Doggy Daycare, Audible, & Truck Stuff

Life in OK has been HOT!!!!! And by hot, I mean 105* with a real feel of 115* hot.  Days like that make playing outside with the dogs super difficult: they want to play, but we can really only do about 20 minute increments before we need to head back inside.  As a treat, I loaded up the puppies and took them to doggy daycare so they could play and socialize with all of their friends in the air conditioned playrooms.  When picking them up, I received the most interesting report on my little bud Max: he is always the last one out of the playroom when they go outside for breaks.  This time, he managed to find their food bin, unlatch it, and take a nibble on his way out....he also managed to do that on the way back in to the playroom....I swear I feed them

Do not let those soulful eyes fool you....

Phil reads/listens to a lot of leadership books and one thing we try to do together is listen to them and chat about the parts we find interesting and how we can both incorporate what we are learning into our fields.  I am currently listening to this one:

We have listened to some of Jocko Willink's other books and enjoyed them thoroughly and he is really nice to listen to (I don't know what he looks like, but I think he sounds like John Cena, so that is who I picture reading to me lol).  We also really enjoyed Dan Crenshaw's book Fortitude.  

The last time Phil was deployed (about 4 years ago) I had put new tires on the truck.  Before he left, he told me that they would probably last me through the summer, but that we needed them pretty soon.  That day came yesterday!  Somehow and somewhere on my in town travels, I picked up a nail in my rear drivers side tire.  I begrudgingly took it to Firestone after needing a pep talk from my mom, dad, Phil, and my mom's boss who is a retired Colonel from the Army....vehicle maintenance is not my thing and makes me nervous for reasons I do not understand.  The man at Firestone was really nice and as he looked at my tire he told me apologetically, " Ma'am I cannot fix your tire, it is so worn down the only thing you can do is replace the tire...please let me put new tires on this truck".   He helped me pick out some good ones (I think?) and on they went and I was good to go in an hour.  

I'm also going back next week because I need both rear and front brakes....the adventure continues...

An actual photo of me this summer:

I hope everyone has a great week!!  Does anyone else out there dislike vehicle maintenance or is it just me?  Let me know what y'all are listening to on audible!

Baby Shower, Toothache, & Outlander

One of the things I truly love about Army life is the people you meet along your journey.  Phil and I have met people that will be lifelong friends and we will have connections with them for all times; even if we aren't stationed together again, or we are stationed together after a crazy amount of years.  It is something that truly makes Army life special. 

That being said, this weekend I celebrated our two friends M and B who are expecting their first child in October!!!!!!!  We were all stationed together in CO and were lucky enough to be stationed here in OK together as well!  M and I met at a Family Fun Day Live Shoot and have been besties ever since.  It was such a fun day and I cannot wait to meet Baby G this Fall :)

Also on Saturday I woke up with a toothache, which was odd because I didn't do anything that should provoke its' crankiness.  I slept super poorly Saturday night due to ridiculous tooth pain (I also spent my time in the ridiculous hours of the night/morning Googling random things, making myself terrified and then going down the Pinterest rabbit hole instead).  Sunday passed in a blur of Advil and smoothies and I even left a message with my dentist to hopefully get in on Monday.  They did call me back and I did not get an appointment until Wednesday!  By Wednesday my tooth was feeling much better, but I kept the appointment and went anyway.  It turns out my tooth is absolutely fine and in good shape and I just had a bad reaction in my gum so that's why it was swollen...go figure!  I can now continue my supreme avoidance of the dentist for the next few years :)

Each deployment I end up binging a certain or a couple of shows, and this time it is Outlander.  I had read books 1 & 2 a bit ago and discovered the series on Netflix and am obsessed.  I ordered books 3 & 4 and am halfway through book 3 already.  

This has me thinking about a Scotland vacation once Phil returns and everything settles down a bit.  Phil and I don't normally take too many vacations: we do weekend trips (Waco, Fort Worth, OKC, etc) but the last vacation we took was to Jamaica four years ago when he returned form Deployment #2....we tend to be slight workaholics.   So maybe an adventure in the Highlands is in order ;)

This meme made me laugh so hard as it continues to be a thousand degrees in OK and I brush Penny out 2-3 times a week to keep up with her fluff

Sad, but oh so true!!!

I hope everyone has a great week!!!!  Any factions planned for the future?  Any Scotland advice?

Hello Again

Hello!!! It has been a very very long time since I have written!  Life has been crazy and really so much has happened over the past year to really recap.

We are still in Oklahoma!  We bought a house last summer and have loved every minute of being homeowners

We are working through our 3rd Deployment; due to COVID Phil's deployment date changed quite a few times, and even though I had secretly hoped he wouldn't, he did in fact deploy in May

It is tough as always, but I have these two cuties to help me through it!

