USPS ~

a true story of humans acting awesome

Isn't it funny how you can remember things at the most unexpected times?!

Today, while standing in a busy Post Office I thought about ...


A few years back (probably in '07) I was struggling to stay sane and make it through another busy day as a deployment-induced "single parent." I had a wild toddler son and a needy baby girl, who demanded my attention every second of every day. I had just finished filling two large boxes with all the fake Christmas spirit I could muster up.  There was a small wooden Christmas tree, cookies, letters, pictures, candy, peppermints, snow flake confetti, and many many other goodies nearly busting out of these two boxes that the kids had scribbled "pictures" on. 

After loading the boxes, the kids, and the stroller into our car we headed out the Post Office off post in Savannah, Ga. We parked, Dollface went in the stroller, Redd was holding on to my back packet, and the boxes + customs forms were being balances on the stroller. I'm pretty sure my hair was a mess and Dollface was missing a shoe. We ventured on and made our way in the Post Office and found ourselves at the end of a very long holiday line. Redd was an active toddler and trying his hardest to have fun and play, Dollface was getting fussy and I was trying to fight off the empty feeling of sadness from spending another Christmas without my husband-their father.

I was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel; we were next to be called to the counter. Dollface was starting her soft cry she used to let me know shes had enough and its just a matter of time before she goes full blown spaz-child on me. Perhaps the lady in line before me over heard Redd and I talking about sending Daddy his boxes? Perhaps she could see the desperation on my face? Maybe she had planned on paying for someones packages before she ever went in there? I don't know what inspired her, but when the postal worker turned to me, and asked if my boxes were addressed properly with customs forms ready, then said to go a head and sit them on the counter and to have a happy holidays, I about fell over in shock/gratitude/disbelief/love. 

I some how formed the words Thank You then turned and walked away. I wanted to hug her, and I probably should have, but I knew I needed out there and away from all those people before the tears came. After I had kids in their car-seats and everything ready to go, I couldn't leave the parking lot without saying Thank You one more time. But I couldn't find her. It was busy, it was crowded, it was prime shipping time for the holidays. She was no where to be found. 

Every year I think about that nice lady at the Post Office. Though I never properly thanked her, or expressed my true gratitude for what she did that day, I still think fondly of her. I hope she knows that she reaffirmed my faith in humanity. 

Thank you, sweet southern lady in Savannah, Ga. 

9/11/2001

This time, 11 years ago, Patrick & I had just started seeing each other. We were maybe three weeks into our young relationship. Little did we know how how our lives would forever be changed from what was taking place. A trip to the recruiters office in Rolla, Missouri, a promise to each other, and far too many deployments later, we find ourselves in Texas and preparing for another year apart. We have lost friends, we have lost family, and we will never forget.

 Deployment Day November, 2009

photo cred: Sweet Green Tangerine

source

 

A story to funny not to tell

A little while back, I traded in my gas guzzling monster SUV and I needed something that my 6'3 husband & great dane could both fit comfortably in. I know to look at the Nissan Cube, you may start to laugh and swear to never drive one. Shoot, I did. I only entertained the idea of looking inside one because I had a few minutes to kill while waiting for someone inside the Nissan Dealership in Savannah, Ga. I opened the door on the display car and thought "huh, not bad, not bad at all." Once you get in it, you see all the space in this little car and I bet you start to fall in love, just as I did. 

The kids fit, I fit, the tall Mr. and huge dog all fit.

Everything was right with the world, at least for a minute.

Then we moved to El Paso and chose to live off post. I no longer got to drive my cute car on a daily basis due to gas prices and a 30+ minute drive to Biggs. The hubs has an old dodge pick up and I'm stuck driving 'Big Red' while he had my sweet 'Tallulah'.

*sad face*

Apparently a man can only drive this car for so long while being in the Cav and surrounded by testosterone before reaching his breaking point. 

I loved my car. Loved it. It was quirky, it was cute, it was different and ironic. 

