Quick post on "black Friday"

My day today started off early. Mom ended up getting up for the day at 5:30, and since we had our errands to run....shopping :), I got up, fed and busyed Franklyn, and so forth. We ended up leaving here at 6:45, since we were up, and the stores were already open. We went to quite a few stores, and got some great deals, and I took care of a few people on my list. Even found an excellent hat for me! We also went out for breakfast, which was nice since it was just the two of us. Franklyn came with us, and was good until we'd been out for a few hours. I think she gets resetless after awhile. :)
Once we got back here, things did start to get a little shaky. A few people had hurt feelings, about things of the past, but we put that to rest quickly, and decorated the Christmas tree. It looks great, and we can now put tinsel on it. This was my first go at tinsel on a tree; a little hard to use at first but it looks great now!

Not sure what's up for tomorrow, but we shall see! I'm rather wiped as its been a long day. More tomorrow!

Thanksgiving, and update from home!

Happy Thanksgiving!

So, the past few days/nights at home have been very busy, but I just HAD to get a post in. :)

Tuesday night:
We arrived home, had a chicken dinner and headed out to Stop and Shop for a few last minute things. Just Mom and I, which was pretty nice, considering we don't get much time together these days. I had to pick up the ingredients for my dishes, which were:
- Broccoli casserole (per request of Mom)
- Garlic dill dip (as tradition)
- Stuffed mushrooms (cause they're yummy)
The stores weren't too bad, though I must say this little town is catching up to technology. The S & S has electric scanner things that you can pick up at the front of the store, and scan your items as you go, get special discount/coupons, and these also make checkout a breeze! This was a fun way to shop.

Wednesday:
I woke up, and soon realized that I forgot my camera at school. :( I made a shake, and played a game of Scrabble with Laura, while Nicole and Dad prepped some side dishes for Thursday's meal. Morgan arrived with little Ms. Charlie in the afternoon. It was great to see Morgan again! Her family is usually pretty desperate to see her, though somehow I managed a visit with her. Charlie and Franklyn ran about the yard, chasing each other and making doggy mischief. At one point, Charlie wanted a toy on top of an old plastic table up against the house, so she JUMPED UP to get it....as in....standing ON the table! It was hilarious. Morgan corrected the situation quickly, and the pups returned to running about. Molly (our pet dog, a lab boxer mix) got in some play as well. After the free run, and some cool down time in the house, we harnessed up the dogs and took a walk. The dogs did well! It was great to spend time with them.

Wednesday night:
After a dinner cooked by my sister, mom and I did a little cooking. She made two apple pies (her specialty) while I prepared my mushroom stuffing and dips. Laura stuck around the kitchen with us. While cooking, I gave Franklyn a bit of freedom, let her off leash in the kitchen, and she did pretty well. She was mostly interested in watching the progression of everything, inbetween spells of playing with all of Molly's toys. After the cooking, and Franklyn's last break, we all pretty much went to bed.

Today:
Thanksgiving! I woke up at about 8, took a shower and had a breakfast shake, before the Macy's day parade. The family decided not to head out to the football game, it was just too cold for all that. :) so we stayed nice and warm and mom made cinnamin buns (my cousin Kristy's famous recipe). Everyone encouraged that I let Franklyn off leash again ( I had her by my side) so I did, and kept an eye on her throughout the morning. Towards noon time, we broke out dip, and I baked the mushrooms, which everyone loved (they're so nice! though they did come out good this time). We also watched the National Dog Show...in between calling family and friends. I love holidays. :)
As we started cooking the main meal Mike arrived. Dinner was around 4, and everyone seemed to enjoy it! Everyone had their "signature" dish they made, which made it fun. This was the first year where everyone really pitched in, and it was nice. Desert was a few hours later, and Mike went home around six. All in all, a nice Thanksgiving.

...and now the Franklyn story of the day...
As I was making the broccoli casserole, Franklyn was laying at my feet chomping away at the Nylabone. Well somehow without me noticing, she got up, and Molly took her place laying in the same spot! The dogs are the same size, so telling them apart can get tricky for me. Mom was buzzing about in and out of our *spare room* off the kitchen. Well....one of these times, Franklyn followed her in there (this room fascinates her, as its where the dog food is kept, among other things), and Mom closed the door after she left, locking her in there. A few minutes later, I reached down to check on who I thought was my guide dog...and realized i'd been fooled!

