The Adventures of Mr. Superman and Mrs. S.

Happy Hearts Day!

2012-02-14T03:31:00.000-02:00

I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day.
Its not because I was bitter growing up without a boyfriend
or because I hate chocolates and lovey dovey crap.
Truth is I wasn't bitter growing up,
at least not about lack of boyfriends and
I most certainly do not hate chocolates or lovey dovey crap.

Last year, I participated in the amazing Riding The Roller Coaster's Valentine's Day Blog Swap and wrote all about how I feel about this day on Mrs. Muffins blog and also shared this little gem. I thought I'd re-share what I wrote then and adapted for this year, because it still applies.

When contemplating what kind of Valentine’s themed post I’d be writing up, I continued to draw blanks over and over and over again. I’m one of those girls, who growing up, only cared about getting the candy and the one or two Looney Toons or Batman Valentine’s cards from her crushes. All the others would get the candy or stickers detached from them and the valentine itself would get chucked in the garbage bin. I was the girl who woke up to find a cute pink cup with hearts on it, stuffed to the brim with message candy hearts and a card from my parents, every year.

I was also the girl, who as she got older, started to care less and less about Valentine’s Day because it was so over saturated and completely commercialized. Not to mention that when I was dating age and had boyfriend’s, I got flowers and gifts all the time so Valentine’s Day just wasn’t anything too special.

Now that I’m a married woman, and have been for a few years, nothing much has changed. Mr. Superman and I have been together for over five years and I can honestly say that I don’t remember much of our Valentine’s Day’s as a couple. In fact, last Friday as he was getting himself all ABU'ed up to go to work, we had this conversation.

Him: I still don't know what to get you for Valentine's Day.
Me: I told you, I don't need anything. If you insist, just get me some macaroons. Actually never mind, I can't have macaroons, order me some AS chalk paint. I want to paint the antique vanity with it.
Him: Alright, get me prices.
Me: Ok. Its not like you're going to be here anyways. You'll be on 14 hour shifts that whole week.
Him: Sorry about that, maybe you'll get lucky and I'll take you on a date that weekend.
Me: If its a choice between the date and the AS chalk paint, I'll take the chalk paint.
Him: I don't even remember any of our Valentine's Days. Well, I remember that one where I surprised you and came home early.
Me: Yeah we were dating then. You drove down from school to surprise me but after we had dinner, we ended up babysitting your sisters all night.
Him: I think I purposely blocked that part out. The next year...
Me: We were married and--
Him: Broke.
Me: And the next year we were in Utah and--
Him: Super broke.
Me: And both of us had just gotten laid off.
Him: The next year we were poor but not broke.
Me: Yeah that was our first year in Georgia and last year you were gone.
Him: And we were still poor, just from 8,000 miles apart.
Me: And this year... We're still poor and won't see each other.

SILENCE

Me: You know, we don't really do Valentine's Day very well but we sure know how to do "poor".
Him: And "broke". Sorry but we have at least 3 more years of poor.
Me: Please, you know I don't care at all. Just get me some paint or a new Dremel attachment and I'm happy.

He and I do a pretty good job the rest of the year, showing our love for each other and spoiling one another with the occasional gift, night out, and unexpected surprises. Last year, I sent him a box to Afghan Land full of cards he could open when he "Needed a Hug", "Wanted a Laugh", was "Missing Me Most", and when he had "Had a Rough Day." The box also had conversation hearts because he loves them along with Bottle Caps, Hershey’s Cookies & Cream Hugs, and a slew of other really bad for him goodies. For his part, I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers, some body wash, bubble bath, bath salts, and chocolates.

If he hadn’t been deployed and if I hadn’t been living in Arizona away from our military life in Georgia, none of this would have taken place because to us, its unnecessary. We love each other mucho mucho, there’s no doubt, but we also both know that our money can be better spent and for us, we don’t need a specific day to spoil each other or say, "I love you" a million and one times. We do that every other day of the year.

We definitely plan on doing as my parents did and making it a day of "show your love and appreciation to those around you" and probably give our kids some treats, but other than that, it’ll be just another day in the Superman household.

When I hear people stressing out about whether or not their significant other is going to get them this or send them that, I chuckle and shake my head. When I read on Facebook about how someone loathes this day of love because they have ‘nobody special’, I think its a shame. For me, its just another day and investing so much time, energy, and emotion into it seems a little ludicrous but more power to anyone who thinks otherwise.

For us, its not "Happy Valentine’s Day!" its, "Valentine’s Schmalentine’s, I love you enough every other day of the year. We don’t need images of a short, fat, winged man in a toga carrying a bow and heart shaped arrows to remind us of what we mean to one another."

I'm still waiting on that AS chalk paint Lovelies and as for Mr. Superman... I got him new running shoes two weeks ago. It was more of a "You need running shoes so let's get them and they'll be your Valentine's gift" thing more than anything else so there you have it.

What about you Lovelies, how do you feel about Valentine's Day? Do you go all out or just ignore it?

Because There Is No Such Thing As Too Much Harry Potter: Even Moldy Voldy Is Funny

2012-02-10T21:28:00.000-02:00

No More Excuses

2012-02-07T23:36:00.000-02:00

I'm not fat.
I never have been fat.

I've had ups and downs in weight but never more than 15 lbs and like I said, even then, I wasn't fat.

I was shapes.

In high school I played basketball and danced.
I was in shape, I had fun, but I still had insecurities.

If only I knew that once I turned 17 my metabolism would go on strike and it would be a struggle from then on to stay healthy. Its a sort of vicious cycle, being out of shape and not having a ton of energy to exercise so staying the same and enjoying my carbs, butter, and sweets.

Well after years of making excuses and only having short spurts of being healthy and in shape, I quite literally have NO MORE EXCUSES.

Its a health thing.

Those who know me know about my HHT and after last year my hematologist told me flat out, I HAD to get in shape and start eating a little healthier. Nothing like a bunch of tumors and failing kidneys to scare you into a lifestyle change.

For me, diets and restrictions FAIL.

Forcing myself to stop eating everything I enjoy and making myself eat a bunch of stuff I don't enjoy FAILS.

Every time.

As of right now I've just cut out soda and most caffeine. I mean, come on, I still gotta have my chai! I am having smaller portions about 5-6 times a day rather than snacking my butt off and then eating way too much of an unhealthy thing once a day. It is super tough because I make sure I am on the same schedule as Mr. Superman. If we aren't mostly synced up on being awake and asleep at the same times, we NEVER see each other. We get in bed between 2 and 4 in the morning and are up by Noon at the latest and he takes off for work about two hours later. Its tough to get a good healthy meal in together and once he's gone and its just me and the puppy, I have a hard time finding motivation to eat healthy meals all on my lonesome. Cold cereal, pepperoni's, Ranch Doritos, and Mac & Cheese are always what seems easiest and yummiest to my tummy.

It stops here though.

Thank heavens for Pinterest because I found simple and easy exercises and workouts that I can do at home that will help me get my shapely butt firmed up and bring my six pack back.

And food? I already LOVE oatmeal and Cream of Wheat. I prefer wheat over white and I adore spinach, avocado, lean chicken and tons of fruits and veggies. Its about moderation and smarter choices.

Tonight for example, I was craving sweets and desserts earlier and instead of eating eggnog ice cream out of the carton, I got creative.

I started out by peeling and chopping an apple, opening a bag of frozen raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, mixing some coconut milk with some vanilla, a tablespoon of heavy cream, and about 3 tablespoons of Cream of Wheat. Oats went at the bottom of my bread pan, I put in the apples and berries, poured the coconut milk mixture over them and covered the top with a ton of whole oats that had been mixed with cinnamon and nutmeg. This amaze-balls concoction got baked at 350 for 30 minutes and is now in my BELLY!

So yummy.

Hopefully soon I'll be a little less shapes and a lot more healthy.

Et Le Gagnant Est....

2012-02-07T17:55:00.000-02:00

The lucky little Lovely

who has won the

fabulous customizable

dog tag necklace from

Jewelry by Sebastian Design

is....

Congratulations Skinnie Piggie!!

You have 24 hours to contact me and claim your prize!!

I'm Nearly Catatonic So I Can't Think Of A Tittle. I Mean Title.

2012-02-01T00:17:00.000-02:00

If you know me, at all, you know I adore Kristen Bell. I mean WAY beyond girl crush level. This love grew exponentially when I was living with my sister in AZ during Mr. Superman's deployment. See, I met this amazing person name Nikki and she changed my life. Partly because she's almost too awesome to handle but mostly because she got me HOOKED on Veronica Mars. I don't know how I loved Kristen Bell so much without having ever watched an episode of Veronica Mars.

Another thing I am obsessed with is sloths. Oh my word I hear the word sloth and I freak out.

Well Lovelies, let me share this too good for description clip I just saw. I am just dying laughing all while having tears streaming down my face.

Thank you Nikki. Thank you Ellen. Thank you JessJess for posting this. Thank you Kristen Bell. Mostly, thank you sloth.

PS: GO ENTER MY CURRENT GIVEAWAYS! HERE AND HERE

Fabulous, Oh So Fabulous!

2012-01-30T10:00:00.001-02:00

Last week, thousands of you read all about Baby Daphne, the miracle of her life, and when Baby Daphne returned to Heaven. Early last week, I contacted several vendors and business owners asking if they would sponsor the miracle of Daphne's life and in return, I'd host a giveaway for them.

The first to respond was the incredible Jessica who is the genius woman behind Jewelry by Sebastian Design. I ran across her Etsy Shop a while back from another blog and immediately fell in love. She makes the most wonderful custom hand stamped jewelry and much much more!

Now for the details!

Jessica is generously offering this fabulous dog tag necklace to one lucky winner!

This is the description of the necklace from Jessica's Etsy Shop.

"This beautiful custom necklace includes a dog tag hand stamped metal tag, your choice of charm, chain, and Swarovski. You can choose a quote, name, multiple names, or an initial; I never charge more number of characters stamped!"

Now the rules to enter are very simple. Go visit Jewelry by Sebastian Design on Etsy and then leave a comment telling me which piece of her's is your favorite!

EXTRA ENTRIES: (Be sure to leave me a comment for EACH one)

Like Jewelry by Sebatian Design on Facebook
Follow this blog
Like The Adventures of Mr. Superman and Mrs. S. on Facebook
Go and enter the other fantastic giveaway I have going on right now and receive 5 EXTRA ENTRIES!

Jessica also recently launched a deal a day site that is amazing! Talk about total steals! It's called The Local Giving Tree and is just awesome. Go check it out !! If you make a purchase from this deal a day site, send me your purchase confirmation and you will get 5 extra entries!

This giveaway will be open for 1 week. You have until Midnight PST on February 6th to get your entries in! Good luck and a giant thank you to Jessica!

An Angel Has Her Wings

2012-01-25T16:38:00.000-02:00

Early this morning, surrounded by her mama and daddy, Baby Daphne Dawn Reading returned to Heaven to be with the loving God who put her here on Earth.

When Danielle told me about her passing, she said, "She's just so beautiful and peaceful." I know she is too. She has the kind of peace that only comes when we are again back in the arms of Jesus.

The number of lives she entered and hearts she touched can't be counted.
The strength and will of that baby girl is to be admired.

Against all odds, Daphne made it to 19 days old (today).

The prayers of thousands proved that when hearts full of hope and faith come together before God, He shows us His infinite love through miracles.

No one can say why God chooses to do things the way He does them.
That's why He is God.
He can see so much more than we can.
Hearts can question but that only makes it more difficult for our hearts to let Him in.

I know that for me, the past two weeks that I have allowed myself to just SEE the miracle of Daphne's life, I have been able to FEEL God.

About 10 days ago, I was feeling all consumed by sadness. I kept thinking, "Poor Danielle and Drew." I asked Mr. Superman how such innocent, perfect, beautiful little souls like Daphne could be given bodies that fail. Why? What he said has been stuck in my head since.

"It's not our job to ask, "Why?". It's our job to trust. You can feel sad because it is sad but don't feel sad for Daphne. She is the lucky one. She gets to be surrounded by love and prayers but when the time comes, she will not have to stay in such a terrible place. Daphne won't ever have to grow up watching this world and witnessing the awful things people do. She is so lucky to get back to Heaven where whether we realize it or not, we all wish we could be more than anything."

He's a smart man that husband of mine and even though its hard to let that thought, that TRUTH, stay at the forefront of my mind, it is the TRUTH.

Daphne's Miracle

God sent a angel to the Earth...The sweetest angel too

And for such a tiny little thing, she had so much to do.

She knew she did not have much time upon this Earth to stay,

She did not waste a single second; she got started right away.

