Saturday, June 9, 2012
feeling nostalgic..
As I mentioned before we moved barns and trainers which also meant we
had to dismantle the lounge we so painstakingly put together. We took
the stall next to our four-legged friend and turned it into a hang out
spot complete with hardwood floors, air conditioning and a mini bar.
After the lounge was completed it as A LOT easier to convince Robb to
come to the barn AND was a great place for the dogs to chill out of the
way. The new barn is amazing and Clarke has is better off but alas there
was no place for our set up. We have moved a few pieces into the house,
gave the custom tack locker away and stored the rest. Needless to say I
am a bit sad and longing for our barn more than ever. They say pictures are worth a 1000 words or in this case a 1000 memories..
Sunday, June 3, 2012
it's been a minute..
A LOT has happened since my last post, ups and downs but by the grace of God everything is just as it should be. I am coming up on 6 months since my accident and subsequently the last time I got to ride Clarke. We have moved Clarke to new barn and have a new trainer which is a LONG story (that I will get to) all by itself. We (mostly me) added ANOTHER dog to the family, Dirk, and I am finally done and about to seek funding for my latest project. Since so much has happened I am going to split it up into bits:
a new family member
Dirk, formerly Duke was turned into the Shelter by his owner who pretty much said everything you can say to get a dog put down. "Duke was aggressive towards, adults, children, other dogs, cats, you name it Duke would go after it" according to his owner. Luckily for Duke, before he was put down he was tested by workers from another shelter and proved not to be the beast he was made out to be. Unfortunately, like many German Shepherds, Duke was very anxious and shelter life only made his anxiety worse. Duke spent a month in the shelter before I saw him. And one look is all it took, I fell in love. When they told me we needed two people to view him I thought of Maddox (our other GSD) and how he was when I got him, CRAAAAZZZY. We got him to the yard and just like Maddox he did EVERYTHING except play with us but after some time when I whistled for him, over he came! SO, we (I) brought Duke home, changed his name to Dirk and began working with him. Dirk is a handful, he still is getting over his anxiety and aggression towards other dogs, but he is SO smart. At first Robb was a bit scared of him and would only approach Dirk cautiously with his hand outstretched speaking in hushed tones. But two months later all is going well and Robb loves him as much as I do. Although we still have to keep the big boys apart, Dirk and the puppy have become best friends and both are happy to compete at learning new tricks! So far we have mastered, sit, down, heel, shake(hands) and for Dirk, he knows his commands in both GERMAN and English!
Dirk chillin in the yard
a new family member
Dirk, formerly Duke was turned into the Shelter by his owner who pretty much said everything you can say to get a dog put down. "Duke was aggressive towards, adults, children, other dogs, cats, you name it Duke would go after it" according to his owner. Luckily for Duke, before he was put down he was tested by workers from another shelter and proved not to be the beast he was made out to be. Unfortunately, like many German Shepherds, Duke was very anxious and shelter life only made his anxiety worse. Duke spent a month in the shelter before I saw him. And one look is all it took, I fell in love. When they told me we needed two people to view him I thought of Maddox (our other GSD) and how he was when I got him, CRAAAAZZZY. We got him to the yard and just like Maddox he did EVERYTHING except play with us but after some time when I whistled for him, over he came! SO, we (I) brought Duke home, changed his name to Dirk and began working with him. Dirk is a handful, he still is getting over his anxiety and aggression towards other dogs, but he is SO smart. At first Robb was a bit scared of him and would only approach Dirk cautiously with his hand outstretched speaking in hushed tones. But two months later all is going well and Robb loves him as much as I do. Although we still have to keep the big boys apart, Dirk and the puppy have become best friends and both are happy to compete at learning new tricks! So far we have mastered, sit, down, heel, shake(hands) and for Dirk, he knows his commands in both GERMAN and English!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
It's time to get crafty..
Along the way searching for the 'perfect' farm property a few things have become very evident; 'nice' things don't stay 'nice' for too long on a farm, homemade substitutions are the norm rather than the exception AND lastly, it is going to cost A LOT more than I thought to buy our dream property. Normally if I want something I just get it, usually from one of my favorite designers. I needed a new grooming tote/box for around the barn and shows but, given the aforementioned conclusions, I decided NOT to get the Hermés Tote that would be PERFECT and instead come up with an alternative solution. My trainer uses this old olive jar tote box that not only looks cool but is very functional. I decided to go online and search it out, sounds easy right?! -not so much! What I didn't take into consideration was the fact that my trainer, who has been in the business for 4o years, won her grooming box 25 years ago at a horse show. After countless online hours searching for alternatives I still came up empty. Old Urban-Noël would have viewed this a sign from God that I was MEANT to have the Hermés tote but NEW Country-Noël decided to roll up my sleeves and get down and dirty. After finding some wine crates it was decided, we were going to make our own! Below you will see the inspiration and our final result. You will notice that I chose to use a few different wine crates so the markings on the grooming box would be a bit unique. Also, please note that we ended up using crates to include the date 2oo5 to represent Clarke's birth year and 2oo9 for the year I started riding again. Now in 25 years mine should have the same vintage feel as my trainers. Oh and I do have one teeny confession, although I did go all crafty, you will note I DID get an Hermés dandy brush ;)
The vintage box that was our inspiration. The finished project filled up.
