Glorious Chaos

Weekends in Spring

The weather is unbelievable!  Last year it started to get really hot as soon as we were halfway through April, but we are still enjoying some really nice temperatures and it's almost Memorial Day!  This weekend is well-deserved, after my first full week back at work last week.  As of Friday my computer wasn't working (at work).  Friday was also Job Shadow Day, and my sons came to ride around with Mom.  My youngest was only interested in his loose tooth, but both the boys had fun chasing lizards in the old bomb dump (abandoned).

The first of the bulbs are blooming, these little irises last for days.

 
Daughter petting the neighbor's cat.

Planted flowers in a pot on the front porch.  I have zero luck with annuals, usually, but these--they are non dead!!!!

Big brother wanted to try on sister's flower crown.

I mowed the lawn today.  I haven't done that since my oldest was a baby.  It wasn't actually *that* bad except our mower handle is kind of low and I've got the sneezes.  But the lawn looks great and the little ones got a kick out of helping a little bit.  It is actually a bigger hassle to keep harping on my oldest until he does it than it is to just do it ourselves.  The hotter it gets, the more likely it will be that I hire a Turkish gardener!  Oh, and our mower is electric, so I have to drag a cord around.  Stinks!

I hope this weekend is raining blessings on everyone!

Blessed Be!

I wish Spring would last forever!

The weather is absolutely beautiful here.  This time last year it was very hot out already, but we've had a lot of rain and it's keeping the weather where is should be.  This year's summer garden is well on its way with 2 kinds of corn, cucumbers, herbs and of course, tomatoes and peppers.  We've also got a bunch of bulbs that are coming up.  The irises are blooming right now, pretty!

DD has strep throat, she's taking antibiotics and feels better but my throat has been bugging me and I've been too stubborn to slow down and go see the doctor.  Tomorrow!

Almost time to go back to work on Thursday.  Bittersweet ending to my leave, I was really enjoying spending time with my daughter and finishing up projects.

I'm late for starting a May Crochet-a-long with my girl, Jess.  I wonder if I can make up the ones I missed...

I have not really done any crochet since I've been off, other than making a little hat for my mom. (Which I didn't get a picture of... *facepalm*)

I'm back on Weight Watchers on account of my next PT test being limited because of the surgery. Ten pounds down already!!  I'm SO happy!

I think I'm falling out of love with FaceBook.  I will keep my account, but I think I'm going to scale way back on that and concentrate more on this blog.  I don't feel like I'm really getting anything out of it. 

We got rid of the TV!  OK, we still have it, but that's because we have to take it out of the country with us.  (All the electronics we brought have to leave, which means the computer that went Blue Screen of Death today gets kept and hauled around with us until we leave Turkey.) After an initial couple of days of wandering around looking lost, the kids have started to....PLAY!  DD was spending all day staring at SpongeBob reruns and now she's playing with her princess castle and drawing.  So.  Happy.  Living room rearranged, too, one side of the room with DS G.I. Joe base and DD Princess Castle, the other side with couch and chairs for reading and hanging out.  The house is so quiet without the Turkish Cartoon Network's annoying commercials!

Tomorrow, I pick up the crochet hook and get in gear!

Blessed Be!

I always say I'm going to do better, then.....
A month's gone by since I (finally!) had my neck fixed. I woke from the surgery almost pain free. Arm pain gone, neck pain gone. My beautiful, wise, smart angel of a mother there to help me out for 2 weeks in Germany! Every day I feel better, do a little more. I'm off all painkillers except one mild one I take at night, that one I will have to taper off more gradually and I have already started that.
The garden is beautiful, we planted sunflowers and corn last weekend, I have historically had zero luck with corn but we were in Arizona, so I'm trying again. My husband being from Iowa should give us some Corn Cool Points, right? So I planted two varieties to see which thrives. Maybe both will!
Started Weight Watchers again right before I left Germany to come home. It's been 3 weeks and I'm down 7 pounds, yay, me! I used to go to meetings when we lived in Tucson so the purely online version required a little adjustment but it's not as hard as it was to learn the program for the first time.
Kids are almost done with school and when it commences again in fall, my little girl, my last baby will be in Kindergarten.... time has gone by so quickly.
Speaking of time going quickly, we are in the process of extending here for an extra year, my husband wants to finish his degree before we leave and I think it's fair to let him make the decision since he has been so supportive of my career all these years. The kids all love it here anyway, and I like our routine, so I'll go with the flow!
I'll post some pictures later, right now, duty calls!