Her eyes were bright and sparkly, she took in every turn.
She did not miss a single thing, because Daphne came to learn!

God sent her here to touch the hearts of those He could not reach,
She taught them courage, strength and faith, because Daphne came to teach.

Her tiny little body was so full of God above,

You felt it when you held her, because Daphne came to love.

In 19 days she managed what many never will.

When she went home to Jesus, her purpose was fulfilled.

She learned and taught, loved and played, she taught her lessons well.
I know God is so proud of her. She's now truly home to dwell.

But when you miss her OH-SO-MUCH, you can almost hear Him say,

Please understand, her work was done...
Daphne did not come to stay.

If you have cards, letters, or anything you wish to send to the family, I can be contacted at

rachelleorgan @ gmail (dot) com

At this time, the family is not in need of monetary donations and would like to extend their immense gratitude for everyone that has shared their story and continues to pray for them.

I will continue to have this badge on my blog. Even though Daphne has her wings now, her life and story can continue to change the world and touch countless hearts. Please join me in continuing to spread Daphne's miracle.

George Strait Said It Best... Just Give It Away

2012-01-25T10:00:00.008-02:00

Lovelies!!
I'm here with ANOTHER fabulous giveaway!!!

I know, I know, I'm amazing.

A while back I was contacted by a lovely lady by the name of Kate. As I read her email, I got more and more excited about what she was saying.

Do you want to know what its all about?!

Okay, I'll tell you.
In a minute.

First, let me ask all of you Milie Lovelies who have been through a deployment with their loverface a question.

How many times while you were separated by duty, oceans, and several thousand miles did you wish you could just see their face and hear their voice?

How many times?

If you're anything like me, you couldn't even fathom a guess because that innate desire and need to feel connected for even just a second never really leaves. Its ALWAYS there.

Well, I have something incredible to share with you all.

SuperTintin, the company who contacted me, has partnered with Skype which has resulted in the most incredible collaboration ever. In the next few weeks or so, they together will be offering 100 Skype Recording Licenses to very lucky, deserving lovebirds and Milie families!

Yes, Skype Recording Licenses. Its EXACTLY what it sounds like.

Here are a few words from Kate explaining about this fantastic company and product.

"SuperTintin is also a huge supporter of our military families and would like to show their support by hosting a fun campaign for military families just in time for Valentine's Day. To that end, SuperTintin is donating 100 licenses to its Skype recording software so that deployed/stationed servicemen and women can connect with their families at home and the at-home family can record the conversation (and all following conversations) to play back or share with other family and friends as much as they'd like."

Did you get that Lovelies?! A way to record your loved ones face and voice so that you ALWAYS have the option to see them and hear them no matter how far away they are or how long its been since you've been able to make contact with one another.

What a blessing!!

It gets better dolls, much better.

Not only are 100 of these Skype Recording Licenses going to be gracing Milie families but I get to give away 5 of them myself!

SEVEN!!

So now for the details. There will be 7 winners of this giveaway just on my page alone but I will also be able to share with you the other military sites and bloggers that will be hosting giveaways of their own!

You will have SO many opportunities to enter and hopefully win one for yourself!

A quick note: The Skype Recording Software is NOT compatible with any Mac/Apple products. Yet. So really, unless you have a PC, its not really good to enter because it takes away the chance of someone who has a way to use this awesome software.

This giveaway will remain open until February 12 at midnight PST and the winners will be chosen and contacted by email immediately. I will then provide Kate from SuperTintin with your email address and she will get you all of your license information just in time for Valentine's Day!!

Now that the basics and information about this giveaway have been covered, I'll dive right into your many MANY ways to enter.

1. Leave a comment stating you would like to win, have a PC, whether a loved one is currently TDY, deployed, stationed overseas, or scheduled to leave soon and your email address.

That is all required for ONE entry.

2. Follow SuperTintin on TWITTER and leave me your @handle so I can verify.

3. Become friends with SuperTintin on FACEBOOK and comment with a URL for verification.

4. Blog about this giveaway and include a link to this post on my blog and at least one link to either SuperTintin's TWITTER, FACEBOOK, OR WEBSITE. Leave a comment with a URL to verify.

5. Follow my blog and leave a comment.

6. Like the official FACEBOOK page for this blog and leave a comment.

7. Visit MilitaryBlogs.com and give this blog a +Boost. Leave a comment saying you did so and it can be done ONCE A DAY. Each time you +Boost and leave me a comment will count as an entry. I will also be verifying this.

So Lovelies, there is one MANDATORY entry and at the minimum, 6 extra entries if you only do a +Boost once. That's a lot of chances to win!!

If you enter on other blogs and are chosen as a winner and then chosen as a winner on my blog as well, I will choose a new one in your stead.

So get to entering and sharing this fabulous news!!!

A giant thank you to SuperTintin and good luck to all you Lovelies!!

Other bloggers also participating in hosting their own SuperTintin giveaways:

Julie & Martin

The Glamorous Life of an Army Wife

Troop Petrie

Army Wife 101
Nuts In A Nutshell

Amy's Avenue
Skipper Clan
Dandelions & Daffodils
The Crow Family
A Touch of Class
Like Sunshine After Rain
Sabers, Spurs & A Pink Stetson

Please note that although I did receive a free recording license from SuperTintin in exchange for posting about their site, all opinions and words are my own.

Call For Help

2012-01-25T01:28:00.000-02:00

I can't even begin to tell everyone how utterly grateful I am for all of your help in sharing Daphne's story!! Even more so, Danielle, Drew and Daphne are feeling every ounce of love, peace, prayers, and thoughts coming their way from thousands of strangers.

I am overwhelmed and humbled to know such incredible and giving people. In the last 24 hours alone, approximately 4800 people have either been told about or read about this precious miracle baby girl.

Its incredible.

Now I need your help once more. Its going to be just as simple as it was to share her story and just as vital to helping this strong little family.

Medical bills are expensive. It takes a lot of money to help miracles along. The world of medicine is truly awe-inspiring but it comes with a price.

The very last thing any of us would ever want to deal with or think about, were it us in a dire and trying situation, would be, "How on Earth are we going to pay for this?" Its more than a nagging thought, it can be a huge weight at the pit of our stomachs.

I have had many people emailing me, asking me what they can send to help Danielle, Drew, and Daphne along this tough road they are currently on. People have already begun to send blankets and little toys, things to make everything just a bit brighter for them. Now, I will say that it takes A LOT of courage to say you need help. It takes an enormous swallowing of one's pride to admit you can't do it all and then ask for the assistance of others. I don't think anyone would dispute that.

Insurance exists.
A necessary evil ;)
Its truly a blessing for Daphne and her family right now.
The other thing about insurance, there are co-pays, deductibles, premiums...

For Daphne's insurance to be covered, Danielle needs to be working. As you can imagine, returning to work while things are still unsure and unstable as far as her baby girl is concerned, is unthinkable yet payments, LARGE payments, still need to be made.

Now here is what can be done to help.

You can contact me @ rachelleorgan @ gmail (dot) com if you are wishing to send either a check or any other monetary donation. I will be able to provide you with the information to be put on a check and a mailing address where it can be received.

If you are a business owner, crafter, have an Etsy shop or any other sort of creative talent you share with the world, there are a few options.

You can offer a promotion in which your products or services will be discounted for a time, then either all or a portion of the proceeds can be put into Daphne's name as well.

You can hold an online auction where items you wish to sell can be bid on, maybe starting from a minimum price then either all or a portion of the proceeds can be put into Daphne's name as well.

You could raffle off items, or a collection of items. People who wish to enter pay a small amount and then the raffle proceeds can be put into Daphne's name as well. In a raffle, you could make more money than if you sold off each item at your normal price!

Just think, you'd be doing a small act of heroism for this baby girl and her family. Your talents would be doing SO MUCH GOOD!

In addition to you doing an incredible thing, anyone who hosts any sort of giveaway, auction, raffle, fundraiser... anything, will be featured here on this blog and linked up all over the inter-webs.

I have a few other possible things in the works for fundraising and if any of those things happen, I will share those as well.

PLEASE continue to share Daphne's story and make a small sacrifice by donating in any way to this beautiful little girl.

Enormous Miracles In Tiny Bodies

2012-01-23T20:38:00.002-02:00

Last week, I shared with you all about the tender mercies of God that have been taking place in the life of a very dear friend.

This is Danielle and Drew and their precious baby girl Daphne.

Daphne was born with Trisomy 18, a genetic disorder that is caused by there being 3 pairs of chromosome 18 rather than the normal 2.

The large majority of babies with Tri18 never make it past the womb and the ones that do, are rarely strong enough to live to see outside the NICU and hospital walls. Most deaths are caused by heart abnormalities, loss of kidney function, and other organ failures.

When Daphne was in the womb, doctors told Danielle and Drew that their baby girl would have to undergo major heart surgery after birth. They told the both of them a lot of things in an attempt to prepare them for what they were sure would happen. Thing after thing would crop up, they would try to help her, but in the end, she would pass away.

Daphne was born at 2:20 on January 7th weighing in at 3 pounds 11 ounces. A tiny little angel sent down from God to bless the lives of her mama, daddy, and anyone who would meet her. It took a few days but Daphne was officially diagnosed with Trisomy 18 and things seemed to be getting tougher for her.

A lot of babies with Tri18 end up passing away from complications and episodes of sleep apnea. Daphne's nasal passages and airways are extremely tiny and a couple times, she was unable to recover on her own which spurred nurses to bring her back around from coding. A couple days after she was born, the doctors sat down to seriously discuss with Danielle, Drew, and family about the reality of Daphne's prognosis and their course of action.

When I spoke with Danielle after she had met with all of Daphne's doctors, I was in awe of her strength. She stated everything very matter-of-factly but not in a detached, angry way that one might expect.

"I am so grateful for the time we have had to spend with her so far. It's definitely more than most babies with Trisomy get. We are so lucky. We didn't get a life expectancy but we now have a plan of action. We're going to learn how to take care of her. We will be spending time here at the NICU in the Family Overnight Rooms before they discharge her. Once she is at home, the time frame is typically a week to maybe a couple months."

She went on to tell me how the doctors had stressed emphatically the need to just let nature take its course. It was only more painful for Daphne to keep being brought back around time and time again. Between the two of them, they had discussed and then given a verbal 'Do Not Resuscitate' order. They had fully accepted whatever God's plan was and acknowledged how blessed they were for Danielle having had the opportunity to carry and give birth to Daphne.

On January 14th, the doctors suggested that Daphne didn't have much longer. Maybe a few hours or maybe she would make it through the night. Family and church members who care deeply for Danielle, Drew, and her little girl gathered around and gave that precious baby a name and a blessing.

Daphne Dawn Reading

Daphne's story has spread and there are COUNTLESS people whose lives have been touched and COUNTLESS prayers being said from all over on this baby girl's behalf. She has continued to improve and surprise her doctors. When she was first born, the damage to her heart is what had concerned the doctors the most. Shortly after that, Danielle was told that Daphne wouldn't need the heart operation they had been telling her for months would be necessary. Days have gone by and on January 17th, perhaps the best news yet was given. The holes in Daphne's heart are somehow, inexplicably healing themselves. Danielle, Drew and family members along with so many others including myself, have ZERO doubt as to how and why these miracles keep happening. The prayers and faith and hope of everyone are healing the holes in her heart. She is alive and fighting because God needs her here on Earth to continue to inspire and teach those around her.

Daphne is now strong enough that today, she was discharged from the NICU in a Scottsdale Hospital. Something that a few days ago, no one was really sure would happen. She was transported to a Hospice House where Danielle and Drew will be given a few more days to transition to having her at home and along with her mom, will be taught about every little thing that will go into Daphne's care. Even with her feeding tube and oxygen, she will soon be at home in her own crib, continuing to bless and enrich the lives of so many people.

Now Lovelies, this is where you all have the opportunity to be a vital part of this baby girl's life. Pray.

Pray your hearts out and spread the word.

If you are on Twitter, Facebook, or have a blog of your own, the amount of power you have of spreading the word is monumental. By sharing a link to this post you will be potentially letting thousands of other people know about this miracle of a baby. When praying hearts combine in a joint effort, mountains move and the impossible happens. Just weeks ago, Daphne living was seen as the impossible.

A friend of mine said something about a week ago, when I shared about Daphne on Facebook. It has stuck with me and rings with a truth I rarely feel.

What a blessing. I know that baby girl has the power to change the world.

She has already begun changing this world. She won't stop. Regardless of how long God allows this angel to be here, she will never stop changing this world. Her story and the countless miracles and infinite love she has spread will work wonders of their own. Now you can too.

Grab the button (thank you Chambanachik!)

