Hello all and Happy Pug Friday. I thought for the next few Pug Fridays I wanted to switch it up a bit and feature adoptable pugs and Pug Rescues across the country.

Pugs are adorable and loving creatures and it breaks my heart to hear of people have to surrender them, being found mistreated, or alone on the streets.


While I was in Pensacola our Pug Meetup was excellent at assisting others find homes for pugs in need and I hope perhaps this lil blog can do the same.

So come one come all fellow pug lover and dog lovers, if you know of a Pug Rescue or Shelter in need, I would love to learn more about the organization and post their adoptable puggies on this site.

You can leave a comment here or email me at leavingandloving@gmail.com

Thank you in advance.

Picture pulled from Boise, Idaho Pug Meetup page

I read this today on a friend's (a female F15e pilot's) Facebook page and I thought....YEAH you are totally right.

"I cant believe the all news coverage being given to a 20-something addict actress Lindsey Lohan. Here are a few 20 year-olds worth knowing about: Justin Allen23, Brett Linley 29, Matt Weikert 29, Justus Bartett 27, Dave Santos 21, Chase Stanley 21, Jesse Reed 26, Matthew King 23, Christopher Goeke 23 & Sheldon Tate 27. These 20-somethings gave their lives for you this week."

I'll be honest, I love a good celebrity sh!tstorm just as much as the next girl...probably more to be completely honest...but this much attention shouldn't be paid to Ms. Lilo.

This post is going to be all over the place, so apologies all around...

1. Ummmm, how freaking good was Mad Men on Sunday? I'm so happy its back. I adore how Peggy has come into her own, Joan has her own office, and Betty is dealing with a b!tch of a MIL. (didn't have that with Don since he had no family) Even though Don is now dealing with the consequences of his actions, you still like him, you still want him to come out on the other side...which I totally believe he will. Don Draper is a Big F'in Deal people.

2. Now True Blood - Its picking and choosing parts of the books it wants to follow. I believe in Alan Ball and all but seriously - why wouldn't Bill heal after being cut? I hate Cooter, but love how trashy Debbie Pelt is. Talbot is wonderful and Franklin is a total freakshow. And this dog fighting ring....YAWN. Ummm hello - only 1st born can be a WERE, duh! And let's get to saving Pam, she's awesome!

3. The state of our current house - CRAZY. We're walking on backer board over here... We ripped up all the flooring ourselves in the living room, hallway, kitchen, entry way, family room and stairs to the loft. Yummy dark hardwood is going in its place. Tearing it up ourselves saved us almost $1,000. We are planning on putting down the plywood ourselves too, which saves another $1,000+. I'm excited for the new floors, but not excited for the bill or having to work through all the noise its going to cause when they install.

4. My garden is growing and I have harvested several summer squash, 1 spaghetti squash, and 1 tomato.

5. We saw Inception at IMAX the weekend it came out. Amaze-balls. Seriously.

6. I have learned that there are more VW bugs in Idaho then anywhere I have ever been. Mr and I are constantly hitting each other "Slugbug no slug backs".


We went on a walk around the hood yesterday evening - 4 of them. How is that even possible?
By the way - we ONLY do it for VW Bugs.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

And lucky for you Season 4 starts on Sunday... Yeah Sunday as in the Day the Lord made for Eric Northman...but relax people God made DVRs so you can share in the delight of Don Draper, the Silver Fox Roger Sterling, sexy Viking Vamp Eric, and the hunky were Alcide...yes I excluded Bill because I hate Bill. (Read the books people you'd hate Bill too)

What you haven't watched the first 3 seasons and need to understand the pure awesomeness that is Mad Men...well you're in luck check out the link below.




Is anyone else concerned with how they are going to watch all the HBO shows, Mad Men, HGTV Design Star, and My Boys which is also coming on this Sunday (which is also another great show and set in Chicago). Ugh!!!!

Yes I'm addicted to television - SO WHAT!

Hello out there...sorry I've been quite a bad blogger lately. But as expected this move and getting up and running in my new home office has taken a lot out of me. I have a TON to blog about but no energy or ambition :)

Here's a lil video for you for Pug Friday. Enjoy :)

Happy Pug Friday!
XOXO

Obviously the light fixture will be changed, window treatments burned, and the trim will become white. I think we will have beadboard run up the walls about 4 ft with a wide chair rail. The beadboard will run into the 2nd half of the kitchen near along the pantry and side of the fridge. All the floor trim will be replaced with thicker trim and painted white.

So does this change your thoughts on black v. white kitchen cabinets?

No I'm not talking Michael Jackson here...I'm talking the color of our kitchen cabinets. Do I go black or white?


Black? Like Gwenie Paltrow's kitchen...

Or white like this gorgeous kitchen...

That is the question my friends. Our counter top is a Corian and appears to be relatively new. It is tan with flecks of white, gray, and black. The flooring we are putting in is a dark, real wood that will be carried in from the living room to the kitchen and into the family room. The wood color is similar to the flooring in the picture of the white kitchen above.

Here is the kitchen in all its glory with the original owner's belongings.

What was your first thought? Those kitchen cabinets on the right have to go??? Well that's what we thought too... Day 1 we ripped out the cabinets. Excuse the 2 big boxes we used those to help us hold the cabinets in place while removing all the screws, nails, and whatever else had been holding those things up since 1986.

So what's the consensus....black or white?

We have purchased fixtures for over the kitchen table and the sink, those are brushed nickel and were cheap at Lowe's so the new cabinet hardware will be brushed nickel. We are also set on removing the top portion of the Corian that is used as a backsplash. These pieces are glued on and not a portion of the countertop. This will be replaced with white subway tile with white or a gray/black grout.

So do we go black or white?

* Sorry I do not have links for the 2 kitchen pictures, if you do, please advise and I will give appropriate credit.

** FYI - All the appliances will be replaced. All trim work will be white and all doors are getting replaced with new, white doors.

I just love all the yellow flowers on the squash... Also, I only know 1 way to cook spaghetti squash so I'm going to need to learn some new recipes.

I harvested my 1st summer squash and I think a couple more can be picked tomorrow. I'm eager for all the tomatoes, I love myself some tomatoes. And I'm begging my cucumbers to grow because I can't wait to make this.

We are here... well we've been here since July 8th. Alot has happened since we last 'spoke'.

Mr. Jetplane began a Captain and turned the big 3-0.
We bought our 2nd house and we love it. It honestly feels like we live on a compound. It has a veggie garden and the sellers planted everything before they moved out.
We have already started a little demo and remodeling.

Oh and we already have our first house guests...and we don't even have all our belongings yet...truck comes tomorrow!

Heading to my 1st coffee tonight to meet all ladies in the squadron.

Hello Idaho the Jetplanes are here!!!!!

P.S. Thank you for all the Twitter love while we were traveling. I'm going to try to do a post about the trip later next week.

XOXO

I've always loved the 4th of July. The cookouts, the fireworks, and the day off of course... But to be completely honest with you, before the military became part of my life, I saw this day as a day to enjoy a day off work, to enjoy the sun, some beer, some hotdogs, and fireworks.

It has a much deeper meaning to me now... Take the time to enjoy the day, but take a moment to pause a reflect and thank all the men and women that gave and continue to give the ultimate sacrifice for our independence.

Have a great and safe Independence Day!!

image found here
p.s. I did a kick routine to the Neil Diamond song...I will always love this song.