I'm actually filling this out on a Thursday night so that I can actually post it on a Friday morning, instead of Friday afternoon or another day other than Friday.
So go to Wife of a Sailor for this week's Friday Fill-In:
1. Were you named after anyone?
No one that's real. My mom is actually very opposed to naming people after someone else. She thinks everyone should have their own name because everyone is their own person. So I'm not named after anyone in my family (although I do have a cousin who is named after me - her first name is my middle name - my mom was furious about that). I am, however, named after a soap opera character. Seriously. My mom isn't a TV person, and she's really not a soap opera person, but she started watching All My Children in college and she watched it for years and years afterward. Her dorm only had one TV and it was in a common room so that's what was always on the TV. She really liked the character named Brooke (the character and the name), so when she had me, she named me Brooke.
2. What color, if any, are your toenails usually painted?
Usually some shade of pink if I actually take the time to paint them.
3. How do you flush a public toilet? Hands? Feet? Something else?
Always with my foot. Public restrooms really creep me out, so if I don't have to touch something, I won't.
4. When you were a little kid, which TV character did you have a crush on?
My first TV crush was Michael J. Fox on Family Ties (though I can't remember the name of his character right now - Alex I think?). I can't even remember how old I was when the show was on, but I loved the show and I loved him. I was also pretty obsessed with the Back to the Future movies (I still have them completely memorized), so Michael J. Fox was the one for me!
5. Let’s say you had to lose one of your five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell). Which one would you choose? Why?
Without a doubt I'd chose to lose my hearing. I can't even imagine not being able to see anything. I can't even begin to imagine how I would get around and function.
It would just be weird to not be able to feel anything that I touched.
I've lost my sense of taste and smell several times already (3 sinus surgeries and the recovery process will do that to you) and it freaked me out each time. I can't even explain why, but eating something without being able to taste it at all, was just creepy to me. My sense of smell was also gone during the recovery process because my nose was packed to the point of not letting any air at all into it so I don't know if its the fact that I can't smell anything or the fact that I panic when I can't breath that makes me cringe at the idea of losing my sense of smell.
My mom is a sign language interpreter and while I don't know sign language really well, I've always been able to pick it up quickly when I needed to. My sister-in-law is also deaf, and while I don't see her that often, its really the best way to communicate with her. So as much as I wouldn't want to lose my hearing, I think I'd be able to adapt to hearing loss much better than losing any other sense.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #20
Check out Wife of a Sailor for the 20th week of the Friday Fill-In:
1. A different twist on last week’s question. This week, the first question is: what’s the nicest thing a MILSPOUSE has ever done for you?
During Mr. V's deployment last year EVERYTHING went wrong. And I mean everything. Search back through my blog posts and you'll find endless lists of everything that broke or went wrong while he was gone. About 2 weeks before he came back, one of my cats got sick....REALLY sick. Moses was the cat that replaced my 8 month old kitten that I lost to leukemia a few years ago, so he's pretty special to me. He had crystals and a blockage which is bad, but most cats can be unblocked pretty easily. Not Moses though. He went from having basic crystals and a blockage to needing emergency surgery for bladder stones, only to find out when they opened him up that he had a torn urethra, which would ultimately lead to death if it didn't heal. The vet had him in surgery when she called me to ask if I just wanted him euthanized right then and there, while he was already under anesthesia. Because Moses is so special to me, and because so much other stuff had gone wrong, I completely lost it and broke down. The vet had given him a less than 1% chance of survival. I said no to euthanizing because while I didn't want him to suffer, I needed a few moments to even process what was going on. I tried to track down Mr. V in Iraq - unsuccessfully. I didn't want to agree to anything until I talked to him, and while we had managed to talk almost every day, of course this was the one day I couldn't get in touch with him. I also wanted a chance to see Moses and say goodbye to him before they put him to sleep. So I called one of my friends crying, and without even hesitating, she packed up her 8 month old and met me at the vet to be with me while Moses was put down. That may seem like such a minor thing to some people, but I didn't want to be alone at that moment, and she didn't even hesitate or think about what she was doing. She just came out to be with me. I honestly don't know if a non-military friend would have done that for me. I like to think that they would have, but at the same time I don't think they would have understood how hard it would be to go through something like that while your husband was deployed. I'm very attached to my animals and since this news came on so sudden and quick, it was just horrible to deal with alone. I'll be grateful forever to her for dropping everything she was doing to come to the vet to be with me.
And on a happy note, by the time we got to the vet, I realized I made the right decision in saying "no" to immediate euthanasia. By the time we got there the vet had done some research and called a specialist for advice and Moses' chances of survival had been increased to 20%. Now almost exactly a year later (and after several weeks hospitalized and several months of medicine) he's still here with me alive and well :-).
2. How often do you drive faster than the speed limit?
Umm every single day. And I have a nice track record of speeding tickets to prove it. I try to never go more than about 8 miles over the limit, but my pile of tickets prove that I don't always manage to do that. I should really make a point of slowing down.
3. Did you have a nickname in school? If so, what was it?
I never had a nickname in school, but I did work at a camp where we were required to have nicknames (based on a tradition of it being too formal to call your counselors "Mrs. or Miss" but too informal to call them by their first names) and my nickname was Vega. In college my roommate started calling me Brooklet and thats the nickname that has really stuck around. Several people still call me Brooklet.
4. If your life was a book, what would the title be and how would it end?
I'll have to steal my blog title for this and call it "Life and Times of a Displaced Jersey Girl" because that really is my life. As for an ending, since I'm still hopefully very far away from the end of my life I'm going to leave that one unanswered for now.
5. Look back (in your planner if you have one) to September 14th… what did you do that day?
Absolutely nothing. But I took a cat to a feline cardiologist on the 13th and took a soap making class on the 15th. However, the 14th appears to have been a pretty relaxing, "do nothing" day.
1. A different twist on last week’s question. This week, the first question is: what’s the nicest thing a MILSPOUSE has ever done for you?
