what's the matter??

I will type out a post with plenty of spaces between paragraphs and then I post it and all the spaces are gone. It's very aggrevating. So, I am apologizing for not having a more tidy entry. : (

pretty funny kids

my kids have made me laugh several times today. I just love it!! First Allison and I were watching a show on TV, and the girl on the show was really ticked off about something. So at a commercial I said to Allison, "Wow, she was really mad." And Allison replied, "Yeah, I guess she put on her mad panties that day." CRACK me up! I have no idea where that came from. So I said, "Really?? Allison?" And she says, "well that's all I could come up with." HAHA!!!! And then William was in bed yacking away at something and Billy went in to check on him. "Buddy, you need to be asleep." William says, "SHHH!!! Mommy is sleeping." Billy was like, "no, Mommy isn't sleeping." And then William replies, "Well SHHH! mommy is awake!" I love it! So update on Billy - he's feeling tons better. He's been down and out with a bad tooth for several days now. We've not done any sort of exercise in over two weeks now. But he went to the dentist today and looks like he's going to have a root canal next week. I really hate that for him. I just really do. But like Billy said, better do it now than be held up in processing in the Army - which would just make things harder on him later. So.... We found out today that as of April 1, 2011 the Army is no longer taking men over the age of 35. Billy turns 36 on April 18th. But he's already been sworn in, so he is grandfathered in and this change won't affect him. But he got all freaked out about it. This is going to mean he will be one of the last privates in his late 30's. That just seems weird. But then I kept help but think how good God is. He knew the timing was right when we signed up for this and there was no point putting it off. Well, that's all for now. I've got a dumb paper to write. Man, I'll be so glad when this is over. 4weeks and 3 days. Billy leaves in 3 weeks and 3 days. I really shouldn't be wishing away the time. It is very complicated.

sorry

I've not been super busy or anything the past couple days. So, I have no excuse for not posting lately. Just preoccupied I guess. Mentally preoccupied. Starting to really see the stress of everything poking through. Plus we're still on Spring Break and I'm just trying to find ways to keep the kids from killing each other. So, today we got up early and we all went out for the whole day. Ran errands, did some shopping (I found a dress for graduation), ate some lunch, and then just hung out in the Target food court. Billy actually ordered a large coffee from Starbucks. He's never drank coffee. What is he doing? LOL! I loved it though. He wasn't sure what to order and actually came back with the yummiest coffee ever! Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Soooo yummy!! So we emptied out all the closets and got rid of about a gazillion bags of old clothes, shoes and such. Today we took half of it to the Goodwill (that's all we could fit in the car). Felt so good. I can actually see the floor of my dining room again. I guess we'll take the other half tomorrow. And I haven't even touched the toys yet!! I gave Allison a garbage bag and told her to put the toys she wanted to get rid of in there. She brought me back the bag with one toy in it. UGH! Billy and I discussed how we want to handle his graduation in July. Everything is so unclear about how it could happen that there really is no reason to make any plans. But I'm kinda freaking out about it. He did say - my only wish is to just spend time with you guys. No sightseeing, no unnecessary traveling etc... I just wish I knew what is going to happen. Nobody can tell you anything because there is never a straight scenario. It's a "show up and we'll tell you how it's going to be" kind of event. All I know is that I'm driving up there and staying a couple days - what happens while we're there or next - no clue. Anyway, I'm going to head off to bed. I was going to write a paper... but just don't want to. I've got serious senior-itis now that my big project is pretty much done and I only have a couple more big assignments due towards the end of April. These little piddly papers are just a splash of lemon juice on my paper cut.

