Our dog Holly

Today we took our yellow Lab Holly to the vet. She has been limping and favoring her paw since Thursday and at the time we said we would watch it for a day or two and if there was no change we would take her to the vet. I was able to schedule the appointment for today (thank goodness). The doctor checked it, said it was swollen and administered Lidacaine. The way she yelped just broke our hearts. Of course I started to cry, but, at the same time praising her, telling her that she was a good girl and that we loved her. E with his torn rotator cuff is lifting her onto the table with his good arm and holding her down. I know he is in pain for himself, feeling her pain too, but, he is also praising her and telling her he loved her. The doctor said that it was an infection. Holly was prescribed to oral antibiotics that work together and a topical antibiotic. We take her back next week so the doctor can take a look at it.

Holly is such an amazing dog. She is full of so much love, so smart, funny, full of life, so obedient and just loves to play. When she sleeps, she looks like she did when we brought her home when she was 3 months old. We so treasure her and she is spoiled and deserves to be spoiled. She has her therapeutic beds from LL Bean with her name embroidered on both of them.

I will keep you posted on her progress after her visit next week. Have a great day.

Table for our entryway

When I make a really silly mistake or do something goofy I always tell E that I just did something Polish. I can defend that remark because...my heritage is Polish as well as Italian, Welsh and Russian. I guess that makes me a true American (a mutt) LOL. So, this is what I am getting at, I forgot to take a picture of the mission doorway entry table before I painted it. My solution...I went to the company's website and downloaded the "before" pic. I think this is a backside of the table because ours has a little drawer in front to store small items.

I used red Milk Paint, which, I never heard of before and the great thing is that its water-based. It went on beautifully and I am so pleased with how it turned out. Here is the after picture.

Have a wonderful evening.

Injuries

Its been an interesting week here. E's torn hamstring is still healing and last night he was rearranging our basement and thinks he did some serious damage to his rotator cuff. So, he will be going to sick call on Monday. I hope it is not torn, if it is, he will need surgery. Feel better Sweetie!!

During the week Holly (our yellow Lab) must have caught her nail on something and got herself a little cut on her paw out in the backyard. Our poor furry baby now has a limp and if she continues to do so I will take her to the Vet on Monday. It breaks my heart to see my honey and our baby in pain.

Our backyard is horrible and not at all how E would like it. He is from upstate NY and loves a beautiful, lush, green lawn. Its basically dirt with weeds growing out of it. We have been trying to repair it, but, hopefully the management company here on post will lay new sod when they put in our cement patio...whenever that will be. Oh and did I mention that when it rains it pours in our basement...that is why we need the cement patio. The water has no where to go and seeps in through the walls of the basement. Thank goodness we have a kayak.

I hurt my knee during a Boot Camp fitness class here on post. E thinks I strained my ACL and MCL during one of our drills or sprints. So, I missed 2 sessions this past week and will miss the last 2 sessions next week. So, now I will have to ease up on my workouts and wait for this to heal.

So, here we are the 3 amigos...with some kind of gimp. Of course, the crafting bug is calling to me and I had to answer. We picked up this adorable unfinished mission doorway entry table. I painted it this beautiful red color today and will spray lacquer on it tomorrow. I guess tomorrow will be a crafting/laundry day. I have to finish my Christmas cards too. I will post pics of those when I finish.

Have a great weekend!!

Cooking & Baking

Have I mentioned that I love to cook? Tonight I made one of E's favorite dishes...Penne a la Vodka. Such a simple dish filled with so much flavor and the best part is watching him after his first bite. There are more favorites of his to add to the list such as: Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and corn, Chicken Cutlet Alfredo and Chicken Cutlet with Cream of Mushroom Sauce. I love that being in love & married to my soulmate brings out the cook in me. E says that when I cook I have this smile on my face, that I look so content and at peace.

Its funny, when I was single, I thought I could cook the basics and I'd be fine. I thought of cooking as if it was a chore. I would always say that I love cleaning, so, it will be great when I find my soul mate he will (hopefully) love to cook. But, cooking with E is so much fun and I know he has brought out the cook in me.

I also found out that I have a love baking too. Every year, I make E his favorite birthday cake...yellow cake, with white icing and raspberry jam. I also have been wanting to make a cake that I saw in a magazine. It is an American Flag cake. It is make with sponge cake, cool whip, raspberries and blueberries. I made it this year for Memorial Day and July 4th.

TDY=Lonely

Even though E goes on very little TDY (Temporary Duty)...it is still hard to deal with. I feel like it brings up all those feelings from when he deployed to Iraq. Its always a reminder of those painful feelings I felt when he left. When E was in Iraq, we were living out on Long Island, NY and we were in a one bedroom apartment.

