Progress

Being out of school has been really nice, and I've been using this extra time to catch up on personal goals.

The Ritz camera classes have been helpful. Maybe it's just me, but I do feel like there's been a significant improvement in the quality of my photographs. Lately, I even find myself looking around wherever I go, to see photo opportunities, and I'll keep on practicing with new techniques while following this path. What I really want to do sometime is walk around downtown one morning and take pictures. The architecture of some of the buildings is so pretty and unique, and morning light is less harsh and makes for better photographs. The trick will be finding someone to go with me. Most folks I know are not morning people, and walking around and taking pictures is probably not the most exciting thing to many. With that in mind, this is probably an adventure best tackled alone...or maybe with a photographers group. Hmmm..

Things have been better at TLAC. I took some time away after the Rabies Clinic event and have been back at the shelter this week, and last night, I hopefully helped a dog find his forever home.

The story: A lady came in with 4 children (two boys 8 and 3 years old and twin infant girls in one of those mega-strollers), and she was looking at the dogs. She'd been enamored with one dog in particular, Roux, who came in a few days ago as an owner surrender, but Roux was very skittish and nervous. Because Roux seemed a little neurotic, the lady's husband didn't really think he'd work out with a house full of kids, but she wanted to give Roux another try. So, I sat with her, her children and Roux in a play area for half an hour. Mostly, I held one of her daughters while she interacted with Roux (and while she wrangled a very enterprising 3 year old boy), and it seemed to go really well. Later that night, the lady "confirmed" her application for Roux, meaning she planned to take him home today. I sincerely hope she follows through on that, too. He's a sweet dog, and after being in the play area for a few minutes, he was very calm, played with one of her sons, and checked on one of the babies when she cried. We even discovered that Roux knows "sit." Aside from the family bonding, I also hope that the lady takes Roux home because dogs who are surrendered by owners are sometimes first to be euthanized if the center runs out of space, and I hate to think that might happen to such a kind and gentle little soul. *crossing my fingers for him*

In more TLAC news, I will attend a Dog Handling training next week, and this means two things. One, I'll be able to participate in Potty Patrol. This might seem disgusting to some, but it's a chance to take the dogs out of the kennels for walks, which is good in that it gets them out of their kennels and it helps them stay social. PP (and yes, I get that the abbreviation is very fitting) is also a great time to get to know the dogs a little better, which leads to the second implication of going to training next week. In Potty Patrol, I can help identify good trail dogs. One of the leading Trail Dog volunteers has already said that she'd like to mentor me, and in order to participate in the Trail Dog program, I have to attend the handling training first. Soon...I'll be out on the trails with the TLAC dogs. Yay!!!

Then, I've done yoga 3 times this week so far, and it feels good. Now, I just have to keep the momentum going and push through that wall I've been hitting. I've lost 10 pounds since we moved into the new place in January, and while it's a good start, there's more weight to shed. The problem is that in the past few years, whenever I lose a little bit of weight, this voice inside my head speaks up, "Who are you kidding? You can't lose this weight, and besides, you like being chubby." Then, I go and eat whatever the hell I want....which usually means pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, cookies and/or chocolate bars. The simple fact is that I don't like this extra weight though. I'm not obese, but last year, I did have the highest weight of my life and was technically "over weight." This time around, I have to hear that voice, acknowledge it and push through it.