Showing posts with label Louisiana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Louisiana. Show all posts

Monday, February 27, 2012

LA to Paris

Sounds glamorous, huh? Not when LA is Louisiana and Paris is Paris, Texas. Ha!

We were up at 7 this morning. By 8, Brian was running our DVR back to the cable joint, the mattress was in the truck, and I was busy clearing out and vacuuming every room. By the time he got back an hour later I had cleaned every room but one (it couldn't be tackled until everything was packed up in the trucks). We were completely finished and ready for inspection with 45 minutes to spare.

Clearing out of housing took a whopping 30 minutes. After weighing the full trucks we drove away from Fort Polk for the last time and made a pit stop at Checkers for lunch. By 11:30 we were on the road. A little over 5 hours later we were checked into the hotel in Paris, TX. The drive was uneventful. The big rental truck slowed us down, but not as much as I thought it would.

We ate the free dinner provided by the hotel and now I'm lounging while watching Pretty Little Liars (don't judge my guilty pleasure television!) and Brian is taking advantage of the "gym" downstairs.

Story of the Day: We rode up on the elevator after checking in with a rough looking woman. She was chatty. She shared with us that her mother is in town to help her bury her 16-year-old son. *awkward silence* He hung himself on Valentine's Day. *more awkward silence* Without missing a beat she started talking about my cat and comparing it to one she used to have. This all took place in the time it took to go from the ground floor to the third floor. I mean, terrible story and I'm so sorry for her and her family, but really? I didn't need to know that. And what do you say to a declaration like that??

This time tomorrow we'll be in Oklahoma!



Sunday, February 26, 2012

Goodbye, Louisiana!

It's our last night in the not so great state of Louisiana. We spent the last day and a half packing up a 15 foot moving truck. I have the bumps, bruises, and sore muscles to prove it. I had worried that Brian and I would bump heads while packing, but we've done well so far. Big accomplishment for us!

My cat doesn't really know what to do with herself without furniture to hide under. Ha!

Tomorrow we'll sign out of housing and hopefully hit the road by noon. We're splitting the drive over two days so tomorrow we'll spend the night in the great state of Texas. Tuesday we'll be in Oklahoma and Wednesday we can start figuring out the housing situation. By next week we should be able to take a little drive down to our hometown for a few days before Brian starts working again.

A lot is still up in the air (*cough*housing*cough*), but I'm excited to see how things work out for us in OK.

So, thanks for the memories, LA...it's been fun, but I hope to not be back too soon!



Wednesday, January 11, 2012

What Comes Next

We have known for over a year where we are going next (since Brian reenlisted last winter). I purposely kept it off the blog because we didn't have official orders yet and it just seemed so far away. Well, now it is staring us in the face. In 6-or-so weeks we'll be saying goodbye to Louisiana and Fort Polk for good and making the move to....


Image Source

We are both ready for this change and excited to see what the future holds for us. We also can't wait to be a little over three hours from home instead of seven. The moving planning has begun (we're moving ourselves) and we'll give our notice to housing on Friday. The time has flown since Brian got back in October and I know the coming weeks will be behind us just as quickly.

There were times when I cursed this state and this post, but I know I'll miss it when we're gone. We built our marriage here. We figured out this whole Army thing here. But, after 4+ years, it's time. I have really high hopes for Fort Sill and for 2012! :)


Monday, December 5, 2011

I'm Still Here

Sorry for the random blog hiatus. I just sorta lost my writing mojo for awhile there. Since you last heard from me:

I got a place in Louisiana:
The top right window is our bedroom. I know, it's ugly, but it works.

I watched a football game or two:
They won this game - first win of the season!

A cat found me:
Of course I kept her and named her Scarlett.

BRIAN CAME HOME!!
I hate how I look in this pic, but it's the best I've got. :)

My brother came home for Thanksgiving:
Obligatory airport picture.


I think those are the highlights. Now I have to go bring my husband lunch since they're not letting him leave work. Typical. Hopefully I'll be back soon (maybe with my Christmas wish list). Happy Monday.





Monday, October 18, 2010

Getting Down To Business

It's crunch time, ladies.

My parents are arriving Wednesday evening to help us move the bulk of our stuff into storage. They're also taking one of our cars back with them. By this time on Friday I'll be living out of a suitcase and sharing a car.

