MIA...Yes, It's Serious

Uh huh. I've been MIA from the blog world only reading and commenting here and there. But I have a good excuse and plan on blogging about it...soon. Just give me time to recompose myself and hopefully I can do a little research on what I just went through and put together a post for "Awareness Wednesday". I'm really tired so it's hard for me to THINK about what to write let alone write it. Let me just say that this IS health related and it just might smack you all in the face.

Until then, here's a pic of Mrs. Paruser and Lil Squirt. We said goodbye today for a long "vacation" as they take off to Michigan for about 5 months. It was sad, but I only balled like a baby when no one was looking shed like 20 tears. ;)

TTFN,

Sunday Shoutouts

How lame, right? Stealing a title from other blogs! I can't help it. I couldn't think of a good enough title so I did it. Oh well. Anyway, on to the reason for today's post...check THIS out...



Jealous? Yeah, that's what I THOUGHT! This is my AWESOME, CUSTOM, HAND-MADE prize from Kiki & Lele. Yeah, they are awesome and not only do they make bad ass jewelry, they are also donating a portion of their annual procedes to thier local NICU. No, REALLY! You should go read their story here. They are just all around wonderful ladies!

I also want to thank SITS for bringing me such wonderful bloggy friends and bloggy contest like the one above. Without my SITStas I don't think I would still be blogging, honestly. You all should really check them out. They start a new contest every Saturday. This week they are featuring Star Looks Boutique's AllyZabba blanket and boy does it look comfy! They are giving away the large size which measures 34 x 28!!! So hurry on over and check out this week's contest!

This next person doesn't really need to be named AGAIN but she insisted more discussion so hell, why not. Lula, Lula, Lula! Thank you OH so much for introducing me to my methliture! I do not think I could have survived these first 9 days of deployment without the storyline of Edward and Bella. I am in absolute LOVE with this series and will be in utter depression when it is over. I am now 1/4 of the way into Eclipse and am totally pleased with the way the books have flowed from one to the next. Yes, I am once again gushing over the Twilight Series. And yes, it's in the teen section in the bookstore, so freakin' what. I didn't even know that until I bought the SECOND book they didn't have at WalMart and the KID at B&N said "That's ok, we get you "older" people buying these books all the time. I've seen OLDER." I guess that was his compliment? Gee kid, thanks! But I'm only 31!!! Anyway. THANK YOU DEAR LULA for adding to my list of addictions! In all actuality, reading as fast as I have has opened my mind to other blogging ideas so I am really excited!

Finally, I want to extend my thanks to all the rest of my blog-world friends who have been supporting me in this really rough time I am going through. It's only been 9 days but these last 9 days has felt like 9 WEEKS. So much is different this time around and I feel so empty yet you all seem to find a way to make me smile or help me deal. (Carrie, Lula, M...you guys rock!) And to my real world friends who also blog and who don't but come here and stalk, thank you oh so much for understanding that I really can't hand the outside world just yet. At least not all at once. I am taking it one day at a time and eventually I will be the social butterfly I was before my heart sailed away.

I love you all and this Sunday is dedicated to you!




TTFN,

Survey Saturday...Strangeness

First off I want to thank everyone who has been showering me with the love these past few posts ESPECIALLY on my Fridays with the hubby pics. I have really needed the support since I am missing my man the most severely...more so than I have ever. Secondly, I know I have NOT been the best comment leaver as of late and I am totally sorry. I am lost in my own little world here and hope to pull out of it soon. I just blog and read and occasionally find it in me to crack a joke on someone's blog.

Anyway, here's today's interesting survey. It isn't anything special, but it IS strange.

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:
"For me, as well."

