I can't contain my excitement

So it's been a whiles since I wrote on this blog. I have a new private one that I use more but only certain people are allowed to read that one. And I just am so excited at this new possibility that may be coming our way, and its too much for a FB status haha. So here it goes:

After we got here to El Paso, Adam learned that his MOS (job) was Whiskey Coded--which means that the only way he can get out of it was to get out of the military. Once he got here, he realized he doesn't really like his MOS that much and so we were just planning on him getting out or hoping to God that the whiskey code would be lifted. Which, we just learned, it has been! And not only has it been lifted but the are over manned in that MOS so they are not allowing soldiers to re-enlist as that MOS. When they announced this they also told Adam that he's already up for his re-enlistment (already!). He was still iffy about staying in but I told him I'm more comfortable with him staying in. I hate the deployments that will come with it already, but I like the job security (when stupid government shut downs aren't threatening us anyway) and the benefits. It honestly scares me to think of him getting out already, there's no way we could afford health insurance and co-pays. So he started thinking about re-classing (changing his MOS) again. Well he tells me yesterday that he's thinking about becoming an Army Diver. I guess it has a sign-on bonus (which will help us tremendously) and to me it meant we would go somewhere where there is a beach. YAY! When I got up this morning I did a little more research on this MOS and I'm a little nervous about him actually qualifying. It has a really high dropout/failure rate but I'm thinking (based upon what soldiers within this MOS have said) that its mostly due to the candidates not being prepared physically and mentally for the schooling/job. The PT requirements made my body hurt just looking at them, but should be simple enough if one is in shape enough (which I definitely am not haha). I have no idea where Adam sits on his PT tests so maybe he's not too far off from these requirements. I'll have to talk to him about it when he gets back from the field. I'm really hoping for this. I read (from a former diver who is now Special Forces, so I think that's pretty reliable) that there are only 4 places that the send the divers...Fort Eustis, VA (which is super close to his parents), Panama City, FL; Fort Lenorwood, MO (which this one kinda confuses me but I know phase one of the AIT for this MOS is here so who knows, unless its the boot camp portion and not the schooling itself.) and....drumroll please....FOR SHAFTER, HAWAII!

Since the day Adam and I decided we were going to get married I've talked about getting stationed in Hawaii...every wish list he has made, he put HI on the list for me. I have family and friends there and the last time I went, I almost didn't come home. I got super excited when I read the duty stations for the divers. That just raised our chances of going there so much higher than what they are now. I've already told Adam before that if we EVER get stationed in Hawaii, we WILL be buying a house there and I will NOT be leaving. Ever. Lol. I know it's expensive and there isn't a ton to do...but I'm content with that. I'm a total beach bum kinda girl, I've told him for years that he'd come home to an empty house every day because I'd be down at the beach. Knowing my luck though, we'd get stuck in VA or something. My top two picks will be HI or FL so I'm hoping that the Army will be kind to me for once and give me Hawaii. This is of course, assuming Adam is picking this MOS and can pass the course. If he does choose this, I WILL make sure he can pass the minimum requirements before leaving for AIT.

I can't believe how excited I am already and he hasn't even talked to anyone other than me about re-classing. He's getting pinned Sgt this week while he's in the field. And then they'll pin him again when he gets back and can have a promotion ceremony. He's waiting until that is over to say anything to anyone at work about it because they wont want to waste a promotion on someone that doesn't plan on staying (they can only promote so many people a month so they want to use them wisely). Shoot, he hasn't even decided for sure that this is what he wants to do. I hope it is though, I'd be the happiest girl on earth if I get to move back to Hawaii. I can already feel the relaxation, smell the scent of salty ocean water, sand and the various amounts of sunblock and coconut scented tanning oils of Waikiki beach. I think in my heart, Hawaii is my home. And its calling for me.

