The DeVries Daily

Alive

2009-10-21T18:43:00.002-04:00

No have not fallen off the face of the earth. Just life and not motivated to update this. Not sure how many people are reading now (or ever were) and with Facebook, I just don't blog. I got so behind on happenings that I guess I gave up. Maybe I will find the motivation after the holidays. Have started an exercise routine, new job and trying to finish projects I started (Mom's scrapbook that was supposed to be a Christmas present a couple years ago!).

Bird Nest

2009-06-03T09:04:00.003-04:00

You can just barely see the light blue egg inside the nest. There are actually at least two eggs in it. I have been trying to resurrect this flower basket the past few days (I am terrible at remembering to water). Yesterday morning when I went out to water, this bird flew away but I thought it had just been perched on the edge of the basket. Then last night when I went to water it the bird flapped away like it had been nestled inside sleeping. So I asked Henry if a bird would make a nest in there and when he said definitely, I had him take it down and take a peek. He saw the nest immediately and thought there was one egg but I saw a second one (this was at 10:15pm). He didn't want to get the mama bird too worked up about us investigating so he hung it back up before I had time to run and get my camera. I did grab my phone and this was the best picture I could get. This morning I peeked out to see if I could tell if mama had come back and she had! Now I guess the flowers are going to die after all but hopefully to give life to two birds.

(PS--more posts/updates coming soon. I am off Friday and blogging is on the list of things to do.)

New Yorkers visit NC (again)

2009-01-21T22:40:00.000-05:00

Back in November Henry's parents and Grandma came for a visit. They got here on a Friday night and left Wednesday. It was a great time. We went to the Holly Day Fair here in town on Saturday and just kind of relaxed. Went to church Sunday morning and it was such a lovely day.

Mom and Grandma reading on the balcony after church. Such a lovely day that we decided that going to the beach would be a great idea. So we booked a suite (great deal since it was offseason!) and left Monday early afternoon. We went to Ocean Isle, my favorite beach.

When we got checked in and headed out on the beach, the sunset was on one side....
and the moon on the other.
Of course too cold to go in the water although everyone but Grandma and Mom did wade in. We went out the next morning before we checked out too. Dad and Grandma were so funny looking for shells. They both left with a couple large handfuls worth!

Then we drove along the coast to Oak Island to go check out the lighthouse.

Found a plantation/gardens on the map, so continued north along the coast and went to Orton Plantation. It was very interesting but a lot of walking. Below is the main house were people actually live.

We then stopped to eat lunch and were trying to figure if there was something else we could see before heading home. We weren't far from Wilmington so thought we would head over to the USS North Carolina battleship. Turned out we were even closer than we realized and it took about 5 mins to get there. We didn't have quite enough time to see it thoroughly before they closed but it was still really fun.
Always a big grin with a gun in the hands! Or maybe the grin gets bigger the bigger the gun is??? Just wish he'd smile like that when its a picture of us together!

So a great trip! Oh, and we did take them to the Japanese steakhouse. I didn't take hardly any pictures...we had an okay chef. And poor Grandma....growing up in the Depression Era, she always finishes everything on her plate. I had told her beforehand there was no way she would ever be able to finish all the food. But she still tried! She ate more than I did, and I could tell she was past full but kept eating. She couldn't believe that she still took home enough food for 2-3 more meals. One other thing we did was Mom and I went to a formal wear shop so I could hopefully try on the bridesmaid dress for Jennie's wedding. Which I did and ordered it after we got back from the beach. I think that covers pretty much everything (only 2 months late).

2009-01-20T09:27:00.003-05:00

The snow!!!!!!!!! The beautiful wonderful close everything down SNOW
This was at about 8am and it hasn't stopped yet.

Melting Pot

2009-01-19T22:15:00.006-05:00

Just about gone. And now time for some silly faces.

I need to come up with a name for this face he just loves to do. Here I think we're taking this nice picture and he's making this dopey face!

So then I did it.....and wish I hadn't it because he's actually smiling.

Finally a nice one although the lighting is weird.
This restaurant is unbelievably yummy. I don't know if we would have ever gone if it weren't for a good friend giving us a gift card. We both want to go back but the price will probably keep us away for a little while. In the meantime, I am hoping to get/buy their cookbook soon!! But I'm sure it won't be as good.

God in control

2009-01-14T15:00:00.001-05:00

The start of a new year is not very positive for me this year. It means Henry’s one year of being home is coming to an end, and he will be leaving again in a few months. It’s especially on my mind now that they are training like crazy (last week was 5am-9pm every night except Fri when he got home at almost midnight). This week they are in the field, so no contact and climbing into an empty bed alone every night. And of course every night, my thought is “I have 12 months of this to look forward to”. Ugh! The other problem is this thought that has been running through my mind like a broken record, “How many times can we push our luck?” Because this will be the 4th time he’s deployed and so far the worst thing has been this last one when he fell and broke his arm. Well it just hit me, GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL. Our professor at IWU, Dr Martin used to say that if we are true biblical Christians, words such as luck, fortune, chance, etc, cannot be part of our vocabulary. So as I sat here once again thinking “We are pushing our luck”, I realized what I was saying. That God is not in control but luck or chance is. WRONG That is not what has kept Henry safe previously and is not what will in the future! Whew. Can breathe a little easier now. Thankfully God has no limits. No limit on what He can do, to the number of times He will save us, protect us, forgive us..............

