Puppies and Life

Mega Update, Many Puppies Included

2009-06-24T09:58:00.014-07:00

So I know I promised a post from home, but I got so busy with seeing friends, family and of course puppies that I didn't have any time. Here is a super long post complete with 21 pictures!! All of adorable puppies too.

On my second day home I went to Woofstock, Toronto's annual dog festival, the largest of its kind in North America. I met up with Amy and Bea, and Brooke, Cessna and her foster puppy Reece. There were many vendors for food, treats, collars, harnesses, toys, rescue groups and much more. One of the groups was giving out free doggy snowcones, which poodley Bea enjoyed, but left my hand smelling like beef after.
And of course it was tons of fun spending the day with Amy, even though on the way home we accidentally drove halfway to her house (the opposite direction out of Toronto) before we realized we had gone the wrong way.

On Thursday, I visited Dee and picked up Friday. Although I only had her for a day and a half, it didn't take her long to win me over. She is such a well behaved lovable, happy, fluffy and huggable puppy, I told Sam she wasn't getting her back by the end of the night. We had a busy day as I visited with some friends downtown. We went to the Eatons Centre, surprise surprise. On one of our relief breaks, I discovered that one of the venues for the North by Northeast (NXNE) music festival was across the street. Friday was unphased by the loud screamy band onstage and even posed for a picture.

We went to dinner at Swiss Chalet after where she curled up under the table for a nap. The manager fell in love with her too and offered her a bowl of water. Afterwards, my friends and I wandered around downtown. We ended up at one of University of Toronto's campuses and I took Fri's picture on the steps of Convocation Hall. It's like she's graduating from university! (Sorry about the terrible quality, it was pitch black except for the gross yellow lighting from the building).

One of my friends attempted to take a picture of Friday and I but Fri had weird coloured eyes in all of them. This is one of the better shots. We match in our green outfits!

We then headed home from Museum St. of the TTC which has all these cool statues.

Friday was very tired but was a trooper and took the train and escalators in stride.

I thought she would pass out, but my pet puppy Lesley enticed her into a little bit of playtime before going to bed. They loved each other and Friday helped Lesley improve her dog socialization skills a little bit.

The next day, we woke up bright and early (7 am, Sam, I'm not complaining about 10 am this time). Amy and Bea came to pick us up to visit Sam and all her dogs. Bea and Friday both wanted shotgun but the poodle prevailed and Friday was stuck in the back.

This was definitely one of my favourite days home as I spent most of the day with Sam, Dallas and her puppies!

We went out for lunch and a walk, visiting many places downtown. This is cute little Friday by the water.

That is me on the left with Friday and Sam on the right with Fiyero. Check out the loose leash action and Fiyero ignoring all the goose poop on the ground :) Friday was fantastic to walk both on the Halti and just on the flat collar, even amidst chaotic downtown Toronto.

These dogs are both so wonderfully adorable and beautiful, these pictures don't do them justice. Fiyero in the front, Friday at the back.

After lunch, we found my first geocache! It was fun looking through the trail for it, and there was lots of stuff inside too. The puppies quite enjoyed the leafy romp as well.
Then it was back to Sam's for more puppy watching!! Mr Pink was nursing upside down and I love this picture because it looks like he's waving at the camera.

Mr Yellow was my favourite puppy. He's the littlest one right now and we bonded over some cuddling time where he snuggled right down into my arms for a little nap.
It was so much fun seeing everyone again, but this time my downtime at home was made a million times better than usual because our family now has a pet dog, a mini schnauzer named Lesley. We became fast friends and she quickly started following me around everywhere, including "helping" me at the computer. I just love her big bat ears and huge puppy dog eyes, plus she is a very kissy dog and loves to give lots of licks. She is still working on her basic obedience as she's only 5 months old but she is very smart and I can't wait to watch her grow up!
Nothing says welcome home like a little puppy warming your feet :)

Summertime!

2009-06-02T17:22:00.006-07:00

Well, it's been exactly one month since my last post ...what can I say, this being a puppy blog, it's a little hard to update without a puppy.

Life has been pretty awesome lately. I got a job as a patient attendant, which means I basically look after patients in hospitals. I live in a house with three of my best friends, and most of our other friends who are here for the summer live together in another house a block and a half away. The weather is gorgeous and we go for frequent walks along the waterfront where I jealously watch many people walk their adorable dogs. We also sometimes go to Peggy's Cove, a tourist attraction which is basically a huge expanse of rocks and ocean and watch huge waves soak unsuspecting people.Amy came to visit a few weeks ago, and it was great to see her even if it was only for a day. We went out to an old military base with a few of our friends and ran around and pretended to shoot cannons at each other.Besides that, nothing very exciting has happened. It's been a very relaxing summer so far, full of friends, good food, good weather, and almost daily barbecuing. There have been many steaks consumed in this house... Oh yes, and there has been one puppy in my life- my friend's one year old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Sandy. She is so bouncy and smart and a joy to have around. She's a little small because she was the runt of the litter and was sick as a puppy but isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen? That happy puppy grin is a heart-melter for sure.In other news, I will be heading home in a couple weeks so check back then for updates on my new family puppy Lesley and puppy-stealing adventures as I visit Sam and Amy! Have a great summer break to my fellow students (and teachers too of course :))

No Day But Today

2009-05-02T08:05:00.004-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post! Life has been crazy busy since then-I had four term papers due in a week and then lots of stressful finals in addition to packing up my room and finding somewhere to keep all my stuff for a week before moving in to my new house.

