Cha-Ching!

Sometimes hard work does pay off!

I had a goal. I met it, and was rewarded, simple as that. SWEET!

Favorite Photos of the Week

As you probably know, I never leave the house without a camera. This week was no exception, and I got a couple of fun shots that I'll share with you. None are too exciting, but they are just a few that I thought were worthy of showing.

Kona
Harley

Jill, Harley & Kona

Jackie Boy
Happy Harley

Joey, Kona's brother

"My, something smells good!"

Our friend Ricochet - we ran into her at the San Diego Pet Expo

We saw this odd little fellow too!

Challenger

It's hard to believe that it was 25 years ago that the space shuttle Challenger blew up 73 seconds into it's flight. Photo courtesy of westga.edu
Photo courtesy of mahal.org

Photo courtesy of arlingtoncemetery.net

There are only a few events in my lifetime that I can remember clearly where I was and what I was doing when I heard about them. The Challenger disaster was one of them. I was working at the corporate offices of a woman's clothing store called "Woman's World." I was working on my weekly reports when my phone rang and it was my Mom on the line. She told me what happened. At that time we weren't allowed to have radios on our desks and we didn't have computers, so there was no way to know what was going on outside of our offices. I walked up to my friends and carpool partner's desk, almost in a daze, and told her what had happened. She thought I was joking, and told me it wasn't funny. I told her I was serious, and that I needed the keys to her car - I wanted to go and sit in the parking lot and listen to the news. Word spread around the office like wildfire and we all went out to our cars and listened in disbelief. I remember feeling incredibly sad for the families of the astronauts, and all of the people that had been on had to watch the launch. What a heartbreaking event to witness.

Do you remember where you were when you heard the news?

Happy Anniversary Kona!

Sometimes dates stick in your head. I woke up this morning and thought about what I was doing exactly 3 years ago today. I was meeting Kona for the first time. Little did I know how much that little bundle of white fluff would change my life!

I remember that Hubby was none too keen on getting another dog. At the time we had Jack and Jill, and Harley on a part-time basis. We didn't need another dog...but without going into too much detail, we simply couldn't resist the little guy!

What pure joy it has been having him in our lives. He opened the door of "dog therapy" to me and helped me realize how much pleasure it can be to bring joy to others. Together now we are doing about 150 therapy visits a year, and spend countless hours bringing smiles to those who are in need, whether it be in hospitals, nursing care facilities, senior recreation centers, psychiatric wards, drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities, or hospice.

Thinking back on that day 3 years ago, I thought of what a sweet little pup he was, and thought it would be fun to share some of the earliest pictures we have of him.

This was Kona at 4 1/2 weeks old. This is the first picture I ever saw of him. I think it was love at first site!
Kona and some of his litter mates at 7 weeks old. Kona is on the far left.

On our way home with our new boy!

First meal at home.

Snuggling with my boy our first night at home. We've both changed a bit.

He was little enough to fit under the cocktail table.

What a little lover boy!

Hangin' with the big dogs.

He was such a little polar bear!

First swim lesson!

He looked like a little white harp seal when he was wet!

The trio.

Happy "coming home" anniversary Kona...I hope we share many, many more years together!

I think I love this woman!

Give her a few minutes to get rolling....I love her "no-nonsense" approach!

Talk about telling it like it is! She rocks!

Funny Stuff

One of my friends had a very similar video on his FaceBook yesterday, and it cracked me up. Sometimes it's the little, silly stuff that makes your day fun. This started mine off right.

Sit back, take a couple of minutes, turn up your volume to hear the "voices", and enjoy.

Grrrr

Ever had one of those days? The phone doesn't stop ringing, the dogs keep barking, you have way too much to do and nothing is getting done? Welcome to my week so far.

(Just out of curiosity...does anyone have an idea of where this picture was taken? I ran across it today while I was looking for a different old photo that AJ needs for a school project. Hint - it was not taken in the U.S.)

Ricochet is an ACE Award Winner!

Did you see our friend Ricochet on national TV today? If you missed it, here is the clip.

We are VERY proud of her, and of course her Mom, Judy and all of the wonderful work they do together. We are honored to have them in our Golden Retriever Meetup Group, and even more so to call them friends.

Bravo Ricochet and Judy!

Puppy Fever

I went back to visit the puppies again yesterday. My gosh, they are so adorable - and what a difference a week makes! Today they were so much more active than last Sunday. Tomorrow they will be 5 weeks old and let me tell you, they are bundles of pure golden joy!


I am so thankful I have the pleasure of visiting with these beautiful little babies as they grow and even happier that one of them will be coming to live in our neighborhood in the next couple of weeks. Our neighbors are still deciding which puppy will be the best fit for them, and we are sure that no matter which one they pick, it will be perfect!

This is "Cash" aka, the baby Daddy.

Gotta Get One....

Water Logged

Who'd have thought that in the third week of January it would have been warm enough to let the dogs swim? (Especially after the lousy, cold summer of 2010!)

Well, sure enough, the pups got their chance earlier this week when it was in the mid 80's here! Pickle grabbed the camera and got these shots for me while I was out and about elsewhere. Needless to say, they all had a total blast, and got completely worn out!

Jill loves this silly red wubba...when she can get it!
"come on...come on...don't sink on me now!"
"Got it!"
"Hey! Anybody gonna share?"

Apparently Harley isn't...off she goes with her favorite pool frisbee...

Kona gives it a try, and a little tug...but Jill doesn't give it up.

Jack never shares his toys with anyone, at least not on purpose.

But he is such a good boy anyway, and so handsome!

Harley looks really water logged. This girl could spend hours in the pool.

Jill is looking pretty tired too...

...and Kona can barely keep his eyes open.

It wasn't long before they were napping in the warm sun. I wish I was doing the same!

You know they are pooped when they don't have the energy to chew!