Old Bloggings!!!

blogging
So, Christmas is almost here and G will be home on vacation for 2 weeks. I did my first batch of Christmas shopping on Friday, spent money and got nothing of substance. This is going to be a very short Christmas this year for the kids. I feel so bad...I love loading under the tree and it just isn't going to happen. Things they really want I am too frugal to buy...something I really need to overcome. We are picking up Alyssa and Jose on Saturday for the weekend. It should be a nice time, can't really go anywhere cause not enough seats in the car, but we should be able to at least spend some time together. Christmas Day is going to be an ache and a joy at the same time. Spending some time with one family but not with another. It is also very weird for me to not have any single soldiers or new people to invite to the house for a gathering and a big meal. I am hoping to maybe do a dinner on the 1st and inviting family, but I may just x-nay that idea as well since I doubt many will do the travel up.I went to work yesterday, but the office is not ready for me yet. I kind of surprised them all. They need to have the IT guy come in and get my name squared away and they were busy with quarter-end deadline and didn't have the time to show me things. So, they will give me a call and get me going. It was nice to go though. I am sure I can do it, at least the tax season stuff and then I will wean into the other stuff. The house looks good for about 2 days and then is up in arms again. I get feeling good about it and I slack. I worked on straightening the garage on Sunday so that I can easily just grab a box to unpack. I placed Alyssa's stuff in one corner and outside or garage stuff in the other corner and now all the other stuff is still kinda in the center, but easier for me to get to things. I have til Thursday to get a little more organized before G comes home and wreaks havoc on it again! LOL I have not hung anything on the walls and I have yet to hang bedroom curtains, but the boxes are so bulky that it is better to unpack them and break them down rather than having them in the way while trying to organize and decorate!Took the kids to the Tacoma Mall on Saturday. We didn't stay long, but it was nice to get out of the area and take a drive...even with the traffic. We found a Goodwill store on the way home and stopped. We love Goodwill! THe Christmas deocr was 50 cents and they had a TON of it! I got myself some work sweaters and a wool skirt and the boys got sweatshirts and pants and so did Katie. We have to ease into the winter clothing! Spendy though, so Goodwill is a great place. We did some baking last night. I made fudge and the kids made Christmas sugar cookies. Talk about some "decorated" cookies! I took some pics that I will have to share. You will get a laugh...and a sugar high just looking at them!So, there is my life in a nutshell lately. Lots more on my mind and in my heart, but I can't go into it since I am not allowed to share those things...back to the keeping things inside and see how healthy I remain! tsk, tsk, tsk....Love and hugs to you all. Stay safe.
Posted by Babs at 11:44 AM 0 comments
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Saturday
Well, today is Saturday! Not that it really makes a huge difference than any other day lately...lol...but it is another day and that is its name! Life here is going OK. A week in the new house, the HHG's are here, internet, cable, and phone are in, kids all in school...can't really ask for much more.G is in VA for his schooling to change his job. Had a heck of a flight there, poor guy. We left early Thursday morning, and he missed his flight by like 5 min due to the traffic taking so long. He got on another flight and seemed to have issue after issue at his layover spot. Landing in VA should have been around 10:50pm and instead was 3:15am! He is having a few minor rumors/problems at the school, but tomorrow I guess is the day we find out if the rumors/probs are true or false. Hope for the false side please! LOL He is there til the 20th then home for Christmas and back out on the 2nd. We are going to pick up Alyssa on the 22 - 24, the Space Needle for our anniversary on the 23rd, and Christmas at Grandma Bes's. The kids are all in school and so far liking it. Katie is on a 30 day trial because of her age. As long as she is up to level with the other kindergarteners, she will remain in school. Zach started Friday. Took him longer because they were trying to get ahold of Knappa for recrds, but due to the severe weather could not get through, so enrolled him and let him start without them.I have been unpacking, stained a shelf, and hung some bathroom border. I have managed to unpack the 9 or so boxes that were in my room, 6 or so that were in the kitchen, 3 in Katie's room, and 2 from the hallway. Not to mention the 5 loads of clothes from a week with no washer and dryer! LOL I am having second thoughts on my accounting job, but mainly for fear of leaving the kids so far away...30 min or more is a long way since I have never been that far away. Separation anxiety! I am scared, too. I have been looking for others locally, but still going to start this one cause I committed to it.We drove to Oregon this morning, early, and Katie ate breakfast with Santa in Clatskanie. We had fin. Then we went to Grandma Jo's for a little bit, but Katie was onrey, so we left. Picked up Alyssa and went to the park in Clatskanie for a bit. Alyssa also brought me her dad and mine Christmas present! I will post pics later! Hush hush for now. After the park, we drove to Kelso and went to the mall for dinner (fast food) and $10 at Chuck-E-Cheese for Katie to play, then off to get our kitties and come home! It was a nice few hours with Alyssa, although I wish it were more. I hate saying goodbye to her cause I miss her so...but life and growing up happen and we all have to deal.So, there is a recap and a look at Saturday! Sunday has unpacking and Christmas decorating in store for me. Laundry as well, I am sure. TTFN
Posted by Babs at 8:47 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Mini Update
Just wanted to let you all know that we have internet and phone and tv, just no phones and televisions! LOL Household goods arrive tomorrow so will be busy all day. G leaves Thursday morning at like 8:20am for his schooling in Virginia. We were stuck out here at the house yesterday due to the road leading into and out of here was closed off due to high water. There are 2 roads and both were closed. We were going to go to Oregon and get our other bags and our kitties, but I-5 is closed due to 8 feet of water over the roadway! They are hoping to have it re-opened by Thursday depending on damages under the water. I will update more when we get things together and I will post pictures of the new home as well.
