Look Deep Into My Eye...

I couldn't resist this unexpected shot I got of Ari when we were opening gifts Wednesday morning.  I'm not exactly sure what she was doing, but I'm so glad I got this capture!

Day 175... a funny for you

Forget Rednecks ......here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about New Englanders...


If your local Dairy Queen is closed from October through April , you live in New England.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in New England.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in New England.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in New England.

If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south of New York City for the weekend, you live in New England.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in New England.

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in New England.

If you have switched from 'heat ' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again, you live in New England.

If you can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England.

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you live in New England.

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you live in New England.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in New England.

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 70 and everybody is passing you, you live in New England .

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in New England. 

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you live in New England.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England.

If you find 20 degrees 'a little chilly', you live in New England.

If there's a Dunkin Donuts on every corner, you live in New England.

Day 176...

Oy!!  I'm really P.O.'ed right now!  Our street is a giant sheet of ice.  I wouldn't be so mad if all the other streets in our neighborhood were also icy, but it's only our street. Everybody else's streets are clear.  WTF is up with that??  Our street isn't "worthy" enough for plowing and salting?  Grr!!!  Idiots!!!

Okay... now that that is off my chest.  All in all, things are pretty quiet here on the homefront.  I need to re-shovel the driveway and sidewalk, and then I'm going to lay down a layer of salt.  After that, my butt is staying in the house.  I will not drive anywhere today.  Maybe I'll make a couple of batches of sugar cookie dough.  Hmmm...  maybe some "flavored" sugar cookies this year??  Amaretto or Orange?  I also need to make a couple of batches of mint brownies.

179...

Day #179 that is...

Mike left me a gift when he went on deployment... his germs.  Now, I've got a cold and it must be a whopper, because I usually don't get sick.  I'm just veggin' at home today and saving my energies for teaching class in the morning.  And I'm thinking that a pot of chicken noodle soup sounds like dinner.  Yup... a quiet Friday.

Here's a pic of Ari with Mike's tie.  It was on the sofa and when I asked her to take it upstairs for me, she put it on and said.... "Look Mommy! I look like Daddy!"  

More old email stuff...

Here's some more poems:

The Silent Ranks
Author Unknown

I wear no uniforms, no blues or whites,
But I am in the Navy cause I am his wife.
I'm in the ranks that are rarely seen,
I have no rank upon my shoulders.
Salutes I do not give.
But the military world is the place where I live.
I'm not in the chain of command, Orders I do not get.
But my husband is the one who does, this I can not forget.
I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line.
But my job is just as tough. I'm the one who's left behind. 
My husband is a patriot, a brave and prideful man. 
And the call to serve his country not all can understand.
Behind the lines I see the things needed to keep this country free.
My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do our kids and me.
I love the man I married. Soldiering is his life.
But I stand among the silent ranks known as the Navy Wife.

 If Daddy Says Goodbye
By Kathleen Iversen 

All daddies are special in their own way. 

Some daddies ride tractors and work on a farm. 
Some daddies drive fire trucks and sound the alarm. 
Some daddies are great chefs and can make dessert. 
Some daddies play the bagpipes and wear a plaid skirt! 

Daddies can do a lot of things. 

What does your daddy do? 

Some daddies drive noisy tanks that growl and grumble. 
Some daddies fly jet planes that roar and rumble. 
Some daddies hike in forests that are dark and damp. 

Some daddies march in boots that stomp and stamp. 

These daddies wear green and are in the Army or Marines. 
There are daddies in the Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force too. 
They fly planes and sail across the oceans and skies of blue. 
They all work hard keeping our great country safe and serene. 

Daddies can do a lot of things. 

Some daddies have to leave home and go far away. 
That's how they care for you, in their own special way. 
If your daddy leaves and he kisses you goodbye, 
remember these words and dry the tears from your eyes. 

When your daddy leaves and the two of you are apart
He places a tiny little picture of you in his heart. 
Everyday no matter where he is, 
His soul will whisper these words to the wind. 