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can...what do you touch first?
The wall

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
The news

4. WITHOUT LOOKING, what time is it?
midnight thirty?

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
12:26am

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear:
The wind outside, the fan inside and my door blowing open and closed

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?:
About 15 minutes ago to yell at my dog to get her butt inside

8. Before you came to this website, what were you looking at?
My dog peeing outside

9. What are you wearing?
tank top and sleep shorts

10. What did you dream last night?
I was so tired I don't remember my dream from last night

11. When did you last laugh?
Tonight at Jayson and Sydnie playing the Wii

12. What's on the walls of the room you're in?:
A stuffed goose...it's real and I always hit my head on it's talons

13. Seen anything weird lately?:
Depends on what your definition of "weird" is

14. What do you think of this survey?
Uh it's strange

15. What's the last film you saw?
16 Candles...yes. old movie, but it was good!

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
A brand new house i don't have to do ANY work on that has enough room for all my kids to have their own room

17. Tell me something about you that I don't know.
This summer I cut a total of 14 inches of hair off my head. :)

18. If you could change one thing about the world, what would you change?
Just one? Can't we all just get along??! :)

19. Do you like to dance?
When I am with Balla and when I am drunk!

20. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
My first child WAS a girl and I call her Sydnie

21. Boy?
And my first boy is Jayson

22. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Once retirement comes along, we have plans to own property in Costa Rica so yes.

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

Ahhh. It's FINALLY Friday. And what do we all crave the most on Friday? Yup, that's right! FX4! WHOOP WHOOP! So get your booties on over to Candid Carrie and join me and the others (I think she might have over 100 of us now!) in the crazy fad we like to call Friday Fiesta Foto Finish!

My foto for the week features friends sharing THEIR life's guilty pleasures...stogies and beer! Now, the one on the right has given up drinking so he isn't partaking in the beer, but he is surely enjoying the fat stogie in his mouth! The one on the left is, of course, Balla. I cannot quite remember which night this was taken, but it was taken shortly before the boys deployed. These two are like Frick and Frack and they can always be caught with a stogie in their mouths...or at the computer playing World of Warcraft.



TTFN,

Teachers, No More Blowpops!

I was trying to finish one of my addictions (Days of Our Lives, Tuesday Edition) on DVR when I heard a "Don't tell momma" and then a scream. So I pressed pause and yelled from my lair for the screamer to come hither. Well the scream turned into a cry with real tears and here comes little man. He's holding his neck and says "It hurts really bad" and I couldn't tell what the heck hurt so bad to make him throw the complete fit he was throwing at the moment. (He was jumping up and down, crying and screaming holding his neck!) I thought for sure he had hurt himself good until he tried to take his hand away and it kinda stuck there for a second. Then I saw it. Gum. Ugh. All the times I have said "Keep that sh!t in your mouth!" and now the kid has it literally wrapped around his neck! (Later he tells me "I was wrapping it around and around like a necklace" WTF?!?!) And it is stuck pretty good to his skin and in his hair so that is why he is throwing a fit saying it hurts really bad because it's stuck to his tiny neck hairs and it was in his hair. So I got some ice and the scissors and went to getting the gum out. Here's a few pics of the "drama"...

Gum on the side of his neck. You can see the tiny bits in his hair...


Gum all in the back of his hair. It was worse in person, trust me...


I ended up cutting the bottom of his hair because he was SCREAMING LIKE A LITTLE GIRL when I iced down his neck to pull off the gum from his skin. If only I had clippers...


There was gum on both sides of his neck, but I didn't think about the camera until I was done with one side...look at how red his poor neck was.

I didn't get it all because he wouldn't hold still and when I was just about done I saw him pop something in his mouth. I was like what was that? And he goes "My gum" I took it from him and threw it in with all the hair and gum pieces. Ugh. Boys!!!

P.S. He got the gum from a blowpop he got from his teacher for "being good". I can't imagine.

Where Did Mama Roho Go?

You want to know where I went? Well why not head on over to Lulaville and ask Lula! Why? Because it is HER FAULT that I am busy READING instead of blogging. What am I reading? Hmmm...Again, I point you to a blog that I read over in Lulaville titled "The End". After reading it I truly hesitated, reread and then went about my business for the day. After reading it, every damn bookstore I went into reminded me of that blog post. Every eBay auction I ran across, every Amazon page filled with the memory...so I broke. I bought it. And then I let it sit in the bag for a few days because I had to finish a Stephen King book first. It was good, although the title totally slips my mind at this moment.

