Garden delights

We love to bird watch and we have five bird feeders that we keep pretty well stocked. That gets pretty expensive. So we planted a flower garden, the kind the birds could eat.

Not all the flowers came up. Our soil is clay and it's really hard to get stuff to grow. And I forgot to fertilize, so our six rows of sunflowers are a little short. Next year we're going to till deeper and add more top soil.


But our zinnias are growing just fine. We planted petites and regular zinnias. I have seen American Goldfinches eating them, and I have seen a Ruby-throated Hummingbird eating from them as well.

I have also seem five different types of butterflies out there and I know nothing about butterflies. I should get a book about them, or something. Even the birds who don't eat flowers love our garden, because it provides shade and cover.

It also provides the Navy Bean something to smell!

Get outside!

The weather is beautiful. It was in the 70s on Sat. and yesterday it got up to 85 degrees. Absolutely beautiful. Wes and I took the Navy Bean to the park. Ok, she slept through the park. We just wanted to get outside and Wes owed me for such a crappy birthday. And, utter excitement, I identified a new bird! I haven't had many chances to go birding, so that was very exciting. It was just nice to get out of the house. Today is also beautiful, but I have a long list of stuff to do, so I'm just going to open all the windows and look out them a lot.

I'm feeling better and the Navy Bean never got sick! Go breastfeeding!!! This is Wes's last week of school and then he has two weeks off. Since I was sick last week, the house is kind of disgusting, so this week I will clean. Next week, Wes will do the stuff I couldn't. My parents and grandma are visiting the week after that. I'm very excited about that. Victor becomes a boyscout next week, so I'm thinking maybe we'll stay in Raleigh a couple of days and do some sightseeing. The only time I've ever been there was to visit the kids. And it is the capital, and I do love history. I don't know, we'll see.

Well, I should try to get some stuff done while the Navy Bean is sleeping. Like, unpack my summer clothes!

Like a virgin

Well, the weekend was weird. There really isn't any other way of putting it. And not just for me either. Wes freaked out a little bit too. That was kind of nice because it meant he wasn't just heading straight for the finish line. It meant we cuddled and I got a back rub and kissing and then we just looked at each other like, now what? I mean, it's been almost a year! And Wes remembers watching the last thing in my vagina pop out in all her bloody glory (sorry for that visual). But, we soldiered on and . . . it hurt. But we managed (and thank God it was only 2 minutes! Um, sorry Wes.). I'm sure it'll get better and sexier with time.

I've noticed that I've been a bit blue. Not post-partum blue or anything, just in a rut, blue. I haven't felt like I've been getting anything productive done and I know I'm a stay at home mom, so nobody expects me to get anything productive done, but still. I mean, (and please don't hate me Sandi and David), my daughter takes 2 three hour naps during the day, and sometimes a third nap, for only an hour. And she usually only gets up once at night. And she goes to bed at 9:00pm and usually gets up at 7:30am. I'm not hurting for sleep anymore and I have time to get stuff done. So, I came up with a plan. During her morning nap, I will get stuff done. I will exercise and shower and clean and whatever else I want to get done. During her afternoon nap, I usually also nap and then I can do whatever I want until she wakes up. So far, this plan has worked well (I started yesterday!). Except, how funny is this, I pumped this morning, to freeze some milk, and then she woke up after only 2 hours and wanted to eat. Less than an hour after I pumped. Thankfully these things produce on demand! But I am getting stuff done, even if it's just vacuuming the living room, or making a doctor's appointment. Small stuff, but it sure makes me feel better.

Birds, birds, everywhere

Turns out Florida is a great place to go bird watching. I identified 13 new birds in one week. I probably could have done more, but the one day my husband and I went bird watching, he tried to kill me by making me go on a 3 mile hike with 1000% humidity and then got us lost. I spent most of the hike trying not to pass out or push my husband into all the huge spider webs we were passing (this would have killed him, as he is deathly afraid of spiders). Good times! Thank god for Gatorade.

