Contemplations on Laziness

13. November 2009 · Comments Off on Contemplations on Laziness · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

I’ve been thinking….

“Great, here we go again!”

No…no…these are just some thoughts I’ve been having in general. About goal-setting, future plans, life in general.

Today a friend is taking her GRE. She’s in her 30s, like me…and has young sons, like me…and is an Air Force wife, like me. UNLIKE me, she’s gotten off her rear-end and uses the time while her sons are in school to go back to school herself and this spring will be graduating from college. She’s already submitting applications for a PhD program, location subject to where her husband gets stationed next.

Another friend, who I went to high school with, earned her PhD this past summer, while working full time and raising two young kids!

No, I don’t want a PhD. Contrary to popular belief.

Not too many people know this, but it’s crossed my mind to go back to school and start on a second career. It’s a quiet little goal I have, to become a secondary math/science teacher. I haven’t been motivated to start on this goal, unfortunately. I’ve been lazy. Way lazier than all these other Moms who are juggling jobs, raising kids, keeping up a household, moving with the military, etc.

My first excuse: “When Timmy starts school, I’ll go back to school.”

Well, with Timmy starting school in 9 months, by now I should have applied, or looked more into online programs than I’ve done so far.

My second excuse: “Why start a program now? We could be moving as soon as 1 year after I start school if I were to start here.”

No…of course my work can transfer, and if I choose an online program, heck — who cares where I am, right? People do it all the time, transfer their coursework.

I’ve told myself, “Patricia, you’ve already achieved a lot in life, aren’t you tired of school, additional stress, running around all hair-on-fire?”

So I’m thinking…

The answer is “Get my butt back in school and work on that new career!”. I need to set up some graduated goals related to that, with some research to back it up. My druthers is to do this online, I’ll need to learn more about it, I suppose. Dave can retire from Active Duty in 6 years, and I figured by the time he has 5 years left, if I wanted to go back to work full time after he retires I should be on my way. Especially if I want to take my time on this one. Some other options have opened up, such as teaching AFJROTC after I reach my 20 years in the Reserves. That might be nice…as some of my blogosphere friends have said “I’m one of those people who actually LIKES the Air Force.” Again, I haven’t looked enough into it to know whether it’s right for me.

And oh yeah, I have to balance this with my boys’ activities, my AF Reserve work, and some AF continuing education I predict I’ll be needing to do by late next year.

So there are my thoughts – somewhat messy, but it’s been on my mind. A lot.

Reality check: Might I be more motivated to do this if I truly “enjoy” those 7 hours per day I’ll have when Timmy and Jacob are both in school? Pedicures? Facials? Shopping trips? Coffee dates with girlfriends? Chick-flick marathons in my PJs?

I don’t know. I’m coming up on this crossroads and not even feeling motivated enough to say “Here’s what I need to do next!” I guess it was a lot easier when high school guidance counselors and Air Force Instructions made those decisions for me.

It’s Never Too Early….

02. November 2009 · Comments Off on It’s Never Too Early…. · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,


…to start planning for…

(drumroll please!)

BLACK FRIDAY!

I don’t know if it’s the thrill of the hunt or what? Or perhaps seeing America at it’s gluttonous worst (I’ve seen outright FIGHTS over $250 laptops at Walmart at 5 in the morning!) But I enjoy the early-morning Black Friday shopping experience. I don’t do it every year (I also enjoy sleeping), but on the years that I make it out, my shopping companions and I will plan what order to hit stores (i.e., know who’s open at 5am, 6am, 7am, know who’s doorbusters end at 10am, 11am 12pm, etc.). I’ve had great experiences with Susan H. in Virginia, Maryann G. in North Carolina and Diane A. in Nebraska!

I’m not sure if I’ll head out this year. We have a trip to Walt Disney World planned for Christmas for our family, and the boys aren’t getting much else from Mom and Dad for Christmas. Santa Claus will bring them each a gift and each boy has already made his request. I’ll be after stocking stuffers and gifts for my niece, nephews and friends, though.

