"relaxing"

Gone our the days when Christmas holidays = relaxing. But, luckily the relaxing has been replaced by fulfilling...which is also nice...

But, yes, things have been incredibly busy, as Brett and I have negotiated our first Christmas as a "family unit" that must divide its time between two houses ( both alike in dignity) ....I have to admit before we left on this holiday of holidays I was apprehensive that by dividing up our time we would end up not making ANYONE happy...but, we've got gracious families who obviously learned how to share at an early age and for that I am eternally grateful. I know they have all be exceedingly nice to forgive us for all of our "first christmas foibles" .

Of course, all of this has left me with noooo time for blogging:
But, I'd say some of my personal highlights have been:
Getting to have a looooong girlie chat with my Bible Study girls-we had to recap six months of time apart and it was encouraging to see what God has been doing in each of their lives since I left nacogdoches ( it also gave me all the prayer-points I'll need for at least a little while. hehehe)

Singing Christmas Carols with Brett's mom and cousin.
Wrapping presents while Anna and I "gossiped"
Sitting around with my lovely friends from church-discussing our long history together.
Eating. ( period. I've gained like five pounds in a week).
Unwrapping presents with family-the giving of gifts and watching others receive gifts such fun!
Going to church. Bethlehem Mission will always be my home church...for the people there will always be my family. The encouragement of the saints knows no bounds.

The whirl of gaiety

As I knew it would-life has been pretty craaaazy since Brett got home last week. In fact, we havent a had a moment to breathe ( or blog).
Thursday we had the last Navigator's Bible study until the new year-I'm looking forward to seeing what 2008 will bring! Its kinda exciting that while I am new to the navigators ministry, it hadnt really been established in a huge way until the past few months-so I've gotten to see the "beginnings" of what God will hopefully be doing at Fort Lewis.

Friday Brett and I had the other PL's ( platoon leaders) over as well as the family ( wife and daughter) of one of them. We had a grand ol' time playing Scattagories-and the boys were amazing-they didnt talk about work at ALL!

Saturday was spent working, catching up with Chuck and then getting ready for....the Messiah!!! Yay! Brett gave me tickets to the Seattle Symphony's Handel's Messiah and BOY was I excited to go!!! As a little girl my parents would often take me to the Universitys "community wide" Messiah because it usually came around near my birthday and it was kind of a "special" holiday treat. Since then I've always had a special place in my heart for this beautiful music-I use to listen to it full volume on Sunday mornings in Dunedin ( when my residents had been particularly rowdy the night before...I felt that Handel was the best "cure" for a hangover. hahaha) and often when I'm feeling spiritually "low" its a sure thing for lifting my spirits. After all, the Messiah is straight scripture-ALL of the words come directly from the prophets and the new testiment. This year I was really sad that I missed going to the Messiah in Nacogdoches-it just didnt seem like Christmas without it... But, on Saturday I heard it live from the mouths of professionals and it just about made me cry. I had also never heard the entire Messiah in the correct order ( The Nacogdoches Community messiah is greatly condensed and "re-arranged")...and it brought back all kinds of admiration for musical theory.....

Ok, so enough of that, moving on...Sunday, was our church's Christmas program and then we had our Sunday night Bible study's Christmas party ( White Elephant Gifts...it was pretty terrible! hahaha!! I loooove gag gift parties) and I continue to be truly greatful for such a wonderful group of Believers that we get to hang out with and be encouraged by week after week!

And then there was Monday which included me running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to bake cookies and pigs-n-blanket for Brett's Company Christmas Party and for my co-workers...as well as finishing up Christmas shopping and packing...oh, and I also tried to do some "cleaning"...but that kinda failed in a big way.

Yup, I was actually kind of relieved to go to work today because all I had to do was stand there and make coffee for people. In comparison to the craziness of late it was actually NOT work! Besides, one of my customers gave me a little box of chocolates for a Christmas present! How cute is that?!
So, anyway...the next time you'll hear from me I'll be in Nacogdoches continuing with the Christmas party season. Whew!!!
My prayer for you, my dear readers, as well as for myself is that throughout this BUSY time of year that you'll have time to spend with our Wonderful Lord and Saviour who deserves Praise and Thanks for coming to this earth as a baby and then growing up to Die for our sins! Pretty incredible!!!

and THEN what happens?!

So, FYI a healing burn is a lot worse than a "fresh" burn...because a "healing burn" itches like there's no tomorrow....its a good thing its winter and I wear long sleeve and bulky sweaters-making it harder for me to reach the thing or I SWEAR I'd rip my arm off....dont worry, I have refrained from scratching the thing...I'm a good girl.

Brett's home!! I cant tell you how happy this makes me! Of course, those of you who think I've lost all my cool-as-a-cucumer-feminist ways...well, go right ahead and think that. I am still a perfectly self-sufficient women who only cried a little bit and then went about her day when her husband was away...and yet you will not shame me into saying that I'm totally fine about having my husband gone for weeks on end. I'm sorry, its just NOT RIGHT. And no. Life was not as fun when he wasnt here. It just wasnt. So there.

For those of you who dont know...Brett and I will be heading to Nacogdoches, Texas on Tuesday the 18th and we'll be there until the second of Jan. -we're also planning on going to Chris Lewis's wedding on the 29th-though we still havent figured out how we're getting there. So, baring in mind that we will not have a car for two weeks and therefore will be at the mercy of friends and family-we'd love to see anyone who'd like to see us! I can't tell you how excited I am to see all my loverly Texas folks. The North West is just NOT the SAME. ;-)

Apparently its a good 40 degrees warmer in Texas too...so there's that to keep in mind when gauging how excited I am too. hehehe.

It's all very romantic...

I'm listening to Norah Jones ( who DOESNT love her?! Tell me that?!), drinking Cabernet Sauvignon, and to make matters even better the light bulb above me just went out-meaning the lighting is OH SO romantic in here....

The only problem: Still no husband.
I can pretty much think of nothing else. When is he going to get here?!


( he called to say it would be six....that means more like eight.)

The gimp arm.

I think "gimp" is a New Zealand term. I definitely heard it for the first time when I moved there. But, whatever the case. I like the word. And it totally discribes my right arm at the moment.
You see, I went to the doctor today and had them look at my totally awesome burn ( the doctors and nurses were so impressed with it that they brought in a other doctors and PAs to look at it. "Coffee did that?! "
Yes..I know...I'm special.

So, while I was there at the doctors office I requested that they stick me with the tetanus shot as well as the flu shot...and I also told them to go ahead and give them to me in same arm ( I mean, come on...how bad can it really hurt?!) Apparently, that was a BAD idea. My right arm is like totally immoble at the moment. ugg.

But, at least I'm not going to die of infection or the flu any time soon.

In other news, I had a lovely lunch with Cindy. She's Andrew's ( Navigator staff, leads all the bible studies Brett and I attend etc.) wife and I've been just dying to hang out with her one on one for a while. So that was lots of fun. It was interesting to get a very different perspective of Navigators-a really refreshing one to say the least. And I pray I get to spend more time with her in the future.

And now, I'm going to take an asprin or something before my arm falls off.

who am I kidding?!

So, I appreciated everyone's worried comments on last nights blog. And while my first thought was, "oh, its no big deal-It seems to be healing up ok..." my second thought was, "Abigail if you listed all the bad luck you've had with sicknesses this year all in a row it would take up MORE than one page...do you really want to chance that?!"

So, you'll be happy to know that I have a doctors appointment tomorrow to get my burn all check up. And until then I have it all nicely bandaged up safe and sound. Incidently, I am going to ask the doctor to inject any kind of flu shot he wants into my body as well...because, hey, I'm ALL ABOUT trying to finish up 2007 without any more ailments. ;-)

In other news-Only two more days till Brett gets home!!!

What to DO?!

So, as you know...Brett's away. And that's been pretty much awful for a multitude of reasons-but today I'd like to share with you things that I feel need to be documented since he's not here to share them with me:

When Brett's away I pretty much let the house "go"...in fact, he came back early from the field once and has made fun of me ever since for the state of the house when he walked in.

This time, however, I have a reason for my mess. I am FINALLY getting around to documenting our wedding in the form of scrapbooks...this is what the living room looked like when I finished this evening:



The other thing that I feel I should "document through pictures" is really NOT for the faint of heart. You see, at work on Saturday I burned my arm by spilling scalding coffee on it. It turns out it was a pretty considerable burn ( I didnt even cry!!) and hours later I looked down and I had a bubble about an inch and a half wide and an inch high on my arm. It was FREAKY!!!



Of course, that wasnt as freaky as today when it developed a little tiny hole and started to ooz. EWWWWWW!!! And by the end of the day it was looking red and awful.





So I bet you're wondering why I'm sharing this with you?! Well, its pretty much AWFUL not having a boy around to share such gross sadness with. I had NO ONE to complain to about the pain yesterday and no one to show the gross oozing with today. So, I've added another reason for missing Brett to my very long, long list.

I did get to talk to Brett for a few moments this afternoon. He sounded a bit down but he's doing a wonderful job taking care of his men. He told me that he and another platoon leader where going to get together to come up with some points to take to their commander about the low moral among their men. They have all been treated poorly the last few weeks and EVERYONE is down. Hopefully I was able to encourage Brett a little bit in the short time I was able to talk to him, I reminded him that I'm not the only one praying for him. So thanks to everyone that is remembering him and those working with him in their prayers. I know they need it!

