Birthday Weekend

Just updating after my fabulous birthday weekend. Turning 23 doesn't really feel much different other than telling people that I am now 23... it is just a little strange. It makes me feel about 10 times older than 22 felt!
But onto the details... Saturday one of my lovely wives, Nikki, and I went to the wine festival held around Apple Blossom time. I actually had no idea that this existed before my mom told me about a week or so ago. We had a great time and tried a lot of different wines. I ended up buying one bottle that was $9 from a Williamsburg winery. A Riesling, of course! We also tried a great Rose Moscato from Spain, but it was just a little too expensive for me ($20...). After we left there, we had family over at my house, as usual, with a great dinner mom made and gifts. I got lots of Mizzou gear that mom got out on our trip including a huge, super soft blanket, a new pillow, a scentsy with a few different scents, a cute tiger plush with Mizzou bandana, a jersey for Beamer boy to wear, a pawprint magnet to put on the car, and something that came today, which is a Mizzou car fin to put on and a wine glass! I also got two different bottles of wine and another wine glass from my grandmother.

After everything was over, we also had a lovely bonfire in the backyard, complete with roasting marshmallows. A wonderful way to end the night.

On Sunday, I went to Dad's house who lives about an hour away. We had plans to go to a winery that day and I could bring Beamer, but it was raining about the time I had to leave. We did have a backup plan, though. We went down to the mall and into the Apple store to buy a new laptop for vet school. I definitely need my Dad with me for purchases like this since he knows what I need. Unfortunately, the store did not have the laptop I wanted with all the additional features that my Dad said I needed (More memory and something else I'm not really sure what it is... but makes my computer faster). So, on we went through the rest of the mall just to look around. Not finding too much else (besides two cook books that Aimee bought for me!) we went out to dinner at P.F. Chang's, a first for me. We had some fantastic chicken lettuce wraps and some plum wine (another first, not sure if I'd get it again). I got pad thai, not exactly the best by far, but decent. Dad got something with beef and Aimee got some really good shrimp with walnuts that I really liked. After that, I just went back to Dad's house and he gave me my gift, which was a new backpack! It is gold and black and will be perfect for vet school. I have been desperately needing a new one since my old backpack is from middle school.
Finally, Dad helped me order my new laptop and it should be here sometime next week, I can't wait! I'm also a little sad since there goes $1600 I had been saving up... my biggest purchase to date (right behind Beamer boy). But I am pumped for a new laptop and I'll have some time before school starts to get everything in order that I need.

That just about wraps up this weekend, next weekend is Apple Blossom with fireworks and a parade! Plus lots of really great (and unhealthy) food! Finishing up with a picture of my first wife and I from the wine festival. The only thing that could have made this weekend better would be to see my other two wives that I miss dearly. Love you guys!

Mizzou visit!

Well, I am finally back from my big Missouri trip! I have a lot to post about, so I hope I can remember everything. I had a great time and I'm really glad that my mom could come out and experience it with me.

We left Friday morning for the airport, only about an hour drive. Our plane was delayed, of course, about an hour. We finally got off the ground and into New York, where we had a layover. Thankfully, I booked enough time in between flights just in case we were delayed. We had plenty of time in New York to board our next plane to St. Louis. I am pretty sure I could see Manhattan, The Empire State Building, and Central Park when we were in the air, which is a first for me. It was pretty cool to see such a huge city from the sky. Once in St. Louis (about 7pm their time), we went to get our rental car and drove to Columbia, about an hour and half drive or so. It went very smooth and we got to our hotel about 9:30 and we were wiped. We ended up grabbing something pretty quick for dinner and then going to our hotel to pass out.

Saturday was the big day full of things to do. We got up early and headed to the open house Mizzou's vet school at about 9am. We checked out the club booths first and I met some new people and learned about some clubs. I will definitely be joining the PALS club at my school-which is basically like a therapy dog kind of club. Your dog just has to have a CGC, which Beamer already has, so we are all set (they just have to be evaluated by one person just to be sure they are fine). Not sure what else it entails, but we get free Frontline/Heartguard! Perfect for a poor vet student. There weren't any other club booths (that were there) that interested me, though.

Next, we went to the vet school book store. I bought a ton of Mizzou vet school stuff there! A few shirts, a hoodie, a jacket, a few stickers, I bought my dad a hat, and a few other little things. Mom bought a few little things and some clothes, too! I also met up with my one roomie who was coming to the open house, Kristin! Meeting her for the first time 'officially,' it felt like I had known her for years. She is super and I can't wait to room with her! It is too bad our other roomie couldn't make it, but I'm sure she is great, too, and I'll meet her in July.

