Some Good Clean Fun

So, Today was my first full day without the dear husband being here and let me tell you...it already feels as though he's been gone a week! In the process of trying to find something to do with myself this evening, I took the pups out back and blew some bubbles for them. They've both always loved to chase after them,pop them with their teeth, then come back to me for more bubbles. I don't think I've ever seen anything funnier than these two dogs chasing after bubbles and mostly snapping air.

Missing Him Already

So, I got the dear husband off to the airport today and right now, he should be getting closer to Virginia. I already miss him so very, very much and I'm just thankful that I've got a great phone support group, where I can call a few people anytime I need to. I'm still not sure what to do with all my time, but somehow I have the feeling my house is gonna be spotless the next couple of months!

We took these photos on Saturday night and they each bring a smile to my face. I had some printed out so that the dear husband could take them with him. He said he's going to miss me and our puppies more than anything.

He really is my best friend and I have already begun the count down for the day he gets to come home!

I wish I had gotten a better angle on this one because she was licking her lips too! Oh she loves the attention!!

And I have to send out a very special HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRONSON!! to my little guy here. Today is his 8th birthday and I still think he looks pretty handsome! The dear husband told the boy that we're gonna celebrate his birthday more properly when the hubby gets home. There's going to be so much to party about come May!!!

Something funny last night

So I had to pop on real fast to relate a funny event that happened last night. It was a tad warm in the house and during the evening the weather had finally cooled down and a gusty wind had picked up. I decided to sit out back, with my dogs, and enjoy the breezes. A sudden noise over by a part of my fence caught my attention and I looked over to see these two little black paws climbing one of the posts. My first thought was, " Boy cat, you sure are going to be surprised when you hit the top of that fence." Then for some reason the idea that it might be a skunk(yeah I know...in my moment of irrationality I forgot skunks can't climb like that) and tried to rush the dogs inside. I lingered long enough to catch a glimpse of the face similar to that below and am still laughing a bit at the creature's bravery and the way it's paws looked climbing my fence.

I'm gonna be MIA for a couple of days.

I just wanted to give ya'll a heads up that I probably won't be around much the next few days. My husband leaves, for a few months, on Monday, so we are trying to make sure that everything is ready for his trip and just busy spending what time together we can. I did however want to share the picture with you of the purse I made the other night. What do ya think?? Hope everyone will have a great weekend!!

My attempt at a giveaway

So, I thought it was time to try and attempt my first giveaway and the photo to the left is what I will send to the winner. It's a 8x10 framed piece I made myself and if you would like to be entered to win, please send me an email with your name and email address between March 24, 2009 and April 6, 2009. I'll assign each entry a number and use a random number generator to get the winning number. You only need to email me once ( at firestalkergirl@gmail.com)to be entered for a chance to win. Good luck to everyone!

Our New Favorite Bookstore

A few posts ago I promised to talk about our new favorite bookstore/coffeeshop, and so now that I've got some pictures to go with the narrative, I guess should fulfill that promise. As you can see from the picture above, it's called Half Price Books and though it is a smallish chain store, what we love most about it is that each store is more or less an individual entity.

What makes each store unique is how they come by the majority of their stock. As a patron you can bring in an assortment of books, music, movies, comic books, magazines, even some puzzles and games and they'll pay you for them. They also get some overflow from printing companies and everything is very reasonably priced.

An example of just how great their prices ,is this weekend, my dear husband bought a role-playing book for about $20. What makes this great is that when you are even able to find the book, it'll normally run you anywhere from $50 to $60!

These were my selections(minus one magazine) and it'll all only cost me about $6! I love their clearance section and can get a few novels for about $1 !

If you want to get the best cup of coffee anywhere here in Corpus Christi, you HAVE to check out the coffeeshop located in the book store! They have two flavors of daily coffee(and they will all be from various parts of the world), each for under $2 for a large and half-priced refills on those. They also offer specialty coffees and my dear husband's and my personal favorite is the " Turkish Delight". Trust me...if you ever get down this way and happen to stop in...try it!!

The service is also excellent and the staff couldn't be nicer! I love their decor too and they have various national flags hung on the ceiling, mismatched tables and chairs, and travel photos on the walls. On Saturday evenings, that I know of, they have different local music groups come in and you never know what kind of music you'll get to hear. All in all I would have to say it's definitely become one of our favorite spots here in Corpus!

How a Beach-Bum Wanna-be Spent the Day

The dear husband and I decided that today would be a perfect day to hit the beach-front again, so we packed ourselves, the dogs, a bite of lunch and set out for that sun-warmed sand and those crashing waves. It was the first time that either of the dogs had ever been to the beach and though we were a little nervous about how they would react, we wanted them to have a new experience and not be stuck in the house all day.

They were already pretty excited to be able to go for a car ride and were even more eager to get out and explore. Pepper spotted the birds and people and oh that's all it took to send her into

spams of doggie-heaven. Bronson was more his laid back, cool joe usual self.Then, we took them over to the water to see if they'd want to frolick and play and splash about. As you can tell....they thoroughly decided right from the beginning that they wanted NO part of this cool wet stuff and we were nuts to even have thought they might.

They much preferred to sit on the blanket and sun themselves or to sniff around the dunes and among the sea grass.

The dear husband thought it might be fun to dig a hole to China, and not wanting to put a damper on his enthusiam, I didn't even bother to try to mention how impractical and near impossible such a thing would be.I ended up making a turtle, but didn't really get much help from either of the dogs, other than Pepper doing her best to stamp the sand as compactly together as her little paws could.

Several times during the afternoon large flocks of pelicans kept flying over and we almost always seemed to just miss snapping a close-up shot of them. I went and stood down in the surf and watched the foamy waves wash up against the shore. Looking down at my feet I kept seeing little bi-valves and tiny crabs that the water would pull the sand off of and how they would scurry to get back down into the dirt. Being at the beach today, made me even more aware of how much I love the ocean and I felt at peace and joyful. As much fun as we had today though, we are pretty worn out and I think that it is time for our little family to take a nap.