2012

Although that day is supposed to be today, I don't think the world is going to end. Or ever in my lifetime. But what I do know for certain is that this year is coming to an end. 2012 has been the most rollercoaster ride of a year yet. A lot of ups and a lot of downs. A lot of happiness and a lot of fear.

Getting accepted to university, prom, graduating from high school, lots of agility, teaching, camping, hiking, swimming, living on my own for a bit this summer, flying across the country to nationals with my dogs and mother, placing fourth with Toffee, watching Mach grow into a fabulous boy, starting university, hating most of it, liking some of it, learning lots, laughing lots, freaking out way too much about my future, crying some, but in the end, having one heck of a year.

This year I read Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and countless other books. I created art, and I liked what I made. I experienced new music, made new friends, went on amazing adventures, explored new corners of my mind, and tasted freedom. I let myself get wrapped up in life and experienced every moment that I possibly could. I failed, I tried again and I succeeded. I spoke my mind, I bit my tongue, I was proud of myself, and I let myself be reminded by the pure joy of the little things; nacho dip, a sunrise, the way the dogs follow me around the house all day long, clean water, and a cloudless sky. Those are the big things when you let them be - like mountains and tall trees and s`mores at the bonfire.

All those little moments and big moments all add up to give you another year, another story, another adventure. And so, for 2013, I vow to let every single moment be a big, important, extraordinary moment and let myself, by next December, be able to tell another great chapter in the story we all call life.

Happy Holidays!

Rule 5

My friend and I sat down to watch People Like Us. Towards the end, they pulled out some great advice. A list of 6, but the fifth rule resonated with me.

"Lean into it. The outcome doesn't matter. What matters is that you were there for it, whatever it is - good or bad."
 

Some days I feel like I'm running - in the opposite direction, while others, I'm diving head first into things. I haven't found the balance between the two and just leaned. I'm either scared or blindly obsessed, which leads me to not be all there. No full connection between body, mind and soul.

I've been afraid of missing out on life for my entire life, which doesn't make any sense. But I think a lot of people go through that; get stuck in the routine of it all and worry and waste away all the time that could have been used to make something real.

To feel that connection. Whatever it may be. Whatever gives you that clarity in those moments in life. Lean into that. Tap into that source of power. Maybe it's in another person, within yourself or even outside the known and concrete. Just to find clarity in the bad moments, or in any moment and just be there. That is ....

I thought long and hard for a word that would describe that situation, but couldn't come up with any. That's the thing with life, not all things come and go with ease. Some things are good, and some things are bad. But they're all moments strung together that make up our story, so we might as well be there for it. Own it. Be there, in the good and the bad.

Learning how to block out all the expectations and desired outcomes of my decisions has been a challenge, but everyday I am learning. Life is full of learning opportunities. We just need to learn to grab them and grow from them and know that life is not seperate stepping stones, but rather a cummulative process. Everything you do has an effect on the next thing you think, feel and act out and knowing that allows you to be there, in that moment and understand and interpret everything the way it should be.

As for me, I think I have the best little teachers out there. They're always putting things into perspective for me; the little joys and the little moments of life. A constant reminder just to lean into it.

Live Free or Die

Wow. A lot time has flown by since my last post. Lots of new adventures, lots of studying, and lots of exam writing.

In a nutshell, school is going. It's hard, especially on the days where I just want to play with my dogs. It's getting more difficult as the days are getting shorter and Christmas approaches. But wow, I only have three weeks left until exams! If my entire three degrees go by this fast, I'm thinking it won't be so bad afterall. Three. I do throughly enjoy my sports and exercise psychology class, though. Especially since the content is relevant to agility. :) And the prof is Irish.

I can't tell you how many times I have seriously thought about just getting up one day, packing my bags, my dogs and head out west to live in the mountains. What a rad life that would be. pure freedom.

On the plus side, I've met some really cool people, and slowly but surely, I'm crawling out of my comfort zone. Some days I curl up in my safe cocoon and stay in the familiar and other days I dip my toes into the puddle. Soon I will dive right into the ocean, but for now, puddles are good. In other words, I like being alone sometimes and there isn't anything wrong with that. Introverts unite! Er, individually!

University is more or less what I thought it would be. Just more school. Nothing too special. I might have something entirely different to say if I was living on campus, though. I hear some pretty awesome stories from residence.

