I heart Lily.

I know some of you, loyal wonderful readers, have heard of this woman: Lily Burana. She is a military (Army) wife and a burlesque dancer and an author and a generally kick ass lady. She blogs over here.

Anyway, a friend passed along this nugget of wisdom that Lily wrote for the Los Angeles Times. It's about the whole Dover ordeal and she really summed it up quite well. Better than I ever could, but then again, she is the published author, not me. Anyway, go check it out, The military privacy debate.

Image from lilyburana.typepad.com

The kitchen: part 3

Sinks. Sexy, sultry sinks. Okay. I don't know of ANY sinks that would qualify as sexy or sultry, but I am trying to make this post exciting! Ooh! Sinks!

Is it working?

Hmm. Didn't think so. Anyway, here they are. Stainless vs. white? Boring or quasi interesting? These are the four or so I have narrowed it down to...

Consider them numbered 1-4 and give me your takes. Remember, this is a 1927 home with original white and somewhat plain cabinets. The knobs are simple and a twee bit modern... I got them at Ikea.

And look on the bright side. Once we decide this... we get to pick a faucet! Woot!

The kitchen: part 2

First off, of course I want your opinions! You all are smart, witty and clever ladies who have had more than your fair share of kitchens to deal with... why wouldn't I? Thank you for all the great input yesterday- y'all rock!

Second, in regards to the market here. It is good. Better than the average because our town is home to a 'destination medical center' (talk about marketing terms, right?) so there is always an influx of new residents and employees. Plus, our house is within walking distance of said hospital and in a historic neighborhood... 2 big items that we hope will go a long way in selling this house.

Third, COUNTER TOPS!
We currently have... wait for it... parquet wood flooring tiles as our counters. Niiiiice. (I know you are all SO jealous!) My mom and I got all crafty on it when I moved in (back when I was single) and sanded it down, wood-filled the heck out of it, and painted it a faux black marble. I love the dark counter tops, they look so good with all the white and the lighter floors! But again, pretty taste specific... I can't imagine that they are everybody's cup of tea. So, with that in mind I've picked out some black options to stay with what we have, or some beigey tannishness options to lighten things up.

So, without further adeui, here are our choices... (all are laminate, we just aren't in a Corian or stone price bracket).

New Countertop Samples, originally uploaded by Tucker&Swiss.

Note- the black ones will be in another post because I am not smart enough to figure out the blogger/flickr issues I am having...

The kitchen: part 2.5

New Countertop Samples, originally uploaded by Tucker&Swiss.

Here are the black options...

I can't wait to hear what y'all think! And I promise I will post pictures of the current counters & cabinets when I get home tonight. Happy Tuesday!

Muwah-ha-ha Monday.

Confession: I read the military news on yahoo.com.

Promise to Self: I will no longer read the military news on yahoo.com until Swiss is home safe and sound.

Yeah, I might have self-induced some panic this afternoon at work. I read an article about our forces shooting down an Iranian drone in Iraqi air space and buried at the bottom was a bit about how a US soldier died in the capital today. Swiss didn't call this morning like he usually does... and cue internal freak-out. Thankfully, about an hour later Swiss called. Turns out he was booked in meetings all day, hence the no call this morning. Big, deep, sigh. Phew... that sucked hard. So I am definitely not playing that game anymore. Fo sho!

But on the plus side, it is B-E-A-Utiful here today. 62 and sunny and I am loving it. Every window in the house is open, I took Fletcher on a nice long walk (he is blissfully wiped out on the floor as I type this), saw my first 6 Robins and got loads of fresh air- no jacket required!

So I am off to eat some dinner, pay some bills, watch Dancing with the Stars and Castle. I heart the television. Happy Monday all!

The kitchen: part 1

Okay... welcome to Kitchen Makeover week here at Tucker & Swiss. It'll be like HGTV, only without the commercials and all the special effects.

