Ivy Creek Park with the Pups

Took the pups to Ivy Creek Park tonight for a little stroll around.

It was a lovely warm evening. Perfect for a walk!

Thought I'd share the few pictures I took on the way :-)

This is how you walk with two hound breeds. Noses to the ground!

Crossing the bridge. 

Pretty wooded paths.

Focus, guys! Focus! They insisted on snorting every single smell of every single person, plant, and animal that has ever been through here.

I recently learned that this is jewelweed. It's small but pretty and has a lovely citrus smell if you walk by enough of it.

Momentary pause where they lifted their faces from the ground. Well, sort of for Jill, she's always at ground level. 

Poor old Jill needed a break so we sat down on a bench in front of the lake to rest.

"Hey guys...hey! Come here, sit pretty for a picture."

"Look cute and stuff."

"Both of you look at me!"

"Oh for crying out loud." 

I took probably a dozen more trying to get one where they were both looking at me. It never happened. 

Oh well.

It was a nice evening and now they are thoroughly tired...even though it wasn't a very long walk! They're just old!

How do you enjoy the outdoors when the weather is nice?

Till next time,
Catherine

Lynchburg Virginia Blogger Meetup

Last night we had our meet-up for Lynchburg bloggers at Mangia Wine Bar!

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I was so excited to meet other bloggers near me! In our little town of Lynchburg, Virginia there were 5 of us that met for dinner from Virginia Bloggers. 

• First there's Paula from Sweet Pea which is a blog about cooking, gardening, home projects and life. You may recognize her screen print pumpkin pillow project (I think I'm getting out of hand with all these "p's") from the latest Clutch Guide! 

• Then there's Cait from Cait Makes Things which is all about sewing and upcycling thrifted finds. She also shares another fashion based blog called Two Little Bells with a friend. Check out her easy project for making cheap (and adorable) boot trees! My only tall boots are from my horse showing days but I'd love to make this project for a friend!

• There's also Carrie from Dream Green DIY, the blog about incredible DIY design on a budget. You make recognize her from a recent Better Homes and Gardens issue. No big deal. (Except it's a hugely awesome deal!) If you're local you may also recognize her and her beautiful home from the latest Clutch Guide! 

• And finally there's Megan from Rappsody in Rooms, another fantastic blog about renovating a 1960s rancher into a space that reflects her personality along blogging about life in general. Ever wondered what a year's supply of toilet paper looks like? Wonder no more. 

We sat on the patio during the beautiful evening and had a great time chatting and eating and discussing all kinds of things. We brought up one of our favorite bloggers, Young House Love multiple times, talked about networking, our families, jobs, and some silly giveaways. We talked about Haven Conference and got some awesome insight from Megan and Paula who were fortunate enough to go! Megan almost got pooped on by a bird, our waiter forgot about us and overall we had a fantastic time! We ended up having such a good time that we completely forgot to get any pictures! I'm a little bummed but I'm sure we'll get together again soon! 

If there are any other local bloggers in the area we'd love to meet with you too! 

Be sure to check out their awesome blogs and tell them Catherine sent you! 

Till next time,

Catherine

Lynchburg, Virginia Blogger Meet-Up!

If you're a blogger in the Lynchburg (Or even Roanoke and Charlottesville) area and want (or need for that matter) a night out, come out to Mangia and meet up with your fellow local bloggers!

Click HERE for more information from Virginia Bloggers.

If you're planning on going, leave me a comment with your name and blog name so I can connect the blogs/faces ahead of time. I hope we have a great turn out! I look forward to meeting you!!

Till next time,
Catherine

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Ok so the envelope has been signed and sealed but it will be delivered soon!

What's in the envelope you ask?

The registration forms and payment for my very first 5k run ever! Not only that, but there's a form for my husband in there too!!

For those of you who know me, this is a big deal. I'm by NO means a runner. Yet, for some reason I want to be! I figured a 5k is a good, attainable goal to start with!

Last year, I wanted to run in this race because it benefits a local charity that I really believe in. I also wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. My husband and I had tried starting the Couch to 5k program multiple times but had never gotten very far. So, the race came and went and we didn't go.

Recently I was talking with a good friend of mine about running a 5k. This friend has lost a LOT of weight and completely changed her life around in the past couple of years. She's a beautiful person who has inspired me to work harder to achieve my goals. She's stuck it out through all of the hard work, sweat and tears that come along for the ride when trying to lose weight and get healthy. She's truly an inspiration and I'm so proud of how far she's come!

So we were chatting about those fun color runs that come to town but there didn't seem to be enough time to fully train for one so she suggested a local run called The Hanover Safe Place Pumpkin Run at The Ashland Berry Farm in Beaverdam, Virginia. Beaverdam is the country North of Richmond. And yes it's as country as it sounds. The Hanover Safe Place is a wonderful organization that provides services to victims of domestic violence. I'm more than happy to donate to a worthy cause.

