a pug's life

Check me out. Here I am enjoying my new bed that Ma bought me from supercool Bark and Giggle Boutique. I may be a male pug, but I like a good boutique! Ahhh, it's a pug's life! Get it?....like the movie! What?! Ma just told me that the movie is actually called A Bug's Life! Well, that's just dumb....what kind of life does a bug have?! Who would want to watch a bug's life? A pug's life is more like it!

In addition to the bed, Ma got me this chocolate paisley skinny tie:

It's not really a tie. It's a harness, with matching leash. Aren't I one snazzy pug?

I've been hanging out a lot with my good friends. This is Bosley and me waiting for Ma to let us come back inside. We like to play outside, but we'd rather be inside where the treats are and where we can sleep a lot and get lots of lovin' from Ma.

This is another one of my friends: Beevo. He's a big dog but he's totally ascared of me and runs away when I chase him! We have lots of fun together!

The three of us spend lots of time together.

Bosley and I really are quite dashing!

movin' on up

So four entries in one day may be going a bit overboard. But I have news that is worthy of this fourth entry! For the past two months, Jerry has been studying and preparing for the promotion board in order to get his promotion to Sergeant. Yesterday, he finally went to the board and got through it with flying colors. He performed better than the other 21 soldiers appearing at the board and received the maximum number of points. I'm very proud of him and applaud all of the hard work that got him there. The past months have been quite stressful for him (and therefore for us) and it's good to see that the hard work paid off. Though the board is over, there are still some administrative things that will need to happen before his rank is officially changed to Sergeant. Until then, he will be Corporal Promotable. We hope to see the SGT insignia pinned on (well velcroed on, but that doesn't sound as good!) around the 1st of October. A big congratulations to him!!

crystal, crystal everywhere

I guess I'm trying to make up for lost time by bombarding you with multiple entries and tons of pictures!

Several weeks ago, a friend from work invited me to join her on an outing to a crystal sale at a crystal warehouse. I said, "Sure, but I don't really like crystal." Well, 200 euro and almost 70 pieces later, I guess that the truth is that I do like crystal, just not the more traditional pieces that I was picturing in my head. The vase above caught my eye from across the room, the first piece of many that I had to have. It is amazing to me that such beautiful pieces are made so near to my home (less than half an hour away) and are available at amazing prices. Many of the pieces have slight flaws, but they're imperceptable to my eyes. Some of the pieces are Tiffany, Waterford or Lenox! And I have to say that I love a bargain!

Feel free to scroll past the many many pics if you have no interest in the crystal!

This one is a simple Tiffany piece:

These are hand blown glass balls. I watched the artist making other glass creations...very, very cool!

This piece was my big splurge. I purchased it in the regular crystal shop, rather than the warehouse. I debated with myself over the purchase, but just kept returning to this hand-made bowl. It fits our homeand our style perfectly and I'm so glad that I didn't leave the shop without it!

This is another of my favorite pieces, a Tiffany rock plate. And one of the best bargains. Purchased for 7 euros (about $10), it sells for $140!! What a deal! Though now you all know my crystal secret!

I purchased several serving pieces, so that Jerry and I will be equipped to be good hosts for entertaining:

I got some fun knick-knacks....a Christmas tree that reflects light beautifully and a snowman tealight holder, along with a crystal Mnnie Mouse, reversible taper/votive holders, and a ring holder.

When we first moved to Germany, a box of items never made it to us. That box contained sets of drinking glasses that were never really replaced. This seemed like an excellent opportunity to replace the glasses and add some extras!

I love these old-fashioned champagne glasses, a much more practical option than the very breakable flutes in the hands of a certain husband.

A couple of decanters:

And finally, a very cool martini set! Now I just need to start liking martinis! I think this will be my Cosmopolitan set instead!

All in all, a very successful shopping outing!

weeds...

I know what you're thinking. He IS one handsome devil! Despite a few gray hairs on his chinny chin chin, Scooter's looking pretty great for a pug at the ripe ol' age of 8 and half! (Eight and a half years...I can hardly believe I've had him that long...it seems like yesterday that I first saw him as a tiny 8-week old puppy!) We've been taking lots of long walks lately and I think it's the source of his youthful appearance, tiny waist and much more manageable nails!

