Being with people who get you ... priceless!

Yeah ... being home is kinda like that!

Fo Erica whom I have NO DOUBT would dance in the halls with me ... sober! I missed your face too!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Stay tuned ... Don't change that channel

Hello All! What a craqzy two months it has been. I feel like I my head is still spinning with everything that has been going on. We finally got electricity on Saturday ... that's right, 15 days without power. Boy, I really learned a lot about my husband during that time!

I'm back at work this week, George has been moved to Rear Detachment, which means he doesn't have to go back. We will still be seperated most of the time as he will be in Houston and I'll go there every other weekend.

I have 20 books to read and write papers for by the end of November if I want to graduate in December. I don't know if it will happen, but I'm going to try, I 'm just really burned out right now.

Work is crazy as two units deploy and families get settled and another unit prepares to return home. Everyone is in an uproar right now, but it keeps my mind busy.

Well, I'm off to walk the pup then get back to schoolwork, but here are some upcoming posts:

√ Vegas Trip story and pictures
√ Surprise from Iraq and other surprises
√ Hurricane Ike pictures from the neighborhood
√ Family legacy ... insight my quirks

Until our next cup of tea ...

I'm surviving ...

Hello all! What a crazy week this has been. I came back to Houston last Thursday to spent time with George and help with his dad and WE STILL DO NOT HAVE POWER!!! UGH! It is so hot, I worry about Sgt. Major, and I am getting cranky ... it is not a pretty sight!

It takes a lot for me to get cranky enough to take it out on people, but I am toe-ing the line! They said maybe by Sunday we'd have power, but no promises. I know I shouldn't complain, we are so lucky compared to those in Galveston. Have you see the damage they recieved!?! There was one town that was completely demolished, save for one house standing. I wish I could find the pictures of that. If I do, I'll post later.

My favorite story is the one where a Lion Takes Refuge in Church (click to see story.)

Here is a link for a collage of the aftermath ... Hurricane Ike(click to see photos.)

We were indead lucky. With all the doctor's appointments I haven't had a chacne to take pictures of his father's neighborhood, but will try to get one or two to show you. There was a lot of downed trees, but again, my FIL's house suffered only minor issues.

I know those of my readers who are as neat as me can feel my pain when i say that the cords from the generator running through the house and their "bachelor-pad" style of living that has been attributed to the power outage is driving me insane. I just have to grit my teeth and count to ten ... soon I will be back in my organized home with clean countertops and neatly folded blankets and clothing ... It could always be worse ... we ould have nothing left to clutter the counters and floors.

Until our next cup of tea ...

At peace again ... for now ...

Ah! Life is back to normal, well as normal as possible in the military world. I am home temporarily, return this weekend for another doctor's appointment and to see George off. This week I am at work trying to get my MP families up-to-date.

On Friday I attended the deployment of the second element in our battalion to leave a it reminded me of when George left. It was a hard time for me having to say goodbye, knowing I'd have to be strong. I made a mental note to take extra care of them as they adjust to the seperation, especially as the holidays draw near. I think for me, the holidays are the hardest.

Today, I went back to the office and spent the day catching up with the Soldiers, family members that stopped by and checked in with FRG Leaders to get updates on how the families did during Ike's visit. Hurricane-wise, post has returned to normal with only powerlines and trees damaged. All in all, we only lost power for a total of three hours over two different outages. The winds were kind of worrisome, but by yesterday, even that had died down.

My favorite part of hurricanes in thisare is the cool front that sometimes follows. It was cool and in the 70s today ... Amazing!

It was hard to go into the office and see that the entire command group was gone. They'd deployed while I was on leave (which my commander though was the best since I was closest to that particular group) and the battalion headquarters was quiet today as I walked the halls.

On a good note I moved into the XO's old office while they are gone so I'll have a little more privacy when dealing with families. It wasn't as necessary with the previous deployed unit, but we have more first-timers this deployment and I want to make sure they feel comfortable talking to me. I am excited to get it set up and will post pics.

Lastly, here are two photos of our "shelter" during the tornado sightings ... Enjoy ...

Up-to-date news is important to the puppy.



Maybe I'll let him be a "guest blogger!"

Until our next cup of tea ...

The Ike Chronicles: Part III

Well we survived the night ... in the hall. I got so tired of all of the sirens and seeking shelter in the alway, that we just stayed there. We've already heard the sirens two more times this morning. At this point when I say "Sgt. Major, let's go" he thinks its a game, so he runs in there and sits on the pile of blankets. I've cleaned most of it out this morning so it's just the TV, his food bowl and a blanket.

