"I Am Sixteen Going On Seventeen... "
Mood:  cool
Now Playing: Need... More... Heat... Bu.. rrrr!

Good morning!

 

I a bit sluggish today, had a hard time sleeping last night. I mean we slept, but it was very restless for some reason. Maybe it was from the “Whole grain Hamburger Helper”… hmm…

 

I am not saying anything bad about Helper, it was really good as whole grain. =) If we decided to eat it again in the future I will invest in more whole grain varieties.

 

I just got back from the store with the chicken I was unable to purchase yesterday. I also came home with some asparagus I had missed and some pork ribs. We haven’t had ribs in a while and I think Flyboy will be really excited when I pull them out of the oven this evening. Hehe. =D There have been some commercials for Sonic (it’s a fast food joint) and their new “sausage, biscuit and gravy dippers”. It is pretty much biscuits with sausage in the middle and you dip them in a cup of gravy. Well they look REALLY good and I know that they are going to taste nasty if we get them. (That is just how fast food works out here) So I picked up some biscuits, since I already have sausage, and that is what we are having for breakfast on Saturday, or Monday. (Flyboy has the next two Monday’s off. Yay! No “Blues” Monday’s for a while! Which is great too, because it will give me time to get his new stripes pinned on. He has been promoted to Senior Airman. He is excited. =) We are just waiting on his EPR (“progress report”) to show up so he can sign it and send it in. He thinks it should arrive around the 15^th of this month, but who knows. (So an email at work told him)

 

Today he won’t be getting off work until late this afternoon. Apparently the “Schedulers” haven’t been doing a good job while he was on leave and have screwed up a bunch of stuff. Typical… So Flyboy corrected everything and is stuck with “Snack Bar Duty” today. (No one was available…) He doesn’t mind it but it gets a bit boring and of course he is stuck there until like 1630 or so. (It at least gives me time to do ALL the dishes that for some reason piled up to the ceiling in 3 days. I mean I was here for 2 weeks by myself and didn’t even use half of the dishes that have been used in these last 3 days… hmm… I wonder who the culprit could be…)

 

Anywho, I made hotel reservations yesterday for the Cali trip. I have us scheduled for June 3^rd through June 13^th I believe it is like 10 nights or so, but I think it is enough time to visit everyone and show Flyboy around the town. It’s not THAT big of a town and at the rate things are going half of it will be shut down anyway. Blah.

 

We got to hear from Sleeveman yesterday. I feel bad for the comment I made on his Facebook page. He had mentioned something about being “happy at work” and I commented saying something along the lines of “did you get a new job?” And well, he called last night saying that he had asked his boss about his wage since minimum wage went up (this was a month or so ago, that wage went up, and no one working there had seen anything on their pay stubs) and so his boss said she would talk with the GM to see what his new rate would be. So they went back there to talk with the GM and the GM says “I thought we were going to cut his position”. So now Sleeveman is getting his job fought for by his boss. He will either get a raise or well yeah… What bothers me is that he does great at his job and the dummies that should get the boot aren’t. Maybe this is a good thing in a different light. I don’t know, but I feel bad for making the comment I did. I know it isn’t the reason the GM is being well *Grr* but still.

 

Though I wish Cali Cola luck on her interview! Rumor has it she might get a new job at video game store. Hehe do I hear the words “Employee Discount”??? =D I’m not materialistic; I just enjoy a good video game, especially at a steal of a price. LOL =D (I am in a very weird mood)

 

I think they are finally working on the apartment above us, or else the neighbors are stealing ALL of the large appliances. But it is really, REALLY loud. I’ve got planes doing transitions and stoves clunking down concrete stairs as well as the ticking of the living room clock. Oh and don’t forget the wind! I think I may invest in a pair of ear muffs.

 

I haven’t had a pair of those since I was in like 3^rd grade. I think they were pink, or blue or I just had two different pairs at two different times. Oh I don’t know…

 

Oh! I measured my self yesterday (we started up the calorie counter and working out again) and I have dropped from like one percent shy of 50% body fat to only 41% since November of last year. I think that is pretty good. =) I know it sounds really gross and those of you who haven’t seen me since 2005 are probably thinking “Oh my goodness, how fat did she get??” Well I am not THAT fat; I have lost a BUNCH since I have started getting my PCOS under control. It is the main cause. I mean I worked out for 4 weeks and should have dropped at least 3 inches and more than just water weight, but I didn’t. I lost nothing, until I saw the doctor and she figured out what was wrong with me. Now all of a sudden I’ve dropped 4 inches, everywhere! Flyboy thinks that I did loose what I was supposed to but it was delayed because my PCOS threw my body out of whack. Sounds logical to me… Even still, I was the same size that I was my freshman year in high school, it is just my muscle to fat ratio is where it shouldn’t be. But that is changing now; my body is doing what it should so now I can work out and actually make progress. =) I am really stoked. Though all I have to do now is figure out what to do with these knees. Grr.

 

Anyway, I think I need to eat something for breakfast before lunch comes around. My tummy is growling and I am afraid it may take me hostage if I don’t feed it. =S

 

Take care and stay warm!

~NikiRose

 

Burr! It's Cold!!!!
Mood:  on fire
Now Playing: Blow Heater, Blow!

Good Freezing Morning! =)

 

I have a bunch to update on… obviously… LOL

 

Hmm… where to start…

 

This morning I went grocery shopping, they were out of chicken, which of course, is the primary meat on my shopping list. So I will have to go back tomorrow or later this evening.  I am excited though, got out of there for less than a $100, would have been even less if I didn’t have to get coffee supplies for Flyboy’s flight. They were out of coffee, cups and creamer, so it was requested that I purchase the supplies since I was the only spouse awake (out of the 4 from the flight) and at the commissary to boot. Don’t worry; I am having the cost be deducted from the annual “flight dues”. (In order to have squadron functions and flight functions, we have to fundraise, volunteer and pay “dues” that are regulated by your pay grade. You are able to pay monthly or annually, we pay annually.)

 

Flyboy is off early today, well if you call noon early… The guys take turns being schedulers and you either get the morning or afternoon shift, flyboy lucked out and got the morning one. =)

 

I finally got new tires for the car. I am embarrassed to say that my tread was very close to being illegal. Not to worry, it is all fixed now. Though I do say I find the “balancing your tire” charge is appalling! The wanted $5 bucks a tire to balance them!!! I know that doesn’t sound like much, but being that I have balanced tires before, it is NOT a $5 job PER TIRE, nor is the weight $5 either. I mean, I bought the tires from them, paid for the disposal fee (I am fine with that) and the valve stem fee (I am fine with that too) but $5 bucks a tire to balance them??? The lady even asked if I wanted them balanced… you would think that it would be included in the tire purchase and installation but noooooo. Blah!

 

I got the house all cleaned up and rearranged. Flyboy now has himself a little “office” where he can study and watch me cook. (I don’t know why but he likes watching me cook. I think golf is more entertaining than watching someone cook, but that is just me I guess) He is really excited about it too. =)

 

Speaking of Flyboy, he made it home okay, all in one piece. I was lucky and he landed before midnight and met me in the terminal 5 minutes before the New Year was rang in.  I can’t believe how much I missed him. It didn’t really hit me until he got back. Weird. But I am really glad he is home!

