Just the little things

Sleep. It's kind of overrated. Actually, a lot overrated. I'm kind of happy I won't have to get into a rhythm after vacation for this coming semester. My earliest class is at 11:10am. I wasn't really even planning on doing that, but it worked out that way. So, I guess there's a cause for celebration. I'm really kind of excited to go back to College Station though. I mean, sure, vacation is great, but College Station is home. Houston doesn't really feel like home in the sense that I live there. I just come to visit. College Station is where we belong. We like it there. It's all about appreciating the little things in life. :)

Mhmm food.....

Thin cut pork in garlic salt and pepper dipped in flour then egg then bread crumbs and fried. Doesn't it sound amazing? It's called Schnitzel. Pretty much the best German dish on the planet. My mommy makes it when we come home for the holidays. Right now the smell is just drifting towards me from the kitchen. Mouth watering and sort of awesome. I would probably describe it as one of those things you could eat until you explode. Yep. That sounds pretty accurate.






In other news, my iphone comes in tomorrow! Yay happiness. :) I'm super excited but I know I'll have to leave it be to charge so if you absolutely have to reach me, facebook is the place to do it until Thursday afternoonish. I think I'm most excited about playing Angry Birds. I've gotten obsessed. Is that a bad thing? Eh, I would say it probably makes me part of the cult. That's about it.

Aside from that we went to the dog park today. Lots of running around for an Omelette and a psycho puppy. They got dirty as all get go like they do every day and both of them were miserable during bath time-as always! But, now I have deliciously smelling fresh jasmine scented dogs.

I'm going back home in about a week since I'm petsitting for a friend. I'm pretty excited since there's 6 other dogs and a cat that Vengeance will be living with for about a week. A good new experience for him and something fun for Shimmy. Lots of puppy playing as well since my friend has a sweet little border collie puppy too. School starts back the 17th and though it was a hellish semester Fall 2011, I'm ready to make it a great one this Spring 2012.

I also got super excited today because I bought Shimmy a Holt lead for her service work. It's not like she really pulls but there are times where she is more excited and rather than jerking her leash (which is the opposite of the type of training I'm going for) we're going to see how this head halter works for us. She did great trying it on and was only a bit uncomfortable. I think with time she won't mind it at all. Our next trial should be the last weekend of January USDAA show up in College Station. Still have to send my entry in but I've got plenty of time. Super excited to do some USDAA again. It's been a while. We've had a good start to the year so far and we're ready to continue it! :)

Feeding the Wolf

First off-Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe it's 2012 already. In March I'll have been alive for 2 decades. What a thought! Most people come up with resolutions for the new year, and although that is good, in order to come up with the resolution I think you need to reflect on what has happened in the past year and what you are going to do to change that. This popped up on my news feed on Facebook today. Aside from it looking pretty cool, I realized how much it can relate to how you view life and what you're going to do with the choices you have. You can either feed one wolf or the other, but the choice is entirely up to you.I also decided to look at this in the aspect of not only life but agility in general and the relationship I have with my dogs. It's unfortunate that a lot of people base their beliefs on dominance theories, alpha and pack leadership, as well as an intimidating relationship. I personally feel that this side of us feeds the evil wolf. It's our choice to blame our dog for our training mistakes as well as expecting them to carry all the baggage of things we wish to accomplish but then go wrong. I always tell people that I try very hard to base my relationship on trust and compromise with my dogs. Though we all can't be purely positive, let's face it, we've all been extremely upset with our dogs, but we can choose to rethink our choice and change our training plan. We can choose to follow the path of clicker training, positive reinforcement, shaping behaviors, and understand how truly incredible our dogs our. I will admit, all of Susan Garrett's webinars and posts have had me thinking about "Do-Land" a lot in the past half year. Even more so since I have Vengeance now but also how I've approached challenges with Shimmer in the past and how we may overcome them now. Sure, there are times when I get really upset and have a hard time living in "Do-Land", but there are many times were I sit back and realize that I've feed the good wolf and my dogs responses to me are much more positive and relaxed than if I were harsh with them. I'm not much of a resolution fan simply because it puts pressure on people and most of them never get followed through, but I've been somewhat working on this resolution for a while now, and I guess I've just realized that I can follow it through. There's so much to learn and the accomplishments can be massive, but you have to realize which wolf you want to feed to get to those accomplishments.

