cold or friction

I have been thinking about renting a cabin at Point Magu. Point Magu is very quickly becoming on of my favorite places to visit. It is up by the Channel islands and if you have never heard of the channel islands then you need to google it!

The last time we were up there I saw these cabins and I told Rusty that I would love to stay in one of those cabins. So I have been thinking about seeing how much they would coast. We have never gone anywhere or done anything for our anniversary. So I called around today I finally got a hold of the person that I needed to talk to about renting these darn cabins.

I don't know I was thinking this was going to be easy, but the lady said "Is your husband a chief?" What? Ummm I am not sure. He is a retired marine. That answer was not good enough for her.So I ask how much the cabins are to rent. They are only $50 a night. O.K. that is doable.

So I text Rusty and I say "If you were in the Navy would you be a chief?" Rusty did not answer me, he just called. So I told him what I was thinking about doing. Rusty said "So you want to go freeze our asses off on the beach in November." With out missing a beat, I said "No baby I want to make so much friction that we burn the damn cabin down"

I am going to go jump in the shower, and get ready to take Nikki to the airport. She is off on yet another adventure. Is it wrong to live through your children?

war and my husband

My whole life I have been surrounded by veterans. In our family it was no big deal. Yes my grandfather served in WWII, but they were not war hero's. They were my grandfathers. They took me fishing, gave me raw hot dogs and beer, and most of all they loved me.

Two of my Uncle's served in Vietnam. I am not sure if they are war hero's or not. They were my Uncles. One potty trained me, and the other cooked breakfast for me anytime I was at his house.

My dad transported nuclear weapons. He was not a war hero. He was the one who told me all about Germany, and how much he loved it. He was also the one who threatened to kick my ass if I did not come back from Germany. I loved that county as much as my dad did.

Rusty and so many of my friends served in Desert storm/ desert shield. Are they hero's? I am not sure. Rusty could not pack his bags fast enough to get of this country. Rusty went over there as a boy playing with big boy toys.

Then he went back for Enduring freedom. This time I think he was a little bit sadder to leave, but he went and did his job and came home.

My girlfriend Becky asked me why the younger marines are so drawn to Rusty. All I could say was "because they all have something in common." That common factor is that they have all left loved ones and gone off to war. They have all seen hell on earth, and yet they tuck that away and come to everyone back here.

A few months ago I found a book at the exchange. It is letters that soldiers and families wrote through the generations. It looked very interesting, so I bought it and it has sat in a drawer for a very long time. They other night I pulled it out, and I think I got to page ten before I felt like I was invading Rusty's private life.

I have often wondered what Rusty has seen and done. He has never talked about it to me. I never once got a letter telling me all the details of war. Never. I have often wondered what it would be like to share that bond with Rusty. Yes, I sometimes want the bond that he has with the marines. I will never have that bond, but I do still wonder.

Rusty does not talk about war with the children and I. I am not naive, I know what goes on, but I won't hear the words come out of Rusty's mouth. I remember one phone conversation that we had, and Rusty said that he really missed me. I offered to get on a plane and fly over there, but he said hell was no place for his wife.

I even asked Rusty if he would go on Embassy duty. I got a very cold no, so I pressed on, and he said we had to many children. I came back with "well then get rid of one!". I got the blank stare that I have come to know all to well. He finally said "I can't in good conscience take my family into harms way." I knew by the tone of his voice that the subject was closed and not up for any further arguing.

Last night Rusty and I were sitting at the table and he picked up the book and asked where I got it. So I told him, but I said "When I started reading the book I felt like I was invading your privacy." I flipped to page I had marked and I read him paragraph. Rusty did not look up from his food, he did not stop chewing, he just said "yep" and went back to eating.

I did a lot of sewing today, and the book sat on the table staring back at me. I am having a hard time with this book. Do I continue reading this book, and read things that my husband would not want me to read.? Do I read this book to try to get a better understanding of my husband?

My husband is a man of very few words. Some of my friends have known me for a long time before they hear Rusty speak. It is what it is. He is the love of my life, and I would not trade him for anything. I just wonder. I wonder if he would be different if he had no seen the atrocities of war. Would if he would treat me differently if I had served right next to him. I wonder if he is protecting me for my own good. I wonder what happens if I break that trust and I start to step into the life that he does not want me to know about.

I have no idea what I am going to do about this book. I guess it is a good thing that I don't have that much time to read.

As for what to do about Rusty, I will keep him just the way he is. It may be a strange relationship, but it is ours, and I love it.

my junk

Well here it is my junk! Last week I did not clean out as much as I wanted to but I did get two rooms gone through.

I went through the kitchen, which was actually very hard for me, But I did it and I filled this box. It did not take long before someone came and snatched up my goodies.

Yesterday I went through my bathroom. Yep the second picture is everything from under our sinks and drawers. I am so amazed at what we had just shoved under there. Can you believe that I found candles? I can't even burn candles, and yet I found some.

