~4th of July Weekend Wrap-up~

Time always seems to fly by when you don't want it to.  I really did not want to see this weekend come to an end and I am NOT looking forward to going back to work.  But enough about that.  Let me just fill you guys in on my weekend. 

With me trying to get this baby to flip before the 13th, my goal this weekend was to relax.  And I did...and also found time to have fun with some good friends.  I also can't thank my hubby enough for being such a good sport with me.  He's been waiting on me hand and foot and putting up with my pregnancy woes, complaints, etc.  His patience and understanding truly amazes me, because if I were him and looking at how I've been acting, I probably would have given up by now :)  Anyway, I digress. 

Let's start with FRIDAY:

Went to a matinee showing of Eclipse with Malu and my friend Jennifer....and LOVED it.  Malu recently became interested in the movie after I told him that some of my friends think he looks like Jacob.  Since then, he'd watched New Moon and memorized all of Jacob's lines (mostly making fun of how cheesy his lines were).  So he was happy to tag along to the movie.  Or at least I think he was.  Do you guys see any resemblance?  Maybe it's just their hair and skin color, or their eyes.  Who knows.

With Malu home, it's been easier to do a lot of home cooking.  But we wanted to make Friday nice and simple.  So, to go with all the movies we rented, we whipped up a homemade Hawaiian pizza, complete with fresh pineapple!  Malu gets a kick out of me taking pictures of all the food we prepare...so here he is being silly :)

Saturday

This was pretty much our errand day.  We took our old car to get inspected and oil changed.

Went to the commissary for groceries.

Spent a ton on clothes for Malu, which he desperately needs.  A lot of his clothes are still packed in boxes in the garage since our bedroom closet is so teeny.  And he's not a big clothes guy anyway.  He'll make big purchases for clothes literally every other year and wear the shirts he has until they have holes in them.

And picked up our Lucy girl from the groomer.  We had her hair trimmed down just to help cool her off and I think she now looks like an adorable Akita, maybe even a Rottie, even though she is a German Shepherd mix. 

Closed the evening out with dinner at Red Lobster since I had worked up a craving watching scallops being made on the Food Networked.  I bugged him the entire afternoon about wanted steak and seafood.  It didn't take long for him to cave in.

Sunday

Enjoyed a lovely 4th of July show at the Abundant Living Faith Center church.

Went to the Finch's House for their 4th of July Celebration.  Here's Maddie decorating one of the many cakes we had on-hand.

And we ate...

and ate some more...

...and had a blast with our friends.  Of course, we didn't forget to take our signature "chick" pic!  Love ya ladies!

Monday

Today, we slept in until 11:00 a.m.!  I haven't done that in ages.

And we pretty much stayed home all day and I watched a bunch of Real Housewives of New Jersey episodes--which Malu is starting to get addicted to as well (even though he won't admit it in public). 

I dread going back to work tomorrow.  But it shouldn't be bad considering the entire brigade is on block leave! Yay! Quiet office!

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed your weekends as much as I did!

Have a terrific and blessed week!

Friday Photo Flashback

Happy Friday everyone!  I'd taken a nap tonight while Malu watched a movie we rented, which is why it's past midnight and I'm awake to make this post.

I haven't done it in a while and it's hosted by Alicia, one of my favorite bloggy friends.  What a great idea she came up with...you dig out your old photos, scan 'em and tell people something about 'em.

You guys know I'm always ALL about pictures of my fur-baby girl, Lucy.  This is another flashback of her when she was just a couple of weeks old....back in 2003.  This photo was taken in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

She had this leopard print collar that had a bell on it so that I'd be able to hear her moving.  And to this day, she loves to sit in the front seat of any car.

Happy Friday Everyone...and if you do decide to participate, head on over to Alicia's blog, More Than Words and get linked up!

Friday Photo Flashback:My Sweet Love(s) Part II

I'm so grateful it's Friday. It was a pretty rough week and I am ready for the weekend. This is my third week participating in Alicia's Friday Photo Flashback. Go ahead....break out your old photos and scan away! And then...go to her blog, More Than Words, to get linked up!

Remember how I posted this picture of Malu the other day? His most recent picture taken in Iraq and the first I've received since he left at the start of the New Year? I couldn't get over how much he's physically changed over the years. Not sure if it's because this is his third deployment, because he hardly ever gets any sleep, or both...but he sure has aged since he started his Army career. This was that new picture I told you about (should be familiar)....

