Shit Happens...Literally.

I love my pets. One might say that I'm actually mildly obsessed with them. I even had this lovely portrait of them commissioned for The Hubs this Christmas:

Yes, we are "those people."

I've become accustomed to the constant battle against the tracked-in mud, the tornado of fur, the kitty litter that always seems to get everywhere despite the special paw-wiping pad we bought, the toxic dog farts, the early weekend wake-up calls, the wallet-busting vet bills, and the need to trim dingleberries off doggie "private areas." The intense love that I have for our animals more than makes up for all of these annoyances.

But today, my friends...today I hit rock bottom. Please brace yourself for what is about to follow.

I just had a tug-of-war battle over a huge. frozen. turd. I don't know why dogs insist on eating poo, when I can assure you that ours are more than well fed. After this revolting activity, in which my grocery-bag-covered hand rescued only half of the turd in question (blecch), I sucked it up and set off to perform my least favorite pet-related chore: yard duty. (Or should that be "doody?") Still in my work clothes, heels sinking into the rain-soggy ground, I navigated our mine field and ended up with two full grocery bags of poo. And now it's time to clean out the litter box. I can't even imagine how much excrement our household will be producing once we have kids and there are diapers involved.

Crap.

I'm Official!

I am now an official milblogger. Check out my profile and find a lot of other great military blogs by clicking on the milblogging.com button on the left sidebar. Woot!

Don't Rub Your Eye After Eating Wasabi Peas, and Other Life Lessons

Actually, that's the only life lesson I have for you today. But trust me, it's important enough to stand on it's own!

Lazy Sunday today...or more accurately Procrastination Sunday. For some reason I just cannot light a fire under my butt to knock out some of this school work. I woke up with all intentions of being productive. I went to church and helped out with the children's program for the first time, which was really fun and a good introduction to the dynamic of all the little personalities. I'm hoping to practice doing some story times for them at some point this semester, since I'm required to "perform" for a real-live group as one of my assignments (it's for a class called Library Programming for Children and Young Adults). We worked on an activity about the "story of stuff," tracing where all the stuff that we buy and use and throw away comes from, what goes into making it, and the human and environmental impact of it all. I attend a Unitarian Universalist church that is very much focused on making the world a better place through social action and realizing that we're all interconnected and have a responsibility toward one another and the earth. We learned about products like jewelry, cell phones, lotion and makeup, and cotton t-shirts. Did you know that it takes 256 gallons of water just to make one t-shirt? Well now you do.

Per our new Sunday tradition, The Hubs and I then went to a local diner for brunch, and then stopped by the grocery store. When we got home I put the groceries away and came right out to my office to get to work. The Hubs said he was going to vacuum and clean all the floors in the house. Didn't we sound so productive? Well...as soon as I sat down at my computer, I could barely keep my eyes open. And the couch across the room looked so comfortable...and there was a stack of clean quilts right next to it just waiting to be cuddled up under...and the door was open to this beautiful weather we had today...and the birds were chirping and there was a soft breeze wafting in. The whole world was set up in that moment for me to have The Perfect Nap. And when you are blessed with The Perfect Nap, you'd better darn well take advantage of it, because life doesn't get much more delicious than that. So I did. And then I woke up two hours later to our dogs terrorizing some passers by, also very much enjoying the day (our dogs, not the passers by...at least not while they were being barked at incessantly). I went inside, feeling guilty for not getting anything done. But then I looked at the floors. And I noticed all the little tumbleweeds of pet hair still blowing around by my feet, and the dirt on the kitchen tile. And then I heard the sounds of a video game marathon coming from the man room.

So if I'm headed to hell on a road paved with good intentions, at least I'm not going alone.

Cooling Baby Fever

The Hubs and I have decided to wait a while to have kiddos--mostly because this summer he will be leaving for EWS at Quantico and we will be living apart for nine months. I don't want to go through my first pregnancy alone if we have a choice, and I also don't want him to miss out on anything. Plus, it is probably smart to finish grad school before getting knocked up.

That being said, I must admit to a raging baby fever. Like, bad. Recently, I even took great pleasure in being thrown up on by the adorable son of a friend-of-a-friend. It doesn't help that everywhere I look I see friends and acquaintances and total strangers with cute little bundles of joy slung on their hips. My younger sister just had a baby, and friends who are also younger than me already have multiple children. Keeping up with the Jones' is not the reason for my baby lust, but it certainly isn't helping.

