Hey! Hay! Hey!

We have tried numerous times to get our hay cut and baled but every single time, Mother Nature has had the last word.  We need 3 straight days of absolutely no rain in order to get the hay done.  You know the expression, "make hay while the sun shines"? It comes from needing nice days to make hay. It takes one day to cut the hay. Another day or so to rake the hay and dry it out.  Then you have to put the hay in rows, and then finally start baling. We ALMOST got our hay done a few times earlier this summer but then - the rain came.  And if wasn't the rain, it was that the ground was so soaking wet that the hay would literally drown in water instead of drying out.  It has been really frustrating.  We usually have the hay done by the 4th of July at the latest.  Sometimes we get the hay done in early June.  We have never ever ever had to wait until August to get our first cutting of hay in.  Well, cross your fingers.  The hay has been cut.  The hay has been raked.  The hay has been dried. The hay is in neat rows ready for baling.  The rain is coming tonight and it is almost 6:00pm and we are just getting ready to start baling.  With any luck - we will have the hay in by midnight tonight. Hey! Hay! Hey! SO MUCH FUN!

Unpacking and Packing

Today's goal: Unpack my suitcase from Las Vegas Super Zoo trip AND unpack my suitcase from Arizona. My daughter's goal: Pack every single thing she owns into 1,000 boxes so she can move on Sunday. So far we have taken a walk.  We have taken the doodle doggies for a swim.  We have groomed and trimmed Grits.  We have given Penny a bath.  We have played with the doodle puppies outside in the warm sunshine.  We have assembled puppy care packages for Maple's Double Doodle puppies.  We have eaten a snack. We have tried on boots and shirts and other clothing items for no reason at all except to end up laughing on the floor.  We have had our rooms smell like wet doggies because we let them upstairs before they dried from their swimming adventure.  We have talked to Mr. Yesteryear Acres and we have talked with my son and we have talked with all the doggies and puppies.  We have decided what we will eventually make for dinner. We have packed one box full of shoes for my daughter's move out day. What remains???? Unpack my suitcase from Las Vegas Super Zoo trip AND unpack my suitcase from Arizona AND pack every single thing my daughter owns into 999 boxes so she can move on Sunday.  I think we've got this!

Denial

Tomorrow is Thursday which means the following day is Friday which means it is then going to be the weekend which means.....my younger daughter goes back to college! NO!!!!  It can't be the end of summer already!  I cannot believe she is already leaving. I am going to miss her so much!!!!!  She is the biggest help around the house and she does so much work with our doodle doggies and puppies.  I will be missing my biggest helper. I will be missing my constant companion. I will be missing her endless smiles and thoughtfulness and laughing together until I have tears in my eyes. I won't even have my workout buddy any more.  Sigh.  It will be really really sad.  Tomorrow we start packing up alllllll her things.  Everything will go in boxes and more boxes and soon her room will be empty again. Hey - denial has worked so far....maybe I will just postpone helping her pack just one more day. I mean does she really have to go back???? Nah!

Good ole Garden

This afternoon Mr. Yesteryear Acres went to our garden and dug up some new baby redskin potatoes and some sweet baby onions.  I had only one choice as to what to make for dinner......roasted new potatoes and caramelized diced onions.  It was delicious. Each bite was so flavorful and of course filled with home-grown love.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres wanted me to take a picture of the roasted new potato goodness but it was too late. Every bite was gone. I love having a garden. I love being able to walk out and pick what we are going to eat for dinner.  Tomorrow looks like a cucumber salad for lunch and then some roasted eggplant for dinner.  I am always grateful for the bountiful harvest.  Garden dinners are always the best! Thanks Mr. Yesteryear Acres!

Monday Back Home Happiness

I arrived back home this morning at 2:00am and happily crawled into my own comfy bed in my own comfy house surrounded by very content and happy doodle doggies and puppies. It is good to be home.  Even with a TON of stuff to do today and soooo much work piled up for the rest of this week - there is no place like home.  I missed Yesteryear Acres and am glad to be back! The puppies are glad too.  I am so lucky to come home to these sweet adorable faces....

Juneau's puppies are sooooo much bigger!

This puppy is my son's favorite.  He has asked me 1,000 times today if he can keep him. Every time I say no.....he asks again.  That son of mine is persistent! 

Look at Juneau's puppies play! They love it outside!

Maple's puppies love the outdoors too

They are almost ready for their new homes!

"Can you believe we will meet our new families soon!?"

"Oh Boy! I bet they are going to be great!"

"We are practicing cuddle time!"

"And getting our bellies rubbed"

"We can almost climb one whole step!"