Thankfully, that is now all over and I am writing this post from my new room! Four of my friends and I are sharing a house for the next year, embarking on the poor student living adventure. Just this morning I had a breakfast cupcake as it was my only option, but hopefully we'll be able to get some grocery shopping done soon. My room is a mess right now but I decided writing a blog post would be more entertaining than unpacking.

The last five days have been a whirlwind of travel and visiting people. My friend Katie and I took off after her last exam on the 25th at 8 pm and drove 17 hours to Rochester NY to see the Broadway tour of RENT. Our parents were quite convinced we were going to die, but the drive was surprisingly easy. We each took 4 hour driving shifts and managed to stay awake the whole time. Both of us have a tendency to speed (I know, bad habit, but driving on a straight highway at night with no traffic makes it easy to forget how fast you're going) so we managed to cut off quite a bit of our travel time. Also, what up New York Thruway with your million police cars and equal amount of toll- I think we paid over $20 in New York alone. But it was all worth it to get to our final destination...RENT!! What can I say- seeing Sam again was awesome, and the show was phenomenal. One of the best nights of my life for sure. Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal live and five feet in front of my face- I got chills listening to them sing and finally seeing the production live in theater. Thank you Jonathan Larson for writing such an amazing, moving musical! We got to meet Mekalea as well, which was so much fun!! Puppy raisers never run out of things to talk about when they get together :)

After the show we were hoping to get to the stage door to hopefully meet the cast and get some things signed, but they ended up doing a fundraiser after the show (where Anthony Rapp auctioned off and took off his pants on stage!) so unfortunately we didn't get to do that, but I DID meet one of my favourite ensemble members, Telly Leung.Yay! It was so awesome. Of course, being the dork that I am I blurted out that I loved his blog and he replied with an "Aww, thanks" so it wasn't too embarassing at least. It was the perfect way to end such an awesome night, and I'm so glad everything worked out. I got lots of snuggle time with Friday too, and catchup time with Sam so I was very, very happy.We also had Cracker Barrell for lunch the next day- oh happy times with biscuits and delicious food!! We had a lot of fun reminiscing about our trip to Mississippi. On the way home, we stopped by Niagara Falls as Katie had never been to them before. Living a couple hours of away from the falls, I've seen them too many times to count, but the vastness and natural beauty gets to me every time. After that, it was off to HOME at last! I haven't been home since early January, so I was definitely looking forward to going back. My parents also got a puppy the day before I got home. She's a little 14 week mini schnauzer named Lesley.
She was still in the quiet, not doing anything stage when I was home but I hear since then she's been starting to test boundaries and her place in the pack but hopefully my parents have learned something from the puppies that have passed through our house and will train her well. She is oh so very cute though, and I had lots of fun snuggling her and starting her training in basic obedience.

After three days at home, it was time to come back to Halifax, sadly. I got to meet up with lots of friends while at home though, and I will hopefully be back for a couple weeks at some point in the summer. Now it's time to find a summer job, unpack, set up my room and enjoy time with friends before school starts up again....here's to a relaxing and adventure-filled summer!

How to Cure a Nail Biting Habit

2009-03-22T12:03:00.003-07:00

Spend six hours at an ER with your violently ill friend, four of which are spent being separated only by a curtain from someone who apparently has the Norwalk virus which is so contagious the doctors are outside talking about how they have to throw everything in the room out as soon as the patient leaves.

Is it possible to bathe in Purell?

Don't Stop Believin' - Habitat '09

2009-03-01T19:49:00.002-08:00

I am back! Man, this past week has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life. It definitely alternated between really fun happy events and some very sad ones. 150 people from my school's chapter of Habitat for Humanity set off for Mississippi to build houses for people affected by Hurricane Katrina. I was on Bus 2 (of 3) with about 20 of my friends, which made the whole trip very interesting and lively to say the least.

We started off with an almost 36 hour bus ride from Halifax and drove through 2 provinces and I think 13 states to get to Ocean Springs, Mississippi where we stayed at Camp Victor. I love travelling in the states, so I was superpumped to be doing a roadtrip. There's so much more variety, especially in grocery stores, and everything's bigger and cheaper! We stopped in Fishkill, NY on our way down and everyone was seriously in awe of the Shop Rite. Also we ate at three different Cracker Barrels which we don't have here in Canada and it was delicious. But despite the many movies and singalongs ( Don't Stop Believing by Journey being one of our main songs), everyone was ready to get off the bus and start working after almost two days of being squished together on a bus.

