long weekend agenda

the long weekend is here at last!

if you're going to be in or around louisville and looking for something to do this holiday weekend

here is a list of a few things going on that have peaked my interest - and besides, the lakes around here are going to be far too crowded, and the water temps are still in the 60's - brr!

louisville bats:

will be in town all weekend - cheap seats are $7, beers are reasonable, and the milder-ish (70's) temps will be perfect for sitting outside without sweating buckets

strawberry festival in starlight indiana:

saturday -

enjoy lots of berries as well as craft booths and a "run for the berries" 5k in the morning

or go straight for the berries - head over to huber's winery and farm, instead, and pick your own berries or buy pre-picked (the website says their u-pick is approx may 28th - so definitely call before driving out there if your heart is set on picking - i would assume they'd be ready with the festival taking place this weekend)

beatersville car and bike show:

taking place sunday at phoenix hill tavern

we went for the first time last year - and it's pretty awesome (oh my goodness...i forgot how long my hair was last year - it's all piled up in pig tail knots)

lots of old beaters and rat rods as well as old motorcycles - owners who prefer to keep their cars looking rusted and old, instead of shiny, show room floor style.

there is also somewhat of a beauty pageant thing going on - women dressed as 50's styled pin-ups, but with lots of tattoos walking around collecting money - the woman with the most money, i believe, wins.

it's good people watching if cars aren't your thing, and because the streets are marked off, you can buy drinks and walk around while you see the sights.  there are also some booths.  and aside from some loud revving of engines, the event is family friendly

if you can't tell - i think it's one of the more interesting events that comes to louisville - so check it out for a few hours sunday if you get a chance

i've already mentioned this before, but monday is

the mayor's hike, bike, and paddle

it starts early monday morning with some free yoga, tai chi, and zumba as well as booths

all taking place or starting at the waterfront

it's a good way to kick off the morning if you've got cookout plans later in the day

while you're down there, pack a lunch to eat on the lawn - last time we walked around the waterfront we discovered instead of benches along the path, they have added swings!  lots of swings to sit and enjoy the weather - swings > benches any day of the week.

what plans are you looking forward to this weekend?  anything i may have forgot that's worth checking out?

have a great memorial day weekend, and we'll catch up on tuesday

my townie

guys

right now i'm completely obsessed with my bike

my basket came in yesterday - and bill and i managed to mount it

i even ordered a really cute liner that has a pocket for my keys, chapstick, and sunblock

when i get really excited about something, i get obnoxious about it

and right now, i'm trying to talk myself down from ordering



...a kroozie

seriously - how cute and perfect is that?

i showed bill, and he instantly decided he needed one too.

and amazon prime is staring me in my face...and i'm flexing some willpower

but we all know how this showdown is going to end...


besides trying to pimp my ride

i've been looking forward to being off monday for memorial day

i can't really remember being off on memorial day due to our accounting schedule - it's usually month end

but this year the debit gods have allowed me to take memorial day off - which means i get to participate in the mayor's hike, bike, and paddle




and apparently my obnoxiousness is rubbing off - our friends jeff and sarah have gone out and got bikes while kim and nick are trying to find one more bike - so we will all have bikes to do the bike portion together (among, hopefully other future rides) which is about 15 miles

ok, so maybe they were all looking for bikes before i became really annoying with how much fun bill and i are having riding, but i'm so glad that we'll all be able to ride on monday together.

and because i have that runner's mentality - to already have the next race on the calendar before even completing the one in front of me

i'm hoping to be able to get out on the weekends and continue to ride 15-25 miles at once to break my butt in

because i'm signing bill and i up for the preservation pedal



it's not a race, but a tour of frankfort and franklin county- there's a 5 mile downtown tour, a 24/30 mile ride that passes woodford reserve, a 50 mile and a 100 mile tour too

the 24 or 30 mile ride is what i have in mind for bill and i.  i'm guessing it would take us 3-3.5 hours to complete based on our rides, however, i'm sure there will be more hills - we should probably incorporate more into our rides

i believe the 24 mile covers part of the 30 mile, but with a turn around point.

