So, Sweetie is gone for two weeks. I'm not a wreck, but I do feel kind of pathetic. Directionless. Seriously, though – two weeks is kind of a drop in the bucket for us. So why do I feel so blue?

Because the first two weeks of a deployment are the hardest. He's not deployed, but he's gone for two weeks with limited communication. It's close enough to a deployment, 'cause he's not here. There's really not a whole lot of difference in the feel of it, except that I know he'll be back home in two weeks to resume "normal" life.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out my daily schedule so I can actually start booking some facials. Baby has hit a growth spurt, so he's eating often and for longer, especially in the evening. However, I've found he will go four hours between feedings now and take longer naps in the afternoon. That gives me a chance to do a facial or two a day. I don't get to move as fast as I'd like (doesn't help that I'm afraid of my phone!), but I'll at least get moving! And I'm about to get over my phone fear just so I can get out of the house in the evening!

Baby slept almost eight hours last night. I didn't, because the eight hours were from about 8:45 to 3:45, and I was at my parents' house till almost 11. (Okay, so he slept about seven hours. Math has never been my strong suit – especially when I'm sleep deprived.) I'm hoping he'll do it again tonight, despite having slept much of today away.

In other news, Baby is two months old today! Time is flying by, and he's growing SO FLIPPIN' FAST.

I managed to catch a bit of a smile on camera:



And the obligatory (and totally adorable) two-month photo!:



For more photos, check out the photostream. The newest ones are at the end.

In the future: Videos! I just need to upload them to YouTube so I can share them here, but I'll need to get the login info from my husband.

For now, it's Baby's (and my) bedtime. 'Night!

My mother-in-law was perusing our local paper online, and noticed that the kitsapsun.com blog, The Bremerton Beat, discovered my husband's blog and featured one of Sweetie's posts about the baby, including a little writeup about Sweetie's blog.

A little slice of fame! How cool! :)

And it's true – my baby IS as cute as a button! ;)

Like I said before, I love Valentine's Day. I love the color red, I love hearts and gooshy cards, and I LOVE MY SWEETIE!!! :D

It's possible that part of the reason I still dig V-Day is because I used to get a lot of attention. My parents also made a bigger deal out of gift-giving holidays than birthdays. At least, I always got a lot of candy. ;) Not that I ate it all – hardly! But Valentine's candy rates right up there with Easter and Christmas candy, so I'm not complainin'.

Problem is, this year, I can't have candy. :( I could really have used some chocolate yesterday, though. At least, part of the day. It was a good day, overall, but I had some hormonal moments. Sweetie's arrival home from work made everything better, though. :)

I'd intended to maybe get up early and start cleaning the living room. We'd already planned to have dinner at home, and since that's where the dining table is, I wanted us to be able to use it, and not have to think about a mess around us. We were CERTAINLY not going to eat Valentine's dinner on the couch!

I woke up late, though, and only had time to get the roast started in the crockpot and the veggies chopped. I only had an hour after that to get ready to go out to lunch with a couple of friends from the choir I was a part of back in 2006. I was horrendously late, but lunch was fun and we got to spend a few hours catching up. I had a giant smoothie thingie that I was hoping was sugar-free but may not have been – not that I cared at the time, because it was SO FLIPPIN' GOOD!!! The coffee shop where we met for lunch was not diabetes-friendly, so my sugar was elevated when it was time to check, but not so bad to be worrisome. I knew it would be. Sometimes, you just have to go with the lesser of the evils. The breakfast burrito was VERY good. :)

When I got home, I didn't have a lot of time before Sweetie was going to be home to get the living room cleaned up and the dishes done. And then I just kept dropping stuff. I felt really unwieldy yesterday. It's hard to pick things up, so it's frustrating when I drop them! I was getting kind of cranky about it.

I decided to roast the veggies before putting them in the pot, which meant coating them in oil and putting them in a 500° oven. The sink was very full of dishes, so I didn't wash off a spatula to pick the veggies off when they were done. When I was pulling the onions off (using my large carving knife and a fork), I touched the hot baking stone (covered in oil) with the back of my left middle finger. OUCH!!! I sucked on it first and put some stuff on it, so it didn't blister, or anything, just hurt. :( Thankfully, Sweetie was home not long after that, so I got hugs to ease my fraying nerves.

I didn't get the living room as clean as I wanted it, but it's still way better than it was. I was pretty exhausted and didn't want to do the dishes. Sweetie did them for me. I couldn't have asked for a better present. :) But he got me a present, anyway!

