So, I've been a terrible Blogger

Wow I cannot believe how long it's been since I wrote last! That's what I get for being too busy and not having internet I suppose :) So, updates: We gave Tilly away to a great family in St. George because she was a puppy and we didn't have the time to train her. It was really sad but she is much happier now.

A few months ago we rescued a black lab from the Cedar City Animal Shelter (They are amazing and have SO many wonderful animals that need a home!). Her name is Abby and she's about 4 years old, they think. Her owners moved and left her locked in a kennel in the back yard. Nobody found her for three weeks and when they finally got her, she was 20 pounds underweight and scared out of her mind. She's such a sweet dog, I don't know why anyone would ever do something like that. She was already house trained and did great with commands so the owners apparently spent alot of time with her. It just doesn't make any sense. Anyway, so we took her because she's very mellow and I'm still getting over my phobia of dogs and she is perfect for it.

When we first got her, she was scared all the time, wouldn't eat or lie down in front of us. She never relaxed. After we got her a collar and name tag and spent a few days straight with her she started to calm down and trust us. We think she might have been trained as a guard dog because she will get really protective whenever she hears the slightest noise at the front door.

She is great with little kids. My niece, Paisley, climbs all over her and pulls her ears and Abby takes it like a champ. She always sits down whenever she comes up to a person and loooves getting pets. I can't tell you how many times she has fallen asleep standing up while I've been petting her. She is just amazing and a great companion. Whenever I'm having a bad day, or I'm really sad, she can feel it and just comes and lays by me with her big eyes staring at me. She's such a sweetheart.

The only thing that we really have to work on with her is her interaction with other dogs. The thing about rescues is that you rarely know their background. We're not sure if she just wasn't socialized as a puppy or if she was attacked or if she is still in a bit of survivor mode. All we know is that she freaks out whenever another dog is around but if she's around them for long enough, she usually calms down really fast.

My in-laws had a chocolate lab, Jenny, who they unfortunately had to put down recently. She was getting old and really just falling apart. It was really hard because she was like one of the family. Abby finally got to where her and Jenny could lay down together and fall asleep. When they first met, Abby was on the end of her lease and freaking out. It was only a couple months of getting her used to Jenny that she got so much better.

When Jared found out that his parents had to put Jenny down, he got home, walked in the door and Abby was jumping all over and excited to see him. He just said, "Jenny's gone." Abby stopped everything and just layed on her bed for a few hours. She knew her friend was gone and it was hard on her. We went to my in-law's for the first time since Jenny was put down and Abby ran in looking for her and couldn't find her anywhere. It was so strange.

Anyways, that's alot about my dog but any dog owner should understand. Your dog is like your child, well at least Abby is like our child. We don't have any kids yet so I'm sure kids are different but for the time being, she is our little girl and we just love talking about her.

Other than that, life has just gone on as usual. I am graduating in May with my Bachelors in English, and no I am not teaching, as I'm sure that was your first question. I may end up teaching some day but mostly I just want to write. I don't like the technical parts of English but I love the language and I love creating. My kind of writing is different than alot of people I go to school with, which I suppose is a good thing, but it's hard to stick to it.

Graduation is a daunting event that fills my head with nightmares and freedom. It's pretty bittersweet. I am excited to finally not be going to school for the first time in my life, but I am also extremely nervous to find a job and be a "grown-up". I still don't feel old enough to be going out in the world with my ideas and pitching them to the higher-ups, but then again, there are people my age who are raising kids. I don't how you all do it. I'm still raising myself and doing a poor job at that ;) Are winky faces acceptable in blogs? I still don't really understand how these work. Guess I need to read more and practice. Ask me to write a poem in 5 minutes, I'll do it. But ask to me to write a blog about something in particular, now I just don't know how to do that. So any tips, feel free. If anyone even reads this :) And I am off to my niece's first birthday party! I can't believe it's been year. Time flies, so let's grow wings!