We are officially adopting

If you read my previous post about adopting, you'll remember it's a fairly lengthy process.
After having a phone call last week and putting in our application we weren't sure how long it would be until we heard back from the rescue society.  We got a phone call last night, and drove 30 minutes across the city to meet the puppy we want to adopt. She is absolutely adorable!
We played with her and hung out while she played with some other puppies for a good half hour, then made a decision. We called the rescue society back and told them we would love to adopt her.

The next step is a little wishy-washy. The actual adoption could happen one of two ways.
1. They come and do a home inspection and the adoption takes place at our house.
2. The come and do a home inspection and we drive the 30 minutes to adopt from the foster home.
Either way, it will be happening next week! Thursday or Friday are the days we've gotten for everything to happen.
So, now we have some shopping and internet surfing to do.
We need to pick a name. It's down to three at the moment. Beta, Karma, or Mocha.We need to buy: a crate, chew toys, bed, food dishes, food, collar, leash, wow the list goes on and on.
I am borrowing some puppy books from a friend so that will help.
We will need to look at places for obedience training, vet clinic (there is one in our neighbourhood!), doggie day care if we need to, groomer if we need, etc etc.

I'm over-the-clouds excited! I will post pictures once the adoption is official. Expect many blog entries as my fiance and I go through teething, the 'teenage years' and having an additional family member in our lives.

9/25: 300 - Frank Miller

I read "300" for the "read a graphic novel" task in the WBC. This isn't so much a book review as it is a book vs. movie review

I have seen the movie adaptation of this book at least 6 times and can't get enough of it. The story, the graphics, the actors ;)!! I thought I'd pick this particular novel mostly to see how different the story was from the movie.

I am IMPRESSED! Ready the novel was like watching the movie in print. I could not believe that the filmmakers honoured the novel so closely. They even honored the way the characters locked. While I was reading it I told my fiance that it was as if they took the novel and put it right into a screen.

Since seeing the movie for the first time, I knew that picking this book I would love the story anyway. I read it mostly just to see what the differences were, and I couldn't find too many. Obviously the movie added in some entertainment value and extended this seems a little bit, but the basic storyboard is the same.

I must make time this week to watch the movie again.

8/25: The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I read this book for the WBC for the task "read a book written in letter form".

It took me a little while to get into this book. There's nothing fancy about it. Nothing that will suck you in and hold you. I enjoyed reading it because it was light and quick. The letters were interesting, and written in a time well before mine, the end of World War II.  I felt like this book was a part of a bigger story, but I was happy with that. There was a little piece of someone's reality that I could share in. The letters back and forth were filled with deep relationships. Most of the relationships were built on a single letter that turned into something great.

If you're looking for a quick read, I would recommend this one. It's funny, heartwarming and easy to get through.

Adopting a fur child

My fiance and I have been wanting a dog for a while. We never thought it would fair to have a pet in an apartment, so we never got one. Now that we have a house, a fenced backyard and a dog-park a block from our house, the timing is good.

We have been to the pet stores, wandered around and had a look at dogs in places like Petsmart and Petcetera.  We've decided to adopt a dog from a rescue agency here in the city. There are numerous ones, so we've put applications into two different ones. Arf and Misty Creek Dog Rescue. I've had co-workers who have adopted from both of these places and said they would do so again. We have been looking at the dogs on these sites that are already in foster homes. Most of them are house trained and because they are in a home already, they are fairly used to kids and love people. Both very important things for us since I have 4 nieces.

It can take a couple weeks to hear anything, and then there's meetings and day trips with the dog.
I've told people this is our practice child. lol

Triples, Quads, Quint's and an online competition...

Last night's pole class was fantastic!!
On the Polejunkies forum, my instructor posted a thread on swing combinations. I printed it off and took it to class last night, in hopes of learning and trying a few. That spurred on some great creativity and "ooo try this" and "that looked great, what was the combo?" I enjoyed every minute of it and it took me forever to fall asleep last night since I was so excited.
We started with combos that were triples. This was what my printed off sheet consisted of. After doing a few of the ones on the sheet, we decided that an extra spin at the end could easily be added on. I think our greatest achievment for the night was that of a 6 swing combination. Not the prettiest move, but we did it, so it counts.


Another nice surprise was my instructor asking to use one of my Polejunkies Challenge videos for an online competition. It's to get people more involved on the forum, and get people more interested in this amazing form of exercise. She's collecting challenge videos from various people that have them posted, and created a place for people to vote on. The person with the most votes wins. I will be calling on you my dear followers to vote for me when the time comes. I'm not sure when the videos will be up, but I'll let you know.