Rockin in the New Year!!

Soooo what is everyone doin' for New Years tonight????? I am sitting here eating M&M's and reading blogs...let the good times roll folks!
yee-haw!

woops....

ummmm...the hubby has reminded me that he also spent a while picking out a watch for me as a Christmas present. It is really pretty. He wanted to know why I was all about the fabric and didn't even mention the watch...ummmmmm hello!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fabric!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The watch is really nice but ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm FFFFFFFFFFAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!

See the glow on my face from fffaaaabbbrrriiicccc???!!!

heehee

Fabric market day...

I have been on vacation for a whole wonderful week. I've made one quilt already and am working on another one. Here is where I have everything set up...See the purple blocks?? I am working on a quilt for Middle Daughter. It was hard work looking through my bins to find some fabric bright enough to suit her taste. I am more a Thimbleberries/autummy color kinda girl. Before I started on the new quilt Walker Jen called and asked if I would go to the fabric store. I had a shower and threw on some clothes in about 30 minutes flat. Don't have to ask me twice!!! I found this fabric first off...it's for my resident cheer-leader. Cute huh!!

Then these fabrics spoke to me. They said I needed them. I would not be complete until I had them. They were soooo right. If you aren't a quilter you are asking about now "what is she going to do with those??" If you are a quilter you already know. I am going to look at them, fold them, put them in my stash so they can make friends with the other fabric, maybe take them out again to look at them and make my soul sing with happiness.
I loves me some fabric!!!!!

Christmas....

You know what every hubby should give a quilter for Christmas???? They should get them some fabric!!!! My hubby has that lesson down pat! He got with Walker Leigh and had her do a re-con mission to the fabric market...unbeknownst to me. On Christmas Eve he put this big box under the tree. I, of course, went right on over and picked it up. I could not for the life of me figure out what was in there. I was thinking to myself...."Oh Lord! Please not clothes!!!" The man has good taste but he is bad at picking out sizes. Poor thing always goes small.
On Christmas morning it was the first thing to be opened. I kept pulling out fabric...fabric and more fabric!!! They did really good! I would have a picture of it all but "someone" got a hold of my camera and messed up all the pictures of Christmas morning. AUGH! Just know a good time was had by all. It was a wonderful Christmas...kind of bittersweet though as this will be our last one here. We are due to get orders soon to a new place. Enough of that...I was thinking about what to do with some of the fabric. There is enough for about 4 quits. I had a pattern in mind from a Thimbleberries book I have. I went to Walker Jen's the othr day and wallah.....

A quilt is born. I love how it turned out!!!! Now I have to get it quilted so the hubby and I can snuggle underneath it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!

dawn

It's Christmas!!!!!

Sshhhhh It is 10 minutes to 6 here in South Korea. I'm up...showered...the candles are lit all around the house...the dog has been walked and fed...I've got coffee next to me and the tree is glowing. I needs me some kids to wake up! Even the hubby is in bed. I've always been an early riser on Christmas day. I remember one year, when The Son was three,that I couldn't sleep all night long cause I was so excited. I ended waking the poor thing up at around 6:30 so he could open presents.
I'm giving everyone another 20 minutes and then I'm going to wake em' up.
I hope that everyone is having a wonderfully blessed day!!!
dawn

Traditions

What are your Christmas traditions?? I've been reading blogs today and people are either doing their traditions or they are doing a tour of homes...really like that one! I thought I'd hop on the bandwagon and write about some of ours.
Every year, for the past ten years, we've eaten a big lunch at a Chinese Restaurant. It all started one Christmas when we had finished our shopping and realized we had no money left to speak of. I went out to check the mail on the 23rd of December and my Grandfather had sent us a large check with strict instructions to do something fun on Christmas Eve. Everyone had a taste for Chinese and a tradition was born. We make sure to thank my Grandpa before we eat and to think of him now that he has passed on. It's something we look forward to every year.

Since lunch is so big we have cheese and crackers for dinner. We wait til it gets dark, light the tree, put on some Christmas music softly and have dinner together. The girls get to help make the platter.

On Christmas morning the kids have to wait til it's light out...or close to it...before they can come and get us up. Everyone has to make their beds, brush their teeth and get a robe on. The Capt lights the tree and puts some Christmas music on. Then they are let loose. I play Santa and pass out presents from under the tree. Then I start cooking the big lunch feast. We aren't doing the traditional turkey or ham this year. We had a pork shoulder last year and loved it so we decided to do that again this year.

I love Christmas time. It's one of my favorite times of year. We never go out anywhere on Christmas Eve so that it's just family time. Life gets so busy during the holidays that I need time to reconnect with my own family. I like to slow us down and make a night just for us. It's really special to me.

Okay, those are some of our traditions...what are yours?? Have a very Merry Christmas from my family to yours!!!!

dawn

I just plum forgot...

Guess who forgot to get Boo Bear's teacher a Christmas gift this year??

Yep, not only do I take two minute naps while subbing, I also forget to get teachers anything for Christmas.

And the hubby has the debit card.

And we haven't received our new packet of checks yet.

Sigh

The sub who falls asleep...

I was the music teacher yesterday. I fell asleep for a second. Just a second, I swear!!! No one saw, I swear! See what had happened was...I show up for work and look at the note the teacher left for me. It is 7:30 in the morning. I don't have a class until 9:30. It's high school guitar. The boys are allowed to "jam" (his words, I'm not cool like him) or they can talk, they just can't leave the room or else they might not come back. It's a big room with a nice comfy leather couch. I grab my book, tell them they better not leave under penalty of death and they better not bother me cause I am doing important things, curl up on the lovely leather couch and read....and get sleepy. Then I read the note again. I have no next class. SIGH! Walker Jen and my little guy (her cute adorable youngest son) come to visit me. Love that! They were at school for her daughters project day. Anyway....after an hour and a half of staring at the wall and reading more of my book I am even more sleepy. In come the young ones! I get them all settled down and put on Ice Age the movie. It is the week before Christmas and it is all movies all the time up there. I sit for 40 minutes while they watch the movie...in the dark...even MORE sleepy! Next class comes in...same movie. Here is where it gets dicey. I start to nod off. The room is cozy warm. The chair I am sitting in is cozy soft. I'm gone. I wake up, startled and look around. Thank goodness no one noticed as Ice Age is pretty fabulous stuff to second graders!
After all that excitement I had to come home and have a nap.
Yes folks, I get paid to nap at school. Does it get any better then that??? I don't think so!
heehee

Christmas and Walker Jen's affair...

