Stay tuned ...

What K sent me from Afghanistan is so cute, and I guarantee it's not what you think it is. I'll post a picture tonight FROM MY NEW LAPTOP, which is supposed to be delivered today! Yippee!

Not a morning person

I didn't go to the gym (again) last night, but I had a good excuse. I didn't go Wednesday night, either, but again -- good excuse. Same for Tuesday.

See, I went on Sunday AND on Monday. Monday I just wasn't feeling it. I could feel myself getting cranky toward the end of my workout while I was doing cardio. It was kinda hot, and I'm just not a fan of getting sweaty. I'll do it, but I just wasn't in to it anyway, so why do two things that I wasn't really into that night?

I got off the elliptical 15 minutes into doing cardio (and really just 5 min. short of what I'd intended to do). I told Jeremy I'd be staying home on Tuesday for a break. I did. I liked it.

Then Wednesday I got the note about K's package and decided to go ahead and send his early. All I needed to do was bake the cookies. So I did, and I cleaned my bathroom. And I wrote K a letter to go in the package. And I did a little bit of laundry.

Last night, I was ready to go to the gym. I wanted to go to the gym, only I didn't have time. See, I'd intended to take some cookies to work because Sarah is leaving!! I'm really sad about that. Anyway, all the cookies I made on Wednesday night fit into the care package, so I shipped them all off. Literally. So I made more last night. I vacuumed my apartment since Danielle is coming over tonight to stay the weekend. I did a little more laundry. I cleaned my kitchen.

I made plans to go to the gym this morning. And it's funny that I did that, because just yesterday I finally came to terms with the fact that I'm not really a morning person. I don't want to admit that because I do want to be a morning person.

However, I value my sleep. Tremendously. And I don't go to bed early. I don't want to say that I'm not a morning person because it sounds like when I wake up I'm cranky or hard to get out of bed, and that's not really the case. If I have something fun that day or I'm excited about something coming up, you'd think I'm the biggest morning person in the world.

I set my alarm last night for 6:10 so I could get up and go to the gym before work. But I'd looked forward to today because I could sleep until 7:30 because I was driving to work rather than taking mass transit. I didn't want to lose that.

I woke up at 6:10 and thought, my bed is so comfy ... why would I want to get up? I wouldn't have had a problem getting up to get ready for work or something like that, but just the thought of getting up an hour earlier than I'd planned so I could go to the gym and do cardio for 30 minutes and get sweaty wasn't a good enough reason. So I stayed in bed. :)

The gym will still be there on Sunday (after Danielle leaves)! And just think how good my workout will be because I'll be all ready to be back in there, refreshed from my six-day absence.

It's here! It's here!

When I got home tonight, I had a postcard in my mail saying that I received a package in the mail that I can pick up at the post office. The sender is K. I'm excited!!

So I'm driving to work tomorrow so I can pick up the package at 8:30 a.m. I'm sending K a package as well. I sacrificed a night at the gym to try my hand at baking some peanut butter cookies for him. From scratch, of course. And they're great! I'm sending them tomorrow.

I can't wait to get the package!

Mingling with the stars ...

Last night, I did it. In a matter of days, I will be the owner of a brand new Dell laptop. I'm very excited.

I had a great time in Norman this weekend. The game was actually kind of boring, and I really felt bad for Middle Tennessee. We needed that game, though, after the previous week. Next weekend is our off weekend, so Danielle's coming to visit. I'm excited about that. And the week after that is the Red River Rivalry -- OU/texas weekend. Any other year besides last year, that's like texas' bowl game. This year, though, we're pretty much on a level playing field. It'll be a good game this year, I hope.

But Saturday before the game, I was walking around on wonderful campus corner. Billy Sims now has a store there, and Steve Owens and Jason White, two of our Heisman winners, were signing autographs and posing for pictures. So I was with a family friend, and we were waiting in line to take a picture. When we got to the front of the line, Jason White, who was at OU the same time as me, looked at me and said, "You look familiar. Where do I know you from?" (OU's a pretty big campus, so it could be from class or a number of other things.) I thought it was awesome that our star quarterback from my junior and senior years recognized me, but I played it off and said, "I was here at the same time as you, and I was in the band all four years." I had met him once before at Chili's, and he was like, "Oh, yeah. I remember that."















It was awesome. :)

Last one, I promise

The game is over, I know, and I'm as over it as I'll ever be. But this site is just too funny not to share: http://quacksquad.com/

Okay, I suck

The one other person in my office near my age is a girl who is 9 months older than me. She met her fiance last August (which is three months after I met K). They were engaged in September (still waiting on that one). She is leaving today to fly to San Francisco to get married. They combined their wedding and honeymoon. They're getting married on Monday.

And I'm totally jealous.

Too bad it was just a dream ...

The weather is gorgeous. I've had my windows open the last two days and three nights. There is a bit of rain in the area, so there's some light wind. I can hear my windchimes on the porch. Every once in a while, the sound of a car door opening and the car leaving will drift up through the window. I can smell the air outside. It smells nice.

My shades will blow in every once in a while with the breeze. My apartment feels nice. It feels like home.

It feels like fall. Something about it reminds me of K. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the fact I wish he were here with me right now watching TV, just lying on the couch cuddling and relaxing. That would be nice.