2 Years Old!

*I wrote this back on Lilian's birthday (11.05) but due to computer malfunctions over the years I had to go get some pictures off of my myspace. I just didn't have the time that night and got busy with work and holiday season....so here it is, a month and five days later haha.*

Can you believe my sweet little Lilibug is 2?? It just seems like yesterday I gave birth to a perfectly healthy 7lb 2 oz, 20 1/4 inch long beautiful baby girl. That baby girl is now 25lbs (skinny minnie!) and around 33inches tall. Her 2 year well-baby check up is the 9th so we'll get exact measurements then (*edit: they didn't write them down for me....jerks). She's an amazing little thing. She has a boot fetish. My cousin got her these cute little rain boots and she hates having to take them off. So for her birthday, I got her a pair and Adam's mom got her a pair from this really cute shoe store in the mall here. She loves them. She loves movies. I hate to have the TV constantly on for her, but you know what? She isn't watching it all day. She'll get up, go play, come back and watch a little, go do something else then come back again. She loves Caillou, Finding Nemo, Cars and Beauty and the Beast. She still loves her baths, she's finally learned to roll onto her tummy and "swim" or blow bubbles. We are still working on potty training. There are less and less accidents and soon I think we can brave public with no diaper. It's a scary thought really, but it has to be done. I'm not afraid of having an accident while out and about, but more of how many? I wonder if I can fit her dresser in my trunk? Hopefully she'll do better than I'm anticipating. Her vocab is finally starting to expand. She was stuck on just a few words for a while there. She calls herself "baby" lol. "Baby joo" to let us know she wants her juice..."Baby boo" for wanting her boots haha. She doesn't say the last syllable for most words yet so it's still a guessing game to figure out what some of the stuff she is saying really means. She's also starting to figure out different names for family members, and knowing who is who. My mom likes to be called Meme (French for grandma) so when Adam's mom was visiting she though that was Meme too, but we were trying to call her grandma, or something else. She does know that my dad is Papa and my step-mom is Gigi though. All our friends are "E.E." (auntie) or "O.O." (uncle)...actually, its not just our friends. Its anyone really. I've had a few ladies at the PX or wherever we are say "hi" to her and she responds with "hi E.E." lol. She can tell you what a dog, cat, cow, monkey, monster, car, and bee says. She can do goat/sheep and duck with some help.As I'm sure you know by now, Adam is home. He made it home a week ago and I'm so thankful that so far, he has been home for her birth and both birthdays! It was the cutest thing when he got home too. It was about 4 in the morning so I woke her up. Adam came in through the kitchen door and she came into the kitchen, looked at him and said "hi Dada" like he hadn't been gone. Then she started to turn and walk back to the living room, realized she hadn't seen him in 2 months and turned back around, yelled "Hi Dada!" and ran to him. And he thought she wouldn't remember him! She loves her Dada though. And her Meme. Its pretty much "screw you mom" already haha. Oh well, my mom can enjoy it while she can, she leaves to live with her sister in Arizona on Monday.

Happy Birthday Lilian RaeMarie Sugg. Momma and Daddy love you so much!11.05.2008-0643-7lbs 2.3ozs-20.25 inches


11.05.09-Happy 1st Birthday!!11.o5.09-Happy 2nd Birthday!
Idk this one uploaded so much smaller, but try clicking to make it bigger.

Reader beware, angry writer ahead.

The one thing I canNOT stand about Texas are all the damn Mexicans. I am not racist whatsoever but the ones here are turning me into the most prejudiced person against Mexican people. But not all of them, just the ones who come to live and work here without learning our damn language. Yesterday my landlord had a bunch of contractors come to the house to do some estimates on things. The windows contractor was Mexican. Who hardly spoke word of English. Who skimmed over his job and even forgot a few windows. I had to ask him "what?" several times. I just wanted to yell at him "LEARN MY FUCKING LANGUAGE IFYOU"RE GOING TO WORK HERE!" I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, but you know what, that's like learning only the ABC's in the English language. It's not enough and I feel like I'm in another country here.

Today has just really pissed me off though. I went to a Kirby store to buy some vacuum bags so I can actually get a good vacuum done on my floor. I walked into the store and just groaned, a Mexican was working the counter. And of course this isn't a store store, its a little shop and EVERYTHING to buy was behind that damn counter. I asked the guy for some bags for the Sentria...he mumbled something in Spanish that I didn't understand. I said "what?" and he said something and all I understood was "2 or 6". I figured he was talking about a 2-bag pack or a 6-bag pack so I asked what the price difference was. Again a mumble and I caught "9.50" and a 20-something. After being cut off with a really close call by a speeding Mexican on the freeway, I was already pissed off and not wanting to be there longer than I already needed to be so instead of him hurting himself trying to speak the language of the damn country he lives in, I said I'd take the 2-pack. THEN he went off about something in Spanish and all I understood was "años" (years) and I was like "How old am I?" and pointed to myself. He nodded and I was thinking "what the hell does this dude want to know my age for?" then I figured maybe here I had to be 18 to buy and I definitely don't look 18 so I told him my age. Then he went back and got the pack and I ASKED the guy "And these are for the Sentria right?" "Yes yes".Ok cool, got my bags lets go finish errands.

