Catching my breath while catching up...

Good Lord it seems I haven't talked about anything other than moving and pregnancy in forever!  Well, sorry folks, but those are the main focuses of my life for the next little while!  But, I have a few tidbits I can catch you up on...

Last week, after a day of washing and folding miniature clothes and bottles, my mom and I took a day and went shopping just to get away from the stresses of every day life and to have a little fun!  I found a cute maxi dress to wear to Little Brother's high school graduation (which is also on my due date, so I'm hoping I'm not in labor or in the hospital, or something like that!) that will work whether I'm pregnant or not.  Yay for flowy dresses and cute sandals!  Later that afternoon, we went to Little Brother's final high school lacrosse game.  It was the first round of the district championship, and although Little Bro played well, his team is young and unfortunately they didn't advance to the second round.  But we found out that Little Bro made the all district team and he was featured in the local paper in an article about the love for lacrosse he shared with my dad!

Wednesday and Thursday were emotional days for me, and I was feeling really sad, depressed, and frustrated with everything going on.  Hubs was fabulous and one evening encouraged me to just go for a drive to take my mind off of things.  I got a manicure and felt so much better.  I was so emotionally charged that I didn't have much of an appetite, and finally was starving by Friday, so we went out to dinner for our normal date night and it was so great to have some quiet time just the two of us before things get crazy in a few weeks.

Saturday and Sunday I had my final Drill Weekend at my Reserve unit!  I had an all-day conference on Saturday, and when I got home, Hubs suggested we go see a movie.  He really wanted to see The Conspirator, but it was only showing at limited theaters in our area.  We opted to go to The Commodore, which is a dinner theater near our church.  It's quite the institution around here, opened in 1945, and a place Hubs had never been.  They only have one screen and show each movie for a week at a time.  We had a fabulous light meal and the best buttered popcorn ever while we enjoyed the show.  The movie was great and I highly recommend it for your next date night!  We both enjoyed our evening, and Hubs couldn't believe I hadn't suggested we go to The Commodore before (having lived here nearly 12 years, I've been several times before); in fact, he wanted to go back again before we move!  Of course, I really enjoyed having two nights in a row with no cooking...especially during a drill weekend!

On Sunday, I worked hard and fast at my Reserve Unit trying to tie up a million loose ends since it was my last weekend.  I did manage to get quite a bit done, though not everything, and took an extended lunch with the other female officers who work with me (there are four of us, one of whom is pregnant and due a month after me!) for a small baby shower type break!  What a nice surprise and a treat!  I got home that evening and enjoyed a yummy homemade pizza with Hubs before snuggling up for the Desperate Housewives finale!

Which brings me to Monday...  We received a phone call late last week from the housing office in California, asking us some questions about the house we'd reserved.  I didn't get the message until Saturday night, though, and since the office is closed on the weekends, I had to wait until Monday morning to call.  And with the time difference, it was nearly noon my time before they were opened!  Turns out the folks I'd been working with before (no less than three different individuals) misquoted the policy for reserving a home, so the paperwork we submitted was voided and we are once again without housing once we move.  I'm so so SO frustrated, but I keep praying something reasonable will come along and everything will work out just fine.  Please cross your fingers for me!  After dealing with that drama, I had my doctor's appointment, which I already posted about, and ran some errands with my mom.  We went to the mall to find some birthday presents for my little brother (he's 19 today...happy birthday Little Bro!!) and I also ordered yet another maxi dress that will be comfy both now and right after I deliver.  Perhaps it'll be my travel outfit since it'll be comfy for flying (yes, I was finally able to book plane tickets for the big move as well!)...

Today my mom loaned me her car while she's at work.  She has a few errands she needs me to run before I pick her up.  Hubs is getting an MRI for some knee issues he's been having, and later this evening we'll be going to Little Bro's school for the Lacrosse End of Season Banquet and Senior Recognition Dinner.  I can't believe it's almost time for him to head off to college!!!

And that, my friends, is all she wrote....  I'm off to call the housing office to see if they maybe have a house for me!  Wish me luck!

