Thanksgiving: Counting my blessings.

You may have noticed that my postings are even more sparse than normal. See those three beautiful children at the top of the page? This is a season they are needing their momma more than normal, so not so much spare time on the computer for me these days. (Although today has been a guilty pleasure.)

To honor the fast approaching Thanksgiving holiday, I'd like to share my top 10 blessings. I invite you to join me. Feel free to share your blessings in the comment section, or leave a link to your blog in the comments.

Tami's Top 10 Blessings

10) Chocolate peanut butter cup cookies, yum.

9) Sunshine after the rain.

8) Modern technology. I remember the days of outrageous phone bills, and am so grateful it is affordable to stay connected.

7) Mount Rainier. It always fills me with awe when I see it peeking out of the clouds.

6) My home. I know I can survive in less, but I am so grateful to have a pretty house to call home.

5) A wonderful church and a safe neighborhood for my children.

4) Friends. My military friends have been more like family over the years. I cannot imagine life without any of you.

3) Extended family. Let me tell you that is a lot, with my funky family tree.

2) My family. Growing up I always wanted to be a mommy. Here I am, living my dream.

1) My faith in God. Without that belief, and Him at my center, I am nothing.

May you all be able to seek out the blessings in your life and thank God. When I focus on what I have, instead of what I am missing in my life, the journey is so much sweeter.

What do you think?

I'm back from my vacation. We had a great time. ABM, there was a place with a ukulele sale. . .but it was closed every time we drove by. Though, it did make me chuckle each time I saw it.

Sorry no pictures or details today, we are on the heals of vacation followed by visitors. We have had some WONDERFUL days filled with celebration of family and friends. Today I will down load pictures in between playing catch up (Around the house and blogger world. I'm so excited to stop by and see you. I've missed my bloggy friends), and prepping for the next group. Mr. Nomad and I are sort of hosting a little cousin family reunion in a few weeks.

Okay, no pictures. . .no big news. . .why the heck am I posting?

I have a question. . . If you have a dream about rowing all night, you wake up in a sweat, with your jammies soaked, do you think you could count that for your work out?

Just wondering.

Could it be??

What is this bright light, and blue sky over head? Oh, it is the sun. It has just been such a long time since I've seen you old friend. Please stay and play with us today. Pretty please?!

Licking our wounds. . .

If you are a Vikings fan, you know what I'm talking about. Oh, how that game HURT! But then again, if you are a true purple and gold Vikings fan, you know the sting of defeat very well. Now the real test is here. . .if you are a TRUE fan you won't mind telling everybody how much you love your Vikings. AND you would NEVER trade them for another team. . .even if they can never quite get that elusive Super Bowl Championship. Yep, I'm a true fan. . .but it still stings.

Thank goodness I'm not Mr. Favre, now he is probably hurting a whole lot more than the rest of us today. Poor guy got pummeled yesterday. It was hard to watch.

Why was I watching? You've never heard me go on and on about football before. (Well, Jody Blue has, but that was many moons ago. You know the time when no one called me Mommy.) My boys left me. The General insisted on going to his church youth group, so I had to stay home without my football commentators to simply tell me about the game. I had forgotten how passionate I was about football, which is probably a good thing. From now on, the boys can't leave me alone during these big games. I think I scared Princess.

So to my Vikings, I have this to say: Thanks for a great season, and although yesterday's game was a bit. . .uh. . .difficult to watch, we still love you. You will always be our team. (For the record. Any little Nomad that thinks they can just jump ship and leave the Vikes will find themselves sleeping on the porch! I'm not being too harsh. We have to train those that may be faint at heart. How else do you think the Vikings have garnered such loyal fans? See above comment about our Super Bowl history.)

Go Vikings!

What do you think of Bart's Passage?

Is anyone else out there reading either Jotham's Journey or Bartholomew's Passage? I'm just curious what people are thinking of the books. Are you enjoying the story? How about the devotional questions? I'd love to hear what you think. Just curious. That's all.

