Dear Darla Diaries

in case you were wondering

I have been questing through TSA requirements in research for our upcoming flight to the states. When we flew here many international and customs regs didn't apply because we were flying military. That's not to say we could smoke in lavaratories or have 4-gallon bottles of lotion in our carry-ons but things like how many checked in bags you can have didn't exactly apply at the time.

I stumbled into a very important fact that I had to share with the mother-in-law. MIL, in case you were planning on going all festive and baking a pie for me to haul home to the family across two continents, 10+ hours of time difference and many countries in between, let me give you a slight warning: you can't wrap it. I'll have to carry it in a clear container from here to our final destination. Also be prepared for possible heightened security checks, they might even taste it.

where do they come up with these things

I was welcomed into my friends home for all of the second time in about a four-week time span. Hugs were exchanged and the regular pleasantries. Their daughter Alethia came barreling down the hall and stopped just short of my legs. "Oh it's you! I'm so glad you're here! We were just watching you in a movie!" Little eager fingers grabbed my hand and tugged me further into the house. "See!!" She excitedly pointed to a face on the back of the new Ramona and Beazus movie. [Little did she realize she pointed to one of the only actresses that I know of that shares my true first name. And one I like immensely.] "Which one did she pick?" Her mother asked and I showed her. "Whew! At least she's getting closer! Last week she showed my hair dresser a photo of our African sponsor child and said it looked just like her. It was a little surprising to our mid 40-year-old German beautician that she resembled an 8-year-old black boy, however cute he may be."

 

today isn't so promising

So Distraction is my friend. When I should be paying the weekly bills, transferring all the data from my broken crap-top to my new shiny 1Tb external hard drive, exercising, chasing the never-ending laundry pile, mopping the floors, organizing the spare bedroom, unpacking the last of the o&e, hanging fam photos on wall, uploading fam photos to flickr, vid-chatting and/or phoning my long lost and very beloved kin [friend and fam], catching up on blog reading, researching adoption options, researching church options, investigating fisher house volunteer opportunities or generally being constructive ... I am instead writing run-on sentences in my blog and heading to bed. It's much easier to download the new album my Jamey Johnson to iPhone, watch the new titillating Robin Hood or eat something. I don't want to care ... perhaps I'll care tomorrow. I do care. There is a huge Care bow wrapped around my little bits from our life in the states and my superkewl kin I miss to bits and pieces just today I don't want to look at it. It's quieter when I keep it out of my peripheral vision. I'm sure I'll focus tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be productive tomorrow. Today just had to be a day of utter rest is all.       

p.s. I have a little confession to make. Somehow my small obsessive compulsive habits are growing. There's this free SolFree ap on my phone that's currently the oddest tic in my collection. Whenever I use the bathroom or go to bed I have to play at least one successful game of Spiderette. For some reason if it's unsuccessful or the cards aren't flowing right or I don't like the process it took to win I have to play again and again until I hit say three smooth wins in a row. My eyes can be crossing, my fingers are trying to move cards incorrectly and yet I.Must.Win. Next I'm going to start sorting my spice tins by fill-level, shade and scent I just know it.  

0:43a

way too early in the morning
to be driving thru a base to find the only open gate
for the first time
thru foreign soil
in his car not mine
in the dark
with his hardly lucid advice
reminding me the drunker you are the more correct you should be
oh how I love this man
it's called a lance ... hello

not a whole lot out of the ordinary

Sometimes there isn't much to say.

Sometimes one doesn't want to use words to fill up the dull spots in between the moments that are neither exciting nor mentionable just liveable.

Sometimes it's just another day at the office or, in my case, base gas station.

Sometimes the days on the calendar seem much further apart than they actually are.

Sometimes a government provided closet-size hotel can feel like a prison.

Sometimes spouses push each other's buttons for no other reason than the fact it's convenient.

Sometimes sex is just sex and the squabbling will still commence.

Sometimes a non-airconditioned rattling box of a vehicle is the perfect mode of transportation in a foreign country.

Sometimes I ramble too much.

a side of basil and a slice of ham

Today's reading list: the good, bad and beautiful ... because I like sharing my randomness with others and I'm fidgeting and speedtalking in my head and my walls are a little squishy today ... and I can.

Karie sums up a bad day with the best of intentions and all the reason in the world to feel this way:

What the HELL was that?!?!?!?! Why did this happen??? What the hell was this sequence of events and what the hell was the point!? I'm sick of the whole "life throws you a curve ball" thing. NO! Life hits you in the face with the ball, then takes the bat to you, then kicks you a couple of times and repeats it over and over again to MAKE SURE you are terrified to move for the rest of your life. THANKS LIFFFFFE. Does anyone ever get over death? I don't think so. People find bandaids for the hole left. {click here for full post}

The formerly known Simple Sparrow can you show you bits of the beautiful country I currently live in. {click here} I love the girl with the bandanna look as well as the castles and rivers. The forests are truly as lush as they seem.

