I'm a really terrible blogger. I am just uncommitted. I'm sorry. It's not that I'm super busy. Blogging just really does take dedication, and I don't guess I realized that. Maybe that's why my last attempt at a fitness blog was a complete bust...or maybe my fitness was the bust.
Speaking of bust, I am busting with jealousy of you folks in Bay this weekend. It's my favorite time of year there, and I am 900 miles away! It's Harvest Fest weekend, and I have been the Harvest Fest's number one fan since I was born! I love the way my little hometown smells during this time. That big pile of compost behind the cotton gin isn't quite soured yet, so the town doesn't smell like a giant toilet. Instead, it smells like helium. You may think that's a weird way to describe fall in Bay, but I've always thought all the harvested crops smell a lot like a helium balloon. It's a nice smell. The air is so crisp and the leaves are still green but starting to yellow. I like it.
Harvest Fest reminds me of love. When I was little, I was usually chasing a boy at the Fest. I always bought one of those ribbon crowns at a booth so that when I ran, the ribbons bounced in my hair. I felt so pretty.
I always rode in the parade, too, whether it was with a cheerleading or school club float, or with my dad in his police car. I always thought the parade was the coolest, and it was.
Last year was a particularly special Harvest Fest for me. I had dropped Derick off in St. Louis the day before so that he could embark on his journey at Officer Candidate's School. I remember not crying as much as I did when I took him the first time in January of 2009. I had grown a little tougher and become more educated on the whole OCS ordeal. I was more excited than nervous, more happy than scared. I remember telling him, "Don't come back to me this time. Let me go to you." He passively said, "ok, Babe." His focus, for weeks, had been off of me and on the journey ahead.
I came back to Arkansas and settled into my new, yet temporary, life. I immediately packed all of Derick's clothes in huge plastic bins and cleaned the room so that I had only what I needed to survive the next two and a half months without him. I figured if I made our room at my parents' house more of just my room, I wouldn't dwell on his absence and be sad all the time. I could get up and get stuff done. Surely, that would make the time go by more quickly.
One year ago today, I made the trek back to Arkansas from St. Louis, renovated a room, and "unofficially" became a Marine wife. One year ago today, as Derick began his journey by heading to Quantico, Virginia to get yelled at for two and a half months, I began a journey of my own.
There was really no time to mope and whine about not having my husband around anymore. The next day was the Harvest Fest, and I'd volunteered to instruct Zumba on the stage. Thank GOD for my friends Cristi, Dana, and Christina, who promised to be there to do Zumba, just in case no one else felt like shakin' it. They kept me from looking like a fool! It was fun, and more people joined in than I'd expected. Luckily, the second Zumba session of the day became a competition. I chose the best Zumba student in the crowd, and the winner got some goodies from the concession stand. I stand by my word that my nephew, Nathan, was actually the best, but that's not quite fair, so I chose the second best. :)
The next few months weren't so bad. I got into a routine and stayed quite busy, though at the time, I just wanted to relax for one second. I woke up early, drove 45 minutes to work, worked all day, taught Zumba at night, drove home just in time to scarf down a late supper, write Derick a two-three page letter (front and back), do a quick devotional, shower and hop in bed. I was busy all the time and tired all the time. I'm so thankful for my mom and dad who stayed up to feed me supper late at night and listen to my complaining about how pooped I was. Arkansas had never looked so beautiful to me until last year, when I was too dang busy to enjoy it. I stayed busy because I thought it would be good to be productive while Derick was gone. But, to me, time went just as slowly or quickly as it would have, had I not been working or instructing. I am thankful, though, for being able to spend time with my work and Zumba friends. I'm also thankful for the money we saved because Derick and I were both too preoccupied to spend any of it.
While Derick was gone, I learned to pay ALL the bills by myself, make important decisions without consulting him, secure a place to live and set up utilities three states away, set up any type of insurance you can think of, and deal with any issue that came up (which, if your husband is out of contact, you can bet any and all types of "issues" will come up). Last year, I was the most independent I'd been in my whole life. Because we were married so young, he'd always been there to deal with those sorts of issues. Last year, I had no choice but to handle everything myself, and it felt somewhat liberating.
Here I am, though, a year later, allowing him to pay all the bills. (By pay, I mean, get online and submit payments.) I feel a little guilty about that because he's the one who gets up early and heads to work all day. He's the one bringing in all the dough. I could at least help by making sure everything is paid on time.
SO:
My mission for this weekend (and maybe next week, depending on how quickly I grasp the reigns) is to have Derick teach me, once again, how to pay all the stinkin' bills. I want to make a budget worksheet and get a little organization going. I want to be a little more thrifty with our money. We don't live outside our means at all, and we have always been pretty smart when it comes to spending. We don't blow a lot of money on useless stuff. We don't spend if we don't have. We pay our bills well before they are due. And we typically try to maintain a steady amount in our bank account. But I've been thinking that we could save even more if we had some sort of functioning method of paying bills and keeping up with what exactly goes out and comes in.
That said, if anyone reading my blog has any advice or their own budget worksheet that you would like to contribute, feel free to comment! My friend and her husband have a worksheet, so I'm going to have her come help me set ours up. But in the meantime, let me know what works and what doesn't work when it comes to, not necessarily just budgeting, but organizing your bills, receipts, and any other piece of paper that has to do with personal finances. ;) Right now, Derick and I pretty much just throw the bills in a pile, pay them when we think of it (which, lucky for us, is before they are actually due), then the bills themselves just seem to linger around our house for weeks. I don't know what to do with them. Do I hang on to them? Throw them away? And if I hang onto them, where do I put them? I have a tiny organizer box that I used in Quantico (I was still in the habit, somewhat, of dealing with everything). But if you have a method that works, please share!