Thanks to a hearty tax refund, we are updating the kitchen post haste (partly for me, partly for resale- either way Hooray!). This week I will enlist your help in making some decisions that will help with resale, which shouldn't be too hard for y'all because I know how opinionated you are! See, I know what I like... but what I like is odd, so I don't want to do anything too crazy, I want it to look uber-great when it goes up for sale next year. So that is where you ladies come in!

First things first. Here is the kitchen.

It looks kinda patriotic now that I look at it, but it was never intended to be that way. I fell in love with my red KitchenAid and all my kitchen utensils/accents are red. And there was this insanely bright blue paint that I adored. So it went in the kitchen. But I digress. We need new counter tops, a new sink, new faucet and a new dishwasher.

My first question to you, dear readers, is this: MUST I repaint? Is the blue too much?

I really, really don't want to since it is less than 2 years old and frankly, I think it looks great with the white cabinets and honey floors. But be honest, do I have to bite the bullet?

Tomorrow: Counter tops!!!!

Busy bee.

In a rare burst of both motivation and energy I've been a whirlwind of activity today... and it is only 1430! This is not how I usually spend my Sundays (think PJ's all day, marathons of America's Next Top Model and trying to teach Fletcher to roll over).

Speaking of Fletcher... here he is. Anyway, I got to talk to Swiss (swoon!) which was awesome, then I hit up SuperTarget (I love me some Target), I mopped the floors, vacuumed and made chili. I. Can't. Wait. For. Dinner. Nom.












Then I embarked the MONUMENTAL task of organizing, de-cluttering, and purging the dreaded Back Room. (You know you have one too!) Can I just say that the sheer volume of Army manuals that reside downstairs is enough to completely train all of my neighbors in the ways of the Infantry... I could produce some serious E7's or better here. (We also likely have enough equipment down there to outfit the neighborhood too!) Anyway, now they are all in a confined, contained area and I am not moving them for fear of a thrown out back.


Here they are in all their glory...
So that has been my Sunday. I am back in lounge clothes (I had to chase Fletcher through my neighbor's muddy yard in bare feet. Awesome.) and will be settling in to do my taxes here soon. But don't you worry, there is plenty of telly watching and lounging in my future. That's just how I roll.

10 things...

It is officially waaaaaay to early to be up on a Saturday. But dogs must pee and I haven't yet mastered Swiss's talent of falling back to sleep after ANY disturbance (then again I don't have 18 years of Infantry experience learning to sleep whenever and wherever).

So, because I am bored and the good cooking shows don't come on for another hour I've decided that y'all need to know random things about me (and because, well, you've earned something light & fun loyal readers... all 8 of you... because you put up with my rants, like yesterday, and I love you for it). I am starting out with 10 things but be warned: They are not profound, nor are they fascinating. They are just 10 little things that make me, well, me.

Here goes...

1. I love Orbit’s Minty Mojito gum. It's so tangy and fresh and it's the closest I can get to drinking on the job.
2. Given the choice (and snow/ice is not involved) I will always choose to wear flip flops.
3. I secretly want to be Posh Spice. Seriously. I love her and she is hilarious (it is totally worth the 3:47 to watch this video, it always makes me giggle and she is so fabulously fun, and she can stop a soccer ball in heels. Okay, I will stop gushing now.).
4. My dog is named after archery equipment.
5. I adore Sharpies. They are quite simply the best writing tool ever invented. Check this out. No average pen could do that!
6. I can’t imagine a life without Diet Coke. Honestly.
7. The only time I ever got stood up for a date was in Venice, Italy.
8. I love folding laundry and ironing. Once I heard that Martha Stewart loved to iron too and it made me sad because she is MARTHA and I will never be as good at it as she is. Party pooper.
9. I loathe doing dishes. Something about floating food bits... grody.
10. I grab my husband’s butt every chance I get. *I cannot help this, nor can I stop it (though I will admit that I never really tried). It is like my hand is solid iron and his butt is a powerful magnet. A force of nature that cannot be denied... or at least that is the story I am sticking with. Aren't you glad you know that?