And this was and old picture of him that I found in an old photo album. It was around 2003/2004, when he first joined the Army. I think I met him a year later. I can't get over how young he looked back then....even though he is six years younger than I. And this was taken a little over six years ago. How time flies!

Now Malu's not the only one that's aged. Although this picture was taken about 3 or 4 years ago, Lucy hasn't changed her look much.

But boy, do I wish I could go back to the days when she looked like this....

This was also taken back in early 2003, the same year that daddy's old picture was taken. Even back then, she was such a shy, good girl. I love you Lucy girl!

We won't even go into how I've aged in the last six years. I just couldn't find any pictures to show you guys ;) I know, it's a bloody shame.

I'm sorry I just can't stop posting and posting pics about my two sweet loves lately. I'll try to find cooler pictures next week!

Happy Friday Everyone!

29 Week Photo & BBQ Sunday

Before I go into this evening's fabulous BBQ, I thought I'd throw in a picture of my 29 week-old belly. It's been a while since I posted one anyway. People tell me that I'm getting bigger, but for some reason, I don't feel like there's been any change in the last few photos. But....in their defense....I can definitely FEEL a difference. But I feel great. I'll try to remember to sum up the last two or so weeks in another post sometime this week.

But gosh, 3 posts all in one Sunday! I'm on a roll! Well, the ladies lunch crew from work decided to go one step further and do themed dinners on one Sunday each month. So this Sunday, we kicked it off at Leah and Jay's house and went simple and easy with a BBQ. Oh, it was tons of fun. The food was great and what was even better was that I was allowed to bring Lucy along. There, she met Leah and Jay's Great Dane, Moose, who really is all that his name implies. The guy is huge! They also have what I believe is a chihuahua/dachsund mix, but Lucy pretty much steered clear of him, for whatever reason. They also have two cats, but they stayed in the master bedroom. But look at this guy, he's huge! And he's got Lucy's temperament--chilled/laid back and just plain ol' sweet. I love him!

Since I was giving this guy all kinds of attention, I had to share some with my baby girl too. She does get jealous from time to time. No matter....she still won't make eye contact with the camera!

And you know we couldn't end the event without taking a group photo. Besides, I've been throwing out all kinds of friends' names in emails and phone calls to Malu that he is thoroughly confused on who's who. The last time he came to El Paso, I had a different set of friends from another unit! I thought I'd catch him up to speed and send him this photo. This is pretty much the ladies lunch crew--and the nicest set of girls to boot.

[L to R: Katie, Laura (3 mos preg), Leah (8 mos preg), Graciela, Joy, Melissa and Me (7 mos preg)]

Now it's time to get serious and head back to work tomorrow. Really, who are we kidding? Serious? No way! Thanks for hosting the party, Leah and Jay. It was grrrrrreat!

Thursday Five

It's time for Thursday Five..where we post..

5 things that have made us..

Joyful
Excited
Grateful
Appreciative
Elated
or just plain
Happy

this week..

Once you're done posting..go to Keely's at http://www.mannland5.com/ and link on up!

My Five:

1. Getting the "Sweet Blog" award from Staci over at Random Ramblings of a Military Wife. I was so stoked to receive this, especially since it's coming not just from a cool gal, but a fab and fellow military spouse!

I'm supposed to pass this on to ten other bloggers, but I'll save that for another post in the next day or so...so look out guys!

2. The Army Equal Opportunity Program ensures that its Soldiers are aware of cultural diversity within their ranks. As such, each heritage is celebrated and recognize during each month throughout the year. For those of you that don't know, May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month and since I am Filipino (Asian) and Samoan (Pacific Islander) this observance holds special meaning to me. My brigade hosted the observance for all of Fort Bliss today and it was literally a "standing room only" event. I MC'd for the event and was able to see dance performances from the islands as well as a martial arts display. The dances brought me back to my childhood because, as an Army brat, I grew up dancing and performing every May for post events like this. I can't wait for my little bug to learn dancing. If she's got daddy's moves, I might just have a star on my hands :) Days like this also make me miss the islands so badly! I wanna go back soon!

