I'm Sick and Tired

Of being sick and tired.

I feel like my motivation to do anything for me is completely gone lately.

I seriously don't know what my problem is.

I have this HUGE mental block right now and I'm fighting so hard to move past it.

I feel a tremendous amount of guilt and paranoia where my father is concerned.

I feel like I'm spinning out of control and I can't figure out how to right myself again.

Where is this toxicity coming from? Have I lost my SELF again? If so, where? Why?

I feel tired. All the time.

I don't want to clean. I don't want to bake. I don't want to blog. I don't want to do anything really.

I signed up for personal training sessions recently. I had a mini session on Saturday with her. I said the word "can't" through the entire thing. I can't do that. I can't do that. Are you crazy? I can't do that?

The only thing I have going for me is that even though I said "I can't," I did it anyway.

I feel as though I'm floating along, looking for solid ground. Reaching out for something to keep me grounded. Something to hold onto. Something to keep me from floating away. From drowning.

I can't find my spark. My fire. My passion.

I feel numb. I feel like I'm just going through the motions.

I just went back through this and highlighted all the times I used the word "feel." I guess that's a reminder that I do FEEL. I just don't like the things I'm feeling?

Sweet Home Alabama

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway HERE.**

I'm beginning to think that Thanksgivings with my Father here in Alabama is becoming something of a tradition.

I hadn't intended to come to Alabama this year.

In fact, I told everyone that with 2 children there was no way I was traveling this holiday season.

I figured if people wanted to see us bad enough, they could come to us.

Then my Dad got sick. He had pretty major surgery and I had no other option than to come be with him.

Luckily, my Baby Sis left her craptastic job and she was able to come with me.

The 2 day drive was actually quite enjoyable. The kids were really good and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my Baby Sis. We talked, listened to music, talked some more. It was nice.

So now we are in Alabama. Another hot state.

I don't understand why it's in the upper 70s at the end of November. Maybe I did live in Upstate NY too long.

My Dad has been helping me figure out what new computer to buy. I need one really badly. I'm currently using his HP Envy and I really like it...except I'm HATING the mouse pad. Oh. Em. GEE! It's driving me crazy.

So I either get the Envy and purchase a mouse to accompany it, or I look into something else. My problem is that I tend to get overwhelmed and if I have too many options, I shut down. Blah.

Computer suggestions??

I'm feeling pretty mad at myself today. I know that won't solve anything, but I need to get it together.

Yesterday, I did absolutely horrendous with my food intake. Seriously. I had 4 hot dogs for dinner! With chips and dip! What is wrong with me??? Why do I do this??

Also, I haven't been working with Baby N and doing his stretches. Like, not really at all. I started doing some with him this morning and it's like we are back at square one. I'm so annoyed with myself.

Anyway. The only thing I can do is work to change it. Not much else right?? Sitting here, beating myself up about it is a waste of my time.

So I'm done I guess.

But before I go, here are a couple random pictures we've taken on this trip.

Little Butt has us take the most random pictures of her. Goof ball.

I snapped this picture because Little Butt is sitting EXACTLY like her Daddy sits.

And my Baby Sis got this picture of me and Baby N just chilling after he ate.

That is all. Have a great day and a happy Thanksgiving!

Procrastination Station

I have been feeling pretty inspired lately.

I don't even know why.

I hate that I tend to procrastinate a ton.

Like, I know what I want to do...I just don't do it.

Take this blog for instance. I know I want to post. But I don't.

I've been working on this lately though.

I've decided that this year I am going to send out Christmas cards. I say this every year. And one year I did give them out. I'm really close this year. I have the cards. I got a ton of addresses (if you want a card just send me your address) and today I went and bought stamps. Now I just have to do it.

I got this far with my baby shower thank you cards and never went any further. Of course...I still owe thank you cards for my wedding showers. It's only been 10 years...

Anyway. So I've been working on not procrastinating so much. I want to do things so I need to get them done. I'm tired of just talking about things. I want to DO!

My most recent things I've done is that I've started selling The Pampered Chef. I'm really loving it so far! I had no idea I would love it as much as I do. I'm really looking forward to building my team. But I have to find someone who wants to join me. If you are interested in learning more let me know! LOL!

