Wordless Wednesday

Penny--Then & Now

I was looking through some of the first pictures I have of Penny-Cat, and decided I would share a quick before and after of her. She didn't turn out anything like we thought she would when we first took her in as a 'foster'--though the lady who asked us to foster her apparently really had no intentions of it being a foster, but more of a free kitten kind of thing. Ah, well, we love our Penny girl, so it all worked out okay.

Anyhow, here are her before and after shots. =)

This was taken within a couple days of our getting her. . .she was about 8 weeks old here.

This was taken back in February. See how much she's changed? Ha ha! Sadly, I don't have any recent full-body shots of her to show how dark and tabby-ish she is on her back and tail. . . .

By the way, apparently my previous post was my 100th post! Craziness!

Valentine's Day Care Package

Sooooo, I'm over a month late in posting this, but I figured I'd go ahead and post it anyhow. . . .

This is a breakdown of the package Munchkin and I sent to the hubby for Valentine's Day. It ended up taking me longer to get everything finished and then actually get to the Post Office, so I was really concerned that it was going to arrive late. We were shocked when it actually arrived at the end of the week (on the 11th!) since I'd only mailed it out on the Monday before. I was definitely praising God for that blessing!!

So, not only did it arrive on time for Valentine's Day, but we also got to 'be there' via Skype to watch my hubby open it--so much fun!!! I'd had a blast getting everything together and giggling over things that I thought would make him smile. . .it was a huge plus actually getting to see it happen. =)

Many of my ideas came from Pinterest (anyone who has NOT been on that site needs to check it out STAT! It is addicting though. . .so many good ideas on it--though I should warn you that there are also some rather inappropriate images that get pinned on there occasionally as well. =( Ugh.), and I will be including the links to the tutorials for those under their respective pictures.

Okay, now on to the contents of the box. . . .

Love Bugs! Aren't they cute? I even made a 'Baby Lovebug' so the Munchkin could be included! =) This is one of the Pinterest crafts, to see the tutorial, click here.

The only thing I had to prevent them from getting crushed in the box was this index card box.

I made little blank cards out of white cardstock to have something to put in the little mailbox I was sending (pictures below), then I stamped on them with my cute, Valentine's Day stamps.

On the other side I wrote romantic quotes. ;-)

Then I used these cute, itty-bitty clothes pins that I got from Michael's to keep them 'sealed' after I folded them.

I searched high and low for this mailbox!!! Most stores only had the cardboard ones. . .I was rather particular about getting an aluminum one. . .couldn't have it getting crushed now could I? :-p

These sealed the personal mini-love notes that I put in the mailbox (they are actually little clothes pins not quite as small as the ones with hearts above, but still quite small though you can't really tell that from the photo). These were inspired by something quite similar on Pinterest, but they are too simple to require a tutorial, so I never even clicked on the picture, ha ha.

This was a LOT of fun, but also a lot of work, lol. Not that I don't have at least 52 things that I love about my hubby, I was just trying to make each one completely different from the rest and not be redundant with similar things. This was a Pinterest inspired project. There are many variations of it, here a links to a couple of them: the one I followed  and another good one.

A glimpse of one of the things I love about my hubby! ;-)

And another. ;-p Ha ha!

Pictures and videos I wanted to send to him along with a playlist of love songs I'd chosen just for him (and another playlist just of other random songs I thought he might enjoy). I had originally meant to video Munchkin and myself with a 'special Valentine's Day message', but we ran out of time, so I didn't. :-/

Lyrics from Josh Turner's "The Longer the Waiting (the Sweeter the Kiss)".

I figured, "Hey, he's red!" Ha ha!

Amigurumi Hearts--Munchkin is still talking about these whenever he sees me crocheting anything. . .he has had an obsession with hearts ever since I made these! These were another Pinterest find, you can see the tutorial here.

What is Valentine's Day without candles? The can was a random idea that I had one day for making a tea light holder. . .I used a nail and punched holes out to form hearts: two large and two (?) small. It took FOREVER. Note to self: next time, glue it to the floor and use a nail gun.

I HAD to send Hugs and Kisses. :-D

Maybe I should have sent a toothbrush and toothpaste with the box. . . .

The steamy love letter. Mwahahahah! Okay, seriously, I still blush every time I think about this.
*ETA: By "steamy" I don't mean inappropriate. . .just more 'lovey-dovey' than what I normally write in my regular letters.*

The contents of this box will remain known only to my hubby and me. :-p

I had no idea you could 'wrap' a box on the inside until I saw the amazingly creative care packages that other military S.O.s had made while searching for ideas on what to do. It was a lot of fun to do and I think my hubby really enjoyed seeing something other than the inside of a brown box for once, ha ha.

