Give me a break.

After two and a half years in our home, I feel like things are organized. Maybe not clean on this particular day, but at least neat. All the plants are done, the chimes are hung, the garage is clean, my cabinets are the way I like them, and the DVD player is now hooked up in my bedroom. I'll be able to enjoy it all for a few months 'til we move again and the fun will start all over. This is the life of a military family, and I love it.... except for the separations from my husband, of course.

I have another Dr.'s appointment in the morning and Alyssa has a babysitter, so I won't have to worry about taking her with me. Hallelujah! I think I'm going to try to do something really fun with her this weekend. I don't know what yet, but we both need it. She and I have gotten into a rut of a routine and I believe she's getting sick of me. Whenever we go out lately, she shamelessly flirts with anyone who breathes in her direction. I bet if I knew what she was saying to them, it would be something like "I'm sick of my mommy. If you take me home with you I will blow kisses like this **blowing kisses** all the time. Aren't I cute... don't you want me?" Followed by more air kisses. They always smile, say "Hi" and a few other words, and walk away. Then she looks at me and her cute smile disappears when she realizes she's stuck with me. A tantrum sometimes follows this, too. The great thing about having a babysitter, though, is that when I come home I get the biggest smiles, the sweetest kisses, and the best hugs. I take that as a testament that I should get a babysitter more often.

I took an almost two hour nap today! Just as soon as Alyssa went down I got in bed and was out. I have just been sooooo tired lately. No wonder, considering I've been staying up way too late and running all day, everyday. As my daddy once told me "Girl, you've got too many irons in the fire". So, for the next few days all I'm going to do is the normal housework around here. I'm going to plan something fun for Alyssa and I, and I'm even going to catch up on my shows on the DVR. Ahhh, and next week I'm cashing in my gift certificate for a 90 minute massage. I can't wait!

It doesn't hurt.... Are you sure you're doing it RIGHT?

My, my, today was a really good day.... other than the fact that I managed to set two alarms incorrectly last night. One I didn't finish setting, so it reverted back to it's original time, and my phone I set for PM rather than AM. I must have realized this on some subconscious level because I woke up almost every hour. I got up at 5:40, amazingly, considering I went to sleep at 12:30. Thank goodness I took a shower last night. The directions for the MRI said no make-up. HUH! Like I'm EVER going to leave the house with no makeup.... lol, right. It said something about the "metallic components" could react with the MRI blah, blah, blah. I like to live on the edge, so I took my chances and opted for foundation, concealer, and eyeliner, and stayed away from anything that shimmered. For those of you who can't understand this: You probably have great skin and don't come braggin' to me. Melasma sucks.

I couldn't believe how smoothly the procedure went. You see, I am a "hard stick", which in case you don't know, means my veins do not take kindly to needles. I had this idea that I'd start slapping the inside of my elbow while I waited on them to gather their materials. At this point in my life, I really just don't care about how goofy I looked. Must've worked. The MRI woman got it on the first try... painlessly! Then she warned me (a few times) that it was going to be "uncomfortable" when they injected the contrast dye. I didn't feel a thing. Nothin'. I even got worried as to whether or not they were doing it right since there was no "uncomfortability", but alas... they were. I think I even worked in a little 30 minute power nap because I sure did feel refreshed after the whole thing!

I took Alyssa to her speech therapy this afternoon, and her Dr. said she was impressed with Alyssa's progress. I really noticed a big leap this past weekend when she spent so much time with my family. Makes me feel guilty in a way, as if I'm not doing something right, but the Dr. said this is completely normal when they have different or new exposures. Alyssa's newest go-to phrase is "Oh Dear!" Knowing Bruce and I, it was probably originally "Oh Damn", but no one noticed. LOL... just kidding... to an extent.

On our way home, I got a surprise text from a friend of mine who wanted us to come hang out for awhile. We haven't been able to in months since she's been so busy with her uber-successful spa and salon. She's even in InStyle magazine this month! I can't afford her, but I sure do love hanging out with her. And oh, I just can't help it, but I have to post this picture of her daughter. This happened while I was holding her. I'm sure it'll be a classic blackmail photo when she's a teen. BTW, she is the most grinning-est baby I've seen, even while recovering from an ear infection. Bless her cute little heart.

Before, after, and a few things in between..

