DIY

Ahhh... DIY.

It stands for 'Do It Yourself'. I posted earlier about Kimba from 'A Soft Place To Land' blog. This wonderwoman and her readers have given me a hundred new projects to launch into.

Shall we talk about inspiration for a minute? Did you know that this photo...



...taken by Melanie at The Old White Cottage, is the sole reason that I ripped my bedroom apart this past weekend and completely re-organized it? Just the photo alone!

This may not be good in one sense... Because I can completely see myself starting 4 projects, making a huge mess, and then not finishing any of them. That is so the kind of person I am.

But the more DIY blogs I read, the more ideas I'm getting.

My grandpa moved a couple of years ago from his house to an apartment complex because he didn't want the hassle of caring for an entire property himself anymore. In the process, he unloaded a large amount of stuff onto me and Red. Which is great, I love it because it belonged to my grandma and my mom, both of whom have passed. But at the same time, I dont know what to do with most of it.

But as I dive into these DIY'ers, I am getting more and more wonderful ideas on how to make this stuff my own. There are pretty bottles and glassware that I really cant do anything with. Then I discovered what spray paint and spray gloss can do. There is an old old dresser in our spare bedroom that is scratched and chipped and gouged. So why not sand it and re varnish it to match my home? There is a faux wood chest thats very pretty and quite sturdy yet, but its ugly. So I'm thinking I'll spray paint it to see what I can make of it.

Not to mention that I just recently figured out how to use my sewing machine.

I think that now that I'm not doing dog rescue, I will have more free time on my hands. Rescue is the reason my house has 'gone to the dogs' the last few years. Well, it's time to take it back. And I know Red will be thrilled to live in a cleaner, brighter, updated house. One that will certainly still be filled with dog hair. But I'm counting on the new vacuum to help me quash that!

Stay tuned. I will take before, during and after photos of each project I begin!

Our New Family Member

That's right. We adopted another dog.

What's interesting to me is that everybody who saw Kirby and I together already knew that he would be mine. Before I had even thought about adopting him.

The decision was an emotional one. I had had a long conversation with Red about adopting him. He knew the day I brought him home that I wanted to keep him. And even though he wasn't thrilled about the idea, he told me I could have him. It meant so much to me that he said yes regardless of his feelings that I emailed the rescue and told her that we would in fact not be adopting Kirby, but that we would continue to foster him until a home was found. I love Red more than anything and he was selfless enough to want my happiness over his own feelings. It didn't feel right not to extend the same courtesy back to him. I would find another dog at another time, when we were both ready.

When Red found out that I had declined the adoption, he told me that I had to adopt him. It was an intensly emotional adoption. But I couldn't be happier. Kirby has fit in here since the moment he stepped into this house. I haven't had a feeling about a dog since Frankie first arrived over a year ago. I had a feeling about Kirby.

So I am happy to introduce to you our newest baby.



He is the spitting image of Frankie. Just a different color. He's absolutely beautiful. His pretty gold eyebrows match the color of his eyes and make him look a little obnoxious at times. I love it.

This addition effectively ends my rescue career. There is no room to foster dogs now that we have three. Deep in my heart, while I love rescue and take pride in all I accomplished in the three years we were involved in rescue, I knew that something was changing. My heart wasn't in it once I began dog sports. I realize now that I want to focus my energies on my own dogs. I now have two young Aussies who both need consistant, daily training and exercise and stimulation. Frankie has only just begun, and Kirby needs to start from scratch basically. I have a lot of work ahead of me to keep this a happy household, and I wouldn't be able to put enough into rescue to keep everything up. But this is good for me. And it's good for our pack. It's hard to keep things on an even keel when you constantly have new dogs coming and going. The dynamics were ever changing and its hard one both human and animal to not have that pack consistancy.



Kirby is a perfect match for our current pack. He still needs some work, though. Some training and trust building and drive building. Plus he's only 10 months old. He's a baby yet.



And really, who is going to notice that he chews on his own feet?

My Inspiration

I love Kimba.

I love her I love her I love her. If I could take her home with me I would be forever happy.

Every time I read her blog, I want to run home and turn my house upside down and clean it and organize the crap out of it.

Kimba makes me want to be a better, neater person.

Plus, she is always linking up other do-it-yourselfers so you can find even more inspiration.

Plus, in these hard economic times, sometimes you have to make something that you want rather than shelling out the cash for the actual thing.

Plus, there are so many more feelings of pride and triumph when you accomplish a DIY task yourself, isn't there?

So I invite you to take a walk with Kimba. I guarentee that you will walk away with some fresh, new ideas.

