Thursday, January 31, 2008

So so sore

I am finally feeling better. Last Friday my throat started hurting. Nothing bad, just a little tickle. Husband and I had a date on Saturday.

Still feeling just a little scratchy......by that evening, I felt like a Mack truck had run over me. I stayed in bed all day. The kids were so attentive. They kept my water glass filled, tissues at hand, and brought me everything they thought I needed.


Finally on Tuesday I started taking some antibiotics. Call me slow.....



This morning I could breath through my nose for the first time since this all started. I had the great idea to go to my aerobics class. It was a "lite" class, meaning it was all low impact with a bit of weight training at the end of cardio.



That Mack truck feeling from Sunday is back....and is sitting on my thighs....."lite" ! Yeah right!



Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Thursday 13.....#26....the letter F



Following the ABC theme for Thursday 13, I am on letter F :


1. Fairbanks, Alaska: This was our first PCS (Permanent Change of Station, Army speak for moving from one place to the next).



2. Furnished: When we first got there, we stayed in a FURNISHED hotel for almost six months while we waited for housing!



3. Friends: One of the quickest ways to make some FRIENDS is to get involved in whatever activity you can.



4. Formal ball: The battalion was planning a FORMAL ball.....oohhh, it was a FIELD artillery ball (bonus points for FA). I jumped right in and volunteered to help.



5. Full of ice: Remember, it was late November when we got there. Fairbanks, in mid winter is covered in ice. The parking lot the the place where the ball was being held was FULLY covered in ice. (think a huge ice skating rink)



6. Finger: While getting out of the Trailblazer, my gloved FINGER got caught in the door. The door locked, I could not get my FINGER out!



7. Felt: I have never FELT so much pain in my life. I basically went into shock. I do remember someone covering me in the softest cotton quilt. We rushed to the ER.



8. Flip off finger: Basically the entire nail had separated from the nail bed of my FLIP-OFF Finger (more bonus points!)



9. First: Talk about making a good FIRST impression on your new group of potential friends!



10. Fabulous: Here I am looking FABULOUS in my FORMAL gown, bandaged so nicely with my FLIP OFF FINGER held high in the air....."Hi, my name is Tommie, nice to meet you (giving them the bird the entire time)" ***I had to hold it above my heart because the throbbing was so intense!***



11. Freak: I hope I didn't FREAK too many people out....Truth be told, we ending up making many lifelong FRIENDS the three years we were in Alaska. We met all of them that night at the ball.



12. Food poisoning: Speaking of the ball, many people got FOOD poisoning that night!



13. Find: I tried to FIND a picture of the FABULOUS FLIP-OFF FINGER in a FORMAL gown at the FIELD Artillery ball....but there is no photographic evidence of this! I wonder why??


if you need to catch up:
A
B
C
D
E

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Archive meme....


I've been high-fived by Mango Marie. It's an archive meme. I've been blogging a little more than a year, but I'll give it a shot.

Anyway, here is the reason why this meme was started:


"I know that when I find a new blog that I want to visit again, I rarely have enough time to go back and read everything from the beginning (although sometimes I do!). I want to get to know that person, but it's hard to commit to reading all of the posts from the last 2 years!This meme is designed to make some of those old posts readily available to those who may be new to your blog, or even those who are regulars, just not from the start."

And, here are the rules:
Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. But there is a catch:

Link 1 must be about family.

Link 2 must be about friends.

Link 3 must be about yourself.

Link 4 must be about something you love.

Link 5 can be anything you choose.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better. Readers - don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

SOOOO, here I go!

Family :my post for when Husband told me he was deploying, I think this sums up much about us as a military family.

Friends: this post is about making new friends

Me - I couldn't decide between When my camera broke and used old pics to post our "move history" and my 100 things about me for my 100th post


Something I love or should I say someone? This was easy: Tuesday Update: Thursday 13.......#20.....Our hero's homecoming





After going through all of these, I guess this last year was really about surviving a 15 month deployment. I have never felt like a "military advocate"...but most of these are about just that....being a military wife. That was fun......feel free to consider yourself tagged if you haven't done this one.

Monday, January 28, 2008

sick of being sick

head hurts, runny nose
coughing, sore throat, I am sick
Make it go away

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Weekly winners

Hosted by Lotus, my favorites from this week:


the tip of an obelisk in the front flower bed


a hummingbird feeder

another feeder


oohhh, Look at that!

that's a big digger ***No, we are not getting a pool! We are moving this summer.....But the neightbors are putting in a pool.***

How cool!!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Paying it forward

I have been meaning to get these out: better late than never I say!