On the night of the first reading I promised myself I would finish the last 64 pages of my King book and then just read the first chapter of this "Crackliture" as everyone was calling it. I finished the SK book and off to pick up the crack I went. I didn't know what to expect from a book I found way too easily at WalMart. (It seemed to call out to me and it was on sale...bonus.) I'm not much into vampires and werevolves nor am I into books about them but I decided that since there were so many people out there that ADORED Edward and Bella that I would give this book a chance.

That night, as I fumbled my way through the meth, I found the story to be just as addictive, if not more, than what everyone had said. I made my way to the 1/2 way point before I realized that Chapter one was a thing of the past. I was on a high and couldn't put the book down but I knew I HAD to sleep because I HAD to get up in the morning and get the hoodlums off to school so I could have my quiet time with my book. OH DAMN IT! My husband was still home all week long. No quiet time unless I stole myself away to the bathroom. I faked a stomach virus JUST to get some quality Edward/Bella time.

So, I finished Twilight in about 4 days which is a record for me. I went out on a hunt for a paperback version of New Moon and Eclipse and could only find New Moon so I grabbed it. (Sticking to paperback because it is easier to tote along with me.) Since Balla left for deployment I have had too much time on my hands and I have made it 3/4ths of the way through New Moon. Yes. I am addicted. It IS my crystal meth. My crackliture. My new drug. The Twilight Series. What will I do when it is all gone? Come blog again?! Oh my. I guess I will just have to wait for the movie so I can critique it against the book.

Thanks Lula. Thanks for getting me hooked on crack. :)

Survey Saturday...This Is My Husband

Welcome to this week's version of Survey Saturday. Can you tell that this weekend is TOTALLY focused on my hunny?! I am pre-posting because I can't sleep. Here are some facts about him/us. I miss him already and it didn't help they showed the ship on the local news. :**(
My thoughts are with those in the path of that icky, nasty hurricane Ike.

About my Husband

1. How did you meet your husband and how old were you?
We met at Sonar School in 2001. I was 24.

2. Was it love at first sight?
Hell no! I thought he was a jerk and he thought I was a bitch!

3. How did you know you were supossed to marry him?
Well, I got preggo with his son! No, really, the first time I actually LOOKED into his eyes I knew.

4. What was the first date like?
A-FREAKIN'-MAZING

5. Where did your first kiss take place?
Haha...I'll never tell

6. Dating... local or long distance?
local

7. Do you know everything there is to know about your husband?
I don't think so. We are always learning new things about each other.

8. Were your parents supportive of you when you started dating?
Yes

9. Did you wait till marriage to have sex?
Um, no

10. How long was it till you got engaged after you started dating?
Um...I think a year and a half?

11. Long or short engagement?
Extremely short

12. Did you write your own vows?
Yeah right!

13. What was one of the things that attracted you to your husband?
He made me laugh...all the time

14. Do you believe he is your soulmate?
Yes I do

15. Are you happy that you married him?
Very much so

Facts:

1. Place your husband was born and date?
St Paul, MN on 5/7/75

2. Favorite movie?
Anything Sci Fi

3. Occupation?
US Navy

4. What is one of his favorite things to do on the weekends?
Cuddle with ME of course! No, he likes to catch up on the DVR'd sci fi shows and work outside

5. What was his first thought of you when you first met?
Ha. See above #2

6. Does he snore at night while sleeping?
Yes. LOUDLY

7. What about farting in his sleep?
O.M.G. I have an automatic air freshner in our room to help me sleep!

8. If you could go one place with him anywhere in the world where would that be?
Costa Rica...again!

9. How often do you have sex?
Well, not again for 7 months. :( But often enough to be grossly in love!

10. Is he the best thing that ever happend to you?
Besides my children, yes he is. :)

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THIS SURVEY!

