2016

oh my 

it's been over a year since 

i have blogged....

 so let me do a quick update...

we completed the bipartisian european vacation...

it was everything i hoped it would be.

we pcs'd from italy 

it was all the heart break i imagined it would be

we ended up in colorado

(it is a beautiful state and close to home)

ken left shortly after arriving

to do a remote tour 

in 

thule, greenland

 

(which should be blogged about but i will do that later)

i unpacked us

found a job

emmi started preschool

i started work

and 

we began this "new" life

we said goodbye to ken's grandmother

we said hello to thule, greenland 

(for a short visit)

 

we said see ya later...again... 

to ken

and 

we survived with minimal damage 

2015

and now we prepare for our last month without ken

and our last month until we have a 4 year old!

(are 4 year olds still toddlers? 

or are they officially "little" girls? 

it's such an awkward age..

what do we have?)

maybe i will blog more

maybe i won't 

regardless

if i document it for all to read

i know that 2016 will be another

"new" 

year 

for so many reasons

 ken will be home

a home he doesn't know

(because he left 3 weeks after we arrived here

and has only spent 3 weeks midtour here)

we will have to adjust 

to having ken home

and a part of our life

here

a life we aren't use to having him a part of

so here's to 2016

and 

the possibility of more blogging

because 

i have fast internet

and

in a short time

a partner

to help with this crazy thing 

called

life. 

love love

from colorado

I miss..

there are several things

you know you will

miss when you find out your are moving

 you know you will miss family

friends,

coworkers,

and various other things.

 i knew that i would miss braum's milk

i knew that i would miss mexican food

(good mexican food)

i knew i would miss Sonic,

more specifically sonic ice.

  i had no idea i would miss fountain drinks.

i miss my dr pepper from the fountain

they have dr pepper here

but it is in a can

and well
that is just not the same.

i miss the click of the cup
when it hits the lever of the dr pepper tab,

watching the cup fill up

guesestimating how close I can get the soda to the top

without it spilling over

 i miss listening to the melody of the fizz carbonated bubbles

and watching the ice dance with the bubbles to the melody

i found this picture online.

 it pretty much describes

what i would look like if i could get a good dr pepper from the fountain.

please ignore the fact she is getting diet dr pepper.

 now don't get me wrong

the bx does have dr pepper in their fountain

but again

it's not the same.

it's more carbonation

less syrup

and

if you are a dr pepper drinker

you know the importance

of

 the syrup

so as i get use to the italian way

and enjoy the italian food

(which I am doing!!) 
i must admit

i miss fountain drinks

especially dr pepper

 (if you can figure out how to send me a dr pepper

from sonic 

i will name my first born after you)

thankful thursday: being employed

effective 4:30pm today

i will be officially 

"unemployed"

the norman veteran's center

it's a hard concept to grasp

i have been working 

since i was sixteen

i enjoy working

often holding multiple jobs at one time

i am often described as a 

work-aholic

when we received orders to italy

one of my first thoughts were 

"were will i work"

"what will i do?"

then i found out 

jobs are limited,

 hard to come by

and

honestly

the idea of not working

was 

kind of exciting
laying around eating bon-bon's, shopping, staring in the "real housewives of italy" show
then scary
how can we live on one income? how will i contribute to the "household"

now 

i just dread it

in work i find purpose

self worth

i enjoy my job

and 

i am good at it

so today

as i say goodbye to a job 

that i hold dear to my heart

and coworkers who have become friends

i am thankful

for the norman veteran's center 
who've kept me employed the past three years
tolerated my crazy ideas
and allowed me to grow as a social worker
and
a person.
 

so how am i doing:the honest truth

in eleven days

i will be 

living in italy

it has been a process

and i know the process is not over

by any means

the closer we get

the more i get asked,

"how are you doing?"

so here is the honest truth:

i am functioning

surviving

 trying to maintain a sense of normalcy

which is very difficult considering there is nothing normal about moving to italy

with every gain

there is a loss

we are gaining a chance of a lifetime

we are loosing what we knew as our life

we will have to make new friends

find a new house

i will have to find a new job

i know you are thinking stop your griping you are moving to italy!

we are gaining a chance to travel

an opportunity to try new things

(possibly a new career)

the beginning of a new chapter

i believe there is a 'honeymoon' period

when 

you get orders 

does this not look like the perfect honeymoon getaway

you suddenly remember

a "perk" of being a military member:

travel!

but then reality hits

and the 'honeymoon' is over

shortly the seven year itch comes on...

