Three-month checkup

School's out! I finished two classes this semester with A's in both and a 3.88 overall GPA for the year. How I managed it while simultaneously learning to be a mom is beyond me, but I must be doing something right!

Dylan is now three months and ten days old, well over fifteen pounds, grabbing his toys with a fair degree of accuracy, vocalizing like crazy, and generally charming the hell out of everyone he meets :) Here are some pictures:

What big eyes you have!

Hangin' wit my homey!

What a big smile!

Sitting up well, but not yet on his own

There really isn't much to say as far as his development....he's a baby, doing baby things, you know? He takes up most of my time and I'm constantly behind on everything I want to accomplish, but I don't mind. I'm pretty patient.

Until next time...

Dear Diary

Life is good.

I had a great holiday! Chris and I went home to MD to spend Christmas with our families. We spent the day with my dad and stepmom the day before. I wish I could get up to see them more. Christmas morning we opened presents with Chris's family, then he stayed there while I went to the big family gathering at my mom and stepdad's house. Later that night, after all the extended family had gone home, Chris came over and we opened the rest of our presents from my family. I'm not really a materialistic person, but I got some kick-ass gifts! Most exciting was the LOTR box set, which I specifically asked for, and which I spent about a week watching (along with all the accompanying documentaries). I also got a bird feeder from my mom-in-law, and five of the field guides from the Audubon Society. I can't wait for spring!

Chris left the day after Christmas to come home (he had to go back to work), but I stayed for the rest of the week and visited all my friends. Most exciting was when my sister and I spent an evening over in Woodbridge, hanging out with a friend from high school we hadn't seen in about five years. He had my junior yearbook, which I spent a delightful hour browsing through, remembering a lot of good times I had completely forgotten about. It was surprisingly liberating, to realize how different high school actually was from the way I remember it. I also got to spend a day with Fletcher, which also doesn't happen often enough. I miss you, Puck! I even got to hang out with my little brother and his friend Jake, both of whom have turned into incredibly well-rounded and interesting young men. They're 15 now, and both pretty mature for their age. I seriously wish I could be around more often.

Two days before Christmas, Chris was changing the oil in our car when it popped out of gear, rolled off the ramps, down a hill, and into a tree. That's all she wrote - no more Echo. I was heartbroken...I bought that car three years ago, with three miles on it, and I thought I was going to have it until it died. Well, I guess I did, huh? I just thought it would be another ten years or so before it gave up the ghost. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries, although it ran over Chris's knee and and he scraped up his back on the gravel. He limped for a few days, then he was okay. The insurance company paid for a rental, so we were able to go home and see our families, and Toyota financed us for a new Scion. You know, repeat business and all that. Not a bad car, when it's all said and done, but it does have one major drawback...it's white. I can't STAND white cars! But oh, well, beggars can't be choosers, and at least I have power windows and mirrors now. Can't really complain about that.

I got a job last week. I'm working full-time at the hotel right up the street from my house. Not a bad job, really, but I don't think I'm going to be full-time for long. I have almost no time to do my homework, and this semester I absolutely cannot afford to screw up. Why, you ask? Well, I had an admissions appointment today with a counselor from VT, and she told me that as long as my mid-semester grades are anywhere close to my grades from last semester, I'm in. I'M IN!!!! I'm going to Tech in the fall!! WOOOOOHOOOOO!!! :) That's very exciting (duh). I can't tell you how glad I am to be back in school. I actually got depressed after New Years', because I was so bored. I was sleeping 14 hours a day. Not cool.

My mom drove me home New Years' weekend, and my sister and brother-in-law came with. They only stayed overnight, but I got to take them on a short hike up to Wind Rock, which is on the Appalachian Trail, and it has a great view of the mountain range. Even in the wintertime it's breathtaking. The road up to Wind Rock also goes through Mountain Lake resort, the location where Dirty Dancing was filmed. Mom thought that was pretty cool. I took them around campus, and showed them downtown Blacksburg. I'm so glad my mom finally got to come and see where I'm living now, and where I'll be going to school. It was always important to me.

It's snowing here. Not much, and there's a bastard of a wind chill, but it's nice to see snow again. We had an ice storm a few days ago, and the ice was so thick on the pine trees in the yard that the lowest branches were almost on the ground. It all melted the next day, but not before we got out there and took some pictures. Hopefully we can get them developed soon.

School isn't much different from last semester, since I'm taking the same classes. One new teacher, a few different class locations, and my history paper this semester is on Andy Warhol. That's gonna be fun, I'm sure. My backpacking class doesn't start until mid-March. I can't wait!

I guess that's about it for now. It's good to be back.

:)

Thanksgiving, and other things

I registered for my spring classes today. Second semester of everything I'm taking now - biology, chemistry, calculus, and US history - plus an added bonus...a class in backpacking! Since my goal after finishing college is to hike the entire AT with Chris, this seems like a great idea. Give me the necessary background and all that. If I have an A average in my chem class by Dec. 11, I will not have to take the final. Since it's the only one I'm worried about, this bodes well for my chances at a 4.0 this semester, which bodes REALLY well for my chances at successfully transferring to VT next fall.

Thanksgiving was....interesting. Not bad, but strange. It's hard to explain. As I become an adult, I'm having to reevaluate my relationships with family, and reinterpret our interactions. A lot of issues to deal with, issues that I've never even fully articulated to myself, let alone tried to deal with. I think, given time, everything will work itself out. Some things right now, though, still seem awkward.

