Steph's Little Corner of the World

Birthday Flights of Fancy

2011-09-27T09:41:00.001-05:00

For Doug's birthday, I bought him a training session at Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding. This is something that's been on his bucket list for years and so I decided that it would be the perfect birthday present for him.We had to be in Chattanooga at 8am which meant getting up at 4am to leave by 5. That was REALLY difficult. When we got there, his group did what they called "Ground School". They took a small training glider to their bunny mountains and learned a bit how to control it and glide and land. That lasted for about 4 hours in which I sat in the car and watched movies on the IPad( gotta love it!) and read my book.The one downside was that there was NO bathroom, so I had to make nice with the bushes in the area. Good thing I am not allergic to poison ivy!After ground school, we broke for lunch with an appt for his tandem flight at 3:15. We headed to the landing zone after lunch to wait for his tandem flight. It's really cool how they do it, they tow them up in ultralights and then release them when they get to 2000 feet. The couldn't do the run and jump thing - it's too difficult with 2 people.They took pictures while they were up there:

They had a camera mounted on the glider so that you got pictures of the whole trip. I got a video too, that I need to upload.He had a blast on the tandem flight - but it was a long day. We finally made it home at 6:30 in enough time to eat something and pass out. I had to get up early the next morning for our first dog show of the season.We had a really nice day out in TN - I would recommend them to anyone who is interested in doing something like this!

Long Time No Blog

2011-07-13T12:11:00.007-05:00

Don't I know it! Who has had time to blog with eveything that comes with the summer? It's been a CRAZY busy summer, but it's finally started to calm down and hopefully I will have more time to keep up with my blog.

And also as they say, no news is good news :) So we haven't had any devastating tragedies.... well nothing personally anyway.

Here at work, that's another story. We had a HUGE fire at our plant - I just happened to be there that day and it was pretty scary. Here's a picture from the parking lot:

Let's see what else?

Our nephew is in Afghanistan and so we put a yellow ribbon out on our tree in the hopes it will guide him home safely:

Also this summer, we interred my father's ashes down in Clearwater next to his mother. I think that's what he would have wanted and that means that I can go and put flowers on the grave whenever I am down visiting the inlaws:

RIP Dad

We are still in the process of going through a lot of his stuff. We got the house sold and his trailer. But we still have the van, and a lot of tools that we need to go through. That's been an adventure to say the least.

And last but not least, who would not want to see a picture of my LAZY dog?

Rolex KY 3 Day Event

2011-05-03T07:35:00.005-05:00

My friend Luann was kind enough to let me tag along with her to the Rolex KY Three Day Event(www.rk3de.org) held in Lexington KY at the Horsepark. We had such a great trip!!

Our trip started tentatively on Thursday morning, right after the devastating tornadoes hit GA and AL. We saw plenty of tornado damage on our way up 75 north.

We made good time and stopped at Keeneland racetrack on our way to KHP. Watched 2 races( bet on one and lost) but it was so much fun.

The first day, we missed the competition, so we just got our bearings and walked the Cross Country Course. They have the most amazing fences. They are truly a work of art!

This was one of my favorites. I love the detail of the fly on the tongue.

On Friday, we watched the Dressage and did some shopping. Rolex is known for it's fabulous deals on shopping. I got a nice pair of Ariat boots.

Here's a shot of the Dressage Arena:

We also took the opportunity to walk around the park and visit with the racehorses, past and present.

Here's Cigar in his pasture:

He wasn't feeling sociable that day. So we didn't get to really visit with him.

We also visited the grave of John Henry.

Saturday was Cross Country Day! What an extrodinary event that is. It's amazing to see up close and personal. We had so much fun. Then that night we had tickets to a reining event that they were holding at the horsepark. It was Freestyle Reining and it was a blast to watch.

Sunday was Stadium Jumping and the final day. Luann and I got there early to watch the jog, then scoped out our seats in the patron tent. We did manage to get some more shopping in also! The Stadium jumping was fun - but a bit anticlimactic since we already knew who was going to win. There was no way that anyone was going to catch Mary King. But it was historic because no one has ever won both first and second at Rolex.

And you never know who is around you at these events! Luann and I ended up sitting next to, and chatting up, the Chief of Naval Operations for the US. He was such a nice man! We really enjoyed talking to him. We had no idea who he was till we got in the car and googled him :).....

We made it home safely and I am exhausted, but I want to do it all again next year!!!

Introducing - Boutwell's Life of Reilly!

2011-03-02T07:52:00.009-05:00

We had a great weekend at the NADAC show and got our second Q, unfortunately it wasn't in the same class as our other Q, but that's ok! A Q is a Q. And, Reilly came in the top 5 in several of his classes which is really a big deal. We generally run in the largest class - the 20 inch or higher, which is also where all those pesky Border Collies and Aussies run. So for us to get it together and do that well was great.

And( drum roll please) for the first time ever in a show, he had a start line stay! AMAZING! Usually he's off and running as soon as I can rip the collar from his neck. But this time he sat and stayed until I released him. Again - AMAZING!

Our next show is an AKC show( ack! literally) and then an ASCA show, same day, same facility - we're just going to hop back and forth and make the ASCA show our base camp.

So since he had to have a NAME and be registered for the AKC show, his official AKC name is now Boutwell's Life of Reilly. Spiffy huh?

Here are some pics from the show. We had a great photographer who did a really good job getting the black dogs to show up well!

Happy New Year Everyone

2011-01-01T18:06:00.001-05:00

We had a quiet ringing in of the New Year. Our life has been so hectic since July and my father's illness then passing, we decided to keep the holidays low key.

Doug and I spent NYE just doing some chores and hanging around. We had a nice dinner, then watched The Grown Ups( suprisingly better than I thought it would be) and were in bed when the ball dropped.

I am sincerely hoping we can start 2011 off on a good note and have some better luck this year than last, or at least an uneventful year.

We're going to kick off our year with a NADAC show and hopefully Reilly will repeat his Q and we can get the ball rolling.

Most of all I am hoping and praying that all my friends and family have a happy and healthy 2011.

Sam Isaac Francis, Jr - March 24, 1936- November 29, 2010.

2010-12-06T07:43:00.002-05:00

It was a long and tiring week around here, as my father passed away on Monday the 29th. He waited till we got home safely from our cruise. He was asleep when we visited for the last time, but I think he knew we were there.

Dad and I weren't always close - he was such a loner, but I am glad he was with us these last 4 months of his life.

Our friends rallied around us all week - keeping us sane and helping with anything that they could. And I cannot tell you how much Doug and I appreciate their love and support.

The funeral on Saturday was intimate, but it was perfect, and we had friends back at our house afterwards to celebrate his life and it was a very nice evening.

I miss you daddy.....

We Had a Fabulous Weekend!

2010-10-13T07:29:00.002-05:00

What a great weekend we had. We had DH's 40th birthday party( thanks to ALL who made that a great success!!!) and Reilly and I had a good run at the last NADAC show of the year. He finally got a Q and in Regular of all things! He did his weave poles in a show for the first time ever, and I have to tell you I am a super proud mom!

I would love to wax poetic about the entire weekend and I really want to, but I feel like dog poop right now - I have picked up some kind of bug and it is taking all I have to sit upright here at work and type. SO, that being said, I am off to call the dr and see if I can get squeezed in, so I can get some meds - which will also lead to some sleep( I hope) for both me and DH.

Summer is over, or so we hope!

2010-09-24T14:11:00.002-05:00

WOW, what a long hot summer it's been here in the south. Its been totally miserable temperature wise, and just busy as heck. We did find time to sneak off to Williamsburg in July right before all the craziness started and I think that helped keep us sane, although it was almost a thousand degrees there and DH ended up with a tick.

But on the news front ( drum roll please....) the DH is FINALLY turning FORTY!!!!! He's the last of the "old gang" to turn and we all can't wait. It gets tiring listening to how old we are and he's not ;).... So let's all raise a glass to him on Monday.

Also having a birthday of some number not to be named is my friend Luann, so Happy Birthday to you too Luann!

Reilly is doing well. He's a goofball, but he and dad are getting along like gangbusters so that's good.

Busy weekend ahead - but it's supposed to rain on Sunday and usher in that Fall weather so I say Bring IT ON!

A Little More Under Control

2010-09-14T07:02:00.004-05:00

Life is getting a little more under control now that we have Dad on hospice and the visits are on a regular schedule. Reilly has gotten used to all the in and out of the house and he is almost inseparable from Dad when we are not home. It helps that Dad keeps treats in his room for him.

It's very sweet to watch Reilly go in and check on Dad. Whenever we go up the stairs, his room is the first place that he runs to poke his head in and he has to see what he's doing. When we get up in the morning, he immediately runs to his door wanting in.

I want to say how very thankful I am for our good friends. Without their( and you know who you are) physical and emotional support, this would have been a much more difficult time. There aren't too many people who would give up entire Saturdays to go and so some really heavy cleaning and lifting and I think that DH and I have the market cornered on those friends.... So our endless thanks to those who are there for us.

So right now, it's just a day to day thing. We've gotten back into a routine and are trying to be as normal as possible. Gym, Agility and dinner's out are the norm again and we are just hanging in there.

Tired - All I am is tired

2010-08-25T06:55:00.002-05:00

Yep, this blog is going to be all about me today. And it's going to be short and sweet. You would think with everything that is going on in my life, I would have plenty to blog about- and technically I do. But the flip side is blogging and sharing things that I just don't feel like I want to put out there in cyberspace. Most of you know already what is going on with me, and to put it into words would be, not only a lot of effort, but an emotional burden.

That being said Reilly is fine, we are fine, just going through a lot right now. But thankfully we have wonderful friends who are supporting us through this difficult time.

Don't know when I will get to blog next, hopefully Reilly will do something utterly fun and silly and I an tell everyone about it.

The Life of Reilly

2010-07-12T10:07:00.002-05:00

Oh what it would be like to be my dog! This past week we finally bit the bullet and enclosed the meadow below our house, or " the South Forty" as it is affectionately called.

It cost a bundle! Three gates and 698 feet of fence later and my dog is SO happy!!!

Friday night the fence was complete, so his BFF Gretchen came over and they had a lot of fun. Well, Reilly had fun, poor Gretch is a bit out of shape for that kind of running. But that's ok, we'll get her back in shape again.

Saturday morning Reilly got up BRIGHT and early ready to go down there to play. Unfortunately *I* was not up for going down there with him and the area is still new, so I am kind of still watching him when he's down there. ( Pretty soon he'll be able to go on his own).

We finally got down there Sat evening and played a bit. I was getting ready to head up to the house to get a drink and then call him up later when the coyotes started sounding off. So I thought better of leaving him down there alone.

Sunday morning when he got me up, I went down there with him and read my book, till he came up and told me he was ready to go back inside( this heat is killing us ALL!).

He's having a great time and I LOVE seeing him run full speed through the grass chasing his ball or frisbee! Last night he capped off his evening of play with a REALLY good roll in the grass. He was in heaven!

Summer is here!

2010-06-10T08:29:00.002-05:00

Summer is definitely here - you can tell by the heat, the humidity and my hair :). Also my dog is not eating which is a sure indication that it's just too freaking hot. Period.

Another fine indicator of summer is the fact that we got through our Summer Classic horseshow. It's something that I look forward to every year, and this year was no exception. We have such a great crew out there - I love seeing everyone - trainers, riders and show committee people and we have such a good time. Thanks to everyone ( especially Camily) who worked their butts off all weekend.

Horseshow related, we stayed at the "horseshow" hotel again. This is a hotel that is so close to the horse park in Conyers it's just too convenient to pass up. Last year however, we chose to pass it up because we couldn't stand it anymore. Between the grubby furnishings, uncomfortable beds and missing light fixtures/towel bars/whatever - oh and the rodent poop, we were done.

This year they PROMISED that they had done 1.5 mil in renovations. So we were very very optimistic and decided to take our business back there. Seriously, you can't beat it, it's so easy to get back there for a break, it's hard to resist.

Well um, I don't know WHERE they spent the 1.5 mil, but none of it got to my room. They painted the room, but * I * could have done a better job and I HATE painting. It was all over the ceiling and missing in some places.

We had NO towel bars in the bathroom, but you could see the holes in the wall where they used to be.

My pillows and linens smelled of stale smoke. Apparently none of the 1.5 mil was to go to Bed Bath and Beyond to get new pillows.

On the flip side, thanks to my bitching Cam and I got a HUGE suite with a balcony , which was nice, but when did we have time to enjoy all that room. The LAST thing I want to do at night after spending all day outside is sit on the balcony. I'm just sayin.......

OH! And they are charging a $100 NON REFUNDABLE pet fee PER DOG. Yep, that's going to draw the Horseshow people in. Really.

My vote is back to the LaQuinta.

The BIG 4-0

2010-05-25T08:32:00.005-05:00

Yes, ladies and gents, I turned the big FORTY this weekend - ugh..

In my honor, my DH and my friends threw me a John Hughes/80's themed party. It was supposed to be more JH specific, but it was REALLY hard to find costumes that would reflect the genius in his movies.

John was able to score a Red Wings jersey( Cameron from Ferris Bueller) and he's here with DH, pre party:

We had a couple of people show up as Bender( Judd's character from Breakfast Club) but everyone else just got into the 80's spirit.

Here is a picture of Catherine, Wendy and I - again pre party( There are some party pics floating around on FB, I'll let you hunt for those ;) ) :

( you can't see but I am wearing cool pink Converse sneakers!) My hair just didn't want to behave, but I didn't have long hair in the 80's so I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

Our friend Sarah came in a great prom dress she grabbed from a thrift store - it was awesome! I don't have a pic of that though, again see FB.....

