Lots to do, lots to say, with a very somber ending.

I have loads of things to put into this post today, so I'm going to color code them.

For the Blogging Party hosted by the amazing, intellectual Alexes from One Cluttered Brain: Purple!

For the give-aways and other awesome things about Mrs. B, the Pagan Soccer Mom:
Orange!

For just the regular old Helen stuff, we'll go with....:
This color! LOL.

For the Blogging Party, I need to answer these questions. Alexes will then read them and match me up with another blogger... and I have no clue what happens from there, lol, that's all I understood. But I'm one of those learn as you go kinds of people, so I'll figure it out.

1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while you're blogging? I'm not much of a snacker... heck, as much as I truly love food, I'm not really much of an eater! Andrew and I are drinkers, lol, we could pretty much live off liquids. I drink chocolate milk while I blog :)

2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without? You know, I would have to say, I wouldn't want to live without running water. Not really for any particular reason, except that unless there's an actual, well-built outhouse, I can't get my squat down pat. Some article of clothing always gets wet... so I couldn't live without that wonderful toilet, which would be impossible without running water!

3. Beach, Mountains or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice? Mountains. Put me in a cabin in the mountains...but that's out of those three. If I had a choice truly? I want a sprawling ranch house in the middle of the desert, with horses and dogs, cats, chickens, and a BIG aviary full of cockatiels!

4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty? Laundry. I hate laundry. 'Nuff said.

5. Prefer parties and socializing or staying at home with the fam? I love going to family get-togethers, either all of our family or my family with other people's families. I love it!

6.Favorite movie? The Long, Long Trailer, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

7. Do you sleep in your make up or remove it like a good girl every night? I don't wear enough make-up to worry about, so I usually sleep in it. I mean, cover-up and mascara? The worst that can happen is a dirty pillow and some clogged pores.

8. Where is your favorite place to shop? I like Kohls a lot... and Borders or Barnes and Noble!

9. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time? Write. I would write if I had more time and more inspiration to do so.

10. Are you a big spender or frugal? I spend too much, too often. It's always little stuff, but little stuff adds up FAST.


So now, let me tell you a little about the give away going on at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom. First off, I don't know how she does it. She managed to do a give away EVERY day of October, but I couldn't even get my butt here to BLOG once a day this month for NaBloWriMo. Seriously. Mrs. B gets my utter admiration.

Today, she's got several give aways and I'll link all of them here. There's the book from Quirk Classics, called Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. There's a subscription to Circle Magazine. Last but not least, she's giving away a spooky keyring from Carioca Witch.

I'm crossing my fingers for that book. I read a little of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and it was both awesome and hilarious!

The wind is blowing like crazy outside and freaking me out more than a little. I watched some leaves going left, and then others were going right and I was thinking, "OMG, the wind is going in two directions... or maybe it's going in the same direction, but in a circle??" and then I freaked out even more because the words "wind circle" translate into "tornado" to me. Andrew's not home, he's in the field, so it's just me and the feathered menace.

Because I don't know if I'll be able to do it tomorrow, or the day after, I want to tell you about what happened one year ago on Halloween night.

Last year at this time, Andrew had been gone for only a few weeks to basic training. I was still in that guest-nice-do-it-all period with David and Rachel at the apartment, I was working 5 days a week in a brand new job, and not getting much sleep because Harmony cried if you looked at her funny...oh wait, she still does O.o.

Gramma took a bad turn just after the wedding, as though getting out of the house and to the ceremony took everything she had left. They put her in a place called Pepe's House, on the back side of TMC (Tucson Medical Center, where I was born), and every day that I had off, I went to see her. I saw her as often as I could...most days, she just slept. Some days she knew who I was and why I was there, but not often. Mom and I visted together a few times, but usually, it was just me. If she woke up, I would talk to her about Andrew, or I'd show her pictures of the wedding. She told me a few stories of younger days, but she ran out of wind fast.

Pepe's House was good to her. They had a harpist come every day and play in the halls, and it was beautiful. Gramma loved it, and so did I. They brought her what she wanted to eat, not what was good for her, and made sure she was as comfortable as she could be. She was dying of lung cancer, with COPD, and only about 10% of her respiratory system was functioning. When they examined her earlier that month, before she got so bad, the doctors were shocked and amazed that she was still relatively mobile. We knew better. If she'd have had enough reasons, the old woman would have held on another 100 years for spite.

On Halloween day, before work, I went to see her. It was a Friday last year...I held her hand, and I told her I loved her. I told her I would be back to see her on my next day off, and that she wasn't allowed to run off with any cute nurses or anything while I was gone. She was lucid, in good spirits, and she told me she would be there. When I left, I drove past an elementary school on recess. There were little witches and a mermaid on the swings. The mermaid was being pushed by Batman, and I smiled and wished I was that little again for a hundred reasons, but mostly so I could dress up and play on the playground, lol. It was exactly 20 days after our wedding.

I spent the night on 4th Ave in Tucson with a friend, having a wild time, enjoying myself until way too late. The next morning, I got the phone call from my Aunt Shelly...Gramma had died sometime that night, probably a little after midnight. I was the last person she saw other than a nurse, but they said that the harpist had been there that evening. Aunt Shelly, my mom, and my aunt and uncles all agreed that she had been holding on to see my wedding day, and now that she had, she decided it was time to let go...

I tried to get ahold of Andrew, but there was no way other than a letter. He didn't know until almost two weeks later. And I cried. I cried for a long time, I cried often, and I'm not done crying yet. I'm crying now, and I was crying in bed this morning and last night.

When I think about it, I see the playground. I see them happy and playing, all dressed up, and I hope that was how Gramma left: happy. I like to think she left us still hearing the harp in her sleep, with my wedding pictures on her nightstand, and her beautiful, hard-working hands finally at rest. I don't know for sure, but that's what I like to think. I miss her.