The Pumpkin Run will be held on Saturday, October 5, 2013. I figured if I started a 5k program now and stuck with it, I may be able to run the entire thing. Including this current week (2nd full week in August) it gives me 8 weeks. The iPhone 5k app I have is a 9 week program and the one Brian has is a 7 week program. I suppose we'll get there between the two! Plus, running it with a friend will make it more enjoyable! I'm not sure if Brian will run this one with me or not, though. 

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So then at work I saw a flier for Rachael's Paws and Purrs 5k & 10k race! I knew immediately I had to do this one too especially since I missed out last year. 

The catch?

It's on Saturday, September 14, 2013. That's exactly one month from today. Only 4 weeks. Yikes!! What am I thinking???

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I'm thinking I need to stop making excuses and sign up so that I can't quit training and sit on the couch instead. 

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After our run tonight I filled out the registration forms, wrote the check and sealed the envelope. No going back. Even if I don't run the entire thing, I'm going to at least do my best!

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Rachael's Paws and Purrs 5k & 10k will benefit The Rachael Horton Compassionate Care Fund. RHCCF was started by Gentle Care Animal Hospital in Forest, Virginia after one of their dearly loved employees and her husband died in a tragic house fire. Rachael Horton would use her own hard earned money to help clients that couldn't afford life-saving treatments for their pets. RHCCF was founded to continue her work.

As you can imagine, I'm more than happy to donate to a cause such as this one as well.

I'm still a bit nervous about running a 5k in 4 weeks, though.

Anyone in or near Lynchburg want to help calm my nerves and run with me? Sign up HERE!

What was your first 5k race? Any advice for a newbie? If you haven't run a 5k, would you ever want to try it?

Till next time,
Catherine

Spontaneous Weekend Visits

Can you believe it's July 1st? How in the world did June slip by so fast? 

That's ok...bring on the fall weather!!

This past weekend my mother-in-law and brother-in-law decided to come down for a spontaneous trip! We love having friends and family visit so we were super excited that they decided to come over!

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When we got official word they were on their way and after a trip to the grocery store, my husband and I went into a cleaning frenzy. He helped, though, really. Now I don't see this as a fault and I know my in-laws and friends won't think less of me if the house isn't spotless (who has time to keep a house 'spotless'?), but when people come over, it is a perfect excuse to clean the house in record time! Works like a charm. I'm a pretty organized and clean person, but the house always looks great seconds before guests arrive! 

They arrived late Friday evening and so we mostly talked and played games. I had to work Saturday morning so everyone else stayed up and hung out when I went to bed early like the old lady I am. Saturday afternoon we all went down to the Farmer's Market to sample and buy local, delicious goodies. We bought eggs and potatoes for a super late breakfast and even bought the most delicious goat cheese from Spring Mill Farm. Sun dried tomato goat cheese is my guilty pleasure...it is to die for!

After the Market and a delicious homemade breakfast (at 2pm?!) we relaxed for a bit but then decided we should go out and enjoy the day. The hot, hot day. We drove down to Peaks View Park and walked the trails and got some sun. It was really nice, but quite hot. We were ready for some AC after a few miles!

Even Kito got to come along! He had a blast!

Don't tell but we even stopped by DQ on the way back for smore's blizzards! 

Sunday we made poppyseed chicken (delicious...recipe post in the works!) and butter! Yes, we made our own butter! It's incredibly easy but I won't give it all away now. I'll try and have that in a post for you all this week! 

All in all in was a wonderful weekend. Can't wait to have them out again!

And to top it off, now that it's July...it's officially my birthday month! This is the first birthday in about 5 years now that the camp we always work isn't happening during my birthday! Not that we don't love working camp, but I'm so excited to actually get to celebrate my birthday this year! It's also my "quarter of a century" birthday as my husband likes to remind me, so we're thinking an awesome celebration is in order! I can hardly wait!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun or productive? What are some awesome birthday ideas? I'm up for cliche´ or unique ideas! 

Till next time,

Catherine

Wally - The beagle with an amazing story (who needs a home!)

This is Wally's story.

"My name is Wal-Mart. Most people call me Wally. I was given this name because I lived outside of the Wal-Mart in Appomattox, Virginia for about 5 years. No one could catch me or touch me but many people loved me and would buy food just for me to enjoy. 

About 6 months ago, animal control officers amped up their efforts to catch me because it was realized that I had an embedded collar. My previous owner put it on me when I wasn't done growing. They managed to catch me and brought me back to the animal shelter. Soon after I was taken to a nearby veterinarian who removed the collar and stitched me back together again. I wasn't sure of anything but I was slowly learning to trust humans. 