Me: "Mom, where did Franklyn go?"
Mom: "Isn't she right there with you?"
Me: "No...." As I begin looking around the house, calling her name. After a few minutes I realize the spare room door is closed. "Did anyone go into the spare room?"
Mom: "I did a few minutes ago. Maybe she got in there and.....OH NO!! The PIES!!!!"
Me: "WHAT??? What PIES???"
We rush into the room, and.....sure enough, Franklyn's snout is BURIED right in the middle of an APPLE PIE! She must have found it while exploring the room, it wasn't totally gone, but she had eaten most of the sugary crumb topping off, and had sampled some of the apples underneath.

Now I can't figure this out...Mom took these two freshly baked pies, and placed them in this room to cool. She put them...of ALL places... uncovered, on top of a cooler, at dog nose level, in a house with two young crazy dogs. Granted, as a guide dog, Franklyn should have better manner than Molly, but she doesn't. We have been in this house long enough for her to have good manners, but we already know how that stands.
Needless to say, my family now understands why I do what i do with her. She has to earn her freedom.

Lucky for us, mom baked two apple pies, and Franklyn got ahold of the smaller one. Initially, everyone was a little stunned, but now everyone thinks its funny. I'm worried about how her stomach will react. I've been watching her closely, taking her busy often. This hasn't slowed her down a bit. She is in her crate now, happily snoring away with her head resting on the Nylabone as if it were a pillow. This dog reminds me of Marley!
* and by the way!* the movie is coming to theaters on Christmas Day, and it looks to be a good one, more like the book than I would have expected.

Tomorrow, Mom and I are escaping early to take advantage of sales for Christmas shopping! Not getting up at 4am or anything, but by 8 possibly. Secret operation! No one but her and I are coming. As far as Christmas goes, Dad announced that for the adults, everyone but Laura, we are to limit it to one 20 dollar gift for each perosn. Takes the pressure off, taht way we (he) can just enjoy the day without worrying about money. I'm not worried, honestly, just want to show everyone I care and so forth. Making some gifts at the ceramic place near school! People around here like the handmade, thoughtful sort of gifts, as much as I like creating something that fits each person!

This was a long one...must be getting off to bed though. Early morning!

The Countdown is on!

So in less than 24 hours, I will be at home for five days of relaxation, family, and fun! I am doing laundry now, I have finished my work for seminar tomorrow, and have begun to pack things up for the trip. I bagged up five days of dog food, and discovered that I need to buy more. I bet once I buy some, Doug will call for her.

Morgan's plans to come run Charlie have been pretty much confirmed. She should arrive sometime in teh afternoon. It will be nice to see her! Since she lives in New York now, I jump at any chance I get to see her. And Charlie is such a sweet little girl, quite the little princess.

Morgan and Charlie at home in NY. From the awesome trip in October! Charlie is a Flatcoat cross. :)

I plan on bringing my laptop and camera home, so we will be able to take pictures of the festivities. Mike will be joining us for dinner on Thanksgiving day, as his family can be rather stressful on holidays. This year is going to be great. Nicole and laura have never been with us for Thanksgiving, and with Mike, there will be plenty of people around, which is great! The cooking is balanced too, we are each making our own specialties. I have a feeling there is going to be alot of food, but we're all pitching in.

Sometime during the weekend we are putting up the Christmas tree. It will be fun to do it with Laura there. Putting the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving is kind of a yearly family tradition. I've always looooved Christmas, and wanted to set up the tree the soonest we could. Mom indulged it once, and it's pretty much been that way ever since. :)

While at home, I should do some work on my book for Multimedia Design during downtime. Wilson seems to have high hopes for mine. I also have to work on finding articles for the group speech Monday. The book project is super exciting though. It will be a portflio of my work (this is a better topic than doing a company profile). This will consist of three sections:

- Written work from English courses.
- Graphic design work from Spaulding (posters cards and press releases).
- Digital Photography.