This means that before they get here I need to pack, pack, pack, clean, pack, clean, pack, pack.

Not only are we packing/moving on Thursday, but my pre-inspection is that day as well. I'm not anticipating any problems, but I still want the house to be presentable. I've kinda slacked on the normal cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, sweeping) over the last few months because I knew I'd have to do one last good deep cleaning before I moved out. Boo on cleaning!

So, this morning, I need to get down to business before it gets too hot outside. I have a to-do list a mile long and zero motivation.

I will be productive. I will be productive. I will be productive. I will be productive. I will be productive....

Friday, April 30, 2010

Change

*I've been writing this post in my head for weeks. Now it can stop rattling around in there every time I'm driving somewhere.


We're on the downhill side of living in Louisiana. Living in this house. Soon we'll have to have serious discussions about what to do with our belongings while I'm living with my parents. What will go into storage? What should come with me? How do we get both cars back to Texas? It is constantly in the back of my mind.


Change and I are not friends. New things, places and people are hard for me. I'm shy by nature, but mix my personality with any new thing/place/person and I'm really shy. I don't like walking into unknown places and I don't like feeling like I don't know what I'm doing or where I'm going. I'm sort of a control freak.


So, obviously, moving here was hard for me. It didn't help that I moved here alone at the tail end of BigD#1. (I only made it 10 days before I ran back home.) It wasn't just being far from home, it was also dealing with all the new stuff. Everything was new. I had never rented a house/apartment before. Now I had to sign a lease and deal with neighbors sharing walls with me. There was also a new vet and a new library and a new gym and a new commissary and new doctors and new New NEW! I was homesick alot and talked to my mom alot. Everything got easier once Brian was here, but there was still alot to learn.


At some point in the last few months I realized that nothing was new anymore. I knew all the streets. I got a job. I wasn't asking Brian a million questions about how to do things or where to go. (He was probably thankful.) And then, one day, quietly, sneakily, this place became home. This place became mine.


There are still many things I dislike about living here and many things I miss about Texas, but I am proud of the life I have here. I drive these streets and see soldiers in uniform and wonder how I got so lucky. I grew up in the military and always secretly wanted to marry into the military. Well, here I am.


I used to be too scared to try new things, to go out on my own. When I married Brian I knew I'd have to move away. In fact, I knew I'd have to move to Louisiana. It was a chance for me to challenge myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this. I could move somewhere completely new and thrive. Thank you Army for throwing me into the deep end of the pool. Luckily I figured out how to swim.


I'll miss it here when we no longer live here. I know I'll be back after BigD#2, but we should be moving again soon after that. Our time here is limited. I will always have a soft spot for this place. We made our first married home here. We learned how to live together, take care of each other and, in many ways, love each other. I am much more confident in our marriage and in myself after spending the last 18 months here.


I guess what I've learned is that I'll be ok anywhere, especially if it's a military installation. I've also learned that it takes me about a year to get used to a new place. As long as I can push through the first 365 days, I'll be a-ok!


Now I just gotta remember to enjoy the next few months before reality sets in again.


Sunday, April 25, 2010

In-Law Weekend

We had a surprisingly nice weekend with Brian's parents. We went to the zoo. I had an attack of seasonal allergies. We ate at the new food court (without going to Starbucks *gasp*). We had Mexican food followed by Marble Slab. Today we bowled 3 1/2 games and ate bowling alley food. After a dinner of leftovers we took Tiny for a walk.


I was really apprehensive about this visit, but it turned out much better than I could have ever imagined. I'm very grateful that we all had a good, happy weekend.


I actually took a few pictures, but haven't uploaded them to the computer yet. If any are blog-worthy I'll surely post them.


I hope you all had a good weekend!


Friday, April 23, 2010

TGIF

It's just after 10 and I've already run by Starbucks,  picked up a package at the Post Office, hit up Walmart (and scored some pretty flowers!), and stopped by the Commissary. I was super productive this morning! Hopefully it'll carry through the rest of the day.


As I type, my in-laws are on their way here. They should arrive around dinner time.


For the last few weeks the weather here has been fabulous. Sunny and 75. Today I woke up to drizzle and clouds. What is the universe trying to tell me?


