Best Buds

A friend from work went out of town this weekend and I practically begged her to let us watch her two Yorkies for the weekend.  With Lucy back in the states, we've been missing having fur-babies in the house.  They were so much fun and sooooo adorable.  Their names are Kiki and Pepper.  I didn't get pictures of Kiki...she kinda kept to herself and didn't really want to have anything to do with the baby.  But Pepper...was all over Sina and they had a great time playing together.  I took a short video.  Don't mind Sina's bed hair.  It's out of control.  It just gets so knotted up overnight, I really don't know what to do with it.

I think Sina loved having a dog that was "just her size".  She'd play with Pepper's fur and just try to hug her, although my bet was that she was trying to put Pepper in her mouth.  I got a few pictures of them before we left for church this morning.

We were sad to see Kiki and Pepper go today and we'll definitely jump at the chance to watch them again.  Now, we're even more anxious to get our Lucy girl out here.

Just a quick little update on our progress here...we finally get our household goods tomorrow!  So bye-bye suitcases...and all this loaner furniture!  We're just so ready to have all of our stuff here and to make this place a comfy new home.  Our neighbors have been wonderful too and I hope they don't mind hearing Sina cry from time to time, especially in the wee hours of the morning.  Our neighbor directly above us brought us some chocolates and brownies to welcome us to the stairwell.  How sweet! 

We haven't ventured out to do any sightseeing.  With Sina and I being sick and the cold weather (although we've seen a few warm/sunny days this past week), it kinda made going out difficult.  Plus, we really haven't been in the mood.  But we've decided that they'll be plenty of opportunities to go places.  As a matter of fact, we're taking our first trip to Salzburg this weekend--which is a four-day!

Anyway, just want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!  Let's see if Malu and I will be able to squeeze in something romantic tomorrow amidst the chaos of having all of our stuff delivered!

Wordless Wednesday: Mom & Dad's Dogs

Misty & Rusty

Family Walk in the Park

We got a good amount of snow dumped on us overnight. Naturally, Lucy was all too eager to get out there into the fresh snow, so I got dressed and ready to take her to the park trail for a walk. After all, she has been cooped up in this house with the two other dogs and I've neglected her practically the entire week because I was so busy with moving and all. I didn't know that the rest of my family was up and excited to join us. I thought--the more the merrier! So we all layered up, stopped by the 7-Eleven for some cappuccinos and set out to the park. These folks don't usually get outside too much, so it seemed like quite an adventure for them. The dogs had an absolute blast. Rusty is the oldest and smallest of all the dogs and tends to get picked on by Misty, my parents' Australian Shepherd. Toward the end of the walk, my dad had to carry Rusty just to keep Misty at bay. It was so cute. Enjoy the pictures. Colorado is so beautiful in the winter time.

Roz, Jon, Mom and Jolene

The dogs follow dad everywhere

Rusty doing some digging in the snow

jon and jolene ( i love this picture)

Me and Rozzie

my mommy and daddy

A Carefree Friday

Knowing that I had to go in to work for mom for half the day today, I woke up early to take Lucy to the park for a walk. It was windy as hell, but I met two old couples who go for morning walks daily no matter how cold it is. Gotta hand it to 'em though, because as she and I were making our way around the park, I decided I wasn't going to do that again for a while! I was stoked that it snowed for a little while this morning. I was beginning to think that we wouldn't have any come Thanksgiving. It didn't stick, but I was sure happy to see it! After getting off from work, I took Lucy, Rusty, and Misty to the park down the street from mom's house to play. It was still cold and windy, but the view from that park is just gorgeous.




A few hours later, I had mom, dad, and Jon over for dinner. I made a pasta dish that I saw Giada De Laurentis make on the Food Network channel as well as an Apple Blueberry Pie I saw on a friend's blog. If you're interested, I'll be making a post on my cooking blog for those recipes right after this! Check it out! Here's my mommy, enjoying her share of the pasta!

Anyway, Malu's team leader, Ian, posted some pictures of the guys on his Facebook page. I was so thrilled to find one of Malu (seen here, with his interpreter) on the job as a Psy Op Specialist! He looks funny in this picture. I suspected that he was working on mouthful of sunflower seeds and it turns out I was right. Well, first he tried to tell me that he picked up a dipping habit, but he stopped when I started getting grossed out. Yeah, the guy doesn't drink or smoke so I don't know why I even started to believe him. It's nice to see him in action though. I'm so proud!

