Ugh........lots to say today

Ok, I have a new roomie. And Lord help us all, she's a cop. And she sleeps on the top bunk( until the girl on bottom leaves, another week, I think), right in front of the A/C. Oh, wait for it, it gets better....she runs the thermostat up to 30(that's like 80 degrees to us fahrenheit users) because she gets cold. Ok.......seeing my problems with this individual already??? There are 6 people in one room, it's over 100 degrees outside, and you want to keep the temp in the room at 80!?!?!?! Might as well open a freaking window!!!! So either she needs to flip around in the bed, or change beds. Something will have to give in that situation.

CrazyGirl brought up some things that I feel I must add my 2 cents worth on. The marriage/last name bit........and how it relates to the kids. Ok, first of, honey, if you don't want to get remarried, then don't. And nowhere does it state that a woman MUST take her husband's last name in marriage. Unless someone can show you that in writing, then it's pretty much bullshit. I know plenty of people who are married and didn't take the last name.....Oh, and a word on the last name of potential children......my oldest, Scout, has his father's last name, and I was never married to him. So yes, it is possible to do that, just a matter of the father signing the birth certificate and some other piece of paper saying that he accepts paternity of the child, blah blah blah........so yes, it can be done and it doesn't have to violate your sensibilities at all........by the way, love the hair color!!!! You look so cute in those pics!

Radar left on R&R yesterday. So I have 2 weeks without him to chat with. But he has promised to email, if his wife lets him up for air.....

Other gets here Thursday/Friday-ish........


My birthday is Thursday.....I will be 28 years old. I had someone tell me that I look great for my age(am I really that old???) and great for the fact I have 2 kids.......

Alright guys, well, I have to go.......have a good one

33 days left!!!!!!!

That's how many, thereabouts, days I have left before I get out of Iraq. Now let me explain something. I will be probably going back to Al Udied AB, and while the time frame isn't what I'd like, the place certainly has it's charms. The biggest of which being NOT GETTING MORTARED!!!!!! I'm telling you right now, I am going to be jumpy like crazy for a while after I leave this hole, from being through so many mortar attacks. Any ways, back to going to Al Udied........in the Air Force, it's called 'doing the Deid', being there, that is. If Prince Sultan AB was Club Med in the desert(it's closed now, for those who don't know), Al Udied is it's replacement. As in Dairy Queen is exactly 11 steps from the edge of the pool to the counter. There's a TGIFriday's downtown. They have Baskin Robins. You can plug your MP3 player in at the computer and download music from the database on the PC.......yea, Al Udied is paradise compared to Balad. And other than the getting shot at, Balad's nice. I can hardly wait.

The kids are being spoiled rotten, as my MIL and SIL are at the house. From what I understand, the SIL has hardly put MiniZiggy down(which may not be a bad thing in terms of not having the child walk before I get home). Oh, and while I'm on the subject of MiniZiggy, apparently he no longer likes baby food. He wants table food, and has a love for cheese and tomatoes. He also loves to feed the dogs his cheerios when he's done with them. I am sure this is just cute to watch, and I am sure that my dogs are getting fat off of the baby feeding them.

Speaking of the dogs.........Pudge's latest escapade. I don't know how she did it, and neither does Ziggy, but somehow she cut the pad on one of her paws. Enough that she was bleeding on my kitchen floor. So what does Ziggy do? This will crack you up.........he puts diaper cream(have baby, have diaper cream) on my dog's foot, and then put a sock over it. Now the sock I understand, but the diaper cream really had me rolling in laughter. I never would have thought of using diaper cream for that.

One of the civilians I work with has decided to treat me to a free movie for my birthday(which is Thursday, the first, for those that care). Oh, by the way, all the movies here are free anyways....so I'm going to the movies tonight with Tackle Box. I believe I've mentioned him before. Anyways, no clue what's playing, but who cares, it's for my birthday, and since I can't have booze, I'll take a free movie.....