Man oh man oh man! Christmas is just around the corner! I still have so much to do. I don't even know what I am serving for Christmas dinner. We aren't sure if we want the traditional dinner or if we want to go all buck wild and crazy. The parents are having T-Bones. When I told the hubby we looked at each other and said hmmmmmmmmm T-Bones! :) I just know that no one wants a turkey and if I make a ham I swell up like a waterlogged sponge. All that salt. I also have to get a few more things for The Son and some stocking stuffers. I need to get my nails done as well. You can't be Christmassy with nails not done. On Monday I am going to get up early to clean house. I love for it to be all sparkly Christmas Eve. oooooooh I may take the girls so we can get our toes done. I'm not to sure I will feel Christmassy enough unless I get my toes done. heehee What else...hmmmmm......I know there is more...Oh yeah, I have to bake three dozen cookies and make a dish to bring to a cookie swap/potluck on Thursday. I should get that done today since I'm subbing for the music teacher that day. Oh, and Walker Leigh is having a Christmas party on Saturday...gotta take something to that. A fingery food thing. On Sunday we have a small get together to go to and I have to take something to that. I probably will need to hit the grocery store. Whew..is this post exciting or what?!!! I have to go now. I am going shopping with Walker Leigh and hopefully out to lunch. Our Walker Jen is seeing another woman today. We think she may have a mistress and will we will be getting our binoculars out to follow her. If another woman is going to notice how wonderfully exciting she is and move in wellllllllllllllllll I may have to open up a can of "you know what"! and go all crazy! heeheehee We will have a moment of silence for you girlfriend!!! :)
Have a wonderful day everyone!
dawn

A change in plans...

I'm up early this morning. 5 am!! I like to get up early on the days I have to sub so that by the time I need to get my kids up, I'm awake and dressed with some coffee in me. This morning I woke up, took a shower, went out for a walk with Abbey (the dog) and by the time I poured that first lovely cup of coffee to sit down at the computer and read blogs for a whole 30 minutes my phone rang. It was my boss. Change in plans this week. I had a teacher booked for the whole week. She was an easy one too. Just show up, write some work on the board and then sit with a magazine while the kids worked quietly. Now my week is no more. My boss asked if I wanted to be the Korean culture teacher today. Sigh...okay, I guess. Can I tell you a little something about me...kinda "complainie?" I hate for plans to change. The whole OCD thing. Hate it with a passion!!! If I am all geared up in my head for a week of something and then it changes at the last minute it's hard for me to shift gears. Even with something as mundane as a teaching job. Weird I know! I have to hold it inside and get quiet for a minute cause it causes my blood pressure to rise just a bit. Then I have to tell myself how silly I am being. There is much wrenching in the gears dept in my head. After a bit I'm fine and life goes on but I gotta say...that first 5-10 minutes is a killer! Does anyone else out there suffer from the same thing?? I try hard to be a go with the flow kinda girl. If shopping plans change and we do something else I'm fine with that! Great!! But if it's something during the day that I have to do...something that I have to get my mind around in the first place....well then it's hard. I had to sit here at the computer with my coffee and have a moment of quiet cause now I'm the Korean culture teacher all day instead of a journalism teacher for half of the day. What a nerd! How do you change gears?? Is it hard for you?? Is it easy?? Pass on the knowledge girlfriends!!!!
dawn

Are you there God, it's me Dawn....

Dear God,
How art Thou?? I have a quick question for You. Why cramps?? I know Eve ate the apple and tempted Adam to do the same so now all women everywhere are smited and our teeth must gnash when we go through childbirth. But God. Why oh why didest thou decidest on the whole cramps thing?? When I have cramps I get crabby. This morning my girls slid against the wall as I walked past and when I went to walk in the living room they yelled to their brother, "BOMB IN THE HOLE!" That was his cue to dive to safety, which he did. I saw legs and feet as he did a perfect swan dive behind the couch. Even the dog is cowering in fear of me. My tummy hurts Lord and I am none to happy about it. I feel as if my insides are about to slid to the floor and run screaming down the street while I stand there in a stupor. Oh, and....AND I have to wrap stinking Christmas presents at the store this morning for our wives group. All I have to say about that is everyone better like my wrapping or they will die. Nuff said! I have taken a container of motrin, have 7000 stick on heating pads and will be wearing comfy pants. None of this is giving me any comfort so God, I have a request of Thouest...when I get to Heaven may I punch Eve in the nose?? Not hard..just a quick tap. It would make me feel a lot better if I could do this one small thing. I then promise to behave for the whole of eternity and not Tee-Pee King David's mansion or anything. I will not ding-dong-ditch the apostles...no matter how much fun it would be to see Paul standing at the door in his pajama's wondering who it is. (I hear he wears teddy bear pj's!) I especially promise not to bother You about the whole Dinosaur thingie...even though you know that is the first question on my list of things to know when I get "up there".
Thank you God for listening to my wants and needs. I am going to lay here in my comfy bed, with my large jersey on propped up with many pillows while I await for You to send me some pain relief.

All my admiration,
Dawn

p.s. I WOULD like to say that I think you did a bang up job on the whole making coffee beans thing!

p.p.s Could You please put the idea in my hubby's head that he should really get me the sewing machine I want for Christmas...I mean after you take care of the war and world hunger and prejudice and hate and disease and crime and the Clintons.
heehee

An MRI....an Affair..a hubby filled to the brim with Valium...

So I know everyone has been waiting with baited breath to see how the ole' MRI went today. It wasn't bad. The morning started early. Middle Daughter is home sick..what a tug at the momma heart strings! What to do?? Do I go with the hubby and support him through this time or stay with my baby while she has a fever and an upset tummy. We decided, gulp!, to let The Son stay home and take care of her AND hold down the fort. This is the same son who broke my oven last week. After making to many decisions to count at o dark thirty we were on the road and headed to the train station. The train station was pretty cool. Everything is in Korean but that didn't stop us from finding out way...and why is my computer putting everything in italics??? I hit the wrong key somewhere. What a dork. Back to my story. We get to Seoul and head to the hospital to make sure they are ready for him. We are a couple of hours early so we go to lunch. Then he pops the ole' Valium and we head back to the hospital where they take him to get his head checked. An hour later he comes sliding back in the room with a huge grin and red eyes. Let the fun begin!!! We decide to head back to the train station and get him something to drink and something else to eat cause now he has the munchies...heeheheeee
We find a coffee shop and buy a tart thingie and get a cup of coffee each. At the table next to us I notice a man talking softly to a woman and she is upset and not looking at him. Now here in the story you are asking yourself if I minded my own business and let them be and then you are shaking your head and saying, "not our girl!" I angled myself so I could see what was going on. They were Korean but ladies....we can ALL read body language and I knew without a doubt what was happening. He got up to leave at one point and she started to sniffle. There was a suitcase next to where he was sitting. I waited patiently for him to come back.

I'm thinking that he told his wife, who lives a couple of hours away, that he had a business trip and this woman sitting in the coffee shop is his mistress.

I glanced at my hubby and saw that he was staring off into space in a nice drug induced stupor and went back to watching the couple.

The man did come back and he got some tissue for the lady. He then gets out his calendar and tries to set up another "date". She wasn't having it. I'm thinking he was supposed to leave his wife and Other Woman's' biological clock has been ticking and she is fed up with waiting for him. She started to cry softly so he did what any sensitive man would do and he tried to hand her money. She looked shocked. I looked shocked...but in a secretive way cause I was trying very hard for them to not see me looking. He talked to her for a bit until she finally took the money. Then my hubby got fidgety and decided he wanted some chips. I had to take him to a convenience store across the train station. It was okay though cause it had been some day what with him having his head checked and the affair to remember and the 6000 taxis we took around town. We should get the results in a week or two. I am convinced he will get a good report. Thanks for everyone for their kind words!!! You guys are the greatest!!! I'm off to bed now. Night!

