March 2020

This has been a very strange month.

We started out pretty rough, with Audie’s tumor removal needing new stitches and it just got crazier from there.

Thankfully, he is all healed now and acts like nothing ever happened. Unfortunately, I think he might have another growth that will need to be removed in the near future (if anything, to ease my mind) — we’ll be monitoring it to see if it grows etc… Dang Staffie genes!

In addition to dealing with his extra stitches, my Dart decided to act up again. This time, it wouldn’t start without another car to jump it every morning. Turns out it was some sort of electrical module that didn’t tell the battery that the car was off, so it would drain it every night. This same module was the culprit behind my Bluetooth not working either! (That problem had been going on for about a year prior and since it wasn’t detrimental to it’s daily use, I didn’t want to fix it before–Dart is paid off and 7 years old, it was bound to have some issues).

Miraculously, we only had to pay a small deductable to have it fixed at the dealership, thanks to a Mopar warranty we didn’t realize we still had. Truly, it was a blessing that it didn’t cost us more since we drained any sembalence of our tax return for Audie’s surgery.

But the crazy didn’t stop there.

We had spring break at the University so I enjoyed a week of relaxing at home, but then the Corona virus came to town and the University has gone to only online classes. Since I am considered to be more “at risk” than others with this pregnancy, my bosses thought it was best to have me remain off campus until further notice.

I am still currently furloughed without pay from work. It’s been a challenging couple of weeks to say the least. We wanted to see how one income would be anyway, in case I decide not to go back to work after Baby Waid is born… I just expected a couple more months of a paycheck to cushion that choice!

The Mister has also started working from home four days/week so it’s nice to see him during the day. At least his income won’t be affected (go Army!).

We are currently still on the house hunt so that weighs on my mind too. It’s a very frustrating process. We have put in a couple of different offers, but because of the super competitive market, we haven’t been able to land anything.

Now with PCSing in/out being halted by COVID, I’m anxious to be done with this whole process. Sadly, nothing in our price range recently has screamed “buy me!”. However, it is still a little early in our timeline. Hopefully, something pops up soon that feels right.

We made our very best offer for a place we really liked that was $10k over asking and the seller still countered someone else’s offer. Our realtor doesn’t understand why either. We really don’t know what more we could have done. It was a very depressing blow.

In other, less depressing news: Baby Waid has reached the third trimester. I can’t believe how fast this pregnancy seems to be going. I swear, it feels like I just found out. He’ll be here in less than 3 months!

This month we did labs, had a glucose test, and got to see his 28 week growth ultrasound. His heart rate was 140 (further proving that old wives’ tale wrong). He’s been kicking away regularly and likes to keep his hands by his face.

We’re to the point where we’ll be having appointments every two weeks from here on out. With this virus going around like wildfire, I’ve been told some appointments will be done over the phone. I’m not sure how that will work, but we’ll see.

The Mister can’t come to our appointments now either, per hospital precautions. I am really nervous that if this continues, they’ll keep him away from the delivery room. Truly hope this virus peters out by then.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we will be having a baby shower any time soon. Not only are stores low on supplies, but only those considered essential are remaining open.

Social distancing is also being encouraged, so no groups over 10 people and a six foot breadth between each person has been recommended to “flatten the curve”. This Corona thing is pretty scary, but with a little common sense, it should fizzle out quickly.

April hopefully will bring some semblance of normal. Fingers crossed.

Until then,

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

January/February 2020

Clearly I have completely abandoned any hope of posting here in a timely manner every month. *Insert lame excuse as to why here*

January certainly felt like a very long month, but February sprinted by.

January

I can’t say we really did much in January either. We had every intention, but the weather finally got cold and wintery and my energy levels have been on the low end.

We did start off the new year trying to be active and took the dogs to the Greenway for the first time. Got a good few miles in and wore everyone out.

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We celebrated the Mister’s birthday at the beginning of the month and had another baby appointment.

Baby Waid didn’t want to give a sneak peek at gender this month, but was very active and had a nice strong heartbeat of 156.

