Even though I log into Deviant Art about once a day to check my messages, respond to posts and comments, and thank people who've favorited my page, I've not yet taken the time to sit down and share my big news with all of you guys - it's because I wanted to make sure not to just write a rushed entry, but actually take the time to share my news.

What's this big news, you ask? Well, you see, after living together with my "better half", Brian, for the past five (or was that, six?) years without killing or maiming one another, we figured we can probably manage to stand each other for some time to come, so we decided to finally get married.

We were married on March 24th in a small civil ceremony with some of our friends and co-workers in attendance. It was very nice and tasteful, nothing big, nothing fancy, and we did dinner at the local sushi restaurant afterward to celebrate.

No photos of the wedding for you guys to see (sorry, those go in the family album), but I will take a photo of our rings when I get the chance. We chose very simple stainless steel Claddagh rings, and that turned out to be a great choice. They're very comfortable and, more importantly, a whole heck of a lot more durable than gold bands.

In dog news, you may have noticed from my recent photo submissions that we've added a second dog to our family, a Belgian Malinois. Like our German Shepherd, she is a rescue, and she's come from a very difficult and abusive background where she was kept in the back yard, neglected, and used as a puppy factory to make a profit. Poor thing has ear tips that are fly-bitten so bad they have no hair, is missing most of her incisors, and has had her four canines filed down to dull them. She's had her jaw broken, with one piece of her lower lip missing, and another part hanging a little funny. She's still gorgeous, though, not to mention that she is an absolute sweetheart!

You can probably tell how skinny she still is from her photos - that is after having been at the shelter for five months and at our home for a week. She is now starting to put on some more weight, though, and looking real good. Like our GSD, she eats Taste of the Wild, which is a grain free dog food. It seems to be working real great on her, and her coat is absolutely gorgeous and shiny. A couple more pounds, and she won't even look like the same dog anymore.

We found her after looking for awhile for our next sport dog, since we can no longer herd with Abby due to her arthritis, and I think she's going to be a great match for any sport or activity we want to get into, with her super-crazy toy drive. She came to use pre-trained in Schutzhund and, even with her missing teeth and healed broken jaw, loves (loves!) to go at that bite sleeve!

In other news, the Army has decided to send us to the lovely state of New York, home of the country's most ridiculous gun laws (heck, you can't even buy pepper spray without doing paperwork on it!) and long winters, come this summer. If you notice lengthy quiet spells on my Deviant Art page this summer, it's probably because I'm in the process of moving, trying to get the Internet turned on in the new place, and all that other good stuff that goes along with this kind of move.

One good thing about this move is the fact that it doesn't look like it will be difficult to find a nice home up north, as there seem to be many available but, due to the depressed economy, not many people interested in buying. There are two houses we're seriously considering so far - one is a three year old modern log home, 2 bedroom with a den, on 2 acres, with another 74 acres around it belonging to the landlord (we would have use of that for walking the dogs, hunting, etc.); and the other is an older home, 4 bedroom, with a big yard that backs up to a reservoir where you can swim, boat, and fish.

The following links are completely random links from my great big file of links. I am going to add new random links with each blog entry, and maybe you guys will find some of them interesting or useful. There's no rhyme or reason to them, so just check them out and expect the unexpected.

• One Manga


• 24 Pet Watch


• Swing Dance Store


• Atlas Quest


• Blik Surface Graphics

Since I recently adopted a Belgian Malinois from the shelter, this month's journal feature is all about Belgian Malinois art. There weren't a whole lot of Malinois pieces to choose from since the breed is still quite uncommon in the United States, outside of working and sport dogs.