Been a while...

Not sure why, but I just wasn't into blogging for a while. Guess I got kinda busy!

At the moment, I am in the process of scheduling over 200 volunteers for the Cynosport World Games to be held in Scottsdale. What's a Cynosport you may ask...? It's "dog sport" in greek (I think!). Basically, this is the USDAA Dog Agility World championshps combined with other dog sports such as flyball, disc dogs, splash dogs, herding, lure coursing, etc. There's over 1,000 dogs entered in agility alone, so it's a HUGE event.

Jam and I are also running in this event! We qualified on a Team at our show in Bermuda, so me and Jam, Jane and Tizzy and Rose and Kelly are "Two Tollers Having a Tizzy!" I'm doing it more for the fun of it rather than to be serious!

Speaking of Jam...she earned her Advanced Agility Degree (AAD) and is now in all Masters classes!!! She has only been in 6 USDAA shows, so I'm pretty proud of my baby puppy!!

The girls are doing well. Dani is doing great in school! Her teacher told us she's ready for 1st grade! We'll most likely put her in 1st grade the next school year, though we'll keep tabs on her progress throughout this year. She's still somewhat of a talker, but is doing better at controlling it!

Erin is a devil...Plain and simple! She can be a cute little imp one moment, then put on the devil horns the next. She's also doing well academically, but needs to work on her social skills. We're going to start working on that in earnest and soon!

Job-wise, I found out in Sept. that my position will be eliminated March 4! It's actually quite a blessing as I am not really happy here. Haven't been for a while. I've been bullied by a co-worker for about 1.5 years now so to be away from her will do me good! I've decided that Technical Writing is NOT my bag, rather I'd like to do training instead. I sat with a person who hires consultants for training and I'm hoping to make something work there. I've also started to teach an agility class one night a week. We'll see how it all pans out.

Jeff is in budget-hell at Freescale rigth now. Hopefully it will all end soon!

That's it in a nutshell. We're prepping for Halloween...and the World Champs. The Champs start on Halloween so I will be VERY busy!!

A month's worth of updates...

We've been a bit busy the past month. It's still hot, so that hasn't changed, but we've been getting creative on figuring out ways to get out of the heat!

We spent a weekend up at the lake last weekend. That was very nice. They have hotels with kitchenette's so we stayed in one, played in the water and had a great time! The girls are true "lake rats" and love the jet ski and tubing behind the boat!

Jeff spent a week diving in Belize with his brother at the beginning of August. The girls and I did some shopping, got our pictures taken in a photo booth and did a lot of crafts and painting.

Jam and I have been to a couple shows and we did GREAT! She is now one qualifying leg shy of being in Masters! :) She did earn enough Jumpers legs to compete in Masters Jumpers at the next show (not until October) so she's getting there. Cool thing is she's only 21 months old! She's truly one special little dog!

September is a little less busy, though we are planning another trip to Legoland since the girls (and us!) truly enjoyed themselves. I'll also start sending pleas to every agility person I know to volunteer to work at the USDAA Nationals. I'm the volunteer coordinator again (4th time) this year and need all the help I can get! :)

Dang, it's hot!

Not only do we have temps in the 110's, but now there's a fair amount of humidity...YUCK! The monsoon season is here, sorta. This means we're supposed to get evening thunderstorms, but so far we've gotten a whole lotta nothing. We've had some wind which kicks up the dust, which coats my SUV, but that's it. Blech.

As a result, we've been spending a lot of time in the pool...all of us. Typically we (the humans) go swimming first, then when we're finished, the dogs get to dive in for their balls. It helps to cool us all off, though the water temperature is 93 degrees!

This intense heat has curtailed what I had hoped to be some progress in Jam's agility training. It's just too hot to even THINK of going out and practicing. We have a show this weekend...I don't know how it's going to go, but I'll hope for the best.

It's just too hot. Too Flippin' Hot.

School daze

I took Dani for her KIST test this morning. It's a test to determine her readiness for a Kindergarten envirnonment. She'll be starting school in 1.5 weeks...she'll be in Kindersteps. This is a program geared towards children who are 4, but who will turn 5 between September and December. It's a half-day program that follows the Kindergarten curriculum. At the end of the year, we sit down with the teacher to decide whether Dani will go to K the next year, or to 1st grade.

