Tuffer Tiney Ahoy (and other updates :)

Firstly, we finally have a functioning shower again!!! For about 3 weeks we've had barely any water coming out of our shower, which has been highly inconvenient. Our dishwasher had also had some issues, as well as our toilet and our swamp cooler (again), so we and the landlord thought there might be a problem with the water in general. Some pipe work had just been done on our street, which could have accounted for some low pressure. We and the landlord asked the other 3 apartments' tenants if they had been experiencing low water pressure and they ALL said they had been. Thus, the landlord had the city test the building's water pressure and check to see if there were any problems leftover from the pipe work. Nope and nope. We just needed a new blinkin' shower head! I don't know what the other tenants' problems are, but that's just annoying. The shower head was so seriously crudded over that only 3 of the holes were allowing out water and thus didn't allow up much water, which made less water pressure and little heat available in that water. And now we have a lovely new shower head that much water comes out of! We feel stupid, but we'll also feel cleaner! :D
Private Johnny acquired 3 more signatures since my last post. He was fairly bold about it, as well (which has been rubbing off on me more and more over the years). When asked why on earth he would want to leave the Guard, he asked what the State gets out of keeping him... he gets straight to the point when necessary. He said that although he is aware the State receives financial support for his service, he feels that he would be more fulfilled in the United States Army. Though it will leave a slot open, there are 7 other soldiers with his same MOS (basically the job he trained for) and during drills he's been given menial tasks, such as going through old boxes, so he won't be leaving them high and dry. And with that, he got three signatures without a fuss. :) Next, he'll need to go with his recruiter to visit the General. That's a pretty big deal - his recruiter has to go along because, as a private, John simply isn't a high enough rank to meet with a General. He's a little nervous and, of course, won't be quite so up front with the General. But, things should go well. :)
I thought I'd include a few random things about myself in this post, since I haven't done that in a while: I have really long toes and I always curl them under my feet as I sit at the computer and then half an hour later I try to flex my feet and my carpet-printed toes scream in pain from being that way too long. :) I love watching the faces of the little boys I teach piano to when I start talking video games with them -- always complete shock and amazement (I am a girl, you know). Speaking of which, when I was a kid I used to turn on Zelda or Metroid and leave it on the menu or paused in my favorite area of the game and do my homework while I listened to the music. :D I had a gum graft surgery a few years ago and I am still so traumatized by the experience that going to the dentist this week for a cleaning brought a huge case of nerves (and I might need a root canal, so it wasn't entirely unjustified). My favorite band from my teenage years is Savage Garden, who sadly only made 3 albums, but they were awesome. :) And recently I got the song "We're Not Gonna Take It" stuck in my head and since then I've been much more... empowered. I'm being less doormat-oriented lately. And it feels awesome to stand up for myself. :) I think I might just have gumption now! =) Wahoo!
Still slow at packing, but moving along in the getting-rid-of-stuff area. The bags to go are growing. And the 1st is tomorrow! Yikes! Soon, Johnny can meet with the General and we'll get things moving. I'll try to get a move on so I don't end up behind. :)

Governor's Day

This weekend John was required to attend the state's celebration of Governor's Day. We had never been to it before - I actually hadn't even heard of it before. So, we both slept very little because of our weird graveyard schedule and then headed up in the morning. It was fun trying to scan through all the soldiers and find my Soldier Johnny in the sea of uniforms. Though the event seemed to have very little point, it was cool to see my Johnny in his uniform again - the beret, woohoo! - and to have the helicopters and planes swoop across the sky above us. It had also been a while since I had stood and placed my hand on my heart, listening to the national anthem. :) I was very proud of my boy down there saluting the flag as the anthem played. The audience was softly singing the words as it played and near the end I joined in, as well. I am so pleased with his decision to serve his country.
Putting on his uniform makes John so excited to get into the active Army. He is longing to be a soldier full-time. :) He is such a stickler for protocol that he clearly belongs in the full-time army. His Sergeants have pointed this out to him several times. No matter which superior officer he's talking to, he always goes to parade rest. Though his superiors are sad to lose a good soldier, they agree that he will do very well on this new path. He got his other signature taken care of, so we are just waiting until after October 1st to get the others taken care of. Still haven't packed much yet... I confess I hate packing and though I try not to put it off, I just always feel at a loss as to how to start or where to begin. And the days keep going by so quickly with us on our regular schedule, not thinking about packing. We have been putting a lot of stuff to get rid of into big bags to take to DI or Salvation Army or the dump (if need be...) so we haven't been completly useless. ;) We're going to just keep plugging along until we find out more. :)

Tribute To Mah Boy!

