Just askin'

When you get a new car, how come there are suddenly one million of those cars on the road?

Settling In

Okay, so we have been in our house for a little over a month. The first week was taken up with painting and refinishing floors. Our stuff arrived the second week. So that leaves us with two weeks of unpacking and rearranging. Bubba said last night that he was finally able to sit down on the sofa and feel like he could relax. There weren't any boxes begging to be unpacked, no pictures needing to be hung; the furniture was where it needed to be and there is only one room that has "junk" in it that still needs to be put away. This move is almost complete! Of course, there are still a thousand things we want to do and we have to keep reminding ourselves that we have the rest of our lives to get them done. We have to break out of the military mindset of "get it done now because you might not be living here in a year." Easier said than done.

I know that we are starting to feel like this is home because we had a period of time on Sunday that we fell into our old routine of each of us on our computers in three different rooms. The boys were playing a head-to-head match of some world domination game and I was catching up on my blog reading and internet surfing. Life was back to normal. We have had so much "together time" in the last few weeks it was nice to get into our own space for a time and chill. I think that I am slowly getting into my routine and in two weeks when school starts I think I will be totally there.

Ahhh~

Happy Olympics Day!

I am soooo excited for the Olympics to start! I don't know whether it is the pomp and circumstance, the lump in my throat every time the National Anthem is played, or the secret envy of all those athletically inclined humans. I was althletically challenged as a child - too long legs, back surgery, and asthma (that wasn't diagnosed until I was an adult). I was a mess when it came to the President's Physical Fitness Test. So, every four years I get to live vicariously through the mighty Olympians. I will watch from opening ceremonies to closing, every medal stand, each swimming heat. This time I am also intrigued by the location. Beijing is such a mystery to the western world and I can't wait to see NBC's coverage of China.

Let the Games begin!!!

It just feels right...

There is always a period of adjustment whenever you move...getting to know the area, meeting new people, finding the fastest route to Target. I usually enjoy this time because it is a time of relative anonymity. No one knows you yet and everything is strange and new and exciting. The longer we live this military life the less I have enjoyed those "getting to know you" times. If I couldn't remember General Whachamajigger's wife's name, I worked hard to come up with some catchy word association so that the next time I saw her I remembered her name rhymed with salmonella...Carmella? And that is what it became - work. It was hard work. The older my brain became and the more filled with names from previous places the harder it was to remember the names I should have remembered. Bubba was always great about introducing again..."You remember Mrs. Salmonella Whachamajigger, don't you, Wheezer?" I am always thankful for name tapes on uniforms, but they (and usually Bubba) aren't there when I run into someone at the commissary or the PX or, Heaven forbid under the dryer at the beauty salon. My old and feeble brain was tired of remembering all that stuff....

It is all different here. We are back in my hometown, in a home two blocks from my sister's home. BoyBoy has walked over to her house a million times (and I am NOT exaggerating) since we moved in here. This past weekend we were collapsed on the sofa after a long day of hanging blinds, unpacking boxes, moving furniture and all that other stuff when there was a rap on the window. BoyBoy said, "It's Cousie! Wait, its Cousie, Aunt S, & Uncle C!, Wait, it's everybody!!!" They had ridden their bikes with their neighbors to get ice cream and stopped by on the way home. How cool is that? How many times in this military life do we get to live that close to our relatives? (Whether we want to or not is another post for another day) As we all sat around our living room talking over the kids, I looked over to see my sister with her hand on the pregnant belly of her neighbor, my nephew talking about sports with Bubba and BoyBoy and my niece talking about the camp that she is going to this week. A warm glow came over me. This is why we are here. This is why we moved all those other times. This is why Germany the second time was so worth it. We deserve this and it just feels right.

Foto Friday

...a few days late!

Where's Wheezer?

cough. . .cough. . .

pant. . .pant. . .

moving. . .in. . .

too. . .tired. . .to. . .blog. . .

will. . .be. . .back. . .soon!

Addiction

I have an addiction. It is a guilty, terrible, all consuming addiction. I developed it in earnest while Bubba was deployed and I had no one to keep my urges in check. Add to that the fact that I was living in Germany at the time and I had very little to distract me from my addiction and I had myself a recipe for disaster. I don't know if I am ready to admit that I have a problem and seek counseling. I mean, who am I really hurting? You see, my addiction is Reality Television.

You name it, I have watched it. The Amazing Race, American Idol, America's Got Talent, America's Next Top Model, The Apprentice, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Beauty and the Geek, The Biggest Loser, Celebrity Circus, Dancing with the Stars, Extreme Makeover (especially Home Edition), Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Last Comic Standing, Project Runway, The Real World, So You Think You Can Dance, Survivor, Top Chef...I've seen them all. I have opinions about most of them. Do I think Deanna chose the right guy when she chose Jesse? Absolutely! Do I think that Parvati deserved to win Survivor: Fans vs Favorites? Yes!Should David Archuletta have won American Idol? Probably (although I was rooting for David Cook - I think the AI Machine will kill his career) Do I want to see Amber and Rob in yet another reality show? Well...maybe not. Do I despise Amarossa? Definitely!

