Taking a Break…

I think I’m going to take a bit of time off from the computer. I guess I go through stages where everything is interesting and then, none of it is…

I talked to my Dad this morning. It was a great conversation as it always is. He was telling me about a story he heard in the Air Force about General Patton. Seems some of his soldiers had been arrested in a corrupt town outside of Fort Benning, across the border into Alabama. Patton took a tank down the main road and threated to level the town if they didn’t release his men. They released ‘em real quick.

Having read several Patton books, I’d never heard of this story. So, I had to get online and search to see what I could find. I found a small blurb at the bottom of this page: http://www.bobtuley.com/georgepatton.htm.

Seems it was Fort Riley that this happened and it was a cannon and not a tank . Still thought it was really interesting.

So, I’ll see you all in June, sometime. Once husband gets back, he’s going to take some leave and we plan on taking a small vacation. Daughter gets out of school this coming week, so it’s the perfect time…

Till next time….

What a Way to End the Week…

Warning, not for the queasy

Thursday morning was fun. I put Dakota in the truck to take daughter to school, just like every morning. We get to the end of the block and he PUKES all over the front seat. Ughhh!

And then the smell hit us. The smell worried me, because it truly smelled like actual shit. I worried about stomach torsion, something that seems to be a problem in GSDs.

I roll down the windows, try to keep him still so he’s not also wearing it. I get daughter to school, get back home and then SON starts heaving in the backseat.

THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!!!

Thankfully he gets the door open and is able to puke everywhere OUTSIDE of the truck…three times.

I get son settled and then get the dog settled and head out to the truck to clean up the mess. I start cleaning and what do I find? CAT LITTER. At least I know the dog isn’t dying – just a damn idiot for eating CAT SHIT. Sheesh.

Turns out, son has an easy gag reflex. He said the smell is what made him toss up his breakfast…

End warning

So Thursday afternoon, we get outside so I can dig up the bare spots enough for grass seed. The metal rake wouldn’t put a dent in the dry dirt. I had to get the shovel. On the really hard parts, I had to put the shovel in the dirt with my foot. On the not so hard parts, I could just twist it to break up the dirt. I had no idea there were so many bare spots until I got out there to do the work. My wonderful body lasted an hour the first day…with breaks every ten minutes or so. It didn’t help it was 90+ degrees.

By Friday morning, I was back out there. I felt like crap from the day before and didn’t even last an hour. I’m almost done though…I guess this evening when it cools off enough I’ll get out there with the grass seed and do that part.

Just really defeating, to be quite honest. Five years ago, I could have finished it all in an afternoon, with no breaks and then went and cleaned out the pond. Now, I can’t do anything it seems without gritting my teeth and just forcing myself to try to ignore how bad I’m hurting and then regretting doing that the rest of the night. Thursday night I was up every two hours because I just couldn’t lay there anymore without wanting to cry. Makes for waking up in a GREAT mood when you’ve not slept the night before…

Now we’re off to get groceries. Yeah, great fun. Gosh I HATE grocery shopping. Thankfully, we don’t need much. So hopefully we’ll be in and out pretty quickly.

Ok, done whining now…

Back to Army Life We Go

Ok, so we never left Army life in reality, but for the past ten months or so, it’s sort of felt that way. It’s been that long since husband has been anywhere. Years ago, even if husband didn’t go to the field, he still had duty every so often. Husband hasn’t had duty in years now, so when there are no field problems or other training, he’s home every night. Of course his regular work hours are long hours and there are quite a few late nights, but he’s still home every night.

Now that all the transformation stuff is completed, it’s back to the reality of normal Army life. Husband left yesterday for some time in the field. He won’t be gone too long – just long enough to make the little ones and I face the music lol and snap back to reality.

I guess it’s a good thing, this short field exercise. It’ll help us get back into the swing of things since we’ve had him home for so long. This summer, they head out to CA to play in the sand for a month and then not long after, they’ll head over to Iraq for a year. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dreading going through another year consumed by fear and worry. Gosh, I’m just dreading living that again. It’s all part of Army life, I know, but it sure isn’t the part I enjoy. He’s got 22 years of being a soldier behind him. Maybe THIS time when he returns from Iraq, he truly WILL be ready to retire. He was positive he was ready to retire last time – and here we are, gearing up for another year apart…

My road to keeping sane when he is away from home is finding something to do. Something new, something that is challenging and interesting. Before he deployed last time, I decided I wanted to build a picket fence for our backyard. Husband went with me to Lowes to buy a post-hole digger. I showed him the plans I’d printed off the internet for a custom picket fence. I measured the yard and made notes so when he left, I’d have a project to get me through that first month of adjustment.

Husband was sure I’d gone off my rocker. He said there was no way I could build the fence…dig the holes blah blah blah. After he left, I think I gave myself about a week or so to cry whenever I felt like it – and then I jumped into my fence project with both feet. I emailed pictures to him as I made progress lol. Apparently, husband was really proud, he showed everyone the pictures once they got internet access and he could print them out.

For the next deployment, my plan is to build us a back deck. Right now, we just have a small stoop that has seen better days. The back deck will go from the back door to the end of the house and extend out to our brick patio. We’ll have plenty of room for built in planter boxes and seating – along with a nice table and chairs. A back deck will look so pretty back there…

As for this short field problem, I have several small projects planned. I was going to start today, but little guy was running a fever, so we stayed in today. He’s not coughing or anything, so where this fever came from is a mystery. I’m hoping he’ll be feeling better tomorrow.

