Yes, Santa, I've been a very, very good girl.

Bruce has been home for two weeks but it's hard to believe. In a way I feel like he just got home yesterday, but then there are moments when it feels as if he was never gone. It's odd in a way to feel like this, but either way I am so truly happy to enjoy his company again. This wonderful man has let me sleep in almost every morning. He's gotten up with Alyssa, made her breakfast, entertained her... all while I sleep away upstairs. Two mornings I even slept til 9am! I almost feel rested. HAHAHAHA.... then I remember that all hell is about to break loose with our schedule. Oh, the joy of it. Actually, I am very excited. Or at least I will be when we're in a house and unpacking.

I saw a Rheumatologist today. He asked me many questions, was concerned with my symptoms, and actually told me three things that my symptoms may be pointing to. He reviewed the xrays that were in the system and was able to see a couple of things that the initial Dr. who had ordered the xray missed. After he did an examination I went and had blood work, has a very specific x-ray of my pelvis done, then picked up a vitamin D supplement from the pharmacy for the deficiency I seem to have. I can't tell you how much better I feel, just from the fact alone that I was able to see a Dr. that seem to care, took the time to listen, followed up with his own questions, and finally gave me an idea of what my immune system may be doing. A part of me has relaxed just knowing that this man is obviously a good Dr. Too bad we're moving in two weeks, but he did say he will connect me with a Dr where we are going.

We took Alyssa to see Santa this morning. Poor Santa. He looked as if he was about to have congestive heart failure. He was sweating and wearing the weakest smile. The poor man needed a fan with that thick suit on. I may just call the mall tomorrow and tell them do something about that. Well, anyway, Alyssa sat on his lap, told him to look at her pretty dress, then told him she wanted a book, a ball, and a piano. Santa's got it covered. **wink**

This Christmas is going to big for us. Bruce is home, Alyssa turns three, and of course Santa's coming. What a day! Bruce already gave me my Christmas present 'cause I was just so damn good. It's a Kindle Fire. It is so cool and like any kid with a new toy, I take it everywhere with me. Now the big question is: What do I get him???? He wanted a camera, which we tried to buy, but they were out, and now he says he doesn't want one right now. What's a girl to do?!?! Brainstorming begins...

Merry Christmas!

What is this?... A second honeymoon?

I'm a happy woman. I've gotten to sleep in three mornings in a row, I got to go shopping by myself today without having to rush, and I have my husband to keep me very warm at night in bed. Now, if this damn crick in my neck would go away, everything would be perfect.

I got some good deals today shopping. We needed a new printer, scanner, and copier, and I found one on sale at Target... add to that my Target $8 off  $80 coupon and a $5 Target gift card, and I walked out of there with one inexpensive wireless all-in-one. Bruce already has it put together/loaded up/ whatever it is that needed to be done so that I can print from my upstairs laptop should I feel inclined (lazy) to do so.

We're decorating our tree tonight. Then I plan on sleeping in AGAIN tomorrow morning. But, don't think I didn't offer to get up with Alyssa... I did. Bruce just says he isn't tired, and I figure I'll be back to getting up with her every morning he's at work, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can. I slept until 9am the last two mornings! Considering I usually got up anywhere between 4:45am and 5:45am when he was in South Korea, this is a BIG deal for me.

Crack is not good for the heart

The dreadful, year-long unaccompanied tour is OVER! I picked my husband up from the airport on Thursday night. It was touch and go for a few minutes, though. As I was driving to the airport my phone rang from a number I didn't know. When I answered it, it was a collect call from Bruce. My heart fell. He was supposed to be up in the air at that very moment, but he wasn't. There was a needed repair on the plane, and they were "pretty sure" they could fix it. They were only waiting to find out if the flight was going to be cancelled because of how late it was getting. He was flying in to the Augusta Airport, which is not a big airport. It's tiny, and there are no arriving flights after 11:40. It was 11:25 at that moment. Anyway, I asked him to call me back and let me know, but he never called. I was so excited to see him, yet I was so worried there was going to be another delay. I was beginning to make a plan to drive to Atlanta, if needed, and I waited in my car, at the airport, for him to call back. I got on my phone and pulled up the airline's flight schedule, but all it was reporting was that the flight was on time. Since I knew that wasn't true, I went on in to see if I could find out if the plane even took off. It had, thank goodness. About forty minutes later, people started coming down the terminal. I was right there waiting with full perma-grin. Then a man walked up to me and asked if I was waiting on a gentleman coming from Korea. **heart stopped** He was very serious. When I replied "yes", he paused, then started laughing that my husband was waiting at the wrong baggage claim. He said he was sure he'd be along in a minute, once he figured it out. Ahhhh.... relief washed over me. It was only a few more moments until I saw my absolutely wonderful and handsome husband walking towards me. He was sporting a pretty good grin, too. It was such an incredibly happy moment for me. We hugged, kissed, looked at each other, kissed again, and then that crack in my heart completely closed.

The Homecoming Outfit

OCD cleaning going on here... something big must be about to happen!

I'm sick of it. Absolutely, completely sick of it. And I refuse to sleep two more nights alone. That's it. I draw the line. It's a good thing my husband is coming home.... lol.

I've been vacuuming, dusting, cleaning bathrooms. I've just finished a glass of wine, and I figure I deserved it. It was the last of some ChocoVino.... thanks Renae.

Alyssa is watching one of the many Christmas movies I've recorded. That's been a surprise to me. I had no clue I would develop this overwhelming urge to record/watch every classic Christmas cartoon from my childhood. Yet here I am, loving every minute of Rudolph's Shiny New Year, and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, among others. OH, and I have, in every way, made up for not decorating for Christmas the last five years! I've got the tree, tons of ornaments just ready to be carefully placed on each limb in hopes of a gorgeous "themed" tree that my husband wants **grin and roll eyes**, the table has a pretty snowflake tablecloth with a neat little centerpiece, the top of my bookcase is now a winter wonderland, and I've even bought three framed pictures for the walls. Ahhhhh.... for me, this year is worth celebrating. Bruce will be home, Alyssa is old enough that she's beginning to understand what Santa's about, and.... well, I just felt like it. Bruce and I have also bought some beautiful fine pewter snowflakes that we are going to start "our" tradition with. We've decided to have one engraved each year, with the date and the place of where we're currently living.

The next time I write something on here, I'm going to be a satisfied woman. **wink, wink** No more sleeping alone for me! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!



................... dancing a little jig..............................

I welcome my enemy, the cold.

Usually I hate the idea of cold weather. The only things that I can possibly muster some enthusiasm about during this time of year are the 1 in 84,000 chance that I may be able to make a snow angel should it snow and snuggling closer to my husband in bed. Although he squirms and complains when I put my ice cube hands all over him while I laugh hilariously, I really think deep down he likes it. Other than that, I can't stand cold weather. My back hurts more from the arthritis and my fingers go bloodless-white and numb on the tips when I get cold for more than 10 minutes. Then there's also the other reasons that people generally don't like winter as much as all the other seasons: staying inside more, no cookouts, and less hours of daylight.

I walked outside this morning and I smelled it: The cold. Not just felt it, but caught a whiff of that crispness which promises only colder days to follow. This time I smiled. I was hit by a wave of joy and relief. It was this time last year that I said goodbye to my husband at the airport. At that time, the thought of an entire year passing was heartbreaking. It felt as if father time put a cruel hand up to halt the seconds from passing. The seasons have passed though, as they will. First was winter and the holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. I trudged through each one telling myself it was just one of many more to come. Then spring entered in and a few more birthdays and holidays slipped by. When summer arrived, there was a brief reprieve when my husband came home to visit for a few weeks. That feels like forever ago... especially when the Georgia climate hangs onto summer like a two year old with its favorite toy. Finally the leaves have begun to change and fall. Now I welcome the cold. Let it come! It only means one of the most wonderful things in my life will be returning. In just a matter of weeks this entire melancholy separation will be over. Just in time for me to have my hot stud muffin back in bed to keep my ice digits warm on those really cold nights.

I'm also looking forward to our move. Well, not the move itself, but rather the climate of where we're going. I've heard Hawaii is pretty nice. **wink**

Cats and Crocs

I opened my mailbox today to find it stuffed with all sorts of goodies. When I say stuffed, I mean stuffed! My mom sent Alyssa a beautiful little dress that has smocking on the top and an adorable Little Bo Peep and two sheep embroidered on it. I just love it! Alyssa is all about the dresses lately, and I don't foresee that changing anytime soon. I imagine she'll get a lot of wear out of it in Hawaii. It makes me feel a little guilty that I don't buy more expensive dresses for her... but hey, that's one of the many reasons why grandparents are so great.

I also got my Crocs. Considering I wear a size 10, I'm sure you can see why the mailbox was stuffed with the shoes, the dress, and all the cool magazines and Christmas catalogs that came, too. But before you dare think "Oh, she's got big feet!", I'll have you know they are not "big". They are simply firm foundations. So there. Anyway, once I tried them on, I got it. I now completely understand what all the hoopla is about with this brand of shoes. They were, quite honestly, the most comfortable pair of shoes that have ever been lucky enough to envelope my firm foundations. It felt as if I was walking on the softest, air-filled, squishy pillow. They fit perfectly, too! They're not clunky, either. They're cute little silver slingbacks with a purple detail around the sole. I can't wait to wear them out.

Since we are moving to Hawaii, I checked into the regulations on taking animals. It seems they are pretty strict about this and I wish I had known sooner. Once I realized there was a 120 day waiting period from one particular shot, my heart sank. But this morning I grabbed the cat carrier, caught the cat as she unsuspectingly came around the corner, and then proceeded to try to avoid as many scratches as possible once she realized her impending captivity. When all the caterwauling was over, I only had three minor scratches on my hand. Not so bad, really. She did great getting the shots. Didn't cry at all. I told Alyssa she could learn a thing or two from this and remember it when her next round of shots comes around. Hehehe... yea, I know. That wasn't exactly the best parenting tactic, but you have no clue as to what my morning with her had been like. At the time, I just figured it was calling things even. Back to the cat: We're only about two months out from moving, so our little miniature tiger is going to have to be in quarantine for about 50 days or so. That sucks. Bruce has tried to reassure me about the whole thing, but I just can't help but feel sad about it. Oh... I'll be fine.... it's the cat I'm worried about.