We had a great time, some of us drank a bit more than others, and there are some VERY fuzzy moments, but I remember a lot of dancing, laughing and just general fun... oh and Bilijana is never allowed to sing again at a party - that was determined on the spot!

But the dance floor is gone, the only memory that remains is the lone disco ball hanging from the ceiling in the basement, waiting for the next big party. I love having a disco ball in my basement, it's AWESOME!

And A BIG HUGE THANK YOU to my DH - Cat and John( LOVE YOU GUYS!) and all my friends who made it a GREAT birthday.

And a big RASPBERRY to those of you who missed it( but not Susan, since she had to work and couldn't help it. She gets a pass)

What MORE Can I Ask For?

2010-05-05T12:46:00.003-05:00

Two weeks post surgery and BOOM - I am feeling like crap all week! What's up? I was supposed to be feeling better? I have nausea, I am achy and just generally feel like crap.

I finally called my dr today and WHAM - drug withdrawal. REALLY? SERIOUSLY? WHY did no one tell me about this post op? Shouldn't this have been included in the little packet I got on what *might* happen after surgery?

UGH! Double UGH! I *WANT* my life back. I am getting tired of this. I want to plant flowers, go to dog shows - hell - I would even like to mow the LAWN!

Grrrr....

Ok, enough whining, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Day 5 Post Surgery

2010-04-28T17:22:00.002-05:00

And unfortunatly Day 5 has felt like the past 4 days. But now the increased boredom is setting in.

Cat came over today and watched a movie with me which helped a bit, but then in a fit of crying got Doug to come upstairs and do the crossword puzzle with me.

I can't help it, I am irrational right now. And who WOULDN'T be? Not only am I laid up from surgery which sucks in itself, but I got my "friend" on Monday. Gee thanks God. Just what I needed.... Anything else you want to throw at me? A stomach virus maybe? That would be the great triumvirate. Poo.(literally).

Today I actually did feel like sitting at the computer a bit, and I am really only blogging bc I am afraid to get up out of the chair. I know it's going to hurt and well, I am just procrastinating really.

My friends and family have been great though( thanks for the yummy food Angela!) with flowers, food and company - I really couldn't have asked for more.

But I probably will - and soon.

The need for food is forcing me out of this chair and to venture into the kitchen and see where my DINNER is! :)

Love to all

Prep for Surgery

2010-04-21T11:24:00.002-05:00

Had the pre op today. Not my idea of the fun. I am thinking the surgery might be less painful. The poor woman couldn't find a vein and it took 3 tries to get 2 vials of blood. Fun for her - not so much for me. To her credit she was very nice and kept apologizing.

So that's all over with. If it turns out I don't have any jungle diseases then I will be cleared to go on Friday. Good thing - it's a short surgery. Bad thing- it's not till 2:30 or 3 - which means no food for me. But I will probably be too nervous to eat anyway. I did beg my dr to let me have something to drink - he said as long as I have it before 7am. So I'll get up early, chug some water and go back to sleep :). Speaking of water, I have been told to drink GALLONS of it to help with my vein issue( apparently it's MY issue, not the nurse's issue).

I should be up and around in no time. I can drive as soon as I feel like it, but I will probably stay down for at least the first week.

I have plenty to stay busy - Kindle books, laptop and of course tv ;).... I am all set!

Surgery - 4/23

2010-04-13T07:21:00.003-05:00

Well a lot has happened since my last post, one if which is that my disc has decided to bulge out( well actually UP not OUT - leave it to me to be abnormal) and so I am going to have to have surgery on the 23rd. I feel bad that I haven't blogged in ages, but truth be told, I just haven't felt up to it. These days it is taking all my energy to get around and act somewhat normal.

I have access to pain meds, but I am taking them sparingly. I don't want to have another hurdle to overcome once the surgery is over.

I am getting around a little better than I was a week or so ago. I don't know if I have just become used to the pain, or if it has gotten a little more tolerable. Either way, I am still not pushing myself. Although, I have been going to agility - more for Reilly than me. He needs to get out of the house every once in awhile. And we have been walking the courses. We have a show this weekend, it's only 3 classes with hours between them and I may still go and just walk around the course with him instead of run. It's not really about qualifiying, but he needs the ring time.

We just got back from a fab trip to Lexington and the Bourbon Trail. I will blog about that, with pics, in a different post!

Where Does the Time Go?

2010-03-15T12:08:00.003-05:00

Seriously??? Its been an age since I have blogged but I feel like I never have time to sit down and do it -well that and there are just times that I am NOT inspired.

Life's been running pretty much along normal lines right now - work, work out, dinners with friends and sleep. That's it.

We did have our first agility trial of the year a couple of weekends ago and it was nice to get back in the swing of things with the guys from Southeastern Agility club. They are all so nice and friendly, it's great to use their show as a springboard for the rest of the year. Kudos to them!

It was a good show as usual - and I have to say that Reilly has improved SO MUCH over last year. I know it doesn't look like it to the naked eye, but with a dog like Reilly it's all about baby steps. We are ECSTATIC that we can actually complete an entire course now. We might still get the big E, but we can start and finish and get around without me standing in the middle of the ring yelling for him.

All my other agility peeps have gotten qualifying scores and we haven't yet, which is a bit of a bummer, but I know that one day, if we keep working at it, those purple ribbons are going to pile up like you wouldn't believe. It's just taking Reilly a bit to understand it's a TEAM thing, not the Reilly show. He's remembering to look for me and not just run around willy nilly.

So we have another show this weekend - another nice and easy ASCA show. They are usually small shows which is nice, as they run fast and there's not a lot of hanging around waiting, like we have at the USDAA shows.

Ah and we DID buy some bedroom furniture for the other spare room this weekend. So that makes 2 full spare rooms, which is nice to have.

I can't wait for Spring. My fingers are itching to plant and dig at the new house.

Check out the video - this is a run at Reilly's last show. This is Jumpers. You can see we get stuck in the corner bc I keep pulling him off the jump to move to the left. Totally my fault.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=2AcsXDZwzaMWFq

He's home and he's sick( or driving adventures in the snow)

2010-02-14T16:52:00.004-05:00

DH got home on Thursday right before the snow started - thank goodness. Here are some snow pics in case you aren't on FB.

My snowy nosed dog.....

Our backyard was a winter wonderland. Too bad we really didn't feel like going out and playing in it.

So we've had a quiet weekend at home, both due to the snow and DH's illness - whatever it is that's plaguing him is a doozy - I don't know if it's super jet lag or if he's really sick. If he's not recovered by tomorrow, I will get him into the dr.

Meanwhile I did venture out briefly with Cat yesterday to go and see Mamma Mia( the musical) at the Fox Theatre. Thankfully we had tickets to the matinee, bc if we had to go out last night and see it, I think we would have passed. The main roads were fine - and we had no incidents till we got into a parking lot. We decided to use one down the street from the theater - it was easy to get into and it was only $10. So we pull in, only to find out that there's no more room at the inn. Fine. Whatever. I was tempted to curse the poor man into the ground, but since I am a Southern lady, I held my tongue.

In order to get out of the parking lot, we had to drive down a hill, and then back up the same hill on the other side. And since the owners of the lot didn't have the foresight to SAND or SALT the lot, this was trickier than it looked. We managed to get down the hill and turn to go back up without taking any lives or parked cars with us. BUT then halfway UP the hill, some MORON was trying to go DOWN the hill on the same side as us, effectively breaking the law of the parking lot.

We were at a standstill, on an incline in total slush. Icy slush at that. After the stare down(which I won by the way) he backed up and proceeded to descend the hill in the correct direction. But it was too late. At that point I was stuck. Not just stuck, but sliding.

Now I am not dumb and I was doing my best, but my car would NOT go forward, but just kept sliding down and sideways ( moving closer to aforementioned parked cars) everytime I tried to go forward. I had to lean out and tell the people walking behind me to please move so they didn't get squashed. And in turn, I had to ask them to tell the woman in the VW bug to PLEASE GET OFF MY A$$ so that I didn't squash her - well like a bug.....

But this NICE NICE NICE NICE NICE (forever my hero) man who MUST be a transplant from the north, helped me get my car unstuck( strike one for front wheel drive) and moving again. He literally risked life and limb - had I started to slide again, he would have been squished into another car. He pushed my driver's side door while telling me the best way to get my traction back. ( and as a side note it was nice to hear that the reason I was stuck was bc there wasn't enough WEIGHT in the front - flattery will get you everywhere!)

As we got moving again, Cat and I both rolled down our windows and screamed THANK YOU! I hope he heard us.

The musical was very entertaining and the ride home much less hair raising than the ride in.

Now, Reilly and I are going to go spend the rest of our Valentine's Day watching the Winter Olympics.....

Three Days and Counting

2010-02-08T18:19:00.003-05:00

till DH comes home and I tell you Reilly and I cannot wait! It's hard enough to communicate when he is in Europe, but throw in a 10.5 hour time difference and there is only a small window of time when we are all awake.

Fortunately Reilly has been a little more occupied this weekend than last weekend. My friend Adj brought her dog Doc( smooth collie) over to play with him this weekend. I wasn't concerned as Reilly usually doesn't have issues with any other dogs. But he seemed to take issue with Doc and for a few minutes I was worried we'd have to keep them separate for the evening. But after a few minutes of the growlies, Reilly play bowed and invited Doc into his world. The rest is history. They played all day and all night.

Then Sunday we had agility class and that got him thinking and he has been worn out all day. He slept most of Sunday and a lot with me today. I was home today with a sore back - and it's feeling better it- was a much needed rest.

My big plan for the entire time DH was gone - was to paint the hideous blue bedroom. Unfortunately I chose a nice beige color with a fancy name :) and it's going to take 3 coats to cover it so the room is NOT done. Not for lack of effort. Sarah came over and helped trim out the tall part yesterday( it helps to have a tall friend) and then Cat came over today and did some more work. So it's started and it will eventually be finished, just later than I planned. A snow weekend would come in handy to get it done.

Well my dog has deserted me - there must be something more interesting upstairs. And I guess I should go and eat something. All meds and no food is not a good combo.

Boutwell out.

He Went to Paris

2010-01-25T16:36:00.003-05:00

DH is travelling again, the first time in about a year. This trip is a 3 week long excursion to Paris, then India. Maybe Frankfort, but we don't know yet.

So he arrived in Paris this morning( midnight our time). I always ask him to text me when he lands so that I know he got there ok. Unfortunately this time I was DEAD to the world and having a great dream and my vibrating BB scared the crap out of me. But I was glad to see that he got there ok and texted him back. Apparently I was sleep texting because I meant to say: Sorry ( the trip was bumpy) and I am glad you got there. Apparently it came out as Sorru - I am glod I R there. :)... So texting at night is not my strong suit.

Meanwhile, back here, Reilly and I are going to try to keep busy while he's gone. I am going to take off this weekend to Charlotte for some girl fun and he's going to go to camp at Auntie S's house.

Then the following weekend we are having some people over, and a new doggie friend for him too. And if I have to, it will be DAYCARE for him :)....... So far he's been mopey though, so I won't subject him to daycare if he's not feeling up to it.

Reilly and I are also going to be doing some creative cooking... so stay tuned!

The Big Brewing Experiment(i.e. it failed)

2010-01-18T13:27:00.002-05:00

And probably for a number of reasons, but the beer never did get started fermenting. One reason could be that the weekend that we decided to do it, it was SO COLD outside and in the house, that it just never got to the right temperature.

OR it could be that we totally screwed something up( which is highly likely).

OR it could have just been a bad batch of something. Who knows? So DH dumped the batch yesterday( yes my entire house smelled like beer for hours) and so we will start over again. In fact, he should be at the beer place right now, replenishing the supplies. Must be nice to have a day off :). But we won't get to restart the brewing till he returns from his 3 week jaunt to Paris and India. But that's fine with me. It's an exhausting process and I need to work myself up to it.

Other than that, we don't have too much going on right now. The dog is going nuts being cooped up in the house so much with all the bad weather. He was playing with DH last night and now DH looks like scarface. Reilly got him good with a nice right paw to the face.

Back to work now... some of us have to work on this NATIONAL HOLIDAY. Whatever.

It Seems Like an Age

2010-01-10T19:28:00.002-05:00

Since I have blogged and it has been. I miss it and I am determined to get back to it on a regularly scheduled basis - maybe this week.

Life keeps hitting us with the unexpected here in the new house. This week it was a busted water heater. That's fine we dealt except that it took an extra day to get it installed since we had SNOW and ICE and the guys couldn't get here till Sat. So it broke on Tues -we had hot water on Sat. I finally got tired of waiting and did all the clothing laundry in cold water. And I got really tired of showering at the gym. But I have to say I am thankful that we had water at all. Had we had no water, it would have been a hotel for the 3 of us. There are 2 things I don't deal with well - no water and no AC. ( well and roaches, but that was when we lived in FL.)

I did feel a bit like pioneer woman, or like I was camping, I would heat water to wash the dishes - so it was a bit of an adventure. But I was drawing the line at heating water and scrubbing the clothes!

Today( first whole day of hot water) we brewed beer.... We did an IPA and in 4 weeks, we will see whether or not we spent 8 hours and endless $$ to poison our friends.

Taking DH out to dinner, since I missed my awesome dinner the other night and I am SICK of cooking.

TTFN!

Southern Gathering 2009

2009-11-11T12:52:00.003-05:00

Last weekend Reilly and I drove to Asheville to meet up with some of our fabulous Canine-L friends. It was a nice mix of people- some were old friends we'd met before and some were new - we know them from the list but had never met them in person.

Reilly and I decided to drive up Sat instead of Friday night, so we got up VERY early Saturday morning and headed up the road. We hit Asheville about 9:30 - just in time for Reilly to try his CGC test. Unfortunately the stars did not align and we didn't pass. But that's ok. We know what we have to work on and he was a good sport for trying so hard.