Last but certainly not least is the good. Karen rounds out my random tryst with her handy 7-step cleaning trick to tackling the fridge over at her CraftLeftover site. {I'm not sure if I mentioned before, but I LOVE that site.}

why i should be asleep

Watching Jay Leno I was reminded how dumb boy bands aka Hanson sound. (Sadly Backstreet Boys replaying 1997 is somehow better?) Also enjoyed watching southern belle Miss Paula Deen accidentally drop the F-bomb while attempting to show him how to whip up an Italian cake. Got to love her.
So insomnia courtesy of jet lag can have some perks!

what HASN'T happened lately

The first 600 lbs of unaccompanied goods were sent to Germany

We had a rousing good time with family in Portland

MrD found out this his awesome 60plus-year-old cougar of an Aunt plays dirty ... or rather Randall got a handful of naughty

Pretty sure he'll be a little nervous for a few years around her

Our house was stripped and close to 6,400 pounds of household goods were crated for shipment to Germany

Our car was loaded at port and sent to Germany

Our beautiful Sue was laid to rest and her puppy ashes will be joining us in Germany

I completed my last day in the HR office today. A bit surreal in many ways.

We successfully passed our house cleaning inspection

We moved three adults, one cat and numerous suitcases into a fully furnished pet friendly apartment for 10 days. It even comes with two separate gorgeous bathrooms.

Our free internet is slower than molasses and though my trusty mac has no problems the MIL is a little bummed because she doesn't have enough bandwidth to play WoW. I barely can pull it off

We have nearly every evening for the next 10 days scheduled ... I'd concentrate if my friends wouldn't threaten me with bodily harm ... or I'd miss them less terribly

I think my Brain is hiding somewhere along with my Logic and Sanity. Those children are always up to no good.

Little D is actually loving his halter and his walking leash. What a strange cat.

I have bunches of fantastic photos and not enough concentration to download or share them yet

I still need to figure out how to successfully put TWIN in my suitcase for the move to Germany

P.S. D day is 23 May. If you are counting. And I am not counting. In smaller digits than miliseconds. TWIN is figuring out how much peanut butter it will take to stop the plane.

why i love Bones!

I didn't mean to say that out loud! I just thought it so hard it just POPPED out of my mouth!

ses-qui-pe-da-lian

We watched two polar opposite movies yesterday. I will admit that both were silly and fluffy but they also had a very ironic similarity of the verbose nature: the interesting use of the characters knowledge of the English language. Now since I'm quite the sucker for quoting things (movies, signs, books, life, etc.) I had to share.

Now don't judge me I never admitted the movies were anywhere near the realm of Juno, Crash, Gran Torino, Wanted, Knight's Tale, LOTR, Radio, Love Actually, Harry Potter(s), Italian Job, Gladiator, Finding Neverland, Borne (everything), Inglorius Bastards, Avatar, Taken, 300, When in Rome, Braveheart, Karate Kid, Rent, Pirates 1-3, Sherlock Holmes, Goonies, Sound of Music or a myriad of my other favorite movies. Yes, and my tastes in television also runs just as far and wide from the likes of Mercy, Weeds, Southland, Lost (Seasons 1-2), ER, Criminal Minds, Ace of Cakes, Numbers, The Closer, Iron Chef America, Top Chef, Miami Ink, ANTM (Seasons 1-5), Project Runway, Bones, BONES, (lol), Dexter, Chelsea Lately, CSI (most), and and the list goes on and on.

So first off we had caught Stick It from 2006 on a random cable channel. On this little spirited teen gymnastics flick there were a series of ditzy anecdotes that were a bit funny:

Joanne: Don't do it Vic. This is a really bad idea. If you get on this tramp you will have a cardiovasectomy. I'll have a cardiovasectomy! Think about your wenis!

Haley: I got my GED when I was 15
Joanne: GED? What does drunk driving have to do with school?

Burt: Hey, Miss Rebel Without Applause.

Poot: Man, why do you always have to bite my moment? Did it taste good?
Frank: Delicious

Second we watched the new Love Happens flick with Jennifer Anniston and Aaron Eckhart on cable. Aniston's "Eloise" was a verbose florist while Eckhart's Burke was a motivational speaker. Early on in the movie Burke noticed Eloise had written the word "quidnunc" behind a piece of art in the hotel hallway. Throughout the rest of the movie they traded these little gems back and forth. For someone that tends to be pretty exact on the spelling of things my first reaction was to think that the word "guidance" must've been spelled wrong. Much to my delight, and the reference in Merriam-Webster's, I was wrong!

quid·nunc
ˈkwid-ˌnəŋk
noun
: a person who seeks to know all the latest news or gossip : busybody

ses·qui·pe·da·lian
ses-kwə-pə-ˈdāl-yən
adjective
2 : given to or characterized by the use of long words

I will end with an equally fabulous quote:

Eloise: Can I say something? And, and this comes from a place of total humility. With the acknowledgment that my life is a day-by-day experiment in... really bad decisions. But, er... you're really messed up.