One week down...

And only a couple dozen plus some to go. If this pace continues this will be all done & over with before we know it.

(Semi) Heaven

On thing I do not have to worry about during this deployment is taking care of the yard (front & back). The Pilot hired the neighbors gardener to do ours while he's gone. Today is their first day on the job. They mowed, weed whacked, blow & raked. I think they will also do all or some of taking care of the beds. I know the head guy puts fertilizer down. Speaking of, I really need to go out later when it warms up & cut the rose blooms off to put in a vase. I always wanted rose bushes. Now we have like 10 (no exaggeration). A few in the front & a bunch in the back; all different. I can't stand them, lol. They are pretty, but too much work for someone with out a green thumb. If we didn't have an automatic sprinkler system (very common out here) I would never water them. I want to rip out the ones in the front & replace them with something else. Can you replant rose bushes?? I have a few ideas, but I am not sure if they are good plants/flowers for out front. Need to research since spring is arriving soon. There are some drive thru nursery's around the area. I went to one 2 summers ago. I got a ton of Lavender & a few other items. I might do that again. I really like the lavender I planted in our last place. Easy to care for. I didn't do anything last summer because I wanted to see what all we had going on here.

Oh, where I was originally going with this post. What would be the ultimate whip cream & cherry on top to the gardener? I poop picker upper! A good friend of mine & a fellow pilot's wifey passed along a gift certificate for a free trial. Her dog won it in a Halloween costume contest. They had no use for it since they moved clear across the country a short few weeks later. I so need to call & try them out. I also get coupons in the mail for another (?? Maybe the same) company. I can schedule them to come right before the gardeners get here. I picked up yesterday evening before it got dark, but I am sure there was a few presents out there this morning from last night & early this morning. I'm sorry, but with 2 little ones, it being cold here in the am & not to mention too early, I am not going to pick poo up before they get here. That would be an awesome trick to teach the dogs to do. I'll let you all know if I figure that one out, lol.

I've labeled this weekend as "cleaning out the fridge". In other words I am not cooking. I think we have enough left overs to get us through. Wednesday night I did home made fried chicken, mashed potatoes & green beans. Last night was a ham steak with our secret sauce/seasoning & left over egg noodles. Tonight I will have Tootie help make a pizza.

Speaking of Tootie, he's becoming such a little man. Well he always has been, but it's just getting out of control. Besides helping me cook, I discovered that he can also set the table. Now it's not the best job & I wouldn't have him do it if we were having guests over, but for everydayness, it was pretty good. He knew to put a napkin at each of our spots & that a set of silverware (well we only needed a fork that night) needed to be at each spot, too. Another chore to add to his list!

Off to start the day. My goal today is to finish getting our bedroom put totally back together. I need to go through my clothes & see what I can get rid off.

Breakfast for dinner

That's what we had for dinner for tonight. I made eggs, sausage & biscuits.

I mailed the Pilot a Valentines box today. I some how crammed a ton of things into one of those flat rate boxes. I was very proud how much I got in there & still could close it all the way. There is a new box coming out in March. Here are the stats: Dimensions: 12x12x6, Domestic rate: $12.95, APO/FPO rate: $10.95. The lady at the post office wasn't even aware of this new box yet.

There's not much to talk about today. I'm considering going back to teaching at least part time next school year. Hopefully in the same classroom I had last school year. I think I have to make a decision very soon. I'm also thinking about maybe taking on a tutoring job while the Pilot is gone. Just something to pass time with & get me out of the house. Well see what happens. I filled out an application for the tutoring. Thursday I am interviewing a nanny if I go back. I need to come up with a list of questions for her.

The Pilot

He's made it to his final destination safely. He says there are some internet issues they are working out. I will work on getting his e-mail address to everyone. Just don't expect a quick reply.