HAPPY MONDAY!

Airport Torture

This morning my daughter and I woke up at 5:40am and started our day with a 40 minute very brisk walk.  We followed this by a 75 minute Serious Cycling class and then took a Core Conditioning class.  To say we were TIRED by the end of our morning workout would be an understatement.  We tried to soak up every last second before we all headed to the airport to come home.  Our first leg of the trip was easy and now we are in Dallas with a 2.5 hour layover.  Do you know how many fast food restaurants and shoppes are in the Dallas airport?  I would estimate one thousand!  I mean the second I got off the plane, I practically walked into an Auntie Annie's pretzel stand with fresh warm baked pretzels.  I quickly ran away from that only to find a Dunkin Donuts and then a chips and salsa place and then an ice cream shoppe.  OH NO!  Such torture!  I have eaten nothing but extremely healthy small portions of food all week long.  I have had Kale.  I have had beets. I have had quinoa, wheat berries, lima beans, salsify, jicama and any other healthy food you can think of but what I have NOT had are ....donuts, chips, salsa, ice cream or any other deliciously horribly bad for you food!  Why does it have to smell sooooo good?  I am sitting at my gate right now and what is across from me?  A CANDY STORE!  I can see Jelly Bellies in the window!  I hope I make it home with my resolve intact. 2 hours 25 minutes to go..........

Delightful or Dreadful

I have taken a variety of exercise classes this week.  Some have been super fun!  I love Zumba and could do that back to back all day long.  It doesn't even feel like exercising when I am in that class. My face is like this.....HAPPY SMILEY HAPPY.  My daughter has been taking the same classes with me.  She also thinks some have been super fun.  We took Zumba together and her face was like this.....FROWN GRUMPY FROWN.  She hated it.  As in she thought it was the most dreadful horrid torture imaginable.  Immediately after Zumba we took Cardio Circuit which is a class where you run on a treadmill for 3-4 minutes and then run to the weight room and lift weights for 3-4 minutes and then run back to the treadmill for more joyful running.  My face in that class was like this....FROWN GRUMPY FROWN and I looked over at my daughter's face which was completely HAPPY SMILEY HAPPY....LOVE!  Oh my gosh! She loves that class.  She thinks it is sooo delightful where I of course found it akin to dreadful horrid torture.  We were in agreement with some classes - Glide and Burn where you stand on little slippery disks and torture yourself with 1,000 lunges and squats and burpees - not so much.  It was down on the bottom of our list.  Combat Cardio however was super fun for both of us.  Even though we looked a bit like we were saying, "Aw shucks" with our upper cut jabs, we still enjoyed it a lot.  Our instructor was a black belt master boxer something or other and was soooooo skilled.  I just liked to pretend that he was me and I was that awesome instead of looking like I was waving away gnats. All in all we pretty much tried everything and loved most of the classes.  6 hours of cardio, strength training and flexibility classes a day really gives you a good perspective on the types of exercises you love the most.  I will be bringing my exercising enthusiasm home with me.....but just not the gliding disks!

Math Error

I am so excited!!!!  I was talking to my exercise physiologist about my large decline in muscle mass and she immediately said there was no way that number could be correct.  She is the most awesome physiologist who prescribed my strength training program when I was first diagnosed with low muscle mass. She has kept in touch with me and she knows that I have been faithfully adhering to her program.  She scheduled an appointment to see me today and redid my testing.  What do you know?  I lost .5 pounds of muscle mass NOT 5 pounds!!!! All that hard work was not wasted!  Of course I still lost some muscle mass so I definitely need to increase the pounds on my weights but a 1/2 lb loss is sooooo much easier to gain back rather than the 5lbs from the other diagnosis!  Whew!! I have a new exercise strength program to follow using heavy weights with low repetitions and I need to increase my protein intake but other than that - I am good to go!!!!!  I have never been so happy for a math error in my life! Today was a happy health day!!!!!

Rattlesnakes AND Bugs!