The inside stamp with the year 2oo9. The back of the box with the 2oo5 stamp.
Along the way searching for the 'perfect' farm property a few things have become very evident; 'nice' things don't stay 'nice' for too long on a farm, homemade substitutions are the norm rather than the exception AND lastly, it is going to cost A LOT more than I thought to buy our dream property. Normally if I want something I just get it, usually from one of my favorite designers. I needed a new grooming tote/box for around the barn and shows but, given the aforementioned conclusions, I decided NOT to get the Hermés Tote that would be PERFECT and instead come up with an alternative solution. My trainer uses this old olive jar tote box that not only looks cool but is very functional. I decided to go online and search it out, sounds easy right?! -not so much! What I didn't take into consideration was the fact that my trainer, who has been in the business for 4o years, won her grooming box 25 years ago at a horse show. After countless online hours searching for alternatives I still came up empty. Old Urban-Noël would have viewed this a sign from God that I was MEANT to have the Hermés tote but NEW Country-Noël decided to roll up my sleeves and get down and dirty. After finding some wine crates it was decided, we were going to make our own! Below you will see the inspiration and our final result. You will notice that I chose to use a few different wine crates so the markings on the grooming box would be a bit unique. Also, please note that we ended up using crates to include the date 2oo5 to represent Clarke's birth year and 2oo9 for the year I started riding again. Now in 25 years mine should have the same vintage feel as my trainers. Oh and I do have one teeny confession, although I did go all crafty, you will note I DID get an Hermés dandy brush ;)
The vintage box that was our inspiration. The finished project filled up.
The inside stamp with the year 2oo9. The back of the box with the 2oo5 stamp.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Learning to count..
Lately I have been really working on my patience, at home, at the barn and in business. I would like to say that this virtuous attitude is due to some new found enlightenment but in actual fact, ALL the chaos going on around left me NO choice! First off, puppies are cute. Sawyer is cute. Crate training a puppy is NOT so cute. Dealing with Sawyer's very vocal, very loud, response to being crated was the spark that led to what I like to now refer to as, the Power of 300. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten was not adequate in drowning out the lil guys screams for release AND/OR calming my nerves BUT I soon realized that giving him 5 minutes OR counting out the full 300 seconds did. In the middle of the night it may only take counting to 148 for both Sawyer and I to get to a calm place. Mind you at 4 in the morning sometimes it took me five minutes to count up to 148. With my new zen-like success, I tried this technique out at the barn with the trainers, other riders and even with Clarke on occasion, and it worked! So I then tried it in business and in my personal interactions. No matter what the annoyance, confusion or stress, I was able to stop, collect my thoughts and act appropriately. It also is quite funny to see the reaction on peoples faces when you basically freeze and start counting in your head for five minutes. NOTE: I have learned that in certain situations it is best if you excuse yourself and count quietly somewhere private- brings the concerned looks and the 'is he losing his mind' comments to a minimum. So I challenge you (my 1 1/2 readers) to try it, when things seem to be getting out of control OR you just need a moment, give yourself the time and space to deal with it. Try counting, it is working for me.
Thought I would include a sunset pic to invoke a zen like feeling..this was taken from our house.
Lately I have been really working on my patience, at home, at the barn and in business. I would like to say that this virtuous attitude is due to some new found enlightenment but in actual fact, ALL the chaos going on around left me NO choice! First off, puppies are cute. Sawyer is cute. Crate training a puppy is NOT so cute. Dealing with Sawyer's very vocal, very loud, response to being crated was the spark that led to what I like to now refer to as, the Power of 300. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten was not adequate in drowning out the lil guys screams for release AND/OR calming my nerves BUT I soon realized that giving him 5 minutes OR counting out the full 300 seconds did. In the middle of the night it may only take counting to 148 for both Sawyer and I to get to a calm place. Mind you at 4 in the morning sometimes it took me five minutes to count up to 148. With my new zen-like success, I tried this technique out at the barn with the trainers, other riders and even with Clarke on occasion, and it worked! So I then tried it in business and in my personal interactions. No matter what the annoyance, confusion or stress, I was able to stop, collect my thoughts and act appropriately. It also is quite funny to see the reaction on peoples faces when you basically freeze and start counting in your head for five minutes. NOTE: I have learned that in certain situations it is best if you excuse yourself and count quietly somewhere private- brings the concerned looks and the 'is he losing his mind' comments to a minimum. So I challenge you (my 1 1/2 readers) to try it, when things seem to be getting out of control OR you just need a moment, give yourself the time and space to deal with it. Try counting, it is working for me.
