lily pad goes under the knife.

Lilygirl got spayed yesterday. It was a little bit traumatic. I teared up when I had to leave her at the vet to go to work. I kept telling her I loved her and that she'd be okay. She had absolutely no idea what was going on. She pranced out of the room with a t-shirt in her mouth, looking very happy, without so much as a glance over her shoulder. She was such a pro.

Her doctor called me around one o'clock to tell me Lily was just waking up from the surgery and that she was already trying to lift her head. Everything went perfectly. She was very groggy though, so I shouldn't expect her to be her normal self. No biting? No jumping? You mean she'd be the ideal puppy? My poor little girl.

These picture pretty much sum up exactly how Lily felt for the rest of the day. She was loopy, exhausted and floppy. She couldn't walk well, so when I picked her up from the vet a nurse helped me carry her out to the car. She layed down in the reclined front seat and slept for most of the way home.

I carried her in the house and put her on the couch, and she didn't move from this spot for the rest of the night. She was so cuddley and cute, but you could tell she was in pain. She had such sleepy eyes, and she kept making little sad noises and sighing. (Her little orange bear was a gift from her trainer, Karen, for graduation.)

Lily slept the entire night without stirring. I think I actually woke her up at 6:45AM. She was MUCH more herself this morning. She barked a little and walked out of her crate all by herself. Her tail was wagging. She scarfed the little bit of food I put out for her and drank all of her water. She even sat outside for a little while. I could tell she was still in a little pain, because she kept sitting down very gingerly and taking breaks.

She's got one of my t-shirts on just to cover the incision, so that she doesn't have to wear a cone. Normally we do not dress her up. She hates it, and Andy is a firm believer that dogs shouldn't wear clothes- so although I think she looks pretty cute, it is a one time thing. So far so good; she actually looks like she's starting to heal  already. I know getting spayed is a very routine surgery, but for my first puppy it was a little scary for me. I am just glad she made it through okay!

Lily will be spending her weekend recovering at my friend Iris' house, with her BFFs Oliver and Zoe, while I'm off to NY for the holiday weekend! I'm staying at my parent's house, and they're having a huge BBQ on Sunday with family and friends from all corners of Long Island! Should be awesome! I'll be back in Colorado by Monday. Hopefully I'll have graduation pics and bbq pics up soon after...

Happy Memorial Day! Don't forget to celebrate those who have fought and died for America!

the graduate.

Last night we went to PetSmart for a very special occassion...Lily's graduation from Puppy School!

The graduation was adorable. It was Lily and two other dogs- a tiny little dog named Daphne, who looks like a circus pup because she can stand and walk around on her hind legs, and a beagle named Diamond, a boy dog, who was a gift from a guy to his girlfriend, named because diamond's are a girl's best friend. One by one we put a bandanna around their necks and a little graduation cap on their heads, secured with an elastic strap, and tried to take their photo. I don't think I stopped laughing for a good 20 minutes.

Daphne's cap kept falling over her eyes, so she'd shake her head and peer out like, "What the heck is going on here?" Every picture of her looked confused. Diamond would not sit still for a picture. His dad must've said "sit" a thousand times to no avail, and then he accidentally stepped on Diamond's tail while chasing him in circles to sit, causing Diamond to pee on the floor.

And Lily? Lily HATES being dressed up. She ran around taking the cap off the other dogs head and chewing on it. So when I tried to put the cap on her head it was much less than a second before she had it off again. "Did you get it!? Try again. NO LILY. WAIT. SIT. UGH! ...oh forget it. She's not going to wear it." So we have pictures of Lily sitting with her generic bandanna on and smiling and pictures of Lily laying down chewing her cap. Our graduate, the rebel. I love that little girl.

The dogs all got diplomas (Lily's reads her full name- Lily Pad Wilhelm- which I will put in her puppy binder), and we took a class picture.  I think we are actually all joining the intermediate level class together, so Lily will still get to see all of the friends she's made. She loves them and really loved going to her class every week. Her BFF was Diamond, probably because he was closest to her size. They love to wrestle and play and bite and race each other. When we started the class 8 weeks ago, Lily was about 12 lbs and definitely smaller than Diamond. Now she weighs 30 lbs and is about an inch taller than him. Time flies when you're having fun!

I am very proud of our puppy. She can sit, lay down, shake and wait. She responds to verbal commands and hand signals. She was her class clown, but I also think she came the farthest of all the pups. Way to go, Lily Pad!

In other graduation news, the United States Military Academy Class of 2010 just graduated, and the President spoke at their commencement ceremony. Reading President Obama's speech brought me back to two years ago (time flies when you're having fun), to the day my husband graduated from West Point. It brought me back to goosebumps that wouldn't leave my arms, to tears that wouldn't leave my eyes and to the smile that wouldn't leave my face. I was beyond excited, beyond scared and well beyond proud. At that time, the future was so uncertain, so unknown. But today, Andrew and I are living that future...together.
     

