we have a house!

Just a quick report to say we have a house. It's 4 br 2.5 bath, big yard. We didn't get the pool we wanted, but it's in a community with a pool and tennis courts and a lake we can fish at. Looks like good sidewalks/bike paths so we can step out of the house and run/walk. The schools are reportedly good. Today we get a refrigerator delivered. We had to buy one. But that's okay, we can take it with us when we move and our next move may be for retirement. It's one of those fridges that are french door on top and freezer drawer on bottom.

Also today we make the phone calls for gas, electric, water, etc. We are also going to try to schedule getting our storage goods delivered. If they can do it by Wednesday, then that's what we'll do. Otherwise we'll get it delivered next week. We have this hotel room until Wednesday and then we go pick up the boys and drive to NC to visit the other grandma. If they can't deliver this week, then we leave here early. I miss my boys!

My mom kept my boys and the other 3 grandkids all last week and it nearly killed her. The other grandkids are 3, 5 and 8. The little ones ran her ragged and drove her crazy not eating at meals but wanting snacks all day long and constantly changing their minds. Me and Gary tried to model for her how to be firm and not cave, but she was so worried that they'd starve and she would take it personally. Plus the older girl had a sassy mouth. That did not go over well. She would argue with mom, and mom is not one to back down from an argument. Not a screaming kind of argument, but a disagreement "I'm always right" kind of argument. Personally, I was more concerned about the tone my niece took rather than what she was saying. But mom gets drawn in by the words and the tone of voice puts her on the defensive. I don't think she could see that. Now, how to convey that to mom without getting the lecture. Well, I'll probably get the lecture which I'll have to grin and bear, just so I can get my observation in there. Mom has got to learn to deal with this better or she's not going to have a good relationship with these kids. My mom usually loves to hug and kiss and giggle with her grandkids, but apparantly she does better on a one on one basis. And I can relate to that. I think it was just overwhelming - plus she doesn't do good delegating. She likes to be in charge, so she put all that responsibility on her shoulders and it stressed her too much. She said she lost 7 pounds!

Right now Gary is on the horn getting the utilities set up. Then we make a call to the landlord. The downstairs airconditioning wasn't working, plus two plugs in the kitchen weren't working and we can't find the key to the gas fireplace. So, as you can see, it's just some details that have to be worked out.

The other thing we will eventually have to work out is the room situation. The boys say they want separate bedrooms, but I want to be convinced before we put in furniture and paint. Yes, paint. We've been given the okay to paint! Yahoo! This house is already painted with good colors, but one room is white. Jake wants orange, and Ryan wants yellow. Hah! I'm thinking I can put Jake in the green room and paint the white room yellow for Ryan. I'm not keen on painting any room orange. He can get orange bedding. I'm so glad for colors. I really hate renters white/off white/yellowy.

last time at the north shore

Matsumoto's shave ice in Haleiwa. The people behind us are waiting in line. Yes, it's that popular and worth the wait. We stood in the rain to get ours.



Me and Ryan at sunset beach



Supper at Kua aina Burger.

the house is empty

It was the fastest move in the history of military moves - okay, not including single soldiers who can fit all their wordly goods in the back seat of a Mini Cooper. Two days, and not even those long, well into the night days. They packed EVERYTHING. So I'm imagining a few claims in our future. That 1/4 full bottle of Clorox bleach will not remain in the bottle, I'm sure. And while that Karo syrup will be broken and covered with ants, the ants will be dead because the tiny bottle of ant poison would have done them in. (not to mention soaked into the salt waiting to kill us sprinkle by sprinkle...)

Well, we'll see what really happens in 6 weeks. It'll be a big surprise when we open up the crates. Until then, there's no need to fret about it. We are having a good giggle and getting all kinds of moving horror stories told to us.

Hello? Did you hear about the airline pilot who died yesterday? Not the kind of news that we need to hear right about now!