Normally I like hiking but last year I had such a horrid experience hiking in the Arizona canyons that I had vowed to never do it again. Well this morning, I decided to give that hiking in the canyons thing another try.  Maybe last year's hike was particularly hard.  Maybe last year's hike had an unusual amount of rattlesnakes and killer wasps.  Maybe I was wrong about my conception of hiking in July in the canyons.  Nope. I was not wrong.  I was not wrong at all!!!!!!! This morning's hike started out well enough.  A bunch of smiling happy women ready to take on the challenging adventure.  Not too far into our walk, the bugs descended upon us.  There were so many bugs everywhere.  Swarms of them.  If we slowed down even a little we were instantly covered in bugs.  We vowed to hike as fast as we could to avoid major blood loss by the attacking bugs.  As soon as we were making good progress with our speed hiking.....RATTLESNAKE!  Not a little rattlesnake either!  A great big rattlesnake with a great big rattle.  You know you are in trouble when the hiking guide grabs his chest and starts shaking in fear.  He was so frightened by the sudden appearance of the gigantic snake that he had to stop to recover his racing heart.  Well, I am frightened by teeny tiny garden snakes so imagine my terror!!!! There we all were, waiting for the snake to leave the hiking trail, listening to the guide say how startled he was and that snake was huge and the rattle was huge and the striking distance was at least 3 feet so keep our distance WHILE being eaten alive by bugs!!!!! Yes.  SO MUCH FUN!  I kept saying that tomorrow, we will all laugh about our snake filled (because we saw more than one rattlesnake) bug-filled, speed hike day. Tomorrow it will be really really funny.  It turns out that it didn't take until tomorrow.  When we saw each other later today, we were already laughing about our hike.  We talked about how we ended up singing cheesy 80's tunes as we tried to escape the canyon alive.  We had all bonded by our shared hatred of our hike and we had turned the agony into a really funny laugh-filled hike as we ran/hiked out of the canyons.  We had one goal - GET OUT ALIVE!  Of course we all made it.  I will never hear the song S A F E T Y   dance again without thinking of running away from killer bugs and snakes.  And for anyone wondering about tomorrow's schedule....NO HIKING ALLOWED!

Time to Lift Weights

Well my health results today were not as terrific as I had hoped.  2 years ago I found out that I had extremely low muscle mass.  It was quite concerning as I had several medical issues stemming from the low muscle mass issue. I immediately began a strength training program and faithfully weight trained 3x a week for the entire year.  Last year I found out that I had gained 5lbs of muscle mass.  I was so proud of myself.  I dropped my fat percentage to 26% and was in optimal health.  This year I weighed in at a mere one pound higher than last year.  I have faithfully adhered to a strength training program but instead of lifting weights 3x a week, I did my strength training 2-3 times a week, missing one week altogether for the year.  I got my results today and sadly, I have lost the entire 5lbs of muscle mass I had previously gained. I am super sad!!!  I had worked so hard and I continue to work hard but since I did not know to keep increasing my weights incrementally every time I was able to do 12 repetitions without straining, I had kept to the same exact workout this past year. This did nothing to build muscle and in addition because I am getting older each year - I am faced with losing muscle mass each passing year. Sigh.  I am now back at the beginning.  I have to start all over again and faithfully strength train 3x a week.  No misses.  No light weights. And I have to keep increasing my weights each time I can successfully lift 10 reps in a row. The good news is that I know I will do it.  I know I can do it.  I am so grateful to have found out now rather than to keep thinking I am awesome when in fact, I am not all that awesome.  I have a few more medical tests coming my way but for now - time to go lift weights (again).

Time for a Check Up

I have arrived safely in Arizona with my younger daughter and my mom. The three of us are working towards better health and are spending the week at a Medical Health resort taking health seminars, exercise classes and eating VERY healthy foods. The food portions here are so small that I jokingly refer to a portion here as ONE bite at home.  The exercise classes are designed to push you as far as you can go, without being pushed too far.  Our days are spent participating in about 5-6 hours of exercise classes and another 4 hours of lectures and seminars.  All our focused on good nutrition, exercise physiology and taking better care of our health.  They are really interesting and there is so much to learn. Tomorrow I go in for a health check up.  The first time I came here I found out that I was pretty unhealthy and had very low muscle mass and my bloodwork was not good.  When I returned last year, I got gold stars across the board as I had committed myself to better health. That entire year, I never missed a single workout and I was very health conscious with everything I ate.  This past year, I tried to find a balance between regular and dedicated exercise (without it being too consuming) and good eating habits with ice cream nights thrown in now and then.  I know I am a little heavier than I was last year so I am nervous to get my health results.  Hopefully all will be well.  For now - It is time for FIERCE! TABATA workout!  I suspect I will sleep well tonight!!!!!

Monday's "Look how we have Grown"

Our sweet adorable doodle puppies have grown so much this week!

Juneau's Puppies say, "We missed you!"

Little Teddy Bears of cuteness!

See how big they are getting?

Maple's Double Doodle puppies are really enjoying outdoor recess time

They are champs at going outside for potty time now

And of course they are toooo cute!

They always remember to stop and smell the flowers

and maybe even see what they taste like

Grass blades are yummy too

Maple's puppies always come running when they are called

Especially when they see Mr. Yesteryear Acres

Happy Monday!!!

