Most Certainly Not

It's June Again?

Things are growing & blooming around Ft. W.

I had an amazing before picture of this previously hideous spot near our front door. But, my phone only pretended to take it--when I went to retrieve and upload it (AFTER I'd repotted and arranged the plants, of course), the photo wasn't actually in my gallery.

I usually spend Mother's Day planting, but not so much this year. My first mother-in-law sent me a gigantic patio pot from her favorite local florist (who did my first rehearsal dinner & wedding) and it is gorgeous right now! Trailing, bright pink and purple petunias, etc. It made me want to do some other things around the front door.

In addition to these guys, I cleaned up an ivy plant (from a previous planter from my first mother-in-law...how much do I love her?!) and put in some coleus to create some visual variety with the green ivy leaves. We have mums planted all around the house that are FULL of blooms and are ready to burst open at any point. 

Plus, our raised bed full of volunteer mint and tomatoes continues to be wildly thriving. I'm stockin up on canning supplies so I can be ready this year and not let the tomatoes go to waste.

Overseas Employment for Military Spouses

Over the weekend, I attended the first Military Spouse Summit in Washington, D.C. My dear friend, Andi, who founded SpouseBUZZ and served as its editor until last month, conceived the idea and shared it with Military.com who spearheaded the event's logistics.

With generous sponsorship from USAA and other amazing organizations, spouses could attend the event for free. The summit proved a wonderful way to close out my affiliation with SpouseBuzz--being one of the original authors and a member of the signature panel afforded me many wonderful opportunities. 

One question that cropped up and drew great interest in the crowd was how military spouses could find employment when their families are stationed overseas. It seemed to generate the kind of buzz that we bloggers like to investigate, so once I arrived home from D.C., I set to work contacting a spouse friend I had met at one of the very first SpouseBuzz live events. She is a blogger herself and is currently living overseas with her military servicemember husband.

Karen was able to reach out to her network of military spouses and, true to form, the answer came more completely and quickly than I could have anticipated.

As I Leave My 30's

Today is my last day in the 30's. I'm not depressed in the least. By and large, the latter years of my 30's sucked pond water, so starting off a new decade after launching a new year seems pretty cathartic. I have had an awesome weekend that will go into the memory books to be accessed when times become a little dark. And, after a very scary vet appointment, Remington is making marked improvement.

What a way to spend a week!

Savannah With A Side of Murphy

You didn't seriously think I could travel south without drama, did you? Tsk tsk tsk. Have we learned nothing from the sporadic posts that appear on this blog?

Per usual, a weekend away invites Murphy to play. He just loves to throw his law around all over my household.

I Will Miss the Ocean

Admittedly, I am more of a "mountains" girl. Truthfully, the ocean can be unsettling to me at times. So much churning and vastness and unpredictability. If I had the choice to live along a coastline or on the side of a mountain, I'd pick mountain without hesitation.

But.

There is something very therapeutic about sunshine, a nice breeze, pillowy sand and crystal blue water.

There is something sort of marvelous about opening a sliding glass door in the living room, taking two steps onto a balcony and seeing this.

There is something pretty spectacular about knowing one of those blue chairs on the beach is specially reserved for you during your stay.

That pretty much rocks and there is no maneuvering around that. 

These few days in Florida with a handful of my favorite people on this planet have been 100% wonderful. We have had so much rain at home that the daily mood starts depressing and rolls downhill from there.

I took a barefoot run on the beach today and truly enjoyed it. My breathing is deep and relaxed. My head is pretty clear. The only discomfort is from having two too many bites of dessert at dinner tonight. This trip, much like the jaunt to Hawaii, could not have come at a better time.

I spent a couple hours total on the beach today. The first portion running and walking. The second portion with my rear end planted in one of the reserved blue beach chairs.

Listening to the ocean relaxes me...it's white noise, but distinctly its own tune.

I called my husband while I stood at the water's edge so he could hear it too. I've decided we will close out the M3 saga as it began--on a beach. Right before he deployed, we were in Mississippi during his free pass time. So full of hope and promise and excitement about the adoption and dreading his absence. We will bookend this journey by planting our toes in some sand and water once things are finally resolved. He deserves the break too and after all this hard work, we should be able to take such a break together for once.

I also had the foresight to use my phone to record a minute & a half of the ocean rolling in over my toes. I wonder how many times I will need to watch that over the next few months to relax myself? Maybe I should check ebay for a white noise machine in which "the ocean" is a choice of sounds?

Tomorrow, I will leave the condo in the morning and spend pretty much the entire day at the airport. I don't mind. I actually like airports. No one knows me; I can people watch; I can work on things; I can watch people come and go and then go myself.

I'll arrive home after the kids are in bed. M1 will be at her dad's, so I will need to call and chat with her. M2 will try to stay awake until I arrive & then beg to sleep in my bed (and probably be allowed) because her dad has drill this weekend. M3 will have long been in bed, so I can save that little reunion until Saturday.

For all the stress, anxiety and BS the military has put in my path over the last 9 years, I have to hand it to Uncle Sam--I sure would not trade my military spouse friends that I've met because of marrying my husband. Deployments are for the birds, but SpouseBuzz and the ladies (and gents) I've met through it are priceless. With them in my corner, I can do what needs to be done and know that I will still be upright (even if I'm on my knees) when it's complete.

