Heaven, I'm in Heaven

The Stadium, The House That Ruth Built call it what you want. I'm not going to say it was the greatest day in my life. That would just not be true, but I will say it is in the top five. When I opened my anniversary present I really couldn't believe my eyes. I honestly didn't think we would be going to see Yankee Stadium before it closed. you can imagine how excited I was. The night before was worse then Christmas eve. I was so excited.

We got there a few hours early. I wanted all the time I could get to soak in all the sites and sounds. Before we went I really couldn't understand why they wanted to close its door, but now I know. The Stadium is old and pretty run down. The restrooms were horrible. They were spaced far enough apart that I bet each bathroom serviced two or three thousand people. The bathrooms were small and had five urinals on each side of the wall. The four small toilets in the restroom I had to endure were horrible. Three of them didn't flush (which didn't stop people from using them) and the one that did work, was so dirty I'm sure I caught some disgusting disease just hovering over. I have never hated that fact that I have to got to the bathroom so often as I did then.

The tickets were much harder to get then The Misses was expecting. A gentleman my Mom works with has family in New York that had told her she would be able to get us a couple of tickets. Two weeks before we were to leave he still hadn't gotten our tickets. Finally he told her that his family wasn't able to get any tickets. My Mom was very upset. She went to work searching the Internet for several hours. She finally found a site that said they had tickets, but she needed to call instead of ordering them online. She called and the gentleman said they did have some tickets. When she ordered them she was under the impression that she could have spent more and gotten ones that had waiter service and were closer then the ones she got. Well as you can see the seats were better then she thought. Five rows up from the first base line. There were only four heads in front of us. It was incredible. In case you are wondering, yes it did have a waiter service: Can you guess what 2) hot dogs, 2) Small bags of chips, 1) bag of peanuts, and 2) beers cost...$40.00 not including the tips.

We did do other things while we were there. We took a boat ride down the East River and around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We walked down to see Ground Zero, which was nothing but a huge construction zone. One night we went to a local Brewery and had dinner and ended up drinking with a Coast Guardsman, a Girl from Florida, and an Engineer from Austria. One night we went to Broadway and saw RENT. I had seen it before when it came to Salt Lake. Each time we go on a long road trip The Misses and I listen to the soundtrack. It is unfortunate the movie didn't do the musical justice. It is an incredible roller coaster of highs and lows. I am glad we were able to see it before it closes on Sept 7. It was a great trip. I can't stand to be in crowds and that's all there was everywhere. The Misses wishes she would have been able to shop more (another thing I hate doing). She figured what's the point when she is not going to be around for over a year to use it, so she didn't seem to mind too much that we didn't. I told her when we were leaving that I was glad I was able to see New York, but the only reason I can see going back was to take our son or daughter to Yankee Stadium when they are in their teens. Over all it was a great trip.

Hoping for a better Week

So last weekend concluded with me in the Emergency Room getting IV Fluids. As I got up today I was hoping that it would be a better week. The day didn't start off well, as I got to work I ripped off half of my finger nail. Then I came home to pay bills, a lovely task. I got up to use the bathroom and when I came back, Jeter laid down at my feet. He started chewing on what I thought was a bone, so I continued paying the bills. As I reached for my pen I noticed it wasn't there.

I looked down...

Jeter got up and ran out of the room and went outside.

When I finally caught up to him he rolled over "Dad, I promise it wasn't me. It must have been Boo or Harley." The ink was still wet on his paws and around his lips. As my loving Father said once "If I would have hit him, I would have killed him!" Okay, so maybe I wasn't that mad. After attempting to clean the carpet I ran some bath water for The Little Shit, oh, I mean Jeter. Now remember that earlier I mentioned I had ripped off half my finger nail, well then you can imagine the pain that went shooting up my arm every time a drop of water hit the sensitive wound.

I have now finished cleaning the carpet, Jeter and me. Unfortunately the carpet didn't completely come clean. A whole bottle of stain remover and 45 minutes of scrubbing. The misses got home and as usual saw the better side of things. "At least now I have a good reason to buy that area rug I wanted."

One Great Year

It's hard to believe it has been a year since we said "Absolutely I do, I love you." The Misses and I went up last weekend to Snowbird for dinner. It was 2 years ago that I finally asked her to marry me at The Aire Restraunt. We order a bottle of wine and had some incredible food. Then it was up to Alta Lodge. We checked in and went out to the patio for a bottle of Champagne, and our gifts. The Misses has been as a giddy as a school girl about her gift to me. We both opened our presents together. I don't think either of us were paying attention to what we were opening. I let her finish opening hers first. It was a digital picture frame, she was excited, but I think she was expecting a new ring. We have been discussing the idea of her not taking her engagement or wedding band to Iraq. We don't want something happening to it or her because of it. I could tell there was a little disappointment, but she was excited to load the frame up with pictures of us and Jeter to take to Iraq.

