5.30.2011

More Than a Holiday

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Most of my friends from back home find it a good time to head to the lake. And, really, I used to just think of it as a long weekend. I'd like to say that I always took the time to remember sacrifices made, but I'm not sure that's completely true. The churches I went to growing up always seemed to make an effort to recognize those who served in the military, but my own reflecting never went beyond that.

Now, of course, I'm much more aware of sacrifices made and lives lost. I suppose all of us could say that though. I can only hope that my civilian friends {and readers, of course} will stop for just a few minutes and remember the ones who paid the cost of freedom and their families. Because this is what Memorial Day is really all about:

Service

Sacrifice


Freedom


To finish up my weekend, I am going with Annie tomorrow to participate in a lantern floating ceremony. They give out only so many lanterns during the day and then they are all released at sunset. It's going to be amazing and I can't wait to take part in it. 

I hope all of you are having a great holiday weekend. Hopefully this will be my last big holiday solo {for a while}. Hopefully.

5.28.2011

Murphy

Ah, Murphy. The well-known {and hated} law of deployment. Anything that can go wrong, will. Before this deployment started, I didn't believe in Murphy. Or maybe I just didn't think that bad things would happen to me. You know how they say "tell God your plans and He'll laugh"? Well, I say "tell Murphy he doesn't exist and he'll prove he does." Today was just one more instance in which Murphy made his presence known.


The day started off well enough. I woke up around 0800 feeling very rested and much more normal than yesterday. I was a little stiff, but that's normal after flying. I read blogs, watched the Today show, chatted with Melissa for a while and played with Jasper. After a while, I decided I needed to get dressed, have lunch and head to the commissary. As soon as I remembered that it's a four day weekend and they're having a case lot sale at the commissary, I regretted having not gone to the commissary yesterday. Oh well. I had lunch and got ready anyway. 


Finally, I was headed out the door. Shut the back door, got in my car, turned the key and....click, click, click. Attempted to turn it again... {maybe hoping it was a fluke!?} click, click, click. Dead battery. FAIL. 


At first, I was rational. I picked up my phone immediately and called Annie to see if she could come jump my car. Luckily, she was planning on going to the commissary too and she said she'd head over in just a few minutes. I got out of the car and started doing things around the house until she got here. That's when the panic set in. Oooh, yes. Thoughts like: 


"Is it really just the battery?" 


"What if it's the starter? That will be expensive." 


"If it's the starter, we'll have to take more money out of savings." 


"If we take money out of savings, we may not have enough to go to NC when Joe gets back." 


"Why didn't I have Annie start the car while I was gone?!!?!"


"If we can't go to NC, Joe is going to be soooo upset."


"Why isn't Joe here to deal with this?!!?!"


Eventually I called my mom... Unfortunately, she isn't as great at talking me down as she used to be. I was still partially upset when I got off the phone with her. I texted Melissa which helped but I was still freaking out. After all that, Annie pulled in. Since my neighbor {who I share the garage with} wasn't home, she was able to pull in next to me and jump my car.



Success!! My car started and we both headed off to the commissary. We strolled through the case lot sale and then the commissary. It was nice to have a grocery shopping buddy for once!! =) We checked out a little later and then parted ways. Got the groceries in my car, got in and turned the key. click, click, click. Yep, dead again!!! Fortunately, Annie hadn't left the commissary parking lot and we jumped my car again. Yay. 


It seemed a little weird to me that it would die after being charged and driven from my house to the commissary. Like any good girl {who has a deployed hubby}, I called my dad to see how long I should leave the car running. The alternator charges the battery, so I figured that all I'd need to do was leave it running. Makes sense, right?! Well, immediately Dad says, "You need a new battery." What?! *sigh* After I talked to Dad, I texted Melissa to see what her hubby thought. For some reason, I keep forgetting he's a mechanic... Anyway, her hubby agreed with my dad. *sigh* 


So instead of putting it off like I always do, I called the place I take my car to get oil changes to see how much a new battery would cost. The answer? A fortune. Well, $150 to be exact. That's Hawaii for you, right? The guy checked to make sure they had one in stock {they did} and I got in my car {which was still running because I was afraid it would die again} and drove straight there. I asked if they would check to make sure it was the battery before changing it... Turns out it really was bad. The mechanic had the nerve to ask me if I wanted it replaced. Seriously?! Did you not see that my jumper cables were in the back seat?! No, I'll just keep jumping my car for the next month and a half. Gah. Anyway. They replaced it in about 10 minutes...and I paid them $150. *sigh*


This would happen right after I get back from a trip. I'm glad I didn't attempt to go anywhere yesterday because this really would have put me in a foul mood. Not that it didn't today...but I would have been a complete wreck yesterday. 


I am seriously done with Mr. Murphy and this deployment. Especially since all this comes after my husband told me his return might get pushed back a few weeks. Days I can handle. Weeks? Grrrr. I just want my husband back.


I sure hope the rest of this holiday weekend is uneventful. I don't think I can handle much more.

5.27.2011

Visit to the Mainland

Overall, I had a really good visit. I always leave feeling like I didn't get to do all the things I wanted to {like seeing more friends}, but I did cover the important things. I spent lots of time with my family, attended a wedding, spent time with more family {Joe's side} and had some bestie time. =) Most importantly {wink, wink} I ate at this wonderful restaurant 3 times. =P


Chick Fil A is just the yummiest thing ever. Mm-mmm good!! Anyway. =)

Also, the weather cooperated with me. I may or may not have mentioned the severe weather that happened while I was visiting. 

I think this was the night Joplin was hit by a tornado. 

This was my last night. 

