Ten Things I Like About Christmas

1. Christmas carols
2. Movies
3. The smell of a real tree
4. The decorations
5. Driving around looking at the lights
6. My kids opening their presents
7. Baking cookies
8. The ham
9. Ham gravy
10. Christmas vacation

Hectic = Forgetful

When I’m in a rush, I forget things. I think that’s something that happens to everyone occasionally.

Last night, the oldest child had what is for her, the final band performance at her school. Since we’re moving, she won’t have any more performances at this school. One of her very good friends wanted to go so I agreed to pick her up at the last minute. While I was out picking up said friend, (luckily, we live in a small town) and running red lights doing it, the oldest was home taking a shower. Why she waited until the eleventh hour to get in the shower is beyond me. Also, the Mister was doing his best to rush home so he would make it too. It was madness. I get home with the friend long enough to run in the house to pee and then we all ran out and piled in the car to go to the school. Her band instructor is a beast and very strict. We got the oldest to the school one minute late, heheh, but she didn’t get into trouble.

In all my rushing, I forgot the camera. Big :( I had it sitting on the mantel and  had even charged up some batteries for it but walked out the door without it. I’m totally bummed. Her last performance at this school and I don’t have any pictures or video. Again :(

Afterwards, we took the lot of us out for some Arby’s. We had dinner at 8:30 last night, heheh. Even without the camera, it was a good night. All three classes, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade bands, played Christmas songs so it was a good way to get in the Christmas spirit.

I Guess This Is Something Else I Shouldn’t Have Said

We had a bit of a thing happen today. I’ll explain.

Last year when we took our OBX vacation, I wrote a letter of explanation to the oldest child’s school two weeks beforehand to let them know she would be absent and to request that her work be sent home with her so she could do it while we were gone. They didn’t give her her homework but let her do it when we got back. Whatever. But when we did get back, I fielded a couple calls from the school explaining to me the importance of students attending school. I was miffed but I let it go. I take my kids’ educations very seriously and don’t just arbitrarily let them miss school. Besides, we visited a lot of historic places which provided a hands on learning experience AND the kids only missed 4 days of school because of Veteran’s Day.

This year, I was better informed having read the student handbook that the kids get from the school district. Turns out that if you take your kids on an trip which has “educational opportunities” that the absence is excused as long as you send in your letter five days prior to the absence. I did so this year and even quoted the paragraph out of the handbook to cover my butt, not wanting a repeat of last year’s phone calls. Again. They did not send the oldest child’s school work with her but I didn’t receive any phone calls this year. I figured everything was good.

Yesterday, the oldest brought home her 4 1/2 week grades. NOT GOOD! She was missing a lot of assignments. She is now grounded. GROUNDED. She tried blaming our vacation on the missed work but I wasn’t buying it. One of her progress reports (they are sent separately from each of her teachers) had a hand written note at the bottom that said that it’s necessary for her to attend school in order to maintain her grades. That was it. The final straw that broke the camel’s back. I’m sick and tired of them riding their high horse and judging me because I choose to take my child on a family vacation. This year, she only missed 3 1/2 days because of the weather and Veteran’s Day. If they had sent her work with us, I can guarantee you it would have been completed and turned in when we got back. So, I write this teacher a letter explaining how I followed procedure according to the handbook, blah, blah, blah. My tone was a bit snarky but not overtly disrespectful. I was careful. I signed it with both my phone number and e-mail address at the bottom. She replied by e-mail, cleared things up, and the oldest is still VERY GROUNDED.

However, we find out that her teacher, upon reading my letter, yelled at her in front of the entire class. Maybe I was snarkier than I remember being. I am not happy about it though. She shouldn’t have taken out whatever feelings she had about my letter on the oldest let alone in front of the entire class. It’s immature and unprofessional. Sometimes I just really don’t get people.

Oh well. Only three months to go and I’ll get to deal with a whole new school, new teachers, and new snarkiness.

Random Floating Thoughts

I have all this stuff floating around in my head so I’m gonna write about it and get it all out.