The observance was actually featured on the local news. Check out this link: http://www.ktsm.com/news/fort-bliss-celebrates-asian-pacific-heritage

3. Malu called me just before I left work today (and early, I might add! well, early for me!) and we were able to talk for almost an hour. He had been "on missions" all week and it had been days. I love hearing his voice and how patient he is as he listens to me whine (mostly) about the pregnancy and work. He always asks what he can do to make things better and of course, I just want him to come home. Two more months! And it's funny. He asked me if I've forgotten what he looks like since it's been so long. Is this guy kidding? I have his pictures everywhere. And every other post on this blog has his picture on it. Oh, what the heck. I'll post one here too. How could I forget this guy?

And Lucy? Well, she just HATES the camera. The flash freaks her out...reminds her of lightning--and she HATES that too.

4. Joining in on the Apron and Tea Towel Swap over at Kimberly's Korner. I recently participated in her Flip Flop Swap and that was just so much fun, I had to do this one too. You guys should too. Head on over to her blog and find out what you need to do!

5. And, of course, finishing up our 28th week yesterday! Yup, one week into the 3rd trimester and all is well. No baby bump pic, but I'll try to post one soon!

Happy Thursday everyone! Woo hooo! Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!

Ten on Tuesday

1. OMG, I just saw the preview for the new Robin Hood movie, starring Russell Crowe. Robin Hood was my favorite movie in high school...the one with Kevin Costner. I'm so excited to see this version. And Russell Crowe looks the best that he's looked since The Gladiator--same haircut and all. Nice!

2. I felt better going in to work today and I have to say that it's because of this stuff the OB gave me yesterday for my sinuses. It's a sinus rinse made by NeilMed Pharmaceuticals and is basically a nasal irrigation system that cleans out all the "yuck" in your sinuses. Having chronic sinusitis, it would have been nice to know about this years ago. The way you use the system is kinda weird. You shoot the saline solution up one nostril and have it drain out the other nostril and though your mouth. Then switch nostrils. But the relief you feel afterwards--is unbelievable.

3. Continuing on with our "hole in the wall" ladies' lunches....my co-worker girlfriends and I went to Rosco's at the suggestion of our friend, Maddie, who couldn't go with us today because her hubby just returned from his deployment! Yay Maddie! Anyway, this place was in another run-down part of town, but they serve the most delicious hamburgers ever! The place is so dingy looking outside, but it was jam-packed and we were barely able to grab ourselves a table. I should have taken a picture of my burger, but didn't have my camera on hand. I had a cheeseburger and fries with chili on the side. To die for!

4. Remember how I blogged about my friend Chrissy meeting Jack Johnson the other day? Well, the next day after she had sobered up...she told me that she did meet Jack Johnson, but not the one I spoke of. Just another singer who had the same name. What are the odds? So funny. I'm somehow knew it was too good to be true! Now I don't feel so bad about missing that night.

5. I sent flip flops out to my Flip Flop Swap partner, Summer, yesterday. This event was hosted by Kimberly and was such a fun idea. I hope she likes what I got her, as she likes the bling-blingy kinds of slippers. I can't wait for her to post about them when she gets the package. You guys should check out both these ladies' blogs. They're great!

6. OMG...I'm up to 80 followers now. How cool is that? As promised, I will be doing a giveaway, I'm just thinking of ideas. Thanks to everyone for becoming followers. It means so much to me.

7. Speaking of giveaways, I've entered so many the last few weeks and I have yet to win. I never have that kind of luck!

8. Can you believe that I start my third trimester on Thursday? This means I technically start my 8-hour work days. Let's see if I can actually pull this off. I haven't had 8 hour work days since I've been in the Army. But if I don't actually start doing it sometime soon, I'm going to wear myself out. We don't want that to happen. Wish me luck, guys!

9. Malu sent me a just-because-I-Love-You email yesterday. What great timing. I got it while I was home on quarters. He somehow always seems to know when I need to be loved on! I love you baby.

10. Lucy just wanted to people-watch on our evening walk tonight. She just plopped down in the middle of the grassy field and watched all the other walkers pass her by. It was so cute. When we do walk, she walks about 10-15 feet in front of me and looks back every 5 or so paces to make sure that I'm there. Either that, or she's making sure I don't pass out. Gosh, I can't wait until Malu comes home so he can play and run around with her. She's been getting jipped by mommy! Sorry Lucy!

And that's it you guys. Hope you have a great hump day tomorrow!

