Letting Go

So last month our 1990 Mazda went on to a new family.

A bittersweet moment as we watched her pull away.

We first got Mary (yes we named our vehicle and it is a she) in January of 2013.

She was in a wreck within a month of her purchase.  And for most people that is where the story would end.  Who would keep a car that the insurance company said would cost more than it was worth to repair?

Us!  That's who.

Along the way we learned a lot about car maintenance and painting cars.  We swapped the engine.  Once out of need and another time for more power.  She started out white and then was gray.  Then we painted her black and white.  Now she's tan and black.

We discovered the joys of driving with the top down in all the seasons.  We auto crossed and met other Miata fans.  My favorite Mary moment was driving through the Norfolk Botanical Gardens for their holiday light display with the top down.  You know you wish you could have been there.

Darby loves the convertible.  What dog wouldn't?  Top down and you feel like you're flying!

We even did a scenic cross country drive in Mary.  That was interesting.  No cruise control, power steering, A/C or radio.  There was only the driver side air bag and it's a manual transmission.

Whew!

However, we are getting older and Mary just isn't a daily driver.  A sad realization for us, but a true one.

Fortunately we have a friend on the west coast who will use her for auto crossing.  Now she's off for more adventures.

 Farewell Mary!  We'll miss you.

California Dreamin'

You may have read the last post and thought.  A baseball game?  That's all?  I mean 20 years is a pretty big deal.  Not everyone can make it to that milestone (and wow isn't that a sad commentary on our world).

No that wasn't it and shame on you for thinking it.  We LOVE baseball!  It's kinda our thing.  So it was really a fun thing to do.

But I digress...

Day One: The Adventure Begins

We also traveled to California for a week.  Rented a Mustang Convertible and drove up the coast.

How cool is that?

We drove from San Diego to up near Yosemite and back.  Drove the Pacific Highway, rode the trolley cars in San Francisco, tried a few wineries and more, but I will blog more about our travels on RosatoDi.  Gotta save something for the other blog, because honestly I hate duplicating blogs!  Really I do!

Day 8: The Journey Ends

I had never been to California before, so I asked some of the wives off my Facebook group what to do while we were out there.  I was hoping for some neat ideas, but the first wife to respond mentioned touristy things.  Legoland.  Disney.  Knotts Berry Farm.  You know things that everyone knows about!  Don't get me wrong.  I wouldn't mind doing those things, but we only had a few things and it's hard to cram all that into that time frame.  Maybe next trip.

 The one thing that we did try to do was take a picture of the two of us (together) each day.  Now I wasn't always successful at that, but we did try.

20th Anniversary

So on August 13th the hubby and I celebrated our 20th anniversary.  

That's right!  20 years of wedded bliss.  Well it wasn't all unicorns and rainbows, but you get the picture.  And there isn't anyone else in the world that I would have wanted to go on this wild and crazy journey with!

So on the 10th we actually got a box at Harbor Part to watch a Norfolk Tides game with a few of our friends.  It was a blast!

So happy anniversary to my sweet baboo and bestest friend.  Here's to another 20 years.

Happy Belated Anniversary!

Due to my laziness I didn't blog anything on my 19th anniversary.

Bad me!

Back from riding Verbolten.  We're laughing!

We spent the day at Busch Gardens with friends.  We got to ride the new roller coaster and saw fireworks at the end of the evening.  And better yet?  They're still doing Here's To Our Heroes, so we got in for free!  If you're military I highly recommend taking advantage of this!

Luckily for me, my buddy snapped this shot of us as we returned from riding the new roller coaster.  Yes, I know I look like a total goof!  We were laughing like crazy by the end of this ride.

Nothing major, but a nice day all around.

Homecomings!

In case you couldn't figure this out, I am a Navy wife. That means my hubby deploys and is gone for long periods of time. I do not post when this happens for a plethora of reasons. But the main one is for security. Both for myself, my hubby and his ship. This is something that the Navy tells you not to do. That's why I find it both funny and irritating when the local news names the ship, how long they're deploying and where they're going on the day they leave. But that's a rant for another time and place.

Needless to say these are homecoming pictures. My sweetie has been home for a bit now and I figured I could post this with no issues. Not that I have a bunch of readers or anything out there. Thanks to all (what?) three of you!

The first one is the FIRST glance I got of the ship. There was a tent set up outside to protect us from the chilly weather and seats, because let me tell you standing on concrete for over an hour can do a number on you. Plus we had a DJ, which was cool but I really wanted to tell him to play some up beat tunes and to shut the *@!& up! I didn't need him to tell me that the Navy is like one big family or how much we've missed each other.