The other night, the Mister and I were going to bed and we were locking up the house for the night. We turned  out all the lights in the living room and were walking to our bedroom in the dark. Weird thing about is that while I was walking in complete, pitch black dark, the Mister said he could see well enough from the light coming in the windows to make out shadows of where stuff was. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how very bad my night vision is. I knew it wasn’t 100% but I didn’t know it was that bad. I guess it’s no wonder why I hate driving at  night.

The oldest child had a dance performance at her school last night. She did really great!! I am, of course, the proud parent. I’m going to put up video on my other blog which is private. I’m not comfortable putting video of my kids and other people’s kids on the Internet for all to see. If you’d like to view the video, leave a comment and let me know. I will need your e-mail address to send you an invite.

Something else I just realized is that we will be moving, actually on the road moving, in just over three months. The movers will be here around the 1st of March. I’m not sleeping again and since I’m not worried about anything else, I can only guess that I’m worrying about moving. I’ve also had the worst indigestion. Yes, yes. I know I’ve moved before and will make it through this one, but moving cross country with such little time to get ready is, I think, a perfectly legitimate reason to be stressed out. I’ve also never moved when I was both working and going to school. I’m also concerned about where we will live in California. I think it’s the thought of having to move back into base housing after living like regular people for six years that has me worried the most.

Another realization…I’m getting burned out on social networking. Maybe it’s just a phase and I’ll get back into it.

I’m tired of hearing about Tiger Woods. Move on. Next subject.

Yesterday, it was in the 50’s, today it’s in the 70’s (as I type it’s 72 with a heat index of 77) and tomorrow’s highs will only be in the 50’s again. Totally weird weather.

I’m still rereading the In Death books. Not counting the novellas, I’m on book 20 of 28. The last book, Kindred in Death just came out last month and I haven’t read it yet. I’m excited to get to it. I annoy myself though. Having reread the series as many times as I have, I can pick out a lot of mistakes that Robb made in the story line. Why do I have to be so nitpicky?

Finals on Monday were a nightmare. I took 17th and 18th Century British Literature and Concepts in Marketing this semester. I enjoyed both classes and learned a lot. I don’t know why my exams kicked me this year. I don’t have my grades yet. I probably won’t be posting about them either, lol.

I feel much better now. Don’t forget to let me know if you want to see the dance video and click on through to see my new blog template if you haven’t already!

New Layout/Theme/Template

Whatever you want to call it. Not sure what I think yet. I always need to give new templates a few days before I decide whether or not I like them. And besides. Let’s face it and be honest…How many people actually visit blogs rather than read them in a feed reader these days? Still, if you’re curious to see the changes that I’ve made, feel free to click over and check it out and leave me a comment with your opinion.

The whole reason that I changed was that I wanted to find something more Christmas-y or at least find a template where I could make the header more Christmas-y. I missed the mark there, lol, but I like that this template is brighter than my old one. I was seriously getting tired of the dark brown.

Anywho, dinner is in the oven and I’m cramming for finals tomorrow. Gotta run.

Good Moods vs. Bad Moods

My blog has certainly evolved, or de-evolved depending on your point of view, since I first started it back in 2003. What started out as a simple and easy way of updating family on our move to Vermont turned out to be the only thing that kept me sane during our time in Vermont. A theme has never been seen around here either. I’m not a mom blogger even though I’m a mom who blogs. I’m not a book blogger even though I love to read and occasionally talk about what I’ve read or am reading. I’m currently rereading J.D. Robb’s In Death series in case you were wondering. I’m not a thinly disguised money-making blog. I’ve never earned one red cent by blogging. I’m not even sure how you’d categorize my blog other than to call it a personal, not professional, blog. Blah blah.

What I have learned through the years of blogging is that it is much easier to find things to write about when I am in a bad mood. Ranting, raving, complaining, and just plain bitching are things at which I excel. Idiot drivers, lousy neighbors, family, the Mister’s job, money or the lack thereof, cleaning house, my kids, other people’s kids, and I could go on and on. These are just some of my favorite subjects that I like to blather on about.