I asked Dani how the test went when she was finished, and she gave me some specifics, but overall, she said she had fun...which to me is really good to hear. The tester just said she did great, though with other parents sitting in the office, I didn't expect to get too many specifics. I'm so excited for her to start school!! I'm hoping to volunteer (as much as a working parent can) and encourage her as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Jam and I went to an open practice last night. It was hot and somewhat sticky, but she performed like a champ! They had a jumpers course set up, which several of us improvised on. The contacts were set up around the outer edge of the field, so we moved them a bit to incorporate them into the course. Jam's nemesis is the down dogwalk contact, so we worked hard on that and she did great! I also did some gambles in the course and she sent out nicely. She also pulled a few bars, which was a result of me giving her poor signals. I have to get better with that.

All in all, a great night and fun morning with Dani! :-)

Why I took a sabbatical from judging...

OK, so work is a little slow...hence the second post in the same day! :)

Anyway, I thought I'd set the record straight, even though I doubt many people read this blog. Mostly I write this so that if I get asked this question again, I can point them here and people can discover the reason themselves!

I am midway through my year-long sabbatical from judging. Many people speculated on why I took time off. Most people figured I took time off because of what happened at the '06 USDAA Nationals (more later) when in effect, that was simply the tip of the iceberg. I had long since been contemplating a break...the Nationals simply clinched it. Besides, I've been doing this since 1994...I think I deserve a break! :)

The two main reasons why I took a break include:

1. My girls
2. Jam

The girls. I realized that I was spending a lot of time away from the girls. Not only the weekends in which I was physically gone, but also the evenings in which I'd agonize over course design. I found myself telling them more times than I was comfortable..."Mommy's busy...you need to find something to do"...and that didn't feel good.

Jam. She's my new puppy. The first dog I've had to run in 3 years (see
Ponderings for the reason why). I wanted time to concentrate on her and getting her career started. She turned 18 months ("of age" for USDAA agility) in May so I wanted to be able to get her started without having to juggle around judging weekends.

And now, the '06 Nationals. It was stated that the call I made on Blast's teeter performance was questionable. It then came out that I also "missed" a call on DeCaff's teeter performance. These calls were then magnified in a frame-by-frame sequence on a popular site that hosts agility videos. My credibility as a judge was being questioned, which yeah, left quite a chink in my armor. Honestly, I felt that the videographer had no right to do what he did on his website (neither did USDAA), but I have no control over that and will take my lumps.

Speculation flew that this video was then the reason why I "quit" judging. People were saying that I needed a backbone. That I needed to not put myself "out there" if I didn't expect some criticism. I learned early on that a strong backbone is necessary when you become a judge. I have a backbone. And it is strong. And, if you can believe this, I actually begged the USDAA president to judge this Nationals. I WANTED to do it. Now I know why so many judges turn down the offer of judging the top dogs in the big ring. The scrutiny is amazing, yet expected. And I was ready for it.

Bottom line, I will always stand by the calls I made in the split second that is available to me to make the call.

There. Now you know. I did NOT take a year off (yes, only a year...I'll be back in the middle of the ring in '08) because I was slinking away from the public bashing of my calls. It did factor into my decision, but it certainly wasn't the leading and only reason.

Gonna start a practice journal

OK, so I've been slacking lately...really slacking. Class ended last week and Jam hasn't been on a single piece of equipment since. It could be because it's over 110 degrees here, or it could be because I'm too lazy to set up the equipment!

Starting tonight, I'm going to start us on a path to practice a lot more than we do. I'm going to set up the equipment and start working on our weak spot...gambles. We also need to tighten our turns and work on some accuracy! :) My challenge...I have only the following pieces of equipment:

1 teeter
5 jumps
2 sets of 6 weaves
1 tunnel
1 chute tunnel (that's falling apart)
1 tire (sorta...I need to fix it)

I need to be creative to come up with some sets to work on the items I mentioned above. I'm also hoping to go to a couple fun runs to fill in the gaps.

Our next show is in two weeks. There'll be a lot of classes each day (Adv. has a couple double games, plus the GP and Steeplechase) so I need to also build up Jam's stamina in the heat...I'm sure it'll be 90+ degrees. We play ball in the heat almost every day, then when she's hot, she goes in the pool and we play some more ball in the pool. I'm hoping that will help to keep her muscled.

That'll be our last show for quite a while. Our show season in AZ doesn't start until October, so traveling to California is my only option. BUT, it's really hot everywhere and I'm not too keen on sitting outside in the intense heat all day. Sucks cuz now that I've finally got a dog to compete with, the show season has come to a screeching halt. Oh well...I'll pout for a while but I'll get over it! :)

Celebrating the 4th in 110+ degree temps!