Oh well, I guess that is what happens when you take the time to actually clean something out. You just find crap and wonder where it came from and why you ever needed it to begin with.

I got one of the living rooms picked up, got our bed stripped and got Ryan's bed made...finally. If this keeps up I may catch up on some house work. However I am not going to hold my breath because I may just pass out!

Today Nikki is starting her mad dash to get packed up to go to Vegas. I m not sure how long she will be gone, but this trip is going to be so much different then her other trips. I was told that Vegas is a rough trip even if it is here in the states. I know Nikki will make it through this, and I am hoping that she sees that there really are poor people here in America.

Nikki is going to be spending a few day's before and after her trip with a guy I grew up with. His is all nervous about having a teenage girl in the house, since he has no children. I know they will both be fine.

Nikki also has to finish getting re enrolled in "traditional" school. I could do it for her, but I am not. I am taking a huge step back and teaching her a life lesson. The lesson is don't wait until the last minute to make major decisions. Rusty is so not happy about Nikki going back to the local high school. He believes that she get a better education at the charter school. I think that an "education" is over rated and that life is the best teacher. But what can a parent do?

Amber and Ryan come home on Friday, and this may sound mean, but it was nice not having all the children hanging out here. I kinda liked the empty nest. I still need to buy Amber one book for school, and I think Ryan is all set for school.

Amber better find a job and find on quick. I told her in no uncertain terms that she better start paying her own bills. I did stop paying them, but I have a feeling my mother paid her bills this month. Here is a news flash for Amber....unemployed people who can't pay their bills don't go on vacation!

Well, life happens and it will continue to happen around here.

Life is good.

time with the children

Well yesterday was an absolute blessing for the children and I!

We headed down to the beach about 2 p.m. we did some swimming and I was body surfing! The kids thought I was crazy because the waves were really high yesterday.

Then the concert started. I can't even explain how cool it was to see Nikki, Chris and Hope dancing on the beach at sunset.

Mercy me and all the others just gave us a great show. Mercy me said that they were honored to play for the troops, and being on the beach was the topping on the cake. It is nice to know that some people still care about our troops.

I called Rusty to let him know that the children were waiting for the concert to begin and that they were so excited. Rusty was thrilled. I could see him smiling through the phone. It was in that moment that I loved Rusty a little bit more. Here was my husband working, and here I was on the beach. I am so amazed at what he will do to support his family and what he gives up so we can have a good time.

I just can't believe what a great time the children had. I was so honored that they let me watch them and be a part of their night.

Life is sooooo good.

quilts, friends, and tears

I had an amazing weekend. I love having the Marines mom's come into town. They always teach me something.

From Mrs. Becky I learned that my free spirit is contagious, and that I am a very blessed women.

On Friday Mrs. Becky and I went out to buy the batting for the quilts. She so wanted to buy the batting but I would not let her. I told her that the quilts are something that Rusty and I shoulder the burden for.

Once we got home I showed Mrs. Becky how to put the quilts together and then she helped me put Brett and Steves quilts quilt together and to my great surprise we got both of them finished in one day.

Mrs. Becky was so happy that I let her work on Bretts quilt. For me it was no big deal, but she just knew that Brett would love the quilt even more because both of his mom's worked on it.

Needless to say Brett and Steve love their quilts. Steve's quilt did not turn out exactly like I wanted, but I am learning to let it go. I am learning that the guys love the quilts simply because I made them.

Mrs Becky decided to make a sit down dinner for all 12 of us. Brett had requested a special dish, so that is what she made for everyone. It was pork chops, potatoes, and green bean casserole. While Becky was cooking, I set the table, I rearranged all the furniture, got the table from the garage, and broke out the china. Yep, I used the good stuff, right down to the cloth napkins, and the napkin rings. After dinner I told all the boy's to clean up while Mrs. Becky, another gal, and I had tea. I even broke out the china tea cups, creamer and sugar bowl. It was so nice to use all my china.

One of the marines stopped at the package store and bought a bottle of wine. Mrs. Becky and were impressed with his taste in wine. He bought this stuff from south Africa and man it was so good! I will have to get another bottle of it.

After everything was said and done. I went and got Mrs. Becky's quilt. She cried because I made her a quilt. I Just smiled because I was so happy to see everyone with their quilts.

Mrs. Becky just hugged me and cried. The things I take for granted she does not. Mrs. Becky was so happy to cook for her son, and the marines. She was so happy to see them all having a good time. I guess I do take that for granted, and I am so glad that she reminded me just how lucky I am.

Mrs. Becky left today, but not before a lot of tears were shed. This was the last time she would see her son before he deploys again. This was the last time she would hold him before she once again sends her son off to war. Make no mistake, this war is being fought by boys not men.

Rusty wants to go to dinner, so I am going to take this opportunity to go spend some quality time with my husband.

Life is good.

eco friendly Friday early

I have had a very busy week, but even with my crazy schedule this week I tried very hard to reduce and reuse. The I was hit with another challenge for this week. Smaller footprint challenged us to go through the house and give away anything we don't use. I said give away, not throw away.

