Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Ten Things

1.  I was in a girl’s glee club choir for one year in Jr. High. My best friend Heather, who could actually sing, was in the Show Choir, and I was jealous of all the cool trips she took, so I auditioned for it in 8th grade. I didn’t make Show Choir and was stuck in the girls’ choir for singers who shouldn’t be in choirs and should just stick to singing in the shower.

2. I failed one quarter of Band class in 8th grade. My brother’s favorite remark for this is, "What, did you forget to blow?" I played the clarinet for two years, but in 8th grade I was too lazy to practice and didn’t pass my scales. I could have retaken them, but again: lazy.

3.  When I was younger (so much younger than today), I used to be jealous of Stephen (my brother) because every summer he got a buzz cut. We lived in Las Vegas at the time (Nellis AFB), and it would get so hot that I’d beg my mom to shave my head, too. She never gave in.

4. For a while I didn’t consider my husband a serious dating option because he always wore white K-Swiss shoes. I thought that was just too frat-boy for me. I’m glad I relaxed my dating standards! Haha.

5.  I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.

6. I get overwhelmed by too many graphics in a MySpace profile.

7.  My favorite place in the whole world, so far, is Florence, Italy. It is so gorgeous. I went on two field trips there during high school when my dad was stationed at Aviano AFB and have so many good memories.

8.  I worked at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium, which is home of Omaha’s AAA baseball team, the Royals (and also home to the College World Series), for three summers. I loved my second summer the most when I was one of the only girls working camera with a bunch of crude college boys. And I loved working the first base camera by the visiting dugout so I could check out the visiting team!

9.  I fell out of the tree in our front yard at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma when I was probably about 10 years old or so. I climbed up higher than the roof, felt a little dizzy and started climbing down when I passed out and fell. I came to as I was falling and tried to reach up for a limb, but just felt it brush past my fingers. My brother thought I was joking.

10.  I’ve been married to my husband for almost four years now, and we’ve yet to spend a single anniversary or birthday together. It’s looking good for us this year, though! I can’t complain too much, really, because I’ve had him home for every Christmas and he’s only missed one Thanksgiving so far.

 

Chili Chump



So the chili cook-off went really well! We had a pretty good turnout, lots of yummy chili, and just a good time all around.


And my chili DID win an award! Only, it wasn’t the best-in-show. I won the WORST CHILI award. No. Really. My prize was a can of Hormel chili which now resides in my cupboards.


And guess who won the first place pize. THE COMMANDER. Seriously? How rigged is that? ;)


Anyway, I tried most of the chilis and really don’t think mine was the worst. In fact, I had a few airmen tell me mine was the best! And I really liked it. How can you go wrong with a chili recipe that calls for a can of beer and a cup of strong coffee?! All I have to say is, Up your nose with a rubber hose, judges! ;) (The judges were the First Shirts from three other squadrons. Had it been judged by the people, it might have been a different story! Maybe not. Who knows!)


Anyway, regardless of my poor chili’s lack of true recognition, I had a fun time. Caleb was SUCH a good baby all day! He barely had a fussy moment. Of course, he was constantly being held by one person or another, so that’s probably why! Whatever the reason, he picked a perfect day to be a perfect baby!


The bad news is that I think my laptop is dying a slow and painful death. The system restore that I did last month still hasn’t stopped it from randomly shutting down when I’m in the middle of something. It’s sluggish and annoying. And two nights ago, I accidentally spilled some water on the keyboard. Now I can’t log into it at all. I’m going to try a USB keyboard today to see if I can at least back up the few things I’ve done over the past month before it really gives up the ghost. I was hoping to wait until next year for a new computer, but the time may be upon us now. Boo!


Thursday, March 13, 2008

One Hot Tamale

Ambitious Kelly woke up this morning. Thank goodness. She came right on time.
I managed to get five loads of laundry done (how is it possible we even HAVE five loads of laundry? I'll blame the small, British washing machine), baked five dozen cookies for a squadron event tomorrow, cleaned the house, did poop patroll in the back yard, and made a last-minute run to Tesco tonight. Quite frankly, I'm exhausted.

Cleaning the house is the worst. I can assure you I will never live in a three story house again. Just cleaning the house is a serious work out. Forget lunges. Get two flights of stairs and make about eight zillion trips up and down them a day. You'll burn calories like no other.

So tomorrow the squadron is having a chili cook-off. I'm a HUGE fan of chili cook-offs. But I've never entered into the competition. The Key Spouse Organiztion that I'm a part of is hosting the chili cook-off. To be honest, I'm not entering to compete, but just to support the event. None-the-less, as I chopped my onions and chili peppers tonight in preparation for tomorrow, I couldn't help imagining myself, the unsuspected underdog, taking the trophy (not that there is a trophy, mind you.) In my imagination, Caleb and I accepted the honor with a rousing rendition of "We Are the Champions." (Sidenote: that song ALWAYS makes me think of the movie Mickey Blue Eyes. Hilarious.) Again, I'm not really "in it to win it," but a tiny part of me wants to win just so I can sing that song. And I would sing it. Because that's how cool I am.

So now that I've accomplished all I needed to today, I am celebrating my ambition with a plate of the reddest strawberries I've seen this side of 2008. Man, I love me some Tesco produce. Buh-licious. In a minute I'm going to bed, because I'll need all the rest I can get to enjoy my victory tomorrow. Wish me luck! ;)

Sunday, March 09, 2008

A Collection

Friends of ours from Georgia just arrived here last month. And as we were so kindly assisted by friends in the search for a house and car, we have attempted to help our friends in the same way. Doing so is like a strange sense of dejavu. Reliving the frustrations of house hunting ("We just let that house!") and finding a decent car and just trying to figure life out in a new country. Man, it was overwhelming at first! But I guess at some point, life in England became somewhat comfortable. Good thing, since we have three more years left!


We visisted Stonehenge and the city of Salisbury last weekend. It was really nice! I would have like a couple more hours in Salisbury (I didn't even have time to shop! *whine*), but we had a great chance to explore their cathedral, which houses one of the four remaining original copies of the Magna Carta. I love exploring European cathedrals!


I have switched the concentration for my Master's Degree from International Relations (also titled: What On Earth Was I Thinking?!) to Human Relations. My first HR class is in about six weeks, and I'm looking forward to it! I've also enrolled in two classes over the summer. I'm hoping to complete the program by the end of next year. Even if I don't, there should be no problem with finishing it by the time we leave.


We want to travel this summer. We had been thinking about going home this summer, but have decided not to. Maybe next summer! And while I'm disappointed that I won't get to see my family and friends and introduce them to the new little man in my life, I am hopeful that we'll get to see Europe this year! Of course, all of this hangs on Caleb's passport. We applied for it on January 2nd and still have not received it. Nor have we received his SSN, applied for at the same time. Which means we can't do our taxes. Which is a little frustrating. It's so complicated having an American baby overseas!


Speaking of the booger, we introduced Caleb to solids this week. And by "solids," I mean anything but! He had his first Big Boy meal from a spoon and a bowl. It was a gourmet selection of runny rice cereal. It wasn't an instant hit. In fact, it garnered facial expressions akin to those I have when my husband passes gas. But after a few bites, he seemed to get the hang of it and enjoyed it! He even managed to get some in his hair. Makin' momma proud!


Now to end with a confession: I hate washing bottles. Bugggh. Selfishly I wish I was still breastfeeding, if for no other reason than to avoid washing bottles every night! I guess introducing solids means that at some point (in the not-near future) bottles will be a thing of the past! Speaking of which, I better get on it. Good-night!