Bigger and Better

First off, I am doing a really great job of limiting/controlling my stress levels so far this week. I can tell a difference, and I hope Robert does as well. I have been happier, and have a ton more energy...surprisingly with less sleep. I have been getting just about 8-9 hours a night. I also have been making a point to eat really healthily and it is really doing me good. I have been dropping the lbs! And the last think I am doing for my health is.....I got some of the one a day women's vitamin pills and have been taking one a day (ya think?) as well as a fish oil pill every day....at least when I remember.

Lets see....oh my job! Work is still work, but I am finding that I am handling it better now that I have been controlling my stress levels. I still would like to quit and take the time to find a job I will be happy in, but I am not going to go insane if I don't quit tomorrow.

Big news in our home!! Robert talked to the apartment office (once again....they are not very up on things) about us transferring apartments. Well, a little background first. There are several reasons that we want to move apartments, and the biggest one for me is that everything in our apartment is like 900 years old! I swear sometimes our dishwasher was the first ever made! The complex has some newly remodeled ones that we are hoping to get one of. That is what Robert was talking to them about and they said that there might be some openings in the NEW apartments, and if not there are some move-outs in the end of March and April!!! We are first on the list to take an apartment after a move-out, but Robert and I are crossing our fingers that we get one of the newest apartments!

Other big news, more so for me than Robert, is that Patriot is finally coming to live with us!! If you want to know who Patriot is you will have to go to the embedded link and read, because it would take too much time to write all of it here. He is coming on March 9, 2008! I can't wait, but I am also nervous about how he will adjust to living full time in a house instead of on the 5 acres he has been. I am trying to prepare myself for if he becomes completely miserable, that I have to send him back to my parents' place. Before I get anyone who realised how big of a dog he is, and feels sorry for him in an apartment, just know that. Patriot was a guide dog in training, and therefore lived his first year of life in a house. Also he is coming up on 6 year old (even I can't believe it sometimes) so his energy level is decreasing significantly. And as I said before, if he is miserable, he will go back to my parents' until I have a house with a yard.
For an update on Hobbs read my puppy raising blog later tonight or tomorrow.

10 DAYS!!!!

Yes everyone! Patriot is FINALLY coming to live with me permanently!! I haven't lived with him for more than a month since he came home from being CC'd in 2003! Nothing can express how excited I am to have him here with me. He is going to have some adjusting to do, but he has always been a perfect boy so it should go smoothly.

13 ways I Deal With Stress

TT #8

I have been having major stress issues lately. After being inspired by my big sister's TT, here is MY list of things I am doing to limit stress.

• Exercise: Hobbs and I go on a 1 hour walk every morning and it has been wonderful....except on the blizzard days.
• Eating 3 meals a day: Sounds simple enough, but I have had a huge problem eating enough ever since college.
• Breathing Exercises: Making sure that I am not holding my breath; which I do most of the time. I have been making a point of checking my breathing every once in a while.
• Reading a Book: I didn't even realise how relaxing this can be! I need to go to the library to get some more books.
• Crosstiching: I have been working on this Thomas Kincade like piece for well over a year now, and I want to finish it!
• Filing my bills so that I don't have to think about them: My phone has all the due dates schedules as alarms, that way I don't have to ever check to see if anything is due that day. I just don't think about it.
• Quiting my job: I know that I like teaching dog training classes, but something about PetSmart is stressful to me. Possibly because I don't feel like I can get out of it when I need to. I feel like I am holding up the store....which when I write it down sounds very silly. lol So I am going to leave as soon as they hire a new trainer...or in three months.
• Blogging!! I love to just be able to write my thoughts down and vent if I need to and everyone here is always so sympathetic!
• Practicing my Flute or the Bagpipes: I kind of have been slacking on then for a while but have recently started up again.
• Clean my house: I swear there is no mood I can be in that a good deep cleaning of my house can't fix.
• Talk to family or friends: This I haven't taken advantage of as much as I could be.
• Drink more water: I read somewhere that if you drink enough water your stress level naturally is lower....plus you loose weight faster!
• Working on a puzzle: Robert came home with a couple of puzzles a while ago, and then we bought one on our anniversary. They are kind of a stress reliever to me because it fulfills that small part of OCD in me.

