U Rah!

   So the word is in.  This sweet little girl got accepted into the US ARMY.  I cannot believe it.  We had been waiting for her medical file to get cleared from the Surgeon General (regarding her Jones tube in her eye) and she was passed through.  Last week she went to the MEPS center (Military Entrance Processing Station) for her last physical testing.  She described it as a weird "bonding" type thing with the girls that were present, as they had to jump around in their undies in front of each other; ha, ha.  Although very proud of her, I am still in shock that this is her chosen field.  We aren't talking ARMY Reserves, full blown ARMY duty for her!  Next week she gets sworn in.  I am sad that I probably won't be able to be there for that.  Hopefully gram takes good pics.  Bailey is pictured above with Milwaukee County Sheriff Clark, from last years Pet Expo at Wisconsin State Fair.

   It's a gloomy dark day here in the northwoods.  Today so far is a no pants required day. Wind is blowing and it's overcast. Watching a few movies on tv and enjoying the pretty view of the trees outside.  This past weekend my good friends from Fond du Lac visited and scrapped.  We had a really nice time.  We laughed, cried, ate and enjoyed the time scrapping. Poor CaSandra, had to hear Misty and I talk about church and God and other such things that C didn't want to talk about. She was a trooper and told us to shut the f#$% up!    It's so nice to have such good friends, not complicated, no pressure, just hanging out being ourselves.

   Still haven't heard if we are for sure going to be living in Sayner.  Haven't heard from the owner and nothing is in writing yet.  Bob will be calling him today to confirm.  It sure would be nice to have that set in stone so we can move on with plans.

   It appears I will have my first full blown camping experience soon.  July 5-9th we will be headed to Porcupine Mountain and we will be camping....a tent and everything!  I can't wait.  Then our good friends' the Leppers are coming for a visit with their family.  This too is exciting.  I can't wait to see some friends from home. 

   Tonight we head over to the Calvetti's for dinner and the Truth Project.  Should get going on the dessert now, as that's my responsibility this time.   Tomorrow or Thursday volunteering at the Childrens Museum and the opposite day a 2 mile hike with Bob.  Headed to Milwaukee on Friday as Bailey is in a musical.  Can't wait to see her.  Back on Saturday.  So glad we found a nice girl to pet sit.  She stays at our home while we are gone. 

   Well time to put pants on.  Have a happy day everyone.

   So many changes;  Last night I had such stomach issues, I was up all night using the restroom from more than one orface of my body.  Ok, so that's not the big changes, but I believe the changes made me have this appointment with the porcelain potty.
   We have confirmed that our house that we are renting will be put up for sale the first week of April.  So, I hit the bricks....I have searched, researched, read, spread the word, looking for a new place to live.  We are at wits end.  Yes, it's inconvenient to move again, but that's just the tip of the iceburg.  We got rid of our stove, frig, washer and dryer as the house we are renting provided these.  Because we thought we would be renting this house for the next couple of years (as the landlord had said he would like us to), we didn't feel it was economical to keep those appliances (move them, store them, will they work after we store them anyways....).  Plus we downsized so much.  Will we need these things now???
   Our hope is to find a house that we can buy on land contract.  Gives us a chance to put a little money down and call it home (including making any updates etc) while we get our finances in order for the next 2 years.  Bob does NOT want to rent again, plus who the heck will take us with our furry babies?  Yes I know, some people will say "they should just get rid of their dogs", but I cannot.  We have lost so much over the past months, and not just material things; pride, sense of purpose, self worth, emotional and physical well being, the list goes on.  I can't imagine looking at these dogs and letting them go.  I made a commitment by adopting them and darn it I am going to do everything in my power to make sure they stay with us. They are the one thing in my home right now that make me happy.  The kids are gone, all my old friends are a million miles away, I don't see my parents and my favorite Unc's (moved to FL 2 years ago).
   As much as I feel that it was in everyone's best intererst to move to the beautiful northwoods at this point, it's sure not easy. 
   So after a couple of weeks of dead ends, doors slammed, looking at unliveable properties, we have our fingers crossed.  We found a tiny house in Sayner 15 minutes NW of the house we are renting.  Lots of potential, lots of work.  BUT, it's reasonably priced, it has all of what we need; a garage, a basement, and some acreage.  It's got "3" bedrooms and 1 bath, a mud room and comes with the appliances, even a washer and dryer.  I use quotations for 3 because of this...guess where 2 of the 3 bedrooms are?  Yes, upstairs, but how do you think you get to those rooms?  Oh you will never guess.  And I mean never.  Through the bathroom.  Bathroom, yep, that's right.  At first Bob was like no way are we going to live here.  But, after we weighed our limited options, we started re-thinking it.  Bob is a carpenter ya' know.  So we went back and looked at this house.  It has so much charm and yet some updates (ok besides the whole bathroom with stairs in it issue).  Besides charm, it has a newer metal roof, newer siding, the garage has pull down stairs with a 2nd story for storage and you can actually walk around up there!  Knotty pine ceilings in the living room, knotty walls in the dining area and living room.  A cute little front porch sitting area that is enclosed.  It's adjacent to a tiny cemetery too.  That doesn't bother me one bit.  So, any who Bob took a look and found a way to re-configure the stairs to go through the front porch area up to the 2nd story, we could take the stairs out of the bathroom which would make the 1960's decorated bathroom even bigger.  So the money needed for updates is mostly cosmetic.  Not structural besides the stairs, which he would do.  If we do close the deal on this place I will post pics of the bathroom/stair issue.  No one will believe it. 

   Today we leave to head to the Northwoods Childrens Museum to help a friend that is doing a little acting during a field trip there.  They need one of our dogs.  So we are bringing Bunnie.  Hopefully sometime today we will know more about the cute little house in Sayner, actually Town of Plum Lake.  Please cross your fingers, pray or whatever it is you do, for us.  Any positive thoughts will be helpful.  We need this break.

cabin fever

Glad my husband is back.  Dogs even seem more at ease.  Had a wonderful weekend at Klondike Days in Eagle River. Bailey came for the weekend and I really enjoy seeing her, even if she seemed quiet and reserved.  I think she is pondering moving here in the summer if the Army falls through, I know she is torn between living here with mom and staying south, hanging with grandma and grandpa to keep them company.  I wonder what way the chips will fall.  Three short months until my baby graduates from high school.


Financially we are getting back on our feet.  No clue on our current rental situation but I decided to put worry on the back burner.  I continue to look for the perfect job, to no avail.  


The snow total turned out to be more than 20 inches last week, and we really had fun sledding down Chickaree Lake Rd on small, round saucers. We also built quite the fort.    I look forward to warmer weather so I can walk without fear of slipping on the ice.  Fell on my butt last week and still can feel it in my bones.  Winter fat is starting to pack on!!!


Starting to really miss some friends south of here. Hoping to visit with them soon. 


Niko continues to thrive in Cali, and as I know as he reads this I say... 3 more months Niko!  More work, so I don't worry so much.




Baby Kitty has decided to take up residence on my chest, time to stop blogging and start petting.  


Happy thoughts :D