Photo Challenge: Day 6

Post a photo of someone you'd love to trade places with for a day.

Umm... No thanks. I know I'm probably just taking this way too seriously, but I really don't want to be anyone else for a day. If I was, I wouldn't be with my husband. That would not be a happy day! Although, I guess I could generalize it and say I'd love to be in any WARM place (warm being in the 70s or 80s). :)

Photo Challenge: Day 5

Post a picture of your favorite memory.

HONEYMOON IN HAWAII. At first I thought I'd post a picture of receiving one of my guide dog puppies, or one of them graduating. But I feel like that was so long ago, and so much has changed. Jake is such a HUGE part of my life now (obviously) that when I then strayed to thoughts of our wedding, and our honeymoon, it was an obvious choice between the two. Of course being married to him, and going to Hawaii with him for our honeymoon, is my alltime favorite memory. Sipping mai tais on the beach, being able to walk out our front door and be ON the beach, doing whatever we wanted, and BEING married? Definitely the best memory. We wanted to go back for our 1st anniversary, but decided on Florida instead. Hey, it's kinda close!

Photo Challenge: Day 4

Post a picture of your night.

So this challenge confused me. Post a picture of my night? What does that really mean? That, and the fact that I have NO idea where my camera is, left me stumped. So I posted a picture of Jake and I a few nights ago, doing what we do best. Goofing off with our less-than-willing kitten. Belle is so pissed off in this picture it's hilarious. Other things we do at night is play golf on the xbox. I find it shocking how much I enjoy it, but I'm so glad Jake and I have found something we can enjoy together. And I'm not too bad!

Photo Challenge: Day 3

Post a picture of the cast from your favorite show.

America's Next Top Model!

This was a hard one for me to choose. I watch too much tv, and Jake and I have shows to watch every night except for Fridays. Sometimes there are multiple shows tonight, or (like tonight) too many shows to record with our DVR, so I have to watch them later on hulu. So I did have a difficult time deciding on Americas Next Top Model.

It's a silly show, I know that. I'm thinking I may like it 'cause I'll never be as tall or thin as those ladies, or maybe I just like all the colors of the photoshoots and their house they stay in. Not sure. I just like the show. It's entertaining to me.

AND! Its new season, season 16, starts TONIGHT! Unfortunately, we also watch Survivor AND American Idol, and they are both on tonight also. So, my husbands ruling won out, and we will record those two shows and I will watch my girly show later when it's up on hulu. :)

Photo Challenge: Day 2

Post a photo of you and the person you've been closest with the longest.

This is my twin sister, Ali. This photo was taken I believe back in May of 09. Back when I had dark hair. :) She and her husband flew out from FL to visit and surprise me. She is my best friend and no amount of states will separate us. Cheesy, I know, but so true.

Photo Challenge: Day 1

So I've seen all those challenges out there on blogs, and while some are very interesting and fun to read, I just haven't myself been interested enough to do one. That all changed when I ran across a friends facebook. It's a photo challenge but of specific things. It's only for a month, so it's much more doable than some other ones. Also, I probably won't post on the weekends. So I guess I've already failed! But here it is anyway.


Photo Challenge: Day 1. A picture of yourself with ten facts.

Facts:

1. I am 5'2" and like it that way!

2. I married the love of my life ALMOST a year ago. :)

3. I am a twin, and we look nothing alike.

4. I'm rather obssessed with dogs. Shocker. :)

5. When I was younger I shook a candy machine and it fell over. I was so embarrased I ran and hid.

6. There is almost nothing better than ice cream.

7. I could not get through the day without praying for strength and guidance.

8. I was born and raised in Southern California.

9. I am ADDICTED to musicals.

10. I hate airplanes with a passion. Just seeing one flying in a movie stresses me out. It's a miracle I survived a long distance relationship for 9 months.

Fala turns 9!

Well I must be a horrible dog-mom because I forgot to post about Fala's birthday ON her birthday. But I'm only a day late. So... Maybe it's not too bad? Pictured above is typical Fala: Happy to be out and about. Please ignore all the slime coming off her mouth. She was getting food rewards that day. :)

It's hard to believe, but Fala is 9 years old. A "senior citizen". It's hard for me to think of her getting older and slowing down, but she still has so much life left in her. She is all energy whenever we go out, she still leaps up the stairs taking them three at a time, and she would play fetch for HOURS if only we had the same endurance.