100th Post!!

Today is my 100th post on this blog!! Now both my blogs are past their 100 mark and before long this one will have more entries than my puppy blog. Suprising because that was my first blog.

Anyways I am exausted and really sore from a week of hour long speed walking every day with Hobbs. We have see a lot of beautiful stuff this week. Including the Jordan River Parkway which is now my favorite place to walk Hobbs.

Jordan River Parkway

Hobbs and I, for the past couple days, have been going on our walks on the Jordan River Parkway. It is a paved trail that goes basically the whole length of Salt Lake County! It is very beautiful now so I can't even imagine how amazing it will be in the summer time! Here is a PDF of anyone is interested in seeing the map of the trail. Hobbs and I pass on average two dogs per walk, which Hobbs thinks is the end of the world. He is getting better though after only two days so maybe there is hope! If only the owners of the other dogs would keep their dogs under some semblance of control........

I haven't taken my camera with me yet, so here are some pictures I found on the net.


This is what most of the Parkway looks like


A summer picture of one of the bridges


There are also many wooden walkways, some with railings and others without


The Parkway goes through several parks and playgrounds

and under several roads and highways

Maybe on Friday when we go again I will take some pictures with my camera

Happy Birthday!

I wanted to wish my baby sister Happy 21st Birthday!!!

And before you get to the pictures, I DIDN'T take any of these! They were on my sister's facebook, and I am really not sure who took any of them! Enjoy:

Kathryn went to China to teach english and this is a picture of her there

This one was during thanksgiving and my brother took the picture (I have to give credit where I know it is due)

Kathryn, if you see this, I hope you have a wonderful day today. Have a great time with whatever your roomates have planned! I love you!

Kitten Update

Here are some recent pictures of the kittens. They are going in for their 8 week shots on saturday, and then they will be spayed/neutered on the 11th hopefully. Then they will be off to their permanent homes!

The kitten cage....J/k they are in here to learn litter box skills

All four of them (this took me over half an hour to capture!)

Now, in order of birth: sorry they don't have names yet...or genders for that matter....

Three of them playing....the fourth is just to the bottom of the picture trying to bite off my toes

Honk if you think corrections are cruel!!

A couple days ago on our morning walk, I was working really hard on keeping Hobbs focused on me. This is my newest tactic (along with the distraction toy) for getting him to stop reacting so harshly to other dogs. What I was doing is the normal walk and then abrupt turn around to get him watching where I was going. Well at one point he was super focused on this dog down the road, so I turned around and corrected him for not coming along with me. Once he did of course he got tons of praise. All of the sudden this car slams on its horn (I about jumped out of my skin) and the woman driving it started yelling at me (I couldn't hear what she said) and shaking her fist at me!

I have had people give me dirty looks for corrections in public, but this was the first time I have been honked at for one! I just laughed it off and continued what I was doing.

Ok, now for some pictures of my boy! I have really noticed how Hobbs' face has changed in the past month from a puppy face into a "big dog" face. He is still holding on the 65 lb weight, so I am hoping that he will only gain a few more pounds before he is finished growing.

This bush really freaked him out at first and he got all wiggly and tried to do labby scoots when I corrected him so he got to sit there for a while for pictures as his punishment.

Pouting

We sat at this corner for literally almost 15 minutes before we jay-walked across the road because the signal wouldn't change!

"Mom, can we Pleeeaase be done taking pictures?"

Hobbs had just tried to mark the tree and got corrected for it so he was more than a little hesitant to lay there. Nevermind all the dirt on him, our sidewalks are less than clean to say the least!

Handsome boy!

I asked him if he wanted Patriot to come live with us and this is the face he made!

You can really see in this one that he is turning into a "big boy"

Our club and another one, has evaluations with our CFR (regional advisor) this Friday, and I am kind of nervous about it because I don't feel that Hobbs is improving at all with the whole dog thing. His obedience will be immaculate though!

You know you are a puppy raiser when....

