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.

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

FINALLY, we have some snow. Sure, it's snowed a bit here and their but today we actually had SNOW. It's funny how it came too. This morning we went to church and when we arrived it was warm. Jason said it had to be almost in the 40's. So I took off my coat and went into church with only a long sleave shirt. Almost as thin as a T-Shirt. We came out from church and the same thing. I told Jason it was awesome hiking weather and maybe we should go. We had to run to Lowe's first and return a shower head. We went to Lowe's. When I looked over to the west it was dark, almost like it was going to storm. At that time I told Jason it looked like some weather was moving in and that would eliminate our hiking adventure. We talked into Lowe's returned the shower head and then looked for a dog bathing tub. I promise, we was only in Lowe's for no more than 15 minutes. When we walked out it was freezing outside. It had truly dropped about 20 degrees within that 15 minutes and it started to snow. Not just the light snow we've been getting but it was heavy big snow. We went to eat at Charlie Browns Steakhouse and then headed home. It had snowed heavily over by Lowes however when we got back on the mountain near our home no snow in sight. I told Jason we was hexed. That we wanted snow so bad it just was never going to come. I laid down for my Sunday nap and when I woke up around 3:30 to get ready to leave for agility class it was coming down hard. Within the hour I had slept we had already had 1 - 2 inches of snow. I loaded up the crates in the Jeep, dusted the snow off it and then got ready. The driveway was a little tricky. I couldn't use my breaks because I started to slide down the drive way. This tells me when we really get some heavy snow we're going to have to park at the end of the drive and walk up the hill. Our driveway is so crazy steap. The roads we're slick on the way to dog class so I didn't take the back way over to Bloom. I took the long way through town.

Agility class was a blast. Again she set up an excellent standard course. We worked on 6 obstacles sequences at a time and then before we left we ran the whole thing together. Chase was her usual self. We worked a bit on her stays at the jump. She actually did VERY well. I know if I keep working with her at home and at class she'll get it no problem. Someone new came to class today. I decided I wanted to get Sam back in the ring this fall so tonight was her first class in a long time. Well, almost 2 years. She was wild at first, running around like crazy, but in the end she did so good. I was so proud of her. Sam is my favorite so any time I get to spend with her is special. Sam's easier to run because she has great start line stays so I can lead out and she's not as fast as Chase. Tonight we could only use front crosses on the course so that was VERY tricky with Chase. Chase acted up tonight in the ring like she does at the show so Jacqui was able to see what problems I am having. THANK GOODNESS. Jacqui came over and talked to me a bit. During that time Chase did her down on the table since I wasn't paying attention to her so I treated her. Jacqui told me that maybe when she gets on the table I should just ignore her and let her do the down. It worked wonderful. We'll see if she does it in the ring ok like that in March.

Well I'm ending this VERY long blog with some photos of our new kitchen furniture. When we got it home Jason said our house is finally starting to look like a home and not a dorm room. So true, so true. I'm also including some photos of the snow. It was dark when we went out tonight so I wasn't able to get any of the snow on the mountain (which is beautiful). Maybe tomorrow ont he way to work we can take some photos.

ENJOY!

They love to eat the snow. Just don't eat the yellow snow. he he he.

Busy Busy Busy and Bored Bored Boring

Work is starting to get really busy. Which is exciting to me. Today I had my first meeting with the VP of an account I will be handling. I was very excited to become involved however it was a bit overwhelming. They were talking fast and I was trying to jot down notes I thought was important. It always seems the notes you jot down just is never enough. So, I'm thinking about asking them if they will purchase me a hand held recorder for meetings. I need to sit in a few more though to be sure that's what I really need. After that I spent the rest of the afternoon working on a project they needed me to complete. Now this can be quite challenging since I'm not sure what all the products are yet. Some of these Christmas items just have the weirdest names. Some of it is so UGLY I wouldn't buy it for my dogs chew toy! Maybe a gag gift though :-) But, most of the items are really cool. It's also really exciting since I really like to decorate my house for Christmas. They have this bow in the show room that I'm dying to have for my Christmas tree. Not only that but our office also has a outlet store hooked onto it. You can get all the ribbons, bows, even scrapbooking stuff for nearly nothing.

Now why am I bored? Well tonight I cleaned the house. BORING! Now I'm sitting here trying to think of things to say. I know mostly my family and friends from far away read this to keep up with what we're doing but honestly, it's been nothing this week but work! May I say how thankful I am that God has blessed me with a good job? And how awesome it is that we're so close to work? Jason and I used just 1 tank of gas in 2 weeks. Can you imagine that? We drive back and forth to work 2 times a day. Once to actually go to work and go home and then we go home for lunch every day to visit with the children and let them out. This works out really well since Tasha is getting so old and is starting to have problems holding herself during the day.