TTFN,

Friday Fiesta Foto Finish

Here is my addition to Candid Carrie's Friday Fiesta Foto Finish.

I am "pre-posting" as I will be busy wallowing in my sorrows tomorrow. So, this FX4 is dedicated to my best friend, lover and confidant...oh and husband of course! He leaves today on a 7 month deployment. Seven long and lonely months without him. I'm pretty sure my blogs will be as happy as they can be. Have you noticed they have be sparse this week? Yeah, this was our last week together. Anyway, here's a montage of my faves of my baby. I'll miss you, my love. :*(

Interesting Steal From Debbie...Thanks!

While reading my dailies, and there are many, I stumbled upon Debbie's blog and how she was 1 of 8. My interest peaked so I decided to join her in the mission to find out just how many of ME there are in this wonderful world. Well, there is only ONE of me with my current first and last name. Imagine that. I am unique. However, there are 28,983 people in the U.S. with the first name Rachelle. Wow. But there are only 580 people in the U.S. with my married last name. When I looked up my maiden name, well all I can say is that it is the 4th most popular last name in the U.S. and it is not Smith! 1,894,602 people carry my maiden name as their last name!!! HOLY CRAP! And with my maiden name, there were 180 of me. Not so unique now, are we?! Now, let ME break down my clan...

Balla: 2
Sydnie: She's the only one!
MacKenzie: Again, the only one!
Jayson: Damn, I did good! He's an only as well! WOO HOO!

I guess our last names make us unique in this family. My girls have a different last name than Balla, Jay and I, in which there are several italian variations but the variation they have has a total of 9,549 in the U.S. I really enjoyed this little tidbit of information. It was fun testing out all the combos. If you all are bored, you should try it, it is interesting to see just how many of you there really are out there. And Debbie, it's ok, someone will name their child Deborah, Deb or Debbie again. It will catch on again, promise! Thanks for the blog idea!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 1 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. http://howmanyofme.com">How many have your name?

TTFN,

Survey Saturday...Favorites/Least Favorites

So I missed FX4 this week because Mrs Paruser and I spent the day in Williamsburg shopping and then we went and bought some "supplies" for Tropical Storm Hanna that didn't do much so I never really made it home until really late. Plus we weren't sure but our husbands were told they may even leave for the weekend because of said tropical storm when they are supposed to leave on the 12th for seven months so we decided to take out our frustrations on our wallets. We got some good deals, had lunch and didn't even hit any tunnel traffic. WOO HOO! So here is my survey for this Saturday. Enjoy!

