Topeka, Jeremy and I all went out to dinner a few nights ago with some of Jeremy's childhood friends, who are now husband and wife and were in town for a concert.
Jeremy grew up in the same neighborhood as the husband. The husband had started dating his wife, Erica, in high school. They all grew up in OKC -- quite a ways away from the small Oklahoma town I grew up in.
Seeing as how Erica and her husband were going to a concert, we were all talking about music. We were discussing popular songs and artists and which ones we loved and which ones made us want to beat our heads against a wall.
Erica said, "Oh! I really love [fairly new male artist]."
"Oh my gosh! One of my guy friends helped him with that album! He co-wrote one of the songs on it!" I said, excited.
Erica got this weird look on her face. "What's your friend's name?"
"Daniel [last name]."
"That's my ex-boyfriend!" Erica said.
Topeka, who grew up in Houston, immediately blurted out, "How small is Oklahoma?!"
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Guess what I'm sending K in his next care package?
When I talked to K on Friday, he told me about one of the guys who'd just gotten back from R&R. This guy is a little ... different, if you will. He and his wife are a very open, very liberal couple, to put it nicely.
Anyway, the wife sent this guy an email saying, "Call me immediately." Of course, that's the fastest way to freak these poor guys out while they're on the other side of the planet on deployment. And of course her request came while the phones were down. So the guy emailed his wife back, explained about the phones and asked her to just email him whatever it was she needed to tell him.
Her response was a lone photo of her and their daughter, who was holding up a sign that said: "Tob!as worked! I'm gonna be a big sister!"
Evidently the guy and his wife really wanted to get pregnant. I hadn't heard the Tob!as story before, and because I was so much in shock that (a) these people are procreating again (They have two kids already, but for Pete's sake, they're swingers! That's three people who might think such behavior is acceptable!) and (b) they prayed every time before they had sex, I can't even remember what little information K told me about the Tob!as story.
But basically this husband and wife prayed every time before they had sex that the wife would be blessed with a child. If she did get pregnant, they promised that they would name their baby Tob!as.
Me: "But what if they have a girl?"
K: "I don't know, they name her Tob!a?"
Me: "I wonder why they thought they'd have trouble getting pregnant. I'm pretty sure a barren woman could get pregnant while her husband's home on R&R. That being said ..."
K: "You're doubling up on birth control pills in September?"
Me: "Pretty much."
K: "You need to just start drinking lots of Mountain Dew. ... Well, actually, that's more for me."
Me: "Mountain Dew is supposed to low.er your sperm c.ount?
K: "Supposedly."
Me: "Well, you know what's really supposed to work? Briefs. Maybe you should switch to those soon. Just through September."
K: "What? I'm not changing to briefs!"
Me: "Well, would you rather change to briefs for a couple months or be changing diapers for a few years?"
Anyway, the wife sent this guy an email saying, "Call me immediately." Of course, that's the fastest way to freak these poor guys out while they're on the other side of the planet on deployment. And of course her request came while the phones were down. So the guy emailed his wife back, explained about the phones and asked her to just email him whatever it was she needed to tell him.
Her response was a lone photo of her and their daughter, who was holding up a sign that said: "Tob!as worked! I'm gonna be a big sister!"
Evidently the guy and his wife really wanted to get pregnant. I hadn't heard the Tob!as story before, and because I was so much in shock that (a) these people are procreating again (They have two kids already, but for Pete's sake, they're swingers! That's three people who might think such behavior is acceptable!) and (b) they prayed every time before they had sex, I can't even remember what little information K told me about the Tob!as story.
But basically this husband and wife prayed every time before they had sex that the wife would be blessed with a child. If she did get pregnant, they promised that they would name their baby Tob!as.
Me: "But what if they have a girl?"
K: "I don't know, they name her Tob!a?"
Me: "I wonder why they thought they'd have trouble getting pregnant. I'm pretty sure a barren woman could get pregnant while her husband's home on R&R. That being said ..."
K: "You're doubling up on birth control pills in September?"
Me: "Pretty much."
K: "You need to just start drinking lots of Mountain Dew. ... Well, actually, that's more for me."
Me: "Mountain Dew is supposed to low.er your sperm c.ount?
K: "Supposedly."