Pain, corruption, and thoughts about men wearing pink.

It's been a week and I'm still in pain in several places. Tomorrow morning I'm biting the bullet and making an appoinment on base. It's gotten to the point that it's affecting a lot (everything) of what I do. So that's that.

On a positive note, I got my laptop back today! YAY! I had to send it back to the manufacturer because the motherboard had a major defect. It was corrupted. No surprise there. It tends to happen to objects that linger within the vicinity of this wicked woman. Hehehehe... Seriously, though, I'm just happy it was still under warranty. I sent it via UPS and got it back within a week and a half. That's a pretty good turn around rate. Now I'm relaxing in bed, writing this. Well, I'm attempting to. It seems the cursor is skipping, or my palm is brushing the pad, because about every other sentence the cursor jumps and starts inserting words in previous sentences. ARGH! When I start typing quickly it takes a minute to realize the words aren't going where they're supposed to. I can't justify a "drop" test on it at this point, seeing as I just got it back.

I've had a couple of great deals shopping in the last few days. I scored a pair of truly cute Crocs for less than $15, and that included shipping! They were originally $50. I've never bought a pair of Crocs, and I'm excited to be able to try them at such a fabulous price. Yesterday, I went to Target to get some diapers since I had four coupons to stack. It was like getting a free pack. Works for me everytime! It must have been my luuuuucky day because I found a cute/sexy bra and panty set in my size. Just one of each hanging together.... it was as if they were waiting for me. Just for me. I was more than happy to pay less than $10 for a set that was originally more than $30. Now, I just can't wait to show my husband (bow chica bow bow). Ah, but the savings don't stop there! I then got a fabulous deal online for two nice shirts for my husband. They were originally $34 each. After shipping, I paid less than $18 for both! Not for one, but both! I was showing my husband the pics online this morning while we Skyped. He didn't love the purple shirt. He actually asked me what he was supposed to wear it with! **rolling eyes**  It's a purple polo! I told him "Pants... ANY pants!" He thinks a purple polo won't go with jeans. Lol.... men. I told him he should be thankful I didn't buy the shirt in pink. Mark my words though, I WILL get him in a pink shirt before I die. Whether or not he's sober when I do it, or possibly incapacitated in some other form or fashion (pun intended).... it will happen.

Grab some cheese, I've got a lot of WHINE

Argh. The pain. I mean, does everybody hurt? Does everybody wake up every day with several things hurting on their body? Am I just a sissy? My back is killing me. The right side of my ribcage AND underneath the right breast still hurts 3 months after the two surgeries. My ankle still hurts to the touch (it happened 4 weeks ago!). My stomach has been jacked up for days. I get aches in my abdomen that feel like a monthly thing, but it's not. My neck's got a crick in it. I've had a few headaches in the past couple of days, and that's not normal for me. I get pains in my chest. Some of these listed pains are not that bad all the time, but my back IS stealing the spotlight right now. I have no clue what I could have done to it. I had a spinal fusion from L3-S1 about 10 years ago, but haven's had any real pain in that area since before I was pregnant with Alyssa. I'm beginning to worry a little because it seems to be getting worse. I realized this when I was talking to my husband. Since we Skype everyday, we usually end up talking about even the smallest, most random things... like where I'm currently hurting. Oh, and I'm not depressed. I know that pain can be a side effect from depression, but this here girl is very happy with life. Not to say I'm not a little stressed with everything that's going on and about to happen in our near future, but I mentally feel really good. Seriously. So anyway, once I realized how often I was telling Bruce "This hurts"and "That hurts", I finally just said "OMG, I WILL quit complaining. Or at least I'll just say "WHINE" when I have a shot of pain." I'm scared I might end up sounding like an alcoholic to the uninformed fly on the wall. Which in case you might be wondering... no, I don't drink. Well, I had a couple of glasses while Kim was here, but it was no wild party.

ARGH. I took some Tylenol about an hour ago, but it's not helping.

What DOES almost depress me is the idea of going to the Dr. on base. I can't stand my PCM, and I've had a couple of not-so-positive experiences at this post clinic, where they obviously couldn't have cared less about doing their job. I just don't have faith that they're even going to take me seriously, so why go, be told I'm fine, leave there feeling like a sissy-whiner, and STILL be in pain? I'm going to go to my bedroom, lay very still, watch TV, and hope I feel better tomorrow.

Important life lessons, and who taught me mine...

I just put the little princess to bed. She's doing just fabulous in her toddler bed and I am amazed! Although I am also quite aware of the fact that if this is not an issue, there will be an equally opposite (as in difficult) issue to deal with. Y'know... as in conservation of energy. She's only saving it up. That energy will not disappear. Oh no. It will, no-doubt, make its reappearance while I'm running short on nerves. **Wicked laugh** Little does she know, I refuse to let her bring me down with her evil plan! But right now I'm just going to appreciate the ease of which we made it through this rite-of-passage.

Today I sent my husband a list of things I'm thankful for. They pertained directly to him, but it makes me think of other people I'm thankful for. These people have taught me many important things throughout my life:

My husband: Taught me patience. There's no sarcasm to follow this as some women might do. I have learned a different way of communicating with him. He doesn't think his communication skills are that great, but I beg to differ. With him, I've learned that if I wait a few seconds for an answer, he'll always follow through with a well thought out response. It sure does beat a knee-jerk retort when I might innocently be pushing his buttons... not that I would ever do that **wink, wink**.
My daughter: yet again, I must say patience. That, and the strength to keep my eyes open when I'm beyond exhausted but she's awake for some reason.... whether it be sickness or 3am shuffling through the hall due to jet-lag.
My dad: He's one of my few heros. Among other things, he's taught me a lot about how to deal with difficult people... and how to do it without cussing. I'm still a work in progress on that one when typing, but hey... cut me some slack... I'm married to a man in the Army. They can cuss a lot.
My mother: Taught me many wonderful things... and left the challenge of overcoming a little dysfunction. But, I'm sure she did it just to build character.
My sister: She inadvertently taught me how to sneak out as a teenager.... lol. Yep, all that was her fault. Absolutely no responsibility on my part. Oh, she also taught me how to put on make-up. Some might recall the lipstick lesson I wrote about that took place on our drive back from Florida. I don't use that much lipstick anymore, though. I think red is great in moderation, and limited only to the lips, as opposed to smearing it all over your face. Seriously, as an adult though, she's someone I admire for all her accomplishments, and the fact that she still has a wild side. Never boring, that one, that's for sure.
My brother has taught me that things can change. We used to fight when I was about 5 and he was 14. He was such a meanie then. But now I know I could turn to him for absolutely anything. He also taught me the importance of managing money. Oh, and not to pull someone's finger just because they tell you to.
Dottie has taught me what good manners really mean. She seems to handle any situation with such grace. Sometimes when someone is getting on my very last nerve, I just think "What would Dottie do?" I usually end up smiling at the person and saying "Well, bless your heart!" But that doesn't mean that if I ever say that to you that you're getting on my nerves. Honestly. And when I'm really excited, I find myself saying "I'm just so excited I could shit!", just as I've heard her say. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I want to be just like her when I grow up.
Kim has taught me the meaning of loyalty, and that there really are friends you can trust your whole life.
Kimberly has taught me the value of getting a tattoo. She also taught me that even through challenges and heartbreak, the world can be a very sweet place.
Heather has taught me that it's still possible for me to make new friends.... and the value of keeping up that friendship even across the miles. Also, that a really fabulous pair of heels are important to completing any outfit worth going to dinner in.
Judi has taught me that friends are not always the same age, or even generation, and that how many times you physically see them does not equate to how important they are in your life.
LeAna: I've learned what it really means to keep things in perspective. When I was feeling sorry for myself because my surgery didn't go exactly as planned, I humbly realized that I should be thankful that my reconstruction was not due to cancer. I also learned that neighbors can come to feel like family.

Like I wrote before, there is no order in this list. Each person holds such a wonderful place in my life, and I consider myself priviledged to be a part of theirs. Which makes me think of my grandmother and granddaddy. They influenced my life so strongly and positively. Throughout all my wonderful, cherished memories of them, I would have to say they taught me.... how to miss someone with all your heart, and the importance of appreciating the ones you love while they're still here.

Cool breezes and costumes

I am just loving the beautiful weather right now. I'm getting every penny's worth out of my screen doors, too. The only time in the last week and a half that I've had to turn on the air was at night. That's only because our house gets hotter as the afternoon wears on and Alyssa's room gets the hottest. I'm just not going to risk losing my quiet time because she can't sleep in a hot room. :)~

It's back to boring for a bit, at least for a few more days. My best friend is coming with her two daughter's to visit next week. Then we have Halloween. Alyssa's going to be Superwoman... again. She really doesn't care yet about the costume, or even the candy, so my thought is why spend another $30 on a costume? We just went through quite a bit of money in South Korea too, so it's time to buckle back down. I'll be more than happy to buy her a different costume next year. By then I'm sure she'll be telling me exactly what she wants to be. This year I'm dressing up as an aging 37 year old woman. I've nailed it, too! My costume has several scars, a couple of wrinkles and age spots, not to mention the free Louis Vuitton luggage that came attached right underneath the eye part of the mask! The really cool part about it is that as soon as I put the costume on several aches and pains show up. Hehehe...

I need a nap and some hangers.

We've been home a week already. That's one more week closer to my husband getting home! Bruce and I looked online for houses to rent in Hawaii while we were Skyping this morning. We found some nice ones, but I know that anything we really like right now probably won't be available in two months. Who knows? At least we're getting an idea of what we can get for our money.