Well, that's my Friday for ya. Not much going on this weekend. I have to work for mom tomorrow and fully intend to clean out my garage. Yep, I seriously have no life :)

Mischief by Misty

One of my favorite blogs is called Mischief by Misty, a friend that I met through another friend, Liz. However, this blog is about my parents' dog named Misty--a year-old Australian Shepherd Mix (or so we were told) who is adorable, but quite mischievous from time to time. I actually call her Mischief every once in a while--she's just that rambunctious, but what else can you expect from a puppy, right? Anyway, this morning at around 7:00-ish, my mom calls me in a panic about something being wrong with Misty. For whatever reason, she couldn't walk on her hind legs. Mom starts bawling over the phone, insisting that I drive over to help assess the situation, as if I had any pertinent solutions to render. I took one look at Lucy and said, "we have to see what's wrong with your sister!" and she got all excited and ready to go. Without hesitation, we bolted out the door--me, haphazardly dressed (I didn't even make time to brush my teeth or my hair--gross!) even though I had to open mom's office in a little over an hour. When we arrived, the scene was quite depressing. My sister, grandma, brother and mom (in tears) sat in a circle around Misty trying to motivate her to stand up. I kinda sensed that she was still okay. She was very much alert and her tail was wagging in its usual wild manner, only she couldn't make her way over to me. Everyone suspected that it might have been the medicine she consumed last night (somehow she'd gotten her paws on grandma's medicine bottle), but I argued that she would've at least been unconscious or seizing or something. Whatever, my brother carried her to my car and he, my mom and I headed out to the vet. When Jon tried to carry her out of the car in front of the vet's office, Misty didn't want any of it. Instead, she comes out of the back of the car herself and proceeds to walk around the parking lot! By this time, mom was already inside the vet's office and I went in and yelled out to her that Misty was walking. She came out, and the three of us just started cracking up laughing at the poor doggie. She was still limping though and after further examination it was deemed that Misty was suffering from a pulled muscle and sentenced to three days confinement and pain medications. This is not surprising considering Misty is just a bundle of energy and can't seem to ever keep still! So there you have it! All kinds of emotions running rampant in the Ioapo Family this fine Tuesday morning! The things we do for our dogs! But really, these furry things are like our children and I'm sure you dog owners out there truly understand. Shoot, I have pet insurance for Lucy because of things like this! Anyway, now I'm sitting at mom's office hoping customers won't come in to see me like this, looking like I just rolled out of bed (which I basically did). I had to come here directly from the vet's office! I hope you guys had a good laugh. Have a wonderful Tuesday!

I Took A Test Today.....(the Sequel)

And the verdict? Not bad. Really! Not bad at all. It was a finance test--a 3 hour-long test. They're mad, I tell ya! Anyway, it wouldn't have done so bad if it weren't for two certain someones! Actually, two and a half:

I started panicking this morning when I realized how much material the test was going to cover--you know, valuing stocks and bonds, capital asset pricing models, dividend discounting models, yada, yada, yada--enough to make anyone hurl. I was on the brink, I tell you. Anyway, I called Anna (a certain someone #1) and I swear, she was my savior!

She calmed me down, for one, and invited me over to study at her place. She took the class last semester and offered to help me on stuff I couldn't figure out. While I sat there rummaging through old homework assignments and chapter notes, she made me lunch (brats and rice-a-roni--yummy!) and then brought me coffee to get me going. Not only that, it just happened to be her day to drive to school, which allowed me to relax on the way to Pueblo, and she encouraged me every step of the way. Thanks Anna for being a super-duper friend!

A certain someone #2--Malu! Even though he was running around some mock Forward Operating Base at Fort Dix, New Jersey doing some training, he found time to either call or text to ensure me that everything was going to be okay despite my worries. He'd known since last night about my test and knew I was going to freak out today. So thanks, babe, for always being there--even though you can't hear me through your snoring over the phone :)

And last, but certainly not least, a certain someone #2.5--HOWARD (Anna's fur-baby)!




You can't tell me that face doesn't make your heart melt! Just like his mommy, he was right there to make me feel better! Those wet kisses, slight bites to my wrists, and momentary cuddles were enough to wipe my worries away!

So thanks you guys for totally making my day! I love you all! Now, it's time to hit the sack. Well, after I get this cake baked. Check out my cooking blog. I've been making some yummy posts lately!