I just went to change my bags and guess what? THE FUCKING BAGS HE SOLD ME ARE NOT THE RIGHT ONES! Omg! Seriously?!? I am so mad. Maybe there are two different bag types for my vacuum, but you know what? If the fucker had spoken English then he could have gotten me the right bags! I'm sick of this place already. Take away all the Mexicans that can't speak a lick of English and it'd be a decent place. I mean seriously, I'm a little white girl. Nothing about me looks like I speak Spanish. You wanted to leave Mexico? LEAVE IT AT THE DAMN BORDER THEN. Don't bring it in here and try to run a business. I shouldn't have to listen to the same announcement in Macy's--one in English, one in Spanish-to accommodate you and your laziness when it comes to being a proper United States citizen.

Now I know how the Native Americans felt. White people coming in and taking over their land. I feel bad about it now. I always felt bad, just because it was mean and cruel. Now I have a little taste as to what they went through. But this is MY land now, get the fuck off of it or learn MY language.

That shop better be open tomorrow. I'm going back and demanding they give me the 6-pack bag for the price of what I paid for the 2-pack....because this is a HUGE inconvenience and a hazard to my life with the way people drive here.

El Paso

So we made it to El Paso, TX around 4:30 in the morning on September 1st. On the 31st the military had the packers come and spend 5 hours packing our apartment and storage unit then load it into the truck. After they were finished I had to turn in apartment keys, drop cable gear off at Comcast and donate the food we couldn't pack into the car to Courtney. We didn't get on the road until about 6:30 that night, trunk full and Lili and dogs in the back seat. I drove about half way and my mom drove the rest. We were tired and so happy to finally get into our hotel beds, but of course that only lasted about 4 hours thanks to Lili the early bird. We met with the landlord that morning and got the keys to our house. It's definitely not as nice as I thought it would be. It's an old house with a lot of the original build. Tiles in the kitchen are cracked, falling apart and lifting off the floor. We have tiles in all 3 bedrooms, those aren't too bad minus the paint since someone apparently doesn't know how to cover the floor when painting. The carpet in the living room, hall and dining room is old and hideous. All the windows have cranks and open like a door, almost all don't even open. We also have bars on all the windows, except the big living room one (its huge and divided into smaller sections by wood...if that makes sense). We have 4 doors to the outside world...3 of which have barred security screen doors....which I actually like since they lock and I can leave the door open. One door leads to our screened in back porch, which has an uneven brick floor. The yard is full of weeds and sticker bushes which sucks because they get dragged in by the dogs and embedded into the carpet for us to step on. It has a swamp cooler that I absolutely hate. I can live with it, but never again will I rent (or buy) a home with one. We had to wait over a week for my stuff to arrive, so sleeping on the floor at night (we actually bought $1 pool floaties to use as mattresses....not that they worked well since they deflated so we caved and bought mattress pads, which didn't help much either) and sitting on the floor all day didn't help enjoy anything either.

It needs a lot of work. But you know what? I don't care. I've seen worse houses before, but I've seen much better. The fact that I have a yard for the dogs to run around in (which is completely fenced in so they can run in the front and back. Minus the sticker bush pricklies being dragged in, it's the best thing ever. They don't whine and when they start rough housing in the house I kick them outside so they don't trample us anymore. Honestly it'd be a fun project house. If we like the area enough, I'd love to buy it and fix it up.

El Paso so far isn't so bad. The drivers are HORRIBLE though. It's actually really scary. We are in a decent neighborhood though. Quiet, older neighbors. I had to translate Spanish in a Chinese restaurant. I feel like I'm in another country when out and about, they even do two announcements in Macy's....first in English, second in Spanish. Which is just irritating. We are in the United States, learn the damn language. I don't care if we are right on the border of Mexico (so close I've seen several Mexican license plated vehicles).

