Magna Cum Laude

Blackjack has been attending weekly puppy training classes through PetSmart. I hate to say it but he really was the best puppy there in my humble opinion. Even if he only went for the social time and endless treats.

Thanksgiving in the High Country

We took a little family trip up to Sedona for Thanksgiving this year. Blackjack came along for his first real road trip and he did really well. It rained most of the time we were there but it did clear up just long enough to go on a couple of hikes and do some window shopping in the cute little shops of Sedona. The red rock is beautiful! Especially with all the fog, very cool.

Thanksgiving morning hike:






Downtown Sedona




The view on the drive to Flagstaff for our Thanksgiving feast.


The amazing rainbow we saw on our drive back from Flagstaff after we'd stuffed ourselves silly.


Blackjack riding in the back of the car. He did pretty well until we realized it had gotten a little too quiet. We pulled over and ends up he had found a sealed water bottle back there which he promptly chewed the top off and was holding the bottle upright in his paws while chewing on the cap. All the while keeping the water from spilling!


A couple cute pictures of the puppy.




We got Blackjack a little gourmet donut dog treat in Sedona, it being the season of overeating and everything.


I swear I wasn't eating the dirt!


Nor was I eating leaves, how dare you accuse me of something so ridiculous!


The beautiful red rock of Sedona . . .

Cuteness Contest

Sarah and Blackjack fell asleep together on the couch and were obviously competing for who could be cuter. Of course Sarah won, but Blackjack was giving her a run for the money.

A New Day

Wow, Blackjack has really settled down since the last time I posted pictures on here. Don't get me wrong, he's still crazy but he actually sits still now sometimes and will even snuggle up on our laps! We thought the day would never come!

This morning he woke us up at 5 as usual (even though it's Sunday). So we let him out to do his business and then let him snuggle in our bed with us. After a bit of fidgeting he found his way under the covers to the bottom of the bed and slept in a lump on my feet for another couple of hours while we got to sleep in.

His favorite place to be when I'm on the computer. Not so easy to type with this guy on my lap. Especially when he tries to eat the keyboard and papers on the desk.

Playing with his little squeaky stuffed lizard, one of the few toys he hasn't torn apart. Actually, he did eat the tongue and the tag off the first day, but that's pretty darn good!

Yesterday he managed to tear apart the supposed "indestructable boomerang" within 5 minutes. That was returned to PetSmart today. How is it the big labs and rottweilers shown on the tag don't tear the toy apart but a little 20 pound pug/beagle mix does it in a matter of minutes!

I can see you, and I know you're up to something . . .

Stop humiliating me!

Playing musical chairs at PetSmart Training this afternoon.

Typical Blackjack playing before training. Always goes for the big dogs and always for the ears.

What I want to be when I grow up - by Sarah Curtis

So, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I realize I'm a very logical person and I really think things through thoroughly before jumping into anything. Hence the reason I've not made a decision on this yet. Probably not many of you will find this interesting, it's not like I have a ton of readers on here (although a lot more readers than comment posters!). If anyone has any comments, please post them! I'm looking for insight, ANY and ALL is appreciated!

I'm not sure what I currently do for a living (accounting) is right for me. And when I say "right" I mean I don't think it's what will keep me happy the rest of my career. To really move ahead in the accounting world I need a masters. But I have absolutely zero desire to go back to school in accounting. That's a problem.

This has started me thinking about a career change. And now that Steve will be done with school and working fulltime next year I will have the chance to explore a career change if that's indeed what I decide I want.

There are a lot of things I enjoy doing. But do I enjoy them enough to consider it as a career? I'm not so sure. I like lots of things A LITTLE, but not many things A LOT. This was my trouble in college, trying to figure out what to major in. Actually, let's go back to when I was a kid. I always wanted to be one of those high powered career women like Michelle Pfeiffer in One Fine Day. How cool to have great ideas and have people look to you for your great decision making and how fun to wear great suits and heels. Or how about Helen Hunt in the Mad About You series (love her!). Or Miranda or Samantha in Sex and the City.

