Things I'm happy for today

1. Getting into my classroom and getting things situated to where I feel I won't be too overwhelmed come Monday when work starts.

2. Finding the right length Ethernet cord for the computer in my classroom so I can move it to my desk and not have to keep it on the other side of the room.

3. Getting to listen to my Sugarland CD (now on my Ipod) which I haven't heard in ages. I made more heart soar! It's their first CD and I just lurve their songs.

4. Having lunch for the last time this summer with my girl, Jen, at Pasta House. Me lovey love their salad and spaghetti pomodoro!

5. Coming home to my doggy and his wiggle butt (no tail) and his deep throated growl of happiness upon seeing me. Watching him practice his roll-over for a cookie - he almost has it but he's so fixated on the cookie that he starts rolling over, gets there, then rolls back because he is just too excited and wants to goodness that smells like sausage!

6. Getting tagged by My Husband's Watching TV with the "Premium Meme Award!" Will have to work on that one later!

7. Finding one of my favorite bottles of wine among my many and excitedly having a glass early this Friday. Hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere! Plus, I'm home and I ain't going anywhere anytime soon!

8. Finding out I have a new follower! I'm up to three now! Hi to Cheryl! Thanks for following me!

9. Getting ready to take my last weekday nap of the summer! Sigh, I'll miss them, but I'm happy to be getting back to a schedule.

These things happen in threes...

They say bad things always happen in threes. My sister-in-law had to put her 3 year old Aussie to sleep the other day because of a severe case of IBD. It was so bad there was nothing they could find that the pup could eat and keep down. The did everything they could for her, but in the end, the Rainbow Bridge called for her.

Now I find out our good friends' German Shepherd had a case of gastric torsion and had to be rushed into surgery in the middle of the night. Basically, the stomach of certain dogs is free hanging and when it is full, if the dog gets too active, the stomach can rotate, blocking the entrance and exit, causing gas to build up. Luckily, mom was up in the middle of the night feeding the baby and immediately noticed something wrong with the dog. If torsion isn't corrected within a couple hours, it is deadly.

Let's just hope the rule of three doesn't apply here, because I do not need anything happening to my precious pooch or anyone elses!

My crazy bubba Vegas.

Un-burned Bridges

There are some things in my past that I am not too proud of. One of which is how I treated my very first roommate. I was in a crappy situation at home and desperately needed to get out, so I asked this girl to move out with me. We had worked together at a daycare, gone to the same high school and church. She was a ton of fun and I thought it would be great. Plus, there was no way I could move out on my own. I was way too much of a scaredy-cat at 22. I hadn't even gone away to college, so I couldn't imagine being on my own in an apartment, even if it was just 4 streets from my parents house.

Well, we got along great for the first 6 months. Then she started spending more time with her boyfriend, who had moved out of town. When she couldn't spend time with him, she was on the phone with him, and the bill was out of control (mind you, this was prior to the phenom that is cell phones and unlimited minutes and free long distance - we are talking 1994/95!) We started arguing more, and she started staying away more.

Eventually my best friend moved back from college and moved into the apartment since roommate had basically bailed. I had gone ballistic one day trying to find her at a friends house to see when she was going to pay for the phone bill and got a good stern lecture from the mom of that house - telling me to grow up. Me? I didn't think I was in the wrong, it was her!

Years later, reassessing the whole situation, I can't imagine what she must have been going through. Her boyfriend is enlisting in the Army, she is afraid she won't ever see him again. Her roommate's best friend is making the moves on your room and basically plans to kick you out. I hadn't even bothered to tell her that when the lease was up, me and BFF were going to get an apartment together somewhere else. I just assumed she would go with her boyfriend. I was a major bitch...

Hindsight is 20/20. BFF and I don't even talk anymore - she got married and that was the end of our friendship. I have always felt like crap about how things ended with roomie and wanted to make amends. Well, Facebook can be good for some things. She 'friended' me and we chatted - and the first thing I did was tell her how sorry I was for everything, and that I learned over the years who my real friends were, and that I was sorry for treating her the way I did. She was like, "Girl, please!"

