I am as giddy as a schoolgirl!!!!

This picture is from the first time we saw the house, before any renovations....notice how dirty my truck is...and it got even worse before we washed it!


Woohoo!!! Tomorrow is the big day....and my next entry should have a picture of a moving truck in it!! I am still a little fearful that something will happen to delay my 9am appointment, to do a walk thru and get the keys. I have the truck loaded with the first load of stuff. Thankfully, Lee took his motorcycle to work on the way to the airport..and I do not have to worry about that. We have an extra load of stuff that we aquired in the last 4 months...plus all the gorceries we have in the temp place. I already have those packed and ready to go too...in my reusable grocery bags. Elliott and I have a pretty good game-plan...so it should go fairly smoothly. I lose the internet tomorrow, but we will be back on in a few days.

Thanksgiving was really good! Very relaxing actually. When Susan and William got to the temporary house I was already done with the cooking. I was able to enjoy my company...it was great. We stuffed ourselves on the usual goodies. Susan made a pumpkin cheesecake that was out of this world...the crust tasted like pecan pie. It was a good day. We did not do the early morning day after Thanksgiving shopping that I love to do...we went later in the day...my splurges- a grey/tan/brown wool runner for the new place, I think it will hide the smudges from Lee's boots in the hallway that connects the garage to the living room and I subscribed to the newspaper, Sunday's only.

Well...that is all for today, I cannot wait to post from the other side....our new place!!

What are you grateful for????

Thanksgiving blessings to you all! No picture to illustrate today, as I am sure we all have visions of the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. Tomorrow, we are hosting friends in the temp house. I find I am liking the challenge....my mom bought me a lot of kitchen gadgets as gifts through the years...I never realized how much I used them. The temp house has the bare minimum...come to think of it, I need to find a potato masher. Especially since I rarely make "real" mashed potatoes, I can use the fake ones on such an important day. I have my turkey soaking in a brine solution in the sink...because I do not have my insanely huge tupperware bowl. I have a supply of foil "serving bowls" since we don't have any. Lee said, "Hey, easy clean up!". It will be fun, Susan and William are coming over to enjoy the feast with us.


I have been thinking about this post for a while, I want to post what I am grateful for....so here ya go.


I am so grateful for a husband, that truly is my best friend. A man who has gotten really good a texting me loves notes during his day. A man who makes me feel good about me and loves me just the way I am.


I am grateful for two wonderful sons. They are my sun and my moon...my world revolves around them. They make me proud.


My Dad and brother, Ian, Shawn and Meagan (HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY IAN AND SHAWN) everyday I think of coming home to see you, I love and miss you all so much.


My extended family...all my cousins that I get to keep in touch with via facebook...it has been so nice getting to know everyone. I feel like I get to see you everyday instead of just the once a year get together.


My friends, this has been a year where I leaned on my friends a lot. Your support and love mean the world to me.


I am very grateful for the fact that we will FINALLY be moving into housing next week.


I am grateful for memories...the good ones you keep in your heart and visit often.


Happy Thanksgiving to all of you (special love being sent to Judy), lots and lots of love!!

Some thoughts on Thanksgiving....

This picture is of my Mom, on her last Thanksgiving (2006)....she actually passed away exactly three weeks later.

I used to love Thanksgiving, it has been my favorite holiday since I was a kid. How can you not love a holiday the revolves around food and shopping?? I cannot say it is my favorite anymore...I think new memories are haunted by some wonderful old ones...it is the time of year that I really miss my Mom and Lee's Dad. I thought I would share some of those old memories today...


My mom loved Thanksgiving...I think it was because she loved pumpkin pie. We did not seem to travel on Thanksgiving, it was either the four of us or friends came over. My mom would wake up very early to make her pies....followed soon after by two kids, she used to make pie crust cookies for us...pie crust sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. I loved to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade...just to see the balloons. My mom busy in the kitchen, she also made this fruit and Jello thing we refer to as the pink stuff....she made a little bowl of it for me with the fruit cocktail left out. Mom had the kitchen table covered in chips and dips, crackers and cheese...and my fave, celery with cheese squeezed on it! After munching all day, I am surprised we made it through dinner. It was always wonderful! Later when I was an adult and living at home, my mom and I once went grocery shopping at midnight for all the things we needed for turkey day. We laughed and giggled the whole way through the store...I will never forget it. My mom used to love to ditch me at the store, apparently I would always wonder off...and to teach me a lesson, she would make it hard to find her...she continued this well into my 30's everytime we went to the grocery store together. My mom's last Thanksgiving....her goal was to get everyone together to watch Ice Age 2. We all gathered at Mike's house, with Mike's kids, Lee was home, so it was the four of us and my parents. We did exactly what she wanted....we all sat together and watched the DVD together, just like she wanted. It was a wonderful dinner and a great Thanksgiving, a little bittersweet knowing it would be her last. I am so glad I took pictures that day, she would be pissed that I posted a picture of her sick...but I know now, you need to remember everything so you can tell the story. I have ice Age 3 already picked out to watch this year, in her memory.