the web page specifically said there wasn't such a thing as too slow or too fast of a rider - so i'm hoping, even though the ride will be on the open road, it will be a nice ride that's not too demanding.

anyone have any tips for a casual rider?

has anyone done one of the preservation tours before?

anyone want to join us monday?  :)

seeing history

good morning!

hopefully everyone avoided those storms last night - we got stuck in them while out to eat and made a bee-line for the car while the hail was coming down

we don't always make smart decisions.

yesterday was spent downtown

where we visited the slugger museum

bill tested out his catching skills

and i took selfies with derek jeter.

besides the wax figures, we actually got to see a real living baseball legend. 

while on the tour (where no cameras are allowed - bummer :(  )

I see this guy in a wheel chair with a cigar in his mouth.

i knew right away he had to be important, because there is definitely no way just some joe schmoe off the street comes into a factory with a cigar

our tour guide let us in on who he was - monday, MLB players wore the #42 in honor of jackie robinson - the first baseball player to break MLB's color barrier

and touring the facility just a day after was Chuck Harmon - the first black american to play for the cincinnatti red(legs)s
 

by my calculations - he's just shy of 80 years old now

it was pretty neat to see living history - especially in light of the jackie robinson tribute games and the movie being out

after the slugger museum we headed over to the muhammad ali museum

where if you need a big dose of conviction you should check it out

muhammad ali fought for his human rights in a racist white society, fought for his spiritual rights to worship and be accepted as a muslim convert, and challenged those same oppressors when he refused to join the draft - they weren't fighting for his rights as an american, so why should he fight a war for america.

i had never been to the muhammad ali museum - there is A LOT of stuff to see.  LOTS!

a few interactive exhibits keeps it interesting for those with a short attention span

and LOTS of inspirational stories and quotes

i recommend checking it out if your downtown some time- it may have been my hormones, but i teared up a few times.

all day the clouds looked ominous

but we made it back to the car without encountering any rain

or gum for that matter - thanks in part to fellow activists.

my favorite part of staycation so far?

day drinking on the patio (it was allllmost 5...) with bill and playing cards.  i can't remember the last time i played a card game.

we're sitting on the patio now, too, only now we're getting our coffee in before heading out for the afternoon.

i'm vaguely remembering a list of all the stuff i wanted to do on break and silently laughing at myself for being so ambitious.

i'm going to keep on taking it easy - and if some of that stuff gets done, then great :)

the puppies need our help!

there's no doubt that i'm an animal lover

as a child i always brought stray cats home

and my mom who was an animal lover, and a push over, usually took them in

we typically never had less than 3 cats at any given time

as an adult, it's really hard not to bring home animals every time i see the humane society babies at our local feeder's pet supply.

i live in a condo with a cat and a dog, and there simply isn't enough room

my cat, olivia, or better known as girrrrrrrl, was rescued in October 2008

and there are very few pictures of her...well...because she's gray and generally lays around and looks like a gigantic hairball.

but she is the sweetest cat - i used to carry her around like a baby and back in my bachelorette days she would tuck me in every night and lay on my chest and then curl up next to me

she does that to bill now...

and of course you've seen my big baby

 woodford who was rescued in 2011

this beautiful dog actually came from a kill shelter - animal control - in my hometown of elizabethtown.

i wish i knew his story of how he was found

he was roughly 6-8 months old when we got him - and you can ask any dog breed aficionado - he is all brittany spaniel - not that it mattered to me, but he is about as close to a full breed as you can get without knowing mommy and daddy dog.

which is what makes me so sad as to why people continue to go to breeders over rescue shelters.  i understand loving a specific breed.  but there are rescue groups for specific breeds all over the country. 

bill and i knew we wanted an active dog - we researched different breeds and thought we wanted a setter.  we then scoured PetFinder.com - searching all local/semi-local rescues for a setter/setter mix.

woodford had been listed as a setter and was in elizabethtown - about a 45 minute drive.  i think it was a weekend when we spotted him.  i called and inquired about him and i ended up taking a half day on monday to go and check him out.  well, when we got to animal control he didn't quite look like a setter - i didn't care - but it was obvious he wasn't a setter - we were then told he was a brittany.  we were already convinced he was coming home with us, but upon googling brittany spaniel - we became nervous - because...well they can be nervous dogs...and extremely hyper.

