Is It Almost 4pm already???
Topic: This and That
This morning the lady who was supposed to watch Ryan called to tell me she wouldn't be able to. For some reason, I'm not really surprised. I kind of had a feeling last night that something would happen. Oh well. No biggie. Ryan is actually taking the mother of all naps right now. That is wonderful! However, when these rare things occur, I never know ahead of time, and I never know how long it will last. So instead of going, "Holy cow! I've got three hours of free time!" it's more like, "He's been out a while. Should be up soon. (At an hour and a half.)" Then an hour later, "Hmm... I wonder how much longer I've got..." and I start doing things in five minute bursts. Not very relaxing!
Larry called this morning. He is at his dad's house. He'll be there until Wednesday night, then he's going to his mom's.
It's been rainy and crappy out all day, so Ryan and I have a bit of cabin fever. I am hoping there's a break in the weather long enough for a little walk or something.
Tomorrow will be busy. There's a babysitting co-op meeting in the late morning, then Ryan and I have doctor's appointments in the afternoon. I need to go to the commissary somewhere in there. Not sure if it will happen, though. Ryan is getting his shots and probably won't feel like grocery shopping after. We'll see. If not, then I will just have to start getting creative with what's in the fridge!
I do need to get out of the house - and off of the computer! I spent quite a bit of Ryan's nap surfing. Too much time online is not healthy!
I am supposed to get "Goblet of Fire" from Sarah tomorrow. I am hoping to get it watched before Larry gets home. (He's informed me that he can't stand, "the kid from those movies." Oh well!)
Ooh. I think Ryan's finally up!

Ryan Report, Weather Report, Birthdays, and Harry Potter Insanity (not necessarily in that order!)
Topic: This and That
I have been remiss! Two friends of mine, Barbara and Hillary, have had birthdays (March 20 and 21, respectively). A huge belated Happy Birthday to you both! Hope it was great!
This morning there was sun. There was. I saw it. I know I wasn't dreaming! Unfortunately it didn't last. By the time Ryan and I got up, had breakfast, then got ready to go for a jog, there was definitely no sun to be had. That's ok though. It was much warmer today (50's!), which was great! It didn't rain on us while we were out, so that was good, too.
It felt really good to run. I hadn't run all week. I'd been feeling kind of down (for no special reason) and running was just what I needed. It's funny. No matter what kind of shape I am in, or what amount of time it's been since my last run, I feel I am always a runner. If it's been a while, then it's something I am driven to get back to. It's always in my head, "You need to get back out there." When I am running regularly, I always feel so much better, physically and mentally.
I first started running my sophomore year in high school. (That in itself is a story.) It became very important to me then, but I think it didn't become part of who I am as a person until college. I will always remember the day that my coach, Mark Covert, told me after a particularly demanding workout, "Today you are officially a runner." At that time, I could not have been more proud of myself!
After our run, Ryan seemed to be getting ready for a nap. Usually I'll give him a quick cuddle and put him in his crib. For some reason today I just felt like holding him and singing to him. He fell asleep in my arms. That is the best feeling. I rocked him and held him and enjoyed feeling him there close to me. It's times like those that make being a mom the most wonderful thing in the world.
Today I discovered that there are "adult" editions of the Harry Potter books. So far I have not been able to ascertain what exactly the difference is between "adult" and regular. I'm guessing it has to do with cover art. Otherwise...? I went to Amazon and tried to see if I could find out anything. I typed it in as a search and was astounded to see how many books have been written about Harry Potter. I had no idea it was such a source of academic study in so many different subject areas (religion, sociology, media, etc.).
(I thought I would mention here that my landlady resembles JK Rowling!) :P
Today was the first day of daylight savings time here. Ryan's normal bedtime is 8:30pm. At that point I take him upstairs and start his bath. By the time he is bathed, put in his jammies, sung to, and put in his crib, it's about 9pm. I figured since we're an hour off today, I would start the process at 9pm, so that he would wind up in his crib only a half hour early (by his body clock) rather than an hour early. So far, so good.
Tomorrow I am going to have a couple of Ryan-free hours. This whole time Larry's been gone, I haven't taken any time to myself. I've only had Ryan watched twice. Once was during a doctor's appointment, and the other time was so I could clean. I am going to take a couple hours to myself to hang out in a cafe with a cup of coffee and my thoughts. It should be very relaxing!

Daylight Savings Time
Topic: Harrogate
Apparently daylight savings time starts this Sunday here. So for a week, we will be 9 hours ahead of Pacific time, rather than the usual 8. Also, they celebrate Mother's Day this Sunday here. I have no idea why. (I'm sure if I surfed a bit, I could find something about it online.)
It's kind of scary, but I am now used to the expression, "Are you alright?" used instead of when we in the States would say, "How are you?" The first time someone said, "Are you alright?" as a casual greeting, my response was to think, "Why wouldn't I be???" Then I realized it's the Brit equivalent for our, "How are you?" In some ways, it makes more sense. I mean, I really, really hate it when people ask, "How are you?" but don't really want to know. (One of the things I like about German culture is that you definitely don't ask someone how they are unless you really want to know.) If someone here asks, "Are you alright?" then you can just answer, "Yes, thanks!" It's a simpler and more sincere casual greeting/question and answer setup, in my opinion.
Today it was rainy ALL day. :( Oh well. It IS England, after all. I am hoping that there will be some nice days and that Ryan and I stay healthy in the next week or so before Larry comes home and I lose possession of the car. (Don't you just a love a good run-on sentence once in a while?)
I am going to start watching, "Prisoner of Azkaban." Goodnight and happy Friday!

