Uh Oh

I'm a bit upset, I can't find Snickers baby picture... the original picture from her Petfinder profile. We adopted her in April of 2006! I think it's on our older computers... ruh roh. I'm hoping I will come along and find it, if not I'm hoping Mom and Dad haven't cleaned off my old desktop.

Flyball

What is Flyball?

Flyball got its start in the late 1960's and early 1970's, when a group of dog trainers in Southern California created scent discrimination hurdle racing, then put a guy at the end to throw tennis balls to the dogs when they finished the jump line. It didn't take long for the group to decide to build some sort of tennis ball-launching apparatus, and the first flyball box was born. Herbert Wagner is credited with developing the first flyball box, and apparently he did a flyball demo on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson that got a lot of peoples attention. Subsequently, the new dog sport for dog enthusiasts was introduced in the Toronto-Detroit area by several dog training clubs. After a few small tournaments were held in conjunction with dog shows, the first ever flyball tournament was held in 1983.

Flyball races match two teams of four dogs each, racing side-by-side over a 51 foot long course. Each dog must run in relay fashion down the jumps, trigger a flyball box, releasing the ball, retrieve the ball, and return over the jumps. The next dog is released to run the course but can't cross the start/finish line until the previous dog has returned over all 4 jumps and reached the start/finish line. The first team to have all 4 dogs finish the course without error wins the heat.

Jump height is determined by the smallest dog on the team – this dog, called the "height dog", is measured at the withers, then that number is rounded down to the nearest inch and another 5" is subtracted to get the jump height (with the minimum jump height being 7"). So a 13 1/4" dog would round down to 13", minus 5", would jump 8". Maximum jump height is 14".

More information found here.



Rebecca, Jen and I are taking the dogs through the class at Aggie Pet Zone to learn how to do the competition. Last night Lee was able to go to help with Gus Gus.
Here are some videos we took. All are located on my youtube account.
(www.youtube.com/user/roofuskrys)

Pet Photoshoot

Had a little photoshoot with the pets tonight while Lee painted his cornhole set (all of which is home made, pictures to follow our completion).

Here are a few of the pictures.








Bark at the Park is tomorrow! :) Well, today.

Bubbles

All I Wanna Say Is... They Don't Really Care About Us

First of all... a recap of my Project 365 pictures. January 16 - 26

Yes, I have two pictures for the 17th, it was a good day for photos. :)

Click to enlarge

I still don't have my car back. Hopefully Sweetie will be home by this weekend. We have been running for months now. I requested Monday off. It was very much needed. I wish Lee could take one too. Every weekend we have been doing something. He is tackling a new semester and trying to finish up his certification too. He is kicking ass and taking names, really, he is. I'm so proud of him. I got another cyst. Hence the picture for the 18th... haha. The doctor put me on Vicodin -- finally! All is okay now, kinda over the ovarian cyst thing though. Enough is enough.

I got the Michael Jackson movie today. Jen took my on lunch. :) YAY. I love it. He is an amazing musician. He may have had an interesting life that some liked or disliked, but he was an amazing musician. You really believe in his music watching this movie, watching him perform.

Work has been incredibly hard lately. I don't really like to talk about it, nor blog about it. But it has been a bit overwhelming. I did an interview for the news station here today after the city council meeting. You can view the clip HERE. To all of you animal lovers, all we need is support.

Snickers Birthday

Happy Birthday to our little lady Snickers.

She turns 4 years old today.

We have had Snickers for 4 years in April. :) We are very lucky to have our Doodle-Bear,

through her ups and downs, she is a great dog!

The Holidays

Finally home, unpacked and laundry is done...
Now it's just about time to head back to reality, back to work.

Thought I would share a few pictures.
We had a good Christmas, with snow, in Dallas.

And a great New Years Christmas in Austin.

Also, I have started Project 365 again, thanks to my sisters peer pressure :) I take a picture a day normally anyways, whether it is the digital cam  or my cell phone camera. So, let's see how this goes.

