New Year.

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I updated my blog! So much has happened, so I'll do a little update post right now.

The first few months of the year were pretty mellow. Just normal, everyday life. In April, I got a promotion at work, from cashier to Assistant Manager. It's a few more hours and a raise, but it's not too bad. Jenry and I also made a trip to New York City in April to see his family since we didn't go there over the holidays. We had a good time, catching up with his family and friends, and of course, taking in some new sights in the city. We went to the NY Mets home opener at Citi Field. It was our first time there since they closed Shea Stadium a few years ago. It was a nice place, but I still prefer the old stadium. We wandered around Times Square, went to Tim Horton's for the first time, went to a comedy club, saw a movie, and hung out with his friends.

In June, my closest friend here in Arizona, moved away. Her husband got out of the military, and they were planning on staying in the area, but he couldn't get a job. That was a really hard time for me, but luckily, my other two best friends, Ashley & Kelsey came to see me in July. I knew Ashley was coming, but she surprised me by bringing Kelsey along. We had a fun girls weekend (well, plus Jenry) and ate, drank, shopped, and just had fun.

In August, I went to San Diego, CA for the first time. I actually met a friend off the internet (sounds creepier than it is). We met on XBox Live a few years ago and became really good friends, so I went out there for his birthday and took in so many sights - San Diego Zoo, USS Midway, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Pacific Beach, Old Town San Diego, The Whaley House, and more that I'm probably forgetting! It was a fun weekend and I definitely plan on going back! Also in August, my friend who had moved away came back to AZ for her sisters wedding. It was 6 hours away from me, but I drove up to Snowflake, AZ and spent a day there with her. The drive up was so beautiful, so many mountains and canyons. It made me remember why I moved out here. We also adopted a dog this month, a girl German Shepherd whom we named Josie. She had some real issues (destructive and anxious), but she has improved a lot with medication and training.

In September, I flew out to North Carolina to help take care of my nephew while my sister had a c-section for the birth of my first niece, Fiona Lynn. I was nervous at first, because I hadn't spent much time with my nephew, but he took to me right away and I had fun playing with him and getting to know him. He is such a good boy, and so smart! Fiona was (and is) adorable. She's a good sleeper and eater and growing up so fast already!

Nothing much happened until December, when I went home to Michigan the week before Christmas to spend some time with my family. Jenry didn't go with, he stayed behind to work and take care of all the animals. It snowed when I was home, so that was exciting for me! I love snow! Jenry took the week of Christmas off work, and today is our last day before we go back to work tomorrow.

I hope to blog more this year.... I feel like I say that a lot, so who knows if I'll actually do it! Haha!

Bronx.

I have hardly had anytime to update - 2 weeks ago my husband and I got a puppy. My husband has wanted a dog as long as I've known him, while I am a 'cat lady'. I could live my entire life never owning a dog and be perfectly happy. We had 2 dogs and 2 cats growing up and I liked them fine, but I've just always liked cats more. My husband likes bigger breeds, particularly German Shepherds and Huskies, while I like smaller breeds, especially Pomeranians. Since I already have three cats, it was his turn to get an animal he wanted. We had contemplated it in the past, but we already had the max allowable pets at our apartment complex, and secondly, we didn't think it was fair to have a huge dog in a 900 square foot apartment. After we bought a house, it became possible to get a dog, but we wanted to wait until after the holidays so we could go home without worrying about a dog.

So for the past two months I have been scouring the classifieds and pet finder for a puppy. Normally I wouldn't mind adopting an adult dog, but with the cats, I wanted a puppy. We did find one Husky puppy for adoption in the next town over, but after doing some research, these dogs just really aren't good with cats, often killing them, so that was a no go. So I decided to try to find a German Shepherd. These dogs are impossible to adopt as puppies - they get adopted so fast. So buying one was our only option. I found some in Phoenix (3 hours away), but they were crazy expensive since they were AKC registered, something I really could care less about. I'm not breeding my animal, so why pay for a piece of paper. I finally found some pups in Tucson (1 hour away) and showed my husband immediately - and he liked them. They weren't papered, as the mother dog was not papered, but they were fully blooded Germans and that's what we wanted.

I called the owners and decided to drive up that day (Feb 11). The puppies were perfect - they were 10 weeks, had their shots, and had the black & brown markings we wanted. My husband took about 30 minutes picking out the perfect puppy and finally settled on one. We already knew we wanted to name him Bronx after my husbands hometown in NY. He was shy and scared the first day, but is already a great dog! He sleeps in his crate with no problem, the past three days he has not had an accident in the house. The only time he will have one is if we're gone for more than 2 hours (in his crate), but when we're home he goes and waits by the back door. He loves to play - he caught onto fetch after day one of being with us. He is still a little curious about the cats, but is learning to leave them alone. Leash training is a little more difficult, but he is getting better. And he just loves my husband, follows him around whenever he is home.

It's a lot of work, but I love him so much already and I think he will be a great dog!

Fingers Crossed

My fingers have been crossed since Friday when my husband had a job interview with AAI Corporation, which is a UAV company which the Army has contracts with. The interview seemed to go great, and it really sounded like the hubby pretty much had the job. He was supposed to have another interview over the phone today with the human resources division of the company (based in Maryland) at 10am, but they never called, which pissed me off to be honest. I'm hoping it was just some clerical error and we'll hear something soon. The hubby is supposed to call the guy who interviewed him on Thursday if he hasn't called him by then.

I really hope this works out. I have been looking at houses out here, and while they're not my dream homes, I have found quite a few that I really like. If the hubby does indeed get this job, he'll be making almost double what he did while enlisted, so we can do things we've been wanting, for starters a house, secondly: getting the hubby the dog he's always wanted (we've decided on a german shepherd).

Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself, but being true to my zodiac, I'm a dreamer, a hoper, a wisher, a seer of good things. My hubby tends to be pessimistic, which maybe a better way to look at things, but for right now, my hopes are high.

I want a dog.

I'm not really a dog person, but my husband is. He is a fan of larger breeds, like Huskies and German Shepherds. While I like those kinds of dogs, these are the kinds of dogs I like best.

Miniature Siberian Huskies
(seated next to a normal Husky.)

Welsh Corgi
Jack Russell Terrier
Pomeranian

Chances are that we won't be getting a dog anytime soon, we already have three cats. And when the time does come for us to get one, I'm pretty certain my husband will be choosing the breed since almost all the pets we've gotten together were ones I picked out. A girl can dream can't she?