Halloween has always been quite the night for me. It's the night Andrew told me he loved me for the first time, the night when my friends and I could be ourselves and not be called weird, and the night I lost one of the most important people in my life.




Happy Halloween, Gramma.

Wordless Wednesdays: Anniversary Pictures

Andrew

+




Helen

=



Yay!!

The shpiel is very, very important.

I've decided to go a little deeper with my blog than I have before. Not necessarily today, but in the long run, I want to put more than my complaints, troubles, and daily happenings here. Why? I don't have a reason why. I don't even have a specific audience in mind, although I notice I tend to lean towards Mommy Blogs more than anything, even if I'm not a mommy.

My problem is that deeper means longer. Longer means no one is going to take the time to sit and read my mind. Maybe if I intersperse it with pictures and jokes, it won't seem so long...but it will still be long.

And I can't intersperse. My laptop was read it's last rites a few days ago and this desktop hates my very existence. It blames me for the virus that took it's brain.

I plead the 5th.

However, as I said, today is not necessarily a deep day. Today is a bread-making, laundry-folding, eat-the-last-corner-brownie-on-the-pretense-of-needing-to-wash-the-pan, celebrating kind of day.

Why do I need to celebrate? Let me explain. I got a phone call this morning from a place called Kirlin's Hallmark. Ah, yes, do you know of my adoration of Hallmarks in general? No? Mwaaahahaha! Why do I adore them? Let me list the reasons: Kristal, Amy, Anne, John, Julie, other Julie... ornaments, Christmas cards, Snoopy, WillowTree... I could go on and on. I loved working there, more than any place I've worked yet!

I start work at Kirlin's Hallmark tomorrow at 11:00 am, in a solid colored collared shirt, solid colored pants or skirt, and tennies, for minimum wage at about 25 hours a week.

You have nooo idea how happy I am. I am getting the heck out of Dodge, people, I am gone like a freight train, like the Seminoles around the Ocochobee... I am done staying here in this house day in and day out!! And I'll be making money for not being bored out of my mind.

Hi, welcome to Hallmark. What special person or occasion can I help you shop for today? Let me know if I can be of any help, get you a box, whatever you need, okay?

Sorry... I was practicing my shpiel.

I don't even have a title....

My laptop is dead.

Yesterday, I had to take Zedd back to the car doctor and on the way there, I had to stop very, very suddenly at a red light. It was either that or be a) photographed and sent my ugly mug in the mail and b) pulled over right then and there because there was a cop next to me.

Laptop went flying.

Not even 30 minutes prior, I was on it fine and dandy, typing up my Thankful Thursday post which I saved to finish at Borders while I waited on the car, so it had to be the brief flight it made from the passenger seat to the passenger floorboard... The screen does not work. Nothing. It turns on, makes all the right sounds like it's brought up my desktop; but I see nothing but black on the screen.

And I loathe this desktop. I hate being stuck in this little room, at this slow computer. It won't run IMVU and what am I gonna do there? I have a pack to take care of... I can't play CafeWorld on Facebook, and that breaks my heart...

Andrew says we'll get it fixed as long as the price of fixing the screen does not exceed the price the we paid for the computer itself. If it does... we'll just have to look into getting another, albeit cheaper and less awesome, computer.

*sigh*

Add that up with a ruined awesome purse (ink catastrophe), Chip being taken to the hospital for emergency gall bladder surgery, Bennie with a broken wrist due to free running, cramps like my uterus wants to jump out of my body, and various other minor thingies, yesterday was darned fantastic.

But what I'm thankful for on Thursday was/is: I am thankful for a husband that I can laugh with. I blew a huge raspberry on the part of his arm right above the armpit, that tender little skin there, and he called me a butt bubble. I think we laughed like 5 year olds for a good 15 mins, lol, over butt bubbles and armpit raspberries and the entire fact that we were laughing about them...
<3

Wordless Wednesday

As always, a little less than wordless.

I can't seem to get a good copy of the video, so indulge me and click .

It's a video of Mattison, somewhere between 6 months and 12 months, I'm thinking about 7 and a half actually. She's eating a pear and staring out the bedroom window :)


This is Megan, me, and Chels at my bridal shower. Meg's holding Mattison and the wee little blondie in the back there is Jana. Other than Jana, and Leslie who didn't come (yes, that's right, my mother in law didn't come to my bridal shower, because she had other things going on and couldn't find the time), those are all of the Adami girls so far!

I've decided that October can go NaBloWriMo itself.

I would like to give all you bacon lovers a word of warning:

Do not wash your hands and then get next to a very angry pan of bacon while your hands are still wet. It hurts a whole helluva lot more than just regular grease spatter, I promise. Want proof?



That's me, and my hand... and those three, odd-shaped red marks are blisters. Yes, BLISTERS. How often does one get burn blisters from spunky bacon grease?? Thankfully, they don't hurt much now and I heal fast.

In other notes, it appears that Ben has broken his wrist again. I think it's Phil...and here we are on the other side of the world. I realize that no, we're not really that far. But the differences in people, and culture, and lifestyles, and everything else between Tucson, AZ and Clarksville, TN might as well make it another country. Do you know how I found out, though?

Facebook. Megan posted something on Facebook. No one called to tell us, no one mentioned it, nothing. The same way no one in his family mentioned our anniversary, even thought they were all there... the same way I had to call and find out that the bun in Meg's oven is a Masen, not a Mia.

I do believe we have disappeared from their radar.

NaBloWriMo: I lost my groove...

So yesterday. Let's address it here and now. I did not blog.

I DID NOT BLOG.

