One Day

I only have one more day, or more like 16 hours, until I get those keys in my hand!  I can't say how excited I am, I hope that all the house stuff keeps me well occupied into the new year.

Today I woke up and then immediately checked on my dog.  His swelling had pretty much gone away, and I figure that whatever had gotten him must have passed.  I will continue to keep an eye on him and his activities, making sure the swelling doesn't come back or happen again.  Then after I did that, I jumped into putting together Jesse's care package.  I quickly figured out that I couldn't fit everything into one box, so I made sure to take anything "breakable" out of the box.  I made sure everything was packed tightly and taped it up;  I reinforced the corners, taped all the way around the box on all sides, and made sure the tape was doubled up so it couldn't open.

Then I realized that I missed my dentist appointment I had today, which made me stress out.  I quickly called and rescheduled it, but turns out I can't get in until January.  Not even January, but the END of January.  Oh well I guess, there is nothing that I can do about it now.

I recruited my father to go out with me to mail Jesse's package and got a money order from WaMu (known now as Chase which I'm still not willing to accept) which was free.  Dad and I grabbed a coffee (me a carmel brule latte and dad a peppermint mocha) and headed home.

I helped dad do some cleaning before mom got home, and did some stuff on the computer.  My mom and I ended up looking at paint samples for the house.  I'm still trying to figure out what color I want to do in our bedroom, something that looks good with a rich red color.  Wish me luck!  I want to do a pink in the laundry room, possibly a blue in the kitchen, a tan or green in the living room or dining room, a tropical blue in a bathroom upstairs, and possibly a red in the master bath.  We'll see how that goes, I'm struggling a little bit because I'm not really able to look at my furniture in comparison.  So I might just buy two different colors of paint, and start there.  Maybe wait until we move everything in before I decide everything else.

Dad and I loaded up the CRV with stuff to move onto post.  It's going to be an early morning tomorrow, since I need to go on post and give them some cash before move in.  I can't WAIT to see the house and post photos.

That reminds me that I need to charge my battery to my camera!  I hope that all of you had a great monday and you have a great week!

I wanted to quickly mention something that was on the news today about ILT Brian Bradshaw (a friend of Jesse's) that was on the news tonight because he died in Afghanistan, here is the link if you are interested:

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Gold-Star-Mothers-renew-holiday-commitment-for-fallen-troops-71791037.html

Sunday Morning

So today I woke up to a dog jumping on my bed.  As soon as I realized it and my head hit my pillow, my alarm went off.  I turned my alarm off and decided to go back to bed.

When I finally woke up an hour later, I looked at my phone (which the first thing I do when I wake up). My friend Stacy and texted me to see if I wanted to go to breakfast.  I have to say my timing was pretty good because I had noticed the text almost 15 minutes after she sent it.  So I we worked out a time for breakfast, and I got ready for the day.

We tried this place downtown, which was new to all of us.  It was a pretty decent place, you could tell that it had been around for a while.  I forget the name of it, but it was good.  After that we went to Target (Stacy bought a sweater for her cat Tini, which was funny).  I bought some more stuff for Jesse's care package, which of course has far exceeded the amount of goodies that a sane person would!  We headed back to my house to work on my project of the day.

I made all the stuff I planned on making:  pumpkin bread, orange cream cookies, and peanut butter cookies.  I watched probably 2 disks of CSI while making cookies - it seemed to take forever!  I also arranged, cut, packaged, and vacuum sealed everything to send.  I am very tired.

Then I realized that my dad left my dog out for an hour unattended, and I only realized this when he "pawed" at the door (it sounds like he ran into the door with his head).  I let him in, and then was getting a good look at him.  I had to wrestle around for his feet to clean them off, and I've been noticing some strange things happening to his face.  I realized today that I wasn't crazy, his face was swollen!  It's around his eyes, nose, and lips.  It's nothing too crazy, but noticeable nonetheless.  So, my first task tomorrow morning is getting the big boy into the vet to likely get a shot.  I don't know what he stuck his face in, or when, because I noticed he seemed to be developing a bump on his nose yesterday.  Only today did I notice his hair and lips look quite strange, and feeling it with my hands I almost panicked.  It doesn't feel like anything big like cysts, but it is very bumpy.  It scared me!  He's not lethargic or having any issues with food (if anything he's eating more), so I'm not rushing him into an emergency vet.  But it has moved to the top of my priority list tomorrow!

I hope everyone has a great week this week, I know for many of you it is only a 3-day weekend.  Have a great week, and I will be posting often!

November's album is updated!