My daughter has grown up so much in the last month. I find it amazing to watch all these changes. She's now in the toddler bed, she's speaking in complete sentences... sometimes, AND she's developing quite the demanding personality. I used to be able to put anything on TV for her, but now she knows she has options. Just today she's started going over to our movie collection and telling me what she wants to watch. This was cute til she started changing her mind every 10 minutes. She's still not over the jet-lag either! Every afternoon I go to get her up from her nap, and she's sooo tired and grumpy. This is even after sleeping two and half hours. She's still waking up around 4 in the morning, too. Ugh. I am so tired in the mornings, yet she's bright-eyed and bushy-tailed yelling "GOOD MORNING!"

I'm still working on the laundry. I managed to vaccum the downstairs yesterday. Maybe by the end of the week I'll have my house back in order. Lol.. right now my bedroom is a mess. My luggage is still on the floor with clothes in it. A couple of times I had the best intentions to get it all put away and I started by putting it all on the bed, but then got sidetracked until bedtime so I just threw it all back in the suitcase. I need hangers anyway, so why bother til I've got 'em?

My best friend is coming for a visit next week with her two daughters. Getting to hang out with her for several days is such a treat. We'll watch movies when the girls go to bed, take the girls to the park, and try some new wines.

So much done, and yet so much left to do!

We are home. It was such a wonderful time with my husband, but part of me is glad to be home. Bittersweet it the only word to describe it. The flight back was almost three hours shorter than going over and my daughter was so well-behaved I couldn't believe it. She hung in there like a champ! Considering it was 24 hours from the time we got up in South Korea until the time we got home she was amazing. My sister's boyfriend picked us up from the airport in Atlanta and chauffeured us home. He's quite the entertainer so it was a laughter-filled ride home, full of jokes and stories. My cat seemed to take a moment to remember who I was when I walked in the door, but then she started her crazy eights around my ankles. The house was just as I'd left it, too. My fabulous friend Michele made sure of that.

I've unpacked 75% of everything, but 25% of it is currently thrown on my bed. I started some laundry earlier today. It's taken a little while to get some motivation since getting home. There's so much to do after being gone for more than a month: laundry, vacuuming, dusting and changing the sheets on the beds, Dr's appointments, errands and paying bills. I did restock the fridge this week, which reminds me... I had a gallon and a half of milk left in the fridge when we left. You just can't imagine how fun that was to open both of those containers to pour them down the sink. Oh, it was bad. Real bad. I now know how kim chi and sauerkraut were invented, too. People went off to hunt or visit and left the cabbage or lettuce around. When they got home they had nothing to eat. Seeing the red and fermented cabbage they were so hungry they probably said "Let's just throw some vinegar/hot sauce on that stuff and try it." At least that's my theory after seeing the lettuce in my crisper when we got home.

We've had a very busy week with several doctors appointments. I thought we were going to have our overseas screenings, but that ended up being delayed. I DID see my doctor about the pain I'm still having on my rib cage. I was also concerned with how my breasts look now that everything has settled down after the two surgeries. It's not horrible, but it's not right. My doctor seemed very attentive to my concern, and gave me three options. I've decided to go with the least traumatic option, which will mean I'll still have to go under sedation again, but it's the least invasive. One positive thing is that he'll have to take a little bit of fat off my waist area to make this tweak. Yeah, I like that idea... just as long as I don't end up lumpy like Tara Reid. **rolling eyes** This whole thing has been hard, and I feel like I'm taking a roll of the dice to give him one more chance to fix it. Oh, and I had to have the nerve block on Friday. It may have helped. I don't know for sure yet because I saw this AWFUL woman about my leg on Thursday, and she gave me crutches which ended up making me hurt more than before. (I'll whine about that later, but I'm getting to the point that I can understand why so many people complain about the nurses and doctors on base. She was not a good nurse or doctor, or whatever she was... I don't even know which, to be honest with you.)

Alyssa is just now getting over the jet-lag. She was really suffering, which meant I was awake much earlier than I wanted to be the whole week. She's now sleeping in her toddler bed and several mornings this week I heard shuffling in the hallway before 4am. I'd get up and put her back in bed, but then I couldn't get back to sleep. It's all working out now though, thank goodness.

It's only a few more weeks now! There's so much to do to get ready for Hawaii that I'm sure it's going to go by quickly. Ahhhh... I am sooo glad this year is almost over. I can't wait to have my husband home. I've already started a to-do list for him.**wink**

I've got company coming over tonight. Can't wait! They're so much fun and make me laugh to the point that I snort. We're just going to eat some pizza and drink some adult beverages, but I can guarantee you it will be good times.

This here's different rain than what we get in Ja-jaw.

It's raining. Just a consistent, relaxing rain. So relaxing that I don't even feel bad about not doing laundry. I mean, really... is it so important to get the laundry done that I need to trek through ankle deep water (drainage problem around building) with a huge bag, detergent, and an umbrella? Oh, no. It's not. **shaking head** Nor is it worth the risk of falling on something that's slippery and doing more damage to my ankle/leg. There. I've completely rationalized it all. ;)

We've only a few days left. I'm trying to savor each and every night that I am able to snuggle up to my husband. I keep reminding myself that it's only a matter of weeks before he's home and we head off to paradise. Well, Hawaii... but the landscape is pretty close to paradise.

Amazingly enough I haven't gained too much weight while here. I was eating like a pig, too! OINK, OINK, OINK. I was beginning to wonder if I'd picked up some kind of parasite. Hopefully not, but once I started having a glass of wine in the evening, the scale began to go higher. Alcohol really does slow down your metabolism. I think i'm going to give up wine altogether. HAHAHA... OK, so maybe not altogether, but only once or twice a month. Nothing tastes as good as feeling slender.

I met a young woman (22) at the playground the other day. She was adorable, but obviously legally blind. She said she thought I was her age! You don't need to laugh quite so hard. It's the nicest compliment I have received in a while. It just made my week. Even if she was blind, or flat-out lyin', I don't care. I heard the words. Which reminds me.... say something nice to someone. Preferably a stranger. I have heard way too much strident, negative, almost threatening stuff lately that I'm really focusing on passing along positivity. Where are peoples' manners these days? How hard is it to smile when you make eye contact with a stranger? Or to say excuse me when you bump into them? Just the smallest consideration can make a world of difference in someone's day.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my Hotlanta Hottie. You rock! I wish I were celebrating with you. I hope your day is just as fabulous as you are. I want to be just like you when I grow up... even though I'm older ;)

Stepping stones to grace.

You should've seen the hilarious scene at the World Trade Center in Seoul yesterday. It went something like this: It's a beautiful day. People are bustling about one of the biggest malls in Korea. A woman is walking down a long, steep flight of stone steps, carrying a stroller when all of a sudden.... slip"ughnnn"bouncebounce"ughugh"bouncethump"ooooh"bouncebounce"ohshiiiiii"bounceslide "owwww"thump. She never let go of that stroller though! Now, that takes some grace to fall, bounce, and slide without letting everything go sprawling, except for that poor woman's dignity, right? I can only imagine if an English-speaking translator had been around we would have heard something along the lines of: "Wow! Did you see that woman fall and bust her butt?" or "HAHAHA... omigod, Kim and Lee.... check out the chick that just wiped out." It was funny, though. I mean, as humans we just can't help but laugh once we realize the person's still breathing. It's just comical to see the human body dancing of it's own accord, like a marionette, knowing the victim has absolutely no control.

Was I laughing, you ask? Hell no. The blood was flowing into my lower shin and ankle so quickly, it was all I could do to right myself, take a seat on the steps and try to get my breath. And not cry. Bruce was trying to help me halfway through the fall but he had his hands full with a very angry, very whiny, very much two year old child who was in the throes of acting like a twerp. Yes, I just said my daughter was acting like a twerp, and I'm not taking it back. She was. We had passed a kiosk of items in the COEX mall that had a cute little doll on a keychain. I was going to buy it for her... it was 3,900 won (the sign said so) but the woman wanted to charge me 6,000 won. I wasn't going for it. I'm onto their idea of the "tourist price". That's when the fit started. It continued for roughly 45 minutes. Non-stop crying and theatrics. I tried to explain that we would find a better doll. We tried distraction. We tried removing her from the scene for some fresh air. We tried ignoring her. She was on full-throttle tantrum mode though, so that's why Bruce couldn't save me from my own two feet. I really don't know what happened. One moment I'm thinking "Man, I wish she'd quit crying... I want some food.... chocolate, perhaps... and maybe some coffee.... hmmm, will I find a cute shirt in this huge place?.... how does her face get so red?.... there's got to be a chocolate shop.... what the........................"

My ankle and shin are pretty swollen. Bruce thinks I sprained the ankle, but I keep telling him I didn't. The swelling is not convincing him though. It really doesn't hurt that bad, but the bruise is going to be impressive.

We managed to make it through the COEX Aquarium with Alyssa. I've got some great pictures of that. I can't wait to show y'all the one of the warning sign that was posted by several of the open tanks. Whoever designed it must've had a sense of humor. They seem to have lots of dangerous, arm-eating species over here.
Once we got home and put our sweet, wouldn't-trade-her-for-five-bucks, angel to bed, Bruce and I came to the conclusion that it was NOT our best day. But, as I told him, even if I had to have a day like that, I wouldn't want it to be with anyone but him. He agreed.

Today. Well, today we're sticking close to home. Maybe a haircut. Maybe some groceries. Maybe some laundry. Maybe a good book and a nap. Definitely some wine.

It's been a week.