The first day we worked was the most emotional for sure- we worked on a house that hadn't been touched since the hurricane hit in 2005. Our task was to gut the whole house, and we started in on it right away. After working all morning, we managed to take everything out of the house- furniture, toys, papers...pretty much everything was covered in water but we saved as much as we could and put all the salvageable items on a tarp outside the house. We then came back from lunch on the beach to find a little old lady digging through the her life possessions spread out on the dirt ground beside her house. It was unbelievably sad and there wasn't much to say, so we were standing around awkwardly when her daughter walked by and said "That's someone's life right there...". She had stayed through the hurricane but was forced to evacuate the next day and hadn't had the chance to come back until that day. It was hard to have to watch that, but we had to get back to work anyways and so we spent the rest of the afternoon gutting the inside of the house, which was very cool. We took out everything until just the frames were left. My friend Matt lifted me up and I punched out a wall! It was all very physical work that day, but it was tons of fun.

After we finished work that day, our site manager came on our bus and took us on a tour around the neighbourhood in Biloxi. There were still buildings that were severely damaged standing and we got to see where the water had hit, and the water lines on some of the houses. It was just incredible how much work there is still to be done, but it was also good to know that slowly but surely, things are getting better.

The next day was Mardi Gras, so our group got the day off and headed into New Orleans to celebrate. It was insane and crazy, but so much fun. Everything was so colourful and awesome, it was basically a huge party on Bourbon St. It was a very long day, we left Ocean Springs at 6:30 am and didn't get back to camp until about 10 pm, and I'm sure everyone had a very good sleep that night.

The next three days, the busses were split up- two went to build sites and did construction work, and the bus I was on went to a building site and did finishing work which means the houses are already built, but we fixed up everything to make it livable. There was some construction going on too, siding on the houses and building sheds and whatnot. I was assigned to clean out houses and I was somehow put on a team with three of my best friends, making the time go by even faster. We accomplished a lot in those three days- we cleaned out two houses. It's amazing how many little tasks have to be done in order for the house to be ready- we spent 8:30-3:30 every day touching up paint, installing appliances, putting on doors and doorknobs, caulking, cleaning, sweeping, vaccuuming, cleaning windows and putting on screens (which, incidentally, is how I found out I am terrified of being 15 feet in the air on a ladder). There are new laws now stating that new houses must be built three to seven feet off the ground, which was really cool to see- the houses are standing on wooden poles and we were able to walk right under them.

We worked with a team of Americorps and general site/construction managers which was a blast. Y'all are so nice down in the south! They have the cutest little accents and everyone we met was so friendly and welcoming. Also, we Canadians very much enjoyed Mississippi and Louisiana's 70 degree weather (that's 21 degrees Celsius)- we were romping around in shorts and tshirts even late into the night. It was hilarious because everyone we ran into just stared at us incredulously and told us we were underdressed for the weather. One of the team leaders on the job site told us one day that it was "finally beginning to warm up to spring weather". We all started laughing because that chilly spring weather is our middle-of-the-summer weather. At the end of every day, most people would head down to the beach and just chill. It was an amazing way to unwind after a long day of working.

Despite the fun factor though, there truly is still so much work to be done on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Four years later, there are still buildings that haven't been touched since the hurricane hit. One night we travelled into New Orleans, and on the way drove through the Lower Ninth Ward, one of the hardest hit areas. Some of the buildings still had identifying marks on them- X's, codes as to which organization had checked the building, the number of how many live people had been found and how many bodies were found. It was devastating to see, and a slap to reality. Four years is a long time, and people are still suffering from the aftermath of Katrina.

It wasn't all bad though- we heard some very uplifting stories from the workers at Camp Victor and witnessed some ourselves. One of the toughest guys in our group went into a grocery store just to pick up some food and came back nearly in tears because he had gone in wearing his Habitat shirt and a man had went up to him and slipped him grocery money. He of course tried to refuse it, and the man had told him to take the money or he would consider it an insult because we were rebuilding the community. Another group was thanked by an old woman who used a walker to get out of her house just to talk to them. It's amazing how people who have lost so much can still have so much faith in God and humanity and still be joyful and hopeful.

A big thank you to the hospitable staff at Camp Victor and everyone we encountered along the way- as our site manager said "It's been an incredible week seeing everyone work together- for a few days our countries merged together. There's no big difference, just a little border to hop across... with a passport and no illegal substances or drugs, of course ;)" Truly the last week has been a life-changing experience, and I absolutely cannot wait to go back and do it again next year.