I know I already posted the "you know you are a dog person" list but a fellow puppy raiser compiled this list and I absolutly agree with every one of them, and have done almost every one of them
You've ever stepped on a nylabone with bare feet in the middle of the night
You've ever cleaned up dog poop in the middle of school, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, etc
You've cleaned out a dog crate at two in the morning because someone had an accident
One of your favorite smells in the world is puppy breath
Your hand feels empty without a leash in it
You've ever walked around a department store for 15 minutes looking for the elevator because you can't take the escalator
You've ever cried because your dog goes off to college
You've ever slept in a sleeping bag with a dog
You've ever given a puppy hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting because they swallowed something they shouldn't have
You've ever refrained from chewing out someone because they feel sorry for your dog
You've ever had a puppy pee on your shirt
Your leg feels bare without a leather leash laying across it
Your hands have ever been sore because of puppy teeth
You've never let your dog play with a tennis ball
You've ever cried because your dog did not make it as a guide
You've ever smiled because your dog did not make it as a guide
You've ever thrown a water bottle at a dog crate because your puppy was whining at three in the morning, after you took him out
You've ever been told by the checker at the grocery store that you're doing a wonderful thing, that she could never do
The thing you look forward to the most is going to your dog's graduation
You've ever had an awesome time playing tug of war
The first living thing you see in the morning is a wagging puppy bursting out of their crate
You've ever fed a puppy at school or work
You've ever gone to the bathroom in public with a dog in your stall
You've ever had your waitress look under your table and say "Oh look, I didn't know there was a dog there!"
You've ever made a gourmet meal of pepto bismol and rice
Your best friend and most frequent companion has four legs
Your dad has found poop bags in his swim trunks
You've ever taken a picture of a dog on a bus
When talking to your distant relatives, their first question is always "So how are the dogs doing?"
You've ever pushed an eight week old puppy in a shopping cart
You know the exact date your dog was born, their sibling's names, and what day you got them
You've ever walked a dog while wearing high heels and a cocktail dress
You've seen dozens of movies at the theater with your dog
With every load of laundry, at least two poop bags come out of your jeans
More than four people a week ask you how old your dog is
You've seen a "No Dogs Allowed" sign, and not hesitated entering with your dog by your side
You didn't name your dog
You've met some of your best friends through your dog
You cannot count the number of times a child has screamed after you "Mommy look a doggy!"
The most important lessons you've ever learned have come from your dog
During ever meal you usually find at least one dog hair in your food
Your car has an incredible amount of dog hair in the passenger and back seat
You have ever spent 20 minutes outside in the snow trying to get your puppy to go at 7 in the morning
You have never slipped food scraps under the table
With the first mention of a trip, you try to think of a good puppy raiser
You've used your dog as a pillow
If you spend most of your time on the floor to be close to your dog
If more people know you by your dog's name then yours
If whenever you are out without your dog, the first thing that comes out of other people's mouths is "Where is your dog"
When you know where to get the best buys on Nylabones
When nylabones/jolly balls are on sale you stock up
When at least one person asks "are you blind?"
You've been stalked in Target by a small child
You've given up either your favorite pillow or blanket (or both) so the new pup will have something sleep on (ignoring the fact that your dog owns two costco beds)
You can describe your dogs poop schedule
Your dog has better manners than most children
When no outfit is complete without dog hair
When you consider knitting a sweater out of all the dog hair you collect around the house
When your siblings consider themselves your dogs aunts and uncles and your parents refer to themselves as thier grandparents
You've gone places just so you can take pictures for your puppy's scrapbook
You own every shape made of nylabones
You think a dog relieving on pavement is normal
You sign e-mail with your puppy's name after yours
When you leave the house and you have dog hair all over you
You decide never to wear black because it is too easy for your dog to turn it white
You say "lets go" whenever you start walking, whether or not you have your dog with you
You say "excuse us" instead of "excuse me" because you are so used to having the dog by your side
You've been in class and your dog started making the puky noises so you ran out into the hall and found the nearest garbage can and held your dogs head in the garbage until they puked

Movie Review

I know, I know, I haven't been doing the movie reviews lately. I just haven't really seen anything worth reviewing. But last night we went to see a really cute movie.
Definitely, Maybe

Official Site: http://www.definitelymaybemovie.com/
Staring: Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Derek Luke, and Nestor Serrano.