We went to Seoul last Sunday, but didn't make it to Lotte World. What we did instead was to become professional navigators on the KoRail. **rolling eyes** We chalked it up to a run-through for our "real" visit to Seoul, which may be this weekend or next weekend. We're just playing it by ear. Y'know, sometimes it comes down to just saying "OK! LET'S DO IT!" Kind of like jumping off the cliffs at Percy Priest Lake, it takes a crazy moment of nerve once you know what you're really getting into. The visit was fun, though. We walked amidst the street vendors, tourists, and locals on the busiest streets I've ever been on. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, too. There was a nice breeze, beautiful skies, and it was about 75 degrees. We shopped, we ate at a Korean BBQ restaurant... which is not like American BBQ... and we stopped at a chocolate shop. That place was a rip off. I consider myself somewhat of a chocolate connosieur and this place has lots to learn about chocolate. It was mediocre. That's it... just mediocre. I bought a box of nine individual chocolates which I picked out myself, two smoothies, and a small bag of chocolate cookies. **Darnit, I cannot remember the name of that place!** The first time the girl rang it up it came to 16,000 won, then she looked at me.... the sucker-of-an-American, and it was like a lightbulb went off in her head. She punched a couple more buttons and the final tally was 34,000 won, which is roughly $35. I crossed my eyes, shook my head, and said "Say what?" All the prices were posted, with the exception of the chocolates. Turns out they were $2 A PIECE!!!! Yes, I KNOW!!! Crazy, right? That's $18 for nine measley little pieces of chocolate. Lindt isn't even that much and they actually know what they're doing! I think she gave me the "tourist" price. So anyway... I paid, sat down with my much lighter wallet and thought "these had better be euphoria-inducing chocolates". They were not. I'm actually growling as I type this. I know I should just let it go, but I can't stand it! ARGH!! The thing about it is that I didn't eat any of the chocolates there, so I had no clue at the time as to how badly I'd been ripped off.  I just sipped my ice cream smoothie and brought the chocolates home. You can only imagine my disappointment when Bruce and I finally got the munchkin to bed and we snuck off to our room to indulge. I was so disappointed by the third piece. BUT, if that's the worst thing that happens on this trip then I'll probably be fine. No permanent scarring... just a deeply inbedded traumatic incident at the hands of an egotistical chocolatier.

My wonderful, fantastic, sexy husband is on pass for today. **laughing** The pass didn't count for much considering he's at work this very moment. Supposedly, he shouldn't be gone long, but in case you don't know ONE of the ARMY's mantras it's: Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. So I'm not really making concrete plans for today. Tentatively, we're going to get Alyssa's haircut and do a couple of errands on post. I also want to go to the "Ville" to go back to the shop with the sweetest little man. I did some comparison shopping in Seoul and some of the same trinkets cost over 200% more there. I really have no clue if all this stuff is going to fit in my suitcase!

I bought a coat in New City the other night. It's taken a turn for the chilly here and there's nothing like realizing you don't have "appropriate" clothing **wink, wink**. It's an awesome grey jacket. Kind of modern-biker-cool-woman style. It's form-fitting with a collar that can be turned down or flared out. It was a Large! It stumps me that I can wear a size 2/4 jeans and a Large in a form fitting jacket. It's not the chest that's tight, but the shoulders. Call me quarterback Claire... lol. I'm just built like a strong American, not a slim, petite Korean. The jackets still cool, though, no matter the size on the tag.

To veer off subject for a moment... I am in pain. Motrin's not working. Aleve's not working. Tak-Sen (a Korean pain killer) ain't workin' either! I need to see my doctor. After eight weeks I shouldn't be in anymore pain. Things are not right, either. I mean... something's jacked up. Bruce and I had a little heart-to-heart the other night (I am sen-see-tive about my body, and he's definitely not a dumb man) and he finally told me that "No, they're not right. They need to be fixed." I thought so, too, but chalked it up to the brain-washing of the doctor telling me, wide-eyed, "OH, they're great". No. They ain't great. They're jacked up. It looks like the left one is herniating AGAIN and the right one, in NO shape or form matches it. All due to the fact that BOTH surgeries were not done correctly. Bruce and I came to the conclusion, after much discussing, that we had not had unreasonable expectations, but rather unreasonable results. Unacceptable. If that doctor wasn't sure he could deliver on his work, then he should have NEVER accepted me as a patient.  It makes me mad because if they had done what they were supposed to do (the first time), and used the available, approved tools (hello Alloderm), which were approved because I sent ALL medical records and a personal letter to my insurance company.... not them, as they were supposed to do, I stayed on top of every step so that things finally got taken care of, then things wouldv'e turned out much differently.  Oh, and did I mention they wanted to bill my insurance for the second surgery? That right there was flat out unethical. It was their mistake. OK... I'll stop. I'm just really upset that I worked SO hard to lose weight so that I'd like my body, only to have deal with the pain and disappointment of TWO reconstructive surgeries that did not have the results that I was told they would have. I have honestly suffered at the hands of an imcompetent team of supposed professionals, who in the beginning were SOOOOOO reassuring that it would all just be GREAT. Hmph. This is NOT the end of this story. One more thing... that severe pain that I had... y'know the one that the "hand doctor" tried to prescribe the suicidal-feeling-inducing Neurontin for since my doctor was on vacation, yet again? Yeah, well, when my doctor (with 47 years experience) finally saw me and said he hadn't EVER seen anything like that... I got online the other day, and within 10 minutes.... yes, 10 minutes... I found what it was. It's called Mondor's syndrome. Now gee... how hard would that have been for him to just try to look up? I think I was just a billing opportunity to an insurance company for that office. Makes me wonder if they charged my insurance company for the Alloderm. Hmmm.... I'm going to check into that because that stuff is expensive and they did NOT use it on me.

Well, I've got a 2.5 year old telling me it's her turn on the computer. Ugh, what's with all this sharing stuff? I feel like turning to her and saying "NO! MINE! ALL MINE!" That's a little childish, though, isn't it? I think I'm supposed to be doing something along the lines of **rolling eyes** "setting an example", so I'm signing off.

Come see Ha Me da (that's Thank You, phonetically, in Korean)

Kimchi and Soju

We went to New City tonight. I bought a cute shirt! I tell you what... it was hard, and I mean hard, to communicate with the sales lady as to whether or not they had a dressing room. Resorting to a game of charades seem to be the only answer, but I finally got my question across. Once I saw it, lol, I realized we are so spoiled in the US. Every store we go in has anywhere from 2-20 dressing rooms. Thing thing that I stepped into was no bigger than a space-saver corner shower, complete with an alarmingly confusing door handle that (I think) let out onto the street. It was all cool though. Super cute tunic to wear with some leggings. There's no tax added here either, so what you see on the pricetag is what you pay. I like that. No surprises.

After that was dinner at Two Two Chicken. We had some Garlicky Chicken, Spicy Chicken, and Kimchi with Sausage and Tofu, which was spiiiiiiiiicey. I loved it, though. We also bought a bottle of Soju, and the only comparison I can make of that to something American is maybe moonshine. It started out sweet but with each following shot it got sharper... like a warning. Considering we were also enjoying a bottle of Cafri, which is a Korean beer, we left there feeling light-hearted and craving some ice cream. We didn't dare drink the whole bottle of Soju so I brought home the leftovers.

Tomorrow we are going to Lotte (Low Tay) World, which is supposed to be about the equivalent of Disney World. That means we've got to get up early. **sigh**. It's going to take about two hours to get to Seoul and we've yet to figure out the subway. I'm sure it's going to be an adventure.

Grumpy, Sneezy, and Sleepy

We are sick... and bored. I'm popping Zicam like it's candy, and I've got Alyssa on some baby cough medicine. Last night she was able to sleep by herself, but the night before she had to sleep with Bruce and I. Needless to say, he and I didn't sleep too well. We both got smacked in the head and kicked in the ribs at various intervals throughout the night. She also belted out some pretty bossy demands in her sleep, too. Poor Bruce had to get up at 4:30, while Alyssa and I slept until 7:30. So last night we kept it simple and decided to stay on post for dinner. We're feeling a little better today, but I don't want to be an inconsiderate mom and expose all the kids at the park to her cold, so it's going to be a bubblebath and video day.

Today was supposed to be Bruce's early day... home around 3:15... but NOOOOOO, something of course has come up and he may not be home til six or seven. I am not happy about it. **groan** Seriously, I'm pouting. I know how the Army works, and it's not a surprise, it's just bad timing. Things keep coming up and we've not been able to do a lot of what we wanted... and I'm allowed to pout every once in a while! Anyway, pouting is better than poking someone's eye out, which is what I really want to do.

On a sidenote: I've got pain. It's radiating from under my right armpit and breast and I'm out of painkillers. I rationed those suckers out like you wouldn't believe. I actually have two left, but they are "reserve". I'm taking Aleve but it's not cutting it. I get angry when I think about it because I tried to tell my doctor and his nurses several times that something wasn't right in the area. But as I'm sure some of you can commiserate with me on this, they don't always listen. I'm stuck here without any options in seeing a doctor for the next three weeks, so what's a girl to do? OH, I know... buy some wine! YES... why didn't I think of that before??? Tsch, tsch... yes, I know that makes me sound like an alcoholic, but don't accuse me of being in denial. I completely embrace the fact that I am going to use alcohol to numb my pain. Watcha got for that? Any better ideas? (and to that nurse in Augusta who actually rolled her eyes at me when I tried to tell her about the pain several weeks ago: this bird's for you!)

That's about it for today. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel like a different dwarf.

Bugs. South Korea's got 'em.

We'll start with spiders. There are spiders everywhere. They are in the stairwells, walking around on the ground, hanging out on the lightposts at the park.... everywhere. The one exception is Bruce's apartment, thank goodness. I've only seen one tiny thing running across the floor and he didn't last ten seconds. South Korea's got some spiders of a different caliber, though. These are NOT American spiders. What we are used to in the States is on a much smaller scale. Now granted, we DO have the dangerous spiders, brown recluses and black widows, but I have no clue about the poisonous potential of some of the creatures I've seen over here, which only adds to the fear factor. They are BIG. **body wracking shudder** I treat each and every one of them with respect and give them a wide berth of space.

In general it's just neat to see the difference in species in everything over here. The pigeons are bigger. The blackbirds have white area's on their chest and wings. The beetles are almost decorated.... I saw one the other day that had purple wings and polka dots! The moths look different than what I've seen in the US. There are lots of praying mantises... which "a lot" to me means that I've seen four so far, so comparitively speaking that's a lot. I also saw one of those (ugh, gag) bugs that has pinchers on it. The pinchers were almost as long as the body itself.

I've been forgetting to take my phone with me, but I'm going to start from now on so that I can get some pictures of these little critters. I'll post them after our trip.


