Drifter Goes to the Vet

Hi. This is Drifter Weigle. I should know, my mom practically yells it at me every day. Yesterday, I noticed Mom and Dad getting their coats and gloves on ready to walk out the door so I quickly went into my crate and anxiously awaited a treat. They confused me though because they lured me out to the truck with them, which doesn't ususally happen. After a short car ride, we arrived at a fun play ground where all sorts of other dogs were playing and running. I wanted to play, too! I wasn't there to play, though. They took me inside and made me sit and do other bothersome things. I went into this room where there were tons of treats so I really thought I might like this place. Unfortunately, they poked and prodded me and I got really mad. Overall, it wasn't so bad, though. Here's Mom again...

Yes, Drifter had his first vet appointment yesterday. We found out that he's actually much younger than we thought. The pound in Anchorage told us he was about six months old. The vet in Fairbanks said he was closer to four months old! His birthday is officially on Halloween and J says that's appropriate because he can be quite the spook at times. :) Here are some more photos as requested by Jesse (my brother in law)...

Where the Boat Leaves From

I thought I'd feature one of the blogs from the "Blogs I Love" page in case you've yet to check it out. This blog comes from a woman on the other side of the country. She's probably as far away from me as possible, actually. If you'd like to read about warm weather, beaches, and a young woman's experience in sunny Florida then I'll direct you to my friend Amanda's blog: Where the Boat Leaves From. Amanda and I met in preschool! Feels like forever ago. She has taught me many things throughout the years including how babies are born and how we shouldn't watch Poltergeist alone...or ever for that matter. :) She's a wealth of knowledge! Check her blog out after chuckling at this photo of us after a Sweetwater road race we participated in years ago--

My boys

He's in the next room but he's a million miles away. Ugh. The U.S. Army decided that Captain J should wake up and come into work an hour earlier than usual this morning--that's 0430. Poor, dear husband. I feel so bad for him. He works so hard. I just want some time during the week with my hubby. I guess that's life, though. He went to bed hours ago and I don't blame him. I just miss him.

At least the dog is chewing quietly on his bone, though.

At least I'm sitting in a clean house. Yes, I did an all over, much needed clean today. It doesn't matter how many times I mop, though. It's always time for another one with the pitter patter of little Drifter feet in combination with big, snowy combat boots. Ahh, my boys. :)

I'm ready for the weekend. We've got plans to go out to dinner with friends Friday night, Saturday we're having breakfast with another couple, and Sunday is church. Hopefully we'll squeeze in some outside time, too if it's warm enough. The temperatures are dropping back down unfortunately.

More later.

Darn dog and Dear John

I'm so frustrated. I feel like I have a two year old running around, getting into everything, and disobeying all orders. I'm babysitting a holy terror without any of the cuteness that comes along with even the most disobedient children. Sometimes I just want to let, "I told you so" slip out to J because I requested that we get an older dog, one that's already set in their ways. One that is a couch potato, is house trained, and already has good manners. Ugh! I've already had to use Drifter's full name three times today and it's barely 0900.

Last night I went to see Dear John with a friend. I really liked it, although the ending wasn't quite how Nicholas Sparks described it. One of my favorite quotes from the book is- "I fell in love with her when we were together, then fell deeper in love with her in the years we were apart." It just takes me back to when I met Captain J. Similar to the movie, J and I only had a few short weeks together before he left me for a whole year. The movie reminded of that time period in my life. I was scared to death, excited, and completely in love all at once. I couldn't believe that I had found such a great man, only to say goodbye to him and send him off to Iraq for twelve months. It was hard, but looking back now it was totally worth it. We learned so much about each other!

The friend I went to the movie with had the same situation going on with her then fiance. He was also deployed with J so when the credits started to roll, she said, "It's a good thing we didn't see this while they were deployed!" That was so true. It's always hard for me to watch a military couple say goodbye to each other because it takes me back to the end of R&R when I felt like all my happiness had been drained out of me. It didn't matter that I was watching a fictional couple. It still made me tear up. Seeing that made me remember that we'll have to do it all over again. I better cherish this time now.