Call Me Crazy

So I wanted to make a phone call...but my phone is "roaming" for no reason...so I'll wait.
This morning has to have been the worst since Brett left...I had no idea that the weekend would be SO much worse-but it makes sense. He's usually HERE on the weekend. ( at least most of the time). So, when my alarm went off for work this morning I almost cried. Luckily work distracted me. *sigh*
My co-worker and I had a lot of fun today-we made up nick-names for all the other employees ( mine is Applesauce) and made name-tags and then I went to the dollar store and bought her a fuzzy raindeer hat with bells on them to wear ( she's convinced she'll make more tips with a holiday hat). But, now the fun is over and I'm back home. Today I'm going to try hard to be productive. There really ARE many things that I could do-for one thing I could start to work on out "Wedding Album" ...you know five months into the marriage its really about time that happened...I could clean...the kitchen is seriously in need....I could make cookies or work on a few of the Christmas Presents that I'm being 'creative" with...but, sadly, I just feel like going to bed and eating a tub of cookie dough ( possibly both at the same time).

Last night I watched the first season of "America's Next Top Model"....Pitiful. I know.

Please forgive me..

I have a horrible confession to make:

Today I went and saw Golden Compass.
I know. Where ARE my values?! I am totally disappointed in myself too...but I am making up excuses right and left:
You see, Brett and I read the Golden Compass as well as part of the second book in the series ( name escapes me) while we were on our honeymoon ( it was very romantic-we read outloud to each other on the beach...awwww.). Anyway, it wasnt really until the SECOND book that we realized that the author, infact, hated God and that God was the root of all evil. ( Whaaaaa?) So, we stopped reading the books in complete disgust. But, unfortunately that didnt make the first book any less enjoyable. However, when I saw that the Golden Compass was going to be made into a movie I was still WHOLE HEARTEDLY against it just because I knew that they would most likely make the second and third books into movies too... but this didnt stop the previews from really looking good....
Which brings us to today when I went to pass my time at the movie theatre to watch Enchanted for the second time...I bought my ticket for Enchanted and headed towards the theatre...and thats when I saw that The Golden Compass was starting just two minutes before my movie...and so I walked in...and I watched it.
At least I didnt give them my money though, right? I mean, the good people at Disney got my money instead...and you know....the Disney people are...well....I dont even REMEMBER the last time Christians everywhere banned Disney...was it last year? Or maybe even earlier this year? I cant keep up.

Anyway, back to me being horrible. So, I watched the movie and I gotta say-Nicole Kidman was a really PERFECT evil person. I totally believed it. And I gotta say I was HORRIFIED at the polarbear fight...because, well, it was very very graphic and I cant believe children in the theatre saw that....I think the interesting thing was that, while in the book it was very clear that the main "bad people" where part of the Catholic church, in the movie they were just referred to as "the majestrate" came across as more of a "government" than a "church"...I am interested ( only slightly ) in finding out what they will do to water down the heretical views of the author for the rest of the movies...
And just so you know- I think its absolutely WRONG to take children under the age of....gosh....I dont know....14 to see this movie, if they cannot understand the "underlying" messages at play-that's pretty dangerous.

But, thats the shameful thing I did today.
Hope you'll all forgive me.

8 more days

So, the countdown till Brett comes home continues to be slowish/deadstopish. Buuut, I've been keeping myself busy. Like last night I spent, like, eight hours making chili ( as in the "Abt Family's Secret Chili-Cheese-Dog Recipe" chili)...unfortunately eight hours is not enough and I'm hoping that the fact that I stopped the cooking process and then re-started it again today is not going to hurt the chili too much...anyway...it better be good because I'm feeding a bunch-o-people with it tonight...
I also watched Somethings Gotta Give which ranks high in my romantic movies that I like list because of the scene where Diane Keaton cries while she writes...I cant TELL YOU how realistic that is!!! ;-)

Today, I went to work and rocked my drink-making so much that I had customers tell me that, and I quote: you are at least FIVE TIMES BETTER at making coffee then the girl that made if for me yesterday!!! ( which, I'm going to take as a my coffee is really really good-and not that hers was really really bad) and then I had three other customers tell me that Ihad made them awesome drinks....unfortunately not loud enough for my boss to hear. Which was annoying. So I repeated it to him. "Hey, BOSS...that guy just told me that I make the best drinks."
Boss's Response: "hahahahaha!"

This made me sad but luckily he followed his ( uncalled for) laughter with a sip of my espresso and then he admitted that I did , in fact, "make a good shot."

Coming from him...This was high praise...and even though I DID fish for it...I'll take it. *sigh*

I also got a pedicure today. Don't judge. My husband isnt home and my toes were gross. Plus how else will I get to read USweekly and People Magazine?! Exactly.

I was going to "get all skinny and 'hot like at our wedding'" While Brett was away-but I've decided eating a lot while he's gone is working better for me....what was I thinking?! Stress eating is like Number One on my list of things I do.

Snowy, Sad, Sweet

So on Saturday it snowed.
And I was like a very gitty little girl, running around in my pink boots. Brett laughed at me and took the pictures. ( I'll share them later). And then we bought red flannel sheets and White Christmas on DVD. Ok, so it didnt happen that quickly but you get the picture....
I pretty much lovethe flannel sheets. They were Brett's idea to get me through the ten COLD, LONELY days that I have to sleep in bed without him. ( aww.)...and they seriously rock. I pretty much wasnt tired anymore this morning but I slept thirty more minutes just because of these sheets.

On Sunday we went to church ( which I am continuing to really, really like). We've also recruited enough people to come with us that we fill up a whole row. ;-) Plus, I met a girl at the Thursday night Navigator's bible study that goes to our church-so I legitimately know a person at the church!
after church we ate Thai food ( my request), and watch Flight of the Conchords ( Brett's request)*. And then things got bad. Brett had to prepare to leave and pretty much everything to do with leaving for ten days had been left till the last minute. It was awful. Brett was gone. I felt like something was missing. Then I realized it wasnt just Brett...it was also my cell phone. I had left it at the place where Brett had gotten his hair cut. I drove to the barber shop, crying....wondering why life was dreary and awful.
I got my phone. Pulled myself together. prepared for Sunday Night Bible Studay....went to Bible Study. Didnt give a single signal that I had had a breakdown earlier in the day...

And then...I got a text from Brett saying that because of the bad weather he was going to be home for another night, that I would see him "around 9".
This was glorious news!!! I have to tell you, for someone who is not about 'goodbyes' anyway...the goodbye we'd had Sunday afternoon rated around negative 365 on the sale of goodbyes. So the chance to do it again was actually a GREAT relief.

So that's how Brett and I ate leftover Thai food and laid on our flannel sheets making a itunes play list intitled "Sad but Pretty".
( I think you'd have to be there...but I'll share the play list with you anyway).**
And finally finishing the night with Brett quoting flight of the concords and asking me if maybe we should get out of bed and watch that one scene one more time....( answer: no.) And finally, saying goodbye over a quiet time this morning.

Yes, Brett's going to be gone for ten days. And that's awful. But, I know that already God is taking care of even the littlest things like getting a good goodbye rating....


* Anna and Ryan introduced us to this wonderful show, Flight of the Conchords about two New Zealanders in New York City-who just so happen to be in a band. There is no really good way to discribe how totally wonderfully hilarious this show is....but I recommend it 365 percent.

**
1. The Highway Man, Loreena McKennitt
2. Sabra Girl, Nickelcreek
3. Why Does my Heart Hurt so bad, Moby
4. Theme Song from The Last of the Mochicans
5. Into the West, Annie Lennox
6. Both Sides Now, Joni Mitchell
7.Mi Mancherai (Il Postino)
8. Everybody Hurts, R.E.M.
9. All Mixed Up, Red House Painters
10. Let that Be Enough, Switchfoot
11. Language of the Heart, David Wilcocks

I thought things revolved around ME!!!

So, this week has been totally bad. That's already been established. But, you know what ELSE?!
Well, this week I deemed myself well enough to start working out again ( plus I had gained five pounds in a week)...therefore I syched myself up to go to the little gym that our apartment complex provides ( remember yesterday and the Judge Judy?!)....So, I was TOTALLY disappointed when my dreams of having an hour working out "fly by" while watching Oprah's "favorite things" episode where completely dashed by that weird couple composed of the giant black man and the tiny asian women who watch Judge Judy....but THAT IS NOT ALL....the giant man decided to do LUNGES. And he decided to do them IN FRONT of my stationary bike....and he decided to COUNT out loud...LOUDLY...

ONE....TWO....THREE.....etc. etc. THWERTEEN....( that's right, he misprounces thirteen every time. this makes it infinitely worse).

So, I made it through yesterday ( if you call fuming while working out "making it") ...but today I decided to avoid the wierd couple and go in the morning instead. Oh yes, I thought, it'll be great...Regis and Kelly are doing a special on "Atlantis" where Brett and I went on our honeymoon...thirty minutes will fly by ( who was I kidding with that hour business anyway?!).
I arrive and everything is peachy. The gym is empty. I turn on Regis and Kelly and have settled in to watch Kelly (without makeup!!!) swim with the dolphins-when WHO should come into the gym....WEIRD COUPLE!!!!!
Whaaaaat?! Its freaking 9am!! Why are they here?!?!!!!!
And then...just as weird man starts counting out his lunges....the craziest thing happens-which just goes to show that my life is a lot like Candid Camera...the television....DIES....

Which is the short version of why I cut my thirty minute workout down to twenty minutes today...because BELIEVE ME....ten minutes of hearing the number "thirteen" misprounced 5 times with no television to cut the sound is WAAAAAAAY TO LONG.

I have half a mind to ask weird couple to give me a time when they are NOT at the gym. Because seriously the gym should be my OWN PERSONAL workingout place, dont you think?!

update plus something good.

Ok, so yesterday was bad, today wasnt MUCH better but at least today I didnt have someone ruin my plans of working out to Oprah in the apartmentcomplex's gym and instead hogging the TV to watch Judge Judy ( I didnt know anyone WATCHED that trash!!!!) and one of my favorite customers did not fall down in the parking lot...( all of which happened yesterday along with Brett getting home at ELEVEN PM!!!!!)
So, yes, today has been dreary and sad but a little better: And I'm fighting off the depression with a serious force....does this remind anyone of Dunedin?! Seriously. Abigail does not do well without the sun. Incidently, did you know that the sun officially sets at 4pm now?! Geez, that's practically midafternoon!!!!
So, I just got a text from Brett saying that he thought he'd be home around 6ish. I gotta talk to him about this. Its actually better for him to just text me with "I love you, wish I could come home" rather than a particular ETA. Because I think that's what made yesterday so awful. I got a text from him nearly every hour with a NEW estimated home time...each time it was at least thirty minutes to an hour later than the text before....it was dreadful. I'd rather just not know.

