Catching up

I find myself at a loss for words when it comes to blogging, but I will try to come up with something interesting to report. Life around the farm has been fairly decent for the past 5 1/2 months considering SgtDub's gone again. For those of you who are keeping up with his blog, know that he's been in Arizona learning to speak Arabic. He's almost done and should be back home by Dec. 20th! Just in time for Christmas!! We had a great Thanksgiving. Dub got in around 8pm on Nov. 26th and stayed until Nov. 30th. We had everyone out to our place for the "feast", and it was wonderful! For as long as I can remember, my parents have hosted Thanksgiving at their house. Last year my dad decided it was time to start having it at our place. The only problem is, I don't cook! So everything had to be brought in and cooked on site. I did manage to make sweet potato casserole (which was delicious), and two pies (pumpkin & chocolate). Our house is bigger than my parents (except for the kitchen). My parents bought our old house when we moved to the country, and it had a great kitchen, and I miss it alot. SgtDub's planning to remodel our kitchen as soon as he gets home. We purchased a double oven last year, and it's just been sitting in the garage waiting to be brought inside. My hope is that everything will be done by next Thanksgiving, and I will be able to host everyone in our spacious new kitchen. But once I get a nice new kitchen, I think I will be expected to use it! My mom always complains that my kitchen is pretty to look it, but not very "user-friendly". In other words, don't make a mess! MissDub's doing great - she turned 15 on Nov. 4th, and is quickly approaching the driving age (argh!!!) I've been letting her drive on the back roads, and plan to enroll her in driving school in the spring. I will pay whatever price is necessary to avoid having to do it myself. It's worth the $300 to let them take her for the driving test. SgtDub is already making plans to install a GPS on her vehicle, so he can track her every move. This should be interesting. Knowing MissDub, she will figure out a way to disable the device, and will have him chasing a cow down by the river. My job is going well - it's either feast or famine. Some of you may know that I work for an "elected official", which means I will be without a job in two years. I don't have a clue about my future plans, but hope that something will come around that will keep me employed for a little while longer -- at least until SgtDub wins the lottery, and I can stay home and play. I hope everyone enjoyed a Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends, and I hope everyone will have a very Merry Christmas (or Holiday or whatever it is you celebrate). With love from our home to yours!

My day off!

Yesterday was my "day off" from work, and I spent it running around having fun. I absolutely love "flex time", and I will hate to see it end next month. I would love to continue on this schedule, but after school starts, I'll have to stop. I suppose I could make MissDub ride the school bus, but that would require her getting up and getting ready on her own, which makes me very nervous. My mom and I have rented a booth at the local antique store and are trying to make some extra money. Between us, we've got a lot of stuff (antiques, collectibles, junk and more junk). My favorite thing to do is scour the local thrift stores for treasurers. I love it when I can pay $1.00 and turn around and sell it for $10. So far, my favorite item was the old garden gate that we had been using on the goat pen. It was about to go in the trash, when I decided to take it to the booth for display. I stuck a price tag on it, and low and behold, someone bought it for $30! I also collect vintage Fiestaware and have approximately 100 pieces. I purchased the Fiestaware in 1989 for $300, and it is now worth around $2500. SgtDub bought me some new Fiestaware Collector books, which were full of information and current pricing guides. I went through and tried to identify each piece by color, size, value and condition. Now I'm trying to decide if I should sell the collection in the booth, or just put it away and hope that it increases in value. Who knows, maybe it could fund MissDub's college fund (ha ha!) So if anyone out there is a Fiestaware collector and has info to share, I'd love to hear from you. MissDub and I went to see "Mama Mia" and thought it was a great movie. The music is awesome and I'm ready to see it again, and I definetely want to purchase the soundtrack. I gotta go for now, more later!

Wisdom Teeth

MissDub had surgery on Friday to remove 4 wisdom teeth. The orthodontist was adamant that the teeth be removed ASAP, since she just had the braces removed. I guess that would be a waste of time to go through 2 years of braces only to have wisdom teeth come in and push everything out of the way. Back in the day, I had to have 4 wisdom teeth pulled PLUS 4 permanent teeth pulled BEFORE I got braces put on. I guess I had more than enough teeth to go around. I receive lots of compliments on my smile, and I thank my parents all the time for making the investment in my mouth. I find that it gets used daily :} Back to MissDub . . . she went to Six Flags on Thursday with her church youth group, and returned home at 1:00 am. We had to be at the surgery center on Friday at 7:45 am, so you do the math - we didn't get much sleep. Once there, the doctor administered the "laughing gas" before inserting the IV, which I believe helped tremendously because she wasn't squirming around -- however, it didn't do much to ease my squirming. The doctor let me stay in the room until they knocked her out, which was pretty funny to watch, but also very scary to watch your child being sedated and knowing they're about to be in serious pain and discomfort. The procedure lasted about 30 minutes and then I was allowed to see her in the recovery room. She was sitting up in a recliner and doing her best to talk with a mouth full of cotton. The nurse went over all the instructions and then escorted us out the back door, which I thought was interesting. I guess they don't want you scaring off any potential patients in the lobby. Everyone goes in, but you don't see them leave. Think about that next time you're waiting in the doctor's office lobby. Once home, I put her to bed where she stayed for the next 3 days. Overall, she's a great patient. She got a little cranky every once-in-a-while, but I can't say that I blame her . . . it hurts! Our next hurdle will be getting the retainer back in her mouth and hoping that the teeth haven't shifted too much in the past few days. Other than this, there's just not much to report around our place. SgtDub just finished week 3 of Arabic school and is doing very well. He's planning a trip home on July 31st, and I'm really looking forward to that. Although I will spend the entire weekend fretting that he will have to leave again on Sunday. I don't care how much he travels, I never get used to saying "good bye". Be safe and have a good day!

