Bobo's Adventures

Meet Bobo.

When I was little, my grandfather bought me a small toy "monkey" that I named Bobo. Over the years it became a joke to hide him somewhere and make me find him. Poor Bobo never ended up anywhere nice. I found him in the tailpipe of our car once.

Anyway, Huzzy actually took Bobo with him on this deployment. Bobo is getting to see more of the world than I am!

Here's a few pictures from their recent trip to Greece. (Released!)

Bobo is excited about liberty call!

Bobo gets the essentials ready for a night out on the town

Bobo on the liberty boat!

Bobo got a hotel room in Athens.

Bobo with his liberty buddy

Whew! that was a lot of walking up that hill!

Hopefully Huzzy gets to go to some more fun places. I'll keep you updated on Bobo's Adventures!

Tell Me Thursday March 29, 2012

I know, I know, I'm late! I blame the drugs!

You know the drill! Answer these questions on your own blog and then enter your link into Mr. Linky!

Back to basics

1. Favorite color - Um, I don't really have one. It changes so much I can't even say one in particular. Green maybe? Or purple?
2. Favorite food - Pasta. I'm definitely Italian! LOL
3. Favorite quote - "Not all who wander are lost." I don't know why honestly, I've just always loved that quote.
4. Favorite song - "Hey Jude" I'm a big Beatles fan, and this is my favorite by far. They just don't make music like that anymore!
5. Favorite blog - The Bloggess. Cracks me up every time, and if you haven't read her stuff before you really should start. I can't wait for her book release next month!!

Sorry for the tardiness, and I know the questions aren't awesome today but I really didn't want to miss this week's. Any ideas for questions? Anyone?

Don't forget to link up and comment!!!

Sort Of Surprised I'm Not A Pill-Popping Addict By Now

For reals

Today was dentist day. If you've been reading along the last two weeks you know that what I thought was bad jaw pain caused by grinding my teeth was actually an infected tooth in need of a root canal. Well today I went to get it all cleared up.

I wish it was that easy!

The dentist gave me that wonderful Novocain thing and I was waiting for it to take full effect when my cell phone rang. Well lookie there! A call from Huzzy. At possibly the worst moment ever. My mouth was numbed up, the dentist wanted to start drilling soon and he chooses now  to call?! I answered the phone and quickly explained the situation, told Huzzy I loved him and hung up. And wanted to cry.

I didn't actually cry, but I did start to tear up a little and my face was probably red from trying not  to cry. Here I was, finally getting a phone call and I couldn't even talk to him for more than 15 seconds! What kind of justice was this?

I don't like the dentist to begin with, and now it was a truly rotten start to my day. To make things even better they weren't able to finish the job because my tooth is still infected. The antibiotics they had me on didn't do the job, so they prescribed me different antibiotics that will (hopefully) kill this infection once and for all. The bulk of the work is done, but they don't want to permanently fill in my tooth and it still be infected inside.

The dentist also prescribed me some more Vicodin, because they said I would be pretty sore after all the work I just went through. I was prepared to have that horrible pain come back once the Novocain wore off, but it seems I got lucky with this. It doesn't hurt. At all. So I guess I'm just saving the Vicodin for a painful, rainy day.

But the best part, the absolute frosting on the cake is that the doctor gave me a 3rd prescription. Valium.

This poor guy saw how upset I was and assumed it was because I was terrified of going to the dentist. So he gave me a prescription for Valium so that I'll be all nice and relaxed next time.  

Best.Dentist.Ever.

I probably won't take the Valium. I would need someone to watch Baby Girl during the appointment, and someone to drive me to the dentist if I took it. I'm not going to be able to inconvenience 2 people that day, so this becomes a decision I have to make. I'm pretty sure CPS would be annoyed if I left Baby Girl to fend for herself just so that I could have someone take me to the dentist, so I think I'll stick with driving myself (Valium-free) and ensure my kid has a babysitter.

But still... I think I officially have the best dentist ever. He's just all "Let's hand out drugs!" and I'm surprisingly OK with that right now.