Happy New Year!!

Happy 2011 everyone!  Anyone wanna make a guess as to how many times I'll still write 2010 on checks, letters, tests, etc?!

I didn't want to write a big post about my year in review...maybe in the coming days, but for now, my brain just isn't working well enough to put it all together!  However, I did have a pretty good New Year's Eve...  I woke leisurely (Hubs went to the gym and I swear I didn't even realize he was gone for almost two hours!).  When Hubs got back, he woke me up with hot pancakes and real New York Maple Syrup (a gift from my Aunt and Uncle who are stationed upstate right now).  I lounged around the house for most of the morning, until I had to start getting dressed for Girls Night Out with my mama.

For Christmas, my brothers and I ordered tickets for my parents to see The Lion King, which is playing downtown.  The original plan included a gift certificate for dinner before the show.  I had already ordered the tickets when my dad suddenly died, and they arrived in the mail the day after.  My brothers and I had a discussion about what we should do, and we decided that I'd still give my mom the tickets, but that my brothers would do something different.  That way, Mom wouldn't have to decide which of us to take with her.  I figured that I'd treat Mom to dinner before the show as her birthday present (Mom's birthday is Christmas Eve).  The tickets were for the evening after Christmas, but with the snow in Virginia, they cancelled the performance and we didn't get to go.  Of course, TicketMaster helped us out, and they offered to exchange the tickets, and we ended up with wonderful seats for the New Years Eve matinee show.

The Lion King was amazing!  We both marveled at the costumes, and the way the characters were portrayed.  The storyline of losing a father and finding your way in the world while he lives through you was very close to my heart, so there were certainly difficult parts to watch, but luckily Mom had kleenex in her purse so my makeup didn't run too much.  In a way, the play was therapeutic for me, reminding me that I am a living part of my father and he'll always be with me, and that the baby I'm carrying is also a part of my father and Hubs and I are continuing the circle of life.  I'm so grateful for all the wonderful memories I have of my dad, and the amazing example he gave me to emulate.  I will never forget him, and I will try my best to honor him the way he deserves.

After the show, Mom and I went to Still in Olde Towne for dinner.  It's a hole-in-the-wall with an entrance almost in a side alley.  You'd never know it was there if you weren't looking, and you certainly wouldn't look twice even if you did see the place.  I heard about it from a friend, so thought we'd give it a try.  Still is a tapas style restaurant, so Mom and I had a ton of fun ordering small plates of anything that looked yummy!  We chose five different options, and let me tell you, everything was delicious.  Well, except one dish that we didn't really care for, but the rest was fabulous!  And the bread pudding we ordered for dessert?  Well, let's just say I wish we hadn't shared our portion!  In the words of Rachael Ray, "Yumm-o!"

After I dropped Mom off at home, and saw the last 30 seconds of Notre Dame's bowl game victory over Miami, I went home, slipped on my comfy-pants, and vegged on the couch until bedtime.  I tried my hardest to stay awake for the ball drop, but it just wasn't happening.  Hubs and I finished watching Uncle Buck (we'd started it the night before and I fell asleep, per usual these days) and crashed right at 11.  I guess we're getting old, or maybe New Year's Eve just isn't all it's cracked up to be once you reach the age of being able to drink as much as you want in your own house, or maybe I'm just pregnant so I just pushed the idea of a alcohol-laden holiday out of my mind.  Whichever way you slice it, the last several years, New Year's Eve just hasn't been super exciting for me, and I'm ok with that.  I'm perfectly happy just staying home, enjoying a yummy meal, and watching the celebration from the comfort of my own family room!

As for resolutions this year?  I really haven't made any.  I really just strive to be the best person I can be, and I guess I don't really need a holiday to help me set that goal.  How about you?  Did you frequent the celebrations in town or stay at home?  Resolutions or just year-long striving for excellence?

