Poker Face

We're about two weeks into Presley's recovery and I'm counting down the days (70ish) until I can let my little lady run wild.

Last night we visited the vet to have her staples removed. Below is a picture of us right before the Dr. came into the room. Presley has an impressive poker face because I know she was ready to get the handful of staples our of her little leg.

I have a suspicion that she, and rightly so, thinks that every time we go to the vet's office she'll have to have something done. She does look a little more concerned about why we're at the vet's office in this photo.

But, good news! Her Dr. is very impressed with how well she's doing especially just two weeks after having ACL & meniscus repair surgery. She's also lost a little bit of weight and is currently weighing in at 11.6 lbs as opposed to 12.2 lbs on the day of surgery. YAY!

We'll return in another week or so to see the physical therapist to get a regime for her follow and then again in three weeks for another check up.

Thanks for the prayers, good vibes and well wishes for her recovery, they've worked and will continue to do so!

Summer Adventures

Today is unseasonably cold. Not chilly but down right cold. It even snowed last night. I'm praying that this is just a freak cold system and not an early start to my least favorite season however, I have a horrible feeling that this Winter is going to be brutal.

With today's gray skies and snow flurries floating around, I'm going to take some time to reminisce about warmer days.

This Summer my Dad and I rode the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and it was really fun! We left his home in Pueblo at 5 a.m. and headed to Antonito, CO which is more than 150 miles or about two and a half hours away.

If you've never ridden a train, I would suggest this one. Here's what the web says about it:

Ride the Longest Highest, most Historic Narrow Gauge Railroad in North America. 64 miles of spectacular scenery through the beautiful San Juan Mountains of Northern NM and Southern Co. Enjoy riding the rails, as they did in the 1880's with modern day comforts. 

This Historic line was originally the San Juan Extension with Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, few railroads in the world climb to greater heights than the historic narrow gauge line over 10,015-foot Cumbres Pass. The trains have been chugging over Cumbres Pass since 1881. Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was chosen one of the "Top 20 Rail Trips of the World" by the Society of International Railway Travelers.

Here's the gorgeous sunrise we saw as we drove into Alamosa, CO. For this particular train ride you can either take the train from Antonito to Chama, NM or take a bus to Chama and then ride the train back. We chose the latter.

Here's me and my Dad by the engine in Chama right before we left.

This is one of the first pics I took as we rounded a bend. Even though Dad and I had seats on the train, we chose to ride most of the trip in the open car. It was a perfect day to do so and the only drawback was the soot that we ended up being covered in when the ride was over. But it was well worth the black hands!

 I just think this is a pretty shot.

And this is the favorite shot I got all day. The San Juan Mountains look magestic in the distance and this picture really embodies everything I love about this part of the country (in the Summer of course).

Let's Promote Self-Confidence

Good Sounding, Bad Idea: calling everyone a bully.

There's a video floating around the Internet where a news anchor responds to an email she received about being overweight. While she handles the situation with poise I find it lacks professionalism. One of the first things I learned while getting my journalism degree was: "Never make yourself the story."  And this, unfortunately is exactly what she did. In my personal opinion, while I found the subject of this viewer's email in poor taste and quite frankly none of his business I didn't see where it was "bullying" the recipient.

According to Webster's Dictionary a bully is: n. noisy, over-bearing person who tyrannizes the weak; v.t. to domineer; intimidate; ill-treat; v.i. to bluster.

Perhaps the news anchor is weak but I doubt this very much, and wish she'd have ignored this topic all together.

Again, in my personal opinion, I think the word bullying has become a national crutch. People seem to throw this word around when someone states an opinion that either makes them uncomfortable or one they simply don't like. I find the ability to freely share opinions the number one thing, on my long list of things, that makes our Nation great.

In another example: I found it incredibly ironic that the LGBT community began essentially bullying local Chick-fil-A patrons, workers and owners. Across various social media sites people were making the assumption that if you ate the chicken sandwiches, then you too must hate all gay people. However, if the owners of Chick-fil-A want to give to charities that don't support gay marriage, I see this as their business. If you don't like it, don't eat their chicken sandwiches that eventually make their way to these conservative groups. This is yet another wonderful thing about our country, we're not forced to do anything but pay taxes and die (nature not so much anything else on the last one). I do disagree with the company's recent regression. If you have an opinion, whatever it may be, stick with it. Don't waffle because it's not popular with others.

I recently had the pleasure of watching a Rock Center story titled True Grit. Take the nine minutes and 19 seconds to watch it, it's well worth your time and may provide you a different perspective on how to talk to, deal with and teach today's youth.

I love the aforementioned idea of teaching grit to children for several reasons. (1) I don't want to end up with a colleague who can't take criticism or one who thinks I'm bullying them because I tell them their ideas are horrible (2) If I ever have children, I don't want them to grow up in a world where they're afraid to stand up for what they believe (3) I hate the idea of getting a trophy for showing up. In the world there are winners and losers. The faster everyone realizes this the better off we'll all be. Not everyone can be great at everything all the time, so find what you're good at and do it, do it better than anyone else and earn your trophy. And, when you lose, do so gracefully. It will make you a better person and one people want to be around.

So, here's what I propose. Instead of teaching people not to be bullies, let's teach everyone how to love themselves for who they are and teach them about the power of self-confidence so that when, not if, they encounter a "bully" they'll know that no matter what this person says to them or about them, it does not change who they are, what they should think of themselves or their self-worth. Let's teach tolerance not only of what comes out of our own mouths but of what comes out of the mouths of others.