The Zink's

I Love Artichokes!

2009-07-23T19:47:00.003-07:00

I can't believe the size of these artichokes, I had to get out the measuring tape!

6 inches wide! They had very meaty leaves, and a huge heart, the heart was not as flavorful; maybe because they were big - At least the leaves were worth it! I think I would have artichokes every week if I could! Graham puts up with them, he likes them, just not as much as me!

We steam them and dip them in mayo - I have never had fresh artichokes any other way.

I am curious - if your reading this, do you eat Artichokes? How do you make them?

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Ever since we got this new table cloth Smuckers does this:

It's so cute, she kinda looks like a nun with her habbit (a funny colored one at that!)

The Man Cave

2009-07-22T14:35:00.004-07:00

We cleaned out our office so we could get our gym equipment out of our living room; now we have an enormous amount of boxes & papers to go through!

It turned out really well and Graham got a "Man Cave" out of it; that's what I am calling it.

He is all set now - his X-box, his steering wheel controller that now conveniently clamps to the desk, a phone, a computer & a monitor that is also a TV. He's not spoiled; just loved!

I really love that all the gym equipment is all in one place and out of the way, we wont' need to move it all the time. Graham call's the equipment the clothes dryers! I do need to get back to my walking and running routine but I never use them for drying clothes.

There is even a corner for me, I am going to set it up as a sewing/craft corner. As you can see that is the start of all the crap that needs to be gone through, the rest is now in the spare bedroom - I am thinking a dumpster would work nicely!

Peter just wanted to say hi!

Wind Storm

2009-07-20T14:27:00.005-07:00

I looked up from my desk at work to see a huge wind storm out the window! I guess a big storm is rolling through - not that it has gotten cooler; it's 109 degrees!

I took a little video to share:

Flash flood warnings have been issued - gotta love the Desert Summer Storms!

Crab Boil

2009-07-12T10:49:00.004-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend with our friends! We made one of our favorite meals a Crab Boil. The Boil is really easy to make and eat.

Basically you cook everything in a huge pot adding ingredients by how long they take to cook. We layer ours with the following ingredients: Water, Crab Boil Seasoning, Old Bay Seasoning, Bay Leaves, Garlic, Potatoes, Chicken, Carrots, Corn on the Cob, Sausage, Lobster, Crab, Shrimp and Clams and/or Mussels.

Then dump it all out on a clean table, have some melted butter ready, gather round and DIG IN!

Is it done yet??
...In a minute, hold your horses!

DIG IN.

YIKES

2009-06-30T12:02:00.005-07:00

March 18th was my last post!! that was so long ago - I am officially the worst blogger in history. I have no excuse, I just suck at keeping up.

The weather has officially changed to summer in these parts, today it says it will be 111 degrees - "they" are usually off, it will most likely be closer to 115. It's hot, I am not going to kid anyone and say it's not- but I don't mind it too much, I am in the air conditioning all day long. Poor Graham works outside all day, I don't know how he does it. Last weekend was just as hot, we took the boat out on the river and had a great time soaking up the sun and bathing in the icy water; it's so refreshing.

This weekend we have visitors for the 4th - Doug & Miriam and all the boys, we are hoping to make it up to Lake Mohave (if it's not too busy), but one way or another we will be hitting the water all weekend! We are planning on having one of our Crab boils, yummy! I will be sure to take some pictures of the feast!

Running Update

2009-03-18T10:26:00.003-07:00

It's my final week!! Technically it's week 10 since I started this 9 week program, I got a little stuck on week 7; that whole week sucked - I could not run for 25 minutes straight. I was stuck at 20 minutes and had to stop for a minute, then I would get back on and run the last 5 minutes. It was such a mental block, so I decided to do week 7 again and I actually made it the "second time". I think the 5 minute jump from 20 minutes to 25 minutes was just too much for me - I was winded and my legs were dead at 20 minutes - it's crazy to think how hard it was, because now it's so much easier!

Moving up 3 more minutes in week 8 was so much easier, I think I would recommend a 10 week program and break up that 5 minute jump in week 7. Now I am on week 9 (my 10 - confused??) and I have been running for 30 minutes!! I really can't believe it. 30 Minutes for me is running 2 miles - 2 miles!! that is crazy running one mile was huge for me so 2 is amazing!

Next up I am going to get faster - I am not sure exactly how I am going to accomplish that, I am looking for some kind of program or schedule. But for sure I will continue running 3 times a week and walking 2 times a week.

It's all about Attitude

2009-03-04T09:12:00.005-07:00

So much has been going on in my head lately. I am not sure how to approach this subject - so I am just going to do it.

My Mom was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer a couple months ago and ever since then it's been good news followed by bad news over and over again to now we are back to bad news and I am trying to keep a positive attitude. It's hard. She had a hysterectomy on January 19th and that was suppose to take care of her "small" tumor that the caught "early" - Turns out the cancer had spread throughout her uterus and was present in the majority of the Lymph Nodes they took for biopsy. Her doctor is still optimistic and has continued to down play the seriousness of her cancer (my opinion), they told her that she would have daily radiation treatment for a month followed by chemotherapy after that; all was no big deal just a precaution. Well after my parents met with the Radiologist it all turned out different, they were told that it was serious, the radiation treatment was going to be a internal radiation and very intensive - but all in all VERY SERIOUS. She started her radiation treatment last Friday and will only have 3 intensive treatments, then they will start the Chemotherapy. We still don't know how the Chemo is going to go because they have not met with the Chemo specialist yet.