Wasn't Me Wednesday

  

1. It wasn't me who ate cookies for breakfast. I would never do that!  

2. It wasn't me who let Drifter sleep all day. I wouldn't do that to my dear husband who wakes up with him in the middle of the night when Drifter won't sleep.  

3. It also wasn't me who neglected, yet again, to clean the kitchen.  

4. It wasn't me who made plans to go out with a girlfriend tonight leaving J to his own devices for dinner.  

5. It wasn't me who didn't walk the dog today. I would never.

  

 

Love and Marriage (ya gotta sing the title)

"The first year of marriage is the hardest."

It seems like everyone I know says this. Even when I don't ask for advice or insight, I still get this response. I'm not complaining; I'm just curious. Do you feel that way? Was your first year of marriage the toughest to date? It seems to me this could go one of two ways 1.) Yes, the first year is hard. Two lives are merging. Both people are re-learning how to share money, time, the bathroom! "New" habits are rearing their ugly heads. Each individual is becoming 50% of a closely knit team and relinquishing control can be difficult. Or 2.) Nope, it's easy peasy lemon squeezy. The first year of marriage is still the honeymoon stage. The real trials come later.

Perhaps there's a combination of both. I don't know. I want to hear what you think.

As for my marriage, I'm hoping the first year is indeed the hardest because so far every day has just felt right. I know this may be premature because we've only been hitched for two months but this first year has been wonderful. Just yesterday, J came home from work, the kitchen was in disarray because I couldn't locate the casserole dish and the ingredients were already mixed up and ready to go, and the dog was barking, jumping, and nipping at both of us while we greeted each other. Kenny Chesney was playing on the radio and my handsom man in uniform turns up the volume and grabs me in his arms for an impromptu dance and in that moment, all the chaos flees and it's just me and him. I love that man.

Here's to hopin' J and I can always kick our shoes off, do a little dance, and melt away any sadness that either of us feel. It is my hope that you will keep us in your prayers this first year. Pray that God will guide us and that we'll always keep Him first. I know if we do that, we'll be just fine. :)

Post It Note Tuesday

This event is hosted by Supah Mommy. Click her name for more details!

Here's my post it note for the day--

THIS JUST IN--

Naps make me smarter. (Story found here.)I knew it, I just knew it. Now, I'll cat nap guilt free while the rest of the world goes on about their productive lives.

While in college, I had my study habits down to a T. I really didn't have to study all that much. I should have studied more throughout the week to cut down on cram sessions before tests, but I found a schedule that worked for me so I stuck with it. I truly miss going to school, learning new ideas, and having old ones challenged. If I could, I'd be a professional student. I secretly harbor thoughts of enrolling at UAF and taking some classes for the fun of it, but it's not really financially responsible at this point. I want to finish my degree desperately, but I'll have to wait until we get to our next duty station (after Benning) to work on my Master's again if I want to actually go to class. I suppose I could find an online program, but I know I'll learn more in a classroom setting. I'm missing out on so many job opportunities here, though without having the degree. It seems like getting my master's is simply a "checking the box" requirement so it probably wouldn't matter if I worked on it at a university or online. I have yet to make up my mind on what I'd like to do occupationally and I think experience is the only way to narrow it down. I'm going to search for some part time jobs at counseling agencies around Fairbanks in hopes of at least getting my foot in the door.

I am happy at home, though. I could see myself being a stay at home mother. I think I would enjoy it, but what do I know...I don't have any little ones running around. I do have a 6 month old who I've been watching quite closely today because he was a mess yesterday. Drifter didn't want to do anything we said. J had to have a come-to-Jesus meetin' with him more than once yesterday. He's sleeping sweetly on the couch for me now, though. He's such a good dog, or he tries to be...especially when there's only one person home. (Sound familiar, Mom?)