While I recovered, I stayed in the pound. It wasn't my favorite place to be but I kept learning to trust people more and more. I stayed for about two months before landing a spot in a foster home, only to be returned because I didn't know how to walk on a leash and my first foster mom was unable to carry my 35lb frame around. 

Next I was brought back to the nice veterinarian man where they took away my manhood and tested me for diseases I could have picked up while living free. Unfortunately I had contracted heartworms and another tick-borne disease called ehrlichia. 

As if having my manhood taken away wasn't bad enough! Not to mention I hated having stitches in my tummy so I kept trying to pull them out. They stapled me, wrapped me up in bandages and put a humiliating cone around my neck! 

I stayed at the vet for many weeks while getting my first round of heartworm treatment, ehrlichia medication and recovering from being neutered. 

During those weeks I really learned to trust people and learned that they provide me with more than just food, but also love and affection! I also house trained myself. I couldn't understand why other dogs would treat their kennel run as a bathroom! Gross! 

I love being petted and rubbed. People are so nice to me! It took time for me to trust them but now I love them! After several weeks, another wonderful lady decided to foster me. She has a securely fenced yard where I love to run and breathe in the fresh air! 

One family brought me to their house for a few days to see how I would fit in. I made myself right at home with their beagle. You'd think we were long-lost cousins!

 I even like hanging around other dogs! Although, I don't really know how to play. Cuddling is more my thing.

I really liked the home and the other dogs, but, I enjoyed chasing their cat too much for their liking and they didn't have a yard for me to run in. I want a home where I can lounge inside at night but run around outside during the day. So now I'm back with my foster mom enjoying the "dog days of summer."

 This sure isn't the end of my story but I can hardly wait for the next chapter in my "furrever" home! Until then, I'll enjoy my time with my foster mom and her dogs but be dreaming of what's next."


If you know someone who may be interested (or are interested yourself) in adopting Wally, please contact Barbe with Friends of Campbell County Animal Control. He has come so far in his journey but needs a loving, forever home.

• Wally is great with other dogs.
• He may be ok with certain cats.
• He is great with kids. 
• He is shy at first but warms up to both men and women with time.
• He is house-trained. 
• He needs a home where he can run in a securely fenced in yard. Nothing he can dig under or climb over. 
• On the same point, he loves to be cuddled on the couch, so being able to come indoors and cuddle is a must. 

If you haven't guessed, my husband and I are the ones who brought him into our home for a few days before realizing it wasn't the best fit. As much as we love him and wanted to have him, we were being selfish. He needs space to run and it also wasn't fair to our cat because he was always terrified. In all honesty, I think Wally chased the cat simply because the cat ran, I don't think it was a "prey drive" chase. He's the one who ripped the bottom of our cheap-o blinds that we had to fix. He just wanted to see outside the window!

Please share Wally's story so we can find his perfect home! I know it's out there. If we had land and a fenced yard, we would have kept him for sure. He's a super sweet, loving dog with an amazing story. He deserves the best home!

I'll update this page when he gets adopted.

Do you have a rescue pet? What's their story? Doesn't Wally have the sweetest face??

Till next time,
Catherine

Jane Marczewski Music!

Are you sick and tired of what people consider to be music these days? I am. There is so much of a fight for the attention of the media but there is very little true talent actually making it through. 

Well, folks...you're in for a real treat if you love GOOD music. 

THIS is good music. THIS is talent. THIS is passion. THIS is Jane Marczewski! 

The other night a good friend of mine invited my husband and I to a little concert in a downtown loft. The main act was one of her best friends, Jane Marczewski (pronounced sort of like "mar-cheski"). We had listened to her music online before and she is phenomenal so we wanted to come out and show some support. 

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Jane Marczewski is an amazing young woman with a passion for music and an unbeatable voice. She's from Zanesville, Ohio but it currently in Lynchburg, Virginia. Many musicians have come through Lynchburg but Jane sets a whole new standard of quality. 

If you don't believe me, go HERE and listen to some of her songs! I can vouch that she's as good on a recording as she is live. That's also rare. So many musicians are strictly studio and don't do well in concert but Jane is just as good if not better! You can also go HERE and download her FREE EP! Who doesn't love free music? Really good free music at that! If you're convinced and love her music, go and "LIKE" her Facebook page! 

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I'm not sure what you're waiting for if you haven't gone and listened yet! She's got my stamp of approval! 

Is there a local artist you love that you think the world deserves to hear? Let me know! 

Till next time,

Catherine

Snow Day-Wait, where'd it go?

All week here in good ol' Lynchburg, Virginia the weathermen have been forecasting snow for today. Some said we may not get anything at all, others said we may get up to 18"! That's quite a range. Needless to say, it's hard to know what to expect.

I rained all day Tuesday so I figured the snow wouldn't amount to anything. Until I went to take the dogs out to go to the bathroom. There was already 2 inches of snow on the ground! After that my husband and I got a little too comfortable thinking we'd get a cozy snow day together the next day! 