Yup...it was 115 here for the 4th. Not much you can do outside when it's that hot. We did spend some time in the pool (the pool temp was 92!) so that helped us to beat the heat somewhat. We also BBQ'ed, though we didn't spend any significant time sitting outside. Just too hot.

At night, we drove to the fireworks display of a nearby town. We ended up parking on the side of the road to watch a display 1 mile away. I brought a blanket and we all sat on the hood of the SUV while the fireworks boomed and popped in front of us. By that time, it was only 97...woohoo!

I have fond memories of fireworks displays and 4th of July celebrations from the midwest (Wisconsin). I used to picnic with friends on the lake front (Lake Michigan) for the big Milwaukee fireworks display on the 3rd of July. We were so close to the launch area, that burnt-out shells would rain on our heads! It was fabulous. Good friends, good food, good fun and great fireworks!

On the 4th, our small village had their own celebration. A parade, games at the village park, BBQ's, and the fireworks display that evening followed by more parties with friends and family.

I told my husband that one of these years, I want to take the kids back to Wisconsin for a good old fashioned 4th. I'm not too thrilled with how we have to celebrate in the hot desert...I'd like them to see how to "properly" celebrate the Fabulous 4th!

I'm not a natural mother

This is my second marriage. I was married to my first husband for 9 years. We discovered the wonderful sport of dog agility together and acquired 4 dogs together. We always thought we "might" have kids, but it just never came to fruition. And to be honest, I was perfectly happy NOT having kids. I had my dogs...what more could I hope/ask for?

Shortly after our 9th wedding anniversary, my then husband said he wanted to move out. And there was nothing I could do. A friend once told me about a book called "Uncoupling." In this book, it mentions how the person who wants to leave has been thinking about leaving for a while and there is nothing the person left behind can really do about it. The Leaver has come to terms with it while the Leavee feels blindsided. I, as the Leavee, was most certainly blindsided. Course, the fact that he was interested in another woman (a woman I had considered a friend) was the final blow.

Regardless, a few years later I met my current husband. I met him on the internet. There...I said it out loud...I met him on the internet. We met in person at a lake with our dogs. He has a big, goofy Golden (Calvin) and I brought my then dog, Rysa (she has since gone to the Rainbow Bridge). We hit it off and started dating. During our talks and time together, he mentioned that family was important to him and that he would like kids some day. I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't have kids since I was pretty darned old (36 at the time) and set in my ways. Besides, I really enjoyed my life of heading to agility trials whenever I wanted and judging any trial I felt like. BUT, I hadn't completely closed the door.

We were married in August, 2001 and a few months later, we thought we'd give it a go. We got "lucky" the first time we tried and Dani came along 9 months later (I was 38). We decided she needed a sibling and before you know it, Erin was born when Dani was just 17.5 months (I was 39...I was determined not to give birth after 40!).

I had a hard time adjusting to my new life. I now found that I couldn't just head off to any and every agility trial...that I had to consider my family first. This became a balancing act to which I was unaccustomed. I muddled through, but today realize that I'm not doing so hot. Maybe it's because dog agility is a world in which 85% - 90% of the people are either childless or their children are grown and out of the house. I always find myself envying them...because after a show they can go home, prop up their feet and revel in a good day. I go home, sort out what went on throughout the day, then take over from a tired and weary husband.

I find that with my girls, I reach a boiling point much quicker than with the dogs. With the girls, I am impatient and can't stand it when they cry. With Jam, I have endless patience and encourage her to bark (I taught her "talk to me" and she does...with wild abandon!). I am not the type of mom who can think up fun, cute or craftsy-type things to do with them on a dime. I have to force myself to play with them since I truly find it quite boring. I love them and would fight anyone to the death for their rights, but I always feel awkward and unnatural when I do anything with them. It's not a good feeling and I'm trying so hard to work through it.

I seriously doubt I'd ever win any Mother of the Year contests, but for me...I'm doing the best I can. I can only hope that I'm not permanently damaging my girls.

Expectations and dog agility

I competed in a USDAA agility trial with Jam this past weekend. It was our first weekend in Advanced. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. We breezed through Starters rather quickly, so I knew she could "do" agility, but once you get to Advanced, it gets a little harder. The courses are less forgiving and the rules are somewhat stricter. So, Jam and I drove the 7 hours to Moorpark, CA (thank goodness for audio books!!) and had a whole lot of fun!!

