Spring Break

It's been a looooong time since I have posted. Every time I talk to my mom, dad, father in law, anyone of the sort, I am told that I haven't posted in a while. As if I didn't know that, hello I am the one writing these things. So, in the hopes of getting off their bad list, here it goes. I had a scheduled spring cleaning scheduled for last weekend. I scrubbed down all the base boards and doors in the house. Cleaned all the blinds and windows. Whew, that was a total chore! In the midst of all this I had this wild urge to paint the kitchen. Now I have been wanting to do this for a long time and rather than just clean the walls why not paint the whole damn thing! Oh my what a chore. As many of you know Cris is color blind and I would rather not argue for the sake of keeping our marriage alive! Saturday night we went to buy the goods and I taped. We woke up early and I got to painting and I sent him to golf. Better he be out of the way then trying to tell me what to do! :) I was done by the time he got home. This was a long week at work, so putting everything back together had to wait until this weekend.

So...Needless to say the house was a wreck (rather the kitchen), the boys beds weren't made and the kitchen cabinets were pretty slim on the food scale. Cris decided to make a snide comment about the above mentioned which led to a rather nast e-mail from myself. Hey I am an Ayon and it got the best of me, what can I say....I proceed to ream him about how I didn't realize that signing the marriage 'contract' meant that it was my sole responsiblity to do the above mentioned. It's funny now, but I was pretty heated. We got over it, so much for saving the fights for something good, eh? LOL.

The boys got in late on Thursday and Cris and I worked on Friday. Don't worry the boys didn't miss us, they slept til noon and played xbox until long after we arrived home. Today Cris had a golf tournament so it was just me and the boys! They pulled weeds outside/played the ever dreadful xbox yet again and I finished off the kitchen. I was quite bummed to realize that after I washed the curtains, one is dingy! I didn't realize white could do that, but it did...It's done and looks alright, but coming from a perfectionist, it definitely could be better.

I made an awesome dinner! I used my $150 worth of Pamperd Chef! That is what I spent on it a couple weeks ago. i know, I know, I shouldn't have, but I did...Too late now. I love what I bought. The chicken and penne past was just fabulous. AND the Chocolate Velvet cake with strawberry jam was a taste of heaven. Simply amazing. Or as the boys like to call all of my sweet creations, gourmet!

Tomorrow we are off to the outlet malls to buy some cleats! Yay! In other news, my cousin is moving to Balitmore and hopefully NC shortly after. So not only will we have our lovely friends to visit, we also have more family. NOW, if we could ever get around to actually getting there.

I must post more often to avoid extremely lenghty blogs to which may bore my poor readers aka family. Good night, sweet dreams, and as my mom and dad used to tell me, don't let the bed bugs bite. Now that I think of it, that's kind of....ummm....odd....but then again they are MY family, so that explains it.

Edited to change font size for all you bifocal wearing folks! LOL

Test is done...now the wait begins

Well, Cris and I both tested for promotion. Now the wait begins. We won't find out until June so until then, prayers are requested! We both feel better than last year, but we shall see. Our life revolved around studying for a while now I don't know what to do with myself. So I have taken plenty of naps! Which I also did in between study sessions as well. The count down is almost on until we go to NM in May. I can't wait and as always there's always a menu on my request! I miss Lota Burger so that is usually first on the list upon exiting the aircraft. Then momma and nana's cooking. So here's to the weight gain right before bikini season. Which I might add that I hate bikini's and always have. Sure I wear them when I am in somewhat bikini status (which is NOT this year by any means) but I loathe them.

I need new clothes, but hate shopping for clothes, so if any of you wish to come with me. Ask my mother, it is no easy task. I just found out there is a Hollister Outlet mall within 5 hours of my house...No, I don't wear Hollister, my beautiful niece does. Maybe I will do some shopping for her in the near future. DC/MD here I come! Other than that, I don't have lots to post so I better get to cleaning. Cris took the boys and not feeling in the mood to be in the car for 5 hours today after spending 9 in the car on Friday, I begged to stay home and 'clean'. Well we are 4.5 hours in and cleaning has yet to be done.