He wrote me a little note and even put the present in a bag with some tissue paper (see, it's GOOD that I save some things ;)). He told me beforehand that it wasn't a romantic gift, but it was something I would like. I didn't care – he was going to do the dishes. :) He could have wrapped up a pretty rock from the driveway, and I would have been happy. :)

Turns out, he'd gone to Game Stop on the way home and, based on reviews and the advice of the guy behind the counter, decided to buy me Professor Layton and the Curious Village for my Nintendo DS. For the first time in months I took Clubhouse Games out of my DS (ALL I've played has been Solitaire – for months). The game is cute and the puzzles are fun. I love this kind of game! :) Sweetie did a good job. :)

After Sweetie finished the dishes (he's SO awesome! My hero!), I separated the stuff out of the crock pot into serving dishes. Sweetie had found some candlesticks and candlestick holders and lit them, and set the table! He even folded some paper towels all fancy, like we saw at a Chinese restaurant last Sunday. He was bored while we were waiting for my parents, so he reverse-engineered the folding technique, and put it to use last night. :)

Check it out!

The spread:


A closeup (you can see the steam rising off the meat!):


The napkin:


I swear, this is THE BEST pot roast I have EVER made. It was pot roast NIRVANA. Seriously!

Take a roast, leave the fat on it, sear it on all sides in an oil-coated pan, and drop it in a crock pot. Poke some holes in the top and insert whole garlic cloves. Salt the meat (I have a sea-salt grinder), pepper it, and sprinkle on any or all of the following: Onion powder, curry powder, dill weed, savory (an herb that came with my spice rack – I don't know how available it is, but it's not really that important, so if you don't have it don't worry), and a little brown sugar.

In a bowl or large measuring pitcher, mix up the following and dump it on the roast in the pot:
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (Campbell's is my favorite)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Turn the pot on low and let it cook for a few hours (my usual rule of thumb is 8 hours on low, 5 hours on high).

About two hours before the roast is done, drop in your veggies – starchiest/firmest on the bottom, softest on top. For instance, if you're using potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion, put the potatoes and carrots in first, and then put in the celery and onions on top.

I can't have potatoes right now, so I substituted them for butternut squash and turnips. Not only did this make the meal more aesthetically pleasing (pretty colors!), it was also all kinds of tasty! I decided to roast them (as I said above) before putting them in the pot, but I couldn't tell you if this made a difference, or not. (Roasting instructions: Place chopped veggies on a flat pan – baking stones are perfect for this – coat with oil, add salt and pepper, and put in a 500° oven for five to ten minutes, or however long it takes to get them to brown a little and sizzle.)

I kid you not – this was the best pot roast I've ever eaten (if I do say so, myself). We had the rest for lunch today, and it was just as good, if not better! The sauce is sweet, and compliments the meat and veggies perfectly. And you don't have to add anything to make it into gravy! Just ladle it, as is, out of the pot. SO VERY GOOD!!!

I'm getting hungry again, just thinking about it!

Anyway, after dinner, we decided to watch an episode or two of Supernatural – in the dark (not necessarily recommended – it's scary!) – and ate sugar-free instant pistachio pudding.

We were really tired at bedtime. Sweetie read for a while and I played my new game. Since today's his day off, we got to sleep in this morning.

I love being an old married couple. :) Valentine's Day doesn't have to be all about the presents and market-driven romantic gestures. It's all about being together and doing stuff for each other.

I love you, Sweetie. You make my life wonderful! :D

Sweetie stayed home from work yesterday, but got a call from his captain during the day to talk about his impending orders.

These are the same orders for which Sweetie turned in a packet back in July, when we found out we were pregnant, and were hoping to have take effect by September, when his job with the state would have ended. These are the orders that got lost for a month, then found just after a new packet was about to be turned in, then returned for rewording, then had the rewording retracted because it didn't apply to Sweetie, then had to be re-turned in, then took their time wading through the whole approval process. We kept hearing "just another couple months". We should have had approval in September, had they not lost them; then November, after being reworded; then January, since they didn't have to be reworded but still had to go through the approval process, which was taking its sweet time due to the Senate's waffling around on military budgets and funding.

Sweetie's ADSW (Active Duty for State Work) orders were (thankfully) renewed in September – if you recall that huge, stupid Tricare debacle I posted about during the months of September and October – but only through the end of January, which is this month. We've been peering into the gaping void of questionable employment now for a month, and all we've been hearing from the people responsible for approving Sweetie's orders is . . . basically nothing.