With all that said there are signs of her aging. She has a little tiny bit of gray on her chin (not as much as you'd think), and there have been days where she groans as she stands up and stretches and her joints pop. She has fallen down the stairs a few times and that's just heartbreaking. So some days, her body just can't keep up with her energetic spirit.

Other than that, Fala is Fala. She drives me crazy on a daily basis but I love her SO much. I'm glad she was Career Changed and that I kept her, because I'm pretty sure that out of all my dogs, she has taught me the most!

Happy Birthday, Fala!

Oh Snow.

People told me that come February, I would hate the snow and want it to leave. Well I LOVE THE SNOW! And I still never want it to leave. Now, I am excited when I see that the temperature is going to be in the 30s (who knew I would ever consider that warm??), and the potential of it reaching the 40s in the next week is super exciting! But knowing that warm temperatures mean the snow will slowly melt, and that warm temps also means rain instead of snow makes me so sad. I'm not ready for all this to leave!

I know it's still February and that usually there are a few more storms that hit by March or sometimes (rarely) even April. So I am just soaking up all this wonderful snow; making snowballs and throwing them at my husband, going sledding, making snowmen. There is so much fun to be had with snow and most people just complain! Those people should just go live in So. California for 21 years and see how boring it is after a while!

I'm already ready for Christmas. :)

Golden Retrievers or Labradors?

When Jake and I got married, one thing was certain: We would always have a dog in our household. Ideally, we'd love to have two dogs. When we lived in California, we had that. We had Fala, my then 7 year old Black Lab GDA drop out, and Camry, my then 2 year old Yellow Lab GDA breeder. It was perfect. No human was left out during walks, and the girls could play with each other when their mommy was too lazy. :)

Things changed when we moved to Maine. Camry belonged to GDA and she couldn't come with me. So, we dropped down to a one dog family. Realistically I know it's probably for the best, even though I miss Camry every day. Having two dogs in one apartment, while doable, is very difficult. But, Fala isn't getting any younger. She will be 9 years old in two weeks. So Jake and I have been thinking... when will the new puppy be on his or her way?

We want to get a new puppy when Fala is still young enough to enjoy one. We don't want Fala to think of the puppy as a replacement, but rather as a playmate. We want to establish our own relationship with the puppy before Fala passes away (we are talking YEARS people) so that the puppy has no "shoes to fill" so to speak.

Jake and I have spent months agonizing over the breed of dog that is right for us. I am a die hard Labrador fan, but of course I am! I've only had one breed other than a Lab, which was an Australian Shepherd. And while she was great, they are NOT apartment dogs. And I don't have the energy to keep up with one! I guess I just always assumed that when the time came to add a dog to our family, it'd be a Lab. A yellow one. Because Fala is black.

Enter my husband. He loves dogs, although he only had mixes when he was growing up. His friends only ever had Labs. And he's tired of them. He LOVES them, don't get me wrong. But he wants change. He wants a Golden Retriever.

I am so skeptical about Goldens for certain reasons.. The GDA golden retriever line probably wasn't the BEST out there. Actually, I know it wasn't. They are still trying to tweak it to make it as perfect as possible. But while I was a trainer I worked with my fair share of Goldens. And while they were sweet, there's a reason they didn't graduate.

We also talked about getting a Bernese Mountain Dog. I know I know... a GIANT dog in an apartment? Well we have a friend here that has one. They live in an apartment and apparently the breed is really low key energy-wise and easy to get along with. We were looking at breeders and such when we found out that because they are a super Large breed dog, they have a short life expectancy. Shorter than 10 years. I told Jake that I didn't want a dog whose life expectancy was shorter than 10 years, simply because I couldn't handle it. If I had been able to, we would've adopted Dawson last year. So, sadly, the Bernese Mountain Dog is no longer a real option for now.

So I think we have decided that next year a new Golden Retriever will join our household. I feel like I am in my own way for really really wanting one. I am sure that if we choose the right breeder, the puppy will be better than I am expecting. I am just so cautious about them!

With all this said, I am so excited with our decision. Goldens are BEAUTIFUL dogs and I'm excited for one to join our family. It won't be a while, but I think we've narrowed down to one or two possible breeders. I know I know, it's so far off. But I want to get a head start. Buying a dog is a huge decision!