Hey, It's Okay Thursday

So I got this idea from a fellow blogger who in turn got it from Glamour magazine.  Basically, every Thursday I'm going to write a list of things to be okay about.  Feel free to do the same on your blog--any day of the week!

Hey, It's Okay...

To be annoyed that the moving company that is moving us to Kansas is going to open all the boxes I packed so they can inventory them.  What was the point of me packing anything if they were just going to go through it all?  I don't want strangers touching my stuff.  That was sort of the point of packing everything myself. 

To wish it would stop raining all the time so we could see some sunshine.  Hello, it's June.  Not April.  I'd like to play outside with my friends before I move.

To be excited for the new Katy Perry CD to come out, even though the music video for California Girls kind of freaks me out.  I wish I didn't have to wait two more months for it.

To not have watched any of the World Cup.  Even though I never watch sports on television, I sort of feel guilty for some reason.  Like I should watch just to cheer my country on in hopes we'll squash everyone else.  Kind of like when I watch the Olympics. 

Wordless Wednesday

(This last picture is of when Evie and I played Dora the Explorer.  The chairs were our boat as we crossed Snake River.)

Tortoise & Hare

Time feels weird right now.  The best way I can explain it is to think of the tortoise and the hare.  The days seem to be taking forever to get through (just like the tortoise), but time in itself is flying by (like that darn hare).  There are only three weeks left until we move to Kansas!

How did this happen?

On the one hand, I'm ready for this move and everything related to it to be over.  Every step of the way something has gone wrong.  Just the other day, we had a snag in one of the home inspections and now probably have to fork over a lot of money to fix that snag. I just want this house sold.  Why does it have to be so difficult?

Michael is getting all his out-processing stuff done now so everything's set for when he leaves.  All the paperwork is done on his end for the move such as getting the movers set up and notifying the housing office that we'll be arriving soon.

Of course, that didn't go smoothly either.  We were hoping to have our stuff picked up before the holiday weekend so it would be at McConnell when we arrived.  If we have somewhere to live right away, we'd like to have our stuff too.

But like everything else, it didn't go as we had planned.  They won't be moving our stuff until the 7th (the same day we were suppose to close on the house which of course screws that up), and since we're leaving only a day or two later, we'll be in Kansas long before our stuff.  Yippee.

I don't know why that bothers me though.  It's not like we'll get a house right away.  Because that would mean something was going right, and as I've expressed many times, that hasn't happened to us yet.  Why start now?

I'm also more than ready to be with Michael on a full-time basis again.  He'll be home in two weeks, and I have a feeling these next fourteen days are going to be akin to torture.  I just want him home!  Knowing that we won't be separating again for a little while makes this reunion way sweeter than the few short weekends we've spent together these past five months.

But on the other hand, I wish time would slow down just a little bit because I am sad that it's almost time for us to leave family and friends.  Unlike when we moved away before, we know for sure we won't be coming back anytime soon.  At least six years.  That's a long time.

Thankfully I have a few opportunities to see everyone before we go.  With two going away parties and my sister's wedding, I'll get to see most of the people that matter one last time. 

Whether time flies by quickly or drags along at a tortoise's pace, I'm trying to soak it all in and make the most of it.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is Michael and my second wedding anniversary!  Cue streamers and trumpets and all that nonsense.  Hoorah!

I hate that we're almost 1000 miles apart on this day of all days, but I'm just thankful to have such an amazing husband.  He is my own personal hero.  I couldn't be more proud of him, and all that he does for our little family.

This may be only our second wedding anniversary, but it marks almost nine years together as a couple.  For two people our age, that is insane.  But amazing.

Two years ago, on this day, I married my soul male, the father of my beautiful daughter, the man I can't wait to grow old with.

One year ago, on this day, I had no idea what was in store for my future.  I didn't know we would be packing up our lives in Wisconsin and moving wherever the Air Force told us.  Or that my husband's hair would disappear.

This is us now.  Our happy little family that has changed so much already since that day we said I do.

The most important things haven't changed, though.  We still love each other, respect each other, admire each other.  That will never change.

I love you, babe!

It's Complicated: A Review

(Please be advised that movie spoilers may be present in this post!)

