In our home it’s always Dog day! But today’s the perfect excuse for all of us dog lovers to brag on ours.
CJ & Esme got to hang out with me at work today, meeting and greeting people and their dogs. CJ loves the people, Esme loves the dogs.
How did your dog(s) spend National Dog Day?
Freddie Mercury doesn’t really give a crap! He knows cats are superior.
Having worked in the animal care field for over 20 years now, I have learned a great much about animals and their health and well-being. I am fairly well acquainted with most pet toys and gadgets too. Some are great, while others make me think “what in the heck were they thinking when they developed this thing?” Retractable leashes are one of those gadgets that make me cringe. I truly hope they, along with chain leashes, go the way of the dinosaur.
Retractable leashes are leads with plastic handles that contain a reel system. As a pet advances, the leash unreels and the pet is able to move farther from the handler. If the handler wishes to stop the pet from being able to advance, the handler typically has to push a button that “locks” the leash to prevent it from unreeling. The only way that the leash can shorten is if there is some slack between the leash handle and the pet. The first 12 to 24 inches of most retractable leashes is a flat nylon-type material. The rest of the length of these leashes is typically a thin cord. In some cases the entire length is a thin cord.
I can understand only one benefit of the retractable leash. Oh. Wait. I lied.
Why am I so down on these ever-so-popular gadgets? Let me tell you!
These are my top 4 reasons for banning retractable leashes, but I could easily come up with 20 more reasons to ditch them. Folks, if you have a dog, you need to properly leash train that dog. If the dog pulls or is too “strong” for you, please talk with your veterinary staff about head halters or no-pull harnesses.
Time needs to slow down. No, really. I’m serious. It’s going by WAY too fast.
A lot has happened since I last blogged, which is why I haven’t blogged in so long…no time! If I could just get another 8 hours added on to every day I just might have enough time in a day to get everything done that I both need AND want to. Unfortunately, that will never happen. So I’ll just have to keep on doing the best I can.
SOULBODY
In May of this year I stumbled upon another group fitness opportunity, thanks to some info provided to me by my Pound Master Pro. It is called Soul Body Body Barre. After hearing about it I immediately had to learn more. I went to their website and looked around, watched the videos and knew that I had to learn how to teach this! A mindfully intense, full-body workout that pulls from the practices of barre, yoga and pilates, and incorporates a lot of body weight training. This particular class uses a ball and a body bar in pre-choreographed routines that are suitable for any and all fitness levels.
As soon as I heard about a training opportunity that was within a reasonable distance for me, I didn’t hesitate to sign up.
About a week prior to training, the instructor emailed information about the class, along with an instructional video to teach us the structure and choreography. I immediately got to work. I printed out my notes and started the video. I made it through the warm-up with no problem! Then the first real track came on. I made it through, but had to modify my technique drastically, and honestly started to wonder if I could teach a class like this. Then the second track, and third, and so on…Wow! That was one intense workout! I had a lot of work to do.
Well, to make a long story short, I went all-in and busted my tail to complete my training because I couldn’t WAIT to bring this to my community! After taking the certification course I had to submit a video of me teaching a full-length class as my “practical exam.” I had a month to submit a video after the certifying course, but I jumped right on it and one week and one day later my video was recorded! It did take me 2 takes to get one, but I did finally get it.
I have to share this little side note with you. After I completed the “final cut” video, I packaged up my laptop and when I got home the file was GONE. No joke. I panicked and just about totally lost my cool. Are you kidding me? I had to get some volunteers to be my class “guinea pigs” two days in a row, had a nearly perfect take and it didn’t save? I was almost in tears. But I took 5 minutes. Did some breathing exercises. Then went back to my laptop. I was able to find a cached file with the full length video. IMMEDIATELY saved it to my desktop, to my external hard drive, and to drop box! Crisis averted.
So I submitted my video. Within a day I received an email that I had passed! Celebration time! I was now certified to teach the class and couldn’t wait to do so! Now, to find time to teach the class. It was, and still has been, very difficult to find times to make this class available due to my current full-time job that has irregular hours, and I was already trying to find more time to make Pound available. I was also teaching a SPIN class on days when I was available too. And there’s all the running.
