Red Light Green Light

Friday morning I started off my weekend with a ticket for running a red light. Let me paint you the picture for this one.

Driving to the gym at 5:00am Friday morning I am thinking about how early it is, how tired I am and what I have to finish at work today. When I think "yellow light....oh, a police officer is stopped at the intersection....red light....stop.....look both ways....go"...THE LIGHT WAS STILL RED! I don't know why but I just treated the red light like a stop sign and kept on going. Yes, just a few seconds later I saw lights flashing in my rear view mirror and I get my first traffic ticket. Ugh, so much for a perfect record!

Hump Day

I'm so glad it's Wednesday, over the hump of the week. Even better, the days are getting longer, it's light out when i leave work now. It finally got above zero degrees today (woohoo). We are more than half way through this separation and I just bought a ticket to fly down to see him in a few weekends!
Happy Hump Day!

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Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

In Case I Forget

I was recently out to dinner with a friend and some of her co-workers. Her co-workers were very nice ladies, but one of them brought a very not nice boyfriend. He was loud, beligerant, rude, and embarassing. He spoke very loudly, cussed often and used inappropriate language. I'm normally a peaceful gal and just go with the flow, but if I didn't think he would cause a scene, I would have said something to him. It was quite awkward and I was glad I was at the other end of a very long table. It was so embarassing that my friend and I made an excuse and ordered our food to go with the check saying she had a team meeting to go to that night.

His behavior just reminded me how lucky I am to have Soldier in my life. Never in a million years would he behave that way. I was also glad for once that he wasn't there because he sure as hell would have told the boyfriend he was acting like a fool and to cut it out and be respectful. I immediately called K after I got home and left him a message just thanking him for being who he is. I know that my soldier isn't perfect, but he is amazing and in case I ever forget that, I will have this evening to remind me.

The Best Part of Waking Up...

Is NOT the stinky treadmill neighbor at the gym.

 

I've started working out in the mornings before work because I was feeling like I never had any time during the day to just chill and do nothing. I used to get up at 7, be to work by 8, get off work at 5, go to the gym, be home at 7, cook/eat/clean supper and then it was about 9, so I showered and went to bed. Now, I go to the gym at 5:30am and have the rest of the evening free (except when it snows).

 

I have been enjoying this change…until this morning. Now, I realize no one is going to shower before heading to the gym at 5 in the morning, but at least do a quick sniff test! I had about ½ a mile left when she stepped on the treadmill next to me. Immediately I could smell the BO. It was nauseating. I couldn't focus, I couldn't run, I couldn't breathe. Now, I'm a farm girl. I grew up on the farm, AND I'm married to a guy in the military. I've smelled cows and 5 days of "in the field with no shower". I'm used to stink. But this was worse. The only thing I could do was leave and hop on a stationary bike at the other end of the gym. Not exactly folgers in my cup.

Snow Advice

Soldier has the day off from training today because…they got 2 inches of snow! 2 inches. I don't even bat an eye for anything less than 3 inches. I understand that the southern states don't have the infrastructure in place to deal with snow, but 2 inches! This is the military, aren't they supposed to be able to respond to natural disasters? Anyway, I was watching the news this morning while getting ready for work and saw how much of the south was affected by this snowfall and have a few tips from someone who regularly gets 40+ inches of snow each winter and knows the seasons as Winter, Still Winter, Construction and Almost Winter.

 

1.       Slow down while driving. This may seem like common sense, but even in the seasoned north everyone seems to be struck by amnesia with the first snow fall and it takes a few fender benders and cars in the ditch before everyone remembers snow = slippery roads. O, and 4-wheel drive doesn't help much on ice covered roads.

2.       Shovel. Pair up with a friend or neighbor to shovel your drive way/sidewalks. Doing it with someone else helps it go quicker and then you have enough energy left to shovel your elderly neighbors driveway or the neighbor with a deployed husband and 4 kids. If someone shovels your driveway, thank them.

