Holiday Posting

Ok, we're back from MI (having returned to a furnace with burnt up wires - scary - and a fridge that was off - so a whole lot of bad food) with lots of stories, and lots of pictures. Not sure how long it's going to take me to post it all, but it's coming.

I Saw a Movie . . .

For years now, we have been on the crunchy, eating local, organic, cage-free, HFCS free bandwagon. I'm big on keeping up with nutritional news and there are always studies coming out about how all the big food conglamerates are destroying US American health. It is absolutely beyond me how anyone can be paying any attention to the world around them and still buy white bread with high fructose corn syrup in it [seriously, read your bread label today - most brands contain needless HFCS].

Last night we watched "Food Inc." We've had it since it came out, but had never really gotten around to watching the whole thing [I am TERRIBLE about watching movies. I generally fall asleep a few minutes into most movies we watch at home - it's a whole post of its own]. And it was everything I expected it to be. There were even a few things in there that were new to me. What annoyed me was Listening to people talk afterwards about how strongly they feel about these topics. On it's face not a bad thing, except these are people I know, and I know it's all talk. "oh, yeah all those additives and crap they put in food these days is terrible. I only eat organic" then they turn around and feed their families hotdogs for dinner. I am not saying anyone is bad for eating hotdogs [though in most cases ew]. I love a good hot dog here and there, but don't get all high and mighty about your eating habits when everyone knows that's all it is - talk. "I shop at this or that mega organic food store

." [which is, by the way, still a major nationwide chain conglomarate - "whole" or not]. Big effing deal. When was the last time I saw you eat a plate of raw vegetables? Crap from an organic food store is still crap.
Ugh. I am just so sick of people who are all talk. funny thing coming from a blogger I'm sure, ha. But I've really gotten my fill of shallow, superficial people the last few months. I know way too many people who will go on and ona bout how stronly they feel about this or that, but if you actually get to take a peek into their lives, they're full of it. Like the food thing. They'll go on and on about their healthy eating habits- how they only eat organic and shop at X store, but take one look in their fridge or cupboards and I'm sure I'd find lunch meats full of sodium nitrates/nitrites, canned this or that packed with extra salt and preservatives, and junk foods of all kinds. I know I already said it, but it bears repeating: Junk food from an organic food store is still junk food. And I'm not trying to do my own self-righteous thing either. I really don't care if other people want to eat things I don't generally partake of. It's about the talk. Eat hot dogs and Little Debbies all y
ou want, just don't turn around and act like you're all about nutrition afterwards.

Anyway, sorry about the little rant. My real point is that "Food Inc" really is a great movie, esp if you're not as crazy and anal about nutrition news as I am [and I'm definitely not trying to say everyone should be]. It can be a real eye opener. And if it makes more people care about where their food comes from, so much the better - just as long as it's actions, not just talk! Ha.

Still enjoying an awesome holiday, and I really hope you all are as well!

Happy Holidays

From Cheap Wine and Cookies

I haven't really taken any holiday pictures on my phone, but this one captures a pretty large part of it. This whole trying to cut way back on caffiene and alcohol just in case we do happen to conceive is kindof a pain during the holidays! It'd be a lot easier if I actually knew I was pregnant, but I really doubt I am. I figure it will take my body a couple months to be ready. At the same time, though, I don't want to have any really crazy nights out only to find out a couple weeks later that I am.

But aside from my little struggles with coffe and wine, ha, the holidays so far have been AMAZING. I can't even express it. Relaxing, hanging out with family and friends. Finding out that my brother is in a serious relationship with one of my best friends! And working very hard at this making a baby thing. :-D

ha, we're listening to "There's Only One Way to Rock" by AC/DC? or maybe Motley Crew? Either way, the song is on the radio, and Punky looks at her Uncle Boo [my brother] and says, "You know, there's not necessarily only one way to rock." lol. That kid has been full of them this whole trip.

Anyway, our holidays so far have beed just awesome, and I am truely hoping that all my friends out there are having just as wonderful a time. I can't wait to upload pictures, but, alas, there is very little internet access around these parts.

