I officially work "in the business"!!

So my internship at Channel 8 became EMPLOYMENT at Channel 8! It feels so awesome getting a regular paycheck again, even if it means two part time jobs (I also work for UNLV-TV). It just feels so awesome starting my career in a top 50 market. I'm an assignment editor, which means I listen to scanners, take the viewer's crazy "please solve all my problems" phone calls, make assignments, and scan the city for all the news! It's kind of intense, especially the arriving at work at 5:00 am bit. I'm trying not to get too addicted to Rockstars (well, I'm trying to not have to drink them), so my mantra is that if I get less than 6 hours of sleep at night, I can have one. But since I'm trying this whole healthy living stuff lately, I'm going back to cutting out soda, which includes Rockstars, right?

Anyways, if you have a news story, I have multiple ways to air it since I now work on three different shows! I LOVE THE NEWS!!!!!

Need For Speed!

Bindi being the team's cheerleader...totally obsessed and wondering why it's not her turn yet!
Maybe this will be the Christmas Card picture...if I feel like doing them this year!

This past weekend, Flyin' Aces hosted a flyball tournament in the most appropriate place I can think of for speed-addicted dogs: Las Vegas's own Motor Speedway! We went to race our second favorite Border Collie Nelson, and of course, our first favorite Border Collie Bindi came along as the Atomic Dogs' personal cheerleader! She still has five more LONG months until she can officially compete, but the team has been awesome in using this time to get her ready! We love these tournaments even if our own dog isn't racing; our team is full of fun people that make the 12+ hours of racing a great day. Plus, we have excuses to make some quick fun weekend trips!

Just so you know how truly obsessed Bindi is with flyball (in case you couldn't tell from the pictures), I was watching a show yesterday that had a tennis scene in it. Well, Miss Bindi over here decided to jump up and attempt to grab the tennis ball from the TV screen! I'm glad we're involved in a sport she likes to do instead of one that we like that she's just participating in. We were really in need of a hobby we could do together, so I'm glad we discovered flyball!

By the way, speaking of hobbies, I made that adorable bandana she's wearing!

The Internet works again!

...So no more excuses for not blogging! And I'm on Spring Break, so really, no excuse!

So since it's been freakin' forever since I've written anything, here's some bullet points of our lives...

• After a rather scary month or so of Judd being unemployed, he got an even better job than the one he lost! It was a humbling experience, because we had it in our heads that we would ride this recession out without the huge misfortunes many of our friends and family would face. It made us really count our blessings and be thankful for the littlest things.
• Our third move in this marriage: We moved into a townhouse! I love having stairs and another room! Now that our family grew a bit (the dog, not a baby!), we need the space. We're renting it from some friends who love that we have a bunch of pets! We're closer to school now. Actually, we're just closer to anything important now! It's nice only having to fill up on gas every two weeks. I'll post pictures once I feel it's pretty enough to show off.
• Bindi is growing up to be a great little dog! She's showing great potential to be both a flyball and a DISC dog. She has crazy energy, but we love her dearly. She went to her fourth tournament this weekend in Hurricane. We love going to these even though she's too little to compete; we all just have fun anyways! The camera Judd got me for my birthday is being put to good use taking as many pictures as I possibly can of my dog's childhood. (Clearly, whatever parenting instinct I have is going into my dog right now!). Be patient and let me graduate/do something with my degree first, THEN we'll talk babies!
• So since we go to so many tournaments and dog shows these days, I can't help but notice all the cute bandanas, collars, tugs, and other handmade dog accessories people sell at these. Just for the fun of it, I made Bindi a couple bandanas that loop through her collar so they stay on better. I have been getting a lot of compliments on them, and since I've been collecting material from the ones I've made Bindi, I thought it might be fun to start selling them. Judd and I also have gotten compliments on the training tug we made Bindi, so we were thinking we should get good at making them and start selling them. Maybe an online store? Who knows!
• Other than that, school takes up my whole life. I'm an anchor for UNLV's news show Studio G on Tuesdays, the weather person Thursdays and Fridays, an intern for Channel 8 KLAS three days a week, and of course, a reporter every day. And do I still love it? Of course!

Goodbye APH

So tomorrow is my last day as a veterinary assistant at American Pet Hospital. Part of me is relieved because some of the intense stress and workload I've been facing lately will be lifted off my completely worn out shoulders. I can fully focus on school and my awesome Channel 8 internship. Judd's new job will more than cover what I "contributed", so I'm trying not to feel too guilty about that, even though I hate the feeling of not being helpful financially (more like detrimental, between my shopping addictions and school...).

The other part of me is a little bummed, because I have made so many friends at the hospital. I have loved (most) of the staff I have worked with over the past three years and know I have lifelong friends there. I'm going to miss my favorite clients and their pets a lot. I haven't really told any of the clients I'm leaving mainly because I didn't want to cry in front of them. At least I'll still see my favorite dog Nel once a week when Bindi is ready for Flyball!