Lately, I’ve been in a really good mood. I seriously can’t figure out what’s gotten into me. I’m usually an up and down kinda person. Holidays usually make my moods worse. This year, I just can’t get enough of Christmas. Maybe it’s because I don’t have sucky renters trying to make me go insane this year like I did last year. Or maybe it’s because the Marine Corps isn’t being a major PITA!! like they were in 2006 at Christmastime. Who knows? All I know is that I’ve been in an exceptionally good mood lately which makes it so that I don’t have anything much to say. At least nothing new to say anyway.

I seem to be alone in my joyfulness. I’ve been reading around Facebook and blogs how people aren’t in the Christmas spirit this year. Stop it!! Put out your decorations, bake some cookies, put on some Christmas music or a movie, adopt a reindeer, burn a pine scented candle, whatever it takes!! And hurry it up! My good mood surely won’t last for much longer. ;)

Our Last Thanksgiving in NC

We had a pretty decent Thanksgiving this year. For the first time ever, we  had a fresh turkey instead of a frozen bird. I didn’t think there would be very much difference between the two but I was way wrong. A fresh turkey is juicier and tastier. Honestly. Fresh birds only from now on. The only thing was that we got a 12 pound bird which was big enough for dinner but didn’t leave enough leftovers. Part of our Thanksgiving tradition is to make a turkey potpie with the leftovers. We had to go out and buy a turkey breast in order to have our potpie! And it did NOT taste like turkey at all. I heard on  some Thanksgiving Day special on TV that it’s the dark meat that gives turkey its flavor. I’m guessing that explains why the turkey breast didn’t taste like a normal turkey. Still, the potpie was good and it made leftovers in and of itself!

This year, the Mister and I did some Black Friday shopping. I do believe this is the first time we’ve gone shopping like that since 1995 or 1996. It was fun and other than a few odds and ends, I’m pretty much done with my Christmas shopping. Woohoo!!!!! I’m pretty proud of myself being done so early. Basically, I just have to figure out what I’m getting the Mister for Christmas. He is absolutely the hardest person in the world to shop for. If I was only going to get  him PS3 games, I’d be set but I like variety and PS3 games are pretty much expected. Too bad I don’t have the money to buy him the airplane he’s always wanted.

We have most of our indoor Christmas decorations up. Kinda. We buy fresh trees so we’re waiting a week or two before we get one so it’ll last until New Years. We have two smaller artificial trees up though. One we bought this year that’s pre-lit and the other is older than dirt but still looks nice on my grandmother’s table. My mantle is done up real nice too. I bought a cranberry garland to go across the front and we also bought some really nice stocking hangers. Today, we’re starting on the outside decorations. It’s about 70 degrees here today so it’s perfect weather to put up outside stuff. I just need the stuff, lol. I tried out my lights and all but one long and two short strands are broken. I have no idea what happened to them. They worked last year. I’m too impatient to figure out what’s wrong with them so I trashed them and I’m going out later today to buy new. I can’t wait. I also need to buy my Christmas cards. Yep. I’m sending them out this year. I hope I have everyone’s correct mailing address!!

Still loving the holiday season!!!!!! We bought Andrea Bocelli’s new Christmas CD on iTunes (It’s really good!) and I’ve watched The Santa Clause about 3 or 4 times already, hehehe.

Odd Behavior

I don’t know what’s gotten into me this year, but I’m so excited about the holidays. Usually, I’m a real bah humbugger about holidays. I don’t know what’s gotten into me!

We have all of our Turkey Day food ready to go. We’re not having anyone over this year but that’s okay. Not to be inhospitable, but I enjoy the time with just my family. Maybe next year will be different though. ;)

I’m also totally into Christmas already. I’m itching to put out my decorations. I saw someone yesterday with their yard already done up and it was nice to see. I also stop to listen to commercials with Christmas music in them. Hmm.

Maybe I’m in a good mood about the holidays because things are so good for us right now. With San Diego on the horizon, I’ve been taking things in stride a lot more than I usually do. There was a freakazoid in the carpool lane at the oldest’s school last week and instead of flipping my lid, I laughed at them instead. I only have to deal with that craziness for 4 1/2 more months. Yep, yep!