To top this all off my Mother was diagnosed a couple years ago with early onset Alzheimer's and her memory is worse in times of stress. So right now she is having a really really hard time, so much new information that she needs to process but really can't - sometimes she doesn't even know what is really going on with her own body. I am so thankful that my Father is there to take care of her; it's really hard on him - I don't know how he does it. I never knew how hard it was to be around someone who has Alzheimer's, it's indescribable how difficult it can be and emotionally draining

I am trying to have a positive attitude and not think of the negatives - cause really that does not help.

I ran a MILE!!

2009-02-17T10:40:00.003-07:00

Well last Friday I reached my first goal - I ran a mile with out stopping and then some (20 minutes!!) It was very hard, I am not going to lie - I had to hold on to the treadmill at the end (sorta cheating, but it was after I had ran the official mile), but I kept my legs moving!

This week is turning out to be a lot harder, but I am trucking along. I did figure out however that I am such a slow runner I won't technically run the 5K at the end, because the plan is based on a 10 minute mile. I am running a 15 minute mile (like I said slow!), I will just have to work on getting faster after I finish the 9 week program.

SpongeBob Snuggle Pants

2009-02-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ghetto Gamer

2009-02-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

25 Random Things

2009-02-11T06:00:00.004-07:00

I did this on facebook, but since it took me a while to compile the list I think it deserves to be a blog post!

My 25 Random Things:

I have an addiction to Pre-20th Century period movies, especially ones based on classic literature.
As a child I would dress up as a Pioneer with a wheelbarrow as a wagon and travel throughout our yard.
A neighbor called me Sarah-Barah growing up; I liked it.
I am more comfortable in a swim suit now than I ever was when I was skinny.
When I eat small candies, I prefer to eat them by color and in groups of two.
I constantly lick/clean my fork while eating – I can’t stand a dirty fork.
I pick at everything: face, nails, skin, clothes, etc. It drives my husband crazy, but I can’t stop.
I prefer water to soda.
I won’t chew gum that is White.
I sucked my thumb so much growing up it was larger than the other; thankfully they are now the same size.
I can’t stand pincher bugs they give me the creeps.
I have not memorized the multiplication tables.
My brother and I once started a “small” gas fire in our back yard– we almost didn’t get it put out – my parents never found out.
I prefer Whole Milk, but I feel guilty drinking it so I drink skim – it’s a sacrifice!
I drink straight out of the carton when no one is looking.
I remember the day I found out Church didn’t stop for Summer break – I was bummed!
I am in a medical journal (my brother too), for a still unknown growth that was removed. (not as freaky as it sounds)
I am a people watcher.
I rarely get sick, not even once a year – not even a cold.
My car was once stolen by someone I had just met.
I have extremely lousy luck when it comes to driving to Utah for vacation: I have broken down in Las Vegas twice on the way, totaled a car on the way, had a car stolen (#20) & broke down in Utah once. I don’t drive there any more.
A plane I was on had to make an emergency landing, they told us if we crashed we could not take anything with us when we “landed” – I shoved everything I could in my pockets.
I was able to finagle my way into a bar before I was 21, with no id.
I refuse to by things that are pink for a “cure”, I think is done more for business than a cure.
I prefer AM radio to FM.

Who Rocks? Graham Rocks!

2009-02-10T11:11:00.004-07:00

Last year at Graham's work they implemented a scoring system, basically they rate on a scale of 1-5 daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. They are rated on all sorts of items from the quality of their work to calling off work, etc.

A couple weeks ago, the bosses told Graham he had scored a perfect "5" for the whole year - and that he was the only one that did it. We thought how cool, the only one in his area to score the perfect "5".

On Friday the bosses called him into the office and presented him with a Plaque and told him he was the only one to score a perfect "5" in get this.... THE WHOLE COMPANY!!!

I am so proud that Graham is such a hard and dedicated worker; I am glad they showed their appreciation for him. They are very lucky to have him, he amazes me with his dedication to his work. He is always on time - even shows up to work 30 min early every day to get his equipment ready, never has called in sick, performs his work fast and accurate, and helps out other workers all the time.

Great job babe!!!

Week 5!

2009-02-09T10:49:00.004-07:00

Today I finished day one of week #5 in my running program. This week is shaping up to be Hard! I made it to today, so that's a start. However Friday I am scheduled to run for 20 minutes without stopping!!!! I am sure I will able to do it; this program has been great so far, so I trust it. It's challenging but it has gotten easier with each increase.

Last night we watched a show about a guy that had his foot amputated so he could keep running. I kept thinking about that while I was running; if he can run full marathons on one leg - I certainly should be able to run!

Too much for a pup

2009-02-02T16:14:00.005-07:00

We took the pups out to the mountains to check out some gold mines. Smucker's didn't last too long, it wasn't even 10 minutes and she ran back to the car - the drivers seat!

Graham brought the metal detector out this trip, he did find something - we just have not figured out what it is yet. It set off the metal detector but was not magnetic, who knows what it is! At least it was not a bullet shell, we find tons of those.

Actually some one was out there shooting, which I don't mind as long as they are safe and clean up their mess. The dogs were very interested in where the popping sounds were coming from.

Mia and Peter actually liked roaming around while Smuckers sat in the car. It was a nice little outing and no one ran away, got hurt or lost, that's a plus in my book.

Running, Very Very Slowly

2009-01-28T09:35:00.002-07:00

I'm slow but it's progress! I am right in the middle of my third week on the couch to 5k program. I can't say it's getting easier - but at least I am doing it! The third week involves running in spurts of 1 1/2 minutes and 3 minutes, running for 3 whole minutes without stopping is huge for me! Next week it's jumps to 5 minutes, I will admit I am scared!

I am determined to do it. I will do this.

Cool Running

2009-01-14T14:48:00.004-07:00

So I want to run, more specifically I want to run a mile - without stopping.