How this post went from Harvest Fest to OCS to budget worksheets is beyond me! Y'all have a good weekend anyway, and enjoy the street dance for me!:)
...Speaking of street dance, I may not be good at organizing finances or maintaining a healthy amount of energy when I'm working two jobs while my husband is training to be an officer of Marines, but I AM a professional at choosing good music to listen to. If only I could get paid to post good youtube videos...one can only dream!
I feel like this is a nice harvest time song:
Friday, September 30, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Gray
Everything looks black and dark
and deep and gray and nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing around here is your color
when your color is a bright one.
The clouds make the sun look like the moon.
But, deep in your heart, you know it will shine again soon.
You can't be sad forever
when your season rolls around.
Spring takes the place of winter;
no more snow on the ground.
So you can only stand
and walk on.
How many tears will it take
to fill the rivers so you can float away
and find the solid ground to stand on
and walk on?
Some were meant to live in gray,
to enjoy the rain.
But you were made for color.
You were made to walk on.
You were made to be free.
Some were meant to be untouched by the light,
unkissed by the sun,
sand in the desert,
stones on the sidewalk.
Some were meant to be colorless;
opaque.
Some were meant to be a cave:
deep and dark and lonely and hollow,
untouched by the light,
unkissed by the sun.
But you.
You are meant for the sun.
You are destined for the summer.
You are made for the light;
made to walk through the deepest dark cave with a candle.
You are made to touch the gray and fill it with color.
You are chalk for the sidewalk.
So be sad now.
But don't let the pain own you;
Don't let the gray cover up the sun.
Because you can't be sad forever
when you were made to be free.
and deep and gray and nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing around here is your color
when your color is a bright one.
The clouds make the sun look like the moon.
But, deep in your heart, you know it will shine again soon.
You can't be sad forever
when your season rolls around.
Spring takes the place of winter;
no more snow on the ground.
So you can only stand
and walk on.
How many tears will it take
to fill the rivers so you can float away
and find the solid ground to stand on
and walk on?
Some were meant to live in gray,
to enjoy the rain.
But you were made for color.
You were made to walk on.
You were made to be free.
Some were meant to be untouched by the light,
unkissed by the sun,
sand in the desert,
stones on the sidewalk.
Some were meant to be colorless;
opaque.
Some were meant to be a cave:
deep and dark and lonely and hollow,
untouched by the light,
unkissed by the sun.
But you.
You are meant for the sun.
You are destined for the summer.
You are made for the light;
made to walk through the deepest dark cave with a candle.
You are made to touch the gray and fill it with color.
You are chalk for the sidewalk.
So be sad now.
But don't let the pain own you;
Don't let the gray cover up the sun.
Because you can't be sad forever
when you were made to be free.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
OLD BALD HEAD!
Derick and I were youth leaders at a church in Arkansas for a few years during college. We taught a Sunday School class, a Sunday evening class, and a Wednesday night class. With the younger kids, we usually read some Bible stories, discussed them, then had a craft or activity pertaining to the lesson.
There is one story in particular that I always loved for Derick to share with the kids. If the lesson seemed short or too dull for the kids, I would always beg Derick to tell the kids about this particular event, recorded in 2 Kings. After a couple of years, most of the regular attendees had the story memorized.
Derick randomly reminded me of the story (I say story for lack of a better term, but it's actual a true account) tonight as we were on our way home from our friends' house.
Here's the story in layman's terms:
One day, Elisha was walking along a road, and some boys from the town came up to him and started making fun of him saying, "Hey, you old bald head! Get out of here!" So Elisha looked at the boys, then asked God to punish them. So, God sent two she-bears out of the woods to eat the boys.
That passage is so funny to me, and it's just as funny when read verbatim:
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. - 2 Kings 2:23-24 NIV;KJV
Ok, so maybe it's not funny. It actually teaches a really good lesson: God isn't pleased when we make fun of people. Elisha couldn't help that he was bald. And too bad for the kids because they were swallowed by some bears.
It was good tonight to remember our time serving at the church. The looks on those kids' faces after hearing that story for the first time were priceless. They would just stare at Derick, waiting for more, then, upon realizing the story was over, the class would erupt!
So there are two birds with one stone. You get funny, plus a serious lesson. Also for a bonus, Biblical history!
I haven't blogged in a little while. I've been a combination of lazy and busy, if that makes sense. Tomorrow, my filthy house will be ransacked by Queen Clean. Also known as Kem. I have been putting off cleaning for too long, and I just can't do it anymore.
Last night, Derick and I went to an NC State football, and it was an experience, to say the least. It was completely different than any stAte game I've ever attended. That college is huge, and the tailgating is even more huge. Walking through Tailgate Central, or whatever the Wolfpack calls it, I felt like I was in a foreign country or a movie scene of college parties. It was crazy for me. We had fun, though, and I was able to meet some of Derick's classmates, who were all really cool!
NC is finally cooling off. It's been in the sixties for the past few days, so I've been cold. It is nice to leave the AC turned off, but I just know that blistery cold is right around the corner, and that I do not anticipate. I'm not a cold-weather girl. I'd much rather melt than freeze. Maybe it won't get too cold here. I never can imaging it snowing at the beach. I know it happens, but it just seems weird.