Me: "Well, you know what's really supposed to work? Briefs. Maybe you should switch to those soon. Just through September."
K: "What? I'm not changing to briefs!"
Me: "Well, would you rather change to briefs for a couple months or be changing diapers for a few years?"
Saturday, June 28, 2008
All work and no play ...
Since I got promoted, work has picked up quite a bit. I've felt a little burned out lately, which is probably why I haven't blogged much lately. This four-day work week is coming just in time! It'll be four hellacious days of work, what with this project I've got to get moving on, but it'll be wonderful to have that Friday off! And it's the Fourth of July, which is my favorite holiday! Score!
When it's not projects keeping me super busy at work, I've had plenty of other things keeping me working extra hours.
I'm head of a committee at work that is sending car.e packages to sold!ers. Several weeks ago, we collected names and addresses of employees' friends and family members who are deployed with the military. We held fundraisers over the last month and a half or so, and it all came together this week when we assembled the packages and shipped them out. We sent 24 packages, and we'll probably be sending a couple more in a month or so. It feels good to know we did that, but it's also nice to know we're done. It took a lot of planning!
I got to talk to K last night for the first time in two weeks. The phones have been down for the last week, so we were really missing each other. It was good to get to catch up on things. K is doing well. They're doing a lot of good things where he is -- repairing schools, fixing up soccer fields, renovating neighborhoods to increase the standard of living.
Since he switched jobs in March, he's doing a lot more office-type work now. He's planning missions and things like that. He's doing good, important work, but I know he misses being out there with the soldiers. Unfortunately, it'll probably be a few years before his rank will allow the level of interaction he had for the last year and a half. He's climbing the ladder, though, and is constantly getting good remarks from his superiors, so that's good.
K is actually up for his first look at getting promoted to ma.jor. We won't find out anything until probably late August, though. It's really hard to get promoted on your first look, so we're trying not to get our hopes up too much. There are a lot of factors that go into the promotion, and only a small percentage can be promoted early. We'll see what happens.
K says we should also know where he'll be stationed next in August or September. That will be some exciting news. We probably won't start looking for a house or anything until after the deployment is over, but I can at least start researching neighborhoods and things. I can't wait for that -- it'll be so nice to get to live in the same place. We won't know what to do with ourselves!
We're still trying to figure out what our plan will be for K's R&R. It's going to be here before we know it. We had planned on Costa Rica, but I told K that I think we should just save that vacation for after the deployment. When K is on R&R, we'll be so excited to be together that we won't care where we are. It just doesn't make sense to me to spend thousands on a vacation when we'd be happy doing nothing.
We know we're going to PA for a week or so (no longer than a week, for both my sanity's sake and my selfishness at not wanting to share K for any longer than that! I get 18 days with him in 2008, and I want those 18 days!) to visit his family.
For a trip for the two of us, we talked about just going to Florida or something for a few days. We could just drive there and stay until we're ready to leave. That sounded like a good plan.
K and I decided to just keep our schedules open. We'd obviously have to get plane tickets for PA, but we would just see what we wanted to do when K got here. That was our plan. Until the very next day, when K talked to his dad. Evidently his dad has a week at a time share that he's not going to use. He wants to give it to us (it has to be used by November, so we can't save it for later) since we didn't really get a honeymoon (Yes, I know the wedding was in Florida, but we were there only 3 days -- the day before, the day of the ceremony, and the day after. One day is hardly a honeymoon.). We can choose from several different locations. It's really sweet and generous of K's dad to give us that. How can we turn it down?
So it's back to the drawing board planning for those 18 days. At least that's some work I don't mind spending a little extra time on!
When it's not projects keeping me super busy at work, I've had plenty of other things keeping me working extra hours.
I'm head of a committee at work that is sending car.e packages to sold!ers. Several weeks ago, we collected names and addresses of employees' friends and family members who are deployed with the military. We held fundraisers over the last month and a half or so, and it all came together this week when we assembled the packages and shipped them out. We sent 24 packages, and we'll probably be sending a couple more in a month or so. It feels good to know we did that, but it's also nice to know we're done. It took a lot of planning!
I got to talk to K last night for the first time in two weeks. The phones have been down for the last week, so we were really missing each other. It was good to get to catch up on things. K is doing well. They're doing a lot of good things where he is -- repairing schools, fixing up soccer fields, renovating neighborhoods to increase the standard of living.