Hopefully the CS3 will cooperate. I really love being able to use it, much nicer than my old Photoshop 7.0. Ultimately, when I graduate, I'd like to get a newer computer (the laptop and desktop are old and don't run well) and Adobe CS4. Then I would be able to create things like this for virtually anything, it would be great for my planned career in communications/publishing as well. :)

So, that's pretty much where I am at tonight. Time for a bit more packing and bed, busy day tomorrow.

: )

So, it has been very cold in this room. There is no thermostat in this room, and when I talked to the building director, he told me the room next door controls my room temp. To make a long story short, it's still cold in here. So I rearranged my room. Got the bed away from the window and heater. Hopefully the heat will circulate better now. :) The setup seemd a little iffy at first, but now tht I've gotten everything put away its not too bad.

A quick post.

It's been a few days, sooooo...time for an update!

It is still very cold here. I think it stayed below freezing all day. I went accross campus to work ona project, which turned into a marathon of deleting emails and reorganizing files. I need to get more organized. Anyway.....I realized that a good portion of the work can be done on my computer, and should be, so I don't lock up the files from being on the Mac. I can do some of the book pages on my version of Photoshop, and export them to the CS3, yay!

Yesterday I went to the city to see Karen. It was great, she took me to her neighborhood, and we drifted about. I am really impressed with that area, its peftect! So close to the city, yet it seems cute and safe. Everything is so close together too! We went to this crepe and smoothie bar, and lounged about on comfy sofas, munching our crepes and chatting. It was relaxing. While walking about on the street, we encountered a woman with a guide dog. This dog was a "black and tan labrador" she said, it looked very much like a rottweiler. Very cute. Last night Matt came over and we watched "Almost Famous." That was a blast.

So things have been reasonably quiet here lately. I will be leaving school Tuesday evening to spend the Thanksgiving holiday at home with my family. Nicole and Laura are coming for the week, and Mike will be coming for Thanksgiving dinner. The house will be packed, but I think it's going to be great. On Wednesday I am helping get the cooking together, and hopefully Morgan is coming over with Miss Charlie for us to free run the dogs together. Although I do have to study for a presentation the following Monday, the few days at home are going to be nice.

That's it for now, more later.

The thermometer is reading 23 degrees right now. And THAT IS COLD! Hard to believe it was almost 70 on Saturday! Crazy!

This week has been busy, but productive. This evening I went accross campus to see the movie "The Doe Boy," a Native American film, for my seminar class. This was actually very cool. The writer/director of the film , Randy Redroad, was there, and introduced the film, told stories about production, and answered questions. He was a pretty funny guy, actually. The movie wasn't bad either. It told the story of a young cherokee boy named Hunter. As a child, he and his father never see eye to eye. His father is disappointed in his son, as the boy is hemophiliac (I hope I spelled that right, the bleeding disorder), so he can't do the things regular boys can do since he is so fragile. The father takes Hunter (ironic name) hunting, and he shoots a doe ( a disappointment to him and his father) hence the name. It was a pretty good film, and even more interesting because the director was there, and we got to hear his motive and inspiration, etc. I wonder if I can find a dvd copy of this movie...

Yesterday I had an interview for a Guide Dog. It was interesting, and gave me something to think about. Made me more sure than ever that GDF is the right school for me. Even though this dog didn't work out, I feel that GDF is like a family, and I have faith in them. :) Glad we cleared that up.

Tomorrow I am going to another film presentation, from the same director. This is a short film, and it's right after class, so I will be done early enough to disappear to get a certain Christmas gift taken care of for someone special. :) that will be relaxing too!

Okay, time to get under the electric blanket. The heat is a little odd in this building at the moment, so its CHILLY!

Rough patch.

I hate to post things like this, but I need to get it off my chest, and there is no one who can talk to.

I am really having a hard time with this dog. I know that this isn't going to last, and that HOPEFULLY there is an end in sight, but it's still hard. Doug told me to keep working her, just the simple routine things. However, even that is proving to be difficult. Her pace is all choppy, and not constant, she won't look where she's going, she keeps trying to look at me, and I can't teach her anything. No matter how hard I try, I can't get her to stop jumping on me, and everyone else. She keeps pulling me up and down stairs, even though I've made it a point to wokr on them the way the school taught. She pulls every which way, it's to the point where everywhere I go is a struggle. She never sits still and behaves, unless she's sleeping.