It took me nearly the whole month to take down our Christmas decor and get my living room back in order. Not being able to bend over properly and lift heavy stuff makes for slow going.

Miss Indie had also been on a destructive rampage with her new stuffed toys so every time we finished cleaning, she made one explode and we’d be right back to square one.

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We started our house hunt since it appears we will be here until the Mister retires from the Army. We spent a lot of time looking at options within our budget and compiled a list of what we’re looking for in our first house.

The housing market around here is booming. We have missed out on several places to look at because offers are in within hours of it hitting the MLS.

It’s been frustrating, but our moving timeline is a major factor too. We are essentially locked into our lease until it ends at the end of June. If we break the lease early, we still have to pay monthly rent until the house is a) filled or b) the original lease ends. To make it even more challenging, Baby Waid is due mid June. So I can’t really buy nursery furniture or nest until we know our new place’s dimensions.

Luckily, we’re not too worried yet. With PCS season right around the corner, more places are likely to pop up and like I said, this housing market is insane.

In other news, I’ve added to my ever growing Bombshell collection. Two preorders arrived and they are stunning.

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Other than that, we spent most of the month stocking up on baby deals when we came across them. We don’t have much stockpiled, but we have a start. For as long as January felt, we truly didn’t do much.

February

This month was a whirlwind. Just not in the adventuring department.

We had a beautiful 65° day one weekend and took the doggos to the park for some play time. I haven’t seen these two that happy in weeks! They were so glad it stopped raining and they could run.

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The following week, it rained and was super cold, but we had the most exciting time.

We got to see more details of Baby Waid at our ultrasound appointment. I’m also starting to really feel the movement which is exciting!

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We also found out Baby is a boy! The Mister and I are so thrilled. We would have been happy with either but a boy is awesome. I grew up with all girls so this is definitely going to be a learning experience all around.

We are almost into the third trimester. Can’t believe how fast this pregnancy is going. I’m finally feeling him kick, so I feel like I can relax a little now. We really need to find a new place because I am SO ready to nest/meet him.

Later that week we celebrated Indie’s first birthday. I can’t believe our youngest pack member is already a year old. She’s such a sweet girl but man is she a handful at times.

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We also had our fair share of hiccups this month.

My car had a bushing break on the shifter and got stuck in reverse. Turns out there was a recall for this exact problem. Luckily, the Mister had a few days off and was able to get that issue fixed. We had to switch vehicles for a few days but it wasn’t so terrible. Then I couldn’t get it started on the Monday after we fixed the recall. The Mister drove it a couple days and it seems to be functional…Now we have to find some time to get his car’s recalls fixed…

In other doggo news, Audie had to go under the knife again for a couple of growth removals. He’d been growing some sort of black spot on his nose for a few months and had another that kept growing/shrinking in his cheek. Poor boy has had a rough go in the surgery department, but he’s such a trooper. Poor guy looked like Frankenstein when we picked him up.

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Originally I went to pick him up at the clinic and as we were getting ready to leave, he shook his head and blood went everywhere! So doc had to put more sutures in and he had to spend the night. This mama had a hard night. And miss Indie drove me crazy looking for him.

Thankfully, he was fine. His histopath did show some upsetting news. He had a grade 2 mast cell tumor. Luckily the doc got it all and didn’t think a referral to an oncologist was necessary yet. Still, we’ll keep an eye on it and hope for the best. Definitely not ready to think about the alternative.

He left his sutures alone the whole time he had them in. The night we had them taken out, he reopened his cheek. So back into surgery he went…after my car wouldn’t start again to take him.

This mama can’t take any more bad luck!

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Until then,

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

December 2019/Year End

Another year has come and gone.

What a year it has been!

It’s hard to sit down and look back at the whole year to see everything we’ve done. I know I’ve been lacking in content for each post mostly due to our crazy schedules and just a lack of adventures to keep updating about. Working full time and living where the weather isn’t always gorgeous has definitely played into that as well.

