Still here...

So I'm still here. I'm not sure what I should write about, but our life is getting very exciting! We just signed on the dotted line (many, many dotted lines, actually) and will be moving into our new home next week!!! Two days later we will be leaving for our long-overdue honeymoon!!! This will be a very hectic week to say the least. It is not the most ideal timeline for moving into a new home, but our life until now hasn't been what most would consider the norm, so why start now?

Warrior Dash Words of Wisdom

(this is my first post from my blogger iPhone app, not exactly sure how it's going to turn out)

Just for the record-I survived and lived to tell about it. See?

Also, just for the record, this was the greatest attended event in Warrior Dash history, and I heard over and over by workers and Warrior Dash veterans that this was by far the hardest dash they had experienced!

Words of Wisdom which may or may not have been learned firsthand by me:

1. When traveling to the Warrior Dash, be sure to ride there with your group. There may be 14,000+ participants and additional spectators to sort through when you get there and you may never find them. Also,  Do not plan to communicate with others in your group or anyone outside of warrior world.  There is no cell service.

14,000+ See?

2. When driving to the Warrior Dash, plan to be there at least 2 hours ahead of your start time as the parking seems to be unorganized and it may take you that long to move 5 miles into the parking lot.

3.  When arriving at your destination, make a conscious effort to turn off your headlights.  Although you needed them while driving through 2 hours of torrential downpour on the drive to the "dash", if you leave them on while you are actually participating, you will return to a car with a dead battery.

4.  Upon leaving your car, be sure to carefully observe where your car is parked or you may spend an hour searching for your car after you have completed the grueling 3.5 mile "dash".

5.  While trudging through the first 300 meters of the "dash" laden with mud that is up to and beyond 18" deep, it is not a good idea to leave your shoe in the mud should it get sucked off your foot.  There are many obstacles ahead including vertical walls to climb, dumpsters to scale, fire hurdles to jump, stoney paths, etc.  Shoes are important.

6.  Although it might seem like a good idea to try to lunge over the huge floating log as the big guys in front of you are just getting over it, these guys are much bigger and stronger than you and the log will inevitably fly back up after they are over and no longer pushing down on it, regardless of where in the process you are.  The log waits for no one and it's not soft and cushiony like one might assume.

7.  If you are a male choosing to wear a funny outfit of some sort, realize that if you wear thin, small undergarments as your "costume", murky water, sweat, and the soupiest mud you've ever encountered will undoubtedly suction this clothing to your nether-regions leaving little to the imagination.

8.  Any and all clothing that is not brown or black before the "dash" will surely be after the "dash."

9.  Do not bother taking any bathing supplies or clean clothes down to the "Warrior Wash."  It is simply a small area of a pond where 14,000+ other warriors have "bathed". This will simply help one get the large clumps of mud off of the outer layer of clothing.  There will still be a nice layer of scum on clothes (and under them) after exiting the "wash."

10.  Last but not least, after using the "Warrior Wash," do not think that just because all of the excess mud in your sight is gone, that you are actually rid of mud clumps..... See?

Can you guess which tips I learned the hard way? :) 

Regardless, I (and possibly you) will be much better prepared for the next Warrior Dash!!! I can't wait till my hubby is home to do it with me! This sort of thing is right up his alley! 

Mil-Spouse Friday Fill-In

1. My plans for Labor Day included relaxing and spending the last weekend of summer possibly doing something fun like going to the islands, but what really happened was I just relaxed with Cabbie, no island trips this Labor Day weekend.

2. Call me crazy, but sometimes I just need to talk to my husband.... . 

3. One of the funniest things I’ve seen lately is my Cabbie and her best bud Grady playing for hours!

4. It’s strange, but  wearing socks and shoes drives me crazy while shopping for said shoes is perfectly fine with me!

5. One, two, buckle my shoe… three, four I need want a new wreath for our front door.

New (to you) Furniture!