Post it on your blog where it can be seen

Keep the miracle going

Once Upon A Time There Was This Thing Called Christmas

2012-01-20T21:07:00.000-02:00

We sent out Christmas Cards

We decorated in Georgia

We dropped off Jane Austen with Uncle David and Aunt Sammy

We flew all day from Valdosta to Atlanta and finally to Salt Lake City
I hate flying
So does my tummy

We got dinner with Mr. Superman's family after landing and I met a giant yam

We had dinner with our very favorite Andy Luke

I was reunited with the most incredible thing ever.
Chipotle.
GET IN MY BELLY!!

We got to go to a real mall
We picked out our favorite old school, throwback candy for our Stockings

I finally got to introduce Mr. Superman to The Annoyed Army Wife
We finally got to meet OccDoc
We saw Sherlock Holmes
Ate food
And I just loved seeing her again

We saw A Christmas Carol at Hale Center Theater
We got the cutest ornaments from Mr. Superman's sister
She made us all miniature 'Weasley Sweaters'!!

We had Christmas Eve at Nana's with Mr. Superman's entire extended family

We got awakened early Christmas morning
We tried our best to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed

Then, we came home

I Am Behind

2012-01-19T00:52:00.000-02:00

Behind.
Yes, we all have one but my glorious badonkadonk is NOT my issue right now.
It's the fact that I am so BEHIND on pretty much everything.

Laundry.
Cleaning.
Finishing painting projects.
Starting furniture projects... one is a year behind.

See, I told you.

Really though, I have zero excuse.
I know I'm behind and I know exactly why.

When I PLAN on being productive, it does NOT happen.
Today was supposed to be a slew of projects and productivity.

Guess what I did?
Worked on slimming down my DVR and ate Valentine's Conversation Hearts.
Not the nasty tum/chalky kind, the sweettarts kind.
Or as the bag says, "Tart & Sassy"

Kind of like me.

Anyway, I have about 5 giveaways I'll be putting up soon and as promised, the Lovelies who entered my last one, will be getting something fun.

I hope they think its fun.
I very well could have failed at that too.

For now Lovelies, thanks for sticking with me!!

xoxo

Tender Mercies

2012-01-15T12:42:00.000-02:00

I have this incredible friend in my life who has continued to leave me in awe of her strength and grace this week. Danielle gave birth to an absolutely beautiful baby girl who was diagnosed with Trisomy 18. Baby Daphne has already touched countless lives and is proof of God's love and existence. Please, please, PLEASE keep Danielle, Drew, and Daphne in your hearts and prayers and no matter how long God allows this angel to stay on Earth, pray for all of the peace and comfort this amazing family deserves.

We love you guys so very much and are blessed to have you in our lives.

Stop.

2012-01-13T01:14:00.000-02:00

There comes a time when the ever-recurring cycle breaks you.
There comes a time when you stop because you are just...

tired of the fight.

When is the end of the rope?
When does the tide stop coming in, pounding your will relentlessly, over and over and over?

Why is faith and love not enough?

Despair resides where only you can see and feel while all others meager attempts at glimpsing a fraction of what is your reality, fall before they even take flight.

Who draws the line?
Who says when its been enough?

After a while, you let the tide take you.
After the long days and nights, weeks and months, and years that feel like eternities have knocked you down so many times, the small flickering light of hope goes out.

It gets to the point that you see what your reality has become and its easier to just...

stop.

Well Looky At What We Got Here

2012-01-12T15:32:00.000-02:00

A winner!! One lucky Lovely has won 25$ to be used at MilitarySurplus.com!

And the lucky #3 is.....

VAL!!! Yay! Congratulations Val! I will email you and you will have 24 hours to claim your prize otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Thank you to all you Lovelies who entered and like I've been saying on Twitter and Facebook, there is a little something for everyone who entered...

BUT! You won't find out for a few days.

Until then, be glad you entered!

Some People Be Crazy

2012-01-10T16:09:00.000-02:00

There's a thin line between enthusiasm in an interest and obsession.
There's a thin line between appreciation for unique things and a tendency towards the uh.... impractical? That's putting it lightly.

Some people have compulsions that are strange and some people, well, some people be crazy.

If anyone can sympathize and understand the desire and need for a baby, its me. This lady though, is beyond the normal desire and in dire need of psychiatric help. If you are on government assistance as your sole source of income and livelihood, you should NOT be spending every cent of it on a fake baby, let alone thinking of getting it a sibling. Nuts. And her poor daughter!!

Like I said, some people be crazy.

You know what's not crazy? My current giveaway. It closes tomorrow at midnight and it is open to all Lovelies with ties to the military (self, spouse, child, good friend) because its 25$ up for grabs at MilitarySurplus.com. Go Enter!!

Those Lovelies who enter, whether they win or not, get a little something extra just for entering! Spread the word yo!

Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now

2012-01-06T19:58:00.000-02:00

Oh my Lovelies!

Its time for a giveaway!! Yay!

This giveaway is brought to us by PatriotSurplus.com!! They contacted me before Christmas and asked if I would be interested in hosting a giveaway for them. I said, "Yes!" and now here we are.

For those unfamiliar with PatriotSurplus.com, it is a wonderful company started up, owned, and operated by a former Marine named Steve Berg. It began in a basement and recently moved to a warehouse in Pennsylvania due to fast growth along with a small retail store. They carry all sorts of military uniform and surplus along with hunting camouflage and supplies.

The wonderful thing about PatriotSurplus.com is that they carry a lot more options for uniforms and boots all while keeping up with regulations (of course) and its less expensive than base/post run Clothing Issue. If you or your military loved one are stationed somewhere that may not be close to an actual military outpost, it can be frustrating and expensive buying badges, patches, cami's, dress uniforms, boots, PT gear, etc. All of the things that military members are required to have can be difficult to find and expensive to purchase but with PatriotSurplus.com, those hassles are alleviated!

You don't have to take my word for it though, you can go learn all about them and their amazing products and customer service HERE.

Now for what one lucky winner will be recieving.....

PatriotSurplus.com has graciously offered $25 for one lucky Lovely! Great right?!

If only I had gotten this a few months back when we had to buy some new Dress Blues shoes for Mr. Superman.

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment saying you want to win and what you would put the 25$ toward. You must include a valid email address at which you can be contacted.

This giveaway opens now and will stay open until Midnight PST, Wednesday, January 11th. One winner will be chosen and once announced on the blog and emailed is obligated to respond within 24 hours otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Be sure to go and check PatriotSurplus.com out and keep them in mind for all of your military uniform and supply needs!!

The Keys to Our Christmases

2011-12-24T03:26:00.000-02:00

Hey there Lovelies!!! I just wanted to pop in and say hello and Merry Christmas!

Every Christmas that Mr. Superman and I have been together have differed quite a lot from one another and it got me thinking the other night, about the little things that make each holiday season 'work' for us. Yes, there are the feelings of good cheer, happiness, sharing love all around, the gift of giving and all that but what is it really, dynamically, that works for us?

We haven't always been in the same state or even country and continent for that matter. We have never been in the same house for two consecutive Christmases and they are always spent with different people. It got me thinking more about what little traditions we have that we are able to take with us wherever we may be that help us to have a little bit of our home life with us during the holidays.

For the 2011 MilSpouse Holiday Blog Swap, I made a vlog where I shared some of our traditions and things we have been able to instill in our little family that help us make memories every year.

This year, we are spending Christmas in Utah with Mr. Superman's family and even though it may seem like a small thing, we brought along our own stockings to have a little piece of home with us. We also have traditions with Mr. Superman's family that we are able to actually participate in this year.

I think for us, no matter where we are or what we may be doing, the little traditions and things we can take with us and the memories in our hearts are a big part of what makes each Christmas so special.

The Reason For The Season

2011-12-20T15:58:00.000-02:00

This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

You Should Practice Swallowing Your Words or Maybe Not Talking At All

2011-12-18T00:00:00.003-02:00

Oh word vomit what a bittersweet relationship we have. On the one hand, I don't have much of a filter and severely lack the ability to bite my tongue, so I can appreciate when other people are brutally honest or don't sugar coat things. On the other hand, most people abuse you. Word vomit isn't supposed to be obscenely foolish or full of incompetence and yet so many humans don't grasp that their word vomit is just that. I guess once they vocabularily puke on someone who isn't able to suppress the innate desire to kick their teeth in, they'll start to catch on.

But I won't hold my breath.

We're used to people around us, most of the people we know/talk to, being (sometimes unintentionally) insensitive and just all around clueless about a lot of the things we have going on in our lives. We realize that multiple lost pregnancies, infertility, military life, and my rape are all kind of heavy things people will treat like landmines. Trust me, we grasp that fully.

Some people's excuse is that they just don't know what to say or do or how to act.

Answer: NORMAL.
Duh.

To us, its just routine life, the life we've had for 5 years. There is no need for our conversations with you to be centered around the crappy things we've had happen. The last thing we ever wanna do is make people feel uncomfortable or be constantly rehashing the sometimes harshness of our past/present reality. We don't expect anyone to be fully educated or sound insanely cultivated on any of those subjects but most of the word vomit that abounds defies the normalcy of common sense. More often than not Mr. Superman and I will exchange glances that expressly involve the single thought of, "REALLY?!" and the more people tip toe around us and try to make conversations with us 'normal' the more dumb stuff falls out of their brains and off of their tongues. Its like the harder you try to be perfect at something, the more you'll find yourself making little mistakes but the minute you let yourself chill out and be the regular you, things will start to flow.

Unless you're a special brand of dim-wittedness a la Jessica Simpson or just flat out mean spirited, the conversations that seem to have been recycled for the last 5 years regardless of who we're talking to, need to stop.

EXAMPLES:

I get FB messages, emails, texts, and people telling me all the time about how sharing my story about being raped is disrespectful to my husband and I shouldn't be talking about it.

We get told ALL the time that if we just relax, pregnancy and viable birth will just happen when the time is right.

We are incessantly and without fail asked by friends and family when we plan on becoming parents.

WTF? Again, REALLY?!

The first one I never even dignify with a response because that is just flat out, pure ignorance.

The second one is full of stupidity because trust me, if relaxing is all it would take for us to have a baby, I'd be more zen that Buddha. A) I no longer have the body parts and organs required to get pregnant on our own and all the relaxation in the world won't make those things grow back. B) Shut up unless you wanna get slapped.

Lastly, the hardships and facts about our issues with having children are far from secret. In fact, people I've never even met know all the nitty gritty because its been all over this blog for years. Oh, and Facebook. And every time you ask us, we give the same answer. We'll have kids when we either win the lottery, someone dies and leaves us a fortune, someone decides to donate the insane amount of mula our situation will require, or someone's 16 year old sister/daughter/niece/friend/cousin gets knocked up and gives us their kid. The one option I haven't tried is dedicating my life to becoming the best gosh-darn coke head street walker I can possibly be. Word is those lucky yatches get knocked up about as often as Charlie Sheen says, "WINNING!"

Really though...

When someone talks to us like they know how it feels to be more barren than the Sahara while holding 3 babies on their hips, I want nothing more than to stop them and ask them how stupid they're capable of sounding because I do indeed have a limit of how much I can tolerate before I just turn and walk away.

When someone complains about how annoying their kid is or how lucky we are to be childless and then drones on about how 'doing the whole mommy thing' is the hardest thing anyone could ever do I want to correct them and say the hardest thing anyone could ever do is not strangle you while you're rambling on like a world class dumbnut.

Now I'm not going to say this isn't directed at anyone personally (because I don't LIE) and because it is. I have to chuckle whenever I read someones blog or FB rant where they go off on something but then say, "Now no one take offense because its not directed at anyone." Why do I let out a jolly old "Ha Ha!"?

Because its a fib and everyone knows its a fib.

The person who reads that and believes you is probably the person you are dedicating that slice of vent heaven to. You're writing it for a reason and its directed at someone.

I will say that this isn't directed at just one person. Its a whole slew of these word vomit users and abusers that this goes out to. If you have to think in your pretty little head if you've ever made me wanna flick you in the nose and walk away, you probably have but hey, we're all human and it happens. I know I bug the beejeebeez out of some people and that is just dandy because I have the peace of mind that I don't toss my verbal cookies in someones face over sensitive issues and I know I'm not mean, I'm honest. I can't give offense, you can only take it and that too sweetcheeks, is your prerogative.

MilSpouse Holiday Blog Swap 2011

2011-12-14T02:00:00.003-02:00

(NOTE: The Swap doesn't go live until Midnight EST but my computer was too excited to wait)

Hey there Lovelies!! Merry Christmas! I am so excited to be participating in this year's

I jumped on that wagon as fast as I could! Be sure to head over to Riding the Roller Coaster's wonderful blog (or just click that adorable little button) to check out all of this year's participants and even if its just a few, go visit and leave them some comment love!