My sweet nephew, Aaron...I can haz wun?

But do you know what does help, at least temporarily? Whenever I start yearning for mommyhood, I just go pour myself a glass of wine. Or a cup of coffee. Or make plans to meet friends for sushi. Or eat a sandwich chock full o' cold cuts. Enjoying all these little things that will be off-limits once it's go time might be the only thing that will get me through the next year without pulling the goalie. (J/K, I would never do that.)

I think it's time for another glass of wine...

Le sigh,
Sarah

Operation Oatmeal

I usually think of myself as a healthy person. I'm not overweight, I've run six marathons, I love all vegetables, and I've even cut out dairy (for the most part) in order to clear up my skin. BTW, it totally worked. But the fact is, I've really slacked since my last marathon, which was about a month before our wedding. First there was all the last-minute planning for our big day, then there was relaxing after the wedding while finishing up a semester of grad school, then traveling to visit family and be lazy during winter break. Now a new semester has started up and when I look back at my recent meals, there has been way too much pizza and Chinese food, and not enough veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains. Plus I've got jiggle arms and get winded from walking across campus. And, with all that cheesy pizza, my skin is starting to break out again too.

The Hubs proposed to me while I was buying running shoes!

I am not a New Years resolution-er.  But it is time to get back on the fitness wagon. Not only will I feel stronger, more flexible, and sexier in my bikini when we eventually get around to going on our honeymoon, but I've also been meaning to start preparing for that next big step in our married life. The Hubs and I are not having kids any time soon; we'll be waiting at least a year for that. But all the research that I've done (Yes, research. I'm a librarian, remember? I can't help it.) says that one should start preparing themselves for a healthy pregnancy long before actually TTC. Being fit helps all the way through pregnancy, when it comes to labor and delivery, and bouncing back to your pre-baby weight. And from what I've read, a woman can continue her normal workout routine--within reason--while pregnant, but only if she's already been doing it for a while. You can't just say "crap, I better start lifting weights now" when that little pee stick says preggers. Oh yeah, you're also supposed to floss--which let's face it I don't usually do every single day. It's something about tooth plaque related to heart artery plaque. But I've got three days in a row of flossing too woohoo! Come on, every small achievement matters.

So, I'm going back to eating oatmeal and fruit for breakfast instead of bagels, pack healthy lunches to bring to work with me, and try to plan for nutritious balanced meals to make during the week rather than what we've been doing lately: suddenly realizing that it's 9:30 and we haven't eaten dinner yet, so we order takeout. I'm not going to be perfect every day, and I'm not even going to try to be. But I'll feel better making some changes.

It's also time to start running again. My next big race will be the Marine Corps Marathon, which is in October. If I can start training this early, I just might get a PR :) I wonder if I can add a running log widget to this thing...

Cheers,
Sarah

When We Were Very Young

Here's a pic of me and The Hubs from a long-ago Warriors Day at Quantico MCB, when he was at TBS. We weren't even dating then; I just drove up from college for a fun day. Neither of us ever would've imagined that many years later we would not only be married, but that he would be flying the same helicopter that just happened to be "parked" right behind us when we snapped a random picture. Pretty cool, if you ask me :)

The Beginning

I started this blog for many reasons: to share, to explain, to vent, to remember, to allow my family and friends to keep up with us as we inevitably move around with the military, and to make a contribution to the mil-spouse blogosphere so others might get a more well-rounded glimpse into the unique kinds of people who make up this community. I didn't grow up in the military and am still very much on the learning curve. But I'm now a part of it, and it of me, and I have my own unique take on things.

Not everything I write will be about the military, of course. Like all other military spouses, while I am very proud to be included in that group, there is so much more to my life than that. This will just be...me. And my family. Written up and sent spiraling out into the interwebs.

For now, I will just start with "hello."

Cheers,
Sarah

p.s. The name of this blog comes from our marriage vows:

"I take you, to be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I promise to support you and sustain you, to treat you lovingly and with respect, to speak with honesty and to listen with an open heart. In times of joy and sorrow, in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, I will be a faithful, committed partner to you, through all our years and all that life may bring us."