Mon petit Frère

I have three brothers. The youngest is ten years younger than I am. He recently sent in his papers to go on a mission for our church. He got them back yesterday.

He is going to PARIS!!!!

(moment of silence please)

OK, anyone up for a trip in about two years???

My new music

So, I know I stole this from you Millie, but once I figured out how to do it, I had to have it too. Please note that it is a very eclectic group of songs. I have everything from The Little Mermaid to Oingo Boingo. So, enjoy, and I'm planning on leaving my computer on my blog page and just listening to the awesome music that I have chosen. I have much to blog about, but Lucy decided to touch my glasses and then then opened them the wrong way. So, before I have to drive any kind of long distance (more than just the PX around the corner) I need to go and get those fixed. And vacuum, make dinner, put the laundry away from two days ago....

Jello

Andrew loves Jello. He has been wanting to make it for a while. And so have I. I don't mind Jello. I have just not been organized enough to have it made in time for dinner. Today, I managed it. About half an hour before we ate, Andrew helped me put the cool whip (usually I would use real whipped cream, but Matt has been really trying hard to cut out all dairy, so cool whip it is) and then we put it in the fridge.

A few minutes later, I heard Andrew say, "mom, I made letters!!" He does that fairly often, whenever he is using the MagnaDoodle or if he is coloring. I wasn't too alarmed, and said "good job, buddy". After I conned Andrew into eating his broccoli and meat so that he would be able to have the Jello, I brought it out. Andrew said "see mom, look at the letters I drew!!"

If you can see it, in the lower right corner of the Jello is a lovely letter H. There were others, but they have now been eaten. He was very proud of it. It was all Matt and I could do to not laugh out loud. I did pretty good.

The culprit eating his third helping of Jello. Little stinker. Need to get a lock for the fridge....

Rain

So, it is pouring outside with thunder and lightning. My house is so dark, its like it is night time. I really hate the rain in summer.

I am a Californian, and we just shut down completely when it rains in California. I remember when it was pouring in Germany, and I thought that I could go to the Famila Centre and no one would be there. Wrong!! People there don't care about the weather!! They just keep on doing the same things no matter if it rains, snows, or is sunny. Silly California girl.

I hope its not raining where you are.

Been a little busy

I have been quite busy these last few days.

I wore the fabulous shoes to church on Sunday. I had an early meeting, so Matt didn't know what I was wearing. He actually had no idea that I had even gotten the shoes. Anyway, I had several comments on my shoes. There is a guy at church that is 6'5", and I was only about two inches shorter than he was. But it was a lot of fun to wear heels!! I don't think I've worn heels in a few years. Matt didn't like them very much. But his reaction was a lot better than it would have been three years ago. He has gotten much softer. But its not like I wear them every day right??

Yesterday I went to exercise and when I got back I realized that I did not have a house key on my keys and that I was locked out. The day before Matt and I had driven different cars to church. I had to stay afterwards to play the piano for a baptism, and so he took Andrew home early with him. But the keys to our smaller car did not have a house key on them, so he took mine off of the van keys. Well, he didn't put it back, and then yesterday as he was leaving for school and I was half awake on the bed, he told me where he had put it. I did not recall this for several hours until I was locked out, and then I remembered something, but I couldn't remember when he told me, nor could I remember where he said he put it. Eventually I remember where it was. I called our housing office, and no one ever came. I couldn't get a hold of Matt, so I was stuck outside for an hour and a half. I had a church meeting that day, and I was so late because I hadn't taken a shower, and the kids and I needed to eat lunch, and I had to make sure that I had everything I needed for the meeting. I got the key from Matt. I went down to the pool as he goes swimming during his lunch hour. So irritated. He did call later and apologize for the situation. He had thought I would remember.

I get home from my meeting to a house that had one load of laundry done, dishes from two days sitting in the sink, a floor that badly needs a vacuum, and I can't do any of it because its time for dinner. Lucy hadn't had a nap, so she went to bed early because if she didn't, they would have had to call child services. Andrew wouldn't eat his dinner, and when he got caught trying to eat a snack he had a huge meltdown, and so he went to bed right away after that.

