Shew's Life Adventures

We were lucky enough to travel to this gem two summers in a row. Though the park feels smaller than some of the other national parks we have traveled to, this park is definitely worthy of a stop during your travels.  I visited the last two years and really enjoyed both trips. My husband and I brought our adult children with us this year. This summer was a lot less hectic to visit with the Covid-19 Pandemic going on. As we traveled through the park up to many of the overlooks throughout the park there was little to no traffic. The previous year you had to strategically find parking. As we pulled into the Sunset Point parking lot I almost laughed at the abundance of parking. I recalled sitting the previous year and waiting for someone to leave to take their parking spot. The lot had no empty spots. We got lucky the previous year that we timed it just right. It was a small relief to not have any worry about parking this trip. Since we had just driven up to the top overlook and been in th

We made a pit stop last year on our cross country road trip taking our daughter to college and visited the Grand Canyon. It was on my bucket list to see in person.  We arrived, parked, and walked up the walkway to the very popular Mather Vister Center viewing area. Initially I thought this viewing was going to be enough to satisfy my bucket list wish.  Little did I know, I would instead be left unsatisfied and craving more.  I was instantly amazed at the enormity of the canyon. Pictures or television don't give this natural wonder of world enough justice. Until you are standing face to face with this beauty, you have no idea how minoot we as humans really are in nature. A few small bad steps, a slip or carelessness and she can eat you alive. I remember thinking, I wonder what the first settlers thought. Where would one even begin to try and cross this beast of a canyon. Did she take their breathe away? It's hard to even fathom how nature carved out this piece of lan

I have wanted a backyard patio for years. Being stuck at home during the stay at home orders opened a perfect opportunity to finally fulfill my wish.  The area right outside the door that lead to the backyard yielded the perfect spot for our patio. The area had always drove me crazy because it became a catch all for everything. Sometimes you could possibly find ladders, kayaks, hitch haulers, along with whatever else found a temporary home there. All of the displaced items were put into their rightful places and the area was cleaned of all items. The area was then tilled to loosen the ground and level it the best we could. We raked back and forth to get the dirt to lay where we thought it looked level. We removed whatever we felt was excess and not needed. That dirt was set aside to use later.  Next was a trip to the hardware store. Thick weed barrier, stakes, and a stamper completed the purchase. The stamper was used to pack the ground. This is a hard and tiring job that s

Well, it's been a while since I wrote an update. In the beginning the changes were fast and easily noticeable. I think we have now reached our plateau. It would be hard to keep writing weekly updates as there aren't many changes from week to week now. I may continue with monthly updates instead.  Labs are prone to bad hips and lose some of their mobility as they age. I watched the loss with a previous lab we owned and eventually he had to be put down. He was 16 years old but his mind was still viable. Putting a dog down who stills understands what you are saying but lacks the ability to even stand anymore is one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever done. Experience is key in life! After we went through it, we made a decision to do the things needed to alivaite some of that pain and suffering for our next dog. No matter the cost! I remind myself, I went and chose Josie, she didn't come pick me out. I owe her the best life I am able to emotionally,  physic

Okay so I missed a week last weekend. Honestly I didn't feel that much had changed so I decided to wait until this week. We have finished giving Josie the entire first bottle. Now we can rightly compare the difference from start to the finish of the first bottle.  1. Soreness after exercise: If we go for an extremely long walk out on conversation land where she is running all over the place, then yes she will be sore later in the day. The difference is the time period is now takes for her to recover. Previously that would have been into the next day. Now it might be the end of the day. She takes a dog nap and seems to be okay.  2. Level of play: I remember trying to get her to play fetch and though she would want to, I was the one retrieving whatever I tossed. She would look at me like I was crazy for thinking she was going to go that far to retrieve something. Present day, we play more. She will play fetch for a longer time period than before. We took her to see her br

We have reached the four week mark of testing CBD oil out on our 7 year old lab Josie.  I will start this blog by saying I am so glad we decided to try this treatment. I feel like we enabled our dog to continue doing the things we think brings her the most joy. What are those things?  Long walks  on conservation land. Before the treatment, we would have passed on taking her mushroom hunting through the wooded areas. The physical demands of navigation through the terrain and length of activity would have been too much for her. Seriously, she would have gotten tired and quit. I mean sit down and quit. We took her walking and mushroom hunting both days this weekend.  We would have never dreamed of asking this of her a month ago. Instead she would have been left at home to sleep her day away. The CBD oil treatment has given her freedom again. She was always a dog we took everywhere with us. It broke my heart when we had to start leaving her at home.  We would tell ourselves we