Going into this trial, I basically had no expectations other than having fun with Jam and perfecting our on-course skills. The first class was Steeplechase. I had hoped to qualify, but instead we crashed and burned. BUT, her tail and ears were up, she was happy and so was I. The next course was Advanced Standard. We had flashes of brilliance, followed by flashes of silliness...in other words, another non-Q. Again, since I had no expectations, I wasn't disappointed, rather I came away realizing that we have some things to work on and she is a completely different dog than any other dog I've ever run before! Not to mention that she's still considered a baby dog...she's only 19 months after all!

Next came Jumpers. Jam was fast, happy and we were even accurate! :) She pulled the 3rd to last bar so we didn't Q, but her time was fast enough so had she not pulled that bar, we would've won the class. A HUGE positive in my opinion!!

The next class was Pairs. We had a draw partner who turned out to be a very nice Sheltie. We each had a nice run and came away with a Q...Woohoo!!! Our first Q in Advanced. A great way to end the day!

Sunday dawned chilly and misty. I had goosebumps on my goosebumps!! The first class of the day was Gamblers. Jam and I had a fabulous opening, earning more than enough points. The gamble was a jump to the teeter to a jump...you had to push the dog out for the last jump. We did great until the push out...I didn't give her a clear signal so instead, she came into me and barked as if to say..."mom...what do you want? why are you waving your arms??"...oh well!!

Next was Standard. The course was a nice course, very "doable." We ran it, and were clean and 20 seconds under time!! Another Q! :) In fact, we were the only team to Q in Championship on that course. How cool is that?! :)

The final course of the day was Snooker. By then the air had thickened with humidity and the temps were in the low 80's. I had a headache and my tummy was queasy...probably from the trail mix I couldn't keep myself from eating! I plotted a course, then found out I could do 4 reds instead of 3, so I re-plotted the course! Then I watched a few others go before me and changed my mind mid-stream. This can be dangerous, but I look at it as a challenge! When it was our turn, we went in, ran fast and came away with 58 (out of a possible 59) points and another Q!! What a rush! :) We even had 12 seconds to spare!

All in all, we ended up with 3 Q's in Advanced!! How cool is that?! BUT, the most important part is that we had fun in the process. I am competitive, but have learned over the years that if you get tense and put unrealistic expecatations on you and your dog, you will come away disappointed...and so will your dog. Why put that much pressure on when this is supposed to be fun?

I firmly believe that in agility, attitude is everything!

The first lake outing, my new ride and Father's Day

We finally got the boat out on the water...woohoo!! There were a few kinks in the process, but once we got on the water, all those kinks were forgotten. It was HOT (about 110 degrees) and windy, but the cold, green lake water felt refreshing after the initial plunge into it! We were able to do some waterskiing (found some muscles I haven't used in a while) and the girls had a GREAT time swimming in the "cove." Dani jumped off the back of the boat repeatedly and even threw a frisbee around to others in the water. Erin was freezing while in the water, but didn't want to come out! Eventually, she came out and we sat on the back of the boat and watched the others play some frisbee. All in all, a great outing!!

And now my new ride! On Saturday, I traded in my 2001 blue Ford Expedition for a 2004 burgundy Ford Expedition! It's got only 30,000 miles on it and is pretty spiffy! It has a buil-in DVD player (I wasn't looking for that, but this one had it) and some other bells and whistles I didn't have before. I really do love it! We took it to the lake yesterday so it's already got it's first coat of dust on it! :) Thankfully the suspension is better so our trip out to the lake wasn't quite as bumpy. I'll take it to California this weekend for another dog show! :-)

Then, of course, yesterday was Father's Day. My husband loves the lake so for him, getting the boat out in the water was the best gift. We really don't do gifts, so the girls and I gave him cards in the morning and then headed out to the lake. When we got home, he wanted brats, so we got some brats, cooked 'em up and ate a yummy meal (the ONLY red meat I will eat is a brat...that's it!). After the girls were in bed, he wanted to sit in the jacuzzi for a while, so he took his iPod and headed out for some jacuzzi time. All in all, I think he had a very nice day!

Now we have a long, hot summer ahead of us. Hopefully between the pool, lake and sprinklers, we'll be able to keep cool!

The Once-in-a-Lifetime dog...

Yup...I've found her...and I'm one lucky human!

