July 4, 2008
Happy Independence Day!
Please enjoy my July 4th Photo Gallery.
There are 19 pictures on two pages. You can click to enlarge each photo.
Posted by tami at 10:22 PM | Comments (1)
July 3, 2008
Plastic Palace
I have been cleaning and moving items in other rooms all day in preparation to paint. At this moment (10:28 PM), my house looks like a scene from E.T..
Think I’m kidding?
Yes. It really looks like this. We are painting a ceiling.
I will try to blog more tomorrow.
Posted by tami at 10:32 PM | Comments (1)
July 2, 2008
It's Called "Brown Sugar"
***Newsflash***
Andrew is no longer Private First Class. He was officially promoted to Lance Corporal today. YEA!!!
*****
I am sure you are sick of hearing about our hot water heater debacle. I am too. Hopefully, it will all be over with by next weekend. I will keep you updated on our progress.
As I type this, new carpet is being laid in Andrew’s room where flooding ruined his old carpeting. I am holed up in our bedroom with Guido. We don’t ever lock him up by himself; I think that would totally freak him out. I realize the carpet-layers cannot work with an overexcited Pug hopping around, so here we are. It is funny to watch his head twist and turn as he hears different noises. He is dying to be in the midst of all the action!
These were Andrew’s old closet doors. (We have these doors in every room and I plan to replace them one set at a time.) His Futon is that black framework you see standing upright and to the left:
Below, you can see Kevin painting the wall under the window. We had already primed everything first. You can also see the concrete subfloor:
*****
It is literally almost three hours later and I have just finished taking photos to share with you. The carpet-layers left hours ago. This is the new carpet:
Kevin hung new plantation blinds and then he installed new closet doors. Before, trim hung on the sides of Andrew’s old doors, however in order to get the new doors to fit correctly, he had to remove the trim. It’s not that big of a deal, but I will have to go back and touch up the paint where the trim had been.
It is now after 10 PM and I thought for sure we would have the room back together, furniture and all. We haven’t even started that part.
Here goes.
Posted by tami at 10:15 PM | Comments (3)
July 1, 2008
June Movie List
We enjoyed many more family oriented movies in the month of June. If you have any thoughts on any of these films, please let me know in the comments. You know I love hearing your opinions.
6-1-08 Marie Antoinette - This movie was a strange mixture of the past with dabs of present in between. The story was accurate, however had I not recently finished a book about Antoinette; I wouldn’t have had a clue what was happening in parts or the reason why they were happening. The music was all modern, which I found inappropriate for the story. In addition, about 56 minutes into the movie, I spotted a pair of Chuck Taylor’s on the floor of her dressing room. This was in the 1770’s for goodness sakes! On a positive note, the costumes and scenery were both beautiful and breathtaking. Had they used different music, explained clearly why things happened, and nixed the Chuck’s, they would have had a better portrayal.
6-3-08 Shrek the Third - Ashley tried to get me to watch this movie for a while. So, once she asked me on her birthday, I couldn’t refuse. This animated comedy was just as funny as the first two. If you enjoyed them, you would enjoy this one. They use upbeat music and do things in a humorous way. I would consider this a great movie for the entire family.
6-14-08 Fracture - Ted Crawford, a character played by Anthony Hopkins, shoots his wife. The remainder of the movie is spent with the prosecuting attorney making his case against Hopkins. Just when you think you have this one figured out, everything changes. This was a very good calm drama.
6-14-08 Rendition - During this movie, keep the subtitles on and don’t try to do anything else while you watch because you don’t want to miss a second or you might just miss something important. Reese Witherspoon plays the very pregnant wife of a man who vanishes from a plane which was bringing him home from Africa. She knows he was on the plane and yet, just the same, he never made it off. This movie is full of twists and turns you would never expect. This is a drama and not an action movie like I thought it would be from the cover of the box. It is very interesting and I enjoyed it, but this type of slower moving drama is not for everyone.
6-18-08 The Game Plan - Ashley watched this movie while spending the night at a friend’s house. She liked it so much; she bought her own copy with her birthday money and then insisted that Kevin and I watch it with her. It is an excellent movie for the entire family. It has catchy music and is funny, but still manages to tug at your heart strings.
6-23-08 Enchanted - This movie was in a word, enchanting. It was clean, had a sweet story, and terrific for the entire family. We see what happens when a soon-to-be Princess from a storybook land is placed in the real-life city of New York.
6-24-08 27 Dresses - This would definitely fall under the category of “chick flick”. It was cute, but very predictable. This is the reason I choose to rent chick flicks and watch them at home rather than spend lots of cash to watch them on the big screen. I see no reason why a movie of this caliber would be any better enjoyed in a theatre.
6-28-08 Signs - A family is surprised when they find crop circles made in the corn field on their farm in Pennsylvania. Uneducated with the circles and what they may or may not represent, this family is quickly thrown for a loop as they discover the truth. Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, and Cherry Jones all make up this fantastic cast. This movie is rated PG-13 because there are some frightening scenes; however this film is anything but fast-paced. That said, I did enjoy it and believe it delivers a good message.