And for anybody that says this gets easier….they’re probably lying.

Steal

2009-01-13T20:59:00.002-05:00

My most recent steal (deal):

And I LOVE IT! You probably can't tell but it's a Nine West bag. I call it an overnight bag because it's so big and you normally would have to pay $120 for it and may be able to get it for sale around $50-60. I got it for $22!!!!!

Lazy Sunday

2009-01-04T20:42:00.004-05:00

Mac has spent most of the day this way. He only moved because Piglet jumped up and took his spot.

How I wish I had spent the entire day. It was pretty lazy but I did do dishes, some laundry and made baked oatmeal in the crockpot. Besides, I have a feeling the bum cats spend EVERY day this way, not just Sundays.

Japanese steakhouse

2008-10-25T15:42:00.005-04:00

This place is so yummy and fun! We went for the first time and went back not even a week later it was so good. Oh and it's top on our list of places to take Mom & Dad D when they're down next week.

Home Improvement

2008-10-25T15:15:00.007-04:00

Back in June, when Henry had the month off from work, we had planned to rip out our living room carpet and install hardwood. Here are photos.First Henry decided to tear up a small area to see what was underneath. But it meant he had to move a lot of the furniture and it wouldn't be very livable.

So just about everything got moved into the spare bedroom.

Then we decided doing it ourselves with the shape of the room and never having done it before probably would be risky, so we would pay to have it done. So this was my living space for the day while the new floor was installed.

And the poor babies spent almost every minute here:

They would come out if the noise stopped long enough but then it would start again and they were back under in a flash.

And finally......THE FINISHED PRODUCT:

WE LOVE IT!!!!!

DC trip Day 3 pics

2008-10-15T22:23:00.001-04:00

DC trip Day 2 pics

2008-10-15T22:16:00.003-04:00

To explain the order a little bit: we got to the Natural History Museum sometime around 2pm or so and it was PACKED! I got shoved repeatedly and got really claustrophobic trying to see the Hope Diamond. We had tickets for the International Spy Museum at 4pm so we saw just about everything and headed to the Spy Museum (which by the way, was the only one we had to pay to go through--$35 total--and was NOT worth it at all!). The Natural History Museum happened to be open until 730pm that day instead of the usual 5pm. So we hurried back about 6pm. Found a couple new areas we hadn't seen and went back to the Hope Diamond with only about 10 other people there! The entire museum had really emptied out and was much more enjoyable.

DC pics

2008-10-11T07:05:00.002-04:00

Got the slideshow fixed, so enjoy!

DC trip Day 1

2008-10-10T22:14:00.003-04:00

What a day! Got in about 3pm and after checking in to our hotel, headed downtown. I really did not want to have the stress of driving but Henry wanted to. So we made it down there in one piece and since we hadn't eaten since 9am, went to eat at Hard Rock Cafe. Very yummy and filling! Didn't completely finish mine and still did not eat any "supper". Then had our first incident.....a parking ticket, darn it. So we moved to a different place and headed to the International Spy Museum that was going to be closing soon so could only purchase tickets for tomorrow. This is where the second incident occurs. Both needed to use the restroom so we went in, and I had my sunglasses hanging on my shirt, bent over to flush and there goes the glasses. I thought there is no way they are going to be able to fit and reach to grab them out and touch them and they're gone! Thank goodness even though they were Fossil glasses, I only paid $10 for them and needed new ones (which I purchased in the Spy Museum gift shop for $12). So it's a great story to laugh about. Third incident came when driving home and Henry thought he could make it through a yellow light and turns out they do the red light photos. So we have a $25 parking ticket, flushed sunglasses and probably a $75 red light ticket all in just 5 hrs! We still have 2 1/2 days left here! Was trying to post a slideshow of most of the pics taken today but having problems so the one above is my favorite. Did I mention the weather was perfect?

Capitol, here we come!

2008-10-09T17:49:00.003-04:00

I am so behind on blogging. At this point I doubt I'll post everything that I would have from the past couple months if I had stayed on top of it. But anyway.......tomorrow morning we are heading to Washington DC for a long weekend of sightseeing!! I'm SO excited!!!!!! And I figured out this afternoon it's because it is the first time in quite a while that it is a real vacation without some big stressful event (wedding/funeral/etc) and a large distance to travel and it's not a major holiday. So it should be really enjoyable. Just trying to remember not to be too crazy and get stressed out if we don't get to see/do everything! Happy weekend to all!

Anxious

2008-09-05T16:13:00.003-04:00

Nervous excitement! We are just starting to get showers from my "namesake". (Which I keep insisting it's not because it's spelled Hanna, not Hannah!) This is the first time we have had a real threat of a hurricane since Henry and I moved here. Looks like it won't be a hurricane by the time it gets to us but still strong winds with possibility of tornadoes.

Among the living

2008-08-21T20:28:00.002-04:00

"Hungry I is."

We are still here. At least Yoda (Mac) has proof. Hopefully some updates soon.

Outraged

2008-07-12T21:48:00.002-04:00

You've probably heard of the Westboro Baptist Church (crazies as I refer to them). Well they are supposedly going to be on Ft Bragg this next week. What has drawn them here? The murder of a pregnant soldier, Megan Touma, which has made national headlines. WBC had issued a news release that had the following quote, “Thank God for another dead pregnant soldier.” I am so appalled that anyone could CELEBRATE such a tragedy!

