Reflections on 2013 USDAA Nationals and other things...

What a great Nationals it was!! The USDAA Nationals (Cynosport games, just cannot bring myself to call it that), are always my very favorite agility event all year! I love the competition itself, I also love the level of competition and the fact that it gets better and better every year! To be honest I have been very fortunate to have had successful National events year after year. I actually think that fact is what made this years event even more special! I went into this years event convincing myself that regardless of the outcome of my individual runs, I was going to have a great time and simply enjoy and appreciate the fact that I had the opportunity to play with my incredible canine partners. The difference this year vs. the last several is that this year I was showing 2 older dogs and a not so young dog that although awesome and wonderful has been shall we say, a bit of a wild ride! :-) In years past I have always had a dog literally at it's prime to take to Nationals and that in and of itself instilled a lot of confidence in the overall outcome :-) This year I was prepared to enjoy the ride, knowing that the level of competition was going to truly test the mettle of not just me, but, my dogs as well. Well, my head was definitely in the right place as SoBe, my wild child, was at the top of her game all week! She has truly never had such a consistent and successful event! Don't get me wrong, SoBe has already accomplished a lot career wise, but, there is always that edge that takes us from extreme success to, well, the other end of the spectrum. Often on the same weekend! Wally was as spectacular as ever and I do believe even more excited and faster than normal :-) The toughest part of Nationals for me was realizing before we even arrived that Maze was not going to be able to show the way he has in years or even months past... It was a tough decision this year whether he would even show in Championship at this years National event. Maze has always been and incredible 26" jumping dog, he also is one of the most consistent dogs I have ever owned, along with being tight and fast! These attributes allowed him to grace many a podium during his career as well as be a member of the 2011 WAO team representing the USA in Belgium. It was sort of a given throughout his career when Maze ran he would run clean and was very likely place in most events. We have a relationship as a team that has become almost a mind reading situation. He is definitely like the old pair of shoes, very comfortable. I have been in this position many times over the years, the ending of an era as it were. It never gets any easier! Watching these amazing members of our family get older is really hard to take. So, I made the decision to run Maze 1 more year at 26". I believe it was the right decision, although by the time Nationals rolled around it was evident that his days of effortless jumping at 26" were quickly coming to an end. This year has been another good one for Maze competitively, he was on the podium multiple times throughout the year at Regional Championships, had all of his semi final byes many times over, and, was 2nd place overall at the CCOA IFCS event in Dallas this April. All was going exactly as planned. I was very mindful of how much training he got, was careful with how tough his hikes were, and, just tried to be extra careful with him because he is never careful with himself! It was September when it became as clear as my conscious mind would allow it to that he was ready to slow down a bit and dial back the jump height... He got lots of time off and lots of lasering between then and Nationals. I showed him at one more trial before Nationals and split his runs between P22" and 26", he looked so good at 22"! Of course my heart still could not really accept that he was getting old... Nationals this year was not what I had come to expect with my Amazing Maze, but, he was still the dog that goes to the line every time with more heart and desire than could ever be expected! He put in some really super runs and, some not so super runs, however, at the end of the day he is healthy, happy, and, forever wedged in my heart. Along came SoBe doing exactly what I needed to be able to really wrap my head around the fact that Maze is ready to be a Performance dog, she showed me that she is indeed the dog that I have always known that she was! Although, one of the most special dogs on the planet in all ways, she has had her struggles keeping her head together in the agility ring :-) Well, not this week! She was on fire! I cannot really explain what changed, but, we were a true team in every run! I strapped on that new "old" pair of shoes and went into every run with confidence that she proved was warranted! Yes, she had runs that put her in the top 20 of almost every class and that was spectacular of course given the field of competitors that we were playing in, but, it was more about our relationship and where we are now and where we are going "together". Maze passed the torch to SoBe this week and she grabbed on and ran with it! I finished up on Sunday with a huge sense of calm and peace, I also left Tennessee knowing the direction I was going to take with my dogs and am ready to get started on that new set of goals and the next stage in my agility competition career! Don't think that Wally does not factor in there somewhere, I think he sort of the great equalizer :-) Wally has has his SoBe moments as well as his Maze moments. He, too is getting up there in years but is in no way telling me that he wants to stop or even slow down for that matter. Wally retiring will be another whole blog entry as that will be another incredibly hard pill to swallow! The good news is that I do not see that happening anytime soon :-) Before I talk about the future, I want to also mention that another huge part of the "experience" this past week involved making it as much of a vacation as anything! Sonya and I had an amazing trip to the Nationals that included many adventures, but, the night out in Nashville was truly a highlight!! We even went boot shopping and Sonya bought her first ever pair of cowboy boots! It was also great to see so many of my friends from around the country and around the World enjoying themselves so much and having such great runs! It is all part of the experience for sure! On to the future! SoBe has the year of her agility life ahead of her, I can feel it! Journey is ready to step up and start playing, it is so incredibly awesome to start a young dog, the excitement of the unknown :-) Although, I know that she is going to be the Fantastic Journey that her name implies! I have another Secret weapon in the arsenal named Rook that will be an up and comer as well! I am very blessed to also have a literal houseful of doggy family members that for various reasons either don't do agility at all, or, just play on a smaller scale, each and every one of them is an incredibly important part of my life and help shape where I go in this sport and in life in general. I also have to give a huge amount of credit to my wonderful family!! I not only have a super awesome husband but 2 wonderful sons, a new daughter-in-law, and, a soon to be daughter-in-law! I am a lucky, lucky human and am ready to take that step into the next era...