In high school I also thought it would be neat to be a nurse. So I job shadowed a nurse in the renal unit at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek for a few weeks. I really enjoyed it but didn't think I could handle the needles and blood. I've also found that although I may not seem like it, I am actually a very empathetic person. I really try to understand where others are coming from and care how they feel. Sometimes a little too much. I feel too much of their pain or anguish and it ends up bringing me down and I struggle to come to grips with how unfair life can be. Why do I have it so good when so many are suffering?

When I applied for college I stated my intended major as Geology (natural disasters facinated me, especially after experiencing the 1989 San Andreas fault earthquake at 9 years old). But it required too many math classes and anything past pre-calc I am no good at (Accounting is NOT math). I settled on a Business Finance major. I didn't enjoy Finance at all, but I figured it was a marketable degree I could use as a background for many careers.

In college (BYU), when a lot of the other girls talked about their major not mattering because they planned to get married and stay home with kids, I was thinking about marriage and kids too, but still wanted that career, always did. Then when I actually got married a year before graduating from college, I think I copped out. I wasn't enjoying Finance, but I decided it was easier to stick with it and figure things out later.

After a few months of marriage I decided maybe I wanted kids sooner rather than later (ah the peer pressure!). So I took some placeholder jobs thinking it would only be until we had kids and once they were grown I could figure out my career at that point. That meant I wouldn't have to think about it for a long time, and by then, surely I'd know what I wanted to be when I grew up, because I'd be grown up!

When it became clear it would be a while before kids may or may not come into the picture, I decided it was time to focus on me and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. This lead to me finally choosing a position because i thought it would take me somewhere. And it did, I really very much enjoyed my work at that office. What I enjoyed most was working for a small not for profit that actually RAN as a NOT FOR PROFIT. I enjoyed having a lot of responsibility and freedom to do things my own way. And it felt good knowing we were making a difference.

Back in DC I also volunteered for the county helping people with their personal finances. We would sit with them and go over their situations and help them make budgets and follow through with them. I loved helping others with something I have a love for myself, personal finance. I've considered becoming a Financial Planner, but there's so much sales involved and we move around too much for me to form a customer base with every move. So I think that passion will have to continue to be fulfilled through volunteer work.

Lately i've been thinking about several career paths:

Teaching (secondary or junior college) - not the most glamorous or high paying but I do enjoy teaching subjects that I love (accounting, personal finance, life skills)

Psychology (especially cognitive) - not sure what actual career this would turn into but the way people think and work through things absolutely fascinates me! We're all so crazy!

Career Counselor - those who don't do, teach, right?! I enjoy helping others figure out what they want to do with their lives, and I have really enjoyed the interviewing and hiring process I've been a part of at past jobs. But Human Resources is not my thing, believe me, I have found this out working for an HR association right now, it's not my thing.

Occupational Therapist - this is a new career I'd never really heard of before the last few months. They "work with people with disabilities to enable them to maximize their skills and abilities. Occupational therapy gives people the "skills for the job of living" necessary for "living life to its fullest." I'm hoping to job shadow a therapist soon to see if it's something worth considering.

Nutritionist/Dietician - sounds interesting, haven't done much research on the job market yet, but I enjoy all things diet/health/exercise related.

This feels more like a journal entry than anything (not that I keep a journal!) but perhaps getting insight from friends and family will give Steve some peace for a little while. I admit, I talk to him about it way too much, the poor guy is so patient!

Perhaps all of this is just my way of looking around and then I'll end up justifying what I do for a living currently is what I enjoy and it's the particulars of the organization and position that are not a good fit right now. Either way, I need to do this for me!

So friends and family, HELP! Comments or emails are appreciated . . .

BlackJack Peed My Pants . . .

and more tales from the puppy who’s taken over our lives!

