February Highlights

Justin quit lacrosse. That is the big news here. He is not a "quitter" and the decision came neither easily nor quickly. He had several reasons but the biggest is that he felt his goals with football were more important than his lacrosse goals. By goals, of course I mean those things you write down and try to accomplish - not the physical act of propelling a ball into a box or between some uprights. Anyway, the team is really missing him and the organization is missing Terry and I as well, since we were the BOD VP and Secretary respectively, but of course are no longer. Well this gives us the ability to concentrate on football as well - since we are the BOD VP and Treasurer respectively LOL.

We have a new football coach and Justin wants to dedicate himself to that sport with the hopes of playing in college and possibly getting a scholarship. This new guy has been coaching since before I was born, so he knows a thing or two. I love him as a person - he is very old-fashioned and I personally believe the world could  use an extra dose of old-fashioned once in a while.

We were also glad to see Eric finish his AIT (Advanced Infantry Training) and fly off to Ft. Benning, Georgia to begin JUMPING OUT OF AIRPLANES. Yes, my son is going to be doing this, probably within a week. I am hoping he tells me about it only afterwards and does not cause me to worry by telling me the day before his first jump. I truly believe that he is in the safest environment possible to learn this, and he's in the most capable hands of his instructors, but still... it's hard to think that your son is going to be doing something like this. I am trying to keep out of my mind that eventually he will most likely be doing these things on foreign soil.

Oh, and he turned 21 this month. OMG I guess that means I'm the mother of an adult! Well, I guess when he turned 18 he was technically an adult, but he was still a teenager then, and certainly didn't act like an adult. He sure does now - the Army has caused him to mature by leaps and bounds - but he fortunately hasn't lost any of his wonderful personality.

On his actual birthday he was still in training and not allowed to leave his HQ at all, so he didn't get to celebrate it until last weekend when he got to Georgia. He ended up going to Red Lobster with one or two of his Army buddies and getting a meal that came to about $34, probably the most he's ever spent on a meal for himself. He'd never had lobster before so he got some sort of combo with chicken, shrimp and a lobster tail, which he devoured. Also he ordered some sort of fruity daquiri - the first time he's ever been able to drink (legally) in a restaurant. I teased him about picking such a girly drink and he said, "Hell, I carry around a machine gun all day, if anyone has a problem with me drinking a girly drink then f*** them! In fact, I'm going to walk around in my combat uniform with my daquiri and machine gun, just to see how people react."

Did I ever tell you about the time he rode his bicycle around wearing a banana costume?

We are still getting settled in our new home, which we love. We've been making small improvements here and there - the latest ones are the addition of some pretty curtains in the living room which replaces some horrid aluminum blinds that were probably older than the home itself. There's another window that has some yellowed (formerly white) wooden blinds that I nearly had an asthma attack removing from all the dust - and I don't have asthma. Unfortunately for me, things never are as easy as you think they will be, and I made the unfortunate assumption that both windows were the same width. So I guess later I will have to go to Home Depot and get the next size rod :( Hopefully all this work will pay off - it should look fabulous when I'm done. I've also added some pops of color to our living room by painting our metal side tables. Both were previously a bronze color - now one is silver and one is blue. We're going to eventually put a nice (and probably huge) flat panel TV on the wall and then I can add some shelves next to it. I'm also planning to sew up some colorful throws, cover some pillows and possibly refinish the coffee table. I will have some before & after pics to share once it's all done but don't hold your breath as it could be several months.

I've also been working on the kitchen a bit - I added some window valances in the bay window and removed some disgusting blinds. I've also decided to tackle a big project that I think will make a big impact - adding a tile backsplash. Another big-impact thing we're hoping to do soon is taking out the sticky and annoyingly loud sliding door and replacing it with some French doors.

In Arizona we recently had a long spell of very cold weather which killed a lot of our smaller plants and shrubs. We aren't crying over this, because what was here was only "meh" and we were planning on putting something else in anyway. But we have to wait until it gets a bit warmer before we can think about that, so maybe in another month?

This month I also went to San Diego on a business trip - which was OK - but I was able to get some really nice photos at least.

As much as things seem to change with us lately, there are some things that do remain constant...

...and thank goodness for that!