Has training become obsolete?

As I was in my building training Atom today I was thinking a lot about where he is in his training and what my ultimate goals are with him. This, of course, makes me think about the behaviors that he needs to know to actually compete in the agility ring. Now I am thinking about trialling and what really constitutes a trial "ready" dog? It feels to me in this day and age of endless trials weekend after weekend that we are starting to fall behind in the actual training department. It seems that training is getting sidelined in favor of trialling. In the "good old days" of agility we were forced to take "breaks" from trialling as there were actual seasons of agility and in between there were months off. I often hear people comment how they "need" to go to the trial coming up because they "need" this Q or that Q that has been eluding them for the last several months, or years... Seems to me that a better way to go about getting that Q would be to take a step back, evaluate what it is that is actually keeping you from getting those Q's and create a plan to fill those holes. A good example would be all of the great opportunities we currently have regarding seminars and continuing education opportunities. It is the rare individual that will pass on a trial to take the opportunity to learn something new, or, just brush up on skills that have maybe deteriorated over time. Once again, the thought being, there is a trial and I need that Q in... Don't get me wrong there is a ton of value is ring experience and there are certainly dogs that benefit from ring time in addition to training time, however, there needs to be a balance. There also needs to be plain and simple down time, time for dogs and humans alike to recharge their batteries and just be :-) The aforementioned spewing was more about the older more seasoned dogs, what about the up and comers? When is is the right time to start showing and what do the dogs need to know before entering the ring. Another thing I need to make clear is that I truly believe taking a "test drive" as it were with a youngster is a great idea! You need to keep it in perspective though :-) Just because you enter a trial does not mean that you are now required to enter every upcoming trial. Treat that first trial as a fun match, see where your strengths are, but, be very aware of your weaknesses, the dogs weaknesses and your overall weaknesses as a team. Take notes and evaluate whether these are training issues that need to be sorted out in a training environment, or, are they stress issues that are better sorted out at the trial? What are training issues v. stress issues? Primarily your training issues are going to revolve around impulse control and tangible obstacle issues. How is your start line? Can you ask your dog to stay and stride confidently to your desired lead out position fully expecting your dog to stay their until you have verbally released them? Does your dog know how to find an obstacle when you cue it without needing you to be part of the whole visual picture of that obstacle? Have you taught your dog the desired criteria on the complex obstacles to the point that they are independent? Are you maintaining your criteria? Is your dog fully aware that it is their job to pay attention to you? Do they understand the various physical and verbal cues that you are planning to use to get your dog to offer specific behaviors while negotiating the space between the obstacles? I know, lots of questions :-) I think it is a great idea to list out what cues you are planning to teach your dog and what the expected criteria is. It is a good idea to list out the expected criteria on your obstacles and evaluate whether you have taught the dog to take responsibility for them. Stress issues that may need to be addressed in the ring would be the dog that reacts to adrenaline in a manner that takes them over the top in a trialling environment as opposed to the quiet steady worker in a training environment. I think it is a super idea to look all the way back to your foundation training, or, look at what you are planning for foundation training and know exactly what you are looking for as an end result, plan your route to achieving this end result and take your time! It is so much easier to train something correctly the first time than to go back and retrain, I speak from loads of experience here :-) Try not to get so caught up in the fun of trialling that you forget what it is that will actually make you successful: clear, concise, consistent TRAINING along with breaks to just hang out and enjoy each other! Don't be in a hurry to trial a young dog, I do not think age is the mitigating factor, maturation is :-) There are a lot of dogs that mature early and are ready to trial early, this often goes the other way as well. Let your dog tell you when they are ready. Mostly, enjoy the process! The whole point of this sport is to demonstrate teamwork between a dog and handler, it is not one-sided, each of the entities has responsibilities and time and care must be taken to create this understanding. This blog comes after a spectacular weekend of trialling, my first trial in 2 months! During that 2 months we were taking time to smell the roses and most importantly train, it is said that the proof is in the pudding, the pudding was darn good this weekend! ;-0