 

I have been doing some more research on PCOS and the medication I am taking. Apparently Glucophage is not only used to help diabetics, it also helps to cause ovulation. The doctor is really trying to get stuff working. Haha. I wish her luck… I have also noticed that my wisdom teeth are kind of coming in. I knew three of them were breaking through the gums and it wasn’t a big sweat but number 4 decided it would come in where ever it wanted to and cause a bunch of pain… and headaches. So I am waiting for our paperwork to process, since apparently TRIcare is medical only and doesn’t cover dental. Wish we would have been told that. Fun times. I LOVE surprises!!

 

Oh! The Cali trip has been moved to June instead of May like we had planned. Flyboy and I sat down and got official numbers and crunched them last night. It is cheaper to go in June and pick up BlueEyez and then fly her back instead of flying her out and back. Blah, Blah, Blah, yadda, yadda, yadda. We are also hoping to drive out with Soldier, which would save both of us a few shiny pennies. But I have to discuss that with Soldier first.

 

***SOLDIER UPDATE***

 

Soldier has been temporarily promoted to Corporal and he won’t be able to contact us for a while. I don’t know how long but I know it is because of a support mission they are doing. He is in charge of it too, that’s why he has been promoted. Pretty cool!! Though it stinks because he won’t get paid as a Corporal even though he is being forced to take on Corporal responsibilities, on the field. The reason for the temporary rank is to keep order over the soldiers he is in charge of. (E-3’s don’t have to listen to E-2’s)

 

So, to answer everybody’s question, the address format is still the same. Just leave it is E-2. Speaking of letters, letters would be awesome. I sent him one on Christmas Eve and he got it on Jan 2. If you still don’t have an address for him, email me or call me, my number and address is still the same. =)

 

So far he is still on for his Cali trip from June 2nd to June 20^th, and I will keep everyone posted on that.

 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and that your New Year is starting off on the right foot, or left foot, however. I am going to start cooking meat and blanching veggies. Take care!!!

 

~NikiRose

Hola, Como estas?
Mood:  cheeky
Now Playing: Me And My Pet Squirrel

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! If I haven’t gotten a hold of you yet, I will try again later. I know everyone is SO busy today. Hehe. I hope Santa brought lots of presents!

 

I have heard from Soldier, he is doing alright, and… he has an ADDRESS!!! I know he sent out a mass email to friends and family,  if you didn’t get one, it is probably because he doesn’t have your email, don’t fret.=) If you would like his email, just email me, I will be more than happy to send it to you!

 

I know I haven’t been writing much, well not really at all. I have been really busy with organizing and cleaning and trying to stay warm, it is FREEZING out here, yet no snow… =(

 

Anyway, I HAD to write something today, it is Christmas for goodness sakes! I am excited; Flyboy is coming home in about 7 days! I am really glad that he is having fun over there. I really wish I could have come, but there is a reason for everything. (Soldier’s old bank has been giving me issues, blah, they are SOO backwards it isn’t even funny)

 

I am getting pretty excited. I have been able to get a good “aura” back in this place. Not that there was a bad one, just a foggy, dusty/dirty like one. If THAT makes any sense… haha. I have a thing with feng shui and auras in the place that I live, it really bugs me if something doesn’t “fit”. I will end up reorganizing or redecorating or rearranging until it has that nice feel to it. Poor Flyboy… Every time he flies or goes TDY when he comes back I have changed something in the house to fix the “feel” of the place. I can’t imagine what it will be like if we are ever able to have kids…

 

I had fun talking to Princess today, thank you Aunt C and Uncle D, I enjoyed talking to you guys too! I think I am going to try calling the rest of the family that I was unable to reach a half hour ago.

 

Once again,

 

~Niki

Itchy... Itchy... Itchy... ITCHY!!!!!
Mood:  hungry
Now Playing: *beep* *beep* *Beeeeeeeep!* Laundry Is Done!

Good morning.

 

I was really tired last night and kind of crashed early. I do thank Flyboy for updating the post after the doctor’s appointment.

 

My thyroid is perfectly fine; however I tested 100% for PCOS. Fun times. The doctor was excited though, she had never seen a 100% before through a blood test. There were some that were close, but not dead on. So I guess this is a good thing that she knows what is going on with me. She decided to put me on a Provera for ten days which will send me into super period, since I haven’t had one for 8 months. Then after the ten days I start on birth control pills to help regulate and I guess, well start a cycle again. She also has me on Glucophage to help with losing weight, and she thinks it may help indirectly with this whole female deal. I say, anything is worth a shot, because frankly this just blows.

 

So that was my day yesterday. Today is laundry day, and I already have a load in the dryer and another one just started in the washer. Then after lunch I will start cooking all the meat and freezing it. I am sure I will log back on and add more as the day goes by. I mean its 600 right now and I haven’t been up long enough to even have an adventure.

 

I think I am going to have some breakfast and do the dishes from last night. I hope you guys slept well, I have a feeling today is going to be a very busy day.

 

Ta ta for now!

 

~NIkiRose

 

P.S........................

Aunt Ray and Uncle Emmett!

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Hey guys! I just wanted to let everyone know that Flyboy made it safely to Momma Mouse’s place. Sleeveman, Cali Cola and her dad picked him up at the airport, so they didn’t have to ride the bus. Thank you!!! =)

 

PowerPresto was SOOO excited. The way Flyboy describe it was a sudden balloon pop of energy and 90 mile a minute talking. Hehe. I am glad they are excited to see him. =)

 

His first flight took off around 5 after 600 and his second flight took off around 830. That is why I was up so early. I am glad I was though; it kind of feels good to have that much laundry done in what seems like not a lot of time. I feel ahead of schedule. I am SO glad that the nasty little storm that was predicted to hit us today has waited until this evening. I was so worried that there was going to be an over night lay over for him.  O_o

 

I think I am going to start on some chores, hehe. But first, a bottle of water, I am just really thirsty for some reason. Eek!

 

Take care!

 

Love,

 

~NikiRose

 

Flyboy Again!
Mood:  accident prone
Now Playing: heater buzz
Topic: Flyboy Speaks

Hey there everybody!

Flyboy here with a short update on today's happenings.  Niki is in bed resting, not feeling all too well.  We had gone to the doctor and found out that she has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which basically has disrupted her cycle of periods, among other things.  While it is a relief to finally know what is going on with her, it is also distressing because PCOS makes getting pregnant a little more difficult.  However, as I was quick to point out to Niki, that does not in any way mean that she is unable to bear children! It just means that her ovaries don't always produce an egg, and with no egg comes no 'spark'.

 

Other than that, we have recieved a cream to get rid of our itchiness, which I say has come almost a little late... itchiness is very annoying, I must say.  

 

Well, I must get back to my crew rest.  I told you that this was going to be short! 

Summertime, And The Livin' Is Easy Fish Are Jumpin' And The Cotton Is High.....
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Sounds Of The Humpback Whale

Hello everybody!

 

Sorry I didn’t post over the weekend, it was kind of a messy blur. I will try to recall everything that went on, but don’t be mad if I don’t have  enough detail. First off,

 

**SOLDIER UPDATE** > Well it’s not really too exciting, but he replied back to me and he says he has been having trouble with the internet connections over there. That is why he hasn’t been able to correspond as much as he wants to. It is really frustrating him. =/ But, he is doing okay, I mean he wrote back! =) There wasn’t much to the reply, like I said it kept kicking him off, so he would lose his work. He just had a couple questions about Mandatory Leave. Yes, I did ask him about a mailing address for him, and I am waiting on his reply for that. Its killing me! =)

 

Friday was a mess. I was suppose to go grocery shopping in the morning and Flyboy decided that instead of hitting the snooze button or waking me up that he would just turn the alarm off. So my morning was kicked off to a very late start. Flyboy didn’t have to be at work until around lunch time because of how late he landed Thursday night. I mean I could o grocery shopping around 800 but it is SO packed and SO noisy and really I can’t stand the snobby spouses! They are SO rude! Not to mention their lack of ability to control their children in the store. Though I will say at the medical clinic, the kids are very well behaved. Though I think that might be because the eerie quiet and the “if you take one step out of line we will kill you” feeling, that surrounds the place. I mean that in a light hearted manner, but it really is eerie there, I don’t know what it is. Oh and immunizations is worse, not to mention the waiting room is small and always packed. Strange...

