a new chapter begins....

I got the keys to the new house today! yay! Now the work begins. And wouldn't you know it, it's freakin' raining!! It's supposed to rain through tomorrow... so I can only hope for an early reprieve. Brad and Nicole are being troopers and helping... rain or shine.

I will post pictures once I get some :) Internet is slated to be set up tomorrow between 1-3pm :) I'll have internet before hot water, but hey, it's all good :)

An anniversary that's hard to forget....

In a few hours it will have been 9 years since my life changed. It's hard not to be melancholy at this time of year for me. Thanksgiving doesn't hold good memories for me anymore. Don't get me wrong, there ARE good memories... but the bad one overshadows the good ones most of the time.

In a few hours it will have been 9 years since my sister and very bestest friend Tanya died. I write every year about it, and well, let's be honest... it never goes away, does it? I learn how to deal with it better with every passing day. I hate to overshadow someone's birthday with these feelings I have, but 11/25 will forever hold very very sad and life changing memories for me.

My step-sister Tanya (tho we always just considered each other sisters...) was 24 on 11/25/98. She was driving with her boyfriend and her adorable son who had turned 1 just 4 days earlier, to my dad's house for Thanksgiving... an 8 hr drive from Northern New York, through Pennsylvania, to Virginia. An auto accident took Tanya's life, sparing her 1 year old son and his father.

She was 1 month and 4 days from her 25th birthday... she'd been a mother for 1 year and 4 days... and she was my best friend for 9 years. Now it's BEEN 9 years... she's been gone for as long as I knew her... seems weird to think about it that way...

May my sister be playing soccer (her favorite game) on the clouds and watching over her son, who just turned 10 years old 4 days ago. I know she watches over me and my dad... and her sisters and brothers... She was the glue that held our patch work family together...

I love and miss her every day...

Happy Birthday...

Both Megan and Anne share a birthday today... 11/25. Happy Birthday ladies :) I'll try extra hard to put a smile on my face today in your honor!!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving 2007

I just wanted to wish my friends and family a wonderful Thanksgiving. I will be working tonight, but we are having a wonderful dinner... Turkey is being brought in by the company, and between my teammates (3 + me) we're having mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, stuffing, cranberry sauce, carrots and pumpkin pie :) I hope you all get to spend lots of time with your loved ones today :) I'll be thinking of all of you and am very thankful to have you all in my life :)

corgis singing happy birthday

A day late for our dear Ariel, but I know Megan has a birthday upcoming... and my nephew's birthday is today (11/21) He's 10! :)

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you....
Happy Birthday to you....
Happy BIRTHDAY dear ARIEL!!!!!!!
Happy Birthday to you! :)

Many many hugs over the miles to the sweetest friend of Kate's I've met... (ok, I've only met two of her friends, but now I'm proud to call you a friend of my own!)

I hope you have a FANTABULOUS Birthday Ariel :) Many many well wishes for a wonderful day!!!

4 times in the ring....

And 3 times RWD... not TOO bad a record I suppose ;-) I just *really* wish we'd be the bride instead of the bridesmaid ;-)

Saturday:
BOB : Preston
WB/BOW/BOS: Dona Ana
WD: Leelo
RWD: Chance
(I forget RWB)
(Sedona was 5th of 5 in her Open class)

Sunday:
BOB: Preston
WB/BOW/BOS: Addy (Harry Griffith's girl)
RWB: Dazzle
WD: Leelo
RWD: Chance
(Sedona was 3rd of 5 in her Open class)

Stirring up tons of dust here in the office sorting through a years worth of papers... I'm such a pack rat... :(

Packing sucks.

the weight has been lifted ;-)

My hair has been long... for a long time. It had gotten TOO long. This was me in August... before going to the Nickleback concert.... and it had grown since then...

And last night my friend from work cut it... Not the greatest pictures, but you can see the difference, I think! :)
the back was just about to my the waist of my pants... I could easily reach it... and now I have to stretch to reach it. :)
It feels SO much better and in a pony tail, it bee bops around like a cute little puffball on my head (yea, real cute) :)

A weight has been lifted :)

Hunger Strikes

Nothing comes between Dakota and food. NOTHING.

Chance on the other hand.... hasn't eaten much in the last few days....

I can only attribute it to his sister being in nasty drippy girl dog heat. Nice of her huh? to torture her brother that way ;-)

Sedona has always been a picky pants, but Chance always eats. ALWAYS. He passed on yesterday morning's breakfast... he picked at dinner last night and is sleeping with his bowl full of burger and kibble right now... *sigh* boy dogs!

I work tonight and then I'm off for the next three days (dog show) :)

We won't be homeless!!!