I've been feeling crafty lately too. I've been working on completing the projects that I purchase supplies for. I made a Halloween wreath last month and today I finished my Fall wreath. They are both gorgeous!! I'm SO happy with my Fall wreath. I just tried to take pictures but because it's so dark they didn't turn out well. I'll have to wait and take more pictures tomorrow while the sun is out.

I want to do the Project 365. Have you heard of it? Basically, you take a picture (or more) that represents your day and you post it somewhere. I've seen some people do it on Facebook, others on Flickr or Photobucket, Tumblr, and I've seen some blog about it. I want to blog my project 365. Especially now that The Hubble is deployed. He specifically asked me to blog more so he can keep up with us. Are you interested in doing a Project 365 with me? I'm thinking about starting either December 1st or January 1st.

I've also decided that I want to join a gym. My Older Sister and I are going to go look at the Gold's Gym here in the area. I used to go to Gold's in NY and I loved it. Sadly my friend Tammy won't be with me here but she will be with me in spirit.

Okay. I feel like this post has become pointless. Not that writing it is pointless but that it has lost its point. Get it??

Anyway. I think I'm going to go to bed now. I still haven't figured out how to set back Baby N so my mornings have been pretty early.

Then and Now

When Little Butt was in dance class over the summer, I would take a book with me to each class so I would have something to do while I waited for her to finish up.

Since I tend to read about a book every week or two, I ended up taking my Nook at one point.

I got to talking with a couple other moms about the benefits of having the Nook versus paper books.

I found out the one of the moms was a part of a local book group. I exclaimed how fun that sounded and told her about my virtual book group. Right before the kids were released from class, she asked if the book group was something I would be interested in joining. I quickly said "YES!" and gave her my information so she could contact me.

The following Monday, I had Baby N. A couple weeks went by and I thought for sure I would never hear from her again since I never went back and the classes ended. Fortunately, that wasn't the case!

Last week, I attended my first book group meeting with this new group. I've never been a part of a book group that I didn't help found and that wasn't made up of my friends.

It was interesting and exciting to walk into a home full of new people to talk about books!

We read The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen. I loved this book so much that I ended up reading the author's other 3 books before attending the meeting. (The Girl Who Chased the Moon was my favorite)

One of the questions that we discussed was about how the characters in the novel were fighting against the views other people have of them based on who they used to be in high school. They couldn't escape their former selves because everyone knew them as a particular way in high school and didn't allow them to grow beyond that.

The question asked how we were different, or the same, from who we were in high school. This question has had me thinking a lot lately.

I am absolutely NOT who I was in high school. It's actually pretty crazy.

I used to be crazy super shy. I wouldn't talk to anyone. I would bribe my little sister to call and place pizza orders because I would have anxiety attacks about talking to a stranger.

I couldn't go anywhere by myself either. I always had to have someone with me. (Though I still prefer to have someone with me, it isn't mandatory now).

I am SO different that people are shocked to learn who I used to be.

I have to say though, I like who I am now. I like that I can make friends wherever I go. I talk to anyone and everyone.

I have met people walking into my doctor's office, sitting in a dance studio and waiting to drop Little Butt off at school. I have gone to spouse coffees on my own and met fabulous people there. I've even hooked up with someone on a recommendation from another friend and found a sister for life. (By the way, y'all should go follow my dear friend Danielle)

There are so many opportunities I missed back in the day because I was too shy to pursue something more.

I am glad I have changed. I think it's definitely for the better.

How about you? Are you different from who you were in high school? Are you happy with who you are now??

A Few Things and Song of the Week

I know I've been a complete loser and haven't been blogging so much lately.

Honestly, this heat in central Texas is killing me! And Little Butt has had so many lessons that I'm just exhausted.

But, she is done with her swim lessons (I'll have to post about that soon) and she's got one more week of dance lessons. So things should be winding down.

Just in time for me to have this baby too.

As of today, I'm officially fed up. LOL!

I'm beginning to feel like a pincushion with how many times they keep drawing my blood. Seriously, I've had it drawn every Tuesday and Thursday for the last few weeks. And today's freaking hurt!