Don't be a blog comment Scrooge otherwise you'll get some ghoulishly haunting visits from the Ghosts of Blog Comments Pas, Present, and Future.

As for me, today my post for the Blog Swap can be found over at Faith & Deployments and lucky you, its a video blog! Go listen to me jabber on and on about our holiday traditions.

Now to the main event. I have the beautiful and wonderfully talented JG here sharing with us a little insight into her family's Christmas!

One of my favorite things about Christmas was always going over to my Grandma and Grandpa's house. I have something like 60 cousins on that side of the family, counting all of my cousins' kids. Not everyone gets to make it every year, but it's the best day of the year, getting to see everyone who has moved away and only gets to come back once or twice a year. Now, we're one of them. We don't do presents, really. The little kids get presents, 12 and under. But before anyone can open any presents, we sing Christmas carols. Yes, we do.

this particular year was during an Oklahoma-style blizzard, so it's a smaller crowd than usual

Every year, we sit around my Grandparents' TV and pop in the old Mickey's Christmas Sing-A-Long VHS in the VCR and sing along with the bouncing Mickey head. It is by far my favorite 10 minutes of the whole season. Everyone sings, the little kids and the parents and the grandparents. And we've got a lot of talented people in my family, so it's actually a quite enjoyable experience, with harmonies and embellishments. It's a blast.

Then the video goes off and the kids say, "Let's open presents!" And my dad says, "How about we sing the video one more time???" And they all yell, "NO!" Every. Single. Year.

My Grandpa died a few years ago. My Grandma died in September. Christmas won't be the same without my grandparents.

This year, we aren't meeting at their house. We're all still getting together. We're going to do the sing-along. We're going to enjoy our family. And we're probably going to talk about them a lot. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I know we'll all miss them. And I know it'll make them happy to know we're all together.

Sounds like a good time to me. Now get going on making the rounds!

Merry Christmas Lovelies & Happy Holidays!

Ours

2011-12-07T20:58:00.000-02:00

I love Taylor Swift.
She's adorable.
She speaks her mind.
She doesn't care what anyone thinks.
She loves wildly and without regret.

I just watched her newest music video for her song 'Ours' and had to share it. It was a hidden track on a bonus disc in a deluxe set of one of her albums. All of her fans who discovered it, loved the song, requested the heck out of it, and clamored for a music video.

So she listened.

I love what she said in response to how it all unfolded.

'I love my fans because they let the best song win.'

The best song wins indeed. I thought it was endearing and charming and SO honest. My heavens I had flashbacks from all of the horrible jobs where I had to sit in a cubicle and just counted the seconds until the end of the day. Then I saw the last 15 seconds and started bawling.

Thank you Taylor.
Its once again, an honest and spot on portrayal of real life.
Maybe not everyone's real life but mine and a whole lot of people I know.

Now watch it Lovelies.

Fact: Dwight Knows Best.

2011-11-29T22:00:00.000-02:00

One last thing Lovelies. Fact: Bears eat beets. Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica.

Here We Go. Again. Again.

2011-11-18T22:31:00.000-02:00

There used to be a time here on my blog that I used to be gung-ho, in your face, constantly debating, ever-posting about politics. I don't do it much at all now but my opinions haven't changed. I read Samantha The Army Wife's post today though, and I could no longer hold back. My postings were all the way back before the current president became president and when the country seemed to be in meltdown. Now I look back and realize that wasn't meltdown. Not at all. Back then is NOTHING compared to NOW. I could talk until I'm BLUE in the face and we could go round and round in circles addressing THE ISSUES but that wouldn't do a single thing. Wanna know how I know? No, I'm not psychic. I just know because that's what our elected officials, the ones who hold 'the power' have been doing for longer than I care to think about. Well, in between their well deserved, badly needed, ever earned vacation time. Wanna know how much good its done?

ZIP. ZILCH. NADA. ZERO. BUTKISS.

Most everything that politicians think are important and spend all their time 'trying to figure out', makes me sick. I get angry and frustrated and upset but I try to just NOT think about it because its not worth the way it all makes me feel.

We all know of the scares earlier this year when Military pay was going to be frozen leaving most of the military and their families in major binds. Bills were still going to be due but none of us would have had the money. Well, that didn't happen and I think most everyone sighed a sigh of relief thinking it was all over and nothing more needed to be thought or worried about.

Not me.
Not my family.
Not most of the people I know who stay informed and up to date on what Congress does concerning our fates and futures.

I want you guys to watch this video.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - The 1%

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

Its Stephen Colbert and yes he's funny but this has got to be the one and only video of his I have never laughed at.
It made me sick.
It made me want to grab and shake every politician and member of Congress and make them see how utterly preposterous, selfish, ludicrous, absurd, unethical, unfair, and inequitable their REASONING is.

With all of this 'Occupy Wallstreet', 'What you have earned and worked for, I deserve', 'I am the 99%' crap that's been going on and getting WAY too much attention, people's eyes have been turned to view the wealthy and privileged as awful, evil people. How dare they work and earn massive sums of money without giving it to MEEEEE!!! Do you want to know the REALITY? Anyone who feels so entitled to anything they themselves haven't slaved and worked for, regardless of what it is are truly the awful and evil people.

With all of the news coverage and articles about this current ludicrousness, eyes haven't been trained on Congress watching what they've been doing. Nobody has been pointing out the obvious yet easily ignored facts that what's wrong with this country ISN'T big corporations. It ISN'T capitalism. It ISN'T the people in suits who make their money from stocks and bonds and trading. Most people hear budget cuts and the different proposals that can never be agreed upon and their eyes glaze over so they don't want to look close enough to see that the REAL problem with this country is us. Its the people we've elected to run the country. What's wrong with our country is the flippancy that is directed towards the Armed Forces past, present, and future.

To think that the benefits of our Veteran's are the first things that come to the minds of our 'SUPER CONGRESS' when thinking of what needs to be cut...

That, THAT right there is what's wrong with this country.

Now let's look at the REAL 1% shall we?

If only the blindness of America and ignorance of Washington could be fixed by the simple snap of the fingers.

Um... So We Went On Vacation 4 Months Ago

2011-11-16T12:00:00.002-02:00

And I'm finally going to share. Give me a break, I had tumahs all over.

Mr. Superman got home in the last days of March from deployment and we knew we wanted to take some time off from our lives here in GA not only to relax and see loved ones, but to FINALLY reconnect as a couple. Anyone who's gone through military separations (especially deployments) know how very vital this is. We decided we wanted to wait until Summertime so we could be gone longer and see more family since everyone would be out of school no matter what state they were in. He seriously had to submit his leave time shortly after getting to Afghanistan when it was still 10 months away. Its like pulling teeth to get leave with his shop and supervisors and get it approved by command... I digress.

After packing meticulously for a 3 week, 3 states, 3 different weather situations vacation, and then weighing said luggage a buttload of times to make sure we weren't over the weight limit, we were on our way!

We flew from Valdosta to Atlanta to Salt Lake City where his parents and sisters live. It had been over 18 months since any family had seen him except his parents and sister Katie. That first night some cousins, an aunt and uncle, and his nana came over to his parents to see him and hang out a bit. We had plans to go to dinner and a movie with The Annoyed Army Wife and OccDoc before taking off to Newport Beach, CA but that week was actually the beginning of my tumors and sickness getting really bad. I was bummed but they totally understood and we have tentative plans to get together at Christmas time!

We spent a couple days in Utah before heading to Newport Beach for a week at his grandparents timeshare. His parents and two sisters were in one car and they were kind enough to let us drive their Jeep as our vehicle while away from GA. Katie roadtripped with us and after getting through the horrendous traffic in Vegas, which actually ended up being bad all the way to California, we got to our villa, unloaded, and headed straight for the pool.

We absolutely LOVE California. We have all of our favorite food spots, beaches, and drives we always take. Its seriously our favorite place to vacation. A couple years ago, we were there with all of his mom's family at the timeshares and we stuck to our usual spots that we had always spent our time at in the past. We have always loved Huntington Beach and the main pier where we always go and dine at Ruby's, the ginormous mall directly across the street from Huntington Pier was always a must, and of course all of our favorite shops and snacks over at Balboa Island and The Fun Zone. We spent all of our beach time at Huntington where the crowds are INSANE but its what we liked. THIS trip though, revealed how much we've changed.

We hit up our normal spots but after traipsing through crowds, meandering our way through practically standing room only stores and shops, we were done. Well, after hitting up the pier and Ruby's. Katie joined us.

We ended up spending what turned out to be our relaxing free time, at state beaches, long drives on parts of the coast we hadn't seen, lots of time in downtown Laguna, and taking it easy at the resort. Mr. Superman also HAD to get his Panda Express fix after 2 years of living in a place that doesn't have it.

We loved hanging out at Crystal Cove State Beach and the incredible views. There was also a flock of Alfred Hitchcock'ish seagulls that didn't move. At all. No matter how close people got, they just stood, unmoving, staring straight out. For hours.

We went whale watching which we both have always wanted to do but in the past, I couldn't because I get so, so, SO seasick. Well, I got motion sickness patches from my doctor long before going out of town and that morning I did two patches and two Dramamine and was able to not puke. I still felt sick, but I was able to enjoy myself enough. Mr. Superman's family found out we had booked us for whale watching and decided to come along too.

We spent lots of time at Balboa Island window shopping boutiques, watching the surf, and eating. We HAD to get our favorite pizza from this tiny little, insanely cheap for insanely huge pizza slice shop and Mr. Superman wouldn't be the typical man without sneakily taking photos of me eating a chocolate covered banana. Dirty man.

We took Mr. Superman's sister Katie to Sea World in San Diego for her high school graduation gift and had a blast! We loved seeing Shamu (and all the other Shamu's?), the penguins, sharks, stuffing our faces, watching the dolphins, and illegally petting baby Nemo's. I am NOT ashamed.

Mr. Superman thoroughly enjoyed drooling over multimillion dollar yachts and me over classic muscle cars. I know, I know... Dream big.

We went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and despite HATING midnight showings, really enjoyed it. Thanks Katie for making us go!

Our last night there before traveling to Arizona, Mr. Superman took me out to downtown Laguna Beach. We ate incredible food from this AMAZING restaurant called Asada. It was hands down, no bars hold, the BEST food I have ever eaten in my life. It was gourmet so a little more expensive but so so so worth it. Both of us could not stop saying how incredible everything tasted and even though our waiter was REALLY hard to understand, he was awesome. The menu is in Spanish but we know enough that we ordered no trouble. When we got our bill, I told our waiter how amazing it was and he said, "Kobe Bryant is here all the time. You ordered what he always orders, it is his favorite, that is why you liked it so much!" I assured him I have zero love for Kobe Bryant and he said, "Is because you are not from California!" No dude, that is not why I don't like him. Anyway, it was incredible and we seriously talk about it and crave it all the time. Afterwards we walked around, found some boutiques, a crazy candy store, listened to some great street musicians, stumbled upon a PHENOMENAL art gallery, and ended it all with ice cream.

Overall, California was the perfect escape from the real world we wanted and needed. We relaxed and enjoyed being unplugged, seeing and spending time with family, and to top it off, California was REALLY good to my curls.

The Embodiment of Womanhood

2011-11-14T23:27:00.000-02:00

Hey there Lovelies. Today is a very special day. Its a day that means the world and more to hundreds and hundreds of people. Today is a day that celebrates the birth of someone whom I respect, adore, love, and just look up to in absolute awe. Today I'm going to share an incredibly wonderful woman with you.

This is my beautiful Grandma and today, she turned 90 years old.

When I was in high school, I had to write a paper in my American History class about who I considered to be my biggest hero. Without hesitation I chose my sweet Grandma and to this day, I am so grateful I did. I was able to spend hours and hours sitting with her, asking her questions, listening to her stories and insights, pouring over journals, pictures, and letters just trying to grasp enough of her extraordinary spirit and put it into a homework assignment. Without this experience, I don't think I would be able to respect, appreciate, love, and learn from her as much as I was and am able to.

Her name is Golda Lucille Burnham but she told me she chose to go by Lucille at a young age because she hates the name Golda. She said it wasn't very pretty and was only used when she knew she was in trouble. She fell in love with my Grandpa as a young girl and recounted to me the time she first saw him. She was a freshman and he was a senior. She got on the bus after school one day and saw this boy at the very back with his friends acting like "rambunctious boys". Her friend asked her if she thought he was handsome about the same time that his friend asked him if he had seen her. My Grandma blushed while my Grandpa tried to get his friends to stop teasing him by throwing some paper at my Grandma and calling her "a freckled-face strawberry." She said that he teased her relentlessly, constantly pulling her hair and poking fun at her freckles. She ended up marrying that teasing, rambunctious boy, my Grandpa, Stanford Alma Burnham right after graduating high school and after they had been separated for over a year with no contact but a handful of love letters.