Too Cool!
Topic: This and That
Oh, Wow! I was just watching ER, and recognized a lady on it, Carol Gutierrez. She had a bit part, but what is really cool is: I'VE TAKEN TWO ACTING SEMINARS FROM HER!!! It's fun to see someone I've actually met and talked to and interacted with on a big show like that. Woo hoo! :)
Today we had another sunny day. I met up with two ladies from MHS and their kiddos, and we had lunch and went to the Valley Gardens park. That was nice.
I finished reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince today. I've gone through all six books in about a month. Intense! I have not gotten that involved and totally sucked into a series since reading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series a few years ago. The crazy thing about a really good book/series is, I find myself flying through it, staying up late reading it because I can't stop turning the pages. Then I get to the end and I am so sad to be done. Anyone else ever feel like that?

"It's Gonna Be a Bright, Bright, Bright Sunshiny Day..."
Topic: This and That
Spring came just a day late to Harrogate. It's been gorgeous and sunny today. Still a bit on the cold side (in the 30's). My landlady said at this time last year it was in the 60's. Wouldn't that be nice?
Today I went on post to run some errands, then later I took Ryan to the Valley Gardens park. There's a play area for kiddos and Ryan really enjoyed the slide, and just running around. I enjoyed getting out of the house after being sick and cooped up for a couple of days.
Though Harrogate is showing signs of spring, it's definitely nowhere near full bloom yet. In a few weeks, this place will be lousy with all manner of flowers. It will be gorgeous and I can't wait.
I am loving that it doesn't start to get dark now until well after 6pm. That seems so much more natural than dusk starting sometime after 3pm.
If the weather holds (and Ryan and I manage to stay healthy), I think an excursion or two is definitely in order this weekend.
As for a Larry update, he's finished with BNCOC and is now floating around Texas somewhere between San Angelo, Dallas, and San Antonio. He will be heading to Vegas and Indio by the week's end. He's supposed to be back in the UK around April 2.

Anyone Had a Good Snog Lately???
Now Playing: My stomach rumbling.
Topic: This and That
Hello. Yesterday (Monday) starting around 2am, I got hit with a nasty stomach virus. It was not pretty. I spent a lot of the wee hours on the bathroom floor. (Rolls of toilet paper make good makeshift pillows, btw.)
Ryan was so great. He really was an angel. I could just barely manage to get him fed and change his diapers once in a while. I was laid out on the couch most of the day, dozing off and on. (Which is something I would never, ever normally do with Ryan there.) At one point, Ryan came over to me and gently stroked my face, then went back to playing. It was so sweet! I am sure he knew I was sick. He kept himself entertained and did not demand anything from me all day.
Later on in the day, after an especially bad attack, I called my friend Sarah. I told her I was thinking about calling our URG leader, Alison, to see if someone could come over and help. (Sarah would have, but her husband is TDY and she has two little ones herself.) Sarah suggested I go ahead and call Alison, so I did. Alison was great. Within a few minutes, she told me another lady from our URG, Christina, would be by my house with Gatorade. Alison told me she would call me to check on me later. (She too, said she would come by, except that she had various things going on with her three kids that evening that she couldn't miss.) Alison made me the most amazing offer: she told me that she would take Ryan overnight if I needed her to. That meant so much to me! However, Ryan has become pretty good about sleeping through the night (most of the time), so I didn't need to take her up on it. Still, I thought that considering Alison's got three kids herself (one isn't much older than Ryan), that was a very generous offer. (It makes me think of a night my good friend Sabrina took Ryan overnight back in those dark days of chronic sleep deprivation. It was bliss! Sabrina, I will be forever grateful!)
Later on in the evening, Alison stopped by. She delivered a basket Sarah had put together. It was wonderful! There was warm rice, and chicken soup. There was a toddler meal for Ryan (I had no idea what I was going to feed him for dinner until then), there was all manner of cold/flu medication, as well as tea and other goodies to eat. She included napkins and plastic utensils, bath salts, and magazines. There were a couple of nice home made fruit cups with all the kinds of fruit I like in them. There was also a cute package of kleenex. It was amazing! I was completely blown away. It was so nice, much needed, and very appreciated.
I have to give a huge thumbs up for Alison, Sarah, and Christina for being there for me and Ryan. It made me feel like I wasn't alone, and made me feel taken care of. That's one thing I really love about military communities. Since our husbands are gone so much, people really pitch in and are there for each other when the need arises. I know not all military communities are great, but I've been very lucky with the two I've been in so far.
I feel much, much better today, thank goodness! I was tempted to jump up and do all sorts of things around the house, but after getting light headed and having my stomach start hurting again after just a little exertion, I thought better of it.
Now for something completely different...
Has anyone heard the British slang term, "snog?" For some reason, I find the word extremely amusing. Come on - say it out loud. "Snog." I dare you! Make the person sitting near you wonder what-the-heck. The first time I came across it, I couldn't get the exact meaning out of the context. It was something like, "We were snogging in the back seat of the car," or something like that. I got the general idea, but didn't know the exact act "snog" referred to. I now know that it refers to kissing - but not the kind of kiss you'd give a relative (hopefully). It just sounds so... gross. Just swap the word "snog" for "kiss" (or "snogging" for "kissing") in any sentence and it seems to take on a whole new connotation.
I think Ryan is up from his nap. Hope everyone is having a good week so far.

