A few tears...A few cookies

This weekend I am heading out of town for one of our very good friend's wedding. I am excited to see his friends who over the years have turned into my big brothers/best friends/family.

However, I am forgetting about two very important things. Dakota and Daisy.

I kept putting off what to do until tonight. I called my mother and toyed with the idea of driving 6 hours north to Chicago to drop them off and drive another 14 hours south to the wedding.

I began researching boarding places. Dakota is tough and stayed with some crazy people down at flight school. With Daisy, I am more sensitive, especially after her surgery experience. I looked up a place everyone raved about here. I began reading the reviews:

the packages of food I had expected them to eat were still in the bag. As soon as I got them home, the female jumped out of the car and let loose a large diarrhetic stool

My friends dog got killed here.It was a small dog, and since they were careless, they let it in the large roaming area with big dogs. The poor thing got mauled to death.

I was told by more than one reliable source that a large dog died while at the Guest HouseI was told that the Guest House was negligent in caring for the dog and that the dog died a traumatic and terrible death.

So I started crying about the thought of boarding them. I sucked it up and called a good friend stationed here. I asked him about the possiblity of house/dog sitting and he agreed. I wanted to reach through the phone and hug him.

I still feel guilty about sitting around so besides running and rollerblading, cooking and baking take up a lot of my time now.

I made a yummy homemade salsa for a nice healthy snack for when I get home:

1 med green pepper, diced
1 med red pepper, diced
1 med vidalia (sweet) onion, diced
4 regular tomaotes, diced OR 6 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 bag frozen sweet corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1 packet good season dry italian dressing mix

Combine all of the ingredients and refrigerate 2 hours before eating.

And on Sunday, my poor friend had one of our friends fall through her attic floor into her kitchen so I brought over Dijon Orange Roughy Fillets (fish very similiar to Tilapia)

It might be the easiest, best tasting recipe ever.

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablesoon Dijon mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice

4 Orange Roughy/Tilapia

3 tbs fresh bread crumbs

Preheat over to 450 degrees. Melt butter over low heat in saucepan. Add mustard, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. and mix well Place fish in lightly greased baking pan. Pour sauce over fillets and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 7-8 minutes.

I also made layered oatmeal-chip cookies tonight for our pot luck dinner tonight. However, I made 30 cookies and while they were cooling, I forgot about them and walked out of the room. My beautiful husky snatched 4-5 of them. Grrrr.

Instant Smile

One of my favorite bloggers and fellow husky lover, Megan, passed a wonderful award in my direction.





7 Things I LOVE



1) Him.


After a minor meltdown at work, I received the sweetest email from him telling me that I kick ass at everything I do and I just need to believe in myself like the way he believes in me.


2) Laughing


Whether its laughing at friends or a funny story, nothing makes me happier than a good laugh.


3) Dakota


My protector and probably one of the sweetest dogs


4) Daisy


My beautiful, comic relief during the day


5) My family, in particular my best friend, my mother


She has always been there for me, alway supported me and I love talking to her because no one knows me better


6) Anything liberating...


Whether its a good run, using an electric drill to hang a huge corkboard in my office, mowing the yard, cooking a new recipe, finishing another book etc. I find the more things I accomplish during this deployment the better I feel and the faster time flies. And accomplishing all of the above and then some truly is the best feeling in the world.


7) His family


His dad is one of my best "girlfriends", the one I share with all my juicy gossip, his mother is my guide and rock through this deployment, his sister is one of my best friends, and his brother constantly makes me feel loved by checking in on me from time to time to make sure I'm doing ok.



And I am tagging...



Magnolias and Mimosas



Because her stories about herself and her husband always make me laugh.

Week Twenty

side note: No I am not crazy, in Indiana, its the BMV standing for Bureau of Motor Vehicles :)


I honestly sat down for the first time in five days last night and even questioned myself if I should really be sitting down and not be doing something else.

In addition to my first week of work my schedule consisted of Pot Luck with the girls on Tuesday, Book Club on Wednesday, Choir Church Concert on Thursday, not to mention my whole Driver's License issue.

I am forever thankful for my boss. She fought the issue with our HR department in California and I sucked it up, paid $50 more dollars, stayed up until 2am on Wednesday completing the online course, and finishing yet another online Driver's Safety course. I just wanted my license reinstated. In seven more days I should be legal once again. I describe the whole situation as just lame, very lame actually.

I am falling into a nice routine which both I and the dogs need and appreciate. I racked up over 25 miles on the rollerblades this week with the puppies. Since the weather reached the 60s all week with sunny skies, I rollerbladed not only at 6:45 every morning, but everyday after work.

I finally started running again and felt pretty good after two short runs. I am going to attempt a long run this weekend and even try my first kickboxing class since bruising my tailbone.

