Fostering Puppies!

I must admit that fostering is not new to me...when it comes to kittens. I have literally seen hundreds of kittens come through the front door and then out that door to their new loving families. I also will admit that I have helped foster dogs - grown dogs - but only two and my mom kept one. I have never before fostered actual PUPPIES...until Now.

A week ago we received an email about 8 - 4 week old puppies being dropped off at the shelter without their mother! (Luckily they took to dry food). So we agreed to take three and foster them. I can't lie - their not being potty-trained is quite frustrating...but they are so darn cute that I can't really stay mad at them.

When we first got them they were sleepy all the time, shy - literally they ate, slept, and pooped. Now, a week later, they are running around non-stop, playing with each other and playing with my dog (Kiko), attacking my rugs constantly (apparently the bad guy in my house), playing tug-of-war, and supplying me with lots of laughs and "ahhhs" and .. well... yeah.

I have learned that I am not puppy-material. Luckily the madness will only last til a different humane society takes them. However, I will be sad to see them go as they really are adorable and fun. A good experience in my book!

Catching Up 2013 (and one 2012)

Lathrop Corn Maze:

2012 - October 28^th Lathrop Corn Maze. Becoming a tradition, Levi and I took two friends with us to the Lathrop Corn maze. Walked through the three mazes, haunted house, and shot mini pumpkins. Nothing out of the norm until Stevie and I decided to do the Jungle Gym Crazy Zip Line Obstacle Course Thing. There I was agreeing to put on a harness, being attatched to the safety line by a similar line and asking the lady “is this safe?” to which she replied “these lines will hold a car no problem.” to which I replied, “sure.” Yet, I walked, and climbed back and forth through the different parts scared, nervous, but determined to make it to the end regaurdless of the fact that I could technically fall to my death. And of course, at the very end you “walk the plank” which means you step off a board and FALL all the way back down to the ground. I had decided to climb back down, but once at the end I bit the bullet and stepped off only letting out a tiny squeal, kicking my legs, and closing my eyes until I hit the ground, fell, and got back on my feet. I thank Stevie for doing it with me as I always wanted to but needed a friend to accompany me. And, I thank Tyler for videotaping me falling, including the squeal and kicking…

2013:

Camping!!!
 I was lucky to go camping with friends this summer on more than one occasion...However, for the first time ever I went camping by myself (well, with my dog Kiko)! I even hiked 2 miles through wilderness to beautiful Lake Heisser (which was somewhat scary as my imagination kept picturing me being eaten by cougars and bears). I survived both the hike and the camping trip and felt proud that I actually did it!

Fishing!
Fishing is not new to me. However, it has been years since I really fished. I spent about a month and a half on the river this summer and loved it. Kiko loved it too. In all honesty though, I have to admit that I was never taught proper fish handling skills and probably killed more fish than I would have liked unknowingly... But I have done a lot of research and learned the proper skills. I will most definitely give these a try next summer and if I am able to release fish promptly without fussing - I will continue to enjoy this sport - if not, then at least I had one heck of a fun time this past summer!

 

Bartending School!!!

Partially as a side job idea and mainly to see if it was as much fun as it looked I went to bartending school! It was intense but only because I didn't know a darn thing about liquor! The first day of class when the instructor asked me what Jack Daniels was I said "tequilia?" Needless to say I learned a lot in 8 days and passed the written test with a 100%, and the "hands-on" test. Unfortunately I was too busy learning how to make drinks and memorizing what things were to really take any pictures. Here are a few drinks I made though with dyed water:

I guess that about sums up the "exciting" adventures I had in 2013. Hopefully I will update this blog more often from now on...