For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed it. At one point, my dad even made fun of me because I jumped and squealed at some very loud thunder. =P He said, "Who was that?!" After I said it was me he asked, "Don't get much of that in Hawaii, do ya?" No, Dad, we don't. Haha. Anyway. It really stormed about 3-4 times while I was there. The last night {picture directly above} was the worst for my area. There were 3 tornado touchdowns all about an hour from my parents' house. I wasn't worried until around midnight when 60 mph winds hit and the power started flicking on and off. I thought for sure a tornado was headed our way, but we were lucky and nothing too serious happened. The funniest part of it all were some of my friends' FB posts. One said something to the effect of "The weather isn't serious until Garrett's sleeves are up." Another said, "It's safe to play in the streets until Garrett rolls the sleeves up." I was laughing so hard!!! Garrett is the local weatherman...and he's basically a celebrity. He came to Chili's once while I was working and I was a tad excited. =P Anyway. I never realized that the sleeves go up when things get busy. Sure enough, when I started streaming the news feed on my computer during the 60 mph winds, the sleeves were up. Ha!

I was really happy that I got lots of good quality bestie time during this trip. =) The last few times we've only been able to hang out for a day, or a few hours. This time we got one whole day and 2 days of a few hours. It was so nice!! She helped me pick out fabric for some projects, we got some stuff for my living room, and she took me to Chick Fil A twice. =) Best bestie ever award!!! Oh, and I got to play with her little girl. Hehe. Tuesday, I went over to her house for a couple hours and she took some pictures of me with Jorja... Seriously, she could pass for mine. See for yourself.



Seriously. It's so funny because it's not like Melissa and I are even related!! I know her hubby has red in his beard and her brother has red hair, but still. I just think it's hilarious that my bestie would have a red headed child. Haha! =) 

Hawaii has some great scenery {obviously} but it was also nice to enjoy a little something different for a while. Like, really different. Here are a few pictures of where my parents live...just to give you an idea of where/how I grew up. =)


My parents {well, really my mom} raise goats. They used to have around 20, but sold several of them earlier this spring. So if you ever questioned why I hate traffic or driving in/around big cities, now you know why. I grew up practically in the middle of nowhere. The closest big cities are at least a 2 hour drive away, though the closest city (of around 250,000 people) is a 15 minute drive away. On the drive to my parents' house from the airport, I felt an immediate relief. There was no one on the road. Just a few cars here and there. Insert big sigh of relief here. There really is a slower pace in the South...and I miss it a lot.

Other than adjusting to the noise level in my parents' house {I can't tell you how many times I said "can we turn this down?!" while they were talking over the TV...} and sleeping in a twin bed, I had a good time. Being "home" always stirs up memories of my former life...college...


...meeting Joe, dating Joe...getting married...just that life in general. It's crazy how much can change in just a few short years. Anyway...

As much as I didn't enjoy flying all day yesterday, I did see something pretty amazing. Normally when I fly cross-country, it's in the middle of the night so I can't see anything out of the windows. This was not the case yesterday. After I took a serious snooze on flight #2 of the day, I woke up to see something just gorgeous. 



I have absolutely no idea where we were, but these mountains are just gorgeous. I've never seen anything like this before. The more I see of the US {I'd say world, but...}, the more I see just how amazing and creative God is. I don't know how you could see things like this and not believe that God created them. Just amazing.

After I finally made it to Honolulu, I was greeted with a phone call from my hubby {wooooo!}, a pretty lei from Annie, and a purse I won from JG's giveaway a while back!



I think I came out of this trip really well! =) Got to experience some great storms, spent time with family, hung out with my bestie, and survived 2 very long flying days. I think it's ok that I did basically nothing today. Here's hoping for no more jet lag tomorrow!

5.23.2011

Milie Life

Last night around this time, I was on the verge of a breakdown/freak-out. I hadn't heard from my husband in a while and my nerves were beginning to get the best of me. And I already told you how jealous I was that he called my BIL on Saturday...even if it was his wedding day.

I hate to say it, but I'm pretty darn good at convincing myself that my husband hasn't called for any number of reasons. Once I go through all of the clearly logical ones, I go through all of the illogical ones - namely "he doesn't want to talk to me" or "he thinks calling is a waste of time." Obviously, I know that he loves me and that these aren't true but in that moment of sheer anxiety...those thoughts are real and convincing.


During one of those moments, I sent out a "what do I do?" tweet. Lucky for me I have some of the best Tweeps ever! {Also, I happened to be on the same continent and not 5-6 hours behind. This helps.} After I sent out my tweet, two lovely ladies quickly responded. Not only did they tell me I was not being needy or crazy for feeling that way, they encouraged me to email Joe {again} requesting a phone call. I contemplated being angry in the email, but I settled for what I knew my husband responds best to: honesty and emotion. 


In all of the craziness of his life, I think it's easy to forget that things aren't crazy back home for me. Things change for him - he's got 9 billion things to do - but things on the homefront don't change much, if at all. I reminded him of this, and also of how hard this weekend was for me. About 15 minutes later, my phone was ringing and I heard my husband's voice on the other end. =) He was very sweet and recognized that the more emails I sent the more...stressed out I sounded. {Go figure!!} He always tells me how lucky he is, but I feel pretty lucky that I have a husband who is so sensitive to my needs and knows exactly what I need to hear the moment I need it. We both ended up crying a little bit, but that was a very much needed phone call. And, Abbey, you were right, I'll never regret sending that email!! =)


It's the encouragement that I get from my Milie/Twitter/blog friends that keeps me going. If I ever questioned why I keep blogging, that was my answer right there. Plus, all of the wonderful friends I've made in Hawaii have been through blogging!! Mrs. C, Miranda, Annie, Chantal... I met all of them in blogland before I ever met them in real life. =) And now, I have such great friends!! Annie is even watching Jasper {and checking my mail and setting my DVR =P} for me while I'm home visiting family!! I've really lucked out in the bloggie friend department. Just for fun, here's a little collage of pictures Annie sent me. 




