Catching Up & Big Bear Lake

(Originally Posted on 2013/04/09 at indianajane87.wordpress.com/)

I’ve been slacking on posting.  However, not a whole lot has happened in regards to working out or enlisting.  As it stands, I am scheduled to take the ASVAB next week on Tuesday.  My recruiter believes it will actually work this time.  He just wants me to call on Monday to confirm I’m on the MEPS roster to test.

Last week I took Luna for a 3.21 mile walk, 1.23 mile run, and a 2.06 mile run.  My run times were awful because I had the dog with me.  About halfway through the 2 mile run, Luna had some business to attend to, and I don’t know about you but I wasn’t about to run with a bag full of poop.  That slowed me down until I made it to the nearest trashcan.

I really need to up my cardio.  I run very sporadically without any real plan.  In fact, I need to workout in general a lot more regularly.  It’s still been about a year since the last time I went to the gym here.  I used to have a workout partner or two but I really need to stop using that as an excuse to not go.

This weekend C, Luna, and I went up to Big Bear Lake with intentions of going camping.  However, I missed the information in my research about the campgrounds being closed for the winter until next month.  So we had to improvise and instead stayed at Big Bear Lakefront Lodge, which is dog friendly.  The experience of that was unique in itself.  I say that because Luna had never stayed in a hotel setting before and was on edge almost the whole time.  She wanted to be out and about and hated staying in one room while we were there compared to having free reign of our house.

The best part was that we had a great view of the lake from the room and Luna was able to go out and play in it for the first time.  At first she was afraid of the moving water but she and I walked along it until she was comfortable to step in.  And then she had a blast splashing away.  After the lake, we went for a walk, which I have no idea how far we went since my phone’s battery was low and running the MapMyRun app would have killed it.  It was probably a couple or few miles.

The second day we were there, we hiked 4 miles.  There were a couple times that it was difficult due to the steep incline but it was a lot of fun.  The view was gorgeous (first picture).  Coming down went by so much faster than I expected.  Several others brought their dogs and they were all almost better behaved than Luna.  She just gets excited when she sees other dogs and wants to meet them all.

I think we may try going out there again when the campgrounds are open and it warms up.  I want to see if Luna will try swimming in the lake since she only went in about chest-high and she may need encouragement from me if I’m able to get in all the way myself, as well.  I waded in this time but the water was still icy cold.

Four Day In Vegas

(Originally Posted on 2013/03/11 at indianajane87.wordpress.com)

This weekend my husband and I drove up to Las Vegas for three of the four days he had off.  Wednesday consisted of me packing my bag (and partly his since he didn’t finish before leaving for work), cleaning up the house a bit, taking Luna for a walk and then dropping her off at the kennel on post before C came home and then we were off around 1600.

It was windy on Wednesday.  So much so that even Luna noticed on our walk.  She kept looking up at me as if to say, “Why are we out here in this?”  Once we made it home from the walk, I got her ready and put her in the car.  Easy enough to do since she loves going places.  Once there, she was not having it.  The lady started to lead her into the back where the kennels are and she avoided the door the best she could.

We arrived in Vegas around 1900.  Not too much excitement there.  We found a lounge to sit at, ordered drinks and found food before calling it a night around 2000 or 2100.  Thursday I had my spa appointment.  I had a body treatment called Goddess of the Sun Ritual followed by a Swedish massage at the South Point spa.  I wish I could do that every day.  Or at the very least once a month.  It was amazing.  And I would have stuck around the spa area to soak in the hot tub or just relax in the lounge but we had a reservation at Maggiano’s with C’s dad and stepmom.

Friday we headed out into town and went to Bass Pro Shop where I found a hip quiver for my arrows (I dabble in archery) and a large Whisker Biscuit (arrow rest) since the small and medium that I have are too small for my arrows, no thanks to the guy at the PSE Archery Pro Shop in Arizona who told me the small would work.  We also went to an outdoor mall where we found a new squeaky stuffed toy for Luna.  I also found a shop that brought me back to that spa feeling that I had the day before.  It’s a little place called Sweet Bubble Bath Confections.  I got a pomegranate peach sugar scrub.  I can’t wait to try it out.  Smells so good!  And the soaps there are way too freaking cute.  Some are shaped like cupcakes and popsicle bars.

Saturday was an incredibly long day.  It didn’t help that the night before we stayed up until about midnight to see Oz in the casino theater.  We woke up at 0600 and left the hotel at 0700.  We made it back on post just in time to pick up Luna from the kennel before 1000 when we were supposed to get her otherwise they would charge us for the full day.  We took some time to relax before heading out to see Gary Sinise and the Lt Dan Band.  That was pretty fun.  They had come before but I had the day wrong and missed them.  And the last time they were supposed to come out last year, Gary was in a car accident and had to cancel.  It was actually a fun show.  I didn’t get any pictures from this since it was after 2100 and my phone probably wouldn’t have gotten very clear shots anyway.

So that’s my weekend in a nutshell.  Didn’t get to go to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign and get my picture in front of it.  I’ve been there a number of times and never gone to do it.  Next time I’m over there, it’s a must.