Well, I gotta meeting in five minutes, so I’ll stop my blathering now. I hope all of you are in the holiday spirit this year too!!

I Don’t Work Weekends

It was another slow weekend at our house. Friday the Mister and I did a bit of Christmas shopping. We also bought snack food for the Ohio State v. Michigan game on Saturday. We picked up pizza for dinner that night too. Real exciting, right?

Saturday we watched Ohio State beat Michigan for the sixth year in a row. Michigan fans want their coach fired, hehehe. The Mister wore his fuzzy buckeye hat and weirded out the neighborhood kids, lol. I think I’ve posted a picture of it before, but just in case, this is his hat:

I bought it for him for Christmas forever ago. He wore it to the grocery store one year in California. I did not go with him, lol.

Saturday night, the oldest child was invited to a birthday party. We didn’t let her go. It was for our neighbor who turned 14. She had a party that started at 8 and ended at midnight. The Mister and I don’t feel she’s mature enough (even though she’ll be 14 herself in July) to attend such a party. Funnily enough, she wasn’t even mad or upset. I don’t think she wanted to go anyway. This girl doesn’t go to the oldest’s school so she wouldn’t have known any of the kids there anyway.

Sunday, the Mister and I went to the commissary for the first time in about two months, maybe longer. We had been doing our grocery shopping out in town, but with all the Thanksgiving food we needed, we decided to hit the commissary, save some money, and stock up. It was a freaking madhouse. They didn’t have any eggs, chicken broth, allspice, and a couple other things. It’s annoying having to go two places for stuff. Add that to the crowds, the drive, and having to tip the baggers, is it really any wonder why we opt to shop out in town??

We also did some more Christmas shopping on Sunday. This is the earliest head start I’ve ever gotten on Christmas shopping. We are always very last minute usually. We’re also doing a red and silver theme on our Christmas tree this year and picked up these really neat LED lights for our tree. I can’t wait to try them out. I’m totally excited about Christmas this year. I’m really in the Christmas spirit and I’m looking forward to getting out my Christmas decorations and putting away my harvest decorations on Friday. Yay!!

Kitchen Gadgetry

The Mister and I made a run to the grocery store last night for a few groceries. Our cupboards are really bare. We haven’t gone grocery shopping since before we went to the Outer Banks, lol. I wish I could figure out why I hate grocery shopping so much.

While we were in the store, we walked past the refrigerator section of coffee creamers. All the pretty bottles!! Outside of a caramel frappacino from Starbucks, I’m not a big coffee drinker. I prefer green or white teas. I’ve tried regular brewed flavored coffees and find them too bitter. For some reason though, I had gotten it into my head that I wanted to try the flavored coffee creamers. We bought a caramel apple flavor and a cinnamon bun flavor and a bag of Green Mountain coffee. Side note:

My Favorite Things From Vermont:

1. Cabot Cheese
2. Vermont Teddy Bears
3. Green Mountain Coffee

We have a coffee maker for guests but the vacation house had this really neat coffee maker that we wanted to get. Considering that our coffee maker gets used about once a year, this is really just indulging our love of kitchen gadgets. This is what we were after:

This is what we got:

I love it!!! It’s so cute sitting on my counter. It brews a cup of coffee in three minutes. We also got one of these to go with it:

When you register your brewer online, Keurig gives you two free boxes of K-Cups when you buy two boxes plus 10% off your total purchase and free shipping. So, we ordered a variety box of Green Mountain flavored coffees, a box of the Doughnut House Collection by Green Mountain in the Chocolate Glazed Doughnut flavor, a box of hot chocolate for the girls, and a variety box of Gloria Jean’s teas. It was a really good deal and I’ll be able to fill up my carousel. We also bought a reusable filter so that we can use other coffee that doesn’t come in a K-Cup and for loose teas. I love oolong tea thanks to Jennifer.

It’s silly how much I like this thing, lol. I also can’t wait to organize our K-Cups on the carousel. I think I need a life, hehehe.

Beginning Our Newest Journey

Now that we are home from vacation, leisure time is a thing of the past. At least until after we move and settle in in San Diego.