It was so much fun to  drive and I enjoyed giggling at people who would stare as I putt putted past.

~~~~

Let the replacement shopping begin.

*sad face*

After intensive car shopping, we finally found a car we both could agree on. While we were in the middle of the paperwork, and talking to the finance guy I tell him that I loved my toaster and I'm going to miss her.

He stops and stares. "Toaster?" he says. "Yes, my Nissan Cube" I say.

"Wait a minute, that car, the one with the 'Toaster Edition' sticker on the back? The one thats always over here on this side of town?"

"The one and only"

He laughs. Says he can't wait to tell his son that he met the [previous] owners of the Toaster. I guess my car is famous. I had no idea.

This made for a good laugh during a sad time for me.

~~~~~

Now its time to name the new car, cause that's not weird, right?  Do you name your cars? 

Dollface helped with the naming of Tallulah Pancake. I guess I'll let her help with the naming of the new car too. :) Fun Times. 

Monday, monday

Hello, Monday.

Saturday I was featured on a long time friends blog. This girl and I have known each other for a seriously long time. Pretty much our entire adult lives. We have been thru so many ups and downs and deployments and babies and crazy friends, etc. I'm glad we never lost touch over the years. So here you go, check out my friend, Rain @ wtfrain.com. 

Rains blog is not the homeroom-mom/martha stewart-mom type blog (thankfully) . If you like (and I know of so many of you rad readers who do!!) tattoos, cussing, and just seriously keepin it real kinda talk, then you'll enjoy the randomness that comes from Rain.  

Dang, this is an old picture of us! Ah, memories.

Sweet Savannah, Ga.

One of the questions Rain asked me & my answer:

What songs are included on the soundtrack to your life? 

Damn these are good questions.
• Acid Tongue – Jenny Lewis
• Be OK – Ingrid Michaelson
• Sentimental Heart – She & Him
• Queen of the world – Ida Maria
• Electric Twist – A Fine Frenzy
• Factory Girls – Flogging Molly

Because of this, the Manic Monday Music stuck in my head is... Factory Girls by Flogging Molly !
I'm interested to know, are you a Flogging Molly fan?  In general, I love their music, but there has been times where I just had to turn down the volume a little because they can have so much going on at once. A bit overwhelming for the ears.

Random Thoughts Of The Day

1.       Harry Potter marathon on abc family + cat naps + ice cream = one of the most relaxing and enjoyable Sundays I have had in a long time.

2.       Cannot spend two Sundays in a row on my bum. Next week, we are going for another hike.

3.       Glasses: I need them, I own them, I hate to wear them.

4.       Pinterest, if you give me any more damn 404 errors when trying to edit all my many boards and pins, I am likely to cancel my account or scream at my computer. Who am I kidding, it would be the latter.

5.       Socialization, I miss it. In Savannah, I would often run into people I knew near every time I left the house. I miss that...

6.       Turns out I’m a bit on the competitive side. Who knew?  I had never thought of myself as competitive before, but I entered a Valspar contest and I am in 3^rd place and it is driving me insane not being 1^st! It goes by votes only. You can vote once an hour until 30 November. It’s not like it is a talent competition or anything but it's bugging the shit out of me still the same. Shameless plug  -----> http://bit.ly/tUIfrS

7.       Time to think about Christmas trees. Should we go real or fake? Personally, I’m down with a tacky white tree or even pink, but my hubs a much more boring uninteresting traditional style.

8.       Dyslexia. It has been determined that Redd has dyslexia. Can you believe that the public library did not have a single book on this? Off to Barns and Noble tomorrow to find The Gift of Dyslexia Why Some of the Smartest People Can't Read and How They Can Learn.By Ronald D. Davis with Eldon M.Braun.

9.       When filling out your Christmas cards this year take ONE CARD and SEND it to this address: A Recovering American Soldier, c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20307-5001.

10.   The trouble with spending so much time alone is that my mind tends to run wild and over think so many things.'Nuff said.