I had a dream about him last night. I didn't even remember when I woke up. Something while I was getting ready for work this morning, standing at my bathroom mirror putting on makeup and trying to push Noodle to the side so he'd stop licking me and I could put on my mascara. It was like K was with me in my dream, like it was real. We were lying on my bed, and I was snuggled up against him. I could smell him, and he smelled so good. I kept thinking, "This feels so great. Was it always this amazing just lying here?" And I said it, "Did this always feel this good?" But it did, and I know it did.

I'm hoping that was one of those premonition dreams. (Another cool part is that in my dream, I noticed K was a bit more buff than when he left, which he told me would happen because he's going to work out a lot while he's gone. I think his buffness level before was absolutely perfect, but in my dream he was obviously still freakin' hot with the added chest muscles.) :)

I got to work, and I logged on to facebook while I was bored at work. I saw that Brad's brother Kyle, who didn't really get along with Brad and who didn't really ever like me much (and honestly, he was a really hyper jerk who thought he was a pirate and used the "f-word" at least 4 times a sentence), had posted a note in response to one Brad posted last week. Brad had posted something about the troops. Here is a small part of his viewpoint:

I mean, I’ve heard the saying, “Even if you don’t support the war you have to support the troops,” before. I’ve also heard that the troops are fighting to protect our freedom and that as a result people shouldn’t be mad a protestors because the free speech they are exercising is the very thing the troops are fighting for.Upon reflection I think both of these ideas are absolute crap. You don’t have to support the troops and they aren’t fighting for freedom.

Being against the war is sort of like saying you are against the slaughter of animals to make fur coats. Fighting in the war is sort of like the guy that kills the animals. You can’t have a war if no one is willing to fight in it. ...

I am thoroughly convinced that my right to free speech (and my freedom in general) would remain in tact regardless of the U.S. occupation in Iraq or the war on terror. I would even argue that my freedom is somewhat diminished with respect to the new government surveillance and wire tapping laws that have stemmed from the war on terror.

I posted a response because I had quite a different opinion from Brad. Here is my response:

I think a lot of people who joined the military joined before the war started, but many joined after because they wanted to fight for our country. Yes, there are some people who want to just kill people or blow stuff up, but not all of them. K joined because he wanted to help people and do something good and get to see the world. Every once in a while, part of his job includes having to go somewhere on the other side of the planet to fight for our country and get us out of a mess. He's proud to do it, and I'm proud OF him for doing it. And he IS fighting for our freedom. If he and other soldiers weren't over there, the fight could come here. Just thought you needed a different perspective.

Then, Kyle decided to weigh in by posting a note of his own. His note was called, "Support Iraqi, Down with Freedom Crushers!" Kyle said some really harsh things in his note:

This note is in reference to Brad's note about troops. I can't show anyone what [says my name here] said... but I'm starting a new Facebook group about how she sucks.

I'd like to reply to this note and all of the comments. I'm overwhelmingly in favor of our troops... as long as they are in America. I'm overwhelmingly against the "war" if you can call it that, and the troops who are occupying a formly sovereign nation. ...

Our troops, from all accounts of battle I've read (Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, Black Hawk Down, In Harm's Way, A Rumor of War, etc) are like all other troops in foreign wars. At first they are their expecting adventure, then they are caught in the heat of battle, then they are excited about triumphs and American military might, then they are disillusioned and want to see their friends come home safetly, and finally, they accept it as some kind of survival skill... just trying to get as many people as possible home in one piece.All of these things tally up to something we must all remember - Military service is a choice. There is not implemented draft. Either you are smart enough to stay out, or you might get shipped to some desert shithole and get shot. Plain and simple. SO!

[My name]'s comment. [My name again], you are an idiot. I've always admired that you can put your head in the sand and not see the desert for the cactus roots you're eating. No one is fighting for me. Not K (who I don't know... but sounds kind of lame), nor anyone else. ... I'm free to think and breath and laugh at your ignorance, and no one is fighting for that. In fact, shooting people in Afganistan, Iraq, Korea, South America, or anywhere else is against my freedom. This K is just not smart enough to have a better job NOT shooting at people. Or he has a hardon for killing and blowing up. Either way... I'm not impressed, and I'm not supportive. I support cops. At least they are bent on "keeping the peace," and for the most part - are helping my life... not fucking up international politics. ...

[referring to another person's comment about Brad's post] They didn't HAPPEN to be in the Army at the wrong time. It is always the wrong time if you don't want to be shot at. I'm pretty sure that is the whole point of being in the infantry. And amazing;y, having balls has nothing to do with getting involved in the military. It is more a lack of brains or good sense than a surplus of balls. I have about as much sympathy for people in the Army as people who are addicted to heroin. ...

That being said, I know all of you troop supporters are out there praying for the 10,000+ victims of our misguided bomb and rocket attacks. Praying for the safety of the children of these countries we are relentlessly killing and shooting up their streets. You are all feeling pangs of guilt and remorse for the tragic deaths of 1,000s of these people who never asked anyone to "liberate" them, and who never asked for bullets to be flying into their open markets. I say... support the Iraqi's. I support people who want assholes from other countries to stay the FUCK out of their country when they don't come in peace.

I know Kyle well enough to know that saying something would not help my case at all. I know it wasn't worth my time, but it still upset me. How could he seriously have no idea?

A few people posted in response to Kyle's note. One girl said some people join to get themselves out of trouble or because it's their only chance of having a steady job because they aren't very smart or for whatever reason.

Another person said some people join the military because it's the only way they can go to college, and because the benefits are so great. Both this person's and the other person's comments are true, but that's not the whole story.