Stop Complaining and Do It!

Let me start out by saying that I have always had a hard time finishing what I start. In almost every aspect of anything in my life. The only exceptions are things that are mandatory, such as work, cooking, cleaning, etc, where my well being kind of depends on the finish.

Growing up, my parents gave me the gift of musical lessons. I took piano and guitar lessons. I picked up the piano pretty well for a while. The guitar was quite a bit tougher, but I was getting the hang of it.

I haven't the foggiest idea today why I quit playing these instruments. I would give just about anything to be able to play either/or fluidly.


Photo by tinctoris @ flickr

About 5 or 6 years ago, just before I met Red, I 'found' and old friend. Found meaning we ran into each other after years apart and we started hanging out again. Well, he plays the guitar. And very well I might add. He attempted to teach me. But me being me, I couldnt take it seriously enough and my guitar went back to collecting dust.

I have a Yamaha keyboard as well as a beauitful old acoustic guitar. Both of which have lain idle for a half a dozen years. It's sad really.


Photo by fernando delfini @ flickr

I usually curse myself for not continuing the lessons that were offered to me. What an idiot I was! For some odd reason on the drive into work this morning, I was thinking about my instruments. And I cursed myself again. I'm 25 years old and I still can't play anything on either. It's frustrating. I was about to let it go when it dawned on me...

Stop complaining and learn to play, you knot head! Why can't I still learn to play? I have a desire to do so and I know how important it is to me to learn. Being a teenager wasn't my only chance to l play an instrument. Yes, it will be harder now. Much harder. But that doesn't mean I can't do it, right?

So. Who wants to teach me. Anybody?

K9 Senior Moment

Jake is my dog. The original. He's the dog that I have had for the entirity of my adult life. I would do anything for the old guy.



I have to buy dog food this weekend. Its that time again where I can see the bottom of the dog food tub.

But this time will be different. Instead of one giant bag, I will be buying one giant bag and one large bag.

Jake is being switched to 'mature adult' dog food this weekend. And the thought breaks my heart in two.

You see, Jake isn't supposed to get old. That wasn't part of our original agreement. Jake is my soul mate. My other half. He knows me as well as I know him. We've been through everything together. He's the dog who taught me everything I needed to know about owning a dog.



These past couple of years, he has been gradually turning grey. When I got him, he was an orangy yellow. Every single year, he would turn a darker shade of golden red. But last year, he got lighter. And he continues to get lighter as the grey sets in.

I took Jake out to play today. And while I watched him zoom around the yard, I realized how old my dog really was. We never knew exactly how old he was. Going by our calculations, he is around 8 years old. But judging by how quickly he is aging these days, its quite possible that he's actually 9 or 10 years old.

Senile is the only word I can think of to describe what's happening to my dog. He hears just fine, but he doesn't really listen anymore. He knows that he has retired and that nothing is really expected of him except to be happy. We've never allowed dogs on the furniture. Jake has his own chair. What does that tell you?



My world will be turned upside down the day that dog leaves this earth. My heart will shatter.

Maybe I'm looking too far into it. It's just hard watching him change.

I will fully enjoy every single day I have with him. He's not going anywhere anytime soon. He shows zero signs of arthritis or soreness. He gets the zoomies daily. In a wrestling match, he can still hold his own against any strong, young dog who might happen through here. He can still perform every trick in his arsenal.



He is having more senior moments that I care to see these days. But he'll always be my baby.

I'd Done Gone and Fallen In Love

True story.

And I don't even know what it is that attracts me to this fine male specimen. I mean, he's sexy of course. Handsome, with a "just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-I-don't-care" look. His hair is curly and full of cowlicks that make his hair go in every which direction. He's got eyes the color of golden brown and they melt my heart every time he looks at me.

But he's also kind of a bad ass. He does things just to piss me off. He picks fights just because he's bored. He's messy. He's loud. He's kind of obnoxious. He's Australian-American.

Oh, and he eats cat food. And he herds my vacuum cleaner. My vacuum doesn't like being herded, folks.

Neither does my cat, for that matter.

He's Kirby. And I'm completely head over heels for him.

I mean, I knew I had a thing for Aussies. The day Frankie stepped into my life, I knew that I would own this breed for the rest of my life.

But Kirby... Kirby is a boy Aussie. I have always preferred male animals over female. Regardless of species, the female of any species is a high maintenence tool, pain in the ass, bitch. That's just how it is. Frankie can be those things. But I love her all the same. Kirby has all of Frankie's good Aussie traits, and he's a boy Aussie. So he brings the laid-back, go with the flow male personality.