I have failed the NaBloWriMo Challenge, but I'm not gonna stop. I might still have a chance. This is now, NBWM Day 19 and my 18th post this month. If nothing else, it's making me look like a serious blogger with that big old number of posts I see every morning. I'm on 44 now, since either August or September.

I had a really nice day yesterday, so I can't say I regret not blogging. Andrew and I stayed up too late, as usual, and I woke up just in time to get ready to go grocery shopping. We'd made plans a day or two before, Teresa and I, to go together and get good deals, so I went and picked her up at 11 and we spent hours in the commissary. We literally did not get home until about 4 pm, and then we picked up Andrew and went to the apt. she and Camp are now sharing with some friends.

We ate a quick lunch and spent most of the time we were there in the kitchen. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to be back in the kitchen with another woman. There is something so very basic about it, something very much like a need, to be sharing the creation of good food with another female human being. I haven't been able to cook with another woman since I left Megan behind and I didn't realize until I was given the opportunity again how much I missed it.

We made buffalo wings and a cooking base her mother uses called sifrito. Yes, it's probably misspelled, but it smells divine. It had garlic, cilantro, onions, Sazon Goya seasoning, Adobo seasoning, and I want to say something else in it, and I have a little in my freezer. I think I'll use it when I brown hamburger meat :)

Does anyone understand this, though? This strangely communal feeling from cooking with a female friend, rather than say, a husband, or even a child? It felt a little old-fashioned...but it was wonderful. We're repeating tonight with pot roast from this amazing, awesome woman who's cookbook I have going to buy the day it comes out: The Year of the Pot Roast.

NaBloWriMo Day 17: Eye candy and a movie

Okay, so: Paranormal Activity. It's good. It's slow to start, but you get pulled into it anyway, start feeling worried for the characters. Some scenes are a little predictable but not as to what's going to happen... just that something... WILL happen. It built up to the freaky stuff heavily, with lots of little not too scary stuff happening, and then WHAM: you jump sky high! The end was kinda easy to figure, but if you weren't really worried about figuring it, it'll catch you off guard. I would honestly pay to go see it again. It was pretty awesome, but I think the best part was the audience. The comments from the peanut gallery (half of which here were drunk soldiers) were hilarious. Everyone jumped at some point, EVERYone. OH, that's what else was really good about it... the couple in it is really normal. Like it's two college-age people living together, not married, she's a student, he's got a job and they act like a real couple...stupid flirting, a little bickering, he keeps trying to get her to do him on camera which is hilarious and the language is realistic, no scripted out fake dialog between them, it feels like a real modern couple....the f-word is her favorite word, I think... but seriously, if you're even remotely aware of young adults today, that is how they talk, (note I did not say WE. I do not talk that way. You have to tick me off to the point of no return before you hear that f-word come out of my mouth)not all of them, mind you, but a good portion. It was very honest in that factor, and I liked how there was no music. Nope, not even a little bit. No soundtrack, nothing to focus on except the screen. There were also some parts that were just plain funny. No lame jokes, just funny stuff, stuff you would laugh about if you saw it happen to a friend or if it happened to you, even.

Okay. I'm done.

GO SEE THE MOVIE!!!

But don't eat popcorn...the people next to us actually threw theirs when they jumped O.o


Got this from Alexes at One Cluttered Brain :)



1. FAVORITE DRINK: Creme soda, oh yeah!


2. MY HOMETOWN: San Manuel, Arizona... and boy, do I miss it!!


3. FAVORITE SHOW: Legend of the Seeker


4. OCCUPATION OR WHAT YOU ARE IN SCHOOL FOR: Eventually, I'll be a midwife. Starting school hopefully in January


5. FIRST CAR: 2001 Chevy Cavalier... and Zedd doesn't look this good, sad to say :(

6. FAVORITE FOOD: Fettucine Alfredo *drools*

7. CELEBRITY YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD YOU RESEMBLE: Mandy Moore... I was told by a girl I reminded her of Jamie from A Walk To Remember. Sure, I'll take that, lol.



8. CELEBRITY ON MY "TO DO" LIST: Craig Horner, as in the lead actor in Legend of the Seeker *drools some more*


9. FAVORITE CHILDHOOD TOY: Make-up brushes!! I wanted to be an archaeologist, so my best days were spent in the dirt, carefully sweeping it away from pretty rocks.


10. ANY RANDOM PICTURE YOU CARE TO SHARE: Because I can... *has a puddle of drool forming on her table as she types*

NaBloWriMo Day 15: Thoughtful Thursday

Hello, everyone!

Yes, I am much too chipper for the kind of day it's going to be, but I'm instituting a new day here at my blog, since it seems that I'm going to a) make it through NaBloWriMo if it kills me and b) keep this sucker up and running for a while.

Introducing *drum roll*...... Thoughtful Thursday :D

So here's how it goes. I give you 10 random thoughts in my head. When you comment back, you give me one random thought and/or expound on one of mine. Whatcha think?

No, you don't have to. I'd like you to, but you don't have to.

Therefore, let us begin:

1: I told Andrew this morning that, given the high for tomorrow is 48, if he even so much as took my hand to get me out of the house I would yell rape and divorce him on the spot.

2: My bird slept in this morning. What happened to early birds?

3: The only thing this digital ACU camouflage actually blends in with is itself... and this couch.

4: My toes are numb.

5: Due to the way condensed vegetable beef and cream of mushroom soup smell when mixed, I'm going to call my potato-beef casserole "Dogfood" from now on.

6: I'm having leftover Dog Food for breakfast, as a matter of fact.

7: There's something calling itself Gertie growing on the bottom of my shower curtain. I made friends yesterday.