I've also had to do the 24 hour urine test twice now. Nothing says sexy like a big ol' jug of urine in your fridge, let me tell ya!

But, me being me, I had to name my jug.

Meet Penelopee.

I mean, we have this on again, off again relationship. When we are together, we become very close. How could I not have named it?? The Hubble has informed me that I'm crazy. I'm okay with that.

My Mother in Law arrived a week ago. She and Little Butt have been having a good time together. They play and watch movies.

I figure we will have her all caught up on the best kid's movies. So far we've had her watch Tangled, Kung Fu Panda and Gnomeo & Juliet. She's never seen Ratatouille so that's on our list.

Luckily, We've given her some adult things to do as well. I gave her a book to read and we are going to work on our adult movies.

Remember a while back, when I was asking you to vote for me on Circle of Moms?? Well, the results are finally in! Here are the Top 25 Military Family Blogs. I was voted number 14 of 25!

Not amazingly awesome, but not horrible either right?? I'm still amazed I made the Top 25 at all! Thanks for all the votes and support!!

I even get to use this cool new badge!

Y'all are the bestest and I never would have made the Top 25 without you! If you are interested, jump on over and read my interview!

And lastly, but not...leastly?? I am playing along with Goodnight Moon for the song link up again this week. I love this song right now because it's so true! I can't wait to have this baby. This is my current ringtone, just so you know. ;-) Don't forget to head over and link up as well!

A Tale of...Laundry

Once upon a time...I wrote a blog post about laundry.

That was when I introduced you to Bill & Peggy; the family members that almost made The Hubble and me to divorce.

I also explained the right (mine) and wrong (his) ways to fold and put away laundry.

Well...

After that post, I was doing laundry with The Hubble...again (don't ask me why I put myself through this kind of torture). I realized that it was going to end in...well...something bad. So I walked away. And he just kind of became in charge of the laundry.

Well, now I have another problem....

The Hubble is gone now. He's not here to do the laundry. And I no longer seem to be capable of doing it myself.

So let me tell you what happens with the laundry nowadays.

The clean laundry stays in the basket. Some days I pour it out onto my bed so I can find something (usually something essential like underwear). Then it goes back into the basket when it's time for bed.

If I do actually sort the laundry, it ends up in a neat pile on top of something, like the new pack 'n play I bought for Baby  N.

And the other problem, if you notice on the floor next to the pack 'n play box...

And the pile of clothes here on the floor next to the laundry basket...

And the pile of clothes on The Hubble's nightstand...

Since my laundry basket is full of clean clothes, I find varied and interesting places to hold my dirty laundry.

I guess I need to find my stride and figure out how to do laundry again huh??

Is there a household chore you have trouble figuring out how to do on your own when your soldier is gone??? Or am I the only one here???

Menu Planning Monday Week 1

**Don't forget to vote for me HERE if you think I deserve to be one of the Top 25 Military Family Blogs at Circle of Moms**


Each week, I sit down and look through blog posts, cookbooks and magazines to come up with our menu for the week.

We don't tend to set each meal to a certain day, but meal/menu planning makes grocery shopping (and my cooking schedule) a lot more manageable. 

I actually find this to be therapeutic and I just love it.

This past week, I was having trouble finding inspiration (it's hard to want to cook when it's just me and Little Butt) so I went to Twitter. Luckily, my Twitter friends really came through for me and saved my weekly menu!

I realized at that moment that it was mostly milspouses who were coming to my rescue. 

I know most of us cook and we love to share recipes. I've seen some of you do Tasty Tuesdays, recipes of the week and others just post recipes randomly.

I got to thinking, wondering if anyone else does this menu planning thing that I do. Again, Twitter says yes.

So...I thought, what if we all had a place where we can link up a great recipe to share with one another. When it's time to sit down and plan our weekly menus, we just hop over to one place and peruse through the suggestions of our friends and peers. 

So I came up with this linky. 

I don't know if any of you will participate, but the link will be up all week long. If you make your menus on the weekend, by the end of the week, hopefully there will be a lot of options to choose from.