I just found the cutest little refurbished furniture website :) A good friend of a good friend started it and it's adorable! Check Hanna out here: Shabby Love
Here are some pictures of some of the items she's redone and sold already :)

I have my eye on a couple pieces :)
She also has a little blog on her website! Have a great Weekend!

What's happening.....

So apparently once I get out of the habit of blogging regularly, it's really difficult to find something I think is worth writing about.  Hmm...so that's where I am....not sure I have much of interest to share....
I am just going to make a little update post and see if that spurs me back into the swing of things.....

So here's what's happening over here....

• Mr. Wolf is deployed..... but we are halfway through...woohooo!
• Worked two jobs to help the summer fly by (first summer in the history of all summers I wished to fly by)
• Took a week's vacay to Florida with some college friends! Relaxed on the beach, swam in the pool, drove 15 hours each way with 3 adults and a 15 month old German Shepherd :)
• Started the school year..... The first week consisted of 5 days (which is rough considering we usually ease into the school year with a three or four dayer)  a 95°+ day on the Friday of the first week with no airconditioning and sweaty 5th graders in the afternoon (thank you Bath and Body Works Wall Flowers!) 

That's all I can think of for now....Have a great night1

I'm still here.... just getting through this deployment. Will update very very soon :)

Something to look forward to...

Something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to.....  that's my motto these days....

My hubby knows me quite well.  He knows how much I thrive on having something to look forward to.

I love to plan for things.

This, however, is not a good mix with the Marine Corps. <------LARGE UNDERSTATEMENT

In our short two months of marriage (and our courtship) I have learned this very quickly.  Inevitably (and thankfully), though, this deployment will end and he will come home to me (and his family and friends)! I can't even imagine what that will feel like! (YAY!)

Anyways, back to the looking forward.  Right now I have seeing him again in the near future (for a VERY short stint) to look forward to.

After this next visit he will deploy and seeing him again will be so far in the future it will be beyond sight for awhile.

So my hubby texted me today and asked if I'd like to do a vacation, when he gets home from his deployment, to Yellowstone with his brother (read best and oldest friend from the Marine Corps) and his family.  Would I like? uh...yes, yes I would!

I met him and his family this past Christmas break on our pre-wedding, honeymoonish trip to Cali. It was so great to see my husband see his brother (and yes they are, for all intents and purposes, brothers) after multiple years and just pick right up where they left off.  I met his new wife (who took me to a winery! read new sister) and their blended family (new nieces and nephew :) We spent a few days together and had such a great time! Who knew a family dinner out, making S'mores poolside, and ringing in the new year with wine in our hotel room and fun noise makers could be such a perfect night?

Here we are  on NYE!

Anyways, he must have been communicating with his buddy about this future trip. Well, that text was all it took.

I'm on the hunt for information and ideas!

I think I'm going to add to this great trip idea with an extra week or two after the Yellowstone portion.

Bob will have lots of leave time and I will have the summer off of school!

I'm thinking a drive up the Cali coast-maybe L.A. to Nappa?? Maybe a stop in Vegas? Who knows? I'm up for suggestions! I've only ever been to the Cupertino/San Fran and San Diego (Pendelton) areas in California.

Where would you go (probably out in the western US) if you had 3 weeks and nowhere to be?

Double Digit Followers!

Yay! I now have 10 followers :) I know this probably sounds quite pathetic, but oh well. I have to start somewhere and really appreciate the readers and commenters-especially as this deployment (and everything that goes with it) begins.

Military Monday Blog Hop

I am pretty new to blogging and always looking to find new blogs to read and learn new things. I came upon the Military Monday Blog Hop ( I know it's Tuesday.... sue me)! Check it out! I hope to find new blogs and share mine with lots of new blogging friends!

Lucky Pups

This is going to be another post about dogs-Cabbie included. If you aren't a dog person, it probably will bore you. First, I have been trying to figure out what type of toys Cabbie likes the best. At her obedience training, I have learned that I need to figure out which toys are Cabbie's favorite and make sure she only gets that when she has done something well, or right.  So far, this is what I have figured out....