Well today, driving over the house to replace some motion lights, I saw her and her husband outside of their house, just 2 blocks from our future home. I stopped and she hopped in my car and we chatted for about 5 minutes. It was so good to see her and I am so glad that people have this amazing gift for forgiveness. It's nice to know that we are going to be neighbors in the near future, and I can work on rebuilding that bridge I once burned to the ground. Time sometimes does heal all wounds!

photo credit

The New Baby!

I'm a proud new mamma!

Yesterday we put to rest Bessie. It was bittersweet, as I really hated that bitch for a good part of her existence but really wanted to treat her well the other part because, well, she was paid for and I liked not having a car payment. But she must have sensed my underlying resentment and did what all cars do faced with that situation, she hit me where it hurt - my pocketbook.

Let me tell you, a true test of a marriage is dealing with each other during the purchase of a car. If you can make it through the suckage-of-life that is the games the dealership plays, than you can just about make it through any marital crisis.

So yesterday we spent over 4 hours at the dealership waiting to put Bessie to rest. The question was, what was she worth? Luckily we got for her just about what it would have cost to repair her, so I'm happy. She really was an old cow, down in her years, ready to be put to pasture, as the saying goes...

And after signing our life away, this is what the proud parents drove home in...

photo credit

We even had time to drive to the forest and park it along a river just to get a beautiful picture of her! Ha! That's the color, too, Glacier Blue. Basically I have owned blue or silver cars, so why break the pattern now?

Hubby had only one request. He said, please do not name her after a cow.

Now what am I going to do? Any suggestions?

It's a woman's prerogative

I have been fussing for week's trying to figure out what to do with my layout. I want something cute, no I want something fancy, not I want something bigger, no I want something versatile. Heck, I don't even know where to go to get most of these things. So I'm going with the KISS philosophy -

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Next time anyone sees me change my blogger, smack me!

Could my luck be changing?

I'm a big time knock-on-wood type of person, but I think my run of bad luck just might be changing (knock knock knock - now you do it too...) Yesterday I had lunch with a girlfriend who was in desperate need of a shoulder to sob on. Her luck is about as bad as mine. The rental she's living in is infested with mites, and try as she may, the exterminators can't see to do anything about it. They spray, clean vents, etc. etc. and she still ends up with bites when she wakes up in the morning. Yowzer! That's a problem I wouldn't want to swap out with her, but I feel for her because she's at her wits end right now and she thinks not too far into the future she's going to end up in a padded cell.

Ewww... gross here's the photo credit!

Well, while we were leaving the little Mexican restaurant we dined at, I happened to look down and noticed a bill on the ground, bent down and picked it up and, voila! TWENTY BUCKS! Paid for our meal!

photo cred

Now this morning, my husband was watching Fox2 news while getting ready for work and he woke me up to say they were having a contest right up my alley - win tickets before you can buy them to So You Think You Can Dance. So I got online and entered, and at exactly 9:25 this morning Jill from Channel 2 called to tell me I had won 2 tickets! Yea me! Now I have to decide which of my two girls that watch the show with me is the other lucky winner with me... maybe I will make them do a dance off to decide a winner :)

SYTYCD photo credit

Now I just need to learn how to post videos from YouTube, so if anyone wants to give me some pointers, I would be most grateful!

A Mother's Love

I'm cleaning out our office today and I came across a piece of paper. Looking at today's date makes the paper even more significant. In exactly one month it will be the two year anniversary of my mother's passing. You see, on the paper was a poem I had found that I had planned to read at her funeral but that I just couldn't do because I was too emotional. Considering how emotional I have been lately, I feel the need to share it now.

A Mother's Love

Helen Steiner Rice

A Mother's love is something

that no one can explain,

It is made of deep devotion

and of sacrifice and pain,

It is endless and unselfish

and enduring come what may

For nothing can destroy it

or take that love away. . .

It is patient and forgiving

when all others are forsaking,

And it never fails or falters

even though the heard is breaking. . .