I don't care what you call your recipe sharing day, but do tell others about this link up so we can all share and enjoy our favorite recipes with each other. 

Here's my contribution for this week:

Sweet Apple and Onion Stuffed Pork Chops

Printer Friendly Version

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless pork tenderloin chops, at least 1 1/2-2 inches thick
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 medium apple, diced (I used a red apple)
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup bread crumbs (I used Italian style)
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used Vermont Sharp Cheddar)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Add the diced onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the diced apple and saute until tender, about 3 minutes.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, melt the butter then add the bread crumbs and toss to coat.
5. To the bread crumb mixture, mix in the onion and apple.
6. Add the shredded cheese and mix to thoroughly combine.
7. Slice the pork chops lengthwise leaving about 1/2 an inch on one side still in tact. 
8. Stuff pork chops with bread crumb mixture. Secure with toothpicks
9. Spray each side of the pork chops with nonstick cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.
10. Grill the pork chops (or cook on a skillet) until the juices run clear, about 20-25 minutes.
11. Remove from the grill and let rest about 5 minutes. 
12. Remove toothpicks.
13. Serve and enjoy!!

This is seriously one of the best meals I've ever thrown together. 

I hope you all enjoy this new linky and that it's helpful! So link up and spread the word baby!! Enjoy!!!

A Confession and My Song of the Week

**Don't forget to vote for me HERE if you think I deserve to be one of the Top 25 Military Family Blogs at Circle of Moms**




I have a confession to make (besides the fact that I didn't realize that it's Thursday and I almost missed the song linky this week). 


Yes...you may judge me.


Yes...you may unfollow me. 


You may even pretend to have never heard of me before.


I'm okay with all of this. I need to get this off my chest.


Okay...


Ready...


Here goes....


I...


Oh gosh....Just say it!!


I watch American Idol!!!


Phew.


I feel so much better.


Judge away! 


I've never been into American Idol that much. I never watched it when it first came on. It just didn't appeal to me.


When I was visiting my father a couple years ago, he had several episodes on his DVR and I ended up watching them with him. 


But, you know how you start a show and you start to feel for the people on it, then you have to know what's going to happen???


Yeah...that was me. I ended up going home and setting my DVR to record the show as well.


I watched the season that David Cook won (love him!) and the one that Adam Lambert DIDN'T win (hate him!).


Then the show just fell off the radar for me. 


Until this season. I was very curious about Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler being judges. So I started watching again.


I have to say, I think there has been some amazing talent on this show this season. (Although I'm disappointed in the top 3)


Anyway...


A couple weeks ago, Haley Reinhart sang a song I had never heard before. 


Let me tell you...I was completely blown away by this song! I loved it and haven't been able to get it out of my head ever since.


I was pleasantly surprised when we were over at a friend's house and he had the original (and some other versions) in his collection! And come to find out, he had gifted the song to The Hubble several years ago. Score!!


So now, I have the song and I can listen to it all the time. 


And because I love the song so much, I thought I would share it for this week's song linky party. And don't forget, if you want to participate in the fun, head over to Goodnight Moon and link up your song of the week!


Now, without further ado...here is my song!

My Mother is a Jerk

LOL!

Love you mom!!

But really...she is a jerk.

She called me yesterday morning...waking me up by the way!

Here's how our conversation went:

Mom: Are you awake?

Me: I am now...

Mom: Let's pretend you are here in Austin already. I'm going to take the afternoon off so we can go to lunch, get manicures and pedicures then go see a movie.

Me: ooookkkkaaaayyyyy....

Mom: We can even take Little Butt to lunch with us, she can get her nails done, then your sister can watch her when we go see a movie. Where do you want to go to lunch?

Me: Why are you being so mean??

Mom: Around my work we have Panera, Olive Garden, Red Lobster...

Me: Oh I know. Pappasitos!

Mom: Do we have one of those! Yes we do! Okay. What movie do you want to go see??

Me: I don't even know what's playing. And this is pointless anyway.

Mom: Okay. Well I'm at work now. I'll talk to you later.

Me: Okay. See you this afternoon!!

After this conversation, knowing that this isn't a possibility for another couple months, I pretty much felt like this:

Have You Noticed??