Look at those faces!!! :)

I am embarking on my own new journey career-wise: I have been accepted into the Doctoral Program of Educational Leadership at Tennessee University!!! I am beyond excited as this has always been my goal! I am starting their online program this Fall and am literally counting down the days until my classes start!

If you don't wear the swag, do you even go there?? ;)

It feels good to be back!  Maybe I will make this a regular thing again???

How is everyone's summer?  What are you all doing to stay sane during the heat and during COVID?

Books, Fundraisers, & Storms

It is storm season here in OK!! Technically, storms and tornados can happen in other months, but March-June is the "typical" storm season time where our weather gets rainy, windy, and scary.  I used to love watching the movie Twister, and then we moved to OK and it took on a whole new meaning...I'm unsure how I feel about that.

However, with the storms come some fantastic clouds

Phil and I went for a ride Friday night (because the dogs and I love them!) and we happened to be between storms.  I rolled down the truck window and took this picture as we were still moving; I can get lost in the beauty of nature sometimes.

I have been talking to a fellow book lover and my new books are FINALLY here!

I cannot wait to dig into these!

Our battalion has been putting on a fundraiser this weekend and I am so blessed to be involved in such an incredible place.  The group of women I have gotten to know in this battalion have been such a blessing!  We are so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing people.  Especially since some of those people make exceptional cupcakes that you "accidentally" take home with you:

I mean seriously, how cute are these?  I think I ate 8 of them....lets just say, I stopped counting after 8...insert embarrassed face here.   Also ignore allergy medicine...allergy season in OK is no joke!

Max is not excited to start the new week...

But he does not realize that we are down to three more weeks of school left!  Woohoo!  I think we may make it after all!  No Sunday Night Blues here!

Anyone else counting down to summer break?!?!

Baby Showers, Cross Stitching, & Tea Parties

Great news: I finished my book and it was AWESOME!!

Bad news: I now need another book to read...heavy sigh

This weekend I had a blast throwing my beautiful friend a baby shower and she's having a girl!!! I bought all of the pink and sparkly things I could find...then I went back for more!

We had a great time catching up and showering our beautiful mama :)

I also got to go to a Tea Party!!!  I wore a dress with a floppy hat and everything!  My little girl heart was super happy!  These ladies are part of the cross stitching group I am in and they assisted me in making some progress

I learned a valuable lesson today: if your stitches are supposed to be straight across and they are slanting, you probably missed a count...may have had to take a couple stitches out...

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

I'll be over here eating cupcakes in this new and beautiful way

Anyone else make their cupcakes into a sandwich?  I'm never going back to having frosting on my nose again!

Reunions, Shopping, & Easter

I still to this day find Phil's training schedule a mystery: on one hand it feels completely normal and I continue to bop through life at my normal pace, missing him mostly at night.  On the other hand it feels like part of my essence is gone and I don't do certain things while he's gone; but I only realize that when he returns home.  They say hindsight is 20/20 and boy do I believe them! Whoever the "them" actually is in this case...but I digress.

Phil left for a 3.5 week training and I made him take the standard leaving picture:

I am a sucker for photos, I think because when I see cute couple photos on social media and my other half is gone, I miss him more and long to take cute photos with him.  

That being said, I forgot to take a Welcome Back photo with him when he returned on Tuesday, oops!

The puppies have finally stopped eating grass that has caused them stomach distress all week!  We are all finally sleeping through the night once more!

I moved my feet, and lost my seat: they clearly feel guilty about that

Phil and I spent Friday up in OKC doing some shopping and exploring; I was especially excited because I scored two new pairs of shoes!!  A new pair of gym sneakers (my first pair of Reeboks) and another pair of Birkenstocks...I can't help it, they are super comfortable and I absolutely love them.  Unfortunately for Phil, I still haven't gotten rid of my seriously old and broken ones...I can't though, they are good for yard work and fetch and a lot of other things still!

This is the only photo I took today for Easter; I made Phil and I Belgian waffles, and while I was eating mine, he took over the waffle iron.  He mastered that so well, he might have to put those skills to use more often :)

I hope everyone had a restful and thankful Easter!  Phil and I took a really nice walk around post today, got some quality puppy play time in and I have put a lot of pages behind me in my new book:

I love a classic "who done it" and I am seriously enjoying this one!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Anyone else reading anything good lately?

M&Ms, Rain, & A Sick Pupper

State testing is over!  Wahoo!! It has been a long two weeks, but we have conquered those tests and are now on our way to fun things - again, probably English teacher fun ;)

I had a sweet delivery to the school this week:

Phil has been away at training and must have sensed that I needed a boost...he was right! Insert sigh and heart eyes.