There was one time years and years and years ago that I accomplished running a mile without stopping; that was my freshman year of High School! After that I never did it again, I hated running so much - it always made me feel like I was going to die; all the wheezing, coughing, side aches, plum feeling horrible for the rest of the day - running was not for me!

For some reason it has become a goal of mine, to be able to run! I have been walking on our treadmill for a couple months now 30 minutes Monday-Friday in the morning before work (excluding holidays). I decided it was time to kick it up a knotch and start a running program. I started Monday using the cool running couch to 5K program. It has only been two official days running, but so far so good! The plan seems easy and is designed to ease you into running a 5k in 9 weeks. I figure maybe if I put my plan here, I will be accountable to more that just myself and will keep going. So I will keep updating my progress - however slow it goes.

Weird series of events

2009-01-12T16:48:00.004-07:00

Last Friday evening was pretty strange for us. First we went out to dinner and my meal was spilled down the front of me as it was being delivered! It was kinda funny, because it was so bizarre, it's something that you would think only happens in movies. Then to add insult to injury, the meal was not even comped! We paid, and won't be returning. I just think you should not have to ask for a free meal when one has been dumped on you. I emailed them, so they know that it's not always the customers that make a big scene that won't be returning.

Then when we were in bed we heard two thuds on our front window. We went out to check what it was. It was EGG! someone egged our house. It happened two weeks ago too, but we didn't know until the next day. The eggs didn't really hit anything that time so we thought nothing of it and passed it off as a fluke. Well not anymore, we called the cops - but there is not much they can do. We really have no clue who would want to egg us, it's pretty juvenile. Hopefully that's the last of the eggs, either way I guess we will have a little stake out this weekend!

Gingerbread House & Snuggie's

2009-01-09T15:35:00.006-07:00

Before Christmas we made a Gingerbread House - from scratch. We have been wanting to make one for years, but finally got around to actually doing it. It was pretty fun, we learned a lot about how to do it better another time. We ended up making way too much dough - two batches! I was scared we would run out - I was way wrong, there was plenty! So now we have a large ball of Gingerbread dough in the freezer - any takers??

Next time we won't get as much candy, we over did that - I think we spent over $50 bucks getting everything to make the house. We still have candy lying around and the candy stuck so well to the house most of it is still there. The next time we make one we will have to be sure there will be kids around who will put in the effort to actually pry the candy off.

The finished product. (yeah, the rolo's were the first to go)

I am sure you have seen the commercial for the snuggie, the blanket with sleeves. Well we liked the idea, but I looked up how much they would cost - around $40 bucks for two. We came up with making them ourselves. We purchased four of those fleece blankets from Wal-Mart that are like 4 bucks each. I sewed some sleeves, it was very easy and quick. I even have some left over fleece, I think the dogs are going to get a little snuggie too; Smuckers sure was interested.

The Biggest Loser

2008-12-17T10:06:00.004-07:00

I have a confession to make. I sit through two hours of the biggest loser every week! and it's not that great of a show. I like the transformations, and that's pretty much it. I watch a show just for the images of the people losing weight, seeing those pounds literally come off - cause let's face it, it's awesome to see those kinds of transformations.

This season was a bit different than the ones I have seen before. I think there was more "game play", as Graham says "damn Richard from Survivor for coming up with the alliance". I think Graham is right, these so called alliances have ruined what "reality TV" could have been.

The Biggest Loser could be a really great show. I wish they would implement the following changes:

1. Actually show the contestants learning about eating properly, and teach the audience at home at the same time. This would take the place of the blatant product placement("learning") they do now. The concocted scenes are really lame and should just be a regular commercial - during commercial time!

2. The show should be only one hour, there is no need to show the same things over and over and over and over and over - seriously, I am not dense.

3. There should be no player picked eliminations. This show should center on percentage of weight loss only. Have a smaller group of people and kept them at the ranch the whole time, the challenges could be for prizes or extra help. Then the winner at the end would be out of everyone - not just out of 3 people. Still have the weekly weigh in's so we can see the progress and failures.

4. Actually talk about how much the contestants are actually working out. How they are tracking their exercise and food. Again, teach the audience.

5. Cut out the crying, not all of it I am sure - but seriously the tears were overflowing this season - It was a blubber fest.

6. Quit having the host ask questions of the contestants like she doesn't know what is going on - I am sure she knows exactly what is going on.

Sure with these changes the show wouldn't have all the made up drama - but that's what I don't want to see. I just would rather be watching real drama, people working hard to lose weight and those interactions; not work hard to stay there, and using people - i.e. this season's Heba and Vicky. They were both so mean spirited the whole game no one was rooting for them - it's even sadder that they don't see it and blame the editing. Sure editing can make someone worse then they are. However there has to be some footage to put together to do so - and apparently in their case there was a ton!

Anyways, next season looks like it's going to be interesting. The new contestants are a lot heavier than usual. Maybe I will just tune in for the last half hour and just see the weigh-ins, that's the only part that's really worth it.

Super Adventure weekend

2008-12-09T15:45:00.010-07:00

We did quite a bit more exploring this weekend. Saturday we followed the same trail as last weekend, but veered off trying to make it to some big gold mines that were on the map. We didn't make it because the road was so bad, it had big crevices all through it from the rain run off. We ended up walking to the top of a hill to see if we could see the mines - nope! While we were up there Graham got to shoot off his new 9 mm semi-auto - It was so LOUD!! it echoed off the surrounding hills and my ears were ringing. I was not expecting it to be so loud for some reason. I guess it might be a bit strange to some that Graham was caring his gun, out here in the mountains almost everyone carries a gun and mostly right on their hip. When we moved out here Graham could not wait to carry his gun on his hip. Most of the people we saw this weekend had them. You just never know who you run into in the middle of nowhere; snakes, mountain lions, big horned sheep or crazy gold prospectors that don't want you around.