I'm looking outside to big, fluffy white snowflakes falling from the sky. The snow that was melting is now capped with sparkly, fresh fallen snow and the scenery is beautiful. You'd think I would have grown tired of it by now. I don't mind it; it's the dreadful lows that get me. Despite the snow, it's around 20 degrees right now so I'm not complaining.

Now, I think I'll curl up on the couch like Drifter. Maybe I'll grab a good book. I'll definitely be taking a nap, though. It's essential for brain development and obtaining new information. If you're at work, go tell your boss: "THIS JUST IN..."

Scrappy Me

Jordan gave me the car for one day and I went nuts at Joann's. I've been scrapping up a storm all weekend. I thought I'd post a few of the pages to share. Ignore the awful glare that I couldn't get to go away. I hope everyone is having a fun weekend!

Enjoying this flavor

"My advice to you is not to inquire why or whiter, but just to enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate." --Thornton Wilder

I really thought I had a bad day yesterday. I woke up early feeling like all my friends in the world were far, far away and poor pitiful me-I had no one to talk to. I was stuck in a house with a dog howling for attention and I longed for the same- only of the human persuasion. All I had to look forward to that night (since J was out at dinner with his company) was Grey's Anatomy- and if you've been following lately, you know what a disappointment that was.

Today I woke up with a much different attitude. I have everything I want and need, what's there to complain about? I like the quote above because of the reminder it brings: Enjoy each day! I have enjoyed my day. This is what it consisted of:

I woke up early, too early. It felt as if I had just drifted off to sleep when my alarm rang out, bidding me to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for my hungry soldier. I drug myself out of our warm bed, squirted some eye drops in each eye, and grabbed my cute lil VS robe for extra warmth. I decided we would have banana nut bread, yogurt, granola, and cranberries for breakfast (least amount of preparation time!). I left out coffee, didn't I? But that's a given in our household. After a nice breakfast together, he left in the jeep for work and I hopped in the truck to locate a package, which turned into quite the adventure.

The roads here are incredibly slick right now. The weather has warmed so drastically that the snow is melting pretty early for Alaska. No complaint here! Bring on Summer! There have been several times today that I've just barely missed an avalanch of snow falling from the roof as I walked outside. Anyway, I was slipping all over the place and I was even using four wheel drive. Sadly, I saw two bad wrecks in town so be sure to keep those people in your thoughts and prayers.

Road, upon road, upon road I drove down searching for yet another post office in Fairbanks. You wouldn't believe how many we have here. I finally pull onto a road with a big blue sign that says : Post Office ----->

I still couldn't believe that could be right because I was way out of town at that point. All that surrounded me were trees and residential type cabins. Sure enough, though I come to a little hole in the wall building that had the right address. I enter with hopes that it is in fact the United States Postal Service and not Jerry's Guns and Things. Luckily, a friendly young woman greeted me and gave me the package I sought. (Thanks, Mom...I love, love, love all of it.)

I ran some errands in town and then came home to spend the afternoon with the puppy. He had completely wrapped his zip line around a tree several times and was stuck and whining miserably when I arrived home. Drifter sure was happy to see me. I stayed outside with him for around two hours because he was being so good and the weather felt amazing.

Later, we drove to Muttessori, the place we're taking our little critter to obedience classes (Clever name, huh? :) ) We also started the crate training today and so far it is going quite well. He's doing much better than he did the first night we had him. I think that he was just too excited that night and with good reason! He's got two of the coolest parents around!

To make a long story short, nothing too special happened to me today. But all these semi-normal days with my husband up here in Alaska have meant so much more to me than I can describe. As Wilder might say, I'm enjoying this flavor of ice cream on my plate. Maybe tomorrow's won't taste as good, but there's always my faith that the next day will be double chocolate, my favorite!