Day one, what FUN!!!

SoBe, Maze, Journey, and I are in Fort Worth Texas at the USDAA CCOA Tournament this week and this was day one of a 4 day event :-) What a great day it was!! The weather is beautiful, the arena is wonderful, and, the competition is stiff!! I LOVE it!! It was a challenge just getting here to be honest. We had the second snowstorm in 10 days that made the first driving day a bit of a nightmare. Our big travel day was Tuesday, this the day following SoBe's full day in the hospital in IV fluids, and, having every test known to man to try to figure out why she was not eating and so lethargic.. The tests showed nothing although she was still uninterested in food and having less than solid stools (TMI, I know :-) Tuesday morning came, and, off we went :-) The weather was horrible as were road conditions. We still managed to make it all the way to our planned first night destination of Wichita Falls, TX. We settled in and got up Wednesday morning to a beautiful sunny day! SoBe ate breakfast for the first time in 4 days and I was feeling great! Wed. we finished our drive and arrived at the site for our practice. The dogs were super excited and practiced well. We were able to take a couple of walks at the great park across from the Will Rogers Center which made Wednesday the relaxing day that I was hoping for before the competition began. Journey was enjoying her walks, although I am sure she is wondering why exactly she came along :-) Hard to explain to her that I just love to have her with me and wanted her on the trip just because! It is Thursday night and day one of the competition is in the books. IT was a pretty fantastic day! SoBe won the 22" Grand Prix. She also took 2nd place in the 22" masters Challenge jumpers class! Maze took 4th in the Masters Challenge junipers class and 9th overall in Steeplechase :-) Given the level of competition at this event, i could not be more pleased! Tomorrow is another day and I will update my blog with the results. Have a great day everyone!

Snowed in!!!

