The doctor visit was quick and easy. Sure enough infection. I felt as if someone had punch me smack in my cheek.
I have the antibiotics and now I just wait on time.
The medicine must be pretty good, I dreamt and dreamt. My dreams rarely have my mom, but I saw her last night! Funny.

Things have been incredible busy around the home stead. We finished the Political Violence and Terrorism class this weekend. What an awesome class. Just need to knock out the final paper.

The job of wrestling manager has ended for the daughter and now we are in the full throws of track. Of course, this requires purchases of new track shoes, shorts, and other track accessories. She had debated about whether to be the Varsity Baseball manager or run track. Here is the dilemma, she is a freshman and wants to letter as many times as possible to round out the college application. You can earn a letter as a varsity manager. She may not make the varsity track team as a freshmen…oh the choices… BUT after more investigation she has discovered they have very few female shot putters – so if she chooses to shot put, she is on Varisty. She now loves the idea of the shot put and has been practicing the starting position all weekend long! All is well as for the moment; she even beat a boy yesterday!

Must READ.
I finished this book and I must say it needs to be required reading for all adults. (not bedtime reading for the kinder)

This morning it took me over 40 minutes to make a doctors appointment. I pushed buttons and more buttons. Listened to the canned attendant voice apologize for the delay. - They were having a high volume of calls.
The receptionist finally came on the line – She promptly asked me for my name and in less than 30 seconds, I have an appt for later today.
I did online research that leads me to believe, I have an infection in my maxillary sinuses --they sit in the cheek above the teeth and below the eyes.
I am not sure what it is but I am exhausted. I am typically not a whiner, but I need something potent to get back in the game, quick.
More to follow…

I canot sleep and have been up an hour now.
I just had a cup of coffee and a bowl Grape-nuts. Yesterday, I had ran to the commissary yesterday to pick up the needs for the week and decided we needed this box of cereal. When I go out of town I always feel like I should purchase some extra special things for the family.

Ingredients: WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR, WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, SALT, DRIED YEAST. VITAMINS & MINERALS: REDUCED IRON, NIACIN, VITAMIN B6, ZINC OXIDE (SOURCE OF ZINC), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN D.

I am not sure how the POST can make those ingredients taste pretty darn good, but they can. Weird. The great news is that if you eat this ceral often enough you can lose 10 lbs. I should say so - One serving equals 24% of your fiber for the day. That gives Kashi a run for the money.

off to the races

I am from the mitten state – glad to be from there – I am now a registered voter for a different state, but I will be keeping a close eye on the governor race this year.… Gubernatorial race could be first in which no public money is used


Could it be… I cannot wait to follow the races.

Do not covet your neighbors flooring

Ok - The easy to install beautiful flooring - is beautiful - but darn it takes some hard work.
This is how the story goes.
To put down the flooring you need to remove the trim.
Once you remove the trim, we realize that this is a perfect time to repaint.
Repainting begins. (trip #2 to Lowes)
Then you must remove the stove and fridge. Both scary activities. We realize that we should tile the back splash behind the stove while we have everything pulled out. (trip # 3 to Lowes, but hey, we picked out some cool tile and now we have two more additional tools for the garage.)
Floor work begins - but realize we are missing the special tool that makes the gigantic puzzle align. (New tools 3 and 4) (last and final trip to Lowes for the day)

Last night at 7:30 we called it a day - We have 1/3 left to do - but it looks awesome. We get to move out the washer and dryer AND remove the toilet from the BASE ;(

We both acknowledged we are getting older and needed hot showers to soothe our tired bones. But, we worked together for 12 hours for one common goal and the project is almost finished. Not a bad way to spend the day. Pics to come...

Sunday reading

'Apprentice' Winner Credits Military Training. Positive press even MSM cannot ignore.

Making peace with war.

Please pray for fallen and the hungry

A BookSense book review by my a dear friend Beth, Brave Charlotte. This is a great place to read about books and start lists of books you would like to read.

Oh to be free and have endless travel… Greece. Someday, I promise.

the weekend

The frigid temperatures this weekend has kept the family inside.
That is ok with me. Yesterday morning we ran to Lowes just to look around and on a complete whim we are putting Pergo in our kitchen today. We had talked about it in the past, but within 30 minutes we were loading Antique Oak boxes on a pallet cart and swiping the debt card. So, the project will begin in a few minutes. I started doing some prep work.