It believes beyond believing

when the world around condemns,

And it glows with all the beauty

of the rarest, brightest gems. . .

It is far beyond defining,

it defies all explanation,

And it still remains a secret

like the mysteries of creation. . .

A many splendoured miracle

man cannot understand

And another wondrous evidence

of God's tender guiding hand.

A picture of my mom and me (in our previous life.) photo cred

I heart giraffes.

When it rains, it pours...

And it's MONSOON season around here...

Along with my blahs the past two weeks, I have been saying for this entire summer that I want my car (payment free) to last as long as possible. Why? Well, buying and remodeling a home costs money, and a new car and it's payment would be the last thing I would want on my plate at this time. Well, Saturday while sitting in DQ's drive-through, my sweet little Bessie decided to send me a message, "Hey fattie - too much ice-cream lately, I can't take it!" and begins to chug her way out of the lot. So I carefully maneuver her fragile frame to our local shop with fingers and toes crossed that it's just a loose wire or the simple equivalent. An hour later the CarX guy tells me that Bessie is having a mid-life crisis, what with the thought of rolling over to 100,000 miles, and she needs some cosmetic surgery - new plugs, wires, filters, and some flushing should do it, all to the tune of about $700. GULP. OK - whatever it takes to keep my sweet baby running.

Flash forward to Monday morning, me thinking Bessie will be just fine and dandy. Haven't heard anything by noon, starting to panic. Nothing by 1:30, the sweat is beginning to roll. Finally, 3:00 rolls around and the phone rings. Dave from CarX tells me the worst possible news - TWO, count them TWO head gaskets are cracked!!! I have no idea what that means other than the last time that happened to damn Bessie, it cost over a thousand dollars to have her big ass fixed! For the love of all that is good and holy, Dave, how much would this set me back? Well, I faint (good thing I was sitting in bed when he told me) because he believes it could be well over $2,500 to get everything worked out that is wrong with my stupid Bessie.

My Sweet Bessie's photo cred

Whoa is me! The love of my life, my vehicle, my relationship with Pontiac is coming to an end. Not that my relationship hasn't been bittersweet, but there is no way on this earth I am shelling out thousands of dollars to fix a problem on a car that I have already fixed once before. Especially since it boils down to being a manufacturer defect that they don't want to take responsibility for. You see, Bessie's "moisturizer" is called Dexcool (evil evil evil), and it basically corrodes her from the inside out even though it is supposed to keep her cool when the going gets tough. I have had my share of curse words with the big dealership that she comes from. I refuse to ever do business with them again. I tell everyone I meet my whoas and hardships when it comes to their refusal to help me out when my warranty was up by less than one month and they refused to fix what was essentially their problem.

So now I'm here with a broken car, a broken heart, and a broken spirit because I hate car shopping. I have to work a new car into my budget, along with find a way to pay for these astronomical housing repairs. And to top it off, my doctor calls and tells me a test result came back positive so I have to go back in 6 months for a second test! WAH! And these things happen in threes, don't they? So what's going to happen next?

photo credit

I think I could puke from the thought of it all!

Busy busy busy

This past week was very hectic and hard. We have been getting my dad's house ready to be renovated so hubby and I can move in. But before all that, Dad's old stuff needed to be moved out. He basically has everything he wanted in his small apartment at the retirement village, so it was a matter of having an estate sale and then trying to get rid of the rest through Craigslist. Let me tell you, people on Craigslist can be I-di-ots! I did manage to get two big pieces sold, but not without my share of headaches. Finally this past Tuesday, the Salvation Army came and took the rest away. I stood there and cried my eyes out watching my childhood furniture being hauled off piece by piece. I was there all alone - my sisters weren't there, my dad didn't need to be there for his own emotional well-being, and my husband was at work. I texted him at one point saying 'this is harder than I expected' and when he called back immediately, I just cried! He felt so bad, and it wasn't his fault, but it's hard watching your childhood get loaded up into a van. It wasn't anything I wanted to keep, but it was a part of me that I had to let go, and it was more difficult than I had imagined.

credit

The next day I met hubby for lunch by his work. After dropping him back off, I started driving and ended up at Mom's graveside in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Again, I cried, telling her I was sorry it had been so long since I had last visited, and even more sorry I gave all her stuff away. (She forgave me.) It was nice to visit with her alone, because usually it's a group visit of my sisters and my dad. This time I had a chance to sit and chat alone with mom, which I hadn't ever been able to do before. I felt much better after my visit with her and decided I was at peace with all that I had been at odds over the past several days.

