July 16, 2008
July 15, 2008
Re-living R&R: Sending them off
My story about sending Dave off seems to be a little more dramatic than others I read :-) The days that he leaves are some of the worst I can remember. Here are the stories of a few other ladies who kept it simple...It is not easy but these real army wives make it seem so. They are so very brave.
Tara & Ramsey send Cope Back
Simple Good Bye for Karen & Clay
C&E say goodbye to J
July 13, 2008
Addicted
I am pretty much addicted to this show. Even though I think some of the content is so bad and at times the acting too, there is just something comforting about seeing all this stuff play out in a drama on TV....Maybe it makes it seem more like real life? There are points when I laugh because it is so ridiculous, but there there are points when I cry because it is so real...Anyway if you don't watch it is worth catching an episode.
News about 2-22
Making progress...There are days when I feel like I am spinning my wheels. I feel like the time is dragging on. Then I take a step back and I see the progress that the soldiers of 2-22 are making. They are building little economies, the injured are healing, the terrorists are disappearing, the days are passing...
Dave's AC unit was out for about 3 or 4 days. In temps of 100+ he finally gave up waiting for someone to come repair it and took it on himself to engineer a solution!!! Here it is (if you use your imagination), a working AC unit.
A few stories about what our 2-22 have been up to:
- Local news pieces with an embedded reporter
- Recalling a heroic event...from just last month
- Bco gets it done
- Hinchman gets the Purple Heart
- It's all about sharing the chai
There is this new documentary series just getting started, called In Their Boots. It is web based and just getting underway...They are featuring an army wife with 2 kids this coming week. There is a 3 minute clip on the right is pretty hilarious. The batteries part made me laugh so hard I cried.
P.S. You will notice the number of days dropped significantly on the counter...It is official they will be home before the middle of November! I cheered out loud when I read the memo. Wooo hooo!!!!
July 10, 2008
Today
" Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it." - Groucho Marx
July 09, 2008
July 08, 2008
Re-Living R&R: The long talks
We are very lucky, thanks to a satellite phone we get to talk almost everyday. However the long talks just don't happen very often. When you are in a car with someone for hours or sitting on a couch together you can really talk a subject through to its end. You can share thoughts, frustrations, tears, excitement, joy, pain, love, laughter, it goes on and on...Over R&R we did lots of this together.
Over the phone it is a little harder to really get the conversation going, especially with your counterpart has to stand outside in 110 degree heat. We usually get a good long conversation about every other week. I really appreciate these long conversations when they happen. Sharing everyday life experiences with someone you love it truly the greatest joy. I can't wait to have him home for lots more long talks!
One of our not so long talks when he was home was to confirm that we still want to have another wedding!!! It's for sure and now we are just confirming a date. Get ready....its gonna be a a party to celebrate quite a few things!
Sneak peak at the location where we will renew our vows...
July 06, 2008
CA Fires
I have lived in and out of Sacramento for the past 5 years and I have never seen smoke like this around the area. This fire season we have probably had 10+ days that are really smoky. There are no fires right on top of us but apparently the smoke is just kind of sitting around with very little wind to blow it out of the area. Then sometimes the wind does change direction but it just seems to blow more smoke our way. I am trying to stay inside and breath all the filtered air. You can see below that the news is suggesting it is at unhealthy levels. I can't imagine what the fire fighters on the lines are breathing.
My brother is in the thick of this, fighting fires across California as part of a National Park fire Crew. He spent several weeks down in King City area fighting the Los Padres fire which after 4 weeks is only about 35% contained. He is sleeping in tents for weeks at a time living in pretty rough conditions. He speculates on how much these fires are a natural part of the forest regeneration v. how much $$$ we should spend fighting them. He is the one on the right in the picture below pretty far from the fire lines here. After being home for about 2 weeks they are awaiting their next assignment...as you might expect they are eager to get back out there.
July 05, 2008
Re-Living R&R: Beverages on the CA Central Coast
For those of you that don't know...there is "no drinking" in Iraq so apparently we had some catching up to do over R&R. We love so many restaurants & wineries in the San Luis Obispo area so we had to have a drink everywhere! I promise we are not total lushes just had a lot of fun in 18 days!
Starting Top Left: Margaritas at Pepe Delgado's in San Luis Obispo; Guinness at a Irish Pub on State St in Santa Barbara; DaVinci Chianti at Ca' Dario in Santa Barbara (this is reasonable but great atmosphere & FANTASTIC Italian); Tacate's on the beach; At the beach house Christine's Grey Goose w/ 3 olives, not to be mistaken for Dave's Bombay w/ a twist; Edna Valley wine tasting tour on the patio at Tolosa (their pinot is one of our favorite); Font seat of our wine tour van you see the damage (2 cases) from our afternoon tour (I joined Laetitia BUBBLY club, must have it you like champagne); Enjoyed many nice bottles of wine just relaxing in the evenings (I think this was the Wild Horse Cab, YUM!)!
July 02, 2008
Still Making a Full Pot of Coffee
Dave made it back to his post safe and sound.
Today I finally realized that I have been making a full pot of coffee since he left and then pouring most of it out. This will be my last day of making the full pot of coffee. I am getting back into a routine without him. I don't like it but I am doing it.
Bermuda loved having us around all day to play and she especially loved having Dave to roughhouse with. In the day after Dave left she was up and looking out the window at every noise. I really think she was looking for him. I headed out to the coast this past weekend to get out of the Sacramento heat and give Bermuda some open space.
While I was out there I experimented with a massage at a massage school. It was only $35 for a 50 minute massage so I thought I would try it. It isn't anything fancy. You don't get to pick the type of massage or if the therapist is male or female but it is cheap! I had a shiatsu massage which I have never tried before. It was like combination of a massage and a yoga session with someone helping stretch you out. I would recommend it to others but don't set your expectations too high.