Anyway, I’m pitching this cool website I heard about via two of my Facebook friends, Louise G. and Robin A.

http://www.blackfriday.info/

Become their fan on Facebook and you’re privy to their contests and you’ll get their latest ads pushed to your Facebook newsfeed.

I know Christina O. of Sugar Sweet Thoughts also does a good job posting the best deals for the 10 days or so leading up to Black Friday, and I particularly like her postings now because she offers some of the midwest stores’ deals, such as those at Menards.

How John Deere Brought My Sons Closer Together….

30. October 2009 · Comments Off on How John Deere Brought My Sons Closer Together…. · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

I’ve quite a queue of potential blog posts in my mind…mainly things that have been happening in our lives, and every once in a while something happens about which I think “That would be a fun/funny/silly/insightful blog post.” I think I’ll be improving in the next week or so, as the boys’ soccer seasons wrap up for the fall, and I have my week of 12-hour shifts at my new AF Reserve job behind me.

So here’s one of our lives’ vignettes from this fall…

Lately my sons haven’t been getting along so well. Jacob is in this smug phase, where he feels his lot in life is to constantly correct his little brother about everything!

Timmy: “Mommy, may I have shredded wheat for breakfast?”

Jacob: “Timmy, we don’t have shredded wheat! We have frosted shredded wheat!”

Timmy: “That’s a lie!”

Jacob: “Fine…don’t believe me…go check the pantry yourself…you’ll then see that I’m right. I’m always right!”

I’d love nothing more than to ignore these little jabs, but it’s also happening at school too so I want to continue to work this one out of his system. That’s for another blog…for another day when I can look back on this and laugh…

Anyway, even though my boys aren’t the friendliest towards each other these days, there is something that bonds them like nothing else: tales of death, maiming and destruction! Moms of boys, I’m sure you understand completely! They’re all giggles, truly enjoying each other’s company! It’s hilarious, even though there’s a part of me that wishes they’d be happy with each other over butterflies and puppies instead of how they can kill flies slowly and pour salt over slugs (which Timmy recently learned about).

So here’s a photo gallery from our day at the Nebraska State Fair back over Labor Day weekend. I’ve been wanting to share this and tell the story of how seeing these caution labels on the John Deere equipment was our boys’ favorite part of the State Fair. They begged me to take pictures of their favorite labels, then wanted me to print out the pictures. I talked them out of printing the pictures, thankfully. I didn’t want to have to explain that one at school…

So here are my boys in front of one of the HUGE pieces of John Deere equipment at the farm equipment “museum” at the fair:

From 2009 09 04 NE State Fair

The boys scoured every square foot of this equipment that they could, as if on a scavenger hunt for caution labels such as these. They’d run around frantically, and one of them found one, you’d hear “I FOUND ONE! OVER HERE!” You’d have thought they found the Holy Grail, they were so excited!

From 2009 09 04 NE State Fair

I call this one “Mr. Twisty”:

From 2009 09 04 NE State Fair

From 2009 09 04 NE State Fair

From 2009 09 04 NE State Fair

From 2009 09 04 NE State Fair

Coming soon — Major Mom’s first forays into true “Mom’s Taxi”-hood. Balancing school, soccer, scouts, and piano lessons!

Happy Halloween!

28. October 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

I stole this idea from an NCO I worked with in South Carolina (thanks MSgt B!). She has 5 kids so her 5 pairs of pants across the lawn generated so much buzz last year, it was featured on the front page of the Sumter, SC newspaper Halloween week. I was inspired when I was sorting through the boys “can’t wear it anymore” clothing pile in their closet. Most of the pants are too small, but I happened across two pairs of jeans that were otherwise fine except for the holes in the knees, I knew they couldn’t go anywhere except the trash….

…unless….

From 2009 10 27 Halloween2009

Anyway, I’ll update this blog a little more later on. There’s lots going on, but nothing earth-shattering.

More Toilet Talk

23. September 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

I haven’t done one of these irreverent blogs in a while. This is an accumulation of about 6 months of frustration with automatic flushing toilets when I’m in uniform.

So here is the new Air Force “Airman Battle Uniform”. We call them “ABUs” for short.