This is a juvenile tri-colored heron

ok, this picture proves I need a better camera

This is a pileated woodpecker and it looks like Woody the Woodpecker

This is an Anhinga

Obviously I did not get pictures of all the birds I saw. Lucky for you. Today I've been running around trying to get everything done before I leave tomorrow. I'm going to rural Minnesota, otherwise known as the place that my cell phone doesn't work and no one has wireless to steal. I'm going to try to get a couple of extra blogs written before I leave, but I have a feeling that won't happen. I also got caught in the rain today. And did I mention that even though we still have our credit cards, someone else has been using them too. Fun times, trying to get that cleared up! And the cab comes to get me at 5:30am. Yes, you read that right. So, if you don't hear from me for a couple of weeks, I'm ok. Probably just a little bored!

Florida wildlife

In addition to birds (which I'll get to tomorrow) Florida has a wide variety of wildlife.

There were lizards everywhere!

This guy was alive and it was amazing to watch it move!

This guy was actually dead, but I saw more than one of them!

This is close as the crabs would let you get.

We also saw a raccoon, in the middle of the day, walking down the golf course sidewalk. Yes, the sidewalk. It was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen. I found a couple of shells that I kept too, including a sand-dollar (which I should find to make sure it didn't break on the way back home). And did I mention the dolphins that swam by a couple of times a day? They were pretty cool as well. I am still sad that the only alligator I saw was far, far away and I only saw him because I had my binoculars. I wish I could have gotten a picture of one. I guess I'm just going to have to go back (the locals all looked at me like I was crazy when I kept asking about where to see alligators).

My contractions have stopped. Unfortunately the pool at the gym was closed today, but I am feeling much better. I'm still taking it easy though and drinking enough water to float away. I went to Goodwill and bought a couple of cute tops for my next trip. Before I left for Florida, people thought I looked too small for how far along I was (I'm 25 weeks now). Now, they're commenting that they doubt I'll make it to my due date. Thanks! But as my husband said, I look huge because I'm tiny to begin with and everything I've gained has gone to my tummy (and my cottage cheese thighs, but we're just ignoring them right now). Someone tried to convince me I was having a boy because of how I'm carrying, even arguing with the two ultrasounds that prove otherwise! I can tell that the third trimester is going to be ever so much fun when it comes to the public!

Besides getting a couple of cute tops, I also enrolled in a couple of classes. Many things about the navy sucks, but they do try to provide support for their families. I have already taken a budgeting for baby class (for free) that offered about $100 worth of free baby stuff (I have crib sheets, but no crib!). Today I signed up for a breastfeeding class and a baby boot camp class (both free!). Who knows if I'll learn anything, but since I feel like I don't know anything right now, I think I'll get something out of them (and more free stuff on top of it). It's too early to sign up for October's childbirth classes, so I'll do that when I get home from Minnesota. I also signed up for a Red Cross First Aid/CPR for adults, infants and children class. I know I could just sign up for the shorter Infants CPR, but I figured the extra knowledge wouldn't hurt (my sister was a SIDs baby that survived). That class isn't free, but I think very worth it. I know everyone keeps telling me that once the baby is here nothing I've learned will apply anyway, but I'm hoping some of it will be useful! Did I mention that I love watching my tummy now! But she is a little stinker and she knew when her daddy was trying to feel her move. She would wait him out and then move about half a second after he got tired! I'm going to have a handful!

Too early!!!

So thanks to everyone for the congratulations. I was going to type up something witty and cute, but pregnancy has sucked all the life out of me and left me tired and scatterbrained. We are very excited and it is starting to seem real now that everyone knows. My appointment is this afternoon, and I was going to try to wait until after that to post, but. . . .

IQ's water broke and she is in labor. She is not due until May 19th, and we expected her to be early, but not this early. She hasn't even ordered the video camera yet (her husband is on a ship and won't be back until June). And my video camera is with my husband (which is ok, because to be honest, I did not want to have to video that). She has another friend with her right now, and then I will go to the hospital after my appointment. Hopefully (please, please God), her labor will be short. And thankfully, I'm going to Texas next week for 12 days, so I'll get a break from helping her taking care of her baby. Oh boy, this is going to be an adventure. And our children are never, ever going to play with one another (if I get my way).

