Bragging on Miss Roxy

I'm a proud momma! Miss Roxy Anne Rockstar graduated from Advanced Obedience last night and also became CGC certified (Canine Good Citizen) which is a lot harder than it sounds. But she rocked it! So in honor of my baby girl growing up...I thought I'd share some of her pics--in case you are wondering, she is a Long Coated Akita.

Remember last year when she was this small????

And how she couldn't even reach the water bucket???

And here she was at 4 mos--so cute, but oh so rowdy!! Well here she is now, 1 year old and all grown up!

Going for car rides with her friends...And hanging out with the "big" boys Bear & Wolf (but they kinda look little next to her, LOL).

She brings so much joy into the lives around her and is such a gorgeous spirit inside and out, love her, love her, love her!!! And so very proud, because as Roxy would tell ya--bein' good is HARD!

My Favorite Topic

Mizz Roxy Ann!

Yesterday was our Advance Obedience class at Petsmart--Here she is doing a fabu job at the down stay at 20':

AND, I was Twittering at the time--how cool is that? Her homework is very complicated though. In addition to working on coming when called. We are to do the "Return to Heel" maneuver:

1. Start with dog facing you

2. Hold leash in right hand/treat in left

3. Keep right leg planted

4. Move left leg backward while luring dog with left hand

5. Your dog should now be behind you

6. Bring left leg forward, equal to right

7. Bring left hand forward with you left leg, luring your dog

8. Your dog should turn to follow the treat

Got it? Yeah.. me too...

Doggy High School

She will always be my little puppy, but yesterday Miss Roxy Ann started High School. Yep. She's a teenager. She'll be officially 1 year old on Saturday--Princess Party !!! And she has a spa day (er--groomer) scheduled for Tuesday! (LOL-I also convinced her that it was a tradition for doggies to get baths on Christmas morning before they got to unwrap their toys--shhh!)

Anyway, she's completed all of her training classes and is now in Advanced Obedience.

Yesterday was our first class and let me tell you, it was already serious business--we started off with sit stays and down stays at 20 feet. Graduation is going to be an official AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluation. And it is going to be hard. Some things she'll have to do:

Ignore a tray of food on the floor. (um--okay--but it better not be cat food)

Stay at 20 feet. (she rocks the stay!)

Recall (come) from 10 feet. (But with no treats--eek!)

Be alone with a stranger for 3 minutes. (That's like 30 years in dog time).

She'll have to ignore the evaluator's dog as we approach and shake hands. (Ignore a potential snuggle? Seriously?)

She'll have to go through a crowd of people. (Crowd of snugglers!)

Here's the whole test--but this sounds easier than when our instructor was describing it, using real examples that the evaluator has used. http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

I'm feeling pretty positive about her chances, but anything can happen. Our class is at Petsmart on Sunday evenings--so lots of dogs coming and going, big time distractions. I'll keep you posted on her progress and get some updated photos--her back is almost level with the couch's back! She last weighed in at 75 lbs. It's unbelievable how quickly they grow up!

Winners Announced + Roxy the Rabbit!

Roxy went to obedience class last night dressed as a bunny :-)Fairy Week Winners are!!!

GRAND PRIZE Winner ANGELA
(aka Library Girl Reads)

Signed ARC FAIRY LUST by Cyn Balog
Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater
Kin (Good Neighbors) by Holly Black
Handmade Amethyst Faerie Wings (picture below)
Glamourkin pendant-"In the Court of Dark Shadows" (It is very very hard for me to give this one up, the only reason I even can is that I have one that has "She Comes Undone" on it.) Check the whole series out here.
Jasmine Becket-Griffith Strangeling print- "Lost but Not Worried"
Fairy wand with Skull detail
Halloween tricks and treats

Prize Pack #2 Winner EMILYHAINESWORTH (Lj):

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier
The Faerie Path by Frewin Jones
Black/Blue Faerie Wings (not shown/store bought)Glamourkin pendant-"She comes to the woods at the darkening hour" (not shown)Jasmine Becket-Griffith Strangeling print- "Camouflage" Fairy wand with Skull detail

Halloween tricks and treats

AND AND AND.... with a whopping 675+ entries into the Paranormal Powerball

duh duh duh

AMANDA (aka That Teen Can Blog)

BTW--loved her fairy entry: "I believe whenever my brother does something nice for me like buying me book, that it's the work of a faerie."

Personally I need a Spell Check and Grammar Faerie. I'd like a Green-light faerie. Or maybe one who could take the calories out of cupcakes. Speaking of too many calories--I ate too much Halloween candy, got a little buzzy off the sugar and then had the bright idea to put the bunny ears on her butt.

She's got a call into ASPCA.

Slacking Again--Look, it's a PUPPY!

Ah, yes, I relaize I have not been a very good blogger. And, in fact, I don't have anything to blog about for you. Yes, I will have soon because I had sooooo much fun personal shopping for Breanna in San Fran and I have pictures to pass along of that! But until I get organized, I shall entertain you with pics of Miss Roxy! It was sooooo hard to leave her--it felt like when I left she was this big:

And when I got home she was this BIG:
I swear they grow up so fast! She's getting in her adult teeth, and while I'm not too sorry about those little razors of hers falling out, it does mean she's becoming, well, an adult. Scary! She was wonderful for my Mom (aka Nanna). But then again, she's used to spending the work week at Nanna's. In fact it is so doggy friendly we refer to it as Nanna's Dog Park & Day Spa. Check it out:
Daily soaks in the mud pool (shhh, I think she's sleeping)...
Off leash trail hikes with a refreshing skinny dips in the lake. Cute butt shot, no?

Catching Up

Roxy at the watering hole 1 week ago

Sorry I've been a horrid blogger of late--I've been totally consumed with all sorts of crazy. First off Miss Puppy--I tried all of the great name suggestions, and as much as I loved Alaska, it just didn't fit her. She is and could be nothing else--Roxy (I call her Roxy Hart, my brother calls her Roxy Music). A little bit rowdy, very girly, and totally trouble. She is a lover of everything. She is also growing like a weed--2 weeks ago she had to haul herself up on her hind legs to drink water from the big tub, now she just has to walk up to it. She weighed 20.7 lbs at her vet visit last week and I'm sure she's grown even more since then. I go to work and she grows, she takes a nap and she grows. She'll be about 95lbs by the end of the year. Yeek.

Roxy about two weeks ago--still little

So, we've been hitting puppy kindergarten class. So much fun. It is hard not to totally die of cuteness when you attend puppy kindergarten.

Second, we are closing on the family house. After my dad passed (lung cancer) a year and a half ago, my mom set out to find a house where she could also keep her horses. We found this dream house about 6 months ago and have been working on it, getting it in shape and now we're in the final stages. The "old" house will be closed on tomorrow. It's bittersweet and the timing ((we found out almost exactly 2 years ago--so it was a fast but fierce fight--and today would've been his 65th birthday--Happy Birthday, Daddy!), brings up lots of feelings. But even sentimental ol' me doesn't feel like the "old" house is ours anymore.

Third, Book Two. It's been kicking my butt, but only because I know it has soooo much potential and I don't want it to be one of those books that "Had so much potential" LOL. So I'm reworking it constantly. I think I'm onto something and am putting into motion to see if if can make the leap from my head to the page and stay intact. A lot of my ideas seem really good in my head, but then as I write them I realize they don't won't have "legs" for the entire book. Some just come off corny or over the top on the page. You just never know.

Domi (Cats Against LiTTeracy Prez)--editing Book 2

So that's what I've been up to. Sadly haven't been reading much--except dog training books--recommended read for those is The Culture Clash.