we were in for the challenge and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise since brittany's are basically a setter/pointer in a smaller package (we're limited on space)

and you can read all day long about brittany's needing open fields and a backyard.

we live in a condo and he is quite happy.  although, bill does work from home and we run/walk him A LOT.

i feel it's my duty to urge, beg, plea that if you are considering a dog (or a cat) to research breeds that fit your lifestyle.  and then to spend time on petfinder.  look around.  search the breeds.  search all the dogs in your area. a dog is not something you go out and get on a whim.  if you are determined to find a little chi-poo-weenie-york-shu i guarantee you will find the love of your life that is begging for a forever home that just needs a chance out of a shelter.  it may end up looking more like a weenie-chi-shu, but i bet you won't even care when he looks up at you with those thankful eyes

or a smug, lazy look...whatever.

all dogs are gonna chew up a pair of shoes and pee on the carpet.  i don't care if it's a name brand or a mutt.

i'm proud to live in a community that is very animal shelter aware - i guess you could say

louisville is a "no kill" city - meaning all of the rescues will not be put down

there are many great shelters in the area, but i'm most familiar with the kentucky humane society.

our louisville branch does an outstanding job of rescuing animals from high kill shelters and bringing them in to the city in hopes of adoption.

as you can imagine, it takes a lot of money and supplies to keep all these animals healthy.  when you adopt from the humane society you are getting an animal that has been well taken care of, is up to date on shots, and has been neutered or spayed.

until all breeders breed responsibly and all pet owners are responsible enough to "fix" their fur babies, there will be overflowing animal shelters.

i wish i could take another puppy and 2 more cats home.  but i can't, so i feel it's my duty to donate to the humane society.

in the past this meant making a donation at christmas time when woodford sees "santa paws"

and in the past i have also ran the waggin trail 5k

 

which leads me to the climax of this post

the waggin trail 5k is a run/walk sponsored by the kentucky humane society

they encourage participants to raise funds leading up to the race on May 18th.

i would love to bring in as much money as possible!

right now, i've set a goal of $500

if you would like to donate please follow this link

the money goes straight to the kentucky humane society and never passes through my hands - easy peasy!

i would also like to ask all my runner/walker/puppy loving friends who are in the area to jog with me!

on the same link

you can opt to join my group.  it's $25 to sign up - the money goes towards our fundraising efforts!  annnnnd you get a t shirt.  win!

once you sign up you can forward the donation site link out to all your family and friends!

if i can get 5 more people to jog with me, and those 5 people get 5 more people to donate at least $5 each...

PLUS my $25 donation - we're already over halfway to my $500 goal

just for your reference

$50 provides 1 day's worth of food and water to 25 pets in the humane society's care
$100 provides supplies for 10 surgeries at the SNIP clinic (neuter/spay)
$250 funds an exam,vaccinations, spay/neuter and microchipping for one cat or dog
$500 pays for 1heart-worm positive dog to receive medication
$1,000 pays the bills to rehabilitate an abused or neglected cat or dog

(from here)

i can't imagine my life without olivia or woodford.

i can't imagine their life if i hadn't been there, either.

please do what you can, and pass this on to all your pet loving friends :)

let's bike

there has been a lot of chatter between bill and i

and in my own head of wanting to move

the need for new scenery

the want for a more walkable end of town

bill and i had so much fun in key west

where these bikes were our main transportation for a week

it was nice.

i had forgotten how relaxing it is to take your time pedaling to get somewhere

bill and i even own a pair of really nice bikes

but we hardly ever get them out

we're pretty limited to where we can ride and feel comfortable riding.

basically...in the neighborhood and to our local biker bar...

and the chatter that's been ongoing summed up is basically:

