Sunday = Fun Day!

Robby's mom & stepdad came over last to visit, and of course watch the Bedlam game. Robby's mom graduated from OSU, but Grover was for OU - so it was all fun and games! They left shortly after the game was over and we crashed into bed!

This morning we left the house at 8 to head to Grandma & Grandpa's for the day. Aunt Martha was the only one left there from this weekend - but it was good to visit for a while! We left to come home at 2 and made pretty good time.

Tonight is finally TSO! Yippee!!!!!!! I can't wait!

Here's hoping I can talk tomorrow!

Lexi flies after her Kong on Thanksgiving

Yesterday was nice and relaxing. Robby & I slept in a bit, then got up and watched the Macy's parade. We went to get the front yard decorations at mom & dad's after the parade was over. Talked with them a bit and helped get their Christmas stuff out of the attic and the tree from the shed. We came back home and put everything out in the yard - I made a map of how everything was set up last year, lol - it was easy to get everything put back out!

Robby took the dogs out later and started throwing the Kong around. I came out with the camera and got these cool shots of Lexi flying after the toy. She caught it most every time - including once when she shot up in the air and caught it. Her back feet were a ways off the ground! I didn't have the camera ready, unfortunately!

I called PetSmart this morning and the district manager is on vacation this week and was busy last week. I should hear something Monday or Tuesday, though. Thank goodness, it's getting a little boring around here!

Wanda & Grover are coming over tomorrow night to take us to dinner. I've been busy cleaning the house - always fun. TSO is Sunday night...yippee! I just hope I can talk Monday morning! Last year I ended up losing my voice for over a week! (and last year's concert was December 23rd! It was a very quiet Christmas, lol)

Deck the halls...!

I put up Christmas decorations today! It was fun -- didn't take long since we don't have that many. I put the ornaments up high on the tree to keep the dogs away from them. I'm getting ready to go outside and put the garland and lights around our porch railing -- still have to get the dogs from mom & dad's house...and the collie santa hat.

Lexi's class went well last night. She was a little squirrelly at first, which was weird - but she was quick to settle down. She kept rolling over on her back while Lynne would be explaining something, which was funny.

I called PetSmart today to see if Sheri was working - but she's off until Friday, so I'll call back then and see if there's any updates.

Robby & I are hanging out at home tomorrow -- we have our little menu set (totally weird and untraditional, but hey...it's food.) We're having...get ready...chicken parmigan, pasta salad, corn, and deviled eggs - lol. Yummy!

Just a few more days before TSO - YES!!!!!

Lazy Days...

So this weekend was good, except for spending time at the hospital with mom yesterday! Glad you're back home and better -- now to just find out what happened!

Robby made three disasterous attempts at pumpkin bread last night. The first time, too much water (haha, he misread his own recipe...oops) - second time...just didn't turn out right - third time...weird taste. He called his mom after the second batch and re-compared recipes. Everything was written down correctly. Everyone who knows Robby knows he makes AWESOME pumpkin bread - and it seems to only be an annual occurance...so last night wasn't very good for him, lol. He was frustrated and rightly so! We ended up deciding to get some different flour, since the flour we were using was some his mom brought up I'm not sure how long ago, lol. We're going to try again tonight and hope everything comes out perfect!

I found out my final grade in Management is probably a 95 - yippee! We are getting a second chance at our Oceanography exam, so crossing my fingers we do good this time around.

Lexi's third class is tomorrow night -- should be fun. I'm going to talk to Lynne and see if she's heard any news on my job prospect, too.

Saturday night the dogs decided they loved chasing a laser pointer around. I had Skye, Lexi, and Drew racing from room to room and turning in circles (good work with Lexi's pivots, lol - now I KNOW she can turn tight!)

Guess I'd better go make dinner so the oven is freed up tonight for pumpkin bread.

There's gotta be something more...

Lexi did really well at class Tuesday night -- Lynne used her as a demo for leave it, and Lex caught on really quick! I need to follow up and work with her more, though. Her heel work went well and she's doing her turns a lot better now. We also weaved through some pallets of food and toys, and other than a few wide turns, she did good.

Yesterday I went with dad & Anya to get her final heartworm treatment. She's gained 10 lbs since they rescued her last month!! After dropping her off, dad & I went to grab a bite to eat and out to the World Show for our annual trip around the trade show and

superbarn. It was fun, as always.

