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!!!

pictures of Monet

Six things I love about Monet:

1. She ALWAYS comes when called--no matter what!

2. She is sweet...she would love to live her life in your lap with you petting her.

3. She is goofy...she makes us laugh constantly with her cute antics.

4. She has incredible house manners.

5. She is a quick learner.

6. Monet loves us!

Isn't she cute!

Number 12

Meet Monet!!!

I was lucky enough to get to pick up my latest puppy today! Her name is Monet and she is a 6 month old transfer puppy! She is a sweetie and so adorable and cute! I think she's going to be a lot of fun. My co-leader is raising her sister and she has several siblings in Utah, which will be a lot of fun for me! Her parents are Cabby and Elsa. I was lucky enough to get permission to leave camp to pick her up in Santa Monica so she can head back to Utah with me tomorrow!!!

summer

As you know, I am at Camp Bloomfield this summer. Sorry about the lack of updates. The internet connection is slow and there isn't much time for updates.

I only have 2 sessions left of camp this year. The first 5 sessions have been great. Of course there has been some tough times and wonderful times at camp as well. I love camp, but will be happy to come home in a few weeks and go back to "real life".

At the end of June, Frisco GRADUATED from GDB! He now lives in Orange County, CA with a wonderful woman! He is her first dog and they are a GREAT team already! I was able to go to his graduation (which was awesome as usual) and I will post pictures when I am done with camp!

Edie is at GDB and is doing just great--(as far as I know).

Ontario is doing VERY well in his new home in Arizona. I talk to his new mom often, and things are going better than either of us had ever thought possible! I know he's where he is supposed to be, even though I miss him immensly!

The Happiest Place on Earth!

I don't have the traditional Disneyland pictures on my camera, but when I get them from other people's camera(s) I will post them as well. Camp starts on Saturday, but before it starts, my roommate and I and a friend decided to do a Southern California vacation. First stop...

DISNEYLAND!!!

The last car in the Disneyland train was made for Walt Disney's wife...Lillian Disney.

This car is only for VIP's (celebrities, kings, presidents and so on)...well, we were nosey

and found out about this car while we were riding in the last car for passengers...and since there was nobody in the car, they let us go back! It has carpet and velvet seats. There are pictures of the Disney's as well as lots of old antiques. It was a very cool experience!

Of course, we met Mickey and got our picture with him!

Saying Goodbye...

I already blogged about Edie's last day, however, I did want to post some pictures of her...

This is the last picture I took with Edie...at the puppy truck

which was really a training van...hence the picture was not in

front of the van like the typical goodbye picture!

The beagles that we live with own this little doggie couch

and we made it extra comfortable by putting an extra doggie

bed in the couch...The beagles rarely sleep on this couch,

but Edie sure loved it and was on it 90% of the time when we

were in the living room. The only way she would fit was to curl up

in a little tiny ball, so that is what she did!

No Fun

Yesterday was the day that I had to say goodbye to Edie-girl :( It wasn't so much fun...our day went like this:

6:30am: wake up
7:00am: go to work
12:30pm: leave work to drive to the puppy truck
1:15pm: get to the puppy truck and let Edie potty one last time
1:20pm:put Edie on the top passenger kennel in the training van (we didn't actually have the truck come, it was a training van instead)
1:25pm: leave the truck to go back to work

I have been extremely busy lately, so really haven't had a whole lot of time to think about Edie leaving...this made it easier to GO to the truck...but man did it make it HARD to leave her in that kennel :( I cried the whole way back to work, it was a sad day. Let me tell you, it NEVER gets easier to say goodbye to our puppies...

I have some pictures to post, but I will have to do it tonight when I am at home and not at work.

Grand Canyon and more Zion

It has been a busy week and I have not had time, want, or energy to update my beloved blog :) Finally today I had time...so here you go!

First, I will tell you about giving Ontario up. It was not an easy thing to do at all, I never imagined that I would give him up TWICE...but I was ok with it because I knew he was going to a great home and that he would be extremely happy and loved and get much more attention than I can give him. It was hard, we met the people at Jacob Lake which is about 40 miles from the Grand Canyon. Ontario was happy and didn't even look back when they walked away with him. He got in the car happily and that was that. I of course cried the whole hour to the Grand Canyon... I have since talked to his new mom a few times and he is doing VERY well in his new home. He gets to be the alpha dog in the home...which will be new to him, but his mom says he's picking up on it. He has a german shepherd brother in this home and so far they get along nicely and he is loved very much. I miss him a lot...

Second, Edie is leaving on Wed. I can't believe she is ready, but she shows me everyday how she is ready for her next adventure and she is! She is a sweet, adaptable, easy going little girl.

Third, I will be getting a new puppy in August--at least that is the plan. I am going to Camp Bloomfield again this summer and will get a transfer dog in August when I am done with camp...

Now...for the pictures...

Edie in Zion...she likes to turn her head

just as the camera clicks to take the picture!

Silly girl!

Zion Canyon...SO beautiful!
We learned that the rocks get their red color from rust...
Isn't that neat???
You can't drive your car to Zion Canyon, you have to ride a shuttle
Here is Edie riding the shuttle...

The GRAND Canyon...North Rim

Edie at the Grand Canyon, it wasn't hot, but I guess being black

it was possible that she was kind of hot which is why she is panting...

