Wow, I've been slack! There have been several times I've thought about a blog to post when I'm away from a computer, but I get home and I forget. I can't believe how much time has gone by since my last post. Guess I'll pick up where I last stopped.
We got the insurance money for Scott's truck but within a week or two his transmission went out. So guess where that money went? Yep, you got it. His transmission. So we searched around to find the cheapest one and it wound up being at a pull-a-part place. He decided to replace it after work one day. He said he'd be done around 7 or 7:30 so I decided to wait on him to eat dinner. 8 o'clock came around and he said he ran into some problems and would be a while longer. 9:30 came, same thing, more problems. 11 o'clock came and he was still finding new problems to fix. So I decided to go to bed thinking he'd be home soon. I woke up at 4 a.m. the next morning and he wasn't in bed. So I immediately sent him a text thinking the worst had happened, that he fell asleep behind the wheel and was in a ditch somewhere. Luckily he responded rather quickly saying he was almost done. Poor thing didn't get home until 6 a.m. and had to be back on post by 9:30. Luckily his sgt was understanding enough to let him come home to sleep for a little and allow him to come to work a little late.
We've also done some home improvement projects. Our front flower bed was nothing but sand and pine straw. So we made a trip to Lowe's to pick up border blocks, soil, mulch, different flower seeds, and of course solar lights! I cannot believe how much better it looks. I love it! A few days after we planted the seeds a few rainstorms hit and we learned that not having gutters on our house caused a puddle around one of the bushes we planted and would uproot it. So gutters were our next investment and they worked wonders. We also finally replaced our living room & master bedroom ceiling fans. We bought them back in February or March with our tax return and finally got around to doing it. See, I'm also a slacker in real life, not just blogging. I hate procrastinating and putting things off but I'm so good at it. lol
We also found out the first week of August that Scott was selected for AGR (Active Guard & Reserve). This is a blessing and an answer to a prayer. He applied Feb 2011 and he received an email stating there were openings at Fort Jackson. So he applied and the next day we learn that those slots were quickly taken and the closest one is Indianapolis. What really upset me was Scott's CO told him he either needed to take the slot in Indiana or he would cut Scott's orders. (Scott has been on active duty orders since May so he goes on post Mon-Fri in his ACUs like he's active duty, but his orders are only 2 weeks at a time. So if orders stop, no more working on post daily and back to his civilian job.) So his CO was making us choose between living 13 hours apart for who knows how long or Scott going back to his civilian job where he didn't make enough for ends to meet. I was so upset and angry. I couldn't help but cry, even at work. Once I calmed down and decided we could make things work out with IN, I told Scott to get more info. Turns out they still had his home of record as IN, so they changed it to SC. They also have my raynaud's on record which requires us to stay in warmer climates (according to them). So they found a closer slot in NC that's only 3-4 hours away. That's doable! The kicker: he has to be there for 3 years. :( We're hoping after a year he'll be able to come back, but we'll see. The 2nd kicker: he reports to the new unit Labor Day weekend. That gave us a month to enjoy time together before being apart for up to 3 years. Wow. A week later the date changed to mid-Sept, then Oct, and now it's Nov. So who knows when he'll actually leave but we're trying to enjoy our time together.
We've also been able to spend a lot of time with family recently. Our weekends have been busy the past few weeks. We spent Labor Day weekend camping at the lake in our new tent. I love spending time with my whole family. We're always laughing and having a good time. We've had birthday celebrations for Scott, myself, and my younger brother. Last weekend Scott's grandmother and aunt came down from Indiana to visit for a few days. They were heading to Florida to visit family there as well and decided to make a few stops along the way. One of the most exciting things, to me anyway, was receiving some of my grandmother's china. I really liked the set she had in her china cabinet but those belonged to my uncle. Little did I know that she had a very similar, not-as-fancy-but-still-really-nice set. My mom asked if I was interested and of course I said yes! I have nice china! I felt one step closer to being an adult. lol. Since she had 24+ place settings both me and my SIL split them. So now that I have china I needed a china cabinet. Scott's aunt and I went to a large neighborhood sale this past Saturday in hopes of finding one, but no luck. All I bought were 2 books. (I am my mother's daughter - she loves books!) Afterward a friend of mine sent me a link on Craigslist of the perfect one! It was the right size (not too big), right color, amazing price, and looked to be in excellent condition. I replied to the seller and she told me it may have already sold but she'd keep in touch if it was still available. Well, I decided to release it and if it was meant to be, it was meant to be. On Sunday we were at a family reunion and I get an email, the sale didn't go through! The cabinet could be mine! So we went by to look at it and I fell in love. It was perfect. I don't know how old it is but it belonged to the husband's father and had a matching bookcase at one time. It's solid wood, looks almost brand new, the doors are still tight, and it only cost $80! Amazing!! So now it's in my dining room awaiting china. My goal this weekend is to clean them and place them in the cabinet.