November 2009

End of the Week

So today is the end of a pretty boring week.  I can't say how excited I am for the week ahead.  I have much going on, and this is a run down on my daily schedule:

• Sunday:  COOKIES!!  I am making Orange Cream cookies and Otis Spunkmeyer Peanut Butter cookies for Jesse's care package.  I already bought him an air mattress and razor blades that he needs, so that will go into the package.  I'm getting the feeling as of right now I might have to send two separate care packages... We'll see.
• Monday:  I need to get my money order for on post housing (Fort Lewis won't let you write a check or do cash, let alone a debit card).  I also am planning on sending one package and getting more customs forms to mail out future packages.  New customs form from the USPS are coming in to fill out so they are even more of a pain in the behind!  I also will be loading the car to get some stuff out of the way from my parents house.
• Tuesday:  I have to be on post early to hand in rent money, then off to the house!  I will get my keys, do the walk through, and move a small amount of stuff in.  I plan on snapping some photos (which I will post here and Facebook) and then dad and I will likely make a trip to both the Px (we might buy some paint supplies) and the Commissary for some Thanksgiving  Day supplies.
• Wednesday:  I work all day.  Yuck.
• Thursday:  Thanksgiving!  We may take a trip out to the new place for both mom to see and to make sure that I have a good idea of colors to paint the house so I can pick that up!  Then we'll be doing dinner over at a family friend's house, which is the Stagner residence.
• Friday:  Or should I say, Black Friday??  I will probably make it out early in the AM to Fred Meyer's Sock Sale.  The have half off of socks!  I can't resist.  Maybe I will go shopping somewhere else too -- but we'll have to see.  I will most likely be picking up some coffee at Starbucks too!  Then that afternoon/evening I will be picking up any needed paint and paint supplies.
• Saturday:  Painting!  If you would like to help, please let me know!  E-mail me via Facebook or gmail.

So that's that!  Keep checking the blog to see photos.

Today I went out to Petsmart and bought Stryker a new Christmas toy (photos to be added to the November photo album) and then we went to Walmart.  I needed more supplies for Jesse - including the air mattress I mentioned above.  I also got more Food Saver bags to vacuum seal cookies in, along with some ziplock baggies to pack stuff for Jesse.  Again I've said it once, I've said it a million times... I am obsessed with Jesse's care packages.  It's a little scary sometimes... haha.  Our friend Stacy also came over tonight, and gave me a Christmas card to send in the package.  I know I've mentioned it before, but I'm going to mail Christmas cards to Jesse that are mailed to me here at home.  So if you'd like Jesse to get a Christmas card, note, picture, photo, or letter feel free to send it to me.  I don't know when I'm going to have an address to give to everyone!

Another thing is I'm considering getting those new shoes from Reebok, the Easy Tones.  I like the look of them a little bit better than something like Sketchers.  I do know that losing weight and/or toning up doesn't just happen with wearing some sneakers, but I think that they may not hurt along with an exercise routine.  Anyway, I'm thinking about it.

I hope that you all have a great week, I will keep you posted with information and photos as I have it!

Stir Crazy

I noticed that this month I will far exceed entries than past months.  I find it a challenge of sorts to try and beat my last month's "record."  Today I feel indifferent, almost unmotivated to write a blog for today.  Today I don't have much of anything to update on Jesse.  All I have to talk about is myself.

Yesterday I started to get a bit stir crazy being in this house.  It is a different experience moving back with mom and dad.  Some days are better than others.  That is something that rings true in my day to day life, and something that is expected in being a military spouse.  By no means am I naive to this fact, but the last few days have been tough.  Not as tough as I believe that they can be, but tough nonetheless.  For a distraction yesterday I decided that I would go with my mom to Costco.  We looked around for a while, and I am amazed with how many samples they give out in the middle of a day on a week day!  Not only that but I'm starting to notice a holiday buzz... There were a lot of people there - especially for the middle of  a week day.

I managed not to spend a lot of money at the store (a surprise for a store like Costco), purchasing a Cooking Light book - "How to Cook Everything" - and a new dog bed for Stryker.  I'm sure Jesse's going to be thrilled with the fact that I bought Stryker a new dog bed, but Stryker keeps sleeping on a dog bed in my parents room.  His bed is very fluffy and round, and he seemed SO excited when he got his new bed.  I had to pull the tag off and then I called him into the bedroom where I dropped the bed onto the floor.  He was wagging his tail as much as Stryker wags his tail when he's excited (which isn't much) and immediately laid down on the bed.  It was SO cute.  The rest of the evening he followed me around, almost like he was thanking me for his new "toy."

I was thankful last night for the Thursday night TV to come on, then I watched a couple of episodes of other shows on Hulu.com for fun.  I had a splitting headache (which I seem to be getting more often lately) so I laid in the dark and tried not to stress my eyes out too much!