My plants are planted and everything is finally in order! Here are some before and after pictures:

I am so happy to have all this finished. Well.... almost finished. I am still trying to hang some chimes from a bracket that had cheap screws. I ended up stripping the first screw when I finally had the handy-dandy drill charged. After 45 seconds of looking at it, and cussing, I just gave up. I'll come back to it later.

My daughter and I went to visit family in Tennessee last Thursday. What a wonderful trip! The drive down went smoothly and Alyssa even "allowed" me to listen to my new Maroon5 CD... in entirety. It's so nice to be able to travel with her now that she's a little older.

I was able to spend so much time with my brother, his kids, my dad, and my best friend. I didn't get as much time with my sister or dad's girlfriend, but at least we all got together for dinner one night. I got some great pictures of everyone. Here's one of my two besties from high school:

We had dinner at Macaroni Grille, which was awesome. The company, the food, and the coloring on the table. I couldn't believe how good Alyssa was, considering she wasn't the center of attention AND was up past her bedtime. And, oh how these girls make me laugh. I miss 'em, that's for sure.

I have an MRI tomorrow morning and I've hired a babysitter from sittercity.com. She's actually babysitting twice this week while I go to Dr's appointments. It's a big relief to have someone to watch Alyssa so that I can get a couple of hours to myself. If it goes well, I'll be do... excuse me for the interruption, but my daughter just walked up and licked my face... lol, kids... anyway, I'll be hiring a sitter about once a week so I can have about three hours to myself. Oh yeah, I'm looking forward to that!

We're not in Kansas anymore.

I guess a tornado came through here last night. I slept through it.

The alarm on my phone went off at 5:30 this morning and I turned it off, thinking the bedside alarm would go off 10 minutes later. After a few minutes, I heard my daughter making noise in her room, and when I looked at the clock I realized the electricity was off. It stayed off until almost 8:30 this morning, which meant no Skyping with Bruce. We did chat on the phone, though. We're switching cable companies today and I had to exchange the wireless router I had bought for a more expensive one. It better be worth it. So anyway, since there was no way to heat up Alyssa's breakfast, I decided to run up to Wal Mart, exchange the router and treat her to some McD's pancakes and a hasbrown. Healthy, right? Ugh... she loved it, but I ate a McMuffin and hashbrown and my body is not used to the grease anymore. I'm draggin'.

Well, when we left the house (after I figured out how to get the car out of the garage) I saw there were several really big trees completely uprooted by the high school. This is very close to our house. You could walk straight from my house through a small wooded area, cross the road, and be at the high school. The weird thing about all of this is the fact that one of my my big planters blew over out front, which has got to be at least 50 pounds, but all my little pots of herbs, balancing on the deck railing, were still there. Debris is all over the yard, balcony, and deck... but those little pots didn't move. Thank goodness, too, because I would have been sad if  I'd had to buy new pots and replant all of them.

I've decided to give my back a break from planting today. I think we'll practice being lazy. I may do a load or two of clothes, but nothing more. Maybe tomorrow I'll have the urge to finish up the last couple of planters and clean off the decks and balcony. THEN, I'll post some pictures.

Here kitty, kitty, kitty... I've got something just for you.

Not. Done. Yet.

I have three more planters to fill, then I will start cleaning the 1/2 inch of yellow pollen off of everything we own outside. I was seeing a light at the end of the tunnel until I added two more projects to work on simultaneously. I am a glutton for punishment.

I am going to bed early. Hopefully, my mother's psycho cat doesn't call me again at 11:00 tonight. Seriously.

Lick a pig, hug a swine... some of them are good friends of mine.

I thought my "afternoon" project would be finished by last night, but it snowballed into 10 projects. Now I need some painkillers and a third wind. It's all going to be worth it, though! I have six different herbs planted, the tree in our front patch of grass is mulched, and several pots of flowers are done. I only have six big planters to fill with palms, ferns, and a cane tree. When Alyssa napped, I also mowed the front and the backyard and even weedeated. Is that even a word? It seems like it should be "weedate", but then that sounds like a date for toddlers... which is a whole different topic. Moving on.

I straightened up our garage, too. Enough so that the trash can is completely full! YAY! No one mention this to my husband or he may get worried that I threw some important stuff out.... which I probably did, but in the heat of the moment I just didn't care. I mean, really... how important could stuff be if it's been sitting in a box for two and half years, untouched, and neglected? I threw out a computer. The whole thing. Yep, I know you're not supposed to do that, but there's no room in the back of my Jeep now that I've got two microwaves to take to the recycling center. Oh, and the computer was one that my ex-husband owned.. so... ::evil laugh::.. who cares? It was bad, bad energy.

