Another One Bites the Dust

Can you believe that December is almost over.  This week we will be in 2014!  As another month comes to an end, I thought I would bring to you the faces of Cali this month. 

I hope everyone had a great weekend and is ready to embrace 2014!  A lot of great things ahead for us!  I look forward to seeing what the new year has to bring!! Hope everyone has a great New Years!!

xoxo

Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

I can't believe that it is already Christmas time again.  Man-oh-man has this year flown by.  In many ways I am happy that time is going to fast but I do wish it would slow some.  Don't get me wrong, I miss my husband more than words can express but I don't want life to fly by too quickly!

This year for Christmas I am in Ohio with my family.  It has been a very long time since I have spent the Christmas holiday in Ohio by myself.  I know I was just here a couple months ago, but it wasn't the same because I didn't get to see anyone besides my parents and Jenny, but this trip will be filled with lots of visiting!  I also hope to eat some Skyline (Cincinnati chili) while I am here!!!

I don't really have anything that I am asking for this year except that my husband enjoy the rest of his time in Japan and to return safely.  I am very thankful that he just returned back to Japan from a three week trip to Guam where the Internet was horrible which prevented us from Face timing.  I couldn't wait to see my husbands face again!  Hearing his voice has been a blessing but to see him on the computer screen is very reassuring and makes things just a tad bit easier!

I hope everyone has a very wonderful Christmas holiday!!! Safe travels to anyone traveling this winter!  

Merry merry Christmas!

xoxo 

Christmas Decorations

Christmas is my favorite time of year!  

I love it for the cozy homes and the festive lights.  

I love the hot chocolate

I love Christmas cookies

I love Christmas movies 

This year I had a new house to decorate all by myself.  It was definitely fun but I didn't get to do as much as I would have liked since I needed more hands.  My favorite decorations turned out to be on the mantle.  I love our Christmas tree too!  Every year I add new ornaments from the year before.  

But the lights and pretty presents wrapped and waiting under the tree is my all time favorite. Can't wait for Q to return for him to open all of his goodies.  I am spending the holiday in Ohio with my family.  I just love being around our fun, loving family for the holiday!  Let the fun times roll.  Lots of food to be eaten.  Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas to all!!! Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!  Hope Santa brings everyone what they are wishing for and more!  HO HO HO

xoxo

Craft Day

For the past couple of weeks, some friends and I have been working with wood pallets.  Last weekend we spent taking them apart, which was an all day event in itself.  Today we got together to finish our projects!

The best part is that we had to learn how to use a circular saw to take the pallets apart.  Then we had to sand them to make the edges nice and smooth. 

Then on to the painting… Trying to figure out the correct letter height was a challenge.  Tracing the letters on was a challenge but not too much of a challenge. 

All in all, I think they turned out great!  We will probably be doing more seeing as we have a lot of left over wood! :) So stay tuned! 

Random day

So I tried to wake up sort of early today knowing that it is Thursday and I normally get to FaceTime with Q on these days but as your can see I am writing this blog instead.  Q is taking two of his masters classes right now and it consuming a lot, if not all, of his spare time.  He has to get it done during the week as much as possible so he isn't spending his whole weekend on homework.  And then he has days like today where he gets home later than usual from work so that of course pushed back his homework time some too.  So we will wait till the weekend to FaceTime.  Meanwhile,  I should be cleaning and preparing for Q's mom to arrive tomorrow… but I'm not.  

I wanted to give you a glimpse of what has been going on lately (or not going on).  It has been a lot of work and nothing really too exciting else wise.  It is definitely fall here in Eastern NC and the trees are definitely changing and leaves are falling.  Here is the view from in front of me as I type this…

Cali has completed the beginner puppy course at Petsmart and had the first week of Intermediate this past Sunday.  She is doing very well.  I think it has helped her with socializing, both with people and with dogs.  She of course does anything for a treat so she is very attentive to me and the instructor while we are there.  She loves on the instructor when he bends down to pet her which he thinks is so funny.  She's so sweet and gives kisses.  She is learning heel and staying with distractions right now.  It is going well.  I was bouncing and throwing her ball against the wall last night and she just watched me.  Don't get me wrong she really wanted to go for the ball but she didn't.  She has a "boyfriend" in the class whose name is Galiver and he is a black great dane puppy.  He is about 6-8 months old and has gotten so big.  In the Intermediate class there is a big lab mix that barks a lot.  Cali is not so sure of him yet.  She does not like when dogs just bark and bark, especially at her, so she kind of gets testy with him.  

Before and After her haircut this week. 

The house is good,  we got a dining room table but do not have chairs for it yet.  I can't decide what kind I want to get, and they can be so expensive so I am kind of waiting.  We don't need them right away so we have time.  I did get a rug for a great deal for the room.  It was a $400 rug that I got for $150! Score!!! 

Other than that, everything is good.  We have just under 90 days till Q comes home!!! I have been planning our St. Lucia trip for next summer and I can't wait!!! Hope everyone has a great Holiday if I don't post by then.  :)

xoxo,

M

Q's trip: Half way!

I wanted to give you guys an update with some of Q's photos from his trip.  As much as Q works and is busying doing other work, he does have time to go out and see some of the sights.  It does seem like he eats a lot! 