Anyway. GOOD NEWS: I just got Sarah Plain and Tall on DVD from the library! How excited am I!?! I havent watched this since the days when I watched only the movies that Miss Kim from church had "edited" for us....my question now is, are their any kissing scenes in Sarah Plain and Tall that I've been missing out on like I was with Man from SnowyRiver?! Because that was hilarious.
I guess I'll just have to watch and see.

I'm ok, really, I promise

So, after sending two random and scattered emails to my father in the space of two hours...one stating that the sermon I had uploaded from the Mission's podcast had died on me 15 minutes in ( ironically the sermon was on self-pity...and while during those first fifteen minutes I had identified that, yes, "I am displaying some of those tendencies right now"...I had not reached the part of the sermon that would have gotten me OUT of such a state...)
and the second email was after I had spent an hour trying to "get credit history" by having a credit card...ironically, you need a credit card to get credit history, you cant get a credit card without credit history....
So, anyway, after those two emails I'm pretty sure Papa's going to worry about me. Darn it. I dont want him to do that...so instead....here's the blog that'll hopefully end all positive-like.

Anyway, all of this to say the last few hours have been kinda hardish. I burst into tears twice ( of course, unlike the rest of my family that includes REAL LIVE TEARS). Did some bible reading. wrote in my journal. wrote a message to my sister-in-law. and I prayed. and now i'm listening to "How deep the Father's love for us" over and over again on itunes. Because that's just how I roll...

You see, dear friends, while I have been mentally preparing myself for weeks for Brett's two weeks out in the field-I forgot about building up the proper defense against this week...this week has proven to be: yesterday Brett arrives home at 8:30...and then tonight....tonight I just got an text saying "probably more like 10:30"....yeah...well, its 10:39 now. I dont know what I'm MOST upset about...well, probably its the injustice of the idea that when Brett finally DOES get home tonight, he'll just have to get up 4 hours later and do it all over again. I've never been more protective of a person in my life. Army Strong, Army Sleepdeprived.
But, whatever the case...I realized tonight a few things about myself.
I like to be "self-sufficient". Which shows itself in the crazy-planning I've been doing for myself about "the two weeks". I have( had) pretty much convinced myself that all was going to be "perfectly fine" as long as I followed all my "keeping busy plans".
Of course, I forgot to really pray about it ( in passing doesnt count). And I also forgot to think about today rather than tomorrow. And most importantly I forgot about putting this day into His hands...to give him today and not just the days that I thought ( in my infinite wisdom) I would need His help.

To place my trust in Him is really ALL there is.

I'm reminded of the song that pretty much got me through 2005.
Way to go Hillsong:


.....My hope is in the Name of the Lord
Where my help comes from
You're my strength, my song.
My trust is in the name of the Lord
I will sing your praise, you are faithful

I need to remember this, I need to remember where my Help truly lies...not within myself...not in anyone else....there is NO other answer. For my Trust is truly in the Lord. For He really IS faithful.

Of course, I still dont have a credit history, and in the great sceme of things, I think that's what's truly important, don't you?!

"I should go Christmas Shopping"

That's what the inner voice is telling me today, but I think I'll ignore it. Afterall, its gorgeous outside...after three days of solid rain and no sun to speak of-the air is practically sparkling....so shopping seems like a dreadful way to bring it down. I hate shopping. Actually, strike that...I hate shopping this time of year-when I feel pressured to buy, buy, buy and I quite literally feel the crowds pressing in on me. meeeh.
Anyway, I'll wait until next week when Brett's gone and I can just stay at the malls until bed time. Boo! I miss Brett already and he's not even gone yet. Last night I had the silly thought pass through my mind that i couldnt have lived in Washington without being married to Brett because I need him to keep the bed warm. ( he's a really awesome heat-putter-outer)...and then I realized with a sinking heart that I'd have to turn up the heat next week for sure.

Work was sloooooow today, rudness abounded. Luckily the sun is still shining and I'm going to talk to Lydia on the phone. * happy sigh*

8ish

That's what time Brett said he'd be home tonight. So I figure I've got some time to blog... first of all, today was a day of Mail-Love.
I got THREE packages in the mail plus a birthday card. Thus the Birthday love continues :-). I'm terribly spoiled by all of you wonderful people who sent me sweet messages, cards, texts, phonecalls and packages. I've got the best friends/family in the world. Seriously.

In other news, our neighbors mike and katie brought back a sweet stomach virus with them from their thanksgiving break. I've only thrown-up once but I've felt pretty "ew" all day....just praying its a twenty-four hour thing...or maybe 48 hours. I could handle that. But NO MORE THAN THAT. Seriously, who else thinks I'm in the running for "sickest girl of the year"?!

I watched The Producers today. I never got around to seeing it when it came out a yearish or so back....and I gotta tell you, Matthew Brodrick with his little "security blanket" was hysterical!

I also worked with my boss today. He wasnt nearly as critical as he was the last time I worked with him, maybe ONE DAY he'll actually hear customers compliment me on my "best lattes"...that's right. I'm not bragging I'm just trying to make myself feel better-why does one always feel SO inadequate around ones boss?! Is it just me????

Right now I'm importing all my Christmas music onto my computer. Yay!!

thanks for the giving

So, yes...its been a while since I last blogged. A week in fact. But, it was a BUSY and FUN week that included a lot of family and food goodness and therefore I had not a second-even to myself in which I could have legistically spent blogging. So you shouldnt feel bad about me neglecting you. ;-)

I currently feel very blessed...After all the whirlwind of visitors and holidays ( thanksgiving and my birthday) I am left with a definite sense of contentment. I think it started with Louise leaving our Sunday night Bible Study a few weeks back and exclaiming how much she liked it, the people, the fellowship, the depth of study....and then, having my family come visit for a few days helped me continue to look at my life through a larger perspective to stop and say, "why yes! I DO have really nice friends and new family to share life with! And, hey, Washington's actually gorgeous when its not raining!!"-and to see that while there are some difficult things to contend with, ultimately these last four months of marriage/moving/life-changing have been truly helped along by the Almighty. Lots to be thankful for.

So, lets just go ahead and jump right on in to the Christmas season shall we?! Gosh, it seems like even though the media has been trying its best to push christmas on me sense early October I was still not prepared for the general outpouring of Christmas-hysteria on Friday....every time I drive past the Tacoma Mall I start to hyperventilate from all the cars! Buuut, even with all that I am actually really happy its almost December. Its going to be a trying month I can tell-you see, for the first two weeks I will be all by my lonesome ( brett's out on the field again) and then he'll come home and we'll have three christmas parties in a row and then we'll head off to Texas for two weeks ( !!)....which pretty much brings us to January. WHOA! Time is going to rush by!!!

At least for now, however, I am back in the swing of "normal" life...and shall try not to have TOO much of an 'after guests' depression occur. It helps that since the family left on Saturday night we've had three seperate "parties" at our house to 'help' eat up our leftovers...so that's kept me busy. :-)

family/friends

So, Louise left on Friday and I then went HARDCORE and tidy-ed the house, went to the commisary and bought a BUNCH-O-FOOD in preparation for Thanksgiving, did laundry and pretty much did all my 'prepare for guests' all over again ( it helped that I'd been up since 5:30 because of taking Louise to the airport...)
Josh ( Brett's brother) arrived on Saturday evening and thus the whirl of gaity that is the Wilson house of late continues...

Currently, Brett and Josh are playing Magic. I really need to take a picture of them....otherwise you wouldnt believe me when I explained the cute nerdiness of it all ( or geeky, I think they perfer geeky. anyway..). And I'm trying to catch up on household things....however, things just seem to be getting away from me lately. I keep forgetting things or messing up recipes of things I've made over and over again. This does not bode well for Thanksgiving. meh. Luckily my madre and sista will be here to pick up all the slack. YAY! I'm so excited....

Of course, dont think I've been doing ALL work...I also watched Sound of Music in bed and then took a very short mini nap this afternoon ....( thanks to Stacy for giving the great tip of going to my local library for DVDs from a long time ago-I've been digging the free rentals! And watching lots of movies I'd totally forgot about!!)

I'd also like to make a note of an event that happened this afternoon...I was trying to prepare lunch for Brett, Josh, Chuck and Seth ( who'd gone to church with us)...just waffles, bacon and scrambled eggs...but things just didnt seem to be working well for me...I kept making mistakes on the recipe-or forgetting about the bacon...and THEN the waffle iron DIED ( after four months?! i have no idea what happened!!) and so I just gave up!! and had to go lie down ( I know, it sounds dramatic.) but the boys were soooo cute and totally took over and salvaged the whole lunch ( with help of our neighbor's waffle iron). As much as I absolutely LOVE to cook and take care of everyones food-needs when they visit-it was also really nice to get served for once! :-) I've got good boys.

No reading required.

Get a Cash Advance

And just to prove this is true....you can see pictures of my time with Louise here

platinum lining

Since arriving on Friday, Louise has read Anne of the Island, Anne's house of Dreams, Anne of Ingleside and she is currently reading Rilla of Ingleside.

This gives the impression that we havent been very good hosts. But, ACTUALLY, if you knew Louise you'd know that she's a fast reader and therefore it does not mean we've neglected her AND if you also knew Louise you'd know that she just finished her MAJOR fifth year medical exams that pretty much decide if you get to be a doctor or not-and therefore a little book-reading time is probably just what the doctor ordered.