Then we went into Asheville and met up with a HS friend that I had reconnected with on FB. That was a nice hour spent outside catching up with promises to get back together again soon.

Finally we were on our way to the little community center in Fairview that was SO kind to let us use their facility and bring the dogs in. We were afraid the weather might be bad, so we wanted a place that had some shelter. The weather turned out to be absolutely beautiful though! We could not have asked for prettier weather.

We met some great people and dogs. One dog, an Irish Wolfhound*( Dancer) just stole my heart. She was a sweetie and so calm for a 14 month old puppy. I wanted to sneak her in the car.

The collies were there, along with Cooper and a little Corgi. Reilly kept pretty much to himself- by my side and if I wasn't available, he made straight for our friend Tim.

We had some great meals cooked by our friend Edie - and were all stuffed by the time we had to leave. But Reilly and I were exhausted and happy to get back to the hotel to crash.

After a nice shower, we got ready for bed. Now the one thing I could not figure out was WHY a dog friendly hotel had WHITE( nice) linens for the bed. I, unfortunately forgot to take a sheet for Reilly to sleep on, so we had to carefully remove all his hair the next morning. But WHITE? REALLY??

The next morning, we had breakfast at our favorite restaurant in Hendersonville NC - and then off home. It was a great weekend! The weather was beautiful and Reilly was so well behaved - and well you couldn't ask for better company!

We have MOVED!

2009-10-21T08:38:00.002-05:00

Finally the big move is complete! Thank goodness!!! Reilly is starting to settle in and we are slowly unpacking and finding our things.

Thanks to our WONDERFUL friends( Cat, John, Libby and Wendy) we are unpacked enough to function. Cat and Lib got the kitchen, pantry and bed set up, while DH and John got the movie theater running.( THAT thrilled the girls!). Then Wendy came over and helped unpack all the clothes. They are still in disarray, but we can at least get dressed for work. :)

We have internet, I've changed addresses on things till I am blue in the face. Got surveys done and hopefully will have a small fence installed next week. It's not as big of an area as we wanted to fence in, but we are running a bit short in the ready cash area. So we scaled it down a bit and it will be enough to get Reilly through the winter. He can at least go out and use the area, and hang out a bit. Fortunately, there is a nice dog park about 5 minutes away, so we can take him there for a good run, if need be.

That's all the news for now! I will post pictures as soon as Lib sends me the ones she took!

Pictures of the show

2009-09-16T09:38:00.004-05:00

I just have a couple, well that I would post. Dave did a great job taking pictures, I am just not that photogenic!

So here are some pictures of Reilly avoiding the weaves. He just won't get his head down into it!

Then here are some jumping pictures! The thing my little man does best!

( just ignore the poor human trying to keep up with the super dog :))

NADAC Trial and House stuff!

2009-09-10T08:32:00.002-05:00

We had a nice NADAC trial over Labor Day weekend. DH and I had to house hunt, so I only entered on Sunday.

We did our usual 4 classes - Tunnelers, Jumpers and Regular 1&2. Tunnelers was first and as usual, our first class was a blowout. He was getting used to the ring and there was a photographer there that was distracting to him. But he had fun.

We then had Regular 1&2. He did really well( for him) and I was very proud. Then in Jumpers he ran out of the ring and straight to his fan club ;) . Cat, John and the girls were there( along with DH) in their Reilly Tshirts! But he came back to me, once he had acknowledged his fans and we finished the course with a flourish.

The house is sold( we think - all that's left is to sign the mortgage papers!) and we put an offer in on a great house. But I don't want to jinx it, so that's all I will say about that ;)

Ok Ok I know I am a slacker!

2009-08-28T08:41:00.002-05:00

But we have been super busy with the house sale and looking for a new house. So stay tuned, I'll be back, I promise!!!!!

Weekend Wildness!

2009-08-17T09:22:00.002-05:00

What a weekend! Friday started out with Girl's night to go see Julie and Julia! Fabulous movie, I highly recommend it!!! Saturday was a little crazy running around - we got an offer on the house, so that put us in a bit of a spin trying to figure out what to counter etc.

We took Reilly to his favorite spot for a long walk. Didn't do my knees any good, but he had a great time!

Then Saturday night a LARGE group of us went to see Poison, Def Leppard and Cheap Trick. The group included John and Cat, Angela and her husband, Angie and her husband, my DH and our friends Bill and Susan. It was so great to finally meet the infamous Angie and we hit it off right away!

The concert well, was interesting to say the least. Not only were we in a time warp ( where DO people get these clothes from the 80's?? Even Jellie shoes!!!) but there were certainly some interesting characters at the concert. We had a great time watching the domestic dispute unfolding from the people in front of us. Lots of entertainment.

Cheap Trick and Poison were ok, but Def Leppard definitely brought their A game! Doug and I had seen them before and they were great and this time they didn't disappoint! The rocked the crowd and it was so much fun!

Thanks everyone for a GREAT time!!!!! :)

Catching up ( yes again)

2009-07-27T19:55:00.007-05:00

Where does the time go??? I feel like I haven't blogged in forever, and in the world of blogging I haven't. But we've been spending most of our free time getting the house ready to sell. It's been painted, spruced up and mostly decluttered, so I think we are about ready.

But this blog is not about the house, and it's not about anything in particular. We took some nice pictures this weekend and I thought I would share. Now if y'all are from the Atlanta area you will be familiar with most of these landmarks, but for those that are not, I will put a brief explanation.

( and please forgive any odd ramblings, I am on Lortab and flexiril and I am quite happy and content, albeit a bit high at the moment. Feeling no pain as they say :) - thanks to a sore back from hauling boxes around)

So here goes:

Ladies and Gents, the Big Chicken. A historical landmark in Marietta - Where you are in Marietta is defined by how close or far you are from the Big Chicken( and in which direction). The beak and the eyes actually work:

The next photo is of the Strand Theater in Marietta Square. It was restored to glory this past year and I do aspire to go see something in it, just don't know what yet.

The next stop on our tour is Kennesaw Mtn Battlefield park. A favorite of hikers, Reilly and Civil War enthusiasts:

And speaking of Reilly, no blog with pictures would be complete with out a picture of Reilly. This was taken this weekend at one of the many parks along the Chattahoochee River.

That concludes this evening's tour. I am going to head inside whilst I can still walk upright :).....

Good night!

Painting, Painting, Painting!

2009-07-14T11:07:00.009-05:00

We did a LOT of painting this weekend! In order to get our house sale ready, we had to have all the hideous wallpaper stripped off of all the bathroom walls and repaint them into nice soothing colors.

We hired a crew to do the wallpaper stripping - DH and I fight about enough home improvement stuff as it is, I figured stripping wallpaper might be the final straw.

So they started on Thurs and got the master bath and the upstairs bath stripped and almost all primed. The crew had to leave early to go to court( ok....) but promised to be back bright and early on Friday morning, and they sure were! I decided to leave Reilly home with me, just baby gated downstairs with plenty of room to move around.

Our great friend Catherine( who is VERY eager to have us move) came over on Friday to help and she painted the downstairs bathroom, as well as put in some new fixtures in the master and the downstairs. She brought her 3yr old Mary who spend the day playing on the Wii and petting on Reilly.

So the Master bath was painted Livable Green( Sherwin Williams). I tried to get some pictures, but it was really hard - the color didn't really come out. But those of you who have seen the wallpaper, will appreciate this:

The art was a little crooked( mental note to fix when I get home).

( sorry about the messy towels, I was just clicking away....)

So that was the master.

In the upstairs bath, I put Cottage Cream( Sherwin Williams). Cat framed the mirror for us and it has made all the difference in the way the bathroom looks.

You can't really see the color, but anything is better than the green and gold striped wallpaper that was up there.

And then last but not least, the downstairs half bath. Cat also framed this mirror for us and we changed the light fixture and added a cute little lamp. This color is Behr River Rock.

We also rented a storage unit and started to declutter the house. WHAT a job that is!

Hopefully the roof gets put on tomorrow, then we can clean the carpets and get the house on the market!

Fourth of July

2009-07-05T18:09:00.007-05:00

Happy( belated) Fourth everyone! We had a good weekend - lots of time with friends and family. My mother is here with her dogs, they've been here for a week now. Reilly and Shadow are getting along very well, which is a big plus - they used to fight a lot. But Reilly is exhausted. Shadow loves him and she will NOT leave him alone at all.

Here are some pictures of them playing with a stick:

This is Shadow appropriating the stick. Then Reilly decided to get in on it - it is HIS stick you know. It's in his yard:

I was worried, Reilly doesn't always play well but this turned out ok...

We had a great party at our friend John and Cat's yesterday. They always throw an awesome 4th of July party for their family. We had great BBQ( thanks John!) and Catherine always throws a wonderful party. They have a beautiful house and always have enough room for friends and family.

Today was a resting day. It's been raining here in Atlanta - DH and I planted some grass seed and took naps and did a little shopping, so it's been a nice day. We needed the rain for sure.

I hope everyone had a great 4th!

Trim the Fat Thursday!

2009-07-02T09:13:00.000-05:00

I think the Cheat to Lose diet plan is finally kicking in. When I stepped on the scale yesterday, I was down 6 lbs! Now I know I've lost inches too, so as miserable as this diet is, I am going to keep on for a bit.

My goals for this week are:

Get cardio in( my foot is healed so I should be good there)
Take my vitamins
DRINK WATER! I am so bad at drinking my water......

Have a great 4th everyone!!!

Trim the Fat Thursday!

2009-06-25T10:56:00.002-05:00

I have jumped on the bandwagon - Thanks Angie!!!

I've not done as well this week - it's been a rough week. I have had a lot going on, but I have been as good as possible. I'm not losing any lbs ( which is odd, but I need to get back to excercising - can't with the injured foot right now.) But I have lost inches, I can definitely tell there. So I am going to keep on, keeping on!

Bachelorette Parties, Swimming pools, dancing and a potential broken foot!

2009-06-22T09:05:00.002-05:00

Or what a GREAT weekend we had- well minus the potential broken foot( I LOVE you Bethy!!!!)

Our friends John and Cat, had their 10th wedding anniversary this weekend. So to celebrate, they decided to renew their vows and throw a small(ahem) cocktail party.

Well one simply cannot renew their vows without a proper send off, so the DH and I planned B&B parties, limo and all. Thanks to a lot of help from neighbors Wendy and Andy, as well as sister Elizabeth( the afore mentioned Bethy) and her hubby Sasha, everything went off without a hitch. Us women, went and had a wonderful dinner followed by a couple of hours of dancing.... the guys, well, we won't go there, but they had fun too :)..

After an evening of dancing( and a bit to drink) we thought it would be a great idea to go swimming in W&A's pool.... and that's all I am going to say about that. :)

Saturday was blistering hot in Atlanta, and once Doug and I were able to roll out of bed and make ourselves presentable, we went back to John and Cat's to help finish the set up. The ceremony was at 7 and it was beautiful and simple.

While pictures were being taken, Doug, Wendy, Andy and I ( along with these poor out of town souls that needed to follow us) rushed back to the house to set out the food.

And the rest is history. The food was great, the company was great, and the dancing, well the dancing was awesome!

The only caveat to the night, was that Bethie ACCIDENTALLY stepped on my foot during the first dance with a 4 inch spiked heel. It hurt a bit at first, but I continued dancing till about 1am, then we went off home. It doesn't really hurt - but it's purple and swollen and I am scared to try to get a shoe on.....

The DH blames it on my dancing barefoot( which is a HECK of a lot safer than me dancing in heels) but it would have happened shod or not, as I was wearing strappy sandals and NOT tennis shoes or steel toed boots.

I am sure the continued dancing did not help my situation. But it's not the first broken foot and I am sure it won't be the last.

But it was all worth it!

I raise my glass to another 10 years for John and Cat.

Tagged! Crazy 8!!!

2009-06-12T08:16:00.003-05:00

Tagged - Crazy 8!

I was tagged by Angela at Hello Dahrlin'! Thanks Angela!

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. Cat and John's 10th Anniversary Party and the fun right before it.
2. Disney in the Fall
3. Visiting Angela and Daniel and FINALLY getting to use the pool! :)
4. The Agility Seminar in Sept and visiting Janyne.
5. Agility Trials starting back up in Sept.
6. Meeting Angie at the Def Leppard Concert!
7. Mom coming to visit in June.
8. Cat and John's 4th of July party.

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Had Agility class.
2. Went to lunch with a friend.
3. Worked, worked, worked
4. Had Chick Fil A for dinner at 10pm
5. Read the paper
6. Loved on my dog
7. Worked on my Facebook Farm town
8. Slept like the dead!

8 things I wish I could do:

1. Go on vacation
2. Sleep
3. Sing
4. Dance better
5. Be disciplined about diet
6. Read as much as I want
7. Play an instrument
8. Eat cake and not gain weight

8 shows I watch:

1. Gene Simmons Family Jewels
2. The Closer
3. Leverage
4. The Graham Norton Show
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. Bones
7. Rules of Engagement
8. My Boys

8 people tagged:

(1) Janyne
(2) Ginny
(3) Robin
(4) Jane
(5) Natalie
(6) Lizz
(7) Penny
(8) Phyllis

Bark in the Park

2009-06-11T10:30:00.006-05:00

Last night was Bark in the Park at Turner Field - the Braves were playing the Pirates. But who cared about the game? The important thing was that we got to take the DOGS! A lot of people showed up with their dogs and it was really awesome. There was plenty of ice and water, misting fans and wading pools to keep the dogs cool. Reilly would have none of that, of course - he was having too much fun looking around at everything.