Yesterday I began cleaning out our garage. I suppose compared to other people’s garages, it’s not too terrible. At least I can fit my tiny little car into it, lol. However, it’s getting to the point where I can fit my car in, but getting in and out of the car is starting to be a challenge. We have empty boxes, some broken down and some not, stacked almost to the ceiling on one side. They tend to topple over from time to time. On the other side, we have boxes and Rubber Maid totes full of things we didn’t unpack from when we moved into this house. That is where I began cleaning yesterday.

I turned four totes of the girls’ toys into one tote of trash, two totes that are full of toys going to charity, and one tote of toys that I allowed to come back into the house. The kids whined a bit but I explained to them that these toys had been in the garage for a year. If they hadn’t been played with in all that time, they couldn’t be that important and I didn’t want to hear arguments about it!!

I also found water in the garage and a big pile of sand next to the side door. I can only assume that it rained so much here from Nor’Ida that the side yard flooded and came into the garage. I have no other guesses as to where the water and sand could have some from. Only one box got wet (a box full of my books, CRY!!) and our rolled up area rug. Now the rug smells and I think I’m just going to throw it away. The box of books, I’m too scared to look and will take care of it in California.

Today, my legs and back are sore from all the lifting. It’s a good sore though because I did a lot of work and it was necessary work. I feel good about it.

OBX Vaca 2009: The Pictures

Cotton field on the way to the OBX.

The living room/kitchen at the house. This is the 3rd floor.

Living room/nook. 3rd floor.

View off of the 3rd floor balcony.

1st floor rec room with the pool table, Captain Hook, and the foos ball table is behind me.

Bridge out to Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

The original site of the lighthouse before it was moved in 1999.

A crab that came up to our front door.

 

Currituck Beach Lighthouse

A Great Blue Heron that I caught on film fishing. Cool!

Nor’Ida

After one of the most quiet hurricane seasons that I can remember, we manage to vacation in the worst storm of the year. You might think that being in the middle of a Nor’Easter would ruin a vacation, but you’d be wrong.

This was the beach before the storm;

If you’ll notice in the above pictures, the ocean is relatively calm, and you can see how far back the waves are from the dunes. The top pic was taken the day we arrived and the second one was taken Tuesday. It was overcast but not windy yet.

Conditions Wednesday to Friday were pretty bad. The wind and rain were so constant that it made it hard to remember what quiet was like. The wind gusts were strong enough that they shook our house. We could hear the roar of the ocean over the wind and rain and inside the house with all the windows and doors shut. It was eerie to say the least.

This was the beach on Thursday when we walked over to see what was what:

The waves were clear up, and sometimes over, the dunes at this point. The sea foam would fly up and over the dunes clear to our house and it looked like clumps of snow at times. I had never seen anything like it before.

This was our walkway down to the beach. If you’ll notice, there are no stairs anymore. We actually saw several sets of stairs be swept by as we stood there. Lots of walkways were lost to the storm.

Here you can see more foam and get an idea of how high up the wave were beating on the dunes. You can also see where the dunes were already being eroded. At this point in the storm, we hadn’t even reached the worst of the series of high tides that were expected.

Here’s a video:

I think it was Wednesday night that the main road into town was flooded cutting off our way out. Thankfully, the little area where our house was located was almost directly across the street from a Harris Teeter so we had food and supplies the entire time we were stranded. Two of the streets that were in our neighborhood flooded too but were still passable. I’m pretty sure this is the only time I’ve ever been truly stranded anywhere. The road that our house was off of, NC 12 ended at the beach when you drive north on it. Literally. The pavement ends in sand. You can keep driving if you have 4WD or an ORV but I’m sure it’s not recommended during a storm. So the only way out was to drive south on NC 12 back to US 158, or the Bypass as it’s known, but NC 12 was flooded and closed between Corolla and Duck. You can Google Map it if you want.

Another video:

Anyway, we passed the time by playing Apples to Apples, doing crafts, and playing pool and foos ball. It was nice actually. We were all cozied up in the house with plenty of food, lots of things to do, and each other. Here are some more pictures:

Stairs and other debris floating by.

