The light

 

*courtusy of swagbucks*

So, It’s almost February. Which means we’re ALMOST at the end of this deployment. I cannot wait, this deployment has taught me a lot about myself. It’s taught me a lot about being married, and about our relationship…I know the LT has learned a lot as well. I’m not quite sure what all he’s learned, and that is really a post for him to do, if he so chooses.

Our future in the Army is really really uncertain. And when most of the friends I’ve made during this deployment know their next step, the LT and I don’t know ours. It’s scary, and I’m getting really tired of people asking me what’s next. And I really really don’t like talking about what’s going on. For a few reasons, one being I have no idea what is going on. I just know that things aren’t set in stone yet, and we’re in a holding pattern.

I just can’t wait for him to be home, so we can figure this out. This whole not getting to talk to him a lot really is for the birds, and I’m trying to be okay with it. But when I see others who get to talk on the phone with their husband daily, sometimes multiple times a day, it makes me feel like shit. It’s not that my husband doesn’t want to talk to me, it’s just that he’s busy. And that he doesn’t have access to internet or phones like others. I can’t get mad at him. I don’t ever get mad him for it. He’s in a warzone for crying out loud. So getting upset that he hasn’t called or texted or messaged is pointless.

I usually don’t stress if it’s been 23 hours since the last Facebook message, but I always laugh at myself when I see that, and think of all those insecure wives who flip if it’s been 12 hours. Can you just see how they would react if this was WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam when you probably got NOTHING, no R&R, these deployments were way longer than 12 months… Or when we first got into Iraq and Afghanistan when all you got were censored letters. You’d have no idea where exactly your husband was, what he was doing, or how he was doing. We are SO lucky these days, that people take it for granted…

5 question Friday–Jan 20

I figured I’d partake in it this week since one of my questions made the cut :)

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Rules for 5QF:

Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, January 20th: (Special thanks to@Lovely_Lici,

@trooppetrie, @lifeafterplacin, @my4redheads, and vacationed out me for their question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so come on over to my community or watch for my Thursday afternoon shout out for questions on Twitter and offer up your best question suggestions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and usehashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. Where do you hide the reeeally good snacks?

I don’t have to, no kids, yet, and some of the snacks I like, hubby doesn’t. Plus, hubby is deployed, so he can’t get to them anyways. Now, when he gets home, that’s another story. He might eat me out of house and home and all my goooood snacks because he’s been deprived (which isn’t true at all bc I did send him tons of goodies)

2. Do u keep your vehicle clean or am I the only one who has things falling out of their van?

I have every intention of keeping my car clean, but I just can’t seem too…things aren’t falling out, but it isn’t clean…

3. Have you ever been to Vegas?

Not yet, going in May, just booked our hotel. I bought the groupon – 2 night stay for 2 adults and 2 kids, 1 bottle of alcohol at the Hard Rock Hotel – we’re going to stay 4 nights…I bought 2 groupons. So our Hotel is paid for, for the most part, I think we just have to pay some fees, but other than that, free :) And 2 bottles of booze, why yes please!!!!!

We are going to Peepshow for sure…and probably a couple Cirque show, and I’m going see if I can sweet talk my hubby into seeing Phantom, We are also going to see Cirque De Soleil: KA…I’m waiting for the hubby to wake up and get back to me about what other shows he wants to see.

4. Warm room light blankets or cold room warm snuggly blanket?

Cold room, snuggled in blankets, And I have to sleep with the AC on, we have a window unit, and I have to have the white noise, thanks to my hubby…but I’ve always needed to be in a cold room to sleep. I do love to snuggle in my blankets..but sometimes you’ll find me with one leg out of the covers and one leg under…I get hot…and I am a restless sleeper, so the covers can be found in a ball when I wake up, or even on the floor, or even half on the floor, LOL

5. What is the worst airplane/flying experience you've ever had?

Hmm, I’ve not had a horrible experience ever to be quite honest. I’ve had some long layovers, and what felt like I’d never make it some where. So I guess I can talk about that…and then the last time I flew it was quite eventful, so I’ll tell that story as well.

The first one is when I flew out to Oklahoma to spend a week or so with the hubby, who was then just the boyfriend. We bought the tickets for me to fly into a small airport in Wichita Falls, TX – and I got stuck in Dallas/Fort Worth. I thought I was going to miss the connecting flight since we got into DFW kind of late. I was relieved to know it was delayed, crazy right, not everyone felt that way though. And I quickly changed my tone when we had been stuck for hours…the reason I was flying in closer to Lawton, OK was because the hubby was only allowed to drive so far, and DFW was out of his “box” and we thought Wichita Falls, TX would be better…They only have 1 plane that goes to and from DFW and Wichita Falls. So they finally got the plane fixed, and we finally got there. No, fast forward to the time for me to leave, we didn’t think we needed to be there really really early, but we were wrong because we showed up with what we thought was plenty of time, but they had already boarded the plane and it was ready for take off…OOPS…so we had to wait for the money to buy a ticket, and this time we flew me from Oklahoma City, OK…

