Wishing You And Yours A Very....

Empty House

So the movers have come and taken just about all of our belongings away.  Which has thrown the animals for a complete loop.  There's no couch to lounge on.  There's no bed to sleep on.  Where did all their things go?

Fortunately, I have an awesome neighbor who's lent me a twin size mattress, table, chair, and a lamp. That's all you need right?

Apparently not in my dog's eyes.

Since the hubby is swinging by for a bit we did get a queen size air mattress, which is wonderful!

Crafty Days & Crafty Nights: Color Me Mine

So this is a combination of my crafty stuff and my '757 Bucket List'.

I've been wanting to go to Color Me Mine for quite some time.

I just needed an actual project to take me there.  I am not one who can meander and find inspiration.  Well, actually I am but I am on a bit of a time crunch so I didn't feel I could do this now.

So the hubby and I had been bouncing around an idea for about a year.

We are big fans of the comic strip Peanuts.  So we were so tickled when The Peanuts Movie came out.

Linus and Sally are our favorites and we thought it would be so neat to have a 'Linus mug'.

I've seen Charlie Brown ones.  Where the shirt and a sliver of the pants are painted on a mug.  Cute right?

Only problem?  We couldn't find a Linus mug anywhere.

Hmmm...

So here is the perfect opportunity to blend two things into one.

I went to Color Me Mine in downtown Norfolk this Monday to work on this project.

Bonus?

Mondays they waive studio fees for military.  Yay!

So I painted and in a few days they will remove it from the kiln and I will have a 24 oz. coffee mug for my darling hubby.

This mug is huge!

Not perfect, but just what I was hoping for.  More along the lines of a Charles Schultz drawing.  My inner perfectionist was NOT happy with this, but I think it's cute.  And that's all that matters.

And So It Begins

The bird couldn't care less.

As it goes with any navy family, we're prepping for our move.  This is how navy life is.  You move frequently.  In our twenty-three years of marriage we've moved about ten times and we're coming up on move number eleven.

We've been here for about eight years, so it's like it's new again for me.  Been a while since I've planned a pack out or move.  And this time my sweet husband will not be around to help.  Believe me I'm a list maker at heart.  But I still stress out.

Kyla is NOT amused.

This can lead to so many questions from friends and family.  So let me answer the questions I get for you!  Because I just *know* you're dying to know these answers.

757 Bucket List

Just the other day I was chatting with a good friend and she asked me what items were on my '757 bucket list'.

Huh?!  I hadn't truly thought about that.  I guess it hasn't really sunken in for me that soon I'll be on the other side of the country.

So as my time in the 757 area code comes to a close I've come to realize that there are a lot of things that I haven't done.

Time to get cracking!

So what haven't I done?  What have I done that I'd really like to do again?  Time to do some thinking and scheduling some things to do in my life.

Let the fun begin!  Now here's hoping the weather cooperates with me.

Hanging Out

Life gets in the way some times.  We get focused/fixated on one thing that has been keeping us from doing the things we enjoy.

I've let everything slip through the cracks.  My friends, my writing, my crafts and even my health.

That has to stop.

Feeling like a brunette here

Fortunately, I've finished the majority of the house is finished.  It's finally on the market for rent and as I'm posting this we've had one viewing and an inquiry.  By tomorrow we'll have another viewing.  And the house isn't available until October!

So slowly I'll try to do things that I have on my fun must do before I move.  And hopefully catch up with friends.

Fortunately this week I was able to catch up with friends at a local brewery, The Bold Mariner, and catch up.  I really enjoyed it.  I got to try a flight of different beers and for the life of me I don't think I could name just one that I really liked.  I liked them ALL!  I think I need to check out more of the breweries in this area before I leave.

I also got to catch up with other friends at Pendulum this week.  I knew this place was a butcher shop, but didn't realize that they do lunch as well.  I'd always gotten my tri tip here.
O M G!  It was wonderful!  The menu does change up and they have wine and beer.  Oh goodness I can go on for a long time about the wonderfulness that is this place.

Definitely have to keep up this fun!

My Life Lately

Side by side color comparison

Has been filled with painting.

Painting walls of all nine rooms of the house.  Caulking trim in all but a few of the rooms (Yes, I know that isn't painting).  Painting trim in all those rooms.  And in some rooms I've painted the ceilings to brighten them up.

Oh and did I mention that I had to paint wainscoting as well?

Yeah, I have been busy since just before Memorial Day weekend.  And I'm feeling it.

Coming To Terms

We all know that death is inevitable, but that doesn't make it any easier.  We know it's going to happen, but it's always in the distant future and not something that we are going to think of right now.

No one wants to think about the unpleasantness of that.  The thought of losing a spouse, a sibling, a parent, a friend, or even an acquaintance is just too much.  So why waste the time and energy on it?

I've been to three funerals, of people not related to me, in my adult life and it sucked.  Tomorrow, I'm going to my first military spouse funeral.  Something I honestly had never thought about.  Never expected to do.  And never wanted to do.

I know I could 'justify' not going by stating we weren't close, but I won't.  I mean, who wants to go to something like that?  It's, if I'm to be brutally honest, depressing.  But that is not going to stop me.  I'm going to honor this person and let her family know that someone cares that she's gone besides them.  Even if I haven't seen her or spoken to her in years.  That's not the point.

Funerals aren't for the dead.  They are for the living.

So today, please take a moment to cherish the people in your lives.

Orders

The thing that hovers in every military spouses mind is when do we get our next set of orders.  Will we be staying or are we going to move in a month or so?  Can I even go with him?  Some orders do not include dependents.

Of course, your military friends will inevitably ask in one conversation or another if you're leaving and when will you be going.

I've been in the Norfolk area for eight consecutive years now.  You read that right!  Eight years.  I love this area and have been very fortunate to live here this long.  We even bought our first home here.  As a side note, we've been here off and on since 1993. 

You're getting my gist now, right?  The picture clued you in right?  

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my favorite holiday.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and Thanksgiving too.  But there's just something about Halloween that makes me happy.  Admittedly I am a bit of a horror nut.  

I love the crispness in the air.  Just everything.  I know not very eloquently put, but deal with it.

Normally the hubby and I carve pumpkins while eating cheap pizza and watching "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brow".  But not this year.  For some reason I just didn't feel like getting the pumpkins for our local pumpkin place.  Which is kind of sad, because this is our last year in this house. 

That's right my friends, we will be moving before the next Halloween.  Such is navy life.

However, we will be in our driveway this evening to pass out full size candy bars.  That's right we do it up right at our house.  Gotta set high expectations for next years tenants.  Our fire pit will be blazing.  Our next door neighbor will be with us, as well as a number of other people.  We'll be grilling and chilling with friends.

A great night for it.

Now instead of typing away on my post I better make sure everything is ready.

Drive safely out there as the little goblins and ghouls go from house to house!