Click. The Good News

Mia Camping Videos

2009-12-09T03:55:00.000-06:00

(With several cameras & computers, it's hard to keep up with all my photo files & video files. I must have lost these somewhere along the way, but I'm glad I *found* them)
We were worried she's try to catch the hook as the guys cast, so we kept her away from them most of the time they were fishing. At the end though, H was playing with her. I stopped the video 1 sec too soon because you can see, she totally wipes out on the last jump.

This was the weekend I first noticed her starting to point at more things. I have no idea what she's point at in the water, but she's quickly distracted by all the bugs she can chase.

Video taken November 14, 2009 Mia ~ 5 months old

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Headed to Dallas tonight for work...busy traveler!

Hunter Wrestling

2009-12-08T13:32:00.001-06:00

My brother had his first wrestling match about a week & a half ago. I couldn't make it but somebody took some awesome pictures & I stole them from his Facebook.

CHARGE! At the start of the season, his shoulder kept bothering him & the doctor told him he had a hairline fracture in his collarbone. He has sat out the last few weeks & was anxious to start his 2nd season of wrestling.

He was the smallest one on the team last year & wrestled in the lightest weight class- <103 lb.s This past year he has really started growing & putting on weight, and is right at the 103 mark.

No mercy for this kid!

That looks like some sort of fancy move there!

Go Hunter!

Ouch! My brother was up several points in the 3rd & final round.

And he finally got him pinned! It was the first official pin in his wrestling career & he was very excited.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Made it home early from Omaha & avoided the blizzard.

Sleeping Arrangements

2009-12-07T03:52:00.000-06:00

The girls have been getting really snugly with each other lately.

Mia will usually join Zoe if she's already there, but Zoe finds some other place is Mia is already on the couch.

Poor Zoe...nobody likes a foot in their face when they sleep.

Mia solves that problem by putting her face in the pillows.

They have also managed to snuggle right up to hubby for his nap time too.

Gotta keep the nose warm.

Matching Vizlsa balls!

This is from the snow day when it was cold! They couldn't get close enough to each other.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Headed to Nebraska & Iowa today for work.

Snow in Houston

2009-12-06T06:52:00.002-06:00

Since about Monday, the weather had been calling for a freakish early snow in Houston. It hardly ever snows here & has NEVER snowed this early before. I squeezed my long run in on Friday & it was already snowing/raining in the south part of town when I got home. There were a few flakes on my way into work & by late morning- a good heavy snow was falling!

This was out my work window before lunch time & I couldn't believe that it was really snowing & that the forecasters had gotten it right! They were saying 1"-2" in some places.

So I did what any reasonable person would do- packed up & went home to play with the dogs. Zoe is not into any type of weather at all, but I coaxed Mia outside to check it out.

We were getting some pretty big flakes at that point & some decent accumulation on the ground. The slow shutter & the flash made for some really interesting photos. My big camera was in the shop, so my P&S was all I had.

I was hoping she'd play with the snow or eat it, but she mostly just followed me around & was trying to figure out why we were standing outside in the cold.

This is really about as much as we got where I lived. It stopped snowing hard & it all melted pretty quickly. There was quite a good "dusting" on many of the buildings when we went downtown Saturday morning.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Longhorns are headed to the Rose Bowl after a nail biting win over Nebraska last night- Hook'em!

New Trails

2009-12-05T04:50:00.004-06:00

The day after Thanksgiving, we avoided the crowds and checked out a park around the block from us. We'd never been exploring there before (mostly because it gets so muddy when it rains) and the trails looked like a great place for the dogs to play.

It was cloudy & pretty dark. I didn't have my shutter speed up fast enough, so most of these are pretty blurry :(

Mia agitates Zoe to no end when they are running. She snips at her, barks at her, runs in front of her, runs into her and is just a PITA.

Hubby can with us & we enjoyed a nice 30 minute walk in the woods.

I was worried about the dogs running off, but they did pretty good (for the most part).

Zoe is such a pointer. She's been pointing since she was a wee-weeks old pup. Mia is just starting to point more.

The trail wound along the bayou for a while. Luckily, the girls didn't jump in.

Isn't that a pretty butterfly?