So, anyway, today Brett left for his "week in the field" ( prayer requests: that they finish up their training by friday so he isnt stuck out on the field all weekend-especially since his brother josh is arriving on Saturday-that would STINK! And I'm praying hard for army-kindness here.) and he had a NASTY headcold when he left which made me sad about him leaving. He had to leave at 1am which ALSO made me sad about him leaving ( because that's just a dreadful hour). And then-him just not being here made me sad about him leaving.

But, Louise and I were blessed with the most beautiful winter day and we used it to its fullest by going to the Seattle Woodlands Zoo. We saw lions and tigers and bears-quite literally. Oh my. However, I think my favorite was the gorillas. Whatever that means about me. ;-) And after the zoo we wondered about and found a little, off the beaten path, mexican food place that was seriously great-food AND atmosphere! ;-)

So, ultimately, I am blessed that God has created the perfect schedule for me-by making my time without Brett also time WITH Louise which gives my dark cloud a nice platinum lining. :-)

My favorite things...

definitely include having my "worlds" collide. And yesterday the beginning of my two favorite weeks finally arrived-you see, THIS week Louise is here from Wellington, ( duh. surely my blog readers know this).....then the day after she leaves Josh arrives from Nacogdoches to hang out with his brother brett ( but surely he'll hang out with me too!) and THEN three days later my family will arrive...
yes, it is SO much fun to have people that know your HISTORY walking around in your current world!! And having Louise here is truly going to be a blast....lets just all cross our fingers that my boss gives me some time off from work. ( as of today, Saturday...he still hasnt given us next week's schedule. BOOO!)

a small black coffee

His name is Allen. I know this because I got a peek at his armband that he wears for the state mental hospital where he spends his nights.
During the days he is free to roam the streets near by and inevitably he makes his stop here at my coffee shop where he always buys a 12 oz. drip coffee.

I learned quickly that you really must give Allen his change in nickels and pennies otherwise you'll end up robbing him blind.
You see, this elderly man with his straggly beard and hair-in his crusty trench coat and straw hat that has a green plastic visor-which has long ago stopped shading from the sun....this man is a lover of words.
He carries dictionaries and a pocket thesaurus in his bag. And his favorite words?! Well, his favorite words of the day he will declare with a flourish and a laugh and then-a penny. A penny that will make that perfect little clinking sound as it hits the other coins in tip jar. It seems to be just the thing to get the affect of Allen's words across. Sometimes he'll sit quietly in the corner as I serve customers and then he'll get up and come over and drop in another coin... and then I'll know that he's probably just had a new revelation that he's particularly proud of....

I've sat, on slow days, at a table with Allen. Conversations with Allen make no sense at all, just a jumble of ideas-captalism-share croppers-corn-John F. Kennedy-the hokey pokey...these are all part of one very large thought and SOME HOW they are connected, though for the life of me, I have no idea how. But, with a cup of black coffee between us and several more "money ideas" ( as he calls them) yet to go for the day- sense doesnt seem to matter too much.

pictures or something.

So, here are the 7 or so pictures I thought were worthy of expressing our trip to portland of course I only took ten or so pictures total, but I'm very decerning.

Wild and Crazy Fun Times.

So, in the future I'll probably look back and sigh and wish that I hand such glorious simplicity again, so this is for you, future....

Last night consisted of the following:

I made myself a totally fabulous playlist on itunes and played it extremely loud and made brownies and waited for Brett to come home...6:30 came and Brett finally arrived home ( I turned the music down) and we ate dinner ( no, it was NOT brownies)...and then I read my blog post "I'm your huckleberry" out loud to Brett while he washed the dishes. Yes, I know this is really lame...but people had been commenting about it saying things like, "you guys are soOOooo funny!" and the like and I felt like Brett should at least know WHY people thought he was funny...

And then we moved to the couch where I snuggled up to Brett and got out my brandnew book that I'd just checked out from the library ( I know, I know...I go to a bookstore, buy like ten books and then arrive home to really really WANT the one book I put back on the shelf.) and started to read him sections that I'd already read, turning periodically to see if he was enjoying it as much as I was...not really. he fell asleep.
I suggested he go to bed ( its around 8pm now...). He says no. He continues to dose on the couch. I read my book ( incidently, this book is by far the most fascinating thing I've read in AGES, its called "Born on a Blue Day" by Daniel Tammet and it is the memoir of an Autistic Savant...it'll blow your mind). Finally, at 8:30 Brett gives in. We go to bed...Brett decides he can read ONE CHAPTER of the book he's reading ( because its a short chapter after all) and so I lie next to him trying desparately to memorize Titus 3:5.
When he's finished I recite the 8 verses I have memorized and finally becoming dreadfully stumped on Titus 3:5 even though I'd spent the last 15 minutes saying it over and over to myself. I pout. Brett tells me its ok.
Brett falls asleep.
I continue to recite my verses to myself....and finally fall sleep myself.
The end.

"He saved us, not by any righteous things we have done, but my His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit." Titus 3:5

Somebody check me. Did I get it even remotely close?!

"I'm your huckleberry"

I’m a romantic. Or at least that’s what I’ve decided to call it, whatever the case, I believe in signs. Not that I find pictures of the Virgin Mary in my toast or anything-but there have been more than one occasion where I’ve felt like God’s down right spoken to me through seemingly nothing occurrences. Its those moments where you KNOW God hears all and knows all-and it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling just thinking about it.

Anyway, I’ve thought a little bit about the best way to tell this story-reminds me of this weekend, talking to Carmi and her explaining that she had moved the fact of me living in Texas at the time of my wedding to the END of a story to give dramatic affect.
Wrong way: “So my best friend in Texas wanted me to be in her wedding and I really wanted to be in it.”

Right way: “So my best friend invited me to be in her wedding and I really wanted to be in it…. My best friend lives in Texas.” ( just hear the people gasping)

See? Much better. Throw the surprise in at the end. Dramatic.
However, when you’re telling a story about how God heard your deepest silly little desires and gave them to you as small sign of His love and affection-the problem is, a lot of the time people don’t KNOW about your silly little desires.

So, here I go…ruining the dramatic affect of this story:

It was pretty early on in our marriage that Brett and I were talking about movies that we liked and we were reminded of the Western Delight that IS Tombstone. Val Kilmer shined as Doc Holiday, there have been very few really good walking shots ( besides that fire shot in Desperado) that can rival those do-gooder cowboys walking down the streets of Tombstone on the way to the be showdown with the local badguy…there is even a random house fire in the back ground…go figure, and there just is NO comparison to some of the lines ( who is that tall glass of water over there…eyes squinted against the sun?…. “Why Johnny, I forgot you were theeeey-rr. You may go.” “I’m your huckleberry” etc. etc. )…and so it was decided that we must watch this classic of classics as soon as possible.
Easy, right? It’s a classic. Every video store would have it.
Wrong. There was not a video rental in a 15 mile radius that had a copy of Tombstone…and as for buying it. Pretty much impossible. It wasn’t for lack of looking either, Oh, we looked…Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target…random little DVD stores….nobody had a copy of Tombstone. It was a veritable desert out there.

Anyway, like I told you, on Thursday Brett and I made the seemingly rash decision to kick this popsicle stand and go to Portland for the weekend. Now, its not like there was that much “looking forward to” time-but in the long hours that were Friday it became more and more clear that it was possibly the best decision we had EVER. MADE. Turns out…until the Middle of December Brett and I do not have ONE DAY that is not planned. We do not have ONE DAY that is completely free to spend together doing whatever we want. Honestly, that thought alone would send anyone to Oregon….but the good reasons for our trip just seemed to pile up and by the time we’d headed out the door it was a no-brainer, this weekend away was a winner. However, it wasn’t the good reasons or the fact that Saturday was really gorgeous ( no rain, hardly any coldness) or the knowledge that we’d even get a whole extra hour of sleep on Saturday night, or how we came upon this gas station that sold old school candy on the drive to Portland ( side note: all good road trips need snacks. It’s a rule) or how once we got to Portland we somehow made it to Powell’s Bookstore ( the largest book store known to man) even though Google maps failed us by giving us a closed road as part of our directions, or how once we got to Powell’s they had three floors of book happiness for us to wander through….or how blessed we felt that we hardly blinked at paying for all those books we ended up NEEDING, and it wasn’t how we randomly found this little tiny Espresso, Chocolate Bar that fed us glorious dessert and it wasn’t even how we were “forced” to go to Whole Foods to validate our parking stub and therefore forced to buy wine and really cool wine glasses….no, it was none of these things that really told me that God was looking down from heaven and smiling at me and saying “I’m going to take care of things-and not only that…I’m going to make things work out for good… nope. It was the fact that once we’d had our near perfect day in Portland and we were settled into our lovely hotel and flipping through the channels on the television that we came to the credits of Men in Black followed with a voice over saying, “Up next Tombstone.”
Yes, it was that moment that really sent the message home. Even though tomorrow is going to probably be a long day-and the next day will probably be even longer, things are going to work out OK, because we got to watch Tombstone.

Get outa dodge.

So, Brett and I sat down on the couch at 9:30 last night to compare notes on our week....
It didnt take long for me to make the annoucment:

"Let's forget everything and get out of town!!"


So, that's exactly what we're doing tomorrow. We're headed to Portland OR to do something Brett and I looooove to do....we're visiting the largest bookstore in the WORLD. ( Powell's Booksellers: takes up over a block of city...)...staying in a nice hotel and forgetting about everything for a whole two days.

I think its going to turn out. Wish us luck.

tired.

Yup, i think that pretty much discribes the Wilsons of late. Poor Brett's working hours have officially gotten out of control-most nights have been between 7pm and 8:30 before he's even home!! This really affects my days. I still havent figured out how to be happy and content with this set-up.