But I always have my best friends. :)

On the doggie adventure side of things, lots of stuff has happened as well. Toffee ended trialling early this year, but it was for the best. Her back didn't treat her so well this year, perhaps due to the lack of excellent quality massages by Elana. We miss her. Even though Q's aren't exactly what we're going for, Toffee did manage the most Q's in one season yet in her career! That was kind of cool. We are close-ish to getting our Versitility Lifetime Award. I know we will be able to gather the rest of our steeplechase Q's, but the remaining 36 team Q's will be next to impossible, considering no one offers it anymore. Oh well, Toffee has nothing left to prove anymore. I just love that girl.

Mach has been on a couple more adventures than Toffee this year. Mainly because he's the most well behaved boy ever. Minus counter surfing. That's another blog post altogether. Agility wise, he just keeps getting better and better. Looking back, there's no way I could have guessed that we would be where we are at this point in time, or ever really. We just keep flapping our wings and we keep soaring.

We did a Jess Martin Seminar, brought backs lots to work on. We went to a CAANS trial, knocked some bars, but also whipped out some amazing times. We did end up getting one Q that weekend, which was the Challenge course. We also just got back from a very big and exciting adventure from the states!

New Hampshire for a USDAA tournament! The further away you go, the bigger the event feels. We were slightly oblivious to the rules, or at least I was. Snooker. Damn snooker rules! Y U NO THE SAME?! Even with my confusion for most of the weekend, Mach came out with the fastest time or one of the fastest times in 7 of his runs! That is a big deal to me! I honestly didn't think Mach would ever be confident enough to let go while he ran on course. And he is! While keeping his turns. Gah. I'm just so proud of this dog. He was stress free all weekend. Even more hyped up than I have ever seen him, for all of his runs. Usually as the weekend goes on, he gets less excited to go out and run, but he successfully gave me 32 bruises on my legs. Pure excitement.

My favourite run of the weekend was definitely Team Jumpers. He came 2nd in the run, by 0.1 of a second. That course was a toughy. (I caused a spin before a backside of the jump. Trust him, Erin.)Lots of handling, but so exhilarating. If any of you wacthed the video I made of Mach's weekend, you will see just how excited I was. He was running at 22 for the first time in over a year, and I was loving how he was moving. NO BARS. Big deal.

My other favorite was the Team Relay. After thinking there was no way we were able to qualify due to our 2 E's and my 1pt Snooker run and then realizing that some points are multiplied by 1.5 (So, I actually got the team 1.5 points for snooker....jussayin') and that we could still qualify if we all went clean in the Team, we were pumped. It started a little shaky by me making us almost miss our run and then the lady not giving me the baton.
 "Excuse me, can I have the baton?! Hello? Can I have the baton? I NEED the baton!!" *as she walks away* "I NEED THE BATON!!!" "Wendy has the baton." "NO, I NEED THE BATON" They were waiting for me. I panicked. I'm sorry for yelling, kind lady.

We all ended up going clean, with only 5 faults. We had the fastest time by far, and just so you all know, team relay is worth 450 points, not 250, so when you think you'll only get the minimum points, you'll really get over 1000 points.

*Enter laugh attack on the floor here*

We qualified, placed 9th overall and while we had another laugh attack, we also had a dance party and strangers joined us and it was happy.

We had lots of laughs that weekend. Mostly about the most ridiculous state slogan. Life Free or Die.

 

We became really good at stuffing our face with frozen yogurt, too. Like it said, Life Free or Die. We weren't taking any chances. All or nothing.

 



 

Everyday I'm looking for more adventures, more places to explore, more freedom to be found, and every day, I find myself a little more.

 



Footsteps, among other things

Like growth, happiness, love, laughter and puppy cuddles.

A few weeks ago I went to my first trial by myself. No mother. I drove there...and didn't panic once! I so earned the cupcakes Tracy brought for me when I got there. (you're the best, by the way). Everyone was amazed that I was there without my mom. They all took care of me. Like one big family. I love them. And Lynda Yielding was judging...she's my most favorite ever!

Toffee looked to be feeling better and running really nicely! But then a bee attacked her while on course. It must have stung her, because later on, when I got her out for her last run for Saturday, she was limping and really subdued. I started crying, of course. I thought for sure my dog was broken. She wasn't even barking at the dogs walking by her crate. (Which, if you know her, is amazing). She was fine by that evening, but I didn't run her Sunday just to be safe. Although, I really wanted to.

She seems to be fine now. Hopefully getting in to see the vet to get her ribs/shoulders done. This weekend the grass was really dry and slippery. She seemed to struggle at some spots - like all the dogs, but mostly I found on the aframe. Maybe that was slippery, too. I never checked. BUT, my Toffee girl never disappoints and still got 4/5 and 7/8 Q's for the two weekends. She's like a machine, I tell  ya!

Waiting patiently beside me for some quality cuddle time....