What was left of the stairs to the beach. Also, about half of the bulk of the dunes were gone. We estimated about 5 feet of the width was washed away. You can also see that the ocean had receded back away from the dunes.

This was the road next to our house. Our side yards flooded but that was it. Our house was actually ideally situated because we had very little standing water whereas most of the neighboring houses had much more.

On the drive home Saturday, we saw lots of flooded yards and roads still had standing water on them. Nags Head seemed to be the hardest hit in the Outer Banks. Many roads off of US 158 to the beach were still flooded and blocked off by the city. Some people also lost their homes in Nags Head. I saw footage of Rodanthe on the news and The Serendipity House, which was the house in the movie, was in the ocean. It was still standing at that point and I haven’t heard if it made it through the storm.

I hear so many people say how they don’t understand how people can live so close to the ocean. But you know what? I also hear people say how they don’t understand how people can live in California with earthquakes and fires or in the north with all the cold and snow. Is there any place on earth that is completely untouched by Mother Nature’s rage? When you take into account all the places that have oceanic storms, earthquakes, forest fires, landslides, avalanches, tornadoes, flooding, and droughts, there really isn’t anywhere that is 100% safe. You take the good with the bad. That’s life. The Outer Banks is gorgeous most of the year and rich in history. I guess it’s the bad that sticks out most in people’s minds though.

So, I’m Out

Looks like I’m out of the running for NaBloPoMo. It totally wasn’t my fault. We lost our Internet connection at our beach house. Seeing as how we were in the middle of Nor’Ida, there was no getting it fixed. We were stranded for two or three days. That’s why no blog updates on our vacation. It sucked, not being able to blog, let me tell you. Now, to catch up.

After our day at Cape Hatteras, the weather deteriorated pretty quick like. The next day, we drove into Corolla and went to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse again. It was close and we wanted to do a little something before it started raining. The lighthouse hadn’t changed since last year, BUT, this year the youngest was brave enough to climb it with the Mister and the oldest. We were pretty proud of her. I didn’t climb it again. Honestly, I’ve climbed several lighthouses in my day and they all look pretty much the same from the inside. For me, it’s enough just being there and taking pictures from the outside.

That was Tuesday. Wednesday, it was raining and the wind was blowing like mad. We decided to drive to Duck to go shopping, hehehe. We got some souvenirs and I got some more jewelry at The Mystic Jewel. I love that store. I’ll still be able to shop online when we move, but it’s really not the same as being able to go into the store and peruse all the many glittery cases. Last year I got a moonstone pendant (mine is a moonstone in this setting) and a blue lace agate (mine doesn’t look exactly like this one, but you can get the idea.) pendant. This year I got a charoite pendant (my pendant actually looks like these earrings but as a pendant, not earrings.) and an opal dragonfly pendant. They’re pretty and fun and easy to wear. I’m not a really fancy kinda person and jewelry from The Mystic Jewel fits my personality.

That brings us up to the heart of the stormy weather. For that, I’m going to write a new post.

OBX Vaca 2009, Day 3

Today was a pretty great day. We got up, not so bright and early, to drive down to Cape Hatteras. In the previous years we’ve been to the Outer Banks, we have never been to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It was quite a drive; about 65 miles or so.

We went through Rodanthe but I didn’t take any pictures. Frankly, it wasn’t all that impressive to me and since I have never seen nor read Nights in Rodanthe, I didn’t know what Nicholas Sparks thought was so special about the town.

We also drove through Milo Beach. Milo Beach was scary, at least to me. The beach was too…EVERYWHERE! There was sand on the roads and you could see where people had shoveled sand just so that they could get to their houses. The ocean was just a little too close for comfort in my opinion.

Our final destination was, of course, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It was really beautiful and majestic. It’s closed for climbing this time of year but I just enjoyed being there and taking pictures. Also, it was about 73 degrees and beautiful today. Perfect for walking outdoors.

On the way out, we stopped at the original lighthouse site and walked on the beach for a bit. All in all, a great day.