The second shot is the ship coming closer.

The third shot is a tug helping the ship maneuver in. Some people had never seen a ship coming pier side and were asking random questions. Luckily a few of us around them were able to answer.

You could feel the anticipation! The crowd was getting SO excited. When did those butterflies turn into a herd of stampeding elephants? It seemed to take FOREVER. I know it didn't, but when you've waited six months to see the one you love and know they're only yards away it can really get you psyched.

Finally they're pier side. Now all we had to do was wait for the first kiss, first hug and the new babies to be seen first. Then chaos ensued! There were TV stations there filming, but I was in no way going to be seen blubbering on my hubby's shoulder, glad that he's home, or our first kiss. Sadly I didn't get a photo of that first hug or kiss, but I got the important thing... My hubby!

So now he's home safe and sound. All we need to do no is readjust to living together again and drive each other crazy doing it. It's fantastic!!!

12 Days Of Christmas

So my sweetie really likes getting photos via email. But there are only so many pictures you can take of your animals and yourself. I don't do many of myself, because I REALLY don't like having my picture taken. But about 12 days ago someone mentioned to me that the 12 days of Christmas were coming up and that she normally sent her husband photos for each day. So I decided to put my own unique spin on things. I realize I'm a day early, but my sweetie is nearly a day ahead, so he needed to get these photos in time.

So I've posted the pictures and will say what I emailed him. Then I'll give a short explanation. Enjoy!

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Pumpkin by the Charlie Brown Tree.

I didn't put up the tree this year, so my buddy got me a Charlie Brown Tree. My sweetie wanted a photo and just as I was taking this photo my orange kitty decided he wanted to be in this photo op. Who was I to disagree?

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Two Blonde Buddies.

I thought this would add a bit of whimsy.

This is a photo of my buddy, Greta, and I. Luckily we were at our favorite coffee shop and the owner was kind enough to take this picture (with my phone no less). I just love how it looks like we're being towered over. It was so much fun! And those who know me, know I HATE having my photo taken. We almost look like we just got caught doing something bad.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Three Awesome Pens.

I was truly in a bind of what to do for this one. Then I remembered that I have three pens that my friends have made for us. One I had made for Jim a year or so ago for Christmas and the other two are mine. So why not?

They do mean something to us. Well they do to me anyway.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Four Mobile Phones.

Luckily I was in my favorite coffee shop (yes again) and was able to borrow three other phones in order to get this done. We had joked that it would have been really funny if all four went off at the same time. Of course, the title would have been totally different if that had happened.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Five Loving Rings.

Each one of these five rings means something special to me.

The class ring is Jim's. I wore it through a large chunk of our high school lives. There's my engagement and wedding ring. I would hope you would understand the importance of those. The other two rings? One was a gift when my sweetie got back from his first deployment and the other a gift for Christmas (I think).

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... One New Truck Battery.

I know! I know! There aren't six of these.

What was I thinking?

Well to be honest, I couldn't really think of anything really cool. However, I did by this on the sixth day so it has to count.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Seven Sea Gulls Standing.

Something about sea gulls just tickles us to no end. We either giggle like children, all because of the movie 'Finding Nemo' or we get sentimental. Somewhere it's written, where I have no idea, that seagulls are the souls of sailors who have passed on.

I know! Two sides of the coin. But we always watch seagulls when we see them.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Eight Flowers Blooming.

So the eighth day is actually my birthday. My darling hubby sent me flowers (and a teddy bear and chocolates) for my birthday and I just had to take this photo, because he did send it to me on the eighth day. I know there are more than eight, but pick out your favorites and know those are the ones. I'm not gonna argue!

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Nine Kitty Whiskers, Still Attached to the Pretty Kitty.

This one happened completely by chance!

I was trying to figure out what to do for this one when I glanced to my left and saw my little girl kitty, Kyla, sitting there staring at me. Kyla is my hubby's favorite and I thought this a perfect chance to get her photo. I mean I had used Pumpkin. It's only fair to use her as well.

I know there are more than nine whiskers, but just count the more prominent ones. Once you get to nine stop. Come on humor me.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me... Ten Toasty Toesies.

So these toe socks were given to me and I thought this would be funny for the tenth day. And it's very Christmasy.

I have learned something from this.

One, toe socks feel funky. And two? I really don't like them.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... Eleven Lights a Twinkling.

This is the hubby and mine's favorite thing to do during the holidays. We will drive to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens and view their holiday lights. One of our favorites is the Starry Night section. You feel like you've left the world behind and are drifting in space.