Blessed Be and happy belated May Day, Beltane, Floralia or whatever your flavor is! Follow your bliss!

Sunny Saturday

This morning has been so beautiful that I can't think of anything to complain about.  Homemade blueberry waffles for breakfast, a cup of tea at the table, and the kids playing together with a minimum amount of arguing.  I might even break out the crochet for a bit!  Took some pics in and around the yard and garden.

Logan's need to organize things led to this abstract porch decoration!

We've got many, many sunflowers this year.

These orange Torch sunflowers are my favorite.  They are so bright in the sun, it's almost hard to look at them.

Busy bees and sunflowers against a blue sky.

Beautiful okra flower.  I did not know that they were a member of the hibiscus family!

The okra plant itself is almost as tall as I am.  I have no idea what I am going to do with this okra!  Pickle it, maybe?

I just love sunflowers.

We also have some pretty zinnias.  I'm going to do more of these next year in different colors, all I have now is red.  The bugs also seem to like to nibble these, so I will have to address that, too.

Potted Candytuft.  I have never grown purely ornamental flowers before, even my treasured marigolds help repel bugs from my garden.  These are really pretty though.

Aurora Borealis pepper plants.  These are little hot peppers that turn green, yellow, orange, red and finally purple.  Even if you don't like peppers it's a pretty plant.

The basil is about ready to be repotted.  It's doing really well, as usual.

Front yard Lantana.

More Lantana, I just love orange flowers.

Front yard crepe myrtle.  I haven't seen these since I lived in South Carolina.

We've still got about a year and a half left here in Turkey.  I'm hoping we can segue into a position in Germany as our last military assignment.  It's scary to think of my military career ending so soon, but it's also exhilarating when i think of all the things I will be able to do that I can't do right now. (Not the least of which is never going on a deployment again, woo!)  

In the meantime, we will just enjoy each other when we can and look forward to the time when we don't have to say goodbye so often!

Blessed Be!

 

Back from Germany! It was beautiful there, great weather, good food, lots to learn. But I'm so glad to be back at home where I belong. I can hardly imagine how good it's going to feel when I'm done with this military life and I know I don't have to leave my family again if I don't want to.
To make up for the absence, it's been and all weekend cookfest! Made pancakes for the kids yesterday, we had delicious BBQ and sour cream and chive mashed potatoes and broccoli with homemade cheese sauce. This morning, Eggs Benedict and homemade minestrone and cheddar biscuits for dinner! It feels really good to be able to spoil my family with this food. I think that this is the thing that I do best. Tomorrow should be another steamy Turkish summer day.

Long absence, I know. It's August, almost September, and we've all been busy. Jason and I with work and school and family, the kids with getting used to a new routine with someone taking care of them that is not Mom and Dad. I won't say that I don't feel guilty for never staying home with them, and instead working, but my parents worked and I turned out OK, right? Mostly?
I feel like I need to start journaling again, like on PAPER. Facebook and this blog are good unless I really need to get a rant on, then you have to worry, oh, who is going to see this and what will they think? Can't say that I think so and so is a nutless doucher, now can I? (and he is, believe me).
I'm TDY to Germany right now for some conferences and training. It's beautiful here and the weather is outstanding, but, I'm all by myself, and that sucks.
My wonderful husband is stressed about my upcoming fitness test. I'm kind of worried, but on the other hand, I've given my whole adult life to the USAF, and that includes doing a lot of heavy lifting to get the mission done along the way. The fact that I run slow and have trouble with situps because my spine is damaged is a direct result of that. So if they don't want me anymore, fine, and I daresay, fuck them. Because I'm getting a bit tired of trying to love the body I have, stretch marks and all, only to turn around and hear that I need a 29 inch waist. At my age. With three kids. Really. This is rather the sort of rant that probably belongs in a diary, right? So, I do all I can to be more fit, I work out and eat well, and am careful not to injure my back any more than it already is. And I still do my job and do it well. If that's not enough for the Air Force, well, I will go on to another phase of my life that doesn't involve shipping off to the armpits of the world to police conflict that isn't my problem in the first place. Hell, that kind of sounds appealing. The bottom line is this: my self-esteem is not tied to an Air Force career, my job is not my life, my family is.

