A Standing Lunch Date

Yesterday I had lunch with one of my dearest friends, Ralph. Ralph was my boss, but he's been more like a father figure to me. Maybe it was because I was straight out of college when he hired me, or the fact that for the first two years at work, I had a crying spell just about every week in his office. He would try to comfort me, chuckling a little before telling me that I had to man up to be in the chicken business. He's taken upon himself the development of my career and my personal growth. We normally have our morning banter, which is usually about what mischief my dogs got into the night before and then he'd tell me to get rid of them. Then we'd go on to have several more chitchats through out the day, and sometimes lunch together, just so he'd know what I am up to with work and I could steal some candy out of his snack drawer. Some people at work always thought there was some December-May romance going on, which bothered me a touch that they couldn't see (or didn't want to see since gossips were more fun) our genuine friendship. Since I quit my job, we've been chatting on the phone a couple of times and yesterday decide to go out to lunch together. We've agreed on a lunch date every week until I leave. I'm really not looking forward to saying goodbye to him.

One of the moving crews is sending their person to our house today to assess the weight of our junk and packaging material they will need. And my landlord is sending his yard guy over to see what they need to do to beautify the backyard (two digging dogs = dead grass). I'm really starting to get butterflies in my stomach about the move. T-14 days!

Bucky and Moving Update

So Mr. Dan dropped off Bucky yesterday. He was very shy and rather timid around the boys, even though they got along just fine. Brutus, The Man of the House, took it upon himself to guard Paddy and me last night. He slept on the carpet in the bedroom all night, facing the door, something he's never done before. Every time poor Bucky walked by, Brutus would growl and wouldn't let him in the bedroom. Then Bucky would whine, which in turn made Paddy really upset and start whining himself. And this went on all night. Can you say dark circles? So that was yesterday evening and last night. This morning, and oh what an early morning, it appears that the whole being shy thing is an act and Bucky is playing no-nonsense uncle to my babies. He's been kicking around my Paddy into submission, which is generally not hard to do anyway. He's not hurting Paddy or anything but certainly getting his message across. Brutus, meanwhile, watches bratty Paddy being put in his place with certain amount of amusement but stays on guard in case he needs to stick up for his little bro. Now after 2 hours of running around in the backyard and breakfast, all three of them are sound asleep. And I'm unfortunately very awake. Freaking mutts.

So we find out that there's going to be a huge festival in Baumholder when we arrive. Read about Rheinland-Pfalz-Tag here. Not one to ever turn down a party, I was really excited until my husband informed me that the roads heading to post would be closed for this event. Oh well, after a couple of glasses of amazing German Riesling and some, and I quote, "culinary delights," I doubt I will very much care if Wil and I can drag all of my belongings, two giant dog crates, and the two disoriented pups uphill to our new home. At least we'll all be together and having some ridiculous fun. Can't think of a better way to be welcomed to a community.

The moving company just called to ask if they could start packing a few days earlier than the original plan. I said no problem as long as I could have my bed to sleep on until the 25th. Oh, how will I miss sleeping on my Sleep Number Bed. I'm sure the longing will be particularly acute especially when I'm in our government loaner bed, which Wil describes as "kinda like an air mattress but worse." If our stuff takes a while to get there, the doctors might have to give the both of us back surgeries. Also, we made reservations for our vans yesterday. Me to drive to Baltimore for the AMC flight and him to pick us up in Ramstein. Things are clicking along just fine. God has thrown us a pile of cosmic bones. Thank you! We're grateful, and, at the risk of sounding slightly greedy, please keep them coming.

I LOVE the Creepy Drawing

In the spirit of the fast approaching Father's Day, let's have a moment to learn what makes them dad. Completely fascinating to me. Two heads? Figure eight pattern? At 4 miles an hour!?! Wow. Had they taught this stuff in school, I surely would have stayed awake for it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/science/12angi.html?8dpc

We Have a Flight!

Finally! The pups and I are booked on an AMC flight (Air Mobility Command flights are military-contracted though operated by normal commercial airlines). I can't tell you what a relief this is. And I got on this flight really because of the pups, or rather their size. Because both of them require giant kennels to fly, it's become nearly impossible to arrange for their travel via normal commercial flights. The airplane has to be of certain size to accommodate "huge" live animals. I never really think of our pups to be enormous, since they are only 68 and 83 lbs at the moment. But they end up needing the largest available kennels because they both are all legs. It's a direct flight, which would only last about 7.5 hours, and the best part of this flight is their airfare. Drum roll, please! Wil and I had been planning for worst case scenario, having to fork over $2500 for cargo shipment or $1000 for normal commercial flight (if we can ever find one that will take us). On AMC flight, Brutus and Paddy will fly in relative comfort for less than $400! I know some of you are rolling your eyes, but let's keep in mind that they are our children before you suggest other alternatives (like bullets, Ralph). I can't imagine my life without them, especially when my husband only gets to stay home with me for all of 4 months combined time during this past year. They are my family and now all of us are going to Germany! Special thanks to the Port Call ladies at Ft. Bragg. They are real life savers! I would have hugged them all if I thought they wouldn't call the MPs on me.

