New blue for LilBlue :0) MiB gets gray...

Finally after two years of searching we have found the replacement vehicle for LilBue. You do not know because I chose not to blog the crash that Lilblue was in that totaled her car and sent her to the hospital via ambulance. It is the phone call you NEVER ever want to receive. I literally thought I would pass out talking to her on the phone. I was way too far away and my child was hurt and I could not get there fast enough. The next seven days were hell as we worked through all the events of the accident or crash as I like to call it. After two years we have finally seen the end of the mountain of paperwork, insurance claims and did I say lots of paperwork. I am thrilled it is done. I just pray that we never go through that again.

So the last two years we have tried to find a replacement car for the car that was totaled in the crash. Speaking of that crash she likes to make it known that it was NOT her fault a man crossed three lanes of traffic hit her and two other cars. We have scoured the car lots, Craigslist and AutoTrader for a new accord. Finally last Saturday we were at the Honda dealer in Shreveport ordering a replacement park for my roof racks and there sat a blue accord. We were not too excited usually we find them and they just don't meet our standards...this one was promising. It was the right model, interior and mileage. So far, so good, but a bit out of our price range and missing a couple desired wants. Decisions, decisions...hmmmm, end of the month sales were in our favor, after much negotiation and trading in our Mazda we own THE car.

 Finding out that the blue car over there is hers...

 Happy Girl!

 LilBlue with THE car!

Delivery was made today and she was thrilled and so were we! PTL :)

And ohbytheway, we went to Ft Worth a few weeks ago to get the oil changed on LilSmartie and came home with Deuce. I know we are just car buying crazies lately! Don't worry this only happens every four years or so! And after this I'm staying away from the dealership, it's too costly. But again, PTL, we are cash buyers and no payments needed thankyouverymuch cause that's the way we roll!

 MiB w/Deuce!

The added bonus is that we got to see LilBlue unexpectedly due to the fact we drove it up to her to deliver it and we'll get to see her all day today and tomorrow before we head back to LA bright and early Sunday morning. Extra bonus is that we got out ahead of hurricane Isaac, which from what I understand was not nearly as bad as they had thought. And another perk is that we had White Grill on the way up and will be stopping again on the way back. Life is GOOOOOOD!

Thursday Thoughts

Isaac is on his way so we are heading north. Not really to miss him but we are making a quick trip up to the BigO to see LilBlue. Glad we are missing the storm.

Thoughts:

• Thankful for wifi!
• Loooooooong road trip
• Love White Grill cheeseburgers!

That's it cause we still have miles to go...be safe out there if you and Isaac are meeting up!

Neighborly evening!

Since there are so many new faces in the neighborhood and many wanted to have another gathering after our ice cream social we decided to have a little driveway cookout. It was a nice evening for it and many came out to join in.

 ALL the kids enjoyed the toys!

Just a whole lot of much needed chillaxin' going on! Great evening, good food! The weather was so good, even if it was a bit HOT when we started by the time we were ready to call it an evening it had been perfect for a long time!

Thursday Thoughts

Hmmmm, what can I say? It's been a week...more death. Unreal the amount of deaths we have seen at this base. I am saddened over and over by these events. Hardest is the children, but loss of life, any life is still devastating. It's not anything you soon let go of, too many of those families faces still play through the video tape in my mind. I wonder about them, how they are doing, what their holiday was like, will be like as they move forward without their loved one.

Thoughts:

• Tired
• Ready for the weekend
• I have a sore left arm :/
• Eyes better, swelling down PTL!

Not so much from me today. Have many thoughts just haven't really been able to put them into words for the blog. Life is like that sometimes. There are so many emotions and thoughts running all directions in my brain this week I have literally felt exhausted. I even went back to bed yesterday morning for an hour after I had already been up. It was a bad idea, I think I felt worse. Next time I will just have another cuppa joe and keep going.

Have a good Thursday, I'm going to try that's for sure! And be thankful for whatcha got; every time we go through the whole death thing it makes me realize just how good we have it and I don't want to take it for granted. Life is truly fragile, I'm thrilled I have been livin' it this long and pray for many more years to come!

Swollen eyes / New eyes

So MiB came home last night and said "what's up with your face"? You know it's not good if #1 he noticed something and #2 he said something. I got up looked in the mirror and sure enough my left eye is somewhat swollen; okay a lot swollen. I don't recall injuring it. I pop some acetaminophen; place a cold pack on my face for about 15 minutes and finish getting ready to leave for the evening event. I don't know if others noticed but one person did mention it. I am not sure, maybe I hit my face on the car door unloading groceries, don't recall that but it's possible, I want to think I injured myself rather then something being wrong. I pop an ibuprofen halfway through event to hopefully help with the swelling. Return home, do a little more cold pack then off to bed.

This morning woke to a bit of matting in both eyes and much more swollen on left and spreading to right. The swelling is enough I can "see" it in my vision. I pop more acetaminophen and out the door I go with coffee to the tire repair place. While MiB is getting the repair ticket in order I think maybe I do need to see a doctor so I called the nurseline and she does advise I should be seen. I get a referral number and off we go to the urgent care clinic. Two hours and a shot later I am on my way to pharmacy for antibiotic drops and hoping things improve.

