And that's all my phone has to say about that...

 

planted some grass seed in our back yard. it is amazing for the amount it rains out here how dry stuff can get. and how moss can choke out the existence of all things. also, how bird would rather peck at my grass seeds than eat from their feeder.

 

flash back to JoJo circa 2009. I think this was his favorite shirt.

the back says "chain saw brutality, tornado strength"

 Back in the day of hardcore bands, size small, skin tight shirts, long hair and skinny pants.

(good lord...) (and no, those weren't not his sunglasses, thank you Jesus.)

now its my shirt. strangely, it seems to fit pretty well.

 this both fascinates and disturbs me. so I wear it because it is laughable.

 

there isn't much that the kitty boy loves more than popcorn. it is second only to milk.

every night we munch some while we watch TV and Trink begs until we throw him some little kernelless pieces.if we aren't quick enough he tries to steal from us.

We throw it, and he catches them between his front paws.

 It is adorable. So we keep allowing it.

(we don't feed him people food...save for milk, popcorn and pretzels...)

 

what is this weird thing, you ask?

 a washing machine drum. purchased on craigslist for $25. Why? Because my cool welding husband is going to transform it into a super backyard fire pit. quite excited about that project! (note: its upside down in the picture)

 

there are few things more curious and suspicious than feet under the covers. cats are so silly.

 

you know those people on facebook who seem to constantly be getting free samples in the mail? I'm one of them now.

 

my mother in law just had kittens!!! 4 little itty bitty black ones! 

 well, her cat did...obviously. next time we are home visiting we are taking one (or two or all of them, according to JoJo) back home with us. Trink needs a baby sister. Just think, then you can all endure constant pictures of ALL our cats! Yup. We're crazy cat people. Deal with it.

 

Giant garlic clove. Next to an average sized mushroom. This intrigued me for unknown reasons.

 

this weekend we are attending a birthday party for our friend's fabulous baby girl. she is turning one. and i wanted to buy here every outfit in the store, but settled on this one as she like to play in dirt and garden.

 

my cat has an eyebrow nibbling fetish. it is weird. as you can tell, we own Mr. Kitty Personality, over here.

 

Pearls! Real ones!

 Anniversary gift from my love for me to be fancy and fabulous in Hawaii.

According to the anniversary chart thing, your 1st anniversary is paper and your 30th is pearls. I don't understand any of that stuff one bit, but lets just pretend JoJo is prophesying into our marriage with these. Besides...who wants paper?

Unless its plane tickets to Hawaii. Those were good too :P

 

most importantly, this week I finished school and began packing (and forming detailed lists of attractions, activities, stores and restaurants) for OAHU!!! We leave Tuesday. We never had an actual honeymoon, as he deployed shortly after our wedding, so this is our honeymoon and one year anniversary and first vacation all rolled into one. We are excited out of our minds over here. Don't worry, thousands of (quality, not phone) pictures to come!

And that's all my phone has to say about that...

flash back to last Friday- make chocolate covered yumminess.

pretzels and peanut butter balls. high in both calories and deliciousness.

they were so yummy people who had said they weren't coming showed up upon being texted about the chocolate goodness.

 

the week started out terribly sunny.

Washington was actually like the warmest state in the USA at one point over the weekend. It was miraculous. 0% chance of rain- that just doesn't happen out here!

flowers picked on the hike mentioned in the previous post.

 

at first i thought I acquired poison ivy on the hike when I woke up with a rash on my arm the next day.

when within hours I was a completely rashy mess we began to think a food reaction was the culprit.
that and my husband suspected I was turning into a goose (...looked like I had goose bumps everywhere...). Yup.

 

 Next was a 101  fever.

long story short, I spent about 5 hours on Monday between the doctors, a blood lab and the army base pharmacy. i know I have a monosodium glutamate (MSG- a common food additive which acts as an excitotoxin and messes with my endocrine system) allergy and i accidentally ate some (its in the majority of packaged food). the dr. also did a panel of food allergy tests on me. waiting on results. i am now armed with epipens and after a bunch of steroids and Benadryl I'm doing much better. fun times.

 

we've started feeding birds in hopes of giving our indoor kitty something to entertain himself (and cause we like birds).so far, a couple of brave chickadees and a squirrel picking up what drops to the ground have been our only visitors.

 

trink thinks the squirrel is good fun. we call the squirrel Caliban

(also, like Trinkilo, a character from the Tempest).

Funny part is he didn't notice him at first and the squirrel stood frozen for a couple minutes before the cat whipped around and gave him full attention.

 

another really great cat hobby is running around underneath a shoe box. the goal being to keep it on top of you so you may stealth attack people's ankles.