We went with our friends Mo and Veronica. DH was supposed to go, but he's sick :( So they stepped in and came with us. Reilly and I came dressed up - he was in his 4th of July Bandanna and I was in my Reilly shirt( a new one, courtesy of Cat. ) So everyone knew he was Reilly :).

We got there in good time and got some good pictures.

As any good mom would, I bought Reilly a 6.00 hot dog which he proceeded to spit out. Ok, ok, that was fine, I could deal with that. Then I got him some doggy ice cream which he usually loves - NOPE - no ice cream either. So I just gave up trying to get him to eat something.

He looked around a lot - and even went to sleep for a bit( not a baseball fan I guess) but was SO good for the entire time! I was very proud of him. He got through the scary bits, which included going to the bathroom with me. He hates bathroom stalls.

There were lots of cute dressed up dogs there, including a beagle next to us named Connor.

Here are some more pictures. We will definitely do it again, as long as it's a night game. The day games would be way too hot for him.

A BIG Thanks to the Atlanta Braves Organization for making it a great night!

I know, I know, I got behind again!!!!

2009-06-09T11:19:00.002-05:00

I know, I have gotten behind in my blogging again, but life has just been crazy! Between dog trials and horse shows and trying to get the house ready to sell, I haven't had much computer time. But I'll post a quick update!

The last weekend in May, we attended our last agility trial till Sept. We didn't get any ribbons, but for us it was pretty good. Reilly ran some nice courses, but we didn't get a good score for various reasons. One thing was that *I* got confused at one point and directed him over the wrong jump. And then another time, Reilly was tempted to go into the tunnel, instead of another obstacle. He was VERY good and did NOT go in the tunnel. Unfortunately, the tunnel was the obstacle with the ending timer on it, and by sticking his nose in there, he stopped the timer. So we got penalties for that. Then we had a PERFECT regular round but still got eliminated. Why? Because Reilly thought it would be fun to run the course with his leash in his mouth. But then I pushed him too hard and we did 6 classes and the last 2 he was just done. So those were pretty much a waste of time.

Then last weekend was the horseshow. I was paddock master, as usual, and I think we had a pretty good show overall. We had more horses and most importantly - SHADE! We shortened the indoor arena by 40 feet and that gave me and the horses some shade throughout the day. That was a real lifesaver.

This weekend should be pretty quiet, then we gear up next weekend for J&C's big Anniversary party. I've been trying to plan the bachelorette portion( yes we are going out). We ordered the cake yesterday and most of the other things are falling into place.

Also tomorrow night is Bark in the Park at Turner Field. So we are taking Reilly. I am hoping DH will let me dress him up in a bandanna, but I doubt it.

I should have pictures from that to post.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

2009-05-22T08:09:00.008-05:00

Yesterday I had a very awesome 39th birthday! I got TWO sets of flowers, one from mom and one from my BFF Margo. The ones at the top are Margo's and the ones here, are from mom.

I also got some lovely cards from the DH and my friends - and a couple of other nice gifts - money which I can always use, a tshirt from Rolex KY and a doggy frame which is always welcome - especially as we get more pictures of Reilly's agility.

My agility peeps gave me a party with cheesecake and cards and gifts. Oh and the work group took me out to lunch.

So it was a great day overall. Thanks to everyone who gave me birthday wishes!

This Weekend's Adventures

2009-05-18T12:27:00.002-05:00

or our first USDAA sanctioned trial.

First off my friend John says that I do NOT update my blog enough! So I am going to make an effort to update it more and more..... Thanks John for reading it religiously!

So this was a busy busy weekend( sounds familiar doesn't it?). We had our first USDAA trial and I decided to enter both days since we were so close to home. It was held at a facility 2 miles from the house - it was so nice to be the one close to home for a change.

Saturday started out the way I had expected. We entered the Gamblers class which is where each obstacle has a point value and you get to make up your own course, but you have to rack up a specific number of points in order to qualify. You also have to finish what is called " The gamble" which is a specific set of obstacles that must be done at the finish. And the handler has to stand at a distance. It's VERY difficult to do with Reilly, but it was a good way to let him blow off steam. We got 4 points - you needed 18. But that's ok! He got to blow off some steam.

We had some good runs on Sat. Nothing spectacular, but just remember he's still learning. And we had several of our friends come out to watch and support us. Cat and John came in their "Reilly " shirts and we had a blast.

Since it was the weekend preceding mine and Cat's birthday, we decided to do our annual birthday dinner on Saturday night. Thankfully the trial ended in enough time for us to go home and get a drink before getting ready for dinner.

We went to a renowned restaurant in Atlanta called Chops. You guessed it, a steak place. I had VERY high expectations and well, I am sorry they weren't met. The food was good, but the service left a bit to be desired. Is it too much to ask to get my water refilled??? Apparently.

But we were all very tired by the time we got home and I still had to get up the next morning to run Reilly again, so we called it a night.

Sunday it was raining and then it got cold, REALLY cold. And of course, here I am in my shorts and tshirt, bc I had no idea what the weather was going to do.

On Sunday we only did 3 classes - Gambler's, Standard and then Jumpers. Reilly was full of it in Gamblers and even made the judge giggle by running over and trying to pick up the tape measure to run around with. Fortunately it was too heavy and he had to set it back down.

We got through Gamblers and Standard ok, but by the time we got to Jumpers, Reilly was done. He was cold, tired and filthy and he wanted to go home. So we got into the ring and he just lost it. So we quit with a spectacular triple jump and left the ring.

It was a difficult weekend for him - the heights were set at 26 - which he can do, but it's stressful. And there were a lot of spread jumps and difficult questions.

He was so NASTY when we got home, he got a nice warm bath and put to bed. Just like me :)

No pictures, but DH got some video, I will try to upload.

Our next trial is in 2 weeks and it's NADAC. But for John's sake I'll post before then!

NADAC Show in Canton

2009-05-12T07:49:00.007-05:00

This past weekend, we attended a NADAC rated show in Canton, GA. Due to scheduling issues and some very important birthday parties, we only went on Sunday.

The weather was beautiful! It had threatened to rain, but we did not see any clouds until after the show was over and we were packing up to leave.

This was a big show for us since we entered almost every class available to us! We did 2 Regular classes, 1 Tunnelers, 1 Hoopers and 1 Jumpers. That made for a REALLY long day for both Reilly and I.

So we started out with the Regular classes. Reilly saw the first class as simply an opportunity to run around the field like an idiot and check everything out. Then he decided to humor me and go through a tunnel. Once he did that, I called him back to me, and we left the field.

Second class - still Regular( BTW, Regular is the class with all available agility obstacles) - a little better although Reilly got fixated on the tunnel. I kept asking him to go up the dog walk and he kept running through the tunnel..... I finally got him to go up the walk( at that point it was a matter of honor) and we finished the course, but got another E for eliminated! :(

Ok, no problem. So we gathered ourselves together for Tunnelers. Tunnelers is what is sounds like, an entire course of tunnels. Reilly LOVES tunnels. A no brainer right? Well maybe for Reilly but not for Mom. It was getting hot, I was getting tired, and I think I gave up on him 1/2 way through the course. I was exhausted..... the sun was beating down on me, and well, I screwed up. I got in his way, and he got mad and off he went. Right up until that point, we were having a beautiful run! It was amazing!!! And I screwed it up. Then he peed. Which is a BIG NO NO on the course! But as the judge commented, at least he peed facing out of the ring and NOT on the equipment.

Next up was jumpers. This was a course with only jumps. Great, easy peasy right? Nope. I screwed up again. When I put him in his sit, I threw his leash too high in the air behind me and he went running after it.( does this dog EVER get tired???) And he was off...... I finally got him back to me and we completed a spectacular jumper course! But got another E for him running off before the class.

Last but not least, the bizarre Hoopers class. It's simply a course of these hula hoops on their sides and you have to do a pattern between them. NONE of us had ever done those before, so we were all wondering how it was going to go. Reilly and I go in there, and he's wondering what the heck we are doing - where are all the jumps?? He kept looking at me like " Ok mom, I don't really *get* it, but I will do it if you want me to". And we got a 3rd place! Not stellar, but a nice way to finish the day.

The pictures that I have posted are from a professional photographer at the show. She and her husband did a great job.

Reilly and I have a big USDAA show this weekend! Wish us luck!

Car Update

2009-05-05T14:08:00.002-05:00

The dogmoble went to the body shop yesterday and apparently there is more damage than meets the eye. Luckily all the parts are in stock and will only take a day or 2 to get to the shop. The financial damage is around 4,000.00 and I am hoping to get it back by the 15th - which would be nice since we have a big agility trial that weekend and I would love to have my car back.

On the rental car side, my insurance pays $30 a day towards a rental through Enterprise. I am not fond of Enterprise, not having had good luck with them before and while the people there are nice this time, the cars are not the best by a long shot. The first car I got was a Grand Prix and it was filthy and had almost 40,000 miles on it - hard miles. I drove it over the weekend and decided that I really needed to upgrade. So the nice lady at Enterprise who has put up with me and my indecision, put me in a Trailblazer for about $5 out of pocket a day. So I am now driving that. It's still seen some hard times, but not as bad as the Grand Prix. And I feel much better being in a car that's higher off the ground and has more room for Reilly.

Tonight, hopefully, I can pick up the police report. I keep checking and it's never ready...... I hope that this guy has insurance and that he is going to have to pay for all this crap I am going through.

Happy Birthday Reilly!!!

2009-05-01T15:10:00.004-05:00

Today is Reilly's 4th Birthday!( or actually our best guess at his birthday!) He has become such a big boy- he's really matured into an adult dog over the past year and he is the joy in our life.

Happy Birthday big guy!!!! We've gone a LONG way in the 3 years that we have had you and I hope we have many more journeys together.

OUCH! or My Poor Car!!!

2009-05-01T08:50:00.006-05:00

Last night, as I was driving home, some punk kid decided that he couldn't wait an extra 30 seconds to get out of a gas station and he hit my poor car! I was stopped making waiting to make a left turn and he peeled out of the station and straight into my car's rear end! His excuse was that I was "inching" forward so he assumed I was going to turn. I wasn't inching of course, just sitting there at a stop.

So I got out of the car and started laying into this guy. Which probably wasn't a good idea since he could have pulled out a gun. Once I saw the guy and started to interact with him I was a little scared of him, so I called the DH and told him to get to me IMMEDIATELY! And to his credit he was there in a heartbeat.

Called the cops, they came in 15 minutes( a record I think!) and I was back home within 1/2 hour and on my way to agility in 45 minutes.

I think they cited him - which is good, I just hope he has good insurance. It's going to cost a pretty penny to cover my car, my car rental and the deductible.

It just makes me mad because it was a STUPID move on his part and now *I* am inconvenienced for at least a month if not more, in not having my car! Kudos to Liberty Mutual. They are covering a car for me for $30 a day and then I am paying an extra $1 a day to get a premium sized car. I refuse to drive around Atlanta in a dinky tin can. Plus Reilly has to have enough room to move around.

His car might have been damaged, but who could tell bc it was a true piece of crap.

And I had a hard time sleeping last night bc if you can't tell I am still MAD! ARGH!

On the bright side, Reilly ROCKED his agility class last night!

Here are some more pics of my poor car:

A Really Close Call!

2009-04-27T12:04:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, DH and I decided it that we needed to get outside and do some yard work. His garganutan task was to trim the bushes in front of the windows. So he's going at it with the electric saw thingys when he spots this:

OOPS! Thank goodness he didn't get it with the trimmers! He continued to trim around them, and then once we were done, covered them up a bit with some debris to hopefully keep them hidden from predators.

Pictures Pictures!!!!!

2009-04-20T18:37:00.006-05:00

( Clicking on the image should make it bigger)

I finally have some pictures! I wasn't able to find the cord to connect the camera to the laptop before!

Here are pictures of the Buffett concert. I will have to post Charleston pictures later, as I forgot to take my camera into town and I have to get them from my friend. So the picture at the top is the whole gang getting ready to go into the concert.

Here are Carol and Penny getting their drink on - believe it or not, this was early in the afternoon!

We got out to the parking lot MUCH later than we intended. There were rumors swirling around that they weren't going to open the gates to the parking lot until 4pm - their goal is to get us to buy more drink inside, instead of doing all the drinking outside. We called the site to confirm this and they said - yes 4pm. Then I got a text - too late- from my friend who said that they had opened the gates at 12:45! That's ok though - as you can see from the next few pictures, we still had a pretty good time. The concert was awesome! There is NEVER enough time for him to play all his music. But we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful Atlanta day. And we had a nice cool evening- I think it was the first Buffett concert where I wasn't drenched in sweat.

Off on a Little Vaca!

2009-04-10T12:17:00.001-05:00

We are off on a little vacation to Charleston then back home for the Jimmy Buffett concert( cool pics to follow next week).

Reilly is going to the spa - aka Atlanta Dog Trainer - to stay with Mimi and Sonja and be spoiled while we are away.

Our days in Charleston include a day at the spa for Cat and I while the men golf.

And on Thurs my BFF comes to town for the JB concert!

So stay tuned and HAPPY EASTER!

Rain, Rain GO AWAY!

2009-03-30T11:22:00.002-05:00

Seriously now! I know we are in a drought and I should be thankful for the rain( and I am ) but it's getting a little ridiculous around here. Too many plans have had to be canceled thanks to the wet stuff and I am getting a little tired of it. Plus I feel like there is mold and green ickies growing everywhere and I can't keep my kitchen floor clean( Thanks Reilly :) ) .....

... it's Spring and that's how it goes... but I have some VERY important outdoor activities coming up and I don't want them to be ruined.

Plus I have enough on my plate on a daily basis with the crackhead, without adding 4 days of ugly, " we can't go outside" weather on top of it.

