I'm here

James and I left the city at a descent time this morning, well descent for having been up until after 2:30 A.M. In the country we were united with Alih, and James was soooo happy to see his older bro again. Alih is next to my side right now, while the little devil child is in the bed with my mom... and trust me, she's not too happy about having dogs in the bed... but James pretends he has no clue. :)

My dad and I put up some X-mas lights today, but they are barley visible on the pic. :( A X-mas tree will arrive in due time as well. The neighbor has a really nice tree, might have to pay them a little visit tonight... hehe...


Above: My parents house in the country. Looks so boring without any snow.. but I think it might snow this week again. I'm crossing my fingers...


Above: My furry children, the blue one is always super proud when he gets to be next to his old super cool bro. :) Oh and check out their blue little lights they have one.. it flashes like crazy..It's so I can see where they are when we are out in the dark... ;) In this part of the world, it's pitch black by 4 P.M.

Above: The Little Devil Child

Change of Plans

Mr. L and I were supposed to spend the weekend in the country. Actually, we should have left Thursday morning, but that changed to leaving Saturday morning… which also changed. Now, it’s down to me going to the country tomorrow (today Sunday), just me and James…well, Alih is already there… and the 3 of us are gonna spend the week there while my folks are heading to the city for work. I'm looking forward to that, it will be nice with some alone time with my 2 furry babies. There will be LOTS of kissing and hugging … believe you me! ;)

I also have a ton of school work to take care of. I am always out in the last minute, typical of me. Especially this last semester when I’m so dead tired of school. I need to get my priorities straight and work my ass off this week!

Did some X-mas decorating today. It’s definitely not much in this house, but the typical "Swedish X-mas candle lights” have come out… the ones we place in the windows. For any non-Swedes, you have probably seen them if you’ve ever been to Ikea during X-mas time.

To give you an idea of how they look like:




I'm starting to get excited about next weekend - Hund 2008 in Stockholm (the big Dog Show). I learned today that Jay's breeder is not coming due to one of her dogs is about to have puppies... but 2 of Jay's brothers will be there - Atlas & Lucas. :) Jamie's brothers... how cute huh... the Stand Strong Brothers..hihi.. If you are interested in getting an AmStaff puppy I'd recommend you to check out kennel Stand Strong where Jay is from. Puppies are soon to arrive...:)

I hope all Americans have survived Thanksgiving. All the eating and shopping ...it can take a toll on the body. :)

Peace Out.

In the Holiday Spirit...

As you can see I got a new header again.. I wanted a header with holiday spirit, and that's exactly what I got.

THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH, MIRRE!!!!

Mirre is another super pro, belonging to the same talented website/blog league as my cousin Q, who did the other header for me.

Check out Mirre's website.. she takes some amazing pics of her gorgeous Chocolate Labrador.

www.mirrekex.se

What kind of dog are you?

Sorry, this test is in Swedish only. I found it online. So all Swedes or Swedish speakers, take it and let me know what breed you are.

Guess what breed I am?

Hihi... I'm a Bull mastiff :)
I'm not surprised, it suites me pretty good considering it has several similar traits to a Rottweiler which I believe is the breed that suites my personality the best.

Guess what breed Mr. L is?

A Bulldog..hihi...
This is also perfect, he always keeps saying he wants a bulldog...

There are only 8 breeds (of which you can "become"), and they are:
* Bernese Mountain Dog (på svenska: Berner Sennen)
* Bulldog
* Bull mastiff
* Cocker spaniel
* Golden Retriever
* Great Dane
* Jack Russel Terrier
* Pug (på svenska: mops)

Here's the test.

Good Luck! :)

ps. You can read more about the personalities each breed represents in this test by clicking here.

Turkey Time

***

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

****

Sunny Day

We had a nice morning walk... but it gets cold when having to be still according to James. :) Brrrr, having to sit in the snow... cold, cold, cold!!! :)

Late Night Walk

I just came back in from "the-late-night pee-&-poo-walk" with Jay. And it was so nice with all the snow that Jay and I couldn't help ourselves, we had to go for a longer walk. Considering it's gonna get warmer in the next few days, we better enjoy the snow ... 'cause soon, soon it will all be gone.:(

A few seconds ago my young son came out in the living-room with something in his mouth, all happy and playful. I was like "now what?" ... 'cause if it's not my slippers it's something else... and it was a BIG piece of foam from his bed. I swear, there is like nothing left of his bed soon. He has completely demolished it. Every chance he gets he goes to attack on that poor bed... either rips foam pieces from it, or rapes it. The boy is freak! :)

Effective

I've gotten lots done today, I am proud of myself . :) Started the day by heading out to the forest with Jay, and after a nice off leash walk it was time for training. I hooked him up to the WP harness and we went for another long walk while he was pulling the chain. The whole time the snow was coming down like crazy... Came home and attacked the vacuum and the mop. Just as I was done cleaning, Mr. L came home with lunch. After getting some yummy food in the tummy, it was time to shower and head out, we had LOTS of errands to take care of so we were out all afternoon and did not get back home until early evening. This means that no school work has been done today (damn it!) but tomorrow I will have to attack the damn books...:(

We got the "Obama T-shirts" today, and James has already tried his. It fitted him perfect. :)

Congrats..