1 Favorite Color
--> blue and green

2 Least Favorite Color
--> I don't really have a least favorite

3 Favorite Number
--> 13

4 Favorite Animal
--> Dog

5 Least Favorite Animal
--> Cat

6 Favorite Flower
--> Lilley

7 Favorite Food
--> Mexican

8 Least Favorite Food
--> Seafood

9 Favorite Junk Food
--> chips and salsa

10 Least Favorite Junk Food
--> candy

11 Favorite Restaraunt
--> Gordon Biersch or Hooters

12 Favorite Ice Cream Flavor
--> Vanilla with fresh cookie dough

13 Favorite Candy
--> not a fan of candy

14 Favorite Alcoholic Drink
--> Beer!

15 Favorite NON Alcoholic Drink
--> Diet Coke or unsweet iced tea

16 Least Favorite Alcoholic Drink
--> Gin? LOL

17 Least Favorite NON Alcoholic Drink
--> Pepsi or sweet tea

18 Favorite Genre of Music
--> pop

19 Favorite Radio Station
--> FM99

20 Favorite Band/Artist
--> Dixie Chicks

21 Least Favorite Band/Artist
--> Don't really have one

22 Favorite Song
--> Have waaaaayyyy too many

23 Least Favorite Song
--> Friends in Low Places

24 Least Favorite Genre
--> Rap

25 Favorite Book
--> Anything Stephen King

26 Least Favorite Book
--> Atonement

27 Favorite Type of Movie
--> Comedy

28 Least Favorite Type of Movie
--> Sci Fi

29 Favorite Movie
--> Beaches

30 Worst Movie Ever
--> I have NO CLUE!

31 Favorite TV Show
--> I have so many. Do I really need to name just one??

32 Worst TV Show
--> There are so many, do I really need to name just one?? LMFAO!

33 Favorite Season of the Year
--> Spring! Summer!

34 Worst Season
--> Winter

35 Best Friend
--> Damn. I have a few. Kara, Jessica, Lynn

36 Worst Enemy
--> James Patrick Pennell II...My girls' biological father. Yes, I hold a grudge for someone who has never paid child support!

37 Favorite Day of the Week
--> Everyday I wake up!

38 Least Favorite Day of the Week
--> I don't have one!

39 Favorite Sport
--> Football!

40 Sport You Hate
--> I don't really hate sports

41 One thing you cant get enough of
--> muhahahahaha! Sex!

42 One thing you hate more than anything
--> see #36!!!

Sarah Palin, A Girl After My Own Heart!

So last night was the Republican National Convention, part tres I think, because it was Governor Palin's turn to speak. Now normally I do not sit and purposely watch boring political speeches but since my favorite BIL said he would kick my ass if I voted for Pedro I decided it would be a good idea if I watched. (Yes, Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite!) Balla and I turned the tube to NBC towards the end of Giuliani's speech and that little bugger can TALK! Good stage presence and he's funny to boot. (Biden better get that VP thing in writing, I love myself a comedian! ) He then went on to discuss big "O"s constant flip-flopping and ended by letting everyone know he supported Palin. He then introduced her. WOW! The crowd went BONKERS! They put a camera on her hubby and boy was that handsome devil beaming! He was wearing his pride on his sleeve all night long for sure! You could tell he loved his wife and family! Then they show her and she is just up there all calm and composed, looking all hot and porn-star secretarial! LMFAO! (That is how Tommy and Rumble from FM99 described her one morning. Perves!)

Anyway, you can find her FULL speech here, but I want to just tell you that it was compelling and completely mesmerizing! I listened the WHOLE TIME! Amazing, right?! I am NOT a political person and she had me at "Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens..." They prepared her VERY well on foreign policy and whatever else they had to. I know she was reading from a teleprompter, but DAMN she was GOOD! AND FUN! The inflection in her voice where it needed to be made her believable. FO SHO. She introduced her whole family, including her mom and dad which I thought was really nice. She didn't bring up any of the rumors but she didn't avoid them either. She threw in little smart ass comments here and there and never really bashed the big "O" by using his name! At one point, there was about 2 minutes of booing after she said:

"I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone."

She then interrupted and continued by saying:

"But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people."

The people then began their roaring and cheering and got on their feet. It was such an exciting night for her and her family. It was interesting to hear her outlook on the war, energy, oil and gas and what her plans were if McCain and she were elected. (I MUST be getting older or this stuff just would NOT be interesting at all to listen to.) Most of all I enjoyed listening to her because I connected to the way she presented the topics at hand. She threw in a couple upper cuts here and there and didn't just talk. And she didn't just talk about HERSELF either. She talked about McCain and his POW friend Tom...which almost made me cry...and it just wasn't all about me, me, me. There was VARIETY! And SPICE!

The Hockey Mom from a small town in Alaska proved to me to get the job done. At the end of the night, she didn't leave doubts in the eyes of any voters in THIS house anyway! Between her strong family values, funny smart ass comments ("I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities." ), and even the comedic tone thrown in here and there ( "What's the difference between a Hockey Mom and a pitbull? lipstick!" ) I would say that Sarah Palin is well on her way to helping John McCain win the Presidential election.

TTFN,

Photobucket src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/rachellegoude/signature1.jpg" border=0>

Want To Win a Cricut?

So you want a Cricut Expressions? Who doesn't?