Today I was determined to do something.  I tried to talk my dad into going shopping at Lowe's or Home Depot, but he quickly talked me out of it.  So, as he did some of the routine cleaning he does before my mom gets home, I flipped through my brand new cookbook to find something to make for dinner.  As flank steak sounded like a good idea, I decided against it.  I decided on chicken with cider and bacon sauce along with brown and wild rice, broccoli, and bread.  Dad and I went to the grocery store, took a little drive, and came home.  Mom was home examining her new cookie press and was itching to use it.  So we decided to make chocolate spritz cookies.  After we were finished (I guess I should probably say my mother finished because I didn't help out that much) I packaged up a dozen and vacuum sealed them to send them to Jesse.

After that I shooed mom out of the kitchen and started to make dinner.  We ate and then I returned to my room to watch some Dateline mysteries on tv.  I also got some flat rate boxes in the mail, and am slightly disappointed with the size of the boxes.  But I guess that's the deal - you get a flat rate but probably won't be able to package everything you want.  Oh well I guess.

Next week is going to be a busy week, and I hope that everything goes smoothly.  I really hope the week flies by.  I am looking forward for the holiday season to be over, if I could skip it this year I would do so.  In the new year I plan on taking on cake decorating and doing some more intermediate classes with the doggie.  Maybe I can get him to learn how to walk well on a leash before Jesse gets home?  Maybe I'll take on some knitting or crocheting too.

Which brings me to another thought - Stryker is in need of a new collar.  I found this website a while back that sells collars, dublindog.com.  I bought Stryker an Ezy Dog collar (ezydog.com) after the two of us had adopted him.  And it smells.  Bad.  Don't get me wrong they're great products, but its time for a change!  The new collars that they make at Dublin Dog are more of a rubber material, water doesn't get into it at all.  I'm thinking that the collar I like is a camouflage pattern but is white, yellow, and black.  I think it would look kinda cool on an all black dog.  We'll see what I end up doing!  I'm sure I'll keep everyone with pictures of the doggie and his new collar.

I'm going to start a new album with photos of our new place.  I will post that as soon as possible, I plan on documenting everything for Jesse and you to see.

I added more photos to the November photo album of Stryker's new dog bed along with some photos of our chocolate spritz cookies:

November 2009

Hooah Mail, Holiday Mail for Heros, and my new reading

First, I am eager to tell you about a specific mail program they are starting for soldiers called "Hooah Mail." Please note this program starts December 1st! It is a program that was created for family members and friends of deployed soldiers which allows you to go to a website (www.hooahmail.us) and submit letters to troops overseas. Oh, and it's FREE. Gotta love that, right?? Here's how it works:

1. Visit the website (listed above) and register. 
2. Add the recipient to the address book (please don't forget if you need rank, by December 1st Jesse will be a 1LT!). 
3. Compose a letter. 
4. Add photo if desired. It will print in black and white. I HIGHLY recommend this! 
5. Send the letter. 

This is how it works in country:

1. The letter is sent to a secure server. 
2. The designated Army Post Office downloads the letter to a special machine which prints, folds, and seals it. 
3. The letter is delivered to the soldier through the unit's mail call. 

For more information you can visit:
http://www.myarmyonesource.com/cmsresources/Army%20OneSource/Media/PDFs/About/Hooahmail_Trifold_ScreenRes100.pdf

Please let me know if this link doesn't work or you have any questions regarding Jesse's unit.

Also, I know many of you are itching to send care packages! Chances are if you want to send a package to Jesse for Christmas it's not going to be possible. I highly recommend sending something to a much lonelier GI if you have this itch! One reason why Jesse became an officer was because he wants to be able to teach, share, and help fellow soldiers. I know how that he believes that you always need to take care of your soldiers, and a great way to do that is to visit the Red Cross:

http://www.redcross.org/holidaymail

This site makes sure that our troops get much needed encouragement. This is a time of war and polls show morale is down among our troops. I'm sure many of you say to yourself that I need to put my money where my mouth is.... And I want to let everyone know I have a personal list that I received from the Brigade HHC (Headquarters company) FRG (Family Readiness Group) of injured soldiers from 5th Brigade which I have sent Thanksgiving and Christmas cards to at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. If there was a way for me to make every one of our troops happy -- especially over the holidays -- I would do it!

Next I wanted to talk about the new book I received today from Military One Source. The book is "I'm Already Home...Again." It's a guide to "keeping your family close while on assignment or deployment." I think that every so often I'm going to post a blog about something in this book. I know many of you that read this blog have or will have a family member or spouse deployed, and this book gives some cute ideas to keep things fresh. I absolutely know for a fact if you send letters, care packages, e-mails, etc to your deployed family member they will absolutely brag about you to everyone possible!! This goes over especially well if you're a girlfriend/spouse/fiance. So keep it fresh!!

Okay that was a little more me than the book, but I will share excerpts from the book every so often... Especially if there's nothing else going on!

Oh and FIVE more days until we get those keys!!!