Originally I thought we could go out to eat tonight, but then decided to make something here instead. I'm not going all fancy or anything. We're having hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, beans and mashed potatoes. After much searching I found some suitable strawberries this morning so we'll have strawberry shortcakes for dessert. I still need to throw the beans together and make the shortcakes. Did I mention I haven't cleaned one thing in the house yet? Both bathrooms need major attention. The dust needs to be tackled and Tiny's hair needs to be sucked out of the carpet. Oh, and at some point, I need to throw myself in the shower.


I guess I should stop typing, throw on some 80's music and get to cleaning. Doesn't everyone clean while listening to 80's music? Have a great weekend, guys! :)


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Dear Neighbors,

I'm sorry I slammed my back door rather loudly earlier, but your dogs are really starting to piss me off.


When your dogs are slowly working their way under the fence between our yards, why is it my responsibility to make a special trip to Lowe's this weekend to buy something to prevent them from one day actually succeeding in their attempts to have it out with my dog?


I've been giving you the benefit of the doubt for weeks now, but it's starting to become ridiculous. You're not new here anymore. I know you've witnessed the scuffles and barking around the fence when the dogs are outside at the same time. You miss, however, the countless times this happens when you're not home. I'm tired of having all the responsibility of this situation on my shoulders.


All I'm saying is that surely, in the last few weeks, you could have found time and money to purchase some bricks to stop your teeny tiny dogs from meeting my gigantic dog face to face. I think mine would win that fight.


Don't worry, though. I've totally got you covered. I'll take care of it. You can thank me later.


Your annoyed neighbor, 




Thursday, February 18, 2010

FRG, Lent & Tattoos

I feel like writing. I'm not sure what will come out.


According to my blogger dashboard I have 30 followers. What? That's crazy! Hi new followers!


Also, I'm an Olympics addict. It's practically all I've been watching. I've watched 6 different curling matches in the last 3 days. Yes, curling. What else is on in the middle of the day? They save all the good Olympics stuff for prime time! Yeah, still probably not a good enough excuse.


So, I got an email today about an FRG meeting next week. For a split second I was planning on going and then I realized that I don't know a single wife in the company. Brian has a weird job where he's attached to an infantry company, so I know a few wives of guys who do Brian's job, but none of them are in Brian's company. So...I don't know anyone. Boo! Wanna know what the meeting is about? A welcome home ceremony. Really? A month in the mountains warrants a welcome home ceremony? I just want to pick him up, thanks. Perhaps some ladies just like to plan things. I doubt I go to the meeting. I'll pretend I'm out of town. Is that horrible?


Lent started yesterday. I'm not giving anything up. I racked my brain for something that I could cut out of my life for 40 days and couldn't come up with anything. Don't get me wrong, I thought of things but they all seemed too major or too trivial. So, instead of giving something up, I have decided to add something instead. I looked up a reading plan to read the 4 Gospels between Ash Wednesday and Easter. It's been years since I've read them and figure it's a good thing to do for Lent. Now if only I could get myself to church.


Why do people insist on leaving their bark-happy dogs outside all day? You know they bark. You've witnessed them trying to stick their noses into my yard. What do you think they are doing out there while you're gone all day? Being precious little angels? Yeah right. It seems I can't get neighbors without annoying dogs. Is there a message here that I'm missing?


I need to start getting to the gym. I hate how lazy I am. I have plenty of free time. There really is not excuse. I should start the stupid Couch-to-5K again. *cringe* I think running hates me. Either way, I should be doing more than I am now.


My brother got a couple words tattoed on his wrists earlier this week. It sparked a discussion about the perception of tattoos in America. My parents don't have any, but aren't judgmental. My husband has 3 medium-largeish ones. I have one small one on my ankle. What do you guys think about tattoos? Do you think any tattoo is horrible or just certain types? Would you get one, do you have one? I'm curious to know what people think.


Friday, February 12, 2010

I Prefer Snow to Rain These Days

The rain finally turned to snow sometime while I was sleeping. It's ugly snow. The ground is too warm so there's big bare patches where the snow has melted. It won't stick around long since the temps are barely freezing, but it's still looks pretty falling lazily.