I think I have the possibility of being a much better house keeper if we just had less stuff. We have way too many things and the number increases by three fold it seems – the more I give away, the more we get back. I cleaned out the shoe closet and found that my daughter had ten pair of flip flops in various colors and 5 pair of tennis shoes, now mind you these are the one’s that happened to make it to the closet, her room stores more.
We have 4 vacuums (5 if you count the broken one in the basement), 3 printers and all of their cords, computers, monitors, coats, backpacks, blankets, pillows, books and more books and random things all over.
I even admit, I have too much Longaberger.
Yep. I said it.
Too much Longaberger.
I have made a commitment not to buy any more until the Breast Cancer awareness basket comes out in August. (think good thoughts on this one - I cannot be swayed by the marketing evils)
I am glad it is a long weekend; I am going to get things ready for a garage sale to benefit the Peru trip and purge/recycle a few items.
I have a paper due on Friday and will be at class all weekend long and the two following weekends I have commitments with the National Guard... And then I am off to a place affectionately named “lost in the woods” for ten days of Army training.
I will be traveling for work Tuesday – Thursday of this week so I need to check off a few things on my list before I leave. I typically love traveling for work or with the National Guard, but I will let you know on Thursday, if I felt the love.
I am thankful that I have a corporate America job that keeps me busy, as well as a busy National Guard unit. Not to mention a busy teenager.

The trip to Chicago was a perfect break before the storm of busyness. I am glad we headed out there last weekend, today they are predicting record low temperatures. Hope this passes before Blackfive's adventure.

We now prefer ruffles

It is official - My brother and sister-in-law are having a girl. They had a 30 week ultra sound today and things were very clear. The little one was very active and showed her stuff off!
I like the name Chloe Aspen and will continue to drop that name as often as possible, who knows it might catch on. Congratulations! April will be an exciting month for all.

Dim Sum

One of the primary stops during the Chicago trip was a visit to Chinatown.
We had visited there about seven years ago and had a great time. Our friend J who has just moved to Chicago had not ventured there yet. Eating and shopping is always a good combination for us!
We ate a restaurant that primarily served dim sum.
We had steamed dumplings, filled buns, and noodles.
What is fun is that the ortions are bite-sized, and served in small quantities, usually three or four to a plate. I like to have to variety; however, the dishes had a lot of pork and we passed on a few of the offerings. Servers pushed carts, loaded with a variety of foods, through the dining room.. It is a fun environment with tasty treats and yummy tea. For dessert they offered a a sponge cake of sorts. Oddly, it tasted just like hawaiian sun tanning lotion. hmmmmm....

Greek town in Chicago

Love Greek town - Love Greek food.

A late Valentine Post…
Yesterday I spent some time listening to this. (Track 27 is amazing) My daughter has labeled Bryan Adams the singer of the sappiest love songs of all time. I have to agree. But… appropriate for the occasion.
We had a few small pieces of chocolate yesterday and the daughter received a cute stuffed animal dog from her “friend”. I can bet that his mom bought it for him to give to her, but it was very sweet. She handed out gourmet dark chocolate she picked up in Chicago for her school chums.
I received a lone handmade card from the daughter. It is hanging on the refrigerator, At what age do you stop putting things on the refrigerator from your children? I can see myself in five years hanging up things from her first year of college.

Happy Valentine's Day

Yummy Chocolate!

Makes our family Happy.
Happy Valentine's Day

Chicago trip

More updates to follow on the trip to Chicago -
It is just like I remembered the midwest!
Grey skies for miles... but the people are managing to cope and have a great time enjoying life.
The food is great and the daughter shopped!

good news

Good News, I think.
Twenty eight years ago this month my dad died of Brain Cancer. In 1978 this disease was fought with the most rudimentary practices. My mom did her best to make sure my dad received the best care possible and tried many different therapies and surgeries. They both fought the good fight. Sadly, in October 1998 my mom also passed from cancer, lung cancer. I heard on the new this morning that U.S. Cancer Deaths Drop for First Time in More Than 70 Years.

This is good news, but we have a long way to go. I am very thankful for all the men and women that dedicate themselves to fight cancer both with research and care giving.
I encourage everyone to choose a more healthy diet
and plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Read an inspirational story about a fellow soldier fighting GWOT as well as cancer and winning both.