I went to Home Depot and got some dirt to fill in the holes by the back porch. I put the ex pen up around them and then staked it in the ground. Hopefully the dogs leave it alone long enough this time!

We also got our Jeff Dunham Christmas special in last night!! My face hurt from laughing so hard after it was over!!! His shows just keep getting better and better! I got an email this morning saying on May 2nd he's coming to the Cox Center -- tickets go on sale in the morning and we're getting some. I can't wait!

I've been working around the house this morning -- I decided to put the tree up in stages this year since we have a few new guys in the house and I'm not sure how they'll react. So I set the bottom 1/3 up today and I'll leave that up for about a week before I add on the next layer...and then the next....and finally the ornaments! So far the cat is leaving it alone, but I haven't let the dogs out around it yet -- they're crashed out in the bedroom right now.

So, I also heard a song on the radio the other day and I actually listened to it. I never really liked Sugarland's music, but this song is good.

Something More (Youtube.com video)

There's gotta be something more

Gotta be more than this

I need a little less hard time

I need a little more bliss

I'm gonna take my chances

Taking a chance I might

Find what I'm looking for

There's gotta be something more

Catch up day

Yesterday I got an email from the lady we gave the cats to. She absolutely hated Electra, had put her on craigslist, and then accused me of various things, lol. I emailed her back, offered to take Electra off their hands - and I promptly get an apology for her harsh words, go figure. Anyway - Robby & I went to pick up Electra last night. They wanted to keep Panda, they loved her! Chunky (Electra) is locked in the front bedroom right now while I await a call back from Rescue. I feel horrible because just a few days ago I finally got an email back from them and I said "we decided to keep them." Grr...now I get to explain that one! Smudges wasn't too happy with us bringing Electra in, but she was over it by this morning.

I had an interview with JC Penneys yesterday afternoon. Came home with a job offer. I doubt, and hopefully won't, end up taking it. But if it doesn't work out with PetSmart for whatever reason, it's just nice to know I have a job to turn to. So if I happen to take it, lol, I would be working in the jewerly department.

Woke up this morning and we were all laying in bed (yep, all the dogs, Robby, and me...!) Skye was laying on top of me and all of sudden took her paw and swiped it across my face. Well, she hit my eye and popped a blood vessel....OUCH!!!!! It's still sore. I kept an ice pack on it for about 30 minutes, and then have had one off and on all day. I can see, but it's a little blurry sometimes, I think just from it being sore and me blinking and squinting it so much. It's a little dry, too.

I finished my management class today, yippee!!! I figured up my grade, and I have an 88 - but he still has to curve some of the tests and all, so I may end up with an A! Oceanography hasn't been as generous, though! I'm just hoping to flat out pass that class. If I don't, that's trouble. Big trouble. We have to take our second exam Friday, and then we're going to work on our final exam this weekend. Luckily, that is an open book test. I'm hoping with my research project (which I finished and turned in today) and the final exam each being worth 200 points (twice the exam scores) I'll be able to pull off a better grade. Plus, she said she'll be curving all of the grades at the end. :::crossing my fingers:::!!!!!!

Lexi has her second class tonight. I've had all the dogs playing in the backyard today, they've had fun! Hopefully she'll be nice and calm tonight, like last week. I think Lynne said we're going to work on sit (which Lexi obviously knows,) loose leash walking (or heel, for us), and then leave it...which she needs to learn badly!

It's Monday...!

For once I'm excited about it being Monday - how cool is that?!

This weekend was totally interesting! As you know by now, Sonny had his first UKC show (and mine too!) So I didn't make any stupid novice mistakes I was afraid of doing and after the first show was over, I felt like I'd been showing in UKC for years, lol. It was totally different from AKC in some aspects, though! Sonny won BOB all three shows, and two Group III's -- whoopee! I still have to figure out how many points he got, but I know he has two competition wins. He had fun, but he wore himself out, that's for sure! It was pretty cool seeing some breeds that aren't in AKC. I absolutely loved the Leonbergers, gorgeous dogs! There were four there...all different types, yet sooo pretty. The picture above is from the first day of shows -- I didn't get one with Sunday's ribbons in it. When was the last time I came home from a show and took pictures of the ribbons, haha!