Apparently, at Sweetie's last teleconference, they reported that they required a memo of some kind in order to finish processing. That was the same thing they had required the week (month?) before. Sweetie finally found out from his captain that the memo was to come from her as written proof that Sweetie will be ONLY working on the jobs they give him and nothing else. The captain was not entirely impressed with this. Why did they have to question this Soldier's integrity? What made them think he wouldn't do his duty that they required of him once he eventually received orders?

During this time, Sweetie was being told that he would see these orders (which he really didn't want at this point, for several reasons) by February 15th-ish. That is cutting it REALLY close to the Tricare Prime cutoff date for enrollment. While his captain was discussing this memo issue with the person in charge of these orders, she discovered that they were going to be pushing out the orders date to March 10th, which is my due date, and a wholly unacceptable time to be changing orders – especially since the original idea of getting into this program was to provide health care and continued employment at least until after the baby's born. Another issue with this is that Sweetie would have to use up accrued leave or lose it before switching orders, and then he would – by law – be taking leave when the baby's born, meaning he would have started his job with these people (who didn't seem to trust that he would do his job) by taking leave and "going in the hole" (leave time where leave is not accrued), which might have meant extra expense on their part. I'm not really sure how that works. He might not have gotten paid for it, or something.

I'm proud of Sweetie's captain for finally explaining our situation to them and pulling Sweetie's packet from consideration. This program has been a nightmare to work with so far, and Sweetie hasn't even officially worked for them yet!

Now, Sweetie's ADSW orders are being renewed this week for the end of the fiscal year or until he finds other employment. If he'd received the orders he'd been waiting on and had been locked into accepting them, he would have been locked into the program until the end of the fiscal year. This way, he will be able to work for the unit for a while longer; we'll have healthcare (with no break in coverage, THANK GOD); he will not be losing leave, so he can take it when the baby's born with no penalties; and he can take other employment opportunities as they arise and at his convenience.

So far, he's had two very attractive job offers from Camp Murray, which would keep him in uniform until he's deployed again, and give him valuable skills that might translate into a civilian job later, or a better military job. And, during that time, he will very likely be promoted. Hooray!

Unfortunately, jobs at Camp Murray mean that we will have to move closer. Gas prices are just too expensive, and traffic is nasty during the normal times of the day when he will probably be commuting. Not to mention the commute is another 20 to 30 minutes longer than the one he has now, which is already pretty long.

I spent all day today looking at Tacoma rentals and wondering what it would be like to live out there. We probably wouldn't move right away after he got the job, because we'd have to do some work to the rental house we live in now to make it move-outable (yes, I did just make that up) and save some money for move-in costs. Not to mention Baby will have doctors appointments, and family will want to get time with him before we move farther away.

If Sweetie ended up getting the three-year job, we could even consider buying a house, which sounds immensely appealing. It's not too expensive to rent in University place and Lakewood, but buying a place in quiet, young DuPont sounds very nice . . .

Anyway, I've frittered my time away all day and now I have to take a shower. I'm taking a friend to the Bremerton Symphony Choir practice so she can audition and so I can turn in my score from the Messiah (which I need to go through and erase markings), and Sweetie will be home really soon. Hopefully the weather behaves tonight so I can get back and forth from the practice.

Just had to share the good news! :D It feels so good to have that albatross off our necks and a little freedom of choice for the future. Not to mention continued employment and health care! Hooray! :)

Hasta!

Sweetie's had an up-and-down weekend with his cold. Thursday he felt awful, but Friday he felt well enough to go to work, and then take me out to dinner, coffee, and a movie that night. I'm so glad! We had lots of fun. :)

Shortly after he got home from work, we went to the Whiskey Creek Steakhouse for dinner, because I really wanted a steak and I didn't want to have to cook it myself. I got an 8-oz prime rib with veggies, and it was AWESOME. It's been SO long since I've had prime rib! It used to be my favorite steak, and always what I got on my birthday when Sea Galley was still around.

After that, we had a few hours before the movie started, so we went to a newer coffee shop in the area, run by the former director of the Kitsap Music Association Choir that I was a part of. We played Scrabble (I'm not a nice Scrabble player – Sweetie doesn't get to win very often, and he didn't that night, either – but he suggested it!) and had tea and coffee and live music.

The movie, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, started at 9:35pm, and we got there a little before they were seating. It was a fun movie! A little more implausible than the first one, but really entertaining. I liked it. :) We got out of there, though, around midnight, and we were both pretty tired.