Got Quarters Today :(

For my civilian friends, this means that I got the day off for being sick today. The sinus/allergy/cold thing I've had for the past few days has not subsided, so while I was at the hospital today doing my 28-week follow up (even though I don't officially hit my 28th week until Thursday), I figured I'd complain about my symptoms and get a prescription for medicine from the OB. While I was at the OB, I got to hear the baby's heartbeat another time (she's alive and kickin'!) and took the one-hour glucose test. I'd heard some nasty things about the sugary cocktail they have you drink when you do it. And it wasn't all that bad. It tasted like pedialyte to me (and don't ask me how I know what pedialyte tastes like!). Coincidentally, my co-worker Laura had her OB follow up at the same time and she waited the hour with me until I had to have my blood drawn. Isn't she sweet?

After the blood draw, I was still feeling miserably sick and opted to go home (thanks to my boss for letting me do that). I've been here ever since taking naps off and on. And in between, I've been watching the movies I rented. Let me just say, that if you haven't seen the movie, Hachi, featuring Richard Gere, you really have to. If you loved Marley & Me, you will love this movie too....and probably cry even more than you did during that movie. At least I cried a lot.

It was fabulous, and is another heartwarming story of a dog so loyal to his master, even after his (Richard Gere's) death. There, I've pretty much given it away, but you still have to see it. After this, I cuddled up with my own Hachi on the floor for about a good half hour. She's just as loyal and cute. I love you Lucy!

Lucy & I in Fayetteville (2006)

Anyway, in the middle of watching my movies and TV, the hospital called to let me know that the lab results showed a rather high glucose level in my blood. Now I have to return to the hospital sometime this week to do the 3-hour glucose screening. Yikes! That means I have to fast for 12 hours the day before and then have more blood drawn over a three-hour period. These people must be kidding me. I am not looking forward to it. But anything to ensure that the baby and I are safe and healthy.

At the moment, I am hooked on re-runs of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Now, I don't watch any reality TV shows, but I just happened to stumble upon this one a few months ago. Tonight is the season 2 premiere of the show and I am dying to see it. I wish I had DVR...because it'll take a lot for me to stay awake to watch it. Is anyone else out there going to be watching it with me?

So although I'm miserable being sick, it hasn't been too bad of a day off. But really...sinus/allergy/cold--GO AWAY!!!

Thursday Five

Yay! It's yet another Thursday--Friday's Eve--and we're one day closer to the weekend. I'm just realizing that by the time I make my Thursday posts, it's late everywhere else in the country (say, the East Coast) and probably no one linked to this gets to read my stuff. Oh well, it's the thought that counts. Plus these are fun! If you want to join in, here's what you do:

Blog about five things throughout the week that has made you HAPPY, GRATEFUL, JOYFUL, ELATED, APPRECIATIVE OR ALL OF THE ABOVE. Then, head over to http://www.mannland5.com/ and get linked to all other Thursday Five participants! It's that simple!

My five:

1. Lucy and I saw a rainbow near our house during our morning walk. Not seconds after we got back to our house, it started to downpour like crazy. That only happened for literally two minutes. And then the rainbow was gone. But it was so pretty.

2. Going to see one of our battalion's Volunteer Recognition Ceremonies. My friend, Maddie, hosted it as the Family Readiness Support Assistant (FRSA) for her battalion, 4-1 Field Artillery Regiment. And she did such a marvelous job. Go Maddie! And they had some yummy sandwiches and cake afterwards. Kudos for that too!

3. Having a banana chocolate chip milkshake from Carl's Jr. during lunch today...with fried zucchini. Not nutritious at all, but deeeeelicious!

4. Going to eat chocolate cheesecake at Jennifer's house in a few minutes. Okay, so maybe I haven't eaten anything healthy all day. Sue me.

5. Getting through week 25 of this pregnancy. I'll post about that later!

Hope you all enjoyed your Friday's Eve!

Fill In the Blank Friday!

Another week down! That means I get to do another one of Lauren's Fill in the Blank Fridays. It's kinda my time to wind down after an entire work week. I love it. Head on over to her blog to participate (or just copy, paste and answer the questions on your own blog) and to get linked to other participants. Here goes:

1. Today I am wearing (well, right now) Malu's XXL USC sweatshirt and my yoga pants. It's kinda sad. I've been wearing it every night for about a week and a half now. It's just so comfy. And I love being in his oversized clothes!

