Most important things first, on August 12, we got out of the motel we lived in for a month, and into our house on post. Not a bad wait at all. Hubby brought me to see it the day before we signed. We had trouble finding it at first, but were enjoying looking at the neighborhood when I pointed at one nice, corner lot with a single dwelling unit and said “I want that one!”. He laughed at me and said “yeah good luck with that.”. Turned left, and low and behold “that one” was OUR house. Ha!

Not bad eh? Now, I’ve never had the fortune to live in a single house, let alone one this nice. We’ve had eight-plexes, duplex, and no this is NOT officer housing. This is NCO housing. Conveniently located right across the road from where he works.

Our furniture and such took two more weeks to be delivered, though we did end up buying new before that, since you know…FLOOR! and our old stuff was about shot. And my Washer/dryer wouldn’t fit in our laundry room since it was a stackable that didn’t UNstack. So we had to replace that too. We got settled in, got the kids in school and, well…Hubby got this…

A 2011 Harley Davidson Fat Bob. He has waited 20 years for his bike, and after 9 years in the army, 2 deployments, and especially that one to Afghanistan…it was more than well deserved. I sustained the first injury…I thought I’d sit on the bike, in my shorts, and bam…exhaust burn. I left skin on the pipes and ended up with a pretty nasty wound. It didn’t look that bad at first as you can see. But I ended up going to the ER when blisters continued forming 2 days later. Ouch. It’s all healed now, and fading fast.

The following Sunday, we had our friends over. We were lucky enough to join two other soldiers he worked with in Washington, and deployed with when we moved here. There’s Tracy and Andy, married couple, and Joe. Andy shows up on his bike, our garage is open so you can see ours too, and thus our first complaint was born. A neighbor complained about the “quality of the company we keep”.  Because of “all the bikes”. Right. All TWO bikes. Mind you, as I mentioned these are all soldiers stationed here. Three guys that worked together, fought together, and lived together for years. All three who are decorated combat veterans.  People are jerks, and THIS is why I make friends far from my neighborhoods. Anyhoo..

Shortly after the house, school started back up for me so I’m buried in Cultural Anthropology, Ethics, Intro to Law, and Art of the Cinema until December 9th. I did however finally decide where I’m going with my education. As I wind up my AA in Letters, Arts, and Sciences I’ll be picking up some prereqs for my next degree program. I’ve decided to get a BA in Psychology, and hopefully after that a Masters. My goal is to work on post, in the future as either a Family Advocacy counselor, or in the Substance Abuse program, or just at the hospital. I’d really like to get involved in working with PTSD patients and their FAMILIES. Maybe by the time I get done with school the military will acknowledge Secondary PTSD and that families suffer through this and need assistance as much as their soldiers. If not, well…guess I’ll become a squeaky wheel.

As for my spare time…what little I have, I’m finding myself enjoying cooking again. Probably because I have a great kitchen now. I’m also finding keeping a house this size clean is a full time job! I’ve also decided to learn to sew, and I’ve started little craft projects from Pinterest that caught my attention. My first completed project was a set of four coasters.

Gaming has taken a back seat aside from Dragon Age 2, but WoW still remains unattainable. Maybe next xpac, who knows. It just takes more of a time investment than I have.

And Old Sweet Song, Keeps Georgia on My Mind brought to you by Lady Jess - (Have You Seen My Stapler?)

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See the great thing about art, is that it’s a complete work when it makes YOU smile. And the other night I was tinkering around with Cretacolor AquaStics (colors on paper just like crayons, but brush with water and you have watercolor!), some acrylic paint, and some paint pens. By the time I was done, what started out as trying out my new toys made me smile.

Yesterday I completed my second page. You all saw the photos of my Mother’s Day gifts. Well my tulips are dying now, and I decided to use a photo or two and the note from the  cookies as yesterday’s entry to remember Mother’s Day.

Messy? Yes. But it made me happy.

Maybe I don’t need to be able to draw people and animals and landscapes. Maybe I will eventually, maybe I won’t. I was limiting myself by only thinking in those terms. This…is fun. And it’s art.

It’s a Start, and It’s Art. brought to you by Lady Jess - (Have You Seen My Stapler?)