Don't worry, I'm not going to take them. For real. I'm really leery of pills and stuff, and as much as I make jokes I really hesitate to take anything I don't need. I actually still have Vicodin left over from last  time. As soon as the pain was manageable with Tylenol I stopped taking the hard stuff.

I'm a big fat wuss, so sue me!

On the bright side, Huzzy managed to call back later when the Novocain was gone and I could actually talk.

*HAPPINESS*


Have you ever taken Valium before? Thoughts?

Oh Sure, That'll Make Them Lower The Price....

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

I have seen this pop up on my Facebook six times already today. Every time I see it I want to hit the "unfriend" button. Who honestly thinks this is going to work?

Sure, it would be great if not buying gas for the day meant that the big old gas companies would lower their prices. Seriously, it is outrageous...to us. Folks in other parts of the world don't know why we're complaining because they pay much, much more. But I get it, I complain too. I hate feeling like I'm paying an arm and a leg just to be able to get around. Still, boycotting gas stations for one day isn't going to make a difference in the slightest.

Why? 

Even if you got every single person in the country to avoid the pumps that day, the would still need to get gas. They might fill up the day before so they can "boycott" it the next day. They might wait until the day after. It doesn't really matter. In the end everyone is still buying gas. These companies will wait a day or two if that's what it takes.

So you want to make a difference?

Then it's going to take more than one day of inconvenience for you to do it. You do have options though. Never think you are without options!

- Buy a hybrid or otherwise high mileage vehicle - Can't afford it? Yeah, me neither.

- Hoof it. - Walk, bike, rollerblade, whatever.

- Carpool - Sure, this isn't an option for everyone but if you can it makes sense. Stick it to the gas companies and save yourself a few bucks as well.

- Take public transit - It takes gas to run those buses, but it's a lot less to fill up one bus as opposed to everyone's  personal vehicle.

- Plan your errands - How many times a week do you run out to one place and then come home? Is there a way to group errands and routes so that you are getting more done with less gas? Probably.


I love when people all try to get behind a common cause and all, but please at least make sure your actions will have an effect!



Will you be joining a gas boycott?

Coming Home - Jump On The Reunion Porn Bandwagon

I think Lifetime is out to get me. I kid you not. Last year Huzzy left on deployment and within two months Lifetime started airing a new TV show called Coming Home. This year they're getting even better at plotting the end of my sanity and started airing the day Huzzy left. Those bastards.

If you haven't heard of this show before, maybe it's for the best. Coming Home is a show based around military homecomings. Surprise military homecomings. Basically for an hour each week they put on a show that is designed to turn me into a puddle of snot and tears. These people do their job very well.

Soon after this show first aired, another show named Surprise Homecomings came along with the same premise. To be honest, I only watched one episode of that one. I didn't care for it at all. It just didn't have the same feel, it was too much of a jumble and honestly at the end of the day it simply wasn't very good.

But Coming Home is like crack  to me. I watch that show every Sunday without fail. I know a lot of military spouses who avoid it like the plague, but I not me.

Why? Why do I look forward to a show that is going to make me cry, miss Huzzy more and wish this deployment was over? Am I some kind of masochist?

Well, maybe. I know it's going to make me cry, and that's OK. That's more than OK actually, because I look forward to it. I spend all week trying not to think about what's going on. I keep busy so I'm not focused on the fact that Huzzy isn't here. I refuse to dwell on him not being home because I don't want our daughter to see me cry. So I just don't.

But once a week I let myself be weak. I throw myself a pity party and think of all the things I have to do myself while he's gone. I think of all the things he's missing and the memories he won't be part of. I worry about Baby Girl and her lack of understanding. I hope that she'll be OK during this, and pray that she's still greet him with excitement when he finally does come home. Watching the happy reunions I remember our own, only a year ago, and pray that homecoming gets here fast.

Then I dry my eyes, turn off the TV and move on.

I have too much to do and too many relying on me. I can't afford to break down every day. I'll hold it in and wait until next Sunday.

Free $20 Walmart Gift Card Giveaway

Hey all! I told you there was going to be another one!