Aside from that Shimmer, Vengeance and I have had an awesome time during our winter break. We've done lots of cool things including plenty of relaxation. So, here are some cute pictures...

It's rough laying in a recliner all day....

Ducky killer puppy. Nomsnomsnoms.

Comfy Shimmy?Looking all growed up at 5 1/2 months today!

It's been a great start to the new year. Can't wait to see how it continues...

Hello Relaxation!

So, it's my second day of winter break and I'm just super happy the responsibilities of being a college student are gone for a while. This semester was a rough one and I'm so glad it's over. Hopefully I'll get my last few grades soon. My schedule for next semester is made and it doesn't seem as hellish as this years so we'll see how I do.

Aside from that we had our one day of AKC yesterday. Shimmer was a super star as always and Vengeance handled it all really well again. :) It was fantastic to see some good friends and be in good company. Measured the puppy who is about 16" right now I believe. I need to measure him again which I'll probably do soon. He played puppy recalls with some other border collie friends and recalled really well. Not to be outdone is big sister though who had a great day of trialing in a new environment. I loved the Conroe show site though pretty chilly it was a nice facility.

Excellent A STD-E. First run of the day and she was all over the place so this was expected. Nonetheless her dogwalk, teeter and weave performances were absolutely awesome. Good girl!

Excellent A JWW-Q/1st and AXJ! Great flowy course that both Shimmy and I really enjoyed. She saved my butt a few times and my handle was fairly questionable, but we pulled it off. *I should start my own handling system*-The All-Over-The-Place System. ;) Excellent B and MACh points here we come!

Excellent A FAST-NQ. We started really well and earned our points quickly but the bonus was definitely tough. Neither her fault nor mine. She just had a tad bit too much momentum to flip back into the tunnel. Ended happy and confident though. And we did a really nice teeter, too! :)

T2B-Q and 3 points. Our first time running this class. Of course now that I've run it I really like it and am going to enter this one as well. Yay for spending more money I don't have. Naughty 10th pole popper which we redid, but read my crosses and sends really well which made up for the time we lost. 14 Qs and 97 points to go... ;)

Excited also since we get to go to agility class the next two Tuesdays and then it's cancelled for the holidays. I'm just so ready to have some fun with my dogs and excited to have the free time to spend with them. It's the little things that count!

Holiday Moments

Now that school is almost over, I feel like I actually have time to update the blog occasionally, and I'm trying to remember to, because this semester school has taken over my life and I should really be updating more. We had a super busy day today with vet appointment for the puplette and he got his microchip. Poor guy was not pleased with the fact that there was a big needle that poked him between the shoulders. Good thing is he's taken care of and safe and currently passed out in his kennel with his mouth squished against the bars. I would attempt a picture, but I'd rather just enjoy the rare calm moment. We also took pictures with Santa! Shimmer has never gotten too since I've always either been a) too poor b) forgotten or c) too lazy. Since Vengeance has his first Christmas this year I figured it was about time the kids started the tradition. The picture turned out perfect and I'm super happy to have a picture to remember this year's holiday!Along with that, we were the guinea pigs and got to take some pictures before hand as we were preparing for the other people coming for pictures. One funny one that came out just had to be taken a picture of. We put the wrong side of the picture in and so the picture was printed on the side it wasn't supposed to and didn't dry. Vengeance looks like a pomeranian...and it just makes me laugh...because he could totally pass for a little puffball like that. Shimmy also looks a little funny and fuzzy. Needless to say, this picture is in close contention for best picture of the day with the one above.Shimmy ran lots of errands with us afterwards and we caught some good deals at Home Goods and Ross. A new harness for Vengeance so he can stop dragging me around like his bitch. Some new good smelling shampoo and cool Christmas gifts were also found. All in all it was a very successful day with two tired out pups. Tomorrow we'll just relax and prep for the last week of school. *Finally!* So ready for this semester of hell to be over. I want to spend time with my dogs...really really do. Love them to death for putting up with my crazy busy life style.

