TBT: Disney World -- January 2007

Before I went to WDW this past Christmas, I hadn't been since this family trip in 2007. We went partly to visit the parks and mostly for Dad to run the WDW Marathon. I have quite a few pictures from this trip, but I only chose three for this post.

Mom, is that a fanny pack?

My brother and me with our grandparents. Things to note: Keith has hair and mine is blonde. My how things have changed!

This is the most perfect picture of my grandmother there ever was or ever will be.

We're making a weekend trip down to visit our families this weekend. I'll be back next week!

((Only four more weeks of work!))

Weekend Trip Recap: Firearms and Fur

I am really not a fan of travelling on normal 2-day weekends. Why? Well, because Mondays are always extra rough after being away. It's like I worked straight through the weekend. Not fun!

So, we made it to MeMe's and back. We survived. It wasn't particularly fun, but we both left feeling like we had done something important and nice for someone else. And we left with some new "goodies" to take home.

Brian finally took ownership of two shotguns that had been promised to him for years. They're not worth much and aren't even sentimental, but we have them now. Brian's gun collection is growing. I'll decide later how I feel about that.

What did I make off with? A glass baking dish and a couple rolling pins (Brian's grandmother has quite the extensive collection of rolling pins!). My biggest takeaway, however, has to be the floor-length black FUR COAT that was thrust upon me. Seriously, I didn't have a choice. There is a photo somewhere that Brian took, but I don't have it on the computer yet. It's huge and black and made of dyed rabbit fur. What the heck am I going to do with a fur coat?!?!?! I guess I could dress up as a bear for Halloween?

So, yes, crazy times were had in small-town Texas this weekend. We had two mornings of great hotel breakfast and ate some delicious deep dish pizza at BJ's Brewhouse. I'm choosing not to blame the pizza, but a middle-of-the-night trip to Walmart was required after that to grab some Pepto to calm my stomach. There are few worse things than not feeling well in a place far from home. It wasn't a good night for sleep, but I was feeling better by morning thankfully.

The drive home was easy (probably because Brian did all the driving). We stopped at a Golden Chick and had possibly the best fast food experience ever. You've gotta love small town Texas sometimes! They had hidden candy-filled eggs around the restaurant, offered us free cobbler, and a fellow patron asked if we were from the area or passing through before offering a sincere "if you need anything" offer. The candy in the eggs was even good -- Reese's and Rolos mostly!

There was a threat of rain for most of the drive, so I was glad to be safely home before any of it hit. I took a nap, snacked for dinner, and settled in to watch Game of Thrones with Brian.

It was a good weekend overall. And now, only five weeks of work until summer. Yes, I am totally counting down.

Off to MeMe's

There are two types of grandmothers: sweet and ornery. Brian's grandmother is the latter. She is easily angered and holds grudges. Luckily I (and Brian) have managed to stay on her good side for the last almost-8 years.

Brian and his grandmother at our wedding in 2009.

Neither of us have seen her since our church wedding in 2009. We haven't been to visit her since before Brian joined the Army in 2007. Brian has been pretty good about calling her on a semi-regular basis, but I suppose we're due for some face time.

The thing is, neither of us is particularly looking forward to this trip. I work all day tomorrow and then we have to drive all the way there after that. We'll spend Saturday with her, but we don't have any plans so there's a decent chance most of the day will be spent staring at each other and making semi-awkward small talk.

So this visit may be more obligation than anything else, but it's one of those things you just gotta do. She loves Brian, has been incredibly supportive of his career, and never misses either of our birthdays. I think we owe her.

She also has some impressive collections of random junk. Maybe I can find some cool stuff to bring back with us. Plus, it's never a bad weekend when it is spent in Texas! :)

((Today is my FIL's birthday. Card was sent and received and the necessary phone call was made.))

In closer-to-home news, Brian made a work decision today that pretty much solidified the rest of our time here. There's a better than decent chance that we'll have Deployment #4 under our belts before we PCS. The good news for Brian and his career, though, is that we are officially on the downhill side of this duty station. I know I'll be sad to leave, but I don't necessarily mind. It's an adventure, right?

Musings

I think that names should pass the spell check test. Don't name your baby something that gets that squiggly red line under it when typed. I wrote an email at work one day with half a dozen students' names in it. They ALL got flagged by spell check. There is something wrong with that!

I'm way too hard on myself. I might have to bust out a dry erase marker and write positive messages on my mirror like I did in high school. (Truth: in high school it was more about song lyrics or who I was in "love" with than boosting my self esteem.) So what if I weigh ### pounds? So what if I come straight home from work and sit on the couch until I relocate to go to bed? So what if I have less friends than I have fingers on one hand?

I feel guilty that I have totally fallen off the exercise bandwagon. I should probably accept the fact that I won't work out in the winter. The early sunsets and the cold temperatures make me want to hibernate, not work out.

