Thanksgiving(s)

I love Thanksgiving. It's a time when you get to spend time with family, friends, and eat all the food you want without feeling the slightest bit guilty about it.
Thursday, as has become tradition, the family went to the church to host Thanksgiving dinner. I also dragged some Puerto Rican and Dominican friends from school to bring an international flair to the holiday. We had all the traditional - lots of Turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, etc - as well as some not so standard dishes, like corn pudding, cheese grits (my favorite), and a puerto rican macaroni salad. We also had some awesome desserts, suprisingly, though, not many people brought pumpkin pie. I had a fantastic time.
Today, I got to have a second thanksgiving up in Logan. Nayda and her mom cooked a 26 pound turkey, as well as some rice, pasta, bread, and salad - all Puerto Rican style. A bunch of people from school came and ate, and ate, and ate. Tika got to join us too. She was, yet again, a hit with everyone. I'm going to have to keep an eye out or she'll be stolen, luckily, I don't think she would allow that to happen. I'll try to add some pictures from the holiday in the next couple days.
Between all the fun stuff, I worked a lot - I've been covering both shifts at the vet clinic while my room mate is out of town, I went down to the kennel a couple times to train the detection dogs, and I finished my book. I still need to do some homework for Monday and start studying for finals the week after next. Uggh... Well, I can deal with one week of classes and a couple exams. Then it's Christmas time, and a much needed rest from school.

Where's the snow??

I never thought I would say that.... Usually, I dread the snow fall, mainly because it brings cold weather with it. This year, I keep finding myself saying, "if only it would snow..." It is just so cold, and it seems like snow at least makes the cold tolerable. You know, there is a reason for the cold, be it skiing, snowshoing, etc. I went for a hike today and kept thinking how odd it was to be able to hike this time of year. It has been frigid in the mornings, but I have been acclimating well. Yesterday, it got up to 45 and I was plenty warm in a t-shirt.

Tika loves the snow. I don't think she is outside as much any other time of year as she is during the winter. She likes to sit on the highest snow piles. I take her hiking in the winter and she barrels through the snow drifts, hopping like a deer. It's hysterical. The first snow of every year, she gets the zoomies and rips around the yard with her nose in the snow. The picture is from one of our hikes, overlooking Salt Lake Valley.

College dog

I was reminded this weekend how lucky I am to have Tika. She really proved herself as a model college dog this weekend.
Why do I say she is a model college dog? Well, you know those pictures where the dog is sitting on a chair at the table with a bunch of people playing poker? Tika could have fit right in. I was staying with some friends, so of course Tika came with me. She tried really hard to convince people to share with her (food, drink - didn't matter). She played with everyone, let everyone pet her, and kept the barking to a minimum - really, she only barked a handful of times all weekend. Those barks were mainly to tell the neighbors off for slamming their doors and stomping up and down the stairs all night. Everyone got a kick out of having her around.
What more can I ask for in a dog? Tika is an awesome working dog, a fantastic hang-out dog, and my constant companion, in a pretty, easy to care for package. I am so lucky.

Time rolls on...

The semester is coming to an end, with finals only a couple weeks away - I am certainly ready for a break and a new group of classes. I am planning to attend a couple agility trials, hopefully to qualify for nationals (both AKC and USDAA). We will show in conformation occasionally with the goal of winning a couple points - we only need two to get the VCX (versatility excellent title). We keep our fingers crossed on that front but focus on the fun stuff, like herding and agility. Oh, and of course keep plugging away at work.
I don't know how often I'll post but will try to keep everyone up to date on what's going on with me, and of course Tika.