Paris nearly ran out of food today. It was a close call. I always mix hard food with soft, Lil Caesars for her. My mom spoiled her that way, so she expects it now. (My mom even microwaves it for her, but she will usually eat it at room temp). Anyway, we were running low on her hard food, but there was another big bag behind the bag we were using, so I just assumed she had another bag full of food. Little did I know, the bag in the back was full of crumbs, which just happens to be a Derick thing to do: leave a huge bag of crumbs in the cabinet.
I tried to go grocery shopping this weekend, but the Case Lot Sale was going on at the commissary, and if you haven't experienced one of those, imagine Saturday at the NEA District Fair meets Yellowjacket Sr. High boys basketball makes it to state playoffs. It is a mad house! The check-out line wrapped around the entire store. People had multiple buggies, filled to the brims. My friends and I went on Friday to grab a few good deals, and luckily, we were able to hop in the speedy check-out lane because we had 20 items or less. I should have been smart and just grabbed a bag of dog food then, but I wasn't thinking. The crazy crowd made me go a little nutty.
So when we left this morning for church, I had to give Paris soft food only, plus a peanut butter cracker as a peace offering. She was happy when I brought home some crunchy food, but I think she would have been happier had I just kept feeding her the peanut butter crackers.
That's about it for news around here. I've been hitting the gym with my friends every morning. Then we usually stop in for coffee at Dunkin Donuts. I like the iced coffee, and I try to get decaf if they have it, or else I will keep Derick up all night, jabbering away.
My parents are visiting later this week, and we are so excited to see them! Especially Parisann!
Well, that's all I have to say. I better jump in bed before Derick falls asleep, or I will have to wake him up so we can straighten the sheets. Crinkled sheets are about as horrible to me as cold weather. But that's another blog!
G'night!
There is one story in particular that I always loved for Derick to share with the kids. If the lesson seemed short or too dull for the kids, I would always beg Derick to tell the kids about this particular event, recorded in 2 Kings. After a couple of years, most of the regular attendees had the story memorized.
Derick randomly reminded me of the story (I say story for lack of a better term, but it's actual a true account) tonight as we were on our way home from our friends' house.
Here's the story in layman's terms:
One day, Elisha was walking along a road, and some boys from the town came up to him and started making fun of him saying, "Hey, you old bald head! Get out of here!" So Elisha looked at the boys, then asked God to punish them. So, God sent two she-bears out of the woods to eat the boys.
That passage is so funny to me, and it's just as funny when read verbatim:
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. - 2 Kings 2:23-24 NIV;KJV
Ok, so maybe it's not funny. It actually teaches a really good lesson: God isn't pleased when we make fun of people. Elisha couldn't help that he was bald. And too bad for the kids because they were swallowed by some bears.
It was good tonight to remember our time serving at the church. The looks on those kids' faces after hearing that story for the first time were priceless. They would just stare at Derick, waiting for more, then, upon realizing the story was over, the class would erupt!
So there are two birds with one stone. You get funny, plus a serious lesson. Also for a bonus, Biblical history!
I haven't blogged in a little while. I've been a combination of lazy and busy, if that makes sense. Tomorrow, my filthy house will be ransacked by Queen Clean. Also known as Kem. I have been putting off cleaning for too long, and I just can't do it anymore.
Last night, Derick and I went to an NC State football, and it was an experience, to say the least. It was completely different than any stAte game I've ever attended. That college is huge, and the tailgating is even more huge. Walking through Tailgate Central, or whatever the Wolfpack calls it, I felt like I was in a foreign country or a movie scene of college parties. It was crazy for me. We had fun, though, and I was able to meet some of Derick's classmates, who were all really cool!
NC is finally cooling off. It's been in the sixties for the past few days, so I've been cold. It is nice to leave the AC turned off, but I just know that blistery cold is right around the corner, and that I do not anticipate. I'm not a cold-weather girl. I'd much rather melt than freeze. Maybe it won't get too cold here. I never can imaging it snowing at the beach. I know it happens, but it just seems weird.
Paris nearly ran out of food today. It was a close call. I always mix hard food with soft, Lil Caesars for her. My mom spoiled her that way, so she expects it now. (My mom even microwaves it for her, but she will usually eat it at room temp). Anyway, we were running low on her hard food, but there was another big bag behind the bag we were using, so I just assumed she had another bag full of food. Little did I know, the bag in the back was full of crumbs, which just happens to be a Derick thing to do: leave a huge bag of crumbs in the cabinet.
I tried to go grocery shopping this weekend, but the Case Lot Sale was going on at the commissary, and if you haven't experienced one of those, imagine Saturday at the NEA District Fair meets Yellowjacket Sr. High boys basketball makes it to state playoffs. It is a mad house! The check-out line wrapped around the entire store. People had multiple buggies, filled to the brims. My friends and I went on Friday to grab a few good deals, and luckily, we were able to hop in the speedy check-out lane because we had 20 items or less. I should have been smart and just grabbed a bag of dog food then, but I wasn't thinking. The crazy crowd made me go a little nutty.
So when we left this morning for church, I had to give Paris soft food only, plus a peanut butter cracker as a peace offering. She was happy when I brought home some crunchy food, but I think she would have been happier had I just kept feeding her the peanut butter crackers.
That's about it for news around here. I've been hitting the gym with my friends every morning. Then we usually stop in for coffee at Dunkin Donuts. I like the iced coffee, and I try to get decaf if they have it, or else I will keep Derick up all night, jabbering away.
My parents are visiting later this week, and we are so excited to see them! Especially Parisann!
Well, that's all I have to say. I better jump in bed before Derick falls asleep, or I will have to wake him up so we can straighten the sheets. Crinkled sheets are about as horrible to me as cold weather. But that's another blog!