Home....another safe trip

2008-07-06T13:44:00.000-04:00

We are back in North Carolina once again. Henry spent a week with his family in New York by flying up there one way. Then I drove up Wednesday and made good time until I had to make a stop in PA to get a new valid license. And then could not resist making a second stop not long after to get ice cream from the Purple Cow. Then went the wrong way briefly but still ended up being about a 12hr trip. Spent Thurs and Fri with Henry's family and we drove back yesterday. It seems we can never make it through the DC/Northern Virginia area without a traffic delay whether it be on the way up/way back. Well this time was the worst so far. We came to a dead stop in Maryland (before DC for the first time) and sat there for one hour not budging. I knew it was bad when a helicopter landed ahead. Emergency vehicles had zipped by. In total, I saw 4 ambulances (w/ sirens and lights on) leave, 2 Fire Rescue vehicles and 2 fire trucks and a second helicopter also ended up landing. By the time we finally got going again and went by the scene there wasn't a whole lot to see. A truck with a smashed front and a SUV smashed on the drivers side.
The 12 hr drive is not usually ever "fun" but the last few times have been especially draining and we have said we won't do it again.....and then we do. Sitting still for an hour was especially difficult but it could have been worse. I have always been thankful that given the number of times we have made that journey, not once have we had a problem other than a traffic delay. We have not been pulled over, we have not been in a wreck, we have not broken down. Now after finding a brief story of the accident here and seeing the photo, we are so blessed that we were not just a little further (less than a mile) ahead and possibly been involved in this terrible accident. Thank goodness it seems those that were involved are injured but alive. (The article mistakenly says it occurred Sunday at 530pm but it was Saturday.)

100th post

2008-07-06T13:40:00.001-04:00

This is my 100th post! Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th. (Pics later just had to mention this and didn't really want my next post to be the big 1-0-0.)

Can I get your number?

2008-07-01T21:22:00.000-04:00

That question from the worker at the Taco Bell window.

Job

2008-06-30T10:40:00.002-04:00

So aggravated!!!!! I wish I could quit my job. If you think of it begin praying that something else would come along for me/God would show me if I'm to have a "career" and if so doing what! I really want to do something I enjoy and not just have a "job". I can't take where I'm at for much longer. I should be in NY, spending the day at Darien Lake with my husband and his family. Instead here I sit at work, bored out of my mind and so upset with their stupid sick/vacation policies.

Ft McHenry

2008-06-28T17:00:00.002-04:00

The way we went around Baltimore driving back from my sister's wedding in Lancaster, took us right by Ft McHenry. Henry said he had always wanted to go and since we weren't in a hurry for once we stopped. It was so neat to be there thinking about all that took place. They even had reenactors that particular day.

Lancaster PA

2008-06-14T22:04:00.003-04:00

The morning after Naomi's wedding, we went and had a nice buffet breakfast with my parents and Shawn and the Barrons. Can't remember the name of the place now but they had these animals outside that you could pet and feed. Another post will be coming in the future with how we spent the rest of that day.

Nature

2008-06-12T21:19:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to showcase some of the nature we enjoy from our 3rd floor balcony. Fun to sit out there and watch.

the beautiful Great Blue Heron that visits now and then

possibly a green heron?

(Notice the fish dangling?)

the night we had a Tornado Warning and it stormed so bad the baby geese hid under mama's wing

this one is really dark but its a turtle that had climbed out of the lake and quite a ways up on land

Wedding

2008-06-02T19:51:00.003-04:00

we have a Licker

2008-05-19T21:50:00.004-04:00

Yes kind of fascinating/cute at first but when he does it with plastic, it gets quite noisy/annoying. So enjoy!

Army Ball

2008-05-09T12:53:00.000-04:00

Recipe from the south

2008-05-06T10:12:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I can't say with certainty that this is a southern recipe but I had never had or heard of it until living down here. I've made it twice in the last week or so.

Rotel Dip

Ingredients

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

1 (10 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes

1 (24 ounce) bag tortilla chips

Directions

Cut blocks of cream cheese into cubes and put in small crock pot.
Pour can of Rotel (do not drain) over cream cheese.
Set crock pot to low and heat through. Stir often, it will burn. Once the cream cheese is really soft stir well. I use a whisk or hand blender to get the ingredients to combine better. You don't want it to be lumpy.
This dip will stay in the crockpot for just a couple of hours before it will start to burn and just turn gross. Make sure you turn the crockpot off after about 2 hours.
Serve with Tortilla Chips! Enjoy! :).

(I have actually softened the cream cheese and still had the crockpot on high and it's fine as long as you stir fairly often.) Also, I put in about 1lb cooked ground beef. I'm planning on trying it with sausage too. We had it last night for dinner and I'm sitting here wanting it now. A lot of the recipes I've found and people I've talked to use Velveeta instead of cream cheese but if you know me, I'm very finicky about my cheeses and absolutely DETEST Velveeta. But you of course can make it how you please, as long as I'm not there to partake of it!

Weekend Away

2008-05-03T09:57:00.005-04:00

Two weeks ago we drove to the mountains and stayed at this beautiful cabin for the weekend. Was nice to get away and completely relax and spend time together. The weather wasn't great but I still managed a little time in the hot tub. Driving back was CRAZY! Turns out there was a tornado warning in the one county we drove through. People were stopping under overpasses because it rained so hard, lightning and thunder and hail twice. So he's pictures and a short video of a portion of the storm.

