He's gonna be okay but...

if we are friends on facebook you may have already read this.

[taken on our camping trip while stopped on the drive]

Renji got bit by the neighbor dogs through the fence this afternoon. It's a wooden fence and the spaces are just big enough for Renji's little paws. The dogs bark at each other all the time but this time Renji's paw must have slipped throuh a space and their dog grabbed it it took me more than a few seconds of screaming to get them to let him go. They chewed his arm up pretty good. He's staying overnight at the vet. Nothing is broken and they don't think anything is torn, but he has pretty severe bruising and swelling. He got a few stitches but only where the webbing on two of his toes got torn apart. Once the swelling goes down they are going to check it out again and make sure he has no torn ligaments, but he looks good thus far. I have since put up deer fence on our side of the fence so this doesn't happen again. My heart hurts for my poor little doggie, I don't think I've ever spent the night without him. Trying to keep myself busy until I can go pick him up tomorrow afternoon.  

Test

behind the times I am guessing but I just updated to the new post editor. perhaps this is where all my problems have been coming from 




amazing, simply amazing, fonts, colors and font sizes all seem to be working, where as in the old post editor they did not 
I'm a happy little beaver. 

What I'm lovin wedesnday!

I am loving summer cooking, I want to try this recipe for pizza bites:

Squash and Zucchini Pizza Bites @ 5 dollar dinners

Or this because I love asparagus and mushrooms with my whole heart!

Warm Mushroom, Roasted Asparagus and Wild Rice Salad with Feta @ Closet Cooking (BTW- amazing food blogger)

I am also loving summer dresses.

I just nabbed this one from Old Navy:
It's adorable and fits me quite well :)

Wish I was here Wednesday

I Wish I was in Okinawa, but I wish that almost every moment of every day.

{not sure where this one was taken, but I believe it was during a typhoon}

{looking down the 58 from an overpass}

{park benches somewhere around Naha}

{stairs at the same park}

Military Wife Monday

(moving this thing to Monday because it rhymes better)

Today feel free to:

Talk about friends.

The one thing that brings us together is inevitably the thing that will pull us apart.

It started many years ago, when I left home in Tucson to move away with my Marine. We moved to Mass. I left all my childhood friends, the ones I had grown up with, known for years and years. The ones I had become an adult with. So many of my friends had been there with me through some terrible times, and through some great ones. Amazing memories from being young were left behind in Tucson.

We arrived in Chicopee, MA. It took a few weeks for me to get a job but that's where I made my friends, Westover ARB Shopette. My boss, my coworkers, we all became close friends. I don't think I really had friends outside that circle. When we got married I made some neighbor friends, some of whom I worked with anyway, or knew through the base because it was a small on base community and everyone shopped on base.

Then we got orders to Okinawa. This was going to be tougher because I didn't have plans to work. I got lucky though, I was required to take a drivers safety course and I made my first friend in that class. The other friends I had there I made through the internet, and my neighborhood off base.

Now we are in Helena, and I am still working on gaining friends. But I have this community of friends that I have gained thorough the years, between the internet and real life. I have friends from coast to coast, sea to shining sea. I have friends in Japan, Italy, UK, Canada, across the us, from Florida to Maine, From South Carolina to San Diego, and almost everywhere in between.

I am very happy that I have all these connections, without the internet keeping in touch would be very hard, mostly because I suck at using the phone. But I know that if I ever need anyone I there are people all over the world that are there for me.

The military has brought us all together. If it weren't for the military I would not have them. I am thankful for the friends I have made, and hope that I can continue to keep in touch and grow my friendships with more people across the world.

(if you do a Military Wife Monday leave me a comment)

Shit I hate sunday

Since I just got back from camping I'm going do do a SIHS camping edition:

Shit I hate! Mosquitos

Shit I hate! Sunburns

Shit I hate! rocks under my sleeping bag

Shit I hate! Running out of vodka

Shit I hate! Mosquitos

Shit I hate! When my dogs wont stop barking

Shit I hate! The sun coming through the tent too early in the morning

Shit I hate! Being cold at night

Shit I hate! Being really hot during the day

Shit I hate! Not being able to shower

Shit I hate! Burning the veggies

But my camping trip totally rocked my socks, I am working up getting the pictures up on flickr then I'll do my blog for it :)

Fill in the blank Friday (belated)

1. The last thing I ate was: Buffalo Wild Wings, I had Buffalitos which are like chicken tacos with medium flavored wing sauce.

