He Still Gets Me

Once upon a time there was this poor little blog. Its blogger was a total slacker and it often sat for weeks with no new posts.

Yeah, yeah that's me.
Slacker status over here.

Here I am once again about to blog about superficial, mundane, surface stuff. Its all I can do right now which I think is good enough. 

Our new life here is insane.
It's different but we are still so unsettled we haven't even been able to to have everything sink in yet.

Even though we got here in July and had the keys to our apartment about a week later, we didn't start living here at our apartment until two weeks ago. My in-laws went out of the country and we house sat for them. We were finally able to move into (as in actually start sleeping at) our place the night before I started work. Yeah, crazy timing I know. I got hired on at my job about 10 days after we got here but since its a State job I wasn't officially in the computer systems until much later, delaying my start date.

So we have been living here in our tiny little Salt Lake City apartment but I still have boxes full of stuff, our balcony is full of boxes we no longer have a garage for, there is tape on walls waiting to be painted, furniture half-way refinished, bags full of clothes and things needing to be sent to D.I. (Utah's version of Goodwill), and everything is a MESS.

Here's a few pictures though.

The first wall I got fully completed. Right behind our sectional!

Our tiny hallway is halfway finished. One side has the chevron painted while the other is just taped off. 

This is the before, during, and after of my 4$ D.I. find! My new desk chair!

That fabulous fabric? Totally scored that from my MIL's craft room and she scored it from Colorado like 15 years ago. LOVE it!

Now this is directly across from our sectional. That's the dresser Mr. Superman got me for my birthday this year and I LOVED refinishing it. I did a mini-makeover on that lamp and I still love it but I just didn't like it in that corner. I'm really trying to have balance between all of my bright, colorful decor and my vintage, antique, eclectic pieces. I'm also having to just do what I can with what I already have. The lamp I have there now is a lamp we got five years ago for our wedding. It has modern lines Mr. Superman loves (the opposite type of design I'm into) but I like it a lot more now. I just taped it off and did a coat of paint I already had. Voila!

This ugly wicker chest of drawers? I've had it for 6 1/2 years. When I went away to college I inherited all sorts of ugly, unwanted, really old furniture from people. This, I think, came from my SIL's grandma. I've kept it around for years with every single move just because it was great for storing things. I decided to throw some of the same yellow paint I used for the lamp shade on it and it's now residing in the corner by our desk. Eh, it'll do for now.

Our bedroom is my labor of love. I didn't redesign anything from what I had in Georgia because I already love it so much. It's got a vintage/antique French theme going on. The square footage of the master bedroom here is SO much smaller than the square footage in Georgia so its been a little tricky. It's still very much an ongoing project and I have yet to finish painting the edges and refinishing the antique vanity I scored almost two years ago but I will. Someday, it'll all be done and perfect.

So that's it so far. I have SO much left to do including finishing everything that is only half done AND all of the stuff I haven't even started. I've got the guest bedroom, both bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry room/closet. After all of that I have a giant list of little things like replacing all of the door hardware, outlet and light switch covers, installing shelving into the closets, stenciling and painting the inside of the closets, replacing the light fixtures, installing custom molding around the bathroom mirrors...

I could go on and on but instead, I'll wrap it up.

I just had to share this last picture.
Every Thursday I get to see Mr. Superman in ABU's and guess what?
It still gets me.

Everything in our lives has changed.
Everything is different.
We moved.
He got discharged.
I'm working.
Our puppy lives with my MIL.

Everything has changed except once a week, I get to see something that makes my heart smile and gives me the reminder of why we are doing all of this. It reminds me that in three years we will once again be an Active Duty family. Every week I get to see my Loverface in uniform and it still gets me.

He still gets me.
Right now, that's enough.

Whiz-Dumb Teef

How many of you Lovelies and Dolls have had to get your wisdom teeth out? What was your experience like?

For me, the last 8 years my wisdom teeth have terrorized my poor mouth. They were all impacted and every few months would peek their heads above my gummies and cause me excruciating pain for a while then go underground again. The last 3 years have been full of Mr. Superman and my MIL trying to convince me to actually use my dental insurance and get those suckers removed.

Last week they reared their ugly, pain causing heads again so I bit the bullet and went in. When I say I bit the bullet I mean I realized that in 5 weeks insurance would be GONZO so it was now or never.

After asking some questions and getting the deets and info from fellow Milies, I hit up the MetLife website and located the one and only oral surgeon here in town that was accepting new patients which meant it was the only dude I could go to and called them up. I pulled the "I'm in pain card" on Monday afternoon, got an appointment for Tuesday afternoon and booked my surgery for Thursday afternoon.

Now, I have had a lot of surgeries. I have had a lot of doctors, exams, IV's, medical problems, etc. I have NEVER been even slightly nervous for anything medically related but I was absolutely TERRIFIED! I mean shaking, felt like I was going to puke, crying, anxiety attack, full blown panic and fear mode.

I got called in early and I was freaking out. 

I got taken back and I was freaking out. 

I got sat down and I was freaking out. 

I saw a cute guy in scrubs and I was freaking out. 

I finally met my surgeon and I was still freaking out.

It was happening so fast!

And I remember saying, "This is all happening way too fast!"

I told my doctor, "I don't mind needles but I need a '1, 2, 3' warning" but the next thing I knew I was being stabbed with a fatty needle, tasting something NASTY, and then I was in the car in the Walmart parking lot and then at home.

It was all such a huge blur and went super fast. Apparently, it took 20 minutes to yank all four of those buggers outta my mouth. Too bad recovery hasn't been that fast. I wish! I'm swollen and bruised and I just finally got to eat solid food yesterday which is a really long time for my my fatty self to not have some nomnoms. I never thought I'd be sick of ice cream and pudding and applesauce and mashed potatoes.

From the minute I woke up all I wanted was french fries and my mommy. Only one of those was within 2,000 miles and I'll give you two guesses which one.

If we're being honest I went downhill after halfway through day 2. Friday late night all the way until yesterday around 2 in the afternoon, worse than the four gaping stitched up bleeding holes in my mouth, worse than my swelling, worse than my bruising, my head felt like it was going to explode. I mean I was on the verge of vomiting from that sucker!

Thank Heavens for my incredible Mr. Superman and for my bestie Sammy! Between the two of them, after they got done video taping me and laughing of course, they took good care of me. As tough as it was it could have been a million times worse and we're definitely blessed to have insurance that covered a large chunk of it.

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

I'll spare y'all pictures from Sunday and today, I look like million dollar baby with bruises all over my face and a barely distinct line from where my jaw connects to my neck. Mr. Superman said it makes me look like I have a large gullet. Nice, huh?

So what were your weekends like?
Anything as fun as mine?!

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

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.