"From the birth of our existence, America has had a faith in the future - a belief that where we're going is better than where we've been, even when the path ahead is uncertain. To fulfill that promise, generations of Americans have built upon the foundation of our forefathers - finding opportunity, fighting injustice, forging a more perfect union. Our achievement would not be possible without the Long Grey Line that has sacrificed for duty, for honor, for country.  

And years from now when you return here, when for you the shadows have grown longer, I have no doubt that you will have added your name to the book of history. I have no doubt that we will have prevailed in the struggles of our times. I have no doubt that your legacy will be an America that has emerged stronger, and a world that is more just, because we are Americans, and our destiny is never written for us, it is written by us, and we are ready to lead once more." 

- Transcript of remarks by the president at the commencement ceremony of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, held at Michie Stadium, West Point, N.Y., as provided by the White House.  

The speech in it's entirety can be found here.

Congratulations to West Point's Class of 2010! Welcome to the Long Grey Line. Welcome to the future.

littlest baby pee puddle.

Dear Lily,

Please stop peeing everywhere- to include: on your bed, on the towels I put in your crate after you peed the bed, on the kitchen floor, on the dining room floor, on the hallway floor, on the other hallway floor and in the back of the car. It's neither funny, nor will it ever be cute.

And stop not going outside to go to the bathroom just because it is raining or hailing. You are a dog. You can rough it for five seconds out there. I don't want to clean up your poop off my kitchen floor (which I have now done twice). It is smelly, makes me gag and makes the whole house smell for about an hour. I have to light candles. It is embarrassing for you, and you don't even know it.

Also, please stop biting the shit out of every limb on my body. My feet, ankles, backs of my calves, hands, wrists, elbows, forearms and upper arms LITERALLY cannot take it anymore. You have bitten me to shreds. I hope all of your teeth fall out, and you can't eat anything but wet food for the rest of your life. The expense would be worth it to not have to endure your puppy teething wrath, of which I think you have a very exaggerated case.

That's all.

Love,
Your Mommy.

PS- I am sorry that your mouth hurts; at least you've lost two teeth. I hope the Dog Fairy comes and brings you treats. I am also sorry that I think your ears hurt. I will try to clean your ears out more, even if it means enduring more hand biting.

PPS- You are still very cute, and I do NOT regret getting you.

my aim is true.

        My Friday started at 5:22AM with Lily barking like crazy to wake me up, I reluctantly pulled back my warm blankets and went down to let her out. She followed me back in while I got her food, and as we started toward the back door to go out to her bowl, I look over my shoulder and see her peeing on the kitchen floor. The dog who woke me up almost an hour earlier than normal, whom I had just let out and whom I thought I had seen use the bathroom, has the nerve to have an accident on the kitchen floor.
         You could say I'm tired. Especially after a long week of appointments and proposals at work, puppy training, etc.
          But when I got home tonight, I found it in me to vacuum, clean up the dog's crate and look through the mail. Then I spent some time outside chatting with my neighbor about work and life. All the while Lily was literally shredding my freshly pedicured feet.
          When I came back in to change out of work clothes, I walked up the stairs and thought to myself, "what a week." Thank God for the weekend. I tossed on jeans, flip flops and Andy's USMA sweatshirt feeling comfy and a little lonely.
          As I came down the stairs, Elvis Costello's "Alison" was playing on the TV. "Alison, I know this world is killing you. Oh, Alison, my aim is true." All I could do was stop and smile. A sign that someone is looking out for my sanity? Yes. I love life's little reminders like that.

pretty okay.

Alright here goes nothing...

April 27th. A crazy day at work. Tons of appointments. Super stressful. 5PM on the dot I race out of the office and do not speed home. I call Iris on the way home and ask her if she needs to leave her house at 5:30 or be at her Pampered Chef promotion meeting at 5:30...leave. Alright I'll be over as soon as I change and let Lily out. I run inside, let the pup out, change into jeans and drive over to Iris'. I get out of the car and see the kids at the door jumping up and down. I walk up taking a few deep breaths, telling myself to leave the day behind me and open the door. SURPRISE!!!!! Iris and Chrissy are standing at the door all dressed up, looking beautiful, and the kids are throwing themselves all over the place. Surprise what? Surprise!!! ::blank stare:: Surprise Chrissy is going to your meeting? Surprise we are going to the Melting Pot for a Murder Mystery Dinner!! We are?? Really? Really! Go home and change, we're meeting all the girls there. ::looks around to see if its a joke:: You guys are lucky I have straight hair today!!

Iris, Chrissy and I met Alisha, Lauren and Shelly at the restaurant and an amazing evening commenced. From the moment we walked in the door we were greeted by characters in the mystery. I had never been to one of these before, but my inner investigative reporter came out. Who are you? Earle? Do you like your brother, Merle? Where's your sister Pearl? Why do you all hate Dahlia? She a skank? Is she in it for the money? VIXEN! 