I will always love you no matter where I go. 
I am part of you and you are part of me. 

That's something I'll always know. 
Try not to worry, don't be sad. 
You'll always be my baby 
And I'l always be your dad.

Day 181 - You might be military if...

1. <----  (Excuse this stupid #1, I can't seem to make it go away...)    So, I was going through some of my old (like from 2004-2005) emails in my yahoo acct and came across these.  Enjoy!

1. You know you're a military wife if...... You call your husband by his rank, not his name.
   
2. You know you're a military wife if you call the local food stores commissaries instead of grocery stores.
3. You know you're a military wife if you keep the original cartons for all appliances and electronics safely stored for the next move.
4. You know you're a military wife if you talk about the new home you are going to have in three years.
5. You know you'er a military wife if you recall your kids milestones by where you were stationed at the time.
6. You know you're a military wife if you can set the table in three time zones with the same pattern.
7. You know you are a Military Wive if you recall the tough times you overcame by relating them to which deployment they occurred during.
8. You know you're a Military Wife if you call your pay stub an LES.
9. You know your a military wife if you only know your husband's friends by their last names.
10. You know you're a Military Wife if your luggage is all OD Green
11. You know you're a Military Wife when you know DEERS has nothing to do with Bambi.
12. You know you are a military wife when you children are each born in a different country or state.
13. You know you are a military wife when you have boxes from 2 moves ago that you haven't unpacked.
14. You know you are a military wife when you chase your husband out the door saying, "Honey, don't forget your Kevlar!"
15. You know you are a military wife when you can't recognize your spouse's co-workers out of uniform.
16. You know you're a Military wife if TAPs is a song, not a dance.
17. You know you are a military wife when you whip out your ID card everytime someone wants your drivers license.
18. You know you are a military wife when you pay $50 to have a baby. And you are offered a payment plan to pay it off.
19. You know you're a military wife when you can quote army regulations.
20. You know you are a military wife if you catch yourself humming cadence.
21. You know your a military wife if Tricare knows you by name.
22. You know your a military wife when you know your spouses SSN better than your own!
23. You know you are a military wife if you can tell when your husband's hair is "out of regs"
24. You know you're a military wife if you can cuss your husband out in three different languages.

You might have been moved by the Military if:

1. You move all trash cans out of the house to keep them from being packed. 
2. if you have to store boxes to be use for safe moving 
3. You set aside a room or space that's marked "Do Not Enter". 
4. You label bedrooms by numbers instead of words so the non-English speaking movers can mark the boxes easily 
5. You learn how to write "Keep Out" or "Do Not Enter" in the native language. 
6. You identify how long something has been packed by the name of the moving company on the box 
7. You have a variety of packing stickers in various colors and languages on your furniture. 
8. Your HHG's get here on the same day or before your unaccompanied baggage. 
9. You know what unaccompanied baggage means! 
10.Your kids friends are always excited to color at your house because you have huge pieces of packing paper and black markers.Furthermore; every drawing is held up by left over packing tape.

11. You've gotten used to having lawnchairs, boxes for tables, and sleeping bags as furniture a full month before you PCS.

OPSEC side note about the Countdown...

I just wanted to post that my countdown to Florida is in NO WAY, I repeat NO WAY indicative of when Mike will be coming home.  Due to operational security concerns, I will NEVER post any dates, times, or locations of anything Mike happens to be doing.  His (and his squadron's) safety is extremely important to me!!

The countdown is just a countdown to June 1st (for now... it could change), which is when I'll feel like I'm in the "home stretch" of our prep to move.

Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging... 

Countdown to Florida!!!

Well, the time has begun... Mike is now deployed and we are doing our final coutdown to Florida. I'm hoping to chart our day-to-day stuff on here. Not that it'll be very "interesting" stuff, but maybe pics and our daily life. Stay tuned if you wish...