Working Out & Puppy Pictures!

First a note on the new workout. I'm settling into the routine. I've done five workouts so far (three times a week, only missed one day). During this last workout I was able to sprint for thirty seconds and walk for ninety seconds (for the full six intervals) without extending my ninety second rest period like I had to in the beginning. I slowed the sprint speed down to 5mph because on the treadmill it's too easy to push too hard without realizing it. I felt like a couple of times that my heart rate got too high so I ordered a heart rate monitor. When it comes in I'll increase the intensity again. I still have two weeks to go before I check my body fat percentage again. So we will see how it's going.

Now, so this post isn't horribly boring, here are some pictures of my friend's pit bull puppy who came for a visit last weekend. I still have more pictures to go through that I'll post later. Isn't she cute?

Woke the poor girl up from her nap.

Took her for a run on the lease land. I love her ears in this shot!
Sorry the quality sucks (continuous shoot mode).

Cutie pie! She's a blue brindle by the way. :)

Meeting Chrome for the first time made her a little nervous.
Sorry for the creepy blurry face. I don't have permission to post pics of my friend.

What does her chest marking remind you of?
Also my friend is still trying to think of a name. Any suggestions?
Her other dogs are Lady and Dusty. She wants something with the Y sound on the end.
Oh and she wants something feminine (everyone mistakes Dusty for a boy), but not cutesie.

Sun from the wrong directions, but cute pose.

She had a blast rolling in our grass lol.

Exhausted after playing with my dogs. I love how she has her rear feet stuck out behind her lol.

And my favorite!

Going for a ride on Chrome. :D Don't worry, my friend was holding on to the puppy. We wouldn't let her fall. I'll post more pictures of her riding Chrome on his blog at http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

New Favorite Picture! Storm & Jackal

Storm and Jackal had a play date with my friend's pit bull puppy yesterday and this is totally my favorite picture of Storm and Jackal ever! I'll post puppy pictures tomorrow (she's so cute!), but wanted to share this one for now. I don't know why I've never thought to get pictures of them together, but they did a perfect down stay for me to get this shot. :D

Also Jackal showed off all forty of his awesome tricks for my friend, including his difficult ones like shy and roll over, all without treats!! He's so awesome! When he did shy I did run and get him a treat for that though.

Also one last thing, we finally got a bunch of the yard sale stuff out of the living room so I have some room to shoot a video so I'll try to get his 2011 tricks video taped and posted as soon as possible. Sorry it took me so long. :)

Midget White Turkeys

Did I ever show you guys my Midget White turkeys? After the bobcat killed my Sweetgrass turkeys my dad gave me some of his Midget Whites. The Midget White only gets to about half the size of a full grown turkey, around twenty five pounds or so. We've had a lot better luck with these guys because they will actually go in their house where they are safe from the bobcat. They are a lot friendlier than our other ones. We've enjoyed them a lot. Aren't they beautiful? Oh and they aren't even a year old yet so they are still growing some.

I'll have some more interesting photos soon. I forgot my camera today or I would have uploaded them for this post. Oh well, another day. :)

Disappointed in myself . . .

Wow, since I stopped working out three and a half months ago I've put on almost ten pounds (okay seven or eight), gained four inches around my waist and gone up 8% in my body fat percentage . . . wow! And I've noticed a big decrease in my strength. :(

So instead of sulking over it I'm using this as motivation to get back in shape. I'm going to be following the Lose Belly Fat Workout (www.losebellyfatworkout.com). I tried this last summer, but ended up with a heat rash from running in the heat and humidity so I've set my treadmill back up and I'll be working out indoors. The website is free. You just have to sign up and they will email you some very helpful information. Basically it's intervals training (google it or read the website for more info) and eating at you resting metabolic rate (for me it is 1725 calories a day). There is a calculator on the website for figuring out what your resting metabolic rate is.

