The Most Boring Game Ever

This past Saturday night was the Mariners' Armed Forces Appreciation game, which basically means they had all the tickets at discounted prices and there were lots of service members in uniform present.

Pete and I got stuck in traffic because there was also a Supercross show going on across the street at Qwest Field and apparently the entire state of Washington arrived to attend at least one of the events. Anyway, we ended up missing the opening ceremonies when they did all the military stuff. When we got to our seats there was an old man and his very, very big son with him. Plus, the seats were smack dab in the middle of the row and I didn't feel like climbing over everyone so we just sat a few rows back in some empty seats.



I got myself some nachos and a beer and Pete had some peanuts. And we spent the next hour or so just waiting for someone (anyone) to get a run. I think some time in the 6th inning, the Tigers got two runs. And that's about when Pete decided he wanted some Rally Fries. So we walked around and he stood in line to wait for his fries. And that was about it until the game was over (2-0 Tigers).



About the most exciting thing that happened was that while waiting in line for my second beer I ran into an old classmate who I've known since I was 12. We went to middle school, high school, and college together and haven't seen each other for about 6 years. During our junior year of college, we were paired to dance the waltz at our annual luau. That was awkward, seeing as how his recent ex-girlfriend had ditched him as had mine and that's how we got paired and every other dancing couple in the waltz was an actual lovey-dovey couple. But we ended up having fun with it. The cool part about running into Mike was that he kept telling me over and over how good I looked. A much-needed stroke to my ego. Lord knows it's not coming from anywhere else!

(P.S. Anyone from Kamehameha will understand the shock of seeing Mike wearing this t-shirt!)


Anyway, after the game, I decided I wanted to have a little more alcohol, but I wasn't interested in paying $8 a beer anymore, so I suggested we go hit a bar before going home. Of course, on the way there I decided I was just too tired to do that, so we swung by Safeway, picked up some cheap wine and a pizza and headed to the house. However some time between getting a shower and actually drinking the wine, Pete and I both passed out on the couch. Some time around 5am, the animals started climbing up on top of me, so I scooted off to bed for another couple of hours.

Yep, a pretty uneventful day. But it was at least good to spend time with the bro for a bit.

Shawn's Birthday Present

So I finally got Shawn's box finished and mailed yesterday. Along with a whole mass of oatmeal cream pies, I also sent him my target from some shooting I did recently (he'd be proud), this pillow,

and this video:

I think he'll like his present!

Twilight Widower

Shawn is a "Twilight Widower". I've been so caught up in the stories that I've completely failed to mail his birthday box - yes, I know his birthday was two days ago.

So far, I've made it through Twilight and New Moon as well as the unedited, unpublished Midnight Sun (on Stephenie Meyer's website) in the last two weeks. Tonight, I'll start on Eclipse. If you've already read through the entire series, no spoilers, please, or I'll hunt you down and ship you off to the Volturi!

I'm having fun with it, too. Even more amazing: I woke up this morning with an incredible migraine and spent the whole day at work waiting for the moment I could finally crawl back into bed and shut out all the pain and nausea. But as soon as I hit the door, I was on my back on the couch, book in hand. It took me about a half an hour to realize that I was so absorbed in the plot that it had completely distracted me from the aching in my entire body. So I decided to just keep it up - if reading staved off my migraine, then I might as well just keep on reading. I managed to read 338 pages tonight and off the book.

I'm vowing to finish Shawn's box in the morning and get it mailed. My reward for staying on task? Reading Eclipse! :)

Seriously, who wouldn't be enthralled with the most romantic (and surprisingly realistic...ya know, except for the whole he's-a-vampire thing) tale of first love ever told?

Update on Fletch

I got word back from Fletch yesterday. He is doing fine. Without putting too much info out there, he's out of Madigan and staying at Ft. Lewis for now until he can get completely healed up.

He didn't sound all that thrilled to be back here. And if you know Fletcher, you know why. He's a big, burly go-get-'em type. He's the one person of all Shawn's soldiers who made the deployments easier because I knew he's a no-questions-asked kind of soldier. He's covered Shawn in ways other soldiers would hesitate. I know that when Shawn's got Fletcher by his side, nothing is going to destroy them short of a nuclear bomb targeted right at their heads, and even then there's still a chance Fletcher will squirrel them out of there. This isn't to say that Shawn's not a good fighter, but when he's with Fletch I know that he is equally matched and won't expend extra time and energy covering someone who needs help.

Keep Fletcher in your prayers so he can heal up quick and head to Afghanistan with Shawn, as planned.

Happy Birthday, Shawn!

My hubby is 41 today!! Yep, that's right - he's a tax baby. :)

Somehow, he's managed to be deployed for the last six birthdays, so we've never celebrated one together. :( He'll be gone again next year, too. He says they don't count if he's not here to celebrate them. So then by the time he's home to have a birthday, I'll be older than he is!!

Happy Birthday, baby!
He's gonna hate me for putting that picture up! Oh well!

I like sparkles!