Picture Highlights

Super Zoo was definitely a whirlwind of activity and fun-filled doggie seminars and products.  Our doodle doggies were sooooo excited to see all the new things we brought home from Las Vegas! Looks like we have paws up all around on a good job done! Here are a few picture highlights from the trip...

Yes, you can walk to New York in Vegas!

The Brooklyn Bridge

The Convention Floor is HUGE!!!

This may have been the most delicious banana cream pie of my life.  Good thing I wasn't hungry! Imagine what the bowl would look like if I were!

Liberace's car. Evidently bedazzling was hot even back then!

I spent most of my days attending the University.  I learned so much!!!

The views from the convention center were awesome!

It was fun making tags for our doodle doggies

Time to hit the floor!

Las Vegas Super Zoo was great!!!

Hey, It's a Dry Heat!

When Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I had our last meal before flying out of Las Vegas, we decided we would walk the 2 miles to the restaurant. We would then have the chance to see the strip and all the sights.  We knew it was going to be one hot walk - but all we kept hearing was, "It's a Dry Heat!" As in - hey it's so dry you won't even notice that it is 112* outside.  I have never heard so many people dismiss the heat before.  The temperature outside was literally 112* but evidently, with the "dry heat" that number doesn't matter any more. Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I opened the door and stepped out.  To say that it felt like a dragon breathing hot fire on us would be an understatement. It felt hot.  As we started walking, the first thing we noticed was that everyone walked SO slowly.  I mean people were walking at a pace that was so slow, it was easy to pass them without even trying. Little did I know that the slow pace was in fact a survival technique. About a mile into our walk, I was WHIPPED.  I mean I was so tired, I wanted to sit down.  I could feel my bracelets melting onto my wrists.  My necklace felt like a necklace of fire coral.  I could actually feel the wire posts in my earrings burning into my earlobes.  DRY HEAT?  I don't care what you call it - but 112* is HOT!!! I am pretty sure I arrived at the restaurant a few sizes smaller than when I left the hotel.  There are probably still a few of my melted remnants on the sidewalk. I don't think "dry heat" is for me.  At least not 112* of dry heat.  People of Las Vegas - you have some wicked stamina to withstand that intense climate.  I'll be applauding you .....over in the shade!

Heart-filled Sandwich

Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I were lucky enough to have one delicious last meal before leaving Las Vegas.  We LOVE food and there are so many top chefs with restaurants in Las Vegas, the choices are mouth-watering delicious.  I think we spent more time reading all the menus online and thinking about where to go to eat than we actually spent eating at the restaurant.  We had fun deciding where to eat our last meal. Every time we pulled up a menu, we both said, “Oh let’s go there!”  We finally made up our mind and headed out for our feast.  Our meal didn’t disappoint!  It was beyond delicious.  I savored every bite and finally, could not take one bite more.  I had a half a sandwich left and since we were heading to the airport – there was no reason to save it. I was so sad to leave such heavenliness behind!  That is when Mr. Yesteryear Acres suggested that the restaurant wrap up my sandwich so that we could give it to one of the hungry homeless people we passed along our way to the restaurant.  We walked by an astonishing number of people looking for food and I was so glad Mr. Yesteryear Acres thought of that!!!!  The restaurant wrapped up my sandwich and put it in a delightful carry bag and we headed out the door.  I passed a woman with a sign that said, “Hungry, Anything would help”.  I gave her my bag and I got the biggest smile and thank you that I think I have ever received.  Her eyes glistened with appreciation as she hugged the bag while she thanked me.  I felt so happy giving her that sandwich that I wish I had saved the whole thing!  I will not forget to do that whenever I go out next time. I think I will order one for me – and one to give away. Helping someone always feels a million times nicer than helping yourself. Thank you Mr. Yesteryear Acres. You always have the very best ideas!!!!!

Can I have another suitcase?

Oh my goodness!!!  Yesteryear Acres Doodle Doggies and Doodle Puppies are in for a real treat.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I picked up so many goodies and treats and toys and collars and training tools and more doggie toys - I don't know how we will get everything home! We were lucky to get a ton of samples and then we even more lucky and got full sized Doggie toys and goodies galore! We went to a great class this morning on becoming certified dog trainers and then Mr. Yesteryear Acres went to 2 more seminars while I hit the show floor. My bags were so heavy, I could barely carry them back to the room.  Looks like we might need another suitcase!!!!  We are so grateful to have been able to attend the Super Zoo.  We learned so much and are bringing home so many awesome things for our Doodle Doggies.  This has been such a great experience and I can't wait for our Yesteryear Acres Doodle Doggies to see all their presents!!!!  Super Zoo was SUPER!!!!!

