Stupid Quadratech Fun Agility

Let's begin by saying that I'm not very fond of Quadratech anymore. For those who do not know, Quadratech is a Jeep parts supplier. Back when Jason was in the accident in Memphis he ordered a part from Quadratech. After a month or so he called and they said it would be a few more weeks until the part came in. About a month later, he called again, same thing. It will be a few more weeks. So Jason called today and low and behold they no longer carry the part. So, Jason is without the Jeep part again and now we have to search for one. We haven't been able to drive his Jeep much because of it not being fixed. We're afraid he could get pulled over. Gurr......stupid Quadratech.

Fun Agility
Welcome home Jacquie. I'm so happy to hear the Gy did an excellent job at Nationals. I begged and begged Jason to take me but he wouldn't. Fixing the house was more important. No fun isn't it? We did get a lot done on the house but I would have rather went to Nationals.

Tonight we worked on some agility in the yard. All the furkids did very well. Sam was wild and hard to control but then again, that's Sam :-)

I'm sitting here on the bed watching Chase chew on her stuffed sheep with a squeaker. She just loves that thing. I just love her too. She's so great. Taylor is chewing on the bed, Kenzie is trying to get stuff off the counter in the kitchen and Tasha is just being Tasha.

SEASON FINALE of PRISON BREAK! WOO HOO!

No Work, Just Play!

That was my day today. Today at work I honestly think I busted some blood vessels in my face from laughing so hard. My good buddy Liz is as crazy as me. If you can all beleive that. Well one of the ladies took a vacation day today without telling Liz, Donna and Rosalie. So Cheryl told Liz that something needed to be done. Well good ol' Liz came up with the best idea. Since Joan hates feet she decided to take a photo of several participates in our area and then photograph one of their feet. Then, we blew up the photos of the feet and the closeup of everyone's face and hung it on Joans cube. Now I took some photos but Jason forgot to email them to me so check back on Friday and those photos will be posted then :-)

Today I also worked on my Liz Doll for work. I put a lot of thought into decorating this keg just for Liz. It sits on top of my monitor at work! :-)



Finally, Jason and I have decided to skip out on Agility Nationals in Columbus this weekend. A excavator came out on Monday and told us that if we needed the work done soon we needed to get the deck down so they could start right away. He said they are starting to get very busy and it would soon push our work out late into summer. So no fun for us this weekend.

Too Much Work, Not Enough Play!!!

That's been our weekend. Friday night we headed out to Lowe's to pickup a new exterior door and an interior bathroom door. It fit just perfect in our little jeep. Then we planned on getting up very early and starting our project so we could have time to run to the camper show in Bloom that afternoon. I should have known better than to plan fun stuff around replacing the door. We ended up starting around 7:00am and didn't get done until 4:00pm. We couldn't get the &$*# thing squared. Poor Jason was getting so frustrated and I was feeling useless so I moseyed up to the deck and started removing boards. I ended up breaking 2 bits and stripping who knows how many screws. By then I was so frustrated I ran up and grabbed the sledge hammer and started banging away. After a couple really good swings :-) I was frustrated and laid down on the deck and just looked up at the sky. I had all these bad thoughts running through my head. "Maybe I'll set it on fire", "Maybe I'll attached a chain to my Jeep and to the deck and pull it down" (that was my number one). Finally, back down the hill I went all disgusted. I told Jason I wasn't removing any more screws but that we was going to take the sawzall and saw it down. We did end up getting the door in and squared. After that we both decided we didn't want to cook so we headed to OIP for my wonderful stromboli. Jason had a Philly Cheese steak that he said was one of the best he has had. That night both of us wanted to go to sleep by 7:00 but knew we couldn't because we wouldn't sleep through the night. So, we stayed up and watched Annapolis.

Sunday
Hons was going to meet us at Lowe's so we could get some drywall home for the basement. We was meeting him around noon so we had to skip church. We decided to go to the camper show, which didn't open until 11:00. BLASTED! So, off to Home Depot to pickup a few things. Then we went to Lowe's, got our drywall and headed back to the house. We relaxed for about 30 minutes and then it was off to dog class. Dog class was challenging but as always, tons of fun. Sam and Chase did very well and I'm totally looking forward to the show coming up in a few weeks.

Dilemma.....