Posted by Babs at 11:40 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Traveling Cross Country
From the time we set foot on the mainland, we have been on the move. We arrived and spend 2 days in the area, hooking up with a friend for dinner, seeing our new home, and getting together with family for a surprise birthday party for Jordan. After that, we hopped in the car for a surprise trip.We left on Sunday, November 11th and headed east. We traveled through Eastern Oregon into Idaho and then stopping the next afternoon in Nebraska. It had been a long drive and we needed some sleep. I drove the day shift and G the night, but I only nodded off here and there, so sleeping came quickly and easily. There we encountered our first Cabella's Outdoor store and feel in love! We brought books with us and have taken turns deciding what things we want for our new northwest life! lol Tuesday morning we headed out again. I again took the morning shift, and G nodded in and out. I was traveling pretty good, open road, only truckers for the most part, and a cop in the middle of the road out to get ME after being followed by aircraft for miles! I received my first ticket ever on the open roads of Nebraska for speeds alot less than what I had been doing. I drove all day and then G took over in the night. We made it in good time, no real issues, and hit Kentucky around 4:30 - 5am Wed morning. At exit 3, we had our first big "eye-opener"! A good sized buck standing directly in front of us while we are traveling a good 65MPH. G did all he could to get us to stop...with all 4 anti-lock brakes, it was all up to the man above to make sure we stopped. We did, with about 3 feet to spare before the deer realized we were there and hopped across the other lane nearly missing the truck that had swirved when he saw our brake lights. We were fortunate that it was early and there were not numerous people on the road...especially since exit 4 is the exit for Fort Campbell. Needless to say, we were awake then! I started driving again at 5:30. I have to tell you, Kentucky is a looooooong state! It seemed to never end. I hit a 2 minute patch of rain that scared the pants off me, but other than that, we had beautiful skies the entire trip. We made good time, and arrived in SC at Kathy and Leon's at around 2pm. They are such great people and family to us. Funny, but they were the last people we saw when we started our journey to Hawaii leaving from their house on our trek cross-country and they are the first people we saw (other than family) when we got back on the mainland. We essentially came full circle. Friday we went to Fayetteville and surprised Susan and her hubby, Jamie. They were having a gathering to celebrate Jamie's recent promotion, so the timing was perfect. We surprised Bob, Sandi, and Carol the next morning for breakfast. They thought it was Kathy and Leon and Ang coming, and then we walked in. Also a very nice surprise for friends we cherish dearly. We returned to SC until Monday and then headed up to Fayetteville.Our time in Fayetteville was short. We stayed with Kellie. The girls did not know we were coming and the look on poor, sick Sierra's face was so funny! Poor girl was sick and had been at work. She came home and upon entering the house could just stand in the doorway hopping up and down looking at the boys. She saw me, said "I need to puke but I can't cause I am so happy". It was great! Not that she was sick, but the expression on her face when she realized we were there. I wish we had gotten to see them longer, but they went to school the next day and never came back because they took a bus to Philly for Thanksgiving Parade where the Southview band played! Awesome for them!!! G finally got to the mini-mall to get his "undies" that we can not find anywhere else! He is on cloud 9 now! LOL Then, Tuesday night about 9pm, we rolled out. There was a rain storm up north, and we just did not want to risk the chance of winter weather sneaking up on us.So, we drove almost to DC Tuesday night and stopped. Now, mind you, Patty knows we are coming, but she has only know a few days, and Dad has no clue. We have called him and chatted away, but have never dropped any hints or slipped up. So, we stay overnight, then head out again Wed morning. This should only be about 8 - 9 hours. We did great til New Jersey. Our NJ Turnpike travels should only take about 1.5 - 2 hr tops and this day it took us nearly 1.5 hr to get 3 exits! No, I am not kidding! The congestion was horrific. Then, it took us almost 40 minutes to get over the George Washington Bridge in New York! So, after getting into CT, we called Patty and let her know that we were going to stop for the night and be there Thanksgiving morning...cause