Merry Christmas!

Jesson and I wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone! Above is a picture from my work Christmas party. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and being careful when they travel! See you in the New Year!

Turks first Event!

This weekend I went to Ocala to watch the 3-Day eventing at the Florida Horse Park. As Griffon and Nano are now seasoned horse show attendees, it was time to introduce the new guy on the block to the action and let him get used to it. I couldn't have asked for a more well behaved dog, or a more adored one! I could barely go three feet without someone asking what type of dog he was and telling me how cute he was! Turk made many new friends and received several offers for new homes! In the end he came home with me though! Below are some pictures of his adventure:

Turk hanging out by the water complex, waiting for the action to start.
Keeping an eye on the first horse coming towards us.
Playing coy in the grass.

Waiting in between horses.

Taking a break from the action in the shade behind my chair.

Making new puppy friends. On the left is an Australian Shephard puppy that was 12 weeks old and on the right is a Westie puppy that was 11 weeks old.

By the end of the day Turk was tired and made one last new friend....

who scratched his belly.....

and let him nap in her lap!

Tally Ho!

This past Saturday, the 10th, I was invited to attend the Opening Meet of the Misty Morning Hounds Hunt here in Gainesville. My trainer Audrey and I went and had a ton of fun. Below are the pictures we were able to take and two videos of the action at the end:

Reno and I getting ready to go.
Waiting to leave.

Reno getting impatient!

The blessing of the hounds.

Audrey with her brandy!

View from the "Reno Cam".

During the hunt, trying to find the fox!

Audrey and Mason looking dapper at one of our stops.

Mason would nicker if he didn't know where Reno was at all times!

One of our stops along the way. They had drinks and appetizers available for everyone.

Reno was ready to keep moving!

Reno checking out the hounds and Hunt Master.

Diesel stealing one of the appetizer trays...

All the hounds sharing in his find!

This is the opening when the Hunt Master, Staff, and hounds all came down the hill towards us.

This is the Hunt Master calling the hounds with her horn.

Totally Turkish!

Well...it has happened again. We have expanded our 4 legged brood by yet another furry friend. Turkish joined the family on Thursday, November 8th. He is a Chocolate Lab and Catahoula Leopard Hound cross. He is ten weeks old and is a bundle of fun! Nano is very excited to have another playmate, Griffon is not too sure about the intruder in his house!

Trick or Treat!

Each year on Halloween the departments at my office compete to see who can come up with the best Halloween costumes. Only it's almost never only about the costumes. Winning at Halloween requires that you go all out and decorate your office space as well as yourself. In a bid to win this year my department decided to dress up as characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the newer, Johnny Depp version). We then proceeded to decorate our entire department to look as much like the Chocolate Factory as possible. Below are pictures of the madness that ensued!

A "before" shot.
Another "before" shot.


Our Manager Allie (along with all the other managers in the building) cooked breakfast for everyone that morning. It was amazing and we had food for days!


Welcome to Wonka Land!

We had a bubble machine to make things fun.

Our trail of peppermints through our crazy colored grass.

Wonka Bars and Lollipops on the walls.

Lollipops growing out of the crazy grass.

A chocolate fountain of course!

Some spray painted gourds just for fun!

The whole crew. Back row (from left to right) Karen as Violet Beauregard, Jason as Charlie, Lesley as Veruca Salt, Andy as Willy Wonka, Nate as Mike Teevee, Darin as Grandpa, Enrique as Augustus Gloop. Front row (from left to right) all the Oompa Loompas, Rita, me, Dania, Kiki, and Kristen.

Jesson wanted to get in on the fun so he tried on my costume!

Show Time, Take 2

This past Saturday (Sept. 8th) my trainer Audrey and I went to compete in a horse show at Gray Lily Farm in Havana, Fl. The show went very well with Audrey and I each placing in all of our classes. I got a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in my four classes and was very pleased with the way Reno and I are working together now. We're really starting to become a team and all the hard work is paying off! Here are some pictures from the show:

Reno and I with our first place ribbon.

All of mine and Reno's ribbons hanging on his stall at the show.

Reno inspecting his winnings.

My trainer Audrey with her horse Duncan and their first place ribbon.

Hey Y'All!

Over Labor Day weekend this year Jesson and I went to Savannah, GA. Neither of us had ever been and we wanted to go on a little adventure not too far from home. The drive was short (only 3 1/2 hours) and the town was new and fun. There were many historic, older homes that took you back to a "Gone With the Wind" era. There were also many wonderful shops, restaurants, and old churches for us to explore. It was a wonderful and relaxing weekend. Below are some pictures we took while we were there:

This is historic River Street in Savannah. There were many art galleries as well as candy kitchens and souvenir shops along the river.

This was our lunch at the Express Bakery & Deli. This was by far our favorite place in Savannah. We had their Honey Ginger Chicken Sandwich, Homemade Bread Pudding, Curried Cream of Chicken Soup, and Blueberry Danish. It was the best!

Jesson and I found this great kitchen store just across from the bakery. They had all sorts of fun gadgets and even offered cooking classes.

This is Paula Dean's restaurant. There was always a huge crowd outside that was spilling into the street. You had to wait outside for 3-4 hours just to make a reservation! Needless to say, we didn't eat there!

Though we didn't eat at the Paula Dean Restaurant we did shop in her store and get some great sauces and salad dressings that we can't wait to try out!

On our last night in town Jesson and I went out to a very nice dinner at 700 Drayton. We would highly recommend this to anyone who goes to Savannah!