G'night!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Sunroof
This morning, I rolled out of bed at 0815 to get ready for the gym. I'd been half-sleeping since around 0530, when Derick left. I had really weird dreams, plus Paris was hogging the bed. It's so peculiar how such a little dog can take up so much space. Anyway, I got dressed in my new spandex workout shorts, threw my frizzy hair in a pony, let Paris out and fed her, and I started out the door. As soon as I sat down in my seat, I knew something was wrong. My butt was wet. I looked around, and the cup holders were full of water. That was weird. I checked to see if there were any broken or cracked windows, lastly thinking to look up at the sunroof--which was wide open. It rained yesterday.
So I ran inside, grabbed a couple of towels and drove all the way to meet my friends on base with the windows down, causing my already frizzy hair to pretty much become an afro.
Luckily, my friend Kelsey had some Febreeze, and I left my sunroof open while we were at the gym and running errands to let the car air out. It's parked in my driveway now, still airing out.
I've always had a hard time with sunroofs. When I was in high school, my first car was a teal Saturn with a sunroof that only opened if Dad manually cranked it back. So when I had it open, it did not close unless he closed it with his magical touch. If it were raining and the sunroof was open, I'd park under the carport at home. I usually didn't keep it open, though, because it was so dadgum difficult to close.
One sunny day, my friend and I were in Jonesboro riding around with my sunroof open. We went into Burger King for lunch and when we came out, it was pouring rain. The two of us were so smart (and unwilling to go home) that we grabbed a trash bag from my backseat and taped it up to cover the hole in the roof. I don't really know why I had a trash bag and tape in my car. We continued to drive around, and our ingenious plan seemed to pay off...until we pulled into a Sonic stall, and the trash bag had reached it's limit. Water came flooding on top of us and all over my car! Why did we think a trash bag would work the same as an actual glass window?
Funny things happen to me. Always.
So I ran inside, grabbed a couple of towels and drove all the way to meet my friends on base with the windows down, causing my already frizzy hair to pretty much become an afro.
Luckily, my friend Kelsey had some Febreeze, and I left my sunroof open while we were at the gym and running errands to let the car air out. It's parked in my driveway now, still airing out.
I've always had a hard time with sunroofs. When I was in high school, my first car was a teal Saturn with a sunroof that only opened if Dad manually cranked it back. So when I had it open, it did not close unless he closed it with his magical touch. If it were raining and the sunroof was open, I'd park under the carport at home. I usually didn't keep it open, though, because it was so dadgum difficult to close.
One sunny day, my friend and I were in Jonesboro riding around with my sunroof open. We went into Burger King for lunch and when we came out, it was pouring rain. The two of us were so smart (and unwilling to go home) that we grabbed a trash bag from my backseat and taped it up to cover the hole in the roof. I don't really know why I had a trash bag and tape in my car. We continued to drive around, and our ingenious plan seemed to pay off...until we pulled into a Sonic stall, and the trash bag had reached it's limit. Water came flooding on top of us and all over my car! Why did we think a trash bag would work the same as an actual glass window?
Funny things happen to me. Always.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
America!
September 11, 2001
I was in Mrs. Lowery's Oral Communications class at Bay High School. We were about to continue a movie, I think Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio. I was excited because I liked the movie, and I was really anxious to watch it's inevitable ending. Mrs. Lowery turned on the TV to get the movie started. I was ticked a little inside because Mrs. Lowery didn't turn it directly to the movie. Instead, she stepped back a little and watched with a strange face. She said something that I can't remember now, and called the office. We were the first class in the school to see the Twin Towers under attack. For the rest of the day, as we went from class to class, the boys asked the teachers if we could watch the news. At the time, I thought they were just trying to avoid classwork, but looking back, I think the guys in my class were actually a little concerned. They probably had a little better grasp on the situation than I did. I was a little girl, focused on the volleyball practice I'd attend later that day. I didn't really know what was happening, even though my history teacher, Mr. Watkins, agreed to let us watch the news because we would be "watching history."
Later that day, at the volleyball practice, everyone was flipping out because gas prices were going to "be $5 by the next day." I remember my friend, Sarah, sent her mom to fill her tank during practice. I still didn't understand what was going on. I hadn't heard of Jihad or the Taliban or any of that. I imagined war as the way my Dad gently described Viet Nam to me. If this was war, it was strange that it was in my country, and it was freakin' cowardly of them (whoever they were) to attack us like that. Why blindside us? If you're going to fight us, why not look us in the face and do it?
After that, American flags and the slogan "United We Stand" were everywhere. I didn't ever totally grasp the magnitude of the events of September 11. Maybe I'm still a little confused by all of it, and I'm a little sickened by those who point fingers at our own nation as if those terrorist acts were committed and planned by our own people. But I won't get started on political banter.
Everyone is sharing where they were on that horrible day. I shared my story, but perhaps the bigger, more important story is where are we now? Do we allow those events to change us? Because we should. The events on that day changed this country forever, as it should have. We shouldn't be the same people after something so awful happened. I know now that I'm grown and more enlightened to what terrorism and war are, I don't react the same way I did when Mrs. Lowery interrupted Romeo and Juliet. I try to be in-tune with what's going on in my country and the world. I try to understand our political leaders and their decisions. I try not to box myself up so much in my own world of safety and self-absorbance that I don't pay attention to worldly issues. I want to know what my husband and so many others are so willing to fight for.
