Three guesses who fell off the face of the earth again?!!

Missed posting last month, but nothing terribly spectacular really happened then.

Our Hina girl celebrated her 2nd birthday on April 1.

I had my 27th birthday on April 10. We went to Hawaii Kai and checked out the Kona Brewery Pub–an extension of the Kona Brewing Company on the Big Island.  They had a lot of tasty beers to try and the food was excellent.

Other than that, April was pretty slow. I finished up the 2015 tax season. Our office had a night out to celebrate reaching our target.

That same night, the Mister texted me and said Hina and Taz had escaped.  So I cut my night short and booked it home to search for them, with the help of my awesome coworker Jodi. We found Hina right away. It took the rest of the weekend to get Taz to come back inside. She remembered her stray days and only came around at night when it was safe. Thankfully my Little One came back home and didn’t fuss when we got her back in the house.

The end of April brought the beginning of yet another round of training for the Mister. We caught the new Avengers movie (which was SPECTACULAR by the way) before he left.

And we celebrated another of our furry brood’s birthdays. Miss Taz turned a year old shortly after her outdoor excursion on May 1. Since she lost her collar/tags when she escaped, she’s now sporting a collar to match the Mister’s ACUs.

Since the Mister left (he’s still gone as I’m writing this), I’ve been keeping myself relatively busy. I’ve been working tirelessly to get my Grandad’s memorial service slideshow done. He’s been gone since December, but his memorial isn’t until May 24–my 2nd wedding anniversary. Since tickets home are astronomical, I volunteered to do the slideshow. This is the 3rd show I’ve put together in the last 6 months for one of my grandparents. Needless to say, it does NOT get any easier to put these together. Plus, it’s a ton of work. Lots of scanning, placement, timing, etc etc… has gone into this video. Not to mention the 3 times I’ve saved it from project to video (at a mere 3 hours a piece). I’ll be glad when it’s done and dusted. I thought this last time was THE last time, but then as I was watching through it I saw one of the photos messed up between saving so I am currently re-saving the project to video. 6% and counting!

I also had the opportunity to fly to Las Vegas for a long weekend with my parents and middle sister (plus her boyfriend, which we won’t get in to here). My mom paid the flight back so I scrounged up enough to fly over for a couple days. It wasn’t nearly long enough, but since I haven’t seen my family since early October, it was a nice little trip. Granted, I would’ve LOVED to see my baby sister too, but she had school and work. Hopefully, they’re coming for our last Christmas here. Otherwise, it’ll be around her high school graduation when I see her next.

When I got back, I got to have a bit of a girls night and went to see Pitch Perfect 2 with Jodi. We had a nice catch up chat and the movie was great. I’m a huge Anna Kendrick fan, so it was wonderful for me.

In other news…we have officially planned a trip to another island! Two technically. We’re booked to visit Maui and Lana’i in June. I’m so excited to go. Just a chance to get away from life here and get back to being a couple. The Mister and I never got a honeymoon and we haven’t taken a vacation since we got back from visiting the in-laws back in March 2013. And no, living in Hawaii does not equate to a vacation. We’ve got a solid week lined up to be away from work and stress. I am looking forward to it.

Luckily, I have an awesome pet sitter lined up. Our landlord’s daughter was awesome enough to volunteer to watch the furkids while I was in Vegas and she’s agreed to hang with them in June too. Audie was a little shy with her at first, but she came over the other afternoon and hung out while I was home and he seemed much more comfortable. She’s way less expensive than the vet and since she lives next door, everyone gets to stay home!

Since my Vegas trip, I’ve been trying to hop back on the workout bandwagon, but thus far, I’m failing miserably. My goal was to lose some weight while the Mister was gone, but no dice yet. I tried a little bit of T25, but dang am I out of shape! I made it through half of the first workout before I gave out. Sad panda. My glutes were killing me the following day, so I guess I worked something out. I did a little yoga to help, but I definitely need to get on it. Audie and I have been walking almost every day, but that’s not really going to help me out.  I was really trying to drop some pounds before my yearly, just so the doctor’s scale wouldn’t be so awful, but such is life. I’m just not motivated to do the work and that frustrates me more than anything else. I need to figure out what will make me want to do it so I can get back in a good groove.  I’ve given up on the weight loss before June idea, but I definitely need to do something!

