On the edge of my seat

David is so very close to being home. It is a very strange feeling and the waiting is something I wish I could just skip all together. Imagine the most anxious you have ever been in your life, maybe waiting for a baby to be born, or waiting for your wedding day or something of that caliber. I am THAT excited/nervous/anxious.

I am in Washington now. It feels a lot better to be up here and waiting, mostly because I know I have no more air travel by myself.

Brianne's wedding was really beautiful and super fun. It was a nice break from the Texas heat as well. :) The airline did lose one of my bags but it arrived before I had to fly up here, which was very relieving.

I guess it is safe to say now, that the ship has left San Diego and is on its way up here, and David will be home by the end of this week.

Month-by-Month

Have you ever felt like you are just on a really fast train and you are looking out the window at the blur of trees and houses and that is how you days zoom by?

The past few months have been fast, disorientingly fast. (I make up my own words) But I decided to do a quick month-by-month update. But real fast.

November
-We had a really good Thanksgiving with our friends Chris and Jeni. I was really impressed with how yummy we made our dinner.

-My computer also contracted a ridiculous amount of viruses that attacked my Internet explorer and AOL.

-It snowed and we had an interesting experience sliding down a hill and me screaming, STOP! STOP! STOP! We did. Thank you to the brave curb.


December
-I decided to remove myself from all of the drama that I was being weighed down by, and in doing so was unbelievably at peace.

-We also packed up the kitties and took them to Houston. A word to the wise: Red Eye + 2 cats + a very tall husband+ claustrophobic me = HORRIBLE FLIGHT!!!!

-I got really sick in Houston, thanks mom.

-Being sick as a dog was not helped by a phone call in the middle of the trip stating David's pull out date was being pushed up from January 16 to January 2nd and instead of Japan they were going to the Persian Gulf. Panic and crying followed.

-But Christmas was nice.

-Right before we got on the place David's chief called and said never mind about leaving early but definitely straight to the gulf.

January
-David had duty New Years Eve.

-We started packing and getting things ready for David to leave for 8 months. Think packing for a 2 week vacation is tough, how about almost a year!

-We started painting, and boxing things up and moving, all the while missing my little kitties.

-It snowed a bunch. It was not fun.

-We said goodbye at 3am, January 16th, the only way I knew how. We didn't say goodbye at all, we just danced to the first song we danced to as man and wife: I Love you by Coleman Hawkins.

-I barely made it home from taking David because of the terrible snow storm.

-My mom flew in and worked really hard with me to finish packing/cleaning my apartment. Thanks mom.

-Then we drove from Port Orchard, Washington to Houston, Texas. A long haul.


I hope that clears up alot of curiosity and now I can jump to the present time and continue my blog life.

It was my new year's resolution last year to have more people read and enjoy my blog and I think I achieved my goal. I really enjoy sharing with all of you. :)

Bits and Pieces

Yes, maybe I was overly ambitious to get back in to swing of blogging in the midst of everything else.

My computer is fixed but now we are packing to move me home to Houston and packing David to get him ready for his deployment. I am pretty busy.

Also at Christmas we took the kitties home to Houston and they stayed and it has been horribly lonely up here without them I am so sad without them. Only a few more days and I will see them. It is a bittersweet deal though. I say goodbye to David and say hello to my sweet kitties. But I know their grandma is taking very good care of them.

I am never to busy to make a fun video so enjoy!





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I will be back in Houston soon and will resume blogging. Please hold on till then!

This Place is Crazy!

Misty rain? HA HA

Today is day 4 of pouring down rain all day. Even the kitties look sad as the stare out the window. And what did I find on the weather report today???