What a slacker I've been?? LOL!!

No??

Oh...that's because you don't live with me.

So you haven't noticed how I let my dishes pile up until we can't see the sink anymore.

You also haven't noticed how I haven't been cooking/baking as much as before vacation.

About that...did you know I have a food blog? No? I keep having people from this page find me and saying "I didn't know you had a food blog!" Well. I'm here to tell you...I do. It's called Jolts & Jollies. I share recipes of all kinds over there. So...if you are hungry...go check it out!

By the way...this is probably going to be a pretty random post.

Okay...back to my slackerdom.

Have you heard of that site 'texts from last night'? Well...here's my version:

Conversations from last night:

The Hubble: Is it already the 9th??

Me: Yes.

The Hubble: We have been home for a month already.

Me: Oh yeah?

The Hubble: Your suitcase is still sitting here unpacked.

Me: Oh.

Luckily, I have the best Hubble in the world. I walked into the room (with no intention whatsoever of unpacking my suitcase) and found that the suitcase was gone! The Hubble asked me if I noticed anything missing.

Me: Yes dear. Thanks for taking care of that for me.

What a doll!

I think my problem is the cold. We went from warm, sunny, beautiful Texas to negative degree weather. We've been snowed in for a week and a half (off and on...but I'm being dramatic here).

I keep missing my workouts so my body isn't stimulated (don't be dirty).

I've been reading crap so my mind isn't stimulated.

Little Butt and I have been stuck in the house together...and we are getting on each other's nerves.

I'm so ready to move! I don't want to be in the middle of nowhere anymore. I'm done.

We did drag ourselves out of the house this past Saturday though.

Little Butt was invited to a birthday party. It was a pool party. She seriously had THE BEST time swimming. Her and The Hubble stayed in the pool for hours. I'm thinking her party is going to have to be at this place. Too bad she will only have a couple friends here by then.

But I don't think she'll notice since she'll be swimming...so no worries there.

After the pool party, we came home and made a snowman! Kinda...

Things started well. I didn't think I had ever made a snowman before. But I quickly figured it out.

Little Butt was a big help in gathering...

And shaping the snow.

When it got too big mommy had to roll it. Thanks for the awesomely horrible picture of me babe!

Then it was time to put daddy to work!

We used almonds for the eyes. Daddy went and found the arms...can you tell?

The nose was a hazelnut (yes I was using my container of mixed nuts...what of it??) and the mouth was chocolate chips.

Isn't he cute???

By then...I'm gonna take a chance and say Little Butt was done!

Except we can let her go in without giving us a smile! Goofball!

We felt very accomplished, and tired, after that so we went inside.

The little snowman started to melt after a few days and he just got skinnier and skinnier.

Then it snowed again.

Blah!

What about you? Is there snow where you are? Are you enjoying it or hoping beyond hope that it will go away quickly??

So Many Books...So Little Time

Photo by jinterwas

If you have been around this blog for a while...you know I'm a reader.

And if you are new around here. Hey! Guess what?? I'm a HUGE reader! 

Like...I have a 3/4 sleeve tattoo of books. 

Yes, it's that bad.

And yes...I still know that I need to post pictures.

But if you didn't know this about me...I'm kind of lazy and procrastinatey.

Anyway. 

So last week sometime (or maybe the week before...I don't know. Like I said, I'm lazy!) my older sister posted on her Facebook this message:

"Thanks to my sister I have read some amazing books in my life. Thanks Manna!!"

See...someone on her Facebook page asked if anyone had read The Memoirs of Cleopatra. I read it back in 2006 and made my older sister read it in 2009. She was so excited someone was asking about it. 

This led her to start looking through her Goodreads list and she realized that because of me (and me bringing her into my "back home" book group) she had read some really amazing books that she would never have read if not for me.

My family members tend to find a genre and stay there. My mother and older sister both read a lot of horror and science fiction/fantasy stuff. Whereas, I'm ALL OVER the map (working for Barnes & Noble for a million years made me that way!).

My older sister looking at her Goodreads and talking about all these amazing books made me start examining the books I have been reading lately. And I'm sad to say...I've been reading a lot of crap!