During Mr. V's deployment last year EVERYTHING went wrong. And I mean everything. Search back through my blog posts and you'll find endless lists of everything that broke or went wrong while he was gone. About 2 weeks before he came back, one of my cats got sick....REALLY sick. Moses was the cat that replaced my 8 month old kitten that I lost to leukemia a few years ago, so he's pretty special to me. He had crystals and a blockage which is bad, but most cats can be unblocked pretty easily. Not Moses though. He went from having basic crystals and a blockage to needing emergency surgery for bladder stones, only to find out when they opened him up that he had a torn urethra, which would ultimately lead to death if it didn't heal. The vet had him in surgery when she called me to ask if I just wanted him euthanized right then and there, while he was already under anesthesia. Because Moses is so special to me, and because so much other stuff had gone wrong, I completely lost it and broke down. The vet had given him a less than 1% chance of survival. I said no to euthanizing because while I didn't want him to suffer, I needed a few moments to even process what was going on. I tried to track down Mr. V in Iraq - unsuccessfully. I didn't want to agree to anything until I talked to him, and while we had managed to talk almost every day, of course this was the one day I couldn't get in touch with him. I also wanted a chance to see Moses and say goodbye to him before they put him to sleep. So I called one of my friends crying, and without even hesitating, she packed up her 8 month old and met me at the vet to be with me while Moses was put down. That may seem like such a minor thing to some people, but I didn't want to be alone at that moment, and she didn't even hesitate or think about what she was doing. She just came out to be with me. I honestly don't know if a non-military friend would have done that for me. I like to think that they would have, but at the same time I don't think they would have understood how hard it would be to go through something like that while your husband was deployed. I'm very attached to my animals and since this news came on so sudden and quick, it was just horrible to deal with alone. I'll be grateful forever to her for dropping everything she was doing to come to the vet to be with me.
And on a happy note, by the time we got to the vet, I realized I made the right decision in saying "no" to immediate euthanasia. By the time we got there the vet had done some research and called a specialist for advice and Moses' chances of survival had been increased to 20%. Now almost exactly a year later (and after several weeks hospitalized and several months of medicine) he's still here with me alive and well :-).
2. How often do you drive faster than the speed limit?
Umm every single day. And I have a nice track record of speeding tickets to prove it. I try to never go more than about 8 miles over the limit, but my pile of tickets prove that I don't always manage to do that. I should really make a point of slowing down.
3. Did you have a nickname in school? If so, what was it?
I never had a nickname in school, but I did work at a camp where we were required to have nicknames (based on a tradition of it being too formal to call your counselors "Mrs. or Miss" but too informal to call them by their first names) and my nickname was Vega. In college my roommate started calling me Brooklet and thats the nickname that has really stuck around. Several people still call me Brooklet.
4. If your life was a book, what would the title be and how would it end?
I'll have to steal my blog title for this and call it "Life and Times of a Displaced Jersey Girl" because that really is my life. As for an ending, since I'm still hopefully very far away from the end of my life I'm going to leave that one unanswered for now.
5. Look back (in your planner if you have one) to September 14th… what did you do that day?
Absolutely nothing. But I took a cat to a feline cardiologist on the 13th and took a soap making class on the 15th. However, the 14th appears to have been a pretty relaxing, "do nothing" day.
Friday, October 29, 2010
MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #19
Head over to Wife of a Sailor for the 19th week of the Friday Fill-In...
1. What’s the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
A week ago, I don't know if I would have had an answer for this, but a few days ago a guy hit my car in a parking lot. The nice thing was that he stuck around, waiting for me to come out of the store to give me his insurance info and apologize. You would think that having your car hit would annoy you, but I was honestly so shocked and grateful that this guy stuck around, that I didn't even care. Back in Jacksonville I got into a pretty bad car accident. A guy side swiped me, causing me to spin out across 3 lanes of traffic on the interstate and eventually end up in the trees on the side of the road, about 2 feet away from a huge concrete pole. The guy attempted a hit a run, but he blew his tire out and ended up stopping almost a 1/2 mile down the road. My car was pretty messed up and to make matters even worse, this guy was driving on a suspended license with no insurance. Needless to say, I wasn't at all happy that the guy tried to drive away like nothing happened, and I was furious that I had to pay the deductible to have my car fixed. I have uninsured driver insurance, but it really infuriated me that I had to still put out a few hundred dollars of my own money to fix my car because this asshole was driving without insurance. So needless to say, after that experience, the fact that someone waited for me in the parking lot to give me his insurance info so I could fix the damage on my car has renewed my faith in people. And thankfully, the damage looked worse than it was. The front grill of the car has been pushed in, but Mr. V was able to pop it back into place. All thats left now is a teeny tiny little dent in the hood, and since the car is 6 years old and has a few other tiny dents we aren't even going to make these people pay for it. Its not even worth fixing.
And that was a long story to say that these people waiting for me, might have actually been the nicest thing a stranger has done for me. Ive had other dents and bumps in my car that I didn't put there, yet no one ever stuck around to take the blame for.
2. If you are having a hard time going to sleep, what do you do to help yourself?
Thats a good question. I'll be reading other people's answers to get some ideas here. I've had some pretty serious insomnia over the past few years and when I can't fall asleep, nothing helps. Maybe someone else will have a good answer to this question.
3. Name something that makes you wish you were a kid again.
Seeing as Halloween is only 2 days away...I want to go trick or treating again!
4. What is something you never believed until you experienced it?
I never believed in ghosts, but a few of my own experiences (stories for another time) have made me seriously reconsider my opinion about them.
5. What can’t you say “no” to?
Traveling. I'm always up for going somewhere new - whether its just down the street or halfway around the world. I love seeing new places, and I rarely even stop to think about the cost when we're in the process of planning our next adventure.