Just in case you don't know what Project 365 is...

People will often say that their whole lives flashed before their eyes after they experienced a traumatic event. Perhaps it’s a bit morbid, but we think that sounds pretty incredible.

When Taylor McKnight started taking a photo a day on January 1st, 2004, he never imagined the project would not only serve as a way to remember a year, but also help him understand what was important to him in his life.

Whether it was his relationships, his career, or his fashion sense, recording a photo a day for a whole year left him with a rich visual history of his life. And it made him a better photographer to boot!

Now that he’s in the middle of doing it for a second time, we asked Taylor to write about it for us. Read on for our tutorial on how and why to create your own daily photographic history.

Project 365: How to Create a Daily Photographic History
www.photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/

Meme begins

With the holidays up and coming... I know I will not be able to blog everyday for 30 days, so I will make the meme my own and try to do a few from the list each time. Making my own rules!


Day 01 → Your favorite song
My favorite song of the moment - Fireflys by Owl City
My favorite song of all time - What It's Like by Everlast

Day 02 → Your favorite movie(s)
Bridget Jones Diary, The Sandlot, Across The Universe, Elf, Sydney White

Day 03 → Your favorite television program(s)
The Office, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Chelsea Lately, 30 Rock, Modern Family...

Day 04 → Your favorite book
The Twilight Series, and I am embarking on the Chelsea Handler books now!

Day 05 → Your favorite quote
At the moment it is this one:
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, Love leaves a memory no one can steal."



We helped Ally and Tristan's family move her stuff out on Saturday morning. It made everything so real, that she really wasn't coming back. It was hard. I miss her everyday.

We were in Christmas mode the rest of the weekend.

Took the dogs to get their pictures taken with Santa Paws.

Snickers was terrified and Gus was waiting for some sort of treat or reward as we were calling them to look at the camera. All of the money from Saturday's pictures went to the animal shelter - so that was pretty awesome. We even got a cute litter paw print Christmas frame. Maybe the grandparents will get a copy for Christmas *wink* *wink* Since these are your grandchild at the current time, and content about that! HaHa.


We had our Secret Santa party at the Menser's house on Saturday. Jenn got me a Spongebob blanket and pillow and Wii points! Lee got Transformers 2, M&Ms and a gift card to the movie theater here. We had a great time. Sunday was my work party. Lee and I hosted it and we all had a blast!

Lee made 6 pies for the parties this weekend! 2 apple, 2 pumpkin and 2 pecan. Everyone was excited and he got great reviews! :) There will be many pies in the future! Very proud of my cook and baker. He spoils us so.

Before I go... I have to share this picture of Lee in his classroom. We went to visit the school on Friday when the kids were having their Winter Dance.

Weekend of Laughter

This weekend was a blast!

On Friday my sister came into town. We went to see the Michael Jackson movie "This Is It." Lee went to see "Men Who Stare At Goats," he didn't want to see the MJ movie. Shame on him! :) JK. Sammie didn't really want to see it either, but I was determined to see it whether someone went with me or not. Luckily, I guilt tripped Sammie into it. She went into the movie as a person that disliked MJ and came out loving him. It was fabulous!

Saturday we went to the Aggie Pet Zone open house. It was a lot of fun. That is where the pups are going for XMAS and that's where Gussy goes for playcare. We love it there. We got a tour of what is to come and got to see some of our dog friends. Becca brought Boomer and we brought Gus.


After a while, we headed out to Houston to see Rosemary, Jorge and the baby, Jayden! :) It was so great seeing them. I hadn't seen Jayden since he was born (well technically 1 1/2 or 2 weeks after he was born). He is now 4 months! Time flys!