8: I am not ridding myself of Gertie because I'm too addicted to Viva Pinata to care. My garden MUST be better than Andrew's! MUST MUST MUST!!!

9: I considered posting a vlog. Then I reconsidered.

10: Sirens freak me out now. They wake me out of a dead sleep... because I am absolutely terrified of tornados. Yeah... if there was a phobia, I would have it. Tornadophobia. Totally.

Thoughtful Thursday is apparently full of rather shallow thoughts, but oh well. It's entertaining, at the least... I think. O.o

Wordless Wednesday and NBWM: still going strong, kinda...

I don't remember where this came from... but thank you to who's ever it is!

And... I just have no words for this. Except I wanna scoop him up, kiss him on the head, and send him on his little conquering way <3

NaBloWriMo Day 12: It's definitely a Monday.

Good morning! Let me tell you a little about things, shall I?

Yesterday was pretty awesome, I'll tell you that. We did nothing, all day, just sat around and played video games and drank chocolate milk. It was nice. We found a few games for cheap on the Xbox 360 that we really loved, and he bought me Viva Pinata for our anni. I bought him the first book of the Forgotten Realms series, because he absolutely loves Drizzt, the main Drow character.

Yesterday was not without it's un-awesomeness, though. About 9 am I crawled unwillingly out of bed and decided I was going to do some dishes. I had made pancakes the day before and not really cleaned up, so it was getting kinda scary in the kitchen. Andrew followed me out and got a glass of Gatorade and as he turned around, he smacked a glass and it busted in the sink. It was a clean break, though, so we didn't have to worry about glass anywhere, and I kept on with what I was doing.

Well, I started the water and dumped out my mixing bowl, which was full of water too, and whoosh! All the water came gushing right out of the bottom and splattered all over me. I yelled for Andrew, who immediately came running thinking I'd cut myself (and with good reason was he hurrying, I pass out if I see my own blood usually), and water was just everywhere in the kitchen. So I called the emergency number to get the maint. man to come... and he never did. Our sink is still full of dirty dishes, totally not functioning.

Then later, after a fairly uneventful day (I tripped and fell, but that's normal), I was sitting in the chair in the den with a glass of orange Gatorade on the footstool we use as a table next to me. Andrew was in the bathroom... and suddenly, whoosh! again, the Gatorade went everywhere. Thank God for industrial strength stain master carpeting and the apartment complex's that are smart enough to use it. We got ALL the Gatorade up so well, it was pretty much dry when we were done.

There are now three soggy towels in the bathroom, drying out before I toss them in the dirty clothes.

In other news, today is NBWM Day 12 and I haven't missed a day yet! Also, Andrew recently had a contest at work for how fast he and his unit could disassemble, reassemble and function check a variety of weapons.

Andrew can completely disassemble, reassemble, and function check an M16 blindfolded in 1:24.

That's 1 minute and 24 seconds.

Blindfolded.

Wow.

NaBloWriMo Day 10: Today.

I decided last night that today, I would tell you exactly what was going on on this day one year ago... and seven years ago.


Seven years ago today, my father was in jail for child support on a boy who eventually admitted he was in no way blood related to my father.

Seven years ago today, I was a freshman in high school and had attended my first pep rally. I had joined Matmaids and watched the boy that would eventually be my brother in law sing and also wrestle in front of the entire school. Seven years ago today, I was already Megan's sister in heart if not by law.

Seven years ago today, I spent the day with a boy I had come to adore. We made plans for Halloween, and I spoke to every friend I had about what we should do that night, the first Halloween I would be going out without an adult.

Seven years ago today, I took a long, hot bath and while I did that, I talked on the phone to my crush. His brother stole the phone from him and asked me, why I wasn't going out with him already? I told him very plainly that my crush hadn't ask me yet... and the boy that I had seen sing and wrestle told me that I should ask.

Seven years ago today, sitting butt naked, wet, in cold bathwater with the handset to our telephone about to die after a two and a half hour conversation, I asked my crush if he would be my boyfriend.

Seven years ago today I was Helen Bernice Jorg.

Seven years ago today, I was in love.

(skip forward 6 years)

One year ago today, I was busy on the phone, making last minute preparations. I was running in and out of the apartment, I was going here, going there, and I was three steps from crazy. David, Rachel, and Harmony were there and so, Andrew and I got little sleep because she was at the scream constantly phase. I was shaking for most of the day.

One year ago today, I was kicking my boyfriend of 6 years out of my house for the last time.

One year ago today, I went to bed with all girls in my house for the first time in a long time, with my niece and my sister in law in the bed with me.

One year ago today, I was Helen Bernice Jorg.

One year ago today, I was in love.



Today, my father is not in jail and that kid who claimed to be his son is nowhere in our lives.
Today, I am 21 years old and the boy that I watched wrestle and sing is Matt, my brother in law, married to the sister of my heart, Megan, who watched right along with me and never realized she was looking at her future husband.
Today, I am spending the day with the man I adore, who once was a boy who told me he loved me on my first free Halloween.
Today, I am going to make pancakes and take a long, hot bath so I can look happy and clean for pictures. I don't plan on being butt naked and cold, however.
Today, those special girls are over 1000 miles away. I am not shaking, and I have no boyfriend to kick out of my house.

Today, I am Helen Bernice Adami.

Today, I am in love.

Happy Anniversary, Andrew.

NaBloWriMo Day 9: Appreciation

For those of you just joining me along this trip, this is day 9 of National Blog Writing Month. I've committed myself (yes, finally, off to the Funny Farm for me 8P) to writing here every single day in the month of October.

Whoa, doggy.

So far, so good and today, I have something worthwhile to say. Before I start, though.... I honestly tried, Tooj, I did, I tried reeeaaaly hard to make this shorter. Nothin' doin'.