Right now we have a dilemma. AKC Agility Nationals is in Columbus this coming weekend. It's normally really far so it's hard to get to without flying. This time it's only 5 hours away. Not only that, we know a few people competing. We had planned on going hiking in the Adirondacks and staying the weekend with our aunt Shirley next weekend but now we're thinking about skipping hiking and heading to Columbus. We cannot do both because the following weekend will be our show in Harrisburg. Being gone 3 weekends in a row and having 3 projects that need to be completed before July just will not work. So, now we're stuck deciding that to do. Agility Nationals, Visit Shirley and hike? Tune in next weekend for the results.

(Photos to be uploaded tomorrow)

Also, Crazy Carie, I am very happy that you've started blogging again. Your words just lights up my life. Not to mention the hilarious photo you created for me. You're the best! Also, I wore the wonderful orange Clemson shirt all weekend and thought of you!

http://monkeys-in-flight.blogspot.com/

A friend of ours back in Memphis is trying to raise 2,000 for the March of Dimes. Just recently her and her husband lost their little Cooper to premature birth. If you would want to donate money to "Coopers Troop" please log onto their website and make a donation. Here's the link. You can also view Melody's slide show of Cooper.

http://www.walkamerica.org/personal_page.asp?w=707491

First off our good buddy Chris had a birthday this weekend. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRAZY CHRIS

Chris, you're a flying monkey!!!

So I'm not too good at photoshop but I just had to do it. Trump card all the way.

Let's see, this weekend was also my birthday. As Carie stated in her blog, just last year we had a birthday party at Carie's house for Jacob, Chris and I. Good Ol' Carie brought out the slow boiler (I think that's what it's called) and she made us dinner. Not to mention that was the beginning of our Nertz Craze. Way to go Lauren and Chad. That was such a fun evening. The boys all found out about the party before I did. It ended up surprising me totally. Chris's mom came, Lauren and Chad was their, Clarence and Sally, all the crew. Oh, those we're the days. Anyway, on Friday they let us out because some more "BLASTED" snow arrived. Now last week was beautiful. It was in the 50's. We started to work outside, ahh, it was so much fun. Then Friday brought the stupid snow. So, my birthday wasn't all that fun. I had wanted to go hiking but that was out. Jason kept me happy though. We went to Front Street Bagels for breakfast and then drove to Williamsport to look at cameras for me. We ended up finding one that was on sale so I was very excited. Then we went to Quaker Steak and Lube for lunch. Oh how I want a "Lube Tube" but I can't see myself spending 80.00 on a beer bong. Of course I would fill it with Diet Coke but man, that thing is so cool. Then Sunday we went to church and went home and stayed home for the evening. We have too many movies at our house to count right now so we watched a few. One I really liked was The Holiday. I'm going to end up purchasing it once it comes out on previously viewed.

Let's see, Monday Jason worked until, well Tuesday. So I was home all by myself last night with all the furkids. They slept mostly at my feet and on the bed when Prison Break and 24 came on. They are all so good.

Tonight we had agility. It was so much fun. Jason and I thought we wanted to take Kenzie to the next trial but after tonight we realized that Kenzie really doesn't like agility like the others. So I think we're going to take her but not enter her. At least she'll be with us.

Oh, I also spent most of the weekend planning our Family Reunion in July. So much planned so far. Everyone is coming in on Friday. Saturday I'm having a cookout at our house and maybe we'll do some light hiking. Have to be nice to the old folks (sorry mom). Then on Sunday it's off to Gettysburg for the Reenactment. Monday we're heading to Philly to see the Liberty Bell and check out the city. Tuesday and Wednesday everyone is heading to Atlantic City. Jason and I are really not ocean people, at all, so we're thinking about skipping that part of the trip. Plus AC is nothing but casinos, boring. Then on Wednesday it's off to NYC. I booked our hotels at the Hotel Edison. I've also emailed the Sales Manager I worked with at Univar, Tim, to see if he could hook up a meeting with Maggie Gyllenhall (they are related). He said he would see what he can do :-) We're planning on touring the Empire State Building, Central Park, the WTC Memorial and the Statue of Liberty. After that everyone is planning on staying at my house on Thursday and leaving on Friday. I'm trying to convince them to stay just one more day for the annual Bloomsburg 4X4 Jamboree. I've heard it's HUGE and awesome. Since we're all hicks in our family it will be right up our alley :-)

So I'm a bad poster. We have dog class tonight and then I'm planning on updating my blog. Check back tomorrow.

