The things you learn on the internet...

No, not that... Get your mind out of the gutter...

We have spotted evidence of mice inside the house... Occasionally, I will see one... We have been going round and round about getting a cat. We used to have 2 cats, and never saw a live mouse. In the several years that we had cats, we only ever saw 2 mice... Anyway, the reason we don't have cats anymore is mainly because I am allergic to them. Ironically, I'm the one who wants the cat to deal with the mouse... A doesn't want to deal with an allergic wife...

So I've been researching alternative methods to deterring the mice. I really don't want to kill them... I just want them to stay out of my house...

I know that mothballs are a good deterrent, but they stink to high heaven and I don't want that smell in my house...

I know I could get a sonic device to deter the mice, but some people think they aren't very effective...

I saw a natural solution that will make my house smell somewhat nice and deter the mice... I need to make "peppermint balls"... Basically put a few drops of peppermint oil on cotton balls and scatter them throughout the house. I'm not sure how well it will work, but I'm open to suggestions, as I don't want to have to call an exterminator...

I will be trying this method this week... As I go through the house to decontaminate it, I will scatter the peppermint balls in all the places where I have found evidence of the mice. I'll check them again before I leave on vacation... Hopefully, no more mice, and I'll have a refreshing scent of peppermint in my house when I return from vacation...

What a day to fly...

A finally took me for a flight in the Apache today. It has been several months since I've flown in the plane. After all the upgrades we have done, the plane is much more comfortable. Before we did the interior, we had a hard time keeping the cabin warm. Well, there is no problem now. We had to turn the heater off, it got so warm.

While in Skagway, we had lunch and ice-cream and walked around the town. It was raining when we left Juneau, but was a beautiful day in Skagway. With A leaving on Tuesday, and me being really busy with work tomorrow, I soaked up as much time as I could with him.

Tired of being busy...

I know, you are all probably getting tired of reading blog posts about how busy I am... I'm getting tired of writing them. But, we are getting closer to being done with renewals at work, so my life should return to normal soon...

I've been neglecting my online duties lately... When A is gone, I tend to work a lot of hours... So much so, that when I get home, I crash... I usually don't check my computer until the weekend... This past weekend, I didn't check it at all... When A is home, I tend to spend as much time as I can with him before he leaves again (as any good pilot wife will do, if able)...

On another note... Noni is banned from the office for a while... She has the "Lhasa Apso" tendency to show her teeth and snap at someone when you physically try to get her to do something (ie: grabbing her collar to pull her out of a room)... She did this trick with my boss... She didn't actually bite her, but she came really close to it... So she is cooling off a bit and hanging with her daddy during the days right now. I think I'm going to have to attach a leash to my desk to get her to stay there until she learns how to be good in the office and do what someone other than me tells her to...

I'm so ready for my life to get back to normal...

Tired puppy..

Counting down the days...

Vacation is just around the corner. We haven't taken this long of a vacation, uh, never? A is taking an entire month off from work (mostly just because we would not be able to get back to Alaska in time for his shift that month). I am taking 3 weeks off from work. It should be glorious... But I imagine it will be all intense and busy as hell...

We are running into a time crunch... A will be home for 8 days this month, then he won't be back until 3 days before vacation. That means that he has to get the airplane in the air this rotation home... And, of course, the airport finally decided to pave in front of the new hangers... However, this is what it currently looks like...
Not exactly conducive to getting the plane out of the hanger... So, of course, he is stressing...

I, on the other hand, have the lovely task of getting my house ready for company... We have lived here over a year, but we haven't "settled in" yet. I think it is because in the last 8 years, we have not stayed in one location longer that a year and a half, and I'm so used to everything still being packed... So I am going through boxes and hanging up stuff and throwing out garbage... It's great fun... Especially when you are restricted from your doctor because of a recent back injury that causes you not to be able to breath or sleep at night... But that's besides the point... On the plus side, I'm getting stuff cleaned up so it looks like we actually live here.

We will have 2 full days in Washington, where we will have the airplane go through it's annual inspection before we continue to Utah. My lovely husband will be dealing with that, while I rest up at the hotel. I wonder if they have a spa...

Then it's on to visit family... First, one side for 4 days, then another side for 3... Then we'll meet up with yet another side on our way back home, where we will meet even more when we get home... It should be great fun! I'll post as we go along so y'all can keep up with us...

That is, if everything goes as planned and I haven't dropped from exhaustion first, or gone completely insane...

Congratulations!

I am so happy for my friend. She had her fourth child last night. Congratulations!

I have known her since High School. She was a sophomore and I was a freshman. She sat behind me in choir, as we were both sopranos. We became fast friends. We were practically inseparable that year. But, at the end of that year, my family moved 2 hours away. I stayed with her family for the summer. It was one of the best summers of my life. We vowed to stay close.