As an adult, I hosted Thanksgiving only a few times. Always for the same six people, my family of four joined by Lee and Judy (Lee's Dad and step mom). When we were living in Ferndale and Petaluma, we spent every Thanksgiving together. Six awesome holidays. Lee's dad was an early riser....so I had to get up early...because they were on their way, he also drove at the speed of light!! I loved when they would get there, my house smelling of turkey and pumpkin spice candles...and filled with love. One Thanksgiving, Dad and Judy brought Charles and Darlene...for probably what may have been our version of a National Lampoon's Thanksgiving. We needed to fill an air mattress....in Lee (sr) and Charles (possibly whiskey and beer induced) minds...they decided the fastest way to fill them was with exhaust from the Corvette...the idea made even better that now that the mattress was filled with warm air and Judy would be nice and warm. I was so worried someone would not wake up in the morning! That was the Thanksgiving there was an earthquake right as we sat down to eat. I loved spending time with them...Lee's dads green bean recipe is hands down the family favorite, and on my table every year. I think of Judy every time I clean out the turkey...she does not like naked raw turkeys. Lee Sr. taught me that warm apple crumb pie with vanilla ice cream was wonderful...still cannot believe I waited until my 30's to try that!


This year will be another first for us....my/our first Thanksgiving with a son not at home. I know that Mason will be surrounded by those that love him, and I know he will call us...and I know he will miss grandpa's green beans and eating pumpkin pie for breakfast. With any luck, although I doubt it...we will be making Thanksgiving dinner in our new place...I do not care if we are eating picnic style on the floor....because I know I will take pictures and it will be a new memory to cherish next year.

Much love to my favorite Veteran's

I have a couple favorite veteran's. My Dad was in the Air Force, and so was Lee's Dad. My Dad did only a few years, and they led him to his career in aviation mechanics. I stole the picture of my Dad from mt cousin Kim's Facebook page. I have a similar one that I have framed...I cannot wait to unpack all our pictures. I like this picture especially, because of the picture of my brother tucked in the corner. Mike did some time in the Navy, he was in the Persian Gulf during the first Gulf war...that was way before email, and letters took forever to get there and back. The other picture is one of my favorites of Lee's dad, also named Lee. This picture showcases his personality, just a little cocky...but a smile that took your breath away. Lee did 20 years in the Air Force, this picture was taken in Guam.

November 11th, a day set aside to honor our Veteran's...but shouldn't we honor them everyday????

The guys in my life...

These are the men in my life. The ones who try so hard not to believe that I can sometimes trip offline!! My Dad, my brother Mike, Lee, Mason and Elliott. These five men are my rocks, and what keeps me grounded when I trip offline and get a little crazy. When my mom died, I was so scared...it made me the matriarch of our family. It scared me because I felt it was my duty to keep us all together. In the end, I found out we stay together, because we love eachother...even when it gets shitty. I had lived on my own for over 17 years when my mom passed, I realized...I did not take enough time to talk to my dad about stuff other that football and cars. Losing my mom was the most painful thing I have ever gone through..but it paved the way for me to really know my dad. We had to discuss a lot of stuff these last few years. Turns out I am a lot more like my dad than I thought...he is really funny and has the same sense of humor I do. I am so proud of him and I love him.

My brother, Mike....I can barely say his name without a giggle. We used to do the dumbest stuff as kids...things we would never let our kids do. We wondered miles from home, turned walnuts and apricots into ammunition, played in wrecking yards, we even got spankings for getting caught smoking cigars. We don't get to talk very much, but the connection is very deep....if I needed him he would be there in a heartbeat...and he knows he can expect the same from me.

My heart and soul...Lee, Mason and Elliott. Fate brought Lee into my life again...five years after I met him in high school...we only dated for 6 weeks before we married. I never thought I would end up a military wife, actually the thought never even crossed my mind! I love this life...even when it makes my hair fall out and I feel like I am losing my mind!! Mason and Elliott, just saying their names makes me smile and my heart swells. I cannot believe my baby boys are men now. They put up with a lot too...I pester them, I sing them silly songs to wake them up and I can't get enough of them. There is nothing better than a "Mom, I love you." out of the blue.

And so it begins...

I finally got a couple trick or treaters...we had none on Halloween night. A couple slugs were a day late, but decided one of our pumpkins was a treat.


The other picture, is one we have been waiting for......people working on the house we have been assigned! I am so grateful to the new friend acroos the street from the new house that sends me 'secret squirrel' messgages and lets me know when things are noving over there. I can hardly wait, I do the happy dance everytime I hear something good!!

Tomorrow is Lee and I's 20th anniversary! No real plans....although Lee is taking a day of leave so we can spend the day together. We think we will hit Applebee's for dinner, because we want to take Elliott with us and he loves their hot wings! I am so happy to actually spend our anniversary together. In 20 years, we have only spent a few of them together.

Fair winds and following seas....

Air Station Sacramento Colors Ceremony
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Petty Officer 1st Class Darril Kiest, an aviation survival technician stationed at Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, lowers the station's national ensign to half mast during a morning color ceremony as others pay their respects Sunday Nov. 1, 2009. The ceremony was held in honor of seven coastguardsmen who were lost at sea when a Coast Guard C-130 suffered a mid-air collision with a Marine Corps AH-1W helicopter, Oct. 29, 2009. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Bobby Nash.

Cut and pasted from a public CG site