I know I've been MIA again, but I have good reasons! I met someone new. He sparkles in the sun! :) Oh stop worrying. My friend, Laura, is a die hard Twilight fan and since she's coming to Washington next month for the first time ever, she wanted me to take her to Forks, WA, home of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. Realizing that I'd probably enjoy it more if I at least watched the movie, I NetFlixed Twilight and was immediately hooked. So I bought the first book for myself and started reading the 500 page novel...5 days ago...and I'm half-way through the final chapter. It's sooooo good! My box with the next two books in the series, the DVD, and the soundtrack arrived today, so I'm well on my way to becoming the next Twilight addict. So yes, reading (and fantacizing about Edward Cullen wisping me away into his secret meadow) has become my number one activity as of late.

A few updates on the deployment: we're almost done! The time seems to have flown by. I guess when you're busy it really REALLY helps. We had our first injuries a little over a week ago. A friend of ours, Harley, was smacked, but came out of it unscathed. Good for him, that stud.



Another good friend, Fletcher, got hit hard and took some shrapnel in both his legs. He's going to be okay, but he was sent home due to the severity of his injuries. I just hope he is able to continue riding his Harley (the motorcycle, not to be confused with Harley, the person) after all is said and done.




By the way, ladies, the last I heard he was single! I tried hooking one of my friends up with him, but she was too uncomfortable with the age difference. I tell you what, though, if it wasn't for Shawn I'd totally be chasing Fletch down! Legs or no!

I'm going to our National Guard Family Programs workshop in two weeks. I'll be staying for two nights at the Hyatt and attending breakout sessions during the days. It's a big thing put on by Operation Yellow Ribbon as part of the redeployment and reunion process for the families. A whole bunch of us are going, and I always relish a chance to stay in a nice hotel (for free, I might add).

This coming Saturday is military appreciation night at the Mariner's so I'm going with Petey-poo. As of now, he's still leaving in the June/July timeframe.

Shawn's good - he's got the Iraqi-itis bug as I call it. If you're super curious, I'll tell ya, but it's not something to learn about if you're queasy.

Anyway, Shawn may be getting leave afterall. They had originally wanted to send him to Ft. McCoy to train up the replacement team for three weeks, but changed their minds (as the Army always will do). They are still offering him two weeks leave before coming home, though. If he turns it down, that will mean 78 days of paid leave after he demobs. Sweet vacation time!! I just have to remember that unlike Shawn,

I don't have that much leave time! :) We'll see, though. We've been talking about a trip to Mexico and a lot of camping time. Just us, a tent, and our boots he he.

That's all for now! Stay sparkly!

I've been M.I.A.

Hi folks,
I've been lazy about blogging lately. It started off with feeling really crummy and not having the energy to write anything. But once I was all fixed and feeling better, it was just pure laziness that kept me from blogging - I just didn't feel like writing anything! :)

But not to fear - I'm still here and everything is going fine. I'm continuing to stay pretty busy and active and that's helping the time fly by.

This past weekend, I got into the gardens and pulled up all the dead overgrowth and all the living weeds. It was fun, dirty, muddy work. I pulled up a whole bunch of potatoes, even though the garden hasn't been touched in more than two years! I'm eager to get in there and get it planted. I'm planning squash, radishes, onions, cabbage, bell peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I'm also wanting to build a potato box and grow a whole bunch of potatoes. Yay for spring!

I've been to a couple of really great Christian concerts lately, including Chris Tomlin's Hello Love tour and the Rock and Worship Roadshow. I had the opportunity this past Thursday to go backstage and meet Mercy Me! It was an awesome experience.

I also attended a new church. It was a nice place and the people were really welcoming without being too much up in my business, so I'm hoping this will become a new church home for me.

Things are picking up (hey, it's spring, what do you expect?) and as much as I'd like to blog every day, I just don't have the time or motivation to sit down long enough to do that. But I will try to do better on keeping everyone aprised.

And thank you, Tina, for the well-wishes! I've been thinking of you lately and hope all is well in your corner of the world! :)

Ignore that blogger behind the curtain

Ever want to let your friends know you don't really want them to read your blog, but you're too chicken to come right out and be honest? It's the blogger equivalent of turning out the lights and hiding in the corner when someone rings the doorbell. I figured out that you can actually "allow" or "unallow" people on your blog. Technology seems to have stripped our ability to have honest face-to-face interaction.

Still here, hanging on

I've been super busy and now, super sick. I can't believe I got sick TWICE! So I haven't been up for much blogging.

A quick run-down of our latest news:
- Laura's flying up from California to visit me over Memorial Day weekend! We're gonna have so much fun.
- With about 4-5 months left in the deployment, the FRG meetings' focus has shifted to redeployment and reunion...I'm stressed about it.
- Shawn wishes he could bring me tea and scrambled eggs to make me feel better

My head is in a cloud right now, so that's all I can manage to type out. Just wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive and kicking, though I'm also coughing up my lungs and getting zero quality sleep. I could really go for that tea and eggs! :(

Capturing the moment

So, I contacted three local photographers who are part of the Operation Love ReUnited project about accompanying me to Shawn's homecoming in August. So, hopefully I'll hear from one of them. I'll have to give Shawn a head's up so he knows why some complete stranger is standing there snapping pictures of us while we're kissing.

There are so many memories that I have snapshots of in my mind. It will be nice to add this to the stack of real snapshots.