Congratulations -

to Gabbi & Vilma who did great at the big Terrier Show today (Terrierderbyt i Borås). It was their first show and Vilma came 2nd in the junior class (1kv, 2 kk)..

I'm very proud of my fellow training partner. :)

...next up - Hund 2008 in Stockholm...

The Coolest Dude Ever

How cool can one guy be??!!! My fabulous older Tiger.. :)

The Training Crew

Waking up to sunshine and powder fresh snow is not the worst thing that can happen. The snow made James wild... (like he wasn't wild before!!!). He was sooooo happy and wanted nothing else than to run around and act foolish in the snow. He had a serious "go at it" in the snow tonight when we took him out for his evening walk... I let him go in the park and he looked more like a reindeer than anything else the way he bounced around. :)

Anyhow, I remembered to bring the camera to training today. I thought more people would have showed up since we had such nice weather but I guess they were busy elsewhere... We started out with drag weight (a walk in the forest with chains) and continued with cart training once we were back at the club. Below are some pics ...

Above: My Baby is working it... and going crazy on the 2nd pic. :)

Above: It gets cold in-between pulls so the cover came on. He's looking quite sophisticated in his "coat", doesn't he. :)

Below are pics of Jay's TEAMMATES who were at training today:


Above: Dino the Dalmatian

Above: Affe the Dobbie... He was a hard working man today. :)

Above: Stig-Helmer the Staff (a.k.a. Stigge).

Above: Bosse the Bullterrier

Above: A new teammate who was there for the first time today... The little man did one pull with the cart towards the end of training, and he did excellent.

Wakey, Wakey

I was up earlier today than the time I usually get up during the week. :) I was at the grocery store at 8 a.m. The only people there, were some retirees (who've probably been up since 5 am) and myself. :)

We're about to get ready and go to WP training in a few... We got snow overnight so it may be cold for little Jamie in-between pulls, but I will bring his cover. :) I might even bring the camera, if I can manage to remember...

Shopaholic or not?

I used to love shopping for clothes and accessories but for about 3 years now, I have been a poor student living on savings (no, no student loans) which means I have been living on US dollars in Sweden. You might have heard that the dollar has been at its almost all-time low ... and that translates to getting royally screwed (on my part). Now, when I’m almost done in school, the freakn’ dollar is getting stronger. So you might think, ok the bad luck is about to turn … but oh no. Instead the whole world is suffering from a recession and people are being laid off both left and right. However, it's mainly the blue-collar workers (not fair, I know) who are affected the most by this, so I might get by... mm, I hope! But having said that, companies may implement a no-hire freeze which would affect my ass too. Just my freakn luck!

Well, anyhow. Back to shopping… I mean, the shopping that has been non-existent for almost 3 years. I can’t wait to start working again so I can shop and begin to look like a “normal person” … I used to love fabulous brands like Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, you name it ..but I have sunk to my all time low. My question is though, will I truly enjoy shopping as much as I used to or have I become too old to truly care? Some of my friends think I might not care for the brands and the shopping as much anymore, while Mr. L is a firm believer that the shopping devil is still very much inside of me, and that he (the devil) has gone NO WHERE. He’s just waiting to be let out again… hahaha.. Well, its remained to be seen.

I did a little shopping today though, considering I felt I can barley go outside the house anymore without looking like a trashy I-don’t-know-what. I got a pair of pants at MQ and some tops at Gina Tricot. In an attempt to be a little hip I was gonna take pics of my new clothes and post it on my blog, but I was forced back to reality pretty fast. :) I was in the bedroom playing photographer when I heard Mr. L say: “what are you doing in there?"...He went on by saying: “please don’t tell me you are taking pics of your new clothes?”… I didn't want to answer, but after a few seconds I felt I had no other option but to whisper out a tiny "yes". Mr L. said: “how old are you? 4 going on 14?”… LOL… Well it woke me up and I knew too, I’m just too old for that stuff. I’m hoping though, once the mula/ chashola (call it whatever you want) is starting to role in again, I will return to shopping like a got damn maniac! :)

Ps. I will stick to taking pics of my sons instead… and speaking of...my young son wanted to help out while I was taking pics of the clothes, and this is what he looked like…

"Mommy, please let me help you... you seem to have so much fun. I know you can't say no to me when I look this cute". :)

My beloved son is 9

Alih's delicious cake made out of Musch (Jay's yummy food according to Alih) and cat food. :)

*** Happy Birthday, Alih!!!! ***

** 9 years old on November 21, 2008 **

We cheated though and had the b-day party yesterday at my folks place (here in the city), since Alih was going to the country last night with his grandparents - his regular weekend retreat. ;)

Below are pics from the party. :)

Above: The B-day boy is excited about his party and must keep a watchful eye on the "making" of the cake. :)

Above: The cake smells FABULOUS... And opening up gifts (here a stuffed hedgehog) is one of Alih's specialties. :)

Above: The 2nd gift - could there possibly be a big yummy bone in there... ??
And then, some play-time with the new stuffed animal. One can never get too old for that ..

