28 December 2013

stuff around here

-On a whim, I got hubs a toy helicopter for Christmas. It's a serious contender for the best gift I've ever gotten him. Right now, I can hear the whirr of the blades, and him saying, "This thing is so fucking fun."

-We have new neighbors!! I would not have even noticed if Chris didn't see the moving van one day while I was at work. Really quick, right before Christmas. No for-sale or rent sign; maybe they're relatives of the previous occupants? Either way, I'm stoked it's a young couple with a small child instead of creepy lawn-mowing dudes. I'm hoping the chick and I can bond. I need to expand my friend circle and I feel like it's good to be on good terms with your neighbors.

-I've drank about 1/2 glass of wine with dinner and I'm feeling it. At this rate I'll be asleep by 9. On a Saturday. Which I totally didn't even realize it was, with all of these random vacation days due to the holiday. No complaints here.

-There have been a lot of adjustments around here. Some of the major ones include:
a. Reminding Chris that he lives with a girl when it comes to toilet seat placement. So far the tally is at 2 butt splashes in the middle of the night.
b. Getting used to sleeping with someone. I wake up at every little adjustment and loud breathing. Some day, it will be hard to sleep without him.

Speaking of, he's got a nice fire going in the fireplace and looks lonely on the couch. Deuces.

19 December 2013

Twelve Days of Christmas for Hubs

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... (err, I gave to him)
a ornament for the tree.



Not exactly a Partridge in a Pear Tree, but who really wants that anyway?

Just in time for Chris's return, I have started a new tradition: 12 days of Christmas gifts for my husband, inspired by this post that I came across on Pinterest a few months ago. I thought it would be a special way to celebrate his return to the civilian world, which was perfectly timed for the holidays.


Starting on the 13th, he has opened one gift a day, each following the number theme. Nothing extravagant, just little things that he already needs.

Day 1: 1 super badass Marines helmet ornament. I spent about 30 minutes digging through a pile of ornaments at the store until I finally found a USMC themed one.


Day 2: a pair of PJ pants. Since we are avid weekend couch loungers, I was shocked to find out that he didn't own any! It's okay, because the situation was rectified on the 2nd day of Christmas. Bonus: His butt looks real cute in them.


Day 3: 3 cigars to smoke around a backyard fire


Day 4: 1 coffee mug + 3 bottles of Baileys. Because all of my road cups are too girly for a manly man to use. He can't roll up with a gold glitter and hot pink road cup.


Day 5: 5 car care items: Glass wipes, Leather wipes, Interior wipes, Tire shine, and a chamois. He was talking about cleaning his truck on day 4, so the timing of day 5 was perfect.


Day 6: a 6-pack of different Shiner beers. By this time, he's pretty excited to open each day's gift and has requested to open them in the morning before work. He started unwrapping before I could snap a picture!


Day 7: 7 packets of Cocoa Roast Almonds- a snacky item I thought he'd enjoy. 7 was a difficult number!


Day 8: 8 White Chocolate Macadamia cookies. The timing of day 8 was not great, as he's sick and doesn't feel like eating cookies, but when he's better these will be gone in no time.


Day 9: 9 packs of his favorite gum.


Day 10: 10 pairs of black ankle socks, courtesy of mom. She's the resident sock giver around here.


Day 11:11 little bottles of Gatorade. I like the little bottles because he drinks about half of the big ones then leaves them laying around.


Day 12: 12 Ferrero assorted chocolates (in a star-shaped box that I painstakingly wrapped.) He was particularly intrigued by this one, simply because of the shape, haha.


It's been really fun, spreading out the giddyness of opening a present over several days. This will definitely be a tradition that I keep going.

Merry Christmas, from us, and the cat-- who has found a stray bow and it has become her new favorite toy for the past few days.


traffic huh?

Yesterday I was all set to start bitching about how much I hate traffic, and how glad I am that I take the shuttle now.

Then, Chris came down with some nasty stomach thing that landed us in the ER at 11pm. We didn't leave until 630am- which left me awake for nearly 24 hours. I called into work and tried to get some sleep before disinfecting every possible surface in the house and making sure Chris stayed hydrated and ate a little bit.

As tired as I am right now, I'm not looking forward to work tomorrow. I'm also really hoping I didn't catch whatever bug he's got.

Come onnn weekend!

09 December 2013

timbers

I baked chicken nuggets and cookies on the same sheet in the oven, then turned it off and left the door open so it would help heat the house. Now it smells like cookies and warm and I'm okay with that.

(much better than the first day back at work after a long vacation, then shivering in 45 degree rain for 30 minutes waiting for the shuttle to show up) (P.S. I was foolish to not expect bombardment the second I clocked in.) (P.P.S. My annual evaluation was done today. Went well.)

There's a hot bath in my immediate future.

08 December 2013

reflecting

Sitting on the couch with Kitty watching the American Dad spoof of Breaking Bad. Just in case you're Ashley and you need to get a mental picture of what I'm doing before continuing on.

It's been 11 days since Chris came home for ever.
11 days of vacation. I do not want to go back to work tomorrow AT ALL.

We've enjoyed sleeping late, hanging out, breaking in the fireplace, and generally relaxing. We got Christmas decorations up, and Chris has been taking the opportunity to unpack more of his stuff that's still in boxes.
In general, a laid-back vacation.

This past weekend we went to CS to help celebrate MIL's birthday. After dinner, we played Cards Against Humanity. It was especially hysterical when we all saved our nastiest cards for when it was grandpa's turn. Then, we spent the night in the Elephant themed guesthouse. I mean, really.

Tonight, I'm alone in our house once again. I keep thinking about how every other time before this, it's been because he has boarded a plane.

This time, I kissed him goodbye and got in my car and drove home while he headed out to go hunting with a buddy. This time, his shampoo is still in the shower, his stocking is hung over the fireplace, his pillow is still on his side of the bed. He's not going to go away like that, anymore.

It still has not completely sunk in for either of us, probably because we've been on vacation and we haven't developed our regular daily groove yet.

It's still so strange to think that the life I wondered about 4 years ago is actually here, and all that impossible in-between time has actually been lived.

03 December 2013

Cheer

Yesterday, we put up Christmas lights.




Now all we need is for the weather to cooperate with a nice temperature drop, and it'll really feel like Christmas.

02 December 2013

pet hair removal WIN

Random product review: Scotch Brite Upholstery Pet Hair Remover.

Microfiber couch + kitty hair is not a great combination. Even without the pet hair, the microfiber texture of the couch seems to catch small bits of dust, dirt, crumbs, etc. Simply brushing over the surface with my hand only reminds me of how gnarly it gets, vacuuming is way too labor-intensive, and lint rollers only pick up the surface crap.

So my sister in law recommended this little brushy thing and IT IS AMAZING. It's basically got a velcro-like texture, and it grabs all the nasties that are nestled in the microfiber. All it takes is a few swipes and the couch looks and feels like new. I love this product. I will recommend this product, and I will buy it again. I'm probably way too excited about this little thing.