Then, tonight, I checked again just to see what others had said. And I found this new note from someone who's actually friends with Kyle. This guy, Chris, fills in a lot of what I wanted to say:

I usually don't chime into things like this, but I may as well. I live out here on the left coast and I'm as liberal as they come, and don't support the war, but Kyle's sweeping statements on everybody in the military are ignorant and naive. I have a great friend who's in the Kansas National Guard, he's 32 and just became an officer. He's extremely well-spoken, and very intelligent. More intelligent than Kyle, in my opinion. He joined the Army at 18, before anyone had any idea of Iraq (saying people joining the Army because of Iraq is preposterous... enlistment's down more than it ever has been because of OIF). ...

He wanted to serve and protect, much like the police officers that Kyle cherishes. He joined because his goal for a vocation was not just to accrue as much money as possible, but to somehow sacrifice and give back. ...

My point is, it's not so cut and dry as "Guy orders guy to pull trigger so guy does it happily and kills someone." Especially in this country, where war and capitalism go hand-in-hand, where conflict breeds profiteering off innocents at home and abroad. It's truly fubar.

And who calls someone an idiot in a public forum argument at 24 years old ? Especially when it concerns a loved one of theirs serving abroad? Have some tact.

It made me feel so much better to see someone not only defending the troops for the awesome thing they're doing, but actually calling Kyle out for calling me an idiot. And it was someone I don't even know.

So I sat here and watched Grey's Anatomy and Six Degrees tonight. Grey's Anatomy always makes me cry. I'm not a regular viewer of the show. I had just seen the last two episodes last season because I was recording them for a friend on the only TV I have in my apartment. I wanted to know if Izzy really quit.

And then Six Degrees came on. It seems like a pretty good show. I was through probably half of it, when it showed this one character -- Laura, I think -- who'd been pretty down through the whole thing. She'd mentioned a husband, David, and how he wasn't coming back. She never said anything about how it happened. But she's sitting one night watching a news report. Someone comes in her living room, and she immediately shuts off the TV. When the person leaves and you hear her door close, Laura turns the news report back on. It's in the same spot as she stopped it -- she's watching a recording. She's looking at this man, a reporter for CNN, on TV. His name is David. He's giving a report, talking about bombings that have happened. He's hunched down behind something, and you can hear explosions. He says something about getting better cover, and right then, the feed cuts off and the screen goes to static. The woman in the CNN office says something about how they're having video difficulties. Laura starts to cry and rewinds the tape.

I immediately started bawling. I can't imagine what that would be like. I hope I never have to find out.

But knowing that there are people over there putting their lives on the line and that's their job ... How could Kyle not appreciate that? How can he be so clueless?

I'm just glad there are people out there who know better.

I can only imagine what the other shoppers were thinking ...

I got a call from K today. I wasn't expecting to hear from him until tomorrow. He's been able to call pretty much every three days or so, so it was a pleasant surprise. When he called, though, I was actually in line at the post office to send him a care package.

K had sent me an e-mail telling me a few things he needed -- some vitamins, facewash, deodorant. So I went to Wal-Mart and went to the men's deodorant/shaving aisle. I found the red Old Spice sticks, and I reached for the one that he had wanted -- "aqua-something." He told me I could pick whichever one I liked. Since he knew his had aqua in the name of the scent, I grabbed the only one that said aqua. I pulled the lid off to make sure it was the right one, and it smelled just like him. So there I was, standing in the middle of the aisle at Wal-Mart, smelling K's deodorant because it smelled like him. I even walked away still smelling it. I probably looked slightly (slightly) crazy, but who cares -- it smelled like K! I even briefly thought about buying another stick to just smell from time to time, but that thought only lasted about one second.

I sent K an e-mail telling him the story about Cody, his dad and the preacher (last three paragraphs), and he e-mailed me back saying that the story really got to him. He said all the prayers back home really help, and he really appreciated that the preacher was starting church praying for the soldiers. I think the story made both of us feel good.

He had said something in his e-mail, too, about hoping he'd get the first package soon that I sent him two and a half weeks ago. I had sprayed the letter I wrote him with my perfume and wrapped it in plastic so the smell would (hopefully) stay on it. In his e-mail, he said something about cuddling with whatever smelled like me. That gave me the idea of including a pillow case sprayed with perfume in this package. I was going to keep it a surprise, but I couldn't help it. I told K, and it turns out it's good I sent it because he did buy a standard-sized pillow, but he said that pillow cases there are the low price of two for $8. He just used a T-shirt and tied it around the pillow. Now, he'll have a pillow case, AND (hopefully) it'll smell like my perfume!

A site to see

Especially if you're a Pac 10 ref.

http://www.newsok.com/video/39323/

Looking up

I haven't blogged in a while. Thursday night I opted not to because I was having the worst night ever:

-- Everything was fine until I got home from work. I checked my mail, and I'd gotten my electric bill. I opened it to see the damage, and it wasn't bad. It was about what I'd expected. I looked at the due date. It said "Payment Due: IMMEDIATELY." What? I looked at the top of the letter. It said "CUTOFF NOTICE." The bill said that my payment was past due, and my service would be interrupted if I didn't pay my bill by Sept. 22. I had never received my bill to begin with. So I called the electric company to resolve the situation. I was on hold for quite some time.

-- I had called the electric company as I was getting out of my car to head into my apartment. When I got to my door, there was a note on it saying I'd missed UPS coming by to deliver a package. Since I had just ordered my service flag for K the day before, I figured it was a package K had told me he sent, but I wasn't sure.