While I’m not one for resolutions, this new year is going to bring a lot of changes and I want to make a genuine effort to be more adventurous and actually do/see new things. Too many times we’ve just been too lazy to go out and explore.

We’ll see how that goes. Fingers crossed.

December was a whirlwind. I blinked and it’s January.

We took in Christmas on the Cumberland – a light “show” along the Cumberland River near downtown Clarksville twice. We went when my family came for Christmas as well as early in the month to beat the crowds so to speak.

The furkids did pretty well.

As is slowly becoming tradition, we took the doggos to see Santa. I’m so surprised at how well miss Indie did. She is terrible about photos and isn’t too sure of strangers, but she did great! Audie as always cooperated fabulously.

Look at those smiles!

With my new job, I was given nearly three weeks off for the holidays (which is WAY more than I have ever had off before – I didn’t even have to use sick/vacation time – though I did have to go unpaid).

We were able to travel a bit to The Mister’s parents’ place in the mountains of North Carolina and spend some real time there.

View from the cabin.

They treated us to a trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. Whoa what a house! I’d love to see it in the spring/summer with the gardens in full bloom!

All lit up

What a house!

We headed back to our place on Christmas Eve, just in time for our yearly matching jammies photo. Indie didn’t cooperate as well for this one and Audie definitely didn’t look like his smiley self.

I think Audie is getting tired of photos at Christmas.

On Christmas Day, my parents and Middle Sister arrived. We spent a few days just hanging out at the house and checking out the antique stores.

Apparently Hina thinks she’s a gift.

We rounded out the year with one last film, Rise of Skywalker, on New Year’s Eve. It wrapped up that series nicely in my opinion. We spent the rest of the evening watching The Witcher, trying to block out the fireworks.

This has definitely been a year! We started it off with surgeries (The Mister and Audie), a new addition to the pack (Indie), a new job (yours truly), new places, a tragic loss, time apart (Army life), and family time well spent.

2019 brought us all sorts of great adventures (though not nearly enough!) and set us up for our greatest adventure yet.

Now that we’ve told our families, we can add it here. Mid October, while the Mister was away for training, we found out we are expecting our first two-legged baby!

Such a surprise!

I decided to wait until he got home to have our first appointment with the OB.

We saw our first sonogram on November 25. At that time we were almost 11 weeks along.

Seeing this little one and hearing the heartbeat was so amazing.

Our second appointment was January 6. Baby Waid didn’t want to cooperate for a new photo, but had a strong heartbeat of 156. We also got some labwork done to check for genetic disorders.

Gender ultrasound is scheduled for February 12!

This little one is set to come in June and we are so excited!

We told our families at Christmas (just to be past the first trimester).

They were all so thrilled!

We are looking forward to what 2020 will bring.

Here’s to new adventures!

Until then,

Cheers!

A. xoxo

November 2019

Goodness, where has this year gone? I don’t know how, but December snuck up on me.

This Waid clan didn’t have a whole lot going on this month.

The Mister was gone for the first week and a half of the month with training for his new unit.

Changing units means The Mister is no longer with field artillery. It’s incredibly bittersweet for both of us. He’s lived and breathed the big guns for 16 years of his military career. I know he’ll miss it but his new position will be helping wounded soldiers on the road to recovery, which will be very rewarding as well. Change is a good thing right?

With that said, we attended our very last St. Barbara’s Ball.

At least he looked good! The cameraman didn’t take into consideration how unflattering I looked. Haha.

Much better on my end.

The Mister finally received his Order of Saint Barbara award.

Such a long time coming.

We also attended our first Hail and Farewell with our new unit. It was a nice time, even though we weren’t familiar with anyone yet. I think the transition will be nice. Hopefully I can find some way to be more useful in this FRG.

Miss Indie is now 9 months old! She’s started to fill out a bit more but there is no sign of her slowing down. She’s still very much a puppy. A very large, heavy puppy.