1. What’s the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
A week ago, I don't know if I would have had an answer for this, but a few days ago a guy hit my car in a parking lot. The nice thing was that he stuck around, waiting for me to come out of the store to give me his insurance info and apologize. You would think that having your car hit would annoy you, but I was honestly so shocked and grateful that this guy stuck around, that I didn't even care. Back in Jacksonville I got into a pretty bad car accident. A guy side swiped me, causing me to spin out across 3 lanes of traffic on the interstate and eventually end up in the trees on the side of the road, about 2 feet away from a huge concrete pole. The guy attempted a hit a run, but he blew his tire out and ended up stopping almost a 1/2 mile down the road. My car was pretty messed up and to make matters even worse, this guy was driving on a suspended license with no insurance. Needless to say, I wasn't at all happy that the guy tried to drive away like nothing happened, and I was furious that I had to pay the deductible to have my car fixed. I have uninsured driver insurance, but it really infuriated me that I had to still put out a few hundred dollars of my own money to fix my car because this asshole was driving without insurance. So needless to say, after that experience, the fact that someone waited for me in the parking lot to give me his insurance info so I could fix the damage on my car has renewed my faith in people. And thankfully, the damage looked worse than it was. The front grill of the car has been pushed in, but Mr. V was able to pop it back into place. All thats left now is a teeny tiny little dent in the hood, and since the car is 6 years old and has a few other tiny dents we aren't even going to make these people pay for it. Its not even worth fixing.
And that was a long story to say that these people waiting for me, might have actually been the nicest thing a stranger has done for me. Ive had other dents and bumps in my car that I didn't put there, yet no one ever stuck around to take the blame for.
2. If you are having a hard time going to sleep, what do you do to help yourself?
Thats a good question. I'll be reading other people's answers to get some ideas here. I've had some pretty serious insomnia over the past few years and when I can't fall asleep, nothing helps. Maybe someone else will have a good answer to this question.
3. Name something that makes you wish you were a kid again.
Seeing as Halloween is only 2 days away...I want to go trick or treating again!
4. What is something you never believed until you experienced it?
I never believed in ghosts, but a few of my own experiences (stories for another time) have made me seriously reconsider my opinion about them.
5. What can’t you say “no” to?
Traveling. I'm always up for going somewhere new - whether its just down the street or halfway around the world. I love seeing new places, and I rarely even stop to think about the cost when we're in the process of planning our next adventure.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #17 and #18
Since its the day before the 19th installment of the Friday Fill-In, I thought I'd finally get around to responding to the 17th and 18th installments. I enjoy doing these fill-ins but I always seem to be too busy to do them on the actual day that they are supposed to be posted. So here are the last 2 from Wife of a Sailor and hopefully tomorrow I'll actually post one on time!
Friday Fill-In #17
1. What are some things on your bucket list? (from New Girl on Post)
I have a whole long list of things I want to do before I die, but unfortunately that list is in my head, and not written down, so I'm forgetting some of the things right now (I probably should write the whole list down). But off the top of my head this is what I can think of:
~own my own business
~visit all 50 states
~visit all 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada (we're actually going to be hitting up the Yukon Territory in April - more to come on that later!)
~visit all 7 continents (yes including Antarctica - my aunt took a trip there years ago and her pictures are absolutely amazing)
~open my own animal rescue
~buy an old farmhouse (preferably pre-Civil War era) and renovate it to its original condition
~get my masters degree
~see the pyramids in Egypt
~go to Prague at Christmas
~celebrate New Year's in Times Square (after living so close to NYC and spending so much time there throughout my whole life, I've still never gone there for New Year's)
2. How long have you been a MilSpouse and where have you been stationed so far? (from Raising Roscoe)
I've been a military spouse for 2 1/2 years now and while being married we've been stationed in Jacksonville, Florida and Whidbey Island, Washington. We met in Corpus Christi, Texas though, where I had moved with my ex-fiance. So we count Corpus as a place we've lived, but since we didn't move there together, didn't meet until the end of our time there, and weren't married at the time, I don't know if that counts.
3. What is a list of songs that sums up your life so far? (from Confessions of a Sailor’s Wife)
This one is kind of hard. I hear songs all the time and think "This song is about me!" but off the top of my head I can't think of a whole list of them. The only one thats coming to mind is "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts that was my wedding song. It definitely describes my life in the romantic sense.
4. What is your favorite kind of pizza?
I'm not actually a huge fan of pizza, mainly because I don't like certain kinds of cheese (and my Italian family hates this about me). However, I hate cheese-less pizza because the cheese leaves behind a greasy taste that I like and without cheese that flavor doesn't exist. So my favorite kind of pizza would be plain cheese pizza, but with the cheese pulled off of it. So it basically just becomes bread with tomato sauce and a greasy residue, but that makes my taste buds happy. (and for the record, since moving away from New Jersey I haven't been able to find any pizza that even remotely compares to the pizza you can get there. My favorite being Maruca's or 3 Brothers pizza from the Seaside Heights boardwalk.)
5. What are three good things in your life right now?
1. Mr. V is home and will be home for at least a few more months.
2. Our finances are very stable which allows us to live a pretty good life and splurge a little here and there.
3. I have some amazing friends that I've met in this town, which has made life so much easier up here and has helped me learn how to actually love this place!
Friday Fill-In #18
1. Are you a night owl or an early bird?
Neither actually. I love my sleep and while I'm usually awake between 8:30 and 9 each morning, anything earlier than that makes me miserable. I also tend to go to sleep around 10 or 11 every night. My days of staying up until all hours of the night are long gone. I function the best and feel the best in mid-afternoon. So can I call myself an "afternoon person"?
2. What makes you jealous?
I realize this is probably pretty pathetic, but I can't stand when other women flirt with my husband. I know it means nothing to him and I know I have nothing to worry about, but it still makes my anger flare like you wouldn't believe. So I don't know if thats actual jealousy or just anger.
On another note, people who have an easy time in new social situations and who are outgoing also make me jealous, because I wish I could be more like that. I wish I was able to move to a new place and just get out there by myself, but it takes me a while to warm up to new places and social situations, which makes things hard at first.
3. Have you started Christmas/holiday shopping yet? When will you finish?
Sort of. I never actually "start" Christmas shopping, but instead if I find something while I'm out and about that I know someone would like, I'll buy it and hang onto it until Christmas. So I have a few random things bought for people already, but I probably won't finish my official Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve (yes I'm a procrastinator).
4. What would you have a personal chef make you tonight?
Thai peanut sauce. This is my new addiction at the moment. There's a Thai restaurant in town that has the best peanut sauce I've ever tasted and I need to figure out how to duplicate it before we move. So far I haven't figured out how to do that because there are hundreds of different peanut sauce recipes online. Maybe if I had a personal chef, he could taste test the one I like and be a good enough chef to figure out how to re-create it for me. (so if anyone has a good Thai peanut sauce recipe please pass it along to me!)
