Saturday, September 8, 2012

Heavy labor, like shopping

246/366


Ah, the lovely Sunday Sunrise over the Franklin Mountains.  


Meanwhile, in Saturday's shopping extravaganza, we got a tv, and James set it up, and we watched a bit Saturday, but Sunday morning the girls were thrilled to sit and watch some of their own movies.  Like "the cat movie" aka Aristocats or Jungle Book.  It's uncanny how much Annie looks like Mowgli, great big eyes, skinny limbs, and crazy hair.  Beware if you see her talking to a snake.  


There was much to do today, so James took Annie and I shopping, first we went to Target , for a few things, but Eric called in the middle of our trip, to tell me he was running Christopher to the ER.  He was on my mind all day.  I did get to talk to him a few times before and after they were working on him.  

Now I have done some damage at Target in my day, but Nothing compares to the insanity of that shopping trip.  2 carts OVERFLOWING!  And we got out to the car, and went Uh....  We are driving a Maxima.  Not a minivan.  We had boxes for two giant bookcases, a microwave, a broom, swiffer, and I can't even remember what all, but it took all of James and I and our Mad Packing Skillz to get it loaded up.  

I had a bookcase between my knees in the front seat, and upside porching plastic tables next us, wove under James arm.  The biggest bookcase was threaded through Charlie's window (thank goodness she didn't come with us), across her carseat, and on to Annie's, balanced on the arm of the back door, like a table over her carseat.   We were very thorough, to make sure it didn't touch her in any form.  She was the only one not physically impeded while driving.  That bookcase in my hips left dents in my flab, and pushed on my legs and hips in unpleasant ways on the drive home.  Luckily, James is a way safe driver, and we made it home in one piece.  

Heck, I even got a good picture of the entry to the base as we went.  Welcome to Fort Bliss! 



This is the Buffalo Soldier Monument. 


US Army water tower.  He doesn't quite talk the way the ones down here too, bet he says Y'all. 


This is the Obstacle Course.  James says he'll take Annie over to check it out sometime.  I was thinking Yipes.  I would be so bad.  I had the lofty goals of exercising while in Texas, but it was 95 all day, kind of gross.  At least it was a dry heat, but that didn't make me want to be out in it any more.  And frankly, as amazing and awesome as our meals were, I did not have the energy to do much more than unpack and shop. 


This place was called Victory Tower.  It's that one they show in all the army movies, where they have to climb up the tower using only a rope or holes in a wall, or their bare fingers.  Whatever, not something I'm ever going to be able to do.  James says the "reward" is that you can repel down.  Yipes.  


This is Biggs Air Field (or at least an edge of it) where James works.  Bliss is the second largest army fort in area, or something, because it takes over this giant corner of Texas, and into New Mexico.  And it's all like this, endless dessert.  Wild.  



Well, after we shopped, I was pretty much over the working, the noise, and pretty much only ate BK for lunch, then took drugs and naps, and got ready to eat again.  Man, I was hurting by that third day.  I had unpacked like half a dozen boxes with Lisa the day before, and a couple that morning but after that shopping trip, I was DUN.  Made pretty good progress on my book club book though. ;) Then James was kind enough to take me out for a power shopping trip for boots for the boys.  They had told me that I couldn't go to Texas and not be a cowgirl, and if they were going to go (which we're going to do over Spring Break) they need to be cowboys, and they'd need boots and hats.  Yup.  So I wanted to bring them home some boots and/or cowboy hats as a souvenir.  It was kind of fun to pick something out for them while they weren't with me.  It was weird to get away from them.  And on this day, I was feeling really bad for being away.  But they were both in such safe and perfect hands with their Daddy.  I bought them some wild brown and red cowboy boots.  Stinky Cute.  And while we had been out cruising on the prowl for boots, James and I had searched out some places, he remembered getting recommendations for good food.  
One of them was called El Taco Tote.  Lisa and I kept calling it Taco Tico for some silly reason.  But we went, and it was like a cross between a mexican, and fast food.  We went up, ordered, and they brought it out to us.  But while we waited, they had a chips and salsa bar, to snack on, and all kinds of toppings.  Eric would have loved it, an entire bin of jalepenos, salsa of varying colors and sizes.  Oh yeah.  The medium made me need a drink though.  Guess I'm just a yankee.  


But the refritos and rice were a big hit!  Charlie had them all over herself.  The rest of us ate our weight.  The portions were so generous.  I got the 2 fajitas, and they were overflowing with chicken, Annie ate my overflow, and I still was stuffed.  Something else I learned.  3 days is the max my body will take of eating out  extremely rich foods in a row before balking.  


As we returned onto base, the sun was setting, looked so pretty, and on the side of the mountain there is a giant white star that lights up at night.  Normally we could only see a white dot, looking like any of the other lights we would see in the distance, but on this night we were a bit more East, and if you follow the edge of the mountain, you can see about 2/3 of the Star.   Progress.  Maybe next time, I'll catch the Whole Star, and bring my good camera. ;)


As a great end to the evening, James had gotten the girls' beds set up in their new room.  They were so excited.  Big Girl Beds!


They were so excited!  They just couldn't stand it!  Annie kept rearranging her pillows.  


It was the first time Charlie wasn't in the crib, pack-n-play, or with a grownup on something on the floor.  She's such a big girl now!  


Amazingly enough, as crazy as they were about their new beds, they must've been pretty tired, or very content to sleep in them, because once we put them down, we didn't hear a peep out of them.  We even had to double check, because that was so uncharacteristic.  But no, they were perfectly happy to sleep in their big girl beds in their big girl room.  


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