This week, I’m basically just finishing up this slideshow, which hopefully finishes tonight, and then I’ve got a house to start getting cleaned up. I cleaned a ton right before Vegas, but with four critters, the house gets messy again real fast.  Then again, I probably won’t end up cleaning until next week since I enjoy procrastinating when it comes to that sort of thing. I have an FRG social on Friday where we’re learning to make ribbon leis. I’m only going because I genuinely need to meet some new people and they’re actually having a gathering off post at a decent hour (normally, they’re during the day in the middle of the week on post and frankly, since I don’t live there, it’s a giant pain to want to go deal with that. Plus, this one is supposed to be without children so bonus for those of us who lack the miniature humans). I’m just excited for some crafty stuff and the appetizers they’re supplying.

If I don’t get this house scrubbed, I did just get my diamond head drill bit and my new paint pens so I can start working on drilling those wine bottles I’ve been saving. I’m thinking if it goes well, I might be able to slap them up on Etsy or eBay and make a little side money. If not, it’s something to put my creative energies towards and sometimes, that’s a reward in itself.

Hopefully next time I will have more to update on.

If not, it’s just me airing out the ol’ noggin for my own sanity.

Until then,

Cheers!

-A.xoxo

 

 

Well….once again, life has consumed me outside of the cyber space realm.

That’s a horrible excuse, but no one is really missing out on my posts (no followers, hello!).

Basically, we haven’t been out and about since my last post. The Mister was gone for two weeks for training at Lightning Forge on post, so not much has been happening by way of us going out and exploring lately.

Last weekend, I had mid-season training (which proved to be an absolute waste of my time), but I did manage to go out with some of my coworkers and had a surprisingly fun time. I did miss the whole camaraderie of being out with people who get it/friends. The coworkers must’ve liked it too because they want to go out again, so thumbs up there!

This weekend, I’ve finally convinced the Mister to go to the beach (after two weekends of begging–I was in dire need of sun). He grudgingly agreed, but I think it was only because I let him use my golf clubs to go out with his buddies (turns out, he had a blast on the course and wants to go all the time now). We trekked back to North Shore and checked out Waimea Bay. He’d been for PT a couple of times, but I’d never been out there. Better still, we got to take Audie with us.

It was a good time. Slightly lobstery, but not enough to be uncomfortable. I DID put sunscreen on before going, so I should be good to go.

In other news, still haven’t found a replacement job once this one is over. Not in a huge rush to keep working, but I’d really like to keep busy still.  But, even if I don’t find another gig, I’ve at least made a few friends and added another blip to my resume.

Like I said, I don’t have much going on and we haven’t been going out as religiously as we were before. I’ll keep updating as we go out and do stuff, but it might be awhile.

Until then,

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

Holy buckets have I fallen off the wagon! December was a whirlwind. January held new beginnings. And so far February has blown by. Let’s recap. December was filled with concerts, a college graduation, a loss, job training, and this Waid clan’s first solo Christmas. January saw a new year, concerts, and a new job. February has been relatively calm thus far, but it’s still early. So let’s start from where we left off eh? I lost my Grandad December 8. My middle sister graduated from Northwest Missouri on the 12th. After the Jason Mraz concert, I started training for H&R Block. It did little to prepare me for the job at hand, but I’m an old pro now. Managed to get the Mister to see a Nebraska Basketball game during the Diamond Head Classic tourney. It was an ugly game that reminded me why I am a Duke Basketball fan and Nebraska Football fan, but it brought me closer to ‘home’ since it was just the two of us this year.

Christmas rolled around and for the first time in 26 years, I didn’t see my family. The Mister and I shared our own Christmas morning with our furkids. It was a sweet, intimate affair.

After Christmas, we celebrated the Pineapple Drop for New Year’s. It’s timed to drop with the ball in Time’s Square.

I managed to land us some last minute tickets to see Straight No Chaser at the historic (and beautifully restored) Hawaii Theatre. It was SNC’s first ever show in Hawaii and they did not disappoint. Wish I’d had a better camera, but the box office said no so I didn’t bring one (only to have them say yes at the show, dang it!) And had to use my phone.

After New Year’s, I started back to work for my tax season job. Honestly, it isn’t that bad. It’s easy and my manager loves my work ethic. Still, we found time for another show or two. Not just any shows either. Sir Elton John and Avenged Sevenfold.

I also managed to take in a few more sights on the list, even though we didn’t complete Oahu at all… I flew solo to see Doris Duke’s Shangri La and the Honolulu Museum of Art (The Mister had tickets too, but ended up with last minute duty–gotta love the Army!). It was nice to get back to my art major days and appreciate that kind of thing again.