You don't have to keep counting after eleven. Really, you don't.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... Twelve Christmas Roses Unfurling.

So I just got these roses today.

A Christmas gift from my sweetie.

So I thought it quite appropriate to use this for my final day of Christmas.

I hope everyone enjoyed my rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas as much as I enjoyed making it up.

Merry Christmas!

My Hubby Is The...

Sweetest!!!

Since he couldn't be with me for my birthday today he sent me this.

Not only did he send me flowers, but I also got an adorable bear and chocolates. And the best part? They weren't in Christmas colors. It's really hard to order anything this time of year without it being red and green or Christmas themed. Not even a winter theme. Thank goodness! So I TRULY appreciate the effort that was put into this.

It got to me a day before my birthday, which irked my hubby, but it gives me all of my birthday to enjoy the gifts!


Thanks again honey!!

My Sweetie...

Is the best!

We celebrate 17 years together today. And he sent me 18 roses. The note says that they wouldn't let him order 17 roses, so I'd have to make do with 18 and promise to stay the extra year.

Not a problem!

I love him so much!

Now I have something lovely to look at today. That is as long as I can keep my orange kitty away from it. He REALLY loves plants.

Lazy Days

Have you ever had a pajama day?

No?

Seriously you MUST try this.

Last night the hubby and I camped out in the front room, listening to Coast to Coast. I really like it when they do spooky stuff. Now I don't recommend sleeping in your front room, because I woke up with a sore back. But I digress... And honestly this is not part of pajama day.

I told my hubby to stay in jammies and today would be a lazy day. Everyone needs one or two of these. So we stayed in jammies, ate junk food and watched movies.

It started out with Sherlock Holmes. Which I'm sad to say was a disappointment to us. Kind of predictable and definitely left it open for a sequel.

Then we moved on to cheesy movies from the 80's. Gotta love that. First was Navy Seals. A must since we're in that general area. Plus my bff cut class to see this being filmed. Sorry didn't mean to rat you out there Greta. I think it was awesome and wished I had known you back then. Luckily she has the good taste to be there for Michael Beihn and not Charlie Sheen.

We've since moved on to Die Hard. Which we also consider a Christmas must. Plus that was before Bruce Willis was even considered an action star. And possibly, after that, we'll watch Red Dawn. I'm still having a hard time believing that they're remaking Red Dawn.

If you haven't seen any of these, then you are missing out on excellent 80's cheesiness. Gotta love it. Go on run out and get them. You know you'll love it.

Valentine's Day

We don't actually celebrate Valentine's Day. Our big celebration is the day before. See 18 years ago my sweetie and I started dating (again) exclusively. So that's the date that means something to us. Not the day that is commercially acceptable.

And honestly I don't ask for anything. Don't need it.

But my sweet baboo did go out and get me some roses. And these mean more to me than a dozen ever would.



Why you might ask. There's only three. Exactly! Three sweet roses in a small vase with a stuffed orange kitty on the side. He chose this one because of the cat. It looks a little like my cat, Pumpkin. Pumpkin is my buddy. And my hubby knows that. So he put thought into the gift. And that makes it even better.

Christmas Traditions

Everyone has them. Right? At least one. Maybe two or three. It's okay to admit it.

I admit we have a few ourselves. Like watching A Christmas Story on TBS for 24 hours. We will sprinkle in A Christmas Carol, I have 3, for a change of pace. George C. Scott is one of my favorite Scrooge's. And having Chinese on Christmas day. If you've seen A Christmas Story, you'll get that one. One thing that we have started as our tradition is going to the Botanical Garden and seeing their lights. They don't just do Christmas either. They do all seasons.

This year we stopped by Starbucks for some hot drinks first. Yum! I've fallen in love with the Caramel Brulee Latte. They do have a radio station that you can tune into and listen to Christmas music, which is very cool, while driving. Sadly reception was bad so we found another radio station to listen to Christmas music. I almost wished we had taken one of our Mannheim Steamroller CD with us. The first thing we drove into this year was a sea theme. Very cool. They made it look like you were driving underwater. And of course, there was a Norfolk Mermaid,in lights, in the beginning.

I also have to say that I like the Santa taking off an aircraft carrier with his reindeer at the very beginning. But I do have to admit that the fire breathing dragon is one of my favorites. What can I say? I like Chinese dragons. And just to clue you in that's for the Chinese New Year. At least I'm pretty sure it is.