Signed,
Put a fork in me...I'm done!

My newest quilt...

Since I've been off work for awhile I've been able to quilt again. :) Big smile! I found a pattern in the January 2008 The Quilter magazine. It is called Midnight Elements by Pine Tree Quilts. whew! I want to make sure to give credit to the right people. It's on page 27 just in case I'm supposed to give that as well. I changed the colors and did the borders just a bit different. It's for the Son and he loves it! I am sending it to be quilted by Walker Jen's mom. I've been sending her my quilts and loving what she has been doing to them!!!!! Insert Commercial:

If you are looking for a new quilter for all those lovely quilt tops in your closet...go to Karen's Quilting Service. See sidebar. :)

I just finished it this afternoon and am busy looking for my next project. I LOVE HAVING TIME OFF!!!!!!! heehee

HE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Capt got a phone call from his boss tonight asking if he could come over and talk to him about something. We kind of looked at each other like "uh-oh!" We've been waiting to hear something about his promotion. Was this going to be the "you did it" visit or the "soo sorry you suck and didn't make it, there's always next time" visit. The boss showed up and gave us the wonderful news that my hubby made Major!!!!! Wahoo!! The Capt is no longer the Capt but the Major Select!!!!! He'll pin on sometime next year. I'm pretty proud of him!!!

Way to go big-guy!!!!!!!!

p.s. Thanks to Jen and Rob for being on the lookout for any and all info!! You guys rock!!!

Dear Blog Reader.....

I am loving my NeoWorx counter over there to the right. I got a question though...who is reading me from Switzerland???? I want to be your friend!!! I know we would just love each other! We could have coffee together over the internet and you could tell me all about lovely Swiss chocolate..I wouldn't even mind if you bought some for me!! hahaha hint hint hint! :)
You could take pictures of the Swiss Alps and send it to me. I can see it now..you standing at the top of the Alps with a sign that says "Hi, Dawn!!!"
So waddaya say??? Delurk!!!
To everyone else who stopped by today...you can delurk too!!! I would love to hear from you!!!
dawn

Celebrity Saturation....

Why are we so obsessed with celebrities? I mean my goodness, we watch them, we copy them, we...wait a sec I'll be right back..
Okay, I'm back. Brittany Spears was just on TV and I didn't want to miss her running over someones foot. Where was I?? Oh yes, celebrities and how we are obsessed and how it is just wrong. We all need to get lives of our owns. Don't we have anything...oops hold on. Kimora Lee Simmons is launching a new line for Baby Phat on her show. I need to catch this episode. I'm back. We need to find something else to occupy our time. Can you just imagine how much money we could save if we didn't by gossip mags. (This part only applies to the public at large, not myself. Star magazine and People would go under if I did not support them. Think of the jobs lost! I am a giver if I am anything!) I am calling for a boycot! Yep, that's right! A boy-cot! We need to get our lives.....ooooooooohhhhhh did you see what Kimora has on??? "Love the shoes girlfriend!!!!"
Ahem...forget all I said! Life would be pretty boring without watching E Entertainment, without my E Online, especially without my favorite all time show...Kimora Life in the Fab Lane! Go watch her now!!! What are you still doing here???? GO!!!!
heehee

Just get it all over with already!!!!!!

It's a crazy time here at Chez' Owens! The hubby has a couple of irons in the fire and I gotta tell ya...when the hubby has irons in the fire it makes for a very uncomfortable Chez' Owens.
First up...he finds out if he made Major or not on Weds. Huge pressure on him.
Second...Remember when I told you he didn't have a brain tumor?? Well it seems I spoke to soon. They wanted to do additional testing so on Thursday he has to have an MRI and and MRA. Yep, more pressure.
Third...we are leaving fabulous Korea this summer for greener pastures and it's time to figure out where we want to go. We plan, he makes calls, we finagle (is this a word??), we cajole and the Air Force laughs at how cute we are thinking we have a say-so in anything and sends us where they want. I want to go to a base by the mom and dad. He has tried to make that happen. But now...NOW he is all excited about this dream job. One where he will sort of be at school all day long learning about the finer points of his job. It's great for career progression but stinks if you have visions of long weekends with Gramma and Granpa.
My loving hubby handles all this stress in the typical male fashion...lots of loooong looks into space and much silence peppered by bursts of crabby-ness. I am daydreaming about trading him in for a new and improved model. If you are feeling sympathy pains for me then my work here is done! If you are feeling the need to send chocolate that would be greatly appreciated as well but better hold off...when he gets in these moods the next thing on his list is the improvement of his wife and he gets nit-picky. If you'll excuse me I am off to daydream about my happy place. The place where my house is clean, I have a Bernina sewing machine and my "nice" husband Carlo is all about rubbing the tension from my shoulders. :)
signed,
Dawn "hanging in there by a thread" Owens

Fash-un!

Went to the Market the other day with the Walkers Leigh and Jen. It was cold outside!!! I'm talking hurt your face cold! I, because I am cool like that, decided to wear some capris. Yep, I'm an idiot. Some of the local agimahs (ladies of a certain age) took umbridge with my choice of pants and proceeded to take me to task. Every where I went I had them shaking their heads and pointing at me. One of the older ladies came up to me and started fussing loudly. I have no idea what she said but then the funniest thing happened! She rolled up my capris above my ankle, all the while giving me the business, and then SHE SMACKED ME ONE! On the leg. Hard. Then she rolls up her pant leg and shows me all the layers she had on while still giving me the business. My posse, my girls, my ace-boon-coons were laughing hysterically. They were no help at all. It seemed to me I needed to take matters into my own hands. I apologized profusely to the agimah all the while bowing and I have to admit, laughing hysterically as well. I mean come on!!! Who does that???!!!! She smacked me people!!! hahahahahaha As soon as I could make my escape I went on a mission to find some socks. This was my choice....they called to me. I put them on and the shopping commenced. Now let me explain something...not one person noticed my socks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not one!!!! Everyone in the whole of Korea was upset with me when it was just my legs out there but do they blink an eye when I walk around with these babies on???? NOOOOOOO!! It was a constant source of amusement for the three of us that no one turned a head to look at me. I laughed so hard that day my stomach hurt! Good times in Korea folks! Good times! Oh, and does anyone know why my sentences are underlined here??????? Sheesh! If it's not one thing it's another on blogger!!!! Oh, and yes, my socks did remind me of the witch who had the house fall on her in the Wizard of Oz. hahahahaha You all know you want a pair of these babies!!!!

The pictures have landed...

Hurray!!! I did it!!! Read on my faithful ones...I have three posts complete with pictures.......
Now I must go and take a loooooong nap to recuperate.

snore...

Thanksgiving with Walker Jen and her family...