Since then, we’ve been a bit of wastes of space. Too busy working to want to do squat on our weekends off other than catching a few movies here and there. Don’t have anything planned for Valentine’s. I didn’t make plans so it’s not likely anything will happen. The Mister forgot what weekend it was until yesterday so I’m thinking it’s safe to say, we’re out of commission. Already sick and tired of the gifts posted on my FB feed. I’m not sure when gifts correlated to love, but we seem to have missed the boat. I’ve never received flowers from the Mister in the entirety I’ve known him (he’s been at training, deployed, or just back from deployment almost every year) nor have I gotten chocolates etc. It’s not about the material things. I’m just glad he gets the day off to spend with me. If I want chocolates or whatever, I’ll buy them myself the day after. Half off chocolates always taste the best! Any who… I will try to be better about posting as we get out and about more often. Guess I got caught up in life rather than the interweb lately. 😉

Until next time,

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

We kicked off our first round of shows this Friday with Mr. A-Z Jason Mraz. We were essentially three rows back in a relatively intimate concert hall.  And it was beautiful!

I have been a huge fan of Jason’s since I heard his first popular single (The Remedy) when I was a freshman in high school. Since then, I’ve followed his work and have found more and more to love about him. I hadn’t seen him live before and it’s safe to say, it was well worth the $225 ticket price (sure, I could’ve gotten $43 tickets and enjoyed the same musical experience fHrom the nosebleed seats, but the Mister gave me the ok to spend significantly more than that–I think he was just as excited to see the show as I was and with the presale code, we couldn’t pass on 3rd row seats).

The man is just as quirky and goofy as his songs suggest and his live music does not disappoint. He joked throughout the entire show and it was pretty clear that he loves playing with Raining Jane. They’re an amazingly talented group as well. I’m glad to have found out about them! He is so vocally talented, it kills me! He broke out Mr. Curiosity–which has an operatic showcase of his voice at the end–and it was magical. I wish I could show you all, but sadly WordPress won’t allow me to upload it.

Sadly, we missed the first 15 minutes of the show. The Army kept the Mister late at work and traffic to Honolulu on a Friday night was not the most ideal (it’s never ideal really at any time of the day). But, we got there in time for 90% of the show and I’d love to see him again!

I got grumped at by security for using a flash on my camera. To be fair, there were no signs posted about flash photography and I know he has done huge arenas  with more flash than humanly conceivable. But whatever. Being that close, I was able to capture a few relatively great shots with just my new point and shoot (my old one did not like the sand at Lanikai Beach and refused to be cleaned so Black Friday blessed me with a new one with better megapixels).  Still, you’d think there’d be a sign. Hawaii, I tell ya.

Up next (assuming I can’t get the Mister out of the house before then–he’s on leave and is content not to leave the loveseat in front of his tv) is the Diamond Head Classic basketball tournament on the 22nd. Wichita State v. Loyola Marymount and Nebraska v. Hawai’i. Gonna be a great time (at least for me).

I start training for H&R Block on Monday for 9 hours (3 hours/day) so I’ll probably fall off the grid again. I’m not sure what could possibly require so much training for a receptionist gig, but it’s paid, so I’ll take it.  But after the 18th, I’m free until January 5 at the earliest.  Plenty of time to squeeze in a few more day trips out of 2014.

Until then!

-A. xoxo

On December 8, I lost my Grandad. I got the call from my dad bright and early Hawaii Time and even in my sleep-deprived state, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I’ve rarely seen my father cry, much less heard him, but when he called, his voice cracked and he lost his composure. True to form, however, he made his phone call short and went on to teach his class. Lord knows if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t be able to do it. Always the rock, a lot like his dad.

In early 2012, Grandad suffered a stroke the took away his ability to speak properly. I miss hearing him say (more like yell) “Hey Chicken!” with a huge smile on his face when I came in the door. I’m not sure why, but he always called me chicken. After his stroke, he still was relatively the same Grandad we all knew and loved. He was ornery as sin (always had been) and we could tell it frustrated him to no end not being able to communicate the way he wanted to. Still, the stroke did something to him. He started to decline, as most people do with such a traumatic brain experience.  Soon, he was in the Alzheimer’s unit of a nursing home. From then on, he got quieter and started to lose more of himself.