First, let me ask you something. What do you really, truly appreciate in nature? What are you thankful for when it happens, truly thankful and pleased that it's occurring? What in nature makes you so very, very happy that you want to dance?

Now let me ask you this. What annoys you about nature? What is something, that when it happens, you moan and groan and think to yourself, "Omg, again?" What makes you want to shake your fist at the world and go crawl back into bed?

If you ask most people in many parts of the world, the answer will be, for both questions, RAIN.
RAIN makes full-grown adults want to dance.... or moan and groan. The difference is in location.

I've seen both sides of it now. I grew up in a world where rain came about once every two months, maybe even once a month if we were lucky... and then during monsoon season, a few times a week. When water is rare, it becomes precious. It becomes something wonderful, something joyous and celebratory. I've seen grown men run outside into the rain and stand there, happy as a clam, because it's beautiful, life-giving water. I've done it too... in fact, I've made it a tradition to go outside on the first monsoon rain of the year, and let myself be utterly drenched in the water falling from the sky (followed by a nice, hot shower inside, lol). I missed out on that this year, because we left not even two weeks before the storms came.

And now we're here... and I hate it. I have never, ever, in my 21 years been so tired of rain. I hate it now. I wake up to the sound of it and put my pillow over my head. I go to sleep to the sound of it and sing to Andrew mostly to drown out the constant drumming sound outside. It's been raining for two days...the water on the roads is so heavy that my poor Zedd sways on the way through and I can barely see. The moments where, were I home, I would be laughing, I'm now grumpy-faced along with everyone else.

Example: I was standing in the entrance of Border's today with a gentleman, watching as it poured sheets and sheets of rain outside. We were joined by a lady, and in Tucson, we would have been giddy with the rain. It would have been some bemused laughing, a little disbelief... but an enjoyable outlook. But not these people, not this time or place. I said, with my usual Arizona-brand amazement, "Wow." and the man next to me glared at me and said, "Yeah. Wow." in the most sour, grumpy voice imaginable. The woman looked outside and said, gruffly, "Ugh, I guess we're waiting, then." Both of them, though, felt like nice people. They looked kind, and friendly, and generally good-natured... but the rain turned them crochety in a split second.

What I'm getting at here is this: people who never see it, who never have that precious gift of water learn to appreciate it when it comes to them. People that have it always see it as an inconvience... but in truth, it is a blessing! It's an amazing thing, and it's under-estimated constantly.

I want to go home. I want to go back to the place where water is seen as a miracle, not a curse. Where people feel rain drops and exclaim with excitement, and take their toddlers outside to dance in the pretty, pretty puddles. I want to go back to being grateful for water falling from the sky, back where I hear thunder as I go to bed at night and feel comforted by the knowledge that my world will be green and fresh by the time I wake up, not soggy (and smelling like a fishtank, because FYI, it does).

In my opinion, one cannot appreciate fully that which is always at hand. It's in the absence of a necessity that we truly understand how necessary it is.

NaBloWriMo Day 8: Something New Because I'm Lazy

Okie doike then, oh random people who are reading my life story via blog! I'm about three steps from tired of this NaBloWriMo thing...but you see, I made a commitment. I won't stop unless it's a dire emergency. More than that, dang it, this is a competition! I may not seem the type, but I hate losing. I hate it. I hate it. I HATE IT.

I've gone too long without breakfast. The temper tantrums are coming back, with the CAPS LOCK key in tow.

So I've decided that today, I'm going to put up a nice little survey. Enjoy :)


100 Fun Questions Survey from Quizopolis.com

Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? - I sleep with them closed... very tightly closed O.o

Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel? - *shifty eyes* Yes, as a matter of fact, I do...

Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? - We don't use sheets, just a comforter.

Have you ever stolen a street sign before? - It wasn't STOLEN. Dad worked for the trailer court and it wasn't usable anymore...

Do you like to use post-it notes? - Yes! I like the pink ones!

Do you cut out coupons but then never use them? - I see this survey requires honesty. So.... yes.

Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees? - Bees o.o I'm snack-sized for a bear, are you kidding?

Do you have freckles? - Yep, all across my nose, but they're worse in summer.

Do you always smile for pictures? - No, sometimes I take pics of myself and that requires concentration: no smiling!

What is your biggest pet peeve? - At the moment, it's rain. I hate rain.

Do you ever count your steps when you walk? - I used to! I used to count how many it would to take from the cafeteria to the playground in 6th grade

Have you ever peed in the woods? - *crosses out woods and puts desert* Indeed I have.

What about pooped in the woods? - Not in the woods, or the desert, sorry

Do you ever dance even if theres no music playing? - Yes, because I have music in my head.

Do you chew your pens and pencils? - Not anymore, but I used to!

How many people have you slept with this week? - Um, just the usual one, unless there are creepy people sneaking into our house and sleeping with us O.o

What size is your bed? - It's queen-sized. We don't need much more than that.

What is your Song of the week? - "Whispers in the Dark" by Skillet

Is it okay for guys to wear pink? - NO! It's not! It's not a good color for guys, bleck! No!!!

Do you still watch cartoons? - No, I don't watch any tv.

Whats your least favorite movie? - Snakes on a Plane or Napolean Dynamite. I can feel my brain cells die with those pieces of idiocy.

Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some? - Somewhere along the San Pedro.

What do you drink with dinner? - Milk or chocolate milk... or creme soda!

What do you dip a chicken nugget in? - Ketchup, of course!

What is your favorite food? - Hashbrowns!

What movies could you watch over and over and still love? - Fern Gully, Beauty and the Beast, and A Walk To Remember

Last person you kissed/kissed you? - Andrew <3>Were you ever a boy/girl scout? - Yes, I was a Girl Scout. I made it to Junior.

Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? - If I wasn't married, and if I had the body (and height) for it, yes.

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? - Yesterday... I need stamps!!

Can you change the oil on a car? - No, but I can check it and then drive it to WalMart :D

Ever gotten a speeding ticket? - Nope.... no tickets.

Ran out of gas? - Nope.... I pay better attention than that.

Favorite kind of sandwich? - Turkey, bacon, Swiss, sprouts and honey walnut cream cheese on a plain bagel from Bruegger's.

Best thing to eat for breakfast? - Leftovers :D

What is your usual bedtime? - About 9 or 9:30, but not on the weekends.

Are you lazy? - Yes. I am actually very lazy, in my opinion.

When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? - A princess, a tiger, did a year as the Little Mermaid (not my best idea), a she-devil, a faery...

What is your Chinese astrological sign? - Um.. Dragon?

How many languages can you speak? - I speak English, but I am pretty fluent in American Sign Language

Do you have any magazine subscriptions? - We have GameInformer.

Which are better legos or lincoln logs? - Legos!!

Are you stubborn? - Yeppers, I certainly am and you won't change my mind :P

Who is better...Leno or Letterman? - I don't watch those.

Ever watch soap operas? - I used to when I was little, lol.

Afraid of heights? - Yes.

Sing in the car? - Oh yes... obnoxiously.

Dance in the shower? - Let me think about this... slippery + no balance+ dancing? Do you WANT me to die?

Dance in the car? - No... again, do you want me to die?

Ever used a gun? - Yes, and I hope I never do again.

Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? - Um. Image Shots for my senior pictures.

Do you think musicals are cheesy? - No, I love them...

Is Christmas stressful? - No, the time UP TO Christmas is!

Ever eat a pierogi? - If I knew what it was, maybe, lol.

Favorite type of fruit pie? - Apple, definitely apple

Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? - Archaeologist, ballerina, firefighter, author, and interior decorater o.o

Do you believe in ghosts? - Yes.

Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? - Often, actually.

Take a vitamin daily? - No, although I know I should...

Wear slippers? - No, I don\'t even own slippers. I wear flip flops.

Wear a bath robe? - Sometimes, if I feel lazy or cold.

What do you wear to bed? - Not a whole lot, actually :)

First concert? - HANK WILLIAMS JR.!!!!!!!!

Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? - WalMart :D

Nike or Adidas? - Neither, they're too expensive.

Cheetos Or Fritos? - Cheetos

Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? - Peanuts.

Ever hear of the group Tres Bien? - Yes, but I don't listen to them

Ever take dance lessons? - I had ballet when I was about 7 or so.

Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? - You mean, is there a future profession I picture my spouse doing? Either the military or law enforcement.

Can you curl your tongue? - *tries* Yuth uh than

Ever won a spelling bee? - No, lol, but I won a geography bee, lol

Have you ever cried because you were so happy? - Of course

Own any record albums? - Nope.

Own a record player? - Nope

Regularly burn incense? - I used to, actually, but now I have a candle warmer

Ever been in love? - Currently, thank you!

Who would you like to see in concert? - Taylor Swift or Dolly Parton

What was the last concert you saw? - HANK WILLIAMS JR.!!!!!!!!

Hot tea or cold tea? - I hate tea.

Tea or coffee? - Coffee! *aches for Starbucks*

Sugar or snickerdoodles? - Snickerdoodles

Can you swim well? - I doggy paddle like a pro, but that's it.

Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? - Yes.

Are you patient? - I try to be, but I know it's all a lie, lol

DJ or band, at a wedding? - DJ, because bands don't know every song.

Ever won a contest? - Yes! I got third place in a Halloween costume contest once

Ever have plastic surgery? - No, and I never will unless it's necessary.

Which are better black or green olives? - Green olives!
Can you knit or crochet? - No, neither.

Best room for a fireplace? - Of course in the living room... but wouldn\'t one be awesome in the bedroom, too?

Do you want to get married? - Not again, no thank you, sorry, beans...

If married, how long have you been married? - One year this Sunday!!

Who was your HS crush? - Andrew <3 style="font-weight: bold;" face="lucida grande">Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? - I can honestly say I have rarely, if ever done that, even when I was a little kid

Do you have kids? - Not yet.

Do you want kids? - Very much so.

Whats your favorite color? - I like pink, green, white and purple :D

Do you miss anyone right now? - Yes. I miss my Ducky, and my Squirt and my SIL very much.

Did you watch, Next Great American Band on FOX? - What part of, "I don't watch TV" did you not understand?


Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com



Also, before I forget, don't forget to stop by MrsB's confessions and look at her latest Halloween Give Aways. Even if you don't like them yourself, they are GREAT Christmas ideas! I've got my eye on the Colonial-style Earbobs from Penniwigs and the Kaleidoscope Kat Halloween Glass Tile Pendant
from Wicked Mama's Emporium.


Go look!!

NaBloWriMo Day 7: Wordless Wednesdays

I realize this is supposed to be wordless, but I have to tell you... NBWM has made me undyingly grateful for Wednesdays. I don't have to say much!

Halloween!










Ignore the shiny-ness, lol ^^^^^^^








Cobwebs for Halloween!

NaBloWriMo Day 6: A very special post.

Today is October 6, 2009.

I know for most of the world it's just another day. Some people have anniversaries on this day, some have work, some have a party to go to, some are blogging, or sleeping, or washing clothes... and some people have birthdays on this day.