One of our absolute favorites is the night sky. I know that sounds bland, but it is breathtaking. As you drive over a bridge you feel as if you are in the middle of the sky. Surrounded by stars, twinkling blue and white, with the moon in view. I wish there was actually more to this one than the short bit they have.

All in all it is money well spent. If you're in the area I urge you to go see it. Get a hot drink, crank up some Christmas tunes and enjoy. If you aren't in the area, well... I hope you find something similar.

Oh and side note. I didn't take these pictures they are from The Botanical Garden site. I need to remember to bring my camera with me from now on.

My Birthday

How does one tell if they have a fantastic hubby? He buys you a present that you've really been coveting and spends the entire day doing what you want.

So yes, I've been wanting a Kindle for a while. For a few months actually. And it arrived the day before my birthday. I'm still playing with it and so far I LOVE it!

So the hubby got major cool points for this one.

To make things even better, he took me to breakfast at a little place we really enjoy and then took me to see Planet 51. Then he took me to Romano's Macaroni Grill for lunch. Originally we were going to go to Bonefish Grill, but they didn't open until 4. Who knew? I must note that my sweet hubby was willing to come back out so I could have Bonefish if I so desired. I did not, because it was cold and rainy.

We had a late dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and afterwards we drove to a nearby Starbucks for some coffee. I must say I'm hooked on the Caramel Brulee Late. It's yummy! And by they time we were getting a dusting of snow. So it was really appreciated.

All in all, I had a great day. Got tons of birthday wishes on FaceBook, emails and phone calls. And I owe my happy birthday all to my sweet baboo. Thanks honey! You rock!!

Howl-O-Scream

So last weekend the hubby and I went to Busch Gardens for the day. We haven't been in like 2 years and figured we should go. It's Howl-O-Scream and that used to be a tradition for us when we were in the area. Plus free tickets. Busch Gardens used to do a Here's To Our Heroes thing that gave military and their dependents free tickets for one day.

Not sure if that will be going on anymore due to the new management. Many things have changed since the Busch family sold the place. Most importantly? No more beer tastings! WTF? Not smart in my humble opinion. Why not try out your newest products here? You have a large buying base that comes to the place. Ugh!

Don't get me wrong, they still sell beer on the premises. Thank goodness!

Of course the favorite ride of the hubby and mine is the Big Bad Wolf. You can see it in this photo. Sadly it's been closed down. It was having too many issues and I was told it would be closed down by the end of this season. So we were hoping to get one last ride. That was not to be though.

I'm not sure that we'll be going back though. The price has gone up. Again. And the food really isn't that good. The ride we enjoyed is gone. And lets face it, we hate crowds.

So sadly, I'm saying goodbye to Busch Gardens. We've been going there for probably 15 years and I think our time has come to an end. It was fun while it lasted.

Spouse Appreciation

Friday was Military Spouse Appreciation Day. What pray tell is that anyway? It's not something that I would normally really care about. I mean why should I get any sort of recognition for being married to my sweet babboo, who just happens to be in the military. I think Hallmark is trying to make another quick buck.

But I digress...

I've always appreciated my husband, but today it was made abundantly clear to me how much he truly means to me. In the nearly 16 years that we've been married, my dear husband has ALWAYS put together anything that claimed some assembly required. Today, however, that changed. I put together bookshelves and a small entertainment center for our game room. First time EVER!

Now I could have waited for my darling husband to return, but then the game room would have stayed a mess. That was not an option. So I knew basically what I wanted and deliberated for a day or so on which type I wanted. It may not be the best in the world, but it's what I liked.

So again, I say thank you to my sweet babboo. I appreciate all that you do for me.

It's Jayne! The man they call Jayne. Er. Um. Not really.

So as I stated in my last blog, I would wait until my sweet baboo got home to open that box. It was hard, but I managed.

He got home yesterday. And almost as soon as we walked in the door that box was opened. He did wait so I could take some photos.

As you can see there is straw in the box just like on the show. Like I said, it's all the details that this woman puts into the packages.
On top was the letter, just like in the show! And underneath the letter was that glorious hat. The one that had been anxiously awaited on.

My sweet baboo read the letter aloud just like Jayne did. I nearly fell to the floor I was laughing so hard. He'll do just about anything to make me laugh.

And that's one of the many reasons that I love him.
Of course I had to take a picture of him wearing the hat. Wouldn't be a good blog without one. Cunning dontcha think?

It fits perfectly! I love the way it looks on him. And it's nice and warm. A very good thing since he's come home to a very cold week. Possible snow has been predicted for the upcoming days.

