Our deaf guard dog cracks me up when he barks/growls. It’s not a “normal” dog sound, but it’s his sound. For reference on Skah’s size, he’s on a California King size bed and Huzzy is 6’5″.

I can’t post much right now. Chase is now at the Rainbow Bridge. I might post more about it later. If you follow me on Twitter, you probably already know what went on.

The Rainbow Bridge (author unknown)

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….

Dear World,

I have thought long and hard about it and I’ve decided I would like to give stress up for Lent. I think I could sacrifice what has been a constant in my life for the past couple years. I mean, I’m at least willing to try.

Unfortunately, with my heart dog possibly having a tumor/cancer and may have to be put down, a house that doesn’t seem to want to close because of stupid banks who were supposed have this paperwork completed SEVEN MONTHS AGO, landlords that can’t seem to tell us if we can stay longer in the house and may only give us a few days’ notice to leave, me still being on unemployment (and since I’ve just passed the year mark, I’m getting really depressed about that) and other stuff… I’m not sure if that’s even possible.

Maybe, instead, I should just give up my sanity for Lent. Yes, my sanity. It seems to be leaving me anyway. That is what I’m giving up for Lent.

Let’s just hope it comes back AFTER Lent. Seriously.

Signed,
Wifey, who doesn’t want to be a homeless-jobless-heartdogless, person next week.

P.S. My only saving grace is that Huzzy is home right now. I’m not sure I could do this without his support. I hate that they are in hard-core training again for their right-around-the-corner deployment. It feels like he just got back a few weeks ago. Oh wait… he did.

~Cynthia Nelms

It’s Wordless Wednesday again!  Leave a message and I’ll try to return the favor.

Lulu striking a diva pose

Wishing Daddy was home

Talk to the paw

Happy girl... see the grin?

Handsome boy

Running is a lot of work!

Smells like spring!

Nearly 11 years old and 5 1/2 years off the track... and still has muscles!

Guarding his domain.

It’s Wordless Wednesday again!  Leave a message and I’ll try to return the favor.

I just found these of Skah while looking through my thumbdrive. I can’t believe it was only two years ago (he was born 21JAN08) that he was this small!

8 1/2 weeks old:

3 months old:

5 months old:

11 months old:

21 months old (and he still looks like this now):

And the winner of the giveaway (as told to me by Random.org) is…. ASHLEY from Daddy’s Duty.

Ashley, please contact me at wifeofasailor (at) gmail  (dot) com.  Let me know if you want a $10 iTunes gift

card or something else… I have to go to the local Walgreen’s to see what they have (I know they have TONS of different kinds of gift cards… just tell me what kinds of things you like (food, stores, etc) and I’ll give you some options as to what they have!).

Okay, for my 100th post, here are the answers to the questions asked, plus 97 other things (to make 100!) that you may–or may not!–want to know about me!

1. If the Navy sent you anywhere in the world, where would you want to go? Wow, this is a hard one because with Huzzy being the active duty guy, he’s only able to go to Washington state and southern Georgia. So we really don’t even have to think about anything else.  But, if I go active duty after Huzzy retires, I’d like to see lots of different places. I’d like to do Japan, Italy… and maybe Hawaii… if it wasn’t so expensive.  Of course, I know of a Navy family (know, as in follow the blog of Sunrise on the Water) that is doing a tour in the Bahamas.  That could be awesome. Beach every day!
2. What is your favorite holiday, and why? Actually, my favorite holiday is Christmas.  I love the atmosphere of giving (I hate the commercial aspect of it and hate the fact that people try to out-do each other) and the season of love. I’m such a Christmas freak. I usually have the tree up the day after Thanksgiving  and bake around 23 dozen cookies to give away to family, friends and coworkers.  I love Christmas songs… but will refuse to sing them or listen to them until after Thanksgiving. This Christmas was different because I couldn’t bake anything (no mixer, spatulas or even cookie sheets), didn’t have any decorations or the tree or anything.
3. If you could change one thing in the military, what would it be? Wow, I think this is the toughest question. I’m still new at this… both on the wife side and the Reserve side.  I think the military is going in the right direction helping military spouses get jobs, but I think it could be improved. I mean, I’m a very employable person and here I am, still away from my Sailor eight months after he left. All because I can’t sell the house and can’t find a job out there.
4. And now for some information about me: I have a mother.
5. And a brother.
6. My father died unexpectedly when I was 22.
7. Unfortunately, I’m the one who found him… 10 hours after he died outside in a Michigan winter (the winter had nothing to do with his death).
8. Of course, there’s Huzzy.
9. He and I met on an online dating site (and no, not the one that “matches you on 23 different levels of compatibility) or something like that.
10. The first time we met in person, I was actually veerrrry loopy on (legally prescribed) prescription drugs due to my recent tonsillectomy and reaction to the surgery.
11. It was the stupidest thing I had ever done (meeting a stranger alone in my house at 2 a.m.) and I wouldn’t have ever done it had I not been flying high on legally-prescribed oxycotin and liquid lortab.
12. But it turned out to be the BEST decision ever.
13. I was lucky. And I wouldn’t recommend anyone meeting someone off the Internet the first time at the house… alone… in the middle of the night. Bad choice!
14. I grew up in a small farming community in the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
15. Our town had 2,000 people in it.
16. It was the largest town in the county.
17. In fact, there was only one high school for all the kids in the county.
18. And yet, we still had under 1,000 students in the entire high school.
19. And yes, we had a “drive your tractor to school” day.
20. I didn’t have a tractor.
21. But my cousins who lived on the family dairy farm across the road from me did.
22. I grew up with a lot of animals.
23. Dogs.
24. Cats.
25. Rabbits.
26. Hamsters.
27. The occasional turtle.
28. And horses.
29. I got my first horse when I was 5.
    