Last night we hosted the "Forty Days of Community" small group at our house ( incidently, Carmi made fun of the term "bible study" in her blog today...and yet, I gotta tell you, I use it all the time...I think the main problem with going away from this term is that we actually FORGET to study the bible! Which, is not a good thing. Case in point: Forty Days of Community Small group. i.e. Rick Warren trying to convince you to "serve others" without very much Bible at all. *sigh*
But, dont take my word for it, I was having a difficult time last night for sure....its HARD to be social and involved ( plus God-focused) when your husband comes in half way through completely tired and in serious need of food and you have no way of giving him rest or refreshment because of the 10 people in your living room-it was one of the few times I've really NOT wanted to be entertaining....

But, I did dress up as a Feist's back up dancer from her 1234 music video. ....I was all in red...pictures to come when I have time.

rockstar.

I'm bored.
This has become a common occurance in the last week or so ( and shall continue to be so, probably). I get home from work at 4:30 and then from then until 6:30-till anytime towards 8 I wait around for Brett to get home.
I should PROBABLY find something really productive to do, but so far the only thing I do is cook dinner. Since my cooking dinner skills are not martha stewart by any means this doesnt take that long, bringing us back to bored. And since tonight I'm making waffles and bacon and eggs ( something you dont really pre-prepare for) I'm really bored.

Today I looked at all the pictures that I have been tagged in on Facebook...they span a good five to eight years of my life which is kinda weird to see all mixed together like that but here's a good one that wasnt taken very long ago...don't ask what I'm doing...who knows.-but that's definitely not productive.
So I made a comprehensive grocery list for Thanksgiving. I know its early-but I'm so excited about it, plus come next week Louise will be visiting (YAAAAAAAY!) and I definitely will not have time to make such lists....and then, low and behold it'll be the time to go shopping for thanksgiving and therefore now the list is done ( or almost...I am still missing a recipe from my mom.)

Anywho, my throat hurts. This is upsetting on several levels, one, I dont like sore throats-they hurt. Two, I have yet to have a week go by without SOME sort of ailment. *sigh*

This week is Halloween or the holiday which *I* dress up for-Reformation Day....on the way to Bible Study last night I constructed the easiest possible costumes for Brett and I....we will be....Luke and Loreli from the Gilmore Girls. This will either be funny or will fail drastically. I'll let you know.

And speaking of said Bible Study, apparently I am suppose to memorize TWELVE scriptures this week. Honestly. I've never been big on memorizing bible verses ( I am pretty good at paraphrasing them-and I had always felt that was good enough...) and NOW I'm suppose become a superstar at it in, like, five days. Christian growth, here I come.

oooo...I just got a text message from Brett saying he was going to be at work a "while longer"....its already 6:30.

Army Wife Tip of the Week: Do not calculate up how much your husband gets paid by the hour, you will only realize he is slave labor and that will only make you mad(er)...so just DONT DO IT...even if you ARE bored.

frustrating.

Pretty much nothing I wanted to do today happened.
I wanted to get the military stickers for the Prius ( FINALLY!)...and when through an two hour rigamaroll ( is that how you spell that? Is it even one word?!) that included a fire drill ( dont ask) to finally be told that because the car was in Brett's name I could not get the stupid stickers. BOO!!! I just need to go ahead with the inevitible and get power of attorney...of course who knows how long that'll take me to get done! :-( meh.

I wanted to talk to my sister. But i suppose busy lives on BOTH ends make this nearly impossible. I am currently using self control to not leave her more voice mails. ( after all I can leave a very long-winded voice mail when pressed).

However, while I didnt get the things on my short list accomplished I am making Kielbass soup-yay! Thanks to Stacy for the recipe...and I did visit Wes at his work at the evil empire of Starbucks where I got a FREE drink ( because I won a bet. yessssss. I am "vindicated" ) and I am making cookies....and Brett will be home from work...soon...hopefully....and then the weekend can finally start.
Boy, its been a long time coming. This week has been hard

How many words can one person make in italics?!

not fading into the clear blue yonder...just yet.

Some days I get scared that I have lost my creative side. As much as I love my job, it only uses my “relating to others” skills and my “coffee making” skills ( which are so newly acquired they’re hardly worth mentioning.)…so what if I’m becoming some sort of dimwit who is only capable writing in her journal to God, grocery lists and her name on debit card recites?
I honestly don’t know what I’ll do.
Yet, it seems to be happening. For one thing-I have a lot less time to blog…you see, I realized recently that while its possible for me to blog at work, this job is very different from my last two. Having a constant flow of customers, each different in personality, age, style, history-my mind is having to be a constant activity in composing communications with these people. Leaving little time to compose sentences for a blog post not yet written.
Its so sad! It is like a season is over, a season that was truly wonderful. A season I want back. You see, I didn’t just blog once ( often twice) a day…no… I blogged all the time-you only read a small fraction of what I was actually narrating. Yes, the truth has finally come out: I use to talk to myself and THAT was blogging.

So, now that I’ve identified that lack, I am just going to have to change my strategy. This is part of growing up: I must now be disciplined. Make myself compose sentences in my head-find things that aren’t off limits for me to blog about….I must TAKE the time to write this dear little blog. Because, I will not be like everyone else who has neglected their blog, slowly dwindling away until the writer and its readers alike forget it ever existed. No, if this blog ever ends-It’ll have a strong ending…an ending on the scale of Henry V’s St. Crispin’s Day speech. So there.

Ok, so now that we’ve gotten that life crisis out of the way…

Last night, Brett and I watched Evan Almighty. What a delightful little movie! I totally laughed and it had some rather nice ways of looking at the relationship of God and man-nothing I’d look at under in theological microscope-but not bad nonetheless. Steve Carell is fast becoming my new favorite comedian.
I also made Peanut Sauce and Stirfry chicken.

I realized this morning that I actually had two complete “nights sleep”. The first went from 10:30pm-4:30am and the second went from 5am-9am. They are so scarily similar in length I feel dreadfully bad for Brett who missed out on that second one. The one that really made the difference.

it is time

So, sorry havent blogged in a while. meh. Saturday I worked and then vegged out on the couch followed by a small birthday gathering at the Drakes house. Sunday was church ( I am still really liking Fellowship Bible Church-and am really praying about how God might want us to fit there...) and then off to Seattle where the following happened:

-went to the Science Fiction Museum/Experience Music Museum
-talked to Penny on the phone in museum, therefore saw hardly any of it.
-decided it wasnt a great loss
-got lost three times
-got heckled by drunken Seahawk football fans
-ate a fabulous milkshake ( strawberry cheesecake? yes please.)
-stood in a long line of Emo Children ( and when I say children, I mean under the age of 21...) ranging in levels of annoying.
-played "Movies that start with the Letter *blank*" with Chuck, Wes, Bethany and Brett while we waited for our long line to move.
-pushed through crowds of Emo Children to stand for literally HOURS to see three sets of music ( some dude not worth mentioning, Augustana-who turned out to be really refreshing and good, Dashboard Confessionals-so tired of standingandwaiting I hardly noticed whether I was disappointed or not)
-drove home very late at night, worrying about Brett having to get up at 4 the next morning.

Thus my weekend.
It was actually pretty good, and besides the bullet points very entertaining and memorable. If you need pictures to better appreciate it, see them here


However, this week is already turning out to be....trying. For one thing Brett is having to leave for work at 5, not only does this cut into sleeping time-but we've also not been able to have our quiet times together...this morning consisted of a prayer time in bed ( me praying in bed at 4:45 is really not very inspiring)...so that's hard. I am also not feeling very well-I'm kicking myself for the extended period of time I spent out in the elements on Sunday-and with only a light jacket, then getting overheated at a concert and standing up for hours...ummmm...way to take care of yourself there Miss I-like-to-get-pheumonia-and-other-illnesses-regularly.
But, I came home from work an hour early and slept on the couch for an hour and a half. Hopefully that helped. MEEEH!
Seriously, this 23 year old body is totally whimping out on me!
Speaking of which. I'm ALMOST twenty-four as of yesterday the count down to my birthday officially started. November 22 here we come! :-P

fridays. much better.

So, I feel I must write after yesterdays venting action....turned out Brett felt pretty awful this morning ( I didnt gloat about this at all-since its not like I WANTED him to feel bad) and therefore decided to stay home afterall-for which I was very glad....I will pretty much take any excuse necessary for Brett to get rest. And now he's sitting at the dinningroom table playing with his new Magic cards he bought on Ebay...so I think he's doing much better.

Work was also not horrible-back to my usual routine of making customers happy... without my boss there to see it. *sigh*...but anyway, I figure my tips speak for themselves...and I'm just going to be prepared the next time he's in the shop to be even MORE awesome.

As for the car loan, I called and got it all sorted out this morning-I even made a long term payment decision which I think is a good one. I'm relying on the math skills I learned from Mrs. Clark in 12th grade so, meh, what can I say?
I turns out I DID know more than the "loan officer" at the bank-she put me on hold to figure out our interest, during which time I figured it out and then when she came back on the phone she told me "the equation I could use to figure out my interest" in which she said "multiply by 365 days" and I responded with, "dont you mean divide?!"
I felt totally vindicated for the trial they'd put me through....

So, ok, maybe I over reacted yesterday...or MAYBE it was just about time I had a breakdown....hahaha. Whatever the case, I'm reeeeeally glad its friday. We're going to see Dashboard Confessionals on Sunday and I'm TOTALLY dressing up as an emo chick. I even have skinny black pants JUST for the occasion! hahaha...

bad.

Brett has decided to go back to work tomorrow even though he got his wisdom teeth taken out today. Reason? Because his boss wouldnt like it if he missed work.

I realized that the bank financing our car charged us a $200 fee for paying more than our monthly balance. 200 dollars. This was not part of the agreement. Or so I thought.

I also got reprimanded by my boss for: toasting the panini's so that the grill lines go vertical rather than horizontal. for not "finding busy work to do when you dont have customers". Not making a particular drink exactly to his specifications ( which I couldnt remember at the time)...