5. Where was your first kiss?
I feel like I'm really dating myself when I realized that I had to actually think about this. I remember the moment, but I really had to think about what age I was because it feels like it was so long ago. I was 14 or 15, at my friend's house and we were playing truth or dare. My friend knew I liked this one guy who was with us, so she dared him to kiss me and he did. We actually did date for a while after that but there was really nothing spectacular or memorable about him other than the fact that I was furious with my friend when she dared him to kiss him!
Friday Fill-In #17
1. What are some things on your bucket list? (from New Girl on Post)
I have a whole long list of things I want to do before I die, but unfortunately that list is in my head, and not written down, so I'm forgetting some of the things right now (I probably should write the whole list down). But off the top of my head this is what I can think of:
~own my own business
~visit all 50 states
~visit all 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada (we're actually going to be hitting up the Yukon Territory in April - more to come on that later!)
~visit all 7 continents (yes including Antarctica - my aunt took a trip there years ago and her pictures are absolutely amazing)
~open my own animal rescue
~buy an old farmhouse (preferably pre-Civil War era) and renovate it to its original condition
~get my masters degree
~see the pyramids in Egypt
~go to Prague at Christmas
~celebrate New Year's in Times Square (after living so close to NYC and spending so much time there throughout my whole life, I've still never gone there for New Year's)
2. How long have you been a MilSpouse and where have you been stationed so far? (from Raising Roscoe)
I've been a military spouse for 2 1/2 years now and while being married we've been stationed in Jacksonville, Florida and Whidbey Island, Washington. We met in Corpus Christi, Texas though, where I had moved with my ex-fiance. So we count Corpus as a place we've lived, but since we didn't move there together, didn't meet until the end of our time there, and weren't married at the time, I don't know if that counts.
3. What is a list of songs that sums up your life so far? (from Confessions of a Sailor’s Wife)
This one is kind of hard. I hear songs all the time and think "This song is about me!" but off the top of my head I can't think of a whole list of them. The only one thats coming to mind is "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts that was my wedding song. It definitely describes my life in the romantic sense.
4. What is your favorite kind of pizza?
I'm not actually a huge fan of pizza, mainly because I don't like certain kinds of cheese (and my Italian family hates this about me). However, I hate cheese-less pizza because the cheese leaves behind a greasy taste that I like and without cheese that flavor doesn't exist. So my favorite kind of pizza would be plain cheese pizza, but with the cheese pulled off of it. So it basically just becomes bread with tomato sauce and a greasy residue, but that makes my taste buds happy. (and for the record, since moving away from New Jersey I haven't been able to find any pizza that even remotely compares to the pizza you can get there. My favorite being Maruca's or 3 Brothers pizza from the Seaside Heights boardwalk.)
5. What are three good things in your life right now?
1. Mr. V is home and will be home for at least a few more months.
2. Our finances are very stable which allows us to live a pretty good life and splurge a little here and there.
3. I have some amazing friends that I've met in this town, which has made life so much easier up here and has helped me learn how to actually love this place!
Friday Fill-In #18
1. Are you a night owl or an early bird?
Neither actually. I love my sleep and while I'm usually awake between 8:30 and 9 each morning, anything earlier than that makes me miserable. I also tend to go to sleep around 10 or 11 every night. My days of staying up until all hours of the night are long gone. I function the best and feel the best in mid-afternoon. So can I call myself an "afternoon person"?
2. What makes you jealous?
I realize this is probably pretty pathetic, but I can't stand when other women flirt with my husband. I know it means nothing to him and I know I have nothing to worry about, but it still makes my anger flare like you wouldn't believe. So I don't know if thats actual jealousy or just anger.
On another note, people who have an easy time in new social situations and who are outgoing also make me jealous, because I wish I could be more like that. I wish I was able to move to a new place and just get out there by myself, but it takes me a while to warm up to new places and social situations, which makes things hard at first.
3. Have you started Christmas/holiday shopping yet? When will you finish?
Sort of. I never actually "start" Christmas shopping, but instead if I find something while I'm out and about that I know someone would like, I'll buy it and hang onto it until Christmas. So I have a few random things bought for people already, but I probably won't finish my official Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve (yes I'm a procrastinator).
4. What would you have a personal chef make you tonight?
Thai peanut sauce. This is my new addiction at the moment. There's a Thai restaurant in town that has the best peanut sauce I've ever tasted and I need to figure out how to duplicate it before we move. So far I haven't figured out how to do that because there are hundreds of different peanut sauce recipes online. Maybe if I had a personal chef, he could taste test the one I like and be a good enough chef to figure out how to re-create it for me. (so if anyone has a good Thai peanut sauce recipe please pass it along to me!)
5. Where was your first kiss?
I feel like I'm really dating myself when I realized that I had to actually think about this. I remember the moment, but I really had to think about what age I was because it feels like it was so long ago. I was 14 or 15, at my friend's house and we were playing truth or dare. My friend knew I liked this one guy who was with us, so she dared him to kiss me and he did. We actually did date for a while after that but there was really nothing spectacular or memorable about him other than the fact that I was furious with my friend when she dared him to kiss him!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Petsmart Halloween
This has become an annual tradition for us, and if you think we're crazy - too bad :-).
A few years ago a local pet store in Corpus Christi asked us to enter their annual pet costume contest. We shopped there all the time and it sounded cute and fun, so we entered, and won 2nd place. We took home a bag of rabbit supplies (I had dressed our 4 rabbits up as the characters from the Wizard of Oz) worth at least $100. Once we realized we could win money we set out for 2 more contests in town - winning 1st place and a $50 gift certificate at one of them, and 3rd place a box of pet supplies worth about $50 from another one. In total we won about $200 worth of animal supplies and in a large animal household, any money or free stuff is always welcome and appreciated!
So for the past few years we have been taking the cats (and rabbits, though 3 of them have died, leaving me with only one character from the Wizard of Oz left). Each year we've won something. We've never won as much as that first year, but I've found that most people dress up their dogs and are shocked to see cats and rabbits in costumes. I think thats what helps us win - we're different from the rest.