I love my country so much. I love what we stand for. I love that our land is covered with men and women who see a bigger picture than their own, and they bravely step out to defend their country, as well as people who don't really appreciate their sacrifice. I love that the United States of America was founded on the same beliefs I hold so dear to my heart as a Christian. I love that everyone has a chance here. And I love that I live in a country that won't sit back and let the bad guy prevail.
I was in Mrs. Lowery's Oral Communications class at Bay High School. We were about to continue a movie, I think Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio. I was excited because I liked the movie, and I was really anxious to watch it's inevitable ending. Mrs. Lowery turned on the TV to get the movie started. I was ticked a little inside because Mrs. Lowery didn't turn it directly to the movie. Instead, she stepped back a little and watched with a strange face. She said something that I can't remember now, and called the office. We were the first class in the school to see the Twin Towers under attack. For the rest of the day, as we went from class to class, the boys asked the teachers if we could watch the news. At the time, I thought they were just trying to avoid classwork, but looking back, I think the guys in my class were actually a little concerned. They probably had a little better grasp on the situation than I did. I was a little girl, focused on the volleyball practice I'd attend later that day. I didn't really know what was happening, even though my history teacher, Mr. Watkins, agreed to let us watch the news because we would be "watching history."
Later that day, at the volleyball practice, everyone was flipping out because gas prices were going to "be $5 by the next day." I remember my friend, Sarah, sent her mom to fill her tank during practice. I still didn't understand what was going on. I hadn't heard of Jihad or the Taliban or any of that. I imagined war as the way my Dad gently described Viet Nam to me. If this was war, it was strange that it was in my country, and it was freakin' cowardly of them (whoever they were) to attack us like that. Why blindside us? If you're going to fight us, why not look us in the face and do it?
After that, American flags and the slogan "United We Stand" were everywhere. I didn't ever totally grasp the magnitude of the events of September 11. Maybe I'm still a little confused by all of it, and I'm a little sickened by those who point fingers at our own nation as if those terrorist acts were committed and planned by our own people. But I won't get started on political banter.
Everyone is sharing where they were on that horrible day. I shared my story, but perhaps the bigger, more important story is where are we now? Do we allow those events to change us? Because we should. The events on that day changed this country forever, as it should have. We shouldn't be the same people after something so awful happened. I know now that I'm grown and more enlightened to what terrorism and war are, I don't react the same way I did when Mrs. Lowery interrupted Romeo and Juliet. I try to be in-tune with what's going on in my country and the world. I try to understand our political leaders and their decisions. I try not to box myself up so much in my own world of safety and self-absorbance that I don't pay attention to worldly issues. I want to know what my husband and so many others are so willing to fight for.
I love my country so much. I love what we stand for. I love that our land is covered with men and women who see a bigger picture than their own, and they bravely step out to defend their country, as well as people who don't really appreciate their sacrifice. I love that the United States of America was founded on the same beliefs I hold so dear to my heart as a Christian. I love that everyone has a chance here. And I love that I live in a country that won't sit back and let the bad guy prevail.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
"She Doesn't Get It"
So, Derick is in the tub and when he gets out I have to hand over the computer so he can do some grown up stuff, i.e. homework. Therefore, this post will be super fast. I feel like I've been neglecting my--what is it? 74--fans out there by not updating as regularly. As you all know, I've made a good friend, so now my days are pretty booked doing normal things, rather than just sitting in my house for hours on end.
Here's a very brief update, though.
I've been watching "Life Unexpected" on Netflix, and it's pretty good.
We gave Paris a haircut this weekend, and it looks really nice, except that Derick got annoyed so we weren't quite able to take care of her legs, belly, and booty. This causes her to look much too similar to a Billy Ray Cyrus dog.
2012 Presidential election stuff is well underway, so prepare for bombardment of my opinions! I LOVE election time!
Today is my father-in-law's birthday! Happy birthday, Kev!:-)
I ate an entire jar of pickles in two settings. That's a personal record.
Since this is supposed to be a military wife blog, I guess I better add some military stuff.
Derick is now a certified grey belt in the MCMAP program. So don't mess with me because he will leg sweep you.
His school is going well. He's making good grades, and I think he is really going to like logistics. He's ready to actually find out what unit he's in, and I'm ready for that, too.
Today, Kelsey and I went to the library on base, and they had practically every Debbie Macomber book available. My mom would be in paradise!
I cooked one of Derick's fave meals tonight, Mexican chicken. He always begs for it, and it's easy to do, I just rarely have all the ingredients at one time. So he was the one in paradise tonight. That really has nothing to do with being a military wife other than the fact that Derick is a Marine, and Marines like food. Rah!
Derick is taking a really long bath. Maybe he's just being sweet and sitting in cold water so that I can make a really nice post. This post has been rather dull, though, and I promise a more festive one very soon!
I've really started to appreciate short, one-liners, so here's a good one for you to ponder, followed by a fun song to make you happy as we say farewell to summer vacation. (Smile, as you remember that everyday of the year is my summer vacation, due to lack of employment).
Here's a very brief update, though.
I've been watching "Life Unexpected" on Netflix, and it's pretty good.
We gave Paris a haircut this weekend, and it looks really nice, except that Derick got annoyed so we weren't quite able to take care of her legs, belly, and booty. This causes her to look much too similar to a Billy Ray Cyrus dog.
2012 Presidential election stuff is well underway, so prepare for bombardment of my opinions! I LOVE election time!
Today is my father-in-law's birthday! Happy birthday, Kev!:-)
I ate an entire jar of pickles in two settings. That's a personal record.
Since this is supposed to be a military wife blog, I guess I better add some military stuff.