Mama Geek granted me these.












I am paying it forward to: Tulipmom and Wendy......for such a winning attitudes. It never ceases to amaze me how each of these women can find something positive in the everyday things!







I am honored MamaGeek claimed me as a blog buddie. Thanks so much! Go check her out she takes amazing photos and is quite funny as well!

I'm forwarding it to these blog buddies:

You may have gotten it already but I don't care - I puffy-pink-heart y'all. I read each of these blogs every day.....hope you find some new reads, these will definitely make you laugh.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Thursday 13.......#25th ......the letter E



Following the theme, this week I bring you letter E.



1. etsy : I have only bought stuff on there for baby gifts or friends....but the stuff looks so fun.

2. ER: I made my goal of not going to the ER during the deployment.

3. Earrings: I wear the same pair every day, makes me wonder why I have a jewelry box full of others.

4. Ears: I pierced the cartilage near the top of ear when I was 26.

5. Enrolled: I was enrolled K-12 in the same school district in podunk Oklahoma.

6. Education: I furthered my education at the University of Oklahoma.

7. Empty sink: I go to bed with an empty sink 95% of the time.

8. Early riser: NOT

9. Ebay: I have bought and sold on Ebay.

10. Encyclopedia: As a child I used to read encyclopedias.

11. End: I wish the end of not knowing where we are going next would come.

12. Email: I have had the same email address (Except I did change one letter) since 1996.

13. Each child was induced at 38 weeks due to preeclampsia.


if you need to catch up with
A
B
C
D

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Finish this sentence

I saw this at Patti's blog, and I thought it would be fun since I have nothing important to say! Let me know if you play too!

Finish the sentence with the first thought that comes to your mind.

I know....I like a clean house.

I believe...in miracles.

I fought.... with Husband for the first time since he got back last weekend.

I am angered....by things not going as I want them to

I love....my husband and kids more than anything

I need....some alone time with my husband

I take.....time to blog

I hear....the the pig dog, Josie snoring (and don't you know I moved her bed so I don't have to smell her toots!

I drink.....(changing it to I am drinking) hot tea now. It is colder than (I'll let you fill in the blank, but the one I am thinking rhymes with witches mitt).

I hate....messy counters

I use.... a Canon digital SLR

I want.....a new flash for my camera.

I like.....this new bag I saw at Banana.

I feel....thankful.

I wear....jammies, wedding ring, solitaire earrings.

I left....a little girl sleeping in her bed about thirty minutes ago.

I do..... make the kids pick up their toys before bath time.

I hope...we go on a date this weekend.

I dream....about taking a vacation to the beach.

I drive....a Volvo XC70 wagon

I listen....to kid music when I drive them to school (lately Husband has been doing this!)

I type..... horribly on this laptop ( I must run spell check every time.)

I need... more Splenda in my tea.

I wish...the kids would sleep in their own beds all night long!

I am.... having a give-a-way: If anyone is in need of two new packages of 3T princess or Dora pullups, let me know, they are yours! I need the closet space.

I regret.... some things but not much

I care.... how clean my house is.

I should....move the vacuum cleaner to where it belongs.

I am.... a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.

I said....twinkle, twinkle, little star to Livi as she went to sleep.

I wonder....if school is going to be cancelled tomorrow.

I changed....or I should say Livi changed clothes three times today. What is it with girls?

I cry...hardly ever, UNLESS I am "being a woman", then the floodgates open at the craziest things.

I lose....pens all the time.

I leave... as much negativity behind as I can

Monday, January 21, 2008

manic monday



Answers to Lisa's Manic Monday. Here's what she has this week:

If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be? Wyoming, then I could be called Wy.....I seem to answer that question alot these days.



Where do you go for advice? Husband, friends, mom


What is the sickest you’ve ever been? Probably when I went in for the normal "girl" routine check at the OB/GYN....she is doing THE exam, and she says, "Oh wow!" I am like, "Chick, don't say 'oh wow' when you are looking at my girl parts!"


While you normally scheduled your next year's exam as you were going out the door, they were able to get me in the next week to see the doctor again. I had some bad cells on my ovaries. She thought was going to do an exploratory surgery....but ended up removing an ovary. The other one was fine....thank goodness. I have an ugly wrinkly scar, but I did have one working ovary left.