-- I entered my apartment and noticed it smelled faintly of bug spray. I had forgotten to leave a note on the door telling them not to spray because they make you pull everything out of all your cabinets in your kitchen and bathroom -- huge inconvenience. And I have a small pet, which they want either confined to one room or out of the apartment -- huge inconvenience. So I didn't know if the people had sprayed in my apartment or if I was just smelling the spray from everyone else's. I had to hope that they had seen Noodle and that none of my cabinets were emptied, said "Screw this!" and left. Or that they hadn't contaminated my countertops and such by spraying anyway wherever they could.

-- While I was (still) on hold, I watched Grey's Anatomy, which I've decided is a pretty depressing show. Someone always dies. I mean, the show takes place in a freakin' hospital! So I'm sitting on my couch bawling at a TV show.

-- I had picked my brother up from the airport on Tuesday, so he was back in OK, and he would be leaving soon to head to North Carolina and become a NASCAR superstar. I wanted to go see him over the weekend, but he had plans Saturday night and Sunday. My dad had plans Saturday night, too, which meant my family would be busy a large portion of the weekend. Saturday would be spent at my dad's store watching the OU game. My dad would be working while it was on, and my brother and I would be playing catchup with every customer who came in because they haven't seen us in so long (it's a real family store).

-- As Grey's Anatomy was ending, my mom called. I was telling her about how I felt like I should go to OK but didn't want to drive. She then said the one thing I knew she'd say but that always manages to piss me off because it annoys me when she says it: "Why don't you come see me?"Yeeeeeeeeah, 'cause that would solve the whole not wanting to drive part. Then, in our conversation, my mom asks me about my dad and whether or not he lives with his girlfriend. So now she knows that. Geez, it's not like they're both virgins or something.

-- Jeremy called me and said he wasn't going to the gym that night. I was kind of relieved, but at the same time, kind of sad because it meant I'd be staying by myself at my apartment, which gets kind of lonely. But I didn't feel like going to the gym, either.

-- I started getting that stupid girl feeling where you're depressed and kinda lonely, but you don't know why you're feeling depressed, which makes you frustrated because it doesn't make sense. I didn't know if I was PMSing or what. It was one of those days that I would normally just call K and unload, and just doing that always made me feel better. I just wanted to hear his voice, and I really wanted a hug. Of course, that made me miss him more.

-- I got in my car and left to go mail my electric bill. On my way, I listened to my new Fray CD. It's a good, relaxing CD, but I don't recommend listening to it the first time when you're feeling sad. With my frustration and then the CD, pretty soon I was bawling as I was driving. I wasn't even a block away from my apartment. I stopped off at the ATM because I needed cash to pay for parking the next day. I went to the post office, dropped off my bill and went home. As soon as I went to get out of my car, I realized I'd gotten my card and receipt, but had left my $20 in the ATM. I was so upset and distracted I hadn't even realized. I had just treated it like I was pumping gas. (I do that a lot more than I visit the ATM.) I jumped back in my car and drove like a mad woman to the bank again. I was praying the whole time that God would show me my night wasn't so bad by miraculously leaving my $20 there. When I pulled up to the ATM, there was a car in front of me at it. I wanted to jump out of my car and say, "Was there $20 in there when you pulled up, because that was mine!" The car was only there a minute, and then it left. My $20 was gone. I withdrew another $20, made sure to get the card, cash and receipt, and went back home.

-- When I got home, I noticed that Noodle had knocked over the cup I'd left on my coffee table. Luckily, it was pretty empty, but there had been ice in it that had melted a bit, and it was just another thing to add to a list of greatness that night. I had left drinks there before, and he hadn't knocked them over.

So all those things together made for a pretty crappy evening. I talked to ER, who I managed to get in touch with finally after I was leaving the ATM the second time. She offered to meet me or even come all the way to my apartment for ice cream or a sleepover or anything to make me feel better. The thought itself (and the fact that she listened to me unload) made me feel better.

I went to bed early that night. The package the next day was my flag. Still exciting, but not as much as K's package.

Anyway, I wound up going to OK last weekend. I'm glad I went. All the things I was worried about or dreading wound up taking care of themselves. I think God was really looking out for me after Thursday because of how crazy everything worked itself out. It really is the only solution.

Saturday was a nice day spent watching the game. It was really a good game. The first half was scary, and the second half was awesome -- until the last 3 minutes, when the Pac 10 refs, who were officiating, decided to hand Oregon the win. It sucked that we lost because the refs made calls that were clearly bad calls. They reviewed both and didn't overturn them. Earlier in the game, OU had scored, but the guy had barely stepped out of bounds on his run to score. Barely or not, he was out of bounds. I was glad that the play was reviewed and overturned because that way, no one could say, "Yeah, well, you guys only won because of that touchdown where the guy went out of bounds. Ya'll got lucky/Oregon got screwed there." I said I didn't want a tainted win.
So what does Oregon get? Two calls at the end that put them one point ahead of us. All three ABC commentators -- one of whom was an Oregon alum -- all said that not reversing it was a terrible call. It sucks that we lost that way.

Then, today was a nice day. I woke up, and it was raining! I went to church with my dad and his girlfriend. At the beginning of church, the preacher asked if anyone knew someone overseas. No one moved. I raised my hand. The woman in front of me raised hers. The preacher, who is a close family friend and has met K a couple times, called us up front. He had us each light candles and say the name of the person we lit the candle for and where he or she was serving. Then, we prayed for all the troops overseas. It was really neat.