Saturday, Sweetie was feeling a little worse, but he still came with me that afternoon to pick up some medicine for him and go to lunch at a little Japanese restaurant in town. They have a spicy Singapore noodle dish that he loves. :) After that, we went to our friends' house for gaming.

We got home late from that, too, and decided to go to late service today. Sweetie didn't make it through class, though, before feeling really icky, so my brother took him home and I stayed for services. I went to lunch with some friends, then grocery shopped, then visited my friend who had her baby this weekend. He's so cute! I always forget how tiny they are as newborns. :) Just a few more weeks, and we'll have one of our own!

Sweetie seems to be feeling better now, and plans to go to work tomorrow. I'm glad. I don't like to see him miserable. :( I want to fix it, and don't know how. At least he can take medicine. :)

Well, I think we're going to watch a few episodes of Red Dwarf before bed, so I'm gonna wrap this up. Hasta!

My body is taking its time kicking this crud in my head. It doesn't help that I can't pursue my normal methods of getting rid of it: Strong decongestant and lots of juice. Juice isn't really that good for a body, but it's so comforting when sick. Heck, I can't really have that much tea, either, because my heartburn has been so bad.

I'm whining. Don't mind me. ;)

I've been getting up later every morning, but I've also been staying up till about midnight. This morning, I woke up around 5am to go to the bathroom, and then couldn't go back to sleep right away when I went back to bed. I'm not sure how well I slept after that, because my hip was hurting (not bad enough to move too much) and the cat was lying on it. Sweetie got up around 7-something and left around 8-something, after my alarm was going off (radio on low – I wake up and notice it's on, then go back to sleep and wake up when it turns itself off an hour later :)). I turned the radio back on around 9am, but just couldn't drag myself out of bed. I turned over onto my right side, and that was so comfortable, I fell back asleep for a while, until my digestion backed up and heartburn kicked in. I was hungry, too, which wasn't helping the heartburn situation. I just didn't feel like I had the energy to get out of bed. :p

I washed dishes for a while this morning and then ate breakfast. I've been kicking back with the computer for the past few hours, coughing and blowing my nose. Blecch.

I tried to use the Neti Pot last night, but my upper sinuses were too clogged, and it didn't work. It helped clear me up overnight, but only till I woke up and started moving around.

I should probably get off my butt and take a shower, get more laundry done, or something. Sweetie's already been out to Tacoma and come home, and he just left again to get the Base sticker on my car renewed (fighting the crowds at Pass & I.D. – my hero!) and get a haircut. Tomorrow he gets to rub elbows with politicos in Olympia as a representative from the Guard. Oh, he doesn't get to take his DLPTs, like we thought he would be today and tomorrow. He has to wait till February. It's nice to see him more, though. :) I wish I could go with him to Olympia tomorrow (pregnant trophy wife! Woohoo!), but I have a doctor's appointment and I'll probably still be feeling pretty miserable.

I'm still suppressing the urge to rant about Presidential candidates and issues, but I might have to go off one of these days. There will be a warning and a cut, probably, for those who don't want to read about my political views.

Now to go off and update my Preggie blog. Then, maybe, I'll get something done. Maybe.

Though the Neti Pot and some decongestants have kept my nose from becoming too clogged, it is runny and my throat is sore. I'm also wiped out. Yuck.

My hubby is still gone. He'll come home tomorrow night, though, and be home all day Wednesday. He'll leave again Thursday morning to take the first half of his test, then stay the rest of the day to clean up the barracks and study some more. The second half of his test is Friday, and then he's done with training! As far as I know, he should be taking some leave in the next couple weeks, so I can be as clingy as I want and he'll be around to be clung to. :) Yay! I really miss him . . .

It's almost 10, but I don't yet want to go to bed. I'm feeling stubborn. I think I need a snack, and then maybe I'll put in another (short) movie till I feel like going to sleep. I need more TV on DVD . . .

That's really all I had to write about. Laterz!

I've been doing laundry for a few days now, and making a good dent in the clothing-all-over-the-bedroom issue. Problem is, I have a LOT more clothing that is non-maternity that I cannot fit into at the moment that I'm having trouble storing out of the way until I get all the laundry done. Oh well – the room's a disaster, anyway. What's another week of chaos while I work to get it undisastered? ;) At least the bedsheets are clean and the bed is made (note: BIG STEP – I'm horrible about making the bed).