Since he switched jobs in March, he's doing a lot more office-type work now. He's planning missions and things like that. He's doing good, important work, but I know he misses being out there with the soldiers. Unfortunately, it'll probably be a few years before his rank will allow the level of interaction he had for the last year and a half. He's climbing the ladder, though, and is constantly getting good remarks from his superiors, so that's good.
K is actually up for his first look at getting promoted to ma.jor. We won't find out anything until probably late August, though. It's really hard to get promoted on your first look, so we're trying not to get our hopes up too much. There are a lot of factors that go into the promotion, and only a small percentage can be promoted early. We'll see what happens.
K says we should also know where he'll be stationed next in August or September. That will be some exciting news. We probably won't start looking for a house or anything until after the deployment is over, but I can at least start researching neighborhoods and things. I can't wait for that -- it'll be so nice to get to live in the same place. We won't know what to do with ourselves!
We're still trying to figure out what our plan will be for K's R&R. It's going to be here before we know it. We had planned on Costa Rica, but I told K that I think we should just save that vacation for after the deployment. When K is on R&R, we'll be so excited to be together that we won't care where we are. It just doesn't make sense to me to spend thousands on a vacation when we'd be happy doing nothing.
We know we're going to PA for a week or so (no longer than a week, for both my sanity's sake and my selfishness at not wanting to share K for any longer than that! I get 18 days with him in 2008, and I want those 18 days!) to visit his family.
For a trip for the two of us, we talked about just going to Florida or something for a few days. We could just drive there and stay until we're ready to leave. That sounded like a good plan.
K and I decided to just keep our schedules open. We'd obviously have to get plane tickets for PA, but we would just see what we wanted to do when K got here. That was our plan. Until the very next day, when K talked to his dad. Evidently his dad has a week at a time share that he's not going to use. He wants to give it to us (it has to be used by November, so we can't save it for later) since we didn't really get a honeymoon (Yes, I know the wedding was in Florida, but we were there only 3 days -- the day before, the day of the ceremony, and the day after. One day is hardly a honeymoon.). We can choose from several different locations. It's really sweet and generous of K's dad to give us that. How can we turn it down?
So it's back to the drawing board planning for those 18 days. At least that's some work I don't mind spending a little extra time on!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
True story
I made a quick trip to the mall tonight. When I was leaving and got to my car in the parking garage, I noticed a rather large truck was squeezed into the spot next to me. I wondered how anyone could get out without hitting my car. I walked around to the passenger's side. Sure enough, there was a ding near the door that I didn't remember being there. Just to be sure, I put my finger at the edge of the truck's door and swung my hand out to see if it would line up. It did.
So I wrote a note and left it on his windshield:
You hit my car with your door. That was not nice.
Thanks for the new gray mark. Please be more careful.
Here's hoping next time, the driver won't squeeze into such a small spot -- and if he does, maybe he'll be more careful with his door.
So I wrote a note and left it on his windshield:
You hit my car with your door. That was not nice.
Thanks for the new gray mark. Please be more careful.
Here's hoping next time, the driver won't squeeze into such a small spot -- and if he does, maybe he'll be more careful with his door.
Night in + romantic movie + glass of wine = confessions
These are a few months old, but they haven't been shared before, so here goes:
1) A few months back, I was taking a quick mental break at work by checking MySpace. I was reading one of those "deep" bulletin surveys a friend had posted. Like I always do when I read those, I considered my answers to the questions as I went along. I got to one that asked, "Are you living your life to the fullest?" My answer was no. And I was OK with that for right now.
2) In late January, when I had my one-year anniversary at work, I took a picture of the first-year gift we're given and sent it to K. He sent me an email telling me he was proud of me. What he meant as a nice email actually kind of ruined my night.
All I'd done was stay at my job for a year. It's not like I'd never done that before. I hadn't been promoted. I had just stayed at a job I loved for a year -- a job that lets me bring my dog to the office, wear jeans whenever I want, and have a beer at my desk if I want to, every single day. Who would leave that?