Yesterday was not a good day. To make up for it, I stayed up way too late again, and cross stitched and watched my shows. Today the dishes are done, the laundry is moving again, and the floor is still not vacuumed. But that's ok. It will be done very soon. Today will be much better. So far it isn't raining, and my plan is to get them to the park before it does. Our anniversary is this weekend, and so I am looking forward to going to see a movie in a real American movie theater. I haven't been in one for probably four years. We are going to see Oceans Thirteen, and it will be a "feast my eyes on Matt Damon and George Clooney and listen to Don Cheadles fake accent" evening. And hopefully a dinner in a restaurant that we have never been to before. And then next month my sister is coming for a week and we will be going to see the Bourne Ultimatum while she is here. Take advantage of free babysitting!!!

And next week I have a hair appointment. I am very excited for that. Getting my hair cut is always a good time. I love changing my hairstyle.

We will also be finding out soon where we will be going for the next year of his schooling. One of our options is Fort Bragg. I would LOVE to go there because one of my best friends from Germany is posted there and her husband is deployed from there. Our husbands get along well and so do we, and we both have two kids so how perfect would that be??!! My dad served his mission there, so I know for sure my parents would come and see us there at least once. And I have never lived on the east coast before.

Oh, I just realized that I didn't tell you where Fort Bragg was. It is in North Carolina.
I am for sure having a better day today that I was yesterday......

Bourne Ultimatum

I saw the good new today!!! For several weeks I have seen the trailer for this movie, and have been worried every time I see that "this film has not been rated". But today I saw another trailer, and it is officially PG-13!!!!!!! Hooray!!! Matt Damon is one of the few actors that I think are awesome. Its just too bad he is shorter than I am. But, most of the world is.....sigh......

New shoes

I just bought this pair of shoes. I looked them up on Zappos.com and they are normally $72.95. I did not buy them from zappos but from our PX. The PX price was $59. I found them today marked down with a 75% off sticker. I got them for $14.75. When I wear them, I am about 6'4" tall. But my husband will just have to get over that. I love these shoes. And they are comfy, lightweight, and stinking cute. Bandolino is going to be one of my favorite brands from now on. The simple fact that they make shoes in my size (I'm size 11) for fairly decent prices is awesome. But I just love the PX. Getting a good deal just gets me excited for the rest of the day.

M*A*S*H

I grew up watching this show. As a kid I really had no idea what was going on. I figured it out as I got older, but for some reason I didn't make the connection that it was the Korean War.

I LOVE watching M*A*S*H.

"Don't mind Pierce and Hunnicutt, they're both first rate surgeons. Sure, they'll show up to role call in their bathrobes. They keep a still in their tent. Once they ran all my underwear up the flagpole. But I want you to understand it's an honor to serve with these men."

Margaret

"Boy seeing the way you guys work with the wounded, the way you deal with burned up legs, ripped up bellies. Makes me proud every time I throw up."

Klinger

Somehow watching this show I feel a little closer to my grandpa. He died last January, and I was lucky that I was able to see him at Christmas. I hadn't seen him in 2 1/2 years. I now have some of his letters he wrote my grandma from the front lines of the Korean War. He had horrible writing, but I do my best to figure out what he is writing. I have his pictures too. Anyway, just felt a little like talking about my grandpa.

Also, in my little kids mind, Hawkeye looked like my dad to me, and reminds me a lot of him. Still does.

And now that I'm a military wife, I have a whole different perspective on things. I almost cry sometimes watching it, and I laugh a lot. Anyway, next time you're up late, go to TVLand and watch a few episodes.

Tagged: 5 things

Jen from Lords of the Manor tagged me for this last week. I started it, but didn't get to finishing it until now. I was kind of busy with my new chairs, the new (but second hand) bunk bed/loft thing that we got for Andrew that we are having to clean and sand and stain. But it looks so good that, we're pretty excited about the price we paid. And I think I did this before, but its been a little while, so here are my five things.

Rule #1: Remove the blog site at the top of the list below, move all the blog site names up one, and add yourself to the bottom.

Musings from an LDS Writing Mom
LDS Writers Blogck (Connie S. Hall)
Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author
Lords of the Manor
Life as a Military Wife

What were you doing ten years ago?
I was 19, and I was working at a restaurant called Pinnacle Peak. My name there was Calamity Jane. I was also writing my missionary boyfriend everyday like the optimistic youth that I was. I was probably in Utah at some point during that summer, and I was about to get my drivers license and get my braces off.