Now don't you feel better knowing all that about me? No? Oh. Okay. Anwhoodles, I am off to watch some cooking shows and then head to class to paint some more. Hooray for painting! Happy Saturday all!

Have I been in a coma?*

*The asterisk is because there is swearing in this post. If you aren't game, stop reading now. Sorry.

Mmmkay. I just saw this over at cnn.com: "After 6 years fighting in Iraq, Americans' interest wanes" and all I can say is, Huh?

This is news NOW? Last I checked, I am pretty sure that the American public lost interest in this war about 2 years ago (if not more). But seriously, you should read this. It is full of really great insight into the 'American public'.

Like this little gem: "...based on recent polling and exit polling from the November presidential elections, the war isn't a big concern to Americans." Well, then, by all means bring my husband home and close up shop. I'm glad none of you are concerned about our troops. I am glad none of you lay awake at night worrying about your husband's safety (in the shower or otherwise) or if he will even come home. Awesome. Oh, and you are welcome. Asshats.

Ooh, and this one slayed me: " 'And obviously after six years, Americans are going to be a little sick of it,' said Michael O'Hanlon, a national security expert at the Brookings Institution." You know, I feel for you American public, I really do. Because guess what? We military families are just so NOT sick of it. We love this! Honest! Actually, we want MORE! More deployments! More PTSD! More Purple Hearts! HOORAY FOR WAR! I am SO fucking sorry that YOU are sick of it poor, poor American public. Asshats squared.

BAAH! *breathe* Okay. Rant over. I know I was a bit harsh, but really people? Really???

It has been one of those days... I am stuck late at work (after coming in early- fantastic!) and I work with a bunch of morons. But, the silver lining is that I get to go out to dinner with a great friend and eat yummy Indian food (I'm hoping for booze too! Does that make me a lush?) Hope I wasn't too much of a Debbie Downer for your Friday afternoon... here's wishing y'all a super weekend with lots of sunny, warm weather! And no stupid 'American public'.

P.S: Glad y'all like the new header too! :)

Shiny newness.

What do y'all think? Do you like it? (I am referencing mah shiny new header up there. I think it is quite schmancy!)

I am trying to spice things up to get me out of this weather induced blah-dom. It doesn't help though that Swiss and I are suffering through an Army induced radio(phone) silence. It sucks. But I digress. I am using caffeine, flickr, Community Ed classes, my iPod and enchiladas to get me out of the funk. God, if enchiladas don't work I have no idea what to do next except add margaritas!

Anyway, things here are fine. I am anxiously awaiting Spring like a junkie awaiting their next fix. Seriously, this winter is killing me and I was only here for 6 weeks of it. (I think that is a clear indication that we need to move south-ish, no?) But I am really pumped about this weekend... I have a birthday celebration with a friend on Friday and more oil painting on Saturday (with bonus wine-counter time at Val's place). So all we need do is get through the next 2 days... work is such an inconvenience! Gaw!

Change is gonna do me good.

So, being here, at home in the upper Midwest, working and going on with life like nothing has changed in the last year and a half is getting tedious. Maybe it has something to do with knowing that I am leaving in 10 months. Maybe I am just ready to not be in transition (Ha! *Snort* Who am I kidding?) Maybe I am just ready to get on with the life that is waiting for me, for us back at Fort X.

I am tired of my job. Not that it isn't a great one and not that some of the folks I work with aren't amazing, because it is and they are. I am just tired of being here. I am tired of cleaning a house I know I won’t be in a year from now. I am tired of pretending to everyone who knows me that once Swiss comes back I won’t be leaving. (Heck, my bosses have actually told me I can’t leave and I've had to lie my ass off so far. Awesome.) I am tired of going through the motions of the life Swiss and I used to have. God, I sound so melodramatic... get a grip girl!