So for my first work out I had a five minute warm up, 6 sprint intervals and 6 rest intervals, followed by a five minute cool down. The sprint intervals are gauged on a scale of one to ten. One is sitting on the couch and ten is being chased by a lion about to die. For the first week we're aiming for a seven. For me right now on my treadmill (which is old and the legs fell off so it's permanently on an incline ack!) is approx. six miles per hour. The rest intervals are walking at a normal speed. I did the first two intervals easily. The third was getting tough. By the forth rest interval I had to increase it to two minutes (which is allowed, the rest intervals can be however long you need so long as you keep your heart rate up). By the time I was finished my hips hurt (forgot to stretch and not used to the incline) and I was a bit shaky. It's a lot tougher than it sounds.

I'm going to give myself a week to get used to this, then I'll add in the strength training again because muscle helps burn calories. Besides I miss being strong enough to open jars and lift things at work. So wish me luck!! I'll update my progress every so often. I'll share my body fat percentage, but I'm not going into all the details (boring!) lol. My body fat percentage is 29% and my goal is 22%. :D

P.S. Oops sorry for the double post. Completely forgot I had one scheduled.

Also here is the link for the body fat calculator (you can find more of them by googling it) http://www.losebellyfatworkout.com/bodyfatcalculator/

Jackal Videos

I was going back through all of my old videos and found this one. Jackal was such a cute puppy!



Also here's one of his first time playing Frisbee. He was only a year old in this one. He was so cute. I love how thin and athletic he was. :)

Snow Dogs Video!

Here's the video from Storm and Jackal's snow day. They didn't interact with each other much because they were too interested in sniffing. The one time they did play I forgot my camera was on continuous shoot and I totally missed it. Sucks too because Storm rolled Jackal and at another point she jumped clear over his back while he was standing (he's nineteen inches tall). Fun!

Anyway here is the video.



Hope you enjoyed it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! I just wanted to share some pictures from yesterday . . .

Yep, our daffodils are blooming . . . then it snowed.

It makes for pretty pictures, but I worry they will die before spring.

It has been a very bizarre year weather-wise, but I'm not complaining because I actually like mild winters. :D Enjoy your day with your loved one(s)!!

P.S. Also here is one of my favorite non-horse/non-dog pictures. One of our Muscovy ducks on the pond.

Snow Puppies!

I LOVE this shot of my beautiful girl!

I had let the dogs out first thing to pee so Storm knew there was snow and she was excited. However she settled down nicely while I went to feed and play with the horses (you can see their snow pictures/videos over the next few days at http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com). So when I said, "Do you want to go outside?" a bit later this was her reaction . . .

I know the flash screwed it up, but how cute is that tongue?!

So I took them outside to play. These first shots were with the continuous shot setting so they aren't great and I learned something, don't use that setting when snow is coming down and your subjects are moving at the speed of light!! LOL.

This is what Jackal would look like with pricked ears lol. Too cute!

These next two are continuous shots too, but I had to show you my flying dogs lol.

Flying Storm. Even at ten years old she has it in her to be an agility dog lol.

And flying Jackal.

Here are some more shots. I think I got snow on the camera or was moving too much because some are blurry, but they are the best I ended up with. Enjoy!

Green grass (winter wheat) and snow is weird huh?

"I want to go to the lease land mom!"

Probably the best canine picture of the day. She's so gorgeous all of her's look good though.

Jackal almost always has his nose to the ground.

They played some too. I was trying to get video because Storm was rolling Jackal and even leaped right over him once while he was standing at his full height (nineteen inches at the shoulder), but unfortunately I forgot the camera was still on continuous shoot so I missed it. Here are the pictures I ended up with.

Vicious looking dogs.

I love Storm's expression. She's totally about to jump him!

Told you!!

Well, that's all of the pictures that turned out okay. I'll put together the short video clips for you tomorrow. :)

Live It Up Tag

I got tagged by Brooke at Dove Tree. It's a short question tag with a lot of "what's your favorite" questions, which I have trouble answering, but I'll give it a shot. :)

Q."What's your favorite book?"

