Busy, Busy, Busy...

Long time no blog...Let's see. To make a loooong story short, since my last post, I have had the MIL in town, experienced Valentine's Day without my hubby, Mother-in-law left with my dog Kekoa :(, I've been to a few parties (one of which I threw for myself), and have been trying to take advantage of living this wonderful island-life before I head to Houston. There is so much going on in my life right now, and not enough time to type and keep up! Tonight, well, tomorrow (real f'n early)I am headed back home for a couple of weeks before I go to Thailand. I'm up because I do not plan on going to bed before my 4:00 am flight, which causes me to be at the airport around 2:30 AM! UGHHHH! I am so tired and drained from trying to "close down shop" and get packed and ready for my 3 months worth of travel! I'm so stressed right now, excited,and anxious. I am toting 2 extremely large and heavy pieces of luggage, a backpack that is stuffed to the brim (turtle-style), and an 8lb. yorkie in a duffel bag. Yes, this is gonna be interesting to say the least! If there was a way I could film this all for your viewing pleasure, I'm sure it would make for a top 10 youtube video.
Let's go back a little, Allan's Mom and I had a nice time together. We didn't do everything that we thought we would do while she was here, but we did eat a lot and were extremely lazy. I'm sure that was heaven for her, she needed the vacation. She takes care of Allan's elderly Grandma and deserved a break. One whole week was probably a little too long for a DIL and a MIL to be hanging out w/out the son there; but, we made it through. Barely. I think if it were any longer, we may have strangled each other. Now, I say this on both of our behalf's. I'm not gonna lie, I had a few Ally McBeal moments, as I like to call it. You know, where you picture all of these things in your head, like a big comic bubble above my head and inside I can see a big anvil falling on someones noggin, or me wrapping duct tape around an overly talkative mouth. I think this is natural for a daughter-in-law to feel, right? Anyways, all in all, it was a nice visit and I think she only mentioned me getting pregnant like 213 times...way less than I expected. I never saw the money for that. I kid. I only kid. :) I love her.

Tony (the toad) is gone, the bastard took my quarter and ran..err..hopped! I haven't seen him around, and I think he got scared when I decided to start leaving him dishes of water to drink. There has been no sign of him, and the quarter that I used to compare his size, really is gone too! He probably bought a better place down the street, with a nice ocean view. I don't blame him.

So, last Friday I decided to throw myself a surprise going-away party. Yes, you read that right. It was tons of fun, and a lot of interesting people showed up. My neighbor, and dear friend Amanda, was well lit and made the night very fun and entertaining. I'm really gonna miss that girl. We drank lots of versions of rum punch, gallon jugs of misc. mixed drinks, played card games, and even managed to dance the night away at another party down the street. I think it all played off successfully except for the fact that the last person didn't walk out of my door until 4:00 am. I'm too old for that crap. I surprisingly wasn't hungover at all (I think because I was hosting the thing, and kept the alcohol to a bare minimum), and somehow kept the house in one piece. I will post many pictures of these events later.

On another note, Allan and I have been able to keep in pretty good touch with each other lately. We email back and forth and have been able to talk on the phone quite a bit over the past couple of days. That may sound great, but the reason we have been able to talk on the phone a lot is because he has the flu. He is basically quarantined in the medical facility at the academy. There is a phone line there that he is able to use that has NO static!!! AMAZING! My poor guy has some nasty virus/bug that has been going around. Everyone please keep in your thoughts and prayers and hope that he gets well soon. He is having to miss out on his daily activities with the rest of his platoon, but at least he is able to have a small break and rest. I'm sure his immune system has been sacrificed because he is so tired and working non-stop all of the time. Times like this make me wish I was there to take care of him. :( It kills me knowing that he is so sick and I can't be there.
So, now I am headed to Houston and sooooo excited about seeing my friends and family! I have 2 little nieces that I haven't even met yet! Its all very exciting, but terribly stressful at the same time. I feel like my brain is going a million miles an hour and I can't relax for shit. I think when I get there, I will want to sleep for 2 days straight! Although, my Step-dad's snores can be heard all the way to China. I may never get that well-deserved rest. (sigh) Here goes another adventure...I'll add more later, I'm gonna try and relax a little before the long day ahead of me. Stay tuned! Wish me luck, and safe travels! See my H-town posse soon! XOXO