Derick is now a certified grey belt in the MCMAP program. So don't mess with me because he will leg sweep you.
His school is going well. He's making good grades, and I think he is really going to like logistics. He's ready to actually find out what unit he's in, and I'm ready for that, too.
Today, Kelsey and I went to the library on base, and they had practically every Debbie Macomber book available. My mom would be in paradise!
I cooked one of Derick's fave meals tonight, Mexican chicken. He always begs for it, and it's easy to do, I just rarely have all the ingredients at one time. So he was the one in paradise tonight. That really has nothing to do with being a military wife other than the fact that Derick is a Marine, and Marines like food. Rah!
Derick is taking a really long bath. Maybe he's just being sweet and sitting in cold water so that I can make a really nice post. This post has been rather dull, though, and I promise a more festive one very soon!
I've really started to appreciate short, one-liners, so here's a good one for you to ponder, followed by a fun song to make you happy as we say farewell to summer vacation. (Smile, as you remember that everyday of the year is my summer vacation, due to lack of employment).
"Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Drama and Gossip
So, contrary to what my absence may have implied, we survived Hurricane Irene! I have been on a slight hiatus due to my niece's visit. I was able to spend a lot of quality time with her, which I'm thankful for. We had a lot of fun, and I sent her off to Arkansas last night. She is able to say that she survived her first hurricane. Also, thanks to the continued lack of professionalism on Greyhound's behalf, Krista was able to stay two days and one night extra. She's still on the road, and should roll into Memphis sometime in the wee hours of the morning.
I have a little catching up to do, and it's 1700 right now, which means Derick will be walking through the door ready for supper any minute, so let's get to it!
HURRICANE IRENE
There's a lot to be said about her, but most of it just encompasses the drama prior to and after her actual appearance. Because of the forecast, Krista's bus only made it to Raleigh, which is two hours away from Jacksonville, so I took a little road trip at 0500 on Friday. It was nice because I traveled to a new place all by myself. Needless did we know, however, that that slight mishap was only the tip of the iceberg of Greyhound's troubles.
Leading up to Irene's wrath, Derick and I planned to just ride it out at home, and because our friends, The Snows, were doing the same, I tried not to stress too much about the hurricane and just make the best of it. I've been through uncountable tornado warnings, so one hurricane wasn't really burning my skin, if you know what I mean. The closer Irene came, and the more I watched the news, though, the more I started to sweat about how bad Irene was actually going to be. I heard a news anchor say, "this is going to be a historical hurricane," which scared me, but as long as we weren't the only idiots riding it out, I figured what tha heck?!
As Friday afternoon dragged on, the sky became darker, almost like it was covered in smoke, and the wind picked up. I wanted to know what people in our actual neighborhood were planning to do, so luckily, I caught our nice neighbor, a Marine, outside. I asked if they were staying for the event, and he said yes, as were the neighbors on the other side of him. I also asked what we should do as far as protecting our house. I'd noticed that a few people had already bought plywood to put on their windows, but that seemed like a lot of work for Krista and me, since Derick was still at work at the time. Our neighbor told me that he was just going to tape up his windows, and he even offered me some of that Marine Corps-issued tactical tape, which was sweet, but I remembered Derick had a stash somewhere. The neighbor told me how to tape our windows to keep them from busting through and scattering glass all over the place. Once he showed me that, I went a little tape crazy and started taping every window in our house in as close to an OCD style that I possibly could. The tape left me with peace of mind, and we didn't lose a window, but once Sunday morning rolled around and beaming sun hit the big window directly, it became a hot mess to pull off. The sun melted the tape onto the window, so Derick had to use a Brillo pad to scrape off all the sticky, and I went behind him with Windex to clean it off. Lucky for us, this only happened to the big window in the living room.
Winds began to pick up late Friday night, and we had some friends over so to help eat all the meat in the fridge in case the power went out. By the time our friends left, the wind was pretty strong and it was raining hard. I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep any time soon.
So Krista, Derick, Paris (ok, not Paris. She slept through the whole thing) and I stayed up and watched the weather for a long time. The wind made a really crazy sound; it was just a constant roar. I'd never heard wind make a sound like that. It just never quit, and the sound only intensified throughout the house because it hit the chimney and echoed. We looked outside frequently, and the tree in our front yard was bending over every which way. I was so scared a stupid branch was going to come flying right through the windshield of our new car. We decided to park the Kia in the garage because it's newer, but it was hard to decide because the Kia has had two windows replaced, and both of those windows can be replaced again for free. We chanced it and parked the Ford in the driveway, and it was fine.
Krista went to bed around 2300, and she didn't make a peep all night. She said she hadn't slept that well in a long time. She's weird.
Derick fell asleep on the couch around 0230 or so, but I stayed up glued to the TV. I finally dozed off a little bit and woke up to look outside. It was raining very hard, and the wind was still making a constant roar. I dozed back off, and woke up around 0700, at which time Derick and I watched it storm pretty hard. We kept falling asleep and waking up, and when we woke up around 1000 on Saturday, we decided we had actually slept through the craziest part of the storm. So all in all, Irene wasn't so bad here in Jacksonville, and I have been way more terrified during a tornado.
We strangely lost power after the thick of the storm was already well north of us. Power was out for about five hours, and I was actually surprised at how quickly it was back ok. Good job, Jones Onslow.
We were also on curfew from late Friday night until Saturday night, so needless to say, we were all ready to finally get out of the house.