They immediately moved into a tiny one room shack that my 6'1" Grandpa could barely stand all the way up in. Very soon after marrying, my Grandpa decided to join the Navy. He said, "They're going to come knocking for me to leave anyway so I may as well get out there on my own and start helping." They were separated for long periods of time with letters as their lifeline and as my Grandma so eloquently told me when I was 15 years old, "He would come home just long enough to get me pregnant and then he was off again." I asked how she felt about his service during war times and the long separations of distance and her answer kind of left my 15 year-old self a little dumbfounded. "It didn't matter much." It didn't matter much!? How on Earth could it not be this huge big deal that mattered a lot? "It didn't matter much because regardless of the distance and the hard times I faced at home, he was still my husband, I was still his wife, and our love was always there. I was proud to have a husband who willingly joined the Navy and even when I let myself get worked up enough to actually complain to him in letters, that pride in him never lessened." To all you military Lovelies, doesn't that sound familiar? If only I knew that just years down the road, I would have that same love and pride for my own husband who willingly joined the military during a time of war. Its a bit of relief to know that my strong and amazing Grandma got worked up and complained to her husband in letters too. I know THAT rings a bell for us military spouses.

My Grandma is one of the strongest women I know. When my Aunt Kay was born it was soon discovered that something was different about her. She was diagnosed with Down syndrome and when the doctor said, "Your daughter is mongoloid retarded. These types of people never live to see double digits. The only advice I can give is to put her in an institution and forget you ever had her.", she told him he should be ashamed of himself and what would his mother think. She told me, "My point of view was that the only thing different about Kay is that she was special. She was given to us by the Lord and if He was willing to put His trust in us as Earthly parents, I would put my trust in Him. She wasn't raised any different than her 9 brothers and sisters. She had chores, she went to school, she got in trouble when she didn't obey, and she was loved without limits." My Grandma had a profound love for special children and in 1957 established (with 8 other families) The Marc Center in Mesa, Arizona. Marc Center is a private nonprofit corporation providing educational, therapeutic, rehabilitation and social services to children and adults with developmental and, physical disabilities and behavioral health challenges. It was the first education and social services foundation of its kind. It is still growing today and currently serves in excess of 8,000 people a year and has over 50 locations.

This amazing woman is an incredible example of strength, love, and motherhood. She served her family tirelessly and even after 9 children were married with children of their own, she cared for Kay, her own mother, my Grandpa who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his 60's, and still found love enough for everyone around her. Her mother moved in with them and after ten years, passed away about a month before her 101st birthday. When my Aunt Kay began to have seizures and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she never faltered. My Aunt passed away in 2000 after some sweet, tender moments surrounded with family. My Grandma's love for her child, despite what doctors said, was one of the many reasons my Aunt Kay made it to 48 years of age. My Grandpa had some severe complications with his health and after serious bouts with pneumonia, hospital stints, and a lot of scary close calls, he was able to be moved home. My Grandpa passed away five days before his 82nd birthday in 2002.

After so long of caring for everyone around her and taking care of people who were no longer on Earth, my Grandma slowly began to decline. Health-wise she is basically okay but its gotten to the point (and its been this way for several years) where she can't keep memories and facts organized. Conversation recycles about every 3 minutes but the one thing that hasn't changed one bit is her love. She ALWAYS asks how we're doing, She ALWAYS expresses sadness at her family being SO spread out and she ALWAYS reminisces about how wonderful it was when we all were a close part of each others lives. Despite her mind being a bit fuzzy, her love and caring come through no matter.

She has shared hundreds and hundreds (maybe even thousands) of homemade rolls, loaves of bread, no bake cookies, crocheted hangers, crocheted baby caps, and many, many hours of service in homes all over Arizona! She has served the Lord faithfully and was able to serve a full-time LDS mission with my Grandpa to Australia. She passed on the beauty of freckle faced strawberries to most of her children and a large amount of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Thankfully, I'm one of them.

She has 10 CHILDREN, 61 GRANDCHILDREN, 106 GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN with a couple more on the way, and 1 GREAT-GREAT GRANDCHILD with a couple more on the way. These numbers will continue to grow as the younger half of the grandchildren begin to get married and have kids of their own. She has such a wonderful legacy and posterity and I sincerely hope that I can ever be half the woman and God and miracle willing, half the mother that she was, is, and will always be.

My Grandma and I at my HS graduation May 2006

My Grandma and I at my baby brother's Eagle Scout Court of Honor November 2008

Mr. Superman, my Grandma, and I December 2008 at the Mesa, AZ Temple Lights

My Grandma and I December 2008

My Grandma and I in January 2009, the day before I moved to Utah

My Grandma and I at my parents house in November 2010

My sister, Mom, Grandma, and I Christmas 2010

My sister, her two daughters, Mom, Grandma, and I Christmas 2010

My Grandma and I at my baby brother's basketball game January 2011

My Grandma and I on Valentine's Day 2011 right before I moved back to GA.

My Grandma, baby brother, and me

Happy 90th Birthday Grandma! I sure do miss you and love you!!

Because of Veterans: The Thing That Means The Most

2011-11-11T14:45:00.000-02:00

Here I am, another military spouse, writing another post about Veteran's Day on my little old blog. There a million things I could say, a couple dozen videos I could post, and quotes coming out the wazoo that I could share with you. Instead, I'll keep it fairly simple.

This Veteran's Day, I am even more grateful than usual that my very own veteran husband is home safe and sound on American soil.

No one can really truly understand the sacrifices of veterans, except the veterans. I try my best as a wife to do what I can do, and that is show my gratitude. That is honestly, the best thing in the world ANYONE can do.

Regardless of your political affiliations and regardless of what your views on this decade long war are, the truth remains the same. You are here in America, able to have your political affiliations, points of view on issues, and support whatever and whomever you'd like, BECAUSE of veterans. You are able to sit at home, drive your car, read what you'd like, and watch what you'd like, BECAUSE of veterans. You are able to pierce and tattoo your body, cut and color your hair, and wear whatever clothes you choose, BECAUSE of veterans. You are able to protest on behalf of whichever cause you'd like and yell, kick, and scream to get people's attention for whatever reason, BECAUSE of veterans.

Veterans serve this country faithfully, unfailingly, and without complaint. They CHOOSE to serve because they know it has to be done and they step up. Veterans make everything we have, everything we do, and everything about this country POSSIBLE.

Its Veteran's Day so for this one day, why don't we do what we can do, and give them the thing that means most?

Our gratitude and thanks.

Regardless of their age, when they served, or how long they served, they sacrificed for you, me, and millions of others they don't know.

So say thank you. It means more than we can imagine.

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." ---Cynthia Ozick

Ghosts of Halloween's Past & The Importance of Dressing Up

2011-10-31T15:26:00.000-02:00

Hey Lovelies!

Happy Halloween!

Up until a couple years ago, Halloween was always my favorite holiday.
I guess it still is, I just don't do much anymore.

It was a night anyone could be anyone and despite punks who go and steal candy and egg houses, it was always a little bit magical. As I got older, it shifted the attention onto all of my nieces and nephews and how much fun they had.

This year, its more about me praying my house isn't vandalized and that I don't go insane from hearing my doorbell ring but still, I enjoy the feel of Halloween.

This year, Mr. Superman is working all night (as always) so I'm not participating other than watching some movies and snacking on caramels but I still enjoy the magic of Halloween.

This year, I'm not with any family or getting my nieces and nephews all made up and ready but I'm still loving reliving all of the amazing memories of Halloween's past.

Here's a look back.

2006: Dating a month: A fairy and Paul Wall.

2007: Married 12 days: I was an aunt and Mr. Superman was at school.

2008: Married a year: Football fans

2009: Married 2 years: An aunt with no pictures of herself and Mr. Superman was at Tech School

2010: Married 3 years: An aunt and Mr. Superman was deployed

2011: Married 4 years: A stay at home military wife with messy hair and a working Airman who never stops for pictures.

Stockings for Soldiers

2011-10-28T21:36:00.000-02:00

Hey there Lovelies!

Remember when Mr. Superman was deployed last Christmas and I decided I wanted to get together 50 full size Christmas stockings chock full of goodies for his unit to send down range?

With the help of Mr. Superman's family, donations of money, cards, and goodies from all over, and a night full of assembly line genius, I was able to do that.

We ended up being able to send 100 stockings instead for the other 50 guys deployed from our home base here in Georgia. It was so awesome to hear about how excited everyone was when they got there and being able to see the pictures Mr. Superman sent me was so neat.

(I also sent them a Christmas tree they could have up in the tent of the main camp.)

Well, this year Mr. Superman isn't deployed but I have gone back and forth on whether or not I wanted to do something similar. When it came down to it, we just don't have the money or time this year to organize it.

My friend Danyelle did end up messaging me though, seeing if I had any contacts I could pass along to her, because SHE is putting together a big drive to send stockings over to whomever she can.

This is where you come in.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know of anyone you may know who is deployed this year. Even better, if its your own loverfaces unit, tell me and I will be able to pass that all along and there will be stockings galore! She needs email addresses so go ahead and either leave me a comment or shoot me an email with your or your service member's email address and I will get Danyelle in touch with the right people.

I know before Mr. Superman deployed I would give fleeting thoughts to people deployed over the holidays but never did anything to make it a little better and brighter for our military. Now though, it just warms my heart to know there will awesome people making sure that our incredible service men and women will be getting a little bit of Christmas and joy thrown their way.

It would be awesome if you could share this post on your own blogs and Facebook and expand the search. I would appreciate it mucho mucho!

If you have the contact information for FRG Leaders or Key Spouses on bases where units are deployed be sure to send those my way too!

Thanks Lovelies!

I Call A Do Over: Book Pages Tutorial

2011-10-27T23:02:00.000-02:00

I have these things called 'creative bones' and with no warning at all, I get struck with intense urges and needs to go thrifting and/or makeover everything in my path. The process usually consists of DVR or Netflix, food sitting somewhere on the floor or couch, my drill, dremel, and paint. Inside my living room.

When Mr. Superman deployed, I got more into DIY decor and refinishing furniture. My good friend Nikki, is a seriously incredible designer and she helped me a ton in teaching me techniques and easier ways to do things.

Now that I have a collection of stuff I've done and on my To Do List I figured why not share it with my Lovelies?

Since starting this little meme and sharing my projects, I have gotten a TON of questions on how I do things, what products I use, where I get my ideas.... The most popular have been the two pieces of furniture I made over with vintage book pages.

There was my Goodwill Coffee Table and my Ikea Chest Turned Vintage and I just never sat down to give a tutorial but then I had my beautiful friend Erica send me a message asking for help.

This is Erica's coffee table.

Its too modern and 'cold' for her. I agree. Its just not something I'd have in my house. She already knew what she was wanting but was really wanting tips, hints, a kind of rundown of the process I would take to amp up the vintage and cover those... um flowers.

I've never done anything on glass as far as Mod Podge or decoupage but its a pretty straightforward process. On all of my wood furniture I obviously do my treatments on top. If I were applying something to glass, I would do it on top as well because I just LOVE being able to see and feel the texture. Erica does have a handsome little man though so she was curious if it'd work to apply the paper underneath... OF COURSE!

I always use Mod Podge in Matte Finish and its amazing

BUT for Erica, since she wants to apply the paper underneath so its protected and still seen, I would actually go ahead and use spray adhesive to initially get the paper on there.

There are tons of brands but since I've used Elmer's, that's what I know works.

You spray the surface and then put on whatever you want adhered. In this case that would be the book pages or newspaper your using. You want to make sure all the little bubbles are out and its lying flat.

Next, to get that antiqued look with the little bit of discoloration, I always use Minwax stain in Provincial.

Its my hands down favorite stain and I use it on pretty much every single project. Depending on how much discoloration you want will determine how heavy handed you are with the stain. I use an old rag and I just dunk it in and start applying, rubbing, spreading... If you're just wanting the edges or only slight discoloration, you could use Q-Tips or cotton balls.

Lastly, to seal it all and protect it and make sure its going to stay put, I do another heavy coat of Mod Podge. As it dries it will have bubbles but if you used a scraper or a flat edged anything to smooth it out while still wet, the bubbles will not be there once its completely done. So for Erica, even though we used spray adhesive to get the paper on, I would coat it with Mod Podge.

Now since hers will have the glass as the protective top, my final step isn't really necessary which is to use Clear Acrylic Spray Paint in Satin Finish to make it water proof, protect from scratches and anything else coming at it. Krylon is my hands down favorite.