UPDATE: We finished up Bartholomew's Passage on Christmas Day. It was nicely intertwined with the Jotham's Journey story. It wasn't as suspense filled as Jotham's Journey, but it did hold our attention. The devotional questions were thought provoking, which was a real help in getting our hearts ready for Christmas.
Overall, I am sticking by my thumb's up recommendation for the series. Now wish me luck in finding a copy of Tabitha's Travels for next year. . .I haven't seen this one is going back in for reprint. . .shoot.

What do you think of my attempt at the Advent look?

Okay, so I'm trying to get the blog all ready for Advent. Unfortunately, no one out there has an Advent background. Not even a simple purple. Darn. Lucky for me Dawn at Almost Ready Blogs created the really cool Advent Wreath on my sidebar--Thanks Dawn! It was actually the inspiration for the whole look I came up with. (If you can call what I have going on "a look".)

What do you think? Is it too plain? My hope was to stick to an Advent theme, and then at Christmas do the all out holiday decorating. It is a small gesture on my part to reclaim the holiness of Christmas. Kind of a taking back of the "buy me, buy me, buy me" that Christmas in the United States has become. Hmmm. . .now I know why Dawn was Always Undecided.

**I finally figured out how to do the Boring Post thing. (This is Mary's baby. You can find her over at Hope Echoes.) I know I put my boring post together on Friday, but I'm on the West Coast. So it was technically Saturday for most of the country. That, and you are all probably done reading blogs by the time I would be up and free to post. Hope you have a great Saturday.

And the clock struck twelve. . .

So much for the Princess gig. It is back to reality today. A little laundry. (Dawn, do you think your sock lady would like to help me out?) A little toy pick up. A little schooling.

A lot of Bubby.

Oh, I guess reality isn't so bad after all!

Sometimes I like to pretend I'm a Princess.

I am the type of girl that likes to do yard work. Dirt and mud do not scare me, as long as I have access to a shower after the experience. Here I am with The General, Princess and a couple of neighborhood girls that saw us moving rocks and wanting to join in. Go figure, kids like to work?
Notice the hat? It's because I hadn't showered and my hair cannot be displayed in public without a little coiffing. My children just don't deserve that kind of humiliation.
As much as I like yard work, hiking, and just staying in my jammies til late in the day. Sometimes it is so much fun to get all dressed for a night out with Mr. Nomad.


Which made last night such a treat. Some very kind people (we casually knew them last time we lived here) invited us to a gala event. I actually thought I was going to have to go solo, as Mr. Nomad was off on another trip. Then around noon I got a call from him, and he said he would be home in time to take me to the ball. I cried. I know that is so silly, but I was so happy.

So last night Mr. Nomad and I were blessed to have a beautiful evening out. We were able to make a few more connections in our new community, and it was a lot of fun. Poor Mr. Nomad had been up for over 24 hours, what a sport. I think I would have begged to stay home and go to bed. He's so good to me.

I love a great deal!

Today I am smiling ear to ear. Apparently the landscaping company that put in all of the trees on the boulevards put in the wrong species of trees. Something about the beautiful flaming maples' roots causing problems with the sidewalks in 5-10 years, or something like that. Whatever the case, they had to replace the maples with another type of tree. The new ones are pretty too, so nothing lost on the curb appeal.

Okay, this is where my smile comes in. They took out the maples along the street, and for a fraction of what you would spend on one tree, they planted two of them in my backyard! Yep, they even staked them for me. I am so excited. TWO, count them, TWO trees! They are even good sized trees, at least 15-20 feet. I can't wait to show Mr. Nomad.

Oh yea, I forgot to mention I had to make a snap decision. I hope he is as excited as I am. Just in case he doesn't share my enthusiasm, does anyone have a dog house for me to crash for a few days?

A test for my readers. . .

Did you notice I decorated for Halloween? The header picture was taken last year before the Nomad Clan headed out for Trick-Or-Treating. Here's the test: Although it may not seem that we are all dressed in the same theme, we are. How do our costumes go together?

Proud to be a Pear?

Okay, I was wasting time tonight (said with head hung low, cheeks blushing). Mr. Nomad is off at work, and the kiddos were outside playing. The perfect time to surf the web, and follow all of those interesting bloggy trails.

As I was clicking away, I found myself here at the Cardigan Empire. Someone along my mad clicking spree was raving about the help she received from the Empress herself, Reachel Bagley. Being the somewhat vain woman that I am, I thought to myself, "Hey, this could be an interesting rabbit trail to follow."