Not that the stuff I've been reading wasn't good...it's just stuff that I consider "fluff." Fun...but not really substantial you know??

Don't get me wrong now...I love me some fluff. But I am the type of person that likes some heavy thrown in with all that popcorn. 

Let's look at what I've been reading. 

I read all the books by Emily Giffin. These include:

Something Borrowed

Something Blue

Baby Proof

Love the One You're With

Heart of the Matter

So, obviously I went through a chick lit phase. No problem. They were fun books, though the cheating and unhappiness within relationships got a little old by the end.

I also read the Hunger Games series  by Suzanne Collins which I thoroughly enjoyed. But they are young adult books, so not so much on the heavy, intellectual side. 

At the end of last year and beginning of this year, I was reading The Immortals series by Alyson Noel. These books were cute. They offered something a little different than the whole vampire thing. But again, young adult books that didn't have anything really deep to them. 

A friend of mine bought me the book Peeps by Scott Westerfeld. This book was half vampire story and half biology/parasite lesson. Another great twist to the idea of vampirism but yet another young adult book that didn't really fire many synapses (though it did have a pretty awesome "ewwwww" factor as far as all the parasite talk went).

In the midst of all this, I did read a book on M. Night Shyamalan called The Man Who Heard Voices that was an interesting account of the making of Lady in the Water (a movie that I absolutely adore). It was a very good book. But you have to really like the guy I guess. He is passionate about what he does and it's evident in this book.

I also read Stone of Tears and  Blood of the Fold (the second and third books in the Sword of Truth series) by Terry Goodkind. To me, these are fluff because they are fantasy. But The Hubble feels they are substantial because they have heavy philosophical and religious undertones that get the reader thinking. I can definitely see his point. But it's not the "classics" you know?? 

Oh yeah. The last book I read was Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. Don't even get me started on that book. It made me mad. It was slow and full of unnecessary and pointless dialogue. It was definitely not the man's best and for sure not the 'rom dram' I was looking for at the time. 

So...all of this to say that I'm disappointed in myself. I need to get some good stuff in here. I want to read amazing books again. I want to read books that leave me reeling and confused. I want a book that inspires emotion and feeling. I want a book that inspires me. 

Right now, I'm doing a 'buddy read' with Kaitlin and another friend of mine. We are reading Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence. Though this is a 'classic' I'm not sure it's the type of book of which I'm searching. 

So...have you read anything great lately???

Oh! And are you on Goodreads?? If not, you should be! It helps you keep track of the books you are reading and/or have read. If you are on there, look me up and be my Goodreads friend. You can find me HERE.

You Wanna Know What Makes Me Mad??

Photo by muffet

Military discounts...that's what.

No seriously. Wait. Let me explain.

Oh. And I should probably warn you that this is going to be a "rant post" so if you don't want to read one of those...I would advise you to walk away. ;-)

I'm not against military discounts...don't get me wrong.

I actually think they are pretty groovy.

What makes me angry is when the discount is solely for the active duty member.

Let me back up a little bit. 

On Sunday, The Hubble, Little Butt and I went out for brunch with some friends. We had a lovely time. The food was pretty good. The serving staff was phenomenal (if not a little too friendly). 

When the server was ready to ring up our tickets, she came and asked if my friend and I were military or just the men. See...they give a 15% discount at this restaurant to active duty personnel only. 

That's totally awesome!

But why wouldn't it extend to the spouse who is sitting right next to the active duty member? Especially if the active duty member is the one paying for everyone who is with him??

For the longest time, this didn't bother me at all. 

Until 2009 when The Hubble went to hang out in Afghanistan for the year. 

My stepmother and I went to a movie theater who offered military discounts. When I showed them my ID card they told me that the discount was for active duty military only. My response?? Well...he's away at war right now so he can't be here to pay for this movie ticket.

Now, again, don't get me wrong. I'm not looking for a handout. I rarely even think to ask if there is a military discount available. 

What makes me mad is when an establishment offers a military discount but does not extend it to family members. 