What made it even cooler is that my dad's girlfriend had told me more about my friend Cody, who I went to high school with and who was injured in Iraq a couple weeks ago. She said that Cody's dad had come in my dad's store (where she works, too) one day when the preacher was in. Cody's dad said that he had a bad feeling about where Cody was going, and he wanted the preacher to pray for Cody. The preacher just had Cody's dad sit down with him at a table in the store, and they both prayed for Cody. The next day, Cody's dad came in and said that night he and the preacher prayed, Cody's unit had been hit, and Cody was the only survivor. After that, the preacher started a prayer chain.

So I thought that was especially neat that today, the preacher called us up and had us say the names of the soldiers. My dad said the preacher had been starting church up with prayers for the troops, but this was the first time he had people go up and light a candle for individual soldiers. I hope that the preacher's prayer -- and the prayer of the entire congregation -- gives K the same guardian angels it gave Cody.

They DO work!

Yesterday I got an e-mail from K -- not long after I posted my blog. It's amazing how much a simple e-mail could make my day so much better.

And then last night, he called me! I miss him like crazy, so something as small as an e-mail or 20-minute phone call (that's how long we get before the phone hangs up on us) can easily become the highlight of my week.

K was in really good spirits last night. He sounded really happy, which made me feel good.

I told K I had ordered the single-star service flag I posted about yesterday. He was totally fine with it. I figured he would be.

He told me that he actually sent me a package the other day with his beloved Motorola Razr and watch so they won't get messed up in Afghanistan. He said there are also some souvenirs in there that he had bought himself, and there's also something in there for me. He said I'll know which one is for me when I open the package, which makes me very curious ...

Now I have two things to look forward to coming in the mail!

Is it gross

that sometimes when I finish my lunch, I floss at my desk (in my own office)? I mean, it's better than just leaving junk in your teeth, right? And I use actual floss -- not hair or loose string pulled from my clothes. Does that make it better?

My e-mail (and phone) must be broken

It's been just four weeks and two days (since it was a Monday) since I last saw K. Honestly, it feels like it's been about a month and a half at least. I wish it had been two, because then it would be even closer to when he comes home -- not that either of us knows for sure when that'll be.

























I ordered one of those single-star service flags today. (I didn't realize this picture would be that big, but you get the idea.) According to the American Family Traditions Store, where I got this picture, this flag "is displayed by immediate family members of a person serving in the Armed Forces during a period of war. ... The family member who is in the service does not need to be stationed overseas in order for his or her family to display the Service Flag or Service Banner." As far as I know, though, it's traditionally hung in the windows (although it can be flown as an actual flag) of family members of a person who is overseas. The flags can come with multiple stars to represent multiple family members as well.

K isn't immediate family technically, but he's everything to me, and he will be immediate family. Heck, he already would be if I had my way. It'll happen, though. I found a place in Dallas that makes these flags. Go figure, they're only open 9 to 5 Monday through Friday -- and I find them the week before I go full-time. :) I spoke with someone at the store yesterday, but I hesitated on ordering one since K isn't actually a member of my immediate family. I had mentioned wanting one of those flags to him before, though, and he didn't say anything against it or seem to object.

When I called the store today to go ahead and order one, they were on sale. And there was only one left, which they will ship to my apartment. Clearly, God wants me to have this flag.

Part of me is wanting my neighbors, who I don't really know, to know that K and I are still together. Even though I don't know them really, they've seen K and his car, which has Army stickers on it and non-Texas plates (so they know he's not local). I'm sure they noticed when my car was gone over the weekends. They've seen us together, and I don't want them to think we're broken up or something. Or that guy friends who come over to my apartment are something else and that I've become a slut or something. And they'll know why K's car will reappear in our parking lot all of a sudden in a couple months (or more). I don't know why it matters that my neighbors know that, but whatever.

I also want to hang the flag for support. I read on a site yesterday that one tradition is that the service member removes the flag when he or she gets home. That would be cool. At the same time, it'll be a while before K will get to come back to wonderful (exaggeration on my part, but I'm sure after Afghanistan, he'll think it's wonderful) Dallas. He'll get back to Louisiana first, and then he'll have to go through all these reacclamation classes or training sessions or whatever they're called. I never realized the military does stuff like that, but it makes sense.

Basically, the soldiers are reminded that while they've been gone, their families have had to carry on and pick up the roles that they normally play as leaders of or members of the household. The soldiers can't just walk back into their families' lives and homes and pick up how they left off. Everyone will have to get used to the person being back in the home and learn they don't have to be as independent as they were while the person was gone, if that makes any sense. Anyway, I think it's pretty cool that the military does that. I'm sure I'll really appreciate it once we're married and in the same house -- especially when we have kids.

I haven't heard from K in a couple days, though. He called me late Sunday night. We weren't able to talk long. He had told me that he'd be calling me "in the morning," but I didn't know if that meant his morning or mine. The call hasn't come yet. I'm sure he's just gotten bogged down with work and moving. I know he was going to be moving from the base he was at to another that's newer and less built-up. (He said the one he's going to -- and probably at now -- doesn't even have a gym yet!) It seems rational that that would mean it's also a little tougher to get to phones or the Internet. So I'm not worried or anything, but I'm carrying my phone with me everywhere, as I have been doing pretty much since he left.

Where I go, my phone goes -- the gym, the bathroom (even at work), my boss's office ... I don't know what I'll do if I get to my phone one Sunday and find I missed his call while I was in church. I'm definitely sick of my phone, though. When K gets back, I'm going to just leave it and not carry it with me or touch it for days. That'll be nice ...

