Going Green

So I've had a lot of thoughts recently that I would like to become a more "green" individual.  I recently watched the documentary film, Food, Inc., and it has really opened my eyes to the evils of the food production industry.  The cruelty and manipulation that occurs, not always to the animals but to the people, is repulsive and I don't wish to further fund it.  To be clear, I'm not in favor of becoming vegetarian or vegan.  Not that I have a problem with either of these lifestyles, but they're not appropriate options for me personally.  Rather, I think the industry should produce all foods ethically and with respect for the creature and the farmer. 

Anyway, I'm following a couple of blogs about living green, and self-sustainable living.  I know I won't be able to for the next couple of years, but eventually I'd like to have a garden, and raise some livestock small-scale.  I'm particularly interested in raising rabbits for meat, and chickens for eggs and meat.  Perhaps it would even be feasible to raise a few dairy goats, and raise the kids for meat.  I talked about this in depth with B, and he seemed interested in the idea as well.  He confessed he's actually always been interested in keeping a vegetable garden, so he seems to be on board with such a way of living. 

I've found a local farmer's market that is open in Saturdays.  I think I'll attend, and see what I can find.  So until next time...

Brace Yourself...

Wow, this year has been a real crash course for the rest of life.  Since my last writing I've traveled halfway across the United States showing dogs, I've gained a dog, lost a dog, gained (sort of) another dog, traveled to New York to attend the annual Westminster dog show, and soon I'll be graduating from college and moving away to pursue my Master's.  Whew! 

So.  I guess I can elaborate a little more on life.  B and I are still together and doing wonderfully.  We've had a couple of rough patches in our relationship, especially concerning where we want to live, and how we want to live.  Do we want a family or not, those kinds of things.  Some of the discussions became fairly heated, but I think we're much better off for them, and now we can focus on what we do want in our relationship.

I'm very seriously considering moving to New York City for a couple of years after I get my Master's.  Why not?  I just want to say I've done it.  And since B and I decided to post-pone having a family until much later (so we can establish and enjoy a marriage and partnership for a few years before changing everything), it gives me the perfect opportunity to go out and experience the world, really live it up (with B going with me, of course!).  I went to New York in February, to go to the Westminster dog show, celebrate my birthday, and have a little mini-vacation before starting grad school in the summer, and it was amazing!!!  I never dreamed I would love it so much.  The architecture was beautiful, the people were intriguing, and the atmosphere was exhilarating!  I had so much fun, and yet I barely scratched the surface of everything there is to see.  How I want to go back!

So, I'm also graduating in three weeks.  It's a bit mind-blowing and scary, but by that same token I'm excited to open the next chapter of my life.  I'm moving to a smaller city outside of the big city where B lives, so I'll only be about 45 minutes away from him.  I'm very excited about that aspect of it.  We can go out on regular dates, enjoy the city nightlife, theatre, the beach...oh yeah, I'll be only 5 miles from the water!  I'll be able to go out there, enjoy the water, take the dogs swimming...it's going to be amazing.

Speaking of the dogs, I ended up keeping T.  And I'm sick of writing letters for my dogs' names, so I'll just give real names.  Toby is my Dachshund.  He's such a doll, and I've spent so much time showing him, so I ended up becoming his co-owner.  We've started Earthdog training, and we're just touching on obedience, and I think he'll be a great working dog and companion.  And the little coffee puppy was born, and I got him in August.  Ryder is his name, and I think he might be what some of my friends refer to as my "heart dog", that one dog in my life that goes above and beyond being a pet or companion, and is the one dog that meets and exceeds my wants and expectations.  So far he as.  I've been showing him, and I've started working with him in the field.  He shows so much promise!  And he's obedient.  That boy learned how to shake, with both paws, in less than five minutes.  My mom witnessed the whole thing and was in awe!  He's just wonderful.  Maverick (M), my other Brittany, has been living with my parents for about 6 months now.  I got some new neighbors, who have a dog that likes to fence-fight.  I felt that I was unable to control Maverick, not to mention I could barely keep him from climbing over my 6' wooden privacy fence (that has no footholds, mind you).  Even if he was in the kennel in the yard, he would still whine and bark and make himself miserable.  It seemed kindest to let him go stay with my parents in the country for a while, but he's really blossomed there and now my mom is quite attached to him.  He's become her little shadow, and buddies around with her wherever she goes!  I can't complain.  I'm happy to see him happy.

As school is winding down, life seems so stressful.  I'm graduating in three weeks, moving the day after graduation, starting a new job *sometime* when I'm moved in, and starting grad school on June 7th.  In other words, it's going to be very busy.  But like I said, I'm ready to start the next chapter, so I hope it all goes smoothly and as planned.  I'm moving into a one-bedroom apartment (down from my current 3-bedroom house!), so that's going to be a bummer, but it's a very nice apartment so I can't complain too much.  I'll just have to get creative with storage.  On the bright side, I can't spend any money on useless things, because I'll have no room for them!  Ha ha...

Anyway, I've got to study for a couple exams that I have tomorrow.  Easy ones, but still.  I should study.  So until next time...