Then it was my turn. The first thing that caught my eye was a retro Yankees hat. I was pretty excited since Jeter had eaten my last Yankees hat. A Yankees polo shirt followed, I made a comment about how Travis (dreaded Red Sox Fan) was gong to love my outfit the next time we golf. As I was holding it up an envelope fell out. I had scene it the night before. The misses came in from the office holding it with a grin laughing like an evil villain. Inside was a letter explaining how I was to pack my bag because we were heading to New York and YANKEE STADIUM! So prior to this gift I thought the best gift ever was my gun I got for Christmas. This is definitely better. I guess since we started dating she has been trying to get us to Yankee stadium. It is now or never (Yankee stadium is closing this year). So we are off to New York the middle of this month.

We sat outside on the patio and watched the sun go down. While we were sitting there, as happy as I was about Yankee Freakin Stadium I couldn't help but feel a little sad. I realised sitting there in the crisp air that I really missed camping. I realised there that I wasn't going to be able to spend the night cuddled up in a mummy sack in a tent for a long long time (if at all). It didn't take long for the moment to pass and I was back thinking of the Yankees.

It started to get cold so we took our gifts and the champagne back to the room. Waiting there was the misses new simple wedding band......

It's Finally Here

I truly wish this was about our roses finally blooming which marks the start of Spring and Summer. Unfortunately, the realisation of The Misses (a.k.a. SSG Taylor) deployment is upon us. She left yesterday for three weeks of training in Texas. As I was laying in bed playing fetch with Jeter it really hit me that she is going to be gone a long time (14 months). For the past two months the deployment has been something that was going to happen in the future. No need to worry or think about it.
As I laid there by myself last night I was overcome with sadness. As we started dating we knew a day would come that we would deploy. It is always something Soldiers have on their minds. When the list came out for the deployment to Germany The Misses name wasn't on it. It didn't take long for her to get put on so we could be together. This time there is no chance of that. I think it's really going to bother me that I am not able to be there with her. I know my body is in no shape to be stuck in the desert. My mind on the other hand thinks differently. I think I could still do it. It's going to be a long, long time apart listening to her great stories, wishing I could be there with her.
Instead of supporting her in the field I will do what a Dependant (the name the Army gives to a Soldier's spouse) does and support her from home. Hopefully it goes by a fast as our first great year of marriage. We are coming up with ideas to stay close. I will really have to get over my hatred of talking on the phone. Maybe tonight as you kiss your sweat heart goodnight. Give them an extra kiss on the cheek and be thankful there are Hero's in this country that are willing to leave their sweat hearts to take care of the worlds business.

P.S.

It took Jeter one hour to destroy the new bed his mother bought form him. I think he is going to regret it when I throw it in the trash and he is stuck sleeping on a little blanket during the day.

Back on the Bottle...Again (and a bit selfish)

Okay, so its not a bottle as much as it is a bag. Hydration has become a major part of my life. One of the primary functions of a colon is to absorb water. It's amazing how fast dehydration sneaks up on me now. I have learned to recognize the symptoms at the very earliest stages. It starts with chapped lips, followed by a headache, and finally nausea. With my new job comes new hurdles to get over in the fight to stay hydrated. My department is considered a sterile environment. With this comes several rule. Two of them are no food and more importantly NO DRINKS. I have had to really make a conscious effort to stay on top of my fluid. My watch is set to go off every hour for my drink breaks. My goal each day is to drink 3 liters of water while I am at work. If I am off by as little as 8 oz I can really tell a huge difference.

The Misses is very concerned about this. When I reach a point where I can't get caught up. She pulls out her supplies and hooks me up with with a few liters of IV fluids (one of the many perks of being married to a nurse). I have needed IV fluids much more lately because of how active I am at my job. A week ago I called my surgeon and told her what was going on. She set me up with a Home Health Care Agency to come in and manage my IV fluids. The Misses is worried that while she is gone. Oh yah forgot to mention The Misses is being deployed in a few month for at least 14 months. There is much more to come about that. She is very worried I wouldn't be able to get IV's and end up in the hospital. Now if we can just get my insurance to pay for the Home Health Care Nurse (this could be an issue) I will be set.

We found out she is being deployed about a month ago. I haven't been able to sum up the words to construct a blerp about it. So many of you will think I am a bit selfish by mentioning a stupid issue like hydration, before such a big thing as a deployment. Sorry, not an easy subject right now.

And yes, those are our new cabinets. The kitchen was pretty much done after 3 weeks of work. So why haven't I produced pictures? We are waiting on our new light. This blog is already too long to get into it. So more to come on that as well.

So much excitment in that expression. I really do love this.

Lesson learned

I'll never forget my dad taking me by the hand (I must have been 17 or 18 years old) and leading me down the stairs to my bathroom. As we passed each light switch he pointed out how each switch made the lights turn on and more importantly off.

Any ideas on how I can teach my lovely wife a lesson on how NOT TO DRIVE ME CRAZY! Seriously, I bet there isn't even a teaspoon of milk in that bottle.

......I know sweety, it wasn't you.

I think it's called OCD

"So, what you going to do tomorrow?" I asked Little Dickie on our way home from fight night.

"I don't know? Guess I should do some yard work?" He says with a slight drunken slur.

I wanted to say something about your lawn looking like it needed to be fertilized.

"I hate yard work! It isn't like I can keep up with my neighbor across the road. She crawls around and picks the weeds out by hand! Doesn't she have anything better to do!" He flips off the house as we drive by.

I couldn't tell his drunk ass then, but "dude, I do too!"