An almost bunny incident

I let the paws out this morning and walked out with them.  I noticed they were immediately focused on something in the pool so I walked over and noticed a little tiny bunny - IN MY POOL.  The paws were chomping at the bit to get to little mister bunny so I had to act fast.  The little guy was scrambling and I’m fairly certain he wasn’t a strong swimmer.  Obi-Wan was out front washing my car and I didn’t want to deal with innocent little mister bunny carnage.  I yelled and yelled trying to bribe the dogs to go into the house with anything I could think of and finally got them inside.  Then I went over to the pool and scooped out little mister bunny.  I wasn’t sure what to do with little mister bunny so I carried him across the backyard over to the fence and gently set him down so he could go into the woods behind our house.  He was squeaking a lot when I walked him across the yard and he was not much bigger than my hand.  I have no idea where the mother is/was but he’s been spotted in our yard the last few days apparently.  I told Obi-Wan and he said I should have put him back under our deck and I told him that I didn’t realize he was hanging out under there, plus I didn’t really want to place him anywhere in our yard that the paws could reach him b/c there would be bunny carnage for sure.  I didn’t want to be an accomplice to bunny murder.  Poor little mister bunny - I hope he is okay out there in the wilderness.

Date night

Tonight is date night for Obi-Wan and I.  We haven’t had one in a while b/c we’ve been engaged in house projects or we’ve been just plain tired and don’t want to leave the house.  But tonight, we are actually going to the movies and dinner.  The plan is to see the latest Indiana Jones flick and then grab some tasty Mexican food near our house.   I say “the plan” b/c often we intend to go to the movies and end up bailing at the last minute b/c we’ve lost our mojo to go out.  I think we’ll be able to stick to “the plan” tonight, however.

I think date nights are important to a marriage and we’ve tried to make an effort to have them at least once a month if not more often, for the 8 1/2 years we’ve been married.  It’s a time to put aside house projects, cleaning, work and any other responsibilities and focus on each other for a few hours.  Although we don’t have kids … just the paws … we do get bogged down in the day-to-day stuff with home and work and for Obi-Wan, homework too.  And we forget about spending some quality time with each other.  We tease each other and say “hey roomie” b/c we end up interacting like mere roommates and not spouses.  So … date night is important. 

Anyone else out there have date nights with their spouses?

Moms and minivans

I can’t help myself today.  I have a gripe and I have to vent it.  I’m driving to work this morning on a highway.  Everyone is doing at least 65 mph … except crazy lady soccer mom minivan driver (I can call her that b/c she had soccer stickers all over her vehicle).  She could not be stopped.  I watched in my rear view mirror as she zoomed up the highway zigzagging in and out of lanes like a bat out of hell.  Seriously … why is it that I see more crazy lady minivan drivers speeding and driving recklessly than I do people who drives typical sports cars like corvettes or camaros.  Here’s a news flash crazy lady soccer mom minivan driver - SLOW THE “F” DOWN - YOU ARE DRIVING A MINIVAN -NOT A CORVETTE.

I’ve never understood why I see people driving like freaks in minivans.  The fact that they are in minivans shoud indicate extra safe driving is warranted b/c they are toting children around.  But no, they drive like wild beasts.  And I don’t care if children aren’t in the vehicle either.  There’s no excuse to drive like that regardless of what you drive.   I remember years ago riding in a minivan with a friend and as we merged onto the highway, she hit the gas and that minivan took off like a nascar race car.  I was like “did they put a jet engine in this thing?”  I’m thinking the auto makers out there need to rethink the engines they put in minivans b/c does a minivan need to go from 0-75 mph in 2.5 seconds?  No! Enuff said!

A tale of a ring

Obi-Wan noticed on his way to work yesterday that his wedding ring was broken.  Too confusing to describe but it’s broken.  His poor ring has weathered a lot over the years.  He never takes it off and so it’s on for every man/construction project, plus, years ago, Yellow Dog left her mark on it too.  When he came home from his first deployment (of our marriage), after walking in the door, Yellow Dog jumped on him and somehow her tooth snagged his ring, bent it and left a dent in it.  His ring then became slighly oval.  Over the years, we’ve joked about it and he’ll always remember that homecoming b/c of her.  We both think that was the beginning of the end for the ring b/c that is the precise point where the ring broke. 