one task done

Well today Billy sold his truck. Definitely bitter sweet. I know he's going to miss it, but I think he was glad to help the kid out who bought it. He even threw in a level for free (since the guy needed tools to start his new job) I thought it was sweet. Anyway, that is one thing checked off the list. He's still got quite of alot of stuff to move to his dad's in the next couple weeks. He kinda had a set back this week with a minor tooth issue. But he's back to normal today. So, we'll be getting that stuff done soon enough. Emma had her 4H Horse Judging Competition today. I have to say it was interesting for about 30 minutes. And the thing lasted over 4 hours. Problem was it was in a very serious atmosphere. Absolutely no talking and even parents had to whisper. Nuts. You try and sit in an arena with a 7 year old and a 3 year old for over 4 hours and NOT TALK! Not to mention that we woke up at 4:45 in order to get there and then stayed up all day. But that is OK. Emma's group came in 6th out of 30-something teams. She was certainly proud and I was too!!! And today marks one month til Billy leaves for Fort Jackson. Well, I guess technically he'll be in South Carolina on the 25th. So, however you look at it... he's got about 4 weeks left with us. He is getting nervous. Doing that no talking thing again. He's had too much time to think this week - being sick with his tooth. We gotta get him back out and about. Thinking = worry= stress = no good. Well alright kids... I'm tired beyond words. Just wanted to share the news. Talk to you soon. Oh yeah!! And my cousin had her baby this morning. Lindsey Lynn! Love her already!!

Spring Break 2011

So, it is Spring Break for the kiddos. This is awful - but to me it is like a relief to have the girls home so they can entertain their brother while I get ahead on my assignments in school. And seriously, since Monday morning, I've got 3 classes pretty much good to go until April. *sigh* But low and behold, I'm still up to my eyeballs. It's like the professors think they have to cram it all in at the end. But then I think, 45 Days Until I'm A College Graduate!!!! And if the kids are willing to help me get ahead, I'll make it up to them this summer. Big time! So, in the mean time I am gettin-er-dun and the kids are playing. What's Billy doing? Well... I'm glad you asked. Billy has been gone from sun up til sun down the past three days trying to get his dad's garage ready for Billy's gazillion and a half tools. He'll pop in for lunch and then when he's done for the day, he goes to bed. Kinda like having a real job again. But I'm glad he's getting it done now. We only have about 30 days left. Plus, maybe all this running around - he'll lose some weight. I don't know why I'm so nervous about it. I know he'll pass the body fat test fine, but I'm just me and me likes to worry. We got our kittens neutered last night. Thank the LORD! They've been driving us crazy. We're hoping that they'll leave the big cats alone - but all we can do is hope. Fluffy takes it all in stride and wrestles with them like they are her own babies. PeiPei pretty much hates them. Thank goodness the house is big enough for everyone to have plenty of distance, but sometimes we'll hear a growl or snarl. Maybe now they won't be such a bother and PeiPei will warm to them. Anyway, I'm not feeling the greatest today. Rain is coming in and my whole body hurts. I think now that I'm a little ahead with school, I'll go take a nap - since I have two wonderful babysitters. (I know, I'm a horrible mom. But hey, everyone gets fed, clothed, and loved.)

North and South

I'm WIDE awake right now. Should be sound asleep, but just can't. At all. So I thought I would blog for a moment. Maybe empty my brain so I can sleep. When it's too full, all I can do is fret. I need a pensieve. (heehee) So... this is kinda funny. Billy's dad has been digging into his ancestry for years now. He spends quite a lot of time researching the men and women who made the Blackburn's - the Blackburn's. Well in the midst of this became a bit of a fanatic of the Confederate Army. He is like a BIG fan. He's even having a costume made so that he can start doing the re-enactments that they have all over the South. This has been a rather recent development. And so the other day he told Billy that "I joined the Confederate Army about the same time you joined the Union Army." HAHA! Today has been a great day. The girls and I ended up going to church without Billy. (well that wasn't really a great thing ...) Someone was supposed to come by and look at the truck we have for sale, but then they never showed. BOO! (also not such a great thing... hmmm maybe I should have started this paragraph a little differently....) Anyway, Billy ended up cleaning out both our trucks and putting his AWESOME radio into my truck - he didn't want it to go to waste. LOL! I'm very excited about driving somewhere tomorrow so I can jam to my new radio! YAY!!! AND upon further reflection, I've decided not to do the stupid yard sale. I just don't see anyone coming out here to buy my junk. So... I think we're just going to start bagging up stuff and taking it to Goodwill. I might try and sell a few pieces of furniture on Craigslist, but really I'm just not of the right frame of mind to deal with a yard sale and then the rejection of a bad yard sale and then packing it all up and moving it off to Goodwill anyway.... So... it must be what it must be. FLOATING. I AM FLOATING!!!!! Wanna hear a wonderful song? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt5YRexag1o&feature=related Tears.... lots of tears.... sigh Lastly, I will bring the attention to the weather this weekend. BEAUTIFUL! I think today was a high of 80, but since we are so high up on this hill, it doesn't feel so bad. The wind just flows constantly - even when it isn't that windy. I've had the windows open and the air completely off for several days now and you can't even tell. I'm so looking forward to a lower electric bill. Army TidBit of the Day: There is always a chance of Billy being sent on a Hardship Tour from the start. Usually a Hardship Tour does not allow family members to come along. Or rather they wouldn't pay for the family to come along, if they were even allowed to. Which in some cases they aren't even allowed - like Korea and Kuwait. So he could be sent on HT and then turn around and be deployed. Hardship tours last anywhere from 12 to 24 months. Deployments last 12 months. I don't know of anyone who this has happened to, but I'm sure it does. I just don't even know how to process that kind of information.

