Quick Quips.

1. Headin' to IA in about 4 days. Got 2 new tires for the front of the car, and updating my maps on gps. Gonna be a llooonnngggg drive. ;P

2. Had fun on a mini trip w/a pal. I'll go more into detail next blog with pictures. Kids acted pretty good, and we got to walk around little shops in a "mini Germany" kinda of town. Only prob was Gan's freak out the first night.

3. Gan is gettin' frustrated, which makes him ExPloDe w/RaGe! He's a total mini Todd. Though on our trip he wanted to beat me up, and just wouldn't stop fighting me the first night. It was wicked weird. He even head butted me! Yes I wept, but took a diff. stagety second night and it went alittle smoother. When we got home and he continued I had to actually spank. I am usually against spanking BUT he was gettin' pretty out of control w/as soon as you didn't do something he liked he wailed on you! and kicked! So much pent up aggression! But momma wins....I can kind of get why he's going coo coo bananas w/missing Daddy ALOT and havin' the Holladay rage thing, but I can only take so much. BUT since I put the smackdown he's acting sweeter, and listening WAY better. Score one for Momma......

4. Todd has super sucky internet now, so he can rarely email. No calls either. Gonna have to start doing snail mail I think. We get to see him next month for Christmas! I'm hopin' to get a hotel room for a night at least cuz how can you have any alone time when staying w/family? None. Hence the hotel night.....or two.....I haven't told Gan about seeing Todd yet cuz he doesn't understand time, so I'll wait til the day before he comes or the morning of......

5. Parenthood is now one of my favorite shows! It is utterly awesome! I hope it stays on for many more seasons! awwww Parenthood.........

6. I recommend the book The Room.....

7. I need to stop stress eating!!!! I was doin' pretty good, and my jeans were fittin' better, but I fell off the healthy wagon.......Anxiety took over, and now I must have fried goodness, w/a side of chocolate.........

That is all for now. It's not much, but I'm kinda tired and my brain isn't functioning. :P Gonna go watch Parenthood...

Halloween Spook-tacular!

This year's Halloween went good. Gannon could not commit to any costume, and claimed every costume in the stores were "too scary". SO I decided to take regular clothes, and put felt bones on them. At least it'd feel like he was wearing real clothing!

----This is what Gan thought about trying on this costume the morning of Halloween. He was not havin' it! He kept saying he was "too sad" to keep it on. What a sillyass.

So thru out the day I kept talkin' up trick-or-treating like it was the best thing EVER. After his nap he was actually psyched for it all, and we didn't have a problem after that. :)--------------------

We met up with some friends and walked a neighborhood. Weirdly not a lot of houses were giving out candy! So after a good 30 mins the tots got tired, and are buckets were still no full! BUT it was enough candy. :P

Gan's cute moments: Hey we're tricking or treating!!! ---to the houses that wouldn't answer.

Showing a guy his loot, who was giving him candy.

Holding Ms. Chloe's hand, and then she got very upset when he let go.

I dressed up as: VICKIE CIRCA LATE 90's! How simple is that? I had all the clothes and chains in my closet. :P Very sad. Just needed my long hair and bangs! :P

Fort Bliss Housing Part 1.....

So been wanting to post about the housin' situation for awhile, but wanted to gather pics and such. ;) Pics will come in Part 2.


I'm not one to really complain about army life, cuz once you've been in long enough you get how everything flows and why bitch?


Note: I've lived in housing at Ft. Leonard Wood, Schofield Barracks, and Ft. Shafter. Seen housing at Ft. Riley which was nicely renovated...kudos to their housing company.


BUT housing here ridiculous. Here's how they roll.........


Housing does NOT go by the list. If you have the gull to walk in and demand housing they will give it to you right on the spot. I'm all about rules. I waited my year and then went in to ask what was up. Of course got offered an abode and onward to housing we go.........


3 days before move-in date we walked into the office to make sure everything was cool. It was not. They told us our house was not available anymore. Well why didn't you call us weeks ago with this information? Dumbfounded. Got offered another abode....take it or be homeless. Crap shack we come!


Housing here does NOT offer you 2-3 houses before sending you to the bottom of the housing list. They don't follow the rule, so take what you are offered or back to the bottom you go.....not merrily.....


I CRIED after seein' the abode. They said it was move-in, and it clearly wasn't. Rusted showerhead, kitty litter dumped in the back yard, and a spray painted coffin on the patio. That is naming a few mishaps. What was fixed when we moved in? The showerhead was replaced..............crap shack move in.........