What were you doing one year ago?

I was in Heidelberg Germany. I was teaching piano, going to the park, probably going to France at some point of last summer. I was also hoping that Matt got into the PA program (which he did) but that we wouldn't have to leave for a long time.

Five snacks you enjoy
(in no particular order)

1. cheese
2. jelly bellys
3. ice cream (almost any kind)
4. chili cheese fritos
5. candy in general

Five songs you know all the lyrics to:


1. Somebody by Depeche Mode
2. Allstar by Smashmouth
3. all of the Little Mermaid songs
4. all of the Newsies songs
5. Move like an emu moves from the Wiggles

Things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. Pay off all of our debt
2. Pay for my brothers mission
3. Pay for the rest of my brother and sisters' college tuition.
4. Buy a house in France that is big enough for Shells family and mine
5. Invest some of it so that I always would have money to fly to France and the money to have my anti-anxiety pills so that I can get on a plane and not be a mess while we're flying.

Five bad habits

1. stay up too late
2. eat too much candy
3. talk too much on the phone
4. don't do enough housework
5. spend too much time on the computer

Five things you like to do

1. read
2. cross stitch
3. watch my kids play at the park
4. talk on the phone
5. watch law and order, and CSI

Things you will never wear again

1. too short jeans
2. two different colored socks on each foot
3. puffy painted shirts
4. lace ankle socks
5. high waisted jeans

Five favorite toys

1. my new camera
2. my photo printer
3. new makeup from e.l.f.
4. new bagless vacuum
5. internet

Where will you be in ten years?

I have no idea. Hopefully still married, maybe one or two more kids. I hope we'll have lived in Germany again. And I hope that I won't have gained a ton of weight, and that I still exercise, and am always trying to eat better. I want to go back to school to do more with my French, and maybe music. Maybe I'll have a degree in ten years.


Shell
Lanes
Emily
LeeElle
Athena

You're tagged.....

Hair (Sunday Scribblings)

Hair is a very important thing that we have on our bodies. I'm sure men that go bald early would agree how important it is for us to have a good chunk of hair on our heads.

All of us kids inherited thick hair from my dad. And our hair grows like crazy. My dad is past fifty, yet has a very thick head of hair. It is graying just a little, but he still looks a lot like he did when he was 30 except a few pounds heavier.

I hate cleaning hair out of drains. I start to dry heave and if not caught, will eventually throw up. I have no idea why, but it just totally grosses me out. Even if its my own hair.

Today I saw a neighbor at the store. He lives down the street. He was severely burned while deployed in Iraq. I don't know the details, (nor do I know his name) , but a lot of the hair on his head is completely gone. Instead he has scars, and then a little less than half his hair is on his head. I can only imagine his feelings about how he now looks, especially with patchy hair on his head.

While I was pregnant with my son, my hair grew like crazy. And not just on my head. Everywhere, and I mean everywhere. It must have been the testosterone from my very male little boy. I didn't even lose hair in the shower. The funny thing is that after he was born, just a few weeks later, it started to really come out. When I was pregnant with my daughter, none of this crazy hair thing happened. That's why I think it was the testosterone.

I've been told that I have nice hair, great hair.... I actually like my hair. I've learned how to make it look good finally. And when my hair looks good, I find that I am more confident. Don't know why really. Maybe because I feel good about how I look.

These are my random thoughts about hair.

Pictures with my new camera of my awesome new chairs

Here is Matt being manly and putting together our new chairs.

The back of my new chairs. I love love love the back.

The entire chair. Got to figure out how to keep that lovely cushion looking lovely.....

Here is Lucy being a very cute model for me.

They don't perfectly match our table, but they match pretty good. Our table is a little lighter in color, but that's OK. I'm just excited to have things other than folding chairs to sit on.

I was in my neighbors house across the street, and their house looks just like mine on the outside, BUT it has been gutted on the inside and every thing is brand spanking new. There aren't any fixtures from 1985 or doors that have been painted so many times that they stick so badly that Andrew can't get into the bathroom without my help if the door is closed. I always seem to get stuck with the crappy houses. Maybe when we are officers they will give us better housing, or we might even be able to buy a house!!!

