Updates from Iraq

Todd is doing just fine. He enjoys taking naps, working out everyday, watching TV show seasons, and occasionally going on missions in towns near where is located. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.


Out and about.


His room in Kuwait. I think he has an actual room by himself now.


A cigar for his birthday!


With his platoon sgt, Ryan.


Oh, and the 100 cupcakes that we sent for Christmas got there just fine. Except for the fact that they were moldy! =( I have promised that there will be no moldy food for Valentines Day.

9 more days!

I don't really have anything new to report, other than that I'm sick again, this time with a bad cold rather than the stomach flu. I prefer the stuffy head and sore-ish throat to the puking and weakness, but it's been here since Sunday--please go away already! I very much enjoy breathing out of my nose, and I haven't been able to in four days.

However, I'm very excited to be going home to Chicago in 9 days! I'll get to spend two blissful weeks taking up space at my parents' house--eating their food, watching their tv, laying on their couch...the mooching list is endless. It'll be just like coming home from NIU again. Except I'll be hanging out with Paulie everyday instead of Todd, but the trade-off isn't so bad--both eat a lot, take up way too much space on the couch, snore, and pass way too much gas. So in all reality, it'll be almost like Todd is actually there. =)

This is my last Christmas that I'll be able to take two weeks to do absolutely nothing for awhile I think. Next year I'll have a real person job with real person hours, and while I'm excited about that, it sort of marks the end of an era. Finally, at 25, I'll be a real adult. Weird.

Ok, enough rambling. Time to go make some honey vanilla chamomile tea. It's been my bff all week.

You know you're obsessed with Twilight when...

*You're in the car, and the sappy song on the radio makes you think of Edward and Bella, not your deployed husband that you haven't seen in three months.

*When you talk about how much you hate how whiny Bella is in New Moon, you feel guilty, because it's almost like she might find out and not want to be your friend anymore.

*Your friend mentions wanting to learn Italian, but says it's probably useless, and you say, "Not if you run into the Volturi!"

*At Garden of the Gods, your friend takes a picture "lifting" a huge rock, and you both say, "Strong like vampire!"

*While laying in bed feeling cold, you think, "I'd be warmer if Jacob were here."

How do you know you're obsessed with Twilight/the whole series?


**An addition, courtesy of Erin, a Twilight newbie**

You ask your husband why his hands are so cold, and he says, "I'm Edward". You then text Sheri while giggling with delight, knowing she will appreciate it.

PS--Erin, if that were true, I would be *that* friend that tries to seduce your husband.

Yesssssssss. Finally.

So I finally have my internship officially squared away. My paperwork is on it's way to NIU, I have a supervisor, and I'm signing my paperwork for the site later on this afternoon. It is such a huge weight off my shoulders that I don't even know how to describe it.

I will be doing 25-30 hours 4 days a week, no weekends, and I won't ever have to be there past 5pm! Best.supervisor.ever. She already ok'ed the 4 day weekend for my birthday visitors, and told me I could have a week off to go to Chicago, and work half days all the days Todd is here that we're in Colorado Springs! Again, I love her. I will have my MSed in May 2009, and I'll be taking the dreaded NCE exam in April to get licensed. Scary.

I'm so effing happy.

Paulie's Birthday Extravaganza!

Without further adieu, here are some pictures from Paulie's party. There are no posed ones...too many doggies.

Doggie treat bags and party hats.

Cupcakes for the beasts!

Humans had a sandwich bar!

Second half of sandwich bar.

Birthday boy!

Are those for me?

If I twist my body just so...

Romping in the yard.

Bear was a little timid Chihuahua, but adorable.

So many pretty black doggies!

Old Lady Domino is almost 11 years old, but one of my favorite Boston's ever!

Paulie and I and his special cake!

Rocky, the biggest boy at the party.

Are there any extra cupcakes?

We only had two accidents in the house, and I'm pretty sure every single dog pooped in the yard--maybe twice. All in all it was a really fun afternoon for canines and humans alike! =)

Happy Birthday Todd!

Today is Todd's 25th Birthday. I talked to him for a few minutes earlier today, and he said he was doing good and that he is keeping (very) busy. They had a mail drop today, so he got some packages. Yay!

Since I always pay homage to Paulie on here, I figured I'd post a few of my favorite pictures of Todd over the past year.


Right before the wedding in December 07.


Watching me walk down the aisle


GQ-ing it.


Sleeping with our baby the night we adopted him.

Happy birthday Babe. I love you and miss you tons! =)

Happy Birthday Paulie!

Today is Paulie's first birthday. We are not sure of the exact day he was born, and the shelter said he was 6 months old when he came in on 5/8/08, so his birthday became 11/8/07. Works for me, and I'm sure Paulie doesn't care.

We had a fairly uneventful day. Just went to the vet to update his kennel cough vaccine, and then went to the dog park. He's gotten a few extra treats today, but that's about it. Next Saturday is his birthday party with all of his friends, so that will be his big day. I'll definitely post pictures of all the beasts running around my house! Here are some pictures of Paulie being cute--he did not so much appreciate being outed as a terrorist in my last post.

His ears are overwhelming.

When Paulie's attack

I always post pictures of Paulie being cute and lovable. I think it's time you all see Paulie in attack mode, which happens when he wants attention and, in this case, when he doesn't get his way. We were playing fetch earlier, and he got mad at me for not throwing the ball fast enough, or possibly for taking yet more pictures of him for no reason. This is what it looks like when Paulie's attack:

Playin fetch', playin fetch', playin fetch'. So happy to be playin' fetch.

