People ask us all the time which DNA tests we used for our dogs. Well, it's THIS ONE, and we got ours on sale last year on Black Friday. So if you've been curious just what sort of mixed-breeds make up your beloved mutt, today is the day. They're nearly half off!
It was a blast getting these results! Please let us know if you decide to test your dog, we'd love to see what you got! We were most surprised by Clarice's result... Miniature Poodle? Who knew! Also, did you notice, Mabel and Heidi, our two doppelgängers, have not one single breed in common? That cracked me up.
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When working at Renaissance Festivals, this is the question we get most often. You'd think we'd be pretty good at answering, but somehow the details are always murky. Every week is different. But one thing we are *for sure* doing every day is walking the dogs.
We have six dogs. At minimum they each need three bathroom breaks, so you're looking at 18 walks just for the potty. That doesn't include exercise, which our dogs love. This hands free bungee leash is my absolute favorite for our walks. If the dog pulls, like Mabel usually does, the force hits my hips where I'm stable instead of jerking my arm. It's been a lifesaver. A lot of our time goes to keeping our dogs happy and healthy, which is great because it's good for us too.
Dextre devotes even more time to dogs because he's also responsible for training them for the show, and he's studying to become a certified dog trainer to help other people with their pets. So Dextre is all dogs all the time... when he isn't juggling. Because Dextre also belongs to three juggling clubs at home in NC, and multiple others while we're on the road.
What else? Working out. We both like regular exercise as it makes the show easier and is generally great for our bodies. Dextre is a 24hr key-card gym sort of guy, but I prefer a coached class. While on tour for six months of the year I do CrossFit, and when at home I workout at a personal training studio where I also work as a trainer. I got my certification back in 2015 and have been coaching ever since. If you're wondering, that means yes, I do get paid to tell people to do burpees. So do some burpees! You're welcome.
My coworkers at the gym, Mike and Mike.
Loads of boring things have to happen each week. I'm sure you're familiar. Grocery shopping, cleaning, bills, laundry. Hold up. Laundry. When you tour in a trailer, doing the laundry is an event. There's no throwing a load into the washer while you eat dinner, nope. You have to put on pants, collect your things, get into a car and drive to a place to do laundry each week. And I'm not sure if you know this, but it's like a zoning law that all laundromats have to be next to a Subway. So yeah, get a sandwich, and try to resist whatever delicious seasonal cookie they're offering while you're at it. (Pro-tip: The caramel apple cookies they have in the fall are TO DIE FOR.)
I'm sure you were hoping for exciting stuff when you asked, what do the Circus Stella acrobats do with their free time, but I have another boring one for you. We have to work quite a bit during the week to keep the show on the road. Prop maintenance, car/trailer maintenance, insurance certificates, contract negotiations, marketing, promo, event proposals... all that happens when we're not doing shows.
We let Mabel keep the books.
When I do have free time I like to write. And both Dextre and I love to read. We go through hundreds of kindle books in a year between us.
Would anyone like a book rec post? Because that might be hella more interesting than what we do with ourselves during the week. Say the word in the comments, and I'm on it!
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Hey friends! I've been sitting on this footage for a while, and finally put it together for you to see. Dextre taught Clarice to ride a unicorn! If you're ready to hit your cute quota for the day, watch our video below!
We owe a HUGE THANKS to Brittany Beard of Unicorn Hugs for the loan of the wonderful Ms. Lilly the unicorn. It was such a pleasure having her backstage with us all day. Unicorns are the best guys.
If you'd like to support the Circus Stella pack for absolutely FREE, just remember to use our linkswhen you shop on amazon. Make your regular purchases and we'll receive a small commission at no cost to you. Try it out!Or if you'd like a free trial of AmazonFresh, Kindle Unlimited, or even Amazon Prime, please remember to use our links! Thank you friends.
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I'll answer a few of the most frequently asked questions now!
Where did you get her?
Mommy & Me Rescue in Mount Carmel, PA. They pulled Heidi's pregnant mother from a shelter and fostered her and the entire litter of 8 until they were weaned. Then everyone went up for adoption!
What breed is she?
Well she's a rescue, but mom looked an awful lot like an Australian Cattle Dog, ACD for short. So we're pretty sure Heidi is part cattle dog. Would LOVE to do a dog DNA test on her to learn about her breeds, but it's rather expensive.
Did you choose a deaf dog on purpose?