All through a fantastic fondue dinner and dessert, we dug and dug. What's a Doozenberg? Why are you lying about the car? What's in your purse? Turn around, I'm gonna pat you down. Well...all of our hard work and copious notes paid off. Team Jason's Angels was the only team that night to correctly identify Dahlia's killer!! The perfect close to a perfect night with my perfect friends!! Thank you to all of you for caring about me enough to throw me my first ever surprise party! You made my birthday amazing!

Keeping in the birthday spirit, my Mom and my Gram came out the weekend after my birthday to spend some quality time with me. We started the weekend at the Enlisted Spouses Craft Fair, where my family scored some 1-8 crafts and $10 jewels that I think made their whole weekend! Next we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo- a family favorite. Our first stop was the giraffes, where we saw the two new baby boys born in April 2010.

We took some good advice from my boss, Phill, and took the tram to the top of the zoo and made our way downhill. I know my favorite place is always the monkey house. Baby Godek was finally detached from his mama and was swinging all around his home. This little guy was born a year ago in February, and Andy and I voted on his name when he was born. Godek means sideburns- as you can see, we chose wisely!

After the zoo we took Lily-Girl to the vet for some shots. She weighs 22 lbs now!!! She is growing very very fast. She is also an expert at getting vaccinations. She doesn't cry or anything. Very dissimilar to her home attitude, where she has turned into a teenager. She now likes to act very defiant- never wanting to go into her bed, laying on the floor and turning her head away from me and barking...not going outside for potty unless someone goes out with her, and when they do she bites their ankles. She is like a different puppy. A bad one. But I love her a lot. She's cute, even when she's bad.

That night we went to Jake and Telly's for some delicious Greek cuisine. I had lamb and pita and pretended I was in Iraq with Andy. Except I washed mine down with a Bristol's Beehive and some tzaziki sauce. Sorrryyyyyy honnneeeyyyyyyy........

Sunday we went to our old faithful, Nosh. The highlights included seared scallops, roasted cauliflower, and this dessert.

Why yes this is lemon angel food cake with blueberry deliciousness on top, and no I don't want to share.

Mom and Gram were and always are super helpful. We hung up the rest of the photos in the house, we hung up the crap in the sports room, and we put together our NEW dining room table, which finally arrived! It looks AWESOME. I am so glad we got it. Thanks again, Crate and Barrel.

Other new additions to the house include:

• A new flowery doormat, so that the neighbors don't judge us for having a snowman out in April (not totally inappropriate in C/S anyway). Maybe we'll win yard of the month now!?!
• A new dry erase calendar- very very handy for when you need to see if it is trash day or if it is time to take your bad girl to puppy training.
• A PS3- which I had to go all the way down to Pueblo to get. But you know what? It works. And it is even kinda cool. I don't really know how to work it, but I know it plays blurays and that's all I ask.

So my last thing I wanted to talk about was how I'm doing 1 and 3/4 months into the deployment. I'd say I'm doing okay. It's both difficult and easier than I thought it would be. I think Andrew and I still have some kinks to work out in scheduling when we can really talk to each other, but once we figure it out I believe things will get a little better. It's been tough for us to talk as much as I'd like to, because when he is free (at night for him) it is the middle of the work day for me. Talking on AIM is great, but not as great as a phone call or a video chat. I miss him. A lot. I miss him the most at night. When I am heating up something for dinner. When I am contemplating dessert options on the couch. When I am writing a blog post about my days wishing I could tell him every anecdote, every detail of every story. It's hard to be without my best friend. I wish there was a way I could call him. It's weird to not hold down the "A" on my cellphone at least 2 times per day or at all. It's hard to have to type anything and everything I want him to know. I recognize that we are still lucky, despite the flaws. I try to always remind myself that at least it's not WW2. Andrew is pretty safe, with a roof over his bed that has sheets and a pillow on it, with A/C in his room, with internet on his personal laptop, with X-box on the TV he and Chris bought. He is pretty okay. And I am too.

PS- He got one of the packages I sent him over the weekend. He also got one from my sis. I got to see him on skype as he looked through the boxes, and I can't remember the last time I've seen him so happy. You would have thought it was Christmas. Brownies, peach o's, cheez itz? It might as well have been.

procrastination.

I'll write the big, long post tomorrow. Tonight I put pictures of my 24th birthday up on Facebook, and it took me a while to color correct and lose the red eye. 10:50PM is too late to start an in depth post. In fact, I'm usually already asleep by this time.

Good night and good luck.

hooligan.

So....I'm sorry that I've been kinda quiet. Things have been busy here in the last week or so, and I guess I feel delinquent in my posting. So in writing this post, I am trying to hold myself accountable to a post later tonight when I get home from work.

Things I want to write about:
*My surprise murder mystery fondue dinner  (including pictures)
*My mom and Gram's visit
*Lily's attitude
*Work
*New things- PS3, dining table, calendar dry erase board, doormat
*How I'm doing 1 3/4 months into the deployment

ttyl (talk to you later- another acronym- this one for cool people).