Last night he was a NIGHTMARE at agility class and I have the scars to prove it. Apparently Reilly thought that it would amuse him to constantly bite me while running around the agility course. You know they say the best thing is to ignore this kind of behavior, but it's not that easy if you are getting chunks taken out of you as you run around. He wasn't being mean or malicious about it, he's just a mouthy boy and that's how he expresses himself. Should this continue this week, you will see his freedom of expression get squashed fast!

That is, if we get to have class - depending on the weather.

What a Weekend!

2009-03-23T10:48:00.002-05:00

WOW! What a weekend we had! Saturday started out with agility class - where I was a totally idiot and couldn't remember a course to save my life! Then moved on to lunch with an old HS friend and concluded with a Southern Living party and dinner with friends.

Sunday was exhausting but wonderful! I took Reilly to his second agility trial and he was a total rockstar! When I got there I was seriously considering pulling out and not running at all - it was being held in a HUGE open field. There were some barriers around the sides and back but NOTHING at all in the front - just vast openness..... Um, not good with a dog that can run 300 miles and hour and be gone in an instant!

BUT my wonderful agility friends convinced me that it would be fine and that they would be there to run interferance in case of a break for freedom. DH was there too, and the hope would be that Reilly would run right to him.

Our first class was Jumpers and he was fantastic! We came in 5th out of 6, but the best part was we didn't get a big E for elimination!! We would have scored higher, but Reilly went into the wrong tunnel. I was able to call him out before he completed the tunnel, but we lost points for that.

The second class was Regulars which is all the obstacles in Agility. He was trucking around the course like a veteran - until the last 2 jumps. He came off the teeter and took off running for his daddy who was standing at the edge of the ring. I was too far behind him to get him back and since there was no barrier in front, there was nothing to stop the run. But that's fine. We got an E, but I was so proud of him for getting that far.

Then the last class was rough. He was getting tired - as we all were. He did the first 5 obstacles then made my greatest fear come to life - he took off running out of the ring. He circled around the left side of the ring towards the road. I just yelled "Somebody PLEASE catch my dog!" - indicating to the crowd that it was fine to grab him, I wasn't going to try to complete the course.

So Doug and my classmates started over to try to get him back - he circled back around, peed on a tree and ran back into the ring like "ok, I just needed a break, but I am back! Let's go!". At that point I just grabbed him and told the judge "Thank you, we're done"! But I was still all smiles because he was just awesome!

We had a good day overall. One of my classmates Q'd and won all of her classes and also won the High Point Novice award. Another Q'd and won one class and the third got 2 seconds and a fourth. So a great day overall.

DH and I were exhausted, but we barely had enough time to get home, eat a quick sandwich and then get ready to go and see Spamalot. That was a really good show. I am so glad we went.

WHEW! That was our weekend in a nutshell! :)

Yummy Soup!

2009-03-19T07:51:00.003-05:00

We've had some really nasty weekends this year in GA - rainy and cold, or snowy and icky and last weekend was no exception. After spending the day driving around helping a friend look for apartments the DH and I were exhausted. I mentioned to him that I was going to make soup for dinner - nice hot comfort food, yet easy to make. I was thinking Chicken Noodle soup - Angela's famous recipe - but he wanted Lemon Chicken Soup.

DH and I grew up in FL near a large Greek Orthodox population. We were always noshing on Greek salads, yummy bread and lemon chicken soup. So I got on the internet to search for a yummy recipe and I found this one. I cheated a bit when making it because we were so tired. I used Boil in Bag rice and just got an already cooked rotisserie chicken from Publix.

But let me say this - it was GOOOD! I don't have pics like Angela, because we scarfed it all up! Seriously though, it was very good and we had enough left over to freeze for later consumption.

I just served it with sourdough bread and butter on the side, and it hit the spot!

And The Result of the Agility Trial?

2009-03-02T13:11:00.002-05:00

A big E :)... but that's ok. Reilly did his absolute best and in our eyes was a SUPERSTAR! I could not have asked for anything more from him at all.

So our whole weekend was a mess - the painters came on Friday and I sent Reilly to daycare. They left on Friday evening, while we were out, and left the place a mess. Their ladders and everything were EVERYWHERE. This threw poor Reilly just totally out of whack.

I was counting on agility class on Sat morning to get us out of the house while the painters finished up. But because of the horrible rain, class got cancelled. We ended up holed up in the bedroom. The stress was too much for poor Reilly and he got sick - throwing up and everything. When the painters left, he was finally able to relax a little bit and catch some sleep.

Sunday we woke bright and early to continuing rain, which was supposed to turn to snow. And it did, but that was later.

It was FREEZING at the trial - just bone chilling cold.... we got there at 7 and the trial started at 8. Thankfully DH and a friend brought coffee for all of us. Reilly seemed a bit stressed at the trial, but that was to be expected. I walked him around some, but due to the ever present rain, we couldn't really venture out for long. Oh, and we had an admirer! Someone came up and started gushing about how much Reilly looked like her dog. So she went off to get her dog and well, she did look somewhat like Reilly. She was older, and shorter and well a bit heavier, but I could see the resemblance. She was very sweet and we chatted for a few minutes.

It came out time to run and well, he did his best. Part if it, looking back, was definitely my fault- I wasn't in place when he unexpectedly started his run and I pulled him off the second tunnel. He proceeded to tour the ring for his admiring fans, but not at his usual breakneck speed. He was just kind of checking the place out. Which was fine, I expected that. And, after all that, he came back to me, I got him under control, we went through the last tunnel and out the gate where the DH was meeting us with tons of treats and LOTS of praise. So he was an AWESOME dog!!!

But the highlight of the day was when our friend came with his 2 little girls. They all had tshirts - and they even had one made for me and Doug. Mine said "Reilly's mom" in crystals, Doug's said "GO Reilly", our friend's said " Go Santos"( we joke that Reilly looks like Santa's Little Helper from the Simpsons) and it said something very clever on the back, which I can't remember. The girls( 3 and 6) were VERY cute in their shirts which said "Go Reilly" and " I Love Reilly". I thought it was awesome of them to come out in the cold and wet to watch us go for 30 seconds.... and to make the shirts. If I get their permission to post the pictures with their children in it, I will so you can see the shirts.

Our next trial is on March 22nd( I hope, I just sent the entry in). We have tickets to Spamalot that day, but hopefully it will move quickly and we'll get to do both of our runs. If not, that's fine too.

Oh and DH didn't get any pics bc the camera battery was dead :(....

And the one comment I heard at the trial was how fast Reilly was. I asked the DH if he was really fast( I can't tell I see him all the time) and he said, yes, VERY fast and he was only running 1/2 speed. WOW.

Our First Trial and Various Other Stuff!

2009-02-25T13:11:00.002-05:00

This weekend is our first agility trial. I am excited, but very nervous! DH will be there taking LOTS of pictures, so I should have something to post on Sunday or Monday. I think we're ready. I am a little worried Reilly might be a bit stressed by Sunday, but hopefully he'll shake it off.

And finally - ( drumroll please) we are getting the interior of the house painted! It's been driving me CRAZY for YEARS and we are finally biting the bullet, forking out the dough and getting most of it painted.

We haven't been able to paint it ourselves because the foyer and the family room are 2 stories high and neither DH nor I are getting on ladders or scaffolding to paint it. So they come on Friday and should be done sometime Saturday - hence the stressing of the dog.

He's at daycare today because the house is being cleaned and will have to go on Friday again, when the painters are at the house. Then Saturday should be interesting as I am sure they will get there before we leave for agility. If all goes well :), they will be gone by 1pm and Reilly and I will come back to a newly painted house in a disasterous mess :).

DH and I are going to start taking things off the bookcases tonight and moving some of the more fragile stuff, which tends to stress out the dog. He's not big into change, if you haven't already guessed that.

Oh and we had a wonderful houseguest this weekend. Our friend Tracy who we knew in HS and then again in College was in Atlanta this weekend. We had reconnected through Facebook and it's been so good to see her again. But she fears she will never be invited to stay with us again! In the process of putting her stuff in her car on Monday, she locked herself out of our house without her Blackberry! Poor Tracy tried everything she could think of to get in the house. She went to the neighbor's on either side and the one who could help her wasn't home, and the one who couldn't help her was! She tried windows and everything else, and finally had to resort to breaking the window in our back door.

Which is not a big deal..... at all really, we aren't mad. It's just that since nothing in our house is the right size, we had to order the insert for the window and it will be a week or so till it gets here. We have it all taped up, but everytime you open or close the door, glass rains down on the patio.

And of course she's always welcome! :) We'll just have to hide a key next time.

Summerzcool 2009 - Here we come!

2009-02-10T13:00:00.002-05:00

This year was definitely our lucky year with regards to Jimmy Buffett tickets! We found out about the tickets 3 days before they went on sale, rallied the troops and got the job done. It was definitely a group effort.

Saturday morning, I made my way to the nearest Publix to try my luck at drawing a good number in the lottery. The Publix was prepared for us - the woman selling the tickets was wearing a festive tshirt and had Buffett music playing. All in all there were about 15 people in line and once the lottery was over, I had drawn #2! So I called my partners in crime to let them know that since I had #2, I should be able to buy the limit of 6 with no problem and I just needed someone else to get 2 more to complete our order of 8.

Compatriot #1 - or DH, was at home manning the computer- I figured this would be a futile effort since several JB concerts went on sale on Sat and Ticketmaster would be slammed with requests.

Compatriot #2 was at another Publix and number 11 in line. So I was hoping she could get 2 or DH could get 2 and we'd be good.

As 10am approached the anticipation was building in everyone in the line. We were watching the clock and the people behind the counter were announcing the official time to us. Finally it was 10am and we all edged forward towards the counter waiting for the first tickets to start printing out. And we wait, and wait and wait...... The poor woman behind the counter could NOT get logged on to Ticketmaster! ARGH! I felt so bad for her, she was trying so hard to get in but the *&^%$#$ing computer would not cooperate.

Meanwhile DH calls to say that he got 4 tickets online. ( why only 4 I don't know). So I tell him to get back on and get 4 more!!! So in a panic he logs back on and tries to get more tickets.

We are still waiting, and waiting and waiting on the computer to cooperate. DH calls back, he's got 6 more tickets and we are on our way!

At that point, the woman behind the counter told people to start calling friends to get on the internet so that they had a chance of getting some tickets. I felt so bad for everyone, but hey, it pays to have a backup plan or 2.

Now you are wondering( if you are not a Parrothead) why it is such a big deal to get tickets and to have people spread out all over town to get them.

Well Compatriot#2 told me when I called her to tell her to pack it in and go home, that the SECOND person in her line was the LAST person to get tickets. That's it, they were sold out in about 6 minutes.

And if I could only go to ONE concert in Atlanta all year, it would have to be this one.

Since we have such a large group going this year, we are definitely getting their early and tailgaiting - in fact we have one person flying from MD, just to experience this first hand for herself with us.

There will be pictures, trust me....... :)

Agility update

2009-01-27T08:30:00.002-05:00

Reilly and I are continuing on with our agility classes. But on top of our group classes, I have decided that we need some private sessions to work on some issues that Reilly and I have.

He loves agility, he loves the running and jumping and all that goes with it. But in his exuberance, he does NOT pay attention and starts running around, willy nilly and missing key contact points, which will kill us when we compete. Plus, sometimes it gets too much for him and he can't wrap his little brain around what we are doing and he gets stressed out and shuts down.

So in our private lessons we are taking things slow, and building on some basics trying to get him to a point where it does not stress him out.

Bless his heart - he's a SMART dog - I mean really smart - but I think he's just still immature, even at 3.5 yrs old. I can see him thinking so hard and the wheels are just spinning away when Sonja or I ask him to do something. Then when he FINALLY gets it and gets rewarded, it's all sunshine and happiness.

Now, not to say that he tries to get away with the minimum to still get a treat, but those days are now over. It's all black and white.

I will keep you posted on our progress.....

Long Time No Blog!

2009-01-12T15:59:00.003-05:00

I know, it's been AGES since I have blogged, but between the holidays and year end close at work, life has been a little nuts( and if you live in the South, a little WET!).

I can tell you that as much as we need the rain here in GA, I have had ENOUGH. I have especially had enough of standing in the pouring rain in agility class. The kicker is it's never raining when we GET to class, but about 10-15 minutes into class it starts to pour. Now, we all stand in the rain, by our choice ( why not, we're already there) but it's still annoying and bone chilling cold.

Reilly had a wonderful visitor on Saturday night. Angela brought Pixie over. I was hoping they would play, but Pixie was intimidated by Reilly - he was probably the biggest dog she's ever been around, so she was a little shy around him. She was NOT shy around the people though and we got some good cuddle time with her on the couch.

What else? Oh yeah! Reilly and I have entered an agility trial on March first. We're doing tunnelers, which is basically running a course of tunnels, but we are VERY excited! Hopefully there will be pictures.

That's it for now....

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T10:45:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! Its pretty quiet around here today, but we have a lot to do before going to a friend's to spend the evening.

Everyone have a safe and happy 2009!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-17T10:31:00.004-05:00

I just want to send everyone a virtual Christmas Card and wish everyone a Merry Christmas!!!

Here is the picture we used for our Christmas Card:

This one is the rejected one. Rejected only because I didn't like the way it looked in any of the card layouts:

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!!

All the best
Reilly, Doug and I!

Pictures!!! Finally!

2008-12-14T16:57:00.011-05:00

I am working on my Christmas Card pictures and I am finally able to get to sit at the computer and download some pictures of the cruise!

So here it goes :)

This was our towel animal the first night... We think it was a dog.....

Proof that Doug actually did go on vacation!

Not the best picture of me, outside Costa Maya. Our ship is in the background.