At any rate, my first project is to get some grass planted. Last month I put some weed killer on the front yard because dandelions had taken it over. Now I have quite a few bare patches out there. I’m going to get the metal rake out and till up the bare spots and put some new grass seed down.

While he was deployed last time, I had planted some small boxwood bushes in front of the front porch. They’ve not done too well and look like crap, so I’m going to dig them up and toss them. I want to buy some Burning Bushes and plant them there instead.

Once the bushes are planted and the grass seed is down, I plan to clean out the pond and get a new pump since the old one died. On one side of the drive in the backyard, there is a tiny cement retaining wall that has a cement step, up into the grass of the backyard. I’m wanting to build an arbor there over the step. Maybe get some honeysuckle or wisteria to plant to grow on the arbor…

If I have time after all that, I plan on trying to finally get those kitchen cabinets painted. I know he’d be surprised AND thrilled if that was done before he got home lol.

Ok, it’s way past my bedtime…better get going. Til next time…..

Blog Moms, Dads, Daughters etc.

Ok, can someone please explain this latest phenomenon to me?

I’ve read on several blogs here lately, “My BlogDad…” or “My BlogDaughter said…” or similar references to a blog-family type of thing.

What in the heck is this? Does someone adopt you as their online, blogging daughter/child – or do the “children” pick a blogger they think would be a good parent to them lol?

Just don’t get it and thought someone might could take pity on me and explain thangs .

Jersey Slogan Issues…

Seems N.J. Scraps 2nd Slogan in Less Than Year . How sad…

I have a possible submission:

The Asshole of America!

No offense Jersey residents. Husband is from there. I’ve been there and anyone who thinks a jug-handle is a GOOD idea needs their head examined AND the title of Asshole of America.

Just STUPID…

Dakota – Our Newest Baby

I know I promised photos a long while ago. Learning the new camera and then finding time to upload and resize ‘em turned into the challenge lol. I finally got around to it tonight though.

Our New Baby just turned five months old. Last weekend, we took him in to be neutered. He spent the night Friday night and husband picked him up Saturday morning. I’m pretty sure husband said he weighed in at 59 pounds. My baby isn’t a little baby anymore…that’s for sure.

Here is the first pictures we took of him. They were taken at the end of January when he was eight weeks old.

The next photos were taken on April 3, so he was four months old. He’s growing up so fast! He’s getting more tan on the top of his head now too. When we first brought him home, his head was entirely black….then he started getting the tan above his eyes. A few weeks later, he started turning tan on the top of his head too. I’m interested in seeing what his final colors will turn out to be.

Here is my absolute favorite photo of both our pups in one of their favorite spots…the top of the stairs on the mezzanine.

They are both such a joy to have in our family. We love them so much and I’m so thankful husband talked me into going to “just look” at the German Shepherd puppies back in January.

Dakota is so much company. With husband deploying again later this year – having him here with me is going to be such a comfort. Like Chelsea Dog had been, Dakota is definitely my dog. Wherever I am, he is or wants to be.

Dharma, our rottie, has a soft spot for our babies (which we think is wonderful). When they go to bed at night, she goes with them. Some nights she sleeps with daughter, some nights, she sleeps with son…other nights she chooses the spare bedroom where she enjoys having a king sized bed all to herself lol. It all just depends on her mood I guess .

When husband is gone, I find it comforting to know that we have a dog on each floor. If someone were to try to sneak in downstairs, like Chelsea Dog before him, Dakota will hear it and let me know. If someone were brave enough to try to sneak in a window upstairs, there’s no doubt our rottie would take care of business until I could get there .

We’ve truly been blessed, that is for sure. Two wonderful dogs are part of our family….

We’re Alive….

Today was my regular doc appointment. Little guy and I are STILL coughing, but feel better. My doc, LTC M., gets little guy on the table and says he thinks it’s viral. I tell him I gave him his inhaler this morning at 5:30 because his chest was so tight when he woke me up. He asks why he has an inhaler and I explain that whenever he gets a cold, it goes straight to his chest. The two times we’ve taken him to urgent care, they’ve given him a steroid, breathing treatment and the inhaler. He agrees this is what we should do now.

Then he has me hop up on the table. Ok, so this old body no longer “hops” anywhere, but I get up there. He says I’m walking like an old lady and I tell him that is because the coughing doesn’t help my medical problem and makes me hurt worse. He listens to the belly, then has me sit up so he can listen to my lungs. He says, “You’re wheezing too!”

I know I am because when I take a deep breath I can feel it crackle in there. Ughh.

So, little guy and I are now both on steroids. We both now have inhalers. And no, neither one of us has asthma thank goodness.

Hopefully this will do it and we’ll be all better soon .

And my doc is deploying to Iraq and then retiring. I just want to CRY. I cannot explain how much I like him, how easy he is to talk to, what a great personality he has, how caring he is to me, my husband and my children…and how much he has done to help me with my medical problems. My last doc I really liked, but we had over a year to get to know each other and form a working relationship (which is essential when you have a chronic health problem). I’ve had this doc since August and I feel like I’ve known him my entire life. I’m really going to miss him…I trust him and I dread, DREAD starting all over again with someone new (big whine….sob sob sob).

Ok, I’m done with my pity-party for one now . Thanks for listening.