We had the lovely Walker Jen and her family over for Thanksgiving this year. It was a lot of fun!We ate a ton of food and then talked and laughed afterwards cause everyone was to full to get up from the table! Here is my big strong bucket of love carving the turkey that I slaved and worried over. Yes that is our Little Boo Bear drooling over the gravy. :)

Middle daughter is not complete without a bow in her hair lately. I think it's the whole cheerleader thingie taking over her body. hehee In the back you can see Walker Rob surveying his kiddos at the kid table.
The lovely Elisie-Pie (Walker Jen's daughter) waiting patiently for her food and wondering where she can get a rockin cheerleaderie bow.

The lovely Elisie-Pie wondering why she is at the kid table when she so obviously deserves to be with the teens in the living room. She is missing out on hot gossip and is none to pleased! As you can see "Pobbs" is happy wherever he goes and Ry-Noh is getting set to jack his big brothers food if his mom (Walker Jen) doesn't shake a leg and feed him already!!

I gotta say it was one of the best Thanksgivings ever! The hubby invited one of our neighbors over. His wife is Korean and he is American. It was her first good ole' fashioned food-fest and she fit right in. I got caught up in all the eating I was doing and forgot to get a picture of her. Next time I will take a breath between bites. Hope you and yours had as good a time as we did!!!

Life with an 18 year old...

The other night the hubby and I are on a date. We are having a lovely time gazing into each others eyes and eating wonderful food with lovely conversation. Just us. Alone. Suddenly the hubby gets a phone call. This cute young man is on the other end. The son.......

He did this.....yes ladies he did. He broke my oven. How you ask?? He was standing in front of the pantry you can see to the left of the oven. He had a baseball in his hands and was tossing it back and forth trying to decide what to snack on. The ball got away from him and shattered the glass on the oven. Now people, we live on an Army post. This oven is not ours. SIGH!!!!!! I called the maintenence office and pleaded for leniency. They came and replaced the oven at no cost so The Son is alive and well.

I did make him clean it up first!

The Great Girls Getaway!!

A couple of weekends ago 4 girlfriends decided to get away from it all. No kids. No hubbys. No work. No phones. No housecleaning and certainly no cooking. Fun was had. Money was spent. A cocktail or two was consumed...note to Paige's mom:"Ma'am your very innocent daughter only consumed one cocktail. ":) End note.
They even got to eat at Chili's. It was a wonderful weekend!! All 4 friends came home tired but content. Here is our story...

So we start off the morning by getting into Walker Leigh's very clean but very empty van...

After 3 hours in the car we get to the hotel. The rooms were really nice. As we looked around we noticed they were missing a little something so off to the store we go and wallah...a mini bar is born. Let the good times roll folks!

Here is a picture of the rockin rooms! See that chair over in the corner?? That was my bed for the weekend. Walker Leigh and I took a look at the double bed and giggled. Then we looked at each other and giggled again. I sat in the chair, found out it was a lazy boy, thought to myself, "self, you are lazy. This chair was made for you." So I called the chair and a deeper friendship was born between Walker Leigh and myself. She thought to herself that she had never before seen such selflessness. AND YOU NEVER WILL AGAIN BAB-EE!!!





















After we got the rooms all sorted out it was off to spend some mon-ay. Here are my lovely friends getting geared up to go out in the world.

First up...the lovely Walker Leigh...


















Next we have the lovely Paige formerly of the 4th floor and now the 5th floor Queen of Camp Georgie...

















Men hold on to you hats cause next up we have the gorgeous and blog favorite Walker Jen...






















We shopped...we ate...we shopped some more..the Korean people cried tears of happiness and joy for us. They are building a statue in our honor. After all the shopping we went back to our room and ate some chocolate and took stock of what we bought. Our Paige bought one purse at every store we went into.... Note to Paige's mom..."Ma'am that is not a cocktail in your daughters hand...it is ummmmm Kool-aid. Yep that's right Kooooooool-aid." :)



After our wonderful weekend we piled everything in the empty van til it cried uncle...







The birdcage is indeed mine and yes I am my mothers daughter. Can you see all that stuff in there folks!!!! We left no stone unturned! No store unlooked into!!! We came, we saw, we spent!

I must say it was the best weekend I've had in a long time. Take my advice, grab some girlfriends (only ones you trust) and get away from it all!! This last picture is just for fun and cracked the 4 of us up. Wahhhhh???!! hahahahaha

bye all!

dinner...

Tonight my middle daughter is going to a going away dinner for her bestest-friend in all the world. Her sister of the heart is moving on Sunday. Tears have been seen daily. Tissue is being used by the box. I can feel all you hearts squeezing with sympathy for her. Okay, back to me!
I got invited to the dinner!!!!!!! :) It's at Outback! I am giggling with glee!! I am overcome with happiness!!!! No noodles...no sushi...no kimche...no food I can't pronounce...nothing will move...no food on a stick. Just me and the Alice Springs Chicken. And a side salad. Yummmmmmmmmm
Heaven thy name is Outback!

How you know...

You know you have OCD when...............You can't sleep at all Sunday night cause you are so excited that you are staying home Monday to clean your house. AND YOU ARE REALLY HAPPY WHILE DOING SO ON MONDAY!!

zoloft anyone?????

The war is won!!!

Well, I may have lost a couple of battles along the way this week but in the end I won the war!! I went to the library first thing yesterday morning and blocked out time to bring the two "hard" classes in for some work. Then I sat down before each class and told them how it was going to go down. I had them do a 2 page report. They weren't happy campers. They did the papers and wanted to know if they were going to get credit for the work. I was honest and told them I wasn't sure but they had two choices...either work on the paper or go to the office. They worked. :)
Thank you for all the words of encouragement!!! Today is Friday and I woke up so happy to know this would be my last day for these classes!! My boss wanted me to sub next week but I begged off. I seriously need a quilting day. It has been much to long since I had one of those. I am going to Walker Jen's on Tues to quilt and talk and laugh. Sigh!!! Aren't those days like bubble baths??! Just wonderfully relaxing and comforting!!
Have a great day everyone!

sub update....

Today I have the "challenge" classes. The classes with the "big" kids. I tell ya, those kids won't do anything! Today I am ready for them! I have a plan! I am armed with stuff to do! I will prevail!! I am not shaking in my boots! I am woman hear me roar!!

Yeah right. Sigh. Who am I kidding?? I am so mad at this teacher! He is such a nice guy too. Boy am I writing him a sub letter! I went to another teacher and asked her for a movie to show. She was ready for me. She knew sooner or later I would be by this week looking for something for the kids to do. See the thing is...these kids don't want to watch a movie. They want to sleep. Or eat. Or talk. Today I have a paper for them to write on the movie we watched this week. I am hoping that they do it. I plan on telling those that don't they can go to the office and sit the entire hour and a half cause they aren't making me look bad! As you can see I'm not the disciplinarian around these here parts. I am working on it. It just isn't working back. When I try to get touch the kids grin and say Mrs O..it's just not you. Again, sigh.
Think about me today...I feel like I'm going off to war.

