The Great Lexington Dog Park Tour Part 2

See the explanation for this tour and part 1 here.

The next stop on our dog park tour is Jacobson Park.  Jacobson Park is just off of Richmond road on the south east side of town, again this is a dog park inside a much bigger city park.  This park, like most in Lexington, is very green with rolling hills. 

The dog park here is the smallest in Lexington and the only one surrounded by a chain-link fence, all the others have nice horse-farm like fences.  There are two different places you can park, above the dog park or below it (the park itself is on a hill), most people like to park at the top but parking at the bottom will give you a nice short uphill walk once you get into the park. 



The view form the top parking lot



Looking in the fence

We go here quite often because it is the closest to us and there are almost always other dogs there to play with.  I've heard people complain about this park getting too muddy and that it's too small, but it really isn't that bad.  The only downside of it being small is that as a human you don't get as much walking in, its more of a stand around and watch the dogs play type of place. I think the most important part is that Angel almost always enjoys his time here. 

Lower entrance

Happy Angel

Next stop, Wellington Dog Park!
Previously, Masterson Station Dog Park!

Audio Book Review - Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews

How did I come into possession of this book?

This was part of a reading challenge I did during the summer.  I was supposed to go to a bookstore or library and grab the book on the fourth shelf from the top, 3 books from the left.  It could be any section of a store or library, so of course I picked the audio book section at my library and I ended up with Spring Fever!

First Lines:

“From her seat in the sanctuary of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Annajane Hudgens wondered if there had been a more flawless day for a wedding.”  (Andrews 1)

What is it about?

Annajane is finally ready to leave the small town she grew up in, and still lives and works.  Her ex-husband is getting remarried and she feels comfortable enough that she attends the wedding but that’s when things start to fall apart.  The story takes place in a charming southern town and some true southern characters.

What did I think?

I had no clue what to expect with this book since it was a random pick off the shelf.  I loved it!  I think I’m a fan of chick-lit as long as it doesn’t get too romance, lovely-dovey.  I especially loved Annajane, finally a strong female character who is going after what she wants and takes her life in control.  I also loved that there were other things surrounding the relationships, there were some great twists within the business that they all work for and when I thought I had the story figured out, suddenly there’d be another twist!  This was also a great book to listen to, easy to follow and kept me wanting to come back and listen to more.

Who would I recommend it to?

If you like chick-lit (Emily Giffin is a great example) you should pick up this book.  It is well written and never feels trashy which you tend to get with romance novels.  I’d recommend this book for traveling or any other time you’re looking for a nice light read!

Check out other reviews on this book from fellow bloggers:
Jersey Girls Book Reviews

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!

Football Monday - Wooooooooooooo

So about that football game, oh yeah, I was there!  Here is my recap:

Michigan vs Michigan State 2012, the battle for one of the strangest trophies in college football, the Paul Bunyan Trophy.  Michigan State has beaten us the past 4 years, and we were ready for that to change.  The streets were packed getting to the stadium:

Making the left turn off of Hoover onto Greene

The band came out onto the field sounding and looking impressive as ever, the team then followed under the Go Blue banner:

Then there was some football played, it was quite an interesting game, we never scored a touchdown, and they only scored one.  Things got ugly at times, our offense couldn't move the ball or we'd get in the red zone and couldn't get into the end zone.  Then there was the one long drive our defense gave up, that's when I really started worrying.

Sometime during the first half

Into the second half it was a 1 and 2 point game changing leads every time one team would score.  We couldn't convert with 2 minutes left, I thought we were done for.  But wait, we got the ball back with less than a minute in good field position, if we could just get 20 more yards we would be in field goal range.  Dileo came up with a HUGE catch to set up Gibbons for a 38 yard field goal.  I couldn't watch, but then I heard it, the crowd went nuts, I was shaking so hard all my next pictures were blurry! 

Blurry crowd as we took the lead with 5 second left



OMG he just made that kick!!!

Michigan State tried to get fancy on the kickoff return but we shut that down to secure the win!  It was then announced to the crowd that was Michigan's 900th win, the most wins of any division 1 football program, Go Blue!

Winningest

All of this led to the students, and then some alumni and fans rushing the field.  It was a very classy field rushing, no damage was done, everyone just wanted an excuse to keep celebrating, I mean 900 wins?? that's aMAIZEing!!

Party on the field

Oh yeah, we eventually made our way onto the field too!

Audio Book Review - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

How did I come into possession of this book?

This was another audio book from the library.  I had heard of this book so I pulled out the audio book to take a look and saw that it was read by Jim Dale, the amazing voice behind all the Harry Potter audio books.  I couldn’t pass it up!

First Line:

“The circus arrives without warning.”  (Morgenstern 3)

What is it about?

In an awesome setting of an ever moving and changing circus, two magicians are involved in a lifelong duel that neither of them agreed to.

What did I think?

This book was great!  And the audio version might’ve made it better.  Jim Dale is phenomenal, as always, his voice is just so magical (ha ha).  The story is quite interesting as well, I love both the main characters and all they have to go through to discover what is really going on with their lives.  I didn’t know what to expect with this book, but I found it to be right up my alley, reality with a touch of fantasy.

Who would I recommend it to?

Everyone.  Even if you don’t like the whole magic thing, this book is so well written it’s worth the read.  I don’t really know what else to say, I loved it and I think you will too!

Check out other reviews on this book from fellow bloggers:
Storybook Love Affair
Belle's Bookshelf
A Kindle in Hong Kong

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!