Unlike many of my other addictions, I am not ashamed of this one. I make plans based on what is on and whether I can set the VCR (yes, VCR - I haven't stepped into the 21st century and gone TiVo). In Germany, reality TV was all I had. It was what kept me going during the time that Bubba was away. It gave me something to look forward to during those long months. It was always there for me. If I missed something, I had my other addiction (the internet) to back me up and let me in on the secrets, lies, showdowns and showoffs that I had missed. I could lose myself in the cattiness, craziness and confusion that reigned on my shows. Some, when faced with a long deployment will lose themselves in a hobby, some will throw themselves into their career, some will drown themselves in the bottom of a bottle of hair color. Others will make less healthy choices...not me. I choose to sit on the sofa with a friend...Tyra will tell it like it is, Jeff Probst will state the obvious, Phil Keogan will look good no matter what continent he is standing on - these things I could count on. I love my reality TV!

Our cable gets hooked up this week! I may need an intervention!

Just askin'

How come the time leading up to a PCS seems to fly by in a nanosecond and the time waiting for your stuff to arrive crawls by at a glacier's pace?

Foto Friday

New Home, New Haircut!

Is it time yet?

DISCLAIMER: Mom and Dad, I love you and words could never express how grateful Bubba and I are that you open your home to us every time we move. You do so unselfishly and without hesitation and we can rest easy knowing that we always have a place to lay our heads when the military makes us homeless for a time. This post has nothing to do with you...it is all me.

I NEED TO MOVE IN!!!! I NEED MY STUFF!!!! I NEED MY ROUTINE!!!!

Whew, I feel better. I have reached the wall - you know the one; about a month after you move and your stuff is still a few weeks away, you are living in a hotel, with relatives, or in a TLA, you only have one car and your spouse has already gone back to work. I have no boxes to unpack, no curtains to hang, and nothing to do. BoyBoy is done with camp and we have a week until swim lessons start. I feel so discombobulated that I am ready to scream!

I can't find anything because we are living in one room in my parents house. If I set something down to put away later (I know, I know - just put it away, buttttt...), when I go back to find it, it has moved. In my house, I am the one who does the moving. I know where I move it to. I am not used to someone cleaning up after me.

I want to help my mom with the chores but she won't take my help. I know how I feel when she visits my house - I don't want her to lift a finger. And, she likes to do things for us. We had to come to a meeting of the minds because we felt a bit like freeloaders and Bubba hates that. She has agreed to let us do stuff around the house but she still needs prodding.

We also have to share space with two people who are used to their own space. They had a routine before we got here and we disrupted it. We try to be as undisruptive as possible but when you bring 2 adults, a child, and a psycho, squirrel crazed dog disruption happens. My dad likes his remote, my mom likes her solitaire. We had to be schooled in who's barcalounger was who's and which toilet is the most flush-challenged. Which towels are the "good" towels and which ones are we supposed to use.

I miss my stuff. I have unpacked it in my head at the new house twelve hundred times and it hasn't even arrived in country yet. I need mental stimulation beyond "Guiding Light" and "The Bachelorette". I need to get off my duff and begin our new life in this town and start finding my place. I need to move in...

Bonus Foto Friday

Foto Friday

Happy 4th!

Geek Alert!!!

BoyBoy is in summer camp this week. Not just any summer camp - not my BoyBoy. Not football camp, soccer camp, swim camp or even Cub Scout camp. No, BoyBoy is attending Internal Drive Tech camp. That's right...Tech camp. But not just your ordinary computer camp, this camp is amazing! His course of study is Web Design and Flash Animation. He is learning how to create a website with original flash animation drawings and other details that I am not smart enough to understand. He is in computer geek heaven! Now, some might think that we are doing a disservice to BoyBoy by sending him to a summer camp that requires him to sit in front of a computer all day and not enjoy this wonderful, hot, humid insect-infected weather that we have been having, but this is not your ordinary computer camp. They go outside every day to play non-computer games - capture the flag, kickball, soccer, etc. They take walks to the historical part of town (the camp is at the College of William & Mary in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg) and they all are starring in the Video Editing campers' movie production. There will be a gaming tournament with the high scorer from each campsite across the nation competing for all the marbles. At the end of the week there is a showcase of all the campers projects for the parents to see. It has been great! He is floating on Cloud 9.0! Already he has asked to go again next year and next time he wants to sleep-away! I totally see his future summer job as a counsellor for one of these camps. He is, sorry I have to say it, a happy camper!

Foto Friday

the crazy cousins

Marathon Day

Whew! Yesterday was a marathon family fun day.