Now you see why I need more hours in my day? And I don’t even have (human) kids.
We have managed to fit my classes into the schedule, but they each only happen once (sometimes twice) a week. I hope to one day be able to free my schedule up to be able to offer more fitness classes at regular and at a variety of times. I’m working on it…
CHOMPERS
Our oldest dog, Chompers, had to be put to rest on July 15th of this year. He had just turned 14 a few days prior. Chompers has had orthopedic problems his entire life, starting with Osteochondritis Dissecans when he was a 6 month old puppy. He has spent his entire life on joint supplements! About 2-3 years ago he started to slow down some and was diagnosed with arthritis in one of his front legs. He’s been on pain medication and NSAIDs since then. Eventually his back legs started to show a lack of proprioception (neurologic issues). We managed him by keeping him comfortable with medications, light exercise and lots of love. In June he really started to decline and by the first of July his back end was giving out on him altogether at times.
We had to make the decision when we were home with him one day and had to witness him have an episode where his back end gave out on him. He struggled to get up and was panicking because he just couldn’t. I started to wonder how often that was happening when we weren’t home. It would be selfish and unfair of us to not allow him to have a dignified farewell. So, after much discussion, we planned his peaceful departure.
The day of, things couldn’t have been more obvious that the time was right. That morning, Chompers was not able to use his back legs at all. I spent the entire day with him, loved him, cried over him, and took in every last bit of him that I could. He was my heart dog and I was dreading this day for years!
Chris came home and, after he spent some time with Chompers, we headed to the animal hospital. Things couldn’t have gone more peacefully. It was sad, yes, but it was also a great relief knowing that he was no longer in any pain. He will always be my “heart dog!”
I cannot begin to say enough words about the company who took care of Chompers afterward. I entrusted Agape Pet Services to have Chompers cremated with his ashes returned to me. As I sought the perfect urn for Chompers on their website, I saw this glass crystal cube that you could have your pet’s image etched into it. It looked really neat and I already knew which picture I wanted to have etched! My all-time favorite picture of Chompers from back when he was 4 years old. I had to have it. And I found the perfect urn. The company was great to deal with, ordering was easy and everything was absolutely perfect upon arrival. Thanks for taking care of my boy Agape!
The etched crystal & Urn
It’s now been a few months since I’ve been teaching both Pound and, recently renamed, Soul Body Barre Unhitched. All of my time is spent now working my full time job at the animal hospital, teaching group fitness classes, trying to squeeze in some miles whenever I can, keeping current on my class choreography, every day chores and the dealings of life, and occasionally I’m able to sneak in some entertainment with my love. No time to spare. I need more hours in my day!
Then a friend starts talking to me about her business as a skin care consultant with Rodan + Fields dermatologists. It sounded quite interesting, especially the part where she said she was able to free up some time from a job to do what she really enjoyed, which is teaching a Spin class to people with Parkinson’s disease (pretty cool, I know!). She asked me if I was familiar with R+F and I said of course, they’re the Doctors responsible for Proactiv. She started to tell me more about the business and asked me if I’d be interested. At first I was not. But then I thought about it some more. If I did this, I just might be able to free up some hours myself to be able to do what I really WANT to do. Even better, I could earn more money to help pay off bills, to be able to afford to visit my family in the midwest more often, and to fund my many hobbies (like running). And, what a great complement to group fitness this would be! Helping people feel their best on the inside AND outside! The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had nothing to lose to give it a try. I know R+F, and I know they’re product lines do what they claim.
So, yes, I am now trying to launch and grow my own business and I’m loving it!
I love my job, don’t get me wrong, but over the past several years my passions have changed. I am still very passionate about animals. But I have become more passionate about making others feel their best through group fitness and run coaching, nutrition advice and now premium skin care. My ultimate goal is to, over the next 5 years (give or take) flip-flop my job and my hobbies.
It seems to be working a little bit since I now have time to sit down and write a blog post!
By the way, if you’re interested in learning more about Rodan + Fields, feel free to contact me!