"...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A * FLOOD WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING WESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTIES...CLALLAM..JEFFERSON..SKAGIT...WHATCOM...KING..KITSAP... LEWIS...MASON...PIERCE...SNOHOMISH...THURSTON...AND GRAYS HARBOR. * FROM LATE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON * THE CURRENT WET PATTERN WILL SET THE STAGE FOR POTENTIAL RIVER FLOODING LATE SUNDAY NIGHT OR MONDAY AS A STRONG...VERY WET STORM SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE RAINFALL AMOUNTS EXCEEDING 6 INCHES...PARTICULARLY ON THE SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES OF THE OLYMPICS. THIS AMOUNT OF RAIN ON TOP OF WHAT HAS ALREADY FALLEN HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DRIVE A NUMBER OF RIVERS ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. * PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY COULD ALSO RESULT IN SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOODING. A FLOOD WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR FLOODING BUT FLOODING IS NOT IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. MONITOR THE WEATHER AND BE READY TO ACT QUICKLY IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED. "

What? A flood in Western Washington? And no lighting or thunder? This place is crazy!

Baby shower down... bridal shower to go

Well the shower went wonderfully. I was actually really proud of my self as to how perfectly it went. There were 18 people there!! And I was worried that no one would come.

We had it at Olive Garden cause I live in an apartment not made for 18 plus two infants, as well as I wanted the men to feel comfortable. Yes, I had a co-ed baby shower. Well, it wasn't really a baby shower since the baby had been born. I struggled with what to call it, an Unshower Baby Party, an Baby Unbirthday Party so I settled on A Welcome Baby Party.

The things I am most proud of:

The adorable favors!

(i know it is hard to see, lets all bug David till he gets me a new digital camera) It was a chocolate bar wrapper that you could print on. So I thought, cheap, easy what a great idea. Little did I know that the don't make Hershey bars with foil on them anymore, only plastic. But you say that you see foil in that picture? Well yes, we did the unthinkable, we wrapped the chocolate bars in foil, all 24 of them. Not to mention 30 other hurdles surrounding the chocolate bar fiasco. But they turned out super cute!

The cupcake cake!

(again hard to see.... David! new camera!) It is a group of cupcakes (half vanilla half chocolate) frosted all together to form a cake!! I know too cool. It was a major hit and fabulously easy to serve at the restaurant!

My gift creation!

I want to pat myself on the back for how cute this basket was. And all the little details you can't even see. But it was cute. And I learned a really good lesson, I can not, no matter how hard I try I can not tie a fancy bow, even with picture instructions.

David says being a hostess and party planner suits me. Well even if I do it well, I was so stressed out trying to make this thing work, I don't know if I would want to do this ever again. But in a few short weeks I have a bridal shower. But this one, I have a lot more help with and I am more excited about this one.

I do not have a camping video as promised. David is leaving Wednesday and the mad rush to finish everything has started. But there is a video in the works. Look for it, around Thursday.

Quick Update

So David is home, which means we are busy. Working on organizing our big move.

But also as I have mentioned I have been scrambling to get a baby shower together. It is tomorrow and last night we were little sweat shop children making the favors. I will post tomorrow about how it goes.

Last weekend we went camping and it was lots of fun. I took some video so I am working on getting something put together. So by the end of the weekend I should have something ready. Stay tuned.

That is all. All is well. We are off to a curb appeal work party.

Good Morning... I think?

Yes. I have had some memory problems lately. I feel so scatter brained because of all the hustle and bustle that is going on.

I mentioned in my last post that I was planning a baby shower and a bridal shower that occur within 3 weeks of each other. I know ambitious but I have no choice. As well as making frequent trips to the party store, we are all getting ready for the big deployment in January. All of us are going home and there are major arrangements that have to be made. As far as getting things packed and stored, and all the legal arrangements and pet travel arrangements. Arrangements being the key word. I have been needless to say pulled in many directions.

And my mind has started to go. Yesterday after lunch I struggled to remember if I had brushed my teeth that morning. I started out saying yeah, of course I remember doing it. But then the little thought would creep into my mind, "Are you sure you remember brushing your teeth THIS morning and not every other morning?" And back and forth it would go until I go brush my teeth again. I am concluding since the brush was wetter than it normally is that I did in fact brush my teeth, and thus brushed them twice with in hours of each other.