After we spoke on the phone, he emailed later and said he wanted to go ring shopping last night, right away.  I was shocked.  Not all men are so gung-ho about wearing rings.  Except my Obi-Wan.  He said wearing the ring really means something to him and he wants to replace it right away.  He feels weird not having the ring on.  And so we went ring shopping last night and he picked out a new one.  Now we have to wait a few weeks before it comes in b/c it had to be ordered. 

This is one of the many reasons why I absolutely love that Obi-Wan.  He said last night “I wonder what I’ll do without that ring on - it feels weird.”  I teased him and said “I’ll be happy to tattoo ‘Slightly Salty’s Property’ on that finger in the interim.”  hee hee 

Still around

I’m still around.  I haven’t had anything really noteworthy to blog about lately.  No Navy angst, no crazy life events.  We’ve just been rolling along for the last month or so.  Obi-Wan is busy with man projects right now.  He is building us an outdoor kitchen area off of our deck in the backyard.  It will be complete within the next few weeks and we can’t wait to start entertaining outside more.

I’ve been up in Maryland for the last 2 days hanging out with my sister and baby niece.  My sister had gall bladder surgery about two weeks ago and I volunteered to come up and help out for a few days while she recuperates.  She is doing really well but needs help with my baby niece b/c she can’t lift her right now.  The whole family took turns staying at home with her and helping out and I came up for the last few days to help as well.

It’s been fun hanging with the baby niece.  She is 18 mos. old and fun to spend time with.  We’ve read books, played outside, played with my sister’s dogs and played with all of her toys.  It’s been good baby fun.  I don’t get to see her too often so this time with her and my sister is great and I’m glad I was able to come up and help out.

Hopefully I’ll have something more interesting to talk about next time so I’m signing off for now.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Epiphanies

Another blogger wrote a great post today about things she has learned about herself while her husband was deployed, and how she is still learning things now that he is back home.  I wanted to write a bit myself on this because these deployments do make us learn what we are made of as well as how we react and deal with things when our spouses come home.

I’ve learned that I’m a bit neurotic about keeping certain things clean in the house.  I’ve always been a clean freak and knew that about myself, but I think having the house to myself for a year, I took it to another level of wacky.  Everything was MY WAY for a year in this house.  My kitchen counter, the bedroom, the stairs, etc. are all places I hate seeing clutter or dirty dishes, and so on.  Obi-Wan doesn’t always share that same neurosis about keeping these places tidy, although I’ll give him kudos b/c he’s been trying lately at least in the kitchen.  We still need to work on not leaving stuff on the stairs or on the bedroom floor, but I’m not going to go bonkers if we never make any progress.  He helps out with plenty of other things around the house so these are tiny details.  When he was gone, I was sort of in a constant cleaning mode.  If I made a mess, I almost immediately took care of it b/c I hate coming home to mess.  It makes my neurotic mind happy when I come home and things are in their place.  

This reminds me of one time in college, my roommate and my boyfriend decided to test me on how long I could leave a few small pieces of paper on the carpet.  You see, I like clean floors and to see something, even small on the floor, would slowly bother me until I’d have to pick it up.  Well they decided to put stuff on the floor and see how long I could tolerate before my neurosis would kick in and I’d pick it up.  I didn’t last long.  Every time I looked down, I felt compelled to pick the mess up and I finally caved in after probably less than 45 minutes.  I just couldn’t take it any longer.  I’m probably partially obsessive-compulsive but in any case, we all had a good laugh at it and I realized then that I have to have clean floors.  So, the short point to this long story is I’m a clean freak and I know Obi-Wan will never be as neurotic as I am.  