MIL

its a total joke, people...i love my mother-in law! <3

My Mother-in-law is coming in tonight!!! I haven't had a houseguest since Kori, Andy, and Danny last came in December.  She is staying with me for a week, then she is taking my dog Kekoa with her back to CO. It makes me sooo sad to know that I will be apart from yet another family member.  I can't fly back to Houston with two dogs, so she will be watching one for me until Allan graduates.  Kekoa is going to really hate me now!  Poor little fella.  It will probably be harder on me than it will be for him.  She has two small dogs that he adores and loves to play with.  

Anyways, this little visit should be interesting.  My MIL loves the idea of me being pregnant...and I mean, LOVES.  To the extent that she said that every time she brings it up, she will give me a quarter.  I said, hell no!!!  I get a dollar!  I'm gonna be rich by the end of the week!!!  She needs to realize that there is no possible way I'm getting pregnant, unless someone invents some kind of telephone-conjugal-visit-machine.  She's probably working on that right now.  Seriously, she acts like I should be pregnant NOW.  She even jokingly threatened to poke holes with a needle in Allan's condoms!  I think it was a joke?  

That will be the trick of the week.  Lets see if I can manage to tip-toe around the whole pregnancy issue.  Mother-in-laws...you gotta love 'em! :)

Well, I just wanted to shoot out a small update; I have to go clean now for the white-glove inspection.  Ha,ha....I'm kidding...kinda.

My Guard Toad, Tony!

Hello! I know what you're thinking...GROSS! But, just wait, give him a chance. This is my new friend/guard toad. I named him Tony. He's been hanging out right outside my front door for the past few days now. I really don't know how long he's been there. I was taking my dog Kekoa for a walk when I stumbled across this beauty. I put a quarter on the ground beside him so you can get an idea of how HUGE he is! He's a a big boy!..or girl, then she will be Toni. Anyways, I named him Tony because I think that if he were to be able to talk, he would sound much like Tony Soprano. He's a tough guy. Wha?
I like to think he is my front door guardian; making sure that no one passes who shouldn't, etc... (even if it is a few mere flies and mosquitoes) I pretend he is the replacement for my handsome prince (Allan) and is protecting me while he is gone. :)
Isn't he cute now? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to kiss him, but it is kinda fun having him around. Every time I check my mail, I say hello and he sits there in his spot chillin', not scared at all. Today I even set a little glass dish of water out for him (in case he gets thirsty?). I really don't know what to feed a frog, but as you can see, it doesn't look like finding food is a problem. Anyways, I just wanted you to meet my new buddy Tony. Maybe I should make him a cute outfit, like a pinstripe suit or a crown. Hmm...

Emails are a wonderful thing!

Yesterday was the official day that Allan was able to start emailing me! I am soooo excited!!! He sent me an email saying:

Hey babe,

We now have email privileges! We did good today. I have to poop then go eat dinner. I miss and love you so much. Email me!

I love you,

Allan

xxxxoooo


Ha,ha! Yea, my man loves to talk about poop...isn't he romantic? ;) Its pretty incredible what you take for granted. This little email made my day! Hell, it made my week! Its nice to know that if I have something that I want to say to him, that I don't have to wait and mail him a letter anymore. By the time I get the snail mail out, whatever I had to say doesn't matter anymore. All I have to say is YAY to emails!!! :)

"Thai Night"