So after 3 weeks the difference in our sweet Josie and her 7 year old body are finally taking some notice. I have been impatiently waiting to see a moment where I could say, "yep there it is, this CBD oil is helping." After three weeks we finally arrived to this moment.  Let's back up and start back at the beginning.... My dog Josie is a 7 year old lab that has started showing her age.  Within the last year after we would go for long walks she would spend the rest of the day laying around sore and tired.  She would show signs of extreme discomfort.  She would want to jump up places and lack the ability to do so.  Her level of play had decreased tremendously.  Her mind would want to run and play fetch but her body would tell her otherwise.  Just after a few rounds of fetch she would retrieve and walk to the door telling us she was done. A few weeks ago we decided to try something new for her.  We have some family that runs a CBD oil shop.  After consulting with

My dog Josie is a 7 year old lab that has started showing her age.  Within the last year after we would go for long walks she would spend the rest of the day laying around sore and tired.  She showed extreme discomfort.  She would want to jump up places and lack the ability to do so.  Her level of play had decreased tremendously.  Her mind would want to run and play fetch but her body would tell her otherwise.  Just after a few rounds of fetch she would retrieve and walk to the door telling us she was done. 2 weeks ago we decided to try something new for her.  We have some family that runs a CBD oil shop.  After consulting with them and doing some research on our own, we decided this was worth a shot for our Josie girl.  I want to keep an on going journal of her progress as we try this CBD oil out.  After week two: We were unable to take a long walk this week. Exercise was reserved to the yard and playing fetch. I feel like her play is gradually increasing in time.  She has

My dog Josie is a 7 year old lab that has started showing her age.  Within the last year after we would go for long walks she would spend the rest of the day laying around sore and tired.  She showed extreme discomfort.  She would want to jump up places and lack the ability to do so.  Her level of play had decreased tremendously.  Her mind would want to run and play fetch but her body would tell her otherwise.  Just after a few rounds of fetch she would retrieve and walk to the door telling us she was done. A week ago we decided to try something new for her.  We have some family that runs a CBD oil shop.  After consulting with them and doing some research on our own, we decided this was worth a shot for our Josie girl.  Though we have only given Josie the oil once a day for a week, I want to say we have seen small changes in her mood.  I want to keep an on going journal of her progress as we try this CBD oil out.  After week one: She shows signs of discomf

If you are looking for a short but vigorous trail close to home, then Sunbridge  Hills Conservation Area might be worth checking out.  I have walked this trail a few times in the last few months and gotten a good workout in.  Though this is not my favorite trail to walk, it does provide a good workout and is conveniently located to home. 1. Close to home The area is fast and easy to access for anyone living in St. Joseph.  The area is conveniently located roughly between the Missouri River and Krug Park. Highway 229 is a stones throws away. It takes less than twenty minutes to access from my home.  This also is why when hiking the trail, one will find all kinds of trash and debris.  I will hope most of it travels from the nearby road and highways but I know some comes from careless individuals who could care less about our conservation lands.  The parking lot is locked and unavailable because too many people kept dumbing their garbage at the area.  You can park in front o

As I sit here quarantined from the Coronavirus, I am day dreaming of my time last summer spent vacationing in Yosemite National Park. Yosemite, one of the most beautiful and captivating places I have ever traveled. My heart yearns to return sooner than later. If Yosemite is not on your bucket list, you should add this magnificent national park.  While our visit to Yosemite was only a few days due to the fact we were trying to hit several national parks on our road trip last June, we were able to squeeze in a hike to Vernal Falls.  I tried watching some YouTube videos the night before our hike to get an idea of what we were in for the following day.  Going in late June meant that the snow melt had just occurred and the rivers and waterfalls were roaring.  The videos I found to watch were of hikers in late July and August and gave no justice to the monster we were about to encounter.  The people in these videos climbed up the rocks and along the path like they were just out taking a