 

 

 

Friendship

Happy Birthday to my friend “K.”  She is one of my milspouse friends and one of my closest.  We met almost 4 years ago when Obi-Wan and I moved to Virginia.  Our husbands had known each other for years but we had never met before.  I remember meeting her for the first time at her house and she greeted me with a big smile and welcomed me into her home … and her life.  We’ve been like peas and carrots ever since (said in my Forrest Gump voice).  Our friendship is a special one to me because we would be great friends even without having the military spouse bond.  We have many things in common, some of which include a great love of cute shoes and emergency shopping expeditions.  For the last few years, we have been there for each other through deployments and other life events that would be hard to survive without each other.  I just wanted to write a special post to her because she is one of my bestest friends on the planet and I treasure our friendship. 

Happy Birthday K! 

Favorite chair

Before Obi-Wan left for the sandbox, he always sat in his favorite chair, a brown leather recliner.  He almost never sat anywhere else in that room.  Since he’s been back, he’s been sitting in a different chair.  While we were watching tv last night, it hit him that he hasn’t sat in that chair since he’s been home and he said it felt really weird.  It does seem weird too.  That was just “his” chair.  I never sat in it when he was home and then once he left, I waited a long time before I decided to make it “my” chair.  I felt strange sitting in it after he left - like I was saving it or something silly.  But, then I decided to make it mine and use it all the time.  Now that he’s back, he’s not in it so it’s still unofficially my chair.  It’s all strange though for both of us.  Much is still the same since before he left but this is one of those random things that has changed since he’s been home. 

Turning 35

Yup, I’m confessing.  I’m 34 years old … for one more day.  Tomorrow I turn 35 (AAAAAGGGGGHHH*&^*&(&*).  It hit me this week that I’ll no longer be in that 18-34 marketing demographic, that I’ll no longer be in my “early 30’s”.  Tomorrow I’ll be in my mid 30’s and I’ll be equal to a speed limit.  Yikes. 

Other reflections: 

At 25, I was exiting my angry man-hating phase (long story and too much drama) and about to begin a relationship with Obi-Wan that would forever change the course of my life.

At 30, I was married to Obi-Wan and spent my birthday alone in San Diego b/c the Navy decided he needed to be deployed for 7 months that year.  Not one of my happier birthdays, I can tell you that.

Now, at almost 35,  I’m much happier at this age, much more confident, and a lot stronger emotionally and physically.  I’m also healthier and am enjoying life now more than I ever did.  And the bestest part ever - Obi-Wan will be with me on my birthday. 

On a side note, no one I know thinks I even look like I’m in my 30’s (yeah baby, I still look good). 

If I can keep rocking the “twenty-something” look for awhile longer, that would be fabulous. 

So, tomorrow morning, I will not go quietly in “35″ but will go screaming and kicking butt. 

Is blogging therapeutic?

Just came across an interesting article on CNN about blogging.  Here’s a quote from the article which does ring true, in my opinion.

“Blogging can create an instant support system, especially at a time when you might not have the energy or resources to seek out people who’ve shared your experiences,” says Mason

Here’s another quote which I think is true as well. 

“It’s a form of group therapy,” says Leah. “Not only can you express your feelings, but you can get comments, and that creates a dialogue.”

For milspouses particularly, I think blogging is a great outlet, in lieu of traditional support mechanisms in the military.  Many of us don’t have physical spouse groups available to us or in some cases the ability to attend them.  Blogging, for me, is a good outlet to get my thoughts out there and create a dialogue with people.  It’s the first time that I’ve done any sort of real journaling for a deployment and kept at it and getting feedback from people is ten times better than just writing it all down in a book.  Even now that Obi-Wan is home, I still enjoy blogging, although sometimes I’m out of bloggable ideas or thoughts. 

What I love most, aside from the connections that blogging can create, is that by creating this blog and sharing my deep dark chocolate layer, my friends and family get an insight into my world that I don’t always think to share via a regular conversation.  I can be a very introspective person sometimes when it comes to communication and I don’t always share or think to vocalize some of the stuff that goes on in my head.  But when I sit down to blog, it comes pouring out.