the kids were not going to go to bed if we arrived at their place and it was late. So, we stayed in Mystic, about 30 min from Dad's house, and he had no clue!!So, Thursday morning, we head out. Chilly! We got to the house and Dad was outside playing catch with Maggie (their puppy). Katie walked up on the porch, stuck her head around to see him, and waved saying "Hi Pappy". He stopped and looked at us. He raised his hand to his brow to block the sun, and I finally said "yeah, we are here" and he came up and hugged me not letting me go. PRICELESS!!! Absolutely priceless!!! He was so happy; he had his grandkids with him, something he wants more than anything, and I did it all without him knowing!!! By now, Patty has been trying to get ahold of my grandma to find out if she is ready to get picked up for dinner. She isn't answering her phone. G, Zach, Katie and Dad head that way to get her. Katie knocked on her door, G'ma said to come in, and they found her stuck on the floor between her table and stove, where she had been for about 3.5 hrs. She had fallen and did not have on her life bracelet to call for help. So, the ambulance was called, she went to the hospital, Dad dropped off the others and picked me up to go and see how she was. 3 hours later, she is OK, but has a broken shoulder and a fracture in her wrist. What a Thanksgiving! Upon arriving back at the house, Dad had another surprise waiting for him. Sami and her kids had come down to share Thanksgiving with us as well. Dad really got a "family" and "grandkids" holiday. We all had a great time. The kids never once argued, the adults laughed, talked food, talked old days, took pics, and even got Dad to strum a few notes on the guitar. All in all, it was an awesome day.We stayed in RI until Monday. Longer than we had planned, but the visit was actually very nice and actually quiet, even with the kids. Patty and Jordan seemed to have found a similar interest in the Playstation...lol. He really loves his Nana. It took Maggie until Sunday night to be calm in the house with all of us around...and Dad and G stayed up one night talking shop and politics...sounds like fun, huh?! I did my trip to the cemetary my first day there. Zach went with me, which I have not decided if it were good or bad, he either kept me from letting stuff out to talk to Grandma, or him being there forced me to hold it together. Not sure which one. I also found Uncle Howard's plot and Angie Algiere and her husband's Louis plot...I wanted to see if Angie was still alive, and that was the easiest way, and I also got info that she is in MA living with her son and no longer in RI (hence no response from last years Christmas letter...lol) We got to see Lori, Erin, and Amanda as well, and Erin has a huge crush on Jordan! It was funny!Monday morning we headed out. Dad was sad to see us go. We had planned to go to DC and spend the day sight-seeing, but the rain crossed that off our list. Instead, we drove west and ended up stopping in Wheeling, WV for the night. We had to stop when we did...the weather had my nerves on edge and I don't think G's nerves were doing so well either. The rain had struck so fast and hard at one point, that he was literally stopped in the middle of the fast lane with his hazards on because he could see nothing...yet 2 semi's passed us! It was nerve-wracking. Up and out Tuesday, we stopped for the night in Columbus, MO which had been our planned stop. Early out and headed toward Colorado on Wed...planning on spending at least one night with Kricket from my KWC board (Online friend since 2001). The kids have really had a day, so my mind got the best of me, and we detoured north and stopped in Aurora, CO rather than heading southerly to Kricket's. I decided that the kids had enough of the car, I have had enough yelling and trying to keep my sanity, so I made the decision to stay 2 nights instead of 1. We will have some time to sight-see in Colorado, we are going to drive to see Kricket and George's family homestead in Canon City, and Katie is dying to play in the snow. Upon leaving here, we have a planned night in Boise for Friday and then onto home Saturday. Hopefully the winter weather that has been moving though has subsided and we will have easy travels.Our phone, tv, and internet get turned on Tuesday, the HHG's arrive on Wed, and G flies out to Virginia Thursday morning. I purchased his tickets for Christmas last night, and he will be home from the 20th through the 2nd for a price of $549. Not too bad, but poor guy has 2 stops before making it home.I know I have more to talk about, but everyone is asleep, including G, so I guess I could do the same. Tis all for now.....
Posted by Babs at 10:07 PM 0 comments
Labels: Traveling