To celebrate getting older....

I have tried unsuccessfully in the past to blog, but I have decided that to celebrate this veritable milestone; my 34th birthday I would do it by attempting to start another blog. I have always journalled obsessively so why not? Why not put it out there for the world to read? Or at least maybe a couple people anyway!

So, here goes... I am a teacher, at the moment a Special Education teacher in a small school, just outside Saskatoon. I love what I do and I am slowly but surely coming to embrace to culture of the school and the kids I teach here. I moved last summer from a three year stint in La Loche, SK where I tried to learn the culture and embrace the community wholeheartedly. In the process, I grew very attached to my students and I grieved deeply when I decided it was time to leave the community. So, it has been a slow transition to this new world but I think I am finally getting the swing of it! Just in time to shake things up, and start a new "project"... graduate school while working fulltime!

And if that wasn't enough, I live with two dogs at the present and maybe more to come? I have Spike, the oh so serious Border Collie/Lab cross who adopted me after the sudden loss of my first dog, Mortimer. (I will tell that story maybe someday). He is turning 4 the end of the month and is my constant companion and sidekick as I journey through my life. I also have Sophie, the Lab who turned 2 in April. She has been a challenge for me because she is SO damned happy all the time. Despite throwing up nearly daily for the first year and a half of her life, and constant bladder mishaps in the house until she was 1. And, now chronic stiffness in her hips. But, she manages and she does so with a smile on her face and a tail wag, swung with such excitement it bruises anyone who comes in contact with it. She is my light and laughter frequently in days where I just wonder what the heck I am doing in this crazy world teaching!

I work with these two characters day in and out on training for a variety of purposes; agility, rally obedience and flyball. We are beginners in most training arenas but both my pups are super motivated to learn and I am promising myself that I will put a title on at least one of these two before my next birthday. Doesn't matter what the title is, just something to show how we are growing.

Anyway, welcome to the journey... I hope to share myself, and my journey with my pooches through this medium. Here's to many blog posts to come!