Meet Butters!

We had been thinking about getting another kitty since we arrived in Italy (well since I arrived and we moved into our house in April.) It's really similar to the average married couples who start to have this nesting urge and feel their lives would be more complete if they were to have children.

I don't want kids. Not now and maybe not ever. That's a whole other topic that I'm not really wanting to get into on this post!

Anyways, we had been wanting to get another kitty. Mainly for Juba who seemed to be lonely at night while meowing at whatever in the house as we try to sleep. She knows what another cat is because she had been around kitties since she was about 6 months old (before that I have notta clue!) Toph and I decided we wanted a little male kitty since we already had a female. From my background growing up with cats, the opposite sexes seem to get along better. Less alpha and leader of the group. Thankfully Juba isn't an alpha female so I knew introducing a new addition into our little family wouldn't be a huge issue.

On July 13, 2013 something amazing happened. Our good military friends and distant neighbors told us their cat Lily had kittens. Three to be exact. The wife sent me pictures of all of them. They were beautiful. As Toph and I were browsing through the pictures one night he seemed to be particular of one of the kittens. This little creamy sandy orange kitten was so adorable, and it reminded Toph of his kitty "Tommy" who was left at his parent's house in the States. Tommy is about 14 years old and was too elderly to travel overseas. Toph misses him just like I miss little Bunnie, the kitty I left behind because we were only allowed 1 pet.

So the weeks went by. We were eager to know that the little orange kitten was-a boy or a girl. The wife told us one day while at Magic that it was a boy she was almost certain!! We were thrilled!

We had to wait until the kitten was old enough to be weaned, and on Sunday September 9, 2012 Mr. Leopold Butters was brought to our house!! Toph had to be on standby that morning when our friends brought him over, so a few hours later when Toph came back he was very excited to meet Butters. Toph's first words when he walked in the door were, "Where's my cat!?" Lol

How did we come up with the name Leopold Butters?

If you've watched the series "South Park" then you know what we're talking about. Leopold Butters is my favorite character off of that show, and one day before we adopted Butters it just clicked!

Here is a picture of Butters the day he was brought to our house.

So little! Happy adoption day Butters!

Happy 5th Birthday Jujubee!

I can't believe where the time as gone, because it seems like just yesterday I brought this sweet little kitty home from Craigslist about 4 1/2 years ago.

She's come such a long way since then, and I am so thankful to have her in our lives. Some pets don't get second chances, but this little girl certainly did and has done a complete 360 degrees for the better!

Happy 5th Birthday Juba!

Out and About in Italy

Here are some pics of the scenery, the roads, and everything in between my first couple of weeks here in Italy. From where my hubby and I are from, it's not completely different...everything is just as green if not greener than back home. The road signs are definitely different than what I'm used to seeing...so many different pictures to follow, how does one remember them all?

Leaving our house, on the road...notice the line in the middle of the road isn't yellow!

Strange road signs (top means there are two side roads coming up but this road has the right of way, and the bottom one means watch for deer)

This sign ahead with the red slash through it means we're leaving this town and going into another one

The beautiful Dolomite Mountains ("Doh-low-meet-ay")

There's hubby driving!

Entering another little town...this one is called Costa ("Coh-stah")

I'm not really sure what the blue arrow means...straight ahead?

More strange road signs...road bends to left, and right of way again

A small grape vineyard

Turning with blue road signs

This sign with the number circled in red means speed limit (50 km/hr =30 mph

Coming up to the main city

Stopping at a light...so different than in the states!

