Simplfy

I've decided that my life is too bogged down. Lately I feel as though I am suffocating from all the mess and chaos that surrounds me in my home. I feel as though it is holding me back from being able to really live in the moment and enjoy my daily life. I find myself not wanting to spend time in my home because of it. I am going to do a major purge and clean out and get rid of everything I'm not using or that I'm holding on to for silly sentimental value. Today I'm beginning the planning stage. Notebook and pen in hand. My first order of business is to find people and organizations who want the things that I no longer have a use for, next is to STOP buying STUFF completely, other then food. Nothing comes in here unless something goes out. This is going to be a long project but one I'm determined to complete before my next birthday. A little each day will get me where I want to be and so I begin.....

33 Months old

I can't believe how fast time is flying by now. My parents told me the older you get the quicker the days, weeks, months and years pass you by. They were right. Petey is now nearing three years old. Doberman Pinschers do not get very long lives, the average male lives to be about nine and a quarter years. I can't imaging myself with out my beloved Pete in six short years from now. I am doing everything in my power to insure the most years possible for him. I feed Raw http://www.rawfed.com/myths/ use no chemicals for pest control on him, I no longer do vaccinations, choosing to do yearly titers instead, exercise him everyday for at least an hour and keep his mind active learning and going new places. He is a dream come true dog. I couldn't ask for a better companion. Happy 33 month birthday to my sweetheart.

My Family

I've won the lottery of life....it is a great one, and I am so blessed to have four sons and the most amazing hubby to share it with.

A Tale of 2 T-Shirts

While on Vacation last week my dear sweet hubby bought me two T-shirts that had major meaning for me. The day before we left for our vacation I showed Petey for his first and last time. The experience was not a good one, and I left it feeling very down and upset. Starting my dream vacation with a sad heart was awful. I decided once and for all, after that experience that organized dog sports and competitions just aren't for me or Petey. Having been a Mod on a Doberman Forum for the last two years, and constantly reading about all the wonderful things that people are doing with their dogs and the titles they are achieving, I always feel as though I'm not doing right by Petey and his heritage. I have felt as though he should have a job. I have looked into and tried OB, Agility, TDI, SchH and now the show ring. Petey is by no means a AKC show doberman, I think most of the "show" people find him to be butt ugly, he has too much bone and a bit too much fat(we are still working on that!!! I have him down to his 1 year old weight, which is 16# less then his all time high) We STINK at it all. I am a nervous wreck and that goes right down the leash and pours into to my beloved boy. I've decided that we are not going to take another class, its a done deal.....WHAT A RELIEF! No more chasing titles and thinking about what else I can do next with Petey, we both already know the place where our hearts sing the loudest....its in the woods. He is my hiking partner and protector, and you know what?....it is enough. He is living his life as his original ancestors were bred to do, as a humans constant companion and protector, and he is excellent at his job. He is the champion of my heart.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods. There is rapture on the lonely shore. There is society, where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more.- Lord Byron

Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone

I have found paradise. Yellowstone National Park has completely won my heart as my favorite place on earth. I am still in awe at the physical beauty of the land and the number and variety of incredible animal species that call the park home. I can not wait to return. With my family we spent 10 days immersed in the beauty of the area, each day I added more species seen, including wolves and grizzly bears, both were at the top of my life list as must see before I die. We rented a nice little house that overlooked the Yellowstone River on the North end of the park in Gardiner. Across the River was parkland, so we had the added bonus of not only the rushing river but mountains and grasslands that gave us more nature to view. We spent hours watching the Mountain Goats frolic on the steep cliffs and Pronghorn antelopes grazing in the fields. One day we hiked among thousands of buffaloes for eight blissful miles, incredible to be surrounded by such immense animals, a privilege to see them so up close and personal in their natural habitat. Rafting for an entire day in the gorgeous Galitan River valley in Big Sky Montana was nothing short of awe inspiring and more fun then any amusement park I've ever been to. Every drive was another chance to see a new species of bird or animal. I couldn't wait to get into the park each day....my sense of wonder and awe for the natural world was woken up like never before. I think every American should try to see our parks, and learn what flora and fauna once existed across our entire nation and now is almost non existent anywhere except in the protected parks. I would have like to have been a Native American before we came to this country and destroyed it...just to see what true beauty was. Thankfully we have little slices of it still left within places like Yellowstone National Park.