Day 2...SUPER!

Today is full of back-to-back seminars full of new things to learn.  Our first seminar was awesome and provided excellent information on keeping doggies safe with off-leash play.  We LOVE letting our doggies off-leash. They love running through the fields, hiking in the woods and swimming in our pond.  If you could watch our doggies' faces as they run through the woods, you would see the BIGGEST doggie smiles ever.  It is their favorite part of each day. We would love some day to incorporate letting other families bring their doggies to Yesteryear Acres for some off-leash play as really there is nothing more enjoyable for a doggie than romping freely and happily.  The seminar was specifically concerned with safety and introducing new doggies to off-leash play time and it was really terrific.  The speaker has 20 years experience in training dogs and is a dog training consultant.  She really knows her stuff and both Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I were furiously taking notes so we were sure not to miss a single point.  Next up is "Understanding Canine Body Language" which covers how to be fluent in doggie language and how to recognize emotional states, stress indicators and contentment markers. With any luck we will have one hour of showroom floor time today to hopefully order some new treats and toys and goodies for our doggies and puppies!  Day 2....SUPER!

Super Zoo...Super Learning

This is the most awesome week... it is the Super Zoo convention week in Las Vegas. Not only is the Super Zoo a gigantic floor full of pet products and doggie toys and doggie treats and doggie training tools but it is also chock-full of seminars that are led by veterinarians, groomers and pet industry leaders on a variety of subjects relevant for pet business owners. It is just an epic week full of new ideas and pet products to make our doodle doggies even happier and to help us take even better care of our doodle doggies and doodle puppies.  It is an event not to miss! Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I are lucky to be able to be here. Yesterday Mr. Yesteryear Acres took a 5 hour class and became certified in Animal CPR and First Aid. He learned SO much and now is an official first aid responder. Today we are in seminars from 8:00am-9:30am, 10:00am-11:30am, 12:30-2:00pm and 2:30-4:00pm.  This gives us exactly 90 minutes in total to walk the Super Zoo floor which is several football fields in length.  Tomorrow will be more of the same.  We will have to double time it to get everything in and we can just forget about having time for lunch.  There is so much to do!!!!  Today's big seminar topics are Advanced Skin care led by a Veterinarian Dermatologist and covers all aspects of skin bacteria, fungus and viruses.  This is directly followed by another veterinarian class on doggie health. Mr. Yesteryear Acres are doing those classes while I am going to a seminar on Grooming your Doodle Doggie followed by seminars on Puppy Playgrounds.  Lots to learn!  Super!!!!!

Hanging Out and Having Fun

Maple's puppies have really grown a lot this week. They are eating solid food like champs and are beginning to get the hang of going potty outside.  They are just the sweetest bunch and SO cute!

They have the softest silkiest coats

And the sweetest little faces

And super loving temperaments

I just want to hug them all day long

They love to hang out with us

And are patient when waiting their turn

Exploring is always fun

As long as we are nearby

They have just the right amount of inquisitiveness 

mixed in with gentleness

And they are the best snugglers

Can I be next?!

Juneau's puppies say it won't be long before they are ready for outdoor adventures and snuggles. Here are Juneau's four boys

And her four girls. They are getting bigger too!

Happy Monday!!!

Oh BOY! Popcorn Night!!!!

Whenever a puppy family comes to pick up a new puppy, Mr. Yesteryear Acres is sure to tell them the downfalls of letting a doggie beg from the table.  Doggies do not need to beg at the dinner table.  Doggies do not need to eat the exact thing you are having for dinner at the exact time you are eating. Doggies eat doggie food.  If you never let your doggie beg from the table, then your doggie will always think the food in the doggie dish is the most heavenly meal EVER. Doggies will happily wag their tails with joy over the culinary masterpiece you have poured into their dish.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres is so adamant on this little tidbit of advice that I believe it appears as though Mr. Yesteryear Acres himself follows his own theory of no doggie begging from the table. No matter how much Mr. Yesteryear Acres expounds on the virtues of not letting your doggie beg from the table, I am here to tell you that Mr. Yesteryear Acres DOES in fact share his food from time to time. Even though Mr. Yesteryear Acres is convinced that this rarely happens, I can tell you that it does.  I can also tell you that every night when we have our late night snack, Mr. Yesteryear Acres is never alone.  Why is that?  Is it Mr. Yesteryear Acres charming personality? OR is it that Mr. Yesteryear Acres likes to share?
Last night we had popcorn............

This is Mr. Yesteryear Acres side of the couch.

Need I say more?