Even though there was a lot of drama, I am still thankful for everything the hospital did for me. I was allowed to grow and learn a bunch of skills. They closed early the day of my wedding so they could attend. I've never had a problem adjusting my work schedule with my school schedule. I am really glad I got those three years, and I hope I'm leaving on good terms with everyone.

2009

So I've been reading some Facebook statuses of various friends and family today, and I saw a bunch that said something like "2009 was the worst year ever! Can't wait for 2010!". While I can't say that 2009 was the greatest year of all time, I think it had its highlights. We had a lot to be thankful for, so I'm choosing to focus on the positive in a year that was a downer for so many...

So in no particular order, here's a few of our memorable moments!

We finally got our puppy Bindi (you know, the one we had named before we were engaged!)!!


Speaking of pets, we were the proud foster parents of an adorable little duckling named Tweakers. She is currently living at Gilcrease Bird Sanctuary and doing great!


We both left jobs we had been with for three years for some new experiences. Judd's been having fun at ICM where he's working on the new pool nightclub for the Wynn, and I started my internship at Channel 8 on Monday! I love it so much, especially since all I have to do is ask, and they'll let me go on an interview or whatever!


Shows we saw include U2, Wicked, and we're seeing Flogging Molly on Saturday!


I learned auburn is a fantastic color for my hair, how to Photoshop, how to ride a motorcycle, train a dog, work a professional video camera, edit videos, and cook a turkey.


Judd learned that Blu-Ray looks better than DVD, patience, how to shoot, how to protect his 2nd Amendment Rights, and how to be a super shopper.


We became fans of Smiths, the Atomic Dogs team (which Bindi will be joining at the end of January!) America's Next Top Model, Buffalo Wild Wings, Phur Lovesac covers, Town Square, clean apartments, and Windows 7.


We were amused by Balloon Boy, saddened at the loss of Michael Jackson, avoided getting the Swine Flu, and survived the Great Recession.


We celebrated our one year anniversary and plan on celebrating many more!


We hope 2010 will be rewarding and our hard work will pay off. And that our dog will be better behaved. And that we'll eat better and work out more. And that we'll find a better place to live. And that I'll graduate and Judd can start on finishing his degree. And that we'll be better at keeping in touch with people we love.


And that your year is great!

Our Christmas Puppy Became a Thanksgiving Puppy!

Bindi has arrived!!!!

We went to Utah for Thanksgiving this year. I was wistfully hoping we would bring back our girl a bit early, because who wants to make that drive twice this time of year (snow and deer hazards?!?!?)? I had been diligently searching KSL (a fancier Craig's List for Utah) for a border collie puppy everyday hoping Bindi would pop out at me somewhere. There were so many different litters to go through. We made the drive up to Highland hoping we could find a few to at least look at, but we didn't have a litter we were really super excited about. On Thanksgiving morning, I came across an ad for a litter of puppies in Cedar Fort with this picture:

I was sincerely hoping the 8-week old cutie in the middle was still available...and she was! We visited her that night and fell in puppy love. Her mom and dad were both on site and we got to play with them. They were total outdoor farm dogs. I was a bit hesitant at first because the daddy dog came running at us with a limp and I worried he had hip issues. But as he got closer, I realized he only had three legs, and his owners explained he lost a leg in a cougar trap. They were both gorgeous dogs so I'm hoping Bindi will be too. My mom and Sam came too and approved of the newest family member.

We spent Black Friday looking for puppy supplies instead of electronics (but we did get a killer deal on a Phur Lovesac cover!!!). We picked up Bindi on Saturday. I kind of felt like a jerk taking her from her mom and dad, but I hope she got over it quick enough.

After an eventful night at various homes of Judd's relatives, we were ready to take Bindi on the six-hour drive home. For being such a young pup, I think she did pretty good!

So now we've had our little (for now!) puppy for a little over a week, and she's been doing great! She is so smart and lovable and pretty much potty-trained. Here's a few highlights of our week thus far... (I feel like such a proud parent; since I don't have a baby to post pictures of, you get my dog!

First bath (highlight for us, not neccesarily her!

Getting into trouble (it's a good thing puppies have such cute and forgivable faces...)

AND attending her first flyball event! Bindi can't officially compete until she is a year old, but she will start training with the Atomic Dogs in a few months! They invited us to a tournament and let us work some of the other dogs on the team. I keep saying this, but as much as I love baby puppy Bindi, I can't wait for her to be big enough to compete in sports!

Opportunitiy Hits!

Judd has been looking for change in his career field for a while while I've been looking for an internship with a news channel. Last week, both of those opportunities presented themselves on the same day! Channel 8 called me, and ICM called Judd. We both had interviews (I was super-thrilled to finally have an excuse to buy an awesome suit!), and we both got the jobs! We're really excited, even though it means we'll have to move again (third time in a year and a half, gotta love it!) just to be a bit closer to our new jobs. We can't wait to start! It's a nice feeling to be able to escape this rut we've felt like we've been in job-wise lately. I don't say it often, but I feel we have been blessed.