Today we are going to go to the park, have lunch with Bruce, go to the library, and then out to dinner tonight. Yesterday was a very quiet day since the Koreans were celebrating Chuseok. From what I understand it's like our Thanksgiving. So we just relaxed here. Then in the afternoon Bruce took us up to see his office since he needed to check some emails. That was interesting and impressive. I'd describe it all, but you know how the saying goes.... "I'd have to kill ya." Rest assured that it's all very top-secret, high-tech, dangerous, and that the safety of our Nation depends upon it. (Yep, I'm giggling at the complete exageration I'm making here.)

I realized I was coming down with a cold yesterday: runny nose and an itchy throat. I'm taking Zicam and just hoping it knocks it out before the cold has a real chance to develop. Alyssa's showing symptoms, too. I can't give her Zicam, though, so I'm just praying her little system is more resilient.

The story of the sad little cabbage donut... and other happenings.

As magical as being in a new country can be, there's nothing like laundry to remind you that the mundane chores do not go away. So, I'm doing laundry this morning. On a positive note, I'll get it all done in half the time since there are two washers and dryers.

Bruce was up at O' dark thirty (3:15 in civilian time) this morning and we won't be seeing him 'til later tonight, so I'm trying to figure out what to do with "the kid". We can't leave post. Well, actually we can, we just can't get back on. We can't go shopping without Bruce. I'm not even sure about the library, but we're going to check it out. So, at this point we've got the playground and the library. Hmmmm.... or Toy Story I &II on DVD. It's really overcast right now, and Bruce said it was going to rain today so we might just pop some popcorn and cuddle up together.

I am really surprised that it's not as expensive as I thought it would be here. I bought a box of 25 Fererro Rocher chocolates last night for $4. I had a coupon, but not with me, so I'm going to dig it out and get another box. Seriously, that box would have cost at least $10 in the US. Street food is super cheap here, too. We've been to New City twice now and it amazes me how inexpensive everything is. We bought what we thought were donuts, five in total, only to find out three were stuffed with cabbage and veggies. That was a tragic taste-bud moment. We made it all the way back to post and were sitting at the playground while Alyssa burned off the last of her energy when we decided to try them. My mouth was watering just anticipating the sugary sweet goodness I knew was about to come, only to bite into it and discover.... cabbage? Oh, yes. Cabbage. Thank goodness two that we bought weren't suffering from an attempt to mix dinner and dessert in one bite. Overall, their sweets lack sugar. I haven't tried enough though, so maybe I should withhold judgement.

Last night we went to Pizza School in New City for dinner. It was $12 for all three of us to eat. We bought a large Deutsche Bite Pizza, which was as odd a mix of flavors as it sounds. We, as Americans, eat some pretty boring pizza it seems. Here though, they throw on anything. Our pizza last night had hot dogs, corn, and even some applesauce on it.... I think. We never could determine what that flavor was in the last couple of bites. When we left there I bought some candies from a street shop. It looked like marzipan, but it sure didn't taste like marzipan. Bruce and I tried it after putting Alyssa to bed. We both took a bite out of one and didn't even finish the piece. Why bother when you've got 13,000 won worth of Dunkin' Donuts sitting right there beside you? We learned to buy backup sweets after the cabbage donut incident. Ugh. Which brings me to the waistline issue. I did soooo good the first week. Didn't gain a pound. But now I'm making up for it. Oh well. It's South Korea! AND I brought stretchy pants!

Proper playground etiquette... I'm gonna let my "bitch" flow.

I am coming to the realization that I don't play well with others.... at least not when they don't know how to play the right way. I also realize that I am very protective of my adorable and sweet two year old daughter. She may not be able to kick that seven year old girl's ass, but I can (at least in theory).

ARGH!!!! I just can not relay to you, on here, just how mad I was yesterday at the playground. It's going to get really offensive here in regards to language, like a bad case of Turrett's... so consider yourself warned. (got in trouble for the language. It's been edited)

What is the deal with lazy women who can't "supervise" their kids? It's no wonder the little sharts behave the way they do, considering their mothers are too lazy to shut their pie-trap, get off their enormous butts, and actually exert some energy to walk around and see why every single child coming within two feet of their kid is crying. There were actually two kids, or should I say demons, that were terrorizing the other children. One was a boy, maybe about eight, that was hitting, shoving, kicking and biting. Yes, biting! When I saw him knock the crap out of a two year old, who promptly hit the ground from the sheer force of it, I finally said to the two women sitting about three feet away "WHO'S KID IS THAT?!" They just kind of shrugged their shoulders non-chalantly and kept chatting. No suprise there considering the little brat that shoved Alyssa on the slide belonged to one of them. Oh, and that little hellion's name just happened to be Alyssa, too, which caused my Alyssa to look scared when the mother started yelling at her daughter "COME ON ALYSSA!!! It's TIME to GO!!!" I thought Alyssa might cry for a moment when she thought she might have to go somewhere with that woman. Only one woman seemed to have her act together and actually "parented" her kids. I wished I'd chatted her up more, but maybe she'll be back. Anyway... the aforementioned little girl kept running UP the slide and knocking kids out of the way. One of them literally fell off the side, and thank goodness it was only about a three foot fall from that point. When she shoved Alyssa at the top of the slide (about eight feet up) I said "DO NOT push her!" The little brat responded with "Oh, it's OK". To which I said "NO, it is NOT ok. We do not push people." She just stared at me. But if you know me, I'm not intimidated by any little seven year old twerp, and I won that staring contest.

So, I told Bruce about what had happened because I like getting his opinion on dealing with anger-inducing situations. He's amazing at keeping his cool in any circumstance and I have become a calmer person from just being around him and seeing him in action. You want to know what he said? Well, get ready for this... he said "Stop repressing yourself! Just let your "bitch" flow." HA! Really? OK. But I'm not sure how to channel my "bitch" in this situation. Maybe something like approaching the lazy twit of a parent and saying "HEY, you watching that brat of yours? No? Then consider you might burn 50 calories by actually getting up and observing your eight year old biting a two year old." Hmmmm... don't think that'll go over too well. How about "My two year old may not be able to kick your eight year old's butt, but I have no problem doing it myself if you won't supervise the little terrorist-in-the-making you seem to be raising."? I just don't think that's going to win me the Miss Congeniality Award, either.

I'm not in the mood to try to come up with something politically correct. Especially if you consider the fact that these women probably wouldn't relate to it anyway since they aren't teaching their kids appropriate playground behavior to begin with. It's just laziness! And before anyone says "Oh, kids will be kids. Just lighten up", I'd put money on the fact that that person is raising a little bratty kid, too.

So, I think what I'm going to do is to continue to supervise Alyssa, and if something should happen I'm going to LOUDLY say "Who does this child belong to?!?!", while pointing directly to the child.  I'll make sure I have everyone's attention at this playground! Then should the child be claimed, I'll give a double dose of embarrasment and being loud again say, "Why don't you come over her and have a little discussion on how to behave on the playground". I have no shame in being loud, either. It leaves less room for someone to misconstrue anything I say. There'll be more witnesses, too, should the mom be a smart-ass and underestimate my supressed-redneck-bitch ways.


**Just an end-note. Please don't forget that I have been on both ends of the weight spectrum. I am not judging these women for being overweight. I am passing judgement on their lack of disciplining and monitoring their children. Their weight just becomes the target when I see a possible connection between their laziness and their children's behavior. I have a flat, white-girl booty and would actually consider it a compliment if someone said I had a fat ass.

Jet lag, Juicy girls, and a Brazilian buffet.

This place is great. It seems Alyssa is finally getting over the jet lag that threw her for a loop. I felt like she had been inhabited by a body snatcher when she started telling us it was time for a nap. That is no way, shape or form my daughter. She was up at 4am this morning, and I was too. I finally gave up trying to sleep at 5am. I hopped out of bed, made us some breakfast, and coffee.... and then realized we had nothing to do. So after staring at each other for ten minutes we began playing with her stickers. I'm working on not being a control freak but it just drives me up the wall when she places five stickers on top of each other. I kept trying to tell her there were plenty of pages for all the stickers to have some "breathing" room, but that's just not her style. I finally realized this and let her happily put them wherever she wanted. At least there'll be plenty of pages left for coloring, and my habit to control is subdued.

We went out yesterday to walk around and check out the "Ville". We bought Alyssa a beautiful little silk dress from the sweetest man who kept telling us he had no girls. Almost every adult Korean we passed had to smile and wave at Alyssa. They must really love kids over here. The people are so very polite... well, except for the "juicy" girls that seemed to glare at me. But that was probably only due to the fact that I looked fabulous (oh yes, I did) and the handsome man on my arm was one less customer. I just smiled warmly. They're probably miserable living that sort of life. I heard that a lot of them are from the Phillipines and were tricked over here under the guise of having a shot of making it in the entertainment industry. Sad and tragic, but moving on.... we then went to eat at a Brazilian Barbecue Buffet. I don't know what was Brazilian about it, but it was delicious. There were six different meats included in the meal. It was $25 per person, but you don't tip over here, and considering the whole experience it was well worth every penny. They would bring around one style of meat about every three minutes... sizzling hot, and absolutely tasty. There was top sirloin, bottom sirloin, steak, sausage, garlic beef, and chicken with the crispiest skin I've ever, ever had. It was a wonderful evening to walk home, too. The weather is pretty warm during the day, but pleasantly cool in the evening.

Today we are doing a little laundry, going to get me a cheap cell phone in case I need to call Bruce during the month when he's at work, and then off to do some more sightseeing after Alyssa's nap. Tomorrow we are planning on going to Osan to do a little shopping. Bruce says we'll have to get up early, but considering Alyssa and I are waking up around 4am, we've got it covered. Now dragging his butt outta bed is another story. He's claiming we are waking him up several times throughout the night, but I had to remind him that everytime we wake him up we are already awake!