"Girls Day Out"

I've started working "flex time" at my job, and now have one day off each week. My new hours are 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., which makes for a long day, but after having had my first day off yesterday, it's well worth it! MissDub and I went to breakfast at McDonald's and then ran some errands on our way to town. The whole purpose of the flex work schedule is to save money on gas, but we came to town anyway. We arrived at Glamour Shots around 10:45 a.m. and underwent extensive hair and make up preparation. It's amazing what those folks can do with a little putty and glue. I really need to get one of those airbrush make up machines for home. I could just spray on the concealer and hit the road, and hope that no bugs get stuck to my face on the way to work. Our photograher was a young man (about 20 something). He was very polite, but kept asking me to get into some rather strange positions -- I felt like it was yoga class instead of a portrait sitting. Whatever happened to just sitting on a barstool and smiling with your head tilted in a goofy direction? This guy had me squatting (in a dress), sitting on the floor, cranking my neck in positions it shouldn't be in (which by the way, creates numerous chins) and basically looking like a goober. He did an outstanding job with MissDub, and I had a hard time picking out any bad shots. I didn't however have any trouble eliminating my bad shots. The entire process took about 2 1/2 hours and cost way too much money! I hope SgtDub will be pleased with the finished portraits. We won't be able to post any of the pictures due to the copyright laws, but keep your eyes peeled next time you're in line at the grocery store -- you never know when MissDub might be on the cover of "Seventeen" magazine!

Alone Again . . .

Am I the only one who sees a pattern here that SgtDub leaves when it's "lawn mowing" season? Actually, he leaves at "snow shoveling" season too. SgtDub left on Saturday for a six month school in Arizona, where he will learn to speak Arabic. Apparently the National Guard has decided it needs to have more Citizen Soldiers who are fluent in the language. When SgtDub approached me about attending the school, I was somewhat interested in what he had to say. He's learned over the years that when presenting a proposal to me, he needs to have all the facts and must be able to "show me the money!", or at least how this will benefit me. I know that sounds selfish, but it's just the way things work at our house. SgtDub's tactic this time was to present me with the "worst case scenario" (possible deployment), followed by "second worst case scenario" (15 month school in California). So, by the time he got to the last option, it didn't seem so bad afterall. Besides, what's six months when we've been apart for 2 years! I believe he had been studying up on what to say and how to say it, because he got me to agree to letting him go. I've learned from past experience that nothing is ever what he says it will be. According to his calculations, he will make "x" amount of money per month, he will receive housing allowance, separation pay, etc., etc. Translation (in English), we'll end up paying the military for him to pursue this adventure. He says it will all be worth it when he gets done and the military pays him more money for speaking Arabic . . . yeah, when you're in a foreign country and they're using you as a translator, I'm sure the pay will be good! I hope the first words he learns are "yes dear" and "the check is in the bank". All kidding aside, we're very proud of SgtDub and the work he does. He sacrafices so much to be a soldier, and he's really good at it. I think he should be the "poster boy" for the National Guard because he truly is being "All That He Can Be!" We love you and we miss you . . . counting the days til you're home again!

I'm back

I haven't blogged in so long that I had to look up my password. Not much going on around here. SgtDub is away for two weeks of "AT" (advanced training) otherwise known as "summer camp for soldiers". I remember back in the day when my dad served in the guard and his summer camp consisted of two weeks in the field, sleeping in tents and eating MRE's. Now days, it sounds like they've got it pretty easy - sleeping in air conditioned quarters with prepared meals in the mess hall -- and don't forget that high speed internet connection and cell phones! Although it does sound like Dub is sleeping with his equipment, it still doesn't sound too terribly awful -- gee, not like being home and having to do yardwork or clean the garage (jab intended)! From the time Dub and I got married, all he ever wanted to do was be a soldier. I resisted as long as I could and he finally wore me down shortly after MissDub was born. By that time, I had my baby girl and he was getting on my nerves, so I agreed and he signed up. The reason I gave for not wanting him to enlist was based on my own childhood memories of my dad's service. I'm very proud of my dad and SgtDub's military service, but because my dad would give up his 2 weeks of vacation to serve, we hardly ever got to take a family vacation. One vacation that I vividly remember is when we got to go to Fort Chafee to meet my dad and we went to "Dog Patch USA". We visited a civil war battlefield, and stayed at a little cabin on a beautiful river. I think that was my favorite (and probably only) family vacation. We had big plans to take a trip last year when SgtDub returned home, but that fell apart and we didn't go. This year, we were working on a trip to Denver the end of June, but as usual, another summer will pass without a family trip. We did manage to take a weekend to the cabin and SgtDub took me to the Military Ball in Tulsa, where we stayed at a very fancy hotel (thanks honey!) SgtDub will have a furnished 2 bedroom apartment, so we will have a place to stay when we visit, and hopefully he will get to come home often. And also "kuddos" to SgtDub for buying me that pretty JOHN DEERE LAWN TRACTOR . . . I'm set now!