The view from the top of the mountain trying to see the the mines.

We ran across some strange looking plants, these are so crazy, they have this strange bulb on them and the colors range from green to maroon.

I am also so surprised by the florescent colors in the plants. Hot pink on the cactus and bright lime green stuff growing on the rocks.

On our way out we ran into another couple that was looking for gold, they had their metal detectors and they were really nice. They belong to a gold hunting group out here - we are thinking of joining so we can learn more about how to find gold. The guy had even found some gold and showed us. I guess we don't feel as crazy being the only one's out there looking for gold.

We went back out on Sunday, we decided to hike down a different road that we were not sure we could make in the bronco (the book we had said the road was not good for driving) The road was not too bad, but was a bit steep. My calves are killing me!! at lease I got some exercise. Going back up the hill about killed me I was out of breath like a fool, apparently I need to kick my morning workouts up a notch!

While walking down Graham spotted a burro. There are a lot of burros in this area, they are the descendants of the early gold miners burros, when the gold miners left they abandoned their burros. The burros just stayed and multiplied; now they are everywhere. We have seen them up by the Lake, now in the mountains and there is a pack of them in a small town called Oatman, it's pretty popular with the tourists who feed them carrots.

How many burro's do you see?

There are three!

The black one really stood out, and for a moment we only saw him (or her) then we saw two, then finally all three. Gray really camouflages out here I guess! They just stayed there staring at us on the way down and up.

It was good we took the hike because we ran across GOLD MINES!! They are really everywhere out in the hills, but they are a little tough to spot sometimes, some of them go straight down - when not marked they can be deadly. These are just small mines that were not dug with heavy equipment, just someone with a pick and a shovel. There were three mines all pretty much next to each other, one was filled in and the other two were still open.

Graham checking the mine for possible animal inhabitants of the not so friendly kind. He brought the shot gun today after hearing from one of the gold hunters yesterday that she had a run in with a mountain lion - yikes!

This mine in the pic below was big enough to crawl in with room to spare, we decided I should be the one to check it out for some reason. I forgot the camera so I have no pics from inside. The mine went to the left about 6 feet down as you can see from the pic below, it went left for about another 6-8 feet and then turned right. That's as far as I got, the shaft did continue right for at least 12-15 feet and turned again to the left, I was a bit creeped out by then so I headed back out. When I got out my butt hit the top of the opening and a chunk came off, so I had rocks down my pants, that was pretty funny - but definitely a reminder that it can be dangerous (not that I forgot my knees were shaking the whole time!).

It was cool seeing inside a mine finally. We really want to figure out how they pick the place to dig the mines, they always seem to be in the middle of nowhere! We have a lot to learn about finding gold, but it's a fun hobby.

4x4 Adventure

2008-12-05T14:47:00.007-07:00

Graham and I decided to go on a off-roading adventure on Sunday. We used 4 Wheel Drive Roads of Mohave County, Arizona by Luis & Paula Vega as a guide - it's a book available here locally. It's very cool; all the trails have GPS coordinates and landmarks as guides. We programed our GPS and tried out the Secret Pass trail. The trail was around 20 miles long, it took us longer than what we expected, but it was only a couple hours. Next time we will check out some of the gold mines that are along the trail.

The trail was very worn, so there was no "where are we going" feeling. It was just nice to have the directions so we knew we were on the right trail, there were a couple of others that intersected.

There was so much to see along the way. The different types of rocks and plants were plentiful.

These orange rocks were a crazy color I have never seen in nature before, my picture does not really show how orange it was.

Large masses of rock just jet out of the hillside.

Rock face that is so massive.

The view from the top of the mountain, the trail was not even that steep - but we really came up in altitude. Somewhere past those peaks in the distance is Bullhead City.

Bronco Billy made it! Graham was a bit nervous we were going to break down along the way, we have not had the bronco very long, and it's been pretty babied it's whole life (it's a '80 something model with 50-something thousand miles on it!).

I can't wait for our next trip, now that the weather is cooler we can go off-roading more and hunting for GOLD!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T10:32:00.012-07:00

Take a look at that spread!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. The food was awesome, courtesy of my talented Husband. We were not able to make it to San Diego this year, but everything turned out better than expected. We had dinner at Graham's Dads house, they were in town. Graham's sister Michelle and two of her boys made the trip from San Diego. It was a fun group.

I wish I would have taken more pictures of everyone! I only got a couple people. Here is the typical after meal lounging around, that's Graham and his Father Doug.

The view from Doug's house here is so cool, it's right on the river (lucky). All of the bushes across the river are changing color. The desert can definitely be beautiful.

It rained on Thanksgiving, and left us with an awesome sunset.

Graham had to work on Friday (thankfully just a half day); he missed hanging out with his sister before they left. The boys had to make a trip to Sonic so we went for breakfast. Sonic is a must stop for any of our visitors from San Diego - can you believe they don't have one there! (but I heard they are getting one in Santee next year, it's about time).

When the boys left they forgot a pillow - a SpongeBob pillow, when we spoke with Michelle we found out they left it on purpose for Mia, because she like it so much while they were here.

The light blue pillow under her head is the one they left. She is always such a lady when she is getting comfortable! She loves her new SpongeBob pillow! Thanks boys!

Thankfull

2008-11-20T12:57:00.006-07:00

Wow, how time flies! It's been far too long since I last posted. The holidays are fast approaching and I am ill prepared!

Holiday's are getting trickier and trickier! I thought that once I was married Holiday's would be great, bigger family= more Holiday joy! Now Holiday's seem a delicate balance between what we can do and what everyone else wants us to do. It's hard to please everyone, and not all of our explanations are good enough (I guess that goes for not having babies yet as well - but that's a post for another time). This year has been especially tough for me for some reason - and it's not even Thanksgiving yet! I wish we could please everyone but, we have to do what is right for us.