Here is a restaurant where they sit on the floor. I would love this! I think I would probably laugh the whole time!!

He takes such random photos sometimes.  They just make me laugh inside and out.  But in all seriousness, I want some of this!

This is the famous bridge from that area of Japan.  I think it is so pretty!  Looks amazing!

Q said they have the best soft serve, better than US.  Look at all those flavors!  How do you ever choose!!!

Silly Q!  Miss this smile so much!

Another food photo!  Yumy!!

Of course, what would be a grocery stop without some fish heads!  Doesn't that look appetizing!

Okay, well Q has started his Masters classes.  I don't know how he has the time but he seems to be doing a great job!  SO proud of him!  Can't wait till he is home!! We are half way!!! YAY!!!!!!

Cali: 18 months

I thought I would do an update on Cali.  She is now a year a half old and very much still a full on puppy.  She has such a big personality. She definitely loves to play and I do not play with her enough (believe it or not).  

We are currently going through puppy classes.  We have learned a lot but also she knows a lot already. The main reason I wanted to take her to classes was for me to learn dominance.  She does not like to listen to me outside (or anyone else for that matter) and so it is sometimes hard to get her to come back to me which is a BIG problem.  Also, I wanted to learn how to introduce her to people and dogs and not have her freak out.  She is getting there… baby steps. 

She loves to take baths.  I think she loves getting rubbed more afterwards with a towel more than the actual water part.  She really likes when I blow dry her and brush her afterwards. As soon as I bring out the tools, she gets all excited and runs around me. It is actually kind of funny.

I believe she knows the word bedtime now. She knows that before bed she has to got outside and go potty and then come inside, get a treat, then go in our bedroom.. in that order.  But this is the face I get if we stay up to late and she is tired.  

And these are her spots on the couch.  She loves laying in the corners because she can see everything! What dog doesn't love this!!!

 And this red and black ring toy is her FAVORITE at the moment! She runs around playing with herself and shaking it to where it hits her in the face.  This is the go to toy; she also has a go to bone as well that she LOVES dropping on our tile/hardwood floors and it echoes so bad!!!

xoxo

Fall update

I am so sorry I haven't posted anything is such a long time.  I feel like I have been super busy, with what you might ask?  I have no idea!  Sorry for not calling people back also.  I will get better at this.  Even though Q is away right now, I really enjoy my quiet nights at times.  It is the only part of my week that is quite so it is so nice just to relax and not have to talk.  I have started doing yoga again and I think it is helping.  I enjoy it so much, except yesterday when Cali was crawling underneath me while I did a pose… no personal space around here.

Last weekend I went home to Ohio for 2 days.  My best friend for the past 10 years is getting married and she went wedding dress shopping!!! One of the things about a wedding is spending it with your favorite people and just enjoying those moments.  I was determined to do that with her.  I don't like living far away and missing things like that.

I do like going to Ohio this time of year because of the pretty colors of the trees.  I do like when it is fall and it is chilly at night but decent during the day.  I love wearing jeans and sweaters but not necessarily needing a jacket.  I miss the comforts of home sometimes.  I like to be back in our house and just hanging out and watching my Bengals on Sundays!  I even did some yard work and I enjoyed it!  I knew there were no critters that were going to pop out and get me like they will here (just kidding).  All and all it was a good trip, just a little too short.

I plan to tackle some projects this weekend so hopefully I can update the blog a little bit more.  A Cali update will be coming soon too! 

xoxo

Shackleford Island

Please enjoy these photos of our trip to Shackleford Island as much as we enjoyed the trip.  The island is uninhabited and has wild horses roaming it.  You can only reach the island by boat.  While I didn't get any pictures of the horses, we did see them from a very far distance.  I plan to return and hope to see some closer then. 

Seafood Feast

My mom and grandma came to visit me this past weekend.  We had a great time and for once, the weather was great!  We enjoyed shopping in downtown New Bern on Saturday.  One of the coolest stores we found was an olive oil store.  They literally had TONS of olive oil that you could taste and mix to create masterpieces.  

I decided on the cranberry pear white balsamic vinegar for salads.  The lady that worked there paired it with walnut olive oil and it was very good!! I may just have to go back and get that.

It was nice to have family to visit.  It just gives me so much to look forward to.  It helps make the time pass and the weekends just seem to FLY by and I sort of hate that.  But the one thing I miss from Ohio is my grandma.  She is the best person ever and the most amazing women that I look up to and hope to be like as I grow older. 

My grandma has passed down many things to me and one of those things is my love for seafood.  We made a seafood feast that turned out fantastic.  We had shrimp, salmon, lobster tail, veggies, noodles, and of course wine.  

I think we were all so excited about this.  The nice man at the seafood store gave us 1.5 pounds of shrimp for the price of 1 pound.  I don't know if he could tell how excited we were or how he thought that 1 pound would not be enough for the 3 of us... little did he know we had lobster tail and salmon to eat too.

Needless to say I ate a months worth of food in one weekend.  I certainly enjoyed this meal.  I think my favorite part was the salmon.  I think it was cooked perfectly!!!! Any time anyone wants to come visit and do this again, please do! Or maybe just send my husband home already, either way!