Well, I have managed to miss pretty much all of winter this year and I am certainly paying for it now! Northern Colorado has been hit with a massive snowstorm that is not over yet!! As much as I enjoy a good snow storm now and again, the timing could not be worse! I am supposed to be in Salt Lake City right now working with my outreach group! There is also a trial this weekend in Salt Lake that I am entered in, so... we will see how this plays out :-) Until then, thought it was time to catch up on a little blogging! I cannot believe that it is the middle of April already, where does the time go! It has been pretty busy so far this year and it is about to get loads busier :-) I love that about my life and career, I really enjoy being busy especially since it is doing the things that I love the most, teaching, training, and, trialing! I have some fun things in the works, in addition to my skills and drills online subscription service I am working on a foundation program that will truly encompass what is needed to progress from puppy to agility superstar :-) I am very excited about this project! So, what else is going on? I have a very busy year moving forward and have already started to fill up the 2014 calendar. I am very excited to say that I will be heading back down under again in November for another 3 and a half weeks of seminars all over the Australian continent! I am not interested in having time speed up, but, I will say that I am seriously looking forward to seeing my friends and making a whole bunch of new ones! The dogs are doing great and I have already had 2 incredibly successful Regional competitions bringing home some hardware and much appreciated byes for the 2013 Cynosport games!! SoBe, Maze and, I will be heading to Dallas next week to compete in the CCOA tournament, this is the doorway to the 2014 IFCS World Championships and I am really looking forward to the competition. I truly feel that both the dogs and myself are ready and a good time should be had by all! I am also planning on attending the WAO US Open in November hoping to also play on the 2014 WAO World team. Big goals for this year! In an effort to meet those goals I am going to really knuckle down and work hard, which means learning to be a more effective time manager. I know this is an area of difficulty for many people, and, I, for one would like to change that about myself. This change is going to begin with "scheduled" training time for myself and my dogs, scheduled exercise, more defined work periods to get caught up on scheduling, articles, online projects, etc.. This also means limiting wasteful computer time, the dreaded Facebook vortex! Trust me, a lot of good can come from Facebook, but, it is also a monumental time waster if not kept in check. For this reason I am going to restrict myself to my page and the comments sent directly to me via my wall, or, comments on postings that I make on my wall :-) I love that now Facebook messaging can be done completely over the phone so that I can still stay in touch with the folks that I communicate with primarily through Facebook messages without getting sucked into the whole news feed. I am not the best when it comes to will power so it is often best to initiate these changes pretty much cold turkey :-) I am also very lucky to be having the most amazing time training my lovely little (OK, not so little:-) Journey girl! I am so incredibly in love with this puppy, she is just a complete pleasure to train, live with, and, just hang out with!!! Her training is coming along really nicely and she is a virtual sponge when it comes to anything I attempt to teach her. We are working on dog walk and A-frames at present as well as weave poles :-) It will be a surprise to everyone, including myself, what the contacts turn out to be :-) Danger is staying sound and as a matter of fact won his first ever PGP in Albuquerque a couple weeks ago. He also got a PSJ Q so he can now play in the Utah Regional in June! So, back to the idea of a foundation program that is not only suited for starting a puppy, but, also for filling gaps in older dogs who may have missed a few steps along the way, wouldn't it be grand! Everyone has such a different and unique perspective on what foundation really is and how it relates to this crazy sport of agility! I, of course have my own ideas in that department and am so excited to get it down in writing and on DVD, online, everywhere!! In the hopes of helping people Worldwide achieve the goals that they set for themselves. Although foundation training has become a bit of a buzz phrase in the past few years, I think we are still lacking in resources that really cover this topic in a comprehensive manner. Although there are a few really good programs available people like choices, there is no one way to teach or learn anything and hopefully I can contribute in a positive way to what is already available. There is definitely more to come!! Until then...

Keeping it in perspective...

