anne's chit chat

I love Halloween.
I love orange and black.
Pumpkins.
Leaves.
Ghosts.
Bats.
And candy!

Tonight is our first Halloween in our very own house!
A few weeks ago I decorated the porch with pumpkin lights and bats and stars that I cut out of Jake’s black art paper. He didn’t want me to use it but he doesn’t even use it.

We are very excited and have a bet for how many trick or treaters will visit.
Anne – 30
Jake – 50

Loser makes dinner for a week.

Judy started Puppy Einstein last night at the St. Paul Dog Training Club.

The stars aligned for Judy and me last night.

She found her calling – Agility and treat rewards.
I found out that I really want to train Judy in Agility. And win competitions.

It seems like my calling.

I am extremely competitive and don’t have an outlet for this energy anymore (I am not participating in high school soccer games these days, obviously).
We both would be getting exercise.
It would give Judy a job and me some focus.
We both would be challenging our patience.
Oh, and this could be my one shot at becoming a celebrity.

Well, that is it. I am going to train Judy and be on Animal Planet competing in Agility.

OMG – I AM GOING TO BE FAMOUS.
Finally!!!

I think my brother, who is 25 today would think this is funny.

So……………Happy Birthday Peter!

Today I am 28 years old.

You might already know this but, my favorite number is eight – so anything, and I mean ANYTHING, that has an eight around or near it or can be added, subtracted, multiplied to make an eight is a good thing.

Which means 28 is pretty much perfect.

This little video makes me happy. Our neighbors, Gracie and Liam are wonderfully crazy, delightful, silly, and sweet all at the same time. Judy and our backyard….ahhhhh, life is pretty good and I know that my 28th year is going to be the best!

Last night Judy and I were trying out her new nail clipper. She was being so patient and letting me trim her back left paw, her front left paw, and then I moved to her front right paw….she was calm and curious. Probably wondering about what this new gadget was doing and thinking, wow, I can’t feel anything but I know that something is happening, this is fun….

I prepare the clipper for the right nail…and then Judy startles and scoots away.

As I look into her eyes I know that I have done something wrong. Oh NO! I have cut to far down. My mind is racing. Oh Judy, oh no! I am so sorry. I start to panic. Jake!!!! I cut too far. Judy is bleeding. Jake rushes upstairs to the kitchen and as tears are streaming down my face Judy quickly licks my hand to let me know that it is okay. But I can’t stop crying. Now there is a small pool of blood under her front right paw. I am now officially freaking out and Jake is holding Judy. He tells me to calm down but I cannot. I run to get a gauze pad and some tape. Judy just looks at me and I feel so horrible I cannot believe I have hurt her and made her bleed. I wrap her little paw and she calmly lets me.

She didn’t whine or whimper or limp or anything. Jake reassures me that it probably felt like a pin prick to her and that with all the soft tissue on her paw blood flows easily. I am reassured but I still feel horrible.

She is doing fine, I don’t know how long it will take for her nail to grow back…and she didn’t and doesn’t even seem to notice anything happened last night. I just couldn’t get the image of her little puppy face looking up at me, watching me freaking out, and seeing the little pool of blood by her paw. It was just so sad.