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?

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.

Doctors, Boats, Dinner, & Planes

Pigs are surely flying somewhere because I have been out and about before 8AM the last two mornings. Part of my errands each morning has involved the hospital. Yesterday I had a meet'n'greet check-up thingamajig with my Primary Care Manager (who is awesome!). Today I had blood drawn for routine blood work. The guy who took my blood was the best I've ever had. There isn't even a mark on my arm! And I never felt light-headed which has happened to me more than once after being stuck with a needle. (It might have helped that I brought along crackers and a Yoo-hoo to devour afterward.)

I think I can add the hospital here to the Reasons Why I Love Fort Sill list.

We've also been battling the money pit known as our boat. Don't get me wrong, I still love the beast (which we fully intend to name some day), but she's kinda been a problem child since we got her. We took her to get looked at on Tuesday and got the call that she was ready to be picked up today. We asked them to look at the idle because she idled pretty rough. Well whaddaya know, but the engine in our boat isn't a marine engine. Whaaaa?! Someone at some point put a Chevy V8 in there. They knew enough to hook things up so it would work, but it isn't hooked up as well as it could be. The super nice guy at the shop told us step-by-step how to fix everything ourselves. That'll be Brian's project for the weekend. I find it so annoying that people out there do the wrong thing and then pass that crappy decision and it's consequences onto other people. Technically, marinas and boat repair places aren't supposed to touch an engine like ours. We may have trouble in the future getting it worked on or looked at. All because some dummy put a freaking truck engine in it!

It's the last day of May in the South and I turned the a/c off this morning. It is absolutely perfect weather out there. All of my windows and doors are open and there's been a steady breeze blowing through the house.

I made Creamy Jambalaya Pasta for dinner tonight and it was surprisingly tasty! I wasn't totally sure if the Cajun seasoning and Parmesan cheese would work well together, but somehow it did.

Less than a week until our big summer vacation. I hate flying, but I love our destination so I'll get through it. I already downloaded a bunch of new music (and by new I mean all of Phillip Phillips American Idol performances) to get me through the flights. If I try to read, do puzzles, or watch anything I tend to get motion sick, so my strategy has been to zone out to music the entire time.

That's all I've got for today.

Tuesday

I guess I had nothing to write about in April...

Since I last wrote:

• We moved into our house on post. We love it. We've painted walls and dug up flower beds. There are still way too many boxes to unpack and nothing on the walls, but it'll get there.
• I got a job. Shocking, I know, but it's true. I'm not actually employed yet, but I've been assured the job is mine. I need to submit my application and jump through a couple hoops to get licensed in Oklahoma, but I will have a really honest-to-goodness job in the Fall. It will easily double our income which is hard to imagine.
• We have been shopping around for a boat. I never imagined we would be boat owners. We were owed money from my in-laws and they agreed to apply it toward a boat instead of a motorcycle as originally promised, so here we are. It's a win-win, really. We finally get the money owed to us (it hit the bank today!) and we get a boat to enjoy this summer. We have a lead on one that we'll look at this weekend. Hopefully it's a winner!
• We bought plane tickets for vacation this summer. We are meeting my parents in upstate NY to help them work on their lake house for a week and then heading downstate to visit my extended family. I hate flying, but I can't wait to be in NY again and this time with Brian! I just know we'll have a great time.
• I started making a rag rug for my giant kitchen. So far I've only ripped a bunch of thrift store sheets into 1-in. strips, but it'll become a rug eventually. It's so much cheaper to make one than buy one the size I want. Just call me Martha Stewart.

Lent 2011

Today is Ash Wednesday which means...Lent has officially begun! From now until Easter I will refrain from eating meat on Fridays and I will give a little something up. What am I giving up this year? I am giving up my TV and Netflix during typical business hours (so...Mon-Fri from 8-5). My Netflix habit was getting a bit out of control, especially during the day when I'm home alone. I would get on a roll with a TV series on there and I kept just watching one more episode. I need to reign that sucker in and devote more time to important things like school and laundry and sending care packages to a certain someone. So, starting today I will live without TV during the week like every other normal person who works full time. Just because I'm unemployed doesn't mean I need to be a lazy bum.

Are you giving anything up for Lent this year?

In unrelated news, I will be here a week from tonight:

I can't wait!

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.

New York: Round 1

I spent the last 5 days in New York City.

A lot of it was spent doing funeral stuff.

It wasn't too terribly sad because it gave us a chance to come together.

Those opportunities don't come along very often...

especially since we all live hither and yon.

We had one full day we got to spend in Manhattan with my brother.

I appreciate my extended family more and more as I get older.

I'll be back up there next month for Round 2.

Here's a few pictures...

^^Flying to Philly in the wee hours of the morning.

^^Playing Junior Monopoly with one set of cousins.

^^My grandparents' house.

^^The funeral home was wall paper happy. Can you find the door in this picture?

^^Cousins!

^^The whole fam.

^^My godmother/aunt. Love her.

^^The Armory indoor track facility. We watched one of my cousins run here.

^^The stairwell in my brother's building.

^^On my brother's favorite pier. The Statue of Liberty is behind me somewhere.

^^Walking alone the High Line Park. It's build on old elevated railroad tracks.

^^The Manhattan skyline from the Staten Island Ferry.

^^Lady Liberty.