 

Saturday we spent most of the day shopping, wrapping and budgeting. Well it was more like we shopped, but I wrapped and budgeted, oh well. Then after that was taken care of, it was video game. Thank you Sleeveman… I am now addicted to Golden Sun and I can’t find part two! Needless to say I have had about 4 hours of sleep since Saturday until now. VERY bad I know. But I just couldn’t put it down, I have no idea what was with me.

 

Monday was my doctor’s appointment that I didn’t go to and had to reschedule thanks to Flyboy… We had laid down for a nap before the appointment and he decided to turn the alarm off. I have no idea what is up with him regarding this. It has never been an issue before. My head tells me to wake up, and I see that it is ten minutes until the appointment, so we rush out of the house and jump in the car only to find, it won’t start. Yay winter!  I tell you, this car drives me insane, but in the summer it’s awesome. Anyway, he thinks it is a bright idea to tell them we are running behind, so what do they do, they cancel my appointment and tell me they will call back in 3 to 5 days. My fist appointment, a few weeks ago, we were 5 minutes late because we got lost in the building, and they didn’t cancel. The doctor had set an hour slot for me, 5 minutes would be okay. Don’t get me wrong I am very punctual, and it bugs me to not be. I mean if I am even a couple seconds behind schedule I start stressing. That of course is only if it is a set time when I have to be there. Blah, blah, blah… blah.

 

Well not a few minutes ago they called up and they have an opening to see me at 1320. Flyboy gets off at noon today so that fits in just perfectly. The only other opening would be after the 6^th of January.  So, I guess that means I should probably update this right after my appointment, otherwise that would just me mean I guess I if I made you all wait until tomorrow. Hehe =)

 

Apparently today it is not going to get above freezing, so all of the precipitation we have been getting this morning is going to stick. It was very icy out this morning; I really wasn’t expecting that much.

 

 

I really wish I had more to talk about at the moment. Maybe I need to eat something and that way my mind will be less distracted form my tummy. Haha. I am hoping for more snow than ice this year. I would really like to make a snowman in my little backyard/enclosed patio thing, and a good snowball fight wouldn’t be too bad either!

 

I am going to go for now. I wish this was longer. =/ I will keep you posted about later this afternoon. Wish me luck! Take care and stay warm! Love you guys!

 

~NikiRose

6 More Days Til Christmas! (trust me, my number s are right =) )
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: "The Man Behind The Golden Mic" El Rushbo

Okay, I have been meaning to tell you all this, but I just now remembered it.

 

BACK STORY > A while ago when we went to Mississippi Mom’s, I needed to borrow a shirt, since all of mine were in the wash and she wanted to take me out to the store with her. Anyway, the shirt she let me borrow says “Proud ARMY Mom” in HUGE letters. It’s a nice grey T-shirt and very comfortable. She said that I can give it back to her later so somehow it wound up here, with me. (I keep forgetting to bring it when I visit, sorry.)

 

Now for the funny part… When I went to Bliss, Flyboy decided to hang out it some friends of ours, the ones I babysit for, well anyway, Flyboy was invited to go over there to play games and hang out. So that morning they went running, came back to his house and played games. Well Flyboy packed some clothes to change into afterwards, and didn’t pay attention to what he was grabbing. Needless to say the only shirt he had the WHOLE day, was “Proud ARMY Mom”! They even went out to dinner that night. Poor thing, but it was really funny.

 

Speaking of Flyboy, he is doing what he does best today… flying. I have a feeling he might get diverted tonight, seeing how cold and icy it is, I hope that is not the case, but I’d rather him safe and somewhere else than trying to come home when it isn’t safe. Though I tell ya, he didn’t even think to pack of change of clothes… Don’t worry; I stuffed them in his bag. Sometimes I wonder. (Lol)

 

Anyway, today is going to mainly consist of, first LUNCH, then more laundry and some dishes that he didn’t soak last night and some living room organization and rearranging. Oh and some web surfing. I am thinking about investing in a carpet shampooer. I just need more, clean. (I think I am losing my mind)

 

Speaking of mind losing, no I am not talking about you, The King, =) hehe just teasing. Flyboy’s buddy with the house, he has been pushing it on to a new airman in the flight. She has no clue and just got there, AND he is feeding her lies. I knew we made the right decision. He’s telling her that the house has been on the market for less than a month! On the Realtor’s site it says much different. The poor thing, I hope she doesn’t fall for it. I am sorry, but I don’t like sleazy business practices.

 

Oh, I am sure you are wondering, my chicken quesadillas were awesome! Hehe. I got back from the store with the supplies and then grilled them up. I ended up getting milk and cheese too. I know we were out of milk but wasn’t sure about cheese. Turns out it was a good decision, since come to find out, we were out. Oh, I also need to write a grocery list that is also what the day will consist of, list making. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeee!

 

Hmm... I hope he brought is flight gloves. I don’t remember seeing them in his bag; hopefully they are in his jacket. We were a little rushed this morning; I forgot what day it was and hit the snooze button. He was on time though. I kind of feel bad, hitting the snooze and all. I broke him of the waking up at the first alarm at 530. That used to drive me absolutely nuts in the beginning. He would do that on my days off and wanted to start the day before the day started itself. (That was of course back when I was working 10 hour days with one 30 minute break, driving him to base ((20 miles)) then from there to my work ((30 miles)) then from my work to base to pick him up ((30 miles)) and then to home ((20 miles)) not to mention the stressful traffic and the scary roads) So yeah, my days off, sleeping in was very much needed, if not until noon, at least until 800. Now he’s like me when it comes to the snooze button, if not worse. =S

 

Anyway, I just switched the laundry over and got a GREAT idea on how to rearrange the bedroom! So I NEED to go before I loose my motivation. I will try to come back an add some more. I know I definitely have to come back to answer Uncle D’s email.

 

Talk to you all later! Miss you! Take care!!

 

 ~NikiRose

---------------------------------------------------------

 

I am back, Kinda of. I just wanted to say, he didn't forget his gloves, they were no where to be found and I remembered taht I made a not of them last night when I was centering his patches on his jacket. Anyway, he did forget however, his tags. That is a first though. I blame the fact that he didn't put them where he normally does, this time he put it on our dresser. =P I really wish I would have noticed it before he left. Maybe I should get a second set for him lol. That way if he forgets it on the dresser again, he'll have one in his flight suit. Men...

 

Speaking of the little forgetters, when I was in Bliss, I embarassed Soldier pretty bad. SCORE! We were standing outside in front of his barracks waiting for 1315 to roll around so he could get his orders and I noticed his uniform was SOOOOOO unkempt. (I think that is the right word) Anyway, I ask him if I could use his pocket knife, and willingly he gave it to me, and I just started cutting strings. I mean STRINGS! I have no idea how he has passed uniform inspections, but with this many strings he totally would have been recycled in basic. lol. You know those plastic balls at the store that have .79 cent nylons in it, well I could have filled about 1 and a half of those with nothing but strings. His Sgts were walking by rolling their eyes. I hope I didn't embarass him too much. He did thank me though. =) Flyboy is pretty good about keeping his uniform stringless but every once in a while some will get past him. It always helps to have a second pair of eyes, especially woman eyes! HA! ;D hehe.