The fact that merely staying in such a great environment for a year had K telling me he was proud made me feel like I haven't done much to make him proud to begin with. He's on the other side of the planet doing amazing things. The things he's done and the things he has ahead of him are wonderful. He has the respect of the soldiers he works around, his peers and his superiors. I never would have imagined I could be so proud of the man I'd marry.
And I sit at a desk all day, saving the world from superfluous commas. Funny how having such a bad-ass husband puts your life in perspective.
On a side note, Piper barks and heads to the door when a doorbell rings on TV. I don't have a doorbell. It's weird the things they pick up on.
OK, time for bed.
1) A few months back, I was taking a quick mental break at work by checking MySpace. I was reading one of those "deep" bulletin surveys a friend had posted. Like I always do when I read those, I considered my answers to the questions as I went along. I got to one that asked, "Are you living your life to the fullest?" My answer was no. And I was OK with that for right now.
2) In late January, when I had my one-year anniversary at work, I took a picture of the first-year gift we're given and sent it to K. He sent me an email telling me he was proud of me. What he meant as a nice email actually kind of ruined my night.
All I'd done was stay at my job for a year. It's not like I'd never done that before. I hadn't been promoted. I had just stayed at a job I loved for a year -- a job that lets me bring my dog to the office, wear jeans whenever I want, and have a beer at my desk if I want to, every single day. Who would leave that?
The fact that merely staying in such a great environment for a year had K telling me he was proud made me feel like I haven't done much to make him proud to begin with. He's on the other side of the planet doing amazing things. The things he's done and the things he has ahead of him are wonderful. He has the respect of the soldiers he works around, his peers and his superiors. I never would have imagined I could be so proud of the man I'd marry.
And I sit at a desk all day, saving the world from superfluous commas. Funny how having such a bad-ass husband puts your life in perspective.
On a side note, Piper barks and heads to the door when a doorbell rings on TV. I don't have a doorbell. It's weird the things they pick up on.
OK, time for bed.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I told you they were coming!
Almost all the pictures you could ever want. (I say "almost" because I still have Tahoe pictures. Those will come later. I promise.)
Gavin DeGraw concert
The luau
Memorial Day weekend: The pool parties!
The last picture I took with my sunglasses before they got stolen (we look so happy together)
Daytona trip
Because we stayed up all night, I'm going to torture you with tons of photos of the sunrise. If I had to be up, you have to look at the evidence (lucky for you, it's gorgeous).
And we're done ... for now.
I've still got Tahoe, remember? (I promise those won't take as long!)
Gavin DeGraw concert
The luau
Memorial Day weekend: The pool parties!
The last picture I took with my sunglasses before they got stolen (we look so happy together)
Daytona trip
Because we stayed up all night, I'm going to torture you with tons of photos of the sunrise. If I had to be up, you have to look at the evidence (lucky for you, it's gorgeous).
And we're done ... for now.
I've still got Tahoe, remember? (I promise those won't take as long!)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Yes, yes, I know
I'm sucking at this blogging thing. For the longest time (read: December through February) it was because I felt like my life was boring. I was doing nothing but work and working out. I was trying to make it day by day through this deployment.
Somewhere in there, things started looking up and it felt less like I had nothing to blog about and more like I simply had no time to blog. That's where I am right now, still.
Yes, I've been back from Tahoe for a week. I had just gotten almost totally caught up on reading my blogs. I posted two times in one weekend. That was big for me even when I'm blogging almost daily. I teased you with the thought of posting pictures on Sunday night.
And then I got back to Dallas. If it makes you feel better, I had even composed a post in my head Sunday night. I just didn't have time to write it.
Monday night, I was unpacking and doing laundry and such. Tuesday was the gym and running. Wednesday I was going to blog. And then I wound up working until 1 a.m.
I managed to work 68 hours last week. See how I had no time to blog?
So this week, things are kind of slowing down again -- only I'm still trying to get settled again. After two weekends in a row of being on diffrent sides of the country, I needed my Saturday to chill, relax and get a few things done (like post pictures). Instead, I worked 12 hours.
Hopefully soon I'll really be able to post pictures and fill you in on what's going on. Especially since this week it's more than just work.
Somewhere in there, things started looking up and it felt less like I had nothing to blog about and more like I simply had no time to blog. That's where I am right now, still.
