Foxy!

(Picture courtesy of National Geographic)

On Tuesday and Thursday my husband has a couple classes immediately after my morning class ends, so there is not time to drop me off at home before he goes to the other college campus. I don't mind, because I end up just hanging out in the turned off car reading a book for a couple hours during his classes.

If we didn't do it this way, I'd end up driving around for two hours before my morning class to find a parking spot (no exaggeration, it once took me 3 1/2 hours to find a spot and I ended up parking illegally) so I figure it saves gas and effort.

I was sitting in the car last Thursday with the windows partly down, in a parking lot that borders the woods, when a fox came out of the trees. I don't think he realized I was in the car, because he walked right by the car to sniff something. This gorgeous fox was so close that if I had gotten out of the car, I was close enough to touch him. I didn't get out of the car, of course. Didn't manage to get a decent picture of him either, probably because I was so excited that I forgot about trying until he was walking away. My Droid Incredible is a great phone/camera, but the digital zoom is awful.

I used to volunteer at the local zoo, and one of my jobs was feeding the foxes. They stayed pretty far away, but I caught glimpses of them every now and then. They looked like babies next to this wild fox. He really was much bigger than any fox I've ever seen before. And he looked fluffy. If I didn't know better, I'd have tried to cuddle him.

Some other woman who was also just hanging out in her car did get out of the car to take a picture and scared him off. He ran back to the treeline and when she tried to follow again, he disappeared. *Scowl*

This may not be an amazing experience for you country folk, but unfortunately for me, we live in the city (a small city, but a city nonetheless). I've never seen a fox in the wild so close up before.

Also, I'm still sick. Drinking Ensures like they are going out of style because I still am not really eating. Blech. :(

Finally Following

I finally got around to following a bunch of the blogs I've been reading for a while through my Google Reader. Love that things, even if it usually says I have 1,000+ posts unread. =P

Now, I'm procrastinating. The spring semester started last week, and naturally, I've been really sick all week. Some kind of stomach bug that has been going around. It usually lasts 48 hours, but for me it has lasted for over a week. Because of this bug I haven't been able to make it to classes (except the first day to avoid getting dropped, and even then I had to tell the instructor I was sick so I didn't have to stay the whole time), so I really need to catch up.

Still a bit dizzy when I walk, but I'm feeling much better today!

This is actually my last semester of college, I'll be graduating with my Bachelor's in the fall. Over the summer I'm hoping to intern somewhere that isn't too far away, even if the internship is less sexy than others might be (e.g. FBI internships are all in DC). It will be awfully nice to finally be done with school. Though I may not be completely done with school, I've been considering getting a Masters in Law, but that would be from an online school, not a brick-and-mortar one.

Then I get out into the real world, and play the waiting game for Kevin to get his degree also (he's about 2-3 years behind me). Then we'll see what happens. We have talked about moving once we both graduate.

Whatever is to come, I need to go study if I'm to pass this last semester! ;)

God Has Been Showing Himself

A series of events have taken place in the last couple months that have really reminded me that God is always here, even when it doesn't feel like it.

First, nobody was injured in the very bad car accident I posted about in November. Our car was absolutely destroyed, but no one involved was hurt badly. I was the most injured (being a small gal, the airbag nearly broke my ribs), but nothing was permanently damaged. Our insurance took care of everything (I had no idea how expensive emergency room visits were!), and our new-to-us car should be here before Christmas. We could have easily died, but everything turned out fine. Thank you, God.

Second, a fellow blogger experienced a Thanksgiving miracle involving her horse, Denali. Long story short, Denali's appointment to be put to sleep was already made, when it had to be canceled because of heavy snow. Denali improved, literally overnight. Those who aren't "animal people" might not understand what a huge deal this was for Denali's mom, but I know many of us do. I know I couldn't stop grinning when I read her update that Denali was sound! (Her blog is http://wildponybeast.blogspot.com/). That is pretty freaking cool, God.

Lastly, a story that has been all over the national news over the last few days hit very close to home. Many of you may have heard about the shooting that took place in a school board meeting. Well, we live two hours from Panama City, where this happened, and both grew up in PC. I can't remember the number of times I stood where Duke stood and played the national anthem for the school board.

Basically, this man Clay Duke was upset that his wife was fired from her teaching job and decided to kill the school board members and himself. There are several heroes in this story. Duke told the women to leave the room, but Ginger Littleton snuck back in and attacked him with her purse. What a brave lady. Bill Husfelt, the superintendent, was incredibly calm, even with a gun stuck in his face, and tried to get Duke to let everyone else go saying that he was the one responsible for firings. And finally, Mike Jones went into the room (which is very open) and shot and injured Clay Duke (Duke ended up shooting himself).

Bill Husfelt is a close family friend, and has been for a number of years. He was my Sunday School teacher, and the principal of my brother and sister's high school before he decided to run for superintendent. He has always been someone that I look up to and respect very highly. Mike Jones is a friend of my parents', and went to high school with my mom. I regret that I've only met him a few times, but you will never find someone to speak a bad word about him. He runs Salvage Santa, a local charity for kids that he runs often out of his own pocket.

Like I said, this one hit very close to home. It would have been so easy for it to have all ended so differently. The news very easily could have been that all the men on the school board and Mike were shot and killed. Duke most certainly tried his hardest to make that happen.