New Toy

2008-04-28T15:03:00.002-04:00

This.

With this.

F-U-N

HOME

2008-04-07T17:23:00.000-04:00

The Big Day

2008-04-06T23:42:00.005-04:00

Today I go from 15 months of living "the single life" back to true "married life". In the past 443 days, we have spent 18 together. 425 days apart.
Off to pick him up!

What a wonderful day

2008-04-04T08:13:00.003-04:00

Henry is no longer in Afghanistan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He has begun the long journey home. I hope I can make it through the day. I am so emotional, stressed, hyper, everything. Oh and I stopped and got coffee this morning. Why? I feel like I have straight caffeine running through my veins already. Plus, my stick in the mud supervisor is not here today! P-A-R-T-Y

YAYIKES!!!!!

2008-03-28T08:51:00.004-04:00

If you can't tell, I'm not sure whether to be happy/thrilled/excited or terrified/panicked/upset. In the last day or so I keep finding myself starting to think YAY but it turns into YIKES. My big countdown just got about a week knocked off it. Should be fabulous news but since I'm such a procrastinator (thanks Mom), I am panicking because I have so much to get done before he gets here! Everyone keeps asking what I could possibly have to do that I'm this stressed. Well here's most of my list:

1. dishes (half done)
2. vacuum (only bedroom left to do)
3. ~~shampoo carpets~~
4. ~~wash his clothes (they get a little funky after just sitting for 15 months)~~
5. wash my clothes that have piled up on me
6. put all washed clothes away
7. ~~wash and~~ clean out truck (love that spring is here but HATE the pollen!) Thank God for rain that washed the pollen away!!!
8. ~~get brake light fixed~~ (apparently WAS fixed when in for oil change)
9. clean off patio furniture of lovely pollen
10. stock the fridge
11. plan meals to make for once he's back
12. clean bathrooms (half done)
13. get hair trimmed
14. ~~get my cell phone turned back on so he can have his back~~
15. ~~get his trunk from the post office~~
16. other miscellaneous errands (half done)
17. make signs/posters for Green Ramp and house (bought supplies just need to make them)

Pray w/ me

2008-03-24T14:54:00.002-04:00

For the first time since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, all 4 brigades of the 82nd Division (Henry being in one of the brigades) will all be home at the same time. One brigade is here, another is trickling in, Henry's will be soon, and the last one not long after. My thoughts have been on the DUIs that inevitably occur after a unit returns, especially from a long deployment. Then this happened recently: "Crash kills wife hours after soldier's homecoming". The soldier ended up having to have his leg amputed. I HATE these kind of stories. Just yesterday a fellow Army wife commented there is concern of suicides as well. I hadn't even thought of that. Has me flashing back to the murders/suicides that occurred here after the first ones returned from Afghanistan in 2002. There of course will be marriage difficulties/divorce, guys dealing with PTSD, etc. So would you please be thinking of and praying for Fayetteville/Ft Bragg and all the soldiers returning and their families over the next few months? Thank you.

hockey game

2008-03-21T14:53:00.015-04:00

This was over a month ago but thought I would still share. Attended my first professional hockey game. It was pretty fun until the FireAntz started losing. But before we left the mascot came over where my friend was on her cell phone, demanded her cell phone and yelled at the person on the other line, gave the phone back and had his picture taken of how he was looming over us!

Ugg

2008-03-21T14:16:00.003-04:00

Never thought I'd own any Uggs but these were only about $35 instead of the outrageous hunrdreds that most of the other shoes/boots are. And these were definitely worth the money! They are so unbelievably comfortable. LOVE them.

Small world

2008-03-16T15:42:00.002-04:00

Always amazes me when you find a connection to someone and it makes the world seem like a smaller place. I just found out a girl I went to high school with, her brother (don't know him at all) married a girl that I lived on the same floor with my last year in the dorm at college. When you realize I went to high school in Houghton, New York and college in Marion, IN, it amazes me.

Just a glimpse

2008-03-12T16:26:00.004-04:00

For a little taste of what I will be experiencing in 30 days, go here
Right at the very top in red where it says Video: Watch as the first troops from Iraq surge welcomed home today click that and the video will load.

*edit* So they've changed the website today. Go here and that should have most of the photos/video.

My Valentine's Day

2008-03-06T20:11:00.009-05:00

The gorgeous flowers Henry sent me.

I know this post is very late but I still wanted to write it. It was a great day despite Henry being gone. Not only did I get the flowers but I got these:
And I got to IM with him and then he called. So it was a very nice day.

Now on to what's happening currently......
Not sure if anyone prayed for me or not, but I am not sick so far. Thank God!
Also, tomorrow I will spend the day driving to PA/NY for Naomi's bridal shower. Will be back Sunday evening. Remember to change your clocks Saturday night!

Prayer request

2008-03-05T15:40:00.002-05:00

Please pray that I'm not getting sick, especially with this NASTY flu that is going around. I have to drive myself to PA Friday and spend Saturday in NY for Naomi's bridal shower. I am stressed enough already so to be sick on top of that would probably have me staying home! I really don't want to be sick of course but also don't want to miss the shower (I am co-hosting). Thanks.