I sure hope you are enjoying what's on your plate today, too.

'Thank You Thursday'

Here's the deal--On a military support site, I came across a group of women who enjoy blogging quite regularly like I do. One in particular is a lady affiliated with the Navy and is currently living with her family in Japan. To check out her blog you can click this link to be directed to it. She has started a blog topic each week called 'Thank You Thursday' in which she writes her thank you's- both genuine and sarcastic :)

If you want to join in on the fun, be sure to link her and grab the Thank You Thursday button on the right hand side of her blog. This will work on other blog hosts, but I don't think wordpress allows it. Perhaps I'm just completely clueless.

Anyway, here are mine for this week--

Thank You to the U.S. Post office for avoiding my calls, not delivering a package when I scheduled one, and being completely unhelpful.

Thank You to the big scary dog from backing off of me and Drifter on our walk today.

Thank You to Bailey's furniture for getting our kitchen table in. We're enjoying it! Also, Thank You to my loving sister who sent me these flowers on Valentine's Day.

Thank You to my Mom and Mother-in-Law for sending me Valentine fun. (I've got faith that yours will show eventually, Mom. It's the thought that counts :) )

Thank You to the man upstairs for the awesome weather today-- 45 degrees!

Thank You to the U.S. Army for requiring my dear husband to be at a hail and farewell ceremony tonight. I really am looking forward to spending the evening alone.

Nice little Wednesday

Last night was one of those nights that I felt like all was right with the world. It was perfect and nothing special really happened. It was all special, every moment. It was one of those nights that I might want to rewind back to and push play all over again. What...you thought you were gonna get away without hearing mushy love stuff this February? Psh!

Yesterday evening was fairly warm so I let Drifter out to play and run around the yard a bit while we waited on Jordan to get in from work. We anxiously awaited greeting him as we heard the tires of his truck crunching on the snow packed driveway. Drifter, forgetting his manners as usual, runs up and jumps on him and barks and barks. He gets so excited to see him. I was pretty happy, too. I miss him when he's at work. Jordan addresses the puppy first (:( haha) because "we have to train him that's not okay." I get my kiss shortly after, though so I let this slide. (Gah, a dog is competing with my attention? Kidding.) Anyway, we played outside for awhile in the snow and then decided we'd take a dip in the hot tub. We donned our swim suits and grabbed some glasses for a new bottle of white wine. We talked about our day, he shared with me heart warming stories from Iraq, and we excitededly discussed our future. All the while, Drifter was trying his hardest to jump in with us! Of course, we weren't going to allow this so we just sat there in the hot water and massaging bubbles and scratched Drifter's head and belly. He had to be thinking, 'This is the life!' I know I was. It's so wonderful to know that I've met my counterpart in life, my best friend. He has completed my life and it's the best feeling in the world. Now we have our little dog that's going to have to serve as our child for a couple years...haha. I don't think Drifter will mind all the attention, though.

After letting two hours slip away, we finally move into the cabin for dinner. We had no idea how long we'd been cooking ourselves outside! I whipped up some potatoes and grilled chicken that were pretty tasty if I do say so myself. All in all, it was a lovely evening with my hubby. I think now, 'I wonder how he would describe it.' I have used 417 words thus far, but I think he would probably sum it up with just three, "Nice little Wednesday."

Love that crazy dog

I painted myself into a corner with my mop on purpose so I had an excuse to update my blog. Clever. Anyway, since I'm up and cleaning, you may have gathered that I'm feeling much better. I really, really am. It's amazing how drastic the difference is. Thank you all for your prayers. God is so good! The rash is completely gone from most of my body. I have places left on my elbows and ankles that appear when I get really hot, but other than that I'm cured. Yay!

So back to Drifter....

The first night we had him we brought him inside and he went absolutely nuts. We couldn't even have dinner because he was all over the place. We locked him in the bathroom for literally five minutes and when we went to retrieve him he had messed all over the place. Yuck! Out he went.

