Willy

Happy Friday folks!

The first half of the day was beautiful. But now we are in some severe thunderstorm warnings and on the lookout for tornados. Which I kinda hafta admit scares me a bit. Just an hour north of us was hit with a nasty tornado over the Memorial weekend, injuring a few and killing a little boy. An entire neighborhood was destroyed. God be with you in Hugo, MN.

On a happier note... All this rain and humidity is really making things pop. Everything is lush and green and beautiful. Love it!!

And while I'm here and its Friday and I'm in such a great mood, can I take a second to brag about my foster families? For those of you just joining us, I work with the Minnesota branch of Dogs Deserve Better, a dog rescue. And I have these 2 foster families who I would be completely and utterly lost without. Connie and Beverly, you two rock. These two gals keep managing to pull me out of trouble in just a knick of time, every time. So for that, I gotta say THANK YOU! I guess I also have to say thank you to their families as well... Because while the two lovely gals are who I talk with directly, their families have a whole lot to do with saving these dogs as well. And the family pets! Thank you as well!

We get another Great Dane this weekend. Woo! But dont tell Red.. He doesnt know yet. :o)

His name is Willy. Well, actually its Diesel. But I dont like that name, and besides, we've already had a Diesel. And I am the one who has to feed this gigantic dog, I think I should get to name him whatever I want. Right? Whatever. When YOU have to buy 50lb bags of dog food in bulk, you can talk to me. Until then, get off it.

This big dude is only a year old. But hes a purebred Dane, so hes already topping 80lbs. Hes got a lot of growing to do. Yikes.

Check back tomorrow.. I will be making some changes around here. Maybe. Or maybe I will just lay around and read a book all day. Hey, even bloggers need a day off from blogging, no? What? You say I took the last 2 weeks off? You dont even know what I was doing, for all you know I spent the time in Alaska feeding the polar bears and digging trenches. Thats WORK, people!
Smile folks. Its the weekend.

Love Em

Agility Time!

Seven is better than eight, right?

I hope everybody had a fabulous, safe and memorable memorial weekend! I didnt do much. Saturday night we were with some friends to watch the UFC fight. And even though I was rooting for Sean Sherk, I wasnt surprised the BJ Penn took it.

Otherwise, the weekend didnt consist of much. Red went fishing, ALL 3 days. For like 9 hours a day. This is where I will never understand men. I enjoy fishing. I really do. But I cant fathom having such a passion for it as a hobby to spend 9+ hours a day doing it. And sometimes by himself. I dont know.. I think I would go crazy and start talking to myself. Or worse, the minnows. Cursing the line, slamming the pole around... Yikes.

I got a ton of spring cleaning done over the weekend. Feels good to have a nice, clean, organized house again!!!

Oh! My biggest news... Jake and I are now members of AMBOR, which stands for the American Mixed Breed Obedience Registry (thank you, Cj!). With Red fishing all the time, Jake and I needed something to do on the weekends besides clean. And I had always wanted to show dogs... But I never had a purebred and I didnt know you could even show mixed breeds. But you can!
I purchased some cheap agility practice equipment on ebay as well... Check it out!
12 weave poles. They are seperated and have spikes on the bottom, so I can set them up anywhere in any pattern. This will make training easier.



That blue tape there is actually a nylon pole guide, there are holes every so far that are spread out to regulation size, so when Jake is ready to move up to real poles, we will be practicing within regulation.

Red is also going to help me out with the A Frame and Teeter obsticals...



To buy these two pieces from a professional would cost over $1500! But with some PVC piping, lumber and nails, some nice paint and a regulations measurement list, we can build them both for under $50. Woo!! Here Here for the bargain shopper! Maybe when I'm done I can sell them on ebay for a gazillion dollars, right?

There is much more equipment to have the whole set. But it will take a loooong time to train this stuff to show, so we will do one at a time. No need to dive into something head first if there is a chance we will both hate it. Right?

I'll leave you with one last picture... Meet "Vail"



Vail is our Humane Society foster dog. She was picked up on the side of the road and since there were no open foster dogs, we took her. Shes a sweet dog. She can be adopted at http://www.steelecountyhumanesociety.com/.

Peace out!
Em

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Red!!

My hubby is 29 years old today. But dont tell him I told you!

Love Em

Finally

Umm... I have nothing to say for myself, except that I am ashamed that I have not been back to see you guys in 8 whole days. Well, I will say that I've been sick for the last 6 of them... So maybe you all could do me a favor and get off my back about it? That would be great. Because its not like I could even look at the computer screen for 5 minutes without getting a headache. And its not like you guys really even read this blog anyways. I havent been sharing pictures and I have since noticed a huge drop in attendance here. See, I told you it was the pictures.

So, because I dont want to completely give up on this site just because nobody is reading it, I am happy to announce two very awesome things. One, I got my computer back. Yipee! And two, I have pictures to share. Woo-eee!!

