Busy Busy Busy

We got back to the states on April 8th. We have been busy cleaning up after our little four legged, beady eyed squatters ---- grrrrrr. We have taken the opportunity to declutter and do some redecorating and organizing which is taking more time that the clean up would have. I have already had to mow the lawn twice since I have been back and my flower beds are in dire need of weeding. There is just so much to do around the house that I have not had time to do much of anything since returning to the states.

We stopped and picked up the kitty on the way from WV to AL. She is such a sweety. At first she hid a lot - but now, she just runs all over the house like she is the boss. She and TaiChi are not exactly friends yet - but they tolerate each other. At first she was really scared of the dog - but now, I think the dog is more afraid of her. She is a bit of a psycho kitty - running and jumping and pouncing at all hours of the night. I have had to scold her a couple of times - she had to be taught that getting on the pool table and in my potted plants was a no-no.

I took a little break to fly to Pennsylvania to pick up my final birthday present.... a BMW Z4. I was so excited that the dealership was only a few minutes from my friend Brandy's house. I have not seen Brandy since we were both in Iraq (she went home before me - then moved to PA). It was great seeing her and her husband. She is having a baby really soon and it was fun to see her and feel her belly. I am hoping that I rubbed some baby dust off her and on to me :) She did an amazing job of painting and decorating the nursery. She will make an awesome mommy and Chet will make a great dad too. I was also able to see my friend, Deanna who lives in Hershey PA. I have not seen her since right after I was married (she is the one who baked my wedding cake). Her daughters have grown up and she has a little boy now as well. She has been really busy lately - she has written a childrens book dealing with deployment of a parent. Its a really neat book and I am so proud of her.

Chris just finished a week long CISSP (certified information system security professional) class. It was twelve hours of class per day - plus homework at night. He had Saturday off, but was required to take a 6 hour long test on Sunday. He is extremely happy with his new position with the government.

We finally set up our fish tank. I guess you can say that it is sort of symbolic of us being home for good. This is our first salt water tank and we had no idea that it was so costly. So far, we only have live rock in there. We will be able to add fish and coral soon. I had hoped to have seahorses, but found out that the seahorses do not survive with the fish because they move so slow and can not compete for the food.