can you do it?

http://www.funstufftosee.com/frogleaptest.html

i finally got this after way too many tries. then it took me almost as many tries to repeat it. super easy once you get it, but i'd be curious to know if you can do it on your first, or for that matter, even your 5th try. let me know.

way harder than you might think

so, i don't know about you, but when i think of putting in a little ground level deck, i think . . . easy, fun, simple project. and, well, it was fun and it was simple . . . but it was noooooooot easy. duke isn't sure about this whole deck project. he likes his shady spot and decides to stay right there most of the day.

digging holes for the concrete pilings was literally back breaking work. thank goodness there were only six holes to dig. erik of course helped me and it was a good thing because he has a much better eye for the framework than i do. but, he was not feeling well this weekend so i had to do more of the digging than i had anticipated. he sat back and supervised though, which, believe it or not, was very helpful.

and, he did certainly push through not feeling well and help with the digging. he was a bit faster and more efficient than i. and when i say "a bit" i mean a lot. at one point i told him he could go and sit back down because i knew he didn't feel good and he replied with, "i can't . . . watching you is like watching a dying dog". as much as i wanted to take offense, i really couldn't because it was kind of true. but, like i've said before, my mama taught me that i can do anything if it just go slow and steady. i was getting the job done, but certainly not at a very fast pace. the boys made it easy to take breaks because they were particularly cuddly, given just the slightest invitation (like me sitting down for just a moment because my back felt like it was going to stop working)

as we dug up the holes and uneven ground, i tried to be a human sod machine and save areas of grass to replace patchy spots in the yard. I have no idea if it will grow or not, but i thought it was worth a try. i placed one of the pieces of sod along the fence line, but had not yet filled in dirt around it. it sat right in the sun and in no time frank and henry decided it looked like a perfect little grassy bed for the two of them. they're so cute i can't quite stand it.

so, at the end of day one we had the holes dug, pilings in, and frame built. long day, but it felt really good in the end.devin came over on monday to help do some drilling on the deck and give my fancy new lawn mower a whirl.

monday was pretty smooth sailing actually. We had a few technical cuts that took some time, but the lion share of it was just cutting the 12 foot 2x6's in half and just drilling them down. i planned it that way so that i could have as little waste as possible with the wood. its not cheap.
the deck awning didn't make it in, but its not going to be too hard to finish that up eventually. understatement, i'm sure. i need to save a few m0re bucks before i do that part anyway. i figure, i've got all summer before it really needs to be done, so the finished pictures probably won't be making an appearance anytime soon. for now, here is the progress we made. it ended up being 6 x almost 19 feet. just enough for duke's house and a couple of chairs. makes a nice addition to the backyard.

and no, i didn't get to do any planting in the greenhouse. again.

new boobs are on the horizon

i have an appointment with dr. horton, the breast surgeon in san francisco, on july 18th. i'm actually pretty excited. this is just a consult, but is definitely a step in the right direction. or in my case, the breast direction. tee hee. my friend lee from utah is going to meet me there to spend the weekend too. yay. romy might make it up as well. anyone else want to come? its going to be a quick 4 day trip, but still enough time to have some fun.

my pathetic backyard that i still love

so the joys of having dogs includes the joys of having a patchy, yellow spotted, backyard. sad. it was really green and pretty when i moved in last year, but between the fence project, the terrible number the bobcat did, digging up the garden, filling in low spots with new soil, having the cable company come and dig up all that new soil only to resurface all the rocks i had just buried, and of course nearly a year of duke claiming his domain, the yard has, well, seen better days to say the least. i still love it though. its a pretty good size, its quiet and secluded even though its in the middle of a neighborhood in the middle of a city, and its where my boy duke absolutely loves to be.

i'm posting pictures of the state of things now in hopes that it will be a drastic difference from the ones i'll post at the end of the summer after i've had a chance to grow more grass and revitalize what i've got. we'll see what happens.

i still haven't planted anything in my greenhouse by the way. i don't exactly know what i'm doing. maybe i'll dig in and try to get something going this weekend. i was planning to go camping this weekend, but i've decided to avoid the masses of motorhomes and overcrowded campgrounds, in favor of relaxing in town and starting my backyard deck. its not going to be anything extravagent, just a small ground level deck out the back door from the garage. i'm going to build that and an awning so that duke can have a covered area for his dog house. it was in the garage this year, but he really prefers to be outside, so i think a little deck for him is in order. he's such a love and he brings so much joy to my life so i feel like its the least i can do to make him as comfy as he can be.

i helped erik build a deck and awning last weekend at his place, so we got some good practice in to do mine this weekend.

what are you up to for the memorial day weekend?

powerline trail

its been absolutely amazing and beautiful here for the past week or so. the weather has truly just been out of the world. bright, sunny, warm, but still breezy. its been really hard to stay inside all day to work. tonight after work i rushed right home and before i did anything, i just changed my clothes, loaded up the dogs (i've got erik's boys too because he's been working some really long hours), and went in search of a trailhead on the hillside. i've been to some, but its always been with other people and i actually haven't explored much on my own. i knew i wouldn't get lost, but i didn't actually know where i was going. i was looking for one, but ended up at another. i went to the flattop trailhead. its a pretty steep climb (to, you guessed it, a flat-topped mountain) and i've heard plenty of people talk about this particular hike. i've wanted to try it so i was glad i stumbled on it. but, there were quite a few people and quite a few dogs and quite a few signs the said keep your dogs on a leash. erik's boy, rosco is a little unpredictable too so i took the signs seriously. we started up the trail that was still covered in slushy, slippery snow. i had all four dogs on a leash and they were all attached at my waist. it was a challenge. the trail was narrow and they all wanted to pull in a different direction. and, it really was pretty steep. it didn't take long and i just decided that tonight was not the night for this particular trip. i was dreading the slippery hike down right away. but, we just slowly made our way back down. luckily there was another side trail that looked pretty flat and didn't have near the traffic as the other one. so, off we went. still slippery and still difficult to manage four dogs on a leash, but without other people, i cut them loose. they were thrilled and had a great time running in the trees, finding sticks, rolling in the snow . . . and in henry's case, letting out a little whine with every other step. he's such a faker though. he actually loves being outside and running around like a big boy, but has become accustomed to being the baby . . . or the prince as he prefers to be called. anyway, this trail went on for a while, but eventually connected up to powerline pass . . . which is just that . . . the trail which runs along the powerlines. its gradual, smooth, and well-maintained. its not so covered with trees so it gets a lot of sun exposure and was mainly dry, which we all appreciated. so, we had a great walk and enjoyed the sun and the views. you can see the inlet out in the distance on a couple of these photos. what a great night.

