Will and Amy

Halloween...


...and I'm holed up in my house, on the couch, debating at which time I need to turn off the lights, head upstairs, and hide out. I'm not opposed to Halloween, but I am slightly opposed to trick-or-treaters on a Friday night after a brutal few days of conferences with parents.

I'm exhausted.

Happy haunting, everyone. Post pictures soon of all of your kiddos/pets/significant others in costume...

I think I'm nesting in preparation for Will's homecoming. Is that possible? Or rather, is that normal? The house is clean and gets cleaner every day. The yard is looking pretty nice. The pantry is stocked, some hearty soup is put up in the freezer, and I've used my crock-pot twice this week, which rivals as much as I have used it in the last year. The dogs are clean and brushed. (Do you have the Furminator? If not, get one. Holy cow.)

I can't wait for this (even the mustache, which he has grown again):

I guess it seems like if the house is clean and ready, if there is a well-stocked pantry, if the dogs are brushed and exercised, then maybe, just maybe, Will's homecoming will come just a little bit quicker. Maybe I'm crazy (okay, so that's probably not even debatable anymore) but it is what it is. I am so ready to have him home and have some normalcy back for a while. T-minus 9 days and counting (of course, that's incredibly likely to change, but I'm hoping it doesn't).

I made some pumpkin pie dip for a party last week and it was delicious - however, I couldn't truly enjoy it because of though of all the calories! I made it with reduced-fat cream cheese, but it still had a cup of powdered sugar in it, too. So I searched the internet and found a different dip, but still a high-calorie one. I modified it (and changed the flavor of pudding mix from vanilla to cheesecake) and it's a winner! Delish. Try it...

1 tub Cool Whip Free
1 pkg fat-free/sugar-free Cheesecake flavored instant pudding mix
about 12-15 oz. pumpkin pie filling (to taste)

Stir together the pie filling and pudding mix. Fold in the Cool Whip. Refrigerate for a few hours (it tastes great immediately, but even better after it sits a while). Serve with ginger snaps or graham cracker sticks (regular or cinnamon).

I've seen it served in a small, hollowed-out pumpkin, but that's a little ambitious for me. This filling would also be great in a pie shell! Enjoy.

I love this dog...and the other one, too. But this dog is something else. She has such a distinct personality. She absolutely loves to play fetch, she loves to cuddle (well, for a little while, then she jumps down to find her own place to curl up). She hates the rain and the wet grass, and she only puts up with so much of Dixie's stalking - then she shows her who's boss.


However, this pup gave me a little scare. She has a lump under her front right arm, kind of on her chest. Small, but a lump nonetheless. I tried to get her into our Aggie vet last week, but he was out of town. We finally saw him today, and it's nothing but a normal lump/bump, the kind that a 7-year-old dog gets. Totally normal. Sigh of relief.


I know that dogs don't live forever. I'd just like this one to be around a lot longer, and I'm glad she got a clean bill of health.

The perfect post-church, eat-by-myself, Sunday lunch. I enjoyed the time alone to process the sermon, which was political in nature, but very refreshing and poignant.


And I had a nice view. Our local pho place has a very obviously ethnically-based seating philosophy...the gist of which is that white people don't get window seats, and have to sit at long, family style communal tables (with strangers). However, eating alone means I get a window seat - a very tiny table that is desirable only for the view, definitely not for the overall location (it backs up to a kinda stinky fish tank). I'll take what I can get, especially on a non-rainy fall day.

If home's where my heart is, then I'm out of place.

Lyrics from Mercy Me's "Homesick."

And so true for me right now.

I have some terrific friends here, and it is truly a beautiful place to live. However, I miss my husband, and I hate being so far from the rest of our families. I want to cuddle my sweet niece, have a glass of wine with my sisters, and spend time with a friend of mine as she embarks on a new journey. I want to see my friends' kids and know their personalities, and I want to not worry about time zones and airline travel and coordinating schedules. But, this is the life I signed up for, and this is the perfect time in our lives to have these adventures of living away from "home." And, I have two sweet pups to keep me company as I curl up on the couch with the fire going, enjoying being alone and being still.



It does not help that I feel as though I live in the most liberal place on earth, and it's an election year.

