What's Going On?

Well, once again I have fallen behind in blogging. I feel like life is on an upswing right now, so I will try to be more faithful in updating!

Not too much exciting has happened since my last post. Well, I take that back. I battled a few plagues:

• A rice weevil was living in a bag of rice I bought from the store. It burrowed its way out and decided to make a home and reproduce in my cabinets. That was a fun experience. That happened about the same time that the plumbing was on the fritz.
• Fleas took residence on my dogs. What a nightmare. I think they must have been living in the carpet because they kept appearing!

Now things have seemed to settle around the house. Externally, I have been staying busy with the Junior League of Atlanta, Alpha Gam (both as an Advisor and an Alum) and I've also joined a small group. Oh, I think I'm also going to be on the HOA board this time around too....Maybe one day I'll learn to say no. However, all of this activity has really helped to distract me. The time that I am home, I'm usually catching up on my tv shows (I know, super important), cleaning (this is a new one I'm trying to be dedicated to) or crafting. I have this passion for my jewelry and have a dream of owning my own business with famous people wearing my pieces and knowing who I am. Maybe one day that will happen! :)

John is also staying busy. His days are pretty filled with work, which is good. He doesn't have too much downtime. On Veterans Day, Governor Perdue was actually at John's base. John was able to meet him and also have his picture taken. Maybe that will get posted soon...

Like I said, I hope to post more frequently. Besides, who wouldn't want to know about all the super-exciting things going on!

Blessings!

This Old House

So, too many crazy and I guess, funny, things have been going on here lately not to post! I'm going through some self-changes and I'm trying to focus on myself (i.e. losing weight/getting in shape, finding a church, trying to stay better in touch...), so one of my goals is to blog more often. I must say, it's quite therapeutic.

So, funny story number 1 from a few weeks ago:

Most of you (all 2 of you that read this!) probably don't know that we have someone who rents our basement. He is super nice--he came with the house! The couple that lived here before us rented the basement to a young man who they found from their church. He is a landscaper and needed a place to live. So, they took him in. He does the yard every week and pays rent. So yes, our house came with a live-in gardener! :)

Well, he knocked on the door on a Tuesday night about 3 weeks ago and told me that the water wasn't draining well in the bathroom downstairs. So, the next day I go get some Liquid Plumbr, leave it in his mailbox and then Thursday I left to go to Americus after work for my grandmother's birthday. Sunday night, he knocked on the door again (with the bottle in his hand) and said, "You need to come see this." Well, the toilet had overflowed, obviously days earlier as evident by the dried blobs on the floor (I won't go into detail, you get where I'm going) and there was water standing in the tub. It reeked. I wanted to cry because I had no idea what to do.

Well, I was able to talk to John and he reminded me that we purchased Home Warranty service...So, I called them. Only $60 to come clean the sewer line. Not bad right? Well, after a less than desirable experience with the Rooter guy, he informed me that there are roots in our line, which means we will probably need a new pipe. But it would be $300+ for the camera to see if it is busted or not. I'm going to call a different, trustworthy plumber to come check the pipe.

Well, I still had to get the issue about the cleanup resolved. I called this company that the Rooter guy suggested; minimum $1500 for cleanup. So, I called State Farm and they said they would cover it...but our deductible is $2000. So, after almost having a panic attack, I called my in-laws to see if they had any ideas. My AMAZING mother-in-law volunteered to come help clean it up. So, we put on nasty old clothes and a clean white dentist-like mask and went to work. We got it all cleaned up...for FREE! I can never thank her enough for that.

I still need to call the plumber, but everything has been ok so far. I'm growing up! :)

I'm going to try and post more often...There are way too many funny things to update on!

My Last (Pinched) Nerve

Wow, so I apparently carry stress in my neck. Thursday I had this terrible neckache accompanied by a throbbing headache which also made me feel queasy. Great. Friday, it didn't get any better. I could move my head slightly and get a throbbing headache. But, my chiropractor, was of course closed. So, I had to suffer through the weekend. I barely got off the couch on Saturday, but had already planned to go to an Advisor Dinner for us to plan this upcoming year for the chapter. So, I made myself get up and take a quick shower to make myself presentable. We had a great time, but I didn't get home until around 1:30 a.m. John was of course online, starting his day. It was perfect timing! He convinced me to take a muscle relaxer. What a great idea. I had planned to go to church that morning with some neighbors, but I didn't wake up until, oh about 1:00 p.m.! Then I moved downstairs to the couch and barely left for the rest of the day.

Yesterday, I had had enough. I felt like poo (my allergies were acting up too) so I called my boss and asked for the day off. I had no energy. So, I went to the Chiropractor and told him about how this was a Pain in the Neck (literally!). He checked it out and told me that I had a pinched nerve! I figured that's what it was. So, I went back home and rested some.

I did feel much better and went back today for him to adjust more. It's still sore and there's not much I can do to help it except for using ice.

In other news, John has made it to Iraq! Yay, let the countdown begin!!!! :)

I am counting down until I can go rest and hopefully get better!