Happy IWYPRS Day!

2009-02-19T22:27:00.002-08:00

International Wear Your Puppy Raising Shirt Day was a great success judging by the 50 confirmed guests on Facebook and the number of posts that have gone up! I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the posts and proudly wearing my shirt around today. It was very interesting testing where to put the camera and running back while it was on timer in order to actually get pictures of the shirt, but it was tons of fun.

We begin the day with some last minute reviewing (read: cramming) for my Canadian Lit midterm...very exciting life of a student.I think I did fairly well on the exam, so after lunch it was back to the computer to send out resumes for summer jobs. (Don't mind my laundry rack in the back, I just did a load of laundry last night and have yet to complete my least favourite part of the process- folding and putting away the clothes)

Nothing really eventful happened today, so I want to take this opportunity to announce something I am VERY excited about! On April 26, Sam, my friend Katie and I will be in Rochester, NY to see the touring production of RENT!!!!!!! It features my loves original Broadway cast members Adam Pascal (the green dude) and Anthony Rapp (in blue). I am so beyond excited for this, I don't even have words to express it. As anyone who knows me knows, I just love this musical and the messages it espouses- no day but today, and accepting everyone for who they are. Absolutely cannot WAIT!I ended the day as I have for the past couple of days- Sam, being my hero, sent me her copy of "Without You- A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Musical RENT", Anthony Rapp's memoir. Seeing as how it wasn't to be found anywhere in Toronto and Halifax, I've pretty much been on a reading rampage since I got it. Thanks a billion Sam! Hopefully we can get it signed at the stage door in Rochester!My shirt ended its day in the emptyish hamper after an exciting day of being out on the town. I love IWYPRSD and can't wait to do it again next year!!!

On another note, I'm leaving tomorrow for Biloxi, Mississippi with my school's chapter of Habitat for Humanity. We're going to a build site where some of the houses have not been touched since Hurricane Katrina hit- we'll literally be the first ones to be inside after the families evacuated. I am so excited to be a part of this trip, and hope to help make a real difference in some peoples' lives. I'll be back next Sunday with lots of stories and pictures!

Because I Knew You, I Have Been Changed...For Good

2009-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Today is the one year anniversary of Fielder's graduation as a Hearing Ear Dog. I cannot believe a year has passed since that day I flew home for one of the best days of my life. Seeing one of my baby boys graduate while surrounded by my best friends was unbelievable. The whole ceremony felt like an out of body experience, and I'm so glad I was able to make it back and to have a short reunion with my little Fieldypoo.

As this day approached this year, I started reminiscing about the past few years and the impact puppy raising has had on me. I think I knew this all along, but for some reason in the past week, it really hit me how much I've changed and grown as a person because of it. I can't even begin to fathom all of the lessons my boys have taught me- lots of practical things like public speaking, obedience training, and to always have poop bags on puppy outings, but also life lessons that I never want to forget- how to be patient, how to be understanding, to put yourself in one's shoes before you judge, to stand up for yourself and what you believe in, and most of all (cliched and sappy as it is)- how to really and truly love- to put so much of yourself into something that it hurts like crazy to let go, but you do it anyways because it's the right thing to do.

Along the way, I have met so many amazing people- the POOP group,the best support group of puppy raisers and friends I could ask for, handlers and trainers and random people I never would've met otherwise. One thing's for sure, these puppies bring out the best in people. I've enjoyed hearing many stories from strangers that come up and share a part of their lives with me just because of the puppy in the green jacket. And of course, blogging. When I started my silly little Puppies and Life blog two years ago, I never in a million years would've imagined "meeting" and becoming friends with so many fantastic people. If you told me a couple years ago that I would have some of the best conversations and funniest moments with people across the continent in another country, I probably would've laughed in your face. But through this blog and the amazingness that is Amber's blog roll, I have been lucky enough to have done just that.

Lastly, (but definitely not least), I have to mention Sam, Amy and Amy. All I have to say is Wow. I wanted to be involved with the program because I would get to train puppies and change people's lives but I had no idea what I was getting into when I attended that infamous orientation in which I supposedly "met" Sam. They've been there for me through thick and thin and guys, I want to say a big Thank You for sticking by me through puppies, DQ's, graduations and "normal" life drama. Sleepovers, train rides, long commutes to each other's towns, huge long MSN conversations, puppy outings, being the only teenagers in the group, and of course, Eatons are some of the best memories of my life. Here's to many more years of Samysnat.

I didn't mean for this post to turn into a sappy thank you post, but now that it's written I feel like it's appropriate considering how much puppy raising has changed my life- I wish I had the words to convey how much all of this actually means to me, but I can't. It's been one of the most, if not the most defining journeys of my life thus far. I think this slide show helps since after all, a picture's worth a thousand words. These are two of my favourite songs and their lyrics remind me of puppy raising so much. The first song is For Good from the Wicked soundtrack (sung by the amazing Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth) and the second is Seasons of Love from the movie soundtrack of Rent. Enjoy!

