Herc, mom and The Oasis Spa get away

Today I appreciate Hercules and the joy he brings to my heart. We went for a walk this morning and he was so excited. At one point he was a bit in front of me and stopped, looked back and had a huge grin on his goofy face! It is so wonderful to have such a cute bundle of joy exude love and excitement with every snort, wag, and sneeze. Plus Hercules is super smart- he can sit, shake with both hands, lay down, roll over (both ways), sneeze, give 5, give high 5, argue, and say I Love You (in Scooby language). Whoever said Pit Bulls are not smart never met Herc. Of course he is pretty "bull headed" too and won't necessarily come when you say that command...One of my favorite things he has been called is Ferdinand the Bull who loves roses- our next door neighbor George called him that because Herc loves to smell flowers! (and he can't always seem to sniff out other critters and stuff but he can smell a ball at 500 yards!)

I am also happy to report that I am off of work for the week and in a few minutes will be heading to the Spa at The Oasis in Mesquite for a 2 night spa get away with my mom! I can not wait. This has been a yearly thing for us for the last 3 years. My mom treated me to it right after I finished radiation 3 years ago and I took her for Mother's Day last year and again it is for Mother's Day this year. We have such a terrific time together and you can't beat the mineral pool and massage. I am ready for a couple of days of serious RNR (for those of you involved in the Juvenile Justice System I don't mean Risk Need Responsivity...). My mom and I will be talking, laughing, meditating, giving each other inspirational readings, swimming, lounging, and maybe a little shopping. On that note, I've got nothing else to say, gotta go!

Wow, yesterday I rode "The Race Course" out in Green Valley with Sandra. We did it in 1 hour and 17 minutes! It used to take 2 hours. It was a beautiful morning and the mantra "What goes up must come down" works on this ride! After climbing and climbing the down hill flies, I love that feeling of weightlessness, not to mention the internal WHOO HOO that "I can do this!". There are also 2 washes to ride up and they challenge my technical skills, I am improving, though at times I still freak myself out a little and got off to hike the bike more than I would prefer.

I realized that this week is the 3 year anniversary of completing the radiation treatment for my recurrent desmoid tumor! I am so grateful that the radiation worked to keep a 3rd tumor at bay. I am also so grateful that I can still do everything I want to do in spite of losing a significant amount of my stomach muscles. Did you know that the abdominus rectus muscle is the least "useful" muscle in your stomach? Of course if you want a 6 pack then it is quite necessary! I don't have the right hand side of that muscle and instead have a big patch of mesh holding me together (what a relief to lose the mental pressure of striving for "washboard abs"). Yet I can still do anything that I want to do.

As a matter of fact I rode my road bike 42 miles this morning! Wow, what a beautiful day. We (Jas, me, Sandra and Cindy) rode the paths and Dixie Drive out to Entrada and then rode up Bluff Street toward Snow Canyon. Some of the hills are near 20% grade and it takes everything I have to keep peddling, pulling on the handle bars and pushing and pulling with every single muscle in my legs to make it to the top without falling over. The mantra is "Just keep peddling, peddling, peddling" to the tune Dory from Finding Nemo sings about swimming....But we did it!! Going down the road through beautiful crimson and white cliffs, speckled with lava rock at up to 44 miles per hour (speeding!) is one of the most exhilarating experiences I've lived, it makes those tough climbs pay off big time! We finished the entire route through Snow Canyon and then rode on to Kayenta...Xetava smoothies are just what the doctor ordered to boost your energy for the ride home. I had mixed berry with peach. Cindy had a Lucky Girl Peanut Butter Jamocha smoothie- it was quite tasty as well (though not as sweet). Jas and Sandra opted for the iced caramel macchiato, also tasty though too much coffee flavor for me (I once paid $20 for a cup of coffee that didn't taste like coffee at the Hustler store in California--remember that trip Brent and Alicia?).
What a ride though. Can't beat that for starting off a Saturday and then an hour and a half nap- excellent!

Today I am ever so grateful for the fantastic people that I work with in my management group. I left the office at 6am and drove an hour to Cedar City where I met my friend Jill and then we drove together to Springville (3 more hours) to meet with our Rural Management group. It is a terrific group of people who I enjoy immensely. We learned that our budgets to run programs within Juvenile Justice Services have been cut by 4 %, in spite of many costs going up...so now we have to do what we did this year with less money next year, when costs are going up...yet we are all united in knowing that we will do what is necessary to make sure that the kids and families in our communities get the services they need. We will figure out a way to make it work- "doing more with less", that is the mantra for human services agencies across our state! Thank goodness for dedicated folks who will get the job done and make a difference ANYWAY!

I am also amazed at my intention of living in the now showing up in my management meeting today! We are striving to ensure Procedural Justice in our work and my boss put up 2 quotes that focused on living in the moment and asked us to talk about how that relates to our work with troubled/delinquent youth.... NOW is all we have! Live it! If it doesn't feel good, find a thought, action, idea or whatever that feels better NOW!

I am also so very grateful for the beautiful sunset last night and then the sunrise this morning....
The Sunset last night was cottoncandy clouds, burning to flaming-O and then blazing indigo into the mountains, I saw that on my bike ride. Then this morning the cottoncandy melted into orange creamsicle and made me eversograteful for my sunglasses!

Mountain biking

Today I am grateful to live in a beautiful place where I can leave my front door and do a short and sweet mountain bike ride with Jason after work. I am also amazed that I made it up a hill further today than ever before! I appreciate our friend with a bike shop who up-sold me to the Specialized Saphire female specific mountain bike. When they said "this bike will inspire confidence", they weren't kidding! My bike is a beautiful charcoal and bright blue colored creation that floats up and down hills over rocky and treacherous terrain with ease! (pay no attention to the sweat dripping off the tip of my nose.) I love it when Jason gets to the top of a really tough hill and turns around to see if he should come back to get me and then shouts "NICE!" because I am right behind him. O yeah, I am a biker chick (check out my skinned right knee and bruised right thigh- can you say sports related injury, baby?!)

Ever So Grateful

Welcome to my blog. I've decided to share with whoever cares to log in all of the things I am ever so grateful for. I am learning that appreciating is the way to where I want to be. There is so much to be grateful for and I need a way to help myself focus on the miracles that surround me. What we focus on we get. True story, if I focus on the rock I really don't want to hit with my mountain bike that is exactly where I am going to end up, yet if I focus on the gap between the rocks I safely navigate the path. I choose to focus on what I want and what is going fabulously, beginning now!
Today I am especially grateful for our 13 year old niece Taylor. I've been wanting to do a blog for quite a while and she told me how, so here it is. Next maybe we'll try pictures?