I was starting to do this anyway, but I grabbed a box and headed for the kitchen. I pulled everything out of my cabinets and I looked at it. If I have not used it or touched it in the year we have lived here, then it was out of here. I have to admit that this was a little hard for me since I collect antique Pyrex.

But I did it. I kept all my antique stuff, but other then that I cleaned everything out. I was shocked at how much I was actually getting rid of, and how much I was throwing into the recycling.

I took my box and placed it on the front porch and wrote kitchen stuff on it. Then I placed an ad on freecycle and craigslist and the box was gone in no time flat. It made me feel good to clean out, and that someone else got some use out of my old stuff. So I challenge everyone to do a little cleaning out and passing on.

Here is what I did this week.

1. I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets.

2. I used old soda bottles were used to hold all of the children Gatorade.

3. Spaghetti sauce was stored in plastic coffee cans.

4. Produce box was used to haul produce in, the to haul more stuff home, and now it sitting here and waiting to be reused.

5.hug up all my laundry

6. empty Gatorade canisters will be refilled with homemade dishwasher soap, and the scoop from the Gatorade is the perfect measure for the soap.

Please tell me what little steps you have taken, and please let me know what you have cleaned out!

only to me

So last night was awesome. I walked around naked and then hubby and I went to the island on comeonwannalayya. Life was good.

I got up this morning with a long list of things I wanted and needed to get done. Yes well, about that list.

O.K. so I got the house cleaned up, fed the kittens, fed the kittens, fed the kittens, man they are eating a lot. I got some stuff pinned together, chatted on facebook and read some blogs.

Then something happened. Nikki and her group needed more ice and more Gatorade. O.K. so I go off and get that taken care of. Then I decide that I might as well stop and get everything else that I am going to need for dinner tomorrow. I hate driving my car in the heat! I love my grocery getter, but this whole no a/c thing is getting to me.

Then I had to feed the kittens and Rusty and clean up from that. Then some people I know stopped by. I know that it is strange, but I do actually know people that do not live in my computer.

I went to open the window in the kitchen and I got my arm stuck to a fly trap. Why are the fly's so bad this year? I tried everything to get that damn glue off my arm. I finally had to go find the goo be gone.

I forgot to replace the rug in front of the shower and Rusty started to slip. He is now passed out in bed. I guess one pain pill would have been enough.

One of the marines stopped by today. He went up to see his brother and sister in law this weekend. Well this chick is pregnant. The first thing that came out of my mouth was "Living on love sucks". I know that is mean, but if they can't pay their own bills... and now she is pregnant? Whatever. Like I said living on love sucks. Been there and done that one. I guess it does give me an excuse to make a baby blanket, and show off my handi work.

I should be heading to bed since the kittens are fed, but I still have not made Ambers bed yet. That is where my friend Becky is going to be sleeping. Oh crap! I forgot to eat dinner. I guess I am having captain crunch.

I have a busy day tomorrow, so nothing else can suddenly come up! I have to go refill all the kids with Gatorade, then Becky and I have to fly down to base, and then get back in time to cook dinner for 30 people and have it delivered by 5.

How does my life get this busy? Oh well. It is my life and I would not have it any other way!

mountains

There is a line in a song that says "God gave us mountains so we can learn to climb." Well I better go get on my climbing gear!

Last night one of the kittens was acting very funny, so I took her to the vet. It turns out that she is going blind. The kitten can see a little, so we are going to take it one day at a time. I have never really worked with special needs cat's, so I guess this will be a huge learning curve for me.

Nikki is on a local mission trip. They are camping about 1 mile away, and they are right on the lake! There are a lot of homeless people in that area, so the team is out there helping them, and setting a mini day camp for all the homeless children. My job is to keep everyone filled with Gatorade. So twice a day I go up there and pick up all the empties and then come home and make a ton of Gatorade.

My other job, is to cook spaghetti fr 30 people. My girlfriend Becky will be in town, so I told her what I had to do. Becky is game for helping. She said "I have never cooked for a missionary before, so now I can check it off my list." I want to do more then just spaghetti. I am hoping to maybe be able to buy some fresh fruit, and maybe get some cookies, or a cake, or something. We will have to see how this whole things works out.

This Thursday I get to sit through a day of pre deployment briefs. How do I get myself into these things? Well, Brett is Becky's son, and Becky is going, but Brett's friend Steve does not have any family out this way, so he asked me to be his mom, so Becky and I could go together. When Rusty found out that I was going he just shook his head and said "Please play nice with the other marines. I know that you could give a class on making it through a deployment but please do not laugh to loud at the people speaking." O.K. so Rusty knows me very well. I gave my word that I would be nice and play well with the other marines. However I did not give my word, that I would not push the limits on my clothing.