Cabbie has this menagerie of toys....

All of which have been played with at one time or another. The little Christmas lion on the bottom has seen his better days, as well as the eyeless and scarfless reineer and earless purple rope monkey up near the top. However, all these relatively pricey toys run a distant second to....

Kitty's Rainbow ball 

as seen here:

and here:

I was afraid at first that she would eat it and get sick, but that hasn't happened. She loves it and takes it most places she goes :) Kitties don't mind...

Also, I found a charity that I think is doing amazing things-for animals and people. 

I first heard the story of Nubbs- the Iraqi dog that was rescued by a Marine and shipped home to live with him.  I read this story to my class each year. I struggle to keep dry eyes every time I read the story. I'm such a sap. 

Check out Nubbs and his Marine here.

I don't think Nubs's rescue had anything to do with Nowzad, but they help with dogs (and cats) in this situation.  I wanted to let those that might read my blog know about this wonderful charity.  It's called Nowzad. This wonderful organization was started by a British Royal Marine.  He befriend local dogs while he was serving in the Middle East. After seeing the way they were treated and the life they were forced to live there, he worked to get the dogs home to live with him and be his pets.  

Since he retired from the military he has created this organization with his wife to help as many dogs as possible.  These dogs are born into horrible conditions. They are often forced into fighting with other dogs as this is a common past time of locals.  Those not put in the fighting ring are left to fend for themselves and/or horribly mistreated.  

Here are some photos from their website (happy tails of rescued dogs and cats too!!). 

Aren't they just adorable!?!?

You can also find them on Facebook here. They also have videos on their website and Facebook. 

Because of this organization many of these dogs have found loving homes with Soldiers, Sailors and Marines who have befriended them during deployments.  The service men and women (from any nation, not just Great Britian-many dogs have been sent home to the US as well) contact the organization and they get the dogs to their shelter in Afghanistan. From there, they try to raise enough money, and go through all of the red tape in order to get the dog home. If you love dogs, military members, both, or neither, this is such a great organization.  I have learned there are other groups that do this same type of work, but I am familiar this one.  Anyone know of the others?

I recently submitted a "Happy Tail" to the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter where we found Cabbie. I just wanted to share what they posted for us :) You can see it here.

Feel free to look around the site! There are some great dogs available!
Happy Monday!

New Arrival

Don't get too excited :) Although you may still be excited when you see what has arrived! I was!

Still not sure what it is?

Isn't it pretty?

I love it!

Don'y worry. I have no idea what it actually is like to use this iPad 2. You see being the sweet wife I am, I got this iPad for my dear husband. I thought when it came I'd be able to check it out and play around with the apps that come on it. 

Negative. 

It has to be synced with an iTunes account before it even turns on. 

Which would be fine because I have quite an extensive one. 

However, it is Bob's iPad (it's engraved, so there's no going back on this one). It has to be synced with HIS iTunes account.  

So, we have an iPad that has to wait to be used until I can get it to him.  Hopefully that is in about a month, but I've learned everything is subject to change-and usually does.

Don't feel too bad. In the meantime I'll look at it from afar while I use my iPhone and Macbook to make up for it :) 

Sales!

Like I mentioned before, I follow a blog written by the daughter-in-law of one of my friends. It's very cute and sometimes she gives away free stuff!! Check her out at Classically Eclectic! I wish I had even the smallest design bone in my body, but nope. Notta one.

From reading her blog I heard about Joss and Main which is a membership website that offers great deals on a WIDE variety of things for the home and beyond from great designers and vendors. Today I made my first purchase! I can't wait to get my items. I love stationary and it was difficult to choose between all of the great prints. Here are the ones I chose:

I love the stickers for the back flap! I can't wait to use them!

I also couldn't resist these:

As you can see the orange slices are currently of limited quality! There are still lime and lemon slices available as well :)

If you'd like to check out Joss and Main you can use my invite link here: 

It doesn't cost a thing and is neat to look around. You never know what you might find!

New Signature and Template!

