Workin' Hard or Hardly Workin'...

I take a dog with me every day to work...They rotate everyday who gets to go, and who stays home... Both dogs are exceptional at work. In my classrooms I tie the puppy down to one of my tables, generally while I am working with students I have the door open, so I just want to make sure the puppy isn't going to escape or wander off while I'm teaching.

This is Monet...I think she's working HARD!

Joaquin...Workin' hard!

More of Joaquin, Workin' Hard (in another teachers classroom)

And well...you can decide...Workin' hard or Hardly workin'

The rule with my students is that after they have worked hard for our class period...THEN they can pet the puppy. It works pretty good for the puppy and the student to have a little time at the end of class where they can be kids and dogs :) The kids know the rules and are very good to follow them...in fact, one of my stu

dents wrote me a few little notes thanking me for raising puppies...here's a note...

In translation it says (I'm keeping the original spelling cause it's cute):

Thank You miss lindzey for training money(Monet) friso(Frisco) wacene (Joaquin) and eatey (Edie) your gettel(gentle) and teach them life values and they learn to resst(resist) food and be loyal to the person they will be with there more then just puppys there guide dogs in training you teach them good values but you do remind them they are just dogs but you also take care of them you keep them heaty(healthy) with their clams and rice (I have NO Idea where she got the idea that they eat clams and rice) and their milk bones and other stuff I bet its hard for you when they have to go to guide dog scool(school) but you do alot of good for Blind people like me.

Obviously my student tried her hardest to write me a nice note. I contains no periods except for at the very end and well...it's a good think I figured out what all her words were cause some of her spelling is not so great...but it's cute nevertheless...

decorating my room...

So after living here for 15 months, I finally decided I was sick of the pictures being hung on the nails that were already in the wall...and the CRAPY paint job that was in my bedroom... So I went and bought 2 colors of paint and after a hard days work (and Mickelle's help) I got my room painted. Then after a few more weeks, I finally got my pictures hung up on my walls...So here are some pictures for anybody who cares.

Before...

After...

This is the same wall as my door. I did not want the first thing you see when you come into my room to be the dog stuff...so this is what you see when you turn to go out of the room. I have an amazing clock on the wall that has dogs on every hour and different barks for the hour...of course the sound part doesn't work, because it was annoying so I took the batteries out. Around the clock is most of my graduation pictures of my pups. I would like to put one good picture of each of my cc pups up too...but haven't got that far yet... Also, I have a collection of leashes hanging on this wall as well...Perhaps I have a leash fetish?

Before...

After...

This is what you see as you walk into my room. I realize that the blue and white checkered blanket does not match, however, Brogan (the black lab laying on the bed) is visiting and I didn't want him to get his hair all over my bedding...which is why the blanket is there... to the far left are the books I'm reading, then there are pictures of Christ, the temple, The Family a Proclaimation to the World and a picture of the old first presidency of my church. Then on the other wall to the far right are pictures of my family. I LOVE my new room!!!

Quick Trip and Frog Dogs...

Yesterday afternoon, I flew to Oakland, CA so that I could rent a car and drive to GDB to see Edie and her new partner before they left GDB. It was a very quick trip and I was home at 4:30 today...less than 24 hours--(yes, I am that crazy...)

There is an LDS Temple in Oakland and I stopped by the Temple this morning on my way back to the airport. It is BEAUTIFUL! It looks way more amazing in person than it does in pictures...I can't wait to go back to Oakland and actually get to go inside!

It was so good to see Edie again! She went crazy when she realized it was me (about 10 seconds after walking into the room...it was when I said "hi Edie") anyway the party lasted for a good 5 minutes or so that I was being mauled by Edie in all her "girls just want to have fun" glory. When I decided that maybe she should settle down...she was a good girl and decided to take a nap. There was nobody besides me and Edie and her new partner in the room and there was not a professional photographer there to take our picture...so Edie's partner took this picture of us together! Isn't she adorable? She is so grown up now!

Edie grew up, she used to look away from the camera every single time I tried to take a picture of her, but now that she is a working girl, she was much more compliant in the picture taking department. She is the second guide for her partner who lives in MI. He is a very nice, retired man and he said Edie was exactly what he needed in a new guide! I could tell that they were bonded already. He kept assuring me that Edie is a wonderful and careful worker. I am so happy for them...I think they will have many happy years together as a wonderful team!

And of course...we can't leave out the puppies at home! :) Both Joaquin and Monet do what I call "frog legs" where they will lay in such a way that their legs stick out and look like the back legs of a frog. Joaquin does it more often than Monet, but I think it is SO cute!

No Graduation for Me...

Don't worry, Edie is still going to be a guide dog. Her partner is not able to stay at GDB until Graduation on Dec. 12th. So instead I will be going to CA next weekend to visit with Edie and her partner. I'm actually not sad that I'm missing out on Graduation, except that there are many dogs whose raisers I know who are graduating that day...so it would have been fun to see them! Oh well...can't have it all :)

This little girl is...

IN CLASS!!!

Yes, you read right. My little Edie girl is in class in San Rafael. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it is the perfect match!

Play Time!!!

Our yard has TONS of leaves...Joaquin LOVES running through the piles of leaves

Can you see the puppy tail?