Prayer Request

Everyone say a prayer for us if you remember too. We came home from dog class with a flooded basement. So now we have to redo one side of it. Replace drywall, molding, the ceiling, etc. Pray we keep our sanity and can just shrug our shoulders and move on.

First off Happy Birthday to Jacob! I hope you had a great one!

Now for the weekend events.

Last week Jason and I purchased some new sleeping bags. We purchased 40 degree bags hoping they would keep us warm and allow us to have a lighter bag. Once they arrived Jason and I planned on camping out downstairs. Our basement is extremely cold and we figured it would be the best way to test them out. So, Friday night we set out our camping pads and cuddled up inside our bags. I didn't make it long because I preferred to sleep in my bed however Jason endured a few hours of the frigged air downstairs. He ended up coming back up around 2:00am saying he was cold. So, we decided to keep our current bags and not have to worry about being cold when we camp.

Saturday we went out camper shopping. We had located a camper in Lewisburg that was within our CHEAP budget and decided to check it out. We planned on taking it home. When we arrived and they showed us how to set it up we were both very excited. It was old, however it was in excellent shape for the age. When we inspected it further we noticed that the canvas side of the camper was easily opened for emergency exits. Just one push of a puppy paw and our furkids could easily escape. We didn't want to take the risk so we declined to purchase the camper. After that it was out to Gander Mountain to check out camping clothes. I was happy to find out they had hiking pants on sale for like 15.00. That's a deal too. They unzip into Capri's, and also shorts. They fit my tush too so that was exciting. It's hard to find pants that fit my tush. Then it was off to Bloomsburg RV to check out the new campers. We've decided that if we do not find a nice cheap used camper then we're going to save up money to purchase a new one for our dog shows. Saturday afternoon once we got home it was time to work outside on taking down the deck. The people that built the deck built it very poorly and stripped out tons of nails, needless to say it's been quite a chore trying to take it apart. I was able to use a sledgehammer though and that was fun :-)

Sunday it was off to church and then a Meet the Pastor Lunch. We ended up meeting everyone but the pastor. We just need to take the time and introduce ourselves. I was able to finally meet Colleen, the Pastors Assistant whom I have been talking to through email for the past week or so. It was so nice finally putting a name with a face. After lunch it was off to Ricketts Glen SP for a hike. This happened to be the highlight of our weekend. We disobeyed the signs saying it was only open to Registered ice climbers and the Do not Enter tape but decided we would go as far as we could. The first mile was literally the easiest trail I have ever been on. It was awesome. Then we hiked up a slight hill to run into another flat section of the trail. Since I have trouble breathing when hiking up steep inclines I welcomed the easy trail. We arrived at the first falls with no problem and decided to continue our hike to the second. The second waterfall the amazing. Actually, words cannot describe what we seen, nor does the picture I'm attaching do it any justice. It was something we will probably never see again. We've decided to hike the falls as the same time each year to see the different ice formations. We headed back and then met our friends Stephen and Nikki from our church. I work with Stephen in my department so that's how I met them at first. Then we found out they also attended our church so that was really cool. They invited us to dinner at Mays Drive thru and we stayed for a few hours just talking and getting to know each other. The restaurant was closing so we finally had to leave. They are both really nice and I hope we can get to know each other more. We've invited them on our Shenandoah NP hiking trip. Should be tons of fun.

Anyway, enjoy the photos of our weekend.

Since we have had a really long day and a late night tonight please visit the blog again on Tuesday. I will be posting all our weekend shots and telling you all about our adventures tomorrow evening sometime. We have some amazing photos to share, not to mention a few funny stories.

Crazy Carie, I miss your blog postings. How am I suppose to keep up with what you are doing? Am I making you feel very guilty yet?

Does my face look fat?

Ghetto Madness, Late Night Dinners, Agility Dogs, Broken Camera and Flying Signs

I know you all have been waiting patiently for our agility weekend summary. We had a wonderful weekend on the agility course and some other mishaps. I'll sum our weekend up by day.