We headed over to the House of Blues a bit early and I'm glad that we did. We (Lee, Sammie & I) had gotten general admission tickets and it was standing only. So we got a great spot by getting there before others. There were at least 300 people there last night -- a lot more than we thought! It was a great show. The Comedians of Chelsea Lately. The comedians were: Sarah Colonna, Loni Love, Heather McDonald and John Caparulo. All hilarious! My faves on the show are those three women, but John (from Ohio!) was really quite hilarious. John was Lee and Sam's favorite of the night. We got some pictures afterward, which just topped off the night for me. Fabulous time! Can't wait for the next comedy show... Lee and I would like to see more, we enjoy laughing and it's affordable (compared to most concerts!).

Now onto the week and Lee's birthday!! :) Getting excited...

Halloween!

(click to make it bigger)

We took the pups to the Halloween celebration for pictures and goodies. It was a lot of fun, but I know both of them were miserable. They were super cute though. Snickers was a banana and Gus was a [land] shark. It was adorable.
I took Gus to the Aggie Pet Zone Halloween party as well. We won a cake in the cake walk and he got scariest costume. I can't wait for Heather to post those pictures! They are going to be adorable.

Lee and I hosted a Halloween party. Made cookies, punch, Lee hung lights and I decorated the interior. It was really quite nice. I was a little disappointed with the small number of attendees, but it turned out to be a really fun night. We all hung out, drank, ate some cookies and played rock band! I love my friends and am so thankful to all of those that came (whether in person or in spirit).

Wiener Fest 2009

(Click the picture to enlarge)

Saturday, October 17 was the 3rd Annual Wiener Fest in Bryan/College Station. It is an event put on by the animal shelter and it was my very first wiener fest event! Lee and I entered Gus into the "Wanna-Be-A-Wiener" Race. Snickers was above the weight limit -- she had to be able to fit into the dachshund box, and she didn't. :(
But Snickers got to meet a lot of different types of dogs and we plan on entering them into the costume contest next year! (When we have time to make them from scratch, rather than buying them.)

• The video of Gus racing (Click The Link)
  Our little bundle of joy
• The video of Spyder Racing (Click The Link)
  Rebecca and Rob's Italian Greyhound (adopted from the shelter!)
• The video of Cash Racing (Click The Link)
  Bobby and Ann's Min-Pin (adopted from the shelter!)
  

It was a lot of fun. We are red in the face -- literally, we are sunburned! But all in all, it was a great day. Thank you to all the Gus supporters! :)

And... now we have two tired dogs. (Salem was excited...)

Fostering a pet

I posted a blog on the Brazos Animal Shelters website.
Check it out...here

Love for a pet

If I Didn't Have a Dog... Or Cat......

I could walk around the yard barefoot in safety.
My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.

All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture & cars would be free of hair.
When the doorbell rings, it wouldn't sound like a kennel.

When the doorbell rings, I could get to the door without
wading through fuzzy bodies who beat me there.



I could sit on the couch and my bed the way I wanted,
without taking into consideration how much space
Several fur bodies would need to get comfortable.

I would have money, & no guilt to go on a real vacation.

I would not be on a first-name basis with numerous veterinarians, as I put their yet unborn grandkids through college.



The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: out, sit, down, come, no, stay, & leave him/her/it ALONE.

My house would not be cordoned off into zones with
baby gates or barriers.



My house would not look like a day care center,
with toys everywhere.

My pockets would not contain things like poop bags,
treats and an extra leash.

I would no longer have to spell the words B-A-L-L,
F-R-I-S-B-E-E, W-A-L-K,, T-R-E-A-T,, R-I-D-E, G-O



I would not have as many leaves INSIDE my house as outside.

I would not look strangely at people who think having ONE dog/cat ties them down too much.

I'd look forward to spring and the rainy season instead of dreading 'mud' season.



I would not have to answer the question 'Why do you have so many animals?' from people who will never have the joy in their lives of knowing they are loved unconditionally by someone as close to an angel as they will ever get.


How EMPTY my life would be!

Everythings Going So Well...

Just feel like listing out happenings.