Last package

2008-02-27T21:35:00.002-05:00

(and last post for the night)
To be mailed tomorrow

Birthday

2008-02-27T21:28:00.004-05:00

Yes, I am another year older (have been for 25 days in case you didn't know). But at least I am loved.Those are just the cards. Lots of great presents, wonderful dinner/time with friends and cake! Kind of weird but this birthday was probably one of the best, except Henry wasn't here. If he had been here, it would have been PERFECT!

Explanation

2008-02-27T21:21:00.003-05:00

There it is.

Oh. You need more?

This is my new digital camera! It was my/Henry's birthday present to myself/me. He said he would have bought it for me anyway if he was here, so I should go buy it myself. Wasn't about to say no to that. *grin* So the explanation to the picture is the cool things you can do/capture because of my new camera. The photo below was captured by a certain setting on my camera that when the shutter button is held down, it takes 10 pictures one right after the other. Very neat and fun to play with. It was so funny to see I had gotten Piglet that way when I don't think I even saw that moment happen with my naked eye. And it was great watching the pictures download from my camera.....it was like seeing the whole thing happen over again.

Piglet

2008-02-26T20:46:00.003-05:00

Couldn't resist posting this one. Explanation will be one of the next posts.

Countdown

2008-02-26T20:42:00.000-05:00

Less than 2 months to go!!!!!!

A month gone by

2008-02-26T20:31:00.003-05:00

I almost can't believe it's been exactly one month since I lasted posted anything. I was going to post a couple things to update but have determined tonight is an early to bed night. So hopefully a couple more post and quite a few pics before next week.

Moving Wall headed to Wellsville (in May)

2008-01-26T22:40:00.001-05:00

"The American Legion Post 702 will bring the “Moving Wall” to Wellsville on May 7 for three days. They are looking for help now for volunteers for planning, set up and also for help in funding the $4,000 initial cost. Anyone interested in helping out or donating should contact Nate Scott at the Legion, (585) 593-5345.
The Daily Reporter is interested in any county names which appear on The Wall and is attempting to establish a comprehensive list. Please contact the Reporter (585) 593-5300, if you have further information."

If you remember, it was here in Fayetteville not long ago. I highly recommend you go see it.

C O L D

2008-01-21T09:25:00.000-05:00

Get me out of here before I become a true Southerner! I have been told I have acquired a bit of an accent (Thanks Naomi!), although it’s nowhere near a drawl! But what really has me worried…..I can no longer tolerate the cold. We have had a very warm winter so far but that has started changing (as evidenced by my last post). This morning it was only in the high teens, low twenties! The past 3 workdays I have had my space heater running right beside me. Twice I have snapped at co-workers (service guys that work outside all day) who walked into the office and left the front door open. Anything below 40-50 degrees is COLD to me. I actually spent 30 mins driving home on lunch the other day to curl up in my bed for 15 mins! I also needed to grab something I had left there so it wasn’t my only reason for going but that’s all I wanted to do that day…..be toasty in bed. Well my fingers have finally unthawed this morning (typing this probably helped). Stay warm all you Northerners!!!

Edited: Forgot to say I've also been wearing leggings under my jeans.

A rare sight

2008-01-19T16:10:00.000-05:00

SNOW! I keep peeking out the window every few minutes to see if it's sticking yet.

Loch Ness?

2008-01-19T13:55:00.000-05:00

In our pond! I am not kidding.

This video is not that great. (I need a new camera.) But you should be able to see the crane and apparently it was stalking this "Loch Ness" creature. I would see this dark blob surface and go back under and keep moving away from the crane and the ripples it created were quite large. At one point when it surfaced, as it went back under I saw a long thin tail! It was so weird. I wish I had been able to get a good video/pictures. But I had so many pictures on my camera and was trying to delete them to make room and the thing was so far away by then. I don't know what the thing was. At first I thought maybe one of the turtles but it looked different and was not "floating" near the surface and then the whole tail thing!

Christmas pictures

2008-01-16T22:16:00.001-05:00

Disown your hometown

2008-01-15T21:47:00.000-05:00

Can that be done? I am going to have to seriously look into it. The whole Wal-Mart debate that Wellsville is going through is ridiculous and bringing out the worst in everyone. One particular comment on the most recent Wal-Mart article had me laughing so hard. You would think that the person is being sarcastic but then again they are from Wellsville. Here's the entire comment. "Just tell us when Wal mart comes so I can send my wife down to fill out an application. I can't stand having her sit on the couch next to me all day long hogging up the television. If I don't get her back to work soon I'm fixing to leave her for her sister."

Life

2008-01-12T16:55:00.000-05:00

2008 to date

-I'm taking a night class through the community college

-Henry hasn't called in 10 days

-When he does finally call I have to tell him his family had to put their dog down

-I'm having a little bit of friend drama plus having to listen to my co-worker's MAJOR drama

-I'm going to have to make at least 3 trips home between March and June

-I only have 92-98 more days to accomplish what I had hoped to while Henry is gone

I think those are decent reasons for my lack of posts. But I do have Christmas pictures to share at some point.

Wake up and feed me

2007-12-29T10:16:00.000-05:00

Hilarious video for cat owners. I laughed so hard I had tears streaming down my face and my cats stared like I had lost it.

Home for the Holidays

2007-12-23T10:05:00.000-05:00

I'm back in good ol' New York state. (Scary gas prices and all!) I managed to get a direct flight from Fayetteville to Philadelphia. It was delayed an hour and the confusion of getting picked up (signs at the airport are not helpful) but other than that no problems. Just wasn't thinking it would still be a 5-6 hr drive from there to Allegany County. So with only 5 hrs sleep and after shopping for about 6 hrs, I managed to make the drive by myself last night. So bring on the snow! Merry Christmas everyone!

