Brightly Colored Salamanders

WOW, I can't believe that this year is almost a quarter over! It's flown by really fast... e haven't done much this month though; it's actually been quite quiet.

A few highlights, for me, though were going to hear and see my new *nephew's* heartbeat early in the month with Michelle. It was one of her last prenatal appointments until she gave birth on the 13th. I'm really looking forward to having this little guy around.

We also had Legion's first dog show on the 13th. Read the post below to find out how it went.

My birthday was on the 18th and it was probably the best one that I've had in a while. Josh doesn't think so though because it wasn't "big enough." Whatever, dude. I got some pretty fun gifts though: a knife set from my mom & dad (which I've been WANTING) along with a funky pair of shoes, a top, and a cute apron, some Kohl's gift cards from Big Gramma and Aunt Nan (to buy some shoes that I fell in love with), a personalized pen and a scarf from Tiny Gramma and Grampa. And from Josh and the kids: a tattoo! I haven't gotten it yet but evidently, Josh has been working with the tattoo shop and the artist, sending pictures over of what I want so he can draw it, so all I have to do is get the courage and make the call.

We don't have much else planned for the rest of the month. Just working, walking the dogs, occasionally going to the gym, and all of the mundane, day-to-day schtuff.

When we bought Legion from our breeder, he was purchased as a "companion" dog. Which means no showing, no breeding rights, and we have to get him fixed. Well, as our breeder saw him develop, he actually encouraged us to get him into the show ring. After deliberating about it with Josh, weighing the cost and commitment, and finding a great trainer, we decided to take the plunge. We put Legion into conformation classes but had to pull him out a couple of times due to his recurring pano but we've been fortunate lately and he's been able to stay in consistently. Consistenly enough that I felt comfortable to actually enter him into a show. GULP!! The show was a "fun match" in Dixon so I figured it'd be good for our debut so off we went.

The first round was at 10:15-ish and was just Legion because he was the only dog there to represent his breed. Because of that, we took first place and best of breed. Woo hoo!! On to the second round. Which was about 3.5 hours later... Even though he doesn't look it, Legion is still a pup and still sleeps very much like a pup: a lot. So during the break he didn't sleep at all which made for a very cranky and uncooperative giant in the show ring. For this show, we were placed in the Working group - Dobermans, Akitas, Giant Schnauzers, Boxers, Great Pyrenees, Rottweiler, Great Dane, Samoyed, etc., so we had some nice competition in the second round. If I were thinking about it, I probably would have expected his meltdown but since I wasn't, I wasn't prepared for it when he literally flopped over on his back just as the judge was making her way down the line. If we had a chance to move on, it just flew right out the window. I'll admit, I was super frustrated with him and I didn't want him to talk to me for a bit after that ;) but I got over it and he got his promised cheeseburger as his reward.

We're continuing with the conformation classes and hopefully he'll do much better at his next show in April. Hopefully.

Here are some pics:

Practicing before we get into the ring.Josh, giving Legion a little pep talk.
Almost up!
Here we go in the ring!!
Show teeth! One of the things that the judges check is the dog's bite. So we have to make sure that the dog will cooperate and show their teeth to the judge. In some breeds, like Legion's, the judge will make the handler show the bite. Where in others, the judge will do it themselves. I'm proud to say that I did his bite the first round and the second round, the judge did it herself. And Legion didn't take her hand off...
Legion, showing us that he's done and wants to go home.

But we're not listening...
Round Two!
Waiting in line to be judged.
Woohoo! What's goin on back there? Hey, lady, are you gonna buy me dinner afterwards?
In line, with all of the other Working group pups in the 9-12 month range.
Josh tells me that he thinks the Giant Schnauzer won but I was too irritated at that point to even realize which dogs were going up. I'm also a little bit glad that we didn't win because it would've meant more time out in the biting wind.

As I'm cooking more, I'm becoming more and more comfortable with different spices and their distinct scents and flavors. For instance, I can now tell when my spaghetti sauce is seasoned perfectly just by the scent. There are a few spices in this rack that I haven't tried yet but am anxious to use all of them. We also have quite a full cabinet shelf with more spices...that have been used.

Chicken Tortilla Soup with homemade corn tortilla chips. This was so incredibly easy and definitely a repeater!

What happens if you don't say "tap, tap, seat back" when you get up to go to the bathroom...

On March 13th, at 2:20 AM, little Zachary Scott Perry arrived into this world. I can't wait to spend more time with my new little *nephew*!!

Legion's first dog show! This is him doing "show teeth."

My first attempt at clam chowder. As I do with most of the recipes that I'm trying for the first time, I add ingredients and follow the directions as they're written. I was a liiiiiiiittle skeptical of this one though: it called for a wee bit much liquid and was quite runny as I was stirring it in the pot. When I think clam chowder, I think thick, creamy stuff that almost sticks to your spoon. Well, not really, but at least has a thick, creamy consistency. Not runny, like this one was. I was all set to throw it down the drain and hop in the car to the Taco Bell around the corner but I figured that I'd at least give it a taste. So after I threw in a little more salt for good measure (huh?), I dipped a spoon in the not thick, not creamy, white liquid in the pot. Holy moly, it was actually good!!! Taco Bell, I'm so very sorry, we will NOT be visiting you tonight. I made a note for the next time that I make this to not add as much liquid as it calls for. We'll see how that turns out.

And this face is why she is so incredibly spoiled....and so incredibly loved. Her big, brown eyes can bore holes into your skull when she wants something yet will be the one thing that can soothe you when you're feeling down, upset, angry, etc. Her little face is getting speckled with grey now but it doesn't mean she's getting old. Oh, no. She's just getting distinguished. She doesn't get dirty. She gets dingy. And she doesn't get stinky. She gets fragrant. We love you so very much, little mammas.

This is our sleeping monster. On our loveseat. He almost takes up the entire thing. At nine months. And he snores.

A lil' bit o' heaven in a jar: Costco oatmeal raisin cookies.

My poor, still unfinished, bathroom. When we took up the old lino in my bathroom, we discovered that there were two pretty good-sized cracks in the concrete floor. You may be asking yourself "I thought they weren't going to tear up the floor in that bathroom?" Well, you're right, we weren't going to...until we took out the old vanity and realized that we had to take the lino out in order to get a smooth finish on the new lino. Sigh.... So this is Josh filling in the cracks with some hydraulic cement.

Josh's bathroom makeover! This picture doesn't show the baseboards that we installed so just picture 2" (I think), white base. Oh, and a roll of tp on the holder.

I've been fired twice now from our blog because I've seriously neglected it for over a month. And by request, I'm posting dog show pictures. ;)