and I think there is nothing prettier than watching a golden do what it was bred to do… retrieve birds. I was lucky enough to get to train and put two field titles on my golden retriever Sonny. We adopted Sonny from Dallas Fort Worth Metro Golden Retriever Rescue when he was 10 weeks old. He came into rescue and instantly stole me heart. I was wanting to train a golden in the field but was waiting for just the right dog and time… well as soon as I saw Sonny I decided to take a chance. This was one of the best decisions ever as he has never let me down and is the best canine companion I could have ever asked for.

Sonny slept with me every night in bed in the bend of my knees, he played lots of fun puppy games etc. which led to us building a bond of trust and loyalty. Everything we did led up to his hunt tests. I am happy to say this boy has never not brought me back a bird, not even during the very first stages of his training. He has always trusted in everything I have asked and has always done it with flying colors.

So how many of you would have ever thought I would be up at 5 a.m. driving way out into the country to train in muddy water, mosquito ridden and chigger infested places just to play with my heart dog? Yep… I loved watching the sunrise with my dog in the car, radio on and a hot cup of coffee. It was always so fun to see Sonny react as I turned on to the first dirt road. He would sit up, perk up his ears and have his nose just a twitching… he knew we were about to have a really fun morning.

My sweet friend Stephanie… I think sweet friend I’m not sure after tagging me but since I can’t not come through here goes.

Here are the rules…

Link to your tagger and post these 3 rules on your blog.

• Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
• Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
• Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I still jump into bed with the fear that someone will grab my feet. My brother had something to do with this issue.
2. I have to bring a diet coke with me whenever I go anyplace in my car.
3. My favorite movie is “A Scent of a Woman” I loved it when Al Pacino said “Out of order, I show you out of order. You don’t know what out of order is, Mr. Trask. I’d show you, but I’m too old, I’m too tired, I’m too f****’ blind. If I were the man I was five years ago, I’d take a FLAMETHROWER to this place! Out of order? Who the h*** do you think you’re talkin’ to? I’ve been around, you know? There was a time I could see. And I have seen. Boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. But there isn’t nothin’ like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that. You think you’re merely sending this splendid foot soldier back home to Oregon with his tail between his legs, but I say you are… executin’ his soul! And why? Because he’s not a Bairdman. Bairdmen. You hurt this boy, you’re gonna be Baird bums, the lot of ya. And Harry, Jimmy, Trent, wherever you are out there, F*** YOU TOO!” and this quote too “Now I have come to the cross-roads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew, but I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard. Now here’s Charlie. He’s come to the cross-roads. He has chosen a path. It’s the right path. It’s a path made of principle that leads to character. Let him continue on his journey.” Gosh I love this movie!
4. I trained my golden retriever Sonny in the field to retrieve birds and put two field titles on him.
5. I never take our Christmas tree down until sometime in March… yep it is still up. CHA comes first.
6. My favorite flower is a Peony
7. My Dad is Santa Claus so you better not let me find out you have been bad cause I can go straight to the source.

Andrea Wiebe

Debbie Harmer

Katie Watson

Sandy Wiley

Shelley Haganman

Suzy Plantamura

Wendy Vecchi

Okay I have passed the torch onto you 7!

tomorrow is my day to host the Manic Monday challenge at ScrapGal. My challenge will be “Confess your Love.” So if you want to get an early start here it is…

This weeks MM challenge is to "Confess your Love" the only rule I have is you cannot scrap about your family. You can confess your love of gardening, animals, cooking etc. I love "Golden Retrievers" to me they are the best all around dog and are a perfect match for our family. So my challenge layout this week shows Sophie and Sonny when he was 10 weeks old and teething, poor Sophie. Her ears were never the same after that.

I love these photos of Sophie and Sonny. We was just 10 weeks old and in full puppy mode. The crowns are by Maya Road. I feel a new addiction coming on. I am so loving crowns! I want to put them on everything. The velvet ribbon is Maya Road too. Talk about just fabulous ribbon. The colors and texture are just over the top in quality. I’m truly blessed to be a part of their DT. Deb and Caroline are great to work for… they honestly treat you like part of their family.

Sorry I don’t have any projects or layouts to share today. But here is a really cute photo of “Sonny” my golden retriever. He is wearing the Santa hat “Zeus” had his photo taken in a few days ago.

At the moment, I am working on several things for Maya Road and Cocoa Daisy but can’t share until Jan. 1st! I think this is the hardest part about being on a DT. I always want to share my creations as soon as I finish. The waiting just kills me. So, I found this really cute list of questions on the net and thought it would be fun to share them with you. I plan on making a mini album using all my families answers. On Christmas Eve I’m going to hand this out and have them fill in the answers. Then take a photo of each person and create a journal. I think it will be fun to have and reflect on in the future.

Christmas Questionnaire

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

3. Colored lights or white lights on tree/house?

4. Do you hang Mistletoe?

5. When do you put your decorations up?

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

8. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

9. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

12. Can you ice skate?

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

15. What tops your tree?

16. What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

17. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

18. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?

21. What is your favorite Christmas special/movie?