Some more deployment goals:

• Sent my third care package to him full of Gator Golf, my delicious Black Forest cookies, a Spiderman kite, People & US Weekly magazines, baseball gloves + baseball, and two old school DS games (Space Invaders + Command & Destroy).
• Cooking and baking well over three new recipes this month. Besides my Tofu Fried Rice, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and cookies, I am planning to make homemade Salsa, Orange Roughy, bowtie pasta receipe, and and a new chicken recipe all on Sunday for my upcoming work week.

With all the warm weather and rain, I now need to go cut my front and backyard. Wish me luck!

Law Breaker

Work was fantastic today. The sun was shining. Life was great...

Then I get a call from my boss after work before I am meeting some girlfriends for dinner.

My boss: We received the results from your background check. Do you know your Driver's License is suspended?

Me: WHAT?!

Apparently I did not finish a Driver's Saftey Course after a ticket in January 2008. I vividly remember taking that boring piece of crap class over Memorial Day Weekend. Luckily the BMV stays open late on Tuesdays. I called them and their response, simply enough, "Well you can show them your Certificate proving you completed the course".

Me again: What?! Who keeps those things for 10 months. And truth of the matter is I worked so much May-July, there is a very good chance I threw it out.

Worse part, I lost my license in May, received a new license in June and bought a new car in August. So I made two trips to the BMV WELL after my saftey test due date. Both times, they failed to mention anything about a suspended license.

I am very, very angry. Good thing I get a night to cool off before calling tomorrow morning.

Not Me

Another addition of "Not Me Monday"

• I did not eat 6 more of HIS cookies today (they wouldn't fit in his care package)
  
  
• I did not send him Gator Golf, a game for 3+ year olds with complete confidence that he would enjoy it as much as a 3 year old
  
  
• I did not get tipsy off a single glass of wine tonight
  
  
• I did not enjoy my "homework" tonight from my first day of work (nerd)



• I did not almost get up in the middle of pilates and run out the door because I thought I saw someone who looked exactly like him.
  


• I did not rollerblade the puppies at 6:30 this morning (Miss Musing's morning routine inspired me) and again at 4:30 this afternoon.

What did you NOT do this Monday?

All I need is an apron.

I am refusing to run until I feel better. Today my head still hurt a little.


So since I could not:

1) workout
2) read (head hurt)
3) watch TV (no good TV on)
4) clean (already cleaned Saturday)


I baked and cooked! I knew getting back into the full swing of work, I could not spend as much time cooking dinner or making lunches, so I decided to cook lunch/dinner for the rest of the week. Nothing too crazy, except I made a rather large batch of Fried Rice with Tofu for the first time.


And in honor of my most recent Pampered Chef purchase

I made cookies. He's a big fan of Craisins, especially the Cherry Flavored Craisins. I made a very delicious batch of Black Forest Cookies. I am not going to lie, I ate two of them and they tasted heavenly. I wanted to eat more before I remembered he's in Afghanistan.

And my product review of the medium cookie scoop: I love it. I enjoy making cookies, however, I am that girl with the cookie dough all over her fingers while trying to make them even on the cookie sheet. It made my life a lot easier and my cookies are all the same size for the first time ever.

Hopefully I'll continue my adventures in the kitchen.

Pick Your Favorite

When I look through my pictures and posts it scares me how much I discuss Daisy. I sometimes feel bad for my other wonderful dog, Dakota.


Now I could not survive without Dakota. Everyone who comes to visit, his family, and my family all love Dak Dak (nickname). Her temperment is incredibly sweet and loyal. She's my protector. If she hears a noise, we need to go inspect not only where she thinks she heard the noise, but the surrounding rooms. She heads in a room, does a lap, looks up at me like the coast is clear then walks out the door into the next room.


I guess I am making a point that I love Dakota.


But I have said it before and will say it again that I have never met a dog with more personality than Miss Daisy Girl. He and I talked today about how much she makes us smile. Even thousands of miles away, he always laughs out loud watching her on the webcam.


Case and point. These pictures are just from today. I could blog about her adventures everyday.


Two dogs outside in the rain for two minutes. One comes in completely clean, the other walks into my kitchen looking like this:



Over the past 8 months with her, I continue to learn my patience and sense of humor always shines through these mishaps.


I decided to clean out my car today. As soon as I open up the door:



I tried getting her out of the car. However, she wanted to go for a ride. She sat like this for a good 20 minutes looking out the window in the garage





I thrive during this deployment because of both of them. One protects me and the other one drives me crazy and makes me laugh on a daily basis.

Week Thirteen

13 weeks down on Friday the 13th.