To my boys Petey and Fielder- you are everything I could've asked for and more. I love you both so much and I'm so glad you came into my life, even if it was only for too short a time. This one's for you.

"It well may be /That we will never meet again /In this lifetime, so let me say before we part/So much of me /Is made of what I learned from you /You'll be with me/ Like a handprint on my heart. /And now whatever way our stories end /I know you have rewritten mine/ By being my friend"

Update on IWYPRSD

2009-02-05T20:14:00.002-08:00

It appears we have picked a fantastic day for our first International Wear Your Puppy Shirt Day- President Obama will be making his first official trip to Canada that day!
It makes me happy that that fits in with our theme of international friendship quite perfectly!

I am so very excited to see all the stories and pictures from IWYPRSD (or alternately, I Wipers Day because that's what it looks like).

International Wear Your Puppy Shirt Day

2009-02-05T10:47:00.002-08:00

The first ever International 'Wear Your Puppy Raising Shirt' Day will be held February 19th, 2009. Please spread the word - we hope to have as many puppy raisers (and other supporters of working dogs) participating as possible.

To participate, all you have to do is wear a shirt from any Guide/Service dog school during the day of February 19th. If you don't already have a shirt - make your own! We'd love to see what you can come up with. :)

Optionally, we would love for participants to email a picture of themselves in their shirt (if desired you can crop off your head to protect your privacy) to puppyraisingshirtday@gmail.com. Also, blogging puppy raisers are encouraged to share about their shirt's day on their blog if desired.

Most importantly of all, remember that International 'Wear Your Puppy Raising Shirt' Day is a day to celebrate puppy raising and friendship. Wear your shirt with pride! We are looking forward to sharing this special day with all of you.

For more information, please check our the IWYPRSD website (in progress). We also have a Facebook event page you can sign up on.

Also, as Sam and I are huge fans of Kraft Dinner, the consumption of KD is strongly recommended as well ;)

Another Wildly Exciting Night in Res

2009-01-28T22:09:00.003-08:00

Me: Hmmm what tv show shall we watch..
Alison: JELLYFISH SPECIAL DOCUMENTARY!
Me: AND Paralyzed and Pregnant on TLC!

Score! The rest of the night was spent wrapped up in blankets while switching between those two shows and then America's Best Dance Crew 3. We basically rock at life.

Please kiss your puppies for me...I think I'm going through extreme dog withdrawal, judging by how loudly I screamed the other day when I saw a guide dog from Leader Dogs.

Mini Tip of the Day: Don't touch box jellyfish. It'll probably kill you.

Tip of the Day

2009-01-19T21:47:00.002-08:00

Don't skip class because karma will most definitely get you back.

Last night we had a big snowstorm, followed by rain and very cold temperatures so today the road conditions were awful- half slush, half ice all covered in snow, so the police were warning people to stay off the roads. As such, the university closed until 11:30 am. Guess what time my classes start? 11:30 am. I didn't mind going to my Animal Behaviour class because it's my favourite, but seeing as how it was disgusting outside and no one had really shown up to class anyways, I decided to skip my other class of the day because I hate it.

BAD IDEA. My computer (whose name is Helga) completely flipped out when I got back; none of my programs were responding and everything kept freezing. So I restarted my computer about twenty times and uninstalled and reinstalled MSN which seemed to be causing the most trouble. Nothing. Worked. I ran a scan every time I restarted and checked some nerd forums for solutions and basically nothing happened until the thirtieth time I restarted/scanned about eleven hours later. So that was a fantastic way to spend my day. (Disclaimer: I don't actually believe that the fact that I skipped one class caused my computer to implode and fake death, but seriously- thanks for the heart attack, Helga!)

I guess according to this post it wouldn't be wise to skip class again tomorrow, but my friends and I are all doing it to watch the inauguration. In my defense, Helga, it is a historical event that is way more important than one silly Lit class. If I don't blog again for awhile, cross your fingers it's not because my computer hates my life and tried to teach me a lesson.

Matching Day

2009-01-12T22:16:00.008-08:00

Also known as "How I Remain a PR Nerd Despite Not Having a Puppy"

