Painting

After over a year of just having the entryway and half the hallway done, I decided to get serious and finish painting the living and dining areas. That's how I roll...random bursts of inspiration.


My SIL, Brittani, had acquired the paint chip I needed from Sherwin Williams way back when (the same color from our old house) and I took it into Self-help (base hardware store where you can check out tools, get replacement light bulbs, towel rods, etc.) and they matched it for me. I am still in love with this color. Universal Khaki.



Jake was a huge help. Coree helped me for a bit, too. Troy opened windows and doors and complained about getting high off the fumes. I say, "Why complain about it? It's like an added bonus!"

I'll make sure to post pics when it's finished.

Major Technical Difficulties

Normally there is so much going on at our house that by the time 5 days has elapsed, I'd have posted at least twice...or started said posts, anyway.

Things are not normal around here, though.

I am now on day 4 sick in bed. REALLY sick. And it came on super-suddenly Friday night.

I had spent the afternoon pruning plants, and hanging new patio party lights (thanks to my dad sending me a plug that screws into a light fixture so we could have outside electricity).





Cliff grilled yummy tilapia on the BBQ for dinner, which we ate with broccoli (which some of my kids like to pronounce like it rhymes with E-Coli), sliced avocados, (Which I was SO grateful to have caught right before they transitioned from ripe to compost...I SO hate it when I pay good money for a lovely avocado and then let it go to waste. It should be a crime, really.) and sweet potato fries...which we actually ate as a second course since Cliff forgot to press the "start" button after setting the temp, which our oven requires. (Isn't learning new appliances every few years fun?) I still do that sometimes. Once I did it when I was making chicken for the Stork's Nest*. I wanted to DIE! Luckily, I was able to grill it really quickly instead so they still had enough meat...and charity didn't faileth. (That reminds me of another "charity" meal-making fiasco story. I'll have to share that one with you sometime...and hopefully you'll have some to share, too.)

Anyway, I don't know whether it was just that I had finally sat down long enough to notice it...or if it all really came on that suddenly, but my whole body started to hurt. The next couple of days were a roller coaster of fever and chills...and not a lot of sleep. I made it to the Dr. yesterday and he confirmed it was flu turned sinus infection, which was what I thought. I get one every year or two...usually either set off by an extreme change in weather or allergies...but the flu can do it, too.

I thought I was done for the season in the illness dept, because I had been sick at the beginning of December, and then my older boys followed suit. I watched them get REALLY sick...Patrick missed a whole week of school and Troy wasted his first week of break due to this illness. I was grateful, thinking I had just had a lesser version (which, as mom, I am usually blessed with...if I get it at all). I was wrong.

We spent the week after Christmas "Clean-Sweeping" kids' rooms. Coree was first, then Jake, followed by the older boys. Why had it not occurred to me to wear gloves while touching anything in Troy and Patrick's room?! Seriously...we cleaned out ev.e.ry.thing...every drawer, every corner, so you know I was just asking for a dose of their boy cooties. Lucky for Cliff, he was vaccinated. By the time they opened up the vaccine to family members here...Patrick was already sick and we just never got around to it. As you can imagine...I'm now wishing I had made the time!

So, here I sit...spending WAY too much time blog-hopping and trying to remember people I used to know so I can look them up on Facebook. I wish I was going for a bike ride with Susan, instead. Or to Gen Sushi with Molly. Heck, I'd settle for pulling weeds at this point.

I'm just SO grateful that it's not our turn for Seminary carpool. AND I'm grateful that Brenda made us chicken tortilla soup last night. I've never met a chicken tortilla soup I didn't like...and hers is my new fave. Maybe it's the authentic Latina influence? Could be. She's awesome. Is her chicken tortilla soup worth getting sick over? I wouldn't go that far.

Here's hoping to be back in the saddle tomorrow!

*Stork's Nest: A private, non-profit org which houses military families of high risk pregnancies/births who are sent here from all over the Pacific for the NICU facilities available at Naval Hospital Camp Lester. On certain nights, different orgs take turns providing meals to all the families there. Our Chaplain Spouses Group is one of them.