Alright guys, that's enough for now. I'll update more later.......have a good one

My vent....I guess...and an epiphany

You know, I really hate it when people try to mess with your mind about serious shit. Has a tendency to make me mad.....boiling, fighting mad, actually. I will, of course, explain.

I have this acquaintance over here, we'll call Radar. Now, Radar and I were chatting tonight, and we were talking about our past relationships, hurt from them, etc, and we ran into the topic of Ziggy and Other. I explained the whole schpeel about Other, and upon the end of the explanation, I start getting this barrage of questions about why I'm not with Other, and why do my answers all sound rehearsed or that I'm trying to convince myself that I'm happy without Other as my mate.....the whole 9 yards. Almost as though Radar is trying to undermine my happiness with Ziggy. This angers me. Greatly. It has always bothered me when people question why or why not I do things in my life. As though they are trying to make me change my mind by creating doubt. And let me tell you something, the Air Force is really good at the mind games, so I really ought to be uised to it, right? Ok, well maybe not because it's a bit different. Anywho......

I was talking to Ziggy about this, and I told him what I think is the whole reason that Radar's line of questioning. See, I have been trying to distance myself from the image of having been a cheating wife. I was one when I was married to Psycho, I admit. But I have a theory about it. I firmly believe, based on my own experience, that people who cheat aren't happy with what they have already. Because if they were, if they were fulfilled in their current relationship, whether it's marriage or not, they wouldn't be out on the prowl for the next conquest. Just my opinion and belief. Anyways, I digress. And there are plenty of folks over here that are suffering from a serious lack of sex. And so you have people who will try just about anything to get laid. Instant gratification, it's a powerful temptation. And plenty of people fall into the trap, and it can cause lots of problems later. So Ziggy and I have come to the conclusion that Radar is more or less trying to get into my pants. Which is not going to happen. I love my husband, we have a great relationship, and I am not screwing this up for something that is entirely about getting off.

In all of this conversation with Radar, I came to an epiphany, if you will. We were talking about what we've wanted out of life, what we want for our kids(he has a daughter), all of that, and were chewing over our own childhoods and the manners in which we were raised as opposed to the way we raise our own children. I have always known what it was I always wanted out of life, from when I was a child. As a child, I wanted the knowledge that I was loved, no matter what. Having been given up for adoption at the age of 17 months, and the adoption taking place at the age of 4, I always had the feeling that in some way I hadn't been good enough for my mother, thus I was given up. I wasn't loved. There's WAY more to this, but you get the idea. Anyways, I spent my childhood trying to please my parents, with the misconception that if I pleased them, then they loved me....twisted, I know, but this is me. I just wanted to be loved......it hit me when I was talking to Radar about this, I got what I wanted, I am loved, unconditionally. Granted, the love of your children is a special thing, but that doesn't always fill what holes may be in you from the past. It hit me square in the middle of the forehead that Ziggy loves me unconditionally. He always has, too. My self confidence, all of my self esteem of the past 3 years, can all be run right back to Ziggy......It never hit me before, for some reason. I have had no desire to seek anything from anyone of the opposite sex for the simple fact, I am content and happy with what I have. Ziggy and I have a great relationship, which we work at, and I am fulfilled in that. My husband loves me whether or not I fit into a size 8 jeans or if I wear a size 12. He loves me despite my terrible temper and the mean things I may say to him in that anger. It's a beautiful thing.......and I got what I always wanted.....

My day at *work* -chuckle chuckle

Yea, so I didn't have to be at work until 8. Cool beans. What'd I do today to earn my paycheck?? LOL, I drove 3 different commander's vehicles over to have them washed, where I sat in the A/C, drank Turkish tea(pretty good, actually) and read Cosmo while the Hajis washed the trucks.......then I shredded papers and took them to the burn pit. Took a 3 hour break, 'running errands' as the guy I was working for called it. Came back for a half hour, then got off work. And I don't have to go in until 10 in the morning.......good stuff.....