Friday

Jason took off work so he could get things ready and drop the other 2 furkids off at the kennel. Our appt was for 9:00am. Jason called me at 10:15 and advised no one showed up and he has been sitting their for over an hour. I told him to stay put and I would scramble like crazy to make a last minute kennel reservation. I left a few messages at some kennels and waited. A few minutes later Jason called back saying the guy had called him telling him him and his wife had a miscommunication. She thought he was going to check us in and he thought she was checking us in. Regardless Jason wasted 1/2 of the day just trying to board the kids. I didn't feel comfortable leaving them at the kennel but we had no other choice. We will no longer be using Meadow Lane Kennels! Jason picked me up at 3:00 and we headed for Philly. We wanted to make a stop at REI (backpacking/camping store). He wanted to look for some hiking shoes since hiking season is coming up. While Jason was looking for his shoes, Chase and I walked around the store searching for a hydration pack for me. After about 1 hour Jason picked his shoes, I found my hydration pack and we picked up a map of Acadia NP. We also found Kenzie a backpack for our upcoming trip to SNP. After we left REI we followed yahoo map directions to the arena. We ended up finding a spot at the arena to set up. I was excited because sometimes crate space is hard to find. After we left, once again, we followed Yahoo Maps to our hotel. Little did we know the map was sending us right through the Philly Ghetto. I was scared out of my mind. Not only was it almost 9:00pm while we're driving through the ghetto but we were lost. We ended up finding an on ramp to 95. We didn't really care that it was only the on ramp for heading South on 95 even though we needed to head north. I called Jacquie frantic because we were lost. She emailed us directions (Thanks Jacquie!) We ended up driving all the way to Delaware just to turn around and come back. Once we made it to the hotel we decided to walk to Dennys for dinner. BIG MISTAKE! Their were several things wrong with this Dennys and I do plan to write the company and complain but, we ended up waiting 45 minutes for our to go order just to take it back to the hotel and it was ICE COLD! By that time it was 10:00. Jason was furious and said he was talking our food back to Dennys for a refund. I called Domino's for a pizza and Domino's had delivered the pizza just as Jason was getting back from Dennys. REMEMBER, We could walk to Dennys!Kenzie loving her new backpack

Saturday
What a beautiful day! It was in the 50's and who could complain. Chase was the first to run at 7:45 but she had to get measured first. Chase ended up measuring 18 1/2 so now she has moved up to the 20" class. This is a good thing though because I feel I have better control over her at 20". Anyway, she had a beautiful Jumpers run. She ran under one of the jumps, totally my fault I didn't call the obstacle in time. Then she knocked a bar, my fault again, I tried to squeeze in a rear cross when I didn't walk one. Regardless, she ran her little heart out and we had the best time. Taylor did a great job in her JWW as well. She didn't Q but it's really hard to Q in excellent. You cannot have any faults. She did a great job though. In the afternoon it was Standard time. Taylor was running first. She was doing a great job and then it was time for the table. Jason was telling her to sit and she was looking around scared like she normally does. Then she sat. I wanted to scream with excitement but couldn't. She finished the course and Q'd with a 4 place. Jason and I was so happy. Needless to say we stuffed her mouth with treats and played frisbee. Now it was Chase's turn. Chase did her contacts, which is unusual. She nailed them actually. Then it was time for the table. I told her to sit and she jumped off. She's never did that before. I asked her to table again and she jumped right off again. It was like she was scared. So we completed the course. I ended up finding out why she didn't sit, she needed to go to the bathroom really bad!