 

Well I am going to get back to my rearranging. I still have a lot more to do. I Have the bed moved, which consisted of taking it apart and moving it and the 9 drawer dresser is moved in the direction I want to put it in. lol. I am doing laundry in between, and figured clean bedding would add a nice touch to the newly moved room. lol Flyboy washed them last week, but I think I will wash them again, it's one of those head things. He says he washed them but I didn't get to seem them get washed so, it bugs me. You know? Maybe it is just me and the weird groupies in my head trying to take my mind over. I don't know.

 

But I am going to go for now. Talk to you guys later!

 

~NikiRose  

 

 

Never gonna Give You up, Never Gonna Let You Down...
Mood:  hungry
Now Playing: http://www.yougotrickrolled.com/

... That was amusing.

 

I just got back from having the blood work done. I was supposed to do it Monday, but well, I will be honest with ya, I chickened out. I am kind of glad I did though because I really wasn’t prepared for what they took. I wasn’t really prepared today, but at least my mind was ready to face the music. Of course, I could have been there an hour earlier, but the doctor misinformed me about the time. So there was a really long line ahead of me. Though I feel a little silly for being as shook up as I am, there was a little girl about 8 years old who went before me to get blood work done and when she came out she seemed as happy as she was when she went in. They probably gave her a piece of candy… grr. I know I should have gotten one! They decided to take 8 of those big vials. I wish they would have told me that way I knew how long I had to keep singing in my head. It felt really gross, the blood being sucked out of my arm. I was getting worried there for a second because she just kept drawing and drawing and my hand was getting more and more tingly. Don’t get me wrong it was an interesting experience. I really want to give blood because I know how much people need it, but I think I need a few more blood work appointments before I can strengthen up the courage to sit there longer. I really don’t like needles. *shivers*

 

Though I will say, next time I am going to bring a snack in my purse, I barely made it to my car without throwing up. I am also glad Mississippi Mom was still up; she let me talk to her on my way home. I was really not sure if I was going to be able to make it. Yes I did sit and wait for 10 minutes after I got to my car. I really didn’t want to loose what was left of a 12 hour empty stomach all over the base clinic. That would just be embarrassing. I could have used the restroom, sure, but I have absolutely no clue where they are. Yes, that is on my to-do list. Flyboy says he knows where they are by flight med, but that helps me none since that is a whole building away from where I was. Haha. I just figured the paper sack in the car should do just fine if I needed to use it.

Last night was kind of dragged, but then again on blink later and it was midnight. Kind of weird… Flyboy wanted steak for dinner, so luckily we still had one in the freezer. (Man I love the Food Saver bags. Hehe) He wanted to cook it, and that was fine by me, so we split a steak, and had mashed potatoes and green beans. Hmm, that has me thinking. I know what I want for lunch! I would have to go to the store though… Suspense! Just teasing, we are out of tortillas, amongst a WHOLE bunch of other stuff; this next shopping trip is going to be a biggie. =/ Anyway, I am thinking chicken quesadillas for lunch. It sounds awesome right now, and I know it will sound even more awesome later. Now all I need is enough desire to leave my warm house to go back out into the freezing, 19 degree morning, just to get tortillas. I am thinking I may wait until after the washer is done with its rinse cycle, so I can switch the laundry over. I think I have a long sleeve shirt in the dryer right now. Maybe I should look for my other pair of winter gloves. I put them away somewhere, but I have no clue where that somewhere could be…

 

Speaking of the washer, I want to know why that last minute lasts for like 5. No joke. I timed it once. The little timer finally made it to one minute and it took much, MUCH longer than a minute for it to click down to zero, and the machine had stopped spinning at the 3 minute mark! I just think it is weird, and very inconvenient. (I guess it heard my writing… ((That makes no sense)) because the beeper just dinged. ((My goodness I am making NO sense this morning))) Be right back.

 

I have returned… and the crowd goes wild… “aaaaaahhhh aahhhhh yeaaaaah aaaaaah!” I don’t know, told you I am a bit loopy, though, that could be just me all the time. Come to find out that all the long sleeve shirts were in there was and are now in the dryer. And everything that was in the dryer consisted of mainly shirts that had to be folded immediately. So, now my arm hurts more. Yay me! Though I tell you what, I could really go for some of the coffee at that little shop by Safeway. I wish they didn’t have to close down. Their coffee was AWESOME! I miss Washington a bunch, I can’t wait to come back! I really miss the family of course but I also miss the walking everywhere and catching the bus. Not really worrying about having to drive with all the other crazy drivers. It was a different kind of freedom and independence that I never got to experience until I got to visit. It was like an adventure, having to make sure you caught the right bus so you could catch the one that would take you back home. Oh, and can’t forget about the misty rain, hehe. That was fun too. I really enjoyed visiting you guys out there, thank you for letting me come out to visit. I am glad I have a new Christmas/ winter holiday memory. =) This year we are going to listen to Cinnamon Bear too. I think I will get supplies and make some of the characters.

 

Anyway, before I get too sad from missing you guys I am going to head to the store and pick me up some tortillas!! That way I can take some chicken snacks (if flyboy hasn’t eaten them all yet. Lol) put them in the tortilla, then add a little shredded cheese, fold it in half, then put it on the George Foreman, wait about a minute or so, take it off, make another one and then have a warm yummy lunch. Hehe. I am really hungry, can you tell?

 

I guess I will take off for now. I will head to the store and then come back and either work on flash cards… blah or finish what I started yesterday in regards to reorganizing this place. Flyboy will of course get off unexpectedly early, like yesterday, and throw me off again. I heart irony!

 

Well I best be gettin’! Take care! Love you all!

 

~NikiRose

It's Been A While...
Mood:  not sure
Now Playing: 404 Not Found

Well… I am awake, so I guess I will write some more. I am supposed to be asleep, but I feel asleep too early in the evening and woke up hungry. I would love to eat something but tomorrow, well later this morning; I am going in to have some blood work done. They want me to fast for 12 hours, which wouldn’t be a problem if I was still sleeping! Maybe I just need to drink some water, though I don’t think that will help. I was dreaming about sugar cookies. Oddly I dream about those often. =) I can still taste the way they just melt in your mouth with every bite, especially when they are fresh out of the oven. Oh, and an ice cold glass of milk to go with. They always had the taste of home and true happiness, I really can’t find the right words, this is frustrating, but I guess with every bite you are taken to a happy memory when everything was perfect, or at least it seemed through a child’s eyes. I guess I am more homesick than I realized =/ I was wondering, umm, when we come back to Cali to visit, could we make some sugar cookies again? (If that is okay of course) Man, I don’t like this homesick stuff… Lets see, the last time I was back there was in October of 2005, I think it has been a while… =(

 

Anyway, I am sure you are wondering about the blood work. Well, I have been having female issues for the past one to two years and the doctors are trying to figure out what it is, well of course after I had to tell them that its NOT stress!!!!! My goodness. Soldier was tested for a hypothyroid and tested positive for it. I did some research on it and since he and I, are blood, I may have it too which would explain A LOT. So they are doing blood work so they can see every possibility. I honestly think it is their way of sneaking another pregnancy test on me. I am SO tired of those; they become little head games that end up depressing me in the long run. Which of course would not be helping their little stress theory, irony. Haha. But yeah, so I won’t find out anything until my doctor’s appointment next Monday. Fun, Fun.

