Ten On Tuesday

Well hello Ten on Tuesday! Are you here again? The past 7 days have flown by with all the waiting around and the waiting around and the waiting.



1. If you could open any type of store/place of business (money is no obstacle), what would you open?
Some sort of cute little shop selling cute little things. Like monogrammed everything and fun little home decor things. Oh and a coffee bar would be in my cute little shop. A coffee bar with a pastry counter and a cozy area to sit and relax with your people.

2. If all jobs paid equally, what occupation would you want? Why?You mean I could get paid to stay home with my child? Paid to do the laundry and clean the potties? Then heck yes. I would want to do exactly what I am doing now.

3. If you could be any animal in the world, what would you pick? Why?
A cat. More specifically, one of my cats. They live the good life. Lazy, pampered, doted upon...

4. If offered one “service” free of charge, which would you choose? (chauffeur, maid, personal shopper, chef, etc.)
Maid. Wait, will I still get paid?

5. What is one habit, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to break?
Avoiding exercising. You see, for me, exercising is NOT a habit... so NOT exercising is a habit. A habit I would like to break.

6. What is one thing that no matter how many you own, you still love to buy all the time?
Crafting/sewing/scrapbook supplies.

7. Out of all the game shows (past and present), which would you want to be a participant on and play?
Maybe Wheel of Fortune? I don't know. I'm not a big game show fan. The pressure would kill me. I'd have some sort of panic attack and pass away right there beside Pat Sayjak.

8. If you could play the lead role in any movie that’s already been made, which movie would you pick?
One of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I have a little (huge) crush on Johnny Depp.

9. Name 5 things on your bucket list (things you want to do before you die).
1. Travel to Australia.
2. Go on an African safari. (Wasn't that last week's answer?)
3. See my son graduate from medical school, get married to a sweet girl I'll adore, and have even sweeter babies.
4. Be totally debt free. (That better happen WAY before I die!)
5. Become a photographer.

10. Which one of your birthdays was the best? What did you do that day?
All of my birthdays have been great. I've been blessed with family and friends who have made sure of that! I am not liking actually getting older each year. I will take the party without the aging process, please.

Happy Tuesday, people.

It's About Time

I think I may have mentioned once or a hundred times that we were in the midst of a waiting game. Waiting on Dan/Daddy to come home for R&R.

"R&R" is the 2 weeks of time away from a war zone that the Army gives soldiers.

To put it mildly, ours was a bit delayed.
Dan/Daddy decided to take his mini vacation a good way into this year-long adventure. That means we haven't seen him in over 10 months. As tough as it is... it gives us less time to wait (after R&R) until he's home for good.

Let's begin by saying things didn't go exactly as planned.
Getting a flight out of the Middle East took an extra 4 days. 4 days of cancelled flights. There's been some nasty weather in that part of the world, and apparently planes can't fly when it's that bad. How bad? Dan/Daddy tell us that entire roads are washed away. There's water in the floors of tents and buildings. There are large pieces of equipment just floating by. Truthfully, as much as we were ready to see him, we didn't want him flying in that mess.

And then, just when he thought it was time... he was in a bus wreck. Let me back up. After getting the word that he was getting a flight, he and several others hopped on a bus to catch a ride to the place to meet their plane. Remember all that rain? Remember all the roads washed away? Well, the bus driver didn't. He dodged a piece of floating something and the whole bus turned over in a ditch. Dan/Daddy and all the others were fine. They were just upside down in a muddy ditch instead of on a plane. They called for help, climbed out, and rode on top of another vehicle to catch their flight. Which was cancelled. Good times.

When Dan/Daddy finally got to the good ole' US of A... he faced an entire board of flight cancellations and delays again... thanks to the "Historic Southern Snow of 2010." More good times.

Needless to say, he made it.

10 cancelled flights, one bus wreck, and a snow storm later...

Happy Birthday Noah!!

Two years ago today, this little face came into our world!



And we could never have imagined loving him more!!



He's sweet and sassy and funny and smart and o-so-darn-adorable!

We can't make the birthday celebration this year because we're STILL waiting on our soldier to arrive. (That's another long story for another long day!)

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOAH!! We love you and miss you!!

Ten On Tuesday

Woo hoo! I made it. Ten on Tuesday.



1. Fill in the blank. Sometimes I wish my life was more ______.
Hmmm... calm.

2. How do you cure the hiccups?
I can't. I've tried. And I get these GIGANTIC hiccups. Very loud and obnoxious. Not girly at all. Sneezes too. I was always jealous of those cute-sneezing girls in high school. You know the ones. They were short and curvy and sneezed like a mouse tooting. For some reason, all the boys loved that. And them. My sneezes and hiccups will rattle the windows. Not cute.

3. What are three of your favorite indulgences?
Starbucks
Pedicures in the summer ('cause I have heels to match my hiccups and sneezes and that's the only thing that makes them presentable)
People magazine.

4. Where is the most exotic place you would like to travel to? The most mundane?
Exotic? A rain forest or an African safari.
The most mundane? Anywhere with a beach, beach music, very few people, and good food. That might be exotic, too.

5. Does having your time planned out stress you or relax you?
Depends on who planned it out FOR me. I like planning my own time. Control relaxes me.

6. What are your favourite fabrics to wear?
Cotton. Are flip flops a fabric?

7. Do you sleep through the night?
No... if I drink coffee late or watch scary TV crime shows or if I think the boy is getting sick or if there's a criminal on the loose or if my cat is yowling like a freak or if I have something on my mind or if the next day is a "big day" for some reason. I guess I do sometimes, because I wake up and it's morning and not the middle of the night.