I know I just posted like 2 days ago, but meh *shrug*. I feel like writing.
I married a boy that was so very different from me. I was the squeaky clean goody-goody and he was the bad boy with a checkered past. I liked fantasy while he liked scifi. And I've just been realizing how different we both are now from back then. How alike we are now. The music of his that used to seem strange I find myself bopping my head to the beat now. We've been reading each other's books for a while now, which has changed me, I know. I really started to understand him when I started reading his favorites. Another difference was that I had always played video games with one hero and most of his favorite games had a team of heroes to look after, so I had to get used to a whole new style of gaming -- which I appreciated because it just helped hone my skills. *totally humble girl...* *aw, forget it - I'm a pretty good gamer, I must say*
One thing that I love about him: a few years ago he played me this gorgeous music and when I asked him more about it, he said it was his "Heaven List" on his ipod. :) Music that sounds like he imagines heaven would feel like. It takes pain and just... extracts it... and helps you heal. So we've both been adding to our heaven list since then.
John also got me to really branch out with cooking. He told me just to try adding different flavors to things and experiment. When I accidentally added a tablespoon of baking soda to a batch of cookies instead of a teaspoon and he liked them (I didn't... kinda bitter), I realized that I'd have to mess up a lot for him to refrain from eating something.
My Johnny hasn't necessarily "gone soft" since we've been married, he's just become so much more gentle and sweet. He's a lot more confident, as well. Since he's begun working in the military he's been so happy. There's a spark to his life that wasn't there before. When he worked as a delivery driver, he seemed so rundown all the time... as if the few hours we had together a day was the only part of the day he didn't loathe. Now he has such a bounce - kind of a marchy bounce - to his step now and it just feels like his world got so much lighter.
Instead of letting Geology be just something I liked, he really took an interest and learned about it and would get excited with me. He'd find out when local rock shows were going on and whisk me off to it and we'd marvel over the azurite and pyritized ammonites and the prehnite. :) His favorite mineral is fluorite - he loves it and he can always tell when he sees it. The last rock show we went to, I got him three awesome pieces of fluorite with a couple of different crystal structures to them. It really meant a lot to me that he'd care about rocks for me. =)

The main goal of my life is just to be as good of a wife for him as he is a husband for me. Cause, yeah, it's true he's had a lot of trouble rinsing dishes *mutter mutter* but I'll see him try so hard to remember. And it can be frustrating that we're both so blasted cluttery and people always stop by when things are at their clutteriest. But, he always tells me to look outside when the clouds are being amazing. And he'll just gush about my cooking and make me turn red and giggly even though he doesn't have to and it probably tastes the same as the last time I made it.
He's my favorite.
I'm excited to go from place to place with him and to see how we grow and the things we learn and discover. I'm never going to get tired of finding ways to make him laugh. :)

Signatures and Food :D

Man, it seems that people are having hard time all around the table lately. Let's keep our chins up, eh? :)
Well, we got another signature today! This afternoon Johnny had a meeting with people from the National Guard and people from the Army so that everyone is on the same page. So, things are certainly headed in the right direction. He'll have one more probably by Saturday. However, there is a slight snag in that we are just getting to the end of the fiscal year, so to avoid complications financially the higher-ups won't be signing until October 1st. That's okay, though, cause this will give us a chance to downsize our belongings and pack the remaining up. Then all the rest of the signatures should happen no problem and we should have our orders by November/December. It's not as soon as we would have liked - moving in the snow is not our favorite idea - but, it's fine. This way there won't be any scrambling to get ready and such. I asked John, "What if we get sent somewhere really random... like, Panama or somewhere?" But, he let me know that we'll be able to live on the army base wherever we go, so we can still live our lives pretty normal. And, hey, there might be some pretty cool stuff there! I might just Google it later. :) *feels better* Oo-de-lally!
We probably will stay living in this apartment until we go, unless it gets really bad. We've lost a lot of water pressure recently, but that could have to do with some road construction we've been having (I hope). We're not huge fans of our neighbors, but moving twice in that short of time would be quite stressful. And neighbors in apartments are never that great, so, we'll just stay put for now. I invested in some very cute pink earplugs that are helping me sleep much better, anyway. :D

