Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Open up and say "Ahhh"


Time flies when you're not having fun, too, I suppose. I haven't posted in a week. Just been busy with random things...like my husband leaving AGAIN. And trying to sell stuff I don't use or need before I move. But I am still alive! I know you were worried, haha. The best part of my week would be my trip to the dentist (for the first time in I'm not even gonna admit how long). It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still pretty lame. The highlight of my pain was hearing Relient K's "Forgiven" playing on the radio in the dentist's office. Gotta love that. What are the chances? I would like to say to everyone that reads this...Make sure you go to the dentist REGULARLY. I will lecture you, because I can. You choose to read this and I can say what I want :) I have to go back tomorrow AND next Thursday, but then everything should be peachy keen. Ok, so updates on the move. I found out this past weekend (through the grapevine) that Justin is going back out to sea on our move date. That's right folks, he'll be home for all of 10 days and then they are taking him away yet again. It really boils down to being like an 11-month deployment when it's all said and done. Lucky for me, I have the two most amazing parents that anyone could ask for...and they are going to come help me throughout the week. (I love you guys!) So yeah...God is good, He always allows things to work out one way or another. I'm looking forward to spending an entire week with my dad, too! For now, it is time to continue my packing/cleaning out...but first I am going to take my little diva ((she posed like that on her own, help me!)) to the bookstore so we can get our "read on". Until next time, be sure to floss and brush.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

My Coke Addiction (as in cola, people!)


After spending the past two days with a horrible headache, I finally walked to the Exxon so I could buy a coke, aka my drug of choice. I haven't had any caffeine in a few days...the withdrawals were fierce! I'm talking headaches that couldn't be put to rest with Tylenol, Ibuprofen, or Aleve...but give me a few swigs of coke and presto, change-o, it's gone! Like Alana would say, "It's like magic, Mommy!" I haven't posted in a few, so I guess there are a couple of minor things to blab on about...They came and fixed my electrical situation, although Alana had no light in her room for a week. They put the original fixture back up yesterday, and all is well with that. My microwave has decided to call it quits, which to some people may not seem like such an ordeal but for me I feel as useless as someone with no arms without it. I'm all about the convenience! Justin says we can cook frozen dinners, etc. in the oven and I laugh at him. That's just silly. So now I am on a mission to find a new microwave. Everything with our move is set and ready to go. We pick up keys on August 10th, but the movers won't be here until the 13th. I have lots of packing to do! And Justin is getting ready to ship out again for another two weeks (on Friday)...that puts him back oh, a week before we move. I heart the Navy. Ok, I loathe the Navy...but I am thankful for the opportunities that it has given my family at the same time :) I shall close this entry with one more most random thought...I just saw today that Kat von D from the show Miami Ink is getting her OWN show on TLC, called LA Ink. Maybe I am the last to know this, or maybe I am the only one to care...but I think Kat von D got the raw end of the deal and I knew she would be back...Ami, all I can say is "Nah nee nah nee boo boo". And on that note, I have to get back to my coke.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Checkmate!


"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Have you ever asked God for something, whether for answers or something more materialistic, and then questioned they way He answered you? It's kind of like playing chess with God...I am clueless when it comes to the game, because I have no sense of strategy and lack the ability to have the foresight needed to play. While someone as inexperienced as me would take the obvious route of moving straight ahead to take the pawns out, God has a bigger plan...and He will work His way around the board to the "rooks" and "bishops" in our lives first...We might ask, "Why did You do that, God?" But He always has a plan for us far bigger than what we can foresee. And before we know it..."Checkmate!" He shows us the answers that He had for us all along. When I think back to 10 years ago, it amazes me the long and winding road that has led me to where I am today. I can remember all the bumps I hit and all too many wrong turns that I took, but all the while I know that God had His hand in where He was leading me. Justin and I feel as though we are being called to do "bigger and better" things once his time is up in the Navy...and we are going to use these next years as a time of preparation and growth. We know that God will not send us on any journey that He doesn't prepare us for first...We are trusting that God is getting us ready for the checkmate of a lifetime!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Fighting for Freedom


