OMG A POST!!!!!

I know...hell has frozen over. Loretta has blogged again. Yeah yeah yeah. Hush :)

So...USDAA Nationals...what can I tell you about it.

Crackers was VERY ready to go. I however, wasn't really. I was kinda bummed, or just not motivated? I wasn't really looking forward to all the stress of that stuff. The people wigging out, the bathrooms that start off smelling of cleaning solutions and within hours let you know that there are some people that take agility WAY TOO SERIOUSLY and get "intestinal distress"...yeah. Add bad eating on top of that...good lord. I think everyone should get a Xanax at check in. I really do. I think it would help so many people...ANYWAY...there are so many things that I just wished I could block out. But I entered, and I was determined to not let others take my fun away! MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

We stayed at a LOVELY hotel the first day of the journey. I thought it was great that we found this as we were packing up the next morning:

I thought it very nice that they left the condoms for someone to possibly use...I mean, if you wanted to protect yourself from STD's and pregnancy, why not just use the condoms you got from the ashtray, on top of the trash can? Save some money, save some time? Brilliant...NO? :)

So after leaving our amazing hotel...we ended up in Louisville, got all checked in, and we realized in our infinite wisdom, we didn't get crating spots (misunderstanding..oops!)...FIVE DOGS, no crating spot. Luckily they have a special name for those of us like myself and the husband, and they have a special amount of crating spots that they can put us in. Which actually worked out GREAT! We had some awesome neighbors (one of which was a gal with a dog named Panic who has a blog and trained him with running contacts...very nice gal!)...these neighbors had lots of food and liked to share. How FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT?!?!!?!

So the dogs were ready to rock in roll...well AFTER their massages :)

Kristen with For The Love Of Dogs came down to watch the USDAA Nationals and took care of the Full Tilt crew all weekend...she's awesome, she gave 500% and I believe my dogs ran really good because of all the work they got. THANK YOU CHICKIE!!!!!!!

Everyone else ran some Play It Again course...I just went hiking. Felt like putting off responsibility another day :)

The dogs agreed with me :)

So it began...we were in Group A, which, as I am oblivious to many things, is the WORLD TEAM WANNABE GROUP (insert da da da DUM music)...ok...well whatever. I'm not one of those folks (just married to one) so I'll just go inside my happy bubble of ipod music :)

I decided after the first day of walking and running...that I was going to download and put the song "Camel Toe" on my ipod...seriously. Please people...can we ALL WEAR APPROPRIATELY FITTING CLOTHING? Thanks...REALLY. For what it's worth, that song made walk-throughs (and actually most of the day) very fun. It had people laughing all over the grounds...I shared the happiness :)

Actually...I enjoyed Group A...people were super nice, no one was stressing, or freaking, or getting upset about walk throughs being delayed (had that for team gamblers...someone walked up to me and a friend OMG THIS ISN'T YOUR WALK THROUGH!!!!! IT'S OUUURRRRSSS!!!!---wow..O KAY)...everyone was just focused on their runs and their dogs. I liked that. It was nice :) I like that. I really really do. So put me in with the "world team wannabe's" all you want...it's a happy place there if you ask me :)

So how did the dogs do? I think personally THEY WERE AMAZING. But I'm biased :) I love them no matter what they do. So if they do even half assed, I'm a happy camper :) I still tear up when I get in the Finals, if I ever STOP doing that, I need to quit going!

Gator: His team ended up 18th out of 176 teams, he had one bar all weekend :) Thanks to Jennifer Rohling and Danger and Shelley Nichols and Mesa for teaming with us! GO COWABUNGA!!!

Team Standard--7th place

Team Jumpers--6th place

Steeplechase Semi-Finals 2nd place

Steeplechase Finals-7th place (lost run off for 6th)

Grand Prix Semi-Finals--5th or 6th I think? Can't remember

Grand Prix Finals--6th place

I was pleased with the boy. Really pleased. I would say neither of us love running in the Finals...its the lights, all the screaming etc. Grand Prix Finals was an interesting run! I got to obstacle 8 (the chute) and felt my groin pull...BAD. I almost lost Gator to the teeter after the chute, as you can hear me screaming his name...GOOD DOG. Another jolt of pain hit me at the 17 tunnel...OUCH...I finished...was off that leg, its healing now...but GAWD DID THAT HURT!!!! I was happy I got through it!!! So Gator got in all 3 finals. Whatta boy. WOW.

The Finals Ring :)

Klink--my naughty girl. I was also very proud of her! 2 bars all weekend, both MY FAULT.

