The Grace Foundation

One of my favorite things about working at Intel is that they really try to do good in the community. This week, my team is doing a volunteer work team builder. This means instead of spending money to go out and have drinks or a lunch or mini-golf, we go as a team and volunteer our time. I've been planning the one that we're doing this quarter and am so amazed by the organization that we're going to help.

I was told by one of my coworkers that there was a place near Folsom called The Grace Foundation. They rescue horses in the Northern California area that have been neglected or abused. The stories on their website are heartbreaking... I can't even imagine how people manage to be so horrible to animals.

But they don't stop there. The Grace Foundation realized that children and at-risk teens are often subjected to the same abuse and neglect that these beautiful animals are. So they've created programs to get children involved in the care and rehabilitation of the horses. They have all sorts of programs that teach children to ride, care for the horses, and about what it takes to be a veterinarian. They also offer equine therapy programs for people with special needs.

I am so incredibly excited to head over there on Thursday... I can't wait to do my little part in helping these horses out!

Mellow Weekend

I decided to take this weekend easy since I'm only about halfway through my antibiotics and gearing up for vacation. I would hate to be sick!

We're headed to Seattle next week... I'm super excited! I haven't been there since I was in high school. We know that for sure we're going to do some whale watching and some hiking. I spent the morning going through websites that discuss all of the coolest things to do there. If you have any suggestions, email them to me!

In other news, I successfully finished traffic school yesterday. I did one of the online courses and was prepared to be working on it for the next week. To my surprise, it only took me a couple hours and I passed the final test with 100%! Glad that I'm past that little experience and will definitely be using my cruise control from now on!

It was super nice to have a weekend to be mellow... I plan to continue that trend for the rest of today and hopefully every night after work this week! T-minus 5 days until vacation!!!

Rejoining the Living

Well, I lost the battle to yet another sinus infection. What started as a little sinus pressure after scuba diving class turned into full on sinus headache and later, infection. Definitely no fun. First round of antibiotics didn't work and the second round, while scary, does seem to be doing the trick. I wish there was some magical way to keep these things at bay! I've tried everything - my allergy meds, allergy shots, steam, neti pots, decongestants... the list goes on and on. If anyone has some suggestion that I haven't already tried, let me know!

In other absolutely amazing news, the Chilean miners were finally rescued the other day! For those of you not up to speed, on August 5th, a gold mine in Chile collapsed, trapping 33 miners underground. They survived and amazing 69 days underground! The rescuers were able to drill a small hole down to them (7 football fields down!) and passed things like food, water, cameras, etc down. They spent the rest of the time working on creating a larger hole that they could send a rescue capsule down to bring them up. This just completely blows me away. Seeing that first miner come out of the ground was amazing... if you think even 10 years back, they probably all would have been dead. Technology is absolutely amazing!

The Thunder Rolls

Ladies and gentlemen, it's officially fall. Thank goodness. I am normally very much a spring/summer kind of girl, but since last year winter was so spectacular, I was sort of left wanting more.

I went to bed early last night (way too much fun and relaxation was had this weekend!) and woke up at about 2am (way too much water before bed!). I looked out our bedroom slider and saw one of the better California thunderstorms that I've ever seen... I laid in bed for about 20 minutes watching and listening to it. About that time, I began to wonder what Shadow was up to... he sleeps downstairs in his crate and hadn't made a peep. In case you didn't know it, the one thing that Shadow most fears on this planet is a good thunderstorm, specifically the lightning. I know, that seems odd, but he really seems to be bothered more by the flashing lights than by the noise (although I'm sure he doesn't love that either, judging by his hatred of motorcycles).

I had closed all of the blinds in his room before he went to bed (good thinking, right?) on the assumption that it would keep most of the flashing out. Apparently it would have been fine except for that one pesky extra loud thunder clap.

Then the real show began.

He barked and barked and barked. I had the fantastic idea that I would go turn on the lights and music in his room, to drown out the noise and lights from the storm... that worked as long as I was curled up in the bed with him. I honestly gave it some thought (this had been going on for about an hour and I was pretty tired), but I realized that while he was falling asleep with the lights and music on, I could not. So, I did what every good dog mom does... tough love. I  put him back in the crate with the music and lights on, covered him up and closed the door.

Then Mike and I laid in bed for the next 1/2 hour listening to Shadow bark. The good news is that the storm passed and eventually everyone fell asleep.

The bad news is that another storm is predicted for tonight... and tomorrow night... and probably a good portion of the winter.

Does anyone have any good suggestions?

Scuba

Today Kati, Mike and I took a drive down to Dolphin Swim School to take the intro to scuba class. It was $10 and I assumed that it was going to be pretty cheesy. We got there and watched the obligatory cheesy video and then it was time to get in the water. To my surprise, we spent the next 2 hours or so in the water, learning how to use the equipment and to dive. My main worry was that I was not going to be able to equalize my ears (you know me and all of my sinus/allergy issues), but I was pleasantly surprised... I had no issues at all! Keep in mind, we were only in 9 feet of water, but still, it was much better than I thought.

That first breath under water was pretty interesting... it goes against everything that your body wants to do... breathing while you have your head completely under. I did have a minute or two of "nervousness", but I kept my breathing calm and felt fine.

While I don't know that I would be the kind of person to go out to the ocean every weekend, I definitely think it might be worth getting certified so that I can do some open water dives... I think being able to see all of the ocean life would be pretty amazing!

Brush With The Law

A couple days ago, I had my first run-in with the law. That's right, I got my very first speeding ticket. For those of you keeping count, yes, I said my first speeding ticket in the 12 years that I've been driving. You would have thought that if I was ever going to get pulled over, it would have been in my hot little red sporty car, not the black SUV. You would have thought wrong.

I was coming up highway 49, which, I might note, I thought had a 65 MPH speed limit. I was the last car in a line of cars that were just coming over a little crest. Bam! Cop car. The speed limit was actually 55 MPH (oops) and I was allegedly doing 76 MPH. Thankfully, the nice office wrote me a ticket for 70 MPH to keep the fine down.

The first question lots of people asked me was did I fight it and did I cry. My answer is a resounding no. That's part of what's wrong with our society today... we are unwilling to accept the consequences for our actions. I was caught doing something wrong... why would I argue with the guy doing his job?! And I certainly had no reason to cry... I'm healthy, have a great life and was just driving a little too fast.

The one good thing that has come out of this is that I have discovered my cruise control. I've also realized just how fast I tend to go... which probably isn't a good thing. So I'm working on slowing down, using cruise control and being a little more alert. I know it sounds cheesy... but it's true!

Feel Your Boobies

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (holy cow, it's October already?!), I've decided to turn my blog pink. Thanks for the idea Renee! There are some startling facts out there... but the one that really shocked me is that every 69 seconds a woman on this planet dies of breast cancer. What a horrifying statistic. Self checks and regular testing to ensure early detection are the best ways for women to get a head start on this disease. I challenge every one of you to do something this month to raise awareness about breast cancer - whether it's signing up for a walk or donating to one of the organizations that promotes breast cancer awareness!

And ladies, feel your boobies! :)