We caught two mice!! Of course, two of the remaining four traps we checked (after we disposed of the full ones) had been cleared of bait. We're dealing with some sneaky little buggers. I took pictures but I felt posting it would be kind of gross (even though there was no blood) so count your lucky stars you don't have to start your morning off with THAT. Yum.

Our land-lady is coming with her mold inspector man again today. Not quite sure what will be going on since neither Adam nor I will be here to watch or listen. Our house is a mess too, so I'm hoping she won't unleash her inner dragon on us. We're really not bad people. We pay our rent on time (every time) and although we've caused a few issues to the house (spilling things on the carpet, for example) but we haven't moved out yet...and when we do, these things WILL be fixed. I'm just not certain as to WHY she hates us so much. It's not like we left the "rats" out for her to stumble upon!

I work another double today. Oh joyous day! Now is the point where I would have mentioned why I loathe my job but I was recently forced to sign a paper relinquishing my first amendment rights because the company is afraid to be viewed in a negative light. The loop hole: as long as I don't say the name of the company or show any affiliation with them, I'm safe. There are few things in life that make me more miserable than that place.

On the lighter side of things, I discovered a new candy I'm in love with. It's called Toffifay (I know, what a ridiculous name!) and it's made up of hazelnut, chocolate & caramel. It's amazing! I was having some serious lady-cravings so I went to WaWa late last night and loaded up on chocolate, Ben & Jerry's & Diet Dr. Depper (don't judge). For what it's worth, I didn't even make it two scoops into the ice cream before guilt washed over me. Ugh. Chocolate, why are you so delicious and evil?!

Off to clean a bit...

Oh, Monday!

Days like today give Monday's their horrible stereo-type. For starters, Adam was off all day while I went into my favorite place in the whole wide world to work a double. While opening, I slammed my thumb in between two very study, immovable pieces of steel. Whew, talk about pain. I teared up, started sweating and got nauseous...but enough of my melodrama. I would add a picture of said wound but I don't feel that it adequately portrays my pain and I don't want you all thinking (or realizing) I'm a giant weeny. I do have a small; albeit nice, little bruise under the nail that ruined the color of my pale pink polish. After working for a bit, I realized I was sweating quite a bit. (Attractive, I know.) I asked around and learned that half of our building was without air condition. Of course, it happened to be MY half of the building that was without AC, hence the serious sweating....or "glistening". Aren't ladies supposed to "glisten"?? I ended up making decent money for a Monday but my day was only halfway over. The night shift was not nearly as profitable which made the jungle-like atmosphere suck even more. I know I should be looking at the silver lining to all of these things; At least I have a thumb to slam....terrible tips are okay as long as I don't have to clean up infant feces....etc, but it's a little bit difficult. Ah yes, and to cap the night off, the "rats" are back! After Adam and I cleaned, sanitized and barricaded what we assumed to be their entry-way into our house, we saw Piper sniffing around under the fridge. Thank you Jesus - Hallelujah we didn't find an actual "rat" but the evidence of their visits are just as unsettling. Adam is currently at Walmart trying to find the meanest, deadliest traps and poisons. We're gonna kill these suckers! (Take that, PETA!) We're not placing any poison where the dogs can get it, I just hope these rodents don't bring the poison into our house. I really don't want the pups getting into rat poison. Hmmm, maybe I should call Adam and tell him 86 the poison.....brb....

I'm guessing today was karmic redistribution (or something of the like) for our good fortune surviving the "hurricane"...which, in all honesty, wasn't too bad. Yes, the winds were VERY strong and the rain came down VERY hard but I don't think Irene deserved all the hype the media was giving her. I did learn that if we're ever in Norfolk when a CAT 2 or 3 comes along, we're hitting the road. Although the uprooted trees and downed power lines were few, I can only imagine how much worse it could get. Despite all the hullabullo, Adam and I ventured out on Saturday (during one of the calmer hours) to check out the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean front. I have never seen waves so large in my life! I got a few good pictures, none of which do the storm any justice.