they say the best base is the one you are going to 

and the worst is the one you are leaving

the stress of pcsing

it takes a toll on your health
personally i get headaches

on your marriage

on your children
which we don't have but i can only imagine what it would do to them

on your pets
admiral and maik have never been skinnier

you can only answer the question, 

"honey what box is my belt in"

so many times before you just dump out all the boxes in frustration

i have coped 

only by the grace of god

good friends

a loving family

and dumping a few boxes in frustration

i cope by setting goals

for example

my birthday and our anniversary are in march

my goal:

a weekend getaway to venice

now that is exciting!

i will miss my friends

i will my family
the life that i once had

but i am not saying goodbye

it's just see you later
please stop acting like i'm about to die and you will never see me again


so that is how i am doing
the honest 
candid
truth


i've dumped a few boxes
yelled some
cried some
smiled a lot
and 
will be
enjoying the next eleven days


happy monday ya'll

thankful thursday: the value of a sponsor

a short military brief here
before we dive into this edition of thankful thursdays

when you pcs (move)

the member 
(in our case that would be kenneth)

gets a sponsor

a sponsor is someone at your new base 

who is responsible for 
orientating you to base
making sure lodging is set up prior to arrival
answering all your questions about the new base, squadron, etc


kenneth's sponsor has been nothing short of helpful.
however,
i still had questions
and i of course don't have a sponsor
or any military wife friends that have been or currently stationed at aviano.


meet misha.

misha is married to another k9 handler
and currently stationed in germany
misha's husband and kenneth worked together at cheyenne mountain
pre k9 days
misha was not married yet  
but i knew of her and did know her soon to be husband.
enter facebook
misha and i are friends on facebook
i also read her {blog}
how or when we became friends i really can't tell you
but i am so glad we did
misha is who i would consider one of my sponsors
yes, i require multiple sponsors


when we initially found out we had orders
misha provided a wealth of information 
from traveling with dogs
to explaining how housing allowance worked
she helped tremendously during the first weeks dealing with the shock of 
"OMG i am moving overseas!"


***
now
meet brittany

here is our story
one day i'm browsing cinchouse
it is a great website for military spouses
i found this website when kenneth and i first got married
but haven't utilized it much since my first year as a military wife


back to the story.
on the site i entered the search term "aviano"
up pops a thread of  aviano spouses.
brittany had posted on the thread 
(in response to someone else's post & it was january 2010 when she entered the post) 
her response in the thread was
facebook me.
"ah ha!" i thought
an open invitation
yes i understand she wasn't talking to me but i saw an opportunity and took it!
so i searched facebook 
 found her
and sent a friend request.


brittany's response was
"do i know you?"
hehe not yet but you will! i secretly thought
i explained to brittany how she knew but didn't know me.
and she accepted my friend request!
woohoo!
and let me tell you
i would call her my angel.
not only has she allowed me to facebook stalk her
she sent this lengthy email about 
aviano;  
what to expect,
passports,
housing,
driving on the roads,
insurance rates,
job opportunities,
husband's work schedules
it appears they work many days for long hours at a time
it was more than i could have hoped for.


some things i've learned about brittany that makes me like her even more
she owns german shepherds 

this is from her facebook page (told you i was stalking her)

and she takes a lot of photos 

 it appears she uses editing software and is good at it 

(i am not)

we have so much in common! 

dogs, photography, ikea, aviano hehe!

brittany is my sponsor.
we've never met.
but i hope we do!
she understood the bond of military wives
and for that i am truly grateful.

as a military wife
you learn the value of friendships
and learn quickly how much friendships are needed.
i've been very fortunate to be stationed at tinker 
where i have many friends i grew up with

that i can seek out for advice,
comfort, 
or just plain girl talk.


now
facing the unknown
and going into place where i would have known no one
i am much more at peace
more comforted
more excited for the adventure that lies ahead
because of 
kind hearts
like misha
and brittany.


thank you ladies!

italy oh italy where are you?

happy december ya'll!

so why are we not in italy yet?

(and why are you complaining? don't you want us to stay in oklahoma? 

hehe)

so november was a crazy month

if you would have asked me november 1 

i would have told you 

we would be in italy

no later than november 28

fast forward to november 2

that's a big jump, i know!

then i would have told you 

kenneth and i were going to be on a rotator 

(military flight) 

november 21

found this picture via google image search for "patriot express" aka military rotator

fast forward to november 3

then i would have told you

kenneth would be on the rotator november 21

i would follow after our household goods were shipped

however 

kenneth requested an extension

to try and his no later date pushed back so we could leave at the same time

november 6-14

we cruised. 

no worries.

november 15

around noon

i would have told you

kenneth will still leave the 21st

household goods to be shipped december 1

i would be leaving december 19

kenneth's birthday!

