Leaving Today...

So it is 1 am and I can not sleep. Pre-trip jitters.

I did get everything done. I finished cleaning and I'm so happy I did. My mom told me something a long time ago and I have always remembered it for some reason. She said that she always likes to come home from vacation to a clean house. And now I do to. I know that it is because of her. See, kids do listen sometimes. I am not a particularly clean person, I don't mind clutter or messes but when I come home and everything is just so in the house it does make you think "ahhhhhh it is good to be home."

But tomorrow I will be happy when I get to say "ahhhhh it is good that it is finally here."

Hope the last minute is a LONG minute!

So am I ready for the cruise? No! eeeek!

My big long list:

1. pay bills

2. pack- which involves figuring out outfits. This week I finally found a pair of capris that don't make me look like a Lost Boy, or Piggy from Lord of the Flies. For some reason short pants make me look shipwrecked. But I found a pair! HA HA

3. clean- Jeni is staying with me Saturday night, and my room is awful, because of the packing, what a horrible cycle.
4. get the kitties ready- :( I don't want to say goodbye but Grand Mama can take care of them very well. I will miss them.
5. stress out- I predict that I will stress out, be grumpy and over do everything. I will over pack, yeah I bring 5 pairs of underwear for a weekend trip- what will I do for 8 days? I will over clean, over prepare. I just don't want to sit still and get nervous and anxious and start the lip chewing.

I can not wait to get on the boat and sail towards relaxation. Big changes are happening, for me and David, and for me personally. This has made the past couple of weeks very challenging. But in change comes healing. I am so glad God gives us so many chances to get it right.

So my theme for my cruise? Genesis 2:2-3
I will rest because it is good.

Hooray Hooray Hooray!

Jeni wrote a get excited for the cruise song. I think it is pretty fabulous:

The Cruise Hooray Song (sung to the tune of Row Row Row Your Boat)We are going on a cruise so soon
Hooray Hooray Hooray
We'll shop and eat and drink all day
Hooray Hooray Hooray (here I would and an eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!)

See. Much better than my song which is to a made up tune

Muy Excited
Excited
I am excited
So excited I could do a little daaaaaaaaaaance. (and here I do a little tap or box step or something)

Don't you think it is about time for a vacation?

So I am going on a cruise! Uh huh. A nice 8 day cruise to the Caribbean. I have never been on cruise before and this of course makes me a tad nervous and a lot excited.

I am going with Jeni, another navy wife, and I say that like she is just a navy wife but she isn't. She was my closest friend in Washington and we became really close. David and I were long distance for a long time and never had couple friends. And Jeni and her husband Chris are our first couple that we get along with really well. Jeni is TONS of fun and a great listener and we have such a good time together. We haven't seen each other since January so it will be such a blast to get to spend a whole week with her.



So we leave from Glaveston and go to Montego Bay, then Grand Cayman and lastly Cozumel, and then they drop us off back in Galveston. So it sounds like a lot of fun. We are going snorkeling in Jamaica. (and yes I am terrified BEYOND words, but I have decided that I only live once and I get a life jacket so I am just going to do it) And we are going a tour/shopping excursion in Cozumel, and we are free range in Grand Cayman. Have I said I am excited about the whole thing? Cause I am!

It's those sweet furry faces that melt my heart!

Well I'd like to take a moment to say what a proud mama I am. I have the best little kitties around!

Abbey Darling is named after the Beatles album Abbey Road and her song is Here Comes the Sun.

Abbey is my little lady.



She has a sweet spirit and it just makes me so proud to see her become more and more trusting of humans. I love Abbey so much, she is a special kitty. She is very nice to her little brother, although sometimes she just wants to be alone and relax. Abbey also LOVES Grand Mama's house. She seems so happy here. I hate thinking that I will have to take her to a new home one day.

Rigby Buttons is named after the Beatles song Eleanor Rigby, one of my favorite songs of all time.

Rigby is my little goober.


He is a toddler. I am serious.

1. When he wakes up from a nap he cries for his mama. (he cries, seriously.)
2. His favorite food is Cheerios.

3. I have to wipe his chin and pick his little boogies. (he would be the little boy with the KoolAid mustache)

4. He gets in to EVERYTHING! (just the other day he comes to me with BLUE paws! I have no idea how it happened but they are still a light sky blue.)

5. He scoots down the stairs one stair at a time. (if he were a biped he would be on his bottom scooting down the stairs)

6. Sometimes he just wants to be held by his mama and if I don't he becomes naughty and throws a little fit, he will also walk up to me whine and stick his front paws on me and say "carry me".

7. He idolizes his big sissy and has a "me too" attitude. If he sees Abbey doing something he says, "Me too! Me too!"

8. He plays hard and sleeps harder. (but his games are primitive, like patty cake, his favorite is knock the mousies off the stairs and watch mom or grandmama put them back up again and then do it some more.

Of course he isn't a human toddler, he sleeps 21 hours a day.

ps- I thought we could all use a little pick me up this week, hence the kitty posts.
pps- I do not favor one cat over the other, Abbey has expressed to me that she doesn't like her picture taken.

Gray Skies are Gonna Clear up, go hug a cat!

I LOVE animals. Love them, all of them. The big ones, the little ones, pretty ones, ugly ones, chirpy ones, barky ones. I LOVE animals. Animals make me happy, giggly in fact.

My very first friend, besides Leah, was Scoobie.

And if I didn't have very diligent attention, I could become one of those crazy people with 16 cats, 4 dogs, 8 birds, 2 hamster (1 expecting), and a sugar glider. I would pick up any cat, and dog and take him home.