My wireless is fixed!!! YAY!!!! And I got to talk to my husband. And I'll get to talk to him again tonight. That makes me happy.

I wrote a great book review about Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses but blogger ate it. So, go read anything by Rushdie (except The Ground Beneath her Feet, which I didn't like).

Ok, I suppose I should clean a little and shower and pack a bag to go to the hospital. Pray that everything is ok. IQ is kind of a wimp (she doesn't even have her ears pierced).

Six Hours

Driving home from Texas, we had hoped to be able to relax a bit and see more. Only, Wes grossly underestimated the amount of time it would take to drive home and he forgot about the time change (we lost an hour). By day two, we were tired and cranky (ok, I was tired and cranky, he was only tired). The second evening, we saw a billboard for the Natural Bridge. We had been talking about visiting, but who really knew when we would get there. We decided to stop. We got a great military discount on a hotel room (as we did on all the hotel rooms we stayed at). That first night, we ate and then slept. We got up nice and early and began exploring. The Natural Bridge is so cool. It's huge and George Washington surveyed it before the Revolution. Thomas Jefferson bought it from King George III for about $2.40. It's taller than Niagara Falls and it's still growing. It was very cool.

Me, looking geeky, because we were also bird watching. We saw five new birds during an hour.

Us, next to a waterfall.

I've seen wild turkeys before, but never this close. There was a whole flock of them. We saw them fly and they gobbled at me when I got too close.

We also visited the caverns. That was pretty cool too.

Only a few blocks from home, we were greeted with this.

I'm so glad we stopped. If we had gone straight home, we would have been exhausted and pretty much just stared at each other or the TV the next day. Although our vacation was nice, we never got any "us" time. And with deployment coming up, we've been spending a ton of time with friends, family, the kids. But no "us" time. I'm glad we made time for it. Those six hours, they have to last me six months. Good thing they were a wonderful six hours.

Where's my maid?

We've been on vacation. It was fun. Let me tell you about it. (I'm still tired from riding in the car, because, yes, we drove.) Anyway, we went to Texas (from Virginia, in a car). This allowed me to go through several states I don't think I've ever been in before, or don't remember very well. We started by driving to Jacksonville Texas to see Wes's grandparents. I had never met them before, and Wes hadn't seen them in a couple of years. They are so sweet. Just nice folks. We had a really good visit. And Jacksonville is very pretty. We identified one new bird while we were there (Cedar Waxwing). We only hung out there a couple of days before we head to Dallas for a wedding of an old high school friend.

I had not seen this friend in some years, but he and Wes have kept in touch (as well as the navy allows). One of the strange things about marrying someone from high school is going back to see your friends, especially when they don't know you're married. The only people we really knew there were all the groomsmen and the groom (pictured below, the groom is on the farthest left).

Notice that my husband is by far the shortest man in the group. They actually had some problems with the wedding pictures, finding a place for him that he could be seen. Don't tell him I told you that.

So this is us before the wedding. I had to go buy a dress, because I don't really own any.

The first dance. I have never seen Eric so happy. I hope they have a long and happy marriage. And I hope we see them again because the bride was very, very sweet.

This was the most expensive wedding I have ever been to. We estimate that it was $75,000. No, I did not but the comma in the wrong spot. At the wedding itself, the Texas boys choir sang, and they had a string quartet, and an organist. At the wedding, which was at the Adolphus (for those of you who live in Dallas), they had sea bass AND fillet of beef (not one or the other) and open bar, an 8 piece band, and the best wedding cake I've ever eaten. It was spectacular. I hear her parents live in University Park, so they probably just wrote a check. But it was wonderful and great to see everyone and again, I'm so glad that our friend Eric is happy.

But of course, you can't visit home without some drama. We saw Charley. He didn't actually show up for the wedding, but we saw him the next day. It was surreal. I love Wes and can't imagine my life without him, but seeing Charley was bizarre. It reminded me of all the reasons I love him and many of the reasons I'm not with him. When we left, he gave me a hug and told me he was glad I was happy. I hope he finds his happiness too. Wes hopes that seeing us helped Charley resolve some of his feelings. I honestly don't know if it helped resolve mine or not. I am happy though, that seeing him did not make me wonder what I had missed, but rather, made me very happy with what I had found.