2. The next thing I'd like to eat is: Something healthy for breakfast. Maybe a bowl of special K.

3. The best things: make you warm and fuzzy inside, like hugs and kisses and puppy dog licks.

4. Something that makes me supremely and utterly happy is: Sleeping in my own bed with my whole family, husband, dogs and cat. (this is somthing that made me extremely happy after sleeping on the ground outside for 3 days.)

5. Sports are: not a big deal to me and Paul, he likes them more than I do, I couldn't care less.

6. I miss: OKINAWA! I want to go back right now and ride my bike on the beach, or eat takawasa, and drink Orion, and get pedicures with my ladies.

7. Right now I am: Starving, going to finish this real quick and make some breakfast, then work on my camping blog.

Dreams

My bed.

I read an article on my phone in bed last night before I went to sleep. It was about lucid dreams and controlling your dreams. It made me think of my dreams. I am almost always aware I am dreaming, and I can often control what I do in my dreams.

I like to fly, I can fly by (in my dream) pedaling my legs like I am on a bicycle or flapping my arms like a bird.

I also dream in color. usually. But my dreams almost always take place at night, not that I dream at night but in my dream it's usually night time.

I can bring myself out of a dream by blinking my eyes. I learned this at a young age when I dreamed my parents were alligators and were going to eat me.

I find that I have better control and awareness of my dreams when i go to my second sleep. I usually go to bed around 11 or 12 with then I wake up at 6-7 with Paul, take care of the dogs, and then I got back to sleep for 2-3 more hours until I have to get up. That 2-3 hours is my second sleep. And it's full of weird, strange, silly ands sometimes scary dreams.

Military Wife Sunday.

I am married to a U.S. Marine. I don't know that I talk about the Marine Corps much on here, that's mostly because as much hugely effects my life it also doesn't really. I say that because just like any other husband mine goes to work each day and comes home each night. Well usually. I don't want to make my life sound any better or worse than anyone else. Each relationship is different each couple makes sacrifices.

I'll am going to start a weekly thing.

Military Wife Sunday.

this week feel free to:

- Complain.

I realized today that for the last 5 years, about every several months the Marine Corps throws a wrench in our lives. Just as soon as we get settled into a routine things change. These changes aren't always bad, just they drastically alter our lives. First it was marriage, then Moving to Japan, then Paul being assigned Company Gunny. Then deployment which consisted of about a year and a half of training, home again, training home again, actually deploying, 9 months later home again. And while he was deployed I had a few months where my sister came and stayed with me. Shortly after he got home from Deployment we found out we had recruiting duty orders. Montana, and now Paul starts Monday being NCOIC (non-commissioned officer in charge) which means he is now in charge of about half of Montana.

I try to not complain much but I can't help it. I am so unhappy here. The weather just sucks. There isn't much to do, that you can do when the weather sucks this much. Also there isn't much to do when your husband works almost 7 days a week.

I would really appreciate it if the Marine Corps would just give us a break and let us settle into a routine, have a day off every now and then, and be able to enjoy each other. Then if the weather would get nice I would smile more. It seems like lately one of us is always pissed off at something, be it work, or (me) the shitty weather.

Seriously out of the 8 months we have been here there have been maybe 10 nice days. And that's only a slight understatement.

Is it sad that the weather affects my mood so much? Because it really does, I love being outside, but if outside sucks or is cold, or 5000000000000(oooooooooo) mile an hour winds are gusting, it pisses me off, makes me snippy.
plus my skin is all dry and crusty.

wow that post was all over the place.

Thanks for letting me vent, this is my blog I should do that more, I feel a tad better.

(if any of my followers are Military SOs and you decide to do a Military Wife Sunday, let me know in the comments, I love to commiserate with others.)

Gifts from A Blogger!

