my girlies.

sleeping beauties :: 2/12/Jane, originally uploaded by sarah ....

If you know Jane, you know that she doesn't cuddle with the dogs. She is not that kind of person :) This has never happened before. Gyp however, thought this was the best thing ever.

And when they woke and realized what was going on ....

"TOO. SCARED. TOO. MOVE." - Gyp

"Um is it just me or is there something beside me. make it move." - Jane

forever winter.

hide and seek :: 8/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

"The color of springtime is in the flowers, the color of winter is in the imagination."
~Terri Guillemets

"One kind word can warm three winter months."
~Japanese Proverb

From the archives: its tricky

Here's a cute video of Gyp and K from 3 years ago ... always makes me smile :)

Do what you love, and love what you do.

That past 2 Friday's I have been teaching full days of Agility classes - I'm talking 12 hour days, 2 hours of driving each way to teach 8 or 9 hours straight. It is amazing. I have never had time go so fast in my life. I love it.

I am working with a huge variety of dogs, people and skills. I love to troubleshoot and challenge people, and mostly I love to see when the lightbulb turns on and people "get it" and see results. We discuss the controversial "systems", people want to know my thoughts. While I do say I follow the ideas of the "Derrett" system, what I focus on mostly is consistency. I have a couple students focusing on Awesome Paws, I too, really like the theory behind that - I like to run with my dog and have them respond to my body. I want to make sure people know why they are doing what they are doing, and not just going through the motions because they think that is what they are "supposed" to do. I try to get the most out of the dog, and really try to get people to work together. I also believe body is the first language the dogs learn. I find people focus on using a verbal in replace of good handling, and then forget what their body is doing, and the dog gets confused. Then sometimes the verbal gets completely diluted because the dog isn't responding consistently, then the dog shuts down or just keeps taking what it is you didn't want then to take. "I do not believe in call-offs, I believe in good handling" Sarah 2:14 hehe

As I get older - I am getting wiser. I need to focus more on what I love, and not just what pays the bills. I love design and creative direction, but I love animals more - I hope combine it all. I always see people who are passionate about what they do, and they live for their jobs or careers. I don't live for mine - I love it, and I am good at it, but I don't live for it. It has always been my dream to work with Animals, and still use my creative and overly analytical brain, and I hope in the next few years I can turn my focus on that, and have it all.

I am taking baby steps in that direction, and THAT gets me excited :)

Jane. The book.

It's been a work in progress to find the time to design Jane's 52 Weeks for Dogs book. I am super happy with it, and can't wait for it to arrive :)

View full screen for best effect :)

Jane :: 52 Weeks by Sarah Novak | Make Your Own Book

my funny valentine

my funny valentine ::, originally uploaded by sarah ....

happy luv day.

which way?

he went thatta way >> :: 6/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

he went thatta way >>

just like Kaleb ... his ears seem to have a mind of their own.

52 Weeks for Dogs

From the Archives: Jane and the Bath

One of my all time fav Jane videos from about 4 years ago ...

Life is merrier, with a Jack Russell Terrier :)

Down on the Farm

Kaleb fits right in, dontcha think?

And if there is anything true about K-man, it's that he's never been one to follow rules

so, he looks to the left ...

look to the right ...

Busted.

can't think of a clever title.

Gyp at the Seminar "auditing sucks, i want to run"

It was a long ass weekend that started on Thursday when I went to Calgary to pick up Terry from the Airport. I made plans that day to have Gyp re-assessed and Jane even got a few adjustments to help her too.

Gyp is doing much better. The psoas group and intercostal group of muscles is much looser and the insertions are not sore to the touch - which is great. Her mid back though, was tight at the t13/l1. She had acupuncture, laser and some adjustments. We are weaning her off the Robaxin now and keeping exercise the same for the next 3 weeks to see if everything maintains itself.

Jane has been on and off - she has nearly fainted a few times in the last week and half, and had serious muscle spasms from her shoulders to her pelvis the night before, so the timing to see Veronica was perfect. She ran up the stairs when she got home that night and has been eating full meals of Ground Beef :) since.

On to the seminar ...

I was highly distracted all weekend, my heart just wasn't in it. I really missed running Gyp, and I just wanted to snuggle Jane at home. Finding out my Grandma was going in for surgery for Cancer didn't help either. She like Jane, has congestive heart failure, so it is really high risk, and they are doing tests to see if she can even get the surgery safely. And while I really enjoyed Terry's exercises, I only ran in 2 of the 6 sessions as that is all K could work and all I wanted to work him. He ran great, and I really pushed my handling, and K rose to the challenge, his energy was great and I knew when to stop on a high note!

I was super proud of our students for the improvements they made and being pushed with their handling to try to things! And so many of them audited - what a great group of dedicated dog lovers and trainers. That is what I enjoyed most! Well that and dinner with Terry each night, that is always entertaining and insightful - he is a really good mentor.

I took Terry back to our local Airport this morning, I honestly can't believe how fast the past 4 days went!

Now back to reality .... reality bites.

No Pain, no gain.

So I've been training hard in preparation for going under the knife, and that big day is March 15th. I am not looking forward to it, but I've been pushing my knee so hard these last few weeks, it is clearly evident something needs to be done. That is how I am dealing with it - the pain is a constant reminder. When I am not in pain, I convince myself I am OK. I've had to ice after my Sport Conditioning workouts and deep squats and inclined running sure make it swear at me. Bar-knee practically lives on my leg right now.

I've been working with a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach, and he is getting my butt in gear for the upcoming months ahead. The stronger I am going in, the quicker my recovery will be. I've pretty much doubled my protein intake (with being a vegetarian, it can be a challenge). He is coming up with a meal plan and workout schedule for me also, and I am having to track everything I eat - which it sort of interesting (do I really need to write down that I ate a Timbit?)!

I had Matabolic Typing done and a full body caliper test on various spots on my body to test for FAT and where I carry it. I am not doing this to lose weight, I am tying to build muscle and get stronger. I need to replace 6 pounds of fat with 6 pounds of muscle - at least.

I had a full body test done that tests Movement, Strength and Flexibility. I am naturally very flexible, but I need to improve my strength and make moving more fluid - and that is hard with my muscle compensation. Perhaps Gyp and I should do Cavelliti's together?

So look forward to seeing a stronger, more ripped version of myself in the next few months ...

And If I ever look like this, please hit me over the head.

Is this a man in a dress?