I think I am just really ready for the changes that await us. And perhaps some of this has to do with how this deployment is playing out. Not on Swiss’s end, on mine. I dealt with all of the pre-deployment anxiety, the anticipatory grief, the crying jags and the practically numbing fear when we first learned of it in May. (I blogged about that super fun day too if you care to read.) I didn't really know what to expect to feel like when he actually left. I didn't know how well I would handle it (I had high hopes but you never know…). Surprisingly, I don’t feel even remotely like I did last summer. I am okay, still a bit scared and worried, but dealing with all of this just fine, thank you very much.

See, it was the fear of how I would cope, how I would handle this is why I decided to come back here to our home and not move to Fort X for the duration of the deployment. This way I would be near friends, near family, keeping as much the same as I could… like our house and my job. But now I just feel out of place. I know none of our/my life here is permanent like I thought it might be. Not my job, my house, or my surroundings. It has been kind of liberating to know that I don’t NEED any of this. Just Swiss and my family (and dear Val who I can’t bear the thought of leaving). But this lag time between the now and the future is awkward at best.

There is no solution. This is just me venting. The end.

Because one blog isn't enough.

So, since one blog isn't enough (clearly my husband is deployed and I have nothing better to fill my time with) I have started up a new twee little blog: Tucker & Swiss Part 2: Art Supplies & ACU's.

I'll be using this blog to post photographs I've taken and paintings I've done and inspirations I find along the way... Its all about the arty, not the Army. So anyway, feel free to swing by when you get bored... it isn't anything too thrilling but it is my new pet project that will hopefully keep my creative juices flowing while Swiss is away.

Okay, that's all! Hope everybody's week is off to a good start!

Sunday.

It is snowing. Again. BAH!

Oh, and we even had a rainstorm this morning that wasn't so much rain as it was tiny frozen pellets of ice falling to earth. Aren't we done with this yet??? (Oh, and just a little post script here: it is 84 at Fort X. 84!!!!)

Anyway, I will stop my complaining now. My oil painting class yesterday was pretty awesome. I am pumped about this new medium and the teacher was pretty good (though he totally squashed my attempt at a non-conventional framing of the subject... where's the fun in that??). I'm just bummed that I have to wait another week to do it again!

So, I am off to make some meatballs and hang out with my mutt. Happy Sunday and enjoy the warm weather wherever you are (and if you feel like shoveling, just call me!)

Happy little trees.

Today is my first oil painting class. I am just a twee bit giddy!

I have wanted to take this class (through Community Ed) for ages and it always filled up or conflicted with my schedule. But now I get to go! Even Swiss is stoked. He has a million ideas for me to paint... now I just need to know how to do it! I'm hoping it goes well and that I really like it.
So, I am going to chanel Bob Ross and am off I go to paint happy little trees, happy little streams, and happy little clouds. Wish me luck!

PS: I've been putzing around with a second blog with my paintings and photos... check it out if you like, it still needs tweeking... Tucker & Swiss Part 2: Art Supplies and ACU's.

I don't think this is what they meant by packing.

I don't think this is what they meant by packing., originally uploaded by Tucker&Swiss.

I was going through all the pictures I took from when we were in Fort X and I came across this one... I couldn't not post it.

This is my husband people... trying to pack himself into his duffle. (I think it was a test run to see if he could fit, because then I would fit and he could pack me with his gear. aww)

Anyway, happy weekend Internets!

Meh.

Oh Friday, how I do love thee!

This work week has sapped my brain like, well I don't know, but I do know that right now I have the IQ of toast. (mmm. toast!)

Swiss is struggling with his role over in theatre right now. And I am struggling to not be insanely happy about it. No, not happy that he is struggling, happy about his role. See, Swiss is used to being the tip of the sword. He is used to being the one in charge. He is used to doing things the right way. And none of those things are happening right now.

He is in an office and slated to be the 'mayor' of their new FOB. I am happy as a clam because I know he will be safer. I can rest much easier at night not worrying about him out on foot patrols and conducting raids. But I am doing my best to be supportive and understanding of his wish to be doing more.