Also, thanks to the awesome Tracy for taping and taking pictures. I never have pictures! You rock.



MACH.
Well, I love him. He's amazing.

He earned his AGDC (finally got out of Adv. Snooker!) and his MADC title! That standard run was the best run to date. Mmm, pure bliss. It felt awesome. You know what's cool? Mach had his first Q and his MAD under Lynda. She's good to have around. Great karma. I like her.

This weekend at FAST we got Judge's Choice for being "a phenomenal team". I was very proud of our runs this weekend. All of them had one bar, but that was the only thing that made them imperfect. Although, in my mind they were all perfect. (okay, minus one run. Yikes). I'm so stoked about how he's running. Makes me excited....

***


I start University soon. Too soon. I'm not really excited for it yet. There's too much to do before fall comes. Summer just isn't long enough. But I am excited to wear sweaters for some reason.

And inspirational photo...GO!

dream on...

Across The Universe

or the country, which ever works.

I don't particularily enjoy airplanes. They're cold and noisy, especially if there are screaming kids. But what I do enjoy is the view of the world from up there. I saw the Rockies. Those were breath taking. I have a slight obession with mountains and when they're at the caliber of awesome, well, forget it.

When we arrived in Victoria, we took the dogs for a swim to put them back to normal. The weather the entire week was awesome. Not humid like back at home, but hot and clear skies. We stayed with a friend of Mom's from college, who she hasn't seen in 10 or so years. (She was going to nationals, too, so it worked out). We went hiking in Campbell River and we breathed in the moutain freshness.

Steeplechase rounds 1 and 2 were on Thursday. I was ready to get running at that point. I was in a good space, excited. Toffee was up first with her runs. Her first run was a little slow, wide turns, popped her weaves and knocked a bar. All the things that Toffee does not do. Of course, her ribs were out. I knew that. The poor thing. After her first run, I gave her a very good massage and she was ready to go for round 2, and pulled up a 3rd place.

Mach was as excited as I was. *Our first run at a national competition!* Two bars, but a super fast time. The second run he was running with more power and speed. Two more bars, but again, a great time! He actually Q'd in both of his runs, too, which was a nice surprise!

Friday we took Tof to get aligned. She's always so good through her adjustments, never says boo, just lets them work. But when she had her shoulder put back in, she yelped. I was already worried about her, because I knew it was a little worse than normal, and then that happened. Ah.

The gamblers run on Friday was nice. Seemed really simple. The opening was a little choppy, but easy enough to get some points. But Tof wasn't having it. She missed her weave entry, slow, wide turns, went around the teeter...just all over the place! She did end up getting the main gamble, but she made me earn that 5th place finish, that's for sure! Mach's run was nice. A few things went a little wild. He didn't get the main, but guess what?! NO BARS! That's even better!

The running order for Saturday was gamblers, jumpers and then standard for my group. Toffee and Mach both had awesome openings in the gamblers, with lots of points, but no luck with the main. It looked fairly easy on paper, but a lot of dogs were missing it. Toffee still placed 8th, haha. :) After that round, I was glad to have gamblers behind me. The jumpers course looked super fun; tricky in the opening, and fast at the end. Toffee was running nicely, but had a mishap with a bar. I'm still not sure how she managed it. I've watched a slow-mo replay over and over and I just can't figure out how her legs got to be in all of those places. Yikes. Poor girlins. After her run, I was upset. I wasn't upset about the bar, but rather about the reason for the bar. She hadn't been herself up to that point in the weekend and as much as I want to do well with her in agility, nothing surpasses her health. I was really worried about her. I may or may not have cried. Okay, I cried. But Toffee is such a soldier. She marches through everything with spunk. This weekend, everything she did was done quite gingerly, where normally she's hard core about everything. Sigh.
 Mach's run was fabulous! Just one bar, where I had suspected, but his turns were tight and his lines were fast. He actually came 17th in that run!

The standard run was next. It might have been my favourite course from the weekend. Toffee was feeling good that run (or so I think. Now, I will never know for sure...that dog...). She was feeling good enough for 3rd, at least! Good girl! It was nice to have a run where we felt connected again. Mach's run was awesome, once again. Two bars this time, but no matter. A great time, great turns, great dogwalk, great lines, great dog. Big league handlers (three of them, actually ;)) commented on his run afterwards. *Happy Dance*

At the end of the day, I didn't want to know where I was sitting with Toffee. I just wanted to run and leave it at that. It wasn't until after Tof's off-course jumpers run that I found out. I don't remember the last time I was mad? Upset? Frustrated? after a run. I'm not even sure what I was upset about. Maybe because Toffee just wasn't herself, and I wasn't sure how to deal with it. Mach's second jumpers was my favourite run of his all weekend. He knocked two bars, but again, I didn't care. His turns were spot on. He was so responsive; didn't question anything. There's no way I couldn't be estatic with him. He put up an incredible time. 27.23 secs, with a 5.8 yps. (He beat the godly Feature's time - who totally kicked ass this weekend! Six clean runs, with the most points out of everyone!)