Not a typical Saturday

I really wish my Saturday's were more adventurous. They usually consist of us sleeping in, getting up, doing chores or something of the sort, and maybe a trip to the store here and there. I really want to be the person who is ready to go by 8 or 9 and the day goes on. I feel so much more productive when I do that, but we usually have such a long week at work that we just want to veg on the weekends. I am quite comfortable lounging on the couch in my PJs all day, suits me just fine. After all we are childless and have the free reign to do as such. Even when the boys are here, we do the same b/c they sleep in way late. I usually have to wake them up as the clock creeps toward noon.

So my new mission is to make my weekends a lot more useful. I forgot to mention that Cris is usually golfing so the rest is up to me, minus the laundry. That's his job and don't let him tell you otherwise. I am embarrassed to admit that we have only been to the beach enough times to count on both hands and the majority was just me with friends while he was deployed. We have NEVER taken the boys, but that is about to change. Folks, we have lived here 4 years, there is absolutely no excuse for this. We are truly in a prime spot, we are 1 hour 15 min from Raleigh/Durham the same distance from the beach and 30 mins from some outlet malls. We can't ask for anything more. Since it was told that we won't be moving to NM anytime soon, we will make the best of our adventures in North Carolina for whatever time remains. We have been to Busch Gardens which was nothing to write home about, but we may partake in that adventure again. Mind you all these things cost money and my frugal butt hates spending unnecessarily. None the less, we will still do this.

We have out trip to NM coming up. I talked to my mom earlier who happens to be at my aunts whom I refer to as Honey. I haven't seen her in 4 and a half years. She better mosey on up to Albuquerque so she can meet her nieces husband for the first time or else....We would also like to make a trip there with the boys, but not sure that will happen. We want to head up to the NW to visit Cris' family in Oregon. Man that is a beautiful place, I recommend a visit for anyone who has never been or even who has. I love his family and enjoy the short visits we have had up there.

In other news, Lyla is Lyla, bad as ever. She is the most spoiled dog e.v.e.r. But Cris and I made her that way. I test on Tuesday and Cris tests on Monday. Wish us luck. We have both been off for two weeks studying and I feel alright about it. There's going to be a lot of disappointment if we don't make it though. But we will, so no worries! :) Did I mention that Cris took multiple breaks to golf b/c 'he needed to relieve stress, babe'. Of course, I am just like whatever. Any excuse the man can make to play golf I swear! Alright all, I must be off for tonight, I have much more reading to do and the crammer I am...waiting until the very last minute to get it all done.

Eating

Did I forget to add that I think I gained at least 18 pounds these pat 3 days? I definitly could not stay home all day and eat out of boredom! I mean I suppose if I had kids to keep me busy. Ciao for now as I must get to work. Peace, love, and happiness.

Update much?

Whew, I am thinking this blog is in desperate need of an update. Must be feeling a little neglected! It's mostly for my family that I don't get to talk to much...So here goes:

Not a lot going on in our household. I have been home studying (or rather, trying to study) for most of the week. Studying for promotion for you civilians out there. For my Army friends that are reading, you read that right, Air Force actually has to have brains to get promoted. ;) Love to the Army folks! Most of the time I have been B.O.R.E.D. with a few phone calls here and there to break up the cross-eyedness....

Lets see...Cris played Pinehurst #2 the other day and did fairly well considering it was freezing and windy. He shot an 82, the pro shot an 81...Not too bad, he couldn't feel his fingertips when he got home. He is still on the golf wagon. People always ask me how I deal with him being golfing all the time. Here it is people, I need my space and he needs his. We could totally be codependent and not let each other breathe, we chose the option that works best for us. If you don't agree, oh well. He has never stopped me from doing something I enjoy and the same for me. We do however respect each other and make sure we notify each other if other plans have been made. Ever heard of the word respect? Yeah that's what I like to call it.

The boys will get here this weekend, we get them every other weekend. It will be them and dad most this weekend as I have Bunco with my Bunc-hos and lunch with them on Sunday at Red Lobster. Cris hates Red Lobster and I love it so it works out. We are going to do a mock photo shoot with them this weekend b/c we haven't had pictures of them taken lately. They have grown so much. We plan on going up to VA to spend the weekend with them and hope to get together with some great friends of Cris' (ours now!) Fred and Elaine. We really need to do it and quit talking about, but the time gets away from us.

