... new blog ...

http://ortegasbackhome.blogspot.com/

& here it is!  Follow here!

... a year ... really ...

It's been a year.  (6 days, close enough)

It's flown!

We are in the great state of Utah, we have 1000 sq ft less of a home, we sold our last residence (not very happily), Owen is about to start the 1st grade, I work in the city, Jacob loves his job on base, we are enjoying the many beauties that Utah has to offer.

I think I need to good karma my blog and start a brand new one.

This needs to improve, and this will be a goal!  

... moving ... eventually ...

Ah the joys of the good ole PCS.  Home is where the military sends us.  Just a few weeks after our vacation in July, Jacob received the news we'd been waiting for... MOVING.  To make it a million times more exciting... MOVING TO UTAH!  We are heading "home".  At least, to the Ortega home.  We can't wait to arrive, again.

In the meantime, we embarked on the adventure of living inside a model home.  Ah, the house is on the market.  Pro - we have learned how just a little bit of cleaning everyday can go a very long way.  Con - we really dare not touch anything in our home.  You'd think this would give me more time to blog, but when do I ever have more time to blog?  I'm terrible at this!  Can't you tell?

Owen starts Kindergarten in SD two weeks from now.  He'll have to "start" kindergarten all over again in just a few months.  Luckily he is such a happy little dude, I'm sure he'll do fine.  Danica on the other hand really couldn't care less about moving, she seems to know it's happening, but it's really not worth anything more than a shrug.  Hopefully she remains this calm about moves when she is a teenager and her friends are her world.  ;)

I find myself telling Owen every couple of days "all that matters is that Daddy, Mommy, Owen, Danica, Nala, and Maddox are all going together.  That's what is important, Owen.  Family is the most important thing".  If you learn anything from moves - it may not be the perfect way to arrange the kitchen for the packers - the best way to stuff a months worth of clothes into a suitcase - or how to get the dogs to not whine through an entire state - you learn that anything is possible with family around to keep you moving!

... Vacation Aftermath ...

The sad realization that vacation is over and reality is back on the agenda is fun for none. The luck of such timing, the end of our most recent vaca landing on the 4th of July weekend gave the whole family an adjustment period that was well needed. The little miss having two blisters from her ciao vacation run in with a fireplace, our little dude waking up at all hours of the morning as though he were red eyeing some slots in Vegas, and of course the parents well in need of some recoupment!

Yet, here I sit (glass of prosecco beside me) as the 4th of July sky grays, sound of fireworks already popping, wishing I could magically triple my husbands salary so I could easily stay at home and have fun doing it! Going back to work isn't as appealing as I hoped it may be after weeks away. The thought of what lies in the week ahead is as gloomy as the in coming storm!

Things to look forward to - a week of no FB! Need to get the ball rolling on my 101! Orders for Jacob??? I have given up trying to estimate a NLT date for this notification as everyone I've already put out there has come and gone to no avail. I am now at the point that I don't even want to go to the bases on his BOP and would rather just resubmit a new list to be honest. I think this can be attributed to my constant pondering on each location - which I have clearly tired of! Also on the table - lots of running! Lots! Which is certainly a good thing.

Ah well, until the next vacation... time to iron!

... 6 miles of thoughts ...

I hope this bug spray works...
I wonder if my legs are getting tanned...
I am already tired, pathetic...
She said what???
Of course you can lose weight doing this!!!
I told you that b*&$# crazy...
No more talking, you'll both pass out...
It's pretty hot for 0730...
I need water, a weightless way to carry water...
Ah, shade...
uphill, work those glutes...
I don't want to go back to work...
I shouldn't stop for a drink but I must...
I'm dizzy...
No music, just think...
What should I think about...
Oh, remember you need access to that report...
I wonder what Jacob's doing...
He better not be asleep...
Think of those flat abs you'll have one day...
This is getting really rough...
Don't talk to me right now...
Frisbee golf, not football...
Ah, shade...
uphill is killer...
I am stopping for a drink...
I'm walking the rest of this 1/8 miles...
Liposuction?
Now I need music...
I want a body like her...
I need thicker socks...
The dog days are over ah ah, the dog days are gone...
Just run to the 4th mile and then say you need to walk...
I hope Jackie's shadow isn't messing up my leg tanning...
I hope my boob sweat doesn't ruin my car key...
Baby your a firework!!!
Just think, stay in shape like this and one day this could be you and Dancia running together...
uphill is going to be the death of me...
Okay, this is it, one more drink...
Last lap, don't die...
What if I die...
That breeze is starting to really work against you...
It's just too damn hot for this time in the morning!!!
Just run don't think...
don't think...
chin up...
eye on the prize...
uphill, DIE! DIE!
You see the finish line, don't collapse...
Keep speeding up like this and you'll faint...
What's better, finishing seconds earlier or fainting???
I'd rather faint, just push it...
THE END!!!

... In The Belly of Jonah ...

The new book club that I joined this month had chosen a book written by a local. I was a little skeptical at first, I must admit. However, no more than two paragraphs into the reading and I was hooked. While this book is very eerie, with such a psychotic vilain, I couldn't put it down. I thought that I would surely take a break during my out of town trip where I'd be alone in my hotel room... not a chance!

Set in Ft Collins, the book has a small town feel. It touches on the SD/CO/WY lifestyle and it felt very familiar to me with our many trips to/from the areas while living in UT and SD. I was also intrigued by the descriptions of the mining industry, while touched upon the text gives you just enough to interest you but not bore you with it.

While I had expected Biblical conontations, very very subtle, which makes it more intriguing to see where the next few Liv Bergen adventures take you. The characters were very well written. The author takes many risks with the book that shocked me. Very few authors actually do the thing that you think "oh they can't do that!", but she does!

To make it all the more perfect, Sandra "Sam" Brannan was at our book club meeting. She was so genuine and just lively to talk to. Not at all what I expected. She was very honest about the industry and just so easy to talk to. I would love to meet with her again after reading her second book that comes out in June, which I will surely read immediately.

... Travel ...

Once upon a time there was a young lady who adored airports, lived for travel, dreamed of new adventure... she has kindly stepped aside for the new and unimproved loather of air travel that has replaced her. I felt this moment of transition in 2004. Houston Bush Intercontinental, the name says it all. The employees were awful, nobody seemed to be aware of their job and duties, and I felt that the establishment should be ashamed to even rank itself in the majestic realm of international air transportation. Over the years I became more fond of road trips with my ever so fun husband and less excited to fly anywhere.

Last week I embarked on a journey to Dayton Ohio, misery. From the TSA agent at RAP that was a lover of "we" rather than "you". -"why don't we take our shoes off. Now can we just take our laptop and put it on it's own tray.". To the elderly flight attendant that fell asleep standing up in the front of the plane! Shouldn't these professionals be reevaluated often? If the airline claims they are here for our "safety first" (which I already believe to simply be their way of saying sorry ahead of time, if your flight attendant is an asshole we apologize but she is merely here for your safety) explain to me how Sleepy McSleeperton is going to help me? WE would have to get her to safety, not the opposite.

Then there was the lovely girl on the counter that was irritated that I noticed she over looked printing my connecting boarding pass, my bad.

I am usually against monopolies, but Steve Jobs and Richard Branson should take over the world!