I don't really remember her placements because she wasn't in the top 10 on most things due to her crap ass contacts (live and learn! I did and that's why Gator's are better! LMAO!)

Team Gamblers, Standard, Snooker--All clean, Jumpers one bar caused by me :-)

Steeplechase Semi-Finals--6th Place

Steeplechase Finals--12th I think? I pulled her off A-frame...oops!

GREAT Grand Prix Semi-Finals run but she took an off course tunnel at the VERY END. Oh well, I'm sure it was me.

To top off her week, Klink's team "Klink Flies Solo" with Diane Sanders and Jet and Jen Siegal and Solo, took 2nd place overall in team!!! We got on the podium!! YAY TEAM!!!!!!!!

Oh...and how fun is THIS? Deb with Ricky Roo (dog interviewing extraordinaire!!) made these cool signs!!!! THANKS DEB!!!!!

Now onto Team Crackhead!!!!!

What else can I say...I am very proud of my boys. Seriously...they work hard, I'm not easy on them...WOW.

Crackers: Team Standard 2nd

Team Jumpers 3rd

Team Snooker 1st

IHC Standard 2nd

Grand Prix Semi-Finals 3rd

IHC Jumpers 5th (2nd in points)

Grand Prix Finals--2nd

Team "Those DAM JACKS" 5th place!!!!!

Thanks to Megan Foster and Tommie and Katherine Elliot and Whim for teaming with Andy!!!!!!

AND...TEAM CRACKHEAD MADE THE WORLD TEAM!!!!!! SO EXCITED FOR THEM! We are heading to Fort Worth Y'all!!!! :) Congrats also to Daneen and Masher and Dana and Tangle! What a fun little dog team!!! Congrats to all the other World Team peeps too!!!!! WAY TO GO!

After all that, Crackers was finally done :)

As were Klink and Gator :)

Lynn sat on her ass all week...trying to beg food off me "MY LIFE SUCKS" was her motto this week...poor Lynn, no agility, no herding...

So then we began the trip home...staying in the "safe sex" hotel as we deemed it. Hey...it was clean, so sue me!

We were home about 30 minutes and we got this AWESOME delivery from our good friends Kelly and her pup Siren! HOW FUN IS THAT?!!?! THANK YOU KELLY!!!!!

Best things about Nationals? I got to team with my friends, which I LOVE DOING!!! My dogs ran well despite me, everyone from around the states I get to see ONLY at Nationals, the competition, the ice cream, the motivation to work harder, lose more weight, get faster, and keep with my thinking that agility is not my life, nor a life or death situation. Enjoy the fun, let go of the not so fun, and run with your dogs.

And then life returned to normal...

This is Honey Badger...our new ram...he got to go with the ladies this week...to have sheepy sex and make sheepy babies. He's ONE HAPPY BOY!!!!!!!!!!

He's pretty badass...

Watch him eat in slow motion...

Honey badger doesn't care...he doesn't give a shit...

And neither do I, as long as he does his ONE JOB IN LIFE, make babies. Go get those girls Honey Badger!!!!!

So the whole pack was reunited...

Apparently Crackers is too good now to be seen with the Border Collies...he wants his own picture--jack ass...

oooohhh, look at ME! I'm SPECIAL!!!!! OOOOOHHHHH!!! :)

Zip stayed at a friends house and terrorized her beardies for the week...I'd like to say the pack was happy to have her back, but they weren't. She's the play police and it had been a free for all since she left. Time for the smack down again. Sigh...

Gator went back to staring at me...ALL. THE. TIME...

Klink went back to being a pig...cause that's just what she is :)

Crackers has a new found hyper inflated ego...he will be seeking counseling...

Even is back to making retarded/insane/drug induced/whacked out/ facial expressions...

Lots of them...

As if it ever stopped...

They're coming to take me away hee hee, ha ha, to the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time....

OK...this one's kinda normal??!?! Right????

Lynn's back to stealing all toys and making them hers...JUST LIKE HER MOTHER...

But honestly...I'm gonna gush a little bit...Crackers and the husband...wow...really? First dog, first time handler...3 years old (the dog, not the husband)...world team. WOW.

We are going to be taking some trips down to Dana Pike to work Andy on more stuff to get him ready for the competition...excited about the next several months!! WOO HOO!!

Oh..and this is for my students...students...what you will be looking at during your lessons for the next gazillion months of winter. Sigh. COME ON SPRING!

TA DA!!! A POST! :)