In fact, let’s get up close and personal with that new fabric.

I’ve a lot of concerns about this new uniform…from not being able to wear Army support combat patches (well, any unit patches for that matter), to the heavy weight of the fabric that made it quite uncomfortable in the Middle East contingency zones. Many of those issues are being addressed, but one of the ones that isn’t is a pretty fundamental issue.

The Near IR capability of these uniforms cause problems with automatic-flushing toilets.

Defined by Propper, Inc., the official ABU manufacturer: “Near Infrared (NIR) Signature Management Technology is used by the U.S. Department of Defense to prevent detection by NIR Image Converters. These photocathode devices do not detect temperatures, but rather infrared radiation variances. NIR-compliant uniforms use a special fabric that allows soldiers to appear at the same radiation level as the surrounding terrain, thus making them more difficult to detect. NIR technology also make uniforms less visible in low-light environments by reducing the reflection of light.”

I won’t argue with the value of this feature, especially at night when enemy forces might be trying to look for Airmen and the protection that NIR capability might be life-saving. I understand that.

I don’t have to wear my uniform often, but when I was in Florida for some training last December, the classroom building I was in was outfitted with the automatic flushers. So every time I had to use the ladies’ room, in the middle of going, the toilet was flushing. I was annoyed, but it wasn’t a hideous mess (I’ll get to that later) so I just tolerated it for a bit. I tried to sit extra still, but that wasn’t the issue. I guess over time the fabric would fade the heat difference of my sitting in front of the sensor.

The solution? Take off my ABU blouse before using the facilities there.

This didn’t come up again for a while — no automatic flushing toilets in the combat zone. Then I started this new job here at Offutt. The bathrooms in that building also have the IR detector so it happened again last week while I was in uniform. Again, I know now to remove my blouse and again, it wasn’t a messy experience when the flush happened — just loud and water-wasting.

But YESTERDAY. I went over to the Offutt BX after running some work-related errands in uniform and it happened again. Sorry, I don’t usually take the time to check, “Hey, is this an IR automatic toilet flusher?” before using it. Like most Americans, I’m not concentrating that much on the actions required to go to the restroom. But this time — it was a very, um, spirited flush in the middle of doing my business. I got SOAKED…and it was doubtful that was totally clean water that sprayed up all over my backside and the back of my shirt. I was so incredibly grossed out, I cut short the rest of my time at the BX (I had planned to browse for some kids clothes) and came straight home.

I have to admit, for me, having to use the restroom, whether public or private, is usually as second-nature to me as breathing. As more restrooms are equipped with the automatic flushers, and as I’m reporting to work in a new location on a new base, I guess I have to take a moment to check for the flushers.

An Article About the Shaw Reserve Unit I Just Left…

10. September 2009 · Comments Off on An Article About the Shaw Reserve Unit I Just Left… · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

This was just released through USAF Public Affairs channels. Enjoy!

True team effort behind squadron’s success

Shared via AddThis

Worm Update

03. September 2009 · Comments Off on Worm Update · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

Well, it’s been 10 days and this has been very fascinating! This is a great project for kids, my boys are getting a kick out of it.

I’ve been checking up on the worms every day or so, most days just opening the lid to make sure I don’t have any more mass evacuation attempts. But every 3 days or so I would toss in a few food scraps. After tossing in some “sweets” on day 3, things seem much improved. There are usually worms crawling up the sides, but now no more than 4-5 at a time.

Those food scraps did the trick last Thursday. The worms took a couple days, but eventually all migrated towards the banana peels and tomato slices and in 48 hours, had been pretty cleared out. So on Saturday I added about 1/2 lb. of kitchen scraps: apple cores, banana peels, old lettuce and cabbage. And a couple eggs worth of shells, crumbled. I need some more guidance on how often and what techniques to use for feeding, but I’ll get a system together soon enough.

Happy Worms! Enjoy some pictures from this afternoon:

From 2009 09 03 WormBin_Vermicomposting

This is the worm bin after 10 days. It’s simply COVERED in worm castings now…despite adding food daily, there is no odor.