I've been thinking more and more about trying out culinary school after we get settled somewhere. I've been getting more and more interested in cooking and food for the past year or so. And I've got to say, it all started with watching Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals on Food Network. Something about the simplicity she gives things made me less afraid to try new things out - like using garlic or buying new foods that I've never heard of, like gnocchi. Ah, gnocchi, what was life before I knew you? ;) I'm starting to want to make my own fresh pasta for homemade raviolis and I've tweaked pretty much every recipe I have. And, a surprise to my mother and to myself... but much more to my mother, I'm even becoming interested in baking. I love learning new things and remembering - like that romano is made with sheep's milk while parmesan is made with cow's milk which accounts for the stronger flavor in romano cheese. I know that no one else really cares about that stuff, but I love it! =) And new heroes are: Mario Batalli, Ming Tsai, Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto, and of course Andreas Viestad (my favey Norwegian chef). I think it would be fun to immerse myself in culinary arts. And someday when we can afford to have cable again: I cannot wait to start watching Iron Chef America again!!! (It's like a football game for us...) :D
More news will come when I get some (or just some more random stuff I feel like writing, heh heh).

Moving Along

Presently, my husband is at work and out searching with the cops for a 14-yr-old boy that ran away sometime today (before his shift). This kid has already tried to run twice while John was working, but John stopped him both times. The kid tried backhanding John in the face but, as John has taken brass knuckles to the face and gotten his cheek bone broken before, it had no effect. I know John can handle himself - he IS Spiderman, after all - but I can't help worrying about him. This kid has proved to be manipulative and willing to take a cheap shot if he can. I'm pretty sure he'll be back - especially since he's in the middle of nowhere in Utah with nothing but a skateboard to get around. Plus SpiderJohnny can move really fast and has his Spider Sense to help him search. ;)
In the good news neighborhood, one of John's Sergeants called today and he helped John get an appointment with one of the higher-ups he needs signatures from. This has come as such a relief. I think I can really start packing more easily now. As long as we can at least get to step 2 on this seemingly tall staircase, I can feel more of a drive. Our next chapter is creeping closer.
Some funny news, also: lately John has been sitting somewhere in the house and Miles will start meowing as if being burned alive across the room or down the hall. John will get up to go see what on earth is happening when a little gray blob thunderously gallops past him and then leaps into the chair that John had been sitting in (usually one of Miles's "spots"). The best part, however, is seeing John's face when he realizes he fell for it again. Miles's tricks used to just be faint crying and then you go to find him and he jumps out from somewhere with his legs out in his scary way. (I usually screech a little in surprise and this greatly delights him.) But now his little escapades are getting more involved and much more fun for me to watch. >:D
I'll keep letting you guys know what's going on - I'm sure they'll find the runaway kid soon. I hope John finds him, because he can probably understand the frame of mind this kid is in best. John went through some troublesome times as a teen himself, and I know he's really helping out some of the boys at the home. One of them got to go home recently and started college and is doing alright. :) He left a thank you note for John when he left. I'm really proud of him. =) And when he gets home I'll take good care of him. I'll turn on Psych - which my little brother has gotten him completely addicted to - and make him some peach cobbler. And, of course, I will give him one of my patented make-the-stress-melt-away hugs which always helps. :D

Glasses, mochi, and more...