My three choices for this event were : 1950's house wife, middle eastern, or hippy. Everyone has voted for hippy. So I guess I need to go get out my hippy stuff. O.K. that won't be hard, since that is all I wear any way. I wonder if my bong fell out of my purse..... would that be pushing the limits to far? LOL

Since the children are all gone I have been enjoying my naked time. I so love being naked. We are so saving on the electric bill because you don't get that hot when you have nothing on. So yesterday some asshole came to the door. I look through the peep hole and it is a cop. So once I find something to put on, and I get the dogs to stop barking, I ask him if I could help him with anything. He was looking for someone that I had never heard of before. I got dressed for that? Then the cop says "Is there any reason you have all that tactical gear?" What? oh! he looked in one of the windows and saw Rusty's old gear. All I said was "My husband is a retired marine." Man I glad that I did not have the curtains open because we had a few rubber gun's sitting here. they look real, but they are here because Rusty had to take them on his last trip. I am so glad that my garage door was not open. I wonder what he would have said about the safe?

There is never a dull moment here. That's o.k. because life is good.

Rusty is home and life is good

Rusty came home Friday night and I was so happy to see him. I miss him so much when he is gone.

Saturday my girlfriend and the triplets came out, so we had to head to the beach! My girlfriend and I watched t.v. while we there. That is what we call people watching. I swear there is nothing better then sitting on the beach, especially when you have a girlfriend sitting next to you.

Rusty did not go to the beach with us, instead he stayed at home and cooked us a nice meal. I love a man that can cook.

Right now it is just Rusty and I in the house. Amber and Ryan are in Chicago, Chris is out in 29 palms and Nikki is at a friends house. It is hard to believe that just a few weeks ago we had seven children living here. Now there are no children in the house.

Tomorrow I have to pick Nikki up and take her and her girlfriend down to the church. They are going on a local week long mission trip. I can't believe that I will have the house to myself for a whole week!

Tomorrow I am going to do a lot of naked house cleaning, try to finish up some sewing projects, and maybe start on a few more. Who knows what my child free life will bring. One thing is for sure, I am going to enjoy every second of it!

Thursday night I was asked to cook dinner for the missions team. I have not cooked for missionaries in a very long time. It will be fun to cook for the team. I got spaghetti. That will be easy. I will also have three other people helping me, so it should be a blast. I am going to call the VFW and see if I can use their kitchen. It will be so much easier to cook that amount food in an industrial kitchen.

I will also be helping out by keeping everyone stocked up on Lemonade and Gatorade. We are in the middle of a heat wave, and when I say heat wave I mean temps reaching 120! These guys are going to need to be hydrated.

I am in a happy place right now. Rusty is home, all the children are off a summer adventure, the kittens are doing great, and most of all, I get to sleep next to the love of my life.

awesome day

Today was just awesome. Amber and Ryan got off to my mom's house. This was actually a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. See Amber is scared of people and of traveling by herself. So today I forced her to get out of her shell. She had to buy her and Ryan a train ticket, and then take the bus over to the airport. Amber had a few minor breakdown's but I walked her though everything.

I went and hung out on the beach until I got the call that she had actually made it to the airport. I know, I know, I should not need an excuse to go to the beach, but I did. I had a blast just sitting by myself and watching all the little children play in the ocean. I walked the beach and collected a ton of shell's, so I gave them to this little girl who was kinda sitting next to me. The girls mom said that they were perfect, and that she was going to put them in her bathroom back home. Turns out this family was from In. and they were just out here visiting. Well that's cool.

Nikki needed some clothing for her Vegas trip, so I took her out to goodwill. I have to confess. I found two really cute tank tops, so I bought them. I was just shocked at how much I spent, but I know if I would have bought all the stuff brand new it would have cost me and arm and a leg. I guess it is a good thing I have two of each.

Tomorrow I am going to hang out around here and get a few things done. I am not sure if Rusty is going to be home tomorrow night or Saturday night, but either way life and time march on.

I sometimes feel guilty about that but it has been that way for so long. I always go and do stuff weather Rusty is here or not. Before Rusty retired from the corp he was gone for 7 summers in a row. He missed birthday, ocean days, and everything else. I would just send him pictures. To the outside world, it might seem strange, but for me it is a way of life. A life that does not guarantee me that Rusty will be around for important and small events in our lives.

I did get to talk to Rusty for a little bit. He is doing good. He is just worn out and wants to come home. I want him to come home. While I like sleeping with my dog, I love sleeping with mu husband as well. Tonight I really miss Rusty. I hurt my shoulder today and it is just throbbing. I am a big baby and when I am hurt or sick I want my husband.

Oh well. There is no time to sick or hurt. Saturday my girlfriend and I are taking a bunch of kids to the beach. Then on Wednesday one of the marines mom's is coming to stay with us. Life marches on.

I better go take some pain meds and go feed the babies. Life is good.

For smaller foot print.

I read this blog call reduce your footprint, and last week she asked me for a suggestion for today's entry, and she used my no spending diet. I am going to take this opportunity to update everyone on how that is going for me.