Viva la' liberation!!!

A letter to teachers....

Dear Teachers Who I Sub For,

Hello. I am a substitute teacher. I am the one who watches your class for you when you are off on an appointment or on vacation or have a sick kiddo and need to stay home. Being that I have been a sub for going on two years now I have one little suggestion to all you High School teachers out there. If you are on the block schedule and have each class for an hour and a half could you please give me an hour and a half worth of work for the little darlings. See, when an 18 year old knows that he has a sub aaaand knows that he has an hour and a half of class time aaaannnndd he knows that he sees you ever other day due to the block schedule, it really puts a crimp in things if you only give them 15 - 20 minutes worth of work. What am I supposed to do with them for the rest of the time??? Especially when you are an "easy" teacher who only teaches for about 35 minutes and lets them talk for the rest of the time. It makes me nervous, I gotta tell ya, when I am looking at big hulking seniors as I am reading your lesson plan to show a movie that they've seen in your class twice before. Do you think they sit quietly and watch the movie????? NO..THEY...DON'T!!! I am sitting here this morning dreading going into your class again the day after tomorrow cause now that their work is all done I've got NOTHING! for them to do.
So teachers...let's recap shall we.

You have classes that are an hour and a half long.

GIVE YOUR SUB WORK THAT WILL LAST THE WHOLE HOUR AND A HALF AND NOT 15 MINUTES!

Ahem, I am done now. I must got and learn French cause to day I am reading the lesson to your class in French and guess what???? I DON'T SPEAK FRENCH!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T EVEN TELL WHAT I AM SUPPOSED TO BE TELLING THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(picture me now running around the room screaming and pulling out my hair.)

Have a nice day everyone!

Busy as a Bee...

When I lived in Houston I had a friend (very dear to my heart) who was a single mom. She was the one I learned to quilt with. After a year of our being friends she left her ummmmmm can I just say "not so nice" husband for better things. On her own with her two kiddos she thrived. Quilting took a back seat to working and being a mom. Juggling all the things single moms do. Now during this time I, with my infinite wisdom, used to try to "help" her find time to still quilt. Here were some of my suggestions....

Cut out the pattern one night and sew on another...
Do it on Saturdays (cause you know single moms have nothing to do on Saturdays!)
Whenever you get a day off you can quilt then...

My list went on and on and on cause I am helpful like that. :) So this morning I had to smile when I looked at my pile of quilts that still need binding on but I can't find any time to do it since I am working during the day trying to save some money for Christmas. And...and I get home at 2:30 instead of the 6pm time she gets home! I can't even find time to blog!!! There are dinners to be made, homework to help with, laundry to do, toilets to wash, stories to listen to. You get the idea!
Oh Bek...thanks for loving me even through all my helpfullness!!!! You Rock Girlfriend!!!
And to all the single moms out there....You guys are awesome!!!

Okay, my ten minutes of down time is now over. I gots to go and get ready to sub. Peace out everyone!!!
dawn

setting myself up...

You know you're setting yourself up for failure when you sign up to blog every day for a month!!! At least I am! Where have I been???? I went away for a girls weekend...pics to follow in next post...then I got horribly sick with the Ebola virus/pneumonia/the flu/ a cold/ the plague. After I felt a little better I had to go to work to make some mon-ay for Christmas gifts. That brings me to today. Today is housecleaning day. Walker Jen and her family are coming for Thanksgiving. I got lots to do around here before then and I have to work tomorrow...the day before Thanksgiving! AUGH!! It is feast or famine in my life, I tell ya. A couple of the teens told me yesterday that their moms weren't cooking on Thanksgiving (W-T-HECK???) so could they come over aaaannnndd the hubby invited a newly married couple. So far I am counting on at least 15 people with a possible of 5 more drop ins. It's gonna be a rockin' good time!!!!
Okay, I gotta go and get my house started. I have a mound of laundry that is taking over a whole room and I have a couple of errands to run.
Thanks for hanging in there with me!!!!
dawn

green with envy!!

I was minding my own business this morning enjoying a cup of coffee and perusing the 750 blogs I have bookmarked when it happened.....I went to Tracey's site...ozcountryquiltingmum.blogspot.com...to see what she was up to and guess what???!!! Her wonderful hubby, the father of her children, the one who makes her heart go pitty pat bought her a long arm quilting frame with machine.
Yep
I will let that sink in for all the quilters out there.
I looked at the pictures and drooled for a minute and tried to figure out a way to sneak on a plane to use her frame. I had another sip of coffee and looked some more. I felt wonderfully happy for her cause ladies, this is a five star gift for a quilter. Your man can do no better then to buy this for you.
Congrats Tracey on your wonderful present and even better...congrats on picking out a wonderful hubby!!
p.s. can you have him call mine and give a suggestion as to what to get me for Christmas??
Tracey??
Ummm anyone???
heehee
happy quilting!!
dawn

Why is it that the man of the house must have the TV turned on to football and takes a nap at the same time. If I sneak in there and turn it to something worthwhile, something educational...like E Entertainment well then he wakes right up all annoyed.

Inquiring minds want to know!

empty house...

My two oldest kiddos are gone for the week. This is the week we have Far-East here in South Korea. All of the sports teams have their final championship games. Football is here but cross country is in Japan and cheerleading is in Seoul. We only have our little Boo-Bear home for the next couple of days. I am missing them already. The house is so quiet with out those two and all the friends they bring home with them. Last night I was watching some funny U-Tube vidoes when Middle Daughters best friend stopped by to say hi and check on us. :)

On the plus side?? My house is really clean!!! :)

Living in a double wide...

When I was in High School I had this friend. My bestest bud. Her name was Missy. Her dad was a Capt in the Air Force and they lived in the coolest double wide you ever did see. I had this secret wish to live in a double wide as well. I used to fantasize that I would win 330 million dollars. Why that amount you ask?? I have no idea. It seemed like a nice round number. One I could live comfortably with til the end of my days. Yep. I'm a planner.
Back to my double wide. I had this baby all decorated in my head. I spent many a night daydreaming about living in it. My living room was white. I remember that. I had a fireplace and my bedroom was something straight out of a Saharan harem. Am I classy or what!!? Much tulle and velvet. Oh, I remember I wanted a bunch of plants. Don't really remember why but I seemed to think that rich millionaires who lived in trailers wanted a lot of plants.
Oh the good ole' days. Livin' in a trailer...a millionaire.
I must admit, I look up double wides from time to time to check them out. I still have a fondness for them. I'm thinking that when I get these kiddos all grown and gone I may have to act on the fantasy. Me and the Capt in a mobile home...I get all tingly just thinking about it!!
heehee

She rules me with an iron fist!

I just got off of the phone with my Boo-Bear. Seems that after giving her presentation at school she had to go to the first floor for something and fell down the stairs. She hurt her back. So she calls me to tell me she is in the nurses office. The nurse gets on the phone and says she got the wind knocked out of her and that there is a small bruise starting to form. Boo-Bear gets back on the phone and informs me that she wants to stay at school but can I have a special bed made up for her on the couch and her special cartoon channel on and waiting for her when she gets home. I inform her that, yes, I can be persuaded to do this for her. She giggles and before she hangs up she tells me she may be late cause she is staying after for home-work club.

