Temporary Home

It has been a week since we were dragging our bags into temporary housing, exhausted, but happy to be able to unpack our bags.

Last Wednesday, we left Moody AFB  after brunch with a couple of friends.  John and I were prepared for a 12 hour 55 minute trip and our GPS let us down.  Although we went an undisclosed amount over the speed limit the whole way to Dover, the trip took close to 14 hours.  There wasn't any road construction and the traffic wasn't bad, so I really don't know why the trip took longer than expected.  We were relieved to finally make it to our destination and crash for the night.

Arranging housing in Dover wasn't easy (I am learning that dealing with military offices is never easy!) We were told that since John was TDY we couldn't get temporary housing, we could only have a hotel room. That's all fine and good... but 1) there are two of us on this trip  2) we also have 5 months worth of stuff with us.  I love John with all my heart, but 5 months, sharing a single room with all of our stuff... thats not exactly healthly for our marriage or our sanity. So John did a little investigating and found some regulation where it states where we should get temporary housing.  Their comeback? "Well, that's only if you have a child under 10." What. The. Heck.  What about families that have a child that is 12? 15? Where is the child supposed to go? Sleep in a cardboard box on the front lawn??? So John requested a written copy of the policy change from the manager.  Next thing we know... we have temporary housing. Surprise surprise!

During our stay in Florida John did receive an email from the manager stating that there had been some "mistake". At this point we were fed up with all the military offices that have these unspoken rules and regulations (i.e. Our whole Alaska residency fiasco  that took a month and getting legal involved to resolve).  John and I will put up with a certain amount of BS, but even we have a breaking point. Thankfully, a curt email from John fixed the "mistake"

"Home Sweet Home"

     

                                              

The kitchen is small.  I'm resisting buying more kitchen appliances and am challenging myself to learn to cook some new meals with the stuff we do have.  Homes make weird noises, and this one is no exception. Our bedroom fan sounds like this:

Sleeping without the fan on is not an option for me.  Since our fan sounds like a turkey, I will be tracking down some Melatonin within the next couple of days so I can get some better sleep. On the plus side, we did break down and buy pillows. The ones in our room were awful.  Here's to hoping next week brings better sleep!

On the plus side I finally finished my scarf that I had been working on for a month. I will wear this scarf until it is thread bare.  I had to start this sucker over three times. 

I also started a scarf for John.  Fifteen rows in and I began to wonder why I was knitting him a scarf.       After all, we are moving to California!  Hopefully it'll be finished before it gets too warm here. 

We discovered that the local Sam's Club isn't going to cut it for date night (nasty hotdogs and SO many flies around the condiments area,) We might settle for Chic-Fil-A for date nights :D  "Best part" is- it's right in front of a Lowe's.  Yep! The first thing out of my dear husband's mouth is "We should go to Lowe's!"  No.  Just no.  I do not want to see the inside of another Lowe's or Home Depot until we get a home in California.

So we have a Chic-Fil-A here...

Panera and Krispy Kreme are a no go though :(

                      

So this week I'm settling in to my new work schedule.  

I'm also looking for a new tv shows to watch to kill some time.  

Do tell... what is your favorite tv series??

Sweet Home Alabama (and Florida!)

It's always a good day when you are in the south! Thunderstorms, sweet tea, southern accents, and southern charm- I have definitely missed it!

We had a great time spending Christmas in Alabama!

We got to shoot air rifles on base :D It was a ton of fun! In high school I wasn't the best at archery, but air rifles... better watch your back! ;)

John spent some time with his dad and the Mills family working on his C5 plane.

 

The finished product looks awesome and John can't wait to add it to his collection! 

Then there was our time in Florida!

We kicked it off spending New Years Eve in downtown Pensacola! We had a great night of shopping, people watching, and hanging out with friends and family.

  

We also made a trip out to see the Christmas lights at Bellingrath Gardens. Poor John thought it was something we could drive around and see. Nope! Instead we had a nice romantic walk around the park.      Oh darn ;)

At one point during our walk, a kid starts walking beside us rattling on about how he wanted to go visit the north pole.  He finally asked "Can we go to the North Pole??"  I had to break to it to him that he wasn't with us, so I didn't really know.  The kid had no clue who he was walking beside.  He stopped in his tracks and goes running in the other direction! 

At this point, Hannah had been with my family for over a week.  I think she is having a rough time adjusting. She hates my guts, and I think she is experiencing sensory overload.  Too much going on and too many new animals that want to play with her.  I did cherish the times she let me hold her (even if I was having to hold her down)

 The BSC Championship game had my family yelling at the tv for hours. My loving sister (photo below) stole my phone a couple of times and made me look like an Auburn fan! >.<

 I also got to spend some time with my new cousin :)  She is so stinkin cute!  I tried to teach her how to blow raspberries.  She was starting to get it!  Unfortunately she was a little cranky my last day in Florida.  I think it may have been a poopy diaper.  I'll never know.. she got passed to grandma. Let's face it- grandma's have WAY more experience with this stuff than I ever will!

Our time down in the south flew by in the blink of an eye!  We enjoyed getting to spend time with family and  friends.  If we ever don't see you while we are in town- it's not intentional. There are just so many people to see and unfortunately the trips tend to be short.  Best part is, we are back in the Lower 48 so that means cheaper plane tickets and hopefully not being gone for over a year!

So if we missed you this trip- let's make some plans for May!