Making This House Our Home: May 2010

Monday, May 31, 2010

Sweet Shot Tuesday June 1

Wow, it's June already? My little man is almost 6 months old! I think I'm gonna cry. He is getting so close to crawling... I really need to baby proof the house soon. Anywho, here is my sweet shot of the week. Head on over to My 3 Boybarians to see all the submissions and even add your own!

Does that look like a 6 month old to you!? It doesn't to me...

Link up here:

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Motivation Monday May 31

Motivation Monday

brought to you by Me!

Welcome to Motivation Monday! I will be chronicling my journey back to a healthy body, mind, and spirit. Each week I will discuss how the previous week was and set some goals for the next week. I will also be listing my progress. If you would like to see past progress you can look in my archives for other Motivation Monday and Get Moovin' Monday posts. If you would like to get motivated with me please link up your post using the link form below. Your post can be in any format you want. Whether you are trying to get healthier physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually or if you just have a task you need some motivation to complete...please link up so we can help support each other. I would love to hear about your progress and help keep you motivated! In the coming weeks this meme will be making the move to its own blog! This goal is monumental and extremely important to me so I will be making a blog just for getting healthy. I'll still be linking to this main blog so I hope you will follow along. You can also go here for my new weight loss blog!

My Week

I'm gonna make this quick because it is hot; I am tired; I am hungry; and I am still feeling the effects of my narcotic pain meds. I went for a bike ride this week, it felt really good. My legs have been sore from my ride and my butt shaping flip flops. They are so darn comfy though... Numbers were okay this week. About even. I had another gallbladder attack that landed me in the ER again. No more tomatoes, fatty foods, or greasy foods. That just about cuts out everything I eat because I like cheese and tomatoes... DH and I are going to find some new foods for me to eat. I'll likely have surgery in a month or so.

My Progress

Nothing really to say here that I didn't just say above. Since it is still technically Monday for me for a bit I am going to hurry and post this. See you next week when we'll hopefully have AC and I won't be needing narcotics to make it through the night.

My Numbers {From Last Saturday's Weigh In}
{Green is Improvement, Red is Bad, Mmkay?, Blue is Stayed the Same}

Weight - 217.4

BMI % - 51.4

Water % - 36.5

Muscle Mass % - 33.7

How did you do this week?

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Another Trip to the ER

I'm going to be okay. They have pretty much determined that it is my gallbladder. An ultrasound next week will confirm. Then we wait until I can have surgery I guess. Until then no fatty/greasy foods and no tomatoes. They also sent me home with hydrocodone in case of another attack. I took one just now because the anti-acid medication they gave me through my IV is KILLING my stomach! It's almost as bad as the chest pain that comes from my attacks. Anywho, I am hoping it kicks in soon. It is 3am our time and I am having trouble getting sleepy...hence the early morning post. Hydrocodone normally knocks me out so we'll see. DH is on baby duty until tomorrow afternoon cuz I won't hear him if these meds work like they did after my c-section.

My Motivation Monday post will be late. Sorry Lana, and anyone else who might want to link up this week. I'll get it up as soon as I am able to move about painlessly. I know you all understand. I just wish it didn't hurt so much to breathe. :0(

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Saturday, May 29, 2010

I've Gone Global!

LOL! This is so cool! See that bar at the bottom of my blog page? Click on the Twitter link. Don't worry, it won't teleport you anywhere or make you tweet something. Okay, now check this out...see the left hand side where people have pressed on a part of my blog and tweeted it?

I only know like 4 of those people! One of them is from South Africa! It isn't that big of a deal... but that is so cool to me!!! I love this widget! Also, it reminded me that I need to go update my facebook fan site. I'm not a huge fan of FB so I've been ignoring it...but I do have fans so I should at least keep it up to date for them. It's only the proper thing to do. LOL proper on the internet...now that is funny! I should write an Emily Post post about internet etiquette. It would be a funny post I imagine, seeing as how I don't really follow any of those blogging etiquette rules. Personally, I find some downright greedy and pointless.

