Been away from LJ for a while - just been going through a bit of a dark time. But I will try to get back on the wagon for May!
And on that note, have some MayDay festivities!
Click on the above to see Tonks and a particularly nice CPE Standard run - she had the fastest time of anyone, and that was with a bobble at the weaves (why she didn't just weave, even though I was slow to get there, I don't know, but that is the demanding mind of Tonks).
Countdown to craziness is beginning - I need to bake a few more things for the tracking test this weekend, and then my mother arrives on Tuesday - just in time for me to have to prepare for the USDAA IPO trial. We got a bunch of entries yesterday and today, including one poor soul that decided to Express Mail theirs, for $13! Why they didn't just email me first, like everyone else, so I could tell them it was no big deal to be later than today's "close date" is beyond me...*sigh*
Last night's agility class went well, I think, although everyone seems to have forgotten everything I taught them last session about weaves. The dogs still remembered, just the people forgot. Such is teaching, though.
And I am off shortly to teach the first night of the Handling Skills class - I have my notes and exercises all set - hope it goes well!
Three Things That I Am Glad About Today:
1. I basically have a textbook/syllabus already done for me for tonight's class (since it's based on a training book).
2. "Titanic" is back in theaters - and if the heavens align just right, there is a possibility that I might be able to talk T. and Brad into maybe going to see it with me at some point, which would be awesome.
3. When I told T. the above, he said "You're cute". :)
Daily Exercise: Exercise bike.
Card of the Day: King of Wands. A charismatic man who can transform those around him.
What I'm Reading: "Immortal In Death" by JD Robb.
Check This Out -
If You Sleep After You Study, You'll Remember More - Ah, sleep...
That's all I have for today - time to head to class!
Sirius and Tonks were soooo cute yesterday! The really adorable part was that Sirius was lying like this, only with his head just above Tonks (like he was afraid to rest his head on her). But then we stopped at a traffic light, and he accidentally touched her. Then, when she didn't react at all, he very obviously relaxed, and ended up like that. Tonks didn't seem to care at all - it was so nice to see this after how their first introduction went, five years ago this month, when he pointedly ignored her, not even condescending to sniff her pee. I was afraid we'd never get to this point.
On the subject of coexisting dogs, I did discover one problem today - we had a large fly get into the house. Sirius has a long history of actively and avidly chasing flies. Apparently, Tribble has the same interest, and if the two start going after the same fly, things are going to get hairy! Let's hope there aren't too many flies getting into the house this year!
Another month in 2012 has gone by (and wow, they really are flying by!), so it's time to revisit my yearly goals.
1. I will focus on one room in the house each month, and do a thorough cleaning and de-cluttering from top to bottom of that room. Sort of continuing to suck at this, although I did do a decent house cleaning for Brad's visit. But decluttering and thorough scrubbing from top to bottom isn't really happening. I really do have to get better at this :(.
2. I will set a daily exercise schedule. I'm keeping up with this most of the time - could do better, though. I think I need to be more of a competitive person to get the most out of the fitbit.
3. Read two books (fiction or nonfiction) each month by a new-to-me author. I think this will be better than going off NYT bestseller list, given the lag time of library availability. I will definitely appreciate recommendations, though, on good authors to try out! I failed this month (although I finished the Philip Rickman book). I did read a new series by a not-new to me author. Actually, I did read a lot this month - found lots of new books by favorite authors at the library, which kept me so busy that I haven't had a chance to start a book that was lent to me with high recommendations. Soon, though, and that will be a new-to-me author for this month!
4. Write up one aspect of the agility program for the wiki each month. I wrote up "How To Put On A USDAA PO Trial"!
5. Bake (or cook) one new item each week - there will be a focus on gluten-free or SCD compliant foods, but that isn't a requirement. But I would like to expand my repertoire, as well as establish some yummy snacks in the above dietary restriction venues. I made banana-coconut almond flour muffins, but wasn't terribly impressed with them. I didn't really do a lot of new cooking with the gluten-free month, just adapted familiar recipes to be gluten free (and not very fancily at that). So I'm going to chalk this one up as a fail :(.
Hmm...Not terribly stellar - I can do way better! Of course, April is jam-packed with a million things to do (and a visit from the parental unit - ugh!). Maybe I'll be caught up by August...