After spending a lot of money at the bookstore, we went on a tour of the small animal hospital, which was great (though less informative for students who will be starting in the fall than my previous tour). Still, it was awesome for mom to see everything. After the tour, I went to go meet who my 'Big' is going to be for the next year, her name is Chris! She was super nice and sounds great! Then we went to go tour the large animal hospital/mostly equine section where we saw a horse demonstrate the equine treadmill and lameness indicator.

The last thing we did was go to the last lecture, which was on Toxicology with Dr. Evans... let me just say I am so looking forward to that class. He was dressed up with a cap, bike helmet, and ski goggles, to say the least, and in his presentation he referenced Star Wars. He was hilarious and entertaining. That should be a fantastic class when I get to it!

Kristin and I finally met up with Sarah, who has been super awesome at helping both of us with any questions or concerns we have. She is currently a first year! After we left, my mom commented on how super nice EVERYONE in Missouri is... and I got the same impression when I went out for my interview. We did not meet anyone who wasn't helpful or nice in some way.

After the open house, my roomie and I had to go meet the property owner to get a showing of the place we will be renting next year. It is about 10 minutes driving from the school (and less than 5 miles total). The first thing pulling in that we noticed, the road was TERRIBLE!! Potholes EVERYWHERE. Both Kristin and I were having our doubts just based on the road. The actual place looked really great and I'm really looking forward to living there. It is a 4 bedroom duplex that has a fenced in backyard. Not huge, but large enough for dogs to play and do their business. It does look like it can get a bit muddy after it rains, so I'll have to watch Beamer carefully. But, mainly I wanted a fence so that if I am super busy studying, I can just let him out to go potty really quick.

As you walk in, it has a split level. Upstairs, there is a decent size kitchen, a small dining area, and then the living room. There is also a deck (no stairs to go down, though) that Beamer is going to LOVE to lay out on when it is nice. The master bedroom and one of the full baths is also upstairs, which Kristin is going to live in. The place also has a 1 car garage. Going downstairs, there are the remaining 3 rooms. One has a door to the backyard, so that room will be our office/guest room for people who visit to sleep in. I have already claimed my room, which faces the backyard. It is slightly larger, but has a small closet (which I could care less about). There is a full bath down there as well. The place seems perfect for us and the rental company has been amazing to work with. No pet limits (on number of pets, weights, size... anything). The dogs just have to not be aggressive, of course, since there are families and children in the neighborhood. I'll be the only one bringing a pet of any kind at this point, but my other roomies plan to get dogs somewhere down the line, as do I plan to get another golden at some point when the perfect litter comes along. The place is just $800 plus utilities, so you can't beat that price (which is split between 3 people!)

So the showing went great and the rental company should be emailing us a lease to sign anytime! I did have to say goodbye to Kristin at that point (she had a long drive home) but it was fantastic to meet her (and her mom).

Mom and I then went back to the main campus to have a look around and to go to the main campus bookstore. We saw a few buildings there, one that looks VERY similar to Burruss Hall at Virginia Tech. We also looked at the columns, that are pretty infamous on this campus! After that, we spent quite a bit of time at the bookstore where mom says that she got all my birthday shopping done. I also bought another hoodie here, a shirt, and a new bottle (mine was broken and I had to toss it at the airport).

Since we hadn't eaten hardly at all that day, we went to a place that was recommended, a Thai place called Bangkok Gardens. It was delicious and we had a super nice waitress! I also had to drink some sake. Mom and I walked around the downtown area just a little and then we drove around town a bit to go and see what was near where I live. We ran into a cute custard place and I got some good ice cream!

Finally, at that point, we were worn out so we just went back to the hotel for the evening and sorted through our things as well as prepared for the return trip back on Sunday. Once we got going Sunday morning, we returned the rental car after driving to St. Louis and then had a direct flight back to Dulles. We finally got back home about 6pm that evening. Today, I am still feeling pretty tired from the trip, but we had a fantastic time! Mom says she can see why I fell in love with the place when I went out there from how similar it feels to Tech and by how nice everyone is. Going out there again just wiped away any doubts about being nervous about going so far away (though of course I will miss my friends and family at home). I'll just add to my family when I'm out there. I know that this is the right place for me to be!

It's been a busy few weeks. I've been working nearly every day, which is great because I desperately need the money but I'd also like to have a few days off now and then. Two weeks ago, I went and got my newest tattoo. It is representing my journey as a Hokie and future Missouri Tiger. I am IN LOVE with this tattoo... I will need to get it touched up in a month or two, but otherwise, they turned out beautiful! (Please excuse my poor looking toes...)

Anyway, today is finally the day my Mom and I are heading out to Missouri. The open house is tomorrow and I'll finally be able to meet one of my roommates and we will also be signing our lease for our duplex and seeing the place. I am SO excited to go back and actually see Columbia. I didn't get to see any of it when I was there for my interview. And, I'm excited to experience it with my mom and not alone this time. I'll also be meeting some future classmates and learning even more about where I'll be attending the next four years. It is still surreal that all of this is happening.