Henry called!!!

2007-12-22T18:15:00.001-05:00

Henry called!!!

Prayers

2007-12-10T19:50:00.000-05:00

Without going into too much detail.....the husbands of 2 close friends of mine have been injured (as well as several other soldiers), and are on their way home. Please be praying for them and the rest of Henry's unit. They are still out on this mission and probably will be for some time. It's hard enough being apart this long and for Christmas to boot but now this.......
The last 3 days have been crazy! And I don't know when I will hear from Henry. Thank you.

Got elves?

2007-11-29T21:17:00.000-05:00

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1111998132

Vietnam War Memorial Wall

2007-11-09T07:06:00.000-05:00

The Moving Wall is a replica of the wall in DC. It is on display here this week. Couldn't pass up the opportunity to go see it. They also had a nice display of dog tags for all those killed in Desert Storm and Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. There wasn't enough lighting in that area so I didn't take pictures and couldn't find any of the guys from Henry's battalion.
Thank a veteran this Veteran's Day weekend!

Bad with the good?

2007-11-02T18:27:00.000-04:00

Good:
Henry got his cast off last week.

Bad:
Instead of getting the 2 additional weeks to make sure he had arm strength etc, he is now back out on mission. UGH

(Been way too long since I posted but doubt that will be changing any time soon.)

Slide show of Balloon Fiesta 2007

2007-10-13T09:42:00.001-04:00

Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque

2007-10-13T09:41:00.001-04:00

Albuquerque

2007-10-05T20:10:00.000-04:00

I'm off to visit one of my best friends and go see this
I will DEFINITELY being posting pictures when I get back.

Ocean Isle

2007-09-26T21:56:00.000-04:00

I can't say it enough.....I LOVE Ocean Isle.
Yes it was a little dark and cloudy but it never did rain. Water was just a tad chilly, especially Sunday at 10am with the wind blowing but still WONDERFUL. Had some neat discoveries. A door to a ship....in case you can't read it, the plaque on it says USS Ashland. Saw my first jellyfish....several sand crabs.....the above shell and a smaller version of it the next day.

long awaited

2007-09-24T21:03:00.000-04:00

I know....I'm such a procrastinator. I had actually forgot about needing to do this post. So here's pictures/video from my trip to FL.

Celeste

Bernice

very smart little girl....sorry it's so dark (something w/ my camera) but at least you can hear her

tomorrow you might get to see pics from my trip to Ocean Isle

Henry update

2007-09-12T13:55:00.000-04:00

He really is OK!! It's hard to fully believe that until you talk to them personally. I was also worried about how he might be feeling mentally and just full of questions. He called and sounded the same as always. He kept saying, "Snapped it like a little twig!" It was just the one bone in his forearm (can't remember which one if he even told me) and it was a clean break. He has a red cast that will be on for 8 weeks. ugh I thought it would be bad to have a broken bone/cast but to not be at home and in a place that's 100+ degrees on a daily basis!?!

Prayer Request

2007-09-12T09:01:00.001-04:00

I got a dreaded phone call about one hour ago......Henry is ok but he fell and broke his arm in the last 24hrs. He has not been able to call due to being on pain meds and being transported to a bigger base for X-rays. He had asked one of his guys to call me in case Henry didn't get a chance. I know it could have been so much worse but I think that thought almost makes it worse because it so easily could have been! (If that makes sense)
Until he calls me, all I know is it's his left forearm (not sure if one or both bones). Please pray for him and how the situation will be handled. If he needs to come home or not and how he feels about either option. Thanks.

"B" night

2007-09-10T22:25:00.000-04:00

Bubble bath....bowl of ice cream.....book
What could be better?

Last days of summer

2007-08-30T21:22:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything.....all I can say is I've been busy enjoying every bit of the summer that I can. This past weekend I went to the Carolina Beach with 2 friends. (I'd post pictures but they're on my friend's camera and she has sent them to me yet.) This weekend I'm headed to visit friends in FL. Next weekend I've been invited to Charleston with fellow Army wives/softball player friends and the weekend after that I've already booked the room for my good friend Skye (who has been in New Mexico since May) and me at Ocean Isle! Whew!! And I'm tired just thinking and typing that. Oh! And Naomi was down to visit two weeks ago. We had fun and again I'd post pictures but they're on my friend's camera. She was wonderful and helped me organize our spare bedroom and rearrange the master bedroom. Great having family visit (hint, hint). :-)
I'm sure I'll have pictures to post of my trip to Florida.

Back to school

2007-08-13T22:12:00.000-04:00

Starting Wednesday, I will be a student again. I'm taking Medical Terminology online. Definitely anxious.

Afghanistan pictures

2007-08-09T13:47:00.001-04:00

Pictionary

2007-08-08T16:25:00.000-04:00

Playing Pictionary w/ 5 friends until 1am is a blast! Having to get up and go to work the next morning....not so much. And I didn't go to bed until 3am because Henry called and I was desperately searching for our install disk to the laptop that Henry took w/ him back to the sandbox and has now quit working.

One more thing....