The last few months it has been hard. I needed to get my car fixed, get new tires, and...well lets say my grocery getter is running again.

However I have been sticking to my diet. I have a lot of quilts that I need to get done, but material is expensive. So I pulled out my crate of material and started sorting the material. I had enough material in there to make 5 full size quilt tops. I was also able to make a lot of pet quilts and a few quilts for the seniors. I still have more material left, and then another blogger friend picked up a bag of material for me! This is a God sent. I am able to keep on quilting and I am not spending a lot of money doing it. I do still have to buy the batting.

I have been limited my shopping trips. Now I go to the grocery store once a week, and if we run out of something to bad. With my husband being gone this week, I am taking the opportunity to save money and meat. The children and I don't care for meat, so tonight I am making cheese pizza's and using biscuits as my crust. Whatever vegi's we have on hand will be thrown on top. Nothing fancy, but I am not buying anything either.

My girlfriend had left some stuff here, and she was going to make a special trip to come get it, but I told her to wait. Rusty was going up to her base, so I had him load up his truck with the rest of her stuff. She saved time and gas. Rusty also asked me to send a camel back up because she was going to go buy one. Well we have several just sitting around here, so I will send one up with Chris when he goes to babysit for her. She will not be spending any money and since Chris is going up there we are not making a special trip.

Amber and Ryan are leaving tomorrow and they will be heading to Chicago. My mom told me to pack an extra suit case so she could send me some more material. I am taking advantage of this and send up Christmas gift's for 4 people. Why should I pay to ship something? They are going to have Christmas in July.

Tomorrow I am taking Ryan and Amber to the train station. They will take the train and then the bus over to airport. For the train and the bus I will be out $12, but I could not drive to the airport for $12. I may be spending money, but at least I am not spending as much money.

I have a litter of kittens in right now. For them, I am using all my old blankets. I do have a stash of them out in the garage that I use for all the kittens. I just wash them and reuse them everyday. There is no need to buy blankets and towels for them, when I have old, but usable stuff here. I am also reusing all the old bottles. No money leaving my pocket, and to me that is cool.

I have been trying to do more with the children this summer, but all of that coast money, so I am getting creative. Everyone in my house has their own water bottle, so I make sure that they all have their water bottles with them at all times. We can always refill them with water at any time. I have noticed that most places do have water coolers and that is what we use to refill the bottles. I also try very hard to pack snacks or whatever it is that they might need. I am also combining trips. If we are going to the beach, then I do all my running on the way to and from the beach, so that I am not making extra trips.

Nikki had mentioned that she needed some travel size toothpaste and lotion since she is getting ready to leave on her trip. I found a lady on freecycle giving away samples of toothpaste and lotion! To top it all off she was on the way to another errand I had to run. No money spent on getting Nikki ready for her trip.

With our water prices on the rise, I have turned off some of our sprinklers and I have told the marines that they can't do laundry here any more. This should help lower our water bill, so we will see.

I am still making my own laundry soap and hanging everything up to dry. So there is no extra money going out for me to do laundry.

All in all, my no spending diet is going good. It has forced me to get creative, and do with out, without doing with out. Not only am I saving money, resources, and time, but I am learning just how much I can live without and still have money in the bank. I think I am going to take that extra money and try to go to Oregon this fall. Hubby will be going up there on business, so I am thinking about joining him.

If anyone has a question on how I reduce and reuse please let me know. I will be happy to answer any questions and you help find a solution to your problems.

http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/

when Rusty is gone......

When Rusty is gone I often have time to think, and that could be the wrong thing to do.

I am thinking that Rusty, Jake and Sonja need to back off and leave me alone when it comes to my money. Why do they want me to get this money? Sure I would be able to buy anything that I want, but I am not sure I want that. I may be a lot of things, and I have even been accused of being a bitch, but I will not contest a will, just to get money. I am sure karma will come back and bite my mom in the ass, and the money will come when I really need it.

I am thinking that I no longer turn Rusty on. Just the other night I asked Rusty if the doctor switched his blood pressure med. The answer was no. Then what is it? There was a time when we fucked like jack rabbit, and then we would finish it all of by making love. Now we don't even touch. I can't even tell you last time he held my hand. I am wondering if it is me. Sure I have put on a few pounds this year. I am going to drop the weight. It won't take me long, I just need to get off my bum and do it. Is Rusty not attracted to me for another reason? No, he does not have anyone on the side, I just wonder.

I wonder if I will ever stop hitting the reject button when my mom calls. I have just decided that it is easier to just not speak to her, but will that anger and hurt ever go away? I wonder if my mom will ever treat me like a child that she wanted, instead of the bastard child.

I wonder if I will ever be able to see Kenny Rogers in concert. I was disappointed the night that we could not get tickets. Then I would have to wonder if I would be able to sit there knowing that my dad was not next me.