So I did some looking around on the internet and personalized the blog a little tonight! There's a cute signature at the bottom and a new fun template.  They were both very simple to do, they just took some editing to get them just the way I wanted them! If you are interested in getting these things for your blog and aren't sure how, read on....
if you already know or aren't into it, we'll see ya next time! ☺

To add a signature (or any words you would want in a fun font)
*These look like a lot of steps but they are very short and simple. I just wanted to be thorough.*

• First things first, I went to Google to look for a website that would help me make the signature. The one I found was MyLiveSignature . 
• Click on "Click here to start"
• Choose the top option of "Using the signature creation wizard"
• Enter the text you would like to use (signature) (then click "next step")
• Next is the fun part! The website gives you 120 different options for your signature.
• Click through the choices and choose the one you like the best! (then click "next step")
• Choose your size (then click "next step")
• Click in the boxes for choosing the background color and text color then click on the color you'd like for each (then click "next step")
• Choose the slope you would like for your signature. I think mine is #5 (then click "next step")
• I chose to "use" the signature. And then copied the HTML code that was given.
• Now go back to your blog and go to settings, then formatting. Go down to where it says "Post Template" and paste the code. Make sure you save it when you are finished!
• Voila! 

Now, to get my template, I went to btemplates.com. There are TONS to choose from. If one were not so decisive as I, one may spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to find the perfect template. Thankfully that's not a problem here. (please note the heavy sarcasm)

There is also a large FAQ page to help you with embedding the code for your chosen template that can be found here.

Hope that helped anyone who might be interested! Feel free to comment if you found some you like!

Wedding Photos

I have some of our wedding photos. I'm hoping to get more from those of you who were there that may have taken pictures! Send 'em over if ya got 'em! I put a little video together with what I have so far....

☀♡Amanda

For Dog Lovers

I follow a blog by a Superintendent in Illinois. He's quite funny and I love reading his blog.  I met his wife at a the ISTE conference in San Antonio in the summer of 08 and have been reading ever since. He has a second blog to which he posts mostly pictures. Here is a really sweet one that I loved. It was actually hard for me to get through it without tearing up just a bit. What can I say? I'm a sap.

Enjoy your Sunday evening.


☀♡Amanda

Hocking Hills

Bob and I spent a weekend down in southern Ohio. My parents reserved a pet-friendly cabin in the Hocking Hills for us on the weekend after our wedding. We arrived late Friday evening to the loud rush of moving water. It was dark with only a porch light and a few interior lights on in the cabin so it was difficult to see any of the landscape or surrounding area.  

I would highly recommend a weekend or week trip to the Hocking Hills for anyone that likes being away from the hustle and bustle of their everyday lives! Be prepared, though. No cell or internet service down there! It was nice for a change! I would recommend not watching the I.D. channel (Investigation Discovery).  Being out in the wilderness with not much ability to contact other human life is not a good place to watch unsolved mysteries and other crime investigation shows! Bob laughed at how nervous I was when it was dark.  

Once we got into the cabin we relaxed and settled in for the evening and had a look around. 

The next morning we got up, made breakfast, and headed out on what would eventually be our 6 mile hike.  I wasn't sure how Cabbie would do with the trails and new and different surroundings.  She really seemed to love it!  

We had such a great, relaxing time. It was so nice to get away and spend some time together before Bob had to leave.  

Hope you enjoyed the video! I used Animoto to make it! It's easy and I think the videos turn out great! Much better than I could do with transitions or  title screens!  Have a great weekend!

☀♡ Amanda

What am I thinking?

Bob and I have talked many times about running the Marine Corps Marathon. We were going to do it together, but now that he won't be home for it, I decided to run it for the both of us!  It's in October in DC.
It's currently March 17th. This past weekend the 5 miler was a bit of a struggle.  To say it's going to be a long road (pun intended) would be an understatement.  I am doing my best to fill the next year up with lots of activities to keep Cabbie and me busy. I believe this will do the trick.