So that about sums it up. That’s what I’ve been up to, and if all goes well, you’ll be hearing more from me soon! Until then, hug your pets and live your best life.
Thankfully, not just with “work,” but also with much devoted “family time.” This is my excuse for the lack of blogging for the past couple of months. I keep thinking I’ll have more time to sit down and “think” and write, but the fact is, I have much LESS time to do so. The weather is too beautiful to be indoors so we spend the majority of our at-home time enjoying the outdoors. As it should be.
I’ve also been testing 2 products over the past few weeks that I promise to post reviews about! Both have been proving to be quite successful. The only hints I will give you are 1) one product is made by a dog product company that I already adore and will make your dog able to join you during outdoor activity more frequently, and 2) one is proving to be a savior for a dog showing thunderstorm phobia. So be on the lookout for those reviews in the next 4-6 weeks. I want to test them a bit more and I should have time to actually sit down and think at some point during that time frame.
Meanwhile, I am going to continue to enjoy this beautiful Eastern Shore of Virginia weather we’ve been having with my family.
I hope you are all having a fun-filled, relaxing and enjoyable summer.
~AnimalWhiz >^..^<
Only 5 weeks left until my first Half Marathon (finally)! Today I ran 12+ miles, of which my running buddy CJ was able to finish the last 5 miles with me. He is almost 9, so I only allow him to run with me for up to 10Km. More than that is just too much. And when the weather gets warmer, unfortunate for him, his distance gets much shorter. Today he joined me at mile 7 and we ran for 5 and walked the last half mile.
Not only am I preparing for my first half marathon, but two weeks from today is when I go to get my POUND certification! I’m really excited about this because I really enjoy Pound, and I am looking forward to sharing the fitness phenom with others.
I’ve been asked to teach Pound at my local fitness facility during the month of April. It’s so soon! There’s no way I’m going to be ready to teach a class by April! But I have been working on songs and routines and think I might just be able to come up with something in a month. Playlist is set, now I just need to get the routine set…in my brain…so set that my nerves won’t F*%k it all up when class time rolls around! So I agreed to do it.
Why do I do this to myself? I’ve got a half marathon I’m training for, I’ve got tons of fundraising to accomplish for the Run for the Animals between now and my half marathon, and now I have to learn a Pound routine and have it ready to go by April! And there’s a trip to visit some friends in PA smack-dab in the middle of all of this. Oh, yeah, and I have a full-time job. I do this to myself because it helps to motivate me to get stuff done! Yes, sometimes I get stressed out, but nothing so serious that a beer or three can’t take care of.
Oh, yeah, and I’m still taking classes for my AFAA certification too. But I have until November to get that finished…
We are given this one life. I am trying to make the most of it. For myself and for others. That’s what makes me go. If I don’t get all of it accomplished on my schedule, I hope that I am given enough time to accomplish whatever it is that I am here to do!
We got hit here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia for the second time in 2 weeks with a measurable amount of snow. This time it was the really thick, heavy, wet and pretty stuff. The kind that is perfect for making snowmen and for snowball fights! Although we didn’t do any of those things here at home today.
I love the snow when it’s pretty like this!
The Eastern Shore of Virginia just doesn’t see this kind of snow regularly, so they don’t have all of the necessary manpower, equipment and funding to deal with the snow like they do in the midwest and northeast. That’s why things shut down even if we only get a few inches of snow. It’s safest for everyone. This time we got about 6 inches here in Accomac, with more on the southern end of the shore.
Health care workers, including Animal health care workers, can’t take snow days. There are people and animals that need tending to no matter what else is going on in the world! I don’t mind it one bit. It’s what I do and it’s what I love.
I work only a couple of miles from home, and I have a 4×4, and I have a lot of experience driving and dealing with loads of snow being from Northern Illinois. So when we have days like this, I usually (not always, like last week) am the one that can make it in to take care of the animals. I was able to make it in safely this morning, took care of all of the boarding dogs and cats, and our one sick dog. Then I called to inform our already scheduled appointments that we were going to be closed for the day. Most of the clients were not going to even try to make it anyway, but many of them would try if we were open. Unless it was a dire emergency, it was much safer for our clients and staff to stay home.