2. My favorite childhood food was anything local Hawaiian, since I did a lot of growing up there (i.e. rice, portuguese sausage, teriyaki anything,and spam!)and my favorite food now is anything Italian. You can't go wrong with pasta. I love it! I still love local Hawaiian food, and lucky for me, El Paso has a Hawaiian BBQ restaurant not too far from where I live. I get cravings every now and then. It's so yummy! If you've never eaten real local Hawaiian food, you have to do it! You won't be disappointed.

3. A day that I am too busy to wash the dishes or call my mom is a day that I am too busy.

4. The last movie I saw was "Precious" on video and the next movie I want to see is, honestly, "The Princess and the Frog". My sister is going to be bringing it to El Paso this weekend, so we'll get to watch it!

5. [One of] my favorite smells is (and this is weird) Lucy's paws because who would think that that musty smell would make me smile every time? I'm sure most dog paws smell this way, but I like to think that it is unique to my Lucy girl. I like to massage her paws at night before we go to bed. Don't worry...I always wash my hands afterwards.

6. A weird little quirk I have is I blink excessively...like, A LOT...and I blink hard. It's a bad habit I picked up when I was younger, I think after watching one of my cousins do it. There's a video from my senior year in high school. I was at an awards ceremony and I was called up to stage to be recognized for some scholarships and the entire time, I must have blinked a million times. My mom was in complete disbelief, because it was the first time she'd actually noticed. She told me to stop doing it. I still do it to this day. Sorry mom.

7. When I take personality quizzes, they always tell me that I am sociable, easy going and that I care for others. I like personality quizzes!

And this wraps up another Friday! Yay! Tomorrow, Lucy is going to the groomer first thing so that I can spend all day cleaning before the parentals and the sis get here. My unit goes to the field all next week, but I'll be in and out since this pregnancy doesn't allow me to stay out there overnight. Thank goodness for that! Anyway, I digress. Have a great weekend everyone!

Ten on Tuesday

Yay! Another Ten on Tuesday! Why waste time? Let's get to it!

1. I was sad to find out that my boss was put on quarters today and was all percocet'd up on his couch. But I was happy that this meant he was NOT IN THE OFFICE. Well, everyone was. He's such a great boss and I love him, but it was nice to have a little freedom today. All the girls thought it perfect to have another girls' lunch today (even though we went yesterday). We went to Texas Land and Cattle. I had fish tacos (I know, no steak) and they were delish!


2. I also got to go home a little after 5:00 pm today! Which means I got to come home early enough to take Lucy out on a walk. It was such a gorgeous day today too--sun out and no wind. It was still in the 70s when I took Lucy out.


3. Poor Lucy, though, she was limping again when we started walking at the park down the street. After she had done her "business" she and I just laid out on the grass and enjoyed the sunlight. My poor baby, she's experiencing some early arthritis.


4. As such, I took her to the pet store to get some glucosamine chondroitin vitamins. Since Lucy hates the sight of Pet Smart (she gets anxious every time and it was my fault--her very first visit as a puppy to that store was to the groomer and she was terrified. she has hated the place ever since). So I thought I'd try to psyche her out by taking her to the "Pet Barn" instead. And it seemed okay for a few minutes but after about four or five good sniffs she realized where she was and practically pulled me all the way outside the store. At least I was able to get the vitamins before she did.


5. My sister, mom and dad are going to be here on Saturday and I can't wait. I told my mom to pack my dad some gardening clothes and gloves. Tons of tumbleweed has amassed in my backyard from all these windy days and I need him to get rid of them!


6. I'm totally craving some ice cream right now. I'd be happy with the 50 cent soft serve cone from Mickey D's!


7. I'm trying to grow my hair out, but hate this in-between phase where its long enough to be in my face all the time (and extremely annoying, especially when it's all staticky) but too short to be put up in a pony tail. I've had my hair short for so long and I personally think I look better in it. I want to do something different, yet every time I see a cute short hairstyle somewhere in town, I always want to chop my hair off!


8. I was finally able to download some pictures of the 4D ultrasound off the disc the imaging place gave me. This is my favorite and the one that I framed for Malu and sent to him in Iraq. Doesn't she look like she's just loungin' out? So cute. My friend, Joy, said that our girl looks like she's going to be muscular. Funny. Baby Sala was 19 weeks in this picture.





9. My stomach is growling. My lil' bug is trying to tell me she's hungry. But I don't want to eat anything I have in this house. What to do?

10. The New Moon DVD comes out this weekend. Now I'm thinking I should have put one on reserve. While we're on the topic of Twilight, I saw the Eclipse trailer the other day and just about died. I can't wait to see the movie in June!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Fill In the Blank Friday!