Again, tomorrow’s plans are up in the air. We’re being very casual while we’re here this year. I just want to enjoy being at the beach and not worry about cramming activities into every spare moment.

NaBloPoMo 2009, post 9 of 30.

Outer Banks Vaca 2009, Day 2

The Mister ran his marathon today and cut 1/2 an hour off of his old time. Yay!! While I was waiting for his shuttle to drop him off at the local Walmart, I watched several bus loads of runners limp their way off the buses. It was pretty entertaining.

Afterwards, we went back to the house and relaxed on the balcony. The weather today has been beautiful. The girls and I walked to the beach while the Mister was running and the sand was warm on our toes. I am in heaven I’m telling you. The beach is my Paradise.

Tomorrow, we’re not sure what we’re going to do. It depends on how sore the Mister is and what the weather is like. I know that I promised pictures but I wasn’t thinking. The software for the camera is on my PC and not my laptop. Pictures will have to wait till we get home.

NaBloPoMo 2009, post 8 of 30.

OBX Vaca 2009, Day 1

We made it safe and sound to the Outer Banks. We always overestimate how long it takes to get here. Check in wasn’t until 4 pm and we got here at 2 pm. We had two hours to kill which isn’t a big deal except that we had the dogs with us which makes it hard to do things since we can’t leave them in the car for very long.

The first thing we did was stop at this deli that we ate at last year. They make a to-die-for crab cake sandwich. YUM! Alas! They closed early for the season this year. :( Big bummer. Instead of eating, we checked out some of the shops that were in the same little shopping area. We were about to leave when this guy flagged down the Mister who was wearing an Ohio State t-shirt. The guy told the Mister that he had something in his store that we just had to see. We followed him back to his very nice, outdoor-type clothing store. He goes behind the counter and hauls out this really long necklace made out of buckeyes! It was so funny. He was like, “Do people really wear these? Even men???” Growing up in Ohio, I remember making similar necklaces in elementary school for the Ohio State v. Michigan game. And yes, everyone wears them, even men. He was amused and still a little skeptical but put on the necklace anyway explaining that a friend of his had sent it to him, heheh.

Anyway, he was a very nice man and told us that if we donated $5 to the Wounded Warriors that he would give us a 20% discount. The oldest child has had her eye on a North Face jacket for the longest time and she didn’t have a “winter” coat yet so we figured that it would be the perfect time to get her one. It turns out that the 20% of coupon is good for a year and that we can use it online or call and talk to Betsy in the store and still get the discount. PLUS free shipping. Woot! He was hosting the donation drive and had homemade cookies and hot apple cider which we enjoyed while shopping. The cider was wonderful! Like apple pie in a cup.

It was finally time to check in after our little shopping excursion so we headed to the check in office. We picked up our keys in Duck and drove to the house in Corolla. This house is massive!! It’s three stories and I’m not sure how many bedrooms and bathrooms, lol. Seriously. I can’t remember. I know that it has four master bedrooms and I can remember seeing at least three other bedrooms. The 3rd floor has a huge open floor plan with a sitting area, dining area, and beautiful kitchen. We were going to eat out tonight but once we saw the kitchen with the huge granite topped island, lots of additional counter space, and Italian tile floors, we decided to cook tonight. It was great.

The house isn’t directly on the beach but the walkway to the beach is right across the street and you can see and hear the ocean from our house. I’ll take pictures tomorrow when we have sunlight.

The Mister will be running in the 4th Annual OBX Marathon bright and early tomorrow. We picked up his race packet while waiting to check in so he’s all set to go.

Oh. One funny thing before I go for the night. There is a life sized pirate statue next to the door right when you come in the house. I knew it was there because of the pictures I had seen of the house online. The Mister, however, didn’t and it scared the crap out of him when we walked in!! It was so funny. There is also a life sized chef statue in the kitchen (Why? I don’t know. It’s the ultimate in tacky decorations.). Hannah couldn’t figure that thing out and kept standing up to it and whining. She seriously cracked us up. We also have weird mermaids coming out of the walls. But I’ll show you all that tomorrow. Laters.

NaBloPoMo 2009, post 7 of 30.