    My senior photo with Sam.

30. And started showing horses when I was 8.
31. Which sounds like we had a lot of money, but we didn’t… far from it.  The horses were bred and the babies paid for most of the horses’ upkeep.
32. My most favorite horse was my last one: a 16HH red dun named Impressive Gal Dun.
33. But her barn name when we got her at age 5 was “Sam.”
34. We also called her “Sammie.”
35. Or “Samantha” if I was irritated with her.
36. I miss Sam very much, even to this day.
37. Even though she was sold 9 years ago just before I went to college.
38. She’d be nearly 21 if she’s still alive.
39. When I was 15, my parents moved two hours south of where I grew up.
40. Starting at a new high school your Sophomore year is no fun.
41. Especially when you come from a very small, poor county and move to one of the richest ones in the state.
42. It wasn’t until halfway through my Junior year of high school that I stopped longing to return to my hometown.
43. I even made some good friends during that time.
44. I went to a Michigan university (but not U of M).
45. I began majoring in journalism because I wanted to be a reporter.
46. When I got to the “investigative reporting” classes, I decided I didn’t want to pry into people’s lives.
47. So even though I was only 2 classes shy of a journalism major, I switched majors.
48. I majored in advertising/public relations with an emphasis on public relations.
49. Even after switching majors, I managed to graduate in only 3 1/2 years.
50. I was lucky because a lot of my classes worked for both majors.
51. I love this field and am glad I ended up choosing it.
52. My favorite flower is the daisy.
53. I like them because no two are the same and they are spunky and unique.
54. I think Gerber Daisies are absolutely gorgeous because of all the colors they come in.
55. Huzzy and I have three dogs.
56. Chase came to me as my third foster dog and I couldn’t let him go.
57. He’s a retired racing greyhound.
58. He’s 10 years old and retired when he was five.
59. Lulu was my 7th foster… I think.
60. She came to me when she was 4 1/2 months old.
61. She’ll be four in May.
62. She’s a greyhound but never raced and came from a totally different situation.  See the “My Animals” tab for more information.
63. Skah is a Great Pyrenees that Huzzy and I got.
64. He’ll be two on January 21, so he’s still very young and still acts like a puppy.
65. We also have two cats.
66. Sadie is 7 and I got her when she was just 3 1/2 weeks old after her feral mother left her litter at the lumberyard where my dad worked.
67. She hates strangers and only comes to you when SHE wants attention.
68. She’ll only come to Huzzy and me.
69. Jake is 4 and I got him from an animal shelter.
70. I picked him out when he was just four weeks old.
71. I’ve been a waitress.
72. And a ranch YMCA camp counselor.
73. And a resident assistant for college freshmen girls.
74. And a summer intern at a zoo, where I did animal demonstrations.
75. The demonstrations included snakes, lizards, rabbits, chinchillas, birds and even an opposum.
76. 75. I’ve also worked as a teller at a bank.
77. And I currently work in public relations, which I love.
78. Oh, and I also worked at Wal-Mart.
79. And after being treated like crud by a manager who didn’t like me and the assistant store manager she was sleeping with (they were both married), I gave my notice.
80. It was a 2 day notice.  Five days before Christmas.
81. And because of that, I was told I’m never allowed to work at Wal-Mart again.
82. Oh woe is me, what ever shall I do? =P
83. I’ve been to Canada.
84. I actually had a penpal there that I met… we had the same first and last name (which is an uncommon one) and our middle names are the first 3 letters of our mothers’ names.
85. I’ve also been to Costa Rica.
86. I went there with my Spanish Club when I was 16.
87. That was the best trip I have ever taken.
88. I saved enough money to go to the Dominican Republic with two friends to celebrate our high school graduation.
89. On the way there, we changed planes in Puerto Rico.
90. Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic is a beautiful place.
91. I want to go back, but I want to visit Santo Domingo the next time.
92. I’d love to visit Denmark and Scotland… where my family is from.
93. And Europe, and Mexico, and England, and… oh heck, I just want to TRAVEL more.
94. Which is why I’m a bit disappointed that Huzzy can only ever be assigned to two bases… in the United States.
95. One day, I want to write a book. I don’t know what genre… history, a romance, a children’s book–I just want to write!
96. My ultimate dream is to open a camp for kids with terminal diseases and their siblings. Like a traditional summer camp, only with some modifications like an on-site hospital/clinic with doctors/nurses who volunteer their time and can do any treatments the kids need at the time.
97. Because I think that kids should be able to have normal kid memories… not just of hospitals and treatments.
98. And I think sometimes the siblings of ill children get the short end of their parents’ time… so they should get a few weeks of “fun time” just for themselves.
99. But I have no idea how I’d ever find the money/support for it or even get it started. So I doubt it’ll ever happen.
100. I can’t believe I actually found 100 things to say.  Wow.