My resolve to return to myself and to provide that for my girls and my marriage grows with each passing moment. It would be terrific if the coming weeks could remain un-ugly. I can roll with the punches (obviously), but I'm kind of over that. Maybe finally having agreed to follow the plan those in the know have suggested to us for months will make this feel less like a rollercoaster? I hope so.

Bye, Florida...sigh.

Steeling My Resolve

Why even point out that it has been ages since the last post? If you're still here reading, you know that already.

April flew in many ways and dragged in others. We took our older girls to Georgia over their spring break and had an amazing time with them.

We laughed, hardly heard any bickering, and enjoyed each others' company for the entire week. The road trip was not hateful, the weather was relatively decent and we enjoyed great food at the ranch.

The girls have not had the opportunity to spend a lot of time around horses or barns, for that matter. They loved the busy-ness but relaxed atmosphere that permeated the property. Cats and dogs vying for attention. Horses to ride and groom and visit after dinner. They did very well and even enjoyed our trip into the historic town near the ranch. We went into town a couple times--for ice cream, old-fashioned candy, a self-directed walking tour and a drive through the historic cemetery.

We took tons of pictures and made lots of memories.

It's February, Ya'll

What, oh WHAT, have we been up to around this piece?  Maybe you're wondering, maybe you're not.  My mom, one of the only readers I probably have left, went into the hospital today to be treated for pneumonia and there is likely a good chance no one will read the update anyway, right?

But, just in case.

Wordless Wednesday

Swirling the Drain

This was my view just a week ago when I had the opportunity to spend a few days with the SpouseBuzz crew in Hawaii.  I was lying on my back on the beach looking up in the sky and realized I had not seen something so blue and beautiful in a long time.  I marveled that there is a place in the world where it looks like this EVERY day.  It was great that SpouseBuzz took its live show on the road and we were able to spend some quality time on Waikiki Beach.

The memory of this view will be necessary to move me through winter as well as pretty much every moment of every day for the foreseeable future.

I tried very much to enjoy my time in Hawaii and to live in the moment while there because I knew it would be fleeting.  I wanted to feel the sun on my face, let the island breeze blow my hair and listen to tropical music while eating as much pineapple as one could consume without having to actually go into the field and pick some one's self. 

Maybe It's the Sinus Medication

Feeling a little more together today and I can only conclude that it's drug induced.  It certainly isn't because I've been running regularly (because I haven't) or because anything good has been happening (because it hasn't).  I did take a prescription grade sinus pill this morning, however, when I felt the inkling of a sinus headache behind my eyes.  I have a full plate today and no time to be writhing in pain.

I had my first workshop scheduled for students today.  It was on the topic of making a plan and devising a schedule that works.  Perhaps it also should have been on how to jury rig a Dell computer because the one in the classroom where I'd hoped to show my outrageously awesome PowerPoint slideshow had a screen of death.  No workshop.  I only had a handful of participants anyway and they are all "mine" given their affiliation with the program I'm directing at the moment.  We survived and I made them promise to talk about how life changing the workshop was and to encourage others to come to our next one.  What I don't understand is how someone obviously tried to use that computer (the screen of death was up when I went in) and yet, no one either 1) reported it or 2) responded to the report.  So irresponsible.  Truly.  I tire of people's lack of initiative and sense of responsibility. 

I have three 1/2 hour meetings scheduled with students today.  One of which commences at 4:30.  Here's a little secret:  I'm leaving at 4:35 if no one has a rear in a seat at 4:30.  That is too late in my day for someone to be late at a time they have selected.  Of course, I'm sure he will show up on time and I'll have to remind myself to be my kinder, gentler (read: fake) self for 30 minutes conducting a meeting on a topic of which is a moot point.  I have no intention of agreeing to the request on the table and the meeting is protocol only.  So, doubly annoying that it's taking place 1) at all and 2) at 4:30.

We have a hugely busy week ( per usual ) and I'm already looking forward to SpouseBuzz Live in Hawaii in November.  It isn't even the beach and sea breeze I'm most excited about now--it's the pineapple.  I had not had pineapple (even though I ate a lot of it in my life) until I ate pineapple in Hawaii.  And, even though I have consumed tons of pineapple since, I have not had pineapple since 1994 when I visited Hawaii for a week. 

In other random news, I have mosquito bites of an unidentified origin in odd places.  One on the back of my neck.  One on my thumb.  Several on my ankles.  I did not receive any mosquito bites on Sunday night at the cookout we attended.  The baseball game we went to yesterday was in the afternoon and no mosquitoes were visible nor did I itch until this morning.  Is it possible a mosquito sneaked into my room and went wild while I slept?  Sheesh.  Just what I need.  A rogue mosquito making itself at home in my bedroom.  Lordy.

Not much else in the way of news to report.  M3 survived her first "red card" at school and the more details I receive on it, the more I'd like to give her teacher a red card.  I try to be a nice person and not become "that parent", but seriously.  M3 has had ENOUGH of her time wasted by people who are in positions of needing to know, but not wanting to avail themselves of the information.  So, we're going to need to start getting our sh*t straight or the switch will be flipped and some unsuspecting educator will be on the receiving end of a year's worth of frustration times mom's love times my generally nasty attitude. 

What a perfect storm.