My big girl. 🐾❤️

We also celebrated Audie’s “Gotcha Day”. We adopted him 6 years ago on the 15th.

My sweet bub. 💙

Other than that, the month was pretty uneventful.

We enjoyed a nice little family Thanksgiving at home. I cooked enough for a small army, even though it was just the two of us and the furbutts. The extra days off were nice to just spend together.

Next month will bring all kinds of adventures I think. Most of my family is coming for Christmas here. It’s Indie’s first Christmas with us. We’ll probably go see The Mister’s parents at the cabin too.

I have a lot of extra time off from work so I’m looking forward to not having to rush through everything for a change. Hopefully we’ll make the most of it!

The new year is right around the corner!

Until then,

Cheers!

A. xoxo

September/October 2019

Better late than never! I can’t tell you how many times I thought “oh! I need to update the blog” only to have something else come up and it was completely forgotten.

Never fear, you didn’t miss much over the last couple of months. Sadly, our adventuring took a hiatus.

September

My sweet Audie boy turned six on the first.

This face…💓 It always makes me happy.

We took advantage of the nice weather and took the doggos to the park. It was a hit but still slightly too hot for a long session.

Wore miss Indie out.

The Mister decided to surprise me with an Instant Pot! We’d talked about getting one and then Amazon had a Lightning Deal. It was fate. We really enjoy the speed and ease of using it. It’s great when I’m short on time. It’s still really intimidating to me but it’s been fun to learn.

Ask and you’ll receive.

The month also came with some tragic news. My sweet friend and former coworker at the clinic, Beth, was killed by her husband. It was devastating news.

Beth always had a smile, a “good morning”, and a Supernatural reference for me.

The news really took a toll on me. It’s something I’d only seen in movies and never expected it would happen to someone I knew so personally. She was too kind a soul for this world.

September also brought a much needed reprieve from the “real” world with the Trail of Tears Powwow in Hopkinsville, KY. It was wonderful reconnecting with my heritage and getting lost in that realm for a day.

Fancy dancer.

Perhaps given what a rough month it was, retail therapy prevailed. The Mister and I added to our extensive superhero statue collection.

My very first Scarlet Witch statue. She’s my favorite Marvel character.

One of my all-time favorite Wonder Woman costumes. Wonder Woman 600.

DC Bombshells Batgirl and Supergirl deluxe statue.

Frank Cho Wonder Woman – a hard to find piece that I’m so happy I snagged!

October

October brought some happier times, even though the Mister was away for training for his new job with the Warrior Transition Unit.

I got invited to celebrate my former co-worker’s son’s first birthday! He’s such a doll.

Baby T is one!

I was also invited to a memorial for Beth at our friend Adrianne’s house. It was very sweet of her to think of inviting me, since I haven’t been with the clinic since June.

It was great to be able to celebrate Beth and remember her with people who knew her so well.

Halloween came and I didn’t get around to carving a pumpkin (I waited too long to get one)…but work had a pumpkin painting contest. I threw together a hastily sketched Scraps from the Corpse Bride.

I think he turned out pretty well considering I was only able to paint for about an hour and a half out of the three hour time frame.

At the end of the month, we had a pretty rough storm come through. It took out my fence (one I’ve been begging to have fixed by our property management since June) and we lost power for about 6 hours.

We lucked out that we only had a small amount of damage. Thousands of people didn’t have power again until nearly a week later.

It’s been a heck of a few months and I have a hunch it’s only just beginning for the Waid clan.

The holidays are coming and the Mister and I have St Barb’s Ball to attend.

Before you know it, it’ll be a new year!

I will update for November. I will write it down if I have to! It was way too hard to remember two months at a time!

Until then,

Cheers!

A. xoxo

August 2019

And just like that, it’s already September!

August was not the adventurous month I intended.

Still, we managed a few new experiences.

Miss Indie got spayed on the 2nd.

She had to have a cone because she couldn’t be trusted to leave her sutures alone. She was unfazed.