OK enough complaining on my part. I have lots to be thankful for!

-I have a wonderful husband who thinks of the cutest things. He recently came up with the idea to cut 6 inches of the legs to our bed (it was really high) so that Mia would not get hurt jumping up on the bed. She has miss judged several times and so far had only come away with a scratch - but we can not afford broken limbs!

-I have a great job, that has the best benefits. I have never worked for a company that was so nice to their employees, I love coming to work everyday. Not everyone can say that. I thank my lucky starts that I found this job!

-I have a awesome best friend who sent me the cutest cupcake box full of candy for my birthday, it was such a sweet surprise. She is going through a tough time and I appreciate her thinking of me while she has so much going on. I love her and I am grateful we have managed to stay friends through the years.

-I get to IM with my sister almost every day, it's really nice to be able to get to know her more. We can jabber on about our crazy parents, plus it's nice when she just says mornin'! or happy hump day! - it's the little things.

-I am grateful that my brother and his family live so close to my parents. It can't be easy, but he helps them when he can.

-I love that I get to vote; even though I don't always like the outcome.

-I love that Graham's brother and family come to visit so often, even though we don't make it to their place as much (not even close).

-I truly enjoy where we live; it's perfect for us right now.

-My in-laws are very nice to me; nothing like in-laws in the movies.

-I am a home owner, who knows how long it will last in this market. But at least I can say it now.

I will try to keep up better with my blog, it's something I really want to do. I kind of thought it would be easier than it is; it's that always the case!

Why?

2008-09-15T08:29:00.008-07:00

Why is Tina Fey playing Palin on SNL big news?? it's on every news site, and I have been bombarded with it in my bloglines - it seems everyone I read thinks it's so great they need to link it too.
I'm sorry, is this the first time a political figure has been portrayed on SNL? No! Hello this is NOT BIG NEWS nor is it remotely new and interesting.
SNL is so past it's prime, they use the same dated jokes and skits over and over again. Like it's hard to come up with Tina Fey to play Palin?? and frankly it has already been done - they were not the first (the Gina Gershon bit) and I am sure they won't be the last.

Also on another political note; on Sept. 11th the campaigns of Obama and McCain suspended political attacks out of respect for those who lost their lives. This type of "respect" really bothers me. If McCain or Obama really wanted to do something real that showed respect, how about suspending the smear attacks for the rest of the campaign instead of one day. How about just releasing commercials and giving speeches that just stated their specific case instead of smearing the other guy. I would much rather hear what a person stands for than who they stand against. I really hate this part of the election process, I would rather it to be all over now - but we still have 2 months of mud slinging.... I mean campaigning.

OK, sorry for all that I don't write for a while and then it's about politics - YUCK! But I feel better now getting it off my chest.

From Siebenthal to Zink

2008-09-01T08:59:00.008-07:00

A year ago I became your wife. It's been a great year, I love you more each and every day. You are an amazing man, I am so lucky to be able to spend my life with you.

I love you.

Yearbook Yourself

2008-08-18T20:05:00.009-07:00

I came across this hilarious website the other day. It's really easy to use, and the results are great!

These were a lot of fun to make - I like the earlier yearbook pictures the best!

Check it out! I want to see your creations too!

Yearbook Yourself

Who knew I would ever like Kobe Bryant

2008-08-16T13:50:00.006-07:00

Check out the Kobe Bryant interview. I can't find a good link at the NBC site, just look for the one-on-one with Kobe Bryant.

(try this link: http://www.nbcolympics.com/basketball/video/index.html)
e.t.a - the video seems to have dissapeared. Check out this link, they have the transcript and a link to the video. http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/08/kobe-bryant-schools-nbc-tool.html

Kobe is being interviewed by Chris Collinsworth. You don't have to watch the whole thing, I think the most important part comes around the 4:00 minute mark. Kobe is talking about being a proud American and Chris Collinsworth asks "is that a cool thing to say, in this day and age, that you love your country, that your fighting for the red white and blue, that's like sorta a day gone by?" Kobe responds very well, I am totally impressed with him (unbelievable!).

I am so tired of this "voice" that is constantly in the media that there is something wrong with being American, that it's not cool to be patriotic, to love your country, to think it's the best. Are you freaking kidding me!!! Maybe Chris should live somewhere else like maybe China, where he wouldn't be able to say whatever he wants; maybe then he wouldn't have to ask such a question, maybe then he would have some American pride. I wish I could go for Gold for my country; at least I have the choice.

There is nothing wrong with loving your country, with being patriotic - There is nothing wrong with loving America.

I am proud to be American.

2008 Olympics

2008-08-15T11:28:00.005-07:00

I am so frustrated with NBC! I don't understand why the Olympics are not LIVE! We have been watching as much as we can, but all the good stuff comes on so late. I understand there is a large time difference - but I don't get why they are not showing actual live coverage of let's say the Michael Phelps races?? I have looked at the schedule and the events have been pretty "early"; the swimming is starting at about 7 pm pacific time, so why are they waiting up to 3 hours to show it and then they are calling it live?? I can check online and see who won hours before it's on TV.

We are pretty lucky with Graham being in the cable business, we get TONS of channels. There a couple of new channels dedicated only to the Olympics, but still no actual live coverage. On one of the new channels they just list of their upcoming coverage, who knows when they actually show anything.

It's been pretty hit and miss with NBC and the other channels - I love watching the Olympics, but with the scheduling I can't catch anything I want to watch! Why do they broadcast the handball events when the USA are not even competing - couldn't they show something else? With all the technology we have today, I don't understand why we don't have better coverage.