Because the storm hit the OBX pretty hard, we weren't able to take Krista on the ferry to Cape Lookout, so she will have to go next time. We did take her to Wilmington and to the beach, where she and I found a whale, but that's a different story!
As for damage, we didn't suffer very much, and I've seen more debris scattered in Arkansas after an ice storm or tornado. There were a lot of branches and leaves around, and a big branch fell on our trampoline, but didn't damage it. (Thank GOD!) We have (had) a little dead, grey tree (more like a branch) in our back yard that was a pain in the butt to mow around because someone had built a little mulch bed around its trunk and walled it in with little bricks. Derick was cleaning and mowing the yard the other day, after the storm, and he barely bumped the little dead tree with his rear end, causing it to fall over. So no more for the tree.
I'm thankful to be alive after Irene, and I'm glad we didn't have any significant damage. I know it could have been a lot worse. Some of base housing was out of power for 36+ hours, and Derick's school didn't have air conditioning on Monday. He said he sweat like the dickens all day long. He even came home sweaty, which was gross.
I'm not a big fan of storms, but I'm also working on controlling my freak outs, and I think I behaved nicely during Irene. Ask Derick, Paris, Krista, the Snows, and Stender, though. They have the true answer to that!
OTHER NEWS
* My dear friend, Beth, and her baby, Emmett, are visiting this weekend, and I get to hang out with them tomorrow! I'm really excited to laugh with Beth again and to see how much Emmett has grown! I'm a little sad because I know this will probably be one of the last times--if not the very last-- that I will get to see them before they head off to 29 Palms, California, but it will for sure be nice to visit since I haven't seen them since July.
* Derick and I are going to a Duke football game with the Snows on Saturday. I think it's Duke. I don't really know much about what's going on, really. I'm just along for the ride. I am looking for someone to drop in and feed and water Paris a couple times on Saturday, though, so if you live in the area and want $20 or so, holla atcha girl. Isn't that a weird saying?? And what perfect context in which for me to use it for the first time.
* I have some cotton candy, blue and pink hair extensions, and I keep making Kelsey swear that I don't look like a teeny-bopper or devil worshiper.
* My parents are visiting at the end of this month, and I am really looking forward to that!
* I've been watching "Switched at Birth" on Netflix a little obsessively during the past two days.
* My house needs to be cleaned. If you're in the area and want, say, a free sandwich, come clean my house. Holla atcha girl.
* I'm already sick of the status update game going around with pregnancy implications. I already told Derick that one of the weirdos from his old neighborhood is pregnant. Sorry if you're that weirdo, but that's really what you get for posting such cryptic status updates on Facebook. Those same people are the ones who throw spit-fire fits because of the "drama" and "gossip" involving them on Facebook. Come on, if posting a status that implies that you're with child when you actually aren't doesn't just scream "I CRAVE ATTENTION!" then I don't know what does! I may just title this blog post "Drama and Gossip" because I know I'll get triple the hits.
* Kelsey and I discovered the Paradise Point pool today, and it is schmancy fancy! It closes on Monday, though, so isn't that just our luck!?
* Yesterday, I saw this fun woman working out at the gym, and I thought she was super cool. She was an older, shorter, Filipino woman with a Victoria's Secret Pink jacket and tight spandex shorts on. She was also wearing hot pink weight lifting gloves and listening to an iPod. She would lift a couple reps of weights, then stand by the machine and do a very original, energetic dance. Then, she'd move on to another weight machine, lift a little, then stand by the machine and do another dance. Some of them involved some sweet kicks and shimmies. I like that lady. She just didn't give a dang. That's cool.
Everybody have a nice weekend! Tomorrow is Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday.
I have a little catching up to do, and it's 1700 right now, which means Derick will be walking through the door ready for supper any minute, so let's get to it!
HURRICANE IRENE
There's a lot to be said about her, but most of it just encompasses the drama prior to and after her actual appearance. Because of the forecast, Krista's bus only made it to Raleigh, which is two hours away from Jacksonville, so I took a little road trip at 0500 on Friday. It was nice because I traveled to a new place all by myself. Needless did we know, however, that that slight mishap was only the tip of the iceberg of Greyhound's troubles.
Leading up to Irene's wrath, Derick and I planned to just ride it out at home, and because our friends, The Snows, were doing the same, I tried not to stress too much about the hurricane and just make the best of it. I've been through uncountable tornado warnings, so one hurricane wasn't really burning my skin, if you know what I mean. The closer Irene came, and the more I watched the news, though, the more I started to sweat about how bad Irene was actually going to be. I heard a news anchor say, "this is going to be a historical hurricane," which scared me, but as long as we weren't the only idiots riding it out, I figured what tha heck?!
As Friday afternoon dragged on, the sky became darker, almost like it was covered in smoke, and the wind picked up. I wanted to know what people in our actual neighborhood were planning to do, so luckily, I caught our nice neighbor, a Marine, outside. I asked if they were staying for the event, and he said yes, as were the neighbors on the other side of him. I also asked what we should do as far as protecting our house. I'd noticed that a few people had already bought plywood to put on their windows, but that seemed like a lot of work for Krista and me, since Derick was still at work at the time. Our neighbor told me that he was just going to tape up his windows, and he even offered me some of that Marine Corps-issued tactical tape, which was sweet, but I remembered Derick had a stash somewhere. The neighbor told me how to tape our windows to keep them from busting through and scattering glass all over the place. Once he showed me that, I went a little tape crazy and started taping every window in our house in as close to an OCD style that I possibly could. The tape left me with peace of mind, and we didn't lose a window, but once Sunday morning rolled around and beaming sun hit the big window directly, it became a hot mess to pull off. The sun melted the tape onto the window, so Derick had to use a Brillo pad to scrape off all the sticky, and I went behind him with Windex to clean it off. Lucky for us, this only happened to the big window in the living room.