Yep, she rules me. I have to go now to get the special blanket I use for when the kiddos are sick, make up the couch and get the TV ready so she can watch cartoons on her special channel. I may even go to the store and get her some special 7-up cause we all know that it makes a small bruise feel better!

:)

Last year around this time I was perusing all the blogs out there in blog land when I came across this....


View my profile on NaBloPoMo


since it was the middle of November when I finally realized what it was, I was to late to join. NOT THIS YEAR!!!! This year I hopped on the blog band wagon early. Here is what you do...click on the icon to your right, sign up and then post something on your blog every day for the month of November. I hear prizes may be awarded. Either way it's something fun to do.

:)
dawn

The Super Substitute....

So I've been subbing all this week, as you all know. I gotta tell ya...I'm having a ball. I've got the older kiddos for one class and then I head over to the lunchroom for grade school moniter duty. I am soooo loving it!! Yesterday I had THE-BEST conversation with a table of 5th grade boys. Went a little something like this:

Me: Hey, you've got a cool Spiderman lunch box there!
Kid: My mom got it for me.
Kid 2: Yeah, but Harry is waaaaay cooler cause he can kill Spiderman.
Me: No way!!! Harry died in the movie kid!!
Kid 3: Uh-huh. He lost his memory too.
Me: Yeah but he got it back just in time to save Peter. He gave his life for his friend.
Kid 4: I like Superman and ummmm Lunch Lady Ma'am I don't think Harry died.
Me: Spiderman could soooo kick Supermans butt kiddo! And yeah, he died. He jumped in front of a bomb blaster.
Teacher walking by: Oh my goodness..who died? I am soo sorry to hear it!
Me: We're talking about Spiderman and the Green Goblin.
The teacher gave me an odd look and kept walking.
Me: I speak boy!!!

Yep, just another day with my peers!
p.s. Spiderman does rule by the way!!!

The Opera...

A word to the wise...if you want to go to the Opera...make sure you buy your tickets in advance or you may end up getting all cute, driving for 30 minutes, fighting crazy drivers..just to have an "all sold out" sign stare at you when you go to the Opera House.
Yep. It happened. We show up at the Opera House all cute-ee-fied and ready to hob-nob with artsy people. We walk up to the ticket booth to the obvious delight of the three Korean ladies behind the counter. Much talking ensues between them as they try to figure out who has the best English and can help the Americans. The Capt and I are delighted by this time over all the ruckus we are causing. Then they sadly inform us that they are sold out.
The night wasn't a total loss. We found a really nice seafood restaurant and ate til we about burst. :) We are going to try again next week. Wish us luck!!!

Update on the hubby...and a book club...

Took my Capt to the doctors yesterday. He does not have a brain tumor! Hurray!!!!!! His head is functioning properly so they are running some other tests to rule out high blood pressure and diabetes. They think he may have one or both. All things considered we are pretty happy!!! Both of those are treatable...the brain tumor not so much.
On to fun things...

I joined a book club with the Spouse Group here on base. The first book we are reading is Water For Elephants.

I
Hate
This
Book!

I can read a book in under two hours. Love to read. Love it with a burning passion. This book makes me want to stab myself in the eyes people!!!! hahahaha I am trying to like it, really I am. I just can't! I think I may skim it and then try to bring something intelligent to the table at our meeting. I think these book club people may be a bunch of smarties. They have IQ's of a ba-zillion or something. Me..again..not so much. Where are all the fluff books??!!! Give me a good Nora Roberts....a Janet Evonovich...a Baby Blues!!! But these deep Oprah books, heavens! I'm sticking with the group though cause the "fun potential" is huge. :)

Today, in about an hour and a half the Capt and I are headed to the afternoon Opera. Yep, they have the Opera in South Korea. Nope, it is not in English. Just thought of something...is any Opera in English??? I plan on taking lots of pictures and documenting the whole wonderful experience. I'll post pictures tomorrow so you can all see what a Korean Opera is all about. I am fully expecting the hubby to fall asleep by Act 2 and this was his idea!

Have a great Saturday all!!

:) A good day!

I had the best day today!!! I had to sub for Sure Start. They are all usually 4 years old. Today they were having a Pumpkin Party. We got to make cookies and pudding and read books. Then the moms came at the end of the day....with more pumpkinny goodies and we ate and played games and made hats. You just can't ask for a better day then that! After I got home I took a short nap...tired from all the partying and went to our Ladies Group Bingo Night. I spent a boat load of money on cards and raffle tickets. Ask me what I won!!!! NOTHING! NADA! ZIP!!! Sigh.
When I got home at around 9 o'clock my house was filled with kids. There were a couple of girls spending the night with our Boo Bear...Middle Daughter was also having a friend over for the night...The Son had a friend in his room playing Halo 3 and we had a teen in the computer room fixing his My-Space. The boys had to all leave at 11. The Capt has a rule in the house that states...and I quote.."if there are girls spending the night The Son will not be able to have friends also spending the night." It is the same for the girls. Just a recipe for disaster! :)
Today the hubby has a doct's appt. He felt something pop in his head and has been dizzy and nauseous for a week. They are seeing him today to try and figure out what is wrong. Kind of scary.
Okay, I gotta go and get the house picked up before we leave. Have a wonderful weekend all!!
dawn

Pre-K...

Yesterday was just wonderful! I stayed home..watched Kimora...cleaned my bathrooms and did a mountain of laundry. More importantly I got my nails done. Whew! I feel complete. I am whole again. Just in time too cause today I have to work. I am the aide in Sure Start. That's our equvalent of Pre-K. Yep. Potty breaks and sing-a-longs and messy lunches are in my future. :) I have to admit, I like the Sure Start kiddos. They are still soooo sweet. No attitude. You may get a tear when they say goodbye to their mommies but since this is week 5 of school they should be good to go in even that area. And waking them up from nap time is one of my favoritest things! They are so cute when they wake up, still sleepy and needing a cuddle. I get any baby fix I still have inside of me that these teens aren't scraping away!
Last time I subbed in there someone threw up. I am crossing my fingers that this is not the case today!
Have a great one everybody!!

SSSHHHHHHH!!!

I am a substitute teacher for the kiddos school. All three of them go to the same school here. Yep. Pre-K all the way through 12th grade in one school. We like the little ones to get an up close and personal looksie into the teenage dating years. AUGH! Anyway, so I sub. Just not today. Why you ask?? Cause last night when the Capt wasn't looking I unplugged the phone. heeheehee
Why do I not want to work today and make some cashola?? Cause I have laundry and I think there may be a The Life Of Kimora Lee Simmons marathon on today! I have important things to do and I just cannot work! I cannot I say! I cannot!!
I can see the TV from where I am in the office and Kimora is yelling at her staff...gotta go!
hahahaha
dawn

Updates.....