And yes, that is straw on the hat. My sweetie was a bit impatient. He put it on before we got all the straw off it. But what the heck! Jayne didn't spend a lot of time getting the straw off when he received his hat.
Not only were there wonderful details to the package, inside and out. There was also a card with the care instructions on it. Isn't that cool?

It is 85% wool and 15% mohair. Much like the one that Jayne had. How much more authentic can you get? The back of the card has the company, Wear With Style, contact information as well as a cartoon drawing of Jayne in his hat drinking mudder's milk. Too cool!
This sticker with Blue Sun was included in the box as well. We just don't want River anywhere near it. ;-)

Just another one of those fantastic details that makes this so 'shiny'.

Makes one wonder who she got to make the stamps and the designs from. I'm not complaining, I'm applauding. It's all so well done!

And it's so rare to find a place that would put the time and effort into such details. It makes a person feel very special.

I may have to order myself one. It looks really comfortable.

A Grand Gift

If ever I wonder if my sweet baboo loves me I merely need to look at this gift. I won't go into detail. You can click on the link and read this post. I try never to repeat myself.

Needless to say I'm truly pleased with my present.

Even if my sweet baboo grouses because I'll have nothing to open on Christmas day.

Growing Older

So yesterday was my birthday. It sucks to get older. Now granted I'm not ancient and I'm in reasonably good health. Still there are times when I ask myself where did all the time go? And holy crap! Where did that gray hair come from? What happen to the young girl I used to see in the mirror? I think everyone should be able to freeze at a certain age. Don't you? Okay I'm done griping. Maybe. This is not a rant I swear!

So I got lots of phone calls and emails from family and friends wishing me happy birthday. Thank you everyone for that. And Tim, I'm sorry I missed your call. My sweet baboo took me out for breakfast. He had the day off. Which was really cool. He then took me to get an outfit. Hey! The man is hardly ever home so I don't fault him for not being able to get me a birthday present before said birthday. At least my hubby got me something I wanted. How many wives can say that? Hopefully more than I'm thinking at the moment. And then we went to get me a new pair of glasses. Hey real life still happens.

By the afternoon we were ready to head to Ingleside Winery for some more Rosato. We were running low. It was also a good excuse to see our buddies back at the winery. Plus they have their champagne now and I had to have a bottle.

As luck would have it the winemaker and his wife were having an Open House/Christmas party at their beautiful home and we were invited. Bill, Maria it was wonderful! Thank you for having us. We saw people that we hadn't seen in forever. Had some yummy food. Met Maria's mom and cousin from Venezuela. And I think I really need to learn Spanish now. And of course we had wine.

The hubby and I finally left around 11. Which means we didn't get home until somewhere around 1:30-2 a.m. time frame. We had to make a stop along the way. So of course we slept in this morning. But at around 8:30 there was a knock on the door. I don't know who freaked out more. Me, the hubby or the poor FedEx guy. Kaiser went bonkers and scared my sweet baboo awake. There's no way you can go back to sleep after that.

All in all it was a pretty good day. And I have my sweet baboo to thank for that. So thank you darling!

Bragging Rights

It's rare that I talk about my sweet baboo's job. I try to not to be too public with information. There are a lot of unsavory people out there. And many times I either can't say or don't know what he is up to.

This is not the case this time around.

Not once but twice in the past week did my sweetie's ship make the news. And in a good way.

It's nice to see the Navy mentioned in a positive way in the news instead of being bad mouthed.

Way to go guys!

33

Thirty-three years ago today the world was blessed with the presence of my sweet baboo.

Okay we're all done gagging now right? You all know that I'm not this sickeningly sweet right?

Just wanted to make mention that today is my hubby's birthday. We didn't do anything major. Ate whatever he wanted and just hung out. It was nice that he was home on a week day and had nothing or no one to deal with.

So happy birthday sweetie! Now you're the same age as me. Suck it up big boy!

Cause He's A Ham

Every once in a while my sweet baboo will not flip off the camera or hide from it and give me a photo that will give me a grin.

He's like me and hates having his picture taken so when he saw me with the camera he asked me what I was doing I just grinned and told him to suck it up. So he decided to goof off for me. I told him to look impressive for me. He almost didn't make it because we were all laughing so hard. One of his lighter moments and I'm glad that I captured it.

His mom really wanted a picture of him in uniform and I was lucky enough to get outside quickly while he was shooting the breeze with a classmate so I could snap his photo.

And what can I say? I'm a sucker for a man in uniform. And my man does look fine when he's in uniform.