Catching up and a Dedication

Hello! Wow, it's been almost two years since I've updated my blog. Holy cow. So much has happened since my 1JAN12 post. Let me summarize.

Pinterest made the deployment days go by quickly. And I found lots to do to get me out of the house. So much so that I didn't even get a chance to sit down long enough to write about it! I do plan on writing about the places someday, I promise! A teaser--I took a really awesome ghost tour of Old Town San Diego, and got some VERY interesting photos with my phone's camera. I highly recommend it!

We celebrated my grandpa's 90th birthday to boot! He turned 91 earlier THIS year. Many more happy ones to come, que Dios lo bendiga, we all love that man dearly.

I also took a few interior design courses because I knew they would help me out once we bought a house.

Hubs got home in the summertime. It. Was. AWESOME! I love homecomings, one of THE BEST feelings in the world!! A few days after his return, we put in an offer on our dream house. We got it. He went out to sea a few times which left me to do most of the packing and unpacking for the move, so I got busy.

As soon as we knew our offer was accepted, we decided to add on to our family. I grew up saving the neighborhood feral cats. My dad and I used to catch them, take them to animal control to be fixed and release them back into the neighborhood. Many of the cats adopted me over the years. So when it came to adding to our family, I knew in my heart that I couldn't go to a breeder and get that French Bulldog I've always wanted when there were so many beautiful dogs already waiting for forever homes. We searched the local rescue groups and found a beautiful lab mix. We named her Bowie. :)

Lady B

The cats weren't thrilled but now they manage to tolerate her. Bow's foster mom highly recommended she get a friend, and about 6 months of dealing with puppy behavior issues, we indulged that request...

We wanted to adopt a sidekick, so another lab wasn't in our plans. We found a group that rescues the street dogs of Tijuana. When I first saw this guy on their website I knew I had to have him. He looked like the Target dog mixed with a chihuahua. He was the one. To stay true to his roots, we re-named him Ignacio. Once he came into the picture, our lady's behavior issues were nonexistent. Our little nugget must have had some life on the streets. He came to us with a huge scar on his backside and was left tied to a tree near the rescue. One would think after a life like that, it would make even the nicest animal lose faith in anyone. Despite it all, he is the most loving, snuggle-y little guy I've ever met. People at the dog park know him by name, to the point where he has practically reached celebrity status at the park.  Our duo is inseparable.

Ignacio

I really wanted to get back to writing on this blog for another reason. Shortly after we got the Nugget, I found out that my very dear mentor/friend had passed away unexpectedly. He was way too young to die. He was my work mentor who became an uncle to me, an avid follower of my blog, and a very private person, so to honor that I will keep it at that... The day after I found out about his passing, the Hubs and I were on our way back from a date. As we were crossing the county line the radio station we were listening to had gotten fuzzy, though neither one of us had paid much attention. My mind was back to thinking about my friend. No sooner had my thoughts gone back to musing over the sadness that I heard through the fuzz, "It's a shame we have to die my dear/ but no one's getting out of here, alive" and the rest of the song was garbled, but two more times when it came to that part of what I thought was a line in the chorus, it came through well enough to hear. Through the tears, I couldn't help but crack a smile. He never wanted anyone to fuss over him, so it seemed fitting that those were the words I heard. I had never heard the Foo Fighters song DOA until that point in time, and to this day I've never heard it in its entirety, but to me it meant something that at that very moment, those words were audible in the radio static.

To my friend, thank you for all the advice and support, both professionally and personally, over the years. I dedicate this post to you. You are greatly missed. RIP.