Life has sure been zipping along over here at Chez' Owens! The Middle Daughter situation has just boggled my mind. The girl is working the sympathy route and changing her story to make my girl seem like the bad guy. My baby is just beside herself with hurt. Times have changed ladies...they sure have changed. You know how you keep hearing bad hurtful news...doesn't really have to matter who it has to do with it just keeps coming?? And you keep stuffing it down inside to try to deal with everything and then your hubby comes along and asks why are you is sweatpants and that is the straw that broke the camels back so you have to cry??! Yep...that was me the other night. Was just so full of tears that had no where else to be stuffed and out they came. Haven't had a good crying jag like that for years.
On to the good stuff!!!

We went to Osan yesterday (3 hours away) to support The Son at cross country and to watch Middle Daughter cheer for our football team. Got lots of pics that I'll upload when I find the camera cord. I am such a boob! :) We had so much fun! Couldn't find where The Son was cause guess what???? HE WAS IN SEOUL!! He is a boob too! He spent the night in Osan then they took a bus the two hours to Seoul and ran. We did get to watch the football game and it was a doozy! All of the different teams from our school that were down that way got to come and watch. Our side of the stands were packed! It was the other teams Homecoming game. We beat em by just a few points. The dads were beside themselves with pride. hahahahaha
Today is church and grocery shopping. Real exciting, I know. I promise to get Walkers Leigh and Jen plus Paige from the 4th floor and do something really amazing so you will start looking forward to my posts again!!!
Have a great Sunday everyone!!!
dawn

Heartbreak Hotel...

Since you all are on the edge of your seats wondering what is happening with The Boy and Middle Daughter I thought I'd give everyone an update.

They are over.

Sigh.

He asked her to go steady on the 3rd and on the 4th he was having ummmmmm "relations" with another girl in secret. The only thing wrong with that plan was that the other girl didn't keep it a secret. She bragged. Yep. So now there is much name calling...texting...my spacing...friend dividing...and phone calling. Are we having fun yet???!

The upside of all this???? The Capt and I come out smelling like a rose cause we were understanding and supportive of her choice of boy.

And can I just say that when a certain president said he did not have "that" kind of a relationship with you know who that he changed what some girls think of as ummmmmm relations! And....AND WHY WOULD YOU BRAG ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT I ASK YOU??????????????????????????????????????????????????? I just can't wrap my brain around that one. What makes a 14 year old girl do that to a boy and then BRAG about it?????? I now understand why the fathers in 18th century ole' England got their daughters married ASAP. It's cause they, like me, were all done in. This teenagerie stuff can wear a body out!!!!

I am now going to have coffee and ponder the whys of it all.................................

A dinner/bar party

I'm not sure how it started but a couple of months ago 4 families started getting together at least once a month. There is movie night over at Jen's house...kid friendly..a wine tasting at mine..adults only...Pretty Paige from the 4th floor is soon to be Pretty Paige from the 5th floor and will be having a moving/pizza/beer party...there has been a karaoke night and last night Walker Leigh had a dinner/new bar party. For her birthday she got an awesome new bar. We were to bring a bottle of something neat and then all adults would sit down to a wonderful dinner party. The kids were with babysitters. That is a lovely sentence isn't it!! hahaha
All couples showed up at Walker Leigh's with a bottle of something lovely in hand and then we sat to a wonderful dinner. There were candles burning, lovely things were simmering on the stove and great conversation was flowing. I laughed so hard my tummy hurt when I got home. Pretty Paige from the 4th floor soon to be the 5th floor is married to a pretty funny guy. He kept us all laughing and using stomach muscles we didn't know we had. Anyway, back to the dinner party. Walker Leigh out did herself. Any time a person uses Charger Plates you know you are going to enjoy yourself and feel oh so very Martha. (Martha Stewart that is!) When I got home last night and went to bed I was going over the night. It's neat how the 4 couples each bring something different to the relationship. We all seem to jell really well and never a problem is seen nor heard. We get together with or without kids...we laugh..we eat drink and be merry...we share. (something I am sure the Capt cringes about cause he NEVER knows what I will share at any given moment...heehee I like to keep him on his toes!!) We just have a good time and enjoy each other. Since I was still in my oh so very Martha mode I drifted off to sleep thinking "Friends, it's a good thing."
Hope your Saturday was just as wonderful,
dawn

Craft Day...

Once a week the Walker's Jen, Leigh and I try to get together for a craft day. I bring my quilting and Leigh scrapbooks (or works on her first quilt that is turning out to be a stunner!) and Jen does a bit of everything cause she totally rules the "craft world" and can do it all.
To say these days are a balm to my soul would not be an exaggeration. We talk about anything and everything...kids...dating drama...hubbys...cooking...crafts...other women...everything.
It's got me thinking this morning. Friendships with other women are so important. Sometimes you are lucky to fall in love and you get a sister of the heart. These are women who totally get the sentence "in the vault". They support you when the crazy hits. They hate other women sight unseen just cause they had the nerve to be mean to you. I absolutely love my girlfriends and I've been blessed with some wonderful ones over the many years of moving wherever the Air Force sends us. So today while I drink my coffee and get ready for another craft day I lift my cup to my sisters of the heart and say thank you for making my life a bit better and certainly more interesting.

a big thank you to the following women who have touched my heart:
Bec
Leigh
Jen
Amy H.
Amy R.
Tracey H.
Treasa S.
Paige H.
Janet
Pat
Tracey
Kathy
You all rock!!! (This was not written in any order and your standing can be changed if you send me some chocolate!!!) heehee
bye!

Sweet 15!

My bestest bud in all the world turned 15 yesterday. The most exciting part of it all for her is that she can now date. Yep. Let the games begin. Here is the boy who is her first offi-ci-ale boyfriend.....

world..meet the boy...boy..meet the world. They will hear all about you from time to time so keep your hands to yourself and make sure you don't make Middle Daughter cry or the hubby who has arms the size of redwoods will smite you with a vicious thunder. Enjoy! :)

We took her out to dinner last night and invited the boy. All was well.

