A Goose in the Snow

Sadly it has taken me awhile to get this far...






Meanwhile, Nacona will have surgery on her eyelid tomorrow with a Veterinary Ophthalmologist at a Raleigh specialist hospital. We have already met with the doctor and after he reviewed her last biopsy results he seemed confident in his ability to prevent this growth from coming back. This will be the sixth time this growth has been removed and with each time the rate of regrowth increases. Hopefully this specialist excision technique will prove successful. I am optomistic. I am also going to see if I can talk my way into the surgery suite, I mean really?! Who could say "No" to me?


:)





The winter storm blew through North Carolina early on Saturday morning and we actually got some snow. I was excited to see how Goose would react, being barely a year old I'm sure she has never seen snow before now. Take a look at the dogs running around their snowy backyard...

The Furminator

The Furminator.

This most awesome device can significantly reduce shedding from the growing population of dogs in our house. I never thought I would get used to how large this house is until I find myself tripping over mutts everywhere I turn. The thought of living in a townhouse/condo in D.C. terrifies me.
The only draw back to The Furminator's power is how long it takes to really de-shed a dog. I'm spending at least 10 minutes bent over brushing, brushing, brushing. By the end my arms and my back are killing me. I'm getting handfuls HANDFULS! (eep!) of dog hair with every single stroke of this magical little brush.




As a result, with each brushing my backyard looks like I've either skinned a cat... or some horrible fate has befallen something small and fuzzy. Either way, it's disgusting to see tumbleweeds of dog hair rolling across the yard.

The last time I was at my allergist he commented that I must have a deep and profound love for each of these dogs or I'm a glutton for punishment.

Other developments in backyard include two huge piles of topsoil. Having 4 dogs has not been great for the small area of the backyard that at one time had grass growing, much less the large area of woods we cleared. Nothing grows, it's a barren wasteland (hence the need for tumbleweeds am I right?).



My rejuvenation of the front yard complete, I now have focused on getting the backyard somewhat in order. The soil in this area is highly acidic and very sandy. I've completed my soil testing, consulted with several friends in the landscape development program at my school, and done the necessary fertilization.

This spring, I'm ready. Last years grass seeding in the backyard did not result in a single blade of grass but cost me plenty in water bills. Nathan thinks I'm insane. How am I going to spread out two truck loads of topsoil across this enormous backyard?



The answer.....?



Very slowly and perhaps painfully, it should be interesting.

So, what's on the menu?

This semester I had hoped to take Microbiology but for the second semester I was bumped out. Students who are in their program (not on the waitlist like me) get priority registration. With so many students and not enough teachers it's no wonder most schools are like this anymore, especially the inexpensive schools. If this keeps up I may have to suck it up and get financial aid so I can go to a bigger school.

I couldn't bring myself to waste money on more classes I do not need, so I opted to take this semester off.

A few hours later I was asked by some friends of ours to help take care of their new baby while the wife is deployed. What great timing! Thankfully I am still current on my First Aid and CPR certifications so all that remains is "baby orientation classes."

Basically I get to hang out at their place the next couple of weekends before she leaves to get the hang of things and brush up on my diaper changing skills.


In addition to this I have a few other items on the menu during the next 6 months...





First order of business, making the switch to Macintosh. After years with Microsoft we have finally decided to get a MacBook and we are super excited.







Second, continuing my slow and steady weight loss from the previous deployment along with implementing a consistent exercise schedule. I've never been good at exercise so this will prove challenging.






Third, Jigsaw puzzles.

Here is my first of the year. I am terrible at these but enjoy them nonetheless, they take up lots of my time which is great.






Fourth, the FRG mafia. I continue working as co-leader for the unit FRG. This past December I was relentless in my pursuit to reach out to the families. It should not be this hard but you would be surprised how many wives work to stay out of touch. Of course, those same wives are the first to complain when they do not receive information promptly. So we took it upon ourselves to print our own information cards, which we turned into fridge magnets, and visited briefings, formations and company headquarters to pass them out to soldiers. I always have a few extras in my purse and passed them out any time I had the chance. Nathan would groan "Oh jeez, here she goes." anytime I ran into someone new at his office and started digging through my purse.

So the FRG, once again, will keep me pretty busy.



Other menu items are pending like landscaping the backyard, that will have to wait until Spring. I've also got the budget finalized with Nathan to pay off the motorcycle and save up a good down payment for a new car. We are still undecided on which car to purchase first. On one hand buying a new truck big enough to haul our horse is important. However, we cannot afford to have a big gas guzzler as our only vehicle. In that case we may purchase my new car first and wait until after his third deployment to purchase the truck. Of course, we all know what happens when you make plans in the Army so who knows.

Week One... Check.

So here we are again.



DEPLOYMENT TIME.




First I will give a few updates since I've been horribly lazy.


1. Nathan holds a baby!

This was pretty awesome. A solid hour of walking laps around the party at our place, all the while talking quietly to little Garreth to keep him happy. Later that evening he admitted that after about ten minutes his back was aching.








2. Thanksgiving.

Nathan fries the obligatory turkey. We celebrate at a friends house and stuff our face.













3. Christmas.

Our FRG hosted a great Christmas party. I passed out gifts to all the children who took pictures with Santa.








I baked cookies! Way, Way too many cookies.







We got a real Christmas tree! Against my allergist recommendations :)












Now on to this past week...



Nathan's flight was bumped up. We got a call on New Years Eve to report the next day.


New Years Day.








We waited 4 hours in huge hanger at Pope AirForce Base. Nathan was on the first chalk (group) of his unit to Afghanistan. It was much more formal this time. Lots of morale boasting speeches, commanders and other VIP's walking around the whole time, and everyone was in uniform.












After sitting around anxiously for hours the plane pulled up to the hanger. Nathan checked his bags one last time and we said our goodbyes along with all of the other couples in the room. His name was called out and he walked out of the hanger shaking the hands of all of the VIP's as he went.












Then onto the C17 for a direct flight to Germany then into Afghanistan.











Now the fresh roses on my countertop are always yellow.











And the countdown begins.