Anywho... I just noticed that part of my new widget and had to share. I'm so giddy right now! *GIGGLE*

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Remembering on Memorial Day

To Our POW/MIAs

I will never forget you! My husband and I speak often of your sacrifice to our son so he will understand the cost of his freedom.

We call your attention to this small table, which occupies a place of dignity and honor near the head table. It is set for one, symbolizing the fact that members of our Corps are missing from our ranks. They are referred to as POW’s and MIA’s.

We call them comrades.

They are unable to be with their loved ones and families tonight, so we join together to pay our humble tribute to them, and bear witness to their continued absence.

This table, set for one, is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner, alone against his or her suppressors.

The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms.

The single red rose in the vase, signifies the blood they many have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of our beloved United States of America. This rose also reminds us of the family and friends of our missing comrades who keep the faith, while awaiting their return.

The yellow ribbon on the vase represents the yellow ribbons worn on the lapels of the thousands who demand with unyielding determination a proper accounting of our comrades who are not among us tonight.

A slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their bitter fate.

The salt sprinkled on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of families as they wait.

The glass is inverted - they cannot toast with us this night.

The chair is empty - they are not here.

The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to the open arms of a grateful nation.

Let us pray to the supreme commander that all of our comrades will soon be back within our ranks.

Let us remember and never forget their sacrifices. May god forever watch over them and protect them and their families.

To Our Veterans

Thank you for the sacrifices you made for our country. You were not always appreciated by us and for that I am sorry. The American people should stand and thank you every day. I thank you for the depths of my heart.

A Nation's Strength

by Walt Whitman

Not gold, but only man can make
     A people great and strong;
Men who, for truth and honor's sake,
     Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,
     Who dare while others fly --
They build a nation's pillars deep
     And lift them to the sky.

To Our Current Service Members

Thank you for serving our country. Thank you for training every day in preparation for war. Thank you for taking that oath to protect all that we love and cherish. I appreciate you.

It is the Soldier
by Father Dennis Edward O'Brien

It is the Soldier,
not the reporter, who has given us freedom of press.

It is the Soldier,
not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier,
not the campus organizer, who gives us freedom to demonstrate.

It is the Soldier
who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.

To Those Deployed Today

I think of you daily and pray for your safe return. I know you are all over there for different reasons, but I thank you for being there for my freedom and the freedom of my son.

The Things That Make a Soldier Great

by Edgar Guest

The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die,
To face the flaming cannon's mouth nor ever question why,
Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red,
The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,
The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:
'Tis these that make a soldier great.
He's fighting for them all.

'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave;
'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;
For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam
As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.
Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run,
You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.
What is it through the battle smoke the valiant soldier sees?

The little garden far away, the budding apple trees,
The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play,
Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.
The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome
But to the spot, where'er it be — the humblest spot called home.
And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there
And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air;
The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,
And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.

He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,
And only death can stop him now -- he's fighting for them all.

To My Grandfather

I didn't get to know you very well. You were always a quiet, reserved man. But you were a loving and kind man. You would listen to anything I had to say. You would tell me stories about your youth. We played Scrabble for hours on end and you patiently taught me new words. We'd always beat mom at the game. We all knew you served in WWII but no one really knew exactly what you did. It wasn't until your passing that we found the evidence of your service. You decoded important messages for our troops to use in their defenses. We never knew you could speak Japanese. Thank you grandpa for all the love you gave me and all the love you had for our country.

To My Father

I remember the two stories you shared about your time after Vietnam. They were the only two stories you've shared. You might share more as I grow older and experience my own war stories through my husband, but I doubt it. You too are a private man. You shield mom and I from the pain and horror you witnessed. The self control you exhibited when that hippie girl spit on you in uniform the day you stepped foot back on American soil is amazing. I'd have punched her and not her boyfriend, but not you. You calmly announced that you don't hit women and then threw a hard one at her man to teach them a lesson about their freedom. You were a Navy corpsman; you will always be a Marine. You saw many lives lost so that that girl could have the right to spit on you. My heart aches when I think of your other story, the day a jet broke the sound barrier over your college campus. While all the young students were watching the sky in awe, you and several other veterans were crouching in the bushes for safety. I can't imagine the fear you must live with each and every day. I wasn't surprised at your earning it, but I was shocked at your humble nature when mom and I found your purple star that none of us knew about. You kept it secret for over 20 years because you didn't think it was that big of a deal. You simply did what you knew was right. You deserve much more than a ribbon and pin. You deserve the thanks of every man, woman, and child for the rest of your days. You have mine.