I could go on and on, but I think I'll wait until I upload the pictures. For right now, there is more fun to be had. After all, it's Saturday night And I don't have to work for a week!

Winter Wonderland

I have never seen snow like this in VA before. It's like MI snow! It's awesome. Though it does make me even more sad to leave this house because I'm pretty certain we will never see snow like this down south. We definitely decided yesterday, though, that after we separate from the Marines, we're going to move back to the North, back to four distinct seasons.Watching the dogs bound through snow as high as them was too cute and hilarious.

From Cheap Wine and Cookies

From Cheap Wine and Cookies

Either way, the snow is amazing. It truly makes the season. There was barely a flake on the ground when we went to bed, and when I got up in the morning to let the dogs out:

From Cheap Wine and Cookies

Then someone decided they were going to go out and shovel snow up above their knees with no snowpants on . . .

From Cheap Wine and Cookies

But we got that all straightened out, and we had a big family snow shoveling party.

Which, of course, eventually denigrated into a snow playing party, which may or may not have been Mommy's fault . . .We all went in for hot chocolate and a little relaxing before MacGyver and I headed out to finish up the last of the shoveling. We ended up slow dancing in the snow to REO Speedwagon MacGyver had playing on his phone. It was one of those small moments that mean a lot.

and then it passed, lol.

Apparently spending the day bounding through neck deep snow is tiring . . .



And just to catch up, pictures of putting the star on the tree last weekend:

From Cheap Wine and Cookies

From Cheap Wine and Cookies

Happy Holidays!

Tomorrow is the Solstice. I have planned nothing for it, but this snow definitely helps with the feeling of the day. We're also leaving tomorrow for the great white North to see family and friends. We can't wait. I'm sure I will have too much to do and too much to blog about when we return, but there is little to no internet signal up there, so until then, miss you all. Be happy and stay safe!

From Cheap Wine and Cookies

To Be There For a Friend

Back in April I wrote about a dear friend, MMom, who is suffering from lung cancer. MMom is the mother my best friend of more that 21 years, NotDonna. MMom is an amazing woman, mother of 6, grandmother of 8 (with another on the way), who has spent years caring for and nurturing her large clan and numerous friends who have joined the pack along the way. She has been the central grounded point and voice of reason in the chaotic world around her.

She is a wonderful, kind, funny, and amazing woman. And she is loosing her battle. It is absolutely hearbreaking. She has developped lesions on her brain and has lost touch with reality. NotDonna recently made the cross country trip to spend the holidays with her only to find out that MMom likely has less than two weeks left. There will be a large hole left in the world after this.

We will be making the trip Monday to be with NotDonna as well as to visit with family and friends for the holidays. It will be a trip punctuated with emotional extremes. We will be seeing family and friends we've missed for months; we will be going out to old haunts, celebrating Christmas/Yule and New Year's; but I will also be spending as much time as I can with NotDonna.

I cannot imagine the pain she must be feeling right now. Just the legal complications of her situation running through my head are enough to drive me to distraction. And these are factors of which NotDonna is acutely aware, all mingled with the incomprehesible pain of watching a mother who has been like her best friend suffer and slip away before her eyes.

I know all I can do is be there for her. Listen and be present and help with what I can. It kills me that I can't make her pain go away. That I probably can't lessen it even a bit. To be powerless to help my best friend, who I've known for more than 21 years, who I've stayed in touch with constantly as we both moved around the country, through hard times and good. The best friend who can always make me smile. It's maddening to want so badly to ease this pain and know there is little I can do.

But that little I can do, being there for her, I will do. My thoughts and prayers are with MMom and NotDonna, and soon I will be there physically as well.

And any of you out there who smoke, I implore you to STOP. In this age, I don't understand why anyone would do it anyway. I know mothers who openly risk putting their children through this hell, who expose their children on a routine basis to these chemicals (including Punky's BioB*tch who smokes like a chimney around Punky and even did while she was pregnant, ugh!). And I know three people who, at this very moment are dying of lung cancer. All of them are parents. All are wonderful people who will leave great holes in this world.