But wait, you say. Analee you only have 2 cats. I realise my pet to human ratio is a little low to be a crazy pet hoarder. I am not allowed to get dog till I have a house, that is David's rule. So I wait patiently. I have cats but I am not cat crazy. I am an equal opportunity animal lover.

*I am not allowed to the zoo anymore because I ask David for every animal there, still waiting on the camel I was promised.

* In high school I had a pet squirrel, that was neither mine or tame, but I loved Stubby and trained him to wait for me on my walk home from school.

*My pseudo husband is Kermit the frog. I think he is sexy, kind, and would make the BEST husband in the world. So I tried to find my own Kermie.

BUT I love my kitties the bestest. Stay tuned for a special Abbey and Rigby post.

(and no they aren't going to have a brother/sister, I am not allowed to acquire any pets while David is gone, even if they look at me with sad eyes, say mew, or follow me home. No more pets, I can only wish. )

Prayers of Peace

I have been searching for words to speak about Virginia Tech. And at first I didn't want to.

I pray for peace and comfort.

My heart goes out to all the people hurting.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. - Psalms 34:18

A day in the Gulf

The Persian Gulf that is. David sent me a couple pictures of him while they were in port. So I thought I would share. They aren't the most Persian Gulf looking pictures but they were in a very wealthy city that was a major tourist destination before 9-11, Dubai. And so it is really nice, or so David says. He went to the gold and spice market but I guess didn't take and pictures of that.

I know it doesn't look like the Persian Gulf, but it is. This is David "taking a siesta" so he says. He could also be doing crunches.

This is him on the pier I think, that is his boat behind him.

Here he is at the Mall of the Emirates. I am not sure why he isn't smiling.

This is him on a "Beer Day." When they can't get off the boat for several months they have a "steel picnic" on the flight deck and get 2 beers each. Apparently it is a lot of fun, sometimes on holidays bands come and play a little concert on the flight deck. This time it was just two beers. And they cut of all his hair!!!

I only hear good things from David. They are working hard. And he is used to being on the boat. Being in port was real good for him, it is just that little boost to keep going. He has officially been gone 3 months, which is just a drop in the bucket, but everyday we get one day closer and that is fine by me. I miss him a lot, but I just get over those missing feelings and think about the good stuff. I try not to think about the past, the future or what we could be doing, I just try and appreciate him right now. That seems to work for me!

Stuff and Junk

So yesterday was my mom's birthday. I love how some people can manage a big drawn out birthday. How do they do that? I want to learn.

On Saturday, we did a family birthday thing. We had these great wings, Mee Maw made a great cake and mom got lots of presents!

Click here to see the whole photo album, plus some Easter pictures.

On her actually birthday we grilled chicken, sausage and veggies. And I made a cake. Which I don't think I have ever done. There is no picture because I have never learned you need to brush the cake off before you frost it. Thus I invented a new frosting- Cream Cheese Frosting with Cake Bits. Yum. But really it didn't taste bad, it just looked a little speckled.

But my mom's birthday doesn't stop with a family party, 2 cakes, 2 rounds of presents. We are going to to to 2 restaurants she wants to go to! Birthday extravaganza!!! For REAL!

***Just for the blogosphere- "Happy Burfday Mommy!"***

Also, I would like to say that Lent is over and I can now eat CANDY!!!! It was a hard lent, a lent I said I would never be able to do and I did it!! And Easter Sunday I gave myself a tummy ache with the amount of candy that I ate. he he. Just imagine me as the cookie monster, but with Butterfingers and SweetTarts, Sprees, Starburst Jelly Beans, Laffy Taffy and Jolly Ranchers. :) Oh Happy Day!

And I got to hang out with my bestest friend Christi the other day! We had the best time. And I am so thankful for her. She is my long lost self. Christi and I are on the same wave length, we are the same person. David has always reminded me of Christi. In the ways me and Christi are different, me and David are alike. In the ways that me and David are different Christi and David are alike. It is like I have the two best people in the world. I am so lucky!

We had a little bit of trouble with a camera, to see this picture album, (a hoot) click here.

That's what friends are for

An instant message with my buddy Jeni.

Analee: Have a good day at work tomorrow.
Jeni: Thanks
Jeni: Have a good day being you.
Analee: It is such hard work being me.
Jeni: But you do it so well!

April is Autism Awareness Month

Yesterday on Oprah, she did a powerful show on Autism. I was completely blown away by the struggle these families go through.

I was not completely unaware of Autism. My closest friend Christi worked with Autistic children for several years.

But this was the most heartbreaking and inspiring show I have seen in a while.

1 out of 150 children is diagnosed with Autism

That number is unbelievable. And it truly deserves more attention than what it is receiving.

If you want more information visit Autism Speaks. And watch the video, Autism Everyday. It is really a great video and you need to see it!

Bored

I just want to know why I am bored.

And why, because I am bored I have the urge to eat ice cream and candy. And to avoid that urge to eat I can't think of anything else to do but shop and spend money that I can't spend. And to avoid that I sit at the computer and become more and more bored.

I have lots to do. I have a monster list. I could be doing laundry or cleaning my room, or working on a college essay (don't ask) or EXERCISING!! (to name a few)

But do I work on completing that list? Nope. I just think of the ice cream, candy and clothes, (a dress from old navy, a new swim suit) that I want.

Why? Why do I do that?

Why can't I have the urge to run around the block and get all sweaty and out of breath?
Why can't I have the urge to fold laundry? or clean up my messy room?
Why am I bored but don't want to do anything?

ugh.