Nope! I had no idea she was deaf, and neither did the rescue. I found out while conducting a few tests to determine her personality and see if she would be a likely candidate to enjoy our unique lifestyle. Our dog trainer we work with, Laura from DoggyU, suggested a recovery test. You purposefully startle the pup to see how they react. It's okay for the dog to be scared at first, but you want a puppy that recovers quickly when they realize they're safe, and then becomes curious and investigates whatever startled them.
So I dropped a metal dog dish on a hard floor not four feet behind her while she wasn't looking. It was quite loud, but she didn't react at all. It was pretty obvious she couldn't hear, and the next day, the vet confirmed it.
While we weren't seeking out a deaf dog, we're very happy to have one. It gives us a lot to learn and she is already very special to us.
Will she be in the show?
That's the goal, yes! Our dogs are family first and cast members second, but we very much chose her because we thought she'd enjoy having the kind of job we can give her. Cattle dogs are a high energy working breed and like to be mentally and physically challenged. Heidi is a great fit for us.
In fact, she's in the show already...Check out Heidi's first (ADORABLE) trick in the video below!
If you have more questions, please send them to me! In the meantime, here she is snoozing with Dextre and Mabel backstage.
Surveying her new territory in a sweater two sizes too big for her.
Dying of the cute.
We picked up a bunch of puppy essentials from amazon. In fact, I may have gone a little crazy shopping for her. Here are some toys we recommend (these are affiliate links).
Heidi is an absolute delight. We're so grateful to have her. She's a very clever girl, so keep an eye out for new routines from her in the circus show soon!
If you'd like to support the blog and the circus for free, just use our links to get to amazon for your regular shopping. We'll get a small commission from your purchase at no cost to you, even if you don't buy whatever crazy thing we link you to! Thank you!
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Dextre and I would like to move north someday. Perhaps one too many hot and sweaty circus show days in 110F heat index has lead to this dream of a cooler climate: a place with a real winter where we'll need snow shoes to go hiking. Last week we scouted out Vermont, one of the states we both agree on, and we took all five dogs along with us in the van.
The best part? *Spoiler Alert* I got to meet my favorite blogger, Liz Thames from Frugalwoods.com!
This was just too cool!
We slept the first night at the Vermont Welcome Center in Bennington, which was awesome because it's FREE. Plus they have a gorgeous facility with a helpful staff, tons of information on the state, and delicious hot coffee for travelers.
It rained the whole first day, but we didn't let that stop us. The Manchester Dog Park was high on our list, because we wanted this vacation to be just as fun for our dogs as it was for us. Vermont is FULL of dog parks and dog friendly places if you have a hound about town...or five! Manchester itself was a cute town with lots of neat shops and a fabulous bookstore. If you ever find yourself there, definitely check out Northshire Bookstore.
Quechee Gorge
From Manchester we headed to the Quechee State Park to find our campsite and hike to the gorge. This incredible chasm was carved by glaciers 13,000 years ago. It's 165 feet deep and you can park at the the little souvenir shop and view it from the bridge on route 4. We walked to it from our campsite, that's how close we were. You can also hike up to check out the dam, which is stunning.
From here we ventured into Woodstock to see the national park and the Marsh-Billing-Rockefellar Estate. There was a cow milking demonstration, so we thought, why not? and went to that. Pretty neat. I had no idea cows could produce 7 gallons per day. WOW
The highlight of this little foray was the maple favored ice cream I got to eat at the end of the tour. Vermont has maple flavored everything, including...cotton candy! Then found another dog park for the girls. Thanks Vermont for being so full of dog parks!
My absolute favorite part of the trip was meeting Liz and her beautiful family. They invited us to their beautiful 66 acre homestead and I got to read to their two young daughters. I've been reading her blog for years and simply can't recommend it highly enough. Let me link you to some of my favorites...
On our last day we drove out to Rutland to check out the town and surrounding suburbs. Realistically Rutland would be a good choice for us because it has the things we like nearby: Aldi, Crossfit, airport, hiking, skiing, etc.
I put together a fun video of our adventure, check it out below!
Thanks so much for reading. Stay tuned because as some of you may know, we adopted a puppy this week and I cannot wait to blog about her!
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I'm sure your first question is, just what the heck is trichotillomania, Jana? Followed by, doesn't that hurt? Let's dive right in. Trichotillomania, which is rare enough that spell check doesn't recognize it as a word, is an impulse control disorder that involves hair pulling.
Prepare for all my selfies with Mabel.