He is so freakin' spoiled!!! You really do gotta love him though. =) Oh, and here's a picture of my {hot} hubby receiving an Army Commendation Medal a few days ago! Woop!




This Milie life is hard, but there are so many things that make it worth it. If only I can remember all of those on the bad days!!

5.21.2011

Wedding!

Well, today was the big day. And I am exhausted!! But as usual, I can't make myself go to bed early so here I am. =P

Overall, it was a really good day. I don't think I anticipated how hard it was going to be for me though. I mean, I knew it wouldn't be easy but I didn't know it would be that hard. When I first got there, Pete (my BIL) told me that Joe had called him...and made him cry. I was really glad that Joe was able to call him {even though I was extremely jealous} but I didn't ask what he said. I knew if it made him cry, that I didn't even want to know. I did pretty well until about a half hour or so before the wedding. I was talking to my MIL and SIL (Sarabeth) and was asked what I was thinking {I must have been staring out into space}. Sarabeth said "Joe" and that was all the cue I needed for the tears to start. *sigh*

The wedding went really well...and I cried a few times. They did a slideshow of pictures during the sand ceremony and I all but lost it when I saw a picture of Joe...even just as a kid. Sad, isn't it? I just couldn't help but thinking that he should be standing up there next to his brother, not halfway around the world in the sandbox. Of course, nothing can be done about that. It's just another one of those really sucky things about the military and deployment. I guess this is the first big family event that he's missed {other than a holiday} so maybe that's why it was so rough. Between me and my MIL we barely made it through the day without tears.

Thankfully, the ring bearer {who is about 5} provided some comedic relief for the day.

First, he was all smiles. Don't know why he put the pillow down though.

Then I guess he got a little tired of standing for so long.

Finally, he just sat down. He had such a hard job! Haha =)

My FIL did their ceremony also. I think it's so neat that he's done all of his kids' weddings except for one. =) He got a little sentimental at this one, though, and his voice sorta cracked toward the end. And of course, all of us were crying. =P Go figure, right? Here are some pictures from the day. I took them all with my phone, and because of lighting some of them aren't that great. You get the idea though.


Caty (my new SIL) and my nephew, Kellan.
{He is way too big!!!!!}

Pete, Caty and Kellan

Headed for the honeymoon!

Almost...

I love this shot. =)
They put balloons in the car, if you couldn't tell.

Finally off!!

After the wedding, I stayed and helped with the clean up. It was a lot more work than I thought it would be. =P But it definitely kept my mind off of things for a while, which is always a good thing. Right as I was starting to get all emotional again, Melissa sent me this text message:

Thinking about you. Won't be long and your hubby will be back.

Now, I'm not much for the "not much longer" messages from outsiders but this was exactly what I needed. Just a little reminder that while this sucks, he will be back soon... Plus, I love that my bestie knows me well enough to know that I was having a rough day without me even telling her. I think that's why she's my bestie. =)

P.S. So much for the end of the world/apocalypse/rapture, huh?! Someone's going to have an embarrassing day tomorrow. Ha!

The Day After

Today was a much better day...albeit very busy.

I never sleep very well the night after traveling. My body is always confused about what it should be doing. I ended up getting up at 0700...not really of my own accord {mom's dog was barking/howling} but I couldn't go back to sleep either. Might as well get up. It was really strange to be awake when the rest of the US is awake. I guess after a year of being 5-6 hours behind everyone else, I've adjusted. So when I wake up in the morning, there's always a ton of FB and Twitter updates to read, not to mention emails and blogs. Waking up to basically nothing was just odd.

After I got up and around, I drove over to Melissa's house. =) After feeding baby Jorja, we headed out for some shopping! We went to a fabric store, where I ended up shelling out around $30 for fabric... But it's not like I can get it in Hawaii!! Plus, I don't have to pay shipping. Then, we went to lunch at Olive Garden. Mmmm. I know Olive Garden isn't much to talk about, but I do miss not being able to eat there...especially the salad and breadsticks! Haha!

Then, we drove to Hobby Lobby. {insert Allelujah chorus here} By this time, the clouds opened up and it starting pouring...and thundering. The thunder I enjoy. Rain? Not so much. Anyway, I took Jorja {who also has red hair} inside while Melissa parked her truck. I would have, but, um....yeah.... And wouldn't you know that three old ladies walked up to me and told me how cute she was, asked me how old she was.... Haha! I know the child has red hair and blue eyes, but...her face looks nothing like mine! I guess most people wouldn't really catch that though. So, I just played along and let them think what they wanted rather than spilling the whole "my best friend ended up having a red headed baby" story. Haha. And I won't even say how much that didn't help the baby fever. Anyway, as luck would have it, Hobby Lobby just set out all their 4th of July decor.... I may or may not have spent around $50 on stuff for the living room. ;-)


Then, made a quick stop at a store so Melissa could get something baby-related, and then we made our final trip to Target. I needed a few things, and it's always nice to look around Target. Once we were done, we loaded up the car and headed back to her house. It wasn't until after we got to her house that I realized both of our umbrellas were still in the cart in Target's parking lot. FAIL. I don't know how we both forgot that... I'm just hoping Target found them... "My" umbrella wasn't even mine, it was Mom's. She left it for me to use today and what did I do? I left it at Target. Way to go, Sarah. Geeeeez.