Will Hayes, a 30-something Manhattan dad is in the midst of a divorce when his 10 year old daughter, Maya, starts to question him about his life before marriage. Maya wants to know absolutely everything about how her parents met and fell in love. Will's story begins in 1992, as a young, starry-eyed aspiring politician who moves to New York from Wisconsin in order to work on the Clinton campaign. For Maya, Will relives his past as a idealistic young man learning the ins and outs of big city politics, and recounts the history of his romantic relationships with three very different women. On the campaign, Will's best buddy is Russell McCormack. They not only have similar political aspirations, they share the same type of girl problems, too. Will hopelessly attempts a "PG" version of his story for his daughter ad changes the names so Maya has to guess who he finally married. Is her mother Will's college sweetheart, the dependable girl next-door Emily? Is she his longtime best friend and confidante, he apolitical April? Or is she the free-spirited but ambitious journalist? As Maya puts together the pieces of her dad's romantic puzzle, she begins to understand that love is not so simple or easy. And as Will tells her his tale, Maya helps him to understand that it's definitely never too late to go back...and maybe even possible to find a happy ending.

It was such a good movie! Really cute and has a happy ending!

So Disappointed! UPDATED:

UPDATE:
Ok, I went to the school's website and although the locations of the shows have changed, they are still there! So now I am going to just wait and see if anything is announced on their site.
This is something that I really wanted to go see this fall. I am so sad that they will not be coming to the US this year.
The Spanish Riding School of Vienna, the famous white Lipizzaner stallions rescued by Patton during World War II, has cancelled their 2008 US tour which was to have had performances in 5 west coast cities.
With the school on the verge of bankruptcy, Elisabeth Gürtler-Mauthner has been appointed managing director of the school, the first time a woman has been in charge of the school in its 430 year history which has an all male staff of riders and trainers. According to Austrian media sources, the school lost $1.7 million last year citing excessively high rider salaries of up to $17,000 per month when on tour as well as administrative expenses. The Austrian government no longer financially supports the school. They now depend on the public financial support.
The number of performances to be held in Vienna was almost doubled to 69 and the US tour scheduled for November and December 2008 was cancelled. The 2005 Spanish Riding School tour, the first US performances in 15 years, had disappointing numbers attend, performing to less than half full arenas.

11 Months Old!!

So today Hobbs is 11 months old! I can't believe how much he has grown and changed in the 9 months I have had him. He is starting to look more like an adult dog, and is getting more handsome every day.

On the other hand, today when I got home from work he did a very not handsome thing. I have to admit that my clothes and coat smelled like dogs because of my job. Hobbs was sniffing my pants like he does every day when I come home, but later when I was sitting on the floor he came up and I thought he was turning to sit in my lap and he lifted his leg to mark me!!!! I immediately jumped up and scolded him, grabbed his collar and corrected him, and scolded him again. Maybe it was a little excessive but I have NEVER been peed on by a dog in my life! I have always heard though that you are not really a trainer until you have both been bitten and peed on, so I guess I am officially a "real" trainer.

Other than that Hobbs is doing just about the same. Still fearful of dogs, and it seems that nothing I do makes it any better. Sometimes the toy works as a distraction, but other times nothing can get his attention off of that dog. Those are the times that I feel like he isn't going to make it as a guide. We have been working really hard on getting him to hold a position until he is released from it. Like if I put him in sit, he stays in it until I let him up or tell him to lay down. He is pretty set in the habit of when he is told to sit after a little while he slides into down without being told. After two days of working on it he is getting better, but not perfect. Sorry no pictures today, maybe this weekend.