So many unanswered questions, I am so frustrated!! I miss watching the Olympics :(

Spot Stealer

2008-08-08T07:00:00.002-07:00

Mia is always after a spot freshly left. Mia goes all in, acting like she was there all along. It's hard to move her; she is so darn cute about it.

Can't say I blame her too much, I did the exact thing as a kid.

Twilight Series

2008-08-07T10:29:00.004-07:00

For the past week I have done a lot of reading. I finished all FOUR! books of the Twilight Series - I was completely sucked in. I really enjoyed all the books, I am glad I didn't have to wait for any one of them to be released.

So if you haven't read them yet - go ahead already! I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

A Day at the Lake

2008-07-31T10:35:00.005-07:00

This past weekend we had visitors. Graham's brother Doug and family came for a visit and their Mother came along for the ride. It was her first visit here. We had a fun weekend even though we got rained out on Saturday and didn't get out on the water until Sunday.

Saturday we went with Graham to Harrah's casino, he was playing in a Texas hold 'em tournament. While he played we ate at the buffet and took the kids to the arcade. Unfortunately Graham didn't win he only played for 30 minutes; he said he didn't get any good cards.

We hung out at home the rest of the day and made our favorite Crab Boil for dinner - we love making it; a bunch of food in a pot (potatoes, chicken, corn on the cob, carrots, crab legs, clams, mussels, shrimp and seasoning). When it's done just dump it on the table and dig in. Everyone enjoyed it, we always do!

Doug thought we should get up really early (5 am!) and go to the lake on Sunday (if you get there too late, it's packed and takes forever to get your boat in the water), we all mostly agreed - it's always nice to have someone else to blame for getting up early on a weekend!

It turned out to be a good thing we were up so early; Doug's boat trailer had a flat tire and the tread was separated. Doug and Graham headed off to get a new tire, and when they returned we left - it was still relatively early. If we hadn't got up early we would have never got to the lake. +

Boating out on the lake was eventful with our back seat driver - Graham's mother. She really didn't like the ride- she yelled at Graham for going to fast (he wasn't, he was going slow for her) along with little screams of panic when we were jostled around. It was pretty funny, but she didn't think so!

I think the rain had chased people away for the weekend, there were plenty of spots and we picked a pretty good one. It was a very nice day, clear and sunny. We snorkeled and swam and the boys tried knee boarding and skiing, they even got out on the hot dog tube.

Here is Graham on the knee board - Go Babe!! I love this picture, Miriam (Doug's wife) took it with their camera - I want this camera, it takes great pictures!!!

After playing all day at the lake we headed home (it's only 15 minutes away). The gang then packed up and headed home for San Diego. I don't know how Doug drove home - I was so tired!

Channeling my inner Napoleon

2008-07-24T08:51:00.005-07:00

The other night we were taking lots of video trying to capture the awesome lightning display. I finally got a good one on film and proceeded to dork it right up. Listen closely after the lightning.

Napoleon Dynamite would be so proud.

It's Monday alright!

2008-07-21T15:59:00.002-07:00

At work this morning I answered my personal cell phone "Carpenters this is Sarah, how can I help you?"

Yeah I need some more sleep!

Graham's #1

2008-07-14T08:17:00.003-07:00

Graham got a little write up in his company news letter, it is a really nice article:

He is such a hard worker, I am so proud of him.

MEMORY LANE from Sabra

2008-07-11T15:05:00.002-07:00

MEMORY LANE-This will be fun especially if everyone and I do mean EVERYONE will join in! This is just too fun to pass up.

Here are the directions:

1. Add a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember, good or bad but be nice!!!!!!!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. We can make it a competition if anyone wants. Let's see who can come up with the funniest memory and who has the most memories. Please keep it going. ENJOY :)

Summer Storm

2008-07-11T09:11:00.008-07:00

I love big summer storms, always have. The wind, the rain and the lighting and thunder! Love, love, love!

Last night we had a good one come through, it was amazing. The wind was out of control, dirt and debris were flying down the street. Doug parks his boat at our house and the cover took quite a beating. I could not resist filming it.

Doug, I am afraid it's time for a new boat cover.

I took several videos with our camera, I finally captured one lightning strike - it's at the end:

Of course the storms freak the dogs out. Smuckers especially likes to bark and jump around, she really wants to get that thunder and shut it up!

We don't get a lot of storms, but when we do they are pretty cool.

How to spend your weekend:

2008-06-17T08:38:00.004-07:00

You could wait at midnight at the front window for friends to arrive:

Have fun on the river or lake and take group photos at night after watching the space station fly by:

Recuperate ("pass out") from a weekend of fun with your buddy boy:

Or you could be like Mia every day of her life:

Yes, she sleeps like this all the time. Her life is so hard and taxing!

"Journalism"

2008-06-05T15:41:00.006-07:00

Did you make it all the way to the end? I didn't make it much farther than two minutes in when she says "eeew", that's really all you need to see to know this is not journalism. OK I guess you could really say when she asks about "Chemistry" it's ridiculous - WTF!

And they wonder why Katie Courics' ratings are down. I am not sure who to blame her or the producers, I guess her resume was not very journalistic to begin with; so what did they expect. But clearly this is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Can you do it?

2008-06-05T11:55:00.006-07:00

This really got me!

SPF

2008-06-04T14:32:00.003-07:00

Our friends Bob & Melissa and Doug & Miriam are coming for a visit this weekend. Bob sent me the following text today:

"what spf sunscreen do u guys use in BHC"

That really cracked me up today.

They are all coming up from San Diego - We do live in the desert, but the sun is not that different here!

I answered him honestly though, you never know I guess; sometimes it does feel like mars.

The weather is looking to be pretty good for some river fun this weekend - I am absolutely looking forward to a long weekend with friends!