Enter for your chance to win a $20 Walmart gift card! Why Walmart? Well, during the Target giveaway a few people mentioned that there wasn't a Target anywhere near them. So as much as  I do *love* Target, I wanted to give people a chance to win a card they can use. Let's face it, Walmarts are all over the place. And chances are, you're more likely to have a Walmart nearby than a Target!

So let's get to it then! Contest is open to US residents 18+. In order to get additional entries this time you MUST first leave a comment with what you would buy with your gift card. Once you have fulfilled that requirement the other entry options will open to you.

This contest will run until 12:01AM on Friday, April 6th. Good Luck!

Disclaimer : This giveaway is not endorsed by Facebook, Twitter or Walmart, this is just run by little old me!



What are you waiting for?! Allons-y!

Care Packages Make All The Difference

I don't mean to toot my own horn (Well, ok...I do) but Huzzy is always ridiculously spoiled when he goes on deployment. So are most of the people that he works with since he's the nice sharing type. He's been gone for 2 weeks and there are 3 care packages in the mail for him. Don't worry, I slow it down after this I swear. Usually I will send out one per pay period.

I never expected to get so much joy out of something as simple as a care package. Really, it's pretty basic isn't it? Send them food, candy, magazines or whatever you think they'd like. Pray it gets there in one piece. That's all there is to it, right?

Well, maybe. But not for me.

For me I take my job here at home very seriously. There really isn't anything I can do for him while he is out there. I can't take his watch, or shoulder his burdens. I can't make the ship go to all the really "cool" ports, or even make it come home faster. The only thing I have any control over is care packages and email. Which boils down to one thing:


Morale.

It may seem silly to those of you who haven't dealt with the military, but those of you that have probably know where I'm coming from. This is all I can do. This is how I can make his day better, let him know we're OK and remind him that he'll be home soon.

I try to keep emails as upbeat as possible while still letting know what's going on, because I don't want to worry him. There's nothing he can do out there anyway, so why burden him with it? We operate on a need-to-know basis. I'm not saying everything is sunshine and butterflies, but dammit I try.

I put a lot of thought and effort into the care packages I send. It probably seems silly to most people, but I don't care. Why? Because he appreciates it and it helps keep him going.

Sure, I send the usual stuff. Cookies, brownies, magazines and hygiene supplies. However, I also send a lot of personal things. Our daughter's drawings. Flash drives filled with pictures and videos of us and family. A pillow case covered in pictures of Baby Girl. Love letters. Good old-fashioned love letters. Silly things that he'll enjoy.

I get excited trying to think up care package "themes". I love it when I randomly stumble across something and have that AHA moment, where I know I've found something unique that he is going to love.

I love knowing that this simple thing I do makes Huzzy so happy. I love knowing that when mail gets delivered and he gets a box it makes his whole day.

It breaks my heart when I hear about a service member who is out there getting nothing. I've heard about wives who don't send a single package during deployment. Not one. I don't understand it. Now, with that being said - If your service member specifically says  not to send them a ton of stuff, do what they say. I actually know one guy like this. I don't understand him, but hey...it's what he wants.


Our FRG is going to be starting up a committee called Sunshine for Sailors. It's basically a care package committee. We'll get to have care package parties. Can you feel my excitement? The care packages we will be making will be for single sailors on the ship. What a wonderful idea!

I hope we get it started soon, because I can't wait!



What about you? Are you a care package nut like me?

Military Appreciation Giveaway!

Hey all! It's been some time since I've done a giveaway so I figured it was about time. The last gift card I did was for Target, and that was really for everyone. This one is more specific, so make sure this applies for you before you enter!

Up for grabs this time is a $20 NEX gift card. The NEX is the Navy Exchange, and only active and retired military personnel and their families can shop there. So if you don't fall into those categories this is probably not the giveaway for you. Never fear, I'll have another more general giveaway in the near future.

I'm going with Rafflecopter again for this giveaway since it's so easy to use and I love it to pieces. If you aren't familiar with how to use it, you can watch this video. But really, it's pretty easy.

Oh, one more thing. I usually keep all the contests to US only, but... For this contest I will ship your gift card to wherever you are stationed. Or wherever your family member is stationed if you are sending it to them. If it is outside of the US though it MUST BE an APO/FPO address.