Justin made it home yesterday! I think I have the most amazing husband in the world. He has been working 14+ hour days on a ship with no ventilation system all week...comes home, and let's ME take a nice long bath while he plays Chutes and Ladders with Alana. How lucky am I? Justin does his job with as much positivity as possible, but he said something to me yesterday that stirred a thought in me that I had not really considered. He (as well as many other servicemen) has dedicated his life (at least 4 years of it) to serving our country to protect OUR freedom. I don't know how much you know about the Navy, but it doesn't provide its sailors with much freedom at all. So while Justin is working hard to make sure we have all of those first amendment rights...he basically is allowed none of them. He can't say what he wants to say, dress how he wants to dress, the list goes on and on...and while all these things are simply part of the job description--I just want to make sure that everyone stops and takes a minute to really be thankful for the freedoms we have been given. God Bless America! Now I have to go clean my apartment to the standards of the Navy for my inspection in a couple hours :)

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Fan Mail


Could it be? Is Justin coming home today? No, the navy never sends them home early...I haven't heard from him, but the word on the street is that they will be pulling in (if they haven't already). So as if that's not enough excitement for one day...Let me tell you a little something that happened to me, by first prefacing it with a big huge LAUGH because I am always prone to these predicaments. The day that we moved into this lovely apartment we are living in, there was a record high temp of 101 degrees. We had a 26-foot Uhaul full of stuff to unload when we walked in and found out that our air conditioning was not working. The maintenance people here (God love 'em) said there wasn't anything they could do and that they would have to hire an outside company to fix the problem...but that they could put in a window unit downstairs to cool it off. They did, and that worked tremendously--however, upstairs was at LEAST 130 degrees. I couldn't even stand to be up there for a millisecond, let alone unpack anything. My dad, being the amazing man that he is, went to Lowe's and bought us 2 ceiling fans and labored long and hard to install them. They worked wonders, even after our AC was fixed. It's always hot up there! Ok, so about 4 months later when I was looking through some paperwork to try and find out about our "lease" here, I ran across this form that my dear husband had signed off on reading, "NO CEILING FANS, NO EXCEPTIONS!" Needless to say, I decided to try and forget about it (because I am not talented enough to take down a ceiling fan by myself)...When they told me that there would be a preliminary inspection of my quarters on Thursday, the first thought to cross my mind was "TAKE DOWN THE FANS, ALLISON!" I called my most favorite friend and neighbor, Natalia, and asked her to help. She volunteered her uncle to do it. That's great! It's all set...it will be taken care of and good as new by the time they come. OR not. In the process of putting the original fixture back up, something happened in Alana's room and now she has NO power whatsoever. And now I'm stuck with having to call maintenance and try to explain, as best I can without tattling on myself, that for some odd reason there is no power in that room now. What can you do but laugh? I could cry but it wouldn't fix the problem...or I might haha. On a totally different topic, I noticed this morning that in my very first post is a picture of Jon and me on the now charred bus. Ah, the memories. And yes, Alana is driving RK's bus. They said she was qualified, and she works for cheap...just give her a bowl of cheddar Chex mix and she'll be good to go! And for now, I shall go! I have fans to hide and maintenance people to call :)

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Tuesdays with Ally


"Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you wil have it." Mark 11:24 (NLT)

I think that the military is annoying sometimes, but one thing that it has taught me is to fully trust that God will answer prayers and provide my family with what I need. I think I posted on Saturday about how I saw what I thought might be Justin's ship in the bay...well, come to find out it was actually the USS Enterprise. They are heading BACK out for their second long deployment in 14 months. The Ike went over to relieve them in October...they have only been home since November, and now they are gone again. I feel great compassion for the wives and families of those sailors...and at the same time, I feel a bit of anxiety for myself...I know Justin is on call until the end of the year, and they could be called back to the Gulf at the drop of a hat. However, the Bible tells us to worry about nothing and instead to pray about everything...and when I pray, I am going to believe that God will hear me and answer me in His way. We must also trust that God will give our President the knowledge he needs to get us through this war...Can you tell I am missing my husband? I just got used to having him home, and they took him away again...at least we have email! So I'm keeping busy and trying to get my apartment ready for an inspection on Thursday...going through my stuff and downsizing as much as I can before we move. And the more I do, the more stuff I realize there is to be done! It's one garbage bag at a time.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