Sprinklers

2008-05-28T06:19:00.006-07:00

Two out of three of our dogs love the sprinklers; those two would play in them all day if we let them. We tend to not let the dogs play with the sprinklers because they end up eating the sprinkler head - they want that water AT THE SOURCE!!!

It is hilarious to watch them though, biting at the water like they could "catch" it.

The small gold gnome, didn't used to be gold - much to Graham's dismay. I still think it looks great (though it could use a touch up now) and stand by the decision to paint it while Graham was indisposed - I am sure the alcohol had nothing to do with it!

FLDS "Clean" Sweep

2008-05-22T10:40:00.006-07:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about the FLDS situation in Texas. When the raid initially happened I was on board, I thought, great! finally someone is doing something about the poor mistreated children!

Now that I have got over my initial reaction and thought about it more - I am pretty disgusted at the way I reacted and how the FLDS have been treated by the CPS and the seemingly endless power they have taken.

I do not agree with the FLDS lifestyle, however they have rights just like you and I do - and those rights have been trampled on. In some cases (and I think more to come) adults were taken and placed in foster care! Let's think about that - an adult, who stated they were an adult were taken and placed in foster care - talk about holding someone against their will. These women were not arrested, but could not leave. Some of these women have now given birth and their new born babies will be placed in foster care. How can the state prove that a child not even born yet was abused at the time of the raid?? The only time a child should be removed from a home is if there is immediate and provable danger of abuse. The state of Texas can not possibly believe that all 400+ children meet that criteria, I do not believe a sweeping judgement was in order because of an anonymous phone call - one that turns out to be a hoax. These children are being raised in a different lifestyle yes, but that does not make it OK for this raid to have taken place.

What is it all coming to these days? Anyone with a grudge can just call child protective services anonymously and CPS will come and take the children? What about all the children from the particular church you go to? All the children on your street? Apartment Complex? What is the difference - I don't see one. The only thing I see is that CPS has picked on a particular group of people for their beliefs, misinterpreted or not and tore these unconventional families apart. It's not right and I can't believe more people are not up in arms about this.

Freedom of religion is one of our basic rights in this country. I know the FLDS believe in polygamy - I don't, it's against the law and for many other reasons. However, can the state prove polygamy, underage marriage or sexual abuse in every child's case? The FLDS have skirted around this law by not having legal marriages. Are they going to say people are legally married when they have had their own not-legal ceremony just to prove a charge? The presence of polygamy does not equal child abuse. And I think this is the issue at the forefront of the raid; are they going to prove every child a member of a polygamist unit and therefore abused?

I do think there has been abuse; there have been enough men,women and children who have left and spoke of their abuse, but to charge all FLDS people crosses the line.

I think the State of Texas has a very sticky situation on their hands and it's not going to end in their favor. Already today the Texas Appellate court ruled that the officials did not have the right to seize the children (FINALLY). I am sure this is not the end, and I am sure the State of Texas is going to be sued multiple times over this. I believe the FLDS members will win and I hope they do. I hope this only paves the way for others who have been mistreated by the broad power the CPS system has taken.

I hope these children are returned to their families soon.

The Mighty Colorado

2008-05-19T18:31:00.014-07:00

This weekend was pretty good. It went by way to fast as always, as Graham always says who came up with this whole 5 day work week? - I would really like to know as well, it doesn't seem quite right to have only 2 days off a week.

We took the pups to the park on Saturday morning. The pups really love a car ride so that's half the fun for them. The other day I ran to the store down the street; I took the pups with me, we were only gone about 5 minutes but they had the best time - they are so easily amused! The dogs are always fighting over the windows, someone else always has the better view. I think every car ride they all end up in one window, it's pretty funny especially since the other widow is wide open.

Smuckers really loves the park, she is the fastest runner and the one who likes to chase after the tennis balls the most. Peter tries but he can't keep up with Smuckers, but he pretty much just barks at her for getting to the ball first. Mia just does her own thing, she could care less about tennis balls, she wanders around sniffing the ground and chasing after the occasional bird.

It was not windy on Saturday and we headed out to the river. It's starting to get hot (113 degrees) and we headed out to the little spot we like at the Laughlin Bay Marina. The Marina is just off the river and it is a no wake zone so it's nice to hang out in there away from the crowds on the river and the jet skiers. The best part of the weekend was on Sunday, I wanted to try a little fishing (one of these days I will catch a Striped Bass), but so far no such luck. We checked out a few fishing spot we always see people that's when we stumbled upon a great spot. It is just off the river separated by a very narrow piece of land, the water flows through but it's not very deep. We set up camp there and tried fishing, we were able to put our chairs right in the flowing water because it was not very deep.

Graham is the genius behind this picture; the picture I tried to take ended up being a blurry picture of Graham in his chair and my blurry ass - no one needs to see that one! (Graham of course kept it)

We had a pretty good view and the water was cold; it really felt great!

Next we moved about 50 yards down and found a little beach, we did a little snorkeling, and we were able to see the boats driving up and down the river. It was pretty cool we could enjoy the river with out being on the river dealing with all the wake from boats passing by.

I did get a little too much sun on my legs and head! But well worth the great new spot, we will be headed there again soon!

Buddy Boy

2008-05-15T11:02:00.007-07:00

Peter has a silly new quirk. In the evening when we are all sitting watching TV, Graham will say something; anything at all and Peter will get up from where ever he is sleeping and will sit directly in front of Graham and stare. We have no idea why this has started, but it's pretty funny. Pete does this over and over again every night.

Peter is the "baby" of the family, he needs certain things in order for his life to go smoothly (a.k.a he is completely spoiled). #1 on his list is a pillow in the bed, if Pete could not sleep in the bed on his pillow we think he might just have a heart attach. Pete would sleep all day if someone would join him. Around the house when either one of us is even close to our hallway that leads to the bedrooms, Peter immediately runs to the bed, it's pretty funny, he is always hoping it's time for bed.

