A Champion?!

TRIUMPH

ADCH = Agility Dog Champion

1/5/13

We went into the weekend needing a standard leg, which we got on Friday by the skin of our teeth and one pairs leg, which we got with Lori Ainbinder and Moxie!  Oh my God, what a dork I am!!!

 

 

 

 

more pics and videos to follow as I just figured out how to upload pictures again now using a picasa web album - I wish blogger would have just left it as it was - it used to be easy to upload pictures, now not so much!!!

 

Christmas...and some before

After I wrote this blog entry earlier today, I saw this on Facebook and it is so true - so I am adding it to the beginning of this blog entry instead of at the end...

I haven't blogged in a while and am way behind...but after losing Pauli the beginning of October, I just didn't much feel like putting down my thoughts in to words. 


We did do Dog On It's trial in November and we had a blast.  My friend Karen Denton with Neece, a half sister to Triumph, came and stayed with me and we partied way more than we should have but we still managed to grab a couple of Qs and have some  nice runs.  I hated to see Karen and Neece leave.  We should have taken a bunch of pics but this was the only one I took - it became our favorite drink in the evenings - yum!

Thanksgiving weekend I spent working more on my house and then Ben and I went to Ocala to my Aunt's for Thanksgiving dinner - it was fun - my family is crazy.  Ben was renamed to Bob and told he needed  a hair cut.  There were only two naked kids running around this year - I thought there would be more - LOL!



On Tuesday December 4, 2012, I got a call from Kyle (Marc's sister).  She called to tell me that Ian (Marc's brother) had taken his life...I bursted into tears and cried for him and his pain for 2 weeks...


This is what I posted on my wall about Ian - I loved him and I miss him very much...

 

Last Tuesday I lost someone very dear to me, my ex-brother-in-law, my friend for 36 years, a young man with a beautiful heart and soul, one of the kindest and most gentle human beings I've ever known, Ian Dana. After my recent break up with his brother, Ian was one of many good friends who got me through a rough time...he was always there for me...I wish I could have fought off the demons that troubled him so...Godspeed my dear friend...I love you very much Ian and will miss you forever.

 

 

With so much loss, and not just my own, but the children who were so brutally murdered in Newtown Connecticut on December 14, I was somewhat dreading Christmas - well maybe not dreading it, but not really looking forward to it.  Ben really wanted to see his family who all live in Destin, Florida (actually Niceville) and I wanted to see mine in Ocala.  So we compromised and we left on Friday December 21, 2012, (Burn's 9th birthday) and we drove to Niceville, spent three days there, and then left on Monday morning and went to my mom's in Ocala and stayed there Monday night and went to my cousin's Christmas morning.  Burn got to go with us and he was SO happy to be the special dog on that trip!!!!!!  We stayed with Ben's sister and mother - I love them, they are such wonderful people.  All of his family is great and welcomed me with open arms - and boy do they like to party - yahoo!!!!!


Saturday morning we walked the dogs around the corner of Michelle's house and this is what you see...it's beautiful...

 

 

I just had to see Destin Beach so later that day we climbed in Ben's mom's van, Burn included, and we went to a place called Back Porch which is right on the beach for lunch - it was BEAUTIFUL and I didn't want to leave - neither did Burn!

 

Ben's brother has a yacht but there was some mechanical issue so we were not able to take the yacht out, but Ben and I did pack a cooler and some snacks and music and hung out on it and watched the sunset - it was gorgeous!

 

It turned out to be a wonderful Christmas after all, going somewhere I've never been with my best boy Burn and my new beau Ben, meeting his terrific family and getting to see mine...I am so blessed but I am without a doubt wanting to get this year behind me and hopeful that 2013 will be a much better year for everyone! :)

catch up

We trialed last weekend at the USDAA trial in West Palm Beach...we hadn't shown in 5 months...that doesn't make for a good Q rate for me and Triumph...but whatever...he only needs two standard and one pairs Q for his ADCH and we got neither except for a gamble Q and a Steeplechase Q.  Burn also got a steeplechase Q, a gamble Q and a pairs Q - none of which he needs :)  Triumph will get his ADCH some day and in the meantime, we had a really good time and it was great to get away for the weekend and away from working on my house.

I took Thursday off to drive down and get a little training in before Friday.  Hurricane Sandy put a damper on that as the equestrian center would not allow the club to use the facility on Friday.  We had some windy weather and some rain on Friday but I'm not complaining...there was so much destruction in NY and NJ and so much loss.