The long road out of the cemetery.

After leaving the cemetery I ended up driving towards the city and ended up at the new Citygarden. Very cool. Unfortunately, I didn't have my good camera, just my point and shoot, so I didn't take near the amount of pictures that I wanted to. I have fiddled around with Eros Bendato and made it into a design I like and will share here. I'm always leery about doing this because I'm afraid people might steal this and make it their own - so please, don't steal my work!!!

Thursday was dinner out for a friend's daughter's 13th birthday! I remember her when she was just turning 2! Nothing ages you quicker than a teenager being around, that's for sure.

Friday night was girl's night out for my sister's birthday. We had so much fun laughing and giggling. We went to Grappa Grill for dinner and had a little room all to ourselves, which was a good thing since we were a bit obnoxious with our giggling. We couldn't help it we were having so much fun!

Kathy, Laura, my sister Debbie, and the birthday girl (and my other sister), Diana.

Diana, my friend Jen, and me.

Saturday night I went with my sister in law and two of her friends for our annual visit to the Stages Theater in Kirkwood. This year we have season tickets, which has been fun. This past weekend we saw The Drowsy Chaperone. Check that off my list of never having to see again. Not a fave. Oh well. Afterwords, we always go out someplace fun for dinner, and this time we hit Stoney River out in Chesterfield. OMG! To die for. Expensive!!! but delish! I had salmon and we split a bottle of zinfandel that I have to find a wine store somewhere because it was the best bottle of wine I ever had. I enjoyed my dinner, was stuffed to the gills, and was glad I experienced it, but feel I don't ever need to pay that amount again on a dinner just for me. If you would like to see my meal, go to this site, let the pictures cycle through, and when you see the salmon meal, that was mine, and yes, it looked exactly like that - YUM...

Stoney River

Is there a doctor in the house?!?

I have been having a bit of writers block the past couple days. When I first started blogging I was coming up with a ton of ideas of things I wanted to write about, but of course, I didn't take the time to jot them down, and now I can't remember a single one of them. That may also be because my mind has been preoccupied with trying to figure out why my pinky finger on my left hand has had a tingling feeling in it for over the past week. Am I dying? That's what I have been thinking, which could explain the block in creativity on my part and the constant need to peruse the Internet for searches on WebMD for a self-diagnosis.

"Hello bloggersphere, my name is Angie, and among many things, I'm a hypochondriac."

"Hello Angie..."

It's been going on most of my life. Probably because I spent the better part of my years living with a condition that didn't get diagnosed properly until I had lived with it for 15 years. Nothing like reading every textbook on the subject, knowing what you have and having doctors dismiss you for one reason or another until you find the right one to finally say - "Why yes, of course you have Problem X - you have had it since you were 6! What do you mean no doctor has ever diagnosed you? Are they daft? Why it is as plain as the nose on your face that you have Problem X!" No Duh! was what I had been saying for most of those years. So now when something comes up, I take it upon myself to figure it out, thinking of course, what do the doctors know? I have diagnosed myself with Lupus, Deep Leg Thrombosis, Breast Cancer, and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome - all of which were deemed false diagnoses on my part - of course...

picture credit

But now I have had a faint if not utterly annoying tingle in my pinky and all I can think is MS. I am going to have a debilitating degenerative muscle condition to live with for the rest of my life. I'm going to eventually lose the ability to swallow (hey - it may help me lose some weight - bright side ???) I know - not funny, and I know I'm over-reacting, but the way I see it, if I stop over-reacting now, then all my false alarms will have been for naught. The day I stop over-reacting will be the day my splinter turns into gangrene and I lose my leg or arm. It's my nature to worry. And it's my husband's nature to drag me away from the computer kicking and screaming saying, "There is nothing wrong with you! Quick making mountains out of mole-hills. I promise you that you are going to be fine." And with a quick kiss on the forehead, he makes everything all better.