The REAL reason gas is cheaper

Today marks one month since I last saw K. It feels like longer. When he left, gas was about $2.70 here in Dallas. Now, it's $2.32 at the gas station by my apartment. Proof that K is doing a heck of a job kickin' butt in Afghanistan. :)

Football weekend

K finally called me Friday night. It was actually about 1 a.m. on Saturday morning. I was so exhausted because I was in bed, but I wasn't sleeping well. I was half asleep, but I was thinking at the same time. K and I were only able to talk for just under 20 minutes, but I felt so much better after we got off the phone. I slept great.

The way that K is able to call from most bases in Afghanistan is via satellite. He gets on a phone and talks to an operator, who connects him to whoever he is wanting to call. It's a cool system because he can call for free. Evidently when he called me Friday, the operator said that that's coming to an end. So many soldiers are calling at once that beginning Oct. 1, they're going to start charging the guys to call. I guess I'll be sending him calling cards in his care packages now ...

Saturday was a good day. A group of us went to ER's to watch the OU-Washington game. We won. It was a bit closer than I'd have liked, but Washington is at least a Division I school, and the score was 37-20. It WOULD have been 37-13, but Washington scored in the last few minutes. Oh, well -- a W is a W.

After the game was over, we all went outside and threw the football around for a little bit. It was fun. :) I never played sports growing up, but I can throw a football okay. Every once in a while, I can even throw a spiral! Of course, I took goofy pictures.













































And then came the two best parts -- pizza and the Ohio State-texas game. Now, I like Ohio State any other day of the year, but when they're playing Texas, I love them! And they didn't disappoint.

So we spent all day watching football -- pretty much 8 hours. Whew!

This morning, we went to church at Prestonwood Baptist Church, which is in Far North Dallas. It's HUGE! It's been referred to as the "Baptodome," "Prestonworld" and "Six Flags Over Jesus."










This picture really does the size of it no justice -- this church is huge. I didn't think I would like it because I'm used to a smaller church. It was pretty cool, though. The music -- the choir, the pianist, the band -- was amazing. As ER put it, it was "very impressive."

I went to a wedding shower for a girl from work tonight. It was kinda fun. I wish K could have been there.

Tomorrow is officially one month since I last saw him. What's crazy is how s-l-o-w the weekends are when he's not here. When he's here, they fly by! It feels like just one day, MAYBE one and a half at the most. When he's not here, they feel like three days at the least, and sometimes even four.

K actually called me while I was writing this post. We only talked a few minutes, but he's going to call me back since I'm not working tomorrow. I'm excited because it's the last Monday I have off. This is my last week as a part-timer! I'm so excited! I think next weekend, I'll even order my new laptop! Woohoo!

Is it time to leave yet?

My first thoughts when I woke up this morning to my alarm were, "Why isn't that my phone ringing?" K was supposed to call me last night, and he didn't. I'm sure for whatever reason he was busy. He is in Afghanistan, for Pete's sake.

I got ready for work, and as I was sitting on my couch eating my cereal, a news update came on Good Morning America telling us that 16 people were killed in Afghanistan. Only two were U.S. soldiers, and it happened in Kabul. As far as I know, K is still in Kandahar. Those are a ways apart, according to this map.

As I was getting to my mode of mass transportation today, I was bummed. Fewer people use mass transportation on Friday for whatever reason. Since I hate taking it anyway because it takes so long, it was making me wish I'd driven, too. Only it's so much cheaper to not drive. Oh, well.

I got to work, and there was something in my chair showing me a mistake I'd made yesterday at work. It was a pretty good-sized mistake, but I guess it could have been worse. Anyway, I still felt like crap for messing up. It makes me feel like my boss will think I'm less competent or like he has to babysit me or like he messed up in hiring me.

It's been a pretty standard, dull, slow day at work today. Slower than usual. ER sent me an e-mail inviting me to her place tomorrow to watch our football game. Of course I'm going, but she asked for my office phone number, since we usually just communicate through e-mail. When I answered, she didn't recognize my voice and asked if I was tired or cranky or something. I told her it had been a crappy day pretty much, and I told her about how K didn't call me, and then I saw that story. She'd seen it too, and that's why she was calling. She wanted to make sure I was doing okay.

It was only two U.S. soldiers who were killed, and I don't think K is in Kabul. Plus, if something had happened to him, I'm sure I would have found out somehow. Except his dad is listed as the person to call if anything happens, and I don't know if he has my phone number. Still, though, his unit would know, so his friends would know, and one of them would have called me.

Besides, K is supposed to be in Kandahar. Ugh. I'm just ready for today to be over.

Different now

I just found out that a guy I went to high school with -- a guy I actually went to daycare with when we were little, so I've known him literally since we were in diapers -- was injured in Iraq. His platoon was hit yesterday by a roadside bomb. He's the only survivor. He was burned over 52 percent of his body. I called my dad immediately when I found out. I'm from a small town, and my dad still lives there. Naturally, he already knew about it. He knew last night. I didn't even realize Cody was in the Army, much less over in Iraq.

They were going to do surgery on him in Germany, but Cody's dad was called a couple hours after he was told about the incident. Cody was heavily medicated, so the Army was bringing him to San Antonio, and he'd have surgery there, I guess. I'm glad he's back over here. I think that will help his recovery, since his family will probably be able to be there.

I know Cody's parents. I know his sister. They're all really nice people. It's so sad that this happened. But the thing is, it could happen to a lot more people I know. It really changes your perspective.