2007-08-02T22:43:00.000-04:00

I have a bunch of pictures/videos from Afghanistan! Henry's platoon has been putting all their stuff on one hard drive and they let him bring it back. So some time this weekend I will hopefully get some of those up.

Texas Hot

2007-08-02T21:23:00.001-04:00

What's a visit home without eating at Texas Hot. I thought Henry and I were just going but we ended up inviting the whole family and of course they couldn't say no.

BBQ feast

2007-08-02T21:13:00.000-04:00

Many of you heard (or partook) of our BBQ feast but here's the pictures:

The chefs

(they did everything except cut the potatoes and cook the corn on the cob)

full grill
(we would have cooked the corn on there but no room!)

The Salmon

We had salmon, steak, shrimp, Spedie chicken, potatoes and corn on the cob! Like I said, a feast.

Home

2007-08-02T20:31:00.001-04:00

REUNITED

had to go to Cutco so Henry could buy a KaBar knife.....I had to get my picture taken with one of the 14 squirrels that are now around the city. If you haven't seen or heard about them, go here

and click on the video to the right.

The dreaded drive

R&R

2007-08-02T20:20:00.000-04:00

It was fabulous having Henry home for 18 days! Stinks that we had to say goodbye again though. Everyone keeps treating me like I should be used to it, which makes me mad. I think it was tough this time because it was the first time he's had R&R. So to have that time is great but then you have to say goodbye all over again. I'm going to try and do a picture recap of his time back. It was lots of fun!

Gotta go, gotta go!!!!

2007-07-12T08:47:00.000-04:00

EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! Got the call! Down to less than 5 hr countdown. I'm excited now. But yeah, time to get all beautified and my last minute cleaning!

Anticipation

2007-07-11T20:19:00.000-04:00

Well Henry's not here yet, should be within the next 24 hrs though. It doesn't seem quite real yet. Or maybe it's because the last time he called he was still in Kandahar. So I'm hoping it will sink in when he calls from Atlanta. It also doesn't help that I got 3-4 hrs sleep last night and have spent the past 18 hrs thinking I might throw up (actually tried to a couple times hoping to feel better but didn't happen). I left work early and took a 3 hr nap and felt better after that. But still not totally normal. I'm hoping that eating something will help even more. I still have a lot of stuff to finish around the house though.

Countdown

2007-06-23T12:32:00.000-04:00

We have a countdown!!! (Have had one for about 2 weeks) If nothing changes--don't hold your breath though cuz this is the Army--Henry will be sitting here with me in 3 weeks. If you think of it, pray he has no delays getting a flight and quick and safe flights the whole way (takes about 2-3 days for the entire trip).

I've never looked so pretty!

2007-06-20T07:06:00.000-04:00

Wow, I knew it was going to be good when I couldn't fully open my eye this morning. Henry was on the phone when I looked for the first time this morning. I just laughed and laughed at myself. So have a good chuckle on me today.....

Not a good way to use your head (face)

2007-06-19T22:44:00.001-04:00

Yeah so I felt like an idiot. Fly ball coming and I'm running up thinking I'm going to swipe it out of the air with my glove (granted I did not feel well at all and the temp was at least 95 degrees) and suddenly its just missing my glove and hits me full on in the cheek. And this is just 3 hrs after it happened, can't wait to see what it's like in the morning! Good news: WE WON OUR FIRST GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Catch up

2007-06-17T15:24:00.000-04:00

What I've been up to for the past month.....
work and softball. That about sums it up. I'm playing on a team made up of all Army wives (mostly from Henry's company but not all are). It's through the base and is just for the summer. We haven't won a game yet but considering most of us hadn't played in 10+ years and several had never played at all--2 have never played a sport in their life--I didn't expect us to be that great. We are definitely improving. This past week both our games were cancelled. This week and next week we have games Tues, Wed, Thurs! YIKES

The Beach

2007-05-13T19:13:00.000-04:00

Was WONDERFUL!!!! So relaxing. It would rate a 10 if it weren't for the sunburn that made us decide to leave a little earlier than we had planned. So here's the pictures.
Obviously this is before laying out and getting sunburned.

The shells I picked up to remember my mini-vaca.
And the burn.....that's over most of my body including the tops of my feet and hands!I did use sunscreen just not enough apparently. The worst part (besides trying to get comfortable enough to get any sleep) is not having anyone here to help me put aloe on my back and shoulders. :-(

Can't get a break

2007-05-10T20:04:00.000-04:00

Work is still pretty stressful of course but to add to that I haven't felt well since Sunday. I've actually been getting worse! So today I finally went to the doctor and got meds. Hopefully they will help me sleep tonight and enjoy the weekend. I will be at the beach until sometime Sunday. I am taking the laptop with me in the hopes that where we're staying has internet or I can get on a wireless network somewhere but I'm not counting on it. So until then, be safe and have a great weekend.

I didn't drown!