I'm doing my best to remember everything I was told, and to look forward to the next dog, but I'm starting to get overwhelmed. It's starting to make me not want another dog. I don't know why she's like this. Wasn't somebody supposed to teach her not to jump, or beg, or bark and growl? This is a nightmare. I just want it to be over.

Just a thought...

I don't really know why, but today I've really been looking forward to winter break, and Christmas!

My sister Nicole and neice Laura are coming for Christmas, for the first time ever. It will be nice to have Laura here for Christmas. Then not too long after Christmas, I will be going to Pennsylvania to spend some time with family there.

This has been a crazy semester, and it will be nice to have a little time off :)

Just a few more weeks!

Adventures in Boston.

I woke up yesterday, still a little sick, but I was determined to get out and have a little fun. So I made plans to meet my friend Mike on the train in the afternoon for a little fun in the city. He was planning to go to Providence, but I can't do that with the dog. I really shouldn't have brought her at all, as my trainer told me to keep things simple while she is still with me. I don't have anyone to watch her at school while I am away, and if she stays at home, I only have an hour or so before I have to turn around and come back. So she and I went to the train to meet Mike. On the way in, we made the split decision to head to the waterfront. We decided going to the Aquarium would be great fun, so we headed there. We didn't stay long, as there was another service dog there, and I didn't want to cause commotion. Franklyn didn't notice any of the fish, though the penguins caught her eye. The seal tank was another story! The seals swim back and forth, and zoom by on lookers. Well, the first two or three seals to swim by definitely caught her off guard! After a few different seals went by, she got used to them, and watched them glide through the water. One even came right up to her! He sat still in the water, almost nose to nose with Franklyn! Other Aquarium guests couldn't believe it. I wish I had brought a camera with me.

After the Aquarium, Mike and I drifted accross the street. We were hungry, and there being a Legal Sea Foods right there, we decided it was time for us to try it and see what all the fuss is about. What a nice place! The prices were about what we expected, and the food was exceptional! We each had a bowl of chower, and a meal. I had almond crusted salmon with mushroom raviolis, tasty. It was all in all very relaxing. The waitress was very interesting, loud and very animated. She was very friendly though and told us stories and brought the dog a bowl of water.

Once the meal was finished we headed out to the train, and made our way to Harvard Square. There wasn't too much time left, but we did go to the BEST candy store, Hidden Sweets. We looked around, I picked out a few things to try, then we headed back to South Station. A rather satisfying trip overall. There were some issues with the dog, but I won't to into details.

Not too long after getting home, Matt showed up, and we watched a movie, and just got silly. We were laughing so hard afterwards walking down the hall that Cathryn thought we were drunk. It was alot of fun.

So now that i had a little fun I have to get some things done today. Have to cleam, do some laundry, and some reading. I want to make sure the room is clean, and Franklyn's appearance and such are in order, because I have a guide dog interview on Tuesday! We'll see what happens there. I also have got to get to Roche Bros. today; need a pack of water, and some soy milk. It's been raining off and on since yesterday morning. Here's hoping that we'll see some snow soon! I love snow!

What a week...

Can't believe it's Thursday already. I have to Admit I'm thankful though. I've had a nasty bug all week long. I got in to the Dr. yesterday, and he gave me some antibiotics, which is great, as I won't be sick for nine weeks like I was last November! :)

Stayed home overnight last night, which was nice. Dad made a fish dinner; it was so good to just sit at the table and relax. I also got one of those Furminator brushes for the pup. I'll give it a try this afternoon, once I'm feeling a bit better. I figured even with a potential new dog, it would be a good investment. Heard good things about them reducing the tumbleweeds o ffur that adorn the floors.

Had my last advising apointment today! :) Though I'm still not sure about what classes to take. I only need two communication classes. This is a tricky business though...most of the classes that are meant for the comm. majors. I'm missing a few classes that I would need. So we shall see what happens there.

Not feeling well...so I'm going to take a break. More later.

Franklyn...

