What's happening

We have a lot going on...I feel like "life" is just busier than ever.

 

Kitchen

 

The kitchen is pretty much done! I still have a few more cabinets to do and also need to finish getting knobs for all the cabinets, but this is pretty much the finished look of the kitchen. I am happy with it. Looks so much brighter and even bigger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We'd like to eventually update the counter with a different color--probably something dark--but that is "down the road."

 

My School

 

 

I don't know if anyone is really interested in how things are going with my dog training...but I'm nearing the end. I'm halfway through Phase 7 (it goes to Phase 10.) This phase focuses on "problem behaviors" like jumping, counter surfing (when the dog steals food), separation anxiety, aggression, pulling on leash, dealing with shy dogs, resource guarding and potty training issues. All those big things that most people contact trainers about.

 

I'm practicing on my Phase 6 exam too. This one is a big one and I need 75% or higher to pass or I get kicked out of the school! Yes, kicked out! You get one more chance (which you have to pay extra for) to pass but if you fail twice, then you are kicked out of the program. Pretty strict, for a dog school!

 

For my Phase 6 exam, I have to "teach" my mentor (who will act as a student) the basic commands that are taught in a dog training class. Sit, Down, Target Training, and Leave it. In all of these commands, I'm expected to first introduce the command to the "class", explain why it's a valuable command, teach it verbally, and then demonstrate with my demo dog (Joey or Ace.)  Every time I practice on the kids or Dennis, my mind goes blank! I can't for the life of me think of why "sit" is valuable or "down" is valuable as a command. It just is! So I wrote down a list of reasons and use my "cheat sheets" every time my mind goes blank. I keep these sheets in front of me as much as possible: hanging on the fridge or hanging in my room. I'm really nervous about it and worried my mind will go blank during the exam.It would be devastating to get kicked out after all this work just because my mind went blank when I know that I know all this stuff!

 

 

 

The Downstairs Bathroom

 

 

A new project: the downstairs bathroom! Long story short--mold led us to tearing out the walls which then made us think that we might as well retile the floors (we have leftover tile from another project), which then led us to just remodeling the whole thing. It needs it! I wasn't expecting the downstairs bathroom to be done this year so this was a nice surprise!

 

It will be a basic update--nothing fancy, but hopefully, get out of the 80's.

 

 

 

 

Where the vanity once stood

 

Behavioral Therapy

 

 

We started Luke on Behavioral Therapy today. This is supposed to help him with controlling his tic and finding underlying causes that may be triggering it. Not much to say here, except that I'm glad that we're finally going to be treating it.

 

 

And that's it for now...life goes on.

 

Spring is just around the corner and I'm excited to get outside a little bit more. Excited to be done with my Phase 6 exam and hopefully it goes well. Excited to be done with school for good and get started on some work. Excited for the bathroom project and excited for Luke's progress.

 

Life is good.