2007-05-05T11:06:00.000-04:00

Most of this week I felt like I was barely keeping my head above water. I got asked to join a women's summer softball league and have been practicing at least once sometimes twice a week after work. It has worn me out!! I didn't sleep good Monday night then went to Raleigh with a friend Tuesday and didn't go to bed until 1am. So by Wednesday I was EXHAUSTED! The other secretary (Alishia) I work with was due to have her 1st baby May 11th. She went to the doctor last Thursday knowing something wasn't right but not sure what or what they would do. They decided to induce her thinking she had preeclampsia. The temp to replace her while she's out the next 6-8 weeks wasn't going to be there until Monday. Thank goodness last Friday was pretty quiet. So the office manager (and myself) spent Monday and Tuesday training the temp. Mainly she is supposed to answer the phone so I don't have to as much and can get the invoicing done that Alishia usually does. Well Wednesday, the manager (who has been doing this job for almost 10 yrs) and the office manager leave for Florida with their spouses for a vacation/seminar paid for by the company we get our doors from. And that of course is when things get crazy. Everytime Larry (the manager) leaves for more than a couple days, its very stressful. So from Wednesday on I felt like I was barely keeping my head above water. And that's why I have not had time to post anything until now. But we survived the week. And one week from today I will be with a good friend at Ocean Isle, NC for a mini vacation at the beach! I absolutely can't wait.

More pictures!!

2007-04-24T10:22:00.000-04:00

Just got these this morning!

By the way, the other guy in the pictures is one of his team leaders (Pace) and I'm thinking he took a digital camera with him. I met his parents the morning the guys left and his mom has been kind enough to forward any pictures of Henry to me. I did just recently send Henry a disposable camera so hopefully I will have more pictures before too long.

Test your IQ

2007-04-21T20:22:00.000-04:00

I thought this was fun. I got 12 right away, took a short break, came back and got 4 more! I had one figured out except for the parentheses part. Let me know how you do. (Also, if you give up and want to know the correct answers there's a forum where they've posted "spoilers"/hints and that helped me figure out the ones I didn't know. I looked at Part 2 and said no way.

Can you pass 8th grade math?

2007-04-21T09:47:00.000-04:00

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 8/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

No cheating!! I want to know what ones I got wrong.

last major purchase/deal

2007-04-13T21:49:00.000-04:00

It's been 2 weeks now since I got this:

I went to outlet stores with a friend and we were looking around this kitchen store and saw these in a back corner. It's "refurbished" but apparently that means they sent it out and had someone use it on a trial basis for 6 mos at the most and then they make sure they are still like new and resell them. I was convinced when a lady nearby said she had bought a refurbished one years ago and hadn't had a single problem. It's the 5 qt Artisan one and was marked $199 but then the store did 10% military discount! And it's BLUE. I love it. Unfortunately have only had the time/motivation to use it once so far (water bagels, thanks Erin).

Can it be true??

2007-04-07T09:43:00.000-04:00

I have no idea how close this is to really happening or all the details to say with 100% certainty whether this is a good thing or not. But my first reaction is WOOHOO!!! it's about time!
Here's what I'm talking about: "The second phase of work has been completed with environmental samples that would pave the way for a Super Wal-Mart in Wellsville." http://www.wellsvilledaily.com/articles/2007/03/29/news/news01.tx
to read the full story and comments. And I have to agree with a lot of the comments about it being a good thing because Kmart needs competition to make them get their act together.

new rug

2007-04-06T09:31:00.000-04:00

I also never shared about the rug I got at a great price. I ended up working Sun March 25th at the Home & Garden show here in town. Well it got to be about time for it to end and everyone to pack things up and the Manager for Carpet One (big local carpet store), came by and practically forced me to go look at their rugs because they didn't want to take them all back to the store. I had already looked at them earlier and didn't really see any I liked but he promised a really good deal so I went to take another look. Took me FOREVER to find one mainly because our carpet is pink and our furniture is purple and I didn't think any of the rugs would match. Finally I spotted one I really liked and figured even if it didn't match what we currently have I would save it to use later/elsewhere. Got it home, rolled it out and was quite shocked at how nice it looked! So here's pictures of my 5x8 rug that I only paid $50 (including tax) for.

bedroom furniture

2007-04-03T20:58:00.000-04:00

I realized I never posted about the bedroom furniture I got from a guy at work a while ago. It had barely been used at all and I paid less than the original price of the one dresser alone! I took video to show Henry and never took any pictures (too messy to do now). Oh and I really didn't want my narration on there but couldn't figure out how to do that. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4732726188365271514

And no idea what I've done wrong that it's the link to the video and not the actual video. Oh well.

Book recommendation

2007-03-30T11:19:00.000-04:00

Just finished reading this book the other day. It is GREAT! And I'm going to try to get Henry to read the other one she wrote with her husband called "For Men Only".

Dinner with a friend

2007-03-29T21:45:00.000-04:00

I just got back from having dinner with Christian!!! The last time we had seen each other was my wedding! Since then, he's gotten married, had a little girl, and has another baby on the way. He is driving from Florida to NYC. It was so great to see him again and catch up with each other. Can't believe it's been almost 7 years. I had to ask someone to take a picture as proof that he was really here. I'm actually hoping he will be able to stop again on his way back (this time with his wife and daughter--they're flying up then driving back with him).

HENRY CALLED!! :-)

2007-03-28T09:03:00.001-04:00

HENRY CALLED!! :-)

great timesaver

2007-03-26T20:18:00.000-04:00

Found this on someone else's blog and had to share it here. Go to www.bloglines.com and you can set it up so that all the blogs you check regularly are listed at this one site and it tells you which blogs, if any, have anything new. That way you don't have to go to each one individually only to find out there's nothing new! I love it.

Extreme Makeover

2007-03-17T19:19:00.000-04:00

Ok, not an Extreme makeover but definitely something different. Here's the before:

and after: (apparently will have to be a separate post because blogger isn't cooperating)