Trust me, I know how hard it is to break addiction. But think for a minute about what your children will go through watching you slowly and painfully slip away before your time and ask yourself if it's worth it.

Kosher

The other day when I went to get the IUD out, I also had a routine check-up/pap - always a joy, right ladies? Once I was all settled in the stirrups, scooted down to ready-to-fall-off-the-table position, the doc started to talk me through a proceedure I've been through at least annually since I was 18. She said "first we're going to just have a look and make sure verything's kosher."

To which I could not resist responding, "Oh, I'm not jewish."

The doc blinked at me for a moment, then smiled. "That was such a mom joke. You are definitely ready to have a baby."

:-]

I'm on a bus in Norfolk right now, on my way to the ship we'll be sleeping on tonight. The last time I was on a Naval bessel was '02, which makes me feel old and a little nostalgic - as does listening to all the 22 year old girls here talk about whether or not it's a good idea to have kids now or to wait until after they get out. Their general concensus seems to be to wait until they get out and start having kids when they're around, ahem, 28. Lol. So I guess we're basically on the same page.

I can't believe the holidays start this weekend. I have so much still to do! I have to go shopping! But when . . ? i am so looking forward to seeing my parents and brother, though. To spending some real quality time with MacGyver and Punky. Ready to lay around on my mom's couch and do nothing but watch old episodes of "Friends." and then come back to the insanity of the impending move . . . Ha. Ah, life. One adventure after another. I'm ready for my break now please. :-]

Going Underground

We are finally getting used to the idea of our upcoming relocation. It looks like it shouldn't be too hard to rent the house out, and the position I'm going to fill really is an amazing opportunity.

And yet, there is still SOOO much to do in so little time. We have to meet with TMO to figure out whether it's better for MacGyver and Punky to come with me to Rhode Island or stay behind. Christmas break is NEXT WEEK! We have to find a place to move to (or places, as the case may be, in RI and SC). We have to get the house ready to move out of (and I can't describe how big a task that is going to be!) There is so much paperwork, logistics, and details to be tracked. Ugh. I cannot wait to be at that ultimate duty station and know for sure that we get to stay put for at least a few years. It'll be a nice change of pace.

One of those tiny detail considerations to be taken is that I have to make this blog just a little more anonymous. Look for a pseudonym to appear shortly, along with deletions of references to where my actual duty station is and so forth. The blog is going away by no means. And I'm certain that anyone with half a brain and too much time on their hands would still be able to pretty easily track down who I am, but at least it won't be apparent on it's face anymore.

And lastly, I have had a sour stomach for 3 days now, and it's driving me nuts! I have no idea what could be causing it! There are no other symptoms at all! And of course anyone who knows I got the IUD out thinks I'm pregnant. While that would make me really happy, I seriously doubt it considering that would mean we conceived within a day or two of getting the IUD out and I don't think I was ovulating at that point. So I am seeing now that I am in for long months of anything strange going on with my body or health (and probably mood, for that matter) being interpreted as a symptom of pregnancy. WooHoo. We'll see.

Finally, I have to post pictures of the bedroom. It is amazing. I am going to be soo, soo sad to leave it. When I'll get around to those pics, though, remains to be seen. I'm going to be in Norfolk for the next two days for a mini field ex. I've been on a ship before, so this'll be nothing new. And I'm not too concerned about it other than the fact that there are about a billion things I need to be doing at home. It'll be interesting, though, I haven't been to Norfolk since '02 - man, does that make me feel old.

And, as per the previous post, I still hate coughing when I pee.

SARS

I have had this really obnoxious and persistent cough for a couple weeks now, and one strange thought keeps popping into my head:

I hate coughing when I'm peeing.

I'm not sure I can really identify why, but it just doesn't seem right to me at all. Not that I can help it most of the time, because, obviously, if I could I would. But I just don't like coughing when I pee.

The other night I was hacking wretchedly around the house trying to get some chores done, and my wonderful husband, MacGyver, pulled me aside to say, "Honey, I love you. You are so beautiful, and I'm so sad you're sick - But your cough is getting really, really annoying."