And this was a cool piece of art on our ship - done entirely out of spools of thread:

There are a few more I want to post, but I have dinner to cook and cookies to bake! So I will post more later.

We're Home!

2008-11-30T17:45:00.002-05:00

After almost 10 days away, we are home finally. Doug and I pulled in at 10pm last night and picked up Reilly at 8:30 am. He was very happy to see me and I him. But I know he enjoyed his time there, bc as we were putting him in the car, he gave Mimi a Reilly "hug".... he put his head up against her chest and got scritches from her to say goodbye. That made me feel really good.

I have spent the day catching up and doing LOADS and LOADS of laundry.

We had a great time on the cruise. We went to Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel. It was really nice to just get away and relax a bit. Lots of fruity drinks and I think I went through 4 books. :)

I will download pictures and post them along with some stories, but for right now it's good to be home. Reilly's been asleep all day long :).

More to come.

Being Thankful

2008-11-22T06:27:00.002-05:00

Before I head off on the cruise( which I am VERY thankful for) I wanted to take a minute to list a few things I am very thankful for:

My husband whom I love dearly

My mother who is alway supportive

Reilly who brings joy to my heart everyday

All of my friends who keep me sane and make me laugh(and those that let me be crazy)

My Canine-L family.

I am also thankful that both Doug and I have jobs in this horrible economy.

I am thankful for those of you who read my blog :) - so that I can pretend these arent't the ramblings of a dog obsessed crazy woman.

Everyone have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.

The Worst Part About Vacations....

2008-11-21T07:50:00.002-05:00

Is leaving your loved one behind. I had to say goodbye to Reilly this morning since Doug is dropping him off this afternoon to board. I HATE leaving him for 10 days, but he'll be in such good hands. And I know his Auntie Margo, and maybe his grandma will check on him while we're gone.

My friends in agility class will also check in on him, both Saturdays after class and Luann is great about emailing me and letting me know how he's doing. So I'm not worried about his care, I am just going to miss him terribly.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

FOUR Days and counting......

2008-11-17T12:59:00.001-05:00

Until we are on our way to FL for our cruise. The worst part about vacationing, is missing Reilly - but he's in good hands with Mimi. So I won't worry too much.

We're just about ready to go - hair is done, waxing is done - all I need is a pedi. And we need to pack. But I am going to do that ( hopefully) on Thursday. I have a sleep study on Wed night and it might spill into Thurs - but I hope not. Then I can have the whole day off!

So off we go!!!!

"Gray" is not a natural hair color!

2008-11-13T10:06:00.002-05:00

In anticipation of our cruise( T minus 9 days and counting) I went to get my hair cut, colored and highlighted on Tues night. I decided to try a new salon( dangerous, I know) and was looking forward to seeing what this person could do for me.

We sat down for the consultation and I told her what I wanted. I wanted my natural color back, plus some highlights and a cut.

As she is evaluating my hair the conversation went something like this:

ME - " I want my natural color with some highlights"
HER - " Well your natural color is gray"
ME - "Um, no it's not... it's brown"
HER -" Well all I see is gray - what color brown would you like?"
ME - "GRRRRR"

I pulled out a piece from underneath my hair and showed her the color I wanted. I didn't quite get what I wanted, it's a little darker, but it works.

Gray! HMPF!

The Kindness of Strangers

2008-11-10T14:51:00.002-05:00

The number one reason I love living in the South is the generosity and kindness of the people who live here.

As some of you know, I have been sick for the better part of a week. I didn't feel like going to dog skool on Sunday, but I went bc we only have 6 classes and I hate to waste them.

On the way home from the trainers, I had a coughing fit and hit a HUGE hole in the road. When I hit the HUGE hole in the road, I busted tires on the passenger's side of my car. Fortunately there was a nice turn off in front of a church to pull into and I stopped there while I waited for Doug and the tow truck to come and rescue me.

Once I made all the necessary calls, Reilly and I got out of the car and sat in the yard of the church. I cannot tell you HOW many people from the church came out to make sure we were ok, and that we didn't need help and to offer me refreshment. I was very touched by their obvious concern.

Reilly, on the other hand, was not touched and would not let anyone within 10 feet of me, but I guess that's a good thing.

Even after the tow truck got there, people kept coming out and telling me how I wasn't the only one this had happened to.

Thankfully, I had JUST purchased the extra road hazard warranty on my car and I won't have to fork out any of my own money. Which is just as well as it's an almost $3000 repair job since my wheels are bent too.

And I wrote the city of Milton GA to inform them what happened and they said " sorry" and that they would look into fixing the hole. Grrrrrr

Halloween and Our Great Weekend Away!

2008-11-07T10:27:00.005-05:00

First off Halloween. Now we had a nice Halloween with friends. Some of them brought their kids over to trick or treat in our neighborhood and it made for a nice evening.

I had to take this picture to share though - I don't know whose sippy cup it is, but hey - this is how we party in our group!
This is an adorable picture - Veronica and Jake. They went trick or treating together and they both had a really good time.

Saturday morning Reilly went to "camp" while we loaded up and went to Chattanooga for the night with some friends of ours. When in Chattanooga the aquarium is a must! There is no way I could post all of the pictures that Doug took at the Aquarium( thank GOD for digital cameras) but here's one of my favorites:

I just love the seahorses. We took tons of penguin pictures also.

There was also a big crewing competition in Chattanooga during the weekend "Head of the Hooch". It was really interesting to watch - lots of colleges, high schools and even the Olympic team was there.

We ate at a great Italian restuarant on Sat night called Tony's. Fresh pasta! It was fabulous!

Sunday morning Doug and I woke up sick and we've been sick ever since. But before we left on Sunday we did a cruise through the Tennessee River Gorge on their new Hyrofoil boat. It was pretty cool and we had great weather for it. This is us, getting ready to get on the boat:

It sucked that we got sick, but thankfully Chattanooga is only an hour and a half away. So we got home picked up Reilly and headed to bed!!!! :)

Now only SIXTEEN DAYS till we are cruising in the Caribbean with our friends Bill and Susan! Rum punch here we come!!!!

Halloween Party!

2008-10-27T07:33:00.005-05:00

There was a Halloween Party at the dog trainer's on Sat so Reilly and I stayed after class to attend! I have a couple of pictures. The first one, is Reilly in his bandanna. He was pretty fried - there was a lot going on.

And we had to give a short agility demo, along with another dog in our class. He did pretty well considering ;)....

Here's our trainer Sonja with her dog Nege:

And this is Mimi - the woman who takes such great care of Reilly when we board him!
And one last closeup of Reilly's bandanna, courtesy of Mary Lyn!

Oh and I almost forgot... Reilly POST party in his new bed.

Reilly has a Fan!

2008-10-23T16:16:00.002-05:00

Can you believe it? My little crack in the box has a fan base! :) When Doug and I picked him up from daycare last night a VERY nice lady brought him out and was gushing about how much she loved him.

He's her FAVORITE dog in daycare and she always wants to be with him when he's there. She said that she is one of the few people that he listens too. And in fact, when he gets in trouble in daycare and she's there, he runs over to her and sits on her feet. That's his sign that he wants to be comforted.

She gave him a super bath yesterday - scrubbed him down good. She said he loved it(really???).

It was very sweet and I was very touched.

Bed update: He has it and has managed to sleep ( as with all his beds) with only his butt and legs on it( tell me again why I spent $200 on a bed for his butt???). I was surprised it was comfortable that way bc it is raised and has something of a lip on it, but oh well.....

And Intermediate obedience is going. Slowly..... We are going to go home and practice heeling tonight and PLACE AGAIN!!! :)

Updates to come.

I Love Good Customer Service

2008-10-22T07:10:00.004-05:00

About a month ago, I ordered what I thought was a really snazzy bed for Reilly from Orvis. It wasn't the one I wanted, but I was trying to save some money. When the bed arrived, it was WAY to small for my stretchy dog( it said up to 70 lbs, but I don't see how). Plus I hated the fabric. So I sent it back and broke down and got the one I wanted originally.

Doesn't it look all cuddly and comfy????

Well my luck, the stupid bed was on back order, bc apparently EVERYONE wanted this cuddly bed. I was finally told it would ship on 10/24. I got a notice that it shipped yesterday and they OVERNIGHTED it! YAY for Orvis! I am guessing that since I had to wait so long to get it, they expedited the shipping!

I have had great experience with them and I love shopping with them!

So tonight, after a hard day of daycare, Reilly will have a new bed to cuddle up in.

Just An Update

2008-10-13T11:54:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. But a lot has been happening and it's been a very busy time.

First off, Doug's nephew ( Pictured in the last blog post) is done with his "boot leave" and is off to Jacksonville NC for training.

Secondly I am now gainfully employed! The company I have been temping for offered me a job last week and I happily accepted.

Let's see what else?

Oh, Reilly and I have signed up for Intermediate Ob. We really need it, I think and it will be fun. I had to buy him a special bed for it though, so he can learn the "place" command. This is the bed:And of course, since he is spoiled, then I had to get the sheepskin cover to go over it. But I am sure it will all be worth it ;).

Friday night I went to the Opera and saw Madama Butterfly. It was interesting, but the director did some visual things that detracted from the overall look of the opera.

Halloween is approaching - our FAVORITE time of year. We got a HUGE pumpkin yesterday courtesy of our neighbors who went to N Ga to the pumpkin patches. So that's on our "to do " list for this week.

That's it for now, I'll keep you posted on the Obediance classes ( ahem)... we'll see how that goes.

Our LONG Weekend!

2008-10-05T19:53:00.010-05:00

I won't go into too much detail, but suffice to say, our weekend had it's ups and downs. It was nice to see Doug's family in Beaufort SC and very moving to watch his oldest nephew graduate from USMC boot camp at Parris Island.

Here's a picture of Doug and Cameron right after

Graduation.

We are very proud of Cam and after some leave, he's off to his next training station in Jacksonville NC.

While in Beaufort we took in some of the sights - I love old houses.

After the graduation, we were off to meet our friends John and Cat in Savannah. Savannah is a lovely town - lots of history, alcohol, seafood and ghosts! It's been named the most haunted city in America.

We stayed in an old factory which I am sure was haunted, but we never saw the resident ghost( thank goodness!) which was right on River Street.

After having spent the first 3 days with family it was time to get a drink. So we went off to get some Chatham Artillery Punch and do a little shopping.

Apparently this was also Oktoberfest weekend in Savannah( we had NO idea) and on Saturday they were having all kinds of activities like Wiener dog races. There were TONS of doxies all over the town and it was fun to see them. Some were all dressed up - but all of them were adorable. Savannah is very dog friendly and there were a lot of dogs wandering around on Saturday. We spent some time at the greyhound adoptions, petting on the dear dogs.

We missed Reilly terribly, but we got a bit of a dog fix.

We also went to the old cemetary in town and I am sure we were thought quite morbid for having our picture taken in front of a mausoleum.

After the cemetary, we hit the old Catholic Church:

And of course we did a ghost tour but didn't see anything scary!

Here's some pictures of us at dinner:

Oh and last but not least, we can't forget the USMC mascot - a bulldog:

PS:

Reilly did GREAT at the trainer's! He didn't eat a lot, but he ate some and he was so happy and relaxed when we picked him up. Not stressed out at all! He's sacked out now.....

And We Are Off!

2008-09-30T12:31:00.001-05:00

It's finally here! The graduation of Doug's nephew from the Marine Corp boot camp. We weren't sure this day would come, so we haven't been saying much about it.

Tomorrow we head off to Parris Island to meet the Inlaws and spend some quality Marine family time. ( Thank God we have our own hotel room so we can then have some quality drinking time!)

We will be taking pictures of Cameron in his blues, so I will post them next week.

Once the graduation is over - and I don't understand why all this has to take place in the middle of the week - Doug and I are meeting our friends John and Cat in Savannah for a nice alcohol and ghost filled weekend of revelry!

Everyone have a good weekend! I'll be back as long as we can find gas!

Birthday Weekend!

2008-09-25T07:48:00.002-05:00

Not mine, the DH's..... Saturday is the big day and I have a weekend of festivities planned.

Starting tomorrow, the neighbors are going to come over for some steak and cake :) Specifically Cookie Puss from Carvel.... And probably some video game playing.

Saturday some friends we made doing the play are going to come to our house to celebrate The Doug's birthday( The Doug being his nickname from the play - don't ask).... We are going to have burgers and MORE cake and then off to the N GA State fair. It's a cheesy fair but its still fun for a couple of hours. They don't even have livestock or anything unless you count the World's Largest Steer... I don't know what the special activities are on Saturday but I am sure they will be riveting. Last year someone got shot out of a cannon... So who knows??

I don't ride the rides - fair rides scare me and I tend to get sick - deep fried twinkies don't stay down that well...... So I will watch while everyone else gets sick. Hopefully I will have pictures to post on Sunday. If I live through Sat night.

The Gas Crunch is Killing Me!

2008-09-23T08:04:00.002-05:00

For some reason, it seems as if the gas shortage is worse in Metro Atlanta than anywhere else. Tagging on to Angela's rant about it from this weekend, I have one of my own.

I have been good about getting gas. I am waiting until I am down to a 1/4 of a tank before I try to get gas. I have a CX-9 and with as much as I have been traveling 1/4 of a tank of gas comes very quickly to me. Last night I decided that I had better stop on the way home and get gas.

So I pull into this madhouse that used to be a gas station and make my way around to a line. As I am getting in a line, some woman in another car is coming towards me and very upset bc apparently I am blocking her exit. At this time, I had NOWHERE to go bc someone had pulled up behind me.