Notice the patch of hair missing from my eyebrow and the complete lack of eye lashes.
For me personally, it means I pull out my own eyelashes and eyebrows. That may sound like it would hurt. It doesn't. I mean, if you were to pull out your eyelashes right now, that would probably hurt, but I've been doing this as long as I can remember and it isn't painful. It's annoyingly satisfying. It's also embarrassing and at times has been deeply shameful.
Perhaps it's easier to tell you about than to write about. Please watch this. And if you know someone with trich, please share it. I'd like to be helpful.
I've lived with this disorder my whole life, though the nature of trich is cyclical. Sometimes I have eyebrows and lashes, and sometimes I don't, and you'd be surprised just how little control I have over it.
Turns out, all the pictures that best show my lack of eye hair are selfies I took with Mubs.
One of my earliest memories involves pulling my eyelashes out. I was in my first bedroom and I remember the blue carpet and checkered bedspread. My parents have informed me we moved from that house when I was 2 1/2, so trich has been with me from toddlerhood. It's estimated 2-4% of people suffer from it, which is a lot of people, so I wanted to speak up so others with this disorder know they're not alone.
I recommend the wikipedia entry for further reading. Trich is difficult to treat because many people who have it, including myself, may not always be aware when they're pulling hair out. Some even pull in their sleep. When I do realize I'm pulling, I often don't know how long I've been at it, but once I know it's happening, I can make myself stop. Even that is hard. I mean, it's really hard. Like you want to keep going even though you know you'll be ashamed when you have no eyebrows the next day.
Earlier this year (2018) almost no eyebrows or lashes.
There are a couple products I've seen recommended if you're trying to stop pulling. The first is a bracelet that vibrates when your hand moves up to your head to make you aware that you're about to pull. It's by a company called Habitaware and is also useful for nail biting & dermotilomania (picking at skin). It's programmable and will also track habits for you so you can measure your progress. There is even a calming feature you can activate that will begin a deep breathing exercise. How cool is that? I think this tool would have been very helpful to me when I was younger, and I might pick one up next time I find myself in a bad cycle.
The second is simpler and more budget friendly, gel fingertip covers, also to raise self awareness to help you stop pulling.
Brows but no lashes. Mabel rocking her natural eyeliner.
Feel free to reach out to me if you also struggle with this. I know how embarrassing it can be, and if you need someone to listen, I'm here. Thanks for reading, and no matter what it is you're struggling with, just know that you're not alone.
Be kind to each other, you never know hurdles someone else is facing.
If you'd like to support this blog and the Circus Stella pack for absolutely FREE, just remember to use our linkswhen you shop on amazon. Make your regular purchases and we'll receive a small commission at no cost to you, even if you don't purchase this.
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You know what I can never get enough of? Trailers! I mean, they're basically rolling forts. It doesn't get much better than that.
Spend 25K on a trailer, get a free hat!
Seems like a goo deal.
Cruiser RV represent!
We go to America's Largest RV Show in Hershey, PA every year. It's tradition. It's right up there with Christmas, Halloween, and my birthday as far as special days I look forward to. In the past we've always been researching models in order to make the best decision when replacing our own trailer, but now that that's done, we can just goof off and have some fun this year!
"Space ships" seemed to be the dominate theme of 2019.
I will let the video speak for itself. We toured expensive busses, retro models, & lightweight beds on wheels. There is truly a trailer for everyone. And we also found a questionable new cardio machine to jiggle your fat away. Right.
If you're in the market for a new rig, I can't recommend this event enough. It's the best place to compare all manufacturers, makes, and models at the same time. Just the magnificence of how so many trailers are crammed into that parking lot is a thing of beauty. Or wizardry. I don't know.
Prepare for lift off!
This year's models boast a number of hilarious and unnecessary lights.
Another theme of some of the more luxurious models, I could live in the closet. Like for real.
Closet or guest room? You tell me.
Thanks for reading everybody, we hope you enjoyed this week's update. We're headed to Vermont soon with all 5 dogs and the two of us camping in the van and checking out the state parks, so stay tune for that! Let us know of any Vermont things we should do!!
If you'd like to support the Circus Stella pack for absolutely FREE, just remember to use our links when you shop on amazon. Make your regular purchases and we'll receive a small commission at no cost to you. Try it out! Or if you'd like a free trial of AmazonFresh, Kindle Unlimited, or even Amazon Prime, please remember to use our links! Thank you friends.
Disclosure; This blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