I have also started to forget when I have eaten. I will be so consumed by work that around 430 I say, wow I am starving! And then I try to think what did I have for lunch. And when I can not remember eating lunch I say ooops, I forgot to eat. This happens quite alot. And because the season is changing to the dark and dreary all day long it is hard to judge when it is lunch time.

I need a vacation, a break, a chance to get my mind working again. In January when I am at home and settled in I can have my break. Until then I need a live in nurse to remind me when to brush my teeth and eat.

So Happy Friday the 13th!

Apartment Woes

Unhappy living in an apartment? I am sure you (my loyal readers) are confused wondering how such a thing could ever occur. Well, yes, despite all the wonderful advantages of living in and apartment, I, ever unsatisfied, am not happy.

But seriously. Everyone knows how annoying apartment life can get. Well, I have peaked on the annoyed scale. Lets start off with parking. There is usually plenty of parking, but now that the pool is open, people get all their little friends and take them swimming in the tiny pool. Well, that is all fine and good, but there are like 6 cars in my section that are taking up MY space. Last night I had to park all the way down the hill and walk up in the dark, while people's random friends are just smokin and having a great time. If I had guests over and parking was tight I would ask them to park further away.

Then there is an evil woman. When she first moved in about January, she started parking in the handicapped spot, yes you read right. We asked if she should be towed and they said because here wasn't a sign posted (just paint on the ground) that it wasn't a legal handicapped spot. I later saw this woman pregnant and smoking, yes again you read right. Now she that she is almost due, her mother has come to stay with her (who also smokes) and she instructs her mother to park in the spot as well. It is like using the handicapped space her own personal reserved spot but she doesn't have to pay for it. Ps- her kids are annoying.

On to neighbors. There is some kid around here that practices his flute, or some other wind instrument. It sounds like Close Encounters of the Third Kind. There is no song played just notes and more notes. And there is a giant dog living next door that barks, (of course big dogs are against the rules) but it is his bird brother that drives me nuts. He doesn't tweet or chirp chirp, he squawks ALL DAY LONG.

And we have no air conditioning which is a common thing up here. But that is ridiculous.

I want my own house. But I don't want to buy anything when I know I am leaving in 1 1/2 years. Apartment life just sucks.

Here Comes the Sun

The Sun Is Here. Enough said!

JoJo, Jo Bob and Jo Schmo

This is going back in time a little but still a blog worthy story. Before David left we went camping, because there are state parks in Washington like white on rice. Seriously, you could throw a stone from anywhere in Washington and be sure to hit a State Park. They have 120 of them, for a small state like Washington that is a ton. To put it into perspective Texas advertises 115 state parks. (there might be more but this is the number I found at Texas State Park Guide, if you can find a more accurate number I am pretty curious)

Ok, so we go to our favorite Manchester State Park. We go there all the time for little walks cause it is so pretty and quite and there is a great view of Mt. Rainier and the Seattle Ferry that goes back and forth. David and I have a secret spot, that takes a bit of getting to, but when you are there it is peaceful and quiet and you can see the seals, yes seals. One time, I think it was Mother's Day, we saw a seal catch a fish and eat it only a hundred yards away from us. Later that day, a beautiful gray seal with dark spots came 20-50 ft from us and stuck its head out of the water and was swimming closer and closer to us and looked us in the eyes and swam away. So cool.

Anyway, we got inspired by some pretty weather to go camping. David took a week leave, cause he had been gone for a while and now is going to be gone for 2 months. So there was lots for us to do, so we decided to camp for one night. Well, of course the day we registered our camp site it starts raining. This was our first time with our new tent (thanks mom and dad!), so we had to set it up in the rain. And we had planned to cook hot dogs for lunch but couldn't get a fire started. So we cheated and went back into town to get some food. (our park is like 15 min from the apartment) While we were out I remembered we left a bag of ice on the kitchen floor, so we rushed home to clean it up. We didn't start off real well but it gets better I promise. So when we get back it is still raining and so we got in our tent and played Boggle, my new obsession, and ate cherries.