36 days

Well we decided to sell Billy's truck before he leaves. So, in a willy nilly attempt we placed an ad out on Craigslist and have gotten several inquiries in just a little over a day. Insane. A guy even came out to look at it this afternoon. Maybe he'll be back this weekend to take it for a drive. I hope so. I'll be ready to get that done with. As much as I want to sell it, I can kinda tell Billy feels a little weird about not having a vehicle. Of course, he is always welcome to take my car anywhere anytime... but I do understand his emotion. Like a 16 year old having to ask the mom for use of the car. suck. But he's not got that much longer and I pretty much have decided that he won't be out of my sight between now and then anyway. So, we'll just have to go everywhere together (we do that now anyway) This weekend we are doing a Solo Weekend with Emma. Tonight we just piddled around town and could find nothing to do so we came home and now we're watching a Harry Potter Weekend. We know these movies by heart and yet we still watch every time they come on. : ) But Will and Allison are back at Memaw and Papa's until Sunday. That should be fun. Tomorrow we are taking Emma to the mall to get her build-a-bear and find her some Easter shoes.

38 Days

So... it's been a very productive day considering we got a late start. William got to spend the day with his Memaw and Papa and learned a new word - Oofta. :) And Billy and I went to the Y. Tracking my calories has been awesome. I've lost 4 pounds in just over 2 weeks. I know that is nothing spectacular - but at least I'm on target. 2 pounds a week. And from the time I started until the time Billy graduates - we have about 20 weeks. So, if I keep doing the 2 pounds a week - WHOO HOO!!! Billy and I will both look like a pair of hotties. well... that might be a bit much. Anyway, I'll be trying to get ahead in some school stuff the next couple weeks. I don't want to be stuck at the end of the semester with a trunk load of assignments and not be able to concentrate because of all the stuff we'll be doing to get Billy ready. And we're going to be cleaning out some major closets while the girls are on Spring Break. yay. fun. : / OK well... that's all I got for now. Army TidBit of the day: (two in two days - whoo hoo) Your FDS is the "first duty station." You will learn what your FDS is about 6 weeks prior to AIT (advanced individual training) graduation. You can pick your preferences, but if they need you to go somewhere - they will send you. No matter what your preferences were. Which means we could get Alaska, California, Washington State, New York, Louisiana, Virginia, South Carolina, Texas, Germany, Hawaii..... basically anywhere. Could you imagine learning you have to move to a completely foreign area and only have 6 weeks to plan it? And the 6 weeks isn't even a given. It could be less or more than that. So, as I told my friends this morning - let's pray us onto a beach - OK?

Got some smart kids

So, Emma made Principal's list again. HOOAH! (last time she almost made it by one point... but that put her on Honor Roll anyway) We are so proud!! And Allison (who gets graded on a 1-2-3- scale) got mostly two's and a few three's. Trust me... this is very good. And then William and I were putting together his letter puzzles tonight and he decided it was too easy putting them in right, so he turned the puzzle upside down and was still able to find and place them all perfectly. YAY! That's an A in my book. Such a proud mommy right now! I got a little weepy today again. Billy and I had a long talk about what we are going to do if he is deployed and something happens to me - what's going to happen to the kids. Or worse, something happens to both of us. It's never a conversation that makes you wanna dance and laugh. We never really came to a good conclusion. But it certainly made the tears flow. I think that's why he changed the subject. I just couldn't handle it. Suck. Here's my Army TidBit of the day (or week I guess) Silent Ranks I wear no uniforms, no blues or army greens. But I am in the military in the ranks rarely seen. I have no rank upon my shoulders, salutes I do not give. But the military world is the place where I live. I'm not in the chain of command, orders I do not get. But my husband is the one who does, this I cannot forget. I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line. But my job is just as tough. I'm the one that's left behind. My husband is a patriot, a brave and prideful man, And the call to serve his country, not all can understand. Behind the lines I see the things needed to keep this country free. My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do our kids and me. I love the man I married. Patriotism is his life. But I stand among the silent ranks known as the military wife. Author, unknown.

