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.

Crazy but Good

The kids and I have had a crazy past week. Last week was full of tests and what not but we had a fantastic weekend. We packed up Friday afternoon and headed to Galveston with Heather and her girls, Karma and Blush for a fun weekend at the beach. Stacie and Ken joined in on the fun on Saturday with Riddle and Tryst and the dogs all had a ball. Shimmy actually really enjoyed herself and frolicked in the water like a "normal" dog. :) I guess she was just super excited since other dogs thought it was cool. Vengeance took to water like a fish and joined in fearlessly. He said hi to a few people as well and did so great in his first overnight hotel trip. Aside from that this week should be just slightly lighter since I've gotten all of my tests out of the way and am spending time getting ahead on homework tonight so I won't have as much to do the rest of this week. This weekend, we have nothing planned so I might see if some friends want to come over to snuggle with Vengeance and help him get used to more people. All in all he's doing really well with meeting new people and checking out new places. I'm super impressed. Poor Shimmer tore her front paw pads at the beach this weekend but is recooperating well and resting up. They don't seem to bother her as much as they did yesterday so I think she's definitely feeling better. Also excited for the upcoming Howl-O-Ween Festival end of next month. Shimmer will be joining in on agility demonstrations and it'll be awesome to get Vengeance out and about for something really exciting like this. Aside from that I need to look at my trial schedule and enter something else. I'm ready for some more agility. Lots of pictures from the beach are up on Heather Valenta's facebook-check them out they're amazing! Some of the most incredible shots. All dogs were captured really well. Lots of shots of Shimmy rolling around being an ultra dork and a few cute shots of the drowned rat swimming like a big kid! :)


Along with that, I took a few pictures on my phone today just playing with Vengeance. He's eight weeks old today! Can't believe I've had the little bugger for a week. He's turning out to be an absolutely awesome little puppy. Looks great, has tons of drive, loves toys, is really willing to do just about anything. Fantastic puppy! Can't express how happy I am with him. We'll focus on working on a few things this week now that he's had time to settle in and hopefully be able to report with some cool news of tricks sometime soon!

Tugging to his hearts content :)

Is it weekend yet!?

This week has been absolutely insane. With the new puppy coming home and the 4 tests I have this week (3 down, 1 tomorrow), I've been swamped. By this point I'm not understanding things anymore and doing more harm than good. My brain hurts and it's so hard to study for Calculus right now. So ready for the beach trip this weekend. Shimmer, Vengeance, and I are headed to Galveston with Heather Valenta and her kids to enjoy some beach time. Others will be joining us as well so this will be a fantastic socialization opportunity for Vengeance and a nice late birthday surprise for Shimmer. Speaking of birthdays, happy birthday to my best girl! She turned 6 today and had some special goodies and extra snuggles. I might end up buying her a new collar soon too. Gotta get her something. :) Aside from that I'm just gonna head back to studying now....might as well. Gotta get through tomorrow (at least it's a short day). So looking forward to sleeping a bit and relaxing. I need it!

This is the cool dog who has a birthday today. She thinks we should make it National Omelette Dog Day. :)

Welcome Home Vengeance

What can I say? I have a puppy. Still super hard to believe. I'm so in love with him though. The wait today was insane but I was able to prepare and feel like he's set. Melinda and her mom got to the house around 5:45pm and dropped him off (2 hours earlier than I thought I'd get him). Ginny took oodles and oodles of pictures and I took a few videos, which will all be posted soon. Right now it's just a bit hectic. Shimmer absolutely hates Vengeance right now and I think is just very confused. He however loves her and wants to play. He greeted all 3 other dogs with a burst of friendliness. He really is very social and loveable. Success was that he's already pottied outside and loves loves loves to tug. I'm excited to have a toy motivated dog that will hopefully play with toys even if there's food around though he is a little food fatty. He ate his dinner really well and then I used some more kibble later on to introduce him to the clicker. Seemed completely fearless and understood the click treat right away. He even stopped jumping up for the food. Such a smart little puppy! He's currently crashed but we'll play a bit more later and then I'll hopefully get some shut eye. Going to get up early to tire him out some more and make sure he has what he needs while I'm at school. For now he seems pretty tired though. He's being a very good puppy all things considered. I just absolutely love him. So excited for what's to come! :)