Yes, I've been back from Tahoe for a week. I had just gotten almost totally caught up on reading my blogs. I posted two times in one weekend. That was big for me even when I'm blogging almost daily. I teased you with the thought of posting pictures on Sunday night.
And then I got back to Dallas. If it makes you feel better, I had even composed a post in my head Sunday night. I just didn't have time to write it.
Monday night, I was unpacking and doing laundry and such. Tuesday was the gym and running. Wednesday I was going to blog. And then I wound up working until 1 a.m.
I managed to work 68 hours last week. See how I had no time to blog?
So this week, things are kind of slowing down again -- only I'm still trying to get settled again. After two weekends in a row of being on diffrent sides of the country, I needed my Saturday to chill, relax and get a few things done (like post pictures). Instead, I worked 12 hours.
Hopefully soon I'll really be able to post pictures and fill you in on what's going on. Especially since this week it's more than just work.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Dallas bound
ER's dad (a frequent traveler) always says the sign of a great vacation is when you're ready to come home. I understand his reasoning, but I don't think that statement is entirely true. If I were to judge my Tahoe trip by that criteria alone, then I couldn't call it a good trip. I was absolutely not ready to come home ... but the trip was great.
As for the wedding, I won't steal Heather's thunder by posting pictures. I can tell you, though, that it'll be worth the wait until she gets back from her fantastic honeymoon in Fiji to post them for you. She looked absolutely gorgeous. The wedding was amazing. The weather was perfect. The location was beautiful. The reception was a blast.
I was sad to drop off my fabulous convertible rental car today, and I was not ready to leave such beautiful scenery. I sent K some pictures the first night I got here, though, and he's in full agreement that we'll be taking a trip to Tahoe together in the future.
So hopefully I'll be visiting again in the not-too-distant future. It's too beautiful to not see again. I'll post more pictures later (hopefully tonight, but no promises). For now, I've got a plane to board. Back to the real world ...
As for the wedding, I won't steal Heather's thunder by posting pictures. I can tell you, though, that it'll be worth the wait until she gets back from her fantastic honeymoon in Fiji to post them for you. She looked absolutely gorgeous. The wedding was amazing. The weather was perfect. The location was beautiful. The reception was a blast.
I was sad to drop off my fabulous convertible rental car today, and I was not ready to leave such beautiful scenery. I sent K some pictures the first night I got here, though, and he's in full agreement that we'll be taking a trip to Tahoe together in the future.
So hopefully I'll be visiting again in the not-too-distant future. It's too beautiful to not see again. I'll post more pictures later (hopefully tonight, but no promises). For now, I've got a plane to board. Back to the real world ...
Saturday, June 07, 2008
I'm so dragging K back here!
I'm in Tahoe for Heather's wedding, and oh my gosh, it is gorgeous!
So far, it hasn't been bad being here by myself. It hasn't been an issue, really.
As soon as I landed in Reno, I picked up my rental car. I was really surprised when I went to pick it up. I was expecting some kind of tiny compact car -- nothing special, but economical. When I got to the parking spot I had been told I'd find my car, I was very excited to see a Ford Must.ang convertible waiting for me. Score!
The drive to Tahoe was beautiful. I stopped off at a scenic point to get some pictures along the way.
When I got to my hotel, I checked in and had just enough time to freshen up a little bit and then head to Heather's lingerie shower. It was fun and just the right amount of silly. After the shower, we all went to dinner. We called it an early night afterward since a lot of us were tired from traveling and so the bride could get her beauty sleep.
Since I'm so behind on sharing other pictures, I'm posting a couple from my scenic stop. There will definitely be more later!
So far, it hasn't been bad being here by myself. It hasn't been an issue, really.
As soon as I landed in Reno, I picked up my rental car. I was really surprised when I went to pick it up. I was expecting some kind of tiny compact car -- nothing special, but economical. When I got to the parking spot I had been told I'd find my car, I was very excited to see a Ford Must.ang convertible waiting for me. Score!
The drive to Tahoe was beautiful. I stopped off at a scenic point to get some pictures along the way.
When I got to my hotel, I checked in and had just enough time to freshen up a little bit and then head to Heather's lingerie shower. It was fun and just the right amount of silly. After the shower, we all went to dinner. We called it an early night afterward since a lot of us were tired from traveling and so the bride could get her beauty sleep.
