Monday, August 13, 2012

Memory Dump & Prayer Request

Good grief. It seems all my blog posts are "catch up" posts. Perhaps that's a sign that I need to try to slow down and make a real effort to write a little something every day. A daily memory dump, so to speak. Because right now, I can't really remember all that's been happening in the last few weeks!

*Car is finally out of the shop, good as new. Well....almost. When we went to pick it up, we pointed out some scratches and a crack on the driver's side mirror, and the insurance adjuster tried to tell us those were already there. Ummm...no they weren't. You will fix it, because it happened as a result of the accident. He bumbled for a moment, and then said he'd get the shop to order in a new housing for the mirror, and we could call today and set up an appointment to get that repaired. I'm hoping we don't get any resistance on that, and that when they DO begin the work on it, it doesn't take a week or more. This body shop took 2.5 weeks to fix the front quarter panel and replace the door and paint. Did I mention they had it for a week before even starting the work? Why didn't we take it somewhere else? Our insurance said this was the only place authorized to fix it, and it would've had to have been towed elsewhere. Grr. Time to shop for new insurance? I think perhaps!

*Baby girl seems to be adjusting to her soldier-in-training way of life! At first I was very concerned, she was SO homesick. I talked to her three times while she was in reception, and all three of those phone calls were filled with tears and "I miss you momma." I have very little Army experience, but I knew that once she was out of reception and got started on her training, things would improve. Or at least, she'd be so damn busy she wouldn't have time to think about missing anyone.
I've received a couple of letters, and might be getting another phone call in the next week or so when she moves from Red Phase to White Phase. She kicked ass at Victory Tower, and even said in one of her letters that it was "Frickin' cool!" :) That made me proud, and even a little bit jealous. I would love an opportunity to conquer Victory Tower too, just maybe without drill sergeants yelling at me.
Her unit has a Facebook page, so I've been very fortunate to be able to see photos of some key training events along this journey so far. I found one of her hanging from a rope on Victory Tower - that one will get printed out poster size and hung on my office wall. <3 I've also seen photos of her unit at the gas chamber as well, and found a few of my girl. Most of the soldiers coming out of the chamber have tortured looks on their faces, with snot and drool streaming everywhere. My girl? The look on her face is "Just handlin' my bidness." :) With minimal drool. (She'll be pleased about that! LOL)
As of tomorrow, she will have been gone three weeks. The house is eerily quiet without her here, and I really miss her. I miss her goofy antics and her witty comments. But I am enjoying coming and going as I please, and not having to worry about what she might be getting into. She is safe, and she is learning to be a soldier. <3



*Shooting! We had sorta slacked on hitting the range since returning from Colorado. We just had so much to do to get baby girl ready to go, and then The Week From Hell happened - and we needed some serious stress relief. So we joined a new gun club. :)
Most of the ranges around here have some pretty strict rules about how you can shoot, and what you can shoot. Which is fine, safety first, right? But standing still and shooting holes in paper can get boring. This gun club is in it's early beginnings, so it's really not that developed yet, but it's outdoors (REALLY looking forward to fall/winter shooting there) and you can actually move/shoot, draw from your holster, and shoot pretty much whatever you want in terms of targets (as long as you clean up the mess afterwards!). So hubs and I are looking at buying some steel targets to take out there for fun. In the meantime, we've been shooting the standard silhouette targets, but we're able to practice different scenarios. One thing is clear. I need more training and a helluva lot more practice.
We have a couple of training schools lined up! One we're going to hit before the end of the year, and the other we're hoping to get to in February or March of next year. In the meantime, I've found a local instructor and will be taking a Defensive Handgun class (and maybe some private instruction) in the next month or so.
I'm looking into changing up my EDC. I'm currently carrying a Ruger LC9, and while the size is just about perfect for me to conceal, I'm looking for something with a higher round capacity and a trigger that isn't quite so loooooong. It's currently a toss up between a Ruger SR9c (hubs has one of these, and I like it, and can conceal it ok) and a S&W M&P9/M&P9c. But I need to rent/borrow one to see how it shoots before making the final decision. Hoping to do that this week. Based on just handling them both, the M&P's slide is easier to rack, the sights are a little better, and it weighs just a couple ounces less.
Dallas Area Blog Shoot! A date has been set, and hubs and I are going to try to make it! Looking forward to meeting a bunch of new people and trying out some new toys!

 *Reloading! Hubs has thrown himself into reloading. We've made more than a few trips to "Big Box Hunting/Fishing/Outdoor Sports Store" for equipment and supplies. I think if we totaled up all the receipts, I'd probably choke at the amount of money we've spent, but I do know that in the long run, it will be more cost effective for us, and we'll be able to actually shoot MORE. :) Once he gets all the basics down, he's going to teach me. He's been showing me things along the way, and I get it for the most part, but put that technical data and all those numbers in front of me? Well, my eyes glaze over and I start to drool like *I* just came out of the gas chamber! It's gonna take me a while to wrap my brain around that part.



*Physical fitness. I suck. I have totally fallen OFF the wagon here. I haven't seen the inside of the gym in weeks. And weeks. And I'm feeling the effects. I've put on a little weight (which is not a big deal for me, I could use the extra pounds, but I'd prefer it was muscle instead of this little spare tire I'm developing!). But more importantly, I'm starting to feel crappy. I can't seem to get enough sleep lately, and I get grouchy pretty quick. I kept thinking it was the Texas heat, and while that may be a contributing factor, it's the lack of physical activity that is the biggest fault. SO, the home exercise equipment is getting dusted off, I'm making myself a workout calendar, and I'm calling the Krav Maga school too. Today. Oh, and my running shoes? Ha! Just found them yesterday, after not seeing them since Colorado. So that's something else I need to get back to.



And finally.......Prayers? If you're so inclined, I would really appreciate any prayers and good mojo you could send our way today. Hubs left a little bit ago to go do his "quarterly MRI."  That's in quotes, because he sorta skipped the last one. I protested, and nagged, and bitched, but nothing I did or said would make him pick up the phone and call to make an appointment. He was sure he was fine and didn't need to spend the money.
However the last couple of weeks he's had some odd things happening (which he just told me about YESTERDAY. Ugh.), and now he's worried that the tumor may be rearing it's head again. He didn't actually tell me that, but he did say "I'm afraid the results won't be good." :(

MRI days make me crazy. The time at the MRI clinic is usually 1.5-2 hours, and then from there he goes to his oncologists office, and that usually takes at least two hours. We love her and she's fantastic - she gives each patient as much time as they need, appointment times be damned. But that means lots of waiting. So MRI days are typically that - a full day. A stressful, worrisome, hand wringing day for me - waiting for an update.

So, with that, I'm going to dig in on today's ToDo List to keep my brain busy. God help me.




6 comments:

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    1. Thanks North. Hope you can spare a few more.

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  2. That's a whole lotta information :) I feel like my blog posts are all catch-up posts as well.

    Hope all is good with your hubby's MRI and I'm glad to hear your daughter is kicking ass and taking names.

    I've fallen off the workout bandwagon as well and it sucks. I'll be getting back on it shortly, I hope. With the weather cooling down, it's a lot nicer to be out and about in the evenings now.

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    1. Thanks for posting GunDiva. Glad I'm not the only one that dumps a bunch of info on people all at once. Trying to get better about it.

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  3. Praying and thinking of you!!!

    Life is a wild ride isnt't it? The good and the challenging...thinking of you and so good to hear your daughter is well!!

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    1. A wild ride is right. Makes me feel a bit like Mr. Toad. ;)

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