Thanksgiving Week

In our family, Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving unless we had 15 people and two dogs crammed in the same home, the sound of broken glass, screaming children, love, laughter, stuff everywhere, a fall down the stairs, broken bones and blood. Lets just say, there was a lot of testosterone in this house, a lot! I know, it sounds crazy but that's exactly what we are and we wouldn't have it any other way. With that said, we're still recovering.

Now that the house has cleared out and all the chaos, great chaos has come to a brief end I wanted to tell you about my Thanksgiving week; it was wonderful! That's not to say we didn't have a couple bumps in the road but those were small little details in the grand scheme of things.

Over the Thanksgiving week Dave and my brother went to our cousins house for a BBQ. Dave was practicing his wrestling moves with a friend and came home with a lot of pain in his wrist. He was trying to exercise it knowing it was in the healing process while I was running around trying to find a splint. Dave doesn't complain so I could tell something wasn't right when he was moaning and groaning. I don't want to bore you with all the details because I know if I'm exhausted talking about it, you'll be exhausted and logging out of my blog within seconds of reading it ;) After driving 1.5hrs to the base and getting the typical Naval runaround, they told us we had to come back the next day to get Dave in a cast since the cast place at the Naval Hospital was closed...at 11:30am...on a Tuesday morning. Needless to say, we had a very frustrating morning. Just as we were driving off base I looked in my rear view mirror to see flashing red and blue lights. Yep, I was getting pulled over. When I asked the officer why he pulled me over he said, "you failed to stop at a stop sign. In fact, you didn't even try to stop. I thought to myself, "no shit, I didn't see a stop sign!" He continued, "I need proof of insurance, license and registration." I handed him my license, registration and a pdf of my insurance on my phone which he didn't accept...which I also got a ticket for. DOESN'T HE KNOW IT'S 2009!?!?! Thank goodness this all happened on base because it didn't go on my real driving record, just on my military one. After we actually left base we headed to the happiest place on earth to meet my family. Anytime you go to Disneyland you feel as though you need to stay there from open to close just to get your money's worth. Well, that's how my family feels. Dave and I ended up staying for 9hrs and rode every ride possible. It was a great time as it is every time! My favorite thrill ride is the Hollywood Tower of Terror. I can't get enough of it. I guess I love the stomach dropping, shaky leg feeling that comes along with it. Who doesn't want to be dropped from the 13th story of a building??? We were standing in line at our last ride of the night, space mountain when I realized everyone had dropped out of line except for Dave and I. Two were nearly asleep sitting by the wall and one had severe blisters on his feet. At that point I realized, that one last ride wasn't worth waiting in line for at 11:30pm.

The next day we arose bright and early to get on the road to Dave's cast appointment. We arrived 10min early because if you don't arrive 10min early you're considered late and they make you reschedule. That rule is pretty funny since we ended up waiting for nearly 2hrs before they called Dave's name. How ironic!? They gave him two options; 1) Have surgery and wear a cast for 8 weeks after. 2) Just wear the cast for 12 weeks and hope it heals right. If it doesn't heal after that he'll need to have a screw put in the bone to hold it together, then wear the cast for another 8 weeks. He opted for the 12wk cast without the surgery in hopes it would heal. It's a full arm cast from the top of his bicep to his hand for twelve...long...weeks. After that, we made our way to the Naval Traffic Judge to get my ticket squared away. When the judge called my name I went up to his desk. He asked "where did you get pulled over?" I told him it was by the commissary. Then he said "did you run the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd stop sign?" I answered, "I'm not sure, I didn't see it." He smirked, stamped "warning" on my ticket, gave me my decal back and sent me on my way. Piece of cake! That concluded our dealings with the Navy for the week.

During the Thanksgiving week, we spent a lot of time with my family, went to the park with my niece and nephew, checked out the black Friday sales, ate lots of leftovers, watched movies, moved my brother out of his house, flew remote control air planes, picked on each other and just hung out. We really missed one of my brothers who couldn't make it but I'll be seeing him in just a few days :)

It's been a little over a week since I stopped working. Not working has its advantages and disadvantages...what day is it? I'm hoping to stop in and see all of my peeps next week. I really miss them! I also miss pilates. I was taking classes 3-4 times per week for the last 2.5 months. Now I'm just eating a lot of turkey minus the pilates. Maybe I'll get in a class next week before we start our road trip to the east coast. Since I stopped reading my most recent book last week, I've been craving for another one. I bought "are you there, vodka? It's me Chelsea." By Chelsea Handler. I'm burning through the pages. I like her sense of humor a lot.