But thankfully, my memories of him were not as tainted as some in my family.  Luckily, my parents chose to keep him in their lives after he divorced my grandmother and we were able to have so many wonderful times with him.  It was this man who took me to my first powwow as a kid.  He instilled the love of our Cherokee culture in me and made sure I honored it appropriately. He gave me my first wolf for my collection–the animal that turned out to be my spirit guide. He taught me how to fish and regularly took us out to the lake.

We spent our childhoods playing hide and seek in his house. My mom enjoyed riling him up about his love for Oklahoma football–she’s a Nebraska fan.  We’d have football parties when the teams played each other and yell between the rooms. We’d play Uno and hearts at nearly every family get together. He’d make his famous chili and vegetable stew–we never had a traditional Thanksgiving meal at his house and we always celebrated on any day, but Thanksgiving.  He was a jokester and loved to tease us. Even when he couldn’t speak, you could see the mischievous glint in his eye and that familiar jut of the chin when you teased back. He had the gravelly voice of an old Marine and he loved to sing along to Kenny Rogers, specifically The Greatest. He used to go square dancing and loved John Wayne films.

He made a point to come to as many of my school things as he could, even my golf meets. He used to cuss the officials louder than the rest of the family at my dad’s basketball games. He lived his life passionately and without a thought to the risk. It started at a young age too. He lied about his age to join the Marines at 17 and was sent to the Pacific front during WWII. I believe he was in the Philippines or some other island off the main stretch. He once told us that he tried his hardest to get malaria so he could be sent to Australia to heal. The story was much funnier when he told it. The man had a story for everything.

And now, those days are gone. And I miss him so much it hurts to breathe. What I wouldn’t give for one of his famous bear hugs one more time. The Mister wasn’t lucky enough to meet Grandad before his stroke; a fact I’m bitterly aware of. They would have gotten on so well.

2014 has not been a kind year to my family. I lost 4 grandparents (3 blood, 1 adoptive) between April and December. On the positive side, I have no more to lose so it doesn’t matter how far away from home I am. As of right now, there’s no ceremony happening until the spring.  He’ll be cremated and wanted his ashes spread over Lake of Three Fires, one of his favorite spots to camp and fish. The Mister says we might be able to go home for it which would be fantastic.

Needless to say, I’m over this year. I hope 2015 holds a better time.

And I hope my Grandad is back to his ornery self, enjoying that powwow in the sky.

Gvgeyu’i (pronounced Guh gay you he) and ganvdisdi (guh nah dees dee) — I love you and I miss you in Cherokee.

-A. xoxo

This weekend was a little frazzled and confused.  Thursday was the Saint Barbara’s Day ball, but since the Mister didn’t get tickets, he was on duty and today he was part of the honor guard at Pearl Harbor for Remembrance Day, so we only had Friday and Saturday to get out and about. We went window shopping Friday (the Mister wanted ideas for Christmas). Needless to say, it’s been a not-so-routine week. Luckily, leave starts at the end of the week until January! We have a bunch of stuff planned (or I should say I have a bunch planned). We managed a short trip just up the road on Saturday.

We took a walking tour of Hawaii’s Plantation Village.  It’s a replica village that showed the different types of housing used for sugar cane plantation workers (almost all were immigrants so there were significant differences).  It is rumored to be haunted, but I didn’t get that feeling while touring it. It’s possible though!

Next for us is the Jason Mraz concert on Friday night. We have 2nd row floor seats. I’m so excited! I have always loved Mr. A-Z and was stoked to find tickets so close. It was a hefty price, but so worth it. Definitely looking forward to it.  I doubt we’ll go out and do much else that weekend, but seeing as leave starts the following Monday officially, we have until January 4 to go exploring. We *should* have most of our Oahu bucket list checked off by the end of this break.

I start training for H&R Block on the 15th. Three mornings of training then the actual job starts January 5th. I got word that I will likely be in the office that’s right up the road from us, but it sounds like everyone wants to work the same shifts so I might be commuting for another office. Not ideal to commute as I only applied because this office is literally blocks from my house.  Story of my life with this company thus far. But, it’s only through April 15, so I can suck it up and get some work in for some extra funds for us.  I did have an interview with the county of Honolulu for a DMV job down the street, but it took 6 months for them to have an opening, so I’m not sure when I’ll hear back.  That would be ideal. No weekends and steady hours. Time will tell!

On the 22nd, we have UH basketball tickets for the Diamond Head Classic tournament.  They’re playing the University of Nebraska and I’m excited! Though I’m not a Husker basketball fan, it’ll be a good evening doing something I genuinely love to do.  Growing up with parents as coaches has conditioned me to love the competition and feel most comfortable in the gym.

