Wake up call.

Holy crap! It is July 1st. Already.

Did you know that we could be officially out of the Army in as little as 14 weeks? FOURTEEN WEEKS!!!!??!?!?!?!!??!?!?! WTF? Where did the time go? No, seriously? What happened to it?

Dude. We have no plans. NONE! Directionless!!! Oh okay, to be fair, we have plans, just nothing concrete yet. Applications are in, we are waiting on scheduling some interviews for JROTC jobs which should (fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc) yield a job offer or two. Something solid should come up in the next month or two and then the plans will start to fall into place. I hope. I mean, I really, really, really hope.

Now, the back up plan is that we just stay in until his actual ETS date (December) instead of leaving early and using up vacation as terminal leave. That tidbit soothes my neurotic, over-planning, beginning to panic little soul. But the shock of it all sort of hit me full-bore today when I flipped the calendar. Wow.

Yes, this is all exciting and the promise of a 'normal' life of our own choosing is titillating. But the not knowing and my nearly obsessive need to start planning things MONTHS ahead of time? Killing. Me. I actually suggested to Swiss that we get things moving on lining up movers and whatnot. Then I stopped and said, wait... how can we plan and organize movers if we don't know where we are moving to? Cue panicked breathing. Well, not really. But close.

I've been working on the job/career hunt too- but all of that seems a bit premature given that we don't have a location yet. I mean, how much time and effort do you put into planning grad school applications when not every town on the options list has schools with those programs? And how much time do you log into each state's education website trying to navigate the madness when you don't even know if you'll end up there? But I'm not complaining... just noting that the logistics of planning a life when you don't know the setting can be a bit daunting.

In any regard, we are balls to the wall here, trying to get our post-Army plans in order. The biggest consolation is that since Swiss is retiring, there will be a paycheck every month come rain or shine. Which means, if need be, we could have a really nice place in a van down by the river. Hahahahhahahahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa head*desk. I can't tell if I'm laughing or crying... but all my unnecessary dramatics aside, things are going to get crazy here again, are y'all game for the ride?

A house divided.

Well, not really. We aren't really THAT divided. Only on a few key issues (Democrat vs. Republican is the biggest and causes much gnashing of teeth)... but the one that is currently driving me up the wall to a chorus of nails on blackboards? Planner vs. last-minuter. I would be the planner of the bunch. Sadly, most of Swiss's family falls into the last-minuter category.

For example: We have a family wedding to go to in early June. We knew about the wedding, but only got the invites with the final dates late last week (replete with ambiguous times like 'at sunset'... does that mean the ceremony is precisely at the time for sunset listed in moon-phase charts or is there a more specific time everyone knows about except us?). Ummm, its late May. I'm pretty sure our wedding invites were out like 3 month prior to the event. But I digress. Aside from being given zero information about hotels (its an out-of-towner) and spending a few hours of my day hunting down hotels presumably near the wedding location, I've been desperately trying to find a kennel for Mr. Fletcher.

I'm hoping I can garner some sympathy from the pet-owners out there because this was SO much harder than I thought it would be. We had a perfectly WONDERFUL place for him to be boarded at back in Minnesota and it was always just so easy. Here? Some places only take the dogs out 3 times a day. Others are 100% indoors. One makes you get Bordetella vaccinations every 6 months even though Vets only recommend doing it once a year (and naturally we fall outside the 6 month window). And better yet, I found one that doesn't allow any pick-ups on Saturdays OR Sundays? Wha??? Anyway, I finally tracked down a kennel with their acts together and wouldn't you know it. Already booked up. EFF.

Now, if you recall this post, you know that this isn't a new issue for us, the ongoing battle of planner and fly-by-your-seater. And at least this one wasn't either of our faults. But COME ON. I am currently in a holding pattern that will either get us a pricey individual cottage kennel in the next town up (rather inconvenient as this will have Fletcher in the back seat of the Altima with my MIL and I for at least a half hour, yikes!) or just taking him with us (our hotel is pet friendly) but that just sounds like a horrible idea since it is a wedding and you never know how long this stuff lasts and would involve Fletch in the back seat with my MIL and I for 3 hours. Ugh.