Alyssa and I took a break at one point, and stopped over at my neighbor's across the street. She just had surgery a few days ago and I wanted to check on her. So, we barge on in, Alyssa begins screaming at her dogs, and she rolls with it like it happens everyday. She's got a daughter, Michele, who is my age and has two of the cutest kids. Now that I'm getting to know her, I'm beginning to think we were related or friends in a past life. Well, she showed up while we were there and made me eat some "Pig Lickin' Cake". Let me tell you, I would lick a pig to get another piece of that stuff. ..::oink oink::.. To top it off, they gave me two beautiful chimes and lovely birthday cards, one of which was from Alyssa. They picked these out last week when I went to a Dr's appt and Alyssa hung out with them. I sat at that table with the stupidest grin, fighting tears, and thinking how lucky I am to have such sweet neighbors. Honestly, it just made my day.

I love a beautiful Saturday!

OH, it's just gorgeous here, today! When I put Alyssa down for her nap I thought I'd sit and watch TV for awhile, but after 10 minutes of hearing the chimes on my balcony I jumped up, threw on some jeans, socks, and tennis shoes and then started grabbing the pots of dead plants on my balcony. Now the electric mower is charging, all my empty planters are lined up on our deck just waiting to be transformed into beautiful live decorations, and I CAN'T wait for that kid to wake up so we can go up to Home Depot!

I have all the doors and windows open and my heart is singing with spring. Okay, so that's a little dorky... but you get my point: It's a beautiful day, and I'm not going to waste it inside.

After being in the I'm-a-grumpy-bitch-because-I-miss-my-husband-so-much mode, I'm feeling better. Much better. Partly, because I seemed to get box after box in the mail from my husband this week, and he tells me there's still one more coming. There's nothing like a birthday that lasts several days. I tell ya, I could get used to being spoiled like this. He sent me a cute wrought iron wine "bottle" to throw my corks in. Plus, he sent me the Vinturi Wine Aerator that I've been wanting for more than a year. Then, today, I received a salt ramekin (for lack of a better word) that's just like Alton Brown's. You think he loves me? My husband... not Alton Brown. I'm figuring he does, considering how thoughtful he is.

Heather came over last night to try out the wine aerator with me. We were amazed! We did a taste test of "before" and "after", and we could tell a BIG difference in the wine. Ah, it's just so cool to me. I never take the time to let a bottle of red breathe and this little contraption turns a good wine into an excellent wine in a matter of seconds. So, anyway... after some great wine and great laughs she went home and then I skyped with Bruce. We had an awesome, two-hour conversation with NO interruptions. This is an accomplishment only achieved when Alyssa is asleep AND it's the weekend.

Oh! I hear her! She's awake! Home Depot... here we come! I will post some pictures of today's accomplishments on my next entry.

Get outside people! Run! Breathe! Laugh in the sun! Swing a kid around in the air!... just don't drop 'em.

Opening new doors...

Yesterday was my birthday. Several good things happened, too, other than turning one year older. To start with, I was able to fit into my size four jeans (with no muffin-top)!!!! I swear at that moment the skies opened up and I heard angels singing. That means I have reached my goal weight.... actually, I've surpassed it. I am now roughly 135 pounds, which ain't bad for 5'7". If you ever ask me in person how tall I am though, don't be surprised when I say 5'8". I was measured in the Dr's office the other day but the woman who measured me wasn't tall enough to reach the top to adjust it and it was pressing really hard on my head. So, in other words, I disagree with her measurement. Didn't tell her, wasn't worth it... I'm just glad the weight number was so much lower. I'm not used to it yet, either, because I've been looking at myself as a size 12-14 for the last two years. And the year before that I was pregnant. The whole weight thing is just such a relief for me, so now I've decided to lose about 10 more pounds for a little wiggle room.

One of my friends had me over for dinner last night and it was absolutely delicious. I mean, she went all out. She hung a birthday banner, her table was beautifully decorated, she served a salad with pine nuts and goat cheese, then Beef Bourguignon, only to be followed by a Decadent Chocolate Cake. Using the word "delicious" just doesn't do it justice. Oh, and of course she had a fabulous Bordeaux with dinner and a then a dessert wine with the cake. I was SPOILED. It was such a nice evening with great company! Then we came home and I was able to Skype with my husband. I can't tell you how much I miss him. Even from halfway around the world that man manages to make me feel like a queen. So, all in all, it was a great birthday.