He's perfect. And he likes frisbees.



A disc toting, handsome, sexy, bad-ass, laid back, go with the flow, boy Aussie.

How's a girl to resist?

And he's the perfect match for Frankie in every single way.

Hey, um... Red??

Shock & Alarm

During my lunch break today, I had to run some errands. One of them was a trip to Fleet Farm to pick up a pot and cat food. A pot, because ours miraculously disappeared while I was away in Colorado, and cat food because foster dog Kirby decided to eat the rest of Syl's food. Luckily, there was only about 2 days worth of food left, otherwise I might have a sick foster dog today.

Anyways. I walked into Fleet Farm and shock hit me first. Alarm was second.

The school stuff came out a few weeks ago. So the sight of that didn't bother me. I understand that school starts up again in the next couple of weeks so it was necessary.

Is it necessary, however, to begin displaying fall stuff? Like those orange and tan scarecrow things on the stake that you put in your front yard?

Okay, I can maybe do with the fall stuff. However, what hit me hardest was the site of Christmas decorations. Red Christmas bows, Christmas lights, wrapping paper, etc.
Christmas is really only 4 months away. But I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer yet! Noooooo! You can't take it away from me! Technically, summer has another 5 weeks to go. It's not even a 3rd of the way over with and we're already pulling out the holiday stuff?

What gives?

Colorado ~ Day 1

Okay, we didn't actually spend the first day of the trip in Colorado. We had to get there first. And to get there required a 17 hour drive with 15 other disc dogger yahoos. (I use the term 'yahoos' affectionately, because they really are a fun, whooping bunch of people!)

I began the day at 5 o'clock in the morning. I was packed for the most part, as was Frankie. T arrived with her dogs, Lok and Jun, and following her was DK. We loaded up with room to spare and hit the road.

We had decided for safety reasons to make the trip caravan style. So we all met up at Trails truckstop.



One last coffee/potty break. And some goofing around.

Hey, this early in the morning, you can't blame a guy for getting a little nutty. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that Roo might actually be a morning person.



Lok the Border Collie was ready to go, so we hit the road. And for the next 7 hours, this was view.



We got to stare at the back of Roo's vehicle for a good part of the trip. And there are 4 other club members in that blue van to the right. Not that I'm complaining. There was definately a safe feeling traveling with a large group of trusted friends.

Our first stop was somewhere in Iowa. And in true Iowegian style, the gas station itself was a barn.



Not even kidding. That barn is a gas station.
But they had a great little area for the dogs to stretch their legs.

I call this photo "Pile O' Border Collies"



Because... Well, it's a pile of Border Collies.
That's Jun in white, Rocket in red and.... Well, I can't actually remember if thats Jack or Lok in black there. Jeez. But that's what I get for waiting a whole week to blog about Colorado. Right?

It was relief to hit Nebraska.



Not because of the stunning views, which consisted of field upon field of corn and cattle. But because it was the last state that stood between us and our destination.

For lunch, we stopped at this place in Nebraska called King Kongs. And before we got there, I said "Let me guess, it's theme is going to be a giant gorilla?"



Yup. Giant gorillas everywhere. Their solo sign was a giant gorilla. They had a dozen gorilla statues outside the place. And hanging from the ceiling were dozens of stuffed gorillas. And the burgers?? Well they were about the size of gorillas.
Am I supposed to be capatalizing 'gorillas'?

The drive through Nebraska was uneventful. Until the last gas/stretch/potty stop of the night before hitting the hotel. We were near the Colorado border. We all stood outside, discussing the plan. And these puppies loomed overhead.



We loaded back up and hit the road for the last time before Colorado. The clouds got thicker and darker until the sky finally fell on us. Colorado welcomed us with a vicious storm. Torrential rains, flooded highways, zero visibility. It rained so hard that when our van hit the water, it either hydroplaned or splashed up water in front of the vehicle in waves so thick that when the headlights hit them, there was no way to see ahead. We nearly went off the road a handful of times. Finally, the van said no more when water flooded the engine. We were stuck on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. It was dark. We couldnt see anything, so we didn't know where our caravan was or how they had fared.

Regardless of the nasty anxiety and panic that was creeping up my throat, I twittered through the entire ordeal. All the way until I hit the hotel sheets. Check it out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colorado is greeting us with fierce lightening and storms. Awesome.

Windshield wipers are working over time. Damn torrential rains.

Engines stalled. Too much water. Scary.

Back on the road. Only lost a few minutes. Can the rain be done now?

Yup. I need a beer. Badly.

Pulled back into our caravan after the storm drama and instantly feel safer.