I had another sweet surprise this week and it came in the form of a bag of M&Ms:

A small gesture with such a huge impact that I literally cried.  A student bought these for me and told me: "Miss, these are for you because you never give up on us and sometimes we really don't deserve that, so thanks.  And your cold sore looks really painful.  And you miss Phil."-7th grader

It is those types of moments that really bring me to my knees sometimes and remind me why I do this everyday.

We had an all day rain/wind soaker on Saturday; spring was in full force here in OK!  The dogs and I enjoyed spending all day on the couch watching cartoons and Hallmark movies (the Spring movies are super cute!)

As you can see, the couch was well guarded...

Sadly, our night was super chaotic with a sick little pupper :( Poor Penny has been hit with some tummy distress, so Sunday has passed with Clorox wipes, multiple baths, laundry, and more couch cuddles.  She is extra snuggly when she is sick, so we have made sure to grab all of those that we could today.

Max embraced the cuddle day as well:

He feels fine, he just didn't want to be left behind...also I am unsure how the position could even remotely be comfortable...maybe if I did yoga I would understand better.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!  We have a four day week to celebrate Easter!

Anyone have any Easter plans or traditions that they are looking forward to?

Hello Again

Hello again!  It has been unbearably long since I have blogged, and I apologize for my absence.  These past few months have been busy, crazy, fun and just ordinary...we had the whole gambit happen.  I wanted to take a break from blogging about my life, and concentrate more on simply living and enjoying it.  And it has been wonderful!

Phil and I signed up for the Half Marathon and Full Marathon up in Tulsa.  I had been training pretty consistently and was super happy with a PR time that was 7 minutes faster than the Super Bowl Half Marathon I ran last year in the Springs.

Phil completed his first full marathon and did it in a little over 5 hours...I was super impressed!

It was a wonderful day and a long ride home...three hours made for some very stiff muscles on our already sore bodies.  But, it was so worth it!

I was running on that half marathon euphoria and signed up for a full marathon in OKC in April, so I am continuing my training and getting (or attempting to get) into marathon shape!  Prayers are appreciated :)

Phil and I also expanded our family by four more paws:

Penny is Max's new sister!  She is almost 16 weeks old and is as adorable and sweet as can be!  Phil and I love her so much already!   She is my little shadow, where I go, Penny goes and that just makes my heart happy.  She and Max wrestle, chase each other, play tug and are figuring out how to be siblings...pretty soon they will be inseparable I believe and that also makes my heart super happy!

It actually snowed here in OK so Phil and I made good use of it and did a brisk 4 miles in the elements.  Call me crazy ( I will not be offended) but I love running in the snow: the peace, the quiet, the feeling of serenity.  After everything warms up, it feels really great!

Layers, runny nose, and frozen cheeks, but a smile that was real!

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!  While the barrage of weight loss and dieting commercials/products/offers floods in, I am going to make a different type of resolution this year.  I will be working on having more patience with life.  My Type A personality can bring out the best and worst in me, and patience is something I want to have more of.

What kind of resolutions are you guys working on?

Have a happy and restful New Year! :)

Wedding Dresses, Disappointment & Running

Hello everyone!  Sorry for the absence, life has been CRAZY lately, and honestly, I am just enjoying the ride.  I took a whirlwind of a trip back home because my cousin is getting married and I'm her MATRON OF HONOR!!!  So I am super, super excited! So I flew home for Fall Break because it was time to find her wedding dress!  She did say yes to her dress and she is absolutely stunning; I cannot wait for June to get here so I can watch her and her fiancé make the vow of forever :)


After that it was a whirlwind until Halloween!  I love Halloween, I love watching Hocus Pocus, Scooby Doo movies, pumpkins, decorations, and most of all, trick-or-treating!  Last year we lived in a neighborhood that had lots of kids and I was blessed with only THREE trick-or-treaters.  This disappointment is strong to this day my friends.  Well this year, we live in a neighborhood with kids again and I was ready!  I had Halloween music playing, a big bowl of candy (all chocolate) and a cute dog!  Wonderful!

No, it was bad, awful, and just sad.  Max and I had only TWO trick-or-treaters!  I was soooo bummed!

Max was just as unhappy...

So, I compulsively ate 5 pieces of candy and we watched the Hocus Pocus marathon on TV.  I think I am boycotting the trick-or-treat part of Halloween next year, my heart cannot continue to take this disappointment.