Last night, we decided we didn't give him much of a chance on being an inside dog. Sunday night we had been driving for six hours and he was so good so naturally when we arrived home he was bound to be wound up. Plus Drifter is 6 months old; he's still a puppy. We're going to try to give him another chance inside this weekend. A friend of the family suggested crate training so I think we may try that in addition to obedience classes starting next month. He's a good dog who wants to do as we please he just gets so excited to have attention now. That's all he needs- attention (well, that and lots of exercise!). He's very social, which is typical of his breed so when he's stuck outside with no one to play with and no other dogs around he gets so much pent up energy that he's going to misbehave. Wish us luck with the new training plan. All the work makes it totally worth it when I look out the window to see Jordan working on his truck with Drifter right beside him, wagging his tail, and looking up at him giddily. (Jordan is equally as cute, treating this dog as a part of our family) Gotta love em!

Meet Drifter

This may be short due to my medication kicking in so I'll just go ahead and jump right in with what I want to share with you. Jordan had a long weekend- 4 days off! We packed our bags and headed south for some warmer weather and a romantic Valentine's Day weekend together. I can't tell you how great it feels to have my Valentine home this year!

One of the main things we hoped to accomplish was spending some quality time outside so on Saturday we did just that. We drove into Girdwood at Alyeska Ski Resort to do some snowshoeing. It turns out we didn't need our snowshoes really so we just did some winter hiking. The scenery along the trails was amazing. Moutain ranges, tons of snow, and a clear blue sky made our secluded hike absolutely perfect. The only thing that was missing, we decided, was a dog.

So...the next day we went to Adoption Day at the pound in Anchorage and found the cutest little puppy, who we're calling Drifter. He's an Alaskan Husky and quite a handful! Obedience classes are definitely in Drifter's future. He was very good on the six hour drive back to Fairbanks, though.  We are so excited to have him!

We chose "Drifter" because I randomly saw a snow drift and then thought about how our new dog would likely follow us all around the country at different duty stations. He'll be a drifter like we're required to be in the military. He's an army dog now! I hope he enjoys his new home. He seems to like his new name. He's already recognizing it :)

 

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to play with him as much as we'd like. On the drive home on Sunday, I broke out into a rash that was all over my legs. Two days later, I'm much worse. It's even on my face :( I'm a sight. Anyway, I went to the hospital again early this morning because I was experiencing chills, naseua, and more breakouts. It turns out that I am allergic to the antibiotics they prescribed to me the first time around. More specifically, I'm allergic to all sulfa based drugs. I feel ok, but I feel bad that I can't give the puppy the play time he needs right now. I was able to take him for a walk earlier, though. I'm hoping tomorrow I will feel more like myself again.

Sparks!

It feels like breakup outside today. It's twenty degrees, the sun is shining, there are blue, cloudless skies, and all day I've been scared to death because I'll hear a crashing noise only to look out and see the snow loosening up and collapsing down on the porch from the roof. It's a much different scenery than a few days ago when it was lightly snowing and a moose grazed into our driveway.

It was a baby so I was hoping to avoid "Mama" wherever she was lurking. I just took pictures from the porch. Anyway, have I mentioned that there's a crazy amount of static electricity in this cabin? Every single time I walk across the carpet to flip the light switch, I get shocked. It's no small shock either...there's almost always a spark. At first it was cool- climbing into bed in the dark seeing sparks flying everywhere. I felt like Harry Potter --"Lumos!" It's getting old pretty quickly, though. It may sound bizarre, but I think my left thumb has been shocked so many times that it's not working properly. It hurts when I move it and I can barely support a book with it. It's really odd. "Riddikulus!"