Now, we are living on post in one of the Plantation homes and when you are by yourself...it is too big. There are too many noises that are unrecognizeable and I'm just thankful I have a dog who loves and protects me as much as she does when E is gone. I just keep busy by going to the gym, crafting, cleaning and hanging with Holly (our yellow lab) and Patch (our Tuxedo cat). I will just be so happy when he is home and I know our little four-legged babies will be happy too.

A Dream Comes True

Its a beautiful Autumn day in Georgia, crisp and cool. As I sit next to my husband and our Lab Holly I was thinking of how happy and content I am with our life.

I am thankful that we have achieved the American dream. We just closed on a piece (a little over 5 acres) of lakefront property in the Adirondacks in upstate NY. We can't wait to build our log home and just enjoy our lives together. This has been our dream since E came back from Iraq and we honeymooned in the Adirondacks and now it has come true.

Here is a little background about us and how we fell in love with the Adirondacks. We got married by the Justice of the Peace before E left for Iraq in 2004. He left a month after we married to train up at Fort Drum for 6 months. Then he left in October 2004 and was in Iraq until December 2005. When I drove up to Fort Drum to pick him up we stayed the weekend so he could out process. As we were sightseeing around the Adirondacks, just taking in the beauty, we looked at each other at the same time and said "we should have our honeymoon here."

We had our Military wedding because E wanted me to have the big wedding with the dress, band, and to have all of our extended family and friends there. We booked The Wawbeek (which is sadly no longer there) located on Upper Saranac Lake. We loved the history behind The Wawbeek and we stayed in the Birch Cabin (2nd cabin off the lake). There were no phones (except in the Main Lodge), cell phones didn't work up there either, no TV's...it was perfect. We brought our portable CD player and just listened to music, but mostly we just listened to the beauty of nature. We heard the magical Loons & Owls. We climbed and reached the summit of Mt. Ampersand (my first mountain). We went to Lake Placid and visited the Olympic Sports Complex, which was a dream come true for E and I. We are huge hockey fans and to stand in the same arean where the USA Hockey team won the 1980 Olympics was magical. We also went by the Bobsled Complex and Ski Jumping Complex. Of course, we couldn't resist shopping and eating lunch in that picturesque town. We drove up to the summit of Whiteface Mountain, host of the 1980 Winter Olympic Alpine Events, which is 4,867' high. I actually got vertigo as we were driving up the mountain. Venturing into Blue Mountain Lake and the Adirondack Museum was a lot of fun. It was so interesting to see the history of the Adirondacks and to what it has become now. We also went Kayaking on Saranac Lake. This is one of our favorite pastimes and we have many. It was so peaceful and everywhere we looked there was something beautiful to see. We saw a family of Foxes. It was precious, a Mama with her little babies. They were just watching us as we glided by. Then we visited High Falls Gorge, words do no justice to describe how beautiful these falls were. The falls are magnificient and I just stood there in awe. Mother Nature just fascinates me. We also would just drive around and just take in the spectacular views and peaceful life that exudes in the Adirondacks. We had so much fun exploring the towns and shops around that area of the Adirondacks. We just felt so comfortable and at peace there. Especially, since E grew up near Rochester, NY this is in his blood. Growing up in Brooklyn...you appreciate every inch of NY and the Adirondacks captured my heart.

Photography...another passion

Hello Everyone,

Here are pictures I took when we visited the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. 

The gardens were spectacular too. Here are some of the beautiful blooms.

Have a wonderful day!!

Alisha

Taking a Sewing class

I was so thankful when my Mom taught me how to make pillows on my sewing machine. Since then, I have been wanting to learn how to broaden my sewing skills from beginner to intermediate so I can eventually make curtains, aprons, bags, clothes, etc.

Since we moved down here I have been searching for where they give classes like Joann's, Michaels, Hobby Lobby. Luckily, when I was at Joanns the other day I asked one of the employees at the fabric counter if they gave classes. She said "not at this location, but, Columbus State University gives classes." I went to their website today and signed up for "Ready, Set, Sew". I will be starting the course in the beginning of November and I am very excited about it.

My husband is so supportive of me. He always says "whatever you need...get it" and just recently he got me a Cricut Expression (did I mention last Christmas he got me the Cricut Personal Cutter). He is always supportive of me and wants me to learn new things. When I told him about this course and I started elaborating about what is involved all he kept saying is "register for it". He just said a few moments ago "that he is excited for me taking to his course." I am so lucky to have a man who supports my hobbies and that is why I am equally supportive of his hobbies as well.

Thank you E for supporting my hobbies, dreams and of course me. I love you!!

First Christmas Wreath I Ever Made

This is the first Christmas wreath I made last year. I also followed directions on Michaels as well as embellishing it a little more. I will be adding a bow to it this year for a little pop of color.

First Autumn Wreath I Ever Made

This was the first wreath I made in 2008. I followed directions from Michaels and just embellished it a little more to our taste.