A. Like I said. Hard questions to answer. I think it's easier to say favorite genre than actual book. I like Fantasy the best, but close second is of course horse books. I also like some SciFi books. My favorites change all the time as I read new books and forget old books. Very hard question to answer. :)

Q."What's your favorite song?"

A. Right at this second I would have to answer Hey, Soul Sister by Train. Also a song that I like that was a surprise to me is Billionaire by Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars. I normally am not a fan of rap, but I like this one, although not surprisingly the chorus is my favorite (the part Bruno Mars sings). So those are the ones that come to mind at the moment.

Q."Favorite genre of music?"

A. Easy! The 80s. I LOVE 80s music. :) I also like more modern pop/rock, etc. I like some of the older country (not really old, but the stuff from when I was a kid like Garth Brooks, John Michael Montgomery, Shania Twain, etc). I don't care for the really old country or the crappy current country where all they do is whine about how pathetic their lives are. I don't like rap, bluegrass, anything twangy lol. I do like some classical, instrumental, etc. music. My taste in music varies a lot, even within genre, so sort of a hard question to answer. Just to show you how varied, here are some singers/bands I like Aerosmith (favorite band ever), Richard Marx, Chris Daughtry, Evanescence, Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLauchlan, 3 Doors Down, Savage Garden, Boyz II Men, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, etc. You get the idea. :D

Q."Favorite setting."

A. I love days that are between 75 and 80 degrees, beautiful, clear blue sky with no clouds, a gentle breeze, the sounds of birds singing and crickets chirping. Love it. Of course horses grazing on the green grass nearby just makes it perfect. :)

This is the only picture on this post that is mine.

Q."Got a crush?"

A. Totally. My husband. :D

Q."Favorite subject in school?"

A. I don't remember. Wasn't that crazy about school lol.

Q."Hobbies?"

A. Writing, reading, blogging, photography, horseback riding (more like an obsession), almost anything outside (biking, swimming, walking, hiking, etc.), etc. I used to include piano on that list, but I haven't played in so long I'm not sure it counts anymore.

Q."Favorite Holiday?"

A. Thanksgiving!! I love getting together with family, eating tons of food and sharing what we're thankful for. :)

One of my favorites!

Q."Favorite food?"

A. Ugh, this is going to make me sound absolutely horribly unhealthy, but basically anything with simple carbs or sugar (I'm an addict, yep), which is why I always include eating healthier on my goals and resolutions. I like very few vegetables (actually really like salads with lots of raw spinach, shredded carrots, cauliflower, pickles, broccoli, etc., but can't really eat it much because of my easily irritated digestive system - and yep I know if I got rid of the simple carbs, sugars and gluten that my stomach would probably be able to handle vegetables better, but it's hard to break a life-long habit/addiction) and the only meat I really care for is chicken. I'm very particular about red meat. It has to be cooked perfectly or I won't eat it (hence why I never order steak when I got out to eat and that with a lack of veggies is probably why I'm iron deficient lol). So yeah I have very unhealthy eating habits, but I am working on it. I eat cooked stir fry veggies over rice and I'll eat cooked mustard greens and kale from our garden. Oh and I'm a salt addict too ahhh!!!!

Not Amber, but still cute.

Q."Favorite animal?"

A. All of them!! :) Actually aside from dogs and horses, which you all knew about, I like wolves, dolphins, otters and big cats. Big Cat Diaries was my favorite show ever lol. I knew all of them by name and my favorite was Amber. :D

I don't know who of my followers likes tags, but if you do consider yourself tagged. If you don't I hope you enjoyed reading my answers anyway. :D

Thank you for tagging me Brooke! It was a lot of fun!

Fantastic News!

I got some really fantastic news after work today! My aunt had a stint put in and will completely recover. There was no damage at all from the heart attack. The hospitals all did a great job! She gets to go home on Friday. :D Totally made my day!