I want to shout out to April, over at The Love Bug Life. April is one of the few people I know in real life who I also know in the blogsphere. Well I have known April forever, and she sent me a wonderful gift for my babies (my fur babies).

Aiko isn't too sure of it yet. Well for that matter neither is Renji. But I think this will be great considering we are going camping next week. And Aiko likes to quit when we are walking. We will likely be walking and hiking a lot, and I am sure Aiko will quit and as opposed to just carrying her I can toss her into the sling. I am so excited.

I will post more pictures, when I get better ones. Perhaps once the dogs get adjusted to the sling. Also I will soon post pictures of the Thank You I am sending to April, but I want to know she got it first, so I don't spoil her surprise.

Short Updates.

resting after a busy day at the vet.

Renji was sick last week. He got something up his nose, and was making terrible snorty noises. The vet decided that he needed to look up his nose so we had to knock him out and scope his nose, they found hair. Hair doesn't belong in the dogs nose. After a round of antibiotics and steroids, and hair removal, he is doing much better. (we assume he had snorted the hair up there)

fun, fun, fun!

But just days before he was due back for his check up I noticed a smell. It took me a few days to realize where it was coming from. It was his bum. Aiko had anal gland issues a few years ago, I guess now it was Renji's turn. Thankfully his wasn't impacted like her's was. But DAMN does he stink, Aiko's didn't stink at all.

i don't stink, that's just mean.

So today at the vet he got his all clear from his nose, he got his vaccinations, and he got his butt cleaned out.

I've also been knitting, I've got friends with babies so I've been making baby gifts.

I found this pattern here from ravelry. I adore it.

Recipe: Oven Roasted Artichoke

I love artichoke, a lot. We eat it all the time, lately we've been having them once a week or more. I recently started cooking them in the oven, because, well, because I felt like it. Here's how it goes.

Oven Roasted Artichoke w/ garlic

1. wash your artichoke, rinse it good, open the leaves up as best you can, and get it all rinsed out inside, the tip it upside down so it can drain a little.

2. cut the stem off.

3. cut up some garlic, i use about 1 clove per choke.

4. stuff your choke with garlic, I even cut a little hole in the bottom and stuff it with garlic.

(a little idea- If you half your chokes, you can clean them out really well and scoop out the hairy stuff that you can't eat, and stuff that with garlic too.)

5. sprinkle with salt and wrap your choke in foil

6. close it up tight!

bake on a baking sheet at 475 for about 45 min, depending on the size of your choke, and how shitty your oven is, my oven sucks so they cooked for almost an hour.

serve with melted butter/lemon juice or mayo/lemon juice

yum!

Shit I hate sunday

shit i hate- bad drivers

shit i hate- blisters

shit i hate- broken nails

shit i hate- cold

shit i hate- hangovers

shit i hate- dry skin

shit i hate- walmart (but i shop there anyway, i just want to kill myself afterwards)

Fill in the blank Friday

Go link up here

1. This weekend: I am going to clean house probably, and work.

2. My last vacation was: I don't remember. It's been a really really long time since I've been on a real vacation.

3. My next vacation will be: Camping in a few weeks down in Idaho.

4. My favorite way to relax is: nap time.

5. When vacationing one should always: have fun and take lots of pictures.

6. When vacationing one should never: Diet! ( I agree with the Lauren)

7. The best part about a vacation is: the memories!

More On Weight Watchers.

I am really proud of myself for sticking to this as well as I have. I am seeing the results on the scale too, today I weighed 159!

I wanted to share a sample of what I eat every day. I try to sort of stick to the same-ish things but mix them up in small ways.

Yesterday:

Breakfast was an everything bagel thin (3pts) with about 2 3/4 tbsp of whipped cream cheese. (i usually like to pack in pickled jalapenos for 0 pts, but i was out)

(photo snagged from jersey wife)

lunch was a half of a whole wheat pita pocket (2 pt), filled with 2 slices of turkey (1 pt), a hand full of spinach (0 pt), and a fried egg (2 pt), and about 2 tbsp of dijon mustard (0 pt)

for dinner I broiled salmon, I had 6 oz (7 pt), a bunch of broiled asparagus with a little olive oil (0 for the asparagus, 1 pt for the oil)

[photo snagged from Obsessive Chef]

and a bloody mary (4 pt for 1 jigger vodka, 1 pt for 1 cup of spicy V8),

[photo from Cocktail wiki]

for dessert since I had extra points I had a WW chocolate cookie ice cream bar (4 pt)

i don't know why the box says 2 pts, mine says 4, and so does my weight watchers counter thing. whatever.