Our Italiano Casa! (Inside)

I've only lived in a total of (2) houses in my entire lifetime. One from the day I came home from the hospital until I was 13 1/2 years old, and the other until I was 23 1/2 years old. I loved both of my homes so very much. My husband is pretty much the same as me. He grew up in a total of 3(ish) houses. One until he was 9 years old, and then his parents moved, purchased a large lot of land, built two homes, and lived in one for a few years, then lived in the other for a few more. He did however move out of his parents home and live in what I called a "bachelor pad" until he was 22(ish) then moved back to his parents before leaving for Basic Training.
Italian homes in my opinion are...just a little, well, different. There's nothing really wrong with them (well besides having absolutely NO whats-so-ever built in closets.) This is our FIRST ever home living on our own, together I might add. We really can't completely judge...especially since the military is paying our rent each month!
Here is a mini tour of what our house looked like when we first moved in...after FMO (let us borrow things like a fridge, microwave, bed, etc.) Hope you enjoy!
NOTE: There will be an update once all our furniture comes from TMO!!

Our FIRST night in our home...it was so cold!

The entrance to our home...there's Juba!

Kitchen off to the right...it's apparently one of the larger accommodations here!

Our stove...it's propane which I've never used before. Professional chefs use this type, so it shouldn't be so bad!

Looking out the kitchen window (there's two)...such a lovely view

Our simple little fridge...yes, I've already started "girly-ing" it up as Toph puts it!

The living room off to the left (where we slept for a while until we decided to move into the master room)

Past the living room on the left side is a small hallway (bathroom is on the right, and straight is the master bedroom)

Our bathroom! The biggest I've ever had!

Mirror above sink (which I love the cabinet!) There's me!

Nice BIG sink!

I think it's called a....bade? (bah-day)

This is used by women here to "clean themselves" after going number 1...uh, yeah I'm not doing that. This thing is just going to be used as storage!

The shower...definitely not digging the shower head for the fact it likes to face down...definitely gotta be flexible!

Now onto the master bedroom (a "catch-all" at the moment for all our clothes and such)

Going to the other hallway on the right side (there's Juba again!)

This is going to be my office/cat room...but as you can see it's Juba's room for the time being

She wanted to give you the tour of her room herself!

Looking out Juba's window at the backyard...see, it really is BIG!

This is the hubby's office. He hasn't moved in here all the way yet, but it will be the "ultimate gaming room" as he puts it

Interesting light switches...because they're on the outside of each of the rooms...something to get used to

An Italian plug...so strange comparing to what we're used to

Our Italiano Casa! (The Outside)

 Our house is beautiful. My hubby picked out a good one. It's a little far off base, but not too far. It's a really cute house. It has 3 bedrooms upstairs (2 big rooms and 1 office room), a living room (a little small), a bathroom (pretty big), and a kitchen (decent sized). This is the upstairs. This house also has a downstairs too! The only thing I really don't like is you have to walk outside to go downstairs. But it's undercover, so I'm not going to complain a crazy amount. Downstairs has a car port (you literally walk downstairs and BAM there is your car!). The laundry room is also down here. It's actually nice having a laundry room because lots of times houses or apartments don't come with a laundry room. Downstairs also has 2 bonus rooms...like big rooms. My husband says he wants to make one of those his "man cave." The outside of the house is really unique. All the doors and windows have black metal bars in a beautiful vintage style. I actually think they're cool, not like a prison. We also have a 1/2 acre that the landlords said I can plant a garden in the back...Sweet! The drive is like, 10 maybe 15 minutes. But my husband likes to drive fast, so we arrive to the base in like, 7 minutes. Lol

Our lovely Italian House!

Concrete steps leading up to our house

Up the stairs to the balcony

Balcony

Steps going down to our basement/garage (there's the actual garage  door entrance as well)

Our "little balcony" coming off our master bedroom

To the Plane (And Italy!)