And then I came home to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. {I told you it's been a busy day!} The rehearsal went well...for the most part. It seems like there's always a snafoo at rehearsals. I just hope the problem gets solved before tomorrow or it could make for an awkward day. And a not so good one for my BIL and his soon-to-be wife. I'm so happy for them. They've been together for what seems like forever. {They've known each other longer than Joe and I have.}


I really feel bad for my BIL too. I mean, his only sibling here is his oldest sister. The other sister is recovering from birth and his brother is deployed. He's handling it well and I know he's thankful that at least one of them is there, but I know it's really hard for him that Joe isn't there. It's hard for Joe too. I think it's hard on the rest of us as well. I know it is for me. My FIL asked me tonight if this {the rehearsal} was bringing back memories. Oh, it definitely is. I didn't realize it was going to be so hard on me emotionally to go to a wedding {let alone his brother's} without him. *sigh* 


And then there's the whole not being in the wedding party, but still being at the wedding with the family thing... I don't know why, but it sort of feels weird. I'm not needed, but I'm still there...you know? It's hard to explain how I feel... I'm glad I'm here, but at the same time it's like, "Why am I here? No one needs me to be here." Maybe it's just because I like to know what I'm expected to do. Blah. 


I feel like I'm rambling. =P I probably am. I think the sleep depravation is catching up with me now. Or maybe my body is in the correct time zone now. Either way, it might be best to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day! Though, I'm sure it will be a happy one.

Happy Weekend!

5.20.2011

Jet Lag

Oi vey. It's been a day.

Although, I will say that it started off nice... After I made it to my destination, of course. My parents and Melissa (along with her super cute baby girl) greeted me when I got off the plane. =) That was a nice welcome home. Then came the wonderful adventure of renting a car. *sigh* Long story short, they wanted to basically steal my money because 1) I'm under 25 and 2) I don't have a major credit card. Not debit card, credit card. Fortunately, my parents were willing to handle it for me and I ended up saving somewhere around $100. I have to pay them back, but whatevs. It was worth listening to my mom gripe out the rude sales lady after flying for 16ish hours. 


Yes, an HHR. Apparently this is their idea of a "compact car"? Who knows. I'm not a huge fan, but it does the trick.


After that ordeal, Melissa went with me to Chick Fil A. Yes. My first stop on the mainland was Chick Fil A, and it was mmm-mmm good. =D I also got to play with baby Jorja, which I have waited a long 4 months to do. =) We were joking that the child could pass as mine almost more than hers... Jorja has red hair. Hehehe. And I guess she felt the need to "christen" her honorary Auntie Sarah, because she projectile vomited. All I have to say is I'm glad she's 4 months old and not 4 years. =) I can handle a little bit of spit up. {And yes, feel free to remind me of this when I have my own. Haha!}


Then I drove myself to my parents' house. The one good thing about coming "home" is that I can totally go autopilot. I was running on around 4 hours of sleep, wearing my glasses and I still managed to get around without feeling like a ditz. Quite honestly, I barely remember the drive from Chick Fil A to my parents' house. But that's ok. I learned to drive here, so I think that counts for something. I let myself in and almost immediately crashed in the spare bedroom. It took forever for me to fall asleep, but once I did it was heavenly. I rarely sleep that hard.


Eventually, I got woken up by my brother...whose call I missed because I was so out of it. I don't know if I slept too hard or what, but as soon as I woke up I just felt awful. My stomach hurt, my head hurt, I was burning up... It was just bad all the way around. I decided to drink some soda water (1/2tsp baking soda and add water -- great for upset tummies!) and take a cool shower. After my shower, I felt much more calm and relaxed...and way less nauseous. Then came more tummy pains. =( My stomach hated me for a while. 


I don't know if it was something I ate (I refuse to blame Chick Fil A) or just that this trip really took a toll on my body. The worst part about jet lag is that my body has no idea when to eat. I completely spaced on eating lunch, and then I wasn't hungry when dinner came around. Then at like 2030, I'm randomly starving. *sigh* Of course, 2030 here is really 1530 at home..which is like snack time. Oh, and then I get the random dizzy spells with my jet lag. I don't know why this trip is so different from the last... I was perfectly fine other than a few dizzy spells. I hope it goes away soon!


I have a busy - but fun - day ahead tomorrow. Shopping with the bestie and then a rehearsal dinner! Somewhere in there I gotta squeeze in time with my parents too... I'm not sure I'm up for all of the stuff going on this week!


Here's hoping I get some great sleep tonight and wake up ready to run tomorrow! 

5.19.2011

Travels


Since I'm sitting a a mostly deserted airport {otherwise known as DFW} at 0600, I thought I would take this time to write! I really should have done this earlier while I was chillin' in the {VERY classy} San Francisco airport, but I watched a Harry Potter movie on my laptop instead. Yeah, that's how I roll. :P

Anywho, this trip has definitely been interesting so far. I got a window seat for my last 2 flights {still have one to go} and of course, I was crammed with 2 other people. I would never have the luck for there to be an empty seat. *sigh* I thought flight #1 was going to be fine... Until they served us drinks. The 50ish year old man sitting next to me {because his super skinny wife didn't want to be in the middle...grrrrrrrr!} apparently thinks it's ok to SLURP a drink. Not only did he slurp his Bloody Mary out of a can, he also swirled it. So, long after I was finished eating he was still slurping. I was trying my hardest to sleep - hoping I would be able to think about it - but I could hear it even over the music blasting out of my earphones. Aaaah! I won't even tell you about my bathroom experience. AA apparently has the world's tiniest bathrooms... Pair that with turbulence... Yeah, it was good times. Finally, I was able to pass out for a while.