So I click on over to Cardigan Empire. Under the heading "The Body Types" I find cute little fruit and vegetable icons on the side bar, with sub-headings like;"soft delicious center" over an amazing apple, "Proud to be a Pear" over a very cute and yellow pear--you get the idea. I scroll down and find, "mythical Curves" over an hourglass.

Now, I don't want to sound full of myself. But I've kinda always thought of myself as the hour glass. (I'm curvy) Of course hind sight is 20/20, just stick with me here. So I click on the hour glass. Here it asks me to take my measurements. Oh, this is too easy. I have my measurements down already. (I've been working out this summer, and instead of using a scale, I've always used my measurements to gauge my success or failures. . .whatever the case may be.) They start talking about the body ratios, and it quickly becomes very clear, an hourglass I am not.

Back to the list. Hmm. . . I know I'm not the apple, I definitely have a waist. No to the lean celery-like I said, I'm a curvy girl. I guess . . I'll try. . . the pear?

I click the pear, and began reading. WHAT? I AM A PEAR? How can this be? I've always thought pears had a prominent bottom? (No offense to prominently bottomed girls.) As I read on, and began to digest this new found label, it all becomes very clear. I am indeed a pear. I should have realized this, I am a hippy girl--with a small bossum--after all.

I know you may say, "Yeah, what hips?" I have a confession. Being fully aware of my hippy issues, I am careful not to highlight that area. In fact Mr. Nomad is well versed in the, "do these jeans make my butt look big?" question. If pants make me look too wide, I don't buy them. I may miss out on the latest trends, but I don't want to advertise my weakest point.

Which is the whole point of Ms. Bagley's body types in the first place. In a nutshell, she wisely points out that we need to dress the body we are given. Not the body we dream of, or want to work for. But the one that is looking back at you in the mirror today.

So instead of lamenting over the fact that I will never look good in those adorable skirts with the fun patterns, and all those pleats. You know the ones, you wear them with a fitted shirt. Well, I need to accentuate the positive. Let the pattern be on my upper body instead of my hiney.

So after a quick morale call to my sister, Jody Blue and the last hour or so typing away. I think I am finally okay with my new found label. I am a Pear, and I'm okay with that.

It's raining again. . .

Okay to all of you over the years that I said it doesn't REALLY rain in Washington, it just drizzles all the time. Well, I'm sorry. . .I lied. I honestly do not remember it raining like this, but for the past few days we have had steady rain. Not the drizzle, but rain that you can hear on the roof.
Along with the rain are the cool temperatures, so it is cold and wet. Normally not really a problem for me. At this point in the game I am not sun deprived, so it isn't the weather that is getting to me. Rather it is the wardrobe issue. I am so tired of the two sweaters I packed. Would you like to see me in the green sweater with the v-neck? Or how about the lighter green funky one with the v-neck? Packing for 5 months, with 3 seasons and not an endless amount of room was a bit tricky.
I did great on space. In fact my husband, the one who always gives me a hard time about bringing everything but the kitchen sink, commended me on my low volume when we were leaving DC. Fast forward to days and days of wearing the same cool weather clothing, and I'm wishing I had my closet back.
Church is a special treat. As I was packing back in DC I thought surely by May it would be warm enough to wear some sandals. You guessed it. I am looking like a frump every Sunday, which in itself isn't so bad. However, my husband has taken to wearing a sport coat and tie to mass. Invision this: A handsome man walks into church with his three beautiful children, followed by his dumpy wife. Last week when I complained that he looked too nice. He replied, "what happened to all your fancy clothes?" Well, umm, let's see. . . maybe in a storage unit somewhere???? Lesson learned: Do not try to please your husband and impress him with your small scale packing. Heap it on, make him find more room in your overloaded cars. He may be overwhelmed, but you'll look good! :)
On the bright side, we will only be here a few more weeks before we head south to sunny Oklahoma. Maybe God is just helping me out. When I'm roasting in the heat I won't be complaining about how hot I am, rather I'll be so very happy to have more than two outfits to wear. I'll be walking into church on Sunday with my fancy sandals feeling good about life.
Again, I am sorry about the false advertising about Washington State. I honestly did not remember this kind of rain! To all my WA loving friends, do you remember heavy rain? Didn't it used to just drizzle? Have I lost my mind???