In other news, I found out that I am 23 on VMRCVM's waitlist this year. That is actually better than I was expecting (somewhere around 30)... so that is good. But still, even if by some chance I do get called off the waitlist, I won't be going. I still just don't feel right about them as I do about Missouri. Of course, I'd still have to think about it!

I'll be back on Sunday or Monday with another update on how things went in Missouri. Our plane leaves at 1:40pm today and then we won't get back in until around 5pm on Sunday.

Wow, what a crazy and amazing week this has been. On Wednesday, Beamer turned had a birthday. I cannot believe that my boy is now two years old! Where has the time gone? And, what an amazing two years it has been. He was a wonderful puppy and an even better companion to me. We have learned a lot from one another and he has gotten me involved in the world of dog showing and trials.

After a busy week from work, we had an even busier weekend. I had signed up for the trials in Boonsboro, Maryland, since a few people told me it was a great little show. I was very impressed with it! On Saturday, we were supposed to be entered in Rally Advanced A, but apparently I messed up my entry and didn't realize it. There was nothing we could do, so I just ran in the Rally Novice A that I had accidentally entered in. We ended up rocking the class with a 98 and 1st place. So, the day didn't get off to the best start, but that's alright. My dad and his wife came out to see me, which was really nice. Amy has been really supportive of coming out to see my dog trials. Dad went to get us some lunch while I anxiously awaited my Obedience trial later that afternoon, although they couldn't stay to watch it.

I had also entered Beamer in Novice A Obedience, something I kept debating with myself doing. I wasn't sure if he was ready or if I was ready for it. I knew he could do everything, it was just a matter of him focusing in the ring. We ended up doing really great that afternoon! Only two of the original five of us Q'd. Beamer was wonderful and I messed up a few things. I got to talk to the judge afterwards and he said I had a tight leash, I wasn't allowed to touch him for the down stay (and I was trying to position him so he wouldn't move... won't make that mistake again), and that I was moving when I gave the recall command. The feedback is always good since Obedience showing is something we are really new at and the rules are much stricter than rally.
But anyway, we got Second place with a score of 185! We met a very nice person with a black lab who beat us with a score of 187. They did great, though, and definitely deserved it! Beamer was very focused with me during the whole run on Saturday, I was so proud.

On Sunday, we basically had a repeat of what I entered. I was for sure in Rally Advanced A and we ran. Beamer did /mostly/ well. He was following me great and just a little distracted (more than yesterday but I think he was just warn out from he day before). But anyway, he has this problem where he baulks at jumps. He will get a good running start and then won't jump, I don't get it... I even practiced with him beforehand in the parking lot over some large logs to hopefully prep him for the jump. But even with that, he wouldn't. I thought that it was an automatic NQ (and I also thought you could try the jump again... apparently not) but I was shocked to see a score of 82 on the board! Wow, what a relief that we got our first leg towards our RA title! There was only one other team in my class (who got a 70) so we got first place today, too! Now, all I need to do is really work on Beamer's jumping which probably means making my own jumps at home and working with him more than an hour every week or so.

This afternoon, I was still pretty nervous about our upcoming Obedience trial. I knew that we could do it from the day before, but I also knew Beamer was not at his best today. There were 6 in our class today, only 3 Q'd. Our turn was pretty disastrous- his heeling was nothing like the day before (where his off leash heeling was better than on leash). Both were pretty bad- the leash was tight and he was dragging behind at times. On off leash, he was still lagging behind me. On the recall, he did not come front or listen to me when I signaled him to finish. He was distracted by something outside the ring. But other than that, he did well for the figure 8 and stand for exam. The sit and down stays were great for both days and the judge was awesome and Q'd us. I was almost certain after that heeling we had been NQ'd. We ended up getting 2nd in our class again with a score of 170.5 (note that 170 is passing! One team actually got 3rd place with 170, haha!)
Wow, so what a relief, two CD legs down... I can't believe it! Since I was so hesitant with entering him, anyway. I am a VERY PROUD MOMMA!!

This trial was great, to sum up! Separate buildings for both Rally and Obedience and Obedience had 2 rings to get things moving quicker. The judges were AMAZING!! The judge for Rally (both days) tried really hard to get me into the right class, but it was the AKC rules that made it so I couldn't move up. She was super nice to me and tried her best. The Obedience judges were also really cool. The one the first day talked to me about how to improve myself as did the one from the second day. And she was really generous to Q us that second day.

They also had prizes that some dogs got and some you had to sign up to be eligible for. Beamer got two prizes both days- Highest scoring golden retriever in 'A' and Youngest dog competing. We got a calendar, a golden retriever notebook, a cute pillow, and a golden retriever wooden box. Also, if you got a placement in Rally, you got a toy, AND if you got first you also got a bag with a few goodies in it, so we got two of those total as well.