I'll write about the rest of our trip tomorrow. Now, I need to finish cleaning as much as possible. It is good to be home.

Back to the 70's

When I was a kid, I loved to roller skate. I mean, I LOOOOOOOOOVED to skate. Apparently, so did my husband. I just found out he even took lessons (LESSONS!!!!). Anyway, Allison recently went ice skating, and now that is her favorite activity in the whole world, and she wanted us to take her. I've only been ice skating about three times in my entire life. So we compromised and went roller skating. YAY!!!! Victor did great, but Allison started out a little rough. Wes was worried that he wouldn't remember how to do it (even after all those lessons!) but I told him it was just like riding a bike. And it was. We had a great time and it didn't take long for Allison to work it out. I had a great time watching everyone too. There was one little four year old who was skating around like she was born with skates on her feet. And cutest of all, there was a little boy, probably about three, who looked like a jack-in-the-box. Up, down, up, down, up, down. But he didn't cry at all and just kept going. I cracked up though, when I realized his shirt said "I do all my own stunts." Yes you do, little man, yes you do. Overall, it was very fun, and I told Wes we should buy our own skates and then go skate on the boardwalk every weekend, because we're nerdy like that. And then I came home and took a two hour nap.

I want to address those of you who are concerned that Wes and I are wasting valuable baby making time. Um, my husband is leaving for 6 months. Whether or not we were trying to get pregnant, we would not be wasting that time. So now you can quit worrying about it (but you can keep crossing your fingers for us). Ok, now I need to go make dinner. I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend.

Big sigh of relief

Guess where I typing this from? Guess, guess!!!! If you guessed my computer, you would be correct! My computer is finally up and running. The latest bit of problems stemmed from the fact that I was apparently missing a retrieval disk. My husband accused me of throwing it out, but after finding the retrieval disks for my last two computers, including the first one I ever had, which I got in 1995 (pre-real windows), he realized, I probably did not toss out any disks. We finally solved that problem. Right now, the only thing on my computer is windows software and one game. My computer is now super, super fast. I think I will put my bird software on it and that will be it! Now, I know that my husband actually being home is rare, and so I should enjoy that time rather than worrying about my computer, but he's leaving in 3 weeks and will be gone for 6 months. I kind of need a computer during that time. To keep me company. To keep up with finances and to play lots of games!!!

We do indeed have only 3 weeks left, and they are going to be a hectic three weeks. We had the kids last weekend and will get them Easter weekend too. We're still not sure what to do, besides go to church. Do we dye eggs? If we do, do we hide them in our tiny house? Do we buy lots of candy for the child who has had 4 cavities her last 2 dentist appointments? (and I don't mean a total of 4, I mean 4 each time.) After the kids leave, we also leave. We'll visit family in East Texas and then on to Dallas for a wedding of an old high school friend. Pretty much EVERYONE we hung out with in high school will be there, even, perhaps, a certain ex-boyfriend of mine. Some of these people know we're married, most don't. It will be a very interesting wedding. Then, back home, do laundry, pack up and bye, bye. Then a very long 6 months. The next three weeks will fly by. And then, nothing. Thank God I have Dungeon Lords to keep me company.

It's my party

Yesterday was my birthday, and after a horrible week, I was considering having a party. A pity party. Why was my week so bad? Well, it was just one thing after another, accumulating in very un-pregnant like behavior by my body. But, I decided that I wasn't going to wallow. I went to the Norfolk botanical gardens instead, and they had a ton of flowers out for me. (I'd show them to you, but MY computer crashed and burned yesterday, and now refuses to give me anything but the blue screen of death. So I'm using the crappy old computer in the office.) And, I identified three new birds. One of them is only supposed to summer here, so I guess he came home early. One of them does winter here, but not very often. And the last one is supposed to be on the west coast, but occasionally gets lost (according to the bird guide). One tiny little bird kept following me and dancing for me. I guess I smelled good, and I enjoyed the show, but it was a bit weird. After that, I went to my favorite Thai place for lunch. Then home, where my computer crashed and burned. Overall, a very good day, except for the crashing and burning. While I was unable to talk to my husband yesterday, he did call on Thurs. and should be able to call today. He also sent me a lovely e-mail. A number of other people also called, e-mailed, or sent cards. Phoenix decorated the card from my parents, so when my brother called, he wanted to talk to see if I had like it. Too cute. So no more pity parties. It is a new month and my husband comes home on Friday.