Pain on a plane

We've made it to South Korea! That fifteen hours in the plane was sheer hell though. At one point, I tried to get the time off my phone so that I could take a painkiller but since it wasn't registering Eastern Time, I asked the man sitting next to me for the time. I was thinking we'd been on the plane for six to eight hours, so when he said four o'clock I really thought I might cry. My brain just couldn't come to terms with the fact that only three hours had passed and I had 12 more hours trapped in a seat made for short legged people, with a squirmy and demanding two year old, who by the way, had decided all of a sudden that she wasn't interested in being entertained by any of the cool Disney movies they offered. But alas, that damn plane finally landed, and we made our way through the Seoul International Airport. By the time we got through customs and met up with Bruce, I had been awake for about, oh... a day and a half. Then we began our three hour bus ride to his base. Needless to say, I slept like a baby last night. I never even moved when Bruce got up to go to work this morning, but Alyssa and I both woke up around 6:30. I put a movie on for her after breakfast, then I enjoyed some hot coffee, and began unpacking, organizing and cleaning.

Bruce came home with perfect timing and took Alyssa to get us some lunch. So, now she's had a good nap, I've had a shower.... and oh, it's a good hair day since his shower rocks with jack-hammer like pressure.... and now we're about to go outside for the Labor Day Festival they're having. I'm just so excited I could pee! He's got off until Wednesday, so that's going to give us a chance to have some fun, do some sight-seeing, and get into a nice little rhythm.

I can't wait to try some of the different foods here. While waiting for our bus at the airport, I went to a little "French" cafe/coffee shop which had a display of some of the tastiest-looking meals I've seen in a while. Much of them had some sort of seafood in them, plus noodles or rice. My stomach is growling just remembering those display meals. OH, and the sushi I'm going to try! I am going to try it all! It's a good thing I brought all those stretchy, yoga-like pants 'cause I have a feeling I'm not going to be counting every calorie for the next month.

More to come soon.

Spider monkey spastic

I'm spastic like a spider monkey. Taking care of all the final details before we leave for South Korea is causing me to feel crazy. I'm hurting, too. I totally overdid it yesterday. I went from taking it easy for 5 weeks (two surgeries in the last 6 weeks) to using every muscle I forgot I had. I cleaned house all day yesterday, except for the two hours that Alyssa and I went out to run some errands. That was one cool shopping trip, though. I bought $99.25 worth of items, but only paid $36. No, I didn't steal anything! I scored some Olay Definity (eye) for $5!!! It's normally $25! I also had to buy my body lotion, which is $6 (love the Ecotools for my super sensitive skin)... and I found a gift set with the full size lotion, body wash, and a loofah for..... wait for it.... you're not going to believe this..... .50 cents. Yep, that's right, a $15 gift set for .50 cents. It was basically like buying my eye cream and body lotion and getting EVERYTHING else FREE. Just about everything I had to buy in Target I found on clearance AND had coupons. It was the best savings day I've had in a while. FYI.. Target has all their E.L.F products on clearance, so get 'em while you can. I racked up some new eyeshadow palettes for cheap, cheap, cheap.

Whew... I haven't written consistently at all lately, but hopefully the next time I write an entry it will be all about what we are doing in South Korea. OK people, I've got to get busy here. I'm off to do some recycling, change the sheets on my bed, finish the laundry, pack, make some phone calls, pack some more, highlight my hair... which by the way, I colored it last night and it's so dark red that it has hints of PURPLE... lol... don't care. I'm crazy like that. My absolutely fabulous daddy is coming in tonight, too! Then I've got to pack some more, paint my toes, and whiten my teeth. OMG... seriously, I need some Valium, or maybe cocaine to get all this done. JUST KIDDING PEOPLE, just kidding.

Now that I know you're paying attention, here's my next bit of news:

We're moving to Hawaii within two months of getting back from this trip! Just crazy, I tell ya. All of this good stuff, plus a few challenges, has made the last six weeks quite stressful. When I stop to think about it I know it's all going to work out just fine, but when I'm not "thinking" about it I feel undercurrents of nervous vibrations in everything I do. **Taking deep breaths and imagining the palm trees**

Oh, and wish me luck for the 14 hour flight with a 2.5 yr old. I've stocked up on some cool little $1 toys and Bruce says there are a ton of movies for her to watch in-flight, so I'm hoping for the best.

Don't touch that!

Two surgeries, some severe nerve pain, and one thrombosis later, I think I'm on my way to healing. But enough about me... let me tell you about little tater head. She had a rough weekend with being sick. Her little digestive system just couldn't decide what it wanted to do. First it was constipation, then the opposite, throw in a whoppin' good diaper rash, a little fever, and a little cleaning sick up out of shag carpeting.... my poor baby was pi-ti-ful. It breaks my heart when she's like that. I am so glad she's feeling better! Her poop is back to normal, as she was more than happy to show me when she called me up to her room last night. Yep. I opened the door and there she was holding a fistful of it. Craptastic evening, I tell you. So, I gave her another bath, let her know that Mommy was NOT happy, and put her back to bed. This is not the first time it's happened, but after I took away her doll and light projector I'm thinking she's going to remember one vital important piece of information: Do NOT touch poop, even if it's your own.

Let that be a lesson to all of you.

Ohmmmmm.... positive focus.

Oh, I forgot some positive stuff.

I bought two dresses at White House Black Market the other day. I got them so cheap I was scared I'd be stopped for stealing on my way out. Then today, I found a gorgeous black silk blouse on their online sale page. Originally $78 and I splurged for the $18 they had it marked down to. It's a classic piece and will never, ever, ever go out of style.

Bought a 100 pack of Huggies diapers on amazon for $21 and free shipping. Another steal. Thanks, Renea!

Had a couple of evening phone calls from my wonderful, sexy, sweeet, smart and strong husband. The man makes my day. Less than 5 weeks til I see him in person again!!!

I did something nice for someone. It doesn't matter what it was, but it was good to feel as if I might have made a difference. Don't tell anyone though. I'd hate to ruin my reputation.

Let's try this again

At two o'clock today I found out that I'm having surgery tomorrow afternoon. That didn't leave me much time at all to prepare for any help while I recover. So what do you do when you're in a bind? No... you don't grab a bottle of wine to mull it over, but I like the way you think. You go with your last resort, cross your fingers, pray to the gods, and brace yourself for doing most of it yourself.

So, surgery at three.

I've had some great help since the last surgery. I found her on sittercity.com. She's been coming out from 6:30 in the morning til seven in the evening. What a keeper! She's a dream with Alyssa... patient, sweet, fun, and hasn't gotten on my nerves even once in the two weeks that she's been with us. That's more than I can say for my own child. Bless her heart... Alyssa, that is. She is testing her boundaries with me lately. She threw a big tantrum at nap time. That was fun. Not. Then tonight she threw a fit that made nap time look like a day at the spa! During our bedtime routine we brush her teeth, go potty, put on pj's, and finally read a book and sing a couple of nursery rhymes. She couldn't go potty so we went to put on pj's and she started whining that she had to go potty again. We went through this cycle three times before I said "It's OK if you can't go potty. You can try again tomorrow." So, back to the bedroom, again, for the pj's. When she tried to pull the "potty" whining the fourth time I said "Let's put on pj's and read together". Redirect, right? No. That's when the fight started. She got so angry and started screaming, kicking, and hitting. I tried to ignore it and put her pj's on her, but then she kicked me square in the right breast. That's when I exercised my parental right to discipline and spanked her bare butt*, but it DID NOT stop. It only made her madder and louder. Oh my god. Seriously, I didn't know what to do. So, I took a breath, waited a while for a break in the tantrum and then told her we'd try one more time. This time, though, I faked her out. When she didn't potty, I just said "Great job!!!" gave her the toilet paper, let her flush, and it worked. Ugh. This being a parent thing has its hard moments. Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing the right thing and it makes me feel clueless, guilty, and stressed. Am I giving in? Am I not giving in enough? Am I promoting her fit in some way? Am I on my way to a straight-jacket and a daily dose of a tranquilizer, complete with the drool? I can not wait for this year to be over so that my husband will be home. Then I can relieve myself of feeling like I'm not doing anything right, and focus on telling him what he's doing wrong with her. I like it better like that. (That's supposed to be funny just in case you didn't take your humor vitamin today.)

*There is a very clear line between spanking and beating a child. Because of today's society and the fact that some people (the know-it-all, obnoxious ones that usually have kids that are as equally obnoxious) think a spanking is abuse, I feel as if I must make that delineation here. I very rarely spank my daughter. If I do, it is because I refuse to raise an unruly brat. My first go-to is a warning, then time-outs. then taking away toys. But every once in a while, and as Alyssa's mommy I know exactly when this is, none of that is going to work. So, don't go calling the social worker's on me. I'm no child abuser. I'm just a mom with a very sore boob that loves her daughter.

If only I were a millionaire

I talked to the Dr.'s office today. I'll be going in on Tuesday to see my surgeon. I hope there aren't any unforeseen issues in correcting this. It's going to include another surgery I'm sure, but it will be worth it. I just don't have the luxury of time seeing as how I've already paid for plane tickets to South Korea. Non-refundable, too. Could I possibly allow myself to hope that this could go smoothly? If it does then I just have to figure out how to arrange for more help with Alyssa. I simply can't pick her up while the muscles are healing. Since I'm running out of money for 12 hours of help a day with Alyssa, I don't really know what to do. Of all the great services available to the military and their spouses there's a huge, gaping hole in providing help to families in situations such as these.

I'm exhausted. I think I'm overdoing it a little bit, combined with the fact that Alyssa was pretty defiant today. She must realize at some level that I'm not able to do some of the things I usually can.... like swat her on the bottom if she's really acting up. But I am able to take away toys! I've already confiscated her new cell phone (an old one of Bruce's), her two pink puppies, a pair of sunglasses, and her building blocks. Once she realized Mommy wasn't playing around, and she wasn't getting them back after a few minutes, her attitude got a little better. There was one major meltdown/screaming fit today which rivaled anything in the past. She's asleep now, though, and tomorrow is a new day.

Is that a goiter?

I went to my follow-up appointment today. After all the bandages were taken off, it was quite obvious that something did not go as planned. Now my Dr. is "out of the office" but I was reassured by another Dr. in the group that my doctor wouldn't leave me hanging, that's he's an excellent surgeon, and that he was sure this was not what my doctor had intended. It's kind of depressing.... dealing with the hassle of getting everything approved, struggling to find help with Alyssa, having the surgery itself with an entire day of vicious vomiting afterwards, and now this. The doctor was quite surprised that I wasn't taking any pain medication, but hell, so was I! I was prepared for it to be much more painful, so this level of discomfort is tolerable without pain meds. Although, now I have to go back to taking them in order to tolerate the "aggressive massaging" they want me to do. OK... no problem. I'll do my part as long as they do theirs.