Three Things That I Am Glad About Today:
1. Just when I was thinking about old times with Brad, "One" by Metallica came on the radio. That came out back when we were at school and in a bowling league, and it was on the jukebox in the alley. I used to play it ALL THE TIME, and then others would retaliate with Clarence Carter "Strokin'" (a very disturbing song). Good times!
2. I baked my old stand-by, carrot bread, and it smells wonderful.
3. Sirius looked as young as ever when running around chasing the fly.
Daily Exercise: Wii Zumba.
Card of the Day: Nine of Swords. Too many sleepless nights worrying about things.
What I'm Reading: "Immortal In Death" by JD Robb.
Check This Out -
10 Books Every Fantasy Author Should Read - I...don't think I've read any of these - except the "so obvious we won't include them" LOTR and Narnia books.
Narnia-themed kid's playroom with through-the-wardrobe entrance - Speaking of Narnia...
ThinkGeek :: Star Wars Admiral Ackbar Singing Bass - It's a Carp!!
Tracking class tomorrow - fingers crossed the rain ends before we start. Then, to catch up on many various things - unfortunately, my plans to visit Brad are cancelled - no room at the inn, and 2 hour each way is a bit too long to drive for a trip to the aquarium, even if it would be fun :(. If it wasn't a Monday, I might still do it, but I'm worried about getting caught up in rush hour traffic in both directions - which is a scary prospect for me on strange highways.
Three Things That I Am Glad About Today:
1. That tomorrow is the end of gluten-free March! Can't wait for pizza. Or pierogis. Or pasta.
2. That the 21 clip DVD with slo-mos (also 21 clips) seems to have burned correctly.
3. That all three dogs are hopefully feeling better from the mild digestive distress they had yesterday. Hoping I won't have to let dogs out at 1 AM again...
Daily Exercise: Pathetic today - will try to walk lots tomorrow.
Card of the Day: Page of Pentacles. A child-like adult. One more likely to walk dogs than argue in court. One who is frugal with money.
What I'm Reading: "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris.
Check This Out -
Good Dogs Do Bite: Training Advice from the *Real* Dog Whisperer - Ian Dunbar is awesome. I went to a seminar of his, which only ended up with about 10 attendees, and spent two days, eight hours a day, totally enthralled by him - not bored in the least.
Researcher publishes specs for real Linux-powered Star Trek tricorder - Now if they could only get a Biobed. Or even a medical scanner. Anyone got a salt shaker?
Mountains of Books Become Mountains - If Kindles and other e-readers keep up their popularity, this art form could really catch on.
WANT THIS CHAIR!!!
I have spent waaay too much time today putting royalty-free music in the background of slow motioned agility clips. Not too mention, 24 of them were to be uploaded as 1080p videos, so the memory gobbling has been ferocious.
In between, I got laundry and dishes washed, and played with dogs, and roasted a butternut squash for dinner. Also watched lots of mindless tv - I've been making my way through "Charmed", "Gossip Girl", "Arrested Development" and "Private Practice". I watched the amusing Gratitude Festival episode of DS9 today, also. And of course, a 2007 episode of "All My Children" that some angel has been posting on Youtube. Yeah, still addicted.
Like I said, waaaay too much time working on slow mos - and I still have at least one more set of 21 clips to play with. At least, we're getting paid reasonably well for this - we did fairly well at the CPE trial, even though we didn't sell huge amounts of videos.
I'm considering driving up to New Jersey this weekend - it would be great to see Brad again, and his parents (whom I haven't seen in 12+ years, since the Event-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named.). And I would get to meet his kids - wild!
Leonard Nimoy on "Big Bang Theory" tonight - yay! Voiceover only, but still awesome :)!
Three Things That I Am Glad About Today:
1. The aforementioned Mr. Nimoy's appearance on BBT.
2. Roasted butternut squash is yummy.
3. Clean clothes and dishes.
Daily Exercise: Sparkpeople. I like doing the sparkpeople exercises, and I think they're helpful, but I miss getting told I have the body of a 25 year old :) (a la Wii Fit).
Card of the Day: Justice. Excesses have consequences. Keep things in balance.
What I'm Reading: "Three Bedrooms, One Corpse" by Charlaine Harris.
Check This Out -
The cool new thing with tweens? Sewing. - This is pretty neat!
Fashion It So | Haven - 1.11 - And a little Star Trek fashion snark :).
Senatorial Kittens - I wish T. talked like this in his sleep - it would be so much more amusing than his snoring!
That cake is awesome! Although, the lego portion does kind of look like it would taste like play-dough...
