Here we go again!

The last four months I have really slacked off on my walking and keeping track of my mileage. Well I got home on the 19th of November and on the 20th I started walking again and keeping a count of my miles and diet. In the last 10 days I have managed to get 35.84/miles in which averages out to 3.5/daily for the 10 days.

Well we start a new month tomorrow and a clean slate. I plan on walking as much as I possibly can and will report the progress here on the blog. So let’s see we have 31 days in the month of December and if we can get 3.5/miles in a day we should be able to get 108.5 miles for the month.
Wish me luck folks, as it looks like it is going to be a cold month. I know the last couple days have been. But with my gear it has not been bad at all and I have stayed warm.

Tonight I was walking home in the dark, which was actually fun. With the Ipod going you pick up noises from the wind blowing, etc and you get a little chill, looking back saying to yourself what was that!

Happy Hiking

Walking to work

This morning I headed out in the ice and snow to walk to work. It wasn’t bad at all, I think we got maybe three inches. What was bad, it was cold out this morning and on the way home. The wind was whipping through.

On my way in I snagged the picture of a Hawk sitting in the tree, most likely looking for prey.

I took this picture on the way home, sad to say it didn’t come out like I had hoped. The sun was setting on the backside and the color just didn’t show up.

All in all I did get 5.7/miles in today.

Happy Hiking

Errands

Yesterday morning I got dressed to head out for a walk. Then I remembered I needed to pick up a few things at the store so decided I would walk. I emptied out my backpack and threw it on and headed out the door. The direct route would make it a 4/mile round trip. But I wanted to get a little extra in to recover from the Thanksgiving indulgence. So I ended up making it a 6.93/Mile outing.
After I got what I needed from the store I loaded it into my backpack and started heading back. Below is the route that I took.

Another Day

So the meatballs were just OK.  They could have been a little more spicey for my taste.  I just finished up 3.6/miles on the treadmill.   Hadn't done the treadmill in a while.  Set it at an 8% incline and did an hour.   Now ready for a shower and then to have some fun this afternoon.

Who wants Chinese takeout? I know a great place.

I Hope to head out early and get a quick 3 or 5/Miles in. Need to be back by noon as I have made reservations for his and her messages at the Broadmoor Hotel. Looking forward to taking advantage of the amenities! Love you babe!


Party on Candy!
Party on Dennis!

Through the Park

I got a late start this morning and for a little while there I though Candy was going to be called off work. She got a call at 5am and said they would call back in 4 hours if they needed her and then called back about an hour later and she had to go in. After that I just went back to sleep until about 8:30 or so.

I did my weekly sales call and then headed out the door. I did a short trip today as I just wasn’t into it. Not sure why though? Anyway ended up with 3.3/Miles and just did a quick walk through Bear Creek Park. Had the camera with me and didn’t really come across any good pictures until I was back on my street headed home. I did catch a nice little red finch and came across about 8 deer. This is the best picture that came out of the deer from all the ones I took.

I am working on refinishing a pie safe and went and picked up some of the pieces and brought them home and started sanding. A couple of weeks ago I was able to take it all apart and luckily didn’t break any of the pieces so as long as I can remember how it goes back together I should have a very nice piece once it is all sanded, stained and back together. It’s going to take a while! I will be sure to add some pictures at some point.

So tonight for dinner I am trying out a new recipe. Not sure how this one will go.

1 14-Ounce can Ocean Spray Jellied or Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

1 12-Ounce bottle Heinz Chili Sauce

1 2-Pound bag of frozen pre-cooked meatballs

Combine the sauces in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until smooth and then add the meatballs. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until meatballs are heated through.

I plan on cooking rice to go with this, so we will see.

Happy Hiking

When do you really get a Vacation?

I started my vacation today, but when is a vacation really a vacation. I think part of the problem is that I am so anal that I am afraid I am going to miss something. So I am always checking email to keep current on what is going on. It is liked being a smoker or hooked on drugs. With technology I can keep current and be found just about anywhere I go. Even though I am off I have a sales call tomorrow and plan on doing it from the Mountain with my phone and IPad. I don’t know why I worry as I work with a team of very talented people who all know what to do.