 

Speaking of that, Sleeveman… how have you been with all the tests they are running? Have they figured anything out yet?

 

Well, since I am making shout outs…

 

Hey Power Presto! How is school? Mom said you have had perfect attendance so far, that is AWESOME! She sent us pictures of your Halloween costume; you make a very cool Batman! Did you get a lot of candy this year?

 

Hey, The Josh, congrats on your 1 year and a half anniversary! That is really cool! How are you enjoying your classes? Have they turned out the way you had hoped? Like I said before, you did awesome on the make-up for the Halloween costumes! I think you really have a gift there.

 

Hey Cali Cola, (I am sure I can come up with a better blog name in the morning if you don’t like this one. Having a hard time being creative, that part of me still needs some sleep. Lol) don’t worry, I should have those things we were talking about, ready by tomorrow after my appointment. I mean I wouldn’t expect them first thing, lol, but I most likely near the afternoon time. Actually that would be morning for you, see… I really am tired. Hope your day goes well!

 

Hmm… I kind of like these random shout outs. Maybe I will start doing these more often. Hehe. I am sure you all are wondering about the house too, so I guess that is what I should go into next, yeah?

 

A buddy that Flyboy works with was selling his house and had offered it to us, with all closing costs paid. We really weren't in the market for a house, we love where we are right now, but this was an opportunity you don't find too often. No closing costs and a great investment, and a foot in the door at our age!  We were seriously interested.

 

Flyboy found out about it while we were at Mississippi Mom's, a week before Thanksgiving, and as soon as we came back home we took a look at it then talked to the Realtor. That was of course was Monday. Tuesday, we discussed it and gathered all the information we needed to get pre-approved and was going to do so that Friday, since Wednesday I had a doctors appointment and was really under the weather… allergies, yuck! Thursday was Thanksgiving, so everything was closed. (Don’t worry there is a reason why I am going into detail) Soldier called me Wednesday evening while I was babysitting and he said that he was in a jam and was deploying Dec 2! So I talked with Flyboy, and I took off on Friday, the day we were supposed to go down to get pre approved. Since I left Friday, we filled out an online application for that company and they called Monday Dec 1, while I was still at Bliss. Flyboy went down there and we were approved. Yay! I finally get back early Tuesday morning, day after approval, and Flyboy’s buddy approaches him at work and starts pushing him to get the contract drawn up. Flyboy was like goodness, we JUST got approved yesterday, and you were with me! My wife just arrived in town this morning, hasn’t slept in a day and she doesn't even know we’ve been approved yet .Plus she is sicker now than when she left on Friday. (I got worse from being out there in Texas) I fly Thursday so we can do something this Friday, okay? So, Flyboy comes home and about 2 hours later the Realtor calls to suggest a medicine to help me get feeling better! And then she wanted to set up a sooner date! Our schedule is packed! Not to mention that he sent the Realtor after us! I understand he is under a time frame and he wants to lock in a low interest rate with his new place, but my goodness, we are moving this along as fast as we are being permitted!. So needless to say, we have discussed it and because of how pushy he is being, we are going to pass. I don't like the fact he thinks he can push my Flyboy into this. His house has apparently been for sale for a LOONG while and he just tells us about it at the last minute because he doesn’t have any buyers yet. He does now, but yeah, and when we talked to the Realtor she was just beating us with "Look! This IS what HE is paying for YOU!" That kind of bugged me, but I blew it off, but after this incident, it’s like, you know, you are being rude and don't deserve our business. I was starting to feel really pressured that if I said no it would affect (I think that is the right affect/effect) Flyboy at work, and I really wouldn't want that. I know buying a house is supposed to be nothing but pressure, but not this kind. Anywho, we decided against it, and it is a good thing too because, Soldier is having me take over his finances and he is in a pickle and now that we aren't investing in that house we wont be stung tight helping him out =)

 

That is the house issue in nut shell. I think I am going to drink some water and try to get some more sleep. I don’t want to be sleepy and down a pint of blood. (I don’t know how much they are taking, but I hope it goes quickly. I am not a huge fan of needles!) I better go now. Good morning/good night, take care! Love ya!

 

~NikiRose

Return Of The Something....
Mood:  cheeky
Now Playing: "Honk! Honk!" Flap, falp! "Hoooonk!!"

Well, I just got back from a spontaneous trip to Fort Bliss Texas. My brother officially deployed on Tuesday to the desert, and well, he needed help with the paperwork part.

 

The drive out there was very looooong I tell ya. I think driving out to California is a LOT faster. (in reality it isn’t, Cali is 1500 miles away, double what it is to Bliss.) Anyhow, I made reservations at the base Inn, and apparently the front desk gal forgot to tell me that check in was at 1500, so I arrived at 900, smelly and grungy, in need of a shower and coffee, only to be told “Come back at 1500!” Made me mad a bit because it threw off everything, luckily we were able to recover. So let me back this up, I drove 11 hours out there, got detoured to dirt roads where there was NO reception, arrived to the Gate to be misdirected to the base hotel, call up Soldier, who doesn’t know ANY of the street names on base, finally find him, go to the hotel and get told to come back later. Okay, so now we have to decide what to do next. After about ten minutes of that, we decide to go get something to eat, and kill some time before our 1300 appointment with the storage company. (I will explain that in more detail, later). He takes me to a food court in the mall and we split a Subway sandwich, and then cruise the mall some. Not a big mall, but a mall none the less. Then we decide that we will head over to his insurance company to cancel it, so it doesn’t renew, since he now has USAA auto insurance. (much, much better deal, he is SO excited about it) That was easy as pie AND thanks to “Porter luck” they aren’t taking his next payment out on the first of this month, but yet; he is still covered until the end of December. =) From there we headed down to the storage place. When we get there the sign on the door says they will be back at 1330, but… we had an appointment with them at 1300. What the heck??? So Soldier calls the other location and asks to speak to a manager about this, which left me in shock really, especially the way he handled the situation on the phone. He was VERY assertive, understanding, professional, and yet polite at the same time. Now for those of you who don’t know my brother or didn’t grow up with him, this is REALLY different, more awesome really. It was kind of cool, the way he took care of it. Me on the other hand I was just going to wait until 1330 and then be like, “Why weren’t you here?” To make a long story short, she sent us down to her location and we were set up with a unit there. (Don’t worry, its gated, 24-7 security there and all that yummy stuff.)

 

SIDE NOTE: I know you are thinking, “Why does he need a storage unit, when they generally store your car on the base lot when you deploy?” Well, about a week or so ago, I think it was anyway, he wrecked his car. He is okay, no one was with him, but since his car can’t be driven safely at normal operating speeds, they (base) wont let him store his car with everyone else’s. So in a nut shell, he needed a unit.

 

After that we headed back to post and I was able to check into my room. Then Soldier wanted to immediately go check up on his friend Bambi. She was at the USO, (that place was pretty cool!) working on a power of attorney for him, since she is a paralegal and well Soldier didn’t know that he needed one or who he was going to give it to and so because of the holiday JAG was closed and wouldn’t open until Monday. (Monday was not a good day to do anything really because that was a VERY busy day for the guys deploying on Tuesday). Well, when we sign in the gal at the desk tells us there is a raffle drawing for two STAINED tickets, so we were like, what the heck, why not. So we filled out the info and went to find Bambi. Apparently they do the drawing and Soldier’s Sgt wins the tickets. He of course shows it off to everyone in there, just to be annoying. It was kind of funny really. Anyway, Bambi is almost done with the power of attorney and a couple of Soldier’s other buddies show up, we will call them Silver and Gold, and we decided to go bowling after we print off the Power of Attorney at the library. Well, we all pile into my car and come to find out, the library is closed! Okay, no big sweat, we finally remember Soldier's roommate, Mustang Man has a printer. Soldier calls him up and we have the clear to print. Bambi also reassures us that the bank in the PX can do notary services, and that they are open on Sunday there, that way we don't have to deal with JAG on Monday if at all possible. Phew! (Mind you, it is now 1600 and I have been up for 31 hours straight) We head down to his barracks so he can give me some of his papers, print off the POA and well, show off his room. Well, his Sgt shows up and gives Soldier the two tickets he won at the USO for the STAINED concert. AWESOME!!! So now we have to put that into our schedule as well, luckily the concert wasn’t until late Sunday evening!