And I loved the coloring on these berries.

Photos taken November 27, 2009 Mia 5.5 months old

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Hubby made it home safely last night & the weather here is beautiful (and cold!) today.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-04T15:15:00.000-06:00

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house again this year for our mom's & family.

Since her neck surgery, mom has been having a terrible time with her eye. The retina keeps detaching & today she had her 4th surgery to fix it. Luckily she was feeling well this week & made some yummy potato salad.

Our resident baker Dana made some delicious rolls & Gram couldn't wait until after dinner to try the desserts.

Yes- my husband actually does more dishes than I do! ;)

Turkey, ham, beef BBQ brisket, Mexican green beans, salad, mac & cheese, dressing, potato salad & a few appetizers in the background (pigs in a blanket & jalapeno poppers).

It's hard work being the host with the most!

I love to see my mom smile and laugh.

H's mom & her boyfriend cooked all of the meat for our meal & it was amazing.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: It is actually snowing here today & H is flying home from Chicago (hopefully) tonight.

Hubby without Hair

2009-12-03T05:41:00.000-06:00

I just have to post a few more since his hair is growing back so fast. This is pretty typical- dogs fighting for his attention, their blackberry competition is tough.

We actually went out dancing a few weeks ago & kicked it to some great '80s music.

Over the holidays, he went to the park with me and the dogs.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Hubby is off to Chicago to meet with some customers, but will be back tomorrow.

Mia Pointing

2009-12-02T11:52:00.000-06:00

I've been regularly taking the dogs out to this field to run. It's hard to get there early enough to get good lighting. Either it's really low on the horizon & everything is washed out, or in this case, it is dark!

The dogs do pretty good on waiting to get out once the back door is opened.

Usually there are tons of birds flying around & they take off after them like crazy.

Photos taken November 24, 2oo9 Mia ~5.5 months old

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Looks like it's going to be a real winter this year- Friday's forecast is 28 and snow/rain!

Exploring Bastrop State Park

2009-11-30T22:17:00.000-06:00

Our friend was up bright and early Saturday morning to try his hand at fishing.

We decided to take Mia for a little walk around the park to check out the other campsites and the cabins at the park.

Loved the beautiful forests & streams around the park.

There is a newer looking amphitheater here- maybe they show movies in the summer?

There was a small road race & a few dozen runners out on these lovely winding, hilly roads.

Then we hopped in our car & took the scenic 10 mile drive on a park road to Bastrop State Park. It seems much larger- with some bigger group camping areas, full cabins and a golf course.

They guys went canoeing- neither one of them had every gone before! It was quite humorous to say the least.

There was a Weim out there who was a retrieving fool. Mia went out once, but got quite a nasty snarl when she got near him.

She decided to fetch her own stick!

Late that afternoon, the guys tried their hand at fishing again.

The area had some beautiful fall colors & we had such perfect camping weather all weekend.

We even had some luck fishing!

Mia just wanted to play in the mud.

As evening approached, all these birds gathered in this tree to roost for the evening.

We were treated to a beautiful sunset before we headed back to camp to make dinner & roast marshmallows over the fire.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Mia graduated with flying colors from Basic Obedience class tonight.

Blogging Vizslas

2009-06-01T12:02:00.016-05:00

I *LOVE* following other Vizslas on the inter-tubes, especially through blogs that are updated periodically. I wanted to make a complete list of all my blogging vizsla friends as a resource for other V-owners to connect and enjoy this wonderful breed. This is another great time to plus Google Reader- it helps me stay in touch. If anybody wants the OPML file to import all these at one time, just leave a comment with an email where I can send the file.

If I have any information incorrect or I've missed anybody, please leave me a comment and I will update this page as I find new Vizsla friends.

UPDATED: December 1, 2009

A New Story Begins Rosie in Michigan

Adventures with Agnes Agnes

Arnie & Troon Arnie & Troon in the UK

Being Gabalicious! Gabby in ??

Blaze the Vizsla Blaze in Calgary

Bouncing Marty Ko & Nyah in Las Vegas

Bruce the Vizsla Bruce in Mississippi

Charlie Morph Charlie in England?