Robby & I ran a couple errands yesterday afternoon. We went and bought a new tree skirt, and I got a new stocking. We worked on school work some yesterday, too.

I've been busy this morning applying for various jobs. Too many to list! I'm waiting to hear back from them, but more importantly to hear back from PetSmart.

Guess I'd better get busy finishing my school work - if I don't get everything done this week, there's something wrong! lol

I'm Free....!!!!

^ Fighting for attention from "daddy" ^

I walked into NRHA at 7:40 this morning, checked my email, sent Krissy one detailing where some things were, then grabbed my blanket, my leftovers from the fridge...placed my resignation in Dennis's chair and walked out the door by 8am. It was a wonderful feeling! It's so nice not to have the stress of that place anymore. If I never had to deal with the Board, I would have loved that job ten times more -- but as soon as the board got involved, it did a 180. And if you're wondering why I left earlier than the end of the month. I had heard some grumblings and mentionings that I could be let go earlier than the Slide. And, it just concreted that when on the conference call last night with the RHSF Officers that the president asked "Has Brandi left yet? I heard she turned in her resignation and was going to leave at the slide, but I heard she could be leaving earlier..." Yea, it was kind of interesting when I popped up and said "uh, Bill...I'm on the line." Open mouth, insert foot -- for sure!

At 11 I had an informal meeting/interview with the MWC PetSmart store manager. I think it went really well, I have enjoyed talking to Sheri. She told me she was going to forward my information to the District Manager so they could get me set up an interview. I'm still going for Presentation Manager, but if I have to start as a Pet Trainer again for a month or two until there's an opening elsewhere, or the Moore store finally opens, it'll be fine. I'm just anxious to find out more information!

Tomorrow is Sonny's & my first UKC show. We're entered in both shows tomorrow, and the show on Sunday (only one that day.) I've very excited and nervous at the same time! As Bethany put it in an email to her friend (haha, I found what you wrote!) "Sheesh, she was the #1 collie jr and she's afraid of messing up. haha" Yep - you're exactly right!!! I'm going to give Sonny a bath and trim some stray hairs tonight - and we'll be all ready to go in the morning. I hope I won't be too lost without my tack box and grooming table, though! I'll have to make sure I grab exactly what I need -- his collar/leash, a comb, maybe a pair of scissors? We'll see what happens!

Going to look around a few more job options and then take a nap -- I didn't sleep well last night...too much on my mind for sure! I need to fit some school work in sometime, as well.

Putting my foot down and then some

So yesterday was fairly eventful. I had my meeting with Dennis which lasted a good hour. Long story short - after sitting through the whole meeting, listening to Dennis what was expected of me from the Board, what was being said behind my back, and everything else...I handed over my resignation. I will finish out the month and at the conclusion of the Celebrity Slide, I'm outta there.

Lexi had her first obedience class last night and all went well. She was very well behaved (I think Lynne was impressed, considering last week Lexi was very obnoxious!)

Today I left the office at 3:30 to head down to the fairgrounds and help coordinate the Make-A-Wish kid videos. We taped five amazing kiddos and I can't wait to see the finished product!

2 years and counting

The house at Christmas last year

It was two years ago today that Robby & I signed on the dotted line for our first house. In that two years, it's been pretty interesting! We've had a number of animals come in and out the door, a huge hail storm that damaged our siding, light bulbs go out, replaced a few parts of the fence, and had a crazy ice storm that left us trimming trees up through this summer! The flower bed as also had a few different looks, and the final house in the neighborhood just sold a few weeks ago. Looking back, I wouldn't have changed a thing it did to get to this point. To celebrate, we're headed out to dinner tonight.

Work was absolutely, positively a pain in the behind today. Too much crap went on and I have a lovely meeting in the morning with Dennis. Needless to say, I will have my immediate resignation ready to hand over at a moments notice. I typed that thing up tonight (let me know if you want to read it...it's a hoot!) I will be working late Wednesday night and Thursday night this week. At least Wednesday will be fun - we're taping the Make-A-Wish kids for a video segment that will play at the slide. Thursday however will be a boring conference call.

Guess I'd better get busy doing the things I need to do around the house before Robby gets home.

Darn...