I watched the video of the shooting a couple days ago and could not stop bawling. Heck, I'm tearing up just remembering. The gun was pointed right at him when Duke shot. Husfelt should not be alive today. There is not a doubt in my mind that God stood between him and the shooter. Wow, God. Just wow. I am SO in awe of You.

Oy Vey

What a weekend.

My hubby and I drove up to Kentucky for the Breeder's Cup this past weekend. I'll post about it later, once I get all the photos off the camera.

We drove my parents' Avalon, because it is more reliable for long trips than either of our vehicles.

Had a flat tire we couldn't change (lug nuts were inhumanely tight) on Saturday night.

Then on Sunday night, just outside of Dothan, we rear-ended someone at a stoplight. I don't know what happened exactly, neither does Hubby, because it happened so fast. Apparently there is some question of fault because the other car may have been stopped at a green light right around a blind corner. I don't know. We didn't get a ticket, so I suppose the cops didn't know either.

The car we were driving was totaled, the other car just had a dented bumper (Ford Explorers are tanks!). Thankfully, other than some serious aching, everyone was fine.

In fact, I was the only one who even got admitted to the hospital, and that was just because I was having trouble breathing from being smacked in the chest by the air bags and seatbelt. I'm a really small gal, and air bags don't get along well with small people.

Still. It could have been much worse. The pictures don't really do justice to just how destroyed the car was.

New Friends

Well, I haven't posted in a bit, but since I am up late watching the election results I thought it might be a good time to do so. Not going to touch politics though, those who know me probably know my views, and I'm not going to preach at the blogosphere. =P

The puppy that stayed with us over the weekend in my last post was absolutely adorable and incredibly sweet. Honestly, he is an amazing dog in his own regard and he got along with Indy, so if we had been looking for another dog he probably would not have left. Stevie was very hard to get a photo of, but I managed to get one (literally, just the one) not super blurry picture of him.

Isn't he a cutie? The photo does not at all do him justice.

Unpossible

No way this is happening. No way.

We have a houseguest right now, a young BC puppy on his way south to a rescue. We picked him and another up in Georgia earlier today, and he is going to leave us on Sunday to continue his trip.

Anyway.

Indy snarked at him most of the afternoon. Indy snarks at every dog, especially those that don't stay long.

He isn't scared, he just tends to be a bully with other dogs.

Indy and the puppy are playing right now. Literally rolling, jumping, wrestling, PLAYING.

I've never seen Indy actually play with any dog except for Diocese, and he only does that sporadically. Yet here he is, playing with this puppy. Nice!

Busy, Busy, Busy

It has been a crazy week. It is exam time again in our classes, so there was a lot of studying to do. Why is it that even when I keep up with classes/class readings I still feel the need to reread every single chapter right before a test?

It is a personality quirk I could do without.

Tomorrow I head out to the new barn for the third time. I'm really loving it so far, though honestly, I'd be hard-pressed to not love it when horses are involved. ;)

My trainer, Lakey, has me riding a bay gelding named Irish who is about as much a schoolmaster as any horse I've ever seen. The nice thing about him is that, unlike most (all?) lesson horses I've ridden, his canter departures are flawless. No getting hauled around an increasingly faster trot while getting more and more nervous and kicking until my leg is tired.

Since the transition from trot to canter has been my fear for literally years (some bad experiences as a kid turned me into a very timid rider, though I'm probably one by nature anyway), I'm hoping he will be able to help me get over it. Irish is a real sweetheart.

Before ending this post I have to brag on Diocese.



Diocese is our older Border Collie. He has some behavioral problems, namely his fear-reactivity to strangers. We can't take him on walks around the neighborhood unless it is late enough at night that no one is likely to be outside. He has to be locked up when we have guests. The UPS guy knocking on the door is enough to throw him off his game for a full day at least. He's never bitten anyone, but he will certainly act the part of Cujo at times.

Not that he is a bad dog. I'm not just saying that because he is my heart dog either. Anyone who really knows how to read doggy body language can see that he is terrified when he sees somebody he doesn't know. My agility trainer said he is bar none, including her own dogs, the most affectionate dog she has ever met. A behaviorist once said he is truly weird, because he is notfinenotfinenotfinenotfine and then *poof* omgiloveyouwillyoupetmeforeverandeveramen.

Now, we spend a lot of time working on his reactivity. In certain specific situations he is much less reactive than others (e.g. he is much better at the agility field, with all the happiness he associates with that place). Our house is not one of those places.

Now that the backstory is out of the way, I'll get to the real story.

We had a couple of friends come over the other day, both guys we've known since high school, and that D has known since he was a puppy (whether he remembers it or not). I put Diocese behind a baby gate in the hallway, where he could see some of the living room, where I was sitting, but not where the guys were sitting. He saw them every now and then, and eventually I asked one of them to help me with a training exercise with him.

Diocese was perfect.

More importantly, he did so well, with zero signs of nervousness (possibly because this is a friend who I do a lot of training with), we decided to try and let him come into the living room on a leash, just in case. With the exception of a few minutes of nervous sunken cheeks on D's part, he was fine.

By the end of the night, he was sitting between our two friends, getting petted by both at the same time, and looking like he was about ready to melt from happiness.

It was heartwarming to not see him scared to death, and actually acting like a "normal" dog around other people.

Yay. :)