double posting here... but had to share this

So, Yeah... remember that horrible Mid Term last week?? Well, got the grade back. Got a 100%. Can I get an Amen!!!! In fact the professor said he could find nothing to critique on my responses and then he actually thanked me for doing a good job. HeeeHeeee!!! I'm not going to take credit for this one though. I had prayed that night that God would just help me get it done. I literally prayed for guidance and that's when the words started flowing. I never even proof read it. We have an awesome God, folks. An awesome God!! So yup - I'll AMEN that!!!

oh deer!!

So, our bedroom window faces the neighbors yard but is separated by a little picket fence. However, at night, the neighbor's spotlight in the yard shines right at our house. This causes a shadow from the fence to show through the window. Follow me here... Well, last night - really super late, I'm trying to fall asleep and staring off into space. Something moves outside the window. It looked like someone sneaking past the yard. There was a shadow like walking legs over next to the fence. I FREAKED OUT!!! I froze completely stunned. I said, "Billy did you see that??" He was half asleep and didn't see anything. He said it must have been a car's lights. Seriously? On our street at this hour? And it was the quietest car I'd ever heard - or not heard for that matter. Then it happens again. This time, I'm prepared. It was a deer. Actually it was a LOT of deer. One right after another walking in a line and right in the path of the light creating a shadow on our window. It was sooo awesome. Billy and I both jumped out of bed and tried to see them through the window, but once they got out of the path of the light, it was impossible to see them. Anyway, that was a cool thing... had to share. In other news, I ordered my cap and gown today. Very exciting stuff there, let me tell you. there is a chance CHANCE chance that I might graduate with honors. Not really sure how that is tallied, but I have a 4.0 in my major and a 3.25 cumulative. I think that qualifies me. Just not sure yet. EDIT - looks like I'm not a candidate for honors after all. A quater of a point away. Oh well. But I've been kinda weepy again today. I think my brain is exhausted from that massive project I did. Rough draft done tonight. almost 50 pages and 9,994 words. ugh. So, I'm not going to post much here. It's time for bed. And maybe a drink. LOL!

37,400 Characters

My final project is rocking along. 37 pages, 6500 word, 37,400 characters, 3 units, 4 hands on lesson, 4 quizzes, a table of contents..... well you get the point. I fizzled out there at the end. I really just have to write about 4 more pages of stuff on safety, but my mind shut down on me. So, we'll see if I can get it done later tonight. I know you guys love a good William poop story - but this one is too cute. He was standing in front of me. Blabbing non-stop (seriously non-stop, like no room to breathe and it was so fast that he had to bounce around so that his body would match the speed of his mouth) Anyway, blabbing about something not sure what - spongebob maybe. Suddenly mid-sentence he stops dead cold and looks at me like a deer in headlights, and says, "MAN, my poop is really hurting my butt!" and took off running to the bathroom. HAHAHA!!!! So, all this stuff in Japan is nuts, right? It is crazy all the aftermath and the magnitude of that earthquake - unreal. Japan moved 8 feet! Really? I can't even get my kids to move their shoes and an entire country moved 8 feet. That's super nuts! Pray is all you can do.