The irony is that it's snowing here in central Louisiana, but not up North where Brian is doing cold weather and altitude training. I think he's colder, but I've got the snow!


Speaking of Brian, he found some random wifi out in the boonies so we got to chat on facebook last night. The only crappy thing was that the internet would go out for him when the wind changed direction. No joke.


It was good to talk to him even if he was distracted by work. Apparently he's still working his butt off and not getting enough sleep. Thankfully it's only a month. Right? I'm still hoping he doesn't lose his mind.


Have I mentioned before how much I hate cooking for one? It's rather annoying. Oh and I'm having a total love/hate relationship with this counting calories crap. I was so hungry after Wednesday that I sorta overcompensated yesterday. I've always had a good relationship with food and I am not ok with messing that up by starving myself. I'm still negotiating what works for me and I'll let you know how it goes.



Saturday, January 23, 2010

Insert Witty Title Here

I got on here to write some rambling nonsense and noticed I have 3 new followers.


Hello new followers!! Welcome to my crazy little corner.


I'm not sure what makes any of you read what I write, but you do. Thank you.


Brian has been working non-stop and it's starting to get to me a little bit. It's gotten to the point that I'm lucky if I see him after PT in the morning. He definitely can't get home for lunch anymore. If he gets home before 7PM, I'm doing a little dance for joy! Where is he right now? In the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday? Working.


I finally got our claim in for our water damaged furniture. We'll be making $340 after the deductible. Now I just need to figure out the best way to clean/kill the mold growing on my less-than-a-year-old furniture. Oh, did I fail to mention the mold? Yeah. We have mold. I'm pretty sure it's salvageable. Well at least I think I can make it work until we move.


I broke down and ordered a dehumidifier today from Amazon. There are still some damp spots in the carpet. Plus, who am I kidding? It's Louisiana. It's always humid. The house could probably benefit from some dehumidifying.


Know what else I ordered? The entire Harry Potter book set. It just seemed like something I should have in my book collection.


I'm still getting back into the groove of work. I sure didn't want to get out of bed this week, but most of the students I work with make it worth it. One of them made me a card. It had a bunch of random letters inside. When I asked him what it said he looked at me like I was stupid and said, "I can't read!" Totally made my day.


Well, I gotta get off the couch and into the kitchen. I'm making dinner tonight without help from my oven which is broken. I'm starting to think this house is trying to kick us out. Oh well, we're stuck here for a while longer. Happy weekend everyone! :)

Monday, January 18, 2010

Decorating

We've been living in this house for over a year. I am still unhappy with almost every single thing hung on the walls. I've been having this urge to fix that. We now (most likely) have less time left in this house than we've been living in it and I want to be happy with all the decor before we pack it all up again.


My number one trouble spot is the area over our couch. Right now I have a big collage of picture frames (without anything in them - oops!) there right now, but I'm not loving it anymore.


I've been thinking about getting a few of my wedding pictures printed on canvas to hang over the couch. I've narrowed it down to these images:



I think I like them. Now I just need to come to terms with spending the money.


Sunday, January 17, 2010

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

Do you ever have one of those days/weeks where nothing seems to be going your way?


The last week has been very trying for every member of this family. It seems all kinds of things have been going wrong both big and small.


I'm tired. I can't seem to catch up on sleep.


In the last 24 hours, I burned my hand on the oven and nearly burned dinner beyond recognition. I bit the inside of my mouth 3 times in 15 minutes (ouch!). The oven nearly set the house on fire. I'm sorta convinced that it's probably broken. Tiny had an accident in the house. I forgot to use $6 worth of coupons at the commissary. We spent about $150 on stuff for Brian to take with him on this big month-long training thing next month.


Surely we should go buy a lottery ticket because our luck must be changing. We've had enough bad stuff happen, right?


There's still alot to do as a result of THE FLOOD. I need to get all the insurance claims forms completed and take pictures so maybe we can get paid for our messed up furniture. The laundry room still needs a coat of paint. Nothing is in its proper place. It's like we just moved in. AND we have a naked Christmas tree in the corner of the living room because it's box was destroyed in THE FLOOD. I need to order a storage bag for it, but can't decide which one to get.