Good Luck!

PS - This is not sponsored in any way by the Navy or the NEX. This is just little old me!

Tell Me Thursday March 22, 2012

Yup, it's that time again! Had to take a break last week with everything going on but I'm ready to start up again! It seems that this hasn't taken off very well though, and while I like doing this I don't see myself doing this for much longer if there isn't more involvement... :(

So link up, join the fun and post it on your blog so everyone can join in! The more the merrier, right?

With so many blog hops, fill-ins and twitter follows done on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I felt it was time to give Thursday a little love. Thursdays matter too, folks. From here on out I'll be putting out a few questions that you can copy and post over on your own blog with a link back here. After you've done that come back here and enter yourself in Mr. Linky down below. It's a fun way to get to know other bloggers while getting your blog out there as well.


Let's begin, shall we?

For this week... Jobs!

1. What was your first real job? (like, you paid taxes and everything) - My first job was at a little stand alone ice cream store. It was seasonal, easy, and probably the best job I ever had. The owner mostly left us girls alone and let us run it all day. I actually really enjoyed it. Especially when there were no customers and we started having contests to see who could come up with the most ridiculous sundae. Thank God I was young. My metabolism would never be able to keep up with that job now.
2. What was your favorite job? What job did you hate the most? - Well favorite was my first job. As for job I hated... I don't know that I ever really hated my job, so much as I hated parts of it. I used to manage a retail store, and there are a lot of things about management that I could live without. I hate having to be the bad guy. At the end of the day I'm just really not that good at it.
3. What is your dream job? - Teaching. One of these days I'll actually go back to school, finish my degree and get into teaching. The only thing that sucks is how hard it is to get into teaching right now. I guess it depends on where you are going, but I love history so that is what I would like to teach. And apparently history teachers are a dime a dozen. 
4. Are you currently working? - Well, I'm not collecting a paycheck...but raising a toddler is a lot of work actually...lol. I stopped working just over a year ago. I don't regret it, but sometimes I do miss it. It would be nice to get out of the house without the kiddo once in a while. Still, if I was working I'd be wishing I was at home. The grass is always greener.... I have a lot of respect for working moms though. I'm exhausted all the time as it is, I'd probably fall over if I had a "real" job on top of it.
5. What job should everyone try at least once? - This is a biggie for me, and maybe only me. But still... I think everyone should have to work in the service industry at least once in their life. I worked in restaurants and retail for years, and you learn a lot of valuable things in those jobs - how to be patient, polite, etc. The customer isn't  always right, but you learn to bite your tongue and think twice before saying something. You also learn to appreciate and respect people who work in that industry. I worked at McDonald's during high school. I certainly won't look down on the guy making my Big Mac, because I've been there. 

Thanks for joining in! As always if you have questions to submit email me or comment here!

Wordless Wednesday and a Blog Hop

Baby Girl seems to think sidewalk chalk is for indoor use as well.

 

 Haute Mom is once again running her Welcome Wednesday blog hop. If you haven't linked up with us yet, head on over! 

I Confess....

I think when Huzzy is gone he assumes that everything is fine and dandy here. He thinks the house runs exactly like it does when he's home, and I'm like Suzie Homemaker or something.

I have a confession to make. I'm not.



Huzzy, when you're gone, I confess that....


- Eating out isn't so rare anymore. Actually, one of the bright sides to you leaving is that I don't have to feel guilty every time I get a craving for some greasy McDonald's goodness.When dinner rolls around I'm not freaking out trying to make some awesome "home-cooked" (read: out of a box) meal. Hell, Baby Girl would be ecstatic if I let her live on Beefaroni until you got back. I'm not that  bad...but it is tempting.

- The house is a disaster...pretty much every day. When you're home I try to clean and pick up the toys daily. When you're gone...Well, let's just say I'm not quite at meticulous with the chores. Being the only one here means there is no down time unless she's asleep. So when I finally get our little blessing to bed, I don't feel like wasting all my quiet time cleaning. Don't worry, it gets done. Eventually.