Well the rain does stop eventually, and we hear little scurrying on the tarp. hmmmm what is that. David unzips the window and calls me over. What is it?!? A baby squirrel!!! He lives in campsite #35. Long story, but I named him JoJo. The neat thing was he hung around and I could walk really close to him. I tried to feed him a Frito but he only liked acorns. On another one of our walks I saw JoJo's brother Jo Bob (another baby squirrel), and Jo Schmo the local chipmunk. When we were cooking our lunch the next morning, JoJo was still there. I think he really liked me, which made me happy because who doesn't love teeny tiny animals?

After we had the car all packed and ready to go, we stopped by the volley ball net and played a little badminton. Now, for some reason this was the most fun of the whole trip. I love badminton. You don't have to hit the birdie hard, and well I probably don't play by the rules but I always have a good time. It was really fun.

So despite a miserable beginning the trip turned out really well. And we stayed mostly warm and dry. David and I cannot wait to go back. So camping trip one = a success!!

Blogarrhea

I apologize for not blogging. It hasn't been because I am busy or anything. Just that life is pretty regular and I don't have a whole lot to say. I authorize the reading of this post in installments if that is easier, I realize how hefty it is.
David is gone again, this time for longer than he has been lately. He is gone till, cross your fingers, my birthday. They are scheduled to fly home on my birthday, but with the Navy you never know. This means he is going to miss our one year anniversary. Yeah, I know. But this is the life we lead. I won't be alone this July forth because my parents are coming!!! YEA! Some might not be excited but I am. I haven't seen any family for six months and I can't wait. The last time they were up here in October I hadn't gotten to know the area, and know I am hoping I have lots of stuff to show them.

Crystal Conner had her baby 13 days ago. He is a healthy little boy! I guessed it was a boy and I was right. He is super cute and tiny. David held him and I was impressed. He didn't run in terror, it was quite endearing. Crystal did have an emergency c-section so our plans to join a gym have been postponed till July.

It is apparently my role to be the token exercise buddy for all of my friends. Meredith, who lives in my apartment complex and is from Humble and went to school at Trinity (so we have lots in common), along with another wife have made a bet with their husbands on who could lose the most weight, wives or husbands. Me and David didn't get in on this because David just thinks skinny thoughts and loses 15 lbs, in like one month. So we don't have this contest. So I am Meredith's drill sergeant, and I work out with her so she feels motivated. Crystal is going to use me the same way to lose the baby weight. Now this is incredibly ironic because I am the most out of shape and shall we say not athletic person maybe in the WORLD, and this is my role? ehh whatever. I just say my body is acclimating to the colder temperatures thus gaining body fat stores for the cold winters and unbelievably cold springs.

Which brings me to my next topic, what season is it again? Ok so it is June and it feels like March felt, which feel like January. Ok, maybe not that drastic. But it is an unusual day to get above 65. And if the sun comes out at all we flutter out like little moths or reptiles absorbing what sunlight we can. It is quite ridiculous. To quote the sermon from Sunday:

"Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun" Ecclesiates 11:7

And the preacher says, "Can I get an Amen?" And this wasn't a joke. We seriously all said Amen, that there are sunny days or this place would be miserable. I keep wondering though, when is summer? Because everyone says summer is SOOOOOO beautiful up here. Not that I don't believe them but it is cold in June, a baseball game in May they were selling hot cocoa, the rain has not let up. David and I arrived here in September and well, it is fast approaching, and it was pretty much like this when we got here. So when is summer? July and August? And is that a proper summer? Well at this point who cares. A sunny day, a dry day so people can mow their lawns, a day to go to the zoo, or turn on a fan (we don't have AC up here) oh at least one would be great now.

Lastly a bit of exciting news about David. He received a wonderful honor a few days ago. He was awarded Sailor of the Day. (bear with me because I am completely ignorant about the Navy) So he got to meet the Captain of the boat, which is a really big honor. The Captain gave him a coin, which is like something they do in the Navy, I have NO idea what it means but I do know it is super cool. Then he got to drive the boat.