11.   I would give anything for someone to wash all the sand and dust off my car. I was not meant to be a southwestern kinda girl.

12.   Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair ☮ (<---♪ ♫ ♬ )

⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘
Ooo and one more thing before I go:

I like change. I get bored easily. Blame my ADD.

BG will have a new look complete with awesome new buttons coming soon!

Word.

Fruits and Veggies

Tangerine and Potato
Time flies and you don't get it back. Enjoy each moment.

Combine the two and you never know 

what the outcome will be, but its sure to be an eventful day.

The lead up-

*Oot Oot Girls Day*

The Tang's take on the day-

*Adventures of Potato & Tangerine*

The *kid-free* day started with an agenda. 

Goal 1- Get SGT to get bangs!

Goal 2- Tattoo Shop!

Goal 3- Have a memorable day out with a good friend.

Done, Done, and Done. The day was a complete success. 

Acta non Verba.

 SGT rockin her new bangs as we are headed to the tattoo shop

 I seriously considered getting this little guy in honor of my brave little toaster car {love}

 My tattoo artist- Brian

 Acta non Verba y'all 

(more about that here)

I ❤ Savannah

Dolls Day

 Ooot Ooot Girls Day

Totally looking forward to a day out

KID FREE

tomorrow with Miss Sweet Green Tangerine!
And a huge thank you to, Memaw (SGT's mom) for allowing our *Doll Day* to happen :)

Plans for tomorrow:

• Leave Doll Face with Memaw (she's not Army issued, but she should be)
• Try to get SGT to get her bangs cut. More on that here.
• Go downtown for a mini photo shoot
• In honor of Cinco De Mayo - Have a big ol' Margarita (or ten)

Georgia Peach

Georgia is my home.

I am not a 'native' to the area, but this is where I have spent the last nine years of my life, the only place I have lived as an adult, and the place where I started my family.

 My hubs and I may be Missourians;

our kiddos are straight up Georgians. 

Moving here when I was so young & naive (though I thought I was old enough to take on the world) I was forced to break out of my shell. Thank you hubs for being there and supporting me through every hair brain scheme, crazy friend drama, and allowing me to evolve into the girl I am today- ever changing.

In honor of these moments I am getting a peach tattooed on me before we move. You can think its corny, thats ok -- to each their own. I am considering a foot tattoo for this one.

I'm also looking for adorable peach images.

Ultimately, I am going to have the artist put his own spin on it, but I still have to come up with the basic idea to take with me. 

Here are a few peach images I like:

Just a simple outline. Cute, right?

This one is sweet. I like the obvious heart shape.

Ooo I could even do something like this for both my Georgia peach babies:

 

{If You Have Any Suggestions, 

Please Feel Free To Share}

Shenanigans

"Savannah would be better for you. You'll just get in trouble in Atlanta."
Gone with the Wind
Mammy to Scarlett O'Hara

 Lucky for me, the past few years, I have had a wicked cool, partner in crime, 

making it possible 

to get into trouble in both 

Savannah and Atlanta.

Atlanta Trip:

 

If I could move to ATL, 

I'd want to move as close to 

Little 5 Points as possible!

Keep it classy, SGT. 

Keep. It. Classy. 

I Love Zombies :)

 

View from our room [54th floor]

We thought we were going to see 

A Fine Frenzy, but she was in the hospital with the flu. BOO :( 

Anywho, we were able to meet 

Landon Pigg- um, SCORE!

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

and now, just a couple from our most recent Savannah adventure:

Live music for SGT's bday.

1st The Low Anthem

:::Sooo Good:::

then it was time... time for some 

Iron & Wine!

Ooo Yea! 

I wont be mad if you're jealous :)

This album is so good, my 4 yr old daughter 

sits in the back seat nodding her head like, yeah

when it is playing. 

No Joke!

 Ahh, what am I going to do when I move? I don't want to have to make friends again. Do you know how hard it is to find normal, down to earth, people? Have any of you moved recently?

For more on our exciting evening, check out SGT's post: live music heaven