- Shaving becomes optional. Gross, I know. But seriously, if you're gone who am I trying to impress? I'm lucky if I have enough time to take a quick shower, let alone shave on a regular basis. When you're home I find the time. When you're deployed I start worrying about shaving when my legs turn into spiky Christmas tree legs. If I can hang an ornament on them, it's time to shave. Bright side? Don't worry about me cheating on you. No one is going near my legs. It's like man deterrent.

- The laundry overfloweth. When you're here I do my best to keep up with laundry almost daily. I tease you for tossing your dirty clothes on the floor. Once you're gone I'm lucky if there's a hamper for me to put dirty clothes into. For some reason I will wash and dry the clothes, but never get around to folding them. There's a pile of clean, dry clothes just waiting to be folded as I type this. I'm hiding from them. Please don't tell them where I am.

- I don't miss the sex. Well, that's a lie. I do miss it, but not as much as you would think. Hey, sometimes I'm tired! At least when you're gone I don't have to worry about disappointing you because I'm too exhausted to do anything but pass out and drool on my pillow. I kind of laugh at the women with the "Sexually deprived for your freedom" stickers, because sometimes it's a relief. Besides, going without for a while makes for a fun homecoming, right?

- I spoil our kid. I know, I know. It should be your thing right? Daddy comes home from being away and spoils his little princess, right? Well, sue me. I feel so bad for the kid half the time I can't help myself. She's stuck dealing with me and only me while you're gone, which means food quality is sinking pretty quick. And let's face it, she just doesn't think I'm as much fun as you. So I do what any good parent does...I buy her love. Don't worry, our kid is cheap and loves going to the dollar store. But it's going to get more expensive as she gets older. Just warning ya.

I Hate You Facebook, I Hate You To Death

I don't know about you guys, but every week I get an email from Facebook telling me who has an upcoming birthday. I don't know if it's a setting I can switch off, but since I'm terrible at remembering I just let it go. (Really, it has saved my butt more times than I care to admit.)

So I open my weekly message from Facebook noticing that there's only one next week. Huh. Kind of a slow week I guess. Totally oblivious.

I open it up and there's a picture of Huzzy.

This was pretty much my reaction

I knew his birthday was next week, and we did all the birthday stuff before he left. So no biggie I guess. It isn't that I forgot so much as I don't even know what day it is thanks to this wonderful bottle of Vicodin the dentist gave me.

It just sucks that he's gone and Facebook has to keep reminding me of that.

Screw you, Facebook.

Dear Angry MilSpouse

Dear Angry MilSpouse Who Mocks Everyone Online,

When Huzzy leaves on deployment, I tend to gravitate to online forums and support groups to help me through the loneliness. It helps to know that we aren't alone, that there are in fact thousands  of other people going through the same exact thing. People who have been there, done that and are willing to lend an ear to a fellow milspouse who needs it.

And that is how I managed to stumble across you and your enlightening words of "wisdom". I really hope that I've just seen you at your worst, and maybe you're having a really bad day. While it isn't an excuse for treating the other girls the way you have, at least it would be an explanation. I do have a few bits of advice for you.

No, you don't have to hold everyone's hand and pretend everything is sunshine, rainbows, and ponies that poo glitter. You can "give it to them straight" and warn other spouses if warranted.

What you don't have to do is be a total bitch.

There is no need to try an one-up someone online. It doesn't matter if their husband is a lower rank. It doesn't matter if they have gone through less deployments than you. It doesn't matter if she is totally new to the military life and doesn't know the right terminology. This does not give you the right to mock them, make fun of them or otherwise act like a total troll.

You aren't going to win an award for your snarkiness. Your experiences and knowledge are valuable but only if you actually use them to help and give advice. If someone asks about help with the how-to's associated with a DITY move, how about you give them some useful tips instead of tooting your own horn? News flash - no one cares how many you've done it if you can't be helpful.

Your brain might be absolutely overflowing with wondering, helpful knowledge. Unfortunately you don't seem to know how to communicate that to other human beings.

Yes, I know. I've heard it from you many times. "I'm just giving it to them straight. Why beat around the bush."

We all deal with separation in our own way. Is it hurting you if someone else deals with it differently than you? Why do you even care?