Once we landed in San Francisco, I was relieved. That is until I ended up paying $9 for a SALAD because I wanted something little to eat. Grrr. Then I sat down in their lounge chairs {seriously, they could have popped right out of a fancy club} and watched a movie and ate my pretzel M&Ms. :-) Classy, right?

I felt a tad out of place because there were SO many business men and women all dressed up, carrying briefcases and laptop bags. Not to mention the little restaurant/bar next to my gate where other "fabulous" people were relaxing pre-flight. Anyway, me? I'm wearing gaucho pants (think capri cut yoga pants that flare at the bottom instead of hug the calves), a tshirt, flip flops and a jacket. Yup. PLUS, our power went out AGAIN this morning (er, yesterday...I guess) so I had to let my hair dry by itself. Tell me that doesn't look HOT. *sigh*

I guess the good news is that I made it to the mainland. I thought I was going to cry when I left Jasper though! Lord help me when we have kids... Haha!!

Overall, I'm just really ready to BE SOMEWHERE. Not in an airport and not in a plane. Just somewhere. I'm seriously ready for some Chick Fil A! You better believe that's my first stop when I get "home." :-) Speaking of home, I saw this when I went to the bathroom here at DFW earlier.




Nothing says "Welcome Home" quite like that!!!

Hope y'all have a great day!! Don't worry, I'll be keeping you updated on all the goings-on while I'm visiting the mainland. It's sure to be interesting!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

5.18.2011

Pangs

There are times when I still feel like a newbie in this military world. The longer we're in it, the more I get introduced to what it's really like. 

I went to the museum today fully expecting the norm. When I got there, D told me that the curator had called in sick. He also told me that he'll be moving to Germany soon. Now, he's not in the military (well, not anymore) so it's not like he's PCSing... Exactly. He's moving for job opportunities, and I don't blame him. If we had the chance to move to Germany, we would too. It's still another "welcome to military life" moment for me though. Of all the people I've met during this deployment, the people from the museum are the only ones I see on an almost-daily basis. I see them 3 days a week, almost every week for 3 hours. That's a considerable amount of time. Though we don't spend much time together outside of "work," I like to think that they're my friends. We share stories about our lives, our pasts, our experiences just like any friends do. We complain about things together, and we look at history every day. Needless to say, I'm a little sad to lose a friend. It's possible we'll come in contact again - I mean, this is the military - but still. I'm not sure I expected this part of the introduction to military life so soon.

After I spent 3 hours at the museum chatting with D, I hit up the PX for a few last minute things before my trip. {Unfortunately, my blood sugar was super low when I went in and I completely spaced on a couple things I needed/wanted. *sigh*} As I was standing in the checkout line, I noticed a Soldier on my left who was paying his bill. And since I'm married and not dead I also noticed he was pretty good looking. In my state of boredom, I began to make up a story for this Soldier's life. Do you ever do that? I do. =P Just as I was thinking how he was going to meet his wife {I didn't see a ring}, I noticed a girl who had been standing behind him. He turned and replied to whatever she had just said and I noticed she was very pretty... I thought, "yeah, they'll probably have really cute kids." And then tears slowly started to cloud my vision. Sometimes the loneliness and sadness hits me at odd times. I think this might be the first time I've almost broken down in the PX. 

Tonight, I've been battling the pre-travel jitters/anxiety. I always get this way before I fly. And if anyone asks me if I'm looking forward to going home, my answer will probably be, "not really." Not because I don't want to go home, it's just that I really don't look forward to spending 16ish hours either stuffed in a plane or sitting in an airport. It's just not my idea of a good time. And then upon landing, there's exhaustion and jet lag. Yaaay. {sarcasm} More than all that, I always feel super guilty leaving Jasper. It's like freaking "mommy guilt." I keep telling Joe that I feel like I have a child, and I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm nuts. I know he'll be fine and that he'll have a blast with Annie, but I can't help but feel bad about leaving him. Plus, I'll miss him. He's my battle buddy

Needless to say, I'm on an emotional roller coaster. I really wish I could get off this ride. How much longer?!


9%. Thank. You. Lord. I can do this...right?

P.S. I'd still like some book recommendations for my trip! Preferably a girly, easy read. =)

5.17.2011

Success! Almost.

 Today has been a pretty successful day!! I'm a little impressed with myself.

It started off with breakfast and a nice Facebook chat with my hubby. =) Unfortunately that didn't last very long (he was borrowing someone else's computer), but I'm glad I got to chat with him for a little bit. I haven't heard his voice in 10 days... Obviously I'd prefer a phone call or Skype chat but I'll take what I can get.

After he had to go, Melissa got on Skype! I will attribute a lot of my productiveness to that. For some odd reason, I seem to be productive when we chat. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but whatever works. I did the dishes, cleaned up the kitchen and even started packing! *gasp* That never happens. I am never even partially packed days before I leave. Ever. I always pack the day/night before and then morning of. Seriously. I think I earned a huge pat on the back for that one!! ;-)


Eventually, Melissa had to "leave" me to go spend time with her husband. Pssh. Who does that?! {Certainly not me.} =P So, I showered and got some more work done!! A couple days ago, I posted our two huge TVs on Craigslist. Ok, they're not exactly huge, but... They're CRTs. You know, the big boxy TVs everyone owned up until a few years ago? Yeah. We have two of them. Anyway, Joe bought a small flat screen for his CHU when he got to the sandbox. When he got it, we decided that he'd ship it home toward the end of deployment and it would replace Gigantor in the bedroom. Well, it's getting about that time... I've already received two tough boxes and I'm told I'm getting more in a few weeks. So, to Craigslist I went. I got an email Saturday, I think, but waited to call the guy back until today. I was asking $50 for both...and I was aiming high. Those things aren't worth much anymore and honestly I just wanted them out of my house. They're huge, annoying and never used. I'd give them away if I had to. Mr. Man talked me down to $30. I told you I wanted them gone!