Amazing how going from 85mph to 65mph can drop a persons anxiety level.

48 miles to go and still no mountains? What a rip off. Granted... It IS dark outside.

Denver is gorgeous at night

Okay, make that denver is gorgeous from the outside at night. Inside it just sucks metro

Oh thank God there is the hotel

Hotel bar i love you

Disc doggers rock. Nuff said

I think its time for bed. But i gotta pee first

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After we put the dogs away for the night and unloaded vehicles, we did in fact hit up the hotel bar. We sat outside on the bar patio and met some of the other disc doggers from other areas. I wish I had been of mind to bring my camera. I think that first night with everybody laughing and drinking and having a good time was one of my favorites. That is when I twittered "Disc Doggers Rock, Nuff Said". Because it's the truth.

Here is a little preview of what day 2 holds.

! ! ! ! !

The excitement is building.

Tomorrow morning I am picking up my newest foster dog.



Kirby is a 10 month old Black Tri Aussie boy. Apparently he was adopted from the rescue, but returned shortly after because of his excessive energy level.

I am prepared for it, and not the least bit intimidated. Yet.

Frankie was about 10 months old when she arrived here. Before that, she was never let out of her kennel and was slated for euthenasia because of her excessive energy levels. The warden couldn't handle her, nor did anybody want to try. I won't lie, it took us a few exhausting months before we were able to figure each other out. But it was so worth it.

I am hoping that Kirby isn't going to give me a run for my money. I am counting on my experiences with Frankie to help me reach Kirby on a higher level though.

Regardless, "! ! ! ! !" is the only way to describe how I feel right now. I'm head over heels for Aussies and the idea of having two in my house is putting me over the top right now. Eek!

Back

Yes. Yes I am back from Colorado. And I have been back for approximately 66 hours now.

No. No I haven't uploaded any photos yet. Because I took approximately one million four hundred thousand and ninety eight of them and it's going to take at least that many days for my camera to cough them all into my computer.

Without my photos, I find it hard to tell you a good story. So I'll wait.

But I can assure you that Frankie and I had an awesome time with Team MNDDC in Colorado and that we will soooo be joining them again next year.

Patience, folks. I have nothing going on this weekend, so it will be photo city at my house!

But in the meantime, here is a photo that I did not take. Obviously, since I'm in the photo. This was taken during my freestyle routine with Frankie.


Photo by Brian Bruzek

'Routine' might be an overstatement. I halfway look like I knew what I was doing in this photo. But let me assure you, I did not. There was no rhyme or reason to what Frankie and I did out there. I dont want to use the term 'winging it' because that sounds absolutely horrid. I mean, who travels across 4 states just to 'wing it'?

More on that soon.

Colorado Bound

I'm off to Colorado this morning for the Colorado Canine Challenge! Or is it K9 Challenge?

Check my Twitter feed as I will update as often as I can!

Love you lots!

Em

Sunday Review

I love Sundays. Because it's the day where everything slows down and you can just do stuff that either you have been meaning to get around to, or you can pass the time doing things that you really want to do.

Some of the disc dog crew met up at Jodi and Sean's and did some dog agility. They have an awesome course set up on their farm and they were gracious enough to invite us out to use it!

Here is Jodi running her little Corgi, Hoss, over the dog walk.

And Kayla running Lucy through the jump.

I was quite impressed with Lucy, laying here patiently while her mom walks the course. And Kayla is quite the agility dog handler.

I ran Jake over some of the obsticals once. He never had any ambition to be an agility dog. However, he wouldn't mind if he could be a water dog more often.


While I was at Sean and Jodi's place, I got the pleasure of meeting this gem.



Her name is Jenna and she is a Missouri Fox Trotter.


And she is by far one of the kindest creatures that I have ever met.

I only wished that I had remembered to wear the sweatshirt with the peppermint treats in the pocket. For this girl deserved it after allowing me to smush and schmooze all over her. I just loved her to bits.

Dogs and horses make for the perfect Sunday afternoon if you ask me.

I followed it up with a trip to Starbucks. I met Jo there to teach her to blog!

How cliche. Meeting at Starbucks to blog. Icky.

There was a couple of guys sitting nearby and I just hated listening to them talk. Because what they spoke of was also awefully cliched. They wore 'skinny' jeans. Their hair was all combed over to one side. Very chic goth. Chic goth? Anyways... They spoke of writing music lyrics and guitar strings and festivals. It was very uncomfortable actually.

So I just sucked on my Frappuchino and showed Jo what to do and tried to mind my own business. Not easy, considering they were sitting 4 feet from me.

But now it's Monday and I need to work.