You know all those hours I spent looking at all those houses online? Most of them are GONE! I can find only ONE house left with a pool - I'm sure it'll be gone tomorrow. But God has always provided us with a place to live - so I won't fret about it. (she says...)

We are staying at the Lodge on the Marine Corps base. It's pretty decent. We've got a refrigerator, sink, microwave, two queen sized beds, internet connection and breakfast in the a.m.

Gary is currently finishing up the last of his out-processing, then he'll drop the van off for shipping and we go pick him up in our tricked out rental SUV. It's so embarrassing - the tires are huge and have these shiney wheel covers. Then we are heading to the hospital to visit a friend who had emergency surgery yesterday. Then off to the north shore - the main goal there is to see the sun set - but hopefully we'll get a dinner and maybe some "last time" shave ice.

I let in the guy today to clean our carpets. We'll have to check the mail at least until we leave to make sure they have stopped delivering it. I was so sad last night when I went to pick up the mail. What I need is a good cry. I started to cry, but then got distracted - nothing like having a good cry interrupted! I need some alone time!

The boys have a party to go to tomorrow - well, the kid we are visiting today in the hospital is the brother of the birthday boy, so technically, the party was cancelled. But another mom has a pool and she's inviting a bunch of kids over for a "not Ricky's official birthday party" party. So we'll give him our presents then.

Nothing much else planned except for some clothes washing and suitcase packing. We fly out on Sunday and will get there by sunrise on Monday. Let's give a big cheer for jet lag! Hoorah!

Packing day!

The packers are here, so this note is going to be brief. Pack out today, tomorrow and movers load up wednesday - however this move has started out strangely. They sent out three guys today (usually it's an old man and two girls) and they are dismanteling furniture first and loading them into crates. So it seems to be backwards. Anyway, I"ll not have time to post or read. If I get online it'll be to just check emails and look for houses.

I've got the boys in a "daycare" program for the next 3 days. So at least they'll get social interaction with other kids, exercise and not be underfoot. There is a fieldtrip on Wednesday to the zoo - so that'll be fun for them. Me, I'm hanging out back on our lanai. I've already painted my toenails and have been reading Harry Potter. Gary has paid bills and called up places to close accounts, like electric., water, etc.

We have got our suitcases packed - overstuffed is more like it. I think we'll have to box up some things and mail it. No one is willing to compromise and leave some things for the packers. Oh well. We had checked Delta's luggage policy, and it says that if you are military and moving then you can bring 10 suitcases, no charge! We won't have that many because we'd have to haul that stuff around and our rental car won't be big enough. But it's good to know.

Pineapple: the Final Chapter

We have harvested and digested the pineapple. It was wonderful. In honor of little Pineappley, I will pay homage to it with a photo recap of it's short life.

January - first appearance



February - covered in flowers

April - getting bigger! looks like a real pineapple

May - emerald green, beautiful

June 8 - starting to get a suntan! almost time to harvest!

Comparing with a store bought pineapple - my guy is little

The next day - all gold, yet the presence of ants made me decide it was time to harvest. Isn't it beautiful?

June 12 - stored it in fridge until we were ready to eat it. (had to finish off the big one first) Looks just like a real pineapple inside! (in miniature)

I cut it using the fancy cut they taught me at the Dole Plantation. (it's the only way I cut pineapple - nothing is too fancy for my family)

We had homemade pizza along with our (organic, pesticide-free, free range) pineapple boat.

ONO!

Terrifying Tuesday and moving full panic mode

I've moved out of the denial stage and am fullly into panic mode. I had a little freak out tonight. The packers come in a few days and we have to be ready. We have to be done! If we aren't ready, then it will be triple-wrapped and stuffed in a box before I even realize it. I can't think straight. I made Gary sit down with me and give me specific tasks so I can have things to focus on - instead of the nebulous "get the house ready".

I was pretty busy today - spent hours picking up medical records. I know the parking at Tripler can be a bear at certain times of the day, so we waited until 10:30 and by the time we got there, there were spots to be had. Picked up the boys' records, my records and my films. They put mri films on cd, which take a little time to do, so we ate at the cafeteria. Not what I had planned for lunch, but it was $6 for the 3 of us - not bad. Then we drove downtown to get records from my dermatologist, then went home.