A couple hours later, Mr. Man tells me he's on his way to get a gate pass and then he'll be here. Then, when he got here...he called me instead of just coming to the door. Um? Did he think I was going to carry it out by myself?! Then, he looks at this TV like he was about to move a house or something. =P




I know it's big, but come on. Anyway, so he started with the other {smaller} one first. I really wish y'all could have seen this guy. He's about my height (5'3") and probably weighs 110-120 pounds. Pretty sure he's Filipino. He all but ran out to his SUV with the TV. Then, I had to help him with the above TV. When we finally got it to his SUV, it was tough to maneuver. So he partially let go and kept asking me if I could hold it. Uh, yes, dude...I've already got it!!! I swear to you, I'm stronger than he is!!! Then, he said, "I think I might have to have my brother help me with this." Uh, ya think!? Sad little Asian boy. *sigh* Who would have ever thought I'd be stronger than a man? Though I guess the good news is that I could have taken him if he was some creepy stalker type. Hahaha!!!! =D Even better, those ginormous TVs are out of my hair!! Both rooms look so much better without them. I just feel so much more relaxed now!! Just one more thing taken care of. =)


Because I had such a good day, Murphy was out to get me. Isn't that the way it always goes? It was around 2100 and I was playing with Jasper. He has this rope toy that drives me insane and I asked him to go find his ball. He looked around for a while, but obviously couldn't find it. Then, of course, he looks at me like, "Moooom! I don't know where it is!" Haha. So I went to help him. I looked in the kitchen, hallway, bathroom... And finally thought maybe it was under my bed. As usual, Jasper jumped on the bed. So, I asked him "Where is it?" Then I bent down to look under the bed. That's when I got hit with some wet stuff.


He PEED on me!!!!!!!!!! I don't know if he thought I was mad at him or if he was afraid I was going to find something bad under the bed or what... {Back story: when he was a puppy he used to "do his business" under the bed and would get in trouble...a lot.} Whatever it was, I got peed on...and so did my comforter and carpet. Grrrrrrrr. I promptly disposed of the destroyed shirt, and banished Jasper to his crate while I went to find cleaner. I tried to spot clean the comforter, but it wasn't working. I got the carpet ok (I think) and decided to throw the comforter in the washer. *sigh* Then I got in the shower. It's possible it didn't soak through, but I can't stand the thought of potentially going to bed with pee on me. Not happenin'. Now the comforter is in the dryer...and I'm probably going to be up for another hour. Why? Because this is Hawaii and everything gets two turns in the dryer. *sigh*


Dear Murphy, I hate you and I want you to go away!!! And while you're at it, why don't you bring my husband home?! Geesh. 


Oh, before I forget, any good book suggestions? I need a good book to download onto my Nook before I fly home. Help?!

5.16.2011

Ketchup

Geesh. I feel like it's been a million years since I blogged last!! And we know exactly who to thank for that: Blogger. For me, it was on the fritz Wednesday night and Thursday all day. Grr. And I don't post on Fridays anymore because I realized that no one reads/comments on the weekends. And, let's face it, I live for comments. ;-) So, we have lots of catching up to do. 


Wednesday, the power went out at 0930. I was right in the middle of IMing Melissa and reading blogs. And the power goes out. Grrrr. Fortunately it was daylight so I didn't need to break out the candles. That is until I needed to take a shower. I have people on either side of me (think duplex, but quadriplex) so no window in the bathroom. After I killed some time reading blogs on my phone and doing my Pilates video via Netflix on my phone (seriously, what would I do without my iPhone?!), I gave in and took a shower in the dark. Ok, not complete dark. Candle light. Hello, 19th Century. {Well, almost.} I actually succeeded in taking a shower in the almost dark. Here are some photos from that lovely event.


Good times, I tell ya.

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Friday night, I had a little girl's night out with my lovely friend, Annie. We started with dinner at Chili's where I had a fantastic margarita (it had been way too long!) and a yummy burger. =) I told Joe beforehand that it seems a little crazy to me that we both worked there for so long and we still love the food. Anyway, after dinner we walked over to the theatre where we saw Something Borrowed. O.M.G. It was so great! Definitely a great flick to see with a girl friend. =) And I saw previews for several other movies that look good too. {*cough* Harry Potter *cough*} After the movie, we went to a very crowded Walmart for a few little things. Finally, we went back to her house... I stayed there until well after midnight!!! I forgot how much fun late night chatting was. =)

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Not much happened yesterday... Except that I had to drive 30 minutes one stinkin' way {which I know isn't that far, but it is for just one thing} just to get Jasper's dog food. The commissary has been out of it for three. weeks. now. I repeat: three. weeks. How is that even possible?! Don't they notice that there's something on that shelf that is missing!? Or do they just not care? Thanks to them, I had to drive all the way to Petco just to spend $5 extra on his food. And let's not even talk about wasting gas. Do you know how much gas is here?! $4.40. A gallon. So basically, I spent about $10 more than I would have if the commissary had been properly stocked. Grrrrrrrrrr.

Today was nice though. =) I got to talk to Joe on Facebook for a little while this morning. For the last two weeks, we've just been emailing so this was nice for a change. 