A peek inside and out- More Photos

It's time for an installment of...

the Pick 3 Phenomenon. I think I first heard about it on Oprah, years ago. Anyway, I like reflecting on my day and choosing three things that are best about today. They can be goofy, very specific, or general ideas. Count your blessings! I want to hear them. Here are mine--

 I loved the time I had with Jordan this morning after PT. We layed on the loveseat with our feet propped up and snuggled to keep warm. What a great start to the day.

I'm glad to have the quiet time in the mornings as well to blog, study God's word, and plan out my day.

 

 

 I'm incredibly excited about the little things Jordan has been doing lately to help me out including straightening up the kitchen after I cook and folding his uniform neatly in a pile instead of stringing them across the floor :)

Inside Our household...

It was requested by Aunt Susie that I add some photos of our new place now that we have furniture. It's starting to look like a home in here, but we're still waiting on a few items and finishing touches. Because I'm wide awake at nearly 2 am, I decided I would dig up the ones we have taken and share them all with you.

The last photo is easily my favorite. Check out Captain J's goofy dance! Just another day in our household.

Social networking--Love it or Hate it

What a day. I woke up and drug myself to the kitchen to make Jordan some breakfast. After he left for work, I went back to bed and I suppose that set the tone for my day. Where to start? I found out several annoying things today: UPS sent my wedding announcements back, door knob is very broken, my Valentines are going to be very late and dried burnt cheese is extremely difficult to get off a slow cooker! As Wynn Varble would say, that "sounds like life to me."

To elaborate, though, I will say that the highlight of my day was definitely walking around the snow in the neighborhood, meeting all the neighbors because I couldn't get back in the house. I finally found a neighbor who had a cell phone (Welcome to Alaska!) that I could use to call a TN number to tell Jordan to come home and break down the door, as I had no cell phone with me. Yes, that was by far the best part of the day. Insert sarcasm as needed.

Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow :)

Anyway, I was surfing the internet when I came across Chris Brogan's site. Brogan is all about using social media to connect with other people to build networks and relationships worldwide. I think it's awesome how far we've come in just my life time. I remember reading an article in fourth grade that warned of the dangers of the world wide web. While it certainly can cause problems with privacy and security, the net has also brought me closer to family in other states and friends that I've lost touch with. It provided me with a small group of contacts of other military spouses when I arrived in Alaska. It gives me a way to reach many people when prayer is needed. There's a wealth of information at my fingertips now. Prior to the internet one would need hours of library time to find what I can in just a few seconds. Ahh, technology. Do you love it or hate it?

There's nothing better than having that tangible book in my hand or sitting around, chatting with a group of friends. Not much else can beat that. But social networks and circles have done me well. As a military spouse, I am incredibly thankful for the advances in technology. Jordan and I lived our whole first part of our relationship via emails and Skype conversations. To this day, I know that I wouldn't change a single thing about the deployment. His words and mine were all we had and they brought us together and they kept us together. Perhaps it's odd to be thankful for the deployment. Believe me, I didn't always feel that way. I know now that God has everything in His plan. We were supposed to go through that time apart because it's true what "they" say--Absence does make the heart grow fonder. That being said, I'm fine with the fondness that I hold onto in my heart for J--deployments stay away! (hehe)

Have you ever thought about how having the world at your fingertips has affected YOU personally? It's a cool thing--in my opinion, of course.

Be Creative!

2 posts in one day? I must not have anything to do! Actually, I've been working on Jordan's Valentine so I wanted to share it with my readers in the event that someone has the free time that I do and needs an idea on making Valentines. I'll post the pictures and if anyone is interested in the directions let me know and I'll post those, too. It's super easy! Enjoy. (Shh....don't tell Jordan yet)

White coats and football

Take a look at this photo and tell me I had a bad weekend! It's hard to have a bad weekend when I have my feet propped up next to a warm fire sitting beside my man.