She's in her car shouting and gesturing at me to move and I am trying to tell her that I can't( I have a backup camera people, I can see when there is a car behind me!). The guy behind me could see what was going on and was trying to help me move backwards, but I could only move about a foot. She's still screaming at me to get out of her way( and I am trying VERY hard not to get out of the car and slap her - seriously, I entertained the thought). Turns out she wants me to do a 3 point TURN into the parking spaces so that she can get through to get out. Now, I have a pretty big car and it's not the easiest thing to manuever, but I attempted it just to shut her up. I finally moved enough to where she could get through and she proceeds to tell the person behind me that *I* don't know how to drive. I swear I am glad she left because at that point I *would* have had to get out of the car and slap her silly.

We are in an unfortunate situation right now, and everyone just has to be patient. I hate it, I am an impatient person, but we just have to suck it up. It took me TEN minutes to get OUT of the station once I had gotten gas. But I didn't lose my temper - even though the reason it took so long is because some woman forgot which side her gas tank was on and had to turn completely around at the pump.....

I just kept thinking good thoughts and turned the Sirius on to comedy and let it go at that.

TA DA!!!!

2008-09-18T07:45:00.002-05:00

So what do you think? Shannon at Eightcrazydesign has done it again! I love it!! I adore the colors and especially the way she was able to incorporate Reilly's picture into it.

I am ready to hear your opinions! Hit me - good or bad!

Oh and PLEASE use my button! You'll find the HTML code easy to install on your blog.

Thanks!

The Wii has a Fault!

2008-09-17T13:26:00.004-05:00

Yes ladies and gents, I have found the one flaw with the Wii Fit! I weighed in last night( first time in a week- shame shame) and the little blankety blank told me I had gained 3 lbs(see Angie, I feel your pain!). Then it proceeds to ask me WHY I think I have gained that weight.... and out of the choices there was NOT one labled " It's just that time and I am BLOATED!"..... Apparently the Fit doesn't take hormones into account.

So I selected - "Gee I don't know" and moved right along ;).

Stay tuned! The new blog design is ready and should be uploaded soon!!!!

Doggy Shopping - I'm addicted

2008-09-16T08:36:00.003-05:00

Hi, My name is Stephanie and I am addicted to shopping for my dog. I don't shop for myself - ever! It's always for the dog.

What triggered the latest shopping binge? The new Orvis Dog Catalog. Have you seen it? Pages and pages of things that my dog just HAS to have! The newest item? A frisbee that lights up! Who doesn't need that? Reilly loves frisbee and when we play in the dark he can't see it, so bingo - problem solved.

Then I was perusing their cushy cushy dog beds. Compared it to the bed Reilly got from Target. Found Reilly's bed lacking and BOOM! New bed for Reilly.

I finally made myself PUT the catalog down and walk away.... It's hidden in a drawer but calling my name, telling me that Reilly really does need that squeaky toy, and a fleece pullover...... ARGH!!!! HELP!!!!!

Pictures of the Play

2008-09-12T13:25:00.004-05:00

I think I might finally get some of the pictures to post... so here it goes:

This is a picture of all but 2 of the guys in the play. The guy in the suit was nice enough to fill in for someone who didn't show up - ever.... Thankfully he did bc I would be standing there if he wasn't.

Here are some of the girls and one of the missing guys.... The girl in the middle is supposed to be wearing an extremely ugly dress.. technically a 60 year old Russian dress( what was Neil Simon thinking????) Thankfully the assistant stage manager/tech person is a super seamstress and she bought a dress at a thrift store and made it ugly :).

This is from the last scene in the show.... I wish they had gotten the whole cast in - they are going up the stairs... It would have been a nice picture.

So we have 3 performances this weekend and 2 next weekend and then we are done. I am going to miss the cast so much - some of us have become friends. Thank goodness for Facebook.... :) At least I can keep track of them there.

But I am looking forward to tonight. I am refreshed and ready to go. Although I will miss seeing Doug at home tonight. I am hoping he'll meet me during act II and go out for drinks after the show.

Wii Fit

2008-09-09T11:38:00.001-05:00

Inspired by Angie to do the Couch to 5K( not going so well btw) I went and spent $90 on a Wii Fit this weekend. I REALLY like it.

The first thing is does is a body mapping which told me I was fat( really??) and calculated my weight, and my BMI. Then you can use it to set goals.

There are several modules on the fit - Yoga, Aerobics, Balance and Strength Training. The aerobics has stuff like step( nope failed that) , Hula Hoop, and running - that's all I have so far. I need to unlock more stuff by working out more. The yoga is fun and so is the balance. I haven't worked the strength training yet, but I think I will tonight since we're supposed to be getting rain.

Doug's gotten into the program too, so it's been fun doing it together. Reilly hates the whole concept of the Wii.... especially since Doug stepped on him while playing tennis the other night.

I'll keep you posted, but my BMI is already dropping.....

We Opened!!!!

2008-09-06T07:00:00.003-05:00

Finally! The play opened last night and it was quite the success. Except for one guy missing an entrance( everyone covered for him) it went very well. Even the DH enjoyed it - and I was surprised him being as sick of the play as I am. But he'd never seen it, just spent countless hours building the set.

I thought I was going to be able to post some pictures, but I can't get them to download so I will do that later.

I am happy bc Agility was cancelled this morning and I can relax a bit. Reilly's not so happy, but he's very happy I am home.

And I am happy that I can have my life back!!! :)

I've Been Honored

2008-09-05T11:20:00.005-05:00

My wonderful friend Angela has passed on a lovely award to me and I am honored. Especially since my blog hasn't been very interesting lately, but I promise it will as soon as the play slows down( we open tonight!).

Here's my award:

I am very thankful that there are people out there that read my blog! So many many thanks to Angela for this award.

Now there are some rules for accepting this award and here they are:

The rules of the award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.

I am passing this award along to:

Janyne, Robin, Lizz, Susan, Angie, Crowzma and Pendaisy.

Enjoy!!!

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-02T11:38:00.002-05:00

And yes we labored, and labored and labored......

Sat we had agility and then Doug and I went off once again to finish the set for the play. WHERE, Doug ended up spraining his finger pretty badly....... But he persevered and did not whine too much till we got home.

Sunday we went to watch an agility trial ( FUN) where our trainer was running and she thinks that Reilly and I can probably enter tunnelers at the next show( YAY!!!). I bought tons of treats, of course and then it was off to rehearsal after some Wii time.

Monday we had a nice hike in a park behind the dog park that we go to on Sat's. It was about 2.25 miles and very shady so not too strenuous. Then back to rehearsal :)

The show FINALLY opens on Friday I need to get some pictures of our BEAUTIFUL set posted.... I'll see what I can do at dress this week.

Too Tired to Drive

2008-08-28T07:03:00.003-05:00

I am so exhausted( I know I keep complaining about this, but bear with me till the play opens :) ) , it's literally getting dangerous. My driving skills are getting terrible and it's bc I have no reaction time and I am just not paying attention. Unfortunately in Atlanta, there is NO public transport to speak of so I am stuck driving myself everywhere. I am seriously considering the option of a nap in my car at lunch.

It's just till the 5th... but this not going home at night after work is getting old. I've barely seen Doug and Reilly or my bed! Last night I got 6 hours of sleep, but that was my own fault. We went and saw Rod the Bod at the new Ampitheater in Atlanta.

He was awesome, I loved every minute of it. But this ampitheater is about 45 minutes from my home with no traffic, so I rolled in about midnight. Why is it that performers have to have an opening act and that opening act doesn't go on till 8pm? Rod is in his 60's( and still looking good I might add) but you would think he would want to call it an early night.

Then what did I do( I'm such an idiot) I signed up to win concert tickets for Friday night!!! It seemed like a good idea at the time( too much wine) but now I am hoping I don't win. Friday is the ONLY night I get to be home. ONLY one. WHY would I want to go out to another concert???? Because it's one the DH would really like to see, that's why.

Reilly is at daycare today for the first time in weeks. We're having someone out to get rid of the roof rats(yay) and I assumed Doug would not be able to work at home with him barking at the exterminator all day long.

On a happy note, the rain is gone. So it's sunny and happy here in Atlanta Land today.

Catching up

2008-08-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, I haven't posted in ages. But I have been SOOOOO busy between looking for a job( now working a contract job) and the play, who has had time to do anything??

So here's a little update:

On the play - it's going so well! It's going to be hysterical, if I can get through these last 2 weeks without killing any of the cast members! The play is so funny, but they keep cracking themselves up. So I didn't get home till 10 last night bc the rehearsal ran so late. Reilly does not know what happened to me! Poor guy has hardly seen me at all. Thank goodness for a 3 day weekend. Although I'll either be at rehearsal or building sets. Speaking of sets, DH has been a godsend and has practically built 1/2 the set on his own. He's spent 2( soon to be 3) Saturdays at the theater helping. Actors aren't very good at power tools :).

Then there's work. It's going ok. I'm tired, my brain is tired, from having to learn new stuff. Then I have to run from work to rehearsal and get home at insane times at night. But it's only for the next two weeks. Then we open on the 5th. And it's only Friday's and Sat's for 3 weekends. Woo hoo!!!!

That's it for now. I am still waiting for my new blog design.... the time passes so slowly!!!

Sharing the Love

2008-08-18T16:40:00.002-05:00

Robin Curry of Raising Fisherman has blessed me with the Sharing the Love award. She knows I have been going through a rough patch and I really appreciate her sharing this with me. The purpose of this award is to raise awarness about organ donation and to share the love around the web. This award should be passed on to blogs that make you laugh, smile, or just uplift you in some way.

I am passing this award on to some pretty wonderful people out there:

Janyne of Busy Living Life

Angie of Angie's Spot

Natalie of Knatolee's World

An Update to the Update

2008-08-18T16:36:00.001-05:00

I was offered the position that I interviewed for this morning. It's contract, meaning if I don't work I don't get paid :).... but it's more money, so it's ok for now. It will probably go permanent, we'll see.... So I start on Monday.

Just an update

2008-08-18T10:53:00.001-05:00

Nothing is really going on around here. We're still gearing up for the play in Sept and in fact we built the set on Sunday. DH came with me to help and he was a Godsend. Thank goodness he was there or we'd all be in trouble!

But I guess we are getting old, bc by the end of the day, neither of us could move very well :)

The job hunt is still on. I had a good interview this morning and one last week, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Other than that, we're pretty boring for now :)

A Meme Tag from Angela!

2008-08-11T07:31:00.004-05:00

Angela has tagged me, so here it goes!

A meme is basically a list of things about me (hence the name). The stated subject is "6 UN-spectacular things about me." Now here’s a subject that could go on forever (but I promise it won’t, LOL!) And it comes with few rules, as follows:

1. Link the person who tagged you - see above!
2. Mention the rules on your blog - here they are!
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours - This is where it will get interesting, below!
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them - see below!
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged - This is the fun part!

So let’s see. Six “unspectacular” things about me:

1. Like Angela I have never mastered the stick shift. Yes, I am just that uncoordinated. It's amazing for a person who can do complicated manouvers on a horse that require using all 4 limbs separately, I cannot for the life of me hit the clutch and shift at the same time.

2. I will buy any kitchen gadget that comes my way. Anything. I think I own half of William Sonoma. Seriously. I am fascinated by kitchen gadgets. I always assume that I will use that piece of equipment sometime in my lifetime. Even if I only use it once, I feel justified.

3. I am a soap snob. My husband bought me soap from a parfumarie in France a MILLION years ago and I refuse to use any other kind of soap. Fortunately he goes to France frequently enough to where we haven't run out yet, but I am NOT above begging friends who are going overseas to pick up a case for me. When he comes home from France his suitcase weighs a ton( bc he better have no less than TEN bars of soap in there) and it smells lovely. I will even( if it comes to that) have it shipped to me.

4. I will buy anything in the world for my dog. I will go to doggy stores and PetSmart and catalogs and buy treats and toys and whatever I think it takes to make him happy. I can't help it, he's spoiled.

5. I am a reality show junkie. I watch anything from Gene Simmons( my FAV), to Kimora Life in the Fab Lane, simply out of fascination. I can sit there for HOURS watching these people's lives and not get bored. And yes, I watch The Girls Next Door and Denise Richards.

6. I am a child of the 80's. I love the music and the movies and the tv shows. I still watch Magnum PI and Miami Vice. I go to Poison concerts. I have more 80's music on my IPod than anything else. I loved Thriller.

So I am now tagging:

Janyne, Robin, Ginny, and Natalie.

Didn't everyone want to be Jesse's girl?

2008-08-03T21:03:00.002-05:00

Another weekend, another concert. It seems to be an eighties theme this year. First Bon Jovi, then Poison and last night, Rick Springfield. I was not a huge fan, but it was an enjoyable concert. But what a PITA to get there!

We live in Marietta GA. The concert was at some venue in a small town called Peachtree City. The venue is an outdoor ampitheater( very small) called The Fred. I took us an HOUR to get there. It wasn't that it was all that far( 50 miles) but it was raining and no one in GA can drive in the rain. ARGH. So we got there thinking that we had totally missed the first 30 minutes of the show.

We pulled into the parking lot and had an extremely difficult time finding a parking space. Why? We didn't think we would, especially since it wasn't sold out, but lo and behold the parking lot was filled with GOLF carts! Peachtree City is a "golf cart community" and people can drive their carts everywhere. So of course they took them to the concert. It was quite a sight I have to tell you....

When we got there, the concert hadn't started bc of the rain, so we breathed a small sigh of relief. The rain had stopped by the time we got in, so we found our seats and got ready for Rick. But no, he had an opening band.... and well, that's all I am going to say about that.

Rick finally came on, after a snafu with his mic. How many roadies does it take to get a mic to work??? I mean REALLY people!!! So 45 minutes after the opening act closed, he finally made it on stage.

It was a good show, he played to the crowd and even came down into the table section to mingle with everyone. It was entertaining, but all I could think about was how late it was getting and how I really hadn't had enough to drink :).