I also had dinner with my friends because one of them is moving out of state on Friday. I'm really sad she's leaving, but I'm also excited for the possibilities that are opening up for her. And the good news is that she should still be able to come back for Chrome's birthday party in May, although we did have to move it to May 26th. I think I mentioned it already on Chrome's blog, but we're having a big bonfire, grilling hotdogs and burgers and of course I'll ride Chrome for the first time. Can't wait!

Unmotivated

Is anyone else starting 2012 off with a serious lack of motivation or is it just me? I just can't seem to get motivated to do anything at all. I have a whole list of things I could/should/want to be doing, but I can't make myself do them! I've tried creative writing exercises to get myself back into writing blogs or novels. I've tried walking ten minutes on the treadmill in the morning to get motivated to start working out again. I started making the dogs' walks more interesting to try to get motivated to start training again (or at least to make a video of our 2011 tricks; sorry it's taking so long!). What is wrong with me??

I think the lack of exercise and forgetting to take my vitamins and poor eating habits (going too long between meals and eating junk food) are what's making me so tired. The weather isn't helping either since I do have a vitamin D deficiency (who doesn't?) and the pressure systems that have been going through cause headaches. Another friend moving out of town and my other friend working a conflicting schedule means I'm spending a lot of time home alone (husband in class all day) and I know that gets to me.

So I have all of these legit reasons (honestly not trying to complain, just stating facts), but normally I can fight through them and get something done anyway, but lately all I do is read blogs and watch T.V. when I'm not at work or taking care of the critters. I think a big part of it is my frame of mind has drifted back towards the negative . . . partly due to the fact that my boss is the world's worst complainer (who complains about other people complaining; hypocrite) and I have to listen to him all day . . . and partly due to the fact that my aunt had a heart attack and my cousin may have MS.

So when you have a serious lack of motivation, what do you do? I've done better about taking my vitamins and I am at least walking the dogs (although not for very far or long). I really think exercise and getting more fresh air/sun would help, but again I can't find enough motivation. I've seriously considered canceling our cable T.V and Netflix, but that won't keep me off of your blogs (love reading them too much lol). I've written lists (checking things off helps motivate me), but they seem so long lately that it's a little discouraging. Anyone want to come split my list up into sizable chunks and use some clicker training mentality on me? I work hard for Skittles LOL! Hehe, had to lighten the mood with a joke, this post is getting a little depressing.

I'm sure I'm painting this in a much more pathetic, sad light than it really is, but finding out about my ill family and being tired really doesn't help my mood much. So I'm going to go hug my dog and go to bed. Maybe you guys will have some pearls of wisdom for me in the morning. :D

Jackal's Birthday Pictures!

Please excuse my hair. I took my hat off,
but didn't have a mirror to fix my hair before the picture lol.

Jackal decided to wear one of his new bandanas for his birthday. He won this bandana during Honey's Doggie Dancing Contest last year from the wonderful Designer Duds For Dogs (http://www.designerdudsfordogs.com). The other side is stars and will be perfect for the Fourth of July. :D I love multipurpose items.

So first we got in the car . . .

And went to the pet store!! This was actually Jackal's first time going to a pet store. I think friends' houses and the vet are the only places he's ever been indoors outside of his own home. He's never been inside of a store. :) Needless to say, he had fun! There were so many smells!

He eyeballed the sliding doors, but was fine with them. He was good about ignoring the humans too. He didn't rush up to them or jump up (he never does, but you never know in a new exciting place) on anyone. Once we entered the store he headed down the middle aisle, but I showed him he had to go down each aisle. After the first one he figured it out and started going down each one. I was letting him lead me, but he wasn't pulling. The only time I had to give him a tug is when he wanted to check out another dog (there were a TON that day!).

We were checking out an adorable froggie stuffie, but it was too
expensive for something that could be shredded in seconds.

His favorite aisles were the ones with treats lol.