Unfortunately, he's posing in a yard that is completely unmanageable! When I first learned that we were moving to this housing area, I was so excited! One of the biggest sources of excitement (other than the very spacious brand spankin' new home) was the fenced in yard. Now this fenced in yard is one of my biggest sources of frustration! While I don't mind mowing the grass, the mere thought of dealing with the overgrown 'landscaped' section of the yard has the power to bring me to near-tears. Actually dealing with the overgrown mess has induced actual tears and a lot of cursing! Dealing with the yard and with any car issues are the two things that make my blood boil and straight up piss me off about deployment. It's not that I think that the yard and the car are Jerry's duties (I'm way too much of a feminist for that!), but I do know that they would be shared burdens if he were here. But because of the deployment, if I don't take care of these things, no one will. And after long work hours and the demands of everything else that goes into maintaining a house, it just doesn't seem like there's enough time to deal with the yard. And sadly, I'm not. I'm letting it be the overgrown jungle with the promise from Jerry that next year he'll take care of it...or we'll take care of it together. So while the grass is kept neat, the rest of the yard is a little bit of a white trash embarrassment:

Okay, that picture is a bad example of the grass being kept neat. Normally, it's in much better condition than that....the picture was taken immediately before an overdue mowing!

To give you an idea of the weeds that have struck fear into my heart, take a look:

Seriously, this is the stuff of nightmares! Can you see the spikes all over those things?! In Germany, the chemicals used to destroy weeds are tightly controlled, making it difficult to just spray them and be done with it. In addition to these monsters, the yard is frought with stinging nettles, plants that actually sting you! Even through gloves! I've managed to clear a small section of the yard of the nasty nettles and thistles, but the process is a hilarious one, involving wielding shovels and shears at arm length to avoid the spikes and stinging poisons that are anxious to attack me!

After battling the monsters in our yard, Scooter and I often retire to the cool tranquility of the house. He's created a little pug cabana by scooching one of his doggy beds right up to the window and then positioning himself between the curtain and the sheers, allowing him a little privacy while basking in the sun. My escape from the brutal terrors of the yard is a nice bubble bath with a good book and a glass of wine (or Bailey's). Ahhhh.

sisters...

I remember graduating from high school and going off to college sixteen years ago. And now it's my baby sister's turn! I was so happy to be there on the day she graduated from high school this past June. Soon she will be packing her things and going off to college. Time sure does fly...it seems like yesterday she was in the car with my parents and brother driving off as they left me in front of the Marvin Center at GW. She was in a car seat sucking on her pacifier! Look at her now! This weekend she and the women of the family had a pre-college girls' night. I wish I could have been there to join them and to celebrate this exciting transition! I hope Kimble knows that I'm always with her in spirit, am so proud of the young woman that she has become and will always love her a bushel and a peck (and a hug around the neck)!

he's coming home!

Well, not for another three months. But suddenly, it seems like it's just around the corner! Finally!! This year has been more difficult than I could have ever imagined (and I have a pretty good imagination!) and I'm excited to finally have something to look forward to. We just purchased our plane tickets for our trip to the States in December so it seems real! It's been a long time since I've felt this optimistic and the first time that I've been able to make out the light at the end of this loooooooonngg tunnel!

As I'm thinking of the light at the end of the tunnel, here are some more photos from Jerry's trip home in May.

These are pictures from a gorge hike we took! It was spectacular!

Ha! Sometimes being short does pay off! Jerry had to watch his head as we walked through the rock tunnels. But not me!

After hiking through the gorge, we hiked up to a small bridge far, far above it to take this photo:

This is a cheese factory. When we arrived, the real cheese-makers (the cows) were out front. But by the time we left and this picture was taken, the cows had moooved. Sorry, I couldn't resist! We had some tasty cheesecake and yogurt...yummm!

In the same town as the cheese factory is this cathedral (originally a Benedictine Abbey):

Ahhh, the view from our hotel room...not bad!!

Check out the hotel's hot tub!!! That's right, not a pool, a hot tub! Very nice!