And Now a Word From the Colonel...

One or two locusts, yes, locusts, are hopping 

along the floor by my desk.  

 I can hear one of them struggling and clicking 

underneath the map on the

wooden bulletin board.  

I will likely take out a couple of pins from the map

to let him escape since I don't want to smash him 

and leave his crushed carcass under the map.  

A little lizard - looks like that gecko from the

commercial, crawls up the opposite wall.      

This happens every day.  

It's all very casual.  

An now, in a flash of insight, 

I think - would I put up with salamanders or

grasshoppers in my place of business or home back in the U.S.?  

And of course, there is the inevitable - 

What would Lois do if she saw a

grasshopper on her desk?  

I think we all know the answer.

New Recipes

Two great new recipes posted over at my other blog 

Walking on Sunshine Recipes.

Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day!

If you've been a follower of my blog for some time now, 

you know how much I miss my dad. 

He's been gone for 2 years now and I never 

thought his death would leave such a void in my life.  

But this post is not about that.  

It's to say THANK YOU Dad for being a wonderful father to me.  

For always loving me and always calling me your

 Gerber baby, even when I didn't want you to.  

But more importantly, thank you for being the 

best example of how to serve our Lord.  

I'm now realizing what a wonderful man of God you were.

I miss you Dad! 

And now to my husband...

Thank you for being such a great father to our children. 

You have made me so very happy to share this wonderful life with you. 

I now it must be hard for you not being here for this day 

that's all about YOU, 

please know that we love you and miss you and 

think you're the BEST in all you do!

We miss you!

Homemade Cleaner

I've been using this cleaner for months now.

Let me tell you it is the BEST.

I found the "recipe" over at Carrie's blog last fall. 

It's the ONLY cleaner I use.  

I make four bottles of it.  

One under my kitchen sink and the other three under the bathroom sinks.  

I can only imagine how much money it has saved us since I've been using it.  

Give it a try!

Fill a spray bottle with the following:

2 Tbs. ammonia

1/2 cup rubbing alcohol

1/4 cup vinegar

Add enough water to fill the bottle. 

Spray and use and ENJOY!

Happy Anniversary!

23 years ago I made the best decision of my life

and married the Colonel.

Here we are on our wedding day with my parents. 

I'm wearing my mother's gown.  

Our photographer wasn't the greatest. 

He kept "squishing" my dress and in most of the pictures you can't see how pretty it is.

It was a real princess dress with tons of sequins and tulle. 

I loved it.    

This year is quite different with the Colonel over in Afghanistan.

Oh we've been apart on our anniversary through the years 

but we've always been able to speak to each other. 

This year, I probably won't even get to talk to him.

And I didn't think it would bother me as much as it is. 

To be honest with you, I haven't heard his voice in almost 2 months. 

My mom is taking Olivia, Michael and myself out to dinner

  today to a nice Italian restaurant after church.  

And I know the Colonel will be thinking of me.

Which makes me happy just knowing that!

Here we are this past November. 

Love you Colonel!

Dear Dr. Martucci...

In the future when I come to your office complaining 

of various symptoms that require you to place me on an antibiotic, 

will you please

 GIVE ME THE STRONGEST 

antibiotic that you have access to? 

For example, at the beginning of the year I came down with something.  

I have no memory of what it was.  

All I know is we went through 3 antibiotics before one finally worked.  

And that meant I was sick for over two weeks.  

Another example, 3 weeks ago I came down with something 

and again, we went through 3 antibiotics before 

FINALLY last Thursday 

you prescribed a really strong antibiotic and guess what?  

I'm feeling better.  

That's right, no more coughing all night long.  

So in the future when I come to your office, 

please just give me the strong stuff first.  

I'm tired of having to go through antibiotic after antibiotic after antibiotic 

until we find the one that will work. 

And no, I do not want another Z-pack ever again!

I thank you, my family thanks you 

and I'm sure your office staff thanks you because  

they no longer have to talk to me after 3 weeks in a row 

calling and complaining how sick I am to them.  

And if anyone is wondering,

I am feeling better.

Thank you Lord!

French Toast

Seriously, the best FRENCH TOAST you will ever have 

is posted on my other blog, 

Walking on Sunshine Recipes.  

Enjoy your weekend!

An Oldie BUT a Goodie!

I posted this last year.

But thought it was good so I'm repeating it!

The Colonel has been home for the past few days and has decided 

that he does not want to come home to this anymore...

It's a little hard to see, but in that picture is our porch swing along 

with the rest of our porch furniture after the wind blew

 things off the back porch last summer. 

This happens quite a lot, usually just the swing and the chairs.

We've had this swing for many years...and I love it!

HOWEVER, the Colonel threatened to get rid of it a few weeks ago 

when he AGAIN had to pick it up off the grass and put it together.

So what's a hubby to do when his wife loves the swing but 

he is tired of putting it together after the wind blows it off the porch 

again and again and again...

...he pays a visit to the local lumber yard, gets out his miter saw

and sets everything up on the back porch...

...and puts together a new frame for his wife's beloved swing...

Now this swing will NEVER blow off the porch again and the Colonel won't ever have to come home again and pick the swing up off the grass and put it back together!

As you can see, I love my swing! 

One of my favorite places to sit!

Thank you Colonel!

I'm Still Here...

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. 

I went back to the doctor on Thursday and am happy to 

report that I now have bronchitis 

on top of the throat infection and the ear infection.  

The coughing has been pretty bad.  

But I'm managing, feeling better every day.  

I read a statistic the other day that 36 percent of 

Army wives whose husbands are deployed overseas have 

at least one mental health diagnosis 

such as anxiety or a sleep disorder, etc. 

Now I don't feel so lonely!

I wonder if there's a statistic of Army wives 

whose husbands are deployed who 

KEEP GETTING SICK?  

I know I'm at the top of that list. 

Enjoy your day!