Cheddar is Better Cheddar recovering from a leg amputation in Florida

Darcy Wilson Darcy in the UK

Dennis's Diary of Destruction Dennis & Tucker have some hilarious adventures in California!

Dexter & Ditto's Blog Dexter & Ditto

Diamond Dog Blog Diamond in Redwood City, CA (a Guess Who pup)

Diary of Field Trial Girl Potter in Louisville, KY

Diesel Dog Diesel in UK

EnviroPups Polo & Rudy in North Carolina

Forest King Vizslas Rogue & Kyler in Massachusetts

Gaffers Gazette JJ in Canada

Ginger Magic Ruby & Sophie in Scotland

Hamish in Hackney Hamish McKahn in London

It's a Vizsla Thing Captain in San Francisco

Life & Times of McCoy Mccoy (a Legal Eagle Pup) in New Jersey

Life with Csilla & Zsigmond Csilla & Zsigmond in California

Makin & Tess Makin & Tess in Massachusetts

Miss Laila Laila of Balitmore

Maggie D0g- A Vizsla's Blog Maggie in DC

My Vizsla Tess Tess in Indiana

Piscese's 219 Weblog Lyric in Connecticut

Radar Radar in Dorset, England

Random Apricot Morph in the UK

Red Bird Dog Bailey & Chloe in California

Red Dawn Vizslas Sasa, Sara, Grady, Dixy & Duna in San Francisco

Red Girls in Scotland Saffie & Hattie in Scotland

Red Waggers Turbie & Remo in California

Rez the Vizsla Zala & Rez in Scotland

Savy Dog Blog (now see Diamond Dog Blog)

Sophie in Louisville, KY ( Mia's littermate :)

The Covington Family Ella in Colorado

The Life of a Hungarian Vizsla Zigana in the UK

The Good Dog Blog Bodi in ?

The Regal Vizsla Jozsi & Momo

Toby- Life with a Vizsla Toby in the UK

Treasures Tale's Princess Treasure in Michigan

Two Dogs & a Husband Abby & Roxy

Urban Mutt Brisztow Jones in New York City

Varazs Vizslas Miska in Canada

Vigo Dog Vigo in the UK

Vizsla livin', Vizsla Lovin' Cookie & Sila in Connecticut

Wags, Wiggles, & Giggles Rio & Delilah in Michigan

Whiskey the Dog Whiskey in San Francisco

Winne the Wirehaird Vizsla Winnie in Virginia

World According to Rufus Rufus in the UK

INACTIVE
A Vizsla's Blog- Jake
Buster B. Brown - Buster
Jonas- A Vizsla Blog Jonas
Tru Vizslas Gracie

LITTER NEWS
The Legal Eagles
Born April 30, 2008
Rozie x Justice

Dream Team Pups
Born July 1, 2008
Briseis (of Red Diamond Vizslas) x Owe'n (of Tivoliz Vizslas)

Three's Company Pups
Born May 25, 2008
Siren (of Tivoliz Vizslas) x Rowdy

Thyme's "Last Call" Litter
Born September 2, 2008
Thyme (of Red River Vizslas) x Remy

Oh My Stars Litter
Born January 25, 2009
Csilla (of Tamaron Vizslas) x Dallas (of Tamaron Vizslas)
C
Guess Who Litter
Born February 26, 2009
Q (of HRQ Vizslas) x Spenser (of Zenith Vizslas)

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I'll have a new litter announcement to add soon ;)

Buescher State Park Camping

2009-11-29T19:15:00.000-06:00

Two weekends ago, we had a lovely time camping with some of our friends & discovering a new state park (on our 101 List) at Buescher State Park, about 1.5 west of Houston.

Zoe had hurt her leg earlier in the week, so it was just Mia on this trip & good thing- she was a lot to handle in the woods!

We lucked out & I had rented a nice little Premium Shelter. It was very privater and very secluded, had decent view of the water & was perfect for camping in the spring/fall when the weather can suddenly get very cold or rainy.

Inside was very nice- tons of windows, lined with cedar, nice big fan with bright lights, big picnic table & a handy broom.

I loved opening up the screened windows each day & being able to keep all of our food inside without having to pack it up each night.