It's Complicated,

I watched this movie with my close friend Mandie the other night, and I have to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised.  It features a star-studded cast (Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin) so I knew it wouldn't completely suck, but by now you know how I feel about romantic comedies.  We have a love/hate relationship.

Unlike the romantic comedies that I don't love, It's Complicated was very realistic.  It portrayed real-life:  the messiness of love and divorce and dating.  The title says it all.  It's complicated.  Nothing about love is black and white:  there are always gray areas.

Throughout most of the movie, I wasn't sure which male to root for.  That rarely happens.  Usually you know within the first few minutes who the "good guys" and "bad guys" are.

Did I want Jane to fall back in love with her ex-husband Jake

or with the sweet architect, Adam?

 

I just didn't know.  Decisions in life are never clear cut.  If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

But Mandie made a very wise observation that the writers of the movie must have also made.  In life, you can't go backwards.  Life is about new beginnings and taking leaps of faith and trying new things.  It isn't about rehashing the things that didn't work out as planned. 

With that piece of advice, I'm happy with how the movie ended.  It was logical and realistic.  The cast was great, there was plenty of comedic relief, and though I could have done without seeing Alec Baldwin's bare butt, it was a movie I'd love to see again.

Who Needs TV?

When you have a two-year old with a vivid imagination, why ever would you need television?  Especially when her favorite show is Dora the Explorer.

Today, Evie and I played a rather elaborate re-enactment of some of her favorite Dora episodes.  She played Dora, and I played Boots.  Staying true to the episodes we went to three places:  Snake River, the Wall, and Highest Hill. 

We sat in chairs which served as our boat.  We used puzzle pieces as paddles to get across Snake River, and of course we wore life jackets "so we could be safe." 

Whenever we weren't sure of our path, we asked Map which way to go.  And of course, we were ever vigilant for Swiper the Fox.

All throughout we sang different songs from the show.  We sang "I'm a Map" and "Clean Up" and the theme song.  When we were finished with our quest, we sang "We Did It". 

And because Evie is concerned about being fair, she made sure to share the "cowboy cookies" with Swiper at the end because that is what they did on the last episode we watched.

It was awesome!  It sort of made me nervous that maybe I've been letting her watch too much television.  But I think it's more that she just has a great memory, and a very active imagination.  Besides constantly learning new words in Spanish, she's getting interested in exploring new things and ideas.

I love having a daughter!

Hey, It's Okay Thursday

So I got this idea from a fellow blogger who in turn got it from Glamour magazine.  Basically, every Thursday I'm going to write a list of things to be okay about.  Feel free to do the same on your blog--any day of the week!

Hey, It's Okay...

To be shamelessly annoyed at writer's block.  I can write posts for my blog with ease, but when it comes to me book...nada.  I'm up against a brick wall right now, and it's driving me insane!

To not understand one single iota how jumpsuits are suddenly back in style.  They are not the least bit flattering.  In fact, they kind of scare me.

To think that every man should read a romance novel or two.  Honestly, it would benefit both sexes.  Men would get a sneak peak into what women really want.  And women...well, women could get what they really want.

To wonder exactly what was going through the CEO of BP's mind when he decided to spent millions of dollars on advertising instead of putting that money to better use.  He must have never heard that adage "actions speak louder than words." Hello, my two-year old could have made a smarter financial decision than that.

To not enjoy packing.  I've been packing stuff for nine months now.  I'm sick of it.  Thankfully it will all be over soon.

To enjoy unpacking.   I haven't seen some of my stuff since September so it's going to feel a little like Christmas when we finally get somewhere to live.  Plus, I'm kind of an organizational nerd so it's fun to find places for everything to go. 

Wordless Wednesday

That is Evie's "funny face" just in case you were curious.  :)

Little Personalities

I have a two year old with a sparkling personality.  Evie loves to sing, dance, read books, chase bubbles and talk to her toys.  She says the most hilarious things.  I can even hold mini-conversations with her.  Granted, we're not talking about quantum physics or even how to fix this oil spill mess in the Gulf.  But still, it's something.

When I look down at her messy, food crusted shining face, I see both myself and my husband looking back at me.  Everyone tells us that she's a great mix of both our genes.  Weirdly, if she wears her hair up she looks like me.  With her hair down, she looks like her father.  Go figure.