8. When you were younger, what did you think you would be doing at this age? How close is that to what you are doing?
I thought I would still be the same size I was then. Wrongo. I imagined myself as an interior designer or marine biologist. (Designing things for dolphins, I suppose.) I knew I wanted to be married and have kids. So, I AM married, but I stopped with one kid. I've been a teacher, a preacher's wife, and I am currently a chaplain's wife... not a marine biologist or a designer.

9. What has surprised you most about growing up?
How much better of a person the tough things make you. You hear that when you're younger, but you never really believe it.

10. Are you good at keeping secrets?
LOVE THIS QUESTION!!! I have a nickname... I am called "The Vault" by those who know me best. I am great at keeping secrets. (What people don't realize is that I usually forget whatever it is they wanted kept secret...)

My Version... 6 on Saturday

I missed Ten on Tuesday. Again. I had it all ready to post, and then Tuesday came and went. It was a great little series of questions... most of them about faith. But did I get it finished? Nope. Just one more thing that "didn't get done" this week.

So today, I made my own fun little list. I call it "6 on Saturday." (Cause that's all I could come up with.)


1. The snow/ice is gone. I can still see a tiny bit here and there on the rooftops. Now we are building an ark just to get to the boy's basketball game today.

2. My house is a wreck. I even took pictures with my phone and sent them to my friend who said she didn't believe my house was messy. I obviously have enough time to talk about the mess and take pictures of the mess... but not enough time to clean it up.

3. School being out on Monday and delayed on Tuesday caused my whole week to be wacky. At least that's what I'm blaming everything on.

4. If you are an overweight geriatric cat, and if you happen to live in my house, you will find things in the floor to use as a pillow. Someone appreciates the mess.



5. We are counting down the days until a soldier we know comes home for R&R.

6. The boy got his braces this week. The whole process flashed me back to 1985. Wax and wires and Oragel and headaches and bloody lips. Good times.

The happy "Before" picture...


Choosing his bracket colors (times sure have a-changed)...


The "After" picture...


I let him miss the rest of the school day, and we went out to lunch. Then we got ice cream. The one thing he could eat with no trouble. If you can't tell in the photo, he chose crimson and black bracket colors. For his beloved Alabama. If you're gonna be in pain and unable to eat, at least keep on showing the love for your team.

I Feel Sorry For the Pioneers

For the past 36 hours, we've been snowed/iced in. It wasn't a huge storm, and we didn't get the amount of ice we were supposed to get. But, the roads are dangerous, and even the governor told us to stay home. The best part? Our power didn't go out. (Thank You, Lord.) But in my warm and well-lit house, I gained a new appreciation for Laura Ingalls and her folks.

I have eaten more trash/comfort food/empty calories than I care to think about. Whatever weight loss goals I had before Dan comes home just went flying out the ice-covered window.
The pioneer people ate good healthy homemade stuff. (Which I COULD make, but chose not to.) Like Ma's cornbread and soup. No little powdered doughnuts or chips and salsa on the prairie.

I think I watched 7 consecutive hours of TLC's "What Not to Wear." I really do want Stacy and Clinton to take me shopping, but they can leave that vile 360 degree mirror at home, please.
The pioneers? They had those long calico dresses... even in the summer. And those puffy bonnet things they slept in? What was that about? Oh, and no cute TV personalities to tell them their calico dress wasn't flattering. Or in style. Or making them look as good as they could. Or what the new colors for Spring would be. Poor pioneers.

I have played Chess, Battleship, and some ridiculous Jump on a Colored Pod thingy game. (Think "Simon" from 1975... but for the floor.)
Now here is where the pioneer people and I came close to being alike. Except I think their games all involved sticks and an occasional pig bladder. I'll play Battleship until my eye twitches if it means I don't have to entertain myself with a pig bladder.

So on this nice, long, stuck at home weekend... I have been GRATEFUL for modern technology. The TV has been on, the video games have been playing, and the DVD got a workout, too. Thank You, again, Lord for electricity and heat and Wii.


And when we got bored, we ventured out into the arctic wilderness for a while yesterday...

Don't let those sweet snow-pink cheeks fool you. He spent 98 percent of his time outside bent over... scooping up icy snow to throw at me.


See?


Told you.


Now here's a real pioneer (redneck?) moment. That IS a cardboard box.


It hasn't been too bad. We have laughed and snuggled and read good books... and (for the most part) enjoyed being cooped up.

So, like us, the "Little House" people had each other. They just had to make do without all the wonderful modern conveniences we enjoy today.

Except for ONE thing. Nerf Guns. The pioneer Mamas didn't get pelted with little spongy bullets from every corner of their "Little" house.

If I get hit one more time... there's gonna be a Nerf Gun bonfire. If the power does go out, we'll be set. Just look for the warm glow of burning plastic in my backyard.

Galileo Didn't have Google

Conversation with the boy:

him: "Hey! I was thinking while I was jumping on the trampoline!"

me: "Yes..." (wondering how anyone can think rational thoughts while their brain flops about inside their skull)

him: "All this stuff in school about circumference made me wonder... What is the circumference of Earth?"

me: (while dreaming of that Harvard scholarship) "Wow! Great thought! How will you figure that out?"

him: "I'll just Google it."

You go, Galileo.