Back to reality

After the kidnapping, robbery, marriage, bombs, beatings, drug addiction and blackmailing of the last book I read, I decided I needed something more realistic. I read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I missed out on reading Tolkien when I was a kid. I read the Chronicles of Narnia but that was the extent of my fantasy reading. My husband loves Tolkien, so I thought I'd give it a spin. Boy, did I miss out! I loved this book! While I felt like the book would be a great kid's book, I didn't feel like I was reading a kid's book. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The story itself is rather simple. A stay-at-home type of hobbit decides it's time for an adventure and joins thirteen dwarves in trying to reclaim their gold from a dragon. While the story is simple, the writing is amazing. Tolkien's writing is clear and simple itself, but it is also interesting. When a character mentions other stories or adventures, as a reader, I just went, yes, yes, tell me about that, I want to know! I could have read this story forever, instead, it was so well written, it took about three days. I now declare myself a Tolkien fan and will read the rest of his work. I also look forward to getting Wes's kids to read them and hopefully, someday, my own kids.

During the time when I couldn't hide in middle earth, Wes's dad was here all week and I worked quite a bit. There's nothing romantic about having a valentine's dinner with your father-in-law and your husband. Now, everyone is gone, the house is a mess, and I'm still working a lot. Again, it will be a miracle if a baby was conceived this month (ok, I mean in this house, not in the general public). If you think having your father-in-law at your valentine's dinner isn't romantic, think about having sex with him sleeping directly underneath your bedroom. Oh yeah, let the sexy times roll.

Little lost bird

I was not subbing for sexual education when I uttered the words "oral activity." I was subbing for Spanish. There was a question about why they had to write an activity that was supposed to be oral. My answer, "you need to write it down even though it is an oral activity."

Today I saw the most beautiful bird I have ever seen (well, maybe. I've seen a lot of beautiful birds). I've linked to it above. It must have been lost though, because it's not really supposed to be here, and it was all by itself. But it posed for me and let me watch for quite some time.

It's my anniversary today. The kids are here, as is Wes's dad. I made a HUGE meal, but forgot the wine. It has been a good day.

Mary, I'm not

So, no miracle occurred in January. I was really bummed about this, so my husband took me birdwatching. We had a great time and identified two new birds. I was also able to point out two birds I had previously identified, but Wes had never seen. Then, to top the afternoon off, we saw a Bald Eagle. That was pretty cool. Saturday night we celebrated our two year anniversary a week early. His dad and kids will be here on the actual date, and since I wasn't pregnant I could drink. We had a great time, the food was delicious and then we came home and fell asleep. Because, gee whiz, we've been married for two whole years and how else would we celebrate (but we really did just go to sleep: Wes has been sick for a week).

This week, I'm actually working a couple of days. And today I'm frantically cleaning the house, since I'm working the rest of the week and the house is filthy and his dad is going to visit for a whole week. The only week my husband will be home in the month of February. I have a feeling we may not get pregnant this month either. At least Wes will be home for the month of March.

Party like you have nipples!

The party was last night and who says you have to drink to have fun!?! During a game of guestures (which is like charades) I ended up with the word nipple. Everyone at the party was either a relative or from my parent's church. What is a girl to do? Why, rub your brother's nipples! He felt violated, but I got a lot of laughs and my mom didn't have a heart attack, which would have been awkward since she was the hostess. The food was great, the games were fun and the party was a success!

I am home now and Wes will be here tomorrow. I'm trying to clean up the house but I am exhausted. I have to get lots of sleep because tomorrow will be a long day of (hopefully) baby-making.