Did I mention that our guest bathroom has MOLD growing on the ceiling and that, according to our realtor's mold specialist that came out today, we "might have a roof leak" because the ceiling in the bathroom is "almost completely saturated"? Our realtor, bless her heart, is always looking to cut corners and save herself money. To think that beautiful woman just wanted to PAINT OVER our mold! *headdesk* According to Adam she was less than thrilled to find out the inspector wanted to remove the ceiling entirely, fix the leak, then replace it. Apparently the legality of dealing with mold in homes, especially when construction or demo is involved, can be pretty serious. She offered to let Adam and I move out without penalty if we wanted but we're not in a position, financially, to be doing that. Also, if we moved, I imagine our sweet land-lady would fall back to her original plan involving a bucket of Behr's.

Oh, Monday! When it rains, it certainly does pour.

Adam is back with his (these are his words, not mine) "implements of death" so I'm going to help RE-clean and RE-sanitize the kitchen. Thank goodness today is almost over! I haven't been this excited for a Tuesday in a long time. Happy Monday night, everyone!

PS. I swear I saw American-early years-Harry Potter at work tonight. I don't have evidence 'cause I figured it would be rude to take pictures. Sometimes I wish my eyes could do that for me.

AGAIN?! Gross!

We just discovered that our rat problem is back! Well, let me take two steps back...because Adam's not too crazy when I call them "rats". Apparently, our infestation is made up of mice, but to me, it's one in the same. We went to our "pantry" (aka: shelves hidden behind rice paper blinds) and saw rat scat and smelled pee. Oh yeh, AND our bag of flour had been chewed through! After looking behind the fridge, stove and dishwasher, we found more piles of rat excrement (and dog food) and finally discovered HOW these creepy rodents have been entering our home. They chewed through part of a 2x4 AND a sheet of plywood that was installed behind the dishwasher after we complained to the realty company the FIRST time. RAWR!

I have a friend who has a BEE infestation in her kitchen wall so at least our problem isn't THAT bad...but GEEZ! I prefer NO rodents (or creepy crawlies) in the house. Period.

Natural Disaters Galore

I can't believe I forgot to mention the earthquake! I was at work and so was Adam when we experienced the aftershocks from the Northern Virginia earthquake. I didn't feel a thing, I'm guessing since I was walking around, but everyone who was stationary claimed to have felt tremors. I got a text message from Adam swearing they just had a hurricane on base. In a few moments, it was all over the news.  5.9!  I'm a little disappointed that I didn't feel anything. It would have been my first "earthquake" ever. All of our friends and pups are fine and the only damage that happened at home was our ironing board toppling over.

The fires in the Dismal Swamp have made all of Hampton Roads heavy with smoke. Of course it's smoky on my day off, not gorgeous and perfect like it was on Tuesday...when I worked a double. The sun is still shining outside but the smell of campfire gets old pretty fast.

On top of all this, we have hurricane Irene coming...supposedly. I'm not too worried (as I reign from the land of hurricanes) but all the locals up here seem to be running around, going crazy, buying generators and sandbags and demolishing canned goods sections. Grocery stores are packed, which puts Adam and I at a disadvantage because we genuinely need groceries...not hurricane survival gear. Then again, maybe the locals know something I don't. I really SHOULD watch the news.

In the words of a friend of mine, "Let's see... burning swamp, earthquake, a hurricane this weekend... all I need is a plague and I win Apocalypse Bingo!!!"

My favorite person in all of Virginia, our realty lady, is coming over today to check out a few issues with the house. This means a cleaning session is in order, since she has to view both the master and the guest bathrooms. She always finds something to complain about and some way to charge us extra for things that shouldn't matter. Bitter, money hungry, cow!


The loud banging from yesterday morning has seeped into today, too. Our next door neighbor is having a new roof placed on his house. Although it's loud and starts early, they seemed to be almost finished, which is great! No more dogs barking at every single hammer strike!


I have an appointment later today but other than that, I'm off! I'm going to enjoy today the best I can. Keep those happy thoughts coming for Adam! We wont have any news until mid-September so I need an army of crossed-fingers and prayers.

Vacation

It's always so difficult to motivate myself to start these things...but since someone in the immediate area is, from the sound of things, doing some serious home-construction, sleeping in is not an option.