Then it’s Christmas and New Years and 2014 is over!

Been a heck of a year so far and I’ll be sure to update with my end of the year reflections schpeal.

I’ll be posting before then (I hope), don’t you worry.

Until then,

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

Well, the Mister made it back safely and I’m proud to say he was an honor grad from his course at ALC. He worked his butt off and it was rewarded. He has also been put back on the gun line at work, so he’s back to getting the days off his unit gets instead of just battalion.

It’s still been a whirlwind week since he came back. He jumped right back in to work and then it was Thanksgiving. We took on Black Friday again and managed to pick up most of what we wanted without having to wait in ungodly lines or wrestle people for that one last thing. We got 90% of what we were after online and paying that surcharge not to deal with the stress was worth it. So Christmas shopping for everyone is almost completely done and it’s not even December.

Today, we crossed a few more things off of our Oahu list.  We stayed within 10 miles of home and enjoyed the cooler weather. It was nice not to be sweating constantly. If the 75 degree weather would stick around, that would be excellent.

Our first stop was the Wahiawa Botanical Garden. A nice walk through the local flora for nothing but a drive up the road.

Then we went to another sacred Hawaiian site: the Kukaniloko Birthing Stones. Here it’s said that chiefs and chieftesses brought the next generation into the world to ensure their high status later in life. The mana (spiritual energy) was so different there. You could feel the change even from the parking lot.

Our final stop of the day was Dole Plantation for a more touristy stop. We took a ride on the train, toured the garden, and took on the pineapple maze, We got to enjoy the world famous Dole Whip and I picked up a few post cards for my collection.  It was cheesy, but a good time!

All in all, it was a good day.  We’ll probably figure out something else to do next weekend.

I have to take miss Taz to the vet Tuesday for boosters and an interview in Honolulu Wednesday. Busy week in the works!

Excited to see where it ends up.

Until next time.

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

I know it’s been awhile. Things have gone a little crazy (well, crazier) since my last post.

We did manage to go check out a few places the day after I posted last.  We did a quick swing through of a few places that aren’t exactly what most people would think of as tourist attractions–I know, we do a lot of things that most tourists don’t. I dubbed the day Burial Places and Killer Views.

First stop was the Royal Mausoleum. It is the only place where the Hawaiian state flag can be flown without the US flag.  Unfortunately it was being worked on (like everything else on Oahu lately) so we’ll have to go back in March. They open the vault to see the tombs of the monarchy buried there so I need to go back anyway.

Then we took in the National Cemetery of the Pacific. It’s located in this huge crater and is for fallen military members. Again, under construction so I couldn’t see a whole lot and we had Audie with us, so I had to hustle so he wasn’t bumming in the car with the Mister for too long. There are no upright headstones here, just the flush with the ground plaques. But there is a mall area where all the names of those lost are etched into the walls.  It’s a lot like Washington DC–it reminded me of the malls of empty space near the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. I also found a gift of remembrance left by a living vet. Hit me about as hard as it did to find that letter at the Vietnam Memorial.

Our last stop of the day was Mount Tantalus, or Pu’u Ualakaa State Wayside.  Basically, it’s this windy road up to the top of Honolulu. You can see all over the city from there. The road was intense and since the Mister thinks he’s a race car driver, it was quite the nauseating trip to the top. The views were so worth it though.

I’ve been MIA from most of the social media business since mid October.  The Mister left for Ft. Sill for ALC for the month, so I’ve been focused on keeping myself busy away from the laptop. Now that he gets home next weekend, we will pick back up where we left off with our journeys.

I’ve had some rather needy furry company thankfully, but it’ll be great having another human back in the house.

But in the mean time, I need to do a little catching up with everyone.

So since mid October here’s what’s been going down:

Job Opportunities

Ok, so more like one offer and 100s of rejections and/or ignored applications. I was officially hired on as a Client Service Provider for H&R Block for the 2015 tax season. Basically, I am a receptionist who puts people in the system and opens the door as they come into the office.  While this is only a four month gig, it’s something.  However, I do have my reservations. I’m not fully convinced that I’m really that much of a “key player” as they claim me to be.  It started with the interview process. I was called no less than 6 times to schedule an interview, which I had already done with the same person after the first call. The right hand clearly didn’t know what the left hand was doing. Then at the interview, I was pressured hardcore into considering signing up to be a tax preparer instead. While I was considering it, the stuff with my grandmother’s passing went down and I wouldn’t have made it to 6 of the classes. Maybe next year. Then while filling out the paperwork (all online mind you), I wasn’t allowed to complete it because I wasn’t in the system yet. When I inquired, I was asked if I had even been hired. I had already received the hiring notice (thus being able to get on the website to fill out said paperwork). This will come to be a trend as well. I missed a call and was told I needed to return the call to finalize some paperwork.  When I called back less than 10 minutes later, I was again asked if I was hired. How do you not recognize a name when you just called me? After settling that debacle, I had to attend a town hall meeting to be introduced to the company values. There I was told that senior management would be stopping in to the office and checking in on us throughout the tax season.  While I understand the need, it gave me the impression that they do not trust us to do our job properly. Do tell why one would be hired if they couldn’t perform the specified job to company standards. While at the meeting we were asked to put our top 3 location requests down so we’d know which office we would be working in. Now, I was led to believe that the location I applied to would be where I was hired to work (hence the compulsion to apply with the company). Apparently that might not be the case. Shady much?? I thought that would be the end of it when I had finished sitting through two hours of common sense business, but alas, no. We were told to make sure we had the appropriate employee numbers so when training starts next month we can be put in the payroll system. Since I couldn’t finish my paperwork, I had to ask someone to retrieve the number to make sure this could be done. I was AGAIN asked if I was hired. How the heck did I sit through a scheduled town hall meeting and not already be hired?! It was all I could do to bite my tongue there. Like seriously, I just show up to these things randomly on time and sit through the whole schpeal for fun. Sheesh! Hopefully the rest of this won’t be as big of a clusterfuck as the beginning has been. It’s a job and it is desperately needed both on the resume and for my sanity.  Not to mention, that income will go solely to shipping our other vehicle back to the mainland since the Army decided they won’t ship two and we’re not the best at saving thousands of dollars last minute. I’m still applying to everything I can in hopes of not having to deal with this and have long term employment. Here’s to hoping.

Working Out

I took the opportunity of the Mister being gone to work on myself. In the last 4 weeks, I’ve been working out using Shaun T videos 6 days a week for 30 minutes or more and eating a very strict diet. Today was weigh and tape day. I didn’t lose as much weight as I thought I would, but it is a start. Just over 6lbs lost and about 4 1/2inches all over. Not bad for not having been very active since moving to this rock. Pictures don’t show a huge change, but it’s just a jumping off point. Now that I have a routine, I plan to keep it up. So by my estimate, another 3ish months and I’ll be back down where I want to be. It was really great seeing that scale say something more close to my “normal” weight. It’s a step in the right direction. I think bikes are on the Christmas list, so here’s to staying on the wagon.

Halloween

Though I didn’t dress up and we had no trick or treaters (we live behind the main house so we barely get our mail, let alone have kids come to the door), I did end up carving pumpkins. In the past I have done one for each fur kid and myself (I know, I clearly need human babies), but they are expensive here and I didn’t want to do all that work this time. I ended up carving one for Audie, one for the cats together, and one for me.

Taz

Remember that kitten in the yard? And how we were going to work with her so we could get her adopted? Well….She might potentially become ours permanently. She’s made leaps and bounds from the scared kiddo in the yard. I have been working with her extensively since the Mister has been gone. I took her to get fixed and microchipped by a local low cost spay and neuter group and the afternoon she came home, she has been a cuddle bug, excited for human contact. Since then, she’s been a whole new kitty. She rarely runs when I walk by or reach to pet her now. She’s currently knocked out on the pillow behind me, content as can be. It’s still a big IF if the Mister will change his mind about getting her adopted out. I’ve prepared otherwise. She has her own carrier, bed, collar, and ID tag.

I am going to struggle if we do give her away. She has gotten really close to our Hina girl too. She loves her. Obviously.

We’ll see how the Mister feels when he comes back. He hasn’t experienced her fuzzy sweetness like I have. She was still really timid when he left. Cross your fingers!

Creativity

I’ve obviously had a lot more free time on my hands the last few weeks, so I’ve gotten back into doing some of the crafty things I’ve been putting off (why, I don’t know…). I had a whole list of stuff I wanted to tackle, but then I got lazy after workouts and just wanted to do nothing.  But! I did get a few things done or at least started.