I'm not ready to have a dog yet, especially one that only wants your undivided attention 24/7. Yet that's what we were left with when Andy left for Cali. Don't get me wrong, I love this dog (and, since Thanksgiving, so does my family). He's smart, beautiful, and attentive. I just wish I had more time to give. As much as I'd like to have my own dog, raised from a puppy, I won't even consider it until I know I can give it the time and attention it deserves. Since I'm not planning on having kids for another few years yet, I don't think this will be a problem.

I have an appointment to give blood in about ten minutes. I may come back and add to this, I may not. We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

:)

Rollercoaster

What a rollercoaster of a weekend.

We had some new friends come over to hang out Saturday night, and it was good. Lots of beer, lots of great conversation...lots of connecting. I don't make friends often, being an introvert has that side effect, and besides, I don't feel like wasting my time on people I can't really connect with. It's so GOOD to find good people! Maybe I don't have a way with words, but I know what I know.

And I know that after they left, everything changed. I witnessed a falling out such as I never imagined was possible, between two people I thought would be close forever. I lay in bed, trying to sleep, listening to a conversation I didn't think these two people could have. So much pain, and bitterness, and cruelty, so much that I didn't even realize existed here, pouring out in a torrent of harsh words. Can I tell you something? I locked my bedroom door against the man I love that night. I didn't know where he was, but I knew he wasn't the man trying to get in. Deja vu, anyone?

We finally talked about it last night. It feels so good to be able to lay things to rest without the bitterness and drama I've grown used to with others. It's hard to see things change, especially for someone like me who, although I love adventure, thrives on familiarity. But, I've also had to learn that I can't stop change, and when it doesn't directly affect me, I have to let go and let it happen. Roll with the punches, as it were. Go with the flow. Give me a minute, I'll come up with another cliche. Just when I think I understand what it means to be married, to have that kind of commitment, something happens that threatens to shatter it, only to show me in the end that what I think of as commitment doesn't even scratch the surface. Do I have the strength to stay the course, no matter what? I think so. I don't want it any other way.

Life update

15 days until the movers come. I have not started packing anything, or even going through things to decide what goes and what stays, although this little voice in the back of my mind keeps telling me I should, don't wait until the last minute, you don't want to be going through your stuff after it's already moved, just take what important and leave the rest. I'm living in this strange mix of permanent and temporary. I still have things packed away in boxes in various closets because we don't have the space to unpack everything we have, but it all seems so solid, we've been here for a year and a half now and it feels like forever. I can barely remember what this place looked like when we moved in last February. Oddly enough, as solid as it seems, it has never really felt like home. I haven't had a "home" since I left my parents six years ago. Oh, living with Fletch came close, I actually had a house and a roommate I was comfortable with, but I haven't had the opportunity to put down new roots since I pulled the last ones up, and I don't know when I'm going to have the chance again. I don't even know how long we'll be staying in VA this time. The thing is, though, I don't know whether or not I would be comfortable settling down in one place and not moving again. I suppose as long as I was able to travel, it would be okay, but living the same life day after day gets monotonous so quickly. That's why I wasn't ready to leave VA the first time, hanging out with the guys in Arlington there was always something different happening, and it never got old. I miss them. I hope I can find a way to settle in to the next chapter in my life as well as I have in the past, because the sooner this one is over, the better.

Chris is still hanging in there. He's stressing over the amount of work he still has to do, apparently there are two change of commands this week so instead of spending quality time in his office he and the rest of his squadron have been practicing for those, but he's managing. Things have been a little strained around the house. I've started likening it to childbirth; right towards the end everything gets harder, your patience wears thin and all you want is for it to be over and done with. At least, that's what I've read. I've never had children, so I don't know if that's true or not. But we both realize the situation we're in, which makes it easier to get through the strain and say, "This is only temporary, we can get through it, and things will be better soon." Not that they're "bad" now, but we're both snappish and preoccupied, and we don't see much of each other, since I'm working nights. We get a break in a few days, though! We're going to Atlanta for the weekend to see the GRAB show. That's Gordon, Russo, Anastasio, Benevento for all you non-Duo and non-Phish people. Check out www.trey.com, www.mike-gordon.com, www.phish.com or www.organanddrums.com to find out more (this means you, Jimmy!). These guys are incredible!

All the pets are doing fine. One of my fish died a few days ago, but I'm not that upset about it. As long as Wilson (my betta) is okay, that's all I'm worried about.



One of my mice is pregnant again. This will be her third litter. The other two females are still too young, I think, or maybe they haven't started showing yet. Doesn't really matter to me, the pinkies are all going in the freezer for my corn snake. Who, by the way, started eating on his own! I finally got him to eat a brained pinky three days ago (yes, that means I squished its head, deal with it), and Jennifer gave him a not-brained pinky yesterday, which he grabbed onto with relish (dill, not bread-n-butter :P). I will definitely be taking him with me when we move. He's starting to show some orange around his head, I think he's going to turn out to be a standard coloration, which is fine with me. I'll share some pictures as soon as I get them.

Not counting my days off, I have eleven days of work left. Work is...work. I think I'm going to miss about half a dozen people from my job, but most of them are Myspace friends, so I won't be completely cut off! I don't really have anything to say about my job.

Still waiting on my financial aid. *sigh*

Israel and Lebanon just went to war. I am now trying frantically to learn 2.000 years of Middle Eastern history so I will understand not only what's happening, but why. My husband did a wonderful job of giving me the layman's version, but I still wonder where I've been for the past 24 years...do my parents know about any of this? If so, why didn't they teach me? Based on everything I know up to this point, I'm very pissed off at Israel right now.

That's all for now.