Saturday Night

God has this way of answering my prayers sometimes before they are even said. I got home from work today, and was absolutely exhausted, so I went straight to sleep. I was hoping that Tony would call me and wake me up, but it didn't happen. I was starting to wonder if I was even going to get to hear from him today, so I dragged myself out of bed and checked my email, and sure enough there was an email from Tony's roommate, Moody, telling me Tony wouldn't be able to talk to me today but he'll try to talk to me tomorrow. It kind of made me smile. Sometimes I think part of what stresses me out so much is not knowing whether or not he's going to get to call me. I don't know if it's better to stay at home and wait for him or just go out and do something and not worry.
So, I've been on this country music kick lately. It started when Tony was home and we had to drive all over to Florida, South Carolina, and to St.Simons Island and we'd get sick of listening to the CD's we brought. The best alternative was listeing to the radio. There's just something about the lyrics in country songs. Either they make me smile or they make me tear up. I can relate to the music. I LIKE it. I'm listening to Dixie Chicks. I may not agree with their political views, but I sure do like their music. The only thing I don't like is their song Travelin' Soldier. That REALLY makes me wanna cry.

"Travelin' Soldier"
Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talking to me,I'm feeling a little low
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go
So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care
I got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home
So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of
He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home
One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read and nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home

I'm glad times have changed and people are way more supportive of our troops. I hope Tony will be able to spend Christmas at home.

Tony just sent this to me a few days ago. I think the grafitti is hilarious! He said that he'd had to change it from what it originally said.This is my favorite picture of Tony.

And here he is hard at work in that nasty Iraqi heat.

Ok, so, that's it for tonight.

Daily Dancer

Y'all have got to check this out! Is this guy for real?!

http://dailydancer.com/

Well, I thought I'd post some pictures from Tony's R&R. These two are from our cruise. I think this first one was taken around sunset, cuz we NEVER woke up early to go to breakfast. We got room service almost every morning. That was great. If I could have three wishes, one of them would be to have free room service for the rest of my life!


This one is of me, Tony's mom Isabel, and his youngest brother Jorge. They got to come visit us for a few days, which was really nice. Savannah is a big change from Riverside, CA!
And here we are in a nifty little restraunt at St.Simon's Island for family reunion. Just about every picture we took together looks kinda like this one because we always had Tony holding the camera as far away as possible. I guess we're too lazy to ask strangers to take our pictures for us!

Paper Chain

So, I sat down today and made a paper chain. It's got 32 links on it, one for every Sunday between now and March 5th. I figure that since they are trying to get our guys back for Christmas, (and, knowing the Army, that probably ain't happenin') he's gotta be back by March 5th. So, every Sunday, I'll take off a link from my chain, so I'll be able to see just how much closer we are to the homecoming. It doesn't seem terribly long when you look at it. I guess it's better than doing one for every day!