I think this was a fairly recent update to this particular site. The old picnic table was still there, plus a nice big new one, a grill and a garbage can.

It took Mia a while to figure out the whole 'being tied to a tree' thing.

She quickly learned the 'chill out in a chair' move.

But even better was the 'climb into H's lap' move while we waited for our friends to arrive after work on Friday.

She did great for the most part- not wandering off too far when we took her off leash, not barking at the many noises, and being semi-well behaved for a puppy.

Part 2 coming tomorrow...

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: All of our indoor Christmas decorations are up!

Millie Bush Dog Park

2009-11-28T11:22:00.000-06:00

I am loving these little GIF movies!

Two weeks ago we took the dogs out to Millie Bush Dog Park to try something new. It's a bit smaller and further, so I doubt we'll go again.

Uh-oh! We've got company!

They both swam & Mia swam great, but didn't remember not to swim ON TOP of Zoe ;)

Zoe wasn't too amused.

But she kept chasing the ball in the water- which is a big improvement for her.

Such a pretty girl- I appreciate her so much more that I have a puppy who isn't as cool (yet) as Zoe.

Mia loves to chase balls & they were both begging hubby to throw the ball.

Splish splash

Mia would always swim out, but never actually get the ball in the water.

She loves bouncing and barking at Zoe as they run back together.

SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE

What a good husband- he went back out to the car to get their water. Zoe was confused and kept running around looking for him.

And of course, no trip to the dog park is complete without lots of mud.

And I can't pass up a shot of the ears in action.

Photos taken November 7, 2009 Mia ~ 5 months old

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: 4 day weekend are awesome!

Sitting Room Renovations

2009-11-27T09:15:00.000-06:00

We have a formal living room or a sitting room in the very front of our house & it's the first thing you see when you walk in.

It had housed my futon from my duplex days and some other older, assorted furniture that H hated with a passion.

Our front door was also rather plain. It was needing some attention. Instead of resealing it, we decided to just get a new one.

We've officially redecorated every other room in the house & this was our last one to tackle.

The only thing that survived the remodel in this room was the entrance table.

This really ugly light had to go....

This is the one that hung in our dining room and it was history too.

Something inspired me to paint the one big wall & so I went with blue.

So sometime in September- we had a bright blue wall. Then we were off in search of new furniture- a love-seat couch & 2 sitting chairs to match.

We found a new front door, and decided it was time to go ahead and change out all the locks/knobs on our exterior doors.

I was a wee bit nervous about having a front door that was semi-see through, but it's working out just fine & I love all the light that it lets in.

We went to many stores before we found the right couch & some chairs we loved. H didn't want an ordinary coffee table, so we found something funky & artsy.

I went through hell & back to get this mirror- including 2 broken deliveries, hanging nightmares & a local glass repair.

A new entrance rug & mom painted a glass art piece to mimic our table and patterns on our chairs.

I really like the new dining room fixture & our plants in the corners.

We love our room! I wished we'd done it sooner. We sit in here at least once or twice a week so visit after work or have a glass of wine. It's much more cozy and conducive to conversation than our living room with the TV & dogs running around.

We finished up with some landscaping the front yard to match the backyard.

The stones and pretty flowers are such a nice finishing touch, but I can't believe what a difference the new front door made to our house.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: DONE- I think we've officially finished with all the big house projects on our list.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T07:19:00.000-06:00

My grandparents on my dad's side have been at a nursing home for a few years now. Last Thursday, they had a family dinner to celebrate Thanksgiving with all the patients and their families. H and I went to have dinner with them since we're going to be doing today's festivities with our moms. Grandma is doing pretty good- a few health problems, but she's still sharp as a tack. Grandpa isn't doing so well- both physically and mentally. Having somebody to cook him 3 meals a day and provide several snack and dessert with each meal hasn't been helping his waistline, which is probably exacerbating his other health issues. He is showing signs of early dementia and fairly moderate memory issues, which tend to drive my grandmother crazy.

It was great to spend time with them & I'm lucky they are so close to me. They were a big part of my childhood & I'm thankful to be able to help them out after all they did for me as a kid. Today, family is the thing I am most grateful to have in my life. My husband is a wonderful man and I love our little family of 2 entertaining dogs. Our parents have been amazing and we love them so much and are so thankful they are still such a big part of our lives.