Sorry this is so Debbie Downer. I'm really hoping for a happier, more prosperous week. And it'll start with me getting my butt to the gym!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Dreary

So here I sit. Staring at the rain falling outside. It seems as if I can't escape being wet. As soon as my house is about 90% back to normal, the rain gods descend on central LA. I think it's supposed to be like this all day. Fantastic!


I got all the claims forms we need to try to get reimbursed for our living room furniture. I also, luckily, have all the receipts! I was a little nervous that I would have thrown one (or more) away thinking "I'm not returning it....so I can throw the receipt away...". I would have been so pissed at myself! But, alas, I have both receipts for all the wood living room furniture. Now, I just need to take pictures showing the water damage - easier said than done!


Know what else I need to do? Attempt to do some laundry in my washer/dryer. I haven't used them since before THE FLOOD and I'm a little nervous that they're done for. The water came cascading down on them, particularly the dryer. Those things are my babies! If they're broken, I'm going to be pissed! And have a lot of dirty clothes. I think the neighborhood center has a laundry room. :-/


This last week has been long. I can't tell you the number of worker men that have gone in and out of my door. If I wasn't waiting around for them, I was working or taking Brian to get his wisdom teeth out. I had been doing so good at my exercise-120-days-this-year new year's resolution, but it's been shot to hell now. It's not a lost cause, but I gotta get my butt in gear. As a result of this lack of exercise, I feel fat. No girl likes that.


Alright my blogger friends, I need to go throw some clothes on so we can head to walmart. I loathe walmart. Hopefully it won't be too crowded.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Drama Drama Drama

It seems that the drama is following us around.


My house now smells like mildew. Lovely.


The carpets are still not dry. Not even close.


I started back to work this morning. Not much has changed there.


I'm working tomorrow instead of Thursday so I can accompany Brian to get his wisdom teeth out. I'm not sure if I'd rather be working or waiting for him at the hospital. It might be a draw.


Brian hasn't gotten home before 6:30 yet this week. Today he didn't walk into the house until 7:30.


There's major drama going on with one of his soldiers. He's having problems with his wife. He's staying in our guest room for the second night tonight. I feel bad for him. I don't know what the answers are, but I think both Brian and I feel some need to make everything better for him. I'm just not sure if that will be possible.


Brian really didn't need this on top of everything else going on at work. Did I mention he's doing the job of someone much higher ranking for the next two months? Yeah. Talk about stressful. Suddenly he's in charge of 20 guys instead of 8. He's tired and worn out and it's already Tuesday. I need to remember to thank MLK for the 4-day this weekend. Maybe he can recover not only from his wisdom tooth surgery, but mentally as well.


They're coming to start our sheetrock repair tomorrow. Whatever they do will need to dry before they finish it completely. I'm interested to see how well it dries when the humidity in the house seems to be holding steady at 95%.


The humidity? Totally making my hair look like crap. Awesome.


Because the carpets are still so wet, we're still camping out upstairs most of the time. Tiny hates it down there and I do too. I walked on the wet carpet in bare feet today - NEVER again. It was one of the grossest sensations I've ever experienced.


I keep waiting for things to calm down and start looking up around here, but it doesn't seem like we've turned the corner yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed regardless.


So how are you? Hopefully much more relaxed and stress-free than I am at the moment.

Monday, January 11, 2010

The Great Flood of 2010

The last 24 hours have kinda sucked.


I got a call around 1:30 yesterday afternoon from the housing manager telling me that a pipe froze and burst in our unit or our neighbor's unit and there was water in our house. We were 4 hours away from home at that point. Remember we drove 16 hours in 48 hours this weekend.


We got home around 5:30 to soaking wet carpet and a giant hole in our laundry room ceiling - it was definitely our unit with the broken pipe. There was no note and no one around to tell us what was going on. Someone had supposedly cleaned the carpets, but they were still extremely squishy. Our belongings were all over the place. They still are all over the place. It was freezing in the house despite the heat being on. The gaping hole in the laundry room was letting cold air into the rest of the house like crazy.


We tried to prevent any further damage to our wood furniture, but all the living room furniture has water damage. Every single piece with damage is less than a year old. Rugs are hung over our fence. I have no idea if they've dried out any today or not.


I called our neighborhood office this morning at 8:15 to demand someone come out and suck more water out of our carpets. They showed up by 10:30 and sucked another 20 or so gallons of water out of the carpet.