Jesse Fishing....And Crabbing... And fishing some more!

So I realized just now I have NO album of Jesse fishing.  Whoops.  I don't really have anything to update at this moment.... Except 6 more days 'til I get the keys!  Yay!

Here's the album for Jesse and his fishing adventures:

Jesse's Fishing & Crabbing Adventures

7 Days!

It's one week from tomorrow that I get keys to the new place!!  I'm excited!!

So, I've already making a list of things I need to bring to the new place before we do any moving or painting.  They are:

• Paint samples.  I need to pick my paint out before black friday.
• Towels for hand washing
• Toilet paper!
• Hand soap
• Some of our stuff we had to put in the garage (it's hindering dad from storing firewood in the garage).
• My camera!!!

I'm so excited to share photos with everyone and Jesse!  I will post pictures of the house probably empty,  while we're painting, moving, and putting away.  Hey, Jesse's not here so I have to make sure he feels here, right??

Other than that I talked to the man yesterday -- I know he told me that he couldn't call me one day this week, but I don't know if it was his time or mine.  Being 12 1/2 hours behind can be pretty confusing!

He did tell me that his battalion commander is appointing him to help out some fellow LT's.  He didn't have any emotion either way about it, but I figure it's a good thing.  His battalion commander seems to be a pretty down-to-earth guy too, which is nice.

I have already figured out what is going to be in his next care package too.  And since I know he never reads this blog, I can mention it here so it will be a surprise!  My friend (and co-worker) April's daughter was selling Otis Spunkmeyer cookies (YUM!) and we bought some peanut butter and some m&m cookies.  I picked out the m&m cookies, so I'm going to bake up the peanut butter ones and send them.  I'm also going to bake these orange cream cookies, which I hope are reminiscent of the orange creamsicle cookies that he likes so much in MRE's.  Then I'm going to be sending him TONS of junk food, along with his Army Times, People magazines, and something he actually needs:  razor blades for his razor.

For those who are curious about what they eat there, Jesse is pleased with their chow hall.  On fridays they have "themed" days, one day was surf and turf.  Jesse said they had steak (which he ate) and king crab legs (which he didn't eat).  They also got Baskin Robin's ice cream.  I'm not quite sure what they do on holidays, but will probably find out soon.  They also get free calls on holidays, but they get limited to 20 minutes a day.  They also have long lines, computer time is very much the same if not longer of a wait.

Also -- I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but there is a reporter embedded with 5/2, 2-1 (Jesse's battalion) from The Washington Post.  It is NOT Jesse's company, but is an interesting read:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/16/us-troops-battle-taliban-afghan-rules/

I hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Birthday Taylor

I just wanted to write a quick blog about my brother Taylor.  He celebrated his 22nd birthday last thursday, and he decided to come home this weekend for his celebration (and as I say, presents).  We watched the movie "Up" friday night over some Papa Murphy's pizza, then went to bed.  Yesterday we did our traditional birthday gig:  Dinner.  We went to Duke's Chowder House (my mother, father, and brother all love their chowder) down on the Tacoma Waterfront.  This is also the same place we went to for our "last supper" here in Washington before we went on our adventure to Georgia early in the year.  I tried their lobster chowder -- which was interesting.  I don't think I'm much of a fan of chowder, unless of course it is salmon chowder.  I love my salmon!

After Duke's we went to the Melting Pot for an untraditional dessert.  We had dark chocolate fondue, with an array of crazy dippers which included small pieces of cheesecake, marshmallows, chocolate covered marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, and rice crispy treats.  I seriously think that the Melting Pot has the BEST dark chocolate EVER!  We then headed home for gifts.  He got a Crock-Pot and toaster (both of which he didn't have at his apartment), a tie, some Starbuck's VIA instant coffee, a coffee mug (which has a nifty little compartment to store the coffee packets), a flannel shirt, and a cookbook in which I supplied him with some of our favorite recipes.  Who doesn't like a man that cooks??

Today has been relatively uneventful thus far, I have heard from Jesse even though we both thought our conversations would be few and far between for a while.  I really need to start writing stuff down to remember to tell him!  I always feel like there is nothing to talk about... Then when we get off the phone I suddenly remember.  I'm a major fan of lists.... Jesse told me that I would be ok when he left because I would make all of my lists of stuff to do and get things done.  He's such a goofball.

It still will be probably another month before we get a decent address for him.  There is also a really good chance that once he has a change in venue he will not have access to phone or internet AT ALL.  I'm thinking there is a possibility that he might get access every three weeks or so, but we will see how that goes.

That is all for now!  I will post November photos soon -- possibly later tonight after we drop my brother off in Seattle!  OH -- and the countdown is almost on --  Just a little over a week until we get keys to our NEW HOUSE!! Yay! :)

November 2009