Bottle cap table top was something I’ve been wanting to try for awhile. And we’re notorious for saving our bottle caps for the last few years. Since my cats tend to use this coffee table for looking out the window more than I use it for an actual coffee table, I thought I might as well. Plus, it was just a cheapy one from Walmart that will likely not make the trip back stateside when we leave.  Though, now that it’s being turned into something cool, I might want to bring it with. Once I finish gluing the last couple of rows down (can’t do it all at once as much as I want to, my fingers don’t handle the use of a glue gun for too long), I’ll use a clear resin to seal it and fill in the spaces between. Then it’ll be all good to go.

Then there were the salt dough ornaments. I’ve seen loads of my friends posting doing them for their babies so I thought I’d do some for my furkids. They didn’t turn out quite as pretty as the Pinterest photos (really, do they ever?), but they did turn out decent. I thought about using a cookie cutter to make the edges smoother after I’d already put them in the oven, go figure. I got to paint them and that prompted me to do our address sign (something I won’t post as 1. it’s only a bunch of outlines and 2. no one needs to know my address). So now, each kiddo has their own paw print preserved. I am sure this will be a nice memento when the time comes that they cross that rainbow bridge, as much as I don’t want to think about that yet (seriously, Jack is the oldest at 4. No one is going anywhere any time soon).

I plan on busting out the sewing machine for a bit as well. I have a bunch of bandanas I’m going to sew together to make a lightweight blanket that we can take when we hike or hit the beach. Something that doesn’t put a bunch of extra weight in the packs. I have them all laid out, I just need to sew them together.

Audie

Today (Nov. 15…It was 11:57pm when I wrote this) marks one year since we brought our pooch home. I seriously cannot imagine life without him any more. He is my little mama’s boy and his dad’s little heathen. Rescues are definitely our thing. He was an amazing choice. I don’t care that he’s some random mash up of a bunch of dogs and even the vet can’t figure out what he is. He’s my bub and I love him more than words.

Upcoming Fun

Like I said, I’ve got a heap of things we’ll be back to doing once the Mister lands safely here. Obviously we’ll have a bunch of sight-seeing to catch up on, but we also have a few other things planned that are out of our norm.

Coming up in December, we’re actually going to have an AMAZING musician stop on his tour in Honolulu. Jason Mraz! The Mister and I are huge fans and were stoked to hear that someone we love was actually playing a few shows here. We scored tickets (thank you presale codes!) in the 3rd row on the floor. I cannot wait! I’m vibing out to his Yes! album as I type now.

Then a couple of weeks later, I bought us tickets for the Diamond Head Basketball Classic at UH. The Mister is not a fan of basketball (or any sport other than Alabama Football–Roll Tide!) but Nebraska is coming to the tournament and since we’re not able to come home for Christmas as planned, we’re going to check out a little slice of home. Granted, I’m not a Nebraska basketball fan (Go Duke!), but seeing the Cornhuskers play 12 miles from my house in the middle of the Pacific is pretty spectacular.

In January, we keep the fun rolling. I still don’t know how I managed it, but I found tickets to see Elton John in Honolulu. Yes, Sir Elton John is coming here. He is one of those musicians that I vowed I’d see before he stopped singing and I’ve acquired tickets. They aren’t great seats, but they aren’t the nosebleeds either. Still floor level on the risers. Since I never got to see Michael Jackson live, I jumped at the chance to get these. I’m a huge fan–even named my car Benny. Really excited.

Since the Mister’s birthday is in January, I wanted to get him something special that I know he’d love. Avenged Sevenfold is also coming to Honolulu and that’s one of his favorite bands. We used to jam out in the car to their stuff when we were dating. When I saw that great seats were available for the lowest price offered, I jumped at the chance. So a couple weeks after his birthday, we’re going to check them out from the safety of loge seating–general admission is a nightmare for bands like this. In high school, I went to Taste of Chaos and it was brutal. I learned my lesson. Plus, we’re too old to deal with moshing and idiots, so seats off the floor, but in the front are significantly more appealing.

Of course, we have a good chunk of sights to still see. December makes only 18 months left in Hawaii. While I am counting down, I realize I should be filling my time to the brim.  I’m excited for what 2015 has in store with an ending like this for 2014.

I hope I don’t fall off the grid for so long this time.

Until next time,

Cheers!

-A. xoxo

Once again, I was fortunate enough to be flown home to say my goodbyes to my grandma.

I’m still at such a loss. She was such a vibrant woman before the illness and we all expected to have her around for many more years than we were allowed. My mother is in far worse shape than I am. I may have lost both of my grandparents in less than two months, but mom lost both of her parents. They were her rock. It breaks my heart. She has voice messages from grandpa still saved on her phone and she listens to them daily. She watches the slideshows we put together for both parents every day.