Just to update you all about our future plans: the army works SLOWLY. And getting Sargeants to call you back is not easy. We're still working on getting the signatures he needs to leave the National Guard. I'll let you know once we get them all. :)
John finished up his AT - 2 weeks of annual military duty - even more excited to become a soldier full-time. A sad thing happened two days before he finished, though. He had the opportunity to venture up in a blackhawk helicopter for some maneuvers. However, it didn't occur to him to take off his glasses, and when the copilot did a side sweeping maneuver without giving the passengers warning, the glasses were sucked right off his face and out of the helicopter and down, down into a rocky canyon. :( We were very stressed about it because things have been tight for us, but family helped us out and, though our warranty couldn't cover loss, the place we bought the glasses ordered us a new pair at cost, so the new pair was much less expensive. The new pair arrived today and we went and picked them up at once. (John's had to wear the very large ugly BCG's - army glasses - from Basic Training... let's just say the '60s might not have worked for John. :D ) We're very relieved.
After getting the new glasses adjusted we went to the cutest little frozen yogurt shop. It's all self-serve and they weigh your final creation to determine the price. And, best of all: they have little pieces of mochi to put on top! Mochi is a japanese rice cake - which texture is hard to describe... I guess somewhere between marshmallows and gummy bears - filled with ice cream. There were little clumps of the rice cake stuff to sprinkle over your frozen yogurt, so it would taste like mochi. Yay!!! It was a simple outing, but so much fun. I made a blueberry-strawberry concotion and John put together most of the chocolate things available. (He is so cute.)
We're trying to figure out how to pack with an unknown date ahead of us. Once they tell us where John's assigned, we'll have 14 days to get there, so we need to be ready. I've been thinking I'll just keep out our very favorite of everything so when we find out we can put all the favorite stuff in their own boxes and go. Also, that way if we get sent somewhere out of the country, we can just take the favorite boxes with us and store the other ones somewhere. We'll also be getting rid of a lot of stuff, which I enjoy. It feels so refreshing to lighten up how much stuff we have. (Especially papers - I hate how many papers I hang onto. Gr.)
Things are crazy and uncertain now, but my piano students' parents are being very understanding. And, you know, John is the best husband. He does sweet little things to help me relax and smile - a little drinkbox of Korean chocolate soy milk, the frozen yogurt outing, watching Psych episodes with me (my favey), or playing me an amazing song that pulls the stress out (an Il Divo song - I was a puddle of Tine by the end). I admit, I've let the uncertainty tear at me - I may or may not be sleeping little, losing hair, and what hair is left may or may not have new white strands in it... I've let go of all the stable things in our world and formed a fuzzy new picture of the future. Which is kind of unlike me... I'm a lot like my dad, I like things quiet and patterned and I like them to go according to my plans. ;) (My dad is very adorable that way.) I like to think I'm forming into a new me - and my dad is the most excited for us. He's the one that pointed out to me just how excited John gets when he talks about the army - how much his eyes light up. Nothing can be wrong when it makes my sweetbear so happy. =)

Catching a Current

A lot of difficult decisions have been hovering in our world for the past few months. John lost his job while he was at his training for the National Guard. After searching for about three months he was able to find a part-time job working the graveyard shift at a home for troubled teenage boys as a mentor. He's done well as a mentor and he's been looking for a new or additional job since then with no luck. I had been planning to apply for sponsorship by a professor once school started (I would help a professor with his/her research and get paid for it). But, things have gotten a little too thin and we decided we need a change in our lives.
John loves being in the military, so, after thinking about it a lot, we've decided to move further in that direction. John has started the process of transferring from the National Guard to the active Army. That way the military can be his career. It will be difficult. But, things have been difficult so far, as well. Yes, he could be deployed, but if I wasn't okay with that I wouldn't have let him join the National Guard at all. This way we'll get to live a lot of different places and in a little while we could more easily start a family this way.
School has been taking a long time for me and at this point only one of us can have our dream. I love Geology, but I love John more and I want to give that to him. So, I've withdrawn from BYU. And for now I really don't want to imagine that someday I'll be able to go back to school and finish. I've gone back to school once already - I've been the old one in the classes and I've tried to pull it off and I don't know if that will happen again or if I'll want it to. I want to let this go and move forward. I don't want to spend my life hanging on to maybes, mights, coulds, and somedays. It will hurt more to hold on to it. Sometimes, letting the hope fall away is a relief. Geology is only one side of me - there are many more and I will keep growing no matter what. Nothing's going to keep me down. :)
It could take a few months for John to get the signatures needed and to go through all of the processing he'll need to. He will basically be re-entering the military, so he'll need to get a physical exam again and things like that. He won't have to go through Basic Training again, though. If they don't have an opening for his current MOS as a Flight Ops guy, he will need to reclassify and do some training again, though. We'll have to figure that out when we get to that point. Things are fairly uncertain at this point - things could go smoothly and we could move in a couple of months, or it could take longer and John could have to reclassify.
It's difficult to have things so up in the air and not under our control, but the idea of changes ahead is comforting to me. I've always wanted to see new places, I didn't ever really want to stay in Utah for the rest of my life. And it's exciting to think that we could end up in Washington, Japan, Hawaii, Germany, Italy, Alabama... anywhere. It's exciting and scary -- rather intimidating, but I think it will be good for us. Things have felt like we were treading water for a while and now it feels like we're going to catch hold of a current (one that's really slow at first but will pick up fast later ;). We'll be together. That's all we need, right?
But, no matter where we go, a wisp of us will be anchored here in this patch of internet. =)