I'm starting a "refashion" pile, but I also need to get a donation pile going. I don't need to keep for refashioning [read: cutting up to make new clothes] the clothes that are in good enough condition for someone else to use. At least, not all of them. :)

The living room looks TONS better, but it's still a bit disorganized, too. I got all the Christmas decorations down, including the ivy and lights, which I separated so I could throw the lights away. Tuesday is trash day, and the trash can is FULL. Hopefully I can put off taking the kitchen garbage out till Tuesday evening.

I'm actually happier with the ivy and lights down. It opens the room up more, I think. I laid the rug down that I bought the other day, and I'm sure it's warming the room up. The green is more olive than the curtains, which are emerald, but it ties the couch in, too, and works very well for the room. I'm going to have to be diligent about vacuuming, though, because it's right by the door, and it's hard to keep stuff from being tracked across it. Also, it doesn't show dirt very well (yay!), so I will have to make a conscious effort to remember to clean it. :)

The cat box needed cleaning VERY VERY BADLY the other day, so I started my cleaning spree with the mudroom. The shelves in there still need to be reorganized, but the catbox is now scrubbed inside and out and smelling nice and fresh. I've moved some things around in there, too, so it looks more open and less cluttered, and put the plastic insulation on the window in there. Here's a little feng shui moment for you: I angled the catbox in the corner with a rug in front of it, and it makes me happy to walk in there. Who'da thunk? :)

Unfortunately, all this cleaning makes my back hurt rather severely and my ankles swell. I try to remember to take breaks, but I know I'm not drinking enough water. I finally kicked back and watched a couple movies last night between laundry foldings so I could put my feet up for a while and get a cute little handmade dicebag sewn up for a friend. I need to remember to take a picture of it before I wrap it up today.

Sweetie came home last night around 9pm, but the bedsheets weren't dry yet, so we stayed up watching a DVD until they were done. He had to leave early this morning again, but he'll be back on Tuesday night! Hooray! :D He gets to stay home all day Wednesday to study his Russian before going back to take his test on Thursday and Friday (only half-days, so he gets to come home in the evenings), but by Friday afternoon, he's DONE, and back home again! I'm so glad. I've missed him so much!

I have a Tupperware party to attend around 2pm today, but I have a few things to get done before then, so I should get off my butt and get moving. My ankles are looking good right now, so don't really need to have my feet up at the moment. :) I'm just feeling lazy today. I'm running out of time, though. *Sigh*

Long day today.

Kiwanis meeting at 7am, OB class from 9:30 to 11:30, and then a bunch of hospital stuff I tried to get wrapped up (for more info – some of which might be a little TMI, just to warn you – visit tiny_socks. I haven't posted yet, though. I will in a bit.).

I'm home now, putting my feet up for a while and enjoying the peace and quiet. I've slowly been getting my laundry washed, which is a HUMONGOUS task right now. Cienna, you talk about Mt. St. Laundry – I think I have the entire Cascade Range in my bedroom at the moment . . . ;)

But getting it done is nice. Sweetie will be coming home on Friday night, around 9pm-ish, so I hope to have the bedroom a little more squared away than it has been. I might even get the baby cage crate crib up and the rocker moved in there. I at least hope to have the carpet vacuumed and sheets washed. Sometimes, it's the small things. :)

I do need to take down the Christmas decorations. And, for the first time in seven years, I need to separate the ivy and lights and toss the lights. They only half-work, and I can't replace the bulbs fast enough. I might seek out some of the last vestiges of the after-Christmas sales to see if I can pick up some new white lights to put with the ivy, and maybe I'll string it around the bedroom this time. The living room seems somewhat smaller with them up, I think. The bedroom might be more romantic.

Gosh, I'm tired. I'm not tired enough to sleep (well, if I tried I probably could, but I don't FEEL like it), but I'm just weary. I had a flu shot today, and I'm hoping it doesn't come back to bite me. I decided to go ahead and do it, because I'm working with four- and five-year-olds at church until February. Might as well get vaccinated against the kiddie germs! :)

[Time passes 'cause I needed to eat dinner and look over my lesson for tonight. It's now tomorrow – 12:10am.]

I went to church, started class out great and then ran out of ideas (and steam) toward the middle, trying to contain seven rowdy little kids (although, to be fair, it was four rowdy little boys who were feeding off each other's energy level – the girls were very well behaved, for the most part). When church was over, I went to the Family Life Minister's house and played Scrabble with him and his wife and ate sugar-free instant chocolate pudding. Yum! :D

The rain was kind of chunky on my way there from church. We noticed it was snowing about an hour later. We kind of forgot about it, though, and by 11:30, when I was getting ready to leave, there was some significant accumulation on the ground! The minister scraped the snow off my car and I headed out.