Sunday
Sunday it got really cold. Jason was first to run in Standard and ended up Q'ing again and placing 2nd place. He and Tay also received their Open title. I was so excited and they got the cutest little toy in return for placing. Chase was next. She was back to her normal self. After the first contact she blew I should have left the ring. However, I really wanted to try the table again. So after the second contact she blew it was on to the table. I told her to Table and asked her to sit. It took her a few minutes but she did and stayed seated for the 5 and 4 and 3 and 2 and 1 and GO! I wanted to scream again with excitement and just love all over her but I couldn't. She ended up not doing the see-saw at all but we finished the course. I was excited with her table since this has been an ongoing problem with us. Now it's time to work on our contacts once my A-frame I ordered arrives. Next it was Tay's jumpers run. She started out fine but knocked a bar. Once the bar was knocked one of the girl scouts immediately got up and went to place the bar back on the jump. Now they are not suppose to do this since Tay was still running in that direction. Since Tay doesn't like kids she started barking and going crazy. She was running around the ring barking and scared out of her mind. The little girl started waiving her hands in Taylors face trying to get her to go away. That's another things they ARE NOT suppose to do. Since I was close to the ring I ran up to the gate and called her name. When she saw me she came running toward me into my arms. She was so scared. Jason and I left the ring very angry. Other exhibitors commented to me about how angry they were as well. So after the jumpers class was over Jason talked to the judge just to make sure something was said to the girl. The judge did talk to her and told her not to do it again. I also found the girl and was nice and told explained to her that she wasn't suppose to do that. Anyway, we treated Tay like crazy and played frisbee with her to calm her down. Last but not least, Chase's run. This course was tough and honestly, I had no idea how I was going to run it. I picked the easiest and decided to give it a go. The first part of the course was rocky and she had 2 wrong courses but during the second 1/2 of the course I regained control and finished beautifully. She ran her fastest yet and I was able to work some distance with her. Chase and I didn't Q all weekend but we had a great time. My agility goal this year is to get our contacts and for me to have better control. :-)

Tay with her toy and ribbons

Some other things that happened this weekend:
My video camera broke. It also ate my tape. So now I'm in the market for a video camera. Anyone have any ideas?

On the way home our Jeep was hit by a flying sign. Yes that sounds stupid and we have no idea where it came from but a sign flew at us smashing into the Jeep and the windshield. I was so scared that the jeep had a huge gash on the hood. I inspected it last night and didn't see anything. But, coming out of work today I noticed that it was hit on the bumper and took a gash out of the bumper. I'm so thankful it hit their and not on the hood.

Almost forgot. Congrats to Kim, Bailey, Foster, Terri, Pebbles, Annette, Bailey, Jennifer and Moana on a FABULOUS Q-ing weekend. I sure wish I was their to share it with you!

Plumbers Butt!

On Thursday our bathtub started leaking. We had to turn the water off and on for a few days. Friday night we went to Lowe's to get all the plumbing stuff we needed. Then on Saturday we started the work. Well, Plumbers Butt Jason started the work. No he didn't have plumbers butt but I yelled that to him every time he was in the tub fixing it. Here are a few photos.

So today's Sunday and we haven't did much. Actually it's been kind of low key. We took a nap, cleaned the basement and then just hung out. Jason's in the living room seam sealing his new tent and well, I'm blogging :-) I don't really have much to say. By the way Jip sent me a photo of her and her sheltie Ania. So, I'm posting a photo of them on here. Everyone.....Meet my friend Jip.


Well that's it. Oh and check out Crazy Carie's blog. Her brother cooked dinner for George Clooney the other day. Sure wish I was their to eat dinner with them :-)

http://monkeys-in-flight.blogspot.com/

Rocky Start/Rocky Adventure....