To My Husband

You, my dear, get a post all your own. I will be working on it this weekend and will post it for you when I am satisfied that my words convey my feelings as well as they possibly can, because they can never say exactly how I feel. I am so immensely proud of you. I respect you. I love you. I thank you for your loyalty to our nation and to our family's freedom.

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Happy Birthday Pink Saturday!

brought to you by How Sweet the Sound

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

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Friday, May 28, 2010

Feel Good Friday

brought to you by The Girl Next Door Grows Up

I have to admit... I did not plan this post ahead of time and I am about to go watch a movie with my hubby...so here is something that makes me smile. Mama and baby hippo!

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Which Do You Like Better?

My Old Blog Design

My New Blog Design

I felt like my old design was cluttered and the header was really large. I am not exactly satisfied with the header words on the new one though. I could use the dotted blue instead of the solid blue under my title. Maybe I could put the grass that was in the middle under the hippo... What do you think? Which do you prefer?

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What Makes Me Grumpy

I've been tagged by The Mama Trials and she wants to know "What makes you grumpy?"

What makes me a grumpy bear:

When the water goes out and the dishes pile up, I can't take a soothing hot bath or even wash my hands after flushing the toilet! Arg... I can't even count the times this month I used RO water to wash the soap off my hands.
Having something creative or inspirational on my mind but being unable to create it or write/say it the way I need to. This happens to me a lot! I have an image in my head but I don't have the skill to draw it. Or I have a thought that is absolutely profound but my hand can't write fast enough so by the time I have it on paper or typed up here... it is completely different than my thought. It's why my posts seem to ramble sometimes.
When the baby is screaming. I can deal with crying but when he full out screams you better not even look at me, much less talk to me. EVERYTHING becomes a fight when I have to listen to him scream {like driving in the car for example}. God help my hubby if he asks what's for dinner while LB is screaming. Something "mommy" snaps in my mind and I'm out to kill until that baby is calm.

{and because I want to look on the positive side...} What I do to stop being grumpy:

Take a hot bath {when I can lol}
Craft something.... {wow I'm seeing a correlation from the above irritants... so not intentional.}
Stop the baby from screaming... okay, I had to add that to keep my theme going here...seriously though?
Drink flavored coffee
Read a book
Write in my journal then go back and read it later
Go for a walk or bike ride
Go therapy shopping! Nothing cheers me more than finding a great deal on something!

Now it's my turn to tag you! I tag...
1) Jeanette @ Sweet Jeanette
2) Laura @ The Girl Next Door Grows Up
3) Carolyn @ The Scrapping Servant

I want to know, what makes you grumpy? AND how do you stop being grumpy?

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Thursday, May 27, 2010

The times, they are a changin'

Lately I've written very little of myself
Stuck in a quagmire of memes and themes
So enmeshed in the games we're all playing
Meaningless, trivial—somehow soothing

-Cheryl

Cheryl, over at Deckside Thoughts wrote that for Monkey Man's Sunday 160. It is exactly what I have been meaning to say but couldn't find the appropriate words. She put it so eloquently and prefectly that I just had to re-post it. Head over to Cheryl's slice of the blogosphere. Her blog is full of awesome writings. Then check back here soon. I am planning on changing things up a bit. You may have already noticed that I am cutting back on some of my weekly memes.

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Wedding Dress Blog Tour

"Did you keep or sell your wedding dress?"

I kept mine. Both of them. And no I did not have one for the ceremony and one for the reception. It's kinda a sad story why I have two dresses.