I'm just going to wrap this up because I could go on forever about it! But, to sum up, my boy is amazing and I cannot imagine life without him. I am very very proud of all we have accomplished together! 

My dad, Beamer, and I

Wow, where has the time gone? Beamer's second birthday is on Wednesday, March 27th. Just two short years ago, I remember that I was studying for a Nutrition exam and getting that email that my boy was born in a litter of 5 boys and 4 girls. Now, he has grown into a handsome young man and I could not have asked for a better boy. Yvonne, his breeder, picked out the perfect pup for me!

In other news, it sounds like we have finally secured a place to live! It's a 4 bedroom duplex with a 1 car garage and fenced in backyard. The company we are renting from has other vet students living in some of their places and I hear they are great to work with (and so far, I get that impression, too). I also have two awesome roomies for the fall and I can't wait to meet one of them at the open house next month. We are going to be signing our lease when we go out for it, too. The other one I won't meet until the summer, but both of them are awesome. Beamer will be having a rat terrier and kitty living with him for now and maybe more if my other roomie decides to bring something home. They also don't have a pet weight limit or number of pets limit, which is also amazing!! I'd love to welcome another golden into my life at some point.
We are going to be making one of the rooms an office and guest room so people visiting have somewhere to sleep besides a couch in the living room. So, I am pumped for this place!! We sent in our applications and deposits yesterday and when I called, she told me it was ours!
There are a few parks within walking distance and a few lakes, too, which will be great for Beamer since he loves the water. There is also a jimmy johns within walking distance, too!! Our place is about a 10 minute drive from the school but is also a little bit away from the city of Columbia. It's perfect!

Now, there is just a little less than a month until the open house, and I'm excited. I can't wait to get out there and actually get a chance to see Columbia. I also get to meet many of my future classmates for the class of 2017!

Beamer's biopsy report

Yesterday, I got Beamer's biopsy report back. His lump was 'Cystic trichoepithelioma' which is benign. What a sigh of relief for me, and of course, I am glad that my boy is fine. Though, he is prone to get more in the future, so I'm sure that I'll have more freak-out sessions in the future about him. Growths scare me on goldens- unless I can feel that they are just fat (which this one wasn't) I worry. Sadie, our black lab, has a fatty growth on her, but I don't worry about that one.
Anyway, Beamer is doing fine- just waiting to take out his sutures next Wednesday (which is the first day I work that week).

In other news, the housing hunt seems to be looking up. My roomie and I now have quite a few options and I have some phone calls to make tomorrow to a few places. It looks like most places won't know what they have for July until April, which really sucks since I want to find a place and get a lease signed when we are out for the open house mid-April. We may or may not be looking for third roommate for the fall. It depends on what the rent is on the place we find.

Also, my sister who moved out to California is going to be coming back to visit tomorrow for her spring break. It will be good to see her. And, the super dog expo is Sunday so I'm going to be picking up some gifts for Beamer for his upcoming birthday, which is March 27th. I really didn't get to do too much for his birthday last year since I was in the middle of exams. 

Beamer update

I'm just posting an update after Beamer's big day. He was really pissed off at me when he did not get breakfast that morning. He is such a food motivated dog, too, so that doesn't help.

We did his procedure at about 11am Friday morning. I wanted to try to do it with just a local anesthesia on him and if that didn't work, we could go to sedation. But, he did absolutely wonderful with the local. I held him in my lap while my wonderful vet injected the area with some Lidocaine (after shaving part of his beautiful golden mane).

After 15 minutes, I got him back out and laid him on my lap again while my vet removed his lump. It looked like a sebaceous cyst since we some some white material after removing it. Beamer got 4 sutures in and he was done. He got lots of pill pockets and treats afterwards plus he finally got to eat his breakfast a bit late.

It's been a slight challenge to keep him from playing with Sadie, our black lab. But, otherwise he has been doing really really well. He doesn't even mind wearing his cone at night. Now, it is just a waiting game until we get the biopsy report back. Here are a few pictures of his incision and where it is.

In other news, I started house sitting last night for an old yorkie. I'm house sitting Sunday through Sunday and I have to go during lunch and stay the nights. I meant to take ear plugs with me last night because the previous house-sitter told me he is restless at night, but I forgot. I didn't sleep well probably because of that and just being in a new place. He is on a lot of different medications for his multiple problems as well. It will all be worth it in the end since I'm getting paid $30 a day.

Today is also my mom's birthday! So, a big shout out to my wonderful mom. She has been so supportive of me and my dreams since day one. I couldn't ask for a better mom or best friend. We are both really close and share everything with each other. It is going to be hard to move almost 1/2 way across the country and not be able to see her everyday or even every month like I was when I was at Virginia Tech. So, Happy Birthday, Mom! I Love you!!