It's Jon-demonium


Since all of my faithful readers are readers solely due to their love of Jon...I thought I would show my gratitude and answer that one dying question you all wanted to know about him. Be creative. And no, I will not give you his phone number or his physical address. It has to be something that he won't disown me for divulging. Hmm...I'm actually going to quiz all of you and see how big of a fan you really are...
1. What is Jon's middle name?
2. What was the name of his first band?
3. When is Jon's birthday?
4. What was Jon's first job when he moved to Nashville?
5. Did Jon play any sports in high school? If so, which?
This should do for now...I would've asked who his favorite sister is, but I already know the answer to that one! I am actually laughing about this post before I even publish it. My little brother, the rock star.


Here's the answers to the questions that most of you already knew...
1. David
2. Flippant
3. August 18, 1981
4. Trail West, a store in downtown Nashville that sells western wear...and yes, he wore it. Too bad I don't have the pics to prove it.
5. Tennis in hs, though he did play little league baseball growing up.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Zoo-rific


So it's Saturday. Not that the "weekends" mean much to me, other than more traffic! I am still recovering from my sleepwalking day yesterday filled with navy housing and such...But I somehow managed for my last two, exhausted braincells to come up with the idea to take Alana to the Virginia Zoo today. I also decided to take advantage of the underway and kidnap my dear Natalia...Ok, so it didn't take much twisting of the arms. It was a fun day in the sun, and Alana loved playing with Lucas. He's another one of those heartbreakers-to-be. I miss my husband. We swore we saw their ship in the bay, but I'm not sure if it was them or not. Maybe we were just hallucinating from the heat. Or maybe it was all the methane we breathed in being around the stinky elephant exhibit. I got my hair cut today. Nothing too fantastic or different, otherwise I would post a picture. Because after all, I do look gorgeous right now! Come to think of it, I need to turn in early tonight and catch up on my beauty sleep! Ciao for now!

Friday, July 6, 2007

The "Ike-a-traz" and more


So yeah it's not even 4 a.m. and I am up and blogging. Weird. I can't sleep, and I have to get up soon anyway to take Justin to the ship. He's going underway for a week, which isn't horrible...in fact it's nothing compared to the 8 months he was gone before. The thing is that he is only going to be home for one week out of the next month...Did I mention we are moving in a month? So that means Allison has a lot to do in the next few weeks :) I must be tired, I'm referring to myself in third person now. When I drop Justin off this morning, I am going to try and find something to do for an hour or so (at 6:30 a.m. mind you) to kill time until the housing office opens. I have to go sign all the paperwork for our new home. God is so good. It's crazy how He answers prayers in ways you would never expect. I'm glad that I worship a God who is so amazing! For anyone who doesn't know, we live about 30 miles from the base right now...It's a LONG commute though due to tunnels and traffic. Justin is gone about 14-15 hours a day on the days he works. AND we have one car! So it makes it hard. We got a call from the housing, offering us a 3 bedroom (we only qualify for a 2) one mile from the base. The waiting list for these places is 12-16 months, and we aren't even on the list. So when I say God is good...I mean, God is good. I hate to think of moving. Ugh, we have only been here about a year. What else? Justin, Alana and I went to the beach in Yorktown Monday. (Hence the picture). My mom says there aren't enough pictures of Alana and me, because I am the one taking most of them. So here's to you mom. I'm heading south to the big SC in a couple of days to visit my aunts and my grandma. It should be a nice break before the return of the Ike-a-traz (as Justin has coined it) and before I have to start packing up all of my earthly belongings...If any of you haven't seen Evan Almighty, you should see it. It's kind of corny, but it has a really good message...and I have seen that play out in my life this week. God doesn't always answer our prayers in the way we think He should or will. But He does answer them! Always in His own perfect timing.