I was so tired I immediately laid down for a nap. I've not been able to make myself go to bed before 11 lately, at waking up at 5:45 - it's just not enough sleep. So I've taken "power naps" every day for at least 2 weeks now.

I remembered that I forgot about my eye doctor, so I'll call her tomorrow and hope that she'll mail the records to me. I really don't want to have to drive downtown again.

Then I did some more random move readiness stuff - magazine subscriptions and such. and some cooking. Which leads us to todays Terrifying Tuesday.

I had a package of raw almonds just waiting to be used. So I decided to whip up some almond milk. I soaked a cup of almonds overnight, rinsed, drained and set out to dry off a bit. Stuck them in the fridge until I was ready to make it. You can find this recipe all over the internet. Blend 1 cup of soaked raw almonds and 3 cups of water. Blend, blend, blend. It gets all frothy. Then you strain it. I had to throw out the almond pulp because this just isn't the time to be trying to figure out how to use it. Then you put the liquid back in the blender, add 2 or 3 dates (I added 3, tasted then added a 4th). I added vanilla and regret it. I don't have a vanilla bean or alcohol free vanilla. I could really taste the alcohol and didn't like it. And that's it.

I gave everyone a small taste. We all gave it a thumbs down. However, I did save the rest so I could make a smoothie in the morning with it. I've got lots of frozen fruit in the freezer to use. I hate to waste. Plus I want to give it a second chance.

Okay, so here's my take on it. The videos I'd been watching on youtube make you think that it's so rich and creamy. And it looks all pretty and frothy. Well, it's watery. It has an almond flavor which is nice, but it's not rich. At all. It's very lacking. I guess if you were adjusted to eating a vegan diet, then you would be used to that. It just made me sad. I don't think it should be called almond milk or mylk. It doesn't even compare to milk - even skim milk. It's almond water.

Oh, my pineapple! It's all pretty and golden. I'll have to post pictures, but I'll wait until we cut into it. I decided to harvest it tonight. I saw ants crawling all over it and that freaked me out. (tonight's theme: freaking out) I have the store bought one that we have to finish eating first. (it's really a beautiful pineapple - just a perfect flavor) Which is a lot of pressure for my little guy to compete against. I just hope the ants didn't ruin it. I will take pictures of what it looks like inside and report on the taste. It'll be fine sitting on my counter for a while.

final thought for the day: I don't have to vacuum anymore if I don't want to! In fact, Gary told me to not bother with it.

discoveries amongst the rubble...

The rubble that is the junk my children bring home from school. Monday is the last day of school and the kids have already brought home most of their junk.

I always sort through it and toss the junk and box up the treasures in a bankers box. One for each year, but not one for each kid - they have to share. (this puts a defined cap on my pack ratty ways)

I'm doing it right now. One of the best things about this chore is reading their writing notebooks. Ryan hasn't brought his home yet, but I found a couple of gems in Jake's. One page he wrote about his favorite meal - pizza. "I like cheese the best, and my mom's homemade pizza is good. It beats mass produced pizza any day!"

His last entry was about May Day. (may day is a big deal in Hawaii and the schools put on these big productions) He did a good job describing it and his feelings of nervousness before his performance. At the very end he wrote "I loved it! Too bad I have to move."

He also wrote a sweet letter to his dad about why he admired him, and he wrote a wonderful paragraph about his best friend, Ricky.

I'm so glad the teachers make them do this stuff, otherwise I'd never know.

dressing room mirrors are awful! - rant

(disclaimer: the following probably has TMI and is not a sweet fun read)

Way too truthful.