I am running to benefit a wonderful organization called the Fisher House Foundation.  You can check out my fundraising page here.  It has lots of information about the charity, links, and a secure platform to donate to my fundraising efforts if you so desire!  You can also check out their Charity Navigator rating to see how they spend their funds.  In my opinion it's much more responsible and beneficial to its cause than some of the big name charities that you hear about every day (like here in this article in the Huffington Post about the Komen foundation and it's antics).  This is also a neat article about the Fisher House Foundation and some of its more famous supporters (Obama and O'Reilly)!

Anyways, it's going to take a lot of work, but I am really excited to run this Marathon! Any encouragement, words of wisdom, or just comments would be great!

Here's a little video about the Fisher House Foundation.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
<3 Amanda

And we're back!

So, that was a little longer than Chuck Woolery's 2 and 2 commercial break.  Things have been pretty hectic around here. Since my last post in December, many things have happened!

• We took a trip to California to visit great friends. Post with photos to come!
• We got married! Future post with photos to come!
• Cabbie learned to be a well-behaved dog :) Obviously, you'll see evidence of this in future posts
• Bob has left for his deployment. :(
• My computer fell ill.  I have not had access to my photos or much from my laptop. It is almost fixed and will hopefully be back to full health soon!

Just wanted to check in quickly to keep this blog active and try to get back in the habit of posting!
We're back!

Cabbie Loves/Cabbie Doesn't Love So Much

Cabbie is very explicit about what she loves and doesn't love. I would actually use another word for "doesn't love," but it's a very strong word, and we want to keep this upbeat.  Plus I think it will be a nice record down the road to see if her likes/dislikes have changed or evolved ☺

Anyways, here goes~
Cabbie Loves:

•  Treats
• Of any kind
• Especially cut up, baked $.99/pack Aldi hot dogs (our trainer suggested them and they are much cheaper than the treats sold in pet stores)
• Apples

• Kongs We love these treat holders and Cabbie loves to spend time extracting her treats from them.

• Carrots (and Celery-though she makes a mess with it)

• Raspberries ( arguably her very favorite )
• Bananas
• Frosty Paws ( Ice-Cream-like safe treats for dogs )

• Anything we hold in our hand that she might think is a treat
• Walks
• Her Reindeer - who now has a nub for a tail and has lost it's squeak. She loved him to death. And by loved I mean shook around like a rag doll or rabbit she may one day catch in the back yard.

• Playing in the backyard with our neighbor's dog, Cole.  They were not instant BFFs but now Cabbie can't wait to sprint to the back fence to see if he is out in the backyard.  He is a very sweet American Bulldog who is about two months younger than Cabbie, but growing very fast.  They like to run back and forth along the fence together over and over. And over. And over.

• Her Grandma and Grandpa who puppy-sit her when they aren't busy so she doesn't have to go in her kennel (see Doesn't Loves).
• Cuddling

• Just about anything that involves being with people!
• Oh, and Peanut Butter, how could I forget Peanut Butter? She has her own jar :) She seems to prefer creamy over crunchy.

Cabbie Doesn't Love:

• Her kennel. This is an understatement.  We hear stories of how other people's dogs love their kennel and it becomes their comforting place.  Maybe Cabbie is going to make a huge change in the future. I, however, believe she will always know there is a chance we could be leaving when she goes in there. I hope some day she isn't so anxious in her kennel, but we've had her over a month and everyday I come home and she's sopping wet from slobbering on her self all day barking and trying to get out. Poor thing.  She has already ruined a leash that was accidentally left on top of the cage, and a pad that was brand new and put in there to comfort her.  In an hour of being left alone it was torn up. *Any suggestions to help with this would be greatly appreciated*
• When her mom or dad pet any other animal. She's a very jealous pup.
• Baths-she won't look Bob in the eye after he bathes her. Lucky for me, she doesn't detest the blow-drying and brushing as much as the actual bath.
• Being alone for any amount of time what-so-ever.

If anyone has any experience with pups and these situations, please feel free to enlighten me!  Enjoy the week!

♡ Amanda