Jason and I planned to go Snowshoeing about a week ago at the Crystal Lake Ski Resort by Williamsport. We were both so excited, however it wasn't the best adventure in the world. It started off really rocky. Yesterday, Sunday, I developed a stomach virus. I don't know if it was from the dinner we had the night before (not very good) or if it was a virus but I was spending a lot of time on the toilet. Yes, too much information, sorry. Anyway, I worried about not being able to go Snowshoeing on Monday. Maybe this was our first sign not to go. So we got up early on Monday morning. We left the house forgetting our coats and the wallet so we could pay for the adventure. Luckily we only made it down to Berwick so we didn't get far until we realized we needed to turn around. Maybe our second sign. Then we needed to stop and get gas. I told Jason to check out the tire pressure so we didn't have any problems on our way to the ski resort. Our tires were low. We tried to fill them up however the pump was covered with snow so that didn't work. Third sign? We decided to just drive on low tires hoping they wouldn't pop. When we arrived near the ski resort the area was so beautiful. It was a very small town and the town was very old. Tons of old well maintained homes. Near the turnoff to the ski resort we noticed a drive thru with Ma and Pa on it. Since this has been our nickname for one another since we've been married we had to pull in and take a photo. The owner came out thinking we were lost so we told him how excited we was to see his sign. He was a very nice man! On the way up to the ski resort the view was beautiful. We seen a gorgeous church (see below) and also passed a road sign called Van Horn. This made me think of Kim, whom I miss dearly so we had to stop and get a photo. Once we arrived at the resort we found a place to park and went inside the get our gear. It was an older couple running the place and honestly, it was like they didn't know what they were doing. The husband was leading us one way and the wife was yelling (seriously) for us to come over to see her. That should have been our final clue right their. Jason and I planned on spending the day hiking so we had carried our packs with us. Jason told the guy we had our packs so he would fit us for the right snow shoes. Man, he didn't listen at all. We started out and already I didn't like snowshoeing. I am not the best walker. I'm such a klutz. Anyway, I was falling all over the place and getting very frustrated. We started to venture off the trails and instead of our snow shoes holding us up off the snow we sank in. I don't know if you have been watching the news but we have had tons of snow. Needless to say I was sinking well below my knees. We walked for a bit and at this time I was getting very frustrated. I couldn't stand up and couldn't keep my shoes from tripping me. So, we decided to turn around and head back. This was only after about 1 hour. Walking back to the rental place Jason and I talked and decided to walk on the established ski trails. Well by that time I was so exhausted that I could barley pickup my feet. I stopped Jason and told him I hated this so much I was cussing inside my head. So, we turned around again. We walked up to the ski shop and said when we walked in how horrible the trip was. How we was sinking. Well the guy says, I gave you the wrong size snow shoes. When you said you was hiking with a pack I thought it was a fanny pack. Jason had told him we was carrying about 20 lbs each before we left. Anyway, he was like would you like to try some more shoes? At that point I was like "NO, we're leaving" Anyway, he didn't offer a refund and both of us didn't feel like fighting to get one. OH well. We started home and I was still so angry at the experience. I mean, it was like 50.00 for the both of us. Anyway, so we drove by our favorite pizza place and had lunch. That cheered us up. So, we probably will not take up the sport of snow shoeing. I was very disappointed too because I really had been looking forward to snow shoeing. Good thing we didn't spend the money and purchase them.

Anyway, some more photos you can see below. These are the deer that have been hanging out down the street for us. I wanted to get a deer block and put it in our front yard but my mom told me it wasn't a good idea. They sure are beautiful though. We spent all morning Sunday driving around looking for wildlife to photograph.

We thought this was a beautiful church by the mountains.

Kim, I know it's your madien name but seeing this sign made me think of you.

Jason and I developed a nickname of Maw Paw a long time ago. We thought this was funny.

How Beautiful. You can't see them all but this was a herd of about 10

One of the covered bridges in Bloom with snow on it. (Obviously, he he he)

SNOW SHUTS I-80

Click on image to download pdf

By BEN TIMBERLAKE

Press Enterprise Writer

LIME RIDGE — Eastbound Interstate 80 became a parking lot for as much as 20 miles between here and Tank in Black Creek Township for much of the last two days, officials say.

PennDOT officials shut down 24 miles of the eastbound lanes last night and aim to get it cleared and plowed today.

The closure stretches from the interchange with Route 11 here to the Interstate 81 interchange.

First, workers have to clear out the backed-up vehicles, get others unstuck from snow and tow the rest, officials say.

Then, plows will clear and salt the road.

That work started Thursday at about 5 p.m. and will probably continue through this morning, said PennDOT spokeswoman Karen Dussinger.

She couldn't say how long the work would last or when the interstate would reopen.

But extracting some vehicles was likely to take hours, she said.

Interstate 81 was also closed for 66 miles in both directions from the Interstate 80 interchange to the Fort Indiantown Gap interchange.

The suggested Interstate 80 detour is north on Route 11 to the Nanticoke area, then onto Route 29 south to Interstate 81 south.

Westbound lanes are open.

Start and stop

On Thursday, traffic was moving sporadically along Interstate 80, but as soon as some messes would clear, other vehicles would snarl the flow, said Rick Mason of the PennDOT office that covers Columbia County.

The interstate's east lanes were shut down from Lime Ridge to the Tank area at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, then reopened Thursday morning.

Vehicles were moving in one lane Thursday afternoon, but then tractor-trailers had trouble on hills, officials said, and traffic again came to a standstill.

The most recent trouble near here started at about 3 p.m. Thursday when tractor-trailers got stranded on the hill heading east out of Tank.

Emergency responders couldn't get through the traffic, so tow trucks and plows had to get on the road at the Route 93 interchange and head back the wrong way to get to the disabled tractor-trailers, explained Sgt. Scott Price, commander of the Bloomsburg State Police barracks.