When we spouses are left home to take care of the children, the households, the finances and the well being of everyone who is not deployed with the soldier...it feels like a slap in the face to be told "sorry, but you don't do enough to warrant this discount. We only give it to the ones who do the actual work." 

That's all. Thanks for listening. Rant over.

One Word (Two Really)

For a little over a week I've been seeing a bunch of tweets about something called #reverb10.

At first I was confused.

Of course, this might be because I was WAY behind on my Google Reader and hadn't read about it yet.

But no matter.

I finally did figure it out.

Reverb10 is all about writing prompts. This site sends one writing prompt per day for the entire month of December to all participants. Participants are then supposed to blog each day about the writing prompts.

Each writing prompt is supposed to help the blogger/participant reflect on the last year and send good thoughts forth for the coming year.

Sounds cool yeah?

Well, if you are a slacker blogger like I am then no, not so cool.

There's no way I can keep up and blog every day for the entire month. Especially not since I've missed the first week and a half of the month and will be traveling for the latter half.

Anyway. Even though I am not truly participating, I can't get the first writing prompt out of my head:

December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell).


I've been thinking about this since I read it on some other blogger's pages. 


So again, I'm not participating in the entire month but I may pick and choose some of the prompts to write about. 


My word for 2010: Connect


Over the course of the last year I have been able to connect with so many people, places and things. 


I've connected with so many fabulous women over the year:

I have also enjoyed how much my little family has been connecting this year. Not only have The Hubble and I been able to reconnect.

But most of all, I've loved watching Little Butt and her daddy connect and form a solid relationship.

I have reconnected with my mother after an almost 3 year estrangement.

AND. 

I have connected with all of you fabulous bloggers.

It's amazing to me how much I genuinely care for people through their blogs. 

I feel as though I have gotten to know so many people whom I wouldn't otherwise have had the chance to meet.

When I look back on 2011. I would like my one word to be: Growth

Even though The Hubble and I will be separated, I would like us to continue to grow, as a couple and as individuals.

Little Butt continues to grow every day. She will be going to school soon and following her own path of growing and learning. But I hope that her relationship with us, as her parents and her family, continues to grown.

My little family will grow in more ways than one and it is exciting the paths that we will each take.

Whether together, or separated, we will still be connected and grow in the same direction.

I would like my relationships to continue to strengthen and grow.

I would like my strength and determination to continue to grow.

I would like a year of growth, both mentally and spiritually (but maybe not so much physically, ha!).

If you were to play along, what would your words be?

When You're Here, You're Family

Have you been to Olive Garden lately??

This past weekend we went to a friend's house for dinner. My friend Lori was having a "clear out my freezer" dinner party before she moved away the next morning and we were invited.

Let me tell you...that was actually a delicious and fun meal. Everything was pretty random but it ended up being a great idea to help her get rid of extra food (without tossing it) and an excuse to get together on her last night here!

Anyway. While I was there and she was finishing cooking, I caught a commercial for the Olive Garden. Their new four cheese sacchetti dishes had me drooling (and not just because I was starving, the house smelled delicious and dinner wasn't done yet)! These dishes looked AMAZING!

So...The Hubble and I decided to do a little shopping in "town" on Tuesday and while we were there we went to Olive Garden. I had trouble deciding between the shrimp dish or the one with chicken. I ended up going with the chicken dish because it offered a garlic cream sauce over the shrimp dish's Parmesan sauce. (I'm a sucker for garlic).

I would post a picture of it, but I ate it so fast I didn't think to take a picture and the website doesn't have one I can steal borrow.

This meal was delicious! I loved it so much!

We also tried their new mini desserts. Here's a picture!

Photo Courtesy of Olive Garden

Being that we aren't too into chocolate we got the 3 without chocolate. We all ended up liking different ones the best. The Hubble loved the tiramisu, I loved the lemon and Little Butt loved the strawberry. Win, win, win!

Anyway. As much as I would love to sit here and talk strictly about food, I try to save that for my other blog.

No. Today I want to talk about people.

When we were there we were seated in a narrow room with booths lining each wall. Some elderly folks sat across the aisle from us. There were 3 of them. 2 ladies and 1 gentleman. The 2 ladies were sisters and the gentleman was the husband of one lady. LOL! That sounds confusing. 