 

gearing up for Hawaii in 10 days!!! so excited!

we will be staying at a military personnel resort right on Waikiki beach. Celebrating our one year anniversary during the trip. Unbelievable! Until then, we are watching every movie set in Hawaii- most importantly Lilo and Stitch. JoJo has 3 day weekend so let the amping up for the trip begin!



And that's all my phone has to say about that...

 Typical morning view:

"Good. I have woken you. Now feed me or I'll start purring incessantly and biting your eyebrows."

 

 some good stuff right there ^^

 

 First ever attempt at making scones. Strawberry with a strawberry and lemon glaze. They tasted like freckled lemonade from Red Robin!!

 

 We bought this cat bed when we first moved here in December. He refused to have anything to do with it until about March. Now he would rather sleep in this than anywhere else. Sometimes he picks it over sleeping with us!

 

 large rock by our front door.

 

 I've become an addict.

 

 Made a trip to the library on base yesterday; it made me happy.

 



 Being unemployed is pretty disheartening. However, reading books in your back yard and laying in the sun all afternoon is pretty darn fabulous.

 

 Everything a cat could want, all in one spot: a cozy bed, a sliding door to look out of, a shoe box full of mousies and jingly things, and a box fort.

 

 this made me laugh. JoJo and I attempted to feed some ducks stale crackers a few weeks ago down at the lake near our house. this sign appeared shortly there after. It is funny because the birds had never been offered crackers and had no idea what to do with them. out of probably 40 ducks we got 2 interested. And a squirrel.

 

 The weather has been weird. Monday it was barely 50. By Thursday it hit near 70.  I've been determined to enjoy the sun (cloudlessness) regardless. Coats and sunglasses combined.

 

 Little signs of life along my walks.

 

LOTS of signs of life in my garden!! I've got foot tall sugar peas, sprouting green beans and little baby spinaches, lettuces, cilantros, and basils. Parsley and Lavender hopefully making an appearance soon. Tomatoes next month! I'M A REAL FARMER!!!!



And that's all my phone has to say about that:

Saturday we spent the day with my husband's public speaking class.

The kind professor is also a local pastor, and he brought the class out of their classroom and to his church to use the mic in a big space. Then he had us all to his beautiful home and fed us. Not like the usual hot dog cook out- an entire Salmon! I brought cookies.

 

Customary never-ending fascination with boxes which all cats possess.

 

Knitting a blanket.

I've crocheted many, but knitting is much slower going for a project this big. Been at it for months and only 45 squares in. By fall I WILL have a nice Queen sized stripey blanket. I love how it looks so far!

 

This mama's boy has to get himself into everything I do. He is such a good helper.

 

Been learning to drive stick on my new (used) car. Finally, we are a two vehicle family!

Husband bought it from a friend relocating to Japan.

 It's a Teal 1996 Nissan 200sx. (haven't gotten pictures, but this one here is what it looks like)

 I tried to learn driving standard at age 17 and failed but I'm happy to say with my husbands help I'm doing much better this time around and there has been minimal stalling.

Also, my previous driving experience has been my family Suburban, my Durango, and my husband's Dodge Ram. A little car is a new thing to me. 40 mpg is nice though!!

 

Tip: don't make the same mistake we did. You don't need both a cat and a paper shredder.

 Most cats are willing to help with shredding (not being serious, but he sure is a good shredder)

 

Been dehydrating fruits in my oven (post to come).

I think they are super delicious. JoJo does not.

 

Meal planning: it is a good thing. But we are pretty routine people. Tacos on Tuesday, Breakfast for Dinner on Wednesday and Fishes on Fridays. Only have to get extra creative on Monday and Thursday. It works for us. (and yes, we do eat on the weekend, but I don't try and plan it.)

Somehow the Word of God always seems to make more sense and impact me more when I am outside.
Ive been talking walks in the lovely weather (praying as I go- something my friend Jeri taught me)down to a pond on base and doing my study (this one from my church!) there.
I always take notes and doodle when I read the Bible. It just works for me.

seriously wish I could sleep in a literal ball like this.

out for a spring time walk. Finally some sunshine around here! Weather in the 60's!
 (anyone know what type of tree this is? blossoms were all...fluffy and pompom-y...not a cherry tree?)

Not sure how it got there but a section of our garden area by the front door is FULL of mint (because mint will do that. it takes over everything). Brought some inside and been making tea!
 

Blinds are super ugly, but a nice sunset peaking through makes them a little bit better.

 

 

**Wanna apologize if these posts are super random, but they are more for the benefit of my folks back home than anything else. Hope they aren't annoying you too much. Just try and tolerate me and my excessive cat photos, please.