So I want to tell you about a certain little someone who was born two short years ago today, at 5:00 in the morning, after of night of long and involved labor. Now, I'm sure her mama tells this story differently, but I am Auntie, not Mama, although for a little while I was Mama-Auntie :)

It was about 1:00 in the afternoon on the 5 of October when Andrew and I were told Meg was in the beginning stages of labor. We were also told there was no rush really, but we should get there as soon as possible. At the time we were living in San Manuel, with my parents, with no car, no drivers' licenses, nothing. We called out of work and my mom flew us to Tucson. We went 80, I think, the entire way and someday, my bloggy buddies, I will give you a picture of the curves leading to San Manuel so you can see why 80 was probably a bad idea. But we got there, nonetheless, and Meggy was only just starting.

It was a long night. Mattie was already a week or two late, and as we had told her about 100 times, if she didn't hurry it up, we were coming in after her. Well... we had to go in after her. Meg was given pitocin, which brought on the contractions, which brought on the birth of a beautiful little girl. Now, I was not in the room. There were too many people, too much happening, and I ended up going with Andrew to Steve and Chelsey's to get what sleep we could. Andrew at the time was the asst. manager at Subway and was unable to call off the next day. So, he had to work at 8 am the next morning. We watched a scary movie, Steve, Chels, Ben, Phil, Andrew and I, and I slept on the couch between Andrew and Ben's feet O.o
At about 3 am, we headed back to the hospital to wait for the arrival of a certain little someone, and it was another two, torturous hours before Matt came out, beaming, and sweaty, and beaming, lol and said that she was here and she was beautiful, and that two people could go in at a time.

Andrew's dad was going to take him to work, an hour's drive from Tucson, and come back, so Chip and Andrew went in first. Besides the people in the delivery room (Rita-Meg's mom, Leslie-Matt's mom, Megan and Matt) Andrew was the first person to hold her. All of the boys held her, and we all melted right away. She was amazing, she was beautiful... and she was REAL. I don't think any of us really understood that yet. She was REAL, and she was hungry. But given that my dear sister in law was a 32DD with milk, she wasn't hungry for long.

I came in last, because I wanted everyone to be done with cooing and aww-ing and everything else. If everyone was done, they wouldn't care how much time I spent with her :) I held her last. I cried. I cried as hard as she did, I think, and as she laid there in the little rolling, plastic bassinet, wide awake, totally alert, and completely calm, I tickled her foot.

She kicked me. I tickled her foot again. She kicked me again, and gave me as mean a glare as a 2 hour old baby could muster.

That was two years ago. It was love at first kick, albeit differently for me than for Meg.

Happy birthday, Ducky. I love you as much as if you were my daughter, not my niece. I've loved you from the moment your mom got two lines, not one, and you are more special to me than anything else on this earth. I know that I'm far away, and I know that you might not remember me very much when I come home, but I miss you every second that we're away and I can't wait to see what a big girl you are when we come to visit for Christmas.

Love, Auntnie Helen

NaBloWriMo Day 5: Zedd the Car is Screwed.

This is new for me.

I am sitting in a coffee shop, with my lovely little laptop in front of me, blogging away. Yes, okay... so what if the coffee shop is Border's? It sells coffee, it has WiFi, it has tables. Ta-da.

I feel very hip and cool today. I'm wearing my favorite baggy brown sweater, I should post a pic one of these days, lol, and my old jeans and the tennies that I had to dig cactus out of to put on this morning, so I look fashionably boho-grunge, LOL, and I'm...

Yeah, who am I kidding? Hip? Not so much on this end.

So it was pretty awesome yesterday. I stopped by NBWM to check out my next blog and there was a post by Not Hannah mentioning me! Me! Of all people! I was pretty excited to see it, I've never been mentioned before. It rocked my world. Thank you, Not Hannah!

I guess I better get this out, because I am about to cry. My car is screwed. Poor Zeddy! There is SO much wrong with him! He's got lots of work and we don't have the lots of money to get it done, but we're doing the brakes (90% used!!), the brake roters and the wheelbearings. It's going to cost us a lovely $675 to get it all done... and that's only a portion. The whole of it would have been closer to $1400, and that's a whole paycheck, so uh... No.

But it has to be done. We simply CANNOT go without brakes. I told Andrew what I had picked for us to get done and he agreed, brakes were a priority. I just wish it wasn't soo sooooo much.

This might be either a very lame or a very non-existant Halloween party :(

I need more coffee.

And maybe a nap.

I'm off to the bathroom, Halloween Express, and the rest of the mall for a while. Window shopping and people watching, ahoy!

NaBloWriMo Day 4: Also Cholla... Choy yuh :)

I'm sitting here trying to think of all the things I want to say to you and... I've got nothin'.

I mean, I have stuff to say but I don't really want to write it. What I want to do is go curl right back up in bed where it's warm and snuggly and not get out. Oh, and bring Andrew with me, dang it, because then it's even more warm and snuggly, the man's like a danged heater.

I am sitting here, and I am cold. I don't know that temperature is inside but says that it's 51 outside. I wonder if these people that live in Tennessee all the time realize that 51 degrees Fahrenheit is WINTER in my world. This is not FALL. This is WINTER. It's a beautiful 62 in Tucson, kinda chilly, but by noon it will be in the 80's or 90's The high for Clarksville?

Mid-60's.

Someone please take me home. I'll hug a freaking saguaro at this point, just get me back to Tucson!!! For those of you Eastern people or even those not American people who do not know what a saguaro, I shall post a picture. THAT, the huge green thing Rachel and I are standing next to, is a saguaro cactus. They live hundreds of years and they get as tall as trees, although in my mind, trees get as tall as saguaros. *EDIT: for further reference on the size of this ancient old man, I am 5 feet, 3 inches tall. It takes about 50 years for a saguaro to reach 4 feet tall, and another 50 to 60 for every arm. Consider this one's age.*

Also, say this with me now:

Suh wah row... or, with my accent, Suh wore roh.