We decided to try Liège Waffle Company when they came to Star Spangled Brewery. They were amazing. Sweet and savory Belgium waffles with all the funky toppings you can handle.

Fantastic waffles with unique toppings.

The Mister and I got invited to a couple gatherings. One of my favorite clients from the vet clinic invited us to a get together dinner with some of my former co-workers. Her husband is currently in Cuba doing contract work so she was so appreciative of the company.

The next day, we were invited to a clinic pot luck. I wasn’t sure if I was still allowed at those, but it was held at one of my favorite former co-worker’s and she insisted we come because she wanted me there. It was a very sweet gesture and it makes me feel good to know at least some people appreciated me during my work there. Plus, I got to snuggle her youngest who has given me crazy baby fever.

Huge thank you to Terri and baby Turner for a nice night.

We attended Barks and Brews at Gladiator Brewing in Clarksville the following weekend.

Both the dogs did fantastic. We weren’t sure how Indie would do, but she pleasantly surprised us.

Checking out all the other doggos.

My sweet bub Audie with me.

Indie hanging out with the Mister.

We actually won a cute “Home” sign in the raffle! We never win anything so that was fun.

It was a beautiful day after about a week and a half of rain.

We had planned to go to a state park this weekend but can’t seem to find the motivation.

Instead, we celebrated the first college football Saturday of the season.

Sporting some of my personal Paparazzi jewelry collection as well as my Husker shirt.

Hopefully September will see some real adventures and some cooler temperatures.

Until then,

Cheers!

A. xoxo

July 2019

I’m not sure why June’s post just posted but now it’s time for July’s!

July did not prove to be a very thrilling month for the Waid clan.

Jack turned 9 on the first. He’s as spry and ornery as ever.

My toothless old man. 💙

I spent a day in the ER. I was miserable. Hugging my toilet and liquid diarrhea. It was a miserable weekend.

I should just permanently have that allergy tag on.

Never did figure out what was wrong with me. But IV fluids and lots of rest did their job.

Other than that, we saw a few movies. Spiderman and The Lion King.

It seems like July flew by us.

August starts classes where I work so I’ll be busier than I have been, but I’m excited for the new routine.

Miss Indie is getting spayed tomorrow. It’ll be the last services I receive from the vet clinic.

She’s gotten so big! 6 months old tomorrow.

I was told my help was no longer needed. While the plan was to be done after Indie’s spay anyway, I’m still perturbed at how I found out I’m not needed. I went in to check for August’s schedule and that’s when they told me. I just wonder how long it would have taken them to tell me, had I not gone in.

After 3 years of showing up every day consistently, I guess I expected a bit more courtesy. So much for gratitude, eh? Then again…after all the stress and poor treatment, I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything less.

Oh well! My new job is going great and I’m still 1000% less stressed. I’m also really looking forward to full weekends off with my little pack. I’m excited to really start planning more adventures without having to cut them short for work obligations. Much to the Mister’s chagrin no doubt.

August will hopefully prove to be way more adventurous.

Here’s to hoping!

Until then,

Cheers!

A. xoxo

June 2019

2019 is officially more than halfway over. It’s crazy how fast this year is going.

Let’s see….

June brought miss Taz’s 5th birthday.

5 looks good on her.

The adventures were plentiful this month.

We visited historic Rock Castle near Hendersonville, Tennessee. It was super interesting and the setting was picturesque.

Such a gorgeous setting. And one of the oldest buildings in middle Tennessee.

I started my new job. So far it is awesome. I am so much less stressed and the people I work with are fantastic. It’s nothing glamorous but it’s a great step up from how unhappy I was at the vet clinic.

My parents came to visit with the dogs. We went to LBL again and brought most of the Hozas with us. Four dogs and six humans on a pontoon. We had a great time!

The whole gang had a really nice time on the water.

This weekend, we got Indie a harness and started her leash training. So far she’s doing great.

Such a big girl!

We took the pups to the park and saw the replicas of the Niña and the Pinta that are docked on the Cumberland River.

