Chapter 2013 Page 1 of 365...

 Peace Out 2012. 

Unfortunately I will spend the majority of the year away from my hubs. I still have a hard time believing that he is actually gone again. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time this go around, but I am. 

Up until now, I have spent the past 37 days mostly doing nothing but willing the next day to hurry up and get here so that it too may pass.  

I was lucky enough to have my sis and niece come spend a little over a week with us. It was a nice distraction to be around family. We took a mini road trip to New Mexico and explored a little over there. [More on their visit to come.]

As for now, it is high time to knock off the Poor-Pitiful-Me BS and get back to reality. He has his own time consuming daily agenda  and I need to get back to mine as well and get out of this damn rut once and for all.

 

So here's to a 

New Year, New Adventures, 

New Friends and Cheap Wine!  

{CHEERS}

The day my husband cried

and it went a little somethin like this... 

me: we need to get rid of the mustang 

to which he typically responses with: 

"I have a buyer lined up. A kid a work..."

(crickets chirping)

A little back story 

We bought the Mustang at the worse possible time; right before a PCS and buying a house. We didn't need the car, we wanted the car. It was a 'welcome back from deployment #839, we missed you. Heres a cool car to show we care.' kinda thing. Completely irresponsible and impulsive and exactly what the military tells you NOT TO DO. And man was it fun... for a little while. Then reality set in. The military only allows you  2 vehicles if living on post (which we were in post housing at that time) and only compensates you for 2 vehicles during a PCS move. We had to come completely out of pocket for the trailer to pull the car across country causing many delays in our travel here. It was a huge pain in the booty. Then it sat in the garage. Just sat there. Started regularly, but we put maybe 20 miles on in it the past year. It was a pointless added expense. 

Yea, it was cool. Yea, it was all manly and he loved to brag about having it, but it was POINTLESS.

Fast Forward

{Yesterday}

me: we need to get rid of the mustang 

him: sell it

(crickets chirping... keyboard clicking) 

me: a guy will be here in 2 hours to look at it.

him: wait, what? what did you do? ... 

me: you told me to sell it. I did. 

awkward silence.... 

{Just like ripping off a band aide, it was over before he knew it} 

A kid, smiling from ear to ear, showed up at our door with his parents. Once we started up the car for them, it was over. The guy was in love. His dad was in love. And his mom couldn't control her smiles as she watched her oldest son and husband beginning to bond over this classic beauty already. It melted my heart to see them all so happy.

Ironically, the kid is an 18 year old new recruit to the Army. He saved up every penny from basic training to buy a car before leaving for AIT.  I can't put into words just how perfect the whole experience felt. Here my husband is, an 'old vet' at this point, and on crutches to top it off, handing over the keys to his beloved 1969 Mustang GT to a brand new soldier. It was a sad day for the Mr.

"Treat her well, kid. Treat her well." 

I'll leave you with this catchy tune to start your weekend.
The song currently on repeat on my phone because my kids FREAKIN LOVE IT!

Eels - Flyswatter

oh is that stuck in your head now? you're welcome :)

Little Miss Pissy Pants

BS Things That Piss Me Off.

•  Chocolate Chip ice cream makers cheaping out and filling the center with vanilla only.
• Cheap-o Wall-Mart coffee pot not working properly & leaving me with coffee grounds in my cup.
• Crappy letters on Words With Friends.
• People who have to bitch about the same thing 50 million times. Hello, the horse is dead.
• Ordering pizza. Dollface not liking what we order. I tell her to pick off what she doesn't like. She. Does. This. ------->
• Not taking enough reusable grocery bags with me to the store. Then the idiot bagger thinks is a grand idea to start placing one item per plastic bag. Because CLEARLY I bring the reusables just for fun and I don't actually give a shit about reducing the amount of plastic bags I use. IDIOT.
• Demanding deployment preparation schedules. 
• Not being able to locate my large suitcase one week before flying to St. Louis.
• Laptop batteries that aren't worth a shit. 6 minutes. That's all I get when I disconnect it.
• People who makes these lists. Whoops. 
• My daughter now thinking its ok to take my phone and run off to watch the I Think I'm a Bunny YouTube video over and over and over again. And of course, forgetting where she sits my phone down before something shiny catches her eye. This one I blame SGT completely for. 

• Bar soap in public restrooms. WHO DOES THAT?! OMG GROSS! "Don't touch anything! - here, I'll use my super human mom powers to open the door for us. Keep your hands in the air. I repeat: DO NOT TOUCH A THING!!"

WANTED: Life Coach or Mental Hospital

I don't think I'm cut out to be a grownup. Ever feel like this? It simply doesn't feel right. I shouldn't be a 30 year old mom of two! Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change any of it for the world, but some days it feels like I'm wearing someone else shoes.

I'm mostly just joking when I say I want a mentor or life coach, but not really. Right now I feel like I'm at an impasse with furthering my education and career choices. I do not know which path to follow. This is especially concerning now that Dollface will be going to Kindergarten all day, this is my time to finish my education. MY TIME. We've said this ever since we started having kids. I know this mess is my fault- I chose to run off and marry the love of my life and leave school way to young.(Kids- Don't be a love struck 19 yr old & get married at 20!)  

Pat and Becky

sitting in a tree:

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

First comes love,

then comes marriage,

then comes baby

in a baby carriage!

We've said all along, that after both kiddos are in school full time, all day, then-FINALLY I get to do the same! MY TIME.

The school I was enrolled in had a BS in Human Services degree & I was working on that. My plan was to finish getting my BS and then transfer to UTEP. At UTEP I wanted work on getting a masters in Occupational Therapy. PERFECT! We are stationed at Biggs Army Air Field (Ft. Bliss) and there is a university right here in town! WHAT! It sounds like it was meant to be, right?! ha Unfortunately I took an almost 2 yr hiatus due to deployment homecomings and PCSing to Texas. In that short time my original school no longer have that program available. Of Course. So now I am trying feverishly to figure out what my next step is. I'm at a loss. A different degree program? A different school? Which school/university? Will my credits transfer in a beneficial way? Oh and there is always that sweet little gem about us only being here for another year or so that plays a huge part too. All the joys of being a military family. Instability at its best. 

***Sidenote: Happy 10yr Anniversary to my Mr.

Just getting something off my chest :)

Manners, Manners, Manners.

It is not hard to be polite. 

It absolutely amazes me when my own wild and crazy kiddos have better manners than most adults I meet these days (in person & online.) Wal-Mart hosts the vilest of people at times. A simple “excuse me” seems to escape their minds as I get cart blocked from the frozen veggies. Or an “oh, I’m sorry” as their cart rams my heel leaving me to feel as Achilles must have felt.  Instead, they turn the other way and ignore any wrongdoing. 

Don't even get me started on parking lot etiquette.

This is not ok.

Just because someone has a tiny car does not give you the 

right to bud in on their parking space.

RUDE!

However, Wal-Mart is not the only place with these types of people, oh no, not even close. I have witnessed a disturbing level of rude behavior on blogs and usually not by the blog authors, but by the followers/visitors. "Anonymous" is a bitch. Let us not forget that when we visit someone’s blog, we are visiting their home, their journal, their outlet.  Not only is it rude to attack the blogger, but it is offensive and intrusive. Would you go to her home and speak to her in that way? If the answer is no, then we should not go to her blog-home and speak with no filter. BELIEVE ME, I have felt the need, many times, to speak my mind and straight up say WTF WHERE YOU THINKING?! However, I do not. Maybe I am a dying breed.  

I typed this up a few weeks ago. I've wanted to post it, but thought it was best to wait until I was no longer upset.