Let's Get Physical

Tonight Billy went for another Future Soldier training event. When he came home he showed me this maneuver they had to do -which struck an interest in the kids. So, Allison is down on the floor with him while she and Billy do some sit-ups. Too cute! And then William decides he needs to do it too! And there are the three of them on the living room floor doing sit-ups. Will's were HILARIOUS. I don't even think I can create words elaborate enough to describe it. Kinda like a turtle on his back trying real hard to get some sense of ground to flip back over - maybe?? But once he got his back off the ground he would take his index finger and point to his toes and count "1" then he'd lay down and start over. Just watching made MY stomach muscles tighten. And then he'd finally get back up again.... "2" Totally adorable. I got a big surprise today when I went for a toning class at the Y. The lady was out sick so she had her sister come and do a zumba class. SOOOO Today I went to my first real zumba class. It's so much like the Zumba Wii only the class was an hour (video game = 20 minutes) There was great music and lots of other women trying desperately to keep up with the tiny, little, Beyonce-booty-shakin latino instructor. I give that gal some props though. She was a wonderful instructor and she can fo' sho' shake her groove thang! But I loved every minute of that class. Seriously fun! Allison got to school this morning with the florist foam dinosaur and apparently his head is starting to fall off. POOOOP! Oh and we didn't add food to his box. So, we'll have to grab some leaves on the way to the bus stop tomorrow. Just moments ago from the direction of Will's room there was a loud hissing and cat's roar. I turned around to see what was going on and there was William standing in the hall looking like a halo straight from heaven had just been dropped from the sky onto his head... "William, what was that?" "Oh mom, PeiPei is fine. Just fine." and then he proceeds to wrap his arms around me in a big ol hug. That boy... *sigh* Billy and I were going over a list of items in the house that we probably won't be taking with us into Army life. China cabinet, kitchen table and chairs (half of them are broke anyway), his entire basement full of tools, my great grandmother's dresser, his great granddaddy's dresser, pretty much anything big, old, or pointless. I guess we're going to sell it all. I think we're going to sell his truck too. Oh and his tuba...?? no clue what to do with that. Anybody want a tuba?? for decoration??? for kicks???? He doesn't want to get rid of it... but I can't imagine how we can tote it around either. And then we got to thinking about if we get sent to Germany or something. We'd have to put everything in storage anyway. *sigh* I will simply float.... I will simply float.

Expiration date

So, you know how it's getting close to the end of the year and you go and buy milk. Well, the expiration date on the milk will be November 25th and you'll think "Oh wow!! Thanksgiving is next week!!" And the time will seem surreal. That was me today. I bought some perishable food items today in bulk quantities and thought I'd better check the date to make sure we'll eat it before it goes bad. The expiration date was for after Billy leaves. My heart skipped completely out of my chest. I literally stopped breathing for a minute. Panic almost nearly set in. 45 days people! 45 daggum days!!!!!!! Plus today is Ash Wednesday and everyone on Facebook (well at least my Catholic buddies) are talking about how hard it's going to be to survive until Easter having to give up diet coke or whatever. I'm thinking - man, if you only knew. And then after my excitement over the cabin I actually included Billy in my plan and he acted like that wouldn't work b/c of "this or that." Told you my plans will never be able to go full course now that the Army has its grip on us. I will not complain. I will simply float. (my new motto) Finally took Will to the doctor - last night was really really awful. Turns out he has an ear infection in both ears. UGH!! So, I've not done diddly squat today. I guess I'll stay up late tonight and work on my project. I'm about half way done with the rough draft. Emma rearranged her room tonight. I remember doing that all the time as a kid. I swear she could not be more like her mother. LOL! Allison and I built her dinosaur last night. It's um... well... yeah. Interesting?? HAHA!!! We used florist foam, toothpicks, googly eyes, corn cob handles, and an icecream cone. So... we'll see. I'm looking forward to working out tomorrow. I plan on going to a Zumba class. Can't wait! I tried to go last week and thru stupid chain of events - didn't make it on time. But I've pretty much stuck to my diet. I've gone over my calories only once this past week and a half. And I've lost two pounds. EEEE!!!!

ooohhh a Cabin!!