Friday Morning - during which time I should be going to work, but I am blogging instead...

-Will and I had a good chat this morning about mortgages and financial stuff. I've been so agitated and frustrated and [fill-in-the-blank jaded/negative emotion] over the current financial crisis. All I know is that our name is on our mortgage, not "U.S. Government."

Where has the personal responsibility gone in all of this mess? If you don't pay your car loan, your car gets repossessed. When you owe someone money, you pay it back. This should not be news to anyone. This has become a debt reliant country of people who feel entirely entitled to spend without limit - spend completely out of accordance with income. Where are we headed and what can be done?

-A group of kiddos from my class is going to see "City of Ember" tonight, and they and their parents invited me to join them. Should be fun.

-Will's return is rapidly approaching...but there are a bunch of hurdles to jump first, including parent/teacher conferences and progress reports. I just hope no one brings their dog this year.

-My house is very clean because I hosted a Southern Living at HOME party last night. I truly love having a clean house. It makes getting up and getting out the door to work so much more pleasant if I know I don't have to come home and clean at the end of the day (especially at the end of a Friday!).

I took myself on a date last night. The food was top notch, and the wine was spicy and delicious. Oh, and the company was good. And I picked up the check.


Then, I woke up this morning to our first frost. I'm not ready for winter, but (as Will would say, jokingly of course) that's irregardless. :)

This Monday might be a bit of a let down after the novelty of Friday's learning environment...

...and a big shout out to my JLMS friends! These activities always make me miss you guys so, so much.

Rain...


...on my parade, not outside (at least not today). I have a co-worker who constantly rains on my parade. It is obnoxious, childish, and (even though I try hard not to let it be) hurtful. I know the reasons behind it, or at least I guess at them. I know that in reality it's not personal - it's just that I'm there and just being makes me a target. By the end of last year I felt much stronger in dealing with it, but I think that with Will gone, and several things happening at work to fuel this ire from said co-worker, it's gotten worse lately. All this to just say argh. It's frustrating, end of story.


On another note - we've entered the last month of this deployment, and the end of it could not come fast enough for me. I'm missing his company, and his yelling at college football (as I'm watching the Red River Shootout and wishing to be in Texas and not here). Gratefully, there are only a few weeks left until my mustachioed man makes his way home!

Morning Walk...

After dropping Mom off at the airport early Sunday morning, the pups and I took advantage of the fact that it wasn't raining and set off for a walk. It was pretty chilly, but very enjoyable. I brought along the camera for fun...

Here's my fall front porch decor (I love this Aggie Maroon mum):


I really like these droopy trees, but I have searched the internet and can't find what they are called. This one is in a front yard down the street. It was still really early in the morning, or else I might have been a little more apprehensive about snapping pictures of people's yards...


When we made it to the park that's in our neighborhood, I let the dogs run. Maddie started zigging and zagging as if she was picking up a scent trail - and apparently she was! She found this tennis ball in no time, so we spent 20 minutes or so playing fetch. Dixie doesn't play fetch, she plays "Chase Maddie" which at least gives them both exercise. Maybe her daddy can come home and start working with her again!!!


The only way I can walk both dogs at once is by using these Gentle Leaders. They immediately work, require no training time, and both dogs respond so well to them. They work like a horse bridle and guide the dogs by the snout. Although, the dogs tend to look at me like I'm crazy when I buckle them up in these!



Here are some more trees I like (and don't know the name of) - they remind me of the Beatles and their mop-head hair. There is a very young one in our neighborhood that has rocks tied to the branches which I suppose is how they get them to grow this way (these below are from the neighborhood next to ours - it's been there longer and the landscapes are much more established)...who knows, I just really like them!


We ended up being gone an hour and a half, which was great because it poured the rest of the day...and Monday...but it's just sprinkling this morning. The rainy season is started and all I want to do is curl up on the couch with a book and the fire going. However, I've got 29 twelve-year olds who might want to learn some math and reading and writing today (right?) so I'd better get on my way. Happy Tuesday!

I had a truly amazing day...all thanks to Office Max, and my principal!

I am blessed.

This is what showed up at my room, a little after 9 am yesterday (and apparently in almost 1,300 other classrooms across the country, in a coordinated effort of surprise...I was certainly surprised)...