I wonder if I will ever stop being angry at my dad for dieing. Did he not know how much I still needed him? Did he not realize that he was my rock. I still pick up the phone and start to call him.... then I remember that he is dead.

I wonder if I should go up to the big cat rescue and start working with them. Should I start to chase that dream? I wonder if now is the right time, lets face it, Ryan is the only one who needs me, but I don't think he would notice if I was gone. I wonder if now is the time to start?

I wonder if sometimes if I realize just how good I have it. I do have a husband that loves me and lets me do whatever I want whenever I want. I have safe full of jewels that most women would kill for. I have a roof over my head and food on my table. I wonder......

There is no more time to wonder. I had to take the kittens to the vet because they took a turn for the worse, so they are needing my attention. I need to call Rusty and tell him goodnight. I still need to get the dishes done, set the coffee pot, and sweep and mop the floor. I wonder I will ever be able to afford a maid.

summer is here

I can tell it is summer time here in southern California. The city has sent workers out to start to clear brush and we have a water dropping aircraft sitting in the lake.

This summer is going to turn out to be an awesome one. Last week one of the marines parents came in and we had a blast with them. Now one of the other marines mom's is coming in on Wednesday and I can't wait! Then one of my girlfriends is flying for a long weekend. I am thinking that summer is going to be a blast.

Last night Ryan tells Rusty and I that he is doing grease in summer school. What? So we start asking him questions. Yep sure enough they are doing a play of grease. I guess you don't have learn anything in summer school. I guess having a child on on iep means nothing. Well at least it is free day care for a few hours a day.

Amber and Ryan are leaving on Thursday. Yep they are heading to Chicago. Amber is not as happy as she once was. First of all because her bills are not paid and now she will miss out on some money. Then my mom told her that she will be babysitting for 4 day's. Well, I warned her that my mom would consider her free child care, but she does not listen to me. So this trip will be bitter sweet for Amber. I also think this trip is going to be a huge learning curve for her. So goes life.

Rusty and I bought Chris a pay as you go phone. It seems that his sister had his line cut off because she could not afford the $10 a month. Oh how my head hurts. If she had just asked me I would have given her the damn $10 a month. I guess this is just one more example of much his family cares about him.

Rusty is out of town until Saturday and part of my is happy. Does that sound bad? Over the last few weeks he has just bitched about everything and I am so sick of listening to it. Rusty stresses over everything. Even shit that he can't control. I guess that is why we are so good together, because we are so different.

I have come down to crunch time with my quilts. Most of the marines are out in the field right now and then..... well I can't say. So, I am going to be putting together a lot of quilts over the next few weeks. I love giving these guys their quilts, and love seeing them love the quilts, but it also makes me sad that I know they will be leaving. That is the cycle of my life.

The foster babies are doing real good. One of the babies has figured out how to crawl out of the crate, so I will need to be very careful where I walk in the morning. The funny thing is she is the smallest of the three. I guess you can't under estimate the little ones.

I have laundry soap on the stove and two quilts that are waiting to be put together. I better get back to my life.

Cambodian firurines

Last night I was talking with a dear friend that I don't get see but maybe a few times every 10 years! Jen, my friend lives back in Il. and we just can't seem to get together very often. But we talk on the phone and e mail and life is good.

Last night we were talking and I asked her what she wanted of mine, when I die. Without missing a beat she said "I want your Cambodian figurines." I told her only if she will leaves them to another bitch.

Lets rewind about 30 years. My late mother in law was taking care of her dieing mother when she found out that her youngest sister was to get everything when their mother passed.

My mother in law said well two can play this game. So my mother in law spent every penny that her mother had. Now the money was spent on taking care of their mother, but either way, the money was gone.

My mother in law also wanted these Cambodian figurines that her father had owned. So she took all of them and placed them in her government storage unit.

After 20 some years my in laws move back to the states and these figurines are unpacked. My mother in law showed them to me, and to be very honest I think the are UGLY! However my mother in law said "When I die please take these figurines and don't let my sisters have them. I took them from my mother and they belonged to my father, and both of my sisters wanted them."

When my mother in law died we started cleaning out her stuff. I kept looking for these figurines and I could not find them. I had to find them because her sisters were going to be in town the next day. Rusty could not understand why I was searching for these things. Then I found them.

So we get back to our house and set up these brass things and they are just UGLY. I laughed and told Rusty the story behind them. All Rusty could say was that it did sound like something his mother would do.

The next day we tell the sisters to go through everything and take what they want. The sisters kept searching, I kept laughing.... to myself, and Rusty just shook his head. The sisters left, and they left not knowing that I had the figurines.

I told this story to Jen when she was out here last. My mother in law taught me how to be a bitch in a way that would leave people wondering. So since Jen wants the damn Cambodian figurines she can have them! I did say that she must pass down the story and make sure that they go to another bitch.

in chalk

There it is written in chalk, on the driveway I love my husband. I must say that I love him more now then the day we got married.

Yesterday my girlfriend and the kids moved into their new place. I must say that it is strange not having the little ones here, but I think I like it better.