About two weeks ago, Luca was experiencing tummy problems. He was vomiting, refusing to eat and, as far as we saw, not going to the bathroom. Thinking he had a bowel (sp?) obstruction, Adam and I took him to the vet where they wanted to run $800 worth of tests on him. We're a little tight on money at the moment and couldn't afford that so we declined the offer and pissed off a few staff members in the process. We ended up spending around $100 on meds and fluids but immediately after the visit, Luca took two massive "mandatory's" behind Petsmart. We monitored him closely and gave him bland food. He's better now but, OH! It broke my heart when he was sick.

Adam and I had planned to go on a cruise for our 1st anniversary but due to a serious lack of funds, we decided to take the cheapest option and go to Jacksonville. It was a very last minute decision but luckily, we know awesome people here in VA that enjoy watching our pups! We left for Fl after dinner on Thursday (to avoid tunnel traffic) and arrived around 6am. What a LOOONG drive! As soon as we got to Brentt and Rachel's house, we CRASHED and slept until after noon. Since both Cumbaa's were at work by the time we woke up, Adam and I decided to go exploring around the city to see what all had changed. We drove everywhere...even into the depths of Green Cove Springs. Jacksonville has changed a TON; everything seemed weird and different...and HOT. Don't get me wrong, VA gets hot too but not so miserable that all the greenery is scorched to death. That night Adam and I had dinner with (almost) my entire side of the family at Texas Roadhouse. It was wonderful to see my family and catch up on things but the long table set-up made it difficult to see and hear everyone. After dinner, Adam and I met up with my old roommates, Rick and Joel and Joel's girfriend to play 3-D Blacklight Indoor Mini-Golf. I know it sounds kind of lame, but if you ever get the chance, you need to play. The neon, 3-D paint is mind blowing!

Saturday, Brentt and Rachel invited us to brunch. I can't remember the name of the place but it had the most delicious Huevos Rancheros I've ever had. We visited a few more friends after that then headed over to the Kalota residence for Allison's birthday party. Alli's dad made delicious food (I kept sneaking pieces of fresh, fried gator tail) and we went swimming and played Wii. Note: I am NOT a great Wii-dancer. Adam made the call to make Saturday and early night, and I couldn't have agreed more. We were both exhausted.

Plans were tentatively made to go to Ginnie Springs on Sunday but since we'd yet to see Adam's family, plans were altered. Instead, Adam decided to take his sisters, Tara and Beth, and their respective children, Lori (2), Ashley (3) and Chris (10) to Chuck E Cheese. Adam bought pizza and tokens for everyone and the kids went wild. As fun as it was to see the little ones, I'm happy with waiting a few more years to have one of my own. We some great pictures and had a great time, but by the time we reached the bottom of the cup of tokens, everyone was tired and ready to go. Adam and I dropped Tara off and her girls then headed back to Casa de Cumbaa to get ready for dinner with Mrs. Kathy, Adam's mother. Dinner was short and delicious and most of the conversation was Adam catching his mom up on everything that's been happening, Navy-wise. Afterward, in the parking lot, the three of us talked about the past and all of our hurt feelings and made a promise that things would start fresh from that moment on. I'm glad to say much of the tension has been relieved!

The girls. I didn't get many pictures of the adults or Christian but it was wonderful to be with everyone!

There were a few errands left for Monday. Allison, Bobby, Brentt, Adam and I all ate lunch at Sonny's, something us Peeples have been craving for almost a year! Somewhere along this trip, Adam and I were also able to eat Moon River Pizza and go to Dreamette (a first time for Adam and he was unimpressed!). We thanked Rachel (the only Cumbaa home at the time) for her incredible hospitality and friendship then stopped by Nanny & Papa's on our way out of Jacksonville. Instead of taking 95 straight up, the Peeples-wagon headed towards Atlanta. We made it to Macon (an hour South of ATL) and decided to stay the night with Bobby and Allison in their newly purchased home! It was GORGEOUS. They have a huge house tucked in between rolling hills and a fairly large creek. I loved the size of the rooms, specifically the kitchen and Adam was crazy about the screened-in sunroom, giant garage, and tree-covered property. Oh, it makes me want a house SO BAD! That night we played old school Nintendo games, of which I am terrible, and shared stories.