Thank God tomorrow is Thursday. I'm ready for the weekend. Jip and her hubby are coming over and bringing their sheltie Ania on Saturday night. We're going to have pizza and a movie thon. Then on Sunday it's dog training class. Taylor sure is getting antsy and needs something to do. If she jumps off the stairway onto the couch again I'm going to kill her :-) Not really but she's been getting into tons of trouble lately because she's doing that. Hopefully by the end of this year we'll have a railing up so she can't do that any longer.

Super Bowl Party - Now normally we have a crowd over. Since we just moved though Crazy Carie and Chris, Jacob and Trish, and Andrew and Jennifer can't come. Boo Hoo. I'm going to try to talk Jip into coming (you hear that Jip?) he he he. Then we're just going to pick random people we work with and invite them over. Sounds fun huh? It's the best way to meet new people and develop new friendships. Although some of them may think, after the party, MAN IS SHE STRANGE! he he he.

While looking for a funny Cheerleading photo to post low and behold. Look what I found. The Gangs all together.

Abs, Shae and Brandi. I sure miss you guys.

THIS MEANS WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So all of you know that I HATE football. But, Jason told me today that the Chicago whatevers are going to the super bowl. Since Jason lived in the Windy City for several years of course he's rooting for them Super Bowl Sunday. Then I asked who was playing them. He said probably the Colts. Now seeing that I grew up in Indiana and lived their until I was married of course I'm rooting for the Colts. So, I plan to have on my White and Blue (I think that's their colors) and maybe I'll make some Colt Cookies or something to rub it into Jason's face. He he he.

Now they haven't officially won yet but I'm rooting for them. Actually I'm not going to watch the game I'm going to watch Prince and Me so I'll just wait until Jason tells me they won. Woo Hoo. Go COLTS!

Should I bring back my old Cheerleading days and make up a cheer?

Go COLTS!
Beat those Patriots.

I'm such a nerd.

Friday was our first snow of the winter here in PA. I was so excited. When we got home we let the dogs out, got the camera and shot some photos of the kids playing around in the yard. The sure did love to eat the snow :-) Just don't eat the yellow snow. He he he.

Today was a very fun day. Jason and I got up early and went over to NY to go Eagle Watching. We had such a blast. Although it had to be in the teens and VERY WINDY it was great. We saw a few eagles in the few hours that we were their. We met up at one of the lookout points with an eagle watching expert. He then directed us to another location in NY where the eagles had just been seen. Since we're novice eagle spotters and honestly didn't know what to look for it was nice having him around. He spotted several eagles and Jason was able to shoot a few pictures of them.

After that we drove through the Delaware Water Gap. We stopped at one place to view some falls.

Aqueduct

I said "Burr, it's Cold in Here" Jason's poor face is so red

I tried to smile, however, my face was frozen!

Wayne Palmer is President? Who would have thought. For all of us 24 fans wasn't last night just wonderful? I can't wait to see what tonight will bring. Jason and I are geared and ready. Oh yeah, looks like Jack is now a cannibal.

This weekend went by way too fast. Friday night it was our weekly night out at the Quaker Steak and Lube. Man, it was so good. They also have this thing called a lube tube. It's the coolest thing ever. I keep telling Jason I'm dying for one but after we found out the price, I think I'll pass. It's $80.00 to purchase. Basically is't a beer bong. It's the coolest looking thing ever too. Of course I wouldn't fill it with beer, it would be more like Diet Coke but it would be a party throwers favorite.

Saturday it was clean the house day. I hate this day. I spend a few hours cleaning up all the dog hair and stuff that was scattered throughout the house that week. Yes, I do clean the house through the week but I spot clean on Saturdays. I did get to go to Dalo's for my cream horns and donuts though. That's always a +. We came home and put our new Beef Stew in the crock pot. Man is it awesome. Jason created a spicy seasoning that's out of this world :-) After all that I watched some of LOTR and then watched all of 13 going on 30.

Sunday we visited a church down the street. It was a really nice church and we would consider going back. However, we're going to keep looking. Don't want to make a decision right away! Afterwards it was nap time. Then we went to our first agility class in PA. It was such a nice class. Our new instructor is an AKC agility judge. For our course it was an Excellent A Standard course. How's that for starting out with a wild child. The course was tough but we broke it down into 6 obstacle sections. At the end of class we ran the whole course. Chase did so well although she spent her time digging at the dirt, barking and jumping on me. She was just so excited about being back in class. Taylor is the classes goody goody dog. Just like Patty Perfect (you know who you are) :-) he he he. After class we rushed home to watch 24.