Also, I got my $10 gift card from Old Navy that I won about 7 weeks ago in the mail today along with a huge order of amazing makeup that I got for a great deal too!! It was a good mail day!!!

My new music

So, the video is actually bigger than what my sidebar will allow, so I made it smaller. But the sound is the most important thing right? But it still is a cool video, at least I think so...

My chairs!!

They came while we were at the park!!!! They are sitting in their boxes out on my porch. I would bring them in and start to put them together, but I'm watching a friends little guy, and it doesn't look like anyone will be taking a nap anytime soon. So, I guess I'll have to wait until tonight to put them together. And you can bet that I'll have pictures up with my new camera of my new chairs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Park

I take my kids to the park almost every day. I have lots of reasons for this. First, I am no longer the pasty white color that I was when I arrived here from Germany. Second, the kids aren't either. Third, they can run around and get their energy out. Fourth, they sleep much better at night when they have played hard for over an hour. Fifth, I'm not stuck in the house all day with them bouncing off of the walls.

We have a specific park that we go to. It has a fence around it, we have friends that live close by, and it has shade for me to sit under. It also has pretend roads in it for the kids to ride bikes on. On post there are rules about how old kids need to be, to be without parental supervision. Now, before I start on my little tirade, there are some kids that are really responsible at a young age, and there are those who at even 12 need parental supervision. Yesterday while at the park, there was a boy there. We've seen him before, and there is never a parent there to watch him. Ever. I know which house he lives in, but never a parent out there with him. Maybe they think that because they live so close they don't need to go out and watch him. And I know that there are those that think that because we live on post, we are safe. Which we are to some extent. Well, this kid that I'm talking about is only 5. His parents are never watching him. There is another one that is 9, they also live close to the park, and never a parent to be seen.

The weather here is very hot, even if we are getting a lot of rain. Yesterday this five year old came up to me and told me he was thirsty. Well, I bring stuff for me and my kids, but I don't have anything that he can drink out of. I don't even know his name!! I felt bad, but I told him to go home and get a drink. He said some other things to me, and I told him to go home too. I can't remember what he asked for. I'm at the point that I'm going to call the MP's and ask them to patrol the park. I don't understand why parents cannot watch their kids. I bring stuff to do at the park all the time. I always have a book, my cross stitch, or something that I need to do. I bring snacks and drinks. I know that there are different parenting styles. But I think that being with your kids and making sure they are safe should fall into every style that there is. I've had to ask (ok, I told them) some kids to leave because they were yelling at each other, and saying things that I didn't want my kids to hear. Maybe this is the price I have to pay for taking my kids to the park. But I think I am going to look up the MP's number and make a call today or tomorrow. These parents need to be responsible for their kids.

Today is Friday

And on Fridays, our family does something out of the house. It is the only night of the week that Matt can spend with us, without studying. We don't usually do too much, just get something to eat, and sometimes we go to Walmart or Target.

Tonight we went to Target. They have these fabulous notebooks with glossy pictures of my favorite thing, La Tour Eiffel, on them. I bought out the Target I went to last week, and I had been dying to go to a different one to relieve them of their stock. I was disappointed, but came away with a book called The Shoe Queen. It had stuck out to me because it had a picture of La Tour Eiffel on it, and it is set in the 1920's, in Paris. Well, no-brainer there. As I was checking out, the man at the register noticed my book, and told me that it was fabulous. (He was at least 15-20 years older than me) He said his sister was reading it, and that she was going to be passing it on to him. Then he got started talking about Paris, and how his family went several years ago, how the Parisians were snooty to him because he spoke Creole French. I said that I spoke French, and I had never had problems with them. I told him we had lived in Germany too, and so I was able to visit. He then told me about his brother who went AWOL (absent without leave for you acronym-challenged people out there) because they were sending him to Germany and he didn't want to go. Apparently this family had many relatives in many countries and this man thought his brother was crazy for not wanting to go to Germany and then visit his relatives in all the different places they lived. I got all of this information while he was ringing up my purchases. And all because of a book. I guess I never expected a conversation like this from someone who worked at Target......

I still need more of those notebooks!!!!