The next morning, Adam and I left for Atlanta. I was shocked at how much I really liked the city! I'm sure there are gross parts but it just seemed like there was so much to see and do! First, we went to the Georgia Aquarium. This place is GIANT and probably my favorite aquarium we've ever been to. Almost every exhibit has massive acrylic slabs for walls which makes viewing the animals incredible!

Adam looking at the jellyfish

Giant ray!

This female Beluga kept playing with a crinkle, plastic tube with straps. She was so playful and intelligent!

Then we headed across the street to the World of Coke to explore Coca-Cola's history and taste Cokes from all over the world! We saw lots of products that we used to remember like Surge and Five Alive. We even saw the actual torches that were used in various Olympic Games!

Entrance

Adam and I took the long way home, traveling through Georgia then Tennessee then Kentucky and finally Virginia. We couldn't figure out anything to do for our anniversary so we decided to go straight home. Well, that was the plan, anyway. When it came time to switch drivers, Adam was still too sleepy to drive so we found a rest area and slept overnight. Since we were in the mountains, we just cracked some windows and turned the car off. Believe it or not, it actually got pretty chilly! We woke up at a rest stop along some desolate stretch of highway with terrible breath, dirty clothes, and stinky, unshowered bodies and even though it's not how I pictured spending our first anniversary, it's nice to know that no matter what happens, we're still going to be head over heels in love with each other.

After getting the pups from the sitter (THANKS, Michelle and John!) we pulled up the the house, happy to be home. Of course we slept some more, this time in our own, familiar bed and woke up just before dinner. Adam took me to the beach and we tried a new restaurant called 5th Street Taphouse (or something). Although the food wasn't great and the beer was warm-ish, we had a good time. We walked along the board walk and found a 50s/60s/70s cover band that played phenomenal music. Their drummer looked like Lil Wayne and had the fastest arms of anyone I've ever seen. The band even had a full brass section! After walking and drinking and listening to the state-paid street performers, we headed home.

Adam had to go back to work on Thurs but I was off until Monday. We helped Adam's friend, Steve, install hardwood floors in a home he recently purchased for him and his soon-to-be-wife. I haven't seen the finished product but from what I could tell, it looked amazing! Adam promised since our anniversary was less than ideal, he would take me out some place nice that weekend...which he did. We went to Byrd & Baldwin Bros. Steakhouse in downtown Norfolk. It was the most expensive meal I've ever eaten but it was easily the most delicious food I've ever had. We got dressed up and just enjoyed each others company and the night was perfect. When we got home, Adam surprised me with a Kitchen Aide mixer, something I've been wanting for a very long time. What a guy!

Now, everyone is back to the normal grind. I've worked two back to back doubles so I'm looking forward to a normal shift today. I'm still job-hunting whenever possible and I'm delighted to announce Adam and I got a six month extension on our lease! Tonight I've made plans to have a stay-at-home girls night with my friend Claire and her adorable baby, Rowan. After work on Thursday, I've made plans to help a friend move some furniture. I guess there's no rest for the weary.  :)

Thanks to all who sent us anniversary cards, emails, texts, and love! GJ- Luca  L O V E S  his tennis balls. Crazy thing; he can actually tell the difference between the three (even though they're the same size and color) and makes us play with specific ones. Even Piper got in on the games of fetch...and she NEVER does ANYTHING physical!

Lastly, in case you guys didn't realize this: we are TEN days away from college football season!!! (Words cannot describe my excitement!)

Patience

So it doesn't matter that Adam's been stressing about this meeting all week...

or that all day Sunday was devoted, almost entirely, to running errands on base...

or that HOURS were spent Sunday night preparing his uniform...

or that he woke up early, dressed in Summer Whites, to mentally (and physically) prepare himself for the news he was about to receive.

They canceled the meeting (AGAIN!!) and rescheduled it for tomorrow. I wish I could say I'm surprised.

There just comes a point where you can only take so many blows and the fact that your career hangs in uncertainty for an indefinite amount of time is unsettling. Well, irritating AND unsettling.

This must be why patience is a virtue.