Moving Forward with my Blog

Last night I was cooking (no seriously, I was, stop laughing, it's not a joke!) and listeneing to College Football Live from the other room.  They mentioned something about us hitting the halfway point in the college football season which made me very sad.  I was already thinking about how I sad I get when the season is over and having to wait until the next season.  Then I realized I have no clue where I'll be next year during football season, and I got a bit shocked (not quite scared).  My job has had me moving around lately, but I always kinda knew what was up next.  When my job is done here in Kentucky in June, I have no clue where I'll be headed next.

I like to plan things and micro manage and I get a little freaked out with not knowing what will happen, but my company has been good to me so I expect that whatever happens next I will be ok with.  I do like having this blog as something constant in my ever changing life, but I've been a bit flighty with some of my posts.  There are quite a few  things I start and then never finish (Lexington dog park tour, 30x30, ect).  Well my new goal is to finish up and follow up on all those things so I can move forward with other stuff on this blog!  I might also try making some other improvments to explanniefyfed as well, please let me know if you have any suggestions!

Audio Book Review - The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

How did I come into possession of this book?

This was a library audio book.  I always checked the young adult section as well as the adult section when looking for audio books, however, the young adult section at the branch closest to my home doesn’t have a lot of selection.  What they did have was almost all the Princess Diaries books or other books by Meg Cabot, so I thought I should give them a try.  I loved the movie (movies? Were there two?)  and didn’t realize they came from books until recently, so of course I was interested!

First Lines:

“Sometimes it seems like all I ever do is lie.”  (Cabot 1)

What is it about?

Mia is your average awkward high schooler, with a couple close friends who are just as quirky and a crush on a boy who probably doesn’t know her name.  Then she finds out she is the only heir to the Genovian crown, and her life is immediately changed.

What did I think?

This was a quick and easy fun listening experience.  Some of it is a little hard to grasp since most of it comes straight out of Mia’s journal, which might be better to read than to listen to.  But I still enjoyed it.  I knew most of the story since I’ve seen the movie, but for once I think I like some of the stuff the movie did better than the book!  I love that the movie takes place in San Francisco, not Manhattan, in my opinion a better city (I’m not biased at all).  Also, with Julie Andrews play grandmére you can’t not like her, in the book you never really like grandmére, but I love the way Julie Andrews portrayed her as more of a grandmotherly figure.

Who would I recommend it to?

I think this is a must read for young teenage girls, it’s just a fun story that is well written.  It’s also a good read if you like girly young adult books (which apparently I do).  As an adult reading it, it’s not a bad read, very well written, but you will probably read it in a day.

Book Review - Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

How did I come into possession of this book?

I bought this at a local used book store, The Thrifty Bookworm.  RoB had bought a book there earlier in the week and they gave him a coupon celebrating an anniversary (I think), so I took that and went by to see what sort of books I could find.  This book store is primarily a romance book store but they do have some small sections for other genres, and since I don’t really read a lot of romance I made a bee-line for the non romance sections.

First Lines:

“I never used to keep track of the phases of the moon.”  (Butcher 1)

What is it about?

This is technically the second book in the Dresden Files series, but it seems like it’s one of those series you don’t really need to read in order, but I did.  Harry Dresden is called in for help when Chicago police suspect a werewolf is killing people.  They hope that he can explain what happened and that it’s all a misunderstanding, but with all the weird things that tend to happen and all the weird creatures that show up when Dresden is around it ends up being much more involved than just a werewolf.

What did I think?

This was the second book I read of his, and the second in the series.  These books are great, a typical thriller with a fantasy twist on it.  My only complaint is I wish he would give us a better background on each character, for example tell us what happened in the end of the previous book.  I would like to follow all the characters through this series but since most people will just pick up one or two of these somewhere in the middle of the series I guess it’s not really necessary.  I felt like there were a few more plot lines in this one than the previous book, which was good, but if he keeps adding more every book it will definitely be too much for me.  I also get really frustrated with Dresden at times, he makes stupid decisions and I feel like yelling at him, but I guess that’s probably a sign of good writing from the author.

Who would I recommend it to?

Anyone who is a fan of thrillers and/or sci-fi, fantasy.  The nice thing about these is they are quick, not an epic, and they still have just enough of a fantasy element to keep things interesting.  I don’t know of many other series or even books that fall into this category so I like mixing in his books to my reading pile every now and then.  They are also fantastic airplane/traveling reads!

Football Monday (?) - First BCS rankings and reaction

The BCS sucks, that is my reaction.

I'm only a little upset that Michigan is not in there, I really do think they should be in over Texas at #25 (we have better losses, and our wins are equivalent) but I also understand that if we win our next one or two we will make it in (if at that point we don't make it, I will be angry).  What makes me most angry is that Florida is sitting at #2.  And how favored the SEC is as a conference.  I will admit that Alabama is a very good team, and I think they deserve to be #1, but the rest of the SEC is very overrated.   Florida has a win over LSU who really hasn't proved themselves to be anything, they did beat South Carolina, but I saw South Carolina losing at halftime to Kentucky, the worst team in the SEC.  Aside from Alabama, not one of those teams played a real out of conference game, so why are they favored so much? I have no clue, and this is a good reason to hate the BCS.  There are no Big Ten teams in there at the moment and I blame ohio state for that.  They are not eligible to be ranked (since they got unnecessary benefits and are cheaters) but they are doing all they can to beat-up a weak Big Ten so that none of those teams can be ranked.  Thanks a lot osu, this is why nobody likes you.  At least we only have to put up with the BCS for a couple more years...things have to get better, right? RIGHT?

End rant, thank you for your time. Go Blue!

At least this was nice...45-0