Well I woke up this morning at 7:30 a.m. when the power went out. Since Sgt. Major was snoring so loud it mimiced a freight train, I decided to stay there and drifted back off to sleep after calling my father-in-law to check in. George was still sleep and they'd lost power and water, but he said that he thought there was a old generator in the garage that he'd have George look at when he got up. By this time Sgt. Major had started to get antsy, so I turned on the radio to the local station and turned off the flashlight and settled in. He moved around until his nose was two inches from the radio (on the floor) and was asleep in minutes, snoring even louder than before, if that is even possible. I guess the sounds of classic country (I'm talking Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and Charlie Daniels is his sleeping pill! He fell asleep to "Devil Went Down to George" and I was awake long enough to hear the local update then passed out while "A Boy Named Sue" droned on in the background.

I awoke an hour later and chatted again with spouse/friend/neighbor whose husband was scheduled to arrive at the local airport just before lunch. The power returned about 8:30 a.m. and after quickly checking the local TV stations and post website, we learned that tornados were expected throughout the day and that there were downed powerlines across post. I told her to check with the Military Police, but if they were flying him in, then the roads would be open.

By 10 a.m. both the pup and I were tired of being cooped up, so we ventured out. While he rolled around on the carpet in the livingroom (like it'd been SOOO long since he'd seen it!) I set about making cinnamon rolls.

Well, I'm off to enjoy hot "sticky buns" while the pup "reconnects" with the carpet.

Until our next cup of tea ...

The Ike Chronicles: Part II

Fun times! So there are now tornado warnings on top of hurricane watch for our parish and post is advising residents to **SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY** so Sgt. Major and I are hunkered down in the hallway with enough puppy food and almonds to feed us for a while. Why almonds? Because that is what I grabbed and then forgot the bag of muffins. (If Ike breaks my windows and ruins my homemade muffins, he'd better keep running!)

So while watching TV (last night) I checked the Polk Channel (sorry, it is now Warrior Spirit TV ... heavy with sarcasm!) and they said when the sirens sound to seek shelter as they would warn of tornados sighted on post ... OMG! They went off all night. After seeing the warning Yes, I am going crazy! I am just ready for a vacation from life! His dad is o.k. for now, we'll find out if he is strong enough for I quickly stashed the necessary items (water, food, TV, IDs and other paperwork, leash, computer and battery op. radio), then secured the "please God let these survive" items (tea cup collection, grandmother's Christmas angel, George's cowboy hat-don't ask!, etc.).

I was talking on the phone with a spouse/friend/neighbor when the sirens went off and we both headed for shelter (she has a laundry room the size of a child's bedroom) making sure to take our fur-babies (she has two cats) and settled in to wait it out. I soon realized that with the exception of the oddly narrow hallway (never noticed that before) I was pretty lucky. I have a walk-in hall closet where I an stash everything not immediately needed, entry to the bathroom, which has no windows, and the AC vent blows into the hallway through the door.

So here I sit on a pile of carefully folded blankets, with my chilled flavored water, flashlight, radio and gun (Hey! I'm from Texas!) blogging away, chronicling Ike and chatting with a spouse or two ... not too terrible, but I am worried about how George and his dad are doing ...

Until our next cup of tea ...



Editor's note: Photos will be added as soon as I can upload them from my phone.

The Ike Chronicles: Part I (Formerly: Really? Again? You've got to be kidding me!)

Seriously, another hurricane!?! I came home last night to check into work and get an update on the MP families. I'm sitting here watching the weather channel and it doesn't look good. Here at the post I am confidant we will be good, but George and his dad stayed in Houston. They didn't want to leave, so on top of watching the weather here, I am worried about them and the rest of my family in Houston.

This has been quite the active season. Since I've been gone for nearly a month there wasn't much food here so even though we had a hurricane supply in house, I had to go get some groceries to last me until the power does go out since I really don't want to break into the supplies until needed. Let me tell you ... CRAZY has arrived! Now I remember why I just locked myself in the house for Hurricane Rita.

Well, I'm off to see what else I need to move away from windows before the storm hits ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

Life on the Move ... Making our House a Home

Ah, life in the military ... what a wonderous adventure. There are so many wonderful things about this life, but some that are harder as well. One thing that I knew from the start was that as a family ... George, Sgt. Major (pup) and myself for now, but children in the future ... we would need a place where we could always return to and know that we are "home." A place that no matter what turmoil lay outside of our front door, would be a safe haven, a place of solitude when needed and one of complete abandonment without risk of judgement. By surrounding my family with things that bring them peace and joy while envoking wonderful memories was my goal and I think I am getting close to that.

When George and I first consolidated dual lives into one, I knew there would be some compromises. I had dreamed a a richly-colored fabrics, dark wood and elegant furniture, original artwork, and LOTS of orginazation. George liked a more comfy, well-worn furniture, southwestern style feel of things with a "let it rest where it falls" way of organizing ... hmm ... how do you combine those two ways of life.