I have had a lot of time on my hands lately! Not something you will hear me say very often :-) I am, quite honestly, not sure how to handle it?? I better figure it out quick though as all of this "extra" free time to come to an end soon! A variety of things contributed to my 3 plus weeks of lady of leisure status, but, it has certainly given me a lot of time to "think" about things :-) I freely admit is, I am a hyper active individual and when I find myself without a packed schedule I seem to just start spinning in circles! I have tried to make a conscious effort every day to just stop and appreciate that I have this time to spend doing whatever I feel is most necessary at that moment! I did have really good intentions as far as what computer type work I would get done during this travel hiatus... well, I guess what I needed more than anything else after a jam packed 2012 was some brain down time as well as physical down time. I have gotten my Skills and Drills Online subscription service up to date and am very excited about the site! It is really nice to have a way to reach people who do not have access to regular instruction either because of where they live or time constraints! With the subscription service, you have access to training drills, and, feedback from myself and other subscribers, but, no mandatory deadlines for homework submissions! I am having a great time challenging students to push themselves and think outside the box a bit! I have also had opportunity to train my dogs on a more consistent basis. I am still careful to not overdo.. I am definitely of the belief that quality outdoes quantity every time! The ability to spend at least a few minutes everyday has been a real treat though, both for me AND my dogs!! It has been pretty awesome that this hiatus is occurring when I am in Phoenix as the weather has been pretty darn close to perfect! And yes, I am LOVING my "new" agility playground :-) SO, with all of that said, what was the real reason for this blog post today? PERSPECTIVE, how do we keep everything in perspective as we travel down the path of life? That is a HUGE question and I am quite certain that "I" cannot answer it for everyone, but, I can continue to try to answer it for myself :-) Everyone says, don't sweat the small stuff, well, what is the small stuff? I think that is an individual answer as well. I, personally, am not exactly sure what the small stuff is, but, I have thought a lot these past few weeks about what really matters to me as an individual. My family matters, it is extremely important to me that my family be safe, healthy, happy, and, living their individual lives the way that makes THEM happy. I cannot get bent out of shape if we do not speak to each other on a daily basis, I don't take it personally that my children have lives outside of mine, that sometimes mean sacrifices, or, time apart when we would really like to be together. I do not expect my children to provide my happiness, only I can do that! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that. My friends matter, I want the very best for my friends and appreciate all that they do for me. I have to be willing to give as well as receive, but, without keeping score. To be a friend means accepting the person for who they are, good and bad. Nobody is perfect, you are friends because you appreciate the imperfections of those friends as much as the things that you love about the person. Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! My husband matters, I realize he falls under the family category, but, figured I better mention him specifically! ;-) All the stuff I said about family and friends most certainly applies to my husband! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! My dogs matter, again, my dogs are my family, but, since they are not human we have to appreciate them on a different level for different reasons :-) My dogs make me smile and laugh everyday! My dogs offer me comfort and offer me a way to be at peace everyday! at least one of my dogs frustrate me in some form or fashion almost everyday! My dogs are dogs and not people and for that I am thankful most of the time, they do not judge, they love you unconditionally, and, they feed your ego, as well as often keeping it in check! :-) My dogs have a limited time on they Earth, as we all do, and, I want to appreciate that time, not wish it away, take it for granted, or, spend any more time than humanly necessary stressing about things beyond my control. I know that my dogs do not lay awake at night coming up with new ways to NQ on an agility course and every run that we have together is special whether we Q or not. Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! My career matters, I LOVE teaching, I LOVE helping people to achieve goals they never thought possible, I LOVE seeing the satisfaction people feel when they do something they had no idea they could do. It is incredibly gratifying to me to be able to make my living meeting people and dogs all over the world and helping to shape their individual idea agility and where they want it to take them. I LOVE the fact that agility serves a different purpose in each persons life and that there is no single definition of success in this sport. I LOVE the idea sharing that keeps this sport moving forward. I love that we can compete in agility, or, just play in agility, or even just play in agility in a way that is competitive within ourselves even if not competitive at the National level. Competition is something that people really have a hard time keeping in perspective. The word competition brings up a myriad of feelings and different thoughts, ideas, and, definitions depending on who you ask. I have never understood why the work competition has been primarily a negative... Competition is healthy, it keeps us motivated, it keeps us moving forward, and, it keeps us from stagnating. I do believe that people like to compare competitiveness to sportsmanship and these are 2 distinctly different things! Linda Mecklenburg posed the question on Facebook the other day about what people think being competitive means, the answers were very interesting! I believe you can be a good sport and be competitive, or, vice versa... your choice! Being competitive can also bring out the worst in people, we have all seen what happens when a person becomes competitive to the point that they are "always" in the ribbons... others begin to judge unfairly, criticize, even make things up to make themselves feel better. How sad is that? It has been said that nobody likes a winner, how incredibly sad! A gracious winner, is very likable! I study the competitive folks in agility to learn, what a fantastic opportunity! With the internet, number of competitions, access to trainers from all over the World we are so very lucky!! Every one has the opportunity to be competitive, instead of disparaging those that are, get out there learn from those that can teach you, put the work in and pay them the biggest compliment that can ever be paid, WIN! Or better yet, realize that competitive to you means something completely different, just going to the line is a major hurdle for some, combat a fear and win that battle! Remember, your biggest competition is always going to be yourself! It is important to be aware of what others are doing enough to have an idea of what your own goals are, but, reaching those goals is for you, and, about you! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! I am going to spend the day with my puppies, doing a little agility, going for a nice walk, and, meeting up with a wonderful human friend to go watch her dog herd! I even get to try out my little Journey and see if she has the "instinct". What a great day, filled with great opportunities! Keeping it in perspective means understanding that! :-)

Contacts, contacts, and more contacts :-)