Where is Joaquin???

There he is...

And of course, here is Monet playing in the yard...

bath time

Here are some pictures of Joaquin's bath time :)

He doesn't hate the baths as much as he looks like it in the pictures!

All smushed and getting dried off :)

His name is what????

Today we added another puppy to our household...basically since the beginning of the summer we had planned on getting a transfer pup at the end of summer and a baby puppy on the last puppy truck of the year...today was the day the truck came!

Mickelle and I waiting for our puppy...

His name is JOAQUIN!!! (not a name that was on any of our lists)

--it's pronounced wah-keen--

His birthday is August 28th, which makes him 9 weeks and 1 day!

His parents are Lamara and GDF Mazel. He has 10 other siblings...

Mickelle is holding Joaquin and I'm holding his sister and brother.

Is he not just adorable???

We are looking forward to a great year with this guy!

Fall

I might not love fall so much...

...but I LOVE Monet!!!

Philly

A few weeks ago, I went and babysat my nieces and nephew in Philadelphia. I also took my 10 year old niece from UT with me to see her cousins.

We went miniture golfing...

And we went to a corn maze...

and the kids played in some hay...

And there were tractors to play on...

Also, when my nieces were in school, I took my other niece to Philadelphia...this is at Independence Hall

in front of the Liberty Bell

It was a fun trip!!!

Only in Utah...

I wen to Philadelphia last week (more on that later)...anyway the weather here had been great up until the day I left-Wednesday...which was the first day of snow this year (although the snow was in the mountains and benches...not the Valley) Anyway, I came back to pouring rain last night and had to sleep with 3 blankets on top of me.

Looking out the window of my classroom the sun is shining in some places, yet immediately outside of my classroom it was trying to snow a few minutes ago and now it is pouring rain...but I can still see sunshine...What the...

Prevent Labor Day...Spay (and neuter) Today!!!

Today was the day that every puppy (and maybe raiser?) looks forward to...the day they get "fixed"... for the males this means the brain fairy comes and they can start thinking with their head instead of with their...other parts. Of course, for the females this means they won't ever have to go into heat or worry about the labor part of having a litter of puppies!!!

Donovan and Monet got "fixed!!!"

Here is Donovan sporting his yellow with green bones

bandage from the IV

And here is Monet sporting the same type of bandage.

I think maybe she was a little put off that they didn't have

anything more girly!

Mickelle and I dropped the puppies off at 8am this morning and I picked them up when I was done with work at 4. The vet said they both were very good patients and that both surgeries were great and went off without any problems! Both pups have been very very mellow this afternoon and evening, I'm expecting them to be back to their normal selves within a day or two.

Donovan and Monet

Please excuse the devil eyes in the picture below...

Some of you may have heard about the SLC school program, where students in Utah have a guide dog puppy raising class and actually get high school credit for raising puppies. This is the third year of the program, and it's been very neat! Anyway, so in the spring, raisers in UT and CO are asked if they would be willing to "start" a puppy for this program. The students get their puppies who are around 7 months old at the end of September after being in school for a month. Donovan was one of the puppies who was started for this program. Mickelle and I have been puppysitting him for the past week and will have him until Friday when we will give him to his high school raiser. He is from CO and is a VERY sweet boy! We like him a lot and think he will be a great school puppy.

being domesticated

Cooking is something that makes me happy. I love to make up new healthier recipes for my favorite meals. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I also like to try making new foods which is what me and my roomate did on Friday night...we made Swiss Cheese Fondue...

First we had to gather the ingredients...which was fun because we needed

Chardonnay (I have never drank alcohol in my life...or been to the liquor store)

So my roommates and I headed to the liquor store...and we were quite excited

when we got carded...it was fun!

So we grated the cheese and mixed it with cornstarch...

(then it went into the pot with the bubbling wine/garlic combo)

Then we made a healthy salad to go along with our not so healthy

cheesy goodness!!!

This is the picture of the cheese mixing with the wine...

...and then of course we ate the fondue with french bread...

it was delicious, but I learned a few things...

1. When you decide to make fondue...have a fondue pot...you can do it on the stove, but once it starts cooling off, it gets hard and isn't so easy to dip the bread into...

2. After all the clogging artery goodness that is fondue...make sure you have something healthy like salad...makes you feel better about yourself for eating the cheese and bread...

3. perhaps in the future make cheese fondue--but also make chocolate fondue to have with fruit...

4. be prepared to feel like you need to walk for days to work off the calories from the fondue...

crazy dog!

I was laying in my new bed reading one night, and looked

down at Monet in her bed sleeping like this...

I found it entertaining, because she is typically NOT a back sleeper!

Maybe she was hot??? I don't know, but I haven't seen her sleep like this

since!

Beautiful Sunday Afternoon

After church today, I decided to go visit the Bountiful Temple.

It was a beautiful afternoon and of course Monet came along!

It was kind of warm, so by the end, Monet was panting--which is

why her mouth is open in this picture!

There are beautiful flower beds at the Temple!

Isn't Monet a cute girl?

She is SO much more cooperative in taking pictures than

Edie was! Monet is such a great girl and is growing up pretty

fast! Her 7 month day is coming up!

We enjoyed our peaceful visit to the Temple today!!!