I feel incredibly like everything is out of my control. That no matter how hard I try. things arent working out as I would have hoped.

the land of the living

I promise I'm trying to take it slow...but I am just SO HAPPY to be back at work, back in the land of the living. I really do love my job-all my regulars asking where I'd been-the fun of juggling a bunch of orders all at once-the smell of coffee-the warm lighting that makes the rainy gray day outside look a little less gray-arranging the pastries so they look their yummiest...

My toes are currently painted a sparkly red that looks remarkably like Dorothy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, its a pitty I am constantly having to put socks on because my feet are cold-otherwise I'd be tempted to look at my feet all the time. Did I mention that its officially cold outside?! *sigh* I have already forgotten what "hot" is like....what I do enjoy is all the colors of the trees...gorgeous oranges, reds, yellows...I really need to start taking pictures-but I usually just notice them when I'm driving ( not the best time to take pictures-not that I havent tried).

I'm making homemade Chili when I get off work-one of Brett's friends from Ranger School is in town for a day so we're having him and Charlie over for dinner ( Charlie just got back from Iraq and we still havent had him over yet!)...my first attempt at really cooking since the pheumonia. blah. Hope all goes well, I think I'm actually TIRED of take out.

sleepin with the fishes

So, Sunday morning we woke up to a very awful smell coming from the kitchen....after a small amount of investigating ( "what's that brown puddle by the fridge?!" ) it turns out an entire bottle of fish sauce exploded in the fridge....much cleaning later and the smell is STILL HERE!!!

It is literally driving me crazy, I dont know if you've ever smelled fish sauce ( used in many Thai dishes and other asian foods) but it smells exactly like its name. FISHY. NASTY. NO GOOD. NOT FRESH.
Anyway, I cleaned the fridge AGAIN this morning, have three candles lite, and one Bath & Bodyworks plug in, plugged in in the kitchen and stillllll I smell it.

I'm wonder if its still hiding somewhere? I'm wondering if it'll ever go away? I'm wondering if life will ever be the same???

In other news, I'm going back to work tomorrow...I'm really looking forward to it, although, I'm a tad nervous that I wont be able to make it or something....that I'll have a coughing fit ON a customer, or I'll faint from standing up longer than I have in weeks...buuuut, I'm sure its going to be fine. Yesterday Brett and I went shopping ( Brett looks soooo hooooot in the clothes I picked out for him. hehe) and I made it through that relatively unscathed. So, back to work I go!

Did I tell you we tried out a new church yesterday? Well, we did. And I am happy to say there was NOTHING I disliked about it! Seriously! Good Bible TEACHING ( who knew this was so hard to find) and the worship was not dead and the people were extremely friendly and warm!! So, I am excited about future church-going....
I am also excited about Andrew's Bible study that he's leading on Thursday nights-and I'm actually enjoying the "40 days of Community" ( circa purpose driven life guy) bible study we're going to on Wednesday nights ( which is shocking...I had such a bad attitude about this particular endeavor...). So, the week is offically full and I'm also trying to be all healthy ( went to health food store today just to prove it.) and sleeping lots etc....so yes. That's me.

Oh, and Brett is getting two of his wisdom teeth taken out on Thursday...this means he gets Thursday and Friday off from work...this does not make up for the fact that he has to leave for work at 5am every day next week ( proving my theory that Army is sloooowly pushing their mornings earlier and earlier and their evenings later and later until one day Brett will not come home at all)....or the fact that he as 24 hr. duty the day after Thanksgiving ( meaning he wont even be home for DINNER that night! BOO!). I'm saying all this here because I know I need to be more encouraging and support of Brett and Evil Army-because I am continually impressed at his positive attitude, when he DOES have even the inkling of a bad attitude he's immediately all over it, putting an end to it some how ( with God's help)....so I must continually pray for help in this area too. This is life.

things to do while you're sick.

I went shopping today. Not that Old Navy counts as shopping...but the fact that I stood up and walked around for over ten minutes was a major feat....and then I "rested" in the movie The Jane Austen Bookclub, which I actually really enjoyed...it was so much nicer than that "other stupid Jane Austen movie" that came out recently...this one was present-day, not even pretending to be ALL UPONS Jane...and since I just finished reading "Persuasion" this morning it was timely....and on the way home I picked up Little Caesar's Pizza ( which JUST OPENED DOWN THE ROAD FROM OUR HOUSE!!!!!! YESSSSSS)...because cooking is still way difficult-and besides, I loooove LC.
In other news, Andrew Stroud-one of the Navigator leader dudes-called and his family is making Brett and I dinner tomorrow because I've been sick. How incredibly sweet is that?!
So, its been a nice day. And I'm officially going back to work on Tuesday. So more naps are in my future-all very healthy and recover-y of me.

healthy living...

So, I've gotten so many emails from friends over the last few days commenting on how I get sick so often! Boy, I agree. And last night, when I couldnt sleep I vowed that I was going to start taking a multi-vitamin.
I know. lame, right? Like a multi-vitamin is going to stop the pheumonia. But, SERIOUSLY, here people, I'm getting a bit desparate! I mean, I exercise, get good sleep, eat healthy-ish, I dont smoke, I dont drink....what more can we ask?!
So, multi-vitamin it is.

As for the pheumonia. I am officially, "out of the woods"....or something.
I went and saw the pulmonlogist (spelling? meh.) today and he was like, "looks good, very important that you got on antibiotics right away, you'll be good as new...oooooh.....around christmas."

Yup, long recovery period. Of course, this sucks because if you could see my bathroom floor right now, you'd know that I need to be doing more than watching Gilmore Girls and naping all day.... I hate making Brett clean things he doesnt even notice, but bathroom floors and bathtubs are pretty much not on his radar at all, bless him...they are on mine, unfortunately ( not for any one than visits us, however).
And speaking of visitors, this is SUCH a bad time for me to be "recovering" for 8 weeks....I reeeeally wanted to go to some of the fall festivals around the area, I wanted to go shopping to buy Brett a winter coat that ISNT a jersey hoodie ( how he's lived without me is beyond my comprehension...of course, I have three coats, two jackets and a million sweaters and look which one of us has pheumonia...), I wanted to go to the Dashboard Confessionals Concert at the end of this month ( but would it be RIGHT?! to be out so late, at a concert when you're "recovering"???), plus I've got to do some serious scouting work for the preparation of the visitors who are taking up the month of November ( yay! Louise, The Parents, Josh, Anna and Ryan....), oh, and did I mention I'd like to be feeling all recovered for my BIRTHDAY and THANKSGIVING?!
*sigh*
I'm bummed, being sick stinks.

In other news, my doctor ( can't pronounce his russian name) was very cool and felt like it was crazy that anyone even MENTIONED that I had TB....he also showed me my awesome chest x-ray, which showed my pheumonia ALL over my right lung! It looked incredibly cool, and also really explained why I cant breath well...

modern medicine.

It is amazing to finally take drugs that are specifically for what you have and are not just over the counter "feel a little better for an hour" drugs.

Today I feel moderately better than yesterday. Of course, yesterday was record low with me on the bathroom crying about how I couldnt breath followed shortly by projectile tomatoe soup....honestly. Poor Brett. I dont know how many stars he got in his crown in heaven, I lost count after about fifty....Anyway, so today I'm feeling mildly better, breathing a lot easier although my throat hurts-which is a new symptom. nice.

In other news, Brett bought me the sixth season of Gilmore Girls, and has even suffered through many episodes with me-only making snide comments after several hours. Honestly, what a great show. And I think it's teaching him even more about women-kind than he'd ever want to know.

Anyway, just didnt want to leave everyone hanging with yesterdays bad news....I think I'm going to live.

pneumonia

After a fun filled day at the hospital, one chest x-ray, one chest CT, blood taken from my veins and the promise of a TB test in the coming week at has been decided that I have...pneumonia.
Oh, and possibly Tuberculosis. WHAT?! How do you just throw that in at the end like that?! Because that's exactly what the good PA did.
She was like, "you have pheumonia, here's what we're gonna do to make you better, off you go now...."
and then.
"wait, hold on...."
and then 15 minutes later...
"and there is this other legend ( maybe like the Legend in the bible, I dont know) over here on your lungs that the radiologist didnt see before...it maybe TB...have you been out of the country recently?!"

So, yes, I'm not really worried about the possible TB.
I am a bit worried about the pneumonia and just how much longer I'm going to think I'm choking to death slowly.

Anyway. if you think about it. pray for me. Pray for Brett. Bless his heart, he did not sign on to be a nurse.

so then I ran into a poll...

I've been on a LOT of flu/cold meds of late...as in my whole mind is a foggy mess. So, that is my only "good" excuse for scrapping one of the two polls that is annoyingly two inchs from our assigned parking spot at the apartments. It left some blue paint on the front bumper of the Prius. I'm so upset with myself. And the worst part is having to tell Brett. Not that I think he'll be mean about it or anything...its just so awful to ruin something that's been all pretty and perfect up until now.

I'm coughing a lot in strange intervals. Last night, I would wake up, *bing* and be like, "why am I awake?" and then it would hit and I would realize I was choking and I'd cough and cough...finally I'd fall back into my "nyquil induced" sleep only to have the process repeat itself in the not so distant future of the night.
uggg.

hey, arent these blog posts fabulous to read?! I just realized that it may not be that interesting to read about my symptoms. So that's all for today.

weak coffee isnt work it ( I mean, worth it)

I am so weak. I stand up for a few minutes and then I really want to sit down. So far work as been ok. Slow enough. But, usually Tuesday mornings do not afford this much sitting-but I can hope for a miracle, right?

I was just told that people on the West coast get the flu earlier in the year because they are the closest port to asia which is where the flu comes from. whatever. I bet someone is putting my leg.

totally hot stuff!