So in my Army Spouses chat room tonight I learned that there are cabins on Fort Jackson that you can rent while you are there for your soldier's graduation. I'm totally excited!! They are on a lake and a cabin that sleeps 8 - 9 people only costs $80 a night. WOW! Only problem, they are really hard to get. So it's like the minute you figure out when the graduation will be, you call and reserve one. Oh and Billy wouldn't be able to come visit us there until after graduation. So, he couldn't come on family day. We'd still have to go to him. Even though the cabins are on base. I don't know how it all works. But I am still excited thinking about it. Plus mom and I were talking tonight and while we're down there, we're going to try and visit my Emma's namesake - my great-aunt Emma (BBear's sister) who lives just down the road from where we'll be. AND then on our way back home, we are going to take a rather wide detour and go visit my cousin Mariah in North Carolina who is going to be having her baby any day now. Of course, all this will change b/c in the army you can't make plans from one day to the next. But it's fun thinking about it anyway. We're all trying to fight the bug that's been going around. William and Allison have both fallen victim to it. But it's a short lived virus that only slows you down. And we've got too much to be doing to be all sick and stuff. Tomorrow we're back to working out and getting stuff done. Well anyway... I'm staring off into space trying to think of anything else I can post here. My mind is in a thousand places - none of which you want to travel to with me. So, I'll leave now. Time for bed anyway. here's the link to the cabins for Fort Jackson www.fortjacksonmwr.com/weston/

Her First Trophy

YAY!!! Allison got her very first trophy! She's so proud of it, I bet she slept with it last night. I was a little disappointed in her "party" though. Hardly any kids from her team showed up. It was basically just another day at the Y. You could swim, play basketball or eat ice cream. And then as the lady is scooping out your ice cream she tells you to go grab a trophy from the brown paper bag on the floor. Sure enough, there on the floor was a brown paper bag full of trophies for girls and boys. No name on it. Just a generic "winter basketball" blah blah blah. Did Allison care? heck no! She was THRILLED to have her first trophy. I mean thrilled. Hours later she came to me and said, "I GOT MY FIRST TROPHY TODAY!!" Her excitement was adorable. The school usually starts a spring league for bball but for third graders and up. Maybe we can squeeze her in there. I'm pretty sure Emma will cheer again. At least I hope so. Who knows, she may be to cool for that now. LOL! But yeah, I finished my mid-term from #$%@. It was seriously awful. I'd look at it and cry. I'd walk away and think about it and cry. HORRIBLE. But then I sat down and literally prayed that God would just get me through this nightmare. And it was like the words came from nowhere. I had a thesis and resources and 3213 words on foreign journalism techinques and orientations in Third World countries. I didn't even proof read it. I just had it all written and done with. *submit* We'll see if my professor hates it. LOL! Who cares. I met the requirements - the least I can get is a B. But that project over just means I have an even bigger project on the horizon. This is my spring break - or also known as the week I write my final project. But I'm not dreading this. I'm actually kinda looking forward to it. I'm good at this stuff (writing teller manual for a bank) and the only issue will be time. It will take me every bit of this entire week to get-r-dun. So... I'm starting tomorrow. HAHA! Anyway, Billy saw an article that soldiers are starting to get issued iPhones. LOL!! I was thinking - whoo hoo! I get his old one. But we aren't sure how true this is or if it was just talk. Probably just talk. And then he also read about a new physical training program going on at the station he'll be doing basic training. Looks kinda intense. So, who knows if this is going to be what Billy does or not. No one seems to know. So, that's all I got today. We're headed to church in a bit. It's going to be a great day!!!

One-third down two-thirds to go

969 words of 2700 written. 98% of it was total crap. I seriously hate the topic and pretending to give a flip about foreign journalists in third world countries trying to decipher their cultures and governments is pretty much the hardest thing I've had to do since I started school. These questions are just so daggum ridiculous. I'll bet you even real journalists wouldn't have much to say on the topic - much less 2700 freakin words!!!!!! OK... I'm done fussin. I'm taking a break and just needed to vent. But I am getting much done tonight. TAWANDA!!! oh and the coffee is pretty darn good. I hope Billy lets me sleep in tomorrow. It's midnight and I am not even the slightest bit sleepy. *sigh* Oh and Billy went to Future Soldier training tonight. They told him he'll have to do his physical test in the next two weeks. EEK!