Poor Phil has been in the field this past week and a few days this coming week; well he gets home around 9-10pm and then is out of the house at 6am.  I think that is worse than just being out there completely!  But with him in the field this weekend, I thought it was a good idea to get some good gym time in, walks with Max and some running done.  The only time I have been running lately is when I have a race, and I mean I only run the day of the race, nothing leading up to it.  I had gotten back in the habit, but then I went home and things got crazy!  But this weekend I have put in 7.5 miles (total) and I am feeling good about this start.

I really want to sign up for a half marathon up in Tulsa next month, but for some reason I am having a hard time actually doing it.  I feel excited, but super nervous!  Does that happen to anyone else?

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!  There is a LOTR marathon on TV today and Max and I are holding down the couch: snacks and sweet tea included! :)

Linking up with Bianca!

Dogs, Running, & Food Trucks

I had an earth-shattering epiphany this week: maybe if I ran steadily, I wouldn't be in soooo much pain after I decide to run a race.  I was thinking this as EVERY muscle in my body from my ribs down were boycotting life on Monday and Tuesday.  So, in order to remedy some of that, I have ran every night this week!  I have ranged from 1-2 miles and they have been just slow and steady...definitely not breaking any speed records or coming close to my race times, but just an easy pace to get back in the swing of things.    It has actually felt really amazing (except on Monday and Tuesday, that completely sucked, not going to lie) and it makes me happy getting back into running.  I have been more focused on lifting and exploring exercises with weights that I have let running slip on by (that and it was 100+ degrees everyday in the summer).  I still lift after my runs, but it just makes my heart happy to be running steadily once more.

On Saturday, Phil and I, along with some friends, went to Wichita Falls, TX to just poke around.  And to participate in the Food Truck Fest! I have never really eaten from a food truck and I see them on cooking shows all the time, but haven't ever eaten at one.  But you bet I got a street taco from a legit food truck on Saturday!  It was so fun to mix and mingle and people watch! The hardest part was choosing which truck I wanted to eat from!

Once the school year starts, I have a hard time fitting in any reading time.  I read a lot and it is one of the ways I unwind and relax, and I (as well as Phil) can always tell when I haven't been reading enough.  This week I destroyed this book:

It was really good and the first of a series!  I have the next one arriving on Monday...happy day!

Max is also obviously, very excited...

Speaking of Max, we also have had the pleasure of having a guest dog in the house!  His name is Bear and he is amazing...literally! He and Max had their first playdate last week and Max has been a whole new dog having Bear here in the house.  He has been back to his happy self and this dog mama couldn't be happier!

It has been so fun having them both here, definitely contemplating that second dog now! Maybe over Thanksgiving or Christmas Break...

Max is now snoring on the couch as he has played more in the last few days then he has in months!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! :)

Anyone have any cute fall decoration ideas for outside?  Phil and I are thinking of decorating the outside of our house and any ideas are appreciated!

Linking up with Bianca!

Friends, Leaks, & Life

People often say, "When it rains, it pours" and that was definitely the case here in Oklahoma for the past week.  Rain fell out of the sky every single day.  It was insane!  I of course was not super prepared because I did not have rain boots or a rain jacket (that was rectified this weekend...I now have amazing Hunter Rain Boots!).  All was well until I woke up to this disaster at 5am....

I was not excited to say the least, and Phil was still out of town at that particular moment.  Isn't that always the way?  He leaves and everything decides to start a mutiny and add chaos to my life.

But, we are getting that assessed on Monday (Phil is back and scheduled that appointment, woohoo!) and it has stopped raining (so far) so it can actually get fixed!  You cannot fix a roof leak while it's still raining, makes sense right?  It only stopped raining today...

Max was super stressed about the rain:

As you can see, he was completely beside himself about the leak in the roof...

I am super excited that my friend Maddy and her husband are moving here to Oklahoma!  They are getting stationed here and will be in the same brigade as Phil! Maddy and I met at a Family Fun Day in Colorado Springs and have been besties ever since! So I am super excited that we are going to be reunited!  You can check her blog out here!

I am super proud of Phil as he did the Bone Frog Obstacle Course Run while he was home and took home first place in his age group and placed 9th overall!

He and I are signed up for a 10k race next weekend (probably should start running a little for that...) and he is searching for obstacle course runs for us to do as a couple....definitely need to continue hitting the gym to find my upper body strength.

I am so glad he was able to go home and visit his family, but boy am I happy to have my man back!  Not just because he had sweet tea waiting for me when I got out of work/practice on Friday, or that he is meeting with the maintenance guy this week, or that he's taking Max to the groomer on Tuesday (he is pretty amazing!!), but because it just feels awesome to be able to go on our "adventures" and have him by my side (and driving) like normal

I like nothing better than to just ride around with him and Max enjoying the day :)

Note sweet tea cup...addiction is still holding strong.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!! Happy first day of October!