After three days of feeling just down right lethargic and miserable, I do not think I am going to run the half-marathon tomorrow. My tailbone, believe it or not, hurts a lot when its cold outside. Temperatures should reach the high 40s with showers all morning.

I do not feel like pushing it especially since I start work on Monday.

I hate, hate, hate that I am not going to run. I also hate sitting around doing nothing, but even standing for awhile makes me tired.



This week, after 13 weeks, I am starting to "forget" what life with him is like. When he left the walls echoed his name and our memories together filled the air in the house. I hate saying this, but our house now feels like my house. I am falling into a steady routine of life without him.

Not to mention, my current reading selection: The Day After He Left for Iraq by Melissa Seligman

I never thought I would pick this book up and read it, however, with subbing, reading became an addiction. I read two other books (Celebutants by Amanda Goldberg & To Have And To Hold by Jane Green) in less than 3 weeks.

Some chapters I want to shake her and tell her to get it together and other times I think to myself, you poor, amazing Army Wife, trying to survive deployment with 2 young kids and living at Drum with all that snow. Either way, this book really makes me think...

I am glad I am reading it. It shows everyone handles deployments differently. The author writes honestly. However, I think she concentrates more on "poor me" instead of "thriving".

Here I handle deployment with denial and numbness. And to be honest, in 13 weeks, only 2 days stick out in my mind where I thought to myself "I do not want to do this". Seligman, on the other hand, does not deny her feelings, her loneliness, her pain, or her anger at her husband. Her emotions and energy pours over into developing her 2-year old daughter's attitude toward her daddy being at "work".

Oh so many thoughts on this book. I hope to finish it in the next few days.


Besides reading, I did manage to cook something new for our pot luck this week. I love how I force myself to make new things every month. This week our theme was "Soup and Sandwiches" and I volunteered to make the sandwiches.

Instead of the traditional sub sandwiches, I found a recipe for Awesome Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. I finally used my panini press and the sandwiches consisted of mozzarella, roasted turkey, red peppers, and Texas Toast slices.



Being sick does has its perks. I managed to have a two hour conversation with him over Skype, our longest conversations since he left. Sometimes I forget how sweet he is or how lucky I am to be falling in love with my best friend. My best friend who always makes me smile.

While talking about my new job.

Him: I just don't think you understand how good you are
Me: Ha, what do you mean?
Him: You have the body of a porn star, the attitude of a Midwest girl, the drive of a CEO, and more passion than anyone I know and you don't even know it.

I may not get flowers or sweet emails all of the time, but that's ok...

Yeah Right...

About two weeks ago, my mom and I discussed my bruised tailbone:

Mom: I fell on my tailbone 4 years ago
Me: Oh yeah, I remember
Mom: And when its cold outside, sometimes it still hurts

In my head: Ok mom, we all know you're crazy, but we love you anyways

After 3 decent runs outside, I felt a little better about my upcoming race. Today the temperature dropped to 39 degrees after 4 days of 65+ temps. And my back started killing me today!

It doesn't help that after 10 days with 6th graders, I know have a terrible cold.

Did I mention I am running a half marathon on Saturday?



Remember when he surprised me with Daisy? He informed me that the breeder said she would only shed twice a year.

In my head: Yeah, whatever. What is she a snake? I am sure its no big deal

Sure enough, after 8 months of seeing strands of white hair here and there, I am now seeing CHUNKS of white hair EVERYWHERE!

I cannot stand it. I vaccum twice a day now sometimes and fill my wonderful Dyson to the top.

I kept telling her today (yes I talk to my dogs, my better half is deployed) that she's lucky I love her so much.



I guess seeing really is believing.

Q&A Part Three

Oh yes, I finally sat down and finished answering your wonderful, wonderful questions. This last session is all about me...and my puppies :)

I am going to start with two of my favorite questions. I mean they were all excellent, but these two put a big ol' smile on my face.

MG wants to know if you are planning on reading the book for book club?
Sadly, I did not read the 1,000 page book for bookclub. I did, however, read all three books I borrowed from a few of our members. Considering this was less than a month ago...I am quite proud!

meganewoldsen asked


Do you think Daisy and Blaze would make super cute Siberian Husky pups?
Oh heck yeah!

Daisy

Blaze (Picture totally stolen from the wonderful Megan)

Anyone else agree?

Worst Habbit?
This might sound crazy, but most of my family HATES that I see the good in everyone and both he and them HATE hows naive I am at times. I know, terrible "worst habbit", but I guess it can be a bad thing as much as a good thing.

sfpm said...
What was a Best for this past year?
Oh easy, living with him...

What was a Worst for this past year?

Quitting my job and then trying to find another one as good as it.

Weakness?

Details, details, details. I pay close attention to them, but sometimes not close enough.

Strength?

Organization and leadership

(army)Wife said...

What's your dream house like?

