the fiascos and awesomeness of having jon home again!

so trevor and i went to the airport to meet jon. i put this sign on trevor's stroller--

and this one on the house (and yeah, i painted them both, go me!)--

oh, and i decided to save the dress for a date, so instead i wore the other outfit i posted a week ago (the one that had the white shirt w/ black circles all over it)

i still think i looked FIERCE (to quote stacy and clinton), if i do say so myself! jon was appreciative. . .

so when we got home, we unloaded trevor and jon's suitcases and came in the house.

ok, sidenote for a sec: i cleaned the WHOLE HOUSE yesterday. this is extremely rare, my actually getting off my lazy butt to clean. i don't remember the last time i cleaned, but i know jon helped. . . and he was gone a little over 4 months. ew, gross, i know. ok, i DID mop the floor about a month ago. . . but that's it. so yeah, i was pretty proud of having cleaned everything up and making the house look all pretty and shiny like a mr. clean commercial. the REASON i never clean is only partly b/c i'm lazy (i am, i admit it). . . the bigger reason is that EVERY SINGLE TIME i clean, jon tracks in all kinds of dirt and goo and messes it up. like, it'll rain and he'll have mud on his boots, but refuses to take them off. . . it NEVER happens if it's been a while since i cleaned, just the days that i actually try.

so i figured it's supposed to be nice weather, jon won't be wearing his boots, i'm safe. so what's the FIRST thing that happens when jon walks in the house? the wheel on one of his suitcases BREAKS and he leaves a HUGE BLACK STREAK going down the length of the hallway (gotta love military housing's lovely industrial tile floors). . . i saw it and i was like "you did NOT just do that!" then i made him clean it. . . it took like, 2 seconds w/ a magic eraser, but still. . . of course, now i have this really bright white streak in the midst of slightly-less-white tiles in my hallway, so it seems i didn't do as good a job w/ the cleaning as i'd thought. . .

ok, so i put trevor down for a nap, jon and i *ahem* reacquaint ourselves a bit, and after lunch, we decide to all 3 go on a walk. we leave the house only to find that we left the trunk and 1 of the car doors open. . . good job guys, way to be on the ball. . . yeah, apparently we were a little TOO distracted by each other b/c it's been over an hour since we got home. . . thank goodness for living on base and for almost everyone being at work. . . that and the only thing in the car worth stealing is trevor's carseat. . .

anyways, yeah, the rest of the day was pretty routine, just jon unpacking, nothing too exciting. we went to olive garden for dinner (jon wanted to go to this indian place, but i had curry for the last couple nights, so i asked if we could go some other time b/c i wanted something different). . . well, between jet lag, a supposed stomach virus that's wreacked havoc on dh's digestive system for the last week (that's a WHOLE separate post though), and the food he ordered, he ended up feeling really sick and went to bed at 8:30. . . poor jon. . . here's hoping he feels better soon so i can catch up on the bd'ing (even if i CAN'T get pregnant yet. . . boo. . . )

oh, and really quick before i go, here's jon and trevor at dinner tonight--

a few thoughts from john glenn

For those of us who have spent time in the military, believe in our military, and support the men and women of our military, read on.

John Glenn (DEMOCRAT) said this - it should make you think a little:

There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq in January 07. In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January. That's just one American city, about as deadly as the entire war-torn country of Iraq. When some claim that President Bush shouldn't have started this war, state the following:

FDR (DEMOCRAT) led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us, Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost. . . an average of 112,500 per year.

Truman (DEMOCRAT) finished that war and started one in Korea. North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost - an average of 18,334 per year.

John F. Kennedy (DEMOCRAT) started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us.

Johnson (DEMOCRAT) turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost. . . an average of 5,800 per year.

Clinton (DEMOCRAT) went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.

In the years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya , Iran, and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. And the Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking.

But Wait, there's more.

It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno (DEMOCRAT) to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation.

We've been looking for evidence for chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton (DEMOCRAT) to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.

It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida!!!