This past weekend, Jam and I competed in our second USDAA trial. She completed all the requirements at the Starters level and earned her first-ever title! Her official name is now Jam, AD! :) (AD = Agility Dog)

This little dog gives it her all with enthusiasm and joy. She bounds through the course with a smile on her snout and her little ears flying behind her! The ONLY thing inhibiting her would be me...the handler. You see, when an error is made on course, 99.9% of the time it is the handler's fault. And knowing this I rarely, if ever, blame my dog for a run gone sour. It's just not fair to the dog who is on the course with you giving it their all.

I have some things to fine-tune with Jam and we will, but in the meantime, we're moving on up to Advanced-level classes! I know Jam's ready...but am I? We shall soon see as her next trial is in two weeks!!

Life is a roller coaster...

...And it's getting pretty crazy!

We are still in the depths of tonsilectomy recovery with Erin. She is getting better, but not by leaps and bounds...more like fits and starts. She and Dani start "club PeeWee" today...a program offered by the Parks and Rec dept. I'm hoping she'll make it through the 2 hour timeframe without any issue.

Yesterday we just found out the sad news that one of Jeff's Aunt's died unexpectedly. She wasn't in the best of health to begin with, but apparently she laid down for a nap and never woke up. Jeff's entire extended family lives in Iowa, so this morning Jeff's mom and sister (who live near us) got on a plane to fly there for the funeral. Jeff hasn't decided whether he'll go back yet, but will hopefully sort through everything soon. The funeral is on Friday.

And of course I'm supposed to head to an agility trial in San Diego this weekend! Soooo, I've already talked to a friend who is willing to take the girls Friday night for a sleepover. Jeff would catch a late flight back Friday night and pick up the girls Saturday morning.

CRAZY!!!

Oh yeah...and Jeff is having an abcessed tooth extracted today!

I think what amazes me most is how calm I've been through all this. Erin's surgery was a big deal, but I didn't let myself get all worked up. The recovery has been difficult, but I've held it together for the most part. The death of the Aunt...I went into a mode in which I wanted to find solutions that would work for everyone. I got online and got a good airfare for Jeff (should he decide to go) and I talked with my friend about possible childcare...all without losing it or shedding a single tear.

Hopefully this means that I can take lemons and make some pretty sweet-tasting lemonade! :)

Tonsil Removal

Erin had her tonsils and adenoids removed on Tuesday. I think I was more nervous than her! We were both worried about how she would deal with not being able to eat in the morning, but thankfully she understood that she couldn't eat and didn't even ask! The only thing she asked for once we got to the hospital were popsicles!

She went into pre-op and seemed a bit overwhelmed, but she happily put on her pretty pastel orange jammies and her purple surgery hat. A child advocate person stopped by to show pictures of the OR to Erin and to give her a mask (the one they use to put her to sleep) to play with so she wouldn't afraid when they put it on her mouth. She initially shunned it as well, but ended up putting stickers on it and holding it over her nose! They eventually came and wheeled her off to surgery in a wagon.

25 minutes later, they came to get me from the waiting room...surgery was over! In the recovery area, they wheeled in a recliner for me and I held Erin while she slept. When she woke up, she had a green popsicle waiting for her...she wolfed it down happily! She then dozed a bit more. They ended up admitting her so we were soon whisked off to her room in the pediatric ward.

Throughout the day, she ate several popsicles, a few containers of ice cream and some jell-o. She was so happy to be able to finally eat that stuff!! She was an awesome patient. She only complained about the pulse ox monitor attached to her toe. By the end of the night, she wanted to go home, but understood that she had to spend the night. She slept well, even though they woke her throughout the night to take vitals and give her meds. I slept very fitfully since a hospital at night is a VERY noisy place!

This morning Jeff came to relieve me so I could come to work. She was released by 9:30 AM and has been home with daddy and Dani all day. Hopefully her recovery will go well...only time will tell!

All in all, she was a model patient and a very good girl! :)

Bermuda, agility and life in general...

Simply put...Bermuda is one of THE most beautiful places on this Earth! When you fly in, you see the white-roofed houses all painted in different colors of pastels. It is so pretty! The water is turquoise blue and oh so inviting. And to think I was headed there with my husband and my dog!! We stayed with friends I had made on a previous trip...Frank and Kathy. They have a 200 year old house with an incredible view of the ocean off their back patio. It was spectacular!

We arrived on a Wednesday and within 3 hours of touch down, my husband was off diving and I was off with my friends practicing agility on their beautiful agility field. Oh, and we had already had a dark 'n stormy or two! :) Five of us traveled from the states to show our dogs, so we enjoyed a lazy afternoon with our dogs and our Bermuda buddies. At night, we had dinner at one of the Bermudian's houses.

