Kennel cough& marriage

I was so busy the month of July. We had a trial at the end of the month that was a big one so we spent a LOT of time training. A lot. Did it all pay off? Of course! There were 60+ dogs there& we ended up taking third overall in our division. My little brown Border Collie made me so, so proud.

Look at that smiley face& all those red ribbons! The big green one is our giant third place overall. We clearly rocked that trial. There's only 6 months until my red Vizsla is competing& hopefully winning some ribbons herself! I'm so looking forward to our next season with two dogs.

Aside from that, we were supposed to be putting on a show at a local event this coming week on Thursday& Saturday. Then Penny got kennel cough. She got it Thursday& put a serious damper on our plans. She is now quarantined until further notice. She was going to do all her tricks& an agility demo. I'm still going to emcee the event, now it's just less fun because I won't have an actual dog to run in it. Briar will be run by his real owner so it looks like I'm seriously out of luck, unless someone has a random dog trained in agility that they want to lend me?! ..that's what I thought. Oh well, here's to next year! I'm sure someone will snap some photos of us doing agility& I'll pretend when I write about the event that I was incredibly witty& everyone loved me ;) Mostly, I just hope my pretty red dog feels better ASAP and we can get back to our regular life! Sitting at home, staying away from other dogs is definitely the pits for her.. not to mention that completely awful cough. My poor baby.

So, if you're sick of reading about dogs, the next part of this post is about weddings. Every. single. person. I. know. is. getting. married. Seriously. I feel like the only person not engaged or already married. I know two of my good friends aren't married, either, but that is not important. What's important is that every other person beside them is or is in the process of that occurring. I don't even want a wedding. I want what that image above says. To run away somewhere fun with the dog& have a great day with some beautiful photos taken& then BOOM! Mail people these little cards to have a party with blue drinks& boardgames ..okay, maybe no boardgames. I cannot even imagine planning an entire wedding& spending that much money on it. If I'm going to blow 20 grand, it's going to be on one hell of a summer doing agility& traveling! Not a white dress, feeding people I don't even know& having people stare at me while I awkwardly dance with my significant other. I think I'd rather be in the highlands, in the woods. My parents can come and probably the person I marry can have their parents there as well. Then, we can have Miss Penny, a photographer& the person who says the wedding things (officiant?). That is 8 people& 1 dog. Afterwards, I suppose you go out for a celebratory supper& then have a party a month or so later. That seems genuinely perfect.. for me, at least!

So, people would normally say they have wedding fever but I have elopement fever. I don't need to go anywhere fancy& I don't want a huge event ..I just want people who love me& pretty photos! And to have a party with alcohol& a photo booth. Let's be honest. Those are the only parts that matter to your guests anyway. Sure, vows are sentimental (or awkward), the food is delicious (or awful) and the toasts are hilarious (or awkward). So much room for awkward in the parts before we get drunk& dance the night away! Let's skip the awkward and just have drinks on a beach with a ghetto blaster. Because, clearly, I want to get married in 1990. Or, you know, at some point. Soon?

Sunshine& swimming

Notice any changes around the old blog? I got bored of my old layout ..considering I've had it for a little over 2yrs, it was to be expected! My new one isn't nearly as nice but it fits the fact that Cape Breton is having a hot, sunny summer so I'm keeping it! Once winter gets here, I'll probably loose my positive perspective and change it to something less happy ;)

I spent most of the nice days slaving away but I managed to get away this afternoon with Penny& Briar for some much needed play time in the water. I'll scatter some of those lovely photos throughout this post. Hopefully, they'll make you smile!

The pups had a serious blast chasing down the balls (and the occasional stick) in the water. Penny has been in the water a lot but this was only Briar's second time. The first time, he was pretty sure Border Collies were not meant for water because sheep don't swim ;) By the time we got to the shore this afternoon, he had completely changed his mind on the whole water thing. They spent about 90 minutes on the shore/ dock chasing things into the water& bringing them back. I think they were also happy to see one another after going almost a week without getting to play together!

Aside from playing with the puppies, I have been SERIOUSLY slacking on my running. I should actually put on sneakers and head out right now for a quick 5k ..key word here? Should. I am debating it but it's 8PM and the other two things who live here are fast asleep+ I just ate an entire thing of Smarties. Both of those facts are important because they are draining my motivation to do active things. Granted, Penny swam the whole afternoon so I suppose her activity quota has been met for the day. I just stood on the shore& watched and/or threw things for them to bring back to me. Does that count as 'active'?

I'm leaning towards no. I am making a pinky promise to myself& the people reading this (hello, empty space!) that tomorrow I will either lace up my sneakers or put on my bathing suit& make an honest effort to be able to finish that Disney half-marathon that's sneaking up on me.. January is still a long time away. I have to just keep reminding myself that I really, really want that finishers medal ..and running is fun. That's a lie I tell myself so I will actually go out the door and put in the effort. Sometimes, Penny gives me her best puppy eyes (see below) and that helps significantly with my running motivation. Because gearing up& heading out for a run actually is one of her favorite activities ..she is a crazy dog.