Since I'm all alone now, I cook one meal on the weekend and eat the leftovers all week. Remember when I would cook like every night? Yeah, me either.

My Christmas tree is still up. Don't judge. At least the ornaments are put away!

I'm reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer.  Yes, she wrote the Twilight books. I put off reading this book for years. It's about aliens which are totally weirder than vampires and werewolves! I saw the trailer for the movie over Christmas break and was intrigued. I found the paint-stained (really curious how that happened...) copy at the library and got sucked right in. I'm more than half-way through the monster (600+ pages!) at the moment. Can't wait to see how it ends.

I talked myself out of getting frozen yogurt after work today. Such self-control!

I didn't talk to Brian today. He's officially been gone for a month. I miss him. And I miss being able to talk to him for hours. Damn work.

Favorite new TV show: Shameless.

I don't like it when neighborhood kids are doing fundraisers. No, I do not want candy or jewelry. Thanks, but not thanks. And please stop ringing my doorbell.

I need to drive Brian's truck to work one of these days to sort of stretch its legs, but I keep having nightmares that it'll break down or something and I'll be stranded. Plus, it's parked outside so it's super freezing in the morning. So many negatives and I'm a master procrastinator.

Latest perk of deployment: watching super girly television in Brian's man cave.

I forgot how nice tax-free paychecks are until yesterday's arrived in our bank account.

My parents are visiting this weekend. I can't wait!

Loving Right Now

.1.

The weather this weekend.

Goooooodbye 100-degree weather!

.2.

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

So so so so good. Loved it.

.3.

This new Downton Abbey promo.

I can't wait until January!!

.4.

Football season.

.5.

Some Nights by fun.

I turned this up and jammed out in my car today.

In other news, work is kicking my butt. Working all day, cooking dinner, and keeping up with the house generally takes up every waking hour. The good news is that my weeks go by relatively fast. We went home for 4 days last weekend which was much needed and super fun. I kicked off high school football season with my parents (with a win!). It's still too dang hot, but I know it'll be freezing in a couple months. This weekend we're staying in town. I need to run some errands and clean the house. Brian wants to take the boat out. Hopefully she (the boat) is cooperative. I guess that's about it. Pretty boring, but I wanted to check in.

I've Been On Vacation!

Last summer I went to New York with my parents. This summer I went with Brian. (We met my parents up there, though!)

On June 6th at midnight, we got in the car and drove from Fort Sill to DFW. We dropped the car off at a parking place and hopped on the shuttle to the airport. We waited around for security to open at 4AM and camped out at our gate. We got Starbucks (thanks to a giftcard from my in-laws) and read our books. Our flight took off at 6:45. Next stop: Newark, NJ.

DFW to EWR.

How I spent the flight (when I wasn't trying to sleep).

How Brian spent the flight (he's better at flying than I am!).

We had an hour-ish layover in Newark. Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes, but we didn't mind. Next stop: Burlington, VT.

I can't say no to Crumbs cupcakes in the airport!

My view from the plane.

The flight was only an hour. I was a disaster by the time we landed, though. The plane we took to Burlington was loud. What was nice white noise to Brian was like nails on a chalkboard to me. I definitely had to talk myself through that flight and will think twice about doing it again in the future.

My first view of Lake Champlain on the ferry from Vermont to New York.

After settling in at my parents' house, we ventured out for dinner.

Gotta get a Michigan at Gus'!

After dinner, my dad and Brian headed out to see a man about a canoe. Then they came home and immediately made sure she was seaworthy.

They're canoe-ers! They canoe! (Don't ask...)

The next day:

Standing where our base house used to stand. That tree was in the yard.

Soft serve with sprinkles! (Yes, I needed that scarf.)

Friday, June 8th, we ventured to Ausable Chasm. We got in for free (including a raft ride) because we know people in high places! Or...the daughter of my parents' property managers (that sounds fancier than it is) works there and hooked us up.

Elephant Head.

The Ausable River looking toward the dam (I think).

In the raft! Tony was our guide. He was funny and informative.

The boys in the big dry chasm.

Mom with the ferns. So green!

At some point the boys began demolition of the old shed. It was falling down and rotting. It took all four of us a few hours to clean it out. The previous owners saved all kinds of weird things.

Brian removing the cedar siding.

The dangers of carpenter ants.

We liked it better without the siding. Too bad it was totally unsafe and unsalvageable.

Brian had fun swinging the sledgehammer.

After an afternoon of rain we were rewarded with a gorgeous rainbow. It was crazy intense and stuck around for a looong time.

If you look closely, you can see another really faint rainbow to the left of the bright one.