13 ways to tell if you are a dog person

TT #7

Lint wheels are on your shopping list every week
The trash basket is permanently installed under the kitchen sink, to keep the dogs out of it while your at work
You refer to yourself as Mommy, or Daddy when you talk to your dog
Your dogs sleep with you....and if not they have their own bed
You have 32 different names for your dogs. Most make no sense, but they understand.
Your dogs lick themselves, but you still let them kiss you (but not immediately afterward, of course)
You have your dogs pictures on your office desk (but no one else’s)
You are the only idiot walking in the pouring rain because your dogs need their walk
You have a blog about your dogs
Your children refer to your dogs as their brother and sisters
Your grown children come over, lifts the cover on the pan on the stove and says, “Is this people food or dog food?”
Your have dog hair stuck on tape on wrapped giftsYou cringe at the price of food in the grocery store but think nothing of the cost of dog food or treats

Intership

Ok, just to ease any fears that I am sick or have some medical reason that I am so tired, I am feeling much better today. I think I was just not sleeping well, and I am sure that I was having some very stressful dreams. I have been trying to find something that is a good stress reliever (any suggestions would be amazing!) because I know that I am way to stressed about life about 99.9% of the time. Lol, I don't know why I hold on to stress so much but I do. Something that I find interesting is that I yawn when I get stressed but, since the Bells, half of my face doesn't yawn properly! I truly believe that yawning is a stress reliever and that because I can't yawn normally, I am more stressed. Maybe it is a stretch but I have thought about it a lot and it make sense to me. So, again any suggestions of stress relievers are welcomed!

So now onto the actual topic of my post. For almost 4 years now I have been applying to Guide Dogs for the Blind's summer internship, but have never been excepted into it. I have decided that this year will be the last time I apply, and if I don't get it, I wont apply anymore. So fingers are crossed that this is my year. Several of the years I have applied, I have not gotten my references sent in on time, so my application was invalid. Last year was one of those years, but one of the wonderful people at GDB is holding my one reference that made it last year. I have another reliable person in mind for the other reference, and two people in mind to stay with during the two week internship, which I hope will work out. (Fingers crossed on that one). I am feeling a little guilty about leaving for two weeks, but Robert has assured me that it is fine with him. Hobbs will probably be recalled by then, which will determine which of the two campus' I would be going to. I would not be allowed to be at the campus he is at to keep him in "Formal training mode". In the small chance that he is still with us during the internship, I will most likely have him puppy sat.

Soooooooooooo Tired!!

Ever since I got sick I have been soo incredibly tired it isn't even funny. I have been getting between 7 and 10 hours of sleep per night and taking 1-3 hour naps during the day. And I am still tired! I am so tired my body aches! Pretty sure it is the reason for my eye twitches too.

Well last night I finally thought I was going to get some good sleep, because I was so tired. But NO I couldn't fall asleep until almost 3:30! Some of it had to do with just normal stuff that keeps people up late, but I am clueless as to the rest of the reason my body doesn't want to sleep. So tonight I am going to eat dinner, wind down from work, and go to bed even if it is only 10:00.

Agility Trial

This weekend I went to the equestrian center for a couple hours to watch the agility trial that was being held there. If Hobbs doesn't make it as a guide dog, I am planning to see how he does at agility! So I went to see what the sport is all about.It was AMAZING!! I have watched it on TV several times, but never in real life. It is just so exciting! There were many many different breeds there, but I only saw one lab! Just ONE!! There was a Ridgeback there with I would love to be my next dog....that is after Hobbs and Patriot either pass away or become guide dogs (in hobbs' case), and after Robert gets his German Shepherd puppy. Then I can get a Ridgeback!

I forgot once again to take my camera (I need it glued to my head or something!) so I took a couple on my phone, sorry if they are really bad quality!

This is how it looked from my seat. This was the set-up for the Jumpers divisions.

This is how it looked from the rail, but people were distracting the dogs so we weren't allowed to stand there.

AGH!!!! My eyelid has been twitching all day long!! NON STOP!!! Thanks to the Bells Palsy I get to deal with this every once in a while, but it is still better than a drooping face!

Good to have friends!

Today was such a good day! Robert and I went to Church as usual, but at home we had waiting at home for us boneless pork ribs slow cooking in our crock pot. Some of our friends were coming over for dinner, and Robert was in charge of cooking the dinner.