This past weekend we took the cats to the Petsmart Halloween contest and walked out of there with 3 cute pictures, and 3rd place with a huge bag of Greenies treats. Greenies are pretty expensive and this bag is huge, so once again, we were happy with our prize :-).
We couldn't take all of the cats because some of them won't tolerate a costume for even 2 seconds, but we packed up the ones who were semi-well behaved and this is what we got. They all look so thrilled....
A few years ago a local pet store in Corpus Christi asked us to enter their annual pet costume contest. We shopped there all the time and it sounded cute and fun, so we entered, and won 2nd place. We took home a bag of rabbit supplies (I had dressed our 4 rabbits up as the characters from the Wizard of Oz) worth at least $100. Once we realized we could win money we set out for 2 more contests in town - winning 1st place and a $50 gift certificate at one of them, and 3rd place a box of pet supplies worth about $50 from another one. In total we won about $200 worth of animal supplies and in a large animal household, any money or free stuff is always welcome and appreciated!
So for the past few years we have been taking the cats (and rabbits, though 3 of them have died, leaving me with only one character from the Wizard of Oz left). Each year we've won something. We've never won as much as that first year, but I've found that most people dress up their dogs and are shocked to see cats and rabbits in costumes. I think thats what helps us win - we're different from the rest.
This past weekend we took the cats to the Petsmart Halloween contest and walked out of there with 3 cute pictures, and 3rd place with a huge bag of Greenies treats. Greenies are pretty expensive and this bag is huge, so once again, we were happy with our prize :-).
We couldn't take all of the cats because some of them won't tolerate a costume for even 2 seconds, but we packed up the ones who were semi-well behaved and this is what we got. They all look so thrilled....
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Fall in Washington
Its been a really long time since I've posted anything other than the Friday Fill-Ins so I guess its time for a little catching up.
The past few months have been pretty hectic. Lots going on - both good and bad.
A few of the highlights (not all necessarily good highlights):
~I've come to appreciate and enjoy Washington a lot more over the past few months (I can't believe I'm saying this). I think its because of several things, but the biggest thing being that our OSC has a fantastic woman in charge of planning activities. I've been here going on 3 years now and while I've found stuff to do on my own, our spouse club was severely lacking in fun activities. That never bothered me, because I was perfectly content to have nothing to do with the OSC, but just in the past few months we've had a lot of fun. Some of the drama filled wives have moved away and have been replaced with much nicer wives. And our social chair is always up for new exciting things so our club social calendar has been pretty full. I've been spending my time learning how to make soap, canning apples and making homemade applesauce (there are fruit trees all over this island including a peach tree in my own backyard which we baked several pies with and made peach butter), hiking the different trails on the island, crafting, and other random things like that. Its been keeping me pretty busy and pretty happy.
~On a sad note, we had a recent death in the family. My 20 year old cousin died very suddenly and very unexpectedly. We're still waiting on autopsy results, but the doctor's suspect that he had an undiagnosed heart problem which might have caused an aneurysm. He came home from work one night, said he didn't feel very good, went to sleep, and never woke up. It was definitely a huge shock to our family. The worst part is that this is my second cousin to die so young and so suddenly. Several years ago my 27 year old cousin (from the other side of the family) died from having a brain aneurysm. You would think this kind of stuff wasn't that common, but its happened to two very young people in my family now.
~On the topic of heart problems, one of my cats may have heart disease. I still have to make an appointment with a cardiologist for her, which I've been putting off because I'm scared to hear bad news. She has a pretty significant heart murmur, which doesn't necessarily mean heart disease, but it IS an indicator of it, so I'm hoping and praying that she'll be one of the lucky ones who just has a heart murmur, but no other problems. I just went through this with another cat, but thankfully, he ended up having asthma, and not a heart condition. (As a side note, I've become a pro at giving a cat 2 daily doses of an inhaler - something I never thought would be possible.)
~The very first person I met here is moving soon :-(. I was living in a pretty sketchy hotel (it was the only one in town that didn't care how many pets you had), while Mr. V was off on a Hawaii det, when we first moved here. We were waiting to close on our house so we spent 3 weeks at the hotel, and when Mr. V left I was pretty miserable. Thanks to a military wives online forum, I met Allison, who invited me over for lunch one day while Mr. V was gone. After traveling across the country for 3 weeks and then spending weeks in a hotel, I was just plain sick of restaurant food. Allison made egg salad sandwiches that day and I swear it was the best sandwich I've ever eaten. I still tell her that too. But her husband is getting out of the Navy in just a few weeks and then they are moving back to their hometown on Buffalo, New York. I'm really truly devastated that my first friend here is leaving already. But I guess thats the life I signed up for.
~On a happy note Mr. V dragged me along on another adventure this past weekend, which I thought was going to be horribly boring, but was actually a lot of fun. He's been obsessed with the big, snowy mountains that surround us since we've moved here and I have to admit that it IS pretty, but I am so sick of hearing "Look at the big, snowy mountains Brooklet!" every time the sun is out. He knows I'm sick of hearing it, but it doesn't stop him from saying it over and over! He's been wanting to drive the Cascade Loop (see info on it here , here and here) since we moved here. We took a trip to the North Cascade National Park when we first moved here and out of everything I've seen here in Washington, it just didn't impress me much. It still doesn't impress me and I don't know why. I think the Olympic mountains (to the west of us) are gorgeous , but the North Cascades (to the east) do absolutely nothing for me. The Cascade Loop is about a 10 hour drive total. He was going to do the drive with or without me, but he whined and begged for me to come along, and since our time together is limited to begin with, I caved in and agreed to go. I have to admit that I had a great time. We stopped in Leavenworth, which is where we went for a weekend when he returned from deployment. Its a cute, VERY tiny, Bavarian town that holds an annual Christmas lighting festival every December, which is what we went to last year. This year they were just finishing up their annual Oktoberfest when we got there. The leaves were changing. The sun was out for the entire trip. So I have to say that most of the drive was beautiful (though I'm still not impressed by the Cascades. Yes they're pretty, but I just can't get as excited as Mr. V does about them.) So here are some pictures:
(Near Marblemount, WA where we stopped for a picnic lunch)
(North Cascades National Park)
(North Cascades National Park - overlooking Hwy 20)
(Winthrop, WA - these pictures don't do the town justice. This town is what you hit as soon as you drive over the Cascades. We felt like we walked onto the set of a Wild West movie as soon as we got into this town.)