Friday night, we ended up going to the emergency room to deal with my ailments. I got some antibiotics and I'm feeling much better now. While there, a nurse checked my blood pressure and it was 150/93 which is terribly high for me. The doctor asked if I was nervous to which I replied "YES!" and he said I also suffered from white coat syndrome. No surprise there. I felt significantly more at ease as soon as I walked out the huge front doors of the hospital. Free at last!

The majority of our furniture has arrived so Jordan spent the rest of Friday night putting together our new, comfy bed. We finally drifted off to sleep after a late night.

Saturday we got a late start to the day. We woke up rather late and after breakfast we sat by the fire, read, and cat-napped for awhile. It was so nice. On Sunday I had to work, but I decided not to accept the position for several reasons. One of them being that Jordan wasn't happy about me having to work on the weekends. He works so much throughout the week so when he does get time off we like to enjoy it together. Even though this job was at a church, I felt like it would alter my time with God too much. I like attending church services on Sundays and by accepting this job, I would be giving that up. There were other factors as well. One biggie was that the hours weren't set in stone so it would be difficult for me to tell Jordan when to pick me up and drop me off. With his job as time demanding as it can be, it just wasn't going to work for us. Oh well. The job search continues.

After leaving the church on post, I came home to Jordan plugging away in the kitchen preparing appetizers for our company coming over to watch the Superbowl. He made his dad's spectacular guacemole recipe while I prepared a queso dip. We prepared some other foods and sat down in front of the t.v. to what we thought was going to be a blowout with the Colts ahead...looks like we thought wrong. Maybe next year, Peyton. :(

Despite the loss, I had a pretty good weekend. I hope all of you can say the same!

With love,

Kacy Sue

Kacy and the Terrible, Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day

I went back and forth on deciding if I should blog about the last 24 hours of my life. Some topics are perhaps a little TMI, but alas this is my blog so here goes--proceed with caution.

Yesterday, I ran to the bathroom with a strong urge to urinate that didn't leave all day. I didn't think much about it at first because it wasn't painful, just odd. After a couple times of this nonsense, I broke out the incredibly helpful and occasionally harmful google tool. Literally all the responses hinted that it is likely a urinary tract infection. Crap. I've never had one of those before, but I have heard they can be pretty painful.

I am a slight hypochondriac. I think I may have it all wrong, though because I always diagnose myself with some horrible problem and then decide that I do not want to get it checked out. I prefer to use the "ignorance is bliss" method of dealing with health issues. I get so worked up and scared that it might be something that I'm not prepared to handle so I prefer not to know about it. Crazy, right? Anyway, in my experience, doctors have been clueless, scatterbrained, and most unhelpful aside from Dr. Guider, of course. Why can't we all just not grow up and always go to him?

Anyway, back to the infection that I may or may not have...

I told Jordan about it and asked him to stop off and get AZO cranberry and juice after work. He's a jewel. I know he's rather uncomfortable in the female isle especially with his uniform on so I greatly appreciated him. By the time he arrived home, I was starting to feel pretty icky. I popped some AZO and drank lots of juice, only to see that he had gotten cranberry cocktail instead (we won't tell him). I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I almost passed out. My head was spinning and I became really hot. I layed on the bathroom floor until I felt fine enough to crawl back into bed (err, couch. More on this later.)

Today, I'm drinking strictly water and taking vitamins like crazy. Lots of vitamin C . Copious amounts of water. I know I shouldn't be treating myself as if I know anything about medical issues. I just really was hoping to kick whatever this is before a doctor became necessary. This is partly because I hate going to the doctor, but it's also because my TriCare card hasn't arrived in the mail yet so it will be a hassel to get into the hospital on post. Apparently, it was a horrible time to move,change addresses, etc.

In the midst of all this confusion that was going on yesterday, our furniture arrived. Some of it came, anyway. We got a sofa, love seat, ottoman, a night stand, and a bedroom dresser/mirror. I can't tell you how good it feels to have somewhere to sleep now. The floor was getting really old and I even have a bruise from laying on it so many nights in a row. I know, poor, pitiful me. LOL Sleeping on this couch made me so very thankful for Bailey's Furniture here in Fairbanks. Not only did they provide me with a comfy place to sleep, but the nice lady there told us about a friends and family sale in which we were able to save a thousand bucks!