To top it all off, I haven't been feeling very well. I think the long and exhaustive weekend hasn't agreed with me. I was down for the count this afternoon with a headache and fatigue. I think about everything that needs to be done downstairs and I shudder. Somehow I need to make us something for dinner in the super cluttered kitchen. There also is no word on when the big hole will be fixed.


We have the better part of the next year to live here and I am afraid I will constantly be watching for mold. We live in an extremely moist state where mold is a problem under normal circumstances. I can't imagine how we could avoid having mold after this catastrophe. I almost want to demand a new unit somewhere.


We also have to figure out the process of claiming our damages items on our renter's insurance. I'm really hoping it's not a big hassle.


So, to say the last 3 days have been stressful would be an understatement. My house is a big mess, we can't really function downstairs yet (until the carpets are dryer), I feel like crap and I have to start back to work tomorrow. I could surely use a recovery week.


To end, I'll leave you with a few pictures of the visible damage. (Water damage is extremely hard to photograph, I found.)


^^Our washer/dryer are under those boxes.

^^The thin copper pipe below those wires is the one that was replaced. Water was apparently "gushing" out of that pipe into our laundry room.

^^Damage to the paint along the back wall beside our dryer.


Friday, January 8, 2010

Let The Marathon Weekend Begin!

Today:
1. Pack.
2. Wait for Brian to get off work.
3. Hit the road by 6 (hopefully).
4. Drive. A lot.


Tomorrow:
1. Arrive in the wee hours in Hometown, TX.
2. Sleep.
3. Exercise maybe?
4. Run an errand or two. (I melted my fav. spatula this week. Oops. Need to buy a replacement.)
5. Shower & get ready.
6. SIL wedding at 5:15. Still not sure if I need to be there early or not.
7. Reception.
8. Crash.


Sunday:
1. Wake up early.
2. Drive another 8 hours back to LA.
3. Wonder where our weekend went.


Wish me (and my sanity) luck.

Monday, January 4, 2010

So This is 2010...

Is it already the 4th? Of 2010? Wow.


We've been back in LA since Wednesday night. We had a low-key New Year's Eve at home. We didn't watch the ball drop. Brian was actually playing his new video game when I noticed the time. We opened our bottle of sparkling cider and toasted to the new year.


Saturday was the 1 year anniversary of Brian coming home. We went on a date to celebrate although I didn't really realize what day it was until halfway through dinner. We saw Sherlock Holmes and followed it up with a hearty meal at Wendy's. What can I say? We're a classy duo. We both really enjoyed the movie even if the theater here leaves a lot to be desired. It'll be nice when we live somewhere with a decent theater that has more than 6 screens. Just sayin'.


It's weird that I can finally remember things that happened a year ago and Brian is included in the memories. It's been a very long time since I was able to do that.


---


I generally don't make resolutions for the new year, but this year I decided to make a couple. I've vowed to exercise on 120 different days this year. I've set a goal of doing some form of exercise (walking, wii, dvds, or gym) 3 days a week. If I stick to that then I'll hit my goal easily. I have also vowed to read as many books as possible. I've started a list on the right side of my blog of books I've read in 2010. I finished my first one today! I'm really interested in seeing how many books I read in a year. I know it's a decent amount, but I've never kept track.


Hopefully a year from now I'll be well-read and physically fit.


---


So, we've got a quiet week around here. Brian's back to work and I'm just trying to get the house in order. I'm behind on laundry and such. I keep blaming the holidays! This weekend will be crazy for us and I'm sorta not looking forward to it. Well, I'm not looking forward to the travel anyway. Brian's sister is getting married on Saturday. This requires us to drive into the night on Friday and return on Sunday. It'll be nice to see my family again so soon, but it'll suck to do all that driving, especially after Brian works all day on Friday.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Normal

One week ago today Brian and I had just woken up and were saying goodbye to his parents and sister. We got dressed and headed to the PX early not realizing that at 9:30 on a Sunday the place wouldn't be open yet. It was actually a pretty pointless trip. The whole reason for it was for Brian to get a haircut and by the time they opened and he made his way there they were too busy for him to want to wait.