So, we all survived the weekend and the CPE trial, I think. Sirius had some jumping issues, but ended up with a fair number of Q's anyway. Tonks was quite bratty, and had a couple of outright "stay, I don't need no stinking stay" moments, but also ended up with a bunch of Q's. She also got a Zero point Snooker - which was totally her fault, because she broke her stay and therefore knocked the first red jump, from starting too close.
Tribble got lots of Lap-Warming Q's, and was even occasionally quiet in her crate. Occasionally. She had help in the noise department from Tonks, too, and Sirius chimed in when I ran Tonks. Although, at least no one left their crates without permission, unlike the neighboring hound puppy.
We didn't do too bad in the video department, although there's a few large DVD projects that I need to put together - hoping the software holds up. I really wish Final Cut Pro would get a third party chapter mark app - that would make my life definitely easier. *sigh*
Three Things I Am Glad About Today:
1. Wii Fit Plus said I was 25 today. Twenty-freakin'-five. Go me!
2. The dogs and I went to Hampton House, and they were reasonably civilized while walking, and didn't get as tangled up as usual.
3. I didn't have to teach today. Or tomorrow.
Daily Exercise: Wii Fit Plus.
Card of the Day: Death. The end of an era. Transformation.
What I'm Reading: About to start "A Bone To Pick" by Charlaine Harris.
Check This Out -
To Do List - I totally want to do the first one!
UPDATED: Excerpt of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir — TheBloggess.com - I can't wait to read this book! Warning: Do not eat or drink while reading this - your keyboard will thank me.
What Happens When A 35-Year-Old Man Retakes The SAT? - Yeah - I remember NOTHING of math. NOTHING.
Tee-hee.
Tonks had outdoor agility today - 70 degree weather with clouds (at least at first). Yeah, I was in a t-shirt before the end of March. But Tonks was a good girl, except that her A-frame contact disappeared when I tried to move laterally. But she kicked butt on her weaves, making my front cross plan pretty much impossible.
CPE trial starts tomorrow - I will have 24 runs over the 2 days and Friday evening. Ugh. Will be interesting, to say the least!
Today's big event was getting some emails from new people asking about the Intro trial - hopefully, we'll get some more entries soon!
Three Things I Am Glad About Today:
1. T. put out the recycle bin, which was way overfull.
2. I have most of the stuff for tomorrow loaded into the cars.
3. The reason Tonks was pawing at my sneaker yesterday was apparently because someone put a bone stuffed with liver in it - besides being just plain silly, at least it means that I don't have to worry that she is going to start chewing up my sneakers.
Daily Exercise: Running with Tonks for class.
Card of the Day: King of Wands. A man full of energy, charisma and fun. Takes charge of a room when he walks in.
What I'm Reading: "V Is For Vengeance" by Sue Grafton.
Check This Out -
North Carolina-South Carolina State Line Redrawn - This...is so weird. At least South of the Border is still, well, south of the border.
How ‘Hunger Games’ Built Up Must-See Fever - NYTimes.com - Sounds like it worked, too.
Etch-a-Sketch Mitt Romney - Would be funnier, if it wasn't so depressing. *sigh*
Sirius was super silly in obedience class today - to encourage him to go straight out to a center go out point, I went out and put some treats down. Then I sent him out - he went straight out, but couldn't find the treats right away, so I gave him a "look back" cue, and he looked back and found them. The second time I sent him out, I didn't put out any treats, and he was very puzzled and dismayed. He sat when I told him to, but looked intently at the floor where they had been, and then looked behind him, as if to say "Hey, where are the treats?".
Depressingly, we realized that we have to provide for people to crate their dogs inside during set-up this Friday, because the weather forecast is 80 degrees. In March. Ick.
Three Things I Am Glad About Today:
1. Brad got a callback to go for a several days working interview at one of the local vets, and will be crashing here again soon :).
2. Sirius really has fun going to obedience class.
3. I made another batch of pumpkin muffins and they smell yummy.
Daily Exercise: Exercise bike.
Card of the Day: High Priestess. A woman of intuition and secret knowledge. Reflect upon what you know.
What I'm Reading: "Stalker" by Faye Kellerman. Almost done, though!
Check It Out -
The Healthy Warrior - DATE A GIRL WHO READS by Rosemarie Urquic - This.
The 10-Minute Hack - Kind of like Flylady's "You can do anything for 15 minutes". I need to do this more.