 

Anyway, everyone was still with us and previously Bambi had been having some issues than needed to be seriously resolved and Soldier promised her that before he deployed he, and Silver and Gold would call up the Chaplin to help her move in the right direction. Apparently, this was the right time to do it... so after I explained to her and calmed her down about talking to the Chaplin (she didn’t know they had to swear to confidentiality when talking to someone about issues ((however you explain that))) So, the Chaplin came down and was there for 3 hours explaining her options, and discussed a bunch with her. Bambi wanted us there for support, so well, I was stuck sitting on the floor for 3 hours trying not to doze off, not out of boredom, just out of pure exhaustion. After the Chaplin left I was finally able to go see my room, and take all my stuff up there. I promised Bambi we would get some ice cream, ice cream always makes the bad go away, at least temporarily, and that is what she needed. So we picked them up and decided dinner first would be a wise decision. Sliver wanted to bowl, so it was just Bambi, Soldier, Gold and Soldier’s roommate, Mustang Man (he drives a Mustang… they all laughed at me for calling him that and well, now he has a new nickname). We went to Denny’s and talked about dumb cartoons and sadly that was about it. We went to Cold Stone’s for ice cream and then I decided to call it as much of a night as possible. Mustang Man went and hung out with his other buddies and Bambi and Gold went bowling with Silver. Soldier and I decided to go over some of his finances and discuss the plans for tomorrow back at the hotel room. Eventually Bambi, Silver and Gold show up and I take the boys back home to the barracks. (Chaplin said he wanted Bambi to stay with friends, of course that were female, or with family, he didn’t care, but he didn’t want her spending the night alone in the barracks. So I was like hey, you can stay with me if you like, there should be a couch in the room.) The time was now 100 and I STILL hadn’t been able to go to sleep. She really needed someone to talk to and we ended up going to bed around 300. Needless to say I woke up with no voice. (I had been sick with allergies two weeks before and am still dealing with them)

 

I got up around 800 and met Soldier around 900 so we could drive his car ever so slowly to the storage shed. He thought it was a great idea to pack his car full of all his stuff so he might be able to buy time on Monday (so he wouldn’t have to waste time checking his stuff into base storage) just incase something went wrong. Great idea! So we finally get there 2 hours later, give the gal a copy of the car insurance and then head back to base to get the POA (power of attorney) notarized as well as get the rest of his needed supplies to deploy.

 

We get back to base, pick up Bambi and Sliver, kind of needed witnesses, and head to the PX. Of course we get there and the PX is HUGE like WalMart HUGE, (Ours here is tiny as all get out) and come to find out the person who is authorized to do notarization off and won’t be back to work until Tuesday!!! So we brainstorm, because we NEED to get this done, and Bambi is like, “UPS!!! They can do notary services!” So we rush over there, guess what? The guy who can do that is off too! I am getting a little panicked and running through all the information in my head to find a solution to this issue. The guy behind the counter says that on Monday the notary guy will be here. Okay, that is a little bit comforting but, not so much because Monday, Soldier may not be able to get time off and well, I was kind of tight for funds, since this was a non planned adventure, so I couldn’t afford to stay another night. Eeeek! Since there was nothing else we could do at the time regarding POA we decided to shop for the things he needed. Of course, he had no clue what, he needed, nor could he find the list they gave him and Bambi and Sliver didn’t know what all he needed either. But because I am woman, I am always prepared for man’s flaw. Haha! I brought a copy of the list they gave Flyboy when he was getting ready to deploy. Apparently they had never seen a list this well organized that made sense, haha. It really bothered me that they asked so many “Why would you need that?” kind of questions, especially about simple things like a mirror and a sewing kit. After those little supplies we had to get some nice civilian clothes for him to wear out there. Now this, this is the best so far…

 

We go to Military Clothing Sales, to find a mirror, since I can’t find one at the PX. I ask Soldier what time it was, since my cell phone was in the car, and he pulls out his cell and tells me the time. So, I asked him, how come you didn’t just check your watch?

 

“I don’t have a watch”

 

“You don’t have a watch?”

 

“No. Why do I need a watch?”

 

“Umm… it is part of the regs, and what if you are out there and you need to know the time?”

 

“Well I can use my cell phone. It isn’t part of the regs either.”

 

“But you won’t always be able to charge your phone and sooner or later the battery will die and you will be out of luck.”

 

“Yeah, you got a point.”

“We will get you a watch.”

 

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I will be okay.”

 

“No, it is part of your uniform, you need a watch.”

 

“It isn’t part of my uniform. Here, I will prove it to you.”

 

So, he calls up his Sgt…

 

“Sir, this is Soldier, I have a question for you… My sister seems to think that I need a watch and it is part of the regs… yes Sgt… yes Sgt… my cell phone… yes Sgt… “

 

He of course is now blushing very brightly.

 

“Yes, Sgt… you’re right Sgt… Okay, thank you Sgt, bye.”

 

Mean while, Bambi and Silver are anxiously waiting to see if Air Force spouse wins the military regulation debate or if Soldier does. I reply to him, “So… You need a watch?”

 

“Yeah, I really didn’t know it was in the regs…”

 

“Yeah, me neither” says Silver.

 

“Guess our next stop is the watch department, because I need one too” Bambi adds.

 

“Really? You know you can also use your watch as a compass; that would come in handy over there if the situation arose…”

 

“You can use it as a compass? How would you do that?”

 

“I can’t believe you don’t know this stuff, and you are leaving, when…? Haha”

 

“So… what is the mirror for?”  

 

“…”

 

“No really…”

 

“Well, one, that way you don’t cut your self shaving and two if you ever get stranded out there, you can signal for help with it.”

 

“You can signal a plane with a mirror?”

 

“Are you teasing me or are you seriously serious?”

 

“I am serious.”

 

“Let’s go get a watch… “

 

Anyway, so we head back to the PX where we find ridiculously high priced cheap watches. So we decided we would hit WalMart on the way to the concert. By this time is about 1500 and we still needed to go over finances and get ready for the concert. Yay for being pressed for time!

 

Oh wait!!!! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK up! I forgot the biggest part, well one of them anyways.  After ice cream, we took everyone to the bowling alley to meet up with Silver. Well before Soldier and I decided to go to the hotel and discuss plans and finances, he was going to take me to a place where I could get a better view of the city. It is GEORGOUS at night. I will attach a picture from Google, since I didn’t have a tripod; all of mine came out horrible. Here you go, El Paso at night...