Oh, I almost forgot. I have a friend. Her name is Jip and I work with her. She's in HR. She's very sweet and I'm trying to talk her into taking agility classes with her Sheltie. Our class was 1 1/2 hours long and she didn't look bored the whole time. Now that's a trooper.

Now it's Monday. 24 Monday. I'm about to finish a movie I started the other day before the show starts. Tomorrow I plan on renting the Guardian. I'm so excited about seeing that. Oh, by the way, I also am sending in our agility entries for our first show in Philly in March. I'm so excited.

Accepted

So I have been officially been accepted into our Seasonal Team. Today when I walked into the office and to my cube their was a bag that held a Dalo's Cream Horn in it. Elizabeth had went to Dalo's (a local bakery) today and purchased ne a Cream Horn because she knew they were my favorite. It brought the hugest smile to my face and I really savored every minute eating it. Ahh, 350 calories totally worth it. So my day went really well. Elizabeth said she purchase it for me hoping that I would stick around for a while. Right now that's a running joke. The lady before me quit after 1 week of being employed. Everyone says Elizabeth scared her off. So every day I tell them before I leave that I'll be coming back. My boss today told me not to think too hard this weekend so I wouldn't talk my self out of quiting. It's so funny.

Tonight we went on our weekend date. We went to Quaker Steak and Lube for wings. I can't wait until all my friends come to visit so I can take them their.

Also tonight I plan on taking out my Shenandoah NP trail map and mapping out what sections we'll be hiking Memorial day weekend. I'm really looking forward to our first overnight backpacking trip of the season.

Stupid Questions get Funny Looks......

So the other day, like my second day at work I asked the stupidest question ever. Well, at least I felt dumb after it came out of my mouth. We are a ribbons and bows manufacturer. It's mostly Christmas bows and ribbons but they also have their hand into Valentines Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and other small holidays. So it's almost the middle of January and still all this Christmas stuff is out. So I ask Elizabeth who's training me, "Does this Christmas stuff stay out all year round" I get a funny look and her answer was "Well our main holiday is Christmas" Now Elizabeth is very nice but I can understand the funny look and the short remark. Afterwards I was thinking to myself, now what does she think of me now? Does she think I so stupid? Anyway, Elizabeth and I are very similar in the way we do things and get things done. We're both anal about things and like to stay busy and do things right the first time. I've really enjoyed spending the last week with her helping me out. She did a run through of stuff the first day and by the second day I was on the computer and she was looking over me making sure I was doing things right. She's a very interesting lady too. She travels all over the world a few times a year and has so many cool stories and photos. This year she's heading to Austria. The first time she said that I was thinking "Austria, well Good day mate. Let's put another shrimp on the barbe." Good ol Dumb and Dumber quote. But, I didn't say that one out loud :-) I really think I'm going to like my job. I'm excited about it actually.

In other news, our HS reunion is suppose to be this year. That should be very exciting, if I even get to go. It will be interesting to see everyone. See what their like. See if the popular people ended up being bums or something like that. That seems to be what happens. Or how many people are still rotting away in Union County :-) All my friends I have been in touch with live away from Union County and we are always laughing at the people who go to this little bar in Liberty to hang out. First off, if you have ever visited Liberty it's the smallest town on earth. Or it seems like it. For the only hang out to be in a bar that's another thing. Where did this bar come from? Why do they even need a bar in Liberty? If I was still living their and wanted to meet people I would drive to Cincy, Richmond or even Indy. Ahh, it's funny to laugh about it though.

Well I better go help Jay with dinner! Carie, my dear Carie......WHERE'S ALL THOSE KUWAIT PHOTOS I'M DYING TO SEE? (he he he)

Temper Tantrum

So those who know me very well know I have one of the worst tempers around. Not only do I get so mad I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack but I also like to throw stuff. Remember the song I posted earlier, "Give me something to break" anyway, one of my favorites. So the whole reason behind my temper tantrum......this stupid computer. I love to archive photos and create home videos by video editing footage I've shot. My current project I have been working on is my last agility shows with all my agility buds. I promised them I would have it by Christmas but honestly this darned computer keeps acting up. I have tons of footage already on the hard drive but it just freezes whenever I start to work. I do not have any other means of copying video to give to my buds so video editing is the only thing I can do. But......the computer isn't allowing me to do it. Also, Jason and I are photography nuts. We've had our camera for a little over 1 year now and we've already taken over 8000 photos. That's right, 8000. So, with these photos they need to be archived. Since the photos are huge files 2+ megs I normally save up a few sets of photos and then when I have about 4 gigs saved I archive them on DVD. Now when I want to view these photos again on this computer.....well, it won't let me. It freezes also. So tonight has been a temper tantrum throwing time for me. I'm frustrated because I want to work on my movie and I'm frustrated because I want to take photos to work with me.

