Anniversaries and Two Star Generals...

Well, one year down...that wasn't so hard! Taylor and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on Sunday, and the best part was, we were actually together!!! He came in town on Wednesday night for a friend's wedding. A big thank you and congrats to Jeff and Nicole who had a beautiful wedding and picked an excellent weekend so my hubby could be home on our one year anniversary!

On Friday morning we headed up to Indiana to begin wedding festivities. Taylor played golf with a bunch of the groomsmen and then we headed to the rehearsal dinner on Friday night. I knew no one, but I met a few of Taylor's friends and their wives and they took care of me while he was busy doing wedding festivities. The wedding was Saturday afternoon and carried on well into the night. We had a fun time and a great weekend together. We got back to Nashville in early afternoon.

Sunday night we had a family dinner at my house with my dad's bbq ribs and celebrated our anniversary. I know I've said it before, but it is just so nice to actually have a husband in real life! Anyway...I took him to the airport this morning bright and early and he is on his way back to Korea. It wasn't real sad saying goodbye this time because he's going to be home so soon. He comes home in 30 days...that's a breeze!

A passport update for you...

I can't remember what I last wrote...but I called the AFB on Monday and told them about the issue, last I left it with the airman, she was supposed to call me first thing Tuesday morning with information about where my passport is and instructions for what to do with the package I received. I got no call Tuesday (I called 5 times), I got no call Wednesday (I called 4 times), I got no call Thursday (I called 2 times). So, I decided to send an email out to the people whose passports I had because no one was answering my calls, but they could easily walk into an office and get something done.

And I had no idea how right I was.

Apparently when you have the passport of a Lieutenant Colonel (think President of a company) and a Two Star General (think way higher than a President of a company) because of an airman's mistake, things get taken care of pretty darn quick. I emailed them all telling them of the situation and explaining I had not received any response in 3 days and within 30 minutes of the email I was called with a solution to the problem. They had found my passport, they said it would arrive to me on the 1st, they arranged for FedEx to pick up the package of passports I had, and I have been called probably 6-7 times since that email to be sure everything was straight and taken care of. I was emailed back from the General as well as the Lt. Colonel with apologies and assurance that the mistake had been taken care of and if I wasn't contacted about the location of my passport within the day to please let him know. I have since received a card from the Captain (of the wing...squadron??? I'm not sure which) apologizing for the mistake and inconvenience and thanking me for keeping all the documents safe.

Taylor got a good laugh when he came over and looked through the ranks of the people I had emailed...he said I feel bad for the whole office of that airman who made that mistake. That's kind of huge to send out the bossman's personal information and passport to a stranger because of a careless mistake. That airman will not be a happy camper...nor will her boss, and the boss above that, and the boss above that and so on and so forth...Taylor said that General will not speak to the airman...it goes all the way down the chain of command...and that's a LONG way to go! Anyway, moral of the story is, when you make a huge mistake like that, you stay in contact with people who are waiting on information! And I'm still waiting on my passport...I'll let you know when it arrives. And as I write this, I just received the 2nd call of the day to confirm that FedEx picked up the package and to ensure mine would be here tomorrow.

Phew, okay. Besides that, I have Kelly's volleyball game tonight and that's about it!

I am grown up?

A few random updates...Diane and I had lunch on Tuesday and it was so great to see her and her new little baby Matthew! I'm so excited I got to meet him...I've yet to meet the hubby, but I'm fairly certain he does exist ;) (I tease, I tease!) It's a good thing those husbands stay hard at work...that's the way we like it! Below are some pictures of Matthew, Di, and me.

Diane and I have been friends since we were 4 years old when we moved into Maplewood and became neighbors. We had secret clubs, made radio shows, and had lots and lots of sleepovers...it's crazy to think another generation is now going to be walking in the same footsteps, are we REALLY old enough???

Another grown up moment I had this week was taking Kelly up to Knoxville for a college visit to UT. SIGN ME UP...I'm ready to do it all over again! I was so excited to be up there and to go on the tour and see everything. I was undoubtedly more excited than Kelly! She isn't completely sold on UT yet...but it's in her top 2. After our tour and open house deal (which lasted about 4 hours) there were a few pretty parts of campus they didn't go over that I had to show Kelly...she rolled her eyes at me when I told her I just want her to love this place as much as I do!!! I felt kind of like a proud parent alumni...but I was NOT in the Volunteer sweater vest with orange T earrings on...not at that level yet!!

Anyway...last bit of interesting news...some of you may have seen on my Facebook status update because I was so shocked and alarmed...but most of you know I have been awaiting the arrival of my "Official No-Fees" passport from Scott AFB. Well it arrived at base and when I called about it they confirmed that they could mail me my "Official No-Fees" passport as well as my general commercial passport...they currently have both of them. Great news, that meant one less trip up to St. Louis to pick it up this month. So I received the package in the mail on Friday with what I expected to be my passport...INSTEAD I received passports, completed applications for new passports, and copies of military ID cards for FIVE people from Scott AFB! Talk about complete incompetence and carelessness. Kind of scary to think how easily so much information can become compromised from someone not paying attention. I suspect that the address labels got switched and my passports are at the location intended for the package I received. Anyway, needless to say I will be on the phone with them tomorrow...