Looks like I underestimated how fast I could get up to 50 followers. It sure does help to do Friday Follow. I've seen so many great blogs and I get so many good ideas on how to make improvements to my own blog. Not only that, people are doing giveaways like crazy. I know I said I'd do my own giveaway once I got fifty followers, but dang, I may have to bump that to 75 so that I have time to give it more thought. Would anyone hate me too much if I waited? I hope not.

Anyway, it's Lauren's Fill in the Blank Friday! which I just had to make time for. It's always a great way for me to relax and unwind before going into the weekend. Here goes!

1. The best day ever was (even though I've had so many great days!) my first date with Malu. We met in Iraq and, of course, there weren't too many cool places to go on a date, even though it was never declared an official date. I'd asked Malu to go to church. Because all the islanders were deployed to this particular base (a reserve unit from Hawaii had brought Samoans, Hawaiians, Guamanians, Filipinos, and Puerto Ricans to Balad, Iraq) and there just happened to be a Samoan service. And we went together. I'd previously gone alone and the pastor was hell bent on finding me a Samoan husband. So when I walked in with Malu that day, I'd introduced them, and the pastor pulled me aside and said, "well, I think this is the one for you." I just laughed. That night, he and I sat on top of a bunker, under the stars, which was very romantic and unsafe at the same time as we got bombed on a regular basis. But we've been together ever since, so I'm glad we took that chance. And you know what? My dad took my mom to a Samoan church in Hawaii for their first date. And they've been together over 30 years now.



Malu and I with the Samoan Church Leadership on our last Sunday service in Balad, Iraq


2. My favorite meal of the day is breakfast because it gives me that jump start to get my day going! And I almost always have to have my Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha (now half-caff, these days).


3. This weekend is yet another chance to relax after a long, busy week of work. I intend to do a lot of NAPPING.


4. Never in my life have I been able to wink properly. Seriously. It also makes it hard for me to fire my weapon sometimes because I can't focus with one eye closed long enough. It sucks.


5. The only thing better than chocolate are hugs and kisses from either my hubby or Lucy!


6. I could really do with an hour long swedish massage. It's been a while since I've had one.


7. The most recent thing I bought myself is a cute shirt and some maternity jeans at Burlington Coat Factory last weekend. They were on SALE!

And there you have it! Tomorrow, I'm getting up early to take Lucy girl to the V-E-T. I can't even bring myself to say it. You should see how she starts shivering when I do.

Just My Luck!

So, it was another late night at work today. Naturally, I was in a rush to get home because Lucy's been waiting all day for me and I still needed to take her for a walk. Well, I quickly changed into some sweats and bundled up into my winter jacket because it's windy and cold outside. I load my wallet and my phone into my pockets, grab Lucy's leash, lock the doorknob lock on the way out, and shut the door.

It was then that I realized..."holy #$@!, where are my keys?" I look at Lucy and ask her where my keys are. She cocks her head to the side and is like, "heck if I know, mom. can we start walking now?" So I start panicking. As I do, a coyote starts running down the road in front of our house and stops not to far from it to survey us. I panick even more and start to frantically dial my friend, Jennifer, who lives about a mile down the road. No answer. No problem. I figured that's what I get for not listening to her advice about making her a duplicate key, as she has so nicely been telling me for the last, I don't know, month? Serves me right. "Oh no!" I start to think.

Then I remember that my Auntie Daisy has the only other duplicate key, as I was living with her before I moved into the house. She's in the middle of watching a movie, but decides to come to my rescue (well, she really didn't have a choice. We were freezing outside.). While we wait, Lucy and I decide to continue our walk, despite seeing Wile E. Coyote out there. I mean, she'd been holding her pee all day long. While we walked, I called my mom, who immediately started to chastise me for doing such a silly thing. She exclaimed, "I have no idea where you get this from." This coming from the lady who lost her wallet in downtown El Paso (next to the Mexican border) on her last visit. The same lady who has locked her keys in running vehicles before. Face it, mom. I'm a victim of genetics.

A few minutes later, I phoned Jennifer again and she (thankfully) answered. She came to the rescue. No kidding. She was over in about five minutes. So Lucy and I sat in her warm car with her and her two little boys while we waited for Auntie Daisy to come from the other side of town.