Ebay, Ziggy, Machine and next week

Ebay...oh how I love Ebay.....it's addicting. I can't help it, there are things on Ebay that call out to me to be bought and sent home where I won't see them for another month or so.......I firmly believe that the reason I have an Ebay addiction right now is because I am deployed and bored. But I am buying useful items....I promise. For instance, how many of us recall the little Tupperware molds for homemade popsicles?? My mother used to put KoolAid in them and freeze them.....well, I bought them off Ebay so I can do the same thing for my kids!!! And what's funny is that I couldn't get a single Tupperware consultant to find them for me! How ridiculous is that?!?! Oh, and I bought MiniZiggy some clothes for the fall off Ebay......kids clothes are great to get second-hand, honestly, simply because they haven't been used that long since kids grow fast....C. Adam, keep this in mind!!! Consignment shops are great for kids clothes, especially little girl stuff!!!!

Ziggy.......my husband is so funny. And he SOOO needs to get laid......poor man. I really need to go home...he's got some ideas that I am just dying to try!!!!

Machine....I have finally seen a picture of Machine......and yes, he looks a bit like Weird Al, without the funky-fro......lol....

Next week I get to work days, in a different area, cause of my foot......fun fun fun.....I'm sure I'll have plenty to post about......

Have fun, guys!!!

Thanks CrazyGirl!!!!!!!

I got the box you sent me today!! Thanks a bunch, girl! I appreciate it!!!

Well, a while back, Machine and I were chatting about deployed personnell having to register their blogs. Apparently this is true, but so far seems limited to the Army personell, or atleast that's the idea that I got from the article I read in the Stars & Stripes. I guess there are troops over here that are writing some up close and personal stuff about their experiences over here, and as per normal, Big Brother doesn't like all their secrets to be given away. It is inevitable that this would happen, what with laptops being pretty well common among the deployed folks......people are going to talk about their experiences over here, just like they've done during any other war, with the exception that it's more electronic now than it ever was in the past. In the past it was letters home, now it's blogs and no doubt, emails.....so the government is worried about the security factor in all this.

Here's my question........what about the locals and the third country nationals that live and work on the bases over here? You can't expect me to believe that they aren't telling their friends and family back home about what they see and hear on the bases. And you can't expect me to believe that some of the insurgents haven't infiltrated these folks and are getting info about the bases. I am not that naive. They get mail, too, I am sure. I have no dount in my mind that they have internet access like the rest of us here (I've seen some of them using it at the rec center here)......so I am pretty sure the opportunity is there......just a point to ponder.

Update on Daddy and MiniZiggy

Well, apparently Daddy is fine. Which is good. I can stop panicking now.......

MiniZiggy, however, has pink-eye. Poor baby....Scout had pink-eye when he was about the same age. Ziggy thinks it won't be very difficult putting eye medicine in a 10 month old's eye......he has another think coming....oh, and MiniZiggy has finally cut his top two teeth.....and I've missed all of it.....

Hobble-along me and Daddy and a weird dream

Ok, let's go with me and the Hobble-along bit first.........About a month ago, I got a pedicure over here. This was a bad idea. My big toe on my right foot got infected, as the people who work in the beauty shop don't sterilize their equipment, despite being trained and told to. But I digress.....So a couple weeks ago, I go to the doc with my toe all icky and they put me on antibiotics, tell me to soak my foot in salt water, etc. Well, it got a bit better, but not completely, so I went back a couple days ago, and they decided to take off part of my toenail. So I am now on a profile, no running or jumping, no combat boot on my right foot. Joy is mine, let me tell you. I wonder what I'm going to end up doing at work, since I can't stand for prolonged periods, and can't wear a boot. More to update on that later. They gave me Tylenol with codeine, and the only good part about that is that it's the closest to being drunk that you can get over here without alcohol. And it did help me to sleep. So I am stylin' in my DCU's with one tan boot and one black sneaker....oh I am a fashion statement, let me tell you....