As if he didn't get enough sleep!

Mr. Fixit

2008-05-14T13:36:00.008-07:00

My Sewing machine was broken for months, I put off taking it to the shop and tried to find out what was wrong myself with no luck. Finally one day I announced that I was taking it in to be repaired. Graham said "why don't you let me look at it first". I have to say I was annoyed! so many things went through my mind: I had already tried to fix it! It is a sewing machine, why would he be able to fix it, it's all electronic, etc, etc. I finally relented; fine he could look at it (in my mind he was not going to be able to fix it and it would just be one more day that it was broken).

That night he sat down with me by his side showing him how it was suppose to work (I was still a bit peeved). He tinkered and inspected and low and behold he fixed the damn thing!! I couldn't believe it, and I really can't believe the way I had acted, I had been such a jerk (sorry babe for doubting you!). I have learned my lesson not to doubt his ability; he has mad skills! I always new he could fix cars and such but now I know it's literally anything!

He constantly fixes our boat (genius - I am telling you!) and fixes his brothers boat, our cars, his families cars, fixes flat tires for friends, etc. He has every tool known to man, he busts out the most random tools all the time, he amazes me constantly. See! I should have known better about the sewing machine!

Just this last weekend he replaced the old cast iron intake on our boat engine: it was heavy, ugly and corroded:

He replaced it with a new aluminum intake; and so much better looking!

We are ready for the water this weekend (crossing my fingers for good weather), we can't wait to test it out.

Babe you are #1! I love you!

-Sarah

"Quotes"

2008-05-13T11:39:00.004-07:00

Sometimes I randomly write down quotes that I like, I guess now I have a place to share them.

"Bacon. I call it "God's currency"."
-Foo Fighters Rider, from The Smoking Gun

"Iowa is like a time machine that only stops in years with keds and tie dye."
-Penut Butter and Jealous

-Sarah

At the races!

2008-05-12T15:21:00.015-07:00

This weekend Graham and I headed up to Kingman, AZ to check out the Hualapai Downs 42nd annual Horse Races. Most of the people we know had no clue there are horse races there; so we didn't have a lot to go on. I did not have any expectations because I have never been to a live horse race, Graham set his expectations a little to high!

There were probably about 300 people in attendance; and that filled most of the "grand stands". For their 42nd year we thought it should be a bit bigger (they should probably advertise on the radio that would be a start). The track can only fit 8 horses per race, so with horses scratching out that left one race with only 4 horses.

The prices were pretty reasonable: $1 to park, $3 entrance fee, $2 program, $3 beers (they had a open bar too!), $4 Hot Dog/Hamburger, $3 kettle corn - not too shabby for event pricing!

We got situated in the stands and started making our "winning" selections, then went to look around; that's when we saw the jockeys. Not what I expected to say the least, the jockeys were a rough bunch. I could go on and on, but the pictures really say a thousand words.

To say the least we were not really impressed with what the horses had to work with. Good thing the horses came out next, they were beautiful - If we had not seen them we probably would have just left. We placed a bet for the first race and took our places in the grandstand. We picked a gray horse to place in the first race. It seemed to take forever for the horses to get ready and in the gates and then all of a sudden they were off!

It was pretty exciting seeing the horses race live and we were pretty close to the track as you can see. Unfortunately our horse did not win or place. But it was cool to see two of the horses really going for it at the end.

We only stayed for the next race, the horse we bet on bucked his jockey right before entering the gate. The horse must have been worn out after that; he tuckered right out and finished dead last. We were done after that, it's nice seeing the race live, but we will wait until this race gets a bit bigger before we go again. I guess we will stick to the sports book at Don Laughlin's Riverside Casino.

-Sarah

Water, water everywhere...

2008-05-09T11:41:00.006-07:00

We live here:

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We moved from Here:

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People think we are crazy. We are not crazy.

When we lived in San Diego (Lemon Grove) we never went to the beach.

Going to the beach in San Diego is a hassle, there is a lot of traffic to contend with, there is no parking, the beach is crowded - it's not really fun to do every weekend unless you really want to lose your whole day.

Bullhead is the exact opposite. It takes us 5 minutes to get to the boat launch, there is no traffic, there is available parking, we boat over to our favorite spot and play! We have plenty of time to take care of the house and play all in one day.

When it's warm or hot (it can get to 125 degrees in summer) we are on the water almost every weekend.

I didn't know!

2008-05-08T09:29:00.002-07:00

This made me laugh today, it's worth a look.

-Sarah

Garage Sale

2008-05-06T09:30:00.005-07:00

Our town is a little weird, we are the first one's to admit that. This weekend we had a garage sale. Growing up in San Diego a garage sale is something that happens very early in the morning, you have to get up and set up while it's still dark and be ready for the "early birds". Bullhead is quite opposite, we made the mistake about a year ago to go "Garage Sale Hunting" early one morning. We went and got coffee & a paper and headed out on our hunt. It was still dark. We drove around for over a hour looking for sales only to find that no one in this town starts early, a lot of the ads even said "no early birds". It had to have been well after 8 am before people were out and selling.

Don't get me wrong I am OK with this, it was nice to have a garage sale at a decent hour, we sold items for a couple hours, took down our signs and took the rest to The Salvation Army. We were done by 11am and we were not tired from getting up before dawn!

Other weirdness involving Garage Sales in Bullhead: Most start on Friday and last through Sunday, people sell all day for three days, there usually is no sign in front of the house that is actually having a garage sale, garage sale signs are on boxes on street corners with rocks in them so they don't blow away, people don't generally remove these boxes/signs this is annoying and very misleading.

-Sarah