Lili and I fly a week from tomorrow to my dad's. I'm excited to go visit, see family and friends I haven't seen in about 18 months now. Adam gets done with AIT at the end of October, just in time for Lili's 2nd birthday. Holy cow.

Bye bye Hubby...

Until the end of October! Ugh 2 1/2 months....the longest we've gone is about 3-4 weeks since he's been home from Iraq. He's in training for a new job within the Army. Hopefully this new MOS and change of duty station will make his life in the military better. We'll see though. We are in the process of filling out applications for a house to rent in El Paso. I move there at the end of this month. My mom is flying to CO on the 19th to help me with Lili and so we aren't all alone in Texas....and to watch the dogs while I go to my dad's for a few weeks at the end of September. The military is moving out stuff, even packing it so this move is going to be nearly stress free!

My thumb is doing much better. I go back again on the 20th to the Orthopedic doctors. I went on the 3rd and they told me I didn't really need to wear the splint anymore, but they gave me a smaller one (it's the size of my thumb instead of my whole hand!) that I wear when I'm doing something and don't want to bump it...which let me tells you, hurts like there's no tomorrow. I'm done with the antibiotics but I still take a percocet at night. I don't NEED the pain meds, but sometimes it does hurt and it helps me sleep better. I'm hoping my nail grows back soon....it's very awkward to paint only 9 nails lol. I did finally dig out a piece of nail that was embedded into my skin yesterday. I was worried it wouldn't move if/when my nail does grow back. But after my shower yesterday, my skin was soft (it got wet....woops, I think I'm supposed to keep it dry still) so I just pulled it off. All the wounds are closed now, but the fracture I'm sure is still there. It was almost a complete break (from what I saw on the x-ray at my last appt) so that part is gonna take some time.

That's about it for now. It's gonna be a lonely few months, but we'll manage.

Good-bye thumb nail, hello fractured bone...

Ok so as you probably know, last night my dog got a hold of my thumb, ripped the thumbnail off and fractured one of the bones in the same thumb. This going to take a long time to write since my hand is splinted and I'm now having to learn to be ambidextrous sine of course my dominant hand is the one damaged. This might be a long one too since I'm telling you what happened and why we might still keep our dog.

So here goes the story...
Last night we were taking Cairo and Apollo outside to the dog run for them to go potty and run around for a bit. There is this family in our building that own the cutest, most wanna-be bad-ass chihuahua. Lately they have been outside more often and our two dogs have noticed her. Well last night they were sitting in the grass next to the run with the dog so we decided to introduce all the dogs. Our 2 are very playful, hyper pups. They sniffed Chica (the chihuahua) but wanted to play with her, and lets face it, thats just not a good combo just based on their sizes so we took ours into the dog run and took their leashes off. Well Chica kept barking and wanting to join our dogs so the owner's niece took the leash off and let Chica come over (she slipped right between the bars lol). Right away, Cairo and Apollo ran to play. She was cornered instantly so Adam and I got up to stop them. Apollo was biting her (which is how our dogs play) so I grabbed Chica. When I did, Apollo bit down again, but this time my thumb was in the way. If I had any idea how strong his bite was, of course I wouldn't have stuck my hand down there. But he had a good grip and I started screaming. Adam tried prying his jaw open but clearly he is a strong little shit. We think Apollo realized I was screaming and let go...he knew he did something wrong because he ran. I grabbed my thumb and started putting pressure on it, then looked at it. It wasn't bleeding too bad yet, but my nail was hanging off. And it hurt...bad. The girl who let Chica off her leash was coming in the gate to get her and Apollo ran out. In the time of shock, anger and pain we didn't care. We grabbed Cairo and went inside to get our things and head to the ER. I was fine at that point, yelling and screaming in pain, but once I sat in the car, I started hyperventilating. At the same time I was also trying to put my EMS class training to use but it was hard to think. I grabbed one of Adam's shirts in his car, wrapped my thumb in it, put the pressure back on and elevated it. I was freaking out and kept forgetting to hold it up so I finally laid it on my head to keep it there lol. Then the hyperventilation really kicked in and my face and arms were tingling and I thought I was going to pass out. The pain was getting worse so it was hard to steady my breathing, especially when I was getting road rage about people going the speed limit on post. We get to the Army hospital and greeted rudely but thats only to be expected by military hospital staff. When I finally get back to the actual ER, it was hours later and it still hurt like hell. I begged my nurse to get me meds, knock me out...anything! The Dr. actually gave me a nerve block (shots around my thumb to numb the nerves so I couldn't feel the pain. He sent me to x-ray to make sure he didn't get the bone and Adam came back (my phone died and he went to get his in case the person watching Lili needed us). By the time I got back from x-ray I needed another nerve block...which was only about 40 minutes after the first one, give or take a few minutes. One of the bones in my thumb is fractured, but not displaced so they decided to not suture me up...just in case of an infection, they want it to drain out instead of into the fracture and my bones which would give me even more issues. They irrigated the crap out of it, bandage then splinted it. They sent me home with dressings, Percocet and antibiotics to help prevent infection. I was fine with Percocet, it worked fabulously after my c-section and even then I just took one. We got home around one in the morning so I took the antibiotic and one Percocet. It hadn't kicked in 30 min later so I took another (1-2 tablets every 4-6 hours). It dulled the pain but not enough to let me sleep. I had to go back this morning to get more meds. I took two again and still an hour later I was still in a lot of pain and the antibiotics made me puke while they were taking my vitals. The Dr. wanted to check my thumb but the gauze that isn't supposed to stick, was sticking to where my nail used to be (it fell off completely last night). So I started freaking and crying since it just added to my pain. At first he said he couldn't numb it for a dressing change but when he realized it was sticking, he stopped, ordered me a valium to calm me, a shot of something to numb me (not a nerve block, and its just now starting to wear off...some 9 hours later), then soaked my thumb for a while. It came off easily but still hurt a tad. Everything looked good so he re-bandaged and sent me home with valium to take before I change my dressings and some prescription strength Alieve to take with my Percocet. So we'll see if that helps...
That's the bandaging/splint. Fun isn't it?