(But I still have an appointment to see my doctor on the 22nd. I am not taking any chances...)

101 in 1001, 2001, whatever it takes

OK - so I have seen this on other blogs and decided to try and come up with 101 of my own areas to try and improve on or things I want to accomplish. I have a feeling it is going to be very hard to come up with 101 because while on vacation in Nebraska, I tried to write down what I could think of and only came up with 20 something... I did steal one idea from another blogger, so thanks to Angie at Damask is Divine for number 1.


1. Complete the 100 snapshots challenge, which is a list of 100 words that you need to photograph. Here's the list:

• 1. Safety
• 2. Stale
• 3. Feathered
• 4. Hot
• 5. Open
• 6. Forever
• 7. Love
• 8. Touch
• 9. Colorless
• 10. Blue
• 11. Smell
• 12. Growth
• 13. Irony
• 14. Wrong
• 15. More
• 16. Feel
• 17. Muse
• 18. Child
• 19. Within
• 20. Pale
• 21. Earth
• 22. Torn
• 23. Scars
• 24. Stray
• 25. Drops
• 26. Against
• 27. Dry
• 28. Fresh
• 29. Covered
• 30. Bold
• 31. High
• 32. Shadow
• 33. Concrete
• 34. Vein
• 35. Rush
• 36. Yellow 6/17/09
• 37. Empty
• 38. Cliché
• 39. Central
• 40. Loss
• 41. Wonder
• 42. Sweet 7/4/09
• 43. Poetry
• 44. Heavy
• 45. Fall
• 46. Chair
• 47. Statue
• 48. Kool-Aid
• 49. Dark
• 50. Breath
• 51. Garbage
• 52. Silk
• 53. Teacher
• 54. Cream
• 55. Wash
• 56. Corner
• 57. Rose
• 58. Field
• 59. Two
• 60. Red
• 61. Music
• 62. Rope
• 63. Decrepit 6/17/09
• 64. Chase
• 65. Dream
• 66. Dance
• 67. Smile
• 68. Smirk
• 69. Reflection - this is the only picture I didn't currently take, but stole from a previous group I had taken last fall (October 2008)
• 70. Soul
• 71. Lock
• 72. Key
• 73. Rust 6/15/09
• 74. Find
• 75. Lose
• 76. Drag
• 77. Wind 6/15/09
• 78. Rest
• 79. Swing
• 80. Meeting
• 81. Vacant
• 82. Hazy
• 83. Release
• 84. Gather
• 85. Swarm
• 86. Road 6/15/09
• 87. Wait
• 88. Stand
• 89. Distance
• 90. Trapped
• 91. Desk
• 92. Detach
• 93. Shatter
• 94. Home
• 95. Shy
• 96. Tackle
• 97. Begin
• 98. End
• 99. Time
• 100. Life

2. Work out 3 times a week

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables

4. Eat out less and fix more meals at home

5. Take my vitamins regularly

6. Learn to meditate and do so on a regular basis to reduce stress

7. Restart my 403b when school resumes

8. Avoid the gossip at work

9. Try to remain positive at work even when things are falling down around me

10. Spend less time on Facebook

11. Get out to the Holocaust Museum for a tour

12. Visit more Missouri/Illinois landmarks, esp. in St. Louis and name them here when I visit them: (saw Citygarden on 7/15/09)

