Letters for Donya

How's everyone doing? Aside from a few bruises and scrapes, I'm doing well! I'll be back with regular posting soon, but please forgive me if I slack a bit. Captain J is home! Anyway, I'm wondering if you might want to help bring cheer to someone's life? Who doesn't, right? I heard about a sweet lady, Donya, who is having a birthday on August 18th. She has Down's Syndrome and is, against all odds, turning 50 years old.  She loves getting mail so I think we should all flood her mailbox with birthday cheer from all over the world! Click here to learn more about this woman and how you can help make her 50th a happy one.

Wanna see what I came up with?

I hope she doesn't mind that it looks like a five year old made it! Go leave her some love :)

His & Her Thoughts

He unfolds his green mat as he settles on the soggy ground that has become his bed. As he closes his eyes, he can picture her in his mind. The odd color of her hair and her warm brown eyes fill his mind. He wonders what she's doing in the very moment the sounds of a helicopter fade away and the roaring of the humvee start up.

She drums her newly painted deep purple fingernails on her thigh as she flips through the channels to see what's on. The only thing on her mind is reuniting with her husband soon. The t.v. is on just to fill the awful silence. She wonders if his blue eyes are tired. Has he fallen asleep? Is he sore and exhausted?

His last thoughts as he drifts off to sleep are of missing his comfortable bed.

Hers are of how their bed just isn't very comfortable without him in it.

 

Cry me a river

Sometimes I'm a crazy, emotional mess. I like to blame it on my hormones because that's easy. Truth is, I could just be a big cry baby! I am feeling pretty good now- This coming from a girl who has cried three times today, though.

The first time (today) was this morning as I was getting ready for church. I don't know if this one actually counts on the crying tally because it was more of a situation where I wanted to cry I was so upset, but I really just had a few whiney why me's and then I was done. I woke up and brought the dogs in while I showered and dressed. While attempting to tame my nappy head, I heard the distinct sound of chewing. Dog chewing. Well aware of the fact that I didn't give anyone a bone, I opened the bathroom door to find Drifter chewing on THE FURNITURE! Ahh!! As I was scolding him, Solstice decided to throw up...TWICE because she was hogging the water this morning and drank it all too fast. Great. Just great. I really wanted to mop before going to church. That coffee I had in mind seemed out of the question due to time constraints.

The second time, I teared up at the slideshow at church. It depicted several children in China who had been helped due to an organization that provides money for surgeries they were in need of. The non profit also deals with adoption opportunities. The video was happy for cryin' out loud. I have no idea what my problem is. I was probably crying because I knew I was the last person that could contribute to their organization--I can't even be a good adoptive parent to 3 dogs!

The third time I cried was when I handed over Solstice to her new owners. A friend and fellow Army family took her today and I hated to see her go. It warmed my heart that she seemed eager to go with them and I've also talked to the wife via facebook and am happy to report that she is doing well. She even cuddled up to her one year old daughter today! I miss her, but I know she'll be happy with them.

I'm not sure why I'm teary. I miss J, I suppose. It's so hard to live with my best friend- share my entire life with him and then have to tell him goodbye for weeks at a time. He called me the other day and told me he was proud of me. He said he was proud of the way I handled "things" while he is away and that, dear readers, is one of the best things a military wife can hear from her husband.

Anyway, I'm getting my hair done soon so tell me....

Red?

 OR

[caption id="attachment_1299" align="alignnone" width="181" caption="Blonde?"][/caption]

mmm...warm cookies

To play along, head on over to Mama M.'s page- Our Little Life.

Rawr!!

I am woman....hear me roar!

 I never thought I was cut out for the role of a military spouse. I never really thought of myself as a strong individual...or independent even. I like having people around me that I know I can depend on. I think it's quite a different ball park when one has to step outside their little box and do something they wouldn't normally do. It's much easier to be independent out of necessity. The military often creates these types of situations where the one left at home has to step up, to make a decision, or be as strong as they can in support of their spouse. I experienced a little portion of that today...

Last night, I got a phone call saying that my animals had escaped (again). The fence that Captain J and I put up was not working. Mischievious little Holly kept squeezing through followed by the other two terrors sweeties. They're quite fond of rolling in horse manure in a pasture near my house which makes for a very cranky Mrs. K! I knew something had to be done so I enlisted the help of my dear friend- fellow Army wife, Nicole. She is such a good sport and always down for any of my crazy notions. She assured me that the two of us could definitely build a fence. We'd show our husbands!

After loading in the pick-up truck, driving around town, and purchasing materials we arrived at my casa at about 1030. The old fence came down and up went the new one-

 

 

Voila! I was very proud of our handy work. I never thought I'd build a fence. Does that sound snooty? If so, I don't care. :) That's man's work, right? Anyway, I proved today that I'm just a little stronger than I thought I was.

I've got to protect these dogs somehow! I really want to keep them all. Solstice is doing so much better here. Captain J is putting his foot down from far away, though. He says--absolutely not! Two dogs at the most. I know he's right.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you my girl power. All in a day's work! I'm going to go watch some rented movies with two of my friends. See ya tomorrow for some vlog time!

 

Upset

So, maybe I have pet meds listed all over my calendar. Maybe I just bought a baby gate to keep out unwanted pets from the carpeted areas of my home. So what if I have three beautiful Alaskan Huskies nestled around me as I type? Don't judge me. I swear I'm not a pet hoarder.

Solstice wandered back into our lives last night. I heard Holly and Drifter barking like crazy so I knew something was up. I peered out the window and what did I see? Solstice's lovely face emerging from the wooded area behind our house. She came back! I was so excited to see that she was okay. Of course, catching her was a feat but I finally did and I'm happy to report that she is back and with her belly full.