You should never get your hopes up!

That's ok...money is good too. 

So all night and day it snowed off and on but because of the rain yesterday it didn't amount to much. Luckily the snow didn't stick to the roads and it turned to wet mush on the ground. 

Then, out of nowhere it stopped, the sun came out, and almost all of the snow melted! 

Only in Virginia. 

Oh you live in a four-season state? That's nice...I live in a four-season-a-day state. It'll keep you on your toes! Haha. 

Where are you from? Did you get snow like a lot of the East coast? 

Till next time,

Catherine

Ivy Creek Park in Lynchburg, Virginia

I never get tired of that mountain view.

 My husband and I recently discovered a cute little local park called Ivy Creek Park. It was a beautiful day, high of 70 degrees in mid January! We knew we had to take advantage of it.

I pass the road to this park quite often so we decided to check it out. 

It's just a wee little baby park...it's not even 2 years old yet. 

There's a nice paved trail from the parking lot, past a playground, down to the lake. The lake is called Clemmons Lake and you can fish (catch and release), or rent a canoe and relax on the water. There's a nice dock as well. 

There's a half mile trail that circles the lake. 

How about that...Lynchburg's very own mini-swamp! Haha.

Nicely built bridge over the swampy area. 

Pretty even in the winter.

Check out this huge tree stump that a beaver took down! Amazing little critters.

You're so welcome :-)

Apparently we're slow to learn our new-ish surroundings. Little did I know that Lynchburg has a ton of parks! You can view a list of local Lynchburg parks here. I've decided that we will be visiting all of these parks in 2013. We love the outdoors so these will be fun little adventures for us! I can't wait till the weather gets better! It's been cold and raining for almost 4 days straight and now they're calling for ice and snow. Yuck. I'm even more grateful we took advantage of that warm day!

Do you live in the country or do you go visit local parks? Where are some of your favorite local parks? Do you prefer more amenities like playground and picnic tables or do you prefer just miles of beautiful trails? 

Till next time,
Catherine

Saturdays

I value Saturdays more than I think I ever have. When my husband isn't working out of town and we're not visiting Richmond, it's so nice to just have the day to do whatever we want.

Today we slept in (always nice) and then headed to the downtown Lynchburg Community Market for their Mistletoe Market where the focus is on Christmas. There was a trolly going around the city and two beautiful horse drawn carriages giving free rides around the block. There were lots of friendly people picking up locally grown and handmade goods. I even saw face painting and balloon animals for children and of course Santa and Mrs. Clause were sitting for pictures. It was just a lovely day. The weather was amazing as well, t-shirt weather in December!

As many tempting items as there are to see, we only bought a quart sized jar of honey. Yeah, I know, that is a LOT of honey! The last time I bought honey it was only 16oz and it got used up really fast since I made several loaves of honey wheat bread and so many of those delicious dinner rolls. around Thanksgiving. I was really tempted by the beautiful handmade live wreaths and really beautifully decorated topiaries. They're doing Mistletoe Market again next week so hopefully we'll check it out again.

After the market we just walked around downtown and checked out some local shops. Antique malls, furniture stores, camera shops...wherever we decided to step into. It was a really nice, relaxing afternoon.

This was in one really nice antique shop we went into. It's Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara!

We even found a newly opened natural food store!! I am beyond excited! It reminds me soo much of the one where I used to work. It's right on Main Street in downtown Lynchburg, called Hanna's Health.   They just opened in September but they've got a little bit of everything! We didn't buy anything today but I'll be back! I kept making mental notes of everything they had so I know for next time I need to go grocery shopping. They also had lots of bulk products as well. The owner even said she'd order my favorite Organic Fiji lotion for me! If you've been looking for a natural food store in Lynchburg, go check out Hanna's Health!

Once we left downtown, we had a few errands to run but it was still a fun time with my husband. We finished a little Christmas shopping and by the early evening we were getting hungry and we noticed a little place called The Spot. We decided to check it out and it was delicious! It appeared to be owned by a family and they were all so nice and friendly...it was a wonderful atmosphere. They have salads, sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, and even wings. I got a grilled chicken sandwich and my husband got a burger....both delicious! Our food was cooked right away and didn't take long at all. The owners always had smiles on their faces! We'll definitely be eating there again! If you're in Lynchburg, I highly recommend you check it out! They've only been open for about a month so go show 'em some love! You won't be disappointed, I promise!

We also stopped by a thrift store on the way home and got my husband some nice dress shirts for about $3 a piece...you know I love a good deal!

All in all it was a lovely day and now we're just relaxing at home. Ahh...it's the life :) Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend as I am.

What did you do for your weekend? Was it full of Christmas shopping or relaxing?

Till next time,
Catherine