• Lee and I treated ourselves to a new fun toy (picture)
• We have a Beatles jam session tonight. Jen on drums. Lee on guitar. Me on Bass. Lee and I rotate lead singer. It's a blast. (picture)
• Recruited at the large university in town today, only about 50 out of their 50 million students showed up at the volunteer fair. I guess if we get even 2-3 volunteers it will be worth it. Just felt like a waste.
• Gus and Lou can jump over the cat room baby gate. Suck. How did both of them learn that in ONE day?
• Semi excited for this weekend. It will be adventurous, that is for sure.
• Need to make two Britney concert tees for next week. I have a design in mind (Picture)
• Snickers is not a fan of Lou. She is ready for our short term foster pup to leave... LOL.
• Gus can outplay Lou. Lou is the laziest puppy ever. Is that a good sign? Maybe when we get our boxer (in the future people, NOT now), he or she will be just as chill.
• After going ice skating (picture), I now know, I stink at ice skating.
• Still brainstorming what to do about the computer situation. May sit on it for a while since Lee's works perfectly. My poor desktop just needs a serious facelift - it can't even handle photoshop anymore, that sir, is a problem.
• I realized that one of my favorite things is to sit outside with the hubbster and watch the pups play.
• Salem slept in our bed last night. I think he was reminding all of the dogs that he came first. Goober cat.
• Salem still loves his food. He has gained weight, not lost any, which is very good with his kidney problems.
• Almost finished our "corn hole" game project. I think we will get to paint them this weekend. It's nice to have a little project to do with Lee.
  
• Britney concert is in 7 days. WOO HOO! My first Britney Spears concert ever. (Don't be a hater)
• After fostering yet another puppy, I can honestly say that I would enjoy adopting a dog 6 months or older for the next pet. Puppies are overrated...LOL. But cute, yes!
• I'm currently jugging reading "Undead and Unwed" and listening to the Sookie Stackhouse series. The vampire obsession is almost sickly. Can you guess what I want to be for Halloween?
  
• I would love to dress up one of the dogs in this costume for Halloween (picture)

More to come...

Just a video from Moulin Rouge, for fun.

Foster Furkid

We ventured to foster again. This time for TWO and a half days.
Yesterday, a man brought in a white boxer named Lou.

Isn't he the cutest thing ever? He didn't technically need to be fostered, he is 10 weeks old. But we are working on crate training him and prepping him for Pet of the Week. He is going to be a star and get adopted! We are stoked.

This foster will be returned! :)

Recruitin'

Took the furkids recruiting with me today at the junior college here in town. It was a lot of fun, although everyone always assumes that the small one is a girl and the large dog is a boy. GRR! I even got a blue collar for Gus and a dark pink collar for Snickers. Silly people. A few people asked if they were available for adoption -- no. LOL. It's just easier to take my dogs because they have great temperaments. I know they won't spaz out or get snappy. But they did fabulous. They were good little poster children for the animal shelter today. And I think we did a great job recruiting some possibly reliable and good volunteers. :)

This is going to be a busy month.

Three...Two...One - Go

I can never think of witty titles, as of late. Oh well.
I've been working a lot lately. It took a toll on me this weekend. I think I would like to spend my Sunday lounging. Lucky for me, Lee only works 3-10pm. YAY! So we can sleep in and cuddle some and have no rush to get up or out. Need some Lee time before he starts up the fall semester (on Monday). It still feels a bit weird that he is starting school again, and I am not. But, I have no desire to go back to school. Maybe take a graphic based or web based class here and there, but nothing like another degree. Plus, I'm proud to be able to support Lee while he gets his masters and I will be here to support him if he decides to get his PhD as well. He is such a smart man and I am confident that he could do it all. I think we all know that. :)
I have been trying to walk the dogs every evening, even if it's only 15-20 minutes (although the goal is 30 minutes a day). So far so good. They love it. And they are getting better at walking together on the leash, which is good!
Salem has the spare room blocked off, as of now, so that he can enjoy some of his mice and catnip toys without having to worry about Snickers or Gus eating them. We just baby-gated the room off. Gus is irritated, but Snickers could care less - who would have though...LOL.
My Britney Holiday is soon, September 16. I'm super stoked. I need to make shirts for Sammie and I. It will be exciting.
I signed up to be "Bold and Bald" on September 17. You can sponsor me, by clicking HERE.
No, I will NOT be shaving my head. I will be wearing a bald cap. I know I have talked a lot about shaving my head and believe me if I could have made it to that event at the Children's Hopsital in Houston, I would have. But this is an event is a little bit different. You can read all about the event HERE on their website, www.beboldbebald.org.