Sam and I realized a while ago that we have the same shirt from Dogguides and so we decided to wear it on the same day. I had forgotten mine at home last semester, so this time I made sure to bring it back to school with me and today we had Matching Day!
Here I am in my awesome shirt! Lesson of the day: It is ridiculously hard to take pictures of yourself in a mirror. I have about thirty outtakes, and this one is where I just got frustrated with everything and decided to make faces at the camera instead: It's hard to go from being involved with the program and having a puppy to only hearing of events and other peoples' puppies, so when I get lonely from being puppyless I look at my doggies and they never fail to make me smile.Not only do they represent guide dogs, they are very special to me because of who they came from. The GDB puppy was a present from Sam while she was in San Rafael doing her internship and the puppy on the right is a "Fielder" from Amy B that has a handmade HED jacket which Amy G helped with, so seeing them reminds me of some of my favourite people in the world. (And yes, they live on my textbooks. Actually, all my other textbooks had to move to other places so GDB puppy and Fielder could have a cozy, educational home).
When I was removing the tag from the GDB puppy, I realized it said Douglas and I actually laughed out loud thinking of Emily's Douglas. (Notice my animal behaviour textbook chilling in the background...best course EVER)So cute! I love the little logo and how it says "Working DO NOT PET" on the jacket. Speaking of which, I got a Christmas e-mail from Fielder's handler and he is doing very well! Good to know 'my' baby is loved and working away happily.

Plan B

2009-01-03T21:49:00.013-08:00

It seems to be Sam's and my tradition to have crazy outings - whether it's being with a million dogs and people, going on 3 hour long treks without any planned destination, spending a day city hopping or plans going awry, we always manage to have a spectacularly epic and hilarious time.

On New Year's day, Bea and I were very excited to start off 2009 by having lunch/dinner (linner?) with Sam and Friday at the Rainforest Cafe. However, that plan was dashed when we were not allowed in with the dogs despite talking to two different people. Although I understand we are not legally allowed access, it frustrates me when people don't get that in order for these working dogs to behave as exceptionally well as they do, they need to learn how to behave this way through lots of practice as puppies. We even explained about the whole PIT deal and the restaurant was almost completely empty with no one waiting to be seated either. In the end, we left and although I used to love the Rainforest Cafe, I don't intend on going back.

Being good puppies on the escalator leaving the mall- Friday has very good timing on when to shake!

Thankfully, we moved on to Plan B and headed on downtown where we did the scramble crossing outside the Eaton's Centre (twice! So we could take pictures of each other- yes we are dorks but at least we are awesome!) and took pictures down the street from the Canon Theatre, where I first saw Wicked. Sorry, it's a little far away but it's the vertical flashy sign kind of to the left of the green circle Parking sign.

We then went to the Pickle Barrel where we were almost refused again, but we asked to speak to the manager at the main entrance. Thankfully when we got to the main entrance we didn't have to speak to anyone and were seated after a short wait. The puppies passed out with Bea using Friday as a pillow.

Downtown with a polar bear!Note to self- black dogs and dark jackets are not a good combination for picture taking.

We subwayed back uptown to pick up Sam's car and drove to our friend Dee's house. It was so much fun visiting with her and the puppies had quite the blast as well.
This 'picture' is for Lindsey - um, I promise this is O'Connor Street, but my camera had a fail of epic proportions in regards to capturing the actual street sign. Someday we'll go back and take a real picture of it!

After that we headed back to my house for a sleepover. As usual we had a fun time watching How I Met Your Mother (Neil Patrick Harris love!!), clips of Wicked on YouTube and listened to Rent music. (Again, we embrace the dorkitude).
The most exciting parts were definitely planning out our roadtrips to New York to see Wicked on Broadway and either Schenectady or Rochester to catch Rent on tour with Anthony Rapp (my other love of life) and Adam Pascal. Any New Yorkers and of course any other bloggers are more than welcome to join us! We'll be trying our best to bring Friday and Fiyero along. (Fiyero of course as he is named for the character in Wicked and Friday we want to bring to eat at-what else? a TGI Friday's). After all that, I was a true dork and showed Sam the Idina Menzel forums I stalk regularly because I love her so, and in our manicness,we decided Sam should start her own boards! I'm on it already so I think all of you should join as well.

Then I decided to give Bea a little trim as her fur was getting long enough to obstruct her eyesight. Well I trimmed a little off the front ....then a little off the middle of the pouf...and of course had to match the back. All in all, I don't think it looks too bad but Sam spent a lot of time laughing at it. In my defense, it's not any worse than anything Amy ever did to her first poodle Clifford.
Also we found a pink sweater in the bag of things Amy brought over for Bea so we decided to put that on the dogs. Bea ran around with it alright, but when I put it on Friday she looked at me with very big sad eyes. Being a blogger, I had to take a picture before taking the pink flowery torture device off.

Then some random very cute pictures of Friday:
And off to sleep. The dogs had a nice little play before Sam left the next morning and then Bea passed out for most of the rest of the day. This was definitely one of my very favourite days of my break, and I can't wait until the summer for more adventuretimes with Sam!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T23:42:00.001-08:00

Bea and I wish you a very Happy (and poodley) 2009!

