Airing grievances....and then something good.

My poor sister Abby gets all of those pointless phone calls--the ones where I just need to tell her something that was completely random or something that totally stunk. It's not a call I ever make fishing for sympathy or even advice, but somehow I know she'd appreciate most of what I have to gripe about because I say it then its over and we talk about something else. It's what I miss most about living near her and hanging out with her nearly 24 hours a day (OK, it's not really what I miss most but it has left a void in my life). It's those things that you just have to say out loud except that here I don't have anyone to say it out loud to. So I call Abby.
Sometimes I call her several times a day. I wonder if she is truly sick of me yet.

So here is what I called her about today.
1. Standing in line at Panera there was a woman in front of me. She looked young but was wearing scrubs implying that she worked perhaps in some kind of health office? Dentist office? Doctor's office? I really don't know. But she was gnawing mercilessly on her nails. Maybe it's because I have a 6 year old that has this habit and we have been trying endlessly for 2 years to break her of it. Not only to let her poor nails be but it means she has her fingers in her mouth, all the time. It was grossing my out so intensely that I almost, almost had to say something to her.
2. I went to see my doctor for a quick blood pressure read due to a headache I've had for 6 weeks. Tylenol doesn't help and there ends my options. My weird OB's professional opinion? Drink a half a cup of wine every night before bed. I said, I don't drink...and was thinking, uh and I'm pregnant. That was after I sat in the waiting room staring at a poster promoting the morning after pill--it said "sometimes the morning after can get messy" and had a picture of a spilled cup of coffee on a planner. Comparing accidentally getting pregnant to a spilled cup of coffee?...I can't even go there. grr.
3. I had McDonalds for dinner. 'nough said.
But my kids made me laugh today, lots of times and that made it better between all those weird things that happen day to day.

Now for a change of direction. A couple of months ago I started compiling my Blurb (an online company that publishes your blog into book format.) I had lots of glitches and it was excruciatingly frustrating...But, I finally figured out what the problem was and got it submitted. I got it in the mail today. 168 pages of journaling from the last 2 years. I am so pleased.


Once I figured out the hang up, it was so easy I made two more books one for me and one for Clark.

I just finished some other projects for the girls. I have been putting together projects for the upcoming deployment so I started with little laminated, spiral bound picture books for each person in the family. They are filled with pictures of the family and pictures of the girls with their Dad, specific for their own book. However, once I got through with three little ones I decided doing a blurb book for me and Clark would be much faster, and cheaper.

Which brings me to my next random jump of topics. We're moving in two and a half weeks. I can't tell you how excited I am to leave this particular dwelling. It has housed our comfy little family and surrounded us (rather closely) with most of our familiar things. However, with the absence of overhead lighting and small rooms it's like living in a cave. My eyes actually hurt by the time we go to bed. Clark is leaving to meet his boat, the USS Annapolis and take over as Navigator near the end of the year. Instead of the girls and I moving into a house and enduring our first New England winter through the throws of 2nd and 3rd trimesters I opted for Utah. My parents are graciously taking in the Scharman girls for the next several months until Clark returns. I will most likely stay in Utah until after the baby is born, as we have discovered our birthing options are narrowly more attractive there. I am feeling prepared for the move, but unprepared for our separation. It's good to miss someone but not that fun. There's no telling how it will affect the girls though we have read and prayed and prepared as much as we know how. The last time Clark deployed Haley was only 2 and Abby was a baby. They weren't really old enough to grasp the concept of time or absence. My heart already aches. I am so proud of him and couldn't feel more supportive of what he does. I admire him, I believe in it, I am invigorated and humbled by what efforts are made on our behalf.
Was this long enough? Are you still with me?
Later.