Engagements...

Last night, under the Vegas lights, my girlfriend

and college roommate got engaged. In May, on their couch on a quiet night, my other college roommate got engaged. In December 2002 the first of three amazing college roommates got married, I followed July 07. I was thinking this morning how awesome friendship is.

We started our journey as friends in August of 1996, (yes, that does make us in our 30's). We were fresh out of high school with lots of lofty aspirations but not a whole lot of direction. We were scared, homesick and completely lost. Some of us far from home in a completely new state. I knew that what we had that first month of August would be life changing but I had no idea that I would have three of the most amazing women as friends today! We have been through a lot together, since those tiny dorm rooms (really meant for one) and a not much bigger apartment. We have watched each other grow through breakups and makeups, family drama and trauma, career changes and graduate school. We have had an argument or two, we have moved across the country, some of us more than once. We been there from online dates and the scary meet-in-person to the "YES" and "I do". We have been in each others weddings and watched one us bring life to two sweet little boys. Despite all of life's changes and uncertainties one thing has stayed the same...the love we have for each other. I would not be the person I am today without the love and support of my three fearless roommates. Girls, you know who you are and I love you dearly. I am who I am because you are in my life.

As new engagements are celebrated reflect on what a ride it has been. We are lucky to have the special women in our lives. Tell them you love them, often. They matter to me and I know they matter to you!

Pictures...

I don't really have anything to post but I thought I would humor you all with a few pictures from the last month or so. I really can't believe that it is October. As a teacher, October is usually the month where you start to breath again! I can't believe it is already here! It will be Halloween before we know it and then Thanksgiving and well...the year might as well be over!

For those of you who are keeping track of Wrigley's training, Tuesday's session was awesome! She even got a compliment from the trainer! Wrigley will usually (not during bad weather) walk on a loose leash and sit on command. Keep the advice coming and prayers. She is still not crate trained and is eating the door to whatever room we put her in...anyone coming to visit will have to deal with some teeth marks on the guest bathroom door!
Have a great weekend friends...

Voiceless teaching...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to teach without a voice? Everyone has a voice, and it is our job as teachers to teach and demonstrate voice, when you lose it, it changes your perspective...completely. I had that happen yesterday. I am still struggling to recover my voice after a cold has settled in (for what feels like a long haul). I learned several things yesterday:
~ you NEED your voice (it is really hard to be me and not talk...VERY challenging, some of you are probably really thankful)
~ I sound super sexy...according to my husband
~ my students will talk as loud as I do, this was a blessing...my decibel was so low and they mimicked it.
~ my students can be super independent...I could only give the directions once and then it was fend for yourself...they were amazing!
This blog entry has turned out to be rather boring but I like writing and there is someone out there that will read it.
On the dog training front...she is great on walks and enjoys the guest bathroom (well by enjoy I mean she does not get out and has not eaten anything). Our trainer recommended that we attach her leash to a piece of furniture when we need her to settle down or stay in a specific place. It is all about letting her know that we are boss and she does what we want her too (that is so comical :)). Putting her leash around the coffee table was a great idea and worked, until she chewed through her leash! I just laugh now! She is so freaking cute and has such a personality that I just can't be mad. She will get better...I say that now since I have been up with her since 6:30. I guess this makes us ready for parenthood...yeah, not quite!
Have a great weekend blogger friends...

Puppy training class...

We had our first training class with Wrigley. We got there a little bit early because we had a few questions for the trainer. Well, there are no other dogs in our class, (this proves to be a good thing). The trainer brings her dog, but other than that there are no others. Patrick and I were so worried about getting kicked out...well that can't happen when you are the only ones. Had there been other dogs, she would have recommended private lessons! Private lessons! That means my dog is BAD! This comes as no surprise since Wrigley ate Patrick's memory foam pillow today...I know. But we bought a bunch of new toys and treats so maybe tomorrow she will stay occupied. We are going to try the guest bathroom tomorrow. We have guests coming this weekend so hopefully they will have a bathroom...