My job is okay. It's not anything that I'm going to be doing in five years, I don't think, but it's good for now. It's awesome for just out of college, and it will look great on my resume. But I want to do something that deals with people, and I'd love it if I could do something that helped people.

Before I got my recent great news at work, I had met with ER's parents, who are like my second parents, to talk about different things I could do if I left my job. They know a lot of people around Dallas and were willing to help me. With my TV reporting background and experience in college, in addition to my desires of what I want to do in a job, they suggested I be a spokesperson for something. They said maybe NASCAR, since I enjoy that because of my brother. They suggested the American Heart Association. They suggested the Susan G. Komen foundation, which is close to my heart because my grandmother is a breast cancer survivor. Then, they suggested the Army. K has said something similar to that before, too, but I think he may have been joking (slightly).

Now, I'm pretty sure it's next to impossible to just walk up to some bigwig at a company and say, "Hi, I'd like to be your spokesperson." I'm not famous. I'm not a supermodel. I'm not Jessica Simpson (If I were, she'd still be with Nick!).

But after hearing about someone like Cody, and especially after meeting K and all his friends, it would be absolutely awesome to do something that helps out people in the Army. Something more than greeting them at the airport and sending care packages.

Before I met K, I had a completely different view of the Army and those who are in it. Before I met K, the only people I knew in the military were my mom's two brothers. One of her brothers is in the 82nd Airborne; the other is a Navy recruiter. These guys are both hardened and stubborn. They're pretty "different" characters. So is everyone else on my mom's side of the family, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt and blamed their oddness on the military.

I knew I'd never date anyone in the military. They have that weird haircut, and most of the people I knew who joined even the reserves somehow didn't seem to fit the cookie-cutter shape that everyone else in our town managed to fit into. I had this whole false perspective of the entire military.

And then came K. He's a sensitive, normal, down-to-earth, American Eagle-wearing guy. He cares about his family, loves his mom and just wanted to do something that makes a difference. I thought he was just different, that I had lucked out and found the one normal guy in the whole U.S. military. But his friends are all great, too.

I wasn't exposed to a lot of the military growing up, and, to be honest, I didn't think much about it. I thought a little about it after the war. But it somehow still seemed just enough removed that I felt terrible for the families and the soldiers, but it still wasn't completely real.

Now, I hear "The Star Spangled Banner" differently than I ever have before. I see the flag differently. I even watch fireworks differently -- they're no longer pretty explosions in the sky; they're a celebration of the soldiers.

And when soldiers current and past are recognized at sporting events, concerts, events and piano bars, I see them differently, too.

I really wish there was something I could do to help them. What Cody did, what K is doing, what all the soldiers who've been there and are there are doing is amazing and tough and selfless and scary. I love supporting K, and I'll stand behind him no matter what. But I want to do more. I just don't know what "more" is ...

How would you know?

I got an e-mail from Old Navy about the store's Labor Day sale, and it had some really cute stuff in it. Clearly, I had to go to Old Navy after work today. I found a couple cute shirts (go figure -- it's pants I could really use more of) that will work great for work or for outside of work, which is my goal for my wardrobe. I took my cute new shirts to the cash register. There was one open, and it was empty. I walked up, and the cashier, whose eyes were coated in purple glitter, began her Old Navy Staff/cashier intro:

cashier: "Hi, how are you doing today?"
me: "Good, thanks."
cashier: "You look kinda tired."
me: [crickets] " ... Okay."
cashier: "Well, are you?"
me: "I guess so. I'm always a little tired. Who isn't?"

I'm not one of those people who would let such an off comment ruin my whole day (or my day hadn't been dramatic or bad enough for me to care, since it was neither dramatic or bad), but it was definitely a weird thing to say.

I'd never seen this girl in my life. How the heck does she know if I look tired?

Missing K and Norman

The game Saturday was awesome. I woke up to "Boomer Sooner" and was raring to go. I drove to ER's, and her parents showed up a little before 8 a.m., and off we went! Our first stop was Wal-Mart for paunchos, since it was raining a little bit. It was good to be back in the land of the Sooners and see crimson and OU stuff everywhere. I always feel like I'm home when I'm in Norman.

ER's parents are absolutely awesome. As soon as we parked the car, her dad went to the back and pulled out beer. It was 11:30. A.M.!! I have never had any alcoholic beverage at 11:30 a.m.! But it was game day, and the first one of the season at that, so we had beer. We walked around campus corner and had really yummy pizza at Hideaway Pizza.


















We went and watched the band warm up and to see the preconcert and parade. I saw a ton of people I hadn't seen in forever and several I didn't expect to see. It was nice. It's one of the things I miss about Norman.

The game was good, but it was a bit closer than what I expected and what I would have liked. I'm hoping, though, that maybe we just had the season-opener jitters. Hopefully we'll play better next week when we play Washington, and hopefully we'll be even better than that the following week when we play Oregon.



(I started this video after this had been going on a while, so it's not as loud as when it just starts.)

I was sad when it was time to leave. I miss Norman so much, but at the same time, I think I left at the right time. This way, I will always love Norman. All my memories of Norman will involve the band and some of the best friends of my life living there with me. My memories will be college and working on campus and interning and journalism and football and our Saturday night girls' night. If I stayed, some of my friends I started college with would have graduated, and I would have felt left behind. Whenever I go back, it feels like home, and I'm always excited. That's how I want it to stay.