As far as the paper application/process goes, that's it! SO easy.

Now addressing the flower issue, I would simply take measurements/trace the shape, take it in to Home Depot, look at their scrap plywood, then have them cut it for you. They cut it for free so its even better! Depending on the coloring you're going for would depend on the paint obviously. For me, I would do another application of paper so it ties it in with the top in which case the process is the same but I'd use Mod Podge to apply it to the wood.

You could leave the frame black, age it, or paint it. I would probably go ahead and either age it or paint it. To get it 'aged' and a little rusty, I use nail polish remover and cotton balls. I just douse the cotton balls and rub away at the metal. It takes away some of the paint and instantly 'rusts' it without the nasty mess of rusty powder or chips. Again, depending on the look and how drastic you want the antique look will determine how much you do. As far as painting, I would pick an accent color in whatever room its going in and paint it. If you're painting, obviously tape off and paint before the paper application.

That's it! It really is so easy and doesn't take longer than a couple hours depending on the size of the furniture and taking in account how long it takes for stuff to dry.

Erica, I hope this helps you spark your creative bones a little bit!

Four Down, Forever To Go!

2011-10-19T16:54:00.000-02:00

October 19, 2007 I married Mr. Superman and even though that day was kind of awful, the moments I got to share with him, and what that day meant, is so perfect. Its crazy to think that we've only been married four years. The things we have been through in that short amount of time is more than most people experience in a lifetime. Even though its never been easy, its made us incredibly close and made us love each other in ways we otherwise would not have been able to.

We met at 18 and fell in love FAST.

We were both stubborn and it took him nearly dying before we finally admitted we loved each other.

We got our first taste of long distance before we got married and ever even entered the military world.

After over a year of dating, asking my dad's permission, saving up lots of money, and taking flack and criticism from pretty much every person we knew and loved, Mr. Superman proposed.

The phone picture that got texted out to everyone

We got married at 19 on a hot 97 degree October evening.

We've taken vacations to California.

Mr. Superman enlisted into the US Air Force and graduated from BMT in late August 2009

We have vacationed in Florida.

We prepped for, packed for, took pictures for, and said our, "See you later's" and "I love you's" for Mr. Superman's first deployment in 2010.

Mr. Superman returned home safe and sound in 2011 and we've continued on our crazy ride of a life with work, school, vacations to California and visits to family, and the normal ups and downs of military life.

Hopefully I didn't make you throw up in your mouth with all that mushy gushy love recap but if I did, I hope you swallowed it.

Life is crazy hard. I mean its CRAZY hard. Married life is even more difficult. When you're with the right person though, its not only full of love and happiness and fun, the crazy, hard, difficult times, are SO worth it. Happy Anniversary loverface! Its good to have you home for this one.

What Day Is It?

2011-10-14T02:42:00.002-02:00

What day is it?
Is it Friday?
Is it payday?
Is it the end of the work week?
Is it the middle of October?
Is it just another day?
I'm sure to most of you, the answer to all of the questions is yes.

To me, today is not just another day.
Today is October 15th, 2011.
Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Established by President Reagan unofficially in 1988 and then established by President Bush in 2007 and recognized as a National day of remembrance, it does a great service to a cause most people don't give much thought to if they have never gone through it.

Today is a day that I take the time to specifically remember each of our angel babies. Today is a day that I tell myself it is 100% okay to cry about the fact that we never got to meet any of our babies. Today is a day that I have a constant prayer running through my mind, more so now for all of the people who have experienced loss than for myself. Today is a day that my heart hurts. Today is a day that I find myself thanking God more often for His Son and for the gift of the Atonement. Through that, I know I'll not only get to see my babies again, I'll finally get to be the mommy I have wanted to be my entire life to our sweet babies.

Even though today may just be another day to you, take a moment and say a prayer for those who've suffered the loss no one should ever have to because its not just another day to them.

Great site to donate and support pregnancy and infant loss awareness and to learn more

I'm Glad He Said It, But I Need To Say It Too

2011-10-11T03:34:00.001-02:00

If you watch the news, read the newspaper, are involved on Facebook, Twitter, or have ever heard of a Mormon, you probably know all about the mudslinging and name calling one Evangelical pastor has been busy doing. Its all about the Mormon Presidential candidates and how Mormon's should not be allowed into office because we are a cult.

Anyway, if you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a Mormon. You'll also know how difficult it is for me to bite my tongue about something like this. When people come out and say things that are so degrading and hurtful, I get angry and upset and all I want to do is grab them and shake them and make them understand the truth. Honestly, the absolute ignorance of people astounds me. It hurts my heart more than anything else.

There is a wonderful rebuttal article written by another Evangelist that put things into words better than I think anyone could as far as the political argument. Here are a few of my favorite excerpts. Please go read it in full. Its a great justice to not only Mormon's but to other people attacked unrighteously.

"A bigot can be an inexcusable ignoramus who does not understand a group, but insists on opining about them. Another kind of bigot insists on applying irrelevant standards to a person. This is not excusable even if the standards are relevant in a different situation...."

"...To add insult to bigotry, the pastor decided to name call by saying Mormonism is a cult. The use of cult to describe the Mormon faith is foolish and offensive in a political context.

The word cult has many meanings, including a technical religious one. The Mormon Church is not “standard” historic Christianity as Mormons point out in their witness. They think they have something new and valuable to say religiously.

Most of the public does not think doctrine, but danger when they hear the term cult. He imagines scary folk living in compounds drinking Kool-aid, not Harry Reid or Mitt Romney.

In that popular sense, Mormonism is not a cult and should scare no American. Mormons have been faithful citizens, dying in our wars for republican values. Does Rick Perry’s pastor friend acknowledge this truth? Can a Mormon die for the Republic in battle, but still not serve as commander in the White House...?

For mainstream evangelicals such bigoted attacks on Romney are an embarrassment. They often seem to rely on fear of difference, a sense that other groups are “weird.” Everybody seems weird to somebody some time, but loving people get past such feelings. If the Mormon who dies for my freedom doesn’t seem weird, neither should the Mormon politician....

Evangelical Christianity does not place all power in the state and so rejects messianic leaders. We want a president, not a prophet in office. A Mormon cannot be my priest, but he can be my political leader.

Worse is the impact of bigotry on my Mormon neighbor. It is a betrayal of the love Jesus commanded us to show. If I can love my enemy, surely I can easily love the Mormon next door. I hate the pain caused my Mormon neighbor by ignorance and bigotry.

My Mormon friends do not complain or become defensive. Like the Christ, my experience has been resignation and love when my Mormon friends see slander.

Mormons saw their first prophet murdered by an American mob, but still they loyally serve a Republic whose laws have often failed them. They created a paradise in a wilderness and great literature and a first-rate university against all odds..."

In the interview that Anderson Cooper did with this pastor where he says these things about Mormons, he kept saying, "They are not Christians. They don't believe Jesus is the way to salvation." Even when Anderson read directly from our Church's website, he kept spouting of his hate filled rhetoric which was totally false.

Did you know that in the history of the United States, the Mormon religion has been the ONLY religion that has had an extermination order put out on it? Yeah, extermination (and even though not many were killed after hostilities were resolved after our church members moved West, it wasn't officially repealed until 1976). We are the one and only religion where it has been 100% legal to kill us for the sole purpose of being a Mormon. No other reason. No other religion. There could be no retaliation of course because they'd just kill you for that. Countless people got taken out of their homes and got tarred and feathered, houses burned down, put in prison, driven out of state after state after state.... That's why most of us ended up on the West Coast :) Anyway, its just interesting that he kept bringing up the history of our religion in his interview and what values make up a Christian and yet, the name calling and the holier than thou attitude that guy has going on, is one of the most un-Christlike things that's been said and done in a long, long time.

I can tell you right now, I AM a Christian. I know that the ONLY way for me to get back to my God is through the Atonement of my Savior Jesus Christ. He is who I follow. He is who I turn to. He is who I love. He is who I know.

I'm a wifey, angel baby mommy, Christian, and a Mormon. Now go spread the word that we're not about to go all David Koresh WACO on you guys okay?

Feel Like Death

2011-10-02T18:14:00.001-02:00

Fear not Lovelies, I am alive.
I just FEEL like death.

Surgery went smoothly.
The doctor found more damage than he expected.
We didn't get any good news out of it...
BUT
it went as planned and I came out safe and sound.
Right now, that's what I'm trying to focus on.

I've been hobbling between bed, bathroom, and couch...
Eating a lot of bagels, emptying my DVR, painting and repainting my nails...

I currently can't be without my two heating pads (the dark blue for my back, the light blue for my tummy), my two pillows (memory foam and squishy), ipod, headphones, phone, charger, water bottle, pretzels, and strawberry bon bons.

I can't even begin to tell you how utterly incredible my husband has been and continues to be. Leading up to my surgery, we were both the biggest bunch of cranky butts ever and even though his list of to-do's hasn't lessened, he is just so patient and helpful.

I'm down and out for another 2'ish weeks
So thank heavens for him.
And thanks for the prayers Lovelies.

You Know, Because My Lady Bits Don't Work

2011-09-28T06:08:00.000-02:00

I'm having surgery.
Again.
In a few hours.

I wasn't going to tell anyone, then I thought, "You weren't going to tell anyone about your tumors either, but then you did, you got thousands of prayers, and you have amazed doctors" so, I'm telling you.

I'm having surgery.
Again.
In a few hours.
Pray okay?
Not so much for me, because I am honestly, one hundred thousand percent okay, but for Mr. Superman.
He gets nervous.
He sits there.
Alone.
For a minimum of 8 hours.
In uncomfortable hospital chairs, where its cold.
Sure, he has his phone, and his laptop, and his thoughts...
Its those last ones that get him in trouble.
So, pray for him.
Thanks Lovelies.
As always, you're the very best.

Too Bad One Wasn't A Teratoma

2011-09-21T01:30:00.000-02:00

Oh my dearest Lovelies, my dreams have been dashed all to bits!
Last week, I received some news.
Some very shocking, unexpected, nearly unbelievable news.

I went in for my incredibly fun, annual scans to check on my ~~tumors~~ rumtos.
My normal dude wasn't there. Boo.

Helga the Horrible (sporting the non-Brooke Shields unibrow) would not be swayed on telling me anything.

ZILCH.ZIP.NADA.BUTKUS.

She must not have been told how things work around there.
I show up, get my scans, make everyone laugh with my incredibly witty wit, and get sneak preview on what the doctor is going to tell me the next day.

Nix the rules.
They are my bladder, kidney, and thyroid gland ~~tumors~~ rumtos, not Helga the Horrible's!
Who is she to make ME, the super Mrs. S. with all my witty wit, wait?
Where was the justice?!
It must have been on a smoke break or something because even when I offered to tweeze her brow for her, she was not impressed.

Maybe I should have offered to take her for a wax?

Either way, that yatch wasn't giving in so I was forced against my will to wait until my appointment with my Doctuh the next day.

My appointments at The Cancer Center are always super duper long and leave me feeling guilty for having a full head of hair. I wasn't feeling particularly stoked about sitting in the Chemo waiting area to get my injections or the lab to get a bazillion vials of blood drawn for my gene testing, or sitting in the other stuffy waiting room that is full of the hissing sounds of oxygen tanks and the click clack of knitting needles, but it really was all unavoidable.

Mr. Superman hates coming back and wandering from area to area with me and I really do not mind just chilling there with my magazines, so he was up in the main lobby as always. Anyway, my amazing doctor comes in holding all my scans with a very furrowed brow line. He reminded me of Helga.

Imagine this in a super thick Indian accent. Well, his part.

"These are very, very clean."
"You mean... I sat really still?"
"No, they are clear."
"I took a good, non-blurry picture?"
"No, you are fine."
"Uuuhhhh..."

"I do not know what you did but all of your tumors are gone."
"Right. Uh huh."
"I am very confused, I have no explanation, medical or otherwise as to why they are gone. The last time I saw you, we had had such an infinitesimal amount of success, I was worried we were going to have to start going at them much more aggressively. They are gone. I am very confused."

By this point, I didn't even know what to say. I was about as stunned as Helga would be if she woke up with her brow shaved off. We talked some more and he kept assuring me he was not joking. He did not purposely admit to patients when he felt stupid or stumped. As I walked out and headed down to labs, I had this overwhelming feeling of just.... WOW. You know, the feeling all of you get when you think about my amazingness.

Anyway, I got one last round of injections to kill off whatever remaining bad cells I have and I don't see him again until JANUARY! I am getting tested for Lupus and a few other things because my blood disorder and the severity it is manifesting itself isn't making sense to him.