In the words of my mother, "Ya did good, kid."

Um, there's not much else I can tell you. Tomorrow, we are taking Zedd to the shop to get him the works. Zedd is our car, so named for his AZ license plate, which was something or other ZDD. Yes, I still know it. No, I won't tell you. His name is Zedd, named so well for his license plate AND the remarkable Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander of the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.

AMAZING SERIES. Simply awesome.

But taking Zedd to Firestone is going to be the highlight of my day. He's in desperate need. Lots of squeaking and clunking and chug-a-lugging going on, and none of it's good, let me tell you. Dad's pretty sure, from my expert impressions of noises and symptoms, that it's the timing belt, possibly a spark plug, and maybe the catalytic converter. I was supposed to check the amount of heat coming into the converter and the amount coming out. They needed to be the same or the converter was probably plugged, and that can lead to blown heads.

Blown head gaskets = MEGA BUCKS to fix.

Andrew made me scrambled eggs this morning. I asked him to, because we have two dozen eggs in there that need eating immediately. Andrew also made me chocolate milk this morning, and I didn't ask him to. He just wanted to hear me say he was wonderful again.

Andrew, you're wonderful!!!

I am so done for the day. Off to other NBWM posters.

Toodles.

NaBloWriMo Day 3: Cobwebs! Must have cobwebs!

So last night, Andrew and I went out to eat, but the conversation deciding such things went like this.

Andrew: What's for dinner tonight?

Me: I dunno, it's Friday.

Andrew: Oh... well, maybe we could go eat somewhere.

Me: Maybe, yeah.

*Andrew sits down at the table with me. I am still chatting away on IMVU*

Me: Let's go out to eat. I REALLY don't feel like cooking.

Andrew: Okay.... Are you asking me on a date?

Me: *giggles* Sure. *puts on sexy voice* Hey there, hottie, what say you and me get outa here and go eat?

Andrew: *laughs* O.K, love. Where do you wanna go?

Me: *same sexy voice* I was thinkin'... Arby's.

Follow this with utter cracking up, and me having to BRB on IMVU because I can't type, I'm laughing too hard.

Me: Isn't it the guy that's supposed to suggest fast food for a date?

Andrew: Yes, and sometimes, love, you make me wonder with the things you say!

Me: Like what? What do you mean? Wonder what?

Andrew: *still laughing like a hyena* Sometimes I feel like checking my chest, like "Okay, I don't have boobs, I'm still the guy here right??" Because there are days, hun...

Me: *not laughing now* I'm...sorry...... *pause* We can still go to Arby's, right?

Andrew: *more laughing reminiscent of hyenas*

The worst part? That's a usual conversation for us. A little dumb, some laughing, and maybe a fake insult one way or the other and then we go on our merry way.

So, during this lovely trip to Arby's, which then became a trip to a store called Hastings, and then GameStop, I asked him what he would think about having a get together for Halloween. A costume party, since that's how grown-ups celebrate Halloween, right? Instead of trick-or-treating, they go to "costume parties". Yeah. But I want to do SOMETHING. I love Halloween, it's right up there with Valentine's Day and Christmas. Andrew shocked the beans out of me by saying that yes, he'd like to do something like that.

Not, "If you want to, love." Or even, "I guess we could." Not even the patented, "Whatever you want to do, my love."

It was a full-fledged, "That sounds like it would be fun. I'd like that."

I about wet myself.

So, we're going to have a Halloween party! It's not going to be very big, though. I'm thinking mostly his friends from his unit, Camp and Teresa, Eirich (that's Jeff, if any of you are wondering from previous posts, I've given up on not using last names). So... Stone, Coward, Young and his wife, Morgan, Sgt. Porter maybe, with his wife, Hearn and his wife, and yeah, that's about it.

But my house is not Halloweeny!! I need cobwebs, STAT! I'm thinking cobwebs on the fan, in the hallway, on the standing lamps... hang a few bats from the ceiling, oh and some webs on all the doors, especially into the utility room O.O! I can make it look like no one ever goes in there! Pumpkins in strategic places, some more leaves, skulls... oh, and lots of candles, too :)

AND CANDY!!!!

I'm so excited now! *rushes off to Halloween Express for goodies*

NaBloWriMo Day 2: My handsome husband...

... and his wrinkled pants.

Please ignore said wrinkles. Wifey cannot accomplish everything, you know. Not after picking up his jump boots (not pictured, he drove to work in flip flops because he didn't want to scuff those darn boots), buying various gadgets like single ribbon backers and blousers, and having his rank sewn ever so expertly onto his shoulders while I waited. Add this to baking an emergency casserole in less than two hours, looking well-dressed and pretty at a surprise potluck after baking aforementioned casserole, doing what looked like 3 days worth of dishes, getting 4 hours of sleep for some ungodly reason I have not yet been able to fathom, lacing those same stupid boots, and various other details that my handsome husband forgot....

Yeah. Screw the wrinkles.

But he is handsome, isn't he? *is head over heels and rather disgustingly in love*


<3

In other news, today is the second day of NaBloWriMo and so far so good. I'm starting to realize that I have plenty to say and no one to say it to. I'm also starting to realize that I may take a mini siesta from some of the things in which I am enrolled...

But not today! Today I have to tell you about the awesome, amazing, active Halloween Give Away at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom. She's got a link to a shop called Custom Zombie and there are some wonderful Halloweeny things to check out there. Also, a few things I saw mentioned Cthulu, which has a Munchkin game based on it... anyway. GO LOOK!!!

Not to mention, me telling you to go look is one more entry for moi :)

Andrew is taking me out on a date tonight, and rubbing my feet, in exchange for all the beans worth of crap I did yesterday. Awesome AND handsome. Oh yeah.