I want to wish everybody a wonderful Thanksgiving and I hope that you have many blessings to count today!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: We're hosting again this year, but luckily somebody else is doing the heavy cooking today.

Sleepy Puppy

2009-11-24T05:33:00.001-06:00

I've been negligent in taking more Mia photos, but I've got some on the way.

Going going going.....

Gone to sleep & snore.
Photos taken November 15, 2009 Mia 5 months old

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: One more week & she graduated basic obedience class.

The Mormon Temple

2009-11-23T04:45:00.000-06:00

We were lucky enough to have a friendly client driving us all around Utah, thus the reason I was able to get so many photos (even if they were from the car). He was Mormon and I learned a great deal about his faith & about the history of Utah. We had a few extra minutes before our flight, so we decided to swing by the Temple for a quick look around. I loved this very cool waterfall.

It's part of a larger building that hosts special meetings and gatherings.

I'd visited the ground before with my Lutheran church growing up on one of our summer trips- probably when we went to Idaho. I remember seeing the outside of the Tabernacle.

We got to peek in on this trip & the organ was gorgeous.

I loved the vivid reds and brilliant blue sky contrasted against the beautiful and stark white temple.

Great architecture. The were very open and inviting to the public- promoting lots of tours in various languages around the grounds, but obviously not inside the actual temple.

These trees didn't even look real to me- they were simply stunning.

Some fabulous afternoon sun warmed up the building with a nice glow.

I can't even imagine how they built this 100+ years ago- hauling all these massive blocks by cart and stacking it so perfectly.

There was a wedding going on & we stopped to check out the beautiful bride.

A smaller church sits nearby & I learned that most Mormons attend a small, local church (no mega-churches for them) & even in a very small town, there may be several Mormon churches. & congregations.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Thanksgiving week is here- another year of celebrating at our house!

Around Provo

2009-11-20T11:48:00.000-06:00

Once we were back on I-15 and headed north into Salt Lake, we were treated to more spectacular scenery.

Provo seemed to be what people in Houston would consider a suburb, but it still had a distinct view of the these gorgeous mountains.

For the umpteenth time, I'd be in heaven if I could wake up to mountains in my backyard every day.

The coloring and layers were just unreal.

Even more mountains on the horizon, peeking through occasionally.

I'd love to see this place in winter- all covered in snow.

We caught a little bit of fall in the beautifully colored leaves, but most of the leaves had already fallen.

That's all of my pretty mountain shots, but we did stop for a quick walking tour around the Temple.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Slowly getting caught up this weekend.

The Rest of Utah

2009-11-21T07:53:00.003-06:00

Resuming my Utah trip from 2 weeks ago, I was still amazed every time I saw a bright red rock outcropping pop up on the horizon.

This is the gorgeous Manti Temple in a tiny little town called Manti. Our client was Mormon and shared lots of really interesting things and background about the church as we drove through Utah.

This is the view from where I worked for a few hours. Talk about best work trip ever.

Now, I've had other inspections with cows, and luckily this one was on his side of the fence. There was tons of farming and livestock throughout the state.

I'd love to explore the state every few months and watch how it changes with the seasons.

Back on the main road again and in a valley, headed straight for the next set of mountains.

It's difficult to see in the photo, but driving around this peak with a snow dusted bowl on the inside was very cool.

I wonder if the truck drivers think all the extra work of the windy road and steep grades are worth the spectacular views.

Saw a few sporadic windmills here- nothing like the giant farms in California.

This peak jutted out & must have some unusual geologic history. There are trees on the right side and only rocks on the left faces.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Change of plans...I had to postpone my Philly trip for another week & I'll be staying at home to re-group this weekend.

Hair-be-Gone

2009-11-20T05:29:00.000-06:00

I've had a few requests to see my hubby without hair, so I thought I'd share these. He's threatened to cut off all of his hair since I've know him. Not sure what finally made him decide to do it last Sunday.

Before...

After! He's liking it so far, but looks forward to it growing out again.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Headed to Philadelphia today to visit my best friend!