13. Go to Soulard's Farmer's Market since I have never been there

14. Get a friend (Melinda?) to spend the night at Lemp Mansion with me

15. Get to the Botanical Garden to photograph

16. Go to the Cathedral Basilica for photographs and to see the mosaics

17. Find a Jane Austin book and read it - figure out what all the fuss is about :)

18. Start recycling magazines, junk mail, and newspapers regularly

19. Keep up with the laundry, including ironing my clothes the night before work

20. Walk the dog at least 3 times a week if not more

21. Take the pooch to the dog park at least once a week when the weather permits - for his sanity and mine

22. Keep active with Dockdogs even if Kevin is out of town

23. Find a pottery class to take

24. Find a beginner's water-color class to take

25. Find a beginner's drawing class to take

26. Try the new restaurants listed in StL Magazine or Sauce by starting a supper club with my girls

27. Journal more/blog if it's not too personal

28. Remember to pray

29. Go 1 week without TV (except when I fall asleep - the TV has to be on for the noise and the light affects - don't ask me why - it's a bad habit)

30. Drink more of the wine that I keep buying - quit saving it for special occasions - life is a special occasion! (Dormfelder 7/30 - 7/31)

31. Visit mom at the cemetery with Dad at least once a year (went by self July 15/09)

32. Purge - get rid of all the un-necessary stuff around the house

33. Organize our paper files

34. Reduce if not completely eliminate my artificial sweetener intake

35. Study up on the natural sweetener Stevia to learn if it is any good

36. Check our credit report

37. See about closing out some old credit cards from stores I no longer shop

38. Organize all the photos in my large basket

39. Take the digital camera for a sensor cleaning before the warranty is expired

40. Stay organized at work and be less of a procrastinator

41. Spend more time with my sisters other than our monthly Friday night get-together

42. Plant some plants in the pots that have dead plants in them at the current time

43. Work hard on keeping the elephant ear and palm to stay alive, as they are the only plants you have left

44. Remember that my health is the most important thing and it should always come first

45. Take care of the Aztek so it can live a long and healthy car-existence well past her 6 years :) (Aztek died a horrible death as of 7/20/09 and will be traded in on 7/25/09, problems were beyond my control, more of a manufacturer defect than due to lack of maintenance, love and care by yours truly)

updated 7/11/09

46. Control my foul language - learn not to cuss. Do not replace cuss words with cutesy words, just stop cussing - period. Learn to live without your favorite word - the "F" word. It can be done

47. Make an eye doctor appointment - find an eye doctor to make an appointment with :)

48. Give blood, since the Red Cross keeps harassing you and you have such an important commodity, Ms. Universal Donor

49. Complete the shadow box for the Sammy Hagar concerts

OK - so I'm stuck. I will have to add more as they come to me, but I'm just not going to put meaningless things on here, as I tend to get overwhelmed with the everyday necessities as it is. As I accomplish things or make notes about them, I will add the notes in color along with the date.

Quotable Quotes

I love quotes. If I find one that I like and it moves me, I will write it down. I have been known to pull out my favorite and use them in a pinch to make my point during a discussion with someone. Mind you, I can't remember my name on certain days, but Useless Information and I are on a first name basis here - have been for a very, very long time.

Favorite Quote #1: Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall - Confucius. Now I have heard this quote attributed to some other guy, but I prefer the moral philosopher's version. As a teacher, I cannot tell you how many times I have whipped this puppy out with the older students who hate to try because they may not succeed. Sometimes the best thing you can do is learn from your mistake, get up, brush yourself off, and keep trucking. It's a tough concept to swallow at times, but it is so very important to learn.

Favorite Quote #2: If we hold resentments towards the people who let us down, we will be exhausted - Page-A-Day-Calendar. I found this quote on my calendar, at the most important time and when I needed it most. I had been harboring some deep resentment towards my sister about things that were completely my issue, and it had been affecting our once close relationship. I finally sat with her at dinner one evening and told her everything that had been bothering me over the past couple years, letting all my thoughts out - rational or not - explaining to her that this was how I was viewing the situation even though it may not have been that way for her. When I was finished, I told her that I was sorry for having kept it bottled in for so long instead of just talking to her about it and promised in the future to bring my issues to her instead of letting them fester. I cannot explain to you the relief and happiness I felt after unloading that evening. Simply by telling her my feelings, being able to let them go, all my hurt and anger just disappeared. It was one of the biggest life-lessons I learned that day. I did not once expect her to apologize for anything and she didn't have to because the problem had been me - not her. Letting go of that freed me. I just wish more people would learn to let go of their burdens that load them down, that tie them to the past. Those things can't be undone - but you can learn from them and move forward. It's always your choice.