Baby making until your penis falls off!

My husband is home! All weekend too! Guess what we've been doing? Go on, guess? The good news is, that since he's been gone for a week, a whole weekend of sex is wonderful! The bad news is, that since he's been gone for a week, a whole weekend of sex is also painful, after a while. And I'm probably not even ovulating. It's been less than two weeks since I went off the pill. Or, I could be releasing an egg every 20 minutes. Who knows? But when he leaves again on Monday, I won't see him for 2 weeks, so we need to make the most of this weekend.

I went to the doctor's with IQ yesterday. She is having a boy. It yawned at us. Very cute. So far, things look normal. And she's really wanting to get stuff in order before the baby gets here. Hopefully that will all go well. I'll write more about why I'm her friend later. Right now, I have to go make a baby.

Sing with me!

Today, I looked at the blog I wrote last night and thought, "I'm not going back there again." So today, I was productive. I went to the gym, where I died. The end. No, really, I didn't die, I just started seeing things. I ran errands. I listened to NIN, Ground Zero while organizing the office (more on NIN in a minute). I put together a bookcase. I put books on the bookcase. I organized my yarn. I crocheted. I'm reading an extraordinary book that I can't put down. I e-mailed the new performing arts center and offered to volunteer as an usher, because heaven knows that's the only way I'll see any of those performances. I e-mailed my church and volunteered for the shut-in/homeless/AIDS ministry. I was productive. And in an a couple of hours, I pick IQ up from the airport. Today, I feel good about myself. I like days like today.

Now, more about the NIN CD. It was a gift from my husband for Christmas. My husband originally introduced me to NIN in high school, with Pretty Hate Machine. I've been a somewhat faithful follower since then. And as much as I love NIN, I have to say that Pretty Hate Machine always remained the best. Until now. Ground Zero is amazing. Trent is back to a more industrial sound. He's still angry, but it sounds like a more productive anger. If you even slightly liked Pretty Hate Machine you have to get Ground Zero. It will be the best thing you ever do for your sex life. Whether you have a partner or not!

Where are the directions?

Do you feel like you're waiting for your "real" life to begin? I know a lot of people feel like this. There are countless books, songs, poems, and blogs about this. I know I feel like this. As a graduate student for, well, for forever, I always thought my life would start after I graduated. Only, I never graduated with my Ph.D. I got married. Some probably think their life starts when they get married. Only, this was my second marriage. And my husband is in the navy. Which means he's gone all the time. So now, I'm waiting for my life and my marriage to really start. I realized I'm going to turn 34 years old this year. That used to be mid-life. Now, I plan on living to 120, but still, the fact that still have no idea what is going on this late in the game, it is sobering. I want to do something, but I honestly have no idea what. I can't even manage to get a decent job (stupid, healthy teachers). When I was very young, I wanted to be a writer. But this blog has proven, pretty clearly, that this was just a mis-guided dream. So what now? Thoughts? Suggestions? Maps? Anyone?

That's my problem!

I finally figured out what my problem is. I was raised to be an ambitious woman. I was raised to be a goal-oriented woman. I was raised to accomplish great things. And right now? I have lost all direction. Since I was 15 years old the goal was to get my Ph.D. Well, that went out the window last year. And while I miss certain aspects of school, I really do feel better off without the hassle. But then I fell into a deep dark depression because I had nothing to focus on. Cue the baby desire. I redirected all my goals and ambitions towards creating a family, with new children. Children can grow up to be great adults, adults who credit their moms (and sometimes their dads) with how great they are. Now, well, my cervix has rebelled (oh, my dr.'s appointment got moved to Dec. 31st). Now I have nothing to focus all my ambition and intelligence and, most importantly, my greatness, on. I am lost.