I honestly think that he would be happy just doing more in his current assignment, and I suppose the 'boredom' of being in transition isn't helping anything. He is frustrated that there is little for them to do... frustrated that he is thousands of miles away from home with no discern able task to do. I, on the other hand, am pleased as punch that he is tucked away in a safe place. But I suppose this is a good problem to have, so I will cease and desist.

I am off to enjoy a glass or two of wine, draw and watch silly TV. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Woot!

We officially have an address!
I CAN SEND MAIL!

And now those monster cookies will stop taunting me because they will be far, far away... Aah, the little things in life.

Reality check.

So now that Swiss is officially “in theatre” I have been oscillating between calm logic, moderate anxiety and fear. This first month was such an odd one; he was never in danger, he was safe in Kuwait, nowhere near danger or risk or, well, war. I got used to it. But things are different now… it has taken a few days for it to sink it. He isn't ‘safe’ anymore. I don’t get to not worry anymore.

This whole deployment thing feels very different nowadays. There is a weight and legitimacy that this deployment hasn't had yet. This is very real.

I know that sounds lame. Of course it is real. 4,252+ is REAL.

But this past month was so easy, so worry-free, so easy to manage… I just missed him, I didn't fret over his safety or the dreaded knock on the door. Now, everything is different. There are real threats, there are IED's, there is a war. And Swiss is in the middle of it.

I know that his new job is one that is ‘safer’. I know that he isn't on foot patrol every day like last time. I know that he will be able to stay on the FOB for the most part. But I also know that this, really, means nothing. Accidents happen, surprise attacks happen, and at some point he will have to go off FOB and there is no controlling what happens out there. He is not immune. He is not invincible. He is at war.

Holy shit.

Anyway, I am still coming to grips with this. I was prepared for this, but the extended stint in Kuwait snuck in and washed away the preparation, the fear, the nervousness, the harsh reality that he isn't just away at Warrior Forge or Ranger Challenge or FTX. It feels like I am starting all over again and the stark realities of the situation are like blows to the gut.

Starbucks wisdom.

I was hesitant to post this… solely because it would bump Daniel Craig further down the page. But I found a nugget of wisdom that was printed on my Chai 2% Latte this morning:

“I have faith. Faith in our wondrous capacity for hope and good, love and trust, healing and forgiveness. Faith in the blessing of our infinite ability to wonder, question, pray, feel, think and learn. I have faith. Faith in the infinite possibilities of the human spirit.”
–James Brown (Emmy-winning sportscaster and co-host of FOX NFL Sunday)

And you know what? James Brown is right. And good for you Starbucks for putting such nice messages out into the universe with every cup of joe.

But, then again they also told me on my cup insulator that “Your next ‘Action Item’: Do as little as possible.”

Methinks that might offset the all the good ju-ju they put out there on the cups. Either way, the Chai Latte was super yummy. Oh, Swiss and I just marked 1 month down this weekend... only 11 more to go! Happy Monday All!

Updates.

Swiss is in his new location. I think I can finally send him mail (!). Which means I will be making Val's excellent Snicker doodle recipe post haste. Yum. Nix that, Swiss just requested Monster cookies. I told him I couldn't possibly chop up the dog and put him into cookies. heh.

Actually,Fletcher is doing fine and he let me sleep until my alarm went off this morning. And he hasn't peed anywhere he shouldn't yet (though it is early). Hallelujah!

I am SO over this cold, bitter, snowy, icy winter thing. Ask my why I live in the upper Midwest and I honestly couldn't tell you. Fort X is looking like Daniel Craig about now.




















You are welcome for that, BTW.

Swiss and I have decided to take a second Honeymoon when he gets back... and talk of this makes me positively giddy. Where should we go? What should we do? Stay near or travel far? Tropical? Woodsy? Beachy? Lodgy? Such decisions!!!

Anyway, that is all I have to share. Nothing too exciting here... but I did get new slippers! Woot!