Lessons for Dating AFTER You're Married

Lesson #1: Scrapbooking scissors might make cool shapes, but they hurt when you step on them

Let's just say that Patrick is super excited that I finally finished updating the scrapbooks, except for one picture that somehow didn't get ordered while I was at Walgreens. I can't begin to describe how grateful he is that he can now walk in the family room without stepping over page layouts, stencils, and afore-mentioned cool scissors that make fun shapes...just in time for our upcoming vacation to Savannah and Key West, and hopefully tons more pictures!

Lesson #2: If the meat is already thawed, I still have to cook it

Friday afternoon, Patrick called me on his way across the bridge-tunnel and asked me where I'd like to go for dinner. Now, for all you guys with girlfriends, fiancees, or wives, I highly recommend you remember this: girls adore when guys call and take all the pressure off of cooking. BUT, although there is something to be said about spontaneity, a little heads up that either (a) you're cooking for us or (b) you're taking us out is even better! Why? Because in an effort to have dinner ready at a reasonable hour, we probably already got some sort of meat out to thaw or purchased some fresh seafood at the market. If the meat was thawing in the 'fridge, no worries, it can certainly wait until the next night. But I like to leave the meat still packaged (no bugs or contamination that way) and thaw it in the kitchen sink. And if meat has been sitting out all day, I have to cook it that day. Obviously, fresh seafood tastes best if you cook it the same day you buy it. So if Patrick calls me at the last minute and suggests dinner out, I'm still going to have to cook that meat, which kind of foils the whole idea of not cooking!

Lesson #3: Even though we're married, we want you to ask us on a date

Lucky for me, in the last 15 months of marriage, Patrick has learned the previous lesson, so he told me the Thursday night not to worry about dinner; the phone call was merely to "ask" me out on our "date". Yes, even though we're married, I still like the idea of him coming home with a bouquet of flowers for me, or picking up a bottle of wine to go with our dinner, or calling to ask me out to dinner. And even though making reservations in advance has its place in life, it's a lot of fun to wander up and down the street checking out menus to decide where you want to eat. It's also a lot of fun to stop at DQ to share a Blizzard while you search for a good flick at the Red Box. See, a little planning + a little spontaneity = the perfect Friday night!

Lesson #4: Always make him figure out the map or directions

It doesn't matter if I print out directions from Google Maps, copy them from a website, or find the location on a map, Patrick will still question whether or not I got it right (he's allowed; I have a horrible sense of direction)! Our plan for Saturday involved touring the Yorktown Battlefield and lunch at the Yorktown Pub, both of which were to be accomplished in enough time to get to Colonial Downs for the last weekend of thoroughbred racing this summer. I got all the information about the racetrack from their website, wrote down everything from directions to dress code to admission fees, and assured Patrick that the Downs are "somewhere near Williamsburg...30 minutes from Yorktown, max". They're not. They're strategically and inconveniently located half-way between Williamsburg and Richmond. But we didn't figure that out until we were half-way between Williamsburg and the track and had missed the first post time by 45 minutes. And, according to my Kentucky raised husband, it is a cardinal sin to go to a horse race and neither bet nor drink. And when you're 70 miles away from home, drinking isn't a great idea. So we made a U-turn and came home; and that was good, because then I got sick. But Chick-Fil-A and An Officer and A Gentleman is almost the same as bourbon and horse racing, right?!

All in all, though, this weekend we really had a great time just spending time together and relaxing...not worrying about cooking or worrying about meeting a strict schedule and being somewhere at a specific time. We really enjoyed Gosport Tavern in Olde Towne Portsmouth Friday night. If you live in Hampton Roads, I highly recommend it for Happy Hour (daily from 4 to 7): they offer $2 domestic beer, wines, and several appetizers that make excellent meals (I enjoyed my first fish tacos ever). The new Tagalong Blizzard from DQ is equally divine, and Taken will make every Little Princess happy that her Daddy was (and still is) overly protective! The National Park Service offers a great tour of the Battle of Yorktown that offers awesome historical insight to a little-known but massively important battle in American history. And Yorktown Pub has some of the best hamburgers I've ever tasted!