Speaking of sick....I have a sick boy at home now. He was happy to get breakfast in bed. We moved a little tv in his room. He watched cartoons all day.




Sunday, January 20, 2008

Organizing tips from Tommie #3...kids toys

Stella asked, "How about the kiddos? What tips do you have to organize their stuff? "


First, I am so glad to be out of the age where they were in exersaucers, swings, tummy time mats, etc. We do have some toys in the living room, but not so many that it is overwhelming. I am assuming Stella meant toys. If you meant clothes or closets or something else, let me know. I am not saying I am an expert on organizing, but this is what works for us.



To keep the interest of the toys at hand, I rotate the toys. I have three bins of toys (stored in the garage), as well as the ones in the house. I have them set up in "themes": 1. Planes, trains and automobiles, 2. dinosaurs, ABCs, and barnyard 3. (the one in the house now) is colors, numbers, shapes.

I have two bookshelves in the living room. The bottom half is for the kids. These baskets have some of the toys from the colors, numbers, and shapes bin. The blue thing on the upper left if a puzzle stacker. I used to be a teacher before kids. I got that from some teacher supply catalog. The only thing I don't like about it is that puzzles with pegs don't fit in it. That shelf is deep enough though that the ones with pegs can be stacked behind the stacker.

edited to add: The baskets are the Sabrina baskets. The cubbies are from Target. I put those together myself....so they are pretty easy if you have an electric screwdriver. The pink and green buckets are actually from Walmart. They are a bit sturdier than the ones from Target. (Though Target has some leather ones now, that I would love to get for the office/playroom.)

I am almost embarrassed to post this pic above. Once I took it, I realized I really need to dust down there! Oh well, this is the true blue me....but you know as soon as I saw it, I had to clean it!! More toys from the colors, numbers, shapes. The basket on the bottom holds things that are so large they don't fit in the baskets. This time it is filled with a bunch of those Leapfrog toys...the Tad, Lily, ABC Caterpillar, some ABC bus thing.

That is all of the toys in the living area. They do have some in their room.....

Livi has a bigger closet than Will does, so she has two of these cubby things. Each bucket holds one group of toys: dress up clothes, babies, Cinderella toy, CareBear stuff, hats, Dora stuff, Miss Spider toy, and doll clothes. Off to the right are two bins: one for clothes I buy a season ahead. The other bin is for clothes that are too small. We send these to a cousin. Once the bin gets full, I bag it and put it in the attic. Off to the left is a basket of stuffed animals. I really want to get rid of them, but can't bring myself to toss them yet!



Will closet is a bit smaller, so his cubby is smaller. His mainly has dinosaurs, cars, boy stuff. I just noticed he has a blue bucket in here. These are the same sized as the ones from the art stuff in the office . So he must have traded one of the "projects" in there for one of his in his room. The baskets in the living room also fit in their cubbies in their closets.

The thing I like best about using the cubby system is even as young as one and two, they are able to put stuff back in the buckets. We try to only have one bucket per kid out at a time. It doesn't always work that way, but we do try.


Finally, for things that need to be hung up, I love those hooks by 3M that have the removable adhesive. We have two of these hooks on the back of the door in their rooms.


My last little piece of Tommie tips: I am a firm believer in "One toy in, one toy out"....meaning every time the kids get a new toy, one gets donated to the cousins or Goodwill. They have to decide where it is going to "live" <-----which bucket it is going to go into, or which bin it will go into if they want it to go into the toys that get rotated. We change out the toys every three weeks or so. I can usually tell when they are bored with the ones in the living room, so we drag the next one out and do a switcheroo!

More pics on my Flickr....click on the badge and it will take you there.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Weekly winners


Hosted by Lotus, my favorites from this week:

cap of happiness.....Molson Canadian

rain, rain, go away


pineapple salsa, aka yummalicious


sleep walking....she feel asleep after taking two steps...this is around 11 at night

where'd your nose go, little girl

Apparently I didn't take very many pics this week......Happy Sunday, y'all

Friday, January 18, 2008

Scrolling Saturday.....can you believe it ....already time for another

From the great such simple pleasures I bring you scrolling saturday .....this is a golden oldie from way back in March 2007.


****this is when Husband came home for R&R.....in Mar2007....he had been gone since Oct 8, 2006****

The Husband is finally home!