The Monday Mile

Did almost a mile this morning barefoot.  I only stopped because the feet were a little tender and I don't want to overdo it.  We had a huge hailstorm and flooding on Saturday and the road is still washed with rocks and gravel, so I was dodging a lot of debris.  I really would like to run tomorrow also, but I think I better continue an every other day run until my feet are tougher.

I finally ordered the Vibram FiveFingers shoes on Saturday also, and they have already shipped.  I can hardly wait to try them out since getting the green light from my supervision to wear them with my PT uniform.  Being able to almost run barefoot for Air Force PT as well as on my own is going to be great!  

 

Back in the Saddle

Well, I finally feel like we're getting back into a good routine.  The kids are sleeping and napping like they should, the dog and cat are acting right.  Good thing about living on base is it frees up 2 hours a day that I was spending driving back and forth to Tucson.  So, we're using that time to lift weights, run and play tennis.  
This is the inside of the big mosque in Adana. 

Beautiful roses on base.  They are all over the place!

Outside of the big mosque in Adana

Huge red poppies are all over base, too.  Beautiful!

We're really missing our friends and neighbors from Tucson but it really is nice here.  Everyone keeps warning me about how hot the summer will be.  I remind them that we moved here from the desert!    

Had my third barefoot run this morning. I have to say, I'm really loving it! I have not had any of the pain I normally get from running. This evening my knees are sore, but I did transition from one surface to another today and I think I ran farther than before. It's hard to measure the distance since I don't have a car or a pedometer or anything. This weekend I want to go run the "Triangle" which is marked off by the quarter mile, I think, and is 2.2 miles. If I can do 2.2 miles, pardon my French, but I will shit! Now, how to talk the Air Force into letting my PT test barefoot! Don't think that's going to fly, I will have to get some minimalist shoes to satisfy the stupid rule. Ta-ta for now!

Climb a mountain

Dh and I got a babysitter and went to climb Picacho Peak, halfway between Tucson and Phoenix.  We opted to take the long way as it was a more gradual climb, about 3 miles to the absolute top.  We had about a half-mile to go when I started to panic about the height.  We went a bit further and then decided to turn back as I was not having a good time AT ALL by that time.  I forgot how much I didn't like heights.  Anyhow, I took some lovely pictures on the way up.

Beautiful shot of the sun coming up over the trailhead.

The trail behind us.  It's about 7:30 AM.

I don't know what these tiny flowers are, but they were very bright in all the drab.

Some more pretty little flowers.

Another shot before the sun made it all the way up.  It was actually pretty green out for the desert.  We've had a lot of rain.

Jumping cholla cactus.

The back side of Picacho Peak       

  Barrel cactus from the top.

Close up of sahuaro, the ribs are all fat from all the rain.

Another tiny desert flower.

A cholla cactus skeleton.

Right before the part that made me panic, this is a shot back down the trail. 

Nice shot of the horizon

And this is the part that did it for me.  I started getting upset halfway up.  I DID make it up, and a ways further, AND back down, which was the scariest part.

The Arizona sun was out in all its glory on the way back to the car.

The tiniest mushrooms I have ever seen, just hiding out under a palo verde tree.

The poppies opened up while we were climbing the slope.  There were just a few, they will be really thick in a couple of weeks!

We didn't make it all the way to the top, but we had a good time and got a LOT of exercise.  We had to take a nap when we got home.  One more goal down.