One night we left the shades up in the living room after the sun went down. I glanced up and noticed a big giant bug on the window (attracted to our light, no doubt). It was the biggest and weirdest "butterfly" I had ever seen. This picture doesn't do it justice. It's antennae looked like leaves. So creepy!

We spent the majority of two day scraping (that's how we found carpenter ants in the house - yikes!) and painting the windows. We didn't even finish it all. The sides will need to be done next summer.

Brian hard at work.

Sometimes I would stop and look out at the lake and wonder how I got so lucky to be able to spend almost a week looking at this view and spending time with my favorite people.

I mean, really, how gorgeous is this??

My favorite reading spot.

Mom and me in the living room.

Mom took this. She said I looked like Mona Lisa. Hmm.

The morning we left. Please note the shutters and fresh paint. Looking spiffy!

Til next time, Lake Champlain!

On June 12th, we made the trek down to "the rock" aka Staten Island, NY. We fought rain and horrendous traffic, but arrived with plenty of time to spare before my cousin Kevin's Eagle Scout ceremony. My entire family (on my mom's side) somehow managed to come together for this event. Keith (my brother) was the only one not there. He was off having a European adventure instead! Kevin's ceremony was wonderful. I almost cried listening to everyone speak about what a wonderful young man he has become. I was just so dang proud of him!

The next day we had no real plans or places to be. We took a final walk through my great-grandmother's house. Remember she passed away in February 2011. Her house was finally sold and this was our last chance to see it and claim any items we wanted. I snagged a Lenox pitcher and little swan plus six crystal wine glasses (I managed to lose my cheap wine glasses in our move). After that we went to South Beach on Staten Island for a walk. We walked to the Verrazano Bridge past Fort Wadsworth and back. Then we walked along the boardwalk and I put my feet in the salt water.

Mom and me before walking out to the water.

That is a condom on the ground. Thank you to Brian for capturing it and my laugh. Keeping it classy, Staten Island!

After walking around we ate New York pizza at Denino's and walked across the street for some Ralph's Ices (omigod so good!). On June 14th we (me, Brian, Uncle John, Matthew, Mom, Dad, Nanny, and  Grandpa) went to the diner for breakfast. I had the worst french toast ever. It was really a crappy little diner, but my grandparents go there almost everyday and they were treating so there we went! My cousin Ryan's high school graduation was that evening. To kill a couple hours before then we took the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan, walked around a bit, and then went back.

In Battery Park.

I watched him propose to her. She said yes.

Funny story about those two up there... The guy came over to my uncle and asked him to take their picture. My uncle is usually super accommodating and friendly, but this time he kinda freaked out and wanted someone else to do it. My parents quickly volunteered my photography skills (cause I'm so good, y'all - ha!). Only then did my uncle whisper to me that the guys whose camera I had was going to propose and it was now my job to capture it. So I take a picture and the guy said, "ok, one more." That's when he got down on one knee. I have no idea what he said, but I just kept snapping. I heard her say yes and they hugged and kissed. I captured it all. It was one of the coolest things and I was so happy to be a part of it. I had to sneak that picture of them on my phone so I'd have a record of it.

After a quick change and an hour-long drive, we arrived at my aunt/uncle's house in New Jersey.

My cousin, Ryan (the graduate), is freakishly tall. Also: that plant in the background? It's mine from a science experiment in 5th grade. It's 16 years old.

Me with my cousin Alex. Love him to pieces.

I have no good pictures from the graduation and no pictures with any of my aunts, uncles, or other cousins. I know some are floating out there with various family members and maybe I'll eventually see them. It was quite the whirlwind trip. I am beyond glad that Brian was able to come with me and that we could attend two big ceremonies for my beloved cousins. I remember when they were babies. I cannot believe they're all so old (which means I'm old!).

The morning after Ryan's graduation, Mom and Dad dropped Brian and me off at Newark Liberty Airport for our flight home. Our flight was delayed taking off thanks to a water leak in one of the bathrooms, but we landed on time. They actually showed a movie on the flight - for free! (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) The movie totally made the flight for me. I had something to focus on so I wouldn't freak out as much. Once back in DFW we caught our shuttle back to the parking place. The shuttle was full of super happy people returning from tropical beach vacations. They were annoying. I was tired. Our car was still there in one piece and we quickly paid and hit the road. Traffic was terrible getting out of the DFW area, but was smooth sailing after that. We stopped for gas and Popeye's and made it home at 7PM.

Brian returns to work on Wednesday and I need to get on the fitness/dieting band wagon. Back to real life.