november 15

around 1:30

kenneth's status remains unchanged

now i would be leaving

december 27

with only one dog 

the other dog we would have to ship

goodbye 3-5k dollars

ya'll still following me?????

where was i?

now we are at november 17

approval finally granted for an extension

our no later date was changed to 

january 7, 2011

wait a few more days....

wednesday november 24

happy early thanksgiving to the clintons!

enough space on the rotator for 2 dogs

enough space on the rotator for 2 humans

2 dogs  + 2 humans on the same flight = happy clintons!

things are starting to come together!

today is december 1

and we say hello to december 
and to movers, boxes, and bubble wrap 
i am actually kinda excited about bubble wrap

but come friday
we will say goodbye to our household goods
how we will ever survive???

stay tuned for pictures of what our life looks like in boxes. 

because i know you are looking forward to it!

have a wonderful wednesday!

day 4

today i am thankful for

bubbas

grandpas

papas

or whatever you choose to call your grandfather

today would have been my bubba's birthday

today is kenneth's grandpa's birthday

&

as we are honor grandfathers i will also reflect upon my papa who passed away earlier this year.

all are examples of strong men

good leaders

family men

caring men

and loving men

my bubba passed away when i was five

but in the short time i knew him he instilled a lifetime of values 

he always welcomed me with a smile

he had a zest for life

he cared for others 

as evidence of his career in social work 

he had a passion for helping the mentally ill 

and disadvantaged

he still teaches me lessons through stories family members and friends tell, his writings, and pictures

pictures really can speak a thousand words

my papa passed away february 15 2010

he taught me how to make the best peanut butter and graham cracker sandwiches

which i made for a resident the other day and he told me i must have an 'old soul'

papa taught us how to plant strawberries

gather eggs 

walk a pot belly pig

and the value of a good book

he was particular to westerns but wouldn't turn away any good read

he is dearly missed.

kenneth's grandpa turns 77 today

we would take him out to eat

but he is on a month long cruise to Hawaii

that's just how he rolls

never stops...

he is a retired Major in the United States Air Force

he retired from the University of Oklahoma

he has been married for 51 years

and raised a family of 6 children

he is fair,

honest,

selfless,

and caring

he is one of the reasons why kenneth is the man he is today

we should all be so lucky to have a man like grandpa in our lives

today i am thankful for grandfathers

for without them this world would be a harsher place.

where is boz?

i have hesitated for a few weeks to write this blog...

reality just stinks sometimes....

when a girl turns 18 she is given a few new freedoms

she can register to vote

buy tobacco products

buy adult material 

sign a lease or any other legal agreement

adopt an animal from the local animal shelter

march 2, 2002 i turned 18.

i registered to vote

didn't buy tobacco products or adult material

didn't enter a legal agreement of any kind

and i did adopt a dog from the Norman Animal Shelter

meet boz.

this is him shortly after i got him.

boz and i bonded instantly.  

he wasn't available the day i went to the pound

his owners still had 25 hours to 'claim' him.

it wasn't 24 hours it was 25, trust me on this one

the next day i came back

an hour before he was available

and waited.

i was determined to take him home.

over the years i learned a few things about boz

1) he is afraid of cameras

i have hundreds of pictures of him walking away from the camera
or turning his head.




2) he is very good at raising puppies

admiral and boz


3) he loves to cuddle

bazil, boz, and me 2008

boz and katen 

despite their rocky relationship he even cuddles with kenneth

so where is boz now?

most of you know boz was not cleared to make the journey with us to italy

and our families were not able to take him

so i began the hunt for a new home for boz

by far the hardest goodbye to date

it was friday oct 15

maik was coming home

my mimi planned on taking boz for the week 

we wanted to introduce maik to one dog at a time

time was 3:30

yes i remember the time

i was getting my physical at work

the nurse asked how things were going with the move

i began the laundry list of things left to do

motorcycle, house, dog

dog?

she wanted an older dog

a dog that would get along with her one year old boy

i offered to let her try boz out for a weekend

she responded, 

"sure, i will come by after work today."

wait, today

like in an hour

um....

my heart dropped, 

did flip flops, 

enter whatever cliche you want to use to describe an "oh crap" moment

so boz left that friday

and hasn't come back

it really has been a blessing

God really does work in all aspects of our lives

even finding homes for our four legged kiddos

with the chaos and adjustment of getting use to maik

admiral didn't have to grieve the loss of boz

and i didn't have the time to sit and cry

have i cried?

yes.

but not like i would if maik wouldn't have been here

requiring so much attention and time

finally my favorite thing about boz:

his smile!

miss him but know he is in a good home....