The Subaru is awesome in the snow. I hadn't gotten to drive it in the snow yet, so this was kind of a treat for me. :) Fortunately, though, the roads around our house, which can be kind of scary in just the rain, were covered in a very thin layer of slush, so it wasn't so bad out here. I'm kind of jealous that everywhere else gets such beautiful snow and we get gunk, but, really, I'm not going to go out to play in it. I don't have to worry about sliding down my concrete steps. It's actually kind of nice to live where it's a little warmer.

Well, the mountain range has not vacated my bed yet, so I will probably sleep on the couch again tonight. That is, unless I can clean off the bed. I might be able to. Hopefully I can stay on task tomorrow and get the bedroom and living room clean. The catbox also desperately needs emptying and cleaning. It's pretty nasty. :p I just can't ignore it anymore, and Sweetie won't be home till 9pm Friday night – just in time to go to bed so he can get up early and go back on Saturday morning. I miss him . . .

It's not getting any earlier (well, unless you count "early in the morning"), so I should probably get ready for bed. I didn't get much sleep last night, and I should be WAY more tired than I am now. I do feel the wall coming on . . .

Anyway, good night! :)

Sweetie flew in around 10:45 or 11pm Tuesday night, but he didn't get back into town till 1am, or so, Wednesday morning. I didn't really get to sleep till 2am. He had yesterday off, so we slept in, hung out, and went to see the Simpsons Movie. :) It was really funny — more than just a 90-minute episode, in my opinion. Sweetie tried to pass it off as "all right", but I know better. He was cackling. ;)

After an errand, we went home and I took a nap before starting dinner. I've been wanting to make homemade macaroni and cheese for some time now (the kind you bake), so I decided to make it last night. It calls for 8 oz of cheese, so instead of using 8 oz of cheddar, I used 2 oz of mozzarella, about 3 oz of cheddar, 1 oz of parmesan, and 2 oz of cottage cheese. I also added ham to the mix. It turned out fantastic! My husband further stroked my ego by telling me my macaroni and cheese is his very favorite — the best he's ever eaten. I know he's my husband and he's supposed to say things like that, but he meant it. I'm rather proud of myself. :)

There's something so satisfying about carby, fatty food. ;)

Heh, now that I've said that, you should read my post over at tiny_socks, where I rant about how the BMI has made me fat. ;)

Okay, not really. But I do rant about the BMI. Did you know that the standard weight for someone 5'2" is 116 lbs?

Now that you've picked yourself up off the floor and wiped the tears from your eyes, the same chart says that a 5'2" person is overweight at 139 lbs. Wow! I'd LOVE to be back down to 139 lbs! :)

I probably won't get that way eating macaroni and cheese, but it sure is tasty in the meantime! :D

It was such a beautiful day yesterday, I was SURE it was going to be today, too! I'm not sure, now, if my landlord will be coming out, afterall. The work party that I was contemplating trying to beg out of was cancelled due to snow.

Snow!

It's not snowy here, but there was a little bit of chunky slush on the deck this morning when I got up to feed the cat. It's gone now, but I guess in other areas of the county there was enough accumulation that cutting grass this morning is pretty much a no-go.

I only knew to look outside, because my sweetie came home around six-ish from helping a friend out with a paper route and told me it was sleeting. Heh, the paper route thing is a funny story, in itself. Apparently, my husband is going to sub for our friend next weekend, but he got a call while I was gone last night. He was in bed when I got back, having assumed that I would use the computer before bed and get the note he left on top of it. I'd turned off the lights in the living room, cleaned up the kitchen, made some TheraFlu, and joined him in bed. He'd already been asleep for an hour or two by then.

This morning, I knew he'd be going to a men's fellowship thing, but it wasn't supposed to occur till 8:30. His watch beeped sometime this morning and he got up, put on some clothes, did some stuff in the kitchen, and then kissed me goodbye. He said he'd be back in a few hours. I realized shortly after he left that it wasn't even near light enough outside to be 8:15, and I felt like I hadn't been asleep but a few hours. I picked up my little clock by my bed, and it read 2:30. I looked at the big alarm clock on the dresser, and it also said 2:30. I picked up the phone to dial Sweetie's cell phone, and it said 2:30, too. It was official: Someone was confused here.