Ok, I promise every post is not going to be about the puppy. But these stories just must be told!

So we’ve been working on house training BlackJack and he’s been doing pretty well. He had gone 11 straight days without an accident until last night. After work I decided to take him to go play at Tempe Town Lake. I don’t usually do this on a weeknight but I was feeling bad about his nose that he cut on his kennel while trying to drag his bedding out that morning. Anyway, he had a long walk, several potty stops and we came home. An hour or two later I got up to pee. Sorry if this is graphic! I left the bathroom door open so he didn’t freak out being alone. He followed me in through the bedroom and grabbed a pair of my panties and took off with them. This is not unusual. He’s taken a liking to my panties and bras. Any clothing really but panties seem to be his favorite. He’s definitely a BOY. I yelled for him to stop but figured I’d take care of business first before going after him. As I’m peeing I thought it sounded kind of loud or like there was an echo or something. When I’d stopped peeing I was still hearing peeing! So I yelled at BlackJack to stop! I jumped off the toilet and arrived at the crime scene. Not only had BlackJack had an accident, he had it RIGHT ON my panties he’d stolen! They were soaked and the carpet underneath it was too! I didn’t know how to stop laughing long enough to scold him! BlackJack peed my pants! I’m chalking it up to noise. He heard me peeing and it made him have to go. So he’s still 11 days and counting in my book . . .

On a sidenote, BlackJack can swim! We took him on a playdate last weekend to a friend’s house. They have a 4 year old Beagle named Archie. The two of them didn’t get along wonderfully. BlackJack would chase Archie and try to jump on him and nip at his ears and Archie would howl in protest at the annoying puppy that wouldn’t leave him alone. Anyway, later that night BlackJack was outside in their backyard by the pool where some of our friends were learning how to scuba dive in full gear. BlackJack was next to the edge of the pool and apparently just kind of decided to jump off the side and join them. BlackJack went under and then came back up and frantically swam to the side. But then he couldn’t get out so Steve reached in and picked him up. We need to teach him to swim towards the stairs! But I guess it’s true, they don’t call it doggy paddling for nothing!

BlackJack Update

We've had our new puppy 2 weeks now and he has kept us on our toes! The house training is coming along and accidents are becoming less frequent, but we've still gone through almost an entire bottle of rug cleaner. We're also finding out which types of toys he likes, and which couch corners he prefers to chew on. That would be all of them.

BlackJack is so well-behaved in public one would never think he has an hour or two each night where he goes crazy at home chewing on everything and nipping and biting at us when we try to stop him. We're practicing Cesar Millan's techniques on being a calm-assertive pack leader. It takes patience, but it's very fascinating stuff.

BlackJack had his first vet appointment Friday where he received antibiotics for a respiratory infection. Poor guy, he's had it since we got him but the vet kept rescheduling our appointments. Now he's medicated and he can finally get the last of his shots next week.

This morning we took our weekly outing to Tempe Town Lake for a long walk. We tire him out so when we get home we have a few hours to get things done around the house. He's a little bundle of energy and when he's out of his kennel we have to watch him every second to make sure he doesn't a) have an accident b) dig up the carpet or c) chew up the furniture. In that order.

BlackJack is fascinated with grass. Seeing as he doesn't experience it much here in Phoenix, when he does he goes to town. And by that I mean he tries to eat ALL of it. Here he is with a blade of it stuck between his teeth. (click on the picture to maximize and see the grass)



And here I am trying to get it out of his teeth, not very successfully.



Focused on a passerby:



Running. Look at those ears flop! And I don't mean mine . . .



After the walk we took a trip to PetSmart so BlackJack could sniff out other dogs and we could have fun shopping for toys and dog treats. He's a pretty scary puppy as you can see . . .