Another coworker, Jessica, lives about as close as I do and has a 4×4 as well, so we split the workload for the day. She agreed to go in to take care of the critters this evening. When I finished with the morning’s rounds and got the schedule in order for the rest of today and for tomorrow, it was time to head home. That’s when my snow day began for real!
When I returned home it was still snowing pretty heavily. Chris and I went out for breakfast and coffee at the Club Car Cafe in Parksley. After that we went to the grocery store, because the best time to shop at the grocery store is during inclement weather! NO LINES! Awesome! I got my grocery shopping done for most of the weekend! Then we came back home and started having fun.
CJ loves the snow; Chompers does too but his decrepit body does not. I didn’t go for a snow run today like I did last week, only because today was a crosstraining day for me anyway, and I am off tomorrow. Tomorrow is supposed to be about the same as today, sans the snowfall, and the road should be plowed by then so the “fair weather” runner in me chose to keep with my original plan of running on Friday. I choose my battles.
Chompers loves the snow! But his body doesn’t any longer…
The kind of fun we had today was playing frisbee in the snow with CJ, going for a snowy walk down the lane, and just hanging out and having fun together as a family.
All the boy wants to do is play with his aerobie! He doesn’t care if it’s snowing or raining…
Mine and CJ’s snow tracks
In an effort to raise money for the Run for the Animals (visit runfortheanimals.com for more information, or see my previous blog post), I am hosting a “silent auction” of items with 100% of the proceeds going toward my fundraising efforts for the event!
The items I have available are primarily dog, cat and runner-related that have been donated by outside parties or myself. I don’t mean to appear discriminatory against pocket pets, horses, reptiles and other animals, but I just don’t have the donor support from those other animal venues at this time. Please check out my Facebook page for more information!
The Run for the Animals is an event that hold very near and dear to my heart, and you can read about it more on my previous blog post linked above!
Saturday 21 February, 2015
NACSW K9 NoseWork Trial, NW1
La Plata, MD
First let me point out that I am writing this as I sit here during the NoseWork Trial “down time” so I apologize if it is a little scattered. I just write what I think when I think it after I write about the actual happenings.
CJ had his 4th NW1 trial today. We all drove to Waldorf, MD last night for the event. It was about a 3 hour drive, and we made it without incident. The morning of the trial the outside temps were in the teens, but it wasn’t too windy and wasn’t raining or snowing (our last trial was in December 2014 and it rained, no, POURED for the majority of the event) so that was nice.
The trial took place at the Charles County Fair grounds. By the time we got checked in, did the walk-through and briefing it was about 10AM. The mercury had risen a few degrees, but I still am glad that I packed my snow suit and snow boots because it was pretty cold, and the ground was covered in about 6 or more inches of snow.
For the morning runs, they did both groups A & B at the same time per element; Group A did vehicles while Group B did containers, then swapped. CJ and I were B7, so our first run was containers. The room was cool, open, vinyl tile covered, and the boxes were arranged in a simple pattern of 3 per row in 4 rows. The last trial we did, the rainy one, CJ missed containers because I “jumped the gun” and didn’t even make him check out the other boxes and took his weak alert as an “ALERT!” I Blurt-Alerted, they say. Today, we crossed the start line, he zig-zagged through about half of the boxes, alerted on one but I made him move along and check out some more. He checked out the box next to the one he alerted on, then went straight back to the original box and gave me a very strong alert. I called it and…YES! Woot! Now 3 more to go.
Exteriors and Vehicles tend to be his worst, but we haven’t missed interiors in a trial yet so if we do miss an element today, that will probably be the one. We shall see!
Vehicles searches started rolling around 11:30AM for Group B. By the time it was our turn the outside temperature had risen a few more degrees, but there was a longer wait to this element than there was for the containers search, so it was pretty darn cold! I felt the worst for CJ though, since his poor paws had to be standing on the frozen ground while we waited. Then, our turn came. CJ did his usual “I have to check everything out before I can search” thing. He does. He has to scan the room, check out what’s going on here, who’s that person over there, etc. Once he gets that out of his system, he generally starts going to work. He didn’t do that in the containers search which surprised me.