(Winthrop, WA - A real "Wild West" town)
(one of several funny old advertisements in Winthrop, WA)
(You have to love the schoolhouse turned brewery - Winthrop, WA)
(Winthrop, WA town hall)
(Winthrop, WA)
(me and my ice cream eating wild west buddy - Winthrop, WA)
(sunset over the Cascades)
(ever wonder where the famous Washington apples come from? Apparantly Wenatchee, WA which is where we spent the night. The place is full of endless rows of fruit trees - mostly apples obviously.)
(Leavenworth, WA)
(fall in Leavenworth, WA)
(Leavenworth, WA)
(fall in Leavenworth)
The past few months have been pretty hectic. Lots going on - both good and bad.
A few of the highlights (not all necessarily good highlights):
~I've come to appreciate and enjoy Washington a lot more over the past few months (I can't believe I'm saying this). I think its because of several things, but the biggest thing being that our OSC has a fantastic woman in charge of planning activities. I've been here going on 3 years now and while I've found stuff to do on my own, our spouse club was severely lacking in fun activities. That never bothered me, because I was perfectly content to have nothing to do with the OSC, but just in the past few months we've had a lot of fun. Some of the drama filled wives have moved away and have been replaced with much nicer wives. And our social chair is always up for new exciting things so our club social calendar has been pretty full. I've been spending my time learning how to make soap, canning apples and making homemade applesauce (there are fruit trees all over this island including a peach tree in my own backyard which we baked several pies with and made peach butter), hiking the different trails on the island, crafting, and other random things like that. Its been keeping me pretty busy and pretty happy.
~On a sad note, we had a recent death in the family. My 20 year old cousin died very suddenly and very unexpectedly. We're still waiting on autopsy results, but the doctor's suspect that he had an undiagnosed heart problem which might have caused an aneurysm. He came home from work one night, said he didn't feel very good, went to sleep, and never woke up. It was definitely a huge shock to our family. The worst part is that this is my second cousin to die so young and so suddenly. Several years ago my 27 year old cousin (from the other side of the family) died from having a brain aneurysm. You would think this kind of stuff wasn't that common, but its happened to two very young people in my family now.
~On the topic of heart problems, one of my cats may have heart disease. I still have to make an appointment with a cardiologist for her, which I've been putting off because I'm scared to hear bad news. She has a pretty significant heart murmur, which doesn't necessarily mean heart disease, but it IS an indicator of it, so I'm hoping and praying that she'll be one of the lucky ones who just has a heart murmur, but no other problems. I just went through this with another cat, but thankfully, he ended up having asthma, and not a heart condition. (As a side note, I've become a pro at giving a cat 2 daily doses of an inhaler - something I never thought would be possible.)
~The very first person I met here is moving soon :-(. I was living in a pretty sketchy hotel (it was the only one in town that didn't care how many pets you had), while Mr. V was off on a Hawaii det, when we first moved here. We were waiting to close on our house so we spent 3 weeks at the hotel, and when Mr. V left I was pretty miserable. Thanks to a military wives online forum, I met Allison, who invited me over for lunch one day while Mr. V was gone. After traveling across the country for 3 weeks and then spending weeks in a hotel, I was just plain sick of restaurant food. Allison made egg salad sandwiches that day and I swear it was the best sandwich I've ever eaten. I still tell her that too. But her husband is getting out of the Navy in just a few weeks and then they are moving back to their hometown on Buffalo, New York. I'm really truly devastated that my first friend here is leaving already. But I guess thats the life I signed up for.
~On a happy note Mr. V dragged me along on another adventure this past weekend, which I thought was going to be horribly boring, but was actually a lot of fun. He's been obsessed with the big, snowy mountains that surround us since we've moved here and I have to admit that it IS pretty, but I am so sick of hearing "Look at the big, snowy mountains Brooklet!" every time the sun is out. He knows I'm sick of hearing it, but it doesn't stop him from saying it over and over! He's been wanting to drive the Cascade Loop (see info on it here , here and here) since we moved here. We took a trip to the North Cascade National Park when we first moved here and out of everything I've seen here in Washington, it just didn't impress me much. It still doesn't impress me and I don't know why. I think the Olympic mountains (to the west of us) are gorgeous , but the North Cascades (to the east) do absolutely nothing for me. The Cascade Loop is about a 10 hour drive total. He was going to do the drive with or without me, but he whined and begged for me to come along, and since our time together is limited to begin with, I caved in and agreed to go. I have to admit that I had a great time. We stopped in Leavenworth, which is where we went for a weekend when he returned from deployment. Its a cute, VERY tiny, Bavarian town that holds an annual Christmas lighting festival every December, which is what we went to last year. This year they were just finishing up their annual Oktoberfest when we got there. The leaves were changing. The sun was out for the entire trip. So I have to say that most of the drive was beautiful (though I'm still not impressed by the Cascades. Yes they're pretty, but I just can't get as excited as Mr. V does about them.) So here are some pictures:
(Near Marblemount, WA where we stopped for a picnic lunch)
(North Cascades National Park)
(North Cascades National Park - overlooking Hwy 20)
(Winthrop, WA - these pictures don't do the town justice. This town is what you hit as soon as you drive over the Cascades. We felt like we walked onto the set of a Wild West movie as soon as we got into this town.)
(Winthrop, WA - A real "Wild West" town)
(one of several funny old advertisements in Winthrop, WA)
(You have to love the schoolhouse turned brewery - Winthrop, WA)
(Winthrop, WA town hall)
(Winthrop, WA)
(me and my ice cream eating wild west buddy - Winthrop, WA)
(sunset over the Cascades)
(ever wonder where the famous Washington apples come from? Apparantly Wenatchee, WA which is where we spent the night. The place is full of endless rows of fruit trees - mostly apples obviously.)