Edie being serious at the Grand Canyon

All in all, I think my roommate, Edie and I had a pretty good time at the Grand Canyon. It wasn't the best of days to be there...you can see that there isn't blue sky and you can't really see across the whole canyon (which is 14 miles across if you were wondering) and shortly after our picture taking and sight seeing was done and we were in the gift shop...it started hailing major and then there was a downpour. We took that time to do some shopping in the gift shop...and also eat lunch in the restaurant. Then we went back to Zion, where the weather was better.

St. George and Zion

Here are pictures that were promised. This weekend, my roommate, Ontario, Edie and I are traveling around Southern Utah. Today we went to Zion National Park and St. George where we are sleeping... so anyway the first few pictures are the St. George LDS (Mormon) Temple which is beautiful. This was one of the first working temples in the Church and was completed in 1877.

The front of the Temple says:

Holiness to the Lord

The House of the Lord

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints

St. George Temple

I think this picture with the flag and the sky is really cool!!!

Ontario and Me in Zion National Park

--he was being a brat and would look at the camera!

Zion National Park...

Ontario sitting pretty in Zion!

Possible calendar 2010 picture of Edie???

Sitting pretty in Zion

Edie was not real thrilled with this picture spot or something...

***We could not go to "The Grotto" which is the famous part of Zion because you have to ride a shuttle there and they don't allow dogs on the shuttle. Of course Edie--being a PIT would be fine, but Ontario is a pet and is not allowed on the shuttle. Tomorrow we are going to the Grand Canyon after we drop Ontario off with his new mom. Then on Monday morning we are going to go back to Zion and ride the shuttle and take some hikes with Edie...look for more pictures in the next few days!!!

This is a picture I took a few days ago, when I looked at the puppies and they were cuddled together on the bed...aren't they so cute???

Life as we know it...

Well, life as I know it is going to be changing for me in the next few weeks--no pictures right now, but I'll post pictures in the next day or two...

First, Ontario is going to be moving to Tucson, AZ. I never imagined that I would give him up...AGAIN...but indeed I will be giving him to somebody and he will no longer be living with me as my pet :( I don't quite know what to say about this! I am going to miss him more than I can even imagine at this point, but I know this is what his new mom needs and I know he will be extremely well cared for and loved--could I ask for anything more for him??? He's such a great dog and has brought so much happiness and joy to my life in the 2 years I've had him...I guess now it's time for him to do the same for his new mom. I know I will still hear about him and see him, but it is wierd to think that he will no longer be "mine".

Second, Edie had an evaluation with our CFR yesterday and passed with flying colors! She is a wonderful girl and I didn't expect anything less than to show our CFR how amazing she is...and Edie was amazing and pretty near perfect. So what does this mean??? This means that Edie is ready for the next step...she is ready to go to training to learn to be a guide dog! She will be going on the puppy truck to San Rafael on June 3. When I got her, I was told I was getting a naughty dog (my favorite), however, Edie has NEVER been a naughty girl for me. She is a sweet dog with a great personality who just wants to do what people ask her to do and get some lovin' in along with doing what she is supposed to do. She has been the PERFECT dog for me! I love this little girl and am going to miss her, but am excited for her to go to training and do what she was born to do!

And...

Third, there are 11 more days of school and then I will have survived my first year as a teacher...but who's counting???

15 more days

There are 15 more days of school for my students...but who's counting???

15 more days

There are 15 more days of school for me and my students...but who's counting???

confessions...

With my recent illness...I wanted to come clean about a few things...

1. I don't really like dogs...I like raising guide dog puppies, and I tolerate dog hair from the dogs I live with...ok, I even love the dogs I live with...but I am annoyed with everybody else's dog when they aren't well behaved, and I don't ever give advice, because I know the other person isn't going to follow through (the exception to this is of course GDB puppies which are always perfect ;))

2. I look forward to watching the biggest loser every tuesday night...I wait a whole week to watch it! I love the show and I love to eat junk food ie. ice cream, chocolate, etc while I'm watching the contestants try to lose weight.

3. I love musicals and mormon tabernacle choir music...I even listen to these genre's during the week...especially the musicals. I'm horrible about being able to tell you the latest "popular" songs on the radio, but I can listen to show-tunes saturday night (a radio show we have) and am pretty good at telling you which song the musical is from.

4. I have to read my emails from oldest to newest...no matter what. Even when I am waiting for something...like the phase report, I still read from oldest to newest.

5. I love to read self-help books and books about money and how to be finacially fit--Dave Ramsey is my favorite.

6. I have like 20 What Not to Wear's recorded on my DVR...i'll get around to them some weekend, when i am not busy.

7. I used to hate shopping...but now, I can't go more than a few days without at least looking for something at a store!!!

8. I watch Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters...i'm not as addicted to them as I am the biggest loser, but I do make sure I get around to watching them on Sunday night (of course they are recorded)

Ok...I can't think of any more confessions right now...I am a nerd, whatever, live with it!

Since I've been home...

I have been trying to get pictures that are calendar worthy...what do you think???

And we had bath day at the dog wash...

Edie was less than thrilled...

Ontario didn't have any objections...he didn't mind the bath in the least!