Now this a big deal mostly because it is like a huge air craft carrier with 6,000 people aboard. Something very few people get to do. And to top it all off the Captain came on the intercom and said nice things about him. So it was really neat and made David feel really good to be recognized for his hard work. Which I take great pride in, because I think it says a lot about me too. My only job right now is to keep David motivated and focused and support him while he does such a stressful and difficult job. So I kinda think I got honored too. Yea for both of us!

So I know I said I had nothing to say. Well I guess I did.

I Crossed the Finish Line!!

Well I did the March of Dimes walk on Saturday. It wasn't a pretty day, but at least it didn't rain. This was my first walk in such a hill infested environment and I am paying for it still. I can only waddle around. Boy am I out of shape. But it was still so much fun. We walked around seven miles and raised so much money for families with premature babies.
I want to thank everyone who sponsored me on this walk it meant so much to me to have support. I raised enough money to buy a crib for one family. I was really touched by how much everyone cared about this cause. Thank you so much for all of your support.
As for an update on Crystal Conner, the woman I was walking in honor of, she is off bed rest! And is waiting for the baby to come. It is such a miracle that she has made it this far and the baby is healthy. I told her that so many people are praying for her and she said that she knows that God has answered her prayers about this baby and nothing she has done has kept this baby healthy. Praise God for the little miracle she is carrying.
Thank you again for the care and support you sent my way!

One More Goodbye

The sun was rising behind me as I drove toward the hills of Port Orchard. A misty fog was settling in, melting into the sound. Just the tops of the Evergreens popped through the foggy ceiling, letting a secret light escape from what lie beneath. And I said to myself, "This is truly a beautiful place."

I took David to the boat this morning uh-gain, and we said goodbye uh-gain; he is leaving uh-gain. The life of a military spouse is a double edged sword, a thankless job. It is funny but David won't even be here for the big Military Spouse Appreciation Day. That is just ironic. But I know that without me David couldn't do his job.

We could be just looking forward to when he gets out or gets a shore duty, but what a waste of life. There is so much beauty and possiblity around me. I want to focus on what I do have, not count the days till I can leave. It is just so dangerous to think that when I get to some point in my life then everything will be great. But there are challenges every step of the way. I get a paid adventure and that is more than most civilians get.

It Came!

Our apartment complex backs up to some woods, well almost all of the Kitsap Peninsula backs up or is surrounded by woods. Anyway all of the disgusting dead trees have adorable baby leaves! I think it happened just today, at least I just noticed it this morning.

Ahhhh Spring. Now coming from Houston, Spring is either a suburb just north of town or two weeks of pretty weather in April, maybe. Trees don't lose alot of their leaves, it never gets so cold that you need to thaw out. But Spring has a definate pressence here in Washington. In my first photo notice the brown trees hind Abbey. This photo was taken only a few days ago. In the second photo is the same veiw but with tiny green leaves!!!



In honor of this wonderful season I give my top three favorite spring scenes in movies, so that if spring has not yet visited your home you too can have a springy day.

1. Hallmark's Secret Garden
I keep repeating a line in my head over and over. Tulips are blooming all around and all I can think of is when Mary says "There will be curtains and fountains of roses." Ahhhh a classic.

2. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
This wonderful musical is not as well known but delightful. It's story line centers around the seasons and when spring comes there is a musical number devoted to the arrival of spring. This one will get you singing and dancing.

3. Easter Parade
Oh another classic. Judy Garland is in this one. And who doesn't like singing, dancing and a new Easter Outfit? Well the mother of all Easter dresses is in this one. Maybe not the spirit of Easter but the spirit of spring.

Enjoy if you happen to own these spring inspired movies. I only have Seven Brides for Seven Brothers so I will have to imagine both Secret Garden and Easter Parade. I know Mom has Secret Garden and I don't know if they make Easter Parade on dvd. I am sure Easter Parade will appear on TCM or AMC.

Just another day

I saw a beautiful sunrise today. It was coming over the cloudy mountains and painted the water orange. Just perfect.