Linked with Tuesdays Around the World& Tones!

Let's get serious. How do you say no to that face? If anyone has a way, please. Let me know! I've had more almost-late mornings than since before we got her because she also gives me these eyes on early mornings when I'm leaving for work. The eyes say 'Stop doing whatever it is you are about to do. I am more important than that thing. Come to exactly what I wish we were doing. Now please.' I am a genuine sucker. I fall for it every. single. time. I have no willpower.

Post-toast

So, I finished the book I was reading the last time I was here. It was an absolutely lovely book& I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great summer read. I spent the last few sunny afternoons sitting on the deck, patting my puppy& reading! It was pretty much my ideal way to spend the days. I plan on more of the same for the rest of summer ...mixed in with some summer BBQs& drives in my favorite thing- the dune buggy.

Isn't that a great snapshot from last summer? A tourist took it for us& I have to admit that it's pretty much a prized memory. This summer is, fingers crossed, going to be more of the same from last year. It's starting off right ..with mostly sunshine& lots of heat! Along with all my great memories from last summer, I have some big goals to go with it-

1. Train for a half-marathon- seriously. I signed up for Disney& I have a 10k for October that the three girls who are running are doing together so we start in the same time corral in Disney! I am so looking forward to that trip. Does anyone out there have any great suggestions for stuff to do in/ around Disney? Or anyone reading this blog actually run the Disney half? Better yet, write up a blog post about it?

2. Win more ribbons- I wrote a post about the start of my agility love. I am so incredibly lucky to have Briar in my life. He's the best agility partner I could have ever asked for& considering I've only been training for 9 months, I find it hard to believe how far we've come! We have 3 Qs in 2 competitions& I look forward to filling my walls with big ribbons& first places ;)

Okay, it's super hot out& I have a hilarious panting red dog with her nose right up to the fan. I think I'll spend my sunny day off going for a walk, visiting the pet store& later, painting my new agility jump. At some point, I'll make a point to get a photo of my yard setup. With all the gear we have, Penn had better turn into an agility superstar ..and sooner, rather than later! For now, I'll be okay with just having lots of cuddle time& laughing at her silly puppy antics!

Blogging hiatus? Over.

So, I have been super slack when it comes to posting on this little blog. I ended up getting sidetracked& taken away from this space that I love so much! In an honest effort, here's my first (of many) summer post. What inspired this posting? One of my good friends (if you remember, she owns La Quaintrelle) recently started blogging. Her posts are always so happy& well-written ..which will never happen over here so instead I'm aiming for some doggy humour& a little dose of a pretty photo every once in awhile!

My little red dog has managed to survive life with Garret& I as her parents and is 11 months old! It's hard to believe it's been 9 months since we decided to take on the task of raising& competing a Vizsla. I'd say we've done a fine job raising her. Figuring out if she'll be everything I want in my competition dog? We'll have to wait until she's 18 months old for that. In the meantime, she's doing an absolutely stellar job in motivating me to train for that looming half-marathon in January& she gives a pretty great snuggle post-run, too!

Post-5k ..she couldn't run because Cape Breton isn't dog friendly but how great is it for that

 sweet face to be waiting at the finish line?! Talk about a reason to sprint the end ;)

While waiting for my pretty red girl to grow up, I've been incredibly lucky to have the chance to run a very talented (and fast) brown Border Collie. Due to my lack of regular updates, I'm not entirely sure if I've ever properly introduced Briar to my blog people! He's absolutely just as handsome as can be& I adore him. Two weeks ago, we headed off to New Brunswick for a competition. I trained hard all winter to be able to do well this summer& it finally, finally paid off!

We had four runs in two days and we got a Qualifying score (which means a lot in terms of agility ..so feel free to congratulate me) and first place in 3 of our 4 runs. It was amazing. I am still riding that high while also being busy training for our next competition on Canada Day weekend. We'll have 8 runs that weekend& I need to keep up this winning streak ;)

Even Briar looks pleased with himself in this photo! You'd never know about 160mm of rain fell& we were FROZEN!!

Neither rain nor cold could stop us from our sheer happiness over all our hard work!

So, are we all caught up on the puppy business? Perfect! On that note, I know what I should do probably is go for a run. Is that what I'm going to do? Not a chance. I'm planning on spending this rainy, cold Cape Breton afternoon curled up on my couch& getting my daily quota of Penny snuggles! She's currently giving me the stink eye to get over there& make good on that threat!

Oh, before I go. One last thing for anyone out there reading this.. I need some good running music for those long run days that Penny can't make it. Anyone have some good, pump up music for my iPod? Let me know in the comments!