I called Sweetie, hoping I'd remembered his cell number correctly (I think I was still a bit drugged from the TheraFlu and tired from only two and a half hours of sleep). He answered, thankfully. :) I asked him if he'd looked at a clock, because it was 2:30. He said, "Yeees," as if I was supposed to know something. I asked where he was. He told me he was helping our friend with his paper route and I must not have seen his note. OH, okay. That was fine, then. :) I hung up and tried to go back to sleep. I don't think I slept very heavily, although the hours between 2:30 and 6:30 passed quickly. I wasn't asleep much longer between then and the time his alarm went off again to get ready for the men's fellowship. I caught a few more Z's before he left, and got up, finally, a few minutes after he walked out the door.

My shoulder still hurts and my allergies keep acting up, but it's not too bad now — just irritating. Also fatiguing. Despite that, though, I had a good night last night helping one of the teenagers in our church congregation record a song she wrote and composed for a competition. We used the "training room", which is kind of a cry room to allow parents with screaming toddlers to watch and listen to the sermon or whatever else is going on and not have the screaming disrupt everyone. The room is small and soundproof, absorbs extraneous echoes, and was perfect for hooking up the wireless mikes and getting a decently-mixed recording. It was awesome. This girl's got some serious talent — and I'm her voice teacher! :) Her lyrics and composition are incredible, but her voice is a little shy yet. We're going to bring out her inner Kelly Clarkson. ;) Someday, I'll get to say, "I knew her when . . . " :)

Well, I've wasted enough time. I should probably take a shower and get some clutter picked up. I'm still not sure whether the landlord will be over today, but I'd like the place to be somewhat clean when he gets here. I really am blessed to have such an awesome landlord. He wasn't going to make us sign another termed lease, instead allowing it to go month-to-month. I'll make sure to get his assurance about whether he plans to raise the rent at some point, because being out of a signed lease will give him the freedom to raise it at will. He doesn't seem the type to do so, and housing prices are going down around here. I don't expect we'll have much trouble there.

Okay, enough. Gotta go! :)

It snowed last night. Now, it's windy as all getout.

Hopefully that calms down by this afternoon. I have to be on the road by 2:30 to ensure I'll be at the reunion by 4. I might have to leave earlier. I'll have to Google for the Tacoma bridge cam and check out the traffic situation. If the bridge is closed, I'm leaving much, much earlier and driving around through Olympia. NOTHING is going to impede me seeing my Sweetie today!

Um, except maybe if he doesn't get to fly in today. That would impede things a bit . . . Let's try that again:

NOTHING is going to impede me seeing my Sweetie today, if he is able to be seen!

. . .

Whatever. :) You get the point. :)

I have housework to do! Hasta!

Sweetie comes home by the end of this week! I have a LOT of cleaning to do!

In the meantime, I've been relatively thematic, yet somewhat imaginative, in my cuisine. My current diet can easily be described as "Stuff on Muffins". I bought some whole grain English muffins, some red sauce, and some mozzarella. In an effort to keep myself from consuming English muffin pizzas exclusively, I figured out what else I could put on muffins and cook in the toaster oven.

This morning, I spread some ripe avocado on a muffin and sprinkled on some mozzarella cheese, salt, and pepper. That was good. :) Then, this afternoon, I put some dill tuna (line caught, locally canned) on a muffin with some American cheese. Tonight, I made muffin pizzas. :) They go great with wine. (Just FYI, Yellowtail shiraz-cabernet holds its flavor well over time.)

I'm now watching a Psych rerun and eating popcorn sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

I'm sure I'll eat better when Sweetie comes home, and I care about cooking again. :)

WHY can't won't I SLEEP??!!

My brain is still going and wanting to do stuff, but my body wants to kill it. Except for my stomach, which is notifying me that it is hungry again.

This is not true insomnia. If I put the computer away and shut the light off, I would drop to sleep in minutes and stay asleep till at least 9:30. But I'm currently being very willful and staying awake. I'm too tired to do any writing. I'm just goofing off.

Okay, enough of this willful crap. As soon as I post this, I'm going to sleep. I'm starting to drift off now, as I type . . .

It's just stupid that it's 3am, and I haven't gone to sleep yet. :p

In other news, Sweetie is safely ensconced in Oklahoma. He's not happy about it, but he's there till they fly up here next week. I'm so happy! I get my husband back!!! :D :D :D

Sweetie called me this morning around 6:30. He's in JFK airport, waiting to board another plane to his next destination. Hooray! He's in the States! :D :D :D

Just another week!!!