I’m reminded daily that I am thousands of miles from home and that I didn’t spend enough time with either of my grandparents. I know we all wish for more time when the end rears its ugly head and this is no exception. I know she loved me dearly and cherished every second we spent together. Still…I am saddened by the very adult realization that I can’t always be where I need to be for things of that nature. I’m truly looking forward to going back to the mainland after this tour. I hope we are that lucky.

I’ve barely been back to the 808 for a week and I’m struggling to decide where the heck we will be traveling to next. The Mister is heading for training for a month, so I’m trying to find ways to fill my time with the furkids.  Our little stray Taz is back in the house and lets us play with her now, so I’m planning on working with her extensively. She needs to find a new home soon. As much as I love this little one, we have enough critters. Especially if a larger dog is in our future for the next duty station. 

We didn’t end up taking any side trips before I left or after I got back, so I’m itching to get out and see something new. It’s been a four day weekend thus far and we’ve been pretty sedentary. We went to a couple movies Friday and hung out at home today. I’m hoping for something tomorrow or Monday, even if it’s small. I really just need to check some more off my list.

Didn’t really get any photos at home either. I took some of the funeral and snapped a few with my grandad (who’s also in a care center) but nothing beyond that. The only other update I have is that I chopped off 3 inches of my hair while I was home. It feels SO much better.

More as soon as I have anything. Might be relatively quiet until training is over. I’m aiming for someone to come visit. but not holding my breath.

Until then!

Cheers.

-A. xoxo

 

This morning, I lost my grandmother.

For the last three years, we’ve watched her deteriorate with an unknown ailment.

It started out slow. She lost her balance leaving Walmart and broke her wrist.

Then she started falling more often and was losing control over her limbs. Local doctors couldn’t pin point it.

A trip to Mayo was had. Even those doctors couldn’t figure it out. The best they could find was that her brain was deteriorating in three areas and no one knew why.

She went into a nursing home at the end of 2011. It wasn’t long before she was confined to a wheelchair. It drove her crazy. She hated being in the home and not being able to do what she wanted to. We still brought her to as many ball games as we could and celebrated holidays in her house (my parents just purchased it this year and intend to move there by next year).

When I went home for my grandpa’s memorial service at the end of July, it shocked me how much worse she had gotten. When I left last year for Hawaii, she could still speak to me and give me a hug on her own.  This time, she couldn’t lift her head and could barely answer when asked a question.

My mom texted me yesterday that grandma wasn’t doing well. She’d been increasingly worse early in the week. I called mom and found out that grandma was unresponsive and running a fever. She was sitting with her and the hospice care had given her morphine so she wasn’t in pain.

Mom called me this morning to say she’d passed peacefully. I thank God for that. I’m heartbroken, especially since I am 4000 miles away from the one place I want to be the most.

So now I can reflect on my grandma as I remember her.

In recent years, I had started going to her house in the next town over and hanging out with her as my dad’s mother’s Alzheimer’s escalated.  I often was tasked with her care and needed a break, so I started to drive to grandma’s to sit on her covered patio and talk for a few hours. I’d end up visiting 3-4, sometimes 5, days a week.

We’d sit on her patio and listen to her collection of windchimes. Other times, we’d sit around her table and have a few beers and peanut M&Ms while we talked.  She looked forward to our chats just like I did.

On Husker game days, the extended family would gather at her house and do tequila shots for every touchdown the Huskers made (half shots for field goals). We’d yell at the television and eat party food. Football season was her favorite.

Every Christmas, my mom would force us to all stand in front of her tree and take a photo. Growing up, I’d grudgingly done so, but now…I’m so thankful to have those memories.

Grandma was always known for her dangly earrings.  She’d wear a different pair every day and the holiday ones were her favorite.

She collected angels too and helped me start my own collection.

Grandma didn’t shy away from saying exactly what was on her mind. Her lack of filter got her in trouble a few times at the care center.

We were blessed for her to attend both my graduation from college and my wedding–I’m so thankful the Mister got to meet her. She really liked him.

I am trying to be strong because I know she isn’t suffering any more.  It’s just very hard to be so far from home right now. I hope she is looking down on me with that beautiful smile and knows that I love her so very much.

Save me a spot on that patio, grandma. I’ll bring the beer.

-A. xoxo