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1. do not eat beef. and just to be safe, I’ll eliminate red meat all together. Where does ham fit in though?

2. DRINK WATER! 4 bottles per day seems to be just right for me.

3. Eat a bowl of total raisin bran every day. Even though it tastes like cardboard withrubber raisins. It has 100% daily values of vitamins and minerals. It’s a whole grain, and provides JUST enough fiber, eliminating the need for supplements. Also, if whats for dinner is beyond my control, and I barely eat, I’m covered.

4. Gave up soda a couple months ago. I drink 2 cups of coffee in the morning (caffeine is bad, but antioxidants are good), and water and Green Tea throughout the day (again with the antioxidants).

The kidney stones are still a work in progress. I’ve called the appointment line three or four times. They finally referred me to the Referral coordinator, who gave me the direct line to Urology, where I left a message. They called me back, took my information, and will supposedly call me back with an appointment after lunch. Military healthcare is so frustrating, but being free, who can complain. Our hospital serves (as heard on the news last night) over a million patients, I guess it’s understandable.

Kidney stones can apparently mimic gastrointestinal problems as well, so I’m hoping to get them dealt with before hubby leaves, and maybe lessen my IBS symptoms. I do know they don’t play nice together. I’ve noticed if I’m not very careful about my food and water intake and trigger an IBS flare up (ie: bloating from hell), I have pain in my lower left back and hip. That’s the side housing the stones. This has been a real learning experience thus far. Aging can be a bitch I tell you.

Taming The Irritable Belly (Knock on wood) brought to you by Lady Jess - (Have You Seen My Stapler?)

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I’ll still get him steaks on occasion for him to cook, I’ll have a salad or something those nights. I need to find inexpensive seafood recipes, as well as chicken and pork. And it probably won’t be easy. I also have to time my grocery shopping right so that my fresh ingredients don’t go bad before I get around to cooking them. I’m thinking of shopping weekly, on Sundays with planned meals might work. I need some basic kitchen gear as well.

• good knife set
• food processor
• blender
• baking dishes with covers
• casserole dish with cover
• Apple corer

Any advice is welcome. This is all new to me, and something I really want to do, and do fulltime. It’s time to start some new habits. And also, check out Justoneanna for some seriously droolworthy, easy to make recipes.

He's In For A Shock brought to you by Lady Jess - (Have You Seen My Stapler?)

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Today, we await the start of the AFC Championship, which is the subject of today’s Project365 photo. GO STEELERS!!!  And what the heck, GO EAGLES!! Let’s make it a Turnpike Bowl in 2009!!

Here We Go… brought to you by Lady Jess - (Have You Seen My Stapler?)

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Daisy, from the beginning attached herself to me. When he deployed in 2005, she became as sticky as Velcro. I to this day cannot go to the bathroom without her waiting at the door for my return. She sulks and paces if I leave the house. At this very moment, she is where she always is. Laying to the right of my chair, in the spot she’s worn into the carpet. So, finally…I have MY dog.

Then, we got Shadow. Shadow is Daisy in reverse. He’s worn a spot by Hubby’s chair. He sulks when hubby isn’t home, or is gone for a few days, follows him everywhere. He sings loudly to him when he arrives home every day. He spends his time gazing adoringly at him every evening.

It gets worse. If I go to bed first, both dogs follow, they LOVE bedtime almost as much as dinner time. Daisy climbs into bed, on Hubby’s side, Shadow lies down on the floor by the dresser. Sounds ok right? Oh no. If Hubby goes to bed first, Daisy stays with me, and shadow follows him to bed. Gets in MY side of the bed, fully sprawled out, head on MY pillows. Now, where Daisy moves as soon as Hubby enters the room…Shadow goes limp and cannot be budged. There have been nights I’ve laid ON him, and he doesn’t move. Let me just tell you, my 120 pounds soaking wet self cannot move an 85 pound dog that goes limp. In dead Lose Weight Exercise he might as well way 200 pounds.

So there you have it, no towels, no mugs, no pillowcases. But we do have His and Hers dogs.

It's Just Gone Too Far. brought to you by Lady Jess - (Have You Seen My Stapler?)

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