As much as I worried about her whereabouts and pretended not to worry, I still didn't only feel relief when I saw her. I also felt a bit of panic- "Oh. no...what are we going to do with three dogs?" Two get along like peas and carrots, but the other is a skiddish outsider that doesn't even let me get close to her. Honestly, I don't know what to do with her. I know she's sweet and that she is just very scared, but how do I care for a dog that won't allow me to pet her, to leash her, or to even feed her? It makes me sad. It also makes me incredibly mad at whoever made her this way. I detest people who take their frustrations out on poor defenseless animals. I fear Solstice has lived with abuse for most of her life. I don't want to give up on her, but I also know that I can't have 3 dogs. I just can't. I want to surround myself with kids. I want to congratulate them on learning to tie a shoe lace; I want to oooh and ahhh when they roll over for the first time. Teaching my dogs to "shake" and "sit" are just not the same. I'm conscious in my decision making with these animals so much so that I wish to leave room for my future family.

I guess J and I just bit off more than we can chew. I recognize that getting Holly so quickly after losing Solstice wasn't the best idea and honestly...it's not too late to give Holly back with a full refund. Solstice, too. But I cannot send them back just to be homeless again. I don't want to play favorites, but it would break my heart to not have Holly around. She is the sweetest, most loyal husky I've ever met and I feel like she's mine already. So, what do I do? I have a responsibility to these pets so I'm not giving them back to the animal shelter. I am, however, searching for a home for Solstice. I want her life to be better. She needs a family with lots of time to devote to her. Or she needs a sled dog team, some place where she fits in, where she can live outside with other dogs and feel comfortable again.

I found a kennel called Where Spirits Walk that takes in sled dogs who are in unfortunate situations. They give them a home and give them a job. They work with abused animals and I truly think Solstice would be perfect for their program, but they are selective about who they will take in. I have been corresponding via telephone and email with one of the employees, but I don't know if it will all pan out. I just want her to be happy and she's clearly not happy with us.

I also have several people that want to visit with her to see if she'll fit with their family. Wish me luck in finding her a happy home. It makes me really sad to type this and I don't know why because I never considered myself an animal lover. I wish Captain J was here to hold my hand and remind me that we can't have three dogs. I wish he would set me straight. But the phone hasn't sounded and I haven't heard from him all day. Here goes another long stint.

I'm just really upset today.

a taste of wine (and regret) weekend

Hello Readers. Much has happened since we last spoke. Please allow me to update you with the goings-on around me. My hubby returned home, much later than we expected. It didn't matter much, though because I was in good ole North Pole helping out a friend (ahem...Shannon's Blog). Did you like my plug-in there? I've linked to this lady before, but I wanted to do so again because she is fabulous. Anyway, I was very happy to welcome Captain J home, but as I write that now it seems odd because he is already leaving again. I'll be saying my goodbyes again tonight.

We made the most of our weekend. Saturday we spent way too much money and acted like rockstars. To start the night off, we went to a restaurant nestled on the Chena River for appetizers and wine. We dined on the porch and talked about our future and starting a family. We sipped on Riesling and had a tasty fruit and cheese plate and thought about where we would head next. After making a quick run on post, we went back to our extravagant (well, extravagant for us) spending spree and found ourselves at Bobby's, a local Greek restaurant. We enjoyed a dinner of greek pizza, salad, and red wine and headed towards the door to make our last stop for dessert.

We love doing that--eating our courses at different locations. It can get pricey, though but we do it when we can. It's just that much more time we get to spend together at meal times.

Anyway, on the way out the door we spotted a friend who invited us to join his party of six so we decided to just have dessert in the bar area with them. We shared a hefty piece of Baklava and topped off the night with coffee and white Russians. Yum!

What a lovely evening after a hard days work! Oh, that's right...I didn't tell you. J and I built a fenced in area for our sweet doggies. When we left that evening, Solstice and Drifter were enjoying playing in their new pen. We returned home from our night out on the town and wanted to bring the dogs inside so we could spend some time with them before we went to bed. J had Solstice by the collar when Drifter charged after her, scaring her into running. She got out of Captain J's grasp and shot off out of the neighborhood with Drifter trailing her. We later found her collar, but no Solstice. :( I really regret not hooking her into a leash immediately instead of having J just hold her there. We picked up Drifter and continued to call out for Solstice and search the wooded areas around where we last saw her. I even called a friend that works at the animal shelter inquiring about her, but we've had no luck. I just want to know she's okay. She really is a sweet dog. I guess she didn't like it here with us, but I think that's because she had been abused. She didn't like any humans we introduced her to. I spent that evening and the next morning hoping she would wander back our way so I left her crate outside with the door open, but we've seen no sign of her. I fear she won't ever be caught because she doesn't allow people very close to her. Hopefully a nice family with a pack of sled dogs has taken her in. She's happiest outside with a bunch of other dogs. If you're in the Fairbanks area and see this dog, please let me know.

In her absence, we got another dog that seems to be very well suited for D-Nugget. Her name is Holly and she's two years old. They love playing together! She seems much more loyal to us already. I took them both to the park yesterday and she kept "checking in" with me every few minutes. What a sweet girl!

If Holly gets away it will break my heart and we will definitely be done in the dog department! I've got my hands full with these two little bundles of energy, but I also have much more quiet time now, too. Huskies are pack animals so having more than one is definitely much easier, in my opinion. Don't worry...we're done adopting!

Enough about pets, let's talk about kids! Not mine yet because those are non-existent, but you must check out this lady's blog to see all the interesting photos she takes while imagining what her sleeping baby is dreaming of. These pictures are so precious! I cannot believe the baby sleeps through all this-

Mila's Daydreams

I think that's enough randomness for now. Until next time, Ta-ta!

(Photo credit here and here.)