     Jet lag is not fun. Especially when one is unable to rest after they arrive to their destination. My husband and I flew from the continental United States to Amsterdam, Netherlands to Venice, Italy.
We departed in the afternoon and landed in the morning the next day in Amsterdam, Netherlands (note: Our plane ride was 9.5 hours long, and Europe is 9 hours ahead.) After a layover, we caught a different plane, and arrived in Venice. It was a super long plane ride from PDX to AMS. I probably watched about 3 movies, played 5 puzzles of Sudoku, listened to an hour of music, and slept. Other than being bored out of my mind the ride was not that bad. There was hardly any turbulence, and everyone around us were really nice. We got a snack (pretzels and peanuts), a lunch (amazing pasta, salad, cheese slice, brownie and drink of our choice), a small sandwich (turkey and cheese, and fancy cookies), and a breakfast (egg/sausage cal zone, banana, and orange juice cup, plus a drink of your choice). All the alcoholic beverages were free. I was really tempted to have a beer, but decided not to since I was on anti-motion sickness pills. During this 9.5 hour flight I took my cat into the bathrooms 3 times...trying to see if she would use her litter box. She didn't. I also wanted her to drink some water. She didn't. I offered her some food...she barely ate.
     Arriving at the Amsterdam airport was quite a different experience. I was really happy there was still a ton of english signs though. Expensive cosmetics were greatly advertised, and the restroom signs are called "Toilets." We took the speedy walk (where you can walk super fast through parts of the airport on electronic walk ways). Instead of a sign that said, "Watch your step," there was a voice next to the electronic walkway saying, "Mind your step" in a British lady voice. All the flight attendants are dressed in these bright blue uniforms either skirts or pants with a thick starchy white dress shirt. On the plane ride to Venice one of the flight attendants was handing out bags of pretzels or granola bars. She didn't ask, "Pretzels or granola bars" she said, "Sweet" pointing to the granola bars "Or savory" pointing to the pretzels. I was a little humored by the adjectives she used. But they were all really nice.

Arrived in Amsterdarm...tired as you know what!

     Arriving in Venice was hard. All we wanted to do was sleep (thanks to the wonderful jet lag.) The airport was not as nice as Amsterdam, and smoking was apparently permitted right next to the entrances...yuck. I was so nervous about someone bumping into me, and pit-pocketing my bags. No one did thank goodness. We also received all our luggage...we had 6 bags...thanks to me. I was SO tired and my mind and body were all mixed up. But we had a BUNCH left to do. 
     Since we were moving to Italy (because my husband is in the military), before I arrive my husband had to buy a car, find a house to rent, move out of his dorm, fly back to the United States to get married (we really wanted an actual wedding after we got legally married), and take me with him back to Italy. Quite a busy BUSY week!!
     But we did it. We're here safe and sound. Last night was really rough. I was really emotional, and missed my family and the U.S. Both of us don't like the strange outlets here. They look completely different than back home. The weather however, is like ours. Partly cloudy with patches of sun, and rainy every now and then. The "BX" (aka Basic Exchange) is just like the one in Texas. I call it our sanctuary store right now because it reminds me of a Fred Meyers or a Target minus the red circle targets.
I brought my kitty cat along with us to remind me of home in the U.S. She actually did really well on the plane rides, and is adapting really well too.
     Anyways, the adventures remain constant as I strive each day to learn this crazy language (actually it's rather beautiful). I feel so blessed to be able to live in such a historic and picturesque country even if it may be for a short two and a half years.

Getting "Officially" Married! 4/14/12

     Marriage is a very big step in a couple's life. It takes commitment, bravery, and above all patience. We were so thankful and fortunate to find each other at such a young age, and are forever blessed each day we spend together.
     I remember the exact moment when Toph proposed to me. The look in his eyes said it all. The question he asked, and the moment leading up to was all I could do to hold back the tears. I will NEVER feel this way about another human being the rest of my life. He completes every single breath I take, and makes me LAUGH out loud Every. Single. Day. I have never met someone with such a contagious personality as his.
     We decided to "tie the knot," "get hitched," or whatever people call it on Saturday, April 14, 2012. We chose this day in particular because fourteen was a very special number for us. First, it was the same number which Topher's parents were married on (July 14th) as well as another couple who I look up to (July 14th as well.) The number 14 just somehow stuck.

Here are just a few pictures of our big day. We were lucky enough to have Topher's Aunt be the photographer at our wedding...she did an amazing job!