Help Us Build A Dog Park!

Hi everyone!

I want to talk to you about someone who's very near and dear to this little pink heart of mine: my firstborn son, Watson, our 2-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback. We pride ourselves on being responsible pet owners and for the past two years, we've been driving, an hour roundtrip, 3-5 times a week, to Richmond, where we take Watson to the nearest dog park. Unfortunately, there are currently no off-leash dog parks nearby. And just as other people enjoy the convenience of public swimming pools, jogging trails, golf courses, and playgrounds, we dog owners need a place to exercise and enjoy our pets in an off-leash, clean, and safe environment.

WatsonSuch a facility would benefit our community in so many ways:

1) It promotes responsible pet ownership. Most dogs require exercise that leash restrictions do not permit. Dogs are social animals whose overall health is improved by regular interaction with people and other dogs. Happy, healthy dogs are calmer and more well-behaved, reducing nuisances such as barking, aggression, and other behavioral problems exhibited by idle and/or non-socialized dogs.

2) It fosters positive community-building and networking opportunities by providing an environment for social interaction for people, as well as their pets. There are so many families here that would greatly benefit by having the opportunity to connect with people who share a common interest, and create a lasting, social network.

3) Dog park patrons tend to be people who appreciate the park and take an "ownership interest" in it. As a result, they keep the area clean and free of criminal activities and other negative elements.

The Fort Lee housing office has been promising its residents a dog park for the past two years, so I've created this petition to urge them to start progress on it. Won't you help me?

Please sign the petition here:

http://www.change.org/petitions/petition-for-a-fort-lee-dog-park

If you want to stay in the loop on our progress, "like" our facebook page here:

http://facebook.com/fortleedogpark

Please help us spread the word by sharing these links with whomever you think would support our cause! Thanks so much for your support!

Virginia Bound!

Welp, a 7-hour road trip to Virginia turned into an 11-hour one with pup in tow. Poor little guy, what a trooper! But we finally made it!

Watson Takes the Wheel

Hello, Apple Baby

We're chugging along faithfully at 15 weeks and our little Eggroll should be about the size of an apple. I'm feeling better than ever, overjoyed and excited for the future. I'm really enjoying this pregnancy so far; they say the 2nd trimester is the golden one. Yesterday, I had to steal Adam's deodorant because I started to experience something I've never experienced before... sweat! Anyone who's ever known me knows that I am always cold. Even in the summer time: ALWAYS cold. So, imagine my surprise when this exchange took place:

Jen: Adam, what is this?! What's happening?! It's like my armpits are leaking water!
Adam: That's called sweating, Honey. Welcome to pregnancy. 

I'm also noticing that I'm hungrier more often. I enjoy food more than ever before (which I didn't think was possible). And what a luxury it is to live in America, where I can fulfill my every craving!

Meanwhile, we're making progress on the big move to Virginia. Right now we're in Atlanta, loading up our things before heading off to Nashville to do more of the same. By the end of next week, we'll finally have a place we call home. Whoa.

The Big Move: Prepping the Dropzone

As I've mentioned in previous posts, Adam and I have been in a holding pattern for quite some time. Come April we'll finally be able to unpack our suitcases and store them away for a little while (*cue happy dance). Getting our very own street address was super exciting. Now for the logistical nightmare of actually moving. We have furniture, clothing, unopened wedding presents, vehicles, and other miscellaneous belongings stored away in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. No, we're not gluttons for punishment. Our parents (who live in AL and GA) were generous enough to store our stuff while we traipsed around Japan for 3 months. And I still have all my furniture in the condo in Nashville. So, while free storage was a huge perk, we now have the unlucky adventure of gathering our things from 3 different states.

AL + GA + TN + VA = 1000+ miles!

Adam is stressed to the gills. Traveling, in general, gives him one monster of a headache. And I don't blame him. He'll be doing all the heavy lifting, after all. So my job in all this, is to plan, organize, and make this move as efficient as possible. This is includes finding us a place to live (check!), setting up utilities, registering vehicles, registering to vote, etc. Call me crazy, but I actually enjoy transforming these logistical nightmares into a beautifully efficient work of art. So, while I delegate, Adam executes. It looks good on paper, right? Here's hoping it'll work as smoothly in real life. Fingers crossed!

New beginnings. They're exciting, right? One of our top priorities upon arriving in Virginia will be to attend different churches in search of our church home. For awhile now, Adam and I have been feeling a bit spiritually disconnected. Our hearts have been longing to find a place where we can learn and grow, find some sense of belonging, some kind of community, a spiritual support system outside our families. Just browsing online, I found a few non-denominational Christian churches in the area and we're excited to be able to begin our search.

Apartment in Virginia: Check!

After several months of deliberation and careful consideration, Adam and I have decided to skip the mad dash to go apartment-hunting in Virginia (the following weekend we get back into the country, no less! Can you say jet lag?) and just go ahead and reserve the apartment we've been eyeing online. It sounds impulsive to put a deposit down on an apartment we have yet to see in person, but we've gotten rave reviews from a trusted friend who currently lives there, we've seen tons of photos online, and we recognize the fact we're only going to be living in the place for 7 months.

I did as much apartment-hunting online as I could and none of the other places seem to stack up to this one, as far as budget, location, square footage, and amenities were concerned. So we're going ahead and taking the plunge! Besides, it's only 7 months, and we've survived with much less for the past 2 years. So, having a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment entirely to ourselves will be quite the luxury.

Not only were we dreading the extra 10+ hour drive we'd have to make to Virginia just to view properties, but we certainly didn't want to miss out on securing an apartment at a place with limited availability. Whew! It feels good to have that big check marked off our list. So now all we have to do once we get back Stateside is gather all our furniture and home goods from all its various storage places and make the big move up to Virginia. Once. Well, until November comes around, anyway.