We were ready to give up today...but, she is so darn cute we just can't! Pray for us...I hope that things get better. On a better note, we bought this Gentle Leader collar and Patrick said it was the best walk ever! That is a huge step!

Cuteness can be deceiving...

I know my dog is adorable but let me assure you that looks can be deceiving. She is a terror at the moment! I have read article after article about crate training..."your dog will like its crate, dogs are den animals, crate training is highly successful" blah, blah, blah! Wrigley, hates her crate. I know I mentioned this before but it has not gotten better. I of course made the mistake of praying for patience...are you kidding me! Don't get me wrong, we love Wrigley and she has been an amazing addition to our family. I am just ready for training to start and some positive changes.

Here is your dose of puppy love for the week...

We left her in our bathroom last Friday and she did a great job! So we try again on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Well, the other three days she got out of the bathroom and had free roam of a bedroom, no problem (we are getting excited now). Tuesday, the bedroom door was left open and she had free rain of the house, nothing was even so much as out of place.

Wednesdays we volunteer at the church so we came home briefly and then Patrick put her back in our room...you know what happens next. We came home and there was paper from one end of the bedroom to the other. She tore up every magazine and my leather Bible! There were pages of Genesis and Romans (must have thrashed the book around) all over the place! Did I mention that it has been raining here for a week straight and she has not been outside to play? I could only really laugh at the situation and it is even funnier today!

Back to her crate she went...yesterday she broke the plastic liner of her crate and tore up the carpet remnant that her crate sits on. Today, she bent the base of her crate! Are you serious!

If there is anyone out there in cyber blog world that has ever trained a dog to be in a crate or behave for that matter, please send any and all advice our way. Puppy training begins on Tuesday, we will update and let you know how it goes!

We love our puppy very much despite the training challenges. Here are a few pictures...she is stinking adorable!

An attempt at training...ineffective

This bone takes less than a week...it looks huge but she is a lab afterall!

Absolutely true stories...

I promise I will not bore you with a really long post about my not so interesting life. I have one dog story and a few from the start of the year...

Wrigley has decided that she does not like to sleep through the night anymore. Last night, we are still hoping it was the full moon, she decided at 11:30 (we had been a sleep for over an hour - come on now we are teachers!) to bark and wake us up! It took some cajoling (thank you Gooney Bird Green - more later) but finally after about 30 minutes of attention she went back in her crate and went bed. I guess this is why people say that getting a dog is great parent practice. I have to say I was no more tired than usual!

The school year is off to a great start! I love my job and I love teachable moments. Last week I read my favorite book, Gooney Bird Green to my class. It is about a 2nd grade class and one student in particular who tells "only absolutely true stories". My kids LOVED it! I wanted them to write about themselves so I had them write an absolutely true story about them. It was awesome what they produced! And this my friends...is why I teach!

Wrigley...our newest addition

Puppy love! It is probably one of the most innocent and unique things. A couple of weeks ago we adopted a black lab mix who caught our eye at a local shelter. She is adorable! Of course when we adopted her, she had just been spayed and had shots so was very mellow! She stayed that way for a few days and then we found out she had kennel cough (very typical)...well, a week on some antibiotics and we have a puppy! Wrigley (yes, she is named after Wrigley Field in Chicago) is 6 months and 35 pounds of puppy...rumbustious, spunky, and cute as can be!

We have attempted crate training...so far we have been unsuccessful. To say that she hates it would be an understatement. She will sleep in there only because we put her crate in our bedroom and she sleeps with the door of it open. We have been leaving her outside during the day and she is happy as a lark (by happy I mean not barking and scratching at the door).

She is a work in progress, and although there are days when we wish she would go in her crate willingly or leave us alone for two minutes to cook dinner, we love her! She has been a wonderful addition to our family! We are happy pet owners...more updates later! There will be more pictures to follow...the start of school happened, makes puppy training and photography hard!