Crazy Roundup

As with any family, there's a healthy dose of crazy running around in mine. Even if we're all gathering for a funeral, it doesn't stop crazy/funny things from happening to and around us. Without further ado, the roundup:

• My mom has a cousin named Daria. Her mother is Louann. They are both insane. Literally. Louann more than Daria. Daria is more cognitively impaired than insane. Dealing with her is like dealing with an 8-year-old. Daria came to all 3 wakes and the funeral with festive blue nails (in honor of my great grandmother's blue chandelier, of course!) and sparkly boots.
• My family has a 9-person mausoleum. (I'm serious...I couldn't make this sh*t up if I tried.) It was built in the late 80s when my great grandfather died. Since then my mom's Uncle Jack joined my great grandfather in the mausoleum. I can only imagine the conversations they've been having over the years... Louann refused to attend my great grandmother's funeral because she wants Uncle Jack OUT of the mausoleum? Why? Who knows, really. No one thinks Uncle Jack should be moved out of the mausoleum, but she's still insisting.
• No one had seen or spoken to Louann since my great grandmother died. It was so weird that a lot of us were convinced that she was dead somewhere in her and Daria's rent controlled Manhattan apartment. The only proof we have that she is indeed alive is that she had a conversation with Great Grandma. You read that right. Daria propped her cell phone up next to Great Grandma's ear in her casket and let Louann talk to her. The family members that witnessed this claim they could hear a voice on the other end of the phone. So, either she is alive and well or she was calling from beyond the grave. At this point, I'd believe either scenario.
• My uncle is a retired NYPD cop. He's a big man. I've always considered him the biggest man I know. That was until I saw his old partner named Bobby. Bobby is HUGE. He makes my uncle look like a shrimp and that's hard to do! Because we have NYPD ties, we got a special police escort for the funeral. Normally it's up to the funeral home to do the escorting, but we got the deluxe treatment. It was a looooong drive from the church to the cemetery and we totally backed up traffic for a bit. I'm sure a few choice words were yelled in our direction from fellow drivers, but I sure didn't care! It was the coolest thing.
• Think about the most cliche idea of a male flight attendant. He was working first class on our return flight. We were sitting in the first row of coach and I had a clear view of everything happening in first class. He never smiled and was extremely prissy when doling out things like snacks in a basket, meals on trays and hot towels. Our flight was a little bit bumpy because we flew over a big storm system, but it wasn't anything too crazy. It was enough, however, to cause this flight attendant to thank us for flying on "shake 'n' bake airlines..........................and you helped!" I'm serious. He said it, complete with the twang on the last part. And he never cracked a smile. Oh, and he was reading a book of Portuguese. What a weirdo.
• We left my dad's truck at an Embassy Suites in Dallas while we were gone. We stayed there the night before flying to NYC and took their shuttle to the airport at o'dark-thirty. We've done this before. It's free parking while we're gone just for staying in the hotel for one night. It has always worked beautifully. This time, however, it didn't. Someone broke into my dad's truck while we were gone. No one called us. A police report was filed, but no one from the police department or the hotel called to let us know. Everyone had my dad's cell phone number. The thieves bent his bed cover and smashed his driver's side window. They made off with an Adidas cap, some old sunglasses, $4 in change, my dad's house keys with a $25 key chain, and a $75 tool that my dad got as a gift. We had to clean out a ton of glass and tape up the window so we could drive the 2+ hours back home. Yesterday my dad had to replace all the locks on our house doors, just in case the stupid thieves ever decided to try to break into the house.

These are just the highlights, people. The crazy is what makes it fun, though. I can't count the number of times I was laughing until my sides hurt. We even managed to laugh while brushing glass out of every crevice in my dad's truck.

Great-Grandma

My Great-Grandmother passed away tonight.

She was 98 or 99 - there is a bit of dispute about her birth year.

I wish I could say that we were close or that she was a fantastic loving person.
She was always kind of scary and quirky in reality.

She was born in Italy and came to America to marry a short Italian guy when she was 18.
They built a life, had 3 children and prospered.
She lived in her own home until last week when she fell and broke her hip.
She always thought everyone was out to get her and never trusted a soul.

We still pronounce words with her Italian accent.
Ricotta cheese will always be ri-gutt around here.

Mostly I feel bad for my grandfather, her son.
He has been taking care of her for years.
Maybe now he can relax a bit.

Now we wait to hear about funeral arrangements.
We're planning on going.
(It will take place in NY.)
Flights are outrageous and my mom hates to fly.
We'll see.

I just wanted a record of this somewhere.

Sorry for 3 posts in one day.

Christmas Eve 2009

We woke up to snow this morning!

It continues to softly fall as I type.

We weren't projected to get anything like this - it should have stayed North of here.

We'll take it.

We're hoping it'll stick around until tomorrow so we can have a white Christmas.

Our festivities begin today.

We begin with the traditional fish dinner at Red Lobster with my family. After that we are exchanging gifts at my in-laws' house. Then we're back to my parents' so Brian and I can exchange gifts with each other.

I can't believe it's already Christmas Eve!

I hope you're all having a happy and fabulous day! :)