So, soon after my last post on Thursday ( was that when that was?!) I had a very near breakdown at work...I had no idea just how HARD my job actually is, until I was using all of my strength to continue standing up right and not passing out-and then I realized that my job requires a lot of patience ( didnt have any of that), multitasking ( none), and a LOT of fast moving ( definitely not) ....it started slowly enough, a few customers trickled in, I was freezing and wearing three layers of clothing, but waiting on them wasnt too much for me...but then the line behind them started to get longer and longer, and people with screaming babies demanding toasted pizza-bagels arrived and I went from freezing to sweating profusely relatively quickly...
I'll leave out the details of me crying a few tears into my apron behind the counter, but lets just say I prayed for a solid two hours that I would be able to make it till 4:30.
I did.
I made it, and then I "lived" in bed or on the couch for the next three days....make that four, because today this is really the first time I've been up in the vertical position and I'm not really liking it that much, to be honest. My head is way stuffy and I'm coughing continually and while the fevers have subsided-I've felt way better....but I'm testing the waters of "living" again, just to see if its possible to maybe spread some of these flu germs other than on my husband, but maaaaybe on some customers, hmmm?
( but seriously, every time I was whimpering in a shivering/sweating ball I was also praying really really hard that Brett didnt catch whatever evil early-flu I had...and you can continue to help me pray this prayer, because as HORRIBLE HELL as it was for me, at least I could take the day off today...its way harder to tell Army that. ( I watched a lot of Arrested Development this weekend).

So, while I continue to push myself to stay in the upright position I must tell you that one good thing has come from this sickness ( not really, I stretch)...Brett bought a themometer. Holy Cow! In the Abt family that was possibly one of the greatest weapons of sickness a child could use-of course it was a gamble. I mean, no one ever ever argued with a fever ( even a teeny tiny one...my mother delighted in fevers) but then again, if you didnt have one your sickness just might be questioned and that could lead down a road you didnt really want to go down...buuuut, nonetheless...as a child who very rarely had fevers I always felt a little bit triumphant when I did produce a few decimal points more than your typical 98.6.
And, to tell you the truth I was a bit relieved that it wasnt all in my head and that my feelings of impending death were being brought on by the 102.7, 103.5 tempature action my body was producing...however the relief was short lived and followed by tears.
And speaking of short lived if this post seems to be ending abruptly that's because it is....my head feels like its going to explode. Apparently 45 minutes is my maximum time frame.
Back to bed and Season Two of The Office....

guilty sleep.

Honestly! I wish I didnt feel guilty when I decide to not do certain things- I mean, come on! I made the decision, deal with it!
Silly mind.

I'm not feeling well. Not well at all. Its kinda silly too. I dont have very defined symptoms besides, "every bone in my body wants to fall off" and "my throat is thirsty all the time"

I dont feel like those should be reasons for me to just STOP life, but basically I laid on the couch for six hours after work yesterday, only to get up to re-fill my water bottle and pee....oh, and i did get up at one point and dusted the entire living areas of our house and do basic "clean up"...because, "dog gone it, I'd said I was going to clean house today and no stupid aching was going to stop me!" In truth I felt horrible and I still do, after sleeping 12 hours last night.
Yet, even with all that I feel guilty, I feel guilty that I havent cleaned the whole apartment, that I havent emailed people back that I know I need to, that I havent finished Bible Study for tonight, that I didnt get up with Brett this morning at 4:30.
meh.

time will tell

So, its been a few days since my last post and I suppose in some ways there is a lot I could write about...like the fabulous day trip Brett and I took on Saturday ( which you can see pictures of here) that was absolutely a gift from God. Yup, that's right sometimes you think that days are so perfect that you just know that some how God was looking down and making sure nothing messed it up, and that all the right things crossed your path ( like the Little Caesars Pizza which fell directly into our laps on the way home...) or the Sunday we spent writing thank you notes....or yesterday when I made stir fried fresh veggies ( because I couldnt remember the last time we'd eaten any veggies and i felt like a bad person) and we watched Mostly Martha...

But, mostly, things have been so delightfully common place. And I say delightfully because I'm just glad Brett is at home.

thanks for...

beautiful friends...Katie, Thida, Lydia ( Louise and Amy-I missed calls from BOTH of them. But, hopefully talk to them soon too!) and their beautiful lives which I am blessed to be a part of, even from afar.

Cool surprises...Wes coming by and visiting me at work:



ANNNNND...Brett got to come home early! YAY!!! With roses. AW!!!

thursday. one. more. day.

So, yesterday, I had lunch with Michelle ( my Locoste friend that gave me her number) at this ADORABLE french restaurant down by the Sound in Steilacoom. it was a beautiful day, sunny ( not warm) and the water positively sparkled. And I ate Creme Brulee because, the restaurant was name La Creme Brulee so I figured it was a good bet. It was.
It was also interesting to learn about a new person, Michelle's husband is coming back from Iraq this week...they have never actually lived together even though they've been married for over a year...that's the army for you!

I also got a pedicure yesterday, it was kinda expensive and not really the best experience ever-but, hey, there is only one way to find out about these places, right? And at least my toes are really pretty now. ;-)

I am looking forward to some phone dates today, as much as I've enjoyed the past few days of new friends-no one can replace the ones I already have! I miss you guys! :-)

above.

So, I drove into Seattle last night, turned a corner and there I was-in the middle of the "student ghetto". ( where University of Washington and Southern Pacific University collide). It was SO MUCH like Dunedin ( down to the weather, the hills, the random ethnic food stalls pressed up against clothing stores and coffee shops) with the young people everywhere that I felt this odd since of loneliness and homesickness all at once. It was hard to explain at the time, but it was if I realized I was no longer part of that type of society. Everyone there was in some cool club that I couldnt join....a club where all you really worry about is making it to class and possibly going to some part time job that really just bankrolls your fun....

At the same time I didnt really want to join. I do not envy anyone new having to come into that enviroment of Washington University and deciding where they fit in all the...heathen-ness ( that's the best way to discribe it). I was reminded of the newness of arriving in Dunedin and being shocked and excited all at the same time, possibilites and pitfalls all in the same place....

But, before I could really hyperventilate for all the nostaligic stress, I found a vintage clothing store that BLEW MY MIND!!! I bought two fantastic sweaters ( one a sweater dress) and an adorable shirt....all name brands and in perfect condition for low low prices ( I wont even tell you how much I paid, you'll be too jealous). And then it was time to meet my new friend Brittany.
We ate at this Mongolian grill, where you pick all these fresh veggies/meats/noodles and sauces through a buffet type line and then give it to the grill guy and he grills it all up for you! Genius!
So, my blind date with Brittany went really well, I liked her immediately and we hit it off on all types of topics. I am now just pondering how best I can be a friend to her in this coming year. She is working as a missionary with the students on the University campus and I live about an hour ( in good traffic) away from her. But, after talking to her I know that catching up with her will definitely be a benefitual thing. We are in "technically" very different situations, and yet also very similar struggles and I enjoyed giving her a few peptalks regarding the getting started and not doubting ones place and purpose in such a new and different enviroment....and even as I talked, I realized the pep talk was just as much for me as it was for her.

So, as I headed home from Seattle, passing the glowing sky line of Seattle's downtown, I was struck that I'd been given my answer. My time away from Brett will never be without things to do-because I'm just as special to God as an individual as I am as a couple...sure, that seems simple, but it was if I forgot that fact. That my purpose was somehow stripped because he was gone-but, let me tell you, there are things-like sitting and talking for hours with another girl that Brett, bless him, would neither enjoy or benefit....and yet, I know that is part of my life that I will never give up. There will always be girls that I need to have bosom chats with, girls to laugh and help and love and cry with....I havent met all these girls yet, and some I am just getting to that point of 'depth' with, and yet it was confirmed that its something I love doing. It was interesting something that Brittany said last night, in almost a surprised voice,

Even though I am working as a missionary, where I am purposefully trying to build relationships with people and figure out where I can fit into peoples lives and help them towards Christ. That isn't different from what you are doing at all!


Yes, indeed. And if I can show Brittany ( and myself) that we are ALL called to a mission field of type and that it is truly our purpose and calling every single day-whether we get our funds for living from a coffee shop job or from a church pay check-we all have the same job. And last night it was confirmed, once again, that God has not completely taken away my ability to have meaningful relationships with girls-just because I'm surrounded by boys all day.
Whew.

...

my mindseye

Last night I dreamed I was in high school but had some how forgotten, and therefore I was failing calculus because I hadnt been to class in weeks...this has been a reaccuring dream of late. Its like, dreams are going along just fine and then someone reminds me, 'hey, arent you in calculus right now?!" And then I remember that I totally forgot.
Weird. It's been Six years since I graduated high school.

In other news, the dishwashing soap at work is the exact same soap we had in the house tutor lounge at Carrington....it brings back in a great rush of memories all my time living at Carrington every time I smell it. Ahhhhhh! College. Its been three years since I graduated. Time flies.


In other news, pictures of the guest room. Makes you want to come and stay doesn t it? ( Notice Brett's army stuff on the bed, that's because this room doubles as his "extra closet" and houses army stuff galore...)
Sorry the before picture is blurry...I wasnt really in the state of mind at the time to make sure the picture was clear. Ah well, you get the idea, right? ;-)

days and nights and pictures

So, it seems I'm going to have to actually DECIDE what I'm going to do with my days...I've got actual options! Which is pretty crazy, but...the nights. Tonight's kinda sad.

Anyway, did I mention I'm having dinner with Sarah's friend Brittany tomorrow evening ( in Seattle. woo traffic. ) ?! ( Sarah is Brett's friend from College...Brittany is my new blind date friend). We some how made it through a possible akward conversation with some good humor and talk of Mangolian food. Like her already. So, that's tomorrow.

And speaking of dinner here are pictures of our dining room....

big girls dont cry...