Favorite Quote #3: No man is worth your tears, but the one who is, won't make you cry - anonymous. I have heard this one many times too, but Lordy, Lordy, it's so true. And let me tell you, I wasted a lot of tears. But as many a good country song say, you have to bless the broken road, dance the dance, and just live like you were dying - because when you do get there, Mr. Right will be waiting.

Now for a question about a quote...

If a rolling stone gathers no moss, then please explain to me why my ceiling fan can be running non-stop for a week, but when I turn it off, it is covered in dust???

Isn't that gross? Not my fan, but you get the idea of where I'm coming from...

Fireworks lit up the Sky!

I took these pictures on the Third of July at my sister's subdivision showing. It was a beautiful night, and the rain held off until the show was over - how nice of Mother Nature! I remember last year saying it was one of the mildest Fourths I could remember, but this one was down-right chilly! (OK, so it was the third - close enough!) Took these pictures with my hand-held camera and was pleased with the outcome. I guess I better be if the camera comes with a "fireworks" setting on it - I better get something for my money :)

The first three are my favorite of the bunch!

Dockdogs

A boy and his dog...

We have had our dog, Vegas, involved in dockdogs for over a year now. He really enjoys it, as do we. We have met a lot of really nice people who are involved in this sport who adore their dogs as much as we do. It's nice to know that there are other people out there that view their pet as more than just an animal, but as a member of the family.

We had tried other activities with our Australian Shepherd - agility (expensive and a lot lot lot of practice) and frisbee (cheap but if you have a stingy dog, well, just imagine trying to get the frisbee back...) We found dockdogs almost accidentally. We had gone to the end of the season Pool Paws for Humane Laws in Maryland Heights for a second try - the first year Vegas hated the water. Well, weren't we just tickled pink when he went bounding in the water like he hadn't a care in the world! He wasn't afraid of it at all, jumping off the side of the pool like an old pro!

So the following spring my hubby found a group in StL that gets together out in Wentzville for practice and we tried our hand at it. Vegas jumped right in for his toy the first time and couldn't wait to try it again. Mind you, he doesn't fly like the labs do (the best can easily reach over 20 feet). Our baby's best is just over 8 feet - but he's still learning. He has a problem with hesitating at the end of the dock before jumping off instead of going full force. Eventually with enough practice and when he builds up his confidence, he will figure it out and break 10 feet. And you can bet I will be standing on the sidelines crying like a fool because my puppy dog accomplished something huge!

Waiting our turn - and giving lovin' in the meantime.

Ultimate Air Dog Competition
at Purina Farms

First jump was better, second jump we seemed to skid a bit and lose our footing. All in all it was good practice at a fantastic facility.

Croc Virgin

I have a confession to make...I was a Croc virgin until this past weekend. I know! I can't believe it either. I kept thinking - they are a fad, they are going to go away, my husband can't stand them and he will kill me if I buy them. But all my friends were doing it, and I caved under the pressure and bought two pair at the outlet mall at the lake - a pair of chocolate and pink Cleos - LOVE them, and a pair of $1.99 bright red clearance crocs to wear around the yard when the dog needs to do his business.

My first pair of Crocs photo credit...

Now I have found on Common Sense with Money that they are having a Fun Giveaway Crocs Gift Certificate and all I can say is Wheee!!!!! Check it out here. I would love to buy another pair of Cleo slip on sandals in black and charcoal that would go with everything I own. Plus, it would be much easier to get away with wearing them to work without a frown being produced by my boss for my choice in footwear. Now, finding my size - 10 - is usually the biggest challenge there is... and hiding them from my husband :) yikes!!!