 

So anyhow, we leave base, get lost and decide just to turn around and go back to post, it was getting late and well I was really, Really tired. Here’s where it gets ironic… I start to drive on post, go to the check point where they check everyone’s ID’s and Security Forces flags me down. That is NEVER a good sign. Like anyone I am freaking out in my head, trying to figure out what in the world I did wrong to have them notice me. I am very cautious and take driving very seriously on post, I mean I do off post of course but on post, I am like a nun. Lol. I have nothing to hide, and I can’t think of anything that I did wrong, so now I am really starting to worry. The guy asks for ID’s, license and registration and insurance. Then he makes me mess around with my lights. Like make sure your signals work and such. I am of course thinking to myself, I used my signal, I learned that lesson last time…

 

SIDE NOTE: right after Flyboy and I got married, well towards that September, he had to do Security Forces, stuff for a while, for well, whatever reason they gave it, and one night he had to pull this weird midnight to 300 shift, just watching a hanger. Since we lived a half hour from base at the time it was silly for me to drive him there, drive home, wait there for an hour or so and then drive back, just to pick him up and drive back home again. One thing it wasted gas like mad and two I was really tired and didn’t want to risk getting in an accident with unnecessary driving. (That was when I had my brother’s Grand Am, that too is another long side note)  So I drop him off and decide to pick some munchies up at the gas station, drive back on to base, and then I couldn’t decide. Do I go hang out with all of Flyboy’s buddies at game rooms by the barracks or enjoy nice quiet time, where there wasn’t a chance I would get pinned with supplying alcohol to minors and screw Flyboy’s reputation.  Meanwhile I make a last minute decision and don’t signal. Bright bubblegum lights, and nearly soiled undies.

 

“Ma’am, do you know why I pulled you over?”

 

“Yes sir. I didn’t use my turn signal” I’m so sick to my stomach I am about ready to hurl. I mean they can kick you off post for 24 hours, 3 days, a month or even for ever if they deem so, and that would not be good since, Flyboy is still post and has no way to get in contact with me nor the fact that we live so far away from base.

 

“Why didn’t you use your signal ma’am? And may I have your license and registration and base ID please.”

 

So I proceeded to tell him about my last minute decision and that I was waiting for Flyboy. He took my information back to his car, lights of course still bright as day and twirling around in my rearview. An eternity later he comes back, hands me my stuff and says,

 

“Well, I originally pulled you over because your license plate light is out.”

 

“My what?”

 

“Your license plate light ma’am.”

 

“My license plate light? I have a license plate light? Really?”

 

Don’t worry, I wasn’t being rude I was really shocked. I honestly didn’t realize I had one. I mean, it isn’t something you check, like tail lights or head lights. It really threw me off.

 

“Yes ma’am…” he was kind of laughing at my utter confusion.

 

Long side note short, we chatted for a bit, then he took off, and I pulled over in a parking lot, just to make sure he wasn’t just yanking my chain. Sure enough, I had one and well, it was out. Luckily I wasn’t ticketed or anything, I was much relieved after that, well until Flyboy got in the car later that morning and started harassing me about being pulled over. Apparently he and the guy doing the shift with him heard the whole thing over the radio…

 

Anywho, back to Bliss… So he is having me check all the lights, and he says…

“Ma’am, do you know why we flagged you down and had you pull over?”

 

“Honestly, no sir, I have no idea”

 

“Well, we noticed your license plate light is out”

 

“My what? Are you kidding me?” I laughed “That is what they pulled me over for a 2 years ago in my old car”

 

“Well, you need to get it fixed or just don’t drive at night”

 

“Yes sir, thank you. Umm, where would I get it fixed around here? I am from out of state, so I don’t know my way around here too well.”

 

So he proceeded to tell me where and what not. It was kind of a huge damper on my visit. I was having a GREAT time and then there is nothing like Security Forces to pull you over and kill the moment. I still had fun don’t get me wrong, but yeah, another necessity added to our busy agenda.

 

Well I told you that because I had to add the fact that before we dropped off Silver and Bambi, we had to pick the car up from the Firestone shop on base. I could have replaced the light myself, but I had no supplies and I figured, why not have these guys fix it while we are shopping for all this nonsense, that way it kills two Canadian Geese with one stone. So, Bambi and Silver got dropped off and Soldier and I head back to my room with the laptop and a lot of talking to do. Blah, blah, blah and we decide to get dinner on the way to WalMart on the way to the concert. Dinner consisted of Weinersnitchel =) I felt bad because I wanted to go there with Flyboy, since he had never been to one, but I had been wanting their chili cheese dogs for a few years now. We don’t have one out here, man do I miss some of those Cali restaurants. WalMArt was PACKED, you would think it was Christmas Eve or something. Somehow we managed to find a parking space and rushed inside to find a watch. Oddly this store didn’t have a big watch display like the store we have out where I am now, but we managed to find him a watch that he was happy with. This one was pretty cool too. It had a compass on it as well, that was actually correct, well unbroken none the less. Next was the concert, yay! We got lost. So we called Flyboy, whom I think NEVER slept, but was instead on the computer the whole time I was gone, and he helped us figured out where we needed to go. We were REALLY far off of where we needed to be. Haha. When we got there I realized we should have left a loooooong time ago. I hadn’t been to a concert in a big city in a long while, needless to say, packed wasn’t the half of it. A few circles around the block and one left turn into the dark abyss and we found a parking lot with no, “you park here and your car will explode or be towed away at your expense” signs, so it was destiny at $5 dollars a car. We already had our tickets, so we didn’t have to wait in that line, just the one where they separate the boys from the girls and then pat them down. That was a first for me. Little weird and uncomfortable, her hands were cold and clammy. Haha. Anyway, so Soldier and I meet up at the next check point and emerge into a small building with super LOUD music and enough people to allow you to ride only two rides at Six Flags during the entire day you were there. Finally, we found our seats. I of course have little to no voice so I am defiantly not able to be heard, heck I could barely hear myself think at the time. If I recall I had to scream my thoughts in my head, just so I could hear myself.  Soldier was like, well I am glad I had my hearing test on Wednesday instead of tomorrow. I was like Whaaaaat? Haha.

 

I don’t know who was playing when we got there, but the next band up was Papa Roach. I really like their songs, and really I didn’t know they were the ones who sang them. Let’s see… they played,

 

Forever

Getting Away With Murder

Last Resort

Scars

 

And I think two from their new album. I don’t like the swearing in them but the lyrics are very powerful. It sounded AWESOME at the concert and I hope they come out here so I can take Flyboy. Seether, was the next group that played and we only heard like a song and a half from them, because we had to go back to post. We were both really disappointed that we missed Stained. They were to play next. Soldier had a room inspection at 500 the next morning and he still needed to finish packing. So I let him pick the time that we should head back and he picked 2030. It was AWESOME though. I took some pictures with my cell phone.

 

 

 

At one point the lead singer of Papa Roach had come out into the stands and was singing like two rows in front of us.Of course there was a mini mob chasing him, kind of funny really, but it was really cool.

 

We headed back to the car and his Sgt called to tell him that he needed to be in PT gear instead of ACU’s, with ticked Soldier off, because for about a week they were telling him otherwise and so his PT gear was packed at the bottom of one of his bags, so now instead of heading back to post, we had to head to the storage unit to pick up his mini vacuum, since he had Space Bags (I had told him about them when Flyboy was getting deployed).  After getting back on post, with my fixed license plate light, we called it a night. I called Flyboy and talked until he could barely understand me, since my voice was going out like a flickering half dead light bulb, then hopped in the shower and called it a night myself. I don’t know if Soldier actually got any sleep that night or not, I know I did though.