Love,
Me

PS - It's never in good taste to imply that someone's husband is off cheating on them in another country. Just because you're afraid your husband is doing that to you does not mean every else is in the same boat.

Sorry Guys...

For those of you that follow along with Tell Me Thursday, I apologize. With everything going on this week (Yay deployment curse!) I'm going to take this week off. I honestly just realized that it's Wednesday night, and it should have been up 2 hours ago! >_<

TMT will be back next Thursday!

Now I Know Why House Uses This All The Time

Ouchie

Little bit of an update on my previous post...

Last night was probably the worst night of my life, at least as far as physical pain goes. I've given birth with less pain. My face was literally throbbing, and I almost drove myself to the ER. I didn't really have anyone to take Baby Girl that late at night though, and I didn't know how long I'd wait before being seen by a doctor so I toughed it out as best I could.

I took so much Aleve I'm kind of surprised I woke up this morning.

When I woke up the pain wasn't as bad, but I had been given a new symptom to deal with - swelling. Now, the last time I had this pain the dentist (military) told me I was grinding my teeth at night. After a few days the pain went away. There was never any swelling. I'm not a doctor but I'm pretty sure the swelling isn't a good sign. I started looking up dentists.

I finally found someone to watch Baby Girl and rushed off to the nearest dentist, praying it wasn't anything too bad. I hate the damn dentist.  Really. I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who enjoys going to the dentist though. It's definitely not a profession I would choose if I wanted people to like me.

Anyway...

They took an x-ray and checked and yup... Looks like I need a damn root canal.

I don't know why, but it was like I finally hit my breaking point at that moment. The wonderfully nice, caring nurse lady was chatting with me while the doctor wrote up a prescription. Somehow we got onto the topic of Huzzy having just left on deployment. Her husband is in the reserves, so she's been through deployments and was really very nice. And I totally lost it.

I don't know if it was the pain in my mouth, the fact that my kid has had the runs for days, my disaster of a house that I haven't been able to keep up with or Huzzy being gone but I just started crying. God, I just need a vacation from this!

After a few minutes I calmed down, felt a bit foolish and was ready to go get my meds. I told her sorry. I mean really who wants a patient crying and blubbering on? She just smiled, put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Hon, we've all been there. I broke down in the middle of a supermarket once."

Physically I was still in total agony (and would be until the Vicodin kicked in later) but emotionally I felt a lot better.

I have to go in for a root canal as soon as possible. They set me up for an appointment but if something opens up before then they'll call me so I can get it done right away. I've got antibiotics (whatever) and Vicodin (hells yeah!) and I'm feeling a bit better even though my cheek is still all puffy.

Baby Girl hadn't had a bad diaper in over 24 hours so I thought I was in the clear, but I guess the curse isn't over yet. She's had two more horrid ones since we got home. Wonderful.

I hate that I am going to have to get a root canal. It won't be fun and I hate people poking about in my mouth. But at least now I know what's wrong and we can take steps to treat it and make me feel better.

I still feel a bit silly for crying at the dentist's, but I also feel thankful. It could have been anyone really, but I was lucky enough to have my little breakdown in front of someone who knows what I'm going through. She could have just pretended she didn't see anything and walked away, but she didn't. She took that extra time to make me feel better and a little less crazy.

Sometimes I love my fellow milspouses.

<3

Deployment Curse in 3....2....1

You've probably heard of the "deployment curse" before. It's like Murphy's Law. Once the guys leave it really just becomes a matter of time until something in the house breaks, someone gets sick, the dog runs away, etc. Usually it's something that's just bad enough to remind you that tending the homefront by yourself really sucks.

One week into the last deployment, Huzzy's truck started acting funny and the check engine light went on. Great. Let's face it, I don't know much about cars. It isn't that I'm stupid, I just don't care (Well, maybe that is a type of stupidity). Anyway, I thought that was annoying.

This deployment is trying to kill me already.

Baby Girl has been sick for days. The unpleasant kind of sick. No fever, not tired, still eating and drinking.... Oh, lucky me, her illness is completely confined to her diaper! She has possibly the worst case of diarrhea I have ever seen. And this isn't phasing her in the least. It's been going on since Saturday morning, so the deployment curse was actually hitting before Huzzy even left. Joy!