6-28-08 Constantine - In this movie Keanu Reeves plays the role of Constantine, an exorcist/detective, who has literally been to Hell and back again. There are some angels in this film, but I mainly saw plenty of demons. This movie was action packed and had a good story. It remained suspenseful throughout the entire account.
6-30-08 Inside Man - This is a great movie, but it does have very bad language. Denzel Washington plays a police detective who is trying to figure out exactly what a bank robber really wants. There are hostages and some twists along the way. This is a drama definitely worth watching.
Posted by tami at 2:24 AM | Comments (2)
June 30, 2008
Christina Visits Missouri
**Updated**
Christina visited Andrew in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri the weekend of June 20th-22nd. Today she brought us some pictures to enjoy.
This is Andrew’s bed and living space:
Below are “Smoke Pits” (I have circled one of many in the distance):
Smoke Pits are designated stations for smoking cigarettes. It was interesting to me learning that they are marked for boys only or girls only. (**Christina misunderstood what Andrew said about these pits. They are not separated according to gender.**)
A photo of Andrew:
Christina & Andrew outside the hotel:
Sadly, Andrew has been stationed in Missouri since March 4th waiting to get into MP school.
There is good news though!
He will pick up with MP-14 on July 7th and finish on September 5th. YEA! Each week he will learn new skills which he is very excited about. He should be free to contact us on the weekend, so I will let you know how he is.
Posted by tami at 4:40 PM | Comments (2)
June 29, 2008
Something Cold
I love ice cream, but I don’t crave it like some people. Kevin likes to have something cold and sweet for a nighttime snack. If he buys a half gallon of ice cream, there is no limit on the amount he can put in a bowl. He has no idea how many calories he has consumed and therefore ends up eating much more than he planned.
Wanting to watch his calories more closely and still have ice cream at the same time, Kevin was thrilled to find these 100-calorie Blue Bunny Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Cream Cups.
These are portioned and he can eat as many as he wants while keeping in mind that they are 100 calories each. He normally eats one vanilla and one chocolate each night.
On our most recent visit to the store, he found these:
There are three flavors in each cup: Lemon Lime, Orange, and Cherry.
These cups are only 90 calories each, but they are packed with taste. I tried a bit of each flavor and they were all very good.
In my opinion, you cannot beat icy-cold Sherbet on a hot summer day.
Posted by tami at 6:46 PM | Comments (0)
June 28, 2008
Now You Know
I need to clear up a comment made on June 21st.
On December 11th, I officially introduced you to Andrew’s then girlfriend Christina. (There is a beautiful photo of her under that link.)
She can also be seen HERE.
June 1, 2007
October 9, 2007
On Friday, April 11th, while Andrew was home on Recruiter's Assistance, they went to the court house and were married.
On April 12th, we took Andrew to the Louisville Airport. This is when he went Back to Missouri. We had no idea he was married. In fact, as I was making that video, I blew up the last photo and saw a gold band on his left hand which looked like this:
I called him and flat out asked about the ring. He claimed it was just a “promise ring”. I knew they were engaged and found it odd that he would wear a ring on that particular finger. He told me Christina was wearing her engagement ring and wedding band. I thought that was strange also, but left it alone.
A few weeks later when the court house records appeared in the newspaper, Kevin and I were informed of our son’s marriage. Ashley abruptly learned that her brother was married.
Because he left for Missouri, we have never seen them together as a married couple. For a while, it was hard to visualize them in that way. She recently traveled to Missouri for a weekend visit. My parents paid for her travel and Kevin and I paid for their hotel room for the weekend. Andrew was allowed off base. They saw a movie, shopped, and went out to eat. I’m glad they had a honeymoon of sorts.
I am not upset about them being married at the court house. Kevin and I were married the same way many years ago. I never wanted a big wedding and have never regretted our choice of venue. I do wish he had been truthful when I asked him point blank about the ring. Reliving the day he left over in my head, I see the many opportunities he had to tell us the news.
He was afraid of what I would say and do. She was afraid of what her mom would say and do. I can appreciate these feelings.
I think they were both surprised by our acceptance, but I love Andrew and I want him to be happy, so I am not mad. If it helps him get through the tiring and trying days and makes him happy, I am fine with it. Being in the military is hard.
Christina is a smart, hard-working girl who is going to school to become a nurse while keeping a job. I am very confident she will be faithful to Andrew.
Of course Kevin and I wish we had been there when they were married, but we know our parent’s probably felt the same way years ago.
I guess the only question left is: why didn’t I say something about it when it happened?
The answer is simple; I was embarrassed; embarrassed that my son would do something so important behind my back. Now I realize that I have nothing to be embarrassed about. People elope every day. This was just a “local elopement” ;)
Obladi Oblada. Life goes on.
Posted by tami at 2:09 AM | Comments (5)