For the final standard, they pulled the Top 15 dogs from each division and ran them at the end. When I checked the running order, Tof was sitting in 4th. That's when my mom told me I was sitting in 3rd after Saturday. What a nice surprise! I honestly didn't think we were even in the Top 10! Toffee ran her little heart out. That final run was my favourite of hers for the weekend. We pushed on together and placed 4th in the run. Mach ran with the Top 15 of the 26"(okay, only because I had to move him due to a conflict with Toffee;)) He knocked the bar that I thought he might, and then went around a jump unsuspectantly. Then I had a brain fart and just turned to the jump and sent him right back over. Off course. Oh well. We finished our first nationals strong.

Mach has made so much progress in this one year. He seems to progress from trial to trial, each time with a little more confidence, a little more power, a little more speed. All of the struggles we went through were so worth it. The strength he and I have gained from growing together is phenomenal. It was nice to see how he ran against other dogs. There's not many to choose from down here, so when I see him running the same times as World Champions, it's relieving to know. When we get those bars to stay up, man oh man!!

When the final results were tallied, Little Miss Toffee and I were able to go up on the stage with our 4th place ribbon and hold it up proudly. I can't help but think about how strong this girl is. With everything she's been through, she treks on for me once again and I couldn't be happier.

***

Before leaving Nanaimo, we had to have nanaimo bars, of course! They were omnomilicious.

Victoria is such a beautiful city. We walked along the water, shopped around the market, were stopped every 10 feet because people wanted to pet the dogs, or take pictures of them. My favourite group of people were the teenagers giving out Free Hugs! It was precious. We also went to Mile Zero of the Trans Canada highway, where Terry Fox wanted to end his Marathon of Hope. We stepped in the Pacific Ocean, which was freezing!

Although the West Coast is so beautiful, I was ready to go home. I will miss those mountains, but there's just something about sleeping in your own bed.

And seeing Rowdie, Bailey and Newman (Who turned 13 last thursday!)

Here are {Toffee's Runs} and {Mach's Runs}

Home, Sweet Home.

Long Ago and Nature and Agility and Lots of Pictures

I graduated highschool a month ago. I didn't write about the adventures of grad week. That was a long week. And a long time ago. Almost seems silly that for my whole life, it was all leading up to that moment, and it took me about 7 seconds to walk across the stage and have my diploma handed to me. I'm not saying it's not a big deal, I'm just saying it's a little silly sometimes.

I did get a big cheer, though. :)

Here are some pictures of me and my friends.

All done.

Oh. And prom.

I went on a three day camping/hiking trip last week. Just my friend, our dogs and I and Mother Nature. I've always said that I could live in the woods, but after this weekend, I can back that statement up. I could seriously live in the woods for the rest of my life. I'm not even kidding.

We hiked 8 trails over the three days. The dogs went swimming three times and ran around in a field a couple of times. Mach was tired. I wish I had that in my backyard. We met some different wildlife. Andrea kept feeding the squirrels peanut butter pancakes, so one invited all of his friends. It was slightly terrifying. They are bold little creatures. Also, our campsite was attacked by something one night. Pizza. Most likely a raccoon. Everyone loves pizza.

Here are some more pictures.

It was quite refreshing to get away and smell the nature. The trees. The dirt. Waking up with the sun. Dancing around the fire. Climbing trees. Breathing in the ocean air. I wrote in my journal. My brain was very quiet while we walked. It was nice. But at night everything came flooding in. So I wrote by the fire. Peaceful, it was.

So I've been to three trials this month. {Two one-day trials} and one full trial. {Mach} and {Toffee} were so good, as always. I checked my books yesterday, and Toffee already has 50 Q's and Mach 25 Q's! So much awesome! Mach is getting smoother and more consistant in his runs...just those pesky bars that keep us from qualifying. Not that Q's really matter. He had some beautiful runs this past weekend, with just one bar. I couldn't be more proud! He's come such a long way in just one year. And Toffee...well, sigh, Toffee. :)

A week from now we're off to the West Coast island for nationals! I can hardly contain my excitment! It doesn't feel like it should be here, or that July should be over.

It's almost Great Big Adventure Time!!!

Weee!