Does this look like the child of who is sleeping soundly ??? Yeah, didn't think so. Will fell asleep on the floor yesterday afternoon during his quiet time. So at 8:00 when I was leaving to go get Mike, I decided on a whim to take Will. I told him I was "running a night time" errand. He seemed okay with that. When we got to the airport, I was taking pics of him. He loves to take pictures now, so he asked to take a picture of a soldier...there were plenty arriving at the same


time. I told him he could only take a picture of a soldier he knew.....one would come down the little area and he would say, " I don't know that soldier.." Finally he saw Mike, I said, "Do you know that soldier??" He didn't recognize him at first, but jumped in his arms as soon as he did. He didn't quit smiling the entire time! I was surprised he even got to sleep last night! This morning Livi was hollering from her crib, "I'm awake!" Mike went in and said, "Can your daddy get you up?" She jumped into his arms and didn't let go for about 15 minutes. She even left her bunny in her crib...something that NEVER happens!



Only have a few minutes, so the WBW is in this post as well.....Way Back Wednesday: Stripper Style...
Not so sure I am up to par for stripper style, but how about some nakey babies....
My kids never seem to have clothes on....ever! This pic was taken when we lived in Leavenworth, see that lovely-Army-housing issue linoleum?? I hurt my back when Livi was little enough to still fit in the sink, so wallaaahh no more bending over some dinky little tub!


did you play? Let The Kept Woman know: the Kept Woman

Friday fill in

Courtesy of the wonderful Janet

1. The last compliment I got was from Husband, he said thanks for picking a good dinner. (I picked it up from Papa Murphy's!)

2. I’m reading my new Real Simple magazine.

3. I woke up today and thought "I better do yoga here since I won't have time to go to aerobics before the Princess's doctor appointment. "

4. Why does the laundry pile never seem to get smaller?


cheers, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

5. The last thing I ate was garlic chicken pizza and a nice frosty beverage for dinner. (I am normally a wine drinker, but I did learn to love me some Molson Canadian on our drive through Canada ...... )

6. January… has been a lesson in becoming a family again.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to vegging with the family, tomorrow my plans include rearranging the Princess's bedroom and Sunday, I want to make a white chicken chili!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Meet the furbabies.....

Just a little follow up to Chance, the cat we lost on the drive to Alaska from Oklahoma. Since I now have a scanner, I can actually go back and scan those oh-so-wonderful-circa-1997 scrapbook pages.


We lost Chance on the final leg of our journey from Oklahoma to Alaska. In the morning we would let the car warm up. It was -30 to -40 degrees by this time. We would pack the car, let it warm up, then we would go have breakfast. Even though we had it on 'kid lock', Chance stood on the controls on the driver's side. He rolled the window down and jumped out. We looked for a long time, but had to get on the road because Husband had to sign in at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks. There were ravens the size of small chickens flying around everywhere. We saw Artic Fox darting through the woods. So we really thought we would never see him again.


Six days later, on Thanksgiving night, the owners of the hotel called. They had found Chance. We drove six and a half hours back to Beaver Creek to get him. We had lunch (I remember it was a cream based soup in a bread bowl....this was the first time I had ever seen soup served in a bread bowl!) Then we drove the six and a half hours back to Fort Wainwright. His nose and ears were a tad frost bitten. But he was alive and very skinny. He survived a week in the wilderness of the Yukon Territory. He would not leave Husband's side for a very long time after that.

He was always more like a dog than a cat anyway. He would come to the garage door when he heard the garage door go up. He loved a good piece of fresh spinach! If he heard you opening a bag of salad, he would come running from wherever he was in the house. He would stand at your feet more howling than meowing. If you didn't throw down a piece quick enough, he would start to paw your leg.

We kept for six years after this. Two moves after Alaska, we were going to the East bay of San Francisco. We could only take one pet, so we found a home for him. (We took Josie.) He now lives with a young Lieutenant. It was her first time to be away from home. She needed a pet that was a little older. It worked out the best for both worlds!

Josie is a French Bulldog. Some confuse her for a pig....a little neighbor boy in OK put it best: "She snorts like a pig, she looks like a pig," She must be a pig......but no, she is our little Frenchie. We got her when we were dating. She is our first little baby girl!

One of the few negative things about a French Bulldog, or any snub nosed dog for that matter....is the gas. She can pass some gas or fluff or toots, or whatever you want to call it. But it will make your toes curl. I swear when she is lounging here in the living room while I am kicked back with the laptop, she looks ever so cute snoring over in the corner. Then some smell like no other wafts over in your direction. Dang, makes a girl keep a can of Febreeze air effects near by!!