The Niña and the Pinta

The Mister with Audie and Indie

We didn’t do as much as I’d have liked this month, but it’s a step in the right direction. We’ll definitely have more time on weekends and holidays now.

I don’t have much planned for July but hopefully we can make the most of it!

Until then.

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

May 2019

How is half the year already gone??

May was a mostly boring month.

The Mister didn’t get home from his course until May 25, so we didn’t have much time for adventuring.

We had to celebrate our 6th anniversary apart again. I’m pretty sure he’s been home once for that. Army life, eh?

We did manage to make time for one quick trip. We went to the Tennessee Renaissance Festival for a day.

It was fun! We got to watch jousting and saw a lot of interesting people. We also got to see Castle Gwyn.

The gentleman who owns it has been building it for 30+ years. It’s very unique.

Castle Gwyn

Interior.

The puppy has been growing quickly and it was great seeing how she reacted to meeting her dad.

She thinks she’s a baby.

In other news, we have had some exciting things happening.

I accepted a new job! I’ll be working at university now. I’m excited to start. The hours are better and I will have weekends off.

I am staying at the vet clinic on certain Saturdays but likely that will only be until Indie is fully vaccinated and spayed. By then, school will be in session.

I have also launched my Paparazzi business! I haven’t sold much but I am looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

I created the logo and set up a business page on Facebook and Instagram.

June should lend itself to more adventures as I’ll now have more time to spend with the Mister and Indie will get her last shots in a couple weeks.

We already have one day trip planned for next weekend.

Until then,

Cheers!

A. xoxo

April 2019

Another unproductive month!

If I had more people actively following this page, I might be a little more upset with myself. However, since it’s usually all maybe 2 of you, sorry I’m boring!

This month hasn’t brought any adventuring out and about. Instead, it’s been month of adventures of another kind.

Hina celebrated her 6th birthday.

Doesn’t she look thrilled to be 6?

The Mister left for SLC at Fort Sill on the 7th. We were able to sneak in one more movie before he left, so we saw Shazam!. It was a lighthearted change of pace. He’s gone until the end of this May.

I “celebrated” my 31st birthday. My friend Tracy and her family took me out so I didn’t have to be alone. It was low key and very nice of them.

Audie had a growth removed from his ear that same day. Luckily it was just a histiocytoma (benign red bump essentially). His poor little ear won’t stand up again. So no more Anubis ears. 😔 But, it’s better than having him scratch it bloody daily.

That red bump inside his ear on the left is what they removed.

A few days later our new pack member came home.

This is Independence, aka Indie.

The day she came home. ~8 weeks old

9 weeks

10 weeks

Our plan was to get a boy, but apparently we were the last ones to speak up and got the last of the litter.

She is awesome though. Audie likes having a sister and we’re working on potty training. She’s pretty terrible at it, but so was Audie and I’m not home nearly as much as I was with him.

For Easter, the Hozas invited me over for a cook out which, again, was great. It really was a good distraction from being home solo for so long.

I saw the new Avengers movie. It was phenomenal. I was so thrilled with how they wrapped it up. It’ll be a tough act to follow.

The rest of the month has been a drag. I haven’t gotten nearly the amount of stuff I wanted to get done, done. My days off have been filled with trying to recover from being at work and very little else.

I know I need to get cleaning since my house needs a good spring clean and I definitely need to get my Paparazzi room situated so I can start selling. I lack all motivation though.

I did finally get my business page up and running, I just need to get posting so I can start generating some traffic.

I am excited to start, just too wrapped up in the details right now I suppose.

If anyone is interested, my website is live and ready for orders: http://www.paparazziaccessories.com/waywardwonders

Like I said, I was a raging bore this month. I’m very hopeful that May will bring some actual adventures.

Remarkably I have Memorial Day weekend off, so maybe I can squeeze a weekend trip out of The Mister (hopefully he’ll be home!). And the Bell Witch Cave is open again…and I’ve resolved to actually go this year.

Until then…

Cheers!

A. xoxo