Anticipation

So much has been going on! Last Thursday I got B moved out of his dorm just fine. I met his roommate for the first (and last) time, and when we got back to my house we moved my old 32" clunker cathode ray TV out of the living room and installed his sleek 37" Vizio hi-def 1080P flatscreen...wow. Just...wow. I love it and now I'm pretty much convinced I need a flatscreen too. And I'm very impressed with Vizio, despite my upbringing as a hardcore fan of anything Sony. On Friday, B and I went into the big city to go to the tech school to finalize his financial aide paperwork. Afterwards, we went all around the area looking for him an apartment that he needs to move into by June 8th when school starts. On Saturday, we went back to the city to go to his class orientation, and afterwards we did more apartment shopping. We've narrowed it down to two, and he's going back tomorrow to decide which one he wants to live in, and do all the paperwork. That night I went with my friend J, back to the city again, to pick up her puppy from the airport...so cute! Sunday, I pretty much worked from open to close, and when I got home I was exhausted and went to sleep early. Yesterday, Monday, wasn't supposed to be busy but we did run some errands so it wasn't totally relaxed. I had to search all over the mall to find some shoes and an undershirt for my dog show suit, and we also had to get the industrial-sized package of batteries from Sam's since I've run out of batteries twice in the past week, so now I've got enough to last a year or two! Then last night J took me out to Chili's for dessert as a thank-you for going with her to the airport last week, and when I got back B and I went to Gamestop for the midnight release of the new UFC game. It was fun; the local MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) club put on a demonstration, which was pretty interesting to watch.

Mentally, I am so excited right now. T's breeder and owner, who is also a professional handler, has invited me to tour the country showing with her the next couple of weekends. This weekend we'll be going to Oklahoma for a show, then next weekend we'll be going to Louisianna, and immediately from there we'll leave for Kentucky! I'm super thrilled and am so glad I'm finally under a handler's wings so that I may gain a foothold in the world of professional dog showing.

Another source of anticipation right now is waiting to hear back from the lady who is the breeder of my next Brittany puppy. She is going to have the female x-rayed tomorrow, and hopefully I'll get a picture of the ultrasound! (I'll be sure to post the picture here if I do.) I'm so excited about my little coffee puppy! Now I just need to pick a name...

What a Night

Well, yesterday was going fine. K and I went to drop off my mom's dog and stopped by her parents' house since they lived in the area, and said hello. She was very pleasant yesterday and didn't talk about agility at all, which was a godsend to me. When we got back to my house at around 10:30 (she had left R crated in my house while we were gone) R was very hyper so we let the dogs out in the back yard to run their energy off before she went home. We were sitting on my little patio table, T beneath our feet, when R walked up to us, and before I knew it he grabbed T, pinned him down, and I thought he was going to tear him apart. K had to pull R off of little T, and T was shaking so bad afterward, and he bled pretty bad from a cut on his ear. K helped me clean it up. I was pretty upset, but I have to admit I did find it inwardly amusing when--since K is always saying that I'm going to end up keeping T--K said, "Well, I guess R won't be coming over until T goes back home." But seriously, she's absolutely right. T is not my dog, and even if he was, I don't want him to get killed. R is not going to be invited over for a long time.

Well, time for me to go. Today I have to go move B out of his dorms. He'll be staying with me for a week, then he's going back to his parents' house for a week. Later!

Salutations!

Welcome all to my first ever blog. I hope it's not too boring!

For most of my life I have been an avid keeper of a diary. With college, that habit has all but ceased, so I've decided that perhaps I can rekindle the flame of writing if I write on the computer, which I'm on a good deal anyway.

I guess I should give myself a brief introduction. I'm just a girl, born and raised in the country, currently attending a large university. As is stated in my "About Me", I'm a Psychology major and an Anthropology minor, and put together with my recurring insanity it is the inspiration for my name. I am now a senior, so I have just one more year before entering the "real" world.

I have two dogs right now, a Brittany and a Dachshund (the Dachshund is temporary; I'm keeping him for a friend for an extended, unspecific period of time). M and T, they will be called respectively. I'm also expecting another Brittany puppy in the future; right now he's a bun in the oven, and until further notice he'll be referred to as the coffee puppy. I'm in a relationship with a wonderful man, B; we've been together for over 4 years. I think we have something really special, but I won't elaborate for fear of inducing nausea amongst those of you who are unfortunately reading this.

Well, I suppose that's enough introduction, and I'll get to my daily life! Read on if you dare...

Today I've got to go pick up Mom's dog from her handler and take her back to Mom; my friend K is going with me! I'm worried about K right now. We're currently doing an agility class together and yesterday she made it expressly clear that the only reason she's doing it is because I'm doing it, and that she doesn't care if her dog, R, learns anything or not because she just wants a dog she can live with. She hates the instructor and hates the class, and I feel totally guilty and responsible for talking her into going with me. I totally thought she would enjoy having an activity to do with R. I guess I thought wrong. The psychology part of me is attempting to psychoanalyze the situation; why doesn't K want to participate with R? Is she afraid of public embarrassment? Does she lack a competitive drive? There has to be some reason why she doesn't want to participate. I just have to figure out why.

In other news, B has been accepted into the tech school he applied to! I'm so happy for him. He rarely gets so excited about something, especially school-related. Seeing him excited makes me excited! He'll be moving a little farther away than he is now, so trips to see each other will be about an hour and a half instead of just an hour, but that's okay. It'll only be for 2 years, and in that time I'll be working on my Master's degree anyway so I'll be kept busy for sure.

Well, I've got to go for now, I'm going out to lunch with my friend J. Talk to you soon...