Okay. I'll name them. Mason (the gentleman) and Mouse (the older sister) were married. Then there was Pistol sitting across the booth from her sister and brother in law.

These people had to have been mid to late 60's or early 70's. 

We overhead them talking to their server about beers and wines. Well...The Hubble knows his beer and I tend to know my wines so I couldn't help but eavesdrop. We even tried to intervene to help answer the questions the server couldn't but they were focused and didn't hear us.

So we went about our meal. Until Pistol caught my attention to tell me how cute Little Butt was. 

Somehow, we ended up talking to these people through the duration of both our meals. We learned a lot about them. These were some awesome older individuals!

We asked them questions...they asked us questions. They talked to Little Butt. We ended up covering everything from politics, military life (Mason is a 30 year retired Navy Captain) and believe it or not...tattoos and piercings (they brought up that topic). 

This was one of the most awesome experiences I've had at a restaurant and I really feel the Olive Garden motto of "When you're here, you're family" is true. We definitely felt like we were meeting up with family members when we were there.

I guess I need to talk about this because early on I heard them toast. Pistol raised her glass and said that as long as she had beer, she didn't need hair. She even mentioned maybe having a head shaving party.

Pistol was here visiting her sister before she starts Chemotherapy. 

I've been thinking about them for days. They really touched me. Especially Pistol. 

She is a spitfire of a woman and I hope that she is able to beat this thing. 

We will probably never see them again...but for one afternoon, one meal, they were family. They were so kind and accepting. They are special.

My thoughts are with you Pistol. Thanks for the great meal!

Defying Definition One Niche at a Time

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Over the last couple of days I've been thinking about my previous post. About being niche-less.

I've received several comments from fellow milspouses and women bloggers about being niche-less and loving it. 

Why is it that the human brain needs to put things, including people, into definable categories?

The brain is a type of filing system. As new events are experienced, the brain attempts to retrieve previous, yet similar, information so as to classify this most recent data. 

We classify new information so we will know what to do with it. 

This also works in reverse order. When we are faced with certain experiences we retrieve the particular "file" within our brain that houses the appropriate response to this situation.

So what happens when you run across something you have never experienced before? What happens when you just can't classify something?

A new file is created.

Military spouses don't fit in a "normal" category. And let's face it; the majority of the population has nothing to do with the military. So naturally, the wouldn't know how to classify and categorize us outside of military spouse. 

And let's not even talk about the women bloggers who fall through the cracks of the "classification system" as well. There are too many to count!

I've been trying to place myself into a preexisting niche or category and it just won't work. I don't fit there.

In some aspects I do. I can relate to other mommy blogger's stories. I can relate to a shared passion for literature amongst book bloggers. And who isn't able to relate to food? LOL!

But my stories of motherhood are sometimes tainted with the loneliness and heartache of a missing spouse.

The literature I read is sometimes my only companion when facing a long, dark night on my own.

The food I make and share is sometimes in an attempt to create a "home" out of yet another new house.

So yeah. I don't fit. There's no special "milspouse" niche. But that's okay. I transcend niches. I move in and out of niches as I do cities, countries, home.

If you think about it...in a way...I encompass them all. No one niche can contain me because I always have to be flexible, adaptable, and able to take on any new experiences with gusto. 

Mine is a life that is not easily classified.

But what of the other women bloggers? The academics, the artists, the rebels. These women who are also mothers, wives, fiances, students and all around badass chicks?? They may not directly feel the effects of a deployment but they are not easily defined either.

And on top of this...what about the men? The daddy blogger? The male milspouse? Where do these guys go?

So yeah. I say we stay out of the box. If we allow anyone to place us in the box we will not be able to grow and evolve. And I don't know about you...but I like that whole improvement and development thing. I like to expand my knowledge and make myself...more. 

If we "niche" ourselves...where's the chance for progression??

I'm incredibly interested in you. Why do you love being niche-less? What makes you undefinable? 

You can either link up and meet other niche-less ladies or tell me in the comments. I can't wait to hear why you love being niche-less!

For additional reading check out:

• Where Do I Fit In?