We finally got to my house at 12:30 and the boys were watching Robot Chicken. They had entertained themselves quite nicely all evening. Boys night out as it were.

A New Look

2008-08-02T16:56:00.000-05:00

Well I've done it. I've asked Eight Crazy Designs to do my blog for me( curses to you Angela :) ).... Angela's looks so great, I couldn't resist.

She won't be able to get to me till Sept, so we have to wait a bit for the new look... but I am very excited about it.

So stay tuned!!

This is hard work!

2008-07-31T18:16:00.002-05:00

This staying at home stuff is hard work! Who would have known?? I didn't get a chance to sit down and take a breath till about 3pm today and then, I couldn't go to the pool bc we had massive storms move through.

After I mowed the backyard( THREE HOURS with bagging) I met Doug for lunch. Then I had promised Reilly a car ride, so we went and ran to some doggy stores that I had been wanting to check out.

We got home, checked email and the storms hit. So I decided to relax in my bed( with laundry going too) and read Eclipse. If you aren't reading these vampire books you really should. I HATE vampire stories, really and truly... but these are really good. I picked one up for lack of anything to read and figured it wasn't much of a waste if I didn't like it. Now I can't put them down! The 4th one comes out Friday and all the bookstores are having a Harry Potter like celebration.

I'm not going to join that, but I will be in line on Sat to get my book!

And as usual, the movie is coming out and I *hate* who they have cast, so I am NOT going to see it.

Keepin' Busy

2008-07-30T13:56:00.002-05:00

There is certainly NOT a lack of things to do around here! I've met with recruiters, cleaned the entire house, and washed a number of things that desperately needed it.

Reilly is pooped. Poor thing. He can't get ANY sleep with me home. That's ok. He doesn't need to sleep. I had him and the neighbor's dog outside playing in the mud and they had a blast. I should have taken a picture, but I was in the middle of washing the floors. I HATE washing the floors!

Tomorrow we do lawn work - ugh... then maybe, just maybe I'll let myself go to the pool.

And it was one of those days.....

2008-07-29T06:28:00.002-05:00

I got let go from my job yesterday. It really sucks and I am very upset about it, although I think in the end it was for the best. I did not enjoy working there and I was looking for another job anyway.

So even though I didn't get to leave on my terms, I think it will be for the best overall.

Best part is I will be home with Reilly for a bit and I can get some stuff done around the house that I really needed to work on.

Just an update... I'll post something happier later.

"Don't Need Nothin' but a Good Time..."

2008-07-28T07:24:00.000-05:00

Was the theme of the Poison concert last night. This was not a concert we were all dying to go to, but it was inexpensive and it was a nice Sunday night in Atlanta.

Turned out to be a better concert than I expected. It was a 3 band concert with Sebastian Bach from Skid Row as the first performer. We were late, due to a dinner snafu, and we missed most of his concert which was fine. Then Dokken came on and did a really nice set. I am not a Dokken fan, but I found myself enjoying the music. Again, it was a pleasant evening and I was having a good time people watching. I have never seen so many tattoos in all my life! People watching took up most of the evening :).

Then Poison came on. Apparently Brett had a hard time remembering where he was bc he kept saying Atlanta. He must have said it 50 times. And promoted his Rock of Love tv show( of which they are filming a 3rd, but it's not going to be the same as the others).

Concerts, especially outdoor ones are truly a study in human behavior and they let you observe from a distance. I am fascinated by people who get really and truly drunk at concerts. What's the point? You've paid all that money and you don't remember the concert.

For you Poison fans out there, they did a lot of old stuff that I didn't really know. He closed with Every Rose Has it's Thorn, Talk Dirty to Me and Don't Need Nothing but a Good Time.

It was a good time - we were with 2 of our best friends, which makes it even better.

We got home around midnight and I am exhausted :).....

Progress Happens......

2008-07-24T15:35:00.002-05:00

Well sometimes you feel like you work and work and work and it's all for naught. I have finally made some progress on my weight. I've lost another 2 pounds (mostly sweat I think! :) ) and and feeling a little more encouraged.

There is also progress on the play front! Rehearsals are going well and I think we are going to have a hit show on our hands.

Then Reilly and I are making progress at agility. Well, he's making progress, it's now time for ME to get my act together. So we are thinking Spring for our agility debut.

It's not much, but its enough to satisfy me for now.

If only I could work SLEEP into my schedule somewhere :)

Just Keep on Keepin' On.....

2008-07-21T07:35:00.003-05:00

Which is pretty much how I feel right now. If I can just get through each day without any major issues, or just falling out, then I consider it a good day.

Now you know MOST of this is my fault. *I* am the one who signed up for the play, but I do miss doing theater and I thought it would be fun. And don't get me wrong, it IS fun... but also time consuming, as is everything else in my life.

And the heat wave isn't helping. In an attempt to help hubby with the lawn duties this weekend, we started mowing the lawn at HIGH NOON on Sat, which is when we both got home. It took a lot of sweat and several rest breaks to get the stupid thing mowed. At one point I thought I was going to be sick, so I had to go inside and lay down on the floor under the fan. Reilly thought this was quite interesting and kept circling me like a shark, not quite knowing what to do.

It's hotter than blue blazes down here... as everyone in the south knows. So I am going to call it a night and head back into the AC and go to bed :).

EW's New Movie Classics

2008-07-12T18:56:00.004-05:00

I'll follow Angie and Angela's thread....

Here's how to play:
Copy and paste this list.If you’ve seen the movie, put the title in bold type.Put an asterisk next to the movies you’ve seen and liked.

The following list comes from the current double issue of Entertainment Weekly in which they list the 100 best movies of the last 25 years (aka The New Classics).

1. Pulp Fiction 1994
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy 2001-03 *
3. Titanic 1997 *
4. Blue Velvet 1986
5. Toy Story 1995 *
6. Saving Private Ryan 1998 *
7. Hannah and Her Sisters 1986
8. The Silence of the Lambs 1991*
9. Die Hard 1988 *
10. Moulin Rouge 2001
11. This Is Spinal Tap 1984
12. The Matrix 1999 *
13. GoodFellas 1990
14. Crumb 1995
15. Edward Scissorhands 1990
16. Boogie Nights 1997
17. Jerry Maguire 1996 *
18. Do the Right Thing 1989
19. Casino Royale 2006 *
20. The Lion King 1994*
21. Schindler’s List 1993
22. Rushmore 1998
23. Memento 2001
24. A Room With a View 1986
25. Shrek 2001*
26. Hoop Dreams 1994
27. Aliens 1986
28. Wings of Desire 1988
29. The Bourne Supremacy 2004*
30. When Harry Met Sally… 1989*
31. Brokeback Mountain 2005
32. Fight Club 1999*
33. The Breakfast Club 1985*
34. Fargo 1996
35. The Incredibles 2004 *
36. Spider-Man 2 2004 *
37. Pretty Woman 1990 *
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004
39. The Sixth Sense 1999 *
40. Speed 1994*
41. Dazed and Confused 1993
42. Clueless 1995
43. Gladiator 2000*
44. The Player 1992
45. Rain Man 1988 *
46. Children of Men 2006
47. Men in Black 1997 *
48. Scarface 1983
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000
50. The Piano 1993
51. There Will Be Blood 2007
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad 1988
53. The Truman Show 1998
54. Fatal Attraction 1987
55. Risky Business 1983 *
56. The Lives of Others 2006
57. There’s Something About Mary 1998*
58. Ghostbusters 1984*
59. L.A. Confidential 1997
60. Scream 1996
61. Beverly Hills Cop 1984*
62. sex, lies and videotape 1989
63. Big 1988*
64. No Country For Old Men 2007
65. Dirty Dancing 1987 *
66. Natural Born Killers 1994
67. Donnie Brasco 1997
68. Witness 1985*
69. All About My Mother 1999
70. Broadcast News 1987
71. Unforgiven 1992
72. Thelma & Louise 1991*
73. Office Space 1999*
74. Drugstore Cowboy 1989
75. Out of Africa 1985
76. The Departed 2006
77. Sid and Nancy 1986
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991
79. Waiting for Guffman 1996
80. Michael Clayton 2007
81. Moonstruck 1987
82. Lost in Translation 2003
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn 1987
84. Sideways 2004
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin 2005*
86. Y Tu Mamá También 2002
87. Swingers 1996
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery 1997*
89. Breaking the Waves 1996
90. Napoleon Dynamite 2004
91. Back to the Future 1985*
92. Menace II Society 1993
93. Ed Wood 1994
94. Full Metal Jacket 1987
95. In the Mood for Love 2001
96. Far From Heaven 2002
97. Glory 1989
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley 1999*
99. The Blair Witch Project 1999
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut 1999

EW also listed the top 7 movies that readers said were missing from the list. They are:

Shawshank Redemption

Forrest Gump*
American Beauty*
The Ususal Suspects
Jurassic Park*
The Princess Bride*
Braveheart*

Going down down down...

2008-07-09T12:58:00.002-05:00

Six lbs and counting as of this morning! Not as much as I would have liked, but considering I have not being doing UBER UBER cardio not bad.

I haven't done ANY Cardio for 2 days( bad bad.....) but I was at auditions for Rumors. I am stage managing( God help the cast) for a friend of mine and I am looking forward to it. It's been a long time, but it's like riding a bike and well, I can be a bit bossy, so I think it will be fine.

So off to the trainer tonight and hopefully tomorrow night, as we have a friend coming to town on Friday night and I'd like to go to dinner with her.

So off for now... I'll keep you posted!

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-06T20:06:00.007-05:00

I know I am a couple of days late but it's been a busy weekend! Here we have Reilly showing off his patriotic bandanna courtesy of Auntie ML. He wore it all day and on our walk to Kennesaw Mtn.

We had a pretty good weekend. The usual - bbq on Friday then we ended up with a lot of yard work for the rest of the weekend.

Here's how Reilly spent his weekend:

and

Reilly spent the weekend doing his part to keep the chipmunk population under control. Needless to say he got a couple of baths this weekend.

And we tried out the new outdoor waterer with him and he's getting the hang of it I think. He actually drank out of it tonight, with me encouraging him. Now we just need him to go up to it on his own and start drinking out of it. I'll post pics soon.

Saturday night was the most fun of the weekend. We went to a tapas restaurant( I just don't get tapas.... ) with our friend's Catherine and John, and Cat's twin sister Elizabeth and her husband Sasha.

And low and behold what was at the tapas bar? But DUELING PIANOS !!! We LOVE dueling pianos and have been trying to find them since they left a bar near our house. So we closed the place down last night( it wasn't hard they closed at midnight).... but we had the best time. We'll definitely go back.

We've had a visitor all weekend. Miss Willa has been staying with us. She's been with Mike's parents, but they went out of town and so did Mike and Amy so we said we would take her since we've really missed her. Apparently Reilly hasn't missed her that much, he's awfully put out that she's here, but he'll get over it.

And on the weight front I'm minus 2. I was hoping for more, but considering I was on steriods all last week, it's not too bad.

I'm going to have to figure out my workout schedule, for next week, as I promised I would stage manage a play for a local theater before I decided to do this diet. We're doing Rumors and it starts with auditions Monday and Tues. So I'll just have to see what I can do.

Stay tuned.

Let the Torture Begin!

2008-07-03T09:34:00.002-05:00

So I have gone and done it and signed up with a personal trainer! I think this guy is going to be really good and I am trying really hard to stick with the plan. It's only been a week, and I don't think I have lost any weight, but that could be due to the fact that I am on Prednisone and it is that time of the month :). So 2 strikes against me to start with.

But I am going to keep plugging along. I am seeing the trainer 2x per week( it's all I could afford) then when I am not with him I am doing cardio and sticking( yes STICKING) to my diet.

I will probably fall off the wagon a bit this weekend( it is a holiday) but I won't slack up on my excercise. I intend ( hear me now) to get up EARLY tomorrow and take Reilly on a walk around Kennesaw Mountain. We'll do the short walk - just 2 miles, but that's a good workout for all of us.

Maybe on Sunday we'll be ambitious and do the 5 mile walk, now that they have it well marked.

I'll be posting updates so stay tuned!!!

Tagged!

2008-06-30T13:38:00.002-05:00

Penny tagged me so here it goes:

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Living in Atlanta, working in an advertising agency and Connor was still alive.

Five snacks I enjoy:

1. Honey Roasted Peanuts
2. Cheese cheese and more cheese
3. Blue Cheese stuffed Olives
4. Potato Chips
5. Reese's cups

Five Things on My To-Do list today:

1. Work :)
2. Agility Practice
3. Put laundry away
4. Take a mile walk
5. Pick up my prescriptions

Five Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Not work
2. Build a big house out in the country
3. Rescue a ton of dogs
4. Have horses
5. Give my parent's enough money to live the way they want to.

Five jobs I have had:

1. Groom( for horses)
2. Accountant
3. Retail Sales Person
4. Computer Tech
5. Part of the Equestrian Competition Mgmt for the 1996 Olympics

Five of my bad habits:

1. Worrying
2. Biting my nails
3. Eating bad things
4. Talking loudly
5. Feeding my dog people food

Five places I have lived:

1. Dunedin, FL
2. Safety Harbor, FL
3. Brooksville, FL
4. Atlanta, GA
5. Marietta, GA

Five people I would like to get to know better (yes, this means you are tagged!):

1. Ginny
2. Amy
3. Lizz
4. Janyne
*** Everyone else has been tagged! :)

Five Random Things:

1. I am tired of being sick.
2. It's too darn hot to do anything outside
3. I wish I were at home with Reilly
4. I hate that I have to pick up for the cleaning people this week
5. I wish Reilly would catch the stupid fly that's in the house