(Leavenworth, WA)
(fall in Leavenworth, WA)
(Leavenworth, WA)
(fall in Leavenworth)Friday, October 8, 2010
MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #15 and #16
Due to my constant lack of free time over the past 2 weeks I'm responding to two Friday Fill-Ins again. So click here for last week's Friday Fill-In from Wife of a Sailor and click here for this week's.
Friday Fill-#15
1. What is the silliest get-up you have ever worn outside of a Halloween party? (from To The Nth)
I was looking through photo albums this morning trying to find this picture but so far it seems to have disappeared. When I was in college I double majored in Communication Arts and History. I had to take a variety of public speaking classes for the communications major and one of them was called Reader's Theatre. Each semester the class voted on a theme and then we read stories out loud, based on that theme. Then at the end of the semester, our final exam consisted of us going around to local elementary schools and reading to them. My class voted on Dr. Seuss and we spent the entire semester reading Dr. Seuss stories out loud. When we went to the elementary schools we had to dress up to look like we could fit into a Dr. Seuss book. My outfit consisted of a blue flowered dress over an orange striped shirt, rainbow toe socks and flip flops with huge flowers on them, and my hair was in pig tails. I looked absolutely ridiculous, but I have to admit I had fun reading to the local kids. If I can find the picture, I'll post it in another blog for people to laugh at me :-).
2. What is something that you gave up in order to live the military lifestyle? (from Pennies from Heaven)
A career. See my answer above about going to college and graduating with 2 majors? Yeah...I have no use for that degree at the moment. It took me a LONG time to accept the fact that right now, staying home and being a housewife is OK. Ideally I want to work as a Civil War historian on a battlefield, but that can't exactly happen out on the West Coast. I had a temp job at the Whataburger Corporate Office when we lived in Corpus Christi which wasn't too bad, but it was still just a job, not a career. In Jacksonville I babysat a lot which is also what I do here. There are very few jobs on this island, never mind a career job. I was raised to think and believe that I will always have to have a way to provide for myself but this lifestyle has made that somewhat impossible. I know there are military spouses who do have careers, but what I want for a career isn't something portable and that was really depressing to me at first. The only thing that has made it better for me is that I have come to realize that almost all of the wives in Mr. V's squadron are also unemployed so its not just me. I never thought I'd have to rely on a man to support me, but at the moment, thats what I am doing. Maybe someday I'll get to have my dream career.
3. If money wasn’t a factor and you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? And why? (from Life and Times of a Displaced Jersey Girl)
This was my question but I don't have a straight answer for it. I want to go everywhere! I want to see every single country on this planet, even though I know thats absolutely impossible to do. So since I can't see everything then I want to travel as much as I can. A friend of mine just finished a "Round the World" trip. She started in London, worked her way through Europe, then Asia, then Australia, then North America. She ended in New York City. The entire trip took several months but she had the greatest time! I'd love to have the time and money to do something like that!
4. If you were going to join the military, what branch would you join? Or which MOS/rating would you choose? (from And You Never Did Think)
Well...I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in joining the military, but if I was forced to choose, then I'd join the Navy as a Public Affairs Officer. Then I could put my communications degree to use :-).
5. What is your favorite thing to make for dinner? (from Armendinger Party of 4)
My favorite thing to make? Or my favorite thing to eat? My favorite thing to make is anything that I can pop in the microwave for 5 minutes, and then eat. I hate cooking. I'm not exactly the world's best chef. If I had to actually make something, then it would be deli sliced roast beef and mashed potatoes. My dad came up with this when I was in middle school and its so easy to make and very tasty! I buy cajun spiced roast beef from the deli (or regular roast beef and then spice it myself), boil a pot of brown gravy, toss the roast beef in for a few minutes, make some instant mashed potatoes (I prefer real ones but I'm going for simplicity here), and eat. I've been told that it sounds weird to use deli sliced roast beef, but I've made it for several people and everyone has liked it so far!
Friday Fill-In #16
1. What is the longest road trip you’ve ever taken?
Our move out here. We went from Jacksonville, Florida to Whidbey Island, Washington. We took 3 weeks (I think it would have taken about 4-5 days if we had just driven straight through without stopping to be tourists along the way) and drove through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and finally Washington. Out of all those states, the only ones I had ever seen before this trip were Florida (obviously since we were living there) Georgia and Tennessee. The rest was all new to me. It was definitely a trip of a lifetime! (or at least until we drive back to the East Coast, then we'll have another trip of a lifetime).
2. Do you collect anything? Tell us a bit about it.
I'm sort of a pack rat so I have a lot of collections, but my largest one is my rabbit collection. I got my first live rabbit when I was 4, but I got my first stuffed bunny when I was born. I love rabbits and collect anything that has a rabbit on it. I have literally hundreds and hundreds of rabbit items in my house and there's no way I'll ever have room to display them all. To put it in perspective, when I was 8 years old, I displayed a small part of my rabbit collection in the local library and had a newspaper article written about it because it was so unique and diverse. 22 years have gone by since then and I've continued to collect rabbits. Its pretty safe to say its a pretty large collection.
3. What is your favorite part about being an adult?
Living on my own. I guess that sounds simple but my mother and I butted heads a lot when I was growing up and we still do to this day. I love my mom but we are 2 very different people in the way we do things, but very much alike in our stubbornness. The greatest thing I ever did was move out of my house because now I can live on my own without my mom's constant nagging all the time. I like being able to be my own person. I can decorate my house the way I want to. I can do what I want, when I want to. I like that I'll never have to answer to someone ever again. (I do value Mr. V's opinions about things though, but he also loves being away from his parents)
4. What song brings a tear to your eye?
I could write a whole list of songs that make me cry for a variety of reasons. I'm very emotional when it comes to music. I guess the most recent one is "Just a Dream" by Carrie Underwood. I heard it for the first time when I was going through Mr. V's first deployment. If you know the lyrics then you know its not a great song to hear the first time your husband is deployed.
5. Describe your first plane ride (how old you were, where you were heading, etc).
I was 8 flying from New Jersey to Florida to go to Disney World. The only thing I really remember about the flight was that some guy on the plane completely freaked out as the plane was pulling away from the gate. He was yelling about how he had to get off the plane. They did bring the plane back and let him off, but that was slightly frightening for an 8 year old on her first plane trip. I didn't like flying then, and I still don't like it now.
