Who's Your Tiger?

Tonight is a huge game for the Tigers; in fact it's a must win! In order to get pumped up for the game, I decided to share Justin's ball delivery from last month. We went to Michigan in September for a wedding and some friends found an awesome program to honor the military.

We flew on a Friday and Justin was to deliver the ball that night. 

Unfortunately, the game was rained out! (We should've seen it coming because there were no players out before the game.) It was a disappointment, but we still were able to go on the field with Dave and Amanda. Luckily they rescheduled the game for Sunday night. It was a little crazy for me because I had planned to fly back to SA Sunday night. I had to change my flight and check with my boss to make sure it was okay that I took another day!

Justin met his Tiger!

They are now officially BFFs! (Okay we only wish.)

But they did share a conversation.

Choosing the game ball.

Walking it out! I took some video too, but I want to try to edit it a little. So hopefully when I find a spare minute from work I can work on that. Then I can upload a link so everyone can see.

On the big screen!

I'm so proud of my husband and was so thankful to be a part of this amazing opportunity.

Welcome Home

After greeting my hubby at the airport (almost 3 weeks ago already!), I wanted to welcome him home with some surprises.

I bought flowers at Central Market, and I made my own floral arrangement. (Red, white, & blue flowers to be exact because I was trying to be patriotic.) I had wanted to get some star balloons too, but there is a helium shortage so I had to stick with just flowers.

I figured we would want to snack on some food before we ate a full meal so I prepared some tapas! I bought fresh mozzarella marinated in pesto, Boar's Head pepperoni, cheese & prosciutto stuffed cherry peppers, jalapeno stuffed olives, Columbus salami, and Colby jack cheese.

Of course we needed dessert too! I ordered an entire gluten free cake from Little Aussie. (We still have almost half of it saved in the freezer.) Our favorite is the tiramisu flavored sponge cake so that is what I bought.

My Life is Complete Again!

I've been meaning to update at some point in the last couple weeks, but have been completely occupied. This time my excuse for not blogging is a valid one. My hubby is finally home from Afghanistan! 

 Best hug ever!

Justin and me with the sign I made.

Love the volunteers at the airport too that welcomed home all the heroes. 

I feel such a sense of relief and truly feel like my life is complete once again. It was a difficult 6 months, but we made. This obstacle will only make us stronger. I would like to thank everyone once again for the prayers and support through out this journey.

It's almost been 3 weeks since my hubby has returned to the states. I feel like I've already done more in the last three weeks than I have in the last 3 months. We went to South Padre Island for a long weekend and to Michigan for another extended weekend. Both trips were amazing! I have so much to blog about; once we get back into a normal routine I should have more time.

I have one more amazing thing to update about. My diploma came in the mail yesterday. I officially have a master's degree!

Fruitiversary

Today marks four years of marriage for Justin and me! And today poured with rain, just like on our wedding day. Unfortunately, we are roughly 7,000 miles apart right now (as long as I did the math correct). But I am blessed to have a loving, thoughtful husband who sent me an Edible Arrangement with balloons.

My husband did some research, because the fourth anniversary is the fruit anniversary or "fruitiversary." I don't know if Justin came up with that word or if he found it somewhere, but I think it is clever. See even the arrangement has a "4" made of pineapple!

Plus, I love fruit!

I especially adore the strawberries and pineapple dipped in chocolate. The chocolate is gluten free, however it could be manufactured in a facility with gluten.

Isn't the flower adorable?

Yes, I posed with my present.

Iivana thought it was her gift. She was sniffing and smelling; I had to fend her off and explain that it was mommy's gift. I did share a strawberry with her though.

He even sent balloons; I just now realize why there are four, duh! Justin is way better at significance things than me. (Remember, I sent him $11 for his birthday.) Although for our third anniversary, I bought something leather for us.

The best part of the day was Skype-ing with him! I love you Justin, and you will be home soon. I can't wait to hug and kiss you.  

Start of Summer

My husband is thoughtful and warms my heart. He sent me these peonies to celebrate then end of another successful school year. Aren't they just beautiful! The end of the school year also means we are half way through the deployment. It is all downhill from here.

I also celebrated the end of the school year by purchasing a new pair of florescent orange Tom's.

Since my summer off from work has been in swing for 2 weeks, it actually means I've been taking classes for two weeks. I am participating in the San Antonio Writing Project (SAWP) and it is amazingly fantastic. I already gave an 1 hour and 1/2 demonstration about Pre-writing. I've created a video log to document a day at SAWP.  Of course, I've also had the opportunity to write! While I've been a little distracted from my blog, I've been trying other genres of writing. I think I am going to post my first narrative in the days to come.

Yes, I talk with my hands.

Last night, Iivana discovered a scorpion! I saw her playing with something and knew it was some sort of bug. Upon further investigation, I screamed and shooed her away when I saw it was a scorpion. Unsure what to do, I of course snapped a picture. Then I decided I needed to take action. I grabbed the broom, opened the door, and swept it outside! Hopefully there aren't any more in the house. Believe me, I am definitely watching everywhere I step.

I freaked out at Iivana because I didn't need another wound to heal! Of course, she is fine. Plus, her back paw is almost healed all the way. 

Dealing with Stress

I've been a little stressed. To keep it simple,

1. Iivana (see explanation below)

2. The end of the school year = very, very silly kids

3. Of course, always in the back of my head is my hubby's absence 

My darling Iivana:

A week ago as I was putting Iivana to bed, I noticed a big swollen bump on her hind paw.

