Saturday Morning I left for Manhattan, Kansas for the Reciprocal Meat Conference for the Iowa State University Quiz Bowl team, and for my job working in a Meat Science Research Lab. We attended the Quiz Bowl competition all day on Sunday. Our teams did satisfactory. Nothing over the top, but nothing terrible either. We did well for all being first years!
Quiz Bowl Team 2011
Left to Right: Steven M. Lonergan, Dr. at ISU (My boss and meats instructor). Kyle Grubbs, Coach and Grad Student ( I work with him). Meaghan Pryde, Kristin Adams (also co-worker), Myself, Michelle Semler, Kelly Lintz, Amber Nelson, Lauren Chesmore, and Shannon Cruzen, Coach and Grad Student (another one I work with).
While I was at RMC, Brad and his family laid his dear cousin, Erica, to rest in Sheldon, Iowa after a tragic hiking accident in New Mexico. Below I have attached a link about her story...
Iowa woman dies while hiking in New Mexico - KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com |
Erica was a very fun, energetic, and exciting person to be around. Brad and I have many memories with her at family gatherings throughout the past few years. Tuesday, June 21, they laid her to rest and said their final goodbyes. I was absent from this event, attending the RMC. They celebrated the life of Erica, remembering all the good times, and the bad. Brad struggled with the final goodbyes, but as the hurt dawdles in his heart, he knows she is in a better place.
Monday before the Family Visitation for Erica, Brad was at his parents house, wasting the morning away. I was attending conferences and reciprocations for the RMC with my fellow workers when I received a devastating text from Brad.
Brad had taken Sasha and Moose home with him for the few days I was gone. And being the curious dogs they both were, started chasing the neighbors chickens. The neighbor did not recognize the dogs, so he shot them. Brad recovered their bodies from his yard and buried them at his parents place. They will forever rest in peace at the one place they truly could be dogs.
Brad and I have accepted that Sasha, Moose, and Erica have all left our lives. Although it is hard to swallow, we realize it. Without proper farewells, it is hard for me to reflect upon the times we had with Sasha and Moose. My heart aches as my "babies" have left.
To help our grieving hearts we have welcomed two new pup's into the family. We got Shepp last Wednesday, a pure bred Blue Heeler puppy who is absolutely full of spit and vinegar. She is a handful. Thursday night Brad and I went to Des Moines to LOOK at a litter of puppies. Needless to say an adorable blue mearle Miniature Australian Shephard, with two different colored eyes, stole my heart. She also returned home with us that night. We have now had the two little farts for nearly a week and they have adjusted to live in a trailer completely. We are still working on the potty training, but that will take a while. We have noticed a lot of similar traits in the personalities of these puppies compared to Sasha and Moose in their young days.
Shepp
Maddie Jo
Shepp reminds us so much of Sasha when we had first gotten her. She was quite the handful. Shepp is full of spunk and energy and loves to run around and jump and play. Maddie reminds us of the perfect Moosers we took home just last October. She loves cuddling, hates Shepp's spunkiness, and just wants to nap in your lap all day long. The two have deffinately brought a change into our home, but they have helped us cope with the loss of our previous "babies". Although they will never replace the angels we had before, they will be as close to our hearts as both Sasha and Moose were in the past.
It has been a long two weeks, but we will return to our happy selves in the future. We are transitioning into the "new" and out of the "old". Last night Brad and I were sitting at home and I, without thought, called the high pitched "SashaMoose" phrase I am so used to saying. Habits like that will be hard to break, but new ones will come into play once we get a new routine down with the two new puppies. Routine is hard to break, but jumping on the bandwagon of a new one has helped our hurting hearts to recover. It will take time, it is a slow process. We are glad we have each other and the loving family and friends who have been there to support us in the last few weeks.
<3 Roz