...the weekend is over! Today went by fast, but we got so much done! We ran our errands early this morning and were done and back home by 11:15. We groomed all of the dogs, cleaned our bathroom, and then started work on filling the shed. Robby & I ran to mom and dad's to start getting all of my stuff from the attic and their shed. Came home and sorted through everything. It was kind of nice to see some old stuffed animals, journals, etc. We got a lot of my dog stuff moved into the shed from the garage, and then also totally cleaned up the back bedroom. Aside from my dog stuff and the christmas tree (which will move out to the shed after Christmas)...all of the boxes are out of there!

We took our oceanography quiz tonight, and I did a lot of work on my management class. I'm trying to get as much done before the Futurity as I can since it falls on the week before class ends.

These pictures are from this morning when the Drew & Lexi were playing (and obviously Sonny & Skye not.) And...the one below is Drew hanging out on the desk while I type this!

Lexi is official!

I got Lexi's ILP papers in the mail today...she is officially known as Twister Passport to Paradise...yippee!!!

Ran around like crazy today! First stop was Hillcrest to take care of some things and hang up a poster there, then to North Pole City where I picked up a couple new ornaments (a horseshoe and a snowflake,) after that I went to the post office, then mom & dad's. Ran by McDonald's and grabbed a bite for lunch, then on to Norman to see if Jamie was still the PetSmart manager. Nope - he changed stores. Scrap that idea...left there and went to Atwoods to hang up a Celebrity Slide poster. Went home for a bathroom break for me and the dogs. Left home and stopped by Lumber 2, then Pet-Vet, Langstons, and Dad's branch (all to hang up posters.) From dad's branch I went to the other Langstons, Fox Lumber, some Western close out store in Moore, ACE hardware (they were weird...) and Bryan's (woops...Ft Thunder) Harley Davidson. Then I went to the dry cleaners, Tractor Supply, and FINALLY to PetCo. Never had a place to tell me no and had some people who were really excited and already saying they wanted to come - cool! I'm down to two posters. Robby got one hung up at work, too. It was a very productive day, and now I'm exhausted and so is my car! (For more information on the Celebrity Slide, please visit http://www.nrha.com/ and click on the Celebrity Slide logo, lol)

I found out Smudges likes to not only sleep in the bathroom sinks -- but she also likes to drink water from the faucet! She's such a friendly cat. She's sitting on the back of the desk chair right now just purring away.

Three weeks...

We're now down to three weeks before the Futurity Starts, yay. I'm ready for the 29th to be here...and right after that - the 30th -- T.S.O.!!!!!!!!

Haven't worked with Lexi anymore on training since Tuesday - yesterday's weather was bad, and today I've been working on a lot of school work.

Not much else is going on. I should have Sonny's registration number tomorrow for UKC. Then I have to hurry and get his entry in the mail so they get it by Monday.

Back to schoolwork - fun.

Election Day

Early morning...! It took us almost an hour and a half to vote this morning and for once I got paid for being late to work, haha. We had our Celebrity Slide meeting this afternoon. It went really well, and I'm very excited for this event. I have a stack of posters I need to get dispersed around the city to promote it, though. I already gave one to Bev for her clinic, and one to Lynne to put up in PetSmart, Robby is probably going to take one to work - and mom & dad are working on getting them up at their work. Only like 25 more to go, lol.

I had CGC testing to do in Edmond tonight and decided to stop by the armory and visit with Breawna & Bev a second. I got there early and took Lexi inside, she barked like crazy, so I quickly excused myself...but luckily before a lot people got there, I was able to do some heel work. She did good, but she was very distracted. Said hi to Beverly & Breawna then headed on up to Edmond.

(Breaking news...Obama was just projected to win the election - $#$@#@#)

Anyways...long story short -- Lynne said I could come up to her classes and work with Lexi. So I took her schedule and in the next week or two, I'm going to start going to one. I just have to figure out what night and time I want to go.

Lexi's Training

Worked this afternoon on heeling, left finish, downs, and stays. So far...so good! She somehow decided that the stay signal meant down...figure that one out -- I haven't even done down/stays with her! After all of that, I decided to do something crazy. I went out and laid an approximate 22' track on the sidewalk. I can only imagine what my neighbors thought with my scuffing me feet on the sidewalk and turning around every few steps to lay a bite of hotdog on the ground. She tracked it...of course picking up the hot dogs along the way and her biljac jackpot at the end...but it was fun! She never lifted her head, or turned around to look at me. Maybe we'll attempt tracking, too - lol