And later on, a tractor-trailer driver jackknifed the rig when he illegally tried to use an emergency vehicle crossover just over the border in Luzerne County, Price said.

10 hours, 20 miles

At one point, traffic in the eastbound lanes was backed up to the Buckhorn interchange, Price said.

Backlogs are dangerous because drivers don't expect vehicles to be stopped on the interstate, Price said.

Once stopped vehicles build up, police try to get a cruiser on the side of the road with its lights on to warn people of the slowdown.

As the backlogs mounted, troopers had to back up their cruisers to provide enough warning, he said.

On Wednesday night, some motorists spent as long as 10 hours stuck on the highway, stopping and restarting their vehicles to keep warm, said Mifflinville Rangers Chief Don Diltz.

He worked with a crew of local snowmobilers checking on stranded motorists.

Town traffic

The slowdowns and closures sent extra traffic onto smaller highways and through towns.

Early Thursday, Bloomsburg's Main Street was bumper-to-bumper, with what looked like the heaviest traffic heading east through town, said Police Chief Leo Sokoloski.

The extra vehicles did not cause any additional traffic problems, he said.

And the only traffic signal that changed was the light at the West and Main streets intersection.

That signal turns to a flashing yellow along Main Street after a storm because the hill there would make it difficult for heavier vehicles to stop, Sokoloski explained.

As many as 20,000 vehicles travel each direction on Interstate 80 through Columbia County on an average day, Price said. About one in three of those vehicles is a tractor-trailer, he said.

Other trouble

There were lines of traffic heading toward downtown Berwick in Briar Creek and Berwick Thursday afternoon and evening. Westbound lanes were moving.

At 7:30 p.m., vehicles were moving slowly as far west as the Red Maple Inn.

South Centre Township Police, who cover Mifflin Township, stationed an officer at the interchange and Love's truck stop to direct the slew of vehicles leaving the interstate there, Price said.

Some tractor-trailer drivers tried to navigate the twisting Route 339, Price said. But a few had trouble and became disabled, halting traffic on that road, too, he said.

SNOW ANGELS JUST FOR CRAZY CARIE!

Scary Shot

So beautiful

Anyone watch the Discovery Channel's Survive This last night? We'll my uncle Larry was on the show analyzing a helicopter crash.

Premiere: Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT
In this episode, a doomed helicopter is captured in its last desperate moments. On May 4, 2004 New York news-chopper pilot Russ Mowry is recorded by reporter Shannon Sohn, on another nearby news chopper, as he crashes on a rooftop. Helicopter accident investigator Larry Grandy analyzes what brought Russ's chopper down, and why he survived.

Here's a photo of Larry taking us up in the Helicopter when I visited them for my 16th Birthday.

Snow Day!

We tried to get to work today. Got about 1 mile and decided heading down the mountain wasn't a good idea. The roads were not plowed. Their was one set of tire tracks in the road. The road was so slick it was crazy. After finding a place to turn around and then getting stuck for a second we popped the Jeep into 4 wheel drive low and headed back to the house. At one point a garbage truck was headed right for us. We stopped in the road and prayed that he wouldn't hit us. He was all over the road. I told Jason my life was more important than my job. I called my boss and now I'm just praying that I do not get fired. I'm still in my probation period so we'll see. Lesley is a very nice boss and I honestly don't think she will fire me. She said that hardly anyone was at work today and her husband had to drive her in. I honestly think she understands, plus, they know where I live to they know how the roads probably look.

Jason got out his brand new snow thrower. We purchased the thrower back in November when we moved expecting to get a snow like this. Honestly, we didn't think it would come. But, here it is. We have about 6 inches, less than what they predicted. On top of that it's sleeting. It's been sleeting through the night and probably will continue through the day. So, here are a few beginning snow photos. Plus one photo of what your mouth looks like when you stick a flashlight in it. he he he. I know it seems we only photo the shelties but they are the only ones that will play in the snow.

Jason's mouth, scary eh!

The forecast is in. Looks like we're getting almost 1 ft of snow tonight and into tomorrow. I should have some photos to share. We'll probably have the snow blower out and create a parking lot at the bottom of our hill. Should be exciting.

All the agility equipment has been moved inside so we're ready mother nature.

