how many

I love Halloween.
I love orange and black.
Pumpkins.
Leaves.
Ghosts.
Bats.
And candy!

Tonight is our first Halloween in our very own house!
A few weeks ago I decorated the porch with pumpkin lights and bats and stars that I cut out of Jake's black art paper. He didn't want me to use it but he doesn't even use it.

We are very excited and have a bet for how many trick or treaters will visit.
Anne - 30
Jake - 50

Loser makes dinner for a week.

my calling

Judy started Puppy Einstein last night at the St. Paul Dog Training Club.

The stars aligned for Judy and me last night.

She found her calling - Agility and treat rewards.
I found out that I really want to train Judy in Agility. And win competitions.

It seems like my calling.

I am extremely competitive and don't have an outlet for this energy anymore (I am not participating in high school soccer games these days, obviously).
We both would be getting exercise.
It would give Judy a job and me some focus.
We both would be challenging our patience.
Oh, and this could be my one shot at becoming a celebrity.

Well, that is it. I am going to train Judy and be on Animal Planet competing in Agility.

OMG - I AM GOING TO BE FAMOUS.
Finally!!!

I think my brother, who is 25 today would think this is funny.

So...............Happy Birthday Peter!

it's my birthday

Today I am 28 years old.

You might already know this but, my favorite number is eight - so anything, and I mean ANYTHING, that has an eight around or near it or can be added, subtracted, multiplied to make an eight is a good thing.

Which means 28 is pretty much perfect.

This little video makes me happy. Our neighbors, Gracie and Liam are wonderfully crazy, delightful, silly, and sweet all at the same time. Judy and our backyard....ahhhhh, life is pretty good and I know that my 28th year is going to be the best!

right paw

Last night Judy and I were trying out her new nail clipper. She was being so patient and letting me trim her back left paw, her front left paw, and then I moved to her front right paw....she was calm and curious. Probably wondering about what this new gadget was doing and thinking, wow, I can't feel anything but I know that something is happening, this is fun....

I prepare the clipper for the right nail...and then Judy startles and scoots away.

As I look into her eyes I know that I have done something wrong. Oh NO! I have cut to far down. My mind is racing. Oh Judy, oh no! I am so sorry. I start to panic. Jake!!!! I cut too far. Judy is bleeding. Jake rushes upstairs to the kitchen and as tears are streaming down my face Judy quickly licks my hand to let me know that it is okay. But I can't stop crying. Now there is a small pool of blood under her front right paw. I am now officially freaking out and Jake is holding Judy. He tells me to calm down but I cannot. I run to get a gauze pad and some tape. Judy just looks at me and I feel so horrible I cannot believe I have hurt her and made her bleed. I wrap her little paw and she calmly lets me.

She didn't whine or whimper or limp or anything. Jake reassures me that it probably felt like a pin prick to her and that with all the soft tissue on her paw blood flows easily. I am reassured but I still feel horrible.

She is doing fine, I don't know how long it will take for her nail to grow back...and she didn't and doesn't even seem to notice anything happened last night. I just couldn't get the image of her little puppy face looking up at me, watching me freaking out, and seeing the little pool of blood by her paw. It was just so sad.

blog action night

Today is Blog Action Day and I got sick and had to leave work.

So now, I post at night. I wanted to write more but....for now, this is what I want to say:

In my fifth grade yearbook I wrote that my greatest wish was; That everyone in the world would recycle!

This is still my wish.

Oh, and that bottled water be banned.

Petroleum to make the plastic bottles, petroleum to drive the plastic bottled water to the stores, and then petroleum to drive the plastic bottles to a landfill to stay for the next million years. Grrrrrr. Just buy a Nalgene.

Where are all these landfills?

some pumpkins

Jake and I were feeling patient and adventurous.

So we invited our neighbors, 5 1/2 year old Gracie and 3 year old Liam, to help us pick out some pumpkins at a house a few blocks away.

We even brought Judy. It was a ton of fun (all 30 minutes of our walk there and back) by the end of it we were just happy that everyone was still alive.

I have some videos that should be accompanying this post...but they will have to come later.

i get to see avery tomorrow!

Amanda says he can now sit up without the use of this lovely Bumbo chair!!!

two way

As I am trying on my newly discovered trendy Target outfit...Jake calls and innocently asks, when am I getting home?

"Oh, in a bit Jake, I'm at Target...I have to pick up my prescription...I'll be home soon!"

As I continue to check myself out in the Target dressing room two way mirrors...my phone rings again...again, Jake asks innocently, when are you coming home Anne?

"I'm leaving right now, see you in a bit!!"

-----

Little did I know that while I was trying on clothes in the Target dressing rooms...there was a warm meal waiting for me at home to be eaten by the light of candles.

Isn't he the best?

so proud

Tonight as we watched her come, sit, stand, sit, down on command we beamed with pride. We were so proud. She did it - in front of all other eight puppies and families. Tonight Judy graduated from puppy kindergarten!



For the last month, we have met for one hour of chaos each week to learn from, who Jake and I call, the "dog whisperer." He can move mountains folks. Well, he can train the craziness out of the craziest puppies out there! He is great. Oh, and he is hilarious.

He says things like:

"Let's try a lab. They are food motivated and have attention spans the size of a gnat."
"She doesn't know whether she is losing her head or her hat."
"These are PUPPIES guys, they are puppies! They do what puppies do."
Chuck talking aloud for the puppies: "He says, "why don't I get to play." "She says, "i don't care if I'm small." "He says, "where's my treat." "He says, "i'm not scared of you."
"Oh there you are - I thought I had lost you completely."
"You're so sppecial." "Oh good dog, you're so sppecial."


p.s. This polaroid photo is hilarious for a few reasons - 1. Judy has a graduation hat on...which you cannot see, and 2. Jake is holding her graduation certificate upside down.
Here is a video of "puppy play time" - Judy hasn't quite figured that out yet...