Lets start with these orchids I recieved from my big sister Jenny for my birthday. Oh yea, May 10th was my birthday. I am now 24 years old. Thanks for all the birthday wishes guys. *sarcastically**
Anyways.. Back to my birthday orchids.



I love Orchids.

I caught Red sleeping with 2 women the other day. Yeah. See?




I had nothing to do with that. I swear. Red did that completely voluntarily. Serious.

Next is Maggie. She was surrendered to us because she wouldnt point. I can tell you that I have literally never met a more perfect dog. She doesnt do anything wrong. AND she managed to steal my hubby's heart. Hard feat for any dog.




Maggie looks a little wound up here, eh? Like she might bounce off the walls at any second? Chill out, Maggie. Really, all work and no play is no way to live. Take a load off...

Oh, and speaking of wound up Maggie... Look at what I caught her doing with my dog!




NAPPING! I walked around the corner, and Maggie was sprawled out on top of my Lab. Jake really doesnt look too worked up over the whole thing though, does he... Jeez. Way to start her off with bad manners right away. I mean for crying out loud, shes only a baby, Jake! Craddle robber! Maggie, you gold-digger...

Alright, its bed time. Keep an eye on your dogs... They are getting weird.

Love Em

Misc

Good morning and happy Monday my friends!

It was a great weekend overall, I had Friday off of work and the 3 day weekend was good for me. I got much done. Saturday I spent with my future inlaws... Yesterday I spent with my family to celebrate Mothers Day. It was a good weekend.

And of course I took many pictures to share with you, but I cannot yet share them with you because I still dont have my computer back. I got to bring it home Friday, only to discover they didnt give me my pwoer cord. And when we went back to get it, we discovered that the guy wasnt actually done fixing it and so we had to bring it back. Talk about kicking a girl while shes down... Jeez.
But I ate enough cake and ice cream this weekend for all of you... Should be a fun weigh in this Wednesday.... Yikes.

I still have not heard from Uncle Kracker regarding his winning! UK, shoot me an email already would you? :o)

Thursday evening was the beginning of whats going to be a looooong volleyball season. It was freezing cold, the sand was even colder. I couldnt feel my toes by the end of the first game. Most of our team mates ended up injured by the end. It was rough. Its going to take a few more games to shake the rust and dust off and get back into it. Last year we finished 2nd in our league with only us 4 players. We've since added 2 and its going to take some work to get the wheels turning smoothly. But we'll come around. Oh, did I mention we lost all 3 games? Yeah. It was rough. But we started against the best team on the league, and they are sponsered by the place hosting the games. So they have the courts to practice on. We dont.

I picked up some new dogs this weekend. Merc is a Great Dane. Yes, you read right. I have a small horse of a dog in my house. Shes got icey blue eyes and shes white with merle spotting. I took lots of pictures of her to show you all, but of course, I dont get to share them yet.
Also adding to our pack of dogs is Mac, a Husky, possible Dingo mix. Hes very sweet. And lastly, Gotti, hes a MinPin mix. A mini Rottweiler I'm told.

Well, I'd better stop boring you before you all decide that my writing just isnt worth your time without the pictures... I will get some up as soon as I possibly can, I promise!

Love Em

Mother's Day

Good morning and happy Monday my friends!

It was a great weekend overall, I had Friday off of work and the 3 day weekend was good for me. I got much done. Saturday I spent with my future inlaws... Yesterday I spent with my family to celebrate Mothers Day. It was a good weekend.

And of course I took many pictures to share with you, but I cannot yet share them with you because I still dont have my computer back. I got to bring it home Friday, only to discover they didnt give me my pwoer cord. And when we went back to get it, we discovered that the guy wasnt actually done fixing it and so we had to bring it back. Talk about kicking a girl while shes down... Jeez.
But I ate enough cake and ice cream this weekend for all of you... Should be a fun weigh in this Wednesday.... Yikes.

I still have not heard from Uncle Kracker regarding his winning! UK, shoot me an email already would you? :o)

Thursday evening was the beginning of whats going to be a looooong volleyball season. It was freezing cold, the sand was even colder. I couldnt feel my toes by the end of the first game. Most of our team mates ended up injured by the end. It was rough. Its going to take a few more games to shake the rust and dust off and get back into it. Last year we finished 2nd in our league with only us 4 players. We've since added 2 and its going to take some work to get the wheels turning smoothly. But we'll come around. Oh, did I mention we lost all 3 games? Yeah. It was rough. But we started against the best team on the league, and they are sponsered by the place hosting the games. So they have the courts to practice on. We dont.

I picked up some new dogs this weekend. Merc is a Great Dane. Yes, you read right. I have a small horse of a dog in my house. Shes got icey blue eyes and shes white with merle spotting. I took lots of pictures of her to show you all, but of course, I dont get to share them yet.
Also adding to our pack of dogs is Mac, a Husky, possible Dingo mix. Hes very sweet. And lastly, Gotti, hes a MinPin mix. A mini Rottweiler I'm told.

Well, I'd better stop boring you before you all decide that my writing just isnt worth your time without the pictures... I will get some up as soon as I possibly can, I promise!