Thursday I went shopping in Hamilton and at the Dockyards with agility friends, Darlene and Jane. We had fun "power shopping." We ended up missing two ferry's because my watch was 5 minutes too slow! :) My husband went diving with Frank again, though the water was a bit choppy. That night we had dinner at the Bermuda aquarium. I got to pet a grouper (!) and dance with a skeleton (long story). Many rum swizzles and dark 'n stormies were available.

Friday we woke up to a pancake breakfast cooked by Frank and Kathy. We then headed to the show site (the Botanical Gardens) for the first day of the show! The first day was the Team event. I was on a team with Jane and her dog Tizzy and Rose and her dog Kelly (Rose is from San Diego but has been living in Bermuda with her husband for the past 8 years). After the first two classes (there are 5 total) our team (Two Tollers in a Tizzy) was in last place. By the end of 4 classes, our team was in 1st place!! The last class is Relay in which all three members of the team are running at the same time. All of our dogs ran clean and we ended up winning the gold and qualifying to run in the National competition in Phoenix, AZ!! :) I was elated! :) Friday night we went to Rose and Jonathan's for a wonderful dinner and swizzles!

Saturday we woke up to rain...LOTS and LOTS of rain. It rained all day. Despite that, Jam and I ended up earning 3 of the 7 qualiying scores towards our first USDAA title! She Q'd in Snooker, Jumpers and Pairs. We crashed and burned in the Grand Prix, but that's OK. She is a baby dog after all! Saturday night we were supposed to have a beach party, but the rain prevented us from doing so. We ended up at a Bermudian's house for BBQ chicken, burger and dogs...and more swizzle! :)

Sunday it was misting in the morning, but then cleared up by afternoon. Jam and I earned 2 more Q's towards our title!! We Q'd in Gamblers and Standard. She needs only 2 more Standard legs at the Starters level to earn her Agility Dog (AD) title! :) I couldn't be more proud of my baby dog. She is awesome!! After the show, Jane and I walked the dogs down to a small beach and let them play in the water. Jam barked and bit at the water and had a blast! Sunday night was the big farewell party. More swizzle, stormies, good food and dancing with the skeleton! :)

Throughout the weekend, my husband was diving and eventually earned his Advanced Open Water Scuba certification!! He was thrilled to be able to do so...especially since his cert. card will say he did it in Bermuda! :)

We left, grudgingly, on Monday. We had a nice leisurely morning of sitting on the back patio and taking in the view before departure. Leaving was so hard, but I also missed my girls and was anxious to get back home to them.

We came home (to Wisconsin) when they were asleep. The next morning, Dani opened our bedroom door and her face just lit up! :) Erin was right behind her. It was Erin's 3rd birthday so we had a small celebration with cake and presents. We flew back to Phoenix in the afternoon. My parents were thrilled to be able to spend a birthday with one of their granddaughter's!

All in all, the trip was a HUGE success for everyone. I got to show Jam in her first USDAA show and qualify for Nationals, my husband earned his scuba cert., my girls had a ball in Wisconsin, and my parents got some much-needed/wanted bonding with the girls. We didn't get to go for that romantic walk on the beach, but that's OK...it'll give us another reason to go back!

Holy Smokes!

I went to the vet last night to get Jam's International Health Certificate. I had called on Monday to be sure they had it. After some searching, they assured me that all was well and they did have it.

I got there last night and the first thing we noticed was that Jam's microchip may be of the wrong type. On the instructions I had, the microchips listed did not include Home Again, which is Jam's microchip. We had maybe a little panic, but I was pretty sure it would be OK.

The vet then brought in the health cert. and said that this was a state cert., that they didn't have the International certs. I FREAKED! I told her that I had called before coming in and was assured that they did indeed have the cert. I needed. She said she'd go look for it, but I didn't have a high degree of confidence. I called another vet that I had frequented before and they told me they did have what I needed and I could walk in last night...to a tune of $132 JUST to walk through the door!

Meanwhile, my vet came through the door and said "we found it!" Thank goodness! We got it all filled out and faxed to the Bermuda government. They sent me on my way 1.5 hours later. I called Bermuda this morning to be sure all was in order, and thankfully, everything is good and I should have my import cert. to get Jam into the country by today! :)

But wow...talk about a rollercoaster!!!

Ponderings...

As I am set to embark on an agility adventure with my new dog, I cannot help but remember how it was with my old, now departed dogs.

I used to own 4 wonderful, absolutely fabulous "fur kids." They were each special in their own way...