Church was amazing. We had a guest speaker from Kiev (Ukraine), but it sounded like he was Russian. He was an amazing speaker and had a great message. About having a spirit of appreciation. Would you like to guess who needed that message today? ::raises hand:: Yeah, I totally needed it. I get in the "I hate life" mode a lot... And I know y'all have heard me complain about living in Hawaii. I should really be thankful...for everything I've been blessed with even though my husband isn't here. It's very hard for me to be thankful for living here and for everything else when I can't enjoy it all with my husband. Very hard. Like I said, I needed it.

After church, Annie came over for a little sewing party! Miranda was supposed to come too but she's been feeling bad lately. Sad face. I'm hoping she got lots of rest and gets to feeling much better soon! We did have a good time chit-chatting, eating, sewing and playing with my crazy puppy who kept wanting us to play with him. Seriously, y'all, I have never seen Jasper so attached to someone before. Jasper loves Annie!! It's too cute. And I guess it's a good thing since he's going to be with her for the next week. 

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As luck would have it, just as I typed that last line the HUGEST roach I have ever seen crawled out from under my couch. I saw something moving behind my computer screen {I blog from the couch, duh.} and moved it to see. The following occurred:

Oh. My. God. 

Oh my God!!!!! 

::runs to the kitchen for Raid with laptop, while yelling::

::Jasper looks on from the couch::

::Raid sprayed, roach scurries across living room::

::yelling/squealing::

::standing on the couch::

::holding Jasper on the couch::

::more Raid sprayed 'cause the thing won't DIE::

::panicking/crying::

::Jasper tries to get away from the crying, freaking out woman::

Finally I decided that the thing needed to get out of my house. The vacuum won't suck it up (because it no longer sucks, well not on hardwood anyway) and my Swiffer sweep vac is to puny. My last option? The broom. I opened the front door (hey, it ain't stayin' in my house!), grabbed the broom, swept it up and ran to the front door. Think hockey. That just happened. Then I grabbed the mop to mop up the Raid on my hardwood floors. Crying ensues. Jasper decides this is definitely the time to hide and runs underneath our bed. I joined him (except ON the bed) after I mopped the living room for a good cry.

Here's a picture in case you doubted me.
Huge.

I'm just tired of this. Tired of having to do everything by myself. Tired of having to deal with everything by myself. Tired of wondering when I'm going to hear from him. Tired of eating and living alone. Just tired. And don't you tell me "he's coming home soon." Don't even think about it. I realize that I don't have much longer to go in this deployment. But after nearly a year, the thought of still having weeks left isn't that comforting. {Yes, I know I should be thankful that it's just weeks now.} It's still just as hard. And do you know what makes it harder? Seeing all the other homecomings and homecoming photos being posted all over Facebook. It's hard. So don't you dare downplay it by telling me "it'll be over soon."

::end rant::

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Tomorrow I start packing for my voyage home. I don't leave for a few more days, but it's always good to not procrastinate. I need to grab a couple things that I forgot from the PX and I think I'll be all set.  

Ugh, I think I still need to calm down from this whole roach debacle. I'm going to call maintenance in the morning and get them to come spray. I can't  handle ginormous bugs. No siree. 

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

5.11.2011

Life with Geckos

Before we moved to Hawaii, the only gecko I'd ever seen was caged. I even held one once while babysitting some cute kids whose parents Joe and I used to go to church with. I still can't believe I let that little boy talk me into it! He sure was cute. Haha. =) I digress.

I couldn't begin to tell you how many I've seen since moving here. They hang out in my garage, my kitchen, occasionally my living room and my lanai (patio). A day or two ago, I caught two geckos doing what I can only assume was "the dirty deed" on the ceiling of my lanai! Now that takes talent! Hahahaha! ;-) Today, though, one found my shower. *sigh* Actually, I found this little cutie in my shower last night before bed but I had hopes that he would find his way out overnight.


He's sooo little!!! And yes, that's my shower. I debated whether or not to post this picture but it shows you how itty bitty he is. The caulking on my tub/shower is severely moldy and I really need to call maintenance to come redo it. I just haven't yet. =P If only cleaning it would make it go away. Trust me, I've tried...until my fingers were ready to fall off!

Like I said, I found him last night and hoped he would be gone this morning. I peeked in the shower when I got up and I didn't see him. I was thankful and went about my morning. After I did my workout, I promptly started the shower. When I picked up my shampoo bottle, there he was!!! Still there!! I freaked out for a few minutes... And when I put the conditioner bottle down near him a little later, he started to back away - scared. And then I felt bad for him. This poor little gecko, stuck in my shower with no way out. =(


So, I moved my shampoo and conditioner bottles out of his way. I hoped he'd figure a way out if nothing huge was standing in his way. I came home from the museum later and he'd moved back to his original spot. Poor little guy! For a couple hours, I really wondered if I should try to catch him and let him outside or just let him figure it out on his own.

Around 6 or 7 tonight, I decided the little guy needed to be back outside where he could potentially find food. So, I grabbed a paper plate and put on one of my gardening gloves (that rarely - if ever - get used) and headed to the bathroom. I finally got him on the little plate and then I walked very quickly to the back yard. He was totally freaking out, running all over the plate! Probably because he was on something that was moving. Now that I think about it, I wonder if he was thinking, "Earthquaaaaaaaaaaake!!!!" Haha! =)

I set the plate down in the yard and he eventually stepped out into the grass and blended right in. Hoping he would stay still, I ran back in for my phone so I could take a picture. He did!!


I still can't get over how little and cute he is!! I hope that no birds get him and that he can hang out in my back yard and eat lots of unwanted bugs for me. =)

5.10.2011

Gettin' Ready...