Even though I know he does that, I still start to get a little anxious because 30 seconds feels like minutes and you only have a certain amount of time to find your hide (typically 3 minutes). Finally he started to actually search the vehicles. He got it! It was in the wheel well of the very last car. He gave a nice, strong alert. I was very proud of him.
CJ catching some Zzzz’s between searches
When we got back to the car after CJ’s container search, Chris asked how he did. I told him he missed. I don’t know why, I just suddenly thought it would be fun IF CJ gets his title to surprise Chris. We’ll see how the afternoon pans out though. It might not work out as I’m hoping it does.
CJ and I just finished our last 2 elements. Exteriors first, which is typically his least successful element. Then Interiors, which he has never missed…thus far. The staging for these last elements was lengthy and cold and snowy. Poor CJ actually started shivering while we were waiting so I hugged him as we waited…I know, how sweet! The snow was getting gradually more and more heavy so that made things pretty, but wet! When we finally got up to the Exterior element CJ was ready to go! He checked out the area in general, then went straight to work. This was definitely his best exterior ever; he got it, yes, but he didn’t “lollygag” as much as he usually does. I think he was ready to be done. 3 for 3!
Then it was off to Interiors immediately following exteriors. The interior element was a room with some tables and chairs, a plastic planter on the floor, covered electrical boxes on the wall, and a table that had a bunch of stacked plastic planters with dirt and wilted plants in them. CJ does best off-leash when it comes to interiors so I let him off this time as well. He ran in the room, trotted and sniffed around then saw someone friendly over on the other side of the room and went up to greet her, but she didn’t react, so he gave up and started searching again. He sniffed one of the tables and a few chairs, then he noticed someone else on the opposite side of the room that he thought he might like to meet, but that person didn’t react either, so he went back to searching again. He showed interest in one of the covered electrical boxes on the wall, but quickly passed by it. Then he went by the chair that was up against the same wall that had the covered electrical boxes and showed some interest, sniffed it again and sat down. “Alert!” I was waiting to hear Yes! or no. Instead I heard “Where?” I thought for a second, “what do you mean ‘where’?” Then I pointed and said “on the chair.” Vague I know, but he had this! And he did indeed! 4 for 4 on the 4th try!
It was difficult to hide my excitement from Chris before the debriefing and awards ceremony, but I did. I overheard him chatting with other competitors about CJ and his many failed attempts at an NW1 title, and how he missed containers and how 75% was still a “passing grade,” and other comments. When the guy sitting next to us received 2 ribbons for his dog having the fastest times for two of the elements, Chris commented to him (in a goofy, joking manner) about how his dog (meaning CJ) will never earn one of those ribbons. I turned to him and laughed and told him “you’re going to eat those words one day!” He just shrugged and said he was just kidding. I knew he was. What he didn’t know was that I’d been “kidding” with him since 11:00 AM.
This trial was a very successful trial for about two-thirds of the competitors, and 7 competitors and their dogs were Pronounced! The judge for the exterior search was amazed because there was a 100% pass rate for exteriors. The teams at this trial were amazing, and, as usual, we met some more really fun and interesting people. We even saw a few people we have met at previous trials. This is why I love the sport; it’s a great way to have fun with your dog, it teaches you how to read your dog’s body language in ways you never considered, and the NoseWork community is pretty wonderful.
When they started presenting the award ribbons for the dogs that titled, CJ and I were the second team called. Chris gave a little bit of a confused look and when I looked at him while I was getting my picture taken with CJ’s ribbon I couldn’t control my laughter. The rest of the people in the room must have thought I was nuts. When I sat back down, still laughing, Chris said “I thought you had to get all 4 elements to get a title.” I said through my laughter “that’s right.” Then got myself together enough to explain to him how I’ve been misleading him all day. He then nodded his head and said how it all (the events of the day) made sense now. It was all in good fun, and now he’s got something to use against me when he needs it!