It's official (as of a few minutes ago)!!!!!

I got the house that I showed you all the pictures of a few posts ago! It'll be mine officially as of 11/30 :) I get the keys on 11/30. I sign the lease and such tomorrow at 1 :) I'm SO very excited :)

Now the fun begins... packing and moving and unpacking... ugh. It's alright... nice house, bigger house, grass.... LESS RENT :) YAY!

Tis the season...

.... again..... 3 times in ONE year..... the first year I've had a female dog intact.... *UGH*

January 26, June 25 and I noticed swelling today... 4.5 months since the last time. I looked at her and said "REALLY??!! Comon now! Give me a break!!!"

And here we go again....

On a brighter side, Kathy Clark (Clarken Pembrokes & Sussex) said that Lark went 4 months between cycles until she was bred... so that just means I gotta breed this hussy ASAP after she's 2 ;-) I thought the boys were paying more attention to the back end than the front... *sigh*

The anniversary is upon us....

It was one year ago tonight that I mashed up my car....

RIP moron cow who crossed the path of an Orange Element going 60 mph ;-)

Click here for pictures.

Ah how i'm glad my car doesn't look like that anymore! :) That was a crappy experience. I think we'll take another route home tonight ;-)

Life and it's going ons

Well in the last week or so life has really been flipping around for me quite a bit. On the 2nd I was informed that I had to be out of my house by 12/31. Out. Of. Nowhere. The owner is defaulting on the house I think.

So I started looking for a new place to live. I found a really cute house very similar to what I'm living in now... larger house, painted walls, grass in the yards, no evil tree in the front and best of all... LESS MONEY PER MONTH! I got all excited, turned in my application for it, and asked my current landlord how I was to give notice. They basically turned around and said because I hadn't given notice before paying Novembers rent (i didn't KNOW until 11/2!! Rent is due no later than the 1st!) that I had to pay Decembers rent and be out by the end of the month. Long story short, the current landlord talked to the owner of this house and has prorated the month of December in half for me (thank goodness!) . The new house has said I can move in the last Friday of November (which is 11/30, starting my lease on 12/1). It gives me a 2 week overlap, but I'm ok with that... it gives me time to move my stuff and clean THIS house before my inspection set for 12/14. So I'll be in my new house for my birthday and Christmas... which is kind of cool, I guess. I told them I only have two dogs for now, but it won't be a problem to add a third after the first of the year I think. I can come up with something. I just don't have the money to add the third dog (not when they charge you $200 per pet!) right now.

So I'm packing tonight... slowly. The office can for the most part, be packed up without any problems, so I'm starting there.

Thankfully I'm getting a bonus from work, and that is what will make all of this do-able. So stay tuned ... the kids and I will soon have a new address... *sigh*

Here is the front of the "new" house

And the back (note the ceiling fan on the porch! YAY! and the GRASS!!)

This is a view of the living room looking into the dining room (left) and kitchen (right)

The master bathroom

The master bedroom with the bathroom being the door on the left, the HUGE walk in closet in the middle, and the door (and the linen closet just outside the bedroom door) on the right

Looking into the master bedroom

The kitchen (one side)

And this is the floor plan of the "new" house

and this is the floor plan that I am currently living in... VERY similar!

Wish us luck... We'll be needing it!

CWCCA Membership.... the update

Well I found out tonight that my petition to get an extension was denied by the CWCCA Board...

I'm frustrated and angry about this... on top of other crap that went down this weekend.... but I just thought I'd share with those of you who took note before... I'll have to reapply if I want to be a member again...

Oh joy.

A Visit with Ollie :)

I went to go and see Ollie today for the first time in over a year... I just haven't made it a priority, and I feel bad... but it was great to see him :) He's gained some weight (which Susan promises to work on) but he looked GREAT otherwise :)
Sedona made herself right at home, hopping up on Susan's lap and hanging out on the sofa....

Happy boy :)
Me and my boy... bad lighting, but ok picture ;-)

We got down on the floor and started playing... just like old days :)
Him lookin up to his mama for approval ;-)
This is my favorite picture (despite it looking like I'm being taken over by my hair!)
We did all of his tricks... my Cardigans must be dumb or something... none have picked up on all the tricks Ollie knows... ;-)
Just the happy bear
The kids playing with Susan
Ollie winning at tug :)
Me playing tug with him :)
I miss him, but I'm not sad about him anymore... I'm sad that he's not with me, but I'm SO happy he's in a great home :) I'm even happier that I can go see him and that he's nearby! :) Susan is a great lady and I'm very fortunate to have met her and to know that she's taking care of my very special Ollie bear :)