First there was NEA. She was my Beagle and had attitude to burn. She was once nicknamed "Her Beagleness" by a friend in New Mexico, and it stuck. I unwittingly got her from a pet store. I started her in agility in 1993 and she went on to earn her Championship in USDAA-style agility. She was only the 2nd Beagle to attain that title.

Next came Fred. He was my rescue dog. I rescued him from Italian Greyhound rescue. He had personality plus! I "tried him out" for a week and during that week, everyone I saw said they would take him if I didn't. Needless to say, I kept him! He started agility in 1994, and quit in 1996. He had a degenerative eye disease that left him blind in his left eye.

Then there was Chakotay. He was my second Italian Greyhound. I saw him as a puppy while I was in San Antonio at the USDAA Nationals. He was so CUTE!! I wanted to take him home right there, but I didn't have the means nor the $$. Turns out that he was still available several months later and at a reduced price. He broke his leg 3 times, but these breaks never broke his spirit. He was and always will be my buddy. He competed successfully in agility, falling short of his USDAA championship by 4 Gamblers legs.

Finally there was Rysa. She was my big Toller girl. I loved her with all my might. She was sensitive, but would do any and every thing for me. She was my princess and went just about everywhere with me. She did agility, though she always seemed to have a "hitch in her giddyup." I had many specialists and vets look at her, but no one could figure it out. She ended up 3 legs shy of her Championship.

In 2003/2004, each of my dogs died one by one...

First Fred. He had osteosarcoma. He died in my arms at the age of 11 in May of 2003.
Next was NEA. She stopped eating and walking. We let her go gracefully at the age of 14.5 in Sept. of 2003.
Then, Chakotay. He also had cancer, myeloma. We were treating it, but it spread to his kidneys. He died at the age of 8 in Nov. 2003.
Finally, Rysa. She collapsed one night and never regained conciousness. She had Addison's...that's what was wrong with her the entire time, but no one knew. She was only 7...she died on June 23, 2004.

Just before and in between this timeframe, I was giving birth to my two daughters. My hormones were off the map. I wanted to die. I felt as if I had betrayed my dogs by having these human kids. Thankfully, a good therapist made me realize that that was not the case and that these animals were a huge part of my life and always will be in my heart. I just hadn't allowed myself to grieve properly. Luckily she helped me through that and I am in a much better place right now.

I last competed with Rysa in April of 2004. Now I am starting with Jam, my young Toller. I thought I'd feel more emotional when I stepped to the line with her the first time, but I didn't. I think mostly I felt numb, but happy to finally have my own dog to compete with again! The show in Bermuda will be my first USDAA show with her. USDAA is my preferred venue, so perhaps the emotions will show themselves then!

Regardless, I am looking very forward to the years ahead of fun, silliness and agility with Jam!

Whew!

What a weekend! Started with agility practice for Jam and I at 6:15 on Saturday morning. Then a trip to the park with the girls, followed by naps (for the girls) and then a trip to downtown Phoenix to see Sesame Street Live! featuring Elmo's music. We then decided to have dinner out at Applebee's and finally came home and collapsed.

Today (Sunday) we started out by looking to replace the two ficus trees we lost during the frost this past winter. We ended up purchasing two red plum trees and a palm tree for another corner of the yard. The rest of the day was spent planting trees, fixing drip lines, taking the girls to get their hair cut, a trip to Lowe's and grocery shopping.

I think we need a weekend to recover from our weekend! :)

Prepping for our Bermuda trip!

Getting a dog into Bermuda is no easy task! Humans need only a passport...dogs need:

• an import certificate
• an international health certificate
• a rebies vaccine given more than 30 days ago, but within a year
• a microchip
• a tick/flea treatment from the vet (not from the owner)

It's crazy!! Luckily a friend of mine has been through this process a couple times and gave me all the information I need to safely transport Jam into the country!

Now...I've got to get Jam ready for competition! Today she "comes of age" for USDAA-style agility. Dogs have to be 18 months old in order to compete...Jam's 18 month birthday is today! Our training is sporadic at best. I have limited equipment to train on in my backyard and I have 2 kids to work around! We head to class once a week, but as any agility enthusiast knows, you need more than once a week practices before competing so you won't be laughed off the course! :) She's competed successfully in a few trials now, so there is hope!

