Cinderella’s Wedding is Coming!

Please go read about Cinderella’s upcoming wedding!

Deployment Gremlins

I have read on a few military wives’ blogs about deployment gremlins. I am assuming they are problems that only crop up during deployment. My gremlins definitely inhabit that damn car. Yes, LCpl Honda’s car.

Just when you think, all is well the curse of the car strikes again. LCpl Honda emailed me on Sunday night. This is what he said:

Subject Car Registration stuff… again 😦

“Hey I know we thought this stuff was done but I need you to check on something for me. I got a letter yesterday from the ****** DMV about my car not getting registered and being late, they said I owe them $500 some odd dollars. Anyways I need you to contact the ****** DMV and tell them that my car is registered in ****** now and make sure that I don’t owe any of that money. Thanks Mom, love you.”

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Breathe Juliannah.

Once again, images of Power of Attorneys flying back and forth and people refusing to speak to me go through my mind. Why, why, why?

I decide to wait until I get home from work to call because I do not need to be standing in a parking lot begging some unknown person to help me. When I called, I get a computer telling me that the wait for a human should be less than ten minutes. Ok, I can do that. After a few minutes, the voice comes on and says the same thing. After 10 minutes, the voice comes on and says the wait is now longer than 10 minutes and I should hang up and call back later or another day.

I. Don’t. Think. So!

Sooo, I just put the phone on speaker, sit it on the table and take a seat on the couch. I figure there is no way I am going to hang up and call back. I am still trying to figure out how less than 10 minutes can turn into more than 10 minutes. I really do not think you can take cuts on a phone line. Nope, I think it was a ploy to get people off the phone. I never had much love for the DMV anyway.

Now this is the real funny part. 30 seconds after I put the phone on the table, a woman answers. That’s right. Gotcha DMV! So I brace for the worse and start to explain the situation. She tells me I need to mail the original letter and write on it that the car is registered in my state. Ah, I explain that the letter is floating somewhere in the middle of the ocean and besides that I just received a Christmas card from LCpl Honda postmarked Dec. 15 yesterday. That is not happening.

She thinks for a minute and then tells me to send a copy of the registration along with a letter stating the car is registered. She also asks me about LCpl Honda and his deployment and says to thank him for his service. Finally, an angel amongst all the devils I have spoken to throughout this deployment!

So another car problem solved. Except the car battery is dead again, but that is Corvette’s problem.

I am sure the gremlins had something to do with that too. Because I am sure, when I am gone they are rocking out to the radio and playing with LCpl Honda’s GPS.

Wordless Wednesday – Winter Fun

Please visit Wordless Wednesday at juliannah by design

Today is my Birthday

Today is my birthday. I do not know why but I did not feel very happy this morning. I guess because this has been such a tough year. Losing Lolly Pop Kid was the single worst thing that I have ever been through. I did not feel like celebrating and I so wish I could change everything about this past year.

But. I. Can’t.

There were two amazing things that happened today. First LCpl Honda, who has been deployed since Sept. called me. It was hard to hear him, as it was on Christmas, but he called me to wish me a Happy Birthday. I never expected to get a call today. It was great to talk to him. I can’t wait for him to come home.

I went outside as the sun was rising and saw this.

Red clouds. Lolly clouds. I usually see them on Tuesdays. The day he became an angel. Taking a closer look, the cloud looks like an angel. I could be wrong, but I felt his love and birthday wishes. I had the realization that he does not want me to feel bad all the time. Which I already knew, but it is hard to live it.  Still, it is hard to celebrate things in life when you are missing someone. It is hard to watch your family members hurt. It is hard to miss people that are not at home. It is hard to not know exactly what is going on with the people that are not at home. I hate talking in code. I hate OSPEC. I understand, but I still do not like it.

I guess I just needed a time-out today. I will go on. I feel very comforted by the events that have occurred already today. Tomorrow will be a new day. I will get up and move on. I know I will have bad days. But I will keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Today is my birthday. Thank you Lord for the gifts I received.

Canine Heroes

I know I have posted about military working dogs before but I saw this video and decided these canine heroes needed to be featured again.

Along with our brave men and women serving our country and protecting all of us, these dogs deserve our respect and thanks too. They find roadside bombs and help to save the lives of our military.

Once their service is done they are available for adoption and prove to make great pets. If you are interested in adopting one of these canine heroes go here.

America Helping Heroes

I received a direct message on Twitter today from Angela Alegna. She is a singer and a patriot. She is involved with America Helping Heroes. This is charity that helps returning veterans deal with the aftermath of war. They believe that the troops that have sacrificed for us should not be forgotten, instead should be helped to have happy, productive lives.

After Vietnam the vets were left to deal with the frustrations of fighting in a war by themselves. On top of that, they were not even thanked for the sacrifice they made. Thank goodness that is not the case with our returning military today.