 

The next morning I had to check out by 1100 or else I would be charged for another room. So I set my alarm for 830 just incase I slept through the alarm, I mean I was exhausted. I gathered everything and awaited Soldier’s phone call, hoping I would get one before noon. We still had to get that dog-on POA notarized and get his mail forwarded to Mississippi Mom as well as a get a copy of his orders, not to mention he needed to get everything done that they wanted him to get done. Monday was very time pressed day. Well, 900 comes along and he texts, “Meet me here at XYZ”. So I jump to my feet, grab EVERYTHING, and rush my sick, hard to breath self down the three flights of stairs, there was no elevator in this particular building, and race to the car. (yeah I forgot to mention my room was in a building waaaay across post and waaaay away from the main hotel building.) Anyway I get half way to XYZ (MAN is it windy today or what, holy cow!!! Good thing my bicycle is tied down and surrounded by a fence, otherwise it would have blown away by now, goodness!) and he texts me again, “Sorry, false alarm, they screwed up over here”. Well dang it! I am already over at XYZ. So I decide to head over to the main hotel and check myself out. That was too easy and took like 30 seconds, well that sure killed time. Bah. So I then decide to head to the PX to make sure the notary guy is there at UPS and to also send off a package that needed to be sent. Sure enough the guy was there, and I sent off my package, and just as I was about to leave a German soldier came in and was going to send a package off! A German soldier! I mean he had a thick accent and everything! It was awesome! I know, I know, a soldier is a soldier, but I have only seen US soldier and Canadian soldier in person, everyone else I have seen on T.V. It was really neat; he is from a different part of the world! Well you can think whatever, I thought it was awesome! So I head back to the car and play the waiting game. I am used to the waiting game; Flyboy is notorious for making me wait. Haha.

 

Waiting, waiting, waiting, then the phone rings, it is Soldier, I am clear to pick him up. I race back to XYZ, doing 25 mph of course and pick him up. He looks really different in his uniform, kind of cool really. =) Then we head back to the PX… hehehe

 

Well, here is the problem, we need witnesses. Soldier figures we can just grab some from the PX, not a problem. We get to UPS and the notary guy tells us that he will be right there with us and to go ahead and start signing where it needs to be signed. Soldier finishes that and he starts looking for people to ask if they wouldn’t mind being a witness. HAHA! I have no voice otherwise I would be asking. So, Soldier turns around and there is this really tall guy, kind of build like young Gomer Pyle standing in uniform behind us. Soldier asks, “hey, would you mind being a witness for us?”

 

“A what?”

 

“A witness.”

 

“A witness for what?” he asks a little confused and worried.

 

Soldier quietly sighs heavily, “A witness for this power of attorney, all you have to do is sign… “ The Gomer guy discretely snaps to attention throwing Soldier’s train of thought WAY off. Soldier stops talking for a second and puts his hand over his forehead and rubs it slightly in puzzlement, “Dude! What are you doing? You are above me…” Soldier points to the rank on his own chest and continues to explain about the power of attorney witness. Meanwhile I notice a Major, who is also filling out a POA, laughing like none other, quietly of course, and if he smiled any harder I think his face would have shattered. Hehe.  Anyway, the poor Gomer guy was very flushed and I can’t imagine how embarrassed he was, but he goes back to parade rest and Soldier is still trying to explain this to this poor guy. Gomer slightly agrees and Soldier seems relieved and looks for another guy to borrow. Well the notary guy, is finally ready for us and he asks about our witnesses and Soldier says, “We have your buddy behind the counter and this guy over here,” he points to where the guy was and no longer is. Soldier turns around and doesn’t see him, “where did that guy go?”

 

“I think he left, Soldier” as loudly as I could manage. (no voice remember)

 

Soldier of course is now a bit frustrated, so the notary guy asks the Major and he was more than happy to be a witness. We both thanked him greatly. All we needed now was two copies and a trip to the post office and a copy of his orders.  

Soldier has to be back by 1315 to pick up orders, we were making pretty good time, until we got to the post office. LINE, long LINE. That took an hour only to be told that since it was a temporary change of address for a deployment, we needed to go to the building around back. We rushed over there, they closed at 1130 and it was 1127, definitely pushing it. We got there and they told us we had to talk to the guy in the mail room at his barracks…  I LOVE circles… Since he can do that himself then, we decided food is next on the list. I asked him where he wanted to eat, he was like chow hall is fine. Now why on earth would you want to have your last stateside meal with family be at the chow hall, when while you are over there that is ALL you ever eat anyway? Especially if family is going to cover your meal? So I picked Weinersnitchel again since it was closer to post than the rest of the places.

 

 

We ordered and I had him check his watch, and we were a head of schedule, so after we ate I had him call up his new bank, USAA and have them set up a bunch of stuff, like transferring funds from his old account and such as well as adding me on there to speak for him while he was deployed. He really likes USAA, I am really happy too. This bank has been awesome to us and the deals they have for the military guys is unbelievable. I feel really foolish for not switching over when Flyboy wanted to, and I wasn’t going to have Soldier miss out on what I did, and he is grateful for it too! His insurance has gone down like $40 AND he has more coverage! There is a lot more, but as long as he is happy, that is good.

 

So we got that taken care of, and we were back on post by then and it was getting to the time when he had to go back to work. He went back picked up his orders, made me a copy and then gave me one last load of stuff to take back to storage before I left. We each gave each other a small corny safety brief, hugged and said good bye. I wanted to stay a bit longer but I needed to get on the road, I had 11 hours and construction ahead of me and he had to make sure he was ready to go. It was very sad and depressing to leave, but I recently got a response to a (WOW that is a lot of geese outside! I can hear them over the music playing on the computer!) an email I sent him within his email about some stuff, and he made it there okay. He says that all is well with him. Which is always good to hear. =) If he is able to continue replying I will post some of it here, if it is okay with him of course. (Goodness, I think I should check the weather, it is sounding more and more violent out there! Eek!)

 

Well that was spontaneously needed trip to Fort Bliss. I have more I plan on updating everyone with, but I think 16 pages in Word is enough for one day. Haha! Hope everyone is doing well. I am getting back into writing, I am glad everyone does enjoy my rambling. Finally the world DOES revolve around me! Bwahahahaha! Just kidding. =) I am really humbled that you guys want to actually read all of this, and were upset when I stopped there for a while. I will keep it up, Lord willing. =) I need to fix lunch, “my tumbly is a rubmlin’” to quote the Pooh. Take care! Love you all!

~NikiRose

P S. > Here are some more pictures. I shrunk them down so I wouldn't use up all of my space on here. If you want bigger ones I can send them to you if you like, but I don't know who wants them...

 

This one he let me take after we got back from the concert. I told him, "Mississippi Mom is going to kill me if I come out here and don't get ANY pictures of you" I don't think he was quite ready for this one, nor some of the others. hehe, but I am glad he let me take some. =)

 

 

Then this one he was following me back through the little hall way and I stopped and took a picture behind me. I think this one came out GREAT! I mean he was a bit suprised but it looks really good. Don't worry, The King, he doesn't wear his hat like this in public, he was just goofing off to bug ya. =) Plus it is fun to be dorky. hehe =D

 

 

This one is of both of us, obviously, and I had to set the camera on timer and put it up on top of the entertainment center in the living room quarters in order to get this one. I don't have any "nice" non-goofy ones of us, I think it would have been a little too hard on both of us for one of those.

 

 

These last two I took just as I got over the mountain pass coming home from Bliss. I thought it was really, Really, pretty. These pictures don't even begin to capture what I saw, but it was worth a shot anyways, no pun intended.

 

 

Well I better go, my tummy is still rumblin' and it is doing so more angrily. Eeek! Love you!

 

~NikiRose