On top of that, my pushed-to-the-side stress has decided to manifest itself as jaw pain. Apparently I started grinding my teeth in my sleep. The full pain of this hit me Sunday afternoon. I shouldn't have taken that nap.

So for the last few days I've been unable to function properly because my jaw hurts more than I even though possible, Every diaper change results in a bath, and my house looks like a bomb went off. Because ladies, when you're in this kind of pain you don't even care anymore.

My pain is subsiding for the moment, but I'm pretty sure it's due more to the medicinal cocktail I whipped up with the last of my heavy meds than it is because it's healing. If only I were so lucky.

Let me tell you something. NEVER get rid of powerful pain medication because you don't think you'll ever need it. I would do just about anything at this point for another shot at that pretty little bottle of Vicodin. I'm taking way over the recommended dosage of Aleve, and I don't think the manufacturers of Excedrin have ever felt pain like this. If they had, they sure as hell would have something stronger on the market.

The only bright side in this whole mess is that I'm in too much pain to worry about missing Huzzy. I love him, and I do miss him, but he's a grown ass man and he can take care of himself right now. At the moment I'm busy changing diapers filled with sickness, trying not to put my head through a wall and resisting the urge to curl up in the fetal position and cry.

I'll miss him tomorrow. Today I have a full plate.

Yummy Yummy Cupcake Time

So Huzzy wasn't really interested in my new love of Pinterest. Until he saw there were actually recipes on there. Dessert recipes. And this is why my first creation thanks to Pinterest is not the pretty apron I want or a cute craft but is instead, food.

A cupcake.

Ande's Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

It's green, so it totally counts for St Patty's Day, right?

I can't take credit for the recipe. You can find it on Your Cup of Cake. Absolutely amazing cupcakes though. There was a little trial and error involved with the chocolate mint filling, but otherwise it was smooth sailing. These turned out great. Huzzy took a bunch on the ship with him last week and everyone loved them. Yummy! I will say that the recipe just didn't have enough chocolate filling to go around though, so you might want to make an extra batch of that. The icing is more green but doesn't show up so well in this photo. I didn't want to add too much food coloring though, so it's kind of a lime green. 

These are the only cupcakes I made from Pinterest actually, but the rest are cute and I want to show them off. 

Easter Basket Cupcakes!

Bunny Cupcakes!

First attempt, not bad! I need to practice piping the frosting though. Also need to
make sure I sick them in the fridge right away. The icing started to melt. :(

Made these last year for our pig roast. Lots of sticky marshmallows, but so cute!

Well, that's enough of that. Yes, there were lots of Easter cupcakes. We celebrated Easter last Sunday while Huzzy was still home. He missed it last year and will miss this year as well, so we figured celebrating early was a good option. 

Baby Girl's Easter basket. And yes, that is a Darth Vader plushie with bunny ears!

Goodbye!

USS Enterprise leaving for her final deployment.

That's right, folks. The USS Enterprise left yesterday to begin her final deployment. I know I haven't been around much lately, but you'll just have to excuse me this time. Huzzy, Baby Girl and I were spending some much needed family time together before he left. I think we fell asleep for a whole whopping two hours on Saturday night. It was a rough weekend.

It's been crazy around here for a couple weeks now, but of course the last few days are always the worst. Deployments take an emotional toll on everyone. Before, during and after. I've already gone over the 5 Stages of Deployment Grief, so I won't rehash that here. Let's just say I got pretty stuck on Anger. Not at Huzzy, but there is such a thing as misdirected anger so he did get the brunt of it.

Before he leaves all I can think about is wanting everything to be perfect so that we leave on good terms. That's a pipe dream, it never happens. Luckily for me, Huzzy is a very patient man who is pretty familiar with my emotional outbursts and (at times) complete lack of sense. Did I mention I was PMSing the whole last week? What a lucky guy!

Anyway, we did make it through the little rough patches. It wasn't easy but then it never is. Now he's gone. I'll try to fit in crying somewhere I'm sure, but it didn't happen yesterday.