"i really wish we lived somewhere where we could ride our bikes to most places"
"we'd get much more use out of these bikes if we didn't live so far out"
 "wouldn't it be nice to just ride around for an afternoon, shop, eat, and pedal some more?"
"i wish louisville was more bike friendly"

and after spending saturday afternoon with my sister in law it kind of hit me...or rather, she just said what i had been neglecting to realize

she too, had been dreaming of moving, but then decided to focus on where her family is at and all the positives that surround them and what NOT moving meant to her family (no mortgage, retirement planning)

and i agreed with her at the moment

but not until sunday afternoon did i realize that i could be happy where i'm at too

sunday, bill and i got in some accidental exercise

we were headed toward the waterfront when bill suggested we visit the big four bridge which had just opened friday

the "bridge to nowhere" which had kind of been an eyesore downtown

had finally completed construction to become a pedestrian and bike friendly bridge

you can read about the bridge's history and re-planning here

when we got there, there were several people out enjoying the warmer-ish weather

and everyone was out to make the trek across

needless to say i was impressed and instantly sad we didn't have our bikes

i knew the waterfront had done a lot of work to make downtown a fun, bike and pedestrian family atmosphere

but until i stepped on the bridge and realized we could actually, safely ride around downtown, hop on the big four and head over in to jeffersonville, indiana to ride as well - it hadn't really sank in

now, granted, we still have to pack up our bikes and drive downtown

which

still sucks

BUT, i had also neglected to realize other louisville planning projects

one of which is happening less than a mile from my door.

the louisville loop - a 100 mile trail system that will encircle the city and link new parks with existing parks, neighborhoods, transportation alternatives, and recreation opportunities (the big four bridge is located on the northern portion of the loop)

will be adding a new park which will grant access to the loop less than a mile down the road from me.

now, riding a bike from my house to downtown via the loop may not be feasible most weekends, but the fact bill and i will have the opportunity to walk or ride less than a mile to a park and also walk or ride part of the loop makes me very excited.

it also opens up the ability to ride along the loop to restaurants and shopping

sadly, my local park (which apparently will include a dog park, after reading the website!) won't be completed until 2014-2015

BUT, going back to my conversation with my SIL, i had been focusing on the negatives of where i live and everything i wished my community offered - without even realizing my community is in the process of changing

everything i want is actually happening right outside my door, but for the past few months i had neglected to realize this.  and my want and need for instant gratification took over.

after our walk sunday, i resolved to be happy here and look on the bright side. 

it also made me happy to think about, when we are ready to move out of the condo, i would hope our proximity to a park and access to the louisville loop will only help our property value :)

this spring i am going to make a very strong effort to enjoy my city more and bill and i both are going to get more use out of our bikes.

and like anything else i decide to resolve to do - it comes with a price tag

we decided if we're going to bike more, we need to invest in some safety features for our bikes as well as a bike rack for the edge.

and so it begins :)

i hope you had some accidental exercise this weekend, enjoyed your city, or, if you were snowed in, got to enjoy your family and friends.

hotties of baseball

it's tuesday and i vow it will be a good day!

i've got beans soaking to be cooked tonight

i've got on orange tights

i made a strawberry banana smoothies this morning for breakfast and bill scraped the frost off my car.

i totally wasn't in the mood yesterday to share my awesome work day trip last friday

i'm a cost accountant - i'm pretty involved with production - so this was a perfectly acceptable trip...

i've actually never been to the slugger museum and bat factory

- see - factory - it was a cost learning experience for me...

or...

a really good excuse to check out the "hotties of baseball exhibit"

i find this a bit questionable, but i'm assuming this was hot back in the day.  i would be wondering why bucky was wearing my shorts.

and this...

i guess i have a different definition of hottie...

shout out to joey votto...who isn't even the hottest reds player there is...  (oh, and that's the field of dreams...if you're wondering why there's fake corn stalks)

ugh...

so disappointed not to see my favorite reds player on display


mr zack cozart... i still miss seeing him at the louisville bats' games...  :(

and then there was also this

a shout out to mustaches in baseball - because that's hot?...

but who knew stephen foster wrote a whole song devoted to mustaches.  now that's pretty awesome.

after we perused the goods, we went on the tour of the factory where they were making MLB spring training bats.

spring training!  in like a month and a half.

i can't wait.

it's going to be a good day.

just keep looking on the bright side, right?

and remember...

pregnant mermaids.