This always makes me wonder what other things she'll inherit from us.  What will she be like when she's my age?  Right now, she's really taking after me.  I have always been attracted to books like a fat kid to a cupcake.  Even before I could read, I would be caught with a stack full of books.  Just flipping through the pages.  That's Evie. 

The singing and the dancing she gets from me, too.  They may not be my calling, but I had a hell of a time being a part of my high school's version of Glee (that show rocks, by the way).  And whenever her attitude shows up, I'm told that's all mine too.

Evie's adventurous nature definitely didn't come from me though.  A turtle and I share about the same level of love for adventure.  That she gets from her father.  I don't climb or jump or chase after bugs. 

She loves cars and airplanes and anything that makes noise.  That would come from Michael, too.  Whenever I'm forced to look at an engine of a car, my eyes cross.  Seriously.  But with a father like Michael, I'm sure Evie will know how to change spark plugs and replace a fuel pump before she's five. 

I love thinking about all the little things that make up who we are.  All the interests we have that make up our hobbies and steer us towards a career.  Think about where those interests came from.  At least some of them stemmed from watching our parents and other role models engaging in the activities they loved.

No way will a child of mine not love books.  With my obsession, it's just not possible.  Just like no child of Michael's could get away with not knowing at least the basic mechanics of a car. 

Thinking about it makes me excited for the future.  What characteristics of mine and Michael's will Evie inherit?  My love for research or reading or the humanities?  Michael's inventive mind that can take complex machines apart and put them back together easily? 

No matter what, we'll always be proud!

Dear John: review

Dear John,

I really don't get all the hype about you.  As far as movies go, you rated about a four in my book.  Out of ten.  Sure, Channing Tatum is gorgeous, but enough to carry an entire movie?  I don't think so.

I'm left wondering exactly what your storyline was?  Okay, so obviously it was about a guy and a girl who fell in love very quickly and wrote letters back and forth.  And then she dumped him through a letter.  Not so tactful, that one.  That part I followed.  But the rest was just kind of painfully dragged out.

So many different elements were brought into the movie, but never fully developed.  Characters just sort of dropped off the map.  Nothing in this movie happened the way you would predict it to.  I get that being predictable isn't always a good thing--but in a chick-flick, it's kind of the point.  Someone should have told you that.

There wasn't even really a big dramatic scene.  No turning points in the movie.  A few times, I thought "here it is comes, the big moment", only to be disappointed.  Plus, the ending was completely unsatisfying. 

Maybe I'm just jaded because I have a hard time getting into a movie where two people fall instantly in love.  It's just not realistic.  I wasn't at all surprised by the breakup.  Come on, they barely knew each other.  You really think two weeks together is enough glue for three years apart?  Hardly.

Amanda Seyfried, I'm really hoping Letters to Juliet is better.

Sincerely,

Sammie

I hate June!

Okay, so I don't really hate June.  I love the warm weather and sunshine.  I love that the public pools open and that wearing flip flops every day is acceptable.  Really, I only hate this particular June.  Because it's going to be hell on wheels.

Just before I left for Texas last week, my Realtor called to tell me we had an offer on the house.  Hallelujah!  It only took nine months.  After a little counter-offering, we have an accepted offer.  As long as there are no glitches we'll be closing at the end of the month.

We have a lien on the house from an local organization that helped us with our down payment and some of the remodeling we did when we first moved in.  Since we're losing money on the house (that's what you get for buying and selling within three years), we have to figure out how to pay them that extra money we won't get from the buyers.  Essentially, a lot of extra phone calls and paper work.

Besides that, I don't think there is a lot more I have to do in regards to selling the house.  Thank goodness for Realtors is all I have to say.  I don't have to do much else except show up on the assigned date to sign some papers.

But there is more.

My sister gets married towards the end of July, and I'm her Maid of Honor.  I have to co-plan her bachelorette party which is set for the last weekend in June.  I've barely started anything in regards to that.  Yikes.   

And of course there is this whole moving to Kansas deal.  We move in about five weeks.  We still need to get housing, figure out how and when we are moving, and finish packing up some odds and ends.  We still don't know the exact date Michael has to report by since his orders didn't factor in his IFR training.  There are so many things we aren't sure about, and since Michael is the service member, he is the one who has to find out all the information.