Now before anyone's like "you live onpost for free!". Haha! *rolls on floor dry heaving* We pay $980 for our crap shack..........*sighs*


Usually I'm not about complainin' about housing, BUT there's BRAND NEW housing paying the exact same as we do for our crap shack. If housing would be like how the airforce rolls, or sometimes the marines roll and only take the BAH that the house is worth I wouldn't be writing this blog.


Crap shack description: 60's, under 1000 sq ft of cement/stucco...I think stucco. Single paned windows that are NOT sealed, and unsealed doors. I have a lovely gathering of dirt everyday from the unsealed goodness. Linoleum flooring that is stained, and they WAXED over it. I've heard that they houses used to have hardwood, and they tore it out. Smart cookies. *sarcasm*
That's a wee description.......


Stay tuned for Part 2. Pictures. Like I'd complain w/out evidence. That's not how I roll.....

Almost a month down!

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." Almost a month down....more to go, but hey look we survived a month! In all actuality the first month is the easiest cuz it feels like they are just out in the field, or at school. So it hasn't felt like he's gonna be gone longer....just hasn't hit yet. You know you're an Army wife when a month is nothin', and you just wanna totally slam your civi peeps cuz they cry about not seein' their hubby for a weekend. Lame. ;P Get a hobby dudes.....


Onward! I have not been hardcore thrifting in a LONG time. So I have nothing to post! Ugh. My duties of thrifting have failed. Fail. I DID buy a Banana Republic shirt for $6! It is purple w/lace and big fun buttons. :) That was a score, and I love it. Love. Mmmmmmm....I want Taco Bell....


Off track.....FOCUS! Wee man has seem to adjust...sort...FINALLY! That past couple days have went by like a breeze. He was very good in Costco today. :) Kudos wee man! Plus he's giving me hug and kisses....my wee man? I know it's insane! Today we was "reading" a book in the cart, but making up his own story to the words. He likes to whisper stuff, and use different voices. Such a performer. At one of my gal's abodes he even put on a princess dress and danced w/the other girls. ;) It was only 5 mins, but it was cute! "He can dance if he wants to...he can leave his friend's behind."<----that would be Todd saying this. ;)


Sent 4 packages to Todd and it costed $50! Not too shabby, but still a blow to the bank account. Hope it all gets to him, cuz he needs this stuff! Poor guy's gotta eat somethin' other then MRE's. :P He'll come back skinnier then me, and Vickie's not havin' that....<---third person talk...coo coo.


Excitement! The weekend of Nov 10th or so me and a gal pal are goin' to Fredricksburg! First overnight outting w/children. I hope to do w/the Gan every month til Daddy comes home, so this will be the first test. Gonna make this kid LOVE to travel. Maybe he'll become a gypsy.....Maybe I should become a gypsy!!!


Airshow this weekend, but we're not goin'. They shuttle you out in buses and it's hot. I'm a whiner so there. We saw them practicing from our backyards yesturday. They were SO loud. Gan was scared at first, but then wanted more. Gan wanted to watch the jets w/his cat. Boy he loves that cat. He openly tells the cat he loves it and kisses it...........such a catlover...not a fighter.

I'm a rambler.


Headin' home soon for 2 holidays w/family. I hope I don't go insane. Vickie likes her space, and I won't have it for a LONG time. <---third person again..*eye twitching* I LOVE my family, but I need my space. Plus I'm used to not living close to them, so I can deal small doses of family. The major thing is just the kiddoes gettin' annoyed w/each other....and Gan fights back now....so we'll see how this goes......might have some fight club moments.......*ponders* Nah it should all be fine. *crosses fingers*


Stop with the rambling and put Gannon down for a nap you putz......<-----coo coo bananas....

Time flies when you're having fun....

Jesica left today, and it's a sad panda moment. She kept me less stressed, and we reconnected. So to see her go was ubber sad. Ubber. We made a quilt! It's Gan's old tee shirts w/fleece backing. I learned how to run a sewing machine! Go me! Plus Jes got me cool things to get me started w/making MORE quilts. I just need a machine of my own, cuz we borrowed one. :)

I talked to Todd on the phone! Excitement! I have a huge box to send him next week, since he basically has nothing. Poor dude. The Post Office will be my home next week.