Winds began to pick up late Friday night, and we had some friends over so to help eat all the meat in the fridge in case the power went out. By the time our friends left, the wind was pretty strong and it was raining hard. I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep any time soon.
So Krista, Derick, Paris (ok, not Paris. She slept through the whole thing) and I stayed up and watched the weather for a long time. The wind made a really crazy sound; it was just a constant roar. I'd never heard wind make a sound like that. It just never quit, and the sound only intensified throughout the house because it hit the chimney and echoed. We looked outside frequently, and the tree in our front yard was bending over every which way. I was so scared a stupid branch was going to come flying right through the windshield of our new car. We decided to park the Kia in the garage because it's newer, but it was hard to decide because the Kia has had two windows replaced, and both of those windows can be replaced again for free. We chanced it and parked the Ford in the driveway, and it was fine.
Krista went to bed around 2300, and she didn't make a peep all night. She said she hadn't slept that well in a long time. She's weird.
Derick fell asleep on the couch around 0230 or so, but I stayed up glued to the TV. I finally dozed off a little bit and woke up to look outside. It was raining very hard, and the wind was still making a constant roar. I dozed back off, and woke up around 0700, at which time Derick and I watched it storm pretty hard. We kept falling asleep and waking up, and when we woke up around 1000 on Saturday, we decided we had actually slept through the craziest part of the storm. So all in all, Irene wasn't so bad here in Jacksonville, and I have been way more terrified during a tornado.
We strangely lost power after the thick of the storm was already well north of us. Power was out for about five hours, and I was actually surprised at how quickly it was back ok. Good job, Jones Onslow.
We were also on curfew from late Friday night until Saturday night, so needless to say, we were all ready to finally get out of the house.
Because the storm hit the OBX pretty hard, we weren't able to take Krista on the ferry to Cape Lookout, so she will have to go next time. We did take her to Wilmington and to the beach, where she and I found a whale, but that's a different story!
As for damage, we didn't suffer very much, and I've seen more debris scattered in Arkansas after an ice storm or tornado. There were a lot of branches and leaves around, and a big branch fell on our trampoline, but didn't damage it. (Thank GOD!) We have (had) a little dead, grey tree (more like a branch) in our back yard that was a pain in the butt to mow around because someone had built a little mulch bed around its trunk and walled it in with little bricks. Derick was cleaning and mowing the yard the other day, after the storm, and he barely bumped the little dead tree with his rear end, causing it to fall over. So no more for the tree.
I'm thankful to be alive after Irene, and I'm glad we didn't have any significant damage. I know it could have been a lot worse. Some of base housing was out of power for 36+ hours, and Derick's school didn't have air conditioning on Monday. He said he sweat like the dickens all day long. He even came home sweaty, which was gross.
I'm not a big fan of storms, but I'm also working on controlling my freak outs, and I think I behaved nicely during Irene. Ask Derick, Paris, Krista, the Snows, and Stender, though. They have the true answer to that!
OTHER NEWS
* My dear friend, Beth, and her baby, Emmett, are visiting this weekend, and I get to hang out with them tomorrow! I'm really excited to laugh with Beth again and to see how much Emmett has grown! I'm a little sad because I know this will probably be one of the last times--if not the very last-- that I will get to see them before they head off to 29 Palms, California, but it will for sure be nice to visit since I haven't seen them since July.
* Derick and I are going to a Duke football game with the Snows on Saturday. I think it's Duke. I don't really know much about what's going on, really. I'm just along for the ride. I am looking for someone to drop in and feed and water Paris a couple times on Saturday, though, so if you live in the area and want $20 or so, holla atcha girl. Isn't that a weird saying?? And what perfect context in which for me to use it for the first time.
* I have some cotton candy, blue and pink hair extensions, and I keep making Kelsey swear that I don't look like a teeny-bopper or devil worshiper.
* My parents are visiting at the end of this month, and I am really looking forward to that!
* I've been watching "Switched at Birth" on Netflix a little obsessively during the past two days.
* My house needs to be cleaned. If you're in the area and want, say, a free sandwich, come clean my house. Holla atcha girl.
* I'm already sick of the status update game going around with pregnancy implications. I already told Derick that one of the weirdos from his old neighborhood is pregnant. Sorry if you're that weirdo, but that's really what you get for posting such cryptic status updates on Facebook. Those same people are the ones who throw spit-fire fits because of the "drama" and "gossip" involving them on Facebook. Come on, if posting a status that implies that you're with child when you actually aren't doesn't just scream "I CRAVE ATTENTION!" then I don't know what does! I may just title this blog post "Drama and Gossip" because I know I'll get triple the hits.
* Kelsey and I discovered the Paradise Point pool today, and it is schmancy fancy! It closes on Monday, though, so isn't that just our luck!?
* Yesterday, I saw this fun woman working out at the gym, and I thought she was super cool. She was an older, shorter, Filipino woman with a Victoria's Secret Pink jacket and tight spandex shorts on. She was also wearing hot pink weight lifting gloves and listening to an iPod. She would lift a couple reps of weights, then stand by the machine and do a very original, energetic dance. Then, she'd move on to another weight machine, lift a little, then stand by the machine and do another dance. Some of them involved some sweet kicks and shimmies. I like that lady. She just didn't give a dang. That's cool.
Everybody have a nice weekend! Tomorrow is Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday.
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