Does anyone else have any experience with obstacle course runs?  I think I will actually need to put in some training time for those...


Linking up with Bianca!

New Pants, 5k's, & Gym Etiquette

There are very few things the make me irritated, but every once in a while I get a little cranky about certain things.  One of these things is Gym Etiquette.  When you lift and grab your plates, load up your machine, and get your reps in, you are supposed to re-rack your weights.  NOT JUST LEAVE THEM THERE FOR ME TO RE-RACK YOUR 215 lbs!  If you can get them on there, you can take them off and put them back.  I realize that after your reps, the muscle group you were working is reasonably tired, however, I do not want to heft all of that off, to put on my own, to lift, and then put them away...no thank you!  I don't understand how you could watch me re-rack your 215lbs and trot your happy butt off to the next machine...next time there will be words friend.

Ok, rant over!

In other news, Phil came home from work on Thursday and said he signed us up for the Devil Dog 5k here at Fort Sill.  Exciting!  Except that I haven't ran in a solid 8 weeks (I ran once, maybe twice, and I am really not sure it counts).  Saturday morning, we were up and at it!  Race started at 8am and we were ready to rock and roll!  At least as much as someone is at 8am on a Saturday running a race they hadn't prepped for....

It was awesome!  I actually ran my fastest 5k time ever!  I credit that to the Stair Stepper, my competitive nature, and the fact that Phil stuck with me during the race (races are always better with a buddy!)

Post run happy!

We also finally got a couch this weekend!

It is a sectional that fits perfectly into our living room space without crowding it too much!  Phil and I finally were tired of waiting for the claim to go through, so we picked it out after the race on Saturday and it was delivered that afternoon!  I forgot how wonderful it is to have a couch to sit on :)

I have also been shopping...I decided to splurge and try Lululemon athletic wear.  It was recommended by a friend and I had never tried it, so it was destiny.  I am now the proud owner of a pair of Lululemon cropped spandex pants and I am in love!

I wore them to the gym on Sunday and loved the way they stayed in place the whole time and really how cute the pattern is! They have all kinds of colors and I am in serious love!  I may have two more pairs in my shopping cart as we speak...

I also made Phil take a selfie with me at the gym...I needed the photo of my pants!  And he is too cute, that is also a huge factor :)

You can check out the leggings on Lululemon's website here.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!  :)

Does anyone have any other favorite athletic clothes that they love and recommend?

Linking up with Bianca!

Football, Ice Cream, & Snoozing

Phil and I have actually decided to take a leap out of our box and get involved with the college football scene here in Oklahoma.  So, we bought a Oklahoma University (the Sooners) hat for Phil and a t-shirt for me.  I know, pretty crazy!

We took that hat and t-shirt to the home-opener on Saturday and it was awesome!  Our college did not have a football team and I have only been to one college football game so I wasn't quite sure what to expect...wow was I not even close!  Apparently there is college football, and then there is COLLEGE FOOTBALL!  The place was packed! There were people tailgating, walking, talking, buying drinks, food and other OU paraphernalia, and it was just epic!  They even closed down the street! Like what?!?!

Of course that meant that I made Phil take some selfies to commemorate the experience, because if there isn't a self, then did it really happen?  Kidding!

 He was awesome!  I can't help that I am a picture addict when we are together!

Our seats were pretty great too!  Right by the end zone!

It was so fun!  The weather was hot, the sweating was intense, and our smiles were big!  And those Sooners won!  Very rarely do Phil and I actually have a chance to cheer for a team that is actually good and wins (we are Bills fans, Sabres fans, etc...life can get a little tough somedays...)

After the game called for some celebratory fajitas and THE BEST ICE CREAM COOKIE SANDWICH IN THE WORLD!  Sorry for the all caps, but this ice cream cookie sandwich blew my mind!  Homemade cookies with homemade ice cream!

 It was also the size of my palm!  I couldn't finish it, but I sure tried; next time I am skipping actual dinner and going right for the prize :)

I took this photo of Max last week in his usual Sunday position:

And on this Monday that feels like a Sunday, he is enjoying the very same position.  Lazy afternoons at home are the best.

I splurged and got new shoes:

 My very first pair of Converse!  They are this awesome gray color that go really well with my jeans, shorts and khakis (for when I want to feel cool at school).  My students thought they were awesome and I totally gained more cred for that, and Phil, the sweetie that he is, told me that in my Converse I am almost cool...I'll take that!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! :)

Does anyone else have crazy college football stories?

Linking up with Bianca!