It's a week later now. Things are kind of calming down. We don't have to be touching every second of everyday. We spend several hours a day doing our own things. I guess we're getting back to normal. Ironic that I don't even know what normal is to get back to. We're finding our normal. How about that?

Everyday this week Brian has had to be at work super early, sometimes before the sun has even risen. I would stay in bed for a couple hours after he left getting some last minute ZZZs. Today I woke up early and he's still in bed. He deserves it, I'll let him. I probably would have slept later if my stomach wasn't bothering me. I guess a week of eating more than usual without going to the gym and then eating out last night and having a screwdriver when I came home has messed with my system.

Speaking of yesterday, we had a fun day. We checked out the gym around 9:15 which was much needed on my part. I can feel the burn in my legs and abs today. The gym isn't what I am used to, but it will work. I am seriously thinking about getting a mat and some weights to do my ab stuff at home. Everything is in one big room at this gym - they don't have a separate stretching room to do ab stuff in - so I felt a little conspicuous on the mat by the wall. The treadmills are the same tho so that was mildly comforting.

After the gym we came home, ate lunch, and started taking showers and getting ready for our date night. Originally we were going to go to the local steakhouse - Wagon Master's - but Brian nixed that idea because he thought it would be too crowded. He probably just didn't want to run into anyone he knew. Ha. So we decided to go to Lake Charles for some Target browsing and dinner out somewhere. I decided to dress up for the occasion so I threw on my cap sleeve black/gray/gold dress from Kohl's with rhinestones on the waist and a deep v-neck that I have to camouflage with a cami underneath and some 3/4 length black leggings. My new GB shoes from Christmas and scrunched hair finished it off. After having a "fat week", I felt pretty good yesterday.

I drove to LC and it was pretty uneventful. Brian dozed the entire way so it was a quiet ride. I found where I was going easily and pulled into Target with a smile on my face. The Target down there is really nice and new - much different from the old Target I am used to at home. We picked up a few things (flips flops for both of us, a measuring cup, cake pans, a bread knife, gum, and a couple of rugs for the kitchen) and then headed down to Bed, Bath & Beyond which was in the same plaza because we still had about 20 minutes to kill before it was an acceptable dinner hour. At BB&B we just picked up a 1/2 off Yankee candle in a fall scent (because, really, what do I care if it's not spiced pumpkin season anymore?) and a couple of plain salt and pepper shakers. We've been making do with the big salt container and pepper container that the spices come in at the store and at $2.50 a piece how could you go wrong? I fully plan on upgrading to nicer ones come August, but for now these will work just fine.

We talked yesterday about what we still needed to buy, how much money we wanted to spend and what we would do with what was left over. When we go home at the end of the month we have some bank realigning to do. We need a savings account desperately and I really need to close out the account I still have open with my mom. I meant to do that the entire year B was gone, but just never did. There's still a few hundred bucks in there that could certainly buy a nice desk. After much back and forth about TVs and if we needed a new one I think we've decided that we are indeed going to take the flat panel plunge and get one in the next couple months. That will move the heavy beast in the living room upstairs to the extra room to be joined by the futon when we get a couch.

I was laying in bed thinking last night about the bills we have to pay and how B's paychecks will cover them and realized that almost every bill comes out before the 15th which will put a heavy burden on us for half the month. I'm pretty sure I can mail/pay my student loans after the 15th (I need to check due dates) which would greatly help. We really don't have too many bills which I am grateful for, but it's still closer than I would ideally like. It's also hard because his pay won't level out for a few months so I really have no clue what a "normal" paycheck will look like. I'm glad I like numbers and dealing with such things.

And suddenly it's almost 9 o'clock. I guess I'll wander around the internet some more and make myself some oatmeal. I want to walk the long path in the woods today with B. Maybe instead of going to the gym? We'll see when he gets up and take it from there. I know also on the agenda for today is to clean out this living room and rearrange it. All the boxes behind the futon are either getting unpacked or moving upstairs so I won't have to look at them anymore. B is going to break down Tiny's crate and stick it in the storage room. I hope I can find a set up that I like in here. It's kind of been stressing me out.

*Side note: Tiny just bounded upstairs without me. Hopefully he's not pissing B off too much by sticking his cold, wet nose in his sleeping face.

Ok, this is plenty long enough. Toodles!

S.