Over heard this morning at the house…

In keeping up with the theme of recent posts from
ArmyWifeToddlerMom and A Swoop and a Dart and A Day in the life of a mom.

… this conversation could have been overheard at my house this morning.

Husband: Getting ready for his showers asks, “Do we have any soap?”
I answer, “Sure, just a second.” I go over the closet and begin looking. “We have Vanilla, Lavender, Chamomile, Rain Lily, Sweet Pea & Violet, Sun-Ripened Raspberry and coconut.” In a panic I realize we do not have any normal soap.
Husband: “As long as it does not smell like flowers.” (I begin to look deeper in the closet.)
I dig down deep and pull out a tiny mini-hotel wrapped bar of soap from a Hilton stay and hand it over.
He holds the miniscule bar of soap and heads off.
Mental note to self… Pick up some normal soap.

So many numbers

The beginning of a new week.
I cannot believe it already now February 2006. Days and weeks just go by darn quickly.

I only watched maybe 15 minutes of the Super Bowl – Just had no interest.
I know how sad, I wanted to see how Motor City was holding up and take a look at the millions of dollars the city and state had spent to remodel and remove the vagrants.
This morning at the gym we were chatting about the commercials and sadly I did not see most of the funny one’s… ahhh… next time.

Completed -
Drill weekend. 10 more drill weekends for the year! Barring we do not have another Katrina or my lucky number is chosen.

WIP – Work in Progress –
Get ready for the daughter 15th b-day gathering tonight. Her small groups as well as some other friends are coming over to eat and act silly. It will be fun for all. Just have to finish getting some groceries and ice cream cake.
Husband returns from 4 weeks of bliss in Lake Charles, LA. He will be happy to get home and just relax in his own surroundings. Living in a hotel is not his preference.
Friday we are heading to Chicago for the weekend! I know we are crazy, vacationing to Chicago during mid-Feb. We are going to completely freeze, it gets cold in Colorado BUT thankfully we live on the front range and we do not experience any lake effect winds or storms like they suffer in Chicago.

But we can survive for four days – it will be fun. My only child only turns 15 once. (thank goodness). I think she put the fear of God in her uncle when she smartly announced, “Uncle Da.. – when you baby turns 15, I will be 30!” AHHHHHHHH!!! The year will be 2021 and I WILL be 51 and he will be 52! This life is pure craziness! The good thing is that my baby will be 30 and his will be 15.

Sleep

Slept like a baby – literally.
This weekend after washing the sheets I decided to add an extra blanket on the bed underneath the down comforter. When I crawled in and sank into the memory foam it was perfect. Between the added weight of the comforter and the bed I was snuggled in - and I slept like a baby.

After the long slumber you would think that the bags under my eyes would go away – No. I think age is catching up with me. (my co-worker asked if I had long drill weekend- she meant no harm, but little did she know that drill was an eight hour day with very little stress and little physical activity)
I tend to wear stress on my face.
I need to break down and by a small jar of something very expensive to keep next to the night stand. I will keep you posted on the miracle cream purchase.

Random thoughts today

I spent lunch reading this...Victory against terrorism will not occur as a single, defining moment. It will not be marked by the likes of the surrender ceremony on the deck of the USS Missouri that ended World War II. However, through the sustained effort to compress the scope and capability of terrorist organizations, isolate them regionally, and destroy them within state borders, the United States and its friends and allies will secure a world in which our children can live free from fear and where the threat of terrorist attacks does not define our daily lives.

I finished reading this last night. I am glad he told his story and he writes very well.

An update on the Pakistan Earthquake:

As of January 26, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has flown 3,644 helicopter missions, delivered 10,136 short tons of humanitarian relief supplies, evacuated 3,739 casualties, and transported 14,782 humanitarian relief workers and other passengers. The 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH), established on October 25 in Muzaffarabad, and a 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force medical element, established on November 16 in Shinkiari, have performed more than 461 surgeries and treated more than 27,247 non-surgical patients. To date, DOD has obligated $103.7 million for relief operations.

The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations. Information on identifying such organizations is available in the “How Can I Help” section of www.usaid.gov – Keyword: South Asia Earthquake, or by calling The Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) at 703-276-1914.

The Numbers:
Pakistan - 73,338 dead, 69,412 injured, 2.8 million homeless
India - 1,309 dead, 6,622 injured, 150,000 homeless