R&R

Ok, so I never did get around to talking about how our R&R went, beyond saying "It was great. We had fun." I'll try to kinda summarize how it went. (This is more for myself than for anyone else!)
Well, the day Tony was supposed to fly in, he was going to land in Atlanta in the morning and not be able to leave until sometime around 3 in the afternoon. He was going to try to get an earlier flight into Savannah though, so that on his first day in the states he wouldn't be stuck waiting in the airport all day. Well, the moment he landed in Atlanta and made it through customs (with his illegal Cuban cigars!!) he ran to the Delta people and got an earlier flight to Savannah. My friend Shannon had called me around 9 and woke me up already, so I was in the shower when he called to tell me the good news, but being the experienced Army wife that I am, I had both the cordless phone and cell phone in the bathroom just in case, so I wouldn't miss any important phone calls! Naturally, Tony called me while I was in the shower with shampoo in my hair and everything, so I turned off the water and stood there freezing and dripping wet in the bathroom while he told me the good news that I could pick him up at the airport in a little more than an hour. So, of course I rushed to get ready, put up yellow ribbons in the yard (Only 6 months after he's been gone already), jumped in my absolute least favorite red truck, picked up some flowers, and rushed to the airport. I must have had a million different emotions going at once. I was happy (duh), nervous, giddy, worried, scared, and excited. I got a call from Tony saying that his plane was being delayed because of some technical problem that he explained but I totally didn't understand. When I got to the airport to check in and get my gate pass so I could get pass the security thing, the guy at the desk told me they might be another 2 hours late. FUN! So, I took my gate pass and my flowers, went through all of the security stuff, and sat there for about 2 hours waiting for his flight to come in. That's not completely true. I didn't really sit there the whole time. I did a LOT of pacing, and I stood in line for half an hour at a Burger King stand. I wish I could describe that time of waiting. I wanted to see him so badly that I could burst. For the months that he had been gone, I kind of put the coming reunion out of my mind, because thinking about it only makes it seem that much farther away. The idea that your husband whom you haven't seen for months actually coming home takes on sort of a fairty tale quality, and you half way believe that it's never going to happen. Time will not pass and you will be stuck in the first few months of deployment forever. Sitting there in that airport with other Army wives and children, waiting for this moment you never believed would come, you finally start to believe that maybe there will be an end to this imminent separation. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. When I saw the plane landing, I knew it was going to be a teary hello, though I tried to hold back my tears until he got off the plane. I didn't want his first glimpse of me to be my face all red and blotchy with my nose running. But, I couldn't help crying when I saw that first soldier get off the plane and realized that he wasn't mine. There were about 12 of us all crowded around waiting for our soldiers to get off. It was so dissapointing to see a bunch of civilians pouring off the plane before we saw any sign of those DCU's. If i were a civilian on a plane with a bunch of soldiers going home to see their families, I would let them off first! Well, finally, I saw him walking toward me looking about 10 shades darker, a foot taller, and a year older with his moustache, walking towards me. The water works exploded and I ran to him, threw myself into his arms, squeezed him tight, and kissed him good! I don't think we said much of anyting at first, and as we walked out of that airport, all I could do was keep looking at his face and poking him to see of he was real. It was a good day. I can't wait for the next homecoming.

Ok, so I guess I lied. I only wrote about one part of the R&R, but I think that is enough today. I have so much on my mind, like wondering when they are coming home and when I will hear from him again, and worrying about Kari and Lucas. I hope they are safe and that everything goes well. I'm so proud of my sister and I can't wait to meet my nephew. Why does everything important in life take so much time?

Shame on me!

Yes, I know. I am WAY overdue for a new entry. Not much has been going on here. I've been going to the gym and trying to excercise on my own at home. I hung out with Ted and Lisa for an evening last week. That tea was REALLY good. (Sorry it spilled!) I like being over there. There's always stuff going on and people running around. It isn't like that over here anymore. Mom's always either trying to clean, or so exhausted that she's passed out on the couch and grandma's always sleeping or watching TV. I got to hang out with Kari too for a day last week, which was fun. We didn't do much of anything, which is fine with me, though we did go walk around walmart and return some cheese to the grocery store. I've been trying to do anything to stay out of the house. Speaking of getting out of the house, I'm going to work in a little bit, so I'd better hurry up and get ready.

Tony in the piano bar on our cruise. Look... they match!

YAY!!! Thanks to Kari, I can finally add pictures. Next, I must learn to add a picture to my profile... This should only take a few more days!

test

OOOOOOH the frustration

Ok, so I didn't get to talk to Tony at all yesterday, so naturally, that bothered me. I wasn't irritated with him, because I knew it was beyond his control. I guess it just made me anxious. Well, with every passing moment that the phone didn't ring i just got more and more anxious and it all kept building up until he finally was able to call me today. By the time he called, I was so irritated with having to wait so long and with other minor irritants which had occured through out the day, that I could barely talk to him. I just felt like crying. I really wanted to be the loving, cheerful, strong, supportive wife that he needs me to be, but I couldn't. I'm just NOT cheerful on demand. What really gets me is that I'm trying to think of all the things that got on my nerves today, and I really can't remember any. (Though, right now I am annoyed with mom because of the stuff she likes to watch on TV)

Just Testing

Ok, I'm still trying to figure this posting thing out. I get the whole writing part, but I want to try posting a picture. Meanwhile, I am talking to Kari online, playing Sims, and waiting for Nicole to come over. Multitasking at its finest!
And... it's not working! Oh well, I'll figure it out eventually.

War of the PB&J

The war is on!
I have just been insulted by my own sister because I make PB&J the correct way. The peanut butter goes on one piece of bread, jelly goes on the other, and you SMOOOSH the two sides together. You do NOT, as my poor misguided sister believes, put the peanut butter and jeally on the SAME piece of bread. THAT is ridiculous. Oh well... Perhaps some day she will see the light.