Our Commander-In-Chief is doing a GREAT JOB! The Military morale is high! The biased media hopes we are too ignorant to realize the facts.

But Wait. There's more!

Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services do what they do for a living. This is a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the military.

JOHN GLENN (on the Senate floor - January 26, 2004)

Senator Metzenbaum (speaking to Senator Glenn): 'How can you run for Senate when you've never held a real job?'

Senator Glenn (D-Ohio): 'I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank. I ask you to go with me. . . as I went the other day. . . to a veteran's hospital and look those men. . . with their mangled bodies, in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job! You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee. . . and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their DAD'S didn't hold a job. You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you have the gall to tell ME that those people didn't have a job?'

What about Metzenbaum? For those who don't remember, during W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA. . . now he's a Senator!

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English thank a Veteran.

have a happy period - WTF, are you SERIOUS?!?!?!?!?

This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It’s PC Magazine’s 2007 editors’ choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your ’Always’ maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I’d probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I’d certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can’t tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there’s a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from ’the curse’? I’m guessing you haven’t. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I’ll be transformed into what my husband likes to call ’an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.’ Isn’t the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you’ve no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customers monthly visits from ’Aunt Flo’. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it’s a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend’s testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey’s Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy!

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants.... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: ’Have a Happy Period.’

Are you f***ing kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness - is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you’re some kind of sick S&M freak girl, there will never be anything ’happy’ about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don’t march down to the local Walgreen’s armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn’t it make more sense to say something that’s actually pertinent, like ’Put down the Hammer’ or ’Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong’, or are you just picking on us?

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bull shit. And that’s a promise I will keep. Always.

Best,

Wendi Aarons

Austin

twilight movie countdown

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life comes in 3's

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself.

3 joys:

1. JON'S COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!
2. getting to spend time w/ trevor every day
3. we got a new table that i get to refinish! :)

3 fears:

1. rabies
2. throwing up
3. not being a good mom

3 goals:

1. save up enough money to go to hawaii for new years
2. go back to school for a masters in athletic training
3. get to the temple regularly

3 current obsessions/collections:

1. twilight series
2. the twilight movie coming out this december
3. ballet, of course

3 random facts:

1. i can dislocate my thumbs, hips, and shoulders
2. i recently discovered how much fun beading can be - and it doesn't have to look like when you're 5 and make macaroni necklaces
3. my left foot is 1/2 inch longer than my right. . . makes buying shoes interesting. . .

trailer for twilight!!!!!

my make-over

ok, so i was DESPERATELY in need of new clothes, especially when i ripped a hole in the butt of my 1 pair of capris. . . i talked w/ jon and we agreed that i could take some money out of our hawaii fund to get new clothes. happy day! i decided to get a haircut too, so it's like a whole new me! sort of a miniature version of what not to wear b/c the stuff i ended up getting was WAY better than the things i had before. that and i plan to go through and get rid of everything that doesn't really work. . . so yeah, i'm excited and decided to share some pictures. . . first, the hair--

so, so cute! i LOVE it! ok, so then here's what i ended up wearing today--

so yeah, i'm totally excited for jon to come home next week! i finally found the PERFECT dress to totally knock his socks off! best part is, i got it at walmart, of all places, can you believe it? i mean, i love that store, but i never expected to find such an awesome dress there! anyways, check it out--

oh yeah, and i actually made the jewelry to go w/ it too--

pretty sweet, huh? :D so yeah, i'm WAY excited about my new clothes! i know it'll blow jon away too, so it's just that much more anxious-making. . .

ok, i'm a dork, but i just have to comment on the term "anxious-making". . . so last time i wrote about all those books, right? well, in the uglies series, some of the people, pretties, would speak in what they called "pretty talk". . . they would say things like "happy-making" or "nervous-making". . . funny thing is though, just now when i was writing, i honestly couldn't think of a better way to put it. . . weird, huh? i think it's interesting how expressions, even when they're new or unfamiliar, will incorporate themselves into our language like that. . .