So my first day off was very busy and I hope to keep just as busy the rest of the week. This morning Candy and I drove up to Section 16 and did the Palmer Loop Trail. This is a great trail as the scenery is beautiful and after you get up the first 1.8/miles the remainder of this 5.8/mile hike is downhill. This is also part of the Ring the Peak Trail. The initial incline goes from 6,630ft to 7,725ft a nice 1,086ft climb in 1.8/miles.

We made pretty good time and actually passed two groups on our way up. I packed chicken that I had cooked last night for dinner as well as two turkey sandwiches. We didn’t get to the food until we got back to the truck. We opted for the sandwiches as the chicken would have been a little messy, but I did have napkins with us.

Then we headed to the office where I had to drop off a few items and then headed home. Once home we hopped in the hot tub and relaxed for a bit. Then I threw a roast in the oven. I am cooking it in Cream of Mushroom soup, Wine, Tomato Paste and Garlic. It should be ready soon so I will let you know how it came out.  (AWESOME!) cook at 350 for about 4 to 5 hours depending on size!

We made our list for the Thanksgiving dinner and headed out to the store. I am glad that we went today as the store wasn’t too packed. Hey and lucky enough we found everything we were looking for. Made it home and got everything put away and then started a fire in the fire place. Ready to just kick-back for a while and then lay out my clothes for tomorrows outing.

GPS Log tracking from today's Hike

Happy Hiking

Treasure Hunt

We talked a big game last night about leaving early so we could be on the trail before Sunrise. I think we left the house at 10am, later than we had intended, ha-ha.

Today we went on a treasure hunt. Last weekend I found a pair of earrings that Candy had gotten when we were at the State Fair earlier this year. She hadn’t worn them yet. So when I headed out for my hike last Saturday I took them with me. When I reached the top of the Mountain I buried them and marked the location with my GPS.

I say Mountain but not sure exactly what its name is. The loop that I take is 6.9/miles. Leaving the house I make my way over to the Bear Creek trail head off of Orion, then up to Gold Camp Road (GCR). Cross over GCR and make your way up a gully to the top. The elevation gain from leaving the house to the top is 1,298 feet and it is 2.5 miles to the top. Then work your way down the trail and through twilight canyon, down to High drive then re-catch the Bear Creek trail and back to the house.

The real purpose of the trip today was to show Candy how to use the GPS. She did a great job and was able to navigate us to the location of the hidden earrings. I didn’t have my camera with me today but will be sure to take it with me tomorrow. Not sure where I am heading.

This is an image of the route that we took today.

This is an image of the route that I took when I went up to hide the treasure.

Satire

So I have determined that the Beer and M and M diet that I found on the web just doesn't work for me. Based on the outstanding results that they had posted I thought for sure this was the way to go. But there you go; you can’t always believe what you read on the web. Now if I had seen it on TV you know it would have had to been true.

I thought this was a great way to go because I like both of these things. I mean you can’t go wrong with beer and when you throw M and M’s into the mix, OMG.

One issue was the mess that it made. I mean it is not easy to get peanut M&M’s into the beer bottle. When you do, then the beer foams up and comes flowing over the top and onto the counter and floor. Which with the first couple isn’t too bad, but when you are on your third or fourth you kind like screw it I will clean it up tomorrow. Beer and chocolate are a little difficult to clean once they dry up. What I found to be the best method was to take a couple of swigs of beer from the bottle and then try to get the M&M’s in. I got so serious about that I even had a funnel I used to try to get them in. The draw back with this method is you need a rather large funnel. Otherwise the M&M’s just get stuck.

I did try beer in a glass and then add the M and M’s but it’s not a pretty picture when you can actually see what you are drinking. It’s like this kaleidoscope of colors swirling around and when the chocolate begins melting your left with the low quality peanuts that you realize they use.

I won’t get into the other issues as it relates to regurgitation and bowl movements. I mean that is something you need to find out for yourself. My only suggestion is that if you try this diet that you do your own laundry.

I was reading about a blended broccoli and Kit Kat diet. I will keep you posted on how that goes.