Lol. Ah, the love. My cough subsequently became even more annoying because it became cough, cough, hack "Sorry." cough.

Up Hill Both Ways

Yesterday I walked 15 miles. It was our final hump. My feet are not happy today. I need to chill in a tub and get a pedicure. Anyone who doesn't believe up hill both ways is possible needs to join me for a nice "walk" here in lovely Quantico.

I also stood duty last night, so I'm going on basically no sleep (and I've had to cut my caffeine intake way down because I am officially sans IUD! :-)), but is that going to keep me from spending the day putting up the Christmas tree and cleaning up the house? No friggin way. If I'm going to waste my time being tired, it's going to be at work, not at home, lol.

We are slowly readying ourselves for the impending chaos of moving first to Rhode Island for three months, then on to the base in the south. I don't know how we will ever be ready in time, it just seems like too much too fast. But at the same time I know we will be because MacGyver and I always pull it off in the end.

Ups and Downs

If the number of posts I manage to produce is any indication, the last few weeks have been hectic to say the least. Work has been the main culprit, as I mentioned in Happy Day, I have finally reached (and surmounted) the culminating point of my training here at TBS. And it was no short or easy road to be sure, but I/we did it, and it will soon be over.

There have been more ups and downs than I can count. I can say with pleasure that there have been many more ups, but it has still be quite the emotional roller coaster, not just for me, but for MacGyver and Punky as well. Heck, probably more so for them. And the ride isn't over yet.

Recent ups and downs:
- I got home from MOUT to find the bedroom all painted, complete with the gorgeous new bedding and curtains, AND my new dresser (granted, it doesn't have my clothes in it - my old dresser is now hanging out in the livingroom, lol). It's so pretty. I'll post pictures soon.

- For MacGyver's birthday he wanted to take me shopping for new clothes (remember This?), and he actually seemed to have a blast picking out things for me to try on and such. And I came away with a bunch of new pants and a couple of really cute tops. Then we went out for ribs, which was also awesome. MacGyver had such a great time.

- Until we got home . . . I got a message from a friend informing me that our Duty Stations were [finally!] assigned. So I logged on to look. We had asked for Quantico because we love it here, we're getting really into perfecting the house (hello, brand new red bedroom), and we just moved some stuff with Punky's custody case here. So we were FAR from thrilled when Parris Island, SC showed up. As a matter of fact, we were really, really unthrilled. We'll have to rent out the house, we won't be able to finish it (at least not in the next three years), Punky will have to change schools again, as will MacGyver, and a million other small things that make moving to a place you had never considered moving to a huge pain in the a**.

- But, as it turns out, there are much better schools for MacGyver (who has been trying to finish two different degrees for a while now, but I keep interfering by making him move from state to state), and since we know we'll be there for three years, he'll be able to get those done right away, which will make him sooooo happy. He has sacrificed so much for me. AND it seems that this position I'm getting at PI is a pretty coveted one. There are HUGE opportunities for me there that I definitely could not get at Quantico. And further, my best friend here at TBS, Java, who is also a lawyer also got PI! Fun.

- But I love my new bedroom and bathroom and don't want to leave!

- And I had to work every day this weekend.

- But after work on Sunday, we went to the mall to do a little Holiday shopping, and we found a full set of the dishes we've been wanting for literally more than a year. We tried to order them online, but peices of the set were unavailable, and the stores never have the full set. But they did yeasterday. yay! There is a picture of them in the previous post.

- I'm getting the IUD out!!!!!!!

- I was supposed to get it out this morning, but the Dr's office was missing a particular hemostat they needed to do it with. Annoying. So now, more waiting. They promised to call me either this afternoon or tomorrow.

- Either way, I'm getting the IUD out!!! Woo Hoo.

Well, those are the highlights. There have been lots of other little ups and downs, but those have been the big ones drawing me out of the blogsphere lately. Maybe over the next month I'll have time to be a little better. Then again, the holidays are coming up . . .

New Dishes

From Cheap Wine and Cookies