It took about a total of 30 minutes, but I thank God for these two special ladies--my heroes--for being here and for taking such good care of Lucy girl and I.

I can tell that after the day I had today, that it's going to be one of those weeks. Those hella-busy kind of weeks. But thanks to my lieutenant (she's my assistant at work), Leah Ganoni, for making my day by giving me this gift to frame my lil' bug's 4D ultrasound picture. Isn't she sweet? What's cool is that she is expecting her first child as well. Except hers is due a month before mine. She's having a boy! I'm so excited for her. But she's been a tremendous help to me since I've been in the unit. So thanks, Leah ! You're the best!

I'm telling you, the blessings just keep flowing every day and I am so thankful!

Holy Coyotes!

So it was another late night at work and of course, I found myself walking Lucy in the dark again tonight, which I hate because the lighting around this new area isn't very good and it is just Lucy and I after all. Anyway, we usually hear howling and barking around the neighborhood as we pass houses, but we heard some unusual howling tonight. I swear it sounded like there were a bunch of hyenas nearby and I'm like, oh no! those must be coyotes because we're certainly not living out in safari-land! But then I was like, well, they can't be that close. But I swear, as soon as we turned the corner to get to our house, I saw shadows of a pack of what looked like dogs running across the field in front of our house. Lucy and I stopped dead in our tracks and I was like, holy coyotes!

I didn't actually scream it because I didn't want them to hear us and turn around to come and get us. Still, I really wasn't convinced that they were coyotes, but rather a bunch of stray dogs. So then we quickly jog the last 50 meters to the house just so I could get Lucy into the house because for some reason, I keep thinking about them coming back to eat her (must be the crazy pregnancy paranoia) and the first thing I do is Google "coyotes in El Paso" and sure enough, this article pops up about a pile of dead coyotes that was discovered in East El Paso a few weeks ago. And guess where I live? Freakin' East El Paso! No freakin' way! I guess I was naive to think that there weren't any coyotes in this area, but whatever. Lucy and I might have to come up with another place to walk at night.....like the park down the road that's actually lit at night, where other people actually hang out. Yeah, that might have to happen.

Anyway, that was my excitement for the night. Holy cow, this seems like a long week. Two more days! Tomorrow, there is a post run, which means ALL of Fort Bliss will be running tomorrow morning. And to my concerned friends...NO, I will not be running this time no matter how tempted I am! Happy Hump Day to everyone!

Wordless Wednesday: Doggie Winter Wonderland

Lucy at the Park

This is what the house looked like this morning, when I decided to wake up and take Lucy to the park. It was so cold I almost decided not to go, but I didn't have the heart to bring Lucy back into the house. She was already half covered in snow by then.

Malu taught Lucy to catch softballs and now it's her favorite thing to do in the park. I brought the bat out there and thought that she'd have a hard time seeing the softballs in the snow, but she's a pro! She had a blast. Lucy hates the camera. I think the flash reminds her of lightning, which she is deathly afraid of. So now, whenever I pull the camera out, she makes a run for it. That's what she's doing here. She even knows that cell phones have cameras in them. So if you whip your cell phone out and look in her direction, she bolts into another room. Crazy dog!

Here, we're getting into the car and heading to Walmart to pick up the Christmas greeting cards I ordered. Speaking of which, I was able to get all my cards done today, along with a few Christmas packages. I'll be heading to the post office tomorrow to get all that out of the way. Not only that, Anna and I went through my walk-in closet today and set aside a ton of clothes to donate to Goodwill. What a productive day!

As promised (and totally off on a tangent), here are two scarf and hat sets that I finished not too long ago. Not bad for cheater knitting--as Misty calls it :) Hey, it's fun!

On another note, the transportation folks from Fort Carson came over today to do a walk-through and assess how many days will be needed to pack and load all my stuff for my big move. It'll take a total of three days--two to pack and one to load. Everything will be done on the 29th, 30th and 31st. I tried not to have people working on New Year's Eve but was told they'd be working anyway. Let's just hope they get done in time for me to party up the New Year with my family!

So my one big task for the rest of the week is to clean and organize my basement. There's a butt-load of junk down there just waiting to be sifted through. Oh yeah, let's not forget the one closet I have in one of our guest rooms. I call it the "chaos" closet. It literally has all kinds of crap in it that I, (1): didn't feel like sorting through or (2): quickly tossed in so that guests wouldn't see them lying around. Argh! Wish me luck!