All the great things in our lives have included each other. My 16th birthday was spent with her. I was her maid of honor, she was mine. I was there when she graduated from vet school and became a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. As we've grown into adulthood, we have always been there for each other...

She has given me 4 honorary nephews. Her boys are amazing. Every time I talk to her, her love for them is obvious. It's in her voice, the way she says things, even when she is frustrated because of something they've done.

I wish I could see them more. I've only met the two oldest boys. Her third, she had when I was in Hawaii. Now, her fourth now, while I'm in Alaska. I miss my friend terribly, and I hope to be able to see her soon.

Congratulations, honey! I am so happy for you!

(These photos were taken around Christmas, 2004. The one on the bottom is me holding her 2nd oldest - who happened to be born on my birthday ;) - with her oldest leaning against us for the picture.)

Because the hubby is away...

Just because the hubby is away, I get to do everything around the house. I found some pieces of furniture cheap at a garage sale this weekend, so I decided to reorganize my living room...

If my husband had been home, and I still did everything by myself, the universe would have conspired to have me be fine. I wouldn't be in pain, etc...

But because he isn't home, the universe conspired against me to have me dislocating several ribs and thoracic vertebra which caused severe muscle spasms... The universe did this because I don't have anyone to help me at home...

But if he were home and could help take care of me, I wouldn't have been hurt in the first place...

After a trip to the chiropractor, I'm doing much better, but still pretty painful... I'm just hoping that I don't have to medicate myself this evening just to go to sleep. Last night, the meds wore off around 4 am, causing me to wake up... Not to mention, the fuzzy, sluggish feeling coming down off the meds...

Eau d'Manure

The title of this blog could have easily been called "eau d'rotting fish guts"...

Why is it that a dog's happiness is directly proportional to how smelly they are?

The happiest I've seen Noni in a while is when we were out at a friend's house this weekend. They have horses and another friend brought her daughter out to ride them. Noni was so happy just running circles around the horses and the other dogs out there. Obviously having a great time. Of course, it was plainly obvious that she found something "wonderful" to roll in while we were there...

Why is it that when a dog is covered in something nasty, they want to go lay in your clean pile of clothes on the bed?

I finally had to close the door to my bedroom so she couldn't defile my clothing and bedding anymore... I wasn't able to give her a bath right away when we got home on Saturday, but she did get one that night... It took 2 shampooings to get the eau d'manure off her...

At least it was worth it to see her running around like a freak having the time of her life.

Getting Organized...

We are finally starting to get settled into our house... At least in the living room area... I went to a garage sale yesterday and found a wicker bench that is designed to house shoes that is now in my living room... It's starting to come together. I am finding places to put things, which is nice. My livingroom is imaculate, with everything dusted. I had grand designs to not stop yesterday until my entire first floor was spic and span, but plans change, especially after you pull a muscle in your back while moving furniture around and have to medicate yourself with a muscle relaxer... So the dining room and kitchen will have to wait. Hopefully my back will allow me to do more tonight after I get done with work (yes, I know I am at work on a Sunday...). I figure the more I get done now, the less I have to do in preparation for family to visit in August.

I'll have to post a picture later once I have the first floor done.

Sucky!

Between being insanely busy and deathly ill, I have gotten very little done. Thankfully, the energy levels are up so I can get back to working on getting my house ready for company next month.

I have let so many things slide in the mean time. If I forgot something that I was supposed to do for you, I apologize...

On the plus side? I may be able to snag a FREE spare bed from a friend. SWEET!!!!

Poor Noni...

I love it when crap happens that causes people to question your character...

As you know, Noni comes with me to work. We were sitting in the conference room, eating lunch, and afterwards, I invited her to sit on my lap. Always up for attention, she jumped at the chance...

After everyone else left the conference room, I decided that it was time to get back to work, so I started to shoo her off my lap...

We have chairs that are metal frames with the seat cushion suspended between them... There is a gap in-between the seat cushion and the frame on the sides of the chair...

Noni decided to depart my lap from the side... Getting her leg caught in the gap in the process... Of course, she started FREAKING OUT because she couldn't move... The sounds coming out of my dog's mouth brought everyone running... Thinking I was beating her or something (thanks, dog...)

While lifting her up again so we could get her leg out, of course she bit me... She was panicking and didn't mean it... Thank goodness she just grazed me and all I'm left with is a bruise...

I checked her out afterwards... She seems fine... Doesn't have any sore spots on her leg... But she is content to sleep on her bed now... And seems pretty clingy at the moment... Usually she is all about laying in the sunbeam that is between my desk and my admin's...

Poor Noni...