Thought I would include a sunset pic to invoke a zen like feeling..this was taken from our house.
Friday, February 3, 2012
I promised I would let you in on the affect on our lives bringing Puppy John Doe home has had. Letting you in on the naming process might be the best example to give you some insight..
The shelter gave him the name Hershel because he was brown; I was not really featuring this name and figured as foster parents the least we could do is give this lil guy a good name. What I did not count on was exactly how hard it would be for BOTH Robb and I to agree on a name. We had both our dogs before we met and I am the rider so naming the horse was left to me. To be perfectly honest, most of the time I just pretty much do things and then ask for opinions (aka approval) afterwards. I liked Jackson or Jax to start off with but Robb said that I was not allowed to use any names of people I had dated, NO matter how LONG AGO it had been, so that was out. We literally started thinking of names on Friday and by Sunday Puppy John Doe was NO closer to having a name, with the exception of Slater which lasted about 3 hours. I would come up with a name that Robb would like then I would change my mind. Robb would come up with a name that I didn't like and so the battle went on. Needless to say there were some 'tense' moments ALL over naming a dog that wasn't ours! Here are a few of the short-listed names: Remington, Hemingway, Huck, Oliver, Hunter, Winston, Harrison, Trask, Redford, Rexford, Indy, Cooper, Gage, Gabriel and Charlie (and those were just the finalists!). We ended up with Sawyer, named after Tom Sawyer, a child adventurer with a great imagination. Sawyer has definitely lived up to his adventurous name (he did leave home at 5 weeks old) bounding all around the house, up and down ALL the stairs (there are 5 levels) with NO FEAR at all. Having such a young puppy is similar in very many ways to having a young baby- sleepless nights, visits to the Doctor, different parenting methods, and an instantaneous love that seemingly comes out of thin air. Sawyer has definitely changed our lives in these few short days and the naming was just the tip of the iceberg.
Sawyer had to get 'snipped' before leaving Shelter and thus the Cone of Shame.
The shelter gave him the name Hershel because he was brown; I was not really featuring this name and figured as foster parents the least we could do is give this lil guy a good name. What I did not count on was exactly how hard it would be for BOTH Robb and I to agree on a name. We had both our dogs before we met and I am the rider so naming the horse was left to me. To be perfectly honest, most of the time I just pretty much do things and then ask for opinions (aka approval) afterwards. I liked Jackson or Jax to start off with but Robb said that I was not allowed to use any names of people I had dated, NO matter how LONG AGO it had been, so that was out. We literally started thinking of names on Friday and by Sunday Puppy John Doe was NO closer to having a name, with the exception of Slater which lasted about 3 hours. I would come up with a name that Robb would like then I would change my mind. Robb would come up with a name that I didn't like and so the battle went on. Needless to say there were some 'tense' moments ALL over naming a dog that wasn't ours! Here are a few of the short-listed names: Remington, Hemingway, Huck, Oliver, Hunter, Winston, Harrison, Trask, Redford, Rexford, Indy, Cooper, Gage, Gabriel and Charlie (and those were just the finalists!). We ended up with Sawyer, named after Tom Sawyer, a child adventurer with a great imagination. Sawyer has definitely lived up to his adventurous name (he did leave home at 5 weeks old) bounding all around the house, up and down ALL the stairs (there are 5 levels) with NO FEAR at all. Having such a young puppy is similar in very many ways to having a young baby- sleepless nights, visits to the Doctor, different parenting methods, and an instantaneous love that seemingly comes out of thin air. Sawyer has definitely changed our lives in these few short days and the naming was just the tip of the iceberg.
Sawyer had to get 'snipped' before leaving Shelter and thus the Cone of Shame.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
It has been a week and A LOT has happened/changed. Actually, ONE really big thing happened that caused ALL the change. Robb and I have been seriously discussing children but unlike our straight friends who can just start 'trying' when they decide they are ready to expand their family, it's not that simple for us. Wanting our kids to be genetically ours and share the same surrogate, we have researched and found a great surrogacy lawyer and agency. The only problem is that you could buy a house in most states for the cost. We are also considering adoption which opens us up to a whole other lists of variables and concerns not to mention the time factor. With all this on my mind I decided to go visit some of the local dog shelters to play with the poor inmates and be of some service. Who knew how much service I would end up being! I made it through two shelters and the better part of the afternoon unscathed and unattached. The third shelter did me in. Robb and I are now foster parents to a little chocolate lab mix with the most beautiful blue/grey eyes ever. The lil guy was found on the street at 5 weeks old by animal rescue and spent the next week in the shelter sharing a cell with two other not-so-nice dogs. Hershel, as he was named by the shelter, came home on Saturday and having a 6 week old puppy added to the mix has affected virtually EVERY area of our lives. Just coming up with a name for him that we BOTH could agree on proved to be a challenge, but that's a WHOLE other story on it's own...
Pic I sent to Robb from the Shelter Puppy 'John Doe' in his very own bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)