It’s been an interesting weekend here. Five dogs in my tiny house has been… interesting. Not as bad as I thought it would have been but still. It’s been about 10 degrees here with the windchill. With five dogs, I had to be out of the house longer during potty breaks (Chase has to go out alone due to his back injury two years ago and one of the two Greyhounds I’m sitting is very Alpha and can’t go out with Lulu since she’s so Omega that she freaks out… plus, the monstrous fuzzy dog needs to go out on leash since he has Doggie ADD and if he didn’t, he’d “forget” to go potty because everything would distract him).  It was a COLD weekend!

I’ve also come to a realization. I’ve decided that I’m done. I can’t do this anymore. And by “this” I mean living away from my husband (yes, he’s deployed right now, but when he gets back, I’ll still be away from him). It’s been eight months since we’ve lived together. Eight months of our 9 1/2 month marriage. He left for deployment in October… which means we should have been together for five of those months.

The last thing I want is for him to come back from deployment and us to be STILL apart and them him to be gone in a few months again on his next deployment. I don’t want us to find ourselves a year and a half into our marriage (approximately what it will be after his next deployment) and only lived together for seven weeks.

I just can’t do it. But, this is a decision for Huzzy and I to make together. According to Michigan legislature (Section 421.29 for any Michigan MilSpouses out there), you are disqualified for receiving unemployment if you voluntarily quit except for two conditions including: The individual is the spouse of a full-time member of the United States armed forces, and the leaving is due to the military duty reassignment of that member of the United States armed forces to a different geographic location.

So tomorrow I’m going to try and call the unemployment agency to verify that (yeah, that could be interesting… more than 15% of Michigan’s workforce is unemployed so getting a hold of someone is apparently pretty hard).  If that is true, Huzzy and I lose approximately $700 a month if I went on unemployment. Not to mention the extra $1200 or so in paying rent in Washington (extra if my house doesn’t sell by then, of course). Not sure how we can swing that, which is why I need to talk to Huzzy.

But for me, I think it’s almost worth it to do it. We can’t afford it for long, but I truly think that job hunting will be easier if I actually LIVE in Washington. Plus, both of us are miserable not being together. It truly is one thing to be apart due to deployment… we expect that… but to be apart during his very, very short stints on land? Unacceptable.

Of course I still need to talk to him and I’ve only had two phone calls from him and average about one e-mail a week, so that might be tough. I really don’t want to do it via weeks of e-mail so I’m hoping that I get a phone call in the next several weeks. He indicated that I probably WOULD get at least one more phone call during the deployment, but that can always change depending on the mission. I hope so. I’d like to talk to him before/around Christmas.

