Category Archives: dogs

Each day comes bearing its own gifts.  Untie the ribbons.
~Ruth Ann Schabacker

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.