Well after nearly three years of dating, four years of marraige, two deployments and a few moves, I think I've finally got some grasp on it all. First, even though I spend more than twice as much time at our home than he does, I wanted to make sure that things that were important to George were in the house, not just all lumped in one room. A cottage theme seemed to be a happy medium of my love of color and his love of comfort. I was able to make some rooms more elegant with accessories and fabrics without him feeling like he couldn't "live" in the room. There is definately a "her room" (kitchen) and "his room" (workout room).

Instead of one major shopping spree where I got everything I needed to "create" the home, I made a list of what I'd like to do in each room and found ways to do them myself, such as buying fabric and making the pillows or painting "found" chairs to create a unique look. I've got a list of stitching projects that I am looking forward to working on as this deployment concludes as well as for upcoming seperations. It's exciting to be able to "create" our home rather than buying everything and "poof" it appears.

I think George gets tired of having to wathc home decorating shows, but I've found my magazines such as Romantic Country, Southern Lady and Tea Time (yeah, tea!) are accepted because it means I sit in the livingroom with him while he "games." Silly boys!

Well, I'm off to finish a table topper, but here is a picture of the completed matching breadcloth. One of the few lists that brings joys as it grows!



Until our next cup of tea ...

Surviving a hurricane ... and myself ...

Well I survived Hurricane Gustav, but not my insanity. I’m going stir-crazy. Those who know me are well aware of well aware of my dependency on structure, order and discipline. My life is carefully coordinated in my magical planner. Between full-time job, part-time volunteer, finishing my masters, starting to create our dream home (in a mobile fashion of course), running after the puppy and stopping long enough to breath, I’m a whirlwind of activity which helps me get through deployments. But since George came home on emergency leave and I’ve put everything on hold to take care of my father-in-law, my planner has been empty as my husband tends to live by spontaneous decision making. Other than doctor’s appointments, I’ve lived from one moment to next, waiting for the “five-minute warning” before the next activity.

I love my FIL and my husband, but they are from a different world than me. As an only child raised by a single male parent, my husband is used to spending all of his free time with his dad, content to lay on the couch watching movies or playing with the Xbox, usually in the dark. As one of 12 children, this is so different from the world I came from. I learned early to entertain myself and take advantage of any alone time I may be blessed to find. On most occasions we were sent outside early in the morning, passed lunch through the kitchen window to the table on the porch and played in the southern sun on my parent’s 13-acres until we heard the dinner whistle (yes, there was a whistle to corral us all when necessary.)

Now as I sit here no plans, no direction. I try to work on some stitching projects for the kitchen, but poor George keeps thinking that I am mad at him when I go off to another room. He comes in and wants to talk or hang out or worse yet, brings our dearly loved, but highly excitable puppy to “visit mommy” which of course means I put what I am working on away because puppies and needles don’t mix. I just feel so unproductive. I can’t get any homework done, none of my projects have been marked off the list and my planner is empty, with most entries added AFTER to remind me for whatever reason later (like the Astros game for when I put the pictures in our scrapbook.)

My dance card is empty ...



This is what I'm used to ...

I know I should make the best of it ... I'm just learning how much of a creature of habit I really am ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

Staring down the eye of Hurricane Gustav ...

What a bundle of emotions I been since the threat to Texas and Lousisiana became known. I sit here in Texas, concerned about my home, family and friends who are in the path of the storm. My long time readers may remember as I chronicled Huuricane Rita in 2005. It was shortly after Hurricane Katrina, which my father's side of the family had been in the path of to include my brother who was on call as a medic for the Fire Department while his wife and four girls rode it out with her family. Rita was suppose to hit Houston, which is where my mother's family is as well as George's family, but it split down the middle and hit the western side of Louisiana where we are.

I was well prepared having grown up in the area and was use to it, but it was the first time I had to do it on my own as an adult and of course I was responcible for decisions that would affect Sgt. Major as well.

Then, I thought that it would've easier to stay and now that I am gone, I am convinced of that. The Army did an amazing job of taking care of it's families. They had tractor trailers coming in daily with food, gas and other supplies. We had water the entire time as well as electricity within three day where the outlying communities were without for up to six weeks.

Now I sit here imagining all of the things that could go wrong and all of the things that should've been tucked away. I think of all the little treasures I left behind ... the jewelry box George sent me from Afghanistan, my tea cup collection to include the ones from my greandmother's collection, all of the pictures that chronical my life with George. It's nerve-wracking to say the least. I know I shouldn't be so worried about material things, but there is so much that hold precious memories, like the lace angel my great-grandmother made or the handmade Christmas ornaments that line our Christmas tree each year. Thankfully, I have a friend who has agreed to stay at the house in between patrols (she is military police) so I know that there is less chance of my home being targeted for theft if there is power outages. I guess all I can do now is what I did then, sit back, wait it out and deal with whatever happens when it does. I am learning that I am not a patient person ...

Until our next cup of tea ...