Pilot Mountain State Park – by the Yadkin River

There are several trails in Pilot Mountain State Park that aren’t accessible from the main part of the park. Marty and I took Ghost on Friday when I got off work and we made 5 miles before the park closed at 5pm. Marty and I have forded the water in my Jeep before, but this is no place to drive an Elantra through the water. <laughter>

Ghost had so much fun. He’s really an adventurous pup and wasn’t even afraid of the horse on the trail. The horse’s owner let us know the horse was not afraid of dogs and said we should let Ghost come a little closer. Ghost is awesome.

I still don’t know how I am so lucky that God brought two wonderful rescue pups into my life. Shadow is now 10 1/2 and can’t do all the things he used to do. Malamutes have a 10-12 year life span, so while he is healthy, he’s a senior pup. Ghost will turn 3 in June, he’s still a young one. Huskies have lots of energy and it seems like Ghost can keep on going and going and going. I’m amazed with his ability to rock scramble. He’s like a mountain goat. <smile>

I’ve decided that my yearly goal will always be a minimum of 2,500 miles. That’s just over 200 miles a month, so I think that is a decent goal for someone over 50. I got Ghost a FitBark to track his fitness goals, too. It’s a GPS tracker that also tracks his sleep and steps, etc. Each day, Ghost receives FitBark points. Daisy and Ammy also have FitBark, so we can all journal and follow each other. It’s bougie, as one of my co-workers tells me. LOL The only problem is that when we *go off grid* where there is no cell service, he doesn’t get all of his points. Oh well. It’s just a thing for fun and to track him should he get lost.

I also got him a tactical harness made by Kong, and it works really great! I am so excited that he is able to hike with us. If only I could teach him to paddle a kayak. I guess I need to get a smaller pup for that. <giggle>

Work is going well, I think. I am learning so much! I always remind the President that I don’t have a business degree. He always reminds me that I have a life degree. I sometimes feel like I am behind the curve because there are so many new things to learn. We use the Deming philosophy of management. The seminar I took last year was very helpful. I am learning to map processes and how to use these maps to be a better manager.

Our latest thing we are working on is a strategic evaluation of priorities. I think I am figuring it out— along with everyone else. We’ve got homework due Tuesday and I’m hoping that mine passes the test. My homework that was due Friday at noon turned out okay. That’s another post. I really love the company I work for and the fact that we have fun assignments from time to time. The podcast we listened to last week about quitting was an eye opener.

Deming says that everyone should find joy in their work. Sometimes it is hard when we get frustrated by new things we need to learn! But, most days, I definitely find joy in my work. God is good. I am thankful for all of his blessings– especially this job! When the last company I worked for finished all of their projects in NC, I really wasn’t sure what would happen. I really believe that God had a role in helping me land this current job.