SO, to focus on what I can control and in trying to be positive, I have to tell myself that this WILL be taken care of. It WILL turn out OK. I am resilient. Maybe, just maybe the massaging will help. If it doesn't, well then... it will simply have to be fixed. I can deal with that, too.

My wonderful husband called me this evening to see how my appointment went. We don't normally talk in the evenings, so it just seemed very sweet for him to call and made me feel so loved. He's been very supportive through this whole thing. When he saw on Skype what I was worried about, he agreed that something wasn't right, and that whatever it took we would get it fixed. Then he followed that up by telling my how beautiful he thinks I am.

I'm tough. I'm hanging in there. But, what I really want to do is cry. This wasn't supposed to happen.

Swelling or switch?

Hmmm... when it rains, it pours. I've got my follow up appointment tomorrow afternoon. I wonder what the Dr. is going to say when he sees the work done? Since the Dr. who did my surgery is out of town now, he's having me see another Dr. in the group. I think someone screwed up. Big time.

Going to bed.

D Day

Well... I think I'm ready for tomorrow morning. I've left two long, too long notes for the babysitter. I hope she doesn't think I'm that mom. But I probably am. Oh well, at least I'll be that mom with a great rack after tomorrow. Ahhh... please excuse me, I'm a little worried, and I guess it just comes out as warped humor. Oh, and just in case you don't know the history behind this surgery... it ain't no boob job out of vanity. It's a "reconstructive" surgery. I'm just lucky enough that at age 37, they'll have to do both now.

OK. So, I've got the coffeemaker ready to go on auto at 4:15am. I've cleaned the kitchen. I've got magazines for Kimberly, which she probably won't need 'cause I can just about guarantee you that she'll be flirting with a cute Dr. by the time they're finished with me. I'm about to head up to the bus station to pick her up. That girl is the perfect example of a true friend. Let me tell you... I sent her a text the other day, just to annoy/confirm with her that she was still coming. She responded she would but that she'd have to take a bus since her car had decided to up and die on her. Top that with her very stressful job that she's been staying four hours late at every night this week just so she could take tomorrow off, AND the fact that she just moved last weekend. How do you ever repay someone for all that??? I'm going to have to come up with something good. Real good.

I am nervous. Not really so much about me, but rather Alyssa. When I was talking to Bruce and taking the opportunity to delve into his psyche, I asked him what he would do if I died. I know, I know... completely melodramatic, but I was just curious as to what his response would be. Do you know what that man told me?! He said he'd hire a $25/hr hooker to take care of Alyssa. I guess his sense of humor gets a little warped too, when he's nervous (we'll give him the benefit of the doubt.) I laughed my ass off when he said it, then I said "You ARE joking, right?" He assured me he was. Let's hope we never have to find out.

I am nervous though, for me. I'm not dwelling on it, but I'm going to get it out here. It would suck if something bad did happen. Finally, as an adult, I am happier that I had ever imagined possible. Awesome husband, absolutely beautiful daughter, terrific family, good friends, great home, etc. It seems silly to be worried now that I imagine someone reading this and rolling their eyes, but it's different for me at this age. When I had my spinal surgery at 25, I wasn't nearly as scared. And that was a big deal. Over eight hours of surgery, and the risks were much greater. Considering where I was in my life at that point, if I'd had any sense I would have been terrified. Oh well. I guess it's true that we think we're invincible when we're young. Since I'm no spring chicken anymore, the frontal lobe of my brain is kicking in, saying "What if?"

Well. I'm a lucky girl. I heal quickly, too. There won't be any hitches! I wouldn't be mad, though, if you crossed your fingers, said a prayer, or sent positive juju my way.

I earned this big glass of wine.

Please. Somebody. Help. Me. With. This. Two. Year. Old.

Whew. This has been a day. When I got Alyssa up this morning she was grumpy. This isn't unheard of, but once she's had breakfast she's usually fine. Not this morning, though. Breakfast came and went, but the grumpiness was still lingering. Fast forward one hour and she was briefly content with Mickey Mouse. That didn't last, though. There were fits, disagreements, boo-boos, tears, and time-outs. Not to say there wasn't some laughter and fun in the midst of all this.  Being bipolar is part of being two.  The whole age is rife with afflictions if you ask me. So, anyway, then it was nap time... yes, we are only halfway through the day at this point... and I told her if she took her nap like a good girl that we would blow bubbles this afternoon. Didn't happen. I had to stick to my guns and withhold the bubbles. When she did finally go to sleep, I decided I was wore plum out and needed a nap myself. That was the most relaxing part of my day. Probably a good thing that I recharged my batteries, 'cause I had no idea what I was in for this afternoon. Since I've got surgery coming up this Friday, I have a long list of things to do beforehand so that I can lay around, heal and do nothing. I was going to tackle several things this afternoon and knock out a big chunk of it. The best laid plans... **insert maniacal laughter**

Well, I DID get two of my plants repotted. WITH Alyssa's help. (Groan) That translates into "What should've taken me 15-20 minutes ended up using the rest of the afternoon". At first I wasn't going to let her help me. I'm anal like that. But then I thought "What the hell. Let her help." Bless her heart. Her idea of helping was to, at first, add a teaspoon of dirt at a time cupped in her little hands. Once she realized that dirt had some real potential for fun she began throwing it up in the air to celebrate. My normal, anal self would have flipped, but I realized it was simply too late to do any good. Oh, and the fact that she had a mouth full of blood thirty minutes before this kept me from stopping her fun. Let us backtrack... right before we went outside, during a flash of happiness, she insisted on wearing her flip flops to go outside. I helped her put them on and then she took off.... only for that damn flip flop to catch on the carpet. She went flying forward and hit her face squarely on the arm rest of the love seat. Commence the screaming, and my acting skills. Seeing blood never bothered me before I had a child. I was one of those people that just kicked into gear to fix/help the situation. Since having her though, I'm a new person. A scared, wimpy one. I deserve an Emmy for this afternoon, though. Once I saw the blood, I just wanted to cry and run out in the street and get a neighbor to take care of it, but I didn't. The show must go on. I put on my big girl panties, scooped her up, took her into the kitchen, got a paper towel, all the while telling her, and myself, that it was going to be OK, and then cleaned her up. The blood was coming from that little piece of skin right above the two front teeth. Thank god no teeth got knocked out! The bleeding didn't last long, but if it had you better believe I'd be ringing a doorbell. I have told that child several times of the rules in this house! She is NOT allowed to choke or bleed when her father is not here. It better not happen again. Well, everything is calm now. She's had a bath and I have a glass of wine in my hand.

Bought our tickets to South Korea last night!!!!!! Yeeeeeee Hawwwwwwwww! I'm so silly excited. I went through CheapTickets.com. They were the cheapest, and I should know after checking out many, many, many sites over the last few weeks. I'm actually gloating here. It's a non-stop flight that leaves and arrives at reasonable times. Even if something happens to delay our trip (crossing my fingers so that my healing goes without a hitch) we'll only be out $600. Comparatively speaking, that's great.

I can do it!... But how?

I'm getting a little nervous about next week. I'm also disappointed about having to change my plans for going to TN to visit. This was going to be the first time I've seen some of my sorority sisters in years, and now I'm going to have to cancel. There's just too much to do before the surgery and I think it's best to stick around here until afterwards. Ugh... I really was so excited about the get together :(

Now the conundrum is trying to figure out how I'm going to take care of Alyssa when I won't be able to lift over 5 pounds for weeks. Two  One of my friends has the first five days covered (thank you baby jesus for Kimberly), but no plan after that. I'm trying to avoid having to hire someone since that would be really expensive for 13 hours a day, but we'll see. If I put the surgery off any longer, though, then it literally wouldn't happen until 2012. So, come hell or high water I'll figure something out. If any one's got an idea... let me know!

We drove to Aldi in South Carolina today. Ooooh, I just love that place. I actually made it out of there under $100. That included wine, too. Other than fruits, veggies, diapers and milk, I'm set for the next month.


Wisdom of the week: Do not talk to strangers. Seriously people. There's a reason the word "strangers" contains "strange".

My surgery is scheduled!

Great news! I'm having surgery in less than two weeks!!! After writing the insurance company regarding the initial denial I'd received, it was overturned. Yay! This whole challenge has been going on since February, so I'm sure you can understand my relief that it's finally going to be resolved. My only concern now is trying to find someone to help me with Alyssa after I have it done. At least I've got the first three days covered, though. My first call was to my Hotlanta hottie, Kimberly, and she said "Of course I'll help". I almost cried with relief! It's difficult at times like this when Bruce is overseas, and I have no family close by. So, she's coming down the night before my surgery and staying through the weekend. Now, I just have to find some help for the week following that. One of the biggest reliefs with the approval is that they approved the Alloderm, which is not something that's normally approved. Because of this I'll have to have drainage tubes (ewwww, right?), which will be a little tricky with Alyssa, but I'm sure I'll figure it out somehow.

I'm back into my routine since Bruce has returned to South Korea. It's been much easier this time. We're Skyping in the mornings and it seems Alyssa knows this is how it's going to be for a while. Whew... that part is a relief. There's nothing worse than a two year old having a broken heart... just about killed me the first time around.

Oh, I got her passport in the mail the other day. It's just the cutest thing. They also mailed back her original birth certificate, which impressed me. I'm sure my passport will be arriving shortly. Between the surgery, healing time, and excitement of getting ready for our trip to visit him, the next month and a half should go quickly.