After church, we cleaned the house and got ready for friends. One thing that we for sure noticed was that we NEED a bigger dining table. We are ok as long as we only have two people over, but past that there isn't enough space.

Dinner was excellent, and we all ate way too much! I just realised that I forgot to take any pictures of our evening! After dinner we played a game and then watched a movie. We had a great dessert of Oreo pie/cake. I think everyone had a good time, and hopefully we will do it again soon!

Looooong Day at Work

I worked 6 hours today at work and it was so busy and noisy! I really don't mind when it is busy but when it gets so busy that you can't walk around the store without being stopped and asked questions, by 5 or 6 people at a time, then it is annoying. Also my one class that I was teaching today had only one of the four dogs show up. Now I will be stuck trying to fit at least 3 make-up classes into my schedule and theirs!

Ok, I really am done complaining. Robert and I had a wonderful evening together last night. We rented a couple movies and just sat and watched them together with our yummy dinner of Asian Salad.
Here is the recipe:

Asian/Oriental Salad
2 Cooked Chicken Breasts (Chopped into small cubes)
1 Head of Lettuce
1-2 chopped Green Onions
2 packets of dry Ramen noodles (just throw out the seasoning packets)
1/2 Cup Sliced or Slivered Almonds
Sauce: these mesurements are adjustable to taste
3/4 cup Vegetable oil
2 T Apple Cider Vinegar
2 T Sugar
3T Soy Sauce
1 t Pepper

Break up noodles into small pieces and spread out on baking sheet. Brown noodles and almonds in oven at 400 degrees for around 2-5 minutes. Be very careful as they burn very easily. Mix all ingredients together in large mixing bowl. Stir in sauce and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Serves 4-6

What An Honor

Hobbs was honored with a picture in Guide Dogs for the Blind's Community Connection Newsletter. It is a PDF file and incase anyone is unable to go see the full newsletter here is what they put....well what I sent to them to put.

Winter Wonderland

Submitted by Brittney Ricks (yes they spelled my name wrong)

Hobbs is a wonderful puppy and always has

been. He is such a smart dog! He has a very

goofy side, but becomes very composed in

public, which impresses people all the time.

One of his goofy traits: he unabashedly loves

snow: he runs like crazy through it, and can’t

get enough of having it thrown or kicked

toward him. We feel honored to be his puppyraisers.

I am so happy with the picture they decided to use. I sent them several, but only a couple were ones that I was really happy with. Unfortunatly they didn't put a link to his blog in the paragraph.

What An Honor

Hobbs was honored with a picture in Guide Dogs for the Blind's Community Connection Newsletter.

I am so happy with the picture they decided to use. I sent them several, but only a couple were ones that I was really happy with. Unfortunatly they didn't put a link to this blog in the paragraph.

Dear Suede

I am so happy to be your valentine! You are such a cutie, and our special moment at Fun Day will forever be in my memory!

I sincerely hope you like flowers!

~~ Hobbs

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Puppy Meeting

Last night was our puppy meeting at RC Willey. We talked for quite a while about the monthly reports for the sake of the new puppy raisers in the club. They are hopefully getting a puppy from the April 11th puppy truck. So Megan maybe they will be getting your new puppy's sibling! It is going to be a baptizm by fire kind of situation though because they are both VERY soft handlers....like soft enough that Hobbs can get away with things....anyways. Hobbs really did behave better than last time, but he was still stuborn. We walked around and up and down some stairs (which I realised Hobbs hasn't done a lot of since we moved here) and worked on having the puppies pay more attention to staying next to us.

During the meeting I was thinking about what I want to do after Hobbs is recalled for training. I would love to get a new puppy, but if Hobbs is CC"d I am going to take him back. The problem with this is that I am also going to have Patriot here in the next month or so. Robert and I have decided that 2 is our limit for number of dogs at one time. So if I got a puppy, and Hobbs got CC'd I would have to transfer the puppy. Quite the dilema.