And I'm just slightly excited that Taylor will be here in 3 days...I could start counting down hours...I mean I won't...of course? But I could!!! Oh and I'm meeting with a girl who I went to high school with who just moved back to the States last week from Aviano, Italy!!! I'll be a wealth of Italian information on Tuesday. I'll hopefully get all those questions answered that Taylor sees no need in asking! Crazy boys...

Later...

P.S.

In a previous post below I wrote excitedly about having a 1610 reunion with my old college roomies. I was sadly informed/reminded that we lived in 1622 for two years, not 1610. A true sign and sad reminder that

A) my college days are further behind me than I thought...

and/or

B) it is reaffirming my growing concern about my fading memory...

Anyway...we did have a nice 1622 reunion.

Amusing Email

I didn't write this, but I found it very funny and wish I had written it!

Random Thoughts of the Day:
More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

That's enough, Nickelback.

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the **** was going on when I first saw it.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a **** from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind ifI do!

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

Alan and Krissy's Wedding!!!

Ashley, Andrea, Melis and I took a girls trip up to Johnson City/Jonesborough area to go to Alan and Krissy's wedding. We left Friday night and stayed with Mary Beth and Weston and headed over to Jonesborough in the morning.

Ashley did the bride and mother of the bride's hair for the wedding. Jonesborough was the cutest little town. It looked like a movie set. The hotel, church, and reception site were all on Main Street within a 3 minute walk of each other.

Mr. and Mrs. Alan Bunger!!!!

Here is the beautiful bride and groom making their entrance into the reception!!

The girls :) We all went to high school together with Alan. Melis had to run off to Western KY for college...but the rest of us all went to UT with Alan as well.

Alan is one of my best friends from middle school all the way through college. I'm so excited and happy for him and Krissy! I worked with Krissy in college and I don't think he could have found a nicer girl!

Krissy, Megan, and I. We all worked at UT RecSports together for a couple years. It was a fun college reunion to see all kinds of friends from the gym. I worked there for about 3-4 years and met a lot of awesome friends there...Alan and Krissy both worked there as well and it was really fun to see everyone and catch up!

I now have a week at home before I head back to East Tennessee again next weekend to take Kelly for a college visit at UT! And this week I am super excited about lunch with my old childhood friend, Diane Dixon (well now Diane Jones). Diane and I were best friends growing up in Maplewood. We now keep in touch every couple months on the phone, but sadly I think it has maybe been 3-4 years since we have actually seen each other! We are never home at the same time...she now lives in Arizona. But, she is in town with her new little baby Matthew and I'm so excited to meet him and to finally see her!!!

Anyway...hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Peace.

My laundry exploded!!!

Before I begin with my post I'm going to start with some random pictures that are totally off topic from today's entry, but it has been a long time since I've uploaded pictures so I want to add some visual effects...please disregard the randomness!
My roomies from the summer: Katie, Penske, and Clarissa. We were at a place in Piedmont, MO (Clarissa's hometown) called the Canyon. It's a cool little part of the river with lots of rocks and it's just quiet and and a fun place to hang out. On our day off, we took some drinks down there and listened to music and read from The Sweet Potato Queens Big Ass Cookbook...no we didn't just read out recipes, it is written in novel format. What a great writer...she says what so many of us simply think...

When I Grow Up party at camp...I'm a teacher. If you could see my high pants, and the ruler I brought with me...my outfit might make a little more sense...mom, do you recognize the holiday turtleneck? I'm proud of you for getting rid of it...I knew I could put it to good use at camp!! And Nathan clearly is a Movie Star...obviously ;)

We went to THE bar in between Lesterville and Centerville...yes...the only bar. And we had such a fun time. Katie, Carrie, Janece (cook) and Suzy (owner of camp) joined us in our girls night out and it was great!! I enjoy the perks of not having responsibility for kids at night at camp!

Okay...on to the post...

I'm home!!!! And 8 loads of laundry later...I'm finally clean as well. Now all I have left is to put it all away, gross, my least favorite part! I hate unpacking and I have been known to live out of a suitcase that I have neglected to unpack for up to 3-4 weeks. I'm not doing that this time...I have way too much going on. I'm committed to getting organized (that's a strong statement, huh??)

I cleaned out the car tonight...vacuumed, washed it, and took a wet rag to all the cracks that get filled with Peola Road dust all summer. My car has been Franklinized again! I have been busy this week catching up with people and running errands, doctor, dentist, haircut, emissions tested, just the necessities!!

I'm super excited for this weekend, I am heading up to Johnson City/Jonesborough with Ashley and Andrea (and hopefully Melis) to go to Alan Bunger and Krissy Rhyne's wedding!!! On Friday night we're going to have a 1610 reunion and stay with Mary Beth and Weston, then head to Jonesborough on Saturday. It's going to be an awesome weekend!

Taylor is home in 13 days...yaaaaaaaaaaay!

P.S. I called Scott AFB (in Illinois) on Monday morning to see if my passport was ready because I was driving right past it on my way to Nashville. They told me it was not in yet. They called me this morning (Wednesday) to let me know it had arrived and was ready to be picked up. Isn't that about par for the course??

Peace.