This thing does it all.
Scrapbooking
Vinyl Lettering
School Projects

The list goes on and on!
The Cricut Expressions is the craft fanatics must-have!

And, here is YOUR chance to win one. Yep. Just head on over to my all time favorite blog recognition blogger site SITS and check out their September contest to find out how to win!! While you're over there, check out the featured bloggers and make some new friends, enter some contests and win like I did! WOO HOO! Thanks Kiki & Lele for giving away such an awesome necklace! I can't wait to see the result!

That's all for today. Balla and I spent the day sick and sniffling in bed so I need to just relax some more. :)

TTFN,

Happy Birthday Jayson Alexander!

Today is my little man's birthday. He turned 5yrs old today. We sent him off to Kindergarten today as well. He went in all by himself telling us: "I can do it, I'm 5!" It was bittersweet as it was my last to go to school, my last first day of kindergarten, my last little man. :( I didn't cry though. Hesitated, but didn't cry. Anyway, we had a birthday party for him over the weekend and Mrs. Paruser and I showed off our baking and decorating skills. I decided I was going to bake Jay a HUGE cupcake. THAT was the easy part! The steps that followed were the hardest and required the heads of two totally stressed out women whose men are about to deploy! HA! Can somebody say bring on the crack pipe! LOL! We had fun though and here are the results of our masterpiece...

View Album

Get your own

Nice, isn't it? We thought so. And I don't like chocolate cake AT ALL but I used Devil's Food cake mix and that stuff is DEVINE! Soooo moist!!! The day of the party we got super creative with the decorating, but all in all we were pleased and so were the kids, especially Jayson.

Well, now my big boy is 5 and in school. Pretty soon he will be 15 and cursing me, playing loud music and ignoring my commands so I guess I should enjoy him while I can at 5. Here are the back-to-school pics I took. The first is the one of him in his way-too-big-for-a-5-year-old back pack from LL Bean and the second one is of all of my hoodlums in front of their school.



To all you moms out there, Happy Back-To-School Day!

Just Another Manic Monday

Only 10 more days until Balla hits the open ocean and leaves us for 7 long and lonely months. I figured out this weekend that I am NOT doing so well with this little tidbit of information! Not as well as I originally THOUGHT at least! I have been through 3 deployments with this man and this time I think I feel the worst.

Our first deployment, I was also in the Navy so my days were spent working 9+hrs then coming home and taking care of my daughters. A couple of weeks into the deployment I found out I was preggo and then we decided to go ahead and get married so I also had the joy of planning my wedding. I kept really busy during that deployment and I actually got lucky and they ended it in about 5 months. Our next deployment was H-E-L-L! Kevin had to go to school first so he spent the first 3 months of the deployment in Rhode Island. Some would think that to be a good thing for us, but no. He drank a lot and we were fighting when he left for RI so conversation was short and shitty to say the least. When I finally dropped him off at the airport so he could fly to Bahrain, I didn't even care that he was going. It didn't even phase me. Of course we worked out all of our problems over the deployment (that got extended to EIGHT months) but it was still very strange to see my husband after leaving him the way we left each other.

This time is different. The past year has been different for us. We have grown as a couple. He has become my best friend again and we are just, I dunno, the almost perfect couple again. I find myself crying at the stupid things and wanting to just chill with my husband. I get jealous when he wants to be on the computer playing games with his brother who pretty much stole a whole week of my husband's last few weeks with us by "dropping in" during the first week of Balla's leave! I want him to just hold me. I don't want the days or nights to end. I want to love on him and play fight with him all day long. I don't want the Navy to take my man away!

Anyway, tomorrow is another day closer to departure but it is also our son's 5th birthday and the start of school for everyone. I will get 3 days "alone" with my hunny and we have plans to try to finish the last half of our deck for the pool. It's been a rough day today, but I got through it without crying. Not sure if I will get throught the NIGHT, but I'll find out soon enough. It's been a long day. A Manic Monday!

TTFN,