So, Brett left this morning for five days. I am really praying that I have some sort of revelation while he's gone into just HOW I am suppose to see these times when he is away?!
"needless suffering" is currently not cutting it. ;-)

This week was really interesting, on Saturday we headed north ( about 2.5 hours) to a wedding of an old friend, Grace Damoff...and when I say "old" , I mean, we havent really hung out since we were about 4....but the wedding was really AMAZING....and I'll go into details sometime soon, but lets just say, breathtaking views, amazing food, fun company. We had a good time. And it reminded me that we really need to force ourselves to get out of the house on the weekends. I mean, its difficult since mostly you just want to sleep when you have free time-but where are the memories there?!

Anyway, yesterday I was suffering from the after affects of a migrane and spent the day on the couch. Luckily, it seemed we had weather to correspond with whatever plans we had: Saturday=beautiful Sunny skies, warm. Sunday=rainy, cold...But, it ended up being a nice day with Brett lazing around... So I suppose it all worked out.

However, today, its rainy and cold again ( apparently the high is 63) so I'm trying to be inspired to DO something...Speaking of doing something: I am scheduled to celebrate Brett and my one year anniversary of being together ( which is on Thursday for those who are interested) with a few hours of R&R....it actually worked out perfectly! Because i just randomly called this Spa that I had seen in Tacoma- a pink house situated high up on a hill....and made an appointment for a pedicure on Wednesday afternoon-knowing full well that I would probably have to cancel because I usually work on Wednesday afternoons. BUT, I look at the schedule for this week and guess what day I have off this week?! Wednesday!!! So, once again, I celebrate a milestone in our relationship alone....One month, the two month...the one year....all of them, the army has needed my husband's presence. Blah.

YAY! *and more pictures

So, last night, God answered my prayer in finding my photo/computer adapter thingy....our friend Chuck asked me for a bandaid. So I went and got him the box of bandaids out of our first aid bin ( and for any one from Uni remembers my Resident Assistant days...its huge) and brought it out to him...and low and behold I opened the box to find, not only bandaids...but my photo stick. yeah. long story.
But that's where it was. hahahaha!!

Anyway...

Here are more before and after pictures of the apartment.

The living room...
( you can guess which are befores...and which are afters...)

The new kind of dating..

You would think that once you are married the horriblness that is dating would be totally over. No more would you have to stress over first dates ( what will we talk about? What should I wear? What will they think of me?), or when to call someone....

But, low and behold, while I never really dated that much when I was single...I have now come across Friendship Dating.
Oh, maaaaan.
Today, I am being set up for lunch with my mother-in-law's good friend's daughter.
I also met a really nice girl here at the coffee shop who I talked with for a while during a lull in customers, and when she left she left me her number on a scratch piece of paper....
And my friend Sarah emailed me with the name and number of a friend of her's who just moved to Seattle who she laughingly said she wanted to set me up on a "friend blind date".

I now feel really sorry for guys having to get up the nerve to hang out with a girl. Its a lot harder now then when I was in college, you dont have that 'common bond' of going to the same school etc. Anyway, at the same time don't think I'm complaining...maybe I wont be a TOTAL cat woman, minus the cats next week.

Perfectly Modern Woman

Today Brett and I will be married two months. I’m pretty sure that’s the go buy fresh milk anniversary.
But our marriage will have been officially longer than many a celebrity marriage and therefore cause for some pause.. And I have to say its been two of the longest/shortest two months of my life. I guess that’s sort of how it always is when I go through huge life altering changes ( which seems to be my lot). This particular change has been different from the past ones, my other major life moves. And for those of you who missed out on the life-crisis of 2002 and then the follow-up crisis of 2005, I am glad you have joined us with the life crisis of 2007. Oh wait, I’ve some how given the impression that my marriage is some sort of “crisis”…which really isn’t fair. I’d say the crisis parts have been more the “military wife” the “what to do now, oh how about be a barista” or the “now I live in Washington and therefore only have three friends” stuff that has created crisis in my little easily -thrown–off- self. When I enter crisis mode, it seems that everything is magnified and time becomes tangible, days passing becomes some sort of monumental achievement.
But, what have I actually achieved? What have I learned in this particularly short amount of time? Here are my thoughts on life as a married women so far:
Being a military wife sucks. In response to me saying I hated the military’s idea of “working hours” ( for example, Brett left at 5 am yesterday morning…got home at 1am and after seeing him for 5 minutes this morning, as he put his uniform on, he is gone yet again…) , Brett said he had not hidden his working schedule from me before we were married, to which I said, “People do not hide the fact that child birth hurts like hell, but then when you actually go through it yourself, the fact that you KNEW it would hurt doesn’t make it less painful.” Profound, I know. Me equating being a military wife to child birth ( this is ironic since it seems to me that most military wives are either pregnant or have five children or both…). And yes that conversation happened in a particular “complain-y” time…and you should be thankful I’d share such a bad moment with you… Anyway, I have realized ( as of yesterday) that I was actually ruining all the perfectly good and decent time that I DID have with Brett with my totally bad attitude. In a lot of ways I am jealous of the military. It’s like the worst Other Women ever. Because this other women gives me free medical care…just kidding, but hopefully you do understand what I’m saying
I guess my point is that I know that there is no question here, there is no changing the way things are, you see, I am actually incredibly proud of Brett and the incredible amount of diligence and integrity that he gives to his job, he takes it very seriously and does not cut many of the corners that so many around him do day in and day out. He generally has a very good attitude and I hardly ever hear him complain ( maybe because I’m complaining so loudly…hahaha) but seriously, He is truly a light in a dark place, and often the only positive interaction that many have with a Believer. Period. And as the days continue on, I see more and more how important it is that he is doing what he does. And along with that realization, I am also having to come to grips that my marriage is going to have to be different. I don’t get to spend the “normal” amount of TIME with my husband that most people get and unfortunately, its only going to get worse, so I am going to have to throw out pretty much ALL my preconceptions of what marriage should be, and start afresh. Yes, it has taken me two months to realize this, and it’ll probably take me years to actually figure out the right way to go about this…but, hey, it’s a fun journey right?


So, here is something I wrote in my journal a while back-from the book “Gold Cord” by Amy Carmicheal , it is the creed that she and the women who joined her, lived by, and after reading it I was over come by its truth and also by how much I was lacking in many of the areas talked about :

“Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee more, faithfully, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not heed the wounds, to toil and not seek for rest, to labor and not ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do Thy will, O lord our God”

I hesitate to even type it here for you, that you even know that it is my desire to be like this…since I lack these attitudes in my life so far, but Lord help me, for I do so very much want to be like this!

a pile of pictures

I've lost the card stick for my computer so I can put the pictures on my camera on the computer and therefore share the rest of the loverly pictures we have of the apartment, as well as a picture I took last night of the pants I found a goodwill for three dollars.
Yup, I found these silk indian wrap pants stuck in between some hideous early 90s print dresses...and they're really great, and the BEST part is I think they are going to fit perfectly the "casual elegant" dress code for the wedding we're attending on Saturday. I cant tell you what horrible trouble I've had with this vague and unhelpful dress code! I mean, suuuure technically with something that vague you cant officially go wrong...but I like to fit in! I like to look cool without it looking like I've tried to hard. Yes, I'm that lame.
Anyway. these pants are cool and I wanted to share them with you...but who KNOWS what happened to that converter! BOO!

In other news, I went on a date with myself last night. Saw The Nanny Diaries, ate Thai Satay Peanut Chicken...it was good except that I missed Brett the whole time.

can't.wake.up.

This mornings quiet time was a total wash. I dont even remember it. Of course, it happened at 4:30. So there's that. I'm thinking I'm going to have to go back and read all my bible readings again because it'll be BRAND NEW for the second time today...
However, I do really like getting up with Brett, ok "like" is a strong word...but I DO find that its more benefitual than I probably realize for us to do that together everyday.


I guess its good I had the third shift today...started at 11. Worked out at our apartment complex's gym...watched VH1's music videos, but even that didnt wake me up totally.

Brett is going to be working tonight ( should be home around midnight...)...so maybe I'll go see The Nanny Diaries, I've heard medicre reviews so I figured I wouldnt put Brett through "mediocre" chick-flicks ;-)

Well, on contemplation, I have no other news to share with you, except to say that I'm still really enjoying working at the coffee shop. I have never worked in the service industry for almost a month and a half without having any really rude customers before!! It really is a credit to the North Western Coffee Drinkers that our clintele is SO very friendly and nice! The down side to this is that nice people arent nearly the same kind of fodder for writing... ;-)

slowly going postal

Driving to Main post: 20 minutes
Getting a day pass for the Prius ( we dont have military tags for it yet): 20 minutes
Driving to Hospital Pharmacy: 10 minutes
Finding out the Pharmacy at Hospital does not do "outside prescriptions: 10 minutes
Driving to Pharmacy across post: 15 minutes
Waiting for Prescription at 2nd Pharmacy: 25 minutes
Finding out that TriCare has made a wrong notation on my records ( saying I'm a dependant not a spouse): 5 minutes
Driving back to Main Hospital to visit Medical Records: 15 minutes
Waiting in Medical Records: 35 minutes
Waiting at Main Pharmacy again(!), because 2nd pharmacy said they'd make an exception because of the TriCare error: 20 minutes
Waiting for Main Pharmacy employee to try to figure out how to "do something different" and fill the outside prescription: 35 minutes
Time it took for her supervior to do it once she finally called him: 5 minutes
Driving home with rush hour traffic 30 minutes

Total time for me to FINALLY get my prescription: 4 hours

Finally having my presciption: PRICELESS

~~

In other news, Brett and I went to the Puyallup Fair ( yeah, that's a real name!) last night...its the 6th largest fair in the country ( apparently) and it was pretty good fun, especially since it was the warmest day we've had all year ( 85 degrees and beautiful!)...lots of fun. Interesting Fact: Traditional Fair food in the northwest=scones. really weird. but totally yummy.