Just a taste!! :) HAHA

Snickers Graduates

Snickers graduated from Puppy Class at Aggie Pet Zone. Although Snickers is not a puppy, we did take her through the same "basic obedience" classes that we took Gus through. One step closer to possibly agility and/or canine good citizen.

The fabulous pictures if from Heather Pitts. She was in our puppy class with her dog Oliver. :) I am so in love with how these pictures came out. Our Snickers is such a beautiful girl! If you are in the BCS area, you should check out Heather's new photography business Crooked Cactus Photography, her website will be launched soon, check it out here.

Bad News & Good News

So, most of you already know, but I took Salem to the vet last week because he was peeing on the weirdest things and it was really starting to concern me. The vet did do a urine test - which came back that he had a urinary infection. He is on some antibiotics for it, and should be done with it this week. The vet also had some concerns with his age and health. Salem is 13 years old. So we did a blood test. The blood test came back that he had kidney problems. We have switched him to K/D, but even then the doctor isn't sure how he will take to the food and if it will help his kidneys. The vet said it could be 6 months or it could be years. He has switched and actually loves the new food and believe it or not - it's cheaper than his other cat food Evo. So far so good. He has a check up in a month and hopefully he is either the same weight or heavier... thin is not good. So, we are watching him and pampering him like crazy.

Salem in his new catnip lounger. :)

On another note, the pups have been training and training and are doing fabulous. Today I took them to CSISD summer camp. The shelter did a program on responsible pet ownership, how to crate train, how to clicker train and so on. Snickers is such a social butterfly with people. :) Especially kids! Gus is still warming up to a room full of kids wanting to touch him. Heck -- who wouldn't be nervous with a class full of 20 children (3rd-6th grade)?? We are working with Snickers to get her CGC certified. Gus is still to young, but when he is at least a year old we will work with him on it too.


IT'S RAINING LIKE CRAZY HERE. Tornado watch and everything. I've got a Salem under the table, Snickers on my lap and Gus playing with his kong. I will take a video to add to this post.

Life is like a box of chocolates...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!


I was going through some old pictures and it is so crazy how much Gus has grown. :) Everyone always tells us "he's so small and cute." Well look how much he has grown! Still cute, just gained a little bit of height and some crazy hair. The picture on the left is when he was 5 or so weeks old. The picture on the right was from yesterday, Gus at 6 or so months old. He is getting so big! We can't wait to move into the new place...ONLY about a month away -- then Snickers and Gus will have the yard they need and want to play in all day and night!


Lee doesn't get very many weekend days off and the ones he has had off lately, we have traveled out of town or been doing something. So today was a day to be with eachother. It was so nice. We were able to sleep in with the pups. Meet Rebecca and Rob for lunch. Wander around the mall for a bit. Saw Bruno in the theaters (with some of our free passes, review coming soon...). Picked up some needed and unneeded items at Target. And we ended the night with a Harry Potter movie marathon. Simple and cheap fun things. I love my husband and I love being able to just have a simple days to ourselves. Ice skating is on the agenda for the next day off -- we have passes to go. We would have gone today but because I injured my toe on Thursday I didn't think putting on tight skates would be a good idea. You all know I'm a clutz and so it should be to nobodys surprise that I even hurt my toe, let alone almost lost my big toe's toenail...eh! I know, I know.

Lee works tomorrow. I plan on cleaning up the apartment, watching some Spongebob and get ready for the week. Same ol, same ol.