Gan has been overwhelming that past 2 days. OmG. So bad that we were invited to a potluck, I brokedown, and we left only staying an hour. On the way to the car he was stating how he missed Daddy. Poor wee dude. :( SO his behavior, plus me about to start is causing a crazy emotional rollercoaster on both ends! Holy boxed tissues Batman! Plus I have to bribe him to go shoppin'. Typical boy. HATES shoppin'. He wants to go to 'his' section, get something and leave.....typical man in the making.....

Otherwise meh life is life. ;) I turned the guest room into a playroom, so Gan's stuff wouldn't overflow into the living room. SO he has space, and I have space. All is right with the world.

A quickie!

Not the quickie you are thinking of.....perverts. ;P

An ol' friend flew in yesturday. Giggles! aka: Jesica. Truthfully I didn't know if the visit was going to be ackward cuz it's been FOREVER since we've seen each other. BUT nicely it was like old times.....but we're older and WAY more broke. ;) During Gan's nap yesturday we just talked for 2 hrs catching up on life in general.

Gan is soooooooooooooooooooooo ubber cranky today. He's just crying about everything, and slightly quiet, YET pushy at playgroup. Oys. He went down for a nap early and was out in 10 mins. Poor wee man. I don't know if he woke up on the wrong side of the universe today, or if he's missin' Daddy. I'm thinkin' it's both. :P Yesturday Gan was telling me every food we had to buy for Daddy, and what daddy should be for Halloween. Breaks your heart man! *tear*

No big thrift store finds lately, and I'm too lazy to post old finds today. I did find a book called "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", I'm hopin' it's comical.

Todd is doin' ok. He emails w/mini updates here and there. He's an NCO now. :) Good job to my Honah. :) Miss that man. :)

Nothing more. That is all. Gonna go either read or sew.........excitement never stops around here.....

Where's the energy?! *snores*

Here is our deployment board. Semi-finished. :)

I am so tired today. Gannon has non-stop energy. I can take him to the park twice a day and he'll still have tons of energy. If I could bottle up his energy and sell it I'd be rich. But I'd probably just keep it all for myself cuz I really need the boost.........

So what I'm dealing with right now is him not wanting to nap, OR go to bed. SO energy + no nap + late night sleeping = one hell of a day. Oy veys. I'm tired already and it's only day 2. :P

On a light note: I've learned that boys LOVE their weiners starting from a wee age. He thinks it's the best thing ever. He LOVES peeing standing up....loves. Now we've come to the stage of if he's watching tv he just wants to hold it. Boys are just gross. ;P It's like their own attached toy they can take anywhere. I see Gannon's hand in the pants at Wal Mart in my future......

I've begun working on Gannon's old tee-shirt quilt. Sewing by hand! It doesn't look the best but at least it's a project. ;)

Lightest note: I have company flying in this week. Jesica is comin' in Wednesday and stayin' 10 whole days! She even ordered Sterzings to be delivered to my abode. Sweet. *drools* I hope she can take the heat and toddler craziness for that long. ;)

And so it begins....

Oy veys. What a rough night! We all stayed up til midnight saying goodbye. Todd is now gone on a 9 month tour. I was basically a hot mess two days straight. lol. HOT MESS. I'm recovering from this messiness. :P My concern today is Gan. Already he has asked where daddy is 4 times. Plus when we went to pick up the truck at Todd's work Gan totally flipped. He was totally confused we were taking daddy's truck home with no daddy in it. Poor wee man. :(

My deployment board is done though, and it's actually helping! I printed out a world map, put a push pin where we were, and where daddy is. This morn when Gan asked where daddy was I said on his long trip helping people, then Gan says "The map!" and pointed to the push pin. :) At least it's something. Also I printed out calendars of the nine monthes ahead so everyday we get thru he can put a sticker on.....kind of like a countdown. AND I printed out pics of Gan and Todd together. :) I hope we get thru this deployment fast, cuz I feel bad for poor wee man.

Lets think light and fluffy shall we? Here's two finds of the day:

There is no question that I love Amish stuff. Here is a pic I got at a yardsale for $2. Now if I could only snag an Amish Quilt for $2 I'd be golden, BUT that will never happen. ;P

I like a good country theme. Not to the extent of cow patterned painted cabinets, cuz that's just crazy yo! I like a rustic country. Like a farmhouse furnished during the depression. The furniture is handmade, and quite used.......well these signs are clearly not that BUT they aren't anything fancy. ;) Gimme some old crap and I'll put it to good use.......well I'll look at it anyway. :P I would LOVE an old hutch. That would be fabulous.....

Fall Harvest fun in the Blinding hot sun!

