and began the next course in the lineup, Financial Statement Analysis I.
So far, so good. I'm learning a significant amount of info that is helping me daily in my job. It's exciting and motivating to feel empowered by my increased knowledge. After completion of the Financial Statement Analysis course I will have one more course to complete before testing for my certification to earn the designation of Credit Business Associate. I'm finally on my way to accomplishing something educational and professional.
Also in April, I finished my part time employment at Waterfall Canyon Academy where I worked with Autistic teenage boys. I loved those kids and sometimes felt like the mother of 11 teenage boys while working there. I still think of them nearly every day and stop in to visit regularly. As with most, the boys prefer that I only visit when I can bring Kenai too.
April opened up with our first exploratory trip to Reno. I studied accounting for the 8 hour drive west. Chris manned the driver's seat like a champ for the full drive and Wardy, our passenger, kept Chris awake and entertained for the whole trip. We all did a good job at our jobs that day.
We arrived in Sparks, checked into our hotel, and still had time to find a yummy, local dinner option. We chose Great Basin Brewery. The salads and beers were both winners.
Our second day was dedicated to researching home location options, the new QBP facility location, the area, restaurants, and bike riding. We rode several miles checking out neighborhoods for potential home purchase options. It turned out that we preferred hanging in Sparks/Reno more than Stead, where the new warehouse is located. We got a late lunch at Cantina Los Tres Hombres on Victorian Ave in Sparks. It was really good food and again, the brews didn't disappoint. Their rice isn't vegetarian but their refried beans are. After lunch we explored more of the area, this time by car to cover more ground. Our third day was a little less work and a little more play. We checked out a few areas of Reno, to include the area where the Patagonia outlet store is located. That place could cause me some trouble. After a good morning breakfast, some shopping research:
and a visit to said Patagonia Outlet Store, we took the afternoon off to have some fun. We won big at the Nugget.
After the Nugget we decided to adventure on bike for the remainder of our afternoon. We landed back at the hotel to trade the car in for our bikes. We circled the Sparks Marina path on our bikes and scouted out some waterfront condos that we had seen for sale on Zillow months earlier.
Despite the fact that these homes are out of our price range, they were far cooler in person than in pictures. And kids can dream, right? During our toodles around the Marina we decided on lunch at a brewery on the other side of the marina from our hotel. JB's Brewhouse. The beer was good but the pizza cannot be topped.
After dinner I got Chris to agree to a night out at the casino where our hotel was located. No driving, free beer, Blackjack tables for me, Jazz game on tv for Chris, it was a go! I lost $30 at the Blackjack table but played for a couple of hours and learned a lot. Chris played some slots but spent most of his time in the betting lounge with some pretty cool old-timers. We both had a blast but Chris definitely had to tell me when it was time to leave. The next morning we realized how old we are. Our last day was all fun. We spend the day exploring some of Lake Tahoe. We found this wonderful, beautiful, peaceful beach where we spent some time.
Our greatest Tahoe discovery was Mountain High Sandwich Shop. One of the only sandwiches worth driving an hour each way for. I'll probably do that more often than I should when we are Nevada residents.
This is the view we had the pleasure of saying goodbye to as we left the Tahoe area. There will be much exploring that happens there in the next few years. I am really looking forward to the new beauty that Chris and I will have the opportunity to discover together, along with our furries, of course.
Along with time marching on so marches closer our actual relocation time. We still don't know an exact date, but know that it will be sometime in September or October. In May I will also begin working from home two days a week in order to begin preparing for working from home, possibly full-time, when we get to Reno. I'm looking forward to this new experience as well.
Last week was noteworthy in fun. Sunday I took Goose on a mountain bike ride. He was in heaven, as usual. He behaved like a well-mannered trail dog, and he looked good doing it.
About 5 miles into our ride the poor fella had to give in to his injured paws and could no longer run. I felt like a terrible mother for allowing my baby to get hurt. And then came the real decision...to leave my bike and carry Goose back to the car? Luckily for me, a very nice gentleman who was hiking with his dog offered to walk my bike down the trail so that I could carry Goose, who couldn't walk. I hiked the 5 miles back to the car with Goose on my shoulders. We got home with all of our gear and in one piece. Goose was coddled and spoiled for a few days after that.
He healed up in no time and is back to his old self.
Tuesday was Cinco de Mayo and a birthday party for Daisy.
Yes, that is Daisy with the snarl on her face and the growl in her voice. Don't be mistaken, she knows how to party. Happy Birthday Daisy!
Thursday was volunteering at the Burrito Project in SLC. I'll eventually have more photo evidence of this but for now enjoy this pile of bikes that are about to hit the streets of Salt Lake to do good in the world.
We rolled about 500 burritos and then set out on our bikes to deliver them to the hungry people on the streets of Salt Lake City. This was a great experience from learning the story of how the Burrito Project began all the way to the delivery of the final burrito. We closed out the night with beer and pizza at Lucky Slice. On a day when most of the day consisted of rain we were lucky enough to have stayed dry throughout our activities that day.
Friday was new bike day! Lately I've been itching for a road bike to ride. I wanna go fast! My Cross Check has become my commuter/do-it-all bike. I love it but sometimes just want to ride faster than it's heavy build will allow. So it only made sense to buy a new bike just in time for Little Red 2015.
It greeted me bright and early Friday morning. There's only one good reason to come to the office two hours early on a Friday morning....building up a new bike!
As a complete bike it came mostly assembled but I still got to assemble what remained and tune up the bike with great coaching from Dustin Eskelson. He's a hero.
With rain all day on Saturday, Sunday morning the bike saw it's first ray of sunshine outside. She really sparkles in the sun.
On Sunday I took a 30 mile ride from Ogden to Centerville for Mother's Day dinner with Chris's family. The ride was great and I felt good. I think I'll be ready for Little Red in just a few weeks.
Instead of riding the bike back home after dinner I threw it in the brand new Kuat rack (we also got on Friday) for the drive home. Yes, it's just a bike rack but this is the one we have had our eye on since we bought the new car back in November. We finally have one of our very own!
So, all in all a very good "Quarterly Review". See you next time.
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