3athletejen

The inevitable happened. Trudy's day care called on Wednesday and oh-so-kindly recommended she get more training before returning. So technically, she was not kicked out, but it may be awhile before she's welcomed back. While disappointed, this incident clearly indicates we're doing something wrong. Trudy is fantastic. It's fairly disgusting how much we love her and when you love a dog that much, it's difficult to discipline them. (All you with kids are saying, "duh.") We have not done a good job of positioning ourselves as the pack leaders, so she's confused. Therefore, her aggression comes out at random times. Coincidentally, she is more aggressive when she's regularly attending daycare. So no more day care for Trudy, which saddens me mostly because the burden then falls on us to wear this dog out. When Boyfriend's out of town, all three walks per day with some park time fall to me. While I enjoy this interaction with Trudy, sometimes you hav...

Maybe. Maybe not. I do know that as a swimmer, there are a few muscle groups of which I can be proud. Lats. Triceps. Flexible ankles. Okay, so flexibility is not a muscle group, but I'm still counting it. Where am I going with this rambling post? Here's the deal. If there was some sort of award for working out a lot, I may be in contention. Swimming, running, yoga, cardio....I can knock it out fairly easily. However, throw intensity in there and I have a problem. Not to mention a definite lack of strength. Ask my stepbrother about me try to do a pull-up. Singular. It was really more of me just hanging from the monkey bars and him laughing. So I decide to mix it up. Try something new. $40 for six Bootcamp classes. Real Bootcamp, not YMCA Bootcamp. (Sorry, Y.) Monday, 4:45pm, a male instructor named Dana. Don't let the name fool you. For sixty minutes, I had my ass handed to me. As I'm struggling to do the ring push-ups - on my knees no less - it hits me. I suck at this. ...

Last night was the kick-off of my twenty year high school reunion. A school tour was planned (I was too late), a home football game was scheduled (I didn't make into the bleachers), and a follow-up gathering took place at a hole-in-the-wall bar. (I was one of the first to arrive.) So my priorities are clear. It was a more intimate gathering than I expected -- around 25 people. Fortunately, I liked everyone there and let's be honest, this is all about my good time. Though the celebration continues tonight with a more formal and hopefully highly attended event, here are some tidbits that fall into the Reunion 101 curriculum. 1. You'll be nervous. (I speak for the women.) It doesn't matter if you're married, single, skinny, fat, successful or struggling. There's something about being faced with people that knew you at the most awkward stage in your life. You could now be a CEO of a Fortune 500, but just think about high school and you can feel your chin break out a...

This is Trudy. More specifically, this is Trudy's butt. Her preferred sleeping method is head half under the bed, butt half out. This is not all that unusual for dogs, but it still makes me laugh. In the two months since adopting Trudy, we have laughed many times at her antics. Getting asked not to return to dog daycare was not one of those times. The Elegant Canine (TEC) was Trudy's first venture into daycare, as well as some one-on-one obedience training classes with the owner. The training classes went fine. The daycare did not. As with most rescue dogs, we are clueless as to Trudy's life prior to being Trudy. She was found trotting through the neighborhood by a kind neighbor who rescued and fostered her until she was eventually initiated into the Saab household. Truth is, we suspect she was kind of a badass dog. Weighing in at a svelte 45 pounds, she doesn't cower from any one or any animal. I have this vision of her roaming the streets with nun chucks, s...