I've been meaning to write this post for a few days now. Ever since Applying for a guide dog last summer, I'de been waiting with anticipation to be matched with my new partner! I was ecstatic to be placed in the July class. What made it even better is my good friend Morgan was scheduled for the same class!
When I first arrived at GDF I was paired up with a larger dog, another lab golden cross. She was much better matched to me, but had an "old soul" as I liked to call it, as her pace was usually slower than I would have liked. I honestly didn't notice at first, probably because I was new at the whole guide dog thing, and was more focused on doing everything right. My trainer noticed it around the beginning of the second week, and after some persuading, got me to switch to Franklyn. The trainers in class told me that she was immature and needed some work and patience, but she would settle down into a great little worker.
Since July, I've grown quite attached to the pup, but our work together hasn't improved much. There are a handful of problems that show no improvement, despite several meetings with my instructor. Growling, pulling, jumping, and spooking are among the things that appear in every walk together.
So last week, he and I made the decision: we would switch gears, and focus on an application for a new dog. If all goes well, I will be in the January class, to train with a new dog. I have to admit, I am relieved that it's nothing that I'm doing. He thinks it just may be a bad match, or the case of a dog who simply cannot handle the work. I have to admit, it has been hard, especially now, as all my other friends from the July class have put in the request to talk with their puppy walkers. I so looked forward to that, even though that meeting on Celebration Sunday was a bit akward. Now that I look back on it, i think it felt a little odd because I wasn't very sure of the dog I was matched with. It seems like contact with a puppy walker could be a wonderful thing, and I hope that eventually I will have what everyone else in the class ended up with.
In the meantime, I am doing my best to enjoy time with Franklyn while she is still here. I think she's a great dog, and even though things didn't work out with her as my guide, I still grew attached to her. Right now everything is just so up in the air. Doug said that we should know more of what's going to happen by the beginning of December.

The pup in August, Just a few days after arriving home. She's so happy!

In college. She made herself a nest on "her" blanket even after I folded it up under the bed.

Little Miss likes to play in New England leaves!

I know this lifestyle is right for me, and I look forward to finding the right match! Hoefully sooner rather than later. As far as Franklyn, I'm just going to love her as much as I can, keep her happy, and hopefully the trainers at GDF will find the right place for her.

I'll update once I know more.

End of the weekend.

I still can't believe it was in the sixties all weekend! How great!
I didn't do much today, as I'm still trying to lay low and get rid of this cold. The fever is gone, all that's left is the sore throat. I did take a stroll to RadioShack, and get the card reader replaced for my camera. This one is even better; it reads the memory card of my cell phone too! It's been relaxing to stay put for the weekend. I got to chat with a few friends I hadn't heard from in awhile too, which was nice! :)

Just one class tomorrow, and more work for the contextual presentation for my senior seminar. No class Tuesday, Veteran's day. Have to finish a webpage (or three) and brochure for Multimedia Design, and have to finish picking out classes. Not much this week, right? Right?
I have one class picked out, and one other needs to be a communication class. Then two "freebie" classes that don't have to be anything specific. It's great to be done with the requirements for my degree. Davis' class is the last one I really have to push for. I met with her last week and picked a topic for the big paper. Going to write about "Goodbye, Columbus" and "The Gentleman's Agreement." Fun stuff! Acutally it seems to be an interesting paper topic and I'm looking forward to writing it. :)

More later!

Weekend Fun!

So I've seen some examples of this "digital scrapbooking," and I think it's just awesome! So I decided to try my hand at it.



Not sure if the colors are right, but I used one kit on it, so hopefully it isn't too bad. I gotta admit, it's fun, and it keeps my Photoshop skills sharp!

Dreams last night.

I kept dreaming about GDF and going back to class last night. In one dream, I was told that I would recieve either a yellow lab or a golden, both were boys, and the golden's name was Brian. I remember that Jody was there, and Doug. Then, in another dream, I had already been matched witha dog, and it was sitting at my feet calmly, like I'd always seen other dogs do. The dog was either a yellow lab or a golden as he was a caramel color. I remember thinking how lucky I was to finally get a good dog, and how happy I was that I'd made the decision to try a second time.