From 2009 09 03 WormBin_Vermicomposting

A closeup of the worm poop trails. Lovely, huh? This is pure compost, as good as it gets for your garden.

From 2009 09 03 WormBin_Vermicomposting

If you find some REALLY rotten food, you can find a HUGE tangle of worms. This grouping was tangled around a banana peel.

From 2009 09 03 WormBin_Vermicomposting

The top peel was added last night, the middle peel is about 3 days old, the bottom peel was from Friday.

Being Sick Sucks…

01. September 2009 · Comments Off on Being Sick Sucks… · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,


I’m just wrapping up a pretty nasty cold, upper respiratory infection, whatever you call it.

Whatever it’s called, it sucks.

I don’t get sick often. I last got quite sick the last week of February 2008. Yes, you read right: 2008. It was a horrible case of the flu, actually. Once I came home from the desert I felt like a time bomb, I figured if you go too long without getting sick, it’s bound to happen at any time.

And for me it was two Saturdays ago, the family had eaten dinner at Upstream Brewery and then took the kids to the Heartland of America Park in downtown Omaha to run around. My throat was getting that telltale soreness that heralds a cold.

Oh crap.

I was right — Dave let me sleep till 9am on Sunday and I didn’t want to move when it was time to get up for church. In fact, I ended up not going at all…

On Sunday and Monday I was in pretty bad shape. Dave took most of Monday off so he could help with Timmy, and he took me to the urgent care clinic so we could rule out strep or H1N1 (a.k.a. swine) flu. It was none of that.

Tuesday was the beginning of improvement, but as is typical with my kinds of colds, I end up with a lingering post-nasal drip that results in a lot of coughing at night. Since I turned 30, I’ve had a hard time shaking such a cough without a follow up trip to the doctor for some sort of antibiotic.

This one seems better — instead of the lingering cough, I have this river of snot — I think I’ve plowed through 3 boxes of tissues over the past 10 days. My nose is a nightmare…

I need to get better about the blog posts, folks — really. I used to be so on top of things, until Facebook and that friggin’ Bejeweled Blitz that sucks up so much of my time…

I’m getting busier, though — I’m now involved in my local AMS chapter, PTA and Dave’s unit’s spouse’s group. Jacob’s signed up for Cub Scouts and starts piano lessons this week. Timmy and Jacob both start soccer in a couple weeks, too. It’s going to be nuts!

My Worms Are Trying to Escape!

27. August 2009 · Comments Off on My Worms Are Trying to Escape! · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

I didn’t get any pictures because I had to work quickly. This morning I lifted the lid to the worm bin and dozens of the worms had dripped off the underside of the lid all over the floor!

Not all of them, but plenty. Timmy got a kick out this!

Anyway, I figured I’d try to improve their habitat a little and added some sweets to the top of the bin. Just a little bit: a couple banana peels and a couple slices of tomato that weren’t used for burgers a couple nights ago.

I put back the strays, added the sweets, and replaced the lid. I’ll check again later this afternoon and see if they’re happier.

According to this website, some escape shenanigans are normal and should subside in a week or so unless there’s a bigger problem that I’ll need to further investigate.

The Worms Are Here!

26. August 2009 · Comments Off on The Worms Are Here! · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

I’m actually following through with this cockamamie idea!

From 2009 08 26 Red Wiggler Worms in Bin

Yes, that’s my hand holding those worms, and no, I’m not squeamish about it in the least.

I had ordered my 2 lbs. of red wiggler worms from Gardener’s Supply last week, and they arrived this afternoon! It was just a few minutes before Jacob came home from school, so I waited until both boys were home before I put them in the bin.

It’s somewhat anti-climatic. You dump the worms into the prepared bin, and they burrow down out of the light.

That’s it.

It’ll be many weeks before I have anything else to say about this, but here are some pictures of what things are like in our basement for now. After I took these pictures I mixed in the soil-like material with the shredded paper and cardboard, put on the lid and walked away:

From 2009 08 26 Red Wiggler Worms in Bin

From 2009 08 26 Red Wiggler Worms in Bin

From 2009 08 26 Red Wiggler Worms in Bin
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