It's been a while. It's really hard to write on my blog daily since their is not much going on. So I've been saving my entries for the weekend. Our weekend was great. We went to a Show N Go on Saturday. Another Agility Thing! The course was wild. It was tough. Chase and Tay did really good on the Excellent Course and Sam did great on the Novice course. For all my agility buddies, here's the course.
After the show Jason and I headed to Lowe's. We have several different projects that we're going to complete this year on our house. We're going to build a deck for our hot tub, a fence for the furkids so the yard will be a lot bigger than what they have now. Then we had planned to remodel the bathroom however we discovered it was going to cost a lot of money so we decided to replace the windows in our house instead. The window project will end up saving us money in the long run since our windows leak so it's good we're doing it now. Next year we'll tackle the bathroom. After Lowe's we came home and started LOTR The Fellowship. This LOTR happens to be the most boring for me so I had a tough time staying awake.

Sunday we went to church. After church we went home and I took a power nap before agility class. Class was really fun and the kids did great. Sam was CRAZY at this class for some reason. She would run one way and then run another as fast as she could. It was hard keeping her under control but on the other hand I couldn't help but laugh the whole time. She's been popping out of her weave poles so tonights class was the first time she did all 12. I was very excited and treated her like crazy. We've switched our dog treats to Beef Jerky. This works out really good because while we're treating the dogs we can grab a bite also :-) He he he. Jacquie is teaching me a new way for contacts. She noticed that Chase is still jumping off the contacts. She had the same problem with one of her dogs and then she attended a seminar on contacts and it cured her problem. I'm hoping to set up our dog walk in the yard so I can work on it. This lady, I forget her name, uses hoops at the end of the contacts. It seems like it will work. We'll see. Here's what it looks like.

Well that's all for now. Until next time!

ARTIC AIR..........BURRR

So today the temp with the wind chill is -20 deg. Holy Cow it's freezing outside. The instant I walk outside my nose boogies freeze. Not like dumb and dumber freeze but that's what it feels like. I pulled out my wind breaker winter jacket today. It's huge but it keeps me warm.

This past weekend we had a grand ol' time. We had planned to go to Paragon Offroad Park to help save the park this weekend. I got on the message boards Friday night and found out that I needed a tow hook and a orange flag to go. I didn't have either. So, my plans were shot. I was bumbed too. I found out over 500 vehicles we're their to support the park on Saturday. That's not counting the ATV's. Paragon is about to shut down due to a cargo airport coming to the area. It's a huge deal to many people in the area. Their were people their this weekend from Maine. They are looking for another piece of land but they haven't had any luck yet. We'll see what happens. So, we ventured out to Wilkes Barre to do some shopping. I had a few specific things I was looking for and didn't find anything. I HATE to SHOP! We did have a great lunch at UNO's. When we got home we worked around the house a bit and played with the furkids. At night we watched Talladega Nights. I HATE NASCAR (Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks). Will Ferrel is funny but the movie was just OK.

Sunday we went to church. One of the guys I work with goes to our church. I had invited him and his wife to our agility class. They have 2 wild dogs and I told him it was the perfect sport to get them into. Well I didn't get a chance to let him know the class had been moved to 2:00 instead of 5 before I left so I hunted for his number online so I could leave a message for him at his house. I felt like a stalker but Jason said that it was the nice thing to do so they wouldn't drive all the way to Bloom and no one would be their. Anyway, so they both ended up coming. I met his wife for the first time and she's very nice. She works at the church we attend. They are very interested in starting agility so that's exciting. After that we headed home for the Super Bowl. I was rooting for the Colts and Jason the Bears. Sorry Jason, you lost :-) We both really do not like Football so it was funny watching it together. :-) I felt sorry for the guys though with all the fumbles and stuff. All the rain.

Oh, I forgot one thing. On Saturday Jay and I headed to Dalo's for donuts. On the way we seen a red bird on some branches covered in snow. My mom is a huge fan of the red birds and we just happened to have Jason's camera with us. So, we parked in the road and tried to take some photos. It's so funny when people pass and they see someone with a camera taking photos they think it's like a bear or something. Sorry, it's a bird :-) So the bird was having the toughest time staying in one place. He would move so we would have to move. We spent almost 1 hour trying to get a good photo. I think the one we got is ok. Then we headed over to the lake to take some photos of ice fishermen. Now this is exciting to watch. I've never lived in a place where people ice fish.