New Stuff

I got a new camera last friday!! It is a Canon Powershot A550. The camera that I really want costs about 5 times the amount we paid for this one. But this one is better than our other one, and that is all I care about. I really like it so far. Couldn't really use it last night, as there were very few fireworks out here. (rain.....)

I have been looking for dining room chairs too. About four and a half years ago, we bought our table. It was at a clearance sale at Levitz, or some other furniture place where we lived. We got our table for $50. It is huge, and has two leaves, so we could probably fit ten people on it if we needed to. Our problem is that they didn't have chairs on clearance. And I think we could only afford a table at the time anyway. While we were in Germany, we had army loaner chairs. They weren't that great, but they worked. Here we do not have any loaner furniture, and we've had to use our folding chairs up to our table. But we only have four folding chairs, one of which has Lucy's seat in it. So, we can't have people over because they have nothing to sit in if we eat. I found some on Overstock.com that I really liked. But for some reason, they wouldn't ship to my zip code, and two of my friends zip codes that live in the area. One doesn't even live on an army post. So, I couldn't get them. Found some at Amazon.com, and I like them more and I think they were cheaper. So, I am excited with my cool new things. Chairs aren't here yet, but they should be by the end of next week, and I will be posting pictures of them (taken with my new camera)!!!

Water

It is pouring rain here. POURING!!! On the fourth of July!!! What is that? I have never been anywhere where it rains on the fourth of July. In Germany, our first one was a little chilly, but it wasn't bad. And now I'm in Texas, land of heat and humidity, and it is raining. How do you have fireworks in the rain??????? Sigh........

The Gap

I am six feet tall. For my entire life, I have always had jeans that were too short. Partly because my parents had six kids and they couldn't afford to buy me nice jeans. (I grew 8 inches in three years. Total waste of money) And partly because my legs need a 36" inseam. The long jeans at most stores only hit somewhere around my ankle. I tried guys jeans, but they weren't much better because they make very few pants with a 30 inch waist and a 36 inch inseam.

While I was in Germany I discovered the happiness that is online shopping. I never even thought about it before because I figured I could get to most of the stores that I would be shopping at anyway.

Somehow I went to Gap online. I couldn't afford most of the things that they carry. But just under two years ago they came out with a new inseam for women's jeans. It is the Tall inseam, and it is 36"!!!!!!! These are the only jeans that I can wear. I LOVE THEM!! Almost any style fits me well because they fit around both my waist and they usually touch the ground and hide any ankle-age. I only buy them when they are on sale. And right now they have a sale going on. They usually don't have very many styles in my size on sale, but this time they had one. It is called the boyfriend jean. (only $20!!) I bought a pair, and they are awesome. Even though it was probably almost 90 degrees yesterday I wore them. (I had just gotten them in the mail.) If you are a giantess like me, go to the Gap online and get yourself some jeans. And even if you're not, they are having a great sale and I think there is nothing better than getting an awesome pair of jeans for $20 or less......

So, you may think I'm a snob, but I don't care. I only wear the Gap when it comes to jeans. I would post a picture of me wearing them, but there isn't anyone in my house over the age of four, and I'm not letting them touch my brand new camera. Oh, and I loved them so much, I placed another order getting two more pairs of them. Can't have too many pairs of jeans that are really comfy and look good!!!

edited: it is the gap x-long that is my size. Tall is still too short for my legs...

Wanna Hear Something Funny?

For some reason, this story popped into my head. Here goes:

When I was 19 or 20, I was still wearing my retainer. One day after classes at the community college I was attending, I was out in the parking lot of our local church institute building. My friends Mark and Amanda were sitting in Marks truck, and I was talking to them on the drivers side (where Mark was) and another friend Brook was on the other side. So, as I was talking, I was playing with my retainer in my mouth.

The next thing I knew, it had fallen out of my mouth.......right into Marks crotch. No Joke. So, we're all looking at it. Mark doesn't want to touch it because it was in my mouth. I don't want to touch it for obvious reasons. We are all looking at each other wondering what to do. Finally after what seemed like a really long time, I reached down slowly and carefully (because I didn't want to accidentally touch anything) and grabbed it!! And no, I didn't put it back in my mouth.

I am actually still friends with them. They got married a few years later.

I know, random story, but it still makes me smile even though that was 10 years ago....