I didn't want the thumb drive to get lost and wanted to make sure my hubby saw it, so I taped it to one of the flaps. :-p

So, there you have it. We don't normally do much of anything for Valentine's Day, but I decided I was going to make this year special. My hubby surprised me by e-mailing my printer a list of "100 Reasons Why I Love You" (the day BEFORE my package to him arrived--proof that our hearts and brains are still connected even so far apart!!) so it would be printed and waiting for me to find (I LOVE it when he does that with random notes and stuff!). He was so sweet--it made me get all choked up more than once. I'm going to treasure that list forever and always!!! I'm so blessed to have such a thoughtful husband!

Even though we couldn't spend this past Valentine's Day together, it was still pretty amazing I think! I'm not sure how we are going to 'out-do' it next year. . . . I'll have to start coming up with ideas soon, ha ha.

How did you celebrate Valentine's Day this year or in years past?

Ten Day YOU Challenge--Day 10

Whew, I made it to the final day!! Woo-hoo!

Day 10--One Picture (of Yourself):

This was me when I was 19 (that seems so long ago now!). . .I'm thinking of growing my hair out to that length again (I miss braiding it!!!), but with side-swept bangs. Not sure if that combination would even look half-way decent, but that's what I'm *currently* thinking of doing, lol.

Introducing Sasha

Handsome (albeit somewhat dirty, ha ha) boy.

 So, I know what those of you that have been following my blog for the past couple of years may be thinking. . ."What--ANOTHER dog?!"

Big stretch!

Well, in our defense, it's been really HARD finding the right dog.

Apparently someone else likes to eat snow too. =p

 Though I'm still not 100% sure that Sasha is that dog, I'm giving him a chance to become that dog (he needs training and a LOT of patience).

I LOVE the background in these next couple of shots!

 We got him from a German Shepherd Rescue--yep, you read that right: he's a White German Shepherd Dog--back in early December.

The snow on his nose makes me smile. =)

 He came from a home in Tennessee that couldn't keep him anymore. We were told that he is a little over 1 1/2 years old (so he's still got a puppy mentality in a lot of aspects).

He was having a blast in the snow.

 He is a little too curious/hyper about the cats at the moment so I can't let him free roam the house now that the cats are out and about. That is one 'issue' we are going to have to work on. . .it's just hard to do it without my hubby here to help.

Ready to spring again. =)

 Oh, and he jumps the fence (and then runs for the hills, ha ha)--hence the reason why he is tied out in the yard. I am going to get an invisible fence for him so we don't have to have him tied whenever he is outside.

I was happy he liked the snow as much as the rest of us do--at least in that aspect he fits right in!

He had really bad separation anxiety when we first got him and would destroy stuff if left alone for (literally) even a minute. We got a crate and crate trained him so he wouldn't be alone unsupervised if we had to leave the house or if he had to be in a different room for a while. At first he didn't like the crate (I can't say I blame him since it was entirely new to him) but now he chooses to go in there quite often. It really has become his 'den/safe spot'.  =)

I thought this one's perspective was kind of funny.

So, even though he can be really frustrating a lot of times, he seems to fit in somehow and I think with some training coupled with a lot of dedication and patience, he just might be the right dog.

More Snow Pictures

As promised, here are some more pictures from our  awesome snow a couple of weeks ago. Ironically, as of right now we are supposed to get more snow tonight and tomorrow! Ever since the day after it snowed last time I thought that Spring was in full swing for sure--the daffodils are all in bloom and the birds have been ecstatically singing in the trees. I love snow, so I am excited about the chance to have more, but I do feel bad for all of the little plants and creatures who are in "Spring-Mode".

Anyhow, on to the pictures! =)

He was really excited about the snow! =)

Studying it.

He was a bit concerned at first when it landed on his hands.

Having fun!

Then he wanted to bring some to me. =)

I think he was saying something about the snow on the tree bark.

Peanut Butter Cup in the snow! =)

It was our first daffodil of the season.

Our Jeep. I had to get a picture of it in the snow for my hubby. =p

Rosy cheeks!

He wanted to knock the snow off of the fence.

These next ones are from Monday morning (the day after it snowed).

As I said at the end of my last snow picture post--he has an addiction to eating snow. :-/

 

Always so serious!

He looks like he is getting ready to chuck that snow at someone, ha ha.

It was such a pretty day!

Though I wouldn't have minded if it had still been snowing. =p

This is Peanut Butter Cup's current idea of what "smile" means. =D

Snow--YUM! =p

I love my Munchkin!

His first Snowman!!! =)