I'm afraid to get moving and get all the cleaning done that I had hoped to do today once our furniture was in place. I suppose I'll get my knitting tools and finish the scarf I'm making. I could use some prayers today. My sister could use  some as well. She's been in and out of the hospital with severe migranes all week. Thanks! I look forward to a happier day tomorrow...

It wasn't me!

It wasn't me who decided that around 1100 I had accomplished enough for the day.

It wasn't me who got in the hot tub at 1300 today while my hubby was slaving away at work.

It wasn't me who drank most of and the rest of the chocolate milk for lunch.

It wasn't me who lounged around all day and neglected my duties so that I could watch LMN.

Welcome to my first post of "Wasn't Me Wednesday." More to come :)

Life's Greatest Blessing

I have a clean house. Picture frames of friends and family adorn our walls. There's wood nearby and a fire for warmth. There are scrapbooking supplies carefully scattered in the floor of the office waiting to be picked up again. Sandals are placed by the door heading out to the hot tub. The music of Chris Tomlin is ringing throughout the cabin. There's little else that will suffice except to say that life is good!

A week ago, I was concerned about getting our cable hooked up in time to catch all my weekly shows. I haven't even turned the T.V. on yet. There's just something about sitting in front of a fire that I made. Some call it fire therapy. Whatever it is, it makes me contemplate all sorts of things. In the mornings I do my daily bible studies by the fire. It doesn't matter that there's no furniture. These green fold-out camping chairs and my bible is all I really need. Now, as I sit here peering out the window, waiting on my husband to walk through the door and take off his boots, I'm reminded of the most important part of my life, aside from J.C., which is my family.

In the window sill beside me, there's a picture frame  that my mom gave me that says, "The love of a family is life's greatest blessing." How very true that has been for me. Being away from family and my dear friends is something I never thought I'd be doing for any significant length of time. I didn't even consider the idea that I would  meet and fall in love with a man in uniform--much less, marry him! Life has directed me on surprising paths, but I wouldn't change a thing. I'm so very proud of Jordan and I will always support his career in the Army. Even if it keeps me away from my family and friends, I have faith that it won't be forever. I am delighted in each new experience here in Alaska, but I also look forward to the next stop that I'm sure will be full of wonderful memories as well.

True Alaskan?

My weekend consisted of not much else more than packing and unpacking, cleaning then re-cleaning. Needless to say, I'm glad we're moved in. Now if Thursday could hurry up and get here.

The past few days I have felt like I embodied two very different people. First of all, I felt a bit like a real Alaskan. I mean, who else is thankful for two degrees above zero on moving day? I was walking around outside in a three quarter length button up and was still pretty toasty. It's so strange how one can grow accoustomed to their surroundings. I remember when ten degrees was barely heard of in Tennessee, now it feels like a heat wave.

I also felt like this guy-



This is Gus from Disney's Cinderella. Ya know the part when he is trying to grab as much food as he possibly can and is attempting to hold the huge stack under his chin? Yep, that was me on Friday. Taking boxes and stacking them up, praying they wouldn't fall and break in two. I sure am glad to have that over. Oh, how I look forward to having the Army pack us up and move us next time.

Today wasn't such a great day. I had plans to get so much accomplished, but I became discouraged after having to waste time at the hospital so I came home to blog with only four tasks marked off my list. Oh well...baby steps. There is good news to report, though! I have an interview on Wednesday with a church on post. They need help around the chapel...mostly with the children's classes. The hours are good (it's part time) and it's convienient for Jordan because I can ride to work with him instead of him having to drive the jeep in the cold. It would be nice to have another income so wish me luck!

Back to the To Do List-I go. Au Revoir!