Now for Daddy. My Daddy to be specific. Daddy is 78 years old, and had a massive heart attack about 8 and a half years ago (Scout was a little over a year old at the time). Well, I get an email from Ziggy saying that I need to call Mama and find out about Daddy. Come to find out, Daddy went in for his yearly check up and they did a stress test on him, as usual. Well they decided to put Daddy in the hospital this morning and do surgery. So, this make me nervous and worried and scared......so think good thoughts for my Daddy, ok?

Weird dream, and I blame the codeine. I dreamed that I was going shopping with my neice for her wedding dress(her wedding is next May), and my husband went along with me. But it wasn't Ziggy. I still had Ziggy's last name, but I wasn't married to Ziggy anymore. Apparently I was widowed, and a friend of ours decided to marry me to take care of the boys. I'll call him The Greek. Ziggy, if he reads this, will know who I'm talking about. What's odd about this is The Greek has had no interest in women and kids for a while now. He's a single guy, that lives with Bear and Blonde. Nice guy, but got burned in the past and doesn't care for relationships. So anyways, this dream was so odd....he went everywhere with me...I guess we'd been married for a while but it was in name only, because he asked if he could kiss me......I'm telling you, the codeine does weird things......

Ok, now I'm curious

Who the hell is Bg??!?!?!?! And what does this individual know about me and Alaska???? Yes, I am most curious now.......

Well, the eye feels a bit better. Still a little scratchy, but not nearly as bad as it was. My laundry bag is definitely gone, I went to the laundromat and no such luck....

Have fun guys

Time off and bad news

Well, let's go with the bad news first. We get into the shop tonight and have a little pow-wow with the Senior Master Sergeant that is over all of us. He springs on us the *good* news.......we are all slated to leave 30 September. As in leaving Balad, not Al Udied. So far the track record for time spent in Al Udied is 2-3 days before going back to the real world. Which puts me back in the States somewhere around the 3rd of October, or thereabouts. This is bad news because MiniZiggy's 1st birthday is the 2nd of October. I may cry for missing it.........
The guys that I work with like this idea of leaving that late, as we'll get an extra month of that tax-free pay. This is of little consequence to me, I will get paid regardless.......I just want to be home with my baby for his birthday.

Alright, the time off. Being the good former healthcare worker that I am, I went back to the doc about an infected toe, as a result of a pedicure I had done over here about a month ago. Well, as it turns out, they have decided to take off part of my toenail on Wednesday morning. Which means that I'll probably be out of work for a day, atleast. This occurs after my second day off. Oh, and I am off tonight as well. I dropped something in my eye at work, did the whole eyewash station thing, and ended up going to the ER. They got it out (and offered to let me keep whatever it was in my eye) and sent me home for the rest of the night. So, I am having a bit of time off....fun fun fun.

Alright, I think that's about all for now........stay safe guys......

6 weeks left

So I have right around 6 weeks left in this hole before I return to the real world. And I can hardly wait to get out of here.

Lost my laundry bag....and I really don't feel like carrying my laundry to the laundromat all by myself without the bag, so laundry may have to wait until Tuesday night to get done. I am so lazy tonight.

May need an eBay fix...very tempting to buy things that just catch my attention and I don't really need. THus the reason for eBay, I think...or atleast eBay anonymous....

Oh, just as an afterthought, I SOOOO need to get laid. I'm suffering over here.

Ok guys I'm tired....going to bed.....

Just for clarification.....

Machine, my dear........I'M NOT ADOPTING YOU!!!!! I'll drink with you, show you my tats, but no adopting you!!!!!!

LOL...