What book are you reading? Do you have one to recommend?

I'll catch up with you again soon,
CW

Farewell

Thursday was my last day of work and I knew it was going to be full of goodbyes. I don't really care for the word "goodbye", I think it sounds too sad. I prefer "see you soon" or "farewell." Thursday morning was going well until I started opening cards from different people in the office and the tears began flowing. It was a tough morning because these are all people who I have really bonded with over the past two years, they are a huge part of my life. I have left jobs in the past and have been okay about it, but this one was different. After opening a few cards I decided that I wouldn't open anymore, take them home and open them later. After work they had a farewell party for me. It was great to have most everyone there with me. We all had a few drinks and a couple toasts. Dave and I continued to party with a few others who decided to stay into the evening. I am going to miss all of them but I know I've made friendships that will last a lifetime.

Update

It's been a while so I thought I'd give you an update. Dave has been out to sea since Tuesday last week. I've been keeping busy with work, Pilate's, piano lessons, a baby shower and hanging with Nana.

For the last three months I have really gotten into Pilate's. I love the way it makes me feel and look. I am seeing a great improvement in my body. I hope there's a studio where we're moving on the east coast.

Nana and I have been playing a lot of gin, eating tasty meals, laughing, visiting with friends and drinking wine. We really have an awesome time together! We have always been really close and have a great relationship. There is something that Nana, my Mom and I love to do together; we love to stand in the greeting card section of a store, read greeting cards, pass the funny ones around and laugh hysterically. It is so fun and it's something that I have been doing with them for years. And it works because the three of us all have the same sense of humor. Some of the cards actually almost bring us to tears from laughing so hard. I'm sure we've disturbed 100's of shoppers.

My Mom is coming to visit Nana and I tonight. We're going to have dinner with our good friends which I'm sure will be a blast. Tomorrow we're going up to see Julian. I've never been and I don't know what to expect, but I'm excited to explore.

I'm missing Dave so much! It's comforting to know that this will be one of the last times he will have to go out to sea...hopefully for life. He's been emailing me every now and then but I just can't wait to see him!

It's getting to be that time. My last day of work is on the 19th. Now I've left jobs before and never thought twice about it but leaving the place I work now is going to be the hardest. I really love the people I work with and have grown very close to them. They have been my family for over two years now and I'm so sad to leave them. I started training my replacement last week. She is great and is catching on to the job quickly but that doesn't mean it's easy for me to hand it over to her.

I'll do my best to keep you posted on everything that's happening in my life but just know, I'm going to be very busy over the next few weeks. A lot of change is on the way and you'll be the first to know all the details!

Until next time,
Cw

The Perfect Morning

Since Dave and I started dating, we've never had the chance to wake up at the same time in the morning... except for this morning! Now, this is what I call the perfect morning. Dave didn't have to go into work at 5:30am because he has the day off. We woke up at 6:30am, got ready and went to a local coffee shop. We sat outside with our coffee for a half hour, enjoyed each other's company and watched the town move around. The early mornings are beautiful especially when you catch the moon falling and the sun rising. Oh the simple things in life! This is the kind of morning that we long for. One where we're not rushing to the office or sitting in traffic. One where we can slowly awake next to each other. And, this morning, the one morning we're together, we received a call from Dave's sister letting us know that we officially own a home! We raised our coffee cups and toasted to a new chapter in life.

I called my Mom to let her know the news and she said "that's great honey, but it's in the wrong state." I understand that she is beyond sad that we're leaving, she's my Mom and will always want me close to her. The thought of leaving our family and friends here in California and Arizona is heart breaking too, but I know this is the best thing for Dave and I. We're very confident in our decision and excited for a new adventure in Virginia, with his family.

Be back soon,
CW

Short but sweet

I had an awesome weekend in Arizona! The trip was short but sweet! I really enjoyed being with my family and visiting our friends. What a fun weekend!?

CW