Weekend Away

Hobbs spent the weekend at Sherman's house and from what I have heard and read he had a wonderful time. Saturday was my husband and my 1 year anniversary so we had him puppysat so he wouldn't be neglected during our weekend. We had a wonderful time at the same hotel as our wedding night. We went to a movie and dinner friday night then spent saturday at the zoo (another reason we had him puppysat) and went to an amazing Italian restaurant. I had escargot for the second time and loved it!

Hobbs was very happy to be home on sunday and immediatly ran around grabing each of his toys and playing with them for a second before going on to get another one. Now he is sleeping soundly as he has been all day! Hopefully he wakes up in time for tonights puppy meeting! He seems to be recovered from his attack and now only jumps if the cat runs towards him.

I think the cat is going into season because she is walking around the house calling and she almost attacked me on Thursday. I was sitting there doing nothing with the kittens and one of them got it's claw caught in one of the little holes in the waste basket and started screeming its head off. Momma Kitty came flying over at me and poor Hobbs went from lying on the floor in a dead sleep to on the couch and trying to climb on top of me in about a second! Luckly neather of us got attacked, but she is banned to her room for a while.

Cat Attack

Hobbs was just attacked by our momma cat! He is ok physically, no scratches or punctures (amazingly), but is rather traumatized by theincident. Our cat is usually very good with him and even cuddles up with him to sleep. She has never even hissed at him, even with her kittens around him all the time.

I think what happened (it was very fast) was that he accidently stepped on one of the baby kitten's legs/toes and then went to sniff it when it yowled. That is when momma kitty attacked him. It was full on attack too, with her hanging onto his neck/shoulder and poor Hobbs screaming his head off. She let go and would have gone after him again had I not grabbed her and tossed her in her room. I tried to stay calm and not coddle him even though it scared me to death. Needless to say Hobbs is terrified of her now....all he wants to do is hide in his kennel.

So Serious!

Last night we had our puppy meeting and Hobbs did ok. He did amazingly well with all the dogs there, but he was handled by both our leader and the new prospective raisers, and thats when he had problems. He is usually wonderful with his commands and hardly needs corrections. With both the new handlers he was very stubborn and almost acted like he didn't know the commands. I was....am really sick, so I didn't have the energy to handle him myself. It was very frustraiting to watch my puppy misbehave and not be able to correct him for it. Oh, and he whined the whole meeting long! Even when he was laying right by me, but mostly when he was across the room from me. I think part of that was he was worried about his "dying" raiser lol! I also found out at the meeting that the PITs are not allowed to wear booties under any circumstances, so I guess it is a good thing they wont stay on! I can not wait until spring!

So our next goal in training is to really get him responding to his commands (especially stay and not sliding into down when given the sit command) and having him handled by someone else at every meeting. Oh and having him spend more time on tie-down away from me to stop the separation anxiety. Another thing I am really working on with him is getting him to have more fun when we are out socializing. Hobbs gets so serious that sometimes he looks like he is sad and depressed. He gets this way when we work hard on obedience too. I am always really positive with him, but maybe I need to exadurate my praise some more.

Other than that Hobbs is doing very well and is improving every day in his tolerance for the kittnes. They are big enough now that they are out of their box and try almost constantly to use him as a jungle gym. I am hoping for the perfect situation where I can take a picture of him with the babies around him sleeping.

Hobbs and one of the little boys

UGH!! I GAINED back the weight I lost and an extra pound!!

Its been almost 1 YEAR!!!

I can't even believe that I have been married just one week shy of a year! It has gone by so fast it is amazing. I was worried about the first year because everyone says that it is the worst, but I loved it! Robert and I had our moments just like every other couple in the world, but I think we are doing much better now. So much has happened though in this last year! I can't wait to see where we are next year. Hehehe! And next year we get to start trying to have children! I am scared for that one! But I am excited too.

Our anniversary is a week from tomorrow and I can't wait to see what Robert has planned! Yes I will post details here after I get back from it, but just know that they may only be the bare minimum. Lol. I have to try and remember to get the top of our wedding cake though. It is in my parent's freezer right now. I am really hoping it isn't all gross for being a year old. I remember it was a very tasty cake though.I will try my hardest to get some decent pictures of us during our anniversary, even if I have to have the waiter at the restaraunt take one!