December Again Already?

Wow, who would have thought December would creep up on us again so soon? The semester is almost over, the weather is getting crisper, there are lights up in my room, and Christmas music plays while I study. Does this mean the puppy doesn't play with his hose anymore? Of course not. It's still warm enough in Texas to play a game of chase the water after I get out of class. Here's the little obsessed border collie during play time yesterday.He sort of kind of maybe loves that hose of his. First thing we run for every time we go outside. Vengeance and I play, while Shimmer sits and stares at us like we're retarded. Yep, works well.

Shimmer has her fun times too though. Enjoys going to work and helping out in class. We have a friend in the corp of cadets that let her wear his hat for a picture the other day. Shimmy is now officially a member of the corp of cadets at Texas A&M University!Pimpin; in the corp hat before Theatre History Class. Shimmy enjoys being a popular kid. No really. She loves it. The meaning "work" has her get all wiggly and excited every morning.

Aside from that I can't believe Vengeance is going to be 18 weeks on Monday. He's growing up so quickly. We had a fun time visiting the flower shop today and hanging out with our friend Molly. Monday I have Friday classes and two appointments, Tuesday I have Thursday classes. Then two dead days to study and attend reviews before finals. Two finals on Friday, and then it's home for the holidays! Ready to bring in a new year and enjoy the holidays with the kids! :)

OH EM GEE...a blog post!

Wow, it's been a while. Kind of sad how I haven't had a life. School has been beating me into the ground. Dear college...please have mercy. I just want an education! Aside from that, my last blog post was September 26. I've been long overdue. I'm super excited considering the fact that Thanksgiving break is coming up and the first semester of Sophomore year is almost over! It's been one hell of a semester. I kind of feel like this---


Extinct from my blog that is.

...Moving on...

4 days left until my Thanksgiving break. All classes cancelled on Wednesday which makes me smile...a lot. Not counting Thanksgiving break and weekends, 12 school days total. Epic win of awesomeness. My first day of winter vacation starts out with one day of AKC in Conroe! Should be fun. I feel like this blog post is sort of heading no where and that I'm just rambling. I feel like I've lost my mind.

In other news...the puppy thought it would be super awesome to eat his collar, cause ya know, they're not a fashion statement, they're a mid day snack. Also note, the lovely tag from Mad Dog Metalworks that has already taken a good beating (I'll be needing another one soon), and the rabies tag that, surprise surprise, we've only had since Saturday 11/12/2011. Am I glad he's loosing his puppy teeth? Uh, yeah! He kind of doesn't need those weapons of destruction anymore. It's safe to say, my hands, Shimmer's neck, and many other things have taken a fair beating from them. I swear he's a super good puppy though. He just loves eating things he shouldn't right now. And, what's really wrong with that? ;)

So many things to do though, I've been productive in the aspect of school work but lacking in general life productiveness. I've still got to start my Christmas shopping, which is normally near to done around this time of year. Other things on the list include purchasing food, because I am currently starving and there's "nothing" to it. We all know what that means-I'm just being picky. Oh, and go get a collar or maybe 50 in case Vengeance decides another collar needs a beat down.

One more awesome thing to share, though I'm sure most of you have seen it on my facebook page, Shimmy took a picture with and meet Reveille VIII on Monday! I've been wanting to get a picture of them together ever since I got accepted into Texas A&M. Yeah, our football team might suck, but our mascot is badass, and Shimmy thinks she's cool.

Ok, so I think I've summarized my life enough for now. But, I promise to start back up AND keep up with the blog again. I really do. And if I don't, blame school. It ruins the lives young people have...At least their social lives.