everyday and the girls are always excited to see me when I get home. I still manage to take Duchess for her runs every day - a good two miles! She is beginning to calm down as she is getting older. She is now five months old! She got a new collar for her birthday - size 14-18". Yep, we had to retire the collar we bought for her the day we first took her home. Sad but true.

Another Duchess story....

Duchess is a nice dog in training. Unfortunately with pups this takes some time and much effort. She is a wonderful dog and a great incentive to exercise!!! So............off we go everyday - me riding my bike and her walking or running. Lately we have been taking the trail (which is cement) to Pacana Park. Not sure how far it is but I would guess about 3/4 of a mile. The park itself is huge and has several baseball fields, two tennis courts, one basketball court, soccer fields, a covered play area for kids (covered because of the sun - not because of rain!), picnic tables, and a catch and release fishing pond/lake. It's a great family park which makes it a wonderful place to socialize Duchess with other dogs and especially with kids. She is afraid of little people for some reason - maybe because we don't have any of our own - so this is a great way to let her be with them. She has met several so far and they love her. She is doing well with them. She has also met quite a few dogs and while a little timid at first, she has always come away from the experience with just a little more confidence in herself each time. Coming home we have been taking the long way which is about 1.5 miles. This workout really mellows her out for the rest of the day.




And after her exercise I was putting a puzzle together and this is how content she was.... Normally she would have been trying to pull Lady around by her tail and I would have been trying to stop her! So our exercise has become part of our daily routine. When summer comes we will have to go out at o'dark hundred to beat the heat!









Here she is at the end of the day ready for some well-deserved rest so she can get up and do it all again!



We just got back (today is 2/2/09 and the previous pictures were taken 1/31/09) from Pacana Park - I had a picnic lunch (crackers/cream cheese/raspberry chipolte sauce/banana, ummmmm) and Duchess had dog biscuits (ummmm again) - we both had water - lots of it! She is getting used to the sights and sounds of the community as part of her socialization class. While there we heard birds, kids, adults, cars, and even a fire engine with its siren blasting! She did great with all of it!