I was worried. She was either bitten or stung by something in the backyard, but I'm not quite sure by what. I frantically attempted to take these pictures and send them to Justin for his opinion on the situation.

So the next day I made her an appointment at the vet. They confirmed she was either bitten or stung, but they knew as much as I did about what little critter it could be. They gave me some ointment and asked if we still had her e-collar. Remember this? The doctor said she would need to wear it so she wouldn't continually lick the wound.

Well that blue, comfy one didn't block her from licking her paw. She could easily reach it, so it wasn't much help. Over the weekend I went and bought her a plastic one. However, I have one smart pup. While it is difficult, she still figures out a way to maneuver her foot under the range of her mouth.

The plastic one is not very comfortable and she runs into everything. I also recently ordered her a thundershirt and thought it might relax her so she'd forget about her foot. She doesn't mind the thundershirt, but she still remembers her foot. I couldn't resist taking a photo of her like this.

When I'm home with her I don't make her wear the plastic e-collar. But I have to keep a close eye on her. She'll try to go in another room and lick her foot because she knows if she does it near me, I will yell at her and spray her with water. I think it looks to be healing.

But honestly, I have no idea if it is getting better. I'm hoping it continues to heal because I am supposed to board Iivana this weekend. I have a girls' weekend in Houston planned!

But don't worry people! I have ways to deal with my stress.

1. A weekend out of town is planned!

2. I worked out today.

3. I received some letters from my hubby today and also some travel information on Michigan. Yes, Justin signed me up to receive not only Pure Michigan emails but an information packet as well. I couldn't help but smile when I saw it in the stack of mail.

4. I bought a Kindle Fire and have been reading more. I just finished the The Hunger Games. I'm excited to continue reading the series. Plus, I've also enjoyed playing Draw Something.

5. I still am showered with lots of attention! My sister called me. Another sister emailed me. I talked with two of Justin's co-workers this week as well. Everyone is checking up on me. Some neighbors invited me over for a BBQ. 

6. I blogged! I don't know how I manage to neglect my blog again for so long because writing also provides a release.

Only 6 1/2 more days with my kiddos! I think when the school year is done I will feel a huge sense of relief. Not only should everyone continue to keep Justin in their prayers, please pray for my students to be well behaved for the final countdown.

The Bad & The Good

Justin has officially been gone for one month. I've become used to a new routine with just Iivana and me. However, there are times when you're living by yourself and you could really use some help! For instance, yesterday I struggled to open some flavored water. I twisted and twisted until my hand was red. I was trying to turn the cap off for a couple minutes, which led to frustration. So I did what any other person would do, grabbed a tool!

Even with the pliers, I struggled. I tore up the cap with scrapes and even removed some of the plastic. When I finally did open the top, all the shaking caused it to explode out all over my counter. Oh well, I was victorious and opened up my drink.

Despite times where I feel frustrated, I definitely felt the love this weekend. My hubby sent me some beautiful flowers. They were delivered right after I woke up on Saturday morning; it couldn't have been planned better. Not only are the flowers pretty, they smell sweet and the vase is neat!

Iivana and I also received a package from Justin's parents for Easter. Iivana got a new bunny toy and a new bone.

She had fun with the bunny toy...

I received an awesome Peeps shirt and of course some Peeps.

I think it is cute and I am excited to wear my new shirt.

Plus, Peeps are gluten free. I like to eat them when they're stale (weird I know), so I may save them for a while.

It Had To Be Said

I've successfully avoided updating for two whole weeks and it's not like I didn't have new things to write about. I told you I had new products to write about and have been busy completing more Pinterest projects. In the back of my head, I felt like there was something I needed to write about first, but wasn't quite sure how.

I think I'll start with the way the news was shared with me back in September. I remember the Friday clearly because Justin was cooking Ginger-Orange Glazed Cornish Hens.

We had wine, a candle was lit, and Justin explained to me he was going to be deployed. It was something that we had talked about through our entire 3 years of marriage, and it was unreal that those words were finally true. I shed a few tears, but was able to accept what he had just told me. The good part was that we would have 6 months to prepare before he left.

This meal will forever remind me of that day.

Like I mentioned above, we had 6 months to prepare, talk about, and go through all the emotions. Honestly, if this would have happened 3 years ago when we first moved to Texas I don't think I would have been okay. But I feel that I can write here today and say that I'm okay. Sure it sucks, but it is part of his job and he'll be back in 6 months.

Part of me didn't want to litter my blog explaining to the world about my husband being deployed. I figured those who are close will know about it anyway. On the sidebar of this blog I wrote, "I have celiac disease and live gluten free. While that is what I often blog about, it doesn’t define me. I’m also a teacher, a student, and a military wife. I live with my husband, Justin and our crazy dog Iivana in Texas. Although we’re originally from Michigan; we visit our friends and family there whenever we get the chance." I say being GF doesn't define me, and the military is a very present part of my life: it's why we live in Texas! So I couldn't just avoid the topic, because him being gone changes normal routines. That's why Justin was at training a few weeks ago. 

With that said, I probably won't be sharing all of my feelings for the world to see, but I will write about changes. I'm sure I'll write about a day that sucks, a day that I realize I'm very independent, or a day that Iivana is getting on my last nerve! Justin has been gone for over a week now and already I have felt so much love and support. Thank you to everyone who is praying for Justin and myself, we really do appreciate it.

Okay, now that that elephant is out of the room, I can have a normal post and I just finished a Pinterest project that I'm pretty proud of!