Today, I had three doors installed. I now have an awesome storm door in the front, and two screen doors on the back of the house. I even splurged on the front door and got the model with the easiest pull bar for the screen. No pain-in-the-ass tabs to squeeze and break my nails! All installed just in time to enjoy this spring weather before the summer humidity and sweltering heat begins.

Although I haven't written in over a month, I am determined to start writing again... consistently. Consider it a threat.

Something to crow about...

At last! Something worth putting down in.... uh, cyberspace. My niece is the TN State Wrestling Champion in the 105lb weight class!!! She rocks! I was told she pinned the first girl in 34 seconds and the second girl in 41 seconds. Yeah, she's got superpowers.

Valentine's Day was nice. Even though Bruce and I weren't together, it was still pretty romantic. He manages to pull all this off from so many miles away, too. Roses, which are still beautiful a week later, a gift certificate for a massage, and even one more package is on it's way. He said he mailed it a week and a half ago so it's got to be here any day now.

I've started a new list of things to do. My projects this week are: Start on the passports (mine is a hassle) and go by the education center on base. Going out with Alyssa lately has been a challenge, though. I can now completely understand what my brother meant when he said he didn't take the kids out til they were about 8. Makes sense to me now. Y'see... I like to avoid drama... oh yes, it's true... I'm not real big on any loud scenes in public. I can't say the same for Alyssa, though. She's been acting like a real drama queen. She actually got the best of me the other day. To put it simply... I was defeated by a two year old. Reduced to tears. After ten hours of tantrums, fits, moods, frustrations, tears, and pouty lips I was crying on Skype to my husband that "She's just SO MEAN TO ME" sob, sob, sob. And I know in all reality this will never completely stop. Girls, by nature, give their mothers hell. Oh, and there was also the phone call to my mom that same day with more sobbing "I JUST WISH you lived here so I could JUST LEAVE her with you for a few hours" followed by more sobbing. I only admit to this defeat because I swear it'll never happen again. Mark my words. Seriously. I mean it. I'll be tougher next time. I am a smart and edu-ma-cated woman! Surely I can outsmart a two year old?

Two months down

With only 10 months to go, I think this thing is gonna be easy!.... Not.

Obviously, I haven't been posting in the last few days. I just don't have the heart to try to be funny, witty, or  even attempt to put interesting thoughts together. I'll be ok, though. My poor little heart is just sad.

I have been keeping busy, though. I've just finished reading Twilight, which seemed to get better and better which each page I turned. I didn't really expect to like it that much, but by the end of the book I was hooked. My girlfriend, Heather, loaned the book to me, and I can't wait to start the next one.

Kimberly and I have started a book club. It's just me and her right now, but I have a feeling all the cool people will ended up wanting to be part of our "club". Our first book that we're going to discuss is Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I read a review about it in Town & Country and it seems it will be interesting.

One fun thing that I've done in the last week was my bedroom. I ordered a new comforter and bought some really great pillows and sheets at Ross. I lucked out with the sheets, too. I had found some sheets that would have looked great with the set, but they weren't in stock. So, I went up to Ross to find some high thread count sheets, and LOW AND BEHOLD.... they had the sheets!!! One set. Size Queen. AND, they were $20 cheaper than online! It was one of those moments that I couldn't believe my luck.

After it was all washed, ironed and put together, I think the final product looks good. It only took two hours to iron all that! At least I managed to do it without burning myself, lol...

Alyssa had her speech evaluation. I really liked the doctor that we saw, too. She was great with Alyssa and didn't make me feel like I'm a bad parent.... lots of Dr.'s manage to do this, y'know. So, anyhoo... we'll be going back next week. She said there was a small delay, but nothing to worry about. I think she's right, too. When we were in Ross the other day, Alyssa got frustrated and actually said "Look at da baby!" That was music to my ears. I'm noticing more and more words in her vocabulary each and every day.

No big plans for this weekend. Kimberly was supposed to visit, but now she has to work, so we rescheduled the visit in a couple of weeks. Heather's coming over tonight with wine. It will be a good girl's night, I just know it.