We drove home that night. My car was at ER's, so we got there at 2:30, and I was home and getting in bed at about 3. I was exhausted. I slept in on Sunday, and then we headed out to Addison. We got a group together because every Fourth of July Addison does this big fireworks show called Kaboomtown, and it got ruined by a little rain. They scheduled the make-up for Sunday night. All these restaurants in Addison have watch parties, so we went to Champps, which is a sports bar (I love sports bars!). I guess there was an air show, too, because all these old planes kept flying over. They weren't doing stunts or anything, but it was neat to see them. The fireworks show was really good. It was the awesome finale that made the show.

There was a live band at Champps, and one of the guitar players had his two kids go up. His 12-year-old daughter sang, and his son, who was 2, had a little mini-electric guitar. He was so cute (I'll post a picture here later -- I haven't uploaded it yet.).

After the fireworks were over, we headed across the street to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar. I'd never been before, and I'd always wanted to go. As we were crossing the street, the live band at Champps started playing "Jesse's Girl," which is one of K's and my songs. (The groomsman I walked down the aisle with at the wedding we met at was named Jesse. AND the groom sang "Jesse's Girl" at the karaoke bar the first night K and I actually met.)

We got into Pete's, and the first song they played when we were there was "Sweet Home Alabama," which is K's and my actual song. (K, the groom and his brother sang it at the karaoke bar the night we met because the DJ was terrible and I requested it. The DJ was so bad that he didn't even have "Sweet Home Alabama," but he said he did have it on karaoke, so maybe the three guys at our table should sing it.) And of course, they played "Jesse's Girl." At that point, I was getting a little teary-eyed because I miss him. It makes it harder knowing that it'll be a long time before I see him again, and I'm not even sure how long a "long time" is. Then, the pianists played Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," which is another one of our semi-songs. And they played the song "I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love," which is another awesome song that always makes me think of K because on the line "You know I like my girls a little bit older," K always changes the words to say "a little bit younger" since he's 28 and I'm 23.

Then, one of the pianists called up all current and former military people in the crowd, and they played "God Bless the U.S.A." And I was crying again. I miss him like crazy! I would give absolutely anything to just be able to hug him right now.

I had gotten to talk to K very briefly earlier that day, but he'd said he would call me later that night my time. I took my phone out a little before 11 and put it on vibrate so I wouldn't miss it, and I held it in my hands and kept checking it because I'd also told him that if he missed me the first time, call right back so I'd catch it then. (The first time he called me, I was out wtih friends celebrating my birthday and Jeremy's birthday. I looked down at my phone right as he was hanging up. The words "Private call" changed to "1 missed call" as soon as I looked at it. I had just missed him. He called back like 30 minutes later, after I'd been watching my phone the whole time, decided he wasn't able to call back and walked away for 30 seconds.)

Well, we left the piano bar a little before midnight. I was glad I'd be home probably by the time K called, so I'd get to talk to him in peace and quiet and not have to worry about answering and weaving my way out of a bar to talk to him. I was standing outside my car outside my apartment talking to Jeremy and another friend who'd met us at my place since she wasn't familiar with the area. As we were talking, I was playing with my flip-phone and barely opening and closing it. It was still on vibrate.

When I walked away from my friends and up the stairs to my apartment, I saw that I'd missed his calls. Two of them, so I knew he wasn't calling back. I had just missed them. I was so upset because I was holding my phone when he called. I was missing him like crazy and really wanting to talk to him, and I missed his call. Naturally, I started bawling. I turned on my computer and sent him an e-mail. I told him about the bar and about how they kept playing our songs -- and we heard the Journey song again on the way home.

He called me this morning, though, and we were able to talk for just under 45 minutes. It's no hug, but it's always nice to just hear his voice. I miss him so much. And it's only been two weeks!! :(

BOOMER!!!

ER and I are going to Norman tomorrow for the OU game. I'm really excited. I've been waiting for this football season pretty much since last season, when we weren't good. Luckily, as Sooner fans, that doesn't happen often. I was actually glad to go through a season like that, though, because it makes you appreciate more when your team is not on top, but especially because I can say I've been a Sooner fan through a bad season. And I'm just as proud and yell just as loud (if not louder) in a bad season as a good one.

Work was actually really good today. Our department head is on vacation, so out second-in-command was in charge, and she's a huge UT (University of texas) fan. OU and ut are HUGE rivals, and she told me I'm the first Sooner fan she's met that she likes (Obviously, she hasn't met many of us, because, while I am really awesome, we all rock.). Anyway, at the end of the day today, she stopped by my office and told me she really appreciated my extra help this week and that I had been a huge relief to Sarah today because I'd helped her out so much. She told me I'd done a great job, which was cool because she's one of those people who doesn't compliment you unless she really means it.

I talked to K for a while today. He's still doing well. He's finally with his soldiers now. I got some things to send to him in a care package last night. I'm planning on baking cookies on Monday and sending the package on Tuesday, since the post office is closed for Labor Day. I got all kinds of goodies to put in it -- protein bars, his favorite gum, little Crystal Light individual packets that he likes. I'll put cookies in there and then some recent pictures. I wish I could put myself in there ...

ER and I are leaving tomorrow morning at 8, and that's AFTER I drive to her house to meet her parents there, who we're riding with (saving on gas, AND her dad wears "magic" cargo pants that produce Bud Light!). I've got to get to bed -- an exciting day tomorrow!

I'll leave you with what I'll have in my head while I'm sleeping, all day tomorrow and probably through January. Get excited! :)