New Mexico

As most know I moved from the very green state of Michigan to the very brown state of New Mexico over 5 years ago to be with my now husband.  There are a lot of things I miss about Michigan but below are some of my favorite things about New Mexico.

 My favorite thing to do in the spring and fall is head over to the Albuquerque zoo.  Considering we live in a desert the zoo does a great job of keeping the habitats for the animals as close to their natural habit as possible.  And I really love polar bears :) 

 One a year we drive 2 hours north to Taos, NM.  The gorge is amazing.  The Rio Grande river looks so small. 

The gorge in Taos.

The Sandia Mountains are amazing!  Sandia means Watermelon.  The mountains turn pink during the sunsets :)

When I think of New Mexico I think hammock weather April-Nov.  Yes I wear Sponge Bob PJ pants. 

 Fishing at Cochiti Lake and watching the sun come up....  

After fishing for 9 hours they caught a fish.  Yes I said they... :) (Sandia Lake)

New Mexico Scorpions Hockey!!!!  They are not the best team but the beer is cheap :)

 Where else will you be driving and have to dodge balloons???

The mesa covered in a light blanket of snow

 Madrid, NM.  Madrid is where they filmed Wild Hogs. 

 Driving in New Mexico can be 1 of 2 things.  Amazing or boring. This was amazing!

 The view from a Lowes parking lot.  LOWES HAS THIS VIEW!

 New Mexico is full of museums.  This happens to be one of my favs. 

 One of the oldest churches is in Santa Fe. 

 View from the Sandia Mountains.

 View from the Sandia Mountains

 Sandias again

 Looking down from the Sandias onto Albuquerque

 They never get old :)

One of the coolest places in Old Town Albuquerque   

 SO COOL!! I am afraid of snakes but I love the rattlesnake museum.  Mr and I usually go a few times a year.  Bob the owner is the coolest guy EVER!!!

 Snowfall on the Sandias

 The colors are just breath taking sometimes.  Look at that sky!

 I was so excited to get a picture of a New Mexico sunset I didn't bother to notice my light fixture was in the reflection of the window. LOL!  My Grandmother sent me a text asking me what the fire ball was. 

 So beautiful! 

 The desert has its own beauty

 I miss rain :( 

 Storm Clouds

 October is balloon fiesta time in Albuquerque.  

 New Mexico fall colors.  (Sandias)

Leaving Michigan was very hard for me but as you can tell by my photos... New Mexico has its own beauty.

My Crafting Buddy

I am very lucky and fortunate that my husband is very supportive in everything I do or want to do but sometimes you just need a dog.  :)  I have introduced her in a previous post but below you will find my "kid", my best friend, the reason why I stay in bed later than I should (she lays on me), the reason why my feet never get cold, my heart and soul, the reason why I laugh at awkward times, and she is my crafting buddy.  

Kimber was a wedding present from my Grandmother.  I've raised, trained and shown Shiba Inus since I was about 6 years old.  I am one of the first junior handlers and have many accomplishments with this breed.  I don't brag about them because they are my memories not someones stats :)  

When I moved to New Mexico I left behind my Siberian Husky in Michigan with my grandparents because we could not have a large dog at our apartment complex.  A year after I moved Mr and I got married, moved to a different apartment and wanted a dog.  My grandmother had a litter of 8 week old Shiba Inu puppies and one 12 week old female, lovingly named "hell spawn"  I had told my grandmother I wanted a Shiba to show here and travel with.  

When we arrived in Michigan in July of 2007 I ran back to the kennel building to pick out my puppy.  As I was running back the 12 week old female (who was sssoooo not cute by the way!) ran up to my husband with a toy in her mouth, wagging her tail and growled at him.  Not a mean growl but a play with me growl.  HE FELL IN LOVE!  I didn't even make it back to the kennel building before he said "This is the one I want"    My jaw hit the cement.  I wanted a super cute, fuzzy little 8 week old puppy to love and cuddle.  Not a 12 week old, big eared, long legged female with a quirky personality, and lovingly called "hell spawn".  After review the rules of marriage I decided to go with rule #2 (pick your battles).  We brought Kimber home that weekend.  I have raised many Shibas in 20 years and I have to say..... Kimber is the best one!  My husband was right.  

Kimber has the best personality and is the sweetest dog.  She goes everywhere with me and if she can't go I better come home with ice cream!  

Below are the reasons why I think I have the coolest Shiba Inu ever!

#1- She rides in the cart at home centers so people will notice her.  

 #2- She loves cruising in the bruiser cruiser with Mom.  She is safely buckled into my car in this pic.  I do not let my dogs ride with their heads out unless the roads are not busy and she is secured.  

 #3- She enjoys nature and doesn't complain about my driving

 #4- come on??? SO CUTE!!!!! She fell asleep like this!

 #5- She smiles for the camera!

 #6- She gets a happy face when I say ICE CREAM!

 #7- She pouts when I say no and as soon as I get home she runs to her Dad.

 #8- She loves her Caterpillar.  Kimber also has her own toy box.  Its actually sad how spoiled she is. 

 #9- She tries to be helpful

 #10- She watches TV and lays in funny positions.  See her toy box in the background??

 #11-  She takes funny facebook pictures with me :)

 #12- ok.. this is just cute :)  She gets her personality from her Dad 

 #13-  She is fully trained.  Or maybe she trained us???

 #14-  My husband loves her as much as I do.  They were cuddling on the sofa while I froze in the chair... 

 #15-  She sleeps with an electric blanket and please do not wake her before 7AM.

#16- She knows who is boss in my house :)  Please ignore the mess in this pic.  We had just moved into our apartment that day.  Everyone at the apartment complex loved Kimber.  She would stick her head between the bars on our balcony and drop her balls at people so they would have to throw them back up.  I don't know who many times we had balls hit our windows. 

#17- She is just an amazing dog

If anyone is thinking about getting a dog I recommend a Shiba Inu.  They really are the coolest dogs ever!  The reason why I call Kimber my craft buddy is when I am in my craft room working on a project she is always there.  She jumps into the chair next to me, curls up and sleeps.  She keeps me calm when something is not going right and just having her around makes crafting that much more fun. :)