I can hardly stand the wait . . .

I saw Sweetie off at the airport this morning. We were going to try to get a pass for me to get through security, but when we asked at the security checkpoint, they said we had to go back to the desk and request it there. If only we'd known . . . The desk was swamped. It had been since we got there at 4am. We decided to hang out beside a Seattle's Best Coffee place that wasn't open yet. We said good-bye before he went to the security checkpoint.

Like before, it was hard. But this time, it seemed harder, because I'd seen him for such a short time. We did figure out that the time that's left is about the same as a college quarter. No problem! Been there, done that!

Hmph. He didn't attend college in a hostile foreign country.

January can't get here fast enough . . .

Anyway, here I am. I would have posted earlier this morning, except I think the hotel turned off the wireless. I'm still in the room. We took the shuttle to the airport, then I took it back and went to bed for a little while. I'd set the clock for 7am, an hour and a half after I got back, and put the "Do Not Disturb" sign outside the door. I was surprised awake by a knock on the door, fifteen minutes before the alarm was going to go off. Apparently, the hotel had us marked as "checked out" by 4am. I haven't gone to check whether they've charged us an extra day, but I do remember telling them I would be back after dropping my husband off at the airport.

Oh well. I should go home after I finish this. I could use a real cup of coffee, and I have housework to do and places to be tonight. Life isn't supposed to go on hold while my soldier is away . . . much as I would like it to . . .

Later.

My Sweetie's home! :)

Life is grand. :D

(He's been home since Monday, but I haven't bothered posting.) He's sitting right next to me now, reading. He's so cute. :)

My Sweetie has gotten back to home base safely!!! :D :D :D

Got an email from him today, and he's also posted to his blog (for those of you who read it — but if you don't, you should).

I miss him so much, it hurts sometimes.

But just a couple more months, and we'll get to see each other again! Lord willing, of course . . .

I hate waiting.

It's amazing what a good workout will do for your outlook on life. I've have had the most sluggish day today. I couldn't kick the tired. I had a physical this morning, and all my tests were normal, except for my "bad" cholesterol was about 14 points higher than "normal" (nothing worrisome). But I was so tired. I took a nap this afternoon that I only wanted to last for half an hour, but lasted for an hour and forty-five minutes. I felt a little better afterward, but didn't really wake up till I got to the martial arts studio.

We worked tonight. Lots and lots of punches, lots and lots of kicks, and lots and lots of blocks and forms. Whew! My back was SOAKED! Thankfully, I clean up fast, so I was able to change into my nice clothes and go to my Mary Kay meeting, right next door. Two hours later, I popped my head into the studio to let my instructor know that I was definitely feeling my legs. Still am. It brightened up my evening immensely.

I purchased the yellow belt DVD so I can watch it and practice at home. I hope to take the test and move on up! The very best part is that I'm dropping the inches. I'm not dropping weight as quickly, but those last five pounds went faster than the five before them. I'm looking good, which, to me, is more important. ;)

I can't wait till Sweetie gets home! I should try for my yellow belt before then. :)

Oh! Speaking of Sweetie: I got a call from him on Sunday!!! They're doing all right. He hasn't had to fire any weapons yet, but they are in a dangerous part of the country right now. I'm a little worried, but God is watching over him. I have faith that whatever happens, God will also be watching over me and keeping me strong. I sometimes get little doubts that make my heart beat faster and my throat close up, but I've managed to quell most fear and just rely on my faith that God will take care of everything. It's what keeps me sane.

September could get here a little quicker, though. ;) I'm just sayin' . . .

I started feeling kind of icky on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, I woke up kind of stuffy and coughy. It didn't really go away through the day, and it's still hanging around today. My throat is dry and scratchy, my nose is runny, and my sinuses feel full. I'm also really tired. Bleh.

I kind of wish I could just curl up in some comfy clothes tonight and watch a movie, but I have a Mary Kay meeting. Going to try the new Satin Hands! It's peach now. :)

Now I'm just wondering what I want for dinner, and whether I should take another nap beforehand. Maybe I should cook chicken and rice. That sounds easy . . .

In other news . . . I got a letter from my Sweetie today. It was written before he made it back to Bagram, a couple weeks ago. Now he's in Kandahar somewhere, and at least has access to an MWR with a computer, so I get email now and again. :) That's always good. :)