So now onto the next story – the one from the mainland here when I was in town last month…on my way to the airport to fly back, I got a text, I had them set up to tell me if my flight was cancelled or delayed. It said the flight had been delayed, I was like, oh okay, cool. Then not even 5 minutes later I get another text siting it was cancelled due to plane maintenance. Well CRAP -  I wanted to get back to Hawaii for New Years, and I had a connector in Phoenix, and I was worried about missing it. So I went to the ticket counter, and had to wait in line, because obviously a lot of people needed a new flight. So an agent was going down the line, giving a number, so I called. The lady told me the next flight was that evening, it was a little after 9 at this point, not happening…so I told the lady I didn’t care how I got there, or what stops I made, I just wanted to get to Hawaii, and on the next available flight that wasn’t going to involve waiting in an airport for 9 hours…so she found one through Delta, I was flying US Airways. So she said the only thing is it leaves in a little over an hour, and I had to run to the other terminal, because well, you know, things can’t be easy…I’m on the phone with her, trying to push all my bags on a cart to the other terminal, just to get a confirmation number that didn’t work because she didn’t hold a ticket. I get in line after trying the code myself on a computer, and an agent helping, and then getting asked why I was in line by another agent, well, I’m in line because I have a confirmation code that doesn’t work, I’m suppose to be in this line. I finally get to the counter and the guy is like, well, I don’t know if I can get you on this fight. OH HELL NO HOME BOY…I was told I had a seat, give me a seat…turns out he was able to, they paid for my bags and since it was a non-stop flight I got 2 meals, 1 snack, and a ton of free drinks, soda and water of course…so moral of the story, fly Delta non-stop from Atlanta to Hawaii or from Hawaii to Atlanta, you get 2 free meals and a snack, and free entertainment!!!

Updates & his birthday

I know this is kind of late, but better late than never!!!

I’ve gotten several emails and even a letter in the mail from my son’s adoptive mother. My first email was on his birthday, and it just made that day so much more special. She sent some family pictures they had done, and they were really cute!

Then a few weeks later she sent some more. Just pictures from life, and the last 6 months. I so enjoyed seeing them. And then this week she sent pictures from their birthday and Christmas.

I can’t get over how TALL he is and how much he is looking like a child and not a baby or toddler. And I can’t help but see his birth father in him. The poor kid has the guys hairline.

He’s doing really well though. He’s growing and developing. He’s right on target. Which is quite amazing since he had a rough first 6-8 months of life. He’s come a long way. And it is so wonderful to see him doing well.

On his birthday, I was hanging out with my friends, and decided it would be a great idea to get a cake, and celebrate his birthday. So we went to see Arthur Christmas and then went to Chili’s for drinks and dinner.

Christmas trip 2011

So much for thinking the new blog design would help me update more often. Whoops.

I guess I could go back in time, to my trip home. Especially since I didn’t even write about it at all here.

It was great. Better than I thought it would be. And much needed.

I hated being there without my husband, but it was nice to not spend Christmas alone, even though I wouldn’t have been alone in Hawaii.

I spent a lot of time traveling on my trip. I think I put at least 2000 miles on a car. I drove from Atlanta, to Dahlonega, to Chattanooga, to Nashville, back to Chattanooga, back to Dahlonega and then back to Atlanta. Driving places in between at each stop.

The first stop was Atlanta, to stay the night with my grandfather. He took me to dinner at the Country Club, and my Aunt and Uncle joined us. It was nice, it felt like old times, spending the night, that is. If my grandmother had still be living it would have been exactly like old times. But she’s been gone 2 years now, and Granddad and I talked about her, and shared memories. It was nice. He misses her so much. I hope that my husband and I have that kind of love. They were married for 50 years.

Then I drove up to Dahlonega and spent a few days with the husband’s family. It was nice to see his mom and dad, and grandparents. I got to meet his great-grandmother as well. I spent some time with his cousins and Aunts and Uncles, and even went to dinner with his friend. It was really nice.

Then I drove up to Chattanooga to spend time with my family and friends. I took my mom and sister to dinner with my best friend and her daughter, of course we went to my favorite Chinese restaurant, Formosa! Then I helped Emily with her daughter, it was so nice spending so much time with Emily. It was just like old times. Emily and I drove up to Nashville for the day, to have lunch with my father. It was nice. We were going to see the hotel all decorated for Christmas, but it was $18 to park, we said no way, plus the parking lot is far away from the hotel and it was raining, and we had no umbrella, and her 2 year old.

I spent a lot of time with my sister too. I spent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Night at my mom’s house. We drove to Atlanta for Christmas with my grandfather and his sister and her husband. Mom and I made Chicken Divan and Rice, and my Uncle brought Costco Apple Pie for desert! We went back home that evening, and I took my sister to see Breaking Dawn, for my 3rd time. The night before, I took mom and my sister to see Sherlock Holmes.

I went back to Dahlonega to spend more time with the husband’s family. And then I went down to Atlanta to spend the night with my grandfather and have dinner with him and my Aunt and Uncle again.

The next day I was flying back to Hawaii. On my way to the airport, I got a text and then a call that my flight was cancelled. Due to airplane maintenance. So when I got there, I went to the ticket counter, waiting in line, and finally calling the airline, they weren’t going to be able to put me on a plane until later that evening. I was told her that was not an option. So she called Delta, and got me a non-stop flight, only kicker, I had less than an hour to get checked in and board. I got a confirmation number, and went over to Delta, which of course was in the opposite terminal. When I got there, the conformation number wasn’t working. So I got in line, again. The guy told me he didn’t know if he could get me on the plane. I was like, wtf, I want on this plane, and the lady I talked to said I was…anyways, he got me on, and I didn’t have to pay to check my bags!

I ended up getting 2 meals and 1 snack out of the flight, and I think we will only fly Delta non-stop from here on out. And I also ended up getting into Hawaii close to 2 hours ahead of time!

New Years Eve was spent with good friends, eating good food, drinking good wine/champagne, and watching fireworks!

new years

So I guess I’ll jump on the bandwagon and write about new years. It was amazing, and pretty, and just what I needed!

We had good German food, great cake, and lots of booze. I introduced everyone to Poinsettia's – champagne and cranberry juice, we played a game, and then sat outside with a fire and made s’mores. We then watched the Fireworks from Waikiki, Pearl Ridge, and some other places all from my friend’s back/front yards.

It was really the best way to ring in the new year without our husbands.

2012 is a big year…lots to look forward too! I am so excited!