99 Things...

So my girlfriend Nash, who is, without a doubt, the POO (meaning good!) has this listed on her blog; because it's been a bit of a stressful day (more on that tomorrow), I'm taking it easy tonight and simply keeping in the spirit of Nash's blog. Thanks, Sweets, for the award! Youdabest!

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Here is a fun game I found at Nash's blog -

Play along if you want -

Bold the things you’ve done and will admit to:

1. Started your own blog - duh!

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/world - Disney World, a few times.

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis - don't kill them, it's against the law.

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped (never!)

12. Visited Paris --twice!

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child - no, but I am one!

16. Had food poisoning - yes, from homemade ice cream when I was 18. OH. My. LORD...

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train .

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - oh yeah.

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon (ha!)

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice--amazing! Thank you Marco!

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. Yes--Italy and Germany. Breathtaking!

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (who does?)

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris--twice--once in July when it was SLEETING.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching--does dolphin watching count?

63. Gotten flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma--can't--we lived overseas and now we're "tainted".

65. Gone sky diving (yeah right!)

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check -oh...so embarrassed...

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy Absolutely--I'm crazy sentimental!

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial--I think it's in a Virginian's birth certificate that one MUST. Many, many times. Love the Jefferson Memorial too!

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating --sort of--I used to help my dad skin his deer when I was little for the program he participated in called Hunters For The Hungry.

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life --my little girl's--twice.

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby (

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

We did it...

It's over. Completed. Done.

24 hours from right NOW I will be leaving to go pick up my best friend, my love, my sweet husband from the airport.

We did it.

Tomorrow, when I finally hug my husband again, it will mark nine months to the day that he left. Nine months. It has been a long road, one marked with tears and struggles, but just as many smiles and happy moments--only now, the happy moments will once again include Mike. I cannot convey in words how crazy proud of my family I am. Devyn and Aiden have endured the last nine months with patience, humor, sometimes (lots of) tears, and love. They have made this time THAT much easier for me and Mike and tomorrow they will get the best surprise of their little lives....

They don't know, yet, that their Daddy is coming home tomorrow. My reasoning for this is quite simple: if something happens, and Mike's flight is delayed by a day (or two), I don't want them to go through the devastation of knowing their Daddy could be home, but isn't. The surprise will come tomorrow morning, when they're dressed to for church and we just happen to drive by the exit to church...they'll notice, I'm sure, and only then will I reveal the news.

If you've read this blog since it's inception nine months ago, thank you. Thank you for the supportive messages and the prayers you've offered our way. My husband will be home safely, and if you prayed for him, you had a direct hand in that. I will continue to blog about our military life, and I do hope you'll come back, because this is in no way where our story ends. There will be more deployments, the next one beginning next September, but I'm not thinking about that now. Now,I'm thinking of the following things:

1. Finding the adorable handmade bow to match Devyn's dress she'll wear tomorrow.
2. Having dinner with my girls tonight at Abuelo's in celebration.
3. Watching my little boy's face as he realizes he's looking at his best buddy again tomorrow.
4. Holding onto Mike's arms and knowing he's really here.
5. Praising God for bringing us through.

24 hours, 12 minutes, and we will be a family again...

Molasses...honey...snails...slugs...time...

It's like an episode of the 100,000 Dollar Pyramid. And the answer is:

THINGS THAT MOVE SLOWLY.

Seriously. Could these last few weeks move much slower?

I haven't blogged lately for several reasons:

1. Three sets of house guests for three weeks. Loved 'em all.
2. Continuously trying to clean my house. It never ends.
3. The Boy's birthday party that went off without a hitch.
4. Still trying to kick anemia's butt and finding that it's kicking mine.
5. Four hours last Friday in the dentist chair. I don't want to talk about it.

And honestly, just watching the clock tick...t.h.i.s.s.l.o.w.l.y...

I don't have a date yet for Mike's return, but it's all I'm thinking about these days. I can tell you this much: three weeks from now, more than likely, my husband whom I haven't laid eyes on in 8 months and 10 days will be with me again. It's like that line from a Fighting Gravity song that keeps playing through my head:

Why do days just creep along when times flies by so fast?