Friday Fill-#15
1. What is the silliest get-up you have ever worn outside of a Halloween party? (from To The Nth)
I was looking through photo albums this morning trying to find this picture but so far it seems to have disappeared. When I was in college I double majored in Communication Arts and History. I had to take a variety of public speaking classes for the communications major and one of them was called Reader's Theatre. Each semester the class voted on a theme and then we read stories out loud, based on that theme. Then at the end of the semester, our final exam consisted of us going around to local elementary schools and reading to them. My class voted on Dr. Seuss and we spent the entire semester reading Dr. Seuss stories out loud. When we went to the elementary schools we had to dress up to look like we could fit into a Dr. Seuss book. My outfit consisted of a blue flowered dress over an orange striped shirt, rainbow toe socks and flip flops with huge flowers on them, and my hair was in pig tails. I looked absolutely ridiculous, but I have to admit I had fun reading to the local kids. If I can find the picture, I'll post it in another blog for people to laugh at me :-).
2. What is something that you gave up in order to live the military lifestyle? (from Pennies from Heaven)
A career. See my answer above about going to college and graduating with 2 majors? Yeah...I have no use for that degree at the moment. It took me a LONG time to accept the fact that right now, staying home and being a housewife is OK. Ideally I want to work as a Civil War historian on a battlefield, but that can't exactly happen out on the West Coast. I had a temp job at the Whataburger Corporate Office when we lived in Corpus Christi which wasn't too bad, but it was still just a job, not a career. In Jacksonville I babysat a lot which is also what I do here. There are very few jobs on this island, never mind a career job. I was raised to think and believe that I will always have to have a way to provide for myself but this lifestyle has made that somewhat impossible. I know there are military spouses who do have careers, but what I want for a career isn't something portable and that was really depressing to me at first. The only thing that has made it better for me is that I have come to realize that almost all of the wives in Mr. V's squadron are also unemployed so its not just me. I never thought I'd have to rely on a man to support me, but at the moment, thats what I am doing. Maybe someday I'll get to have my dream career.
3. If money wasn’t a factor and you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? And why? (from Life and Times of a Displaced Jersey Girl)
This was my question but I don't have a straight answer for it. I want to go everywhere! I want to see every single country on this planet, even though I know thats absolutely impossible to do. So since I can't see everything then I want to travel as much as I can. A friend of mine just finished a "Round the World" trip. She started in London, worked her way through Europe, then Asia, then Australia, then North America. She ended in New York City. The entire trip took several months but she had the greatest time! I'd love to have the time and money to do something like that!
4. If you were going to join the military, what branch would you join? Or which MOS/rating would you choose? (from And You Never Did Think)
Well...I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in joining the military, but if I was forced to choose, then I'd join the Navy as a Public Affairs Officer. Then I could put my communications degree to use :-).
5. What is your favorite thing to make for dinner? (from Armendinger Party of 4)
My favorite thing to make? Or my favorite thing to eat? My favorite thing to make is anything that I can pop in the microwave for 5 minutes, and then eat. I hate cooking. I'm not exactly the world's best chef. If I had to actually make something, then it would be deli sliced roast beef and mashed potatoes. My dad came up with this when I was in middle school and its so easy to make and very tasty! I buy cajun spiced roast beef from the deli (or regular roast beef and then spice it myself), boil a pot of brown gravy, toss the roast beef in for a few minutes, make some instant mashed potatoes (I prefer real ones but I'm going for simplicity here), and eat. I've been told that it sounds weird to use deli sliced roast beef, but I've made it for several people and everyone has liked it so far!
Friday Fill-In #16
1. What is the longest road trip you’ve ever taken?
Our move out here. We went from Jacksonville, Florida to Whidbey Island, Washington. We took 3 weeks (I think it would have taken about 4-5 days if we had just driven straight through without stopping to be tourists along the way) and drove through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and finally Washington. Out of all those states, the only ones I had ever seen before this trip were Florida (obviously since we were living there) Georgia and Tennessee. The rest was all new to me. It was definitely a trip of a lifetime! (or at least until we drive back to the East Coast, then we'll have another trip of a lifetime).
2. Do you collect anything? Tell us a bit about it.
I'm sort of a pack rat so I have a lot of collections, but my largest one is my rabbit collection. I got my first live rabbit when I was 4, but I got my first stuffed bunny when I was born. I love rabbits and collect anything that has a rabbit on it. I have literally hundreds and hundreds of rabbit items in my house and there's no way I'll ever have room to display them all. To put it in perspective, when I was 8 years old, I displayed a small part of my rabbit collection in the local library and had a newspaper article written about it because it was so unique and diverse. 22 years have gone by since then and I've continued to collect rabbits. Its pretty safe to say its a pretty large collection.
3. What is your favorite part about being an adult?
Living on my own. I guess that sounds simple but my mother and I butted heads a lot when I was growing up and we still do to this day. I love my mom but we are 2 very different people in the way we do things, but very much alike in our stubbornness. The greatest thing I ever did was move out of my house because now I can live on my own without my mom's constant nagging all the time. I like being able to be my own person. I can decorate my house the way I want to. I can do what I want, when I want to. I like that I'll never have to answer to someone ever again. (I do value Mr. V's opinions about things though, but he also loves being away from his parents)
4. What song brings a tear to your eye?
I could write a whole list of songs that make me cry for a variety of reasons. I'm very emotional when it comes to music. I guess the most recent one is "Just a Dream" by Carrie Underwood. I heard it for the first time when I was going through Mr. V's first deployment. If you know the lyrics then you know its not a great song to hear the first time your husband is deployed.
5. Describe your first plane ride (how old you were, where you were heading, etc).
I was 8 flying from New Jersey to Florida to go to Disney World. The only thing I really remember about the flight was that some guy on the plane completely freaked out as the plane was pulling away from the gate. He was yelling about how he had to get off the plane. They did bring the plane back and let him off, but that was slightly frightening for an 8 year old on her first plane trip. I didn't like flying then, and I still don't like it now.
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