Lunch out since we are still waiting on tire repair and stopping to look for new glasses was in order. Love the Greek salad at Newk's and with a thank you gift card I did not feel bad for going. Plan was to return home to eat since we have been eating out all week on vacation. But we were hungry and driving home and back just seemed too much. After lunch we stopped in the eye glass place and I found a pair that I liked. Left for a few errands and returned to have new glasses ready. I have been needing new spectacles for a while but have just been putting it off. I now have a new pair and another pair on order. It's definitely a stronger script and I think it's going to take my eyes a bit to get used to them but in due time I'm sure it will be fine. I did not go ahead and get the bi-focals. For one it is pretty expensive for the progressive lens which is what I would like to get and secondly I am not sure I really need them just yet (I may just be in denial though and need them very much :/)

Maybe a picture of the new eyes at a later date; for now the swelling is not too bad. Should it continue I might post a pic otherwise just know that it's not pretty...thankfully, it is not painful! Good thing we have an ice cream social tonight to host! There will be pictures for that unless I forget! There will eventually be pictures of the new eyes I promise!

Random Updates

If you remember this post regarding my phone you need to know that NOTHING happened when the whatever it was expired. That kind of makes me mad but then again I really am glad nothing happened. But it had me somewhat stressed for a few days as every morning that annoying message appeared randomly for several weeks. Pffft Apple! You may me afraid for nothing, nothing at all!

And I DO have a nail in my right front tire...holy cow what's up with us and tires... If you recall we recently replaced a tire as in less then a week ago. It is here on the blog if you missed it. I am not yet sure if we will be replacing another tire, maybe it can be repaired or plugged or patched or whatever it is you do to brand new tires that get holes. Geeeeeezz!

I am on a little bit of a  vacation is over downer; it was great to be away, it was fine to come back but I liked being away better. Tonight I will get all gussied up for a formal event and go play nicely with people who probably aren't enjoying themselves. As of late I feel like others do not enjoy their role as a mil spouse and find it labor intensive. I have rarely if ever felt like that. I enjoy being with MiB no matter where that may be. I would much rather enjoy an evening, ANY evening, with my MiB then be without him especially if that means I stay at home without him. Now that we are empty nesters I am able to go and do more with him. And even when LiLBlu was at home, I tried to go and do what I could around our family life and  we still treated military events like date nights. I don't know it just works for us, I get it if it doesn't work for others but maybe you should get into a different line of work.

I have finished the laundry, was hoping to get a little more cleaning done, but worked on some other projects and cleaning just didn't happen. Will definitely need to make time to hit the high spots soon, the dust is taking over!

I was able to make a commissary run today and pick up necessities. I was once again disappointed in the produce section. I don't what it is about this location but the fresh fruit and veggie section lacks IMO. I will hit the farmer's market in the morning. we definitely need tomatoes so we can have caprese, I need to use the cheese before it is out of date. And I also got bacon for BLTs which sound great on hot days.

Hope I hit the high points on updates, just felt like some things were hanging and wanted you in the loop! LOL Now I'm going to try and catch up on some reading! Have a great evening.

Thursday, last day of vacation, thoughts...

Last day to hit the beach so off we went while the others snoozed...no worries, MiB enjoy our early mornings on the beach with very few distractions. 

 

 Even with the clouds the sunrise was spectacular...

 This morning I got a little more reading in!

I love the quiet time and ocean sounds while MiB is surfing, no matter if I am down on the beach or up on the seawall the sound of the waves is awesome!

The waves were few and far between but getting on the water is what it's all about so off MiB went for a last session!

 

 Last water therapy for awhile!

  
Returning to the room we met with three still sleeping beauties who soon started to stir. We had to get moving since we were checking out and heading north to the airport. Uncle G had the first flight so we got him squared away before enjoying a Chick-Fil-A lunch. LilBlue and the Bud do not have CFA in the BigO so this was a treat for them. Though LilBlue did consider choosing PeiWei I am glad we "ate more chiken"!

 CFA

 

 MiB and Me :)

In case I forgot to mention it the engagement ring is GORGEOUS...loved seeing it in person, loved that it is now on it's fourth generation. Praying for the marriage that will be here sooner rather then later... 

 BEEEEEEE.u.ti.fulllllllllll

I am still somewhat "pink" today...I cannot believe I did that. I have not burned in eons! Really stinks and honestly hurts a little. the Bud definitely got some sun this week, check out his arm...

 Definitely see the contrast

Back to the airport to drop off Uncle G and hugs all around. I so wish we all lived closer...our time together is always so short but also so precious. Someday, maybe things will change and our lives will intersect more often. I always remember that airports are the setting for the happiest and saddest times...you are usually happy to see the person you are picking up and most always sad to see the person go you are dropping off. That is certainly the case today.

 Hugs all around

Then over to the mall to do a little strolling before the late afternoon flight. We saw some sights as seems to always be the case whenever we do mall walking. I only wish I would not have been so stuffed that I could not enjoy a cookie...well, second thought I did not need a cookie but I really did enjoy smelling them!