So I think I figured out what I’m going to get Allison at I Heart Change for the Blogger Santa exchange. Normally, when I do exchanges, there is a $20 limit and I can usually find some great stuff for that, but this is only $10. It was tough to figure out something, but after searching around on her blog, I think I found the perfect thing. Of course, I can’t tell you what it is because even though I don’t think she reads my blog, she might with that link in there to hers LOL.

Now, I just have to go shopping to find the best of that “thing” and send it to her!

It’s winter. It may not be “winter” for another 18 days, but when “significant Lake Effect Snow” is forecast, it’s winter. And that makes me very sad. You see, I thought I’d be out of here by then and off to my new life with Huzzy in Washington. Heck, I figured I’d be out of here by the start of fall. Yeah, THAT didn’t happen.

—-> insert: Oh good gosh, I just looked outside and can’t see the freakin’ road. How fun is that. Blech.  HUGE snowflakes.

So here I am, starting a holiday season and winter without Huzzy. And without a heavy winter coat. And snow boots. And my nice leather gloves. And a snow shovel. Yep, all of those are in the storage shed in Washington. Lovely. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if I was in Washington or not, Huzzy would be gone. But I hate having to buy stuff that I’m just going to have to move. Stuff that I’ve already purchased. It really seems like a waste of money.

Guess what else is in the storage unit in Washington?  All my Christmas decorations. So me, who loves the Christmas season like none other, is stuck in a barren house (woo-hoo for the TV, couch and mattress on the floor!) watching everyone else get ready for the season to spend with family and not only am I missing my Huzzy, but I’m also not able feel like it’s Christmas since there are no decorations. I can’t even bake the 23 dozen cookies that I normally bake. I have 1/2 cookie sheet. Uh, yeah, that’s not going to work for that many cookies!  Besides… guess where my mixing bowels and Kitchen Aid mixer are?  Mmm-hmm. Storage.  At least they are enjoying a nice, climate-controlled existence and are nice and toasty. Which reminds me. I need to pay the storage unit fee by January 1st (since we paid 2 months up front to get a month free).

Christmas is a little… not there for me this year (except for the awesomely fun snow that WordPress allows on blogs for free during time of year.. yay!). But I am participating in the (not-so) Secret Santa exchange that Allison at I Heart Change put together and that should be tons of fun. It’s (not-so) secret because everything is posted on her blog.  Funnily enough, I got Allison.  She’s a new mom and an Army wife.  The gift is $10 or less…  now what the heck should I get?

I seriously feel like I’m in the movie “Groundhog Day.”  Okay, maybe I’ve never seen that movie, but I feel like what the movie sounds like. I just get up, let the dogs out, get in the shower, feed the dogs, let the dogs out, go to work, come home, let the dogs out, feed the dogs, let the dogs out and then go to bed. And then get up and do it all over again. Huzzy and I don’t have the money for me to do anything else or go out or do anything fun like that. Well, we do, but if I have to move and we lose one income, we need to have a bit in savings to keep us going.

I do have a feeling that these next few days I’m going to WISH it was the same-old, same-old. You see, back when I went to Newport to do the week of active duty at the beginning of November, I had a problem finding someone to take the greyhounds. My mom realized she just couldn’t do it.  So I found someone to take them. In exchange, I get to watch her monsters sweeties for 3 1/2 days. And yes, I realize I have to watch them less, but my dogs aren’t problems. Hers have to be in crates whenever you are out of the house.

Why you might ask? Because one will chew up the entire house if left out and the other will pee all over the house.  Oh, and guess what! The chewer has horrible separation anxiety. And one of them need daily, or twice-daily, pills. Oh, and they are poo eaters.  Oh, and they like to kill cats… which means Jake and Sadie get to spend some quality time locked in a room together.  But wait… one of them is a severe Alpha dog.  She likes to boss my Lulu around.  Hey, did you count that? That’s FIVE dogs living in a 1080 sq ft house.  Minus the cat room. And the spare room that has my stuff to take to WA. That leaves… oh, probably 700 sq ft. And this house can’t be shown to prospective buyers while they are there (’cause I don’t have a car big enough to get all five out!).

Can I go back to Groundhog Day?

It’s Wordless Wednesday again!  Leave a message and I’ll try to return the favor.

Yeah, I'm cool

Total GQ

Guard Dog sleeps with one eye open