A happy & content B-day Boy! :)

Hard At Work

This is how the big boys do it (see the clip)... Jayness takes it a little bit more easy, I must say. Rebel, the dog on the clip, weights 56 lbs and pulls 6613 lbs, 118x's his own body weight....Hm, let's see... James weights 67 lbs and the heaviest we've let him pull is approx. 440 lbs. :)

It's snowing...

Dinner

I went out to dinner with Karro tonight, a belated b-day dinner. OMG did we eat... mmmm. :) Great food, great company and lots of fun conversation topics - an excellent evening in other words.

Now, it's time for some "Scrubs".. a little JD and Turk will top off an already great evening.

Nighty Night!

The Sun Came Out

We finally got some beautiful weather today after weeks and weeks of gray, dark and rainy weather. We went to the park where the dogs could play and have fun... When Alih was tired, I dropped him off at the car and hooked Jay up to his WP harness so he could get some drag weight training. Managed to get some nice pics of the babies today as well. Enjoy! :)

First, some pics of the Gorgeous Old Man... he is such a handsome baby. And he may be old, but he's still as feisty as can be... If you don't know him really well, you don't want to walk up to him unannounced... :)

Below pics of Jay in his new WP harness. Looking cute eh?! :)

Below: This was obviously not a good quality pic, but Jay looked so funny on it. What the heck happened to his ears???... hihihi...

Below: Wild Baby flying over anything and everything. :)

Best of Opposite Sex

- That’s what James became today at the unofficial Dog Show we went to. :)

That means, for anyone who wouldn’t know, that he became the Best Male Amstaff. He was, however, beaten by the Best Female Amstaff thus his title “Best of Opposite Sex”. I am extremely happy and proud of my baby, considering he’s still just a junior and yet became the best male.

The reason for going to an unofficial show was really for me to practice on showing James. James has the show experience but I don’t, so I needed to train more before the big Dog Show in Stockholm (Hund 08) in December. And hopefully gain some confidence ... :)

Here’s James critic (first in Swedish):
Välutvecklad junior hane. Maskulint huvud med korrekt bett. Välburna öron. Välutvecklat förbröst och bröstkorg. Bra benstomme. Rör sig bra runt om. Välvisad.

The critic in English:
Well-developed junior male, Masculine head with correct bite. Well-carried ears. Well-developed chest and thorax. Good bone-structure. Moves well all around. Well shown.

That last part “well shown” means the most to me from today, considering I have been doubting my handler skills for so long. Obviously, I know I have learned a lot considering I have taken a handler class… but still, this felt fabulous to hear!

To sum up the results in Swedish: 1HP, BH1, BIM

Yesterday, it was James' first time at the WP training with his new harness. I was worried the harness would be slightly too big but I think it worked (& fitted him) great after all. :) James is such a good “working dog”… We began by going for a longer walk with the dogs pulling chains. I wasn't sure if the newly purchased chain would be too heavy for him on these longer walks but no problem at all. He just kept going and going like it was nothing. He barley breathes heavy... I swear! He’s such a good baby and an excellent athlete. After the walk, it was time for the cart and he did great here too. My baby may be wild, but he sure has a work ethic like few others. :)

By the way, the judge today said when touching James: “This guy sure gets lots of exercise. He’s rock hard”...and that he is. My little baby has always been a bad eater, but muscles he's still managed to get. :)

My Old Baby is back from the country, so I'm gonna walk over to my mom and dad's apartment and pick him up. My old yummy Stinky Baby... :)

Happy 10 years, Cosmo!

Happy Birthday, Cosmo!!

This is Alih's & Carlos' buddy Cosmo... the 3 boys hung out a whole lot, they more or less grew up together. :) ... The 3 musketeers. :) The years have gone by way too fast, and even though Cosmo lost his play & hike buddies when we moved to Sweden, he got himself a little brother instead... hihi.. He loves his brother just about as much as Alih loves James... :) Old men having to raise young and wild kids... it's not fair. :)

Wishing you a wonderful day, Cosmo... with lots of yummy bones and delicious treats.

With Love from Sweden..

Happy Birthday!

A BIG

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO MY MOM

&

TO MY COUSIN KAROLINA...

They have their birthdays on the same day. We have already had cake with mom and we are going out to dinner in a short while. On Tuesday, Karro and I are going out to celebrate her with some yummy dinner as well.

Have a great day!