So I went bra shopping today. I've gained a few pounds making my current bras a bit uncomfortable. Bra shopping is horrible anyway, and even worse when you're fat. You just can't hide from yourself in those mirrors! What a shocker. It wasn't even a three way mirror, just the one mirror. But my stomach was shocking! And then there's the miss-matched girls issue. I was just horrified. Remember, I've got the magic mirror in our bathroom. I look pretty good in it - and my hair doesn't even look nearly as gray! But this mirror showed the real me. My foob is changing - and not for the good. I caught a view of it from a different angle. The mx scar looks like it's tightening or adhering - I'm getting indented in that area. Plus, I've been doing pushups - it's been a goal of mine to regain some strength there and get over that uncomfortable feeling. It looks like my pec muscle is developing a little bit - not a lot, I'm still a weakling - but I'm a little fuller on the topside, which exacerbates the odd shape I'm developing. Plus, in the mirror it looked like that side was barely an A cup and my natural side (esp. with weight gain) is marching towards a C cup. So you can imagine that this shopping expedition was depressing, demoralizing, unfruitful and really made me angry at my plastic surgeons! How can they not see the freakish nature of this show? And I'm stuck with it!

On top of it all, my good side has been driving me crazy. I don't know if I'm drinking too much caffeine or have gained too much weight - but it hurts so bad when I try to run. I have to hold it down! (remember, I'm not big busted) I can't wear a tighter sports bra because that bothers my other side too much. My lumps are still there and they are starting to bother me when I run - I can FEEL one of them rattling around when I run. Yeah, stop running. I know what you are thinking - but this lump has been biopsied, mammogramed, ultrasounded and mri'd. So I'm fine - as far modern science can tell me. But I'm contemplating mx'ing it. No, not just because it's tender. I've been thinking about this a long long time. It may be time. (in the near future) I'm going to start saving the coins that are laying around the house so I can get a tummy tuck too. (a girl can dream)

I'm just fed up with it all.

I think I'll just have to buy one of the extender things to gain comfort in the bras that I currently own . Rats, I had a package in my hand but laid it down and forgot about it.
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Am I alone in wanting to take some scissors to Kate's hair? I have no interest in the gossip and rumors of affairs - but I can't help but see John and Kate every 5 seconds on t.v. and those long heavy one-sided bangs drive me crazy. Let's just get a few wispy layers in there to balance it out and make it look feminine, shall we?

going crazy and Terrifying Tuesday

Wow! It's still tuesday and I'm posting about TT! Imagine that!

Gary is out of town, so I decided to go really easy on the boys. We picked out nectarines at the grocery store and that was our TT item tonight. They were soooooo good! I've eaten nectarines before, so this didn't fall into the rules of TT, but the boys had not had them, so that was good enough for me. Right now, I've got a bunch of yummy, different fruits in my fridge. I've got fresh pineapple, mango, cherries, nectarines and the usual orange, apple, grapes and banana.

Thumbs up all around.

Going crazy, well I was going to write about how I'm driving myself crazy with the house looking on the internet - it's true, I am. I think it's more a curse than a blessing to have this sort of access!! Or maybe it's just that my personality might be a little obsessive? I had a nice house picked out that had a beautiful pool and fell in our price range and within our distance parameters - but now it's gone! Of course it is. Houses that nice get snatched up asap. Really, I know it will all work out - God has something in store for us - it may not have a pool, but it will be just right for us. I need to refocus myself on getting this house ready!

It doesn't help that it's so doggone hot. It's 9:30pm and it's 85 degrees in the house. It's 90 during the heat of the day. Plus they are working on the stinking sewer and it stinks to high heaven at the school and just down the street. Luckily, we are up wind from that mess so I don't smell it at our house. However, one of my really good friends just bought a house right in front of where they are working! Poor thing. She has to wear noise blocking earphones just to function in her house.

blah, blah, blah, blather blather blather. I just wiped out what I had written. I went off on these bravo tv shows and I can't post it. I just can't. I hate talking mean about people. Lets just hope the housewives shows straighten out and the ny prep show goes off the air immediately. That's all I'm gonna say. If you've seen the shows, you know what I'm talking about!