Allow me to go back in history for a moment. Our second NoseWork trial was in Cobleskill, NY in May of 2014. CJ missed both vehicles and exteriors at that trial. All NACSW registered dogs have a scorebook where all of their ORT (Odor Recognition Test) and Trial results are logged. At the end of each trial all competitors receive score sheets, one for each element, that has the result of the element (Pass/Miss), the judge’s notes and the time it took for the dog to find the hide. Competitors also get their updated scorebook returned to them at this time. I always look over my score sheets because it is very useful to read what the judges thought of how you and your dog worked as a team, and it’s neat to see how much time it took for your dog to find the hide (because 3 minutes feels like an eternity when you’re searching in a trial!). I don’t usually look at my scorebook because, well, I know whether or not my dog passed. A few days after the Cobleskill trial I happened to look at my scorebook. I had to do a double-take when I saw that it was written “Yes” in the “Qualified” box and that his score was 100% with 0 faults. Ummmm. My dog 1) did NOT qualify, his score was 50% and he had 2 faults. The scorebook isn’t anything really “official,” the score sheets are what gets sent to NACSW to record your dog’s trial results. So I just laughed and was later able to have my scorebook corrected.
This is what the score sheets and scorebooks look like
Why am I telling you all of this?
When they called “CJ and Beth,” part of Chris’ puzzled look was due to the fact that he thought they (the NoseWork score room) screwed up again. This made the entire ruse that much more amusing. And it made my trying to convince Chris that CJ actually did title that much more difficult.
After the post-trial festivities, we found a PetCo on our way back to the hotel. We had to stop and let CJ pick out whatever he wanted. He got a whole pound of biscuits, that he will graciously share with his brother Chompers when we get home, and 2 plush squeaky toys.
CJ didn’t get Pronounced, and he didn’t get the fastest time for anything. What he did get is a PR for him. And that is pretty awesome! He got his fastest overall time, and did remarkably better with both interiors and exteriors. I’m so proud of him!
CJ resting in the truck on the way back to the hotel after successfully earning his NW1 title
AFTERWARD: this was written by Chris after he was informed of the day’s tomfoolery and after I allowed him to read what I had already written…
From Chris…
All I know is that I was busy doing my crossword puzzle as I always do during these things when Beth came back to the truck full of “Good puppy!” and “Way to go!!!” but also slipped in “He missed on containers!” Why would I question it?
She still showered him with attention even though they weren’t going to title, but I chalked it up to over-doing the positive reinforcement after a failure. Plus I was trying to figure out a tricky twist in the crossword I was doing at the time – I can get selfishly OCD that way with puzzles.
After that I did talk to other folks at the trial, and since ‘containers’ were in the first half, I was under the impression that CJ could, at best, get a 75% on this ‘test’. So i made comments like, “It’s OK CJ, 75% is better than I ever did in school!” and even consoling others who also had a dog that didn’t pass this time.
Then the debriefing came along, some guy who’s dog (and him, of course) didn’t title still won TWO awards for fastest finds, though they only got 50% of the finds at all. I said, “I doubt our dog will ever be up there for an award.” I was referring to the timing, not that I thought CJ wouldn’t ever be able to title, but either way Beth said, “You’ll eat those words someday.”
Then I hear a name called for “CJ” and I looked around, thinking someone had named their dog the same as us. Of course that was followed with an, “and Beth…” and before I could think of anything, my own Beth hopped up and got her ribbon.
Because of a previous mixup from the NoseWork group in Beth’s booklet, all I thought was that they’d screwed up again. But I was confused as to why Beth would get an award since CJ missed containers, but when I finally realized she’d been f’ing with me since 11:00 am, I had to admit she got me good.
On a personal note, which doesn’t have to make any blog, when I look back on the whole thing and examine the ‘details’ of the ruse, I note:
1) She initially fibbed, which i didn’t question
2) She got very secretive about her blog that she was typing up, though she didn’t upload real-time. She hid it but I didn’t press her for info.
