Deals Gap Trips

I went to the Tail of the Dragon a couple of times with some friends. Its an amazing road on the border of NC and TN with approximately 318 curves in 11 miles.

Here are the pics from both trips:

More Bike Pics

Ducatis make great Christmas trees:



They also work well in kitchens:

The Growth Spurt

One day, Grace grew stilts for legs...

The first days at home

The first month with Grace was a rough one. Potty training a puppy is never easy but she caught on quickly enough, though she still managed to pee on the bed a couple times. During her first week with us, she stopped eating and drinking and subsequently lost 3 lbs (a lot when you only weighed 9 lbs to begin with). After taking her to the vet a couple times and giving her subcutaneous fluids, she started eating again and put on weight rapidly. She went from 6lbs to 23 lbs in a month!!

Ducatis

I fell in love with Ducatis about 5 years ago when an ex bought a Monster. After we broke up, I started dating someone with a Monster 695. He taught me how to ride it and eventually we took the MSF course together. He bought a bigger Monster and sold his 695 to me. After numerous mechanical issues, I traded the bike in for an 07 S2R 800 in shiny black. Here it is the day I got it.







More pics to come when I post about my trips to Deals Gap and my Oregon rides.

Getting a Puppy

The decision to get a dog took us a while. We both wanted one but we didn't know if we were ready to make the commitment. After Jacob proposed in May, we decided to take the leap and get a puppy. I work from home so I would be the main care taker, especially during the critical first months. I was lonely with Jacob working 3-4 twelve hour night shifts a week and wanted a companion for the long night hours.

We searched for many weeks and got turned down by a private shelter who demanded we own a home and have a fully fenced yard. We thought that was a little ridiculous so we scratched them permanently off our list. On a Thursday morning, I showed Jacob a picture of a cute female pup at a shelter in Longview. He was put off at first by the description of a german shepherd mix but promised to make the hour long trek to go check out the pup.

We arrived in Longview (an interesting place for sure) to find that 8 of the litter of 12 were already adopted and a couple of guys were getting ready to fill out paperwork on another. We hurried into the back to look at the pups and immediately gravitated towards the only active one. She was spunky and responded to our calls. We looked at the other three and found what appeared to be the runt. She was a little listless and just slept curled up with her brother rather than investigating us. In the process of checking out the other three pups, Jacob managed to hit me in the head with the kennel door a couple times.

As we filled out the initial paperwork, we were told that our first pick was actually promised to the guys ahead of us. Jacob and I looked at each other and immediately knew which one we would take. The worker took him in the back to pick out our pup and when he came back, I could tell he was in love. The little runt was licking his face and head and climbing him like a jungle gym.



She was tiny! Only 9 lbs and a little bony but with a pot belly. The shelter workers were really great and even gave us a little leash and some treats to start out with (along with all the other important paperwork). We would definitely adopt from them in the future.

On the way home, Jacob let me bond with her. She slept for most of it but we let her look out the window too. I made the mistake of giving her a treat which she threw up (along with whatever food she had eaten at the shelter) as soon as we hit Portland. Not to worry though, we stopped and easily cleaned it up. It certainly would not be the last time she would throw up in my car.

The Dog

We got our dog, Grace, when she was a mere 5 weeks old. She was part of a litter of 12 abandoned puppies at a shelter and was actually our second pic. But like Cesar Millan says, "You don't get the dog you want; you get the dog you need." After a rough start with her health, Grace has turned into a mammoth 65lb mutt and is still growing a little. Her manners are good but we still have things to work on. She is our pride and joy and brings us so much happiness.

An Organizational and Introductory Post

A year ago, I moved from Charlotte, NC to a tiny town in Oregon for a boy. Yes, I know its crazy, but its worked out far better than I ever thought it could. We're getting married in six months, we're planning for a house and family of our own, and we're dealing with everything life is throwing at us. Its a struggle sometimes but with the support of my family, we've made it work.

I wanted a place other than facebook to post up pictures of our life. Jacob and I try to document as much as we can because we know how fast the memories fade. I'll try to organize them into big categories like The Dog, The Motos, Oregon, North Carolina, etc.