Everyday the sun rises (whether we see it or not is a different story), it starts a new day and leaves yesturday behind. I have been feeling lately that one day runs into another. My past has been holding me down like a weight around my neck. When is it time to just let the sun set on the past and rise so perfectly in the morning?

I'd like that fresh start, one more chance.

A Day at the Zoo

Every one needs a good day at the zoo. A chance to get outside yourself remember the wonderful things out there in the world. I love the zoo at the least for the animals. If you haven't gathered I love animals, especially my kitties who are doing well by the way.

Saturday it was sorta sunny, Seattle sunny. Patches of sun here and there but mild temperature and no rain. So I said lets try and go to the zoo tomorrow. We usually attend the 11 service at the POCOC as I call it, well I do and when David is in port he does too. But we decided to try the 8 am service. Yikes. I haven't done an 8 o'clock service since Abilene and even then I didn't do it very often.

I think first I should mention the kind of little weather pattern around here. The morning is icky, 10 am -12 might be sunny, 1-4 possibly icky again, 5pm- morning depends, could be, clear could be rainy.

So this is the reason we went to the early service, even if it ends up being rainy later in the day at least we have a couple hours that are usually sunny. When we woke up it was icky and cold, but we went to the early service, which was suprizingly full and brings me to wonder how big is this "little" Church of Christ? When we left church, a. my tummy was fooled into thinking it gets lunch but it was only 9:25 b. rainy and cold. So we go home for a while and chill with the sleeping kitties who had been communing with God in their sleep. And around 11 it was rainy and even colder. My heart begins to sink because I know that I don't get to go to the zoo today. :(

No zoo, but we did clean up our apartment. yay. I was so thrilled to spend the day cleaning. (there is sarcasm injected into that sentence) But something good finally came of it,my insomnia was cured. Not by the hard work, but by the muscle relaxers I had to take after cleaning.

What a day.

Eternal Question

Is it some cosmic cruel joke that it must pour rain whenever I bring in groceries or pump gas? Just wondering.

Spring is here?

We are all very confused. I think I bring strange weather patterns with me where ever I go. First, running away from two hurricanes this summer, then the month straight of rain, and now snow in March in Seattle. Ok.

Bizzaro

Ok, so we have been out of power for 24 or so because of what you ask? A windstorm. Yup so dinky little windstorm made me lose power. So when I woke up the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. And I had no power. This resulted in convulsions as I went through withdrawl from Bob, the tv, and the internet. I called the electric company and they say- SEVERAL DAYS! Ok, so my only communication with my husband is through email, several days of dead silence and no word from David? Um no, it sounded like a slow painful death. But the power has come back on. Thank God.
Yet, I sit and wonder what is going on?!? Ok, first hail, then earthquake and then crazy windstorm. This has just been an absolutly bizzare week. Also I have been breaking out on my forehead like crazy. grrrr. And people have been going NUTS with superbowl crap up here. Yeah I get it, but it is so annoying. I am ready for all of the newscasts to go back to normal. What a week. Lets hope this next one is much better.
How was yours?

It gets weirder

Ok I thought that since David was gone that my posts would be boring, as they usually are. Nope, first hail now EARTHQUAKE.

Yes you read correctly, I lived through my first earthquake. It was only a 3.3 and I didn't know it was an earthquake till they said so on the news. It was just a little shake for a few seconds and living in an apartment complex you never know what is going on. But I do feel like I am in an alternate universe. Hail in the Northwest then an earthquake. It has been an exciting week I'd say.

Also, I must say that it is midly annoying when people blog with just random pictures. They never are terribly interesting. But to show off my mother's scanning abilities I am going to post the other pictures of me and Leah when we were little. I think they are kinda cute, if I say so my self. However not related to the min-earthquake story, have fun looking at the beginning of this interesting life... (that's me by the way)






*I must also say what was up with the hair? Why did I look so much like a Beatle? Was that the style back then or did my mom refuse to brush my hair? Well I got her back with the horrible tangles, and thanks to Brandi Peacock the endless lice. Sorry about that mom.