Marley and Me

2008-12-28T21:16:00.004-08:00

Today was an exciting day as Bea and I had plans to see Marley and Me with Sam and the ever adorable Friday and Amy and her puppysittee Ivory. (Bea felt very special as the only non-cross ;))

Before we left, I was on the computer when I looked over and saw this:

The silly poodle had dragged her towel and puppy out into the hallway so she could keep an eye on both me and my sister while snuggling with her favourite fuzztoy. Soon after, we left for the mall where we met up with everyone. We walked around and visited PJ's pet store where we posed the three puppies in front of a penguin display.Amy had to "hurry up" :P so we found a washroom and after that, just sat around and chatted for awhile while the puppies took a mini-nap. Friday and Beasley were absolutely adorable and curled up together, causing us to turn into a little show as shoppers stopped to admire our beautiful (if I do say so myself) puppies.Pretty Ivory! If you kind of squint and imagine her a little darker, I thought she looked a little like Chappelle, but maybe that's just me. Yay, finally reunited with Amy at last. I don't think I've seen her since last Christmas!

After a bit of a search for the movie theatre (I'm sorry Sam and Amy that I am stupid and can't read floor plans) we made it there in time despite standing in a long line for tickets while everyone asked us if we were going to see Marley and Me.

So, my opinion of the movie: Casting was not the most inspired choice, especially not Owen Wilson. I think it would've been better with unknown actors but Jennifer Aniston did a pretty good job. The book was followed relatively well considering movies are usually a departure on the book. The movie itself was not Oscar-worthy or anything, but as a 'dog person', I really enjoyed it. I am not one to cry at movies, but I definitely teared up during some parts of this one and completely lost it for the last half hour and bawled my eyes out. In particular, John's speech near the end was a killer and the kid who played Patrick-ugh...more tears. Afterwards I had a good snuggle with Bea and the top of her head got all wet from my tears but hey, that's one of the perks of poodle fur-soft and perfect for tear drying. It's definitely a movie that will be enjoyed by animal lovers but make sure to bring lots of tissues, it's a huge tearjerker.

We had a great time catching up with Amy and Sam and seeing Ivory and Friday again- hopefully we'll see them again soon before I have to leave for school!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T23:16:00.003-08:00

(Excuse the fake Santa hat, I have no clue where mine went :P )

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!! We hope you enjoy a fantastic day with family and friends and are blessed with happiness and lots of puppy kisses!

Surprise Visit

2008-12-22T18:56:00.006-08:00

On Thursday night, Sam asked if I was busy the next day. Thankfully I was not, so we got to see Sam and meet FRIDAY!!! Seriously guys, I know she looks adorable and tiny in pictures- she is even MORE adorable and TINIER in person!!! I wanted to stick her in my bag and take her home with me but that wouldn't have gone over well with Sam.

We met up at the Eaton's Centre (surprise, surprise :P) after a few mishaps. I called what I thought was Sam's cell three times and reached three different people and then finally got Sam. We brought the pups over to the christmas tree as per tradition and uh... attempted to take pictures. I got one good one of Bea but when we tried for both pups, it didn't really work out. It was hilarious though, especially when some woman offered to take a picture of the four of us and she said it was really nice but then I checked it and we were all blurry. Oh well, it was very nice of her to offer anyways.

Friday and Bea were troopers but are both still quite young, so they were pooped shortly after lunch. We took a little nap break where Friday tried to curl up with Bea but Bea moved away before either Sam or I could snap a picture. She eventually got pretty close though!

We trekked through the mall for awhile, but ended up being bored so we visited Missy who is puppysitting Kongo, Amy's other dog. When Bea first came, she spent a lot of time wandering around looking for Kongo, so I thought it would be a nice reunion for the two of them. Don't you know it, Bea sniffs Kongo once and runs off to play with Etta who is closer to her in age and size.We stayed for a little bit, and then Sam had to catch her train home. Lucky us, there was a snow storm that day so we ran through the wind and icy snow to the train station. After Sam left, we ran to the subway station and caught our train as well. Thanks to a malfunctioning signal light, the snowstorm and a bus that took 45 minutes to get to my station, what should've been a one hour trip home turned into two and a half house! Grrr but Bea was a little troooper and slept the whole time so she got some peanut butter and kibble when we got home. Needless to say, she then passed out for a very long time.

Despite all the transit issues, we had a very fun time seeing Sam again after four months of being apart and can't wait to visit her and Friday again tomorrow!

Home!

2008-12-16T21:18:00.003-08:00

I am finally home! After four months away, it feels very very good to be back home and eating homecooked meals.

My parents brought Bea to meet me at the airport and she looks so cute in her little green jacket! When I got home, Pepper was waiting and he got a nice long bellyrub. So far we have been having a great time together. It's awesome to finally have a leash in hand again and a furry little buddy to follow me around everywhere.

Bea was a little shy the first day but has since warmed up and enjoys prancing around the house, tail going a mile a minute. She is still puppyish at four and a half months and walks around with stompy paws which I absolutely love. She also enjoys stomping on her squeaky toy with those massive feet ;) The little trooper is very good at self-entertainment by throwing her own toys and tripping after them. She makes me laugh every day as she's still a tad uncoordinated and often slides right into her toys and froglegs before scrambling up to pounce on them.