On the long list of things to do before my hubby gets home is redoing the living room. About 1.5 weeks ago, I made the first {of probably many} purchase of Americana decor! =) After waiting very impatiently for it to ship, I checked the tracking number like a stalker. Haha. When I checked it on Saturday, it said "Delivered"! I all but ran down to the mailbox and came back with my lovely box of goodies. Here's what I got:


Eep!! Cute, right?! I am in love!! Of course I immediately unwrapped them and put them in their proper places!! You wouldn't expect any less of me, would you? ;-)

So, all weekend I sat on my couch and stared at the really bad mixture of beach and Americana decorations. It didn't look so hot!! On my list of things to do today was to remedy that situation. I also needed to purchase a dress for my BIL's wedding in a couple weeks. Oh, and I badly needed an eyebrow wax. =P

After I finally got off my toosh and got motivated, I headed out to do all of that. First I got the eyebrow wax out of the way. It was..well, successful. I won't say painless. =P The technician {is that what they're called?} kept asking me if I was okay!! I know that I flinch when the paper gets ripped off, and my eyes water... So maybe she thought she was killing me? Lol! I have no idea, but I really kept thinking "Geez, lady I'm fine just do your job!" But before she even started she asked me if I wanted to get my upper lip waxed too. The whole stinkin' time I kept wondering if I actually needed it, because why else would she suggest it? Later, Annie said that they ask her that every time too.. You know, because they want more money. I swear I can be so naive sometimes!

After I got waxed, I headed over to Ross. I went through three racks of dresses and tried on about 9 different ones. I really wish I was kidding! I love Ross, but they don't always have the best clothing selection... After round 2 in the dressing room, I finally decided on this one {with help from the bestie via text/picture messages =)}:

I love it. =)

Please excuse the bad dressing room photo. =P

My favorite part.
{Other than the fact that it's a size 8. ;-)}

After finding my dress and running into my friend Courtney a half dozen times, I wandered over to the picture frames. You never know what you're going to find at Ross so I figured it couldn't hurt. I really wanted to get another large, matted frame to hang up in the entryway so I could move things around in the living room. I totally lucked out! I found a really great 11x14 frame (matted to 8x10) for $10! =D Woo! And then I came home and did all this {in no order whatsoever}:


{Ok, I did this one on Saturday. =P}

Entryway.
I love this photo so much better in this frame!


I created that "Home is where the Army sends us" print on my computer. It wasn't supposed to turn out brown and I tried to fix it earlier, but it wasn't cooperating. Brown it is until then. =P Oh, and that frame also fell down earlier. Jasper and I about jumped out of our skin! Although I think I was more worried about my precious Mac than anything. Luckily, God intervened and the Mac came out unscathed. Oh, and the frame wasn't injured either. ;-) 

I still have two trouble spots in the house...

The entertainment center...

and the ledge by the door. *sigh*

I think it requires another Etsy purchase...or two. ;-) Luckily, all the stuff that I love on Etsy is reasonably priced. I can't decide if I want to make another order now or wait until I get back from AR in a couple weeks. Decisions, decisions.

In other "getting ready" news, Annie and I have decided {via Twitter, of course} that we're going to have homecoming decorating parties when it gets closer!! I'm really, super excited about this. I don't know what kind of decorations to even think of getting. I've already got my [NOT FREE] homecoming banner, but I think I want to do a little more than that. Any ideas?

The closer it gets, the more excited I get... But at the same time it still feels so far away. I still have a trip home and our anniversary to get through before all that. And with his internet being as uncooperative as ever, it's hard to feel excited. I guess I should be excited that I won't have to deal with it much longer, but it's still hard. Hopefully the problem will be resolved soon and we can talk more than once a week. 


I just have to keep reminding myself that I can do this and that it will be over soon!! And until then, I can hang out with my deployment sister, Annie. =) And maybe Annie, Miranda and I will have another sewing party {or two or three} too! 

Hope your week is off to a great start!



5.09.2011

Mother's Day Aloha Style

Well, my Mother's Day was certainly not what I had anticipated!

I got a text around 0830 from my mom saying my grandmother {on my dad's side} had fallen at church and was at the hospital. Luckily, my parents were with her when it happened and they took her straight to the hospital. God bless her, I think my mom waited until she knew I would be awake to text me. ;-) Anyway, so my mom spent most of her day at the hospital. I'm sure she didn't anticipate that either. And the good news is my grandmother will be fine. She's got a couple fractures and a concussion, but she's fine. And she's tough. I have no doubt that she'll be fine in a week.

I went to church, where I got to sit with Mrs. C, her hubby and mom. Then, after church they invited me to lunch! I gladly went and we ended up going downtown, eating at PF Chang's (YUM!) and walking around Waikiki. For someone who had plans of going home, eating cold pizza and making phone calls...this was a big day. Haha!! It was a really good time and I ate entirely too much food.


I all but passed out on the couch when I got home. I don't usually do that many activities in one day. Ha! Then, I tortured myself with Army Wives' homecoming...and watching Coming Home. *sigh* More on all the emotions that stirred up later.

Mom and I at the park, 1988ca. =)
I don't know why, but I really love this photo.

Mom can get under my skin sometimes, but she's still Mom and I love her. She's done a lot for me in my almost 25 years. Not to mention she put up with my psycho craziness while I was in college. I think anyone might deserve a medal for that. =P And God bless that woman for not kicking my brother out yet. Haha!! 

And just because, here's the photo Anna sent to me this morning of my cute little nephew. Safe to say it made my day.


Yes, he's wearing the shirt I bought him...and laying on the quilt I made him. =D I am one proud auntie. How much longer 'til I can hold him?!

I hope you had a great Mother's Day!