Knitting Project Updates

Here I am with my bag prior to felting, and with my hair prior to the big cut.

Just waiting for the bag to dry so I can attach the handles. (It took about 4-5 days. For the bag to completely dry, not sew on the handles. I mean I'm pokey sometimes, but really!)This would be the after shot. I'm sporting my new do and my felted bag. Isn't it amazing how much the bag shrinks when you felt it?

Last but not least are the socks that were giving me trouble. Thanks to my friend Lorri, I was able to learn all the tricks to making a sock. (She is a very good teacher.) In fact the second one only took a few days, so now I have my very own hand knitted socks. I'm wearing them as I type!

Now if I could just get settled and find some time, I would love to finish the little sweater I'm working on. Until then, I'd better get some sleep.

Reunited With an Old Friend

Well the non-temporary storage was delivered today.

Our base house is really small. When we moved here 3 years ago we had to put some of our things into storage. Whenever I thought of our stuff in storage, I only remembered my favorite living room furniture. It's dated, but oh so comfortable. I spent 2 months on bed rest during my first preganancy, so the couch and I have history. I was so excited to see it in good condition when they unwrapped it today. It does have a bit of a funky plastic smell from being wrapped up for 3 years, but I'm sure a good cleaning and airing out will solve the problem.

Now the strangest thing happened. They brought in the couch, then the love seat, next the chair, and then they just kept bringing boxes off the truck. I swear it must have multiplied over the years. Are storage boxes like rabbits?? I honestly did not remember putting that many things in storage. Then again I was only a few weeks post-partum when they packed us out last time.

So now we have plenty of seating in our living room. No room to walk around, but plenty of seating. I may even have to take a quick nap on the couch before the packers show up on Monday. It wouldn't be that I was lazy, or shirking my moving responsiblities. It would be for old times sake. I'd hate my good friend the comfy couch to feel slighted.

New Hair Style???

I'm going in for a hair cut and color on Friday. I've had pretty much the same look now for over a year. Which is really a long time for me. I like to change things up. The main problem is I have really thin, fine hair, so I am limited in my options. My mother-in-law suggested I try this look. What do you think? Other suggestions?

The Great Wolf Lodge

Looking for a way to beat the winter blues? How about a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge? We recently visited the one down in Williamsburg, VA. What a place. . . These are our very good friends. They were stationed here in DC with us, but have since moved on. They are still on the East Coast, so we make it a point to get together whenever possible.

We scored a Kid's Kamp room this time. Bubby LOVED his bed, who wouldn't? Isn't it just adorable? To think this is just the room and lobby. Sorry I have no photos of the waterpark. We were too busy playing.

If you have never been to a Great Wolf Lodge, think of an indoor waterpark--on steriods! There are water areas for the little tykes, there are wave pools and surf type areas for the big kids. There is the lazy river, that basketball--floaty area great for king of the hill, and of course the water slides. Some are calm, and some are more adventurous. We all love the Howlin' Tornado.

Since we are homeschoolers, we headed down mid week. (The rates are cheaper mid-week, and they also have a military discount.) Usually we are greeted with deserted arenas, not so much this time. It was a Maryland school break, so the place was packed. Even with all of the people, we still received excellent service. Once you made it past the check in line, it was smooth sailing.

When we grew tired of the water, or shall I say when Bubby had worn himself out, we checked out the play/craft room. They had fun crafts--some free and some paid. Mostly Bubby enjoyed playing with all of the blocks and trucks. There was also a game room The General enjoyed (I think it was a bit pricey though). Princess never grew tired of the water!

What a wonderful get away from the cold of winter.

What kind of flower are you???

Scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the test "What kind of flower are you?" I found this little test on my sister's blog. As you can see I was a snapdragon. I don't know what the other flowers are, or what they signify so I can't say if this is the perfect fit for me. However, I have always loved snapdragons, and I cannot disagree with the statement about snapdragons. :) What kind of flower were you, and do you agree??