Ooh, 2 in one day...lucky peeps!
Woo-Hoo! I just got off the phone with my honey!!! :) It makes me so happy when he calls. We didn't get to talk for very long, but it was great to get his unexpected phone call! He never calls on a Thursday. (Not that I've had too many phone calls) Ah, I love him.
I'm so glad that I didn't go out tonight. I did go to "Thai Night" here on base for dinner. Funny stuff... They offer different cultural food nights at the Community Center, like Thai night, Mexican night, All-American night...haha, it cracks me up. None of it is really authentic, or all that good, unless you like mashed potatoes in your tacos, or Thai food that isn't spicy. I mean, really? What is that about? I guess that it is nice that it exists though. It keeps me from having to cook. I have been hating cooking for only one these days. I've been just boiling edamame and calling it dinner; but hey, that makes for a fine dinner to me! Everyone was excited about the local pizza joint called Jimmy's having micro-brew now. See, that is AMAZING stuff considering there is only one brewery in PR and its in San Juan. So, everyone went there after "Thai Night" to partake in the lovely goodness that is a frosty beverage. I really wanted to go but, my ride bailed on me. I guess it was a good thing because I may have missed Allan's call. I guess that gives me no excuse to miss aerobics tomorrow. Better go to sleep now so I can sweat my ass off and do the Jane Fonda bright and early! I will sleep better now having heard Allan's voice. :) Nighty, night. xoxo

Super Bowl Pics

My super-duper Vegetarian Chili (that didn't win, but should have) ;) It was really good but I doubt I could ever duplicate it since I never go by a recipe! Not smart, I know.

there were three large banquet tables full o' crock-pots (mine is the silver one on the end...I arrived early and still got a sucky spot!)



Eric loves chili! :)

Still reperesentin' the Dallas Cowboys!

Two half Thai Mischelle's (she's a no s'er)!

Houston Texans in da house! (sorry Brady boy)

Looks gross, but I swear it was divine...ask the Navy guys who never knew there wasn't meat in it! ;) Muahhahhhahaaaa! They were shocked and appalled when I told them! In the end, there was no chili left. I made a full crock pot and not a single bean left for me. I guess that was a good sign! Yay, for being Texan and being able to improvise!

Super Bowl!

Well, its Super Bowl Sunday and I am writing this while my Vegetarian Chili is doing its crock pot thing... I am waiting to see how it tastes before I decide to enter it into the base Super Bowl Chili Cook Off early this evening.  I really don't know too many people that prefer vegetarian to the usual fatty, meat-laced original.  I will see if I can pull it off and get enough "meaty" flavor in it to impress those carnivores.  ;)  Maybe they will be so drunk that they won't be able to tell the difference.

I just had an amazing 30 minute conversation with Allan!  It's crazy how fast 30 minutes can go by! I am so proud of him.  He sounded okay.  He is still incredibly busy, tired, and homesick.  He said missing  the Super Bowl was like missing Christmas.  Poor guy!  I can tell he is in much better spirits though.  Missing him drains me.  It makes me so friggin' tired.  Maybe its a slight depression (I wouldn't doubt it).  All I know is that my days have been up and down...a major roller-coaster.  Thursday was bad.  I was bummed, didn't want to talk to anyone, and I watched sad movies all day.  Friday was good.  My girl Poppy and I went to get our hair done and got pedicures, which was a blast!  Then that evening, we ordered sushi and hung out at her house with some wine and mucho laughs.  She is one of the few people here that can instantly cheer me up.  I really truly appreciate her genuine friendship. 

Yesterday, was another blah downhill kind of day  (I guess you can't win 'em all).  Our power went out last night and I was hot, and lonely, and sitting with my dogs by candlelight just wishing Allan was there.   When the power goes out (which is a very common thing here in PR), Allan usually makes me what he calls a "chillow" or "chillanket" , which is basically  a cold wet rag.  :)  He puts it on my head or under my neck so that I don't die of heat exhaustion.  I could have really used an Allan chillow last night!  I guess I could have made one for myself--but, they never are the same.  Well, I'm going to go tend to my chili and get ready for the festivities. I will take pics and post them!