When a door closes...

I really do LOVE the adventurous life that the military provides. Mostly, I love learning about other people. I think I really am a voyeur. No, I'm not peeking in your windows, but don't let me into your house unless you are OK with me looking through your scrapbooks, your library and your music collection. I love things like "This American Life" on Public Radio, or E! True Hollywood Stories (even though I really, mostly could NOT care less about celebrity, I am interested from a real-life, human-interest perspective). I'm especially, hopelessly captivated by Cinderella stories, especially when they belong to people I know.

I don't know how it is possible to be sailing around on cloud nine, while simultaneously feeling like climbing into the fetal position under the covers, but here I am. I am about to close the door on one of the most amazing experiences I've had in my life.

The high point was Monday, during graduation, watching 15 Sailors and 1 former Marine receive their Associate Degrees (to add to the 19 that received diplomas in June). The low point is this afternoon, saying goodbye to the people I've worked with the past 2 years. Even though we only "work together" over the phone, through email and conference calls and in person 1-2 times a year, I still have grown so close to these people. They are wonderful. Even though I am so excited about Japan (and over the moon to be back on the same landmass as Cliff) it is SO bittersweet. Yes, we will stay in contact, but it just won't be the same as being in "the trenches" as a Site Director. Even though it was part time, I still felt fulfilled "full time" having a part to play in helping service members down the path of their educational journey (could that sound any sappier?...but it is true!). I wish I would have had someone like me to hold me by the hand and walk me through the process like this. Maybe it would not have taken 20 years for me to get a degree!? (Seriously...high school: Class of '88...College: Class of '08. Hmmm.)

I'm playing the images of yesterday and today over and over in my mind....

Watching each individual crossing the stage at graduation (reflecting on all they did or sacrificed to reach this goal): Cloud Nine!

Replaying "closing the door" today, as I sent the official party back to Indiana: Where's my blankie?

What really bites is that over the next 6 days, I'm going to do this over and over again, as I say goodbye after goodbye. I'm not entirely sure I'm going to survive this. My husband is promising me that from the moment I step off the plane, it will be worth it. I'm holding onto that promise, even as I think there can't possibly be any more tears inside me. I'm also trying to guess what that "open window" will be. I have some ideas...

Am I Kidding Myself?

This is the painting that hangs over our computer desk in the family room. I think it's hard to tell scale from the photograph because the lamp is also large, but it's a pretty big painting. Some nights I get lost in it. If I look at it long enough, I can actually see the sun start to shimmer on the water, hear the seagulls and the wind rustling through the palm leaves, and smell the salt. Some days I wish I could live in this picture!

It's been a long, crazy day. I need to remember that they are not all like this, but lately (more often than not) they are. It doesn't help that Cliff is out of town all week for training. He left Monday night (after Navy League) for San Diego, got back into town just in time to teach his speech class tonight, ducked into the court of honor quickly and then had to leave for Phoenix for more training. He won't get there until 1 AM, and then Saturday he'll also get back about midnight, and then has to speak twice on Sunday.