Fall isn't suppose to feel this way. It's sooooooo weird to have fall activities begin when it still feels like summer.

Sunday Todd and I took Gannon to La Union Maze. They have 2 mazes, a pumpkin patch, and lots of activities. 1/2 military weekend! Score!

I've never sweated in such awkward places in my life.....lies I always sweat in awkward places. We rode a wagon to the pumpkin patch! Gannon thought it was his duty to pick up pumpkins and throw them like cannons. :P Child always wanting to hurl things.


Gan was scared of the goats and I'd be too cuz they were freakishly giant goats. If they weren't caged they'd come after us and eat us...


I had fun too! Slide! Weeeee! One can never be too old for slides! Todd showed his inner child as well doing at least 10 laps on a pedal car. Va-room! *panting*


We did not venture thru the mazes. It was just too hot, and it started to storm. It felt like a Children of the Corn moment, and we all know how that ended.


I need to go thrifting soon. A nice Antique Shop would suffice. :D

Tough Week Ahead.

This is Todd's last weekend home before the horrid "D" day. I'm doin' decently. I'm way more concerned about wee man. Oh man he knows what's comin' and he's lettin' ma and pa have it! I've never had him act out this bad! Holy moly! :P Crossing fingers he won't act this way thru the WHOLE deployment or momma's gonna need a straight jacket......patterned in plaid please.........

Ok! Here's a thrifty find! Well it's a favorite find. :P I got this purse at a consignment shop in their clearance section. It's a smaller Fossil purse, and I LOVE purple! Bonus! Magic number I paid for this jewel is $4. Pretty decent. Could not pass up a Fossil purse...they are a weakness...like Starbucks lemon loaf. *drools*

Another find. Got this at a thrift store in Hawaii. Note: thrift stores in Hawaii are the BEST. It's a Micheal Kors shirt for around $7. I kinda looked odd in it, but could give it up! I told me to buy it and take it home....where it resides in my closet. I'm not into labels, BUT this shirt was to my liking. Sweet. Miss you Hawaii thrift stores!

Mahalo.

Don't you wish you were a little bit Amish?

Not Amish to the extent of letting the men eat first, and wearing drab attire. BUT in the way of simplicity! Sometimes (not often) I just wanna throw the cellphone in a lake, say "screw you facebook!", disconnect the tv (can't throw it cuz that's just wasting money ;p), sell the dvds (crying in the process), and just live simply.....yea....I'd sure miss air conditioning though...and microwaves....BUT that's not the point! Yea there really isn't a point......except we're all kinda spoiled, and really would die if we didn't have electricity for a month. Cuz this is what would happen..."AHH! NO electricity! How will I know how to do anything if I don't look it up on the internet!!! *twitching*"


Also a little bit Amish is knowing a lot of good trades. Like carpentry! Steel work! Gardening!
Baking from Scratch and not from a box (though it's faster and I want my brownies NOW)! Quilting by hand! Clothes making (though I'd want a little pattern)! Farming! Carrying for livestock! I really want to make a fabulous dining room table out of old barn planks.....rustic.


A little bit Amish is also ALL about family. Love that. Love. Cuz they are just so dependent on each other to keep everything rollin' smoothly. So much respect and love......yea....


I wanna be a little bit Amish......sometimes....

Onward wonderously!

Ka-Pow! Two entries in one day. I'm already stickin' to this bloggin' thing. This entry I am going to show a few of my fav. thrifty finds. Some of my finds have not made it thru the many moves we've encountered being a military family. Bummers. Some of my finds I simply grew to fat to wear and resold.....sad panda. (but the sweets were quite delicious).

Here is actually NOT my find, but my favorite! Hubby got this for me at an antique store near Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. BEST blue glass EVER. ;)

Upsetting I can not get blogger to corroperate in adding photos! Whar! I really wanted to show my $4 Fossil purse!!! *whines* It's ok, there's many days ahead. :)

On the homefront. We are coming up on a 9 month deployment, and wee man is sensing this change. We've been talking to him about it and such, and now he's really acting out! Holy possessed jumbo 3 yr old! So with his acting out and having mommy's whininess, and the Holladay temper it's be quite a challenging 3 days. I didn't know I could be beat up by a 3 yr old! *fetal position in corner sucking thumb* We'll make it thru though! *pats on back*

Plus...I really need to figure this coupon thing out. :P Ta Ta for now world of mine.

We meet again......

This is a test. This is only a test. :P See the layout? Very fitting to my likin' of autumn colors and retro patterns....sorta. ;)