The never ending discussion, what type of contacts do I want to train? I can tell you the thought process goes through my head numerous times a day! Well, whatever you decide, running, moving, 2on/2off it is crucial that you know what you are teaching, how you are going to teach it, and, why you are teaching all of the various steps. Do "you" understand the process, the means to the end? I think a lot of people teach things because they are told to by their instructors, peers, etc... They do not fully understand what they are teaching, without understanding why you are teaching something, without understanding what you are teaching, the steps involved etc... you cannot be successful. Every method of contact performance must be taught, consistent running contact performance cannot be achieved by osmosis, often when a person feels that 2on/2off is not working, or, they get tired of the supposed tedium involved they decide to go to running. Running contacts do not magically happen because you do not like or understand the training process for 2on/2off :-) The same is true for 2on/2off, just deciding that 2on/2off is what you would like the criteria to be does not make it magically happen. Believe it or not this post is really not about running contacts, but, 2on/2off. As fashionable as running contacts are right now, there are still a lot of people who are just not the right fit for running contacts. 2on/2off contacts are not any more difficult to teach than running, as long as there is understanding of the process, consistent criteria, and, criteria maintenance. 2on/2off contacts get a bad rap for being hard on a dog physically, create slow, or, creepy contacts, or, break down. All of these things are true if they are not trained properly. There is a specific way to teach 2on/2off contacts that create speed, drive, accuracy, and proper body position to eliminate all of the above issues. Keeping in mind that any behavior is only as strong as it's foundation is a critical component, also remembering that reinforcing the most important part of the criteria is uber important! Dogs will only offer consistent performance of any behavior if the behavior you are asking for is more rewarding than what they would choose to offer on their own. Words to train by! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

another year gone by... reflecting on 2012

When I was younger my mom was always telling me not to wish my life away, and, that as you get older time just goes faster! I never really believed that I was wishing my life away and I certainly never thought that time would speed up to the point that you barely even realize that it is going by until another year passes! When you are young and have your whole life ahead of you it never seems that time goes fast enough you are always looking forward to the weekend, graduation, getting your drivers license, Christmas, etc... When you become an adult and join the "real" world you are forever wishing that time would slow down a little bit! 2012 saw me turn 45 years old!!! I cannot even begin to understand how I went from a rowdy teenager to a 45 year old woman in what appears to be just a couple of years! The really great news is that I have been blessed in my life with so many wonderful things! It is because of this that I am so incredibly aware of how fast time goes :-) I think if it is possible 2012 was the fastest year I have ever experienced! It was a fabulous year, and, at the same time there were some not so fabulous things that although inevitable, still hurt. We lost Able in 2012, it still amazes me that he was 13 and a half years old! it still feels like he should be that silly puppy or crazy agility dog that was an integral part of many of my fondest agility memories. 2012 brought a lot of happiness and great times as well, my oldest son got engaged to a wonderful girl, my family has a lot to be thankful for and I never take any of these things for granted! 2012 brought me my wonderful Journey puppy from Poland and a chance to make a new forever friend in her breeder Marzena! 2012 was a fantastic agility year for me again :-) I had the opportunity once again to spend my working time with so many fantastic people,teaching and at the same time learning :-) I went to so many awesome places as well! Spending the majority of the month of November in Australia was obviously a highlight of the year :-) Not just being able to experience such a fantastic country but meeting so many wonderful people as well as reconnecting with people I have not seen in years! I had the extreme pleasure of being selected to represent the United States with Maze at the WAO World Agility Championships in Belgium. Words cannot begin to describe how wonderful it is to be able to represent our fabulous country overseas doing what I have made my lifes passion, career, hobby, and, obsession! I freely admit that I love the sport of agility and I love hanging with my dogs. To be able to combine that with International travel, different cultures, and, styles just makes it one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I was once again lucky enough to have had a fabulous year of competition in the states as well! Maze went 6 for 6 clean at AKC Nationals ultimately making the Finals and earning a spot on the podium! What a thrill! In Spet. it was time for USDAA Nationals where all of my dogs made me proud! maze was a 26" finalist in both GP and Steeplechase!, SoBe was on a super DAM team who made it to the Team relay!, Danger made his debut at USDAA Nationals and had the greatest time, and, to topic off Wally was overall 2nd place P 16" team dog, wan, the most wonderful thing of all... 16" PSJ WINNER!!!!!! It was the crown jewel on our year of competition for sure. As we head into 2013 it is time to reassess goals, set some new ones, and, get ready for another fabulous year! I know one thing for certain, as New years resolutions come and go, this one will stick... no sweating the small stuff, be the best person that i can be, focus forward, and, love every minute of this life! HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!