My days usually start out at 5 AM to get the highschoolers to Seminary by 6 AM. I'm supposed to walk in the park while they are there, but to be honest, most days I'm so exhausted I sleep in the car. Theresa was driving today, though, so I got lucky and slept in until 7...woohoo! I got the other kids up, got myself ready, ran errands until 9 (bills, post office, bank, gas) came back home, made several phone calls from my To Do list, checked my work email and spent half an hour on the phone with the tech guy trying to get a program to run on my laptop (no luck...Vista seems to be the problem). Helped kids with school work, wrote a thank you note, made appts. for haircuts and the bug guy. Left for work about 5 minutes till I was supposed to be there (It takes 15 to get to the base). Gate guard had accepted a bunch of donated books from someone for Cliff's book drive to help a fellow chaplain start a library for his Marines in Iraq. Took those over to Cliff's office since he's gone this week. Got to work. Helped students with myriad issues, phoned, faxed, emailed, filed, counseled...all the stuff that comes with a day's work. Ran back out in town to take an instructor his faculty agreement, headed back home to pick up kids for haircuts. I had called ahead and told them to be ready. Were they? NO. Ran around house helping boys find Scout paraphenalia. Decided what we found was good enough. Dropped them off at Kim's. As soon as Troy was done, took him over to Vincennes just in time for his class (helped 5 students with various stuff while I was there) back over to Kim's while she finished the rest of the kids' hair and I sewed a patch onto Patrick's new Scout shirt (I would run out of time for the other 4 patches). Ran over to Cliff's building to take pictures of his class (for the graduation slideshow). Forgot his instructor packet. Ran over to get dinner at Subway (which took forever...I could have run home and cooked something by then!) and brought some back to Cliff. Still forgot instructor packet. His class finished...ran back over to my building, Troy's class was done. He inhaled his food and we jumped in the van and they changed clothes on the way. Got there one minute late (which is 4 minutes early on Mormon Standard Time...so we didn't miss anything). Got to talk to Cliff for about 5 minutes afterward, got a hug and a kiss and he was off again. Drove home, told kids to get right on their chores, found an Amazon box on the front porch with some new books for the kids (good stuff...Lord of the Flies, Summer of the Swans, Animal Farm, etc.). Sat down to check the county court website to see if I have to report for jury duty tomorrow (so far, so good!). Realized the house had gone silent...found kids engrossed in books, not doing chores. Cracked whip (figuratively). Anyway, we got through the bedtime routine and I sat down in front of my blog and posted the court of honor pictures, and here I still sit, in front of the computer, blogging.

So, today I've been thinking...even in the middle of all this craziness...I don't really feel anxious. There were a dozen other things that I didn't get done today that I should have...a room to decorate and closet to clean for Sunday School, Troy's next driving lesson to schedule, passport paperwork, a Realtor to find, laundry to do, math homework to finish, papers to file, stuff to get rid of before we move. But regardless of that, I love my family, I love my "jobs", I love our life...and I feel like I'm just about to get a handle on things...even though it doesn't look like it. So here is the question...am I kidding myself? Are things ever going to change, or will it always be this harried? When the kids were little, I thought for sure life would get easier when they were all out of diapers or all out of car seats or all in school, or able to dress themselves or make their own lunches. But I was wrong. It just changed. In a lot of ways, it got harder. I am constantly thinking, "Once I get through the school year" or "after the holidays" or "when I'm done with this class" or "when we move". So am I kidding myself? Am I always going to just keep afloat? And why do I always manage to keep myself so busy, anyway? What is my deal? I know not everyone is this...crazy.

Well, I have been ranting for long enough. I have such a hard time putting myself to bed when Cliff is gone...it's like I'm 3 and I need someone to tell me it's bedtime! I'll probably read this tomorrow, think it's stupid and delete it. Goodnight!

Site Directors Conference

I had such a great time going to visit the main campus this week! There were so many high lights. I got to visit my friend Heidi (for the first time in 11 years) since she lives so close by to the campus. (My boss was very kind to allow me to fly in a couple of days early so that I could spend some time with her family.) It was so great to catch up with her. Her kids are so sweet and well mannered. I'm glad that we have stayed in touch so that I could take advantage of an opportunity to see her again. I also had the opportunity (again, thanks to my awesome boss) to present military coin displays to both the President and Provost of the University. It was such a great experience. We had a golf tournament that was SO much fun. We played best ball, and I was blessed to be placed on a team with Vern, who is an amazing golfer. He coaches at the Jr. High level, so he was perfect for me! I seriously loved it, though. I had taken a semester of golf my Sr. year of high school and hadn't done it since, so I had very low expectations. I love the group I work with! We almost never get to see each other, though. The closest we come to interaction is email and conference calls. So when we get together, we are like a bunch of teenagers staying up into the wee hours talking and laughing. We worked hard and played hard...and now I am paying the price...I need a nap!