 He has to talk to the finance department to make sure he gets his raise since he's now an Airman First Class (hoorah!).  Then he has to go to the housing office at Sheppard to fill out the necessary paperwork for housing at McConnell.  I called and found out that we can't get on the housing waiting list until he's out-processing from Sheppard.   Thankfully the wait-list for old housing is 30 days or less so we should be able to move into something pretty quickly. 

And then of course, he has to talk to the transportation department to find out exactly what the military pays for in regards to our move this first time.  I've heard mixed stuff about the move to your first duty station, and I want to make sure we know what, if anything, we have to pay for.  Then he has to find out dates and such for the military to move us. 

My inner control-freak does not like that I can't do any of this.  Especially because Sheppard has the active-shooter drill on base all this week which means the base is on lock-down most of the day.  This of course makes it next to impossible to set up appointments to talk to anyone to get some of those questions answered.  So this week is basically wasted. 

So much to do, so very little time!  I hate when everything happens all at once.  I may be a decent multi-tasker, but I'd prefer to be less stressed.  I'd prefer to spend this month with friends and family--you know, the people I'll see pretty infrequently for at least the next six years? 

Now you know why I hate June.  Er, at least this June.  If I seem a bit spacey or it seems as if I'm just spewing words out randomly, this would be why.  My brain is fried just thinking about it all.

Hey, It's Okay Thursday!

So I got this idea from a fellow blogger who in turn got it from Glamour magazine.  Basically, every Thursday I'm going to write a list of things to be okay about.  Feel free to do the same on your blog--any day of the week!

Hey, It's Okay...

To wish I had a time machine so I could skip this entire month.  With everything I have to accomplish, it's going to be brutal. 

To only watch television online.  I don't know what it is, but I just can't sit down and watch live T.V. anymore.  Maybe it's because I have so many other things going on, but I'd much rather watch it at my leisure online than remember to set aside that block of time every week to watch new episodes.

To listen to Owl City so I can laugh out loud.  Their lyrics are so ridiculous that I can't help but smile.

To wish for PEACE every single day.  I support my troops with my whole heart, but I hope for the day when we no longer have to send our loved ones off into the unknown.  Stay safe, Ryan!

To have spent much time wondering how I am suppose to do my hair in windy Kansas.  I can't wear it in a ponytail every single day.  This is a serious situation, people!

To have decided to let the military move us instead of doing it ourselves.  We could have made a little money if we did it ourselves, but the removal of that duty from my to-do list is priceless. 

Memorial Weekend

Evie and I spent the extended Memorial Day weekend down in Texas with Michael which was perfect.  Evie was so excited to see her Papa after ten weeks apart, and got upset if he left her sight.  There wasn't even a moment of shyness around him either.  In fact, as soon as she saw him walk out of his squadron, she started running towards him.

The first night, we went out to eat at El Chico which was right by our hotel.  It wasn't my favorite, but it didn't suck.  Evie chatted Michael's ear off the entire time, and insisted he color with her.

It was in the mid-90s the whole time we were there so we spent a lot of time in our hotel room.  But we did take time to enjoy the few attractions of Wichita Falls.

We went to Lucy Park which has some walking trails and the falls.

Next to Lucy Park is River Bend Nature Center which has a butterfly conservatory as well as a few trails.  Evie absolutely loved it.

By Sunday night we were sick of fast food so we decided to try Logan's Roadhouse for dinner.  The food was good, but I was a little weirded out by something.  See, you get this bucket full of peanuts on your table.

Exhibit A

Instead of acting like a civilized adult and putting the shells of the peanuts you eat on your plate, you throw them on the floor.  No, I am serious. 

Exhibit B

I'm sorry, Texas.  But I just don't get it.  I thought it was kind of gross.

And then of course the main event of our trip was Michael's graduation from Tech School.  It was only a fifteen minute ceremony and it mostly consisted of a couple people talking and then the pining of the Maintenance badges on the graduates.  But it was great to be there just the same.

There were seven graduates.

The pictures from the ceremony didn't turn out well because of the angle of the sun coming through the windows in the hanger so I won't post them.  But Michael looked very distinguished in his blues, doing his whole marching thing.  :) 

It was hard to leave after five days together, but soon we will be together again for good!  Well, as for good as you get in the military.  But at least we'll get to live together again.  Twenty-nine more days!