The Urban Survival Skills Everyone Needs To Know - With 80 degree temps in March, it feels like the world is spiraling towards destruction...this could help.
Hedgehog!! Because everything is better with a hedgehog...
No classes tonight - yay! So nice to have an evening at home and not have to go out. I surprised T. by making shish kabobs - usually we have them from the barbecue, but it was pretty easy to use the oven instead, I just put them on a cooling tray, so they were raised off the baking sheet. But since we've never had them without him going out and firing up the grill, it was quite a surprise when I served them up :). Little things amuse me, what can I say...
Not much else to report today - I finished up the last of the DVD's and mailed them out, deposited checks, ran errands. Took the dogs to Cylburn this AM, and I have to say it was much to warm and humid to be the first day of spring. We better have an unusually cool summer, is all I have to say.
3 Things I Am Glad About Today:
1. I finished up the Blue Ridge show orders before the CPE trial.
2. I don't have to teach tonight.
3. I'm currently watching an awesome Sarah Michelle Geller in "Ringer" - fun!
Daily Exercise: Wii Fit Plus.
Card of the Day: Energy changing rapidly, lots of excitement ahead.
What I'm Reading: "Stalker" by Faye Kellerman.
Check This Out -
18 deliciously inspired sci-fi bento boxes too beautiful to eat - Pretty!
World's tiniest chameleon: How did it get so small? - So cute! So small!
Woof: Doggie ice cream truck debuts in Maryland - I...can totally see this. The dogs would love it!
The cuteness - it burns!!!
So, I took a bit of a break there. Between the travel to the Blue Ridge agility trial, and the multitudes of stuff on my plate last week, LJ went by the wayside. But here I am again.
We did pretty good at Blue Ridge, and it was a good steady stream, without the super craziness of a larger two ring trial. In fact, I got a ton of crocheting and reading done, in between sales. Not having to run Tonks helped, too, although I was bummed - I would have loved to run her on some of the courses. Lots of loops was the theme for the weekend, just Tonks' style. Sirius did okay, and got one JWW Q (and 4 PACH points), but he was not happy about the spread jumps, and skipped them several times. No one can find any physical reason, so at this point we're going to assume it's a depth perception issue. He may be mostly retired from AKC now - I'll just enter him in occasional runs, and do it just to keep him happy if we're showing Tonks. But in USDAA and NADAC, and much of CPE, he won't have to do any spread jumps, so we can focus on those.
But the best part of last week was the surprise visit from Brad :). He was heading to NC, and wanted to stop off for a couple of days on the way. He also ended up having a couple of job interviews while he was here, and they went really well, so I'm keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed. I haven't lived in the same town as Brad for almost 20 years, and the prospect of that makes me very happy. His visits have been awesome, and it's like we were never apart. Plus, the dogs like his girl border collie, Kelsey! (They haven't met Steady, the boy, yet - that may not go over as well). Tonks would rather Kelsey played more - but she thinks the same thing about many dogs. Kelsey may be the kissiest border collie I've ever seen, too. Basically, if her face is by your face, and there are no balls, tennis or otherwise, around, you're going to be kissed. At 28 or so pounds, she fits in your lap, too.
Anyway, this weekend is the CPE trial, and Tonks is totally out of heat now, so she gets to play. We haven't done CPE in a long time (especially with Tonks, since she was in heat at our last CPE trial), so this should be fun. Now, just to prepare for it...
3 Things I Am Glad About Today:
1. Sirius is very cute when he's prompting Dr. Lesser for biscuits at his chiropractor appointment.
2. Tonks is no longer in heat and we can get some sleep at night.
3. I am close to having all the orders from last weekend finished up.
Daily Exercise: Took today off, since I logged some walking both days this weekend - although not a lot, so I really should have worked out :(.
Card of the Day: Strength. Understanding and working with one's wild nature - combining strengths to combat weakness.
What I'm Reading: "Stalker" by Faye Kellerman.
Check This Out -
I can't believe they published this... - This...is the funniest thing I've ever read - it's NSFW, but really, you have to read it - I read it out loud to the guys this weekend, and had tears of laughter by the end of it...Just, really, just read it...
Terrible Listing Photos - Talking Tina needs to make an appearance in more pictures.
Uncommon Uses for Common Things: Summer Edition - It's not even spring yet, but somehow, this feels appropriate, especially if you go outdoors.
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