I always get rather excited when I find little ways to save a few dollars here and there. After finding these savings I like to share my little hidden gems with other people. In most cases, I have found that most people haven't found these little gems either. Now for some, they feel they have better things to do with their time or their time is more valuable to spend doing some of the things to save a few dollars. Understandable!! But if you are like me and you like small instant gratification, then in these weekly blogs I will teach you a few of the ways I have saved or earned a few dollars here and there. So this week's Saving Sunday will cover a program I just entered into last month.  I had seen the signs in CVS promoting their program Carepass  for months but never took much interest into the program until a manager explained all the benefits to me.  I will not go into great detail about CVS and their ExtraCare program.  I will say you will need to enro

So I may send this one out early.  I am currently quarantined at home and extremely bored.  So I figured I would type up another Saving Sunday post.  Today's post is going to cover AARP Rewards.  (https://www.aarp.org/rewards) This is a free program for anyone of any age to participate in.  Sadly, AARP revamped their program at the end of last year. Previously everyone got treated the same in the program. With the new changes there is not much good to the program without an AARP membership.   I will discuss the program with and without a membership. When you sign up for the program you receive the ability to earn points.  You can redeem them for instant wins, gift cards, or services.  There are a several ways to earn points through the program.  These include taking quizzes, watching videos, receiving newsletters, and attaching fitness trackers.  There is a max of 7,500 points per day that can be earned.  I personally like to watch videos and earn my points.  Sometimes I ju

I am hoping I only have a few of these posts to make. Currently my family is being asked to stay quarantined until we receive the test results for a young man that was working around my husband on Monday.  I jokingly have watched the news of Italy and thought a quarantine didn't sound to bad.  I mean who doesn't want to take a few days off work? Well let me tell you, my thoughts have drastically changed. The second you lose the right to go to work, store, gym, or where else you like to frequent, you realize quickly this is far from enjoyable. I am thankful I did take precautions over the weekend and buy plenty of groceries to last a few weeks.  Let's start back at the beginning so everyone can realize how easily they too could be in this exact situation.  On Monday my husband, adult son, and myself went to work like we do every day. My husband had previously been on a job in Kansas City but was asked to assist on a different job Monday.  Being an electrician

I always get rather excited when I find little ways to save a few dollars here and there. After finding these savings I like to share my little hidden gems with other people. In most cases, I have found that most people haven't found these little gems either. Now for some, they feel they have better things to do with their time or their time is more valuable to spend doing some of the things to save a few dollars. Understandable!! But if you are like me and you like small instant gratification, then in these weekly blogs I will teach you a few of the ways I have saved or earned a few dollars here and there. So for week three let's talk about Ibotta. This one has been around for several years. As time goes on Ibotta seems to get a little better each passing year. To be honest, I am shocked when I speak to someone about Ibotta and they are clueless about what I'm talking about. So what it is? It is an app on your phone where you go through the weekly offers

I always get rather excited when I find little ways to save a few dollars here and there. After finding these savings I like to share my little hidden gems with other people. In most cases, I have found that most people haven't found these little gems either. Now for some, they feel they have better things to do with their time or their time is more valuable to spend doing some of the things to save a few dollars. Understandable!! But if you are like me and you like small instant gratification, then in these weekly blogs I will teach you a few of the ways I have saved or earned a few dollars here and there. So for blog #2 we are going to talk about flying through Southwest Airlines. Now most experienced travelers may already know all the ends and outs of how to save when flying. But if you are like me and don't fly all that often, then I hope you learn something from this blog. I had been waiting to book our tickets for our upcoming trip to Florida and watched the ticke

I always get rather excited when I find little ways to save a few dollars here and there. After finding these savings I like to share my little hidden gems with other people. In most cases, I have found that most people haven't found these little gems either. Now for some, they feel they have better things to do with their time or their time is more valuable to spend doing some of the things to save a few dollars. Understandable!! But if you are like me and you like small instant gratification, then in these weekly blogs I will teach you a few of the ways I have saved or earned a few dollars here and there. So to start let's talk about an easy one, Fetch Rewards. So with Fetch Rewards all you do is after you go to the grocery store you simple use the app on your phone and snap a picture of the receipt and upload it. To begin you will need to build a profile. If you want some bonus points for yourself and me, feel free to use my code when signing up. All of thes