In other news, my step-mother in law lost her mother to a battle with cancer. Please keep the family in your prayers as they struggle through this difficult time. This April will have been 3 years since we lost my grandma. Please also pray for my family b/c as well all know it is still difficult even after years to cope with a loss.

Oh, oh, oh, I almost forgot I will be taking a short trip to NM in April for Easter and then again in May for Mother's Day weekend. As much as I wish I could say that yes I am going for Mother's Day, I am going for my niece's CONFIRMATION. May God bless my brother and sis in law- she is gorgeous (and acts just like me!). What? That's a good thing! :)

EDITED TO ADD: Confirmation NOT Graduation! I am such a dork!

Much love to all,
Valarie

I also almost forgot...No I have not received any money for the dog we lost. The b*tch has changed every number I had. It's okay though, I am not stupid, I wrote down the address! So she will be receiving a certified letter claiming I will be taking her to small claims court if she fails to give me money. Afterall initially I was only asking for the cost of the dog, now I also want the vet fees.

Just another random update

In my last post I wrote how we lost our new little puppy Godiva. Well the b*tch we bought her from promised we would have our money this week. Yeah, still nothing. I will be calling her and sending an official certified letter stating that if I don't receive anything that I WILL be taking her to small claims court. People, this is not a little bit of money. I was only making her pay what I paid for the puppy and NOT the vet bill. I WAS being nice, not any longer. That said, if I don't have a check in hand on Monday, off to the courts I go.

Yesterday we (Cris, the boys, and myself) piddled around the house doing odds and ends. So, ummmm, I am in the kitchen cleaning something in the sink and all of a sudden there's a big foot hanging through my ceiling. My first reaction was 'Holy shit' and then I hear 'sorry val'. Oh dear, Cris and my oldest step son were doing work in the attic and he slipped and his foot went through the ceiling. He felt so bad, but it was just an accident. An expensive one at that. I swear I can't afford any more unexpected expenses. You might (or not) be wondering where my youngest step son was. Yeah he decided he was all too lazy to do anything productive and proceeded to take a nap. That is until I woke him and had him paint a molding for the kitchen, which he did a horrible job at and I made him fix it. He didn't want to do it was his excuse for poor work. Well, we fixed that. He had Cris so mad all day. He thinks that when they are here all they should be doing is playing Xbox, well I hate to break it to ya but...

I decided to play the lottery last night. Actually it was a mutual decision to play between Cris and I. So on our way to celebrate our (Cris, Josh, and my) birthdays, we stopped to get the tickets. We won a meesly 4 bucks. But hey maybe that's the start of our luck. We have a superbowl party, or rather a few, to show up to this afternoon. I have fifty bucks on the Cardinal. One of those 'unexpected' expenses. Damn my family for showing me how to gamble at such a young age.

Well I suppose I should get downstairs and finish up my wifely duties before the husband gets home from taking the boys to their mother.

I never would have thought...

...that having a sweet little puppy in my care for FIVE days could lay such heavy footprints in my heart. I weep as I type that this morning I had to put our precious new dark chocolate toy poodle to sleep. She was the sweetest most loving thing and in FIVE short days she made an impact in both Cris and my life. I have cried throughout the day and have wept all night.

It all started on Wednesday when we purchased Godiva from a breeder. When were got there Lyla would have nothing to do with the lady or her dogs. Godiva had a wierd breathing pattern but I didn't think much past telling Cris that. We brought her home and she continued to shy away and needed to be next to one of us at all times. I didn't want to keep her on the soft food so I cautiously moved her to the hard food which she surprisingly took on. Not lots, but more than Lyla had when we first got her. Well on Sunday morning (0200ish) she woke me up b/c she was making wierd noises. I stayed up with her most of the night and was able to get her to the vet on Monday. She was given a blood transfusion amongst many other treatments, but she had parasites that had taken over her body. By today she was pretty much gone. I held her in my arms and again I wept. Her once big brown eyes were now blue, and she was gasping for every breath. I said my goodbyes, but I am surely not at peace with it. Goodnight my sweet angel.

I yearn for a baby but I get so scared at the thought of anything happen to my future child. I don't have the strength to deal with my puppies being sick much less my child. I have been told that becoming a mother changes all that. I hope so. With a heavy heart, I say goodnight.