Happy Thursday, y'all

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

My 24th Thursday 13.......Starting with D




Following the theme, this week I bring you letter D. If you need to catch up with
A

B

C ......


After seeing an "I never" at fond of snape, I thought it would be a great way to do this week's Thursday 13.

1. I have never skinny Dipped.

2. I have never sky Dived.

3. I have never deep sea Dived.

4. I have never been to Disney World or Disney Land.

5. I have never earned a D in any class.

and since I can change the rules, the rest will be "I have"....

6. I have a running to Do list.

7. I have Done (completed) a Becoming an Outdoor Woman in the winter in Alaska. (The only reason I went when my friends asked was because it was at Chena Hot Springs and we could bring wine!)

8. I had a Dictionary that I highlighted the word every time I had to look one up. I put the date in the column.


9. I have Danced the night away under the stars and fireworks.


10. I have to drink a Diet Dr Pepper daily!!!


11. I have loved seeing the kids interact with their Dad since he came home.

12. I have a Dog, a French Bulldog.

13. I have a teaching Degree in Special Education.

Organizing tips from Tommie #2...the pantry

Ask and you shall receive. Many of you asked to see the pantry. I have had every kind of pantry imaginable: little tiny cabinets under the counter, an entire room in the laundry area (loved that one), and even a room away from the kitchen (in KS at a house built the early 1900's). I really like the one I have here.

This one has two smaller areas on the top and shelves on the bottom. Just like you would see in the grocery store, things are grouped in sections. They are also labeled on the front of the shelf. The things at the top are things that used to be in random shaped bags. To be able to maximize the space, I take them out of the bags and put them in the same shaped containers. There are small round ones, square and rectangle ones. They hold things like brown sugar, rices, nuts, and kids snacks (graham crackers, goldfish, rice cakes, animal crackers).
Here is the rest of the pantry. Each shelf has a label on the front.
  • Shelf one is oils, vinegars, sauces, and teas.
  • Shelf two is rices, pastas, mixes, kids' mac and cheese.
  • Shelf three is baking stuff: chocolates, baking powder, baking soda, and cooking frosting stuff.
  • Shelf four is canned goods.
  • Shelf five is cereals and crackers.


But the best thing about this pantry is the shelves on the bottom SLIDE OUT!!! I love this!

I do have an 'overflow' pantry. I only go to the commissary once every two weeks. I fill in fresh fruit, veggies, and dairy from the grocery store right by my house. So in here are bulk things that will eventually get moved to the pantry in the kitchen. Don't laugh at my toilet paper and paper towels. Nothing says "I love you!" like never running out of toilet paper.


One thing you can't see on this overflow pantry is there is a list on the door. Long ago I made a grocery list by sections just like on the self labels. I have it in a Word document. Every time I take something out of the overflow pantry to restock the regular one, I highlight it on the list. I only purchase the things that are highlighted on the list.


I have all of these pictures and more on my Flickr. So click on the badge and it will take you over there. I am starting to organize them in a set labeled "organizing".

Happy Wednesday y'all.....




Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Organizing tips from Tommie #1


Stella had mentioned on Scrolling saturday.... I should start an organizing tips entry.



So today when I was getting out my phone charger, it reminded me of that. Here is a prime example of one of the little things I do to make my life easier. We have a drawer full of different cords....phone cords, camera cords, chargers, etc. I know I can look in there and with one glance find mine. Because it is labeled "phone charger"....the other half of the sticky label wraps around the cord and says "charger". Which brings me to any organizers best friend:


My label maker.....I know I have blogged about my organizers best friend before. For as long as I have remembered, I have had a label maker. Before I realized there was a machine that did this, I used to print out text on a typewriter and put Scotch tape over it to 'laminate' it. I have had mucho expensive ones, but this one has been my favorite. It comes in refill tapes of plastic, paper, clear, ones that can be used indoor, ones that can be used outdoors. Best of all, both Target and Walmart carry the refills. I usually paper tape on things that are files and such and plastic on more permanent things. The clear tape is good for things that you are color coordinating. You can print it on clear and paste the tape to a colored piece of paper.

I have always been organized. At times, some would even go so far as to say way over the top. I think I control my environment to the X degree because I don't always know what our little world is going to bring me. Okay enough mumbo jumbo hocus pocus.
If you want me to bring my organizing insight to a certain area, let me know. I don't have it all organized (okay, maybe I do) but I have great ideas1