Snow, Ice or Nothing in Between

It seems like Georgia weather ( whenever it's not just plain HOT) is always in some kind of a flux.  From April to June the question is always - is it going to rain? Can we have our party/concert/picnic outside or do we have to worry about getting wet?

From January to March the BIG question is always SNOW?  Is it going to snow/sleet/ice.  The very second the weatherman says the big S word the whole city is thrown into a panic.  Especially since the snowpacalypse of 2014.  I can't say that I blame them. I was one of the lucky ones that was at home that day.  I had minor surgery and had the day off, but my poor husband( who neglected to listen to my dire warnings) spent 6 hours in the car trying to get home - and he was one of the lucky ones.  Many people spent the night in their cars or less than ideal conditions in a fast food restaurant or wherever they could find shelter.

So when the weatherman forecasted snow/ice/sleet for this weekend, we all went into panic mode.  FILL UP THE CAR, GET BREAD, GET MILK!!!!!  The world is going to end!!!!!

Now I can never figure out why people panic SO much - I mean we are in the south, which really means if we are stuck it's usually not for more than 3 or 4 days.  So can I do without bread and milk for 3 or 4 days?  Yep.  Will I starve?  Nope.  I have other ways to sustain me.  Tequila is always a good choice.  Or wine, or even one of the lesser drinks such as soda or GASP - WATER!

I have a whole pantry FULL of food that can be eaten - that frankly SHOULD be eaten and hey, I could probably benefit from being stuck in my house for a week, JUST to go through my pantry and clean it out a bit.  Since DH and I have been on a couponing and BOGO kick, it's getting a little full.

So bring it on Mother Nature.  But if you do, leave the power on please but kill the internet.  That way I can stay warm but not feel obligated to work.  This is the one time I won't be mad if Comcast fails me.

The Making of A Ribbon Wreath

Over the years of showing we collect a lot of ribbons.  I like ribbons.  I think they are pretty and some clubs have some really nice ones in some very unique colors and designs.(Ok yes, I will admit it, I am a magpie "OOOH SHINEY!")

I am fortunate that although I am the direct opposite of crafty, that I have been savvy enough to surround myself with insanely crafty friends.  One such friend even has her own crafty business( plug here - if you embroider or vinyl go to AllAboutBlanks they are the BOMB)!  Susan has already helped me make a fantastic ribbon quilt ( quiet applause) and this weekend we embarked on a ribbon wreath.  MUCH easier than the ribbon quilt.

To make said ribbon wreath I got one wire frame from Michaels.  Then went through and I picked the ribbons that would be the easiest to pull the ribbon part off of or ones that didn't have rosettes.  Once we had all those we cut them in half like this:

We had started out using the whole length of the ribbon, but the ever savvy Susan figured out we could use half of it.  Warning though, if you are like me, you WILL burn every finger on your hand with hot glue.

Then we added the hot glue like so:

It didn't take a lot of hot glue to make them stick.  Once the glue was on we quickly wrapped them once around the frame getting them as tight as we could without burning ourselves.  Susan was much more successful at this than I.

This is the wreath with the ribbons around it.  Now some of them could have been tighter- again this was our first attempt.  We liked the writing facing out to give it some character.

After that we just had to decide how we wanted to place the rosettes and if we wanted any full length ribbons on there.  Reilly had some really pretty and unique ribbons.  Some had paw prints on them which we liked so we added those.  I had one title ribbon with a different rosette on it, and one ribbon that he got at the last show for his Grand Prix run, so we added those at the top and the bottom.  Most of it was just eyeballing it and personal preference.

Here is the finished product:

I need to iron some of the ribbons to get them nice and flat.  But I am really pleased with the result.

Running Like a 10 Year Old

People are always amazed when I tell them how old Reilly is - " He's almost 10"  "TEN REALLY??" They always reply in shocked tones, despite the fact that he's now getting a lot of visible gray in his muzzle.  He looks GOOD for his age.  He's lithe and happy and I think the quirky ear helps.

I am always shocked when people with older dogs ( double digits) act like it's a death sentence.  " Oh my dog is 10- she's so old, she can barely walk" - Why is that?  My dog at 10 is running 3 day agility trials and loving every minute of it.  Even if he wasn't doing agility,  he is unstoppable at home - jumping over bushes in a single bound, running laps around our property, catching frisbees, and tormenting me and my husband when he can't go outside and play because it's too dark and/or wet.

Why should age be a factor in how our dogs act or feel?  Sure he might have some arthritis, but there are ways to combat that.  There are simple, inexpensive medicines that can help our dogs feel comfortable.  There are some more expensive ways to help with things like that, but they aren't always an option for everyone.  They best and least expensive thing you can do for your aging dog is excercise and GOOD nutrition.  Double digits should not be a death sentence.

To Blog or Not to Blog???

Yes, it's me again - I haven't blogged in - oh how many years now? It's been awhile, but to be honest, we've been busy. Reilly has been racking up the miles in the agility field

and we have been busy vacationing:

and working to pay for aforementioned vacations! - Sorry no pictures of us working.

But on top of that, I have this coworker who came in sometime last year ( I can't remember when she started) but she has raised the bar here at the office from the way we dress, to forcing us to go to the gym :) and now since she blogs( and she has asked MOI to be a guest blogger) I thought I would start back on my own blog again and see what I could come up with. I mean she actually has me wearing heels almost every day which, as we all know, is not my first choice of footwear. So bar raised people!

 And this will NOT be a blog just about my dog, or my agility. But about everything that goes on even if I just think something is profound - or not.

 And let me leave you with this - want to have a REALLY good tune at the gym? Something to pump you up and make you move? I ALWAYS turn to my man Pitbull. No one brings it like he does. A little bit of Fireball will get the blood pumping and the legs moving.

 Try it Mikey, you will like it. Guaranteed.