From Haunted to Stranded to Home Again

We took a little trip to Estes Park Colorado

to see the grandparents and lots of aunts, uncles and cousins too. 

We stayed in the historic Stanley Hotel

Over 100 years old, the hotel and grounds are beautifully maintained. 

Stanley, Estes Park Co

The Stanley is considered the "Most Haunted Hotel in America"

We took the History & Ghost tour, I was there for the history - the kids for the ghosts, of course!

To their disappointment, we never ran into any ghosts, but we left some candy for the "children" who haunt the 4th floor.

We also got to peek at the infamous room 217, where Stephen King stayed and was inspired to write "The Shining".

room 217

And yes. 

we did watch the Shining in anticipation of this vacation.

Mom of the year.

'redrum" on the bell tower door

The elevator was one of my favorite spots. All brass and shiny, it felt very opulent.

...and our reflections in the door made for a kinda cool and spooky picture.

We Also did some hiking at Bear Lake.

Bear Lake, Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park

It was pretty icy, but  I managed to not fall down. 

All the way. On my butt.

be Nice or Leave, Oscar Blues

One night we went to an awesome little spot called Oscar Blues for dinner.

A group of retired Marines were there celebrating Veterans day.

Dru's mom, who has never met a stranger, some how got got the Sarge into the middle of this rowdy celebration.

They kept calling him "Marine" and he kept replying "Air Force". 

Maybe they were too drunk to care, or maybe anyone with a high & tight is a Marine on Veterans Day.

Either way, I was happy, because they had chocolate cake.

One our way home we stopped in Wyoming.

Quite literally. 

On I-80 

because it was closed due to weather conditions.

After 3 hours of not moving we pulled a U-turn on the median and headed back to civilization.

because I had to pee.

really bad.

And in case you have never been there, Wyoming is prairie.

And there is no where for a grown women to pee on the prairie.

Especially when stranded on the highway, surrounded by Semi's.

The kids endured the extension on our vacation by spending all their time in the pool.

It's a hard knock life.

Now I guess we all have to get back to reality. The kids have a ton of make-up work and I have a General Meeting for ASG on Friday I need to prepare for! I have my ugly fabric challenge ready to go (more on that soon!), but I need to get to work on the favors/door prizes.

31 Days to Settle in After a Move: Accept the Imperfections

This will never be like your last house.

...or base, town, school, church, neighborhood...

Moving constantly in the military we have discovered wonderful friends and crappy neighbors, shiny new appliances and lead paint warnings, scorching deserts and freezing snow. I've gotten to sew in a huge studio, a garage, a closet, a bedroom and a dining room. Each new set of orders brought a sense of adventure and a feeling of sorrow.

You miss your friends, your job, your old house, the weather, the neighbors, you name it - I have missed it.  When you move, everything changes, and sometimes you just need to change your state of mind. There is no sense in being miserable and hating your new place, even if you're only going to be there for a short time. Accept the imperfections, and if you can't learn to love it, learn to make do until you can. (check out the nesters wonderful  31 day series on lovely limitations for inspiration on making do) After all, how can you settle into your new home when you still haven't let go of the old one?

It's okay to reminisce, but try not to do too much comparing. That will just depress you and annoy everyone around you. 

Those of us who are military all know someone who starts every other sentence with:

"when we were stationed in..." 

"at my old base..."

"when I was at..."

Please, don't be that person.

31 Days to Settle in After a Move: First Impressions

By now your neighbors are probably getting brave enough to "welcome" you o the neighborhood. You know they've been scoping you out since the day you moved in - c'mon, they were peeking through their blinds sizing up your furniture as the movers were unloading. And if it was a while before you got the blinds up - well, don't think they didn't notice.

First impressions, we hate to admit it - but, they're important. You may only have to live next door to these people for a year - or the rest of your lives. Either way, a teeny bit of effort can go a long way. (And let's be honest, they don't need to impress you - the pecking order is already established. Your the newbie.)

When an unexpected neighbor rings the door bell it is entirely probable that you may be:

• sweaty
• dirty
• covered in paint
• lost in a box maze
• putting out a kitchen fire from burning frozen waffles
• surrounded by 2 nekkid toddlers with unidentifiable goo in their hair
• holding a baby that has been decorated by her sister with a sharpie
• threatening to leave your husband and join the circus
• crying inconsolably
• ranting about said neighbors dog, kid, yard, car, lack of blinds, etc...
• all of the above

Even sweaty, hard working mamas can look decent.

One word girlfriends:

 Lipgloss.

Always keep it in your pocket, so when the door rings and you're surrounded by madness your neighbor will be so mesmerized by your shiny smile she wont even notice how unhinged you really are.

Closing Day

For the last 13 years,

Home has always been where the Air Force sent us.

We've been stationed at

Charleston AFB , SC

Kirtland AFB , NM

San Antonio OPLOC, TX

McChord AFB , WA

Holloman AFB, NM

For the last 2 years we've been in Utah, and this will have been our last PCS.

Today we close on our new house.

Now, and for the rest of our lives, we are home.

Write It Out Project, handmade journals for grieving military widows

I stumbled upon Alidas blog, I Make Stuff and not only is she a crafty mama - but she is one with a cause. She currently is recruiting sewers, scrapers and all around crafters to join her in creating handmade journals for military widows. Being a USAF wife myself, I can never imagine the loss she and others like her have  has experienced, but I do understand and appreciate any support given to those who serve - and those who stay behind. Here is my small chance to "Pay it Forward". I am definitely making up a few of these and shipping them out ASAP. Please check her site out for more details and to see how you can help too!