On another note, I have been soooo busy working. We have a serious shortage of subs so those of us who signed up are getting called in left and right. I am saving for Christmas so this is great for me. Tomorrow I am headed over to Walker Jen's house to have a sew day with her and Walker Leigh. I can't wait!! Getting together with the girls is one of my favoritest things! I started a new quilt for a person who shall be nameless cause she reads my blog. I can say that all the points are matching up and it is turning out to be just gorgeous!! oops...gotta go. I am subbing for 3rd graders today and I like to get an early start. Get the lay of the land so to speak before the little monsters ummm I mean little pride and joys start showing up. Have a great day everyone!!!

dawn

The Dating Wars Part I

So you all know that Middle Daughter is allowed to date soon. Soon. Did I say soon?? It is consuming a bit of our time here at Chez' Owens. The Capt is not handling it well people. Not well at all. Is this a dad thing?? Let me explain.
To be fair to all I must say that Middle Daughter is a good girl. She is active in school..keeps her grades up...has a bunch of friends and is well adjusted and happy. We have had many a talk and laid some serious groundwork on how this whole dating this should work. Now the boy on the other hand has a bit of a reputation. He is a good kid, I like him. He just is kind of on his own and has made some..not good choices. I am all for giving someone a chance when he asks for it though. And he has asked for it where she is concerned and is really good to her. That said she is not allowed to have a boyfriend until her birthday rolls around on the second. Which is why the hubby lost his ever lovin' mind when he walked around the corner and saw them holding hands. To say much ummmmm "talking" went on last night would be an understatement. Women..call your mothers and thank them profusely if they ever got in the middle of a father daughter spat!! Thank them now!!! WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE...CALL THEM AND THANK THEM! The boy got a stern talking to in front of his friends (poor poor boy!!) and then the Capt took Middle Daughter home in disgrace. Good times. Take note mommas of young girls not yet dating...this is where you come in. You take a deep breath and "explain" to the fire breathing protective daddy that it is not the end of the world. It is not a big deal. That we will continue to keep the lines of communication open..that we will sit down with Middle Daughter and talk talk talk and then LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN. That we will not wait for failure. We will expect her to act like we raised her right...cause my peeps..she is a good kid. At the end of the night all was well again. Talking and listening went hand in hand. The fire breathing dad was subdued. Middle Daughter was safely asleep. Where was I???? I was in bed pondering the whys of it all!! Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Any and all prayers would be greatly appreciated. Any and all good thoughts sent my way would be ....getting the idea??? Oh did I say call your momas???!
heehee

Updates...

I just don't even know where to begin.

Life here is busy. I've got a bunch of pictures to upload but the scanner will only work on the laptop and the laptop is going to the doctors. Here is a short recap...

working a lot
today The Son turned 18
the other day I took his girlfriend home, they were both soaked from playing in the rain, and as she is getting out of the car he rolls down the window and says, " I love you baby."
I shook the whole way home
Middle Daughter turns 15 in 2 weeks
she is allowed to date then
in group dates
she has picked the bad boy of the school to be with
he has been coming over every day
we like him..sigh
he is trying to be good this year
we are drinking heavily
working a lot
Boo-Bear came home yesterday in a tizzy
boy that she liked last year and again this year sent her a my space message
at the next dance he wants to dance with her
she is 10
did I say we are drinking heavily???
she is not allowed to date
she is 10
she is not allowed to look at someone of the opposite sex
she is in lockdown until high school
Middle Daughter had her first cheer leading experience at the football game last Friday
It poured
yes, we went to cheer her on
The Son had a track meet at o' dark 30 the next morning
it poured
yes, we went to cheer him on
same thing this weekend
sigh
I
am
tired.
Very exciting post of all things Korean and many pictures of an awesome fabric shopping excursion to follow soon...I bought 30 yards of fabric. I was on a high for days! heehee
Tracey, some is soon to be on the way. I went to mail a box to you and the post man explained I may need to take out a loan to mail it to Australia.
I feel that you people in Australia need to revolt!!! Get those prices down!! heeehee Waiting til payday to mail out.
Okay, I think that's all my news. I am off to do the girls' hair then make The Son breakfast in bed...since he is officially a man now.
Peace out homies!!!

sweeter then a store full of candy.......

The other night the Capt and I were talking quietly while getting ready for bed. Not about anything important or life changing, just spending a couple of minutes going over our day. Something funny Boo-Bear said, what the Son was up to, how Middle Daughter turning 15 and being allowed to date was going to change the axis of the earth..you know, married stuff. We get into bed and both of us scooted to the middle and then we let our feet touch. It was an easy move and one we'd practiced many a night. Then we looked at each other and laughed gently, aware of what we'd just done. Then we turned out the lights and fell asleep. Content.

Goodness I love that man!!!

Dinner out with English Class

We had dinner out with our English class the other night. When the Air Force sends you to a new base you are usually given a sponsor. A sponsor helps you for about the 1st week or so get into a new home and they also drive you around while you get settled. Our sponsors were in charge of this English class before we were and when it was time for them to move we took it over. Well our sponsors came back for a visit so off to dinner we went. Here is some of the gang...
Not to sure what this was. I was scared and didn't try it but the hubby dubbed it pretty good. That man will try anything!!!
Now this was wonderful!! It was a squash cooked in butter and honey til even the skin was soft. Anything cooked in honey and butter tastes good if you ask me!!!

There were so many of us we had to put three long tables together. Here you can see our end...and how the dishes of food were fast being eaten!! See when you go to a Korean restaurant you get big plates of food and side dishes that everyone shares from...much sharing was going on our way!!

Here are our wonderful sponsors...Hi guys!!!
This was crepes with vegetables shiffinoded (sp?) and a sauce. Not to bad.

This stuff is a drink. It is really sweet...I think it's made from rice. You have it at the end of a meal.
This was fish...as if you couldn't tell. I really! liked this. I was supposed to share with the hubby but if you snooze you lose and when he blinked it was gone....wonder who ate it??! heehee



Last but not least was this stuff. It was candied fish skin and I gotta say...I didn't hate it. It wasn't bad! All in all we had a great time and before we knew it the clock was saying it was almost 10 o'clock. I love going out with our English class. It's one of the best things about being here...language barrier aside.

Happy eating everyone!!!

wine tasting at Chez' Owens!

When the Capt was gone I had a couple of people who took good care of me through the ups and downs of a loooooong three months. We decided to show our appreciation of these special folks with a wine tasting. What a night we had!!!!!!!! I laughed so hard I got a headache!
Here is Walker Leigh's hubby..Walker Glen. Walker Leigh couldn't be there due to a family emergency but we did have a moment of silence for "our girl" and she was greatly missed!!!!
Here is some of the food I made. There was fruit, cheese, cracker, pita chips with goat cheese and prosciutto, prosciutto and goat cheese wraps......
stuffed mushrooms, large shrimp cooked in garlic and butter, crab dip with a toasted baguette, brownies and some awesome tomatoes and mozzarella cheese thingies from Walker Jen.
Trying to decide how to make the party extra special was fun. Here is an idea from our own Walker Jen. Each person got a home-made booklet with their name on it to keep track of which wine was the best and the worst..(tasted like butt was a favorite! heehee). The winner of the best wine got a prize. I'll tell ya who won at the end....
Here are the wine glasses the hubby had to go out and buy at the 11th hour cause my OCD kicked in and I needed ALL wine glasses to match. :)


Here is our Walker Jen...upstairs Paige (sorry about the eye closed shot Paige!!) and her hubby upstairs Chris. Oh, and yes he is pouring the winning wine!!! Wine in a box baby! We are all about high class here in the ghetto!!! hahahaha
Our very own par-tay girl!!!
Upstairs Chris making sure that Upstairs Paige was sufficiently ready to go ummmmmm "upstairs". hahahahahahahahahaha

Of course when she did go home and all others were tucked into their own beds the Capt and Upstairs Chris talked and laughed til almost 4 in the morning!!!

I gotta tell ya, a good time was had by all. As Martha Stewart would say...

Friends, it's a good thing!