[photo from amazon]

So that is a typical day for me. I am given 29 points a day and yesterday I came out to 28.

I love the pita's because they never get old and I can add things to them like jalapeno, pepperoncinis, cucumber, green pepper, or any other veggie to mix it up without adding in points. I also sometimes mix up breakfast, I'll have Special K with Red Berries, and I'll add fresh strawberries and bananas. I often eat fresh cut up cucumber, banana, or tomato throughout the day, but I was busy most of yesterday and didn't have time. I also find that the further into this I get the less I find myself hungry. The first week was real hard to keep it under 29 points, now it's pretty easy most of the time. And I try to keep myself from getting hungry by eating often and meals full of veggies. I still have the problem of not knowing when I am full. My body doesn't really tell me, "okay I'm getting full", I go from still hungry to so full I am going to puke very quickly. So i try to eat slowly and not eat too much in one sitting, and limit my portions per veggie even though they are zero points, because overeating on anything isn't good, even if it's healthy.

Wee bit or me wednesday

{one} how many times have you been a bridesmaid/maid of honor?

I will be a maid of honor for the first time this November, for my sister, and I've been a bridesmaid once.

{two} what’s the last thing your do before you fall asleep at night?

I check the weather on my phone. Then read some news, on my phone.

{three} you just won your dream vacation, all expenses paid. where are you going?

Traveling through Europe.

{four} what is your favorite outdoor activity?

Hiking, and fishing.

{five} as a child, what did you want to “be when you grew up”? did you end up there?

I don't know what I wanted to be, I'll have to ask my mom. I don't think I wanted to work in retail though.

{six} what are 3 things your dream home would have that you don’t currently have?

Huge, partially covered, wrap around porch, Huge open kitchen with a big fridge & gas stove, and a super high tech alarm system, with remote camera access, so I could check on the dogs while I am at work

{seven} what’s for dinner tonight?

We had salmon and asparagus.

{eight} if someone stopped by your house unannounced on a typical Saturday night, what would they find you doing?

Thats date night so if we are even home we'd be watching a movie or playing wii, but we'd almost certainly be drunk, unless I have to work sunday.

{nine} what’s your average monthly water bill?

We are on a private well so we don't have a water bill

{ten} what do you do to relax?

knit or blog or bike ride.

Scratchgravel Hills hike June 5th

Sunday we hiked Scratchgravel Hills, We entered the area from Norris Rd. To get to the parking lot you head North on Montana, until you reach Sierra. Then Left on Sierra to Green Meadow, Right (North) on Green Meadow to Norris, Left (West) on Norris to the parking area.

this is the gist of what we hiked, we actually started where we ended ( about the 2 mi mark) but I forgot to start the GPS.

As we were driving up the dirt road to the parking lot, we passed 2 ladies on horseback. It didn't take them long to pass us once we were on foot.

every time the trail forked we took turns picking which way we would go, Paul always wanted to go up, up, and up. Which means he spends a lot of time waiting for me, because I am a huge wuss, with no stamina. I always choose the gradual up, or level path.

he also gets to wait a lot because i like to stop and take lots of pictures.

he is getting good at waiting.

more pretty flowers

View of Helena North Valley from one of the hills we went up.

The real big hill that we didn't go up.

Pretty flowers with Paul in the background.

another view of the valley from the hills.

Me!! (and my new hair, that I still need to blog about)

some cool rocks.

flowers

and rocks

naughty tree stump

me again!

here is where I wished for a telephoto lens, even though he let me get pretty close.

On our way out we found a deer skeleton

one last look before we say goodbye

view more photos HERE [facebook] or HERE [flickr]