Now about work. I started my new job today. I'm very excited about this new job. I really think I'm going to like it. I think I'm going to be very busy which I'm really looking forward to. Pilot kept me very busy because I was the only OE person in the plant but at Univar I wasn't busy at all. Actually, I spent my days surfing the internet and talking to friends via email. To my Univar boss who may be reading this. You really already knew that I surfed the internet and really didn't have much to do so this shouldn't come as a surprise. I like to stay busy and I like to work my brain. Anyway, so I'm the new Sales Coordinator at Berwick Offray. My husband works their also. Funny thing though, I was reading the employee handbook and it talked about interoffice dating. He he he. I guess Jason and I are breaking the law, breaking the law. Anyway, my boss is really nice and the people I work with so far are really nice. Today was boring as most first days are. They do not want to overload you so they bore you with handbook reading, catalog memorization, etc. Tomorrow I'm sitting with a lady that's going to start more in depth training. I'm really looking forward to it. Jason works right across the hall but the funny thing is, I NEVER see him. When we get ready to go home for lunch we email and when we get ready to go home we email. It's humorous. By the way, my computer hadn't arrived this morning when I did. When I was given the office tour my boss walked me through IT and stopped by Jasons office and said I needed my computer pronto. We all thought it was funny :-) Their are tons of people who love offroading in Jeeps too. So, it's going to be really nice. Several people who like to hike and do so often. Actually, Jason has already been invited on a white water rafting trip in May with some of the guys. So, Carie, Trish, and Kim would you be interested in coming and spending the weekend with me? We could visit NYC, hike and hang out, eat tons and get fat.

Oh, I almost forgot, Jason and I have some hiking trips planned for this year. So far only 2, we could add more. Anyone who would like to go with us please let us know and we'll plan our trip. We're planning on hiking Shenandoah NP Memorial Day weekend and then hiking around Acadia NP in Maine Labor Day weekend. If you're interested please let us know.

Anyway, back to the photos. I was able to get some of the CDRs to load and I found this photo that was taken Thanksgiving 05. Jason, Stacy and I spent all evening playing with GI Joes and building pyramids with them. I thought it was freakin' hilarious and we kept everyone up because we were laughing so hard. So, I hope you enjoy this photo as much as I did. Seeing it again brought laughter tears to my eyes. Do you know what that spells?

Check out this bad boy!

Welcome back Trish and Crazy Carie! I missed you guys while you were gone. I meant to send this earlier but totally forgot.

I've been meaning to update my blog however I keep finding stuff to do. Ahh, excuses, excuses. Our annual New Years Party went off with a bang. I picked my little sis up on Thursday evening. Friday while Jason was at work we drove around exploring the area. We went to some antique stores, covered bridges and other places. While we were out we received a call from "The Boys" Mike and Matt who said they were coming to stay with us over New Years. Both of us were very excited since Mike and Matt have been attending our New Years Parties for 3 years now. It's funny how no matter where we move our friends still come to our party. Guys, you don't know how much that means to us. It's awesome. Anyway, so Jason Best friend Kegan decided to also come from Raleigh, NC on his way to Virginia Beach. Make Sense? Well, that's Kegan. Kegan was our Best Man in our wedding and has been best friends with Jason since he was in college. I also was very excited that he was coming. The last time he came to our party was when he returned from the Navy. So Friday we waited for Kegan to arrive. I went downstairs and opened up the curtains and low and behold there he was, at the bottom of the hill looking for our house. (our house doesn't have a number) How did I know it was him? He had Christmas lights drapped all over the outside of his car. Ahh, Kegan the nut. On Saturday Jay, Kegan, Stac and I went to the Leigh Valley for a hiking trip. It was so beautiful on the trail and we had to do some waterfall crossing, which was tons of fun. I was the first one across while everyone else debated over how and if they were going to go. We hiked around a bit taking in the beauty and then decided it was time to head home so we could be home when Mike and Matt arrived. Once they arrived it was off for pizza. That evening we played Nertz (a Tonya Favorite) and Stacy and I watched movies. Sunday we drove to Ricketts Glenn State Park for another hiking trip. We ended up hiking around 5 miles that day. By the end of the day we were all so tired and hungry that we ordered pizza again. All the men played games while Stac and I watched movies. After the ball dropped all of us went to sleep. Monday it was farewell to everyone. I was very sad to see everyone go but I know they will be back. I've attached some photos of our New Years Bash. I hope you enjoy.

Tonights Sunset. Isn't it beautiful?

We're Nertz Playing Fools

I LOVE making funny faces. Looks like I'm scared, eh

I'm surprised the camera didn't break on this shot. he he he jk

My crossing the waterfall pose

It took Sam forever to cross. She was so scared. So, I had to help her along.