We went over to my neighbor's house on Thursday. She's in her sixties and cool as can be. She's computer illiterate, though, and needed some help getting back online. After two hours of trying to get her wireless router and modem working together and several calls to Comcast, I told her we needed some alcohol. I swear I think Comcast had brought in some of the Saturday Night Live characters from the IT skits. One chick had it down to a "T" and was really getting on my nerves. She kept snappin' at me and giving directions way too fast. I could just hear her rolling her eyes through the phone. I'm pretty decent with computers, so it wasn't as if I couldn't keep up, but she'd tell me to do something, then back-track, then snap at me when she made a mistake. She sounded like she had a big wart on the end of her nose.... bless her heart. So, anyway, my neighbor ran over to my house and grabbed two bottles of wine while I was still on the phone with Comcast . Then her daughter, Michelle, came over with her kids and we proceeded to drink until 11. These two are fabulous. We laughed, we sang, we drank and then laughed some more. At 11 I knew I had to get home with Alyssa, but Michelle said "NO, NO, NO.... let's go swimming at my house!" I gave it some thought, but asked for a raincheck. Seems I missed all the excitement. They all went to her house and swam for another two hours. When my neighbor was trying to round up her two chihuahuas to come home, she somehow managed to vault herself over a fence which was backed by another fence, and get stuck! Spritely for sixty-something, wouldn't you say? Sprained her ankle, and they had to call Michelle's neighbor to come help them dislodge her at 1am in the morning. I stopped by on Friday to see about securing her wireless router and got the whole story. That ankle was shiny it was so swollen. She must be as tough as woodpecker lips because I had to MAKE her take some Motrin and prop her foot on a chair. I hope she heals quickly, and next time I'm not passing up the opportunity for night swimming.

Two tear tralious

Our trip to Atlanta was bittersweet. When we arrived at the aquarium, Alyssa was full of energy and ready to go. Two hours later she was tired of walking and begging her daddy to carry her, so we decided to call it a day and go on to the hotel. I had gotten a great deal on Priceline for a four star hotel and couldn't wait to get there anyway. After our stay in a beautiful room with a great view, I think I'll be using Priceline for any time we need a hotel. For dinner, we went to a restaurant named Simon's Steakhouse and Seafood. We just pulled up a list of nearby restaurants on the TomTom and thought it sounded good. We were NOT disappointed. This was the best experience we've had eating out in a very long time. The service was great, our food was exceptionally good (and hot) and the ambiance was nice.... so, if you're ever in Atlanta, go to Simon's.

We got up early yesterday morning to get ready to go to the airport. His flight was leaving at nine, but you know how you have to be there much earlier. We said our good-byes around 7:30 and watched him go through the security gate. I escaped that place with only two tears, but a horrible sadness that literally felt like pressure in my chest seemed to set in. Alyssa and I started our drive home and I decided to stop at McDonald's to let her eat some hotcakes and a hash brown. She was more interested in the play area, so after convincing her that if she ate some of her food she could go play, she finally took about 5 bites of the hotcakes. Once she figured out how to get to the highest slide she was in heaven. Of course, she threw a fit when I said it was time to go, but hey... she'd be a weird two year old if she didn't.

Once home, I was still feeling that sense of sadness so strongly. When I saw his flip flops by the door it shocked me for a moment. One, that he forgot them, and two, that he wouldn't be coming downstairs to put them on. So... I got busy. I cleaned the kitchen and made some salsa. There just wasn't much to do after that. If he were here, we would've been talking about what to eat for dinner and whether or not to have a glass of red or sweet white. BUT, as I keep reminding myself, in only a few weeks we will be going to see him! Thank god we're over the hump. Seven months down. yay. yippee. whoo hooo. Hmmm, that doesn't seem very convincing, does it? Maybe because it's just hard to miss someone. As a matter of fact, I made the realization yesterday that in English, the terms we use for emotions are so limited. Think of the word "grief". There are so many different shades of grieving that it seems we should have developed some other adjectives. Me missing him is not the same as someone missing a loved one who has passed away, or someone who has gone through a break-up, but we use the same word for many different situations. Shakespeare coined over 17,000 words... did you know that? I've never even coined one, but that man seemed to make one up at least everyday. I wonder if his friends thought he was mental? Well, either way, turns out he was brilliant (I think he even coined THAT word, lol), so here's my shot at it: My new word to describe the emotion of missing someone you love due to long distance is~~~~~~~~~ tralious... (trah-lee-us) as in "I'm very tralious when my husband is halfway across the world."

Trips galore

Ahhhhh, how time flies when you're having fun. I can't believe that three and a half weeks have evaporated so quickly. We've done some really fun things, too. We went to the firing range on our last date. My aim was great. We took Alyssa to the zoo a few days ago, which she loved. We're taking her to the aquarium in a couple of days, too. I'm excited about this trip. I managed to get a room at a four star hotel for cheap, cheap, cheap. It will be a bittersweet trip since my Superman will be flying out and going back to work. Enough about that, though. I am focusing on the fact that we will be going to South Korea in two months... that's only 8 weeks! After six months without him, eight weeks is hardly anything. Which reminds me of the fact that I'm going to have to find someone to feed my cat for the month that we are gone. (Kimberly if you are reading this, Ginger is specifically requesting YOU! She meowed that she's ready to travel.)

My dad came down for a visit and left yesterday. Alyssa just loves her Papaw. She doesn't really talk about anyone else in our families... just him. Several times a week she'll ask me to call Papaw or bring him up in her conversations with Piglet. I guess kids just pick their favorites. He seems to be a favorite for several little girls from what I understand. It doesn't surprise me, though. He's just got that charm.

Tonight is date night. I got a great Groupon deal for the movies but haven't received the codes yet, so I'm not sure what we'll be doing. Dinner, of course, to start out with. Ugh... which reminds me of the eight pounds I've gained since he's been home. I stepped on the scale this morning and thought "Well, I'm sure as hell not getting into that dress tonight!" Oh well, no need to obsess. I'm only 138. Who wants to restrict their diet after six months of all kinds of deprivation? Not me, I'll tell you! There's enough time for that when he goes back to SK. We've enjoyed pizza, steaks, wines, desserts, and each other. It's been worth each pound.

Another trip I'm planning is one to Tennessee next month. As a matter of fact, I think we'll go up there twice. That way we'll be I'll be able to help my dad with a couple of things and see several of my friends. It'll make the time in between trips go faster, too.

Daddies

It's a low-key Friday evening. I've procrastinated in starting dinner, after having a glass... or two of Chianti.

A funny thing happened this afternoon*. Alyssa and I were sitting on the patio while Bruce was attempting to clean up after doing some yard work. Alyssa seemed to be scared of the weed eater when he brought it up on the deck. Just as soon as he said "I don't know why she's scared of the weed eater.... you've used it two times this year", he turned to grab the extension cord (still plugged into the weed eater) and proceeds to try to dismember his leg from the rest of his body. I call it karma. Lol... before you begin to think it was really bad, it wasn't. It does look as if he were whipped, though. But, seeing as he's tough as woodpecker lips, he's fine. I immediately got him a bag of ice, Tylenol, and an orange soda because I'm such a great wife. You should've heard the sarcasm in his voice when he said it, though. Had you, then you'd understand why I found the whole incident rather funny. Timing is everything.
*Disclaimer ~ I never laughed... at least not til later.

We've got a date tomorrow night. My sweet neighbor will be watching Alyssa while we go to the firing range and then out to dinner. I'm really looking forward to it. Bang, bang.

Father's Day is Sunday. Let me just take a moment to tell you about my dad. He's truly one of the best men I've ever known. He's a hard worker, a good dancer, he can sing "Wooly Bully" like nobody's business and he can shoot the heads off little copperheads. He's a great woodworker, he restores antique cars, and he loves his kids and grand kids. He's loyal, trustworthy, and funny. I've looked up to this man my entire life. He's always been there for me, no matter what. To say I love him just doesn't do it justice. Without him... well, lol... I wouldn't be here. I owe him so much. So, here's to you Daddy.... YOU ROCK, and I love you so very much!

As far as my husband... well, I think he's a fabulous daddy, too. I imagine that Alyssa will have the same opinion of her father, as I do of mine, when she gets older.

May all of you have a wonderful weekend!

Tutu Tuesday

I've gained five pounds since Bruce has been home. No wonder, too. I've been eating cheesecake, steak and lots of bread, among other things. I'm trying not to obsess about it, and just enjoy his visit. I keep telling myself "Relax, you were lookin' bony anyway".... but that dress! I want to wear it again before he leaves, so I guess I'll have to be a little more conscientious of what I put in my mouth. I just can't help it when he's around, though. I'm so happy.... and hungry.

I did not sleep in this morning. Last night Bruce looked at me and said "You know what I'm going to do for you?" I knew from his expression that it wasn't something he was going to do for "me", but rather something that he wanted me to do but was only phrasing it as if he was doing me a favor. I pouted just a minute, but since he's always so sweet I gave in. He's still sleeping, too. I have this incredible urge to go upstairs, throw open the door, jump on the bed and yell "RISE AND SHINE!!!", but I have to fight the feeling. I imagine he would return the favor.

We had a fun day yesterday. After Alyssa's nap, Bruce filled her little pool and I put her in her tutu bathing suit.

 She kept tapping the top of her head for more every time I stopped spraying.

 Yes, I know I take up 75% of the pool.

 Alyssa ~ the wet ballerina.

Bruce threatening me with a pink elephant.

After pool time, we got the bubbles out. It was all fun and bubbles til I broke her bubble wand. Thank goodness she'd already been playing with it for a good 30 minutes. By the time I swung the wand in a big circle, only to snap off the handle, she was pretty much bored with it.

Not a whole lot on the agenda today. Just go to the store for some groceries. Oh, and get a night-light for Alyssa. We had a hard time at bedtime last night, and I think she may be scared of the dark. I came to this conclusion because she has a little music machine/projector attached to her crib and the batteries were too low for the projector last night. When I thought about it, I realized she always rolls onto her stomach when we say goodnight, so she's not even watching it anyway. It must just be for the extra light. It's worth a shot to try the night-light. After going back up to her room several times, we decided to let her cry it out. It lasted for about 30 minutes. Arghhhhh, that kills me. Bruce is completely impervious to it, but it gets to me. It wasn't just a little crying... more like screaming as if someone where ripping her Piglet limb from limb. Bless her heart.