I went to the pier to watch the ship pull out and wanted to cry, but just couldn't. I didn't want to burst into tears standing there by myself. I would have had every right to, and I saw a lot of other people tearing up but I just couldn't. I was hoping something would change and they wouldn't go. I was praying the ship would just break down. Dammit, we just got him back and now they want to take him again? So unfair.

The only bright side was getting to tinker around with my new camera and take picture of the ship from waaaaay far away. They actually turned out pretty good considering I'm not a photographer and I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

Oh, and Huzzy did leave me with a cute surprise. The morning they left he had flowers and a big teddy bear delivered for me and Baby Girl.

He doesn't do flowers often. I'm not guaranteed to get them for any particular holiday because Huzzy just doesn't work like that. When he gives flowers it's random, unpredictable and amazing. It makes them all the more special.


More to come...including cupcakes! But for now, the kid is whining and the puppy needs to go out. Hope you all have a lovely day.

Tell Me Thursday March 8, 2012

Feel free to use the above image for Tell Me Thursday!

With so many blog hops, fill-ins and twitter follows done on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I felt it was time to give Thursday a little love. Thursdays matter too, folks. From here on out I'll be putting out a few questions that you can copy and post over on your own blog with a link back here. After you've done that come back here and enter yourself in Mr. Linky down below. It's a fun way to get to know other bloggers while getting your blog out there as well.


Let's begin, shall we?

1. Spring is around the corner (at least I hope it is) Any big outdoor plans for your house/garden? - Yuppers. This year we're doing a vegetable garden and I'm really hoping that I actually get some stuff to grow. We started growing them inside to be transplanted in the garden when it's nice enough out. So far we're trying for peas, carrots, broccoli and brussle sprouts. I'll also be adding in tomatoes, strawberries, pumpkins and other stuff. This shit better grow or I'm seriously wasting my time.
2. What part of nice weather are you most looking forward to? - Letting Baby Girl and the puppy play in the yard without worrying they're going to freeze to death. Walking around barefoot (I hate shoes) and the BEACH!
3. For the MilSpouse - What is one thing you wish civilians knew about the military? For civilians - What is one question you would ask someone associated with the military?- I fall under the first category (duh) so... I wish more civilians knew that military families do not have it made financially. We struggle just like everyone else. I have met a lot of people who think if you're in the military you're rolling in piles of money or something. Not true. I wish it was!
4. Do you want kids? If you have children, do you want more or is your family complete? -Huzzy and I definitely want more kids. We're going to have to compromise on the number though, since he wants a dozen and I'd be good with three...maybe.
5. Are you keeping up with politics these days? - Honestly not as much as I used to. I'm a registered Democrat, so I can't vote in the Republican primaries anyway. Who the Republicans decide to back will have a major effect on my voting though, so I try to keep an ear out right now. I'll pay closer attention after they decide on a nominee. With Huzzy leaving on deployment in a few days I'm trying not to watch too much about what's going on in the world...I can't afford to be a nervous wreck the whole time he's gone.

 Don't forget to link up (and comment so I know you linked up!).  Hopefully this week we have a few more people taking part, the more the merrier, right?


*Coming up with questions every week sounds easy, but can be a total pain in the butt. If you have any suggestions for next week please let me know in the comments below or email me.

Wednesday Wishes

Today I'm linking up over at at Bright Wishes for her Wednesday Wishes blog hop. Cute idea! And pretty easy too.

Today I'm wishing....

1 - That this deployment will go by QUICKLY! Big Navy is telling the world that the guys are leaving this weekend, so it's official. And close. Sad face.

Here's the welcome home sign we made last homecoming.

2 - I wish I would get a chance to actually make any of the super cool stuff I find on Pinterest!

Awesomely cute apron tutorial that I need to try.

3 - I wish this puppy was house-broken already!

Pretty much my life right now

4 - I wish the nice weather would stay! Lately it's been changing back and forth from hot to cold so fast here I can't keep up. I'm going to get sick again, I know it! I'm also trying to start a vegetable garden this year, and I don't need random cold killing off my plants.

What about you? What are your wishes this Wednesday? Head over to Bright Wishes and link up with us!