First off, I didn't even wear a dress to my actual wedding. DH and I eloped because my mom was pissing me the hell off about planning our wedding. So on Aug 8th 2008 DH and I went to the JP on his lunch break and had ourselves a good ol' Texan wedding. I wore jeans, a white button down shirt, hunting boots {which I also wore to the reception of our family wedding later that month, much to my mom's horror}, my veil, and a string of pearls. Here we are as husband and wife officially.

At our family wedding, the one they all thought was real, I wore this dress. It's actually my second wedding dress. We bought my first wedding dress back in high school and by the time I could wear it, I had gained about 70lbs. I tried to alter it myself but I just couldn't get the fit just right so my dad offered to buy me a new dress. This one was pretty but not my dream dress.

This is my dream dress!

One day, DH and I will have a proper wedding, the one we've always dreamed about, and I will wear this dress. It is roughly a size 12. I was 150lbs and curvy when it fit like a glove. The train is nearly 7 feet long.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Needing Domestic Help

As much as I hate to say this... maybe it would be nice to have someone come help me clean the house. My initial disgust over the suggestion is because my mom felt work was more important than her family as is evident by her spending more time at work than with me (my dad was outside the US on work travel and my brother was out of the house already). She hired a maid to do the cleaning and I cooked for myself. I don't want to be like her. I also don't want to admit that I can't do it all. Actually, I could do it all, but the truth is I don't want to. My priority is not having a spotless home right now. Don't get me wrong, I want a spotless, straight out of a magazine home... but I just don't have the motivation to do so right now.

So I decided a couple nights ago that maybe we should hire someone to come in and help me get the house in enough order that I can take over. That was a hard decision to swallow... and then admit verbally to my husband. Then... it occurred to me. That won't really work. The big projects around the house that I can't seem to motivate myself to do can't be done by anyone but myself. I do the dishes, wash the laundry, clean the bathroom and kitchen, mop and vacuum {I don't believe in sweeping... vacuums work on hardwood lol}. The things I can't seem to work on are sorting through my clothes to trash/keep/donate/salvage for fabric, sort my scrapbooking crap {sometimes I don't think it is coincidence that it's spelled scrapbooking when I look at all the stuff I've accumulated}, drag all the packing trash down to the dumpster {although that is a little limited by the size of our dumpster}, and unpacking the rest of our stuff. The only thing that someone other than myself and possibly my husband could do{although I don't trust him anywhere near my scrapbooking stuff lest I find it in the dumpster next...} is maybe the unpacking. But s/he would probably be asking where I want things to go which would sorta be redundant and a waste of money and his/her time. I just don't know.

I seem to do well enough. I have bursts of energy where I go and clean up an entire room and feel great about it... but then I turn around and something on the other side of the house seems to have built up {out of no where...} I am sure this is the same phenomenon that happens to every wife and mother. Every woman's magazine you pick up has an article about keeping the clutter down, maximizing your cleaning time, and keeping things in order to lessen your cleaning for the next week. We just keep going in circles around the house and the rooms keep getting dirtied over and over right behind us. But, you see, I'm an Army wife. I have to find a way to battle this merry go 'round ALONG WITH packing and unpacking every 2.5 years. It's not surprising that the running joke between military wives is how long that box has been packed up. My dad worked for oil companies and we have a couple boxes that made it through 5 moves {about 17 years} without being unpacked once! I don't want to be that joke.

I'm thinking perhaps my pack rat tendencies need to go! I was thinking, if we had less stuff, say only enough to fill up the mid-sized U-Haul truck {the kind you can drive without a CDL}, not including our furniture of course, then that would be manageable to move. How the hell does a pack rat go about condensing 25 years of crap down to one little itty bitty U-Haul?! {And yes, I have things from when I was born...}

I am afraid to say I think it can only be done with a supportive husband {check!}, a lot of counseling {check!}, and some happy pills... {thinking about it...}

How do you keep the merry go 'round fun, and not a "Get me the hell off of this thing, I'm gonna be sick!", ride?