3.       Don't park on the street. It takes the plows a while to get down every street, especially in those cities with only a couple plows. Parking your car on the street slows the plow down and creates this nice big snow bank against your vehicle that you will later have to shovel off.

4.       Better yet, stay off the roads all together if you don't have to go somewhere. Unless your driving somewhere for an emergency or to work, stay at home. Driving on roads just compacts the snow and turns it into ice which makes the roads even more slippery.

5.       Never abandon your car on the road!! If you get stuck on the road, you're just going to have to call a friend or tow truck to come get you. I know it sounds strange, but a car in the middle of the road means the plows can't get through!

6.       Ice fishing probably isn't very popular in the southern states, but here in the north it means that a power outage is no problem. Just bring in the propane tank and attach the heater and you have a warm house. But don't forget to crack a window. If the stores are out of generators, stop by Menards and pick up a Mr. Heater for the grill's propane tank or, see #2 above and get out and shovel!

 

I absolutely love snow storms. Everything is coated in a gorgeous white blanket (until the plows come through). It's even better when we get 20 inches and I get a snow day and can stay at home curled up next to the Mr. Heater and read a book.

Leave

I seem to set myself up for a bit of disappointment after every leave.

 

I get so excited for leave to come. The month of his scheduled leave I start a countdown on my calendar. Then I start planning activities and things to do. I go grocery shopping and pick up all his favorite foods and plan big dinners and lazy brunches. I clean like crazy and buy little presents that I leave around for him to find. A new shirt in the closet, new fishing lures in his tackle box, a new game in the PS, etc. I create all this hype and believe that we'll get to spend all of this time together and it will be just perfect. Of course it never works out like I plan.

 

Take this leave for example. A huge snow storm came through the area and closed down the interstates for 4 days. We happened to be visiting his parents at the time the storm hit and a 2 day stay turned in to a 5 day stay. The last 5 days of his leave. We never made it back home and we didn't get to do all those things we'd planned alone. The last 5 days of his leave was spent sleeping on the floor in his parents basement, being constantly surrounded by people and just a little bit stressed. Don't get me wrong, it was great to see his family. It just wasn't so great to have absolutely no time alone. We had to change his flight so that he flew out from his parents town instead of from home so we didn't even get to drive home together.

 

Saying goodbye for me is much harder the second time. The first time I say goodbye is easier because I'd forgotten how much it stinks having him gone. The second time we have to say goodbye, I remember. I had gotten into a routine while he was gone, and when he comes on leave it messes up my routine and then I have to find it again after he leaves.

 

Although, as much as leave may disrupt the comfort I'd found during his absence, I would never trade his leave. It's so great to get to see him again after time apart and now I have a shorter countdown ahead until this separation is over.  

New Years Resolution: Edit: additional resolution

Normally, I never set resolutions, but I made a resolution in February last year to get healthy. And I stuck with it and having a system to keep me accountable helped me achieve my goal, so I'm hoping that blogging my list and checking in quarterly will help me keep on track.

1. Lose 20lbs
• I know this is the most common goal, but I am working really hard on accomplishing this. Since I got married I had gained about 40lbs. Last year i started working out again when my blood pressure went up. I lost 30lbs and I'm healthy and in shape and my blood pressure is back to normal. i still need to lose that last 10 I had gained and I'd like to throw in another 10 just for me.
• I'm still going to the gym and now I'm going to start going 6 days a week again.
2. Get into graduate school
• I want to get my masters and the application deadline is in June, so I need to get working on that.
3. Finish my quilt
4. Volunteer
• This may be the most difficult of my goals. I work full time and will be starting (hopefully) graduate school next year, but I really want to become more involved in my community.
5. Become a member of my church
• I need to transfer my membership from my hometown church to the church I attend here and need to become active in it.
6. Watch all 100 movies on AFI's 100 greatest movies list
• I love movies about as much as I love reading. I would have set a goal for number of books to read but I read so much anyway that I thought this might be better. I like older movies so I thought this list would be a great place to start.

Snowmen

A little snow day humor to get me through til Friday!