Waitin', waitin', waitin'. Not so happy to be waitin'.

THROW THE BALL YOU WENCH OR I'LL EAT YOUR FAAAAAAACE!

The end.

**Disclaimer: No Sherbie's were injured in the making of this blog post.**

Swimming on Halloween?

Outside?

In Colorado Springs?

Yep. My friend Christy and I took advantage of the very unseasonably warm day yesterday to swim in the pool at her apartment complex. It was awesome, and about 75-80 degrees outside. And we didn't just sit in the hot tub. We actually swam in the pool, which was quite refreshing. With her being from PA, and me from Chicago, we were amazed that it was so very nice outside on the last day of October. We're used to trick or treaters with coats on over their costumes! We took the following pictures with my phone for proof:

It's ok. You can be jealous.

Happy Halloween!

They don't have doggie trick or treating here, but that won't stop Paulie the Pumpkin!





I'm pretty sure he hates me, but I give him treats when he wears clothes! =)

Christmas pictures!

Yes, Paulie and I took Christmas pictures on our own, but don't fret--Todd will be in our cards too! You'll just have to wait until December to get them. My friend, neighbor, and "battle buddy" Lisa McGrath took them for me. She is very talented, so I want to show off just a few of her pictures. You can also view her work here.

None of these will be on the card, but I still love them!

He never looks at the camera. Ever.



Great shot of Pike National Forest, where we took the pictures. Doesn't it look almost fake?

Paulie in the wild. Don't mind the sweater.

This is the only time he was on leash. The rest of the time he was off leash and perfectly behaved. I'm such a proud mama.

Effing snow.

So it did snow last night, and it's sticking to the grass. It's 35 degrees out right now. Paulie doesn't know what to do:

He won't go onto the grass unless I put him there. And even then, he glares at me. Poor little guy.

I took the picture of Paulie, and the next ones with my new phone. Here are some pics of the snow:

The backyard. The wind knocked my chairs and table over.

The front.

My little flowers that could. I wonder how long they'll survive.

Quick updates

Since a number of people have told me to update my blog, here is the month of October:

1. I like my hair now. It's faded to a nice, super dark, rich brown. I also like having bangs.

2. Erin's wedding was absolutely beautiful. I said Shit! really loud in church, but I was a great train fluffer. I will post pics when her photog posts some. Downside: It really hit me that Todd was gone, and I had a little tearful moment at the reception. Thank god my parents were there. I was still an excellent MOH though. =)

3. Paulie graduated Basic Obedience! I'm pretty sure he was on the SpEd track though. He only knows sit, down, and come here. We're working on all the other stuff, and should have a vibrating collar soon. He is almost completely potty trained.

4. I had fun visitors, and I'm so glad they came. However, I left my phone in a bathroom at a bar. I got a fun new phone, and I love it.

5. I have an unofficially official internship where I currently work. I got the OK from the CEO and the head of HR. Paperwork will be signed soon. I start in January and will have my MSed in May. Yessssss.

6. It is cold here. The overnight temp is supposed to be around 27. It may snow. I hate winter. But oh wait, it's supposed to be in the 60's this weekend--maybe CoSpgs isn't that different from Chicago. It's sort of comforting.

7. Todd is doing well. Today is the first day I haven't talked to him in over a week. It takes about 2-2.5 weeks for mail to get there, for those of you sending things. It's hot there, which will stay consistent for the next year. He will have 2 weeks of leave to come home sometime in early spring. Yay!

8. I became part of the CA(sualty) RE(sponse) team for Todd's unit. If someone's husband (son, brother, sister, wife, etc) is killed or wounded, I can be activated to help with whatever they need in the days following the notification. It was strange and sad, but sort of comforting, to have death talked about so matter of factly in the training. Again, it made the deployment more real for me, but I feel some sort of internal obligation to help. I'd want people to help me if something happens to Todd, and it helps me feel more connected.

9. I'm on week 7 of my running program (of 9). My longest running time so far is 25 minutes, and I'm damn proud of it. I could barely run for 60 seconds when I started. My Weight Watchers is not going as well. Even though I've lost some weight, I know it could be more. Every meeting I have is a potluck meeting! And there are potlucks at work too. And people bring donuts. And I am weak-willed. However, I am back in single digit pants sizes for the most part, which is awesome. Let me repeat, a.w.e.s.o.m.e.

I think that's it. I know I'm not consistent with blogging, but I try. New pictures of Paulie will be coming soon. He will be a pumpkin for Halloween, and we are taking Christmas pictures next week. Don't judge me.

Just call me Elvira...or Fran

So I got my hair cut and colored on Monday, and while I'm getting used to the length, the color is still throwing me for a loop. It's jet-effing-black. Here are some pics, most of which I'm trying to channel my mom. (Love you mommy!)

Where I run

I thought people would like to see the prettiness of where I run. It's called Quail Lake Park, and it's about 5-10 minutes from my house, depending on how many lights I catch. The trail is a mile long, and I make it about 2.5 times around before my podcast ends. My goal is to make it 3 times around eventually, but now is not the time to worry about speed. Just finishing the podcast is an accomplishment! =)

And this is what the trail looks like (it's around the lake):

Note Paulie pulling the leash: Moooom let's go!

It's a pretty loose reddish gravel, and there are two moderate inclines. I hate it when I have to start a running segment at the bottom of one of them, but hopefully it will help me have a nice butt. =)