The perfect hero

This is the week that tests my humanity and sanity. Truly. In the past five days, I have:

1. Been diagnosed with anemia
2. Bought four baby gifts, and three birthday gifts
3. Planned one birthday party (for my sweet boy)
4. Sat through a nor'easter yesterday and LOVED every second of it
5. Paid a plumber a good sized bill to fix a pipe that flooded my garage
6. Seen the most gorgeous pictures of my friend's honeymoon in Tuscany (hello...SO going to Montepulciano)
7. Come down with a massive head cold-allergy-sinuses of death thing

WHAT IS GOING ON!?!!! Done now. Perfectly, happily done now with all the junk. The junk has my permission to end. NOW.

So here I sit, on a Friday night contemplating a cup of tea from the tea arsenal we brought back from England and watching the second season of Friends on dvd.

You know, I use this blog as a vent--a way to express my feelings, thoughts and emotions surrounding this whole deployment. However, it's all about me. I rarely have expressed what my husband goes through, because honestly, I don't have any idea and it pains me to think about it. I can't imagine...I can't fathom not seeing our children for ten months. I can't process not holding them and having them hug me back, or reading my paper in the morning. It must be so incredibly hard; harder than anything I've ever been through and I think that needed stating.

Mike, I know you read my blog and I need you to know how much I appreciate everything you do for us. I appreciate the sacrifices, daily, monthly and by the minute that you make for our family in order to give us what we need. Thank you for doing this job that at times is miserable and unimaginably ridiculous. You are, and always will be, my best friend and my most perfect hero.

Buy something made with love...

Buy handmade this holiday season and support an artisan or craftsman!



My handmade website:
www.carrycarrie.etsy.com

Enjoy!

Sweatah Weathah...

I love, love, LOVE Autumn, Fall, whatever you want to call it. I LOVE IT. I love the cooler weather, the crispness in the air, and everything that comes along with it. However, I have some new favorites that just happen to coincide with the season. Because I'm a little bored, and a lot tired, I'm going to list them tonight...

1. The new Ralph Lauren fragrance, Notorious. Ralph and I have a thing, in that, the man fits me. His jeans fit me better than any jeans I've ever, ever owned (and that's not an easy task). His swimsuits look better on me than any other, and his perfumes just smell like a can of heaven exploded in my bathroom (which happened once, when I accidently broke a bottle of Glamorous and our bathroom smelled like Heaven exploded, for like, oh a MONTH). I LOVE RALPH. And I love this new perfume, Notorious.

2. Cinnamon Swirl Folgers.

3. Mad Men. Seriously. The best show on tv. Period.

4. My other favorite new fragrance, Burberry London. Smells just like London does. Honestly.

5. The fact that I have now learned how to make Burgundy Beef Stew.

6. Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks.

7. Fuzzy slippers, like the ones I found today at Target, even though I'll probably always be a socks girl.

8. Aiden's new slippers. Giant, white Speed Racer racecars on his feet. Wearing them, he's either going to fall over from being bottom heavy or if he goes outside in them, ducks will notice and follow him around like he's their Mother Ship.

9. Igor. GO SEE THIS MOVIE! Best kids (and adult) movie I've seen in a very, VERY long time. FABULOUS!

10. The fabrics I've found for my handbags. The most gorgeous ones I've seen in a long, long time!

11. My renewed love for fabrics and design and creating. I have an internal need to create--I've always known that, but I put it away for a long time, thinking that I needed to focus on being a mama (and I did, and I love it). However, feeding this need I have to create something with my hands that incorporates my heart and soul and is very, very me, fulfills a place that I hadn't filled for a very long time. If you're so inclined, check me out at www.carrycarrie.etsy.com.

Here's to hot cider, fuzzy socks and slippers, Ralph Lauren, and Sweatah Weathah (lifted from Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph from an SNL sketch)...

The North isn't all bad...wink, wink...

My sweet friend Nash sent me this! How cool is she?!! You can check out her blog at

www.ayankeeintennessee.blogspot.com

This doll is proof that good things do, from time to time, come out of the north! She has got to be one of the coolest people I've never met--in person anyway. Thanks Nash!