Living Single

Well, John has left for his year in the desert, and I am home with Felipe and the dogs, of course.
He has been in Kuwait for about a week and will be soon moving to Iraq. If any of you would like his contact info, let me know. I have his address and Skype name. Speaking of which, how great is Skype?! I can't express how nice it has been to video chat with John. He has been going to Starbucks at like 5 am so that we can chat. :) Pretty cool. It's so nice to be able to see him and it's like having an actual phone conversation, hands free. I hope they never charge!


It's interesting being on my own. I've never lived on my own before...ever. So, when issues arise, It's up to me to take care of them now. So, I'm learning about my weaknesses and trying to improve. I can see that are some good things that will out of this time apart. I mean, I would so choose John over that, but I have to focus on the positive!

I will try to post more often...it's been super busy!

Saying Goodbye at the Airport

Left Behind

So, it's been two weeks today since John (Click to follow his journey) left for his last round of training. People keep asking me if I'm okay and if it's been hard. My plan is to stay busy. I plan to do that by:

• Being more socialable than ever...or at least the first in a long time
• Hanging out with friends
• Joining Junior League of Atlanta
• Crafting projects
• Baking (I know my co-workers are so upset by this b/c they benefit from it)
  
• Babysitting a precious 3 month old
• Getting to know my neighbors better
• Oh, and being on the HOA Board
• Alpha Gam Advisor
• Alpha Gam Alumnae Group
  
• Trying to get into shape
• Playing with my dogs
• Visiting family
• Re-decorating the house (Yes John, you read that right...)

Just to name a few...

So far (in my two weeks), I've been doing pretty well. Last week, every day in my calendar was booked. This week is ... slowing down.

And, after a frustrating day at work plus not being able to talk to John just put things into perspective. As much as I can try to keep myself busy, I'm going to have these days. And, as strange as it sounds, I'm kind of thankful for today. When I tried to call John earlier (with no answer) and then called to say Goodnight, only to hear "I can't talk because I'm in a meeting...but I love you.", made me realize that it's starting. I need to get back into the habit of not being able to talk to him whenever I want. When he's gone, I can't just pick up the phone and call him to vent. I have to be the strong one. Lord knows that he has enough craziness and will have enough work to keep him busy, I can't distract him with my bad days or worries. I have to be the strong front; I have to put on my game face so that he can focus on his job there and not worry about me. Now I feel guilty--how selfish of me to call him and vent about something petty that I got upset about today when he is preparing his soldiers and their supplies for their upcoming deployment. He will be away from everything he knows and loves for a whole year, while being in a war-torn country, taking care of our soldiers who put their lives on the line for us everyday. Talk about a reality check.

So, that's why I have great friends that I can lean on... and, of course, my relationship with God that I can turn to as well. And if you want to be one of these friends, I'm accepting applications. :) It's these things that will get me through this next year...not to mention my long list above.

So, yes...Left Behind. But am I bitter or upset? No. I will be better for it... and so will we.

Jamaica, Mon!

So, we're back from Jamaica...Yeah, mon! We had such a great time! Since John is leaving in two weeks for training, we decided to take a vacation to have some memories together before he leaves. So, a few months ago we decided to go to Jamaica! We went to the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios and we had such a wonderful time. It's so nice to have everything completely included---food, drinks and fun are already paid for! We mostly hung out on the beach during the days and enjoyed the restaurants at night. We got to see a steel drum band one night but really didn't get to the other planned activities. It was rainy off and on but we still enjoyed our time. The last day we didactually get to climb Dunn's River falls. . .which is a 600 foot climb. Yes, we climbed 600 feet up the falls. Pictures to come! And, speaking of pictures, here are a few, but I also have links to our albums too.

On our way there!!!

Fun on the beach!!


Our beautiful photo shoot!


And, this is just a teaser of our pictures. So, if you want to see more, here you go!

Jamaica album

Jamaica Photo Shoot

Welcome, John!

Ok, so my hubby has decided to start a blog for his big trip to the "Beach with no Ocean," as one of our friends termed it.

So, if you would like to keep up with his journey, you can find him here.

In other news, we had a Going Away party for John this weekend. It was a great turnout! One of John's co-workers even was gracious enough to make BBQ and Brunswick Stew...as a gift. Yeah, it's a very gracious gift when there are close to 50 mouths to feed. So, that was a blessing.

Now that my Mom is retired, she is able to help out more...So, she came up on Thursday to help clean around the house. She was a tremendous help and we had fun shopping together (for the party) and preparing for the party. I absolutely could not have pulled this off without her...another blessing.

Lots of our family, friends and neighbors came to show their support for John and for us in this time. We received so many well-wishes and promises of prayers while he is gone to keep him safe and prayers for us both during the time apart...yet again, a blessing.

Not to mention a wonderful house for entertaining and the bad weather holding off so that we could host partly outside!

So, yes, we are blessed beyond belief. It's nice to stop and notice the little things. After all, it's the little things that help make it through the hard times.