America Helping Heroes has chapters all over the country in each state. The help returning military with healthcare, legal matters, raise funds for military in need and even help with employment for vets. Please visit America Helping Heroes and see if you can help.

This is Angela’s Christmas video thanking the troops. You can follow her on twitter @ahheroes

Sunday Brunch

This week started out with a real bang. We had a fierce storm early Monday morning bringing close to hurricane force winds, downed trees and mud rain to the Desert Southwest. I recounted the whole experience on juliannahbydesign. My other blog is still in transition so if you cannot get to it check back in a few days.

The rest of the week was uneventful except Corvette came down with a nasty cold, for the fourth time this year! He tells me there are many people at his work who are sick and that is why he keeps catching it. As for me, I have managed to dodge the bullet each time. Knock on wood! I just walk around trying to avoid touching anything he touches and even spent a couple of nights on the couch to avoid the germ fest in our bedroom. At least he is feeling better now, so hopefully there will be no more sickness this year.

Saturday was Cinderella’s wedding shower; complete with, of course a Cinderella theme. My daughter’s BFF, Navy Girl and soon to be MIL threw the shower and along with some great food, we had glass slipper favors, a rum vanilla cake and a surprise visit from a special friend that Cinderella has not seen in awhile.

We played lots of games which included: Bridal Charades, another one trying to not mention the Bride and Groom’s actual names (in which case we would lose the diamond ring on a ribbon to the person catching us saying the names), and my personal favorite, dressing each other in toilet paper wedding gowns. We had teams for that one and I will tell you why it was my favorite. I got to be one that was dressed and guess what? I won! My prize? A pumpkin coach candle. My team consisted of Cinderella’s future SIL and one of Lolly Pop Kid’s daycare teachers. They designed my gown complete with a train and veil. I even had a bouquet! Butterfly got to be dressed as a bride too. Cinderella’s future NIL was the third bride. Personally, I thought we all looked incredible considering it was toilet paper!

Six weeks until the wedding and considering how much fun the shower was, I know the wedding will be perfect!

Today’s Sunday Brunch is Man-Size Manicotti. If you ever saw the movie Grumpier Old Men, you know what I am talking about. Also, this manicotti has meat in the shells, not just cheese. Corvette is anything but a Vegan and meatless meals do not appeal to him. One time we went to eat at a local Italian restaurant and he ordered manicotti. I forget to tell him that it is usually made with cheese. Needless to say he did not really enjoy his dinner that night. Just another reason mine is called:

Man-Size Manicotti

1 box manicotti pasta

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 pound hamburger

1 15oz tub of ricotta cheese

2 tbls spoons parmesan cheese

1 tsp parsley

Brown the hamburger. Mix in about a third of the ricotta cheese and about a third of the sauce. Cook the pasta and let them cool. Spoon the hamburger mixture into the pasta. Place them in a baking dish and pour the remaining sauce over the stuffed pasta. Put the rest of the ricotta cheese on top and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and parsley. Bake at 350 degrees for a half an hour.

That’s it. Happy Sunday Brunch!

Steam Mop vs Home Entertaiment System

No, I have not dropped of the face of the earth. I just took a little computer break. For some reason I had no desire to open my laptop over the long holiday weekend. So, I took it easy and watched some mindless TV.

We had a great Thanksgiving with Hippie Guy, Flower Child, the twins Fuzzy and Wuzzy and Grandma M and Grandpa DingDon. Flower Child prepared a fabulous meal and she definitely pulled out all the stops. Considering this was her first time making almost the entire meal, she scored an A+ with everyone.

Corvette and I actually went out and braved Black Friday. It was ok until we tried to get into the Electronics dept. in Wal-Mart. That only took 20 minutes of maneuvering around the hordes of people. We finally made it in and out. I am now the proud owner of a Shark Steam mop and Corvette walked out with a Blue-ray player. The mop works great, the player uh, let us just say it has a learning curve.

So, the next night Corvette decides to go back to Wal-Mart and purchase a home entertainment system. The last thing I want is a theatre in my living room. Therefore, he fiddles with it half the night and for a good eight hours on Sunday. He finally got it working. I have to assume he broke down and read the instructions. Just as a side note, I spent the day in my bedroom watching Bridezillas and numerous other reality shows and listening to the steady stream of expletives coming from the living room. So fast-forward to Monday morning. I get up and try to turn on the TV. Guess what? No sound. Nada. Nothing. Corvette gets up and plays with it and after more expletives he decides to take it back after work.

Hooray. Score on for team Juliannah! As of today, my living room is my living room again! Thank goodness because if he would have got it to work I might have been waking up to a popcorn machine in my kitchen.

Wordless Wednesday – Grandbaby Twins

New Blog Post on juliannah by design

I have a new post on my other blog,  juliannah by design.

How do You Survive Deployment?

Please visit and feel free to comment on this subject. Inquiring minds want to know.