The girls are anxiously awaiting their airplane trip to Wisconsin. Every day they ask if it's time to go on the plane...and when they're going to Build-a-Bear with Grandma and Grandpa! They've already packed their backpacks (Dani has a Dora pack, Erin has a Hello Kitty pack) with breakfast bars and raisins for Grandma and Grandpa...oh, and a few toys too! They can't wait to get on the plane and have it go fast, fast, FAST into the sky!

Jeff is researching dive sites in Bermuda and I'm looking forward to simply having fun! As a friend said, this is the ultimate vacation...agility, kid-free, beaches, tropical drinks...all in a romantic setting...couldn't ask for any better!

"This is awesome!"

The above words were uttered by Dani as she stood with her feet on the edge of the Pacific Ocean as the water came rushing in around her! :)

This past weekend we headed out to California to visit Legoland! We went to Legoland on Saturday and had a great day. We've discovered that Dani is the roller coaster queen, whereas Erin is a bit more timid. Dani went on a roller coaster called "The Dragon" 5 times!!!! She then headed over to another coaster that was a bit more scary and went on it once with daddy. After the first big drop, she turned to Jeff and said, "no, I don't want to do this one again!"

After a great day at the park, we went out for pizza and then headed to the beach. Suffice it to say, the girls LOVED it! Dani loved having the water rush in over her feet and Erin enjoyed running up to the water's edge, and then running back towards the beach, screaming, as the water came rushing in. They played with their sand toys and had a great time.

Sunday morning we went to Balboa park in San Diego. We ended up at the Science museum and let the kids play and explore. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

All in all, it was a great weekend with the family! Jeff has proclaimed that he is now ready to conquer Disneyland with the girls next year! :)

Here we go again!

Looks like I'm part of yet another company that is being sold! My company (Inter-Tel) just announced that we've been sold to another telephony company, Mitel. We don't know the details yet, but I'm sure it'll all come out soon. One thing we do know is that Mitel is a private company so the shareholders will get some $$ out of this...too bad I don't own any Inter-Tel stock!

I went through a similar thing when I worked for Motorola. I was in the SPS division that "spun off" to become Freescale. That was a time of uncertainty, but in the end it all turned out OK. Course, recently Freescale was sold to a private company, so Jeff has had to deal with that.

Lots of my fellow writers are freaking out. I'm not, only because I can't control the situation and most likely, there won't be any significant changes. The only thing I can hope for is that we adopt Mitel's vacation policy...they get 3 weeks vs. the 2 we get here! :)

We'll see what transpires in the coming weeks!

Lots going on

Seems like time passes so quickly. Since my first post, Jam was in two more shows, though I was unable to compete in both days of the AKC show as I came down with pneumonia the second day of the trial. Regardless, Jam once again did awesome in both shows and came away with some great ring experience and a few Q's!

Meanwhile, the girls are getting bigger and cuter. Erin's personality is really starting to shine! She can be so cute one minute, then full of the devil the next! She turns 3 in a month. We'll be in Wisconsin the morning of her birthday, then on a plane headed back to Arizona that evening. Dani is amazing us with her academic skills! The Nanny has her doing addition and subtraction in her head! She LOVES this stuff and is soaking it in like a sponge.

Our trip to Bermuda is fast approaching! We leave May 15 to drop the girls off in Wisconsin, then Jam, Jeff and I board a plane for Bermuda. While there, Jeff will dive and I will show Jam in a USDAA-style show! We'll also do some site-seeing and party with the ever-friendly Bermudians. We are so looking forward to it! The Bermudians are fabulous people who really know how to have a good time.

Jeff had double hernia sugery on Friday the 13th (April) of all days! The surgery went well and he is almost completely recovered. He still has some minor issues, but for the most part, he's doing well.

We also found out that Erin needs to have her adnoids and tonsils removed! We've scheduled the surgery for the week after we return from Bermuda (the day after Memorial Day actually).

I'm hoping to keep this updated fairly regularily, so sit back, relax and enjoy!

Jam's First Show!

I entered Jam in a DOCNA-style agility show yesterday. I put her in only two classes...Jumpers and Strategic Gamblers. I didn't have any expectations other than to have fun.

Not only did we have fun, but Jam did GREAT! She won her division in the Jumpers class and qualified, and she also qualified in Strategic Gamblers (not sure if she won...I left before the results were out)!

I am so PROUD of her! I cannot train nearly as much as I'd like due to full-time job and full-time Mom responsibilities, but I am blessed in that Jam has a lot of natural talent. She is truly an amazing little girl and I am lucky that she came into my life!

Her next show is in 2 weeks. It's an AKC-style show. Again...we won't set any expectations other than to have fun! :)