Here's BlackJack when we got back from a potty break to find Steve vacuuming. BlackJack was freaked out and ran as fast as he could from the door to behind the couch where he could still see the monster vacuum but was at a safe distance so as not to be eaten. Hmm, perhaps we could work the vacuum in as a part of the discipline process . . .



One of his favorite toys: an innocent white teddy bear he is determined to shake the life out of. He moves so fast we have a hard time getting still shots.



Rawhide . . . the puppy pacifier! He'll chew on these for hours at a time. Also referred to as our "wit's end" toy.



Typical BlackJack when we're cooking in the kitchen. He likes to be wherever the action is. I have to be careful he doesn't stick his head in the hot oven when I open it, he just MUST see where the smell is coming from.



And finally, his favorite playing position. Watch out, this is PG-13. Just when we're fed up with him he goes into this playing position and we can't help but laugh! He's so funny!

We got a puppy!

. . .


He's a Puggle (mix of pug and beagle) and is 6 months old. We’ve named him BlackJack. If you read our blog, this is the same puppy I posted a picture of back in July. Remember the one I wanted to get but couldn’t because Steve was in Houston? Well, since Steve’s been back we’ve gone to look at a few other younger puppies and then on Monday we saw this little guy was still available but had been moved to another location. We drove up so Steve could meet him and . . . brought him home with us that night!

He’s about as big as he’s supposed to get at about 20 pounds and he’s crazy! He's got tons of energy. We’re working on house training him. 6 months is a long time to go without any training so it’ll be a challenge but we knew that going into it. He’s been getting lots of attention from us and plenty of walks. He’s in the teething stage so he likes to chew on his toys, but more often our hands and arms and anything else he can get in his little mouth.

He hasn’t learned to go to sleep yet in his kennel without barking (which we won’t allow, we have neighbors and we are NOT those kind of neighbors!). He doesn't like us to leave him alone. So we’ve ended up laying next to his kennel until he falls to sleep or relaxes enough that his yelping is down to a wimper. Other than that he really hasn’t barked much, more just wimpering and weezing when he gets too excited. And he is easily excitable! He's a lot of fun, and a lot of work! But he's well worth it :)

On a breather while out on a walk with Steve.





Chewing away on his basketball toy. When we went to see him they’d given him a rag doll to play with. But he’s a boy, no dolls for this boy.


It may take a while to train him not to do this! “BlackJack, NO!”



His baby picture, around 10 weeks old.

Back Together Again!

We made it through our 10 weeks living apart and got to drive the 1100 miles back to Phoenix together. After having lunch with my coworkers Friday afternoon, we hit the road for our adventure. We drove a few hours into the middle of nowhere and stopped for the night in the town of Junction TX.

Would you believe, they actually had something called "Air Conditioning" there in town?

They were having their annual rodeo that weekend, so we got to mingle with the local folk for a while. We got some funny looks, and I don't think we were dressed appropriately to stay for the Hoe-down afterwards, but it was still good fun.

We didn't quite figure out the rules of this event...apparently your team had to put a saddle on this baby steer and get someone to ride it across a finish line, all in the fastest time. If you fell off, someone else on the team could get on, if it hadn't crossed the line yet.


I guess tail pulling is a popular tactic, not sure if it is to slow down the steer or speed it up.

This last event was a little more obvious...although the reason why anyone would do it is beyond me! In this relay race, each team had a guy on a horse and then a guy hanging onto a shovel roped to the horse. This guy got dragged from one side of the arena to the other.

Then at the other side, the guy being dragged let go and someone else had to jump on and be dragged back. It was very impressive that they were able to do this while the horse was still moving. A lot of them got up afterwards with dirt in their mouths, but they made sure not to lose their hats.


So, after 18 hours of driving, 6 gas fill-ups, a bee sting, a west Texas thunderstorm, another highway patrol warning (for tail light problems this time) and several cowboys later, we made it home and have been enjoying every minute together!



...A special thanks to Verizon Wireless and Southwest Airlines, for making the time apart bearable.