Driving to Duck Creek Village

2009-11-19T05:07:00.001-06:00

In Cedar City, we turned off I-15 and onto Cedar Canyon Road, headed to Dixie National Forest.
Into the mountains!

What a gorgeous, gorgeous drive!

I knew it would be good when we went by the "Snow Chains Required Nov-April" sign.

Did you know that 70% of the land in Utah is owned/managed by the government? (Thanks wiki!)

I'd like to buy that mountain though!

Reminds me of a mini Grand Canyon.

Which reminds me I still need to go and see the original Grand Canyon.

Stunning- I really, really want to move to the mountains, somewhere, anywhere!

Eek! We are officially in the middle of a canyon. Sorry about the windshield glare.

We kept going up and then finally went around a bend and say this-

It's called Cedar Canyon Road, so I can only assume this is Cedar Breaks.

The light dusting of snow was the perfect photo-op.

I was unusually amused with this sideways-S sign and all the snow on the ground.

I'd have pitched a tent right there on the side of the road if I wasn't riding in the car with our client.

Ack! All the snow! Luckily, this was near the summit and where we were going was much warmer and the recent snows had all melted.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: The nursing home where my grandparents are is throwing a Thanksgiving dinner this evening & we're invited.

Chasing the Tail

2009-11-18T06:24:00.000-06:00

We interrupt our scenic tour of Utah for a Mia funny. Silly dog is chasing her tail!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: My husband cut off all his hair...this is huge!

I-15 North Out of Vegas

2009-11-17T17:23:00.001-06:00

I've been to Nevada before, but never really got to explore much. All the national parks in the area on my list of things I'd love to see, so I was very excited about this driving trip from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City via the backgrounds and cutting through the corner of Arizona.

Disclaimer- all photos were taken out of the front seat of the car while doing 70+ mph. They aren't great, but I really enjoyed the ride and the scenery was amazing.

A place of such contrasts- green, red, brown and blue.

I'm fascinated with the relative total flatness and then a giant rock jutting up.

What happened here? Maybe a fire of some sort or some type of bug infestation to kill all those trees.

Rock slides!

Maybe I should have been a geologist. That was the 1 science class that my husband took in college & he hated it.

We were so stinkin' close to the National Parks. I think this might be Zion peeking out from behind this mountain.

Why is the mountain all about the same terrain and texture, but then suddenly there is a big cliff on the side of it?

I really, really should have planned my trip better and flown in early to explore.

I think if I lived near here, I'd be a hiking & biking hippie every weekend.

And we soon started seeing snow in the peaks. There was a big snow storm earlier in October, but it was gorgeous and perfectly warm where we were.

Jagged rocks in front and a tranquil looking mountain with a gentle slope in back.

Lots and lots of truckers.....looks like we're going into the mountains!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Somebody is 5 months old- I can't believe how time is flying. I need to get some new pictures. Mia is getting big!

Desert around Vegas

2009-11-13T10:52:00.001-06:00

Getting to Utah last week, we flew into Vegas, cut through a corner of Arizona before driving the full state south to north. As usual, flying into Vegas, the scenery is always beautiful!

I love how the lakes winds between the mountains and the different color layers in the rocks.

No boats out on the lake today.

A big swath of rocks had a beautiful red coloring to them.

This area of Earth here looked like it had been crinkled and wrinkled in such a supernatural way.

The (west?) end of the lake had these finger-like valley areas and some funky coloring to the crevasses.

Here is the big mountain just outside the city proper. Gotta love the way airplane windows distort the images.

One little oasis of a river with a bit of greenery.

Viva Las Vegas! (Sorry- couldn't resist)

This was about as much as I saw of the town, we hopped on I-15 and headed North.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: It's Friday & we're going camping with friends!

Utah on an iPhone

2009-11-11T16:56:00.001-06:00

I've been quite a road warrior- Utah 2 days last week and South Dakota 2 days this week. I will say that Utah is stunning! I'd been to Salt Lake City before, but never on the back roads and scenic routes. I actually this a few of these photos are from the Virgin River Canyon in Arizona.

We flew in to Vegas & headed North to SLC, with some work stops along the way. I took my big camera, but it was in the backseat in a briefcase. So I grabbed the iPhone and snapped away through the windshield.