When she got the ribbon, I thought there was a mistake, which means I didn’t believe:
3A) The NoseWork people could get it right, or…
3B) CJ could go 4-for-4, or…
Well, there was no 3C – it didn’t even occur to me that Beth would keep up a lie for even 4 hours like that. Now how’s that for blind faith from a non-four-legged y-chromosome-having companion in this day and age?
Today was a Snow Day for us here on the Eastern Shore of VA! It’s rare for there to ever be much snow accumulation here, but every now and again we get lucky (or unlucky in some other people’s opinions). I personally enjoy snow, I just don’t like the cold that goes along with it (can you say “conundrum”). And my dogs, they think snow is the most awesome thing ever! Except CJ, he thinks most everything is awesome, except thunderstorms.
CJ enjoying a rare snowfall
After being informed that I didn’t have to go in to work, I layered on the long underwear, dusted off my snow suit and snow boots, and went out to enjoy the powdery white stuff with my family (sans the cats…they were very disinterested in the snow). We took in the scenery, played fetch, checked on the chickens, then came back in to warm up and dry off. Just so that we could go do it all again!
Trekking through the snow with CJ
I am in the process of training for the Run for the Animals Half Marathon in April this year and was due for a short training run. I don’t own a treadmill so my options are, well, there’s only one really. After piling on the layers and lacing up my Ice Bug shoes, I managed to drudge through the unplowed road and finished a 5K in record slow time! But I got it done. To be honest, I don’t mind running in the rain, snow or cold. It’s the wind that drives me crazy! I absolutely abhor running when it’s windy and make any and every excuse not to. But usually still do it with much complaining! They say running in inclement weather “builds character.” Yeah, it builds character alright…when I run in the wind, the character that is being built is a cranky, angry, foul-mouthed goblin!
My 5K trails today
Aside from being able to play in the snow and to spend a little extra time with my family, I was also able to get caught up on my chores (boring), AFAA classes and was able to do some blogging (duh). Fortunately, it looks as though the snow will stick around for a few days; unfortunately, it looks like that snow is going to stick around because the highs for the rest of the week are expected to be in the teens. I love snow. I hate cold.
I want to retire to Green Bay, WI though. … … … another blog!
Oh, wait! And to top off the excitement for the day, the mailman was able to get out and deliver today and delivered a most important package…BarkBox! Once again, CJ was THRILLED! Chompers was interested, but CJ was his typical “OMG is that for ME?!!!” self and claimed everything in the box…
Happy Fat Tuesday all!
Run For the Animals 2014
I am a philanthropist at heart, especially when it comes to animals…
Since its inauguration, I have Run for the Animals! It was my first real race since I started running again over 5 years ago. Animals have always played an important role in my life, and running has long been another passion of mine. When I learned about the Run for the Animals in 2012 I was all in because it was my number one and two passions combined into a single venue. How cool is that? The first year I placed 2nd female for the 10K and got 1st place for fundraising (I think I was able to raise about $180.00 that year). The second year I got first place female for the 10K and, again, took 1st in fundraising (this time I raised just under $500.00). Last year I had planned on running the half marathon portion of the race, making it my first half ever. I had to demote myself to the 10K due to injury, but managed to finish as first place female and took 1st in fundraising again (I was able to raise over $1,100.00!)!
This year I plan on running yet again, and I am going to try (again) to make this my first half marathon, pray I don’t have another injury that would prevent me from doing so. I am also trying to outdo my fundraising yet again. I plan on putting together 3 raffle baskets to help raise money for the cause (one cat-related goody basket, one dog-related goody basket, and a runner’s goody basket) and will be selling pet toys and treats with 100% of the sales going toward my fundraising efforts. I am also soliciting donations from family, friends and my community. If you would be at all interested in helping me with my fundraising efforts, either by donating monetarily (no amount is too small or too much!), or if you have a product/gift certificate that can be added to one of my goody baskets or for raffle, or if you would be interested in purchasing raffle tickets for one of the goody baskets, please email me at animalwhiz@yahoo.com. The animals in need here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia would be forever grateful!
Raffle basket info is continuously updated on my Facebook page and “For Sale” items will be posted there as well as they become available.
I also have a fundraising site at GoFundMe. Check it out!
AnimalWhiz 