Back to the airport one last time and then we are on the road back to LA. The trip was good we enjoyed it and loved the time together which as usual was waaaay too short. Looking forward to next time already whenever and wherever that will be remains to be seen. Plans are being formulated, we shall see what materializes.

Home, car unpacked, laundry started and frozen pizza consumed, life is good!

Beach, Pizza, Movies and Bikes

MiB and I hit the beach early again this a.m. 

While the clouds made the sun's appearance later then usual it was still gorgeous when it did make it's appearance. 

 MiB finally got a few waves in. 

 

Pulling out the board for the first time...he was sooooo ready to hit the waves!

He was thrilled I know and I enjoyed finishing the book I was reading. It was all good until he was coming in and a local let him know he was surfing in an off limits spot...oops! Upon further investigation sure enough he was breaking rule #7.

Rule #7 was on the white sign on the lifeguard stand...pretty small writing; I guess we just missed it!

After we returned to the hotel we went to straight to the pool and  the others came and joined us.

Boys in the pool...

LilBlue catching some rays and Uncle G sitting in the pool in the chair!

Then it was off to find lunch, pizza was the unanimous decision, so off we went to Papa's Pizza. I say it was average but filling. We all did the buffet with the exception of the bud who reported he wasn't so hungry so he would just have a slice of pizza. LOL 

  Hmmmm, who was hungry and who wasn't?????

Then we went and took the dolphin tour aka ferry ride and saw even more dolphins this time around and the boat was way less crowded so it was pretty darn neat!

After a quick stop at Sonic we headed inside for a cool adventure at the movies since it was so stinking hot today. There was an arcade area inside the theater and we dropped a few quarters since we were a bit early for our flick!

 

Movie was ahhhh, there is not much I can say and I will not even be reporting which movie we saw. Mixed reviews from our crew though there were a few laughs not a favorite for sure!

 

Back into the pool we went and also did some hot tub time which we all seem to enjoy!

 

Then it was on to the bikes. Yes, we decided to rent the multiple passenger bike and take a little 2 mile ride down the seawall. We had a destination in mind for dessert so off we went. When we arrived we had to find a good place to secure our rented bike...

Then we headed into The Spot for our long awaited for dessert!

 Dessert :)

Personally, I had carrot cake :/

Others had ice cream...

It was a hoot. Ringing the little bell for EVERYTHING was hilarious and we also raced with another bike which was pretty funny too! WE also took a few detours! 

We returned the cart, walked the pier and returned to the room to bed down for the night. It's been another great day of sun, surf and sand! Can't say I am happy about having to head home tomorrow but we knew this day was coming. I know I will be on the beach first thing in the morning getting those last few minutes of beach time in!

Donuts, Horses & BEACH

If you are seeing a theme here you might be right! We are enjoying the BEACH! Today was awesome! Even though there was no early morning surf, there was early morning on the beach...it was a gorgeous sunrise.

 Sunrise

Then Uncle G treated to donuts, NOT KrispyKreme but Shipley's. Hmmm sometimes GPS are wrong so you take what you can get and we did and the lemon filled were really good and I do know that first hand :/

Like the 5 of us needed 2 dozen donuts...

 LilBlue chowin' down on the glazed!

After we enjoyed our sugar high it was off to Jamaica Beach and riding horses bayside. We showed up early and shared treats with all the horses who were in the pen. 

 

 The horses enjoyed the bread, apples and carrots we brought!

 Then when it was our turn to ride we shared with the horses that were chosen for us. I use "us" loosely since that "us" did not include all of "us" meaning I stayed behind to enjoy a book, the shade and a nice breeze!!!

 LilBlue & MiB getting ready to roll, MiB took the goPro camera

 Lil Blue w/Valentine, MiB w/Quitta

  

the Bud and Trigger aka B.S. (butt scratcher)

Pics from on the ride from the goPro...

 Uncle G & Rambo 

 Group shot on the bay

 Riding along the bay

Still along the bay

 Big smile from LilBlue :)

 Uncle G rolling in on Rambo with the Bud and Trigger bringing up the rear!

 The riding crew with their guide Nicole who just happened to be from Independence MO!

  Rambo needing a rest after doing back to back rides today goes straight in the pen to lay down and roll in the dirt!

After the horseback riding we went to lunch at a decent Mexican place that is out here on the island since driving back in mainland to LaBrisa just takes way too much valuable time and we wanted to hit the beach ASAP.



Beach was great today, no dead fish in sight, however there were some bones you had to watch out for as they did hurt a bit to step on in the shallow waters. LilBlue also had a very tiny jelly fish stings but she endured and a great time was had by all. 

 Beach time :)

Back to the hotel and doing a little pool time topped off our water therapy time!

 

Hot tubbing it...

 

An hour later and still hot tubbing... 

 We were really enjoying that hot tub!

Some of us, the Bud and I, also got a little more sun kissed then we intended and had to make an aloe vera run! But it's all good we got some awesome lemonade treats, little vino and we are back chillin in the room with our evening snacks. Tomorrow will definitely be more beach and who knows what else we will find to do on our last full day in G-town!