I spent the day just playing with the dogs while Deb and Blase were at work - we even got some pool time in between the squalls.

I so enjoy the shows in West Palm Beach as I get to stay with my very good friends Deb and Blase.  They live on 6 fenced acres complete with a pool and my own private wing.   We go back to the days when I had Rottweilers.  They have 3 now.  This was the first trip I made to their house without Pauli.  Deb and Blase were one of Pauli's biggest fans.  They missed her and so do I.

Deb and Blase's guys - Trixie, Crew and Sugar

Their place - Caloosa Ranch - is awesome!  I could live there, forever :)

More pool time - we need to swim, NOW!!!

Bosco and Crew love to play and swim together - he is the sweetest most wonderful Rottweiler ever...

We actually have a video of Crew swimming with Bosco riding on his back!!

First picture taken of me and my guys without my sweet Pauli...

just some individual pics of my guys...

A highlight of my weekend was meeting Margaret Burk who owns Triumph's litter brother Stat.  She and her sister live in Arizona and spent the week in Bimini on a dolphin excursion!  They made time in their busy schedule to come and meet us - we love her!

It was a great weekend and a nice break...back to sanding, grinding, caulking on my house this weekend...I'm close to getting one more wall primed - yeah for me!!!  oh yeah, I better get some dog training in as we have the local 3-day USDAA trial next weekend!!

it's not about

winning, or even qualifying…yeah a perfectly executed, fast and clean agility run with your dog is exhilarating and of course a blue ribbon is nice, but it’s the moments and the memories in these little video clips below that are what make my face and heart smile and are what matter most to me…there are quite a few clips below, but they are all short and cute and will make you smile...

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain...



work and play

Friday when I got home from work, we did some more detail work on the west wall of my house.  Saturday morning we finished up all the rest of the details...sanded around the windows, got the rest of the old caulking out from under each and every plank, sanded the whole wall with the random orbital sander, and caulked...

It was also Bike Fest in Sanford this weekend...

I met a friend at Wolfy's for a drink and then we went on to The Breezeway for dinner, and then did a little bar hopping...ended up at a little Italian place and had a chocolate martini...yum!

From there we walked down to Fort Mellon Park and saw Molly Hatchet...

And then, Sunday morning, the west wall got primed!!!!!

I got some yard work done, filled up the pool and let the boys play...it was great fun...then...my friend came back over and we went for a ride on his bike...to Jolly Gator in Geneva...

We ate, drank and spent a bunch of money on the juke box...I love juke boxes and this was a state of the art, digital touch juke box...awesome!  It was a beautiful weekend and the weather was perfect especially to be out on a bike...and oh yeah, my friend also has a 1967 "Triumph" motorcycle :)

I miss my sweet Pauli...this was one of the last pictures I took of her....

my little white angel

I'm not even sure how to begin this post as there are just no words to describe how I feel and there are too many words to describe the last 15 years with the most amazing little dog, my sweet, Pauli.  

I had to say goodbye to Pauli on Tuesday, October 2, 2012.  It was one of the toughest days of my life and my life will never be the same without her in it. 

I met Pauli the day she was born, she was only a couple of hours old, and I loved her from that moment on.  I brought her home when she was six weeks old and she stole my heart, she stole everyone's heart she met.

One of my favorite pictures of us - this was taken at one of her first Earthdog tests - something she loved probably more than anything.

A day at the beach...Pauli was about 2 years old in this pic and wanting me to throw the frisbee!

A couple of my favorite agility pics with Pauli...

Screaming at the start line...

She was so much fun to run and finished every run jumping up into my arms...this is one of her last agility runs...she was almost 12 years old...Steeplechase round 2 at a local USDAA trial - she won...she won lots and lots of blue ribbons during her agility career.







These pics were taken at the last Earthdog test we did in Ocala this past March...she couldn't wait to get out of the van...she knew exactly where we were and what we were going to do...

The last trip Pauli went on with me was to South Carolina in April...we got to go to the beach and of course, she got to sit on everyone's lap at the trial site...one of her other very favorite things in life...always wanting to be sitting on someone's lap

The Journey

Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead, young and whole once more. "God speed, good friend," we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again. And bless their souls for sharing their lives with us... and adding so much to our very existence...

thank you Becky for sharing that with me...

MACH, ADCH, Terrier-ific St. Pauli Girl, ME

1/14/98 - 10/2/12

Rest in Peace my Sweet Little White Angel