Since I'm so behind on sharing other pictures, I'm posting a couple from my scenic stop. There will definitely be more later!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
There really are pictures, and they really are coming
I got back from Florida on Monday morning. I now owe you even more pictures than I did before. But because my computer freakin' sucks (dude, don't get a D.ell), you'll have to wait a little bit longer to get them. But they really are coming. I promise. And you know I'm good for it.
Since I last posted, Memorial Day came and went. I worked a bit on the weekend, but I also managed to find plenty of time for BBQs and time around the pool. Someone stole my sunglasses, which sucked. I didn't realize how much I loved them until they were gone. I bought them with K in October while he was on his R&R before the deployment. So whoever stole them? I'm pretty sure it'll bite you in the butt. Stealing sunglasses with pre-deployment sentimental value from an Army wife on Memorial Day weekend while her husband is deployed? Oh, karma will surely be bad.
Sunday, my boss had a pool party at her house. I hadn't been there 5 minutes when K called -- go figure. I was able to talk to him for a few minutes. The news about his cousin had hit him pretty hard, but he was doing well, considering. We only talked for a few minutes since the call was kind of at a bad time.
Last week itself was kind of a blur. Every night was busy! Tuesday night, I did my standard workout, followed by a 4-mile run in 90 degree weather (that's the temp, not the heat index). Wednesday night, I hosted an Arbo.nne party for Miss Elle at my apartment. It was kind of funny to have so many worlds collide like that. Heather and Elle were there from Blogland; ER came; and Topeka, Brit, and AJ were there too. Many of them hadn't met before, so that was fun. Elle did such a great job!
On Thursday, I went to the movies with ER at 12:02 a.m. (so I guess it was technically Friday morning) to see Sex and the City. I had planned on waiting, but when ER's friend she was originally supposed to go with cancelled, I told ER I'd go. It meant that I only got a little over 3 hours of sleep since I had so much to do that night, but I'm glad I went. It was good to catch up with ER, and it was a good movie!
Friday, I got a small promotion. It came with a very welcome 6-plus percent raise. Sweet!
That afternoon, I flew to Orlando to meet two Army wife friends. Ry is from NYC, and she's married to one of K's former lieutenants. Katy is actually an Army fiance. She lives in Daytona. Her fiance came home on his R&R in March. He's getting out of the Army when they get back from Iraq, so he and Katy went house hunting while he was home. They found and bought a gorgeous house, so Ry and I had to go check it out!
Ry's flight arrived earlier than mine, so she and Katy met me at the baggage claim, and we immediately headed to see SATC, since they hadn't seen it yet. Saturday was spent lying around the pool for the first part of the day. Then, we headed to the beach to play in the water and see the shuttle launch. That night, we went out for dinner and then to a gay bar (my first time). The bar was OK, but there weren't many people there. There were also many more straight people than I'd expected. I'll have to give it another shot in Dallas, I guess.
After we got home, we got in the pool for a little bit. Ry was ready to call it a night at about 3:00 a.m. Katy got this crazy idea to stay up and watch the sun rise on the beach, so after some convincing, Ry and I climbed into the car and headed to the beach with her. We took a couple blankets so we could lie on one and use the other for cover. Ry and I definitely napped for a while! I woke up about 20 minutes before sunrise. I talked to Katy for awhile until it was time to wake Ry. The sunrise was gorgeous. Since I had gone all the way out there to watch it, I made sure it was very well documented.
We stopped off for some breakfast and then headed back to Katy's, where we promptly went to sleep. We spent the afternoon in the pool again. That night, we ordered Chinese takeout and watched cheesy TV shows and movies. It was crazy to see how quickly the weekend had gone. It was relaxing, though. I needed the getaway!
Monday was back to work and my regular schedule. I heard from K that night, so I got to tell him all about our trip.
The week isn't quite back to normal yet, though. I'm going to dinner with ER tomorrow night, and then I have to pack for the weekend. I leave Friday for Heather's wedding. Obviously since it's a wedding, it's not quite a vacation and I won't quite be by myself, but this will be the closest to a vacation that I've ever taken by myself. We'll see how it goes.