This is a very narrow canyon and the road abuts right up against the walls.

The iPhone is pretty wide angle & doesn't include a real zoom function, so some of these include the car interior & the hood.

All in all, I am impressed with the iPhone photo quality & you can't beat the convenience.

We were so close to so many National Parks- Bryce, Zion, and a few others. I really want to go back!

It shows up better in other photos, but they colors and patterns in the rocks are gorgeous- I love all the red shades.

I took about 200 more with my nice camera, albeit still through the front windshield and will post those shortly.

I managed to grab a few of the snow capped mountains as we flew out of Salt Lake City.

I'm amazed that there are about 3 times as many people in the greater Houston are than the entire state of Utah!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: My utmost thanks and gratitude to those who serve our country in the armed forces & also to their families who endure so much to protect our freedoms.

Married for 1,001 Days

2009-11-09T05:19:00.003-06:00

Since my last update in June in 2008, when were were at the half-way point, we've made some great progress on our 101 Things in 1,001 Days of our marriage. We didn't get them all done, but certainly had a ton of fun trying new things on our 101 List & learning during the first 1,001 days of our marriage.

6- Go to a NY Yankees Game (June 2007)
7- The biggie this year as our trip to Brazil & Argentina for our anniversary (February 2008)
9- Attend 2 Plays: Phantom of the Opera & Mauritius
10- We started our garden! (April 2008) & will did it again this year
11- Music library is really coming together on my iMac with iTunes & our new living room stereo system (Dec 2008)
12- Decorate H's office (all of 2008)
14- H to start a 401(K)
16- Start a journal ( blogging )
18- Build a substantial savings

20- Subscribe to a magazine (Newsweek)
21- Visit the dentist
22- Install a Sprinkler System (Jan 2009)
22- Install a sprinkler system (Jan 2009)
23- Join the University of Houston Alumni (January 2009)
26- Clean the carpet
30- Plant some flowerbeds (definitely this spring)
31- Fondue with friends (done twice)
34- Read a fiction novel (You can see that I've done that several times over)
40- Take a photography class (June 2007)

44- SCUBA certification (completed July 2008)
46- We went to the New Orleans Jazz Fest (April 2008)
47- Run everyday for a month (did this, but might do it again)
50- Write and publish a technical paper (presented it in Detroit)
51- Get Professional Engineering License (studied & I passed!)
52- Finish home entertainment system (January 2009)
54- Go to a small town fair & rodeo
57- Subscribe to a travel magazine (we loved Budget Travel)
60-Bake a Cheesecake (1st attempt in November 2008, will try again!)
62- Visit Alabama (Trip for Thanksgiving 2007)
65- Go to an art exhibit (saw Da Vinci) & went to the Art Festival several times
67- Girls weekend (Labor Day 2008 in Colorado with Stephanie & Wine Weekend in 2009)

69 -Austin City Limits Festival (Oct 2009)
72- New grill for the house
75- Organize garage (officially done January 2009)
76- See Dave Matthews Band in Concert (and did this again!)
68- Redecorate our bedroom
71- Give blood
72- Pay off debt
76- Cut Christmas Tree (completed in 2008)

81- Fly a Kite (Feb 2008)
83- Go to a Houston Dynamo Game (July 2008)
84- Rent 10 classic movies
87- Go on a picnic (several times)
88- Couples Massage was awesome (October 2008)
89- Watch a Parade (Houston Rodeo Parade Nov 2008)
94- Try new ethnic restaurants (Mediterranean, Vietnamese & Spanish)
97- Ice Skating (did this with his cousins, but might go again)
100- Visit the Messina Hof Winery (Harvest & Stomp in July 2008)

ON GOING ITEMS

41- Cook 1 new meal a week (I've done a few & plan on doing a few more)
48- Visit grandparents every week (I've been better, but not great about this)
90- Review monthly budget (we're been pretty good about this)

101- Go to the driving range together (we've been a few times)

COMING SOON

13- Hot Air Ballon Ride- it's booked for our trip to New Zealand
27- Go fishing with my dad (Hopefullly this Spring)

45- Camp at 3 New Parks (our 3rd will be this weekend)

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Headed out to South Dakota today for work.