During PCS season, after living without a schedule and our stuff for a while, we get bored...bored, bored, bored. Bubba didn't have to go to work since the person he is replacing won't be back from TDY until Monday. So, we decided to get out of the house. The weather was beautiful, but HOT so that limited our choices. We had gone to the Mariner's Museum here in Newport News last week and noticed that they had paddle boats. They were cute - two pirate ships, a gondola, a Loch Ness monster, and the African Queen. We grabbed Nannie (my mom, who we are staying with) and went. We took the two pirate ships - complete with Jolly Roger flags and off we went. It was wonderful! We saw many, many turtles sunning themselves on logs. We saw a beautiful blue heron, who took off right in front of us. A pair of osprey were flying overhead fishing for their lunch. BoyBoy had a map of the lake and made sure we didn't venture outside the boundaries. Nannie instigated an epic naval battle when she stripped a gum tree of its gumballs and fired a warning shot across BoyBoy and Bubba's bow. A splash fight kept us all cool. We moored our galleons and went to pillage the cafe for drinks and cookies.

We weren't finished yet! Bubba and I are always challenging BoyBoy to step outside his comfort zone. He is cautious almost to a fault. Doesn't like to take unnecessary chances. He might have fun! So, we donned our swimsuits and headed to Water Country, U.S.A. We climbed the stairs to the first slide and after learning the ropes from the three boys in line in front of us, we chose our slide. BoyBoy chose the green one, I chose pink (of course!) and Bubba followed BoyBoy down the green one. At the bottom, BoyBoy was hooked. We slid on every slide in the place (except one - it was in total darkness - even I have my limits) and closed the place down. We might have to get season passes. It was a great time! BoyBoy can't stop talking about it....he dreamt about it last night.

I love days like this...I love being back in the states!

Just askin'

Is it time for the kids to go back to school, yet?

My Little Girl is in Love

Melly has a boyfriend. She has fallen head-over-paws in love with my sister's Golden Retriever, Jake. We introduced them two weeks ago and, after a lesson for Jake in who is the true queen, they both fell in love. It is silly, really. We had them together for a week at the beach and it was just the bonding experience they needed. They greeted each other every morning with a slobbery kiss and a game of tag around the coffee table. Some light wrestling after breakfast followed by tandem napping went into the daily rotation. Evening walks on the beach cemented their bond. They both had serious depression when we came back and they were separated for the first time. It was so bad that my sister had to come and pick Melly up for a play date the next day.

Jake is absolutely the ying to Melly's yang. He completes her. Where she is neurotic and a spaz, he is laid back and a big lug. Where she is small and compact, he is huge and lanky. His paws are bigger than her head and yet he allows her to believe that she is bigger than he is. When they are together, she is permanently attached to his neck. He will flop over on the floor and let her gnaw on his fluffy neck for what seems like hours. Where she is faster than a speeding bullet, he takes more of a stop and smell the roses approach. When we take the two of them on walks, he waits for her to use the bathroom and even averts his eyes in respect for her privacy. It almost looks like he is the doting spouse, holding her purse while she powders her nose. All you have to do is say his name and she is headed for the door with a glance over her shoulder to make sure we are following with the car keys. They seem to be a match made in heaven. My little girl is in love. I just hope he doesn't break her heart for that trampy poodle down the street.

Foto Friday

Wow, that was fast

Okay, we had dug in for the long haul with this home search thing and, after looking at umpteen houses on the first day, we thought we were in for the really, really, really long haul. We had been told the housing market was saturated and it would be like shooting fish in a barrel. However, sellers must have given up and decided not to try too hard. We walked into one house and there were breakfast dishes on the counter with soggy rice krispies in the bowl! The mom's bra was on the floor in the bathroom! There was a box of feminine hygiene products on the counter in the KITCHEN?!?!? Now, call me crazy, but if the market is saturated and you want your house to stand out from the rest, this is not the way to go about it, for sure! We were deflated by what we saw.

So, when we set out on the second day, our hopes were not high. But...on the last house of the morning, with grumbling tummies because it was well past lunch, Bubba and I walked into our new house. It was so cute and us that we were immediately taken by its spunk. We were both grinning by the time we went up the stairs and when we got to the top of the stairs we were hooked. A tiny reading nook, adorable bedrooms, and a secret hideaway for Boyboy...we were goners. An offer was made and accepted and in 30 days, we will be homeowners.

We are soooo excited and can't wait for the joys and trials of home ownership! Photos to come.

Home

Today, we begin the process of finding our final home. Not just our next home, but our final home. A bit of a daunting task, if you ask me. We are making a decision that will affect the rest of our lives. We are staying here forever...Bubba will retire in the next year or so and so we want to find THE house. The one we have been waiting 16 years to find. The one that we have built in our minds from the many houses we have lived in. The kitchen from California, the bathroom from Virginia, the backyard from Germany are a must. The laundry room in Kansas, the driveway in Virginia, the plumbing in Germany are a no-go. We have already joked that we can't build our own home because it would cost us a bazillion dollars to put all the must and no-gos into it. So, we start looking...wish us luck.