Thursday, December 27, 2012

What is the quickest way to wake up a baby? Try writing a blog.

Andrew has been a sleep for almost and hour now so I am treading on precious time.  Read the paper, did some dishes, folded some clothes, got his bottle and oatmeal ready and he is still snoozing.  This however is like the bat signal to batman, beep beep, wake up baby!  Mom is trying to organize her thoughts!  Since this is the puppy blog, i will start with puppy thoughts.  My poor puppies are getting little to no attention right now.  I just don't have the time or energy.  I throw the ball a little, trim toe nails, cuddle in bed, and occasionally brush but that is about it.  I was heading out to Joc's barn for a once a week practice but that has pretty much stopped the last two weeks thanks to the holidays.  We are going to be SUPER rusty by the january trial.  We only have one and it is a two day so i guess it will be as usual, expensive practice.

 I am really trying to goal set for the next year and it is tough.  I would like to go to USDAA nationals and I am considering ASCA nationals but other than that, not much goal setting.  I have no intentions of even trying to qualify for next year's AKC nationals.  Probably not going to do as much AKC as I usually do. Would like to hit more USDAA and that is going to mean traveling which means extra dough.  I just don't see myself being able with the handful of AKC trials that i even do, making that nationals goal.  I am however very glad that they upped the qualifications but I do feel like you need to start your qualifying year out ASAP and go to as many shows as you can to make it.  I would rather spend my money elsewhere.  I also had planned on doing some camps and seminars this upcoming year but now with my job so up in the air, I am afraid to put down payments in.    We had a very mild winter last year so was able to teach all winter but it isn't looking that way for this year.  We have already had measurable snow and i have had to cancel a couple of times already for this current session.  I am at this point just hoping we can get through so I can at least be done so we can take a break.

My job, wow is all i can say.  We still are teetering on not so solid ground.  We are trying to complete the beta testing on the equipment and start up receiving samples but we have had some set backs.  We are going to have to purchase and fix some very expensive equipment which means we have to get another grant going.  We still haven't perfected the protocols we need to perfect either.  I have been working long hours and that isn't helping with my running/weight loss/stress level.  I few times i have thought, I should just quit and become a stay at home mom, but the whole money thing always gets the best of me.  Plus I need mental stimulation and I wouldn't get enough being at home.  Anyway, I am hoping things settle down in the new year and we are able to fix/purchase the stuff we need to make this successful.  I need a job!  I also need to get back into some fitness routine. I thought entering races would make me accountable but it hasn't.  I skipped my last race and just went shopping instead.  I keep telling myself that I shouldn't enter races in advance so i don't loose money but i keep on.  There is a trail race in february that i would LOVE to do but i have no clue what kind of training i will get in from here till then.  Plus it is 5 miles and I am only running 3 right now.  Excuses, excuses.  Oh well, that is the story of my life right now!

Well going to wrap this up for now.  I don't really have much time to really ruminate like i usually do.  My life is now all about diapers and bottles and baby food, which is good, just different.  I keep thinking things will settle down but the older he gets, the more complicated things get.  oh well, maybe in 18 more years, things will settle down?

Friday, December 7, 2012

so behind (as usual)

Wow, I don't think I have ever fallen this behind on my blogs.  Thank you life for getting in the way of my thoughts LOL!  My job has been super hectic lately and I am not sure I like it. I am barely getting to the daycare in time to pick up andrew and am lucky she hasn't charged me a late fee yet.  Tony is back to work which is a good thing but he is having some weird health issues so has had to take a day off since he has been back.  Let's see, since the last time I blogged, I have had two shows, a three day AKC or ICK as I have started calling it and a three day USDAA with team and tournaments.  The ICK show was exactly that.  I know this sounds weird but I really think if I am not under pressure or the course is hard, I don't do  well.  I didn't get a single solitary Q all weekend but it isn't about the Q now is it.  We had to drive at night on the way up thanks to my job so I had one day where i was a zombie and got lost on course.  The rest of the runs all had one bar or one mistake and every mistake was super stupid.  Like me saying turn before the jump and him doing what he was trained to do and turning and not taking the jump.  The courses were easy peasy but we just couldn't seem to do it.

Then fast forward to this last weekend, USDAA goodness.  Our team DDT got a team Q and a third.  We came all the way back thanks to our first place relay run.  The funny thing was, we thought we didn't Q because the software had not updated from last year and the 850 point rule.  We were really bummed because every team had Es on at least one course and most teams had one course that had two es.  Our team had two es in jumpers and two in standard.  Deuce did E in standard on a n off course jump that I did not even see as an option.  He redeemed himself in jumpers with a 2nd place by a very narrow margin.  I was SUPER proud because we so in sync with that run and it had some very challenging stuff.  Can you say broad jump, back side of jump through the middle of the 180 to the other backside of jump and then into the weaves?  NAILED it!  I have been that excited about a run in a very, very long time.  No Q in steeplechase, two bars (DAMN it) and no Q in grand prix, one bar (double DAMN it).  OH well, one more show before regionals and if I don't get the one Q  I need, may have to pick up another show somewhere down the road. Had some really kick ass runs the rest of the weekend including a gambler's Q on a tough aframe, turn to a jump, take a jump and a beautiful sequence of three jumps in which i threadled, pushed through and ketchkered (*spelling) only to have  a freaking bar come down somewhere else.  Oh well.  I had so much fun and can't wait till february for the next one!