this might bore you

• yesterday i finally got outside to do the terrible duty of picking up the dog poop that has been collecting all winter. somehow with the snow on the ground it becomes justifiable to just leave it there and wait until all the snow is gone before you really take the job on. well the time has come and gone a few times now over the past month and everytime i think i'm going to get out there and do it a freak snow storm hits or its raining . . . or some other perfectly fine excuse pops up. well, no more. you know those 50 lb. bags of dog food . . . i save them because they make good poop bags. this is a little horrifying so brace yourself. i filled up almost 2 full bags. grooooooooss!!! Luckily all the poop was nearly petrified, so that made the job not so bad. blahhhh. if it was just duke it wouldn't be quite so awful because he prefers to do his business on our walks, but rosco, erik's dog, who spends a lot of time here, seems to save up and let loose when he gets to his bathroom paradise, my backyard. and besides that, the boy goes 6 times a day, no joke. anyway . . . the backyard is clean and i'm looking forward to working back there this weekend . . . raking, spreading more grass seed in patchy spots, and maybe starting some plants in the greenhouse. its going to be a new adventure for me in there.
• i can't keep my beta's bowl clean. i think he must use the bathroom a lot too. anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the bowl clear a little longer than a couple of days?
• my trainer worked me out hard today. i seriously thought i was going to throw up. it seemed amusing to her. what is that about? she doesn't keep very good count by the way. when i'm supposed to do 15 reps, she always seems to be distracted and i'm on like 26 before she realizes it and tells me to switch. if i stop before she tells me to, because for damn sure i don't lose count, she barks at me that i'm not done yet. 'yes i am' i scream inside. sometimes i actually want to kick her. i have increased my weights in all areas 5-10 lbs. over the past 2 months though so i guess i can't complain too much about her. if there wasn't so much fat covering up my newly developing muscles, i'm certain they would be lookin' pretty good. unfortunately they aren't really reaching the surface yet though. ugh. the thought of that is even grosser than the dog poop. moving on.
• if you don't read my mom's blog, you should. she doesn't always keep it updated, but when she does, its worth wandering through. she puts up great pictures and has fun stories from the farm. most recently she posted pictures of her new welcome arbor (that she built all by herself i might add). its awsome. you rock mom.
• i bought a click-clack couch for really cheap from someone at work. its an old style from the 50's that is making its way back into new furniture lines. it was pre-futon era, but is a similar concept. instead though, it clicks one way and then clacks another to lay out into a bed. can you picture it? its pretty cool and makes my office complete. perfect for a spare room that needs seating and an occasional bed. i just found out that two couple's, friends from Nome, are going to be in town on the same weekend in a couple of weeks, so now i can accommodate them both. yay. i knew i bought this big house for something.
• i'm trying to start a side business, but its a slow process. i'm hoping to be rolling by july. we'll see? my brother is my graphic artist and web designer. you rock too dillon.
• my health insurance has authorized a consult with my breast surgeon of choice, which is a good sign that they will likely authorize the surgery from her too. the surgeon is in san francisco and i'm hoping to get down there for a consult sometime in july or august. i'm really excited about it and it feels so good to have finally made a decision and be completely confident about it. there has been so much that i have felt powerless in over the past two years. and now, reconstruction is on the horizon, and i actually get to feel powerful and strong. its very cool and very unexpected. this is the surgeon i met at the young survivor's conference in february. she alone made my trip worth it. if you're curious about her or reconstruction, she is a great resource. her name is Karen Horton and she is in a plastic surgery practice with two other women. its the only plastic surgery practice in country that is all women and is appropriately named, women's plastic surgery.
• i'm almost done knitting the blanket for nikki's daughter, coming this july. i'll post pictures before i send it off just because its turning out so darn cute.
• i went to erik's tonight just so i could watch the office. haven't been watching all season, then saw it last week by accident and had to see it again. i love that show.
• i don't know why i'm typing all this . . . and its way past my bedtime, so goodnight. happy weekend to you . . .

two years later

yesterday was the two year mark since my diagnosis of breast cancer. it feels like a dream. i just read my post from last year and i'm struck by all that i had to say. this year, i feel that i have very little to say. i thought about writing yesterday, but felt this loss for words that i still feel today, so avoided it. for some reason though i guess i just want to say it out loud. its been two long years and i'm here and i'm okay. i'm happy most days. i'm grateful everyday. i'm still fighting with my apparent inability to lose weight, i still feel sad a lot, i am living i life i truly never imagined i would, i'm not as angry as i want to be sometimes, i'm working hard at celebrating who i am NO MATTER WHAT, and i'm hopeful about all sorts of things in my future. not the least of which is the decision that i've made to have breast reconstruction. more to tell another time, but i will say this, i'm excited about it and for a very long time, i didn't know if i ever would be. i wonder how many years it will be before i forget the significance of may 4th?