Pepper enjoys lounging around all day and can be found staring out windows or roaming around the house. He's friendly and loves to be petted- my favourite kind of cat!

I am so happy to be around animals again, and I'll try to post lots to make up for the past four months of non-puppy related posts ;) We should be getting in some trips to see Sam and Friday, and I absolutely cannot wait! Amy, where ever you are, we miss you lots and hope you're enjoying your trip (and this post- now you can stop bugging me to post :P)!!

Christmas Break? Yes Please!

2008-12-13T05:48:00.004-08:00

I AM DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just finished writing my developmental psych exam and I am halfway done my second year of university!! YAY!! I am so excited for the rest of today- going out with all my friends who are still here and then my flight for home leaves tonight at 8:30!! So I will be back home tonight and I will get to snuggle with none other than...

BEA!

And the countdown begins... 13 hours til puppy breath!!!

34 Things I've Done

2008-12-08T13:56:00.006-08:00

Good idea Kelsey! It's always fun to learn more about the people at the end of the leash ;)

Things I've Done. To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog- duh

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band- alto sax!

4. Visited Hawaii- one day...

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland- one of the best days ever! Met Jenny and Joanna :)

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo- alone in my room I have ;)

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight- just a couple weeks ago!

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort- no but i've built a snow throne!

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen an eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person- several times...yay school field trips!

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person - Truman's been there too!

39. Gone rock climbing- only at the indoor places though

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa- I WISH! Some day hopefully

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class- red belt in tae kwon do!

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen- does helping at a food bank count?

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies- Girl Guide cookies!

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy- I actually still have a ton

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square- hopefully one day!!

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper- I swear I'm not strangling Petey in that picture! He was just being a tad uncooperative :P

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

Tip of the Day

2008-12-05T09:27:00.002-08:00

(Here you go Sam and Amber...)

When opening a heavy door, make sure you open it ALL THE WAY or at least enough for you to fit through with your ginormous backpack filled with textbooks and laptop or you just might find yourself STUCK IN A DOOR flailing around trying to get unstuck. Only to make it through and find an RA on the other side staring at you like you're an idiot and trying not to laugh....

One exam down, two to go! Eight days til home where a cuddly little puppy will already be waiting for me! Woohoo :)

A Message Brought to You By Camry

2008-11-25T20:29:00.004-08:00

Camry says:
aqwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwa

Joanna and Camry says:
That was Camry

Joanna and Camry says:
She put her face on my keyboard, hahaha.

Joanna and Camry says:
I couldn't get her off of it, I had to kinda pick up her face to get it off the keyboard, lol.

Joanna and Camry says:
She was like "ooooh, it's NATALIE!!! Lemme talk, mom, lemme talk!!!!!"

Joanna and Camry says:
She wanted to tell you ALL about her day.

This actually made me laugh for about fifteen minutes straight. Thanks for brightening up my day Cam!

I think the pre-finals stress is making me manic. This should be an interesting two weeks...

On the bright side, only 17 days until I have a leash in my hand again! Which means only 17 days until you all find out which blog dog I get to run away with ;) Exciting!

Tip of the Day

2008-11-05T16:03:00.003-08:00

Don't go on random sketchy sites in search of a link to watch movies online or you may end up with a trojan on your laptop resulting in said laptop going through forty dollars worth of cleanup at the university's help desk. Not to mention this cleanup takes minimum two days, which as any university student on the Blackboard Learning System (where profs post assignments, readings and grades online) knows basically means death.

p.s. Flicka cannot be found anywhere on the whole entire Internet. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

To Days of Inspiration...

2008-10-31T19:36:00.003-07:00

Five points to anyone who can guess what song my title came from!

I was at the poster sale today and was SO happy when I found this poster!!!!!!! Rent is one of my all time favourite musicals and movies, not to mention it has the amazing Idina Menzel in it.

The poster is currently hanging up beside my desk right now and I love it :)

Heading to the States!!

2008-10-28T19:11:00.002-07:00

This year, my friends and I joined our school's chapter of Habitat for Humanity. One of our friends joined last year and had the time of his life on the annual Reading Week trip build. It's a week long build where you build during the day and at night have free time to explore the culture and attractions of the place.

I've always wanted to work with Habitat, and this chance seemed too perfect to pass up. We applied and a few days ago, we found out that we all got a spot on this year's build!!!! It was orignially planned for New Orleans, which would've been awesome because we would've been there over Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, we were told we couldn't take 150 people there on this build. Fortunately, we got another build site, so in February, we will be off to Biloxi, Mississippi!!!

I am beyond excited for this trip and can't wait for Reading Week to come!!!