I think these dreams came from what Karen was saying last night. She had aftercare yesterday, and did a little investigating to see if Doug still had hopes of getting me into the January class, which apparantly he does, though he hasn't called me yet.

I've really been meaning to post a blurb about Franklyn. I should do that today.

Boston trip yesterday.

So I woke up yesterday with a sore throat. I caught the November bug, eww! It still wasn't going to stop me from getting on the train to Boston though. I had made plans to see Karen, a friend from GDF, and her guide dog. We were in class together when we got the dogs. We met a Park Street, and sat a little while in a nearby Dunkin Donuts, which was nice and relaxing. It's nice to just sit and chat with a friend you don't see much. We chatted about all sorts of things. I'm really glad that I kept in touch with her as we've turned out to be pretty good friends. The pups were sure happy to see each other again. :)

After that, I met up with Mike in South Station, and we proceeded to go to the Christmas Festival being held at Seaport. By this time it was clear that I wasn't feeling good, but the fair is good fun and I wasn't ready to go home. We strolled around the festival for a good while, browsing through handmade Christmas decor, pretty things, and gourmet food. Franklyn was well behaved for the most part, though she started to dance when we approached a table selling handmade gourmet dog treats. She even tried to snatch a puppy pastry off the table! The owners laughed and said that the table tempts many a service dog at shows. I picked out a few, and we moved on. Mike got a jar of marinated Italian peppers, and some jerky. Aside from that we didn't buy anything. I probably would have, but as time progressed I felt worse and soon it was hard to walk, so we sat down and had some chowder. It was relaxing all in all, even though I felt so awful. By the time I got home, my temp was over 102 so I decided to take some tylenol and call it a day.

Today has been uneventful. I stayed in bed all morning, trying to get as much rest as possible to fight off the bug. I'm feeling much better. As for plans tonight, I need to go out and get some water for the wolf, and something for dinner. I'm thinking mushrooms :) More later!

The Polls are Closed!

The results are in...Election 2008 is over, and the new President of the United States is...

Barack Obama!

I'm watching the celebration on TV, as the news casters try to put this historic election into words.
The celebration in Chicago is huge. They estimated half a million.
Quite a history-making election.

And in Massachusetts...

The proposal to reduce the income tax failed.
The decriminalization of marajuana passed.
The ban on greyhound racing passed.

A very eventful day.

Election Day!

What a busy day today was! Tuesdays are normally crazy, since I have three classes, one of which is three hours long. My early class had a quiz, that I didn't know about, but I did well. While I was at class, Dad called me with a change in plans. Apparantly Mom has caught a pretty nasty flu, and she doesn't want me catching it, so instead of going home for dinner, I would just head straight to the polls. So after the three hour class, I ran back to the dorm, fed Franklyn, and ran to the train station. There weren't many people at the place once we got there, which was nice as it only took a few minutes.

So the results are flooding in pretty quick now. So far, Obama is leading. The news just announced that Obama won Ohio, which is a crucial state. I will post again once a winner is confirmed.

Lata!

A new beginning...

So here it is, the new "blog." I have to say I'm proud of myself for finally starting it up. I created the account last week, but didn't bother posting until now. So far, this site is pretty impressive. I've seen other blogs on it, which gave me the motivation to start one up.

Starting from scratch is kind of hard. What do I say? An introduction of sorts, describing where I am in life? Just jump right in? I am a college student, in my last year of a five year study in English. I want to get into publishing or editing, once I earn my degree (since I MUST answer the ever popular "what do you plan to do after you graduate" question). I love to travel and explore with friends. The train line runs through my college campus, and I use it often. This summer I was paired up with my first guide dog, Franklyn. I will post more about her later on, as it's been quite a journey. I've been on a diet for a few months now, and have lost quite a bit of weight, though I'm still working on that. :)

It's the first week of November, and it's getting pretty chilly out there! I love the fall, actually. The leaves, the pumpkins, its all great! Accross the street from my dorm, there is a hill, with half a dozen or so trees. The ground is covered with leaves of all different colors, and I love it. Tomorrow is Election day, and after seminar class, I will head home to vote, have a home-cooked dinner, then return back here. Who will be the next president, I wonder. Who am I voting fore? Not telling! :)

This new Blog is exciting!

More details and stories to come!