Well, just put it on his tab.

We let our parents know but we wanted to just let it sink in.
Its still surreal.
I'm tumor free.

We know what happened.
We didn't do anything.
God did.
He heard the thousands of prayers from all over the U.S. and He answered them.
I don't need medicine or science to explain this.
I do need to say thank you though.
My gratitude and love for all of you and for our families, is just so overwhelming its nearly inexpressible.

Thank You.

Even though I am no longer invaded by nasty little lump things, I am still a bit devastated.
My dreams of one of those little buggers being a teratoma wasn't realized.
Oh well, Nikki, no tumor in a jar for you.

Because It Was Time

2011-09-15T21:11:00.000-02:00

It has been a long LONG while since I've blogged anything of real substance. I think most of us go through this at least once during our big old fancy blogging careers. Its like I hit a plateau and for a long time, I just didn't want to share anything.

At all.

I was sick of people in general. I was so sick of people whining about not being pregnant after a few months of trying or people complaining that they were pregnant yet again. I was sick of people talking to me because it was all so mundane and superficial. Everything was getting under my skin and people and their worries and their complaints just seemed petty and juvenile and its like something just broke. I had zero desire to even leave my house because I was bound to be talked to or whined at. I was bound to overhear people in the store or on base say something that would upset me in one way or another. I had zero desire to be on Facebook because for me, that is the crux of my downward spirals into the black abyss of Grumpinessville. Everyone with their cute babies and pregnancy announcements, and their pictures of their fabulous this or that, and every ounce of complaint or annoyance just bogged me down.

I was so very unhappy and being stuck at home, sick from all my treatments for my tumors just made it all seem so much more magnified. I felt like being done with everything. I wanted to just never talk to anyone because everything that was being said, regardless of the intent behind it, just made me angry or irritated.

I knew it was time to take a major break. A timeout from the world because if I kept doing what I was doing, it would only get worse and no one deserves the feelings I had towards them. No matter how ignorant some people can be or how mean other people are, or how clueless I felt like everyone was, not a single person deserves so much negativity and animosity directed at them, even if they weren't aware of it.

So I did.
I took a break.
I closed my Facebook page.
I sent out emails and made phone calls to family letting them know that unless something was a dire emergency, to not contact me.

It was time to isolate myself.
It was time to spend quality, unimpeded time with my husband.
It was high time to get myself and my feelings straight.

The longer I separated myself, the less I was feeling angry at people's dumb comments, less envious of people's babies and pregnancies, and less sad at just about everything else. I was focusing much more on my health, the amount of rest I really needed, and was able to just really enjoy Mr. Superman's company, without negative thoughts and feelings bombarding me and tainting it.

There were some amazing people who sent me emails and texts and called just trying to see how I was and even though I didn't ever respond, you need to know how very much those little reminders of true friendships helped my heart. You know who you are and I adore you.

I don't think people quite know how deeply and how easily I am affected by the smallest things. I have to try extraordinarily hard to keep my emotions in check, my tongue bitten, and my mind turned towards positivity. Its a constant struggle and this year it seems I have been tested beyond what I often felt I could cope with.

Now that Summer is nearly gone and soon the crispness of Autumn will start to surround us, I've made a promise to myself. When I feel overwhelmed or irritated or if I hit another plateau, I will allow myself a few moments of sadness or anger or jealousy but then I will

stop, breathe, and then let it all go.

If I have learned anything from this year, its that life happens, there are always bumps in the road, and no matter how strongly we may feel negativity about something, it is never worth the fight and it all needs to be let go.

I Call A Do Over: Sheet Music, Matches, and Wine Bags Edition

2011-09-11T20:34:00.001-02:00

My 4 AM usually consists of DVR or Netflix, food sitting somewhere on the floor or couch, my drill, dremel, and paint.

Since Mr. Superman deployed, I got more into DIY decor and refinishing furniture. My good friend Nikki, is a seriously incredible designer and she helped me a ton in teaching me techniques and easier ways to do things.

Now that I have a collection of stuff I've done and on my To Do List I figured why not share it with my Lovelies? Without further ado, we dive in!

Labor day for me consisted of Michael's coupons and the ever amazing Sammy as my companion. I had one thing on my list that I KNEW I would be getting.

A wreath form.

I have about a gazillion wreaths I want to make but the one I settled on was a sheet music wreath. Rather than spending a buttload of money on actual sheet music or even better, antique sheet music, I bought paper in the color "Old Parchment", downloaded and printed a free printable vintage French music page, and made 50 copies.

The wreath form was wrapped in ribbon at the top (so I had something to hang it from) and sheet music on the rest. I then fan folded the rest of the paper, hot glued it, and then on the inside, scrunched up some natural colored coffee filters to cover the drips of hot glue. I had gotten a wooden cut out and mod podged more paper on it before I glued that to the bottom of the wreath. It got hung on a teal 'S' wreath hook and there you have it! Easy peasy.

The goods!

The next project was NOT planned but I saw a box of matches and just had to go for it.

I hate sunburst mirrors.

I just flat out hate them.

Its fine and dandy if any of you Lovelies have one or if you love them but they are just not my thing.

Yuck.

Anyway this is a lead in to what I did with some footlong matches.

I broke about 50 of them in half and glued them to the back of a tiny little frame I got from Michael's for a dollar then hung it up on my collage wall.

I quite love it.

Way better than a sunburst mirror and about as close as you'll ever find in my house.

Ta-da!

LASTLY....

I love pendant banners.

I just think they are the cutest thing and always wanted to make one but never had the ambition to make one.

Well on that fateful Labor Day expedition, I got a bunch of linen wine bags at Michael's for a dollar and brought them home completely unsure of what I would do with them.

I ended up cutting them leaving me with two long pieces.

I then folded them all over some twine, glued the center so they would stay, and hung it in our sitting room above the couch.

That wall is still missing something. It just doesn't look finished or right to me at all but I cannot figure out what to do with it!

Ideas?

If you have something to share, post it, include my button or a link to this post, then come leave me a comment so I can come visit you!

Because There Is No Such Thing As Too Much Harry Potter: The Magic Begins

2011-09-07T23:52:00.000-02:00

A week or so ago, I was trying to come up with something that would make blogging more fun for me. Something I could talk about and/or share in more than one post since I have had zero motivation to talk about anything real in the last couple months.

Then it hit me like a lightning bolt shaped scar. Harry Potter.

For those who know me even relatively well, you know that I am a Harry Potter fiend. I love everything about the books, the movies, the whole Harry Potter culture... Everything. I grew up in the Harry Potter era but didn't really start to appreciate it fully until a couple years ago after Mr. Superman sucked me in.

I can NEVER get sick of the movies and the 7 times I've driven across the country in the last two years have been made much less sucky because I have all 7 books downloaded on my ipod. Amazing.

I even have a pin board dedicated to the incredibility that is HP on Pinterest.

Now that I have sufficiently exposed my nerdiness and let the Crookshanks out of the bag that I am indeed a Potterhead, lets delve in.

I didn't share enough amazingness with you?!

Well for you HP skeptics, I didn't want to overload your brain so rather than swan diving in or full on cannon balling our way through this HP introduction, we just dipped our toe in the feel it out.

Stay tuned for more because as the ever so wise and eloquent JG told me,

"Harry Potter makes life suck less."

I Call A Do Over: Exit Ikea, Enter Book Page Chest

2011-09-01T01:16:00.001-02:00

My 4 AM usually consists of DVR or Netflix, food sitting somewhere on the floor or couch, my drill, dremel, and paint.

This week, I have another much improved Ikea piece.
Its the third entertainment chest identical to the two that I used to make THIS

that used to be a part of this

CRINGE.

If you Lovelies remember, I did my first book page project with THIS curvy legged table that sits in my sitting room.

Are you ready?!!

This is the original as seen on the Ikea website

and now, it is THIS!!

It sits underneath the MASSIVE picture window that takes up almost an entire wall of our master bedroom.

On it sit two pillows I hand stitched some fabric flowers onto along with a chippy old jewelry box Mr. Superman got me a few years ago for my birthday.

Its great having two extra drawers where we can stash all of our hats, scarves, gloves, beanies... Stuff that doesn't get a ton of use here in the South.

Sitting beside it is a really old suitcase that once belonged to a great-great someone or other of Mr. Superman's. I got it years ago when we lived in Utah and drug it around through move after move from house to house. Each time, my darling husband would pester me so bad to get rid of it.

Bah! Its perfection in its new home.

I just had to throw this one in.

I love unknowingly catching his boots in pictures around the house.

If you have something to share, post it, include my button or a link to this post, then come leave me a comment so I can come visit you!

What's YOUR Song Link Up #27

2011-08-25T12:48:00.002-02:00

Hey Lovelies!

Head over to

to link up as part of

There is just something about this song that has me obsessed.

She is beautiful and resonates this haunting, honest aura that then highlights her music.

Perfection.

The first one is the official music video that can only be viewed on YouTube. Its worth the extra click, I promise. The second can be listened to here.

I Call A Do Over: Entertainment Chest Edition... Again

2011-08-23T14:10:00.001-02:00

My 4 AM usually consists of DVR or Netflix, food sitting somewhere on the floor or couch, my drill, dremel, and paint.

Since Mr. Superman deployed, I got more into DIY decor and refinishing furniture. Nikki, my BFF Forever is seriously an incredible designer so she helped me a ton in teaching me techniques and easier ways to do things.

Now that I have a collection of stuff I've done and on my To Do List I figured why not share it with my Lovelies? Without further ado, we dive in!

To kick it off, I want to introduce you Lovelies to my seriously revamped and in my opinion, much improved Ikea entertainment chest.

This is the original as seen on the Ikea website

This is what it looked like when I was done with it the first time around. To see the first makeover in its entirety, go HERE.

I loved the dark teal but it just wasn't sitting right with me and I wanted a lighter, fresher look so I went with a fabulous aqua.

I am really loving it now and it goes fabulous with what I've decided to do with our front room.

Homecoming..... 4 1/2 months late

2011-08-21T21:53:00.001-02:00

We all know how incredible deployment homecomings are.

Prepping the house, deep cleaning, and grocery shopping are ALL incredibly tiring and stressful. Getting your hair done, manicures, pedicures, spray tans, waxes.... the work up of damage control that deployment has taken on your body is incredibly expensive. The sleepless nights and weeks due to nerves and waiting to get that quickie 2 minute phone call saying they are FINALLY out of Afghanistan are incredibly exhausting. Constantly calling the deployment update hotline and praying the dates and times haven't been pushed back but then hearing that they have been for the 6th time is incredibly disheartening. Waiting up all night, counting the hours of each flight as they make their way from Afghanistan to Germany to Maine to finally hearing the last flight is bringing them home... is incredibly exciting/nerve wracking/emotional.

We all cope with those last several weeks in different ways. Since this was our very first deployment and I was no longer back in Arizona, in my family's very civilian world, I was sort of at a loss of how everything would unfold here in Georgia alone. When I moved back here in February to go house hunting and settle back in, I met a wonderful beautiful Milie named Sammy. She is seriously the best and the reason I didn't go absolutely crazy.

Her husband is a maintainer like Mr. Superman although he is AMXS while Mr. Superman is EMS and those two jobs are "rivals/enemies/nemesis". Through a weird series of events, we found out that not only did our husbands attend and graduate from BMT at the same time, they were Brother Flights! They then were at Tech School at the same time and both got stationed here at Moody. Her husband was coming home the same day as my loverface so we ended up spending the last 3 weeks waiting for them to get home, helping each other unpack, clean, decorate, and stay sane through the long nights.

The long awaited day came and we stayed up all night and watched movie after movie, screaming with excitement each time our phones rang, hung up my homecoming banner (I swallowed a nail while hanging up the banner. We're going to leave it at that. No really, leave it), and then primped and curled more than either of us had in 7 months. 0530 rolled around and we headed off to base.

We waited and we waited and we WAITED. Then we waited some more. Of course the wrapping up of a deployment wouldn't be complete without a few uh.... upsets?

After a couple hours, we got word they were finally opening the hangar. Then we heard the plane was there. Then they told us it was going to be a while. The plane had to circle above the flightline for almost an hour waiting for clearance to land even though the flight had been scheduled FOREVER. Ridiculous.

We then finally got word that the plane was landing. We all jumped up clapping, laughing, crying and then had to wait for the plane to taxi to the other end of base for them all to get on the bus.

We waited and we waited and we WAITED. Then we waited some more.

We finally got word that the stair truck, you know the truck with the stairs that makes it possible for them to GET OFF THE PLANE was broken. Broken. Lamesauce. I casually threw out the idea to the commander that they just inflate the emergency exit slide but it was a no-go. Not because she didn't agree but because the plane was still half full of soldier's heading to their very own homecoming's at Fort Hood. Guess what we did then?