We're Still Newlyweds!

Today is our first year anniversary! I actually thought today was the 9th and Wil had to remind me that it was today a year ago that I duped him into marrying me. My husband insists that we're still newlyweds since we've only spent about 4 months under the same roof since getting hitched. Happy Anniversary, Baby! I love you! There's no one else I'd rather share puppies with :). Here's to the happy couple!

P.S. Two posts in one day! Unemployment suits my blog well...

P.P.S. You've got to check this out: http://yumsugar.com/295046 This is completely sobering and makes me incredibly thankful for all that we have (and realize that we don't eat enough vegetables).

Aunt, Again!

Hooray, Wil and I are going to be proud aunt and uncle for the second time in two years! Amanda, Wil's sister, will have another baby for us to dote on in December. Here's a picture of our first nephew Connor last Christmas. As you can see, Baby Burrito has a tough competition in the cuteness department. Unfortunately, we might not be able to make it back for the birth, since my sister is supposed to get married around the same time in Thailand. We're going to be getting a lot of stamps in our passports.

I had a very eventful Saturday. I made some new friends and had to say goodbye to a few old ones. The pups and I befriend an older gentleman and his dog Bucky during our morning walk. To make a long story short, I end up volunteering to babysit Bucky while our new friend Mr. Dan is out of town for a week. Bucky is such a joy and one of the most well-behaved dogs I've ever met. I'm hoping some of that goodness will rub off on our devil spawns. After the walk, I get to hang with Drew, my favorite 5-year-old buddy. Drew lives with his mom and brother Austin a couple of doors down from us and they are moving to Charlotte. So Drew and I get to hang out while the adults pack and load the moving truck. Drew loves Paddy and vice versa, and they both get to say goodbye the proper way, which is to pay fetch forever in the backyard and get dirty together. Brutus, who is not a big fan of loud noises and rambunctious children, retreats to staying cool and hiding under the dinning room table. He's much more of a tea party attendant type. I have to post a picture of them together once I upload them. Then after saying goodbye to Drew and his family, I head out to my friend Rebecca's baby shower. It's my first baby shower ever and one that convinces me to make my own baby food. We play this game that we try baby food in a jar and guess what it actually is. I feel really bad for babies now. No wonder why they get so cranky. Mac and cheese that taste like very viscous starchy paste took the prize for grossest for me. It is really nice to meet Rebecca's friends. They are all very sweet and friendly. I hope they don't think I just show up for the food, since my present hasn't arrived yet. It's also a reminder that we do live in a military community, as many of us are getting ready to move and some of the husbands are overseas. Once I finally get home, I go into a vacuuming frenzy after I suddenly realize that my beloved Dyson and I will be separated for months. What am I going to do with all the dog hair? Really hope our household goods get in to Germany before the fur in "furniture" actually has a life of its own.

And the Prodigal Daughter Returns!

I know I know... But this time, I'm really going be good with keeping up this thing. The pups and I are scheduled to fly during the last week of June sometimes, and this past Thursday was my last day at work. I'm supposed to use the next couple of weeks to clean out the attic, clean up the house, and fix up whatever the puppies use as their chew toys. Unemployment, however intentional, is just completely frightening to me. I just feel like I'm not contributing to our family somehow. So being at home all day leaves me absolutely no excuse for not cleaning on a daily basis. Sigh. And I think the pups are rather disappointed that they are not having any more fun with me being at home. Already, the pressure!
In other news, Wil has decided to have his back surgery at Lundstuhl, a military medical facility in Germany. After meeting with his new neurosurgeon and discussing his options, he feels that there's a good possibility that the surgery can and will give him a somewhat pain-free life. With degenerative disc disease that he's been diagnosed, we now know that sooner or later surgery will be necessary. So why not now if we have a good shot? It's really scary but it's also a blessing in disguise, at least to me. Wil's unit is on a rotation for November deployment. He's not going to be able to go with them. The surgeon is pushing for the surgery within the next 6-8 weeks, to be followed by 6 weeks of rehab/recuperating time, another 6 months, if all goes well, before PT, then revaluation of his back. Wil is rather upset about not being able to deploy with his unit. In all honesty, I don't think any soldiers want to go to war. They go because it's their duty and what they bravely sign up for. And certainly, they never want to send their brothers off while they lay in relative comfort of hospital beds. I always hear stories about injured soldiers whose sole missions are to get better as soon as possible, so they can go back to their units. Wil also had an option of not deploying the last time, but he went anyway bad back and all, to be with his soldiers. And he came back hurting even more. This time, I think he finally comes around to the idea that he still has his whole life ahead of him and it will be a lot less enjoyable if he can't even bend over to pick up our children. I keep telling him that after Kosavo, Afghanistan, Iraq first and second trip, NO ONE will ever say he hasn't done enough for his country. He just feels like he's letting his unit down. I completely agree with the saying "the only thing that is harder than being a soldier is to love (and sometimes take care of!) one"
Alright, that is quite enough for my promising return :). Come back and check as I agonize over what to throw away and what to keep...