Love Em

Winner!

We have a winner!!
Okay, I realize its not yet 3:30. But ya know, I am just trying to keep it real here. If I already know who the winner is, and there is still and hour and nineteen minutes, wait... An hour and eighteen minutes until the announcement time, should I really keep you on your toes for another hour and eighteen, wait.... hour and seventeen minutes??
I think that would be mean. And its almost Friday, and I dont want to be mean to you on an almost Friday. So.... **drum roll please**
The winner is....
Uncle Kracker with his "Don't act like... you don't know what I'm talkin about"
Congrats, Kracker! I chose this entry because even though Uncle Kracker doesnt know Maya personally, this caption really grabs hold of Maya's personality. Maya is an awesome dog. But shes only a baby yet, and shes got a very laid back, easy going temperment for her age and for her breed mix (Husky/German Shepherd). And she's the type of girl that will look at you like your stupid if you dont do what she is thinking you should be doing.
When I took this picture, I was making P-Dub's lasagna and I kept scolding Maya because she was under foot only when I was dealing with rolls of beef and sausage. So I banished her to the living room, and that is the look I got from her for the remainder of the evening.
So, Kracker's caption says it like it is.
Kracker, email me at Pelodadegoma @ yahoo.com and let me know which card you'd like and where I can mail it to! Congrats!
Thank you all for entering! There will be a new contest next week! Stay tuned!!
Love Em
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Times Up!

I see some good entries!!
It was good to hear from you all! It shows me that somebody actually does read this blog, therefor I will continue sharing my ever so interesting life with you. Honestly, I really didnt think anybody really read it. I mean, my life is pretty average. But bless you're wonderful hearts, I am so glad you stop by everyday! Its the photos isnt it... Cant be the writing. My writing sucks.
Anyways....

Winner will be announced at 3:30pm today!
Stay tuned!

Love Em

Photo Contest?

Okay, I would like to try something new here. I am able to tell how many people click onto this website. But it doesnt really allow me to know if they are different people or if its all the same few people. Either way is fine with me, but I would like to try and pull some people out of the woodwork.
So, I am proud to announce my very first.......

Name that Photo Contest! Woo!



To enter the contest, post your entry in the Guestbook section. One entry per person. Contest will end at 12:00 noon Central time on Thursday, May 8th. That gives you about 48 hours. The winner will be announced Thursday evening. The winner will be chosen based on their creativity and how it relates to the photo above. This dog is Maya, she is my 'fur-niece'. For those of you who dont know what that means, she is my sisters dog.

The winner will recieve their choice of one (1) of the following:$10 gift card to Wal-Mart$10 gift card to Starbucks$10 gift card to any Kwik Trip convenience store.

If nobody posts any entries, I wont cry. I will just go an spend my giftcards on myself. So no hard feelings. But I would really not feel like such a loser if you would please enter the contest and please tell your friends!

Begin!

MS Walk

Me oh my, it's already Monday.

It was an eventful weekend for us here.
Saturday I awoke early to get to the vet's office to pick up Rocky, the 80lb Yellow Lab we were fostering. He was neutered Friday and got his vetting updated. Then the Rock Star was adopted Sunday afternoon! Woo! Then I drove to Burnsville to meet Cj and picked up our two newest fosters, Elly the Dachshund and Talle the Yorkie mix. And I wont tell anybody this, but Cj has fallen for a PitBull and a Weener dog all in the same 6 month period. But I didnt say anything about it. You didn't hear it from me. Did you. Did you.

I spent the rest of the day getting them settled and introducing everybody. Sunday I walked in the 2008 Walk for MS in Faribault, MN. That was actually a good time... The park where we walked was beautiful, with the majority of the 4 mile trail snaking through the woods. It was nice to get out there, the terrain was fun and mildly challenging, with hills and rocks and mud. It was a good day, and my girlfriend Carrie joined me for the trek. It was for a good cause and we had a lot of fun. Met a lot of new people... And Subway donated lunch at the end of the walk, so we got to sit with our new found friends outside and eat. Overall it was a great event. I'm already signed up for next year.

I had meant to haul my camera along with me, but since my computer is down, I have been slacking in taking as many pictures as I should. Oh yeah, thats why I still have no pictures to share. And I'm sure since my writing stinks so much my pictures are the only reason you visit this website at all. Right? Or does my photography suck too? Oh wow...

Okay, I'm gonna go bury my head in some sand now.

Eight Belles

I would like to take this opportunity to have a moment of silence for the late Eight Belles. The only filly in a field of 19 colts, she ran her heart out and came in second in the Kentucky Derby this past weekend. She broke both of her front ankles and was euthanized immediately after the race.

Barbaro in 2006, Eight Belles this weekend... Anyone seeing a pattern? Its been noted that breeders are now breeding soley for speed and not taking into account the importance of soundness in a racehorse. Such a nasty, tragic sport. It had always been a dream of mine to attend the Kentucky Derby. But I think its lost its allure...

R.I.P. Eight Belles