Cheese or not to cheese

I'm sitting here "doing homework" and I'm hearing Emma and Billy talking about our new Army life. So I had to stop and jot them down before I forgot. She's asking him all kinds of questions. "Are we moving to Afghanistan? Will we have to learn new languages? Are people on Army bases protected from the bad people? Are we going to be able to take the cats when we move? Am I going to have to share a room with Allison? Why won't they tell us where we are moving to? When does school start in the Army? What if we have to move to Europe?" and on and on.... There is a slight panic in her voice with each question. But Billy's just answering everything with total patience. Love him... oh.... HAHA!! She just asked, "what time is it?" He said 19:58. She was like "ok, I got an hour before bedtime." See... she is learning something!!! But anyway, I found some good resources for kids and dealing with army life. I even found a book called, The Military House: Packing, Moving, and decorating. YAY!!! I need to go buy that one. : ) Are you wondering why I named this post 'cheese or not to cheese?' Well, I'll enlighten you just in case. Billy is now going to have to give up cheese. He isn't losing weight. He's still gaining. And it's just the weirdest thing! He's been jogging or walking like 6 miles a day and just eating the good stuff. So, it's got to be the cheese. At least that is my medically uneducated theory. (whatever that means) Anyway, I have managed to get a couple assignments in this afternoon. (because they were due today) But I still have my mid-terms. BLECH! I'm a great complainer, aren't I? Part of me is trying to figure out the total score needed just to pass the class so I can ease up on myself a little. I've been stressing out trying to get an A - and really I could do fine with a C. How many people look at GPA's anyway? There is one bit of exciting news though. I opened my Calendar and it says that I'll have to order my cap and gown soon. EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! Oh and speaking of EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That movie Billy and I loved just so darn much won best picture at the Oscars. YAY! The King's Speech. I can't wait until it comes out on video! That and Harry Potter DHp1. Very excited about that one too. All these movies are coming out in April. Next month. Billy leaves next month. BILLY LEAVES NEXT MONTH! ok, I'm done. So, I want to have a big ol' party before he leaves. To celebrate different things. Like Allison's pre-birthday, my graduation, Billy's leaving, hopefully Emma's baptism. But I just don't know when to do it. Or where. It's not like we live in the center of things out here. I wonder if we could rent out a room at First Family church or something. (like I need something else to do on top of the million and four other things I've got going on. but this is important) Yes, I've now successfully wandered away from school work yet again in order to post this unnecessarily long post. I'll go now. Army TidBit of the Day: The army comes and packs you up and moves all your HHG (household goods) for you. You don't do anything. But here's the kicker... it might take a few weeks to get your stuff to you at your new place. A FEW WEEKS! So, every post has a supply closet with everything in it. you just go and get what you need to survive for a few weeks and it's free. Blankets, pots and pans, baby beds, coffeepots, hair dryer.... isn't that nice of them? HA!

Good Day

Today I kept my emotions in check ALL day. This is a good thing. : ) We got up early and went to the Y and I managed to get in a good solid hour of some great exercise. My feet hurt though. But I guess it could be worse. Billy ran/walked close to 6 miles - so that's great! I love that we are doing this together! YAY!!! Oh and William did so much better in Yplay. No fights, AMEN! Emma had horse riding at 4H again tonight. She got to ride all on her own and even get into a trot. She did really great for it only being her second time. She was much more confident. Well, not to mention her horse was almost a hundred years old and the shortest one out there. LOL! Whatever - she still did excellent! Love it!! Emma and I had a nice talk on the way home tonight about Army life. It's like I don't think she still understands what is about to happen. I told her daddy was leaving in 7 weeks and she seemed shocked! And then just talking about moving every few years and not ever really knowing where we'll be going or when... these are all things I don't think she quite understands. I'm going to look for a video for her to watch to help her and Allison get the gist of what's going on. Still haven't done my midterms yet. I have one due Friday - it is three essay questions and each question requires at least a 900 word response. UGH! The questions are bad, but I just don't know if I even have 900 words in me on the subject of foreign journalists. BLAH!!! Started counting calories today. I am using a website called livingstrong.com and it helps you track all your food intake, minus your activities converted in calories burned, and then lets you set up goals so you will lose the most weight. My daily calorie goal is 1300 and then considering my workout this morning, I was able to stay below my limit. So, we'll see if this really works. I'm determined not to become some fat gross Army wife. If Billy is going to look wonderful, I'm going to look wonderful too! Army TidBit of the Day: If you ever need to get a hold of Billy while he is either deployed or in training, the best way to do this is through the Red Cross. Here is their Emergency Hotline 1-877-272-7337. And of course emergency like a death or something.