I can honestly say that, coming from a family of planners (to the nth degree often), the lack of planning by the other half of family in your life really is enough to drive you to drink. Do any of you suffer from this affliction? How do you manage and how do you get all your planning in without being the anal-retentive one constantly pestering folks for dates? Or do you just say screw it and pester away? What is the best way to avoid these situations short of demanding dates and lots of stomping of the feet? Okay, well I am off to twiddle my thumbs until the doggie cottage place calls me back. Wish me luck folks!

Now, for the fun part of getting a 15 year old.

Redecorating!!! *snort*

Of course this isn't the only part that will be fun... but it is a big deal to me for Kid A to come down here to a HOME. Not just a spare room with spare stuff dressed up a his new room. I want it to be his, to be cool, to be welcoming, and most importantly to make him feel like he is wanted here. I know bedspreads and lamps won't do that alone, but I know no one has really done something like this for him before, so I'm hoping it goes a long way to helping him settle in and feel like he is a part of our family.

So, with that, I have pulled together some ideas from my ever loved IKEA that I think say "Welcome Teenage Boy!" as well as giving it a dose of cool, modern, funky style that a midwestern teenager who is ALL about skating might not be adverse to. Also, they all come in at right around $100. Score!

What? I am a stay at home wife. I spend waaaaaay too much time on the internet because I am bored and as Beth can attest, these idea boards are pretty much par for the course with me. I had 12 for my house when I bought it and 5 for our wedding. I'm visual folks. Can't be helped.

Aaaaanyway, here are the three ideas I have. The kids loves black. I get that, but also, he needs to be introduced to my best friend Roy G Biv. So I tried to put in shots of color and, hopefully, avoid a room that is just a pit of black dispair. Also, he could used some culture/exposure to new things and I'm hoping to help him see that there are cool things in the world that aren't made by DG and Vans and whatever else the skater kids are wearing these days.

So, without further adieu, here are the 3 rooms I've come up with. I hear some of your shouts that he should get to choose his room and theoretically I agree with you, but I really, really want him to walk in the door when we bring him home to a fully furnished, decorated, kick-ass room. Sue me.

First, choice A. This is the blackest room but I am totally in love with the map of NYC and that the duvet cover works with the blue pillows and red accents to be graphic and hip and sorta skater-y all at the same time.

Second choice B. I heart this duvet and it reminds me of a hoodie I bought him for Christmas and he loved. Still graphic and hip but a lot more color and a lot more pattern. Also, I love green and orange together, don't you?

Last but not least, choice C. This one is a bit safer, the duvet is pretty tame and the colors all come from the numbery print at the bottom. I think this one would work well but isn't quite as hip as I would like. Because it is all about me, right?

Okay, so now I need your votes. PLEASE! Pick A, B, or C and maybe throw in your 2nd choice too for good measure. Or any suggestions you have for mixing up the choices, that would be awesomesauce too. Remember: 15 year old midwestern skater kid who loves black and angsty teen metal music but who will also sing along to Viva la Vida by Coldplay when in the car with me.

THANK YOU!!! :)

But I don't wanna!!!!

Oh the ball. The unit ball.

We SO weren't going to go. Decision made, moving on. No schmancy dresses, no forced fun with people we don't know, no awkward conversations with folks more interested in Harley-Davidsons than ANYTHING else. Phew!

And then today I got the call. We are going to the ball. He even gave me the Party line about it all when I asked him, in my best 8 year old tone, but whhhhhhhhy?

So here I go, with less than 2 weeks to find a formal dress in a town that has only a GAP and a Dillard's (of which you KNOW half the other women going are shopping at, am I right?). So online shopping I go. And here is where I need your help, faithful readers, what is my general goal here? Here are my questions:
-Is floor length a must?
-How glitzy do I go?
-Color? Black? What DOES go with that odd shade of Army green?
-And most importantly- I need your tips on how to get through this without needing counseling and/or copious amounts of wine?

Okay- so wish me luck and send your good shopping karma to the Online Shopping Gods with my name attached!