I'm looking forward to it, though. I'm excited for Heather and B, and I know the wedding will be gorgeous. I'm renting a car, so I plan on doing plenty of sight seeing -- and taking plenty of pictures.
I swear, when I finally get around to it, this is gonna be one hell of a picture post!
Since I last posted, Memorial Day came and went. I worked a bit on the weekend, but I also managed to find plenty of time for BBQs and time around the pool. Someone stole my sunglasses, which sucked. I didn't realize how much I loved them until they were gone. I bought them with K in October while he was on his R&R before the deployment. So whoever stole them? I'm pretty sure it'll bite you in the butt. Stealing sunglasses with pre-deployment sentimental value from an Army wife on Memorial Day weekend while her husband is deployed? Oh, karma will surely be bad.
Sunday, my boss had a pool party at her house. I hadn't been there 5 minutes when K called -- go figure. I was able to talk to him for a few minutes. The news about his cousin had hit him pretty hard, but he was doing well, considering. We only talked for a few minutes since the call was kind of at a bad time.
Last week itself was kind of a blur. Every night was busy! Tuesday night, I did my standard workout, followed by a 4-mile run in 90 degree weather (that's the temp, not the heat index). Wednesday night, I hosted an Arbo.nne party for Miss Elle at my apartment. It was kind of funny to have so many worlds collide like that. Heather and Elle were there from Blogland; ER came; and Topeka, Brit, and AJ were there too. Many of them hadn't met before, so that was fun. Elle did such a great job!
On Thursday, I went to the movies with ER at 12:02 a.m. (so I guess it was technically Friday morning) to see Sex and the City. I had planned on waiting, but when ER's friend she was originally supposed to go with cancelled, I told ER I'd go. It meant that I only got a little over 3 hours of sleep since I had so much to do that night, but I'm glad I went. It was good to catch up with ER, and it was a good movie!
Friday, I got a small promotion. It came with a very welcome 6-plus percent raise. Sweet!
That afternoon, I flew to Orlando to meet two Army wife friends. Ry is from NYC, and she's married to one of K's former lieutenants. Katy is actually an Army fiance. She lives in Daytona. Her fiance came home on his R&R in March. He's getting out of the Army when they get back from Iraq, so he and Katy went house hunting while he was home. They found and bought a gorgeous house, so Ry and I had to go check it out!
Ry's flight arrived earlier than mine, so she and Katy met me at the baggage claim, and we immediately headed to see SATC, since they hadn't seen it yet. Saturday was spent lying around the pool for the first part of the day. Then, we headed to the beach to play in the water and see the shuttle launch. That night, we went out for dinner and then to a gay bar (my first time). The bar was OK, but there weren't many people there. There were also many more straight people than I'd expected. I'll have to give it another shot in Dallas, I guess.
After we got home, we got in the pool for a little bit. Ry was ready to call it a night at about 3:00 a.m. Katy got this crazy idea to stay up and watch the sun rise on the beach, so after some convincing, Ry and I climbed into the car and headed to the beach with her. We took a couple blankets so we could lie on one and use the other for cover. Ry and I definitely napped for a while! I woke up about 20 minutes before sunrise. I talked to Katy for awhile until it was time to wake Ry. The sunrise was gorgeous. Since I had gone all the way out there to watch it, I made sure it was very well documented.
We stopped off for some breakfast and then headed back to Katy's, where we promptly went to sleep. We spent the afternoon in the pool again. That night, we ordered Chinese takeout and watched cheesy TV shows and movies. It was crazy to see how quickly the weekend had gone. It was relaxing, though. I needed the getaway!
Monday was back to work and my regular schedule. I heard from K that night, so I got to tell him all about our trip.
The week isn't quite back to normal yet, though. I'm going to dinner with ER tomorrow night, and then I have to pack for the weekend. I leave Friday for Heather's wedding. Obviously since it's a wedding, it's not quite a vacation and I won't quite be by myself, but this will be the closest to a vacation that I've ever taken by myself. We'll see how it goes.
I'm looking forward to it, though. I'm excited for Heather and B, and I know the wedding will be gorgeous. I'm renting a car, so I plan on doing plenty of sight seeing -- and taking plenty of pictures.
I swear, when I finally get around to it, this is gonna be one hell of a picture post!
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