Ryan is 18 Months Old!
Topic: Ryan
Today Ryan is 18 months old!
He seems to be doing ok through his cold. His nose is still running like crazy and he still coughs now and then, but other than that, he's pretty much his usual self.
He does this cute thing now where he goes out into the hallway and jumps while trying to say, "jump!"
The other day he showed a pretty good display of coordination and leg strength. He was able to get up off the floor from a sitting position and stand, without using his hands, while holding a box of 64 crayons. I know there are adults who can't get up without pushing off with their hands! :)
I keep forgetting to mention that a week or so ago, I started seeing lambs in the fields. They are so adorable!

Music
Now Playing: VH1(UK) 100 Greatest Movie Soundtracks
Topic: Stream of Consciousness
Music is amazing to me. There are so many different forms and endless variations that the one word, "music," encompasses. Music covers everything from someone whistling while walking down the street, to a symphony orchestra playing a classical masterpiece, and everything in between. I think music's true magic is that it is so emotional. Sure there's theory and math and all of that, but you don't need to know music theory to enjoy listening to or playing music.
I love a wide variety of music. The other day I mentioned being enthralled by Gershwin. Last night I got chills listening to Linkin Park's, "Somewhere I Belong." I love that music can evoke all kinds of feelings. Up tempo songs make us happy and want to dance. Slower songs can sometimes make us want to cry. Certain melodies and chord progressions have the same effects on almost everyone. I think it's amazing how universal music is.

St. Patrick's Day Fun Run
Now Playing: Ryan bumping around in his crib and VH1 100 Greatest Movie Soundtracks.
Topic: Holidays
Hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day! Ryan and I celebrated by participating in a fun run at MHS. Click here to read about it: St. Patrick's Day Fun Run (I also changed the photo on the home page of my website.)

Beware the Ides of March!
Topic: This and That
This picture was taken a couple of days ago. It's Ryan with his new kitty that his great aunt Jean sent him. :)
Here are some pictures from our snow (there are also a couple more of Ryan). March Snow Enjoy!
I think Ryan is sick again. Ugh! This time it's his nose, and a bit of a caugh. I think Ryan got a whole three or four days where he was healthy. *sigh* One of my friends from the baby sitting co-op gave me some eucalyptus plug-in type thingies you plug in the wall outlet. I hope it helps Ryan sleep. I've also slathered on the vapor rub on his chest. I've got tylenol drops at the ready.
This morning was weird. Ryan woke up really early (about 6:20am) and would not go back to sleep for anything. Just as I was about to give up and get him, he fell asleep. He only napped for about an hour in the afternoon. I'm hoping he will sleep tonight. I've heard him sneezing and coughing a little bit though.
Monday night was a card making spouse's coffee. I had been looking forward to it for a while. There were all sorts of neat papers and scrapbooking type supplies for us to embellish blank notecards. There was also a chocolate fountain, plus all manner of pot luck items people brought. There was child care on site, but unfortunately Ryan did not want to be parted from me. (Looking back on it now, it may be he was already starting not to feel that great.) In the end, I didn't really get to participate in the coffee, which was disappointing. However, it was nice to at least get out and socialize.
Yesterday I just went on post and ran some errands.
Today I had one of the ladies from the co-op watch Ryan for a little while so I could get some cleaning done. (We're having a new window installed in the room we were using for storage. I needed to clear a work space around the window.) It was amazing to me how much I could accomplish when I just focused. It actually came as sort of a revelation. I really don't focus my energy all that often (I think that's because I use most of it up taking care of Ryan!), so I'm never getting everything done that I want to.
Last night and tonight I was watching a thing on VH1 called, "100 Greatest Teen Stars." It was fun because a lot of these stars are people I grew up watching. They are mostly either my age, or a bit older. Watching this show takes me back, kind of like looking at an old yearbook.
As far as Ryan goes, I am hoping that this cold will be mild and over quickly. His energy and appetite seem to be up still, so that's a good sign. I don't think either of us could take another bout of vomiting and diarrhea like the one he just got over.
We don't have any plans for tomorrow. Friday is the St. Patrick's Day fun run on post. I haven't run in about three weeks! I'm sure it will still be fun.