On Moving

We got word earlier this week that we’re moving! Yay! I’m so excited. After our neighbor drama, frankly, I can’t wait to get out of here. Wanna know where we’re going? Okay! I’ll tell you!! San Diego baby!! I’m very excited. I already said that. But I am. I can’t wait and with only five months until we move, I don’t have to wait very long.

A lot of things are up in the air right now…

• How will our soap endeavor transfer?
• Will we still homeschool?
• Where will we live?
• How will I say goodbye to the A-Hole Neighbors and their sidekick, The Old Bat?
• Should we register for classes for the spring semester?
• How much of our furniture will I convince the Mister to let me get rid of before we move so that I can have new on the other end?

Ahhh. So many things to think about and decide.

As a couple, and by couple I mean the times we have lived together, not the times we have been separated due to training, this will be our 8th move in 12 years. I’ve been asked by civilians quite a bit, “How can you stand to move so much?” And I have to wonder in return, “How can you be content to live in the same place your whole life?” I have lived so many place, travelled many miles, seen many different cities and people, and met people from all over the U.S, as well as different countries. I have had life experiences that most people only read about or watch on TV. It’s had its ups and downs to be sure, but even the crappy stuff I wouldn’t take back because it’s all been a learning experience. I honestly can’t imagine what life would be like living in the same house, same city, same state, year after year after year. How mundane. That being said, San Diego is probably going to be our last move. We loved our time there and have missed it terribly. It would be a great city to retire in. Plus, the kids are getting older. I would like them, at the very least, to attend only one high school. Between the two of them, they have attended nine different schools. The oldest alone has been in seven different schools and she’s in the 7th grade. I think we have reached our limit of schools, lol.

So, for the next five months, you’re going to see a very crazed person on this blog. Not only will I be working two jobs, attending college half time, and homeschooling the youngest, I will now be organizing and getting ready to move. It makes my head spin just thinking about it.

All the craziness will totally be worth it in the end though! I’ll be living a mere two hours from Jennifer!! We haven’t lived that close to each other since 2002 or 2003. Or was it 2001? It’s been TOO LONG! And one of the ladies that I work with lives in the San Diego area and I’ll finally get to meet her face to face. So many great things to anticipate!

NaBloPoMo 2009, post 6 of 30

A Post of Randomness

Right now my life is consumed with getting ready for our vacation. It really leaves little else for me to talk about.

Yesterday, the odometer on my car rolled over on 17,000 miles. I was impressed that I even noticed, heheh.

I have a sty or something wrong with my eye. It’s red, swollen, itchy, and painful. I’m hoping it gets better soon.

The other day, Hannah plowed into me while she was playing. I have a bruise on my foot so big that it hurts to wear tennis shoes. I’ve been wearing sandals with outfits that they don’t go with because that’s all that I can wear that doesn’t hurt. I’m hoping it gets better soon too.

That’s all I can think of to say. HOWEVER!!! I have a big announcement that will be posted on FRIDAY! BIG!!! ANNOUNCEMENT!!! Be sure and visit me on Friday.

NaBloPoMo 2009, post 5 of 30.

The 1960’s

I am a big fan of the show Mad Men. If you haven’t seen it, you should start watching. Of course, you’d have to start on season 1 though. If you’re unfamiliar with the premise, the show is about an advertising firm set in the 1960’s. It takes a look at the relationships between men and women, their places in the home and work environments, and the politics and current events of the time. The sets and wardrobe are just fantastic. It truly takes you back in time and lets you see how different our country was 40 years ago.

This week’s episode took place when President Kennedy was assassinated. The way the show handled it was brilliant. As someone who wasn’t alive when President Kennedy was killed, watching the news broadcasts through the eyes of the characters made me feel what it must have been like to hear the tragic news first hand. Of course, I’ve heard stories over the years from my parents and grandparents, but watching it the way the people on Mad Men watched it was a totally different experience.

Mad Men is so smart, ingenious really. It makes you think and immerses you in 1960’s American culture. I’m telling you, if you don’t watch, you’re missing out.

NaBloPoMo 2009, post 4 of 30