ok, so yeah, random tangent over. i just wanted to write this really quick b/c i realized i hadn't written yet this week the way i'd intended. that's all i have time for right now though, so i'm done till next time! :)

books and breast feeding

so i forgot to write last week, oops! oh well, i'm here now! :) anyways, i got some good news yesterday - jon's coming home in 2 weeks! yay!!!!! :D we weren't sure when he'd get here b/c he was supposed to have to do training w/ the new people coming to replace them and then it would depend on how they shipped them home, but it turns out they're only doing like, 1 day of training! wahoo! so he'll be home only 1 or 2 days later than they originally told us, hooray! i'm so excited to have him back! i wasn't letting myself get excited about him coming home in case it took a few weeks (or months) and he ended up being later than expected, but now that he's told me an actual date, i can't help but get excited! :)

in other news, i'm still reading up a storm and discovering some AWESOME books along the way - here's a short list of the ones i loved and highly recommend:

* the midnighters series by scott westerfeld (the secret hour, touching darkness, and blue noon)
* the uglies series by scott westerfeld (uglies, pretties, specials, and extras)
* peeps by scott westerfeld
* the last days by scott westerfeld (seeing a trend? well, it ends here, that's all i've read by him)
* the twilight series by stephenie meyer (twilight, new moon, and eclipse)
* the bar code tattoo by suzanne weyn
* the last days of kypton by kevin j. anderson

they were all really good, and for very different reasons. the funny thing about the ones by scott westerfeld is that usually when i read a series, i end up not liking anything else written by that author, but he's broken that trend for me. i read the uglies series first, and when i ended up loving it, someone told me to read the midnighters. then i saw peeps and the last days (which are kind of a series in themselves), and i loved them; i'm going to pick up another book by him from the library today, so i'll see how that one goes. . . i just read the bar code tattoo last night and was skeptical about it, at best. from the description on the back, it seemed like just another run of the mill utopia-gone-wrong kind of story, but i was pleasantly surprised. the krypton one is the story of krypton's destruction, the whole reason we have superman, so that was really interesting. even better, i finished it on thursday night and then, when i went to watch smallville, clark actually went to krypton while it was being destroyed, so that was pretty cool!

last, but certainly not least, anyone who's read the twilight series knows there's nothing i can say to do these books justice. they are by far the best books i've ever read! they're so different from anything else i've ever read, which makes them so much more intriguing. i'm so excited for the 4th book to come out this summer, i've already pre-ordered it (breaking dawn). . . i'm ALSO excited about the twilight movie (check out these links for info: imdb, stephenie meyer's website, twilight movie site) coming out in december!!!!! my friends and i have already decided we're going to see it as soon as we can once it's in theaters. we'll get our husbands to watch all the kids and have a blast, i can't wait! :D

ok, so enough about my obsession w/ twilight. . .

so i haven't really been doing much besides reading CONSTANTLY, but i have managed one thing - i'm done pumping! happy day! i haven't pumped since 4/30 and i'm so relieved! i was scared it would hurt to stop completely, but i think i did a good job of weaning slowly b/c i haven't been in pain at all! so yeah, i'm glad to be done, to not have that always hanging over my head. it was worth it to make it this far though; trevor hasn't had formula since he was a month old, and even that was b/c of doctor's orders. i have enough stockpiled in the freezer to make it to his 1st birthday, so i'm happy to have made it. it was rough, and i definitely wouldn't have made it w/out jon's help, especially in the beginning. i don't ever wanna do it again though. . . i will if i have to, of course, but i'd prefer to only pump b/c i CHOOSE to, not b/c i don't have any other options. and anyone who asks me my opinion on the subject will get the same answer - nursing would have been SO much easier, and if i could have made it work, i would have. i only chose to pump b/c it was really important to me that trevor get breastmilk for as much of the first year as possible, and he absolutely 100% refused to nurse, even w/ help from lactation consultants. in the end, it was pump exclusively or give him formula. obviously, i chose to pump. anyways, yeah, it's a huge weight off my shoulders to be done w/ it - YAY!!!!! :D