Now, about Apollo. Adam found him back in the dog run when he went home to get his phone. We were both mad and wanted him gone, but not dead. We had a friend call the pound to have him picked up but by the time we got to the ER, regretted that. So Adam took back home and put him in his kennel and we would decide later what to do with him. I didn't even look at him until about an hour ago. He knows he hurt me, he isn't being his normal self. When Adam took him out of his kennel, he ran to me, but didn't jump like he always does. Then he started kissing my bandage. He isn't a mean dogs, but he lives and plays with a wolf. Cairo's playing shows a lot of wolf instincts, including biting the neck and not letting go. We think Apollo was playing with Chica, but not realizing how fragile a 5lb chihuahua is. Biting hard enough to fracture a bone isn't acceptable with any dog he's playing, but we don't think he really wanted to hurt her and he didn't. We think he tasted my blood and heard my screams, realized he did something wrong and let go. He had me for a few seconds, but he didn't try attacking again. Adam just took the dogs out and Chica was out there, and Apollo didn't try going for her. He got excited and wanted to play but didn't pull like he always does. Chica's owner isn't mad, he even knows its his fault for his dog not being on a leash. Everyone out there thought they were all playing, but Apollo was just too rough. He stopped by to see if I was okay and come to find out, he was the one who found Apollo and put him back in the dog run. So we don't think Apollo is mean, he just didn't think about size and strength when playing. He's never been around a dog so much smaller than him. We might still keep him and get him fixed to help calm him down. He knows he did wrong, even without us punishing me, we didn't have time for that. Cairo keeps trying to play with him but he wont play for long and not as rough. He even stopped playing with Cairo when Lili walked by, then started again when she was far enough away. So no worries there.

So there you have it. You can all stop worrying about him "attacking" again. I know I didn't really clarify it in my status last night but Facebook only allows so much for a status lol. Biting that hard was not necessary, but he's never been aggressive so we think he just didn't understand.

I've always been told she should be a Gerber baby...

...so I finally entered her into a Gerber Generation Photo Search contest. They were supposed to send me an email to let me know when voting started, but they never did. So please vote! And ask your friends and family to vote! You can vote once per day per email. So if you have multiple emails, please use them! Thanks

http://www.gerber.com/photo/?entryid=5604&%2F#/detail/

You have to copy past the above link!