I like it better because now I can go back to being Mrs. Kelly. For a while there it felt like I was parenting more children. My girlfriend and I have very different parenting views, and neither one of us is right or wrong, it is what it is.

I am waiting on the babies to get up. I can't believe how long they are sleeping. They sleep about 12 hours a night! This group is really been easy going compared to some of the other groups.

I am having more issues with Ryan. Issues that you would think I should not be having at this age. One of the marines said to me "Mom you need to get Ryan some proactive." I said "No, he needs to soap on his face." Yep we are back to having basic hygiene issues. I went and found some of the girls face wash and showed him how to use it, but he did not use it. He even admitted that he is not using it. So now I am back to washing his face every night. It is clearing up, but dang! I am so sick having a two year old in the house.

I finally went and got new tires for the car yesterday, but when I got in the car it smelled like something had died in there. Something did. There was a bag of meat from my last shopping trip! I threw that out, cleaned up the carpet and got an air freshener. Lets hope the smell goes away.

One of my girlfriends called me and told me that some people moved out and left some stuff behind. So I went and looked through everything. I scored a new hose, a three tier plastic storage bin, a picture for miss Becca's room, and a new basketball. I just love free stuff. I am going to use the plastic tier thing to put my sewing stuff in.

Speaking of sewing I have an idea. I am not sure how well it will work, but I have an idea. This year for the Marine Corps birthday ball, I would like to green it up. They use paper place mats, and paper napkins. I have been collecting cloth napkins, and I need a total of about 60 of them. I think I have 20. I was also thinking about making some simple place mats. This way everything can be washed and reused next year. Now I said this was an idea because I don't know if I will be able to get it all done. If I can't get everything done, then I am going to at least green up the head table. It may be a baby step, but it is a step.

Today I do not have a lot that I need to get done, so I am thinking that I need some lake time. Then for dinner I am going to make pork stir fry. I have fresh carrots, spinach, green beans and onion. I think that will do. I can make up some rice and boom there is dinner. I am going to add more vegi's then meat. Hubby loves stir fry and has not caught on that I put less meat in it. What ever it works for us.

My laundry is calling me. I swear it never ends.

Eco pimping

I tried a few new products this week and I wanted to tell everyone about them. First is this non chlorine bleach. I love it! I have started adding one cup of it to my homemade laundry soap, and it is just awesome. There are no harsh smells and I don't have to worry about it bleaching out stuff that should not be bleached out.

I also found this organic lotion that is so awesome. It really put a lot of moisture back into my skin. The web page has a long list of products and even where you can buy them at. The bottle that I bought had a rebate attached to it, so I was able to get the bottle for free. Free is a very good price! http://www.freshorg.com/

I also found this bamboo body pad . They call it a body pad but I call it heaven. It is really thick and just as soft as can be. I am telling you bamboo is one of the softest materials I have ever felt. http://drake-williams.com/products/PDF/Bamboo_Naturals_Catalog_sheet.pdf

I found organic tomato juice by Campbell's. I used that and organic kidney beans in some chili and no one can tell the difference. I am noticing more and more organic products and I am starting to try them out. So far my family has noticed a taste difference, so I am going to keep on trying and buying.

When my girlfriend and I returned her u haul we also returned some moving pads. As I was folding the pads I read the label and discovered that they are now made from recycled blue jeans! How cool is that?

My dear friend over at smaller footprint put out another challenge for us. For one day don't drive. O.K. we can all do that. Don't go anywhere just walk or ride a bike. This is real easy for me since I still don't have new tires on my car yet.

Here is a small list of things I have done this week to help recycle and reduce.

1. Amber went over to our neighbors trash and pulled out a boot box so her cat could have a new box to sleep in and she recycled the old box.

2. I reused the tomato juice container. I made my girlfriend some raspberry tea in. Not only did I reuse the bottle, but it also reduced because now she did not have to stop and get something to drink.

3. I got all my bills set up to be paid on line. I will never again have to mail another bill. That means no more buying stamp, and I also get all my bills electronic now. That means no more wasted paper.

4. I made my girlfriend some homemade dish washer soap and I placed in a potato salad container. That will be one less box of soap purchased and I was able to reuse a container.

5. I am starting to rub off on my girlfriend. She is now taking her own bags to the store with her!

Well, everyone is asking way to much from me today, so I am going to go hide in my room for a while.

busy but good.

To my great shock Rusty actually went and watched fireworks with us. Then he even went to the beach with us! I wish I could say it was fun but I must explain my husband.

Rusty has trained, ran and gone to war in sand. Sand is not something that Rusty likes. So when I told him that my girlfriend and I were going to the beach he asked us to wait a few days so he could go. He said that he want to see the children play. O.K. we can do that.

So we all load up and head to the beach. We have blankets spread out, lawn chairs set up, and children smothered in sun screen. Then there is my husband. Sitting in his chair with his swim trunks on, a shirt and his base ball cap. He did not even bother to put on sun screen. He is a white boy! And there he sat until we left. I swear to you Oscar the grouch would have been proud of.