Two story house with large, open kitchen and living room.

What is the one thing you want to save to give to your daughter/son?

I am not sure about my son, but I know I will eventually give my daughter my WP minature class ring he bought me during Ring Weekend.

Week Twelve

We are another month down, not another week a whole entire month!

(I feel like I just blogged about this a few days ago, not a month ago)

Well subbing consumed most of my time this week. On Monday I wanted to hang a few kids from the ceiling and practice torture techniques on them. Friday I felt so comfortable and in control. I knew what to expect from them and they knew EXACTLY what to expect from me.

i.e. Since many of them struggle with the definition of "Quiet" a few of them had to write the definition out 150 times. Needless to say, we all now know how to be quiet.

I also made friends with a few of the teachers and they informed me this is the worst 6th grade class in years, not to mention the top 10 troublemakers all have English with yours truly.

And now for great/sad news. After 4 interviews, I landed a job in the business world! I should start working by the end of this week. I am thrilled, however, I am bummed about leaving behind the kids and the classroom. I grew attached to the school and definitely the teachers. Not to mention the Assistant Principal really wanted me to accept the long term position.

I know in the big picture, I am making the right decision.

My tailbone still bothers me from time to time. I started running this weekend and felt amazing after all my runs. The tailbone nagged me during my runs, but I never felt in pain or extremely uncomfortable so it looks as though I am T-minus 6 days before my half-marathon.

My friend Leslie and I enjoyed a wonderful, warm weekend together. She felt a lot more comfortable with the area and was really thankful at the end of the weekend. We drove around, worked out, shopped, looked at houses and hung out with some friends.

I forgot how much I love looking at houses, maybe its because I love my real estate agent, Destiny. I love how I am completely 100% myself (which is sometimes a pain in the butt) around her. Not to mention I laugh so much with her and Lynne. Leslie was definitely impressed not only by them, but my wonderful relationship with them.

Last night a bunch of girls and our friend Joe headed to the local bar for a friends birthday and this morning I woke up with my first hangover in quite some time. I still managed to attend church and run.

And speaking of church, lately during the services the kids in there really disrupt my concentration. Its not a small disruption, its a constant disruption. Now I am a very patient, understanding person, but I grew so frustrated today. An amazing choir came to sing and visit and I heard the screaming kid better than a 45 all men choir. Please take your screaming child outside, do not try to console them in the church while he kicks and hits you. In 10 years, he/she will be one of those 6th graders I wanted to torture/tie up ::end rant::

Jeni teaching us how to make the most delicious Korean Food!

Week Eleven

Well where do I start...

I truly believe I am suffering from blogger's block. And I know exactly why.

About 10 days ago, I decided to "forgo" my newest job opportunity. Its an incredibly long story that I promise to share eventually. I will say I absolutely made the right decision and have no regrets whatsoever. For awhile I found it difficult to blog.

I am back in the interview/resume/application saddle and found some luck. I am on interview #3 with a company, but not sure what will happen next. While I continue my job search related to my major, I am subbing. And let me say, God Bless teachers. I taught elementary all of last week. I never said "Keep your hands to yourself" or "Eyes and ears on me girls and boys" more in my entire life.

This week I am subbing 6th grade English at a local middle school, Monday-Friday. Its like a real job, ha, which I am still adjusting to this new schedule. They actually offered me a long term position to teach that class until the end of the school year. I have until the end of the week to decide.

And let me tell you, my dogs HATE my schedule. I truly believe I trained obedient dogs, but not as of late. Friday afternoon I came home to two very hyper dogs. I immediately changed my clothes and put on my rollerblades. The girls took off so fast that all of a sudden I witnessed both of my legs and rollerblades fly straight into the air and I landed square on my back. I self-diagnosed myself with a bruised tailbone.

Four days later I am still in a ton of pain. I did not go to kickboxing for the first time in 2 months. Instead I lifted and ran two miles at a very slow pace. My darling friend and neighbor brought over her heating pad and let's just say, its my new best friend, even replaced DVR in my life!

I promised myself to take it easy this week, but I am growing more and more frustrated as I realized I am 11 days away from my half-marathon. I do not know what to do.

Besides all the minor drama, I am still feeling good about a lot of things. As I approach the three month mark, I am:

• Still cooking three new meals a month
• Scrapbooking a lot more
• Already reading my second book, a trashy Hollywood novel this month
• Studying a little more for my personal training license
• Involving myself more at my church and still attending every week

Six out of the past seven weekends, my house was filled with visitors. Last weekend my sister and brother-in-law visited. This weekend is no different. His former teammate at WP's wife wants to come check out the area while her husband finishes Ranger School. They plan to move here in May which means another wonderful friend nearby.

Hopefully this ends my blogger's block!