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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Motivation Monday May 24

GAH! I totally forgot to come back and publish this! Sorry...
However, I do have my new weight loss blog up.
A Hippo With a Headband

Motivation Monday

brought to you by Me!

Welcome to Motivation Monday! I will be chronicling my journey back to a healthy body, mind, and spirit. Each week I will discuss how the previous week was and set some goals for the next week. I will also be listing my progress. If you would like to see past progress you can look in my archives for other Motivation Monday and Get Moovin' Monday posts. If you would like to get motivated with me please link up your post using the link form below. Your post can be in any format you want. Whether you are trying to get healthier physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually or if you just have a task you need some motivation to complete...please link up so we can help support each other. I would love to hear about your progress and help keep you motivated!

My Week

I am a bit mixed on my numbers this week. Not really upset, not too happy either. I am awaiting an ultrasound to determine if I'll need to have my gallbladder removed. I had some blood tests run and will get those results sometime in the next couple weeks. I'll keep you updated.

My Progress

DH and I have not started the P90X program but we bought bikes! He LOVES his! I am getting used to mine. It's a cruiser and I've only ever ridden mountain bikes. Pretty much it means I only have one gear and my brakes are engaged by pedaling backward. I love the look of my bike though! I'm going to paint the greenish parts pastel pink. My hubby bought be a wicker basket for the handle bars. I am so excited! I haven't ridden it more than in the store yet though. The only helmets we found were for 3 years and up so I have been staying home with Little Bit while DH rides. It is strengthening his wrist and right now that is more important. I'm going to be asking the Dr what kind of helmet LB can wear so I can carry him on my chest while I ride. I don't feel comfortable having him with me without head gear.

{See that monstrous thing behind my bike? Yeah that's DH's bike! It's about the size of a small horse.}

My Numbers {From Last Saturday's Weigh In}
{Green is Improvement, Red is Bad, Mmkay?, Blue is Stayed the Same}

Weight - 217.2

BMI % - 51.4

Water % - 36.5

Muscle Mass % - 33.5

How did you do this week?

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Sweet Shot Tuesday May 25

brought to you by My 3 Boybarians

I absolutely love how the shadowing turned out in the photo. It was completely by accident because I snapped this picture as fast as I could before the guy took our tickets. The memories attached to this one are pretty special too. We were visiting Tombstone while DH was in Army advanced training.

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Monday, May 24, 2010

Mamarazzi Monday May 24

Mamarazzi Monday

brought to you by Household 6 Diva

Just before our Heart Walk began. DH, LB and Storm Troopers!

This week I have a couple videos I just have to share with you!

Video number one is one my hubby did while I was at the store. DH is talking about the face recognition feature on our new camera btw. The rest just speaks for itself. Oh and PS, hubby is clothed, he just has crazy long legs and his shorts ride up when he sits lol.

The second one was while hubby was at work. Little Bit GIGGLED!

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Friday, May 21, 2010

New Friend Friday

Welcome Friends!

The Girl Creative

This is my main blog. Here is where I do my weekly memes and post pictures and stories about my awesome family.

If you scroll down to the second widget of scrolling button on my left sidebar you can see all the memes I participate in.

Monday Motivation, a meme in which we motivate each other in all kinds of activities (mostly weight loss right now though), and Dreaming of Shoes Thursday, a meme where we link up our favorite shoes each week in preparation to the weekend, are my two memes. I hope you'll check back and join in on the fun!

The first scrolling widget on my right sidebar contains links to all my blogs. I am a bit scattered brained but keeping each "topic" of my life in it's own blog really helps. I have my crafting, Army wife, classic housewife, and faith blogs listed there. The very first button you see scrolling up is my newest blog and the one I love the most right now. It is a blog chronicling my struggle with depression and my journey to happiness and healing. I would love if you hop over there and take a look. {I would rate it PG-16 because even though I try not to cuss, it is a very emotional blog and deals with adult issues.}

So there you have it... if you are interested then clicky click the buttons to your right and check out my sub-blogs. I really hope you will!

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