What I love about Rusty is the fact that he was at the beach. I know how much Rusty hates the beach and I was really glad that he was there. I guess after all these years of marriage we are finally learning the art of give and take. Life with Rusty is good.

So those are my new foster babies. They are such good babies, and they are growing so fast! I love having babies in the house. I am keeping this batch in my bedroom because I think they would be to stressed with all the extra people and noise we have going on. Maybe after my girlfriend and her children leave I will move them out to the living room.

Rusty has been very stressed the last few weeks, and that is not good for his heart. I wish I could just rub up against him and give him some of my "it's all good attitude." Rusty is stressing over the fact that I need two new tires. We have the money in savings, but I said to wait until pay day. He does not like the fact that I am waiting. Rusty is stressed out because he needs new brakes. His brakes are under warranty, so he just needs to make the time to get them fixed. Rusty is stressed because we just got the notice that our water is going up and we are now on water rationing. I said well I guess the marines don't wash their stuff at our house any more.

Maybe I just simplify things, maybe I just look at the glass as half full, maybe I am to laid back. My girlfriend did say that she wishes she was more of a free spirit like me. If her and Rusty were just like me then trust me nothing would get done. I like the fact that my friend and Rusty see something that has to be done and then they do it. Who knows. Maybe that is how it is suppose to be. Either way, all this worrying is not good for Rusty.

Well I need to go add some more bills to my bill pay on the bank. It is such a pain in the ass, but once I get everything entered it will make my life easier. I have been paying bills on line for a while, but now I am going through the bank. I guess I will see how all of this works out.

separate ways today

Yep that is me. Amber took this picture and she said that I look like a hippy. Maybe I do, but that is how I dress all the time. Its just me.

I usually hate the fourth of July because Rusty hates the fireworks, so we usually do nothing. This year we are going our separate ways. Rusty is at the vfw cooking and doing some stuff down there, I am going to go hang out with the little ones and watch fireworks. Over the years I have discovered that we need to different things. Even if they should be a family thing. I just works for us.

So there are all my children in birth order. Amber, Chris,Nikki,Ryan,Ron,Ryan, and Becca. I sure do have a house full and I would not have it any other way. It has been a blast having everyone here. I will be sad when the little ones move out next week.

I got some new foster babies in and they are doing great! I have two that look just alike, but I was corrected by one of the twins. He said that they are different. I can't tell them a part, but leave it to a twin to find the differences between them.

We never did make it to the ocean the other day, so are going there tomorrow. Rusty did ask us to go one Sunday so that he could go. I am shocked by this because he never likes to go to the ocean. I am glad that he is going because I love spending time with him, but I also sometimes hate it when people go to the ocean with me. Sometimes I just like to go to the ocean, and walk, and not be bothered by anyone. However tomorrow I am going to take the opportunity to body surf and play with all my children.

Last night we went down to the lake and roasted hot dogs and made smores. We had a blast just sitting around the camp fire. At some point all the children left and it was just the adults left. I guess the children could not hang? It was so relaxing to be around the campfire and have plenty of adult conversation.

Ryan broke his glasses the other night. I was very upset, but then I realized that life happens. On Monday we are going to take the glasses in and see if we can just buy new frames. I sure hope so, because I really don't want to shovel out a lot of money on new glasses when we just got him new glasses last year.

Well I need to go shower and get the smoke smell out of my hair. I am also going to go eat a breakfast of champions. Hot wings!

My husband

Yesterday my girlfriend, Sonja and I were on the porch swing. Just sitting and rocking.

I broke the silence and said "you know I love Rusty?"

Sonja said "I know you do."

me. "good. Keep that in mind because last night I wanted to kill him. I was so not feeling good last night, so I took some meds and laid down. I was just about to fall asleep when Rusty announces that his blanket smells like cat shit. I get up and look at his blanket. I grabbed it and threw it the laundry pile and went and got him another blanket. Then I got back in bed and he announces that the sheets smell like cat shit. I get my dizzy ass out of bed again and told him to go smoke something. I stripped the bed. I even changed his pillow cases. I go back to bed. Then he wakes me up because he is now sleeping at the foot of the bed. Once again I get out of bed, this time I go and get a fan. That was when Rusty announced that he still smells cat shit. Rusty then used my legs as a pillow. I swear to you I wanted to kill him."

Sonja just sat there. I go on. "So today I washed everything in the bedroom and I went and bought him new pillows. I even bought bamboo pillows, but don't tell him because he wants nothing to do with my eco friendly ways. Let me say for the record there was no cat shit in that room, and if he does not sleep tonight then he will the first person to die from Bamboo."

Sonja said "You know I just fabreeze everything down. Then I put baby powder down, and then I spray the sheet and pillows with this stuff I got from bath and body works. We could make your room smell like a girls room."

We went back to swinging.