Here I was asking him what he thought of the cute blue plaid jacket,
but he was more interested in the cute doggie behind me.

More toys. He liked the hunting ones lol.

He wasn't overly interested in the cute Guinea Pig,
probably because he couldn't smell it through the glass.

He kept wanting to sniff behind things . . .

. . . and under things. Not sure why. Looking for dropped kibble maybe?

I asked him if he wanted one of his favorite marrow bones and he seemed good with that, so he got a special three pack (much better price than the singles) for his birthday!!

Then we got back in the car and went to the bait shop for minnows
because we were going fishing (even though it was windy and cold LOL!).

When we got to the lake he was all ready to dive right in lol.
What happened to my wimpy dog who hates the cold??

He watched people go by in boats while we fished.

Then my handsome boy got bored . . .

. . . and found something to roll in! Brat! I caught him before he got too nasty.
I guess he had to break in his new bandana lol. It was too clean for him. :D

Yep, then he peed on the trash can LOL! Naughty boy.

We were fishing under a walking bridge to block the wind and at one point three young men were crossing the bridge. Jackal tried to follow them (he was on a very long rope) and they gave him some pets and compliments. Then I called him back by name so they started talking to him, using his name and saying how cool he was. When I told him to come with me because he was supposed to be fishing they said, "Yeah Jackal, pull your weight and go catch some fish!". It was soooo funny!! I've never had anyone ever really care to interact with him before. Most of the people where I live aren't very dog friendly. Made my day!

Ignoring his new bone because he wanted to go explore.

So we decided to go explore since it was his birthday (belated) and he was bored . . .

Standing at the end of his leash, staring longingly at freedom.
The wind was blowing so hard the tip of his tail was curled to the left by it lol.
Picture is a little dark, but too cute not to use.

I let him cross the bridge and then called him back. Perfect recall (should have video taped it lol)! I used continuous shot to get this one. Running pictures of Jackal are almost impossible (wait til you see the end of the post!). Then of course I had to pose him on the rocks by the parking lot.

The sun was coming from the wrong direction, so I walked around to his other side. He was doing a perfect stay with people walking to their car and driving away by the way! So proud!

Light is much better from this direction.

He's so handsome!!

Then we walked down to the dock. Of course I asked him to pose by the stairs.

I was zoomed in here. He wanted to jump down so bad, but he laid
down when I asked. His cues from a distance are getting much better.

Zoomed out a little so you can see the stairs and the cool logs that make the wall.

Zoomed in again.

I finally let him down on the dock. I love his shadow in this picture.

Then we kept exploring.

I LOVE this picture. I think it's my favorite. :D It shows the expression he gets when he really wants to do something, but I'm asking him to wait lol. Love those ears!

Back on the bridge, whining at me because he wanted me to go with him.

As we were loading up the car he wandered off and the little brat wouldn't listen to me (don't worry he was safe where he was), so we got in the car and drove off. He was pissed!! He came running after us as fast as his stumpy legs would go.

"Wait for me!!!"

When we stopped he immediately went back to sniffing, totally unconcerned about us. Of course when I called him that time he was definitely ready to get back in the car, as if I would ever leave my baby.

Below are a few examples of running pictures. Jackal is almost impossible to get a nice running picture of! I almost always catch him in an awkward stride. Of course being in a moving car made them blurry as well.

His butt is always in the air in the shots I get lol.

Told you!

Again! What a weird stride lol. Not the most graceful mutt lol.

Well, that's all. We all had a lot of fun (although we didn't stay long because it was so cold and windy and I'd only had four hours of sleep and my toe still hurt). I went home and promptly fell asleep at four pm without even eating supper and slept for fourteen hours straight, which is why I'm posting this today instead of yesterday. Yeah, when I go without sleep I take "catching up" seriously, even though you supposedly can't "catch up" on sleep. :) I'm out to prove them wrong hehe.

So, which was your favorite picture?