We waited and we waited and we WAITED. Then we waited some more.

Eventually, we saw two white buses coming across the flightline. We all scrambled up crying and our heads our going back and forth between the two white buses because we had no idea which bus each of our respective loved ones happened to be on. The flood of camo began and it was a free for all. Sammy saw her husband and TOOK OFF running and about 5 seconds later, I saw Mr. Superman.

My incredible, brave, strong, handsome, loving husband was FINALLY safe! I was pretty much all up on him like white on rice and between my long hair and my great tan, he didn't recognize me for a minute.

"I totally didn't recognize you. You're so tan!" Nice right?

Afterwards, it took a bit for it to sink in that he was at his home base, on US soil, and able to finally leave at will. I kept telling him to get his bags so we could leave and he looked confused and was like, "I can leave? Are you sure?" I assured him he could in fact leave. We said our "Goodbyes", "Welcome Home's", and gave hugs to a few people and I brought my man to our new house!

Yes, we all know deployment homecoming's are incredible and despite all the date changes, disappointments, stresses, expenses, sleepless nights, and Murphy's best attempts at throwing us Milie's off our game's, the incredible's I remember aren't the negative one's.

Incredibly rewarding.
Incredibly strength building.
Incredibly revealing.
Incredibly butterfly inducing.

in·cred·i·ble

1: too extraordinary and improbable to be believed

2: amazing, extraordinary

And you know what Lovelies? Its all so fitting, these incredible things that accompanied the celebration of my husband returning home safe and sound because he is the most incredible human being I know. I'm so lucky to have him to love.

I Call A Do Over: Sitting Room Hutch Edition

2011-08-14T20:54:00.000-02:00

My 4 AM usually consists of DVR or Netflix, food sitting somewhere on the floor or couch, my drill, dremel, and paint.

Since Mr. Superman deployed, I got more into DIY decor and refinishing furniture. Nikki, is a seriously incredible designer that helped me a ton in teaching me techniques and easier ways to do things.

Now that I have a collection of stuff I've done and on my To Do List I figured why not share it with my Lovelies?

Without further ado, we dive in!

This hutch was one of the last pieces of furniture I have felt good enough to work on and had enough energy to do at all and I love how it turned out.

I got it for $30 at my favorite thrift/antique place.

It still took me 8 hours but that was mostly because I dry brushed the entire piece.

Dry brushing is a great technique but takes forever especially on a bigger piece.

I was armed with three paint brushes and 5 colors of paint.

To dry brush you just barely get the ends of the bristles wet and make almost whispy strokes.

It sits in my formal sitting room and holds my Christmas china.

Here she is!

BEFORE

AFTER

I used the original hardware and just brushed two of the neutral shades of paint on it all and before it dried all the way, wiped most of it off.

Now Lovelies, instead of already having a Linky up, I figured if you have something you want to share, post about it and let me know and I'll open a Linky for you to share it with the rest of us.

Muah!!

The Secret

2011-08-11T02:05:00.000-02:00

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

-ee cummings

the secret to making it through everything thrown my way?

this man.

from the countless times he's held my hand to the incredible strength of his heart...

on a daily basis, he saves me.
his love is the secret my Lovelies.

I'm Not Back Yet, But...

2011-06-20T16:20:00.001-02:00

People are driving me crazy.

Have you ever attempted to be the bigger person but the more you try, it seems like people all over the place get more annoying, more insensitive, and the act itself gets seemingly more impossible?

I have.

Geeze I have.

I wish I could just tell people exactly what I think of them, exactly what I feel, and exactly how WRONG they are without repercussions.

This has become my mantra and I so WISH I could walk around with this on a small portable billboard that runs on a constant loop. The more annoying or hurtful or ignorant the person is, the bigger and brighter this would flash.

Don't confuse silence with apathy or seemingly prevalent loneliness with the purposeful suppression of thoughts and feelings in an attempt to spare someone else's emotions.

Other times I wanna say, "Eff being the bigger person" and go and do what benefits me. Its almost an ever-constant tug-o-war. I have to keep myself in check, exercise epic self-control and make positive use of all my energy in moving onward and forward. The more space that there is between us and the dummies past, the better.

Despite wanting to oft times throw ourselves on the ground, kick and scream, and then once once we are emotionally exhausted, just curl up in the fetal position and wait for the world to change, we must face the music. I don't know if you know this or not, but change doesn't just skip along and figure your life out for you. Its about you putting your feelings on the back burner, sucking it up, and being the type of person this world so desperately needs more of. Rather than arguing back and wasting your energy on petty little things, focus on the words, thoughts, and emotions that will help you and even if it doesn't seem possible, the person that's making you turn into a crazy white girl who's about to open a big ol' can of wh...

Despite an almost instinctual reaction, we as humans need to sincerely think about what has been said or what we wish to say. Is any of it worth losing friends, hurting family, and losing ourselves to the compromise of what we know we SHOULD do? 95% of the time, you unknowingly become a self-deprecating pawn in the hands of negativity and pessimism.

Once I'm able to move far enough away from a certain person or a hurtful thing that may have been said, I'm able to start forgiving. Its funny really because forgiveness definitely isn't about another person. The act of forgiveness is solely and perpetually about US.

Breaky Break Time

2011-06-14T16:35:00.000-02:00

Hey there lovely Lovelies! As a lot of you have noticed, I've been ridiculously MIA for a while now and I don't see it getting much better anytime soon.

Between my many, many doctor's appointments, procedures, tests, Mr. Superman's ever-changing work schedule (now he's on 12's from 6-6), trying to not let the house cross the line between "Homeless-hoarder-laundry and dishes up to my neck-style" and "I'm really trying but just can't keep up with the housework-style", the blogging has been brought to a major stall and that includes keeping mine up to date and sharing the hundreds of things I've been wanting to share with you all as well as reading and commenting on all the ones I love. Not to mention between my 8 different prescriptions, I'm always either sick to my stomach or zonked out good.

Along with all of that, emails, postcards, letters, Facebook messages, and every other form of contact has piled up rather splendidly. I cannot say how much everyone's words of kindness, love, support, and encouragement mean to both me and my Loverface and I am so sorry I have been unable to respond to anyone. This newest health development has definitely been testing us but I'm confident all will unfold as it should and we will remain strong as ever.

I just wanted to tell all of you darlings a little of what's been going on. Hello to all you fabulous newbies and to everyone else, pleasepleaseplease don't leave me while I'm on this unplanned and unintentional hiatus okay?

I Call A Do Over: Its All In The Details Edition One

2011-06-07T02:31:00.001-02:00

My 4 AM usually consists of DVR or Netflix, food sitting somewhere on the floor or couch, my drill, dremel, and paint.

Now that I have a collection of stuff I've done and on my To Do List I figured why not share it with my Lovelies? So most Tuesdays for me are going to consist of this new meme and this week starts the link up! If you have any projects you've done, post it with the I Call A Do Over picture and then come back to link up so I can come check it out.

Without further ado, we dive in!

The show 'n' tell pieces this week are all little decor items that got makeovers, touch ups, and face lifts. They are all things I had, most for a few years, that I kept around because I knew I'd use them again. Its amazing what some spray paint and a little extra time can do.

These little frames I had found at Walmart for like a dollar a piece a few years ago. I spray painted them (my then) master bedroom colors. They weren't horrible but as is the case with pretty much everything up until a year ago, they weren't fabulous. I had no clue what I was doing when it came to decorating.

BEFORE

So these suckers got a re-do and are now a part of the office decor. The frames I already had, the bulletin board I got unopened and brand new from Goodwill for $2 and the frame that has the multi-color stripes was a broken frame from Hobby Lobby I got for less than $1.

AFTER

Next thing that got a spray paint bath were these two lamp shades. I got them both years ago and they used to be the lamps that sat on our night stands when we lived in our very first house and traveled with us to Utah then here in Georgia where they became part of our sad lighting in our old house before Mr. Superman deployed. I thought about 100 times about getting rid of them and now I am so glad I didn't.

BEFORE

AFTER

This is the only picture I have of the next items. I seriously just cringe at pictures of my old houses and the way I 'decorated'. So awful. Those 3 candle pedestals were all found on clearance at Walmart 3 years ago and those pink candles are just as old. I love me some book paper and Mod Podge so these suckers got the royal treatment. The candles were all changed up as well and put in different places in mi casa. I love the way that one looks with the sticks all around it.

BEFORE

AFTER

The next thing that got a makeover was this little table I got at Hobby Lobby last year for $6! The red top was just not doing it for me so it got coated with off-white paint and then a dark stain. It sits between my fireplace hearth and our back door. Its now home to an antique lantern missing the glass and has a broken clock I got from Hobby Lobby for $2. I have a slight clock obsession. Ignore the very much old and dated 70's fireplace. Its getting an awesome white wash soon.

BEFORE

AFTER

I had gotten this lamp with a gift card from Target last year but about a month after getting it, I started hating the orangey-brown shade. After some really awesome vintage style post card and letter collage paper and lace trim were added, I fell in ~~lurve~~ love.

BEFORE

AFTER

Alright now you all know the drill. If you have anything you'd like to show off, go ahead and link it up. It can be anything really that you got creative with or gave it new life. The link party stays open until Friday at noon so get to sharing!

It's Not A Tumah

2011-06-02T23:25:00.000-02:00

Well actually, it is.

If you want an explanation as to why I have been so M.I.A. the last few weeks in bloggyland and real life, you can take up a complaint with the Tumor Department.

Apparently, a few of these suckers have decided to take up residence in the Chelle Hotel.

I know I've always been full of pure awesomeness and fabulosity and it is my belief that the Tumor Department was feeling left out.

Tumors that have thus far been discovered:

1 inside my Brilliant Bladder
1 on my Lovely Left Kick-A Kidney
1 on my Trusty (or not so) Thyroid Gland

Tumors that are believed to exist but were blocked out by all the extra fluid and blood that is making all the scans and x-rays blurry:

1 or more on my Reliable (or not so) Right Kindly Kidney

So Lovelies, I haven't been snubbing all of you, I have just been a tad preoccupied.

I had a biopsy performed on the one located in my bladder and have quite a few more procedures in my future. My situation is very tricky when taking in to account my HHT and other medical complications but I love my urologist and hematologist/oncologist.

There has been a lot of deep thinking and positive vibes buzzing around in my house lately because I refuse to accept anything but success and a good life. Prayers, crossed fingers and toes, wishes on stars and eyelashes, and smiles are always needed and appreciated more than we can say.

Just keep being your fabulous lovely selves and if anyone finds some of this. send it my way.

xoxo

Green With Envy

2011-06-02T09:53:00.000-02:00

Guess who gets to have a needle aspiration biopsy TODAY?!

This girl!!

I know you're jealous.

It's no moustache but its just cool enough to turn all you Lovelies green-eyed.

Don't lie.

I Call A Do Over: Beach Wood Desk Edition

2011-05-31T08:24:00.000-02:00

My 4 AM usually consists of DVR or Netflix, food sitting somewhere on the floor or couch, my drill, dremel, and paint.

Without further ado, we dive in!

I got this week's project while Mr. Superman was still deployed from V-Town's local (and only) Goodwill. The Goodwill here is very hit and miss on finding great items but I knew this one was perfect when I saw the shape, size, and price. I got it for $25 and except one tiny defect that you can't see, it was in perfect condition.

You all know by now that stained wood just really isn't my thing. I went very back and forth on what I wanted to do with it but as soon as I settled on exactly what I wanted for our office, I knew what treatment the desk was going to get. When we were in Panama City Beach, FL for our anniversary a couple years ago, I saw these awesome, shabby beach cottages everywhere. They were all unique but had this one beautiful thing in common. They were all made out of gorgeous, weathered white'ish gray beach wood. They had so much character but still had this softened feminine look. I loved them and always wanted to do something similar in furniture. Well, this desk had some great curves so it was a winner.

I didn't sand or prep really at all (I never do) and just got down to work. After removing the hardware the drawers got two good coats of white paint as well as the entire desk except the top. The top was a bit more complicated. It had a thick hard top of acrylic gel and I had already tried to pry it up with no luck. I also knew that sanding the entire thing down would take literally hours. I ended up just hand sanding the top for a few minutes, just enough to scratch it up and give the paint something to grip on to. The paint covered most of the stained wood but I also left a little peaking through to give it that weathered look. After the paint was dry, I used a gray glaze all over it. Not gonna lie, it looked fabulous. The hardware got a few coats of gray spray paint and the gray glaze over that then got reattached.

The finished product? Beautiful.

ignore the leopard print chair, its getting reupholstered