I have decided, when people ask me what I can do with two MA's in the same subject, instead of hanging my head in shame and softly whispering "nothing," I will look them in the eye and declare, "Lord it over people who don't have two MA degrees." When people ask what I do, instead of claiming to be a temporary substitute, until I figure out what I really want to do, I will look them in the eye and declare, "I am the best damn substitute in Virginia Beach, and I am also an awesome wife!" There is no shame in enjoying where life has placed me. I will read books because I enjoy reading them, not because I bought them and so I should read them. I will enjoy crocheting because because it ties me to my grandma, and because I want people to know that I thought about them while I worked, not because there's some arbitrary deadline, like the birth of a baby or Christmas. I will enjoy cooking because it is fun, it is creative and I'm really good at it, dammit, and I want my husband to have a wonderful experience at dinner, not just gain sustenance. I will enjoy sex because it was created to be enjoyed! Screw what I know about my husband's past. Screw my past. And screw my husband like he's going to die tomorrow! I will exercise because I enjoy it, I enjoy looking good and having energy, not just because I have high cholesterol and I'm paying for a gym membership.

I will enjoy being me! Because I am smart, funny, talented and creative! Because I deserve to get to know who I am without all the goals, ambitions, and stress of always getting it done, doing it right and always needing something to brag about. This will be my year of NO STRESS, NO DEPRESSION, and NO WORRIES. This is going to be MY YEAR! I am going to be proud of who I am and what I do, even if you don't think it amounts to jack. Because you know what, I don't care what you think. This is going to be MY YEAR! That's my new mantra. Maybe you should try it to.

Blogging, pot-luck style

Per Beth's request, here are my beautiful boots with my gorgeous matching purse. I also have a shorter pair of red boots in the same color (but they're from pay less). While hunting in my closet, I realized I have 5 (FIVE) pair of knee-high boots, and about 8 pairs of shorter boots (maybe more). I love me some nice boots. Feel free to feel jealous!


Victor also received an afghan from my grandma. He finally got it on the 18th when we celebrated his 10th birthday (he still wears size 5 pants, although I noticed they were getting too short). Victor's favorite colors are red and blue, and he is in the cub scouts. He was very impressed with his afghan, especially the star, although he kept referring to it as his "afghanistan". When I would correct him, he would then pronounce it like my grandma does, afaghan. I guess it runs in the family.


My parents visited from the 18th to the 22nd. The kids stayed with us from the 16th to the 20th. We took the kids to the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News. If you have kids and are in the area, you must go. It is a wonderful museum. It has both indoor and outdoor components, with living animals in both places. These represent the animals that live in Virginia, explains about ecosystems and talks about environmentalism and why it's important. All on a kids' level while still being incredibly interesting for adults. The best part, the whole thing only took about 3 hours. Long enough to keep everyone entertained without getting cranky and tired. Here's just a few of the very cool things we saw.
I don't know that I had ever seen a beaver before. They are so much fun to watch.

When I was married to my first husband, we lived in a trailer. One day, the dryer hose popped off, and one of these (a baby) popped his head into our trailer. It was a little spooky (and my cat freaked out). I will never live in a trailer again.

There was a ton of hands-on stuff, including this giant tortoise shell. I wanted my mom to get in it, but she refused. Spoil-sport. Overall, we had a great time.

The visit from my parents was wonderful and I really enjoyed it. But we had had the kids the week before, and Wes's dad had been here and I had worked. When my parents left, I just wanted to sleep. I had a few jobs this week, two part-time, two full-day. Again, I loooooove Junior High. I am really surprised by this, but every time I substitute for them, I feel happy. Every time I substitute for high school, I go home feeling drained and slightly angry. I never would have known this though, if my advisor hadn't kicked me out of school.

We've been going over our finances again. When we married, my husband did not realize he had $70,000 worth of credit card and consolidation loan debt. He's in the navy and gone a lot and he just didn't know. More than half of that was debt from the ex-wife, the rest was his own stupidity. Well, we now have less than $30,000 in debt. We've been married for a little over a year and a half. He just got a raise and with me working (even if not a lot), we should have this paid off in another year and a half. At least I hope so. (I should add that he received a $23,000 bonus last year that went straight towards the debt. We will not be receiving another bonus for at least 2 years.)

That's about it here. I'm just cleaning and doing laundry and I trying to figure out what I'm going to cook for dinner. I hope everyone is doing well, and if you just need a pick-me-up, go look at my beautiful boots and purse!