Adoptions and arguments

So Ziggy and I are thinking of adopting a baby. Yes, yes, I know, we can have children, but I'd like to do something for those kids that don't have happy homes, or hell, homes at all. See, I was adopted when I was little, at the age of 4. My way of giving back to those who took me into their homes(I was a foster child prior to my adoption), would be to do the same for someone else. Ziggy and I have so much love for our kids, and we'd love to have another one to love and spoil, too.......so we are researching the in's and out's of adopting.

I have the little daydreams of a little girl to play dolls with and put bows in her hair, and to teach all the things that my mother taught me......

Now for the arguments...well, just one, actually. Ziggy and I had the worst argument of our entire relationship tonight. I mean bad......I have never been that angry with him......

Rascal Flatts

Well, tonight was the Rascal Flatts concert at the movie theater here on Balad. Decent show, they sang the one song that I wanted to hear. Oh, for those who don't know who Rascal Flatts is, they are a country group. I got my pic taken with them, I feel special....got a hug from 2 of them, best action I've had since I got to this sandbox.

But, the highlight of the evening had to be before they ever set foot on the stage. We're all sitting in the audience, and they had a CD playing, right? Well, they played Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue by Toby Keith, and most of the people sitting in that theater were singing along....LOUDLY!!! It was awesome.

Night Off and a bunch of news I haven't posted

So, do we like the new template, or should I go back to the black?? I thought something a bit brighter would be nice.....

Well, I am off tonight, and the only thing I have to do is laundry. That's a welcome change. No homework for a bit is nice. I got email from my professor, and my exam answers still haven't made it to him. This annoys me, honestly.....but he says that until he gets the answers, I have a C........which means I passed, don't have to retake the class, and I don't have to pay back the tuition assistance.......this is such good news!!!!

I really do need to update my list of readable blogs, and add pics. I have plenty of pics I'd love to put on here....

Oh, eBay.....You know, I think I have bought more off of eBay since I've been over here than I have the entire time I have been registered on the site?! It's certainly a nice diversion from the mundane over here. I bought two lovely quilts for Ziggy and I. One will be for our bed, and I think the other will go on the couch.

Pudge....dear Lord, what am I going to do with this dog of mine? She took off again, but came back this time, according to what Ziggy has told me. Ziggy is planning on finishing the new fence he has been working on, and I honestly think that will help keep her from taking off.

Speaking of dogs, my grandmother, Gamaw, as we all call her, had to have her faithful dog, MaxEBear put to sleep. He had had it rough for the past year or so, he'd gotten hit by a car and had to have a hip replaced and had a prosthetic(who knew they did that for dogs?!?!). Then he got sick with pancreatitis, and she had to put him down. Now, I am an animal lover, just like my Gamaw, so the loss of a pet is saddening......but she tells me that she has a new dog coming on Friday, and I am sure that she will be cheered up soon.

Other is coming to Balad. I think I may have already posted this, I am not sure. To his credit, I might add, he has put my absolutely FAVORITE brand of candy in the mail to me. Now, it may arrive all melted and gooey, but I really appreciate the thought.......gotta love See's candy from California!!!

MiniZiggy has two teeth now, and is about to cut his top teeth. He also turned 10 months old yesterday. I am hoping that I will make it home just prior to his 1st birthday. That is something that I really do not want to miss. I really need to post new pics of him in the photo album. He has gotten so big, it is hard to believe it is the same child!!!

Now, for a bit of serious.......there is talk, and it's been in the news, of a pullout of American and coalition forces out of Iraq as soon as next Spring. While I am not holding my breath on this, it certainly gives me pause to consider the course of my enlistment in the Air Force if such a thing were to take place. If, and I say IF in capitals, as nothing is set in stone, obviously....IF this was to come about, and deployments over here were seriously stepped down, I could see myself reenlisting......but like I said, I am not holding my breath.

Machine and I have emailed back and forth a little, and have come to the conclusion that if I am in Germany on the return trip from Iraq, I will let him know and we will meet up and party like rock stars....

Ok, I think that about covers it......be safe guys!!!